Employment and Labour BRRR

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Employment and Labour

25 October 2022
Chairperson: Ms M Dunjwa (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

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Budget Review & Recommendations Reports BRRR

The Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour met on a virtual platform to consider and adopt its Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR).

Under Committee observations, Members raised numerous issues to be included in the report. These included the employment mandate addressing specific employment issues, information communication technology (ICT) challenges, irregular expenditure, the high number of incomplete corruption cases, Productivity SA training, and Supported Employment Enterprises (SEE).

The Committee recommendations were amended to reflect the additions mentioned in the Committee observations.

The BRRR was adopted with amendments.

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour to a meeting to consider and adopt its Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR) for 2022.

Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour

Committee observations

Mr M Bagraim (DA) proposed an addition to the observations on the employment mandate. He said that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) needed to do a lot more to populate the employment figures of South Africa by encouraging small businesses to employ more.

Dr M Cardo (DA) seconded the proposed addition.

Ms C Mkhonto (EFF) felt that the addition should be specified in mentioning the youth who were particularly affected by the high unemployment rate in South Africa.  

Mr M Nontsele (ANC) felt that it was important to speak to issues of unemployment for youth and broader economic concerns in the opening statement. He felt that the proposed addition was too vague, and should mention the specific challenges faced. This included the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, which was already constrained following the employment mandate.

The Chairperson agreed that the opening remarks should be contextualised. She asked if Members had further concerns regarding the opening statement.

Dr Cardo said that ‘the scourge’ should indicate that it referred to unemployment. He also felt it was important to include that Members had not received the annual financial statements from the Compensation Fund (CF) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). He said it was necessary to include it in the beginning, as it would be commented on later in the BRRR.

Mr Nontsele agreed with Dr Cardo, and felt that it deserved to be a sub-section on its own, as opposed to a general statement.

The Chairperson agreed that it would be mentioned as point 7.1.1. which would read that the Committee noted with concern that the UIF and Compensation Fund did not table their 2021/22 annual reports to Parliament.

Mr Nontsele added that information communication technology (ICT) remained one of the challenges still faced by the DEL. This was in light of the presentation made by the Auditor-General (AG).

He made another addition -- that the Committee viewed irregular expenditure in a very serious light. This was also in light of the AG's report.

A third addition reflected that record-keeping was among the poorly performed tasks by the Department.

As a final addition, he said that some provinces, such as Gauteng, were plagued with high numbers of corruption cases, but few were completed.

Mr S Mdabe (ANC) seconded the proposed additions.

The Chairperson asked the Committee Secretary to reflect the additions in the draft report.

Ms Mkhonto said that the report must mention that the Committee noted with concern that there were officials who continued to not disclose their interests, as required by the law. She felt it should be taken seriously, as it was an ongoing matter.

Mr Mdabe supported the proposed addition.

Mr Nontsele proposed that 7.2.1. reflect that the Supported Employment Enterprises (SEE) provided employment to people with disabilities. The Committee felt that this was a designated group that government must consciously uplift, empower and develop.

He added that the Ministry and the Department must continue to engage National Treasury (NT) to grant SEE preferential procurement status. This was on the basis that the SEEs provided employment to the designated groups.

Mr Mdabe seconded the proposed addition.

Mr Mdabe added that the Committee observed capacity challenges that SEE had in terms of processes and systems in place to conduct their stock valuations with monthly reconciliations.

Mr Nontsele seconded the proposed addition.

Mr Bagraim said the report must reflect that the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) had established a governance task team to review its founding statutes and institutional structures.

Dr Cardo seconded the proposed addition.

Mr Nontsele said that the ANC did not support the addition, and would support it only if it was substantiated.

Mr Mdabe seconded the opposition.

Dr Cardo responded that it was fairly critical to note that NEDLAC had established a governance task team. This was because it would have repercussions later on concerning the legislation governing NEDLAC and the kind of institution it was. He said that it might affect their mandate, which was critical to consider when conducting oversight over it.

The Chairperson explained the importance of contextualising observations.

Dr Cardo felt it was without merit that his observation needed to be substantiated because of the other unsubstantiated observations in the report.

Mr Nontsele said that the DA has been asking for the closure of NEDLAC, and felt that the addition was to further this assertion. He said that the ANC remained in opposition to the addition.

Mr Bagraim disagreed that the DA had called for the closure of NEDLAC. Debates took place at NEDLAC between government, big business and trade unions. Those debates produced results which were presented to the Department.

He said that the Department had repeatedly failed to follow the recommendations suggested by NEDLAC. He felt that this was why NEDLAC had considered restructuring, as solutions were being ignored. The DA recommended that NEDLAC should have more enforcement and representation.

The Chairperson said that if a matter was left out of the BRRR, it could be raised in the House, rather than coming to a standstill in the BRRR consideration. She acknowledged the different views of the Committee.

She encouraged the Committee to conduct their deliberations respectfully when there were differences in reasoning.

Dr Cardo spoke to the Chairperson in a disorderly manner when disagreeing with her point.

Mr S Ngcobo (IFP) said that the language used against the Chairperson was too harsh.

The Chairperson ruled that the addition concerning NEDLAC should be removed.

On Productivity SA, Mr Bagraim noted a large amount had been spent to train the 429 champions. He said South Africa had the second lowest productivity in the world, and he wondered where the money had gone.

Mr Nontsele said that the Productivity SA recommendation should reflect more on the work done in the three regions. He defined Region One as Gauteng, Limpopo and the Northern Cape. Region Two was defined as the Western Cape, Free State and Northern Cape. Region Three was defined as KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.

He added that the productivity champions would work with Productivity SA practitioners to facilitate productivity in businesses where the entity intervened. This was to ensure that these interventions offered lasting solutions.

Ms Mkhonto seconded both proposed additions. She said that the Committee had observed that, according to global standards, South Africa’s productivity was very low. Once the report was published, it would give light to the training of productivity champions.

Committee recommendations

Mr Nontsele proposed that the opening statement should reflect the spirit of the opening statement of the Committee's observations. This could be consulted on amongst the parties, and then later amended.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would not be able to adopt the report without seeing the multi-party proposal for the Committee recommendations.

Mr Nontsele asked that the Committee Secretary send the additional and amended captured Committee observations to Members to reflect on.

He said that the recommendations should reflect that the DEL must ensure that both the UIF and the Compensation Fund table their annual reports to Parliament on the prescribed date.

Regarding audited financial statements involving unlisted investments and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) funds, he said that the issue must be resolved. The Committee required quarterly updates on the progress that had been made on the resolution of these matters. 

Mr Mdabe seconded the proposed recommendation.

On funded vacant posts, Mr Nontsele said that the Committee demanded that it should receive a comprehensible, workable plan on how all funded vacant posts would be rapidly filled.

He said that the Committee had asked to be provided with quarterly reports of all information communication technology (ICT)-related challenges related to the submissions made under the observations.

In another recommendation, he said that the Department must provide the Committee with a report on how it was remedying irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful spending.

He also recommended that the Committee needed quarterly reports on how the supply chain management (SCM) had improved. This was to address issues of poor record keeping and to strengthen the financial control environment, amongst others.

He recommended that a strategy be developed immediately to complete corruption cases more quickly.

Mr Nontsele said that the Department must assist SEE in employing relevant systems and skilled personnel to fill vacant positions in the finance unit.

Ms Mkhonto seconded the recommendations.

On SEE, Mr Nontsele said that designated groups must be affirmed as a public institution that employed persons with disabilities. It must be categorised to ensure no one is left behind. Sections in statutes guaranteeing benefits to designated groups must be put to good practical use.

Mr Mdabe seconded the proposed recommendations.

Referring to Productivity SA, Mr Nontsele said that productivity champions should be regularly empowered. This was to ensure that their intended objectives were realised. This included sustaining the legacy of interventions in businesses with a view to preserving jobs.

Mr Mdabe seconded the recommendation.

The Chairperson asked for the BRRR to be adopted.

Mr Mdabe moved the adoption of the report, with amendments.

Mr Nontsele seconded the adoption.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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