Category: Government Opinion Pieces

The National Assembly (NA) has passed the Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill and the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill during its hybrid plenary on Tuesday.

The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990; to provide for the auditing of a product for management control systems; to make provision for the setting of tariffs by assignees on a cost-recovery basis, and to make further provisions for the Minister to make regulations pertaining to audit and management control systems.

The National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill seeks to amend the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998, to provide for the facilitation of the formation of fire protection associations by a municipality or a traditional council.

It also seeks to compel a municipality, State-owned enterprise, public entity or another organ of State, which owns land to join the fire protection associations.

The Bill further seeks to extend the powers of entry, search, seizure, and arrest to peace officers and traditional leaders and to amend the title of the Act to the National Veldfire Act.

“Having considered and deliberated on the Bills, the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment recommended that the NA approve the Bills with amendments.  The two Bills will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence,” said Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended the exemplary selflessness, self-sacrifice and patriotism of the country’s armed forces, who always put the interests of the country first even in the face of great danger.

“As the Commander-in-Chief, I commend the good work you are doing as men and women in uniform,” President Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

Speaking at this year’s Armed Forces Day event held in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, President Ramaphosa commended the soldiers’ highest level of discipline with which they discharge their duties even under difficult conditions.

“By virtue of their calling and allegiance to the Constitution, they act without hesitation whenever called upon to do so, when their country needs them most,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said the soldiers have picked up the spears of fallen heroes and heroines and continue the effort to give South Africans lasting peace, security and stability.

“I salute all of you who carry out tasks in times of disaster that literally stand between life and death. We are inspired by their bravery as we stand here in the face of grave challenges confronting our society.

“We are determined to emerge triumphant from the struggle against poverty, inequality, unemployment, gender-based violence, crime, disease and deprivation.

“While our armed forces are always on guard to defend our hard earned sovereignty and constitutional democratic order, they do much more than that,” President Ramaphosa said.

President Ramaphosa said the soldiers are found on rescue missions in times of disaster, building bridges where a desperate need exists and rehabilitating rivers from the effects of pollution.

“They have time and time again shown that they are a force for good and an integral part of all progressive humanity.

“By virtue of their calling and allegiance to the constitution, they act without hesitation whenever called upon to do so, when their country needs them most.

“We extend our appreciation and respect to our forces deployed in various missions across the continent,” the President said.

The President said with the confidence and faith South Africans have in the capabilities of the armed forces, citizens are reassured as a people that no matter the circumstances, the SANDF will always be there to restore order, maintain calm, support people and defend the territorial integrity of the Republic.

Since last week, the small town of Richards Bay in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal was a hive of activity when the SANDF members invaded the town to host this year’s Armed Forces Day.

Most locals where excited to see the SANDF in their town.

Zakhele Madondo, a local resident in the town of Richards Bay told SAnews that he was happy to see the SANDF in the area.

“This shows that they are indeed our army. I have never seen so many soldiers in our town. I am happy to see them,” he said.

Echoing the similar sentiments was Muziwendoda Sikhakhane, who came all the way from Manguzi to be part of the event.

“I am impressed that the SANDF is also giving our young people opportunities to be part of the SANDF,” he said, adding that South Africa needs more soldiers to defend the country.

Prior to the formal event, the President started the day by laying a wreath at the Empangeni World War II Monument.

Thereafter, the President proceeded to the military parade where he took a salute from the SANDF.

The Armed Forces Day is held annually on 21 February in commemoration of the World War I naval tragedy in which 616 black South African troops died when the SS Mendi steamship sank on its way to France.

The day honours women and men who have lost their lives in the course of their patriotic duty to the country or on international missions.

The day also seeks to expand public understanding of the role of the SANDF in the life of the nation and to demonstrate through live simulations of military action the capability of the army, navy, air force and South African Medical Health Service.

Furthermore, Armed Forces Day fuels the imagination of young South Africans in terms of choosing career paths and exercising their passion and abilities.

The Gauteng provincial government intends to address overcrowding in schools, which is exacerbated by high levels of in-migration, by building new schools in high-pressure communities.

“Unless we do something differently, our education system will collapse. Addressing this issue and learning from the experience of unplaced learners in Grades 1 and 8, Gauteng has budgeted R6 billion from our provincial coffers to build new schools in high pressured communities,” Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday.

Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Lesufi said the province has received a major boost of R1.5 billion from National Treasury to demolish mobile and asbestos schools. The province will rebuild 18 new schools in Gauteng.

For the first time, the province will access resources from the private sector financial institutions to fund infrastructure projects upfront, after which they will be built, maintained, transferred and handed over to the province.

“Within the coming weeks, we are going to the market to solicit proposals from private companies to build these schools. We will not compromise on BEE [Black economic empowerment] and township beneficiation.

“To give our learners a competitive edge and to prepare them for the post-matric world, we will continue to roll out Schools of Specialisation,” the Premier said.

To date, Gauteng has 21 Schools of Specialisation and by the end of this administration, it is set to have 35.

The Premier said the number of children registered in Early Childhood Development (ECD) sites has increased.

“As part of the process to bolster our education system, we are now ready to build an ECD of the future, starting with Tshwane (in Soshanguve). We are committed to rolling out ECDs of the future across the five corridors.

“The ECD of the future will have classrooms with indoor splash pools, information and communications technology (ICT) centres, a water recycling area and mini sports areas. Coding and Robotics will gradually be introduced into the curriculum to meet the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR),” Lesufi said.

Youth development

Over the years, Gauteng has committed to procure goods and services from youth-owned businesses.

Between April and December 2022, procurement spend amounted to R1.6 billion in youth-owned companies.

“As a province, we continue to place youth development at the centre of our planning. I am happy to announce that the Provincial Cabinet has approved the Gauteng Integrated Youth Development Strategy (GYIDS) 2030.

“The Youth Strategy is a blueprint of how this government will respond comprehensively to the socio-economic challenges facing young people in our province. The future belongs to young people and they must be taught now to run government,” the Premier said.

The Gauteng Youth Advisory Panel members, in addition to providing oversight, have also been assigned to departments to participate in strategic decision-making processes that have an impact on youth development.

“Through the Presidential Youth Employment Stimulus programme, the province has provided more than 100 000 youth with workplace experiences.

“By the end of this term, 152 000 young people would be employed by this provincial government. Of this, 100 000 [will be in] our Expanded Public Works Programme, 40 000 [in] educational and general teacher assistance [posts] and 6 000 [in] Crime Prevention Warden [posts].

“Over the years, we have committed to ensuring the inclusion of people with disabilities in all of our programmes. We have set a target of 7% in the procurement spend and support for companies owned by people with disabilities.

“We note that our performance is not at the level at which we had envisioned and therefore, recommit ourselves to empower people with disabilities,” the Premier said.

The Gauteng Provincial Government has committed to use 60% of its R34 billion goods and services budget to support township initiatives.

Delivering the State of the Province Address (SOPA) in the Provincial Legislature in Johannesburg on Monday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said townships are the province’s “new gold” and with new malls and filling stations being rapidly set up there, government must ensure these investments benefit the people.

“This house [legislature] unanimously adopted the Township Economic Development Act, a blueprint on how we will support township businesses and fund them. We want this act… to migrate from paper to practice.

“As the Gauteng Provincial Government, we commit, as we do now, that as of 1 April, we will use 60% of the R34 billion goods and services budget [about R20.4 billion] to support township initiatives. We are establishing a digital database (township business register) of all businesses in townships,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi said a financing model is currently being finalised to allow township businesses to have their own bulk buying mechanism through the establishment of township-based warehouses and distribution centres, like the ones already launched in Katlehong and Mamelodi.

The Premier said the province has also adopted a prototype for local retail shops, commonly known as spaza shops, so that they can differentiate them from shops owned by foreign nationals.

“We are now firmly reclaiming our shops in the townships. The township residential rental market or the “backroom economy” has been part of the township economy since the beginning of time,” Lesufi said.

R50 million approved for backroom property owners

The province is upscaling the formalisation and upgrading of backroom properties, and empowering “aboMastandi” (landlords) to get into the real estate industry.

Lesufi said 2 000 applications have been validated for funding for aboMastandi and 40 loans have been approved to the tune of R50 million, which has the potential to create employment.

“We want to ensure the timeous lodging of zoning applications and direct collaboration with municipalities on the delivery of this project of backyard dwellers. With our Gauteng Broadband Network, we will provide reliable internet in the townships and make free WiFi available at strategic areas in our communities,” Lesufi said.

Taxi rank of the future

As the taxi industry plays an important role in the township economy, Lesufi said together with the taxi industry, the provincial government has put together a taxi fund to the tune of R20 million, as a seed capital for the taxi association to raise money in the market.

“Taxi ranks will be our future shopping stations. We will be launching taxi ranks of the future, a one-stop shop, for taxi parts and tyres, banks, restaurants, and many other related businesses, such as filling stations.

“A new model of taxi rank of the future will be unveiled. We are excited about this project,” Lesufi said.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has placed crime fighting at the top of the provincial government’s agenda, announcing interventions aimed at strengthening efforts to deal with the high levels of crime.

“So the issue of fighting crime should be our apex priority. We should unleash all our resources at our disposal to tackle crime. To this end, we are increasing our budget of fighting crime from R750 million to multi-billion in the next three years,” Lesufi said on Monday in Johannesburg.

Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, he said the interventions will be implemented from 1 April 2023 and 1 May 2023.

“We will start to connect suburbs, townships, business districts, schools and other public places with high tech, face and car recognition closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

“We will arm our residents with e-Panic buttons that will be linked to our law enforcement agencies, CCTVs and our new state of the art Integrated Command Centre.

“We will unveil two new helicopters at the beginning of the next financial year and add four additional helicopters within the 2023/2024 budget cycle,” Lesufi said.

The private security industry has pledged to add theirs as well to the pool of helicopters for patrolling.

“To ensure that our police are not sacrificial lambs in the battles with criminals, we are at an advanced stage to procure 180 state of the art drones that will infiltrate areas that are difficult to patrol and police. These drones are equipped with technology that can capture the direction of a bullet and where they come from,” the Premier said.

The province has procured 400 new police cars, which means that from 1 May, every ward in communities will have a 24hr patrol car equipped with proper gadgets.

In addition, 6 000 young men and women have been recruited to monitor and police Gauteng 24/7 from 1 May 2023.

“The almost 10000 private security companies have agreed to combine their resources with ours under a joint command structure so that we can fight crime together in our province,” Lesufi said.

The Premier emphasised the importance of amending legislation on the registration of cars, since they are a common denominator in violent crimes; either stolen or get away vehicles, the elimination of illegal guns and the need to migrate the province to use less cash in business transactions.

“The current number plate system is running out of numerics and letters. We want to take advantage of this situation to introduce new, hard to copy and tamper with, number plates.

“As we speak, we have issued the Government Gazette on 17 February 2023 for consultation and comments on new security features. This new system will also assist in managing the abuse of temporary number plates,” the Premier said.

He called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to create a new database of all vehicles within the region so that a common verification platform can exist.

“We have also issued strict instructions to our law enforcement agencies to pull off those who continue to drive cars without number plates or fraudulent temporary permits. The abuse of fake blue lights are in the increase. A special unit to eliminate this phenomenon is being assembled.

“Those with illegal guns are now playing God. They decide who lives and who dies. Together with the private security industry, we have found a solution that will assist in tracking stolen guns and locate them wherever they are in our country. We will firstly migrate our law enforcement agencies guns in this system then members of the public,” Lesufi said.

In an effort to contribute towards using less cash in business transactions in the province, the Premier urged retailers and other businesses to join the hospitality industry in eliminating cash transactions.

“If we all do so, we will see less business robberies, cash heists and ATM bombings.”

The Gauteng Provincial Government is set to release R1.2 billion towards resolving the energy crisis in the province.

“In a few weeks, we will appoint six developers who will commence the construction of an 800 megawatts solar farm in Merafong. This will be followed by the installation of roof top solar panels in government buildings especially hospitals, clinics and schools,” Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday in Johannesburg.

Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, he said the electricity deficit is focused at 4058 mega volt-ampermps (MVA) in 2025.

“…This is slightly high given Eskom’s inability to generate more from its current fleet. As Gauteng, we have been working on finding solutions to the energy crisis. We have established an energy crisis response team that engages with the National Energy Committee and working with local government and energy experts,” Lesufi said.

Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on for the past few months, leading to increased stages of load shedding and a devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and businesses.

“We will engage with Johannesburg Municipality’s City Power as well as Tshwane’s Rooiwal facility with an intention of supporting them to expand and generate more power. We will meet with owners of Kelvin Power Station to establish how we can partner with them to limit load shedding in Gauteng. From next week, we will advertise a call for proposals for alternative suppliers of energy that can contribute to a solution of the energy crisis and the reindustrialization of Gauteng,” he said.

The Premier welcomed the declaration on a National State of Disaster, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month.

The President explained that the declaration will enable government to “provide practical measures” to assist businesses that have been devastated by the effects of load shedding.

Where technically possible, it will also enable government to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding.

It will enable government to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protection as well as procurement principles and technical standards.

Furthermore, a Minister of Energy in the Presidency is expected to be appointed to focus solely on bringing the country out of the current energy deficit.

Prior to the declaration, government had already been working on ending loadshedding as the President announced a plan to address the crisis in July 2022.

The plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.

Since the plan was announced, there has been important progress in implementing the Energy Action Plan.

Climate change

Lesufi indicated that the province’s air quality continues to deteriorate.

“The water quality and now quantity is on a decline. This places vulnerable sectors more at risk. As government, we are making efforts to mitigate against the factors, which contribute to climate change. Among other efforts in combating climate change, we are investing in green technology and planting trees,” he said.

With the country experiencing natural disasters, the Premier assured citizens that the provincial government is ready to deal with them.

“For the reasons above, we are establishing a combat ready Disaster Management Centre with state-of-the-art disaster management equipment. It will also house helicopters, drones, and highly skilled personnel that can respond within the shortest possible time.

“Areas prone to disasters such as Jukskei River in Alexandra Township will receive additional support to relocate within the shortest possible time when the disaster centre is in full force,” he said.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Deputy Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng, will this week assess the extent of damage caused by rains that ravaged parts Mpumalanga.

The province, like other parts of the country, over the past week experienced persistent heavy rains that left a trail of destruction.

In a statement, the department said inclement weather destroyed properties and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and other crossings in a number of areas.

“The Deputy Minister will join disaster management teams that are providing the much needed assistance to the affected communities.”

With the national state of disaster declared, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) continues to coordinate with all Provincial Disaster Teams to mitigate the impact.

This as government declared a National State of Disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods that have affected Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West provinces.

The declaration, made in terms of the Disaster Management Act of 2002, was gazetted by CoGTA Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

The Deputy Minister will assess the extent and impact of the damages and further reinforce relief measures for affected communities.

“As a caring government, we are continually calling for the heightening of the risk caused by floods,” said the department.

Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi says despite challenges including the mounting backlog, government remains “unshaken” in its determination to provide decent housing for the poor, the elderly and the vulnerable.

Kubayi was delivering her speech at the debate of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Wednesday.

“Our guiding principle is our belief that all of us regardless of race, gender and creed, deserve a decent shelter and comfort. It is this principle, together with the constitutional injunction on Section 26 that informs the housing policies of the ANC-led government.

“The poor, the elderly and the vulnerable are the priority target of our subsidized housing programme. The housing backlog is huge and the pace of provision of new houses can be greatly improved. However, our determination to provide decent houses remains unshaken,” she said.

Kubayi said one of the “serious” challenges the department is facing is the housing for the missing middle who “earn too much to qualify for fully subsidised homes” but also do not qualify for financing.

“A revised First-Home-Finance scheme, formerly known as the Help-Me-Buy-A-Home program was revised in this financial year, amongst others, to allow for the funding of households who hold “Permission-To-Occupy” certificates in communal land.

“This is particularly important in relation to the extension of credit and funding to households in rural areas. It will allow the ‘missing middle’ to start acquiring economic assets without which they struggle to meaningfully participate in the economy,” she said.

The Minister emphasised that added to this, the department has acquired buildings in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kimberley for social housing with sites in the latter two having a potential of at least 1200 units.

Other social housing projects that are expected to be launched in the coming weeks include:

• The Tshwane-Marabastad project which has a total of 1200 units.
• The Mohlakeng Project with a total of 1020 units in Gauteng’s West Rand.
• The Hope City Project which has 114 units located in Mpumalanga’s Nkangala Municipality.
• The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality based John Street Project with 385 units.
• The Maitland Project Cape Town with a total of 204 units that will be completed by the end of March 2023.

Furthermore, she said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has already earmarked some 14 000 hectares (ha) of land and 32 land parcels measuring some 10 350ha for human settlements.

The land parcels are expected to bring some 64 000 housing opportunities.

Kubayi highlighted that government’s efforts to bring housing to those who are in need are being undermined by “serious pushback and resistance”.

“I am speaking here of a group in the urban rich that we can call ‘not-in-my-neighbourhood’. These are well-resourced groups whose sole purpose is to ensure that the poor and the working class families remain in the outskirts of our cities. This group is motivated by a mixture of racism and a disdain for the poor and the working class.

“They utilise all sorts of tricks to resist, including the courts causing long delays for these families to receive shelter. All freedom loving South Africans irrespective of race and class need to stand up to these bullies.

“Ours is a determination and commitment to ensure that there is housing, security and comfort for all. We shall not fail our people,” she said.

Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi says government is fast tracking the release of title deeds for subsidised houses “as an important instrument of economic empowerment”.

Kubayi was speaking during Parliament’s debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week.

Currently, the backlog stands at some one million houses – an estimated R242 billion in assets.

“Working together with Operation Vulindlela, the Department of Human Settlements will expedite the provision of title deeds for subsidized houses.

“Over and above this, we are working around the clock to unblock the title deeds issuing across provinces. We are working with the communities of Mawiga in Gauteng to unlock 14 000 title deeds of houses that they were never allowed to own by the Apartheid government.

“We have established a steering committee with the community to ensure accountability and transparency of the work done,” she said at Wednesday’s debate.

In relation to tittle deeds for informal settlements, the Minister said the department is working to upgrade and bring much needed services to South Africa’s 2700 informal settlements through the provision of water, electricity and sanitation.

“When an informal settlement is upgraded, it means it has gone through the process of formalisation, such that title deeds can be issued for individual stands. In the last financial year, about 24 671 stands were created through the informal upgrading process,” she said.

Kubayi explained that upgrading these informal settlements also allows government to respond more efficiently to disasters in those areas.

“With climate change, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and most of our infrastructure was not designed to be resilient. In the past five days, our country has experienced devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

“In the past few days, we have also seen numerous fires here in the Western Cape, especially in informal settlements.

“For an effective response to these disasters, we need land, we need South Africans to embrace each other in integrated communities and political parties that don’t play politics at a time when families are homeless, vulnerable and distressed.

“Going forward, we also have begun to reconceptualise how we develop human settlements so that we can incorporate climate change resilience in the infrastructure we provide,” said the Minister.

The design of a Basic Income Support should resonate with the fiscal space while supporting its intended social outcomes and future-targeted policy objectives, says Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Speaking during a Parliamentary debate of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday, Zulu said that the Social Development portfolio is in the process of devising a Basic Income Support.

During his State of the Nation Address last week, President Ramaphosa announced that work is underway to develop a mechanism for a targeted Basic Income Support (BIS) for the most vulnerable, within the country’s fiscal constraints.

“Owing to the rising cost of living, and with the view to cushion the most vulnerable among South Africans from the effects of known and novel risks alike, the Social Development portfolio is in the process of devising a Basic Income Support.

“If ours were not a society and economy that were structured to benefit the absolute few, there would be fewer reasons necessitating this intervention,” Zulu said.

Zulu highlighted that last year the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, informed the country that government will be spending R3.33 trillion on the social wage over a period of three years.

“While we are entering the second year of the three, we should particularly be mindful that this allocation is targeted at leaving no one behind by supporting vulnerable populations as well as low-income households,” she said.

This was government’s social wage intervention to ensure that the greatest number of South Africans are receiving public services and that, as much as possible, the cost of living that the vulnerable and needy in particular would have incurred is materially reduced.

R350 SRD Grant

The Minister said that the continued provision of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to a growing number of South Africans on a monthly basis is living proof that government stands ready to protect its citizens against economic, health, social, climate change and similar shocks.

Notwithstanding the sharp economic growth slowdown globally, the Minister said the sixth administration continues to prioritise the provision of all categories of the social wage.

“The responsiveness of our government to novel challenges is courageously and visibly forthcoming while its long-standing commitments to continually pay the nearly 19 million disability, foster care and child support grants to eligible South Africans is unfaltering.

“This government considers the dignity of each South African as indispensable. For this reason, all our efforts are targeted at realising a dignified life,” Zulu said.

The Department of Social Development continues to support over twenty thousand non-profit organisations annually with more than R8.2 billion. In return, these social partners become the extension of the State’s capacity and attend to varied social challenges in communities.

Tackling GBV, substance abuse

The Minister said that added to this coordinated work is the contribution of traditional authorities to targeted programmes such as the fight against gender-based violence and femicide and substance abuse and the promotion of strong family units.

She said that early suggestions from these processes indicate that communities wish for their members to live in a violent-free society wherein they can meaningfully partake in the economy.

“Viewed from the Social Development vantage point, the epicenter of an inclusive and growing economy and common prosperity are resilient families and communities. Therefore, strong families are indispensable to a productive and inclusive South African society.

“In the quest to forge the most formidable defence against social ills and leakages that are caused by a weakened social fabric, the Social Development portfolio continues to invest in resilient families.”

Economic Sectors and Employment

In the current year, the Social Development portfolio will work together with departments that carry out the mandates of Economic Sectors and Employment as well as private sector partners towards defining a framework for the absorption of employable youth who are receiving social grants on behalf of their grant-eligible children.

“This should particularly set these grant-receiving youth on an economically-liberating and dignifying trajectory.

“Noting that nearly all of the young people who receive grants on behalf of children are young women, it is imperative that these be meaningfully empowered to improve their dignity and remove most of the socially constructed vulnerabilities that bedevil women,” Minister Zulu said.

She said that her discussion with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga also entails programmatically devising sustainable solutions to deep-seated social challenges such as child pregnancies, absent fathers, etc.

“In the quest to alleviate the load on the fiscus, part of this population can be gainfully-employed whereas another can be self-employed through entrepreneurship support programmes that are available in the public and private sector.”