ATC220607: Report of the Select Committee on Health and Social Services on the Annual Performance Plan (Budget Vote 20) of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities for Financial Year 2022/23, Dated 07 June 2022

NCOP Health and Social Services

Report of the Select Committee on Health and Social Services on the Annual Performance Plan (Budget Vote 20) of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities for Financial Year 2022/23, Dated 07 June 2022

The Select Committee on Health and Social Services, having considered the Annual Performance Plan (APP) and Budget of the Department in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities for 2022/23 on the 24 May 2022, reports as follows:

INTRODUCTION

The Select Committee on Health and Social Services, in performing its constitutional oversight mandate, engaged with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (hereafter referred to as the Department).

MANDATE AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department was reestablished and announced in the 26 June 2019 Gazette following the Presidential Announcement of the sixth administration. At that stage, the Department was reconfigured and was charged with “taking the lead on socio-economic transformation and implementation of the empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities through mainstreaming, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation.”[1] Subsequently, the mandate was changed to, “regulate the socio-economic transformation and implementation of the empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities”[2].

The Department envisions seeing “rights of women, youth and persons with disabilities realised”[3].

The mission of the Department is to regulate the rights of women, youth and persons with disabilities[4].

ANALYSIS OF BUDGET FOR THE DEPARTMENT

The Department’s APP is aligned to the following policy priorities of the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-2024[5]:

A gender, youth and disability responsive public service.
Transformed, representative and inclusive economy that prioritises women, youth and persons with disabilities.
All women, girls, youth and persons with disabilities enjoy good quality health care and better life opportunities.
Human dignity for persons with severe disabilities, women and girls’ achieved through freedom of choice and decent living conditions.
Transform ownership and management patterns by supporting women-owned and led enterprises.
All women, girls, youth and persons with disabilities are and feel safe and enjoy freedom and a better life.
A better Africa and world for all women, girls, youth and persons with disabilities.

The Estimates of National Expenditure (2022) states that the Department will continue to focus on the following over the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) period[6]:

Strengthening the coordination of the national response to gender‐based violence (GBV);
Promoting more responsive planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation in government;
Protecting the rights of people with disabilities; and
Supporting the participation of young people in the mainstream economy.

As such, the Department’s budget structure was amended from five to four programmes, to align better with the department’s mandate.

According to the National Treasury 2022 Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE), the Department under Vote 20 received an annual appropriation of R987.3 million. However, it must be noted that the Department facilitates transfer payments to two entities, namely the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). During the 2022/23 financial year, the Department is expected to transfer R100.7 million to the CGE and R681.5 million to the NYDA. This amounts to R782.2 million as reflected in Table 1. This means that the Department would be left with an actual operating budget of approximately R205.1 million to undertake its programmes and meet its targets for 2022/23.

Table 1: Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Budget Summary[7]

PROGRAMMES	2022/23				2023/24	2024/25
PROGRAMMES	TOTAL	CURRENT PAYMENTS	TRANSFERS SUBSIDIES	PAYMENT FOR CAPITAL ASSETS	TOTAL	TOTAL
Administration	98.7	96.4	0.0	2.3	97.7	102.0
Social Transformation and Economic Empowerment	134.3	33.1	100.7	0.5	127.8	133.5
Policy Stakeholder, Coordination and Knowledge Management	42.5	41.6	-	0.9	42.7	44.6
Mainstreaming Youth and Persons with Disabilities Rights and Advocacy	711.8	29.9	681.5	0.4	763.7	536.8
Total Expenditure Estimates	987.3	201.0	782.2	4.1	1 031.0	817.0

Of the R205.4 million, R113 million (56.2%) of the Department’s operating budget is allocated to Compensation of Employees and R87.9 million (43.8%) to Goods and Services. The key cost drivers under Goods and Services for the Department is as follows:

Property Payments: R19.1 million;
Travel & Subsistence: R18.4 million;
Consultants: R15.6 million;
Venues & facilities: R5.7 million; and
External Audit Costs: R4.4 million.

The aforementioned cost drivers consume approximately 72% (R63.2 million) of the Goods and Services allocation. The next section provides a more in-depth analysis of the budgetary allocation per programme for the Department and a reflection of the targets.

3.1 Programme 1 (Administration)

The purpose of this programme is to provide strategic leadership, management and support services to the department. This programme is comprise of five sub-programmes namely: Ministry, Departmental Management, Corporate Management, Financial Management, and Office Accommodation.

The total allocation for this programme is R98 709 million. It, constitutes 48% of the Department’s operational budget. This allocation is R11.5 million less than in the 2021/22 financial year. However, when taking into consideration the Real Rand change, this programme only sees a decrease of 14.2% to its allocation, which amounts to R15.8 million. Table 2 outlines the expenditure under Programme 1 per sub-programme.[8]

Table 2: Sub-programme allocations for 2022/23

SUB-PROGRAMME	YEAR 2022/23
Ministry	R23 945 million
Departmental Management	R16 078 million
Corporate Services	R24 200 million
Financial Management	R15 586 million
Office Accommodation	R18 900 million
Total	R98 709 million
Compensation of employees	R57 605 million (58.3%)
Goods and services	R38 796 million (39.3%)

The key cost drivers as per the 2022/23 APP are as follows:

Compensation of Employees (R57 605 million) which constitutes 58.3% of the overall allocation for this programme.
Good and services (R38 796 million) which constitutes 39.3% of the overall allocation for this programme.

As per the 2022 ENE, the main cost drivers for Good and services are as follows:

Property payment R19.1 million;
Audit costs: External R4.4 million;
Computer services: R3.1 million; and
Travel and Subsistence: R4.5 million.

This programme has a staff compliment comprising of 75 posts and is earmarked to achieve seven targets, which include the following:

Achieve an unqualified audit opinion on predetermined objectives and Annual Financial Statements.
Pay 100% of all valid invoices within 30 days.
Maintain a vacancy rate of less than 10% annually.
Implement reports of the Human Resource Plan.

New target: 40% procurement spend on entities owned by women.

Overall, the targets for Programme 1 have remained fairly similar between 2021/22 and 2022/23 except for one new target that was introduced as noted above.

3.2 Programme 2: Mainstreaming Women’s Rights and Advocacy

The purpose of this programme is to promote good governance regarding the rights and transformation of the social and economic empowerment of women. This programme consists of four sub-programmes namely: Management: Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Women, Social Empowerment of Women (SEW), Economic Empowerment of Women (EEW), and the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE).

The expenditure allocation under Programme 2 is shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Sub-programme allocation for 2022/23 in Programme 2[9]

SUB-PROGRAMME	YEAR 2022/23
Management: Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Women	R 5 761 million
Social Empowerment of Women	R 22 993 million
Economic Empowerment of Women	R 4 797 million
TOTAL	R33 551 million
Compensation of Employees	R 15 282 million (46%)
Goods and services	R17 787 million (54.3%)

The total programme allocation is R134 273 million that is inclusive of the transfer payment of R100 722 million to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), leaving the programme with an operating budget of R33 551 million. On closer examination, this Programme’s operating budget increased from R27 million in 2021/22 to R33.6 million in 2022/23. However, the Real Rand change was only R5.2 million (19.09% increase).[10]

From the operating budget of R33 551 million, R15 282 million (46%) is for Compensation of Employees and R17 787 million (54.3%) will go towards Goods and services. This programme consumes 16.3% of the Department’s operational budget. The main cost driver under Goods and services is Consultants: Business and advisory services at R8.7 million (49% of the Goods and Services allocation) as per the Estimates of National Expenditure 2022. This is a significant increase from the previous financial year 2020/21 when R4.9 million was allocated. In addition, the other key cost driver under Goods and services is Travel and subsistence, which is allocated R4.6 million (26% of G&S allocation).

This programme has 22 posts and is earmarked to achieve 11 annual targets for the current financial year as listed below.

Develop one research report on the development of a socio-economic index.
Implement 4 interventions to support economic empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Produce one report on the development of the women, youth and persons with disabilities Socio-Economic Empowerment Index.
Implement four interventions to support empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Develop four quarterly reports on the implementation of NSP on GBVF Monitoring Framework.
Monitor one national Department’s implementation of NSP GBVF.
Monitor nine provincial departments’ and four municipalities’ plans on the implementation of NSP GBVF.
Establish 18 Rapid Response Teams.
Develop two reports on the implementation of Comprehensive National GBVF Prevention Strategy.
Convene two GEYODI machineries.

This programme has undergone name changes and structural changes to its sub-programmes when compared to the 2021/22 APP.

Programme 3: Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Coordination

The purpose of this programme is to provide research, knowledge management, international relations, stakeholder management, monitoring, and evaluation for women, youth and persons with disabilities. It comprises of four Sub-Programmes namely: Management, Research and Knowledge Management, International Relations, Stakeholder Management and Capacity Building, and Monitoring and Evaluation.

The total allocation for this programme is R42 516 million. This constitutes 20.7% of the Department’s operational budget. This allocation is R1 884 million more than in the 2021/22 financial year. However, when taking into consideration the Real Rand change, this programme only sees increase of 7.88% to its allocation which amounts to R3 million. Table 4 outlines the expenditure under Programme 3.

Table 4: Sub-programme allocation for 2022/23 in Programme 3[11]

SUB-PROGRAMME

YEAR 2022/23

Management: Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Coordination

R6 180 million

Research & Knowledge management

R8 002 million

International Relations, Stakeholder Management & Capacity Building

R19 416 million

Monitoring and Evaluation: WYPD

R8 918 million

TOTAL

R 42 516 million

Compensation of Employees

R24 401 million (57.4%)

Goods and Services

R18 187 million (40.4%)

Programme 3 has a total allocation of R42.5 million, of which R24 401 million (57.4%) is allocated for Compensation of employees and R18 187 million (40.4%) is allocated for Goods and services. Of the Goods and services budget, R4.9 million or nearly % is allocated for Travel and subsistence as per the Estimates of National Expenditure for 2022. The other main costs drivers under Goods and services are as follows:

Catering: Departmental activities – R2.2 million.
Consultants: Business and advisory services – R2.4 million.
Transport provided - Departmental activity – R2 million.
Venue and facilities – R2 million.

This programme has 26 posts and is earmarked to achieve 12 annual targets for the current financial year as listed below:

Develop one status report on the implementation of the National Gender Policy Framework.
Develop one status report on the implementation of the Regulatory Framework for the mainstreaming of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Develop two progress reports on the piloting of the Integrated Knowledge Hub.
Produce one research report on government priorities.
Produce two reports on compliance of government commitments with international and regional commitments of women.
Have 50% of national departments implementing Gender Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, evaluation and Auditing Framework (GRPBMEAF).
Produce one monitoring report on the empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Conduct one evaluation on empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Develop four status reports on the implementation of the women, youth and persons with disabilities International Relations Strategy.
Develop two progress reports on the implementation of the women, youth and persons with disabilities Stakeholder Management Framework.
Conduct 12 stakeholder engagements.
Conduct four community mobilisation initiatives.

This programme had undergone name changes and structural changes to its sub-programmes when compared to the APP of 2021/22.

3.4 Programme 4: Mainstreaming Youth and Persons with Disabilities Rights and Advocacy

The purpose of Programme 4 is to promote good governance regarding the rights and transformation of the social and economic empowerment of youth and persons with disabilities. The objectives of the programme are to promote the development and empowerment of young people by reviewing legislative frameworks to advance their rights over the medium term; and support, monitor and coordinate government’s implementation of the 2015 White Paper on the rights of persons with disabilities.

This programme is comprised of four sub-programmes namely: Management (Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Youth and Persons with Disabilities); Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Youth; Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

The total allocation for this programme is R711.8 million. This is inclusive of the transfer to the NYDA of R681.3 million. Its operational budget is R30.4 million (less the NYDA transfer) which constitutes 14.8% of the Department’s operational budget - also the smallest allocation. This allocation is R2.2 million more than in the 20221/22 financial year.[12] However, when taking into consideration the Real Rand change, this programme only sees an increase of 3.11% to its allocation which amounts to R 900 000.[13] The Expenditure under Programme 4 is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: National Youth Development expenditure trends by sub-programme

SUB-PROGRAMME	YEAR 2022/23
Management (Advocacy & Mainstreaming for the Rights of Youth and Persons with Disabilities)	R1.3 million
Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Youth	R12.4 million
Advocacy and Mainstreaming for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	R16.8 million
NYDA	R681.3 million
Total	R711.8 million
Compensation of Employees	R15.8 million
Goods and Services	R14.1 million

The programme’s budget, which is now the combination of the two programmes, has not changed the Department’s budgeting allocation for youth and persons with disabilities since 2021/22. Of the R 30.5 million, 50% (R 15.8 million) of the budget is allocated to Compensation of Employees and R14.1 million to Goods and Services (46% of total operational budget). Of the Goods and services budget, R4.5 million (32%) is allocated for travel and subsistence as per the Estimates of National Expenditure for 2022. The other main costs driver under Goods and services are for Consultants: Business and advisory services, R3.9 million (28%) and venue and facilities for R2.2 million (16%).

This programme has 20 posts and is earmarked to achieve 13 annual targets for the current financial year as follows:

Sub-programme: Advocacy and Mainstreaming Rights of Youth

Produce four NYP Implementation Monitoring Reports.
Refine the South African Youth Development Bill.
Produce four NYDA quarterly monitoring reports.
Convene four National Youth Machinery Meetings.
Produce two International youth engagement reports.

Sub-programme: Advocacy and Mainstreaming Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Develop one report on the Awareness Raising Framework.
Develop one report on the Self Representation Framework.
Develop one report on the Reasonable Accommodation Framework.
Develop one report on awareness raising on the Universal Design and Access Framework.
Produce one status report on national and international obligations on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Produce one analysis report on the draft Annual Performance Plans for all national government departments.
Develop one draft evaluation report on the implementation of the White Paper in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Develop one status report on the disability rights monitoring tool.

COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS

General matters

The Committee questioned how the Department holds other government departments to account for slow or non-delivery in the absence of finalised frameworks and an updated policy.
The Committee queried what directives and regulations have been prioritised for 2022/23 in relation to women, youth and persons with disabilities.
The Committee wanted to know the Department’s monitoring and evaluation strategy.
The Committee queried what the Department’s monitoring, evaluation, research and coordination unit was doing.
The Committee questioned whether the Department has the capacity to undertake planning, monitoring and evaluation; and if not, what are the contingency measures.
The Committee wanted to know how the Department plans to better support the NYDA and CGE to fulfil the respective mandates.

Organisational redesign, structural changes and merger implications

The Committee noted with concern the merger of the programmes focusing on the rights of persons with disabilities and youth development with no justification provided.
The Committee was concerned about the changes in the organisational structure and enquired whether the Department received approval from the National Treasury to merge Programmes 4 and 5. The Committee wanted to know the rationale for this and the implications thereof.
The Committee asked if the Department is able to focus on the implementation of its mandate given recurring changes in organisational design.

Role of the Department

The Committee raised a concern that the Department’s mandate may not be well understood in government and across society.
The Committee raised concern about the increasing youth unemployment and substance abuse rates. The Committee wanted to know what interventions the Department is involved in, in tis regard.

Human Resources

The Committee noted with concern that the majority of staff were employed within the Administration programme as opposed to the core programmes and despite this, there were still key critical vacancies in Programme 1.
The Committee indicated that Programme 3 seems poorly resourced.

Use of consultants

The Committee was concerned about the use of consultants to do work on behalf of the Department and wanted the rationale for this.

Sanitary Dignity

The Committee requested a detailed report on the implementation of Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework by provinces. Further, the Department was asked to provide a detailed distribution plan.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF)

The Committee asked what the status of National Council GBV is.
The Committee con raised a concern regarding the scourge of GBVF and wanted to know what strategies will be put in place to address this.

Economic Empowerment

The Committee wanted to know how the Department is supporting economic empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities. The Department was asked to clearly stipulate its current and planned strategies.

Disability Rights Bill

The Committee noted that there was no mention of the Disability Rights Bill in the APP 2022/23 as a separate target and questioned how the Department would then ensure the development of the Bill.

Knowledge Hub

The Committee wanted a progress update on the work related to the Knowledge Hub and the planned pilot.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee recommends that the Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities should consider the following:

Organisational redesign, structural changes and merger implications

The Department should submit the documents received from National Treasury regarding the approval of the organisational structure.
The Department should report to the Committee after engaging with National Treasury on the merger of the (former) Programme 4 and Programme 5. The rationale and implications of allowing the Department to only have four Programmes should be clearly stipulated.

Planning, Monitoring, Reporting

The Department must ensure that the Annual Performance Plan and the Strategic Plan are aligned and comprise of clear timeframes. The regulatory part of the mandate should be incorporated in Programmes of the Department. The report should clearly articulate what monitoring and evaluation activities will be undertaken by the Department in the current financial year.

Human resources

Critical posts should be filled.
Sub-programmes should be well capacitated.
Use of consultants should be minimised.
The distribution of skills and human resources should be reviewed to ensure that respective Programmes and sub-programmes are able to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Implementation of anti-GBVF strategies

The Department should facilitate (together with relevant stakeholders and role-players) strategies to curb GBVF in the country. There should be a clear implementation that is reported on, to Parliament and the public.

Role of the Department

The Department should look at streamlining its work to be better enabled to fulfil its vision and mission.
The Department should strengthen its advocacy role and improve its visibility in communities.
The Committee should strengthen its focus on strategic planning, monitoring and implementation.

Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework

The Department should provide to the Committee the Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework by provinces, and include a detailed distribution plan.

CONCLUSION

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities should respond to the Committee recommendations as soon as possible or on the day the report is adopted by the House.

Report to be considered.

[1] Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Strategic Plan 2020-2025, pg.10.

[2] Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (2022) Annual Performance Plan 2022/23, p.10.

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (2022) Annual Performance Plan 2022/23, p.3.

[6] National Treasury (2022) Estimates of National Expenditure, Vote 20 Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, p. 362.

[7] Adapted from Estimates of National Expenditure (2022), Vote 20 Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, p.361.

[8] Levendale, C (2022) Overview: Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities - Annual Performance Plan 2022/23 and Budget 2022/23: Programmes 1, 2 and 3.

[9] Levendale, C (2022) Overview: Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities - Annual Performance Plan 2022/23 and Budget 2022/23: Programmes 1, 2 and 3.

[10] Ibid

[11] Levendale, C (2022) Overview: Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities - Annual Performance Plan 2022/23 and Budget 2022/23: Programmes 1, 2 and 3.

[12] Matthews, T (2022) Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities: Analysis of Programme 4: 2022/23.

[13] Levendale, C (2022) Overview: Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities - Annual Performance Plan 2022/23 and Budget 2022/23: Programmes 1, 2 and 3.

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