DPME, Stats SA, Brand South Africa, GCIS & MDDA 2019/20 Annual Performance Plans

Meeting report

Opening Remarks

Mr Jackson Mthembu, Minister in the Presidency welcomed the opportunity to appear before the Committee to account on what the Department will do with the allocations that have been made to the Department. The Department was ready to make the plans of all the entities available to the Committee.

 

He said that the President had made some determinations recently. Among the determinations was the inclusion of Brand South Africa, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), and Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA) in the Presidency. All along, these three entities were housed under the Department of Communications. They will now be housed under the Presidency. These three entities will be part of the Presidency vote on the 17th of July. He asked the Members to make themselves ready for the debate on the 17th. The debate on Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will take place on the 9th of July. The Debate on the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluations will take place on the 10th of July.

 

Briefing by Statistics South Africa on the Annual Performance Plan (APP) for 2019/20 Financial Year

Mr Risenga Maluleke, Statistician General: Statistics South Africa, briefed the Portfolio Committee on the APP of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for the 2019/20 financial year.

 

Stats SA is a National Government Department and is accountable to the Minister in the Presidency responsible for the collection, production and dissemination of official and other statistics. It must coordinate all the producers of statistics in line with the Statistics Act.

 

The Statistician General must always exercise independence and execute the Act and is responsible for official and other statistics. The Statistics Council advises both the Statistician General and the Minister. However, the Minister or the Statistician General may not accept advice based on various reasons. When they do so, they are expected to inform Parliament and Members of the public.

 

Statistics South Africa has 20906 staff members, with 1815 members at the head office and 1091 members in provincial offices. This number keeps diminishing from 3300 in the last few quarters.

 

Statistics South Africa has 630 work program targets and an annual budget of R2.3 billion.

There are 260 statistical products per year.  These are the main products. The Department also has value added products where the Department writes stories out of the data to assist the public so that they are not just thrown with numbers.

 

Discussion

Mrs C Motsepe (ANC) asked for an understanding on how Stats SA evaluates information from State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

 

Mrs Motsepe asked for numbers of people who are dying in terms of race and gender and age. She also asked for an explanation on why they are dying.

 

Ms M Mokause (ANC) noted that the presentation had indicated that Stats SA would be going digital by the year 2021. She wondered how that would be possible given that trained staff members were leaving the organization. She also asked for an explanation of why the staff members were leaving Stats SA.

 

Dr LA Schreiber (DA) asked if Stats SA has a retention strategy to minimize turnover given that the organization invests a lot in skills development of staff.

 

Dr Schreiber noted from the presentation that Stats SA makes an effort to link data-based facts to policy. The presentation provided evidence that Agriculture, Mining and Manufacturing are three major sectors that have not been performing well for more than one quarter. However, the reality is that the policy discussion regarding the three sectors has not changed. He asked for an understanding of the efficacy of Stats SA's efforts to link facts to policy.

 

Dr Schreiber said that the overall statistics on poverty were devastating. However, Cape Town was an exception in that it had experienced a decline in both the poverty rate and poverty intensity. He asked for an understanding on why that was the case for Cape Town. The understanding would be crucial in implementing measures to reduce overall poverty in South Africa.

 

Dr Schreiber asked for a further explanation on why the social grants are not sustainable.

 

Mrs M Clarke (DA) wondered how Stats SA was going to continue doing its work which is of utmost important in terms of assisting in policy direction to stimulate the country. What methods will be put in place in terms of this matter and the staff component?

 

Ms M Ntuli (ANC) was worried that Stats SA might one day collapse due to the exit of staff. The collapse of Stats SA could be detrimental to the country because it is the country's main source of data. She asked if there was anything that could be done to increase the budget of Stats SA.

 

Ms Ntuli said that the fact that most of the youth in South Africa do not proceed to universities after matric could imply that the country does not have a bright future. She asked for an explanation of how the provinces are reacting to this issue. What are the provinces doing to ensure that youth go to universities upon completing their matric?

 

Ms R Lesoma (ANC) said that the products of Stats SA are important to the government given that they inform the government’s budget allocation and planning. She asked the Minister to lobby the powers that be to ensure that Stats SA delivers in terms of its core mandate.

 

 

Ms Lesoma asked if there were any projects that Stats SA had to abandon because of financial constraints. If so, what would be the implications of abandoning those projects?

 

Ms Lesoma asked if Stats SA had started piloting the digital census for the year 2021. How would Stats SA ensure that there is a smooth migration from manual to digital census?

 

Ms Lesoma asked Stats SA to ensure that the legislation reform is evident to the Ministry and the Portfolio Committee. This would allow the Committee to start working on it in time and Parliament would not be put under pressure in terms of finalisation before the end of the Sixth Term.

 

Mr B Maneli (ANC) said that social grants could be an important intervention in that it deals with issues of poverty. He asked for further explanation on why social grants are unsustainable.

 

Mr Maneli said that normally, educated people tend to migrate from rural to urban areas. He asked Stats SA to explain if trends in migration from one province to another are captured in the data.

 

Responses from Statistics South Africa

Mr Mthembu stated that the Ministry was also concerned with the budgetary challenges that Stats SA was experiencing. One of the consequences of these challenges is the inability to fill the positions of staff members who leave in search of greener pastures. He said that the high quality of the staff members who exit the organisation is evidenced by the fact that these individuals occupy higher positions once they are poached by organisations such as the UN (United Nations). To prevent the exit of staff, the Ministry will intervene on the highest level.

 

Mr Mthembu said that Stats SA is an institution that should definitely be allowed. The institution provides critical information regarding the status quo of the economy and what must be done to improve the economy. Without the products of Stats SA, there would be no way of knowing if the goal of improving the country is materialising. The Ministry will do everything in its power to speak to the Minister of Finance and the President so that Stats SA should not collapse and that it remains independent.

 

Mr Mthembu said that it would have been helpful if the Statistian-General (SG) had indicated where the monies were being allocated as well as where the red flags are. This would help the Committee Members to clearly understand what the difficulties are.

 

Mr Maluleke responded that Stats SA does not evaluate SOEs. The institution only collects information from households and industries in general.

 

Mr Maluleke said that there has been a decline in the number of deaths from 2006 to present.  The number of deaths has decreased from about 700 000 per annum to about 552 000 deaths per annum. The black Africans and Coloureds are dying largely from communicable diseases. The Asians are dying from diseases of lifestyle such as diabetes, hypertension and heart related diseases.  In relation to gender, the biggest killer among women is diabetes, which starts to creep in at the age of 45. Males on the other hand are mainly dying from tuberculosis, which starts from about 29 years of age. In the case of Coloured males, the deaths are mainly attributed to violence and accidents.

 

Mr Maluleke said that the institution will be able to go digital although employees are exiting. When they exit, their jobs remained. The institution will therefore train the remaining employees and put them in a position where they can take up the work in the digital space.

 

Mr Maluleke said that staff is leaving in search of greener pastures because they do not see opportunities for promotion or growth within the institution. The younger employees are usually employed by financial institutions such as banks, whereas older employees are taken by organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Statistics Australia and Statistics Canada.

 

Mr Maluleke said that Stats SA has a strategy to retain staff members. However, the strategy cannot be implemented because the institution cannot hire staff.

 

Mr Maluleke said that the job of statisticians is to give data and not to go into the policy space and make recommendations. Providing policy recommendations would result in the loss of the SG's independence, which would be a serious problem.

 

Mr Maluleke said that, in relation to poverty in Cape Town, Stats SA does not ask what is causing the decrease in the intensity of poverty. Poverty is measured using income and expenditure surveys as well as the living conditions survey. According to these surveys the white population group has more opportunities in the Western Cape than anywhere else in the country. Furthermore, the white population is the largest population cohort in the Western Cape. This cohort earns and spends more than other population groups. This information is reflected in the surveys and ultimately affects the poverty indices.

 

Mr Maluleke said that the provinces do use the data provided by Stats SA. The government is the main client. However, Stats SA also addresses political parties. The ANC and the DA demand the services of Stats SA more than any other political party. Statistics is a public good and Stats SA will continue making it available while maintaining its independence.

 

Mr Maluleke said that, regarding Census 2021, Stats SA did the test for the previous year. There are three stages to be followed before doing the full census. These include test, pilot and rehearsal. This year, Stats SA will be doing the pilot and the next year will be for the rehearsal. This helps the organisation to understand the issues that may surprise Stats SA during the full census.

 

He said that later this year, Stats SA will be approaching politicians and policy makers to inform them of the works that the institution will embark on and to ask for assistance in reaching out to the society at large. There are problems in Gauteng and the Western Cape. The gated communities are completely barricaded. There is a time when a crime happens in a gated community and the South African police services cannot go in. Stats SA relies on fieldworkers in the gated communities. If the police cannot enter, it is very difficult for the fieldworkers to access those gated communities.

 

Mr Maluleke said that social grants are not sustainable because when children grow, they get out of the system and wait until they are 60 years old. Data shows that income starts to decline faster after the age of 60. So, there is a society of people who are waiting to grow old so that they can get social grants. It is not sustainable because there is a certain cohort that is not covered. The cohort which is not covered tends be unemployed. Therefore, the issue of the social grant not being sustainable raises a serious challenge.

 

Mr Maluleke said that people are leaving the Eastern Cape for the Western Cape in larger numbers. Initially, it used to be people of working age. Now, children are also following their parents, and this is reflected in the data. Limpopo is the biggest contributor to Gauteng. However, in Limpopo it is only the working group that is migrating, and the majority are remaining. Limpopo always retains the lowest unemployment rate which is equal to that of the Western Cape. However, it has one of the highest unemployment rates when the expanded definition of unemployment is taken into consideration. On the other hand, about 50% of international migrants choose Gauteng as their destination. For that reason, the population of Gauteng is now the biggest with 14.72 million, as of the first of July 2018.

 

Mr Maluleke said that regarding projects that have stopped, Stats SA has ended the Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) and the Living Conditions Survey.

 

Briefing by Brand South Africa on the APP for 2019/20 Financial Year

Ms Thulisile Manzini, Acting Chief Executive Officer: Brand South Africa, briefed the Portfolio Committee on the 2019/20 APP of Brand South Africa.

Brand South Africa was established in 2002. It is the official agency appointed to manage the reputation of the National Brand. It is the official custodian of the National Brand.

Brand South Africa’s primary focus is to develop and implement proactive, coordinated marketing and communications reputation management strategies for South Africa. Its Main objective is to market South Africa to domestic and international audiences, positioning South Africa as a competitive investment destination, and to inspire and instil active citizenship amongst South Africans.

Brand South Africa was established with the ultimate aim to “make a contribution to economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation and social cohesion by encouraging local and foreign investment, tourism and trade through the promotion of Brand South Africa.”

                                                                                                (See attached report)

 

Discussion

Ms Ntuli asked for an understanding of how Brand SA recruits their ambassadors. What criteria are used for recruitment?

 

Ms Ntuli asked if Brand SA plays a role in addressing social cohesion issues, such as Xenophobia, which have the potential to dent the reputation of the country and reduce levels of investment.

 

Ms Ntuli asked if Brand SA creates platforms in other countries which allow for the marketing of the South African brand.

 

Mr C Inkosi (IFP) asked if Brand SA has a yardstick for measuring the success versus the negative reporting, by some media rooms, that South Africa is unsafe for investment because of the issue of land expropriation without compensation.

 

Mrs Motsepe asked why Brand SA does not market the indigenous textile material. Doing so would avoid white monopoly capital taking supreme role in the textile industry.

 

Ms Mokause noted that the presentation had indicated that the board members are trustees. She asked for an understanding of their terms of office for their appointment. Where does the appointment come from and where is it advertised?

 

She asked if the work of Brand SA is somehow influenced by an office or political party. Is Brand SA independent enough to carry out its mandate?

 

Ms Lesoma requested that the Committee be provided with a list of entities which have boards or commissions whose legal appointment warrants the involvement of Parliament.

 

Ms Lesoma asked for an explanation of the relationship that Brand SA has with GCIS, DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and Dirco in terms of ensuring that there is one message with many voices

 

Ms Lesoma asked if there is any private sector company that has requested partnership with Brand SA. South African companies also market themselves abroad.

 

Dr Schreiber said that their seemed to be an overlap in the works of Brand SA and Dirco. He asked for and explanation on how the two entities are linked.

 

Dr Schreiber said that South Africa's brand, in Africa, is in trouble. The issue of xenophobia is one of the main contributors to that. He asked Brand SA to share what different markets think about the brand of South Africa. What, in a simple sentence, is the brand of South Africa?

 

Dr Schreiber said that private sector entities can form part of the national brand. He asked for an explanation on how Brand SA links with private brands and how they can play a positive role in promoting the national brand

 

Responses by Brand South Africa.

Mr Mthembu said that Brand SA is a trust and there is a trustee who is a board member. Now, the board's time expired at the end of May. So, there is only one board member remaining whose term ends next year.

Mr Mthembu said that the board is appointed by the President through a process that is undertaken in the Department. The Department places the advertisement. Unlike other Chapter Nine and Ten institutions, Parliament does not get involved in the appointment of the board. There are certain powers, in terms of the Trustees Act, that resides with the board or the trustees and these powers can only be exercised by the executives if delegated and when delegated. So, the Department will be working very hard for the board to be established.

Mr Mthembu said that the party that won the elections is the party that is governing the organisation. So, Brand SA and the governing party have a relationship by law. Their relationship, however, is with the Minister and the President. They work with the President in branding the country. They may also work with members of the position as they visit various countries. The important thing is that they are branding the reputation of the country to influence the look of the country to the international community.

He emphasised that Brand SA is not mandated to serve the interest of a political party. They serve the interest of the country with an understanding that the governing party is in government.

 

Ms Manzini responded that the ambassadors are vetted. In terms of recruitment, the ambassadors are identified by Brand SA by what they do. Once identified, they are engaged. There are agencies that vet them. The vetting is not in terms of state security vetting but in terms of the work that they do and the impact of their work on the lives of the citizens.

 

She emphasised that these ambassadors are different from the Dirco ambassadors.

 

Ms Manzini said that Brand SA has a relationship with Dirco, DTI and GCIS. Brand SA works together with these entities to send a message. However, when it comes to the products, there is an agency which is under the DTI called Proudly South African. They deal with issues of the types of products.

 

Ms Manzini said that Brand SA has three stakeholders. These include business, government and civil society. Brand SA has a relationship with these stakeholders and it is accessible to anybody that wants to see Brand SA.

 

Ms Manzini said that there is no overlap between the work of Brand SA and the work of Dirco. Dirco has a specific mandate which is different from that of Brand SA. The mandate of Brand SA is to market the country.

Ms Sithembile Ntombela, Acting Chief Marketing officer: Brand SA, said that Brand SA does provide platforms that assist South Africans to brand themselves as South Africans and to showcase the work that they do. With the 'Play Your Part ' program, Brand SA goes to the outreach in communities to encourage content sharing, where people share their unique stories that can help Brand SA to tell a better South African story. These stories showcase several platforms such as BBC and CNN.

Ms Ntombela said, regarding the definition of South Africa in a sentence, South Africa is a country with potential, a country that inspires new and different ways of doing things.

Ms Ntombela said that Brand SA conducts several pieces of research. There is a study which is commissioned in 16 markets, where 3000 investors are targeted. These investors are asked to explain the brand associations of South Africa. The answers correlate with the GDP analysis. South Africa is usually associated with Mining and Agriculture. Given that the services sector is starting to grow, Brand SA will have to change the marketing strategies to paint South Africa as an Innovative country. The adverts will now focus more on innovation and technology. 

Ms Ntombela said that private companies play a major role in elevating the brand of the nation. Brand SA asked several private companies to help in promoting the brand of the country and the feedback was very positive. Private sector companies are determined to show the rest of the world that South Africa is a country that inspires new ways.

Briefing by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) on their APP for 2019/20 Financial Year

Ms Pumla Williams, Acting Director-General: GCIS, briefed the Portfolio Committee on GCIS's APP for the 2019/20 financial year.

According to Section 195(g) of the Constitution, the public should be provided with timely, accurate and accessible information.

In 1998, the South Africa Communication Services was dissolved and the GCIS was established by Cabinet, largely based on recommendations contained in the report of the Task Group on Government Communications.

GCIS aims to deepen democracy and sustain national building and patriotism by ensuring that the citizenry is informed about government programs and that they can influence and participate in such programs.

Discussion

Ms Ntuli wondered why there were many acting positing at GCIS. She asked for an understanding on the reason why there are so many vacancies.

Ms Ntuli noted that the GCIS works with provinces and municipalities in terms of communications. She asked if there are measures in place for those who do not comply.

Ms Ntuli pointed out that there is a lot of distorted information in the country. She asked if GCIS has measures in place to deal with this problem.

Ms Ntuli noted from the presentation that the GCIS meets with the clusters to compile reports. She asked for an explanation of what happens after the compilation of the reports.

Ms Clarke noted that the GCIS produces fact finding sheets after Cabinet meetings. She asked if these fact-finding sheets are circulated to Committee Members.

Dr Schreiber said that South Africa has had a bad experience recently regarding propaganda. He asked for an understanding of how GCIS corrects narratives that are deemed to be incorrect. He asked further what controls or checks are in place to avoid false narratives.

Mrs Motsepe asked for an explanation on how often the Department updates its reports on websites and other means of information.

Mrs Motsepe asked for an understanding on how GCIS effectively collects information from officials and communities.

Mr Maneli noted that cabinet also works with GCIS in terms of managing what has to be communicated. However, in a situation where a Minister goes out and acts as a spokesperson for cabinet, there was lack of clarity on how GCIS prevents the message from being distorted. He asked for clarity on the issue.

Mr Maneli noted that anything above 10% in terms of vacancy should be regarded as a crisis. He asked if the vacancies in GCIS are budgeted for. If they are funded, why are they not filled?

Responses by GCIS

Mr Mthembu said that the Minister of Communications is the official responsible for Communications within Cabinet. The Minister is responsible for ensuring that Cabinet outcomes are communicated under the jurisdiction of the government communication force. However, because minsters, by their nature, have many responsibilities, it would be ideal to have a government spokesperson.  The spokesperson would be the individual who just sits in Cabinet and after that, in consultation with the minister responsible for communication, then goes and communicates. It is something being looked at, but in the meantime; the Department will continue to speak on behalf of government until the matter is resolved.

Mr Mthembu said that members of parliament have access notes on issues discussed by Cabinet. Regarding issues discussed by Cabinet, the note is put on the website. The statements can easily be accessed from the GCIS website. 

Ms Williams said that regarding dealing with propaganda, the GCIS tries to encourage communicators not to lie because the truth eventually catches up. The Communication of GCIS is the communication of the truth.

Ms Williams said that the vacancies in GCIS have a history. They date as far back as seven ministers. Every time a new minister comes, they say they are going to address it and then they leave without addressing it. All the posts are funded, but the Minister is also looking at addressing the matter.

Ms Tasneem Carrim, Acting DDG: GCIS, said that regarding measures for those who do not comply with the communications policy,  the communication policy was adopted by Cabinet in August 2018. GCIS started doing some research on how the compliance has been going. According to the finding, compliance problems have not been too bad. In the past, one would find that a Department or municipality or province might  not have a communication strategy. Now, around 60% have an approved communication strategy. That indicates that there is some level of compliance. The only tool available now is to be able to take the issue to the DG, who can take it to other DGs and courage them to comply. Failure to do that, the issues can be passed on to the Minister. Later, with time, the Department will be stronger on the level of compliance.

Ms Carrim, said that GCIS is particularly conscious that its job is for the government, and that the information that is put out must be the truth and must be factual.

Ms Carrim said that GCIS provided information to the public and does not necessarily ‘push’ propaganda. The information is meant to help people. It is a constitutional mandate, because people are supposed to have information that helps them to improve their lives. In an ideal world, every South African will be able to access that information. GCIS is still striving to reach that level. The South African Year book is the primary information resource. The book is only available online now due to budget cuts. The question is: ‘what happens to the people who do not have access to the internet’? As soon as funds are available, the GCIS will start printing again.

Ms Carrim said that the GCIS website is sometimes faster than Departmental websites. This means that GCIS will have its information quicker than other sites. The information is as up-to-date as possible. The information is updated every day.

Mr Michael Currin, Acting DDG: GCIS, said that GCIS rests on the premise of development communication - Information that changes the lives of the users and the readers. Once reports are presented to the cluster, the DG is approached to give red flags. Reports are used as instruments to guide and to make suggestions about where government can optimise its communication. The report is also used to inform and instruct where government communication can be improved.

Mr Currin said that GCIS has roughly 52 district offices.  GCIS listens to people. Those districts have staff with interface, with structures, with community organisations which speak to the community and find out what is going on in the town and meet with community organisations. In that way, GCIS collects information. Also, in the provincial offices, GCIS is using the community radios a lot. The GCIS guys would go on a station at night and run a one hour talk show with a mayor or a counsellor and then get the information from that program.

Mr Mthembu said that he is concerned about the vacancies in most of the entities, including GCIS. It is something that will be worked on. He and the Deputy Minister have agreed that one of the deliverables in the 100 days is to stabilise these entities. They cannot operate in this manner where they cannot fill posts.

Briefing by Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) on the APP for 2019/20 Financial Year

Ms Zukiswa Potye, Acting Chief Executive Officer: MDDA, briefed the Portfolio Committee on MDDAs APP for the 2019/20 financial year.

The following is the mandate of the MDDA:

• Encourage ownership of, and access to, media by HDGs as well as by historically diminished indigenous language and cultural groups;
• Encourage the development of human resources and training, and capacity building, within the media industry, especially amongst HDGs;
• Support initiatives which promote literacy and a culture of reading;
• Encourage research regarding media development & diversity and

liaise with other statutory bodies such as ICASA and USAASA;

• Encourage the channelling of resources to the community media sectors; and
• Raise public awareness about media development & diversity issues.

Discussion

Ms Lesoma suggested, regarding beneficiaries coming back again after two years, that in line with the mission of the MDDA, the Department should look at other ways of communication platforms to ensure compliance with the mission, so that they can be self-sustainable moving forward.

Ms Ntuli noted that in the presentation, it was emphasised that by the next financial year, the Committee will see a great improvement in the audit outcomes. She said that the Committee was looking forward to the improvement.

Ms Mokause said that some community radio stations or some print media are sometimes forced to close doors due to the lack of financial support and the failure to sustain their establishment. She asked for an understanding about the MDDAs period of mentoring to make sure that they do not collapse within a year or two, after funding them. Communities are dependent on them in terms of communication. Does the MDDA just give the money or is there a certain period where they are mentored through the process?

Response by the MDDA

Mr Mthembu said that the board only has five members now out of a board that needs to have nine. The fact that they are five does not mean that the number to quorate decreases. It remains at five. So, if one member is not there, then the board is not quorate. That is the difficulty that they have had over  some time. The five members have tried to meet, but for many reasons at times, they would just be four. If they do not make the five, they go back home.  That is the problem, and the matter will be attended to as soon as was possible. In the Fifth Parliament, the communications portfolio did do something regarding this matter.

He recommended that the Committee should interact with the Portfolio Committee on Communications to see whether it is possible to resuscitate or to revive whatever work that they had done in relation to this matter.

Ms Zukiswa Potye, Chief Director Planning:GCIS welcomed the comments from Members on strengthening the organisation and on the qualified audit.

Ms Potye said, in terms of the projects closing, that it is a serious concern for the MDDA because it talks to issues of sustainability. She added that in terms of mentoring and coaching, it is an endless process.  It does not end. It is the intention of the MDDA not to let them die.

Mr Mthembu said that these community media stations are a product of a democratic government. The Democratic government has a duty to ensure their sustainability. There is a policy in government which says that at least 30% must be ring-fenced  of whatever tenders that are put out for small and emerging businesses. Community media falls into that category.  Ring-fencing could mean that the Department must effectively support these small and emerging media platforms in the communities. These community media have become part of the community and they are quite effective.

He asked Ms Williams to provide an understanding on the difficulties associated with supporting the community radios. What are the difficulties in them leveraging business adverts from these communities that they are serving?

Ms Williams said that the creation of the MDDA was the mandate of the ruling party. There was the need to begin to deal with the media diversity in the country. It was then agreed that the MDDA should be formed to be able to do that. In 2010, there was no progress. The community radios were being set up, but nobody wanted to use them.  A decision was then taken by government to start forcing Departments to do their media buying via these entities because they had to be self-sustainable. In 2011, the GCIS decided that for all the media buying that is commissioned by Departments, a certain percentage must go to the community media. Government has been doing that. Regarding the progress, it moved from zero but was still less than 30%. Attempts have been made to engage with the National Treasury to relax the procurement system, because it is not viable. The point GCIS was making to National Treasury is that National Treasury should give GCIS a practice notes. The procedure of tendering is not going to work with the media buying.  The practice note was going to force the Departments to do their media buying via GCIS. However, National Treasury is refusing to provide that practice note.

Ms Martna Della Togna, Board member: MDDA, said that the adverting industry in the country remains untransformed and still does not recognise the value and the kind of audiences that the community media sector presents. It is something that the MDDA was to pay attention to. There is a need for Parliament and the Minister and the board members to really crack this holy grail and make sure that the advertising industry opens and recognises local advertising opportunities and the value of reaching people.

Briefing by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) on the APP for 2019/20 Financial Year

Ms Mpumi Mpofu, Director General: DPME, briefed the Committee on DPME's APP for the 2019/20 financial year.

The APP 2019-20 reflects the DPME strategic intent to coordinate and lead the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Government programmes to ensure the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030.

The DPME has developed the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-2024 which constitutes the NDP 5-Year Implementation Plan and the Integrated Monitoring Framework to guide the work of the 6th Administration.

The MTSF is guided by the commitments outlined in the 6th Administration which were outlined in the June SONA as follows:

• Economic Transformation and Job Creation;
• Education, Skills and Health;
• Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basis services;
• Spatial integration, human settlement and local government;
• Social Cohesion and safe communities;
• A capable, ethical and developmental state; and
• A better Africa and World

Discussion

Mrs Motsepe asked for an explanation on why the target of women in the senior management position was not achieved.

Mr Maneli asked for clarity on the relationship the DPME has had with land reform as it relates to a development framework. He asked if, from a point of view of planning, it is originally on the side of the DPME.

Mr Maneli was concerned about distressed mining towns. The emphasis in the presentation was more on the human settlement side of things, however on the ground; the real issue is about changing the social outlook of those areas beyond mining. Because the emphasis has been on human settlements, the government produces more houses for those that get retrenched but there is no real focus on the economy. The focus of the Sixth administration has now shifted the growing of the economy as opposed to just looking at the housing. He asked if there is a possibility to look at that.

Ms M Clarke (IFP) asked if the performance agreement is made public for DGs, Deputy Ministers and Ministers.

Ms Clarke noted that the presentation spoke of alignment in terms of SOEs, provinces and municipalities. She asked if the Department has the capacity to ensure that that happens. This is because that has not happened for many years.

Ms Clarke said that in many instances’ tenders are awarded to companies that do not necessarily have the skill-set for that tender, and then the work is outsourced. When the work is outsourced, those contracts that they outsource to are not paid. That becomes a big problem within government. These things are very important to monitor and to ensure that these things do not happen anymore.

Ms Lesoma advised that the DPME should take the issue of assessment of accessibility of government front line buildings in terms of the service delivery and assess whether they are accessible to people living with disabilities.

Ms Ntuli asked for an explanation on how the government reacts to cases where one policy might contradict another one and the implications thereafter.

Ms Ntuli asked how the DPME ensures efficiency in terms of service delivery in various Departments. For instance, in some Departments, one may find that only two people are working instead of five people. How does the DPME prevent such issues from happening?

Ms Ntuli said that there is a serious problem with clinics and it is beginning to happen to hospitals as well with medication. She asked for an understanding on what the DPME has done as part of monitoring to address the matter.

Ms Mokause said that there is a huge number of service delivery protests across the country. She asked for an explanation on how the DPME was assisting  in terms of guiding some government departments and municipalities on how to curb these protests.

Response by the DPME

Mr Mthembu said that there is division of labour that has happened between the Minister and the Deputy Minister. This gives the Deputy Minister some focus in the overall work that the Department does. The Deputy Minister, among other things will be responsible for the frontline services.

Mr Mthembu said that one important priority area is the building of a capable ethical developmental state. The Deputy Minister should assist in this area and all elements that are linked to this area. The government wants to build and professionalise the public service so that there are public servants who are contracted to government that do not just do the work of the government.  Now DGs are employed on a contractual basis. Experience has shown that there is a direct correlation between DGs who have been in the field long and the performance of their Departments.  Changing DGs, frequently, in any environment has a negative effect on the performance of the Department. It is something that the Deputy Minister working together with DPSA should look at.

Mr Mthembu said that regarding the performance agreements between the Ministers and the President, the president might decide whether to make them public or not. Generally, the MTSF will make it public sometimes. The content of the MTSF usually gives hints on what the performance agreement is.

Ms Mpofu responded and said that regarding women in senior management, the gender difference looks bigger percentage wise but in fact it is just a difference of three people.  Otherwise, the Department would prefer more women in this SMS position than men.

She added that the positions require a PHD level qualification. However, the reality of the society is the people who have got the time to go and study for a PHD are those who do not have responsibilities of children which is just a societal constraint. The influx of professionals who come in are influenced by who has more time compared to others who do not have too much time. But the Department seeks women and makes sure that they get preference.

Ms Mpofu said that the Department will come when it has the MTSF to share the new integrated planning framework which puts the NDP at the top. Now that there is an MTSF which has a five-year plan in it, it sits at the national level, and the provinces are driven by provincial growth and development strategies and then the municipalities are driven IDPs. This integrated framework pulls them all together into one. The Department is happy to share this with the Committee.

She said that she has already been to Kwa Zulu-Natal and Gauteng has asked the Department for an interaction to deliver the MTSF to them. They are presenting their PGDS (Provincial Growth and Development Strategy) to the Presidential Coordinating Council where they present their PGD which is in line with the MTSF. This integration is possibly the best the Department has ever achieved because provinces are responding so nicely.

Ms Mpofu said that the Department is going to come to the Sixth Parliament and will bring the Integrated Planning Framework Bill. Currently, the Department has gotten a reaction from provinces on PGDSs and the hope is that municipalities will respond to the PGDSs. The National plan does not undermine IDPs.  It in fact just provides a framework within which priorities are set and targets are set for how an IDP must be prepared. Coordination of plans does not mean undermining others. All spheres of government must plan; it is just that they must all talk the same language.

Ms Mpofu said, regarding distressed mining towns, the emphasis is a big package that relates to all activities. It is just that government tends to do those things it can do because it has the budget to do so. Traditionally, the Department of Human Settlement moves in first because there is a budget available and they can do it and to just stabilise the community while other matters are being resolved.

Ms Mpofu said that the DPME is taking full responsibility for monitoring SOEs. However, DPMEs capacity will be a limiting factor in terms of dealing with issues around governance and performance of SOEs and Public entities. The Department does not have the Capacity to do more than that. But, initially, the stage is set for the Department to do the first assessment. The DPME does not manage how they run the business, but it does governance and monitoring at a high level of the SOEs

Ms Mpofu said the Department has not looked at issues of tenders and impacts and the awarding of them at local government. However, the Department can commit to looking at that area. The Department can actively start looking at the value for money and whether the government gets value for money on tenders. There is no point in the state issuing out tenders if the value obtained is only around 50% performance.

She said that the Auditor General has advanced in what information it provides the Department. The Department gets the audit report as well as all the background information. Effectively, the DPME can know everything about everyone and that information can be used to do performance assessment properly and even see who incurred irregular expenditure with a tender and what the Department must do to assist in those areas.

Ms Mpofu requested that the Department should come back to the Committee to do a separate presentation on front-line services and Operation Phakisa.

Ms Mpofu said that the issue of non-payment for services is a serious one for the DPME. The DPME must pay for the services before it starts to encourage others to make the payments.

Ms Mpofu said that the idea about front-line accessibility is a brilliant one. The people at the DPME also focus on new buildings such as new clinics, new hospitals and new police stations. The DPME will be able to check the issue of accessibility to disabled people.

Ms Mpofu confirmed that the DPME is the driver of the seven priorities and the Department is responsible for ensuring that everybody is aligned. The DPME also sits and co-chairs the Medium-Term Expenditure Committee (MTEC) with the National Treasury. On this Committee, the job of the DPME is to make sure it is only the priorities that were funded.

Ms Mpofu agreed that policy contradictions do happen. However, whenever a contradiction has been identified, the Department ensures that it is dealt with.

Ms Mpofu said that she was going to ask a capable official in the DPME to come and do a presentation to the Committee on health. He has been going to hospital and clinics and is equipped with information that will be useful to the committee.

Ms Mpofu said that the DPME has access to research on service delivery protests. This research, coupled with the Local Government Management Information system and the Auditor General's consolidated municipal audit, provides the Department with meaningful findings. The major findings are that the protests are higher with those municipalities who have disclaimers, those who do not have capacity, and those who are not doing their work properly etc. The findings enable the DPME to be able to see clearly in areas where it will take a lot to fix that municipality, and remove the grounds for a protest. Another finding is also that a lot of protests are about impatience and lack of communication. In many cases, protests erupt because there has not been adequate communication about what is going on in the community and they are frustrated because they are not getting a response. The weak link in municipalities is wards councillors. The failure to communicate to people at ward councillor level is part of the cause for protests. DPMEs intervention in those instances is to ask COGTA to prioritise those municipalities for service delivery.

The Meeting was adjourned.