Question NW371 to the Minister of Small Business Development
28 August 2019 - NW371
De Villiers, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
What (a) number of official international trips is (i) she and (ii) her deputy planning to undertake in the 2019-22 medium term expenditure framework, (b) will the (i) destination, (ii) date, (iii) purpose and (iv) number of persons who will travel with the delegation be and (c) is the detailed breakdown of the expected cost of (i) flights, (ii) accommodation and (iii) any other expenses in each case?”
Reply:
(a) The international trips for the Minister are based on the requests for support from the Presidency and other key stakeholders such as the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), for essential issues of national interest related to SME and Co-operatives development. However; the Departmental requests for international trips are based on the requirements of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) Annual Performance Plan as well as fulfilling prior commitments in multilateral engagements such as the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) that have strong SME and Co-operatives development element.
(b) The size of the delegation to any Departmental international trip is governed by the DSBD Travel Policy and approved by the Director-General. The Delegation for Ministry is determined in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and in line with the Ministerial Handbook.
(c) The (i) flights; (ii) accommodation costs and (iii) other expenses are as per National Treasury Guidelines for the applicable job levels.