SA: Mosunkutu: Comments by the Gauteng MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, to deliberations on 2007/08 Portfolio Committee's report on the department presented to the Provincial Legislature (02/12/2008)

URL: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Policy, Law, Economics and Politics - Deepening Democracy through Access to Information

This privately-owned website is operated and maintained by Creamer Media

Polity

Published: 02 Dec 2008

SA: Mosunkutu: Comments by the Gauteng MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, to deliberations on 2007/08 Portfolio Committee's report on the department presented to the Provincial Legislature (02/12/2008)

Date: 02/12/2008

Source: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Gauteng Provincial Government

Title: SA: Mosunkutu: Comments by the Gauteng MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, to deliberations on 2007/08 Portfolio Committee's report on the department presented to the Provincial Legislature

Speaker of the House Mr Richard Mdakane
Madam Deputy Speaker Sophia De Bruyn
Premier: Paul Mashatile
Members of the executive council
Members of the provincial legislature
Friends and colleagues
Guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I feel truly honoured to have this opportunity to again respond to the Portfolio Committee's report on the annual report of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment.
I rise to account to this august body for the last time during the present term of office of our democratic government. Needless to say, this brief account talks to efforts aimed at implementing some of the policies of the African National Congress.

Conscious of the fact that I am reporting on achievements related to these policies for the last time during this term of office of the ruling party. I am however convinced that it is not the last time that representatives of the African National Congress (ANC) will stand here to account to this august body those representatives will again and again rise to report as members of the majority party in government.

Colleagues and friends, you probably are deeply aware that the period I am reporting on falls within an exciting and very fruitful five years of continuous and selfless service to our people. It is this service delivery, led by the glorious ANC, which has transformed Gauteng into a better place to live and work in.

These past five years, especially this financial year, has been exciting in many ways. It is within this period that modern political prodigal sons and daughters of South Africa came to the fore. To us this phenomenon is not surprising. Rather, the emergence of these prodigal sons and daughters confirms our characterisation of the nature of national democratic revolution revolutions (NDR). Our theoretical framework on the nature of the NDR is that it is a period of high contestation, contestation between forces that fully understand the need to further deepen the democratic dispensation on one hand. On the other hand we have forces who are convinced that ours should remain a bourgeois democracy which benefits only a few.

Proper usage of the ANC's tools of analysis would leave you in no doubt of this. Confronted with such developments, the same tools of analysis would beg of us to answer a simple question that stands to benefit from recent break-away formation or putsch? Whose interests are served by these specific turncoats? Have they come to the fore to build more and more houses for the poor, create jobs for the jobless, advance education and training of the ordinary people? In short, does this phenomenon really seek to serve the masses of our peoples or a few elite? Perhaps I should not be-labour the point and rather allow people to make their own conclusions.

Turning to the business at hand, I first wish to acknowledge the importance of the oversight work of the Gauteng Portfolio Committee for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment. I also wish to commend members of this Committee, under the able leadership of Ms Refiloe Ndzuta, as well Ms Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, the previous chairperson of the committee, for a job well done. Before I comment on specific issues raised by the committee in its report, I would like to momentarily reflect on some highlights of the year under review.

Highlights of the year under review

At the beginning of this financial year, my department took its cue from the State of the Nation address delivered by former President Thabo Mbeki. We promised that 'with all hands on deck and committed to conduct business in an unusual and more effective manner', we shall enhance the quality and quantity of our service delivery. I am pleased to boldly confirm to this house that we have walked the talk. We were not merely mouthing slogans. External independent institutions attest to this assertion.

Firstly, the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) conferred on us the International Standards Organisation 17020 (ISO 17020) recognition. We are the first government department in South Africa and in the continent to be awarded this accolade for a veterinary unit. The recognition came about because of the high standards that we maintain in the abattoir sector. These standards assure South Africans of the high quality of meat processed by abattoirs overseen by our veterinary doctors.

The ISO 17020 tribute also communicates a very positive message to the international market a message to the effect that our meat and meat products are wholesome and safe to import and to be consumed in foreign markets. As can be correctly assumed, this recognition did not tumble down and by sheer luck fall on our laps.

Over 13 400 livestock were treated and vaccinated during the financial year under discussion. Our veterinary unit also managed to combat diseases such as the New Castle disease, Rift Valley Fever, the African Horse sickness and some low pathogenic avian influenza, among other activities.

The ISO recognition given to the department also furthers the provincial strategic objectives of developing healthy, skilled and productive communities and that of stimulating economic development. This wonderful recognition was complemented by the Impumelelo Platinum Award. This honour was bestowed on us on account of the vigorous activities of our Environmental Management Inspectors, dubbed the Green Scorpions. This unit takes no hostages, so to speak, when protecting our people's constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their wellbeing. Actions by the EMIs also contribute to the provincial goals of building an effective and caring government.

Whilst the Gauteng Green Scorpions bagged one of the Impumelelo Awards, the department's employee wellness programme was also nominated for the Impumelelo Wards. The fact of the nomination talks to the high regard both external and internal stakeholders attach to the programme. Having had three departmental projects short-listed in the Premier's Service Excellence Awards, our Abattoir Hygiene Rating Scheme (AHRS), also called Nama-phepha, won the bronze prize. The department's employee wellness programme was also nominated for the Premier's Service Excellence Awards and so were the Gauteng EMIs. Again this confirms that officials in the department had all their hands on deck and ensured that we deliver high quality services to the people of Gauteng.

Another tribute to our five-year term of office came via the Public Service Commission (PSC). Having kept tags on performance of all national and provincial government departments, the PSC concluded that we are the third best performing department in the country for the period under evaluation. Effectively, this placed us on the number one spot amongst Gauteng Government Departments. Constitutional principles used by the PSC to place us on this spot included, but were not limited to, our professional ethics, efficiency and effectiveness, our level of accountability, our approach to public-participation in policy making and on the fact that we are properly oriented to development.
We also obtained, during the year under review, the Kamoso Award for the best provincial Expanded Works Programme (EPWP) project in the Environment and Culture category. This recognition also tells a story to the effect that our contribution to the provincial strategic goal of fighting poverty and creation of jobs was indeed of high quality.

The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) also thought that our Batho Pele incentive scheme and our employee wellness programmes deserved two awards.
Another institution, Nestle, conducted their national nutrition awards ceremony. In this function, we scooped eight of the ten awards. These awards were in recognition of the quality of our food garden projects. The only other province whose work merited the Nestle Awards was the Free State province, a province that has more agricultural space than Gauteng.

In recent study, commissioned by the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), on the efficiency and the effectiveness of the EIA process in South Africa, my department emerged as the best department. This means that, despite high staff turn-over in the branch and the fact that we process more than 30 percent of national EIA applications, we still outperformed all provincial and national departments.

In relation to this recognition by Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), it should be noted that we processed a total of 1710 EIA applications during the year under review. 49 percent of the applications processed were for development of houses, 10 percent of which was for affordable housing. The total affordable housing stock created, including the regularisation of informal settlement, is estimated at more than 300 000 units.

31 percent of applications processed were for infrastructural projects, including roads and telecommunication infrastructure. More than 12 percent of the applications finalised were for industrial and economic development. From these figures, it would not be incorrect to restate that we consider EIA process as developmental tools that contribute to the provincial strategic objective of stimulating economic development. Our EIA handling efficiency also contributed immensely to job creation.

Further, the department continues to lead other provinces in the development of decision support tools as well as tools for effective conservation purposes. It is appropriate to note that this is done in collaboration with municipalities as well as relevant sectors.

To us, it was therefore not entirely surprising that the Auditor-General give us a clean audit report. This on its own confirms that we adhered to the commitment to have all our hands on deck - a commitment that we made at the start of this financial year. I will now briefly talk about some of the activities that led to these recognitions.

Citizens of the world, the poorest of the poor in particular, were recently confronted, and still are, by food crisis. Our own communities were not exempt. Faced by the rising costs of foodstuff and the generally shortage of food, officials in my department zealously engaged the challenge. 1 246 members of our communities, from the poorest of the poor communities, benefited from 23 new community food gardens that we established during the financial year under consideration alone. To help enhance food production in Gauteng, we helped build over 20 boreholes for irrigation purposes. We also established another 20 irrigation systems, over 90 piggery infrastructure. 103 hydroponics projects and 118 poultry projects were established.

One of the factors that precipitated the global food crisis is climate change. Aware of this correlation, we also increased our focus on environmental protection and promotion. With this in mind, we planted over 2 400 trees and removed alien vegetation on more than 10 600 hectares of land. Government correctly considers communication to be an important tool that allows people to be involved in the complex socio-economic transformation process. Aware of this, we also dedicated resources to get our people to know and to participate in the department's activities. To this extent, we generated media coverage valued at more than R1,86 million.

Developmental communication also entails direct unmediated inter-action with recipients of our services. With this in mind, we held 11 capacity building workshops, 131 briefing sessions and 10 gatherings were I, as the MEC, directly discussed service delivery issues with the public. Colleagues and friends, a more detailed account of our service delivery milestones for the year under discussion is contained in the annual report booklet that is in circulation here in the legislature. I will therefore not expand further on these points.

It is also important to note that these milestones communicate to the masses of our people a fact that we have not deviated from the Freedom Charter, contrary to the smokescreen devised by those who cannot cope with the pressure of always putting the masses of our people first in whatever programme the ruling party African National Congress (ANC) undertakes. I now wish to talk to some of the specific issues raised in the report of the Portfolio Committee.

Response to specifics raised by the Portfolio Committee.

I again wish to commend the largely objective oversight report of the Portfolio Committee. I do believe that, like good wine, the work of the Portfolio Committees has qualitatively matured. This said and done, I wish to refer to point 1.1, page six, of the report. In this paragraph, the committee reports that performance indicators used to evaluate the work of the department include "best practice" fiscal standards, efficient, effective and quality policy delivery and good governance including accountability, public participation and transparency.

These are the same principles that the PSC used and concluded that my department is the best department in Gauteng. You would recall that the PSC rated us number three in a comparison that matched us against other national and provincial government departments.

Taking this into consideration, I submit that comments contained under point two of the Committee's report, are not entirely objective. In this regard it should be noted that the committee solicited inputs on our annual report from only four different organisations - organisations that constitute part of a much wider stakeholder base. It is my earnest submission that, had the committee consulted wider than only Lefa La Naga, Temo ke Leruo, Nyanda Zonke and Imizamo Yethu, a more objective evaluation of the valiant efforts by the men and women in the employ of the department would have been arrived at. I am however not suggesting that these organisations were not relevant or that they were not objective. The point is that four are too few a samples to constitute reasonable and objective sampling.

In point 4,1 the committee analyses, among others, challenges relating to our CAPEX projects.

The challenges relate to payment for the CAPEX projects. Without belabouring the issue, I commit that the department will explore more innovative payment measures, measures that will add more value to my department's accounting processes and, hopefully, to the same process of the Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works.

Under point 4,3 the committee notes a few areas that need to be enhanced. Amongst these, the committee has noted our ability to reduce staff turn-over levels to 10.6 percent despite the national challenge of scarce skills. Efforts aimed at speeding-up the de-racialisation of the agriculture sector have also been noted. We are happy about this acknowledgement.

The Portfolio Committee also directs that we should conduct frequent and more comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research, research that will focus on the impact of our overall service delivery programme. This is a matter that the department will certainly take on board going forward. On page 21, the committee notes challenges relating to the commercialisation of our nature reserves. These challenges include, amongst others, the need to improve and enhance activities, like horse trails, available to visitors to the nature reserves. I again wish to commit the department to improve on these areas of concern.

In point 6,3 the committee's has observed that, amongst other challenges, emerging farmers often find it difficult to access established markets. I think that a deeper analysis of the situation would also reveal the existence of the scourge of price-fixing. The latter challenge came into sharper focus during the ongoing global food crisis. Whilst I acknowledge that this challenge goes beyond the scope of one government department, I commit the department to continue seeking synergies with other relevant agencies. These synergies may also examine the suitability and feasibility of establishing alternative markets that will benefit emerging farmers and our poor communities.

Recommendations

Point seven of the committee's report makes several recommendations. I wish to commit the department to do all it can to realisee the essence of these recommendations.

Conclusion

In our language we say 'kgomo ga enye boloko ka moka'. I will now take this opportunity to thank the Portfolio Committee for the outstanding oversight work that it has been executing not only during this financial year, but throughout the current term of office of our democratic government. Mohandas Gandhi once observed that 'the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others'.

I must thank the ruling party, the ANC, for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to lose myself in serving my community at this level. I also wish to extend my gratitude to my fellow MECs, members of the Provincial Legislature and both former Premier Shilowa and our current Premier, Paul Mashatile, for their support and leadership.

I also wish to salute my Head of Department, Dr Steven Cornelius. We took leadership of the department almost at the same time. His brilliant insight and the dedication of his management team and the entire staff of the department have ensured that we do not stray from the strategic objective of delivering a better life for the people of Gauteng.

It is the collective efforts of all these people that have ensured that we drastically reduce our debts to the past. In doing this, we have managed to put the future in debt to ourselves, to borrow from the words of one Scottish politician, John Buchan.

In other words, this collective has done so much to undermine and redeem the horrible legacy of the past apartheid regime. So much has been done that the youth and those not yet born owe it to this collective to protect and actually deepen our democracy.

I thank you.