Report assessing performance of the Committee in its 100 days

Meeting report

Draft Committee report on its first 100 days in office

The Committee was taken through its draft report on its achievements within the first 100 days of conducting oversight on the mandate of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and its entity. He advised the Members that the report covered the Committee’s oversight work from 3 July to 15 December 2019.

Overseas oversight visits

As a first challenge, the Committee had identified the need to address the challenges concerning the execution of its mandate, as brought about by the current oversight model of Parliament. The model was inward-looking, in that it envisaged the conduct of oversight four to five times a year by sectoral committees to be carried out in the provinces. Any travel abroad by these committees was considered a ‘study tour,’ which was allowed once in five years. By its unique nature, the mandate of the Department was largely executed by the 125 South African missions abroad. As a consequence of this uniqueness, the Committee had to oversee the activities of those missions abroad as well.

The Committee was thus, from the onset, determined to exercise oversight on the Department and its missions abroad, and on the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund, with equal vigour. As a result, it had resolved to approach the presiding officers to request that the Parliamentary oversight model should allow the Committee to have more regular oversight visits to South African missions abroad. This would enable it to have a holistic approach to DIRCO’s performance abroad.

The Committee had also requested that it should be allowed to conduct oversight visits to international organisations where the Republic of South Africa was a state-party. This would enable it to assess the impact of the Department’s participation on the overall outcomes at such forums.

In August 2019, the Committee was able to get an understanding and a buy-in from the presiding officers that there was indeed a strong case to allow it the opportunity to conduct oversight abroad, where it could measure the Department’s service delivery. Consequently, the Committee undertook a verification oversight visit to New York in December 2019, to decide on the findings of the Auditor-General’s (AG’s) report for 2017/18.

Foreign Service Bill

In the Fifth Parliament, the Select Committee on Trade and International Relations had referred back the Foreign Service Bill, with concerns over section 2 of the Bill. The Bill had been referred back to the Portfolio Committee in 2019. The objectives for the Bill were to deal with the fact that South Africa did not have a legislative mechanism to optimally support the mandate of the Department.

The management of the practical and administrative challenges of the current foreign services system were dealt with within the confines of legislation aimed at regulating the public service. This had led to concerns raised by the AG on operational issues in the missions. With the Bill in place, the Department would for the first time be required by legislation to take full responsibility for the obligations attributed to it, and would be audited by the AG, based on these obligations.

Cognisant of their role as legislators, the Committee was determined to finalise the processes towards enacting the Foreign Service Bill before the end of the calendar year, December 2019. The Bill was adopted by the National Assembly in November 2019, and President Ramaphosa gave his assent to the Bill on 26 May 2020. It thus became the Foreign Service Act, No 26 of 2019.

Orientation of Members

On unlocking bottlenecks during the orientation visit to the headquarters of the Department, the Committee also identified a need to undertake an orientation visit to the headquarters of the Department in August 2019. The objective of such a visit was to enhance the knowledge base of Members of the Committee on the role of the Department through its five programmes -- administration, international relations, international cooperation, public diplomacy, and state protocol services and international transfers. It was also aimed to provide a broad understanding of the mandate of, and the key services offered by, the Department and its entity, the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF).

Organisational structure

Moving on to the organisational structure of the Department, the Committee had been quick to note that there seemed to be some duplication in how the directorates were structured. In particular, it observed that the structure of the finance branch was not fit for purpose. Its specific mandate for financial management was overshadowed by another function of a corporate management nature, dealing with the acquisition of property. It was observed that this presented a conflict of interest, in that the branch became a funder, procurer and end-user of property-related projects.

The Committee also found out that, due to the ceiling on the compensation of employees, some of the critical posts were not filled. The Committee recommended the filling of the position of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) because of the dire situation with the information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and that of the Chief Operations Officer (COO) because of the continuing operational challenges facing the Department. The Department regarded these positions as critical posts, and had already advertised the position of the CIO.

The Department was in the process of correcting the structural weaknesses in the office of the COO and the Department as a whole, which would include the rationalisation of posts at headquarters and in missions

Reporting on the ceiling on the compensation of employees, the draft report noted that there was a persistent shortfall in the compensation of employees’ budget, as a result of which there was no filling of vacancies currently, an issue which may impact negatively on service delivery. To mitigate the associated risk, the Department was seeking options to navigate with a static workforce. The Committee had recommended that the Department should discuss options with National Treasury, and in the meantime it could consider a quick win, like the up-skilling and re-skilling of its human resources. The Department indicated it may further consider aspects such as reviewing its global footprint and seeking accreditation on a non- residential basis.

Accommodation facilities

The Committee noted that the leasing of office accommodation for the Pan African Parliament (PAP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), was costly. The agreement with the African Union (AU) was for South Africa to provide a permanent headquarters for the PAP. The Department's response had been the same since 2014, and it had become clear to the Committee that there was no understanding between the Department and the Department of Public Works (DPW) on the matter. A progress report, with a roadmap and timeframes, was requested by the Committee on the processes and challenges towards providing a permanent headquarters for the Pan-African Parliament. The Committee was further concerned with the matter, because the Department had indicated that as part of a legacy project for President Ramaphosa's chairship of the AU, a sod-turning ceremony in October 2020 would mark a site for PAP headquarters. The Committee had rigorously pursued the matter for implementation by the Department. A dispute on the identified land had ensued, and the Committee had cautioned against any delay which might lead to embarrassments in resolving the matter with Public Works.

ARF’s governance structure

The Committee had some concerns with the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF). One of these involved the governance structure of the ARF. It was located within the Department, and depended on its procurement processes. Furthermore, the ARF projects were manually processed, and not processed through an electronic accounting system. The ARF relied on the accounting systems of the Department, as it did not have its own.

A further concern was related to the mandate of the ARF, which focused on funding projects externally only, and not in South Africa. It was also observed that very few South Africans knew about the added value from the activities of the ARF in the continent and beyond. The other issue was that it was not clear why the ARF was mainly working with the Zanele Mbeki Foundation and the Transformation Initiative for project implementation, and the fact the ARF had received a request from within DIRCO to provide the funding for the Foundation.

In the short term, the Committee had recommended that the ARF secure its own accounting system, as recommended by the AG. To resolve the governance challenges of the ARF, the Committee urged the Department to consider migrating the ARF to the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA), as decided by Cabinet in 2009. The Committee pointed out that as an entity, the ARF should in the future account on its own before the Committee. The ARF explained that the National Treasury had put the purchase of a new accounting system on hold. The Department had explained that the Partnership Fund for Development (PFD) Bill, which would repeal the ARF, had been in a drafting phase from 2013, and that it would be tabled during the course of the Sixth Parliament. The funding model would be revisited in the new entity. Henceforth, the ARF would account on its own as an entity.

Effects of 4IR

Recognising that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) would be the new normal, the Committee observed that the impact of the trade war between China and the United States, which was happening outside the confines of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), was being felt globally. It also noted that the new trade war between China and the US involved digitisation. Data was regarded as the new oil.

The Committee had recommended that South Africa should seek new gateways and avenues in Africa, and to ensure that it was not left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It also cautioned that South Africa should not get caught up in the trade tensions between China and the US. Instead, it should focus on its own interests.

Gender mainstreaming

Focusing on gender mainstreaming, the Committee raised a concern on the representation of women in DIRCO’s workforce. The Department said it had taken deliberate action to ensure the representation of women as a previously disadvantaged group. The percentage of women was at 46% currently in the Department, and the aim was to reach the 50% mark, as decided by the Cabinet in 2002. There were programmes in place dedicated to empowering women more, and all official statements and speeches in multilateral forums had to reflect gender issues and the empowerment of women. An outreach initiative was planned to support gender mainstreaming, job shadowing, youth, and people with disabilities.

Discussion

The Chairperson asked Members if they had anything to add or correct on the draft report.

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) noted that this was a good, comprehensive, and detailed report which proves that as the Committee, they are doing their oversight role. He suggested that since some of the matters and recommendations noted in the report are yet to be implemented by the Department, it should be noted in writing, the Committee will continue to keep track and check if the Department has implemented them. The Committee will continue to monitor these developments.

Ms T Msane (EFF) commended the report but noted that they were some issues that the Content Advisor was addressing in the reading of the report which is not captured in the report and should be reflected. These issues are for instance point 11, on Zanele Mbeki  - the report should mention that it was not only about the name that got the foundation to win the project, but it was also nominated because of its good work to do the project. Mention was made of properties allocated to the Department but are not being attended to and that should be mentioned in the report as it is missing. On point 9, the report should also mention that they were allocated land, but the land is wet.

Mr BNkosi (ANC) noted that on the UNSC, is it not possible for the report to not make a conclusive judgment but rather state that the organs of the UNSC should continue to make effort and change the power relations of the UNSC.

The Content Advisor advised the Members that some of the explanations she was making during the presentation are not developments that happened during the 100 days, but she was just mentioning them so that the Members are aware that the information is not lost. The examples given were mainly to highlight that this was a work in progress in line with the recommendation.

The Chairperson pointed out that the Committee should now allow the report to be polished and edited so that they can request to have it tabled in Parliament.

Consideration and adoption of Committee minutes

The Committee also considered and adopted Committee meeting minutes which were outstanding.

The Chairperson thanked the Members for attending the meeting and encouraged Members to attend the National Assembly in the afternoon.

Meeting adjourned.