Question NW1161 to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
21 June 2021 - NW1161
Basson, Mr LJ to ask the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
With reference to the agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba on co-operation in the field of water resource management, which she signed on 7 February 2021, what (a) number of Cuban nationals are (i) currently employed and (ii) will be employed by her department, (b) specific work roles are envisaged for the Cuban nationals, (c) are the specific skills set of each of the Cuban nationals that are not possessed by South African nationals (i) currently employed and (ii) will be employed by her department, (d) are the details of the process followed to ensure that the same skills set was and/or is not available in the Republic and amongst South African citizens and (e) is the total cost of the (i) employment and/or (ii) prospective employment of such Cuban nationals?
Reply:
(a) In terms of the agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba on co-operation in the field of water resource management the details are as follows:
(i) 25 Cuban Nationals are currently deployed.
(ii) No decision has been made in this regard.
(b) The Cuban nationals are responsible for the following functions, among others;
- Evaluation of Operations and Maintenance of water infrastructure within clusters and area offices in different provinces as follows:
- Northern Cluster – Limpopo, Part of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and part of North West
- Eastern Cluster – KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Part of Eastern Cape and part of Free State
- Central Operations – Parts of N Cape, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free state
- Southern Cluster – W Cape, part of Eastern Cape and part of Northern Cape
- Eastern Cluster – KZN, part of Eastern Cape and part of Free State
- Central Operations – parts of Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free state
- Evaluation of infrastructure assets of the department including dams, bulk water infrastructure, irrigation canals and pump stations
- Evaluation and verification of quality control of maintenance as well as refurbishment of water infrastructure.
- Scoping of waste water treatment systems.
- Project management for grant funded infrastructure projects implemented by municipalities
- Verification and analysis of bulk infrastructure applications and business plans from municipalities to the DWS.
(c) The areas of specialisation and skills possessed by Cuban Nationals include the following:
|
NO. |
Qualification |
Area of Specialization |
|
Mechanical Engineering |
Mechanical Engineer |
|
|
Engineer Hydrologist |
Surface Water Hydrology. |
|
|
Electrical Engineering |
Electrical Engineering |
|
|
Geophysics Engineer & Master in Science Geophysics |
Civil/ Hydrological/Geophysical |
|
|
Civil Engineering |
Design, Maintenance and Operation of Water Infrastructure |
|
|
Hydraulic Engineering, Master of Science: Hydraulic Engineering |
Water Treatment Plants |
|
|
Hydraulics and Structural Engineering |
Experience Civil/ Hydraulic Engineer |
|
|
Engineering in Automatic Control |
Engineer with specialization in Automatic Control |
|
|
Technologist Engineer |
Technologist Engineer in Hydraulics and Water Treatment |
|
|
Agricultural Mechanization Engineering |
Trained as Mechanical Engineer and works as Investment Manager |
|
|
Irrigation and Drainage Engineering |
Irrigation and Drainage Engineer with extensive experience in Planning and Design |
|
|
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering & Master Mechanical Engineering |
Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Technology |
(d) The deployment of Cuban nationals will not negatively affect jobs which could be offered to South Africans. There are job opportunities in the same fields which are still offered to suitably qualified South Africans, including through the Graduate Programme being implemented by the DWS.
(e) The total estimated cost of employment for financial year are as follows, this includes the operational budget which is based on estimates prior to the COVID-19 realities, meaning that a significant reduction in actual cost is anticipated;
|
ITEM |
EXPENDITURE |
|
Compensation of Employees |
R34 031 413,00 |
|
Goods and Services (Operations Budget) |
R30 591 587,00 |
|
TOTAL BUDGET |
R64 623 000,00 |