Revitalising infrastructure in the agricultural sector

ê19. Mr Z Mkiva (Eastern Cape: ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether the Government has identified any interventions geared towards revitalising infrastructure in the agricultural sector to expand production and food security; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? CO911E
 
REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
Accelerating land reform, rural development and agricultural support remains a priority for the ANC-led government. To demonstrate our commitment, when tabling the 2023 Budget Vote in Parliament, the Minister of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced the provision of R2.15 billion to assist farmers with production inputs and the revitalisation of an enabling agricultural infrastructure under the Rural Infrastructure Development sub-programme.
 
Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will implement 83 infrastructure development projects in Farmer Production Support Units, Fencing and Animal Handling facilities in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Honourable Chairperson,
 
We are implementing the re-vitalisation programme of agricultural infrastructure because it is a critical intervention towards improving agricultural production and food security.
 
However, as government, we are not only investing in the infrastructure needed for the agriculture sector to be competitive but also in targeted support measures for farmers, including beneficiaries of the land reform programme, to become active players within the economy.

This is evident in the River Valley Catalytic Programme, which focuses on irrigation and water infrastructure for agricultural production through irrigation schemes, construction and rehabilitation of rural and farm access roads to markets.
 
I thank you.
 
 
Service delivery interventions

ê20. Ms H S Boshoff (Mpumalanga: DA) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether, with reference to his role to implement rapid response on service delivery interventions, cadre deployment has led to the lack of service delivery as many officials within the municipalities do not possess the prerequisite qualifications to undertake the necessary maintenance of infrastructure that is leading to excessive sewer spillages (details furnished)? CO907E
 
REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
Our previous responses have clarified that the government has no cadre deployment policy, legislation, or procedure. Nonetheless, the ANC established a cadre development and deployment process after the democratic breakthrough in order to safeguard democracy and good governance, while assuring rapid and purposeful transformation.
 
The logic behind this process is to ensure that the most suitable practices are used in recruitment, prioritising appropriate placement of skills, especially during the transition period and beyond.
 
I have also outlined to Honourable Members during our last appearance in the National Assembly the process of appointing Mayors, Speakers and EXCO Members in Municipalities led by the African National Congress. It is, therefore, incorrect to link cadre deployment with service delivery challenges faced by our Municipalities.

Allow me to remind those who question our commitment to professionalising the public service. In 2022, we adopted a National Framework towards the Professionalization of the Public Sector. 
 
In our view, the professionalisation of the public sector requires a non-partisan approach which embraces the merit principles in all staffing practices in the public sector. For this to be realized, the public sector must be non-partisan by insulating it from the politics of political parties. This is important for the bureaucracy to continue to implement its political mandate loyally and diligently, as set by voters and the governing party or parties, yet refrain from being a political actor itself.
 
The ANC government has always argued for the professionalisation of the public service, including the development and adoption of the Public Service Act which demands a credible process, panel-driven interview, verification of qualification and contestable outcome. We remain committed to building a patriotic, professional public service with the necessary technical knowledge to deliver services for the people.

Honourable Chairperson,
 
We have also previously stated that the challenges facing local government are multi-dimensional and are primarily rooted in poor governance, weak institutional capacity, poor financial management, and political instability.
 
With regard to the Theba Chweu issue, the Local Municipality has acknowledged challenges with their Water Waste Treatment Plant (WWTP), which causes continuous sewer spillages. However, progress has been reported towards addressing this challenge.
 
To this end, refurbishing and upgrading the Lydenburg WWTW in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality is underway. The project is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation and Ehlanzeni District Municipality as the Implementing Agent.
 
As a government, we now have a fully-fledged war room on service delivery focusing on a package of interventions that are aimed at accelerating the stabilisation of local government, focusing on addressing water and energy challenges.
 
We are fast-tracking the processing of the South African National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency Bill, 2023, which, amongst other things, is intended to establish the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency that will improve the management of bulk water infrastructure in South Africa.
 
I thank you.
 
 
Women in the engineering profession

ê21. Mr E Z Njadu (Western Cape: ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

(1) Whether the Government has any measures to address the dire shortage of women in the engineering profession; if not, why not; if so, (a) what measures and (b) what are the further relevant details;
(2) whether there is any progress in working with (a) other social partners and (b) the Agricultural Sector Education and Training Authorities to address the shortage of women professional certificated engineers; if not, (i) why not and (ii) what challenges are experienced in this regard; if so, what progress? CO912E

REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
In our work leading the Human Resource Development Council, we have made a long-term commitment to invest in the skills revolution, especially among women, youth, and persons with disabilities, to build a productive and globally competitive society. 
 
On the 25th of September, I had the opportunity to address the UNESCO Africa Engineering Week. At the conference, I interacted with Engineer Ms Refilwe Buthelezi, President of the Engineering Council of South Africa, the CEO Dr Bridget Ssamula and many engineers proud of their profession.
 
Ms Buthelezi and her executive briefed me about the need to invest in the profession to develop women.

Over the past few years, we have noticed growth in females registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa. We are now seeing an average of 35% year-on-year growth among registered female engineers in the database of the Council.
 
Currently, there are 7,000 registered women engineers in the database of ECSA. We agreed that there is a need to ensure that we deliberately target women to consider entering the engineering profession and encourage those who are not registered to register.
 
Empowering of female engineers is paramount in achieving sustained development and global competitiveness. As a government, we are championing the implementation of several women empowerment programmes like Women Economic Assembly (WECONA), which was launched by the President in 2021,
 
WECONA is a catalyst platform for women-owned/managed/led businesses/enterprises anchored on collaboration between the Government, private sector, and civil society. This is an ongoing initiative to encourage women to be economically active to bring together the private sector, government and civil society to drive change in the economic landscape.
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
The AgriSETA has identified several priority interventions from the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that speak to, amongst other things, empowering women in agricultural engineering and Agricultural Scientists in the sector.

Together with the Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs), we will simplify their funding application processes to avoid delays in processing funding for third parties, which slows the government’s efforts to address challenges plaguing women in the sector.
 
While the government continues to implement programmes to empower women in the engineering sector, there is a need to address the structural challenges of social and gender inequalities hindering their progress.
 
As government, we provide social, political, and economic conditions for women to thrive, especially in critical engineering sectors, with our social partners and businesses.
 
I thank you.
 
 
Tackling youth unemployment

ê22. Mr N M Hadebe (KwaZulu-Natal: IFP) to ask the Deputy President:

With reference to his role in leading the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa, how will he ensure that the Border Management Authority will adequately address youth unemployment by tackling the skills shortages in the sector as the SA Police Service and SA National Defence Force are entrusted with more resources, but failed to succeed? CO910E
 
REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
On 05 October 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the Border Management Authority (BMA) in Musina, Limpopo Province. The launch of the BMA follows its formal establishment and assumption of its status as a schedule 3 (A) public entity on 1 April 2023.
 
Establishing the BMA means South Africa now has an integrated border management platform, with a single command and control to support the attainment of secure borders, safe travel and trade. To this end, the BMA has begun recruiting approximately 400 unemployed youth in its second intake of Border Guards after enrolling 221 guards last year.
 
In addition, the Authority has also recruited 50 young Coastal Guards who will be deployed at vulnerable segments of our coastline to protect the country’s marine resources.
Government is working hard to secure resources to enable the Border Management Authority to recruit additional Border Guards, particularly from unemployed young people.
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
As a government, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to addressing the challenge of youth unemployment through employment programmes implemented by law-enforcement services, particularly by the South African Police Services and the South African National Defence Force.
 
To demonstrate this, during the 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), an additional R 5.7 billion was allocated to the SAPS to enlist 12,000 new employees to maintain the staff establishment at 179 502 employees.
 
To this end, 10,000 police trainees have already graduated this year, and this recruitment drive will be implemented annually for the next two financial years, bringing a total of 30,000 new police recruits in the medium-term period.
 
Whilst we note reports on shortages of critical skills and experienced engineers and pilots, particularly in the South African Air Force, the Department of Defence and Military Veterans is looking at innovative ways to deal with critical skills shortages in some of its wings. 
 
In this regard, the South African National Defence Force continues recruiting new Army interns. The South African Air Force is recruiting young engineers as trainee pilots, while the South African Navy commenced recruiting potential divers in May 2023.
 
It is, therefore, not true for an Honourable Member to suggest that the government has failed to address skills shortages in the SA Police Service and SA National Defense Force.
 
We are confident that these targeted programmes will continue strengthening the government’s efforts to create employment opportunities for young people, especially those not in higher education, employment and training.
 
I thank you.
 

Accessibility of Mossel Bay Harbour

ê23. Mr J J Londt (Western Cape: DA) to ask the Deputy President:
With reference to his role in leading Government efforts to fast-track land reform and the coordination of programmes to accelerate agricultural support to farmers to access international markets (details furnished), (a) what concrete steps are in place to improve the operational capacity of Mossel Bay Harbour and (b) what is the deadline to complete the plans in this regard? CO908E
 
REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
According to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Products Report issued by Statistics South Africa on 5 September 2023, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry increased by 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023, contributing 0.1 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
 
Increases in the production of field crops and horticulture products mainly drove this rise in output. Favourable weather conditions, increased cultivation, and increased export demand provided further support.
 
In this regard, the Port of Mossel Bay has been identified by the Agricultural Sector as one of the key strategic points in the market-oriented agricultural economy.
 
The improvement of the operational capacity of Mossel Bay Harbour also forms part of the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, which is aimed at, among other things, modernising and reforming network industries and associated state-owned enterprises.

Moreover, this plan further pursues greater regional integration to boost exports, create employment opportunities, and improve innovation.
 
As a government, we have developed plans to improve our operational capacity to support the agricultural sector market and our export capacity, which includes the Deepening and Expansion of the Loading Platform (Quay 4) by Transnet at the Mossel Bay Harbour, which will serve as a berth for multi-purpose cargo.
 
According to the Ministry of Public Enterprises, the improvement of the operational capacity of Mossel Bay Harbour is a long-term project; therefore, concepts and designs are continuously being refined. The first phase is planned for completion by the end of the 2026/27 financial year, while the final step is scheduled for completion by the 2029/30 financial year.
 
I thank you.
 
 
Payment of social grants

ê24. Ms N Ndongeni (Eastern Cape: ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether in his role to implement response interventions and trouble-shooting in service delivery hotspots and the recent challenges relating to the payment of social grants, the Government has considered any measures to review and strengthen the capacity of the State to deliver social grants without any future disruptions; if not, why not; if so, (a) what measures and (b) what are the further relevant details? CO913E
 
REPLY:
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
As a government, we regret the recent glitches in the payment of grants that affected several grant recipients. We fully understand the distress and suffering that resulted from this system glitch, which left recipients, especially older people, unable to access their grants on their SASSA Post Bank cards.
 
Government remains fully committed to timely and seamless payment of social grants to all beneficiaries.
 
Honourable Chairperson,
 
We can assure this House and the South African public that the matter is receiving the necessary attention, and the President receives regular progress reports from the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and the Minister of Social Development.

We are pleased to inform this House that all the failed transactions have been reversed, and all affected beneficiaries have been refunded. The September system glitches have since been resolved, and all social grant beneficiaries affected by the payment delays have now received their grant payments.
 
As part of measures to prevent a recurrence, a Task Team comprising the Department of Social Development, Communications and Digital Technologies, the South African Social Security Agency, the Post Office and the Post Bank has been set up to monitor and track the payment system in real-time and to strengthen the Post Bank’s technical infrastructure.
 
Additional reinforcement measures include the engagement of experts in the banking field for a comprehensive review of our grant payment system and continuous rectification of the system vulnerabilities.
 
I thank you.

Date: 

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 17:30

Tags: 

Deputy President Paul Mashatile