Hon Chairperson, as the ANC we support the amendment of the Further Education and Training Bill. We believe that this Bill seeks to assign and transfer all functions of the further education and training colleges from the provincial departments to the national department. We strongly believe that the national department is competent to do the task that is supposed to be done.
Yes, we hear the opposition, especially the DA, talking about the poor performance of the FET colleges. We agree with them on that, but that is why we strongly believe that the introduction of this Bill is going to cater for dealing with such poor performance. We believe that the transitional period, that is when the FET colleges are in the process of being transferred to the national department, will be well managed. We know what most of the fears are that the people have. We are talking about the salaries and benefits of the employees; and we are talking about the lives of these people in terms of which as a country we need to provide people with skills. We know that that is a critical point. We know why the opposition is saying that. It is a concern of ours as the ANC too.
As the ANC we strongly believe that this sector needs to be given enough attention. We want to produce a skilled and capable workforce for the economic growth of the country. So, really, as the ANC we fully support the transfer of the FET colleges to being a national competence. We believe that this sector is going to be more stable and that the transition period is going to be well managed. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Motion agreed to (Democratic Alliance and Congress of the People dissenting).
Bill accordingly passed.