Hon Deputy Chair, in his 2011 state of the nation address, the President mentioned tourism as one of the major drivers of job creation. Given this, we had to assess the readiness of all stakeholders in this industry, which is mainly driven by the private sector. Among other things, the Portfolio Committee on Tourism convened a summit and invited major stakeholders in the industry: from the private sector, the public sector, academic institutions, relevant state departments, civic organisations and entrepreneurs from the disadvantaged communities, to discuss the performance of the sector and to create a platform that would enhance understanding of relationships in the industry.
The committee thus presents its recommendations that are intended to better support promotion of the sector in order to achieve an inclusive and accelerated growth in jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
This oversight was quite a revelation for all stakeholders. And as we closed and departed, every stakeholder was full of vim, verve and vigour. The industry was happy that it met, and it was revived and ready for a bright future.
For this, we sincerely thank the chairpersons of the following portfolio committees that participated in the summit: Sport and Recreation, Arts and Culture, Transport, and Home Affairs. The cherry on top was the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, who really set the tone for a very successful summit.
We humbly submit the report to this august House. I thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, hon Gumede. I now recognise ...
Chairperson, there's another report.
I thought they were together.
Chairperson, the beauty of the attractions of the North West is unquestionable. The people are wonderful, the wild life boasts some of the biggest elephants, and the scenery in some areas leaves one with a sense of harmony and balance.
However, there are a number of challenges, some of which are obstacles to the development of tourism. For instance, the N12 in some areas is beyond repair. The issue of equitable share appears to strangle provinces that are extensive, sparsely populated and that had large Bantustans when we had to labour under apartheid. Investment in infrastructure and investment in basic needs were not catered for.
We believe that their share should be in line with the deprivation they suffered under apartheid for them to meet their great challenges with regard to infrastructure and human resources. It seems that we did not take into account that there were provinces that were deprived by the Bantustan system that we had for a long time under apartheid.
The biggest challenge appears to be a lack of alignment between the three spheres of government. The recommendations we make are in response to the conditions of main roads in particular and the infrastructure, some of which has been allowed to decay.
The advantage of the province of the North West, however, is that people and entrepreneurs still have hope and still trust that the future will be better tomorrow than it was in the past.
We have pleasure in tabling this report on our oversight visit to the North West. We now come to Gauteng. The province is in an advantageous position in terms of its location and world-class infrastructure. We met with the provincial government and stakeholders in the private sector, and visited some of the attractions. We were of the view that some of the attractions like the Vaal were not adequately promoted as attractions and as experiences by SA Tourism.
We had an interaction with entrepreneurs from Soweto and they have raised their concerns, which are reflected in the report. Entrepreneurs in Ekurhuleni complained about frequent power failures and red tape that caused unnecessary delays by the municipality and that hindered the performance of their businesses.
There appears to be a confusion of roles between some local and district municipalities, poor support for small, medium and micro enterprises, nonalignment of training with industry needs, a shortage of electricity and delays in the issuing of transport operating permits. We believe that these are governance issues that the municipality and the province can attend to, as they have the required resources and capacities. The committee believes that an improvement in governance would eliminate many of the problems in the province.
There are common challenges that are listed in the report on the North West and Gauteng provinces. However, we believe that the basics, the background and the initial steps towards success are there, but we have to face the future with much more energy and better governance in Gauteng.
We have pleasure in tabling this report as the Portfolio Committee on Tourism. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Gumede, there's one more report outstanding: the one for the oversight visit to Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.
Thank you. I'm sorry, hon members and Chairperson. The aim of the committee was to have first-hand information about experiences, challenges and successes of the entrepreneurs in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and KwaLanga. This related to support for the small, medium and macro enterprises, SMMEs, job creation and whether there were relationships that promoted enterprise development.
Challenges were around transformation, destination promotion that excluded township tourism experiences, and tourism support structures, among other problems. The township's SMMEs did not have very effective representation as their level of organisation was poor.
We recommend better organisation of business in the townships, and improvement in government support and mentorship programmes, among other things. We believe that given their commitment to succeed, entrepreneurs stand a good chance of succeeding.
The committee intends to visit Manenberg and Mitchells Plain soon for the same reasons because of their proximity to Parliament and because of the same experiences they share with Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and KwaLanga. It is also easy to organise study tours to these areas because of their proximity to Parliament, whereas they give us experiences that are similar to many other townships.
Experiences in the townships are different, but need more support from municipalities who often see tourism development as not being as urgent as providing for basic needs. But we should all remember that job creation is now priority number one. The tourism sector is one of the primary job drivers, as stated by the President in the state of the nation address earlier this year.
We therefore humbly table this report before this august House, Chairperson. We thank you for the opportunity to present this report. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Chairperson, I move:
That the reports be adopted. Motion agreed to.
Report on Tourism Summit from 28 February to 1 March 2011 accordingly adopted.
Report on Oversight Visit to North West and Gauteng from 25 July to 5 August 2011 accordingly adopted.
Report on Oversight Visit to Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and KwaLanga small business establishments, dated 8 November 2011, accordingly adopted.