Hansard: Appropriation Bill: Debate on Vote No 29 - Energy & Vote No 32 - Mineral Resources
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 23 May 2012
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 164
THURSDAY, 24 MAY 2012
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
________________
The Council met at 14:03
The Deputy Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
FIRST AND SECOND ORDERS
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 164
START OF DAY
APPROPRIATION BILL
(Policy Debate)
Vote No 29 – Energy and
Vote No 32 – Mineral Resources:
The MINISTER OF ENERGY: Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Minister of the Department of Energy, Barbara Thompson and other Deputy Ministers who are here today, hon Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development, Mr Adams and members of the committee, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, the NCOP is a critical platform for direct engagement with provinces, and for allowing members of the executive and departments meaningful interaction with public representatives at this level for joint reflection and guidance.
Chairperson, allow me to briefly reflect on our performance in some key areas of work in the energy space. The Integrated National Electrification programme target for 2011-12 grid connections and nongrid connections was budgeted for R2,83 billion and we managed to get 196 000 connections.
Eskom has completed just over 106 000 connections to date and municipalities connected about 35 000. Of these, 54 600 connections have been planned for the period before the end of the financial year of municipalities.
I need to indicate that, due to the financial year-end of municipalities being at the end of June, more connections will still be completed as part of the 2011-12 allocation, and the target figure will be reached. On the nongrid side, just over 10 000 connections have been made in 2011-12, which is in line with the target that was set for nongrid.
We have improved the turnaround time for petroleum licensing down from 90 days to 60 days. We commenced with an audit into the state of our refineries. We launched the energy efficiency campaign during Cop 17, together with our social partners in Nedlac.
Significant progress was achieved in the development of the Solar Park Initiatives. However, there was an unexpected delay in accessing the identified land and we intend to overcome this challenge during this financial year.
Despite the initial teething problems, we have installed over 250 000 solar water heating systems. The one million target by 2014 is still firmly in sight. Significant progress has been achieved with the development of the following pieces of legislation: the Independent Systems Market Operator Bill; the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill; the National Energy Regulator Amendment Bill; the Petroleum Products Amendment Bill; and the Gas Amendment Bill.
The Department of Energy has spent about 99,9% of our 2011-12 allocated budget. The total allocation for the 2012-13 financial year is about R6,8 billion, with 95% or R6,5 billion of this allocation being earmarked for transfer payments.
An amount of R3,1 billion has been earmarked for the Integrated National Electrification programme to connect 150 000 households to the grid and 10 000 to the nongrid systems respectively; R1 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management programme to accelerate the solar water heating programme; R1,5 billion for the final instalment of the New Multiproduct Pipeline; and R554 million to the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation, Necsa, to continue with its central role as the anchor for nuclear energy, research, development and innovation.
The balance will be utilised for smaller projects and transfers to state-owned entities reporting to the Minister of Energy. The SA National Energy Development Institute, Sanedi, will receive R50,1 million; the National Nuclear Regulator, NNR, will receive R30,9 million; and the Renewable Energy Fund Subsidy Scheme has been allocated R40,4 million. Only R307,27 million remains for the department's operational budget, a 0,06% increase from the previous year.
We will continue with the implementation of the Integrated National Electrification Programme, Inep, which is the backbone of our electricity delivery programme for communities. The biggest backlogs are in KZN, Eastern Cape, and Gauteng followed by the islands in and around the eight metropolitan municipalities.
This financial year, the Inep has been allocated R3,119 billion, of which R1,15 billion is earmarked for municipalities and R1,88 billion for Eskom, respectively. A further R86 million has been allocated for nongrid connections.
Provincial allocations are as follows: the Eastern Cape will receive R768 million; Free State, R118 million; Gauteng, R293 million; KwaZulu-Natal, R1,035 billion; Limpopo, R360,3 million; Mpumalanga, R184 million; Northern Cape, R96 million; North West, R296 million; and Western Cape, R171,3 million.
These allocations are meant to ensure the implementation of approximately 71 000 municipal connections and 111 000 new grid connections by Eskom, resulting in a total of 182 000 grid connections nationally. In addition, with the expected 10 000 nongrid connections, the total new connections for this financial year is expected to reach 192 000.
The first audit of the phenomenon of island formations revealed that there were about 16 000 cases where households were skipped and not electrified as originally planned in the whole of KwaZulu-Natal. These island formations have developed mostly due to political reasons.
To address this, we made 5 670 connections in 2010-11, followed by 3 000 connections in 2011-12. The outstanding connections will be done during this financial year and completed next year. Members should help us to eradicate this phenomenon of electrification by political affiliation. Electricity does not have a party membership card.
At the electricity indaba held in Durban during March 2012, we identified some shortcomings in the current national electrification programme. The Department has since commenced with the process of addressing these shortcomings with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation, IFC, and consultants in order to improve the connection rate. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants for their support and robust participation during the indaba.
One of the challenges facing the electrification programme is the deteriorating state of the electricity distribution infrastructure, which is beginning to affect the pace of the rollout of the electrification programme. To address these challenges, the Approach to Distribution Asset Management, Adam, project is to be launched this year with pilot projects in selected municipalities.
We recognise that there might be limitations in the current legislative and regulatory framework. Thus, we require some commitment from municipalities where funding will be made available to rehabilitate the infrastructure, particularly where energy security is threatened.
The movement of crude oil from US$100 to US$120 per barrel has happened in a short space of time. I must reiterate that I feel and share the pain of the motorists, but in particular the pain of the paraffin users and the farmers who produce the food that we eat. A positive development is that we are currently witnessing a swing of the crude oil price downwards, and I am pleased to announce that next month motorists will benefit from a substantial decrease in the fuel price.
As a response to the global oil situation, we will review the Strategic Stocks Policy and reposition the Strategic Fuel Fund to play an enhanced role as the custodian of hydrocarbons in the country. I will soon be releasing the outcomes of the Liquid Fuels Charter audit, which was conducted to determine the compliance of the industry with the charter. I must indicate that the results are a mixed bag of success and failure.
At least one of the black economic empowerment, BEE, companies has managed to pay for its 25% stake in one of the international oil major South African operations. As we speak that company is 49% owned by South Africans and 25% by a BEE company. Some of the other ownership schemes appear to have been ill-considered and these are some of the issues that we will be addressing with the industry in a meeting to be held before the end of this month.
The evolution of the liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, sector is providing both challenges and opportunities, and we will intensify efforts to ensure that LPG becomes a carrier of choice, especially to ensure access to rural communities for space heating and cooking. We intend placing a greater focus on fuel specification compliance and spot checks will be done to ensure value for money for the motorist.
We have also set ourselves an ambitious target of obtaining ISO accreditation for the petroleum licensing process. Thus, will spent considerable effort in training staff on an improved quality management framework and system.
Ladies and gentlemen, the implementation of the IntegratedResource Planis under way and policies and strategies to realise its objectives have been developed. These include the work done on underground coal gasification and carbon capture and storage.
The renewable energy independent power producers bidding programme has concluded two bidding windows, allocating a total of 2 416MW to 47 preferred bidders. The process has lived up to expectations and is expected to attract foreign direct investment of about R100 billion over a period of 12 months in the country.
In a few weeks, we will call for bids for the small power or less than five MegaWatts capacity bidding round, with a total of 1OOMW available. Nuclear is an essential component of the energy intense economy of the Republic of South Africa. The National Nuclear Energy Executive Co-ordination Committee was established last year for oversight over the planned nuclear energy expansion programme.
The success and deployment of nuclear power requires public acceptance, education and alertness or awareness about radioactive waste management issues, which are the most important topics surrounding nuclear energy. We will be investing resources and greater effort in this regard to engage the community and to further get the buy-in of the community.
Energy Efficiency is central to ensure a sustained and uninterrupted electricity supply. The Department of Energy and National Treasury, under section 12(l) of the Income Tax Act, have developed energy efficiency tax incentive regulations that is intended to incentivise investment measures that save electricity.
According to Eskom statistics, we have achieved savings of 1,4TWh through combined programmes that include energy efficiency demand-side management interventions and solar water heating installations. This includes the municipal lighting retrofit programme.
I am sure that all members are aware of the Eskom 49M campaign launched by His Excellency Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. We are, in partnership with social partners through Nedlac, involved in initiatives such as the Energy Conservation Scheme and the NBI-led programmes. The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation continues to support the Industrial Energy Efficiency Programme, jointly co-ordinated by the Departments of Energy, and Trade and Industry.
SA National Energy Development Institute is now officially launched and will continue to be the key driver of our efforts with regard to carbon capture and storage, including the selection of the first test injection site in 2016. They will also focus on further work around the Working for Energy programme, amongst projects such as the biogas project in Philippi in the Western Cape, a bioenergy cluster which comprises of projects in Fort Cox, Melani village and the University of Fort Hare, largely for research purposes.
The department has been extensively involved in the deliberations on the global energy agenda with the aim of maintaining energy market stability; encouraging sustainable investments in the energy sector globally; and promoting co-operation between the private and public sector in developing the energy sector. Seven agreements or declarations of intent for capacity building, funding, technology and exchange of information, and the development of the energy infrastructure on the continent, have been concluded.
Our efforts remain geared to addressing the need for the continent to secure clean, affordable, accessible and sustainable energy carriers and reduce energy poverty. This will ultimately change forever the picture of Africa as a dark continent.
Energy is a catalyst for job creation. Through the implementation of Department of Energy-led initiatives, we have facilitated about 5 000 direct jobs during the construction of service stations and a further 1 260 permanent jobs. Service stations sustain about 60 000 workers and this number is expected to increase. The Integrated National Electrification Programme created approximately 5 000 jobs last year, and the renewal energy IPP procurement programme will further contribute to an increase in jobs in the sector, as part of the much coveted green jobs drive.
Our efforts towards alleviating energy poverty will see additional three integrated energy centres in rural areas being put into operation during this financial year. I have previously made a commitment to intensify our efforts to appropriately engage with women, youth and people living with disabilities by implementing responsive programmes and projects in partnership with stakeholders.
Together with energy sector stakeholders and institutions, we launched the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Women's Initiative, C3E. This is an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, CEM, to empower women and ensure a concerted drive to increase the participation of women entering the energy space.
We will continue to host the annual Learners Focus Week, for Grade 9 and 10 learners, focusing specifically on the energy sector. We will encourage them to focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
We will continue to strengthen our partnerships and collaboration with progressive women empowerment entities such as Women in Nuclear SA, Winsa, and Women in Oil and Energy SA, Woesa. These partnerships will help us to, amongst others, create awareness about empowerment opportunities for women in the sector.
The department has also undertaken a study on the India Women Solar Panel Engineering Model, the so-called Barefoot Solar Engineer programme. The aim is to use the lessons and experiences gained for the development of a South African model of the programme, targeting rural women.
We will continue with the public participation programme through which we will educate, engage and debate energy-related issues to enhance the department's service delivery and sharpen our contact with the citizenry of our country.
In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy Minister of Energy, Comrade Barbara Thomson, Director-General Nelisiwe Magubane and Team Energy for their hard work and support. Our gratitude must also go to the Select Committee on Economic Development, the leadership of Chairperson Adams, for keeping Team Energy and indeed, I, on our toes!
The progress and positive advances made by this department are largely due to our conviction that Together, we can do more.
We commit to continue putting shoulder to the wheel, and to accelerate and intensify our efforts towards creating a better life for all our people. I thank you, madam Chairperson. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 165
The MINISTER OF ENERGY
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Hon Chairperson, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Godfrey Oliphant, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development, hon Freddie Adams, hon members; as we present our Budget to this House, we take as our lodestar President Zuma's call to action in his state of the nation address in February with regards to eradication of poverty and inequality.
Those objectives are crisp, clear, and attainable – but they are also massively challenging. We shall realise these aims only through joint effort by all South Africans. As the President said, when ending his state of the nation address:
I would like to appeal to all our people to join hands as they always do, as we deal decisively with the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. Nobody will do this for us; it is in our hands and we are all equal to the task.
The African National Congress, the movement of the people of this country, which I am privileged to represent, is celebrating a centenary of struggle and sacrifice. In doing this, it is not oblivious to the requirements that lie ahead - which are so crucial to our future. Significantly, this very year, 2012, marks a decade since the passing of the ground-breaking postapartheid mining legislation; the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA.
So we have to use the budget that we are tabling here today as one of the arsenals in the hands of the democratic developmental state in a quest to ensure that the mineral complex thrives for another hundred or more years. The task is to deracialise the sector and spread its benefit to all our people irrespective of race, colour or creed.
To accelerate the realisation of the aforementioned agenda,thedepartment presents to this House a budget allocation of R1,169 billion for the 2012-13 financial year, which is R130 million higher than last year.
My department will continue to manage its budget in line with good financial management principles as prescribed by the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA. We have also developed a clear action plan to address matters raised in the last financial year audit report. Supply Chain Management has been tightened consistently with the President's call around this issue.
Based on the challenges that were experienced in the implementation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA, we are currently reviewing Act. The main objectives of the review and amendments are to improve the current construct of the Act to remove any ambiguities, streamline the licensing process to avoid delays and inefficiencies and support the beneficiation strategy.
We do not seek to introduce any major policy shifts in respect of exploration and exploitation of South Africa's mineral resources. We do, however, have to consider a beneficiation policy to, among others, ensure that companies avail the requisite mineral inputs to the local beneficiators. In this regard, a lot of work still needs to be done to ensure that the industry contributes to the realisation of the constitutional promise of a better life for all.
We have held public consultations in various provinces to help resolve problems raised by communities to inform the envisaged amendments. This consultation process is almost complete and I will table these amendments in Cabinet by July.
We will also be reviewing the Mine Health and Safety Act in order to strengthen enforcement provisions, reinforce penalties, provide clarity in certain definitions and expressions and effect certain amendments to ensure consistency with other laws, particularly the MPRDA.
Last year, I spoke of the online application system known as SA Mineral Resources Administration, Samrad, which has been launched on 18 April 2011 to improve efficiency, transparency and effectiveness. I am happy to announce that my department has managed to address teething problems associated with the submission of applications, and well over 3 500 applications have been successfully lodged in the new system.
I am satisfied to announce that the process of cleaning up our data is complete and the backlog on finalising applications received during the manual system period, before Samrad came into effect, has also been cleared.
The misalignment of the current timeframes for obtaining a mining right, water use license and an environmental authorisation have led my department to work together with Departments of Environment Affairs and Water Affairs to put in place an integrated licensing system, which will not have a negative impact on the timeframe.
The extension of the moratorium in Mpumalanga, owing to environmental complexities in that province, culminated in 41 rights that are located in Wakkerstroom and Chrissiesmeer being identified as those belonging to the category of ecologically sensitive areas. As a result, the department has taken a decision to prohibit mining in these areas. In addition, I lifted the moratorium on applications for prospecting rights in Mpumalanga at the end of September 2011, as I had promised. In February this year, I invited further public submissions on a process to auction lapsed or revoked rights. Having considered these submissions, I decided to implement a process of bidding for the rights, in line with our transformation agenda.
Socioeconomic sustainability can be achieved through correct implementation of genuine social and labour plans, SLPs, consistent with the provisions of the MPRDA. The inconsistent implementation of SLPs by the mining industry remains an area of great concern to my department. Whereas there are some pockets of excellence, a lot more still needs to be done to properly align these with integrated development plans, IDPs, of municipalities. We need to implement these in a way that creates sustainable communities beyond the life of a mine.
Sustainability demands that socioeconomic development be taken as seriously as the financial and environmental dimensions. It can therefore not be right that mining communities continue to be excluded from benefitting from the exploitation of the country's mineral resources and expected to be forever grateful for projects conceptualised and implemented by mining companies for and on behalf of the communities without any meaningful consultation taking place.
We are particularly encouraged by the positive feedback that we received from the Phola community in Mpumalanga on the positive impact of the opening of Zibulo Mine in Ogies. We welcome other new investments such as the Sasol coalmine in Mpumalanga and Kalagadi Manganese, a women owned mining company in the Northern Cape, which is managed – 60% owned by women –by Managing Director and Chair Daphney Mashile-Nkosi.
In the same breath, I would like to commend mining communities and companies in the Richards Bay area, well-endowed with heavy minerals, for their proactive resolution of the problems that I conveyed to you last year. It is my firm belief that working together we can do far better and far more to the benefit of all stakeholders without necessarily fighting over the resources.
Also, my department has conducted Mining Charter compliance audits to verify compliance reports submitted by companies and a closer scrutiny of the audit result reveals the following: Low levels of implementation of employment equity by some mining companies; senior management, especially in decision-making structures, that is devoid of demographic representation; fronting, especially by women who do it on behalf of men; changing of approved SLPs without appropriate consent from the department and communities; unwillingness to transform by suppliers of capital goods in the mining industry and reluctance to transfer skills to the Black Economic Empowerment, BEE, entities; and BEE entities tend to be contracted to peripheral services including catering, cleaning, toilet tissue supplies and gardening services where the procurement spend is insignificant compared to capital goods spending. My department has put administrative processes in place to address the noncompliance resulting from the aforementioned. This was in the form of engagements with the companies concerned and orders to comply.
In order to ameliorate the negative impacts of mining, the department will make sure that environmentally degraded land is put back to a sustainable useable condition. To this end, 124 sites have been rehabilitated. Sixteen of these rehabilitated sites are derelict and ownerless mines and 108 dangerous openings - some of the sites are located mainly in the Northern Cape Province while the dangerous openings are in Gauteng.
My department has secured the services of an actuary to conduct the evaluation of the liability associated with derelict and ownerless mines. The work is almost complete and I expect the report any time from now on. We need to move to a situation where concurrent rehabilitation takes place. I am concerned about those companies that tend to undermine the current legislation with respect to environmental rehabilitation. We would also like to urge companies to resist the temptation to deliberately understate the extent of the potential environmental impacts resulting in significantly lower financial provisions for rehabilitation purposes – taking us back to what happened in the past.
Mining continues to play the critical role that it has played in our economy for the past century. In line with the department's mandate together with its desire to contribute to the resolution of the triple developmental challenge, the department has proactively convened stakeholders in the industry to discuss issues relating to how to increase jobs through tripartite engagements. Action steps have been identified to optimise the sector's extractive capacity, attraction of investment and job creation potential as reported last year. The new projects referred to earlier have thus far created over 5 000 jobs and this trend is expected to continue. Skills development is also of critical importance to the success of the growth and development of the industry as well as the successful implementation of the beneficiation policy. To this end, the department is collaborating with the Department of Higher Education and Training through the Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA,to improve skills development in the sector including training of artisans.
Last year Cabinet took a decision to investigate the feasibility of shale gas in the Karoo. The task team that was set up to investigate the matter has completed its work. The report will be submitted to Cabinet for consideration. On 3 May 2012, I presented to this House issues regarding health and safety in our mining sector. We continue to be greatly concerned about the mining industry's health and safety track record. The department will continue to use the Mine Health and Safety Act and related legislation to take appropriate action to ensure that workers have a safe and dignified work environment; that their right to sanctity of life is protected, and that they can return to their loved ones safely. Although there is improvement in respect of health and safety, the marching orders for zero harm have been given loud and clear and accepted by stakeholders. The department has a responsibility to ensure that the industry does not violate workers' constitutional right to life by ensuring that the industry provides a healthy and safe working environment.
Consistent with the commitment I made last year to elevate health issues in the mining sector, my department established a new chief directorate of health in 2011; this will improve health and safety in the industry We will continue to monitor, through the Mine Health and Safety Council, the implementation of commitments that the stakeholders made during the Mine Health and Safety Summit held last November. Stakeholders agreed on commitments which include eradication of silicosis, elimination of noise-induced hearing loss and achieving the target of zero fatalities and injuries. The department has established tripartite structures in the provinces which will be supported by the Mine Health and Safety Council to ensure that the implementation of the summit outcomes is effected. This will go a long way in ensuring that the work of the Council is brought to the coalface where it matters most and where the tyre hits the road. The department has received blasting complaints from some communities located close to mining operations. An expert task team was established to deal with this matter and will be submitting a report to the Mine Health and Safety Council for consideration.
Illegal mining is starting to rear its ugly head again as illicit activities have recently been reported in the Northern Cape, Free State and Gauteng around the Ekurhuleni area. This happens after remarkable improvement has been achieved in the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. We continue to be greatly concerned about the negative impact of illegal mining activity on the country's economy, which was estimated to amount to more than R5 billion per annum in 2008. The department will continue to collaborate with the relevant law enforcement agencies including the National Multi-Agency Task Team and social partners to ensure that there is co-ordination in combating illegal mining. I have also established a task team, made up of the relevant stakeholders in Gauteng, to determine and implement effective measures for preventing illegal mining activities in the Ekurhuleni area. The work has already commenced with a process of, among others, identifying and sealing of underground access points to restrict the activities of the illegal miners. We will use similar processes that we use in the Free State and Gauteng to address illegal mining activities in all other provinces
We welcome the Mining Lekgotla convened by ourselves, the Department of Labour and the Chamber of Mines to chart the way forward and ensure that South Africa continues a relevant and attractive mining destination.
In conclusion, I want to thank the entire staff of the Department of Mineral Resources for their commitment and dedication in leading this department. I thank you.
Ms E C VAN LINGEN
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 166
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
Ms E C VAN LINGEN: Hon Chairperson, Minister Shabangu, Minister Peters, Deputy Ministers, chairperson of our select committee, hon Freddie Adams, my colleagues and the departments of Energy and Mineral Resources, it is perhaps wise to start with the Department of Energy, because the Department of Mineral Resources is, to a very large extent, dependant on energy.
I read the hon Minister Peters' 2011 Budget Vote speech, and also this year's Budget Vote speech in the National Assembly. There is a vast difference. The Minister and her department have grown. Not only here; the whole field has grown all over the world.
Where are we, in South Africa, going from here? It seems as though Eskom is very quiet with regard to our reserve supply margin, and a little far away from the international best practice recommendation of 15%. I will write to the Minister to find out exactly what the reserve margins are like at the moment.
Perhaps we should start with the 20-year energy plan. This industry is growing fast, and we cannot afford to sit and wait. South Africa must get on with it. Yet, we have to listen to the lessons learnt internationally. The energy woes of South Africa are often mostly self-inflicted.
South Africa is held to ransom by a control freak syndrome of Eskom's energy production, distribution and administered pricing. Already the energy supply, with a 3 000 MegaWatt shortfall, is adversely affecting production as Eskom had to request aluminium smelters to suspend production to curb demand. The Medupi Power Station by Eskom is over budget and schedule. It will only come into production by the end of 2013. Breakdowns such as the Duvha saga at about R2 billion, is losing 600 MegaWatts on the supply side due to a lack of maintenance.
We know that the distribution network has a backlog of R40 billion between Eskom and local municipalities. We know that most of the responsibility is with the Minister of Public Enterprises and the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, in this particular case. However, we have to understand that South Africa needs a new plan, in which Eskom can only play a small part and not the main role.
To get back to the 20-year plan, we must listen to the National Development Plan, NDP, warning of major challenges facing South Africa in financing massive capital costs of a nuclear fleet. New generation nuclear plants will bring institutional and skills-base requirements not available here now. The NDP further proposes that, "all possible alternatives need to be explored." There is no information in the public domain on the economic feasibility of nuclear power and the financial models being considered.
In one of our energy select committee meetings, I was told that the user must pay, but then government must listen to the user who also has rights. For instance, we have not been informed what technology Eskom is going to build; whether it is generation 2, 3 or 4. Even the President, in a reply to an oral question in this very House, said that we would be using South African technology. If that is the degree of the President's nuclear ignorance, I understand why Eskom and your department are not talking about the cost of the financial methodology, for instance, for the proposed Nuclear 1 site at Thyspunt.
Government and the Department of Energy must put the full costing and funding for the proposed Thyspunt Nuclear Plant, transmission lines, roads, additional infrastructure, including the cost of a prescribed disaster management plan, on the table. [Interjections.] What is the capital, labour and MegaWatt production ratio of nuclear power versus renewable energy types? Has the Department of Energy ever considered the potential of rural development, and the effects that such economic injections can have on creating jobs and alleviating poverty?
The Independent Power Producer, IPP, targets for renewable energy to produce 3 725 MegaWatt by 2016, are determined by the Integrated Resource Plan of 2010. In December 2011, only 28 preferred IPP bidders were nominated, representing 1 416 MegaWatt out of 53 presentations. The second bidding process was completed recently and 19 bidders out of a possible 79 were approved, for only 1 200 MegaWatt.
The Minister claims that the financial institutions are failing the renewable energy production, but is this really true? Surely all the proposals tabled were bankable projects. What is behind this strange and illogical phenomenon? Why is the target for IPPs so low? Why can only 35% of the bidders have bankable projects?
Municipalities are viewing electricity revenue as cash cows for nice to haves. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa, Nersa, is not enforcing the 6% of electricity tariffs for maintenance, as prescribed by law. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa must be held responsible for fruitless expenditure at municipal level and for failing in their duty. There is a further Act requiring municipalities to apply 40% of their capital budgets on renewing existing infrastructure. Who is responsible to check that this is implemented? Why do we have a R40 billion backlog?
It is because government departments and entities are not accountable for their responsibilities. The DA believes that the Minister should enforce every possible measure to hold departments and state entities responsible and accountable for South Africa's energy security.
With regard to the Minister of Mineral Resources, unfortunately the DA cannot do justice to the debate today because there is not enough time, and you do have quite a large number of programmes. [Interjections.] Our main concerns are for instance, the illegal mining of the zama zamas which came up this week and which is a bit of a problem.
We are also sitting with environmental issues such as operating without water licences, and noncompliance as far as mining, health and safety regulations are concerned, happening right under the eyes of the department due to the lack of trained officials to detect any form of transgression before it happens. I cannot but remind the Minister that the mining, health and safety regulations are still not applied by Alexkor, and every time I mention it I am told that Alexkor is not her problem, but the mining, health and safety is actually very well ...
An HON MEMBER: Tell them again!
Ms E C VAN LINGEN: ... located with this department.
I personally reported the mine's contraventions of the Act to the senior staff, yet there is no progress. Somebody must take responsibility for this week's incidents involving the zama zamas, at Kleinzee and Welkom. The first time the Minister and I met she took action, and I think it's time she took action again. She has done well in the past.
You might also infer that the unfortunate section 54 closures for long periods are because of the lack of compliance. The noncompliance of mines with regard to their social labour plans is the Minister's problem. A mining company cannot, at the end of a mine's life, say that the plan is still at concept stage. People need to see and benefit from these programmes and community investments.
Environmental compliance cannot suddenly be lacking at the end of the life of the mine. There must be supervision of the implementation of each mine's environmental management plan on a regular basis. It cannot just become one of the 6 000 plus nonrehabilitated mine statistics left for the budget of the tax payers.
It is difficult to believe that mining companies could sue the Department of Mineral Resources for nothing. Obviously there is a lot at stake and the Minister will have to be tough.
Where are we with the Mining Charter? The DA is eagerly awaiting the full report of the Department of Mineral Resources' litigation matters. Only then will one be able to see if it is the law that is failing the department or whether it is the department that is failing the law. The budget for the department is tight, with a reduction in all but one programme.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon member, your time is expired. [Interjections.]
Ms E C VAN LINGEN: In closing, for the industry to ultimately survive, it must be competitive, and it can only be competitive if production costs are competitive.
The NDP is often quoted too loosely, and we recommend that we look at a growth plan like that of the DA, to create more jobs and bring poverty relief. I thank you. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon Van Lingen, you were given 10 minutes, but you still squealed. We can discuss it later.
[Interjections.]
Mr F ADAMS
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 167
Ms E C VAN LINGEN
Mr F ADAMS: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Peters, Minister Shabangu, hon Deputy Minister Thompson, Deputy Minister Oliphant, hon Director-General of the Department of Energy, hon Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources, staff of the above-mentioned departments, guests in the gallery and the honourable members, development is a comprehensive, economic, social, cultural and political process. It is aimed at a constant improvement of the wellbeing of the entire population and all individuals on the basis of the active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits of results, resulting there from the special bias towards the poor.
I have just heard the most absurd statement that has been made that the DA has got a developmental plan. Chair, I wonder how the DA's developmental plan fits in. The courts are ruling the Western Cape and not the DA, because with everything that the Minister of Mineral Resources does, they go to court. With everything the National government does, they go to court. They do not govern the Western Cape, the courts are governing the Western Cape. That is an abuse of state power and resources. That is an abusive system. If there are people that must be charged with abuse, it is the DA. They should be charged with abusing our judicial system because they haven't got any developmental plan. In actual fact, they've got no plan whatsoever to govern properly.
There are no plans or initiatives that have been taken by the DA to create a better a life for people in South Africa. They piggyback on everything that the ANC does. Recently, it is now been shown Chairperson, by the media that the Premier of the Western Cape was bragging in the media – a photo opportunity – standing there to say that they are the first people to introduce green economy and retrofitting.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon Adams, stick to your speech!
Mr F ADAMS: It is part of ... [Laughter.]... Chair, Deputy Chair...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Don't clap your hands, because you are out of order! You are out of order, DA.
Mr F ADAMS: Chairperson, the Premier of the Western Cape was bragging, having a photo shoot, about being the first one to open up a green factory. She was misleading the world and the people because the first person to do that was the Minister of Energy, hon Dipuo Peters. [Applause.] She did it because it is according to the ANC policy.
Pick n Pay in Port Elizabeth, was the first store to go green, but the DA is claiming to have been the first. That is misleading the people of South Africa and it is to score cheap political points. The nation does not believe you. The nation knows the ANC policies which say that we should promote energy efficiency. It should form part of the wider objectives of the SA government, energy and environment policy. The ANC is the only organisation that's got a massive policy conference, where policies are being debated. The DA hasn't got that, Chairperson. They are just thumb-sucking and thinking that we should believe everything that they say.
Chairperson, in spite of many efforts at different government levels and benefits of energy efficiency, several technical, financial and policy barriers have affected the realisation of the full potential benefits of energy conservation and savings. Some of these benefits barriers include: insufficient awareness; education and training about energy management; inefficiency at different levels; economic and market distortions; causing irrational response to energy efficient measures; lack of standardisation and labelling of equipment and devices; and inadequate financing for investment in energy efficiency improvement.
However, Chairperson, the Department of energy has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing and co-ordinating energy policy programmes and energy efficiency activities with the involvement of SA National Energy Development Institute. That is another brilliant policy of the ANC.
Chairperson, you will agree with me that Africans, particularly South Africans, face serious social economic challenges which will mainly affect the future prospects of all South Africans. You will also concur with me that energy is central to our efforts for sustainable development and poverty reduction. High poverty levels and low access to energy affect all aspects of development, social, economic and environmental including livelihood, access to water, agricultural productivity, health and education. This requires the country to invest heavily in energy infrastructure to ensure improvement in energy efficiency and access to modern and clean energy. That is part of the ANC's policies, Chairperson.
This ensures the security of energy supply. While the above-mentioned are critical it is also imperative to encourage our youth and students to live in a manner that seeks to advance sustainable development for the security of the future. Once again, part of the ANC's policies, which are being implemented by our Ministers and the departments. The leadership that our Ministers are portraying is not for photo opportunities and speaking badly about other people's programmes, but they are doing what the ANC wants them to do, which is delivery for the nation and the country.
Chairperson, everyone knows that we are representing our provinces. I want to say that the DA government in the Western Cape is against the ANC policies of creating a better life for all, as it has been shown. They are taking every opportunity to block and stop the opportunities for small-scale miners and producers to be part of the Minister of Mineral Resources' programme. If a mine was to be opened by small-scale miners, the DA will go to court, blocking the process because the DA is much more worried about what the farmer voting and their farmer buddies will say, instead of creating and unlocking and opening up the wealth of the country as per the Freedom Charter.
Ms E C VAN LINGEN: Chairperson, I rise on a point of order: Hon Adams is misleading the House. The DA has not gone to court about illegal mining.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): What is the point of order here?
Ms E C VAN LINGEN: He is misleading the House.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon Van Lingen, do me a favour and sit down, please. You have done your own damage and I never stopped you. Continue, hon Adams.
Mr F ADAMS: Chairperson, with all due respect, that is the point of the DA. They don't listen. I have never talked about illegal mining. I was talking about mining opportunities where the DA went to court to block those mining opportunities. That is what I would like to raise through you Chairperson, that the hon Van Lingen is misleading this House because I never talked about illegal mining.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon Adams, continue with your speech. Don't entertain Van Lingen. [Interjections.]
Mr F ADAMS: Chairperson, I want to encourage the Minister of Minerals Resources not to be sidetracked by the single sidetrack-minded politicians of the DA. As you have shown Minister, you are a woman of courage and strength. Forward to poverty eradication, forward to the ANC's policies and programmes to create a better life for all, forward in alleviating this poverty and crushing the negative thinking of the DA. We should go forward as comrades of the ANC. Stand fats! Stand your ground. Don't be sidetracked by the Premier of the Western Cape and the DA. [Interjections.] They've got nothing to show South Africa, nothing to bring to the table of South Africa. Everything they do is piggybacking on the ANC. Create your own, do your own and don't wait for photo opportunities.
They are now emulating Cosatu to march. They have now even gone out to toyi-toyi. They have now, even where the ANC left off in the 1980s, learnt to throw stones. We don't need that in a new democratic South Africa.
Chairperson, let me take this opportunity to thank Minister Peters and Minister Shabangu, the two directors-general of the Department of Energy and the Department of Mineral Resources. The two departments are being led by women and they are doing an excellent job because they know that working together, we can do more. They are not like the Premier of the Western Cape who works in isolation, with all her henchmen pulling together with her. The Premier of the Western Cape cannot deliver. She goes to her office at 4 o'clock in the morning, calling the members of the executive council, MECs, at 4 o'clock to reprimand them and ask them why they didn't respond to allegations by the ANC. That is what they are doing. [Laughter.]
Let me thank the Ministers and the departments. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]
Prince M M M ZULU
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 168
Mr F ADAMS
isiZulu:
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sekela likaSihlalo wale Ndlu, abahlonishwa oNgqongqoshe namasekela abo, izinhloko zeminyango kahulumeni yonke ezikhona, abahlonishwa abakhona, ozakwethu, ongqongqoshe bezifundazwe, abaqhamuka ezifundazweni, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe wezokuMbiwa Phansi naMandla, ngikuhalalisela kakhulu emsebenzini owenzile nomnyango wakho wokufakela abantu ugesi, ikakhulukazi, ezindaweni zasemakhaya.
Ngiyazi ukuthi lo mnyango uhlangene nezingqinamba noma izinselele ezingakanani emphakathini, ngoba sonke sifuna izibani zikagesi ezweni lonke. Ngiyazi futhi ukuthi kunenselele yezigidi ezintathu noma ngaphezulu zabantu bakithi eNingizimu Afrika abasafuna lokho kukhanya ezindaweni abakuzona.
Uhulumeni wethu, kuleli lizwe laseNingizimu Afrika, ... [Ubuwelewele.]
English:
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon Sinclair, please ... No! No! No! Please, you are disturbing the House.
isiZulu:
UMntwana M M M ZULU: ... njengezakhamizi zawo, nanjengabasebenzi bomphakathi, kuye kufuneke, ngawo wonke amandla, uqinisekise ukuthi iSabiwomali somnyango nomnyango - thina njengabantu bale Ndlu - siyakwazi ukuseseka. Lapha, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, ngeke sakungabaza nakancane, njenge-IFP, ukukweseka ngoba siyibonile imisebenzi yakho, nesekela lakho, umnyango wakho kanye no-Eskom ezindaweni zasemakhaya.
Isiteshi esiphehla ugesi saseNyokeni siwubufakazi ngoba siyikhilomitha nje kuphela emuva kwendlu yami, kanti bonke abantu bakuleya ndawo njengamanje bayakhanyisa. Ngakho-ke, lowo msebenzi waba impumelelo enkulu. Isiteshi esiphehla ugesi esakhiwa endaweni engaphansi komkhandlu wasoLundi, eNkonjeni, siwubufakazi bokuthi bonke laba bantu abalaphaya ebumnyameni bazokuthola ukukhanya okuqhamuka emnyangweni wakho, kanti namathuba emisebenzi avelile-ke kancane kulaba bantu basemakhaya.
Naleyo micabango eniyicabangayo yokuba kube khona ubudlelwane ekuthengweni kukawoyela ezweni elingumakhelwane wethu lase-Nigeria, noma kwelinye izwe elise-Afrika. Ngicabanga ukuthi kuyisinyathelo esihle kakhulu, singumkhombandlela oyiwo ngoba nizokwazi ukwakha ubudlelwane phakathi kwamazwe ase-Afrika uqobo ewodwa. Uma sizothembela eYurophu bakithi, Nkulunkulu wami! Basigqilaza labaya bantu, namanje siyizigqila zobandlululo kuyoze kuyobuya uJesu. Manje akufanele nakancane ukuthi sithi sinezinto zethu e-Afrika, singakwazi ukuba nobudlelwane namazwe ase-Afrika.
Ngithi ngalawo mazwi, siyaleseka iVoti leSabiwomali lomnyango wakho, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, ukuze bakwazi abantu bakithi ukuzuza kuwona. [Ihlombe.]
Mr M C MAINE
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 168
Prince M M M ZULU
English:
Mr M C MAINE: Madam Deputy Chairperson, before I get to my speech, I want to address two things that were raised by hon Van Lingen.
Firstly, hon Van Lingen complains about the short time that she is given to debate. I think the hon member must appreciate the fact that it's a demonstration that the DA has been rejected by the voters. So, you will have those ten minutes. How you utilise them, is not our business. Voters have rejected you.
Secondly, the hon member also talks about the nuclear degree ignorance by the President. I think what the hon member said, in the ten minutes that she was allocated, has demonstrated that she is very ignorant.
Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers and hon members, our centenary symbolises the dedication and persistence of the ANC in fighting for an united, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic society.
This debate takes place a few days after we were reminded of our horrible past by a racist artist who insulted the President of both the oldest liberation movement in Africa, and the ruling party of South Africa. His actions provoked and reminded me that my mother was called a kitchen girl and my father was called a garden boy, not because they wanted to, but because the minority had robbed our forefathers. There was a difference in the manner in which the two progressive volunteers - I have decided to call them progressive volunteers - who decided to deface that thing were treated. The black person was manhandled by the security agencies which contrasted with the smooth way in which the white man was escorted from the scene. I am challenging South Africans to engage about whether we are not too apologetic in our country and whether we have not created a conducive environment for people to behave in this ill-disciplined manner.
On a note linked to our democracy and transformation project, the 1969 ANC Morogoro Conference ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Just hold on hon Maine.
Mr D A WORTH: Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order: I think the hon speaker there has got the wrong topic completely. We are talking about energy and mineral affairs, not arts and culture.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon member, can you please take your seat? The script belongs to him; be patient and listen to what he's going to say.
Mr M C MAINE: Thank you, Deputy Chair, I think you will give me back my minute. On a note linked to our democracy and transformation project, in the 1969 ANC Morogoro Conference, where we called for mining monopolies to be transferred into the hands of the public, we said the following:
At the moment, there are vast monopolies whose existence affects the livelihoods of large numbers of our people and whose ownership is in the hands of Europeans only. It is necessary for monopolies which vitally affect the wellbeing of our people, such as the mines, the sugar and wine industries, to be transferred to public ownership so that they can be used to uplift the lives of all the people.
There is a need for a thorough assessment of whether 18 years into democracy there has been a fundamental shift from the assessment we made in 1969. Not too long ago the apartheid government used natural resources as a tool for creating and intensifying economic divisions, more especially, apartheid labour policy, which generated unskilled migrant labour for mines and farms by dispossessing the majority of Africans of land and depriving them of skills. Underdevelopment and unemployment were characterised by dependence on mine and farm bosses for employment.
In spite of impressive achievements in economic production, mining was overshadowed by an unjust labour system imposed mainly upon the Africa working class. The lopsided relations of production we see today resulted from a biased ideology that created market policies that gave rise to surplus labour and rent seeking.
In order to reverse some of the damage done to our economy and its people, the ANC harnessed the power of democracy to change the state's approach to mineral resources, so that benefits could be maximised and cascaded to the masses.
In his centenary address President Zuma stated that our responsibility as the ANC is to use democratic state power with the utmost determination and strategic discipline to transform our country for the better. In practice, this would mean mandating the Department of Mineral Resources with the responsibility of transforming ownership and maximising the growth, development and employment potential of our mineral resources.
The apartheid state allowed private owners of our natural resources to plunder this sector of the economy and to amass unprecedented amounts of capital without putting resources back into the economy. The ANC, thus, called on the department to establish measures for curbing monopoly capital and its attendant rent seeking. In this respect, the Mining Charter birthed the Strategic Mining Policy of our country.
The revised charter made recommendations for accelerating the pace of transforming South Africa, so that we get on track to achieving our 26% target for ownership of mines by historically disadvantaged communities and individuals. We welcome the department's incorporation of penalties for noncompliance to transformation policies and believe that these will serve as a mechanism for accelerating the participation of the historically disadvantaged in the economy.
Youth, who form a substantial portion of our economy, were traditionally neglected in the minerals sector, perhaps due to perceptions of them as people who could not participate in the economy. We know from our own experience, as the ANC, that young people are a capable group in society, particularly when capacitated with the necessary skills and resources.
The revolving door of poverty means that children born into poor families have tended to become poor themselves, as there has been no net to catch them out of this. We have noted how intergovernmental poverty resulting from unemployment, unfair labour practices in mines and other sectors has catapulted youth into the market.
As such, the department pulls youth into the minerals sector via projects that facilitate participation through sector groups and outreach programmes. However, we need to see the results of these empowerment initiatives. We need to see the youth actually, pursuing mine-related careers. We are confident that the department will heed our call for the stronger policy enforcements needed.
Currently under way, is the formulation of a mining sector strategy, a stake of youth in the minerals economy. Information sessions are held in conjunction with mining stakeholders in provinces such as Gauteng, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, and we hope to see the benefits of these in future.
In the past, we know that mining companies were not accountable, but had free reign with regard to practicing their trade at the expense of our people and the country. The ironic consequence of unregulated profiteering was that the environment that mining companies were benefiting from was being stripped of the natural resources from which the sector obtained its economic mileage.
Our Constitution provides the sector's social and labour plans with a streamlined intergovernmental framework for synchronising investment with national interests through provinces and municipalities.
Social and labour plans ensure that communities participate as interested and affected parties in mining economic opportunities in their communities. However, there is a growing trend for mining companies to absolve themselves of social responsibility. We have seen protests and public demonstrations by communities in the North West and other provinces against mining companies that fail to comply with local labour, yet exploit the mineral resources in communities.
A practical example is the Nhole Village in Taung, which was visited by Deputy Minister Ms Oliphant. We want to see results because there were commitments made. Another example is the Bakubung in Ledig in the Rustenburg area in the North West.
During the NCOP Provincial Week, we were told that the Minister and the Premier went to Manthe Village in Taung, where the chief and communities raised serious issues about mining operations in Manthe. The department, through the Minister, had made commitments; however, we were told that during that Provincial Week nothing has happened yet.
Our President stated that, in his state of the national address, by way of providing opportunities in the downstream part of the minerals sector, a beneficiation strategy in the minerals sector has the potential of addressing the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and ... [Interjections.].
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon member, try and conclude.
Mr M C MAINE: Thank you Chairperson for the minute that you are giving me back. The diversity and wealth of our mineral deposits still rank at the top of the international benchmarks, in spite of the decline in the mining industry's contribution to the national economy. The job creation potential of minerals is exceptionally high in South Africa.
Our intentions for the minerals sector are guided by our vision for a vibrant economy where state intervention, in natural resources, continues to be guided by ANC policies that promote the maximisation of the developmental impact of mineral wealth on our people's lives.
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr K A SINCLAIR
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 169
Mr M C MAINE
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Hon Deputy Chairperson, I'm in two minds today. I've prepared a very productive and contributing speech ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Remember, you've got five minutes.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: I've got five minutes, thank you. You added one; I thought I had four minutes. [Laughter.]
After I listened to the hogwash coming from some of the members of the ANC, I just realised once again why the people questioned the importance of the NCOP. To come here and continue with DA bashing and have little context in a very, very important debate is certainly not enhancing the ability of this House to contribute to the broader debate in South Africa. [Interjections.]
But, be that as it may, these two departments are at the coalface ...
Ms B P MABE: Deputy Chairperson, is it parliamentary to say that a member speaks hogwash?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Can I ask the member who uttered those words to explain what that means so that all of us can be educated? It's vocabulary.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Yes, hon Deputy Chairperson. I'm not a walking dictionary ... [Laughter.] ... but in terms of my ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Fine, I've accepted that, but make sure that your choice of words is acceptable.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: But, Deputy Chairperson, in terms of ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Continue with your speech.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: I'm doing that, Deputy Chairperson, thank you. According to my understanding it ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Sinclair, don't get back to that; just continue with your speech. Alright, continue then.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Deputy Chair, what I'm saying is that ...
Mr M C MAINE: Deputy Chair, I'm checking whether the member is willing to take a question.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Deputy Chairperson, I assume that the hon Maine never gets time in his party to speak. So, he must use that opportunity and not come and use my time. [Laughter.] Thank you.
The Ministers and the majority of officials are striving to achieve the government's strategic objectives. But despite that, many a day, anxiety fills the board rooms of the role-players and industries that make business tick in South Africa. This anxiety is fuelled by indecisiveness, uncertainty, political gerrymandering and the inability of government to provide sensible direction by creating a framework within which South Africa can prosper. These realities give rise to the fact that South Africa already lost billions of rand of potential investment in specifically mining and the green economy industries.
The continuous threat of nationalisation, extensive red tape and drawn-out application procedures, security of mining rights, expensive labour cost and the inability of government to provide incentives to invest, lead to an environment that is not conducive to investment. Investors, hon Ministers, do not like uncertainty; investors like certainty.
The recent saga involving Imperial Crown Trading, ICT, in which the Department of Mineral Resources got embroiled, is a typical example. This is a sad indictment on the image of the Department of Mineral Resources, the license processes and management. Add to that the Pamodzi "get rich quick" fiasco and one understands the nervousness of potential investors.
The report by the government's task team regarding fracking and the exploration of shale gas is also pending. The unfortunate announcement by the Minister of Energy that she supports fracking in principle certainly contaminates the pending report. Hon Minister, by jumping the gun you proved that you are neither objective nor independent in your approach to this very, very sensitive matter. Wrong decisions will have lasting impacts on the environment in South Africa and especially the Karoo.
Vermont recently became the first state in the United States of America, USA, in the past week to ban fracking for oil and gas. Proponents of the ban used the precautionary principle to argue that the practice has not been proven safe. [Interjections.]
I can read better than you and Julius Malema. [Laughter.]
This principle ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Sinclair, just withdraw what you have just said.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: What did I say wrong, Deputy Chairperson?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: You know what you said. Your conscience will tell you. Just withdraw and continue with your speech. Your time is running out.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: No, Deputy Chairperson, I can't withdraw if I can read better than them and I can prove it. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Don't mention Malema here. He is neither part of the NCOP nor is he part of the debate. So, it's either you withdraw that, or I cut you off.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: No, Chairperson I can't agree to something that's not right.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Now, can you continue with your speech?
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Thank you very much. [Laughter.]
So, in conclusion, what I want to raise is the principle that should be guiding our energy choices in South Africa – the precautionary principle. We must rather go for the principle that implies that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or environment, in the absence of scientific consensus, the burden of proof falls on those taking the action.
Before I conclude, Deputy Chairperson, I want to thank you for being so kind to me today. [Laughter.] I want to conclude ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Not for too long.
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Not for too long. Thank you, Chair.
Hon Minister, we need to finalise the integrated energy plan, given the substantial interest from the renewable energy sector. Secondly, Eskom's price increases must be more moderate. Thirdly, hon Minister, the Northern Cape and the solar parks need clarity. Despite the hype created at the solar investment conference in Upington, little progress was unfortunately made up until today in terms of actual project development. Lastly, we must decide if nuclear power will be part of the energy mix in South Africa. The critical question that we need to answer is: Can South Africa afford it, or will it become the new and next arms deal fiasco?
Sensible and sound policies, swift decisions and collective visions must guide government to embrace the opportunities to the benefit of all the citizens of South Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINSTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 169
Mr K A SINCLAIR
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers Shabangu and Peters, Deputy Minister Barbara Thomson, chairperson of the select committee, hon Freddie Adams, Members of the Chamber, directors-general and senior officials of the two departments represented here today, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed an honour to have the opportunity to address this Chamber on the occasion of our Budget Votefor 2012-13.
Minister Shabangu has dealt extensively with the tenth anniversary of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA, a landmark transformation piece of legislation which transfers the trusteeship of South Africa's natural endowment of all mineral and petroleum resources to the state. The MPRDA was a critical first step towards the normalisation of our political economy landscape.
As we reflect on the state of our mining sector, taking into account lessons of our past decade of a modern regulatory framework for the mining industry, it is safe to suggest that we face a number of challenges that required determined and systematic solution. The catalogue of current issues that require both political and technical leadership includes a range of items such as illegal mining, matters of health and safety of the workforce, rehabilitation of the environmental legacy, the need to boost exploration and prospecting investment, mineral beneficiation and the revitalisation of the mining regions across the country.
With your permission, Chairperson, I would like to deal with these issues in some detail in this Chamber.
Whilst the act of illegal mining is a matter for the state law enforcement agencies, the socioeconomic factors that lie behind such activities can be traced back to unemployment, poverty and the human quest for survival. In this regard, we have to exercise leadership in engaging the communities to better understand the implications and risks of such activities. At the same time, we need to exert every effort to create alternative employment opportunities for poor communities.
Another major challenge is the rehabilitation and environmental restoration of the previous mining sites. As the hon members are aware, there are over 6 000 such sites in our country. Whilst, on the face of it, such sites are a clear liability, it is also true that the rehabilitation of these sites might well offer opportunities for creating jobs and livelihood. It is easy to imagine that a national programme of environmental rehabilitation of the old mines could well generate thousands of job opportunities. In many sites, the rehabilitated sites could be further used for agriculture and other economic activities.
Interlinked with the environmental issues is the critical matter pertaining to the health and safety of the workforce. It is common knowledge that South Africa's mining in many commodities is getting deeper and deeper underground every year. The trade-off between safety and short-term productivity and profitability becomes more and more pressing. Conventionally, the safety of the workforce has received secondary attention; short-term profit is put first. This needs a paradigm shift, something that needs urgent and ongoing attention.
Another area that requires our focused attention is the field of exploration investment. Despite our country's considerable natural endowment of resources, South Africa's share of global exploration and prospecting investment has declined considerably over the past two decades. We need to reverse this trend if we hope to promote junior and emerging mining companies. Prospecting is the only route to the establishment of growing mining companies, and it is a practical means of replacing our old and aging mines.
At the same time, our national interest calls for a systematic and integrated mineral beneficiation drive. We cannot continue to mine and export ore and other raw materials for processing elsewhere, as this severely limits the benefits we can derive from the exploitation of our resources. There is therefore a need to increase value addition to our minerals before they are exported, in line with government's new mineral beneficiation and industrialisation project.
As we approach mining and mineral beneficiation differently, we have to consciously, proactively and systemically do things differently in a number of areas. Amongst them, is the design and operation of our postapartheid cities. Learning from our own history, we should avoid the emergence of divided, inefficient and operationally expensive apartheid-like cities of the past. Instead, we ought to focus on energy-efficient, socially integrated, and operationally efficient and competitive cities.
As we enter the new century of mining and mining-related industrialisation, we need to now reflect on the legacy that we would like to leave behind. The urban and environmental landscape that we bequeath to our children has to be dramatically different from what history has bequeathed to us. This is our collective responsibility and it will arise from our collective choices today.
The reality of our country's economic development profile is synonymous with the vast regional differences. Apart from the normal differences, there are these special cases of old mining towns and regions. In these communities, the closure of mines and the termination of mining activities create considerable social and economic distress. As an example, let us take an area that I am very familiar with, namely Namaqualand. With the end of diamond mining, this area experienced rapid decline. Poverty intensified and unemployment soared. Situations like these require urgent and considerable attention. If such cases are not taken care of, we can be assured that social desperation will lead to activities such as illegal mining and other activities that have adverse social consequences.
During my recent visits to the various regions and provinces, it was encouraging to note the vast potential in nearly all provinces and regions. Once again, whilst diamond mining in Namaqualand has come to end, the region has the single largest zinc deposit called Gamsberg. It is clear that part of the solution to the decline of the region lies in the rapid replacement of the old activities with new ones. This, in turn, calls for a much higher level of co-ordination between the private and public sectors. In particular, when integrate our mining and mineral beneficiation activities and further co-ordinate them with all the associated infrastructural requirements, it is well within our reach to create hubs of mining and mineral beneficiation around the country.
As I move towards a conclusion, hon members, it is our collective obligation to ensure that our considerable mineral wealth is utilised to generate socioeconomic benefits and integrated development for our nation. Our communities across the land look to us to achieve this. To do this, we need to draw lessons from our past century of mining, to avoid the undesirable consequences, and to ensure a mining industry that is socially progressive, environmentally sustainable, and economically competitive.
As the Minister has repeatedly emphasised, government and our department are alive to the considerable mineral wealth of our country. With the focused attention that our government is placing on creating an enabling environment, we remain highly optimistic that our mining industry stands at a yet another prosperous and expansive phase over the next few decades.
I therefore invite you and all other stakeholder to join forces in accelerating the pace of collaboration and co-operation for the benefit of our nation. It is our collective responsibility to unlock the potential inherent in our national resources endowment. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr B A MNGUNI
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 170
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
Mr B A MNGUNI: Chairperson, let me paraphrase the Freedom Charter and say that the mineral worth in the ground, the banks and the monopoly shall be transferred to all the people. [Interjections.]
As we debate this budget, as the ANC is in government, it is now government policy that the mineral wealth of this country shall belong to all the people and it shall benefit all the people. [Interjections.] This budget tried to achieve that.
The mining sector has been the main economic driver in the past decades. Unfortunately, perhaps 20 years ago, employment in the mining industry started to decline and its contribution to the gross domestic product, GDP, also started to decline. The reasons for the decline are that the ore reserves that were easily mineable are being depleted. The ore reserves that were closer to the surface have all been mined and we have to go deeper into the ground to mine them while technology and the environment are against us.
Technology cannot keep up with the speed of mining and as a result the mining has declined. On the other hand, other sectors, like the financial sector and the service sector, are growing and as a result, the mining contribution to the total GDP has decreased accordingly.
This has led to a lot of inequality in society today. South Africa now has an estimated 2,3 trillion ore reserves in the country. We have the highest Gini coefficient in the whole world. Most of our people were disadvantaged by the 1913 Natives Land Act which was to the advantage of the former apartheid system. It pushed all black people into the reserves for cheap labour, to increase the economy or to improve the wealth of the few.
Looking at the programmes of the department, there are basically four main programmes: administration; mineral regulation; mineral policy; and mineral promotion. Looking at the total budget of the department, it is pitiful compared to what mining is contributing to the GDP. This is a challenge for the department because it has to fill vacancies which are strategic to ensure that we achieve our goals, which are basically creating employment, fighting inequality and improving the economy of the country.
The department's total budget is R1,167 billion. What is the golden thread? Key in the four subprogrammes of the department is that we want to make sure that there are jobs, that we attract new investment into the country for people to get employment and increase their wealth. In order for us to attract investment, key to this - which still falls under the department - are the Council for Geoscience and also Mintek.
What is the importance of the Council for Geoscience? The Council for Geoscience is responsible for the mapping of all the countries. You can go to any country and you will find a Council for Geoscience. Its work is to make sure that the country is mapped so we know where economically available resources are and where nonviable resources are.
Unless we have the skills, unless we get the young scientists to drive the geosciences, as the director-general has said, we will not be able to find people with the expertise to enable us to attract more investment in the near future. I am not saying that the department should ask for more money. We must try to make do with what we have, but it is important that those entities, the Council for Geoscience and Mintek are able to perform their functions.
What is the function of Mintek? Mintek is basically there to conduct research and to see how the minerals are extracted from the gangue or how economically important minerals are extracted from ordinary rock. That is the main function of Mintek, as well as to see, invent and to research other methods of ore extraction.
When you look at the challenges of the department, for instance, I can look at administration, there are still vacancies in the department that are important. In mineral promotion, there is an acting official. We need to have a person who will be in that position on a fulltime basis so that he or she can concentrate on his or her duty.
We go to mineral health and safety. We have just seen what is happening in the Northern Cape and the Free State. A couple of weeks ago in Klerksdorp, four people from the same family were mining illegally when a rock fell on them. Illegal mining is one of the threats as far as mine health and safety is concerned.
Also, we have ownerless and derelict mines. Another hon member has asked who is responsible for that. Ultimately, the people who came to the mines before are responsible. The government has to take everything and it is now in the government's lap. In actual fact, the former people who came and mined here and took all the gold, diamonds and all the iron ore and shipped it overseas are the people responsible for those mines. However, as government, we cannot leave those mines as dangerous as they are because we care for the people; we care for our populace.
Coming to mineral regulation, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act tries to make sure that the wealth of the country is transferred to the people. However, there is a threat which comes from litigation from individuals or from some organisations within the country from which the people benefited before. For instance, I know the case might be sub judice, but Agri SA is contesting the department on some of the issues as far as the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act is concerned. If Agri SA wins the case, it means there will be a reversal of what we have done. It will be a reversal of the empowerment of the people, because the very same people who have benefited before will continue to benefit.
The challenge in mineral policy and promotion is transformation. If we cannot transform the industry we will forever remain with that income gap, that poverty gap which the Gini coefficient explains. For instance, if you go to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, you will find the top 25 mining companies where 98,7% of those companies still belong to the formerly advantaged people or the people who were there, mining in the apartheid days. The remaining 1,2% belongs to black people.
Even in the remaining 1,2% that belongs to black people, these organisations are still present. For instance, look at Eyesizwe Mining of which PwC as well as AngloGold Ashanti form a part. That shows that even the 1,2% actually does not belong to black people, but still belongs to the formerly advantaged people.
It also means that, looking at the structure of all those mines, you will find that those people have net value, zero. They still owe all those shares that they bought through black economic empowerment. There are only a few who received money. A study was done by Webber Wentzel about three years ago and it said that most of the BEE-compliant companies, or BEE companies, are actually in the red. The former companies restructured their tax in such a way that the BEE company, or the company that is being empowered, was left with a lot of debt. Therefore, this is a threat to our transformation.
Lastly, I would like to know from the Minister on the issue of "if you don't use it, you lose it". What happens to those licences if a person loses that licence? Are we going to auction them? Are we going to give them to black entrepreneurs so they can bring about this equality in the economy? Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr J J GUNDA
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 171
Mr B A MNGUNI
Mr J J GUNDA: Hon House Chair, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, indeed, our energy solutions can no longer lie with Eskom. This department has to create the right policy and institutional framework for the creative energy of our people and businesses to address this crisis. In order to do that, we need a complete paradigm shift.
In the hearings on the Independent System and Market Operator Bill, many submissions argued for a comprehensive vision of what the final institutional framework governing the electricity sector will be. As promised by this department, we therefore need a revision of the integrated resource plan, IRP, so as to see whether we need a major adjustment to our policy. I agree with the National Development Plan: Vision for 2030 when it states that South Africa will face major challenges in financing the capital costs of a nuclear fleet. Most importantly, it states all possible alternatives need to be explored. Yet, unfortunately, this government seems determined to stifle any debate over our nuclear programme.
No information has been put in the public domain about the economic feasibility of new nuclear power, nor the different financial models that are been considered. Instead, what we see is nuclear being included in the energy plan despite the department's own modelling that shows that it is not the most cost-effective energy source.
Finally, hon Minister of Energy, it's a huge concern that we have not made any substantial progress on energy efficiency, which should be a normal priority. Let me just congratulate the Minister of Mining on her plans for community participation in mine safety and the vision she had to create sustainable jobs in order to uplift the poor mining community. Hon Minster, let me say this thing: it's very important not to empower our people just on paper, but it's time to uplift them. I see you've got a plan, how you will do it. I hope and trust that you will monitor that plan so that it can be implemented and, come next year, we can just praise the Minister for the job well done. Thank you, hon Chair. [Applause.]
Mr A J NYAMBI
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 171
Mr J J GUNDA
Mr A J NYAMBI: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon members, directors-general, DGs, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, at times you come here and you get tempted. You know, hon Gunda, it's so unfortunate that you have the Ministers, the DGs, and the officials coming to the select committee week in and week out, making presentations and engaging them – and responding to our questions. The same goes for the strategic plan and what is being presented here. You don't have that privilege, because you are the only one in your party running around. [Laughter.]
Hon Sinclair, Mahatma Gandhi once wrote that there are things that are going to destroy us as human beings. I thought that I could share that with you. He mentioned three things. Firstly, it's politics without principles; secondly, it's knowledge without character; and lastly, it's science without humanity. Then if you go and read the book by De Soto, The Mystery of Capital, it talks about people enjoying the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought, and that's what is happening. There is a very interesting essay talking about resentment. If you are going to read that one, it will tell you that resentment is like drinking poison, hoping that it will kill your enemies. Yet, you are the one who is drinking it.
Let me be upfront to indicate that the ANC supports Budget Votes 29 and 32. After going through the department's strategic plan, indeed, we agreed with you, hon Minister, that the decision taken by the President in this fourth democratic Parliament to create a dedicated Department of Energy has imposed enormous responsibilities to you to take your mandate with the necessary dynamism and vigour.
Chairperson, allow me to quote the President of our country whilst addressing the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. Indeed, he acknowledged the importance of having regard for responsible energy utilisation and the imperative to grow the economy. In that regard, he said that climate change is a practical matter for the developing world. Developed countries are historically responsible for around 80% of the current emissions in the atmosphere. Developing countries are most affected by climate change and are least capable to adapt to the impacts. As they justifiably pursue their own development paths, it is expected that developing countries emissions will increase.
In recognition of the reality of climate change, the Polokwane National Conference of the ANC resolved to recognise that climate change is a new threat on the global scale that poses an enormous burden upon South Africans and Africans as a whole. In recognition of the undisputable reality, the conference resolved to set targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as part of the ANC's responsibility to protect the environment and promote sustainable development, and to participate in sharing the burden with the global community under a common framework and action.
Regarding the environmental pollution and man-caused climate change the Bill of Rights is not silent. The Constitution enshrines the third generation rights with no intention to create a hierarchy, amongst which is the right of everyone to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing, and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures that promote conservation, secure ecological sustainable development and the use of natural resources, whilst promoting justifiable economic and social development.
The Constitution makes it peremptory for the state to respect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights, thus imposing upon it the obligation to protect the right of the citizen to a healthy and clean environment. In that regard, government is enjoined to ensure that the impact of climate change is rolled back and that alternative forms of energy are forthwith explored and added to the energy grid in a negation tactic progressing towards the elimination of fossil fuel-based energy production either through coal combustion for electricity production purposes or the industrial production of inventories for local and international markets.
The ANC is committed to ensuring a sustainable economy, where all South Africans, present and future, realise their right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing. In doing so, the question of energy utilisation should be explored further in order to ensure that posterity is neither burdened with energy liabilities nor deprived of energy reserves due to overutilisation of energy resources. In Polokwane, the ANC committed to encourage further and increased efforts in raising public awareness about energy saving. A commitment was further made to encourage efficiency in the consumption of energy, including through the integration of energy-saving technologies into our social programmes and by leading campaigns to encourage environmental and energy-conscious consumer behaviour.
The ANC is further committed to mobilising the public, business and other players to act responsibly and save energy both as collective and in their individual capacity, including through a mandatory national energy efficiency programme. In this regard, government buildings and installations must be given mandatory targets to become energy efficient. Energy plays an important role in the lives of the people who use different kinds of energy for various purposes. However, the disparities in modern energy provision brought about by lack of access to infrastructure impacts largely on poor urban and rural people. In the rural areas, women are the main users of fuel woods. Woodlands have been depleted in many areas and, in others, they are under heavy pressure.
Conventional energy approaches virtually exclude women's concerns. Consequently, economic growth has been accompanied by severe gender disparities. In South Africa, 80% of rural households are female headed. These households typically cook daily with fuel wood and crop residues, and urban women cook with untreated coal. The time spent by women in cooking, fuel collection, water carrying and food processing represents a high social and economic cost to the family and society, where access to affordable, safe and sustainable fuels is limited. Providing access to alternative fuels to efficient stoves would improve this situation as well as mitigate the indoor air pollution associated with the use of fuel wood.
The energy question transcends the mechanics of supply and demand into the realm of the dialectical relationship between economic development imperatives and environmental sustainability. This is occasioned by the fact that though energy utilisation is one of the drivers of the economy, the side effects thereof are often detrimental to the environment. Industrial combustion of fossil fuels fuel the production of inventories for local consumption and export purposes thus strengthening the gross domestic product, GDP, and improving the trade off balance.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to emphasise that the ANC supports the Budget. In conclusion, allow me to quote the Minister on her strategic overview statement of policy and commitment when she said:
We have an abiding commitment to serve the masses of our people with diligence, as well as manage the resources that they have placed at our disposal in a manner that genuinely serves their interests.
I thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF ENERGY
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 172
Mr A J NYAMBI
The MINISTER OF ENERGY: House Chair and hon members, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the NCOP for their valuable inputs into the debate. I also want to say that, regarding the issues that have been raised here today, we could, during the course of the year, engage on them in different platforms for engagements with the committee. I am looking forward to that type of engagement.
I also need to take this opportunity to thank the chairperson of the committee for his valuable inputs because it is important that this House be reminded, Chairperson, that the positions and policies that we have implemented and are implementing in government did not just grow from the soil, they are informed by the resolutions of the ANC, which is the ruling party. Most of the decisions and policies that we are implementing in this term, were adopted at Polokwane.
I would want to remind you that during the time of the presentation of the Integrated Resource Plan, IRP, we indicated that this is an ANC proposal for an energy mix plan. It was later translated into a government plan because of the different platforms for engagements and consultations that we have engaged on.
You would remember that the IRP has been delayed primarily because other stakeholders in South Africa believed that they needed to engage with the parameters and assumptions that we were basing the document on. So, it is important to realise that we are saying "working together we can do more" and the IRP was enriched more. But in the ANC document, in does speak about an Energy Mix Plan that takes into consideration all the necessary resources that we have, including nuclear resources. In particular also, it makes reference to us using the untapped natural resources, like wind and solar.
Hon members, there are those who spoke about a solar park and in my speech I did give an indication that we had a small teething problem relating to the land that had been indentified for that particular site. We need to make sure that we resolve the issue. You cannot just rush through processes and build a facility that would not be legally within the domain of the relevant stakeholders. I know that quite a number of you know that it is not a secret, we have spoken about it. We have raised it in different platforms that we needed to make sure that a solar park, which is a solar IDZ, could really benefit the people of the Northern Cape.
We are also looking at different platforms, including the fact that the renewable energy windows 1 and 2 gave us the 2400 and more MegaWatts that I spoke about. The predominant solar initiatives are in the Northern Cape, for your information, many others in the Free State, North West, Limpopo and other parts. The wind is predominantly in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.
I just want to indicate that, hon Sinclair, when we speak about green jobs, we are talking about the initiatives, including the solar water heating initiatives that we are laying out. The Green Jobs programme is not necessarily only the Department of Energy's preserve. As we speak, the Department of Transport is speaking about low fuel efficiency. We are also speaking about it, including the tests that are being conducted with the SA National Energy Development Institute, Sanedi, and the Central Energy Fund, Ced, and also fuel for taxis, which is also part of the initiative towards the green economy or green jobs.
What we have indicated here today is that, as a sector, through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer,IPP, Procurement windows 1 and 2, we have already realised the potential for jobs. If we had time, we would present a table that indicates the different jobs that each project will create. Also, through the implementation agreement, we are going to keep the 47 bidders to the commitment of jobs.
I just want to address hon Van Lingen about the point made regarding the many bidders where only 47 of them qualified. Yes, we were not selling doughnuts at a street corner; it was not a kind of a "give and take" situation. We need to make sure that they meet a particular criterion that we have set as a department and as a government. You would know that one of the criteria is related to the localisation of technology, but also value for money. We are not going to take a development that says it wants to sell wind to us at R3,00 per kilowatt hour, which we will then have to sell to the consumer at 50 cents per kilowatt hour. The very Eskom that you are complaining about, how is it going to run the power plants in this country if it is going to be running the electricity supply services at a loss? So, I think it is important that we realise that it is not just about buying from the IPPs, but whether it comes in at a price that is okay for the market. I think it is important that we realise that.
Somebody, I think it was hon Sinclair or one the members of the opposition, was speaking about the energy mix policy. Hon members, the IRP is a 20-year energy mix plan, which speaks to the Energy Mix Policy that I had referred to. Yes, from time to time, we will review it, but it is important to realise that it gives certainty to the energy developers and investors, but also to ourselves as South Africa on the ability to keep the lights on and keep the industries going, but without power -- Minister Shabangu can say how many mines she has opened and also speak and turn blue about beneficiation - it won't happen. So, I think it is important to realise that this country is an energy intense economy, and we need base load that is reliable. We have coal and because of the long-term mitigation scenario to go into a low-coal trajectory, we needed a base load that could also buttress the renewable energy resources.
As we speak, you and I know that you cannot run a mine with wind and sun only. On a day when there would be no wind and or the son, what would we do? I think it is important to realise that.
We said that, as a department and as a Ministry, we pride ourselves on being a technology neutral energy mix, primarily because we said we should look at that which will be cost effective and make it a possible reliable supply, and that will make the issues of the quality of supply very important.
So, I just want to say to you as hon members of this House that the ANC-led government is a very responsible government; it wants to keep the lights on and keep industries going. We have taken a decision that we need to create jobs and in the New Growth Path we have said that we want 5 million jobs in 10 years. For that to happen, we need security on the supply of energy and energy across, even if it is liquid filled, including electricity. I just want to say to all of us here that it is important that we recognise that.
On the issues of the bidders, I think I have said that we want value for money for South Africans, and that the reason why some of the bidders did not qualify, was because of the price issue. Seventy percent of the weight in the bidding process went on to the price and the 30% was for localisation and other requirements.
I want to use this platform, Chairperson, to appeal to the prospective bidders that, in the process of deploying renewable energy, we should not displace food security. It is because I believe that there is a bit of a challenge here where renewable energy developers are going around buying land from farmers instead of asking to lease the land from them.
There is an indication, in the different parts of the world, of the coexistence of renewable energy and productive stock, as well as crop farming initiatives. We need to encourage this in South Africa and let it happen.
Regarding the nuclear debate, I think the ruling party has called on us as a department to demystify nuclear, and we are working very hard on the issue. I want to encourage members of the committee to - if you have an opportunity - visit the site of the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation, Necsa. A public education centre has been built there, where you can be exposed to what is happening in the total value chain of nuclear development.
Also, many of the people in this room should be aware that you are exposed, on a daily basis, to potential nuclear medicine. When you go to a hospital to do tests on different ailments such as cancer and all those to confirm or refute the ailment, the tracer elements that are used are nuclear.
I think it is important also to realise that when we expand the desalination of water in South Africa, it would also be a nuclear application. There are all sorts of facts about our country becoming bigger and bigger as a desert, the Northern Cape in particular, and we can benefit from nuclear applications to make it possible that the land becomes productive. So, there are different benefits for South Africa when it understands how nuclear operates and, the benefits of the different nuclear applications.
Also, we are working with municipalities and creating capacity in the department to deal with the electricity distribution infrastructure. We would believe that, with the necessary financial support, we will be able to come back here to the House and report about the progress we are making for the possible upgrade of our facilities.
We all understand that you cannot have good power generated and transmitted, and also distribute it to the different points of consumption in the country.
Chairperson, I have note that we have time constraints, but I believe that there is a lot that we can engage members of the House on; issues related to energy, in particular issues that are related to the outcomes of the Liquid Fuel Charter. I would believe that is the one area that we need to really put before the committee so that we can understand what is it that we are going to do going forward to address issues of transformation in the liquid filled sector. Thank you. [Applause]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M W MAGADLA): I also want remind the Council that, in terms of Rule 31, no member may pass between the Chair and a member who is addressing the Chair, please.
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 173
The MINISTER OF ENERGY
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Deputy Chairperson, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hon chairperson of the select committee for his leadership and members of this committee in the NCOP for their constructive engagement in the select committee meetings.
I just want to pick up on a few things. The first one was raised by hon Van Lingen. On the issue of Alexkor, you can rest assured that we are going to address that. The next time you come to this podium, you will not raise it again. I apologise for the matter not being attended to adequately.
When it comes to the issue of illegal mining, we have raised it as a concern, and we will continue to address the issue of illegal mining because, as I have indicated, it preys on the economy of this country, and therefore it cannot be left hanging. I must also indicate that illegal is illegal. You cannot change it any old how, and it cannot be justified. As soon as we justify it, then we end up with the wrong results. We always have to condemn what is not correct in this country.
Coming to the issue you raised about section 54, we are going to continue to implement the section. We are getting a report soon from the task team based on the concerns raised by the industry, and I think we will come and share the outcome of that report, which intends to normalise the situation in the mining industry, with the committee. We should not be compromising section 54 in terms of our obligation as a department, and it also goes to the issue of ownerless and derelict mines. We will continue to engage on this matter and it is a pity, as you have indicated. It will continue, unfortunately, to be a burden on the taxpayers of this country. It is part of the past, and, unfortunately, these are the results of irresponsible mining in this country, which we are dealing with.
Our budget is tight, but we will try, at all times, to do our best in making sure that we respond adequately and utilise it in a way that advances our needs as a country. The ANC's advantage is that policies are proposals that are debated publically, so any policy proposal cannot be an end on its own. Until such time, we even come to this House to make sure that we do the right thing, that it gets adopted, and that we agree with everybody that it is the right thing for us to do.
Hon Sinclair – oh, he's out ...
Mr D V BLOEM: He ran away!
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: He's run away? I just wanted to say that he must be careful not to be a scratched record, or compact disk now, as we no longer have records, because the issue of nationalisation, if you listen to it, is dying down. We have indicated, as the ANC, that this was a proposal, it was a debate, and it doesn't scare investors. In fact, investors understand now, so he also has to understand that we are moving ahead. What is good about South Africa is that the country is dynamic and open to debate. If you look at the current issues before the court, it is about democracy in South Africa, and it allows others to do wrong things.
When it comes to issues of shale gas, he is gone again, but I just want to assure this House that we are going to Cabinet. We are going to present a report, and based on the guidance by Cabinet, we will come to this House again through our normal interaction with the chairperson of the select committee. We will again come and present the report to the team when it comes to this House.
Hon Maine, I agree with you that the issue of young people, the youth, is critical in our country. However, we also have to recognise that if our young people are not going to be skilled appropriately, we will continue to have problems and challenges. This is not a straight-forward industry. It is very complex, and our success will lie with ensuring that transformation is not just transformation on its own but it is properly skilled. If we are able to do that, down the line we will see benefits for those young people taking over the mining sector and becoming real entrepreneurs. This year in the National Assembly, we announced that as the Ministry, we have managed to raise 21 girl children, and don't say that I am biased, hon Maine, whom we are putting through university for them to be skilled future young entrepreneurs in the mining industry, because if we do that, we empower them to not just be hangers-on in the mining industry but to play a constructive and proper role within the sector, so rest assured. We need more young people, and this year we will be going around again, looking for young kids to come onboard next year, in order to make sure that they gain appropriate skills.
The Taung matter is in progress. We are working with the traditional leaders to make sure that we are able to resolve the matter, so we didn't run away. We are in touch with the traditional leaders in the area but also, I think, you must be aware that the matter has been referred to court, so we have to respect the court processes in our country.
Lastly, hon Mnguni, I must say that on the issue of the rights which have reverted to the state, where I stand, I must say that it is a process that is very painful. It is also about the capacity of our people being able to take the rights that they have forward. We have to ask ourselves how best we can make sure that our people are empowered. If they are not empowered, they front, and at the end of the day, they get dumped like chewing gum. We must avoid that. So, these rights which are back, we must make sure that as we move forward, we are able to attain our objective of transformation in the mining industry. If we don't do that, we will continue having a vicious circle where, ultimately, our people are not going to be empowered. So, I think, it is an effort for all of us to make sure that our people are empowered. The little we can contribute – the little we can do – then ultimately, we will make sure that our people are empowered properly and also contribute positively to the economy of this country. As you know, as an engineer from this sector, it is not easy, but perseverance will help us to achieve that. Therefore, the issue of skills and capacitating our people is very critical.
I think it is time that you must play a role in this area of mentoring and making people understand that without skills, they are not going to succeed in the mining industry. We don't want the past where our people were made to be only workers, but they were not beneficiaries in a way that they could be owners and also become managers and chief executive officers in our country. We have to make an effort, as this House, to empower our people, for them to move forward. We are still committed to skills development and, as you know, we hope that in the two or three years to come, we will see the results, where more and more young people are coming onboard. We have them. I would appeal to the chairperson: you should visit Daphne Mashile-Nkosi's mine in Kalagadi. It comprises of 37% female engineers and metallurgists. It is very interesting, and it shows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we must persevere and work together in achieving that.
I was so impressed to see so many young people being able to lead and manage a mine. So, all of it is our responsibility. Let that not be the only mine. Other mines must be created in South Africa and more black women and men, including the youth – I want to see more of them owning these mines and being able to participate in the green fields, not just being hangers because they are looking for money. If they are hangers, we are not transforming this industry. We are not creating a sustainable environment for the future of our children. Thank you, Deputy Chairperson. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
THIRD AND FOURTH ORDERS
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 174
FIRST AND SECOND ORDERS
Appropriation bill
(Policy Debate)
Debate on Budget Vote No 15 – Basic Education and
Debate on Budget Vote No 17 – Higher Education and Training:
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Chairperson, esteemed colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, indeed for us as the Department of Basic Education it is a privilege to address this esteemed Council on the occasion of the Policy Debate on Vote 15, which is Basic Education.
Most importantly, we appear before the NCOP oozing with confidence and pride of a decolonised people for this debate to unfolds on the eve of Africa Day. Africa Day reminds us of the road the continent has traversed through centuries of colonialism and underdevelopment.
Education is rightly one of our greatest priorities. We know that it is not a panacea for all social ills. But still, it is a public good with huge economic and social benefits.
We build in this Budget on significant gains in achieving equity, efficiency and access for all our people. We're mindful of the distance we have to travel and, this is what informs our policy priorities and strategic response to key government tasks, as outlined by President Jacob Zuma during the state of the nation address.
The consolidated investmentin the basic education sector, encompassing national office and provincial education departments, stands at more than R179 billion. This makes education an important driver of government's transformation agenda. The overall Budget for 2012-13 for the Department of Basic Education, Vote 15, has increased from R13 billion to more than R16 billion. It is an increase of more than R2,4 billion. Earmarked amounts of allocations for 2012-13 include more than R520 million for the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign. This initiative has already touched 1,6 million adults.
Chair, this being the mid-term of our office, it is important to reflect on where we are in discharging our mandate. We've become more equitable and more pro-poor and have extended educational opportunities to over 12 million learners. We are encouraged because more young people are completing Grade 9, which is what we call basic education. There has been an increase from 80% in 2003 to 88% in 2010. We also have information and statistics to confirm that more young South Africans are completing Grade 12.
School attendance is close to 100% for the basic compulsory band, which is, the 7-year-olds to 15-year-olds. But we are concerned that just over 120 000 children in that band are out of school. We are working with the provincial departments to strengthen our interventions for improving learner retention rates.
On pro-poor policies, the number of learners in no-fee schools has exceeded the target of 60%. This year, we are at 63,9% with more than 20 000 schools being no-fee schools. The total expenditure for the allocation of no-fee schools is R7,7 billion. The school nutrition programme budget has increased to R4,9 billion.
Regarding the exams, we passed the target of improving that we had put for 2010, which was a 10% increase from what we had had in 2009. However, we are proud to say that in November 2011, we had far surpassed the 10% target that we had set, with the results that came from supplementary exams, which came to 72,7%.
However, we are also aware that we are not doing very wellon Maths and Science, and as such we are implementing a new strategy on Maths and Science. We will be calling for an indaba this month with key education stakeholders involved in teaching maths and science to see how we can improve in this section.
On the strategic intervention for 2012-13, to make schools work better, we will be vigorously implementing our curriculum and assessment policy statements, Caps, and our annual national assessments, workbooks and infrastructure. These are in addition to an ongoing focus on the 3 Ts, which is: teachers, text and time.
As we said last year, focus is on prudent implementation of revised Caps, starting with Grades 1 to 3 and 10, this year. We will refine and use the annual national assessment, Ana, to monitor performance of learners in the critical foundational skills of literacy and numeracy. We will expand the provision of textbooks to schools. We wish to report that in 2011 we provided workbooks to 6 million learners. This year, 2012, we extended the programme and provided 54 million books to learners at no cost to parents. Indeed, we're very proud of this achievement.
On textbooks, a national catalogue for Grades 1 to 3 and Grade 10 has been developed and distributed to provinces for procurement of core materials. A national catalogue for Grades 4 to 6 and Grade 11 is being developed, and will be finalised in June 2012. A national catalogue for Grades 7 to 9 and 12 will also be finalised in 2012-13. We will continue to do more to fast-track provision and the improvement of school infrastructure. We have been allocated a budget of R5,8 billion for 2012-13.
Our targets are the eradication of 496 inappropriate structures. Nationally we provided 1 257 schools with basic water; 868 schools with basic sanitation; and 878 schools with electricity from the Department of Energy.
For 2011-12, we provided 55 schools with water, 115 with sanitation and 48 with electricity. Fifty inappropriate schools are under construction for the end of 2012, and will be ready for occupation by 2013. We're attending to programme delays caused by capacity challenges among our implementing agents and contractors.
In partnership with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and other partners, last month we launched what we called the 94 schools for Mandela, because he will be turning 94 years this year. You can make this a success by supporting a school of your choice. We call upon all South Africans to visit their schools on this day and do something to inspire change. So, all South Africans should have a relationship with one school or the other. We call upon them to make Mandela Day a back to school day for all of us, to do something and inspire change.
With regard to educators, we believe our system is as good as its teachers. Continuous teacher professional development will be upskilled. Again, we urge teachers to be in school, in class, on time, teaching for, at least 7 hours a day. We know that just by doing that there is a lot of improvement that could be done.
The provincial education departments are spending over R3 billion on teacher developments. We will conduct an audit process to support functionality of teacher resource centres. We will be scoping them, and currently we have 144 teacher centres. There is a process under way to streamline the integrated quality management System, to improve evaluation of teachers' performance. An integrated assessment instrument to improve performance of principals, deputy principals and teachers is in its final stages of negotiation.
Chairperson, last year we did report on the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, which is another element of our accountability system. It has been allocated R12,5 million. We gazetted its Billin December 2011. We thank those people who responded to the Bill.
For instance, the Funza Lushakafor this year has been allocated R671,9 million. On Information and Communication Technology, we are implementing the Teacher Laptop Initiative, ensuring that more teachers can access this resource. We are working on a new funding model, procurement and administration processes to strengthen the initiative which is going very well, during the latter part of this year, we are confident that we will make will make a very exciting announcement.
The establishment of 9 ICT resource centres, one per province, sponsored by the Vodacom Foundation, is expected to accelerate training of teachers in the use of ICTs to support teaching and learning. Our sincere thanks go to the Telkom Foundation for their support in the eradication of multi-grade classes across the country. Their R5 million investment of 50 mobile units, which include three laptops, one flat screen TV, a DVD player, DStv connectivity, and the 800 books will go a long way in assisting us in providing quality learning and teaching in 50 of our multi-grade schools.
On planning and delivery oversight unit, as promised last year, we did establish the Unit. It is working with provinces and this time it is focusing on supporting underperforming districts. Concerning provinces, we have aligned provincial annual performance plans to the action plan. We are also hard at work to restore stability and service delivery in provinces under section 100(1)(b), which is Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
To reduce health and social barriers to learning, we're working with the Department of Health to expand and strengthen school health services. We will be announcing an integrated plan on school health. The HIV and Aids life skills education conditional grant for 2012-13 is R208,7 million. In November 2011, we launched a new initiative on sport in education and already there is great excitement around the Magnificent Wednesday.
We will work more closely on social compactwith partners in education to drive the implementation of the National Economic Development and Labour Council accord on basic education. Again, we appeal to members to adopt-a-school campaign, which is indeed gathering momentum and enjoying commendable support of unions and companies.
We took very seriously resolutions of the ANC policy summit, held in April this year, which noted the following systemic barriers inhibiting implementation of key strategic programmes in the sector: monitoring and evaluation of performance of all officials; post provisioning and deployment of teachers; conditions of service and annual bargaining processes; resourcing of education and capacitating governance structures; and the preparedness and capacity of government officials to implement policies and legislation to maintain a stable human resources and labour relations environment.
Chair, I wish to take this opportunity to thank members of and the chairperson of our select committee for your hands-on approach, which has been very useful in many instances, giving us very valuable information and also giving great directions to what is still outstanding and needs our attention. We're confident of this Council's support, and would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and fulfilling Africa Day.
Lastly, our efforts in education should lead to the restoration of humanity to all our people in a climate that would foster respect for the dignity of every citizen, with everybody protected from any abominable colonial state of undress that we have seen. Thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 175
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Deputy Chairperson, hon members, and our colleague, the Minister of Basic Education, please accept the apology of my Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande. He cannot be with us today due to other commitments.
It gives me great pleasure to present the 4th budget speech of this term of office of the government cycle. My address to you this afternoon will focus particularly on the relationship between the Department of Higher Education and Training and provincial governments.
Chairperson, government's prioritisation of education and training is evident, as our hon Minister has just said, in the allocation of 21% of the total budget. Higher Education and Training has been allocated R41,1 billion of which R9,6 billion is a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund and is set aside for Sector Education and Training Authorities and the National Skills Fund.
Hon members, this year our universities will receive R20,9 billion, an increase of 8%, whilst funding for further education and training, FET, colleges will increase from an adjusted R4,4 billion to R4,8 billion in 2012-13 and will reach R5,6 billion in 2014-15. This is an annual average increase of 8,6%.
The current Green Paper on the Post-School Education and Training system provides some suggestions on the co-ordination between national and provinces. Following the Green Paper, a White Paper will be released for public comments which will elaborate on the policies to be adopted.
I want to report that we successfully convened a National Skills Conference in October last year in conjunction with the National Skills Authority where different role-players and stakeholders, including provincial role-players engaged in skills development and the implementation of key policies and programmes. That helped us to also get concurrence with the unions in terms of our work placement for learners.
In addition to the National Skills Conference under the leadership of the Minister, Dr Blade Ndzimande, we convened four provincial road shows in KwaZulu-Natal in November 2011, Mpumalanga in February 2011, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape both in March 2012. These road shows gave us the opportunity to share the vision of an integrated post-school education and training system and allowed education stakeholders to openly engage in this vision.
In February this year the department held a successful education indaba in collaboration with South African Qualifications Authority, SAQA, KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and the Sectors Education and Training Authority ,Setas, at the Ulundi Old Legislature. More than 2 000 rural secondary school learners from Mahlabathini, Nongoma and the surrounding areas interacted face-to-face with career guidance counsellors, SAQA, local colleges and universities. Learners received information on career opportunities and were introduced to institutions that offer bursaries. The structure of the indaba could be used as a model for career guidance outreach programmes in the country, especially in rural areas. The department will be hosting its third Nelson Mandela Day Career Guidance Festival in Taung from the 18 to 20 July this year.
It gives me pleasure to report that, as you are aware, the provision of further education and training is a concurrent function of both the national and provincial spheres of government. At the beginning of the term of office of this government, provincial members of the executive councils responsible for education had vocally and emphatically indicated to the Minister of Higher Education and Training that further education and training colleges and adult education and training should be managed at national level only. The address is significant as it takes place at a time when we are about to effect the move of the function of FET colleges from the provinces.
In this regard the Minister presented to Parliament with the FET Amendment Bill of 2011. The President of the Republic of South Africa assented to the Bill on 23 April 2012 and it was published in the Government Gazette on 3 May this year. I want to thank this House for approving this Bill.
Hon members, during the course of this year the Minister of Higher Education and Training will introduce legislation to, among other things, establish a South African institute for vocational and continuing education which will provide professional support to the colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities .
Over the past two years enrolments in FET colleges have been rising steadily. In 2011 we had projected a headcount enrolment of 359 000 in all programmes. The actual headcount enrolment reached 437 060, exceeding our projections by 24%. This year we are projecting a headcount enrolment of 550 000 enrolments.
As stated in our Green Paper we aim to have 4 million enrolments in FET colleges and other nonuniversity post-school institutions by 2030. So it is gratifying to see this expansion and interest in our colleges and the willingness of colleges to grasp the challenge.
In order to improve access for qualifying poor students bursaries are now granted to cover 100% of fees for all those with a family income of under R122 000 per annum . In 2011, 165 273 students were awarded bursaries. In 2012 over 180 000 students are targeted representing an increase of almost 10% from last year.
During the high level presidential engagement with the FET sector the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr J G Zuma, announced an amount of R2,5 billion over the next 3 years from levy funds for infrastructure, machinery and programmes in FET colleges. We are completing an infrastructure audit where infrastructure which is in a state of disrepair will be refurbished as part of the FET College Campus Refurbishment programme.
We have determined that there is a need to build 12 new campuses attached to the existing FET colleges in four of the poorest and needy provinces in areas that are not being served with post-schooling opportunities, namely five FET college campuses in KwaZulu-Natal, four in the Eastern Cape, two in Limpopo and one in Mpumalanga.
In our commitment during the 2011-12 financial year to improve conditions of services of the FET colleges staff, we have now successfully concluded a college agreement for employees represented in the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council. Through this agreement we have also brought about parity in salaries between employees previously employed by the state and those historically employed by colleges.
It has been identified that the weakest link in FET colleges is their financial and human resource management capacity. As part of building this capacity we will ensure that every college has a chief financial officer and a qualified human resource practitioner. The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants has agreed to partner with us to provide qualified accountants for a period of two years to assist in setting up effective accounting and financial management systems in our colleges. We thank the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Saica, for their support.
We have partnered with the Joint Education Trust to conduct a college-by-college improvement strategy. The revision of programmes is of central importance to all colleges. A ministerial task team has just concluded a review of the National Certificates (Vocational) and a report is currently under consideration. As we mentioned last year, the National Technical Education, Nated, curriculum is outdated and requires updating.
I am happy to report that Umalusi and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations have jointly started a revision of the N3 curriculum and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, QCTO, has undertaken to revise the N4 to N6 curriculum.
When it comes to universities and with reference to the establishment of the two new higher education institutions, I'm pleased to announce that planning is at an advanced stage. The Northern Cape and Mpumalanga have been identified as such for the building of the new universities. In this regard a total amount of R455 million has been allocated from 2011-12 to 2014-15 for the initial establishment of these institutions.
The technical team report, which includes the criteria and options for the possible seats of these universities, has been presented to the President by our Minister of Higher Education and Training. I'm pleased to share with you that the seats within the said provinces of these new universities will be announced by our Minister in July 2012 with the first intake of students planned to take place in 2014.
When it comes to universities under administration I can only share the position of the Minister that he is very serious about improving efficiency and promoting good governance in our institutions of higher learning and he has consistently said that he won't hesitate to put an institution under administration whenever such key factors are compromised.
As part of our efforts to increase capacity to produce new teachers we expect to open the former Ndebele College of Education campus in Mpumalanga for foundation phase teacher education in 2013 as well as in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. During this year my department will identify additional college of education campuses that can be used to expand and strengthen the provision of teacher education and specifically foundation phase teachers.
The question of skills development is key and is in our skills pipeline. I'm very pleased to announce to the House that work is in progress to fully remove the apprenticeship practices of the old Manpower Training Act. The National Artisan Moderation Body in partnership with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations will implement a first ever single national artisan training system by 1 April 2013. The new system will have accompanying national trade testing regulations for all sectors of the economy.
This is a significant development as we will eventually be able to certify learners as electricians and not as mining electricians, manufacturing electricians or building electricians. These changes will enhance the mobility of our people to access jobs and develop themselves as self-employed artisans.
During 2011–12 over 13 168 learners completed their artisan learning processes, both formally and in many cases informally, through years of on-the-job experience that was recognised through the recognition of prior learning principle. This represents the highest number of artisan learners to complete their programmes in the last five years and to that extent the target of 10 000 artisans per annum that we set for ourselves in the National Skills Development Strategy, NSDS, III and the Minister's agreement with the President has already been achieved and exceeded.
When it comes to the Sectors Education and Training Authority, Setas and following the launch of the third phase of the National Skills Development Strategy and the announcement of the new Setas landscape just over a year ago significant progress has been made in transforming this system. Governance and strategic focus has improved. Linkages with the other systems of the post-school sector like FETs and universities are growing and are being consolidated. A concerted effort is being made to achieve a full alignment of strategic plans of the Setas to the NSDS III and broad government strategies.
On the question of the National Skills Fund consistent with its mandate outlined in NSDS III, the National Skills Fund continues to play a vital role. The National Skills Fund, NSF, has increased its disbursements by 148% in the 2011-12 financial year compared to the previous year. We are planning to further improve on this in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period.
We have commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council to lead a research programme to lay the basis for a credible skills planning mechanism to achieve the national priority of a skilled and capable workforce. Funding amounting to R50 million has been made available for postgraduate scholarships, R63 million to fund students with disabilities and R350 million for poor continuing students who were unable to register due to outstanding debt and insufficient funding in 2012. This funding is available through the financial aid office administered by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, Nsfas.
Due to the importance of postgraduate studies in critical and scares skills an additional amount of R138,9 million was allocated to the National Research Foundation for the postgraduate bursary support programme for students studying at public higher education institutions.
The Department of Higher Education and Training has agreed to partner with the National Institute for the Deaf to pilot a model for the training of deaf people. We are hoping that we will succeed on this through their support in terms of selection.
Hon members, I wanted to say something about career guidance and also our efforts and campaigns on HIV and Aids in universities. I would like to really thank the chairperson of the select committee, members of the department sitting on my right, the Minister of Higher Education and the directors-general in their absentia.
Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr M J R DE Villiers
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 176
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Hon Chairperson, my speech will be in English and Afrikaans. Hon Chairperson, Ministers, MECs, members and guests, education is one of the key priorities of government, which has the plan to improve the quality of its people, and whose aim is also to grow the economy of the state.
Through education the child of a labourer, a street worker, an unemployed person, the blind, the deaf, etc can become a doctor, engineer, teacher, astronaut or scientist. When reaching and implementing a good quality education system, you will find growth, wellness and prosperity.
The DA therefore supports government in its goal to make education a key priority. Government's initiative to improve the quality of education on the three Ts: teacher, text and time, is a very honest and excellent goal.
What is the main obligation of education, teaching and training? It is to develop the skills to understand numeracy and literacy, and let me add, to do it with the skill of comprehension. With these skills, anyone can guide him/herself through life and the difficult experiences in life. Simply put, any content in school and ordinary life goes with understanding.
Afrikaans:
Jy moet jou rigting in die lewe uitkap en daarvolgens wandel. Hierdie waardigheid om te kan verstaan en te redeneer is met geboorte reeds daar. Elke kind moet in die proses van ontwikkeling gehelp en gelei word om hierdie ingebore drang, talent en waardigheid te ontdek, te ontwikkel, te rig, en hoe om dit toe te pas. Wanneer dit suksesvol oorgedra is, dan kom die teelaarde vir geletterdheid en syfervaardigheid outomaties na vore, wat die leerproses vergemaklik.
English:
These skills must startat home, at the infant phase. It must be taken further in the early childhood development, ECD, centres, where children from the ages of two or three years must be educated in the development of these skills.
Like water flowing from a fountain into a river, which runs slowly downstream, so too is the development of the skills running through the foundation, primary, secondary and tertiary phases. There are no other ways or roads to the fulfilment of education and training.
Afrikaans:
Wat sê ons is dan die saak?
English:
All of us are in agreement that departments in provinces, districts, schools, and all over, do have good aims, visions and strategic plans that are fully costed and carefully strategised, within priorities, targets and outcomes. The objective is, to reach a quality education and learning system of processes for learners and students, and for the betterment of our economy.
Afrikaans:
Tot dusver, loop die plan teoreties uitstekend en is dit aanvaarbaar. Almal ondersteun die plan. Ons het ook die personeel om die plan toe te pas en uit te voer, ten spyte daarvan dat op sekere vlakke 'n tekort bestaan.
English:
The order of the day is to implement and to execute with efficiency. The question is, how? Even the how is stated in the strategic plan. It is: co-ordination, monitoring, evaluation, remedy, and result. Obeying the rules and being disciplined to the course is what actually gives us the guarantee of a good outcome. It is very important to be disciplined to the course
Afrikaans:
Kyk maar na die tier en die leeu se wyse van jag. Dit is berekenend, doelgerig en akkuraat.
English:
As humans we have the same instincts, and much more.
Afrikaans:
God het ons geskape na Sy beeld, en met baie meer talent as die diere in die natuur. Daarom moet ons daarvan gebruik maak.
English:
The situation in education differs in provinces. Nationally, we have a crisis in the quality of numeracy and literacy. This is happening in all the provinces – in some less, while in others more. Some provinces are under administration, while others are in a process of intervention. This is unacceptable and a disgrace to our learners and parents.
Tons of textbooks are undelivered, stock of nutritional food is not delivered, corruption and maladministration of funds is experienced, some teachers are not at school on time, some teachers are not in classes to teach or they are absent from school, there are learners involved in cases of rape and violent action, and learners using cellphones during lessons. What is happening within the education system?
The answer or problem lies in the different role-players not executing the plan and duties as set out in the strategic plan. The principle of accountability and responsibility is not being met. The teaching materials to support teachers are there, and the opportunities to develop teachers and departmental staff are there.
Afrikaans:
Die morele verantwoordelikheid en waardesisteem ontbreek. Ons weet dat; somige klasse nie aan die leerling–leerkrag ratio voldoen nie, leerders ver skooltoe moet stap, en somige skoolgeboue is vervalle, maar die grootste hoeveelheid opvoedingsfasiliteite, inrigtings en omstandighede, tog die geleentheid bied om die leerproses te kan laat voortgaan.
As ons in die gehalte van basiese onderrig nie suksesvol is nie, kan leerders in tersiêre inrigtings en universiteite nie verwag om suksesvol te wees nie.
English:
The Department of Higher Education and Training is a very new department. This department is on its way to establishing itself as a functioning department. A problem within the department is the high ratio rate of consultants, namely 1:90 for 2011-12. This is too high, and one can make the accusation that the department is being run by consultants.
Students coming from poor households experience difficulties in studying, since they have to worry about finances. Most universities do not have enough or relevant accommodation to house students on campuses. A huge burden on students is the affordability of travelling and safety, because they do not live on the premises, but in the surrounding communities. This must be solved, and a timeframe to develop and supply accommodation at further education and training, FET, colleges and universities must be drawn up.
The funds needed for the development of universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape are R6,8 billion and R5,2 billion respectively. Only R0,20 billion has been voted for these two universities respectively, while the completion date is 2015. This is a very tall order to reach if we continue with this kind of budget. Do not plan to fail.
The teaching and residential space for FET colleges amounts to R31,4 billion, while R1,5 billion has been voted from the National Skills Fund, NSF. I can add that for the refurbishment of student housing at universities, R3,15 billion is needed, while funds in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, METF, period amounts to R0,3 billion. For infrastructure and other capital plans we need R111,35 billion. The bells of failure are ringing out loudly and clearly. If we cannot succeed with our plan, we will sit with overcrowded classes in universities and FET colleges.
Students were shown away from institutions of higher education and this led to the boom in enrolment at FET colleges. At these colleges, space to accommodate them is insufficient and funds are limited. Due to the fact that colleges have to get outside funds to pay staff, this increased enrolment of students puts extreme pressure on colleges. If we cannot find a solution to this, it will certainly lead to a lower quality of performance and graduate output.
Taking in more students will create a blockage in the pipeline.
If we don't increase the colleges which provide higher education programmes to students, and also more colleges to train teachers, then we will experience a shortage of adequate manpower in this sphere of the education sector.
The plan to build universities in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces is welcome. We must ensure that the human capital to source these universities is on track and available when needed. We must also be ready to supply the funding for students, staff, lecturers and other support materials to these universities.
The department's budget for Programme 5: Skills Development, decreased in 2011-12, with 4,0 nominal rand change, and in 2012-13 by 11,2 nominal rand change. This is a concern. We must have a clear explanation as to how the department plans not ...
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Hon member, your speaking time has expired.
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Can I just complete this sentence?
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): I've already given you one extra minute.
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Thank you. ... [Inaudible.] in this programme with the available budget. I thank you. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Half a minute. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Ms M W MAKGATE
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 177
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS
Ms M W MAKGATE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, firstly, let me start by saying the ANC supports both Budget Votes.
As we celebrate the centenary of the ANC, allow me to draw the attention of South Africans to the month of May. On Friday, 18 May 2012, one of our late stalwarts, comrade Walter Sisulu, would have reached his centenary. We would like to observe this month as a significant month in the history of the ANC because of the impact comrade Walter Sisulu had on the ANC, the politics of this country, and, ultimately, our liberation.
The true worth of education should be measured against the value it adds to improving the lives of those who acquire it. It would be complete ignorance for people not to realise that our basic education system has undergone some tremendous transformational changes since the ANC took over government in 1994. It is a fact that in the past before the ANC took over, we had 19 separate and unequal education departments, but today we have one Department of Basic Education for all.
Furthermore, we have pro-poor funding policies and mechanisms in place. In fact, as we speak, close to 63% of learners attend no-fee schools. Close to 10 million learners benefit from the National School Nutrition programme. Almost all learners between the ages of seven and 15 attend school today. In other words, the Millennium Development Goal 2, which is universal primary education, has almost been achieved before the 2015 deadline. Above all, we have a Constitution that guarantees the right to education for all.
I must indicate that, as the ANC government, we still have to address and continue to address challenges like multigrade schools, unviable farm schools, persistent schoolgirl pregnancies, and the high drop-out rates of learners in Grades 10 and 11. For government to address these challenges, resources and, most importantly, financial resources, are needed. It is for that reason that we are having this debate today, and it is for that reason that this budget is actually very essential. There is a need for the department to move forward in improving the quality of education in our country.
The scourge of HIV/Aids is a well-known problem, infecting and affecting the entire nation, most particularly the young generation, including learners. As a result, the ANC government, through the HIV/Aids life skills grant, was able to carry out advocacy, training and development programmes for both learners and educators. With the increasing rate of girl pregnancies in our schools, these programmes will need to be intensified.
The same goes for programmes aimed at addressing the increasing rates of school violence, drug abuse and gangsterism in our schools. These programmes must be intensified and this cannot happen without financial resources, hence the importance of this Budget Vote.
The budget for the Department of Basic Education for the financial year 2012-13 is R16,3 billion, which increased from R14,1 billion in the last financial year. Over the medium-term, expenditure is expected to grow to R21,4 billion, at an average annual rate of 14,9%. This budget growth is necessary, as we all know that the best investment a country can ever make is in the education of its citizens.
With regard to Basic Education Department issues, I conclude by reaffirming our support of Vision 2015 of the department. We are already seeing positive steps in its building blocks. However, we should raise the issue of value for money. We spend too much money per capita on South African learners, and the challenges seem to be lying somewhere else, not in the money.
Allow me to touch on the actual budget of the Department of Higher Education and Training for the current financial year. Universities will receive R20,9 billion for this financial year. An amount of R4,3 billion will be allocated for further education and training, FET, colleges, and R4,1 billion for public entities, of which R4 billion will be allocated to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa, NSFAS. The remainder will be shared by the SA Qualifications Authority, the Council on Higher Education, the National Skills Authority and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa will distribute R5,4 billion in loans and bursaries, which is double the R2,7 billion distributed in 2010.
The department has received an additional R850 million over the medium-term for infrastructure. This allocation will increase from R1,6 billion in 2011-12 to R2 billion in 2014-15, providing a total of R5,7 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period to build and upgrade facilities, including student accommodation. I think the concern of the hon De Villiers has been addressed.
Allow me to highlight some of the department's remarkable achievements. These include: the establishment of the department itself, which is fully functional; improved access to post-school education and training opportunities; removing financial barriers through initiatives such as the expansion of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa loans and bursaries; successfully transferring the Sector Education and Training Authorities, Setas, from the Department of Labour and improving their performance; the expansion of foundation-phase education in line with the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa; and the development of legislation, releasing the Green Paper on Post-School Education and Training, to mention a few.
It is natural that you cannot have achievements without challenges. Some of the key challenges that we are faced with and which need urgent attention include: improving the pass rate at FET colleges; weak financial and human resource management at FET colleges; a shortage of student residences; poor management of student registration processes, leading to stampedes, as was seen at the University of Johannesburg earlier this year; and weak management in some of the former Bantustan universities, resulting in some of them, for example, Walter Sisulu University, being put under administration.
In order to address some of these challenges, the department will, in this current financial year, vigorously embark on the following programmes: re-opening the former Ndebele College of Education, as the Deputy Minister has indicated; building and refurbishing student residences; establishing a National Higher Education Information and Application System that will centralise both applications for admission and NSFAS; commissioning the development of a college-by-college turnaround strategy for FET colleges in the Eastern Cape; and, of course, enhancing the establishment of the two universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
Whereas on the FET Colleges, the issue of agricultural colleges needs attention, often they fall outside the jurisdiction of the department. An example is Taung Agricultural College, where student morale is low, particularly around the issue of infrastructure development and learner support.
In conclusion, allow me to borrow from the wisdom of our elder and former State President, Nelson Mandela, during the Presidential and Premier Education Awards in November 1997, when he said:
We can no longer sit by while some schools are turned into havens of drug abuse, violence or vandalising of valuable property. We can no longer sit and watch while any of our country's children are held back in the mire of ignorance and lack of skills which apartheid decreed should be their lot.
I reaffirm that the ANC support both Budget Votes. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms M TINGWE
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 178
Ms M W MAKGATE
Ms M TINGWE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Motshekga, hon Deputy Minister, Surty and Deputy Minister, Mkhize, hon MEC, Grant, hon members of the NCOP and distinguished guests, I great you all this evening. I can see that I have something in common with the speaker who just left the podium.
During this May month in 1912, an ANC stalwart and father of the nation, the late Tata Sisulu was born. If he was still alive, he would have celebrated his 100th birthday on 18 May. Because he has since passed on, as South Africans, we are called upon to remember and celebrate the life of this giant of our struggle.
Tata Sisulu did not only see the light during this month of May, he also passed on this particular month, on 5 May. He was laid to rest on this month of May. His spirit must continue to live amongst us. He will always be remembered for his contribution to the liberation of this country, and for his role in the ANC and the people of South Africa.
IsiXhosa:
Siyabulela Tata.
English:
From the beginning, I need to honesty deal with the situation of education and our learners in the province of the Western Cape. The DA pretends to run a super setup in the Western Cape. It says anything that the DA touches turns to gold, and what the ANC touches turns to dust. This superiority complex of the power-crazy DA shows how racist it really is.
We were shocked by the DA leader who recently called IsiXhosa-speaking learners refugees. This was especially hurtful since one hundred years ago, Sol Plaatjie coined the phrase, and I quote: "I am a pariah in the land of my birth. It was the face of the looming land Act that made black South African strangers in their own country".
Now, a century on, the DA leader again says that we are strangers in the land of our birth by calling black South Africans refugees. This is taking us back and not forward into the future. A half-baked sorry by the DA leader did not fix all, neither the ensuing insults that objectors to the term refugees are xenophobic and were creating a false outrage.
We are waiting for an apology for the latter verbal abuse. What was worse was that this labelling was done to draw attention away from the real problems that we are facing here in the Western Cape. The problem was not whether those children were refugees or that their province has problems, but that the holier-than-thou Western Cape government ignored the plight of poor learners in the overcrowded schools. In fact, three toilets were converted into classrooms in order to provide more space at this school in Grabouw. It had more than double the learners it was built for.
This situation was untenable. Only after the community took the battle to the streets, did the department start to look seriously into the problem. This incident proved that there are grave problems in the Western Cape education. It is not heaven where the DA rules. It brags about the results, but at a lower end of the test scale, the Western Cape remains largely an uncaring place where the majority of South Africans feel unwelcome.
In fact, there are two adjacent schools in Grabouw that are overcrowded. Grabouw is not the only place in the Western Cape with overcrowding or inadequate infrastructure, equipment, supplies or teaching materials. There are a few schools where learners have to take turns to sit for a while on the chairs while learning. As you have recently read in the newspapers, some sit on the floors. They share the seats during the same lessons and some lie on the floors because there are no desks.
The DA will protest in the face of the truth. Like they are doing where they govern, the Public Protector found corruptive maladministration, which has become the trademark of the DA governance; with corruption in Swellendam, tenderpreneurism in Knysna and fraud in Stellenbosch, DA cadre deployment all round, as well as tenders and jobs for pals all over under the DA, especially in Cape Town. This DA governance's "better together" is so selective. It is not really inclusive. It is not different in schools, in the province led by the DA.
Former model C schools – the so-called elite schools or excellence are often boasted about. They are handled as private institutions on state land with steep fees, out-pricing most communities. Schools in townships are mostly neglected. These are in areas where people must be happy with inferior service delivery under the DA. People who complained are shot upon, like what happened in Du Noon, Makhaza and Grabouw. In poor areas, the infrastructure budgets are cut or not spent. The Green leafy areas are upgraded, while poorer areas are forgotten.
It is not the first case. These examples occur frequently ... [Interjections.] Hon Minister, it is fine if I am talking nonsense. People must come and see the realities of this province and not just sit there. [Interjections.] No, I said "hon member".
These examples occur frequently. The MEC is more seen putting out fires, than at the rock face of planning. The Western Cape also closes more schools without proper consultation with the communities. They leave those buildings to be shelters for criminal activities. This surely is not a good investment in the future of our children in this growing province.
Schools in rural and farm areas are under severe pressure. President Jacob Zuma has put a challenge to this province to work at reducing the dropout rate of children in the rural and farm areas. We have not yet seen any plan from this province that brags about how well it governs.
There is a massive problem with learners' transport, especially in rural areas where the service providers are not paid on time. Children are dropped at unsafe stops and very little control is exercised over the vehicles and staff. We saw a few bus disasters in the province. Last year, a number of learners were killed in an accident near Knysna.
An assessment report about learner transport is still kept a secret from the public scrutiny by the DA government. People must decide for themselves how safe our future leaders are transported. The so-called open opportunity society and transparent DA government is scared to be found negligent and untruthful to the voters. This week it has been brought to my attention that in Struisbaai, one bus is transporting more than 100 learners to a high school in Bredasdorp, which means that it takes two trips to the school and children are missing teaching time. Next time we will hear that there is poor performance in that school.
School safety is a huge concern and it needs post-haste attention. I must say that recently, we have witnessed some actions from the government's side, but more still needs to be done. I also call upon the communities and parents to also assist in ensuring that our learners live and study in a safe environment.
Schools in the province are still largely operated along racial lines. Very little integration is taking place. Schools in former white only areas are not fully utilised and literally kept behind locks to prevent other people from using it. Point in reference, there is a nearby former model C school in Grabouw which has unutilised classes. Instead of getting the learners from Umyezo Wama Apile Combined School to that school, what the government did was to migrate them from Grabouw to Kuils River in Cape Town.
The learners' parents are so frustrated with the latest incidents of safety that took place in Kuils River. Minimal action has been taken by the department. The DA government in the Western Cape likes to do stances just to gain media and public scores and not really addressing the real issues that affect the poor of the poorest.
The Western Cape might be announced as the best performing province, but the realities on the ground does not really match that. We have schools in Franchhoek and other areas that prohibit previously disadvantaged learners to do commercial subjects. As a deliberate move, those subjects are taught in Afrikaans. We are led by a government that fears public participation, but decides to undermine people and take decisions on their behalf. We have seen this with the cut of the learner transport from Delft to Langa Primary School without any engagement with the parents.
It is not only in this province that we have competency tests for matric markers. Soon, they will be licensed, regardless of the concerns raised by the stakeholders. The department has turned a blind eye and continued with its isolative programme. Is the Western Cape an island or a republic outside South Africa?
It is in this best province where we had close to 20 000 Grade 1 failures in 2011, which to me is a serious matter of concern. It is in this best performing province where we have learners of different grades, sharing a class in a farm school – Grade 4 this side, separated by a desk, and Grade 5 on the other side. [Interjections.] They only have few educators to teach them. The department did not bother to inform parents why certain teachers were removed from the school. [Interjections.] I am not surprised by what the member is doing. Just ignore him.
It is in this best performing province where access to former model C schools is a hustle and a deliberate increase on school fees, as to block the black child from accessing their education system. It is in this best performing province where we have Grade R classes with 60 children in a class who have to share ablution facilities with older children. It is in this best performing province where insufficient access to affordable and efficient transport for learners who are living with disabilities is not seriously attended to. Learners with autism are not properly catered for.
Minister, please help our learners to get thorough diversity training so that they can be more sensitive to multi and intercultural realities and tolerance in our country. Urgently start in the Western Cape, as it is in dire need for intervention. On a personal note, as I conclude, I shared something with the hon Dr Pallo Jordan yesterday. It was our respective birthdays. May I belatedly say happy birthday to him? I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr D GRANT
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 179
Ms M TINGWE
Mr D GRANT: Hon Acting Chair, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, members, other public representatives, officials of the Department of Education, guests, thank you for the opportunity to present some comment on aspects of the 2012-13 budget for basic education in the Western Cape.
The tabling and discussion of the annual budget of any state entity is interpreted in many ways by many people and agencies. It can be seen as the ultimate planning instrument or an opportunity to set out new plans and policies. These understandings of a budget are both valid and important. However, at another level, budgets announce to the world how we see ourselves as a nation and are a practical expression of our hopes and dreams.
During a period of financial challenges of the kind the world has experienced for some time now, the allocation of each rand takes on a special significance. More than ever before, this allocation balances the principles by which we hope to live our lives as citizens with the reality of what we can responsibly afford and deliver. The hopes and dreams have to live alongside critical choices. This is particularly evident in education.
In tabling the basic education budget to the Western Cape, I am pleased to say that I was able to report that in education, we have made good progress in laying the necessary foundation to achieve our strategic objectives of improving learner outcomes and the quality of the education in the Western Cape. The overarching objective is to improve the life chances of and to create opportunity for all children in the Western Cape through the provision of quality education.
One of the Western Cape government's primary focus areas is to reduce poverty. The only sustainable way to beat poverty is by creating opportunities for economic growth. Through being educated, people are better placed to secure a job, earn an income and ultimately lead lives they value.
To achieve our objectives for the year, the Western Cape Education Department, WCED, has allocated R14,229 billion for the 2012-13 financial year - 35,7% of the provincial budget for that financial year. This is once again an increase from the previous financial year. Expenditure on education has grown on average by 13,3% per annum in nominal terms, since 2009. The budget for education will be used to fulfil the objectives set out in our strategic plan with public ordinary school education continuing to be the main focus of the department's funding, with an allocation of 80,1% of the education budget.
What is particularly gratifying is that the performance of our public ordinary schools is continuing to show a positive trend, particularly in the results achieved over the last two years in the National Senior Certificate examinations.
The Western Cape government has prioritised the improvement of learner outcomes in the province by implementing a number of initiatives and programmes. These include the expansion of systemic testing of learners. In addition to testing the literacy and numeracy competencies of our Grades 3 and 6, the department introduced testing for Grade 9 learners for the first time in 2011. Learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9 are tested every year. Based on our testing, we have made the provision of quality texts and materials one of our priorities both in planning and in financial allocations. At the start of the 2012 year, learners in Grades 1, 2, 3 and 10 benefited from a record-breaking roll-out of over 2 million
textbooks and readers.
To expand this initiative in the 2012-13 year, we have allocated an additional R144,3 million to the provision of textbooks in addition to the R214 million norms and standards funding provided for textbook provisioning. All 1 452 principals of our schools have signed off on their school improvement plans, Sips. The Sips is an online management tool that requires schools to set targets for improvements in each grade. These improvement targets are determined by principals in consultation with the relevant district office.
The Western Cape government strongly believes that where schools are working better and producing improved results, we want to reward them and incentivise them to continue this improvement. I was therefore delighted to announce the launch of an incentive programme that rewards primary schools that have improved the number and quality of passes in Grade 3 numeracy systemic testing, and high schools that have increased the number and quality of Mathematics passes and National Senior Certificate passes with access to bachelor degree study. An amount of R25 million has been allocated to this incentive programme.
We cannot expect all of our schools to improve their results if we do not provide our educators with the opportunity to grow professionally. We have therefore increased the budget allocation for the professional development and training of our educators with an allocation of R95,2 million in the 2012-13 financial year. This is a sea change from the R8 million budget I inherited when I came into office.
We continue to work in partnership with the school governing bodies, as well as organisations representing the principals of our schools. We have formally established the Western Cape Education Council. We are deeply committed to directing the majority of the resources I have mentioned today towards improving the education outcomes of the schools that serve our province's poorest communities. Our figures show that, consistently, the poorer 60% of our school population receive the greater allocations in terms of important indicators, such as norms and standards funding, school feeding, new infrastructure and learner transport.
We are also committed to the provision of appropriate infrastructure. Last year, we completed the building of 11 new schools in this province serving learners living in the poorer areas where we have seen increased growth.
We have invested heavily in our infrastructure programme to the tune of R2,347 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. Of this figure, R518 million has been allocated to the construction of new facilities and the replacement of inappropriate structures in the 2012 financial year. I was able to report that since 2009, we have seen significant improvements in reducing the number of underperforming schools. The number of those schools has dropped by more than 60%, from 78 to 30 in 2011.
There is no doubt that poverty has a severe impact on learning. To allow our children to get the most out of each school day, the department's nutrition programme has been expanded. This is reflected in the budget increases that have been effected since 2009. I was delighted to announce that we will increase this investment in the current year to R244,8 million.
Furthermore, this year, we have allocated R43 million to compensating our schools for the fees that they forego to ensure that more learners from the province's poorer communities have the opportunity to attend school and receive an education in fee-paying schools. Our ongoing commitment to special needs education is the allocation of R851,7 million that will be made to this programme in the current year.
It is our view that high-speed broadband connectivity is the foundation on which information technology can be integrated into our schools, making equitable access to the information highway possible for all users, regardless of location. In the light of this, I was delighted to announce the launch of an exciting new initiative that will see each school principal in this province receive a PC tablet. These tablets, which will be delivered later in the year, will improve the way in which we communicate with and give support to our principals.
I thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to address the NCOP today and to set out a few of the budgetary steps we are taking to improve the education available to the young people of the Western Cape. [Applause.]
Ms D Z RANTHO
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 180
Mr D GRANT
Ms D Z RANTHO: [Interjections] Yes, once a teacher, always a teacher. Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and your team, hon members of the NCOP, director-general, our hard working officials and distinguished guests, I greet you all. Chairperson, 22 days from today, on 16 June, people of this country will remember and celebrate 36 years of the Soweto uprising. June 16, 1976 was the day that changed the course of South Africa's history. When we talk about this historic day we think about education of our youth.
Education, or the lack thereof, is what sparked our youth into action. Indeed as a country we have come a long way since the days of campaign against segregation, inferior education as well as the struggle for inequitable redistribution of resources. All this time we were driven by the ideas enshrined in the people's document, the Freedom Charter, which declared that "The doors of learning shall be opened".
This demand for our right to learn has found its way into the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Chapter 2 of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, states clearly that everyone has a right to basic education- this right might not be realised without the appropriate tools, these being: qualified teachers, books and infrastructure. Whilst talking about people's rights, let me take this opportunity to indicate that the Bill of Rights also provides for freedom of movement and residence, therefore it is incorrect to label South African children who travel across provincial boundaries as refugees. Let me reiterate: South Africa belongs to all who lives in it, including the Western Cape which is part of South Africa. [Applause] There are no no-go areas in South Africa – "zaphela kudala ii no-go areas."
The Department of Education - this Ministry, has got achievements. As we engage in this debate, let us begin by recognising the achievement gained so far. This Ministry and its department has done a lot of work to ensure that the right I spoke about earlier on – the right to basic education – is realised. We have seen that the allocation to education has over the years progressively increased; this confirms this government's commitment to put education at the centre of our youth development.
We as the ANC still welcome intervention in the Eastern Cape. Some of the administrative issues are addressed, for example, the school nutrition administration has been addressed, because school nutrition has been taken to schools, children are being fed. About the Learner Teacher Support Materials, LTSM – the majority of schools in the Eastern Cape did receive the material in good time. This is being reinforced by the rights to basic education.
The rights to basic education have been realised. We have seen the allocation of education, as I have said, doubled in the past few years. This is being reinforced by the following: there has been an increase in Early Childhood Development, ECD, centres; an increase in young people completing Grade 9 and 12; school attendance is close to 100% for the basic compulsory band; there has been an increase in the percentage of Grade 12 learners who qualified for Bachelors studies ; and the number of learners in no-fees schools exceed our 60% target.
In the Eastern Cape, 83% of Quintile 1 and 3 schools are no-fee schools. This year 69,3% of learners are in more than 20 000 no-fee schools. In your budget speech, Minister, you made a point that our systems are as good as its teachers, and that without good teaching there will be no excellence in learner performance. In pursuing this excellence we note the progress made regarding the training of teachers and subject advisors on Curriculum andAssessment Policy Statement, CAPS.
It is my humble request that the department looks into the issue of whether we have the right educators in the right positions as well as teachers deployed in the light of the situation of the temporary teachers in the Eastern Cape, given the argument around producing excellence made earlier.
Today I can boldly say 1 956 temporary teachers have been reinstated since January 2012 and 1 836 in March. Out of 4 000 at least 3 000 plus were reinstated. The remaining, some of them are foreigners who are unqualified, are also taken care of. We also note the progress with regard with dealing with backlog in the provision of the proper top structure as well as other amenities.
The increase in the budget allocation generally, as well as in the line function could be an assurance that very soon the existence of mud schools and learners taught under trees will be a thing of the past. I know that in the Eastern Cape 50 schools are being built, 50 schools are under construction and will be completed by the end of this year, 2012 and will be ready for occupation in 2013. The construction is slow, but it is there.
It has exceeded the timeline of constructing 400 schools by 2013, but at least we are moving forward. Hon Chair, in concluding remarks during her budget speech, the Minister made the correct observation that whilst education is one of our greatest priorities, it is not panacea for all social ills.
Lately we have observed an upsurge in gang violence in schools. Only on Tuesday Minister Mthethwa was at an imbizo in Guguletu, where it came out that youth from one area are not able to attend schools in another area of the community, in other words there is a lot of absenteeism from school.
The violent act that has been displayed in Gugulethu is caused by the utterance that was made by the premier of this province. The people have now narrowed her utterance to their level. They take children from Khayelitsha who are refugees in Gugulethu and those from Gugulethu who are refugees in Mannengberg. This goes on, hence the violence and gangsterism at schools. Everybody is fighting for his place.
I am aware that as far as safety in schools is concerned, there were pilot projects in each province; it will be interesting to know and to note what lessons have been learnt and whether the programme can be rolled out to more schools. Another area that requires a lot of attention is the education of students with special needs - it seems we are still faced with huge challenge in this regard, as we know a number of disabled children are not at school. It is said that children are God's gift to us, but it can also be heartache and a burden to parents when they are unable to place their children in the school system. Processes of allocating funds and building more institutions like Efata in the Eastern Cape, that provides help and care to disabled children, should be prioritised, as this matter needs urgent attention.
Chairperson, as we highlight these achievements, we must also indicate that we are indeed aware that a lot more still needs to be done. There are concerns that were raised, and there is no reason not to believe that they are taken care off; like the dropout rate at Grades 11 and 12, which put a challenge of high retention rate. We have also noted the concern about both quality and quantity of passes in Maths and Science. As the Minister already said, there will be an indaba that could also help in improving this field.
There are some people in this very House who derive pleasure at the prospect of the ANC government being seen to be failing to deliver. I wish to take this opportunity to direct such pessimists to Statistics SA's general household survey, which measures the quality of service delivery in a number of key service areas. The survey indicates that South Africa's quality of life is getting better, despite those who would like us to believe otherwise.
These negative people thrive on taking one small challenge and blowing it out of proportion, in order to gain cheap publicity and political mileage. Chairperson, I want to highlight some of the things that we also gained as the province.
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Hon member, can you round up please?
Ms D Z RANTHO: In the province, the nutrition programme is being handled in a good manner. The learner transport that was a problem is also handled in a better way. In conclusion, Chairperson, in an ANC Summit recently held in Pretoria, Minister, we took resolution on how to deal with challenges, we do not shy away from them, but we face them boldly. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Each one, teach one. [Applause.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Order. Hon members, in terms of Rule 31, which we bring to your attention, "during the debate in the council, no member may converse a loud, so the member that is looking at me, please this applies to you.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 181
Ms D Z RANTHO
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, I greet you. The Auditor-General's report warned about the following: The deterioration of supply chain management, service delivery, lack of accountability and noncompliance with supply chain management which resulted in R81,7 million worth of irregular expenditure. Lack of leadership was also cited by the Auditor-General, but the key factor in this is noncompliance. The Higher Education and Training department incurred irregular expenditure to the amount of R4 million, due to noncompliance with supply chain management. The question is what steps did the Minister take in order to rectify or arrest the situation?
With regard to the supply of books, let me site a specific case: the book situation in Limpopo a nightmare. After the judgment by the High Court was given that the books should be supplied within two weeks, nothing has been done. Minister, are you going to intervene, in order to rectify this situation? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: This intervention, the hon member is misleading this House. [Interjections.] [Inaudible.] ... the two weeks is the deadline; the hon member is misleading the House. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Makhubela, can you just withdraw that statement, please.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: I withdraw that, sir.
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: The member has withdrawn, so you can take your seats.
Mr A J NYAMBI: Hon Chair, I'm checking whether or not the hon Makhubela, through you Chair, is ready to take a question. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order, order!
Mr A LEES: Mr Chairperson, I urge you and the staff to please ensure that these microphones work. It is unacceptable that we have to stand here waiting for microphones.
On a point of order, is it parliamentary for the lady member from Gauteng to refer to the member at the podium as a coward?
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): We will have to check that with the Table Staff and with Hansard. At the next sitting of the House we will then report back on that. You may continue, hon member.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: If we check, we will see that outcomes-based education, OBE, has failed, which is the next strategy that is going to fail? [Interjections.] In 2011 we saw a decrease in the literacy of grade three learners in five provinces. What is more shocking is the decrease in numeracy in eight provinces.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: I just want to correct the member; he is also misleading the House on the annum results. That was not a decrease, but the results of an assessment that was done. So, there was no decrease. [Interjections.] The member must not mislead the House again. [Interjections.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): I would advise members to let the member continue with the debate. Those who will be responding can correct him, but no member, in terms of the Rules, may mislead the House. Please, members, take your seats. You may continue, hon member.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: In spite of all these pro-poor policies, the Nyiko Primary School in Tembisa ...
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Order, hon member! One of your own members is disrupting your speech. Hon Bloem? [Laughter.]
Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, I will wait until this thing is red. [Interjections.] No, I will not move from here. Chairperson, it is unacceptable for members interject when a member is on the podium, and even your intervention is not correct.
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Can you take your seat, please. That is not a point of order. Hon Bloem, respect the decorum of the House. You are ... No, no, sit down. Take your seat. I am addressing you. You are a Member of Parliament, so behave like a Member of Parliament, please.
Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, ...
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): No, no, sit down, hon Bloem. Hon Bloem, I am ordering you to leave the Chamber. Serjeant-at-arms ... [Interjections.] [Applause.] Serjeant-at-arms, can you just escort hon Bloem out. Thank you. Hon member, you may continue. Order, order!
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: At the primary school in Tembisa, learners are unable to get books because they did not pay school fees. In March this year, pupils of Dr Nelson R Mandela High School in Crossroads, Western Cape, protested against having to pay for textbooks, after the Minister of Basic Education announced, in February, that that school will not pay for books.
This is shocking because the foundation phase is where we get basic education. The President of this country has placed focus on basic education. He said that we must concentrate on basic learning because if you go to each and every school or institution you find that people cannot even write a statement at the police station because of poor education. What are we doing? Do we intend to support the President of this country, if we don't do that? [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
If my memory serves me well, ...
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Order, hon members, order! Commissioner, you still have 30 seconds to round up.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: The accord from labour, business and civil society has been signed by the two Ministers. How well is this working? Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr J J GUNDA
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 181
Mr M W MAKHUBELA
Mr J J GUNDA: Hon Chair, ... [Interjections.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Order, order! Hon members, order! Hon Commissioner, you had your chance to speak. Hon Commissioner, Makhubela, you had your chance to speak, now listen to the other speakers. Order!
Mr J J GUNDA: Hon Chair, hon Minister, Hon Deputy Ministers, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, let me just say that education is one of the priorities of government, and I would like to speak to three issues concerning education.
First, let me just say to the Minister of Basic education, yes, we support your plans and vision that you have for education in the country. Yes, we know where we are coming from and where we are heading to now. Yes, we know it is a big, big challenge and it is a challenge that is not going to be overcome overnight. I would like to say to our members here that all of us must be involved in education. This is not a certain party's problem; it is our problem. It is our problem. [Applause.]
The children out there are our children, and we need to put them first. We may have differences, but we cannot allow our differences to hinder the children. We need to support whatever plans and programmes are there for the future of our children. That is very important.
We would like to thank the Minister of Higher Education for the university that is going to be built for us in the Northern Cape. We welcome that, and I see that it has been budgeted for from now until 2015. At last there will be a university in the Northern Cape. That will be a very, very good thing, not only for the Northern Cape, but for the people of Botswana and Namibia, as well because they can go and study there. It will be a good thing.
Let me just say this one thing, I think that it is high time that our teachers become committed and parents become committed and involved in the training of our children.
Afrikaans:
In Afrikaans is daar twee woorde wat dit beskryf: onderwys en opvoeding. Opvoeding kan nie alleen staan nie. Onderwys kan ook nie alleen staan nie. Opvoeding en onderwys loop saam.
English:
There is something that I learned when I was at school – if you are a learner, you are there to learn. You are not there to teach the teachers; you are there to learn.
Hon Minister, let me just say this one thing to you; I know your budget is not enough for you. I know you have a challenge of the budget, and I would like to challenge the chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, hon Wendy Makgate, to challenge the Treasury to give this department more money, in order for it to do its work properly. [Applause.]
I see that they want to refurbish a lot of colleges and technikons, let me just say this one thing. I hope that you will monitor all those things, so that they can become a reality, in order to uplift our people. Education is the only tool we can use to fight poverty and develop our people, in order to build a better future for this country. I thank you. [Applause.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Order, order! Hon Gunda, you had your chance at the podium.
Ms N C MAMABOLO
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 182
Mr J J GUNDA
Ms N C MAMABOLO (Mpumalanga): Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, members of the NCOP, hon members from other provinces and guests, it is a pleasure for me to be a part of the debate on Vote No 15 for Basic Education and Vote No 17 for Higher Education and Training. I am tempted to begin my reflections in this august House on the year when we are celebrating 100 years of selfless struggle with an inspiring quotation by one of our icons, our revered Nobel Peace Laureate Isithwalandwe Tata Nelson Mandela, who once said:
Education is the greatest engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of the peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker the head of a mine, that the child of a farm worker can become the President of a great nation.
Our overarching policy mandate, as the ANC and the country, continues to be inspired by the ideals of the Freedom Charter which committed us in 1955 by stating that, "the doors of learning and culture shall be opened". It also defined what the role of education is, when it asserted that the aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace. Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; higher education and technical training shall be open to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit.
The 2012 Budget Vote No 15: Basic Education as tabled by the Minister correctly captures the aspirations and policy directives as expressed in the Freedom Charter.
IsiNdebele:
Sihlalo, angitjho bona incwadi yekululeko yona itjho bonyana abantu banelungelo lokuthola ifundo elinganako, nokobana abentwana bathole ukuphatheka kuhle kwezefundo kanti isabelo seemali lesi sivumela bona izindlu zokufundela zibe sebujameni obuhle, abentwana bangafundeli ngaphasi kwemithi nanyana ngezindlini zedaka.
English:
In conforming to our Polokwane resolutions and the 2009 manifesto goals of making education a priority for the current administration, we are thrilled to realise that the Department of Basic Education has prioritised improvement of school infrastructure. We note that the total education infrastructure grant allocation for the 2011-12 financial year was R5,498 billion and during adjustments, this budget was increased to R5,729 billion.
IsiNdebele:
Ukukhutjhulwa kwesabelo seemali ukobana izindlu zokufundela zakhiwe kwenze bonyana umNyango wezeFundo ePhasi ngeMpumalanga ukwazi bonyana kwakhiwe izindlu zokufundela ebezijanyisiwe nokobana ziqedelelwe ukwakhiwa, nakezinye iinkolo namkha kungezelelwe lapho iinkumba zokufundela bezingakakwazi ukuhlalisa abentwana boke. Siyalithabela igadango lakaMhlonitjhwa uNgqongqotjhe.
English:
The infrastructure grant will undoubtedly help us to finish mud schools and other and unsafe schools which pose a threat to the culture of learning especially in some of our rural-based schools. The House should be aware that, as Mpumalanga, we are indeed becoming a critical province in our contribution to the general improvement of matric results in the country. Hence, I disagree with hon Makhubela that Outcome Based Education, OBE, has failed. It has borne fruitful results in our province.
For the past three years, we have had successive increases in the pass rate and last year even ensured that our matric examinations were incident free. This involved monitoring of extra classes and winter classes and also putting an effort into remedial teaching which needed financial capacity. Working together with education stakeholders, we have set high goals for the 2012 class as a province, and we shall never fail in this regard. We think as part of the centenary gift to the ANC, all our provinces should be encouraged to ensure that maximum work is done to increase the pass rate of the centenary class.
We remain motivated by the leadership provided by President Jacob Zuma calling on all to prioritise education and make it a societal issue. On this occasion, we should reiterate what President Zuma said in his 2011 sate of the nation address, which has defined what we term "education non-negotiable" – that teachers must be in class, on time teaching with the correct textbooks and no abuse of learners; and that learners must be in class on time learning, being respectful to their teachers and each other and doing their homework.
IsiNdebele:
Singakwenza koke lokhu ngokubambisana nokusebenzisana. Sibonelele bona abafundisi babentwana bathola ilwazi elaneleko nokobana bafundise abentwana ngokutjhejwa kwabarholi beenkolo ama-School Management Teams, SMTs, nokubambisana neenhlangano zabazali eziphathisana nokusebenzisana eenkolweni ama-School Governing Bodies, SGBs, lokhu kuqaketheke khulu ekuthuthukisweni kwezinga lefundo.
Angitjho bona ukuhlolwa namkha ukugqugquzelwa kweenkolo, kwenza bona sizuze likhulu emiphumeleni yokuphela konyaka yaka mathriki njengalokho selengitjhilo. Sithabela ne-Kha Ri Gude i-Mass Literacy Campaign okulihlelo elenza bona abafundi abanengi bakwazi ukufunda ngombana sazi bonyana izinga lokwazi ukufunda nokutlola, emabangeni aphasi gade liphasi khulu. Irherho leli leKha Ri Gude ngilibona lilihle khulu ngombana livula amathuba womsebenzi nokuthuthukisa izinga lefundo.
Ukuqatjhwa kwabahloli bamaphepha weenhlahlubo ukobana atjheje ukufundiseka okusezingeni eliphezulu - Intergrated Qality Management Systems, nokuphiwa kweenkolo ezithlogako amandla wokuragela phambili – support to improve teacher professionalism. Ukufakwa kokudla kwabentwana eenkolweni eziphezulu – i-Nutrition Programme to Quintile 3 Schools – kuyathabisa. Lokho ngikutjho ngombana iinarha zemakhaya zigcwele ngabentwana abanganabo abazali – Child Headed Families. Abentwana abanjalo kanengi bayalamba, ngalokho sithabela isabelo seemali esifakwe ekondliweni kwabentwana eenkolweni.
Mhlonitjhwa Sihlalo, ngithanda ukuthokozela isabelo seemali esinikelwe iPhrogremu 5 i-Educational Enrichment Services, Lapho imali ithathwe ehlelweni le-National Disaster Fund, yayiswa ku-National Infrastructure Grant, ekuPhrogremu 4, ukurarulula bona izinto zikhambe kuhle emfundeni zoke. Ukuthuthukiswa kwemali yetuthuko itjho bona abentwana bazafundela eendlini ezisebujameni obuhle ingasi zedaka nanyana eziwako lokho kutjho ukuthuthukisa izinga lehlalakuhle kwezefundo. Ukuphulwa kwemali yesabelo iye ebasebenzini – compensation of employees, siqundo esihle ngombana kuvalwa iinkhala eenkolweni nokubhadelwa kwezinye izinto njengomkhambo ukwenzelela bona umsebenzi wokutjheja eenkolweni wenziwe kuhle – i-monitoring system. Singathabela nokutjhejwa kwencwadi zokufunda zabentwana – textbooks and learner support material, ukubonelela bona abentwana bathola iincwadi ezifaneleko.
Ngiphetha ngokuthi, thina sisiFunda seMpumalanga siyasisekela begodu sibuye sivumelana nesabelo mali esibekiweko se-Vote 15 no 17. Sibuye godu sithabele neYunivesithi yeMpumalanga ephumeleleko, nokuthuthukiswa kweKholiji yokuFunda yakwaNdebele okuzokwenzeka ngonyaka ozako waka-2013. Siyathokoza. [Iwahlo.]
Mr A J NYAMBI
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 183
Ms N C MAMABOLO
Mr A J NYAMBI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, directors-general, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it's an honour to participate in this very important debate. I'll deal with two issues that are very important. The first one is us, members, who whenever we have an opportunity to always project teachers as bad people. I'm speaking here as somebody from Mpumalanga where we have the Minister organising functions in which committed teachers who are doing a wonderful job are given awards every year. Therefore it is very dangerous to generalise about teachers as people who are lazy.
I'm talking of Mpapane, a rural village at Mangweni in Nkomazi, a historically disadvantaged school, which for 10 consecutive years produced A's and B's in Mathematics. How is that teacher going to react if he hears us always talking as if teachers are lazy? Of course it is true that there are those who are not doing enough and are not committed, but the generalisation is dangerous.
The second issue is to have the correct context and understanding of the current situation. I'll deal with that one so that we can understand. Both Minister and Deputy Minister were very clear about the challenges. It is good to criticise in a constructive way and give credit where it is due.
We are empowered as Members of Parliament when doing oversight and when departments come to do presentations to deal with annual reports and whatever is presented by the Auditor-General not to come here and deal with that because we have that opportunity as the select committee when engaging with departments where the Ministers are present.
Let me invite everybody to join in the slogan that says together we can do more. In simpler terms it means we have to advance the national democratic revolution. What does that mean? It means let us build a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. Many of us will know of this book written by Ghanaian, Ayi Kwei Armah, The beautyful ones are not yet born, which deals with the problem brought about by neocolonial Africa which includes all that is wrong in many of our countries. Through this book Ayi Kwei Armah challenges all of us to deal with everything that is ugly and repugnant if we are to transform Africa into a continent of development and prosperity.
Allow me to quote Albert Chandler, a trade unionist and a founder president of Education International before his death in 1997 who once said:
Rich people know that they can pass on money to their children, they can pass on land, they can pass on titles, but the one great gift that workers can give to their children is good education. That is the basis for the hope that children will live better lives, be able to move to jobs, occupy positions within their countries and within societies that are different and better than the ones they enjoy.
It shall be within the frame of this quotation that we understand the anger and the plight of working class parents when schooling does not take place. It is a fact that it is only public education that can offer this opportunity to every child in our beloved country, South Africa. It is not my intention to make education a football game as other members are trying to do. That is why I talk of the context. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 is the act which moulded the society we have currently. However, we can learn from it how evil men of apartheid plotted against the people of colour. Verwoerd did not hide the intentions of government with regard to our future. Presenting a Bill on our supposed to be education in Parliament he said:
When I have control of native education I will reform it so that natives will be taught from childhood to realise that equality with Europeans is not for them. People who believe in equality are not desirable teachers for natives. When my department controls native education it will know what class of higher education a native is fitted, and whether he will have a chance in life to have this knowledge.
Proper analysis of Verwoerd's words will indicate how complex the apartheid plan was. Therefore there is no way in which we can pretend we have reached our destination. The call made by his Excellency President Zuma to intensify the culture of learning and teaching is more than welcome. The department should make sure that for meaningful educational transformation to take place, the issue of teacher development must be fast-tracked. We must always remember that educators are educational agents. Textbooks and technology are educational tools which become resources when skilfully utilised. We welcome the issue of universities in both Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. The universities will go a long way in assisting to meet the demand for access to higher education. We are convinced that we are of one mind in the view that education is central to the development of both the individual and society.
We are pleased to note that the department has adopted the human resource development strategy which will assist in prioritising the challenges the department is facing. Deputy Minister, it must always be a matter of must that you improve access to institutions of learning as well as success for the poor and rural students in particular by moving from a racially based elitist system to a more inclusive system. The ANC 52ndconference is clear about the need for quality education. The overarching vision that informs the ANC education policy is peoples' education for peoples' power.
I started with the hope of a child of the working class and I hope that is based on the very same 52nd ANC conference resolution that resolved to prioritise education as one of the most important programmes for the next five years, as both the Minister and Deputy Minister are doing in prioritising education.
In conclusion, let us remember the words of Madiba when he said, " when we seek to stop change and prevent equality, then we should know that we are not being true to the nation's founding principle."
The ANC supports Budget Votes 15 and 17. Thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 184
Mr A J NYAMBI
Mr A J NYAMBI
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members of this esteemed House, hon guests, it is quite interesting and curious that we have come to the podium, commencing with the Minister, and various other members have reflected on the important anniversaries that we celebrate. Amongst all the anniversaries was reference to the centenary birthday of tata [father] Walter Sisulu, who would have been 100 years old, who epitomised, in his character and his nature, the attributes of humility, kindness, compassion, and a total and active commitment to creating a nonracial, nonsexist society.
We will also very soon celebrate, as the Minister have correctly pointed out, the 94th birthday of tata [father] Nelson Mandela, our former President, who again showed the same attributes and characteristics of a compassionate, humane, kind, generous, magnanimous person. He was also committed, as those who were with him and those who predeceased him, to the creation of a nonracial and nonsexual society.
We reflect on 16 June as a day on which our youth said, "Enough is enough; we are not going to have anybody impose a system of education where a particular language is forced upon us without our choice." That is important because it also reflects a commitment and a passion for the creation of a nonracial, nonsexist, an equal and united society.
I raise these in the context of the fact that we are celebrating the centenary of the ANC. And as we trace its history, its anniversaries and the 1933 African claims, it said very, very clearly that and unequivocally that our struggle is a struggle for the creation of a nonracial, nonsexist, an equal and a united society. In 1955 when the peoplemet at the Congress of the People in Kliptown the message was the same. It reaffirmed the commitment to the creation of a nonracial, nonsexist, united and democratic society.
That message has not changed. In other words, there were many voices, but the message was always one and the one massage was that South Africa belongs to all who lives in it, black and white. That is a commitment that we must understand, but also the context of a struggle that is an old struggle, centuries old, more than 300 years of struggle and decades of apartheid rule, which would reflect where we come from and what our challenges are.
One of the hon members, I think it is hon Tingwe, spoke about Sol Plaatjie who reflected on the centenary. We will be celebrating the centenary of the Native Land Act, where he says that the African people are going to be pariahs in their own land, the land of their birth, as a result of this Act.
Anniversaries are important. I want to take you back and say this is the anomaly that we face in our country which is so diverse, exciting, robust, vibrant, but yet we have to understand that particular context well. In 1652 you were thought that Jan van Riebeeck arrived here in the Goedehoop, the Drommedaris and the Reijger. I think you were all taught that in school. We were taught that they came and they settled out here and certainly the Afrikaners were colonialists of a special type. They are still with us and they will continue to be with us because South Africa belongs to all who live in it. What we did not learn at school is that this small minority of people who were less than 10% at that time owned approximately 92% of the land. Out of generosity they said, "Since we were going to create homelands for you, we will provide you with 13% of the land and we will retain 18% of the arable, productive land." As if that was not enough they basically proclaimed the Groups Areas Act and proclaimed the cities and towns as white group areas and displaced people from those areas. Where there were black spots in rural areas, the black people were removed. That is the reality of the oppression and the repression that we suffered.
Now what do we say to our children? It is important that they understand where we come from, and what we were taught was indeed not the truth, especially when you have a Nobel Peace laureate who tries to defend, in a very aversive way, the reality of the homelands to say that it certainly did create opportunities for people. It was about equality and an investment in the future and the destiny of our people.
Obviously, when confronted, that is not so. Apartheid was repressive and the homelands system itself was an ideological figment of those who did not understand what equality was all about. They had to retract. It was an apology forthcoming. In the same context you have the leader of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, who spoke - members did refer to it - and reflected on our learners who are disadvantaged, who have been historically repressed, who are the victims of a disproportionate developmental system that favoured a small minority of people, and she calls them refugees. It is our people who are now pariahs in their own land, and that is what Solomon Plaatjie spoke about. Then Helen Zille tries to disguise this reference by saying that it was symbolic and metaphorical. She said she reflected on something else and that she was talking about the economic circumstances. When she realised that nobody would be fooled, she said, "I am sorry, I have made a mistake." It took her more than three weeks to recognise that she had indeed made a mistake.
Summarily with De Klerk, who tried, notwithstanding the fact that he apologised for apartheid being repugnantand a crime against humanity, yet, in one way or the other, he tried to say that there was merit in the policy that he pursued.
This is the challenge we face as we stand here today because education is not only about the acquisition of knowledge and skills, it is also about values and attitudes. What kind of citizens do we want to produce? If we as educators say that we want to infuse and instil in our children the values of human dignity, it means that we recognise that we are all equal because we all inherently have respect, self-worth and self-esteem. That is what human dignity is about. To enjoy the right to human dignity means to respect the dignity of others. Unless we understand the reciprocal nature of rights and obligations, we cannot say that we are celebrating our Constitution and we are proud of our Constitution.
When we speak about freedom of expression it means that we should enjoy the right to express ourselves. At the same time, we should understand the obligation that we should not enjoy the right in a manner that is hurtful to others and that shows a lack of respect to other human beings, particularly those who hold high office. In doing so, we are, rather than creating a united South Africa made up of diverse people whose different cultures, religions, languages and tongues we can celebrate, creating a polarised society because we are certainly showing contempt for those who are not like us.
We believe that we are liberalists, and we have these liberal values with no reciprocal obligations, no responsibility to the people who have suffered for so long. We have a lack of sensitivity and we disguise our contempt and aversive racism as an expression of art. What kind of people do we want to create? Should we tell our children as they go to school that it is quite alright to display the genitals and the penis of your President because it is an expression of art? Is that what you expect this Ministry or government to do, and then defend it?
This is the challenge that we face. I am saying that it is not only about the acquisition of skills and knowledge but about attitudes and the character of a person.
Afrikaans:
Dis nie net onderwys, soos u gesê het nie. Dis ook opvoeding. Laat ek nou vir u 'n voorbeeld gee. Omtrent 'n week of twee gelede was Cosatu besig met hulle optog en die DA was besig met hulle optog. Daar was iemand met 'n plakkaat wat gesê het,
English:
"We will strip Helen Zille naked". The argument was that it was ideological, that it was political speak.
Afrikaans:
Wat het die Minister van Onderwys gedoen?
English:
She said that it is racist and sexist. She unequivocally rejected it with contempt. She did not pretend that it was a political expression to say that she is may be parading as an activist for the poor, whereas, in fact, she is not and therefore, we are going to strip her of that untruth. She said that it is sexist.
Afrikaans:
Jy sê dit van 'n vrou en dis nie aanvaarbaar nie.
English:
She said that is was racist.
Afrikaans:
Jy is swart en jy sê dit teen 'n blanke persoon. Dit is nie aanvaarbaar nie.
English:
Not in the country that we seek to build. We have a collective responsibility, whites and blacks, blacks and whites, to see that we should speak up for the truth, we should speak up for unity, and we should speak up for self-respect. [Applause.]
We have developed a manifesto of values and the manifesto of values is about human dignity, respect, nonsexism, nonracism and ubuntu. We cannot deviate from that particular course because those are the values that we as a nation say our children, irrespective of whether they are African, coloured, Indian or white, should celebrate because those are grounded and imbedded in our Constitution. Why is it that we are so quiet when an alleged artistic expression that seeks to infringe and violate the dignity of another person, who is black and who happens to be Head of State occurs? Why do we say that it is something that we should promote and protect because it is an expression of art? What is happening to our society? What is happening to our attitude? What is happening to our values?
Then there is anger, resentment, division and retaliation.
Afrikaans:
Dan sê hulle dat hulle dit nie kan verstaan nie.
English:
Why are they so angry? Don't they know that there is something like freedom of expression? "Jou ma se" ... I don't know. That is what is happening. So what we are saying is, let us respect the limitations of our rights. There are reciprocal obligations that we basically have. I say so on the basis that I have the privilege and honour of being a member of the task team that was assigned to conclude the Bill of Rights. It was not only about absolute rights. It was about the reciprocal obligations that derived from the rights that we have. They are inseparable. That is the message that we should speak about.
In terms of the responses, early childhood development is indeed central. I will end off on this lighter note: There is a group - those who are as old or as young as I am, would remember – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. They said, "Teach your children well." They argued about it. They created this song about teaching your children. It was about Vietnam. The parents who were in the war could not understand legally, morally or ethically why they were in that war. They said, "Don't you ever ask them why. If they told you, you would cry. Just sigh and know they love you." I say to those people, if you have erred, don't give an explanation. Say you are sorry. We love you. And that is what South Africa is all about. It is a giving, compassionate and loving nation. Thank you. [Applause.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): You could see he was born and raised in this House, Minister.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 24 May 2012 Take: 185
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Chairperson, in closing, I would really like to thank each and every hon member who participated in the debate. I would also like to thank the chairperson of the select committee for her ongoing guidance on these issues.
Just in brief, it is really difficult to reflect after such a closing remark by my colleague. There was an issue about the decrease in the budget. Hon De Villiers, I think that sounds like an opportunistic question. The decrease, specifically between 2011-12 and 2012-13, is due to agreement with National Treasury to reprioritise funding to support the improvement of conditions of services in the further education and training, FET, colleges. I would assume that it is understandable that, while the budget used to go to universities as we increase the pipeline strengthening our colleges, obviously there will be a reason why we shift around the finances.
There was also a comment about the fact that we need to expand student residences. Hon De Villiers, I think our strategic plan speaks precisely to that. I am not going to elaborate more than what is in our strategic plan. An interesting observation about the statement that learning and skills development starts at home brings sharply to our focus the fact that it is important to be conscious of the social context our learners come from. Sometimes we talk about education in an asocial and alienated manner and turn to debate as though there are people who are not doing well at school mainly because their schools are chaotic and irresponsible. The same applies to universities. Indeed, education talks to a highly unequal society – the extremely poor and extremely rich people. People bring their poverty into the education system.
There was also a point from hon Rantho about the importance of investing in education of the disabled. As I indicated, we are partnering with the National Institute for the Deaf to pilot a model for training people with hearing impairments in occupational skills and to increase intake from 40 to 120 students on the annual basis. A lot of money has already been put into that in terms of technological equipment to assist the blind in our institutions and so on.
Hon members, I think hon Makgate also reminded us of a sad incident that happened at the University of Johannesburg. Earlier on, I mentioned briefly that we are working on the establishment of regional offices in the provinces and those will be a springboard for our career guidance, which is a pillar for us in terms of preparing students to apply on time and to understand their career options and to ensure that their choices are informed by realities in the education system. We think this will go a long way in assisting students to avoid stampedes and so on.
With regard to the statement by the hon Gunda on the fact that education is a societal responsibility, we fully agree with that. We have partnered with different stakeholders to ensure that in our skills development pipeline all stakeholders contribute. We have even come up with the slogan: Every Place is a Training Space. That is very important for us, hon members, because if there is no commitment, especially from the private sector and the private suppliers, we wouldn't be able to develop the centres where people can learn for life.
Hon members, thank you very much for engaging us on this important Budget Vote, and we will continue to interact with the select committee on strategic issues. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr F Adams): Thank you, hon Deputy Minister. Hon members, the director-general has invited the Council to a cocktail dinner in Marks Building Restaurant. Therefore you are free to attend.
Hon members are requested to remain standing until the procession has left the House.
Debate concluded.
The Council adjourned at 18:36.
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