National Youth Development Agency 2021/22 Quarter 2 & 3 performance

Meeting report

The meeting started off with high tension as the Chairperson found it unacceptable for some of the new NYDA Board members to miss their first Portfolio Committee meeting due to other commitments. The Chairperson stated that the Board members knew well in advance about the meeting and that she had expected the entire NYDA Board to be present.

The NYDA Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) was given the floor by the Chairperson and Ms Gratitude Ramphaka, ARC Member, started to present. However, the presentation was brought to an abrupt halt as the ARC presentation covered Quarters 1 and 2 instead of Quarters 2 and 3 of 2021/22. The ARC was given an opportunity to get the correct information together and present after the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) had finished. However, this was not enough time and the ARC was instructed to present at the next committee meeting.

The NYDA took the floor next led by Ms Asanda Luwaca, NYDA Board Chairperson, Mr Waseem Carrim, CEO, and Ms Matho Mhlongo, Acting CFO. Ms Luwaca introduced the new Board and shared their vision, mission, and strategy as well as the organisational structure and the Board committees, SONA commitments progress, revised Annual Performance Plan (APP) and performance reports for Quarters 2 and 3 for 2021/22. In this performance report, they included data on demographics, jobs created, and the overall impact of the programmes and a financial summary. They listed the staff vacancies at NYDA. The last section of the report focused on the quarterly research work where they shared insights on the change in demand for skills and the sectors identified as at the forefront for an increased demand for skills. These emerging sectors call for new, targeted employment interventions. NYDA that the country’s most powerful economic levers are not fit for informalising the economy.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked how the NYDA plans to commit the additional funds allocated to them by 31 March 2022. She asked how young people who are part of the skills development programmes have benefited from them. Have they learnt useful skills or are they being contracted to clean toilets and work as security guards? Are young people allocated work appropriately and how is this being monitored? She suggested that these programmes should be presented with a skills outcomes target. The Chairperson said that there should be programmes specific to young people with disabilities and stressed the need for specifically allocated funds for this. She asked NYDA to present a comprehensive plan outlining its steps to implement this. She added that the NYDA should look into offering more support to youth in the creative arts sector.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) offered her official welcome to the new NYDA Board. She asked about the working relationship between the project management team in the Presidency and the NYDA Board. How will the Board extend their reach to the Free State, Mpumalanga and North West? What is the progress on the revitalization of the National Youth Service Programme and what have been the challenges in meeting their goals? How has the NYDA been supporting NSFAS in their challenges with the 2022 Academic year. The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created 85 000 jobs – what is the youth’s experience with this programme? Has it been effective? How is the initiative being monitored by NYDA to determine return on investment, its impact and its effectiveness for the youth? What kind of process do you have to receive feedback from the youth?

She asked what NYDA is doing to ensure that the CFO vacancy is filled and the timeline for that because the Committee does not want the Board to finish their term with an Acting CFO. What are NYDA’s views on the South African Youth Development Bill and how will this affect the operations of the Agency? She asked about the Disability Strategy which was completed in July 2021. She asked what the status of the partnership with the disability sector are and what role have persons with disabilities played in producing the NYDA Annual Report due later this year.

Mr L Mphithi (DA) who asked what role each Board members would play in the nine provinces. It is important that young people knowing which Board member is assigned to their province. What role is NYDA playing in the NYDA Amendment Bill? Has there been any thought on how this Amendment Bill can streamline the work of the Agency? Will the Agency be able to give all sectors funding or will some be funded at the expense of others? Is the NYDA Board Chairperson confident about the public participation around this process and how it is being done? He noted the challenges around the National Youth Service Programme and that new interventions have been put in place to ensure better coordination. He asked what interventions were put in place.

What is the status of the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund? Does the fund surplus mean that this relief fund will continue? What is the agreement with the donors? Are there any expectations for NYDA to do certain things to receive the funding? He asked what successes the new Board can claim from their first 100 days in office. How far is the Board in their intake of 35 000 young people? Should NYDA be thinking about setting up social security programmes for unemployed youth who do not benefit from the existing funding from government? NYDA needs to investigate what skills the development programmes are giving young people and they need to provide more targeted skills development. NYDA should be looking beyond just the numbers to understand exactly what the youth are doing within these programmes. They should ensure that the youth can leave with real and useful skills. The success of these programmes will be if they are skills based. The Agency can benefit from improved monitoring systems to gauge the skills the youth are learning to ensure and refine the programmes to teach specific skills. He asked about the R30 000 allocated to cover 2000 young people and how this is proposed to happen.

Ms T Masondo (ANC) asked about the relationship between NYDA Board and the extended management team in the Presidency. She asked who is represented in the extended management team in the Presidency. Have all the unmet targets from Quarter 2 been achieved in Quarter 3? If not, why not? What are the outstanding targets for 2020/21? What are the implications of the Quarter 3 unmet targets for Quarter 4 of 2021/22? The Youth Training programmes and the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund were previously listed as line items but now they no longer appear, where is this accounted for now? What are the key reasons for under and over expenditure and how will NYDA manage this in Quarter 4? For the 2021/22 donor funding what were the terms of reference (TOR) for NYDA? What are the donors expecting from the funds that have been disbursed?

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) asked with which organisations in the disability sector NYDA has established partnerships. How will they ensure that young persons with disabilities will benefit from these partnerships in the financial and non-financial support the Agency provides in 2022/23? What are the research findings in Quarter 3 and how will they be implemented? How does NYDA plan to reach young people in the deep rural areas in 2022/23?

Ms N Sonti (EFF) expressed her view that NYDA performance should not be viewed in terms of clean audit reports, instead it should be measured by the Agency’s reach to the youth, specifically black African youth. What visibility measures is the Agency applying in deep rural areas where the youth have no access to internet and infrastructure? What impact has the Presidential Youth Employment intervention made to youth from deep rural areas and youth with disabilities? NYDA needs to take a look at how they remunerate the youth in their programmes and be cautious not to enter into a culture of youth exploitation.

NYDA response
Mr Waseem Carrim, NYDA CEO, explained that the additional funds would be committed by having young people sign contracts. If the contracts are drawn up and signed by young people, it will be assumed that this contractual agreement commits the funds to paying stipends, covering the costs of training and providing uniform. He assured the Chairperson that NYDA will look into programmes that specifically target young people with disabilities. The revitalized National Youth Service will have a large allocation for youth with disabilities.

Ms Luwaca replied that the NYDA partnership with the Presidency is based on their joint commitment to youth employment and their plan is to work together on this. On the Board’s reach to all the provinces, she said that they have 44 NYDA offices across the country, and they will rely on the support of these offices to increase and expand their footprint. The progress of the revitalized National Youth Service is yet to be determined as they are waiting for the project to commence in the third week of March 2022. They plan for an intake of 50 000 young people and not the 35 000 which was initially committed. NYDA assisted NSFAS in the application process at the start of the year and they experienced fewer challenges compared to previous years. NYDA wishes to make a written submission on the South African Youth Development Bill and it will be closely monitoring the process. The Agency has committed to making a written submission on the NYDA Amendment Bill. The process of hiring a new CFO has already commenced and they plan to develop a shortlist and start interviewing.

The Board welcomed the suggestion about the defined roles of the Board in the nine provinces and will take this into consideration. In their first 100 days, the Board has been able to secure funding for the National Youth Service programme over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. They have been able to provide support for the Presidential Youth Employment intervention in 850 000 jobs. They claim their engagement with the youth in different provinces as a success as well as their work on strengthened connections with some line departments. The Board acknowledges that targets for persons with disability are lacking and they are looking into forging relationships with such organisations and starting a database of young people with disabilities. NYDA assures the Committee that plans to reach young people in the deep rural areas remains a high priority.

Ms Karabo Monale, NYDA Board Deputy Chairperson, commented on the need to ensure the effectiveness of their interventions. Their work in the creative arts sector will be looked into and that the Board plans to visit all NYDA centres in the country. They will make plans for mental health and social security initiatives.

On operations, Mr Carrim replied that NYDA had focused on the rollout being different to the past. They had focused on a digital approach to their engagement with youth, starting from the recruitment process. On the Agency’s partnership with NSFAS, they are proud of the work they have been able to do together. NYDA supports the process of the South African Youth Development Bill and they are working with the Department on this. The Bill is important as it outline the roles and responsibilities for youth development within the different sectors. He proposed that the Bill should include incentives and penalties for organisations to meet their targets.

The Chairperson interjected that the Committee has a problem with the fact the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities (DWYPD) has taken over the responsibility for policy. NYDA is an agency that looks at policies and issues affecting young people, the Committee is expecting NYDA to be at the forefront of initiating bills and policies. What is the core business of the NYDA if they are no longer dealing with policy?

Mr Carrim assured the Committee that NYDA will engage with DWYPD and come up with a plan of action at its next sitting.

Mr Carrim replied about the Persons with Disabilities strategy, saying they have a list of organisations with which they have engaged with. They have put together a disability forum where they have engaged with the organisations on programmes and actions for the year.

On the topic of NYDA Amendment Bill, the Board received a presentation from the Department on the Bill and they support the process of this Bill.

On the structure of National Youth Service Programme, Mr Carrim replied that there were strong feelings that the NYSP had lost its core service programmes and taken the path of a skills programmes. The core of the programme is the service element, which sees young people offering services to other young people in the form of after-school programmes for example. NYDA wants to refocus the core element of the NYSP while still ensuring that there is a skills element attached to it. They want to make structural changes by achieving scale.

Mr Carrim replied that donors do not give money for nothing and that they want results in terms of employment and new businesses. They set specific targets about what they want NYDA to achieve. If these targets are not met, they take money away.

He moved onto social security and stated that the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant is a fairly low amount and perhaps more money will assist youth in their job search. In efforts to improve social security, an environment for the SRD grant and employment opportunities to coexist should be made. He made reference to the short-term nature of the programmes and that works need to be done in helping youth transition from these programmes into longer term employment.

Mr Carrim replied to the concern whether the skills development programmes produce real skills. Much emphasis is placed on accredited skills which comes with a certificate and trade test to train for actual demand in the economy at a lower cost than for non-accredited skills. The R30 000 question may come from a breakdown in communication where someone may have misinterpreted the information. Delivering the NYSP costs roughly R24 000 per young person per year.

The unmet targets from previous quarters will be met in the upcoming quarter. NYDA has done three impact evaluation surveys and all of them are showing positive return on investment. They would share the surveys with the Committee after they have been presented to the Board. The Presidential Youth Employment intervention is being catered to represent all groups. On the reach of the NYDA programmes, Mr Carrim replied that they have detailed information on how these young people are being reached.

Ms Matho Mhlongo, NYDA Acting CFO, explained the reasons for the under and over expenditure. The 2020/21 audit ended in November 2021 and NYDA only received funds late in September 2021 and this accounts for the under expenditure. These funds will be spent in Quarter 4.

The Chairperson gave the Board members the floor to briefly introduce themselves.

Mr Mphithi added a final comment advising NYDA Board to come up with a communication strategy to extend their reach and visibility.

Dr Bernice Hlagala, Director: Youth Development, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, added that NYDA Amendment Bill has been approved by Cabinet for tabling in Parliament and that they are busy finalising this. The South African Youth Development Bill has been presented to the clusters of directors general and the Cabinet committee . They have been asked to add more to it by expanding on critical issues including the quotas for young people to ensure they are included.

The Committee considered and adopted its programme and an oversight report.

The meeting was adjourned.