Petitions: Tzaneen residents & Freedom of Religion SA; with Deputy Ministers

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Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

24 June 2020
Chairperson: Mr B Hadebe (ANC) (Acting)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs 24 June 2020
Audio: Petitions: Tzaneen residence &  Freedom of Religion SA 

The Greater Tzaneen Municipality and Freedom of Religion South Africa (FORSA) presented petitions to the Portfolio Committee outlining the challenges they were facing arising from uncertainty over the application of regulations aimed at countering the spread of Covid-19.

Tzaneen’s petition revealed that there were a lot of environmental hazards resulting from the actions of people which the municipality was not addressing. These hazards included oil spills and uncontrolled roaming animals. FORSA said there were uncertainties over the position of the religious sector during the lockdown at the various alert levels. Representatives from the Alliance of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of South Africa and Inkululeko YeSizwe were present to express their disappointment at how the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) was not responsive to the issues faced by the sector.

The Department of COGTA in the Limpopo province gave a brief presentation on the set of regulations for the gathering of churches. An assurance was given to the different religious organisations that the issues they had raised and submitted were being attended to and addressed.

Members expressed their disappointment that the province and the municipality had not given the issues sufficient attention. They should have been dealt with at the provincial level without having to be escalated to Parliament.  The Members were also unable to provide feedback or comment on the issues of FORSA, because the regulations had been drafted by the National Command Council, and not COGTA, and it was suggested that they should be escalated to the Council for further deliberation. They were assured that the regulations were aimed at protecting people from becoming infected, and not at limiting the church from performing its tasks and duties.

Meeting report

Tzaneen Petition Overview 

Ms Désirée van der Walt (DA), Limpopo, introduced the petition to the Committee. She said the presentation by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), sent to the Committee, covered everything that was of concern, except that economic change could be implemented, and there was space that mechanics needed without disrupting the town planning. She said there were oil dumps next to residential areas and no timeframes in the COGTA plans. She requested that timeframes be provided, as well as feedback on the progress made by COGTA in addressing the issues. She added that the town of Letsitele should remain well maintained, without disruptions.  

Freedom of Religion South Africa (FORSA)

Ms Nadene Badenhorst, Legal Counsel: FORSA, provided a brief background on FORSA, and said that action had been taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. She provided the purpose of the petition by FORSA and the events that had taken place in the religious sector after Level 3 of the lockdown was announced. One of the main uncertainties of the religious sector was that there was no provision made for it, and urgent clarification was required on a number of issues. Of all the issues that required urgent clarification, the Department had addressed only three in its presentation.

Bishop Samuel Ndlovu, Chairperson of the Alliance of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of South Africa, emphasised the uncertainty of ministers being considered as essential workers, and asked if they could be considered as essential workers for the purposes of counselling.

Ms Thembi Tulwana, Secretary: Inkululeko YeSizwe, appreciated the opportunity to raise concerns, but expressed disappointment that there was no channel to discuss African indigenous churches with the President or the Minister of COGTA. She hoped that the exclusion of Inkululeko YeSizwe would end, especially since the organisation was a major stakeholder with a large membership in South Africa.

Limpopo COGTA Department

Dr Mmaphaka Tau, Deputy Director-General: National Disaster Management Centre, COGTA, said that the presentation aimed to outline the steps in dealing with issues during COVID-19, and acknowledged the possible areas for improvement in dealing with its impact.

Ms Ané Bruwer, Executive Manager: National Disaster Management Centre, described the purpose of the presentation and gave a brief introduction. She also highlighted the role of the religious community and a background of the measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. She provided the regulations that were effective at Level 4 on 1 May, as well as the regulations that were effective at level 3 on 1 June. She gave the directions and conditions for religious gatherings, as well as other issues that were raised by FORSA.

Deputy Minister Parks Tau said that the presentation had responded to some of the issues raised by FORSA, and other points were suggestions which would have to be considered and go through the necessary processes. Clarity could be provided on any further questions requiring further details.

Discussion

Tzaneen Petition

Mr K Ceza (EFF) questioned the root cause of the problems in the municipalities, especially the issue of roaming animals, and said that municipalities received donations for industrial purposes from surrounding businesses. If the municipalities were using the donations for their intended purpose, there would not be any issues. He asked the Mayor if the municipality’s premises were fenced to prevent roaming animals on the site, and asked for the source of the complaint. What was the municipality’s process for addressing issues?

Ms Van der Walt explained that the Letsitele town was surrounded by citrus farms which did not have grazing animals, and that residents lived in fear of uncontrolled roaming animals. Communities should be informed on the process for reporting animals, and asked when the drip trails had been delivered, because the municipality was currently not using them. She expressed satisfaction that the provincial COGTA Department was taking action to address the issues.

Ms H Mkhaliphi (EFF) emphasised that every area of concern should be taken seriously and addressed by the municipality, and that timeframes were important. Stakeholders should be communicated with, to ensure that the roaming animals were not lost, and the responsibility for locating and fetching the animals should be allocated to stakeholders. She suggested that a small committee should be formed to address the minor issues in communities, and that only major issues such as service delivery should be brought to Parliament.

Ms P Xaba-Ntshaba (ANC) also emphasized that minor issues should be addressed within the community, and that the municipality should have agreements with the owners of roaming animals. She pleaded with the provincial Department of COGTA to assist municipalities in implementing the by-laws. 

Mr Ceza proposed that religious bodies should consult with the Deputy Ministers for clarity, and said that the regulations aimed to protect church members. He asked FORSA how many people had been infected since the re-opening of churches, and the lessons learnt after the religious gathering in the Free State and the funeral gathering in the Eastern Cape had increased the number of infections before the lockdown was implemented.

Ms Mkhaliphi said that the regulations had nothing to do with the Committee, and the concerns by FORSA could be addressed only by the Deputy Ministers. She asked the Department why FORSA’s requests for clarity had not been responded to, and said that the Minister could not be attacked on COVID-19 issues. Instead there should be unity, because COVID-19 was a new and common threat. The Department should address the concerns raised by FORSA.

Ms Xaba-Ntshaba said that the Committee could not comment on the regulations, but the National Command Council could, because the regulations were not set by the Department. 

Responses

Tzaneen Petition

Mr Maripe Mangena, Mayor: Greater Tzaneen Municipality, said the Tzaneen Municipality welcomed the petition that had been submitted. The municipality had an open door policy to communicate with residents, and if the matter had been raised with the municipality before it was brought to Parliament, attempts would have been made to resolve the issues outlined in the petition. The matters were being addressed and recommendations were welcome from the Committee.

Mr Thapelo Matlala, Municipal Manager: Greater Tzaneen Municipality, said that the petition letter was received unexpected by the municipality, and that a letter of compliance had been sent to the mechanics, which would be forwarded to the Committee. In 2016, the Tzaneen municipality had received a donation of oil containers, which were issued out. By-laws had been gazetted which would allow the municipality to take more action in addressing issues. The tariff pricing was still being finalised. The challenges and issues were being addressed, and the monitoring of roaming animals, especially cattle, was ongoing.

Regarding the issues raised in the petition, he said that on 23 January a joint inspection was conducted by Environmental Management, Traffic and Town Planning to identify a site where the mechanics would be relocated. Before the lockdown, 20 eight-liter drip trails were provided to mechanics for the oil spills. Officers from various divisions would be trailed to ensure proper authority over flights. On the issue of timeframes, the municipality was currently preoccupied with the matters raised, but there was no set commitment to timeframes.

Mayor Mangena said that the Letsitele town was surrounded by farms, which allowed easy access for stray cattle to come into the town. A remedy for the issue was to reach an agreement with farmers on monitoring the animals.

An official from the municipality said that mechanisms were in place to support municipalities. Municipal support had been provided to ensure that municipalities had the necessary by-laws and proper gazetting of the by-laws. Municipalities had been approached on the matters in the petition, and the way forward was to strengthen oversight and advise municipalities on how to address the issues.

Ms Angie Ramaipadi, Municipal Manager: Greater Tubatse Local Municipality, said that municipalities were assisted to ensure compliance with the by-laws and the gazetting of the by-laws until they were adopted. Assistance was provided where necessary to capacitate municipalities and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Management Act.  

Mayor Mangena welcomed that concerns of Members, and said that the issue of the roaming animals would have been addressed if the municipality had been the first point of contact. Consequence management would be implemented for farmers who failed to control their animals. The implementation of a consultation programme with the community of Letsitele had been discussed with the councillor. 

The Chairperson shared the same concerns as the Members, especially that the matters should have been resolved before they were allowed to escalate. He requested timeframes on the proposed relocation of the tanks, and asked for clarity on the progress of the by-laws -- whether they had been finalised, and whether fines were included when the by-law was violated.

Mr Matlala clarified that the gazetting of the by-law violations and classifications were included in the by-law, and that the only outstanding aspect was the actual tariff for the fines. The local magistrates’ court had to be involved in the process of the by-laws.

The Chairperson said that farmers needed to be educated on the by-laws once they had been finalized, and made aware of the impact of the roaming animals on surrounding communities.

Mr C Brink (DA) said that the mechanics should not be relocated, but rather be given oil pans to ensure the drainage and safe disposal of oil.  

Mr Matlala said that the plan to relocate the mechanics would ensure that the work was being performed. Minor details of the relocation, which would include budgets and finance, had not yet been confirmed. Oil spills had become an environmental hazard which would be addressed.

The Chairperson announced that the municipality would have a month to provide a progress report on the process of relocation.

Mr Matlala said that the municipality could not commit to any timeframes because of implementation constraints.

Mayor Mangena said that the progress report would be submitted within a month. The by-laws on the roaming animals had been communicated and shared with the community, and all the consultation processes had been followed in passing the by-law.

A Limpopo COGTA representative said that continuous monitoring of the progress report would be done, and municipalities would be assisted with the implementation of the by-laws and compliance.

Deputy Minister Obed Bapela thanked the presenters, and said that the provincial Department would be closely monitored, and that compliance would be ensured according to the “Back to Basics” programme.

Mr Mpho Mohale said that the issues had not been sufficiently discussed in the province before they were presented to Parliament. The province would be monitored, and methods of ensuring participation would be implemented.

The Chairperson emphasised that internal processes needed to be exhausted before matters could be elevated to higher authorities.

FORSA

Deputy Minister Bapela said that the issues raised were sensitive, and that there was an initiative to prevent deaths caused by COVID-19. He confirmed that religious places of worship were considered essential during alert Level 3, and that nothing was mentioned on the place of the church if there was a shift back to Levels 4 or 5. Issues of uncertainty by FORSA would be addressed accordingly, and clarified.

Prof David Mosoma, Chairperson: Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Commission, said the mandate of the CRL was to protect and promote the rights of religious communities. The religious sector had experienced limitations, but had been necessary in order to preserve the lives of people. Inputs from FORSA had aimed to address the operations of the religious community, and not the rights of the religious community. It was important to note that even if the church ministers were labelled as essential workers to provide counselling to families during COVID-19, they needed to be protected and caution must be practiced.

Ms Badenhorst said it was difficult to determine the number of infections since the re-opening of churches, especially since the origin of the infection could not be determined. The regulations did not compel churches to re-open, so they had a choice to remain closed. She pointed out that there were requirements in place to ensure the curbing of infections within the church that have to be complied with. Non-compliance would result in penalties.

Dr Tau said that the government had responded to the issues raised by FORSA, especially since close communication had been maintained to ensure that issues were addressed. The considerations of the religious community had been taken into consideration during gazetting, and submissions would be taken seriously.

The Chairperson pointed out that the petition had been drafted during Level 4, so some events were not relevant during Level 3. The Committee was responsible for oversight of the Department, without interfering with its processes and work. Some issues had not yet been clarified because of their nature. Unclarified issues would be forwarded to the relevant stakeholders for further deliberation and consideration.

Ms Mkhaliphi asked whether some of the FORSA concerns had been addressed.

Dr Tau confirmed that some issues had been considered and were being addressed.

Ms Mkhaliphi asked if the organisations that had raised the concerns had been contacted and made aware that issues were being addressed.

Dr Tau requested that time was given to the Department to gather the information on the organisations.

Deputy Minister Bapela emphasised the importance of government responsiveness, and said that organisations that felt they were being sidelined would be included. Various religious organisations would be considered. People should be encouraged to approach Parliament if they were not satisfied with the processes and actions of the national Department. Issues that required further clarity would be escalated to the Command Council for consideration.

Deputy Minister Tau said there had been interactions with FORSA to deal with some of the matters that had been raised. Queries on the concerns would be considered, although some resolutions may take longer than expected because they needed to be reviewed.

The Chairperson said that FORSA should accept the responses by the Deputy Ministers, because the concerns raised had been taken seriously. The Department would respond in writing to the concerns that required further clarification.

Ms Badenhorst said that multiple submissions made to the Office of the Presidency and the Minister had not been responded to.

The Chairperson said that the FORSA issues were being looked into, and were equally important. He asked when the written responses on the petition from FORSA could be expected.

Dr Tau said that the response letter would be submitted with the guidance from leadership and through the necessary processes.

The meeting was adjourned.   

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