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Statement on Cabinet Meeting, 3 May 2006 At its meeting
today, Cabinet noted preparations for the celebration of the 10 th anniversary
of the country's Constitution. Events in this regard include a Thanksgiving Ceremony
in Khayelitsha (Cape Town) on Sunday and a special Joint Sitting of Parliament
on Monday, 8 May which will be addressed by the President. Cabinet received
reports from the various Clusters and the AsgiSA Task Team on the implementation
of the government's Programme of Action for 2006. The meeting welcomed the progress
made in most areas and identified interventions required to speed up implementation
where required. Detailed briefings on these matters will be conducted by the Cluster
Co-ordinating Ministers during the course of next week, and the Programme will
then be updated on the government website. In line with commitments included
in the AsgiSA programme: - Cabinet received a report on work done to
simplify and streamline the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System in our
country. This process is informed by relevant legislation, but also critically,
by the need to ensure that the EIA system does not act as a constraint to higher
rates of investment and job-creation. In this respect, it was agreed to improve
capacity in provincial environmental authorities.
Cabinet agreed
that a detailed presentation would be made at its next meeting by the Department
of Home Affairs on matters pertaining to the implementation of Immigration Regulations.
This would include such issues as time lags in dealing with applications and any
blockages that may undermine the country's effort to attract scarce skills. The
meeting was briefed on preparations for the National General Consultative Conference
on the Peer Review Process for South Africa . The Conference, which will take
place on 4 and 5 May, will bring together representatives of government and other
sectors of society to consider work done thus far on the Country Self-Assessment
Report, including public inputs. Cabinet expressed appreciation at the
consultative processes to ensure broad consensus among South Africans on a review
of our First Decade of Freedom, identifying areas for further improvement and
agreeing on a national vision and programme to take our democracy to new heights.
The following Bills were approved for submission to parliament: - Regulation
of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information
Amendment Bill which regulates lawful interception of certain communication and
defines obligations of sellers of cellular phones and SIM-cards; and
- Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill which provides greater
protection to vulnerable persons who are victims of sexual offences.
Cabinet
also welcomed the launch this week of the 365 Days of Activism against Gender-
and Child-directed Violence. The workshop to launch this campaign will examine
ways of ensuring that it is sustained throughout the year, without subtracting
from the intense focus during the 16 days in November and December. The
meeting noted developments with regard to negotiations aimed at resolving the
situation in the Darfur region of Sudan . The South African government wishes
to urge all parties in these negotiations to reach agreement as soon as possible,
so as to restore peace and allow the people of that region to lead normal lives.
The meeting also noted the status of South African participation in the AU Mission
in Sudan (AMIS); and it approved the deployment of 98 SANDF members to AMIS, in
addition to the 339 already located in that country. Having considered
decisions taken at the January Assembly and the Sessions of the Executive Council
of the African Union (AU), Cabinet confirmed that South Africa would work with
Libya in a Joint Committee to consider issues such as the restructuring of continental
financial institutions and their location. The meeting also approved the increased
assessed contribution of SA to the AU, from 8,25% of the AU budget in 2005 to
15 % in 2006. The following appointments were approved: - Mr
Itumeleng W Kotsoane as DG: Department of Housing for a period of 5 years;
- Extension
of the term of office of Mr Vusi Madonsela as DG: Department of Social Development
for a period of 3 years;
- Ms P Bongiwe Kunene as DDG and Head of the Office
of the Deputy President in The Presidency;
- One DDG in the Department
of Provincial and Local Government and 4 DDGs in the Department of Public Service
and Administration;
- Ms J Ngubane as Regional Land Claims Commissioner
for KwaZulu-Natal Province ;
- Board of Directors of the Small Enterprise
Development Agency (SEDA) to be chaired by Dr A Mokgokong; and
- Members
of the Board of the SA National Energy Research Institute (SANERI).
Cabinet
noted various incidents in recent weeks involving civic violence in pursuit of
political and socio-economic objectives. This has included violent attacks on
municipal councillors in Khutsong and on workers in the current strike of employees
in the security industry. Cabinet wishes to emphasise that such behaviour is despicable
and unacceptable in a democracy. The Cabinet has issued an instruction to the
security agencies to deal with such incidents firmly and without equivocation.
Where this has not yet happened, those who have been identified for their involvement
in these incidents should feel the full might of the law. Further, government
urges employers and SATAWU to resume negotiations as a matter of urgency, and
to ensure that their discussions are informed by the interests of the country
in a spirit of compromise and mutual accommodation. The meeting also noted
preparations for a Donor Conference and launch of the African World Heritage Fund
which will take place on 4 and 5 May at Maropeng, Cradle of Humankind. For
further information contact:
Joel Netshitenzhe
082 900 0083 5
April 2006
Issued by: Government Communications | 
