Evaluation of the legislative environment. The legislative framework is sufficient to support the initiatives referred to above. Consider issuing or amending regulations as the case may be to give effect to minimum competencies for financial management. Establish or refine as the case may be appropriate coordinating mechanisms and capabilities (e.g. Public Sector Audit Committee and Risk Forum, CFO and PAG Forum, MFMA Co-Ordination Forum) National and Provincial Treasuries: Capacity to be determined through an assessment of institutional skills and structures. Government institutions: Capacity to be determined through an assessment of the financial management competencies of staff, as well as an analysis of the FMCMM results and audit outcomes. Implementation of the activities will require additional funding, which will be explored through the NRF and donor support.
Evaluation of the legislative environment. The Constitution of South Africa and the Public Service Act create a sufficient legislative environment that requires the public service to be efficient and effective. Within this environment more detailed norms and standards could be set. The White Paper on Transformation of Public Service Delivery and the Public Service Regulations instructs departmental heads to develop a service delivery improvement plan for the department aimed at continuous improvement of services. The regulatory framework however does not go any further by setting norms and standards within which this process should take place. This created a void as most departments did not comply with the regulatory framework. Where there was compliance departments did their own thing resulting in the fact that the various departments could not share content or best practices. A regulatory framework thus needs to be put in place through a directive or regulations to give some structure in the development process. The Minister for Public service and Administration is linked to an effective and efficient public service through his performance agreement with the President. However the powers to organise a department and to ensure that it is efficient and effective lies with each department’s executive authority. The MPSA thus has limited powers directly over the efficient and effective running of a department except his own but he can set norms and standards within which parameters other executing authorities must operate. These norms and standards then set the minimum requirements to which a department must adhere. Furthermore the MPSA can monitor compliance and share best practice amongst departments. The skills on how to develop business processes, mapping thereof, the management, the development of standard operating procedures, the setting of service standards, the development of service charters and the development of service delivery improvement plans are not in place in all departments. The efforts to develop a framework will have to go hand in hand with the creation of capacity and hands on assistance.
Evaluation of the legislative environment. It will be necessary to revisit the National Qualifications Framework that includes a Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy that provides for citizenship education in the school curriculum. Civic education is supposed to be part of the school curriculum, though it is not clear to what extent. What is the state of civic education in the schools? Does the constitution form part of any dedicated curriculum at school level? Are there dedicated resources for such programmes?
Evaluation of the legislative environment. The legislative environment is one of the key challenges to overcome. A recent audit of legislation regulating natural resources and environmental management conducted by the Department of Environmental Affairs established that no less than 80 National or Provincial Acts or Regulations regulates natural resources and by implication land use. The work done by the presidency in revitalizing the development of a Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act identified similar constraints. This legislative review process should be optimized to derive at a legislative framework where spatial and integrated development plans are agreed to by sector departments and sector based regulatory functions related to any form of land use implemented within this framework. The development of environmental management frameworks (EMF) in terms of Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act and the integration of these EMFs into SDFs through the Land Use Management Bill could form a good basis for ensuring that environmental considerations inform spatial plans which in turn inform land use patterns. The DFA and Municipal Systems Act currently require that an SEA be conducted to inform SDFs but very little guidance is provided on what this required and to the satisfaction of whom. Availability and accessibility of data to inform EMFs and SDFs and the trade- offs to be made on land use is also a challenge that would need to be overcome through an enabling legislative environment. The protection of data on mineral deposits through the Mineral petroleum Resources development and the Council of Geo Sciences Act for example restricts the ability to develop spatial plans also cognizant of mineral development imperatives the unfortunate consequence is that the presence of a priority mineral often overrides other land use options. An equally difficult obstacle is the often crude nature of biodiversity data resulting in what could be viewed as unjustified sterilization of land for uses other than biodiversity protection. The necessary legislative changes should however be made to expand the use of NEMA’s EMFs or SEAs to also address the spatial information requirements stemming from other acts such as Bio-regional plans, Conservation Plans, Catchment Management Plans, Integrated Coastal Management Plans, Priority Area Management Plans, Mineral development priority areas, etc. If not possible to integrate these into EMFs there must be an agreement on the hierarchy of the pla...
Evaluation of the legislative environment. The Higher Education and Training Act, The Further Education and Training Act, The Adult Basic Education and Training Act, The Skills Development Act, the National Qualifications Act, the General and Further Education and Training Act, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Act and the National Education Policy Act all point to the need for information to some extent. The Education Information Policy (inherited from the Department of Education) will have to be amended to include the Higher Education Act, the Skills Development Act, the NQF and the General and Further Education and Training Act as part of the policy and to exclude the South African Schools Act. The amended policy will also look at interfacing, integrating and coordinating the supply, use and management of information so as to assist in the planning of skills supply and determining the demand for skills. Where there are gaps in the legislation regarding information provision this will be attended to. Once the policy and legislative need has been identified, the need for regulation of the collection, use, interfacing, integrating, norms, standards, administration and management of information collection, storage and usage would be required. Standardised frameworks for the provision of information on skills supply, shortages and vacancies in the country will be developed. Other than the Heads of Education Committee sub-committee on Information (dealing with Further Education and Training and Adult Basic Education and Training Information), there is currently no institutional arrangement for information collaboration and the interfacing of data systems, both within the Department of Education and its entities and institutions, as well as with other government entities. There is also a need to ensure that all institutions and entities reporting to the DHET are brought together into a permanent forum to coordinate and improve on information systems and to co-ordinate interdepartmental collaboration in the management of information. The management systems and processes are currently in place to achieve the output as it relates to the institutions and entities of the DHET. However, in regards to the collaboration with Statssa, DoL, DHA, DTI, DST, DBE, DPSA, DED and others, a specialist information forum needs to be established. The delivery forum will become the permanent implementation forum. There is also a need for high level technical IT skills to achieve sub-outputs 2 and 3, which the State...
Evaluation of the legislative environment. Whilst the reticulation of electricity is the function of municipalities in terms of the Constitution, the prevailing moratorium on the issue of distribution licenses means that unlicensed municipalities are compelled to rely on Eskom. There is a need to enforce the requirements for Eskom to sign a Service Delivery Agreement with municipalities in the absence of the licenses. The reallocation and delegation of powers as well as required institutional arrangements will be finalised once the restructuring process has been completed. Any changes to the legislation will be determined in collaboration with the relevant national Department and agencies that have regulatory interests and oversight responsibilities for the service. There is a need to enforce better coordination mechanisms (e.g. Service Delivery Agreements and Service Level Agreements) to improve integrated planning and implementation between District, Local Municipalities and Water Boards. Water Service Providers should be financially supported and empowered to provide access to water for communities within their areas. Each sector is responsible for determining and enforcing regulations in relation to their area of infrastructure delivery and need to extend the regulatory role to a more hands‐on support role. The national Departments of Human Settlements and Water Affairs for example are responsible for developing and monitoring compliance with regard to provision of sanitation services, but are not structured adequately at present to provide sufficient levels of support.
Evaluation of the legislative environment. The Division of Revenue Act (XXXX) impacts on the provision of Bulk Infrastructure. Currently, there is no national policy position that permits borrowing from private capital markets based on public sector pledged funds. This means a substantial amount of technical work needs to be done to investigate the desirability of leveraging national transfers on the basis of this work a policy framework would need to be developed and presented to Cabinet for approval. A further requirement going forward is allowing grants to be utilised for all the municipal service needs, i.e.:
Evaluation of the legislative environment. Employment under the EPWP is governed by the Ministerial Determination for Special Public Works Programmes gazetted by the Minister of Labour in 2002. Proposed amendments to this legislation have been agreed with by stakeholders at the Employment Conditions Commission and are awaiting promulgation by the Minister of Labour. Key amendments to this legislation focus on the: • Introducing of a minimum wage, and • Removing the two year limitation on the duration of a work opportunity under EPWP.
Evaluation of the legislative environment. In light of the above it is proposed that the policy framework granting metros and large towns greater responsibility for built environment functions be strengthened. As part of this overall mandate, appropriate powers and functions need to be assigned, and close and cooperative relations developed between provincial departments responsible for human settlements, and the metros and large towns. The finalisation of legislation relating to land use planning and management is also critical. In addition to a new functional approach that allows for metros and the top 21 cities and towns to manage the built environment functions, supporting policy, legislative and institutional arrangements will be required for land‐use management and spatial planning that supports densification. Going forward, partnerships will be needed with many of the entities involved in land, housing and human settlement planning as well as the sector departments concerned. For example, the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency (NURCHA) provide guarantees for the housing development sector to ensure access to capital, and provision of quality low‐cost housing. The Housing Development Agency authorizes land purchase, and Rural Development and Land Reform have access to land audits, prepare spatial development frameworks and identify available land for development. Other stakeholders to be consulted should include the South African Cities Network, Urban Development think‐tanks and the state‐owned enterprises (SoEs), some of whom own considerable amounts of well‐placed land in urban areas. The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) manages a warranty scheme that sets norms and standards for the construction of low‐income housing. All low‐income houses built need to comply with the warranty as a part of the housing construction process. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) can assist with facilitating access to emerging contractors for the house‐building processes associated with densification. Institutional arrangements that will provide a platform for this output need therefore to encompass the engagement of key stakeholders from the private sector and from civil society. A technical team consisting of DCoG, Human Settlements, National Treasury and the Presidency should be established to develop and implement a policy framework and guidelines for increased densities in metros and large towns as well as coordinate the urgent finalization of spatial and la...
Evaluation of the legislative environment. The second National Water Resources Strategy (NWRS) is being developed and will be published: • Reviewing the National Water Act and Water Services Act; and • Development of Integrated Water Resource Plan.
