Hon Speaker, the executive understands that questions by Members of Parliament is one of the important tools through which to hold the executive accountable. It is in that spirit of understanding that at the beginning of this year the President indicated his availability to respond to questions in the National Assembly on 13 March 2014. His office, however, was then informed that 13 March 2014 was unsuitable due to Parliament having scheduled a Joint Sitting on that day. So, no alternative date has as yet been proposed by Parliament to the President for him to answer questions in the National Assembly. Thank you.
Mr Speaker, I thank the hon Deputy President for his usual gracious response. But the question does remain as to why President Zuma has been hiding in the Union Buildings and avoids addressing representatives of the people assembled here on issues of compelling national importance, such as the high level of unemployment facing young people, sluggish economic and job growth and the sickening levels of corruption in our land, including the scandalous example of Nkandla.
The Constitution obliges ... [Interjections.]
Excuse me, hon James, there seems to be a point of something there. What point are you rising on, sir?
Speaker, yes, indeed, it is a point of order. I just wanted to find out whether it is parliamentary for the hon member to use the words, "The President is hiding at the Union Buildings." Is that parliamentary? If not, may we request the hon member to withdraw that comment? Thank you.
The Constitution obliges the hon Deputy President to "assist the President in the executive functions of government". The question is, what are you doing, hon Deputy President, to bring the President out of hiding in order to face the music about the embarrassing personal example he is setting? I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, I think I have responded to the question that hon James has posed. The President made himself available and it's really Parliament that wasn't available to listen to the President. So, as soon as this House is ready to listen to the President, a date should then be set. The President is always available and ready to respond to questions. [Interjections.] He was here a week or two weeks ago and he responded to questions. In terms of Rule 111, the President is expected to answer questions at least once each term of each session. And so, he made arrangements, but Parliament indicated that it was already engaged on 13 March. I don't know what more we can do. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, hon Deputy President, for confirming that the President is available to answer questions, especially when he is included in the programme.
Speaker, mine is a follow-up question. On 23 November, the Deputy President advised Parliament, as he has done on a number of occasions in the House, that sometimes the information that is being asked about from the executive is freely available in annual reports or documents that are already before this House. Further to that, you indicated that the Cabinet is always committed to meeting its constitutional requirements of accountability to Parliament.
In the light of the above statement, can the hon the Deputy President indicate whether the question by the Leader of the Opposition is not rather frivolous in that the information that she required is available in other documents before the House, especially because her party is represented in the committees of this Parliament and the information is well known? [Interjections.]
Order, hon members, order!
Hon Speaker, with regard to the specific question, it is the right of members to pose questions and our duty is to respond to them. If the question is irrelevant, we will respond accordingly. But we do understand, accept and respect the right of members to pose questions. As I said, questions are a tool for holding members of the executive accountable. Thank you.
Hon Speaker, the Deputy President, as the Leader of Government Business, has to consult with the Speaker with regard to programming in Parliament. I would like to ask the Deputy President whether he would consider a special sitting in April? We are racing towards the end of the Parliamentary programme next week and that is why the President could not be accommodated, and I accept that explanation.
However, as the Leader of Government Business in consultation with the Speaker, would the hon the Deputy President consider looking at the President's diary and setting up a date for him to come and answer questions before 7 May? [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, given the load of legislation that still has to be considered by the House, we would rather have the Houses focus on that most important work. However, because I am aware that there is a fair amount of legislation sitting with the NCOP, it may necessitate that the House be convened for a special sitting day next month. Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, I rise in accordance with Rule 113(4), which says there can be four supplementary questions to every question. We have only had three. The hon James has pressed his button for a further question. Thank you.
I don't know whether he has pressed his button, but you are not hon James. Let him speak for himself. [Interjections.] Order, hon members! Hon James, you look surprised that you are being volunteered. [Laughter.]
Speaker, it is of the greatest importance that the President addresses this Assembly before the end of this particular term. Therefore, following my colleague, I ask again whether the Deputy President will in fact make a very special effort to communicate with the Speaker to see whether there can be a match in their diaries. I thank you.
Hon Deputy President, as this question is the same as the second supplementary question, it is up to you to decide whether you want to respond.
Hon Speaker, I don't think there will be any harm in approaching the Speaker with regard to the request. We will do so. Thank you.
Order, hon members, order!
Government's intentions regarding introduction of Executive Members' Ethics Amendment Bill
3. Mrs J D Kilian (Cope) asked the Deputy President:
With reference to his reply to question 11 on 21 August 2013 informing the National Assembly that final adjustments to the draft Executive Members' Ethics Amendment Bill were to be finalised by the relevant Cabinet Committee in September 2013 before it will be introduced in the National Assembly soon thereafter, can he inform the National Assembly (a) why this has not happened and (b) whether the Government intends to implement the recommendations of the Public Protector in view of her finding that the Act lacked punitive measures to be applied to members of the executive who transgressed the Executive Ethics Code? NO248E
Hon members, we have previously reported on the processes that Cabinet has undertaken in discussing the matter of amendments to the Executive Members' Ethics Code. Cabinet has had numerous discussions on this matter. I can now report that on 4 December 2013, Cabinet approved the amendments to the Executive Members' Ethics Code. And, as indicated in our response on 21 August 2013 to hon Kilian, the amended Executive Members' Ethics Code was then referred to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development as the lead department to then embark on its internal processes. As soon as those are completed, the code will be submitted to Parliament. Thank you.
Speaker, we thank the hon Deputy President for his response but we have to say that we regret the delay in the processing of this amending Bill. This goes to the heart of our constitutional foundation and founding principles, which is to establish an accountable and responsive government.
Last August, we heard that this process was under way and we are now happy to know that the Deputy President reported that it was tabled and adopted by Cabinet. As we all know, we are moving towards an election and after the elections there will, in all probability, be a new Cabinet which will then want to review it. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has certainly not moved on this, for four years now, since the tabling of the Public Protector report, and that is simply not good enough. Her report was tabled in 2010. She identified the weakness and also said that the gap should be closed for executive members.
Speaker, until the political leadership of our country demonstrates zero tolerance to corruption, poor communities in our country will continue to suffer and South Africa will continue to go down on the corruption barometer, in the eyes of the international community. I thank you.
Speaker, as I said, Cabinet did approve the amendments, and the process is now with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development. As soon as they are done with their internal processes the code will definitely be submitted to Parliament.
Speaker, in terms of the follow-up questions asked by the opposition it is quite clear and noticeable that the role of the Deputy President as the leader of Government Business is not clearly understood. It could quite quickly be reduced to managing the diary. Can the Deputy President reiterate and explain the role of the Leader of Government Business, so that we don't have this kind of confusion again?
My role really is defined in the Rules of Parliament. So, I am the link between the executive and Parliament. I am quite happy to play that role of being the link between the executive and Parliament. That is really my role here. Thanks.
Mr Speaker, taking note of the hon Deputy President's response to the question posed about the government's intention regarding the recommendations by the Public Protector, I want to ask the Deputy President whether he will distance government from the immature, premature and grossly inappropriate attack launched by the hon Chief Whip Stone Sizani. It was an attack on the Public Protector's findings, which were, to repeat, that the Act lacked punitive measures that must be applied to members of the executive who transgress the Executive Members' Ethics Code - a fact that the Deputy President in fact acknowledged on 21 October 2013.
This was clearly a brazen effort on the part of the hon Stone Sizani to hamper and prevent Parliament from doing its duty in holding the executive to account. The hon Deputy President's view on this subject should be made crystal clear in this House. I thank you.
My view on this matter is very clear: that we as the executive submit to the oversight of Parliament. I speak on authority that it is the view of the Chief Whip of the Majority Party as well. Thank you.
Mr Speaker, Deputy President, the fact that this matter has been delayed for four years raises implications. Why, really? Is it because the executive wants to protect themselves, or what? It raises very suspicious questions and I want to tell you, Mr Deputy President, through you, Mr Speaker, that this is a bad story of the ANC.
Well, I think the fact that it has taken this long to submit the code to Parliament is regrettable. We cannot fudge that part of it, but that is how long democratic processes take. Cabinet had to discuss and debate it and eventually, those discussions were concluded on 4 December last year. So, we have gone past the major hurdle and now we are very close to the tape, as it were. Thank you.
Particulars regarding Government's strategy and actions to tackle youth unemployment
4. Mr K B Manamela (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
While the Government is prioritising the need for urgent action to get more young people into the labour market by creating incentives for absorbing the young unemployed to ensure that unskilled job seekers can gain entry into employment more easily and whereas the Government also acknowledges that, with regard to youth employment and the labour market, programmes should seek primarily to train the youth in developing skills required by the economy and give them the experience to access the formal economy, (a) what is the Government's multipronged strategy to tackle youth unemployment as one of its priorities, (b) what urgent action and extra-ordinary measures have already been initiated that contribute to this and (c) what has been the impact of these measures thus far? NO247E
Hon Speaker, the Youth Employment Accord is a good summary of the multipronged strategy on youth employment. It identifies six key areas of support for youth employment, and they are the following: firstly, improving education and training opportunities so that we provide the basis for lifelong employability; secondly, work exposure through job placement schemes and internships to provide young people with their first experience of working life; thirdly, youth targets set aside in particular industries, especially in growing industries such as public infrastructure, construction, the green economy and business process services so that these become youth centred industries; fourthly, large-scale youth brigades in the context of existing public employment schemes to integrate many efforts of government and to provide the bridge between unemployment and permanent employment; fifthly, increased support for youth entrepreneurship and youth co-operatives to empower youth to run enterprises and create jobs; and lastly, work with the private sector to expand the intake of young people so that the responsibility to ensure that we use the talent of young people is carried by both the private and public sectors.
Given time constraints, I can only provide some examples of progress against our commitment in the accord. I draw attention to the Presidential Youth Indaba that was held over the weekend, where a more detailed and comprehensive report on progress was given. The first two pillars, education and training, with stronger job placement and internships, are central to government's overall programme of investment in our young people.
It is only possible to mention some highlights. To start with, the new White Paper on Higher Education and Training and Further Education and Training promises to more than double the number of young people in the further education and training, FET, colleges and universities over the coming 15 years, as well as strengthening lifelong learning through new community colleges.
Over the past two years, accommodation for more than 4 200 students has been completed at universities. Two new universities and 12 new campuses for the FET colleges are under construction, making it the biggest new university and FET college building programme in the past 30 years.
In line with education and skills support, government is forging closer ties between enterprises, especially state-owned companies and the education and training system. To give just one example, Transnet has acquired R175 million from the National Skills Fund to train an additional 1 000 artisan trainees for the national pool over three years, starting in October last year.
I have been informed by the Department of Economic Development, which is tasked with the responsibility to monitor youth employment trends, that in terms of enterprise development, in April 2013 the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, set aside R1 billion for youth entrepreneurship programmes. As of December 2013, the total cumulative financing for youth- owned enterprises by the IDC came to R67 million in that financial year.
The Small Enterprise Finance Agency Sefa, allocated R1,7 billion for youth entrepreneurs. Funding for youth-linked projects worth R126 million has been dispersed by Sefa through its agencies. Both the IDC and Sefa are now working closely with the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, to publicise the fund among young people. For the period from April to September, the NYDA spent R21,8 million on its youth enterprise projects, benefiting about 16 000 young people.
Specific examples are provinces such as Gauteng, which procured goods and services worth over R425 million from youth enterprises, impacting on a total of 5 105 youths as of June. Mpumalanga spent R1,4 million to support five co-operatives with 1 300 members. The Eastern Cape provided R24 million to 129 small and medium enterprises, SMEs, and trained 34 throughout to the end of 2013.
With regard to set-asides for youth in fast growing industries, the Minister of Trade and Industry recently issued a directive to the Business Process Services Sector to ensure that 80% of jobs will go to the youth in the future. The Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, PICC, survey of 20 major projects recorded over 43 000 youth jobs with over 15 000 employed in Kusile and Medupi alone. Youth brigades will build on existing public ... [Time expired.]
Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Deputy President for such a comprehensive ...
Sorry, hon members, is hon Manamela in the House?
No.
Okay, proceed hon member.
Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Deputy President for such a comprehensive response with regard to the question. There is a general perception, created by the opposition parties, that government has not done much in relation to job creation for the youth. Given your comprehensive response to the programmes that government had put in place to address youth unemployment, it shows that much has been done. Can you, in your response, address this perception? Secondly, we are made to believe that government programmes such as the Expanded Public Works Programme, National Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec, youth brigades and the Community Work Programme, are not sustainable and are merely an election ploy by the government. Would you address this perception and demystify the myth that has been created, especially by the opposition parties? Thank you.
Hon Speaker, hon members, yes indeed, government is trying its best to address the very burning problem of youth unemployment. We employ a multipronged strategy whereby, if possible or applicable, education is treated as the best way of empowering young people. The government tries to ensure that it absorbs those who need to be in permanent jobs through these interventions. But, of course, the private sector also has to be roped in because job creation is the responsibility of both the private and public sectors. So, if there is a perception that government is sitting on its collective hands, that is not true. Government has indeed rolled up its sleeves to try and create these opportunities, and will continue to do so. Thank you.
Hon Rabotapi, you are next.
Hon Speaker, if you would allow me, let me take another look at those five main promises from government in the Youth Employment Accord. The first one is to create work exposure for young South Africans. There has actually been some achievement, but it happened in a programme that doesn't appear in the youth accord, the youth wage subsidy, something that hon Manamela said that he is firmly opposed to. Perhaps that's why he is not in the House. The 56 000 beneficiaries in the youth wage subsidy are a drop in the ocean when you consider the 218 000 young people who became unemployed while the ANC was fighting about the youth wage subsidy.
In the second area, education and training, the Deputy President said nothing about the fact that 20 out of the 50 FET colleges and eight out of 21 sector education and training authorities, SETAs, had to be placed under administration in the past three years.
The last three proposals are interventionist, distortionary and entirely inconsistent with the National Development Plan, NDP, and that is the youth brigades, youth target set-asides and youth co-operatives. It is probably a good thing that there hasn't been any implementation with regard to these three. Will the Deputy President accept that the Economic Development department, EDD, has now released six accords that have not created a single job and that the Youth Employment Accord has been a complete failure? Thank you.
Hon Speaker, in response to hon Harris, I would say: No, the Youth Employment Accord has not been a failure. As I said, even at the youth summit over the weekend, a progress report was presented. Young people have embraced the Youth Employment Accord and they are using it as a platform for accessing these opportunities. So, I would not say it has failed because truly the unemployment of young people is a very serious problem, and whatever we can do to reduce it - to nibble at it - we should be encouraged to do that. I am sure that the economy is going to grow at a much higher rate so that we succeed in creating more permanent job opportunities.
There are a whole lot of new vistas in terms of giving impetus to the economy. If we look at the coastline, we can create a massive marine industry. We can also look at the importance of the gas and oil industry, which could create huge numbers of new jobs and make energy affordable, and therefore unlock businesses that may appear to be on the margins today to begin to grow once the energy problems of the country are resolved. There are very good prospects in that regard. We are, in fact, a well-endowed country, even with regard to gas and oil. Thank you.