Statement on the Cabinet Meeting, 15 September 2010, Cape Town

Cabinet held its ordinary meeting in Cape Town on 15 September 2010.

With only 38 days to go to the start of the final exams, Cabinet calls on all South Africans to rally behind the Class of 2010, to build their confidence and hope and to ensure that they become responsible and productive citizens of our country.

Cabinet supports the measures announced by Minister Angie Motshekga, the Minister of Basic Education, to stabilise the basic education sector in the aftermath of the teachers’ strike. Cabinet calls on all parents, teachers, unions and community organisations to work together to ensure that all our schools remain focused on learning and teaching at this time.

Cabinet also calls on student bodies to discuss their concerns with education authorities and to refrain from disrupting schools and examination sessions. Cabinet urged all grade 12 learners to make use of the opportunity to write their preliminary examinations.

The Minister of Basic Education is working with the provincial MECs and other education stakeholders to ensure that recovery programmes are put in place to support learners, especially our Grade 12s. Special tuition and revision programmes, including weekend and holiday classes have been put in place to ensure that learners are well prepared for the final examinations.Matriculants deserve our special support at this time.

Cabinet welcomed the report on the public sector negotiations which indicated that the negotiators had made substantial progress in the talks.Government signed the draft agreement on Monday 13th September, paving the way for the unions to sign as soon as they conclude the consultations with their members. Unions are expected to sign the draft agreement shortly.

Cabinet welcomed the crime statistics that were released last week by the Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthethwa. The statistics highlighted the progress the country was making in the fight against crime and were a tangible indication of government’s commitment to create a safe society. Government will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our citizens. Government acknowledges and welcomes the role played by communities, civil society and the business community in the fight against crime. The collaboration between the police and the various partners must be strengthened in order to achieve the target of reducing the crime rate by 7% annually.

The 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Country Report was approved and will be tabled at the United Nations MDG Summit in New York on 20-22 September 2010. This report was a joint effort between Government, civil society organisations and the business community. The process was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Cabinet also endorsed the recommendation made by civil society organisations that Government should produce MDG reports annually to ensure effective monitoring of the country’s progress towards meeting the goals. The country report will be placed on the government website next week Monday.

The theme for this year’s Heritage month is ‘Celebrating 2010 FIFA World Cup successes: Our Heritage’. The Heritage Day celebrations will take place at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on the 24 September.President Jacob Zuma will address the event.The theme seeks to celebrate the contribution made by all South Africans in making the World Cup tournament a success. The successful hosting of the tournament has become part of our legacy, national heritage and will always be a source of inspiration and hope to future generations.

Cabinet noted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff Report on the Article IV and approved that the report be published. The Minister of Finance will give a more detailed comment on the report as soon as it is released. The IMF will release the report shortly once it has exhausted its internal processes.

Cabinet welcomed the report of the meeting between Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and a delegation from the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) that took place on Friday 10 September 2010. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss preparations for the Government -SANEF Indaba that will take place in October.A team consisting of The Presidency, GCIS and SANEF Exco will finalise the agenda for the meeting.

Cabinet noted the outcomes of a feasibility study on the establishment of a solar park in Upington, in the Northern Cape Province.The proposed park would generate up to 5000 Megawatts of solar energy. The feasibility study was undertaken in a partnership between the Department of Energy and the Clinton Climate Initiative. The study will be completed at the end of September 2010. Cabinet endorsed the proposal for the hosting of an investor conference to be convened later in the year to consider the recommendations of the feasibility study.

Cabinet endorsed the decisions of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to sell arms and ammunition to other countries. The report will be submitted to Parliament as required by the National Conventional Arms Control Act and will be published soon thereafter.

Cabinet approved the submission of the Final Acts of the International Telecommunications Unions (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference of Antalya 2006 for submission to Parliament for ratification.

Cabinet noted the progress made towards making South Africa one of the major hubs for innovation in the fields of defence and astronomy in the world.Our innovation in the fields of defence and space industries will be profiled through three major events during the months of September and October.The first of these events is the hosting of the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2010 Exhibition at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base in Cape Town from 21-25 September 2010. This is the largest exhibition of its kind on the Continent that will showcase civil, military, aviation and maritime technologies.

The second event coinciding with the AAD exhibition is the trilateral naval exercises involving SA, India and Brazil off the west coast. The naval exercises form part of the maritime component of IBSA and are aimed at increasing interoperability and enhancing understanding and cooperation among the navies of the three nations.

The third event is the launch of the SA National Space Agency (SANSA) on 22 September 2010. The SANSA will be located in the Department of Science and Technology’s Ten Year Innovation Plan, which seeks to develop an innovation path to contribute towards creating a knowledge-based economy. The agency will be responsible for implementing the country’s National Space Strategy.

The meeting noted that the next South Africa-European Union Summit would take place on 28 September 2010 in Brussels. The Summit will provide a platform to strengthen the trade, tourism and cultural ties between SA and the EU.

The Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill was approved. The Bill aims to amend section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977) that regulates the use of force when effecting the arrest of a suspect in a criminal matter in order to bring the section in line with the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the Walters case. The Court stated, among other things, that shooting a suspect solely in order to carry out an arrest is permitted in very limited circumstances.The Bill strives to provide greater legal certainty to arrestors regarding circumstances under which force may be applied when attempting to effect an arrest, and the nature of the force that may lawfully be used in the process.

The following appointments were approved:

• Dr Valathan Munsami was appointed to the post Deputy Director-General: Research, Development and Innovation at the Department of Science and Technology.
• Mr J Moleketi was appointed as the Chairperson of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) Board.
• Mr S Faku; Mr M Hassim; Ms T Dube; Mr L Seshabela; Ms W Machanik; Ms N Molefe; Ms A Fry and Ms I Wilken were appointed members of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) for a period of twelve months effective from the date of approval.
• Ms O Matshane and Mr P Koch were appointed as members of the Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA) Board for a period of three years with effect from 1 October 2010.Mr S Ndwandwe (Chairperson); Adv EJ Kuzwayo (Deputy Chairperson); Ms D Hamilton; Mr K Mahuma; Mr V Satgar and Mr J Theron were reappointed as members of the CBDA Board.
• Ms E Gandhi and Ms A Rhoda were re-appointed as members to the Legal Aid Board for a period of three years.
• Ms Nomfanelo Magwentshu (Chairperson); Ms Ndumi Medupe; Adv Gcina Malindi; Mr A Stephen Abdo; Ms Khungeka Njobe; Ms F Blakeway; Mr M Kharva and Ms Manyama-Matome (CFO) were appointed to the SAFCOL Board for a three year period subject to the annual review by the Minister of Public Enterprises. Prof R Hassan will be retained as Non-Executive Director on the SAFCOL Board.

Enquiries:

Themba Maseko
Cell:  083 645 0810 

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
16 September 2010