Local Government SETA & NSF 2022/23 Annual Performance Plan 2022/23

Higher Education, Science and Innovation

04 May 2022
Chairperson: Ms N Mkhatshwa (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Committee convened virtually to be briefed by the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA) and National Skills Fund (NSF), on their Annual Performance Plans 2022/23.

The National Skills Fund reported that its 2020-2025 Strategic Plan required revision to align new indicators introduced in the 2021/22 annual plan, and enhancements to support improving the audit outcomes, reporting and evaluation exercises. The Fund revised its budget to ensure consideration of the medium-term expenditure framework and the costing per programme and outcome and outputs.

The Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) said it will be focused on achieving targets such as an unqualified audit opinion and reduced audit findings. It also wants to implement risk mitigation measures. Amongst its interventions, the entity plans to have career development events/exhibitions hosted in urban and rural areas on occupations in high demand. More workplace-based learning opportunities will be opened, and the entity hopes to also see an increase in municipal workers participating in various learning programmes.

Members were concerned about the National Skills Fund, namely, its current structure, the rate at which it is dealing with misconduct, and the pace of filling crucial vacancies. Members wanted to be brought to full confidence through the implementation that the Fund would be able to successfully turn its fortunes around.

For the Local Government SETA, the Committee expressed being impressed with the speed at which corruption is being dealt with. The institution was encouraged to ensure the funds are recouped. As a result of actively fighting corruption, board members’ lives are in danger. The Committee condemned the acts and thus supported the need for extra security to protect the officials.

The Committee was also pleased with the entity for exceeding its targets; the SETA was commended for its targets of supporting Community Education Training college managers and lecturers. In the matter of filling vacancies, Members said that all vacant posts should be filled so that the board’s ability to exercise oversight is not compromised.

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the virtual meeting, welcoming Members, support staff and guest delegates from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), National Skills Fund (NSF) and the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA). An apology was received from Ms N Marchesi (DA), who communicated to the Committee Secretary that she would leave the meeting early. Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, sent his apologies, as he was attending a Cabinet meeting.

Overview Remarks by the Director-General

Overview of the NSF

The Director-General of the DHET, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, made opening remarks about the NSF. He said that the Minister tabled the revised strategic plan of the NSF and the NSF annual plan to the National Assembly on 30 March 2022. Consequently, the Portfolio Committee planned to discuss the tabled revised strategic plan on 04 May 2022. The main reason for the revision of the plan is provided and is informed by the need to align the new indicators that were introduced through the 2021 APP (annual performance plan) as well as necessary enhancements towards supporting the improved NSF audit outcome. From this report, there is a significant shift and clear evidence of a response injunction with the Minister on the concerns raised by the Portfolio Committee such as the annual ramping up of critical activities that are drawn from output, achievements, and challenges. Through the presentation, one notes three key areas that needed to be highlighted. First is the organisational sustainability pertaining to administrative issues. Second is the economic issues that are meant to promote inclusive growth in that regard to skills development funding; lastly, the improvement of the NSF towards the attainment of the objectives of the Post-School Education and Training White Paper.

The filling of the NSF positions is one of the good indicators of the progress made thus far, notwithstanding the fact that it has taken a long time for the system to respond in this regard. The update on the decoupling of the NSF is a review of the organisational structure. The Department has responded comprehensively to the situation at NSF, and it needs to be closely looked into to ensure the performance of the organisation improves. Therefore, the report of the Ministerial task team set out for the end of June 2022 will touch on this. On the matter of the final NSF forensic report, there was an extension requested by the investigation. A one-month extension was granted, and the report was presented to the Minister to apply his mind. There is progress in this regard targets that have been set are well on track from the forensic report investigation and speak to matters that will turn around the organisation permanently by ensuring that those implicated in the investigation are held to account. The recommendations that were made are being implemented.

The report presented has assisted the Department in terms of the audit action plan by citing four key areas that are important for consideration. The four areas include the finance area where progress is provided regarding financial record-keeping issues. The second area is performance information is provided; it is recognised that more work still needs to be done. The skills development implementation planning is the third key area, where the Department tries to provide the portfolio of funding and expenditure, with evidence that is centrally about the key issues of the document control system and the electronic filing system. The last area is the pillar of legal governance, risk, and compliance.

Overview of LGSETA

There are a number of challenges with regard to the SETAs; the LGSETA is no exception. The matter is touched on in the presentation. The Minister has had an opportunity to engage with all SETAs, including the LGSETA. The need of placing unemployed TVET graduates was stressed; there has been good progress made in this regard. This is also because the LGSETA exceeded its minimum number of placements target.

There are governance issues in the entity, but there is also evidence of progress made where the government has taken action. In addition, the board has also proved to take action in situations where wrongdoings have occurred. There were instances where senior executives have been suspended. There is a desire for stability within the LGSETA without the continued presence of extra security, but the Department will continue supporting the board when there is evidence of the life of accounting officers is being threatened.

The optimum functioning of the entity is important. Overall, the report is better and shows the progress of LGSETA. The Department is strengthening its capacity to conduct oversight. Interviews have been finalised for the position of SETA coordination, which will assist in following through with the matters and intervening early enough.

National Skills Fund Annual Performance Plan 2022/23

Mr Mvuyisi Macikama, acting CEO, NSF, delivered the presentation.

The legislative framework was updated to improve the alignment of the key government strategies and programmes. Further, the mandates were amended to include Economic Reconstruction and Recovery plan and its coupled skills strategy following the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The outcome indicators were revised to ensure alignment with the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) priority three: Education, Skills and Health and Framework for Managing Programme Performance Information – which requires the indicators to be reliable.

The 2020-2025 NSF Strategic Plan required revision to align new indicators introduced in the 2021/22 APP and enhancements to support improving the audit outcomes, reporting and evaluation exercises. The entity also eliminated ambiguities in the Technical Indicator Description (TIDs). This will enable the Accounting Officer, upon continuous assessment of returns, to indicate measures that will be taken to ensure that implementation of the APP remains on track.

The NSF has set targets as aligned to the DHET’s Post-School Education and Training (PSET) institutional targets in consideration of the latest list of occupations in high demand, including the digital and related occupational family groupings. A total of 305 000 learners will be funded for their period of study. This includes a portion allocated to bursaries, including the allocation to NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) and Agricultural Colleges, occupational qualifications, learnerships, internships, apprenticeships and related workplace-based learning interventions.

The NSF revised its budget to ensure consideration of the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and the costing per programme and outcome and outputs. The broad NSF budget prioritisation is demarcated along three broad strategic areas for the 2022 to 2023 period based on the medium-term budget estimates:

  • The administration budget amounts to R186 million for 2022/23.
  • The budget towards the funding of education and training for 2022/23 is R3.056 billion.
  • The budget towards PSET system improvement funding for 2022/23 is R294 million.

NSF also reported that 34 994 people were trained through NSF-funded education and training, with 41% of them being male and 59% being female. Urban students made up 37% and Rural at 63%.

[See presentation document for more details]

Local Government Sector Education Training Authority Annual Performance Plan 2022/23

Mr Ineeleng Molete, CEO of LGSETA, went through the entity’s presentation.

LGSETA derives its revenue from the skills development levy contributed by entities and municipalities in the local government sphere. The MTEF budget, which forms an integral part of the Annual Performance Plan, is made up of the discretionary, mandatory and administrative components.  The budget for the 2022/23 financial period will be focusing on the implementation of the NSDP 2030.

There were no significant changes in the revenue structure for LGSETA relating to the 2022/23 financial period. The estimated budget for 2022/23 is R9.056 billion. The total revenue is made up of the following components:

  • Discretionary funds accounted for 49.5%. A total of 80% of the discretionary funds is earmarked for PIVOTAL programmes, while the remaining 20% will be applied to non-PIVOTAL interventions.
  • Mandatory funds made up 20%. These funds will be disbursed to municipalities and entities that have submitted their Work Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Plan (ATR), in line with the grant regulations. Unclaimed mandatory grants will be transferred to the discretionary funds, in line with the grant regulations.
  • Administration took up 10.5%. As regulated, 0.5% of the administration funds will be transferred to the Quality Council for Trades & Occupations (QCTO).
  • The remaining 10% will be used to finance the overall administration of the LGSETA.

Key definitions:

- Penalties and interest are charged by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) to all levy payers who do not adhere to the legislated timeframes for paying the Skills Development Levy. These funds will finance the discretionary grants projects within LGSETA.

- The investment income is the interest derived from funds invested with the Corporation for Public Funds (CPD) as per the instructions issued by National Treasury. The investment income will be utilised in financing the administration budget.

- The other income relates to the mandatory grants income received from ETDP-SETA.

 [See presentation for more details]

Discussion

The Chairperson posed a clarity question to LGSETA regarding, where the three satellite offices in terms of the TVETs.

Ms J Mananiso (ANC) welcomed the presentations. She commented on the matter of consequence management, highlighting the need for NSF to provide the Committee with a detailed plan of action on mitigation planning. This is so that, in future meetings and engagements with the entity, the Committee would know how far the entity is in that aspect of consequence management.

It has been observed that NSF increased its initial targets for the 2022/23 financial year. Does NSF have the capacity to achieve these targets, in light of their poor performance in the 2021/22 financial year of only achieving three out of thirteen planned targets? Secondly, on the matter of the Auditor-General findings, what is currently happening in cases dealt with?

She noted that page two of the APP spoke about vacancies in the roles of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Director, amongst other roles. How far is NSF with regards to the recruitment process for these positions? The skills audit needs to be submitted in writing to the Committee – what the entity has in terms of human capital. Are there initiatives regarding gender-based violence (GBV)? What is the impact of covid-19 on budget allocation, APP targets and funding projects?

Her next set of questions posed by Ms Mananiso was directed to LGSETA, on the responsive programmes that LGSETA has identified. Do they have civic education on public interest, such as voter education? This is because councillors cannot elaborate on issues of voters’ education for awareness. Can the programme of action be submitted to the Committee in writing so that Members can be assured that issues are being efficiently dealt with? Does LGSETA have a policy on the 4IR and policies on GBV? What was the impact of Covid-19 on budget allocation, APP targets, work placement, and curriculum development? Lastly, regarding the 12 vacancies mentioned in the presentation, which of them are intended to be filled? Which levels are impacted by this, and why they cannot be filled today?

Ms D Sibiya (ANC) asked the NSF to elaborate on what the estimated performance is about. How is the issue of stopping the water drainage system being addressed?

Mr W Letsie (ANC) commented on the matter of extra security that the DG mentioned earlier during the overview of NSF. The matter of executives’ lives being in danger and threatened should be highly condemned. Also, the board’s decision of implementing consequence management on senior members who were implicated in the irregular expenditures of R35million is welcomed. Mr Letsie encouraged the board to do everything possible to recover the money.

The next question was posed to LGSETA. He noted that the presentation stated that the entity wants to pay 90% of its discretionary grants’ suppliers within 30 days upon submission of compliance grant documents. Why is the target not 100%? Under programme three, there have been 20 cooperatives and 20 small emerging enterprises for training targeted. What informed the setting of the target of 20 cooperatives and 20 small emerging enterprises? Is LGSTEA on the view that the numbers are adequate? How does LGSETA respond to the matter of promoting gender transformation in terms of the skills training offered? An amount of R3 million was budgeted for consultants; what services are the consultants going to provide? What plans are in place to reduce spending on consultants in the near future? In addition, it has been noted that legal fees increased from R2 million to approximately R5 million during this financial year. What caused the rise of these legal fees?

The next set of questions was directed to the NSF. How much is NSF spending to support the Department’s unfunded mandates? Is the entity of the view that supporting these mandates is sustainable? During the CET summit, it was mentioned that NSF would allocate funds to CET to implement a skills programme; from which programmes are these funds? There has also been a high number of learners targeted for funding and training, e.g., 61 000, but only 31 690 are targeted for completion. Can the entity elaborate on this? Similarly, 30 000 learners were funded for education and training in occupations of high demand, with a target for completion of only 11 000. In general, why does NSF have huge targets for funding but only target a few for completion?

Mr Letsie highlighted that, during the last engagement the Portfolio Committee had with NSF, the Committee had requested the entity to have an audit action plan. Is that audit action plan in place?

He thanked LGSETA for the great work and progress being done, and encouraged them to continue.

Ms C King (DA) directed her first questions at NSF. A service provider was appointed to provide administrative and project management services to the ministerial task team. Which service provider was provided, and at which cost was the service provider secured?

The next question was for the DG. Are there plans to place NSF under administration?

Why were the majority of the NSF’s targets not achieved within the past two financial years? It is concerning that, out of eight projects, none was achieved.

The next question was for LGSETA. There was a skills audit conducted for councillors. Could there be the outcome of skills provided for each municipality? This is because it would help in identifying where the developmental needs are of the various councillors and understanding if there is the right cohort of councillors when it comes to local government, to ensure proper service delivery.

There are currently six courses for soft skills; are they for certification or would they be offered in general workshops for the councillors? Lastly, given the various challenges in the municipalities, how does this impact LGSETA’s that have huge administration with poor audit outcomes, and municipalities that cannot adjust quickly enough to technological advances?

Ms K Mahlatsi (ANC) posed her first questions to the NSF. According to the entity’s presentation, 60% of the posts will be filled. There is concern about the outstanding 40%. How is this going to be managed? Usually, when one has a funded post that sits vacant for more than 24 months, Treasury removes the post on the structure through its pastel system. Are there intentions by NSF to ensure they do not suffer from such? How will that impact their capability and capacity as an institution?

Pertaining to the audit outcomes, in the previous presentation, the Committee had issues with the NSF’s ability to speak to the intentions about dealing with the audit outcomes. Has an action plan been discussed with AG? The presentation was not clear in terms of the functionality of the steering committee and audit committee; could more elaboration be provided? Has the risk register been finalised?

How has covid-19 affected the skills development programme, with specific reference to rural youth? Does the APP take cognisance of these realities, and is there an intention to recover? Is there a specific programme that covers rural youth? This is because rural youth are often faced with more socio-economic challenges than urban youth, such as sufficient connectivity to the network.

The next questions were for LGSETA. There is a concern for APP without targets; this is a weakness, as one would not be able to adequately quantify the value of successes of the entity’s work and if it passed the SMART principles.

Is there a programme that deals with youth development at the local government level? The next question was about ward committees. Ward committees remain an important component of the municipal system. Therefore, is there a programme that focuses on that? Given the fact that there are so many ward committees, what is the target for the skills development programme for the ward committees? Lastly, what is the entity doing to cap the first two years of councillors to ensure time is not wasted, and to make sure they are on par in the work they do?

The Chairperson directed another question to LGSETA. When is it mentioned that there is a councillors orientation/induction programme, does the entity create a space for delegates to be sent? Do municipalities have to request the LGSETA to facilitate these orientations? Are they mandatory?

There is a growing concern from the Committee about the functionality of the NSF. Is there a way the organisation is structured for its optimal functionality?  The Committee should receive the forensic report in order to reach a consensus making necessary recommendations. The NSF should reach its mandate.

LGSETA responses

Concerning the matter of civic education, as asked by Ms Mananiso, LGSETA is fortunate enough to be education quality assurors, and is given a broad developmental mandate to address certain outcomes as to where and when quality education is developed. The issue of civic education is enshrined in the ward committee qualification and in the councillor development programme. The councillor development strategy document will be shared with the Committee for further in-depth details on that.

In the annual report, the strategic priorities that have been addressed out of the five are mentioned. In terms of the policy on 4IR, there is no policy on 4IR but there is one on skills strategy that had to be revised when gaps were noticed. The policy is still in draft. LGSETA wants to lead in coordinating government’s efforts on the smart city, and also prioritise the skills that would be needed on an intermediate, medium, and long-term basis. There is also no policy on GBV. Though there are procedures underway, it is a matter that will receive attention, and the entity will report on it in further engagements with the Committee.

About the impact of Covid-19 in financial 2019/20 due to the skills development holiday, LGSETA was part of the SETAs not immune from the President’s statements on regulations. Revenue was reduced to R260 million; this had an impact on activities that were planned for that financial year in pursuit of being a high-performing organisation. The process of curriculum development is worker- and employer-driven. A community of experts is designated in the nine municipal key service areas that serve as experts in qualification development that will be needed in the immediate and long-term future in the workplaces.

The vacancy rate is currently at 10.6%. There are no vacancies for executive positions. For middle management, there are three vacancies that have been advertised, and they are going for shortlisting.

About the previous financial year’s technical indicators on paying suppliers: it was stated that the target ‘80% within a 30-day period’ was looked at. There are plans to put controls in place to cap the non-compliance of service providers, with a specific focus on the root causes which are due to capacity challenges and changes in the business processes. He further mentioned as LGSETA wants to make sure they do not maliciously comply in returning the invoices just to make sure it is at 100%. There will always be challenges when working with emerging service providers.

For programme three, the baseline of the previous financial years is looked at with a continual improvement plan in ensuring that the organisation improves. The approach that comes through the leadership of the board is that they will look at disaster-affected provinces such as KZN, North West, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape to identify what are the NGOs and community-based organisations on the ground. This is in order to equip their staff with generic knowledge, skills, and competence in response to disaster management.

On the question of gender transformation: LGSETA is still driven by transformational imperatives. This consists of 85% black, 50% female, and four percent of persons with disabilities as well as 50% young people being beneficiaries. On the matter of consultants, there are areas where money is being spent on the audit and its specialised forensics.

To answer Ms King’s question: each year SETAs have a process of submissions of workplace skills plans and annual training reports by each municipality and municipal entity. As a condition for LGSETA to release grants, the municipalities must ensure that they submit an annual training report by 30 April. This is training that has already taken place for all employees of a municipality, and the workplace skills plan would be training that is planned for the next financial year. As an organisation, it is important to ensure there is a consultation that takes place with various stakeholders to ensure when the documents reach SETA there are democratic and transparent processes. The organised trade unions need to sign the documents and the accounting officer. Therefore, LGSETA does not have the capacity to do a skills audit of all councillors. However, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) provides information and profiles of councillors that have undergone the organisation’s induction programme, and the skills level of each councillor is understood from there.

The six pillars of training are accreditation and recognition. It is noted that municipalities in distress often do not come forward that they have challenges. A resolution for this matter is through the allocation of discretionary grants. It is indicated that part of the allocation strategy is to look at the five provinces where there are distressed municipalities, namely; North West, Limpopo, Free State, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape. The allocation goes along with the challenges in those areas to ensure there is change.

About the response of the digital way in terms of doing things: LGSTEA has a planned project for virtual classrooms. The objective and purpose of the project are to make sure that learners in the rural areas would be able to have all necessary supporting information from universities, public TVETs, and any of the organisation’s partners. It will be launching during the current financial year.

The entity’s APP is quality assured by the general audit. In terms of SMART principles, they raise issues that contravene the principles, and the APP also goes through the eye of the AGSA. The LGSETA then amends the plan through the AGSA’s inputs.

In terms of councillor development, there is an assumption that the issues of youth development are not solely for LGSETA but for the sector at large. When political parties elect their councillors, they need to consider these matters and ensure the youth is present through administration. On LGSETA’s side, 100% of those beneficiaries through the bursaries, internships, learnerships, and work-integrated learning are young people.

On ward committees: there is a qualification for them, and members of the committees in various municipalities are trained each year. In terms of councillor development, the entity uses the six pillars. The CEO of LGSETA also appealed to the Portfolio Committee to include its input on how to enhance the pillars so that, by the end of the five-year term, it would safe to mention councillors were adequately developed, not just on an administrative basis but on a tech-savviness level too. This is in order to compete the development of their local economies. Outcomes are looked into as to how to infuse entrepreneurship.

On the business process as to how discretionary grants are allocated has changed: previously, there were issues in allocation, where municipalities took 12 to 18 months without taking the allocation. As a result, there has been a window period of the process to ensure that there is a meaningful impact made, overall.

The issue of climate change has never been realised by LGSETA. However, there is a partnership with eThekwini training young people from various wards in ensuring that the issues of climate change and the importance of linking them with humanity are understood.

NSF responses

In response to the matter of consequence management: project managers at the skills-development implementation level were found negligent in carrying out their duties. They were brought to task to an extent that one has resigned, as a result. This is an indication from the NSF’s side to commit to proper consequence management. Looking at consequence management from skills development providers, there is usually a letter issued that seeks to recoup lost monies with respect to irregular expenditure.

On the target increment question: the projections are not drastic, and the projects run over different periods of time such as 12 months, and some two or three years. Looking at the dashboard of projects, most are coming to a close. Also, the accumulated surplus has not increase drastically.

On recruitment matters, NSF is prepared to consistently update the Committee on the positions that are filled. Most exist at the senior and middle management levels. There are significant interviews and shortlisting processes that have occurred thus far. With regards to human capital, this information has been submitted to the secretary of the Committee, and it contains all details.

Concerning GBV and covid-19, the Minister approved the expansion of the funding in order to accommodate for the challenges of the pandemic. The skills development providers are given access to a pool fund of over R100million, where they were able to mitigate against covid-19. Not all had access to the fund, only approximately 40%. On GBV, NSF is always ready to support organisations that are skills development providers, and on the basis of unsolicited proposals. Whichever organisation or institution is willing to fight GBV is welcome to submit proposals to the NSF for consideration and support.

The indicators where it is reflected as non-applicable for zero percentage are for two reasons. First, they are new indicators. Secondly, the completion rate is yet to be determined.

On the matter of the government’s unfunded mandates, it exists on two levels. First is PSET sector, an example being the artisan development within the PSET sector, where there is the national artisan’s moderation national body that was pronounced in 2010; it was not funded by the government, but by NSF. It is not sustainable, as the mandate must find expression in the main fiscus. In CET programmes, the NSF assisted to capacitate financial practitioners. The CET had come up with an extensive programme, which led them to receive grant funding. This programme relates to programmes they offer as community education and training colleges.

On the matter of targeting huge learners but low rates of completion outputs: some of these projections are within the medium-term framework. Therefore, it may be, for example, that the total output estimated is 38 000, and this figure is founded in the previous year. The output is incremental from one year to another. As a result, a disjuncture exists between the target and the outcome.

Regarding the matter of findings, the progress relates to the gradual closure of vacancies, the finance unit being able to apply the GRAP standards, and reconciliation of the levy grant. Some policies have been reviewed. The main finding within the NSF audit report was largely the limitation of scope, due to either the unavailability of information or lack of response to a request for information and a lack of response to the findings. The NSF is working on systematically responding to these findings. On 03 May 2022, there was a session with the NSF implementation unit, which consists of more than 200 people, including project managers and other operatives that ensure that there is proper project management.

Regarding the question raised by Ms King, on which service provider was brought on board: this information will be forwarded to Committee Members in writing.

With regards to slide 10 where targets are not achieved: this is due to many reasons. One is that some of these projects are set for three years, and there is a tendency that they get reported only after the period of three years. Second, there is still more work the NSF needs to do such as advocacy campaigns annually. Most of the time issues only arise in the implementation of the contract. Therefore, less or non-useful information is received.

On the reporting of achievements, the AG has raised that NSF’s internal processes seem to not sufficiently address projects, which is an internal weakness. With respect to the functionality based on the 60% target projected, the NSF is confident this will assist a great deal.

On the matter of posts being removed: enquires will be made through human resource development to determine if such a provision is applicable to NSF, which is listed as a schedule three entity.

Further responses to Ms Mahlatsi’s questions concerning the audit action plan: the audit action plan is a result of the recommendations of the AG. The critical element is the audit committee of the NSF; it has given clear direction for assistance with the action plan when it was initially not clear and confusing. Since then, there has been a more improved version of the audit action plan. Now, the root causes can be easily identified and addressed. In addition, the interim audit performed by the AG has assisted the entity by encouraging it to look at the request for information. The response to the request for information was at an 80-90% rate. By the time the final audit is approached, the NSF is confident that it would be in a better position to know what is requested. Another aspect that is also assisting are the weekly audit committee meetings held with the AG. The NSF has the capacity to keep up the pace in addressing various matters.

On the risk register, the service provider was on board for the last two weeks. He has taken the NSF through various units and involved them in compiling their own risk registers. After the consolidation of the register, the register will be ready by the end of May 2022. Regarding the impact of covid-19 with respect to rural youth development, the interventions and targets made have not been cast in stone, given the level of demand. The programmes targeting youth development include food security and sustainability with respect to fighting poverty.

Department responses

On the LGSETA: the Department had presented to the Committee its various challenges, and went through how they related to the LGSETA priorities. The discretionary grant was cited, and the reluctance by employees to host learners is related to Covid-19. The structural arrangement with CET colleges pleases the Department. The improvement of TVET college partnerships was evident. The mandate of the DHET is a huge, one touching all post-school areas – not solely based on universities and college students, but also councillors in the municipalities and traditional leadership in the country. The implementation of adult education offering was well covered. The questions posed by the Committee, regarding the strengthening of the SETA strategic partnerships, were also covered. Overall, there was a comprehensive report given to the Committee Members by LGSETA. In the instances where there are still challenges, the Department will continue to engage with the entity in addressing them.

On the NSF, there are three key issues. One being it is currently in transition from an organisation that received two disclaimers from the Auditor-General to an organisation that is renewed through evidence-based interventions that are initiated by the Minister. The second and third are concerning the Ministerial interventions, once the issues were identified the Minister sanctioned an investigation into the matters. He ensured accountability and consequence management, such as suspension of the accounting authority, are implemented. Accountability continues as matters are being dealt with. The Chief Executive is suspended while there is currently an acting one. The matters of accountability are taken seriously by the Department; these matters have been handled with care and progress made. The Ministerial task team is not solely focused on the decoupling of the NSF. It also accesses the structure, thus considering the fundamental change and transformation of the organisation. The Department is also pleased with this report and is committed to addressing the issues. The Department has chosen a scientific and evidence-based route to present this. 

Chairperson’s Closing Remarks

The Chairperson thanked the NSF, LGSETA, and the Department. She told the DG that the Committee needs to be brought to full confidence through the implementation that the NSF would be able to successfully turn its fortunes around. The Committee is concerned about the target and outputs, and the critical vacancies should be filled quickly.

On the LGSETA, she said that the Committee welcomed the board’s bold stance in dealing with corruption, and she wishes that the same be done across the whole sector. The Chairperson empathised that the funds irregularly used should be recouped. All vacant posts should be filled so that the board’s ability to exercise oversight is not compromised. The LGSETA is commended for its targets of supporting CET college managers and lecturers.

Committee minutes

Members adopted the minutes of the recent previous meetings.

The meeting was adjourned. 

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