Questions and Replies

Reply:

(i) In the 2017/18 financial year, the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme (ACIP) will implement 3 projects in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. Refer to the table below for the nature, cost, location and commencement date of each project.

(ii) There is no programme within my Department’s Branch: National Water Resources Infrastructure implemented as “Water and Sanitation Implementation Committee Projects”.

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Reply:

1. There are no new positions created in the office of the Director-General since 01 April 2016.

2. There are no intentions of creating any new employment positions in the office of the Director-General in the next six months. The preliminary finding from the structure review process has indicated the reduction in the number of employment positions in the office of the Director-General. This preliminary finding is supported by the business process mapping.

3. No newly created employment positions were advertised.

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Reply:

1. Yes, my Department has suspended one Water Use License during the period, April 2010 for Aganang Beef Trust, which was for agricultural water use: Irrigation.

(2) No appeal has been received by my Department thus far.

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Reply:

(a) No, the irregular expenditure that was incurred during the 2015-16 financial year was not incurred by the Chief Financial Officer.

(b) The irregular expenditure was in respect of Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and my Department is currently in the process of disciplinary action against the Implementing Agent (IAs) who failed to follow proper Supply Chain Management (SCM) procedures. Furthermore, I am in the process of engaging Water Boards and Municipalities in order to take the necessary corrective action to prevent such further occurrences.

My Department is also in the process of disciplinary action against relevant managers for irregular expenditure of R240 million for goods and services.

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Reply:

Refer to Annexure A for the age analysis of the Water User Association and Irrigation Board in each province that owe my Department money.

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Reply:

(1) There are 11 contracts issued and 10 appointed to date. Refer to Annexure A for the details.

(2) Yes, all the companies are BEE compliant and it was a requirement for all the tenders.

(3) Yes, all the service providers are CIDB certified.

(4) Refer to Annexure B for the copies of the CIDB certificates of all contracts.

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Reply:

(1)(a) The purpose of the Department’s projects having contingency funds is to provide for the financial aspects of unforeseen and changed circumstances in the scope of work of a project during its implementation as a mechanism for managing risks and uncertainties associated with project implementation.

(1)(b) There is no defined maximum amount as it varies depending on the nature of the project.

(2)(a) For the 2014-15 and 2015-16 financial years none of the projects exceeded the maximum amount with regards to the contingency fund however, one project in the 2016-17 financial year exceeded the maximum amount with regards to the contingency fund.

(2)(b) The project that exceeded the maximum contingency amount was the Mdloti River Development Project - Raising of Hazelmere Dam.

(2)(c) The total value of the project was R379 982 456.14 (excl. VAT and escalation).

(2)(d) The total amount of the contingency funds utilised was R37 998 245.61 (excl. VAT and escalation).

(2)(e) The discretion of the Resident Engineer in consultation with the Design Engineer / Project Manager authorised the use of the contingency fund.

(2)(f) The name of the company that received the tender was Group Five Construction (Pty) Ltd.

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Reply:

(a) No staff within my Department were awarded contracts or agreements to conduct business with any state entity within the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years.

(b) Refer to Annexure A for the entity reporting to me that were awarded contracts or agreements to conduct business with any state entity in the years mentioned.

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Reply:

No, the irregular expenditure that was incurred during the 2015-16 financial year was not incurred by the Chief Financial Officer. The respective managers within my Department who are the budget holders and who signed off on such payments are held responsible for the irregularity of expenditure. Disciplinary action has been/is being taken against the relevant managers.

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Reply:

(a) The were no requests for quotes exceeding the value of R10 million were made by Rand Water in the 2014-15; a total of thirteen (13) quotes were made for the 2015- 16 and a total of seventeen (17) quotes were made for the 2016-17 financial years.

(b) Refer to Annexure A which outlines the dates, value and description of projects.

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Reply:

Requesting the Honorable Member to refer to the response provided in NA 1945 of 23 June 2017.

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Reply:

a) Refer to Annexure A for information regarding board members of each water boards.

b) The Minister of Water and Sanitation is responsible for appointing board members and my Department is in the process of appointing a new board.

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Annexure A

Reply:

(a) My Department is spending a budget of R1,2 Million in the financial year 2017/18 to promote development of innovation in water sector through programmes such as South African Youth Water Prize is a Science and Technology based project, facilitate installation of Water Administration System at the irrigation schemes and the use of Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication to enable electronic water measurement in the irrigation sector.

(b) The plan of action is to continue to enhance the research innovation development work my Department is doing. This further entails strengthening relationships with stakeholders and partners in the Water Sector such as Department of Science and Technology (DST), Water Research Commission (WRC), Agriculture Research Council and various organized Industry Sectors .i.e. Pulp and Paper Association, Food and Beverages Association and Chamber of Mines. My Department also plans to enhance the already existing innovations by hosting exhibitions in collaboration with WRC and DST. My Department is consistently uploading new innovations on the Departmental website to ensure dissemination of information in addition to national road shows and visiting of public schools as part of raising awareness.

Currently, what needs to be done in earnest is to encourage all water users in the Republic of South Africa) to use water sparingly and do everything within their means to stop leakages. In that regard, my Department is training youth in the War on Leaks programme to assist Municipalities in combating water losses.

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Reply:

Refer to the table below for the breakdown responses.

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ONTRACTS AWARDED BY TCTA FROM 2014/15, 2015/16 AND 2016/17 FINANCIAL YEARS

Reply:

(1) The Deputy Minister and myself make use of the security services paid for by the State as provided for by the Ministerial Handbook.

(2) No members of my family, nor those of the Deputy Minister and the Entities reporting to me; have made use of security services paid for by the State. No staff members either of the department or its entities have made use of security services paid for by the State.

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Reply:

Refer to the table below for the name, location, nature of work done and total cost of each dam safety project undertaken by Sigodi Marah Martin Management. The total project cost stated in the table below is for the execution of the works (i.e design costs and construction costs). Sigodi Marah Martin Management was appointed in November 2013 to October 2016 on a time cost basis contract.

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Sigodi Marah Management’s expenditure per financial year is as follows:

• 2013/14 – R 3 418 333.04
• 2014/15 – R 20 935 669.35
• 2015/16 – R 58 223 703.77
• 2016/17 – R 1 632 465.35

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Reply:

No, my Department does not have any partnership or bilateral agreements with any government entity in Israel.

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Reply:

No transaction advisors for tenders were appointed by my Department or each entity reporting to me for the period 01 January 2012 to 31 December 2016.

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Reply:

Refer to the table below for the breakdown responses.

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CONTRACTS AWARDED BY TCTA FROM 2014/15, 2015/16 AND 2016/17 FINANCIAL YEARS

Reply:

(1) Working for Water: Department of Environmental Affairs (WfW: DEA) has been actively involved with the controlling and eradicating invasive weeds in Roodeplaat Dam and has developed a plan to realise this. From 2007 to 2010, the level of weeds has been reduced from 100% to about 5% through their interventions. Working for Water has spent more than R4 million towards this. Furthermore, Working for Water is providing herbicides to land owners through Department of Public Works office on site to control invasive species. Refer to Annexure A for the Strategic Plan.

(2) Monitoring is done by the project manager for Working for Water in the Department of Environmental Affairs.

(3) My Department has developed Resource Management Plans for management of Access and Use of State Dams. As part of the plan it is proposed that for each dam, that has boating recreational use, the Department should build a washbay to wash the boats from other dams to controls and contain invasive weeds. Moreover my Department is currently finalising Regulations for Access and the Use of State Dams.

Furthermore, land owners are mandated by NEMBA (National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004) together with the Alien and Invasive Species Regulations that came to effect on 1 October 2014, which both give the responsibility to the land owners to develop management plans to control and eradicate invasive species including the budget to realise the above. To this effect, there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Department of Environmental Affairs and my Department to map out how this should be achieved. Continuing engagements are in place to this effect. Refer to Annexure B for the signed MoU.

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Reply:

(1)(a)The refurbishment of Groblersdal Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) within Sekhukhune District Municipality (DM) was completed in December 2015, however; the practical commissioning of the refurbished work was done during June 2016 and the waste water treatment plan is functional. The waste water treatment occasionally experience breakdown of aerobic mixer due to the plant being overloaded and the contractor who was refurbishing the plant attended to the breakdown as part of retention period.

(1)(b) My Department did not take steps in assisting with completion since both the Sekhukhune DM and Lepelle Northern Water Board did complete the refurbishment work, and is operational. The practical commission was however done in June 2016.

(1)(c) My Department Regional Office: Limpopo visited Groblersdal Waste Water Treatment Works on 10 May 2017 and the following findings were made:

• Lepelle Northern Water is responsible for the operation of the WWTW. Both the old and the new plant are operated simultaneously. The works was operational however signs of overflow were observed.  According to the official present, this was due to the influx of effluent from the pump station which only started operating on 08 May 2017.
• A site inspection was also conducted at the pump station which pumps sewerage into the Groblersdal WWTW, which is located in the outskirts of the industrial area. The pump station is managed by Sekhukhune DM and it was not operational for the last 6 months. During the time when it was non-operational, sewage from town was pumped to the pump station via a channel, however the effluent did not reach the WWTW. This led to the effluent being diverted into an unlined emergency pond at the back of the pump station, which may possibly lead to surface and groundwater pollution. Discussions between Lepelle Northern Water and Sekhukhune DM took place, however the problem persisted. According to the official from Lepelle Northern Water the pump station started operating on Monday, 08 May 2017. A Section 19 Notice under the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998 will be issued to the Sekhukhune DM, as the responsible authority for operation and maintenance of the pump station.

(2) Yes, my Department monitors the quality of the water in the Olifants River. Refer to the Table 1 below which is the summary of the effluent quality discharged by Groblersdal Wastewater Treatment works, downstream and upstream of the Works:

Table 1

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Reply:

No, the Appellant requested to be furnished with the reasons and documents in compliance with Item 5 (3) of Schedule 6 of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998). That information has since been supplied to the Appellant to afford them the opportunity to supplement, vary or amplify its Appeal if they so wish. The respondent will also be given opportunity to file its Replying Statement. At the end of the exchange of papers the appeal record of proceedings will be submitted to the Chairperson of the Water Tribunal, who may give directives and also provide a date for setting the matter down. The date of finalisation of this matter is dependent on all the parties involved and not my Department alone.

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Reply:

(1) A licence was issued for Atha-Africa Ventures on the 07 July 2016. The property where the activity will take place is in a mining area located 58 km South West of Pietretief within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality which falls within Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga in the W51A quaternary Catchment. There are no records of any authorisation issued to Bashubile Trust.

(2) This property where Atha-Africa Ventures which is Ptn 1 of the farm Yzermine 96 HT has been excluded from the Mabola Protected Environment and the Surface disturbance associated with the activity will be located on the farm.

(3) New technologies, as well as best practice guidelines will be used to ensure that water use is minimal and where possible water is reused or recycled. A plan and engineering designs will be developed to ensure that cut-off Trenches/ open drains and beams separate the 1:100 clean water runoff, from the 1:50 dirty water, to divert clean runoff around the identified operational areas that may pollute water resources. The PCDs will be sized to collect the average Dirty runoff from the mining area as well as the 1:100 24 hour storm event.

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Reply:

(1)(a) Yes, a licence was issued for Atha-Africa Ventures on the 07 July 2016. The property where the activity will take place is in a mining area located 58 km South West of Piet Retief within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality which falls within Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga in the W51A quaternary Catchment.

(1)(b) There are no records of any authorisation issued to Bashubile Trust.

(2) Yes, an Environment and Social Impact Assessment Report and Environmental and Social management Programme: Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine, EcoPartners, January 2015 was submitted with the application.

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Reply:

Yes, a water use license was issued to WPB Colliery on the 04 October 2015. Yes, an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Report compiled by M2 Environmental Connections dated June 2012, was considered during the assessment of this application.

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Reply:

No, the Public Protector did not conduct an investigation on Mhlathuze Water Board during the period 01 January 2008 to 31 December 2010.

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Reply:

(1) Yes, probity checks were conducted in respect of appointment of candidates to Mhlathuze Water Board prior to its establishment.

(2) No candidates were red flagged.

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Reply:

My Department is not repairing the Eastleigh solute channel damaged by flooding on the 09 November 2016 in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM).

Requesting the Honourable Member to refer the question to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, who is in a better position to respond to issues relating to the repairing of the Eastleigh solute channel in the EMM in Gauteng.

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Reply:

Requesting the Honourable Member to refer the question to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, who is in a better position to respond to issues relating to the maintenance and cost of maintenance of the Eastleigh solute channel in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng

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Reply:

No, my Department did not apply for disaster funding in order to repair the Eastleigh solute channel damaged by flooding on 09 November 2016 in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM).

Requesting the Honourable Member to refer the question to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, who is in a better position to respond to issues relating to the application for disaster funding in order to repair the Eastleigh solute channel damaged by flooding on 9 November 2016 in the EMM in Gauteng.

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Reply:

Neither my Department nor each entity reporting to me has procured or made payments to the Decolonisation Foundation.

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REPLY:

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Reply:

Neither My Department nor Entities reporting to me have procured any services from and/or made any payment to Bell Pottinger or any other public relations firms.

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u

Reply:

(1) My Department is still in the process of evaluating and adjudicating the tender bids received for the construction of the raising of Clanwilliam Dam. Further details will only be known once a contractor has been appointed, after completion of the full procurement process.

(2)(a) Refer to the table below for the total cost incurred by Construction South for the month of February 2017 on the specified site is:

(2)(b) There is a total of 53 DWS: Construction South personnel, with 13 personnel on contract and 40 permanent employees.

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Reply:

(a) The total amount owed by the Department to the water boards as at 28 February 2017 amount to R 482 055 862.36

(b) The name of the Water board, amount outstanding and when the amount will be paid is detailed in Annexure A attached.

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Reply:

(1)(a) The Department will assist in registering the process controllers on the Blue Drop System (BDS) for potable water and Green Drop System (GDS) for waste water, both are web-based systems used as regulatory tools by the Department. The process controllers will be registered on the BDS and/ or GDS taking into account their years of experience operating the treatment facilities and relevant qualifications in water or wastewater treatment. Upon completion of the training WSAs will load the recently acquired certificate and the Department approves the process controller to a relevant class based on qualification/s and years of experience and issues a certificate which will indicate the class of a process controller. This will assist in identification of level of compliance of process controllers against the water treatment facilities requirements and further training needed in order for the process controllers to be at the required skills for the treatment facility they operate.

The Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LG SETA) in collaboration with the Department has just started the process of registering learners (process controllers) in preparation for the implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning programme for employees working in the water and waste water treatment works.

The programme will be implemented in 7 WSAs, which are Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, Madibeng Local Municipality, Moses Kotane Local Municipality, Moretele Local Municipality, Ventersdorp Local Municipality and Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality and City of Matlosana Local Municipality. During 2016/17, the Department piloted a groundwater monitoring training for borehole pump operators in the following three Water Services Authorities: Moretele Local Municipality, Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality and the Madibeng Local Municipality. The training programme has been developed to enhance monitoring of groundwater levels by the Water Services Authorities to ensure continuous availability of groundwater within their area of jurisdiction.

(1)(b) The training is envisaged to start on 01 April 2017.

(2) The Water tankers were withdrawn on the 31 January 2017 from the North West, Free State and Eastern Cape Provinces’ municipalities which were affected by drought.

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Reply:

The responsibility of training programmes for municipalities is of the Department of Cooperative Governace and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and not of my Department. However my Department as a custodian of water resources and a sector leader has a significant role to play in supporting local government to fulfill this obligation. In this regard, my Department supported Water Services Authorities (WSAs) in developing the training programme for municipal operators of water and waste water treatment works.

My Department has conducted training needs assessments of water and waste water process controllers with the aim of identifying training gaps and ultimately assisted the Water Services Authorities (WSAs) to submit the funding proposals to the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA).

The programme will be implemented in the following 11 WSAs:

• Eastern Cape: Alfred Nzo District Municipality and Amathole District Municipality.
• Limpopo: Capricorn District Municipality and Polokwane Local Municipality.
• North West: Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, Madibeng Local Municipality, Moses Kotane Local Municipality, Moretele Local Municipality, Ventersdorp Local Municipality, Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality and City of Matlosana Local Municipality.

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Reply:

Requesting the Honorable Member to refer to the response provided in NA 579 of 10 March 2017.

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Reply:

(1)(a)(i) I have issued a directive in terms of Section 41 (1) (a) (ii) of the Water Services Act and Section 73 (1) (d) to Sedibeng Water to carry over the operation and maintenance within the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality (DM). At the moment, all local municipalities under the Ngaka Modiri Molema DM receive support from Sedibeng Water Board as the Water Service Provider. My Department has also appointed Sedibeng Water Board as the Implementing Agent for implementation of the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Programme and Water Services Infrastructure Programme in support of the provision of water and sanitation service delivery with a budget of R780 Million over the MTEF period.

(1)(a)(ii) My Department has allocated funding to the tune of R1,244 billion under Regional Bulk Infrastructure Programme and the total amount of R 77 million through the Water Services Infrastructure Programme in support of the provision of water and sanitation service delivery in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati DM over the MTEF period.

(1)(b) My Department has also appointed Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati DM as the Implementing Agent and therefore will be responsible for the implementation of the latter support.

(1)(c) The work is envisaged to commerce in June 2017.

(2)(a)(i) During the financial year 2016/17, my Department through the National Water Resources Infrastructure (Construction West Unit) has rehabilitated the portion of the Wentzel Dam on the foundation for stabilization, fitting of the piece of a steel pipe and couplings to ease the maintenance. This work has already reduced loss of water through redundant structures and leaking valves. Since the dam is currently at full capacity, immediately when the dam level is low, my Department will resume with the removal of the silt in order to increase its capacity .The construction of the bulk pipeline from Bloemhof to augment the water supply in Schweizer Reneke will also commence in 2018 with the intention to complete the project within a year .The project cost on the pipeline is R222 million which will also bring relief to Wentzel Dam.

(2)(a)(ii) In the current financial year 2017/18, my Department has allocated R14 Million under Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) for the refurbishment of the Water Treatment Works and for the implementation of the Water Conservation and Water Demand Management programme in Schweitzer-Reneke.

(2)(b)(i) The project for the refurbishment of the Water Treatment Works and for the implementation of the Water Conservation and Water Demand Management programme in Schweitzer-Reneke is anticipated to be completed by end of June 2018.

(2)(b)(ii) The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati as the Water Services Authority and as the Implementing Agent will be responsible for the implementation of this project.

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Reply:

(1)(a) Since 1 March 2017, 31 Cubans are still in the employ of my Department. 1 Cuban specialist resigned in April 2016 and the other 3 did not renew their contracts when they expired at the end of February 2017.

(1)(b) Their contracts will expire on 21 December 2017 but I have approved that their contracts should be extended up to 30 June 2018.

(2) My Department has not employed any additional Cuban specialists.

(3) The current costs for the financial year under review (2016/17) of contracting the engineers in terms of the line items requested are as follows:

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Reply:

Refer to Annexure A for positions currently vacant in each entity.

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Annexure A

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Reply:

No, the assessment is still in progress and will be completed in May 2017. Once the assessment report is finalised, a full copy will be submitted.

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Reply:

Kindly refer to the presentation provided to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 03 March 2017 by the Department of Water and Sanitation for details of supplier invoices and the reasons for non-payment.

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Reply:

Requesting the Honorable Member to refer to the response provided to NA 583.

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Reply:

Kindly refer to the presentation provided to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 03 March 2017 by the Department of Water and Sanitation for details of supplier invoices and the reasons for non-payment.

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Reply:

(1) No, neither my Department nor any Entities reporting to me participated in the Dialogue with the President: Unpacking of the SONA 2017 on Radical Economic Transformation Implementation event hosted at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, Durban, on 25 February 2017.

(2) No, neither my Department nor any Entities reporting to me participated in the auction of the souvenirs, personal belongings of the President of the Republic Jacob G Zuma.

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Reply:

(1) There are currently 2 licences granting abstraction from the Hluhluwe River GWS (SMP 154) that have been registered.

(2) Refer to table below.

Reply:

(1) My Department’s Main Account is not experiencing financial difficulties. However, the Water Trading Entity (WTE) is experiencing temporary cash flow problems due to non-payment of Municipalities and Water Boards. However, the WTE is in a very strong financial position as Assets exceed Liabilities by R72 billion.

During the 2016/17 budget preparation it was clear that, should the debt not be recovered this would negatively impact on the bank balance. This recovery from Municipalities and Water Boards has not happened and the overdraft has been steadily increasing since the start of the financial year.

The WTE is working closely with National Treasury (NT) and NT has sent out letters to Municipalities not paying their debt warning them that they are contravening Section 65(2)(e) of the MFMA and that they should urgently rectify the non-payment of their debt.

(2) My Department’s Main Account has been allocated a budget of R15.5 billion for the 2016/17 financial year, of which R13.6 billion has been spent by 27 February 2017, leaving an available balance of R1.9 billion up to 31 March 2017. The R1.9 billion will be used to pay for salaries (R238 million), direct transfers to Municipalities scheduled for the 8 and 9 March 2017 (R712 million) as well as goods and services and capital expenditures in the normal course of business amounting to R958 million. This is in line with my Department’s planned cash projections, and signals a slight underspending of R99 million anticipated by the end of the financial year from Compensation of Employees.

The Department’s bank account with National Treasury (SARB) is currently at a positive balance of R558 million, and there is still a balance of R1.1 billion which has not been requested from the National Treasury and is due for payment to the Department in the month of March 2017.

The WTE’s current bank balances as at 22 February 2017 are as follows:

Reply:

(a) The communities within the Harry Gwala District Municipality (HGDM) and uMkhanyakude DM (UKDM) have been without water for over two years due to two factors, i.e. severe drought impact which has plagued most parts of the KwaZulu-Natal including some of Harry Gwala and uMkhanyakude areas and secondly it has been due to infrastructure limitations in some areas.

(b) The department provides funding to uMkhanyakude and Harry Gwala District Municipalities in order to try to resolve the water challenges faced by the districts and my department will continue to support the municipalities to ensure that the communities have access to good quality clean water.

Refer to the table below for allocations for UMkhanyakude DM (UKDM):

Refer to the table below for allocations for Harry Gwala DM (HGDM):

Reply:

(a) Mamone Ward 20 and 21 in Makhuduthamaga has not had water since January 2017 and not since August 2016 as it is indicated above. This is due to two boreholes that are not functioning. The two boreholes are not functional due to operations and maintenance issues. In one of the boreholes, pipes have collapsed and are submerged and need to be fished and replaced. In another borehole, a submersible pump motor was burnt during drought as the water flow yields were low. The third borehole that is functional is not yielding enough flow and, as a result, not everyone is able to get water.

(b) The Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM), being the Water Services Authority (WSA); has engaged in a procurement process to replace of equipment for the refurbishment of the two boreholes which are expected to be functional by end of March 2017.

Reply:

Kindly refer to the presentation provided to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 03 March 2017 by the Department of Water and Sanitation for details of supplier invoices and the reasons for non-payment.