Question One

Ms NN Sibhidla (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:
1. What steps will the Government implement in the next five years to:
(a) eliminate the fiscal x-inefficiencies in departments and
(b) improve the operational efficiencies of the state to accelerate the service-delivery process?

Reply:
Honourable Members, our country like the rest of the world has been affected by the economic downturn. We are going through a recession for the first time in 17 years. As a result of this, tax revenues, after adjusting for inflation, are expected to decline significantly. Our government finds itself having to meet its commitments to the people of South Africa with fewer resources than before.

We are taking steps to ensure that government works better and uses public resources to deliver services to the people.

The overarching goal of the steps we have taken is to make sure that departments operate better and serve our people with speed and effectiveness.

The two ministers in the Presidency, Ministers Chabane and Manuel, will be tabling Green Papers on Planning and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation respectively in the near future, which will outline clear and concrete steps on how we plan to improve the way government does business.

Cabinet has also appointed a three-person Ministerial Task Team consisting of Ministers Gordhan, Chabane and Baloyi to make proposals on reprioritizing spending to increase the impact of the budget. The assignment of this Task Team is not to cut public spending but to make proposals on how to reduce wastage and direct spending to new high impact areas. They will be presenting their proposals to Cabinet in due course.

Beyond the immediate work of the Ministerial Task Team, Government is undertaking a detailed and comprehensive expenditure review to identify whether there are programmes which should be scaled down and their funding redirected to high impact priorities.

National Treasury is looking into how Government procurement is managed as well as investigating cases of impropriety in the awarding of tenders.

Let me say, in conclusion, that this government is taking all these steps because the challenges facing our society demand that we work better. It also has to be stated that Cabinet and the national sphere of government will work in concert with the other two spheres to give effect to these steps.

Question 2
Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Deputy President:

(1) Whether, with reference to his statement on executive accountability to Parliament on 24 June 2009 (details furnished), his standpoint is being enforced; if not, why not; if so, why are Ministers still:
a) providing incomplete and inadequate answers to parliamentary questions and
(b) not answering questions, especially on issues of national importance;

(2) Whether, in light of his statement as Leader of Government Business, he will introduce any mechanisms to ensure that the executive apply a full disclosure policy on providing answers to all accountability measures of Parliament; if not, why not; if so, (a) what mechanisms,
(b) when and
(c) how will the executive be accountable until the introduction of these mechanisms?
NO862E

REPLY:
(1) I would like to assure Honourable Members that Ministers are well aware of their obligations to account to Parliament in terms of the Constitution.

The Honourable Ellis in his Question to me refers to Ministers "providing incomplete and inadequate answers" and "not answering questions". I am not aware of this happening and he has not given any examples.

It is true that some Ministers exceed the period provided for in the Rules of the National Assembly for answering written Questions but I am sure that the Honourable Ellis is aware that those same Rules provide for remedies for this - namely by transferring that question from written to oral reply. I am not aware of this having been done in the recent period.

2. Honourable Members, as I have already stated, the Rules of the National Assembly do provide mechanisms for ensuring that Questions to the Executive are answered. As these Rules are adopted by this House and not the Executive, I believe it would be up to the National Assembly to decide whether they are sufficient or need to be strengthened.

As Leader of Government Business I give a report at each Cabinet meeting detailing the number of Questions each Minister has outstanding.

Question 3

Mr B M Komphela (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

1) What progress has been made in meeting the Government's obligations with regard to the Government guarantees given to FIFA to host the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament:

2) Whether the Government has put a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure that Government procurement policies are adhered to in all processes related to the FIFA 2010 World Cup Tournament; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NO856E

Reply:
1. Honourable Member, I am pleased to report that our march towards the successful fulfilment of our seventeen (17) guarantees for the delivery of the 2010 FIFA World Cup continues to gain momentum. Many projects emanating from these 17 guarantees have been put to test during the recent FIFA Confederations Cup. As we are all aware, this "test tournament" was delivered with great success.

Starting from the first guarantee (that is the issuing of entry and the exit permits) to the last guarantee (that is availability of comprehensive medical services), government and the Local Organising Committee have been working together for the successful implementation of these. Among the achievements I can cite include:

(a) the Department of Home Affairs launching and implementing an Event Specific Visa in November 2008;
(b) the finalisation and implementation of the Security Plan;
(c) the delivery of elements of the Information and Telecommunications Technology infrastructure which was successfully tested during the Confederations Cup;
(d) the development and testing of transport operational plans;
(e) a steady growth in the number of accommodation establishments signed up and;
(f) the testing of social cohesion initiatives as widely acknowledged during the Confederations Cup.

Although the mile ahead is steep, I have no doubt that Members present in this House today would agree with me that even on the side of the national team, we are making progress. Their performance is not part of the 17 guarantees, but is part of the social compact we have with society!

We are quite aware, as has been made public before, that there are areas that require improvement. Through the 2010 Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) that I chair, we are helping the Departments to overcome these challenges especially in the areas of transport and accommodation. The IMC will soon audit the 2010 dividend for our country - in particular small and medium sized enterprises.

2. Honourable Members, it is true that as part of our agreements with FIFA, procurement of goods and services for the 2010 World Cup has to comply with policies and procedures applied in the public sector. This applies not only to government departments and Host Cities, but to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) as well.

This means where public funds are involved, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Municipality Finance Management Act (MFMA) apply. In brief, procurement processes must be fair, competitive, open and above board.

To this end, government strives to ensure that procurement processes within Host Cities and at the Local Organising Committee - which is where most of the buying happens - comply with our legal requirements. We do not expect any department, Host City or the Local Organising Committee to depart from these commitments.

Where the PFMA, the MFMA and the Employment Equity Act are not followed, transactions would be reviewed during normal internal audit processes as well as during the audit processes of the Auditor-General. The relevant authority will need to take action commensurate with the severity of the transgression.

We continue to encourage institutions of government as well as the LOC to comply and deliver their respective guarantees within the parameters of all applicable legislation, policies and regulations. This House must continue to ask questions and demand accountability from all those involved in the preparations for the 2010 World Cup including the Host Cities and Local Organising Committee.

Question 4
Mr M S Booi (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:
How does our peacekeeping operation through the SA National Defence Force on the African continent strengthen our relationship with these countries and the world?
NO857E

Reply:
Honourable Speaker, as is commonly known, both the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) respectively enjoin the international community and Africa to "unite our strength to maintain international peace and security" and to "promote peace, security, and stability on the continent". The commitment to realise these objectives galvanised the AU and its Peace and Security Council as well as regional organisations to find durable solutions to the countries affected by conflict.

The promotion of peace and security is one of South Africa's most important objectives. This includes the strengthening of conflict-prevention and resolution capabilities of the region and rendering assistance in monitoring and addressing domestic issues that affect stability.

The South African National Defence Force has formed part of and participated in various peace missions on the Continent since 1994.

These include:
• capacity building of the Central African Republic Defence Force,
• the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
• the Integration and Training Assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
• the African Union Special Task Force in Burundi,
• the United Nations Mission and AU Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea,
• the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur,
• the Security Sector Reform in the DRC,
• the deployment of military observers to the AU Mission in Northern Uganda/Southern Sudan and
• the Specialist Advisory Team in the DRC.

In addition to these deployments on the continent we have also deployed observers to be in support of the UN Political Mission in Nepal.

The Missions in Burundi, Northern Uganda as well as Ethiopia and Eritrea have been officially terminated, as a consequence of progress made in attaining the objectives set.

Our participation in these Missions strengthens our relations with these countries, the continent and the world at large in a variety of ways. To quote but a few instances:
• Both the governments and peoples of these countries value the contribution that we make, and therefore relate to our own government and people in a variety of areas as friends and partners.
• The attainment of peace and stability in these countries and regions opens up possibilities for these areas to attend to matters of economic growth and development, in pursuit of which various sectors of South African society - from civil society to business - are able to make a contribution. This helps to strengthen political, economic, cultural and other relations.
The commitment that South Africa has shown to the attainment of peace and stability on the continent has improved our standing on the continent and further afield as a partner in promoting the African agenda and building a better world.