National Youth Development Agency Annual Performance Plan 2019/20, with Deputy Minister

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

27 August 2019
Chairperson: Ms C Ndaba (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Government Departments & Entities 2019/20 Annual Performance Plan (APP) 

The Committee’s Parliamentary staff presented an analysis and critique of the 2019/20 annual performance plan (APP) of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).  

The main criticism was that the APP did not match the five-year strategic plan. The Committee discussed at length whether the NYDA should even present the APP because of this lack of alignment, but in the end it decided to continue with the planned presentation.

The NYDA provided details on its organisational structure, its alignment with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, key statistics and strategy, financial reports, partnerships, donors and fundraising, and human resource matters.

The Members’ questions mostly mirrored the analysis and critiques of the Committee staff. They focused on the administration programme, highlighting issues such as the NYDA’s use of social media, the board’s monitoring and evaluation, the misalignment of plans, the use of drivers, the NYDA’s perceived political bias, delays in awarding grants, support for those who were not funded, and the status of matters outstanding from the previous Committee.

The NYDA undertook to review its APP and ensure that all the missing components in the administration programme were addressed.

Meeting report

Briefing: Analysis and Critique of the NYDA

Analysis

Ms Kashifa Abrahams, Content Advisor, introduced the National Youth Development Agency’s (NYDA’s) annual performance plan (APP) for 2019/20. She reminded the Committee that a letter had been sent to the NYDA detailing the information that the Committee required.

Ms Tasneem Matthews, Committee Researcher, briefed the Committee on the NYDA APP with an analysis. She provided the history of the NYDA, and the strategic plans. It often revised and updated the strategic plan, which was unusual. It focused on economic participation, education and skills development, social cohesion and nation building. These were meant to be linked to the indicators.

The NYDA had a past with high fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure. However, in recent years it brought this down. There had also been issues with the mismanagement of funds involving the previous Executive Chairperson.

In the strategic plan and in the presentation, the NYDA refers to issues involving the education and skills programme, but these are not reflected in the APP. She asked if this programme had been moved. If it had, was it combined with another programme? Where was the money that had been allocated for those employees? Questions surrounding the education and skills programme needed to be asked.

Members should also inquire about why they do not talk about human resources (HR) and employees under the administration. They talk more about programmatic issues, and that did not make sense. Members should inquire whether these offices were also being paid by a particular programme.

The NYDA had done well in meeting their targets. The specific programmes that the Committee needed to look at were administration, programme design, development and delivery, national youth service, and research and policy.

She said the Committee should ask the NYDA about Programme 1: administration and strategic objectives, as they needed to clarify their new targets. In Programme 2: Programme Design, Development and Delivery, they should explain their partnerships, and the money given to service-oriented sectors. In Programme 3: National Youth Service, details of their governmental partnerships were needed. In Programme 4: Research and Policy, the NYDA needed to define their relationship with Stats SA and the preliminary findings of the Youth Outlook status.

Ms Matthews also presented questions from her analysis of the presentation and the APP. She asked what the relationship with the new Department was. What was their relationship with private sector partners? What type of funding were they receiving? How much? What happened to unsuccessful grant applicants? What was the monitoring and evaluation process after grants were awarded? There needed to be a follow up process. Could applicants re-apply after receiving funding the year before? What was stopping NYDA grant recipients from applying for more grants through other government agencies?

The Chairperson asked for clarification on the last question.

Ms Matthews explained the Committee should ask what happens after applicants are not awarded grants. Also, how does the NYDA stop grant recipients from receiving more grant money from multiple departments at the same time.

Critique

Ms Kashifa presented the critique of the 2019/20 NYDA APP. She said the revised five-year strategic plan had been sent to the Committee, but was not tabled and referred. The APP needed to fit into the broader five-year plan, and this was not the first time the NYDA had revised it. It was unclear as to why the NYDA revises it almost every year. Revisions were difficult to track. She asked if it was being changed so that was in line with the APP, and commented that the APP should be changed to fit the five-year plan, not the other way around.

The Chairperson said that recommendations from the previous Portfolio Committee may have influenced APPs and 5-year plans. She asked Ms Kashifa if she had checked the recommendations of the previous Committee.

Ms Kashifa replied that she had captured the recommendations from the Budgetary Review and Recommendations (BRR) and Legacy Report from the previous Committee. Ms Matthews would check the budget vote from last year.

Continuing with her critique, she said the administration programme in the APP had no target that was linked to financial management, supply chain management, governance or human resources (HR). She felt that was an omission.

She explained that in Programme 1: Administration, the key performance indicators (KPIs) related only to media platforms, the value of funds from public and private, job partnerships and market linkage partnerships. There needed to be KPIs relating to HR, governance, information communication technology (ICT), financial management, supply chain management, and Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) compliance. In an operational plan for the year, there should be a target focused on monitoring the NYDA board, finances, HR, and ICT.

Discussion

The Chairperson said Ms Kashifa was correct, and asked how much had been allocated for the board? Programme 1 needed to include the board and the appropriate allocations.

Ms Kashifa replied that the APP addressed what the NYDA finances for Programme 1, but it was only in relation to media platforms, the value of funds from the public and private sectors, job partnerships and the market linkage partnerships.

Ms Kashifa said that the Board does meet and develop reports, but asked what indicator the Committee would measure the board against. There were key issues involving financial management, human resources, supply chain management, ICT, compliance and facilities management. The missing piece was that the 2019/20 APP did not match the five-year strategic olan.

Ms N Sharif (DA) asked if the key performance areas (KPAs) from the strategic objectives, and the KPIs from the APPs were usually similar. Did they align at some point? With the NYDA, they did not align. What was the usual practice?

Mr L Mphithi (DA) added that in public service there were usually internal mechanisms in place when a manager that handled a large budget,. There was no way that a department could have KPIs without financial management or HR within their competence. He thought it was a serious issue.

Ms B Maluleke (ANC) said that the APP was not aligned to the strategic plan. She asked what the Committee could do. Could it ask the NYDA to rectify their APP, or was it just going to accept it?

The Chairperson responded that the Members must make recommendations, and she would support them.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) said that the Committee should give the NYDA an opportunity to present. The Committee could raise issues and seek clarity. If needed, it could ask them to rectify the plan.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) said the Committee should not rush to push back. It was responsible for performing oversight, being constructive and providing counsel.

The Chairperson said that the Committee must raise questions and advise. The Committee needed to be clear about what they request of the Department and NYDA.

Ms Sharif disagreed with her colleagues. She felt that since the APP did not align with the strategic plan, the presentation would be redundant.

The Chairperson said that the NYDA continually revises their APP and Strategic Plan. She felt the Committee could teach them the right thing to do, if it could give specific advice. The presentation was still important.

Mr Mphithi agreed that the Committee had to hold the Department and NYDA to account, but those writing the APP and strategic plan must know what they were doing. He felt the Committee should not be correcting heads of departments who did not know what they were doing.

The Chairperson said that that was the role of the Committees.

Mr Mphithi argued that directors must know how to write APPs and strategic plans, and a lack of this knowledge on the part of officials was unacceptable. If the Committee continued to allow strategic plans that did not match APPs, it would find itself in a bind.

The Chairperson agreed with Mr Mphithi, and asked Ms Kashifa to finish her critique. She would like the NYDA to present their APP.

Ms Maluleke agreed with the Chairperson, having noted the critique and analysis from the Committee staff. She felt the NYDA may waste time, presenting the document that the Committee already had. She would rather use the time to tell the NYDA what needed to be rectified.

Ms Masiko would like to have the NYDA presentation, and then provide constructive criticism and guidance. This would be the first time the NYDA was meeting with this Committee, and it had to provide the NYDA with counsel. She felt the Committee should hear the presentation.

Ms A Hlongo (ANC) would also like to give the NYDA a chance to present, and then provide them with feedback.

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) felt the Committee should not allow the NYDA the opportunity to present, since it already had the information. He suggested the Committee should tell the NYDA to go back and make sure that the strategic plan was aligned to the APP.

The Chairperson asked the Committee to make a decision. It was the responsibility of the Committee to ensure that the Department did its work. She would like to continue to hear the researcher’s findings. She noted the presence of the Deputy Minister.

Members continue to argue the pro’s and cons of giving the NYDA an opportunity to present, with the Chairperson drawing attention to the amount of time it had taken discussing this matter.

Ms Kashifa clarified that from page 53 onwards, the APP matched the strategic plan. Ther discrepancies had been found only in Programme 1.

The Chairperson accepted the clarification, and ruled that Ms Kashifa should continue, and the NYDA be allowed to present.

Ms Sharif said some Committee views had not been taken into consideration. What had been omitted from the report were fundamental aspects required for performing oversight. It was a serious issue.

The Chairperson reiterated that Programme 1 was the problem. She respected the views of the Committee, but there was only one part which was a serious concern, and that needed to be dealt with today. The Chairperson would like to continue with presentations from the researchers. She said that this oversight was a collective effort.

Ms Sharif said that the NYDA must be accountable for the anomalies that the Committee had picked up. It was going to send the NYDA back anyway to realign its APP to the strategic plan. She felt the multiple presentations would be wasteful.

Mr Ncgobo agreed that the NYDA should not present.

Ms Maluleke said the Committee was going round in circles and was wasting time. She wanted the NYDA to come and present so the Committee could tell them what needed to be rectified.

She was supported by Ms Mgweba and Ms M Hlengwa (IFP). would like the Committee staff to finish presenting their findings. She would like the NYDA to present.

Ms T Masondo (ANC) and Ms M Khawula (EFF) did not speak in English when addressing the Committee, prompting Ms Sharif to ask for translations.

The Chairperson acknowledged the translation requests, and assured Members the translation issue would be corrected. She said translation and language issues had to be resolved.

Ms Kashifa continued her critique, and discussed the structure of the NYDA and the filling of vacancies. An ad hoc appointment committee was needed to fill some vacancies, and some clarity would be beneficial.

The Committee needed some clarity around employee compensation, as well as more information about public and private partnerships. What did the partnerships include? What was the role of the NYDA in all of these partnerships? With regard to universal access and opportunities, what were the 40% relationships? Who was the 40%?

With NYDA grants, why were grants not funded? What was the role of the NYDA to assist those who could not be funded? She reiterated the concerns over previous applicants -- the Committee needed more clarity about grant recipients, and those who were denied grants.

With training, where was the training being offered? Why was there a backlog? In the jobs programme, where did the youths go if they were not placed?

What did the NYDA mean with regard to sponsorship? Why were applicants not successful?

The NYDA did not use consultants, but uses service providers. What was a service provider?

There were outstanding matters from the BRR report.

The Chairperson asked if the NYDA had not submitted a report on issues that had been raised.

Ms Kashifa explained that in the annual report, the internal audit committee had recommended that the NYDA utilise the hotline and communicate the issues that had been found via the hotline.

According to the Legacy Report, the NYDA Act needed to be looked at, specifically integrating youth statutory support and the review of the integrated youth development strategy

She summarised the main issues needing clarity:

  • Programme 1: Administration.
  • NYDA Board: Clarity about appointments. Would it be an ad hoc committee? Would it be this Portfolio Committee?
  • Target clarity in programmes.
  • Human resources and vacancies.
  • How programmes coincided with the money given, and compensation.

The Chairperson said this Committee would deal with the filling of vacancies.

Ms Kashifa said that the referral was for this Committee, but for the previous appointments an ad hoc committee had been needed.

The Chairperson said she would double-check the appointment process. She thanked the Committee staff and prepared the Committee for the NYDA presentation.

Deputy Minister’s overview

The Chairperson welcomed all the guests from the Ministry, the Department and the NYDA.

Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, said the presentation of the NYDA was coming after the President had declared youth unemployment a national crisis. It meant everyone was on edge. It was important to realise that the Committee and the Department was at the start of the Sixth Administration, which meant they could cut ties with what had gone wrong in the past and reshape the future of the country.

She saw the reconfigured Department as an opportunity. She had noted the briefing from the Committee about what the APP should include. The NYDA was here to receive guidance and support.

According to Statistics South Africa, 3.3 million young people out of 10.3 million were not in any educational, employment or training programme. This was a high number, and young people were losing hope in their government to provide opportunities.

The unemployment rate had increased and was concentrated around the 15-34 age group.

She said the Ministry had started conversations with young entrepreneurs to help curb the youth unemployment problem. The majority of unemployed youths lived in rural communities. That was the biggest problem the NYDA faced. There were language barriers and creative solutions were needed to solve the unemployment issue.

The Deputy Minister reminded the Committee that the President was at the G7 Conference meeting with other world leaders. The sixth administration needed to follow and utilise all unfolding opportunities, and think about how many young people were likely to benefit.

She touched on the fourth industrial revolution and the thinking about how to use technology to one’s advantage. It meant training and empowering young people.

The NYDA presentation was designed to reflect the APP and respond to questions raised by the Committee.

The Chairperson thanked the Minister for her comments.

National Youth Development Agency 2019/20 APP presentation

Mr Sifiso Mtsweni, Executive Chairperson: NYDA, touched on the history and trajectory of youth development within the country, and said the agency had been operating for 10 years.

He reviewed the NYDA structure, the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 goals for youth, key youth development statistics, the 25-year review, the manifesto and Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) priorities, and the NYDA strategy. The strategy included the five pillars of economic development through entrepreneurship, decent employment through the Jobs Programme, social cohesion, and the pathway to economic emancipation through national youth service, universal access for vulnerable youth, and monitoring and evaluation of the integrated youth development strategy.

Mr Waseem Carrim, Chief Executive Officer: NYDA presented the key data that influenced the APP and targets. He said that South Africa had too few young entrepreneurs, and explained the NYDA entrepreneurship value chain, the grant programme and criteria, the voucher programme, job data for young people, and the Jobs Programme partnerships.

Ms Ankie Motsoahae, Executive Director: National Youth Service (NYS) said that at the centre of the NYS programmes was the learning aspect. Those in the skills and other development programmes left with accredited skills so they could move forward and receive jobs after their time in the NYS. Government departments acted as partners so the NYS and the NYDA could be effective in helping unemployed youth. The NYS also relied on private partners and civil society to ensure young people were properly trained. She referred to the partnerships the programme had, and said that the goal was to have 250 participants in the next five years. With the capacity and resources they had, the NYS was doing a good job.

Mr Carrim discussed universal access and said that accessibility was a challenge the NYDA faced. The vision was to be present in all 44 district municipalities and eight metropolitan municipalities. In 2018/19, it had expanded its services to 37 centres. Next year, it hoped to expand to 52, despite financial constraints. He described the Agency’s expansion opportunities.

He presented the Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS), explaining the purpose, the annual government priorities report, the youth status outlook report and impact evaluations, and the legislative amendments.

Mr Carrim said the APP had four programmes. These were:

  • Programme 1: Administration.
  • Programme 2: Programme Design, Development and Delivery (PDDD).
  • Programme 3: National Youth Service.
  • Programme 4: Research and Policy.

 

Programme 1

The NYDA had targets of one million followers on social media platforms, fund-raising R100 million to support youth development, ten partnerships for jobs, ten partnerships for market linkages, 1 000 youth enterprises in the grant programme, 20 000 businesses supported, placing 10 000 young people in jobs, and establishing four business centres.

Programme 2

The targets were to establish 17 access points in 2019/20, 200 events to provide young people with youth development information, and training 70 000 young people in job preparedness and life skills.

Programme 3

The targets were based upon partnerships, and a proper communication strategy.

Programme 4

The targets were to conduct four customer surveys, three impact evaluations, produce the annual report on government-wide priorities, and produce the quarterly outlook reports on young people.

He provided the provincial and gender breakdown, and analysis per sector. Gender parity should be at 50%.

He presented on administration, and referred to the last five years of clean audits, the dashboard report, fundraising, partnerships and customer service. The main challenge the NYDA faces was not being able to support and fund every grant or student within their programmes and services.

He also covered the NYDA’s marketing and visibility, and the integrated marketing strategy (IMS).

Mr Thami Mkhwanazi, Chief Financial Officer: NYDA presented the financial information, providing details of the 2019/20 annual budget. The NYDA had a R501 million budget, which rep;resented a reduction of 2%. He went over the budget analysis, employee costs analysis per programme, and office rentals. He added that the NYDA did not make use of consultants, and had not done so for the past three financial years.

Mr Carrim expanded and discussed the financial potential. The cost to create a new job was R20 000.

Ms Mafiki Duma, Executive Director: Human Resources and Legal, said the NYDA vacancy rate recorded at in the first quarter of 2019 was 15.9%. The overall vacancy rate had slightly declined from 17% the previous year.

She presented the role of the NYDA board of directors

Discussion

The Chairperson said her only concern was that the NYDA was saying that it was an entity, but it was an entity of public service. In terms of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and National Treasury, the reporting guidelines were clear, and the NYDA needed to revisit them.

Mr Mphithi asked about the administration programme’s misalignment with the APP and strategic plan, saying misalignment should not be possible. HR and financials should be part of the targets in the programme.  The NYDA needed to comply with National Treasury regulations and the PFMA,.

How had the NYDA related with the new Department? What type of measures had been put in place to get this amalgamation together? What type of mitigating factors had the NYDA identified with the Department? How were they trying to link with the APP of the Department?

He asked for an explanation about the misalignment of staff in the presentation, and pointed out that in the organogram, both the Executive Chairperson and CEO had drivers. Why did they need drivers? What was the role of the drivers?

What decisions, if any, had been taken since the board became quorate?

Why did one million social media followers have to be a target? He felt the better question was how they would reach people who did not have data to access the NYDA. Was that target meaningful in relation to what they were trying to achieve?

How were the business centres going to be established, and how were they going to work? How were they going to do the monitoring and evaluation of service delivery channels? What were the types of goals and outcomes that they wanted to have?

He was happy with the APP targets, but he stressed that they need to think about how to achieve them and get outputs and outcomes. After training young people, what happened to them when they leave?

What internal controls did they have for donations? Were there internal rules?

How did the NYDA and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) interact, and how did they connect students?

What was the reason for the training backlog?

How did the NYDA understand its role in the crisis of youth unemployment? Young people often thought the NYDA should be helping them to get jobs, but the programmes did not always do that.

How was the board monitoring itself? Currently there was not a board, due to resignations. What was its performance looking like? What was it doing at the moment?

Ms Sharif asked what impact having more social media followers had on the core mandate of the NYDA. What did it have to do with the actual implementation and establishment of the core mandate?

What were the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with private companies? How much money did they actually receive from them?

The presentation had included only provincial breakdowns, but no gender breakdowns. She would like to have information about gender breakdowns.

What were the changes to the revised strategic plan -- and why did they keep revising the plan?

She agreed that the Programme 1 targets were incomplete. There were no targets relating to the board, so how could the Committee keep the board accountable for reaching their objectives and mandates?

There were also no targets for monitoring and evaluation, especially in respect of financials. This was a concern, and the NYDA needed to report about it.

In the Programme 1 KPIs and partnerships, what was the key difference between market and job partnerships? How had the NYDA ensured that they were inclusive to all young people across party lines?

Ms Mgweba asked about grants and vouchers. How did they follow up to assist young people with outstanding documents?

Were the staff in provincial offices temporary or full-time? In some provinces, the branches were not effective or accessible, so how did they then assist young people, particularly those in rural communities?

What had the sponsorship applications been, and why were so few successful?

With the NYDA not using consultants, she wanted clarification on the kind of accredited service provider the NYDA used.

Ms Masiko asked about the potential of having one coordinating body for all departments and agencies that were doing youth work. The Department should look into a coordinating body. There was a certain level of “double-dipping” that was taking place with the services provided.

She shares the same concerns over the Programme 1 issues, as this impacted on the Committee’s ability to perform proper oversight.

She asked about grant process flow. How long did it take from the application time for a young person to get a grant? On the issue of applicants receiving money from multiple departments, was there a system that prevented young people from double dipping? What happened to the grants to those who were not successful? Did they receive proper feedback?

She asked about the provincial and gender breakdown, and if there was any scientific system to allocate grants per province proportionally? The Committee needed to know the accurate gender parity, and the statistics on disability.

How could the NYDA capitalise on fundraising and partnerships? What was it doing to make sure the spending was aligned? What monitoring tools was it using to check on the spending of the organisations it was funding?  What was the return on investment? Did they have enough staff to do the monitoring of the funded organizations?

She asked about the funding from SAB InBev, the liquor company. What were the deliverables? What was the nature of the relationship between the NYDA and SAB?

The Chairperson said that with the volume of questions, all questions may not be answered.

She addressed the Acting Director General, Ms Welhemina Reshoketswe, and said that since the NYDA was now under her Department, its budget would need to be transferred. The allocation had been left where it was, because the first quarter had passed, and the Department was in the second quarter. Whatever was done in the two quarters could have a negative Departmental impact. It was better for this financial year to leave it where it was, and whatever official was responsible should monitor and give reports. Transfers could happen in the next financial year,.

How far was the NYDA in dealing with outstanding issues from the previous Committee? There were outstanding matters referred to in the Legacy Report. She said that talking theory did not always assist the Committee and the NYDA to get work done. Advocacy was needed. The NYDA needed to think creatively and think outside of the box.

She also raised concerns about the structure of the NYDA. The Committee would benefit from receiving clarity on its staff structure.

She asked for more information on their private sector partnerships.

With call centres, she asked for a report on the complaints the NYDA had registered, attended to, and the ones that were outstanding. The Committee could be helpful in resolving some of those matters.

She said the NYDA was doing a good job with training, and when people were trained their hopes were raised. If trained people were not placed, they became a problem. The NYDA needed to take stock of those who were not placed.

The Committee would expect quarterly reports with measurable outcomes. Revised strategic plans and APPs were not acceptable.

Mr Ngcobo asked about higher education and training. How was the NYDA going to assist people who lived in rural communities? How were they going to make sure young people with disabilities were not locked out of economic opportunities?

He observed that the NYDA was tied to ANC politically, and reiterated  the concerns over Programme 1.

The Chairperson asked where the NYDA put the money that was obtained through fundraising.

NYDA response

Mr Mtsweni thanked the Committee for the constructive inputs.

Mr Mkhwanazi explained the fundraised amounts, saying that normally there were service level agreements, and donors could specify what they wanted. Most of the funders did not require funds in separate bank accounts.

He clarified the confusion over consultants. The NYDA needed to procure services that they were unable to provide. They were procuring a service, not consulting.

The finance and HR targets would be included in the APP going forward.

Mr Carrim apologized that the Programme 1: Administration, had not met the Committee’s expectations. The NYDA would go back and include all the missing pieces to present the information to the Committee. It was important for the NYDA to be honest and transparent about the issues they were facing.

While there was not a board, some decisions had been delegated to him, and he acts only within those delegations. There had been a challenge with the approval of financial statements, but after consulting the Auditor General, Mr. Carrim had approved them as he was advised.

Regarding business centres, he said there was a gap in the market for young people who wanted to start their own businesses. These centres were there to aid unemployed graduates to offer their services. Service delivery centres were split into branches. Centres were smaller than branches. The goal was to have a branch in every district.

Most donors specified how donor income should be used. The two main conditions were that all funds must comply with the PFMA, and the NYDA would not accept money that seeks to exploit young people. Each donation had its own terms as specified by the donors.

NSFAS uses the NYDA service centres to receive applications for higher education entrance. They sometimes use the outreach vehicles. It was a positive partnership for accessibility to higher education, but basic education needed to be assisted so higher education could improve. It might be helpful for the Committee to receive a presentation from the Department of Higher Education and Training in this regard.

The NYDA was doing its best to address the training backlog where it existed.

Mr Carrim referred to the one million social media followers. Beyond providing services, the NYDA also could be a positive social influence for young people, and social media was the fastest and most cost-effective way to influence them. He saw it as a medium to drive social change in the country.

Regarding private sector partnerships, the NYDA did not receive private sector funding. It links young entrepreneurs with businesses for market linkages and jobs -- it acts as a link between the young people and the private sector.

The gender target in the presentation was the goal the NYDA hoped to achieve, which was 50% parity in everything they did.

The strategic plan covered the five years from 2019 to 2024. Amendments were made, as the NYDA operated in a rapidly changing world. The NYDA revised strategies because circumstances changed. However, they would remain within the sixth administration framework.

The NYDA was an organisation that included all young people irrespective of political party, race, gender, sexuality, etc. He was confident and prepared to publish beneficiaries of the NYDA every quarter if needed, to dispel the myth that the NYDA served only one political party.

The drivers were allocated to entire divisions. They assisted with administrative tasks when they were not occupied in driving responsibilities.

The Chairperson sought further clarification on the drivers.

Mr Carrim said that they were both messengers and drivers. They were not full time, personal drivers.

The NYDA made as many follow ups as they could on grants with outstanding documents.

Majority of sponsorships were for young people who had historical debt.

It should take a young person no longer than 30 days to receive their grant. The declining of grants was done in a supportive way that provided feedback, so the young person may reapply.

Provincial projects were funded in relation to the statistics of that province, the NYDA’s capacity, prior applications received, and any current backlog. Some provinces wanted to run their own programmes.

With monitoring tools, the NYDA would present on their impact evaluations.

The NYDA does not fund the liquor industry. SAB wanted to do a lot to give back, so their programmes were aimed at social issues. They gave support for youth entrepreneurs, not in the liquor industry space.

The NYDA wanted to work with integrated plans. It was also applying recommendations from the previous Committee, such as free Wi-Fi.

National Treasury had imposed a ceiling on their compensation budget. It was 35% of their budget, and the NYDA intended to stay within the ceiling.

The NYDA would provide the Committee with details of the complaints they were receiving, and would present their specific disability services and programmes at the next meeting.

Mr Mtsweni said that by its very nature, one could not depoliticise youth development. Ever since the formation of the NYDA, the board and staff had been diverse in their political representation.

The NYDA would be a credible institution. Two years ago, it had only 15 centres in metropolitan areas. Today, it was present in many rural areas. Next year, all 54 districts should have an NYDA access site. Not all municipalities were effective in partnering with it.

He touched on the importance of social media because of the involvement of young people, and also referred to a programme called “Youth Against Drugs,” where the NYDA had been working on spreading awareness. However, there was a lack of support and advocacy for arts and culture in that sector.

He concluded by referring to the NYDA’s role in fighting unemployment. There were systemic challenges that it faced, and the job market was skewed against young people. It was advocating that entry-level jobs should not require previous experience.

The Chairperson asked the NYDA to respond to unanswered questions in writing. The answer about the drivers had not been satisfactory. She asked the Acting DG to look into that matter, and to act accordingly. She appreciated the commitment of the NYDA

Mr Mphithi commented that he appreciated some of the answers, but did not feel social media played a role in engaging young people. As a target, one million followers was not meaningful for the work the NYDA was trying to do. Targets should be measurable and meaningful.

The driver issue needed to be addressed. The NYDA may need to revisit the structure of the organisation. On political affiliations, he accepted the arguments that had been raised, but young people had a perception that the NYDA was politically biased, so it needed to deal with that public perception. It still needed to think more about its responsibility and role around youth unemployment.

Ms Masiko asked again about the provincial break down, and whether there was any form of priority given to the biggest provinces. She also asked about the consideration of population sizes for grant allocations and NYDA support.

The Chairperson reminded her that the provinces were vast.

She disagreed with the perception of the NYDA being politically biased, giving a personal example of a grant opportunity being denied. She referred to an issue involving the NYDA and disabled people, and a specific applicant whom she wanted the NYDA to meet..

Mr Mtsweni explained that specific circumstance. The NYDA had met with the applicant. He had discussed mechanics, and the NYDA hoped to expand a mechanic training programme.

Regarding the provincial breakdown, provinces provided money to be used specifically to support those communities. All money was accounted for and had a specific use, as outlined by the donor.

The Chairperson reminded the NYDA about correcting Programme 1.

Mr Carrim said that adjustments to the programme could be made quickly, but required Ministerial approval. They should not take longer than 30 days to approve.

The Deputy Minister said there should not be an issue in making the changes in a timely manner

The meeting was adjourned.

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