Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Yes, child malnutrition and hunger have reached crisis levels in the Republic. This can be attributed to the following key drivers of food insecurity and vulnerability:

a) Economic decline and unemployment - The slowdown in the national economy has resulted in mass job losses over the past two consecutive years. With no employment and reduced income, millions of people could not afford to buy sufficient food including basic food items.

b) The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic globally and in South Africa led to the necessary introduction of lockdown restrictions. It is pivotal to note that the country entered the COVID-19 pandemic with high levels of unemployment and a decade of weak job creation. The implementation of restrictions had a negative impact on the jobs, and the resultant reduction in household income and the purchasing power of households.

c) Food price inflation has significantly increased by 30% or more as observed for certain products within the food basket. Food prices have a major impact on food access in South Africa as households and individuals struggle to purchase even the most basic food items.

d) Climate change and environmental impact - Prior to the recent floods that affected provinces such as Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape (EC) and North West (NW), the country has also experienced drought in certain areas, which has negatively affected food production. All of these factors have had a severe impact on child nutrition, thus contributing to heightened malnutrition.

The Department is mandated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa: Section 27 (1) (c) to make provision for the right of access to appropriate social assistance to individuals that are unable to support themselves and their dependants.

The Department has, and continues to provide support to vulnerable individuals in households in the form of social grants including the social relief of distress for families with insufficient means. Our social assistance programme is one of the biggest social protection programmes in the country, currently reaching just over 18.7 million beneficiaries for eligible children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

Currently, just over 13.1 million children are beneficiaries of the Child Support Grant (CSG) at R480 per child. The Department has recently gazetted the proclamation of the Social Assistance Amendment Act No. 16 of 2020 and regulations thereof, on 30 and 31 May 2022 respectively. The legislation makes provision for supplementary payments of social grants in the form of top up (50% more on the CSG) Orphans in the care of their relatives are eligible to receive the basic CSG amount at R480 plus a top up at R240 which amounts to R720 in total. By increasing the value of the CSG, we strive to ensure that these children are enabled to achieve their full adult potential by growing in a secure environment that ensures adequate nutrition.

The Department concurs with the research findings from the Child Gauge Report (2020), which identifies exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months following birth of a child as a key protective factor for the child’s survival, cognitive development and protection against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the adult years. Our surveys have repeatedly shown a low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, with the most recent South African Demographic Health Survey (SADHS) reporting that just 32% of infants below the age of six months were exclusively breastfed in 2016. Many women stop exclusive breastfeeding prematurely due to food insecurity, a hostile home environment, inadequate support from their workplace and the weaknesses in our health care system.

Poor feeding practices contribute to particularly high levels of stunting (32%) during the first six months of life. These challenges continue into the second year of life, with only 23% of infants aged 6 – 24 months reported to have consumed a minimum acceptable diet (a composite measure of dietary diversity and food frequency). Inappropriate complementary feeding practices are associated with being overweight and obesity in childhood and later in puberty. Formula feeding has been identified as a possible cause of subsequent overweight.

The Department’s (i) short- term plan to tackle child malnutrition, hunger and death is the provision of the Child Support Grant and the Social Relief of Distress to affected families;

In addition, it must be highlighted that malnutrition requires an intersectoral approach, where social grants are only one component of a broader package of services including access to school nutrition programmes and other economic interventions to reduce the cost of food and improve its accessibility.

The (ii) medium plan to tackle child malnutrition, hunger and death includes the expansion of the social protection coverage and benefits to cater for the needs of vulnerable children and adults. The Department has on 01 June 2022 commenced with implementation of CSG Top Up and has since 2020 provided the Special COVID-19 R350 SRD Grant, which will continue until March 2023. Payment of this latest iteration commenced in mid-June 2022. The intention to link the SRD grant beneficiaries to other job creation programmes within and outside government, and sustainable livelihoods and social enterprise opportunities to expand the income generation opportunities for poor households so that they can be empowered to provide for themselves and their children.

This approach of providing social grants is supported worldwide, including by the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, which have confirmed that well-designed social protection systems support incomes and domestic consumption, build human capital and increase productivity”; and

The (iii) long-term plan to tackle child malnutrition, hunger and death includes building resilience in our communities through investing in community-based food systems and building sustainable livelihoods in our communities. In addition, the Department is developing policy proposals for extension of income support to those aged between 18-59, so that households can have a more consistent income support programme to augment the very low child support grant, which is currently below the food poverty line.

e) The Department has acknowledged on many occasions that the value of the Child Support Grant should be increased to at least the food poverty line. However, the implementation of such a policy requires government to make available the necessary budget allocation. At present, such a decision has not been found to be feasible given the fiscal and economic constraints faced by government. However, government has prioritised the needs of orphaned children, by providing the top-up grant of R240 over and above the CSG value of R480, so that these vulnerable children can access R720 per month without needing to wait for the more complex foster child care process.

f) The Maternal Support policy is still in draft form and not ready for submission to Parliament as yet. Once it has followed the approval processes it will be made available.

g) The maternal support policy still requires approval and funding by government before it can be implemented. It is currently in draft form and still needs to be approved by Cabinet, following which it will necessitate legislative amendments to the Social Assistance Act, development of regulations and approval of funding by Cabinet. This process is expected to take a minimum of two years after Cabinet approval.

Reply:

1. Homelessness is a complex and cross-cutting issue that no single Department or entity of Government can address on its own. The Department is currently leading efforts to develop a policy framework that will guide and coordinate interventions by various key role players in addressing homelessness.

The policy framework will outline the roles and responsibilities, norms and standards within which such services should be provided. The department further has to provide psychosocial support and reunification services which are part of the package of services included within the current baseline.

2. Currently, two provincial departments, namely Gauteng (R 11 545 986) and Western Cape (R R2 898 560) have a dedicated budget to address homelessness.

(3)

NATIONAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN 2022/2023
Compensation of employees	R5 168
Goods and Service	R3 295
Transfers	R1 868
Capital payments	R    241
Total	R10 573

 

(4) The table below indicate the total amount allocated towards the reunification of homeless persons with their families and the success rate of the family reunification programme per province.

Province	(a) Allocated Budget	(b) Recorded Numbers
Limpopo	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	No official record at the time of reply
Free State	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	117
Mpumalanga	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	No official record at the time of reply
Northern Cape	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	602
Western Cape	Refer to 2 above	602
Eastern Cape	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	463
Gauteng	Refer to 2 above	2 279
North West	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	97
KwaZulu-Natal	No dedicated budget. Reunification services is part of the basket of services rendered by social workers.	1 799

Reply:

There are currently 76 student housing projects underway. The total funding allocated to these projects amount to R4.547 billion which is made of R3.842 billion from the Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant (IEG), R523 million from the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI), and R182 million from the Sibusiso Bengu Development Grant. From the total funding of R4.547 billion, 56% (R2.544) billion went to the 8 institutions under the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme. These universities constitute 31% of the total number of public universities in the country.

The institutions involved in these projects are as listed below:

• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Central University of Technology
• Durban University of Technology
• Mangosuthu University of Technology
• Nelson Mandela University
• North-West University
• Rhodes University
• Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
• Stellenbosch University
• Tshwane University of Technology
• University of Fort Hare
• University of Johannesburg
• University of KwaZulu-Natal
• University of Limpopo
• University of Pretoria
• University of the Western Cape
• University of Venda
• University of Zululand
• Vaal University of Technology
• Walter Sisulu University

Reply:

The Department of Higher Education and Training is not aware of graduates within the higher education sector who are not inspired to build careers in the water and sanitation sector.

The Department’s role is to ensure that there is an enabling environment for institutions to provide the necessary training and skills required for the water management sector and ensure that students are supported with the necessary means, where appropriate, to pursue their careers.

There are several higher education institutions that offer disciplines in Water Resources Engineering and caters for the vocational pathway in terms of the Higher Certificate and Diploma qualifications, as well as the Bachelor of Science in Hydrology and Water Resources Management for an academic and research pathway (please see attached list).

The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) plays a key role in developing skills needed in the water and energy sector.

Reply:

The Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) as directed by the Skills Development Act (Act No.97 of 1998) annually develops Sector Skills Plans (SSPs) which identify, amongst others, Top Ten Sectoral Priority Occupations required by the Sector and Intervention Measures. 

In order to respond to the capacity building needs of the municipalities, the LGSETA has developed a Councillor Development Strategy in collaboration with relevant parties in response to capacitating newly appointed and returning councillors with the necessary skills and competencies to discharge their roles and responsibilities as assigned in their respective portfolios over the next five years.   The Councillor Development Strategy has three pillars namely: 1) councillor development and skills audit; 2) function-based training and development; and 3) soft skills development. 

The Councillor Development Strategy further outlines a list of skills that were informed by the previous audit and implementation of councillor training which will be used to guide any future skills priorities:

Municipal Key Performance Area	Key Skills Gaps Identified
Municipal Financial Management	Financial Governance Municipal Financial Management and Reporting Municipal Public Accounts Committee Municipal Procurement Finance for Non-Financial Managers
Good Governance and Leadership	Municipal Governance Local Government Law and Public Administration Leadership and Relationship Management Leadership and Ethics Ward Committee Governance Change Management Monitoring and Evaluation Performance Management and Accountability
Municipal Administration	Media Relations and Stakeholder Engagement Human Resource Planning Policy Development Batho Pele and Interpersonal Skills Presentation skills Report Writing End-User Computing Office Administration Conflict Management Negotiation skills Municipal Legislations Adult Education and Training (AET: level 1-4)

 

Reply:

1. (a) The Department of Public Works and Transport – Western Cape has informed, SASSA Western Cape that they will be undertaking renovation on the state owned building. 

Previously when the first phase of maintenance was implemented, the office was temporarily vacated and relocated to the Women in Action office in Eerste Rivier.

Currently SASSA has signed a lease agreement for a site in Khayelitsha known as Bikitsha. Services will be rendered from this site.

SASSA is further engaging with the City of Cape Town for the rental of the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) programme sites that have already been renovated and are fit for occupation in Harare; Khayelitsha Resource Centre, Kuyasa Library and City of Cape Town halls. These sites will enable the services to remain in Khayelithsa.

SASSA has contacted the Sub Council 10 to assist with identifying alternative accommodation, and engagements with VPUU management are being made to with them before end of June 2022.

The Bikitsha site was a planned additional site for services to be delivered in Khayelitsha

SASSA will incur costs for the following:

1. Cost of Temporary Accommodation
2. Cost of Transportation of SASSA assets from current office to new site or storage
3. Cost for labourers
4. Storage costs
5.  Cost of lease / rental of furniture and equipment to be used at alternative site.
6. Additional hire costs for Cleaning and Security
   
   -The City of Cape Town still needs to advise SASSA on the cost implications of the VPUU site and the other municipal venues

Reply:

1)  (i) and (b) i SASSA owned properties per Region and Values:

  Limpopo Region

Office Name	Property Value
Bela-Bela	R   4 200 000,00
Hlanganani	R      850 000,00
Jane Furse	R 24 720 575,00
Leeufontein	R   7 290 250,00
Lulekani	R      596 475,00
Makwarela	R 24 720 575,00
Manganeng	R   7 290 250,00
Mankweng	R   5 700 000,00
Maraba	R   7 290 250,00
Modimolle	R 24 720 575,00
Musina	R   7 290 250,00
Nkowankowa	R      662 750,00
Senwamokgope local office	R   1 060 400,00
Thabazimbi	R 24 720 575,00
Tzaneen	R 24 720 575,00
Zebedieala	R   5 302 000,00
Total	R 171,135,500.00

 

Northern Cape Region

Office Name	Property Value
Churchill local office	R  3,226,811.28 – estimate construction costs
Dithakong local office	R  3,226,811.28 – estimate construction costs
Total	R 6,453622.56

Reply:

A temporary disability grant is given for a specific period, informed by the medical assessment. At the end of that period, the grant lapses and the citizen has to re-apply for the grant, should he/she feel he/she is still unable to work as a result of the impact of the medical condition or disability. If the citizen does not return to SASSA after the grant has lapsed, it is assumed that the condition has improved, to the extent that he/she can compete in the open labour market and no longer requires a grant.

There are currently no outstanding temporary disability grants awaiting finalisation.

However, the table below indicates the numbers of applicants booked for medical assessments for disability grants. It is only once the assessment has been done that it will be known whether the grant is awarded as a temporary or permanent disability grant, as this classification is determined by the presenting medical condition. A temporary disability grant is awarded where there is a likelihood that the medical condition or disability is not likely to present for a period of longer than twelve (12) months.

Clients Awaiting To Be Medically Assessed for a Disability Grant
Region	Upcoming Assessment*
WESTERN CAPE	8 049
EASTERN CAPE	958
KWAZULU NATAL	4 461
LIMPOPO	2 657
NORTHERN CAPE	773
FREE STATE	1 427
GAUTENG	6 737
NORTH WEST	2 243
MPUMALANGA	2 653
TOTAL	29 958
Schedule for the period until the month of June 2022

Reply:

(a) The National Department of Social Development had 59 vacancies as at 31 March 2021.

(b)(i) The National Development Agency, 14 vacancies, and

(b)(ii) The South African Social Security Agency had 410 vacancies.

Reply:

(a)(i) The strategic action plans that the Department has is to seal and close all derelict and ownerless mines so that illegal miners are denied access to the same mine, and also regular inspections in identified sites with law enforcement agencies (SAPS) to curb illicit dealing in gold.

(ii) The key indicators as per the Annual operational Plan are the percentage of complaints attended to/inspected as received as well as the criminal cases opened in respect of unlawful/illegal perpetrators who have commenced with mining activities without the necessary authorisation. This is contained in the Department’s Annual Operational Plan

(b)The compliance and enforcement directorate has a budget of R17 953 151, 26 for the purpose of compliance and enforcement.

(c) The Department does not regulate illegal mining, however when the officials of the come across it or a complaint is received such is attended to jointly with SAPS.

Reply:

1.       As at the end of May 2022 the following were grants in payment:

Grant Type	Number of Beneficiaries
Old Age	1287
Disability	362
Child Support	1460

2. ​ The Region has one office in the Kamiesberg Local Municipal area i.e Garies Local office, servicing all towns in the Local Municipal Area (LMA).

Outreach services are rendered by the Garies Local office on a monthly basis to the different towns in the LMA:

Town	Old Age	Disability	Child support
Rooifontein/Kamassies	63	33	111
Nourivier	82	14	81
Leliefontein	99	12	112
Paulshoek	37	10	13
Kamieskroon	129	44	183
Kharkams	180	49	239
Tweerivier	7	5	3
Koiingnaas	19	5	2
Kheis	67	11	2
Soebatsfontein	45	17	47
Spoegrivier	52	3	5
Klipfontein	60	8	7
Garies	350	114	521
Hondeklipbaai	59	23	89
Lepelfontein	38	14	45
Total	1287	362	1460

Reply:

Eastern Cape Province

a) & b) The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) did not experience a budget cut for the 2022/23 financial year and 2022 MTEF period other than the budget cuts that were implemented in the 2021 MTEF period.

The budget for the Department was however reduced because of the ECD function shift from DSD to the Department of Education (DOE).

Free State Province

a) Amount of budget cuts experienced in the Free State Province

From the final allocation for the 2020/21 financial year to the main allocation for 2021/22, the departmental budget for the FS DSD decreased by R 77.196 million.

The cuts were mainly on the Compensation of Employees as a result of the freezing of annual salary adjustments over the MTEF.

From the Main Allocation to the Final Allocation (during the Adjustment Budget) the department received:

• R 37.336 million as a roll-over of the ECD Conditional Grant;
• R 31.692 million for gratuities paid to officials on levels 1-12;
• R 12 million for appointment of social workers;
• R 10.702 in respect of the ECD Stimulus;
• R 4.2 million towards the ENGO Payment

b) Decrease/increase ease per programme as well as final appropriation:

 

 

Gauteng Province

a) The baseline allocation for the Gauteng Department of Social Development was reduced by R 614,545 million in the 2022/23 financial year due to the ECD function shift, centralisation of the ICT budget to the Department of e-Government, infrastructure cut, and fiscal consolidation reduction.

Table 1: Baseline Reduction - 2022/23 Financial Year

ITEM	2022/23 R’000
ECD Function Shift	591 278
ICT Budge Centralisation (Department of e-Government)	7 533
Infrastructure	12 100
Cuts from Provincial Treasury (Fiscal consolidation)	3 634
TOTAL	614 545

b) Each programme received the following:

Table 2: Baseline Reduction per Programme - 2022/23 Financial Year

Programme	Amount R’000
Administration	15 023
Social Welfare Services	0
Children & Families	542 414
Restorative Services	12 100
Development & Research	45 008
TOTAL	614 545

KwaZulu-Natal Province

a) The budget cuts experienced by KwaZulu-Natal DSD were R 322, 909 million for 2021/2022 and R 427, 238 million for 2022/2023 financial years.

b) Each programme received the following budget cuts:

Programme	2021/22 R’000	2022/23 R’000
Administration	45,779	52,278
Social Welfare Services	59,332	81,696
Children and Families	172,798	231,264
Restorative Services	20,000	29,000
Development and Research	25,000	33,000
Total	322,909	427,238

Limpopo Province

a) R 482 686 million

b) Program 1: Administration – R 80,788 million

Program 2: Social Welfare Services - R 74,649 million

Program 3: Children and families – R 225,563 million

Program 4: Restorative Services – R 56,469 million

Program 5: Development and Research –

R 45,217 million

Mpumalanga Province

a) There were no budgets cut to any of the programmes made by the National Department for the 2021/22 financial year. The departmental overall budget was reduced in the 2022/23 financial year following the ECD function shift to the Department of Education See the breakdown of the allocated budget from National to Province below:

Programme	2021/22	2022/23
Administration	R 334 631 000	R 411,885,000
Social Welfare Services	R 298 595 000	R 291 548 000
Children and Families	R 811 255 000	R 482 218 000
Restorative Services	R 209 532 000	R234 935 000
Development and Research	R 199 666 000	R 195 644 000
TOTAL	R 1,853 679 000	R 1,840,989,000

b) An amount of R 80.0 million was cut from the budget allocation of the Department at the provincial level during the budget adjustment of the 2021/22 financial year. This amount was cut from the budget allocation for new social infrastructure projects.

Northwest Province

The budget reduction implemented in 2021/22 financial was R 228.4 million and in 2022/23

R 311.5 million and a further transfer of ECD function to the Department of Education amounting to R 192 million.

Budget reduction per program.

Allocation per program for 2022/23

PROGRAM	2022/23
Administration	227 079
Social Welfare Services	587 476
Children and Families	345 313
Restorative Services	303 840
Development and Research	190 684
Total for Programmes	1 654 392

Northern Cape Province

a) & b)

The Department received a budget cut on the EPWP allocation from R 9,3 million to R 5,2 million. The reduction was mostly in Programme 5.

Western Cape

a) The Western Cape DSD has the following budget cuts for the 2022/23 financial year.

Programmes	(R’000)
Administration	1,658
Social Welfare Services	21,213
Children and Families	(351,604)
Restorative Services	4,629
Development and Research	30,884
Total	(293,220)

The department allocation for 2022/23 was reduced by R 391.531 million for the Early Childhood Development (ECD) function shift from Vote 7: Social Development to Vote 5: Education.

The department reprioritised allocations to mitigate budget shortfalls as follows:

Compensation of Employees (CoE)

The department received an additional R 40 million to provide for the 2022/23 Wage agreement. However, the additional funding will not cover the department’s CoE budget requirements and therefore, the department had to reduce its Recruitment Plan (Filling of vacant posts) by R 25 million to cover the shortfall. This compromise will hamper the filling of critical posts and effective service delivery.

Goods and Services

The departments received an additional R 1 million for digitizing the Non-profit organisation management systems (NPOMS) and R 1 million for the development of a Mobile Client Service System to support Social Workers to deliver more efficient services.

Considering baseline budget reductions, the department implemented additional budget cuts.

• No new staff bursaries can be awarded
• Training budget was reduced
• Maintenance of offices and facilities was reduced
• Austerity measures for Stationery, printing, and office supplies

Transfer Payments and Subsidy Payments

• Non-Profit Institutions

The departments received an additional,

• • R 4.978 million for the Social Sector EPWP Incentive Grant for Provinces.
  • R 3 million for the conversion of Robbie Nurock community health centre into a homeless shelter.
  • R 21.333 for Social Development - Welfare NGOs

The impact of baseline budget reductions will have the following consequences

• • Reductions to payments for Older Persons will lead to the termination of all transport costs to service centres; 14 non-compliant service centres will not be funded, and termination of awareness programmes in old age homes.
  • The reduction of payments to the disabled will lead to a reduction in disability training and awareness programmes. Funds to Disability Forums will be reduced.
  • Funding will have to be reduced to all 33 shelters. There will be a reduction in funding of 40 Families Social Service Organisations’. This will lead to no parent, teenage, father /boys programme can continue in any of the Safety Hotspot areas and placing Families at higher risk.
  • Fewer practitioners in Substance Abuse NPO's will be trained. Reduction in early intervention services. Reduction of 80 youth beds. The reduction of bed space across the other Substance Abuse Centres. Reduction in aftercare services rendered by the NPO sector and more pressure on DSD to render aftercare services. Impact on operational cost and a decrease in student intake for universities
  • Reduction in EPWP Programme
  • Reduction in project budgets for Youth Cafés. No expansion of Youth Cafes.
• Households

No new External Bursaries can be awarded

Capital Assets.

The department received an additional R2 million to enable Mobile connectivity. However, the procurement of IT equipment was reduced and thus affecting the departmental Technology Refresh.

Programme 1: Administration

• • The reduction in COE severely impacted service delivery monitoring and performance of administrative duties.
  • IT refresh was scaled down.

Programme 2: Social Welfare Services

• • The reduction in COE resulted in the downscaling of services and outputs within the department.
  • 2021/22 Adjusted Budget for transfer payments was maintained, thus no increases in post-funding, subsidies, and programmes funding. This resulted in downscaling of services within the NGO sector. Certain service offerings were suspended or terminated.

Programme 3: Children and Families

• Reduction in CoE severely impacts services offered by the department.
• The allocation for 2022/23 was reduced by

R 391.531 million for the Early Childhood Development (ECD) function shift from Vote 7: Social Development to Vote 5: Education.

Programme 4: Restorative Services

• The reduction in CoE severely impacted services offered at facilities. Norms and standards ratio for a child vs care worker was not met and increased absenteeism.
• 2021/22 Adjusted Budget for transfer payments was maintained, thus no increases in post-funding, subsidies, and programmes funding. This resulted in downscaling of services within the NGO sector. Certain service offerings were suspended or terminated.

Programme 5: Restorative Services

• The reduction in CoE severely impacted services offered by the Department.
• Ability to respond to disasters and humanitarian relief was severely impacted. There was limited ability to address food insecurity where SASSA didn't have additional funding.

Reply:

Background

The NDA provide grant funding and capacity building interventions to CSOs. These interventions are to ensure that CSOs projects have impact to the communities they are serving.

a) In the 2021-2022 financial year, the NDA supported and funded 414 CSOs projects covering all nine provinces.

b) The NDA programmes implemented in the 2021-2022 financial year were in the following programmatic areas:

(i) Grant funding programme which provides grants to CSOs for funding their projects in food security, garment making including school uniforms, animal production including poultry and piggery, bricks making, tea production, bakery, Early childhood development and social services. This programmes links CSOs products to various markets to ensure that they achieve levels of development that can sustain themselves in the medium to long term.

(ii) Capacity Building programme provides skills development through training, mentoring and support to their institutional capacities and technical skills to better manage the CSOs and produce quality products for different markets. of CSOs across all districts and local municipalities in nine provinces.

(iii) DSD/ CARA Victim Empowerment Programme: The programme is funded through the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). The overall purpose of the programme is to identify; partner and empower, through grant funding, CSOs in the nine (9) Provinces. Over 300 CSOs have been funded to provide the following services to victims of crime and abuse:

• Family strengthening - to increase family strengths, enhance child development, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.
• Social crime prevention - focusing on the structural drivers of gender based violence.
• Social behaviour changes programs - focusing on boys and men.
• Welfare services - focusing on social protection, maximization of human potential and fostering self-reliance and participation in decision-making.

(iv) Venture Creation Programme: This is a skills development and workplace placement intervention funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The programme recruited 2000 young people to participate in the programme with the aim of training them, place them in work environment and organise them into Co-operatives to use the skills in starting new business ventures for improving their livelihoods and economic participation. They are paid R2 000.00 stipends every month whilst enrolled in the programme for 12 months.

(v) Resource Mobilisation mobilisation programe: this programme seeks to mobilise resources outside the NDA allocation to fund and support CSOs interventions so as to achieve sustainable financial resources. In the 2021/22 financial year, the NDA raised R47 million towards this programme from government and private sectors.

c) The number of employment opportunities created during the financial year through the grant funding programme was 546.

Reply:

REPLY: EASTERN CAPE

a) The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development is currently having a challenge on increasing subsidies due to shrinking fiscus however the Department has started a multi-year funding approach towards NPOs during 2022/2023 Financial Year.

b) The Department has increased subsidies to Child and Youth Care Centres from R2000 to R4000 from 2019/2020 Financial Year from the allocation that was in line with National Department of Social Development directive in order to comply with the National Association of Welfare Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations judgment.

REPLY: FREE STATE

a) The Free State Department of Social Development relies solely on allocations from Treasury. On specific priority programmes earmarked funds are allocated.

Over the 2022 MTEF period, the Free State Department of Social Development has increased budget allocations towards NPO’s in the different programmes as follows:

Programme	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
Social Welfare Services	5%	7%	17%
Children and Families ***	-217%	13%	11%
Restorative Services	3%	0%	0%

• The decrease under Children and Families in 2022/23 is due to the migration of Early Childhood Development to the Department of Basic Education.

• The focus of the department is on Children, Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities.

• For most part, in terms of priority areas, increases are above CPI inflation of 4.2 percent (2022/23), 4.3 percent (2023/24) and 4.5 percent (2024/25) respectively.

b) With regards to the steps taken by the Free State Department of Social Development to comply with the National Association of Welfare Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations judgment, the Department received budget from the Provincial and National Treasury. This allocation was utilised towards increase on Child and Youth Care centres which is a top priority service.

The budget benefited 1 120 children at a R4 000 allocation per child per month. This demonstrates the Departments’ intention for progressive realization of the rights of vulnerable service beneficiaries in line with the court judgement.

Below is the budget allocation towards that purpose:

Source of funding	2020	2021	2022
Provincial Treasury	R10 000 000	R11 000 000	R12 000 000
National Treasury	R12 547 000	R13 237 000	R25 135 000

REPLY: GAUTENG

a) Gauteng DSD has ensured that any NPI budget increment received from Provincial Treasury is allocated to the NPO sector as subsidy increases to keep up with inflation. Therefore, Gauteng DSD has been implementing inflationary increases for the past five years ranging from 3% to 6% on an annual basis.

b) In terms of the steps that the Gauteng DSD has taken since 2020 to comply with the National Association of Welfare Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations judgment, the Department has substantially increased the subsidy rates of Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) from the 2019/20 financial year with the additional financial resources that were received from the National Treasury.

Thereafter, the Department made annual inflationary increases to the baseline of the 2019/20 financial year to keep up with inflation. In addition, the Department provided each CYCC with additional funding for the appointment of a social worker or auxiliary social worker over and above the capita subsidy rate.

REPLY: KWA-ZULU NATAL

a) The Kwa Zulu-Natal Province received an additional allocation from Treasury during the 2022/23 MTEF which has enabled the Department to give Non-Profit Organisation (NGOs) and increase of 5% to keep up with the cost of living.

b) The KwaZulu-Natal Province has been increased funding of R4000.00 per child per month since 2019/2020 financial year for CYCCs.

REPLY: LIMPOPO

a) Due to budget cut that the department encountered, no increases were effected on subsidies to NPOs, however, as, and when there are savings the department does consider NPOs rendering programmes for increment.

b) With regards to steps taken to comply with the NAWONGO Court judgement, the department has increased the monthly subsidy of CYCC from R2 500 to R4 000 per child per month following the NAWONGO judgement. Within the current financial year (2022-23) the subsidy has increased from R4000 to R4500.

REPLY: MPUMALANGA

a) The Mpumalanga province has submitted a budget request to Provincial Treasury, and an additional R16,6 million was allocated to Transfers during 2022/23.

Noting that the subsidies for social worker posts was last increased during 2013/14, these funds have been earmarked to increase the funding of social work posts.

This has translated into the following increases:

Occupational Category	2021/22 Monthly subsidy	2022/23 Monthly subsidy
Social Worker	R9 056	R16 000
Senior Social Worker	R11 247	R19 000

Due to the limited budget allocation, only organisations employing social workers will benefit from this current increase. Increases could also not be provided to other occupational categories, however these will be prioritised in the outer years, should additional allocation be made available by the Provincial Treasury.

b) During 2019/20, the department increased the unit cost per child per month (through a special allocation received from National Treasury) from R2500 to R3900 per child per month.

In 2020/21 the subsidy was further increased from R3900 to R4000 per child per month.

In 2021/22 the subsidy was increased for children with special needs from R4000 to R4500 per child per month.

In 2021/22 the province further provided additional funding to Child and Youth Care Centres to employ Social Workers as a response to the NAWONGO Court Judgement.

REPLY: NORTH WEST

(a)(b)

Response from North West not yet received at time of submission.

 

REPLY: NORTHERN CAPE

(a)(b)

Increases were given for subsidies to all NGO’s within the allocated budget, as indicated below.

In addition to the increases in subsidy of 5%, the increase for running cost was also included.

SUBSIDISED CATEGORY	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Social Workers	R13 525.18	R14 201.43	R14 911.50
Social Auxiliary Workers	R6 973.10	R7 321.75	R7 687.83
Community Development Workers	R6 655.97	R6 988.76	R7 338.19
Child and Youth Care Workers	R3 500.00	R4 100.00	R4 305.00
Children in CYCC’s	R4 150.00	R4 375.50	R4 480.00

REPLY: WESTERN CAPE

a) Budget restrictions has limited the initiatives by the Western Cape Department of Social Development to increase funding to NGOs. Budgets have unfortunately been cut across various programmes and funding has been sustained for the Victim Empowerment Programme and NGO CYCCs.

b) With regards to steps taken to comply with the NAWONGO Court judgement, the Western Cape Department of Social Development experienced budget constraints, thus limited effect could be given to the Court judgement. However, with NGO CYCCs an all-inclusive unitary fee was introduced since April 2022. All NGO CYCCs are now funded on the same fee structure.

Reply:

1. (a) There have been a number of studies within government over time to determine how SOEs should be governed, and on other matters such as which SOEs are required in current context, and which are not. The President established the Presidential SOE Council (PSEC) to advise him on these and related matters. Based on a review of global experience and work done within the Department, the PSEC recommended the centralised shareholder model, which is reflected in the holding company (Holdco) proposal. A policy paper, draft legislation and other legal documents have been in preparation. Once the governance process has been concluded, other formal processes will be pursued.

(b) It is proposed that the Holdco will be governed by an independent board that will be acting in the fiduciary interests of the company. However, the commercial and development mandates of Holdco will be set by government. Similarly, it is anticipated that Holdco will ensure that the governance of SOEs is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner, with a high degree of professionalism and effectiveness.

2. While evidence of state capture has recently been confirmed concerning the affairs of some but not all SOEs, the development of the shareholder management bill is based on the intent of building a capable state through among others, the adoption of globally recognised practices in managing all SOEs owned by the government of the Republic of South Africa. The work that informs the establishment of the Holding Company predates state capture and is meant to among others, insulate SOEs from undue influence based on insights derived from global best practices.

Reply:

(1) Homelessness is a cross cutting issue which requires a collaborative effort in addressing it. The department of Social Development is amongst the  key departments that are relevant in dealing with Homelessness. The department of social development's role is to provide psychosocial support services, reunification and reintegration programmes to the homelessness. the department further provide alternative care to those children and older person in terms of both the Children's Act 38 of 2005 and the Older Persons' Act 13 of 2006 to those eligible. Currently it is not clear which department is mandated to take a lead in this regard, however the department took an initiative to lead the development of the Policy for Homeless, to this end the department is in a process of finalising the rapid assessment and a diagnostic study on homeless which will be used as a basis for the development of the Policy. The aim of the study is to understand the nature and extent of the problem,  what interventions are available; and the existing policy gaps.  

(2).  Once the department working jointly with other key departments has concluded all the processes which amongst include broad consultation with key stakeholder, presentation to different  cluster departments and holding bi-laterals with the critical departments that have to directly implement the Policy, the Policy will be presented to Cabinet for consideration for approval. 

(3).  Currently there is no national policy on homelessness but each province has put various systems and interventions in place to address the plight of homeless people in their respective provinces.  For example, Gauteng and Western Cape have dedicated shelters and budget to address homelessness.  They also have guidelines and norms and standards for the operation of those shelters.  However, other provinces do not have dedicated shelters and budget, but have repurposed other existing structures in order to address the issues of homeless people.  Provinces are working closely with other key stakeholders such as COGTA, SALGA, SAPS, Home Affairs, Human Settlement, and Health, in order to provide comprehensive integrated services to the homeless. 

Reply:

1. The National Department had only 6 bids not awarded and not 44 as indicated.

The details of the 6 bids are as follows:

Nr	Programme	Description	Amount	Bid	Date	Reasons
1.	Integrated Anti-Substance Abuse	Amendment of Act 70 of 2008 Bill	R 1 200 000	Open bids	May-21	The employment contract for the end-user who of this project expired, as such the project was delayed.
2.	Supply Chain Management	Asset Management Outsourcing	R 5 000 000	Open bids	May-21	Postponed for the next financial year. The project is included in the 2022/23 annual procurement plan.
3.	Office of Director-General	Service provider to audit, review, and develop systems for the entity Government and Oversight	R 10 000 000	Open bids	Apr-21	The project was removed from the procurement plan.
4.	Population and Development	Youth Perception Study on the Socio-Economic, Health, and Gender Impact of COVID-19	R 1 472 000	Open bids	May-21	End-user did not submit to SCM.
5.	Information Technology	Procurement for the installation, configuration, maintenance, and support for an artificial intelligence intrusion detection and prevention solution.	R 1 450 000	Open bids	Apr-21	Cancelled and will not be done in 2021.
6.	Information Technology	Acquisition of a digital signage system for the HSRC.	R 2 500 000	Open bids	Apr-21	Business case was not supported.

2.

(a) & (b)

The 6 bids indicated above did not result in any irregular expenditure. Bids not awarded in the previous financial year and still required by the Department are carried over to the current financial year.

Reply:

​(1)      (a) Postbank Officials

As part of the recruitment and selection process within Postbank, all candidates are vetted before making appointment. This practice is in alignment with Postbank’s HR Recruitment and Selection policy. The vetting of candidates includes:

1) Criminal checks,

2) Credit checks,

3) Qualification verifications,

4) ID checks,

5) SA Citizenship checks

 (b) Contractors

      Postbank has two types of contractors:

• Fixed-term contractors : These contractors undergo the same Recruitment and Selection process described in (1)(a) above
• Contractors provided by Service Provider : All Postbank Service Provider contracts includes a standard clause stating that contractors must be security vetted and approved before working on Postbank IT systems.
   

(2)      A formal criminal case was opened soon after discovery of the incident. The case was opened with the Specialised unit of the Organised Crime unit of the SAPS. The case is currently being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks). Over 600 pages of information gathered by the Postbank internal investigation unit was handed over to the Hawks.

The Hawks criminal investigation is currently ongoing and includes all leads available. Postbank is cooperating fully with the investigators to try and apprehend the suspects. Postbank has a zero tolerance to any fraud or theft and will act against any staff member or any other party found guilty to the full extent of the law.
 

No specific Postbank, SAPO or SASSA staff member is separately investigated. However, all staff that were close to the environment where the incident took place are treated as suspects and are included in the list of staff being investigated by the Hawks. No arrest have been made at this point in time

Reply:

1. a) It is not possible to provide a date when recovery will be made since the loss recovery process runs parallel with the criminal prosecution processes as per Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Act 51 of 1977. As and when the National Prosecution Authority starts prosecution on individual cases, the processes of loss recovery will also unfold. b) SASSA is running parallel processes that is criminal and civil action as stated above to ensure that no civil servant escapes repaying SASSA

• 1. (a)(i) Employee Distribution by Department

Province	Department
Free State	Health- 34	Education-23	Social Development 28	Cooperative Governance 1
KwaZulu-Natal	Agriculture 13	Arts and Culture 5	Cooperative Governance 33	Economic Development 1	Education 38	Health 221	Human Settlement 1	Public Works 2	Social Development 43	Transport 101
Mpumalanga	Agriculture 2	Arts and Sports 3	Economic Development 3	Education 60	Health 103	Human Settlement 1	SOCDEV 12	Cooperative Governance 1
Northern Cape	Agriculture 1	Education 119	Health 3	Road and Public Works 1	Social Development 5
Western Cape	Agriculture 1	Education 27	Health 172	Provincial Treasury 1
Eastern Cape	Sports 1	Health 986	Education 8	Transport 1	Social Development 21	Cooperative Governance 1	Office of the Premier 4
Gauteng	Agriculture 1	Community Safety 1	Education 34	Health 113	Office of the Premier 14	Social Development 14
Limpopo	Transport and Community Safety 1	Social Development 10	Health 6	Education 113	cooperative Governance 1
Northwest	Agriculture4	Arts and Culture2	Community safety1	Cooperative Governance 5	Economic Development 19	Education 368	Health 129	Office of the Premier 2	Provincial Treasury 2	Public Works 2	Social Development 2
National	Agriculture9	Basic Education3	Correctional Service40	Employment and Labour 10	Higher Education 4	Justice 23	Mineral Resources 1	Police 4	Public Service 1	Public Works 9	Small Business 1
	Social Development1	Stats SA8	Trade and Industry 18	Water and Sanitation2

1.  2. (a)(ii) Employee Salary level distribution

Province

Department

Free State   86

Health- 34 SL0 - 8 SL2 – 6 SL3 – 5 SL5 – 7 SL7 – 8

Education-23 SL0 - 1 SL2 – 2 SL3 – 2 SL7 – 17 SL9 – 1

Social Development 28   SL0 - 27 SL3 – 1

Cooperative Governance 1   SL7 - 1

KwaZulu-Natal   758

Agriculture 13   SL0 - 13

Arts and Culture 5 SL0 - 0

Cooperative Governance 33   SL0 – 33

Economic Development 1 SL0 - 1

Education 338   SL0 - 234 SL4 – 1 SL6 – 16 SL7 -  85 SL8 - 2

Health 221   SL0 - 21 SL2 – 29 SL3 – 26 SL4 – 5 SL5 – 127 SL6 – 2 SL7 – 10 SL11 – 1

Human Settlement 1   SL5 - 1

Public Works 2   SL11 - 2

Social Development 43   SL0 - 42 SL8 – 1

Transport 101   SL0 - 100 SL11 - 1

Mpumalanga   185

Agriculture 2   SL0 - 2

Arts Culture and Sports 3   SL0 - 3

Economic Development 3   SL0 - 3

Education 60   SL0 - 7 SL2 – 1 SL6 – 1 SL7 – 51

Health 103   SL0 - 80 SL2 – 8 SL3 – 6 SL4 – 2 SL5 - 1 SL7 – 5 SL11 – 1

Human Settlement 1   SL0 - 1

Social Development 12   SL0 - 11 SL7 – 1

Cooperative Governance 1   SL0 - 0

Northern Cape   129

Agriculture 1   SL0 - 1

Education 119   SL0 - 110 SL3 – 1 SL6 – 3 SL7 – 5

Health 3   SL0 - 1 SL3– 1 SL6 - 1

Road and Public Works 1   SL3 - 1

Social Development  5   SL0 - 2 SL7 – 3

Western Cape   201

Agriculture 1   SL4 - 1

Education 27   SL0 - 5 SL2 – 1 SL3 – 2 SL5 – 1 SL7 – 18

Health 172   SL0 - 3 SL2 – 8 SL3 – 20 SL4 – 119 SL5 – 22

Provincial Treasury 1   SL0 - 1

Eastern Cape   1022

Sports 1   SL0 – 1

Health 986   SL0 - 908 SL2 – 5 SL3 – 26 SL4 – 1 SL5 – 27 SL6 – 2 SL7 – 16 SL9 – 1

Education 8   SL7 – 8

Transport 1   SL0 – 1

Social Development 21   SL0 - 17 SL5 – 1 SL7 – 2 SL12 - 1

Cooperative Governance 1   SL7 – 1

Office of the Premier 4   SL0 – 4

Gauteng   177

Agriculture 1   SL0 - 1

Community Safety 1   SL2- 1

Education 34   SL0 - 4 SL2 - 7 SL5 – 4 SL7 – 19

Health 113   SL0 - 9 SL2 - 35 SL3 – 11 SL4 – 10 SL5 – 31 SL7 – 16 SL11 - 1

Office of the Premier 14   SL0 - 14

Social Development 14   SL0 - 8 SL3 – 4 SL5 – 1 SL11 - 1

Limpopo   131

Transport and Community Safety 1   SL13 – 1

Social Development 10   SL0 - 10

Health 6   SL0 - 1 SL4 – 1 SL7 – 4

Education 113   SL0 - 11 SL6 – 2 SL7 – 99 SL9 - 1

Cooperative Governance 1   SL0 - 1

Northwest   536

Agriculture 4   SL0 - 3 SL2 – 1

Arts and Culture 2   SL0 - 2

Community safety 1   SL5 - 1

Cooperative Governance 5   SL0 - 5

Economic Development 19   SL0 - 19

Education 368   SL0 -  318 SL2 – 11 SL5 – 10 SL6 – 6 SL7 - 23

Health 129   SL0 - 62 SL2 – 6 SL3 – 17 SL4 – 8 SL5 – 15 SL6 – 1 SL7 – 15 SL8 – 2 SL9 – 1 SL10 – 1 SL11 – 1

Office of the Premier 2   SL6 - 2

Prov incialTreasury 2   SL0 - 1 SL8 – 1

Public Worls 2   SL0 - 2

Social Development 2   SL7 - 2

National   134

Agriculture 9   SL0 - 5 SL8 – 2 SL11 - 2

Basic Education 3   SL0 - 3

Correctional Service 40   SL5 - 36 SL7 – 3 SL8 - 1

Employment and Labour 10   SL0 - 1 SL6 – 1 SL8 – 8

Higher Education 4   SL0 - 2 SL2 – 1 SL5 – 1

Justice 23   SL0 - 1 SL4 – 1 SL5 – 16 SL7 – 3 SL10 – 1 SL11 – 1

Mineral Resources 1   SL0 – 1

Police 4   SL0 - 2 SL2 – 1 SL6 – 1

Public Service 1   SL4 - 1

Public Works 9   SL3 – 5 SL5 – 1 SL8 – 1 SL11 - 2

Small Business 1   SL3 - 1

Social Development 1     SL0 – 1

Stats SA 8   SL0 - 8

Trade and Industry 18   SL0 - 18

Water and Sanitation 2   SL2 – 2

1.  2. (b) (i) Breakdown at National level

Province	Department
National	Agric 9	Basic Education 3	Correctional Service 40	Emplyment and Lbour 10	Higher Education 4	Justice 23	Mineral Resources 1	Police 4	Public Service 1	Public Works 9	Small Business 1
	Soc-Dev 1	Stats SA 8	Trade and Indistry 18	Water and Sanitation 2

1. 2.(b)(ii) Breakdown at Provincial level

Province	Department
Free State	Health- 34	Education-23	Social Development 28	Cooperative Governance 1
KwaZulu-Natal	Agriculture 13	Arts and Culture 5	Cooperative Governance 33	Economic Development 1	Education 38	Health 221	Human Settlement 1	Public Works 2	Social Development 43	Transport 101
Mpumalanga	Agriculture 2	Arts and Sports 3	Economic Development 3	Education 60	Health 103	Human Settlement 1	SOCDEV 12	Cooperative Governance 1
Northern Cape	Agriculture 1	Education 119	Health 3	Road and Public Works 1	Social Development 5
Western Cape	Agriculture 1	Education 27	Health 172	Provincial Treasury 1
Eastern Cape	Sports 1	Health 986	Education 8	Transport 1	Social Development 21	Cooperative Governance 1	Office of the Premier 4
Gauteng	Agriculture 1	Community Safety 1	Education 34	Health 113	Office of the Premier 14	Social Development 14
Limpopo	Transport and Community Safety 1	Social Development 10	Health 6	Education 113	Cooperative Governance 1
Northwest	Agriculture 4	Arts and Culture 2	Community safety 1	Cooperative Governance 5	Economic Development 19	Education 368	Health 129	Office of the Premier 2	Provincial Treasury 2	Public Works 2	Social Development 2

1. (3)  (a) The multi-party forum consists of twenty officials (20) made up of the NPA, FIC, SAPS, DPSA and SASSA collectively.
   1. Each organisation is led by a Senior official at the level of Chief Director/ General Manager and lowest position is that of Manager/ Deputy Director as detailed on the table below

 

No	Name	Organisation	Position
1	Adv P D Makroti	NPA (NPS)	Senior State Advocate
2	Adv S Masilela	NPA	Senior State Prosecutor
3	Adv G Mosetha	NPA	Senior State Prosecutor
4	Mable Mshego	FIC	Project Manager
5	Ahzur Mohamed	FIC	Project Manager
6	Celeste Van der Westhuizen	FIC	Project Coordinator
7	Marguerite Carreira	FIC	Project Manager
8	Michelle Maitland	FIC	Project Manager
9	General L Magson	SAPS	General
10	Brigadier DS Tsupa	SAPS	Brigadier
11	Brigadier NM Zondi	SAPS	Brigadier
12	Colonel M Phukubye	SAPS	Colonel
13	Colonel G Zwane	SAPS	Colonel
14	Dr S Hoogenraad-Vermaak	DPSA	Chief Director
15	Isaac Kabini (IK)	DPSA	Director
16	Ronelle Brandt	DPSA	Director
17	Nkosinathi Dlamini	DPSA	Deputy Director
18	Dr Hlengani Bila	SASSA	General Manager
19	Mr James Sambo	SASSA	Manager
20	Mr Majoro Pakkies	SASSA	Manager

Reply:

(a) Total number of officials	(b) (i) Permanent officials	(ii)Contract official
733	699	34

Reply:

I have been advised by SAPO as follows:

a) The Verwoerd Park mail is now being redirected to the Alberton Post Office due to numerous complaints regarding the safety of clients while accessing their mail. The lobby box has a severe vagrant problem. This is despite a fence being erected and several interventions by the South African Police Service – both of which have not deterred the vagrants from returning and utilising the facility.

b) (i) No plans are in place due to lack of funds. The boxes are being relocated to Alberton Post Office lobby that have vacant boxes.

(ii) Same as above.

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:-

(1)(a) The State Information Technology Agency (SITA)

(1)(b) Nil

(2) (a) No

(2) (b) The website is being redesigned.

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:

That the digital migration process commenced in South Africa around 2008 where the necessary Broadcast digital migration (BDM) Policies and Regulations guiding the broadcasters about the process was established. It is quite concerning and appalling that some broadcaster can claim that they are not ready after these many years.

(a) (i) At the time of publication of the question, the Gauteng High Court had extended the date for analogue switch off to 30 June 2022. As of 25 April 2022, 398 251 households were awaiting installations which must be completed by 30 June 2022.

(ii) Majority of South African television households are already receiving television services through satellite platforms. In addition, Digital television is also received through digital television sets which aresold in South Africa since 2012. Between 2016 to date, more than 2.6 million Digital TV sets have been sold.. Furthermore, government has taken measures to ensure South Africans do not unknowingly buy Analogue TV sets.

(b)       Refer to (a) above

Reply:

I have been advised by the USAASA as follows:

The company in question was liquidated in December 2018 and the appointed liquidators are Mr. R. K. Pollock N.O, Mr. R. F. Lutchman N.O. and Ms R Pieters N.O. The directors before liquidation were Mr. Itumeleng Mafoko and Ms. Mabuyi Memela.

Reply:

I was advised by the Department and Entities as follows:

(a)(i) No

(b)(ii) No

(aa-ee) Not applicable

 

Reply:

I have been advised SAPO as follows:

Most post offices in urban areas were closed due to unprofitability, as well as congestion of branches. The few branches closed in rural areas were due to incidents of crime. As a result, a total of 144 branches were closed. Out of the 144 closed branches, 26 were due to non-payment of rentals.

Authorised for submission by

 

MS. NONKQUBELA JORDAN-DYANI

DIRECTOR-GENERAL (ACTING)

DATE:

Recommended/not recommended

__________________________

HON. PHILLY MAPULANE, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

DATE:

Approved/ not approved

________________________________

HON. KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

DATE:

Reply:

I have been advised as follows:-

No, the Department does not have programmes in place to promote cybersecurity training as the Department does not gave a training mandate.

However, the Department identified a gap in cybersecurity skills in the country and at present, partnered with the Bank SETA and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) to develop a National Cybersecurity Skills Framework to guide the training of cybersecurity professionals by the relevant institutions.

Reply:

1. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has made an annual contribution to the running costs of the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Pretoria since 1995. The Department has also since 2018 provided financial assistance for the operational needs of the Embassy of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Pretoria.

2. (a) As stated above, foreign countries which have received financial aid during the specified years to operate in the Republic are the State of Palestine and SADR.

(b) The details of the expenses covered by the financial aid include maintenance of the Palestinian and SADR Embassies in Pretoria. From the 2018/2019 to the 2022/2023 financial year, the Department paid a total of R8 999 932 to the Palestinian Embassy, which is approximately R1,3 million a year. With regard to the SADR Embassy in Pretoria, the Department contributes R1 948 100 annually with a 10% adjustment after every two years.

3. (a) Training payments issued during the above years for foreign delegations coming to the Republic were for DIRCO’s annual International Women’s Programme for Mediation, Negotiation, and Conflict Resolution; and for the Gertrude Shope Annual Dialogue Forum and Capacity-Building Programme for Women Mediators and Peacebuilders.

(b) The expenses for the aforementioned training programmes for foreign delegations have been paid from DIRCO’s budget for training and skills development. These training payments are not regarded as foreign aid. DIRCO procures a service provider to present these training programmes and pays the training fees directly to the service provider. Fees paid to South African training presenters are based on the Department of Public Service and Administration’s (DPSA) guidelines. In addition to the presenter’s fees, the training expenditure also cover subsistence and travel, as well as international air travel for participants. Due to COVID-19, DIRCO’s training programme was held virtually in 2021. Therefore, DIRCO did not incur costs during that year.

4. The Minister will not make a statement on the matter.

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:

a) As per the court judgement, the department needs to conclude 100% installations by 30 June 2022, for those who have registered before 31 October 2021. The numbers that were due for installations by 30 June 2022 as per Gauteng High Court judgement were completed by the set date except for 106, 571 in KZN and Eastern Cape due to the impact of the floods.

b) Applications and approved registrations from 1 November 2021 to 31 March 2022 were 260, 868. Applications received between 1 April 2022 and 30 June 2022 were only 49, 385

(i) At the time of publication of the question, the Gauteng High Court had extended the date for analogue switch off to 30 June 2022.

(ii) There is no way of knowing the number of households watching TV through analogue TV sets and it is for that reason that government called for those watching TV through analogue and qualifying for government assistance to apply for assistance. In addition, Digital television cannot only be watched through STBs but digital television sets which were already sold in South Africa since 2012. Between 2016 to date, more than 2.6 million Digital TV sets have been sold in South Africa and can be deemed majority TV sets in households. Furthermore, government has taken measures to ensure South Africans do not unknowingly buy Analogue TV sets in the market.

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) (ii) The National Development Plan (NDP) recognizes the importance of the stability of the administrative leadership as well as a stable political-administrative interface to the performance of State institutions and to effective service delivery. The initial intent of a 5-year contract was to ensure that there is synergy in terms of the MTEF and MTSF to improve planning and executive of budgets and strategy. Experience has shown that this practice is often not aligned, as HoDs exit the system for various reasons and new ones come in more often than not in the middle of these cycles. Whilst there is a need to understand the importance of the political mandate and translation in a specific department, it goes hand in hand with the administrative responsibilities of the Head of Department. The person appointed into a HoD post should exist beyond the tenure of the political head for purposes of business continuity and delivery of the mandate. Building administrative capacity at DG level should never be about a preference or not for a DG but their capability and their performance and capacity to deliver. Hence any consideration for longer term contracts go hand in hand with the original powers to be given to a HoD and the involvement of the Head of Public Service to support the President in the management of career incidents of Heads of Departments and at Provincial level the DG of the Province supporting the relevant Premier. For the Public Service to deliver on its mandate there needs to be clear lines in terms of the functional roles and responsibilities between the Executive and the Administration for purposes of accountability. Research and extensive consultations have given rise to various recommendations regarding the retention of HoDs. A decision has yet to be reached and discussions around whether the tenure remain five years or be increased are still being held.

(b)(i)(ii) Noting that the PMDS policy for HoDs require annual performance contracting and assessment, it is unlikely that changes to the tenure of HoDs will impact policy changes to the PMDS. It should be noted that measures to improve the performance of HODs and the rest of the Public Service are an ongoing process.

2. Yes, research was conducted. This research considered data of DGs and HoDs from 1994 in terms of the measures that contributed to long lasting contracts, institutional performance and stability. The research conducted presented the option to keep the five (5) year contracts or increase them. Further consultations held on the outcome of the research, encouraged different schools of thought in the context of the research. This gave rise to considering the tenure with the options to retain the 5-year contracts or consider longer contracts with stricter performance reviews. Benchmarking was also conducted on the tenure of HoDs around the world and the impact on service delivery and performance of both the institution and the HODs.

3. (a) The intended impact will potentially improve the stability at the leadership level which will in turn improve the operational and service delivery output of a department.

(b) This is a policy position which is being considered as part of the professionalization of the Public Service, there is no date, at this stage for implementation and a decision regarding the tenure of HoDs needs to still be formalised. The work related to this is in progress and still being consulted.

4. The amendments to the Public Service Act, 1994 consider the proposals made pertaining to same and an Amendment Bill is being proposed with due regard to the functions expected from the Head of Public Service.

End

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:

a) The total raised by the high-demand radio frequency spectrum auction is R14 477 889 512.60.

b) The revenue collected from the auction will go to the national fiscus.

c) Any details on the spending of the amount can be directed to the Minister of Finance.

Reply:

According to the information received from ESKOM

During the recent oversight visit by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to Kusile Power Station, Unit 1 was on forced outage. The unit has since been repaired and it is back on load. The commercial process to establish the Operating and Maintenance Contract with Technical Support that will assist in restoring the reliability of the plant, as well as providing Kusile with skills development, is underway.

Flue Gas Desulphurisation has not yet been installed at Medupi Power Station, and when it is, the learnings from Kusile will be incorporated into the Operating and Maintenance processes.

Reply:

The Ministry does not get involved in labour relations matters at the company level. The company has a Board and an Executive Team that is fully mandated to attend to such matters. The operational matters fall within the ambit of the Executive Team.

Reply:

 (a)

The Minister gives strategic direction to the entity through the Strategic Intent Statement (SIS).  Regulation29.1 of Treasury Regulations, read with section 52 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) requires the entity to develop a Corporate Plan that covers three years and must include, inter alia, strategic objectives and outcomes identified and agreed on by the executive authority (the Minister of Public Enterprises) in the shareholder’s compact. The Shareholder’s Compact (SHC) is a negotiated performance agreement between the Shareholder and the Board.

​The Corporate Plan (which provides a perspective on Eskom’s strategy execution trajectory), drives the delivery of the approved SHC, directing the relevant business areas to deliver the KPI targets that have been compacted on. 

The Corporate Plan is reviewed annually to factor in the SHC decreed KPI targets and to ensure that Eskom’s strategy execution is realigned to the prevailing operating realities. The Corporate Plan was taken through the appropriate Eskom governance process (Exco/Board) for approval and was submitted to the Ministers of Public Enterprises and Finance on 31 March 2022, in accordance with Treasury Regulations 29.1.3.

(b)(i) (ii) 

Some of the information is deemed commercially sensitive, including industry analysis (including suppliers and customers bargaining power over the company and comparisons, benchmarking, competitive advantages, and corporate calendars). The SHC and the Corporate Plan are therefore largely company confidential internal documents. The Corporate Plan, in presentation format, can be shared with external parties, including Parliament, funders, rating agencies and other Government Departments. Given the disclosure of sensitive information that could have a negative impact on the entity, and undertaking to share information with Parliament, I will direct Eskom to share a redacted copy of the Shareholder Compact within the next month. 

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel

1. Out of the 42 current and former employees who won the case in May 2022, three (3) of them had already been paid by the time the Court Order was issued and they failed to inform their attorneys.
2. The amount owed to the remaining 39 claimants differ from person to person (due to some having received part-payment from the date of the Court Order to date), and to that end, Denel has been in discussions with the attorneys representing the claimants with a view to reconcile the records and agree on the legitimate amounts owed to each individual.
3. Part of our discussions with the attorneys includes agreeing on a date by which the amounts can be paid, in view of Denel’s ongoing liquidity challenges.

Reply:

1. Cabinet’s decision to erect a monumental flag and the review of the project as proposed will be referred to Cabinet for further discussion and final decision; this is in the light of the fact that one of the key mandates of the department is to promote nation-building and social cohesion. National symbols, especially the national flag, expresses the country’s common identity, which is pivotal to building a common national identity and advancing unity.
2. The budget of R22 million that was allocated for the monumental flag project over two financial years is within the infrastructure unit of the Department. The Infrastructure Unit is responsible for implementing various infrastructure projects. There is therefore no need for a public participation process to guide the Infrastructure Unit of the Department on the re-allocation of funds to various projects.

Reply:

There were no funds directly spent on PACOFS during the COVID-19 period by the Department.

Budget allocated for COVID relief by the Department since 2020 to date is R808 Million that has so far benefitted 59 224 creatives and athletes.

Out of these initiatives 8355 jobs were retained and 29 211 new jobs created in the sector.

Reply:

1. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is aware that there is still sewage flowing into the Vanderkloof Dam.

An initial investigation conducted by DWS into the Vanderkloof Wastewater Treatment Plant on 20 June 2018 and 13 September 2018 indicated the following:

• There was no operations and maintenance plan for the works.
• There was no security personnel and no protective personal equipment and working tools for the employees on site.
• The maturation ponds were not lined, posing significant threat of pollution to groundwater resources.
• There was no disinfecting of the final effluent before irrigating with onto open land next to the plant.
• The quality of the final effluent discharged into the environment was not being monitored by Renosterberg Local Municipality to comply with the applicable wastewater discharge standards.
• The untreated wastewater was flowing into the Vanderkloof Dam.
• Two (2) pump stations were non-functional and overflowing with raw wastewater into the Vanderkloof Dam; and
• There was no Water Use Authorisation in terms of Section 40 of the National Water Act, for all water use activities that were taking place, namely section 21(e), (f) and (g).

Following the initial investigation, the then Acting Municipal Manager was engaged by the DWS to address the non-compliances on site. When the municipality did not cooperate, a Directive was issued by the DWS to Renosterberg Local Municipality on 05 February 2019. in terms of Sections 19(3) and 53(1).

A follow up inspection was conducted by DWS at the Vanderkloof Wastewater Treatment Plant on 21 May 2019, and no improvements were found. The DWS team found that untreated wastewater was flowing into the nearest stream that flows into Vanderkloof Dam and Orange River. None of the temporary remedial solutions agreed upon were implemented by the municipality to curb pollution of the Vanderkloof dam.

2. The DWS has issued numerous administrative notices in terms of sections 19(3) and 53(1) of the National Water Act to the municipality. This administrative process has been unfolding since 2018 and includes investigations and follow up inspections as well as following up on plans and representations submitted by the Municipality to the department. The administrative action to date includes two (2) written directives and verbal directives issued to the Municipality directing it to stop pollution from its sewer reticulation networks into Vanderkloof dam, and to rectify sewer conveyance and ensure the full treatment of sewer in accordance with norms and standards.

The DWS has approached Renosterberg Local Municipality timeously about the pollution from its Vanderkloof Wastewater Treatment Works, with the latest administrative actions taken against the municipality by the issuance of a second Directive dated 24 March 2022 following recent public complaints and investigations conducted on 23 December 2021 and 18-22 March 2022 of the Vanderkloof Pump stations and Wastewater Treatment Works. From the three recent investigations as stipulated above, the following non-compliance were still observed with no remedial actions taken by the municipality:

• Wastewater discharges from the two (2) pump stations that were overflowing and discharging inside the dam, as a result, promoting the growth of algae blooms and hyacinth (limiting oxygen levels for the flora and fauna aquatic species living inside the dam); and
• Seepage of wastewater from the maturation ponds and the lack of chlorination of final effluent.

Furthermore, a recent site inspection conducted by the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs on 18 May 2022 also concurred with DWS investigations and inspections that the Vanderkloof Wastewater Treatment Works and associated pump stations are causing pollution to groundwater resources and the Vanderkloof Dam.

3. The DWS has intervened by providing funding relief through WSIG (Water Sector Infrastructure Grant) to the Renosterberg LM for the lining of the maturation pond to prevent seepage of wastewater into the Vanderkloof Dam; and a further R4.5 million for the municipality to repair the two (2) non-functional and overflowing pump stations. However, due to the debt that Municipality had with ESKOM, their bank account was frozen as per court interdict in favour of ESKOM recovering outstanding monies owed to it by Renosterberg LM. As a result, no improvements were made to curb the pollution of Vanderkloof Dam and the Orange River.

It should be noted that the municipality has confirmed that the challenges with Eskom have been resolved and that the necessary repairs and maintenance to the sewer reticulation system will commence with the relief funding granted by DWS. The department will closely monitor the implementation of remedial measures and ensure that the requirements of the issued Directives are fully complied with.

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Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

a) The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) does not arrest or charge accused but is involved in the prosecution of accused persons. The South African Police Service will be in a better position to respond to the above question, especially due to admission of guilt options having been determined by the Judiciary on various of these contraventions. Persons charged with offences related to contraventions in terms of the State of Disaster Regulations, may have paid admission of guilt and those dockets would not be sent to NPA – except if the admission of guilt fine may have been set aside in terms of Section 57(7) of the Criminal Procedure Act, Act 51 of 1977.

b) Information extracted from the Electronic Case Management System consists of 265 accused still in court with cases involving 9 489 accused disposed of in court. The total accused that appeared on charges relating to the State of Disaster Regulations amounts to 9 754 accused.

Reply:

1.  A total of 90 Water Service Authorities responsible for 334 wastewater collection and treatment systems that achieved less than 30% during the Department’s Green Drop Assessment were issued with non-compliance letters and instructed to prepare and submit corrective action plans as highlighted in the Green Drop 2022 Report.

a) Six (6) of the Water Services Authorities have complied and submitted action plans which are currently being considered by the Department as follows:

• Joe Morolong LM
• Ndlambe LM
• Koukamma LM
• Hessequa LM
• Alfren Nzo DM
• Langeberg LM

Two (2) Water Service Authorities indicated below have requested and granted additional time to develop action plans:

• • Emthanjeni LM
  • Dipaleseng LM

A further five (5) Water Services Authorities did not provide action plans but requested support from DWS as follows:

• • Dr Beyers Naude LM
  • Siyancuma LM
  • Zululand DM
  • Khai Ma LM
  • Blue Crane LM

b) Seventy-seven (77) Water Services Authorities did not adhere to their non-compliance letter issued.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation engaged the Mvoti Local Municipality regarding the provision of water and sanitation services to the residents of Umvoti in Ward 13. The municipality reported the following:

• A total of 1 603 households, 44% of them are served with water from the Mbuba stand-alone water scheme.
• Water is pumped from the production borehole to supply the 700 households.
• The water service backlog within Ward 13 stands at 56% (903 households) which are currently serviced with water tankers.
• The Mbuba water supply scheme currently runs on a diesel generator, and the municipality has plans to connect the plant to an ESKOM power connection due to huge operational costs.
• Regarding the sanitation services about 96% (1 543 households) are served with VIP sanitation system and there is a backlog of 60 households.

The municipality also indicated that it is currently not able to implement any new projects for water and sanitation services due to funding constraints and over commitment of grant funding for the MTEF period.

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Reply:

The Tlapeng village is currently receiving water supply through tankering and three (3) existing boreholes. The existing boreholes are unable to cater for the demand in the village. The boreholes discharge an average of 2l/s instead 3.5 l/s which is needed to meet the current demand of approximately 2900 people being serviced at RDP standards.

To address the challenge of water provision and meet the demand for water supply the following plans are to be implemented:

• A professional service provider has been appointed to do the investigation and designs for construction project of a bulk water scheme.
• The preliminary design report will be presented to the Department in August 2022 and the final detailed design report will be tabled in September 2022
• Tender documents will be prepared by November 2022
• The plan is to commence with construction in January 2023 for a period of 18 months

Should the study meet all the requirements, the Department of Water and Sanitation will avail funding under the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant for the implementation of Tlapeng Cluster Water Supply System.

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Reply:

a) The table below provides details of the number of Prisoners currently incarcerated in our prisons system as a result of drug related offences:

Region	Remand Detainees	Sentenced	Total
Eastern Cape	132	207	339
Free State, Northern Cape	25	95	120
Gauteng	529	220	749
KwaZulu- Natal	129	109	238
Limpopo,Mpumalanga, North –West	62	187	249
Western Cape	798	642	1440
National	1675	1460	3135

b) The crime description captured on the Integrated Inmate Information Management System (IIMS) is “Dealing and/ possession of prohibited drugs)”

In the legacy Admissions and Release (A&R) system, the crime description is “( Marijuana- Possession of) (Marijuana- Use of), ( Marijuana- Crimes N.M.E), (Marijuana- Trade With), (Proh Habit form Med Use/ Possess)”. It can therefore not be ascertained if Marijuana (cannabis) is the only drug related offence to the exclusion of other drugs offences being captured on the system to make the distinct difference.

Region	Remand Detainees	Sentenced	Total
Eastern Cape	132	179	311
Free State, Northern Cape	25	94	119
Gauteng	529	220	749
KwaZulu- Natal	129	105	234
Limpopo,Mpumalanga, North –West	62	186	248
Western Cape	798	638	1436
National	1675	1422	3097

(c) The information regarding possession of marijuana in quantities is not captured on the Admission and Release System.

END

Reply:

(1) The National Prosecuting Authority has prepared and stands ready to submit the extradition requests to the Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in his capacity as the Central Authority, so that same can be transmitted to the country or countries where the implicated members of the Gupta family are ultimately located. In order for the National Prosecuting Authority to finalize and submit the requests to the Central Authority, the exact whereabouts of these implicated members have to be first established. The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol): National Central Bureau in Pretoria is engaging with their counterparts in foreign countries to obtain the whereabouts of the implicated members of the Gupta family.

(2) The Red Notices have been issued on 5 July 2021, and have been circulated on the Interpol system. This is to ensure that should any of the implicated members of the Gupta family be found within the jurisdiction of an Interpol Member State, they can be arrested provisionally to allow for the extradition request to be transmitted urgently to that particular country.

(3) A Red Notice is a request, published by Interpol at the request of a member country, to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is circulated by Interpol which is the largest police organisation in the world, consisting of 195 member countries. These countries work together to share data related to police investigations. The issuing of a Red Notice assists the requesting country to cast the net wider in the search for the implicated person/s, by having the 194 members of Interpol assist in searching and locating the wanted individual/s. It also flags the wanted individuals, and should they attempt to cross an international border, their location will be known to law enforcement agencies. Therefore, a Red Notice is of great importance and assistance in the extradition process.

Reply:

As regards question (a), I received a letter (the letter), dated 07 April 2022, from the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Honourable Mangwanishe. The letter states that the Committee would embark on oversight visits to courts and correctional centres from 19 April 2022. The letter states further that “[t]he Committee requests that relevant departmental officials be part of the visits”. In response to and in honour of the Committee’s request, I requested the Chief of Staff from the Ministry and other officials from the Department to be part of the visit.

I would like to point out that the Chief of Staff and the other officials from the Department were not part of the Committee’s oversight visit so as to interfere with, take over or usurp the Committee’s functions during the visit. But, as indicated above, were there in response to the Committee’s invitation. It is not only unfair, but also unjustifiable to suggest that the Chief of Staff’s presence during the oversight visit was a “flagrant blurring of the lines between legislative oversight and Executive encroaching on territory it has no legitimate interest in”.

To the best of my knowledge, the Chief of Staff did not interfere or encroach on, or influence any one or structure that was visited by the Committee. I wish to point out that the Chief of Staff has, following the oversight visit, provided me with valuable feedback on how we, as a Department and Ministry, can improve services delivery based on the issues highlighted by the Committee.

As regards question (b), the question assumes that the Chief of Staff violated the separation of powers. This is incorrect because, as indicated above, the Chief of Staff’s presence was in response to and in honour of the invitation from the Chairperson of the Committee. To the best of my knowledge, there are no functions of the Committee that the Chief of Staff usurped or took over thereby encroaching on the principles of the separation of powers. There is no failure that can be attributed to me that I failed to ensure proper separation of powers because there was no encroachment on the separation of powers by the Chief of Staff’s presence during the Committee’s oversight visit.

END

Reply:

Attached please find the response. 

Reply:

(1)(a)&(b) The table below reflects the recommended capacity and actual occupancy levels as at 01 June 2022.

Correctional Centre	Approved Bed Space	Inmate Population	Occupancy Levels	Overcrowding Levels
Eastern Cape	12 431	20 265	163.02%	63.02%
Gauteng	23 630	34 405	145.60%	45.60%
KwaZulu-Natal	18 117	22 414	123.72%	23.72%
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	18 265	22 190	121.49%	21.49%
Free State & Northern Cape	18 547	19 031	102.61%	2.61%
Western Cape	17 814	26 633	149.51%	49.51%
TOTAL	108 804	14 4938	133.21%	33.21%

(2) The table below reflects the overcrowding levels per correctional facility as at 01 June 2022.

Correctional Centre	Approved Bed Space	Inmate Population	Occupancy Levels	Overcrowding Levels
Queenstown	114	397	348.25%	248.25%
Bizana	48	166	345.83%	245.83%
Mount Frere	39	134	343.59%	243.59%
Allandale	293	920	313.99%	213.99%
Lusikisiki	126	377	299.21%	199.21%
Flagstaff	45	134	297.78%	197.78%
King William's Town	281	787	280.07%	180.07%
Thohoyandou Med B	225	616	273.78%	173.78%
Burgersdorp	176	471	267.61%	167.61%
George	510	1257	246.47%	146.47%
Worcester Males	402	955	237.56%	137.56%
Knysna	165	386	233.94%	133.94%
Mount Fletcher	107	250	233.64%	133.64%
Johannesburg Med A	2468	5703	231.08%	131.08%
Oudtshoorn Medium A	281	632	224.91%	124.91%
Pollsmoor Females	253	568	224.51%	124.51%
Oudtshoorn Medium B	54	121	224.07%	124.07%
Butterworth	134	299	223.13%	123.13%
Beaufort-West	73	161	220.55%	120.55%
Mosselbaai	290	624	215.17%	115.17%
Odendaalsrus	293	616	210.24%	110.24%
Makhado	303	629	207.59%	107.59%
PMB Med A	1493	3072	205.76%	105.76%
Prince Albert	42	86	204.76%	104.76%
Barkly-East	62	126	203.23%	103.23%
Modomolle	318	646	203.14%	103.14%
Grootvlei A	806	1630	202.23%	102.23%
Ladysmith	307	619	201.63%	101.63%
East London Med. B	477	957	200.63%	100.63%
Mount Ayliff	68	136	200.00%	100.00%
Middledrift	565	1124	198.94%	98.94%
Willowvale	43	85	197.67%	97.67%
Robertson	182	359	197.25%	97.25%
Mdantsane	635	1237	194.80%	94.80%
Mthatha Medium	640	1246	194.69%	94.69%
Caledon	194	375	193.30%	93.30%
Vereeniging	637	1217	191.05%	91.05%
Engcobo	74	140	189.19%	89.19%
Johannesburg Med B	1499	2819	188.06%	88.06%
Polokwane	501	921	183.83%	83.83%
St Albans Med.A	733	1345	183.49%	83.49%
Worcester Females	114	208	182.46%	82.46%
Malmesbury	158	288	182.28%	82.28%
Springbok	69	125	181.16%	81.16%
Nqgeleni	84	152	180.95%	80.95%
Krugersdorp	1466	2641	180.15%	80.15%
Uniondale	37	66	178.38%	78.38%
Pollsmoor Medium B	648	1151	177.62%	77.62%
Dwarsrivier	185	325	175.68%	75.68%
Piet Retief	239	417	174.48%	74.48%
Graaff-Reinet	68	118	173.53%	73.53%
Ladismith	49	85	173.47%	73.47%
Waterval Med B	278	482	173.38%	73.38%
Mqanduli	66	112	169.70%	69.70%
Kgoši Mampuru II Female	132	224	169.70%	69.70%
Pollsmoor	1512	2565	169.64%	69.64%
Kranskop	59	100	169.49%	69.49%
Barberton Max	780	1311	168.08%	68.08%
Sada	269	452	168.03%	68.03%
East London Med. A	797	1333	167.25%	67.25%
Brandvlei Medium C	303	506	167.00%	67.00%
Harrismith	209	349	166.99%	66.99%
Greytown	57	95	166.67%	66.67%
Bethlehem	180	298	165.56%	65.56%
Lady Frere	50	82	164.00%	64.00%
Mthatha Remand	679	1113	163.92%	63.92%
Stellenbosch	53	86	162.26%	62.26%
St Albans Max.	1225	1970	160.82%	60.82%
Goodwood	1653	2658	160.80%	60.80%
Buffeljagsrivier	214	344	160.75%	60.75%
Helderstroom Med A	636	1019	160.22%	60.22%
Modderbee	2309	3661	158.55%	58.55%
Durban Med B	1936	3059	158.01%	58.01%
Idutywa	92	145	157.61%	57.61%
Nqamakwe	51	79	154.90%	54.90%
Sasolburg	302	467	154.64%	54.64%
Drakenstein Medium A	458	706	154.15%	54.15%
Helderstroom Max	534	820	153.56%	53.56%
Durban Med C	552	845	153.08%	53.08%
Colesberg	159	243	152.83%	52.83%
Hopetown	40	61	152.50%	52.50%
Durban Female	230	349	151.74%	51.74%
Middelburg	333	505	151.65%	51.65%
Klerksdorp	930	1392	149.68%	49.68%
Mogwase	396	590	148.99%	48.99%
Dundee	82	122	148.78%	48.78%
Johannesburg Female	711	1055	148.38%	48.38%
Victoria West	65	96	147.69%	47.69%
Frankfort	58	85	146.55%	46.55%
Richmond	41	60	146.34%	46.34%
Grahamstown	371	539	145.28%	45.28%
St Albans Med.B	963	1393	144.65%	44.65%
Vryheid	244	351	143.85%	43.85%
Bethal	765	1100	143.79%	43.79%
Glencoe	497	714	143.66%	43.66%
Leeuwkop Max	688	984	143.02%	43.02%
Drakenstein Maximum	383	543	141.78%	41.78%
Leeuwkop Med C	601	850	141.43%	41.43%
Calvinia	29	41	141.38%	41.38%
Baviaanspoort Max	360	508	141.11%	41.11%
Malmesbury Medium A	1080	1521	140.83%	40.83%
Ncome Med A	534	740	138.58%	38.58%
Obiqua	223	309	138.57%	38.57%
Rooigrond Med A	645	877	135.97%	35.97%
Potchefstroom	557	752	135.01%	35.01%
Rooigrond Med B	266	357	134.21%	34.21%
Kgoši Mampuru II Central	1514	2029	134.02%	34.02%
Dodrecht	103	138	133.98%	33.98%
Staart Van Paardeberg	231	305	132.03%	32.03%
Groenpunt Max	1326	1748	131.83%	31.83%
Witbank	1312	1724	131.40%	31.40%
Middleburg	287	377	131.36%	31.36%
Johannesburg Med C	307	402	130.94%	30.94%
Wolmaranstad	101	132	130.69%	30.69%
Lichtenburg	188	245	130.32%	30.32%
Nelspruit	757	986	130.25%	30.25%
Matatiele	70	91	130.00%	30.00%
Durban Med A	2202	2859	129.84%	29.84%
Pietermaritzburg Med B	316	410	129.75%	29.75%
Odi	861	1116	129.62%	29.62%
Barberton Med B	606	783	129.21%	29.21%
Uthrect	38	49	128.95%	28.95%
Baviaanspoort Med	649	836	128.81%	28.81%
Ncome Med B	724	931	128.59%	28.59%
Mtunzini	84	108	128.57%	28.57%
Boksburg Med A	2062	2646	128.32%	28.32%
Emthonjeni	192	246	128.13%	28.13%
Volkrust	202	258	127.72%	27.72%
Riebeek-West	185	236	127.57%	27.57%
Pollsmoor Medium A	1028	1309	127.33%	27.33%
Zonderwater Med A	825	1047	126.91%	26.91%
Stutterheim	42	53	126.19%	26.19%
Heidelberg Male	517	651	125.92%	25.92%
Christiana	89	112	125.84%	25.84%
Somerset-East	123	153	124.39%	24.39%
Nongoma	46	57	123.91%	23.91%
Zonderwater Med B	770	954	123.90%	23.90%
Empangeni	276	340	123.19%	23.19%
Ixopo	79	97	122.78%	22.78%
Melmoth	44	54	122.73%	22.73%
Drakenstein Medium B	402	493	122.64%	22.64%
Kgoši Mampuru Ii Local	2304	2819	122.35%	22.35%
Female & Youth	140	171	122.14%	22.14%
Zeerust	132	161	121.97%	21.97%
Vanrhynsdorp	556	678	121.94%	21.94%
Atteridgeville	546	664	121.61%	21.61%
Ingwavuma	71	86	121.13%	21.13%
Bergville	24	29	120.83%	20.83%
Kokstad Med	345	416	120.58%	20.58%
Heilbron	54	65	120.37%	20.37%
Kirkwood	707	850	120.23%	20.23%
Sterkspruit	65	78	120.00%	20.00%
Eshowe	459	546	118.95%	18.95%
Ermelo	498	585	117.47%	17.47%
Kuruman	325	381	117.23%	17.23%
Nkandla	36	42	116.67%	16.67%
Cradock	301	350	116.28%	16.28%
Grootvlei B	237	272	114.77%	14.77%
Bizza Makhate D	64	73	114.06%	14.06%
Lindley	36	41	113.89%	13.89%
New Hanover	110	125	113.64%	13.64%
Belfast	53	60	113.21%	13.21%
Lydenburg	82	92	112.20%	12.20%
Boksburg Juveniles	271	301	111.07%	11.07%
Bizza Makhate B	533	588	110.32%	10.32%
Newcastle	254	280	110.24%	10.24%
Jansenville	34	37	108.82%	8.82%
Nigel	310	336	108.39%	8.39%
Waterval Med A	608	656	107.89%	7.89%
Qalakabusha	1638	1767	107.88%	7.88%
De Aar Male	268	287	107.09%	7.09%
Fauresmith	29	31	106.90%	6.90%
Maphumulo	44	47	106.82%	6.82%
Sevontein	823	879	106.80%	6.80%
Thohoyandou Med A	685	722	105.40%	5.40%
Kimberley	795	831	104.53%	4.53%
Elliotdale	49	51	104.08%	4.08%
Estcourt	513	529	103.12%	3.12%
Voorberg Medium B	1423	1448	101.76%	1.76%
Upington	744	757	101.75%	1.75%
Stanger	81	82	101.23%	1.23%
Kutama Sinthumule	3024	3024	100.00%	0.00%
Ladybrand	32	32	100.00%	0.00%
Mangaung	2928	2928	100.00%	0.00%
Hawequa	202	202	100.00%	0.00%
Warmbokkeveld	499	489	98.00%	-2.00%
Rustenburg Med A	555	534	96.22%	-3.78%
Boshof	44	42	95.45%	-4.55%
Kgoši Mampuru II Max	294	280	95.24%	-4.76%
Voorberg Medium A	493	462	93.71%	-6.29%
Venterburg	192	179	93.23%	-6.77%
Groenpunt Med	683	630	92.24%	-7.76%
Port Shepstone	180	166	92.22%	-7.78%
Virginia	375	343	91.47%	-8.53%
Tzaneen	501	455	90.82%	-9.18%
Losperfontein	792	719	90.78%	-9.22%
Patensie	417	377	90.41%	-9.59%
Bizza Makhate A	1069	959	89.71%	-10.29%
Leeuwkop Med B Juvenile	673	597	88.71%	-11.29%
Bethulie	44	39	88.64%	-11.36%
Senekal	120	106	88.33%	-11.67%
East London Med. C	280	244	87.14%	-12.86%
Bizza Makhate C	191	166	86.91%	-13.09%
Winburg	141	122	86.52%	-13.48%
Leeuwkop Med A	954	818	85.74%	-14.26%
Tabankulu	46	38	82.61%	-17.39%
Hennenman	230	185	80.43%	-19.57%
Barberton Town	365	293	80.27%	-19.73%
Douglas	279	219	78.49%	-21.51%
Ekuseni	90	69	76.67%	-23.33%
Hoopstad	72	55	76.39%	-23.61%
Brandvlei Maximum (Medium)	981	747	76.15%	-23.85%
Pollsmoor Medium C	522	389	74.52%	-25.48%
Barkley West	58	41	70.69%	-29.31%
Umzinto	287	202	70.38%	-29.62%
Edenburg	55	38	69.09%	-30.91%
Brandvlei Youth	284	190	66.90%	-33.10%
Rustenburg Med B	152	101	66.45%	-33.55%
Zastron	55	36	65.45%	-34.55%
Groenpunt Youth	238	152	63.87%	-36.13%
Ficksburg	69	44	63.77%	-36.23%
Carolina	110	70	63.64%	-36.36%
Port Elizabeth	665	420	63.16%	-36.84%
Devon	347	218	62.82%	-37.18%
Standerton	1462	918	62.79%	-37.21%
Mafikeng	100	60	60.00%	-40.00%
Goedemoed A	696	409	58.76%	-41.24%
Cofimvaba	45	26	57.78%	-42.22%
Tswelopele	2930	1628	55.56%	-44.44%
Pomeroy	78	43	55.13%	-44.87%
Wepener	105	56	53.33%	-46.67%
Goedemoed B	546	280	51.28%	-48.72%
Ebongweni	1536	618	40.23%	-59.77%
Durban Youth	732	269	36.75%	-63.25%
Fort Beaufort	139	46	33.09%	-66.91%
Umzimkulu	60	19	31.67%	68.33%
Brandfort	125	21	16.80%	-83.20%
Barberton Med A	147	0	0.00%	-100.00%
Geluk	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Brits	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Parys	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Brandvlei Maximum	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Swellendam	0	0	0.00%	0.00%

3. The ratio of staff members of the Department of Correctional Services, excluding administrative staff, to prisoners in all prison facilities is 4,47 which is approximately 1: 4. The Department has a total of 30 630 filled Security personnel posts with 1 762 vacancies, the total number of posts is 32 392 with an inmate population of 144 663. The breakdown per region is as follows:

Region	Inmate Population	Total No. of Posts	Ratio
Eastern Cape	20 166	4 445	4,54
Free State & Northern Cape	19 068	4 554	4,19
Gauteng	34 289	6 972	4,92
KwaZulu-Natal	22 473	5 789	3,88
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	22 224	4 908	4,53
Western Cape	26 443	5 724	4,62
TOTAL	144 663	32 392	4,47

END

Reply:

The following advisory panels, advisory councils, committees and commissions have been established since 2018:

Panel, Council, Committee or Commission	Responsible department
1. Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution	Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services
2. Presidential Economic Advisory Council	National Treasury
3. Presidential Advisory Council on Investment	Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
4. Presidential Commission on Climate Change	Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
5. Presidential State Owned Enterprises Council	Department of Public Enterprises
6. Working Group on Disability	Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

The following have been closed on completion of final reports:

Panel, council or committee	Responsible department
1. Commission of Inquiry into the South African Revenue Service	Department of Justice and Correctional Services
2. Commission of Inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation	Department of Justice and Correctional Services
3. High-Level Review Panel on the State Security Agency	State Security Agency
4. Expert Panel on July 2021 Unrest	The Presidency

Secretariat support for panels and councils, together with responsibility for their costs, resides with the relevant lead departments.

The information regarding the establishment of panels, advisory councils and commissions is in the public domain as there are media releases that indicate the names of the appointees, dates of appointment and terms of reference on the Presidency website.

The costs incurred by the Presidency with respect to the Expert Panel on the July 2021 Unrest was R530,231. Details on the costs incurred for the other bodies may be sourced from the relevant departments.

Reply:

1. (a) On the 27th of October 2018, the Department of Human Settlements appointed twenty-seven (27) persons as members of POLERT for a period of two (2), 13 Legal Experts, and 14 Policy Experts.

2. The terms of reference for POLERT were to assist the Department with, inter alia, the following:

a) To review the housing and human settlements macro policies such as the White Paper Housing, 1994, the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements, 2004 (otherwise known as the ‘Breaking New Ground’ [BNG], including with International Treaties and Commitments such as the New Urban Agenda, and to further analyse the implications against other approved policies in the human settlements space, and to make recommendations for consideration by the Minister of Human Settlements;

b) To review the housing and human settlements legislation, and existing court judgments (jurisprudence), with a view to analysing the implications thereof and make appropriate recommendations for consideration by the Minister of Human Settlements, and

3. The outcome of the work carried out by POLERT includes, among others: The process of the incremental review of the Draft Housing and Human Settlements White Paper, 2016; Research and literature review, and the development of macro policy frameworks toward a Policy Foundation for Housing and Human Settlements White Paper, including the development of policy programmes for a new Human Settlements Code in at least four (4) critical themed areas - Integrated Planning and Residential Development, Informal Settlements Upgrading, Social Housing Interventions, and Affordable Housing.

These are underpinned by a macro policy framework on Human Settlements Land Assembly, Land Release (Site and Service) as well as the Individual Voucher Subsidy Programme, the programme for the removal of asbestos in homes, diagnostic investigation, and the empowerment of designated groups.

Over and above the initial assignment, some POLERT members were extensively utilised to formulate a Human Settlements response to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent declaration of the State of Disaster and Lockdown for a sector that was hugely impacted upon, as part of the entire construction industry, by the pandemic.

4. The initial operational budget that was set aside for POLERT was R4 million for a period of two (2) years. An amount of R3 530 416, 40 was paid to POLERT members, with an additional amount of R187 520,00 for traveling costs. In all, a total of R3 717 936,40 was expended on POLERT.

5. Yes, POLERT has been terminated due to term limits. The initial contract period was two (2) years, after which an extension for a period of one (1) year was granted until the end of October 2021. Currently, there are no POLERT members and there are no contractual appointments under POLERT. (a) Yes, there will be a replacement and a procurement process to this effect has commenced (b) the goal will be to conclude the development of a Human Settlements Policy Foundation i.e. the White Paper on Human Settlements as well as the new Human Settlements Code.