DIRCO Quarter 4 Report; DIRCO Budget: Committee Report; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Committee observed a moment of silence for the death of two ambassadors, Ambassador Claudinah Ramosepele and Ambassador Zindzi Mandela.

Report of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation on the Supplementary Budget Vote 6: International Relations and Cooperation

Mr Kgabo Mahoai, Director-General (DG): Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), said he was unaware that the Department had to present on the adjusted budget and the fourth quarter performance of the Department, as presentations had already been made.

Ms Dineo Mosala, Committee Content Advisor, presented the Committee’s draft adjustment budget Report. The adjusted budget was based on a call for R130 billion to be cut by government departments, by identifying areas where funds could be released to contribute to the government’s R500 billion Covid-19 support fund. The Department had identified R370m, mainly from goods and services, machinery and equipment and capital asset funding which could be released.

She said part two of the Report dealt with the implications on the mandate of the Department. DIRCO had said that there were no major changes to the outcomes of the Department’s Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan (APP). There were changes in the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF), which was intended to support the African Union. ARF funding had been deferred to 2021.

Part three of the Report dealt with an analysis of the Department’s programmes and how they would be impacted upon by the cuts, while part four dealt with the table of adjustments. An ARF extraordinary summit was supposed to have been held in May dealing with the ‘Silencing of the Guns’ and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. These could not be held, so funding for them had been deferred to 2021.

Regarding one of the Committee’s recommendations in the budget vote Report on the modernisation of the Department’s IT systems, she said the reduction in spending on equipment meant that some of the work relating to the Committee’s recommendations would not be possible. On another recommendation relating to property management, the Committee had said the Department should be proactive and have a property management strategy in place with the appropriate capacity to implement the strategy to take over all the state-owned properties abroad, given that the President had assented to the Foreign Service Act. She said there would be no new projects implemented because of the cut in capital expenditure funding.

The Chairperson said that at a previous meeting, DIRCO had agreed with Treasury to put capital projects on hold, with R199 million reprioritised, and it had became clear to her that the Department had no funds to continue their capital projects. This should be highlighted so that the Committee would know where its oversight should be focused, which would be on the maintenance of state properties overseas, so the Department’s presentation on infrastructure was different from the original presentation. She thought it important to highlight this.

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) said what the Chairperson said was important. She had given the Department an opportunity early on to present to the Committee on the matter. The DG would have to address the issue before the Report was formally adopted.

Mr D Moela (ANC) supported Mr Mpanza’s comments.              

The Committee’s recommendations were that the Department:

• present the implementation plan of the Foreign Service Act, with clear timeframes;
• monitor the repatriation processes to guard against possible abuse of the good-will system;
• ensure the continued modernisation processes of the ICT systems;
• submit a report on its property management strategy team, to back up the information given to the Committee;
• ensure the recovery of all repatriation costs from all citizens who signed the contracts, acknowledging their debt.

Discussion

Mr B Nkosi (ANC) said that 3.1 of the Report should read “the Portfolio Committee’s oversight recommendations” instead of “the Portfolio Committee calls.” Paragraph 6.4.1 should be split into two sub clauses, as it dealt with two distinct issues -- the ‘Silencing of the Guns’, and the readiness for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. These changes had been accepted.

Flowing from the observations, there should be continuous progress reports on the situation in northern Mozambique and the role of the country and the Department. Secondly, DIRCO needed to continuously brief on relations with Israel and the progress on what actions the country and the Department was taking to ensure that ties with Israel were severed.

Mr Mpanza said he wanted the Committee to get regular progress reports on the information communication technology (ICT) upgrades.

Mr D Bergman (DA) said that resolutions on the Israel/Palestine or any other conflict area issue should be held in abeyance until site visits were conducted, so that Members could see the situation for themselves and take informed decisions. The Committee of the previous term had gone on a visit, and in the previous term the Committee had said it would visit, but had not visited. He said this should apply to all conflict areas, and suggested that the Committee should engage more intently on the issue.

Ms T Msane (EFF) said the Committee was not going to Israel. She said they were terrorists and Israel was an apartheid state, and it would revive memories of what had happened in South Africa. She rejected this suggestion with contempt. She also offered her condolences to the Mandela family. Turning to the draft report, she said she foresaw that the compensation of employees (CoE) would continue to be a problem, as the matter could not be addressed because of fluctuations in the exchange rate. Conflict on the continent was rising, and she did not know what role the funds from the ARF would play, especially in Mozambique. On ICT, the Department had said it would meet all demands, but while the African Continental Free Trade Agreement might have been paused, continental trade was looking at going digital and DIRCO was not ready for that. The Department had failed to conscientise the country on the role of the African Union (AU), and she noted the mob attacks on foreigners. Time should be allocated to look at all the multilateral bodies the country was involved in. There were too many bodies and treaties the country was involved in, and some were a duplication.

Dr C Mulder (FF+) supported Mr Bergman’s call to take informed decisions, and supported the rest of the Report.

Ms B Swarts (ANC) said DIRCO had to clarify the changes to infrastructure projects in the revised APP. The Department should have a project management unit (PMU). She asked if a PMU would be able to implement what it was supposed to do rather than just do maintenance, as R200 million had been taken away from its budget. What would they be able to do?

Mr Nkosi agreed that informed decisions should be taken. He said Palestine/Israel had been on the agenda for a long time, especially in the last five years with Israel’s annexation of land, backed by the US. This was very clear to anybody, and a principled stand was being taken that such action was abhorred. If the Committee went there, by that time Palestinians might be a people without land, and a stance had to be taken against this.

The Chairperson said many of the issues raised had been detailed in the minutes, and she was not sure if the Committee wanted this in the Report. There was no way the Committee could wait for a site visit to make observations. The Department could make a presentation again, as site visits were prohibited at the moment, with no flights, and would not be happening in the near future. 

Mr Bergman said he was not against the Report, and agreed with Mr Nkosi. In terms of bilateral agreements, relations should still be maintained.

Mr Moela said that another session should be arranged to discuss this issue, as proposed by the Chairperson.

Mr Bergman said that if nothing in the Report had changed, then it was fine.

The Chairperson said the Department could assist in holding a webinar on the issue.

Referring to the changes in the revised APP, Mr Mahoai said that the infrastructure projects were projects that were intended to be done in Luanda and Namibia, but because of the reduction in the budget only maintenance work and preliminary work on the PMU would be done. As it was only the availability of funds that was affecting the work, it would be deferred.

Mr Bergman said that, as always, the DA reserved its rights on the Report.

Ms Msane said she recognised Mr Bergman’s passion on the issue of Israel, but for her Israel was a sore point and it was very painful. She rejected the Report, as she did not think the Department would be able to implement its recommendations.                       

Ms Swarts called for the adoption of the Report, seconded by Mr Moela.

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) said the Committee needed to make informed decisions, and agreed with Mr Nkosi. He was happy that the issue would be revisited. His party also reserved its rights on the Report.

Report of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation on the 4th Quarter 2019/20 Expenditure Performance of the Department Of International Relations and Cooperation and the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund

Ms Mosala referred to the draft Report which covered the mandate of the Committee and of the Department, and then addressed the performance of DIRCO in its programmes. In Programme 1, mention was made of the 199 consular services rendered and the 78.8% rate of payment of invoices within 30 days. In Programme 2, on international relations, there was reference to three bilateral mechanisms and high-level visits and tourism seminars. In Programme 3, the activities dealt with the AU Summit. In Programme 4 on diplomacy, mention was made of public participation events. In Programme 5, the report covered international transfers and the ARF.

The Report noted the 14% over-expenditure of R1.6 billion, as opposed to the budgeted amount of R1.4 billion. The over-expenditure was due to the challenges in the CoE caused by fluctuating foreign exchange rates. The report spoke to the ARF and the projects the Department undertook in this quarter. The recommendations of the Committee were that the Department:

• Fast-track the introduction of the ICT infrastructure modernisation project;
• Investigate the root causes for the non-payment of service providers within the required 30-days rule;
• Expedite the enactment of the Foreign Service Act and prioritise the development of a property management strategy;
• Review the structured bilateral mechanisms entered into by the country to ensure they advance the national interest and address domestic imperatives;
• Consider using candidature diplomacy as a conscious ‘soft power’ strategy, and give youth exposure to internships and employment opportunities in the international organisations the country was party to;
• Develop a workable solution to stay within the ceiling on CoE without compromising service delivery;
• Increase representability of previously disadvantaged groups and cater for gender mainstreaming, youth development and women, and access for people with disability;
• Consider leading the implementation and domestication of the region’s blueprints in the country, including the revised regional indicative strategic development plan for 2015-2020.

Discussion

Mr Nkosi said the word ‘women’ should be included in 7.1.7 before the words ‘gender mainstreaming’.

Mr Mahoai said that in the Report, there was reference to the property management ‘policy,’ which should be changed to property management ‘strategy.’

Mr Nkosi called for the adoption of the Report, with Ms Swarts seconding the motion.

Ms Msane said the Report was rejected, because history indicated that the Department needed to be looked at more closely, so that the Committee could leave a legacy, whether it was pushing pan-Africanism or getting the Department’s monitoring and evaluation tools in order. The EFF had a vision of what the Department should be by the end of the Committee’s term.                       

The Chairperson said that as long as the ICT of the Department was not right, the vision of Ms Msane would not get done.

Mr Bergman made reference to the report on the ICT company hired by former Minister Sisulu. He said the Report had to be revisited and the recommendations be looked at by the Committee, as he agreed with Ms Msane on leaving a legacy. He said the DA reserved its rights on the Report.

Dr Mulder said his party reserved its rights.                   

Rev Meshoe said his party reserved its rights, and would state its position in the House.

The meeting adjourned