Chairperson and hon members, among others, the objectives of the seminar were, firstly, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the state of affairs regarding the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, at local, provincial and national government levels, through the work of the committees of Parliament.
The second objective was to determine the contribution of the legislative sector - which is Parliament and provincial legislatures, as well as local councils - to the achievement of the MDGs. The role of Parliament and parliamentarians in ensuring progress towards the achievement of MDG targets cannot be overemphasised. It has been recognised globally and serves as an impetus for accelerating improvement of the lives of the citizens.
In terms of the Republic of South Africa's Constitution, Parliament, as the legislative arm of the state, has an obligation to conduct oversight over the action of the executive and has a critical role to play in ensuring the attainment of these goals by 2015. The Interparliamentary Union, IPU, asserted that more focused work needed to be undertaken by legislatures to monitor progress towards the attainment of the MDGs.
Through extensive interaction, deliberations on presentations and periodic reports presented by the delegates to the seminar, it transpired that, as much as the MDGs are important, the Freedom Charter and the Constitution are ultimately the key pledges to advance equality and human dignity and uproot poverty.
The long-term benefits of parliamentary engagement with the MDGs are manifold and can, among other things, result in enhanced consensus on MDG- related policy issues; increased national ownership of the MDGs; and the creation of a higher profile for the MDGs in the country. Parliamentary engagement with the MDGs can also offer governments a national platform to share policies aimed at achieving the MDGs; afford civil society organisations and nonmajority groups an opportunity to voice their opinions on MDG-related policies, as well as on the progress made towards their achievement; and create an open and transparent mechanism for countries to monitor progress towards achieving those MDG targets.
The following are observations that were made by the delegates.
Le ndlela yangoku yokulandelela nokubeka esweni ayihambi ngokwamagunya amasebe. Oko kuthetha ukuba ulwazi olufunyanwa yiPalamente kwimithombo eyahlukileyo efana noMphicothi-zincwadi jikelele, amasebe karhulumente, njalo njalo alwanelanga ukuba kungabhaqwa kulinganiswe ukuba izimali ezabiweyo zisetyenziswe ngendlela efanelekileyo na. Ukufak'ingxelo ngempumelelo ngokusebenzisa inkqubo kaphawula ibhokisi, laa nto ke esithi sifika sijonge, simana sibuza ukuba into ethile iyenzeka, sihambe. Lo nto ayibonakalisi umngangatho weenkonzo ezinikezelweyo, kuquka nokukhawulelana nomba kamakulinganwe kunye nokusebenza ngokuvakalayo kwemigaqo-nkqubo nemithetho epasisisweyo.
Ingcaciso enganelanga nokuqondakala kwemisebenzi yangoku kusenokuba negalelo ekuphazamiseni inkqubela-phambili karhulumente yokuphumeza izibhambathiso zeeMGD. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The manner in which supervision and monitoring take place nowadays does not go according to departmental mandate. This means that the information gathered by Parliament from different sources such as the Auditor-General, government departments and so on, is not sufficient to measure and find out whether the allocated funds were utilised appropriately.
To give a report regarding success based on ticking a box, which is what we usually do when we monitor - we ask a few questions regarding how a particular issue is handled and thereafter we leave - does not reflect the standard of service delivery, including equity and the effective implementation of policies and Acts that have been promulgated.
Insufficient explanation and understanding of today's fields of employment can contribute towards disrupting government's progress towards achieving the objectives of the MDGs.]
Some of the barriers to the provision of quality education include poor management, poor levels of teaching and inadequately skilled teachers to teach the current curriculum. The inability to provide quality education is also compounded by the lack of well-resourced science laboratories, especially in rural and township schools.
As a result of poor financial management, schools are unable to develop and maintain existing infrastructure. There is also a nonalignment of strategic plans and budgets to meet the targets on the MDGs. Currently, the MDGs are not adequately incorporated into targets and indicators of government plans and programmes. Oversight planning and activities by legislatures also do not incorporate the MDG programme. The departmental budgets and plans lack development programmes for women, the youth and co-operatives.
There is a lack of impact assessments and evaluation of policies and legislation passed in relation to the MDGs. There is a lack of implementation and enforcement measures to enforce policies, for example, to reduce carbon emissions that result in air pollution and to conserve the wetlands. A lack of capacity in monitoring and evaluation was cited as a factor that contributed towards hindering progress. There is also a lack of research capacity in legislatures and a lack of systems to monitor and combat fraud and corruption practices in some of the departments. Municipalities lack capacity to monitor and enforce bylaws to protect the environment and deal with the management of medical waste. There is also no comprehensive communication strategy to promote and enhance the active participation of various stakeholders in the endeavour to meet the MDGs.
The lack of cost recovery mechanisms therefore poses a real possibility for unfunded mandates, and the reality remains that any authority remains provisional. There is a lack of clarity on how to fund municipalities for the operating costs associated with the provision of services related to concurrent functions. Lastly, a lack of integrated and collaborative oversight between legislatures and local governments was identified.
Xa ndiyivala, kangangokuba le ngxoxo ibalulekile, ikwazile ukuvelela zonke iinkalo, umzekelo ... [In conclusion, to show how important this debate is, it has managed to highlight all perspectives, for example ...]
... the seminar finally agreed that South Africa's challenge is not that of funding, but merely the lack of effective and quality service delivery, including the lack of monitoring mechanisms.
Loo nto ke ithetha ukuba iPalamente kufunekadingeka ukuba isebenzise yonke imithombo enayo ukuqinisekisa ukuba kuyaqinisekiswa ukongamela. Okunye okufanelekileyo ukukuba imithombo esetyenzisiweyoi yenze le nto ifanelekileyo ukuze kuphume iziphumo ezilindelekileyo. Okunye kokokuba ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[That means Parliament needs to utilise all resources at its disposal to ensure that proper monitoring takes place. In addition to that, it needs to ensure that resources utilised perform according to what is expected of them and those are expectations of producing the expected results. Furthermore ...]
... the constituencies should be empowered to understand issues around the MDGs.
Loo nto ithetha ukuthi ii-ofisi zePalamente zengingqi zamalungu kufuneka zisetyenziswe ukuze abantu bafundiswe ngeeMDG, bakwazi nokuzisa ingxelo ePalamente ngeengxaki abadibana nazo, neendawo ekufuneka bancediswe kakhulu kuzo. Loo nto ke, ifuna ukuba iPalamente mayiqinise kangangoko inakho. Ndiyabulelaonga. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[That means the regional constituency offices must be utilised to educate the people about the MDGs, so that they can forward reports concerning their challenges to Parliament, as well as issues that may need parliamentary assistance. That, therefore, means Parliament must be thorough in its monitoring and evaluation. Thank you.]
The ANC supports the report. [Applause.]