Questions and Replies

Reply:

Since the Interim Constitution came into effect in 1994, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been responsible for a national protection service.

The budget for the VIP protection services, which accounts for less than 2% of the total SAPS budget, includes:

• Provisioning of comprehensive protection to the President and Deputy President of the Republic, former Presidents and former Deputy Presidents, visiting Heads of State and spouses;

• Provisioning of comprehensive protection to 62 national dignitaries (28 Ministers, 34 Deputy Ministers, Speaker of Parliament, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP) and 124 provincial dignitaries (9 Premiers, 9 Provincial Legislature Speakers, 9 Provincial Legislature Deputy Speakers and 87 MECs), as well as ad hoc and foreign dignitaries that visit South Africa;

• Provisioning of comprehensive protection to the Chief Justice, Former Chief Justice, Constitutional Courts Judges, Judge Presidents and President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

It is a well-established principle in jurisdictions across the world that the state should provide adeuqate protection to officials whose personal safety may be at risk by virtue of the positions they occupy.

Reply:

The Department has no policy on civvies. This is an SGB driven programme to raise funds for an identified project and has never been made compulsory to learners in schools where such practice is adopted.

Reply:

a) The Department of Social Development after the term of office for the NDA board expired extended the term of the board and also advertised in the media for the nominations for new board. A first call for nominations to serve as Board members for the National Development Agency, was advertised in the media with a closing date of 30 March 2020.

There was a second call of nominations due to a limited pool of applicants that was attributed to COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown. The advert allowed for nominations to be sent through both email and hand delivery to the department. For the first advert a total number of hundred and sixty-four (164) applications were received, 4 did not have supporting documents as requested and were disqualified. Twenty-one (21) candidates were shortlisted and further 13 were shortlisted and interviewed. Interviews were conducted on 24, 25 November 2020.

The second advert was published and closed on the 08th of October 2021, with 67 candidates submitting their applications. 15 Candidates were shortlisted for interviews. The interviews were conducted on the 10th and 11th March 2022.

b) The department established a selection panel as stipulated in section 5 (1) (b) of the NDA Act. The panel were selected from representatives from the government, entity and civil society who are experts in the development fields. The selection panel that considered the applicants consisted of internal and entity members who interviewed the shortlisted candidates.

c) The following were the names of the panellist that were selected to shortlist and interview the NDA board candidates

NAME AND SURNAME	SECTOR	POSITION IN THE PANEL	EXPERTISE
1. Mr. Linton Mchunu	DSD - ADG	Chairperson	Economics/Development
2. Ms. T Memela - Khambule	SASSA _ CEO	Member	Corporate Governance
3. Mr. FP Netshipale	DSD- DDG	Member	Community Development
4. Mr. T Buthelezi	DSD - ADD	Member	Research and monitoring and Evaluation
5. Ms Brenda Sibeko	DSD - DDG	Member	Economist
6. Ms M Molamu	DSD – Disability	Member	Disability
7. Mr. N Ndlovu	NEDLAC	Member	Development
8. Mr. D Chinappan	DSD secretariat	Secretariat	Human Resource Management

d) The interviews were conducted initially physically for the first advert on the 24th and 25th November 2020 and later for the second advert virtually or through zoom link on the 10th and 11th March 2022.

e) List of all applicants for the NDA boards adverts cannot be provided until the recruitment processes are finalised.

f) Due to the fact that the appointment of the NDA Board Members has not been finalised, the list cannot be provided until recruitment processes are finalised.

g) A Cabinet Memo has been prepared and submitted for the consideration by Cabinet in June 2022. It is expected that any date in June cabinet will consider the memo to approve the NDA board for implementation.

h) It is expected that once cabinet approves the board appointment, the board will be constituted. It is expected that the NDA Board will be constituted not later than 30 July 2022.

Reply:

Find here: Reply

Reply:

Given the severe economic and social challenges our country is facing, government has been working with social partners towards consensus on the key tasks that we need to undertake together to address these challenges.

While all of the constituencies represented in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) – government, organised business, organised labour and the community constituency – share common objectives, they represent different interests, which must be taken into consideration.

The negotiations are continuing in earnest. We have almost finalised a ‘Framework for a Social Compact in South Africa’. The foundation of the social compact is a recommitment to the accelerated implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

These negotiations have not prevented government from forging ahead with the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and far-reaching economic reforms in key network sectors.

Social partners are working towards finalising priority interventions on energy, transport and logistics, expanding infrastructure investment, support for SMMEs, fighting crime and corruption, social protection and expanding public employment programmes for the unemployed.

We remain committed to achieve a sustainable, inclusive and responsive social compact to support and accelerate our economic recovery.

Reply:

The question asked has direct implication to the work of the Member of Executive Council (MEC) of the Northern Cape Department of Education, not the Minister of Basic Education and therefore the Hon Member is advised to submit the question to the MEC for education in the Northern Cape province.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education requested and assigned Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) to assist with shifting the Early Childhood Development (ECD) function from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education(DBE). GTAC is a legally constituted government component of the National Treasury and provided technical and advisory services on the ECD function shift.   

Reply:

Section 199(1) of the Constitution provides that the security services of South Africa consists of a single police service. Furthermore, in terms of Section 205(1) of the Constitution, the national police service must be structured to function in the national, provincial and, where appropriate, local spheres of government.

The National Commissioner is, in terms of Section 207 of the Constitution, responsible to control and manage the police service, in accordance with the national policing policy and directions of the Minister of Police. Section 207(4) of the Constitution, further provides that a provincial commissioner is responsible for policing in his or her province, as prescribed by national legislation and subject to the power of the National Commissioner to exercise control over and manage the police service.

The Minister of Police does not have policing powers and therefore cannot assign or transfer the responsibility of the National Commissioner to control and manage the single national police service to a member of the provincial Executive Council or to a Municipal Council.

Such transfer will be inconsistent with the provisions as contained in Chapter 11 of the Constitution, and accordingly, invalid.

The proposed change in the existing legal position will require amendment to the relevant provisions as contained in Chapter 11 of the Constitution.

Government does not have a policy on devolving policing powers to provinces as SAPS is a national competency.

However there is an Integrated Model of Policing Policy to operationalise the policy direction outlined in the National Development Plan and the 2016 White Paper on Policing for a professional and accountable police service, that is underpinned by prudent and efficient use of resources and the use of smart, modern policing approaches.

An integrated police service would act as a single collective voice for policing, helping to strengthen governance and accountability in all spheres of government, and ensure optimal coordination and alignment across the three spheres of government. An integrated approach would:

• enhance visibility and efficiency;
• ensure the most efficient use of resources;
• strengthen outcomes around building safe and resilient communities;
• address inconsistencies associated with the fragmented nature of policing at national and local levels, including the lack of uniform implementation of national policing standards across the board; and,
• provide a basis for the standardisation of policing approaches in order to ensure efficiency and value for money.

Reply:

The expenditure of the South African Police Service (SAPS) on catering and accommodation since February 2018 was incurred in the fulfilment of the constitutional and statutory responsibilities of the police.

Like all other expenditure items in the SAPS budget, catering and accommodation are a normal part of the cost of running a police service.

This includes instances where officials have to be accommodated away from their normal place of work due to specific operational needs and deployment requirements. Examples in recent years include public order interventions in various provinces, securing the national and local government elections, deployments in response to COVID-19, and deployments to police the July 2021 unrest.

There is no reason to replace a Minister on the basis of expenditure that forms part of the operational requirements of a police service.

Reply:

The Presidency, including the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, has established a coordinating and monitoring mechanism for the implementation of recommendations and referrals arising from the investigations of the SIU.

The recommendations, referrals and actions of the SIU fall into five categories. These are (1) referrals for criminal investigation and prosecution to the National Prosecuting Authority, (2) referrals for disciplinary processes against officials implicated in wrong-doing to the accounting officers of affected departments and organs of state, (3) referrals for the restricting of suppliers of goods and services who have been implicated in wrongdoing, (4) recommendations for systemic reforms to financial controls, governance and related issues to prevent future occurrences, and (5) the recovery of money through the Special Tribunal.

The implementation environment is therefore highly complex, affecting law enforcement agencies, accounting officers across the three spheres of government and state-owned entities, and those departments mandated to perform oversight. These include the departments of Public Service and Administration and Cooperative Governance, which are responsible with overseeing disciplinary processes in the public service, and the National Treasury, which is responsible for restricting suppliers to government.

The first phase of establishing this coordinating and monitoring mechanism has been completed. This has involved information gathering, business process mapping and problem-solving engagements with the departments and entities central to the implementation of SIU recommendations. This work has produced detailed business process maps of the current implementation ecosystem and has revealed several opportunities for enhancements.

A centralised database has been created of all available information on the implementation of the recommendations, together with a prototype dashboard and analytical capability.

The enhancements that will be tackled in Phase 2 include aligning and standardising data protocols, establishing norms and standards in relation to recommendations, defining escalation procedures where inadequate performance is detected, automating data sharing and reporting processes between the different entities using digital technologies, and formalising structures for cooperation and problem solving.

Phase 2 will be implemented over a 12-month period starting in October 2022.

As part of Phase 1, the Presidency has collated and analysed information from the SIU, National Treasury, National Prosecuting Authority, Department of Public Service and Administration and Department of Cooperative Governance. The outcomes of this exercise have been used to produce a first monitoring report, which was presented to SCOPA on 6 June 2022.

As part of the Phase 1 activities, the Presidency has analysed various datasets to identify performance issues.

For example, as a result of the Presidency-led process, the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer set up interventions to speed up processes with the entities with the largest numbers referrals for restricting suppliers.

This intervention to improve coordination and monitoring of SIU recommendations is one part of a broader wave of action to build state capability to eradicate state capture, corruption and fraud in South Africa.

 

Reply:

a) A total of 410 disputes were referred to adjudication of which 109 adjudication orders were issued. Out of 1 191 disputes referred for conciliation, 331 were resolved. All three regions experienced a backlog during the 2020/21 financial year, with the total number of outstanding disputes estimated at 3 335. The backlog was cleared up in the 2021/22 financial year.

The table below depicts the breakdown of the adjudication and conciliation of disputes per region:

 

REGION	REFERRED TO CONCILIATION	CONCILIATED	REFERRED TO ADJUDICATION	ORDERS
Gauteng	557	201	360	99
Kwa-Zulu Natal	297	50	16	6
Western Cape	337	80	34	4
TOTAL	1191	331	410	109

b) The performance information in the 2020/2021 financial year did not have a filtering method for adjudications that were dismissed in the 2020/2021 financial year. The SharePoint system incorporated dismissals from the 2021/2022 financial year onwards. Out of the 109 adjudications, the Community Scheme Ombud Service (CSOS) is unable to determine which adjudication orders were for dismissals.

 

c) CSOS does not capture performance information that refers to dismissals for technical reasons. They are categorised as “Dismissals”. The CSOS Assessment and Quality Assurance processes ensures the elimination of dismissals for technicalities.  Furthermore, adjudicators have the investigative powers to probe outstanding aspects of the disputes in order to proceed on the merits of the matter.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER: PQ 2783 (NW3374E)

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2 SEPTEMBER 2022

__________________________________________________________

MR J MARITZ

DIRECTOR: HUMAN SETTLEMENTS ENTITIES OVERSIGHT

DATE:

__________________________________________________________

Recommended / not recommended

MS S NGXONGO

ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL

DATE:

__________________________________________________________

Approved / not approved

MS MT KUBAYI, MP

MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

DATE:

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) The department currently does not have any employees working from home.

(ii) N/A - No special permission has been granted for any employee to work from home.

(iii) N/A

(b) N/A - All employees of the department are are currently reporting for duty to their respective offices.

(2) There is no reason to make a statement in this regard as the Department has complied with all the directives in this regard.

Reply:

The configuration of Education Management Information System (EMIS) at the current stage does not support the collection of this type of information. 

Reply:

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Reply:

The question asked has direct implication to the work of the Member of Executive Council (MEC) of the Northern Cape Department of Education, not the Minister of Basic Education and therefore the Hon Member is advised to submit the question to the MEC for education in the Northern Cape province.

Reply:

The question asked has direct implication to the work of the Member of Executive Council (MEC) of the Northern Cape Department of Education, not the Minister of Basic Education and therefore the Hon Member is advised to submit the question to the MEC for education in the Northern Cape province. 

Reply:

(1) and (3) The two questions have direct implication to the work of the Members of Executive Council (MECs) of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces, not the Minister of Basic Education and therefore the Hon Member is advised to submit the two parts of the question to the MECs of the two provinces. 

(2) The Minister of Basic Education in South Africa signed a cooperation agreement with the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education of Zimbabwe on 18 August 2022. The agreement is for cooperation in the field of basic education; including sharing best practices in curriculum, teacher development, national examinations, assessments, and infrastructure.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel

Denel has not sold any of the above-mentioned products and materials to Russia.

 

Reply:

a) Electric Vehicles

In the 2021/22 financial year, South Africa imported electrical vehicles to the value of R478.0 million. Customs duties (including ad valorem duties) and VAT on imports declared amounted to R78.4 million and R52.9 million, respectively.

b) Hybrid Vehicles

In the 2021/22 financial year, South Africa imported hybrid vehicles to the value of R1 096.0 million. Customs duties (including ad valorem duties) and VAT on imports declared amounted to R136.5 million and R110.3 million, respectively.

The cumulative customs value of imports of both vehicle classes in the 2021/22 financial year was R 1 573. 9 million, whilst the Customs duties (including ad valorem duties) and VAT on imports declared amounted to R 214.9 million and R 163.2 million, respectively.

Imports of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, 2021/22

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still working with the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health to verify details in this regard. The full breakdown will be provided to the Honourable Member as soon as the information is received from the Province.

END.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

1. a.

(i) accommodation	(ii) travel	(iii) entertainment
R3 818 260	R4 813 537	R542 893 (Clients)

b.

2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
R35m	R53m	R33m	R20m	R12m

2.

2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
R1 850m	R1 590m	R770m	R589m	To be finalised

3.

Denel does not currently have any active contracts from the Russian Federation in its order book.

Reply:

According to the information received from Alexkor

1. There is no record of any illegal miners being provided with any permits during the tenure of a certain person (name and details furnished) of Alexkor and the PSJV;
2. There is no record of any agreements entered into by the Alexkor RMC PSJV with any illegal miners and illegal mining is not permitted.
3. There is no record of any agreement with illegal miners as alluded to the above;
4. There is no record of any agreement with illegal miners as alluded to the above; and
5. The person in question (name and details furnished) resigned from Alexkor and was not transferred to African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation. The terms and conditions of his employment at African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation are not known by the Minister and Alexkor remains a state-owned entity falling under the Department of Public Enterprises. Further details of the current status of thee individual can be obtained from the MINISTRY OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY.

Reply:

A directive for all departmental senior managers (SMS members) to return to office was issued on 26 and 27 January 2022. The Department of Public Service and Administration issued a directive for all government officials to return to office with effect from 1 July 2022. This directive was communicated to the dtic officials on the same day.

I have been advised that a snap survey was conducted in early September 2022 which the Department says indicated that that six employees out of a total staff complement of 1 197 were working remotely. Five officials submitted medical certificates to support their request to work remotely and one person was incapacitated due to a motor vehicle accident. Subject to their medical condition, three officials will return within the next four months, whereas the remaining three are undergoing continuous assessment to determine when they are able to return.

I have asked the Department to prepare a further review of attendance to ensure that there is compliance with the policies and that attendance information is correctly reflected.

(2) No statement on this matter will be made as the information is provided above.

-END-

Reply:

I have been furnished with the attached reply to the question submitted, by the Acting Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission.

 

 

 

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with the following response to the question:

“The Corporate Services was disbanded in June 2017, therefore the position of Executive: Corporate Services ceased to exist.

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2019/2020 (aa)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
i) Company Secretary	1 581	228	-	48	275	2 132
ii) Executive: Corporate Services	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2020/2021 (bb)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d) Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
i) Company Secretary	1 607	232	-	48	611	2 498
ii) Executive: Corporate Services	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2021/2022 (cc)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b)Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c)Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Other Allowances	Total 2022
i) Company Secretary	1 980	305	-	48	638	247	3 218
ii) Executive: Corporate Services	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a”

-END-

Reply:

It is the Departments of Health’s policy to ensure that women have uninterrupted access to quality safe contraceptives that allow them to choose which one best suit their personal circumstances.

The National Department of Health (NDOH) manages contracts for approximately 1 200 line items including contraceptives. Thus, in ensuring that sufficient stock is available at facilities, a number of interventions have been 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 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.

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.

END.

Reply:

1. No, National Treasury has not received any complaint alleging irregular appointments at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State.

The complaint that we received related to the escalating costs of the Commission, and hence the Minister of Finance requested the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to audit the costs of the Commission, the investigators, and legal services costs.   The proposed audit was not a forensic audit, rather a review to determine whether the costs incurred for investigators and legal services derived value for money. Such an audit review will inform the cost structure for any future Commission established by the President.

2. Details on the audit (which is still in process) can be sourced from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

 

Reply:

The Eastern Cape province has the following plans in place in preparations for the initiation season in December 2022, in order to prevent deaths of initiates prevalent in the that province: ambulances, proper nutrition and basic health care services

As part of the Customary Male Initiation, the House of Traditional Leaders coordinates the department Seasonal Contingency Plan which is used to prepare for the initiation season. This plan is used to coordinate the establishment of District Monitoring and Response Teams to ensure coverage of the areas where initiation schools are set up. The teams cover service areas such as clinical essential services and Ambulance Services that are to be on standby to respond to emergency calls from the initiation schools. The department further has the District Initiation Forums and working Committees which are part of Pre-Initiation preparations. These forums conduct awareness campaigns in local schools and communities to as they prepare for start of the initiations season

a) As part of the preparations for the initiation season, all Emergency Medical Service (EMS) ambulances are put on standby in the event of any emergency from the school. The Emergency Communication Centre is accessible as a free service on the 112-emergency number and the appropriate response will then be activated depending on the nature of the incident/illness. Through the District Initiation Forums and Working Committees, EMS is informed about the number and sites of all initiation schools within the province. In the event of an incident, the closest ambulance available to the initiation school will be activated. Given the large number of initiation schools, the number of days for initiation ceremonies and the day-to-day EMS demands, it will not be practically possible to allocate an ambulance to each school, because ambulance services is a response service rather than a service delivered at a given facility only and as such the province will not be able to place an ambulance at all initiation schools.

b) The provincial Department of Health through Nutrition sub-directorate will conduct a one-day workshop to be attended by at least one person per initiation school prior to the start of the initiation. The focus of the workshop will be on but not limited to the following:

• Screening for early identification of undernourished initiates
• Request form for nutrition supplements from the local clinic or hospital
• Provisioning of healthy, nutritious, and culturally acceptable foods including special diets e.g. diabetic diet
• Food safety principles within the context of the initiation schools

Some of the key areas which are part of the Pre-Initiation Preparations is to educate the communities and community leaders about is the importance of good nutrition

c) As per the Act directive and standard operating procedure to ensure eligibility of initiates, all boys going for initiation are referred for health assessment in all the Health Facilities. Basic medical assessment is done on all candidates to exclude and treat any pre-existing medical condition before the initiate is given a clinical clearance certificate as a precautionary measure from the Department for the boy to go for initiation. All boys with pre-existing health conditions are not allowed to go for initiation until such time that the condition has been controlled and such candidate is cleared by the health professional. Where a boy is on a chronic treatment, he and the family, including the Traditional Surgeon and Traditional Nurse, are educated on the importance of ensuring the treatment is continued eve for the duration of the schooling as prescribed by the doctor. Continuous monitoring of such initiates is conducted by the Department of Health monitoring teams.

END.

Reply:

According to the information received from SAA

a) (i) & (ii)

The matters raised in the letter by Air Service Licensing Council (ASLC) are being addressed by SAA and will be provided to the ASLC within or before the 90-day period as prescribed.

Some of the issues are administrative in nature, relating to SAA’s interaction with the Air Service Licensing Council (ASLC), the submission of financial statements and internal staff movements. With regards to the Takatso deal, this is being negotiated by Government, as the shareholder.

The questions raised in the letter do not impact on SAA’s current and future operations as well as the quality of the services provided by SAA. To that end, both local and regional services are continuing uninterrupted.

b) SAA has set itself an internal deadline of less than 60 days to respond from the date of the letter from ASLC.

 

Reply:

The previous Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), had furnished me with the following response to the questions:

1. The Board members earned meeting fees for bid evaluations as detailed under Question 3.

2. What number of meetings did each board member attend during the last bid evaluation which resulted in Ithuba being awarded the lottery operator licence?

BOARD MEMBER	2013/14	2014/15
	No of Meetings	No of Meetings
Prof NA Nevhutanda	-	15
Adv. JC Weapond	23	15
Prof G Reddy	8	15
Ms M Mokoka	14	15
Ms TS Kekana	-	19
Ms NEP Loyilane	-	14

3. (a) Name of each board member who was involved and (b) total amount that each member earned during the previous licence adjudication.

BOARD MEMBER	2013/14	2014/15
	R’000	R’000
Prof NA Nevhutanda	-	228
Adv JC Weapond	167	114
Prof G Reddy	10	88
Ms M Mokoka	45	112
Ms TS Kekana	-	76
Ms NEP Loyilane	-	121

4. Previous and/or current board members earned to date for attending meetings and/or other tasks related to the current adjudication for the new licence due to be awarded in 2023.

BOARD MEMBER	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
	R’000	R’000	R’000
Prof NA Nevhutanda	389	-	-
Adv. WE Huma	348	-	-
Prof YN Gordhan	361	114.11	-
Dr MA Madzivhandila	393	75.65	-
Ms DLT Dondur	436	108.92	-

5. The budget allocated for Board emoluments for member’s role in adjudicating amounts to R4, 594,015.00.

-END-

Reply:

I can only answer for funds committed by National Treasury to KwaZulu-Natal for disaster relief, and what portion of these funds have been transferred. I cannot answer for the funds that are committed by the province or municipalities from their equitable share and budget allocations.

(i) Immediate disaster response grants from national government

Disaster relief funds are available from four Schedule 7 grants in the 2022 Division of Revenue Act. These funds are limited to immediate relief – not envisaged to fund repair and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and are intended to assist all provinces and municipalities. Following a disaster, the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC), coordinates and verifies submissions from provincial departments and municipalities due to a disaster that are funded through the disaster response grants. Applications are subsequently forwarded to the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), which conducts its analysis and verification. A similar approach is followed for funding requests from the emergency housing grants, with provincial departments of human settlements required to send applications to the national Department of Human Settlements (DHS). If satisfied with the applications, the NDMC and DHS make recommendations to the National Treasury for the approval. Once approval is granted, funds are disbursed to provinces and municipalities, who can use the funds immediately.

 

Applications for funding from the four disaster response grants did not reach the National Treasury until mid-June 2022, the latest reaching the National Treasury on 27 July 2022. Of the R1 billion (announced? Source??), R674.1 million has been approved to date, to fund immediate response by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Human Settlements and several municipalities in KZN and the Eastern Cape. Of the R674.1 million approved to date, R547.7 million is for KZN. Below is a breakdown of the R1 billion, showing the amounts requested, approved, and transferred to date.

Table 1: Funds for immediate relief in 2022/23

Table 2 outlines the immediate disaster response funding approvals by province. Of the R674.1 million approved to date, R547.7 million is for KZN.

Table 2: Disaster relief grant approval and transfers by province

Why the total approved amounts have not all been transferred

Provincial Emergency Housing Grant (PEHG)

The KZN province requested R342.1 million to fund the provision of 4 983 Temporary Residential Units (TRUs). Only R325.8 million could be approved as this was the baseline for this grant in 2022/23. The balance (R16.3 million) of the requested amount is awaiting conversion of R120 million from the Municipal Emergency Housing Grant which currently has R158 million available.

The approved funds is being transferred in tranches. R140 million was transferred to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements in June 2022, the balance will be transferred once the province has spent at least 80 per cent of the first tranche. As at the end of August 2022, the province has only spent R53 million, or 38 per cent of the funds transferred; and has delivered only 1 076 TRUs across all districts in the province.

There have been no further requests for funding by KZN from this grant.

Municipal Emergency Housing Grant (MEHG)

No MEGH applications were received for KZN municipalities. Funding requests for KZN municipalities were submitted by the KZN department of Human Settlements and have been approved through the PEHG.

One MEGH application has been submitted to National Treasury and approved to date,
R16.6 million to fund 258 temporary residential units in Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. Only R8.3 million has been transferred to date. The second tranche will be transferred when the municipality spends at least 80 per cent of the 1st tranche. To date, the municipality has not yet reported any expenditure on the first transfer made to it.

(ii) Reprioritisations

Over and above the funding approved from the emergency response grants, R4.6 billion in reprioritisations has been approved and disbursed to date. Of this amount R4.4 billion was for the KZN Department of Human Settlements, KZN department of Transport and municipalities in KZN. This comprises of reprioritisations within conditional grants and transfer advancements.

Table 3: Reprioritisations

(iii) Post-disaster repair and recovery

The responsibility of repairing infrastructure damaged by disasters lies with the municipality or line department responsible for the infrastructure that is damaged. If the province or municipality does not have sufficient resources then national government is approached to intervene.

The repair of infrastructure and other damages that falls outside the category of immediate needs are funded through an adjustments budget or annual budget, depending on the timing of the disaster and submission to National Treasury. This funding is appropriated in terms of section 30 of the Public Finance Management Act which allows the Minister of Finance to table an adjustments budget for, amongst others, unforeseeable and unavoidable (U&U) expenditure. Decisions around unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure are taken by a committee of Cabinet, chaired by the President. Once the decisions are taken, the Minister of Finance will table an Adjusted Appropriation Bill and the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill, as part of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.

(b) Projects to be funded by the approved funds

The R325.8 million approved from the PDRG will fund the provision of 4 983 temporary residential units in KZN. Of these, 3 000 are for eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, accounting for R196 million of the funds approved. A breakdown of how much will be spent in each district/municipality is provided in Table 4.

Table 4: Breakdown of PDRG approval for KZN

The R331.7 million approved from the MDRG and transferred to several municipalities in KZN and the Eastern Cape will fund the repair of municipal infrastructure including water and sanitation, roads, and storm water infrastructure. Of this amount, KZN municipalities account for R221.9 million (this is the total amount the KZN municipalities applied for) as shown in the Table 5 below.

Table 5: KZN MDRG approvals

The balance (R109.8 million) of the approved amount is allocated to several municipalities in the Eastern Cape for the same purpose.

Not included in the table above is eThekwini Metro’s application of R185 million from this grant, for the repair of water and sanitation, roads and storm water infrastructure. This is provisionally approved and is awaiting the conversion of the Provincial Disaster Response Grant, which remains upsent as no applications for funding from this grant have been received. The conversion of this grant needs to be done through publication of a Gazette. National Treasury is in the process of issuing this Gazette, only then can the funds be transferred to eThekwini Metro.

(c) Reporting and monitoring of expenditure and the procurement process

Funding to respond to this disaster will be subject to the necessary procurement and reporting conditions. Provinces and municipalities are required to spend funds in line with the applicable allocation conditions and reporting requirements as outlined in the 2022 Division of Revenue Act. The National Treasury has also issued further guidance on the monthly reporting of disaster relief expenditure in terms of the respective Standard Chart of Accounts for each sphere.

The need for increased pro-active governance measures with regard to supply chain management and procurement processes during this time is paramount. Organs of state have been advised to consider using their internal audit committees to undertake audits of procurement to respond to the effects of the damage caused by the 2022 April floods.

In recognising that the budget is responding to an extraordinary event and that the normal course of ex-post auditing may be inappropriate, the Auditor-General is also conducting real time audits across the planning and implementation value chain. These audits provide management with real time information, allowing for a real-time response to the audit findings by accounting officers and authorities.

Reply:

1. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (a)(i) do not have employees that are currently working from home (ii) (iii) no special permission was granted for employees to work from home and therefore no reasons exists (b) All employees are expected to be at their respective offices.
2. The Minister does not believe statement on this matter is necessary.

Reply:

I have been furnished with the attached reply to the question submitted by the Acting Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission.

 

 

Reply:

No, there is no intention to amend the mandate of the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank) which is derived from Land Bank Act, Act No. 15 of 2002, in line with its eleven objects. The objects of the Land Bank are as follows:

1. Equitable ownership of agricultural land, in particular the increase of ownership of agricultural land by historically disadvantaged persons.
2. Agrarian reform, land redistribution or development programmes aimed at historically disadvantaged persons or groups of such persons for the development of farming enterprises and agricultural purposes.
3. Land access for agricultural purposes.
4. Agricultural entrepreneurship;
5. The removal of the legacy of past racial and gender discrimination in the agricultural sector.
6. The enhancement of productivity, profitability, investment and innovation in the agricultural and rural financial systems.
7. Programmes designed to stimulate the growth of the agricultural sector and the better use of land.
8. Programmes designed to promote and develop the environmental sustainability of land and related natural resources.
9. Programmes that contribute to agricultural aspects of rural development and job creation.
10. Commercial agriculture.
11. Food security.

Based on the objects of the Land Bank, the Bank can achieve its objects or mandate by providing financial services to a wide range of farmers utilising wide range of instruments to wide range of clients including micro financing. Microfinancing will therefore only be provided to the agricultural sector if such financing supports the objectives of the Land Bank.

Reply:

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

“The position of Senior Executive: Grant Funding ceased to exist in April 2017 and was replaced by position of Chief Operations Officer.

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2019/2020 (aa)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
(i) Chief Financial Officer	1 703	245	-	48	296	2 292

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2020/2021 (bb)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d) Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
(i) Chief Financial Officer	1 731	250	-	48	655	2 684

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2021/2022 (cc)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b)Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c)Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Other Allowances	Total 2022
(i) Chief Financial Officer	2 116	326	-	48	687	104	3 281

-END-

Reply:

No, there were no loan requests made or granted at the recent International Monetary Fund / World Bank Spring Meetings held in Washington DC. Loan requests are typically not discussed at the Spring Meetings.

Reply:

According to the information received from Alexkor

1. When PSJV Board cancelled the SSI contract, it was agreed that Alexkor will take over the selling and marketing of the PSJV diamonds, because Alexkor at the time had a diamond dealers license and former Chief Executive Officer was the authorised representative of the license. The PSJV diamonds were sold at the Diamond Evaluation and Export Centre (DEEC) on open tender in terms of the license. With the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer, Alexkor had no authorised representative to sell the diamonds and the diamonds are now sold by the PSJV under the producers license. The sales and marketing of the diamonds are now performed by the PSJV.

2. The total sales since the cancellation of the SSI contract are as follows:

Number of diamond sales: 11

Total carats sold: 51, 055

Dollar Value: USD $ 59 294 713,00

ZAR Value: R913 310 725,57

Reply:

(1) Process followed by Land Bank to recover on default loan:-

a) At inception the accounts are managed by the Bank’s Post Investment Management Services Department (PIMS). So immediately upon default, PIMS team engages the clients with a view of providing compressive assistance to those struggling clients. Such assistance includes restructuring and forbearance measures once the cause/s for default has/have been established.

b) Once all of the aforementioned measures have failed and there is nothing else that the Bank could do to further assist those struggling clients, and as the last resort, the account is then transferred to Legal Department for further management of the client. This is when the legal process commences in order to recover monies owed to the Bank. Even after the commencement of the legal process, the struggling clients can still approach Land Bank and make proposals for consideration by Land Bank with a view of resolving the matter and avoid the legal route because the legal process, as you may be aware, can be protracted and expensive.

(2) Whether the National Treasury has put measures in place in order to support struggling commercial and emerging farmers who are struggling to honour their loan repayments; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

Reply: No. National Treasury has not received any request for intervention on this matter for consideration.

(3) (a) what is the average interest rate that farmers at the bank had to pay for their loans,

See the average client interest rates from April 2018 to July 2022:

b) how does the interest compare with the commercial bank loans?

We do not have access to this information and are therefore unable to provide the average interest rates of commercial banks.

c) what measures has the National Treasury put in place to ensure that the interest rates are affordable for farmers who are struggling and yet provide food security?

i) National Treasury has not received any request for intervention on this matter for consideration.

ii) However, part of the R7bn of the capital injection allocated to the Land Bank is meant to support the bank for deployment for the financing of the Banks new development portfolio, and the use of this capital at nominal cost of funds will enable affordable financing by the Bank.

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with the following response to the question, for the period to the end of the 2021/22 financial year.

a) Board Fees

BOARD MEMBER	i) 2019/20	ii) 2020/21	iii) 2021/22
	R’000	R’000	R’000
Prof NA Nevhutanda	1 572	996	-
Adv. WE Huma	946	979	329
Prof YN Gordhan	1 106	1 133	1 755
Dr MA Madzivhandila	1 111	1 117	1 524
Ms DLT Dondur	1 066	1 210	1 853
* Ms Z Brown	-	-	-
Dr CR Lubisi	-	-	15
Ms BD Ferguson	-	-	24
Ms PK Mvulane	-	-	28
Mr W Hofmeyr	-	-	24

* Ms Brown is Minister’s designate to the Board, employed in the public service, therefore not eligible for Board emoluments.

b) Provident Fund

Board members are not staff of the Commission, therefore not eligible for Provident Fund benefit.

c) Travel Allowance

BOARD MEMBER	i) 2019/20	ii) 2020/21	iii) 2021/22
	R’000	R’000	R’000
Prof NA Nevhutanda	442	10	-
Adv. WE Huma	159	9	-
Prof YN Gordhan	312	5	-
Dr MA Madzivhandila	234	22	40
Ms DLT Dondur	298	6	-
* Ms Z Brown	-	-	-
Dr CR Lubisi	-	-	1
Ms BD Ferguson	-	-	11
Ms PK Mvulane	-	-	5
Mr W Hofmeyr	-	-	-

* Ms Brown is Minister’s Representative employed in the public service therefore not eligible for Board emoluments

d) Cell Phone Allowance

BOARD MEMBER	i) n2019/20	ii) 2020/21	iii) 2021/22
	R’000	R’000	R’000
Prof NA Nevhutanda	21	41	-
Adv. WE Huma	14	55	9
Prof YN Gordhan	14	55	55
Dr MA Madzivhandila	14	55	46
Ms DLT Dondur	14	55	55
* Ms Z Brown	-	-	-
Dr CR Lubisi	-	-	-
Ms BD Ferguson	-	-	-
Ms PK Mvulane	-	-	-
Mr W Hofmeyr	-	-	-

* Ms Brown is Minister’s Representative employed in the public service therefore not eligible for Board emoluments

e) (i),(ii),(iii)

Performance Bonus

Board members are not staff of the Commission, therefore not eligible for Performance Bonus.

-END-

Reply:

a) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (the Department) started capturing data through the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS): Maintenance in 2019/2020. Therefore, this response is based on the data captured from 2019/2020 to 2021/2022 financial years.

The average turnaround time in respect of cases lodged for child maintenance orders and the issuing of child maintenance orders for the period 2019 to 2022 is tabulated below:

Region	Average days per case: 2019/2020	Average days per case: 2020/2021	Average days per case: 2021/2022
1. Eastern Cape	87.30	73.08	137.44
2. Free State	58.24	60.41	90.38
3. Gauteng	86.12	68.42	100.91
4. Kwa-Zulu Natal	69.86	61.01	103.85
5. Limpopo	93.11	62.09	109.48
6. Mpumalanga	105.08	60.72	87.81
7. North West	76.00	82.95	88.60
8. Northern Cape	52.49	55.10	66.12
9. Western Cape	67.11	74.64	84.04
Grand Total	81.02	66.99	102.02

*Maintenance on ICMS was only introduced in 2019, and data collection prior is not accounted for in this response

N.B: The turnaround time is calculated from the Date of Proper Service to the date on which the Court Order is granted. In 2019/2020, it took an average of 81.02 days to finalise a case, and it took an average of 102.02 days to finalise a case in 2021/2022. It took 21 days more to finalise a case in 2021/2022 when compared to 2019/2020 financial year.

b) From 2019/2020 financial year, there are 13 219 pending matters across all the courts nationally. The table below provides a Provincial breakdown”

Region	Number of Cases
1. Eastern Cape	1 377
2. Free State	1 236
3. Gauteng	3 199
4. Kwa-Zulu Natal	1 878
5. Limpopo	464
6. Mpumalanga	826
7. North West	1 110
8. Northern Cape	743
9. Western Cape	2 386
Grand Total	13 219

END

Reply:

I have been furnished with the attached reply to the question submitted by the Acting Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) One. National Treasury is currently on a hybrid working arrangement for purposes of decongestion. Any employee needed physically in the office is instructed to do so. This is to accommodate the current refurbishment project which is underway in both the two buildings (40 Church Square and 240 Madiba Street building). 40 Church Square building, a government owned building which was previously the South African Reserve Bank building, built between 1934 and 1935 is undergoing infrastructure upgrade, following recent infrastructure failures that resulted in it not being fully conducive to 100 % occupancy.

(1)(a)(ii) One employee has special permission to work from home.

(1)(a)(iii) Due to ill-health.

(1)(b) All employees will return full-time in the office upon the completion of the refurbishment project. The one employee will continue working from home until such time that her health condition has improved.

(2) No

Reply:

No. The Department’s policy review and development process is informed and guided by the National Policy Development Framework, approved by Cabinet in 2020. The process sets out the following:

(a) A political manifesto of the Governing Party is a public declaration of policy and programmes aimed at improving the lives of citizens. These priorities are further processed through the government for implementation.

(b) The Manifesto of the Governing Party is processed for implementation through the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). The MTSF is the government’s strategic plan which reflects commitments made in the election manifesto of the governing party, as well as priorities of the National Development Plan (NDP).

The Framework guides the Department on policy review, policy development, policy authorisation, policy implementation and policy analysis. It sets standards and guiding principles for the entire policy making cycle and clarifies approaches to intra/inter departmental consultation and external stakeholder consultations during policy-making processes. The Framework enlightens the process through which a platform is created for an interaction between the Department and consultation with communities for participatory-based evidence.

In addition, since Housing is a concurrent function, the Department has a structured and systematic policy approval process which includes a multi-sectoral intergovernmental consultation forum in the form of the National Policy Task Team (NPTT). The NPTT comprises of Provinces, Metropolitan Municipalities, South African Local Government Association (SALGA); Human Settlements Entities, Civil Society, Chapter Nine Institutions, i.e. South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC); Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), etc. To establish the envisaged developmental impact, rationale, associated risks, cost estimates and quality standards, the draft policy is subjected to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) exercise at the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME).

If necessary, the draft policy will then be shared with the Chief State Law Advisor for concurrence. Thereafter it will be submitted for approval to a pertinent Ministerial Cluster, Ministers and Members of Executive Councils (MINMEC) and Technical MINMEC forums.

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom:

a) Mr. de Ruyter qualifies for the normal remuneration and fringe benefits associated with his position as Group Chief Executive, and as per his public profile which demonstrates a heightened threat level in the recent past. In the financial year ended March 2022, the security costs incurred for Mr. de Ruyter were R46 490.00.

b) Eskom pays the cost and the employee, Mr. de Ruyter, is personally liable for the tax on the invoice of the security costs.

Reply:

Yes, the Republic still has Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) stored safely at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Limited (Necsa), which has neither been downgraded nor sent to USA for safekeeping. The material is highly secured and under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards. The IAEA continuously monitors the stored material using their Remote Monitoring System (RMS) connected 24hrs to IAEA Headquarters in Vienna and does physical verification inspections by visiting Necsa in planned and unplanned visits. This is consistent with South Africa being a signatory to the international treaties for non-proliferation of nuclear material such as the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and Protocol Additional to the Safeguards Agreement (AP). In terms of security, it should be noted that Necsa is a National Key Point.

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not within the perview of the Department Coorperative Governance and Traditional Affairs but that of Police. It is recommended that the question be transferred to Ministry of Police.

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with the following response to the question:

“FINANCIAL YEAR: 2019/2020 (aa)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
(i) Chief Information Officer	2 410	365	120	48	440	3 383
(ii) Executive Manager: Regulatory Compliance	1 995	-	156	48	333	2 532

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2020/2021 (bb)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b) Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c) Travel Allowance R'000	(d) Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Total R'000
(i) Chief Information Officer	1 731	250	-	48	655	2 684
(ii) Executive Manager: Regulatory Compliance	2 031	40	156	48	738	3013

FINANCIAL YEAR: 2021/2022 (cc)

Executives	(a) Basic R'000	(b)Provident Fund and Risk Benefit Contributions R'000	(c)Travel Allowance R'000	(d)Cellphone Allowance R'000	(e)Performance Bonus R'000	Other Allowances	Total 2022
(i) Chief Information Officer	2 395	543	120	48	977	327	4 410
(ii) Executive Manager: Regulatory Compliance	2 233	-	156	48	771	32	3 240

-END-

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 “relied on the letter of intent to conduct due diligence with the anticipation that Fairplay Hardware would issue a final binding contract prior to presenting the application to the NEF’s Investment Committee for final approval.”

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

-END-

Reply:

Serious consideration is being given to the recommendations of the Zondo Commission and other similar options to introduce as much objectivity and transparency as is possible in specific contexts. For example, the Presidential SOE Commission has recommended the establishment of a “Holding Company” for strategic SOEs, based on research into experiences of other countries.

The President is scheduled to present a consolidated plan (in October 2022) setting government’s response to the state capture report; and the progress registered to date in implementing the recommendations.  The department submitted progress updates to the Presidency and this will form part of the President’ submission to Parliament.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) None

(ii) None

(iii) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

(2) Yes. The employees have had the option of vaccination, and in addition, the COVID infection rate has dropped. However, the virus is still “present”. So, with appropriate precautions, the public service has to be back at work and make every effort to increase the productivity within the department.