National Assembly - 19 February 2002
TUESDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2002 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:01.
The Chairperson of Committees took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr T M GONIWE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that the ANC celebrated its 90th birthday on 8 January; (2) recognises that the ANC throughout its existence has sought to build unity amongst all South Africans irrespective of race, religion, gender or tribe, to build a nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa;
(3) acknowledges that the ANC is the undisputed leader of the national democratic revolution, an example for progressive forces throughout the world;
(4) commends the leadership and cadreship of the ANC for its contribution to building a caring society as it leads the process of social change;
(5) congratulates the ANC on its 90th anniversary; and
(6) looks forward to its centenary in 2012.
[Applause.]
Mr K M ANDREW: Mr Chairman, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House - (1) notes that the Minister of Social Development has admitted that the welfare system in South Africa is failing those who need it the most;
(2) acknowledges that a society which is going to prosper must be compassionate towards those who suffer hardships through no fault of their own;
(3) recognises that a basic income grant would be a simple, cost- effective and affordable mechanism to give subsistence allowances to the millions of South Africans who are without any means of support; and
(4) calls on the Government to use tomorrow’s Budget Speech to announce plans for the introduction of such a grant.
Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Mr Chairman, I give notice that I shall move tomorrow:
That the House -
(1) takes notice -
(a) with much concern, that customer services with South African
Airways at airports have deteriorated to an unacceptably low
level;
(b) that at some airports far too few staff members are on duty,
causing long passenger queues and much passenger frustration;
and
(c) that due to unrealistic overbooking of flights, even Business
Class passengers and Gold Card Voyager members are kicked off
flights on which they hold valid reservations, causing those
unfortunate passengers immense inconvenience and even financial
losses; and
(2) in the best interests of passengers, resolves to -
(a) caution passengers against travelling on South African Airways;
and
(b) advise passengers to rather book with other carriers, such as
British Airways/Comair, Kulula, Nationwide, Intensive Air and
East Coast Airlines until such time as South African Airways
gets its house in order.
Mrs Z A KOTA: Chairperson, on a point of order: I would like you to rule on the motion that has been read from that side. We do not feel that that motion is parliamentary. The issue of South African Airways has been dealt with as if SAA is an airline with which people are not supposed to book. I think it is unparliamentary.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! The procedure with motions is that all of them go through the Speaker and she reads through them. So, it is only the Speaker that can edit those motions. If it is unparliamentary, the Speaker will edit it.
Mr G Q M DOIDGE: Chairperson, can it be noted that we do not associate ourselves with that motion that was tabled. [Interjections.]
Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Chairperson, in view of the comments, I assume that Mr Doidge in person agrees with the fact that booked Business and Gold Card passengers are kicked off South African Airways. The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, this is not a motion to be debated but notice of a motion that was given by Mr Van der Merwe. If the motion is out of order, the Speaker will then discuss the matter with the member who moved the motion.
Mr J H NASH: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes -
(a) that on 9 March 2002 the Republic of Zimbabwe will be concluding
its sixth general elections; and
(b) that it is the duty of all parties involved, but especially the
government of Zimbabwe, to ensure that these elections occur in
an environment free of violence, the threat of violence or
intimidation;
(2) reiterates its commitment to ensuring that such an environment is enhanced and as a token has sent a parliamentary observer delegation to Zimbabwe; and
(3) calls on -
(a) the international community to continue playing an active role
to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe are able to make their
choice in an environment of peace and stability; and
(b) all Zimbabweans to participate in the forthcoming elections
because in the last instance it is only they who can determine
the future of their country.
It is not for the hon member here to determine. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes with growing concern that –
(a) prominent foreign and South African journalists were not
accredited to cover the elections in Zimbabwe;
(b) the headquarters of the MDC were attacked without police
intervention; and
(c) four Christian leaders were arrested because they held a prayer
meeting for peace;
(2) agrees with the chairperson of SADC, President Bakulu Muluzi of Malawi, that President Mugabe is jeopardising the elections in Zimbabwe, and that SADC should put more pressure on him; and
(3) notes with alarm that the economic collapse in Zimbabwe could have a disastrous spillover effect on the whole region, including South Africa.
Mr J T MASEKA: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the UDM: That the House -
(1) welcomes the decision of the Gauteng Premier to extend the provision of HIV/Aids treatment to all public hospitals in that province, despite the Minister of Health distancing herself from his decision;
(2) condemns the shift of HIV/Aids responsibility by the national Government to provinces, which is in direct contravention of their responsibilities as enshrined in the Constitution;
(3) calls on -
(a) all the remaining provinces to join the campaign, thereby
alleviating the potential flock to and overburdening of
provinces that do provide treatment; and
(b) the national Government to acknowledge their responsibility with
a clear commitment through money allocated to a holistic and
encompassing programme in the Budget. Ms P N MNANDI: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes President Mbeki’s call at the ANC’s 90th anniversary for volunteers to contribute to the culture of community service;
(2) recognises the outstanding response of thousands of volunteers throughout the country who worked side by side with parents, teachers and students to make the reopening of schools a positive and enhancing educational experience;
(3) commends the President for the personal example he has set in this campaign, and all those who participated selflessly and unstintingly, and
(4) calls on all South Africans to join in this campaign to make a better life for all in South Africa.
[Applause.]
Rev K R J MESHOE: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the ACDP:
That the House -
(1) notes with -
(a) approval the smart sanctions that have been imposed by the EU on
Zimbabwe, which will see the overseas assets of President Robert
Mugabe and 19 of his cabinet ministers frozen;
(b) relief that the sanctions are designed not to harm the ordinary
citizens of Zimbabwe or her neighbours, but those that are held
responsible by the EU for pre-election violence and serious
violations of human rights in that country; and
(c) great concern that the Zimbabwean government has refused to give
accreditation to South Africa's independent newspapers, thus
raising the question of what they want to hide; and
(2) therefore calls on our Government to commend the EU for what they have done instead of describing the imposed sanctions as regrettable and unfortunate.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: The Freedom Front! No, no, hold on. The Freedom Front!
Dr S E M PHEKO: I give notice …
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order, hon member! Not yet. The Freedom Front - not the PAC. Order! Unless the PAC has joined the Freedom Front, then it is a different story. [Laughter.]
Dr P W A MULDER: We are both proud Africans, but we are not in the same party yet, Sir.
Mnr die Voorsitter, hiermee gee ek kennis dat ek namens die VF by die volgende sitting van die Huis sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis daarvan kennis neem dat -
(1) Die inligting op naamborde wat onlangs op die terrein van die Parlement aangebring is, om die ligging van verskillende regeringsgebou aan te dui, slegs in een taal, naamlik Engels, is;
(2) Die VF van mening is dat die Parlement hiermee in stryd met Artikel 6(3)(a) van die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika opgetree het, wat bepaal dat die nasionale regering ten minste twee van die amptelike landstale moet gebruik;
(3) In die lig van hierdie gebeure die VF ‘n klag by Pansat gelê en ‘n brief aan die Sekretaris van die Parlement gerig het, waarin hy versoek word om die saak reg te stel;
(4) Die VF se voorstel behels dat ten minste vier tale, naamlik ‘n Nguni- taal, ‘n Sotho-taal, Afrikaans en Engels, afwisselend of herhalend op die borde aangebring moet word, om sodoende die probleem van veeltaligheid bevredigend aan te spreek;
(5) Die VF hom sal beywer vir die bevordering van veeltaligheid in Suid- Afrika en in hierdie spesifieke geval alle metodes sal gebruik om te verseker dat dit reggestel word, en dat die VF dit verwelkom wanneer dit gebeur. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr P W A MULDER: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House notes that -
(1) the information on the signposts which were recently placed on the Parliamentary grounds, to indicate the location of the different government buildings, is in one language only, namely English;
(2) the FF is of the opinion that by so doing Parliament is in contravention of section 6(3)(a) of the Constitution of South Africa, which determines that national Government must use at least two official languages;
(3) in light of these occurrences the FF lodged a complaint at PanSALB and addressed a letter to the Secretary to Parliament in which we request that he rectifies the matter;
(4) the proposal of the FF entails that at least four languages, namely a Nguni language, a Sotho language, Afrikaans and English, be reflected on the signposts, alternately or repeatedly to tackle the problem of multilingualism in a satisfactory way; and
(5) the FF will strive for the promotion of multilingualism in South Africa and in this specific case will use all the methods to ensure that this is rectified, and that the FF would welcome this when it happens.]
Dr B G MBULAWA-HANS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes the significant improvement in the 2001 matric results, with a success rate of over 60%;
(2) recognises that disadvantaged schools have made outstanding progress in educating their students;
(3) acknowledges that this is only a first step in equipping our youth to contribute and compete as skilled and productive citizens;
(4) further recognises that while there are areas in which there is much room for improvement, the number of dysfunctional schools has dropped by half;
(5) congratulates all principals, educators, the departments and learners on their success; and
(6) calls on all South Africans to contribute to the success of our school system in whatever way they can.
[Applause.]
Mr C W EGLIN: Mr Chairman, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) is appalled that the three biggest newspaper groups in South Africa, namely Independent Newspapers, Naspers and Johnnic Publishing, have been refused accreditation by the Zimbabwean government on the ridiculous grounds, according to a Zimbabwean official, that the independent media are mostly -``liars that fabricate and exaggerate the news’’;
(2) acknowledges that this is not only an attack on the freedom of the press, but also undermines the credibility of the election; and
(3) suggests that, instead of criticising the European Union for its action against President Mugabe, the South African Government should make it clear in unambiguous terms to the Zimbabwean authorities that this denial of the South African media is unacceptable to it.
[Applause.]
Mr J H SLABBERT: Chair, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the IFP: That the House -
(1) notes with extreme shock that rail accidents are fast becoming the norm in South Africa, as seen in recent accidents in both KwaDukuza and Eerste River;
(2) also notes that these accidents are purely human error or greed noticeable in those who disobey rail signals or those who steal the signalling cables on the rail;
(3) regrets that it has to be pointed out that there is an apparent lack of proper management which should, among other things, ensure the maintenance and safeguarding of these cables on the part of Spoornet; and
(4) therefore appeals to Spoornet to ensure that these cables are protected in one way or the other, rather than looking at accidents with hindsight.
Ms T R MODISE: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that 2002 marks the 5th anniversary of South Africa’s democratic Constitution;
(2) further notes that our Constitution commits us collectively to a national agenda that includes the transformation of South Africa into a nonracial, nonsexist democratic society; and
(3) calls on all parties to reaffirm that commitment and to redouble their efforts for the speedy attainment of our national agenda.
[Applause.]
TRAIN DISASTER
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House - (1) notes -
(a) the train disaster that occurred in KwaDukuza, in KwaZulu-Natal,
resulting in 24 commuters losing their lives; and
(b) the truck accident near Pietersburg resulting in 42 family
members losing their lives during the festive season;
(2) expresses heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased; and
(3) joins them in their sorrow and shares in their loss.
Agreed to.
INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes -
(a) the plane crash in Iran in which all 119 passengers were killed;
(b) the volcanic eruption in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, in
which more than one hundred people died and more than a thousand
people were displaced; and
(c) the armoury explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, which led to the death
of more than a hundred people; and
(2) expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, and the people of Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Agreed to.
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE TO REPORT ON MAIN APPROPRIATION BILL
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That, upon the introduction of the Main Appropriation Bill, the Portfolio Committee on Finance, notwithstanding Rule 290(3), report to the House within fifteen consecutive working days.
Agreed to.
COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT BILL PERFORMERS' PROTECTION AMENDMENT BILL
(Second Reading debate)
The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY: Chairperson, colleagues, we are passing amendments to two Acts here, the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act. These essentially, in combination, I think, extend some degree of equity and fairness to the whole question of intellectual property for performing artists in the artistic area. The main thrust of these amendments is to provide greater protection and therefore greater possibilities for individual performers to benefit from their artistic talent.
This is done in a number of ways. Firstly, it allows the performers to bring together collecting societies which can act for them. As one can imagine, an individual performer probably has far less bargaining capacity and economic muscle than those that they are dealing with. Therefore, collecting societies will be able to assist groups of performers by ensuring that they get the royalties and other rights from their performances.
We are also introducing an important new change in that traditional dancers will also be recognised as performers. It is the view of Government that these two amendments constitute an important contribution to the economy in a number of areas. Firstly, protecting the individuals will have the effect of strengthening our tremendous capacity and potential in the performing arts, and will allow this industry to grow in a more equitable manner. One can also see this as a contribution to small, medium and micro enterprise development in that many, many performing artists are in essence individuals or small groups, and ensuring that the revenue from their performances is more equitably distributed will benefit them as well.
I believe that these two amendments are not only in the interests of our talented artists and performers, but in the interests of the economy as a whole, as they allow for a more equitable distribution of income between large corporations and individuals. [Applause.]
Mr N S BRUCE: Mr Chairman, these amendments are not just about intellectual property rights. They bring not only greater equity to musical performers on radio, but should encourage local talent and creativity in a market characterised by overregulation that is seldom in the interests of listeners.
Radio stations have for too long been reluctant to recognise the intellectual property rights of musicians, ostensibly because of the cost implications. If the market were deregulated and competition encouraged, there could be a flowering of local talent far beyond what is envisaged to flow from these humble Bills.
Having addressed the unfortunate lot of musicians in the area of intellectual property rights, there ought now to be a case of examining the rights of other intellectual workers, in particular of journalists who are caught in a political process beyond their control.
Transformation within the newspaper industry has created a large number of trained journalists, some of whom can spell, with little or no prospect of work in the foreseeable future. Instead of their number enhancing competition and thus raising journalistic standards, they have been rejected by new media owners because they are educated, able and not particularly politically correct.
I do not know what members think of their newspapers now. Ten years ago I thought that some of our dailies would be hard pressed to deteriorate further. It took the Irish to show me how wrong I was.
We have to suffer today some of the most vacuous, uninteresting and slipshod newspapers since Fairbairn and Pringle took on Lord Charles Somerset to battle for press freedom. Much of that is due to the swashbuckling Irish who came to plunder and stayed to appease. They have done to journalism what Delville Wood did to the First South African Infantry Brigade. They bought in cheaply to the Argus Company and proceeded to sweat assets, deskill the newsroom and raid the pension fund. In the process they have produced newspapers of declining circulation that have given political correctness a new meaning and turned sycophancy into an art form. [Interjections.]
At Johnnic, what was once a dynamic company is now in an appalling racist stew. Some of its most profitable publications are in significant loss, and with Saki Macozoma ultimately to guide them, they will increasingly go the way of the profits of the South African Airways, which is down and out.
There are newspapers in that group that made profits when newsprint prices were proportionately higher than they are now. Economic growth was much lower and shareholders were even more indifferent. The reason was that they were well focused editorially on their markets. That focus in both groups has become diffused.
There is always an advertising reaction when sharp editorial focus is lost, for that focus is critical to running a newspaper profitably, and that means providing advertisers with tangible markets. Newspapers will survive poor distribution and indifferent management, but not unfocused editorial. If the editor is confused, so will be the reader and the advertiser will demur. A market correction will come, how soon I do not know. So perhaps the competition authorities should examine some of the business practices of these groups as a means of smart intervention to hasten that correction. They could do no better than start with examining the intellectual rights of journalists or the absence of them. That could lead to an improvement in the quality of journalism and an enhancement of the democratic process far beyond what we can imagine now. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr R H DAVIES: Chairperson, it is a pleasure this afternoon to speak in support of a piece of intellectual property legislation that we can be confident will directly and tangibly benefit an important section of our community. We are extremely fortunate in this country to have a rich and diverse musical culture that has spawned a number of talented musicians and performers, several of whom are becoming increasingly well known well beyond the borders of our own country. The work of many of our musicians and performers inspired our people in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Music performers continue to contribute to the development of our unique South African culture and thereby to the process of nation-building in our country. But we also know of pitiful cases where many talented and even internationally renowned artists have not received just rewards for their labours and have lived and died in conditions of poverty.
We have also become aware that lacunae in and abuse of copyright legislation have contributed to that state of affairs. The Bills before us today are the product of a long process of discussion and debate involving musicians and performers, recording companies, broadcasters and collecting societies. In public hearings which our committee held in October last year, we had an opportunity to engage with many of the major players in this debate.
What emerged from our hearings was a consensus that there was a need to generate an income stream to benefit our performers and stimulate the emergence of creative talent in our music industry. There was also consensus that broadcasters, as major users of the work of our performers, had an obligation to contribute to that income stream. The debate which occurred between performers and recording companies on the one hand, and broadcasters on the other, was whether this would best be achieved by way of what is called a neighbouring intellectual property right which is also known - I hope this is not a reflection on the technological state of our broadcasting industry - as a needle time royalty.
The current situation is that royalties are paid only to composers and publishers of recorded music. The musicians who actually sing and play on the records are of course paid for their work, but they have no further remuneration when their works are broadcast by the radio stations.
After much deliberation, the portfolio committee concluded that it had heard no convincing argument as to why the mechanism through which the income stream for performers would be generated should not take the form of a neighbouring royalty right for performers of recorded music. We did, however, at the committee stage, seek as far as possible to accommodate what the committee considered some of the legitimate concerns of the broadcasters that were presented to us.
The Bills before us are broad general enabling legislation. They provide for a process of negotiating the level of and the mechanism for the distribution of needle time royalties for performers. Many of the details of these aspects are to be regulated by way of subordinate legislation. The committee felt that many of the concerns of broadcasters about whether community radio stations with few resources would pay at the same rates as commercial stations, whether there should be a fund for the promotion of recording artists, how disputes would be handled, and matters of this sort would be dealt with in processes which would be regulated in terms of the subordinate regulations provided for in these Bills.
We were presented earlier this year, at our request, with a draft of the regulations. In the committee we made some comments but, more importantly, we received an assurance that the draft regulations would be published in due course for comment and that serious consideration would be given to the views expressed by various interested parties about those regulations. I would encourage those who I know have continued concerns about this legislation, and who continue to contact some of us, to engage seriously with that process. We were also alerted in the hearings about the possibility of this legislation resulting in the payment of needle time royalties to many artists from abroad and from countries were South African artists whose work was broadcast there would receive no corresponding needle time royalty.
Not all countries have a royalty for performers, including countries which have some of the most powerful music industries in the world. In the committee stage we therefore inserted an amendment which introduced the principle of reciprocity. This provides that foreign artists whose works are broadcast in South Africa may receive a needle time royalty only to the extent that South African artists whose work is broadcast in those countries receive a corresponding royalty. The amendment also provides for artists from abroad in jurisdictions where there is needle time royalty to enjoy in South Africa no greater rights than South African artists.
Another important aspect of this legislation is that it provides for the regulation of collecting societies. Collecting societies which represent artists and collect royalties on behalf of artists of course already exist in South Africa and act on behalf of both local and foreign artists. Such societies are not subject to any special regulation. From now on, these existing societies and any others that may be formed to collect royalties accruing to artists will have to be accredited and operate according to regulations. We believe that this is an important step forward.
This legislation is about delivery. It is about delivering a long-overdue boost to the musical artists of this country, whom we all revere and whom we all recognise are doing much to build our South African culture. The ANC is therefore proud to be associated with and support this Bill. [Applause.]
Mr H J BEKKER: Mr Chairman, the amendments to the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act are long overdue, and we in the IFP welcome and support them. Local performers will now be in a position to benefit from the royalties of their music being played on the SABC. Previously, the SABC had an unfair advantage over individual performers. Now, at least, collecting societies can assist and bargain on behalf of the performers. Traditional performers, for example African tribal dancers, can now also benefit in terms of these amendments. Successful nations take care of themselves, and we must also take care of ourselves.
But now on a different issue: An increase of local content quotas for radio and television broadcasters, which is also being suggested, is a much desired effort towards taking care of South African culture. This move is aimed at rectifying the distortions that exist in our local broadcasting industry. Most of the entertainment content we purchase is from the US. It has taken us long to act. Countries such as the UK, Australia and Canada, which acted early to implement local content quotas, are now reaping the profits of their patriotic work. South Africa’s indigenous creativity and culture would be rendered unprofitable and unpalatable if we do not do anything to attach pride to local production and encourage high quality. This in turn will reduce our dependence on foreign entertainment.
By perpetuating the status quo, South Africa cannot reasonably expect to grow its arts and communication industries. The growth of these industries is doomed unless some balance is struck in the short term. We wish our performers well and hope that they will benefit financially from needle time royalties in this regard. The IFP supports this legislation. [Applause.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, the following member is going to make his maiden speech. [Applause.]
Mr C R REDCLIFFE: Mr Chairperson, although I only participated in the dying moments of the deliberations of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on these two interrelated pieces of legislation, I however made it my business to gain a clearer insight into the issues which led to the clamour for these amendments. It is quite clear that there has been wide and exhaustive participation on these two Bills. The New NP has great pleasure in supporting these amendments to both the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act.
It is a basic principle of fairness in any modern economic system that any person should be reasonably remunerated for his or her labour. The labour of the mind is just as important as the labour of the physical body. So, people who create intellectual property should be fairly paid for the use of the intellectual property they create, particularly if other people use that intellectual property for their own commercial gain.
In South Africa, since 1965, businesses which seek to make a profit for themselves by playing or broadcasting music recordings made by performers and record companies have not had to pay a single cent for the use of those recordings. This applies to radio stations which have paid nothing for the use of recordings by our great artists like Mahlathini, Margaret Singana, Basil Coetzee and thousands of other artists who have lived out their last days and gone to their graves as poor people, even as radio stations continue to play the recordings that these great artists made at the height of their popularity.
These radio stations have become more and more valuable, and their owners, including the state through its ownership of the SABC, have become richer and richer off the work of the great artists whose records they have played in order to attract listeners and advertisers who want to reach all those listeners. This continues to apply to the great South African artists of today, whose music one can hear on our radio stations but who receive no payment from those stations - artists like Sibongile Khumalo, the Soweto String Quartet, Lucky Dube, Mandoza, Rebecca, Vusi Mahlasela and so many others. These amendments to the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act are intended to correct this unfair economic imbalance between our musicians and the businesses which use our musicians’ recordings in order to make their own profits.
I understand that an assurance has been given by the artists and record companies that invest in making recordings by South African musicians that they will not ask for any so-called needle time royalties to be paid by community radio stations. They only ask for fair royalties to be paid by successful commercial radio stations and by other commercial enterprises that use their records to attract customers, such as discos and clubs.
All over the rest of the world, with the exception of the USA, artists get paid by radio stations and by other commercial users of their recordings. Our artists are only asking to be treated in the same way as artists in the rest of the world. Our artists and recording companies actually had these rights in our country until 1965 when the government of that time took these rights away. Ironically, this occurred just as most of the rest of the world was actually extending these rights to protect artists and record companies against the impact of tape recording and cassette piracy.
In conclusion, in the past 37 years too many South African artists have died in poverty as a direct result of being deprived of income from the playing of their recordings as they grew older. These Bills will ensure a better future for our musicians in the years ahead. [Time expired.]
Ms C DUDLEY: Mr Chairperson, the ACDP agrees that it is true that the arts have been sadly abused, in that people who create music or visual art find it extremely difficult to capitalise on it.
The Bills before us are an attempt to rectify that situation in South Africa, bringing us in line with other countries by creating suitable mechanisms whereby problems of collection of dues and negotiation of fees can be addressed.
These Bills should be a major stimulus to South African performing arts because rewards will be an incentive. South Africa is rich in beauty and artistic potential due to our demographic and cultural diversity. This could be a tremendous capital earner in our country and should be developed and protected. At the same time, our market must give the same protection to artists practising in South Africa as they would get elsewhere in order to entice performers from abroad to practise their arts here.
While the Copyright Amendment Bill focuses on collection of fees, the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill focuses on improving the currently weak bargaining position of performers. This is done by introducing collective bargaining in order to equalise the disproportionate relationship between performers and large TV and radio networks, thereby levelling the playing field between consumers and producers.
The ACDP will vote in favour of these Bills as they are enabling Bills, whereby the state enables the private sector to create the apparatus to self-regulate in order to receive just rewards for artistic endeavour.
Dr J BENJAMIN: Mr Chairperson, hon members, I thank this House for providing this opportunity to announce to musicians that the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill, to be passed today, will provide a means to a better life for performers whose records are played on the air. Whereas the existing Acts only provided for the payment of royalties to composers and authors, these amending Bills will ensure that performers are paid royalties every time their records are played.
The amendments to the Copyright Act, 1978, and the Performers’ Protection Act, 1967, must be viewed in the context of ongoing attempts to transform the South African music industry, to improve the quality of life of South African musicians and to make the industry more competitive.
Even though the content of local music has been increased in the programmes of broadcasters through the introduction of quotas, these Acts have not allowed for local performers to be paid royalties which have been limited to composers and lyricists.
The amendments also allow for the regulation of the establishment and operation of collecting societies that are publicly accountable, have collective bargaining powers and make provision for a dispute resolution mechanism if there is a lack of agreement between broadcasters, recording companies and performers with regard to payment of royalties. Further, copyright is extended to performances of indigenous music and folklore.
While these amendments do not address all the ills in the industry, they indicate a movement in the deadlock which existed. For six years stakeholders have been unable to agree on the form and content that neighbouring rights should take within this developing industry.
While the rest of the world began to extend copyright and payment of royalty to performers, in terms of the Rome Convention of 1961, the apartheid government removed neighbouring rights from the Copyright Act of 1965.
Significant media attention has recently been generated in relation to the impoverished circumstances under which great South African artists live out their lives.
The late Basil Manenberg Coetzee was a well-known saxophone player and composer who, together with his band, Sabenza, recorded a number of albums, and also recorded with other world-renowned musicians such as Abdullah Ibrahim. He and other black musicians eagerly performed free of charge at many freedom rallies during the 1980s, attributing their poverty to apartheid and believing that black musicians would have a better life in a free South Africa.
When Basil died, he left behind his family, in Mitchells Plain, hardly able to pay their rent. Concern was expressed at the highest levels of our Government about this issue after the death of Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde.
According to one obituary, Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde, who died at the age of 61, has been ignored by the local radio and the print media for so long that it is hard to believe that there was a time when he and the Mahotella Queens were the hottest property in black music in South Africa.
In the 60s Mahlathini and his band played to crowded stadiums in Johannesburg and in Swaziland. They played a big role in popularising uMbaqanga music, which fell in popularity in the late 70s, as part of the revolt against apartheid. He was signed up with Gallo Records, which he left in 1964 to join EMI Records.
He went back to Gallo Records in the 80s, at which time he got international exposure. He provided Harry Belafonte with backing tracks which were recorded and shipped back to the United States. He and his band were also flown out to France where they set audiences alight on the university circuit and in big clubs in Britain, Europe and the United States.
In 1988, they played at the Nelson Mandela Birthday Concert at Wembley, in England. Later they played in New York Central Park before a jiving audience of close to 500 000. Unfortunately, this international love affair with their music on stage did not translate into record or CD sales, and they were all but completely ignored at home. Radio stations refused to play Mahlathini and the print media paid him scant attention.
Such musicians have made their contribution to the development of the national culture in spite of facing many barriers in the music industry, which has been dominated by Western culture, inaccessible to local music and content. Other talented musicians have had to leave this country in order to gain access to the market. One living base player, Spencer Mbadu, out of frustration, a few years after liberation, took his instruments out of his shack and made a bonfire with them.
The amendments to the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act were inspired by the need to address what has become known as the Mahlathini syndrome - well-known musicians living in abject poverty, some dying as paupers, because this country has been slow in nurturing those who have been instrumental in shaping our distinctive South African music culture.
The extension of copyright to a broadcast right and a public performance right is known as neighbouring rights. Since 1995, stakeholders have been debating whether royalties which accrue from the recorded rights of performing artists, which is known as needle time, should be paid to the performers.
The Performers’ Protection Act of 1967 confers rights on performers of literary and musical works, that is, the composers, but fails to specify who is entitled to royalties of work that is subject to intellectual property protection.
At the international level, South Africa has not acceded to the Rome Convention of 1961, which was specifically designed to deal with these rights, and administered by three agencies, namely the International Labour Organisation, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. To the contrary, these rights were removed from our Copyright Act of 1965, by the apartheid government.
The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, known as WPPT, of 1996, for the first time recognises performers as legitimate rights holders along with other creators, giving performers independent and exclusive rights regarding their performances. It provides for record companies and performers to enjoy a right of remuneration for the use of records published for commercial purposes, though this provision is not mandatory.
As South Africa re-enters the global economy, the importance to accede to international treaties, conventions and trade agreements is increasingly recognised as an important mechanism for South Africa successfully to trade with countries with different intellectual property law regimes in a harmonised legal environment.
The WPPT treaty has not been universally implemented. The United States, India and China have not acceded. The European approach has been to view the performer as a collaborator of the author of the musical work and, therefore, entitled to share in the copyright royalties, whereas the American approach views the performer as an adaptor of the original work and, therefore, not entitled to copyright royalties. Therefore, South Africa is in a position to choose a legal course most beneficial to local conditions.
Stakeholders who have participated in this debate claim to be acutely aware of, and sympathise with, the plight of South African performers. However, the debate has centred around who should bear the cost, how the royalties should be collected, and whether needle time should appropriately address the plight of the performer. Broadcasters have argued that the development fund would more adequately address the social and financial needs of performers, while recording companies have been in favour of royalties paid by the broadcaster and shared between the recording company and the performer.
Broadcasters make their revenue through advertising. While they already pay a range of levies, royalties, in respect of performers and producers of sound recordings, have been excluded. In this respect, stakeholders have accepted the policy objectives of needle time and the principle that broadcasters should compensate performers for the use of their sound recordings.
In addition, the existing Acts empowered collecting societies to be licensing authorities in the past. This enabled them to charge a licensing fee to all venues that played recorded music in public. Such societies have been able to collect millions of rands from entrepreneurs who played music on their premises, and they were accountable only to their members. The amending Bills provide that collecting societies shall be publicly accountable and statutory, rather than nonstatutory bodies.
In addition, the amending Bills seek to bring performers of expressions of folklore under the protection of the Act. The expression of indigenous knowledge has, up to now, been excluded from copyright protection.
These amending Bills are steps in the right direction. They will improve the quality of life and the working conditions of local musicians, and bring our fledgling music industry in line with international standards. It can only bode well for the further development and transformation of the South African music industry and its entry into the global economy. I am positive that the implementation of these amending Bills will stimulate further investment in the industry and positively contribute to the development of our distinctive national culture.
In conclusion, I call on the industry and all stakeholders to devote time, effort and budget to engage in mass education programmes in partnership with Government. Without musicians knowing their rights, and without the resources to organise collecting societies, the legislation being passed today will remain unknown on the Statute Book, and our fledgling music industry will remain uncompetitive and undeveloped. [Applause.]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Mr Chairperson, the amendment of the Copyright Act of 1978 is what the doctor has ordered for our artists and performers. People have long been exploited by unscrupulous producers and promoters.
A good number of our artists of world acclaim died as poor as church mice. They performed and sang to large audiences, but their fame and worth ended on the stage. The insertion of the clause on royalties in section 9 of the principal Act is the best news ever for our artists. The clause spells out clearly that no person may broadcast, cause the transmission of or play a sound recording without payment of a royalty to the owner of the relevant copyright.
The above clause also sets out clearly what procedures to follow in the event of there being no agreement. The procedure of sharing the proceeds of the royalty between the owner of the copyright and any performer whose performance is featured on the sound recording, is clearly stipulated. There is then no reason why our artists have to die as paupers with such legislation in place.
The Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill also seeks to ensure that performers are entitled to royalties for work that is subject to intellectual property protection. The Bill emphasises the need for payment of royalties in respect of any record being played by a broadcaster. We are grateful to the stakeholders within the music industry for having reached consensus on how the issues of royalties should be addressed. This is proof that where there is a will, there is a way. The UCDP supports the two Bills.
Dr S E M PHEKO: Mr Chairman, the PAC supports the Copyright Amendment Bill. The Bill is amending the Copyright Act of 1978, which can be seen to be fairly old. It was created more than 20 years ago, and much has happened since then.
The major purpose of this Bill is to define an expression and to amend a
definition, to make further provision regarding the nature of copyright in
sound recordings and to provide for matters connected therewith. For
instance, section 1 of the Copyright Act of 1978 is amended by the
insertion of a definition that defines a collecting society'' as a
collecting society established under the Act, and this takes place in
subsection (1), after the definition ofcinematograph film’’. Section 9
of the principal Act is further substituted by a new section, as described
in clause 2. The nature of copyright in sound recordings will in future
include matters such as the broadcasting of a sound recording; causing the
sound recording to be transmitted in a diffusion service; and communicating
the sound recording to the public.
The Bill also deals with royalties and states that in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, no person may broadcast, cause the transmission of or play a sound recording, as contemplated in the new section 9 of the Copyright Act of 1978. The Bill is in step with the rapid technological development in communication, and therefore the PAC supports it.
Mnr J P I BLANCHÉ: Mnr die Voorsitter, die FA steun heelhartig hierdie wet, maar daar is ‘n ding of twee wat ek graag van die agb Minister wou verneem.
Hierdie wet gaan Suid-Afrikaners op gelyke voet plaas met oorsese kunstenaars. Ons is baie dankbaar daarvoor, maar omdat dit intellektuele eiendom gaan beskerm, laat dit ‘n mens wonder hoe dit ‘n ANC mimiekkunstenaar, met ‘n Nuwe NP-pop op sy skoot, gaan affekteer, want die kunstenaar is die buikspreker en hy moet betaal word vir sy werk en nié die pop nie. Die pop gaan net die napraatwerk doen, alhoewel die pop die prater sal wees en die ANC-kunstenaar die kop na willekeur sal draai en die mond sal manipuleer om te sê wat hy moet sê.
Ons steun graag die wet, want ons wil sien wie is die intellektueel, is dit die pop of die buikspreker! [Gelag.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Mr Chairman, the FA supports this legislation wholeheartedly, but there are one or two things I should like to ask the hon the Minister.
This legislation will place South Africans on an equal footing with overseas artists. For this we are very grateful, but because it will be protecting intellectual property it makes one wonder how it is going to affect an ANC mime artist with a New NP doll on its lap, because the artist is the ventriloquist and he must be paid for his work, and not the doll. The doll will only be doing the mimicking, although the doll will be the speaker and the ANC artist will turn the head at will and manipulate the mouth to say what he has to say.
We have pleasure in supporting the legislation, because we would like to see who the intellectual is, the doll or the ventriloquist! [Laughter.]]
Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, dit lyk vir my daar is een verskil tussen ‘n politikus en ‘n kunstenaar: ‘n politikus sal betaal om oor die radio gehoor te word, terwyl ‘n kunstenaar betaal word om oor die radio uitgesaai te word!
Wanneer ‘n ingenieur ‘n apparaat of ‘n masjien ontwerp, word hy beskerm deur baie streng patentregte, en in die verkoop van die patent lê in die reël ook sy grootste wins. Skending van patentregte is ‘n baie ernstige oortreding wat ook ernstig gestraf word. ‘n Kunstenaar is eweneens die patenthouer op sy kunswerk, en tóg is dit daagliks die praktyk dat produksies gedupliseer en kommersieel uitgesaai word, sonder dat die kunstenaar krediet daarvoor ontvang. Dit is absoluut noodsaaklik dat ons kunstenaars se regte beskerm moét word. Die skepper of die uitvoerder van ‘n musiekstuk is primêr die eienaar daarvan, en daarom verwelkom die AEB hierdie wetgewing.
Die daarstelling van ‘n statutêre liggaam om aan bogenoemde aandag te gee, word verwelkom. Dit moet net in gedagte gehou word dat, hoewel so ‘n liggaam statutêr bemagtig word, dit primêr ‘n instelling van die burgerlike samelewing bly en nie ‘n stuk staatsmasjinerie word nie. So omskryf die memorandum van die wet hul funksie tereg, naamlik om kollektief namens die kunstenaars te beding met uitsaaiers met betrekking tot tantièmes.
Die AEB wil twee waarskuwings rig. Ons doen ‘n beroep op kunstenaars om nie hierdie regte té ver te probeer druk nie. Dit moenie vir die publiek onbekostigbaar word om dit wat in ‘n sekere sin volksbesit geword het, gereeld te kan hoor nie. Gereelde uitsending van ‘n kunstenaar se werk oor radiostasies is ook van die beste reklame wat weer neerslag vind in hoër plate verkope of groter bywoningsyfers by konserte en optredes.
Tweedens, die ooreenkoms tussen die kunstenaar en byvoorbeeld die platemaatskappy is ‘n privaataangeleentheid waaroor die wet tereg nie staatsinmenging voorskryf nie. Tóg gebeur dit dikwels dat kunstenaars hul kopiereg aan platemaatskappye verkoop ten einde hul produk op die mark te kry en die resultaat is vet katte by die platemaatskappye en kunstenaars wat arm na hul graf gaan. Die benoemde statutêre liggame moet ten eerste na die belang van die kunstenaar omsien.
Die AEB steun hierdie wetsontwerpe. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairman, it seems to me there is one difference between a politician and an artist: a politician will pay to be heard on the radio, while an artist is paid to be broadcast on the radio!
When an engineer designs an apparatus or a machine, he is protected by strict patent rights and generally his greatest profit also lies in the sale of the patent. Violation of patent rights is a very serious offence which is also severely punished. In the same way an artist is the patent holder of his art, and yet the practice occurs daily that productions are duplicated and broadcast commercially without the artist receiving credit. It is absolutely essential that our artists’ rights must be protected. The creator or the performer of a musical piece is primarily the owner of that piece, and for that reason the AEB welcomes this legislation. The creation of a statutory body to pay attention to the aforementioned is welcomed. It must just be borne in mind that although a body may be empowered statutorily, it remains primarily an institution of civil society and does not become a piece of state machinery. The memorandum to the Act therefore defines their function correctly, namely to negotiate collectively on behalf of the artists with broadcasters with regard to royalties.
The AEB would like to address two warnings. We appeal to artists not to try to push these rights too far. It must not become too expensive for the public regularly to be able to hear that which in a certain sense has become public property. Regular broadcasting of an artist’s work on radio stations is also one of the best forms of advertising, which is manifested in higher record sales or greater attendance figures at concerts and performances.
Secondly, the agreement between the artist and the record company, for example, is a private matter with regard to which the Act correctly does not prescribe state intervention. However, it sometimes happens that artists sell their copyright to record companies in order to get their product on the market and the result is fat cats at the record companies and artists who die poor. The aforementioned statutory bodies must see to the interests of the artist first.
The AEB supports these Bills.]
Mrs B N SONO: Mr Chairperson, hon members, consultations with stakeholders within the music industry have taken place, and consensus was reached amongst stakeholders that the issue of royalties or needle time be addressed by amendments to both the Copyright Act of 1978 and the Performers’ Protection Act.
The Bill seeks to amend the Acts in order to give effect to proposals by stakeholders. The DP supports the Bill. Any measure on the part of Government, especially legislative, to enhance the development of our society, will always be applauded. However, the DP has a concern with the proposed amendment to section 39 of the principal Act, which is the provision enabling the Minister to provide for the establishment, composition, funding and functions of societies contemplated in section 9(a).
The DP supports the view of stakeholders that a new collecting society, specifically for the collection and distribution of royalties emanating from needle time, should be created and controlled by the rights holders and performers, and that such formation should be done on the basis of regulations by the Minister, for the following reasons. Small and medium recording companies which are purely South African outnumber large recording companies. A greater percentage of performers and musicians are from the formerly disadvantaged sector, and therefore special emphasis should be placed on their training and upgrading, so that they can rise to higher levels in business and skills.
In their documents on affirmative action and the new Constitution, the ANC has made various assurances about the nature of that policy. I quote:
We have to free the capacities of millions of people who have never had a real chance to show their mettle.
I would like to pose a question to this Government: Is it not time to go back to the Freedom Charter, instead of empowering and centralising powers in the Cabinet? [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Mrs B M NTULI: Chairperson, the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry welcomes the introduction of the needle time Bills, which are the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill, in this House.
All over the world, music is an essential component of life, and plays an important role in the development and transformation of human society. In our country, music contributed significantly to the struggle for our liberation. We are proud to say that the South African music industry has great musical talent, and the development of the South African cultural endowments into internationally marketable products is the challenge that faces the South African music industry. The music industry is very complex and consists of different role-players who produce a variety of musical products, and includes creators, agents, record companies and retail outlets.
The South African music industry is a key provider of jobs and income revenue in the economy, with a gross turnover of approximately R1 billion. However, we must bear in mind that five of the six multinational companies that control the global music industry, namely BMG, EMI, Polygram, Sony and Gallo, have South African subsidiaries. Exposure to both the domestic and international markets aims at improving the quality of South African musicians.
We recognise that music is a rapidly increasing and highly profitable industry with limitless potential. The music industry is a powerful means of enhancing the country’s identity and distinctiveness, while simultaneously creating employment, developing human skills and generating social cohesion and capital.
However, while international music is thriving in the South African market, the development of local music is not keeping pace and we need to correct that situation. Hence the Department of Trade and Industry had to step in to help regulate the industry, because many of our artists live in poverty.
DTI is responsible for the copyright legislation that governs the cultural industry and for the creation of good conditions, including incentive packages and export support, that facilitate the growth of those industries. This regulation of the industry revolves around the rights concerning, and payment for, exploiting musical work that is protected in copyright legislation.
In South Africa needle time legislation is based on the World Copyright Treaty. The absence of needle time legislation, that is the broadcast right, was one of the key obstacles to the development of local music and the music industry. Needle time gives musicians in their capacity as performers the right to receive remuneration when their records are either played on radio or performed live, amounting to a public performance right. This right to needle time impacts on the income of and expenditure for both musicians and broadcasters.
Ngizobe ngiyahluleka uma ngingavumela laba abathi umculo eNingizimu Afrika awukulungele ukudlalwa kuzo zonke iziteshi zomsakazo.
Sinomculo owehlukene eNingizimu Afrika. Ngingabala ngithini? Kukhona umbhaqanga, umculo wezenkolo, i-kwaito, umculo opholile lapho sikhuluma khona ngabantu abafana noRingo, oJoe Nina, noSibongile Khumalo. Kukhona umculo womdabu lapho sikhuluma khona ngoMfazomnyama othi uma esezibonga athi, ``umfana ozalwa yinyanga naye oyinyanga kanti unina yisangoma, umfowabo ngumthakathi.’’ Singabala sithini? [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[I would be failing myself if I agreed with those who said music in South Africa was not ready to be played over all radio stations.
We have different types of music in South Africa, the list is endless. We have umbhaqanga, which is a mixture of Western and African music religious music, kwaito, and cool music, which is played by people like Ringo, Joe Nina and Sibongile Khumalo. We also have traditional music, played by people like Mfazomnyama, who praises himself by saying: ``He is a boy who was begotten by an inyanga, his mother is an isangoma and his brother is a witch’’. The list is endless. [Applause.]]
Through intellectual property rights the owners of these rights are entitled to sell the same recording time and again over a 50-year or 75- year period. This implies that musicians and composers form the basis of the industry.
South Africa enjoys a regulated and enabling environment which lays the foundation for the development and growth of the South African music industry. The functioning of collection societies strengthens this enabling environment, which, through the current needle time legislation, is accountable, credible, transparent and efficient.
Ake ngigcine ngalokhu. Sinomculo owehlukene. Kukhona nomculo wamaBhunu.
Bacula kamnandi yini pho Uma sebethi, Daar is niks soos ware liefde''.
[Uhleko.] [Let me conclude by saying that we have different types of music.
There is also Boer music. They are playing very well when they say: Daar
is niks soos ware liefde [There is nothing like true love.]’’. [Laughter.]]
However, the South African music industry’s future ultimately lies in the promotion of local talent. The current local content quota is 20%. The IBA has the constitutional right to enforce and monitor local content in order to protect musicians within the legal ambit of a range of rights, protections and benefits.
The promotion of music is not limited to the music industry, but also by the effective utilisation of the South African culture. We need to overcome the barriers of the cultural separation of apartheid. We also need to ensure that musicians are paid accordingly. We must fight piracy in whatever form possible, because it is costing the South African music industry millions in lost revenue. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Minister, just before you speak, members might have realised that we did not have interpretation for the isiZulu part of the member’s speech. This is because the Whips did not make arrangements to inform the Table about that. Can I just draw your attention to the fact that Whips need to arrange with the Table for interpretation before members take to the podium, so that the Table can arrange interpretation for their speeches.
The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY: Chairperson, it was a pity that you stopped such a fine performance. I think that if needle time were already in existence, the hon member would be wealthy. I would not be able to say quite the same about the hon member Bruce, because I think that if needle time were available now, there would not be many buyers for his performance. [Laughter.] But he made some interesting points about the media. I think it is gratifying to see that all parties have supported this Bill with enthusiasm. I am very pleased about that, because as a piece of legislation it might seem to be relatively small, but there is considerable enabling capacity in these amendments. It can do a great deal for our performers and artists and liberate their talents.
I would also support the hon member Davies that it would be important for people to engage with the regulations when we publish them. It is very important that these provisions are administered properly.
This process has been the result of some very important consultation by the stakeholders. I think we need to congratulate them. It is not an easy issue. They have come to terms with it, and the result is good legislation. I would agree with the hon member Bekker that the local content programme is important, and these amendments can complement it considerably in supporting our industry.
The presentation made by the hon member Benjamin was an excellent and very informative one. What will be important, as he has indicated and we will certainly undertake this, is the educative process. I think it is crucial that artists and performers do know what their rights are, and that they can benefit from that.
It is going to be important for us, too, to ensure that the collecting societies, which are now more regulated, are properly administered. They will fall under the jurisdiction of Cipro. It will be very important that we ensure that the benefits do accrue to the artists, and we will attempt to do that.
I believe these Acts do offer the prospect of liberating our very considerable talents. I think they further improve the intellectual property dispensation in South Africa by making it more equitable and more beneficial to those that own that intellectual property.
Finally, I would like to thank, very sincerely indeed, the stakeholders for the hard work done in the lengthy consultation process and also the committee for listening to that and making important proposals for changes. The reciprocity provision is a very interesting one and, I think, an important one in setting standards for international agreements. This is a direction that is very useful for us to follow, and certainly it will be a direction that Government intends supporting and defending. I would like to thank members for the support. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Copyright Amendment Bill read a second time.
Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill read a second time.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS BILL
(First Reading debate)
Mr G G OLIPHANT: Chairperson, hon members, comrades and colleagues, hon members will recall that in November last year this Parliament passed the Unemployment Insurance Bill, which was subsequently assented to by the President of the Republic on 13 January 2002 and later published in the Gazette on 28 January 2002. We look forward to the promulgation of this law from 1 April this year.
The Bill before us today is, essentially, a money Bill in terms of section 77 of the Constitution. The Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bill seeks to improve the revenue collection regime of the Unemployment Insurance Fund and to strengthen its fraud detection system.
Employers registered with the SA Revenue Service for the purpose of PAYE - pay as you earn - or the Skills Development Levy are expected to pay contributions through the already established tax collection system. Employers that are not registered must pay directly to the Unemployment Insurance Commissioner.
I think that it is appropriate to deal with this piece of legislation in this month of February, during which the attention of the nation is focused on safety and security matters. In this Bill we give a stern warning, particularly to both employers and employees, that gone are the days of defrauding this Government through the UIF with impunity.
The legacy of high levels of employer default and noncompliance will be addressed by tougher penalties and fines on those employers who fail to comply. The Department of Labour is also tasked with the additional responsibilities of dealing with issues such as underdisclosure of employee earnings, the practice of work and draw, particularly by employees, and deliberate misrepresentation of employee earnings by employers.
We, however, also wish to take this opportunity to thank those employers who have consistently complied with the current laws, and trust that the new system will make their task much easier.
This piece of legislation is about poverty relief and the protection of the most vulnerable sections of our society in the labour market. Workers who become unemployed or their dependants are enabled to claim benefits from this fund, including maternity, illness and adoption benefits.
There are, however, three outstanding matters that the Department of Labour is expected to finalise within a specified period. The first is the extension of coverage of the Unemployment Insurance Act - essentially social security legislation extended to domestic workers and seasonal workers within 12 months of this promulgation. The second matter is to investigate whether the application of this law discriminates against women in terms of maternity benefits. And, the third outstanding matter is to report on the inclusion of public servants. This Bill represents a comprehensive strategy that seeks to strengthen the Unemployment Insurance Fund to deal with systemic inefficiencies of the past. Hon members will recall that the previous government, before the democratic one, after 1979 placed this fund on the road to bankruptcy by increasing the coverage and reducing the contributions. Today we are once more proud and pleased to report that this fund is back on track and will henceforth be able to meet its obligations.
The ANC supports this Bill and wishes to thank the portfolio committee for their co-operation in this matter. [Applause.]
Mr N J CLELLAND-STOKES: Chairperson, the Democratic Alliance has no problem with the substantive legislation before this House today, which effectively will be responsible for the administration and collection of the bulk contributions arising from the Unemployment Insurance Act. Also, we believe passionately that an efficient and effective unemployment insurance fund is beneficial in a developing economy like ours.
The notion that contributors are entitled to bridging finances to ease the financial burden between jobs makes economic sense. Also, the provision of maternity benefits, for a fixed period associated with childbirth, is vital if we are to recognise the importance of women’s role in society.
Now, while the Unemployment Insurance Act made great strides in these directions, the Democratic Alliance voted against the Unemployment Insurance Fund Bill because, in our view, it fell short of providing a new, streamlined, financially viable and efficient unemployment insurance fund.
The inclusion of employees who work more than 24 hours a month for a particular employer, the exclusion of civil servants and the lack of a simple and competent mechanism to administer the important inclusion of domestic and seasonal workers into the ambit of the fund, rendered the Bill unworkable in our opinion.
Now, today at the meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Labour, the department and the director-general outlined the work programme for this year. The director-general paid particular attention to the follow-up on the issues from the Unemployment Insurance Act, including a task team investigating the exclusion of benefits to domestic and seasonal workers and a report on the inclusion of public servants into the ambit of the fund.
If this piece of legislation today, and the package that makes up the entirety of unemployment insurance in general, is to be of any real use to the people of South Africa, then the department must strive to introduce measures that facilitate the easy and relatively effortless inclusion of domestic and seasonal workers into the ambit of the fund. That is vital. The decision, also, to exclude civil servants from the fund must surely be one of the biggest and most significant problems associated with the Act.
The very real potential of infringement of civil servants’ constitutional rights aside, the other consequence of the exclusion also means that the fund loses a massive ongoing financial contribution from the country’s largest employer, rendering the fund less financially stable. The only logical conclusion is for the department and the Minister to facilitate the inclusion of civil servants into the ambit of the fund. The Democratic Alliance supports this administrative Bill before the House today, and hopes that the department will do all in its power to make the fund a truly effective vehicle for those who really need it - the people of our country.
Mr N S MIDDLETON: Mr Chairman, hon Ministers, and hon members, South Africa is entering into a glowing new era in so far as this Bill is concerned. This Bill comes in a period engulfed by very harsh economic realities, as the majority of our people are unemployed and more and more are losing jobs. The effects of such a predicament have severe consequences for the state and result in crime, violent acts, especially on pensioners, harassed by their children and grandchildren daily.
South African labour laws had previously denied the majority of South African workers the right to advance their interests. The Unemployment Insurance Fund is but one of the benefits which the majority of workers were excluded from, particularly the domestic workers, the farmworkers and the seasonal workers, as well as public servants.
The IFP welcomes the inclusion of domestic and seasonal workers into the UIF. These are the employees who are very vulnerable to unemployment, as they cannot be easily absorbed by the labour market. However, we regret the fact that this Act will only apply to these workers 12 months after the Act is in operation.
The IFP is concerned about the exclusion of the national and provincial public servants in the Bill, as they are also employees. We would like to see them included in the provisions as employees, just like those in the local authorities. The fact that they have other benefits does not tally with the argument that they therefore should not be included in this Bill. What is wrong with the enhancement of their benefits if we are determined to deal with the brain drain from the Public Service presently taking place? The private sector siphons innumerable skills from the Public Service, because, in comparison, it pays better than the Government. The extension of these benefits can similarly and ultimately serve to deter this exodus of workers.
On the application to receive benefits, we wish to put on record that some applicants fail to receive benefits when their employer becomes liquidated and in many cases, goes underground and even abroad. Such employees do not get issued with blue cards when they go to the labour offices. One would believe that the proper course to follow would be to look for the liquidator or the master of liquidation responsible for such liquidation.
Another alternative would be to go to the SA Revenue Service office if that applicant is a registered taxpayer, so that these offices can give an indication as to what has taken place with their employer, but this process can be very tiring and expensive for unemployed people. Most of them will not even know the right route to follow.
The IFP is also concerned about the fact that a large number of employers are not registered as employers with Sars, which would make the efficient collection of such funds, as well as payment of benefits to the unemployed employees, very difficult to implement.
Nevertheless, the IFP supports this Bill.
Dr P J RABIE: Hon Chairman, hon Deputy President, and hon members, the purpose of this Bill is to fill a particular void in our market niche, and it applies to domestic workers, gardeners, persons employed by a household as a driver and a person who takes care of any person in the home.
A significant aspect of this Bill is that it does not include farmworkers or public servants. The Act also does not apply to an employee who is employed by the employer for less than 24 hours a month. An employee that receives remuneration under a learnership agreement registered in terms of the Skills Development Act, Act 97 of 1998, is also exempt from this particular Bill. An employee who has entered the country for the purpose of carrying out of a contract of service, apprenticeship or learnership, with the undertaking to repatriate after completion of his term of service, is also excluded from this Bill.
In essence, this Bill refers to domestic and seasonal workers and their employers, and the Bill will come into effect 12 months after this Bill has been proclaimed by the President. The Bill determines the amount of contribution. The fact that the employer deducts the employees’ contribution on a monthly basis is also a significant aspect of this Bill. Employers that qualify for this Bill are not liable for the payment of the skills development levy in terms of the Skills Development Levies Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act. Employers to whom this Act applies must apply for registration to the Unemployment Insurance Commissioner.
The Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bill is a positive piece of legislation, and provides insurance cover to a particular number of workers within our labour force. It is a fundamental prerequisite for sound labour relations. What is important, however is the cost of this particular Bill, but in the long term, I think this will have a positive effect on our particular economy.
The New NP is proud to support this particular piece of legislation.
Chief M N RAMODIKE: Chairperson, it would be redundant for me to repeat what the hon member G G Oliphant has already mentioned. Suffice it to say that the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bill is linked to the Bill that was passed by this House some time last year, namely the Unemployment Insurance Bill, the purpose of which is to establish an Unemployment Insurance Fund to which employers and employees contribute, and from which employees who become unemployed, or their beneficiaries, as the case may be, are entitled to benefit. In so doing, this alleviates the harmful economic and social effects of unemployment.
The purpose of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bill is to make provision for the collection of contributions for the Unemployment Insurance Fund. In other words, this Bill, once passed by this House, will be an enabling Act for the implementation of the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The two pieces of legislation complement, in essence, each other, and are intended to provide benefits to employees who become unemployed.
I therefore believe that no political party will oppose this Bill. The UDM recommends, however, that the splitting of collection of contributions between Sars and the Unemployment Insurance Commissioner should be reviewed by both the Department of Labour and Sars. We believe that Sars is the most effective tax collection agency by all international standards, and that all the payroll taxes, including UIF, should be left with Sars. We also recommend that the Director-General of the Department of Labour should be given powers to appoint an actuary who is a member of the Actuarial Society of SA and who is supervised by a member of the society to perform the functions assigned to the actuary in terms of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Fund, similar to the functions assigned to the actuary in terms of the Unemployment Insurance Act.
The UDM supports the Bill.
Mr L M GREEN: Mr Chairperson, the ACDP supports the general provision of the Bill whereby employees previously disallowed are now granted coverage within the UIF. This is a good Bill because it addresses the needs of the poorest of the poor. However, we are concerned that the administration thereof may prove to be difficult if the necessary procedural mechanisms and contribution infrastructure are not fully and efficiently allocated.
The nature of the work of especially domestic and seasonal workers is generally seen as contractual and, as such, the principle of possible permanent employment and related benefits do not apply.
It is therefore more important to ensure that such employees enjoy assurance of good administration. It is equally important for the ordinary employer to fully understand his or her responsibility in terms of the provisions laid down in this legislation. We hope that sufficient information will be made available to these employers on how to go about ensuring the protection of their workers.
The ACDP supports this Bill.
Mnr P J GROENEWALD: Agb Voorsitter, ter aanvang wil ek dit stel dat die VF hierdie wetsontwerp oor werkloosheidsversekeringsbydrae steun. Daar is egter twee aspekte waarna gekyk moet word. Die een aspek, wat ons ook beskou as ‘n leemte, is as dit kom by die uitbetaling van die werkloosheidsversekeringsfonds. Dit is algemeen bekend dat daar mense is wat na verskillende betaalpunte gaan en meer as net een uitbetaling per maand ontvang, of wat ook al die uitbetaling mag wees in terme van die Werkloosheidsversekeringsfonds. Dis ‘n leemte waarna daadwerklik gekyk moet word.
‘n Tweede aspek is dat die Regering van die dag werksgeleenthede sal moet begin skep. As ons dan kyk na die werkloosheidsyfer vir verlede jaar, was dit, volgens die eng definisie, 26,4%. Volgens die wyer definisie was dit 37%. As ons nie werk gaan skep in hierdie land nie, gaan ons ‘n sneeubaleffek hê en gaan ons nie die probleem van werkloosheid oplos nie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, firstly I would like to say that the FF supports this Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bill. However, there are two aspects that need to be examined. The first aspect, which we regard as a shortcoming, relates to the paying out of money by the Unemployment Insurance Fund. It is generally known that there are people who go to the various pay offices and receive more than only one payment per month, or whatever the payment may be in terms of the Unemployment Insurance Fund. This is a shortcoming that calls for thorough examination.
A second aspect is that the present Government will have to start creating job opportunities. When we look at the unemployment figure for last year, we find that, in terms of strict definition, it was 26,4%. According to the wider definition it was 37%. Unless we create job opportunities in this country we will have a snowball effect and be unable to solve the problem of unemployment.]
Mnr J P I BLANCHÉ: Geagte Voorsitter, die FA is ten gunste daarvan dat werkers beskerm word deur ‘n wet van hierdie aard, maar ons twyfel of dit die lae-inkomstewerker sal bevoordeel. Baie Suid-Afrikaners wil werklose mense in die lae-inkomstegroepe se lot verlig en neem hulle in diens as ‘n tuinier of ‘n huishulp of iets dergeliks. As hierdie werkgewers, wat ook in die laer-inkomstekategorie hulle brood verdien, aan vervolging blootgestel gaan word, omdat hulle nie vir hulle huishulp voorsiening maak vir ‘n werkloosheidsfonds nie, dan twyfel ons of hulle daardie mense in diens sal neem.
Dit lei dus daartoe dat hierdie wetsontwerp kan veroorsaak dat ‘n sekere persentasie van die lae-inkomstewerksgeleenthede gaan verdwyn. Daarom sal ons wil sien hoe dit toegepas word en hoop die Minister sal daaraan ernstige aandag gee. Ons plaas ‘n las op die laags besoldigde groepe in ons geledere en ons sal wil sien hoe dit hulle gaan affekteer. Ons hoop dat die Minister die toepassing sal monitor en toesien dat dit meer werk aan die armes verskaf. Die FA steun graag die wetgewing. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Hon Chairperson, the FA favours workers being protected by a law of this nature, but we doubt whether this will benefit the lower- income workers. Many South Africans want to alleviate the plight of the unemployed in the lower-income group and they employ them as gardeners, domestic workers and so on. If these employers, who are also earning their living in the lower-income category, are to be subjected to persecution because they have not provided for an unemployment fund for their domestic help, we doubt whether they will be employing those people.
It may therefore be that this Bill is going to cause a certain percentage of the lower-income job opportunities to disappear. We would therefore like to see how it is going to be enforced and we hope that the Minister will pay serious attention to this. We are placing a burden on the lowest paid groups among us and we would like to see how this is going to affect them. We hope that the Minister will monitor the enforcement and see to it that more jobs are made available to the poor. The FA would like to support this legislation.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! The hon P J Nefolovhodwe! I am sorry, Mr Aucamp!
Mr C A AUCAMP: Chairperson, the anti-defection clause is not in place yet. I am from the AEB. There is only one real kind of unemployment insurance, that is a growing economy where unemployment will be reduced to the minimum. The AEB calls on the Minister of Finance to furnish us with a Budget tomorrow that will stimulate growth.
Die AEB steun hierdie wetgewing. Daar is ‘n paar vrae daaroor. Dit is nie vir ons duidelik waarom die staat as werkgewer uitgesluit word om ook werkloosheidsversekering te voorsien nie. Ons beskou dit as ‘n aantasting van die regte van die werker. Die regte van die werker moet beskerm word. Tog weet ons dat dit groot administratiewe laste lê op die werkgewer en ons doen ‘n beroep op die owerhede om hierdie saak op ‘n verbruikersvriendelike wyse te hanteer en ‘n handige brosjure aan werkgewers beskikbaar te stel wat met een oogopslag alle verpligtinge uiteensit.
Hierdie wetgewing bring geen nuwe beginsel ter tafel nie, maar reël slegs die implementering van ‘n wet wat reeds deur hierdie Huis goedgekeur is en die AEB ondersteun dit met vrymoedigheid. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The AEB supports this legislation. There are a few questions about it. It is not clear to us why the state, as employer, is excluded from providing unemployment insurance as well. We regard this as tampering with the rights of the worker. The rights of the worker should be protected. Yet we also know that this causes a great administrative burden for the employer and we appeal to the authorities to deal with this matter in a user-friendly way and to make a handy brochure available to employers, setting out all obligations at a glance.
This legislation brings no new principle to the table, but merely regulates the implementation of an Act which has already been approved by this House, and the AEB supports it with confidence.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE: Chairperson, and hon members, I would like to thank all members who participated in this debate, particularly those who have supported this legislation. Regarding issues that have been raised by some members, I would like to remind members of this House that the issue of the inclusion or otherwise of public servants is not a matter that is out of sight. It is a matter that is part of the issues that will be considered between the Minister of Finance and the Minister for the Public Service and Administration.
Subsequently, there will be a report on this matter, after it has been looked at it from all points of view. Hon members must also understand that this matter will have particular financial implications for the state. If we go along with it, then we must do so with our eyes wide open.
The issues around domestic and seasonal workers are covered in the legislation. The Minister of Labour is authorised to appoint a body that will investigate the issues. Essentially, we all understand, if we have grown up in South Africa, how the system has worked, for example in respect of domestic workers. Members know the difficulties and practicalities that would be involved in administering a system of contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund with respect to domestic workers. The Minister of Labour will appoint this body to investigate these issues within a period of 12 months and report in this regard.
On the exclusion of farmworkers, our understanding is that the category of farmworkers that remains excluded for now, subject to the investigations that must take place, is that of seasonal workers, but ordinary farmworkers are covered by this Bill.
A final point that I would like to make is that the Unemployment Insurance Fund is part of the broader social security system that we have in South Africa. Therefore, the measures both in this Bill and in the Unemployment Insurance Fund Act, aimed at improving both the administrative and financial capacities, are an important contribution to strengthening our social security system. Of course, this is not all that is aimed at strengthening our social security system. There is also the work that was done by a committee that was appointed by the Government to investigate issues around the comprehensive social security system. We hope to get a report from that committee very soon.
All of these issues are meant to ensure that our system can cater for all categories of people that need our social security system. This Bill will make an important contribution in strengthening our social security system. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill read a first time.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS BILL
(Second Reading debate)
There was no debate.
Bill read a second time.
TOWARDS A SOUND BASIS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION
(Subject for Discussion)
Ms P K MOTHOAGAE: Chairperson, the topic before this House creates an environment to measure the distance covered since the Freedom Charter was adopted by People’s Congress in Kliptown in 1955. The Charter confronts us with an important challenge. It says, ``the doors of learning and culture shall be opened’’. In 1948 education was recognised as a basic human right, and it was included in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. This right is also enshrined in our Constitution.
Education remains central to development, resulting in a better quality life. In 1995 this House passed the South African Qualifications Authority Act, Act 58, popularly known as Saqa.
Saqa provides for the National Qualifications Framework, popularly known as the NQF, which establishes the scaffolding of a national learning system that integrates education and training, at all levels, from preschool to higher education and training and is overseen by the SA Qualifications Authority. It is answerable to both the Minister of Education and the Minister of Labour. It facilitates the movement of learners from one qualification level to another. It encourages flexible access by learners to different modes of learning, be this in learning institutions, the workplace or community learning centres, for example the pottery classes, the courses that we have for domestic workers or courses for self-study. We know that the NGOs and the churches play a very important role in this regard.
We also think of our world-class heart specialist, Dr Barnard, who used to consult a black man from the Western Cape - his name escapes me at the moment - who was illiterate but could assist with heart operations. He knew which scalpel to use, and he was consulted all the time. His family, at this point in time, really feels that he is an unsung hero. He was not recognised in the past. I think, with the framework that we have put in place, that can be corrected. With this framework, we will capture those that are there.
Basic education can be provided by the formal education system and informal education. In this regard I have already mentioned the NGOs. The main components of basic education are communication skills and general knowledge, that is, literacy, and scientific and cultural knowledge. For our daily life skills practices, we need to be educated, that is just, an ordinary education. We need to train counsellors to help with the scourge of HIV/Aids. We need to do it now. This is a challenge to all of us. We have had cholera, and we still have it. Education plays a very important role, for example with regard to washing hands. We need to teach our children and everybody to wash their hands.
Production of skills includes any activity enabling someone to earn a living or produce goods and services. There are a number of short-term advantages. These can pose problems as people might regard basic education as inferior education. We have programmes in place where certificates are awarded at the end of training, for example in candle-making for ordinary women in our villages in the locations, are making yoghurt and peanut butter. But at the end of the day there is no market for this and it is important that we revisit these matters.
Human resource development is one of our serious challenges and in this regard we have this diploma disease. The heavy emphasis on formal education has given rise to large-scale unemployment among qualified people because of a shortage of jobs for educated people. When there is an oversupply of candidates with a particular qualification, employers may start asking for an unnecessarily high level of education, creating a spiral known as education inflation.
The irony is that the greater the unemployment among the educated, the more worthless their certificates and diplomas are. This is one of the challenges that we face. The diploma disease is widening the gap between what is learnt at school and at university, and the knowledge required in a job situation.
The 1988 World Bank Report suggests that the high economic and social returns that have accrued be maintained parallel to combating the incidence of disease and malnutrition among our children. There should be training for those who have entered the labour market and school learners who have no formal education and training in job-specific skills. We should develop intellectual talent to fill the highest scientific and technical posts.
Ke rata go tsaya tshono eno go bontsha Kokoanobosetshaba e gore re na le dikgwetlho tse dintsi tse re lebaganeng le tsona. Tautona Thabo Mbeki o gwetlhile maloko a ANC, ke tsaya gore le maAforika Borwa otlhe, gore ngwaga o ke wa letsema. Fela fa o ka lebelela mo Setswaneng kgotsa kwa magaeng, letsema le ntse le le teng, fela e ne e kete batho ba ikgogela kwa morago ba lebeletse gore Puso ke yona e tla dirang dilo tse dintsi.
Ke bua ke lebeletse gore re na le mekgatlho ya kwa dikgolong e re e bitsang diSGB mo e leng gore re fetisitse molao re le Kokoanobosetshaba, gore e nne le bokgoni jo bo rileng go thusa go aga thuto kwa dikolong tsa rona. Fela dikgwetlho tse dintsi tse di re lebaneng ke gore o fitlhele sekolo se le mo motseng se senngwa, se sa tlhokomelwe, dipompo tsa sona di robiwa e bile go se na matlwanaboithusetso. O fitlhele barutwana ba le sekete le barutabana ba bona ba dirisa ntlwanaboithusetso e le nngwe. Tseo ke dingwe tsa dilo tse di ka dirang gore re feleletse e le gore maiteko a rona a go fetola thuto gore batho ba nne le isago e e botoka, a palelwa ke go dirafala.
Ke lebeletse gape gore bontsi ba batho ba rona ga ba itse go kwala le go bala mme re lebeletse ba dire. Re a itse gore bontsi ba maAforika Borwa ke ba dirang ba sa katisiwa. Re na le molao o re o fetisitseng fa, wa Abet, o o lemosang gore dikolo tse re nang le tsona re di dirisetse bagodi bosigo, re be re di dirisetse bana motshegare. Fela o fitlhela re na kgwetlho e ntsi e e leng gore e tlisa dikgotlhang. Go le gantsi, bomme re feta bontate. Bomme ke bona ba tshwanetseng go ya kwa sekolong seo bosigo mme ba tshwanetse gape go thusa bana ka ditiro tsa kwa gae ba ba baakanyetse dijo le diaparo tsa sekolo. Se se dira gore ba se ka ba nna le tshono ya gore ba ka ya kwa sekolong bosigo.
Fela, molao o wa rona o bontsha gore fa nako e ntse e ya re tla dirisa madi go aga re itse gore le ke lefelo la bagodi mme ba tla sekolong fa bana le bona ya sekolong. Gonne kwa bofelong ba letsatsi re lebeletse gore dikuno tsa Aforika Borwa di re tswele mosola rotlhe.
Ntlha e nngwe e re e lebeletseng ke gore maitsholo kwa dikolong tsa rona a a tshwenya go sa kgathalasege gore ke dikolopotlana kgotsa ditheo tse dikgolo tsa thuto. Re fitlhela go sa ntse go na le thobalano e e botlhaswa mo baneng ba rona, segolo jang ba basetsanyana. Se se raya gore mo thutong ya rona jaaka re na le … [Nako e fedile.] (Translation of Tswana paragraphs follows.)
[I would like to take this opportunity to let this House realise that we have many challenges. President Thabo Mbeki appealed to the members of the ANC and the whole nation that this is the year of volunteers. Voluntarism has always been there in Setswana tradition and in rural areas, but people seemed to withdraw and expect Government to do everything for them.
We have passed a legislation in the NA to enable the SGBs to help develop the quality of education in our schools. The challenges that we face are that there are instances where a school may be destroyed, not be taken care of with, its taps being vandalised and not having proper toilets. There are situations in which 1 000 learners share one toilet with their teachers. These are some of the things that may hinder our attempt to better the quality of education and consequently people’s future.
I am also concerned about the high illiteracy rate among our people, whom we expect to work. We all know that most South African workers are unskilled. We have passed an Abet legislation which enables us to use the schools that we have for children during the day and for adults in the evenings. However, we experience challenges which may result in conflicts. There are more women than men. Women have to go to evening classes and at the same time they are expected to help children with their homework and prepare their clothes and their lunch boxes. This makes it impossible for them to go to evening classes.
But, this legislation provides that as time goes on we will build more schools for adults and children to go to school at the same time because all South Africans should benefit from the country’s resources.
We are also concerned that there is a moral degeneration in our schools, both primary and secondary. Our children, especially girls, are abused sexually. It means in our education … [Time expired.]]
Mr R S NTULI: Madam Speaker, hon Ministers and hon members, the Democratic Alliance is committed to providing relevant and quality education for all the people. Yet we submit that education per se is not about politics, politicians, ideology or bureaucrats; it is about learners and their teachers. Education is a means to self-fulfilment and the development of a person’s full potential, a means to contribute to progress and prosperity for the country and its people, a critical success factor in making our country globally competitive. The Minister of Education, addressing a press briefing on the Government’s human resource development strategy in Cape Town recently, noted that it was the surest guarantee to sustainable empowerment and economic development. He also noted that the overarching goals of the human resource development strategy included improving the human development index for the country, a reduction of inequality and improving the nation’s position on the international competitiveness table. This is good news, yet we have our serious concerns.
As is the case with many governments, money allocated to education is often lost due to the inability of officials to efficiently utilise budgeted amounts. Allocated money can only make a positive difference towards a better quality education if it is used to appoint quality teachers; improve relevant and on-going support services; provide, improve and maintain the good condition of buildings; improve quality management services; and purchase appropriate learning materials.
We are looking forward to the department getting the wheel turning for the implementation of the ELRC’s assistance to unqualified and underqualified educators, to improve their qualifications for better quality inputs in order that our education system should improve. We hope that there will be no bureaucratic obstacles in the way of this project, as there are 60 000 teachers waiting for this to happen.
Finally, we need to put more effort into improving the status of the teaching profession if we want to attract suitable teaching candidates, many of whom are lured away by the private sector, especially matriculants with mathematics and science.
Further tarnishing the image of the teaching profession are reports of widespread corruption, absenteeism, substance abuse and, more lamentable, learner abuse. We need a strong, effective partnership between the department, the SA Council of Educators, teacher unions and the community to stamp out these evils from our schools. [Applause.]
Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Madam Speaker and hon members, I am honoured to participate in this debate, as it is salient, timely and, more important, as quality education is an indispensable requirement in any society. Human resource is the most important resource in any society, great or small, since it is directly related to that society’s security, wellbeing and prospects for progress. It was B F Skinner who once said that:
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
How appropriate are these words! they encapsulate sentiments and objectives with which we fully identify.
Indeed, all members of this House and all levels of leadership should find new vigour to translate these sentiments into reality. The IFP recognises that basic education holds the key to a literate, competent and prosperous population. At this juncture I just want to say that we welcome the motion from the ANC and we reaffirm the sentiments therein.
We, as MPs, want to do what is right for the sake of this generation and future generations. But a leader only becomes a leader if he or she can lead his or her generation. He or she becomes a figure of historical significance only if he or she is able to deal with questions that vex or confront that society or that generation. The motion has to be understood in this context.
Human resource development, or human capacity development or human empowerment, is the skeletal structure that supports the development of any nation. In other words, it is about developing and nurturing this human resource base. So the question arises: How do we do this? It is basically about the citizenry being able to access skills, whether it be in science, technology or commerce, to create a transforming and enabling environment.
Our country relies on enlightened, informed, educated and courageous leaders, and this House needs to encourage and cajole role-players to fulfil their responsibility; and also to exact from the Department of Education performance, accountability and, most important, delivery. It is about maximising education and skills for the global economy.
The IFP is convinced that policy formulation cannot be divorced from implementation. Once this debate is over it should not be simply seen as a good debate or that this was a good motion, but something needs to emanate from it or else we are engaged in a futile process, and unemployment and poverty will begin to erode the political gains that we have accomplished. Thus the choices we make have to be constantly revisited and re-examined. In essence, if policies are wrong, they should be denounced, or if policies are good, they should be glorified. So we need to take assertive decisions with the sole aim of building this resource base. Our premise should rather be delivery and not disappointment.
The ideal of human capital investment or capacity-building has to be built in during the very early years of the schooling process so that education can become functional and foundational. We should not focus simply on the acquisition of skills but rather on the application of skills. It is not about creating a mass-based academia or an intelligentsia but it is about an employable workforce. To take the debate a step forward, we need to articulate and inform.
Although we have a huge economic resource base, we need to create a climate that is conducive to employment. The Government’s track record in this area is dismal, with unemployment being close to 30%, the highest in the world. Hence the core of Government and the private sector should rest heavily on the release of resources for human capacity-building. Our initiatives should include the setting up of a human resource base, the granting of scholarships, and training programmes and education that begin to equip individuals for being functional members in society.
As legislators we need to subscribe to and make a contribution towards the development of a viable and employable base. For this to happen, we need a conversion of political will. We simply do not need more policy documents. We do not need more White Papers, nor do we need pious or worn-out policies. We need to ensure that the climate is conducive. We need to take assertive decisions to implement policies that are workable and implementable. This is the challenge for any genuine democracy.
Our education system, with all its complications, subtleties and nuances, can become a beacon of hope for those that are illiterate, in dire poverty and unemployed, if we begin to engage now.
So the end of my speech should be the beginning of welding us together, aside from our political persuasions or political ideologies, but a welding together to leave behind an investment for our children, so that they can participate in society, not just as good citizens but as productive and responsible citizens. [Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, I admire the enthusiasm of the previous speaker. I see that the hon the Minister is not in the House. Hopefully he is not engaged in a fight against Unisa’s chairperson.
The topic for discussion, ``Towards a Sound Basis For Human Resource Development Through Quality Basic Education’’, could not have come at a more appropriate time, because currently South Africa is ranked at the bottom of the human development index. According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2001 South Africa is listed 46th out of 48 countries in this regard.
Fortunately, the Government is addressing the situation through the Human Resource Development Strategy which was launched last year. For the purposes of this debate I will only concentrate on two objectives of the Human Resource Development Strategy, namely improving the quality of general education and improving the results in mathematics and science, starting with the last one first, improving results in mathematics and science.
South Africa is still years behind in this field, for understandable reasons. The World Competitiveness Yearbook, to which I referred earlier, ranks South Africa last out of 49 countries when it comes to science adequately taught in compulsory schools.
With regard to the question whether science and technology interests the youth of our country, South Africa is listed second from last, and believe me, it is no consolation at all that the United Kingdom occupies the last position. That we are nowhere near the objective of improving the results in mathematics and science is borne out by the fact that the number of African matric pupils passing higher grade mathematics and science last year, namely 2 751, was lower than the previous year, namely 3 128. This lack of performance needs to be addressed in an imaginative manner. The identification of 102 special mathematics and science schools in all nine provinces last year was a positive step in the right direction. An audit of these schools, however, indicated a lack of basic needs such as power, laboratories, libraries and learner support materials in general.
It would be appreciated if someone would ask the Minister to indicate to the House whether these schools have now been fully equipped in order to enhance excellence in science and mathematics. More importantly, someone should ask the Minister to indicate to the House whether these schools have, in the meantime, been provided with adequately qualified teachers, without whom excellence in mathematics and science will remain a pipedream.
This brings me to the second objective of the human resource development strategy-improving the quality of general education. Adequate learner material is a prerequisite for improving the quality of general education. A shortage of textbooks at the beginning of the school year has once again hampered quality basic education. It is now two months since the schools have been reopened but in a province such as Mpumalanga, for example, there are still schools without textbooks.
‘n Tweede voorvereiste vir gehalte basiese onderwys is goedopgeleide, gekwalifiseerde onderwysers. ‘n Goedopgeleide, gekwalifiseerde onderwyser vergoed baie keer vir ‘n gebrek aan ondersteuningsmateriaal. Daar is onderwysers wat onder ‘n boom skoolhou en uitstekende resultate behaal.
Die Minister verdien krediet vir die feit dat R30 miljoen opsy gesit is om behoorlik gekwalifiseerde mense na die onderwys toe te lok. Die bewilliging van ‘n verdere R90 miljoen om die kwalifikasies van onderwysers in die algemeen te bevorder, is ewe kredietwaardig.
Die pad na ontwikkeling van menslike hulpbronne deur gehalte basiese onderwys is gewis nog ‘n lang pad, maar die Chinese spreekwoord sê mos ‘n tog van ‘n 1000 myl begin met ‘n enkele tree. Die Regering se ontwikkeling van ‘n menslike hulpbronstrategie was die eerste tree op hierdie lang pad. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[A second prerequisite for quality basic education is well-trained, qualified teachers. Most of the time a well-qualified teacher makes up for a lack of support material. There are teachers who teach under trees and deliver excellent results. The Minister deserves credit for the fact that R30 million has been put aside to lure suitably qualified people to education. A further R90 million grant to improve the qualifications of teachers in general is equally noteworthy.
The road to development of human resources through quality basic education is indeed still a long one but the Chinese proverb does say that a journey of 1 000 miles begin with one single step. The Government’s development of a human resource strategy was the first step on this long journey. [Applause.]]
Prof S M MAYATULA: Madam Speaker, hon members, I would like to start off by offering an apology on behalf of the hon the Minister. He is definitely not engaged in Unisa affairs but is currently in the NCOP, where he is debating child abuse issues. We are hoping he will join us.
In this year of letsema, ilima, this year of Vukuzenzele, that is, Arise and Act, this year of volunteerism, the ANC, in its statement of January 8th, made this clarion call to all its members and friends:
Following today’s celebrations, each member of the ANC and every branch of our movement must participate in matsema (amalima), that we will engage in every month. At this time, we must mobilize the people to join in these activities.
I would like to dedicate my speech to a senior school Xhosa teacher by the name of Miss Nomachule Khetso of St George’s Grammar School in Mowbray, Cape Town, who visited me in my office yesterday.
True to her African cultural upbringing and ubuntu, though contracted to work only 17 hours a week in her school, she saw Xhosa language learners without a teacher, and volunteered to teach them for a whole year without being paid. [Applause.]
Ukuze sibe nombono ocacileyo ngendlela esiza kuyihamba ukuya kwimfundo egqibeleleyo, masiziqaphele iimeko abaphila phantsi kwazo abantu bakuthi. Masibe nombono womama notata nabantwana abathathu abafundayo: iintombi ezimbini, enye ineminyaka elishumi elinesithathu, enye ineminyaka elishumi elinesixhenxe, kanti yena unyana uneminyaka elishumi elinesihlanu. Bonke bahlala kwigumbi elinye, etyotyombeni. Eli gumbi yindawo yokulala, yindawo yokuhlambela, yindawo yokutya ikwayiyo nendawo yokuhlala. Ngaba imfundo egqibeleleyo ingakhona kusini na kumntu ohlala apho?
Phindani nibe nombono wosapho olukwanjengolu, oluhlala kwizindlu eziphangaleleyo kwenye yeelali zaseMqanduli. Ingxaki yabo kukuba abazali babo abaphangeli, ibe isikolo singumgama ongange-khilomitha ezisixhenxe ukusuka esikolweni. Lo mgama bawuhamba nge nyawo yonke le mihla. Ngenxa yokungabikho kweendlela, esi sikolo asifikeleleki nangemoto xa izulu lisina, nabantwana besikolo bafika bemanzi toxo. Isikolo asinazifesitile, zingcango, kunye nazitulo zakuhlala. Umbuzo ngowokuba, ingaba imfundo egqibeleleyo ingenziwa na kwisikolo esinjalo. (Translation of Xhosa paragraphs follows.)
[If we want to have a very clear picture of the road we have to travel before we reach our destination of effective education, we need to pay attention to the conditions under which our people live. Let us picture a mother and a father with three children who are at school: two girls, one thirteen years old and another seventeen, and a fifteen-year-old son. They all live in one room in a shack. This room serves as the bedroom, the bathroom, the diningroom as well as the lounge. Can there be effective education for someone living here?
Again picture a similar family living in a more spacious house in one of the villages at Mqanduli. The problem of the children in this family is that their parents are not working, and that the school is seven kilometres away from their home. They travel this distance on foot everyday. Because of the condition of the roads their school is not accessible even by car when it is raining and the children get to school soaking wet. The school has no windows, no doors and no chairs to sit on. The question then is: is effective education possible at a school like that?]
If one knows the history of our country, one will know why, in this day and age, there are people who are still living in such conditions. In his state of the nation address on 8 February, the President committed the Government to addressing these issues when he said:
Government will in the current medium-term expenditure period allocate the necessary resources to ensure that no child studies under a tree.
I am sure this statement brought broad smiles to many people, and the department is determined to rise to the occasion.
The Freedom Charter confronts us with an important challenge when it says, `` The doors of learning and culture shall be opened.’’ According to the ANC’s January 8 statement:
… this requires that we continue to concentrate on the issue of education at all levels and among all its forms. In particular, we will have to focus on the issue of quality of education and training given both to youth and adults.’’
To that end, for the first time in the history of this country, the ANC-led Government is in the process of rolling out an early childhood development programme to cater even for the preschool children. This will give a firm foundation for the quality of education.
The final report on the International Benchmarking of 1999 Senior Certificate Examinations by the Scottish Qualification Authority concluded that, ``… the standards and quality of the South African Senior Certificate Examination was comparable to the best in the world.’’
The target of 2004 is an SA Qualifications Authority accredited qualification called the General Education and Training Certificate. Our Grade 9 students will get an exit certificate. Success in this endeavour will provide access to further education and training for learners. I would refer to this as technical schools for learners. It will contribute to redressing the past educational injustices, facilitate the move towards equity in the education system, and enhance the overall quality of teaching and learning.
Last year, in line with section 29 of the Constitution, this House passed the Adult Basic Education Act, which empowers our communities to call on the Government to provide adult basic education-related resources.
The whole school evaluation process helps to facilitate the involvement of all stakeholders in the vision, mission, and assessment of the school in the spirit of Vukuzenzele. Continuous assessment is adding value to the quality of the education system in our country. On the information technology front, Microsoft has committed itself to donating software to our schools.
In response to the hon Geldenhuys, I want to address myself to the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. In response to the President’s Human Resource Development Strategy, the Council of Education Ministers has approved the establishment of 102 dedicated secondary schools for mathematics and science. The project was launched on 25 June 2001. This national strategy revolves around three thrusts: Firstly, to raise the participation and performance of historically disadvantaged learners in senior certificate mathematics and physical science; secondly, to provide high-quality mathematics, science and technology education for all learners taking the first General Education and Training Certificate; and thirdly, to increase and enhance the human resource capacity to deliver quality mathematics, science and technology education.
The hon Geldenhuys should note that funds are put aside for this. The project will be implemented over a three-year period at an approximate cost of R105 million. This project will go a long way in producing learners who are well prepared to enter careers which require mathematics and science. Despite the hurdles that I referred to and the kind of places from which our people come as they go to these schools - for example, in the urban areas children are moved around in buses whilst in the rural areas they travel long distances without any mode of transport - there are plans in place and policies that are geared to changing the situation around. The ANC-led Government is committed and is in the process of doing just that.
I think one cannot leave this podium without saying something about the report of the National Working Group to the Minister of Education on the restructuring of the higher education system in South Africa. The bottom line is that there is general consensus on the need for restructuring higher institutions. It is very important to realise that both the ANC and the Department of Education have not yet pronounced on this report. What we now have on the table are recommendations by the National Working Group. It is just a report by the working group, and nothing more. Hon members will remember the CHE report on institutions such as bedrock institutions and others, which was changed in the final analysis.
Public outcry is necessary and healthy in a democratic society. Hon members’ comments and those of the public will assist in crafting the final document, which we all hope will be accepted by all of us as we change the way our institutions are currently working.
This is the year of volunteerism. This is the year in which we call on all our people to assist the Government. I want to think particularly about adult basic education. Most of us, one way or another, are a step ahead of some of the people on the ground. If we can all make this problem our problem and assist in whatever way in order to improve the quality of education for both our children and adults, the human resource of our country is going to be improved. [Applause.]
Mr T ABRAHAMS: Madam Speaker, I am sure the apology extended by Prof Mayatula on behalf of the Minister of Education is acceptable to all of us. But I still believe that the Deputy Minister of Education could have shown some interest in this motion.
One of the stated priorities of the Tirisano campaign, launched in July 1999 by the hon the Minister of Education, is the elimination of illiteracy among adults and the youth by the year 2004. Another is the creation of a further education and training system, called a FET system, to equip youth and adults to meet the social and economic needs of the 21st century. These two aims constitute an important consideration in any discussion of creating a sound basis for human resource development through quality basic education. We have now passed the halfway mark in this five-year programme, and it is perhaps time to assess the progress made towards these goals.
Progress in these twin endeavours should be reported on if the Minister wishes us to believe that these goals will be met in the time schedule determined for the projects. Our democracy is in its eighth year and it has to rise to the challenges of a fast-changing world. Changes in world economics and the effects of rapid advances made in the information technology sector in a shrinking world are placing increasing demands on the people of every country, and we have to rise to the occasion or be left to find a place in the inevitable ranks of mendicant, hapless countries that will forever need support from a ``Big Brother’’. To meet these challenges, our people must be suitably equipped with the skills required for competing in the modern world.
In this context, if South Africa intends becoming a world-class nation, the focus of learners must be fixed on learning. Anything that detracts from this, or blurs this focus, must be swiftly dealt with, such as the incidence of sexual violence and abuse in our schools, or slackness, absence and corruption among educators. There are too many good educators around us to allow the profession to be sullied by a few. The department’s campaign to encourage people to blow the whistle on abuse in schools must be given the backing it deserves. It is only through the involvement of communities that a problem such as this can be adequately addressed. It is hoped that tough action will be taken against those who exploit their positions of trust in the school situation.
It is encouraging to observe the role played by SABC Education. Radio can reach almost everybody in the country. Literacy, numeracy and life skills can be effectively imparted via this medium. The use of television is limited to the extent of electrification, particularly in rural areas. Learners in rural areas suffer a tremendous disadvantage because of the lack of electricity and electronic media, particularly at their schools. Perhaps intensifying action towards resolving this problem may prove a more worthwhile pursuit for the Minister than listening to people who are toying with the future of struggle universities such as the University of the Western Cape and the University of Durban-Westville.
Mr L M GREEN: Madam Speaker, according to the UN Development Programme Human Index of 2001, South Africa ranks 94th out of 106 countries. South Africa’s greatest latent asset is its human potential. I believe that our country’s human potential index is currently below its human development index.
By human potential we refer to the emotional, intellectual, social, community and moral qualities of our people. South Africans are undernurtured in their human potential but we can do much better to improve on our human development index. I am of the opinion that human potential proportionately impacts upon human development according to the strength of its growth. We all know that South Africa has the potential to become a great nation. We have the educational infrastructure to do so. Our geographical infrastructure is adequate enough to provide stability for our economic requirements. We have the political dispensation within which our democracy can mature. We have managed to raise the level of our international status and relevance.
Our disposition to undervalue our collective heritage must be addressed. We do not adequately embrace the full spectrum of our national diversity. We have not yet fully paved the way towards finding unity and strength through diversity. In this regard we have undervalued our capacity to become a united nation.
The wealth of human resource development therefore seems to be in creating the right environment in which human potential can be positively unleashed. Education is the primary sphere through which human potential is nurtured towards human development and ultimately towards human wealth and capacity. If, however, the educational environment or sphere is under-resourced, devoid of values and discipline, and operates within a vacuum of minimal hope for the future, human underdevelopment will likely occur more rapidly.
Finally, South Africa has the potential to become one of the most developed nations of the world.
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Madam Speaker, hon members, unemployment and joblessness continue to soar in this country, and the blame can be put on poor education and training. In light of the rising joblessness, South Africa has to concern herself with the emphasis on training the workforce to avoid a situation as described by Mark Blaug in his book Education and Unemployment, in which he writes about educated, yet unemployed and unemployable people.
We cannot sit back and look on as our education system continues to fail to produce appropriately skilled and motivated young workers. To continue to emphasise the promotion of equality of opportunity at the expense of vocationalism does not serve the situation.
We in the UCDP argue that education should be concerned with promoting economic growth through concentrating on the basic skills required by the workforce and industry. To that end, when and where we governed, we put up manpower centres to train young and old in basic skills of life. This was a decisive measure towards human resource development.
The manpower centres at Mabopane, Mmabatho and ThabaNchu fell under the former department of manpower, the equivalent of the present-day Department of Labour. They did not place emphasis on academic entrance qualifications. Emphasis was outcomes based, that is, the product must be qualified.
It is unfortunate that the centres have been turned into conventional colleges that emphasise matric exemption for admission when even universities are lowering the flag in the admission policies where circumstances permit.
If we hope to have a sound human resource base, it should be borne in mind that basic education should include mathematics, science, geography, technology and some foreign languages. We may also take a leaf from Britain’s technical and vocational education initiative, which lays down that secondary school curricula should include work experience, so that on completion learners can readily get jobs, carry them out successfully, and thus gain a better understanding of work and the economy. Similar exercises were followed with great success by the late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, with his ``Ujamaa programmes’’.
The existing co-operation between the Department of Education and the Department of Labour should be strengthened and maintained so that the products of Department of Education are received with open arms by the Department of Labour by being placed in jobs.
Dr M S MOGOBA: Madam Speaker, there are very few countries in the world which have been subjected to arrested development for nearly four centuries. Education was, for the most part, neglected, leaving it to the churches and other religious bodies to offer education as some form of charity. It must be accepted that churches offered education primarily to make it easy for their new recruits to be able to read and fathom the scriptures and to sing hymns.
The assault of Bantu education was a further crippling development, undermining self-respect and narrowing the global vision. It goes without saying that complete change and revolution had to begin in the classroom. Countries such as Cuba, India and Tanzania, to mention but a few, that today can afford to export human resources and expertise, began transformation by investing liberally in education.
Education is not just one of the competing spheres for state funding; no, it is the primary sphere. If money is not invested fully in education, a country will remain backward for a very long time. Education is the one need which is the sine qua non for transformation and development.
The state should invest liberally in good education, for say 20 years; then it will have produced adequate human resources to ``man’’ its development programme. Without human resources, development cannot happen, even if money is available. Development requires capacity to turn money resources into progress and development.
Education must be reformed from the base. A good preschool programme is essential, instead of neglecting our early childhood education, because that is where we have to start. The tendency is always to look at tertiary education first, then high school, then primary school and preschool education comes last. This is the temptation of the short-cut route and it does not work. The country must adopt a deliberate policy of using education as a leverage for development and transformation. [Time expired.]
Mrs M A A NJOBE: Madam Speaker, central to the success of human resource development through quality basic education is the setting of clear goals and targets. Goal-setting assists in conveying a sense of urgency. It helps to sustain the attention and focus of learners, evaluators and practitioners on meeting the needs of targeted clients.
For South Africa education is central to economic prosperity. At the same time, it aims to improve the quality of the lives of its people. For this reason, South Africa is seriously investing in education. Under the ANC Government, education expenditure has increased from R31,8 billion in 1994 to R51,1 billion in the year 2000, an increase of 60%.
This demonstrates the undying commitment of this Government to education. This kind of budget will further enable poor citizens of this country to access quality education at all levels. Budget allocations in most provinces over the past three years have also increased significantly, particularly in the poorer provinces such as the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province.
Though the budget is not enough to cater for all the learning materials, what is more important for me and any other citizen is the fact that education is indeed receiving the serious attention it demands, especially now that provincial governments are treating education with the special urgency it deserves.
Therefore, the issue of education poses a challenge to Government, parents, teachers and communities at large. For a child to get ready to receive the quality education we are talking about, he or she must have a relaxed mind, that is, he or she must not be disturbed by domestic violence or be subjected to any form of abuse - hence the outlawing of corporal punishment in schools by our Government.
Community participation is encouraged through school-governing bodies. These bodies should not just play a ceremonial role. They must contribute meaningfully so that every party plays its role. To be able to do that, they need to be capacitated through training in order to understand that role.
On the other hand, the Government must ensure that reasonable and adequate resources are allocated to improve working conditions for teachers. For instance, I do not condone late-coming and absenteeism on the part of teachers, but we must be realistic in some cases. When a teacher lives far away from school, lateness becomes a regular occurrence, especially in the rural areas where transport causes severe problems. This will inevitably disturb the quality education we all long for.
The above-mentioned points put a challenge to Government. We need to look at the possibility of providing accommodation for teachers, within the school premises, with services such as water and electricity provided. This will give teachers enough time to prepare for their work without worrying about time and transport. Quality time to prepare results in quality education offered, remains my belief.
The Department of Education has correctly identified one of many hindrances to the provision of basic quality education. As statistics show, about 23% of the teacher population is categorised as unqualified and underqualified. This means that they are below the required norm for professionally qualified educators. If such a population is not fully fortified and equipped to deal with the learners’ problems, the process of providing quality education will, no doubt, suffer a severe defeat.
Therefore, it is good that Government is doing something to address these inequalities of the past. A programme is now in place to register 11 000 educators in April 2002. The programme seek to accomplish that by 2004, 50% of these teachers will have received professional and academic qualifications to enable them to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
When talking about education we often forget that old people, too, are beneficiaries of education. This Government has shown that it does indeed represent all the people of South Africa, black, white, young and old. Delivering literacy services to nearly 6 million people regarded as functionally illiterate is one delivery that should never go unnoticed. If such things keep happening, we are gradually moving away from what the President called our painful past, which he said we must move away from through our policies.
The South African education system has been criticised for producing students and graduates who do not meet the labour market’s demands, with the emphasis being on the lack of skills in mathematics and science. As Prof Mayatula has already indicated, we are now moving away from the past.
The Department of Education and the Department of Labour are working together to disburse the National Skills Fund through the distribution of bursaries and loans. Levels of participation in mathematics, science and technology are now being raised through the mathematics, science and technology strategy. About 300 teachers per province in the intermediate and senior phases will be receiving intensive training in mathematics and science. These schools will further receive basic scientific equipment. We are indeed heading in the right direction.
It is also encouraging to note that something is done for early childhood development. Cabinet has already approved a White Paper for implementation as from 2002. Children in poor and rural areas at the age of five will be targeted for the first phase. A human resource development strategy has projected that at least 1 million five-to-six-year-olds will have access to early childhood development programmes by 2005 and 2006.
This again demonstrates the fact that Government means business when it says education for all. These programmes and others, such as prioritising the HIV/Aids awareness campaign, are there to transform our goals and objectives into reality. But I would like to further state that Government, through legislation, is trying to maintain, if not better, the standards of education. The Council of Educators Act of 2000 seeks to protect the dignity and the integrity of the teaching profession. But let the teachers be advised, though, that legislation can only do so much. The bigger chunk of work should be done by teachers, learners and parents.
Tendencies such as drinking at work, deliberate late-coming and sleeping with schoolchildren do not make and have never made any teacher a good teacher. It surely does not contribute to providing quality education. All it does is diminish and plunder all the efforts good teachers are putting into their work. Government should be encouraged, therefore, to keep up the good work of continuous improvement of the teaching industry. Dictated to by the limited resources we should, where we can, continue to give incentives to teachers for good work done. This will, in the long run, restore the pride and dignity that most teachers have lost. If these programmes do not yield the intended results I hope nothing will. [Applause.]
Mnr J P I BLANCHÉ: Mev die Speaker, menslike ontwikkeling gaan hand aan hand met kwaliteitonderwys en -opleiding. Dit is hoe ek die tema verstaan wat die ANC vanmiddag op die Tafel plaas. Wanneer hierdie konsep deur die ANC gepropageer word, moet en kan die opleiding nie los staan van moedertaalkommunikasie en toegewyde onderwysers nie. Dit is jammer, maar ek het vandag nog niemand gehoor praat oor daardie eerste vyf jaar van ‘n kind se lewe nie.
‘n Mens kan maar in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis van die nyweraars terug gaan en kyk. Ek kom van die Oosrand en 60% van die mense wat hul eie besighede of industrieë besit, het dit gemaak sonder dat hulle ‘n diploma of ‘n graad het. Aan daardie mense moet ons ook aandag gee as ons hierdie land en sy menslike hulpbronne wil ontwikkel. Daarom is dit belangrik dat ons gaan kyk na die kind in sy eerste vyf jaar, watter vaardighede hy het en dit ontwikkel. Hoeveel van ons sien nie byvoorbeeld die Pollocks as ‘n krieketspelende familie nie? Hulle het dit nie geleer voor die televisie nie. Hulle is van kleinsaf geleer hoe om ‘n bal te vang, hoe om hom te gooi en te slaan. Dit geld ook vir meeste ander terreine van die lewe. Ons sal daarna moet kyk as ons Suid-Afrika se menslike hulpbronne wil verbeter.
Wat van die uiterste belang is, is die taalgebruik en die kwaliteit van die persoon wat ook die opleiding van daardie kinders moet waarneem. Vir ons in die DA is dit belangrik dat ons begin by die onderwyser. Ons moet praat van die aandag wat hy moet gee, die man of vrou wat die kind en die volwassene se vaardighede moet verbeter met lees, skryf en somme maak. So ‘n onderwyser moet geduld hê. Sy moet liefde vir haar werk hê en moet ‘n leerling kan inspireer om self te werk. So ‘n onderwyser moet kan werk sonder dat die President, die Minister of die skoolinspekteur hom of haar moet dreig om by die skool of die kollege te wees tydens werktyd. As ‘n pedagoog nie aan hierdie vereistes wil voldoen nie, dan moet hy, in die President se woorde, nie in ons diens wees nie.
Ons moet verstaan dat as ons Afrika leiding wil gee om in hierdie millennium sy plek vol te staan en self sy mense uit armoede uit te lei, ons nie deurlopend die geskiedenis en die Weste kan blameer vir ons agterstand nie. Ons moet onderwysers voor die klaskamers plaas wat met liefde en ywer kinders sal inspireer om hard te werk en te presteer. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Madam speaker, human development goes hand in hand with quality education and training. This is how I understand the theme which the ANC tabled this afternoon. When this concept is propagated by the ANC, education should not and cannot be detached from mother tongue communication and dedicated teachers. It is a pity, but I have not yet heard anyone this afternoon speak about those first five years of a child’s life.
One can but go back in the South African history of the industrialist and have a look. I come from the East Rand and 60% of the people who own their own businesses or industries have made it without having a diploma or a degree. We should also give attention to these people if we want to develop this country and its human resources. It is therefore important that we look at the child in its first five years, which skills he has and then develop those skills. How many of us do not, for example, see the Pollocks as a cricket-playing family? They did not learn this by sitting in front of the television. From a very young age they were taught how to catch a ball, how to throw it and how to hit it. This is also applicable to many other areas of life. We should look at this if we want to improve South African human resources.
What is of the utmost importance is the language usage and the quality of the person who also has to observe the training of those children. For us in the DA it is important that we start with the teacher. We should talk about the attention that teacher should be giving, the man or woman who should improve the skills of the child and the adult with reading, writing and arithmetic. Such a teacher should have patience. She should love her work and should be able to inspire a pupil to work independently. Such a teacher should be able to work without the President, the Minister or the School Inspector having to threaten the teacher to be at school or college during working hours. If an educationist does not want to comply with these requirements then he should, in the President’s words, not be in our service.
We should understand that if we want to give guidance to Africa to take its place in this millennium and to lead its people out of poverty, we cannot continue to blame the history and the West for our backlog. We should put teachers in front of the classrooms who will inspire children with love and diligence to work hard and to excel. [Time expired.]]
Mr C AUCAMP: Madam Speaker, South Africa is a country rich in all sorts of resources, from minerals to agriculture and tourism, but human resources is the x-factor without which all the others mean nothing. Furthermore, the most basic contributor to a rich pool of human resources is education.
Maar nou maak ons dikwels ‘n fout wanneer ons sê dat opvoeding gelyk is aan die skool. Ons vergroot die fout verder as ons sê die skool is gelyk aan die staat. Dit is verkeerd. Ons tema praat van ``basic education’’ en die mees basiese ontwikkelaar van menslike hulpbronne bly die ouerhuis. Gesonde basiese onderwys en opvoeding is in die eerste plek geleë in ‘n atmosfeer tuis waarin die kind met al sy gawes kan ontwikkel en gedy. Daarom is faktore soos die bestryding van armoede, effektiewe behuising en basiese gesondheid net so belangrik soos die kennis waarmee die kind toegerus word. Daarvoor is ook ‘n stabiele gemeenskapslewe nodig, tesame met dissipline en respek, van vroeg af.
Natuurlik is dit so dat die ouerhuis nie hierdie taak alleen kan verrig
nie. Daarom word hierdie verantwoordelikheid aan die skool toevertrou, let
wel, toevertrou'' en nieafgestaan’’ nie. Daarom is ‘n ooreenstemming
tussen skool en ouerhuis absoluut noodsaaklik; anders kweek ons kulturele
of religieuse skisofrene. Ons skole mag nie bloot produksiemasjiene
produseer nie, maar hulle moet heel mense produseer, mense wat toegerus en
bekwaam is om hul man en vrou te staan in ‘n mededingende wêreld van
inligting en tegnologie. Dit moet ook mense wees wat in balans is met
hulself, hul omgewing en hul medemens. Laasgenoemde is nie bloot algemene
waarhede nie, maar verankerd in kultuur, geloof en waardes. Slegs hy wat sy
eie waardeer, kan respek hê vir dié van die ander.
Die AEB wil hierdie debat gebruik om ‘n appèl aan die regering te rig om onderwys in Suid-Afrika só te fasiliteer dat ons kinders vleuels en ankers sal hê; vleuels om die mededingende wêreld met sterk vlerke binne te gaan, stewig verankerd in lewenswaardes, geleer aan moedersknie, om koers te hou op vlug deur hierdie wêreld. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[However, we often make a mistake by saying that education equals schooling. We increase the mistake by saying that the school is equal to the state. This is wrong. Our theme talks of basic education and the most basic developer of human resources remains the parental home. Sound basic education is firstly situated in the atmosphere at home in which the child can develop with all its gifts and do well. Therefore, factors such as the fight against poverty, effective housing and basic health are just as important as the knowledge with which the child is equipped. For this, a stable community life is also necessary, together with discipline and respect from an early age.
Naturally, it is a fact that the parental home cannot solely perform this task. Therefore this responsibility is entrusted to the school, please note, entrusted and not yielded. Therefore, an agreement between the school and the parental home is absolutely necessary; otherwise we will raise cultural or religious schizophrenics. Our schools may not simply produce production machines, but they must produce whole people, people who are equipped and competent to take a stand as men and women in a competitive world of information and technology. These must also be people who are in balance with themselves, their environment and their fellow human beings. The latter are not simply common truths, but are anchored in culture, religion and values. Only he who values his own can have respect for those of another.
The AEB would like to use this debate to appeal to the Government to facilitate education in South Africa in such a way that our children have wings and anchors; wings to enter the competitive world with strong wings, securely anchored in the values of life, learnt at mother’s knee, in order to stay on course on their flight through this world. [Applause.]]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Madam Speaker, education by itself is meaningless if it is not geared to improving the conditions of those who are disadvantaged by virtue of living in material circumstances that make it impossible to receive quality basic education. At the same time, education is an instrument or tool that, if used properly, can transform society, as well as servicing the developmental needs of communities and particularly the poor.
Given the fact that in the South African context, those who are not able to receive basic education are those who were, by law or tradition, discriminated against and dehumanised, and who in the process lost their dignity and self-worth, quality basic education should address these ills of the past.
Therefore, quality basic education should be in a position to address the individual and collective deprivations of groups and cultural restrictions.
Education should develop the capacities of particularly poor people so that they can gain power and be able to take decisions favourable to their own wellbeing; to take and compel or influence others, including Parliament, to act in their favour; bargain from a position of strength; sustain what they have achieved; and to manage their own affairs. More importantly, they should be conscious of their reality and their position in society.
Quality basic education in this context of South Africa should gear our people, young and old, to shoulder the responsibility of redressing the inequalities of the past. [Time expired.]
Mr T D LEE: Chairperson, many academics and politicians spend a great deal of time debating what makes a good education system and why South Africa’s education is so bad when compared to other countries in the world who are no wealthier than we are. For me the discussion is not about complicated academic theories. It is about the basics, about having dedicated teachers in the classroom, at the right time, with the books and materials they need.
The Eastern Cape is a shocking example of what is going wrong. The matric pass rate plunged last year. There are 19 schools that had a zero pass rate. Now the question is: Why is this the case and what went wrong? It is because teachers often do not have the right qualifications for their job, and even if they do, they do not care. Rather than teach, they prefer to sit in the sun or in the shebeen. Those who do care - and I do not want to suggest that they do not exist - have to battle without textbooks and stationery, because these have not been delivered.
Getting education right means getting the basics right. It means making sure that there are consequences for teachers who sexually abuse their students, and for principals who refuse to take responsibility for their schools and allow teachers and pupils to wander around during teaching time. It means making an unambiguous commitment to get books delivered to the schools on the first day of school, even if this means that officials have to work over weekends. It means tackling Sadtu, which insists on holding congresses during school time. It means all these difficult things.
I would like to see a pledge from every teacher and every education official that they will get these things right. Otherwise, we will stay at the botton of the world rankings forever. [Applause.]
Mr R P Z VAN DEN HEEVER: Chairperson, the beginning of the school year in 2002 has been characterised by two significant events, which laid the basis for making our schools work effectively. In the first place, we restarted our activities in our schools after the attainment of the best matric results in our country for some time. Secondly, we restarted our schools with the inspirational sight of our President, leading from the front, visiting schools and volunteering to make some contribution to the opening of the school year and calling on all South Africans to provide their services on a voluntary basis to make our schools work.
When the ANC came to power in 1994, it declared education a basic human
right. In section 29 of our Constitution we declared everyone has the
right to a basic education, including adult basic education''. I think that
in addressing the issue of basic education, we must clarify our
understanding of basic education. The Oxford English dictionary describes
basic education’’ as a return to the fundamental principles in
education''. The dictionary goes on to refer to the teaching of the
fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic. It also refers to aback-
to-basics movement’’.
In 1994 we had a situation in which millions of South Africans, disadvantaged by the ravages of the apartheid system, could not read or write. Millions of disadvantaged black children were out of school, and did not have the most basic education which would ensure their survival in a globally competitive world.
Due to the lack in this most basic educational need, the ANC Government had to implement very urgent and well-considered interventions to transform a very disparate and, may I say, desperate situation.
Therefore, the education policies of the ANC emphasised the importance of providing quality basic education for all of our citizens. It regarded capacities such as literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, conceptual imagination, and communication skills as central to individual and national development.
Today we can say with confidence that our Government has provided universal general education to the masses of our people. It is a major accomplishment that today all children of school-going age are in school on the basis of the Government’s policy of compulsory education.
It is not common in developing countries that the majority of girl children are in school. But, indeed, in the past seven years this Government has managed to ensure that a very high percentage of girls are also receiving compulsory education. Therefore, the Government is providing free and compulsory education to the poor.
Through a concerted programme of redress, equity and human resource development, our Government has succeeded in producing the best matric results over a considerable period of time. Last year’s 60% matric pass rate constituted an important milestone in the progress towards a quality education system. It was also very encouraging that in last year’s matric results, despite what Mr Lee has said, the number of dysfunctional schools dropped by half. Mr Lee referred to 19 schools with zero matric results, but he did not say that we had halved the number of schools which had zero matric results. So, he does not even see a half-full glass; he sees a totally empty one.
The 2001 matric results were, therefore, the culmination of our efforts to provide quality basic education to all our citizens. However, the good results did not only come about as a result of what we considered good and effective policies. The ANC Government had to be brutally frank with itself, and often had to put its hand deep into its own bosom. For example, in 1996 the ANC Government embarked on a bold and introspective analysis of school facilities as they existed at that time throughout the country. The Government compiled a Schools Register of Needs, which provided an important benchmark for addressing historical inequalities. This Schools Register of Needs revealed that in 1996 schools historically serving white learners were well resourced with libraries, computer centres and scientific laboratories.
On the other hand, the Schools Register of Needs indicated that in 1996 one in four black schools had no water within walking distance.
Over half of all black schools had no electricity. Over half of those schools had pit latrines for toilets. There were no effective education resources in 73% of those schools, and 69% had no learning materials.
However, since then the Government has made considerable progress in decreasing these inequalities. The School Register of Needs in the year 2000 reported less overcrowding in institutions overall, with a decline in the average number of learners to a classroom from 43 in 1996 to 35 in the year 2000. Classroom shortages decreased dramatically. There was a 68% improvement in the provision of sanitation. Whereas 59% of schools had no telephones in 1996, this was reduced to 34% in 2000.
Despite these encouraging improvements, the ANC Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal, was bold and forthright in a brutally honest assessment of the state of education in 1999. He candidly declared that despite excellent policies and laws, large parts of the system were seriously dysfunctional, rampant inequality still existed and teacher morale was low. Since then the Minister’s Tirisano programme has become the flagship for the complete rejuvenation and incitement of improved standards in basic education and training.
Even though we like to recognise our successes, there are however a number of concerns that we must indeed address, and we address these concerns in order to motivate ourselves to still greater heights. We must accept that even though there have been significant improvements brought about by the Government’s Adult Basic Education and Training Programme, too few moneys and resources have been allocated to this fundamentally important programme. The delivery of Abet has therefore been relatively slow. One would like to encourage the provinces, in particular, to devote more funding and resources to Abet.
However, Government is not the only institution that can be held responsible for Abet. In this regard the President has set a shining example by encouraging communities to volunteer and participate in local activities which make a positive difference to the lives of the people. As far as Abet is concerned, there is certainly a lot that the community can do to enhance this programme.
It has also become clear that the capacity-building of school governing bodies, which the South African Schools Act referred to, is not effectively applied. Many school governing bodies are functioning incoherently, and many structures have to be dissolved owing to uneven participation by the members. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we empower and capacitate the school governing bodies to do the important work they are required to perform.
In closing, the incidents of sexual harassment which girl children especially are being subjected to at school by male teachers, in particular, is obviously a source of serious concern to all of us. We have noted the assurance by the Minister that the figures of sexual harassment in our schools, which were released recently, are not necessarily higher than those in other countries generally.
However, it remains one of our priorities to ensure a safe and conducive environment for all our children in schools where they can continue with their tuition unmolested and unharassed. This year, 2002, is the year of the volunteer for reconstruction and development. Let us make our schools work by creating a culture of community service and development throughout the country. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Before I recognise the Minister, I think I would like to make the observation that he holds the record of concluding two separate debates in two different Houses, all in the space of 30 minutes. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Chairperson, members of the House, I think it would be wonderful if we had bifurcation applying in our lives - our capacity to be in two places at one time. But, unfortunately we have to put up with the fact that I had to run all the way from the other House which, in fact, is not, a good thing to do at my age. [Interjections.]
The National Council of Provinces fixed this date before Christmas to discuss sexual abuse and harassment in schools. In fact, this is one of the most stimulating debates I have had in either of the Houses, because there is a deep commitment and a great deal of research has been done too.
However, I do not want to be misunderstood. I said, in fact, that the standards that we require in this country are not determined by comparing ourselves with other countries. It is our standards that we want; what is necessary for ourselves in our country. Although, in fact, the rape figures for schoolchildren are comparable, as the Lancet report says, to those of the the United States, it is not my intention to say that we are in a state of hunky-doriness. This has been a very good debate, and I hope this House will have a debate on this too.
I see, of course, the topic was ``Towards a sound basis for human resource development through quality basic education’’. But I see that the House branched out considerably to discuss the state of education as a whole. I think that is a very good development really, particularly since the topic was slightly orotund, if not obscure, I should say. That is why, I think, everyone went on their own escapades.
Let me say first of all that yesterday we met the Council of Education Ministers. They are in keeping with the higher status of education. We do not have a Minmec. We do not have MECs meeting a Minister, but we have the Council of Education Ministers. Yesterday on review of the matriculation results, with a review of the start to the school year, the delivery of learning materials, and allowing for a slight degree of optimism that usually generates when one has reports being made, it was quite clear that, in fact, the MECs in the provinces were beginning to grapple with the education system. Since the issue was raised by Dr Geldenhuys about general education, we spend a fair degree of time looking at what has been happening in the schools the last year and how, in fact, the provinces have been able to deal with their normal expectations, particularly in terms of removing the really awful legacy of the physical infrastructure of schools. We also brought to the President’s statement that there must be delivery in terms of spending the money the central Government allocates to the provinces. One must remember that education has a R51 billion budget and that the provinces get about R45/R46 billion of that, with R7 billion going to higher education. This puts us on par with the top 25 to 30 countries in the world. So, in fact, the command over resources is a provincial matter. And, unless they are able to deliver, there would not be the changes.
So we are very pleased, as the President has said, that within the next two financial years nobody should study under trees. My own interpretation of that is that no one should study under dangerous circumstances. The only way we can get on our feet is through an accelerated programme.
I am now convinced that the provinces are, in fact, turning the corner. They are. There is a greater degree of earnestness and a greater degree of seriousness, but they are still not all appointing chief executives as quickly as they should be. There are serious gaps in appointing the senior staff, but one cannot have gaps and expect to do the work one is supposed to be doing. So quality in terms of education is going to be discussed. The initiative in mathematics and science is also a very important human resource development, because universities depend on maths and science performance, particularly since the majority of black students study the humanities. It is important to get them back into the science and technology areas.
We have chosen 102 nodal schools in South Africa, and each school will prepare 100 pupils to do mathematics on the higher grade. That immediately leads them to thousands more doing maths on the higher grade and there will be special interventions to get them to that higher grade level. So 10 pupils from each school gives one at least 1000 pupils, which will double this.
I think it is very important that this is incremental. It shows a degree of commitment on the part of educationists that we must improve the standards there.
In the same way, we are evaluating the purpose of the standard grade examination, not only mathematics and history. What role does it play? Is it simply one chunk taken out of the higher grade examination, and then one has a standard grade examination, or is one supposed to be testing something specific about student needs? Remember, one cannot do degree courses with a standard grade pass. One can only do certificates and diplomas at technikons.
So, we looked at this very seriously, and we are now investigating why fewer pupils are doing matric compared to the last two years. We have hunches, but anecdotal evidence is not good enough for this business. We have to look systematically at this and Statistics SA is helping us look into this. In the same way, why are there fewer girls doing mathematics and science? We are also doing an investigation into that.
Members should please remember that, in some countries, one has to pay to be flagellated, to be hit with whips. Why do we have to do it free of charge in South Africa? South Africa is not last in the human resource index, as one hon speaker said. By no means is it last. We are in the middle, somewhere in between. For white South Africa, we are one step behind Spain. Remember that. So, we are in the top 25 for white South Africa. For black South Africa, we are near the Congo, Brazaville. So, that is a measure of where we are in the index. We are certainly not last in the world. Remember that please - we do not have to flagellate free of charge. There are people who would assist us in this.
In the same way, we are not last in teaching science in the world. We are not last. That is not true. What we are setting out to do is to combat a situation where large numbers of our teachers, because of apartheid, were undertrained. [Interjections.] Please do not say that I should not blame it on apartheid. I am not blaming it on apartheid. I am just stating a matter of fact that, in seven years, one cannot change this. We are now taking 10 000 teachers into special training courses. It costs us R90 million, and 10 000 are going to get their teacher’s certificates or diplomas in education. It has taken us five years to organise getting these 10 000 people into the system.
The main thing is that they will do this in their own time, because I established this rule that 196 days of teaching must take place. Even if we have the World Conference on Sustainable Development, there will still be 196 days of teaching in Gauteng. One cannot interfere there. One cannot have union business being done in teaching time.
We are now having an enormous problem, because a local government association raised the issue about local government councillors. What is going to happen to them? We have taken the tough position that if one is a full-time councillor, one has to resign. They have come back to us to ask why they cannot get leave of absence. Our view is that if one is a part- time councillor, one has to reconcile one’s council work with one’s teaching work. That is part of human resource development, frankly, because the kids need the teachers, and we do not have the capacity to have replacement teachers.
Remember, most South Africans who go and work in London are supply teachers. They are glorified policemen and women, actually, because they teach for one day in one school, and go off to another school the next. They are just monitors, really. I think we should inform our constituents, when they come to us about the great strength of the sterling, that they will not get much job pleasure working there.
I come back to this question about physical infrastructure. The Education Department got R1,5 billion for the three-year cycle. That is an enormous sum of money to break the back of bad maintenance, because maintenance is very expensive, and of course, the infrastructure of particularly the Eastern Cape and elsewhere. In KwaZulu-Natal, they do not need more teachers. They need more classrooms in KwaZulu-Natal. So, it is a political persuasion to tell the provincial administration that it does not need more teachers, but more classrooms. If there are not enough classrooms, the teachers and children are in fact wasting their time.
We discussed here yesterday the need for some kind of assessment at the end of Grade 9 as part of human resource development. We went too far, in the last 10 years or so, away from the idea of assessment and examination. Now we are going to test, in a pilot study, young children at Grade 3 to find out their number literacy, as part of their whole development. By 2004, Grade 9 will be a national reorganised examination, as it were. Between now and next year, the schools will do that with a common record form. So, there will be an assessment at the end of Grade 9, which is the end of the compulsory school-going period.
There will be some kind of assessment. What we are concerned about is what value that assessment or certificate will carry with employers. I think it is very important that we should all be involved in this, because there is no point in having a certificate which employers may scoff at.
Also, we discussed the question that, in 2003, it will be the year of general further education and training. The Further Education and Training Board has agreed that it will further education and training, but particularly the reform of technical education. As the House knows - this is a parallel for other higher education reform - there is a successful completion of that whole exercise of reducing more than 160 technical colleges to 50 technical colleges. Those sites of teaching will close down.
In our view as educationists, more of our kids should be in technical colleges than in higher education. The pyramid is inverted at present. We want to put it right to get three, four or five times as many students into technical education, and then also unity between hand and brain, not the disjuncture between brainwork and handwork. This is a malaise in South Africa, that a distinction takes place between the two. We will combine the two together as part of the National Qualifications Framework assessment.
Next year will be a very important year in the whole change in technical education. Members should remember that Microsoft’s offer of software, which we are now discussing, will bring about a change in educational practice in South Africa. Coupled with this is the fact that the Telecommunications Act will now enable us to ensure that every school, over a 10-year period, should have connectivity and should be linked up. The Telecommunications Act now allows for that. I can announce that the Telecommunications Act allows now for the fact that the telephone charges for using computers will be 50% of that for normal use. That will also help the poorer schools.
The fact is that there have been many changes and movements taking place in higher education. I think the last speaker covered many of the changes taking place, but what we have to be aware of is that the traditions and the values in the school system have also got to undergo changes. We cannot countenance the fact that there is so much sexual abuse in our schools. We have failed. Whatever grand policies; we have have failed. We have become a society of instant gratification, of greed, and - to judge from Big Brother
- lust and very low standards. We have become a society that has no compassion. The whole notion that drove us in the liberation movement of solidarity is now out the window. To avert this extraordinary injury where innocence is destroyed, the value system must be one that is consistent with our democratic order. That is why it is very important, when we are dealing with human resource development, that we should see the close connection between early childhood education and higher education. There cannot be good higher education without, in fact, putting young people into that particular arena of love and fun and education.
That is why, in the Other Place, we discussed the whole issue, which I would like to mention here, of how to combat sexual abuse. A programme of sexuality education is vital to do that. To instil respect for women, and to instil respect for the integrity of young people, we have to have sexuality education. I think that is a very vital area in the development of the resources of our young people.
We should remember the very famous statement made somewhere: ``Suffer the little children unto me’’. I think what we are trying to do in our school system is to make the school system congenial to young people, whatever inequalities we have, and whatever inequalities exist from our past. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 17:10. __
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
FRIDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2002
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs:
The Strategic Plan for South African Agriculture.
MONDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2002
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
(1) Assent by the President of the Republic in respect of the
following Bills:
(i) Gas Bill [B 18D - 2001] - Act No 48 of 2001 (assented to
and signed by President on 12 February 2002);
(ii) Academy of Science of South Africa Bill [B 67B - 2001] -
Act No 67 of 2001 (assented to and signed by President on
13 February 2002); and
(iii) Africa Institute of South Africa Bill [B 47B - 2001] - Act
No 68 of 2001 (assented to and signed by President on 12
February 2002).
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the
relevant committees as mentioned below:
(1) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Environmental Affairs and Tourism for consideration and report:
(a) Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the
Constitution.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum on the Kyoto Protocol.
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Minister of Finance:
(1) Proclamation No 64 published in Government Gazette No 22924
dated 7 December 2001, Commencement of the Pension Funds Amendment
Act, 2001 (Act No 65 of 2001), made in terms of section 5 of the
Pension Funds Amendment Act, 2001 (Act No 65 of 2001).
(2) Proclamation No 65 published in Government Gazette No 22924
dated 7 December 2001, Commencement of the Pension Funds Second
Amendment Act, 2001 (Act No 39 of 2001), made in terms of section
7 of the Pension Funds Second Amendment Act, 2001 (Act No 39 of
2001).
(3) Government Notice No R.1256 published in Government Gazette No
22877 dated 30 November 2001, Financial instrument regulations,
made in terms of section 6(1)(c) of the Unit Trusts Control Act,
1981 (Act No 54 of 1981).
(4) Government Notice No R.1370 published in Government Gazette No
22939 dated 13 December 2001, Regulations relating to
representative offices of foreign banking institutions, made in
terms of section 90 of the Banks Act, 1990 (Act No 94 of 1990).
(5) Government Notice No R.1342 published in Government Gazette No
22907 dated 14 December 2001, Procedure for the imposition of
penalties by the Registrar of Short-Term Insurance, made in terms
of section 66(2) of the Short-Term Insurance Act, 1998 (Act No 53
of 1998).
(6) Government Notice No R.1343 published in Government Gazette No
22907 dated 14 December 2001, Procedure for the imposition of
penalties by the Registrar of Long-Term Insurance, made in terms
of section 68(2) of the Long-Term Insurance Act, 1998 (Act No 52
of 1998).
- The Minister of Transport:
The Road to Safety 2001-2005, ``Building the foundations of a safe and
secure road traffic environment in South Africa''.
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
The Speaker has received the following letter, dated 31 January 2002,
from the Minister of Communications:
Dr Frene Ginwala, MP
Speaker of the National Assembly
Parliament
P O Box 15
CAPE TOWN
8000
Fax: 021 461 9462
Dear Madam Speaker
RE: APPOINTMENT OF NEW ICASA CONCILLORS
I would like to bring to your attention that the terms of office of
three ICASA Councillors will come to an end on 30th of June 2002.
The Councillors have been appointed in terms of Section 5 of the
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa Act No. 13 of
2000. In terms of the Act, the Councillors are appointed by the
President on a recommendation from the National Assembly.
It is crucial that the appointments be dealt with as a matter of
urgency to avoid interruptions in the licensing process of the Second
National Operator, SMME's and the general functioning of the ICASA
Council, etc.
It will be appreciated if the entire process of the appointment of new
Councillors could be completed by the end of April 2002;
I hope you will find the above in order.
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri
MINISTER
2002-01-31
TUESDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2002 ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the
relevant committees as mentioned below:
(1) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Sport and Recreation:
Report and Financial Statements of the South African Institute for
Drug-Free Sport for 2000-2001.
(2) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Environmental Affairs and Tourism:
Government Notice No 1399 published in Government Gazette No 22960
dated 21 December 2001, Regulations in terms of the National
Environment Management Act, 1998: Control of vehicles in the
coastal zone, made in terms of section 44 of the National
Environment Management Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).
(3) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Finance:
(a) Report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies for 1999.
(b) Report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies for 2000.
(c) Report of the Registrar of Pension Funds for 2000.
(d) Report of the Registrar of Short-Term Insurance for 2000.
(e) Report of the Registrar of Long-Term Insurance for 2000.
(4) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Transport:
(a) Air Services Agreement between the Government of the
Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Kingdom of
Belgium, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
Constitution, 1996.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(c) Undertaking between the Government of the Republic of
South Africa and the Government of the Netherlands concerning
the recognition of Certificates under Regulation 1/10 of the
Standards, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)
Convention, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
Constitution, 1996.
(d) Explanatory Memorandum to the Undertaking.
(e) Air Services Agreement between the Government of the
Republic of South Africa and the Government of Macau, tabled
in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(f) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(g) Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the
Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of
Portugal, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
Constitution, 1996.
(h) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(i) Bilateral Air Services Agreement between the Government of
the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Democratic People's Republic of Algeria, tabled in terms of
section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(j) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(5) The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for
information:
(a) Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
of the Pan South African Language Board for 1997-98 [RP 07-
2002].
(b) Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
of the Pan South African Language Board for 1998-99 [RP 06-
2002].
(c) Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
of the Pan South African Language Board for 1999-2000 [RP 08-
2002].
(6) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Water Affairs and Forestry and to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts:
Written explanation from the Minister of Water Affairs and
Forestry in terms of section 65(2)(a) of the Public Finance
Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of 1999), setting out the reason
why the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry were not tabled in time.
(7) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Home Affairs and to the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and
Local Government:
Report of the Independent Electoral Commission on the Municipal Elections, 5 December 2000 [RP 25-2002].