Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 09 Jun 2022
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
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Watch: Plenary
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES – VIRTUAL PLENARY
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Members of the virtual plenary session met on the virtual platform in the NCOP Chamber at 14:00.
The Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon delegates, before we proceed I would like to remind you of the following: That virtual sitting constitutes of the National Council of Provinces.
That the place of the sitting is deemed to be Cape Town where the seat of the National Council of Provinces is.
That delegates in the virtual sitting enjoy the same powers and privileges that apply in a sitting of the National Council
of Provinces. That for the purposes of the quorum, all delegates who are logged on to the virtual platform shall be considered present.
That delegates must switch on their videos if they want to speak. And that delegates should ensure that the microphones on their gadgets are muted and must always remain muted, unless they are speaking.
That the interpretation facility is active. And that permanent delegates, members of the executive, special delegates and South African Local Government Association, SALGA, representative are requested to ensure that the interpretation facility on their gadgets are properly activated to facilitate access to the interpretation services.
That any delegate who wants to speak must use the ‘raise your hand’ function and any delegate who wishes to raise a point of order, should be in accordance with rule 693 indicating in terms of featuring rule, he or she is raising.
That she informed that there will be no notices of motions or motions without notice. Hon delegates, before we proceed to the First Order, I would
like to take this opportunity to welcome the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, all Members of Executive Council, MECs and all
permanent and special delegates ... [Inaudible.] Hon delegates, we will now proceed to the First Order: Consideration of Report of Select Committee on Security and Justice Amendments to Regulations for approval in terms of section 97(2) of the Child Justice Act, 2008. I will now call on hon M B Bartlett, member of Select Committee on Security and Justice to present the Committee Report.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS FOR APPROVAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 97(2) OF THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT, 2008 (ACT NO. 75 OF 2008), DATED 25 MAY 2022.
Ms B M BARTLETT: Hon Deputy Chairperson, good afternoon to the Minister, Deputy Minister and the colleagues. Hon Deputy Chairperson, the Select Committee on Security and Justice, having considered the Amendments to Regulations for approval in terms of section 97(2) of the Child Justice Act No 75, of 2008, reports as follows:
Firstly, the amendments to regulations was tabled on 25 March 2022 and referred to the select committee for consideration and report. Secondly, Section 97(1) of the Child Justice Act, 75 of 2008, empowers the Minister to make regulations after consultation, where appropriate, with Cabinet Members
responsible for social development, safety and security, education, correctional services and health. Thirdly, in terms of section 97(2) of the Act, the regulations must be referred to Parliament for approval. Fourthly, the committee received a briefing from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on 20 April 2022. Hon Deputy Chairperson, in 2019, this House considered and passed amendments for the Child Justice Amendment Act. It is important to reflect on those amendments, to provide context to the passing regulations before the House today. The Child Justice Amendment Act primary objective is to amend the Child Justice Amendment Act No. 75 of 2008 in order to increase the minimum age of criminal capacity of a child, to remove the requirement, to prove criminal capacity for purposes of diversion and preliminary inquiries. And to provide for consequential amendments.
Deputy Chairperson, one of the key features of the Child Justice Amendment Act, is that it provides for a minimum age of criminal capacity of children. Children who are presumed to know the difference between right and wrong and to act in accordance with that knowledge.
Deputy Chairperson, the key aim therefore, for the Child Justice Amendment Act was to increase the age of criminal capacity of children from the age of 10 to 12 years, so as be in line with South Africa’s international obligations. South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the right of a child and the African Charter and thereby incurred
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various obligations regarding the treatment of children,
including children in conflict with the law.
States parties like South Africa, were encouraged to increase
the minimum age of criminal capacity. Twelve years is an
absolute minimum and to continue to increase to a higher age
level. It is in line with this obligation that the committee
... [Inaudible.] ... to agree to increase the age of criminal
capacity from 10 years to 12 years.
And noted that the department will review the age level within
five years again Deputy Chair. Hence, hon Deputy Chair ...
[Inaudible.] ... regulation will align with the changes
brought about by the Child Justice Amendment Act of 2019.
A proposed amendment regulations are lastly consequential and
improve the increase of minimum age of criminal capacity from
10 years to 12 years.
Secondly, the rebuttable presumption is retained to children
who are older than 12 years, but younger than 14 years. The
manner of dealing with the child, depending on the age of the
child from the time of arrest to assessment. Preliminary
inquiry and ... [Inaudible.] ... trial at the Child Justice
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Court. The removal of requirement that the prosecutor must
consider the cognitive ability of children when determining
whether or not to prosecute the child since they are not
equipped to do so.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the criminal capacity of a child can
only be addressed during a plea and trial in Child Justice
Court and not during the preliminary inquiry and for diversion
purposes.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, sixthly, to prohibit a magistrate to
dispense with a pre-sentence report where the court may impose
a sentence involving compulsory residence in a child and youth
care centre or imprisonment and other technical amendments.
Hon Deputy Chair, the department reported that the amendment
regulations were developed in consultation of the
representatives for the various institutions which form part
of intersectoral committee for child justice, was established
in terms of Section 94. The Act include the following
departments: The Director General of Justice and
Constitutional Development, who’s the Chairperson of the
committee, Social Development, Basic Education, Health, the
National Director of Public Prosecutions and National
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Commissioners of the South African Police Service and
Correctional Services.
Eleven, as required by Section 97(1) of the Act. Consultation
for the Cabinet Members responsible for social development,
safety and security, education, correctional services and
health took place. Consultation also took place on a
continuous basis where senior officials of the relevant
departments.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the Amendment Act has not yet come
into operation, as it is envisaged that the draft regulations
will come into operation on the same date. Therefore, until
Parliament has approved the amendments to the regulations, a
commencement date for the Amendment Act cannot be determined.
A commencement date for Amendment Act, it is however envisaged
that Amendment Act and draft regulations are put into
operation not later than 30 June 2022.
These regulations are important in terms of ensuring the
children in conflict with the law are treated fairly at all
times and it with this in mind that the committee agreed to
the amendments to the regulations and to ensure alignment with
the Child Justice Amendment Act.
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Hon Deputy Chairperson, the select committee recommends that
the National Council of Provinces approve the Amendments to
regulations tabled for approval in terms of Section 97(2) of
the Child Justice Act, 2008 (Act No. 75 of 2008). I thank you,
hon Deputy Chairperson.
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly agreed to in accordance with Section 65 of
the Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF PARLIAMENT — PARLIAMENT OF THE
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA’S 2021-22 MID-YEAR PERFORMANCE, DATED
4 MARCH 2022
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF PARLIAMENT — PARLIAMENT OF THE
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REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA’S 2021-22 THIRD QUARTER REPORT, DATED
3 JUNE 2022
Ms D G MAHLANGU: Hon Deputy Chairperson, let me greet the
Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council
of Provinces, the Chief Whip of the Council, special
delegates, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, MECs, hon members
...
IsiNdebele:
... akwande.
English:
Hon Deputy Chairperson, thank you for affording me the
opportunity to table the Report of the Joint Standing
Committee on Financial Management of Parliament on the Mid-
Term Performance of Parliament for the 2021-22, and the third
quarter report for the same period.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, I think it will be of crucial
importance to firstly remind this august House that the 2021-
22 financial year is the first financial year to implement the
Sixth Parliament’s Strategic Plan. Therefore, the two previous
quarters of this financial year assessed the Parliament’s
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performance in implementing the Annual Performance Plan, APP,
which is derived from the Sixth Parliament’s Strategic Plan.
This mid-term report is derived from the revised APP which is
aligned to Sixth Parliament’s Strategic Plan.
The Sixth Parliament’s Strategic Plan changes significantly
from the Fifth Parliament Strategic Plan, starting with the
change in the budget programme structure of Parliament up to
the change on how the performance of Parliament is measured.
It currently consists of three budget programmes, as compared
to the five budget programmes that Parliament used to have in
the Fifth Parliament. It further measures its performance by
using the client satisfaction model rather than the
conventional way, which was informed by the framework on
Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plans published by the
Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation as I
indicated earlier this week.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, in spite of what I have just alluded
to above, at the end of the period under review, the
Parliament has spent R1,88 billion or 45% of its annual
allocation of R2, 6 billion. It is projected that the
institution will underspent its annual budget by about R13,
9 million at the end of the financial year, mainly due to the
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underspending in relation to PAMED Medical Aid Scheme. It is
important to note that the majority of funds were spent to
produce, amongst others, 442 committee minutes produced within
prescribed three days, 82 committee reports produced within
standard eight-day period, 30 Committee reports on Bills
before National Assembly and the National Council of
Provinces, and 29 oversight visits undertaken. Bills before
the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces
under ... I beg your pardon, hon Deputy Chairperson.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, for the period under review that is on
the table, there were no serious issues identified from the
performance of Parliament. This might be due to what I have
highlighted before that this is the first financial year
implementing the APP derived from the Strategic Plan of the
Sixth Parliament. Therefore, most of the information presented
is new without any historical data for comparison. For
example, two out of three budget programmes are new without
any historical information. Also, there is a new model which
is currently used to measure the performance of Parliament. As
such, the Parliament performed at 100%. It achieved all 11
performance targets it set to achieve during this period.
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In spite of the above, the committee has noted some few
concerns. Firstly, the committee notes with concern the
written report regarding the recently acquired broadcast
studio, specifically the fact that the studio will require
approximately R30 million in funding over the next three
years, which is currently not budgeted. In light of
Parliament’s budgetary constraints and the slow pace of
resolving the challenges, the Committee is concerned that it
may not be possible to make use of this facility and reap the
benefits as envisaged.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, we have learnt through Parliament
reports that it is restructuring, and that organisational re-
alignment project was progressing as planned, and that phase
two was underway. The committee has to take note of that and
be briefed in detail on what the project entails and its
implementation plan so far. In this regard the committee
recommended that it has to be furnished with a detailed report
containing the reasons and objectives for such restricting and
financial implications of such project.
Lastly, the committee remains concerned that there are no
performance indicators under Programme 3 especially given the
serious challenges raised by members relating to poor services
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they received on this programme. While the committee has noted
the explanation that, as the matters provided for under this
programme, relate to inputs and not items against which
Parliament was required perform, it is unconvinced that
performance could not be measured. As such, the committee has
requested to be provided with a detailed clarification of how
the performance of those responsible for delivering or
facilitating the services that fall under Programme 3 are
measured.
Hon Deputy Chairperson and hon members, reporting on both
financial and non-financial performance is important in
measuring the performance of this institution. While financial
information, meaning the expenditure and revenue, is critical
for determining the costs and efficiencies of programmes or
objectives or activities, non-financial information is equally
important for assessing progress towards achieving
predetermined service delivery or performance targets. Thus
quarterly assessment of performance targets assists in
tracking of ongoing performance of the Parliament.
Furthermore, reporting on performance targets on a quarterly
basis provides progress on the implementation of the
Parliament’s plans with particular reference to monitoring
delivery against the specific quarterly performance.
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Therefore, this mid-term report serves as one of our oversight
instrument used to oversee Parliament in achieving its plans,
thereby achieving its broad objectives.
In view of this, the committee is dissatisfied with Parliament
having performance target which only tracks it performance on
an annual basis. It deprives us to monitor progress as far as
achieving such performance targets. Therefore, all performance
targets should be broken or measured on a quarterly basis.
In respect of the third-quarter report, I draw your attention
again to the strategic priorities to strengthen oversight and
to enhance public involvement in Parliament’s activities.
Parliament achieved to strengthen oversight by enhancing
research and legal support and improved members’ capacity to
effectively and efficiently execute their oversight
responsibilities. The public involvement has been enhanced by
ensuring openness and accountability by the executive
government through the optimal use of social media and
participation in parliamentary virtual meetings. Therefore, on
the onset, I must say Parliament scored 76% on the member
satisfaction survey.
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The organisational realignment project is in second phase, of
which the peer review, analysis and design work were completed
for risk and compliance, strategy management, legal services
and research services. However, the organisational realignment
slow progress is the matter of concern. The committee,
therefore, should receive a detailed report on it outlining
the reasons for delay to implementation. The committee noted
that vacant positions cannot be filled pending the
implementation of the organisational realignment. Therefore,
as a matter of urgency, the organisational realignment should
be finalised as soon as possible.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, on the financial performance,
Parliament had spent approximately R1,8 billion or 68% of the
annual budget of R2,7 billion. Parliament intended to utilise
all savings from the programmes to refurbish some minor
damages as a result of the fire incident, which occurred in
January 2022.
The compensation of members’ allocation of R120,7 million had
been overspent by approximately R370 000 in the third quarter.
However, Parliament management indicated that the overspending
on members’ compensation will be offset by the National
Revenue Fund, as per the provisions of section 23(4) of the
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Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures
Act, FMPPLA.
The spending on compensation of employees amounts to
R278,6 million of the third quarter budget of R316,6 million.
Therefore, the underspending of R1,2 million on compensation
of employees was projected to underspend the annual budget at
the end of the financial year. The underspending may be
attributed to the vacant positions, but we know that there has
been progress or movement of some kind.
The Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of
Parliament noted success in the third quarter by Parliament.
However, the upgrading project of the various chambers which
was in progress at the end of the third quarter, have been
affected and hindered by the fire incident in the precinct of
Parliament.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the committee observed that the
relationship between the South African Police Service and the
Parliament Protection Service is informal and resulted in
breaching the security measures. As far as the security
enhancement is concerned, Parliament should stop the project
of security enhancement until the Head of Security is
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appointed in order for the competent security expert ensure
that Parliament’s security needs are attended sufficiently.
Lastly, the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management
of Parliament noted that there were many vacant positions,
especially at the senior management level. Therefore, the
committee should receive a quarterly update on filling of
critical vacancies, in particular of the senior management.
Let me take this opportunity as I close to thank the support
staff who are working very hard behind the scene, members of
the committee who are always available and compromising their
time and made it possible for us to steer the ship smoothly.
IsiNdebele:
Yee Mahlangu! Yee Mahlangu! Wenzile wekosi. Bayede!
Siyathokoza.
Debate concluded.
Question put that the Report of Joint Standing Committee on
the Financial Management of Parliament — Parliament of the
Republic of South Africa’s 2021-22 mid-year performance, dated
4 march 2022 be agreed to.
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[TAKE IN FROM MINUTES]
Report accordingly agreed to in accordance with section 65 of
the Constitution.
Debate concluded.
Declaration of Vote on the Third Order:
Ms C LABUSCHAGNE: Deputy Chair, whilst the DA supports the
reports today, the following points of concern must be noted.
The members’ satisfaction survey is extremely limited and
distorts the perception of the performance of Parliament. As
pointed out, it would be meaningful to conduct a survey
through bodies such as Afrobarometer to evaluate the
perception of Parliament by ordinary South Africans and then
to consider and implement changes to improve the institution.
At present, our focus is 490 individuals, and not enough on
the 60 million citizens that we serve. This is, after all, the
people’s Parliament.
In terms of expenditure we should be concerned that only 68%
of the budget was spent. It is also ridiculous to say that the
savings, some R832 million, will be sufficient to cover
refurbishment of Parliament following the devastating fire
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damage. The costs of that rebuild must be covered by Treasury
and Public Works.
Serious consideration must also be given to relocating the
costs of PARMED Medical Aid Scheme and other members’ benefits
to another cost centre outside of Parliament. These costs are
a millstone around our necks and drag down the core business
of our institution. Our job is oversight of government
function and legislation, not paying salaries and medical
bills.
Finally, in terms of core business, it cannot be right that a
full six months after the fire at Parliament, the House that
was not damaged by fire – our House, the NCOP still does not
meet in person in the House or in committee. At the same time,
the National Assembly, that suffered the brunt of the damage
meets on a hybrid platform and has at least some direct
interaction.
Hon members, I know that it is comfortable to sit on virtual
platforms, but it is not right. We must be militant and demand
that we return to normality and conduct effective and full
oversight in service of the people of our country. I thank
you.
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Question put that the Report of Joint Standing Committee on
Financial Management of Parliament — Parliament of the
Republic of South Africa’s 2021-22 third quarter report, dated
3 June 2022, be agreed to.
[TAKE IN FROM MINUTES]
Report accordingly agreed to in accordance with section 65 of
the Constitution.
APPROPRIATION BILL
(Policy debate)
Vote No 10 — Public Enterprises:
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Good afternoon, Deputy
Chairperson, hon members and members of the public. I have the
honour to present the Budget Vote for the Department of Public
Enterprises for the year 2022-23.
The mandate of the Department of Public Enterprises is to
contribute to the reconstruction and the recovery of the
economy from a combination of state capture, the July
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violence, the recent floods and the COVID pandemic, by doing
the following:
Firstly, to enhance the governance and integrity in state-
owned entities, SOEs, not only at the level of the boards but
also at other levels of management and staff;
Secondly, to introduce a new ownership model with the guidance
of the Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Council;
Thirdly, to implement the structural reforms needed in the
network industries;
Fourthly, to take account of and implement the recommendations
of the Zondo Commission, the last report of which is due soon;
Fifthly, to relentlessly focus on operational improvements and
efficiency;
Sixth, to improve the financial resilience of these
institutions which were badly damaged during this period that
I’ve just referred to;
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Seventh, to reinvent their business models and strategies to
take account of global developments and national imperatives;
Eighth, to constantly build the professionalism and competence
of managers and staff, particularly in a context where good
managers and staff, and technical skills, were exited from
these organisations during the past few years;
Ninth, to contribute actively to economic transformation and
the creation of new opportunities for South Africans;
Tenth, to co-operate with workers to lead and embrace the
substantial changes needed to ensure the future sustainability
of SOEs;
Eleventh, to create a collaborative partnership with customers
and stakeholders to arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes —
the mining and agricultural industries are examples of that;
Twelfth, to encourage public-private partnerships that
mobilise the necessary resources and skills to advance the SOE
programmes; and
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Finally, to actively combat corruption and disruption, whether
from within SOEs or from counter-revolutionary forces outside
of SOEs.
We have a few contrasting perspectives in undertaking this
responsibility and we see this debate every day in the public
domain:
Firstly, as would be evidenced in the other Chamber and
elsewhere in our country, are the purveyors of fake news,
bots, populist narratives and bullying. They are joined by
those who display rank opportunism, who have a scorched earth
approach to South Africa, and only their greed, their
ambitions and their need to avoid responsibility for the
thieving that took place during state capture matters to them.
They want the right to continue to steal, now seeking to
intimidate and mislead people into wrong political choices
regardless of the consequences for the country as a whole;
Secondly, there are those who fanatically subscribe to a
neoliberal outlook, belittling any initiative that falls
outside the dependence on the market and those basic pillars
of neoliberalism that we often see repeated in some of the
media and in Parliament as well; and
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Thirdly, there are those who live by the progressive values of
Nelson Mandela and Chris Hani, who want to improve the lives
of our citizens, ensure that there is a sharing ethic in this
country ... an enabling ethic so that all of us can develop.
There is an attachment to honesty, to integrity and to
democratic principles. This is a perspective that guides us in
this challenging journey of the recovery of SOEs.
Strong organized communities are of course fundamental to the
security of our country’s infrastructure and we must have a
sense of national pride in our electricity, rail, water and
other infrastructure assets and protect them from being broken
and stolen, which is frequently the case in instances such as
that of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, Prasa, Transnet and
Eskom.
We also need to build partnerships because partnerships are
vital in order to make progress with communities that are
impacted by load shedding, illegal connections and the energy
transition to come. They must be informed and become
participants and shapers of their own future, together with
the state and the private sector.
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Workers are also important stakeholders, both in SOEs and
industry, and play a crucial role and are impacted by changes
in technology and other processes. We must build constructive
partnerships that enable us to recover and rebuild our SOEs
with the participation of workers. Most importantly, they must
be at the frontline in protecting our infrastructure against
criminals and detect any sabotage that takes place.
Of course, there is the private sector which controls 70% of
our economy. Partnerships with them can take various forms as
they have in the past and will in the future, from joint
investments to solving challenges together and to ensuring
that there are proactive collaborations between themselves and
the state.
The Zondo Commission, which is chaired by the Chief Justice,
finds in the first few reports that have already been issued,
that the evidence presented to him reveal that there was
systemic corruption that collapsed governance in these
institutions and that this was led by certain members of the
boards of these institutions, senior executives in
collaboration with politicians, business and professional
firms, amongst many others, both in South Africa and outside
South Africa. These people need to be held accountable
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wherever they might be in the world, as we’ve seen in the
recent past.
The report already confirms that state capture tentacles were
deeply rooted in Transnet, Eskom, Denel, the SA Airways, SAA,
and even within the department itself, which was at the centre
of some of these processes. The department has moved swiftly
in response to the first few reports to ensure that SOEs
reporting to it do the following:
Firstly, open criminal cases with law enforcement authorities
where this is relevant;
Secondly, pursue civil recoveries to claw back billions of
rand. An example would be Eskom, which has recovered
R1,55 billion from ABB, an engineering company that engaged in
malfeasance. There are characters who collaborated with ABB
that are still walking around freely, whereas they should be
in jail;
Thirdly, refer cases to the registrar of companies, so that
former directors of SOEs who are found guilty of malfeasance
are prohibited from ever again serving as company directors;
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Fourthly, blacklist companies on the central supplier database
to prevent them from accessing state procurement
opportunities; and
Fifthly, refer cases to professional bodies for enquiries, to
ensure that the perpetrators of state capture are prohibited
from practicing in their respective disciplines.
We must collectively applaud the bravery of whistle-blowers
who put their lives at risk — some have in fact lost their
lives — to expose the rot of corruption and state capture.
They must be protected and celebrated for their courage.
Despite the many challenges, the following are just a sample
of the measures that are being put in place to both improve
the performance of SOEs and to reorientate their business
models.
In the case of Eskom, the challenges are quite evident.
Firstly, the lack of generation capacity, and for some time we
have been saying that Eskom requires between four and six
gigawatts or 4 000 and 6 000 megawatts of additional capacity,
which will allow it to maintain power stations at a much
better level than they currently do.
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In response to this, there have been various bid windows that
have been assigned for investment by the private sector.
However, Eskom itself has taken the initiative to open up its
own land around power stations, particularly, in Mpumalanga,
for long-term leases to renewable energy developers and
investors. Of course, new and more aggressive measures are
being finalised within government to overcome this challenge.
The second very important challenge is poor coal quality,
which is often caused by syndicated coal delivery and causes
major damage to boilers and the plants at power stations.
Eskom is seeking collaboration with the coal mining industry
to solve this problem. Sabotage continues to be a problem, as
has been in the news over the last few weeks, for example the
cutting of cables and of tubes and of leaving certain taps
either open or closed. These are all indications that there
are internal people, for example within Eskom, that are
engaging in these kinds of negative activities.
In terms of corrupt procurement, there are several syndicates
that are involved in the delivery of coal, in the delivery of
fuel, oil and other supplies, including spares. Measures are
being taken to identify the insiders who are enabling
syndicates to gain access to ... the opportunity to steal.
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Measures are also being taken to eliminate overpricing and
other malpractices.
So, in addition to what I’ve said, what are some of the things
being done. Firstly, in relation to improving the generation
operational performance, urgent steps are being taken in this
particular regard and an operations excellence initiative is
being put in place. This will identify the major causes of
underperformance and make improvements on a daily basis to the
performance levels at various power stations.
At selected power stations, war rooms will be set up to ensure
that production challenges are tackled in a systemic, but
immediate and agile way.
A skills mentoring programme. using highly experienced power
station managers has been launched, and here it’s important
that we recognise that skills and certificates are one thing,
but nothing can sometimes replace 20 years of experience as
well. In order to bridge that gap, this kind of mentoring
programme is absolutely essential. This team will be deployed
to power stations where load losses are particularly severe.
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In instances where there is neglected and poor maintenance, a
great deal of focus will be placed on the quality of work that
contractors do. They will be held directly accountable for the
improvements that are expected but also the improvements that
are not delivered after having collected a fair sum of money
for the work that they do.
As I mentioned earlier on, the upgrading of skills and
training, and the financial stabilisation of Eskom, which
expects better financial results in the coming year than in
the previous year, are also important.
From the NCOP’s point of view, there are many projects in
provinces that are of relevance to hon members. Eskom’s
priority projects per province addresses the issue of security
of electricity supply, as well as the energy transition from
coal to renewable energy sources. The funding requirements for
generation projects is about R200 billion, for extending the
transmission grid another R120 billion to R150 billion and a
further investment of R45 billion is required in the
distribution networks, some of which belong to municipalities.
This kind of expenditure and investment would have a positive
economic effect on the economies in the various provinces as
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well. These are some examples of some of the projects in some
of the provinces:
Firstly, in Mpumalanga is the Komati gas project. This is our,
if you like, role model for energy transition within Eskom
itself and was demonstrated in part at Cop 26. We need some
progress before Cop 27 takes place in Egypt. This will
generate around 1 000 megawatts of electricity from
renewables, with about R15 billion required in terms of
funding;
Secondly, in the Western Cape, the Sere PV project will
generate 600 megawatts and require R12,5 billion in funding;
Thirdly, in the Northern Cape, the Kleinzee project will
generate 300 megawatts and require some R7,6 billion in
investment;
Fourthly, in the Eastern Cape, the Aberdeen project will
generate 200 megawatts and require about R5 billion;
Fifthly, in the Free State, the Lethabo PV project will
generate 75 megawatts and require R1,5 billion; and
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Finally, in KwaZulu-Natal, the Richards Bay gas project will
generate some 3 000 megawatts and require some R70 billion of
investment.
As I indicated earlier, transmission would also require a
great deal of investments as well and in addition to the tens
of thousands of kilometers that are currently wiring South
Africa’s transmission grid, a further 8 000 kilometers of
transmission grid expansion is required in order to cover
areas, particularly in the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape,
where there are both wind and solar resources that can be
utilised by investors in renewable energy.
Twelve substations across four provinces — the Northern Cape,
Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State — will also have to
be constructed and 110 transformers to deliver network
strengthening requirements up to 2030 would be required as
well. In addition, these are some of the distribution
opportunities:
Firstly, strengthening of the critical corridors on the
distribution grid to enable connection of independent power
producers, IPPs, and distributed energy resources;
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Secondly, the roll-out of microgrid solutions to electrify
13% of the population to deliver against government’s
electrification programme. These are largely areas where the
normal transmission grid cannot reach communities or villages,
and where these microgrids created and manufactured by Eskom
will in fact do that job; and
Thirdly, enable bidirectional energy management, meaning the
supplying of energy but also the buying of electricity onto
the grid itself. Technical work in this particular regard is
also taking place.
As another example, in the case of Transnet, the Transnet
National Ports Authority has now been established as a
subsidiary of Transnet itself, which was an important step
that needed to be taken to ensure that it operates
independently as a ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms S E Lucas): Please Ms
Bowers, you are ... [Inaudible.] ... Can you mute? I’m sorry,
Minister. You may continue.
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Thank you. I was referring
to the Transnet National Ports Authority and the fact that it
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has been established as a subsidiary so that it can act as an
independent landlord, both for Transnet’s own terminal
operations but private-sector terminal operators as well.
There are a number of areas where so-called corridor processes
have been put into place as well, which I will spell out in a
moment. However, some of the successes that Transnet has had
over the last two and a half years or so is the approval of
branch line concessions that have become fully operational.
There is more work to be done in this particular regard,
particularly when these branch lines are not being fully
utilised; the recently announced slot sales on the Container
Corridor and the Cape Corridor for private-sector
participation. There are engagements happening with the
private sector in this regard; procurement of port equipment,
that is straddle carriers, gantries and other equipment that
is essential for productivity at the ports; and the road to
rail migration strategy, which has still a long way to go but,
once some of these trucks have been settled down and the
postflood damage, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, has been
repaired, we will see greater movement in this direction as
well.
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I come back to the corridor concept that has been developed
within Transnet for different segments of the economy. The
automotive segment ... the development of the prefeasibility
business case and requests for information, RFI, for
Kaalfontein and three AutoPort terminals is in progress and
this is largely to cater for the massive investment that the
Ford Motor Company is making in Tshwane, and that impacts on
the Gauteng province. The export of these vehicles will take
place through the Eastern Cape, particularly the Gqeberha
port. The developments there will also be a huge investment in
the expansion of the port’s facilities.
As far as the manganese component is concerned, a decision has
been taken to limit the expansion via the Port of Ngqura to
16 million tons per annum, via the port of Saldanha to
6 million tons per annum and to accommodate growth beyond
22 million tons to the Boegoebaai development, which is
another massive investment over the next 10 years in the
Northern Cape.
As I said earlier on, as far as the energy context is
indicated ... [Inaudible.]
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms S E Lucas): Hon
Minister, as you conclude.
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Okay. So, those are some
examples of the progress that has been made. I’m not saying
that this is all that has been done, but this is an indication
of the kind of direction that we need to take in the
reconstruction and recovery process. Thank you very much.
Mr M NHANHA: Can you hear me Chair?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Nhanha, can I request
that you continue with the debate. Hon Nyambi is also in Port
St Johns and is in the meantime also experiencing network
challenges. Please continue.
Mr M NHANHA: That is absolutely fine Chair. It’s only that you
took me by surprise, but anyway, it is what it is. Hon Deputy
Chairperson, hon Members of the NCOP, hon Minister and Deputy
Minister. Hon members, allow me to begin my contribution in
today’s debate by quoting an extract from a statement by Ms
Busisiwe Mavuso, open quote:
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But what we will not accept and not what we’ll agree to
in spite of all the challenges that we are facing as an
organization and all the efforts that have been put in
place, is to have this board and Andre as the fall guy
for the mess that this organization is currently
experiencing. Because the reality of the matter is that
this is not our mess. We have been brought in to clean it
up. But we are not going to be the fall for the
R300 billion plus or whatever of Medupi and Kusile that
have still not been completed.
We are doing our best to try and finalize those projects
and as Andre has said, we’ve committed that we’ll avail
ourselves to be accountable chairperson to ensure that
Kusile is finished by 2023. But everything else, honestly
we cannot be the fall guy for this ANC-led government.
Fast forward:
It is not an insult it’s facts hon. Hadebe, that this is
the mess of the ANC-led government.
Ms Busisiwe Mavuso, Nonexecutive Director at Eskom.
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Hon members, this afternoon I would like to pay a special
tribute to a true South African, an epitome of women strength
and resilience, an embodiment of an upright South African, who
in the face of real prospects of limiting her career chose to
speak truth to power. Allow me to pay homage Ms. Busisiwe
Mavuso for the bravery and courage she displayed during a
meeting between Eskom and Standing Committee on Public
Accounts, Scopa. Faced by ANC denialists, she stood her ground
and did not buckle under pressure.
Hon members, part of our brief as the select committee is to
exercise oversight over a number of state-owned enterprises
i.e. SA Airways, Denel, Alexkor, Safcol, Transnet and Eskom as
the Minister has correctly pointed out. The state of all these
state-owned enterprises, SOE’s without exception is a story of
an African country gone horribly wrong. I have no doubt in my
mind that, the architects of apartheid and their remnants are
laughing at what has become of South Africa. This reinforcing
their belief that we are not capable to run a country or do
anything for ourselves on our own.
The Department of Public Enterprises as a shareholder
representative is required to oversee seven SOEs, whose staff
compliments and budgets makes mockery of the shareholder
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representative. The department has about plus-minus 200 staff
members yet they are expected to effectively oversee SOEs with
an average staff compliment of 3 000. Surely hon members, this
does not require Pythagoras’s theory because X+Y in this
instance does not equal to Z. I said it before and I shall say
it again, hon Masualle, you are at liberty to label me being
in the wilderness once again ...
IsiXhosa:
... kodwa ndiyakuthembisa ukuba iyasongwa intambo. UMzantsi
Afrika uvukile emaqandeni.
English:
Gone are the days when your party thought you will govern
until Jesus Christ comes. Hon members, it is unfortunate
though that, tens of billions were sucked from the national
fiscus with no outcomes to show for it. The message to SOEs is
loud and clear, shape up or ship out, with the latter being
the only realistic opportunity.
The sad reality is, should you place SOEs at the centre of
economic growth and job creation, a philosophy that has
spectacularly failed throughout the world, and in our country
it has actually brought down our economy with them, you are
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doomed to fail. Hon members without exception, all our SOEs
have been a heavy burden to the fiscus and the taxpayer by
asking for one bailout after the other, by asking for one
government guarantee after another.
It is about time as the nation we start counting our losses,
close shop, vamoose and move on. If President Ramaphosa’s
assertions in the state of the nation address this year are
anything to go by, the state must graciously exit and allow
business to do what they do best and we will see economic
growth and creation of much needed jobs
Minister, I was watching your department’s reaction to Ms.
Mavuso’s statement with keen interest. It may have come as a
shock or embarrassment to the ANC, but I think if taken in a
positive spirit, her statement was from a frustrated, honest
South African trying to contribute ...
Afrikaans:
... maar sy was net gatvol, ...
IsiXhosa:
... udikiwe.
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English:
Whilst most of us were celebrating the end of state capture,
Eskom Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO is very much holding
a different view. He is quoted as saying, “State capture is
still the fabric of Eskom”.
He goes on to allege interest of Ministers and former
Presidents were applied through the board and through members
of management being instructed to appoint certain people or
give favour to certain suppliers. He contends that we have a
dire shortage of specialised skills such as chartered
accountants and engineers to oversee management at Eskom.
Remember, affirmative action these are the end results.
Skilled people are leaving our SOEs.
All is not well at Eskom, as Mr De Ruyter at Eskom and his
team successfully stopped the theft of diesel worth millions
of rand. The criminal syndicates delivered coal mixed with
rocks and steel to increase weight for a better pay. This does
not only steal from the taxpayer but also damages the boilers
that burn the coal, for me and you to have constant and
reliable electricity supply. Like the frustrated Ms Mavuso,
your chief executive officer needs your support Minister. He
wants to know you have his back so he can discharge his duties
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without having to worry about his back from the bloodthirsty
ANC daggers.
The situation at the utility is so bad. Cable thieves get
arrested today and are released a day later at the instruction
of senior police officers. So Minister, you can tell your
colleague hon Mbalula, you cannot discontinue manufacturing
cars because you want to stop car theft, deal with the crime.
Deal with illegal and unscrupulous ... [Inaudible] ... rather
than going after industry as a whole. Our law enforcement
agencies must do their work and leave legal and law abiding
scrap mental dealers in peace. We all live in hope but it
becomes a problem when you think hope is a plan. This is not
our mess; this is an ANC mess. Thank you.
Ms T P MAMOROBELA: Thank you, hon Chairperson, the Minister,
the delegation from NCOP, MECs that are here, and members of
the House, thank you very much. Hon Chairperson, the African
Union is gradually making strides and taking giant steps
towards recognizing the over 1,3 billion African inhabitants
as one people and one market. To be more specific, the African
Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, presents an important
step in this regard as it seeks to establish a unified
continental market, including the free physical movement of
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people, investment, and goods within and amongst African
states. Thus, serious considerations have to be in place by
African governments to remove all the aspects constraining the
aviation sector to achieve the full realization of the African
Continental Free Trade Area.
The ANC-led government is already undertaking tangible
physical actions to improve the aviation sector for the smooth
and seamless movement of people, investment, and goods between
South Africa and other African economies. The restructuring of
the SA Airways, SAA, provides a big incentive to improve the
aviation sector in South Africa and subsequently cater for the
movement of people, investment, and goods. In particular, the
partnership between the ANC-led government and Takatso
Consortium in SAA is expected to bring in the funding and
skills required to strengthen SAA’s balance sheet and its
operations. This partnership presents an opportunity not only
to further strengthen integration, trade, and investment in
Africa to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade
Area, AfCFTA, but also complements the ANC-led government’s
Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, ERRP, and the
National Development Plan, NDP.
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Allow me to highlight the major benefits of the restructuring
of SAA and the manner in which they complement the Economic
Reconstruction and Recovery Plan as well as the NDP. The
National Development Plan postulates that South Africa has
several comparative advantages, including world heritage sites
and the global niche tourism and creative industries.
Moreover, the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan posits
that the tourism, cultural, and creative industries are the
growth focal point as they are labour intensive and that they
stimulate the growth of small businesses. Considering that
these industries were impacted negatively by the COVID-19
pandemic, the ANC-led government’s key priority intervention
includes catalysing domestic tourism, cultural, and creative
industries demand through seamless foreign visits that
encourage safe domestic vacation experience. The restructuring
of SAA strives to put in place the right measures to improve
the operations of the national airline to enable the movement
of foreign visits to prevent the collapse of the tourism,
cultural, and creative industries supply base. In other words,
the funding and new critical skills underpinning the
restructuring of SAA will ensure that only quality aircraft is
deployed in the efforts to increase ease of access into South
Africa for the purposes of stimulating the international
tourist market, thereby improving the quality of service the
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national airline provides to domestic and international
passengers.
Hon Chairperson, the principal tourism, cultural, and creative
industries that will benefit much out of the restructuring of
the SAA will be precisely the ones that provide opportunities
for more people, often outside of the formal economy such as
Robben Island in the Western Cape; iSimangaliso Wetland Park
in KwaZulu-Natal; Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng; Ukhahlamba-
Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal; Mapungubwe Heritage Site in
Limpopo; Cape Flora Kingdom in Western Cape; Richtersveld
Cultural and Botanical Landscape in the Northern Cape; and
Vredefort Dome in Free State. More importantly, promoting
domestic vacation experiences in these world heritage sites
will deepen the spatial tourism subsector product offerings in
villages and small towns in the least developed provinces like
Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Free State.
Hon Chairperson, the restructuring of the SAA is touted to
stimulate competition in the aviation industry to help lower
the cost of domestic travel. In addition to the Johannesburg
to Cape Town flights, the SAA has resumed flights to Durban
with three times daily return service from Friday, 4th March
2022, and this will make it easier for passengers to
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conveniently connect on SAA to Accra, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos,
Lusaka, and Mauritius services. Furthermore, adding Durban to
SAA’s local network is vital in linking two economically
important cities and economies, namely Johannesburg and Durban
in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces respectively. The
extension of the SAA’s flights to include Durban will
certainly unlock the demand and supply side constraints in the
tourism, cultural, and creative industries in KwaZulu-Natal
province. In particular, tourist attractions such as Ushaka
Marine World, Phezulu Safari Park, Durban Botanic Gardens, and
the Moses Mabhida Stadium have potential to generate
employment and foreign earnings. Thus, the successful relaunch
of the SAA in September 2021, which has yielded positive
effects including but not limited to SAA leading its local
competitors when it comes to on-time performance and achieving
a 100% completion rate of scheduled flights including
uncontrollable cancellations points to the capability of SAA
to regain passenger confidence to support tourism, cultural,
and creative industries in the hopes of creating more job
opportunities that South Africa badly needs. Most importantly,
the tourism, cultural, and creative industries in KwaZulu-
Natal which evidence shows that the restructuring of SAA is
positioned to support is important for the revival of the
provincial economy after the devastating recent floods.
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Hon Chairperson, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa
announced in 2022 state of the nation address, Sona, that the
ANC-led government is committed to streamlining and
modernizing the visa process to make it easier to travel to
South Africa for tourism, business, and work. Interestingly,
the e-visa system was launched in 14 countries including South
Africa’s international trade allies and partners like China
and India. Linked to this, the ANC-led government has
introduced visa waivers for travellers from Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Qatar, New Zealand, Cuba, Ghana and Sao
Tome and Principe. Moreover, the ANC-led government is
currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the visa
system to explore the possibility of new visa categories that
could enable economic growth, such as a start-up visa and a
remote working visa. The necessary amendments to the visa
system have important implications for the SAA in particular
and the tourism, cultural, and creative industries in general
through different multiplier effects, for instance, the
introduction of the e-visa in countries like China and India,
as well as visa waivers in countries like Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates will make travelling to South Africa for
tourism, business, and work more attractive and SAA is already
preparing itself for this inevitable reality through its
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efforts to increase frequencies where possible and use
existing capacity to meet customer demands.
Hon Chairperson, the introduction of the e-visa and visa
waivers is part of the ANC-led government’s strategic goal for
South Africa to target and subsequently attain 21 million
international tourist arrivals by 2030. As more international
tourists would be flocking in South Africa through the
utilization of the SAA as its revised normal pricing structure
remains competitive, there would be a need to revitalize
tourism economies in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. At the
moment, the ANC-led government has made inroads in developing
a Tourism Recovery Plan intended to provide a blueprint for
sustainable and inclusive tourism economies, especially in
Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. For it implies that the
restructuring of SAA, the introduction of e-visa and visa
waivers, and the Tourism Recovery Plan, taken together, have
the potential to create business, as well as job opportunities
for the people of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.
Hon Chairperson, aside from the role in supporting the
tourism, cultural, and creative industries in varying
provinces in the country, the SAA has a vital role to play in
response to the demand for cargo flights to distribute
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essential goods, as well as manufactured products. For
example, the agricultural sector relies heavily on well-run
ports to export their produce to overseas market. However,
congestion in most of ports, particularly in the port of
Durban, often leaves fresh produce stuck in terminals for days
and even weeks. SAA through cargo flights can safeguard South
Africa’s reputation as an exporter of quality fresh produce.
Most importantly, the introduction of e-visa in the world’s
biggest markets like China and India presents an opportunity
for SAA to transport fresh quality produce to these markets.
By way of example, SAA already has the capacity to do this as
shown in its national effort to transport vaccines into the
country. Intensifying the cargo business, especially the
transport of fresh quality produce, would definitely work to
the advantage of provinces like Northern Cape, Free State,
Eastern Cape, and North West which account for the largest
share of South Africa’s commercial agricultural land and
production.
Hon Chairperson, there is greater potential for SAA to ferry
defence goods amid the intentions of the reindustrialization
of the South African economy. In other words, the SA Defence
Industry, SADI, including Denel has a huge role to play in the
reindustrialization of the South African economy if only the
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industry receives support from the government, as well as the
private sector. What is worth pointing out is that the
ferrying of defence goods will allow the SAA to increase its
revenue generating streams and international routes. More
importantly, the ferrying of defence goods presents a window
of opportunity of contractual sanctity of the exports
contracts entered between the SAA and the South African
Defence Industry, and the advantage of this is that defence
goods would not via 3rd country nations before they reach
destinations due to the use of other national carriers.
The Department of Public Enterprises is committed to
rationalizing the SAA and other state-owned enterprises, SOEs,
to steer them in the direction of Economic Reconstruction and
Recovery Plan. With the support of the Department of Public
Enterprises and that of the Presidential State-Owned
Enterprises Council, SOEs will become engines of the National
Development Plan. Therefore, the ANC supports the Budget Vote.
Mr M DANGOR: Chairperson, may I just alert you that due to the
load shedding many of us were locked out and we have come
back. Maybe they have that challenge there. Thank you.
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you very much, hon
Dangor. We will call again hon Mvoko and if he is not there
yet we will continue with the speakers’ list.
Mr M MVOKO (Eastern Cape): Greetings to you, hon Deputy
Chairperson, Minister of Public Enterprises, ladies and
gentlemen, good afternoon. Hon Deputy Chairperson, on behalf
of the Eastern Cape, I wish to welcome and support the Budget
Vote of the Department of Public Enterprise and thank Minister
Gordhan for outlining strategies to tackle challenges we are
facing today in the sector.
Hon members, state-owned companies are mandated to drive the
economic growth of any country. The country desperately needs
effective state-owned companies to change its economic
standing, especially at the time when we have found ourselves
under attack on numerous economic shocks. Given our historic
challenges, the blows we are experiencing today further put
the Eastern Cape at the periphery of the economy and compound
our challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty.
If we consider a number of natural resources that give us a
competitive advantage including land, water, biodiversity and
an extensive coastline of over 800km along the Indian Ocean,
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the Eastern Cape has a great potential to emancipate its
people from the current burdens and also prominently feature
in the economic trajectory of the country.
Under performance of the Eskom generation fleet and economic
impact in the province, we note the comments made by Minister
regarding the underperformance of the Eskom generation fleet.
A recently released report by the Centre for Scientific and
Industrial Research indicates that as our economy has emerged
from the effects of COVID-19, the demand for electricity had
grown by 3% in 2021 compared with 2020. However, load shedding
also increased to 1 169 hours in 2021. We have felt the
economic effects of load shedding in our province, which has
limited the success of our investment promotion, economic
growth and job creation.
The hon Minister indicated that Eskom needs an estimated 4 000
to 6 000 megawatts of additional generation capacity
immediately if it is to properly maintain its power stations.
We look forward to the signing and financial close of two wind
farms that were awarded in the Eastern Cape province as
preferred bidders under bid window five of the renewable
energy procurement programme. These wind farms will add an
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extra 224 megawatts to the national grid. We also look forward
to the signing of those risk mitigation projects that are
preferred bidders in the Eastern Cape.
With the revitalisation of our state-owned industrial parks
remains one of the key catalytic programmes in the province.
These parks will play a pivotal role in the integration of
various regions in the economic mainstream. Although these
parks are at different levels of infrastructure development,
some parks have existing operational investors and tenants.
In this context, we deem the railway connectivity as critical
to enhance these investors competitiveness. The efficient
railway network in the province will also boost the province’s
investment value. The Eastern Cape would therefore request the
Minster to consider the province’s aspirations during
discussions with Transnet.
Furthermore, the province sees the marine manufacturing sector
as an important sector to build diverse productive capability.
In 2019, the province developed a maritime manufacturing
localisation support programme intended to create an enabling
environment for the development of the marine sector. A key
challenge emanating from this process is always ensuring
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access to boatbuilding and ship repair opportunities linked to
national SOEs in particular the Transnet National Ports
Authority.
Hon Chairperson, governance is the strategic cog for the
performance of our SOCs. As such, the rationalisation of
public entities is in full swing, after its report was
presented to the executive committee, Exco, and approved for
implementation. Measures have been put in place to closely
monitor the implementation of the project in order to maximise
economic benefits to the province.
As I conclude, the Eastern Cape has two of the best performing
entities in Africa, in Coega Development Corporation, CDC, and
East London Industrial Development Zone. Our long-term plan is
to capacitate the Coega Development Corporation, and the
London Industrial Development Zone, ELIDZ, to be more than
just being investment locations, but to be engines of economic
growth and employment in the province. We shall continue to
explore a grand giant leap forward to excel the existing
potential of these entities to achieve sound industrial
development for massive economic growth in our province. I
thank you, hon Chairperson.
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Mr A ARNOLDS: Deputy Chairperson, the EFF rejects the proposed
budget for the Department of Public Enterprises. We reject the
budget of a department which has abandoned its vision of
creating an enabling environment in which state-owned
enterprises can add economic value to our country by driving
developmental objectives, industrialisation, job creation and
skills development. The state-owned enterprises exist for the
purpose of driving economic development and improving service
delivery to the population. They form a significant part of
certain vital industries that serve as inputs to other
industries. The electricity, transport and fixed-line
telecommunications sectors are all dominated by SOEs. These
sectors are responsible for potential high growth industries
like tourism, information and communication technology and
export industries.
In the case of the power utility, Eskom, this department is
tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the utility is
operational and is supported financially, as electricity is
essential for the everyday running of the economy and for
human development. Yet South Africa has faced electricity
supply challenges and load shedding since 2007 coupled by
ageing electricity infrastructure. Today, Eskom cannot supply
stable electricity. So much so that small businesses often
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bear the brunt of load shedding. Small businesses in townships
such as spaza shops, hair salons, which do not have the luxury
of owning generators, experience more financial strain as a
result of these lengthy blackouts, this on the backdrop of an
economy which is on its knees.
Transnet also stands on the brink of collapse and is actively
seeking private sector participation in the port and rail
freight. The deliberate collapse and sabotage of Transnet is
to hand its strategic assets to the private sector at a
fraction of their value. We know this to be true in how this
department has also failed to prevent the continued vandalism
and theft of cables, and theft from goods containers, which in
itself is as a result of the various challenges which we face
as a country, such as high unemployment, poverty, inequality
and lack of land.
Deputy Chairperson, the SA Airways, SAA, is bleeding the
fiscus. The ruling party collapsed SAA so as to sell it to
their friends for a fraction of its value. We are not shocked
that they are selling SAA for R51.
Denel is nothing but a shadow of its former self as it was
allowed to collapse and now cannot even pay the salaries of
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its workers. All of this done on purpose to bring the company
on its knees and sell it to friends and cronies who had never
manufactured anything before, let alone complex military
equipment and vehicles.
As the EFF we are well aware that well-run, effective and
efficient SOEs are major contributors to economic growth and
job creation, especially for the youth. The state-owned
enterprises also provide essential public goods and services
that are deemed basic needs which are of great economic
importance. The state-owned enterprises, like Eskom and
Transnet, facilitate economic development and growth by
providing transport and electricity services.
In order to rebuild South Africa’s economy, we therefore have
to build state capacity in strategic sectors and use state
procurement through these SOEs as drivers for localisation.
However, under the leadership of this department, there has
been no development of state-owned entities, instead they are
used for cadre deployment and the developmental role of SOE’s
is not be achieved. We have witnessed state-owned entities in
the hands of an incompetent government leads to corruption,
total collapse, looting, mismanagement, nonpayment of workers,
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retrenchments and load shedding, unmanageable debt, to name
just a few.
It has become evident that the EFF is the only organisation
that understand that state ownership and control of strategic
sectors of the economy is the only foundation for sustainable
economic transformation in South Africa, and that without
SOEs, we will not achieve this goal.
We therefore reject the budget of a department which has
previously failed to use its previous expenditure effectively,
with numerous delays in implementation of projects. Irregular
expenditure and noncompliance with the Treasury regulations
and its own supply chain management are major concerns. We
reject the budget of a minister who is known for nothing more
but cheap talk and empty promises of stabilising entities
which have instead led to massive retrenchments and
downscaling of jobs. The Minister is on a quest of driving the
country backwards and collapsing entities under his watch. The
EFF rejects the budget of a department that has changed its
mandate to the department of privatisation and secret
dealings. Therefore, the EFF do not reject this budget. I
thank you.
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Ms T MODISE: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy Chairperson, hon
members of the NCOP, the Policy Debate on Public Enterprises
is occurring at a time when our country faces economic and
social challenges. Low economic growth, coupled with the
effects of COVID-19 has meant that the government and its
entity require dealing with the strengthening of the state-
owned enterprises, SOEs. As instruments of development and
implementing agents of government, they contribute to the
alleviation of triple challenges which a country faces, such
as unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Recently, the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, KZN, part
of Eastern Cape and Northwest disrupted the infrastructure and
many families lost their members during these trying time.
This has also had a negative impact on economies of those
affected provinces.
Economy restoration need to occur as speedily as possible.
Within these challenges lies possibility and opportunity as
government has responded to through the Economic
Reconstruction Recovery Plan. It is pleasing to note that
under the Sixth Parliament, progress has been made in the
appointment of new board in SOEs. And in conjunction with the
department are ensuring that the establishment of corporate
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governance and restoration of financial control. This is
critical to ensure proper functioning of the SOEs. The new
management was given a chance to deal with many challenges, in
co-operation with the shareholders and they resolved those
challenges. Much has been done and much more still needs to be
done to eradicate the effect of state capture and corruption
in all entities.
There are many challenges in different SOEs and the department
is systematically addressing those challenges. However, those
challenges in the entity should not ... [Inaudible.] ... the
opportunity for development and economic growth which are
becoming evident through the implementation of Economic
Reconstruction Recovery Plan.
This infrastructure driven plan will economically benefit all
provinces and generate towards job creation. The SOEs have a
critical role to play and need to grasp the opportunity in
partnership with the private sector and translate an
opportunity into commercial reality. There must be a recovery
of the infrastructure in provinces, as the land market is
dependent on the rail and port infrastructure, like in Durban
for import and export of goods.
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Moreover, it is the critical entity such as South African
Forestry Company SOC Limited, SAFCOL, Transnet and Eskom that
play a critical in developing a local economy in the
provinces. SOEs continue to remain a major employer and will
continue to do so in the strategic area in which they
function. It is important that in this policy vote debate we
are able to focus on Eskom as it is the remaining critical
supplier of electricity in the country and therefore requires
our attention.
Hon Chair, without adequate electricity supply it would be
difficult to ensure rapid economic growth. Government has
implemented the regularity framework for the development of
renewable energy to increase generation capacity and Eskom has
already commenced with the restructuring process and created a
transition company as a stand-alone company, to ensure that
the electricity generated by Independent Power Producers,
IPPs, can be supplied through the grid. These are important
achievement for success of the restructuring process. However,
what is a concern is the active destruction of infrastructure
in terms of power lines and require the attention of Eskom and
security services as this weakens the entity for performing
its core function.
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Moreover, the sabotage of power station require the attention
of law enforcement agency as contribute negatively to the
constrained system leading to loadsheding. while completion
of the Medupi Power Station was disrupted through the
unfortunate event of explosion in unit two, it is imperative
that Eskom is able to recover the unit to its full operation.
The completion of Kusile Power Station will certainly enhance
the performance of Eskom.
However, hon Chair, Eskom does require further generation
capacity to come on the stream for ease engagement in the
systematically maintenance of the power plants. The entity
requires improving the energy availability factor and these
require proper expertise, which needs to be sought in
government entity to assist the export. Its Nine-Point Plan
for maintenance was to ensure that load shedding is reduced
and increased generation capacity is eliminated.
It is imperative that Eskom is able to improve generation
capacity. Aging power station require refurbishment of
development to occur in accordance with international carbon
emission standards. It is therefore important that planning
commence for the energy transition.
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Eskom play an important role in micro economy in many
provinces in which it operates its power stations, in
transition to clear and cleaner energy. It is critical that
the community around those power stations be considered in
terms of skilling and employment. Eskom remain a major
employer in the different provinces in which it operates
through the countries. It has already created some 42,000 jobs
and many more indirect jobs in the service sector of
electricity industry in all provinces.
The electrification of household by government and Eskom has
continued and this place pressure on demand. Therefore, it is
critical that Eskom is able to develop its internal skills
capacity and improve performance of its assets base. Youth
graduate need to be employed by the SOEs like Eskom to ensure
that the next generation of leadership is developed to take
its reign to the next level. However, the electrification of
rural area and household should be continued as it remains an
important part of inclusive economy development, as it will
complete a Land Reform Programme to increase food security in
our country.
Eskom financial performance post COVID-19 has improved, as it
was able to supply electricity to the level that it had
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previously supplied. Eskom has even showed a profit over the
past two financial years of some R20 billion, hon Chair.
However, this was hardly visible and overshadowed by its debts
liabilities.
It is critical and pleasing to note that there has been a
reduction of in debts liability from R480 billion to a sum of
R400 billion. There has been some improvement in municipality
debts recovery in the installation of prepaid meters in
ensuring a culture of payment. What we are saying is that it
is not an entity that can be whisked away. But it has to be
restructured and restored to a viability.
At the same time, it is important that Eskom is able to
develop a renewable energy division, which will ensure that
government is able to regulate the sector through
understanding its economy hassles. In this regard, the
intension is to support clean green energy as part of
transition to a cleaner environment, but also to ensure that
electricity reach the market at the cheapest possible price.
While indigent households will continue to receive the free
basic units, it is important that ... [Inaudible.] ... costs
remain attractive for the investment in our country.
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The green energy sector is important area for
industrialization in the country and must be supported. At the
same time, they need to be economic of scale in generation
which renewable energy is not as yet to produce. Therefore,
the refurbishment of Koeberg and development of nuclear energy
needs to be considered as the African Union, AU, consider
nuclear energy as a clean energy. The government in trying to
developing a number of terms with capacity to deliver
hydroelectricity, which is a clean source of energy and Eskom
must be in a position to play a role as it has experience in
such projects, as it has the experience also in
hydroelectricity ... [Inaudible.] ... in a region and on our
coast provinces further opportunity for Eskom to partner with
a private sector, to develop power generation, and clean
source of energy. This will give the rise to further
industrialisation and beneficiation with mineral in one custom
developed ... [Inaudible.] ... industry.
In conclusion, it is imperative that the department and its
entity that reports to is able to achieve the programme and
implementation project in financial year. We should not be
distracted by challenges and miss an economic opportunity. It
is also important that audit outcomes are improved and
irregular expenditure and fruitless expenditure be reduced.
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While the department has achieved a clean audit, it must now
ensure that its entities are heading in the same direction.
We believe that the ingredients for success have been laid
down and soon we will be able to reap the benefit of that. The
Select Committee will continue to engage in highest oversight
over all provinces and entities operating in the provinces to
ensure that the ANC-led government its goal of transformation
achieved and better life for all are realized the ANC supports
Budget Vote 10. Thank you.
Mr M A P DE BRUYN: Chair, I apologise for my video not being
on. I am still struggling with my device. State-owned
enterprises are supposed to be key in ensuring economic growth
and skills development in a developing South Africa, but
instead, state-owned enterprises are contributing to an
estimated 13,5% of the total national debt. The majority of
the state-owned enterprises are not financially viable
anymore, and the rest are dependent on state bailouts to
function, as we have seen over and over again with Eskom, SAA,
Denel, Transnet and many more.
The hon Minister stated that a lack of skills and experience
is worrying. I agree with him, but his department is to blame
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for the lack of skills and experience. Over the last 10 years,
more than 12 000 qualified staff and engineers were lost at
Eskom, as a result of affirmative action and race-based
policies.
I would like to add that these are engineers that are still
willing to assist Eskom with the current crisis, even after
they were sacked because of the colour of their skin. This
department and the ANC will rather hold on to these racist
policies than acting in the best interest of South Africa and
all who live in it.
The Kusile Power Station that was supposed to be completed in
2014 already is still not completed, at more than double its
original budget. The Medupi Power Station is constantly
experiencing one disaster after the other and is, in effect, a
disaster on its own, with more design flaws than the ANC
drafted in the recovery plan. These two stations combined are
more than R3 billion over the budget and not one of them are
functioning as they should. This happened under the oversight
of this department.
Denel, which once was the gem of weapons manufacturing, has
deteriorated into a total failure that owes it employees more
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than R780 million in salaries and more than R900 million to
its suppliers, this while suspended board members who are
being investigated for corruption, still receive their
salaries. This is also under the oversight of this department.
This week, it was announced that Moody’ has once again placed
the most of Transnet’s credit ratings under review for
downgrade, also under the oversight of this department. The
list goes on and on. To sum it up, almost everything under the
oversight of this department goes to ground. It is no wonder,
if we look at the countless reports of corruption, fraud and
mismanagement, and to no surprise, with very little
consequence management.
Afrikaans:
Agb Minister, u sal moet begin toesien dat diegene wat hulself
skuldig maak aan bedrog en korrupsie, vervolg word, en dat
baie strenger gevolgbestuur toegepas word, as u waarlike
omdraai in staatsbeheerde entitieite wil bewerkstellig. U sal
ook u trots en die trots van die ANC in u sak moet steek en
diegene wat gekwalifiseerd is om die werk te doen, weer te
nader, om te help om die gemors waarin die entiteite tans
verkeer te beredder, ongeag die kleur van hul vel.
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Tot dan, sien ek nie hoop vir hierdie departement of enige van
sy entiteite nie, en kan hierdie begroting nie ondersteun word
nie. Dankie.
Mr T J BRAUTESETH: Hon House Chair, hon Minister, hon members,
fellow South Africans, when considering my input for today’s
debate, I did not have to go far to find an example of a
failing public enterprise that affects the lives of millions
of South Africans. In fact, the case study I will argue on
today sits literally in my backyard.
It is Transnet in the port harbour of Durban in the eThekwini
Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. It can be argued that this
port, which began commercial activities in 1855, is the main
reason the City of Durban exists today. In fact, it is the
busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa, the second largest
container terminal in Africa and the fourth largest container
terminal in the Southern Hemisphere.
It is also massive and the distance around the port is 21 km,
it has 302 km of rail track and the water surface of the
harbour is 1962 acres or 7,8 million m². It has 58 shipping
berths and handles in the region of 4,5 million twenty-foot
containers or TEUs per annum. It is indeed the jewel in the
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logistics hub of our country, a wellspring of commercial
activity and industry. So why on earth did I describe it as a
failing public enterprise?
The first reason is that it is run by Transnet and the second
is that under their watch, it has sunk down to being ranked as
one of the most inefficient ports in the world. Rather than
being an industry leader, it was recently ranked 349 out of
351 in a World Bank study on infrastructure and operations and
ranked stone last out of 351 in terms of expertise. We trail
behind the African ports of Djibouti, Mombasa and even Maputo.
It would be laughable, if it were not so tragic.
The main factors at play in these rankings are as follows: the
presence of specialist terminal operators; the connection to
rail infrastructure, transhipment traffic, which is the relay
of cargo to another ship for onward destinations; and the time
at berth or the time spent in the harbour. So what are the
primary reasons for this decline over the past 20 years?
We can start with rail. This infrastructure was previously the
primary conduit of goods to the main manufacturing hubs in
Gauteng. Approximately 80% of goods were shipped in this
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fashion. This has declined to a paltry 20% in the last 20
years.
What has replaced it is scores and scores of trucks. These
vehicles clog up the roads around the harbour in a haphazard
fashion. There are no parking facilities for mass parking and
a scheduled loading programme. There are also no facilities
for drivers of these behemoths, who wait for days as the
offloading system drags along at a snail’s pace.
And when these trucks embark on their northward journey, they
overwhelm the N3 corridor, which was never designed to handle
the volume and weight of the traffic. There has been little or
no investment in upgrading the rail lines and introducing
bigger and better trains. All the industry has heard of is
talk of a high-speed rail link and possibly a truck highway to
Gauteng. But, as usual, the governing party is rich on policy,
but poverty-stricken on implementation.
When it comes to expertise, experience has shown that the best
way to make a port efficient is to privatise or at least enter
into effective private-public partnerships.
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The problems that these initiatives are that they run onto the
vice grip of the unions over Transnet, the lack of human
capital capacity and the fact that the port subsidises other
Transnet costs that have nothing to do with the harbour. Money
is siphoned off to fund other shortfalls and not spent on
critical, efficient harbour infrastructure.
In short, it is critical that Transnet gets serious about
adopting new technologies, increases digitalisation and works
collectively with private stakeholders to improve the
efficiency of the logistics system.
There is much to say on this topic, but I will close my
argument with an extended sporting metaphor. In the game of
rugby, the forwards in the scrum - I was one of them - must
secure the ball in order for the backline players to score the
tries. No ball, no tries, no wins, no trophies. The critical
player in all of this is the scrumhalf. Without that quick
witted, industrious and innovative player, the entire system
falls flat.
The shipping industry are the forwards; the Gauteng
manufacturers are the backline players. Transnet is the
scrumhalf. If the scrumhalf cannot do the job, they must be
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replaced with a player that can. If we don’t, we won’t be
winning any World Cups anytime soon! I thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Thank you very
much, hon Chair of the session, greetings to you, greetings to
the Minister, greetings to the hon delegates, ladies and
gentleman and members of the public, I am also as delighted to
have the opportunity to participate in this debate on Vote 10
as introduced by our Minister.
We have this discussion where after a long time, we have
received very good and positive news on the first quarter
results of the economy’s performance as released by Statistics
SA, which indicate that the economy is recovering slowly but
surely getting beyond the levels at which it stated to decline
owing to the challenges of lockdown etc. It shows definitely
that we are now on a path to sustained recovery.
Hon Chairperson, I have taken time to listen to the debate.
Some of the hon members have made some very critical points. I
couldn’t but be reminded of what one of our founding fathers
of this democratic South Africa, former President Mandela once
said in addressing the Fourth Session of National Assembly, he
said this:
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A new year is upon us, once more affording us the
opportunity to account in a comprehensive manner to the
citizens on the awesome responsibilities they have
mandated us to fulfil. All of us, in the executive the
legislatures, the majority party and the members in the
opposition benches, are called upon to outline practical
programmes to improve the nation’s quality of life.
This is what our Minister has said about doing in illustrating
what the department shall be prioritising in the coming
financial year. Listening to some of the interventions. We all
seek to see the same things. We may just differ in how to go
about doing that. I think we need to give more time listening
to each other so that we can reason with each other, so that
the actions we do, we can be able collectively to inspire our
people to have hope about the future. I will not repeat what
has already been enunciated in the introduction of the context
immediately in which this budget has got to be located. The
impact of COVID-19, the resent floods, the social unrest that
we have seen as well as the impact of state capture. It is
against this backdrop that our President charged us with the
mandate of stabilising, restructuring and repurposing our
state-owned enterprises so that they can play a catalytic role
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in the implementation of the country’s Economic Reconstruction
and Recovery Plan.
Hon Chairperson, the budget as presented provides us as the
Department of Public Enterprises as well as shareholder
representative with the tools with which to ensure that the
state-owned enterprises under our watch deliver on the public
mandate. I wish in that context to make a few comments to add
to the illustrations that the Minister has made. Firstly, I
would like to make a few comments about Denel, which arguably
remains a very strategic national security asset for the
country. This government recognises and is committed to
finding a viable solution that recognises this imperative and
the need for self-sustainability.
The recent seismic shifts and the consolidation of
geopolitical dynamics and regional threats of terrorism
underscore the strategic importance of this entity. Denel’s
business model as a system integrator depends significantly on
local manufacturers to supply critical components and
subsystems. The disruption of this delicate relationship with
suppliers has become one of the binding constrains regarding
Denel’s operations. As we speak, we have instituted several
measures to ensure that Denel does get back from the state in
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which it is. We have, for instance, put together a business
case that is already before both the Ministers of Finance and
Defence and route to the Cabinet for decision. Of the other
measures that have been put in place, the National Treasury
has approved the allocation to settle the R3,4 billion
guaranteed debts which was costing Denel in excess of
R200 million in interest payment per annum.
We have also engaged Armscor together with the Department of
Defence so as to ensure sustainable funding of the critical
capabilities that Denel is managing on behalf of the
Department of Defence. This is but a few of the measures that
already have been instituted and through them and others I
have not referred to we hoping to see the situation changing
for the better for Denel and thus reverse the negative things
that have happed there, not to mention the challenge that the
employees have had to face without salaries for such elongated
periods. It is a matter to which we are sparing no effort to
get it corrected.
In respect of Alexkor the diamond mining company, hon members,
in the know that this continues to operate under a joint
venture with a component that represents the community of the
Richtersveld. We have committed ourselves to ensure the
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smoothing as well as improving the operations at Alexkor so
that there could be better returns for both Alexkor as well as
the entity representing the community of Alexkor. Those who
are closer to the resolution of that restitution would know
the intractable challenges that are there in respect of the
structures that have been put in place suggested through
courts to ensure the management of the relationship as well as
the benefits to the communities. We’ve set ourselves this year
to make sure that those are streamlined so that the
communities can start feeling the good in what they received
in the restoration that has been done of their land.
With respect to SAFCOL, our forest company, this is one of the
entities that haven’t been bedevilled as much as others with
this phenomenon of state capture. The focus going forward is
going to be innovation and growth strategy that is informed by
Forestry Master Plan which is aimed at encouraging the sector
growth, investment, job creation as well as competitiveness.
SAFCOL, on the strength of its balance sheet and the fact that
it is one of those that is not encumbered, is proceeding with
a very ambitious program to ensure the diversification of the
product portfolio so as to ensure that it ventures into other
areas to beneficiate better the products that they are
producing. In this respect, there is already very positive
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reflection from amongst the banking sector. Appetite is very
visible to partner with the entity in some of the projects;
ecotourism, coal treatment as well as combined heat and power.
This is one of the priority focal areas for the year to ensure
that there is sustained revenue growth for the entity.
Regarding the entity South African Express, it is one of those
that finally was put under liquidation. We are monitoring that
process so that we can ensure that there is value. We do not
unnecessarily lose some of the value that has been built into
that entity over the many years and where possible strategic
partners could be found so as to revive that entity in that we
look to ensuring that the interest particularly of the workers
and not sacrificed.
As I conclude, Chairperson, allow me just to comment. Hon.
Nhanha, did remind us about some of the things of the past
unfortunately really including the hon. member who was
complaining at affirmative action. We shouldn’t be going back
there, let’s rather deal with the challenges as they present
themselves, work together to resolve them. Some of the
intractable structural problems are as a result that they used
to be before the democratic dispensation. A minority that
cared only for the minorities in this country ensured that
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they get inferior education such that as we talk today the
democratic government has to be seized with ensuring that
there is capacity building but also that there is reflection
of the demographics of our society so ... [Inaudible.] We urge
that the budget to be noted and passed. Thank you.
Mr N M HADEBE: House Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members,
it is safe to say that every year we deliver the same message
to the Minister of Public Enterprises. We offer our patience,
support and register our dissatisfaction with the state-owned
enterprises, SOEs under his department and every year we get
spun the same message that the department is trying.
The fact of the matter is that for the last five years we have
not seen the kind reforms to this department and its entities
that would bring about, in realising its intended mandate.
Yet, these departments entities continue to request regular
and recurring bailouts with all sorts of turnaround strategies
that usher none at all. I hope that the Minister will not try
to dodge his responsibility and shift blame solely to the
entities. We cannot accept the avoidance of accountability by
the Minister any longer.
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The fact is this department’s entities are failing, it is the
Minister’s responsibility to ensure that the entities run
according to the objectives of the National Development Plan,
NDP and overall vision for government. It is also why the
President has imposed performance agreements with Cabinet, so
that Ministers actually perform the tasks of realising
government’s mandate.
Whilst the IFP believes that SOE’s should be privatised, we
also recognise that they can, under the correct governance and
leadership, yield tremendous benefits for the economic
development of the country. They are meant to stimulate the
economy through job creation and market competition. They
should add to the overall Gross Domestic Product, GDP of the
country and offer the state additional income for expenditure
on developmental programmes. They should be leading the
country towards a type of business model that can be projected
to international investors, that signals South Africa is a
dream destination for investment and job creation.
It is safe to say our SOE’s are a jack at none of these
criteria and certainly a not a master of any. Bailout after
bailout for South African Airways, SAA, South African Post
Office, SAPO and entities alike, brought about little change
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to the economic development of this country. Tender
irregularities, fraud and maladministration still run rampant
in the corridors of many entities in this country. SOE’s
simply become a liability to the state. It is not only the
taxpayer that is struck a blow with the ever-increasing income
tax but also the lower ranking government official who has had
their PIC contributions disappear without a trace.
Eskom is the biggest liability of all of the SOE’s. The world
is moving on to smart sustainable energy and Eskom is still
fighting the renaissance battle of coal fired power stations
with a permanent misfire at Medupi. It costs us billions of
rands every time Eskom brings about load shedding and severe
damage to grassroots level businesses that are trying to put
food on the table.
House Chairperson, the situation of our SOE’s and the biggest
offender of all of them Eskom, is getting worse. We need
urgent intervention by all members of this House to actually
bring about the necessary change to this department through
regular and intensive oversight. Based on the Minister’s
response, we will decide whether or not to support the report
through votes and schedules. I thank you, House Chairperson.
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Mr C F B SMIT: House Chairperson, hon members, hon Minister,
Deputy Minister, and fellow South Africans, I firstly want to
respond to Minister Gordhan. You referred to state capture and
corruption as a foreign or external or third force. Take some
ownership, hon Minister. Connect the dots as you always say.
If it’s the ANC and your cadre deployment committee that is
responsible, it is the ANC that is responsible, not someone
else.
Hon Mamorobela, at some point I was wondering if you were
taking part in the right Budget Vote debate. I just want to
remind you that you are not at BrandSA anymore. SAA scarcely
has one airplane still in the air, how on earth do you expect
them to put tourism afloat, really? Hon Mamorobela, your ANC
cadres sold all the defense secret intellectual capital at
Denel, to a foreign defense company. That is why it is a mess.
Hon Mvoko, I am amused on how you try to claim a DA’s success
as if it is the ANC. Yes, hon member, Koega is the bright blue
DA light at the end of the ANC dark tunnel. Hon Modise, I only
have one thing to say. I have two tips for you. Firstly, write
your own speeches. Number two, speak your home language.
Setswana:
Bua ka Setswana, Mma. Ke a kopa.
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English:
Hon Masualle, we are 28 years in and you only want to listen
to reason now. [Laughter.] Yes, its laughable. More money
taken away from the actual poor to pay for the ANC mess called
Denel. Sorry Deputy Minister, if we as South Africans don’t
have any trust in the ANC anymore.
Hon Minister, I see you are planning to establish a holding
company for all public enterprises. Now, that is a good plan
if want to catch all entities at one go. Minister, what
happened to your slogan when you were the Minister of
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, COGTA – back-
to-basics? In management, they have a fiery cold case, which
stands for, keep it simple stupid.
Minister, I know your hands are actually cut off by comrades
in the Radical Economic Transformation, RET faction within the
ANC. I get your frustration Minister, but don’t despair. The
DA is here to assist you to get rid of those unnecessary
entities sucking our country dry. And we as the DA will also
help you privatize some of them because we are actually the
brain child of those concepts that you and some logical
members of your party - at long last - acknowledge and accept.
And when you fail, don’t worry Minister, 2024 is around the
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corner and then you can leave 1652 behind and then you can
choose to be part of the coalition government led by the DA. I
thank you.
Mr A J NYAMBI: Thank you, hon Acting House Chair. Hon Minister
and hon members, it’s always an honour to participate in this
very important debate. Hon Smit, can I remind you that we are
debating Public Enterprises Policy Vote, that’s the debate
it’s all about, it’s not about all these hon members you are
mentioning. Therefore, as African National Congress we will
always be upfront to lead the fight against corruption, hence
all the structures we’ve established to deal with corruption
you know very well. Hon Acting House Chair, the uncomfortable
... [Inaudible.] is that port and rail freight have been
performing below optimal levels over the past few years due to
various factors including lack of maintenance in the ports and
the rail network infrastructure. The unavailability of
equipment, the high costs of ports tariffs relative to
international competitors, the theft of cables and related
vandalism of infrastructure, challenges in government
procurement regulation, just to name but a few, all these
factors, including the countless others not mentioned here as
outlined by the Deputy Minister and the hon Minister are
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responsible for the largest share of disruption which result
in ports and rail inefficiencies.
To respond to these the ANC-led government, hon Smit, has
revitalise Transnet so that the entity can effectively fit
into the complement and complement the Economic Reconstruction
and Recovery Plan, ERRP, and the National Development Plan. In
other words, hon Smit, the actions and priority interventions
envisaged as part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery
Plan and the National Development Plan effectively applied to
Transnet which greatly assist the entity to overcome the
factors which are responsible for ports and rail
inefficiencies highlighted earlier, not this thing of cadre
deployment you are talking about as you know nothing about
them.
Hon Acting House Chairperson, Transnet’s growth and renewal
strategy based on private sector participation aligned with
Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and the National
Development Plan which mandate Transnet to leverage the
private sector in provision of both infrastructure and
operation were required. The participation of the private
sector will over time an enable Transnet not only to address
the many historical barriers to entry for new participants in
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the ports, rail and pipeline business, but also to invest in
more efficient logistic solution necessary to remove the
factors already highlighted that constrain economic activity
in the country. Moreover, there’s a need to bring in the
private sector to enhance South Africa logistic
competitiveness to provide a big incentive to regional and
continental trade competitiveness to realise the self-
objectives goals of the Africa continental free trade area as
well as international trade competitiveness to improve South
Africa reputation as an exporter of high value-added products.
These said Transnet is not a verge of finalising the private
sector partnership for the Durban and Ngqura Container
Terminals in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces in line
with the establishment of Transnet National Ports Authority as
a subsidiary which also mandate Transnet to implement new
creative partnership with the private sector to strengthen the
entity’s financial sustainability and operational viability.
The entry of the new private sector players will not be
limited at Deep Container Terminal and the Kaalfontein
Terminal auto supply chain integration and the renewal. The
participation of the private sector in these container
terminals as the transformation of the key value chain
services, in particular, the implementation of the third party
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access in container terminals led Transnet the opportunity to
improve including coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome, magneto,
and so on as well as the auto and container through the
increase in rail utilisation from one to four trains every two
days per week, especially at the Port of Durban in KwaZulu-
Natal province.
To date, Transnet has achieved significant improvement in the
speed of service delivery in core segments as well as the auto
and containers through the increased in rail utilisation. For
example, the reopening of the Leeufontein link in Gauteng
province has improved the turnaround time of the automotive
industry. Really it contributes towards the
reindustrialisation of South Africa economy. There is a real
potential for export growth in automatic industry as seven
original equipment manufacturers made commitment of
R40 billion investment in the next five years. Therefore, this
will impact positively on both employments in automotive
industry we stand at around 120 000 employees at the export
share which accounts for 14% of South Africa exports. Most
important is the need for the ANC-led government to revise the
automotive development strategy of South Africa to ensure that
the local content value increase from 40% to 60%.
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Furthermore, Transnet has identified key opportunities to
expand the Port of Durban, the Port of Port Elizabeth and the
Port of East London in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape
provinces respectively to match the potential export growth in
automotive industry. For here is another example, hon Smit,
the completion of the rehabilitation of ... [Inaudible.] ...
railway restoration of the 27 trains per day and in turn these
open new opportunities for investment to merge the demand for
rolling stock overhauls and upgrades. The restoration of 27
trains per day will assist in stabilising Transnet engineering
which is currently facing serious challenges in terms of
viability and sustainability due to insufficient demand in
current rolling stock, partly because of the variability of
the international demand from Transnet Freight Rail which is
unpredictable on annual basis. To respond to these Transnet
has ... [Inaudible.] ... civil claims in the Gauteng High
Court to set aside the entire procurement of the 1 064
locomotives. Of course, the resolution of these locomotives’
contract is set to improve the demand for rolling stock
maintenance, material and access to container parts on the
side of Transnet Freight from Transnet engineering.
Acting House Chairperson, His Excellency hon President
Ramaphosa stated in the 2022 state of the nation address that:
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“Our economy cannot grow without efficient ports.” Efforts
focus on improving operational inefficiency are underway at
the Port of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province. To date,
Transnet ... [Inaudible.] formed with daily operations held in
implementing review done by weekly at Port of Durban as well
as the decongestions stream as the collaboration between
Transnet National Ports Authority, TNPA, and the EThekwini
Municipality to transfer Maydon Wharf Road Port of Durban to
its finalise. To comprehend this properly, hon Smit, Transnet
national based from Subsidiary Ireland to Richards Bay and
forged a partnership with EThekwini Municipality to develop
second access road to link the Port of Durban with N2 to
alleviate traffic congestion.
Hon Nhanha, but, this recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal may slow
the implementation of these efforts. Nonetheless the current
evidence show that the ANC-led government is really hard at
work. In addition to the efforts focus on improving
operational efficiencies at the Port of Durban, the
Presidential Infrastructure Fund through Presidential
Ramaphosa Investment Drive has earmarked potential private
investment of hundreds of billions of towards expansion of the
port in the next decade or more to increase its capacity
aligned with the ANC-led government plan to accelerate
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infrastructure led economic recovery and reconstruction as
outlined in the Economic Reconstruction and the Recovery Plan
as well as the Operation Vulindlela joint initiative of the
Presidency and National Treasury.
The expansion of the Port of Durban will create sizeable job
opportunities, hon Nhanha, linked to the construction and
operation. Therefore, these will definitely benefit the
residents of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in particular it will
be youth, women and people with disabilities. Hon Acting House
Chairperson, the Presidential State-Owned Enterprise Council
operation performances were halted by the state capture
through the recommendation of the Presidential State-Owned
Enterprises, SOEs, Council, Alexkor has managed to fulfil some
of its responsibilities. However, there is still a lot that
has to be done before it turns to a tight. A key take away is
that Alexkor liquidity has tremendously improved due to
settlement of significant obligations as well as reduced
personal costs that the solvent in addition Alexkor has
acquired a licence to sell a market diamond through State
Diamond Trader in the Department of Mineral Resources and
Energy. These are positive signs hon Nhanha and hon Smith
because Alexkor is strategic enterprise that can be able to
realise for South African citizens in general and the
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residents of Richtersveld in the Northern Cape a larger
fraction of the potential value of diamond resources.
To complement the restructuring of Alexkor the Northern Cape
province has a comprehensive economic plan which involve,
among other things, the creation of Namakwa Special Economic
Zone and the Boegoebaai Harbour. Namakwa has access to
domestic, regional, international markets meanwhile Boegoebaai
intends to reduce the cost of moving cargo within the
provincial hinterland. These projects will reduce Alexkor cost
of doing business into two complimentary ways: Firstly,
Namakwa Special Economic Zone will contribute towards the
process of revenue and thus contribute to social economic
empowerment of the surrounding communities. Secondly, unlock
the greater export logistic capacity for diamonds in the
province. These in turn will allow the joint venture to take
advantage of economies of scale.
Therefore, in its important to support Alexkor at all costs
since evidence indicate that the losses of maintaining Alexkor
within the public sector are greater than the associated
losses of privatisation. The Department of Public Enterprises,
hon Acting House Chair, has been able to perform under very
difficult circumstances and the annual performance plan are
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steering the state-owned enterprises in the direction of
Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. The select
committee will continue monitoring the collaborative efforts
of the Department of Public Enterprises and the Presidential
State-owned Enterprise to ensure that they devote their time
towards stabilising and restructuring the SOEs.
Hon Smit and hon Nhanha, we have to give credit where is due.
Of course, let us be constructive when criticising, but we
know very well that when we happen to have the Minister coming
to do presentation at committee level will engage with us
robust questions. However, as ANC we definitely support this
Budget Vote because it will go a long way to make our country
to move forward. I thank you, Acting House Chairperson.
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Thank you, hon Acting
House Chair and thanks to the various members for their
contributions whether they were constructive or not, of
course, is to be determined, but nonetheless there is some
valuable material for debate. However, there is also material
that we need to respond to for purposes of clarification. It’s
not all of the ANC that believe that it will rule until Jesus
comes. There are the vast majority of the ANC members who
believe in the democratic principle, who believe in elections
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and who believe in the Constitution. Secondly, is that Mr
Nhanha has the evidence that the chief executive officer, CEO,
has said anywhere that as Eskom CEO that he was giving
political instructions of any kind. Please provide that
evidence but I don’t think that really exists. So, please let
us not cook up stories of this sort in order to discredit
individuals or to gain political advantage where none actually
exists.
As far as hon De Bruyn is concerned the Deputy Minister has
responded to him. Mr De Bruyn kindly have some historical
perspective, it will help you to understand what is going on,
although I know like many of the people on this platform you
owe your job to the FF Plus. It doesn’t mean that everything
that they tell you has a matter that at the end of the day and
the same applies to hon Arnolds as well who finally did say
that he does not reject the Budget Vote, which is a good news.
However, I think it was accidental, and his narrative comes
directly from headquarters so one can’t take that to seriously
because one will have to ask him what does the EFF ...
[Inaudible.] up to Tshwane and Johannesburg and elsewhere when
they were in alliance with the other party that has been very
self-righteous today which is the DA.
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I have a ... [Inaudible.] regard for Mr ... [Inaudible.] I
don’t get quite the pronunciation right, so forgive me for
that, and for his research. I’m not as good at rugby as he is,
but I think the fly-half is a much more perfect ...
[Inaudible.] the scrum-half. We agree that there are huge
possibilities for the Durban Harbour and the environment to be
refashioned and the plan and, in fact, we have been talking
about that to the province and to the city for the past few
months and you’ll see some progress in this regard as we go
forward.
Hon Hadebe, the evidence is there that we are making progress
and I painted that some of that for you has in my earlier
presentation, but as I said that there’s none ... [Inaudible.]
those who will hear. However, I can tell you then with
absolutely clear conscience that we try 24 hours a day to do
the best we can within the limits that a shareholder has to
improve these SOEs incrementally, but importantly and
nonetheless in the right kind of direction. Hon Smit, a self-
praise as you know that there is no recommendation whatsoever.
Therefore, in some responses to what you like to be said that
the IFP was not sold to foreigners. If you want to talk about
it offline I’m willing to do that because it’s interesting who
are the people ... [Inaudible.] between these years and where
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they sit today, and where you choose to go in exchange for a
few extra dollars because it’s dollars that make the
difference.
To my colleagues and comrades from the ANC hon Nyambi, Modise
and Mamarobela, and each of you have played an important role
in putting facts on the table and hopefully your colleagues in
the NCOP will give some difference to that. Finally, Acting
House Chair, I want to emphasise that rebuilding a broken
institution takes time. I think very few of the people who
today want to criticise what is going on have ever taken this
responsibility upon their shoulders. It also takes courage,
it’s bold leadership and it takes a single-minded
determination. Reinventing starting in the process of
rebuilding requires a clear vision in recognition of marketing
community volatility, new technology developments and
awareness of the competitive environment and a steel change
management and strategies as well.
The institutions rework with our vital to the recovery and
reconstruction of our economy and we’re very conscious of that
and more importantly to the millions of South Africans who
want a better job, a better life and a better prospect for
their own children. Therefore, let me make this final attempt
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at an invitation which is normally futile, but we do that
nonetheless that our attempt at reconstructing the SOEs should
be a united national effort that advances the good defend
against the vile and corrupt who are intent on making sure
that South Africa does not work, who are intent on making sure
that criminals avoid the jails and who are intent on making
sure that at any costs whatsoever they survive the
consequences of their deeds. Thank you very much, Acting House
Chairperson.
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr K M Mmoiemang): Thank you, hon
Minister, for replying and also closing the debate on Vote 10.
Allow me to take this opportunity to express a word of thank
to the Minister, the Deputy Minister and all the delegates who
participated in the debate of Vote 10, the Department of the
Public Enterprises. Hon members, we now proceed to the Fourth
and Fifth Orders of the day. As we do that I’ll be handing
over to the House Chair, hon Nyambi, to take the centre stage.
Hon Nyambi!
Debate concluded.
APPROPRIATION BILL
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(Policy debates)
Vote No 22 - Correctional Services:
&
Vote No 25 - Justice and Constitutional Development:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon Chairperson, allow
me to join and echo what you have said to the Minister and now
you on what you have said and now welcome the Minister of
Justice and Correctional Services to open the debate. Hon
Minister Lamola.
The MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Hon House
Chairperson, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional
Development, hon John Jeffrey, the Deputy Minister of
Correctional Services, hon iNkosi Patekile Holomisa,
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice,
hon Shaikh, hon members of the select committee, hon members,
the Director General of the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development, Adv Doc Mashabane, the Acting
National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Makghothi
Thobakgale and all hon members, from the onset I would like to
reiterate the vision of my term in the office and it can be
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found in the words of an African great writer, Chinua Achebe
who said and I quote:
A functioning robust democracy requires a healthy,
educated, participatory followership, and an educated,
morally grounded leadership.
Hon House Chairperson, the process to build a professional,
ethical, and a capable department has begun and will continue
through the implementation of various frameworks and
initiatives. Both the senior management of the department and
myself remain committed to addressing all the issues raised by
the Auditor-General that affect the audit opinion.
The budget allocation of the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development, for the financial year 2022-23
amounts to R22,4 billion. This is an increase of approximately
R515 million.
This administration has taken a clear step to reinvest in the
justice system. The allocation will help accelerate the
extensive work already underway to recover from the
unprecedented impact of the pandemic, while delivering a more
efficient and modern justice system.
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The budget is an inclusive of the allocation for the National
Prosecuting Authority, NPA, and transfers to the two
constitutional bodies, namely the Public Protector and the SA
Human Rights Commission.
The budget allocation also provides funding for the
information regulator as well as transfers to the Legal Aid SA,
the Special Investigating Unit, SIU, and a direct charge to
the National Revenue Fund in respect of the Magistrates
salaries. This budget enables the department and its entities
to execute their respective constitutional and statutory
mandates.
With regard to Legal Aid SA budget allocation, during this
financial year, Legal Aid SA is allocated R2 billion. It is
one of the few entities in government with distinguishable
honour of being recognised amongst the top employers in South
Africa for the 13th consecutive year. Legal Aid SA has
increased the threshold for its means test, ensuring that
access to justice is expanded to those who cannot afford it.
Most legal practitioners who were previously providing legal
representation to farm occupiers, labour tenants and
restitution claimants through the Land Registration Management
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Unit of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development, have been accredited with Legal Aid SA on the
Judicare system and continue to provide legal services as
required. This development enables Legal Aid SA to contribute
to South Africa’s land justice programme. This means our
vulnerable farm dwellers, farm workers and those who want to
claim the land can now walk to any legal aid offices across
the country for services that they need with regard to
evictions that are happening in some parts of the country.
This is an important development.
With regard to the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, budget
allocation, the NPA, has been allocated R4,910 billion which
is an increase of R374 million. Last year we had set aside
R106, million for the investigating directorate, this year’s
allocation has increased by R137 million to R243 million in
this financial year.
In the 2022-23 financial year period, we will continue to
focus on restoring the NPA’s credibility through addressing
its ability to attend to matters of corruption, crime in our
country and issues of gender-based violence. In ensuring that
the NPA delivers quality prosecutions, high conviction rates
were maintained in all court forums. Conviction rates of 91,1%
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in the High Courts, 80,8% in the Regional Courts and 94% in
the District Courts were recorded in the current financial
year. To sustain this, we established a Special Commercial
Crimes Courts in all provinces. Every province now has a
Special Commercial Crimes Court. We have enhanced capability
at Palm Ridge and the Tshwane Special Commercial Crimes
Courts.
We also welcome the arrest of the two Gupta brothers by the
authorities in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, and we continue
to corporate with them through diplomatic channels to ensure
that the fugitives from justice will account in our courts of
law. We want to assure South Africans that they will
definitely come back. We know that extradition can be a
protracted legal process. However, as the South African
government we stand ready to ensure that all is complied with.
We want to ensure that the Gupta brothers, must come back to
account in our courts. Same goes with the well-known prophet
Bushiri. He will also come back to our country. We are
awaiting processes in Malawi. His matter will soon be heard in
the Malawi courts.
With regard to Special Investigation Unit, SIU, allocation,
this year the SIU marks its 25th anniversary with an
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allocation of R452 million. In the last financial year, the
SIU achieved significant recoveries through combining quality
investigations with civil litigation. We appreciate the words
of encouragement received from the NCOP on the work of the SIU
in the last two financial years. We have accordingly conveyed
the message.
Between 2013 and 2021, the SIU has recovered public money and
assets amounting to R2,6 billion, set aside contracts to the
value of R18 billion. As of 26 March 2022, SIU referred
matters worth R75,1 billion for civil litigation in the High
Court and the Special Tribunal for civil litigation.
In support of the aspirations of the Summit Declaration and
the National Strategic Plan, on Gender-based Violence and
Femicide and in particular in response to the demands of women
who took to the streets in 2018 against the scourge of Gender-
based Violence and Femicide, I introduced the Gender-based
Violence Bills in August 2020, which the President recently
assented into law on 28 January 2022.
I also want to thank the NCOP for the quick manner in which
you processed and ensured that these Bills go through.
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In continuing with our commitment to provide a victim-centric
court system, in the 2022-23 financial year, the Department of
Justice and Constitutional Development will upgrade additional
disability centric courts above the 75 courts introduced in
the previous financial year.
With these courts, the department is progressively building a
court system that observes the reasonable accommodations for
court users with disabilities to ensure the equal enjoyment of
the right to equal protection and benefit of the law and
fundamental freedoms by all.
With regard to rationalisation of the High Court, item 16(6)
of the Constitution of South Africa enjoins me as the Cabinet
Minister responsible for the administration of justice to
manage the rationalisation of all courts and legislation with
a view of establishing a judicial system suited to the
requirements of the Constitution.
A rationalisation committee, under the leadership of the
former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke is overseeing
this process and will soon be engaged in consultative
engagements with all the relevant stakeholders within the
justice family, to ensure that this process is inclusive. The
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rationalisation will affect all provinces and we look forward
to updating the National Council of Provinces on the issues.
This will also enable some of the cross boarder challenges
that our people are facing to deal with issues of access to
justice. As an example the people of Mabopane cannot go to
Gauteng to resolve their disputes. They still need to go to
the High Court in Mahikeng.
Some people in the Eastern Cape have to move from East London
to Grahamstown, to deal with their matters and passing the
Bisho High Court. So the rationalisation process is aimed to
dismantle the apartheid era court boundaries and make them to
be in line with our municipal and provincial demarcations.
This will further enable access to our people.
This year is the Year of the Community. This is the 25th year
of the Constitution coming into effect – it is a milestone for
our nation that the department has marked over the past year.
We will continue to celebrate through community engagements,
provincial symposia, and a national conference, among others
throughout the year ahead.
Hon members under the Department of Justice and Correctional
Services, the Department of Correctional Services also faces
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budget cuts in line with government’s move to cut expenditure.
Arising from this eventuality, the department adopted an
innovative approach centred on implementation of the Self
Sufficiency Strategic Framework across all correctional
centres in the country.
In the 2022-23 financial year, the Department of Correctional
Services will save an estimated R163 million through
implementing self-sufficiency where offenders will produce
their own food and uniform. We know that good work often does
not make news headlines, but this is something worth
headlines. The offenders will continue to work to increase the
current production level in our farms, bakeries and all our
production workshops, because some of them operate at less
than 20%. However, we aim that our farms and production
workshops must operate at 100%. We are going to ensure that
this is done in a safe way, but also in a manner that benefit
offenders to gain the necessary skills as they move out of our
correctional centres.
Hon members of the National Council of Provinces, the
Department of Correctional Services continues to expand
opportunities for inmates through transferring of skills and
rehabilitation programmes. We have equally steered many
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inmates towards the right track, where they recognise errors
of their previous ways of crime.
We want to assure you hon members that as the correctional
services, we indeed have good stories to tell moreover based
on some of our parolees who are role models in their
communities. Through their actions and projects, these
parolees contribute towards restoring confidence in the system
of corrections.
In KwaZulu-Natal, inmates are manufacturing school uniforms
for victims of floods. Three hundred learners from Gwadu-Zenex
Primary School, Kwadinabakubo Secondary and Ingqungqulu High
School will benefit from this project and have their dignity
restored.
We are utilising offender labour to build the Zondi family in
KwaMpumuza, near Pietermaritzburg, a house. This comes after
the Mpumuza Traditional Council secured building material and
registered a request with the department to avail offender
labour to construct a four room house for the family.
In Limpopo, a 62-year-old parolee, Mr Kgalane Thobejane, who
served a life sentence for murder and robbery, has turned
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around his life after acquiring baking skills from
correctional services. He established his own bakery with the
assistance of the Small Enterprise Development Agency, Seda.
Currently his bakery produces 240 loaves daily.
During my interaction with the community and stakeholders in
Concordia, Knysna in the Western Cape, community members
appealed for us to assist in renovating recreational and
sporting facilities for their children. I am pleased to
announce that the Department of Correctional Services, working
together with the local municipality, has through utilisation
of offender labour, renovated the Knysna sports field. Kids
are now going to play and be far away from crime.
Hon members of the National Council of Provinces, rising tides
of youth in correctional facilities worry us. This is tragic
to us as young people are the future of our country. This
calls on all of us to pursue the objectives of youth
development. It is against this background that the Department
of Correctional Services will provide learnership
opportunities to 3 000 young people across all provinces. We
are also looking at programmes to respond and empower the
victims of crime, because we are criticised for only enabling
offenders to gain skills and to gain the necessary
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empowerment. We are looking at programmes that will respond to
the victims of crime to ensure that there is an equilibrium
and that the dignity of the victims is also restored. This is
the mission we are carrying to ensure equitable justice for
the people of South Africa.
In conclusion hon members, allow me to table before this
august House, the budget of the Department of Justice and
Correctional Services amounting to R26,1 billion for the 2022-
23 financial year. I thank you, hon House Chairperson.
Ms S SHAIKH: Thank you very much, Chairperson. Greetings to
yourself, greetings to the Minister of Justice and
Correctional Services, hon Lamola, the Deputy Ministers, hon
Holomisa and hon John Jeffrey, Members of the Executive
Councils, hon delegates of the NCOP, compatriots, comrades and
friends. The National Development Plan, NDP, requires, among
others, that we build safer communities, promote
accountability and fight corruption, and strengthen judicial
governance and the rule of law, achieving a safe South Africa
as envisioned in Chapter 12 of the NDP, free of fear and
corruption, requires an integrated approach with the criminal
justice system, local government, community participation,
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private sector and role players involved in economic and
social development.
The National Develop Plan requires continued efforts to
strengthen the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System
including the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional
facilities, radically reduce levels of corruption and crime,
particularly, trio in contact crimes and promote community
involvement. The fight against crime cannot be separated from
the need for social and economic transformation, by tackling
the three challenges of unemployment, poverty and the unequal
distribution of the country’s wealth. Each sector of society
has to play its part in creating conditions where crime may no
longer thrive.
Chairperson, among the priorities raised by the President in
the state of the nation address, is the need to strengthen the
system to protect whistle-blowers, engaging with the judiciary
for the creation of special court rolls for state capture and
corruption cases, continuing to intensify the fight against
gender-based violence and femicide and youth employment. The
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has
declared 2022-23, the Year of the Community, which the
Minister has also alluded to. This will culminate in the roll-
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out of an extensive community outreach programmes, to interact
with communities about justice services and issues of
constitutionalism, promotion of human rights and respect for
the law.
In addressing skills gap, the department is committed to train
employees in order to improve the quality and efficiency of
services rendered. The department plans to conduct 30
specialised training programmes through the Justice College.
With regard to modernisation and online services, the
department is still developing and finalising the online
services and upon completion, they will work with the
Department of Communications to inform members of the public,
after the system is implemented properly. The department is
establishing and capacitating Specialised Commercial Crime
Courts, SCCCs, by 2024.
In the 2022-23, the department will be ensuring that the
capacity and efficacy of the Specialised Commercial Crime
Courts is enhanced and optimised. Coordinating the
implementation of the National Action Plan, NAP, to combat
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, the framework for the virtual repository on
disaggregated statistical data for the measurements of racism,
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racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, has
to be developed by 31 March 2023.Chairperson, the President
declared the scourge of gender-based violence as the second
pandemic. It needs to be addressed with urgency.
The department is currently in phase 4 of the Femicide Watch
implementation, and is using the Integrated Justice System,
IJS, hub, where different departments exchange data.
Furthermore, the department has implemented an SMS
notification system, to ensure communication between the
courts and victims, in order for victims of domestic violence
to know the stage of proceedings. We welcome the department’s
commitment to addressing gender-based violence and femicide.
Chairperson, court services is a crucial programme of the
department, particularly, in respect of the provision of
access to justice directly to citizens in both urban and rural
areas.
Access to Justice will be increased by focusing on, reducing
case backlogs, where the department implementing rapid
response mechanisms to unblock blockages and reduce backlogs.
On Audio Visual Solutions, the department will institute the
Audio Visual Solutions in 85 courts. They have already
submitted a business plan to State Information Technology
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Agency, SITA, for publication. Access to rural areas, with
regards to the challenges of long travelling distances and the
poor conditions of roads for communities to access the courts,
the department plans amongst others, to refurbish a bus to
convert it into mobile services and to include services of the
Master’s Office.
The department’s prioritisation of increasing access to
justice through modernisation and online services and
innovative methods of increasing access to rural communities,
is encouraging. We are also hopeful, that the District
Development Model will assist to create synergies and
relationship with other departments and foster outreach on
rural communities. Chairperson, the ANC government is
committed in the fight against fraud, corruption and
maladministration. An anti-corruption paper has been produced
on the anti-corruption agencies which reviews all entities.
There will be consultation with various government departments
and they have already identified several pieces of legislation
that may have to be strengthened, in terms of ensuring a good
architecture for addressing corruption. When the first report
of the Zondo Commission was released, the National Prosecuting
Authority, NPA, established a task force made up of various
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departments to prioritise cases. Experienced prosecutors have
been used and they are in discussion with the Zondo Commission
to use the forensic resources of the Commission, as well as to
obtain additional resources such as advocates and
investigators from the Commission to assist.
The Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, envisages an
improvement in corruption perception by the end of the five-
year period. The Special Investigation Unit, SIU, will
contribute by reducing levels of fraud and corruption in the
private and public sectors, freezing money and assets,
establishing and strengthening the capacity of the Special
Tribunal for civil recoveries, and increasing the use of
Financial Intelligence Reports in identifying high priority
cases. Collaborative efforts need to be undertaken by all law
enforcement agencies, to deal directly and decisively with
corruption, to ensure successful prosecutions and convictions.
The focus on the reduction of crime and corruption through
effective prosecution, is of the utmost importance in
responding to the recommendations emanating from the Zondo
Commission Reports. Hon Chair, the department has 46
management areas which have been aligned to the 44 Districts
and eight Metropolitans in the District Delivery Model, DDM.
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The DDM enables the Department to focus on self-sustainability
through prioritisation of production workshops, agricultural
projects as well as looking into district-specific
opportunities that promote offender rehabilitation coupled
with producing commodities required within the department as
well as other government departments, in a safe and conducive
environment.
By developing community-related rehabilitation programmes, a
smoother transition of offender reintegration back into
communities would be facilitated. Hon Chair, the
implementation of the COVID-19 Special Parole Dispensation,
SPD, during 2020-21 and 2021-22, has resulted in a reduction
in the offender population of 14 005 as at 28 May 2021.
Despite the reduction in the inmate population, most
correctional facilities remain at or over capacity. The
approved Departmental Overcrowding Reduction Strategy provides
direct and indirect measures, to reduce and manage the
population of remand detainees and sentenced offenders.
The current ratio is one official to four inmates and
insufficient bed spaces remain a challenge. With regards to
rehabilitation, the department will continue to strengthen
collaboration with external service providers through regular
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engagements and in line with the set Service Level Standards.
The current COVID-19 Regulations and budgetary constraints
require regular reprioritisation, for new and alternative
strategies to be implemented based on operational needs and
capacity.
The implementation of the Self Sufficiency and Sustainability
Framework, SSSF, is on the Department’s strategies aimed at
developing and utilising state assets to reduce the costs
incurred by the fiscus, and to generate revenue for the
department. We welcome and encourage the department to
implement its Self Sufficiency and Sustainability Framework.
The COVID -19 pandemic affected the execution of social
reintegration processes, resulting in reduced physical
monitoring of offenders and restorative justice.
Integration with district and regional models will be
prioritised, to ensure accessibility of services to parolees
and probationers. Given the prevailing economic conditions,
concerted efforts will be made to engage partners such as
government departments, nongovernment organisations, NGOs,
faith-based organisations, FBOs, community-based
organisations, CBOs, and communities at large, to provide
aftercare and support in ensuring successful reintegration.
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Hon Chair, the COVID?19 pandemic has placed increased pressure
on the Department of Correctional Services, to provide
adequate security for staff and inmates, as infected and
exposed inmates need to be isolated and quarantined, which
poses difficulties as most of the centers are overcrowded.
Accordingly, the department will over the MTEF period ensure
that, the incarceration programme responds to such challenges
arising from the pandemic.
The department plans to facilitate restorative justice by
increasing the number of victims participating in restorative
justice programmes, from 4 100 in 2022-23 to 5 300 in 2024-25
through its community reintegration subprogram in the social
reintegration programme. Chairperson, the department reported
that it met its target with regard to the escapes. The
department recorded 22 escapes in the previous financial year,
however re-arrests were made. The department has an escape
prevention plan in place and monitoring is ongoing, with
review of the Standard Operating Proceeding, SOP.
The department has plans in place for this financial year, to
train the entire value chain on security protocols. The report
of the judiciary in separate correctional services has been
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made through findings, this include overcrowding and the fact
that it presents capacity problems to the department, but also
affects the living conditions of offenders. The state of the
correctional facilities, especially with regard to maintenance
and on unnatural deaths and injuries due to security
incidents.
The department indicated that, they work very closely with the
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, JICS, to
rectify issues raised and provide space and support for the
JICS to produce their work. Further, the department is working
on legislation, and they are busy with consultations thereon,
to provide independence and separation of powers to the
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. We urge the
department to continue to work closely with the Judicial
Inspectorate for Correctional Services to ensure that inmates
are safe and treated with dignity and their human rights are
protected within correctional centers.
The Department should work speedily to finalise the
legislation for the independence of the judicial inspectorate.
The department is encouraged to implement security strategies
and to fill all vacancies of doctors, nurses, social workers
and psychologists to ensure that there is adequate capacity
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and care and support for inmates, as well as improving staff
morale, particularly, in light of high levels of overcrowding.
In conclusion, hon Chair, the ANC supports the Budget Vote 22
for Correctional Services and Budget Vote 25, Justice and
Constitutional Development. I thank you very much.
Mr G MICHALAKIS: Thank you very much, House Chair. House
Chair, the wheels of justice turns slowly but grind
exceedingly fine. There is an old saying that goes back to the
first and second century when it was still referred to as the
wheels of the gods. These wheels have been turning for
centuries, but for many South Africans these wheels have
frustratingly grinded to a halt.
The wheels of justice are not turning slowly anymore. For some
they are not turning at all. The hard lockdown imposed by the
ANC government in March 2020 has had many unintentional
repercussions not least on the justice system where the
Master’s Office and Deeds Offices are seemingly still
struggling to get ahead of the backlog that was built up.
The thing is, during Covid people did not stop dying. On the
contrary, the estates started piling up, economic activity had
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to continue, properties had to be sold, new trust’s created
and guarding fund payments had to be paid.
The government in some instances might have come to a complete
standstill, but the people of this country did not have a
choice. We had to carry on. Add to this the massive cyber-
attack that hit the Masters Integrated Case Management System
on 5 September last year which connects more than 400
magistrate’s offices and the Master’s Office and endless
delays were the result.
House Chairperson, I am sure we all would agree that the last
thing a grieving family would need is for a bank account of a
deceased loved one to be frozen and the state not being able
to make any progress unnecessarily. Funeral costs, day to day
expenses, bills, all of these on top of having to deal with
their loss.
In cases where the spouse dies a few months after the initial
deceased without the first estate being finalised it further
adds to the legal complications. Another example is the
Maintenance Court delays in paying out beneficiaries. Again,
here, it is the most vulnerable in our society that are
affected. The ones most in need of justice.
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Then there are the courts themselves. Where I have personally
visited clerks in general offices who have to use their own
cellphones to get the job done because between the court
managers and others within the department responsible for the
buildings and the Department of Public Works things are
literally falling apart.
We get it Minister, the Minister of Public Works is
frustrating and ineffective. We didn’t want her either but you
either have to sort these things out or even better become
vocal in favour of Cabinet getting rid of the Public Works
Department all together so that you can take control of your
own buildings.
I am sure you will not be the only member in Cabinet to
support this idea. What I am trying to convey to you by giving
the example of the clerks who use their own phones and airtime
to get the job done is this: Those are people who do not earn
fancy salaries. They pitch up for work in court buildings that
are falling apart. In some cases, they are expected to fill
the void where vacancies exist without receiving a larger
salary and the morale is low.
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They are often, to my theory, not treated well by those who
rely on them. Although they are in my view the most important
people within our court systems. Yet, they care enough about
the work they do that they use their own resources to get that
work done, often without a thank you. They continue to fill
the void in the interest of justice and because they take
pride in their work. They are the gods who make the wheels of
justice turn and the department should look after them better.
In your department’s defense I have to say that where I have
taken up such matters with civil servants in your office and
with the Deputy Minister I have always received good reaction
and assistance and I thank them for it.
Minister, I will step off this topic in a moment to focus on
two other matters. But before I do, I want to stress again,
where the wheels of justice stop turning, it is those in need
of justice most, who suffer.
There are two matters which I wish to address further. The
first is the role of sheriffs based on a matter from my
constituency which I believe you are familiar with. A sheriff
rumored to have connections to the former premier of the Free
State has five criminal cases pending against him. The police
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are either unable or unwilling to find him so much so that I
recently had to forward them the newest address as if I am
some Columbo.
He attached, as sheriff, the property of citizens, misused
their vehicles for his own personal use and did a string of
other criminal deeds. The victims, the public, cannot claim
for damages against the board of sheriffs before all avenues
to obtain the money from the sheriff himself have been
exhausted. The police are unable or are unwilling to find him
and we are at a dead end.
In a recent court judgement, it was found that his dismissal
was procedurally unsound and he was reappointed. A sheriff
with five criminal cases pending against him as the person
task with assisting the administration of justice. And you as
Minister, are unable to intervene. Surely Minister, this must
be addressed urgently.
We cannot have rogue sheriffs out there. We have to put checks
and balances in place to deal with unethical and criminal
behavior on the part of sheriffs or to at least hold the
sheriff’s board accountable if they fail in their tasks in the
best interest of the public.
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The second matter, which I want to focus on in the limited
time that I have, is that your announcement during the budget
speech in the other place about the increase digitisation of
components of the justice system. In any modern society this
should be welcome. However, if the fiasco during September
2021 taught you anything, it should have been what I have been
warning you all about for years in Parliament.
You need secure computer systems before any of this can work.
Don’t, I beg you, do not embark on this for the sake of saying
you are making progress if the necessary security is not in
place. And I guarantee you, security wise your department is
not currently ready for it. Not only are you dealing with the
personal information of citizens but you also becoming more
and more dependent on technology. You need a team behind you
that understands the technology and how to safeguard it.
The State Information Technology Agency, Sita, is not doing
your department any service. If you disagree I would advise
you to make frequent use of white hat hackers that can
continuously point out and report to you the flaws in your
system. The result, I promise you, Minister, will shock you.
Cyber-security is going to become one of the biggest threats
to your department in the coming years and you need to invest
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in expertise that goes with this technology not only in the
technology itself.
No government department can hold so much information of
persons and rely so deeply on technology and then put all its
trust entirely in entities like Sita. It would be reckless and
irresponsible. There are many people with less than noble
intentions and interest who have a vested interest in a great
part of the information that your department holds.
If we embrace technology, which we should, we should do it
properly and carefully so that it makes justice more
accessible and easier to administer fairly. Anything falling
short of this would be the opposite of justice.
I am still of the opinion that what this country need is a
Cyber Commissioner accountable directly to Parliament that can
oversee such matters. And I would welcome the engagement from
you or your Deputy on this matter. It would have to be driven
from within the justice cluster. This proposal may seem
expensive and impractical but considering that 94% of all
businesses in the country have been the victims of phishing
attacks. The fact that such attacks cost the economy and the
state alone billions of rand each year and the fiasco that you
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yourselves experienced in September 2021, the pros far out way
the cons and the expensive and impractical with the help of
facts becomes essential and affordable.
Finally, Minister, your department has seen an increase of
R550 million budget. Our Criminal Justice system is broken.
Everyone in particular, the National Prosecuting Authority is
under-resourced and you are not being helped by the
ineffective police system. Not a cent can go to waste and we
need to start attracting expertise and retain talent. We do
not have years to turn it around. We are all, every single
South African, waiting for justice to be seen to be done. I
hope with all sincerity that the justice that will be done in
the coming year will not be to quote George Bernard Shaw a
case of:
Justice is justice though it's always delayed and finally
done only by mistake.
I thank you.
Mr M MVOKO (Eastern Cape): Hon House Chairperson, greetings to
the Minister, Deputy Minister and hon members, it is my
singular honour and privilege to address this august House
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representing the government of the Eastern Cape in this Budget
Vote on Correctional Services and Justice and Constitutional
Development.
These are two of the most vital cogs of South Africa’s
criminal justice system. One provides accessible justice,
mainly for the victims of crime, restoring their human rights
and upholding the rule of law. While the other contributes to
a just, peaceful and safer South Africa through effective and
humane incarceration of the offender. But critically,
rehabilitates the offenders and gears them up for a harmonious
return to their communities when they finish their sentences,
those who are not sentenced to life in jail of course. What is
abundantly clear is that the justice and constitutional
development side of things, at least in the Eastern Cape, is
doing well. So well that nationally, Eastern Cape, as a
region, is the most overcrowded with the inmate population
seating at 162 per cent of our capacity. We are followed by
the Western Cape and Gauteng at a distant 148 per cent and
142% per cent respectively. There are plans in place to reduce
the overcrowding in line with the overcrowding strategy.
Further means to address the overcrowding challenge involve
engagement with other regions or provinces in this context,
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for interprovincial transfer in terms of equal distribution of
inmates.
The stakeholders are engaged on the relevant platforms to
effectively deal with; Referrals to court based on the length
of detention; Placement of accused under the supervision of a
probation officer or correctional official; Amendment of bail
conditions on account of prison conditions; and Community-
based sentences. Allow us not to get into the contentious
issue of parole for the purpose of this session. There is no
denying the impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus which
in its infant stages virtually forced the entire world into a
hole, and the Department of Correctional Services and Justice
and the Department of Constitutional Development were not
spared from the death and devastation as a result of COVID-19.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 back in 2020, the province has
had 1 526 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases the officials,
with 1 485 recoveries, 35 deaths and six active cases. In
terms of inmates, we have had 1 570 confirmed positive COVID-
19 cases, 1 547 recoveries, and sadly 15 deaths. There is one
active case from St Albans Management Area. To protect
employees and inmates against the risk of severe COVID-19
disease is as follows; A total of 2 925 officials were
vaccinated, inclusive of nurses who were appointed on contract
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in the province, while 14 502 inmates have taken the jab in
the province. And we continue to encourage more to vaccinate
through the Vooma Vaccination Campaign and by conducting
awareness and screening at all access points.
The Eastern Cape has successfully spent the budget that was
allocated during the last financial year, largely equipping
our correctional centres to make them self-sustainable.
Agricultural machinery and equipment have been procured to
enhance the production of agricultural products which will be
consumed by offenders, thus minimising costs. A special salute
has to go out to our correctional services officers and senior
managers for the work they have put in to reduce the number of
escapes from our correctional centres and even from our
courts.
As we mark 26 years, almost to the day, of the Constitution of
the Republic of South Africa, we are confronted with the
reality that we cannot legislate consciousness. For the
Constitution to live up to its promise, all of us are required
to employ its principles. We are required to live to its
expectations. Every citizen must be an active citizen. Every
citizen must reaffirm in their consciousness that we are the
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people and recognise the injustices of the past. I thank you,
hon House Chairperson.
Mr K MOTSAMAI: House Chairperson, the EFF rejects the proposed
budget of the Department of Correctional Services. The
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa requires the
Department of Correctional Services to protect the rights of
all offenders, including the right to human dignity, freedom
and security of the person, satisfactory accommodation and
adequate medical care. The department is also mandated by the
Constitution to offer and implement rehabilitation programmes
to offenders imprisoned by the courts of law.
Yet, this department falls short of its mandate to fulfil this
for a number of reasons including corruption, poor management
and lack of resources. We reject the budget of the department
which is responsible for the shocking condition of our
prisons. Inmates and remand detainees experience extreme
overcrowding in prisons, inhumane living conditions, shortages
in educational services and shortage of educational staff as
well as social workers and psychologists within the Department
of Correctional Services. As early as the year 2014, Pollsmoor
Prison in Cape Town was operating at 238% occupancy. The
overcrowding of correctional centres creates conditions which
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undermine rehabilitation programmes offered to offenders and
makes it impossible for any correctional lessons to take
place. The issue of overcrowding is concerning to note
especially when one takes into account the high rate of
infectious diseases such as HIV/Aids and TB, which is higher
than in general society.
This department is also known for its deplorable prison
conditions such as inadequate health care services, reports of
unrest and riots which often emerge inside our prisons.
Prisoners often go on hunger strikes, setting fires on
mattresses and clothes and damaging prison property. Prison
conditions do not only threaten the health of people
incarcerated within them, but also that of prison staff who
are also at risk. Prison staff also often engage in protests
due to the conditions that they have to work under. In the
Voorberg Prison in the Western Cape province, during the
lockdown, supervisors went on strike in response to
management’s unwillingness to disinfect the institution and
provide support for temperatures.
The high rates of violence and gangs make prisons a dangerous
space to be in. The prisons have become breeding ground for
hardened criminals. They are centres in which the collusion
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between convicted criminals and prison officials produces the
bloodiest of crimes. We reject the budget of a department
which provides inmates with conditions which lack human
dignity. We reject this budget. Thank you, House Chairperson.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(Mr J H Jeffery): Thank you, House Chairperson and hon
members. The Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development has a national footprint of regional offices
around the country, one in each Province. As the NCOP ensures
that provincial interests are taken into account in the
national sphere of government, I will for the purposes of this
debate give more detail of work being done by the Department
of Justice and Constitutional Development in the respective
provinces.
Magistrates courts are at the very coalface of our justice
system. It is vital that these courts, which are often the
first port of call for the dispensing of justice, are well-
capacitated and functioning optimally. The Minister of Justice
and Correctional Services recently made 158 new magistrates
appointments in vacancies around the country. I am happy also
to stress this that while positions were vacant there were
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acting magistrates in those positions. So, it is not as if we
sort of have 158 new warm bodies.
Anyway, these magistrates assumed their duties on 01 October
last year and the filling of these vacancies is an important
step in capacitating our judicial officers and our courts, so
as to enable them to deliver justice to all. Interviews for
Regional Court Magistrates are currently being conducted by
the Appointments Committee of the Magistrates’ Commission.
Our department has also begun the process of consolidating and
rationalising the provincial offices to act as one department
and not several independent units such as; the Masters
offices, the state attorney, the family advocate etc.
The rationalisation of the magisterial districts in the
Eastern Cape, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western
Cape took effect on 1 April this year. The new magisterial
districts in these provinces will largely follow municipal
boundaries and will thus ensure that people have easier access
to the magistrates’ courts. Chairperson, high levels of
gender-based violence, sexual violence and domestic violence
are tearing our communities apart and what makes it worse is
that very often the crimes are perpetrated by a person close
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to or known to the victim like; a family member, a friend, a
teacher or a neighbour.
In the Free State, we hosted two successful Under the Tree
dialogues. We have specifically set up these dialogues to
engage with men and boys. Men and boys are crucial if we want
to change toxic attitudes and beliefs that lead to violence
against women and children as they can change the narrative in
our communities in relation to how men treat women. Men and
boys can discourage and prevent other men from harming women.
Men can teach young boys during their formative years to
respect and protect women and girls. Every woman in our
community is somebody’s mother, or somebody’s daughter, or
somebody’s sister. None of us would be here today if it wasn’t
for women.
Nevertheless, despite this, studies have shown that
patriarchal value systems are still prevalent in South African
families and communities. Some men believe that male dominance
and male entitlement is the norm. Some men still believe that
they have the right to a woman’s body, that they have the
right to treat a woman as an object, that a woman means “yes”
when she says “no”, or that domestic violence is a private
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matter. These are the attitudes that we must change. This is
what our Under the Tree dialogues aim to achieve.
In the Western Cape, the department has filled 144 posts for
the region and conducted more than 800 training interventions.
The Western Cape is also the only region to attain 80%
representation of women in senior management positions. All
the directors as far as I recall are women. The regional head
is a man but all the directors under him are women. In the
Northern Cape, the modernised and digitised justice services
platforms, the MojaPay cashless court solution through point
of sale devices were deployed at all our courts in the
province.
Water tanks were also installed at Kimberley High Court, the
Griekwastad, Hartswater, Douglas, Port Nolloth, Carnavon,
Kenhart, Britstown, Richmond and Prieska Magistrates Courts
and the Family Law Center in Kimberley, in order to improve on
court sittings and avoid postponements due to water shortages.
The Department also procured and installed an additional
mobile court room at De Aar Magistrates Court after part of
the building was damaged by a fire. In addition, we procured
accommodation for the National Prosecuting Authority in De Aar
and for the family advocate in Upington.
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At Springbok Magistrates Court we have created safe space for
a safe waiting area for members of the public and we are
attending to the upgrading and installation of generators and
water tanks at Kudumane Magistrates Court. In Mpumalanga,
we’ve installed a borehole for Kabokweni Magistrates Court and
made progress with the implementation of the Extended Public
Works Programme at Mbombela High Court, Evander Magistrates
Court, the Middelburg High Court Local Seat and KwaMhlanga
Court. In the Eastern Cape, we are continuing with the
renovation of the Mthatha Magistrates Court, with the facility
upgraded to enable the establishment of the Sexual Offences
Court. We have also successfully established two new
Commercial Crimes Courts, one in Mthatha and one in East
London.
Other key projects in the Eastern Cape include the
implementation of the new magisterial districts as per the
recent rationalisation project that I spoke about earlier. The
upgrading of infrastructure for the establishment of the
Sexual Offences Court at Lusikisiki and the installation of a
water backup system at Makhanda. Members may be aware that the
scarcity of water in Makhanda has had a significant impact on
court backlogs. Other existing challenges which are receiving
attention include network connectivity for courts located in
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deep rural areas. Cellular connectivity is often poor, so
providing mobile data for officials is insufficient. Another
challenge is sourcing suppliers for the most needed services
in the rural areas.
Some of the courts are in a poor state. Given that the
staffing capacity has been increased and that delegations for
expenditure have been increased, we are hopeful that this may
assist in this regard. With regards to travelling distances,
the Eastern Cape and many of our other rural provinces have
periodical courts. These courts provided only criminal
services in the past, but with these courts recently being
proclaimed in April 2022 as full service courts, this will
increase the services being rendered to communities.
In Gauteng the commencement of the expansion of the Soshanguve
Magistrates Court started in the last financial year and is
expected to be completed by the end of March 2023. This will
see the areas of Loate and Winterveld incorporated into
Gauteng which will ensure that there is alignment with
provincial boundaries. Lenasia and Booysen’s Magistrates
Courts have been proclaimed as full-service courts which allow
communities to access all services which were rendered at the
main courts.
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Other projects planned for Gauteng include the proclamation
and roll out of services in Diepsloot where two court rooms
will render family law services. We will also be procuring
Parkhomes at Soweto, as an interim measure, whilst waiting for
the approval of the construction project with the Department
of Public Works and Infrastructure to expand access to
services for the communities around Soweto. In Limpopo there
has been an enhanced focus on domestic violence cases, with
the establishment of the Domestic Violence Cases Management
Team. In terms thereof a database with phone numbers was
compiled specifically for after-hours emergencies. The court
managers were tasked to apply for standing overtime approval
for court clerks to assist victims after hours.
The Rapid Response Initiative was also established to track
how long it takes to process domestic violence cases. Courts
with highest numbers were identified. These were Thohoyandou
and Sekhukhune and formed part of the Rapid Response
Initiative project. The project was a success as it proved
that cases can be disposed of in a matter of days. This
initiative is now being rolled-out countrywide. With regards
to the North West, one of the main projects for this year is
to ensure that there are practice directives for maintenance
and the establishment of a maintenance forum. The practice
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directives aim to create a uniform way in the province as to
how maintenance matters are handled and to guide the newly
appointed maintenance officers.
With regards to KwaZulu-Natal, a major challenge is the
distances for travel as well as the conditions of the roads
that are used to access the over 70 courts in KwaZulu-Natal.
The hon chairperson of the select committee took part of my
speech because I would be speaking on the refurbishment of the
bus which would be converted into a mobile justice office. So,
I will not go into further detail on that. House Chairperson,
on the issue of renovations of courts, the Department of
Public Works and Infrastructure which is responsible for the
work, has been experiencing problems on some of these
projects.
At times, the challenges stem from disputes with the
contractor which was what happened at Musina and the
Lusikisiki Magistrates Courts. There are regular engagements
between the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public
Works and Infrastructure on these issues. I know that the hon
Michalakis and other members of the Democratic Alliance like
attacking their former member, Minister Patricia De Lille, but
I think she is rising to the challenge of addressing a lot of
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the problems that Public Works was experiencing. Hon members,
our Minister also spoke about the year of the community
programme which our department launched.
We are once again reminded of the vital importance of
government being visible and active within our communities.
The best way to know what communities are experiencing and
what they require is to hear it directly from them. In the
same way that Parliament conducts oversight work, government
departments should monitor the situation within our
communities. Where things are not working, we need to know and
we need to address it without delay. I thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES (Inkosi S P
Holomisa): Chairperson, good afternoon, Minister of Justice
and Correctional Services, Mr Ozzy Lamola, Deputy Minister of
Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr J J Jeffery, hon
Shaik and members of the select committee, Members of
Executive Councils, MECs, amongst from provinces, hon members
of the National Council of Provinces, Acting National
Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services,
Inspecting Judge, Justice Edwin Cameron, members of the
National Council for Correctional Services, NCCS, ladies and
gentlemen.
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This year, 2022, the National Youth Month and Youth Day will
be celebrated under the theme: “Promoting sustainable
livelihoods and resilience of young people for a better
tomorrow”.
On 25 August 1998 the founding President of the democratic
Republic of South Africa, Mr Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela, Ah!
Dalibhunga, on the occasion of the opening of the Emthonjeni
Youth Correctional Centre, had this to say:
The Department of Correctional Services has instituted
outreach programmes to involve the community. Parents must
actively participate in the process by motivating their
children. We all need to join hands to rescue these
youngsters and transform them into worthy and respected
citizens of our country. We owe it to them and we owe it to
ourselves. Young people themselves must play their part.
Through dedication, hard work and commitment they can help
themselves. In doing so they will also help counter the
atmosphere of entitlement that is too often leading young
people to abuse what we are doing to equip them to become
the leaders of tomorrow.
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During this month, as part of equipping our youth,
correctional officials and inmates, we will continue with our
oversight visits to the various management areas to gain
first-hand experience of the challenges facing the staff of
Correctional Services who operate at the coalface of our
operations, that is, the correctional centres, as well as to
engage with inmates. Coupled with these visits, we will also
undertake a number of community outreach initiatives.
On 21 and 22 June 2022 I will undertake a visit to Bethal
Management Area, in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West,
LMN, region, to ensure that, as the Executive, we foster a
conducive working environment for our employees to be able to
discharge their duties unhindered and motivated.
As part of our visit to Bethal on 22 June, in support of the
Presidential District Development Model, DDM, together with
provincial and local government and in conjunction with Nkosi
Mthethwa of the Madabukela Traditional Council, we will launch
the Deputy Minister Youth Empowerment Initiative with the main
goal of using the agricultural skills repertoire at our
disposal to empower the youth, as far as possible, in the
areas in which we operate a farm and in so doing tackle the
challenges of youth unemployment and food insecurity. I will
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elaborate on the exciting partnership with the Madabukela
Traditional Council shortly.
The vision of this initiative is to provide a platform in
which the youth could be attracted to farming through focused
training, capacitating them with the skills required to propel
them towards meaningful economic opportunities and to becoming
successful palm farmers in their own right.
On 29 June we will undertake a working visit to Upington
Management Area, in the Free State/Northern Cape Region, where
a Victim/Offender Dialogue session will be coupled with the
establishment of a vegetable garden and handover of a sports
field to the learners of BaOne Intellectual Disability School
in Kuruman.
Correctional facilities in this country offer a wide range of
developmental activities and opportunities. Through external
partnerships we can double the impact we are currently making
and get the youth to benefit from the technical and vocational
training centres, focussing on agricultural projects. This
says that we can be more pragmatic and champion the District
Development Model as we hold an advantage of being located in
almost every city, town, village and location.
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The advantage that we hold is that we have production
workshops and an array of skills development projects where
inmates acquire necessary expertise in order to improve their
lives, but equally, be of benefit to local communities. As a
department we venture into different arenas and seek to make a
difference.
As a way of proving an impetus to what I have just said, we
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the
Marcus Mbetha Sindisa Secure Centre which will see inmates in
Upington manufacturing coffins which will be donated to
indigent families who are struggling to bury their loved ones.
In this instance, Dawid Kruiper Municipality and the
Department of Social Development are also key stakeholders to
ensure the success of the project.
As a traditional leader myself I have been advocating for a
closer working relationship between Correctional Services and
the institution of Traditional Leadership. One is, therefore,
encouraged by iNkosi Mthethwa who welcomed the Department of
Correctional Services in reviving the working relationship for
Amakhaya farm under Mkhondo Municipality.
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This working relationship has seen 50 hectares of land being
availed to the Department of Correctional Services for the
purposes of self-sufficiency and sustainability. A total of
25 hectares will be worked to benefit Amakhaya farm and
1 hectare is for youth development.
What is to happen in the matter of few days is that
Correctional Services will plough and plant. The produce will
be processed for maize meal. What makes this venture
progressive is the fact that more land has been identified and
this will increase the number of hectares being availed and
will be used for the purposes of training community members.
A number of schools across all nine provinces continue to
benefit from our back-to-school campaign where we do not
simply clean and start vegetable gardens, but we refurbish
classrooms and furniture. However, assisting schools whilst
leaving out vulnerable members in those communities may not be
sound, hence we have made it a duty that through the Offender
Labour Programme we reach out to different households and
institutions.
An elderly woman at Amalinda in the Eastern Cape looking after
a 12-year-old grandson with cerebral palsy is today living in
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better condition as Correctional Services managed to source
donations for a wheelchair, a washing machine and sustainable
provision of napkins. We also had to build a ramp and
refurbish the house.
This is not an isolated or accidental project, three offenders
skilled in bricklaying and construction have completed
building a house for a female pensioner in Swellendam. This is
a decent house with ablution facility, a gesture that will
change the old lady’s life forever. We must send a word of
appreciation to the Swellendam Municipality which partnered
with us when we were working on this project.
This is a clear indication, ladies and gentlemen, that we all
have a role in taking South Africa forward. Working together,
we will defeat poverty and build stronger communities. Our
doors are open to other institutions as we work with various
communities in addressing the plight of the vulnerable, the
unemployed and society at large. I am confident that working
together we can conquer the challenges confronting our people,
improve the lives of all South Africans and work together to
build better communities.
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The department continues to be confronted by an increasingly
challenging environment considering the socioeconomic
conditions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccination
rollout within the department is being monitored through the
established Vaccination Roll-Out Coordinating Committee,
VROCC. The virus makes no distinction of place, race or
culture, hence vaccination is the bulwark against the pandemic
in correctional facilities, just as anywhere else. The
vaccination programme is critical to achieve the Department of
Correctional Services population immunity, to protect
employees and inmates against the risk of severe disease, and
to enhance occupational health and safety by stemming the
spread of the virus. The department recorded a total of 23 426
officials and 116 364 inmates who have been vaccinated as at
25 March this year.
Hon members allow me to direct your attention to budget
allocation per programme:
With respect to Programme 1: Administration. R11 billion
budget reduction over the 2021 Medium-Term Expenditure
Framework, MTEF, will continue to have a negative effect on
the funded establishment of Department of Correctional
Services during the 2022 MTEF. The department is currently
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engaged in the alignment of the organizational structure with
the approved service delivery model. The department is also
seized with multilateral engagements with organised labour on
the shift pattern system. Based on the outcomes of the
engagements with stakeholders, the shift patterns may require
additional funding.
In terms of Programme 2: Incarceration. Implementation of the
COVID-19 Special Parole Dispensation, SPD, during 2020-21 and
2021-22 resulted in a reduction in the offender population of
14 005 as at 28 May 2021. Despite the reduction in the inmate
population, most correctional facilities remain at over
capacity. As at 31 May 2022, the national inmate population
was 145 013 whilst the approved accommodation is 108 804. This
translates to an overcrowding level of 33,28%. In addition,
the number of persons in the system of community corrections
is 59 213, comprising 50 595 parolees, 7 791 probationers and
827 awaiting-trial persons, ATPs. Of the 59 213 persons in the
system of community corrections, the Department of
Correctional Services regional breakdown for the average
caseload is as follows: in the Eastern Cape 10 714, Free
State/Northern Cape 7 097, Gauteng 10 554, KwaZulu-Natal
12 828, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West 10 169, Western Cape
7 851.
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With regard to Programme 3: Rehabilitation. The department
will continue to strengthen collaboration with external
service providers through regular engagements and in line with
Service Level Standards. The implementation of the Self-
Sufficiency and Sustainability Framework, SSSF, is one of the
department’s strategies aimed at developing and utilising
state assets to reduce costs incurred by the fiscus and
generate revenue for the department.
During the 2021-22 financial year, 80% of sentenced offenders
with correctional sentence plans completed correctional
programmes and this will continue in the current year.
With regard to offender development. Offenders participate in
Long Occupation Skills Programmes, Short Occupational Skills
Programmes, Technical and Vocational Education and Training,
Tvet, College Programmes, General Education and Training, GET,
Further Education and Training, FET, and the Grade 12 National
Senior Certificate offenders also receive psychological,
social and spiritual services.
The Rehabilitation Programme is expected to spend R7,1 billion
over the medium-term, which is 9,1% of the total vote
allocation, of which R54,147 million is allocated for the
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implementation of the Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability
Framework. The average growth rate of the Rehabilitation
Programme from 2021-22 to 2024-25 is 3,6%. The Offender
Development sub-programme is allocated 53% of the programme
allocation over the medium-term and it is projected that this
sub-programme will have a growth rate of 4,5% from 2021-22 to
2024-2025.
Through Programme 4: Care. The Department of Correctional
Services ensures healthcare provision which contributes to the
attainment of the universal Sustainable Development Goals in
meeting the health needs of the inmate population. In the
context of the current budgetary reductions, the department
will increase its interaction and collaboration with relevant
stakeholders for capacity building to ensure comprehensive
management of the health conditions of inmates.
In terms of Programme 5: Social Reintegration. The COVID-19
pandemic has affected the execution of social reintegration
processes resulting in reduced physical monitoring of
offenders and restorative justice through Victim-Offender
Dialogues, VODs, and Victim-Offender Mediations, VOMs.
Integration with district and regional models will be
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prioritised to ensure accessibility of services to parolees
and probationers.
In contributing towards Safe and Empowered Communities through
Sustainable Economic Development, one of the strategic focus
areas of the Department of Correctional Services is the
successful reintegration of all those under the care of the
department.
The department will continue to enhance existing strategic
partnerships and establishing new partnerships in order to
advance its projects.
To this end, the Social Reintegration Programme is expected to
spend R3,5 billion over the medium-term and 89,3% of the total
budget of the programme, amounting to R3,1 billion, which is
allocated to the Supervision sub-programme.
Through the Social Reintegration Framework, the department
seeks to create platforms and avenues for active participation
and involvement of various stakeholders in the advancement of
rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders. The
framework maps out processes to reposition the system of
community corrections by professionalising core functions of
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Social Reintegration, actively engaging the community and
relevant stakeholders in the rehabilitation process as well as
providing interventions and services that are responsive to
the risks and needs of parolees and probationers to eliminate
reoffending and improve public safety.
As a country we are at a stage where transformation is non-
negotiable! We need to push ahead more vigorously with
progressive social and economic transformation. This must
include responding to the disparity in skills between the
various sectors of our society which continues to condemn many
of our people to the margins of our economy.
Chair, let me just respond as a one-liner to the rejection of
this budget by the hon member, Motsamai, who, when lamenting
the fact that a lot of the services are not being granted to
their full extend, still continues to say money must not be
allocated. That is like cutting nose to spite your face. What
then if he succeeds in rejecting this budget? What will happen
to the little that we are able to provide, if that is the
case?
In any event, hon Chairperson, we were not expecting much from
a party of that nature.
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Indeed, none of us are free until all of us are free. I
believe in our lifetime that we can build a society where all
people are and feel safe. However, it requires a joint effort
to work together to realise the ideals of a safer society. It
is my belief that our youth have the power to break the cycle
of crime! I thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon Deputy Minister,
let me take the point of order.
Hon Apleni, what is the point of order?
Mr T APLENI: House Chair, he can’t say to the party of that
nature, that is wrong. It’s wrong. I don’t think the hon
Deputy Minister is right to use that word. Can he withdraw
that, please?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): That is not a point of
order, hon Apleni.
Mr T APLENI: It’s a point of order ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): ... can you continue,
hon Deputy Minister!
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Mr T APLENI: ... it’s a point of order. He can’t say to the
party of that nature. It’s wrong, Chairperson. The party of
which nature?
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
(Inkosi S P Holomisa): ... [Inaudible.] ... if you don’t know
your identity it’s not for me to tell you ...
Mr T APLENI: No, you can’t do that, you’re wrong, you’re
wrong. Don’t say that, please.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon Apleni, the hon
Deputy Minister never mentioned a party by name but let’s
allow him to conclude his speech.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
(Inkosi S P Holomisa): Fortunately, I’ve already concluded my
speech. Thank you very much, especially those who support this
budget.
Mr Z MKIVA: Sihlalo weNdlu, ndincame ndakhetha indawo engathi
ithe qabavu kwaye ndiqiniseke ngayo ngombane. Uya kundixolela,
yiyo le nto ubona ingathi kuyadanyaza apha emva kwam.
Mandibulise kuwe Sihlalo, ndibulise kumalungu ahloniphekileyo
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ale Ndlu, kuMphathiswa osinika injobe ebandla namhlanje,
Mphathiswa Ronald O Lamola, kuSekela Mphathiswa,
ohloniphekileyo uJohn Jefreys nakwelinye iSekela iNkosi
Phathekile Holomisa, kumalungu ethu akhoyo ...
English:
... Acting National Commissioner, compatriots, comrades and
friends. The ANC rises in support of the budget vote. The
ANC’s attainment of political power in 1994 and the adoption
of the new Constitution brought about a paradigm shift in the
functioning of prisons. The ANC government’s efforts have been
to convert the inhumane colonial and apartheid prisons which
dehumanised inmates, feeding a culture of violence and despair
into correctional centres. As we all know hon members that
prisons were used as weapons to basically erode the humanity
of our people. When we took over the reins of power, we did
our best to do the opposite and this is what is being put
forward here by this department. A lot of work is already done
in that direction to ensure that these are centres of
rehabilitation rather than places to throw away people.
The prison system was militarised in the 1950s. Warders
adopted military-style uniforms and ranks, and developed the
use of convict labour for the development of the country, in
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building roads, harbours and in mine work. Pass law breakers
served to increase the supply in available labour. The prison
system was also used extensively from the 1960s to detain
people without trial and those who were convicted of crimes
related to apartheid opposition. Under the regime of
apartheid, the main objective of prisons was to keep inmates
out of the community. In conformity with the racist ideology
that underpinned the system of apartheid government as a
whole, black prisoners were separated from white prisoners,
and their conditions and treatment was especially poor.
The transition of the 1990s offered to South Africans an
opportunity to reshape their views on crime and punishment.
Articulating the vision for the country, the ANC’s Ready to
Govern stated that a prison service for the country must play
its part, not simply in restraining convicts but in
rehabilitating them into responsible citizens in the country.
The ANC asserted that adequate resources should be made
available for the humane accommodation, education, training
and job placement of convicts. The ANC warned that the failure
to do so would lead to expenditure on an ever-increasing
number of new jails. The ANC remains committed against any
inhumane and cruel punishment.
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Hon Chairperson, in keeping with the celebration of the 25th
anniversary of our Constitution this year, it is perhaps
important to remind ourselves that section 35(2e) of the
Constitution guarantees every detained and sentenced prisoner
the right to be detained under conditions that are consistent
with human dignity, including at least exercise and the
provision of adequate accommodation, nutrition, reading
material and medical treatment and to communicate with and be
visited by that person’s spouse or partner, next of kin,
chosen spiritual counsellor and chosen medical practitioner.
Section 2 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, states
that:
The purpose of the correctional system is to contribute
to maintaining and protecting a just, peaceful and safe
society by:
Enforcing sentences of the courts in a manner prescribed
by the Act; detaining all offenders in safe custody
whilst ensuring their human dignity, and; promoting the
social responsibility and human development of all
offenders and persons subject to community or community
corrections.
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In 2004, the Department of Correctional Services adopted the
White Paper on Corrections as a policy document which lays out
the vision for the department. The 2004 White Paper takes what
is entrenched in the Constitution to a higher level in that it
defines rehabilitation as the core business of this particular
department. The Constitution provides the minimum standards of
humane detention but does not articulate a right to
rehabilitation services for offenders and prisoners in
particular. As the isiXhosa adage goes:
IsiXhosa:
Awukho umgqomo wokulahla umntu.
English:
Loosely translated - There is dustbin to throw into human
beings. Rehabilitation plays a critical role for the
realisation of the National Development Plan, NDP’s priority
5, Social Cohesion and Safe Communities. Chapter three of the
White Paper details that corrections is a societal
responsibility and envisages that members of the public will
support internal rehabilitation programmes
IsiXhosa:
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Yiyo loo nto ubona phaya eziseleni kubakho imidlalo eyamene
nenkcubeko ukuqinisekisa ukuba kukho unxulumano phakathi
kwamabanjwa noluntu ngaphandle. Loo nto inceda ukuba amabanjwa
angabuyi ezingonyama koko babuye bengabantu.
English:
The department is placed at the tertiary level. The objectives
of this process, as I have indicated is to ensure that we
rehabilitate our people into responsible citizens. The
Minister indicated that, during the devastating floods in
KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, which resulted in the loss of
lives, homes, possessions and hope, inmates, through the
Department of Correctional Services’ Self Sufficiency and
Sustainability Model, contributed towards the social relief
efforts. The Department of Correctional Services donated
vegetables, eggs, meat, milk and bread to needy families who
were affected by the floods.
We are aware of the economic climate in our country as well as
the world over. It has been reported that the Department of
Correctional Services has been able to take off items such as
eggs and pork from their procurement lists in the past
financial year. More items will be added to these lists as a
result of implementation of Self-Sufficiency. The Minister
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also indicated that Department of Correctional Services’
workshops has been capacitated with latest technology to
enable them to produce inmate uniform, staff uniform and shoes
in large quantities within their own facility and their own
instruments.
Through this Model, the Minister also reported that, the
Treasury has approved 100% retention of revenue generated by
the Department of Correctional Services and these funds will
be reinvested towards programmes contributing to Self-
Sufficiency. The Department of Correctional Services will
receive R26,1 billion in 2022/23 financial year. This is an
increase of 0,64% or R165,4 million from 2021/22 financial
year budget. The allocation is projected to increase to
R26,7 billion over the medium term of 2024/25 financial year.
The ANC has been and remains an advocate for self-sufficiency
and skills development. Through skills development, meaningful
contribution into the economy is possible. Offender
rehabilitation and reintegration are a vital component of a
comprehensive and holistic crime-fighting strategy. Despite
this, research shows that upon release from prison, ex-
offenders are faced with a myriad of challenges that weaken
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the possibility of reform and predispose ex-offenders to
recidivism.
Research shows that, upon release, offenders are plunged into
an environment that is different from the prison environment
and they struggle to cope. Furthermore, given the dynamic and
ever-changing nature of society, ex-offenders who spend long
periods in prison are released into an environment that is
very different from their former environment before
imprisonment. This poses a serious challenge for the
reintegration of offenders.
Given that successful reintegration of offenders is central to
crime reduction, it is important that the science of offender
reintegration be thoroughly understood. A deepened
understanding of offender reintegration allows professionals,
the family and communities to better support the adjustment of
offenders upon release, which in turn reduces their chances of
recidivism.
The reintegration of offenders back into mainstream society is
unsettling for many people. There is some marked resistance to
accepting offenders. Such stigma defeats efforts to
rehabilitate offenders and disadvantages both the offender and
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society. It is for this reason that Program 5, social
reintegration, must be given the necessary attention. Reform
and reintegration of offenders should always be the ultimate
aim of incarceration.
There is criticism to offender rehabilitation for having
little effect on reforming offenders. It should be noted,
however, that the high rates of recidivism amongst offenders
should not necessarily be used as an indicator that
rehabilitation and reintegration do not work. Rather, it is
the almost insurmountable difficulties that that offenders
face upon release that force them to resort to a life of crime
once again.
One of the difficulties ex-offenders face is mending family
and community relationships. Given that when ex-offenders are
rejected, their most likely sources of contact will likely be
fellow criminals. Peer pressure and influence from such
friends also lead to them going back to their old ways. This
perpetuates rather than prevents crime. Family and community
support are key to ex-offender reintegration and
rehabilitation.
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The triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment
is one that persists and affects most people. Unemployment is
one serious challenge faced by ex-offenders despite having the
necessary skills and qualifications. Some ex-offenders have
raised the issue that the history of criminal conviction and
serving a sentence has a negative impact on their employment
prospects. The Criminal Procedure Amendment Act, Act 65 of
2008 sets out that an ex-offender can apply for the
expungement of their criminal record ten years from the date
of conviction provided they have not been convicted of any
other offence during the ten-year period. We are of the view
that the Department should raise awareness of expungement of
criminal records.
We are concerned that the budget allocation of the department
is not consistent with the White Paper on Correctional
Services. As aforementioned, rehabilitation is at the heart of
the White Paper on Corrections. However, about 76% of the
Department of Correctional Services’ budget goes into
administration and incarceration and only 9% to social
integration and rehabilitation. We think that the scales in
this respect must be tilted in favour of the core business as
the White Paper articulates.
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We are concerned with the number of escapes from correctional
facilities. The department recorded 22 escapes in the previous
financial year, however re-arrests were made. The department
reported that it has an escape prevention plan in place and
monitoring is ongoing with review of the Standard Operating
Procedure, SOP. The department has plans in place for this
financial year to train the entire value chain on security
protocols.
We recommend the following hon Chairperson and hon members
that:
The Department should continue to work closely with the
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services to ensure that
inmates are safe and treated with dignity and their human
rights are protected within Correctional Centres. The
Department should resolve all challenges with the Department
of Public Works and enhance its in-house skills to effect the
necessary maintenance, repairs and building of Correctional
Centres in all provinces. The Department should speedily
upgrade its security systems and infrastructure to reduce
incidents of escapes from Correctional Centres.
IsiXhosa:
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Sihlalo, masingafekethi kodwa siyawubona umsebenzi owenziwa
leli sebe ngolu hlobo. Umphathiswa uthe gqolo, rhoqo qho
eqinisekisa ukuba iintilongo ayizondawo zokulahlela abantu
kwalunkcwe koko yindawo apho elungisa, iqeqeshe kwaye iluleke
izimilo zabantu. Injongo yokwenza ngolu hlobo kukuba
sisebenzisa isiNtu ngento endithi, ngolwasemzini ...
English:
... restorative justice than retribution.
IsiXhosa:
Sifuna abo bonileyo bakwazi ukubuyela eluntwini bengcono
kunakuqala. I-ANC iyaluseka olu hlahlo-lwabiwo mali ngelithi
maluye phambili kwaye luza kuya. Ndiyabulela.
Mr N M HADEBE: Thank you hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon
Deputy Ministers and hon members. On consideration of the
Department of Correctional Services’ latest annual report and
budget, it is undeniable that the issue of overcrowding and
bed space at our correctional facilities remains a critical
issue, demanding prompt action.
Although the IFP welcomes the reports by the department
regarding the building of new correctional centres and
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upgrades to facilities, such as the Emthonjeni Correctional
Centre much more needs to be done. It also took a pandemic of
global scale to prompt the department to take action and
address overcrowding to some extent.
According to the latest report of the Judicial Inspectorate
for Correctional Services, the impact of the special
dispensation authorised by the President to bring forward
parole dates of 19 000 non-violent incarcerated persons in May
2020, coupled with directives on measures to prevent the
spread of the virus in January 2021, undeniably had a direct
impact on reducing overcrowding.
In March 2020, the national overcrowding rate, according to
the report, was at 32% whereas in March 2021, the rate was
massively reduced to 23%. This is an enormous accomplishment.
However, it begs the question of why it took a pandemic for
the department to take action and address a longstanding,
explosive situation?
We cannot applaud the department for its efforts, as it denies
the hard fact that this reality has been compounded over
years.
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On consideration of the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development’s budget and latest annual
performance plan, the IFP remains highly concerned about
ageing infrastructure and the dire state of the Office of the
Master of the High Court in specific. The Master’s Office,
which experienced a serious blow due to cyber-attacks last
year, performs critical functions for the public. Any delay in
its operations has a dire effect on the public.
The IFP furthermore welcomes the increase in the budget of the
National Prosecuting Authority, especially in light of the
massive task it faces in prosecuting State Capture cases. We
however submit that considering the scale of corruption, much
more funding will be needed over the next two years to ensure
the NPA has any chance in success.
May 2022 be the year where we finally see those implicated in
State Capture finally being prosecuted.
Hon Chairperson, finally, the IFP accepts the Budget Vote of
the Department of Correctional Services and the Department of
Justice and Constitutional Development.
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Ms C LABUSCHAGNE: Thank hon Chairperson, hon members and hon
Ministers. With the dawn of democracy, a part of this
department’s name was changed from the Department of Prisons
to the Department of Correctional Services. The vision of the
department on paper, at least changed from incarceration as a
strict form of punishment and no more, to a vision of
rehabilitating inmates and setting them on a path to a more
constructive future within our society.
As a former social worker, I have a lot of respect for this. I
believe, passionately, in the goodness of human beings and
that people are not only bad. But rehabilitation can only
succeed if the circumstances are conducive for this.
I often fear that this is the Department of Correctional
Services only on paper and that the old Department of Prisons,
with the old mentality, structures, attitudes and policies are
still continuing.
The core reason for my observation is supported by the fact
that rehabilitation, which should form a core part of this
budget, only makes out the second smallest allocation in this
programme only 9% of the total allocated budget.
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Yes, there are some exceptions that the department can point
to where rehabilitation programmes are being rolled out and
where inmates leave the correctional facilities with skills
that against all odds help them to turn their lives around.
But these, Minister, are a small fraction of those who enter
and eventually leave.
Many facilities across the country are nothing more than just
that; prisons. Where inmates arrive and leave with no life
skills learnt. Young people who are not hardened prisoners
never receiving the guidance they need to make any valuable
contribution to our society.
This is part of the reason why our reoffending rate is 87%
according to NICRO, South African National Institute for Crime
Prevention. We take criminals and make them hardened criminals
through our prisons and the circumstances in them. Instead, we
should be taking offenders and make them responsible, valued
and rehabilitated citizens that can give hope and inspire
others facing similar traps than they have faced.
Chairperson, I want to go back to my initial statement. The
department is that of correctional services just in name. How
many of the findings of the Cameron Report have actually been
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addressed in the past seven years since it was released? Not
only at Pollsmoor, but in every single facility in this
country.
Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, under nourishment. And
most recently, Justice Cameron exposed that this department is
practicing solitary confinement, which is illegal. Behind the
talk of democracy and rehabilitation and the worth of the
individual, I cannot see the difference between these
circumstances and those that the apartheid government put
people through. It is inhumane and it is not working in our
society’s favour.
The Mandela Protocols carry the name of a South African
president. It should be at the heart of our correctional
services programme not only on paper, but in practice. And it
is not.
Now, put a young first offender under those circumstances in a
prison with hardened criminals and see what happens to them?
You ruin their lives. It’s not rocket science. It’s basic
social understanding you have inherited 28 years ago, granted
a system that was not focused on changing for the better those
people who enter it.
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That is not your fault. The fact that this system is still
running after 28 years, that is your fault. The prisons system
needs to be reconsidered and rehabilitation placed at the core
of what it does and we are not going to get this right by
continuing on the current path.
That means that the budget cannot and should not simply be
tweaked here and there based on the increase or decrease of
funds available every year. It means that you will have to
have a zero-based budget that will have to be redrafted from
scratch not around what last year’s budget was, but around
what your core priorities and objectives are.
And then, we as Parliament will have to have a serious debate
about the decriminalisation of lesser crimes and alternative
forms of punishment that will see those who have not committed
serious crimes such as murder, rape and corruption placed
elsewhere than in the middle of a lion’s den, where all they
are taught is to be successful criminals. We can, and we
should put rehabilitation at the heart of what gets done in
our correctional facilities.
For justice to be done, it should pass the investigations at
the SAPS, SA Police Service, and a fair trial in our courts.
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Justice in the criminal context is served only once it reaches
the stage of correctional services and is administered
successfully.
What is the successful administration of justice? It is
firstly where the perpetrator pays his duty for the crime he
committed and secondly where the perpetrator is helped, where
possible to be reintegrated into society and be a productive
and law-abiding citizen. Without these two factors, you have
failed justice.
Chairperson, this brings me to the parole boards. In recent
years we have heard worrying reports of decisions made with
regards to the granting of parole. Just yesterday the media
reported on a discussion of a Portfolio Committee on SAPS
crime stats where a Member of Parliament stated that it was
found that people on parole are committing crime again.
The National Commissioner of SAPS put the blame for this
phenomenon on the parole boards. This surely raises a few
serious questions. How many individuals were in breach of
parole conditions over the past few years after being released
and should that be considered to be a reflection on the
judgment of the boards? How many of those released committed
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serious offences after being released? What are the minimum
professional requirements for members serving on these boards?
On that note, can someone tell me, is Shabir Shaik still sick?
Or is he well and kicking? Does Jacob Zuma have the same
malady?
Chairperson, if we look at the contribution that correctional
services makes in the justice equation that I set out earlier,
I fear that very little this department does has me thinking
that justice has been served. The vast majority of victims
would agree and ironically the vast majority of inmates who
perhaps could have had some fighting chance to be better than
just criminals, would agree most of all.
We would be eager to support any initiatives that rethink the
way this department’s budget is put together. Initiatives that
put rehabilitation at the centre of what it does. I fear that
this year’s budget is not that and will continue to deliver
more of the same. It is an opportunity lost and that really is
a shame. I thank you.
Mr T S C DODOVU: Chairperson of the session, hon Minister
Lamola and your Deputy Ministers, members of the NCOP,
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compatriots and friends, the preamble of the Constitution of
the Republic clearly articulates that its adoption seeks to
heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based
on democratic values, as well as social justice and
fundamental human rights.
As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the final Constitution
and Bill of Rights, it is important to remind ourselves that
the struggle for liberation was for the restoration of human
dignity. It was for justice, freedom and equality. The African
National Congress’s 1943 Conference endorsed the Bill of
Rights. From that moment it became an official policy position
of the ANC, informing all of its members and society of a
vision for a new South Africa.
The drafters of our Constitution did not draft from a position
of ignorance. They were guided by the Africans Claims document
of 1943 – a document which weathered the storms of colonialism
and apartheid, and still finds expression in the final
Constitution.
Unlike in the present-day constitutional democracy, courts
during apartheid did not have the power of judicial review by
which they could determine the legality of Acts of Parliament.
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Instead, courts were confined to interpreting legislation. The
Bill of Rights would be meaningless if our courts could not
enforce it. One of the landmark cases decided by the
Constitutional Court is that of S v Baloyi and Others,
(CCT29/99) [1999] ZACC 19; 2000 (1) BCLR 86; 2000 (2) SA 425
(CC) (3 December 1999), referred to as S v Baloyi. In this
case, the court held that the state had a constitutional duty
to provide effective remedies against domestic violence.
Penning down the judgment, Justice Sachs indicated that:
Read with section 7(2) of the Constitution, which obliges
the state to protect, respect, promote and fulfil the
rights in the Bill of Rights), section 12(1) of the
Constitution obliges the state to protect everyone’s
right to be free from private or domestic violence. The
right to bodily and psychological integrity, the right to
dignity, the right not to be tortured in any way, and the
right not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman
or derogatory way also oblige the state to deal with
domestic violence.
Our courts remain critical for enforcing and defending of
rights of people and dispensing justice. They have played a
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pivotal part in protecting the rights of women. The courts
have consistently highlighted that women are a vulnerable
group whose wellbeing and safety is precarious in our
patriarchal society. This arises from factors linked to
historical oppression and exclusion from economic activity.
Our courts have developed rich jurisprudence which offer a
gender-sensitive and sociopolitical approach to cases.
Chairperson, it was the German Philosopher, Friedrich Engels,
who argued that the evolution of society was characterised by
a decline from matriarchal societies where ownership was
communal and production processes were egalitarian in nature.
As new societies evolved, they were characterised by the
emergence of classes and private property, and later the
location of power in the state. Once these societies were
established, sexism, racism, class inequalities and other
forms of discrimination and subjugation began to emerge.
Our National Development Plan states that ‘safety should be
measured by the extent to which the most vulnerable in society
feel and are safe from crime and violence and the conditions
that breed it. It is quite important taking these processes
forward, hon Chairperson. Safety refers principally to the
state of an area and is determined based on the real and
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perceived risk of victimisation. ‘Unsafety,’ therefore refers
to areas characterised by the significant prevalence of
violence and crime.
The main objective of our national democratic revolution is to
attain a nonracial, nonsexist, united and prosperous society.
This is what we must pursue in preservation of justice, in
promoting justice and in ensuring that at the end of the day
our courts function very effectively, to the realisation of
such objectives. While there has been immense progress in the
emancipation of women in South Africa through legislative and
other means, since the advent of democracy in 1994, women
remain disproportionately represented among the country’s
poorest. This is a matter that needs to be given the necessary
attention. Women are still in the lower rungs of the economic
ladder. This must also be attended to.
The gender divide is wide. It is also a matter that needs to
be attended to. This makes the ground fertile for patriarchy
and the subjugation of women to thrive, to prosper and become
better people in an egalitarian society which I referred to
above. The economic empowerment is a critical factor which
contributes to achieving gender equality. This must be taken
forward.
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Unleashing the entrepreneurial potential of women which drives
growth through innovation, education, training and job
creation are some of the most effective ways to ensure lasting
empowerment of women. Despite the fact that we have made
strides, they are still challenges that are facing women in
this respect and this must be advanced in line with the policy
imperatives of our government.
Capitalism and patriarchy are twins which are breeding ground
for gender-based violence, GBV. The President declared GBV as
the second pandemic. The first one was Covid-19; the second
one is this one of ensuring that we address issues of gender-
based violence in our society.
The backbone of the fight against GBV are the Sexual Offences
Courts and the tribunals that have been established,
especially the Thuthuzela Care Centres which were introduced
to focus on the speedy adjudication of cases involving crimes
and sexual offences in specialized courts, which are equipped
to deal with this unique yet heinous crimes that are
perpetuated in our society.
The responsibility of ensuring that those responsible for
committing gender-based crimes are brought to account rests on
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the entire criminal justice system that is effective, that is
properly co-ordinated and that is working. Our courts are the
final arbiters in matters involving gender-based violence.
Hence it is quite critical that our courts must be empowered,
be very effective and must be enhanced to perform this
particular function in a way that will ensure that we realise
these particular objectives.
While strides have been made to curb gender-based violence and
violence in general, women, children and other vulnerable
groups still do not feel safe. The crime statistics are
alarming. Courts alone cannot alleviate these problems, let
alone eliminating the scourge within our own society. We need
a multipronged strategy to ensure that we achieve these
particular objectives.
The concerted effort of all South Africans – government,
private sector, faith-based organisations, traditional
leaders, youth organisations, women organisations and the
community at large - is needed in this fight to ensure that we
defeat the gender-based violence that is perpetuated in our
society.
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Hon Chairperson, the ANC-led government remains committed,
despite all these shenanigans and all everything that the
opposition parties are saying. The ANC-led government remains
committed in a very infringing way in the fight against crime
and corruption. The results are showing that we are dealing
with this scourge with our society and our President is
leading the onslaught to ensure that we achieve that.
Our young Minister – our energetic Minister - is also putting
up the necessary instruments and necessary processes to ensure
that we deal and we fight against crime and corruption with
our society. That is very much important and these efforts
must be enhanced. They must be supported. They can be
supported when the Justice and crime preventions strategy and
the cluster thereof is working very effectively in a very co-
ordinated way to fight corruption and fraud in our land.
It was reported that a total of R36 million, in 2022-23, was
to be invest in the ICT in institutions that include the
Investigating Directorate, Public Protector of South Africa
and SA Human Rights Commission. All these institutions,
irrespective, especially the Public Protector, belongs to the
state, they are accountable to this department and they cannot
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move out of that because they were created as Chapter Nine
Institutions that must promote and protect democracy.
No individual is above this particular institution. If you
misbehave, if you deviate and if you do anything that is
contrary to the mandate of this particular institution, you
will be suspended. We welcome any effort by the President and
the Minister of ensure that those who do not lead these
particular institutions properly are dealt with, but that must
happen within the parameters and the framework of the law.
That is very much important.
A total of R426 million over the medium term to intensify the
fight against corruption and ensure sufficient capacity for
the investigations and prosecution of criminal cases emanating
from the ‘State Capture’ is quite important. Many people will
wear overhauls. Many people - who acted with impunity, who
disregarded their jobs, who didn’t take their jobs seriously –
will be dealt with in line with the Zondo Commission report.
We call upon the department to co-ordinate this particular
matter effectively to support the endeavours of the President
to deal with those because they can run but they cannot hide.
The people of South African deserve to know the truth about
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what has happened with their monies - monies which were meant
to alleviate poverty, to fight corruption, to address the
issues of jobs, to build houses, water and any other services
that is important for the benefit of our people. This must be
dealt with.
Lastly, as I indicated, as a select committee we are happy. As
the ANC, we are satisfied. We support all the efforts and the
initiatives to fight crime and corruption in our country.
Therefore, based on this, we support the department and the
Budget Vote of this particular department. Thank you, hon
Chair.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(Mr J H Jeffrey): House Chairperson, unfortunately the
Minister is speaking last in the Presidency Budget Vote debate
in the National Assembly. So, he has asked me to do the
closing or the responses.
Let me just raise with regard to Correctional Services, that
there were concerns raised, particularly by hon Motsamai and
hon Labuschagne. To the hon Labuschagne: It is a quite
different department to what was there before. The department
has done a lot – as the Minister spoke about and the Deputy
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Minister – to assist neighbouring communities building
schools, vegetable gardens, et cetera.
Yes, there is overcrowding. Part of the problem or the issue
giving rise to it is the number of sentences which had minimum
sentences imposed because of the high crime rate, but
basically, as far as I and the department understands, 99% of
people on parole comply with the conditions of their release,
which only leaves 1% to those who don’t.
However, the department is working hard on ensuring the
rehabilitation. The matric results for offenders are very
impressive. The department has also worked hard to ensure that
escapes are limited. The escapes, currently, are the lowest
that they had been in 25 years.
Then, on issues relating to Justice and Constitutional
Development, Covid-19 has had an obvious impact on court
backlogs and the administration of justice, as it has with the
issues of parole. It was more difficult for officials to go
out and check on offenders meeting parole conditions. However,
the one thing that we did was to ensure that all the courts
were opened, even during the harshest period of lockdown.
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On the issue that hon Michalakis raised on the sheriffs: Look,
as you are aware, the disciplinary aspect of sheriffs rests
with the SA Board for Sheriffs, which is an independent body.
The Minister is limited to following the acting on the
recommendations of the board and cannot act on his own. On the
issues that hon Michalakis raised relating to the concerns
regarding IT are well noted - it is something that we are
concerned about.
On the issue of the Master of the High Court office, that a
number of speakers raised concerns about: Yes, they did suffer
from particularly the Covid-19 period when they could serve
fewer people because of the numbers being restricted in the
building; and then also from the IT ransomware attack. It is
something though that we are concerned about and want to
ensure that better services are delivered, because they are
not actually adequate at the moment.
Members can help in their oversight work in terms of reporting
to us problems that are received. To the hon Michalakis, you
spoke about clocks using their own cell phones. I would like
to get details of which courts these were in.
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On the issue of expungements that hon Mkiva raised: The
expungement process was only developed quite recently with the
amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act. When that Act was
passed by Parliament about 10 years ago into the law or
legislation, I think the report of the committee in the
National Assembly had said the Minister of Justice needed to
do an investigation into the expungement processes. It was
referred to the Law Reform Commission.
Unfortunately, we didn’t like their recommendation, which was
- instead of an administrative process of expungement - for
all expungements should go to court. We didn’t feel that was
practical and affordable. So, we are concerned – I know the
Minister himself is particularly concerned – about how long
the issue of expungements and the restrictions that people
face, not being able to get jobs with criminal records.
Chair, in closing, I would like to thank all the members for
their contributions. Let’s work together to ensure better
services and access to justice for the people of South Africa
and better services in the correctional facilities for the
people of South Africa. Thank you.
Debate on Budget Votes 22 and 25 concluded.
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Allow me to take this
opportunity to thank the hon Minister of Justice and
Correctional Services, hon Lamola, the Deputy Minister of
Correctional Services, hon Holomisa, the Deputy Minister of
Justice and Correctional Development, hon Jeffrey, special
delegates, MEC Mvoko, all of you, for participating in this
very important Budget Vote.
Business of the Council concluded.
The Council adjourned at 18:53.
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