Question NW1718 to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
18 August 2020 - NW1718
Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
In terms of the 45 445 participants from the Expanded Public Works Programme who have been engaged to assist with cleaning and sanitising schools on behalf of the Department of Basic Education, (a) which entity in her department is managing the specified programme, (b) what total amount is being charged in management fees for the project, (c) will the same nonprofit organisations (NPOs) be utilised as those for the 25 000 young persons who have been engaged through the Independent Development Trust to assist with Covid-19 projects, (d) what number of (i) NPOs are being used, (ii) participants have already been engaged and (iii) schools are already benefiting from the programme and (e) what are the relevant details of the schools that have benefited from the programme?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:
a) Neither the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) nor any of its entities are involved in the implementation of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) project for the cleaning and sanitising of schools. The decision for the non-involvement of the DPWI on this project is premised on the resolutions of the meeting held on the 27 May 2020 between the Directors-General of DPWI, DBE, and National Treasury (NT), where it was agreed that the cleaning of schools is a Provincial Department of Education function. It was further agreed that the funding for the screening and cleaning activities at schools must be through the respective Provincial Departments of Education budget. Due to the financial constraints of Provincial Department of Education,the DBE and NT agreed to fund this activity by reallocating funds from the DBE Infrastructure Grant. Around R4,4 billion was allocated to this activity during the Adjustment Budget presented by the Minister of Finance in July 2020.
b) No management fee is charged to the DPWI as it is not involved in the implementation of the project.
c) Since the DPWI and the IDT are not involved in the implementation of the programme, the DPWI is not in a position to ascertain which NPOs are involved in the DBE initiative.
d) Since the DPWI and the IDT are not involved in the implementation of the programme, the DPWI is:
(i) not in a position to ascertain the number of NPOs involved in the DBE initiative.
(ii) not in a position to ascertain, for now, the number of participants already engaged in the DBE initiative. However once the DBE reports the participants into the EPWP Reporting System, this information will be available.
(iii) notaware of the schools benefiting from the programme.
e) The DPWI is not possession of the relevant details of schools benefitting from the programme.