The committee is concerned about underspending in the 1st and 2nd Quarterly Performance Reports, due to the non-filling of vacancies, which resulted in some of the programmes not spending at all. 11. Recommendations of the Committee in respect of the Department The Committee recommends the following to the Department: With regard to the Green Economy . The possible expansion of the Green Economy should not unnecessary impact negatively on jobs in the sectors of the economy that can be categorised as carbon intensive. . Focus should not only be on the impact by individuals and households, but on big industry that have a major impact on the carbon emissions. . A major focus of the Green Economy should be towards development and job creation whilst preserving the economy. . The role of Research and Development (R&D) should be to develop technology that will enable/gear towards accelerated economic growth, employment creation and development of our people especially the working class and the poor. . Emphasis should be placed on incentivised usage of green products and services Lack of information . There is a necessity for the Economic Development Department (EDD) and the entities to ensure that information flows to the various levels of society and stakeholders. . The advocacy campaign of the IDC, relating to its funding to companies in distress should be strengthened and reinforced in all provinces. . There is a necessity for Khula and Samaf to be located in all areas, especially rural areas. Capacity building . The Department and its entities should fill vacancies as a matter of urgency in order to fulfil their mandate as required. . The recruitment processes (3-4 months) of the department are too time consuming, and should be reduced to be able to meet indicative timeframes. Coordination and Cooperation . The department must ensure that coordination and cooperation among the three spheres of government to be prioritised relating to the alignment of the national plans with that of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDSs) and the Local Economic Development plans (LEDs). . The department should ensure the integration of its programmes is prioritised. . Better coordination and cooperation must be fostered among all the entities of EDD. . The department should ensure that interdepartmental cooperation and coordination is addressed, as this will be critical relating to the achievement of the Competition Commission's mandate. . The department should ensure that the activities performed by the DFIs are duplicated, in other words activities must be streamlined on their specific areas of focus. Finance . The department should ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to ensure that there is no underspending by the end of financial year 2010/11. . Development Finance Institutions should allocate more funds to focus on the establishment of cooperatives in the various provinces. . The department, in conjunction with the IDC should examine lowering the cost of funding, specifically the interest rates charged to companies. . The department should ensure that programmes, as set out in its Strategic Plan, be adequately funded. . The department should assist and guide Khula with regard to the recapitalisation of the Khula Direct model. . The department should ensure that transfers to entities are fully spent towards its allocated purpose. . Development Finance Institutions should ensure that the disbursement of funds is biased towards the poorer provinces in order to ensure equity in the distribution thereof (balance should be struck between the richer and poorer provinces). General . Those companies funded should be monitored and assisted with mentoring and coaching programmes. . The dashboard of indicators developed by the EDD should be simplified. . DFIs should relax the bureaucratic processes associated with funding application criteria in order to enable broader access. . The EDD with the DTI, through the IDC, should address the high steel prices. . The EDD should assist in ensuring that the IDC remain within its primary mandate, i.e. industrial development with a major focus on rural and urban areas.