Department of Arts and Culture 2009-2010 Annual Report

Arts and Culture Portfolio Committe meeting, 3 November 2010.

The Acting Chairperson welcomed and congratulated the Hon. Paul Mashatile, Minister of Arts and Culture, and Hon. Joe Phaahla, Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, on their appointments.

The Department of Arts and Culture, briefed the Committee with pride on the Department’s Annual Report 2009/10, a highlight of which was an unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General (AG). The Department sought to achieve unity in diversity within a system of shared values while promoting a sense of national identity to provide opportunities and a better life for all. The Department outlined its key programmes: these included developing and promoting the languages of South Africa, contributing to economic development, and monitoring and guiding the development of archives, heraldry and information resources. The Department highlighted the recent colloquium on social cohesion. A new organisational structure had been developed and approved. Security systems had been installed.  The verification of assets had been completed in March 2010. Service delivery achievements included izimbizos in North West, the Free State, the Eastern Cape, and Mpumalanga. The Department’s internal audit had been strengthened, and the year end audit process had run smoothly. The Department’s South African Languages Bill and South African Language Practitioners Council Bill were to be tabled to Parliament in 2012. The Department reported on its management of playhouses and its participation in the arrangements for the 2010 World Cup and was happy to say that the national policy framework had been approved for community arts centres. The Department reported on its work with language practitioners and intergenerational dialogues, in association with the Ministry of Women, Children, Youth, and People with Disabilities. The Department’s National Language Services promoted all 11 national languages and enhanced linguistic diversity. There was a shortage of language professionals and the Department awarded bursaries to encourage entry to the language professions. In Mpumlanga and in the Northern Cape there had been developed draft language service plans dealing with editing and translating. The Department had developed a multilingual soccer terminology word list for presenters and journalists. The Department reported on its various projects to develop arts and crafts industries to help develop the economy. The Department had participated in the second Pan African Cultural Festival. The Department’s programme for promoting heritage had included a focus on the Khoi heritage; previous achievements of the programme had included the repatriation of the remains of Sarah Baartman. Progress was reported on geographical names. The Department had completed an audit of skills. In February 2010 the Minister had appointed a new council for the Robben Island Museum; a new Chief Executive Officer for Robben Island was due to take up office on Monday, 08 November 2010. The Department had hosted annual oral history conferences – the most recent had been October 2009. Although libraries were a competence of the provinces, the Department had supported and set up community libraries through the conditional grants. Also as part of heraldic services, the Department had conducted the fly the flag campaign. The Department’s performance as against voted funds, actual expenditure, and underspending was reported. The Department was confident that it could reduce its 26% vacancy rate. The Minister of Public Service and Administration had concurred with the Department’s new organisational structure. The Department acknowledged that it lacked sufficient women staff. With the new establishment it had reduced the number of contractors. The Department reported on misconduct and disciplinary hearings, and on the audit opinions of the Department’s entities. The Department was committed to improving service delivery, and implementing the new organisational structure, and enhancing corporate governance.

The Minister said that Robben Island Museum would need a turnaround strategy. Tourist guides must be trained and use a consistent script.  The Department had, in the past, not been funded adequately. He had agreed with the Department’s senior management team to fill all management posts before the end of this financial year. He asked the Committee to monitor the Department on its progress, and looked forward to its rigorous oversight.  He shared the Committee’s concern over the prolonged holding of posts by officials in acting positions. The Minister conceded that progress had been too slow with pending legislation.  Where the Department had money to spend on capital projects in institutions it believed that it should be able to channel those resources directly to spend in those institutions rather than going through Public Works, as long as it was with the agreement of National Treasury.  The arts and culture sector of the economy had the potential to be a major contributor to growth and job creation, but it was necessary to reposition the sector to do so. It was not the Department’s job to provide free tickets for jazz festivals.  On the contrary the Department was at the forefront of promoting social cohesion and nation-building.

Members asked about gender representation; how the success in achieving an unqualified audit opinion reflected achievement of stated objectives; what was the Department’s future plan to make impact on the people; how it was possible for Robben Island to have a merely qualified audit report when it seemed that there were so many outstanding problems; and said that visitors received a distorted history of Robben Island from the tour guides. Members also asked what the Department had done, within its arts and culture in society programme, to create a caring society in line with the Department’s stated vision, and how many jobs the Department had created in the current financial year. Members further asked the Department if it faced any challenges in service delivery; asked about actual achievements; about irregular expenditure; commended the Department on its unqualified audit opinion; and queried the Department’s presentation of figures for the compensation of employees with reference to total expenditure. They asked why the Department’s revenue had appeared to decrease;  if its employees who had damaged vehicles would reimburse the Department for expenses incurred in repairing them;  why the fruitless and wasteful expenditure had not yet been condoned; for the actual expenditure and economic flow in connection with the Department’s activities for the 2010 World Cup to create small to medium enterprises; if the Department had conducted any research to see if there were any positive returns from its World Cup efforts;  and about the vacancy rate of 26%. Members were worried about the Department’s slow progress with policy and legislation: the South African Languages Bill must be tabled to comply with an order of the High Court in March 2010. Members asked why various programmes had underspent; how the Department had aligned its programmes with South Africa’s policy on international relations; asked for more specific details per province on new community libraries and upgrading of libraries; about language skills and if any of the bursaries were formulated towards a disability such as blindness. Was there any outreach to that sector?  It was important also to focus on sign language and Braille.

For Minutes of the Meeting see the Parliamentary Monitoring Group website

View the Presentation, attached.

Read the DAC 2009-2010 Annual Report, attached.

Listen to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group

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