ATC181017: Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on the 2017/18 Annual Report Plan of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV), dated 17 October 2018

Defence and Military Veterans

BUDGETATY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS ON THE 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT PLAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY VETERANS (DMV), DATED 17 OCTOBER 2018.

The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, having considered the financial and service delivery performance of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) for the 2017/18 financial year, reports as follows:

Description of core functions of the Department

The Department of Military Veterans derives its mandate from the Military Veterans Act (No 18 of 2011), which requires it to provide national policy and standards for socio-economic support to military veterans and to their dependents, including benefits and entitlements to help realise a dignified, unified, empowered and self-sufficient military veterans’ community.

1.2 Mandate of Committee

The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCODMV) is mandated to oversee the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) to ensure that the Department fulfils its mandate through the monitoring of the implementation of legislation and adherence to policies, such as the Military Veterans Act and the Military Veterans Benefits Regulations and other related legislation. It must scrutinise legislation which supports the mission statement of Government; the budget and functioning of DMV.

1.3 Purpose of the BRR Report

Section 5 (2) of the Money Bills Procedures and Related Matters Amendment Act (No. 9 of 2009) allows for each Committee to compile a budgetary review and recommendation report (BRRR) which must be tabled in the National Assembly. Section 5(3) provides for a budgetary review and recommendation report to contain the following:

an assessment of the department’s service delivery performance given available resources;
an assessment on the effectiveness and efficiency of departments use and forward allocation of available resource; and
recommendations on the forward use of resources.

The above is done in October of each year, and the BRRR is also a source document for the Standing/Select Committees on Appropriations/Finance when they make recommendations to the Houses of Parliament on the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The comprehensive review and analysis of the previous financial year’s performance, as well as performance to date, form part of this process.

1.4 Methodology in compiling the report

The Report is compiled from the various activities of the Committee. It is inclusive of the Committee’s meetings, oversight visits, reports on budget votes, strategic plans, annual performance plans and annual reports, as well as previously published Committee reports.

The PCODMV did not conduct an oversight visit to facilities of the Department of Military Veterans in 201718.

1.6 Information used to compile the Report

Besides the information on the Oversight visits, other information used in the assessment of the service delivery and financial performance included the:

The National Development Plan;
The 2017 Estimates of National Expenditure;
The 2017 State of the Nation Address;
Committee reports on the 2016/17 Budget Hearings, Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans reports;
DMV Annual Report 2017/18; and
The Auditor-General Report on the DMV.

1.7 Structure of the Report

This Report comprises the following sections:

Section 1: An Introduction which sets out the mandate of the Committee, the purpose of this report (BRRR) and the process to develop this report.

Section 2: Provides an overview of the key relevant policy focus areas.
Section 3: Provides an overview and summary of previous key financial and performance recommendations of Committee (2017/18).
Section 4: Provides a broad overview and assessment of financial performance of the Department for 2017/18.
Section 5: Overview of service delivery and performance
Section 6: Key Committee findings.
Section 7: Key recommendations.

Overview of the key relevant policy focus areas

2.1 State of the Nation Address

In the State of the Nation Addresses of 9 February 2017, the President stated that “Guided by the National Development Plan (NDP), we are building a South Africa that must be free from poverty, inequality and unemployment.” He indicated that it is for this reason that it was decided to focus on a few key areas packaged as the Nine-Point Plan to reignite growth so that the economy can create the much-needed jobs. He emphasised the challenges that the slow economic growth brings about to alleviate poverty, inequality and unemployment. The focus areas include industrialisation, mining and beneficiation, agriculture and agro-processing, energy, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), managing workplace conflict, attracting investments, growing the oceans economy and tourism

Little emphasis was placed on matters pertaining directly to the Department of Military Veterans. One issue that relates to the DMV is the furthering of Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment and Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises (SMME). This relates to a large extent to local procurement as the DMV also assist military veterans in terms of the Military Veterans Act (No. 18 of 2011) Section 5 (1) regarding (e) the facilitation of employment placement (f) facilitation of or advice on business opportunities.

The honouring of the sinking of the SS Mendi in 1917 relates to one of the key services that the DMV provides as encapsulated in Section 5 (1) (c) of the Military Veterans Act (No. 18 of 2011) namely the honouring and memorialising fallen military veterans. Reference was also made to the role of National Student Financial Assistance Scheme (NSFAS) to facilitate the funding of especially indigent students at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) colleges. Given the huge increases in bursaries paid by the DMV to beneficiaries, the Department is expected to liaise closely with NSFAS to ease the financial burden on the DMV in this regard.

2.2 National Development Plan (NDP)

The DMV stated in its Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2017/18, that it will contribute to the National Development Plan (NDP) through its various programmes for the Financial year 2017/18. The relevant chapters include the following:

Chapter 3: Economy and Employment

Through the Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme (ESM), the Department will facilitate the registration of co-operatives to benefit military veterans and their dependants. For business opportunities, a draft plan has been developed for visiting provinces to provide training for military veterans who have indicated an interest in registering co-operatives. The DTI and SEDA will provide the training with the Department funding training workshops as well as the registration of the co-operatives.

Chapter 8: Transforming Human settlement

Through the Department’s partnership with the DHS, the Department will facilitate building of almost 1 000 houses for military veterans. Furthermore, the Department has planned to refurbish houses that are in need of renovations and also support military veterans whose houses are being repossessed by the banks

Chapter 9: Improving Education, Training and innovation

The Department will also conduct Recognition to Prior Learning (RPL) interventions to facilitate credits for learning attained by military veterans and to enhance transferability of skills attained. In line with the provisions of the Act, education support will also be provided to dependants of military veterans. Thus far, the Department has provided education support to 5 482 military veterans and their dependants. The Department seeks through education support, to eradicate poverty in the military veterans’ sector, to facilitate self-reliance and contribution to nation-building by military veterans and to affirm their human dignity.

Chapter 10: Promoting Health

Since entering into agreement with the DoD (SAMHS), the Department had managed to deliver health and wellness service to 14 666 military veterans cumulatively since 2013/14 financial year. This is continuous endeavour that the Department is pursuing at all cost.

Chapter 11: Social Protection

All legislated Socio-economic Support Services for military veterans seek to ensure social protection for these

remarkable citizens of the Republic of South Africa. The various agencies and sister departments will provide technical and/ or strategic support to enable the DMV to maximise access by military veterans to benefits and recognition of their sacrifice in their contribution to the democratisation of South Africa.

Chapter 13: Building a Capable State

Currently, the Department is in the process of reviewing its organisational structure that was approved in 2010 to have a foot print in the provinces wherein military veterans and their dependants are based. This will be done through the engagement with the DPSA. Once approved it will then pave way for employing additional staff to be able to strengthen the departmental capability.

Chapter 14: Promoting Accountability and Fighting Corruption

The approved Department anti-fraud policy will assist in fighting corruption and promoting accountability. The Department will endeavour to implement the requisite disclosures and declaration of interests required by relevant legislation. The Department will ensure that all procurement processes rendered are transparent and are in line with Government legislation.

Chapter 15: Transformative society and uniting the country

The Department has a responsibility to correct the wrongs of the past, and this will inter alia be done through the provision of socio-economic and empowerment support to military veterans. The Department has to prioritise those in poverty. Military veterans from statutory forces and those from former liberation forces rendered military services without remuneration and as such, were unable therefore to plan for their retirement, hence the Department through its mandate is obliged to service them.

2.3 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014 - 2019

The MTSF provides 14 approved Outcomes with their associated performance indicators and targets for achievement. The relevant MTSF Outcomes have been integrated into the output deliverables of the Department. The relevant MTSF Outcomes for which the Department will contribute by its virtue of its legislative mandate and inherent capabilities integrated with the Executive Authority`s Priorities, are designated as follows:

Outcome 1: Improved quality basic education

The Department, in embracing the ratification of the international convention on social and cultural rights on universal access to education, ensures that this right is accrued to all military veterans and where appropriate to their dependants.

Outcome 2: A long and healthy life for all South Africans

Provision of healthcare services to the most vulnerable military veterans will continue. To strengthen easy access to healthcare, military veterans help desks were set up at the SAMHS healthcare facilities across all provinces in line with the Ministerial directive of April 2012.

Outcome 4: Decent employment through inclusive economic growth

It is imperative for the Department to promote empowerment programmes for and of military veterans and their dependants and this will be characterised by initiatives that embrace widening of access to economic participation. This will entail the utilisation of preferential procurement mechanisms within the Department and other social partners.

Outcome 5: A skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path

In developing, confirming and deepening the skills base of military veterans and their dependants during the

2017/18 financial year, the Department will undertake an exploratory study to provide a skills profile of the military veterans that will inform the country’s skills base. This will culminate in strengthening the vocational and continuing education and training of military veterans and their dependants.

Outcome 7: Vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all

The Department will enhance this Outcome by the provision of immediate Social Relief of Distress (SRD) to the most vulnerable of the military veterans and their dependants as mandated by the legislation. Although this is not a benefit listed in Section 5 of the Military Veterans Act (No 18 of 2011), this Ministerial priority was deemed worthwhile to roll out given the dire straits that many military veterans found themselves in.

Outcome 8: Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life

It is a prerogative right for the Department to provide adequate housing and improved quality living environments for the military veterans and their dependants.

Outcome 12: An efficient, effective and development-oriented public service and an empowered, fair

and inclusive citizenship

The Department will ensure a fully functional and an independent vote, systems and processes as articulated by the Executive Authority. The continuous support from well-established governance structures and institutions in providing advice to the Executive Authority on the delivery of services to military veterans will be a collective adventure.

Outcome 14: Nation building and social cohesion

The empowerment of military veterans and their dependants in enhancing their contribution to reconciliation and nation building, will be characterised by the promotion of Military Veterans’ heritage as well as memorialisation and honouring. The Department will endeavour for the establishment of the “tomb of the unknown soldier”; restoration of graves of the liberation war military veterans “in and outside the Republic”; establishment of a heroes’/heroines’ acre and furthermore set up an armed struggle memorial and/or museum.

The Department’s Strategic Goals per programme over the MTSF (2015/16 - 2019/20) period are depicted below.

Table 1: Strategic Goals per programme

PROGRAMME	STRATEGIC GOAL	STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE(S)
Programme 1: Administration	Provide Efficient, Effective and Excellent Administrative Support	*Strategic objective 1.1*: Provide strategic direction to the Department
Programme 2: Socio-Economic Support	Improved and sustainable socio-economic status of military veterans	*Strategic objective 2.1:* Ensure establishment of a secured national military veteran’s database and smooth transition of military service men/ women to civilian life. *Strategic objective 2.2*: Provide a comprehensive delivery system of benefits and services of military veterans
Programme 3: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management	Empowered and Self–sufficient military veterans.	*Strategic objective 3.1: Contribute towards reconciliation and nation building. Strategic objective 3.2: Improve the quality of life for military veterans and that of their dependants. Strategic objective 3.3*: Recognise and honour military veterans in life and memorialise them in death for their sacrifices on behalf of the nation.

2.5. Overview of DMV Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan

The DMV 2017/18 Annual Performance Plan and the Strategic Plan (2015 - 2019) give effect to the mandate of the DMV.

Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019

The Department’s Strategic Plan (2015 - 2020) outlines its Vision namely “A dignified, empowered and self-sufficient Military Veteran’s community,” while it’s Mission is “to facilitate delivery and coordinate all activities that recognise and entrench the restoration of dignity and appreciation of the contribution of Military Veterans to our freedom and nation building.” It further outlines the Service Charter that underpins the delivery of service to military veterans, which emphasises inter alia service standards, teamwork, discipline, excellence, ethics, openness and transparency. It lists the Legislative and other mandates with the primary source being the Military Veterans Act (No. 18 of 2011). The various planned policy initiatives are also recorded which are in the process of being finalised and/or approved.

The Updated Situational Analysis refers to Socio-economic development and empowerment priority outcomes of Government are of utmost importance as the Department has been tasked with the coordination of this outcome with regards to military veterans. The 2017/18 financial year will see the shift in focus for the recognition of Military Veterans and their dependants with regards to facilitation of service delivery benefits as espoused in the Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011, Section 5 (1) (a-h) wherein benefits for military veterans and their dependants are detailed.

The dignity of military veterans was entrenched in different ways which was evidenced by the provision of health services, education, Social Relief of Distress, burial support and honouring through medal parades, amongst others. The Department is assisting the poorest of the poor in the community of military veterans. The Department has Memoranda of Understanding/Agreements that set out terms and conditions for the delivery of Section 5 benefits of the Act. These memoranda and agreements were signed with key departments, including the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) on the provision of houses for military veterans, and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR).

Annual Performance Plan (APP)

The APP 2017 covers the activities in the Strategic Plan on an annual basis and also starts off with the Department’s mandate, vision, mission, legislative requirements, the executive authority’s priorities. Besides the issues listed above regarding the NDP and the MTSF (2014 – 2019) outline, the Department planned to give special attention to the following:

Corporate Governance and Accountability

Attention will be paid to making corporate governance and accountability more efficient and prudent in driving the Department’s implementation plans. This will be driven by a strong organisational performance which will focus on accountability on the efficient use of resources. The Department’s other financial deliverable for the year is to accelerate the payment of its service providers as per the prescripts of government policy.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT must become an enabler in DMV operations. For the 2017/18 financial year the Department planned to resolve its ICT issues relating to the Military Veterans Database and to develop systems to integrate it with a benefits delivery system. ICT will also play an anchor role of re-engineering the DMV call centre, which will improve the delivering of benefits to the DMV constituency.

Credible Military Veterans Database

The Department will focus on putting in place operating procedures to manage the Military Veterans database which is at the centre of all services delivered to military veterans. The Department had always been burdened by the credibility of its key enabler in delivering the benefits to military veterans. The database will also be verified during the 2017/18 financial year.

Education and Skills Development

The Department has seen a massive increase in applications for education support. Attention will be paid in

increasing skills development of military veterans. The Department is committed to improve the delivery of this benefit through partnerships with other organs of state. In 2017/18 financial year, we will be implementing the new Education Support Policy.

Supply Chain Management

The new regulations on Preferential Procurement came into effect on 01 April 2017, making military veterans part of the designated groups. This will fast-track the empowerment of military veterans in terms of business opportunities and ensure self-sufficiency.

Stakeholder Management

During the 2017/18 financial year, the focus was on improving the DMV’s relationship with military veterans’ associations and involving them as key stakeholders in consultation on the roll out of benefits.

Healthcare and well-being support

More than 15 000 military veterans currently have access to health care support. During the 2017/18 financial year the Department focused on improving the quality of the support provided to military veterans.

3. Summary of previous recommendations of the Committee

3.1. 2017 BRRR Recommendations

In 2017, the Committee made the following recommendations in its BRR Report on performance of the DMV for the 2016/17 financial year.

Internal Audit should be fully staffed as a matter of urgency. This challenge still exists.
Plans were needed to remedy the ICT challenge.
Amendment of Regulations to include Education Support is urgently required. The DMV should ensure this is done as soon as possible. This has not happened. Paradoxically, more funds were shifted to Education Support due to high demand.
Payment of invoices within 30 days should be ensured. Plans should be in place to ensure that this happened. This challenge still exists as only 76.02 percent was achieved in 2017/18.
The DMV should provide a report with regard to skills provided to military veterans to ensure that they were employable or able to start their own businesses. This has not occurred.
The Database should be cleaned as a matter of urgency to ensure that deserving military veterans and beneficiaries receive their benefits. The Database remains a challenge. Only 40 percent was achieved in 2017/18.
Provincial offices should be established in all provinces as a matter of urgency to ensure that military veterans have access to military veterans’ facilities and services. This is still an outstanding matter.
The transport benefit should be finalised as a matter of urgency to ensure that military veterans are able to travel to provincial offices, and other places to seek employment, especially those emanating from rural areas. This has not been finalised and progress is slow.
The Department was urged to ensure that all systems are in place to ensure that it is able to exist independently from the Department of Defence. The DMV is still dependent on the Department of Defence.
A Skills Audit is essential to properly plan training and the Department was requested to present a report on this at the next meeting, especially as the vacancies and skills gaps in the service delivery programmes are detracting it from functioning optimally. On 11 October 2018, the DMV reported that Skills Audit is currently underway.
Only 99 per cent of Performance Agreements were signed. The Department was urged to ensure that 100 per cent is reached. This has been achieved in 2017/18. The Committee commends the DMV for this achievement.
The Department should give feedback on efforts to improve the relationship with SITA, inter alia the instruction that ICT-related equipment should be procured through it, as well the status of their monthly meetings to improve their relationship. This challenge still exists. The DMV requested SITA to provide an official to create a database system but the progress is slow. The MPAT report and its outcomes should be provided to the PCODMV.
Updates on the cases under litigation are needed and should be reported to the PCODMV.
Competitive bids investigation updates are needed and should be reported to the PCODMV.
The Communication strategy should stretch to rural areas. This remains a challenge. Only 60 percent of the planned 75 percent was achieved in 2017/18.
The Committee informed the DMV to report at the next meeting on the cases and steps taken against persons who were found to be responsible for instances of irregular and wasteful expenditure and other serious transgressions. Progress is slow in this regard.
The Committee recommended that funds allocated to NSFAS for bursaries are utilised and properly accounted for by the DMV. Service providers for education should be expanded.
The Department was requested to report to the Committee on its new structure as soon as it has been approved by the Executive Authority.
The Committee wanted the Department to report on a quarterly basis on progress with housing and the transport benefit, in which the Department performed poorly in previous years. These challenges remain. Poor performance was recorded for 2017/18.
The Department was encouraged to improve the performance of the Strategic Planning, Policy Development and Monitoring and Evaluation sub-programme through proper and speedy staffing as well as Management playing a bigger role to take responsibility for their respective policies.
The Committee recommended that the Department should report back on the outstanding issues at the next meeting and especially progress regarding the recurring issues to allow the Committee to track progress in this regard.

3.1.2 Response by Department and Minister of Finance:

The Minister of Finance’s response dated 09 March May 2018 to the 2017 BRRR recommendations, did not refer to the recommendations made on the Department of Military Veterans.

3.2. Committee 2017/18 Budget Report

The Portfolio Committee made the following recommendations regarding the 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan and 2018/19 Budget allocation to the DMV:

Although acknowledging the improved spending in the Fourth Quarter, the Committee recommends that the Department should further enhance its spending patterns in especially the service delivery programmes not only to avoid requests for roll overs, but also to proof its ability to spend funds effectively and efficiently.
While the Housing policy is at last being finalised, the Committee recommends the speedy finalisation of all policies to enhance the delivery of benefits especially those related to the pension and public transport benefits.
The Committee acknowledge the progress being made with finalising the new Macro-structure of the Department, but recommends that the Department should enhance its efforts in order to speed up the delivery of benefits and the appointment of personnel in especially critical managerial posts.
The Committee recommends that the Department should prioritise its efforts to have an independent vote and systems, as this will assist in the effective and efficient delivery of benefits.
The Department should set more realistic targets especially if it did not meet those targets in the past. A case in point is the “Percentage of Communication Strategy activities” target which was increased from 75% to 100% although the Department failed to meet the previous target.
The Committee recommends that the Department should prioritise the weaknesses identified in the MPAT processes in order to improve its performance on this management tool.

The Committee wants the Department to provide both the percentages and the actual numbers when reporting on the achievement of their targets in order to give the Committee a clear understanding of the kind of impact and the number of people that have been assisted. This should be implemented in future quarterly reports to the Committee as well as annual reports, including the 2017/18 Annual Report to be submitted to Parliament in 2018.

The Committee recommends that the Department should ensure that overspending on Education support does not come at the expense of benefits such as Housing and Skills Development. It should prioritise the revised maximum limits for basic and higher education and implement these as determined, as well as enhancing its collaboration with NSFAS to award bursaries to qualifying military veterans and their beneficiaries.

The Committee recommends that the DMV should focus in particular on the performance of the Administration Programme and the Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme in order to ensure that its overall performance is improved.
The Committee recommends that the poor performance in the Stakeholder Management Programme such as state organs having agreements with the DMV, number of beneficiaries for skills development, and memorial sites erected, should be targeted for enhanced focus.
The Department should fill the vacancies in the Internal Audit section as soon as possible and ensure that this section is supported with the necessary resources without delay.
The Department should prioritise the completion of the Skills Audit and a report to this effect should be presented to the Committee as soon as it is completed.
The DMV should submit a report to the Committee, within 30 days, on the reasons for the expected expenditure increases in 2018/19 in relation to the following:

R4.973 million is allocated for Catering;
Communications allocation increases from R4.816 million in 2017/18 to R10.543
million in 2018/19;
The allocation for Infrastructure and Planning increases from R561 000 in 2017/18 to
R14.779 million in 2018/19;
Legal Services increase from R1.647 million in 2017/18 to R4.388 million in 2018/19;
The allocation of Contractors increase drastically from R35.290 million in 2017/18 to
R58.544 million in 2018/19;
R105 000 is budgeted for entertainment for 2018/19;
The allocation for Consumable Supplies increases from R3.606 million in 2017/18 to
R5.889 million in 2018/19; and
The allocation for Venues and Facilities increases from R8.848 million in 2017/18 to
R10.209 million in 2018/19.

The Committee recommends the prioritisation of the finalisation of the upgrading of the Department’s ICT systems in an effort to enhance the database finalisation.

4. OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

The allocation for Vote 19 for the Department of Military Veterans in the Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) for 2017/18 financial year, was R622.1 million. The overall DMV spent R601.5 million which constituted 96.7% of the total allocation of R622.1 million with an underspending of R20.6 million or 3.3% of the total budget, as depicted in below.

Table 2: Overview of Budget Allocation and Expenditure for 2017/18

Programme R’000	Adjusted Appropriation	Shifts	Final Appropriation	Actual Expenditure	Variance	Percentage Spent	FY2016/17 Percentage spent
*Administration*	149 818	(1 176)	148 642	140 520	8 122	94.5%	99.2%
*Socio-Economic Support*	307 381	50 121	357 502	356 437	1 065	99.7%	77.7%
*Empowerment and Stakeholder Management*	164 912	(48 945)	115 967	104 543	11 424	90.1%	82.7%
Total	622 111	-	622 111	601 500	20 611	96.7%	84.5%

The Table outlines the improvement in spending by the Department, especially as it relates to (1) the previous year – an improvement of at least 11%, and (2) spending on service delivery programmes namely the Socio-Economic Support and Empowerment & Stakeholder Management Programmes.The Department should be commended for this improvement and encouraged to enhance such spending patterns further. However, improvements in planning are required to avoid the need for large shifts and virements in the future.In terms of programme expenditure, all programmes recorded underspending with the highest being Empowerment and Stakeholder Management at 9.9 percent, Administration at 5.5 percent and Socio-Economic Support at 0.3 percent. This underspending should be understood against the background that R132 million was shifted from under-performing programmes towards education support in order to cover the huge increase in demand for this benefit by military veterans and their dependants. This is quite significant compared to the initial allocation of about R26 million.

Shifting of funds

Shifts of funds took place from Programme 1 (R1.1 million) and Programme 3 (R48.9 million), which indicate that the underspending in these programmes might have been more had it not been for these shifts.

Programme 1: Administration

It is noted that more than R6.7 million has been shifted from the sub-programme Strategic Planning, policy development and Monitoring and Evaluation in Programme 1.As this is a crucial function to plan strategically; develop policies; and to monitor and evaluate the activities of the Department, the underspending in the sub-programme is noted with concern. The Annual Report for instance noted that a “fully integrated military veterans’ benefit management” could not be achieved, partly due to a lack of MOU’s and policies.A similar finding was made by the AGSA when he stated that “Policies and procedures relating to core benefits paid by the department were not documented and approved for implementation.” It is however the shifting of more than R10 million from the sub-programme Office Accommodation in Programme 1 that is worrying.

Programme 2: Socio- Economic Support

R5.4 million has been shifted from the sub-programme Database and Benefits Management and given the recurring challenges with the Database and its management the Committee will interrogate this further. R9.7 million has been shifted from the sub-programme Health Care and Wellness support. Since there is an increasing demand for this benefit from especially ageing military veterans, it would be important to determine the reasons for this shift and whether it impacted on the ability of the DMV to deliver healthcare services to veterans in need.

Programme 3: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management

Shifts in Programme 3 include R11.3 million from the sub-programme Provincial Offices and Stakeholder Relations. Since only four provincial offices are operational, this seems to work against the objective to have offices established in all provinces. Reasons are needed for this shift, and progress regarding Provincial Offices. The Committee will also interrogate the reasons for the shift of R46.052 million from the sub-programme Empowerment and Skills Development, especially against the background of the importance of this benefit to skill military veterans and make them less reliant on the Department.

Unauthorised expenditure: The Department did not incur unauthorised expenditure during the year under review. The Department should be commended for this achievement.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure and the amounts: An amount of R3 million was incurred as fruitless and wasteful expenditure which mainly related to payment for SITA expenses.

Irregular expenditure: A total amount of R21.3 million was incurred as irregular expenditure. Of the R21.3 million, R15.6 million related to contract management that was carried over from previous years and only R5.7 million related to the year under review. The Department is working on rectifying these contracts. The Department later lists the various cases of irregular expenditure and also the disciplinary steps or criminal proceedings taken.

Contingent liabilities: An amount of R273 million is listed as Contingent Liabilities, with R205 million carried over from the previous financial year. These include Fetola Mogopolo Construction and Interior Design (R4 million), B & M Catering Services (R2.07 million), and Zeal Health (R198.15 million). Zwito Cleaning R1.341 million) and Bakoena (R413 000) have been paid/cancelled/reduced during the year, while an amount of R878 000 has been incurred during the FY2017/18.

The AGSA expressed its concern in this regard as the Department is the defendant in contract cancellation lawsuits. “The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot presently be determined and no provision for any liability that may result has been made in the financial statements.”

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) audited the financial statements of the Department for the FY2017/18, and the DMV received an unqualified audit outcome for 2017/18. This is the second consecutive unqualified audit outcome and the Department should be congratulated.

The following Emphasis of Matters were identified:

Material uncertainty relating to the future outcome of exceptional litigation. As indicated above the AGSA has concerns regarding these lawsuits and the impact thereof, should the litigants be successful.

Accruals and payables not recognised. Payables, which exceed the Payment term of 30 days amounted to R125.124 million. This amount, in turn, exceeds the voted funds to be surrendered of R20.611 million as per the statement of financial performance by R104.513 million. Therefore, the amount of R104.513 million would have constituted unauthorised expenditure had the amounts due been paid in a timely manner.

Other matter includes the following:

Unaudited supplementary schedules: The AGSA report indicates that he did not audit these schedules and accordingly, do not express an opinion thereon. These are similar to previous financial years, except that this year it appears as Other Matter and not as Emphasis of Matters.

Report on the audit of the annual performance report

The AGSA evaluated the usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information in accordance with the criteria developed from the performance management and reporting framework, for the following selected programmes presented in the annual performance report for the year ended 31 March 2018:

Programme 2: Socio-Economic Support.

Various indicators: The reported achievement in the annual performance report did not agree to the supporting evidence provided for the indicators listed below. The supporting evidence provided indicated that the achievements of these indicators were as follows:

Table 3: Selected Socio-Economic Support Indicators.

Indicator description	Performance target	Reported achievement	Audited value
Number of military veterans with access to healthcare services	1 000	933	1 073
Number of bursaries provided for military veterans and their dependants per year	8 700	7 702	10 398

Programme 3: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management.

Various indicators: The reported achievement in the annual performance report contradicted the supporting evidence provided for the indicators listed below. The supporting evidence provided indicated that the achievements of these indicators were as follows:

Table 4: Selected Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Indicators.

Indicator description	Performance target	Reported achievement	Audited value
Number of military veterans and their dependants provided with approved funding for skills development programmes	4 000	952	1 269
Number of military veterans’ businesses provided with access to empowerment opportunities	110	154	208

The AGSA states that he identified material misstatements in the annual performance report submitted for auditing. “These material misstatements were on the reported performance information of socio-economic support and empowerment and stakeholder management programmes. As management subsequently corrected only some of the misstatements, I raised material findings on the usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information. Those that were not corrected are reported above.”

Compliance with legislation:

Expenditure management:

Effective steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure amounting to R21.275 million. Irregular expenditure amounting to R15,6 million relates to contracts entered into in the previous financial years.

Effective steps were not taken to prevent fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R3.060 million as the majority of fruitless and wasteful expenditure relates to a payment relating to the database management system where no services were rendered to the department.

Contractual obligations and or money owed by the Department were not settled within 30 days, as required by section 38(1) (f) of the PFMA and Treasury Regulation 8.2.3.

Strategic planning and performance management:

Specific information systems were not established to enable the monitoring of progress made towards achieving targets, core objectives and service delivery as required. The AGSA was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that quarterly reports were submitted to the executive authority. This was due to lack of proper record management system.

Procurement and contract management:

Goods and services of a transaction value above R500 000 were procured without inviting competitive bids, as required. This instance of non-compliance was identified in the procurement process of one service provider which was engaged as part of external support to the department’s stakeholders.

Consequence management:

The AGSA was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that disciplinary steps were taken against officials who had incurred irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure as required. This was due to significant delays in the performance of investigations relating to these matters, there was no movement in the investigations over more than 12 months.

Internal control deficiencies

The AGSA states that the matters reported below are limited to the significant internal control deficiencies that resulted in the basis for the findings on the performance report and the findings on compliance with legislation included in this report:

Leadership:

The accounting officer did not exercise effective leadership and oversight responsibility regarding financial and performance reporting, compliance and related internal controls. Policies and procedures relating to core benefits paid by the DMV were not documented and approved for implementation. Action plans to address prior year audit matters were not documented and monitored, resulting in recurring audit findings.

Financial and performance management:

Management did not implement effective controls to ensure that information contained in the performance report were reliable before submission for auditing. This was mainly due to inadequate reviews and lack of proper record management systems. Management did not review and monitor compliance with legislation resulting in non-compliance findings being reported.

5. OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE

The three programmes of the DMV had a total of 18 set targets of which 4 were achieved leading to a success rate of 22.22 percent as indicated below. If, however, the A-G’s findings are accepted regarding the performance of Programme 2 and 3 (as indicated above on page 8, paragraph 3.3 and as indicted on page 79 of the Annual Report), the Department’s performance improves 33.33 percent as listed in the third column.

Table 5: Departmental Performance

	Department	Auditor-General
Total targets set	18	18
Targets achieved	4/18	6/18
Targets not achieved	14/18	12/18
Success rate	22.22%	33.33%
Total Budget Spent (%)	96.7%

5.1 Administration Programme

Total targets set: 9 (12 targets in 2016/17)

Targets achieved: 2/9 (8/12 targets in 2016/17)

Targets not achieved: 7/9 (4/12 targets in 2016/17)

Success rate: 22.22 (66.7% in 2016/17)

Total Budget Spent (%): 94.5% (99.2% in 2016/17)

As shown above, Administration had a total of 9 (12 in FY20161/7) targets of which 2 have been achieved leading to a success rate of 22.22 (66.7 percent in FY2016/17). The targets are indicated below.

Table 6: Selected Performance Indicators for Programme 1: Administration

Performance Indicator	Planned Target	Actual Achievement	Comment
Percentage of representation of women SMS level	50%	48%	Affected by resignation of a woman on SMS level
Percentage of targets achieved against those planned in the APP	100%	28%	Unavailability of APP operational plan
Percentage of targets achieved against those on approved MPAT Improvement Plan	100%	15%	The Improvement Plan was not monitored accordingly
Percentage of Communication Strategy activities implemented	75%	60%	Resource limitations
Percentage of cases from Presidential hotline resolved	100%	90%	Unavailability of Public Liaison Officer to handle pending cases
Fully integrated military veterans’ benefits management	Solution construction and implementation	The user requirements and application service specifications were developed	Delays in appointment of Systems developers Delays in the finalisation of the workflow frameworks Lack of Memorandum of Understanding and Policies
Percentage of legitimate invoices paid within 30 days of receipt	90%	76.02 %	Mainly related to historical debts for travel, cell phones and computer services invoices
Number of liberation struggle history research outputs	2%	2%	N/A
Percentage representation of persons with disability	2%	2%	N/A

The following Performance indicators have been removed: (1) Percentage of staff attended training initiatives, (2) Percentage of signed Performance Agreement submitted to HRM, and (3) Percentage staffing of vacant funded posts. Six new indicators were included namely (1) the representation of women in SMS, (2) APP targets, (3) MPAT Improvement Plan, (4) Fully Integrated veterans’ benefit management, (5) Struggle history research output, and (6) Persons with disabilities. Of the new indicators, only the last two have been achieved.

In terms of budget, this programme has spent R140. 5 million of the allocated R148.6 million. This means Programme 1 recorded an underspending of R8.12 million or 5.5 percent of the total allocated budget. No overspending was recorded for this Programme. Underspending was recorded for all 6 sub-programmes with the worst being sub-programme Office Accommodation (67.9 percent), followed by Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation with 84 percent and Internal Audit with 92.86 percent.

Table 7: Expenditure for Administration Programme

Sub programme R’000	Final Appropriation	Actual Expenditure	Variance	Percentage Spent	Comment
Management	10 929	10 851	78	99.28%	Slight underspending
Corporate Services	81 405	81 370	35	99.9%	Best spending
Financial Administration	19 300	18 894	406	97.89%	Underspending
Internal Audit	10 786	10 016	770	92.86%	Underspending
Strategic Planning, Policy Development, Monitoring and Evaluation	9 835	8 262	1 573	84%	Underspending
Office Accommodation	16 387	11 127	5 260	67.90%	Poor spending
Total	148 642	140 520	8 122	94.5%	Underspent by 5.5%

5.2 Socio-Economic Support Programme

Table 8: Socio-Economic Support Programme Performance

	Department	Auditor-General
Total targets set	4	4
Targets achieved	1/4	2/4
Targets not achieved	3/4	2/4
Success rate	25%	50%
Total Budget Spent (%)	99.7%

As shown above, Socio-Economic Support had a total of 4 targets (5 in FY 2016/17) of which 1 has been achieved leading to a success rate of 25 percent (60% in FY2016/71). Given the poor performance of 25%, against a spending of 99.7%, serious attention should be paid to improve on reaching the set targets. The AGSA on the other hand, found that the Department has met the target of access to health care services, which means that 50% of the targets have been met (as indicted above and on page 79 of the Annual Report). Targets are listed below.

Table 9: Selected Performance Indicators for Programme 2: Socio-Economic Support

Performance Indicator	Planned Target	Actual Achievement	Comment
Total number of military veterans with access to health care services	1 000 (15 000)	993 (16 673)/ 1 073	This is due to high demand on the health care services
Number of deserving military veterans with decent housing per year	1 000	270	Administrative challenges on contractual issues with developers and lack of land to build houses for military veterans
Percentage of military veterans who are verified and captured on the National Military Veterans’ Database	90%	40%	Delays in filling in the strategic positions in the directorate
Number of bursaries provided for military veterans and their dependants per year	8 700	7 702 /10 398	Not all applications received met the qualifying criteria.

The “Percentage of military veterans who are verified and captured on the National Military Veterans’ Database” is indicated as a new indicator that has replaced the “Average days taken to register and update personal records of Military Veterans on the National Military Veterans database” indicator. However, this indicator was used in 2014/15 as “Verification of bona fide military veterans to be captured in the national military database”, of which 98 percent was indicated as an achievement.

In terms of budget, this programme has spent R356.4 million of the allocated R357.5. million. This means that Programme 2 recorded an underspending of R1.065 million or 0.3 percent of the total allocated budget for the programme. It is concerning that only one target (2 according to the AGSA) has been achieved while 99.77 percent of the budget was spent. In terms of sub-programmes, underspending was recorded for three sub-programmes, while an overspending was noted in the Healthcare and Well-being Support sub-programme. The close to 100% spending on this programme is welcomed given its centrality to the well-being of military veterans.

Table 10: Expenditure for Socio-Economic Support Programme

Sub programme R’000	Final Appropriation	Actual Expenditure	Variance	Percentage Spent	Comment
Database and Benefits Management	5 549	5 544	5	99.9%	Underspent
Healthcare and Well-being Support	66 932	66 949	(17)	100.02%	Overspent
Socio-Economic Support Services	285 021	283 944	1 077	99.62%	Underspent
Total	357 502	356 437	1 065	99.7%	Underspent (0.3%)

5.3 Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme

Table 11: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme Performance

	Department	Auditor-General	The A-G found that the reported achievement on skills development was misstated with 317, and that of empowerment opportunities with 54, thus not altering the targets achieved.
Total targets set	5	5
Targets achieved	1/5	1/5
Targets not achieved	4/5	4/5
Success rate	20%	20%
Total Budget Spent (%)	90.1%

The Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme had a total of 5 targets of which only 1 has been achieved leading to a very poor success rate of 20 percent. In contrast, this programme spent 90.1 percent of its allocated budget, while 80 percent of its targets were underachieved. The underachieved targets are below.

Table 12: Selected Performance Indicators for Programme 3: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management

Performance Indicator	Planned Target	Actual Achievement	Comment
Number of private sector companies and organs of state in partnership with the Department of Military veterans per year	4	0	Internal processes on the development of MOU’s were not finalised on time
Number of deserving Military Veterans to access relevant training and skills development per year	4 000	952 (1 269 AGSA)	The process of revising the Skills Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) took a longer period than expected.
Number of military veterans’ businesses provided with access to empowerment opportunities	110	154 (208 AGSA)	This is due to high demand on the business empowerment benefit
Percentage of approval burial claims paid within 30 days of receipt	100%	64%	Lack of operational capacity to respond to service request
Number of military veterans’ memorial sites erected per year	2	0	Lack of human capacity within the directorate

A new indicator “Percentage of approval burial claims paid within 30 days of receipt” has been added and the “Number of agreements established at continental and international levels per year” has been removed.

In terms of budget, this programme spent R104.5 million of the allocated R115.9 million. This means that the Programme recorded an underspending of R11.4 million or 9.9 percent of their allocated budget.

Table 13: Expenditure for Empowerment and Stakeholder Management Programme

Sub programme R’000	Final Appropriation	Actual Expenditure	Variance	Percentage Spent	Comment
Provincial offices and stakeholder relations	37 694	34 317	3 377	91.04%	Underspent
Empowerment and Skills development	47 974	42 331	5 643	88.24%	Underspent
Heritage, memorials, Burials and Honours	30 299	27 895	2 404	92.06%	Underspent
Total	115 967	104 543	11 424	90.1%	Underspent

6. GOVERNANCE

6.1 Effectiveness of Internal Control

The Audit Committee Report noted that the system of internal control improved during the year under review. In particular, they noted the strides made by the Department with the asset register, as well as some improvement in leadership and appointment of key personnel. However, a lot more still needs to be done to stabilise the control environment at DMV. There were instances of non-compliance and internal control deficiencies, such as the following:

There were discrepancies with regards the implementation of the prescribed framework for managing programme performance information for selected programmes;
Lack of sufficient documented and approved internal policies and procedures;
Irregular expenditure, fruitless and wasteful expenditure;
Lack of Consequence management;
Continuous delays to adequately resource the internal audit function; and
Control weaknesses within the ICT environment.

6.2 Internal Audit

The Audit Committee reviewed and approved the annual internal audit plan for 2017/18 financial year and monitored performance of Internal Audit against the plan on a quarterly basis. The Audit Committee is of the view that the internal audit function has not discharged its mandate, as the approved plan was not implemented. Consequently, the Committee could not receive adequate independent and objective assurance from Internal Audit on controls, governance and risk management, primarily because it was not fully resourced. The Audit Committee urgently request the Department to fast track the resourcing of Internal Audit during the 2018/19 financial year. The challenges with Internal Audit have been occurring for several years. More need to be done to address this challenge.

6.2 In-Year Management and Monthly/ Quarterly Report

The Audit Committee noted that the Department has submitted monthly and quarterly management/financial reports to National Treasury as per the PFMA requirements. While they noted some improvement in the content and quality of these reports, greater improvement of performance reports is required in relation to the objectives to strictly adhere to the SMART principle. This is a recurring challenge that needs to be addressed to assist the Department with continuous compliance audit services throughout the year.

7. HUMAN RESOURCES

7.1 Overview and vacancies

The approved DMV staff establishment has 169 posts, of which 127 are currently filled and 42 vacant. This translates to a vacancy rate of 25 percent. Due to operational imperatives, the Department created an additional 73 posts which were filled on contract basis. However, 235 has been indicated as the total number of employees, which include those seconded from the Department of Defence.

The vacancy rate for Programme 1: Administration was at 23 percent for the year under review. The programme comprise of 103 permanent posts on the approved structure, 79 filled, due to lack of operational posts on the Departmental structure, which creates service delivery challenges. The Department continued with the mechanism to appoint contract workers to alleviate service delivery challenges. 41 Employees additional to the establishment have been allocated to this programme.

The vacancy rate for Programme 2: Socio-Economic Support was at 20 percent for the year under review. The programme comprise of 20 permanent posts on the approved structure, 16 filled, it must be noted that one of the most critical post of the Deputy Director-General was vacated during 2016/17 financial year, and the post was advertised however it is still vacant. For the Programme to fulfil its responsibilities of rolling-out its seven benefits for military veterans, the Department opted to appoint contract workers. 25 Employees additional to the establishment have been allocated to this programme.

The vacancy rate for Programme 3: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management was at 30 percent for the year under review. The programme comprise of 46 permanent posts on the approved structure, and 32 filled. Previously it was reported that the Programme couldn’t fill all provincial posts due to the undergoing process of procuring provincial offices. However, at the moment, the Department has procured offices for four provinces, and vacant posts for those provinces were recently advertised. 7 Employees additional to the establishment have been allocated to this programme.

The Department received approval from National Treasury to lift the cost of employment ceiling by R4 million to avoid over-expenditure that would have been incurred which emanated from the need to employ contract workers additional to the approved staff establishment. The employment of those contract workers had to be undertaken in order to enhance service delivery. Regardless of the additional personnel, the Department still failed to achieve most of its targets.

7.2 Skills Audit

Due to the Department experiencing challenges in attracting and retaining critical and scarce skills, a programme for the implementation for Skills Audit is in place and will be conducted during the 2018/19 financial year. Despite capacity challenges, the Department has successfully implemented the training interventions and were able to identify the implementation of the Skills Audit. Employees attended courses on Customer Care Services for Frontline Staff with National School of Government (NSG). It must be noted that the issue of Skills Audit is not new. In fact, the Committee requested a report from the Department in this regard. This was also one of the recommendations on the 2017 BRRR. The briefing was only provided on 11 October 2018.

7.3 Misconduct, Disciplinary hearings and Grievances

In terms of misconduct and disciplinary hearings, a total of 4 cases were recorded and were addressed by written warning (2), dismissal (1) and case withdrawn (1). Twenty grievances are recorded for the year under review, with 12 having been resolved and 8 not resolved.

8. COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS: DePARTMENT OF military VETERANS

The Portfolio Committee made the following Observations regarding the 2017/18 Annual Report of the DMV:

The Committee enquired around the internal control weaknesses that the DMV has identified and how the plan to address these.
The fact that the DMV has achieved only 27.7 percent of its annual targets for 2017/18 against a spending of 96 percent, raised the question whether the Department has received “value for money.” The Committee is of the opinion that this is mainly due to a lack of capacity in the Department.
The lack of progress with the new structure of the Department was noted and the Committee requested a progress report in this regard,
The Committee enquired about the main challenges around middle level management at the DMV given that this level is crucial for directing the implementation of Departmental strategies and plans.
One of the main concerns of the Committee is the shift of around R132 million from under-performing programmes towards education support in order to cover the huge increase in demand for this benefit. The Committee noted that this is not sustainable and should be addressed as soon as possible.
A breakdown of the various educational institutions to which the education funding goes was requested as well as the success rate of funded students and the policy detailing what should happen when a student who failed, applies again for a bursary.
The Committee enquired about progress made with the Database given that only 40 percent of the database was verified and captured against a target of 90 percent. Given that the Database is central to all benefits the Committee expressed its disappointment around the slow progress being made with the Database.
The lack of any substantive progress with access to subsidised public transport since the establishment of the Department, was again raised by the Committee, given its importance to transport military veterans to DMV facilities, especially for those residing in rural areas.
The Committee noted that while it supports the R52 million spent on SRD for 2 832 military veterans and their dependants, a policy and a budget are expected in this regard.
The fact that only 270 out of 1 000 houses were delivered in the year under review, and that the slow progress with the delivery of houses has become a recurring issue, was highlighted by the Committee as one of the main failures of the Department. It also noted that no houses were delivered in KwaZulu-Natal, North-West and the Free State. The lacklustre cooperation of the other spheres of government should be addressed in terms of Section 6 of the Military Veterans Act (No. 18 of 2011) which direct the other spheres to cooperate with the DMV and be audited in the process, as well as within the spirit of the Intergovernmental Framework.
It was noted with concern that for the umpteenth time, the Internal Audit function was not operating effectively and thus not ensuring that internal control measures were in place and adhered to, mainly because it lacks the necessary staff to execute this important internal control function.
The Committee noted with concern the slow to no progress with investigations into officials who had incurred irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure as required, and wanted a progress report in this regard.
The continued failure to adhere to the 30 days to pay invoices was again strongly raised by the Committee, given the disastrous effect it may have especially on SMME’s. The Committee requested a report on this issue.
The Committee express its concern that more than R42 million has been spent on 933 military veterans for Skills Development, but that there is no indication of the kind of skills, and the through-put of this intervention.
It was indicated to the Department that it is virtually stagnating and showing little progress to effectively deliver benefits to military veterans and their dependants. The Committee wanted to know whether it has a “blue print” to address these issue given that it seems that little has come from the much-vaunted Turnaround Strategic Initiative (TSI). The Committee requested to be furnished with a progress report on the implementation of the TSI recommendations.
The Committee noted the challenges with asset management especially as it relates to the Supply Chain Management environment due to inter alia a lack of capacity.
As with the previous BRRR, the huge amount for Contingent Liabilities was noted with concern. An amount of R273 million is listed as Contingent Liabilities, with R205 million having been carried over from the previous financial year. The Committee wanted a progress report on the Contingent Liabilities.

9. COMMITTEE Recommendations

The Portfolio Committee, after considering the 2017/18 Annual Report of the DMV, makes the following recommendations:

The Committee recommended that the DMV should prepare to brief the Committee on its mitigation plans for the identified internal weaknesses, as well as those identified in its SWOT analysis.

c. The Department informed the Committee that it is engaging the Department of Public Service and Administration as well as updating and soliciting the assistance and support of the Minister regarding the new structure. It was recommended that the Committee be kept abreast of developments in this regard and that the Department can approach the Committee if it needs further assistance from its side.

d. The Committee noted that one of the main problems resort around middle level management where employees fail to set a proper example for their subordinates as well as failing to implement Consequence Management. The Department indicated that it is ensuring that Consequence Management is being implementing, that middle managers are taken to task, which encouraged the Committee that this problem is being addressed. The Committee recommends that regular feedback on progress be given in this regard.

e. The Department responded to the huge shifts in education by referring to this benefit as one where actual “value for money” can be derived from if military veterans and their dependants can be educated and made less reliant in the Department. The Committee recommended that the Department should seriously engage with this benefit to ensure that other benefits are not compromised and that the DMV should ensure that such shifts to “long term” benefits, are in line with National Treasury regulations.

f. The Department did not have a list of the educational institutions at hand and were requested to provide the Committee with it as soon as possible. Regarding the success rate, the Department admitted that they are not following up on this issue as well as to what happens if “failed” students apply for bursaries again. The Committee recommended that the Department should, as a matter of urgency, track students and especially whether those that failed, apply again for bursaries. It should also determine whether those that have qualified has subsequently been employed and became independent from the Department.

The Department agreed that the Database is the “centre of gravity” to ensure that “real” military veterans and their dependants receive the benefits and that it should be able to get people who are not entitled to the benefits, out of the system. It is working with the Department of Home Affairs with issues such as birth certificates. The Committee recommends that the Department enhance its efforts to address the challenges besetting the Database and to further improve its cooperation with the DHA and other law enforcement agencies to clean up the Database. The Database challenges are recurring.

h. It was indicated that no real progress has been made with the public transport benefit, except that the Department has engaged the Department of Transport on how to approach it and that it was engaging municipalities regarding transport subsidies. The Committee recommends that the Department should enhance its efforts in this regard and give feedback to the Committee on this benefit on a regular basis.

i. The Department explained the rationale for the SRD, but stated that once people received it, it becomes a sort of entitlement on which people become dependent which makes it difficult to manage. The DMV has social workers to assist with assessments and has also engaged the Department of Social Development to assist its members. The Committee recommends that the Department should set a budget aside for this assistance and that it should communicate – with the assistance of SANMVA and related organisations - the intentions and operation of the SRD to assist to prevent misunderstandings.

Intergovernmental Relations Framework.

k. The Department noted that there were only two people in the Internal Audit function and that the director post is vacant but that it is planning to address this as soon as possible. The Committee recommends that the Department should prioritise the filling of these posts and give feedback to the Committee on developments in this regard on a regular basis.

l. It was indicated that the investigations into officials who had incurred irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure are ongoing. The Committee request the Department to present the report to it the next time it appears.

m. The Department responded to the delay in paying invoices within 30 days by referring – again – to the historical debt mainly related to travel, cell phones and computer services invoices, as well as indicating that the situation should now improve. The non-compliance relates mostly to the volumes of invoices that are mostly travel-related and concerns other parties such as military veterans and SANMVA. In addition, it does not have an automated system but it is busy fast tracking the LOGIS system to track invoices electronically as well as being able to link with the BAS system which can run exception reports. Given this positive news, the Committee recommended that the Department should on a regular basis inform the Committee on developments in this regard.

n. The Committee impressed on the Department that Skills Development interventions should be aimed at making military veterans less dependent on the Department or that they should become part of the duly employed in the country. The Committee recommended, similarly to the education support, that the Department should track those who have been skilled to ensure that they utilise the skills acquired to become less dependent on the Department and that the related policies should be aligned to require this.

o. The Department indicated that various efforts are being implemented to address the dire situation, such as monthly meetings with the Minister and regular meetings with the Deputy Minister, the filling of vacancies, and the conduct and implementation of the recommendations from the Skills Audit, and especially addressing the structural issues of the Department. The Department further indicated that progress has been made with the implementation of some of the TSI recommendations and these include 1) the establishment of the Bid Committees, 2) the issuing of financial and procurement delegations, 3) that a SCM policy is in place, 4) that the process to migrate the Call Centre, has been completed, 4) some of the critical posts have been filled, and 5) the Skills Audit process is on track. The Committee recommended that the DMV should provide it with regular progress reports on the implementation of the TSI recommendations.

q. The Department has provided the Committee with a list of the Contingent Liabilities as at 15 October 2018, and the Committee recommended that at the next meeting, it presents it with the latest information in this regard.

Report to be considered.

Documents

No related documents

ATC181017: Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on the 2017/18 Annual Report Plan of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV), dated 17 October 2018

Defence and Military Veterans

Documents

What's wrong with this page?