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4 December 2008

Statement read by Themba Maseko

Cabinet held its last ordinary meeting of the year in Pretoria yesterday, 3 December 2008.

Cabinet expressed condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Dr Nthato Motlana who passed away on Monday morning. Dr Motlana will be remembered as a true veteran who was among those leaders who carried the torch of freedom when many other leaders were either incarcerated or in exile. The meeting called on all South Africans to observe the days of mourning as declared by President Motlanthe.

Government is extremely concerned about the recent developments in Zimbabwe, particularly, the reported food shortages. In this regard, President Motlanthe will convene a meeting of key Ministers to consider ways in which South Africa could work with other countries in the region, donor organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to address the urgent need for food and other humanitarian needs.

Our primary objective is to save innocent lives in that country. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely and we will keep South Africans informed about what we are doing to reduce the burden that many South Africans, especially in cities bordering Zimbabwe, are already experiencing.

Cabinet received a report on the extensive interventions that were implemented by the Interdepartmental Task Team to address the cholera outbreak. These interventions included provision of clean water and medical supplies. The Task Team is working very closely with SADC Ministries of Health and the World Health Organisation to prevent the spread of cholera and other communicable diseases to the rest of the region. Government will continue to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe very closely and to make all the necessary interventions.

The meeting noted that the Zimbabwean negotiators had reached agreement on the draft constitutional amendment that will pave the way for the establishment of a representative government. The leaders of the political parties are expected to approve and sign the draft constitutional amendment as soon as possible. The South African government reiterates its call to the Zimbabwean leaders to put the interest of their people and country first by finalising the constitutional amendment and reaching agreement on the outstanding Cabinet posts as a matter of urgency.

The Constitution Nineteenth Amendment Bill and the Cross-Boundary Municipalities Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bills were approved. These Bills give effect to the decision to re-incorporate Merafong City Local Municipality into the Gauteng province. This decision follows extensive consultations between the affected community and the Minister of Provincial and Local Government. The Bills will be published for public comment and will be submitted to Provincial legislatures of Gauteng and the North West. The Bills will then be submitted to Parliament for consideration.

Cabinet received a progress report on the review of the Criminal Justice System and the following decisions were taken to address some of the urgent weaknesses in the system.

Firstly, Cabinet gave special approval for the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, to be submitted to Parliament for consideration during the final session of this Parliament. This Bill provides the South African Police Services (SAPS) with essential crime fighting tools which include access to finger-printing databases of other government departments for criminal investigation purposes and gives them powers to take and retain finger-print and biometric materials. The Bill also provides for the establishment, administration and use of DNA as a tool to assist with suspect-to-crime-scene matches.

Secondly, The Bail Protocol on the Procedure to be followed in applying section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 was approved for speedy and immediate implementation. This protocol allows the court, on application by a Head of a Prison and if not opposed by the Director of Public prosecutions concerned, to order the release of a certain accused persons on warning in lieu of bail or to order the amendment of bail conditions.

Thirdly, Cabinet approved the proposal to implement an integrated, seamless and national Criminal Justice business information system. All departments and agencies in the criminal justice system will implement the system with immediate effect. This work will be co-ordinated by the Office for Criminal Justice System Reform (OCJSR) which reports to the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

The progress report on the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations was approved and will be submitted to Parliament. The meeting noted that the following TRC related initiatives were still under way: development of regulations on medical assistance; investigation of possible assistance relating to housing and skills development; and the development of a community rehabilitation model.

The Exhumation Policy that was developed in accordance with the TRC recommendations was approved and will be published in the government Gazette for public comments. New regulations on exhumations, reburials and symbolic burials of deceased victims were approved and will be published in the government Gazette for public comment.

The proposed plan for the management of the transition between now and the election of a new government in 2009 was noted and approved. The plan seeks to ensure that the transition after the elections is smooth and does not disrupt service delivery. The plan includes, inter alia, matters such as: all departments should ensure that policies and procedures are institutionalized; that the contracts of Directors Generals that expire immediately after elections be addressed in consultation with the President or the President-elect after the elections with a view to achieving continuity; preparation of hand-over reports by all departments for the incoming ministers and ensuring that a critical mass of staff are retained in the offices of the Ministers to ensure continuity. The Directors-General forum (FOSAD) will ensure that there is proper planning in all departments in this regard.

Cabinet received a report on water security in South Africa. Ms Lindiwe Hendricks, the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, will brief the media on the country's strategy to address water security immediately after this briefing. A comprehensive and co-ordinated strategy on water supply and usage will be also tabled and discussed at the 2009 January Cabinet Lekgotla.

The meeting approved the commencement of preparations for the implementation of Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project following the signing of the agreement with the government of Lesotho.

Measures to improve the outcomes associated with the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) were approved. These measures are firstly, to split MIG into two funding windows from 1 April 2009. One window for large urban municipalities and another for the rest of the municipalities. Secondly, Grant rules and conditions for large urban municipalities will be re-oriented from detailed individual project approvals to nationally monitored, medium term infrastructure outputs and outcomes. This new model will, inter alia, minimise, consolidate and streamline reporting requirements for large cities and remove constraints that hamper efficient delivery of infrastructure.

The report on the implementation of the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation system (GWM&E) was noted as work in progress. The establishment of the monitoring and evaluation forum was approved. This forum will be convened by the Presidency and its objective will be to co-ordinate and align all M&E work in government, including protocols for data sharing and storage.

The Draft Port and Rail Plan was noted as work in progress and will be discussed with key stakeholders before finalisation. The final plan will be resubmitted to Cabinet following such consultations.

The Draft National Youth Policy for the period 2008-2013 was approved for publication and public comment. This policy makes recommendations on measures to advance youth development in the country. A consultative youth indaba on the policy is scheduled to take place on 17 to 19 December 2008, in the North West province.

The policy framework for Overseas Development Assistance by South Africa was approved. This framework will be the basis on which the South African government provides development assistance to other countries.

The proposal to establish the National Centre for Human Language Technologies (HLT's) was approved. This centre will facilitate and promote the use of electronic translation services throughout the country.

Cabinet gave an in-principle approval for Khula to introduce a retail platform (Khula Direct) to complement its wholesale mandate to meet the needs of the lower end of the market. The Department of Trade and Industry will develop an implementation plan for consideration by government in the New Year. The National Space Policy and the National Space Strategy were approved.

The outcome of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Country Report on the South African Education System was noted. The Department of Education will make the report available to the public shortly.

The National Policy and National Minimum Norms and Standards on School Infrastructure were approved and will be gazetted for public comment. These norms and standards are aimed at developing a framework for the delivery of school infrastructure. The Department of Education will set up a specialist unit to focus on the efficient and effective delivery of school infrastructure.

The Hague Convention and Protocol on International Recovery of Child Support and other forms of Family Maintenance was approved. The Convention will be submitted to Parliament for ratification. The formal launch and convening of the first meeting of the General Assembly of the Association of Africa Public Service Commissions, which will be held on 16 to 18 February 2009, was noted.

The Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill was approved together with the State Liability Bill for publication and for public comment. These Bills seek to regulate legal proceedings in matters relating to state liability. The Pretoria High Court had found that certain sections of the State Liability Act of 1957 were inconsistent with the Constitution to the extent that they did not allow for execution or attachment against the state.

Cabinet wishes the South African cricket team a successful tour in Australia.

Cabinet took the opportunity to wish all South Africans a safe, peaceful and happy festive season. All of us must not abuse alcohol, must not drink and drive and must not engage in risky sexual behaviour.

Cabinet wishes all Muslims well as they prepare to celebrate Eid.

The following appointments were approved:

* Ms PS Hadebe was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Land Bank for a three year period
* Mr J Kotane was appointed as the Acting CEO of the Electronic Communications Security (COMSEC)
* Mr V Menzeleni was appointed as an Executive Director at COMSEC
* Mr N Behrens; Mr A De Villiers; Mr Charles Knott-Craig; Mr DR Hall; Ms T Mokgabudi; Prof FW Petersen; Mr M Sibanda; Mr M Silinga; Ms KL Thoka and Prof MJ Wingfield were appointed to the Board of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR), for a four year period
* Dr CJ Augustyn, Mr N Baloyi; Prof ELJ Breet; Prof NH Casey; Prof FD Dakora; Dr F Dilika; Dr MM Dyasi; Dr JF Eloff; Mr OSD Garegea; Mr P Govender; Mr TP Govender; Dr WR Harding; Dr G Henry; Prof M Jeenah; Dr BH Koch; Ms GE Lombard; Mr BS Maloka; Ms NY Maluleke; Dr P Matutu; Ms KS Menon; Dr S Naidoo; Prof BK Reilly; Prof HJ Siweya; Prof DG Van der Merwe and Prof C Van der Westhuizen were appointed to the South African Council for National Scientific Professions (SACNASP), for a four year period.
* The extension of term for Mr R Ntuli; Mr T Mhlambiso; Mr K Seitshiro; and appointment Ms N Mesatywa; a National Treasury Representative and Public Enterprises as Trustees to the Board of the Board of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF); for a twelve month period
* Mr C Fismer was appointed as Chairperson for a twelve month period and the following appointed to the National Gambling Board (NGB) for a five year period; Ms T Moja (Deputy Chairperson); Prof L De Vries; Mr A Keyser; Adv T Aboobaker and four designate members, namely; Ms N Maseti (Trade and Industry); Mr M Macabele (SARS); Assistant Commissioner JW Meiring (Safety and Security) and Ms V Nhlapho (Social Development).
* Ms LB Mabaso was appointed as the Deputy Chief Commissioner: International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the part-time appointment as Commissioners for a three year period of Mr R Mkhwanazi, Mr C Viljoen De Lange and Mr M Marokolo.
* Mr P Govender (Chairperson); Ms BL Marais; Ms M Magasa; Ms N Magwaza; Dr L Makuleni; Mr JP Malatse; Mr TLJ Jafta; Ms JM Rathebe; Mr MLS Saki; Ms EJ Steyn and Mr MA Peet (ex officio) to the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) Board, for a five year period.
* The re-appointment of Ms N Sihlali as a non-executive director to the Board of Sentech, for a three year period.
* Mr N Nene as non-executive director to the Board of the Public Investment Corporation Limited (PIC).

Minister (Lindiwe Hendricks), I will take a few questions on my statement and invite you to come to the podium in a few minutes.

Questions and answers

Journalist: Two questions please. The first relates to the food shortages. There's a seemingly about turn about the government, I think last week or the week before that you guys withheld the R300 million agricultural fund. Are you going to release that money now or what is happening with that money? Second question, last part of the second sentence, 'are expected to sign the draft agreement as soon as possible 'I there any indication of when that might be? Thanks.

Themba Maseko: Let me start with the second question. Former president, Mr Thabo Mbeki, facilitated discussions between the three parties about a week or so ago. The negotiators agreed to the draft amendment and initialled it. The next step is for the principals of the three parties to sign that agreement and our expectation is that, that draft amendment should be signed within a matter of days, but as soon as possible we should say. So we will continue to put pressure on the principals to sign that amendment as quickly as possible. But I can't give you a date unfortunately.

On food shortages, a decision to withhold the R300 million funds still stands. However, the developments over the past few days, especially with regard to the shortages of food, may require some sort of intervention which will allow South Africa and neighbouring countries to make some contributions to provide food to the starving Zimbabwean citizens, but with regard to the R300 million that decision still stands.

The President will convene that meeting with ministers to see what other interventions can be made in the short term to make sure that food can be provided. As you are aware, that fund was meant to provide seeds and diesel, fertilisers and other equipment, anything that in the agricultural sector is necessitated. Even if that money could be available tomorrow, it would not be able to actually put food on the table immediately. So it is very clear that in fact, some other kind of intervention is required, but that decision still stands.

Journalist: [Unclear – mic problem] Report on advocate Pikoli

Themba Maseko: That matter was not finalised at the cabinet meeting. As you are aware, this is a prerogative of the President. The President has received the response from Advocate Pikoli and his lawyers and he is considering the matter and he will make a decision soon. The president does not need to convene a meeting to take a decision on that matter. It is his prerogative. But as soon as he has made a decision on the matter, he will make the announcement and the report will be published.

Journalist: Can you give clarification on a couple of things. What is Business Information Systems that you refer to? Secondly, why do we need a framework for overseas development aid and…the Business Information System is the Criminal Justice Business Information System. What is Business Information? Why do we need an ODA framework?

Themba Maseko: We'll come back to you later. Let's come back to the first question. The Business Information System – basically what the review has found is that the various Criminal Justice System departments, Justice, SAPS, Correctional Services and other agencies that they work with, do not have systems that can actually talk to one another to make sure they can manage the whole Justice System properly. There isn't proper sharing of information. There have even been cases of prisoners being released because Corrections had not been aware that in fact, a particular person who is in prison is also being sought after by the police, so the proposal from the office is that you need one integrated system that will enable all the different agencies and departments that are involved in the management of the Criminal Justice Systems to be able to communicate and interact with one another to make sure that the system becomes much more efficient and effective as part of the process to increase our capacity to fight crime in the country, so it will also include for instance, various initiatives that have been taken by the various departments, but are still undertaken as separate projects – not co-ordinated, not integrated in any way. For instance, the Justice Department is looking at a system of making sure that there is what they call, online applications for bail, without necessarily transporting a prisoner from a correctional facility to court. So applications could be done online. But that system is not talking to any other system in the Criminal Justice System. So the view is that you need one integrated management system that will enable all of these departments to integrate and manage their services in a better, integrated and co-ordinated way. So that's what this system will essentially be about.

The framework for overseas development – Michael, you'll be aware that the South African government does offer aid assistance to a number of countries, for instance today talking about providing assistance to Zimbabwe, but there isn't a clear framework that says this is how we provide assistance, these are the conditions, these are the terms on which this assistance is provided and how that assistance links with South Africa's foreign policy, so this is essentially an attempt to inform the public, but also each and every government department to know that this is the framework in which South Africa from now onwards will provide assistance to other countries in the world. So this framework simply puts greater policy clarity on overseas development assistance.

Journalist: Themba, food shortages in Zimbabwe now for some time, a couple of years in fact, acutely bad over the past couple of months, what material conditions have changed that cabinet is aware of that has now got cabinet extremely concerned and where would they have got that information about the conditions on the ground in Zimbabwe, and then just linked to that, the departmental task team's work on the cholera outbreak, provision of clean water and medical supplies, is that in Zimbabwe I'm assuming? Who is providing those services? What other services are we providing? Have any members of the South African Medical Services been deployed to Zimbabwe? Can you just give us some details about some of those efforts, please?

Themba Maseko: We have an arrangement with the Minister of Health to provide regular updates on what exactly we are doing with regard to the cholera outbreak. So a lot of these services are being provided mainly inside the country, but its very clear that if we continue providing these services inside the country without any interventions taking place inside Zimbabwe itself, chances are that whatever services we are providing within our borders, will constitute a magnet for people to cross the border to come and receive medical attention. So in our interaction with other health ministers in the region, The World Health Organisation and other NGOs, measures are also being put in place to make sure that we support the health facilities in Zimbabwe itself so that people do not have to travel thousands of kilometres into South Africa to receive medical attention. So primarily our efforts are inside the country but we're obviously working with our sister countries in the region, the health organisations and other NGOs to also make sure that ways are found to provide services within Zimbabwe itself.

So yes, we're also providing health personnel, especially to facilities in Musina and in the various temporary shelters that have been created in that area. But we will ask the Minister of Health to once again do a briefing to give an update on what exactly we are providing to deal with the outbreak of cholera and other communicable diseases. With regard to the food shortages in Zimbabwe, all of us are aware that the situation has been gradually deteriorating in Zimbabwe.

The past week or two have given very clear signs that people are already dying of starvation; that diseases are on the increase and therefore its time for urgent action to be taken by ourselves and our neighbouring countries in the SADC region. So these interventions are essentially aimed at making sure that we save lives. All indications are that people are beginning to die of starvation, and we believe that South Africa and the SADC region cannot fold its arms whilst our neighbouring citizens are actually dying because they do not have food.

Journalist: Three quick questions. Firstly, with regard to Zimbabwe, does cabinet still have full confidence in former president Mbeki as the mediator and if so, what is this based on? Secondly, on the matter of Khutsong and the Merafong City, what is the difference between their case and that of Matatiele and Moutse? Moutse is before court but Matatiele as far as I know, is not. What's the situation there? And thirdly, this whole matter of the head of a prison, if not opposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions concerned, to order the release of a certain accused person on warning in lieu of bail or to order the amendment of bail conditions, how will this help the safety of those citizens who are outside of prisons?

Themba Maseko: Government and SADC did express its full confidence in former president Mbeki's mediation efforts and that is why the summit, the recently-held SADC summit asked the former president to continue with the process. So government is still standing by its position that he will continue. It is through his efforts as a facilitator that in fact the parties were able to sign an agreement on 15 September 2008. It is through his efforts that we are now talking about an amendment to the constitution that has been agreed to by the three parties, so at this stage there is no basis on our part to begin to doubt the effectiveness of that facilitation process by former president Thabo Mbeki, so we will continue supporting him to make sure that the process is finalised sooner rather than later.

As far as the cross-border issues are concerned, this particular decision taken by cabinet yesterday is with regard to the Khutsong situation only. However, the minister did indicate to cabinet that he's engaged in extensive consultation with all the affected communities that have issues to raise about cross border matters and as he's conducting consultations with communities, the matter will have to come back to cabinet at some stage for consideration, but he felt that in fact, as far as Khutsong is concerned, he had concluded his consultations with that community and he was ready to make his recommendation to cabinet and that's why cabinet supported this particular decision. But you're absolutely correct. We can't deal with the Khutsong matter as an isolated matter. There are other areas that are affected by cross border issues and cabinet is going to have to take a view of the situation at its next discussion following the consultations that he's having with those communities.

The protocol on bail conditions - Basically, what cabinet discussed, was the fact that this protocol has actually been in place, but its not been used by courts in all parts of the country and as a result, you have a lot of people sitting in prisons that could actually be given bail, especially those suspects who are not posing any threat or danger to society. So, in making this decision, the court is going to have to apply its mind whether in changing the bail conditions or giving a suspect a bail, whether that person will pose a threat to society and if its clear that such an application will lead to the release of a suspect who could cause harm or cause damage to the public, clearly the court will not release such a person and not alter bail conditions. But the system is clogged up as we speak there are too many people in prisons who could be offered bail. Too many people are sitting in prisons because they can't afford a bail of R2 000 because they're unemployed and only people who can afford it are actually given bail in many parts of the country. So this is an attempt to actually reduce the pressure that our courts are experiencing due to overcrowding.
Journalist: Can I just follow-up quickly? Which… could you list those criminals who you believe do not pose any… or suspected criminals who you believe would not pose any threat to society? Why are they there in the first place?

Themba Maseko: I don't have their names here so unfortunately I can't… but now you're asking what categories, we did not look at various categories in this meeting, but we can ask the Department of Justice to just assist by giving you examples of which kind of cases could actually take advantage of this protocol that's being proposed here. So can you take this offline? We can put you in touch with justice to give you specific examples.

Journalist: Did Cabinet discuss Monday's letter from Archbishop Tutu and FW de Klerk to the President calling on him to appoint a commission of inquiry into the arms deal before December 10th?

Themba Maseko: Unfortunately that matter was not discussed by Cabinet, but I'm aware that the President has received the letter and he is applying his mind to the matter and he will respond to them as soon as he has taken a decision on what needs to be done.

Journalist: Just referring to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant changes, does this mean that larger municipalities will get more money or what exactly is going to happen?

Themba Maseko: Well, our information is that you know the larger municipalities generally tend to have a better or a higher level of capacity to implement larger projects and yet they have been subjected to exactly the same procedures for applying for funding for projects and they're exactly the same reporting requirements as smaller municipalities. So what this proposal is suggesting is that instead of larger municipalities applying for individual projects they will be allowed to make submissions and apply for funding for a variety of projects, small and large, and make one simple application which will be considered and funded.

And in terms of their reporting they will also be allowed to give a report on how they've implemented a variety of projects, small and large, to basically achieve the objectives of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. So that's what this amendment is suggesting. However the smaller municipalities because most of them have limited capacity they will are still required applying for individual projects, demonstrating capacity to implement those projects, and they will be funded on the basis of individual projects.

Journalist: Just on the Khula change of focus or addition to the focus, it's taken quite a long time. What had to be done for that decision to be taken and why is it necessary. And secondly, has there been any discussion within Cabinet about the extension of the Chinese clothing and textile quotas? Thanks.

Themba Maseko: At this meeting, Linda, there was no discussion on the Chinese quotas, so the matter was not discussed at this particular meeting. The Khula matter, the matter has taken quite some time largely because a lot of research had to be done on whether it is a good idea to extend the mandate of Khula especially because there are many other institutions that are providing more or less a similar kind of service.

And when the report first came to Cabinet, Cabinet asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to actually conduct a case study and come up with a possible business plan on how this could be implemented and as it was presented at the Cabinet meeting, the view was that in fact there is an opportunity for Khula to play a key role in this level of the market, and it was therefore approved in principle.

However a business plan still needs to be prepared to say if this mandate is extended how it will be implemented, because Cabinet also did not support the idea that Khula needs to be re-capitalised. So the existing funding model for Khula will be retained, but the mandate will be broadened. So Cabinet said go back and see how you could actually implement this new mandate especially because you are not likely to get any new funding to perform that role. Okay.
Journalist: there's a question on the TRC. One of the outstanding items with regard to the TRC is the prosecution of those who didn't give evidence, who didn't appear before the TRC or who weren't granted amnesty. And that is in danger of disappearing because of the disappearance of the Scorpions who were supposed to be looking at it. I wondered what Cabinet's view was on that.

Themba Maseko: Michael, you caught me there, it's one of the issues that are still being looked at, and so I should have included that in the statement. So it's one of the issues that's being considered and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will just give a comprehensive report on all these outstanding matters, and that's also one of the issues to be included. Thank you.

Journalist: Last question. The Movement for Democratic Change, the largest political party in Zimbabwe by virtue of the latest election results, has rejected former President Thabo Mbeki as mediator in Zimbabwe. First of all, how does this affect the South African view and secondly surely if the largest party has rejected the mediator then in effect there is no longer a mediation process in place.

Themba Maseko: Deon, the government is aware of the call by the MDC, however, the SADC summit decided that former President Mbeki must continue playing this role of facilitating the talks, and our position is that that position will continue. The facilitation that took place on the amendment of the constitution that I'm talking about here in the statement, the MDC, both factions of the MDC did participate including the government representatives. So as far as we're concerned the process is indeed on track and there is no need to worry about whether this process is going or not. Okay, Minister, thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. Minister, may I invite you to come and brief the media on the water security matter.

Enquiries:
Themba Maseko
Government Spokesperson
Cell: 083 645 0810

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
4 December 2008