Deputy Speaker, the strike at Walter Sisulu University, WSU, lasted seven weeks. As at September 2013, 1 800 university staff members have been on strike for 34 working days which equates to 61 200 man days. Let me take this opportunity and apologise to the nation and, in particular, to the students who have lost valuable academic time during this period. Last month I led a delegation on behalf of the Ministry comprising the director-general and senior officials from the university education branch in the department to engage with unions and student leaders in our quest to resolve the impasse. The bulk of our officials' pre-occupation over the last two months has been on finding solutions so that learning can be restored at the university.
I must also add that if WSU was a business, it would simply have been liquidated and closed down given its financial status but, given the fact that this is an educational institution of national importance, the government has agreed to rather fight for its existence and support it to turnaround and become sustainable.
On 6 September 2013, the university management and labour movements, National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, Nehawu, and National Tertiary Education Union, Nteu, agreed in principle to end the labour impasse. On Monday the lockout applied by the WSU management after the labour unions declared the strike on 23 July 2013 was lifted. Management informed all the students that the lockout would be lifted on Monday, 9 September 2013. Yesterday classes resumed and I have spoken to the administrator this morning, Professor Van Staden, and he has confirmed that learning has resumed.
A catch-up plan has been developed that includes the realignment of the academic calendar as approved by the senate to ensure that all lost work is recovered, and that a programme is implemented to assist students to successfully complete the 2013 academic year. This brings to an end the protracted industrial action which led to the loss of 32 academic days and affected 24 613 students. Once again we regret that such industrial action lasted for so long, but we remain committed to the cause of ensuring that WSU becomes financially stable and academically viable. This also entails that stakeholders pull together to ensure that the core business of learning is sustained. Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker.
Deputy Minister, today I would like to ask you, just like the more than 20 000 students at Walter Sisulu University asked: Where is the Minister? The students have been asking this question for almost eight weeks.
Mr Deputy Minister, the problem we have is that the unions on campus have been contributing to this problem - this protracted action - to the extent that students have been prevented from entering classrooms, and lecturers who actually wanted to go back to teaching were intimidated so that they couldn't do that.
The problem, however, Deputy Minister, is that while there is a catch-up plan, these are some of the most vulnerable students that we have in this country and that they now have to endure double work is unfair. I do understand that you apologised, but Deputy Minister, this whole time the Minister was quiet. I would like to ask: Where is the Minister? [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Deputy Speaker, I alluded to the fact that I led a delegation of senior officials to the institution to engage with the stakeholders on behalf of the Ministry. [Interjections.] Now, the Minister is not hiding at all and that is why he sent me to engage with the stakeholders. We do believe that this has assisted ... [Interjections.]
Hon members, order, please. This is not a place where you can shout.
Of course the consultation process took longer than we had anticipated but indeed we have come thus far and we are happy that learning and teaching has been restored in the university. We agree with Prof Lotriet that this was rather unfortunate and unfair to the students, and hence I have apologised to both the students and the nation. Thank you very much.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I welcome the response by the Deputy Minister. Obviously the major challenge is that education for the black child in South Africa continues to be a difficult thing for them to achieve under the circumstances which we have seen. There are, of course, financial implications in terms of which students have to now fork out in order for them to be fully part and parcel of the catch-up programme, and the majority of them receive financial assistance.
Are there interventions that the department would be instituting to ensure that students are able to fully participate in the catch-up programme in order for them to make up for the lost time so that, whatever happens, they are not compromised or prejudiced by the circumstances in which they find themselves because of politicised unions? Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I alluded to the fact that there is a programme that will be implemented to assist students to successfully complete the 2013 academic year. Indeed, the management has informed us and has presented to us a full implementation plan on how they would work out the catch-up plan. I am also told that they have all agreed, including the student leaders on behalf of the students, that they will sacrifice some of the weekends and the September holidays so that they can catch up.
Therefore, there is an implementation plan and we have welcomed it as the department and we will continue to assist the university to ensure that this plan is fully implemented. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker and hon Deputy Minister, I think we should all agree that the WSU experience was very bad for all of us and I think we need to appreciate your apology.
You have also indicated that if the university was a private sector entity, it would have been liquidated. Could you share with us how far the department has bent over backwards to try to assist the university? I understand there was even a time when it was almost unable to pay salaries, and the government had to come to its rescue. I am also told that other historically disadvantaged institutions are saying that it seems the department is showing preferential treatment towards WSU. Can you please comment on this?
Deputy Speaker, indeed the department has been assisting the university. In fact, thus far we have given the university about R858 million - close to a billion - which is over and above the subsidy allocation and grants provided for in terms of the funding framework.
The hon member is correct that, for instance, the University of Zululand and the University of Venda have been questioning why we are giving Walter Sisulu University preferential treatment because they are also facing similar challenges.
Given the exorbitant amounts of money that we have given to WSU, at some point, as a department, we had to consult the National Treasury for guidance and they were very clear that we would not be in a position to give WSU this money. That is why we started engaging in a process of speaking to all the stakeholders and painting the full picture of the financial situation of the institution and how we can go forward.
We have really attempted to help by giving them close to a billion rand, which is over and above the subsidy allocation and grants that are actually given to institutions in terms of the funding framework. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker, my question to the Deputy Minister is that Minister Collins Chabane, the Minister in the Presidency, was also mandated to resolve these financial and strike-related problems at Walter Sisulu University even though the university falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Higher Education and Training. Who is the responsible Minister? Is it Minister Chabane or is it Minister Blade Nzimande? Should Minister Nzimande not have resolved the situation or is he perhaps afraid to act against the trade unions?
My question, Deputy Minister, is whether this government continues to kowtow to the ANC affiliated unions to the detriment of the students of South Africa. Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I think hon Bosman is confusing issues. The decision of the President to appoint Minister Chabane was merely to reinforce us in the work that we had already been doing in terms of engaging stakeholders in our final attempt to find solutions to the challenges that resulted in the strike. We do appreciate the intervention of the President because, by putting more heads together, we were able to resolve the impasse and we have come to this end.
To date, learning and teaching, as I have already alluded, has been restored based on the fact that there were now more people coming from different angles to try and help us resolve the impasse. Therefore, it was not a matter of the Minister being absent.
We were consulted, as the Ministry, on the decision of the President to appoint Minister Chabane and he has assisted us a great deal. We appreciate all these efforts because the issue of WSU was becoming a problem for all of us and the President could not sit back, considering the fact that some Members of Parliament and chiefs had already written to the President requesting his intervention. Thank you very much.
Reconciliation of differing statements on annual production of new artisans
291. Mr B M Bhanga (Cope) asked the Minister of Higher Education and Training:
How does he reconcile his reply to oral question 39 on 22 June 2011 with the pronouncement of his Deputy Minister in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape on 22 August 2013 that only 1 400 new artisans were produced each year? NO2829E
Deputy Speaker, I have been delegated to lead the country's artisan's advocacy campaign. As part of the national roll-out of the 2013 Year of the Artisan programme, I hosted a breakfast meeting with Life Orientation teachers from the Idutywa and Butterworth districts in the Eastern Cape on 22 August 2013 to start a formal conversation with these teachers on the importance of artisan development in the country.
On this occasion I outlined that the National Development Plan, NDP, requires that by 2030 we produce at least 30 000 qualified artisans per year. Currently, we, as an economy, have been producing, over the last five years, an average of 14 000 qualified artisans per year. By this, I was simply demonstrating to the Life Orientation educators the need to double our output over the next 17 years.
Now, being a champion of this important campaign that speaks to both the employment prospects of our youth and economic sustainability of our country, I could not have said 1 400 because I deal with these specific matters on a daily basis. The hon member was clearly not present at this event because I could have acknowledged him. However, I wish to invite him to future events so that his line of questioning, which I gladly accept, could be in sync with the facts. This will help the hon member to not rely on hearsay because I'm certain that I was misquoted by whoever was present on his behalf. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, it is very clear that the ANC's targets are very low. The previous government had even more artisans. However, the question that I want to ask is whether we will reach the targets as defined by the National Development Plan. Furthermore, given the capacity of further education and training institutions, will you be able to deliver what government is targeting?
The worst part is that the FETs are not necessarily focusing on producing these artisans. In the main, the majority of students who have enrolled in FETs are doing social sciences. I am happy about your announcement today as you have made it clear to the nation that there is a possibility that the ANC might close Walter Sisulu University, WSU. That is why Blade Ndzimande is busy with the Vavi case rather than WSU.
Hhayi-ke Nqapha, usuhlangahlanganisa izinto. [Uhleko.] [Oh well, Nqapha, you've got it all mixed up. [Laughter.]]
Hon Deputy Speaker, indeed we will reach the target and that is why, amongst other things that we have embarked upon as a department, there is the declaration of 2013 as the year of the artisan. Now, this is an advocacy campaign that I'm leading. That is why I am visiting different schools to try and encourage young people to consider taking up careers involving technical and artisanal skills.
Now, this being said, we are working on a plan to declare 2014 to 2024 as the decade of the artisan. Again, these are all our attempts to try and increase the production of artisans in the country. So, as I have said, at this very event where I was misquoted, I was engaging Life Orientation teachers, speaking to them because they obviously have a role to play as they give career counselling to the learners at basic education level. I was engaging them, having a formal conversation with them and this is an ongoing conversation with these teachers. I'll be visiting all the provinces in the next couple of months before my term comes to an end. I am sure that all these attempts and efforts will surely double the outputs and we will meet the target.
Suffice it to say, we have turned the tide. We have changed the face of our FET colleges. Our FET colleges are now institutions that are much more attractive to our young people. We have been making a clarion call for turning our FET colleges into institutions of first choice. If you look at the enrolments in the FET sector, they have doubled in this academic year. It means we are getting the message across. It means more young people are realising that they have to consider taking up careers in these skills areas. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, Mr Deputy Minister, I heard you say that this year is the year of the artisan, and that is a very good thing. However, if you look at the reply that I have just received today, FET colleges that are under administration are increasing in number, from three in 2011 to nine this year.
Furthermore, in the portfolio committee this morning we heard that instead of a target of 2 000 artisans being reached for a quarter, only 1 400 have been trained. Could you please explain that?
Deputy Speaker, we would not be engaging or embarking on these extensive campaigns if all was well. That is why, given the target that has been set of 30 000 artisans per annum by 2030, we have started embarking on these advocacy campaigns. This includes declaring 2013 as the year of the artisan. The reason why I am crisscrossing the country, going to the different schools, is to encourage young people to consider taking up careers using these skills. Of course, what we are getting when we arrive at these schools, Prof Lotriet, through you Deputy Speaker, is that young people are not aware of these kinds of professions or the kinds of skills we are telling them about. It means we must intensify the campaign. We must disseminate as much information as possible to the rural areas and to schools - high schools in particular - because those are the learners who must still make decisions and considerations about the careers that they wish to pursue.
Therefore, I am saying, Prof Lotriet, you are correct that the numbers may be low but with the efforts, strides and all these advocacy campaigns that we have embarked upon, we are clearly turning the tide. We hope that at least by 2030 we would have met the target if not before. Hence, I am even saying here - without having made a public pronouncement on the issue of the decade of the artisan, which is 2014 to 2024 - this again is another programme that will help us get the message across. Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I think the Deputy Minister has been able to answer the misquotation by my friend, hon Bhanga, on the number that the department intends to achieve with regard to artisan development. The point I would like to raise in this regard is that the department, as part of the artisans' advocacy campaign, must rally the state-owned companies and other public entities to contribute to artisan development in the country if we are to achieve our goal of 30 000 artisans in terms of the National Development Plan. Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, the Green Paper on post-school education and training and the National Skills Development Strategy 3, NSDS3, in fact, encourages state-owned enterprises to co-operate with our institutions, particularly our FET colleges, in our final attempt to try and increase the production of artisans in the country.
I must also say that I am working very closely with the Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises, Deputy Minister Magwanishe, and we have been visiting colleges, donating equipment from their entities, Transnet and Eskom. Just last month, the Minister of Public Enterprises and I donated equipment at the Vhembe FET College and again at the Ekurhuleni West FET College. So, we are working very closely, hon Malale, with the Department of Public Enterprises and with state-owned enterprises in line with the provisions of the Green Paper on post-school education and the NSDS3. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Mileham.
Hon Madam, hon Mileham's button is on the corner there. I don't know if someone else pressed it.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay, it means no one else wants to ask a question.
Particulars regarding improved life expectancy and increased number of health professionals in South Africa
246. Dr M B Goqwana (ANC) asked the Minister of Health:
(a) How is he planning to increase the number of health professionals in South Africa to meet the population's needs in light of an improved life expectancy and (b) what factors contribute to this improved life expectancy? NO2726E
Hon Deputy Speaker, the Department of Health continues to make a case to increase the production of health professionals and has engaged with various stakeholders, including the deans of health sciences faculties, on the issue. The deans have supported the call to increase the intake of medical students. In 2012, five universities expanded their intake by 220 students and in 2013, seven universities expanded their intake by an overall 327 medical students.
South Africa also signed a memorandum of understanding, MOU, with Cuba in 1997. We are also very happy to say that we have increased the training of students in Cuba from 80 in 2011 to 995 in 2012.
In collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, the health sector also facilitates the recruitment of foreign health professionals through government-to-government agreements, with the purpose of providing health services in different underserved areas in South Africa.
Currently, health professionals from Cuba, Iran and Tunisia are employed in the public health system, over and above those that come directly from various European and other countries.
The department is currently employing a systematic means of engaging the services of independent general practitioners, especially in the rural and remote areas, and also in townships, to provide health services in public facilities as part of the implementation of the National Health Insurance.
The department has also prioritised the refurbishment of a number of training institutions to enhance and increase the production capacity of these institutions, as they are teaching platforms.
Plans are under way for the development of a new tertiary institution, especially in Polokwane, and to strengthen the Medical University of Southern Africa, Medunsa, as a new health sciences faculty.
In terms of whether these factors will improve the life expectancy of South Africans, indeed, we are continuously encouraged that South Africans have adopted good, healthy habits through regular, healthy lifestyles. We are also encouraged that some of the medical aids have used very innovative ways to promote this. However, we continue to call on South Africans to look at promoting physical exercise and health education, to limit alcohol use, to stop smoking, to ensure good nutrition and to reduce salt in food products.
All these initiatives will ensure that while we increase the number of health professionals, we limit the service to South Africans who have those diseases that are preventable.
We are happy that the life expectancy of South Africans has increased over the years and we are well poised, working with all, to achieve the NDP goal of a minimum of 70 years of life expectancy. I thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, when the research concerning the increase in life expectancy was published, all of us became very excited and happy. Now we have learned that there is a shortage of consumables in Limpopo and, as a result, everything gets reused. We have just been told that patients are sleeping on the floor in Mpumalanga because the department has not paid the service provider, and the service provider has refused to open the wards for which the department has not paid. I just want to check whether the Minister and his department have intervened in these two cases. If they have intervened, what is the progress regarding the intervention in the two provinces?
Hon Deputy Speaker, I don't know what connection the question has with the primary question, save to say that we are working with the Minister and the department. We are in constant, if not daily, interaction with the MECs for health in various provinces. I can also announce that we will meet with the MEC for health in the Western Cape tomorrow to intervene in Gugulethu. If we are made aware of those problems, we will certainly also intervene. We are continuously responding to health systems. What is also important is that we have put in place a national monitoring mechanism to look at receiving early warnings of any challenges. Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Goqwana is not around. I have to make a follow-up. I am Ms Segale-Diswai.
The training and education of health professionals play a major role in prolonging life expectancy. However, the retention of these skills is equally important. When health professionals are trained, how then does the department intend to ensure that these skills are not lost but retained?
Hon Deputy Speaker, there are many initiatives that we have employed for the retention of health professionals. One of them is to strengthen the professionalisation of clinical services so that the doctors and nurses do not opt for management careers to deal with the issue of income progression. In this regard, we have introduced the occupation-specific dispensation, OSD, with quite successful results and we are busy revising and reviewing this intervention.
The second issue is that we have also introduced community service for doctors and we are extending this to other professionals as well.
Lastly, I want to say that there are bursaries available for the training of doctors in the Cuban training programme as well as for others in the South African medical schools in those specific provinces, so that the graduates commit themselves to go and service the needy and remote areas in those particular provinces.
Those are some of the initiatives that have been employed to retain these health professionals. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, we have set millennium goals for 2015 and we are just over one year away from 2015. The under-five and infant mortality goals are 20 and 18 deaths per 1 000 births, respectively. Government, in the National Service Delivery Agreement, set a target of 50 and 36 deaths respectively for 2014. Government aimed low and is hitting the mark.
The maternal mortality goal is 38 deaths per 100 000 lives and the last full statistics show that we have increased from 310 to 333 deaths. We are set to miss all these strict and crucial goals. Irrespective of all the initiatives we have just mentioned today, the reality on the ground is that there are clinics and hospitals with a shortage of medical professionals on a daily basis. Has the Minister's delay in increasing the number of health professionals not contributed to these particular failures that I have just mentioned?
Deputy Speaker, the under-five mortality and the maternal mortality rates in South Africa are on a decline. That has contributed to the increased life expectancy. Yes, indeed, we are less than 1 000 days to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. With the interventions that we are implementing and the downward trend that we are experiencing in child and maternal deaths, we are sparing no effort to achieve the targets we have set for ourselves. So, 2015 has not yet come. We still have many months ahead of us and we will spare no effort to move towards that.
For example, in the Free State province, in just one year, the maternal mortality rate plummeted by 43%. So, we have not given up on ourselves. Yes, we started at very high levels of maternal and child mortalities but we are still on track to move towards achieving those targets. We will count our success finally when we have arrived. Thank you. [Applause.]
Steps to deal with housing backlog and reduce amount spent on rectification processes
265. Mr K P Sithole (IFP) asked the Minister of Human Settlements:
What steps is her department taking to (a) ensure that the backlog of houses is dealt with as soon as possible and (b) reduce the amount of money spent on instituting rectification processes by ensuring that contractors (i) do not take shortcuts when building houses and (ii) who provide shoddy work pay for the rectification themselves?