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17 Jul, 2014
Budget Vote 30 – Environmental Affairs (MTEF 2014)
Address by the President of the UDM, Mr BH Holomisa MP, in the National Assembly Honourable Chairperson Minister and Deputy Minister Honourable Members The United Democratic Movement (UDM) supports budget vote 30 – Environmental Affairs.In my limited time I will dedicate this speech to Madiba, the environmentalist. When the President of the republic made a call to all South Africans, to remember and celebrate this years’ birthday of this environmental activist by participating in cleaning activities, it reminded me of the olden days in the former Transkei when the 26th of October each year and as an Independence Day, the government will work together with its people, dedicating the day to a clean and healthy environment. In celebrating the first birthday of Tata Madiba, without him, we can’t but remember his passionate love and care for the nature and the environment, its relation to human kind and the people of South Africa in general. I am reminded of one of the question this icon directly asked me when he returned from his early village walks in Qunu during the early 90s. He asked me: “Bantu what happened to all the birds that used to inhabit this place, their harmonious sounds, their beautiful singing which made them to enjoy the tranquillity and nature of the village”. In response to Madiba, I said: “….due to the high level of poverty in the area, local people were forced to fell trees for use as wood fuel”. Certainly, there is a direct relationship between poverty and environment and unfortunately it is not always a good one. The concern in the question by Madiba exposed us to the need to urgently give an immediate attention to preserve our environment. The reforestation programmes for an example, will one day make it possible to have the pleasure of walking through a forest, listening to the beautiful sounds of nature as Madiba so wished. To realise his wish, the UDM suggests that as part of the much talked about cultural liberation route from Maritzburg should be to consider establishing what we would call Madiba or Nelson Mandela Forests. Such forests would go a long way in responding to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity management, combat desertification, heritage, conservation and facilitate sustainable economic growth and job creation. Given the current questionable infrastructure development map of our country, this proposal would present an opportunity for equitable reconstruction of our country. In one of his encouraging letters to me during the occasion of the tree planting ceremony in Mqanduli in 2010, Madiba said “It is wonderful to think that one day people will again have the pleasure of walking through a forest, listening to the beautiful sounds of nature … these are things no child should be deprived of”. Thank you
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15 Jul, 2014
Vote 15 Basic Education (MTEF 2014)
Contribution made by UDM Member of Parliament, Ms CN Majeke, in the National Assembly Honourable Chairperson Minister and Deputy Minister Honourable Members The United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that the major intervention if any is to be made in the Basic Education Sector, must mainly be on • School Leadership, Management and Governance; • Teacher content and knowledge – knowledge of the subject matter / content; • School Environment and • Learner discipline – a culture of reading and writing In this regard, we wish to make the following recommendations for further consideration and prioritisation by the Ministry as part of enriching the departmental five year strategic plan as well as the annual performance plan for the financial season 2014 /15. Some of these matters have been raised however; we strongly feel that they deserve to be lifted up in the prioritisation process. In line with the DBE MTEF priorities, the critical activities and targeted outputs for the next five years, the department needs to: • Improve the quality of early childhood education and primary schools including implementation of the foundation for learning campaign emphasising the promotion of language and numeracy. • Conduct external test for all Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners every year and provide results to parents for further engagement and practical role to be played by parents. • Investigate a system of effective evaluation of all learners based on the extent to which learner performance improve, with results influencing occupationally specific dispensation pay for teachers. • Ensure that teacher unions have a formal and funded role in teacher development. • Strengthen management capacity to ensure working districts and schools. This entails bringing in management capacity from the private sector, civil society and elsewhere in the public sector. Phase in a process of measurable improvements through targeting efforts selected education districts and dysfunctional schools. Use of infrastructure budget as an incentive for schools that deliver improved teaching and learning. • We further welcome the decision to improve national – provincial alignment and efficiency of education expenditure, through amongst others, procuring textbooks nationally and allocating resources to improve district capacity and the use of conditional grants to ensure alignment. • Develop a social compact for quality education. This will include a National Consultative Forum dedicated to clarifying the “non-negotiable” and performance targets for key stakeholders and the monitoring thereof. • Mobilisation of communities at all levels should be given priority to raise awareness and participation in education issues. An example includes graduates assisting former/dysfunctional schools, corporate social investment, and party branch campaigns to clean up schools, supporting food gardens and encouraging young graduates to enter teaching. • Implement poverty combating measures that improve the environment for learning and teaching, such as nutrition programmes, basic infrastructure for schools, and social support for children. Thank you
