Questions and Replies

Reply:

The following table reflects the details as received from the Provincial Departments of Health

EASTERN CAPE
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
02	Yes	Nil	02	01 Dismissal
				01 Disciplinary on progress
FREE STATE
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
05	Yes	R24 259 970.00	1	Disciplinary case – employee was dismissed, 4 still under investigation
GAUTENG
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
21	Yes	R2 752 210.85	0	0 All the 21 still under investigations
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
04	Yes	R5 610 244.85	04	1 awaiting sanction. 1 dismissed. 2 still pending.
KWAZULU-NATAL
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
21	Yes	R2 864 840.00.	04	02 officials 3 month without pay
				01 Written warning
				01 official dismissed
				02 officials resigned before hearing. The remaining cases are is still pending.
LIMPOPO
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
0	0	0	0	0 Limpopo confirms that the cases they have are for Fraud not corruption.
MPUMALANGA
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
09	Yes	R 58 380 442.25	09	09 cases involved 9 people whose matters were finalized and 5 are pending sanctions.
NORTHWEST
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
7	Yes	R27 328 762	2	The two (2) disciplinary actions were for the Corruption cases, wherein One (1) was given two months without salary sanction, and the other One (1) was dismissed. Five (5) still in the investigation process.
WESTERN CAPE
1(a)Total No. Corruption Case	1(b)Corruption Case	1(c)Total Amount	2(a)No. of Disciplinary Case	2(b) Outcome
07	Yes	R357 954.80	17	6 Dismissal
				2 Final written warning
				1 written warning
				8 Disciplinary hearing in progress The 7 corruption cases involved 17 people, of which 9 were concluded and 8 still outstanding.

Information on the Northern Cape Province will be furnished as soon as it is received.

END.

Reply:

(1) (a) (i)

No employees of the department are currently working from home, this is in line with section 4 of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Circular 38 of 2022 (29/06/2022): REPEAL OF THE REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL OF NOTIFIABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS, which states that ‘Departments are required to ensure that all employees return to normal work conditions with no restrictions.’

(1) (a) (ii)

Not applicable.”

(1) (a) (iii)

Not applicable

1) (b)

Not applicable

(2)

A statement on the matter will not be made as employees have returned to the office at 100% capacity, in line with Circular 38 of 2022.

Reply:

The KwaZulu Department of Health indicates that the Honourable Member was informed of the difficulty to trace the complainant, as the contact number that the complainant was not reachable on the contact number that the Honourable Member had provided to the department. The hospital as well as the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial office contacted the complainant on several occasions to obtain additional information from the complainant as the information provided was not sufficient to facilitate investigation. Mr Thulani Bulose did not answer his cell phone every time he was contacted, the calls went to voicemail. The following information is required to enable King Edward hospital to investigate the complaint:

• Alternative contact details of the complainant, Mr Thulani Bulose (e-mail address or another cell number)
• ID number of patient (Mr Sipho Bulose)
• Hospital number of patient (Mr Sipho Bulose)
• Dates and ward/s at which patient (Mr Sipho Bulose) was admitted at King Edward Hospital
• Clarity on the assistance that is sought from King Edward Hospital

A request was made to the Honourable Member to provide alternative contact details of the complainant to enable the hospital to contact the complainant to obtain the additional information. The Honourable Member provided a prison number of the patient instead. The hospital could not trace the patient file using the prison number as prison numbers are not used as a unique identifier for filing of patient files. The complaint was therefore closed as guided by the National Guideline to manage complaints, compliments and suggestions (2022) that states the following: ‘When additional information is required from the patient or family/supporting person to enable further investigation of the complaint, the patient or family/supporting person should be contacted to obtain the information. In instances where the patient or family/supporting person could not be reached on the first attempt, he/ she should be contacted at least twice thereafter for two consecutive weeks. If the patient or family/supporting person could still not be traced, the complaint can be seen as resolved (closed). In such circumstance the dates and the methods used to contact the patient or family/supporting person should be documented. The same applies when a patient or family/supporting person cannot be traced to conduct redress.’

A new complaint will be opened to investigate the complaint lodged by Mr Thulani Bulose when the information requested as outline is submitted.

END.

Reply:

a ) The Northern Cape Provincial Department of Human Settlements has advised that it has directed the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) to conduct a forensic investigation in order to determine all the relevant facts and reasons for the project not being completed and the mitigation measures required. The investigation has been completed by the NHBRC and a report referred to the Petitions Committee in the province for consideration. Once the report has been considered, the provincial department will take the required measures against the said contractor as recommended by the NHBRC and the Petitions Committee.

b) No disciplinary measures have been taken by the provincial department as yet pending the outcome and recommendations of the NHBRC and the Petitions Committee.

Reply:

Yes, the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) is aligned with the Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme (CASP), AGRI BEE and Blended Financial Scheme (BFS).

The envisaged approach is for the project approval process of the mentioned programmes to incorporate the AAMP’s strategic commodities and align to both National and Provincial Value Chain strategies of the AAMP. Furthermore, the Integrated Programme and Project Management methodology, which aims to align all relevant programmes and projects, including CASP at a project approval level will be introduced.

Reply:

The Presidency does not have a program of graduates employed to conduct condition assessments in Parliament Villages under the Presidential Employment Stimulus.

Thank You.

Reply:

No measures have been put in place to recruit and permanently employ fieldworkers and data capturers as the department does not employ fieldworkers and data captures.            

Reply:

a) The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) as one of the organs of the African Union (AU) was established in terms of Article 2 of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African Parliament. In terms of this Protocol, the PAP shall evolve into an institution with full legislative powers. However, this Protocol only confers the PAP with consultative and advisory powers.

To fulfil the aim of the PAP of becoming an institution with full legislative powers, the African Union Assembly during its Summit in June 2014 adopted the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament.

Article 8 of this Protocol provides that the PAP shall be the legislative organ of the AU to draft Model Laws. Meaning that the PAP is vested with the quasi-legislative power of formulating Model Laws for the AU Member States. However, as of April 2022, the Protocol had 22 signatures and 14 ratifications, and it requires simple majority of ratifications by the AU Member States to enter into force. The Republic of South Africa signed the Protocol in January 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A presentation on the Malabo Protocol was delivered by DIRCO to the Portfolio Committee in the National Assembly on 1 June 2022. In this regard, the National Assembly is busy finalizing the Protocol's ratification through its internal processes.

b) As an advisory and consultative organ of the African Union, the current mandate of the PAP is wide enough to empower it to propose and formulate model laws. As of 2018, the PAP has formulated or contributed to the formulation of two model laws and is planning to kick-start the formulation of about five other model laws.

Furthermore, DIRCO’s role regarding the PAP is only limited to providing support as guided by the Host Country Agreement entered into between the African Union and South Africa in 2004. The Agreement and its seven Annexes thereto, place an obligation on South Africa, through DIRCO, to provide accommodation for the premises, fixtures, fittings and furniture for the premises, security, accreditation and transport services to the PAP. Due to the separation of powers as is the case with South Africa under its democratic constitution, DIRCO does not participate in substantive meetings of the PAP. 

Also, the founding instruments of the PAP assert its independence and non-interference by Executives of member states. This precludes DIRCO playing any active role in the proceedings of the PAP.

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with a response to the question.

It provides a list of various parties litigated against and legal fees for litigation. I have requested that additional details be provided in respect of the specific matters covered in the legal briefs.

For the supplementary reply on legal costs, I am requesting that the NLC compiles a record of the following:

1. Total legal and consultancy costs of the various matters involving the Ministry, including but not limited to:

• Litigation on the appointment of acting chairperson
• Litigation on disclosure of information and appointment of forensic investigators,
• Litigation on appointment of board
• legal or consultancy advice sought on power of Minister or the dtic in relation to the Board, including its removal
• legal or consultancy advice sought on the disclosure of beneficiary information
• legal or consultancy advice sought on the appointment of the forensic firm by the dtic; and the appointment of the SIU by the President
• media consultancy or lobbying costs involving matters relating to the Ministry or the dtic
• legal or consultancy cost in relation to disciplinary proceedings commenced by the Minister against members of the Board

2. Total legal and consultancy costs of the various matters involving any member of parliament

3. Total legal and consultancy costs of the various matters involving any journalist or media house or SANEF.

The new Board is currently reviewing the legal costs of the NLC. I will request the Board to consider that the review should cover whether legal costs of the extent covered in the reply below is justified; and to adjust the future NLC Budgets based on the outcome of the review.

In respect of the legal department of the NLC, I will be requesting the Board to commission a review of the work actually done by the Unit and each specific member of the Unit and to evaluate the outcome of such review.

The NLC advises as follows in respect of the questions:

“(1) The matters initiated by the NLC constituted 25% of litigation matters pursuant to section 10(3) of the Lotteries Act, 1997 (Act No. 57 of 1997).

(1)(a) List of all the parties litigated against:

• NLC / Boitumelo Mafonjo
• NLC / Yanga Mvakwa
• NLC / Minister of Trade, Industry & Competition
• NLC / Ithuba Holdings & 2 Others

(1)(b) Matters instituted against the NLC by current and/ or former staff:

• Mzukisi Makatse / NLC
• Tshililo Ndonyane / NLC
• Khomotso Aphae / NLC
• Sello Qhina / NLC
• NUPSAW obo Members / NLC
• Ithuba Holdings / Lotto Star & Others
• Katleho Malatsi / NLC & 4 Others
• Phillemon Letwaba / NLC & SKX

(2)(a)&(b) The Legal and Investigation Services Division, comprises of a staff complement of seven (7) employees - structured as follows:

 

a) Position	b) Duties
1 x Executive Manager: Legal	The incumbent is responsible for strategic legal direction and the effective and efficient management of the Legal and Investigations Division. The incumbent oversees the Commission’s legal compliance and management of legal risks, fraud risks as well as contractual risks. Provides legal support and advisory services to the NLC and the NLC Board in executing its functions as per the Commission’s enabling legislation. Ensures safe and adequate whistleblowing arrangements are in place.
1 x Legal Manager	The incumbent provides operational and credible legal advice to all Commission’s divisions to ensure that legal challenges are avoided, and legal and fraud risks are mitigated. Ensures the efficacy of legislation, practical implementation of all legislative prescripts and manage litigation when it arises whilst anticipating and acting against legal risks facing the Commission and provide general legal support to the Commission. Ensures that all investigations are conducted in an independent, objective and credible manner. Manages the whistleblowing arrangements.
1 x Legal Specialist	Provision of general legal advice, legal and advisory support to the Commission. Conduction of education and awareness interventions and drafting of all contracts of the Commission. Monitoring and reporting of divisional risks (monthly & quarterly reporting).
1 x Senior Legal and Forensic Specialist	The incumbent investigates all fraud and corruption and any other activities that undermine the Commission’s regulatory and grant making mandate in order to ensure prosecution/civil recovery and associated disciplinary action / relevant consequence management. Monitors trends of impropriety and flags it for the respective divisions. Conducts fraud education and awareness as well as alerts to NLC stakeholders. Identifies and reports control weaknesses to appropriate management and identifying areas within the Commission. Collaborative engagements with law enforcement agencies for when there is alleged or actual acts of impropriety.
1 x Forensic Officer	The Forensic Officer is responsible for investigating all allegations of fraud and corruption. Conduction of education and awareness relating to fraud and trends. Reports cases to law enforcement agencies. Drafts investigation reports.
1 x Administrative Assistant	Renders administrative support to the Commission’s investigation unit.
1 x Executive Assistant	Incumbent is responsible for providing secretarial, clerical, administrative support and general office duties in order to ensure that services in the Legal Services Division are provided in an effective and efficient manner.”

-END-

Reply:

1. The South African Government is mandated to effect redress in the interests of equity, as embodied in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act no. 108 of 1996). The Constitution, 1996 laid the foundation for a coherent and an inclusive economy of all its citizens. Section 9 of the Bill of Rights, in the Constitution, promotes equality in all facets of life, inclusive of the economy. An inclusive economy will only be possible if the South African economy builds on the full potential of all persons and communities across the length and breadth of our Country.

The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, 2003 (Act No. 53 of 2003), as amended, defines ‘broad-based black economic empowerment’ as: “the viable economic empowerment of all black people, in particular women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas, through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies that include, but are not limited to -

(a) increasing the number of black people that manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets;

(b) facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and productive assets by communities, workers, co-operatives and other collective enterprises;

(c) human resource and skills development;

(d) achieving equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce;

(e) preferential procurement from enterprises that are owned or managed by black people; and

(f) investment in enterprises that are owned or managed by black people”.

(2) The introduction of ‘broad-based’ criteria is intended to ensure that the impact of policy is not confined to opportunities only for black entrepreneurs. The impact of policy on living standards (including persons living in poverty) and on employment (measured by the quality and quantity of jobs), are therefore also relevant.

A number of broad-based investment vehicles addresses socio-economic development matters such as

• provision of bursaries to students, which assist with increasing employability of the individuals and helps to grow the pool of skills that can drive higher growth, and thus higher incomes and jobs numbers
• rolling out of education support (eg teaching of numeracy at primary schools), laying the basis for better technical skills
• health-care services (such as HIV-Aids education) to discourage risky behaviour and stigmatising HIV positive persons
• rural development which assists with sustainable livelihoods
• job creation schemes and
• measures to improve living standards for members of communities.

The Department is currently undertaking research that can assist to quantify the impact of broad-based BEE policies on the above.

-END-

Reply:

The department is currently undertaking the below listed projects to address inmate accommodation

PROJECT	COMMENTS
The repair and upgrade of the Integrated Security System at Emthonjeni Youth Facility to restore 288 bed spaces	Progress is at 85% and completion is estimated for March 2023
The upgrading of Parys Correctional Facility to provide an approximate of 250 beds	Construction is at 55%, completion is estimated for 03 April 2023.
The upgrading of the Burgersdorp Correctional Facility to a new generation Facility to provide an approximate of 500 beds	Site was handed over to contractor in April 2022, construction is in the initial stage with an estimated completion of June 2026
The upgrade of the Litchenburg Correctional Facility to provide an approximate of 500 bed spaces	Design is at advanced stage, department in discussions with Local Municipality on supply of bulk services.
Construction of Richards Bay Correctional Facility with an approximate 1000 bed spaces	Consultants have been appointed by Department of Public works and Infrastructure and are busy with planning on all three projects.
Construction of Kirkwood Correctional Facility with an approximate 500 bed spaces
Construction of a new facility at Leeuwkop with an approximate 1500 bed spaces

END

Reply:

Eskom has applied to procure from existing generators on a Standard Offer basis. The DMRE has processed the request and it is currently receiving NERSA’s attention for concurrence.

Reply:

Find here: Reply

Reply:

The CEO of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) has furnished me with a detailed reply, which disputes the version apparently put to the Honourable Member.

In the reply, the CEO advises that the NEF “discussed the investment opportunity with the client to prepare the investment report and potential investment terms. Some key challenges arose during the due diligence stage of the application. Consequentially, in terms of due process, the application did not proceed to the Investment Committee of the NEF for final approval. A solution is being explored with the seller to address the outstanding information required to finalise the due diligence process and to ensure that the rights of all parties are protected. The opportunity is still available, and the seller is willing to work with the NEF to find a solution to the impasse emanating from his past reluctance to share the required information.”

I will be happy to arrange a discussion between the Honourable member and the NEF to provide more details.

-END-

Reply:

(a)(i) To strengthen the SHRA’s regulatory role and to build a sector that is capable of delivery and management of social housing at the level of scale and form required, the Compliance, Accreditation and Regulation (CAR) Operational Framework was reviewed. Implementation is underway, with the SHRA aiming to increase its internal capacity and reduce the past reliance on consultants. Organisational capacitation of key personnel including resources to provide more in-depth compliance monitoring and a Regulations Manager and to increase in-house capacity when dealing with issues of regulatory enforcement and non-compliance, in line with section 12 provisions contained within the Social Housing Act 16 of 2008 are being implemented.

(a)(ii) Cases of non-compliances which have escalated for enforcement relates to the following institutions:

• Free State Social Housing Company: Placed Under Administration.
• Troyeville Housing Cooperative: Placed under Administration.
• Communicare: Allegations of maladministration have been made against the institution, and the finalisation of a forensic investigation is imminent.
• Housing Association East London (Belgravia): Failure to meet compliance conditions has resulted in a downgrading of accreditation status. There are suspected grounds of maladministration, and a forensic audit has been approved.
• Urban Scape Rentals: Failure to meet compliance conditions has resulted in a downgrading of accreditation status. There are suspected grounds of maladministration, and a forensic audit has been approved.

(b) Irregular expenditure incurred in the past five years pertain to investing in projects that fell outside a restructuring zone, which has since been declared and regularised. The remaining irregular expenditure relates to a single grant recipient (TBGI) amounting to R26.7 million which is being dealt with by implementing the court judgement to recover the funds – a loss cannot be established at this stage.

There have been no funds lost through non-compliance, as most non-compliance has been limited to the submission of documents. Three institutions are about to be taken through regulatory enforcement and forensic investigations are to be conducted. These are Housing Authority of East London (HAEL), Urban Scape and Communicare. The extent of maladministration and if funds have been lost, can only be ascertained when these investigations are concluded.

Reply:

1. (a) There are 14004 number of beds available for mental health patients

(b) The following table reflects the details in this regard, according to the Provincial Departments of Health:

Breakdown of the beds in each province

Table 1.

Province	Total beds
Eastern Cape	1816
Free State	927
Gauteng	2478
KwaZulu-Natal	3028
Limpopo	1569
Mpumalanga	329
Northern Cape	344
North West	1446
Western Cape	2067
TOTAL	14004

2. (a) The information from the District Health Information System indicates that there were 131 837 mental health separations (admissions) during 2021.

(b) There are 328 public mental health facilities in the country

Stand-alone specialized psychiatric hospitals	Psychiatric units attached to general hospitals	Facilities listed to conduct 72-hours assessments
24	40	264

END.

Reply:

1. (a) District Health Services currently use the Ideal Clinic Framework’s indicators to assess district performance. The reason for using this framework is because it covers aspects of services that districts should provide to persons in the community setting, in PHC facilities to the level of referral to higher level care if needed. The Framework is a comprehensive evaluation measure and it’s elements cover administrative processes, aspects of clinical care, medicines supplies, access to laboratory tests, human resources, finance, security, cleanliness, referral, transport, EMS, infrastructure, health information management, internal communication, external communication, governance and intersectoral collaboration.

(b) The specified assessments were conducted in the 4th quarter (January – March 2022) of the previous (2021/2022) financial year. Peer reviews and therefor the collation of data is done only once a year in the fourth quarter and the next review will be January to March 2023.

2. Details of complete list according to the 2022 review is in the table below:

• (a) Best performing district are from numbers 1 to 20; and
• (b) Worst performing districts are from numbers 35 to 52

Ranking No for 2021/22 financial year	Province	District	% of Facilities with IC status 2021/22
1	FS	Xhariep District Municipality	100%
2	GP	City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	100%
3	KZN	Amajuba District Municipality	100%
4	KZN	Zululand District Municipality	100%
5	KZN	Umzinyathi District Municipality	98%
6	GP	City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality	96%
7	LP	Capricorn District Municipality	95%
8	WC	Garden Route District Municipality	95%
9	KZN	Uthukela District Municipality	95%
10	KZN	iLembe District Municipality	92%
11	KZN	uMgungundlovu District Municipality	90%
12	GP	City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	89%
13	KZN	Harry Gwala District Municipality	85%
14	WC	City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality	85%
15	KZN	King Cetshwayo District Municipality	84%
16	GP	West Rand District Municipality	84%
17	FS	Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality	83%
18	GP	Sedibeng District Municipality	82%
19	MP	Gert Sibande District Municipality	81%
20	NW	Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality	80%
21	EC	Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality	77%
22	FS	Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality	76%
23	KZN	eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality	74%
24	WC	Overberg District Municipality	74%
25	WC	Cape Winelands District Municipality	70%
26	KZN	Umkhanyakude District Municipality	69%
27	MP	Nkangala District Municipality	67%
28	NW	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality	63%
29	KZN	Ugu District Municipality	58%
30	NC	Pixley ka Seme District Municipality	58%
31	NW	Bojanala Platinum District Municipality	55%
32	FS	Fezile Dabi District Municipality	51%
33	NW	Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality	49%
34	MP	Ehlanzeni District Municipality	40%
35	EC	Sarah Baartman District Municipality	39%
36	WC	Central Karoo District Municipality	33%
37	WC	West Coast District Municipality	33%
38	LP	Waterberg District Municipality	30%
39	EC	Amathole District Municipality	28%
40	FS	Lejweleputswa District Municipality	26%
41	LP	Vhembe District Municipality	20%
42	EC	Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality	20%
43	EC	Chris Hani District Municipality	20%
44	NC	Frances Baard District Municipality	20%
45	EC	Joe Gqabi District Municipality	19%
46	LP	Mopani District Municipality	17%
47	NC	Namakwa District Municipality	16%
48	LP	Sekhukhune District Municipality	10%
49	NC	Zwelentlanga Fatman Mgcawu District Municipality	10%
50	EC	Alfred Nzo District Municipality	9%
51	EC	Oliver Tambo District Municipality	7%
52	NC	John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality	2%

END.

Reply:

The IDC has approved R14,4 billion of funding in the Foundry and/or mini mill industry since FY 2010, in the following forms: industrial loans of R5,99 billion, equity of R8,44 billion and grants of R4m.

In addition, the IDC provided guarantees of R5,5 billion to companies in the sector.

A supplementary reply will be submitted shortly, with additional information.

-END-

Reply:

(1) The Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme was instituted in terms of section 3(4) (g) of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997), (The Housing Act) and is reffered to as the National Housing Programme: Upgrading of Informal Settlements. The programme seeks to facilitate the structured in situ upgrading of informal settlements as opposed to relocation to achieve, tenure security, health & security and empowerment etc.

In 2019/2020, the National Department of Human Settlements in consultation with the National Treasury introduced the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG), this was an attempt by the Department to ensure that there is a focus on the upgrading of informal settlements projects within the sector. The main objective of the Grant was to strengthen the policy in relation to the Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme, for both provinces and metropolitan municipalities. The Grant seeks to ensure the provision of basic services such as water, electricity, roads, stormwater, refuse removal and sanitation services to households.

To support the implementation of the Grant, a total budget of R14.7 billion was reprioritised from the Human settlements Development Grant (HSDG) and Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) in 2020/21 and 2021/2022. The funds were set aside to support the upgrading of 231 000 households in informal settlements over the medium-term.

2. In terms of finding out whether the identified programmes have been successful in dealing with the deficiencies that surround the construction of viable housing, it must be noted that the introduction of the dedicated Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant was in 2019/2020 and actual implementation started during the 2021/22 financial year, thus it is still too early for the Department to pronounce on the success or failure of the Grant in dealing with the deficiencies that surround the construction of viable housing. However, the non-financial performance of the programme in provinces and municipalities was provided and reported that 610 informal settlements were upgraded by provinces and 674 by metropolitan municipalities during the 2021/22 financial year. Furthermore, a total of 21 075 sites were provided with basic services such as electricity, water and sanitation by provinces and a total of 3 596 sites by metropolitan municipalities in 2021/22.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Limpopo Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs has indicated that Aventino Group had been appointed as the service provider for the project.

(b) The Limpopo Provincial Department also advised that no payment was made on the Burgersfort project that was halted.

(c) It further advised that the Housing Development Agency had been appointed as the implementing agent for the project, and therefore it was responsible for the appointment of the service provider.

(2) The Limpopo Provincial Department has advised that as part of consequence management three officials that were involved in the contract were placed on precautionary leave and subjected to a disciplinary process.

Reply:

According to the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health, where this hospital is located, the Provinces indicates that there are no plans in-source security services at this facility.

END.

Reply:

1. (a) According to the Internship and Community Service Programme all eligible applicants who met the requirement for allocations and submitted their application on time we all allocated. However, the following community service doctors were excluded due to the reasons provided in the respective columns:

2022 Annual Cycle - Applicant who was not placed during allocation phace - Doctors and Nurses
	Field of Study	Already placed in previous cycle	Applicant deceased	Applicant declined allocation	Late - Applications	Moved to a future cycle - availability date outside current cycle	Future cycle - based on Institutions and Provinces feedback	Removed from Allocation - Based on Institutional Feedback	Grand Total
Community Service	Medical Practitioner	3		74	6	50	20	1	154
	Professional Nurse	53	1	24	27	119	10		234
Grand Total		56	1	98	33	169	30	1	388

2022 Midyear Cycle - Applicant who was not placed during allocation phace - Doctors and Nurses
	Field of Study	Applicant declined allocation	Late - Applications	Moved to a future cycle - availability date outside cycle	Grand Total
Community Service	Medical Practitioner	11	7	1	19
	Professional Nurse		8		8
Grand Total		11	15	1	27

2. (a) The table below indicate the total number of (i) doctors and (ii) nurse applicants who was placed in the 2022 cycle’s but terminate their allocation after placement.

2022 Community Service applicants who terminated their contracts
Field of Study	ECP	FSP	GAU	KZN	Lim	MPU	NCP	NWP	WCP	Grand Total
Medical Practitioner			4	1	2		1		2	10
Professional Nurse	8		11	3						22
Total	8	0	15	4	2	0	1	0	2	32

(b) The main reason why applicants terminated their contracts was medical and personal reasons. Also 1 death in Limpopo Medical Officer.

(3) (a) The Department is ensuring that all Statutory community service posts for both doctors and nurses are absorbed within the Provincial Equitable Share and the Human Resources Training Grant (HRTG) Budgets

(b) Currently only Organs of State (i.e. South African Health Product Regulator Authority (SAHPRA), National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) and Office of Health Standard Compliance (OHSC) are included in accommodating community service doctors and nurses. The model to accommodate the private health sector to absorb community service doctors and nurses will be explored during the review of the Community Service Policy that is on course.

END.

Reply:

Three, Gauteng, Kwa Zulu Natal and Northern Cape responded to Parliamentary Question 3065 as follows:

1. Gauteng

1. The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements does not have houses to be demolished because of poor workmanship. The construction of houses/units are done in stages, e.g., foundation, wall plate, roof, and completions. These stages are also used as payment milestones for each stage completed and compliant. If non-compliance or incompleteness is observed during inspection, no approval is granted until the snags are fixed.
2. No additional amount is spent because houses are still under construction and would be fixed before approval is granted to the next milestone.

2. Kwa Zulu Natal

a) The Department enrols all new developments with NHBRC, which acts as a quality assurer and keeps a register of contractors. When poor workmanship is identified, it is reffered to the contractor to repair at own cost.

The Department has embarked on a programme to repair units with structural damages that were constructed in the earlier years of the housing development programme. The units were constructed prior to the enrolment with NHBRC. 10 368 units have been rectified under this programme.

b) The amount spent for the rectification of 10 368 units was R976 521 000.

3. Northern Cape

1. There has not been any houses demolished and repaired in the Northern Cape.
2. No expended has been incurred in the Province for repairs.

Reply:

The Honourable Member is kindly requested to provide us with specifics of this question. The Honourable Member is also requested to utilize the available processes of Parliament in raising the issues with the department, in order to obtain the information and assistance required.

END.

Reply:

a) From 17th May 2021 up to the 31th August 2022 a total number of  6731 AEFI (total minor and severe) following the use of either the Comirnaty or COVID-19 vaccine Janssen has been reported to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA)

b) 5241 (total minor and severe) AEFI related to the Comirnaty vaccine (28274053 doses administered) and 1490 (total minor and severe) AEFI related to the Janssen vaccine (8440418 doses administered)

c) Only severe and serious AEFI is investigated, a total number of 2771 investigations are either concluded or under way.

d) A multi-disciplinary team of health professionals in the district investigate all severe and serious AEFI.The purpose of investigating AEFI/AESI cases are as follows: 1. To confirm the reported diagnosis and/or propose other possible diagnoses as well as clarify the outcome of the medical incident comprising the AEFI. 2. To ascertain the particulars, circumstances and procedures around the vaccine used to immunise the affected recipient. Most importantly, identify any potential vaccine-related link to the given AEFI. 3.To review immunisation practices, logistics and other operational aspects of the programme to ensure programme related issues are not contributing to adverse events following immunisation, even if an event seems to be vaccine product-induced or coincidental.4. To determine whether a reported event was a single incident or one of a cluster and if it is a cluster, confirm that the suspected immunisations were indeed given and the individual vaccines that were used. 5. To determine whether unimmunised people are experiencing the same medical incidents. 6. To gather more information pertaining to the case to inform causality assessment. The process of AEFI investigation thus include visits to the vaccination site, interviews with relevant health care workers, interviews with family, care givers or the vaccine injured party if required. Throughout all relevant clinical records, previous medical history, all relevant lab results and diagnostic test outcomes is collected. In a few cases further clinical assessment or medical treatment may be advised.

e) The investigation is concluded when sufficient information has been collected to conduct causality assessment, or when investigation team confirm no further information is available.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still working with the Provincial Departments of Health to source the full details required by this Question. A full report and response will be furnished to the Honourable Member and Parliament as soon as the information has been collated from all the Provinces.

END.

Reply:

(1)-(2) According to the information received from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), the HPCSA has adhered to all court orders relating to foreign qualified applicants including the discontinuation of the “Pathway” that required foreign qualified applicants to go through an additional 12-month period for clinical exposure before they could be registered as interns.

Sub-regulation 3(2)(c) of the Regulations relating to the registration and training of interns in medicine published under Government Notice R.57 in Government Gazette 25938 of 23 January 2004 states that: “A person referred to in sub regulation (1) [intern] shall submit his or her application to the board in terms of section 17 of the Act for registration as an intern in medicine on an application form supplied by the board and duly completed”, prior to being registered.

END.

Reply:

1. (a) It is the Departments of Health’s policy to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare through availability of safe, effective and cost-effective medicines at the appropriate level of care. The National Department of Health (NDoH) manages contracts for approximately 1 200 line items. During the contracting for medicines, it is a special contractual condition that suppliers provide the NDoH with information related to their buffer stock holding, plans within the pipeline and data related to deliveries made to facilities. The NDoH uses this information to manage supplier performance including the imposition of penalties where appropriate. Furthermore, the data is used for planning purposes including demand and supply planning.

Medicine availability is monitored using supplier and provincial level data and this allows visibility of stock availability and as such allows for risk mitigation by the National Department of Health.

However, the recent media reports are of shortages related to availability in the private sector. Availability of the medicines referred to in these reports was above 90% in the public sector. There were no public sector supply challenges of chronic medicines for first and second line agents as reported recently in the media.

(b) There are a number of interventions implemented to reduce supply shortages at facilities. These interventions are informed by the cause of the supply challenge.

• Where the supply constraint may result in a longer term supply challenge, such as regulatory matters including amendments to the dossier that requires approval from South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), including a change/addition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient source and/or manufacturing site, the transfer of ownership of dossiers which results in a change of marketing authorization, delays in the issuing of the permits for imported medicines, manufactured products requiring additional quality checks by SAHPRA, etc. and no alternative local suppliers with registered products are available; an application would be made to SAHPRA for the acquisition of unregistered medicines for human use in South Africa Act use in terms of Section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.

• Should the supply constraint be due to operational matters, e.g. machine breakdown, labour unrest, theft, post importation testing, etc., the National Department of Health (NDOH) would source products from alternative local suppliers with registered products using the quotation process.

(c) In any supply chain, shortages can never be eradicated. However, actions can be taken to identify problems that could lead to a supply challenge and to deal with each challenge as it arises. See response in (b) above. Each case is treated individually depending on the root cause, and the magnitude of the supply challenge.

2. In the event that a supply challenge cannot be resolved, a circular is sent to all provinces indicating therapeutic alternatives as per the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) which will guide clinicians to manage patients until supply is sourced.

END.

Reply:

Foetal alcohol syndrome is a congenital disorder caused by alcohol exposure on the foetus during pregnancy. Though it is a congenital disorder which manifests post-delivery (anywhere from birth to eight years based on the severity of the condition), FAS is not a genetic condition but rather the consequence of a socio-behavioural matter.

The diagnosis of FAS is purely clinical and has many complexities. To be diagnosed with FAS, some or all of a set of criteria must be met including, the presence of characteristic physical features of FAS, documented prenatal alcohol exposure, pre and post-natal growth deficiencies, brain growth deficiencies, neurobehavioral/developmental impairment which may include or exclude cognitive impairments.

The National Department of Health is reimplementing the birth defects notification system following the approval of the Clinical Genetic Service Guideline in November 2021. The aim of this system is to collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate congenital disorders data. This system reports on data collected at birth, making reporting of FAS through this system a challenge as the physical features of FAS (which initiate further assessment) only become more pronounced as the child grows delaying diagnosis.

To strengthen the identification of FAS and other congenital disorders, NDOH is incorporating the prevention and management of congenital disorders in the Integrated School Health Program training, ensuring that School Health Nurses are capacitated in screening learners for congenital disorders including FAS. It is through this platform that data for preliminary FAS cases and other congenital conditions will be reported.

a) The Department of Health has not conducted a research to determine fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) rates in the provinces. The department relies on research conducted by academia from the different tertiary institutions for statistics on FAS. Research on FAS and other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) was conducted by the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, in collaboration with Foundation for Alcohol related Research (FARR).

b) The current level of FAS in the province is not immediately known.

c) The previous national research was conducted by FARR in collaboration with Stellenbosch University in 2016. This research focused only on 3 provinces: Gauteng, Northern Cape and Western Cape, and it reported national fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevalence rates ranging from 29 – 290 per 1000 live births.

END.

Reply:

(a) (i) Extension Practitioners (officers) are allocated to districts and not placed per farm.

(ii) The number of Extension Practitioners (officers) per Province is as follows:

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF EXTENSION PRACTITIONERS
Eastern Cape	496
Free State	115
Gauteng	119
KwaZulu-Natal	522
Limpopo	310
Mpumalanga	146
Northern Cape	43
North West	181
Western Cape	60
TOTAL	992

(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) The current Extension Practitioners are not allocated according to the specified producer categories; hence no ratio is available.

(b)(aa) Ratio per Province

The current ratio of Extension Practitioners to farmers is based on the July 2021 General Household Survey (GHS) by Statistics South Africa which measures the number of households practicing agriculture and is therefore not specific to categories of farmers. The Ratio of Extension Practitioners (officers) to farmers per province (as of September 2022) is outlined below:

PROVINCE	Ratio
Eastern Cape	1:1162
Free State	1:1672
Gauteng	1:2896
KwaZulu -Natal	1:1216
Limpopo	1:2058
Mpumalanga	1:3085
Northern Cape	1:1097
Northwest	1:809
Western Cape	1:977
NATIONAL AVERAGE	1:1 663

The estimated number of farmers as the GHS (July 2021) and the number of Extension Practitioners (officer) per province are shown on the table below:

PDAs	Number of Extension officials	Total number of Extension Officials	Number of households per province	% Of households involved in agriculture	Estimated # farmers [GHS 2021, StatsSA]	Extension to farmer ratio (current)
	Managers	Extension Practitioners
EC	31	496	527	1 725 000	33%	576 150	1 162
FS	11	115	126	952 000	20%	192 304	1 672
GP	8	119	127	5 384 000	6%	344 576	2 896
KZN	60	522	582	3 111 000	20%	634 644	1 216
LP	11	310	321	1 684 000	38%	638 236	2 058
MP	41	146	187	1 399 000	32%	450 478	3 085
NC	8	43	51	363 000	13%	47 190	1 097
NW	31	181	212	1 308 000	11%	146 496	809
WC	8	60	68	2 021 000	3%	58 609	977
TOTAL	209	1 992	2 201	17 947 000	17%	3 086 884	1 663

(b) (bb) The breakdown of Extension Practitioners (officers) per District excludes Managers.

Province	Number of Extension Practitioners per district	Province	Number of Extension Practitioners per district
1. Eastern Cape		5. Western Cape
Sarah-Baartman	35	Cape Winelands	12
Amathole	153	Little Karoo	6
Chris Hani	74	Swartland	5
Joe Gqabi	31	Cape Metropole	8
O.R. Tambo	116	Garden Route	9
Alfred Nzo	87	Northwest	6
Total	496	Overberg	7
		Central Karoo	5
		Provincial office	2
		Total	60
2. Free State		6. North West
Provincial office	9	Bojanala	55
Xhariep	14	Dr Ruth S Mompati	42
Mangaung	23	NMM	58
Thabo M	32	Dr Kenneth Kaunda	26
Lejwe L	21	Total	181
Fezile D	16
Total	115
3. Gauteng		7. Northern Cape
Germiston	40	John Taolo Gaetsewe	12
Pretoria	41	Frances Baard	7
Randfontein	38	ZF Mgcawu	8
Total	119	Namakwa	7
		Pixley ka Seme	9
		Total	43
4. KwaZulu-Natal		8. Mpumalanga
Amajuba	46	Bohlabela	34
Ugu	50	Ehlanzeni	29
Ethekwini	33	Gert Sibande	33
uThukela	29	Nkangala	50
uMkhanyakude	52	Total	146
King Cetshwayo	73	9. Limpopo
Zululand	71	Capricorn	72
Umzinyathi	38	Mopani	53
Ilembe	45	Sekhukhune	59
Harry Gwala	41	Vhembe	93
Umgungundlovu	44	Waterberg	33
Total	522	Total	310
		GRAND TOTAL	1 992

Reply:

Governance oversight over statutory health professional councils is conducted through monitoring compliance with legislative requirements based on council’s enabling legislation and other applicable legislative prescripts and/or policies.

However, on further inquiry regarding the matter raised, the Department was informed that foreign qualified doctors who require a remark on their examination results engage the institution (currently, Sefako Makgatho University - SMU) that handles board examinations on behalf of the HPCSA directly. The HPCSA is not aware of candidates who may have paid for a remark, but subsequently denied same. Specific details can be provided if there have been such occurrences so that the HPCSA may take the matter up with SMU.

Further to the above, the HPCSA has advised that all court orders relating to foreign qualified applicants have been adhered to, in particular, the discontinuation of the “Pathway” that required foreign qualified applicants to go through an additional 12-month period for clinical exposure before they could be registered as interns.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still working with the Provincial Departments of Health to source the full details required by this Question. A full report and response will be furnished to the Honourable Member and Parliament as soon as the information has been collated from all the Provinces.

END.

Reply:

a) (i) Hospitals

All public hospitals have backup generators. Backup generators are only meant to run as backup for 2 to 3 hours for life saving equipment in emergency areas. Service delivery therefore gets negatively affected in areas which are not powered by generators.

(ii) Clinics and Community Health Centres (CHCS)

Backup power in the form of generators is available in 42% of clinics and 86% of CHCs nation-wide.

• Impact of load shedding on PHC facilities that do not have backup power.
• The electronic Health Patient Record System works on electrical power and during power failures staff cannot retrieve patients files and patients have to wait until power is on thus increasing patient waiting times
• Patients physical examination and deliveries becomes impossible in dark consulting rooms resulting in unnecessary referrals of patients to hospitals.
• Water interruption due to the water pumps in reservoirs requiring electricity to function.
• Telecommunication break down affecting receiving calls from communities and contacting call centre for ambulance.

(b) Provinces that are affected the most:

Clinics: The Table below indicates that only Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have more than 70% coverage with regard to backup power in clinics.

District	Total number of clinics	Facilities have backup electricity	Average % scored
ec Eastern Cape Province	723	145	20%
fs Free State Province	202	32	16%
gp Gauteng Province	326	267	82%
kz KwaZulu-Natal Province	580	418	72%
lp Limpopo Province	452	113	25%
mp Mpumalanga Province	226	88	39%
nc Northern Cape Province	124	24	19%
nw North West Province	259	80	31%
wc Western Cape Province	175	88	50%
Average / Total	3067	1288	42%

• 1288 out of 3067 Clinics has backup electricity
• 1779 clinics do not have backup electricity

Community Health Centres: The Table below indicates that only Free State Province (36%) has less than 70% coverage with regard to backup power in community Health Centres.

District	Total number of CHCs	Facilities having backup electricity	Average % scored
ec Eastern Cape Province	41	34	82%
fs Free State Province	10	4	36%
gp Gauteng Province	38	34	90%
kz KwaZulu-Natal Province	21	20	94%
lp Limpopo Province	26	20	77%
mp Mpumalanga Province	55	48	88%
nc Northern Cape Province	30	26	85%
nw North West Province	47	43	92%
wc Western Cape Province	48	42	87%
Average / Total	316	272	86%

• 272 out of 316 CHCs has backup electricity
• 44 CHCs do not have backup electricity

END.

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with a response to the question.

It provides a list of law firms. I have requested that additional details be provided in respect of the specific matters covered in each of the specific briefs given to each law firm. Attention is also drawn to the reply to Parliamentary Question 606.

The reply of the NLC is attached hereto. A supplementary reply will be tabled if warranted, once the further information I have requested has been received.

-END-

Reply:

1. (a) The National Department of Health manages contracts for approximately 1 200 line items including vaccines. Currently, there are no supply constraints in the public sector related to yellow fever vaccines.

(b) To ensure that there are no supply constraints at facilities, a number of interventions are implemented. These interventions are informed by the cause of the supply challenge.

• Where the supply constraint is due to operational matters, re is a delay e.g. machine breakdown, labour unrest, theft, post importation testing, etc., the National Department of Health (NDOH) would source products from alternative local suppliers with registered products using the quotation process.
• Should the supply constraint result in a longer term supply challenge, such as regulatory matters including amendments to the dossier that requires approval from South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), including a change/addition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient source and/or manufacturing site, the transfer of ownership of dossiers which results in a change of marketing authorization, delays in the issuing of the permits for imported medicines, manufactured products requiring additional quality checks by SAHPRA, etc. and no alternative local suppliers with registered products are available; an application would be made to SAHPRA for the acquisition of unregistered medicines for human use in South Africa Act use in terms of Section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
• During the contracting for medicines, it is a special contractual condition that suppliers provide the NDoH with information related to their buffer stock holding, plans within the pipeline and data related to deliveries made to facilities. The DoH uses this information to manage supplier performance including the imposition of penalties where appropriate. Furthermore, the data is used for planning purposes including demand and supply planning.

2. (a) It must be noted that the National Control Laboratory and SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) are independent of the NDoH. Nevertheless, written communication was sent to SAHPRA from the NDOH to request that the release of yellow fever vaccine stock be expedited.

(b) SAHPRA has subsequently approved the Yellow Fever Vaccine on the 23rd of September 2022 and the stock is currently with the distributor for delivery to facilities that have placed orders.

3. Yellow fever vaccine is a low volume product. The low demand for the vaccine resulted in the current contracted supplier writing-off 1 505 units. The low demand makes market entry very difficult.

With regard to the status of the Sanofi yellow fever vaccine, SAHPRA has subsequently approved the Yellow Fever Vaccine on the 23rd of September 2022 and the stock is currently with the distributor for delivery to facilities that have placed orders.

END.

Reply:

The Department has done a number of reviews and evaluations together with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and has increased the size of the gross floor area for constructing subsidised houses.

The minimum and maximum size of the subsidised houses to be provided to beneficiaries of the Housing Subsidy Scheme are as follows:

• 24 – 30 square metres of gross floor area for temporary residential units.
• 30 square metres of gross floor area for social housing units
• 40 square metres of gross floor area for persons without any disabilities.
• 45 square metres of gross floor area for a person with disabilities using a wheelchair and
• 45 square metres of gross floor area for the higher density designs in a form of different layouts such as a double storey semi-detached units; or three-storey walk-up units
• 50m2 square metres house is provided for qualifying military veterans in line with the Regulations published by the Department of Military Veterans.

The subsidised houses have to be built in line with South African National Building Regulations Standards ( SANS) and the National Home Building Regulations Council has to ensure that these standards are met.

Effecting changes in the gross floor area (size) of the house to be constructed brings more cost over and above the changes that are brought by inflation. As it stands, the current subsidy amount available for financing a 40 square metre house is R141 294. In the case of subsidised houses for Disabled Persons and Military Veterans the subsidy amount increases to R209 072 and R240 608 respectively.

In light of the fact that the budget allocated to the Department becomes less every year and that any increases in the size of subsidised housing will result in a substantial increase in cost, it would not be advisable to implement such an increase as it would result in a decrease in the delivery of housing units.

Reply:

The Department of Correctional Services did not submit a policy review document and/or any other policy document to external structures or structures of any political affiliation during the past five (5) years.

a) Not applicable.

b) Not applicable.

END

Reply:

The Gauteng Provincial Department of Health is working with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate the issues at the Tembisa Hospital. The matter is being dealt with by the Province. The SIU has also made a statement on this already. We therefore await the outcome of this investigation by the SIU.

END.

Reply:

(a+ b) The National Department has referred the matter to the Gauteng province and will provide a detailed and final reply as soon as the information is obtained.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is in consultation with the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health to establish the issues that the Honourable Member is raising in this Question. The full report and response will be furnished to the Honourable Member as soon as the full details are received from the Province.

END.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. I was informed in February 2021 the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure issued instructions to State Attorney to facilitate the obtaining of a court order preventing further invasion of the Grabouw state-owned property and, in the process, incurred the costs through the Office of the State Attorney by engaging the services of the Sheriff of the Court to assist through serving the papers and executing the court order concerning the following:

a) Grabouw FARMS 336, 445 and 335

b) Since the final containment Court Order was granted on 21 September 2021. containment measures have been carried out throughout the period to contain further invasions by conducting surveys on the portions of farms from time to time, with the Sheriff's survey report in July 2022 revealing that the total amount of completed structures on all the properties is 5599 and the incomplete/damaged/half-built structures amount to 177.

c) Sheriff of the Court is mainly instructed to survey the properties as part of the containment measures to prevent further invasions and provide the report to the State Attorney and the Department on the recommended measures required.

d) Based on the Sheriff's survey report, it is essential to note that the figures will move upward as there are still people erecting structures on all the properties listed and some areas are very well hidden..

2. Court Orders - as part of containment measures, require the Department to, amongst others, consider demolishing incomplete structures and the additional labour to assist the Sheriff in doing so, and also storage of personal belongings for a week. Included in the Sheriff's cost are the putting up of notices in all three local languages, the reading out thereof, and serving the applications and Court Orders on all relevant parties regarding the Rules of Court.

3. The Department has initiated a Grabouw State Land Steering Committee to address the challenges experienced as a result of land invasion within the Grabouw District. The first meeting is set to take place before the end of November 2022. The Department has subsequently extended an invitation to Department Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, the Western Cape Provincial Government, the Local and District Municipalities, and the SAPS. The Steering Committee will address issues such as equitable and sustainable land dispensation that promotes both social and economic development.

 

Reply:

1. Firstly, the National Department of Health has identified a priority list of health facilities that require an urgent exemption either from Eskom or local municipalities. The list has been submitted to both Eskom and local municipalities for approval. Secondly, my department is currently conducting a due diligent exercise for the installation of solar panels at all our health facilities as a second or third power back-up mechanism (first being generators and second being Uninterrupted Power Supply).

2. Refer to response above.

END.

Reply:

The response is as follows, according to the Eastern Cape Province Provincial Department of Health

QUESTIONS	RESPONSES
1. What (a) total amount does his department owe to the (i) Walter Sisulu Local Municipality and (ii) Senqu Local Municipality and (b) is the age analysis of the monies owed in each case;	a) (i) Walter Sisulu Municipality - R6 147 567 (b) Age analysis:- Current R 205 831 30 Days R 1 739 086 60 Days R 168 002 90 Days R 533 722 120 + Days R 3 500 926 Amount under dispute R2 200 400 (not included above) a) (ii) Senqu Municipality - R3 956 314 b) Age analysis:- Current R 695 501 30 Days R 589 036 60 Days R 560 980 90 Days R 483 178 120 + Days R1 627 619
2. What (a) are the specific details of the buildings in respect of which his department owes the specified municipalities and (b) is the use of each specified building;	2. (a and b) Walter Sisulu Municipality Hospitals Aliwal North Hospital - Aliwal North Burgersdorp Hospital - Burgersdorp Jamestown Hospital - Jamestown Steynsburg Hospital - Steynsburg St Francis Hospital - Aliwal North Clinics Khayamandi Clinic - Steynsburg Venterstad Clinic - Venterstad Maletswai Clinic - Aliwal North Poly Clinic - Aliwal North Nurses Home Venterstad Clinic Nurses Home - Venterstad Under dispute Eureka Clinic - Burgersdorp Oviston Satellite Clinic - Oviston Acc 10 - Dept. of Health Hilton Clinic - Aliwal North Old Prison - Burgersdorp Town Clinic 2. (a and b) Senqu Municipality Hospitals Cloete Joubert Hospital Empilisweni Hospital Lady Grey Hospital
3. Whether his department has any plans to address the debts; if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the details of his department’s plan and (b) is the time frame in which the debts will be settled?	3. (a) Funding recently received – mid-September 2022. Amount authorised 05/10/2022 and awaiting disbursement as indicated below: - Walter Sisulu Municipality - R6 142 115 Senqu Municipality - R2 666 843 3.(b) Remaining amounts as follows are in the process of being paid: Walter Sisulu Municipality- R5 542 Senqu Municipality – R1 289 47

END.

Reply:

1. No vaccines have been destroyed as a result of expiry from the central storage managed by the National Department of Health.

2. When it becomes necessary to destroy vaccines due to expiry at the central storage level, there will be two cost elements resulting in a total cost per vial:

(i) Distribution from the central warehouse to the waste management sites: 

Pfizer: R16.24 to R20.49 per vial of 6 doses - depending on the vaccine distributor.

J&J: R14.90 to R14.94 per vial of 5 doses - depending on the vaccine distributor.

(ii) Cost of destruction, which is estimated to be between R18 and R25 per kilogram.

Pfizer: A tray of 195 vials weighs approximately 1.2kg - therefore, R0.11 to R0.15 per vial
J&J: A shipper of 480 vials weighs approximately 3kg - therefore, R0.11 to R0.16 per vial

(iii) Estimated total cost of destruction per vial:

Pfizer: R16.35 to R20.64 per vial of 6 doses
J&J: R15.01 to R15.10 per vial of 5 doses.

3. (a)-(b) (i) Zero Rands in central storage. The province bears the cost of destroying expired vaccine doses at a facility level. The waste disposal is integrated into the normal waste disposal contracts and is generally costed by weight. It will be difficult to calculate the cost for vaccines only as the waste would include other medicines.

(ii) The province bears the cost of destroying opened vials. As these doses are disposed of together with the needle and syringes in yellow sharps containers (i.e. normal waste for any immunization programme) it is once again difficult to determine the cost for the vaccines alone as these vials, syringes, and needles will generally be mixed with other sharps disposed of at a facility level.

END.

Reply:

a) Based on information obtained from the Central Supplier Database (as at the end of July 2022) and compared to information on the Personnel Salary System (PERSAL), 119 public service employees are registered on the Central Supplier Database with the purpose to tender for business with the State.

However, these 119 employees are not necessarily conducting business with the State. It is possible that some of the employees on the list may have resigned in the meantime, or that they belong to categories that are exempt from this prohibition (such as traditional leaders), or are serving as directors on boards of entities in an official capacity. In terms of Regulation 13(c) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, employees may conduct business with the State, if they are doing so in an official capacity. Section 8 of the Public Administration Management Act extended the prohibition to special advisors.

To determine whether these employees are indeed conducting business with the State, the name list was shared with the respective departments, requesting them to verify if the employees are still in service, if they are conducting business with the State (be it in a private capacity or in an official capacity) and if any steps are taken against transgressors. In formal letters to the heads of these implicated departments, the DPSA requested the departments to provide monthly feedback on progress made regarding the identified cases, starting from 1 July 2022. The responses of departments received are indicated in the section under (i)). On 7 June 2022, the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (in the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)), Police and National Prosecuting Authority convened a workshop for the implicated departments on how to proceed with investigating and prosecuting these cases.

(i) National departments: There are 29 public servants who have been found to be possibly conducting business with the State:

• Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - two public servants
• Correctional Services - six public servants
• Employment and Labour - one public servant
• Higher Education and Training - two public servants
• Home Affairs - two public servants
• International Relations and Cooperation - one public servant
• Justice and Constitutional Development - two public servants
• Mineral Resources and Energy - two public servants
• South African Police Service - four public servants
• Public Service and Administration - two public servants (One was found to be a Special Advisor)
• Public Works and Infrastructure - one public servant
• Science and Innovation - two public servants (both were found to be serving in various Boards as representative of the department)
• Trade, Industry and Competition - one public servant (the official is representing the DTIC at its entity, COEGA)
• Transport - one public servant

(ii) Provincial departments: There are 90 public servants who are possibly conducting business with the State:

Eastern Cape has 16 public servants

• Education - nine public servants
• Health - four public servants
• Office of the Premier - one public servant
• Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture - one public servant
• Transport - one public servant

Free State has 6 public servants

• Education - four
• Health - one
• Provincial Treasury - one

Gauteng has 7 public servants

• Education - two
• Health - four
• Human Settlements - one

KwaZulu-Natal has 16 public servants

• Agriculture and Rural Development - one
• Education - four
• Health - six
• Transport - five

Limpopo has 12 public servants

• Co-operative Governance Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs - two
• Education - five
• Health - five

Mpumalanga has 19 public servants

• Community Safety, Security and Liaison - one
• Education - seven
• Health - eleven

North West has 1 public servant

• Health - one

Northern Cape has 11 public servants

• Agriculture Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform - two
• Economic Development and Tourism - one
• Education - three
• Health - five

Western Cape has 2 public servants

• Education - one
• Health - one

2. In provincial departments, three (3) public servants on senior management level (positions ranging from Salary level 13 to 16) were found to be possibly conducting business with the State. In National departments, eight (8) public servants held senior positions. As indicated, the figure is still to be verified with the affected departments.

End

Reply:

The NWRS-3 will be finalised and approved on 31 March 2023 as outlined on the Department’s Annual Performance Plan.

The Department is currently conducting public consultation workshops on the draft National Water Resource Strategy 3 (NWRS-3) as required by the National Water Act (NWA). Call for public consultation was done through the Gazette Notice which was published on 27 July 2022 under Notice 47133. After public consultation, the document will be updated based on the comments received from various stakeholders and a final document will be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

While there has been a delay in finalising and publishing the NWRS-3, the NWRS-2 is still being implemented by the Department, it’s entities as well as the entire water and sanitation sector stakeholders. Therefore, the Department has not neglected its responsibility to protect, use, develop, conserve, manage and control the country’s water resources.

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Reply:

(1)(a) The Department has implemented the following remedial measures to strengthen the parole system:

• Ongoing training is provided to the Case Management Committees (CMCs) and Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards (CSPBs) as they are responsible for case management and consideration process. The training focuses on parole policy procedures, decision making tools and calculation of release dates amongst others.
• The CMC compile Correctional Sentence Plan (CSP) for all offenders serving sentences of longer than 24 months. The CSP spell out the interventions proposed to address the needs and risks of an offender that were identified during an assessment of the offender.
• Quality assurance teams were established at the Management/ Regional and Head Office (Directorate Pre-Release Resettlement) to assist with the improvement of the quality of profiles submitted to CSPB, National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for consideration for possible placement on parole.

(1)(b) Monitoring and supervision of Probationers, Parolees and Awaiting Trial Persons (ATP) is a human capital-intensive activity. The day to day monitoring is enhanced through allocation of resources for physical monitoring, office consultation, telephone monitoring where applicable, community service and programme attendance. In 2021/2022 a total of five hundred and eighteen (518) vehicles were allocated to community corrections offices within the regions to ensure successful monitoring in all areas.

The monitoring category for every offender under the system of Community Corrections is determined by the predicted risk of offenders from High (minimum 8 contacts), Medium (minimum 4 contacts) and Low Risk (minimum 2 contacts). Parolees attend sitting either every six months/ frequently depending on their length of their sentence to review their status, behaviour, reclassify or referred for intervention.

The establishment of 219 offices, 57 satellite offices and Service Points for easy access of services contributes positively to the compliance with conditions, ensure visibility and strengthening of the monitoring system.

(2) Yes, an integrated approach at District level and national department enables continuous consultations with traditional leaders, counsellors and relevant department to ensure that they assist the department during reintegration process to accelerate and augment monitoring. Partnerships were formalised with Traditional Councils at each Community Corrections Office, and Traditional Councils offices are used as community service centres, where parolees and probationers render services as part of their conditions of parole. Community establishments such as schools, churches, police stations, and other public spaces are used as service points to enhance the monitoring systems

The Department of Correctional Services has the community reintegration programme in place for networking and social profiling of communities and identification of stakeholders who can assist in the monitoring and supervision of parolees and probationers.

END

Reply:

The Acting Minister for the Public Service and Administration is not aware of the alleged unethical conduct by some human resources offices who want bribes in order to fast-track payment, which is due to retired employees. Employees who are approached to pay bribes, should report that immediately to the SAPS, as it is a criminal offence.

The affected employees can report the alleged corrupt practice to the National Anti-Corruption Hotline 0800 701 701 which is managed by the Public Service Commission, for investigation.

In addition, on 23 September 2022, the Department of the Public Service and Administration (DPSA) issued Circular 47 of 2022, attached herein, on the exit procedure to assist human resources personnel responsible for exits in the Public Service.

Furthermore, the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) is collaborating with the National School of Government (NSG) to introduce a module aimed at improving and fast-tracking exits in the Public Service.

End

Reply:

(1)(a) number of times has his department been sued for crimes committed by repeat offender parolees in the past five years	(1)(b) amount in Rand has his department paid in the specified cases;
13	NIL

2. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) utilises various communication methods, including key messages, video-clips, publications, pamphlets, website, social media, community outreach, media engagement, marketing and advertising, events and other opportunities, to support efforts to make citizens aware of their rights.

It is evident that communication effort and consistency have over the years yielded positive outcomes in raising public awareness on DCS main functions. These are attributed to the continued educational programmes that DCS has constantly embarked on over the years to highlight its main functions to South African citizens through various media platforms i.e TV and radio.

Though the awareness of the functions of DCS to rehabilitate and re-integrate offenders into society started on a low base, continuous and purposive communication succeeded in increasing the level of awareness in these areas.

Informed by research, programmes such as Yobe, CorreXions and community outreach programmes were put together and seem to have contributed in showing increased awareness of the role of DCS over time.

Changing public opinion or views takes time. This is clearly seen from the trended data on DCS indicators that have been tracked over time.

Case Management Committees (CMC compile Correctional Sentence Plans (CSP) for all offenders serving sentences of longer than 24 months. The CSP spells out the interventions proposed to address the needs and risks of an offender that were identified during an assessment of the offender. These interventions are implemented and monitored over the duration of the sentence and inform the basis for the Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards (CSPBs) granting or declining Parole for any given offender. It must be noted that CSPB’s are not responsible for monitoring Parolees serving their sentences outside the bounds of a correctional facility as this is a function carried out by Community Corrections in the Department.

The day to day monitoring of Parolees by Community Corrections is conducted by allocation of resources for physical monitoring, office consultation, telephone monitoring where applicable, community service and programme attendance. The nature and frequency of monitoring an offender is based on their specific profile. Any violators of Parole conditions are sanctioned and where the gravity necessitates they are returned to continue serving their sentences in a Correctional Facility.

END

Reply:

(a) The table below shows the number of declines that relate specifically to the bank account checks that indicates whether or not the applicant has had a flow of funds above the threshold into their bank account relative to the month of assessment.

Period (2022)	Total Declined	Declined due to bank account checks
April	3 303 085	2 700 752
May	4 793 365	4 030 211
June	4 390 526	3 496 046
July	5 645 976	4 902 655
August	4 648 389	4 358 023

(b) The following table provides the number of reconsiderations successfully processed (approved) in the previous year (2021/22).

Month	Approved Reconsiderations
August-2021	676 236
September-2021	496 445
October-2021	400 689
November-2021	294 649
December-2021	211 494
January-2022	258 309
February-2022	271 176
March-2022	215 092