Some of the challenges that we picked up as we were conducting oversight are the issues of infrastructure. [Interjections.] There are beautiful schools that are built but without a maintenance budget and creates a huge problem because those schools are not going to be sustained for long. Whenever a capital project is erected, it has to go together with the maintenance budget and I think that the Department of Education should actually take note of that.
When we visited the Morris Isaacson High School, it is a beautiful high school but one wondered how long that school is going to be sustained if there is no maintenance budget. The spatial classrooms
are of critical importance. We actually went into one of the classrooms, a virtual classroom. It is beautiful but the question is how long is it going to be sustained if there is no money put aside to maintain it? With libraries, the Department of Education is promoting reading. It is a huge campaign that they are running but in that library that we visited there were no books. These are the issues where we are saying that the Department of Basic Education should actually roll their sleeves and begin to address this. The issue of safety in schools is a very painful kind of topic because we can count numbers and numbers of teachers, of learners that have killed themselves within the school premises. I mean this in all the other provinces - I am not only referring to Gauteng - we can count the teachers that have been shot dead in full view of learners in the classrooms because of a lack of safety. So, it is very important.
When we went to Diepsloot Secondary School, that school is actually built next to the taxi rank. Can you imagine? When there are protests by the taxi owners, they affect learning in the institution which means whenever we plan our infrastructure or any other site for whatever; we must take cognisance of the fact that if it has got a negative impact or there is a potential negative impact it should
not be built close to the institution. The issue of taverns next to institutions are actually killing our nation.
These are the issues that we need to take into account as we plan our infrastructure for our schools. And one other issue that we picked up, in Diepsloot again, is the issue of the Post-Provisioning Norm, PPN, where teachers are in limbo, they do not if they are in that institution or they are supposed to go to another institution. [Time expired.] It is a huge problem that would need the attention of Basic Education. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Mr G KGANYAGO (LIMPOPO: CHAIRPERSON of PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE on
EDUCATION): Hon Chairperson, hon members, greetings to you all, during the month of November 2019, the NCOP invited delegates from provinces including we, as the Limpopo province to partake in the Taking Parliament to the People Programme. The significance of this exercise lies not only in oversight work and learning best practices from one another as provinces but, more importantly to affirm the activist character of our democratic state. A state and government that is firmly placed in the hands of and entrenched among the people of South Africa.
This exercise is a continuation of a tradition that is deeply rooted in indigenous African philosophy of governance based on consultation in key decision making processes. In other words, the people shall govern and the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of South Africa states so.
Hon Chairperson, taking Parliament to the people is an important mechanism in fast-tracking service delivery to our communities in that, where they are service delivery backlogs affecting vulnerable communities and citizens who their socio-economic needs are to take longer to address in some instances, the NCOP Taking Parliament to the People Programme come in handy as an intervention mechanism. The enthusiastic participation of the communities who came to the public hearing on the last day is a validation of how important taking Parliament to the people is. Thus, affirming, like we said, not only the developmental character of the state and government but also its activists character.
The challenge of migration and its inevitable link to access to socio- economic opportunities and services is one that not only does it require integrated and interprovincial co-operation but so also a forward planning an initiative by provinces that are point of origin for migrants.
Having understood what the causal factors of migration are, the Limpopo province following on the clarion call by the hon President of the Republic Mr C M Ramaphosa, has embarked on a massive investment drive to grow our economy. Currently, the process for the establishment of special economic zones in Musina and Tubatse is on course. With an estimated investment attraction of R150 billion in the special economic zones, the province envisaged that through this over 21 thousand permanent jobs will be created.
Access to various forms of economic opportunities in the special economic zones forms part of the Limpopo growth and development strategy to ensure that unemployment, inequality and poverty are eradicated. As the Limpopo province, we mention these forms of intra provincial interventions as part of mitigating the effect of migration from the point of origin through to other neighbouring provinces such as Gauteng, where the majority of residences happens to be migrants from our province.
The measures our province has already embarked on of growing the economy in our home province will go a long way to alleviate the pressure on the social services brought to bear on Gauteng especially. In this connection, integration of economic strategies among provinces especially Limpopo and Gauteng will ensure a
progressive realisation of an interdependent model of governance to achieve a better life for all people irrespective of geographic space they occupy like the Chairperson said in her outline of her programme today within the borders of our motherland South Africa.
The Limpopo province would like to congratulate you and the NCOP for the excellent programme of coal face interface or interaction by the public representatives with communities on the state and quality of social services provided to them that you sent us to the people. We thank you very much. As this is in line with what the President has said in his acceptance speech to Parliament of February 2018 when he said or coined the clarion call "Thuma mina" send me to the people to solve their problems.
In this manner, you have remained consistent to the tradition and example of service set by some of the noble sons and daughters of our country notable among them, the former and late President, Nelson Mandela and mama Albertina Sisulu who traversed the length and breadth of our country in the 1950s consulting the people about their vision of a new South Africa. A consultation process that led to the documentation and adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955 and by extension, which became the foundation of the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa as we know it today. As Limpopo province we would like to support the Report. Thank you very much.