Your 2001 political Report Card provides interesting and informative reading, but Minister of Education Kader Asmal’s A- cannot be correct, for the following reasons: Nothing has come of Asmal’s national literacy programme. No democracy wants a monolithic, government-sponsored education monopoly for distance education. Even if the monopoly is preferred, Unisa is not a good choice as the leading partner if it does not have a distance-education model incorporating regular contact sessions via a national framework of regional learning centres. Asmal introduced a late school entry age of seven, which had no sound educational basis. The Constitutional Court forced him to revert to the six-year entry level. Asmal seems determined to introduce one national examination. Anyone who values an open society should feel disquiet when the government dictates what is taught. Rural schools have been left in the lurch with an increasing shortage of teachers. They still have excessive teacher:learner ratios, insufficient classrooms and are grossly underresourced. The late or non-arrival of textbooks at schools is unresolved. A national preschool system has still not been achieved. Outcomes-based education has been rejected by most countries, yet is the basis of our new proposed Curriculum 2005. In-service training for this curriculum has been ineffective. What is needed is a full education audit to determine why the shortcomings persist, and an E assessment for Asmal. Dr SD Wallace, Pietermaritzburg We disagree with your assessment of Environment and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa. An A is far-fetched considering that some policies of the Department of Environment and Tourism, implemented by Moosa, are completely outdated. The minister violates the Constitution. He declares that plastic bags are banned, 4×4 vehicles on beaches are banned, etc. Paper bags are made from alien trees, which use up water and reduce our run-off to the dams. Banning implies that the government must pay officials to police these policies, and the courts have to deal with more “criminals” etc. What a waste of our resources! The 4×4 club members can buy permits and will then monitor their use since it is human nature to want everyone to pay for a privilege you had to pay for. The permits generate revenue for the department. l The recent announcements of Transfrontier Park is another publicity stunt. People living in the area declared a national park in Mozambique were “workshopped” only last week. They were given the option of staying or moving.
Moosa gets a dismal D- from us and should get his act together. Elmary Buis and Bersan Lesch, Lowveld In the Report Card for Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi, the Municipal Demarcation Board and I are brought into the analysis through statements purportedly in the so-called “Leon report”. It is important for me to respond. Firstly, the Municipal Structures Act 1998 divides powers and functions between district and local municipalities outside metropolitan areas. It does not shift responsibility for delivery from local to district municipalities, but allocates powers to ensure that collectively both levels of municipal governance perform their constitutional obligations. Secondly, the Municipal Structures Act was passed before the Municipal Demarcation Board was constituted. The Department of Finance participated in that process, and has been very supportive of all amendments to municipal legislation.
Thirdly, it is true that the Act was amended in 2000 but these amendments had nothing to do with shifting powers and functions. Dr Michael O Sutcliffe
“The Real 2001 Report Card” deserves a comment. The shady criteria and subjective grading confirm the shallow journalism that has become a trademark of your paper. For the M&G to attribute Minister of Public Works Stella Sigcau’s continued service in the Cabinet to her royal lineage is naive and insulting. Sigcau is a rural campaigner and a development activist par excellence with an outstanding record in rural development. I challenge the M&G to make public their criteria in scoring the country’s officials. Lucky Mochalibane, chief director: communications, national Department of Public Works No marks for the horribly sexist description of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as “the feisty wife of Bulelani Ngcuka”. How many male members of the Cabinet are described by reference to their marital status, or the identity of their spouse? Sexism scores an F. Janet Trisk, Grahamstown