Chairperson, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, from time to time I work with people with different skills. Those who are with us today are statisticians. I also work with the economists. Economists make assumptions, and if there was a group of economists today, they would say, assume that the House is full this afternoon. [Laughter.] But unfortunately the statisticians physically have to count, and it's a bit of a contradiction.
Last year when we participated in the Budget Vote of Statistics SA, we thanked everyone in the country for having participated in Census 2011 the previous October. At that point we were still waiting for the results of the census. We released the Census 2011 results on 30 October 2012 in both the standard formats and the ground-breaking Ipad tablet format that some members have obviously seen because the Statistician-General wouldn't want anybody not to have them.
Whilst the purpose of the debate here today is to discuss Budget Vote No 13 of Statistics SA, it is crucial to ensure that the discussions here, very importantly, have context. So, the appeal to Parliament in the course of this debate is to ask a series of questions about the resources available to Statistics SA and about the quality of these and other outputs being published.
For the outputs of Statistics SA to have relevance for development, Parliament needs to advance the discussion about the manner in which available statistics are being utilised for evidence-based policy-making.
I want to emphasise that the responsibility of Stats SA is solely to ensure that the necessary statistics are available, verifiable and that they meet internationally set standards. Statistics SA, supported by the statistics council and the executive authority, must ensure that the manner in which the data is presented is above reproach. One of the significant breakthroughs from the publication of Census 2011 last year is the form and style of data availability. Last week, members of the Standing Committee on Finance were provided with a demonstration of the availability of detailed statistics at ward level, using the My Ward, My Councillor section of the Statistics SA tablet application.
We should point out that the availability of this huge wealth of data in this format is without precedent and places Statistics SA in a position where it is also globally without peer.
The same application is now being used for new releases, and so the quarterly gross domestic product, GDP, release; the mortality and causes of death information; last week, for the very first time, the quarterly labour force survey; and yesterday the mid-year estimates of population, were all released in this format.
We want to submit that in doing so, Statistics SA is discharging its obligation to ensure the timeous dissemination of statistics, as prescribed in section 3 of the Statistics Act, Act 6 of 1999.
However, despite the ease of use and the level of detail availing all of this data in this contemporary format, it appears insufficient to spark curiosity or interest from legislators, policy-makers or the general public. It is this that Parliament must take a view of because, once the data is available, it is no longer Statistics SA's responsibility, but it's the responsibility of all of us who care.
Before I get into the substance of this debate, it may be important for me to reiterate the explanation provided to the standing committee about the definition of employment used by the quarterly labour force survey, QLFS. It would appear that, despite our explanations at the meeting last week, there is still some misunderstanding about the information and figures that Statistics SA releases.
Statistics SA reinstated the expanded definition of unemployment when the decision was made to expand the labour force survey to a quarterly one in 2008. However, the headline figure that is released as the official figure is based on the International Labour Organisation definition where someone is considered unemployed if they meet the following criteria: firstly, without work, that is, were not in paid employment or self-employment as defined by the international definition of employment; secondly, seeking work, that is, have taken active steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment; and lastly, currently available for work.
This adherence to the International Labour Organisation, ILO, definition is to ensure that the current labour market situation is measured objectively and that the measurement can be used to assess South Africa in relation to other countries.
We need to bear in mind that this definition works well under circumstances where the working population engages in paid employment and where the channels for exchange of labour exist and are widely used.
However, the ILO recognises that the definition does not take into account instances where a large portion of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, the labour force is largely self-employed or the labour market is largely unorganised or of limited scope. Statistics SA recognises that there could be impediments to searching for employment for some sections of the population.
The cost of looking for a job is often so exorbitant, relatively speaking, resulting in increasing numbers of discouraged job seekers. Thus, it reports on both the strict unemployment rate and the relaxed, or expanded rate. If any member chooses to look at the information available either on the website or by using the application, they will have access to a complete breakdown of unemployment in terms of race, gender, geographical location, age group, industry, etc.
The notion of having more than one unemployment rate is not unique to South Africa. For example, the United States has six measures of unemployment, with only two being official numbers. We need to recognise that the two unemployment rates in South Africa are not in conflict but rather, they provide indicators for different components of the economy.
While it may seem that I have digressed somewhat from the Budget Vote under discussion today, it is imperative that we understand the importance of maintaining public trust in the outputs of Statistics SA.
If this budget is to be approved by Parliament, we must address not only the issue of resources, but also the quality of the outputs. I want to remind the House of the mandate of Statistics SA as outlined in the Statistics Act, specifically section 3(1), which states that:
The purpose of official statistics is to assist organs of state, businesses, other organisations or the public in -
a) planning; b) decision-making or other actions; c) monitoring or assessment of policies, decision-making or other actions.
The definitions used by Statistics SA therefore have wider implications for planning and assessing the state of our economy as a barometer within the country and internationally. While the quarterly labour force survey measures unemployment using a quarterly household survey of 30 000 households, it's not the only measure. Statistics SA releases quarterly employment statistics that measure the level of employment in all nonagricultural sectors.
It does so by undertaking quarterly surveys of about 20 208 enterprises that are registered for value added tax, VAT, and that are either public or private. In an ideal situation, the results of these two datasets should tend to be similar. That is why in the definitions or in the case of the quarterly labour force survey, QLFS, self-definition becomes a factor. The strategic focus of Statistics SA is to ensure that the work of these two areas is more closely integrated in future to provide for an improved understanding of employment.
In the current financial year, there will be a continued focus on improving the output of a range of equally important datasets that concentrate on the changing demographic profile and health of the population, poverty levels and income and expenditure trends. These are managed through the Poverty and Inequality Statistics, Health and Vital Statistics and Demographic Analysis subprogrammes.
In addition to these regular series relating to social statistics, both government and the private sector rely on key economic data published by Statistics SA.
During my speech last year I referred to the implementation of significant changes in economic statistics, notably in the form of a reweighted and rebased consumer price index, CPI. In line with its programme of continuous quality improvement, the CPI was updated to reflect more accurately changes of prices that affect the lives of households
The refinement assists in ensuring that the SA Reserve Bank has accurate information at its disposal when it makes interest rate decisions. In addition, the producer price index, PPI, was completely overhauled to align it with international benchmarks.
The new suite of five PPIS replaced the single index to allow analysts to provide a better understanding of the transmission of prices through the economy. The new 2012 base ensures that the PPI reflects the dynamics of the economy more accurately. In line with the announcement last year, Statistics SA implemented those changes three months ago, that is, in February 2013. In addition, other improvements on further releases such as improved seasonal adjustment techniques were implemented during the year. They will continue to monitor the impact of these changes to evaluate its efficacy.
For South African statistics to remain valid in a changing global context, the next challenge for economic statistics will depend on their ability to ensure that their classification systems remain relevant and current. In this regard, Statistics SA will continue to explore the implementation of two international standards during the course of the current financial year. The first is the 2008 system of national accounts, SNA. At present, South Africa's national accounts and its economic statistics are estimated according to the 1993 SNA, which still is largely the international framework.
The new SNA was developed by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, and the World Bank and was adopted by the United Nations Statistics Commission to ensure that economic statistics keep track of new economic phenomena that have become important in economies in the past 20 years. An example of this is the need to quantify the value of research and development and include it in estimates of value added in the economy.
The second set of international standards is called the International Standard Industrial Classification, Isic, used by statisticians to divide the economy into different industries such as agriculture, mining and transport according to an agreed standard. The Isic was updated to version four in order to identify and emphasise new aspects of economic activity that have become important, especially in the services sector.
Ideally, these two standards should be implemented simultaneously. Statistics SA is faced with the challenge to ensure that they continue to measure the dynamics of the economy accurately while ensuring that our ability to compare with our international counterparts in OECD, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics, and other trading partners does not become compromised.
The responsibility of ensuring that official statistics are published in terms of distinct standards extends beyond those statistics compiled by Statistics SA. Section 14 of the Statistics Act provides the organisation with the responsibility of co-ordinating statistics among all organs of state. This includes advising departments about improving the quality of statistics, enhancing the comparability of statistics and minimising any possible overlapping or duplication with the collection or publication of statistics.
In the past, I have raised concerns in this House about the effect of our poor educational outcomes. The reality is that a scarcity of mathematics and science skills in this context must be understood in terms of its impact, not only on the human resource challenges faced by Statistics SA directly, but more significantly in terms of the impact on statistical collection and processing by other organs of state.
Ideally, the skills set would exist across departments with the system for managing the quality and standards being with Statistics SA. This unfortunate reality, however, does not absolve Statistics SA of its statutory responsibilities, and in this regard a more hands-on approach is often required. An example of such intervention is a census of schools in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape provinces being undertaken at the request of the Department of Basic Education and the National Treasury.
The objectives are to verify the total number of schools within these provinces, establish the number of school learners and educators per school, establish the education stream and subject offerings of educators and learners, and to establish the qualifications of teachers in relation to the subjects that they are teaching.
It is important that we understand that while Statistics SA is responsible for statistical co-ordination, the capacity to compile data and use statistics to influence policy actually rests with, in this case, the provincial Departments of Education. The challenge of a shortage of relevant skills and the importance of statistical training cannot be emphasised enough.
The approach to the lack of statistical skills cannot simply be a resigned, fatalistic one. In this regard, Statistics SA has established strategic partnerships with various universities including the University of Stellenbosch, the University of Cape Town and the University of KwaZulu- Natal.
Internally, Statistics SA has adopted an approach to addressing the skills shortage by implementing a talent management model that includes recruiting twice as many interns as required. Their skills are developed and fostered within Statistics SA for a period of two years, including providing them with workplace experience by placing the interns with mentors and direct supervisors.
Statistics SA piloted the internship programme during the 2005-06 financial year, when 15 graduates from different South African universities were recruited into the programme. In the current year, the programme has grown to 53 interns. This approach recognises that while the institution will ultimately not employ many of those being provided with these valuable skills, many will also be taken up by the private sector, where the skills are in demand.
Statistics SA remains committed to building statistical skills throughout our country by developing a statistical curriculum that has been incorporated into the mathematics curriculum at schools. In addition, they have implemented a programme that builds statistical capacity across government.
The value of developing skills in order for Statistics SA to meet its strategic mandate can only be measured in the quality of the datasets being published and the public trust placed in Statistics SA. It is precisely because of this focus on the issue of public trust and reliability of data that we need to raise the issue of the single number registration under the Business Register Reform process. This is an issue that has been raised by both the Standing Committee on Finance and the House over the past few years.
As mentioned on numerous occasions, the launch and management of such a system of registration requires co-ordination and correlation of three disparate systems of records managed by the SA Revenue Service, the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission and Statistics SA respectively. Members of the House will also be aware that the CIPC has undergone several changes and challenges in recent times, including the implementation of new provisions of the Companies Act.
Notwithstanding these challenges, the first phase of the system of a single business register has been initiated with effect from 4 May this year. This phase deals with the registration of new businesses by the CIPC. The reregistration process for existing companies is expected to take place by October 2013, when companies will file details with both the SA Revenue Service, Sars, and the CIPC during the tax filing season.
The new forms have been formulated using Isic classification, which will provide Statistics SA with the basis to begin to verify classification and disaggregate multiple classifications where they exist. As the verification process takes place, Statistics SA will establish feedback loops to test the veracity of the information being captured.
In addition, the organisation intends running an Isic survey to act as a further test of accuracy. Taking into account these requirements to verify the precision of the system and the levels of classification, Statistics SA has indicated that they will require a period of 12 months to test whether the data being collected is fit for statistical use in terms of the SA Statistical Quality Assessment Framework. A comprehensive business register is imperative for quality economic statistics as it forms the sampling frame for all economic surveys.
While the Statistics Act clearly designates Statistics SA, and in particular, the Statistician-General, as responsible for the collection, production and dissemination of official and other statistics, it is important that we make the point about the necessity for other sources of information and the need for correlation.
In addition to the requirement that data produced by Statistics SA is accurate, verifiable and timeous, it is crucial that the data is internally verifiable as well. I have mentioned the correlation between the QLFS and the quarterly employment statistics in this regard.
Equally, if there is no functioning business register or system of reporting, the task of sampling is more challenging and the quarterly employment statistics, QES, will be constrained. When there are such conditions, it merely affords naysayers the opportunity to question the veracity of the data.
We must ask Parliament to join us in ensuring that the releases by Statistics SA become and remain the only reliable sources of official statistics in South Africa. They should not be the preferred, but the only reasonable, trusted and verifiable statistics. They must enable every South African to say, the South Africa I know, the home I understand.
While South Africa is the home we have to understand, we are part of a wider community on the continent and globally. Statistics SA has established partnerships with statistics institutions that are part of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and Regional Economic Communities. Statistics SA plays a leading role in initiatives such as the Africa Symposia on Statistical Development, ASSD, the Statistics Commission for Africa, the African Statistics Committee and the Africa Group on Statistical Harmonisation.
One of the significant strides on the continent has been the successful mobilisation of all African countries to undertake population censuses in the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses. We can only assess development and growth on the continent if we have evidence to measure changes. It is crucial that as a continent, we have appropriate and trustworthy statistics based on the same standards. So, building international partnerships becomes important to ensure that there is adherence to benchmarks and that skills are exchanged.
Finally, Chairperson, allow me to comment very briefly on the negative audit outcomes of the 2011-12 budget - the budget of the census year. As the members of this House are aware, the qualified audit was largely on the basis of accruals due to nonpayment of service providers that then flowed into the following year.
While I am fully cognisant of the impending Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, process, I raise this issue principally in the context of any future planning. It is important to understand the reality of the magnitude of the payments that were being processed and the limits of the government Information and Communications Technology, ICT, systems to manage such numbers. Government systems are not designed to cope with such large numbers of invoices and are not integrated to account for intergovernmental transactions.
We call on members of this House to discuss these challenges with a view to future similar large surveys. This call is made particularly in light of recent appeals to Statistics SA to conduct a census every five years as required by the Statistics Act.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Standing Committee on Finance, ably chaired by the hon Thabadiawa Mufamadi, and all members of the committee for their keen engagement with the issues and for their unswerving support of the work of Statistics SA.
In addition, it is important that I take this opportunity to give a special thanks to the outgoing statistics council for the sterling work done of safeguarding the quality of our official statistics. [Applause.]
We need to recognise the significant role they played in steering Statistics SA through the immense task of conducting Census 2011, as well as the support they provided to address the challenges faced with the release and the verification of the data.
Against this backdrop, I place Budget Vote 13 - Statistics SA, before the House for consideration. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson; Hon Minister; the storyteller, the Statistician-General; the Chief Whip of the Majority Party, Mr Ntate Mathole Motshega - the numbers are important, but it is not money today; hon members, fellow South Africans, the noble duty of a population census is not just a collated pool of data on the demographic, social and economic aspects of a country's population. It is a statistical narrative. For us it is a story of our people, of our nation. It is a patriotic story of self- introspection, deep self-scrutiny and connection with who we are. It may not offer us what we need or tell us what we want to hear, but we must allow this story to be told - the story to remind us of our past, reveal the present - so we can learn and make provision for tomorrow.
The key questions are: What do we do about who we are? That is what statistics census outcomes tell us. What do we do about our story? How do our actions contribute to the net result of who we are as a nation? What do we do to bring the best out of our story?
The story we are telling today is a story of bringing equality and quality life back to the historically marginalised black people in general, and Africans in particular. It is a concerted effort by all South Africans to restore the quality of life through statistics, and in turn, regenerating life into statistics, and life into our story. This, compatriots, is a journey traversed over a period of 19 years by the Statistics Council, Statistics SA and the Statistician-General under the stewardship and guidance of the ANC-led government, without compromising its independence.
On 22 August 2011 President Jacob Zuma called on us to open our doors and our hearts to the thousands of enumerators who would be undertaking the census. When the President made this call he knew that he was addressing patriots and citizens who have contracted to work together with their government to address the challenges facing our own country. You did not fail the country and the President of the Republic. You obliged, and for that we wish to thank you most sincerely. [Applause.]
Today we can safely proclaim without fear of contradicting ourselves that the South Africa we live in is the country we know and the home we understand. Therefore, the Census 2011 outcomes are credible and reliable statistical information or data for planning, implementation, co- ordination, monitoring and evaluation of government policies at all levels of our departments, whether national, provincial or local, which is, in reality, the aim of the census.
The success or failure of government interventions aimed at improving and changing the social and economic conditions of the existence of our people, the poor and unemployed, wherever they may reside and whatever challenges they face, will be measured by the progress we make in addressing the levels of inequalities in income, based on race and gender, poverty, and unemployment, particularly amongst the young people.
The Census 2011 outcomes provide us with accurate statistical information and data so that, as a nation, we are better informed and understand the challenges our country still faces. Not only do we need to know our numbers nationally, but we need to know these at the level of every village, suburb, farm, ward, municipality and province.
The Chinese say you must measure seven times before you cut the cloth. It is in knowing the size and magnitude of our problems that we are empowered to address them. If you know it, you can measure it. Together, in unity of purpose, we can appreciate the need to align all our efforts to support and realise the objectives of our National Development Plan.
On 22 August 2011, marking the 50-day countdown towards the census, President Zuma said, and I quote:
We need to know where the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the employed and the unemployed, the learners, the educated and the uneducated live, work and play. The information collected will help government to plan for the future. We must obtain answers to questions such as: What must the South Africa of tomorrow look like?
He went on to say, and I quote:
How many schools are we going to have to build to ensure quality education for all children? How many hospitals or clinics do we need for our sick and the infirm? How much food must we produce now and in the future to eradicate hunger?
Regarding our historical perspective, I want to say that we cannot fight for a better past, so we will lament on it no longer than we should. However, on an occasion like this, it is important to acknowledge where we come from and the progress we have made thus far.
Statistics in the past were used to advance or deny an individual's basic human entitlements such as education, health, safety, housing, economic participation and basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation. This list is endless.
Census 1996 and its outcomes were really the beginning of reconstructing a statistical base for all South Africans by a democratic government. It was indeed a writing-back or response by the people of South Africa to reverse the socioeconomic conditions visited upon the majority of our people by colonial and apartheid rule, so that a correct perspective, not stunned by ineptitude or distracted by racial power, could remain the basis upon which new priorities of a democratic government could be determined, and upon which the Reconstruction and Development Programme could be realised to save our fledgling new nation and democracy. It was a consolidation and amalgamation of five different statistical administrations to harmonise the population census results of 1970, 1980, 1985 and 1991 from four Bantustans and one Republic of South Africa.
It is important to remind ourselves that not only did we inherit this fragmented and corrupted statistical data, but the method used was also different, thus variables used to construct the census outcome for 1970, 1980, 1985 to 1991 were racially based.
The enumeration of the above population census was based on four different measures. That is to say, for the black population only five variables were applied in terms of race, sex, age, marital status and probably employment, and for white South Africans almost all of the 20 variables were used to measure their livelihood.
Today, we can pride ourselves, without fighting for a better past, as a nation that we have a credible and independent statutory body, free of any political manipulation and interference, with depth and resilience. [Applause.] This statutory body has managed to expand its social statistics about society to include other variables that were not there in terms of race. It uses over 20 variables as a measure for all races. It produces quarterly labour surveys which detail employment and employment figures per sector.
Chinua Achebe in his book titled, There was a Country, observed, and I quote:
The denial of merit is a form of social injustice that can hurt not only the individual directly concerned, but the entire society.
And he further said in the same book, and I quote:
Every generation must recognise and embrace the task it is peculiarly designed by history and providence to perform.
President Zuma and his administration have defined a peculiar task for our generation. The National Development Plan, NDP, serves as our common medium to long-term vision around which common programmes of action must ensue. In a sense, the plan enjoins all South Africans to act and unite in purpose in and within our diverse cultures, to fight the culture of poverty and inequalities, irrespective of our social standing or political affiliation.
The NDP provides a new platform and a moral obligation for the rich and powerful to forge alliances with the powerless and the most vulnerable to act in concert. It is here that I now wish to illustrate the achievements of Statistics SA under very difficult, complex and corrupted information from the past administration. These achievements were not without major historical disruptions, as can be said about the 1970 census.
As we walk through our achievements, we can proudly report as follows.
On basic services, in 1996 housing provision was at 65% and by 2011, not the latest, we were at 77%.
In 1996, in terms of piped water, we were standing at 60,8% and today we are at 73%.
In 1996, in terms of electricity, we were standing at 58% and today we are at 84%. These are the statistics. If there is anyone who says that the ANC government has not moved forward, then that person must give me what he or she smokes, so that I can be in the same spirit.
In education, under the policies of the ANC, we have seen an adequate decrease in the proportion of the population with no formal education. In 1996, within two years of the ANC government, there were 4 million people of 20 years and older who had no schooling. In 2011 the ANC government had reduced the number to 2,6 million. This represents a significant shift from 19%. Now we know why some among us want to cast doubts on Statistics SA. We need to advance our people. We need to ensure that the South Africa that we know, the home we understand, is capable of building a capable state through skills.
A steady downward trend is also noticeable in the number of informal dwellings and the use of the bucket system. Here I want to make an illustration in terms of the statistics.
The numbers of informal dwellings per province, expressed as a percentage of the total number of dwellings available, are as follows: In 1996 the figure in Gauteng was 23,4%, and today it has reduced to 21,2%; in 1996 the Western Cape it was 16,7% and today it is 18%. I am sure the majority of the people with this problem live in Nyanga and Gugulethu. These are Africans and people of African origin. They are the descendants of the forefathers and forebearers of our democracy and liberation.
From the figures cited above it is evident that South Africa is making a significant dent towards the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals which were adopted by the heads of state in 2000. In this regard, the use of statistics generated by Statistics SA is indispensable for the purposes of monitoring and measuring our progress.
Let me also reflect on the International best practice vis--vis Statistics SA. It is important to note the significant progress Statistics SA has made in playing its role on the continent. The integration of our economies, exchange of cultural knowledge, tourism and the movement of goods and services are all about people. We have to understand the national account of the countries we are trading with, as Africa is growing at 6% globally. It is important to contribute to the stabilisation of their economies. I must say that Statistics SA, on behalf of the people of South Africa, has done extremely well in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Sudan and in Angola.
Statistician-General, we want to say, keep up the good work in your team. This is a very good contribution in making sure that we, as South Africa, do not only lead in words, but we lead in practice on the continent.
It is my honour and privilege to support, on behalf of the ANC, Vote No 13, as presented by the Minister in the Presidency. I thank you. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, too often our society is personified by shocking violence. These days bring with them the real possibility of brutality on the platinum mines; of the bloodthirsty rape and murder of women; and of the massacre of our soldiers in other countries' wars. This violence is measured in headlines and column inches; in a breakdown of trust between one another; and in a slow and steady rise in the risk investors associate with operating in our country.
But, as Bobby Kennedy so eloquently said:
... there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night.
In a speech, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, he said:
This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colours. This is a slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter. This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all.
This is the violence whose effects are measured by Statistics SA. The slow grind of poverty worsened year after year by the increase in the price of electricity or fuel or public transport, or the creeping desperation of a young South African unable to find her first job, because the only jobs available require work experience. This is why the work of Statistics SA is so critically important. While savage crime has the power, sometimes, to jolt us into action, soon after it occurs, we need to measure the violence of institutions, inaction and slow decay to make them real to South Africans.
So, Minister Manuel, the problem with the unemployment statistics is that broad unemployment, which includes those that have given up looking for work, is not sliced and diced by population group, sex, industry or age, as the narrow definition is, presumably because in the labour force survey, it is not the official definition. That is the reform we are calling for. That will help to make the unemployment statistics real to our people. But that said, without the surveys, estimates and research of Statistics SA, it would be almost impossible to understand the real plight of our people, or to design policies that can start to turn the situation around.
House Chairperson, the Statistician-General is a colourful figure, who figuratively and sometimes literally in his famous yellow suit, brightens up meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance with his jokes and anecdotes. He is also unafraid to weigh in when policy issues of national importance are discussed. We note and welcome his recent support for the youth wage subsidy, which remains unimplemented three years after it was announced, when he said:
But I think if one looks at the net end to society, I suspect a with- youth-wage-subsidy environment is a much better option for South Africa in the long term than a without-subsidy environment.
You can speak to the Statistician-General if you have a problem with that. We also welcome his reported comments on the education system, where he pointed out that the 30% pass mark was not helping the youth, and was among factors making some of them unattractive to prospective employers. There are too few voices from the top of government prepared to stand up to the reform-blockers, the stonewallers, and those who work for their own narrow interests against the wider interests of our children and unemployed youth. We salute the Statistician-General's courage and hope that this government is listening. But the Statistician-General's most important job is to manage the work of Statistics SA, and there is no work done by Statistics SA that is more important than the census.
The data from last year's R3,4 billion census will affect every single item in the national, provincial and municipal budgets. It will define the allocations for departments and provinces, and influence the priorities of every sphere of government. It is important that the census results and processes are beyond reproach. But, unfortunately, there are serious questions about the job that has been done. Members must please note that it is not the DA that is raising these questions. They come from Statistics SA insiders; demographers who have worked with the institutions for 15 years; and senior staff with long records of contribution at the highest level.
When you see University of Cape Town, UCT, demographers, Professor Rob Dorrington and Associate Professor Tom Moultrie, who were retained by Statistics SA to review the census data, given 10 days to work on it when they were promised two months, it is a concerning sign. They identified a serious anomaly in the data where the birth rate, for no apparent reason, appears to have spiked 20% in the past decade. They also identified problems with the provincial population distribution last year, and their concerns appear to have been validated by the publication this week of the mid-year population estimates that, to quote the gentlemen concerned:
... portray a version of the age structure of the South African population that is quite different from that of the census. These two versions cannot both be correct.
These are serious allegations from credible insiders, and they could have real implications for spending on health and education. I ask the Minister to deal with these specifically in his reply. But it was not only external consultants who raised serious questions about Census 2011. The Deputy Director-General of Statistics SA, Jairo Arrow, and the senior statistician, Marlize Pistorius, have now been sidelined by the institution, because they apparently would not support the Statistician- General's estimates of a lower undercount than the official figures; and because they would not reopen the post enumeration survey at the request of the Statistician-General.
Statistics SA and the Statistics Council have rubbished these allegations in general, but they have never provided specific answers to the critical questions raised by these individuals who, given their long track record of service to the institution, have no obvious axe to grind or hidden agenda. I again ask the Minister to respond to these serious charges and explain why Statistics SA was in such a rush to publish the results only 12 months after the census was conducted, when most of our peers in the developing world traditionally take 18 to 24 months after a census to publish their findings. He should also deal with the general decline at the institution, reflected in the Auditor-General's 2012 report. The Minister covered the highlights of that, but I think that they reflect a deep deterioration in Statistics SA's audit outcomes, and were the basis of this year's qualified audit.
The Auditor-General found that 58 officials were supplying other parts of government without approval from the department. He identified that one in three invoices were not settled within 30 days, making them essentially illegal in terms of the Public Finance and Management Act, PFMA, and he counted a significant number of "no shows" for hotels and plane tickets. Minister, you will forgive us for finding it hard to believe that, if this government can pay out R15 million in social grants per month, they lack the systems to pay census suppliers on time.
I think you will agree that this is an alarming state of affairs, and it is telling that the Statistician-General and his team did not provide much reassurance that they had a turnaround plan when they appeared before our committee last week. They complained, instead, about the fact that their budget had declined, but it is difficult to find a basis for this decline. Budgets will naturally increase into a census year and drop off afterwards. Furthermore, in a committee meeting last year, the Minister asked the Statistician-General to justify the increases that were there and appearing in the budget. He was unable to do so, perhaps explaining why this year we see the increases decline through 2014-15 budgets.
But, one of the most alarming areas of nonperformance concerns a project that the Minister covered, that requires co-ordination between Statistics SA, the SA Revenue Service, Sars, and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, CIPC, a single business register. This is a key intervention to cut red tape and make it cheaper and easier to register a business in our country. I call it an alarming failure because it highlights how many of the areas of weakness in individual departments and entities are often multiplied into abject failures by a government defined by a silo mentality, where officials and politicians often seem more interested in protecting their own turf than collaborating to introduce reforms.
Two years ago, the Minister told us this policy framework and draft legislation had been developed and was on its way for Cabinet approval, for implementation in 2013. In 2013, we are advised that internal challenges at the CIPC have delayed the project, and up until today, we have no idea when it will be implemented. Now that the Minister has tabled a revised timeframe, it is critical that he uses his cross-cutting influence in government to influence the CIPC, to ensure that they can end this indifference and inaction that is delaying the delivery of this key project.
Statistics SA has so much to work with, a R1,7 billion budget; a team that is regularly able to conduct credible surveys across this vast country; and an approach to technology and innovation that delivered the truly impressive Roambi Application that allows South Africans to get to grips with the data that defines our country. But, it is now up to the leadership of Statistics SA to fix the internal problems that have resulted in the census making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and led to a qualified audit report. For this, and the task of co-ordinating projects of the single business register across government, the Minister will be held politically responsible. I ask him to deal with these serious issues in full.
If these things can be done, then Statistics SA can expose this violence of institutions, indifference, inaction and slow decay, using credible data unmarred by scandal. That is the first step towards turning the tide against this violence that might not capture the headlines, but that is conducted daily against the people of this country ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, statistics always deal with the known past, but become a very powerful tool to influence the future. People are normally mesmerised by the future; some will waste their money on fortune tellers, others flock to scientists to learn what the future will hold. The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, has a fantastic website where they predict what will happen in the next 100 years.
Let's first look how correctly they forecast 100 years ago what would happen today and then we can judge their predictions for the next 100 years.
John Watson predicted 100 years ago that photographs would be telegraphed from any distance. You know the multimedia messaging, MMS; he predicted that 100 years ago. He predicted that Americans would be taller by two inches - exactly correct. He predicted that mobile phones would be part of our lives and so would television. He was correct. He predicted that we would have ready-cooked meals; he was correct. He predicted that there would be very fast trains running all over Europe and he predicted that boats would fly - we've got the airbus. [Laughter.] So he was remarkably spot-on, this man, but he was wrong on three counts. He predicted that the letters c, x and q would not be part of the alphabet any more. He also predicted that there would be no more motor cars in big cities, and no flies and no mosquitoes; he was wrong on that. But overall, we can take him seriously.
Now, let's see what they are predicting on how this global village will look in 100 years from now. They say we will farm oceans extensively, not only for fish. They say that we will be able to communicate through thought transmission, just by looking at each other. They say that thanks to deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, and robotic engineering, we will have created credibly intelligent human beings - there is some good news for politicians - and they will easily grow to 130 and up to 150 years. We will control the weather. There will be one world currency. We will be wired to computers to make our brains work faster.
Nanorobots will flow around our bodies, fixing cells, and we will be able to record our memory. California will lead the break-up of the United States of America, and China will politically and culturally fragment as well. Space elevators will make space travel cheap and easy. Exciting? Let's wait and see. I don't think it is so exciting.
So we had Census 2011 to tell us about the past, but what must we do now and what must we do to save the future for a better South Africa? Will South Africa be a more equal society in future, in the next 100 years, hopefully, or sooner? That question will be answered if we are successful in implementing the National Development Plan, NDP, at all levels.
Clearly this census has shown us how far we are from a desired South Africa. It is clear from the census that our society is still divided around class and race lines and between rich and poor. According to the Statistician-General, and I quote him: Class is emerging as a feature, but this is not dominant as yet, and let's hope that this feature will prosper in the next ten years to assist South Africa to grow a more common identity.
Statistics SA is probably by far the most sophisticated, if you compare it with the rest of our continent, Africa. It is good for us from a planning point of view and might give us that edge, because we have good statistics, but sometimes it's my feeling that we are not favourably projected when statistics are being compared to other countries. Are we really sometimes comparing apples with apples? Sometimes we are projected negatively just because we have the statistics available and our competitors' statistics are sometimes doubtful and they are not compared, which does not always put South Africa in the light that we want it to be.
The census provides useful data, but could be improved to have a shorter period between counts. The challenge is now to design cheaper and more effective ways to conduct these counts or censuses. The Census 2011 undercount was 14,6%. It is too high and it must be a concern, especially if we weigh up the cost of a census and the fact that we haven't had a good census for many years. It will be a good exercise for Statistics SA to come up with a plan and to pilot it to make sure that we move to a single-digit level for future counts.
Statistics SA must be commended for the introduction of their mobile application, My Ward, My Councillor. This is opening up a new world and becomes a powerful tool for politicians and local government and, if used correctly, will impact on better service delivery.
The most concerning of statistics of Census 2011 is that there are 14,5 million South Africans who are discouraged workseekers. In other words, 14,5 million have lost their connectivity with the economy and are giving up hope.
According to Professor Adam Saville, when a society believes its engagement with the economy will not change lives, it is in trouble. We have seen it in Egypt. Egypt had a fair economic growth, huge unemployment, a hugely high rate of disengagement among their citizens, and they went belly-up. Let's hope that the National Development Plan will bring back hope to those 14,5 million South Africans.
If we fail them, we shall fail South Africa. The NDP is our vision for the next 20 years. Let's hope it will be embraced by far more South Africans and that we will all realise that this is our opportunity to make a difference. The census has shown the reality of this country, let's use this information to shape the future. [Applause.]
Agb Voorsitter, agb Minister Manuel en ander Kabinetslede hier teenwoordig, agb Hoofseep van die Meerderheidsparty - die ANC - agb lede van die Parlement hier teenwoordig, gaste, statistikus-generaal en personeel, dames en here, kamerade, die ANC-geleide demokratiese regering wat in 1994 tot stand gekom het, het nuwe statistiese vereistes vir Suid- Afrika daargestel, soos reeds deur die agb Mufamadi uiteen gesit is.
Beleidskeppers het statistiese data nodig om sosioekonomiese- en ontwikkelingstandaarde te ontwikkel en om suksesse en mislukkings met die implementering van nuwe programme en beleidsrigtings te meet.
Statistiese inligting is toenemend aangewend om die toedeling van hulpbronne te beplan sodat diegene wat in Suid-Afrika voorheen nie daartoe toegang gehad het nie ook nou toegang kan h. Die toename in die aanvraag na statistiese data het dus voortgevloei uit die ANC-geleide regering se verbintenis tot transformasie en beleidmaking wat op feitelike inligting gebaseer is. Belanghebbendes vereis deurlopend dat Statistiek Suid-Afrika nie net relevante en ho gehalte data produseer nie, maar dat die organisasie 'n raamwerk ontwikkel waarvolgens statistiese inligting wat deur ander navorsingsinstellings in die privaatsektor voorgebring word, gevalueer kan word.
In 2009 het Statistiek Suid-Afrika 'n interne en eksterne beraming onderneem om te bepaal of die stelsel gereed is om positief op die groeiende aanvraag na statistiese inligting uit die oord van die regering en ander belanghebbendes in die privaatsektor te reageer. Daar is bevind dat Statistiek Suid-Afrika konsekwent daarin geslaag het om statistiese produkte te lewer wat aan die internasionale standaarde, soos deur die Internasionale Monetre Fonds, IMF, se spesiale dataverspreidingstandaard voldoen, gegee is.
Statistiek Suid-Afrika verbeter die gehalte en dekking van sy opnames en datareekse deurlopend ten einde te sorg dat dit relevant vir die behoeftes van verbruikers bly. Tesame hiermee moet alle openbare sektor instellings ook hulle eie kapasiteit verbeter om statistiese bruikbare administratiewe data voort te bring - 'n vereiste wat in die Wet op Statistiek van 1999 voorsien is. Di wet het ook vir die kordineringsrol van die statistikus- generaal en die minister verantwoordelik vir statistiek voorsiening gemaak.
Die monitering en meting van die vordering in die nasionale ontwikkeling vereis statistiese data van deurlopend betroubare gehalte. Di strategiese skuif verwys dus ook na gapings in statistiese gehalte, wat vereis dat standaarde vir al le staatsorgane in 'n gekordineerde statistiese opset gestel word. Dit word bewerkstellig deur twee instrumente, naamlik statistiese standaarde en gesertifiseerde standaarde.
'n Verskeidenheid verbeterings is aan belangrike aanwysersreekse soos die verbruikersprysindeks en die kwartaallikse arbeidsmagopname aangebring. Die rigting wat deur Statistiek Suid-Afrika ingeslaan is, is bepaal deur die strategiese vereistes ten opsigte van die infrastruktuur wat vir die uitbreiding van statistiese produksie en organisasie nodig geword het. Die vereiste het die wyse betrek waarvolgens Statistiek Suid-Afrika se eie statistiekproduksie met di van ander staatsorgane kordineer.
In ooreenstemming met die Nasionale Ontwikkelingsplan erken Statistiek SA dat stede 'n sleutelrol te speel het in die groei van die ekonomie, die skepping van werksgeleenthede, die vermindering van ongelykhede, die bevordering van sosiale samehorigheid en die kweking van integrasie. Die sensusdatastel is dus die mees omvattende bron vir die meting van lewensomstandighede, dienslewering en armoede. Die resultate is beskikbaar op stedelike wyksvlakke, die sogenaamde "My Ward, My Councillor", en kan dus op 'n uitgebreide grondslag deur munisipaliteite en metros vir besluitneming, beplanning en monitering gebruik word.
Goeie vordering is dan ook sedert 1994 gemaak met die verbetering van toegang tot basiese munisipale dienste vir die armes. lnformele nedersettings het belangrike sentra van ekonomiese aktiwiteite, besigheidsgeleenthede en ondernemingsontwikkeling geword. 'n Toenemende aanvraag na data vir die ontwikkeling van doeltreffende planne en die verbetering van dienslewering by munisipaliteite het dus ontstaan.
Die sentrale doel en missie van die ANC regering se ontwikkelingsagenda is om die land op 'n hor en volhoubare baan van ekonomiese groei te plaas, waarby die skepping van menswaardige werksgeleenthede en gehalte onderwys- en opleidingsontwikkeling ingesluit is. In hierdie verband is Statistiek Suid-Afrika se strategiese beplanning gebaseer op die prioriteite wat in die mediumtermyn strategiese raamwerk gestel is, die wyse waarop nasionale en internasionale dinamika die bereiking van hierdie doelwitte mag benvloed en die meganismes wat vir die beplanning en evaluering van vordering van die prioriteite benodig word.
Die statistikus-generaal word in die Wet op Statistieke gemagtig om statistieke as amptelik te verklaar. In 'n eerste stap in die verbetering van die gehalte van die bestuurstelsel het Statistiek Suid-Afrika die Suid- Afrikaanse gehalte skattingsraamwerk in 2009 as 'n instrument aanvaar waarmee die gehalte van statistiese inligting in die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Statistiekdiens gevalueer kan word. Die uitkoms van so 'n waardasie bepaal of die gehalte van statistiese inligting voldoende is om dit as amptelik te klassifiseer, al dan nie.
Die vlak van statistiese geletterdheid en syferkennis in Suid-Afrika bly egter 'n uitdaging. Statistiek Suid-Afrika het dus 'n aantal strategiese inisiatiewe bykomend tot die normale menslike kapasiteit ontwikkelingsprogram aanvaar. Ek verwys hier na internskap-programme, die ontwikkeling van diplomakursusse in amptelike statistieke, buitelandse studieprogramme, die skepping van vennootskappe met tersire instellings soos die universiteite van Stellenbosch, KwaZulu-Natal en Kaapstad en die inwerkingstelling van wiskunde vir statistiek by skole, om maar 'n paar te noem. Di inisiatiewe sal gekordineer word deur die Statistiese Opleidingsinstituut. Die verbetering van produktiwiteit en dienslewering sal dus in werking gestel word deur 2'n gentegreerde benadering tot opnames, doeltreffende bestuurondersteuning en-stelsels en 'n korporatiewe diens wat die behoeftes van die staat en alle belanghebbendes dien.
Ek sluit graag af met 'n aanhaling van die agb Trevor Manuel, Minister in die Presidensie, se stelling dat:
... can confirm with confidence that Stats SA has graduated into the fact finder of the nation as prescribed in the Statistics Act. The organisation has built intellectual leadership that holds its own in the country and globally, and should, going forward, be in a position to implement the Statistics Act fully.
The organisation not only holds its own, but has become a hub of competence from which other agencies draw important lessons.
Statistiek Suid-Afrika het reeds getoon dat die statistieke wat hy voortbring, betroubaar is. Die diverse profiel van die tegniese vaardighede tot sy beskikking sorg vir 'n waardevolle bydrae tot gehalte diens aan statistiekgebruikers op 'n deurlopende grondslag. Ons as Suid-Afrikaners en alle ander belanghebbendes het dus volle vetroue in die belangrike en reuse taak wat Statistiek Suid-Afrika verrig en die volgehoue gehalte van die statistiek wat die instelling voortbring.
Die ANC ondersteun Begrotingspos 13. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Ms P E ADAMS: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Manuel and other members of Cabinet present, hon Chief Whip of the Majority Party - the ANC - and hon Members of Parliament present, guests, Statistician-General and staff, ladies and gentlemen, comrades, the ANC-led democratic government, which came into being in 1994, has established new statistical requirements for South Africa, as already set out by the hon Mufamadi.
Policy-makers need statistical data to develop socio-economic and developmental standards and to measure successes and failures in the implementation of new programmes and policies.
Statistical information is increasingly being applied in the planning of the allocation of resources, so that those who previously had no access to them in South Africa, may now also gain access. The increased demand for statistical data therefore followed the ANC-led government's commitment to transformation and policy-making that is based on factual information. Interested parties continuously require Statistics SA not only to produce relevant and high-quality data, but also to develop a framework whereby statistical data produced by other research bodies in the private sector may be evaluated.
In 2009 Statistics SA undertook an internal and external estimate to determine whether the system was ready to react positively to the growing demand for statistical information from government quarters and from other interested parties in the private sector. It was found that Statistics SA had been successful in consistently delivering statistical products that meet the international standards, as set by the special data dissemination standards of the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
Statistics SA is continually improving the quality and coverage of its surveys and data series so as to ensure their relevance to the needs of the consumers. In combination with this, all public sector entities must also improve their own capacity to produce statistically useful administrative data - a requirement provided for in the Statistics Act of 1999. This Act also provides for the co-ordinating role of the Statistician-General and the Minister in charge of statistics. Monitoring and measuring the progress of national development requires statistical data of ongoing reliable quality. This strategic move therefore also refers to the gaps in statistical quality, which would require standards for all state organs to be arranged in a co-ordinated statistical framework. This is accomplished by two mechanisms, namely statistical standards and certified standards.
A variety of improvements have been made to important series of indicators, such as the consumer price index and the quarterly labour force survey. The direction taken by Statistics SA was determined by the strategic requirements in respect of infrastructure that became necessary for the expansion of statistical production and organisation. This requirement involved the means whereby Statistics SA co-ordinated its own production of statistics with those of other state organs.
In accordance with the National Development Plan, Statistics SA acknowledges that cities have a key role to play in the growth of the economy, the creation of job opportunities, a reduction in inequalities, the promotion of social cohesion and the fostering of integration. The census data series is therefore the most comprehensive source to measure living conditions, service delivery and poverty. The results are available at city ward level, the so-called "My Ward, My Councillor", and can therefore be used extensively by municipalities and metros for their decision-taking, planning and monitoring needs.
Since 1994 good progress has therefore been made with improvement of access to basic municipal services for the poor. Informal settlements have become important centres for economic activity, business opportunities and enterprise development. An increase in demand for data for the development of efficient plans and the improvement of service delivery by municipalities has therefore developed.
The central aim and mission of the ANC government's development agenda is to place the country on a higher and sustainable track of economic growth, which includes the creation of decent work opportunities and the development of quality education and training. Strategic planning by Statistics SA in this regard is based on the priorities as formulated in the medium-term strategic framework, on the manner in which national and international dynamics may influence the attainment of these targets, and on the mechanisms that are needed for the planning and evaluation of progress regarding these priorities.
The Statistics Act authorises the Statistician-General to declare statistics as official. In 2009, in a first step towards improving the quality of the management system, Statistics SA adopted the South African quality evaluation framework as an instrument whereby the quality of statistical information in the South African National Statistical Service could be evaluated. The outcome of such an evaluation determines whether the quality of statistical information is sufficient to classify it as official, or not.
The level of statistical literacy and numeracy in South Africa, however, remains a challenge. Statistics SA has therefore adopted a number of strategic initiatives in addition to the normal human capacity developmental programme. Here I refer to the internship programmes; developing diploma courses in official statistics; foreign study programmes; creating partnerships with tertiary institutions such as the University of Stellenbosch, of KwaZulu-Natal and of Cape Town; and the introduction of mathematics for statistics at schools, to name but a few. These initiatives will be co-ordinated by the Statistical Training Institute. The improvement in production and service delivery will therefore be implemented by an integrated approach to surveys, efficient management support and systems and a corporative service to serve the needs of the state and all parties concerned.
I would like to conclude by quoting a statement by the hon Trevor Manuel, Minister in the Presidency, that:
... can confirm with confidence that Stats SA has graduated into the fact finder of the nation as prescribed in the Statistics Act... The organisation has built intellectual leadership that holds its own in the country and globally, and should, going forward, be in a position to implement the Statistics Act fully...The organisation not only holds its own, but has become a hub of competence from which other agencies draw important lessons.
Statistics SA has already shown that the statistics it produces are reliable. The diverse profile of the technical skills at its disposal provides for a valuable contribution to quality service delivery to statistics users on an ongoing basis. We as South Africans and all other interested parties therefore have the utmost confidence in the important and huge task that Statistics SA is performing and the sustained quality of the statistics produced by this institution.
The ANC supports Vote No 13. I thank you.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, I don't know if I am mistaken, hon Minister, but I do believe that it is legally imperative in some countries of the world that people have to comply with the request for providing statistical information, either as corporates or as individuals, and maybe that is something that we need to look at as we develop our Statistics Act.
It saddens me though, hon Chairperson, that this debate is not very well attended. Maybe it is not a sexy debate; if we were talking vital statistics we might have had more people attending this debate. I think a lot of members, not only hon members of this House but members of the public, underestimate the importance of statistics and statistical information; not only in looking at how a country should perform as it moves forward, but also for businesses which, to a large extent, use statistics: how many refrigerators are sold; how many beds are sold; whether they should increase or lower production, etc.
It is a pity that not more people are here, or that not many people even take an interest in statistics. Having said that and for that reason, hon Chairperson, we as the IFP will fully support this Budget Vote. [Applause.] And that is because Statistics SA is an entity that we can be very proud of. It is ranked very highly internationally. The hon chairperson of our committee spoke about the influence of Statistics SA on the African continent as well. I think all credit should go to the men in yellow coats and blue shoes, and I think he has put that away forever. Credit should also go to the wonderful team of statisticians that produced the results of Census 2011.
Obviously, there were some concerns about some of the statistics and findings that were released, but I think when you are looking at millions of people and trying to get information from all of them you are bound to have a margin of error. However, hon Koornhof did speak about a margin of error of about 12% or 14%, and I think it's something that we can look at and see how we can reduce this margin of error to well below 10%.
Hon Chairperson, it is not in the production of statistics that we have a problem but in the interpretation of the statistics that are released. And to this end, I was a bit concerned last week when I read a statement by the hon Minister of Economic Development, who queried the unemployment figures that were released by Statistics SA - I think it was 140 000 - and the Surveyor-General had his interpretation of this figure of 140 000. But the Minister of Economic Development, at the World Economic Forum, indicated that there were 140 000 new people that came into the job market in 2013 and only 40 000 were placed. So, 100 000 were still without jobs.
I think it is important therefore, hon Chairperson, that we interpret the statistics correctly. It is to this end that I think we need to look at the rules of the game. And these rules of the game can only be contained in the Statistics Act, which is kind of outdated; 1999 is 13 or 14 years ago.
One needs to relook at the Statistics Act so that we can standardise, not only the way to interpret statistics, but the way statistics are collected. Because when you look around there are other agencies, who will remain nameless for now, that also release statistical information. When you compare that statistical information with what has been released by Statistics SA, you find that they are different, and that is where arguments ensue. So I think, Minister, that is one of the things that you really need to look at.
The other area that we have to be looking at is the statement by the Acting Chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission, Mr Bongani Khumalo. He remarked that to utilise the statistics that are produced once every 10 years in ensuring that service delivery takes place at local level, and that we focus on the right areas of delivery, is problematic. Whilst one may agree with him that 10 years is far too long, and the Act talks about a five-year survey, I think the reality is that if we have to have a five- year survey it has to be matched with adequate human and financial resources. And it is we, hon Chairperson, or rather it is our committee that has to look at the resourcing of Statistics SA. If we want them to produce those tiniest statistics that can be utilised, then we have to make sure that more money is allocated to Statistics SA in carrying out its particular duties.
I just want to quote the Acting Chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission. He referred to "the need to update data within formulas to keep pace with the rapidly changing delivery context, like urbanisation." He also said that community surveys need to be more regular, and one cannot but agree with him, but we have to look at the mechanisms.
Chairperson, we also have to look at human resource capacity within Statistics SA and the training and other opportunities that are given to young graduates that come out of universities.
I do understand that these interns were well paid when they were brought in to Statistics SA, something like R10 000 a month, which is a reasonable salary, but of late they are being paid something like R3 000 per month for the first two years. I don't think that this is satisfactory. Nobody with a degree would want to come into the job market and earn R3 000 a month. I may be incorrect in this regard but I think, hon Minister, this is something that ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Chairperson of our Standing Committee on Finance, hon members, a lot has been covered in my speech because we know, unanimously, that this is a very important debate, not only for us as members in the House, but for the country at large.
I want to remind this House that primarily, an increase in demand for data arises from the commitment of the ANC government to evidence-based policy- making. The establishment of the Ministries in the Office of the President, both for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and for National Planning, signals the emphasis of the government to develop policies and programmes that are rooted in measuring the development outcomes and hence provide data and information that will be the foundation of knowledge.
The central objective and the mission of the ANC government's development agenda, outlined in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, 2009-14 is to set the country on a higher and sustainable trajectory of economic growth by the end of the mandate period of the current government in 2014. This is to be accompanied by an expanded and more diversified economic base with unemployment, poverty and income inequality being reduced.
Ngaphambi kokuthi kube khona konke okunye, uKhongolose wakubeka obala ukuthi imisebenzi kanye nezemfundo kumele kube sezingeni eliphezulu. Lezi yizinto uhulumeni kaKhongolose abambelele kakhulu kuzo, ikakhulukazi uma ubheka uhlelo lwakhe lwe-medium-term strategic framework, MTSF.
Uma izwe lithuthuka kubalulekile ukuthi abantu babe namalungelo okunikezwa ulwazi ukuze bazi ukuthi kwenzekani ezweni abakhe kulo. Abantu mabanikwe nezinqubomgomo ukuze bakwazi ukuthatha izinqumo ezibafanele uma befuna usungula amabhizinisi nalapho befuna ukubona ukuthi ababhizinisi abo anenqubekela phambili noma abuyela emuva. Konke lokhu kusukela emigomeni nezinqubomgomo zikaKhongolose. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Before doing anything else, the ANC made it clear that education and creating employment opportunities would be given priority. These are issues that the ANC government regards as very important, especially when considering its programme of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF.
In a developing country, citizens must be given the right to access information to keep them informed about what is happening in their country. They should be provided with policies to enable them to make sound decisions when they want to start their own businesses and to assess if they are doing well or not. All of this is based on the processes and policies of the ANC.]
South Africa has since 1994 gradually ascended into a global international political economy and has become an influential player in many forums. This ascendancy happens in times that are characterised by disorder, upheaval and constant change. These characteristics have challenged statistical agencies, especially in developing countries, not only to place high on the agenda the provision of statistical information, but also to share an understanding and knowledge of socioeconomic phenomena.
Asikusho nje ukuthi le miphumela kazwelonke yonyaka wezi-2011 isisize kakhulu ekuthini zonke izakhamuzi zaseNingizimu Afrika zibe nolwazi ngezemisebenzi ngisho nasemazingeni aphansi, ikakhulukazi uma sikhuluma ngamawadi, kohulumeni basekhaya. Lokhu kubonakala ngokuthi sibe yingxenye yamazwe amakhulu, lapho sifike sixhumane, sidingide, siphinde sibe nethonya siphinde sinxenxe ukwesekwa khona. Ngikhuluma namazwe afana nawe-SADC, AU, Brics, G-20 kanye ne-WTO.
Uma ingekho imiphumela efana nale, kuye kube nzima ukuthi izwe likwazi ukuxoxisana namanye amazwe afana nalo. Ngakho-ke siyayibonga le miphumela siyacela futhi ukuthi siyihloniphe ngaso sonke isikhathi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[The national statistical results of 2011 played an important role in informing the citizens of South Africa about employment opportunities even at lower levels, especially at ward levels in local government. The results indicate that we are one of the most powerful countries in the world. We communicate, discuss issues and generally have an influence in international forums. We also negotiate with these countries to offer us some support. Among them are those in the SADC, the AU, Brics and the WTO.
When we do not obtain the results like the ones we received, it becomes difficult for a country to negotiate with others that are at its level. Therefore, we are grateful for these results and we urge everyone to hold them in high regard at all times.] Statistics are essential for economic planning, for good governance, for formulating, monitoring and evaluating policies and for decision-making, as I have mentioned above. The demand for statistical data is increasing as policy-makers, civil society, business and citizens increasingly use statistics in strengthening the state's capacity to deliver government- established systems, planning, monitoring and evaluation.
This has invariably triggered the need for a very deliberate system of evidence that is transparent, accountable, results-based and transformational. The critical ingredient in evidence-based decision-making is a statistics system of which the official statistics system is core.
Stats SA adopted its strategic direction in 2010 to better respond to the information of the state in planning, monitoring, policy development and decision-making. The overarching goal is therefore to increase the supply of official statistics to inform evidence-based decisions by expanding and transforming the statistical information base. As such, the Stats SA Strategic Plan 2010-11 to 2014-15 outlines the road map for establishing a sound statistics system for economic growth, development and transformation.
Official statistics are arranged and structured according to international frameworks and standards. It is important to adhere to international frameworks as they promote quality statistics. This quality is manifested in terms of data comparability, coherence and international best practices supported by international organisations which are critical role-players in the global economy.
Lokhu-ke kuyasisiza kakhulu lapho sihwebelana namanye amazwe. [That is crucial in our economic participation in the international sphere.]
When talking about development and transformation the measurement of economic growth development and transformation is required to adhere to international best practices, methodologies and recommendations, including the requirement of the International Monetary Fund's special data dissemination standards. This requires that the principal focus should remain on the accurate measurement of the economy in terms of trends, levels and industry dynamics.
This objective will contribute in measuring the economy by providing information about the level of economic activities in relation to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy; financial information on government and private sector businesses and information on sustainable resource management and use.
Transforming economic production, relations and the broader system requires the use and application of systems of evidence by leadership, decision- making and statecraft instruments. Knowledge is essential for good decision- making, understanding and managing the spatial and temporal dynamics of economic, demographic, social, environmental and political development in the country. Such knowledge and understanding is possible where accurate time series statistical data and information exist within the system. The biggest component of the systems of evidence are the statistics systems and in the main, the official statistics systems.
Uma ubheka i-MTSF yaMongameli ikubeka ngokusobala ukuthi, kuyo yonke iminyango kusuka kwesezingeni eliphezulu kuhulumeni omkhulu kwehle njalo kuya emazingeni aphansi ukuthi, makube nokwabelana. Yonke imikhakha kahulumeni ibe nolwazi oluphelele nolufanayo. Lokho kusisiza ezintweni eziningi engizibale ngaphambilini ngoba ulwazi oluthunyelwa emazweni angaphandle kanye nolwazi olungaphakathi luba wulwazi olugcwele noluphelele. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The MTSF of the President makes it clear that information must be disseminated from the higher to the lower levels of government. All government structures should have comprehensive and similar sources of information. That assists us with what I mentioned before; the information sent internationally and that which we have domestically should be comprehensive.]
Coming to the economic and social infrastructure, the ANC government will continue with the infrastructure investment programme aimed at expanding and improving socioeconomic infrastructure, increasing access, quality and reliability of public services and supporting the economic activities, and impacting on employment. The aim is to ensure sustained investment growth over the medium term to achieve the target of a fixed investment ratio above 25% of GDP by 2014. The ANC government, in measuring the performance of national priorities, has adopted a delivery approach that focuses on outcomes. From the developmental focus of the MTSF, the government has derived 12 clear, measurable outcomes together with enhanced planning, monitoring and evaluation capacity. All of these aim at making an impact on development and service delivery. The ANC supports the Bill. [Applause.]
Chairperson, the significance of this department in bettering people's lives cannot be overstated. We rely on the data that this department collects, and it is on the strength of such data that important decisions are made. It is worrying when we have experts and professionals who question the validity of the statistics available, and even more worrying when the department cannot defend the data they have brought forth.
For instance, the remarkable drop in crime statistics is questionable, and questioning them is not necessarily about questioning the department's work ethic and the data collection, but as I said, it is about knowing what informs the numbers, the evidence behind the numbers, so that we can continue doing what is right everywhere in South Africa.
When a police station seems to have a reduction in the number of crimes reported, we need to know what it is that they have done, as crime is a serious problem everywhere in this country. If there are no reasons advanced that support the changes in figures, we are then led into believing that the numbers are cooked and are not necessarily a true reflection of the status quo, and such a likelihood is a serious concern.
An all-important task that was undertaken by the department is Census 2011. Of course, we all hope that now, government agencies and departments will plan better, knowing the figures. It is disturbing, however, that there are reputable demographers that question the accuracy of the census and its data. Even more disturbing is the stance that is seemingly taken by Statistics SA, that of just vouching for the accuracy of the data without addressing the apparent historical discrepancies and contradictions to the current data.
Misuse of statistics can produce subtle, but serious errors in description and interpretation, subtle in the sense that even experienced professionals make such errors and serious in the sense that they can lead to devastating decision-making errors. Social policy, medical practice and the reliability of structures, like bridges, all rely on the proper use of statistics. Even when stats are applied, the results can be difficult to interpret for those lacking expertise. The UCDP supports Budget Vote No 13. Thank you. [Applause.]
Sihlalo obekekileyo, mandikhahlele kuBaphathiswa abakhoyo apha namaSekela abo, usihlalo wekomiti yezeziMali, ndikhahlele nakuzo zonke izihandiba ezilapha, ngelithi ngqanga neentsiba zayo. Egameni lombutho wesizwe, ugalel'ebhayini, i-ANC, endinike uxanduva lokuba ndiphefumle ndithethe kanye ngomba ojongene nendima enokudlalwa lubalo nolwazi lwamanani abantu nokuba olu lwazi lungasenzela ntoni e-Afrika.
Olu lwazi ke ngundoqo ofunekayo xa umntu eza kukhokela isizwe. Ikwalulo nolukunika amandla nendlela etyenenezileyo yokwazi okufunekayo elizweni. Ezi nkcukacha-manani zifumaneka apha eMzantsi Afrika kweli ziko leenkcukacha-manani, ziza kunceda ilizwekazi lase-Afrika kuphuhliso lwayo. Umbutho wesizwe ke lo ungugalel'ebhayini ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Dr Z LUYENGE: Hon Chairperson, I salute the Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here, the chairperson of the Finance committee and all dignitaries present here by saying, protocol is observed. The ANC, a national, nonsexist and nonracial organisation, has given me the responsibility to speak specifically on the role of population census and statistics in Africa.
This information is essential when one is to lead a nation. It also gives one the impetus to know what is required in a country. The statistics available from Statistics SA are is going to help the continent of Africa in its development. The national organisation, the nonracial and nonsexist