FF PLUS' ANNUAL EVALUATION OF ANC GOVERNMENT
The FF Plus leader and deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Dr. Pieter Mulder, today announced the FF Plus' annual evaluation of the ANC government's performance.
The FF Plus has for the past eight consecutive years evaluated (drew up a report card) of the ANC's performance according to specifically those issues which, from the viewpoint of the average FF Plus supporter, are important. The following issues were evaluated and a mark allocated:
1. Combating Crime: 5
2. Local Government: 2
3. Education: 5
4. Finance and Economy: 6
5. Health: 3
6. Mining: 4
7. Energy: 3
8. Water Affairs: 3
The allocation of marks was done by members of the FF Plus from across the country.
It appears from the above evaluation that the ANC, from the view of the average FF Plus voter had obtained an average of 40% this year. This is a failure mark," Dr. Mulder said.
Dr. Mulder added that there are certain departments which have made huge progress during 2010, but that general poor service delivery and appointments which were made based upon political camaraderie, have hindered the ANC's performance.
The FF Plus remains committed to a South Africa which offers room for everyone. The party will in 2011 - as in previous years - set up to constructive talks where it is possible and mobilizing of opposition and resistance where it has to.
FF Plus' annual evaluation of the ANC's performance
Introduction
The FF Plus has for the eighth consecutive year evaluated (drawn up a report card) of the ANC's performance relating to specifically those issues which are important, as seen from the viewpoint of the average FF Plus supporter. The issues which were evaluated are:
1. Combating crime
2. Local Government
3. Education
4. Finances and Economy
5. Health
6. Mining
7. Energy
8. Water Affairs
The awarding of points was done by members of the FF Plus from across the country.
The party has attempted to not evaluate individuals but rather to evaluate the experiencing of government policy as a whole.
The report does not purport to be objective, but it is however a true summary of the average FF Plus voters' experiencing of government policy.
The government's "exam result" for 2010 is presented in greater detail below.
1. Combating Crime
Combating crime is constitutional obligation of which the political responsibility is that of the minister of Police and government (Section 205(3) & 206). If a government fails in this, the state fails.
The facts which had been considered for the evaluation are the following:
1.1 Murder. Although the latest crime statistics indicate that the figures for murder (raw figures) had dropped with 7,2%, robberies at homes have for the fourth consecutive year increased. If it is taken into account that in the past seven years more than 5,56 million people in South Africa had been victims of violent crime, South Africa is still an unsafe and violent country. The decrease in murder (raw figures) which indicate that for this reporting year 16 834 people had been murdered as opposed to the 18 148 people in 2008/2009, a false peace can be created about crime in South Africa . The murder figure is now 34,1 people in every 100 000 of the population, where it was 37,3 per 100 000 last year, but the world average for murder is 5 people in every 100 000 of the population. In South Africa fifty people are murdered every day and murder is still seven times higher than the world average.
1.2 Robberies at residential homes. Robberies at residential homes is extremely worrying and has increased by 2,7% (18 786) from last year. The increase for robberies at residential houses for the past four years is 69,9%. If it is taken into account that robberies at residential houses in 2008/2009 had increased by 27,3% (18 438), in 2007/2008 with 13,5% (14 481) and in 2006/2007 with 26,4% (12 761), robberies at residential houses have for the past four years increased by 69,9%
1.3 Controlling of firearms. The Police's handling and controlling of firearms is extremely poor. To a question posed by the FF Plus, the Minister could not even say how many R5 assault weapons of the Police had gone missing. The announcement that the backlog in the application of re-licensing of firearms in terms of the Firearms Act (Act 60 of 2000) will be processed within nine months, when the Minister at the time did not even know what the backlog is, attests of ignorance and empty promises.
1.4 Police Headquarters. Cele's handling of the application for a second Headquarters for the Police at a cost of R500 million over a period of ten years, speaks of extravagance and the FF Plus had submitted a complaint to the Public Protector and is awaiting the report.
1.5 Promotion discrimination. Increasing racism against white members in the SAPD leads to these people not being able to function properly and are overburdened with work of other colleagues who are incompetent. Promotion possibilities for white SAPD members are still very slim and discriminating such as in the case of Capt. Renate Barnard.
1.6 Incomplete statistics. From various questions of the FF Plus in Parliament it appears that the Police's statistics are incomplete or that certain facts are calculatingly not made public. The Minister can for example not say how many criminals from other countries are involved with crime; how many murders had been committed with legal firearms; and how many of its firearms had gone missing (R5 assault weapons). The Minister also point blank refuses to make figures about farm murders public.
1.7 Politicising of the Police. The Police serves all and should politically be neutral. The most controversial and unforgivable comment has been made by the newly appointed deputy minister of Police, Ms. Maggie Sotyu, i.e. that the courts hand lighter sentences to white people than they do to black people. This speaks of prejudice, racism and ignorance as the case which she used as an example has not been concluded yet. With such remarks, she infringes upon the independence of the Police and creates polarisation.
Positive aspects are that the public comments of the Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, send a strong message to criminals that they will be confronted with the full might of the Police. In various operations have been successful and criminals have been caught. The safety around the World Soccer Cup was good. The latest announcement by the Commissioner, Bheki Cele, that basic training will be increased to two years is welcomed but the practical implementation should first have to be proven.
What are worrying are the issues as set out above. It indicates that the Minister and the government will still have to do quite a lot to combat crime in order for civilians to feel safer in South Africa .
The FF Plus' awarding of points to the ANC for combating crime rises from 4/10 for 2009 to 5/10 in 2010.
2. Local Government
We evaluated local government in relation to the five key performance areas for Local Government.
2.1 Municipal transformation and organisational development:
The Minister's call on Afrikaner and other experts of municipal administration to step forward to improve service delivery was judged as very positive. The negative was however that people who had stepped forward were treated in a humiliating manner by the senior executive management of the Ministry and showed the door.
Opposed to this, affirmative action is still being enforced in a senseless way in that experienced officials are being replaced by inexperienced and incompetent cadres. The result is that the number of municipal workers is still increasing without effectiveness and the increase of service delivery. At some municipalities up to 80% of the revenue is spent on salaries alone. Senior officials who fail are not fired but are merely redeployed from one municipality to the next.
2.2 Basic service delivery:
The government's lack of taking action against unrestricted urbanisation is resulting in huge backlogs in the provision of services such as water, electricity and sewerage increasing everyday. It also places tremendous pressure on existing infrastructure which due to poor planning and a lack of expertise can not be maintained properly and can therefore not manage the increased volumes. Water maintenance is but one example. Of the 852 maintenance plants only 3,8% have green drop status and 403 plants could not be evaluated as a result of poor functioning due to incompetent officials.
2.3 Local economic development:
Local management's task is to create a climate and opportunities for investment and economic development. The only thing happening at present is that shiny names are thought up for projects which only later fail. The projects fail because corrupt officials award the projects to friends and very little or no monitoring of the implementation of the projects take place. In this way millions of rand is wasted. One of the few successes is in Westonaria with a grass farm at the water maintenance plant.
2.4 Municipal financial management and attainability:
According to the Auditor General of the 283 municipalities, only 4 have clean audits. In 2008/2009 wasteful expenditure amounted to R117 million and unlawful expenditure the huge amount of R2,3 billion. The Special Investigations Unit is at present busy with investigations into irregularities in 38 municipalities, amongst which two Metro's, i.e. Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, as well as all 25 municipalities in the Northwest.
The poor financial management is ascribed to: corrupt officials; a lack of expertise and leadership; the purposeful ignoring of legal prescripts and tender procedures; as well as ineffective internal audit and risk management systems.
2.5 Good government and public participation:
In the non-ANC areas, ward committees are a farce which is dysfunctional. Where public participation meetings do take place, it is abused by the ANC to garner political support with out-dated slogans and promises of houses and employment opportunities.
Accessibility for the public to senior officials and communication does not exist at all at the majority of municipalities. In Mogale City for example it took ten months to organise a meeting with the municipal manager.
The numerous declarations of disputes throughout the country confirm the poor government and no public participation.
On the negative side the years started with violent and increasing public protests about the shortcomings and under-performance of municipalities. The much talked about turnaround strategy for Local Government, which was made public in March of this year to address the issues, did not deliver anything. In the same manner nothing came of the promises to bring professionalism and expertise. Furthermore, service delivery drastically worsened in the midst of incompetence, poor financial management and the decline of infrastructure.
On the positive side, the Freedom Front Plus is carefully optimistic that Minister Sicheka's statement of the 1st December of his intention to create a special vehicle consisting of a pool of expertise to assist struggling municipalities, will possibly be more successful than the previous one.
In the light of the above and the lack of any improvement, the FF Plus can not award a higher mark than the one of last year and a mark of 2 out of 10 is once again awarded.
3 Education
Education had its low and high points this year. The low points can be summarised as follows:
3.1 Dragging of heels with the announcement of matric results of the previous year:
Many matriculants were disrupted because their matric results were not released timeously to register for entrance to tertiary institutions. Thereafter they had to fight for months in order to obtain proof of their results.
Mpumalanga is the province which rendered the poorest service in this regard. In the end, the only way to obtain proof of results was to take the department to court. This speaks of extremely poor service delivery and administration.
3.2 The continued targeting of single medium Afrikaans schools:
From results which were drafted in the Gauteng department, it appears that the department is continuing the targeting of a few single medium Afrikaans schools. These schools form a minimal percentage of the total number of schools in South Africa . Where numerous schools in mostly black communities are running empty or remain under-used, this action appears to be politically inspired. Certainly there are much more important problems at the 96% of other schools in order not to have to focus on these schools. Internationally there are more than sufficient examples of the right of children and parents to single medium schools in their mother tongue. Where all Afrikaans schools have for a long time been integrated, this should be seen as a direct attack on the Afrikaans language.
3.3 The Education strike and the influence of Education Trade Unions:
The striking of teachers this year points to selfishness and irresponsibility which can not be tolerated. The time the strikes took place was a critical time for matriculants. Without taking the negative consequences of the strike on children into consideration, the strike continued for days on end. Without a doubt, the strike will have a direct influence on this year's matric results. The department can not be held directly responsible for the strike, but the huge influence of the trade unions and the powerlessness of the department will have to be addressed in future in order to rescue education in this country.
3.4 Higher education:
With regard to education, Afrikaans as language of instruction is still under pressure. Traditional Afrikaans universities should put more pressure on government to retain their language status. Afrikaans students, parents and Afrikaans organisations and businesses who are donors to these institutions, should also have their voices heard in this regard. The Minister of Higher Education's propaganda views on Higher Education is judged to be negative.
3.5 Highlights with regards to education:
The department's strict enforcement of the rules with regards to no work, no pay, is positive. The Minister of Basic Education's honesty about the problems in education and her acknowledgement that teachers have to undertake too many administrative tasks is positive. According to her teachers belong in the classroom.
The final confirmation that OBE will be scrapped is also important. Unfortunately a whole generation of children were sacrificed and suffered an injustice with this educational model which had been forced on learners in a stubborn manner.
We award a mark of 5 out of 10 and hope that the promises of the Minster of Basic Education will materialise.
4. Finances and Economy
4.1 Nationalisation. The confusing talks of government leaders this year with regard to the economy and nationalisation created great confusion inside and outside of South Africa . Socialistic ideologies sometimes look good on paper, but in practice it creates the way for the ruining of an economy with many examples of how it ends up in total poverty. In the light of this, the nationalisation of mines and agricultural land is critically dangerous for any economy.
4.2 Productivity. The FF Plus is of the opinion that the market economy will not be rescued by socialist ideologies, but can only be rescued through the drastic increase of productivity. In the South African population of 49,3 million, only 5,3 million contribute to government revenue through income tax and only 1,2 million of the 5,3 million carries 75% of personal and company tax. With an unemployment figure of more than 40%, the prospects do not look very good. To create posts to make the statistics look better is also not a long term solution. Positions which are created have to contribute to increased production. The government, the private sector, trade unions and workers will have to commit themselves to greater productivity. This will lower production costs, make the economy more competitive and encourage job creation. It will further contribute to human and intellectual capital without which growth is not possible.
4.3 Growth Rate. South Africa needs a growth rate of between 6% and 8% to create wealth and create the number of jobs the government has set as its target. There is no hope that South Africa will realise a growth rate of 3% in 2010 because to attain this the growth rate of the fourth quarter will have to triple which does not appear to be attainable. The FF Plus hopes that the growth rate could increase in 2011 to 4% which would be a better basis for further growth.
4.4 Interest rates. This year interest rates dropped to record lows. The lower repo rate holds as many disadvantages for South Africa 's economy as it holds advantages. Exports suffer under this trend. It also leads to greater trend in non-savings which is negative for the economy. On the positive side, it eases the repayment of debt.
4.5 Inflation rate basket. The FF Plus doubts the correctness of the inflation rate which amongst others is used as a factor for the determining of the interest rate. The content of the basket and the weight of the items it contains have been adjusted from time to time to such an extent that the inflation rate which is determined by it, is not legitimate. There is no sense in bluffing oneself with regard to the economy. In the long run it will boomerang which will be more negative for South Africa 's economy than the short term advantage.
4.6 Immigrants. The more than 9 million immigrants of neighbouring countries which find themselves in South Africa at present, puts great pressure on South Africa 's economy and scarce resources. This question will also have to receive the government's urgent attention as it places a huge damper on the growth potential.
The year 2010 will be remembered as the year in which South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup successfully but also the year in which interest rates had had dropped to record lows. Between confusing government comments about the economy, the Minister of Finance steered clear and started leading South Africa out of the recession. It appears as if the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economic Planning is starting to realise the realities and give attention to the factors which could make a definite difference to the economy.
In the light of this, the FF Plus is prepared to increase its mark of 2009 of 4/10 to 6/10 for 2010 for Finance and Economy.
5. Health
The health sector still faces huge challenges. Medical funds are under pressure, especially due to the planned national medical insurance and the state of public hospitals' is still wretched. The department's lack of performance is shameless and the deterioration is increasing.
The following developments are if interest in the evaluation of the department's work:
5.1 National Medical Insurance: The planned national medical insurance is an unaffordable project which can only be effectively implemented by developed states. Developed states however also experience problems with the design and implementation of the national medical funds such as the version which was eventually accepted by the American Congress (and which could now possibly be rolled back again).
5.2 Hospitals: State hospitals and general service delivery, infrastructure and hygiene are still problematic and far removed from the quality which could be found in the pre-1994 era. There are exceptions however but they are far and few between. State hospitals are largely still places in which rats make nests, bedding is not cleaned, chronic theft takes place and poor ill people die instead of being cared for.
5.3 Safety: Safety at hospitals is increasingly becoming a crisis, especially in the light of the female doctor's rape at the Pelonomi hospital in Bloemfontein .
5.4 Language: Services at clinics and hospitals are mostly only offered in English. The minister did however acknowledge, following a parliamentary question of the FF Plus, that the department has a constitutional obligation to provide services in all official languages. It however still does not happen in practice.
5.5 Prescribed minimum benefits: The ministry created uncertainty in the medical aid industry which requires urgent attention. There is at present uncertainty about the interpretation of regulation 8(1) of the Medical Schemes Act in terms of which prescribed minimum benefits (PMB) have to be paid by the medical scheme. The uncertainty and the source of the dispute between the Medical Schemes Board and the Board for Health Care Funding is whether medical schemes should cover the total cost paid for and whether cover can be restricted to the schemes' respective tariff structures. The minister will have to see to it that strict criteria for claims is drafted in order to prevent abuse of while at the same time ensuring that members receive full coverage for PMB's.
It is acknowledged that the minister is still new in the portfolio, but it is still the same party, i.e. the ANC, which has caused the service delivery problems and have up to now not been able to manage the crisis. The minister did state in a reply to an oral question of the FF Plus that the quality of services in public hospitals will be looked at seriously. A monitoring body will be created in 2011 specifically for this purpose which should be judged positively. People are still dying unnecessarily and that is why the department gets 3 out of 10.
6 Mining
The following developments were used in the evaluation of the department's work:
6.1 Mineral right audits: The unlawful take-over of mineral rights by way of false applications has damaged this country's international reputation. Certainty is the pivotal point for a stable economic environment, especially legal certainty as to who possesses which rights. The minister's reaction of placing a six month moratorium on the issuing of any rights, while continuing with an audit of all rights, is positive and a step in the right direction. The minister should go further to ensure that full transparency with regards to all awarded rights exist by creating a public electronic register.
6.2 Nationalisation: The debate surrounding nationalisation has created a lot of uncertainty but the minister stated on many occasions that nationalisation of mines is not government policy, including in a reply to a question of the FF Plus in Parliament.
6.3 Jobs for pals: The department allocated mineral rights to various companies and highly placed politicians (in the ANC and in government). The problem is so endemic that it justifies an investigation in order to establish whether the rights had been allocated appropriately.
6.4 State competition: The department awarded various rights to the state's mining company, African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (Pty) Ltd. (AEMFC). The AEMFC was also exempted by the minister from certain statutory obligations one of which is to consult with land owners and concerned parties. That gives the company an unreasonable advantage and undermines justice and transparency.
6.5 Acid water: The government appears to be underestimating the acid water problem which was caused by old mines. The reaction to the problem was also initially very slow.
6.6 Environmental protection: The minister has not given any attention to the confusion which exists with regards to the regulation of environmental protection in the mining industry. The majority of mining companies enforces the lesser requirements of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) while environmental activists - and now also recently the Cape High Court - put it that the stricter requirements of the National Environmental Management Act should be enforced. The minister should amend the MPRDA so that the National Environmental Management Act should be applicable.
The department's incompetent management has dumped South African mining in a crisis. Various mining companies do not have any certainty about their mineral rights due to the hot and cold talks about nationalisation and the poor administrative management of the rights register. These problems arose against the backdrop of ANC politicians and the state increasingly obtaining more rights and getting personally involved in mining. The minister's reaction of placing a six month moratorium on the issuing of any rights, while continuing with an audit, is positive and a step in the right direction.
The department has many problems, but given the minister's attempts to take active steps on certain issues, her department is given a 4/10.
7 Energy
The next developments are of interest in the evaluation of the department's performance.
7.1 Poor planning: Poor planning by Eskom and poor oversight by the department led to the critical power shortages and the most drastic tariff increases the country has ever had. The inflationary implications are still busy working its way through the economy and will probably only hit the country fully in 2011. Added to this, Eskom wants to ask for further tariff increases in 2011.
7.2 Costs of new power stations: The costs of the power stations which will be constructed, Kusile and is busy being constructed, Medupi, have increased astronomically. The increases and whether the service providers are charging reasonable prices will have to be investigated.
7.3 Integrated Resources: The new Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) the government is at present constructing appears to be lacking in a good mixture of non-coal power stations. Natural gas as an option does not get sufficient attention while the country does have these resources and in addition leaves a smaller carbon footprint than coal. Furthermore solar power gets too little attention - given the fact that solar panels are becoming cheaper and South Africa lies in the Sun Belt. This situation is in contrast with what the government should be doing in terms of the accepted Industrial Policy Action Plan which makes much of the development of the green economic sector.
7.4 Advisory Committee: It also does not make any sense why the minister wanted to keep the identity of the advisory committee, which had been involved in the drafting of the IRP, secret. Transparency is important for accountability.
7.5 Private energy providers: The process for allowing private power generators and suppliers is taking place too slowly as these providers could fill in the shortages and will help competition in this industry.
7.6 Improper enrichment: The IRP gives the impression that the continued reliance on coal for power generation is in line with the states and politician's prospecting and mining of coal and thus possibly facilitating improper advantaging and enrichment
This department has huge challenges and is responsible for the past number of year's poor provision of power due to load shedding, power shortages and mismanagement in Eskom.
As a result this department gets 3/10.
8 Water Affairs
South Africa is a water-poor country with an average rainfall of 450 mm annually as opposed to the world average of 860 mm. This makes the management of our water resources of extreme importance for our future.
8.1 Dams: As a water-poor country, South Africa is largely dependent on water stored in dams.
The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs is at the moment in charge of the 574 dams amongst which 320 of the water storage dams have a content of 1 million cubic meters of water. Percentage-wise, 62% of the stored water is used for irrigation purposes, 27% for urban and residential use, 8% for mining, energy and industrial purposes and 3% is used for commercial forestry purposes.
Due to our population growth, urbanization and industrial expansion there is increasing pressure on the majority of these dams. While the demand for water from water storage dams continually increases, the largest part of their inflows have already been contaminated. The result is that 35% of the stored water in South Africa is of very poor quality. The majority of this is found in the economic centers of South Africa , such as Gauteng .
Disastrous changes have already taken place in certain dams and are not picked up during routine maintenance. In these circumstances, one would expect that South Africa would have a national program for reservoir management. South Africa does not have such a program.
8.2 Limnology: At present there is not one academic institution in South Africa which offers Limnology (aquatic sciences) as a career subject and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, the custodian of our water resources, does not have any directorate which could coordinate reservoir management of our dams.
8.3 What is the state of aquatic sciences in South Africa ?
Limnology in South Africa is in a hopeless situation and is poorly funded. The result of this is that certain important environmental problems are not addressed at all. There is a shortage of cooperation and potential contributions to effective water resources management. Perhaps we should learn from this that it is never too late to learn.
Without a well financed and coordinated strategic plan for limnology in South Africa , the country and specifically Gauteng will permanently be struggling with poorly equipped water provisioning and management.
8.4 Proposals of the Freedom Front Plus
As a result of the quick increasing state of South African dams, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive investigation into the state and management of our rivers, dams and marshes. The government's working group which was appointed on 8 September 2010 by the precious minister, Ms. Buyelwa Sonjica, to investigate the draining of acid mine water can not function in isolation. This group also only addresses one aspect of the water crisis in South Africa .
In the light of all the abovementioned facts the FF Plus proposes that the status of water in South Africa is declared a national priority and that a national coordinating body is established on an urgent basis.
As a result this department is awarded a mark of 3/10.
Conclusion
In conclusion the following points were allocated:
1. Combating crime: 5
2. Local Government: 2
3. Education: 5
4. Finance and Economy: 6
5. Health: 3
6. Mining: 4
7. Energy: 3
8. Water Affairs: 3
It appears from the above evaluation that the ANC from the viewpoint of the average FF Plus voter gets an average of 40% for its performance with regard to policy.
The FF Plus remains committed to a South Africa which offers room to all. The party will in 2011 - just like previous years - remains committed to the constructive institution of talks where it is possible and mobilising of opposition and resistance where it has to.
Statement issud by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, December 8 2010
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