Committees in Brief – “Following up on our commitments to the people”

“The committee also told the Mayors to present detailed plans from both cities on the enforcement of the regulations and social distancing recommendations.”

The Select Committee on Security and Justice received a request from the South African Police Service (SAPS) for a new six months’ firearms amnesty, commencing from August this year.

The SAPS told the committee that a total of 27 336 firearms were surrendered during the 2019/2020 amnesty period, which is far below the number of firearms surrendered during the 2005 amnesty, declared for the same period of six months. Last month, the final month of that amnesty period, more than 11 000 firearms were surrendered. This includes illegal firearms and those voluntarily surrendered.

The committee heard that granting another amnesty period will afford the communities another opportunity to surrender illegal and unwanted firearms and/ or ammunition, in an effort to curb the proliferation of illegal firearms in circulation. It is believed that another amnesty, if declared, will be in the interest of the public since many people have shown a willingness to participate.

The aim of the amnesty was to reduce the number of illegally possessed firearms in circulation in South Africa, to provide firearm owners the opportunity to hand in unwanted firearms, to prevent crime and violence and to promote safety, to address the fundamental causes of crime in order to effectively protect our communities, and to ensure people living in South Africa feel safe and have no fear of crime.

The Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, together with the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour, expressed a concern on the number of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) that are assisted by the department through debt-relief programme..

The committees heard that the department received 35 865 applications from the SMMEs who applied for the debtrelief, and only 14 451 were found to be complete and the incomplete ones were referred to SEDA for assistance. Those SMMEs that acquired loans from SEFA also qualify for a repayment holiday.

The department has disbursed R530 million debt-relief funds by 28 May 2020 to only 1 501 SMMEs. It is against this backdrop that the committees raised a serious concern with the department. A total of 13 000 SMMEs whose applications were found to be complete remain unfunded.

The Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration and Public Works and Infrastructure received a briefing from Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) on its Annual Performance Plan.

The briefing formed part of the budget vote process of deliberating and approving the five-year strategic and annual performance plans as required by the Money Bills Act of 2009.

The administrator reported that Prasa is operating on a R2.8 billion deficit which is increasing due to an additional R750 million required for COVID-19 interventions.

The committee urged Prasa to ensure that maximum attention is given to the Corridor Recovery Programme as the Cape Town Mainline and the Mabopane line in Gauteng are central in the transportation of workers to work, and the fact that they are not working has inconvenienced and added financial burden to already stressed people in disadvantaged communities who rely heavily on the lines for transport.

The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements has urged the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to offer improved support mechanisms to municipalities that continue to struggle, despite the invocation of Section 139 (1)(b) of the Constitution.

The committee welcomed the information that of the eight municipalities under Section 139 (1)(b), three have achieved an unqualified audit opinion for the 2018/2019 financial year. Furthermore, six of the eight municipalities are operating with a funded budget for the 2019/2020 financial year. “This signifies commendable progress towards making municipalities functional, which will translate into improved service delivery to the people of KwaZuluNatal. The improvements can be used as best practice to guide us in ensuring Section 139 interventions bear fruit,” said Mr China Dodovu, the Chairperson of the committee. The reduction of Eskom debt is also commendable in the context of the financial challenges faced by the entity and the threat to our economy if it fails. For example, it is commendable that Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality was able to reduce its debt by 67% while Abaqulusi Local Municipality reduced its debt by 34%.

The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) wanted answers from the Mayors of the City of Cape Town and the Buffalo City Municipality on the enforcement of social distancing and lockdown regulations in communities experiencing high Covid-19 infection rates.

The committee also told the Mayors to present detailed plans from both cities on the enforcement of the regulations and social distancing recommendations. To the Mayor of the City of Cape Town, the committee also wanted details about the number of City police officers deployed per area, along with the other material resources deployed to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Faith Muthambi, asked the Mayor of the City of Cape Town to list the Covid-19 hotspots in the City and in response heard that these included Khayelitsha, Imizamo Yethu, Guguletu and Klipfontein. Ms Muthambi also wanted confirmation about any privately-owned quarantine facilities.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba, said she is troubled by recent incidents reflecting an increase in gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.

Recently, the country awoke to the news of the brutal murder of 28-year-old Ms Tshegofatso Pule, who was eight months pregnant, who had been stabbed multiple times and then hung in a tree. The latest shocking incident is the double murder of Ms Altecia Kortjie (27) and her seven-year-old daughter, Raynecia. As a result, South African women live in fear for their lives, Ms NcubeNdaba said.

Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared GBV a national crisis and outlined an emergency plan to stop the scourge. The plan aims to address the systemic failure of the state and society more broadly to respond to GBV, by preventing the violent behaviour and social norms that give rise to it.

Ms Ncube-Ndaba has questioned the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities’ progress with this plan and asked the department to indicate its work done to date so that women feel safer. “The announcement by the President that GBV is a national crisis is correct. Every day we wake to the news of women killed at the hands of their intimate partners. Many of these cases go unreported in the media.”