Questions and Replies

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.

---00O00---

Reply:

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

---00O00---

REPLY:

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

Reply:

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

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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:

---00O00---

Reply:

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

---00O00---

Annexure A

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

Reply:

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

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

Reply:

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

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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.

---00O00---

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:

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.

Reply:

(a)(i) The records of My Department only indicate that we have received a Water Use License Application from Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) for Somkhele Anthracite Mine. The Water Use License was issued on 4 August 2014 for Section 21 (b), (c), (g), (i) and (j) water uses of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998). The authorization for abstraction was issued on 10 September 2010.

(a)(ii) Anthracite Colliery has not submitted a Water Use License Application to my Department.

(b) The volume abstracted is 750 000 cubic metres of water per annum for Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) for Somkhele Anthracite Mine.

(c) Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) for Somkhele Anthracite Mine abstracts water from the UMfolozi River.

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:

(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:

(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:

(1) The above mentioned six suburbs situated in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) in Gauteng are supplied with potable water from the Rand Water’s H5 and H11 bulk water supply pipelines (details in the table below). The pipelines are supplied through gravity (not pumped) from the Rand Water’s Klipriviersberg Reservoirs situated some 20 kilometers away.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality draws water from these bulk pipelines at strategic bulk supply points and water is further distributed to areas through the network of municipal distribution pipelines. The Rand Water’s H5 and H11 pipelines currently have adequate capacity to supply the water demands for the EMM suburbs. However, the following projects are already underway to augment the future anticipated water requirements:

• • • Pipeline O6 augmentation Phase 1 Palmiet to Germiston – 2100mm pipeline
    • Pipeline Shamrock Road - Airfield pipeline (G37/H37) – 1200mm pipeline

The above projects are scheduled for commission before the end of 2017. These projects will add extra capacity in the bigger Germiston area. Our asset management philosophy identifies and prioritizes pipelines aged at 60 for conditional assessment. The H5 and H11 pipelines are aged between 54 and 62 years and still within their condition and operating lifecycle. H11 is marginally over 60 and is prioritised for conditional assessment.

(2) A total of four (4) leaks on H5 and five (5) leaks on H11 pipeline were experienced since the said date with the loss with a total of 275kl water loss to the value of R1 858.88.

---00O00---

Reply:

The following information was provided to My Department by the Municipality.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has a system of annual maintenance plans for all pipelines. The maintenance plans are used for scheduling all required maintenance. This is backed by a monitoring system which tracks time lines for repairing and replacing of burst and leaking water pipes. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has a turnaround time of 48 hours to fix burst water and leaking water pipes. To ensure customer satisfaction, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality uses a Customer Relationship Management System, which monitors and tracks the reported cases.

In an effort to increase water supply to its consumers, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality treats every burst and leaking water pipe in a serious light. During early 2015, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality established a Rapid Response Unit, which its sole function is to address water losses within the Municipality areas, including the suburbs of (a) Buurendaal, (b) Highway Gardens, (c) Harmelia, (d) Tunney, (e) Elandsfontein and (f) Klopper Park.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1) Following the heavy rains during December 2016, it became evident that the storm water system in the Primrose area could not handle the quantity of storm water. An assessment was jointly initiated by both Ekurhuleni and Rand Water to identify if Rand Water had disturbed the storm water infrastructure whilst laying the new pipeline. The process is still in progress.

(2) The claims can be sent to Rand Water (contact person, Mr Bafana Gamede – (011) 682 0362 or Ekurhuleni pending the outcome of the investigation.

(3) Claim forms will be provided by the respective entity pending the outcome of the investigation.

---00O00---

Reply:

The applicant has not applied for a Water Use Licence. Water Use Licensing is a demand driven service which is initiated by the prospective applicant.

My Department does not have a Water Use Licence Application for Fuleni Coal Mine, hence it will not be able to determine the source and the volume of water required for the proposed mine.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) Amathole District Municipality appointed a service provider for the sanitation project on 1 September 2014.

(b) To date, of 66 700 Units, a total to some 30 409 Units are completed whilst 36 291 Units are still outstanding.

(c) Refer to (b) above.

(d)(i) The current estimated cost is R 288 064 457, 00.

(d)(ii) The projected cost to complete the project is R508m which includes payments of invoices not paid to service providers.

---00O00---

Reply:

Requesting the Honourable Member to refer to the Water Boards Annual Reports of each specified financial year.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1)(a) Refer to Annexure A for the list of the country's major dams that are below 35%.

(1)(b) My Department develops annual operating rules which include drought restrictions rules. These are communicated to stakeholders at the System Operations Forums. In addition Joint Operations Committees are established to monitor progress on the implementation of water restrictions and advice provided on further interventions where necessary e.g installation of flow restrictors at household level or supply through water tankers, drilling of boreholes etc. Further details are given in the table and section 2 of the response below.

(2)(a) Yes. Most of the municipalities are implementing measures to conserve water and there is already a reduction in demand. The measures include:

• Restrictors on the bulk meters and the reticulation meters, some municipalities are also restricting consumer meters;
• Pressure Management;
• Education and awareness;
• Water rationing;
• Monitoring Minimum Night Flows;
• Active and passive leakage control, etc.

(2)(b) As mentioned in (a) above, most of the municipalities are already implementing Water Conservation and Water Demand Management measures, for those that are not yet implementing. It is mainly due to lack of human and financial capacity. The Department will continue engaging municipalities through the established structures and the municipalities must actively participate and report in this meetings and prioritize resources and budgets to implement Water Conservation and Water Demand Management.

---00O00---

Annexure A

Table1: Country’s Major Storage Dams below 35%

Provinces: Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, North West & Northern Cape

Reply:

(1) Yes, I am aware of the findings that are presented in the National Treasury Expenditure and Performance Review (EPR). Please note that the key purpose of the review is to understand the financial implications of water services delivery, not to reflect specifically on sector performance and propose solutions. The Review has also developed an expenditure performance Costing Model that will facilitate regular discussions with National Treasury on the relationship between government expenditure and performance. The model measures (and predicts) performance against current (and future) levels of financial expenditure. The Review confirms what my Department already knows with regards to the current constraints to performance within the water (services) value chain. In fact, my Department provided the consultant with this insight during the initial data and information collection phase, prior to the publication of the Review, but was never given the opportunity to comment on any of the draft versions. The Final Review has not been circulated within my Department for comment.

(2) The findings contained in the Review have not led to any new programme or measures being implemented. My Department, as sector leader and as part of its mandated responsibility, continues to monitor sector performance and intervenes when appropriate, and has recently developed a Regulatory No Drop System in support of Water Conservation and Demand Management, and is finalising a comprehensive and detailed Water Sector Investment Framework, which forms part of an overarching National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.

My Department is also implementing Municipal Water Master Plans within 27 Priority District Municipalities in support of the Water Services Development Planning process, which will ultimately emanate in a pipeline of projects, to address the water services delivery problems that might exist.

(3) Yes, I am aware of the current state of infrastructure in the water sector, and specifically the state of asset management, and associated problems with infrastructure operation and management within municipalities. My Department is busy finalising a detailed municipal investment requirements analysis, which is part of the sector Investment Framework, to confirm the actual extent of the problem, financially, within municipalities. The Investment Framework will be completed in 2017, and my Department will, in due course, make recommendations over what period of time the infrastructure should be replaced, refurbished or extended, while taking into account the current economic environment in the country. The 59% quoted in the Review is based on a preliminary Departmental estimate of infrastructure renewal. Other studies have also based renewal on accumulated depreciation which is only a financial provision for the renewal of infrastructure. This implies that there is shortfall in funding.

(4) Due to this identified shortfall, my Department has engaged with National Treasury and COGTA to establish a new refurbishment fund. The required funds to support the investment requirements have not yet been secured from National Treasury. This will only happen once the Investment Framework has been finalised and the findings and recommendations have been presented and discussed internally within my Department, and once other lead sector departments, who are involved with municipal water services delivery, have had the opportunity to make their inputs. The funding is critical to ensure that the pipeline of projects emanating from the Water Services Master Plans are implemented.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) At Heyshope pump-station there are 4 pump-sets of which 2 pump-sets are currently functional and in operation. At Geelhoutboom pump-station there are also 4 pump-sets of which 2 are in operation. These two pump-stations are operating in series together with long sections of gravitational transfers.

At Heyshope refurbishment of the booster motor at pump-set 1 is underway and procurement for the mechanical motor and control valve refurbishment is in progress. At Geelhoutboom line 1 the motor refurbishment is being completed and it is anticipated that it will be back in operation by January 2017. The other pump-set is awaiting the replacement of bearings which is in progress and should be back in operation by December 2016.

(b)(i) The volume of water transferred in 2015 was 27, 9 million cubic meters

(b)(ii) The volume of water transferred in 2016 is 43, 7 million cubic meters.

(c) In 2015 Heyshope had 3 out of 4 pump-sets in operation and 2 out of 4 in 2016. At Geelhoutboom 1 out of 4 was operational in 2015 and this improved to 2 out of 4 in 2016.

(d) Since the rectification work is not completed as yet, a final figure is not available as yet. However to date R97.7million was spent at these two pump-stations.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1) My Department released the total volume of water from Sterkfontein dam to the Vaal dam as per the operating rule developed by the National Water Resource Planning unit. The initial release in the 2015/2016 hydrological year of 320.48 million cubic meters was completed between October 2015 and January 2016. The second release is underway peaking at 70 cubic meters per second to ensure the planned volume of 203 million cubic meters to be transferred by end December 2016. To date the release is occurring according to plan.

(2)(a) The transfer of water from the Woodstock to Sterkfontein dam occurred 80% according to plan. This was due to mechanical and electrical failures experienced at some of the pump-sets at Drieland Kilburn pump stations. These two pump-stations are working in series to lift water at a maximum flow-rate of 20m3/s (should there be adequate run-off in the river leading into the Woodstock dam).

(2)(b) At Driel pump-station, there are two sections of which section 1 has 2 out of 3 pump-sets functional and at section 2, there are 4 out of 5 pump-sets available. The mechanical fault at Driel 1 was attended to by a previously appointed contractor but failed after commissioning. This particular pump-set has been problematic for more than a year, but contractual matters are being attended to. The electrical motor at Driel 2 is out of service for the past 3 weeks and repair is imminent as procurement is being finalized.

At Kilburn section 1, 4 out of 4 pump-sets are in operation. At Kilburn section 2, we have 3 out of 4 pump-sets in operation. The motor of one pump-set is in for repairs at a contractor after it became dysfunctional in March 2016. The lengthy repairing period was caused due to a contractual dispute with the contractor which has been resolved and it is expected to have this pump back in operation shortly.

(2)(c) If the equipment is not available, the filling of Sterkfontein Dam will be delayed.

(2)(d) The cost for the repair work is R5m for Driel and R1.5m for Kilburn.

(3)(a) At Driel section 1 there are 3 pumps with a transfer capacity of 1m3/s each. At Driel section 2 there are 3 pumps with a transfer capacity of 2.6m3/s each and 2 pumps with a capacity of 4m3/s each. At Kilburn section 1 there are 4 pump-sets of 3.3m3/s each and at section 2 there are 4 pump-sets of 4m3/s each.

(3)(b)(i) The first transfer took place in 2015 from October to January 2016 for which the total of 320.48 million cubic meters was transferred.

(3)(b)(ii) To date about 85 million cubic meters was transferred since 7 November 2016 of the planned 203 million cubic meters.

---00O00---

Reply:

The residents of Wards 20 and 22 in the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality in North West will get clean water once the funds for the pipeline are confirmed.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1)(a) The Ermelo Wastewater Treatment Plant is currently receiving 12-16 Ml/day and is designed to handle 10 Ml/day. Overall, the infrastructure of the plant is in a bad condition and this has compromised the sewage treatment process to the extent that substandard effluent is being discharged.

(b) The Green Drop System, which the Department utilizes to monitor compliance levels of wastewater treatment works in the country, shows that the level of compliance for the plant from 01 January 2016 to September 2016 is zero for micro, physical and chemical parameters specific for wastewater effluent.

(2) The effluent from the plant does not comply with the general standard. The Department had meetings with the municipality, inspections were conducted and correspondence was also sent to the municipality. Due to the lack of response from the municipality, a task team (comprising DWS, the Departments of Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism as well as the District and Local Municipalities) was then established to address the concerns related to the plant. See Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1: Correspondence with the Municipality prior to establishment of the task team

Table 2: Correspondences with the Municipality after establishment of the task team

The Department allocated R 44 275 029 million to refurbish the Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Plant in Mpumalanga. The project commenced in November 2015 and is scheduled for completion in January 2017.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) A total of 626 boreholes were drilled and a total of 519 Repaired/Upgraded/Refurbished (refer to table 1 below for details).

(b) Refer to Annexure A for the GPS location of each specified borehole.

(c)(i) The cost were from R 250 - R 1 455 depending on geological formation and other variables.

(c)(ii) The cost of refurbishment in each case was R 53, 6 million.

(d) No, water was found in all the boreholes excerpt for a few cases in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Table 1. List of boreholes per province including costs:

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) A total of 69 Water Use License Applications were declined in the period 1 January to 31 December 2015.

(b) Refer to the table below for the various reasons applications were refused.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1)(a) The Ermelo Wastewater Treatment Plant is currently receiving 12-16 Ml/day and is designed to handle 10 Ml/day. Overall, the infrastructure of the plant is in a bad condition and this has compromised the sewage treatment process to the extent that substandard effluent is being discharged.

(b) The Green Drop System, which the Department utilizes to monitor compliance levels of wastewater treatment works in the country, shows that the level of compliance for the plant from 01 January 2016 to September 2016 is zero for micro, physical and chemical parameters specific for wastewater effluent.

(2) The effluent from the plant does not comply with the general standard. The Department had meetings with the municipality, inspections were conducted and correspondence was also sent to the municipality. Due to the lack of response from the municipality, a task team (comprising DWS, the Departments of Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism as well as the District and Local Municipalities) was then established to address the concerns related to the plant. See Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1: Correspondence with the Municipality prior to establishment of the task team

Table 2: Correspondences with the Municipality after establishment of the task team

The Department allocated R 44 275 029 million to refurbish the Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Plant in Mpumalanga. The project commenced in November 2015 and is scheduled for completion in January 2017.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) My Department has spent R37 800 269.05 in 2015/2016 and R6 840 941.20 since 1 April 2016 to date on advertising. Below is the breakdown as per request

(i) African News Network 7 channel

(ii) SA Broadcasting Corporation

(iii) National commercial radio stations

(iv) Community

(b) Refer to Annexure A.

Annexure A

Below is the breakdown for entities as per request:

---00O00---

Reply:

(1)(a) The Ermelo Wastewater Treatment Plant is currently receiving 12-16 Ml/day and is designed to handle 10 Ml/day. Overall, the infrastructure of the plant is in a bad condition and this has compromised the sewage treatment process to the extent that substandard effluent is being discharged.

(b) The Green Drop System, which the Department utilizes to monitor compliance levels of wastewater treatment works in the country, shows that the level of compliance for the plant from 01 January 2016 to September 2016 is zero for micro, physical and chemical parameters specific for wastewater effluent.

(2) The effluent from the plant does not comply with the general standard. The Department had meetings with the municipality, inspections were conducted and correspondence was also sent to the municipality. Due to the lack of response from the municipality, a task team (comprising DWS, the Departments of Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism as well as the District and Local Municipalities) was then established to address the concerns related to the plant. See Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1: Correspondence with the Municipality prior to establishment of the task team

Table 2: Correspondences with the Municipality after establishment of the task team

The Department allocated R 44 275 029 million to refurbish the Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Plant in Mpumalanga. The project commenced in November 2015 and is scheduled for completion in January 2017.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1) It is anticipated that the establishment of the single KwaZulu-Natal Water Board will be gazetted during the 2017/18 financial year. The establishment will be dependent on the outcome of the due diligence exercise.

(2) Yes, a selection panel will be constituted to recommend the appointment of Board Members for the single KwaZulu-Natal Water Board. The selection panel will be appointed during the 2017/18 financial year.

(3)(a) During the course of the 2017/18 financial year.

(3)(b)(i)During the course of the 2017/18 financial year.

(3)(b)(ii)During the course of the 2017/18 financial year.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) It is the Minister’s prerogative to appoint the Independent Transitional Committee. The Independent Transitional Committee will provide guidance and oversight during the establishment of the single KwaZulu-Natal Water Board.

(b) The members of the Independent Transitional Committee are appointed until such a time the single KwaZulu-Natal Water Board is established.

(c) The members of the Independent Transition Committee term of appointment will end when the single KwaZulu-Natal Water Board is established.

---00O00---

Reply:

1.The funding allocated for the Sedibeng Regional Sewerage Scheme was spent in each financial year as per allocation. The funding allocations and total expenditure from 2008/09 financial year to date are stipulated in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 below.

2. There had not been any under spending in each financial year mentioned above and the budget allocation for each project was based on cash flow.

---00O00---

TABLE 1.1: Funding allocations for Sedibeng Regional Sewerage Scheme project

TABLE 1.2: Expenditure to date for Sedibeng Regional Sewerage Scheme project

Reply:

Refer to Annexure A for the internal and/or external forensic report pertaining to my Department and each entity.

---00O00---

Annexure A

Appendix B

External Forensic Reports

Appendix C

TCTA Internal Investigations:

Reply:

Refer to Annexure A for information regarding board members of each water boards in the country.

---00O00---

Annexure A

Reply:

(a) The upgrade of the water treatment works at the Amsterdam and Sheepmoor Bulk Water Schemes in Mpumalanga is anticipated for construction to commence during 2017/18 financial year. The design and implementation readiness study is currently being conducted in 2016/17 financial year.

It should be noted that the Amsterdam and Sheepmoor Bulk Water Shemes are one project.

(b)(i) The budgeted cost for the project is R31 million.

(b)(ii) The duration of the project is for four years, which is 2016/17 to 2019/20 financial years.

---00O00---