Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 21 Jun 2022
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
TUESDAY, 21 JUNE 2022
Watch: Plenary
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVIINCES
The Council met at 14:00.
The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon delegates, before we proceed I would like to remind you of the following:
That the virtual sitting constitutes a sitting 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 purpose 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. That delegates should ensure that the microphones and their gadgets are muted and must always remain muted.
That the interpretation facility is active.
Permanent delegates, members of the executive and special delegates 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 wishes to speak must use the ‘raise your hand’ function or icon. That any delegate who wishes to raise a point of order should, in accordance with Rule 69(3), indicate in terms of which rule he/she is rising.
Hon delegates, I will now allow an opportunity to delegates to give notices of motion.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Ms M N GILLION: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates the state of mental health in South Africa and its impact on the children of our country.
The 16th issue of the SA Child Gauge, which is the annual publication of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, has revealed that the majority of young people with mental health disorders in South Africa remain untreated and that only one in ten children with a diagnosable and treatable mental health issue is able to access any kind of care.
I so move!!!
Mr T J BRAUTESETH: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates the ongoing and persistent crisis of politically motivated violence in KwaZulu-Natal, that since 2018 has seen over 300 cases registered with the SAPS and has tragically resulted in at least 16 murders in the last nine months alone.
I so move.
Ms S B LEHIHI: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the EFF:
That the House debate the lack of learning and teaching support material within the Eastern Cape. The provision of learning materials is crucial to the basic human rights of children and important for their educational experience.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education infringes on those rights through their acts of incompetency and their finances should be investigated.
I so move.
MASILONYANA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY UNABLE TO PAY SALARIES DUE TO FINANCIAL CRISIS
(Draft Resolution)
Mr G MICHALAKIS: Hon Chair, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that the Masilonyana Local Municipality has still not paid employees their salaries for May due to cash flow issues;
(2) further notes that employees were yesterday offered an
insulting R1000 “food voucher” instead of salaries;
(3) also notes that since at least the 2017-18 financial year it has received a disclaimer audit opinion for not submitting its financial statements to the Auditor- General;
(4) notes that the failure to disclose came just after the Auditor-General was given the powers to refer wrongdoing to the law enforcement agencies;
(5) acknowledges that the most recent audit outcome was no exception, as it was a disclaimer again;
(6) notes that the Municipal Manager is currently suspended, but not for his maladministration and that the Mayor is also facing charges for incitement of violence;
(7) acknowledges that there has been absolutely no consequence management for top officials or politicians for ruining this municipality financially, whatsoever; and
(8) condemns the theft and incompetence that is rife at this municipality and request National Treasury to intervene in taking the necessary steps to ensure that a full investigation is done into the financial management of this municipality without further delay.
I so move.
Agreed to.
PASSING AWAY OF KING ZANOZUKO TYELOVUYO SIGCAU OF THE KINGDOM OF AMAMPONDO
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M I RAYI: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes with sadness the untimely passing away of His Majesty King Zanozuko Tyelovuyo Sigcau of the Kingdom of Amampondo. (Ahhh!!! Zanozuko!!!);
(2) further notes that King Zanozuko Sigcau was a great leader and one of the reigning monarchs who unequivocally embraced democracy and will be remembered for being the epitome of unity within the Amampondo Royal House;
(3) notes that King Zanozuko Sigcau served the people of the Kingdom of Amampondo with great distinction during his reign and was highly respected by his people and South Africa at large; and
(4) extends our deepest condolences to Her Majesty Queen Zuziwe Victoria (Nobandla), his sisters, his children, the Royal Family of Amampondo and Amampondo nation.
I so move.
Agreed to.
THABA CHWEU MUNICIPALITY GUILTY OF THE CONTRAVENTION OF THE NATIONAL WATER ACT AND NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGING ACT
(Draft Resolution)
Ms H S BOSHOFF: Chair, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that last week the Lydenburg Magistrates’ Court found the Thaba Chweu Municipality guilty of the contravention of the National Water Act and National Environmental Managing Act;
(2) further notes that this was after the DA laid charges in 2018 and 2020 against the municipality and its Municipal Manager;
(3) also notes that since 2011, the community of Mashishing has been complaining to the municipality about the sewer spillages and contamination of water supplies, but a blind eye was turned to these complaints;
(4) notes that this prompted the DA to lay the charges relating to pollution, as the municipality was allowing and directing sewage spillages directly into the Dorps River and not reporting this to the communities who were using this river as their water life line;
(5) further notes that the court penalized the municipality with R10 million, of which, half was suspended for five years on condition that it is not convicted of a similar offence during the suspension;
(6) notes that effectively R4,8 million is to be used in urgent repairs and refurbishment of the municipal infrastructure, R200 000 is to be used as payment for compensation to the Department of Environmental Affairs in equal shares for expenses incurred during the investigation stages;
(7) further notes that this is not only a victory for the DA but a victory for the community of Mashishing whom were directly affected by the pollution of the rivers and streams; and
(8) notes that the DA and the community will continue to carry out oversight inspections to ensure that the municipality adheres to the deadlines and sanctions laid down by the court.
I so move.
Agreed to.
RENOSTERBERG MUNICIPALITY’S BANK ACCOUNT FROZEN AGAIN AND CAN’T PAY SALARIES NOR OFFER SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITIES
(Draft Resolution)
Ms D C CHRISTIANS: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that just a week after, Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, COGHSTA, in the Northern Cape won a court order against Eskom, to provisionally unfreeze Renosterberg municipality’s bank account, the municipality was again plunged into an even deeper crisis after the Philipstown Ratepayers
Association obtained a court order to freeze the
municipality’s bank account;
(2) also notes with concern that the new litigation means that Renosterberg will not be able to service its outstanding debt of around R93 million still owed to Eskom, nor will it be able to pay salaries. This is despite staff of Renosterberg only having received two basic salary payments courtesy of the Premier’s Office, and zero pension, medical and other contributions, since November 2021;
(3) further notes that service delivery in Renosterberg has come to a standstill, and that sewage is flowing into the Vanderkloof Dam and that the municipality has no access to funds to purchase diesel for its refuse and sewerage trucks;
(4) acknowledges that, there is nothing this municipality can do to save itself, given that it is indebted, bankrupt, and services have collapsed, and furthermore, there is no political will by the provincial government to pull the municipality from the mires; and
(5) resolves that, Renosterberg is in need of the highest level of national intervention available, namely a section 139(7) intervention.
I so move.
Agreed to
SEKHUKHUNE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY ORDERED TO PROVIDE WATER TO INDIGENT RESIDENTS OF FIVE VILLAGES IN FLAG BOSHIELO WEST
(Draft Resolution)
Ms C VISSER: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House—
(1) notes that five years of litigation and five court orders later, the court has finally ordered the district to provide water to indigent residents of five villages in Flag Boshielo West, Limpopo. They are however still left with no access to water despite a R143 million pledge by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu in 2020;
(2) also notes that despite disobeying the court orders, the municipality was also found in wilful contempt of court in 2019;
(3) further notes that no reaction was received after submission of the petition to the Office of the Presidency and the Department of Water and Sanitation in November 2021; and
(4) finally notes the failure of the Sekhukhune District Municipality to comply with their mandate in providing a basic human need and a constitutional human right to the communities of Flag Boshielo West. The 7 000 petitioners are subjected to inhumane ... [Interjections.] [Inaudible.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Just a minute. Can I ask hon Njandu there in the background to make sure that the proceedings are not in any way disturbed? This applies to all other members. Let’s ensure that we remain orderly. Hon Visser, please proceed.
Ms C VISSER: Hon Chair, I don’t know where I ... [Inaudible.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: We are losing you, hon Visser. Please unmute or make sure that ... [Inaudible.]
Ms C VISSER: Okay ...
... finally notes the failure of the Sekhukhune District Municipality to comply with their mandate in providing a basic human need and a constitutional human right to the communities of Flag Boshielo West. The 7 000 petitioners are subjected to inhumane conditions failed by every government structure they approached, pleading to have access to life giving water.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
FREE STATE MUNICIPALITIES ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M S MOLETSANE: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That this House—
(1) notes the appalling state of municipalities in South Africa, as only 16% of municipalities in South Africa were given a clean audit by the Auditor- General, for the 2020-21 financial year;
(2) further notes that municipalities in the Free State province stand on the brink of collapse, as none received a clean audit, as per the consolidated general report on local government audit outcome;
(3) acknowledges that three municipalities in the Free State province, Maluti-a-Phofung, Tokologo and Masilinyana, are amongst those which cannot account for their finances;
(4) further acknowledges that there exists a worrying trend regarding financial management and accounting practices in the Free State, as every year those three municipalities fail to account for their finances with no steps taken to address this matter;
(5) also recognises that good financial management in the public sector requires that the spending of public funds must be accurate, correct and according
to the prescribed policies, processes and legislation; and
(6) calls for government interventions in the province of Free State in order to ensure that budgets are prepared for properly and that finances are managed properly.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
KURUMAN EYE WATER BEING CONTAMINATED DUE TO RAW SEWER FLOWING INTO THE FURROW
(Draft Resolution)
Mr W A S AUCAMP: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That this Council—
(1) notes with concern the failure by the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality in the Northern Cape to deliver basic sewer and water services as contained in chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa;
(2) also notes with concern the fact that the outflow of the Kuruman Eye, a natural spring that daily delivers more than twenty million litres of water, is being contaminated due to raw sewer flowing into the furrow downstream of the Kuruman Eye;
(3) further notes that there are several sewer pump stations in the town of Kuruman that are regularly out of order, and that the sewer overflow of these defective pump stations is directly or indirectly flowing into this furrow that is supposed to provide water to the people of Ga-Segonyana;
(4) notes with concern that this furrow as well as the two cement canals either side of the furrow has not been cleaned and maintained for many years, which led to the fact that they are blocked from flowing through the town of Kuruman to the rural villages further downstream, and that these blockages in effect created large dams of sewer contaminated water in the town of Kuruman;
(5) also notes that the failure to clean this furrow and canals as well as the sewer contamination thereof is
having a devastating effect on the underground water quality, and also holds an enormous health risk to the people of Ga-Segonyana;
(6) calls upon the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality to rectify these problems by immediately cleaning and thereafter continuously maintaining the furrow and canals, as well as to repair and maintain the sewer pump stations that are contaminating this precious water system; and
(7) requests the Green Scorpions to investigate this matter, and monitor the progress of these urgently required actions that need to be taken.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
KWAZULU-NATAL POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND KILLINGS PERSISTING
(Draft Resolution)
Mr T J BRAUTESETH: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That this Council—
(1) notes with great concern the ongoing and persistent crisis of political violence in the killing fields of Kwa-Zulu Natal;
(2) notes that President Ramaphosa established an Inter– Ministerial Task Team in 2018 to combat this scourge;
(3) notes that despite this intervention, over 300 cases of political violence have been registered with the South African Police Service, SAPS, since 2018;
(4) notes that five councillors, one former Member of the Provincial Legislature, MPL, six prominent activists and four iziNduna have been tragically murdered since September 2021 and that other councillors have narrowly escaped attempts on their lives;
(5) further notes that in eThekwini alone, 34 councillors and four officials have close protection services allocated to them comprising 94 bodyguards
and 50 vehicles, all as a result of credible political violence threats;
(6) notes that the Moerane Commission report, released in September 2018, calls on the political parties involved to urgently lessen tension and competition between their members;
(7) calls on these political parties to account to this House on measures taken by them to implement the Moerane recommendations; and
(8) further calls on the Minister of Police, hon Bheki Cele, to urgently brief this House on the progress on all political violence cases in KwaZulu-Natal and the concrete actions being taken to reduce this scourge.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Ms M N GILLION: Hon Chairperson, I hereby move without notice on behalf of the National ... [Inaudible.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: There’s a problem there with your
system, hon Gillion. If you can try again.
Mr E Z NJADU: Hon Chair, note hon Njandu.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Noted, Njadu. Hon Gillion, you can try again. For now we will leave hon Gillion and go to hon Shaikh. Hon Shaikh?
CITY OF CAPE TOWN THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTOR TO IRREGULAR EXPENDITURE INCURRED BY WESTERN CAPE MUNICIPALITIES IN 2020-21
(Draft Resolution)
Ms S SHAIKH: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That this Council—
(1) notes with utmost concern that the City of Cape Town, which is being hailed as the poster of the best performing municipality, has shown regressive financial management and reporting in the last couple of years under the leadership of the Democratic Alliance;
(2) also notes that according to the 2020-21 Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes report that was released by the Auditor-General, Ms Tsakane Maluleke, the City of Cape Town was the biggest contributor to the
R1,2 billion in irregular expenditure incurred by Western Cape municipalities in the 2020-21 financial year;
(3) acknowledges that while the Western Cape came out on top having 22 of the 41 municipalities with clean audits, the City of Cape Town metro was flagged for being the number one contributor of irregular expenditure at R762 million and the DA-run Stellenbosch Municipality has incurred irregular expenditure of R89,8 million while Knysna was the third largest contributor at R67,7 million irregular expenditure; and
(4) takes this opportunity to call on the City of Cape Town to come clean and take action against those who have shown utter subversion and disregard of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Any objection to the motion?
HON MEMBERS: We object.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: There being an objection, the motion may not be proceeded with and will become a notice of a motion.
ILLEGAL FOREIGN NATIONALS ARRESTED
(Draft Resolution)
Ms B M BARTLETT: Good afternoon, hon Chair. On behalf of the African National Congress I hereby move without notice:
That the Council -
(1) welcomes the recent reports by Ministers of Home Affairs, hon Aaron Motsoaledi; and Minister of Transport, hon Fikile Mbalula for the swift arrest of the four illegal Bangladeshi and four Pakistani nationals who allegedly arrived at the O R Tambo International Airport without necessary legal documents;
(2) notes that according to reports Minister Motsoaledi has emphasised that because South Africa does not have transit visas, that has made it easy for illegal foreigners to make their way illegally into the country; and
(3) calls on the government to put in place the necessary mechanisms to stop this kind of illegal entry to the country.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
STOLEN GLOCK-9MM PISTOL RECOVERED
(Draft Resolution)
Ms M N GILLION: Chairperson, on behalf of the African National congress I hereby move without notice:
That the Council -
(1) notes that the Cape Town City’s controversial safety
and security investigation unit has once again come
under scrutiny, this time about the recent recovery of a firearm allegedly found last week at the home of one of its unit’s members;
(2) further notes that the Glock-9mm pistol was reported missing in March 2020 after it was allegedly stolen from a member of the same unit but was recovered in the ceiling of another;
(3) further notes that the Minister of Police indicated that the unit operated outside the law as he said it was not established in terms of the Police Act; and
(4) calls on the police to leave no stone unturned in the investigation about this pistol and the involvement of the members of the unit.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
POOR SERVICE DELIVERY
(Draft Resolution)
Setswana:
Rre K MOTSAMAI: Ke a leboga, Modulasetulo.
English:
Chairperson, can you allow me not to use my video. I rise on behalf of the economic emancipation movement to move without notice:
That the Council –
(1) in its next sitting, debate the issue of poor service delivery, which is one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa today;
(2) municipalities across the country do not have the required resources to fulfill basic service, as is the case in Emfuleni Municipality Zone 12 extension 2;
(3) the residents have been without electricity for four years; and
(4) this is concerning to note as a poor service delivery and general poor government services lead to the
decline of resources, job losses and overall poor living condition.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
FORMER PRESIDENT MBEKI 80th BIRTHDAY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M E NCHABELENG: Thank you, hon Chairperson. Allow me to rise without notice on behalf of the African National Congress:
That the Council -
(1) notes with sense of appreciation of the 80th birthday of one of Africa’s giant revolutionary intellectual of the 20th and 21st Century, the former President Thabo Mbeki;
(2) further notes the significant role that former President Mbeki played in the rebuilding of Africa,
its integration in the global economy and his peace building efforts;
(3) further takes this opportunity to celebrate the former President Mbeki for demonstrating loyalty to the people and the country above personal interests by stepping down upon request by his own party to avoid political instability; and
(4) therefore calls upon this august House to extend its message of good wishes to former President Mbeki on his 80th birthday, and wishes him the best in many more years to come.
Xitsonga: Ndza khensa
Sepedi:
Ke a leboga.
Afrikaans: Baie dankie.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
WESTERN CAPE LEGISLATURE POLITICAL INSTABILITY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr E Z NJADU: Thank, hon Chair. I rise on behalf of the African National Congress to move without notice:
That the Council -
(1) notes with concern the political instability that continues to wreck the Western Cape Legislature since the recent past;
(2) further notes that at the core of this instability is the bullying tactics of the Democratic Alliance by abusing each majority to institutionalise lawlessness and unethical conduct;
(3) this is evident in the series of reports that include the findings by the public protector about meddling
by the MDC for local government in the appointment of senior personnel in George Municipality;
(4) In the latest allegations of abuse of official residents by Premier Alan Winde for DA Caucus party political activities,
(5) therefore, calls on the DA leadership to walk the talk of clean and ethical governance by investigating these allegations in a transparent and open manner and act appropriately.
Motion not agreed to.
JAMES MATTHEWS HONORED
(Draft Resolution)
Ms N E NKOSI: Thank you very much, hon Chairperson. I hereby move without notice on behalf of the African National Congress:
That the Council –
(1) notes that the legendary poet, writer and publisher James Matthews has been honored with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture Awards, which recognises the living legends in the arts and culture sector;
(2) further notes that Matthews received the “Van Toeka Af” Living Legends Recognition Series Awards at a ceremony in Cape Town over the weekend;
(3) also notes that through his extensive body of work, only armed with a pen, Matthews was fiercely committed to political and social justice;
(4) further notes that he was awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga in silver for his excellent achievement in literature; and
(5) we therefore congratulate James Matthews on this achievement and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
GUPTA BROTHERS ARRESTED
(Draft Resolution)
Mr E M MTHETHWA: Thank you, Chair. I hereby move without notice on behalf of the African National Congress:
That the Council -
(1) notes and welcomes the swift arrest of the Gupta brothers who were listed as South Africa’s most wanted suspects;
(2) further notes that Rajesh and Atul Gupta were wanted for their alleged involvement in a massive and grand scale corruption, fraud, money laundering, bribery, capture of government contracts and misappropriation of state assets that systematically extorted public funds for their personal gratification and enrichment; and
(3) takes this opportunity to express its support of the process to ensure that they are speedily extradited to South Africa to face the full might of the law.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE. DRAFT NOTICE AND SCHEDULE SUBMITTED IN TERMS OF SECTION 2(4) OF THE JUDGES’ REMUNERATION AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT, 2001 (ACT NO 47 OF 2001), DETERMINING THE RATE AT WHICH SALARIES ARE PAYABLE TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGES AND JUDGES ANNUALLY, DATED 15 JUNE 2022.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE. DRAFT NOTICE AND SCHEDULE TABLED IN TERMS OF SECTION 12(3) OF THE MAGISTRATES ACT, 1993 (ACT NO 90 OF 1993), DETERMINING THE RATE AT WHICH SALARIES ARE PAYABLE TO MAGISTRATES ANNUALLY, DATED 15 JUNE 2022.
Ms S SHAIKH: Hon Chairperson, greetings to yourself and to all members who are on this platform. Hon Chairperson, in terms of the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, 2001, Constitutional Court judges and judges are entitled to annual salaries and such allowances or benefits, as determined by the President from time to time, after taking into account the recommendation of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.
Furthermore, in terms of the Magistrates Act, 1993, magistrates are entitled to annual salaries and such allowances or benefits as determined by the President from time to time, after taking into account the recommendation of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. On 27 May 2022, the Draft Notices and Schedules containing the President’s determination was submitted to Parliament for approval before publication and was referred to the Committee for Consideration and Report.
On 15 June 2022, the committee was briefed on both Draft Notices and Schedules, as follows:
The Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers recommended a 3% salary increment to the President for all public office-bearers, including judges and magistrates, for the 2021/2022 financial year, with effect from 1 April 2021. The commission gazetted its report on the remuneration of all office-bearers on 30 March 2022. The commission considered, amongst others, the submissions from the various stakeholders, the fiscal condition of the State, the State’s wage bill, the impact of the salary increment of the State’s office-bearers on the fiscus, the general economic
status of the country, as affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the affordability of the fiscus.
The President, having considered the serious economic situation of the country and the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers’ recommendation, has proposed to determine a 3% increase to the salaries of the Constitutional Court judges and judges of other courts and the magistrates, respectively. Hon Chair, the recommendations of the committee are as follows:
With regards to the First Order, the Select Committee on Security and Justice, having considered the Draft Notice and Schedule determining the rate, with effect from 1 April 2021, at which salaries, allowances and benefits are payable to Constitutional Court judges and judges annually, for approval by Parliament in terms of section 2(4) of the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act of 2001, recommends that the council approve the said Draft Notice and Schedule.
With regards to the Second Order, hon Chairperson, the Select Committee on Security and Justice, having considered the Draft Notice and Schedule determining the rate, with effect from 1
April 2021, at which salaries, allowances and benefits are payable to magistrates annually, for approval by Parliament in terms of section 12(3) of the Magistrates Act, of 1993, recommends that the Council approve the said Draft Notice and Schedule. I thank you very much, hon Chairperson.
Question put.
Voting on First Order
Agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Question put on Second Order
Voting on Second Order
Agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION, PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE (ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS,
15 JUNE 2022, P 113) DRAFT REGULATION 116A IN TERMS OF SECTION 75(6) OF THE NATIONAL ROAD TRAFFIC ACT, 1996 (ACT NO. 93 OF
1996), DATED 15 JUNE 2022.
AND
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION, PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE (ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS, 15 JUNE 2022, P 115) PROTOCOLS RELATING THE AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES 50(A) AND 56 OF THE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION, DATED 15 JUNE 2022.
Mr K M MMOIEMANG: Chairperson, greetings to you and the leadership of this House. Correctly so, Chair, this is the Report on the Draft Regulation 116A in terms of section 75(6) of the National Road Traffic Act, Act 93 of 1996. Right at the beginning, let me indicate that we are reporting to the House that the committee did not agree to the Draft Regulation.
Firstly, the process that we followed in terms of section terms of section 75(6) of the National Road Traffic Act, Act 93 of 1996.
Before the Minister makes any regulation, the Minister may, if he or she deems it expedient, cause a draft of the proposed regulation to be published in the Gazette together with a notice calling upon all interested persons to lodge in writing, and within a period specified in the notice, but not less than four weeks.
Chair, I just want to indicate that the Draft Regulation 116A was referred to the committee on 22 April 2021. The department briefed the committee on 10 November 2021 and the committee agreed as follows. That the members should take the Draft Regulation to their respective party caucuses for guidance.
Secondly, the Draft Regulation should be sent back to the department to incorporate issues raised by the committee and the department should conduct further extensive consultations. Thirdly, Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office should be requested to provide a legal opinion on the constitutionality of section 32(3)(a) of the National Road Traffic Act, Act 93 of 1996, and whether the draft regulation is in line or in conflict with related Southern African Development Community, SADC, Treaties.
On 23 April 2022, the committee received and deliberated on
the legal opinion from Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal
Services Office. The committee welcomed the legal opinion and resolved that the Department of Transport withdraw the Draft Regulations and allow the parliamentary processes to amend the National Road Traffic Act, Act 93 of 1996, to be completed.
This will also cover the areas which Draft Regulations seeks to address. The committee did not agree to Draft Regulations as indicated. Hon Chairperson, we recommend the NCOP to adopt this report.
The second report is on the of the Chicago Convention, related to the Amendments to Article 50(A) and 56 of the Convention.
Hon Chairperson, we are making a clarion call to the hon members to look and adopt the ratification of the protocols in relation to the amendment to Article 50(a) and 56 of the Convention.
South Africa as a member state of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, Council ratified the Chicago Convention, on 4 April 1947. This Convention was incorporated into the national exhibition through schedule 3 of the Civil Aviation, Act 13 of 2009.
South Africa is currently a member of, ICAO, Council under Part 2 states, which make the largest contribution to the
provisional facilities for International Civil Navigation since 2003. At the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly ... [Inaudible.] ... the Assembly adopted two protocols amending one article which provides that ICAO, Council shall be a permanent body responsible to the Assembly and it shall compose of 36 contracting states in the Assembly.
Article 56 which provides that the Air Navigation Commission shall be composed of 19 members appointed by the council from among the nominated contracting states. The proposed amendments are as follows. Article 50(A)of the Convention to provide for the increase in the ... [Inaudible.] ... Council from 36 members to 40 members. Secondly, Article 56 of the Convention provide for the increase in the membership Air Navigation Commission from 19 members to 21 members. These amendments are necessary due to the following. Large increase in the membership of ICAO and expansion of ... [Inaudible.]
... air transport ... [Inaudible.] ... many countries. Secondly, the current membership of the ICAO Council does not strike a better balance due to increased representation of contracting states. Thirdly, ... [Inaudible.] ... of students from diverse operational space and knowledge can be drawn from new contracting states. Chair, after a thorough consultation,
the committee recommend that the House adopt the report. Thank you.
Question put.
Voting on Third Order
Agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Question put on Fourth Order
Voting on Fourth Order
Agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF CONSOLIDATED REPORT OF THE PROVINCIAL WEEK, 29 MARCH – 1 APRIL 2022: ASSESSING STATE CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES
Mr A J NYAMBI: Hon Chairperson Masondo, Deputy Chair, hon Lucas, House Chairperson, Mme Ngwenya, Chief Whip, Ntate Mohai, MEC, special delegates, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, the importance that the National Council of Provinces attaches to its provincial week is not just a matter of constitutionality, the prime responsibility that we have to provinces and local government, rather the provincial week provides for us the opportunity to access well the policies programmes and budgets will pass through the Appropriation Bill and Division of Revenue, in fact having the intended impact on communities and targeted groups as we will be doing that on the 23rd. The Provincial Week 2022 is one of the key mechanism initiated by the NCOP to achieve its constitutional mandate of representing the provincial interest. It is intended to provide permanent delegates to the NCOP the opportunity to return to their provinces as delegations to deal with matters that affect their provinces in the national sphere of government. It also affords the NCOP the opportunity to undertake joint oversight with members of legislature and municipalities and work together in ensuring the continuous monitoring of progress in delivery of services in our respective communities.
For Provincial Week 2022, our task was to focus on matters that affect the provinces in the national sphere of government. When we embark on our last provincial week from 29 March to 1 April 2022, we have one and only one thing in our mind, and that was to assess whether the state possesses the necessary capacity to meet the needs of our communities.
In doing so, we were fulfilling one of our constitutional mandates, which is to exercise oversight on the actions of the executive arm of the state. This we also did in order to make sure we deal decisively with the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. And indeed, if the capacity of the state is diminished, there is no way we can hope to deal with these triple challenges that we have not been backing down from since time immemorial. It was lost to us when we visited different provinces that South Africa still remain one of the most unequal societies in the world.
The poorest of the poor are mostly Africans and they reside in rural areas where the provision of services is work in progress. Not only is it work in progress, but it is also a revolving door, where upon which one department is offset by some kind of setbacks. One has the recent floods in mind, which has reversed all the gains that were made in the past
years. Rural communities have been badly affected and the urban counterparts have moved many steps forward in rebuilding their lives.
We set off to assess the capacity of the state to deliver services to communities with different provinces assuming different themes. This was a different approach to those that were used in past engagements. This we did fully cognisant of the fact that South Africa is not one-size-fits-all state.
Different communities in different provinces have different problems that are only unique to them, and they should be treated as such.
We therefore have some themes looking at water and sanitation, electricity and infrastructure, small scale farmers, safety and security and local development. I will however limit my debate to the provision of electricity and provincial transport and road infrastructure, as well as school infrastructure as I seek to respond to the question whether these were responding to the needs of the communities. Our observation is typical mixed bag, which is lays with more positives than negatives.
Whereas we are satisfied with efforts that provincial government are putting towards ensuring that roads are receiving the necessary upgrades, we were also of the view that more needs to be done, especially on ring roads that connect communities to the immediate nodal points of service, even with the best of intentions, it will take government many years of planning and putting together the necessary resources to deal with the legacy of apartheid spatial planning.
It is common cause that many rural communities inhabit impossible and rugged terrains that will require massive investment to catch up with urban settlements which have been better planned and executed. You do not have to look any further than communities on the outskirts of town to see how devastating the effects of apartheid spatial planning have been. It has always been ivory and ebony with Africans receiving the short end of the stick. Towns are built on the labour of the black masses who ultimately have to revert to lives of hardship and poverty in villages. There is no incentive whatsoever to live in villages and townships as compared to towns and suburbs where services are in full supply.
I can hear the opposition screaming, “Fix it”, as they always do. That is tantamount to arrogance of rich cousins who broke the bicycle of its poor relative and refuse to pay for its repairs. He constantly blames the poor cousin for owning a broken bicycle and for taking long to fix it. He derives pleasure in telling others what he could do with the bicycle should it be given to him without admitting that he is responsible for breaking the very same bicycle.
Spoke by spoke, pedal by pedal, we are fixing the bicycle that our rich cousin has broken and refused to pay for its repair. He constantly reminds us that the bicycle is ours, yet he has not denied the fact that we acknowledged that the speed with which the repairs are being affected, may not delight many, but we are making progress. It is in our view progress to know where exactly the challenges are. Through the provincial weeks that we have undertaken in the past, we have been able to identify weak spokes, some of which have already being attended to. This past one is not an exception. We have witnessed what is being done and we know what still needs to be done. We have witnessed road rehabilitation progress that seeks to fix the R32 between Graskop and Bushbuckridge as well as the Panorama Road which are by far Mpumalanga’s most famous tourism corridors. Once completed, these projects will boost
tourism which has a knock due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We also had an eye on whether provinces are able to provide safe and reliable scholar transport in rural areas, and the report that we should give to provide some form of comfort in Mpumalanga for instance, scholar transport has since been moved from the department of education to the department of public works and road transport. This happened in 2009 already when service level agreement was entered and between the two departments, aligning the role of responsibilities of each party.
Following the service level agreement, a provincial scholar transport policy was developed with a monitoring firm appointed to monitor scholar transport services. Scholar patrol teams are dispersed on all roads to ensure that buses ferrying learners meet the required safety standards. They are also there to ensure that there are no overloads on scholar transport. Whereas bus operators took us into their confidence to indicate that there have been instances of overloading, these are being attended to. The challenges were caused on the main by the variances in the numbers provided to the service providers by the department and the actual number of learners
showing up at pick up points. Needless to say that the service providers have fairly obliged not to live any learner stranded on the side of the road.
As indicated, we have assured that these gaps are being closed and we have no reason to believe that scholar transport provision is unsafe and unreliable. The numbers speak for themselves. We have not heard any report of major incidents involving scholar transport and for that we wish to commend all stakeholders as we implore them never to drop the ball.
One life lost on our roads is one too many and it definitely cannot be our learners. We are on cause to eliminate the use of bakkies as means to transport learners. It saddens us that there are some schools in some parts of the country which do not benefit from the provision of scholar transport. The reasons provided range from rugged to the vastness of terrain to other administrative ... [Inaudible.] ... which we wish to change should we clear effectively and immediately.
It is easy to determine how the future of our country will be by merely evaluating the extent to which it invest into school infrastructure in both rural and township schools. We can safely report that the future of South Africa is bright even though the brightness needs consistent polishing. There is a
huge roll-out of editorial classrooms and few school being built or in the planning phase in Mpumalanga. The provincial government is also providing mobile classes where they are required to alleviate short-term problems, overcrowding and general shortages of classrooms.
However, there are schools which still require assistance such as Lundini Primary School in the Eastern Cape. The school was built with the efforts of the community without an assistance from government. It is still a mud school and we all require that this school cannot be allowed to exists in the current form. The pit latrines which are there cannot even accommodate the number of learners and teachers. There is also the case of Nqcwati Secondary School, also in the Eastern Cape which has an enrolment of 933 learners with only 10 teachers and 15 classrooms. The school has no principal and no deputy principal. This makes running the school a near impossible task such anomalies manifest in lower matric pass rates at the end of the year with the trend normally favouring Western cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which consistently post higher pass rates. We do note that Free State has been bucking the trend in the past few years. Provision of this resorts to rationalisation as a means to deal with assortment of
challenges such as lower number of learners in school and other cases lack of classroom.
We have advised that in the event where rationalisation needs to be implemented, consultation needs to be thorough. We noted the discomfort which was caused by the announcement of the rationalisation of Nduma Primary School in the Bushbuckridge area. One stance remains that indeed the voice of the committee has to be heard and considered before any serious decision can be taken.
There are however two reasons or challenges that the state is confronted with, even as it positions itself to meet the needs of communities. From 2008, the provision of electricity has been a major impediment towards delivery of services in some provinces like the one of ours, and even the provision of water. The issue of illegal connections which contribute to the challenge of electricity supply, South Africans needs to stand together and claim responsibility for some of the things that cause instability to the energy supply.
We have seen communication services and internet connectivity being disrupted, leading to major breakdown in services that are offered in hospitals, Home Affairs offices, traffic
departments offices and other aspects of community life. This underscores the urgency that is required to deal with challenges which are currently facing Eskom. We are however secured in the hope that the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Public Enterprises and the Minister of Mineral Resources are doing everything they can to fix the entity.
The other challenge relates to budget constraints, which affects the speed with which repairs and maintenance could be affected on roads, schools, police stations and hospitals, all at once. South Africa’s economy is not growing very fast enough to attend to the challenges as we all know. Budget cuts are not only unique to the executive, even Parliament had its budget being cut and this may have a negative impact on how we fulfil our mandate. Our budgets are becoming something of short blankets where you can only cover the head whilst the feet remain exposed, or vice versa. The economy needs to grow faster than the current levels with a lot of foreign direct investment required. It takes us back to our overarching observation where they ... [Interjections.] Chairperson, the Auditor-General latest report on the latest municipal finances responds to the going forward the NCOP is going to have to focus community work far more on departments and entities and
achieving the quality of expenditure that results in the type
and impact of the people’s lives.
In conclusion, despite all these challenges, we have confident to declare that the state capacity is still reasonably sound to make meaningful interventions in our communities. I thank you, Chairperson, Ntate Masondo. [Interjections.]
Mr F BESE (Eastern Cape): Hon Chairperson, Ntate Masondo, greetings to you. Your established protocol is observed, thank you. I am presenting the report that is the findings and recommendations of the NCOP during the Provincial Week in the Eastern Cape. First and foremost, let me zoom in on the issue of the Abambo Cannabis Farm, based in Port Saint Johns. The issue of licensing and permits be fast-tracked by Department of Rural Development Agrarian Reform. The department, through Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency, ECRDA, is working with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to facilitate issuing of hemp permits. Some farmers who applied in November 2021, have already received their permits. Others are asked to submit the outstanding documents that will make them to be eligible for hemp permits.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development opened that farmers can submit their application forms for hemp permits for the cropping season of 2023-24.
This follows closing of the application process in March 2022 for those farmers who are interested to produce hemp in the cropping season of 2022-23. The Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency is facilitating the application process and is assisting farmers with information and the application requirements.
Again, government department must assist with funding to grow the farms and create jobs. The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform has budgeted R10 million for cannabis this year. The department will also leverage funding from interested investors to assist the farmers to grow their production and to create jobs.
Firstly, with regard to Gingqi cannabis farms or project, the recommendation that the issue related to harassment by SA Police Service be escalated to relevant portfolios in the Eastern Cape legislature, the MEC for Safety, Liaison and the premier should look into that issue of harassment by the SA Police, yes.
Secondly, farmers are assisted to apply for hemp permits and are encouraged to only produce hemp once they have the hemp permits. Regulation of cannabis production is a national mandate done by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and SA Health Products Regulatory Authority, Sahpra, that it is the medicinal cannabis.
Thirdly, with regard to the Sigidi Development (Pty) Ltd, the delegation recommended that in the process of providing support to farmers, the relevant departments should not interfere with methods of farming the cannabis. In this regard, it was pointed out that indigenous knowledge on methods of growing the cannabis should be preserved.
Hon Chairperson, the recommendation is again noted that cannabis producers are most of the time advised on principles of increasing production in a sustainable manner.
With regard to the Tashe Cannabis Farm, delegates recommended that the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform to assist the emerging farmers with processes to attain permits to grow cannabis as this may unlock funding for them. The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, through the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency, is working very close with the
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to facilitate the issuing of hemp permits, to this end some hemp permits which were applied for prior to March 2022 have already been issued. The ECRDA is also assisting farmers and facilitating their hemp permit applications to ensure they meet the closing date of March 2023.
In respect of to water usage and scarcity, the delegation recommended that over and above the intervention to supply the farmers with water tanks, farmers must also be trained in permaculture system of preserving water for gardens. The recommendation is noted.
The department’s Programme 7 Structured Agricultural Training. Programme 7 is part of Eastern Cape Cannabis Industry Development strategic team. They will be asked to facilitate training on these farming practices that conserve water and soil. In the past two years, some of the radio talks were emphatic on the best practices of water and soil conservation like the proposed ones.
The delegates also recommended that farmers be assisted with fencing as this might have negative effects on their production. One of the requirements when a farmer is applying
for hemp permit is a well fenced land. The department fences land for those farmers who applied for fencing and have been screen through the departmental screening processes that their farming enterprise have economic benefits and creates jobs.
Relevant departments and the local municipality were requested to prioritise cannabis growers as this is one of the priorities of government as mentioned in the state of the nation address by the President.
The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, works with other strategic national and provincial departments, local municipalities and traditional leaders to develop the cannabis industry in the province.
Hon Chairperson, I am now getting to the general recommendations by the Easter Cape delegation - commitments to cannabis and hemp enterprising: The delegates urged the Eastern Cape provincial government to be serious about commercialisation of cannabis and hemp, and pleaded for implementation of Sona, state of the province address, Sopa and the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform 2021 policy speech pertaining to cannabis and hemp. The delegates also pleaded with the Eastern Cape government to
ensure involvement of economic cluster departments to be stakeholders on cannabis and hemp enterprising.
The department is learning from the experience of the past and is sharpening the management of the industry. An increase of budget from R4,5 million to R10 million will facilitate more support to the farmers and more initiatives. The department will continue to request the Provincial Treasury, that when additional funds are available, it prioritise the business plan that was submitted for additional cannabis funding.
The additional cannabis funding will assist with the establishment of the incubators the province is currently implementing. It will also assist in leveraging more funds from investors. The Eastern Cape government assist cannabis initiatives that are presented, recommended and approved by the authorising structures of the province, including the Economic Development Cluster.
Hon Chairperson, however, I table this report for adoption by this House. Thank you, hon Chairperson.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you very much. They keep on muting me there. There is someone at the table who keeps on
muting me and that create some problems. Thank you very much. We will now move to the hon Ryder. However, as we do so, I will now handover chairing this part of the programme to the hon Ngwenya. The hon Ryder!
Mr D RYDER: Thank you very much, Chairperson. Provincial Week is a chance for the members of this House to fulfil our mandate as elected representatives. It is a programme that has run for many years now, and so the poor arrangements this time around were experienced with considerable disappointment.
As a principle, respect for each of the three spheres of government underpins co-operative governance. But the last- minute arrangements for the Provincial Week meant that Premiers, MECs, Mayors and councillors were already committed in many instances, and we found ourselves meeting without the representatives from other spheres. Indignation was voiced in several provinces, yet what can we expect.
Our lack of respect, demonstrated in the last minute arrangements, got its deserved response. Noting the Municipal Finance cycle, and the fact that Provincial Week was scheduled in the same week that Municipal Councils are required to meet to pass their annual budgets, it is no wonder that Mayors and
MMCs were not present to meet with us. Imagine a whole Council of Provinces with no understanding of the processes of a sphere of government that we are tasked with enabling. But do not say you were not warned. There was a lone voice in the whips meeting that drew attention to this ahead of time.
But of course that voice was ignored because it is a DA voice from the Western Cape. #WOZA2024. Let’s look at some of the arrangements that we had. The Eastern Cape oversight was split into 2 groups, that’s in spite of the fact that only 3 MPs participated. Partly because Mr Mkiva had a much nicer function to attend in Cape Town where his royal-sized ego could be stroked. “Rushing around and making it up as we went along” was the description of the Eastern Cape Provincial Week.
In the North West, a similar farce unfolded, also with only 3 of the 6 members in attendance. Though here it seemed more like malicious intentions than just incompetence that derailed the oversight. The delegation was taken to Patrice Motsepe’s farm to see a private renewable energy project. Far from where the focus should be in this dysfunctional province.
Interactions with the provincial officials, when they did happen, showed a lack of certainty as to whether the province was still under Section 100 administration or not. Wow!
Promises of imminent project launches ring hollow as nothing has happened 3 months later.
But let me focus on what we saw in the Gauteng province. An extra day was added at the start of the programme to focus on the disastrous state of hospitals in Gauteng. Not because it fitted with the theme but because of absolute necessity. What was witnessed was low staff morale, staff and equipment shortages, failed projects with no clear recovery plans and buildings that have been allowed to decay to a point where they are a safety hazard. The lack of management is proof that that the NHI is doomed to failure under this administration due to poor management at implementation level.
Then we turned to the land invasions and the informal settlements in the South of Gauteng which started as an ANC project to secure electoral wins. And then it obviously found fertile ground, driven by the population growth in an area established in the forced removals of the 60’s and 70’s, which this government has failed to fairly address with their housing programmes. The need has been exacerbated by the in-
migration from neighbouring countries, and also from desperate people fleeing the hopelessness of other provinces.
The EFF then hijacked the land invasion project, ably assisted by Herman Mashaba, yes, that’s one of the reasons he lost the support of his caucus, but control has been totally lost and now the land invasion project, it is run by gangs of criminals. The land grabs are well co-ordinated and well supported. Gangsters used to sell stands which didn’t belong to them for R3 500 each. Now the price is up to R3 800, with the extra R300 going to legal fees.
Why do you think that is? It’s because the PIE Act, the Prevention of Illegal Evictions, a well-intentioned act, has become the most abused piece of legislation on the statute books. Add to that the unwarranted protection that the Disastrous Lockdown regulations gave to landgrabbers, and you have a problem of a magnitude that is simply staggering. An unfunded mandate pushed down on provinces and municipalities to follow court processes, evict and remove landgrabbers, and then provide them with alternative accommodation, regardless of the circumstances.
The DA will be tabling a Private Member’s Bill to amend the PIE Act to ensure that it protects all in South Africa, be they tenants or landowners, and ensure that the spirit of the law is upheld and justice is the end result.
One of the primary issues with land grabs is the detrimental effect on social cohesion. As grabbers move into areas, affecting property values and sales due to perceptions of higher crime and safety concerns, the formally settled community is heavily impacted.
The infrastructural capacity, designed for planned loads, is then placed under tremendous strain as unplanned loading of two or three times the design capacity causes infrastructural breakdown, causing electricity outages, water supply problems, traffic congestion and safety concerns, not to mention the demand on government and other services such as clinics, police stations and schools. The result is conflict and resentment.
A site visit to Sebokeng Waste Water Treatment Works, the culprit for Vaal River pollution, was an eye opener. Confusion between the operators and the user cities as to capacity of the plant has delayed the housing projects. But there is no
plan to build more works. No new thinking. And the works managers too scared to go to site after dark which brings me to this report which has been pushed through various provinces without following due process.
While some provinces have indeed adopted their report in Gauteng a meeting was held to discuss a draft report, but the final report comprising 7 800 words, contains 500 words that were not included in the document presented to us at that particular meeting. The North West’s report, the Free State report and the Eastern Capes report were never considered, and yet the consolidated report was pushed through the ATC and lies before us today. Delegation meetings are not happening as they should due to the arrogance of the ANC. #WOZA2024.
In closing, Chair, this report is something of a whitewash, with many of the correct observations noted, but with a sanitised version of the truth. The people on the ground know the truth, hon members. We know the truth. Your sanitised reality may suit your political narrative as the ANC, but by producing a document such as this, you show the people of South Africa that their struggles are not acknowledged by you. The DA rejects this report. #WOZA2024. I thank you.
Mr M A DUKWANA (Free State): Thank you Chairperson, hon Amos Masondo, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP hon Sylvia Lucas, hon Chief Whip Seiso Mohai, Chairperson of the session, members of the National Council of Provinces, provincial delegates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Over nine years ago, the former US President Barack Obama famously said I quote;
We know that people’s frustrations run deeper than these most recent political battles. Their frustration is rooted in their own daily battles to make ends meet, to pay for college, buy a home, save for retirement. It’s rooted in the nagging sense that no matter how hard they work; the deck is stacked against them. And it’s rooted in the fear that their kids won’t be better off than they were.
We gather here today on this platform of Parliament to debate the Provincial Week held from 29 March to 1 April 2022 which has appropriately been themed “Assessing state capacity to respond to the needs of communities”.
The Free State delegation focused on the provision of water and sanitation ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Dukwana you are muted.
Mr M A DUKWANA (Free State): It visited water and sanitation projects as well as water reticulation sites especially economic zones. While we are dealing with all these issues, we also want to indicate that the state capacity must never be understood mechanically to embody theoretical postulations which have no basis in everyday lived experiences of our people.
It must be understood within the context of changing people’s lives for the better. The following broad and practical questions must come to mind when we discuss state capacity in relation to responding to people’s needs; does the state reflect our values and commitments as enshrined in Batho Pele principles? Does every citizen stand a reasonable chance of attaining social political and economic achievement? Are we succeeding in building an inclusive economy wherein every person has something to be proud of?
Chairperson, we are indeed honoured to join this important debate ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: There’s a bit of a problem hon
Dukwana.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: He is muted and someone else is ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: If you can just make sure that the people in the background, hon Lucas and whoever is with you there, please ensure there are no disturbances.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: It’s definitely not me.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Dukwana Please proceed.
Mr M A DUKWANA (Free State): The opportunities for growth in small provinces has always been a subject of intense navigation and struggle. The political significance of this reality was that of control and domination, our only value having been that of supplying cheap labour reserves for big cities.
Otherwise there is very little reason why the Free State province is not counted amongst the most viable provinces in South Africa. Particularly if you consider that we are the only province that is adjoined to six provinces.
It is precisely for these reasons that our province remains rural with an economic base that is extremely thin and scant. This means government has very little resources to provide services to communities and in turn, communities that cannot afford to pay for services.
Secondly, the challenges faced by our municipalities are self- caused because of the past 10 years during which some people repurposed public resources meant for the poor masses of our people to benefit themselves and a few business interests. In our particular case, large sums of money were diverted from service delivery initiatives and surrendered directly into the hands of individuals. This has affected the capacity of our municipalities to act on behalf of the people, particularly the poor.
No wonder as the province having gone through the audit process, the Auditor General has continued to emphasize lack of accountability that results in pervasive non-compliance
especially relating to procurement and deteriorating financial health.
As the Free State we are committed and have demonstrated our resolve and that the leadership and the stewardship of the Premier Sisi Ntombela and the courage to sell the proper tone of leadership and effective consequence management to ensure accountability and efficient use of the limited resources to effect quality service delivery.
We have already activated this process, for instance, in areas such as Matjhabeng working together with various stakeholders; including the Department of Water & Sanitation at the core of our intervention is a process by which revenue collection is enhanced to enable municipalities to service their account with service providers including Water Boards. In this regard, we have established teams to assist municipalities with revenue collection strategies.
Furthermore, we will be intervening in instances where there are billing queries. Water Boards will be engaged as well to zoom into challenges of arbitrary billing systems and penalty arrangement. We will also be insisting on strict adherence to
various legislations including Water Services Act in the current period.
When a challenge is prolonged, there usually begins to emerge resistance from sections that are mostly affected. We have started to experience a spade of service delivery protests across the province, a development which we have welcomed as a clear sign that it cannot be business as usual in local government.
This, too, is how we handle matters in the ANC. We never run away from challenges, we confront and transform them into opportunities.
For a little over six months now since we took over, there has been enthralling attention on the building of systems in local government. Our point of departure is that we are all created equal. We have a responsibility to secure equal opportunity for every citizen regardless of their race, gender and class. We want to cultivate a culture of hard-work, where people are rewarded on merit.
We have started with building blocks towards municipalities that respond to the challenges facing our communities. We are
establishing good communications channels between municipalities and other spheres of government, as well as between municipalities and the communities they serve. We want to build municipalities that embrace public participation as a cornerstone improved service delivery.
We have noted all critical issues raised by hon members of the NCOP and we once again commit ourselves to ensuring that all our municipalities are well-managed and administered, that they are clean, that they facilitate opportunities and that they attract investments.
This is all we need to invest in the dignity of our people; we are frankly not expected to perform magic as government. Our people only want to have access to clean water, food, healthcare, education, and housing. The unprecedented horrors of the past which made the collective lived experience of our people unbearable must and shall be ended.
In this regard, let me end by quoting President Cyril Ramaphosa when he said;
We need a break from the past, where departments worked in silos, fruitless expenditure on irrelevant projects
was common, and where development was not aligned for national objectives.
The President said this to echo the importance of implementing One Plans in order to attain an ethical and genuinely democratic developmental state. This is an ideal to which each all of us should commit. I thank you Chairperson
Mr M DANGOR: Thank you very much Chairperson, and thank you very much for filling in for me while I was in the hospital, in leading the delegation in Gauteng, which you were able to do. You created daily reports, created the final report, and facilitated the final report. I am assured by the administration that, the reports are duly considered and adopted.
But Chairperson, we need to look at the given conditions on the ground, particularly in the South. The South of Johannesburg in Region G, particularly where we have poor people who come from other provinces and from Africa, impacting on the health, on the question of the environment, on the question of the provision of services, whatever those services may be. Of course, this has led to negative equity in some instances.
With various figures being ... [Inaudible] ...about between
1 million and 1,5 million, I am not too sure what the figure is, unplanned settlements with poor people and not what poor people want most. Poor people wan housing. They want water. They want sewage. They want education and they want the health services, etc. There is no army that is going to move those poor people, not the amount of people that are there. We need to end the kind of endless legal processes that we are going through. We need to also be conscious that our Constitution provides for making provision for social services to poor people, and to all people in this country.
Comrade David Makhura, when he saw the situation and encouraged that - and I see the same people of intelligence that tried to interrupt me the last time, are trying to do so again. I am appealing to them Chairperson not to do so.
Comrade David Makhura proposed a new city and I think we need to encourage it. A new city that is clean, that is green and has an economic hub, not a soulless informal settlement and that is why I call them unplanned settlements and not informal settlements. I think we need to move away from informal settlements and these are in fact, unplanned settlements that were not planned for.
The new town movement in the United Kingdom, UK should give us some kind of examples. After the war in the United Kingdom, the Second World War, they built new cities. New cities such as Milton Keynes, where various classes of people moved in, various economic class classes of people shared services and neighbourhoods that could actually facilitate the creation of an economic hub. Let us build a new city that has got the tailor, the candlestick maker and the cobbler at the bottom, where they can live at the top and work at the bottom
Chairperson, we need to also make this new city a tourism hub. The location needs to be determined by the by the province. If I may say so, to extend the transport systems such as the Gautrain but not as a concession, but as belonging to the province up to find the Vanderbijlpark, and also looking at what the Free State Province on the other side can offer, to such a city so that we can create a continuous kind of city going forward.
We can use the water as a tourism attraction. Let us as a collective from the Gauteng delegation here lobby, the Gauteng legislature, national legislature and the National Ministry and the Free State Province to look at what the possibilities are, that we can go forward.
We need to consult and involve all the stakeholders, those in the unplanned settlements, those in the surrounding communities, the business community, and importantly the worker community. In engaging with some of the worker communities around what we can do they said, let us ask encourage the premier to go ahead with this new city that is across provincial, but also let us make sure that this one is a public service, that this one is driven by the Public Service Commission and that this one is not going out to go to tender. Let us get people to work for the state. It was an innovative way for them to say these things, but I think it is important that we actually do that.
We can all be experts at finding faults, however let us collectively become solution finders now. I appeal to all in the Gauteng delegation and I appeal to all within this Council, let us find solutions to our problems. We can throw darts at each other I mean, there is now the possibility that they talk about the 2024 coalition government. A coalition government that has got new liberals in it, a coalition government that wants to throw every African out of Africa, never mind out of South Africa. A coalition government that in fact wants to go ahead and is so right wing but it can’t do anything else.
A coalition government that ... [Inaudible] ... the movement now between the right-wing liberals and the left wing
...[Inaudible] ... coming together, their only purpose - in fact they have no agenda, their only agenda is to move the ANC. That I think is not a principal position. It is not a position that is looking forward. My appeal is to all, let us look forward. Let us become the finders of solutions and not the finders of faults only. Thank you very much Chairperson
Mr S ZANDAMELA: Deputy Chair, I will request that I leave my video off, because we just got load shedding here. I might encounter problems in terms of the connection. Deputy Chair, the state capacity has been an ongoing challenge, since the advent of democracy, across all provinces in South Africa. It is a concerning, to note as a major social economical changes are only possible when the state is capable and has the capacity to implement policy.
In instances where there’s a lack of direction in terms of economic development. As the EFF we therefore, stand here today to advance the struggle for the development and building of state capacity, across all provinces as has raised in the seven cardinal pillars of EFF.
As it is evident from the provincial week report that, ours is a country which is a dire need to resources, capabilities, which will enable the state to achieve in strategic post. Ours is a country which lacks quality institutions and policies. We lack political framework which allows for change.
Our challenges in provincial and local government are long standing. As they exist, lack of capacity within the public sector in implementing public policies. Which is why we continuing to see no results in improving the performance of the state in providing economic change.
Deputy Chair, the South African state in its current form, does not drive the economy or deliver services because it has no capacity.
Our unemployment rate is shocking, which in its own signifies a crisis. In the past year we have witness political unrest and looting of stores in KwaZulu-Natal, which signal a failure of the state to deliver economic outcomes. Our people in KZN live in fear as the province is the crime capital of this country, especially in categories such as gender-based violence, rape and murder.
Where Deputy Chair currently, exists about 2700 informal settlement in South Africa. Most of which are located on unstable land. Our people are without land across all provinces. We have noted the demand for land and for reform on housing delivery. More so after the flood disaster in
KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
The state must provide data services to all its people. It must build and maintain infrastructure and build an inspired skilled and well compensated work force. Government needs to go big on the interventions. As we have seen that time and time again that the invisible hand of the market has failed to generate growth and innovation.
There is a need to bring the state back in building our country and creating employment opportunity rather relying entirely on the markets.
The state must deliver houses, build roads, schools, hospitals. Deliver water and ensure that taxes are spent efficiently. The state must develop policies which will create an environment where our people no longer live in fear. We need to urgently address the issue of capacity of police our stations in KwaZulu-Natal. We need to refurbish old and worn
out police stations. Establish gender-based violence desk and clear all backlogs of firearms license application in Manguzi, Inanda, Montclair, Belle Police Stations.
We need a capable state which will clear the housing backlog which affects millions of South Africans across all provinces. Particularly those living with disabilities, military veterans, the elderly, child headed households.
Deputy Chairperson, an over two million housing backlog in Gauteng Province alone is a cause of issue concern. We should by all account strive for state which will stand as a sharper of policies. For a state needs to be bold and address societal issues, set concrete targets, invest in research and other innovations, capabilities in order to benefit those living on the margins of the economy.
However, the above reforms are difficult to achieve, as in South Africa, as there exist a number of challenges which undermine state capacity. The greatest challenge has to do with leadership. Our country lacks ethical leadership, under leadership of this ruling party. We need leadership which has conviction and urgency to tackle policy, legislative challenges which stand in a way of change.
For the state has to be well positioned in leading institutional failures at the municipal level. In service delivery at provincial level and national level, which have undermined the ability of the state to deliver on the developmental mandate.
As where there is corruption, there’s also targeting of resources from the poor, those who need it the most, to projects that are supported by the ruling party.
There need to be effective utilization of the state capacity, especially in terms of state-owned enterprises. South Africa has about 700 state-owned enterprises, SOE’s. Most significant of these are not more than 20. The failure of the state has led to the arguing of their privatization which is flawed idea, as the private sector has no obligation to develop South Africa, but is motivated to bleed us dry with our resources.
Our key institutions such as Electricity Commission, Eskom, Denel, South African Airways, SAA, all face crisis due to mismanagement and poor governance, lack of maintenance of its infrastructure.
As the EFF, we have long proposed that provincial and local government and all state-owned companies, must abolish tenders and insource workers on a full time basis, as we shall continue to advocate for such.
Deputy Chairperson, when strong institutions get towards government plans rather inventing new ones. Policies are poorly implemented. We need growth enhancing policies that promote greater participation of small, micro and medium enterprises, SMMEs, in the economy. Thank you, Deputy Chair.
Mr T S C DODOVU: Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Silvia Lukas, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, hon Mohai, permanent and special delegates, let me start by pointing out that the vision of a capable, ethical and developmental state is articulated in our National Development Plan.
This is described as an activist state that has the capacity to provide direction to both market-based and non-market based stakeholders and to mobilise them towards a developmental agenda, to resolve the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities.
The developmental state is firmly rooted in the realities of a mixed economy, where the state on the one hand provides high quality service to all citizens of this country, while on the other hands it provides a regulatory framework that protects against excesses of the markets, encouraged investment in productive sectors and foster inclusive economic growth.
The programme of the ANC-led government, therefore, in the medium term is aimed at making strides to achieve the developmental state by 2030 as encapsulated in our National Development Plan. Once we have made significant strides in the transformation of our society, from the ruins of colonial apartheid towards a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and a just society.
We also recognise that the task of building capabilities and a developmental state has been the most daunting at the local sphere of government. Local government transformation, therefore, remain complex, difficult and protracted to realise.
We have not yet achieved the vision we set in the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, where we express in no uncertain terms that the constitutional mandate of local government
included creating and sustaining integrated, humane, equitable and viable cities and towns within the framework of co- operative governance. The White Paper called for the fundamental transformation and redesign of local government, so that it was adequately equipped to fulfil its developmental mandate within the paradigm of democratic and inclusive role and development.
We also alluded to the legislative and institutional frameworks needed to give effect to our vision of a developmental local government. The main task, therefore, is to bring new capabilities, to bring in new attitudes and equally to bring new approaches which will strengthen relations between the municipal councils, administrators, the management and the workforce, as well as to strengthen relations with service users and all other relevant stakeholders at the local sphere of government.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the state of local government report that was released in July 2021, highlighted some to the key challenges confronting our municipalities. This includes the political administrating interface, poor governance, financial mismanagement and poor service delivery. This report revealed
that 64 municipalities were in a dysfunctional state, suffering from one or multiple of these challenges.
Out of the 30 municipalities which were placed under section 13intervention in terms of the Constitution, it demonstrates that the challenges must be accomplished as a matter of urgency.
Subsequently, we have seen section 139(7) intervention in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, as well as Lekwa Local Municipality. This was unprecedented intervention by Cabinet because of the nature and the type of challenges that are confronting these three municipalities.
The Auditor-General, AG, also released the 2020-21 Municipal Financial Management Act report, which reflects on the audit outcomes of municipalities over the five-year term of previous local government administration. An observation states that the previous term of local government from 2016 until 2021 in municipalities was in a worse financial position than when they took office at the time.
The AG further says that this report presents a not-to-be- missed opportunity for the new administration to address the already-reported audit findings. The issues of the lack of human resource identified in the 2019-20 Municipal Financial Management Act report, alluded that, “Not much to go around, yet not the right hands at the till,” and those of political and administrative leadership, in which there was a call, to address the challenges in respect of ensuring that there is ethical and accountable leadership that must drive change at municipal level.
It is encouraging to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with a slight increase in the number of clean audits, where: Twenty-seven municipalities were able to maintain their clean audit status; 14 achieved a clean audit for the first time, and six unfortunately lost their clean audit status. However, clean audit outcomes continue to represent less than a fifth of local government budget, which is a major concern that must be given the necessary attention.
We are also encouraged by the fact that the Auditor-General is utilising the new powers added in the Public Audit Act of 2019, by issuing material irregularities to eliminate financial risks and recover potential losses. Since the
addition of the new powers in the Public Audit Act of 2019, we have seen a significant decline in irregular and fruitless expenditures.
Since the 2022 NCOP Provincial Week that we held in March, as the ANC, we have used political oversights to encourage municipalities to be responsive to audit opinions. One of the issues we have taken up with municipalities is the reliance on consultants for audit purposes. We have called for the employment of capable human resources in finance and audit departments. This, in our respective view, will avoid wasteful expenditure and resources can be redirected to service delivery.
We will be intensifying our efforts in the Free State and the North West provinces, which have the worst-performing municipalities across the country. Coming to the North West, we noted the fact that this province was placed under section 100, where interventions were made in certain departments.
This was quite important because of the deteriorating situation that was obtained in those municipalities and the provinces.
There was a crisis in respect of human resources managements regarding the financial expenditure patterns of the department. There was a crisis in terms of school, where schools were disrupted. The health facilities were also in turbid situation. All of these perpetuated the crisis that is found at municipal level. We were there ourselves! We were there and we can report proudly that we see what I call a modicum of encouraging possibilities.
We see a convergence in terms of the work led by Premier Bushy Maape, who has taken the bull by its horn. Premier Bushy Maape is doing whatever that you can call to galvanise and rejuvenate the province. We need to really encourage and support his effort to ensure not only that he uproots corruption and all its manifestations, but he works very hard to ensure that there is stability, there is progress and there is tranquility - if I may put it that way - in the North West province.
This is quite important because this is a province that was facing a number of problems, and in our respecting view, we think that they are going to be addressed, given the vigour, the energy and the zest and the zeal that the current leadership of the province has. That, from our point of view,
is encourage and it must be taken forward to the majestic heights of glory and success.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the provision of services by a developmental state, in addition to servicing the needs of the citizens is also an investment in the economy of those particular cities, in terms of what they need to do to address the challenges that are facing municipalities.
Also, to ensure that we encourage private sector investment that must follow to ensure that we improve the social and economic infrastructure where it is needed especially, making sure that the necessary investments are made in building of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure development, which in a way will have positive spinoffs for an economic, and a social point of view - both in a medium term, as well as the long term.
As the ANC, we are concerned at the same time by some of the problems that seem to be inherent in some of the municipalities, especially in municipalities such as Maloti-A- Phofung in the Free State, Ditsobotla in the North West, Tswaing – where people still walk long distances to access
drinking clean water and at times they go for days without having water flowing from their taps.
We are saying that this situation is unacceptable - 28 years after the dawn of our democratic dispensation. We must do everything. We are quite happy that this is a matter that the leadership of the North West province, under the premiership of Bushy Maape is attending too. We will be looking and watching at the developments as they unfold. Where there would be problems and challenges, we will expect that interventions must be made to ameliorate the satiation.
I am saying this because the challenges of water and sanitation, in our view, cam best be addressed in the district development model, which has been successfully piloted in three municipalities. We all know those municipalities by now, that is OR Tambo, eThekwini, as well as the Waterberg District Municipality. In our view, this must be attended to as a matter of urgency.
We are also saying there are issues that must be attended to, especially in the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Given the fact that this municipality was ravaged by flood disasters which the country experienced in April this year. These
municipalities must be helped so that the people of that particular area could get the necessary opportunities when we take these particular processes forward.
We are also saying that not all is lost, because we see some progress in respect of the EThekwini Municipality. For example, the yielding of tangible benefits that we see in respect of the catalytic project, such as the Rivertown Precinct upgrade, the Dube Train Port and the Cato Ridge Dry Port. The building of the dry port requires construction through Sanral for a new interchange on N3 freeway.
In our view, if this is done properly, it will allow for the dry port to be built, but it will also unlock substantial industrial land potentials that will support the industrialisation objective in terms of the National Economic Reconstruction and Development Plan.
We can listen to what the opposition is saying. They always lament. They always waffle and prevaricate, in our view. They do not provide a substantive solution to the many problems that are facing our country.
My respective view is that we must stand up and rise from where we are, to bring solution and not to enjoy just criticizing as if we are looking for votes. It is no time for votes; it is a time to rebuild and reconstruct our country. We must do so in a way that will fundamentally change the lives of our people.
On that particular way, we think that the state capacity must be strengthened in order to achieve the developmental objectives of our society. Thank you very much!
Mr S HLOMUKA (KwaZulu-Natal): Thank you very much, Deputy
Chair. I’m not sure if you can see me?
The DEUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: We can’t. I think there’s something wrong with your screen or something. You can try to address it. There you are. You may continue.
Mr S HLOMUKA (KwaZulu-Natal): Is it now clear?
The DEUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: You are visible, hon member. You may continue.
Mr S HLOMUKA (KwaZulu-Natal): Okay. Thank you, Deputy Chair, my greetings to you, Deputy Chair, very much, all hon members in this august House, MECs present and fellow South Africans. Deputy Chair, it is really a great honour to address this august House as it debates the report of the Provincial Week which was held on 29 March to 1 April 2022, under the theme: “Assessing State Capacity to respond to the needs of the communities.” Deputy Chairperson, it is important to note that, in the visit, the members of this House visited the front service delivery points across the country, in order to assess the state and functionality of those service points.
It is also important, hon members, to take you back to the Freedom Charter, which was adopted at the Real Congress of the People, at Kliptown, on 26 June 1955, which declares that, our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities. So, it is important to draw our lessons from the meeting that took place in 1995 because we must learn from the past. Today we are gathering to debate the important issues that emanate from the decree that I have already indicated, which called for South Africans to enjoy equal rights and opportunities.
The issue of access to basic services is one that all governments across the world agree that it is a human rights issue, not only in South Africa, but across the world. On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64 of 292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognised the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that, clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. The Resolution calls upon states and international organisations to provide financial resources which will help with capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular, developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.
Deputy Chairperson, it is important to take from the meeting that, it is a duty for all spheres of government in this country to ensure that, water and sanitation services are provided in a manner that is efficient, equitable and sustainable. All spheres of government must strive to provide water supply and sanitation services sufficiently and sustainable economic activity. On the Chapter 13 of the National Development Plan, NDP, it calls for the building a capable state. Thematic topics towards the building of a
capable state are explicitly identified in Chapter 13 as I’ve
already indicated.
There are five headline issues that I’m going to outline in this debate, Deputy Chair. Firstly, the need to stabilise the political-administrative interface, making the public service and local government careers of choice, develop technical and specialist professional skills, improve relations between the three spheres of government, lastly, is the clarify, the objectives and mandates of state-owned enterprises. Having said that, Deputy Chairperson, all the above issues are critical if we are to build a state that is capable of responding to the needs of our people, because we are a government of the people.
In our endeavour to respond to the needs of our communities, we have to be aware of the reality of climate. I think the previous speaker, hon Dodovu, spoke about the challenges that have happened in KwaZulu-Natal, about the disaster or the heavy rain that we have received, which destroyed serious infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal, in particular, the eThekwini Metro. There are a number of people who have been suffering, and some of the water infrastructure has been destroyed, which is also compromised, and some of the people that are in those
towns or Metro are now not receiving clean water from running pipes which is important for us to deal with the issue of climate change.
As a province, in the months of April and May as I have already alluded on, we witnessed serious floods which killed over 400 people and disrupted the supply of critical services such as water, sanitation, roads and electricity. These floods are a reminder of the reality of climate and the impact it has on developing countries. According to a report by the United Nations, climate change is likely to increase in areas like South Africa. While the developing countries have contributed the least to the problems, they bear the brunt of impact of climate change, which threatens to jeopardise many of the developmental gains that have already been achieved, as I’ve indicated.
In the province of KwaZulu-Natal, there are a number of these gains. We have built a number of houses, we have also built sanitation for our people, and ensured that our people are receiving water through running pipe water system, but as a short-term intervention while we are restoring the water, and trying to ensure that we give our people running water from the pipes, we are giving them short-term water because, we
can’t allow our people to buy received water. So, there are short-term, medium-term and also long-term plans that we have, hence we developed the Provincial Water Master Plan, which also talks to sanitation.
We are now in the implementation of that plan, which guides us how to assist with quality in terms of putting their ground in the areas of wards that do not have water through the assessment or the research that was done by the specialist, in developing the Provincial Water Master Plan. Hon members, the Provincial Week revealed that there were key themes emerging in provinces, as follows: Water and Sanitation, electricity and infrastructure, local economic development, small scale farmers, safety and security. All these themes require a capable state in order to unlock their potential, while also being aware of serious challenges that we are facing, especially of the climate change.
In the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the focus of the visit by the NCOP was on the capacity to fight against crime, including the state of police stations in the township and rural areas and their resources because, Kwa-Mashu in particular, is the second township that has a high rate of crime in terms of the report that was released by the Minister of Police. During
this visit, the delegation raised concerns about the centralisation of supply chain management processes in the SA Police Service, SAPS, as it impacts negatively on the delay.
Deputy Chair, I want to conclude by saying, the National Development Plan, NDP, proposes that, by raising the living standards to the minimum required level, we will involve various mechanisms to ensure that we assist our people, and we are going to ensure that we work with all 50 forms and qualities in KwaZulu-Natal to assist them to ensure that they fast track in providing services to our people, which will include water and sanitation. Thank you very much, Deputy Chairperson.
Mr M A P De BRUYN: Hon Deputy Chairperson, firstly I want to express my disappointment of the fat that this report is being considered in the House today while a number of provinces still have not considered their final reports beforehand. I was hopeful that the Provincial Week and its purpose are to truly bring government to the people and includes everyone from the public to local municipalities, stakeholders and we as permanent delegates together to participate and identify the real issues on ground level. However, the way that this report is being bulldozed through the steps, clearly
highlights the lack of political will to bring about the changes that our citizens so desperately need.
In every province, we visited communities on ground level, communities that place their hopes and trust in us to better their circumstances and surely, they deserve a real effort from this House and not the manner in which report is being handled.
While this thing of water and sanitation treatment is in the Free State, we were shocked that we did not come across a single functional waste water treatment plant. Every site we visited was exactly the same story – a lack of infrastructure, the existing infrastructure not being maintained, vandalism and security issues, etc.
Even more shocking was the lack of management and will by the municipalities. I am going to use the Mangaung Metro as prime example of this. The management of the Mangaung Metro was so arrogant that they did not even bother to show up at the site visits, to accommodate our delegation and to explain the situation, so that solutions could be discussed. They were rather cowering at their offices, at the expense of the citizens that are being overcharges for their services. This
is a municipality that has been under administration since 2019 and that is currently under national administration.
In the Kopanong Local Municipality, there were cases where the officials did not even know how to access the waste water treatment works, never mind maintaining it. This is a municipality in which most areas have been without water since February, due to the debt of more than R500 million to Bloem Water, but at the same time, not utilizing their boreholes to bring some relief to their communities.
The examples of failures in almost every municipality across the country are endless and in most cases, this is not due to a lack of funding, but a lack of management and political will by municipal officials that are being paid enormously high salaries for underperforming, with no consequence management.
That is the real issue that this report is supposed to address. It is the responsibility of this House to not only bring he government to the people, but to ensure that people have access to a functional and honest local government, where officials are doing the jobs they are being paid to do and being reprimanded if they don’t. That is supposed to be the purpose of the Provincial Week and this report.
By just pushing this report through without going through all the necessary channels and inputs is an insult to our communities. This House should be hanging its head in shame to say the least. We cannot keep blaming the rich cousin, as the hon Nyambi has put it, when the poor cousin is misusing the funds given to him to fix his bicycle. The poor cousin will also have to start to admit its failures and take responsibility. The FF Plus will not support this report.
Thank you.
Mr I M SILEKU: Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon members, before I go to my speech, I need to remind hon Dodovu what the AG says about the North West, just last week. When she talks about the North West, she talks about leadership instability, she talks about a lack of accountability, she talks about a general state of disarray and little to no service delivery. So, hon Dodovu must stop lecturing the DA about solutions. Every time we are given a platform in this Hose, we give them solutions, but ...
Afrikaans:
... hoor is min. So, ek dink hulle moet hul eie advies volg en ’n bietjie luister na hoe ons dinge in die blou provinsie, die Wes-Kaap, doen.
English:
I must express my appreciation to be part of the NCOP’s week- long oversight of the state capacity to respond to community needs. I welcome the subsequent report that highlights key issues emanating from the provincial visits, as well as the challenges eluded to by my buurman, [neighbor] hon Ryder, and successes faced in various sectors.
The report includes recommendations from the delegations and the NCOP will monitor adherence to the timeframes by the responsible departments. We aimed to establish grounds to reduce poverty and inequality, in accordance with the guiding principle, as captured in the NDP, which, and I quote, “no political democracy can survive and flourish if the masses of our people remain in poverty”.
Attacking poverty and deprivation must be the first priority of a democratic government and the report reveals that poverty, inequality, unemployment and a poor economy continue to plague our communities.
The Provincial Week revealed that key themes emerge in provinces, namely water and sanitation, electricity and
infrastructure, local economic development; small-scale farmers, and safety and security.
These matters also apply to the Western Cape. We identified the provision of housing infrastructure, measures to address the housing backlog and the creation of integrated and sustainable human settlements as specific matters that impact on this province.
Based on demographic realities, the various Western Cape municipalities and organs of the provincial government will not be able to reduce the housing backlog.
The population growth of the Western Cape is much higher than the funds available to comply with the housing need. In places such as Theewaterskloof, where I started to be a public representative, 56% of the population is indigent.
Afrikaans:
Hulle kan nie eers hulle eie rekeninge betaal nie.
English:
This can be seen in the enormous growth of existing and relatively new informal settlements. The Western Cape
challenge with housing intensified, as a result of the invasion of state land and the housing needs that resulted from this.
Against this need, the integrity of the housing register is compromised, as people succeed in jumping the queue. The Western Cape government succeeded to implement a sustainable vision for housing, based on accelerated housing opportunities through the rapid release of land and serviced sites.
The department adopted the hybrid model that ensures that grants are transferred to municipalities, in accordance with their abilities to deliver and this will ensure that grant funding will be spent in full.
The department was able to absorb unspent funding from other provinces to accelerate projects in 2021-22, other provinces who could not spend their grants. The Western Cape spent their grant. Grants were split through the Informal Settlement Upgrade Partnership Grant.
The department promoted the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme for first-time homeowners and reached an agreement with the National Housing Financing Corporation, with respect
to funding. The Department of Human Settlements utilised its own funds for the installations of toilets in the Western Cape, to bring back dignity ...
IsiXhosa:
... ebantwini.
English:
All metro and nonmetro municipal housing demand databases are linked to ascertain the municipal needs per region. Other provincial successes include the reducing of title deed backlogs, the Informal Settlement Support Plan; support to Theewaterskloof with the Destiny’s Farm Project; and military veterans.
The municipality had to overcome substantial challenges to taste the successes of a functional housing approach. It had to deal with a lack of bulk infrastructure, procurement delays, poor contractor performance, protests, vandalism, theft and land invasions.
The department provided 275 military veterans specification houses over the last five years, while other provinces are still struggling to give five. The province succeeded with the
upgrading and constructing of alternative building technologies. The department promoted matters of sustainability with regard to housing projects in the province by implementing energy efficiency technologies.
The NCOP delegation visited several housing sites. Firstly, the Conradie better living model. The target market includes Grant funded housing and open-market housing, including the gap market and the total budget for the project amounts to R3 billion.
Secondly, new Woodlands Housing Project to upgrade the Kosovo Informal Settlement as a flagship development of the Department of Human Settlements Development Programme and to ensure the construction of internal and bulk engineering services, and the development of 434 housing opportunities for beneficiaries who qualify for assistance under the National Housing Subsidy.
Thirdly, Anchorage social housing in Bellville with the objective to implement a Housing ladder model to allow people to move between different types of tenure in the same estate as their needs and lifestyle changes through a mixed-income and mixed-tenure residential development of 1 122 units that
is comprised of 512 social housing units, 253 rental units, and 357 open-market units.
The NCOP oversight placed its finger on the pulses of provinces and offers solutions and context to challenges. It must, however, be noted that the only reason the Western Cape had such a functional provincial week, when the other spheres of government had prior commitments is underpinned by the strong political will that is evident within the Western Cape. It was an honour to participate in the Provincial Week in the Western Cape.
Afrikaans:
Kyk net na my das. Dis blou.
English:
I thank you Chairperson.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms S E Lucas): Dankie blou bul. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Mr I M SILEKU: You are out of order.
IsiZulu:
Nk L C BEBEE: Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo wami ohloniphekile, ngibonge, mama, ukuthola leli thuba lokuba yingxenye yale nkulumompikiswano yalolu suku lwanamhlanje. Ngibingelele wonke umuntu othamele le nkulumo yanamhlanje ngokwezikhundla zabo ezehlukene. Kodwa ngokukhethekile izithunywa zaKwaZulu-Natal ezilana phakathi kwethu namhlanje.
Sihlalo ohloniphekile, ngaphambi kokuthi ngingene enkulumweni yami, ngicela ukulungisa la kumhlonishwa u-Ryder othi, woza 2024 kodwa abafuni njalo ukuphasisa izabelo zezimali zeminyango kanye nakho konke. Bese kuza nomhlonishwa u-De Bruyn asho naye nje izimali cha abaziphasisi. Bese kuvalwa omhlonishwa u-Zandamela abahlale bethi uKhongolose akenzi lutho njengoba ephethe kodwa manje njengoba ezama uKhongolose ziphasiseni phela izimali zikwazi ukuthi senze lezi zinto ekufanele abantu bazithole.
Hhayi-ke mhlonishwa u-Sileku, uthi wena abantu ababe nesithunzi, usho kahle ngesiNgisi sakho, lalela-ke, baba nesithunzi kanjani abantu uma ungezosiphasisa isisabelomali sokuthi kwenzeke lento ekufanele yenzeke ebantwini.
Asiyiyekeni ipolitiki bakwethu abantu bakithi bayasidinga lapha phansi. [Ubuwelewele.] I-ANC izibophezele embonweni wokungabandlululi ngobuzwe nangobulili ukuze kwakhiwe
umphakathi okwaziyo ukuthuthukisa wakhe futhi izingxenye zomphakathi ekwakheni nokuthuthukisa umnotho nokuthi umphakathi uphephe.
Izinhlelo zemiphakathi zezokuphepha, siyacela izehlakalo nemikhuba efufusayo kufanele siyigweme ngayoyonke indlela ngokuxazulula izinkinga zabantu abantulayo. Sihlalo wami obekekile, ukungasebenzi nokungathuthukiswa kwemiphakathi sekufakwe ohlelweni lokuthuthukisa abantu futhi kufakiwe nasohlelweni lokukhulisa leyo miphakathi nokuthi uKhongolose ukhathazekile ngokudlondlobala kobugebengu obudlange obubhekiswe kubantu besifazane kanye nezingane.
Nokusetshenziswa ngobudedengu botshwala kanye nezidakamizwa yiyo lento eyenze ukuthi kudlondlobale izigebengu.
Mphathisihlalo wami, ngesikhathi sokuhambela izifundazwe, thina siyi-KwaZulu-Natal sasihlangene namalungu esiShayamthetho saKwaZulu-Natal siwumbhodamo sehla senyuka kuzozonke lezi ziteshi zamaphoyisa njengoba sasinikeziwe ukuthi kufanele sizozibhekela thina noma i-SAPS yayisitshelile ngemibiko kodwa sathi thina njengo-NCOP asambe siyobheka ngempela ngale nto yokuthi kwenzekeni kube seqhulwini ngempela ubugebengu okwenza sobala ukuthi imiphakathi ihlaliswe lubhojozi yizigilamkhuba
Sihlalo ngaphambili, mhla zintathu ku-June uNgqongqoshe wamaPhoyisa wakhipha isibalo zonyaka u-2020-21 wezimali kanye nasenyakeni ka-2022 wezimali kuMasingane ukuya kuMbasa, lokhu waveza ukuthi isibalo sinyuke ngamaphesenti angamashumi amabili nambili okusho ukuthi bangaphezulu kwenkulungwane nekhulu nesikhombisa.
Abantu uma kuqhathaniswa nekwata eledlule izifundazwe saKwaZulu-Natal, i-Gauteng kanye neNtshonalanga Kapa yizona ezaba nezibalo ezingaphezulu zamacala wokubulawa. KwaZulu- Natal ezindaweni ezifana noMlaza, eNanda nase-Plessislaer yizona ezinzima kakhulu ngamacala aphezulu abalelwa emakhulwini angamashumi ayisikhombisa nanhlanu kanye nayishumi ayisikhombisa. Ngokulandelela futhi kuyethusa ukwenyuka kwamacala okuthunjwa kwezingane kanye nabesifazane. Izibalo zobugebengu zikhombise ukuthi i-KwaZulu-Natal yiyona ehamba phambili ngezibalo eziyinkulungwane namakhulu ayisikhombisa namashumi amabili nambili okudlwengula. Angu-726 alezi zigameko zenzeke ezindaweni zabahlali, zenzeka naphakathi ezikoleni. Lokhu kwenza kubonakale ngokusobala ukuthi abantu besimame abaphephile kangakanani nokuthi isidingo esikhulu sokuthatha izinyathelo zokunqanda lokhu. Nokuthi isidingo sikhulu kakhulu ukuthi kuqiniswe ezokuphepha kulezo zindawo ukuze kuvikelwe abantu besifazane nezingane nokuthi
isisabelomali masibe sikhulu KwaZulu-Natal bakwethu njengoba nazi ukuthi kudlangile futhi niyazi ukuthi kuneziteshi zamaphoyisa eziseduze nomngcele ziba nenkinga ukuthi zikwazi ukuthi zibambe izigebengu.
Ngesikhathi sokuvakashela isifundazwe sathola futhi ukuthi ezinye izikhungo zamaphoyisa azikho esimweni sokwazi ukuphakama nezinkinga zemiphakathi ezisebenza kuyo futhi izinsiza zokusebenza azanele. Njengasesteshi samaphoyisa eManguzi la esaqala khona sathola ukuthi abasebenzi abenele, izimoto azenele, amasela ayazicanasela nje ayaphuma ayangena okwenze ukuthi nesiteshi samaphoyisa sakhona esakhiwa ngesikhathi sobandlululo zikude nomphakathi kwaze kwathi lo Hulumeni okhona wenza izinzame zokuthi kube khona iziteshi zamaphoyisa ezincane eziseduze ezizokwazi ukuthi abantu bakwazi ukuthi basizakale. Ngakho yikho siqinisa ukuthi azibe khona. Ngoba esinye isikhalo kube yizimoto zamaphoyisa.
Ulijaha kanjani isela elihamba nge-Vrrr Pha! Ukusebenzisa ulimi lwesimanje, ezogijima wena phoyisa ulijaha ngeveni. Awukwazi ukuth usibambe leso sigebengu. Ngakho sicela ukuthi bakwazi ukuthi banikezwa izimoto ezifanele zokujaha lezi zigilamkhuba ezintshontsha izimoto zizeqise umngcele.
Sihlalo ngaphambili, enye into esayithola ukuthi zikhona izinhlaka zona ezisebenzisana namaphoyisa, ama-CPFs phecelezi. Kodwa inking ukuthi ayikho imali eyenele yokwazi ukuthi nabo ibagqugquzele ukuthi bakwazi ukuba yingxenye yokulwisana nobugebengu obulapho. Mhlonishwa othandekayo weNdlu, ukuze ukwazi ukukhuluma kuzwakale ngalokhu kufuneka ukubambisana nemiphakathi yethu, kubaluleke kakhulu. Kubaluleke kangangokuthi akuqine umbuso wethu. Yebo khona uzamile ukuqina ngokuthi senze iziteshi ezincane eziseduze ukuthi ziye ebantwini.
Sihlalo wami, ngizobalula nje kafushane ezinye zeziteshi zamaphoyisa ngendlela akhiwe ngayo. Ngalesiya sikhathi sobandlululo isitheshi samaphoyisa eMbazwane ngaphansi koMkhanyakude yakhiwe endaweni yabamhlophe, abalimi, abantu abamnyama bengakwazi ukufikelela lapho. Uthole ukuthi uma uya kuleso siteshi samaphoyisa ugibela kathathu noma kane uwumphakathi uma uhamba uyobika. Esinye isiteshi samaphoyisa esase-Muden ngase-Greytown, nayo ngokunjalo yakhelwa nje khona kubantu abamhlophe ukuze bakwazi ukuthi basivivinye kahle abantu bakithi kodwa bangakwazi ukuthi bafinyelele. Siphinde sibe nesiteshi samaphoyisa i-Helpmekaar phakathi ke-Pomeroy ne-Dundee, naso leso siteshi samaphoyisa senzelwa abamhlophe
kuphela kodwa thina asikwazi ukuthi sifinyelele abantu abamnyama kuyona.
Sibe nesiteshi samaphoyisa i-Elandslaagte phakathi kwe-Dundee ne-Ladysmith, nayo ngokunjalo yayenzelwe amaplazi abantu abamhlophe, umuntu omnyama akakwazi ukufinyelela lapho ngoba kufuneka agibele kaningi. Siphinde sibe nesiteshi samaphoyisa i-Kingsley eduze ne-Blood River, hhayi-ke yona iyingqayizivele, uyabona nje ukuthi nje umuntu omnyama laphayana kufanele agibele ekuseni ngehora lwesithathu ngovivi ukuze akwazi ukuyofika lapho mhlawumbe emuva kwamadina.
Siphinde sibe nesiteshi i-Charlestown ngase-Normadien e- Newcastle, nayo ngokunjalo yayakhelwe abamhlophe lapho abantu abamnyama bengakwazi ukuphumelela.
Besekubanesiteshi samaphoyisa saseNdumo engaphansi koMasipala waseJozini, obonayo ukuthi nayo yayakhelwe bona abamhlophe ukuthi bona bafikelele khona kalula bagadeke futhi kodwa abantu abamnyama bangabibikho. Okumnandi nokuhle kulo Hulumeni kaKhongolose wakwazi ukuthi uma usuthatha umbuso wenza isiteshi zamaphoyisa ezincane ezifikelelekayo la khona abantu bakithi bazokwazi ukuthi baye khona ukuze phela bakwazi ukusho izinto zabo abaxakeke ngazo. Lokhu kufaka phakathi nomsebenzi wezemvelo nezolimo.
Yikhona okunye esikhutholile lapho besivakashe khona ukuthi abantu bakithi ukuthi bakwazi ukuthi bazilimele nosomabhizinisi abafufusayo izimvume zisheshe ukubakhona ukuze bakwazi phela ukuthi bazidayisele izinto zabo ukuze njalo behle ubugebengu ngoba bazokwazi ukuthi babe nento abayenzayo.
Sihlalo wami, Sekela Sihlalo, sakuncoma nathi siyikomidi sihlangene nesiShayamthetho saKwaZulu-Natal kanye ne-NCOP ukuthi ubugebengu budlondlobele kakhulu ikakhulukazi kubantu besifazane nezingane yileyo nto esayiqaphela kakhulu okufanele ngempela kwandiswe abasebenzi emaphoyiseni, kwandiswe nezimoto zamaphoyisa, kulungiswe nezingqalaizinda zakhona ukuze kwazeke phela ukuthi abantu bakwazi ukuthi benze. Kwezinye iziteshi zamaphoyisa kwakunzima nokuthi sithole indlu yangasese ngoba wawubona nje ukuthi seloko yakhiwa azikho izimali zokuthi zenze zonke lezo zinto. Nokuthi futhi esakubheka eziteshini zamaphoyisa ezimbalwa azinazo ideski lodlame olusekelwe ngobulili. Lapho besinxusa engathi zonke zingabanjalo zingaba nalo lelodeski. Isiteshi samaphoyisa sisenezinkinga nokuntula izingqalasizinda, imisebenzi kanye nezimoto, besicela ukuthi izimoto umangabe ziphukile, kungathi mekuphume isondo, kuthathe iminyake neminyaka emibili kusafunwa leli sondo kepha kufanele ukuthi lezi zimoto zisebenze emiphakathini.
Besicela ukuthi ingabi u-central yonke lento eyenzekayo, siyazi ukuthi kunezikole la izingane zifundela amakhono ezandla bakwazi ukuthi lapha abafundela ukukhanda izimoto kulezo zindawo iziteshi zamaphoyisa zikhona zikhandwe lapho kulezo zindawo ukuze kusheshe kwenzeke. Ngoba uyothola ukuthi ngempela ibhawodi lilodwa kuzothatha amasonto amathathu wonke ukuthi kuhanjwe liyofakwa ngoba kufanele kudlulwe iminyango eminingi kanti ukube besizokwazi ukuthi sigqugquzele imiphakathi yethu ibenazo lezi zinhlaka ezizokwazi ukuthi siqeqeshe izingane zethu. Siqeqeshe futhi nosomabhizinisi abancane, omakhenikha, bakwazi ukuthi bazilungise lezo zinto.
Kodwa ngiyazi ukuthi vele lokho sekusendleleni yokuthi kwenzeke ngoba isikhalo sizwakele, sakwazi ukuthi siye ebantwini, uHulumeni wethu wasilandela. Lokhu uKhongolose akwenzayo akenzi ngoba eziqaja, eziqhayisa, kodwa wenzela bonke abantu. Siyacela kubobonke abantu esinabo, kubobonke osopolitiki esinabo, sike sishiye ipolitiki phansi bakwethu. Abantu bakithi bayasidinga, sikwazi ukuthi sibambisane siphasise nalesi sabelomali eningafuni ukusiphasisa.
Ngiyabonga, Sekela Sihlalo weNdlu.
Mr N M HADEBE: Hon Deputy Chairperson, we are called to assess the state capacity in order to fulfil our mandate to respond
to the needs of our communities. In order to effectively achieve this, we must take stock of the position that we are in and reaffirm our commitments to the Constitution which duty binds us to the democratic citizenry.
Under section 41 of our democratic Constitution, we are required to ensure that all spheres of government must secure the wellbeing of the people of the Republic, provide effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government for the Republic as a whole. The Constitution in this regard is quite clear on the mandate of government and does not lend any of us the opportunity for ignorance. The scripts require that we are receptive to the people of the country whilst being held to a high standard of government that is deserving of our people.
Hon Chairperson, whilst we have clear direction of our mandate, our inability to grow rather than regress our economy, reduce the public dissatisfaction through displays of public protests to deliver basic services recognise our shortcomings and work together is our greatest weakness. Yet, when we read the reports of the Zondo Commission of inquiry, we find ourselves in great contradiction of the principles. We as Parliament have a responsibility through our constitutional
obligations as above to indeed take action against those who have deviated from our constitutional commitments. The Zondo report showed us that certain individuals of our country in fact despise our constitutional commitments and they do not care for the devastation left for the poorest people of our country.
Chairperson, our people are left to their own devices and out of sheer frustration we are experiencing severe scenes of dissatisfaction. I refer to the scenes of burning in Soweto this morning as people are totally frustrated with the inability to receive services and electricity. The July looting in KwaZulu-Natal where the poor could not manage under sever lockdown restrictions whilst certain Ministers were pocketing proceeds intended to reduce the burden on the poor. The high petrol prices which exceed the minimum wage of the labour class and the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal which as seen an incredibly slow and unsympathetic response by government.
But that’s just what is currently circulating in the public domain, what about the report of the NCOP in assessing the capacity to fight crime in KwaZulu-Natal. It is saddening to see that government’s priority of providing safer environments is in a state of disrepair. Our police stations are in
desperate need of repair and maintenance. Police stations need to be vehicles that are fully capable of holding criminals but also safe spaces that are warm and inviting to traumatised victims, especially of the gender-based violence.
Colleagues, it is never my intention to criticise unconstructively. What has been said indicates that we need key emphasis on the consistency of our public institutions in order to build the steps towards a government that can meet the expectations of our communities. They deserve nothing less. I thank you, hon Deputy Chairperson.
Mr W A S AUCAMP: Hon Deputy Chairperson, I want to start off by thanking my colleague, hon Delmaine Christians, as well as the members from the ANC, that include you, hon Bartlett and hon Moimang who attended the Provincial Week for the good and collegial co-operation that we experienced during this Provincial Week we had in the Northern Cape. It was however troublesome that various mayors and speakers of some of the municipalities did not attend our meetings. As the hon Ryder said, this might have been due to the hasty and late arrangements that were made for this Provincial Week. It is however also important to mention that in several instances where they did attend our meetings, we had to wait hours for
them to arrive. Their lack of respect for this House’s delegation is testimony to the seriousness in which they approach the issues in their municipalities. In one instance a mayor who confirmed that he will attend our meeting cancelled on short notice due to him having to entertain the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services. Now with all due respect, I think it is far more important for a mayor to attend our meeting where issues of his municipality are discussed than for him to entertain the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, a portfolio that has got absolutely nothing to do with his municipality.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, as you drive on one of the Northern Cape’s main arterials between Kimberley, Koopmansfontein and Daniëlskuil, wooden crosses bear the testament to just how many lives have been lost on this road. This is no ordinary road. The R31 has become a monument of death. This issue was again raised by my colleague, hon Delmaine Christians during the Provincial Week. It was reported to us that the R31 between Kimberley and Barkly West, which is now flooded by sewerage from the Gogga sewer plant, was repaired in 2014-15 to the tune of R12 million and again in 2020-21 for a whopping R25 million. This road however continues to erode due to the faulty Gogga pump. Residents in Kimberley are often without
water due to repairs, and an oversight with the provincial legislature to this road was also cancelled last week.
Government has covered up this disaster for 18 years, and it is therefore required of this House to insist on immediate actions by government to implement a permanent solution to this problem.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, the farming community in the Northern Cape is the second largest employment sector in the province. We were therefore glad to have unanimously agreed to the following with regards to the locust plague as well as the drought and fires that was experienced in the Northern Cape, and I quote:
Members noted that if we do not assist farmers now it will affect their crops. If we see it as a short-term problem, it will become a bigger issue in the future.
The report goes further and states the following, and I again quote:
On drought and locusts, a motion should be put through the NCOP to declare those areas as disaster areas. Upon
declaration as a disaster area, the province will receive the necessary assistance.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, it is now of utmost importance for the farmers in our province that these recommendations will not remain lip service, but that this House will act on it.
It was worrying to have heard that Orion Minerals at Okiep is struggling to obtain a mining licence. This mine will create
1 500 jobs over a period of 20 years and they have already invested millions into their mine and the community. Again, it is good to note that the report unanimously emphasised that obtaining a mining license should not be an obstacle to this project, and that a solution should be sought.
Vedanta Mine at Aggeneys expressed their concerns that their application for rezoning to build 4 000 houses on their property have been stalled by the red tape. Again, it is noteworthy that our delegation unanimously agreed that the NCOP must consider and discuss how to assist in terms of cutting the red tape for the provision of these 4 000 houses.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, it is good if we can work together. I want to get to hon Nyambi. Hon Nyambi, the Western Cape
received the same bicycles that you spoke about. The difference is, unlike the ANC, the DA government in the Western Cape maintained its bicycle and therefore the bicycle in the Western Cape is still working perfectly - unlike the bicycles in the other provinces that have not been maintained.
Hon member from the Eastern Cape, the only way in which the ANC or whoever will be higher again, if they smoke some of the cannabis that you spoke about because the ANC will never be high in polling or in elections ever again.
Hon Dangor, you say that we must be the finders of solutions. The solution is for the incompetent ANC government to be voted out of power and to be replaced by a DA government where ... [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: Wishful thinking!
Mr W A S AUCAMP: ... South Africa’s people are at heart and will be in charge. The success of this Provincial Week will be determined on the willingness of this House to implement the recommendations that was agreed upon. If this is not done, the Provincial Week would have been just another tick box and window dressing exercise, as have been witnessed so many times
in the past. I hope this will not be the case this time around. Thank you, hon Deputy Chairperson.
Mr S J MOHAI: Thank you Deputy Chairperson, and also greetings to the Chairperson of the Council, House Chairpersons hon Nyambi and Mme Ngwenya, hon members of the House, distinguished special delegates, MEC Dukwana and Hlomuka, thank you very much for also sharing with us your thoughts and making meaningful contribution in this important debate as MECs are in the frontline of implementation of the policies and review in terms of the extent in which we are making progress in our provinces. Let me as well recognise South African Local Government Association, Salga, in absentia, it would have been good to complete this discussion with the Salga participation. Allow me to join other members who have noted that the 2022 NCOP Provincial Week Programme took place against the backdrop of the deteriorating state of our local municipality in terms of good governance, service delivery and community development in general.
This trend continues to significantly reverse some of the qualitative gains of our democracy since the 1994 April democratic breakthrough. Critical amongst these setbacks is the erosion of the trust and confidence of the people in our
elected representatives. This has led to political disengagement by the people with their elected representatives which has given rise to proliferation of spontaneous violent grass roots protests.
Chairperson, whilst protest is another form of democratic engagement protected in our Constitution, we should be worried as public representatives when protests take lawlessness and violent forms which include the destruction of public infrastructure and threat to human life.
According to the study by Professor Peter Alexander of the University of Johannesburg, these protests have assumed the rebellion of the poor against poor service delivery, joblessness and hunger which has turned South Africa into the world capital of violent protests.
Water, sanitation and electricity are fundamental human rights issues which majority of our people, especially the women, the poor and the down trodden continue to be denied these rights. The poor or lack of maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure continue to turn streets in some municipalities in to running water of sewage which threatens the hygiene and health of our people, especially young children.
Amongst the common challenges faced by the municipalities across the country is the indebtedness to Eskom and water utilities for bulk supply of electricity and water. This does not only lead to disruption in the supply of these basic services but also pose existential threats to Eskom and different water utilities which play a critical role in the economy.
In the not so distant past, we have read media reports about some companies threatening to relocate from poor performing municipalities to stable and performing municipalities with huge potential for job losses.
According to section 154(1) of the Constitution:
(1) The national government and the provincial government, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions.
This brings into sharp focus, the fundamental question of the efficacy, effectiveness and impact of our oversight role as the only legislative Chamber assigned with the constitutional
mandate of promoting sound intergovernmental relations and co- operative governance.
The Provincial Week was designed to give effect to the constitutional injunction of affording the permanent delegates a structured interface with and participation in their legislatures. This is not for its own sake but as part of enabling the permanent delegates to clearly understand the challenges of their provinces in terms of implementing national policy.
In doing this, we cannot be neutral or oblivious to the glaring failures of provinces and municipalities in carrying out their functions in some instance. This do cause tensions at times where some legislatures feel the NCOP is taking their constitutional role of oversight over the provincial executive. In some instances, it becomes a source of irritation to provincial executive members who feel that they are not accountable to the NCOP. We need honest conversation about these tensions so that there a shared appreciation of the mandate of the NCOP by all the stakeholders.
Critical to this should be enhanced effort on our part in ensuring meaningful participation of provinces and Salga in
the design of our programmes. I am raising this because the Free State NCOP delegation visited one of the projects in the rural part of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality without the presence of either municipal or provincial officials as alluded to earlier. Whilst it is understandable for the province not be part of the visit due to Budget Vote debates in the legislature, the failure by Mangaung to send the officials or councillors is totally unacceptable and in violation of the Chapter 3 of the Constitution.
It has become clear that the allocation of Infrastructure grants to municipalities should be based on credible project plans and assurance of requisite capacity by the municipalities to implement the planned projects.
Where this is not the case, provinces should be proactive by providing this capacity support before funds are transferred to the municipalities. Experience teaches us that where funds are allocated without requisite capacity, that becomes a challenge. It is like throwing those funds in the sea because either project costs will be inflated or unscrupulous contractors take advantage by doing shoddy and incomplete work in pursuance of profit maximisation.
We are making this point because at the core of wastages in most municipalities is poor planning, poor project design and implementation. In fact, the Auditor-General has called for leadership or in many ways asked where has been the leadership of these municipalities in these instances. In some instances, we also have politicians and municipal officials colluding in the poor workmanship schemes as part of the broader scheme that also give rise to corruption and also lots of money falling along the wayside.
We welcome the decision of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, Hawks, to set up the special task team focussing on the municipal fraud and corruption. This has begun to yield positive results with many cases reported by the directorate to be on the court rolls for criminal prosecution across various municipalities in the country.
This and other policy intervention measures will go a long way in terms of ending the culture of impunity by corrupt municipal officials. The issue of tightening our legislation to criminalise undue involvement and influence of councillors in the procurement and human resources, municipalities cannot be overemphasised.
Central to this should be the strengthening of the internal systems and capacity of the municipalities to detect and report undue influences with full protection of the law.
For us in the ANC, as my colleagues have done, the crisis of poor governance in the municipalities is not an isolated problem of local government, but also speaks to the challenges of forging and consolidating the integrated co-operative governance. At the core of this task of the consolidating the integrated co-operative governance should be the strengthening of the capacity of the NCOP to track and follow through critical decisions that it has taken in relation to intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance, for instance, amongst the difficult questions we ought to ask ourselves in this debate is: What action plan and processes are we going to put in place to follow through the executive undertakings in relation to all the issues we are debating today?
We cannot continue as usual if we are to make impact without the capacity and internal systems to track, monitor and follow through executive undertakings about resolving the problems of our people. This only and only is the critical test of success of our performance.
This calls for a fundamental relook of our modus operandi and planning. At the core of this should be a focus on cluster of municipalities which share common cluster problems and challenges. This should be accompanied by a clear plan with measurable outcomes per year, for instance, with the engagement of the relevant sector departments, provinces and affected municipalities, a determination could be made in terms of how much is owed by metropolitan municipalities to Eskom with clear action plan bound to clear timeframes as to how much the debt will be reduced over what period.
The situation of the water and electricity crisis that beset Maluti-A-Phofung municipality is a compelling case for this targeted and outcome-based approach. This has been there for many years and continue to escalate without abating.
It is my contention in this debate that Parliament is not like in a school classroom where we chase the syllabus. Fundamental to our task is to address the problems of the people. We should remain focused with regard to dealing with these issues, not to chase numbers of meetings which at the end of the day cannot yield positive results in addressing the problems of our people.
The District Development Model will go a long way in strengthening integrated planning across the spheres of government as part of addressing some of the problems raised in this debate. I think it is a matter that we should continue workshop, particularly amongst our opposition parties. This will also enhance capacity support of the national and provincial government to municipalities. The positive impact of this model has proven to yield positive results during the early stages of its pilot in selected district municipalities. The key question for the NCOP is how we invigorate our monitoring of the model in actual arena of action and its impact on a sustained basis.
How we influence policy landscape towards a differentiated model for funding of low income and rural municipalities is amongst the critical task we must dare not fail in this term.
To conclude, allow me to propose that, as part of strengthening our work, we should perhaps consider either a quarterly or biannual review of our work. I want to welcome all the contributions that hon members have made. Also, critical questions that we must continuously answer that were raised by other members in the opposition benches, but also appreciate the contribution made by members of the ANC, in no
terms articulating that we do not exist for the next election in the ANC. ANC is not an electoral platform. ANC is an organisation of the people that must serve as an instrument at the disposal of the people. Where there are problems, we must consistently focus on dealing with those problems in mind without elections. Like the DA, everything else, they are obsessed about the upcoming elections in 2024. That’s not the focus. The focus is on resolving people’s problems. Thank you very much for the contribution by members in this great debate. Thank you, Deputy Chair. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
[TAKE IN FROM MINUTES]
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms S E Lucas): Hon
delegates, that concludes the business of the day. I wish to thank the House chairperson committees, the Chief Whip, MECs,
and all the permanent and special delegates who participated in the debate.
The Council adjourned at 17:21
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