Resolutions of the ANC's 53rd National Conference, Mangaung, December 16-20 2012
8. EDUCATION AND HEALTH
INTRODUCTION
The Commission noted the Political Report by the President, the Organisational Report by the Secretary General, recommendations of the 2012 National Policy Conference, and presentations on the National Development Plan and Census 2011 results. These provided the context in which discussions took place.
The Commission also received presentations on the progress made since the 52nd National Conference in the ANC and government.
Progress was evaluated and plans and programs for the future designed.
After extensive deliberations the commission
Resolved that the details of certain issues will be dealt with by the NEC and that Conference should adopt resolutions tabled in this report.
GENERAL
Establishment of Subcommittees on Education and Health and collation of sectoral ANC policy documents.
1. Noting that:
■ The ANC Subcommittee on Education and Health needs effective and functional structures to carry out its mandate.
■ Sectors in the Subcommittee require current policy documents to promote uniform understanding of ANC policy.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Each Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) immediately establish a provincial subcommittee on Education and Health at all levels of the organisation.
■ At a provincial level an MEC who is not the political head of Education or Health shall serve as a Chair of the Subcommittee on Education and Health. Similarly a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) entrusted with educational and health matters shall not serve as the chairperson at local government level.
■ The NEC Subcommittee on Education and Health conduct comprehensive reviews of official policy documents of specific sectors, namely Basic Education, Higher Education & Training, Health and Science & Technology; and where indicated consolidate existing ANC policy positions into identifiable ANC policy documents by 30 June 2013.
National Development Plan 2030
2. Noting that:
■ The National Development Plan is a long-term strategy for the country's development which enjoys overwhelming support among the various sectors and communities in our country.
■ The National Development Plan broadly resonates and is compatible with the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realization of Schooling 2025.
■ The Health related identified challenges as well as the recommended objectives, targets and actions correlate with those identified by the ANC and Government in a.o the ten point plan and the NSDA.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Conference supports the implementation of the NDP and endorses its objectives and goals.
■ Conference enjoins government departments to note any gaps that might have been identified by the NDP for purposes of policy and planning.
■ The ANC and government mobilize all necessary resources to achieve the goals and priorities set out in the National Development Plan 2030.
BASIC EDUCATION
Stability in schools and protecting education from disruptions:
Noting that:
■ There is general agreement that education has to be protected from disruptions.
■ Disruption of schooling through industrial action and service delivery protests impact negatively on the stability of schools and the quality of education.
69 Therefore resolves that:
■ A Presidential Commission be established to review the remuneration and conditions of employment of education and health professionals and make recommendations on salary adjustments and wage increases in a manner that protects education and health as national priorities.
■ The Commission commences with health and education because they are APEX priorities; and this will set up the benchmark for all other sectors.
Post provisioning norms
Noting that:
■ There is on-going tension between government and trade unions with regards to post provisioning.
And believing that:
■ There must be closer engagement between government and trade union stakeholders to resolve disagreement on class sizes, distribution of educators and redeployment of educators declared redundant.
■ The challenge of providing educators in rural schools and incentives must be reviewed.
■ Urgent attention must be given to the filling of vacant posts and resolving the matter of temporary educators and attend to issues of principals who interfere with enrolment to maintain a particular number of educators.
Further believing that:
■ This solution required close cooperation between government and labour unions.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The department must match teaching skills and competencies with positions to which teachers are appointed.
■ Post provisioning norms in addition to numbers must be informed by socioeconomic context and curricula needs.
■ The department must profile all educators on the basis of their qualification and teaching experience.
■ Provinces must adhere to existing policies to avoid problems currently experienced with the movement of educators to where they are needed.
■ A different and more stable system must be established to avoid yearly movements of teachers, and this must be balanced with providing teachers where they are needed most.
■ The challenge of quality outcomes must also be linked to this point, as poor performance forces parents to move children around schools but also across provinces complicating the deployment of teachers and resources where they are needed.
Resourcing education
Noting that:
■ Conditions under which educators work play an important role in creating job satisfaction.
■ These conditions also play a role in improving the morale of both educator and learner.
Further noting that:
■ The department will integrate all the education infrastructure needs into the current multi-year programs of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC).
■ To maximise benefit, the Commission supported a centralized approach in the procurement of LTSM.
Therefore resolves that:
Procurement
■ Government adopts a centralized approach in the procurement of Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM).
■ Government expands the capacity to print text books and workbooks and own their intellectual property.
■ Uniform and standardized textbooks must be provided to all learners across the system.
School Infrastructure
■ Infrastructure must be dealt with urgently and in an integrated manner.
■ A comprehensive school building program must be developed and coordinated by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee.
70 Monitoring and evaluation of Performance
Noting that:
■ There is general consensus among stakeholders on the need for rigorous monitoring and evaluation of performance in the education sector.
■ The objective of monitoring and evaluation plus evaluation of learner performance must be capacity building in order to keep the process innocent and free of manipulation.
Therefore resolves that:
■ All teachers, principals and deputy principals as well as education officials must be assessed and evaluated with the intention of improving their skills and accountability.
■ People who are to be evaluated must not be the ones determining whether they should be assessed or not and also should not have the final word on how the evaluation should be done.
■ The Integrated Qualifications Management System (IQMS) must be refined, improved and enhanced as efficient instrument for teacher assessment and development.
■ Quality teaching leadership and management development must address both content knowledge and methodology.
■ The Commission confirmed the Polokwane resolution that certain category of teacher training should take place in colleges whilst strictly monitoring quality at those institutions.
■ Accountability mechanisms must be developed to ensure that teachers, principals and all officials in the system are held accountable through an efficient monitoring system utilizing modern technology.
Review of funding model for schools and review of the Quintile Model
Noting that:
■ The funding model based on the quintiles system has material inconsistencies.
■ The model has limitations and unintended results.
■ The current system is being reviewed by government with a clear purpose of arriving at situation where there are "fee" and "nofee" paying schools in the country.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The funding model is endorsed with special emphasis on a bias toward poor communities and the achievement of parity and equality.
■ The quintile model must be transformed to classify schools into fee-paying and non-feepaying schools.
The appointment of school principals
Noting that:
■ The current system used to appoint school principals is deficient and open to undue influences.
■ School principals are important professionals and managers of our schools accountable to the Departments of Education and communities.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Relevant legislation must be amended to allow for a different method of appointment.
■ School principals must be appropriately qualified and also be appointed on merit.
■ The role of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in the appointment of school principals must be clarified and communicated to all learners, parents, communities and other stakeholders.
■ Principals must be held accountable for poor management, poor discipline and poor outcomes.
■ Mechanisms must be developed to enable the deployment of principals in areas of need and for purposes of mentoring and coaching.
The capacity of government
Noting that:
■ The low level capacity and incompetence amongst some government officials has resulted in embarrassment and is entrenching a culture of mediocrity.
■ Some of these appointments are partly caused by flawed appointment processes and the composition of interview panels.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Government be directed to put in place business processes and to institutionalise these, thus making sure that there are consequences for every action.
■ Government must institute constant training and development programmes for government officials.
■ A national skills audit must be carried out at all levels of government as a matter of urgency in order to identify the gaps.
Mismanagement, incompetence and ill-discipline
8. Noting that:
■ The culture of ill-discipline in schools, crime, vandalism, drugs, violence amongst teachers and learners that has to be urgently uprooted.
■ Many educators are not exemplary by engaging in unsavoury relations with learners and therefore get implicated in learner pregnancies, high rate of absenteeism, absconding, unpunctuality, drunkenness and lack of professionalism.
■ The inability of bureaucrats to manage and their incompetence often results in labour unrest.
■ Poor management often leads to mismanagement of labour relations, with the consequence of creating a vicious cycle of ill-discipline and impunity,
■ Poor management completely erodes dignity in the institutions of learning.
■ Some teachers have a poor regard for formal dress code and go to school wearing takkies, jeans and T-shirts.
And further believing that:
■ Conference should support a process of both government and trade unions to cooperate to stamp out ill-discipline in the sector.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The department enforces strict adherence to the disciplinary standards and norms, including adherence to formal and proper dress code.
■ Disciplinary steps must be taken against any official who engages in corrupt, unethical or unlawful practice.
Corruption
9. Noting that:
■ Reports of corruption are increasing, especially irregularities in employment and promotions.
■ There are many cases of conflict of interest that relate to procurement involving public representatives and civil servants.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The ANC takes strong action to deal with corruption.
■ The ANC ensures that all collusion that leads to irregularities is stamped out.
■ The ANC must ensure its name and all its structures are not abused in the furtherance of corrupt activities.
Poor education outcome
10. Noting that:
■ Poor education outcomes are also a reflection of poor leadership at various levels in the system.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The ANC takes responsibility and ensures that both elected leaders and deployed cadres in the administration are held accountable.
■ The ANC must act decisively to turn around the situation.
■ The Subcommittee on Education and Health submits to the ANC leadership a plan of how to ensure accountability of ANC structures, leaders and deployees responsible for delivery and education sector outcomes thus enabling decisive action to be taken where performance does not achieve expected outcomes.
■ The ANC as a party must act on its members who fail to perform.
■ The ANC engage its structures to mobilize grass roots support for improved education outcomes, including the ANC branches, regional, provincial structures, Alliance, parents' bodies and civil society in general in accordance with resolutions of the 52nd National Conference.
72 Language and cultural education
It is resolved that:
■ Teacher development with regard to the use of sign language should be increased.
■ In preparation for the introduction of indigenous languages in 2014, the department must prepare resources, curriculum, teacher development and other support measure to ensure an efficient implementation of the program.
Curriculum
Noting that:
The Minister has appointed a Ministerial Team to investigate, among others,
i. The academic value and benefit of Mathematical Literacy.
ii. Whether it is desirable in Matric to have a pass rate of above 50% in five subjects and 30% in two subjects.
iii. To examine two-stream model in the curriculum for technical schools and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The Minister must investigate the value of Life Orientation, including Environmental Education, and history as compulsory subjects in the curriculum.
■ The recommendation of the Ministerial task team be discussed with the ANC and other stakeholders upon release.
Credibility and image of the sector
Noting that:
■ There is on-going onslaught on the education system that is creating a sense of despair, undermining work and progress made and the general credibility of the system; and Therefore resolves that:
■ A committee be established to examine all matters raised such as the debate including the matric pass requirements, text book provisioning and the ANAs results.
School Governing Bodies
Noting that:
■ Policies and legislation must be reviewed to prevent unfair discrimination and exclusion and to promote integration.
■ A guide on the roles, responsibilities and functions of governing bodies has been distributed to schools.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The power of governing body with regards of the locus of authority in terms of language, and capacity of schools and curriculum choices be reviewed and appropriate policy and legislative changes be made where necessary.
■ The department must develop SGBs in rural and township schools through the funding that has been made available.
■ The department must launch the advocacy campaign encouraging SGBs to co-opt members with appropriate technical skills to assist Governing Bodies.
Section 100 (1)(b) interventions
Noting that:
■ There were concerns that were raised about the declaration of section 100(1)(b) interventions.
■ There has been good progress in the area of intervention.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Interventions must be linked with efforts to develop capacity in areas of interventions.
■ Conference supports these interventions and call upon government to pass the necessary legislation guiding such interventions.
Employment of educators and other civil servants as local government councillors
Noting that:
■ The 52nd National Conference resolved that the ANC must review the issue of civil servants who are local government councillors.
And further noting that:
■ Teachers who are employed as councillors are inevitably distracted by the additional obligations, which impact negatively on their performance.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Government must prioritise passing a law to 73 bar civil servants from taking up employment or positions as local government councillors whilst still employed in government posts.
Multi-grade schools
Noting that:
■ A large number of children attend small, multi-grade schools. In 2011, approximately 26% of schools reported having multi-grade classes similar to figures in 2009.
Believing that:
■ Multi-grade schools have a negative impact on the quality of learning and teaching.
Therefore resolves that:
■ Multi-grade schools must be phased out by 2020.
■ Until such time as multi-grade schools are phased out, focused dedicated service and support must be provided to multi-grade schools with elaboration at all levels in the system starting from national to provincial, district and up to schools level.
Retention and drop-out rates
Noting that:
■ Approximately 590 000 children aged 7 to 18 were not attending any education institution in 2011 of which the majority, viz. 4 in 5 were in the 16 to 18 age group and 1 in 5 were disabled. A higher percentage of males than female aged 16 to 18 were enrolled in education. Teenage pregnancy generally has a negative impact on enrolment; and the secondary completion rate (completion of Grade 12 by 24 year olds), which was 44% in 2009, has increased to 46.5% in 2011.
Learners with Special Education Needs are frequently excluded as a result of not being able to cope with the demands of the National Senior Certificate and Curriculum Statements.
Believing that:
■ Completion of Grade 12 and attainment of the National Senior Certificate qualification is vital for the world of work and post schooling education and training opportunities.
Therefore resolves that:
■ All measures must be taken to strengthen the basic education sector to provide more opportunities for young people as well as increasing retention, progression, and completion rates in the basic education sector. Such measures can include the following:
❏ Focused programmes must be put in places to address drop-out rates especially at high school and the negative effects of teenage pregnancy, gangsterism, and vulnerability including bullying
❏ The two stream model of provisioning must be strengthened to reflect the balance between the vocational and academic pathways.
❏ Post school options must be expanded;
that is, collaboration between DBE and DHET must be strengthened to improve articulation between basic and post-school education in order to expand the effectiveness of credible post-school education and training options.
❏ Inclusive education. The development and advocacy of learning programmes linked to the National Senior Certificate and the National Curriculum Statement must be.
Early Childhood Development, including Grade R
Noting that:
■ There has been a significant increase in the enrolment of learners in ECD - especially in Grade R. 84% of learners entering Grade 1 have attended Grade R in schools according to 2011 Household statistics. Pre-Grade R attendance in ECD has doubled since 2008, and we are on track for universal coverage.
Believing that:
■ ECD contributes to accelerated development and that participation in ECD and Grade R is key to develop the basic skills for future successful learning and it is critical that South Africa meets the goal of universal access to Grade R by 2014.
Resolve that:
■ A National Policy for Grade R must 74 be finalised in order to make Grade R compulsory;
■ Qualified teachers for Grade R must be trained and employed and professionalization of all Grade R practitioners must be achieved by 2018
Adoption of the National Development Plan 2030 Implementation plan for Basic Education
Noting that:
■ The resolutions are aimed at enhancing policy and will help shape an integrated implementation plan on Basic Education.
■ Such a plan provides greater detail and time lines for the implementation of such a plan.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The attached implementation plan forms the basis and framework for government in dealing with the issues pertaining to the resolutions.
■ The implementation plan is hereby adopted as appropriate.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Implementing free higher education for the poor in South Africa
Noting that:
■ Significant strides have been made in finalizing the policy on free higher education to all undergraduate level students from for the poor and working class communities for phased implementation from 2014.
■ A draft policy on Free Higher Education has been completed has been completed, and the broad consultative process, including the social, economic analysis and impact and consultation with Treasury will ensue.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The policy for free higher education to all undergraduate level students will be finalized for adoption before the end of 2013.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme
Noting that:
■ University education is costly.
■ The principle of increased access to higher education is a core transformation goal.
■ Academically capable students from poor families should not be expected to pay up-front fees in order to access higher education.
■ Academically capable students from working class and lower middle class families should also be subsidised with their families providing a household contribution to their studies in proportion to their ability to pay.
■ The fees that must be covered include tuition, accommodation, food, books, other essential study materials or learning resources and travel that is the full cost of study fees.
■ The upfront fees that are provided and enable fee-free university education for the poor and subsidised fees for the working class and lower middle strata, should be made available as loans through a strengthened NSFAS system. Part of the loan should be converted to a bursary for successful students.
Therefore resolves that
■ A newly structured national student financial aid system must be introduced to enable fee-free education from 2014 onwards.
■ A policy dialogue model must be utilised to develop a fully-fledged costing model.
■ The current NSFAS must be used as a basis for introducing the newly structured scheme.
■ Consideration must be given to a graduate tax for all graduates from higher education institution.
Community service for graduates from higher education institutions
Noting that:
■ There is currently no national youth or graduate community service scheme in South Africa, which covers all youth and/or graduates.
■ The only comparable national programme for graduates is the community service requirement that graduates in a variety of health science programmes have to fulfil.
75 Therefore resolve that:
■ Community service is in principle required from all students who are funded from the fiscus, government bursaries and/ or loan schemes with the need to leverage employment and internship opportunities in the public service for different professional fields; and
■ Impact studies must be commissioned to inform a policy on Community Service for Higher Education Graduates, initially targeting professional fields linked to national human resource development priorities and progressing to a community service scheme for all higher education graduates.
Infrastructure for post-school education and training system Infrastructure for post-school education and training system:
Noting that:
■ The expansion of the post school education and training system to achieve the 2030 enrolment targets requires extensive infrastructure investment over the next 18 years including the construction of 5 Universities, 20 Teacher Education Campuses and 55 Further Education and Training Colleges.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The Department of Higher Education and Training consolidates the infrastructure requirements with estimated costs to expand the post school education and training system which will be linked and coordinated by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordination Council (PICC).
On Higher Education Colleges
Noting that:
■ The DHET has been established specifically to enable the coherent and well-articulated offering of higher education, vocational education and skills development through a variety of post school institutions which are under national legislative competence, these colleges continue to operate outside of this sphere and therefore cannot be well integrated into the post school system.
■ All post school education and training institutions should be governed under national authority and specifically regulated under the requirements of Higher Education and Training legislation.
Therefore resolve that:
■ All public Colleges, specifically Agricultural and Nursing Colleges currently under provincial authority must be moved to a national competence in line with the constitution, and should be governed under the relevant Higher Education and Training Act.
■ All Agricultural Colleges must be immediately transferred to the Department of Higher Education and incorporated fully into the post school system.
■ All nursing colleges must be immediately transferred to the National Department of Health but must operate under the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1997 as amended, and must be fully incorporated into the post school system in terms of articulation, governance, information systems and skills planning.
On former Teacher Education Colleges
Noting that:
■ All education infrastructures should be effectively utilised for educational purposes in order to ensure expanded access to educational opportunities for our youth.
■ Former Colleges of Education are well placed across the country and represent significant infrastructure that could be recapitalised for teacher education, as well as other post school education and training opportunities.
■ Specifically there is a need to open new Teacher Education Campuses to enable the strengthening and expansion of foundation phase and intermediate phase African language specific teacher education, as well as a need to open new FET College campuses and Community Education and Training Centres.
Therefore resolves that:
■ A full audit of all former College of Education infrastructure must be undertaken to identify those Colleges which are not being utilised for educational purposes or 76 are underutilised and could be productively used to expand post school education and training opportunities.
■ All former colleges not utilised for educational purposes e.g. as university campuses, FET College campuses, teacher development institutes or centres, must be recapitalised for foundation and intermediate phase teacher education or as FET College campuses, or for other post school education purposes.
Other matters
The Commission further raised a number of issues amongst which the following may be noted:
1. A special committee on the transformation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has been established by the Minister.
2. A funding model informed by the report of the Ramaphosa Commission is biased in favour of the Historically Disadvantaged Institutions of Higher Learning.
3. Bogus colleges that have not been registered have been criminalized.
4. A review process of the curriculum content of the National Senior Certificate - Vocational (NSC-V) has been initiated.
5. A policy document seeking to align FET Academic schools, Technical Schools and FET Colleges is being developed.
6. An initiative has been launched to attract better qualified FET lecturers and staff.
7. There are discussions between Higher Education & Training and Higher Education South Africa (HISA) in relation to standardization of points or scores for purposes of admission to universities or universities of technology.
8. The Minister of Higher Education & Training in his capacity as a convener of the Human Resource Development Inter- Ministerial Task Team has approached State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), sister departments and the private sector to provide opportunities for practical training of graduates. Eskom has already taken about 8000 learners as interns and apprentices.
9. The process of centralized applications for Higher Education Institutions has commenced and will be refined over time.
HEALTH
National Health Insurance (NHI)
Noting:
■ Progress made in the implementation of the NHI, including the setting up of pilot sites in at least 11 districts covering all provinces.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The NHI fund be set up urgently using state revenue by 2014.
■ The ANC should mobilise broad social support for the roll out of the NHI.
■ The ANC should continue to guide and oversee government process of developing the White Paper and legislation on the NHI and should be finalised by 2013.
Central hospitals, namely academic hospitals directly attached to medical schools
Noting that:
■ Central hospitals are national assets providing services across provinces.
■ Central hospitals are an integral part of universities by virtue of being primary training platforms which no medical university can do without.
■ All universities are competencies of the Department of Higher Education.
■ The NHI will need an expanded training platform to produce adequate health professionals.
Therefore resolve that:
■ Central hospitals must become the responsibility of national government including overall management.
■ National Health must ensure improved management and related capacity of central hospitals to deliver services efficiently and effectively.
Security and efficiency of supply of critical services
Noting that:
■ Intermittent deterioration of quality of health care within public health institutions, especially in the areas of cleanliness, safety and security of staff and patients, attitude of staff, infection control, the long queues and stock-out of drugs and other essential services.
■ Improvement of quality of public health services has been identified as a key success factor in the implementation of NHI.
■ Cost reductions have been achieved in the centralisation of procurement of medicines.
■ Pharmaceutical depots are no longer a best practise for sustainable supply of medicines by the countries with developed and efficient health systems because of inherent risks of pilferage, expired stock, lack of security of supply and inefficient distribution to hospitals and clinics.
Therefore resolve that:
■ Critical services such as cleaning services, security services, food services and laundry services and linen supply must be provided in-house and not be outsourced.
■ The department introduces direct delivery of pharmaceuticals, dry dispensary and related supplies to facilities by suppliers to ensure improved turnaround times and prompts payment of suppliers.
■ The department extends the central procurement mechanism to all pharmaceuticals, dry dispensary and medical equipment and devices.
■ State must have majority shareholding in the state owned pharmaceutical company.
Human Resources Development
Noting that:
■ The National Health System currently experiences a critical shortage of professional and technical staff.
■ The NHI will require increased numbers of health professionals and technical personnel.
■ Nursing remains the backbone of the health care system.
■ While it is important that nurses also continue their studies at universities, universities cannot be the primary training platform for the nursing profession as the training of nurses is mostly a bedside experience.
Therefore resolves:
■ To welcome the National Human Resource Strategy for Health.
■ That the Primary training platform for nurses should be located at nursing colleges inside the hospitals, and that the department accelerates the refurbishment of such colleges.
■ To accelerate the training of health professionals in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and local Universities; and, where necessary, to extend training to outside the borders of our country.
Healthy lifestyles
Noting that:
■ Ever-increasing global burden of Non- Communicable Diseases, which in our country adds to the already high incidence of communicable diseases such HIV & AIDS and TB.
■ United Nations high-level meeting in the General Assembly as well as National Summit held in September 2011, imploring countries to deal decisively with the risk factors of smoking, harmful use of alcohol, poor diet and lack of exercise.
■ Generally NHI systems around the world are sustained through initiatives targeted at reducing the burden of Diseases, including NCD's, violence and injury especially on the roads, by mechanisms that control the risk factors.
Therefore resolve that:
■ Government must fast track legislation and regulations to deal with the risk factors of diseases and injury, including the creation of a multi-sectoral Health Commission whose function is specifically to deal with the said risk factors.
■ The ANC and government must embark on activities to promote healthy lifestyles through mobilization of individuals and communities to engage in physical activities, good dietary practices and reduction of harmful use of alcohol, tobacco and to control of substance abuse.
■ Government must strengthen the capacity of rehabilitation services in the public sector with a focus on mental health, physical disability, gender based violence, childhood trauma and substance abuse.
78 Infrastructure
Noting:
■ The health infrastructure backlogs, poor maintenance of health facilities, underspending and poor project management capacity.
■ The need to accelerate the revitalisation of health facilities as well as building new ones.
■ That health infrastructure is one of the SIPs in PICC.
■ There is a need for massive health infrastructure for NHI
Therefore resolves that:
■ Under the auspices of the PICC, a comprehensive audit of all health infrastructure be conducted, revitalization and refurbishment of all substandard infrastructure be executed by 2025 using the public fiscus and public-private partnerships where appropriate.
■ The department establishes teams of engineers and other professionals in built industry from, e.g., the CSIR, DBSA, Transnet, Eskom, to provide health infrastructure on a massive scale in the pilot districts in order to shorten the pilot period.
■ Provincial health departments must establish effective project management teams led by Technical professionals such as engineers.
■ The department establishes workshops in health facilities for maintenance of infrastructure and medical equipment.
Quality of Health Care
Noting that:
■ Health facilities easily run out of essential supplies and services despite budgetary allocation.
■ The Office of Health Standard Compliance (OHSC) Act has been passed by national parliament in November 2012; which prescribe for the establishment of the following 3 units: Inspectors, Ombudsperson and Certification office. These Units are established for the implementation and monitoring of core-standards.
Therefore resolves to:
■ Establish the OHSC nationally and in each province from 2013.
■ Appoint Ombudsperson by 2013.
■ Accelerate the establishment of facility improvements teams for each district.
■ Adopt non-negotiables for health, e.g. pharmaceuticals, security, vaccines, food, dry dispensary, as a policy and good practice for hospitals and clinics.
Re-engineering of primary health care
Noting that:
■ Primary Health Care is the heartbeat of any sustainable health system globally.
■ The PHC remains at the core of the overhauling of the health system and the NHI in South Africa.
■ Progress was made in the re-engineering of the PHC through the School health programme, municipal ward-based primary health care agents, districts specialist teams and contracting GPs to work in clinics in pilots districts.
Further noting:
■ The centrality of the school health programme in giving children a head start in disease prevention and health promotion as well as the need to social crisis like barriers to learning, teenage pregnancy, teenage termination of pregnancy and substances abuse.
Therefore resolves to:
■ Launch a massive family planning programme throughout the country by 2013 under the theme "Dual Protection".
■ Ensure consultation of parents on school health programme, in relation to reproductive health rights, HIV counselling & testing and prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
■ Establish the National Health Commission in 2013, which will be a multi-sectoral platform to promote healthy lifestyles, encourage prevention of diseases and promote health care; by enforcing health regulations.
■ Pass regulations on tobacco control, in line with World Health Organisation's framework convention on tobacco control as it relates 79 to elicit trading of tobacco products, by 2014.
■ Pass law to abolish marketing of alcohol products by 2013.
■ Accelerate regulations on diet and content of salt in food stuffs.
■ Accelerate the contracting of General practitioners to work in government clinics.
Cost of Health Care
Noting:
■ Extremely exorbitant fees charged in private health care which have markedly increased health inflation.
Therefore resolves to:
■ Establish a National Pricing Commission to regulate the health care in the private sector by 2013.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Noting that:
■ Science, technology and innovation requires greater attention in the work and policies of the ANC.
■ Science, technology and innovation across public and private sectors remains somewhat fragmented.
■ The ANC 50th National Conference emphasized the importance of science and technology in human resource development and economic growth.
■ The need for a clear policy on the strategic leadership, coordination and governance of the Science, Technology and Innovation system.
Further noting that:
■ Government declared 1998 the Year of Science and Technology and launched a five‐year public awareness campaign in Science and Technology; and that the ANC
Resolved that this campaign be linked to the educational campaign to build a culture of learning, teaching and service.
■ The 50th ANC National Conference
Resolved to call upon government to ensure that programme and broader efforts to restructure the country's science and technology infrastructure to benefit the poor and rural areas.
■ The Ministerial Review Committee recommendations on the governance and financing of the Science, Technology and Innovation system tabled in 2012.
Believing that:
■ Science, Technology and Innovation are central to finding appropriate solutions for any society to address its socio-economic challenges.
■ The achievement of the vision 2030 will require investment in innovations of new knowledge and technology
■ The Developmental State must lead in strengthening the capacity, co-ordination, funding as well as ensuring mainstreaming of Science, Technology and Innovation in both the public and private sector.
Therefore resolves that:
■ The 53rd National Conference Strategy and Tactics make reference to critical role of the National System of Innovation in building the knowledge based economy.
■ The ANC should prioritise science and technology policy development, implementation and monitoring capacity.
■ The principle of mainstreaming Science, Technology and Innovation in the ANC, government and the private sector be adopted.
■ The Ministry of Science and Technology should provide strategic leadership and coordination of the National System of Innovation.
■ The Government should adequately finance and capacitate the National System of Innovation and target achieving 1,5% expenditure of GDP by 2017.
Source: African National Congress. The full and original text of the resolutions can be accessed here - PDF.
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
