Hon Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, one of our major roles as this Parliament is to process and pass laws which aim to improve the lives of our people. The amendment of the Skills Development Act, Act No 97 of 1998, is no exception. Major aspects of the Skills Development Act, Act No 97 of 1998, need to be amended and new provisions inserted for a seamless skilling system of our people, proportional to the spending available within the sector education and training authority, Seta, system.
We are gathered here today to debate the Skills Development Amendment Bill which seeks to amend the Skills Development Act, Act No 97 of 1998. We are all aware that the Skills Development Act, Act No 97 of 1998 was assigned to the Minister of Higher Education and Training as from November 2009, with the aim of creating possibilities for a long overdue improvement in articulation between universities, further education and training colleges, as well as work-based education and training.
Setas are in charge of billions of rand in their possession, and they must be called to account. We support the Minister's efforts to put things right without fear of court cases in this particular regard.
We appreciate the efforts by the Minister of Higher Education and Training and his department in providing a framework for the Seta constitutions. The Seta sector has been plagued with problems of poor performance, and weak and uneven governance and management. As the ANC, we are not advocating a one-size-fits-all system, but we do need some form of regulation to ensure the smooth governance and management of all Setas.
We noted that the Skills Development Act, Act No 97 of 1998, has undergone many amendments and this is an indication that there are things that are not working as expected. We do acknowledge the fact that the Bill in its current form is not addressing the fundamental challenges affecting the skills development sector. Hon Minister, we are eagerly waiting to engage with the Green Paper process that will address the main issues of concern and challenges in this sector.
We, however, appreciate the steps that the Department of Higher Education and Training is taking to address some of the issues that will improve the functioning of the sector education and training authorities to fulfil their mandate of skilling and reskilling South African citizens by producing qualified and competent workers for the economic growth of our country. It is not a secret that the image of Setas out there is not good and there are public concerns about their performance although they have a key role to play.
One issue that we noted with keen interest was a section on the disclosure of conflicts of interest. The ANC supports the insertion of section 11B, in respect of disclosure of conflicts of interest to prohibit members of accounting authorities from doing business with Setas. Similarly, they must declare their interests. Conflicts of interest lead to conflict of commitment where the interest is no longer in the core business of the Seta but on financial gain. The aim here, ladies and gentlemen, is to detect and voluntarily defuse any conflicts of interest before any corruption occurs and to prohibit members of the Setas' accounting authorities and other staff from exploiting their positions in some way for their personal benefit.
Hon Minister, we have noted with concern that Setas are established for a period of five years. However, there are some Setas with chief executive officers, and probably some staff members, whose contracts go beyond the Seta life span - what is called an indefinite employment contract. This is a situation that needs urgent attention.
Nawu lowu wu ta antswisa matirhelo hikuva wu nyika matimba eka Holobye wa Ndzawulo, Dokodela Blade Nzimande, ku vona leswaku tiSeta ti va na vumbiwa byo yelana kumbe ku fana. Ku nga ha va na ku hambana ntsena laha swi nga fanela.
TiSeta ti na rihanyu ra ntlhanu wa malembe. Swa fanela leswaku vatirhi va tona va va na tikontiraka leti nga hundziki vutomi bya tiSeta leti.
Mali yo tala ya tiko yi vekisiwile eka tiSeta ku vona leswaku vaakatiko va korhekeriwa hi ndlela leyi nga fanela ku ya hi matirhelo ya tona. Hikokwalaho swa fanela leswaku Holobye a va yimisa hi milenge leswaku va ta va na vutihlamuleri eka matirhiselo ya timali ta vona.
Van'wana va tiSeta leti a va kumeka va ri na mali leyi va endlaka vuvekisi hi yona ehandle ka tiko ra Afrika-Dzonga. Leswi a swi kahle. Ha tshemba leswaku Holobye u ta kota ku swi landzelerisa kutani a tirhana na swona ku kondza lava khumbekaka va tikiseriwa hi nawu. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[This Bill will improve performance because it empowers the Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, to ensure that Setas have related or similar constitutions. There might be differences where possible.
Setas have a life-span of five years. It is compulsory that its employees have contracts that do not exceed the life-span of these Setas.
A lot of government funds have been invested in the Setas to ensure that communities are serviced in accordance with the way they perform. Therefore, it is imperative that the Minister hold them to account for the manner in which funds are utilised.
Some of these Setas were found to have had funds that they invested outside South Africa. This is unacceptable. We hope that the Minister will be able to investigate this and work on it until those involved are brought to book.]
I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]