Hon Chairperson, chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, hon members, it is indeed a great pleasure for me to address the House today on amendments to the Skills Development Act, Act No.97 of 1998, which was assigned to my department by the President on 1 November 2009. I want to thank the members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, led by chairperson Comrade Malale, for their patience and understanding during the public hearings, and for allowing us space to introduce this amendment during this parliamentary cycle.
In bringing along these amendments, we were initially confronted with a great deal of resistance when we first introduced some changes regulating the operation of the sector education and training authorities, the Setas. We were taken to court many times in our attempts to transform the functioning of the Setas. Our intention with this is all for the benefit of the majority of the workers and the poor in our country.
We did not relent; eventually all stakeholders rallied behind us in our efforts. I also want to express appreciation for the role played by our social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, for their co-operation, comments and understanding. The engagements at Nedlac were robust, yet constructive and very helpful.
Thanks also go to my director-general and his team for facilitating the process of bringing the Bill before the portfolio committee and this House. I would also like to thank the National Skills Authority for always providing us with sound advice on this Bill and, indeed, on many other critical matters relating to skills development.
This Act provides for a more prominent role for the government in directing the Setas to meet our skills development priorities. It seeks to standardise the constitution of the Setas and to reduce the size of the Seta boards, with the aim of improving the governance, management and responsiveness of the Setas in line with our national skills priorities.
The Bill also seeks to eliminate conflicts of interest, corruption in the functioning of the Seta system and to provide for the appointment of independent chairpersons to lead the boards, as well as provide for ministerial appointees to these boards. In the context of the above, it is also important to remind this House that the Setas are a tripartite arrangement between the government, labour and employers, and not simply an arrangement between labour and employers or just an instrument for employers alone.
As we present these amendments, I want to assure the House that we do not want to make changes for the sake of doing so, but rather to ensure that the transformation agenda of the ANC government is not compromised. It is our primary task to deliver the post-school education and training system to the majority of our people with a particular focus on the workers and the youth. This is an essential component of realising one of the government's top priorities, that of the creation of decent work, which will not be realised unless the people acquire the necessary skills and knowledge.
The Setas remain one of our main delivery vehicles for skills development. No one would disagree with me that if the Setas receive approximately R10 billion per annum, as is the case in this financial year, then there is indeed a great need to introduce tighter control measures to ensure this money is spent on our skills priorities.
We want to reiterate that the Setas are public entities and not private entities. Thus, they are subject to public scrutiny, oversight and accountability. We shall not shirk our responsibility in this regard. We urge all those who seek to use the courts to resist the changes necessary to change the lives of the majority of our people for the better to desist from taking this route.
As the government, we are ready to engage with all the stakeholders for the sake of a skilled and capable workforce for an inclusive economy.
Amandla! Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo. [Thank you, Chairperson.] [Applause.]