Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

There are established protocols and procedures to deal with any and all disputes within the sport and recreation sector, starting with internal processes with the affected organizations, escalating to intervention by SASCOC and thereafter the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture.

All disputes will be dealt with in accordance with the process once they reach the office of the Minister.

All disputes are dealt with according to section 13, 5b of the National Sport and Recreation Act.

Reply:

Below is the prioritization approach that will be used by the KwaZulu- Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces in response to the recent disasters:

• Families with deceased members living in shelters/mass care centers;
• Families in shelters with nowhere to go;
• The elderly and vulnerable groups;
• Families that have land but no shelter;

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements (KZNDHS) has during the 2021/2022 financial year, applied for the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant amounting to R102 590 072. This was spent on the construction of 1 592 Temporary Residential Units (TRUs).

For the 2022/23 financial year and in response to the April disaster the National Department transferred R992 million (R733 HSDG and R189 ISUPG) from the current year allocations. The Province reported that out of the transferred funds, it prioritised R515.9 million (HSDG=R367 and ISUPG=R148.96) to respond to the disaster.

The name of the contractors awarded to construct Temporary Residential Units in the Province are:

1. Stedone Developments
2. Stefa Construction
3. Zingaka Mvelo Projects
4. Chushisanani Mzansi
5. Isiboniso Project Management
6. RH Construction
7. Uphenyo Trading; and
8. Miands Trading Business Services

A total of 4 983 Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) will be provided to households affected by recent floods in the Province. The TRUs will be supplied to all families affected by floods across 10 Districts, including the most affected Districts and the Metro (i.e eThekhwini Metro, Ugu and ILembe).

The Province together with other stakeholders are planning to complete the process of accommodating households affected by floods as soon as possible, however, this will also depend on the availability of materials from suppliers, site accessibility for material transportation to rural areas, and the identification and planning process on alternative sites.

Reply:

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) together with the Mopani District Municipality are in the process of implementing a number of interventions to ensure that communities living in the Greater Giyani Local Municipality have access to water. The projects entail refurbishment of Giyani water treatment works required to treat surface water from the Nsami Dam and to convey adequate and sustainable potable water to Giyani Town and the surrounding 55 villages. The projects progress is as follows

PRPOJECT NAME	DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT	OVERALL CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS IN %	ANTICIPATED COMPLETION DATE
Giyani water services – reticulation Funded by the Mopani District Municipality (MDM)	Refurbishment/construction of service reservoirs in 55 villages Refurbishment/construction of reticulation in 55 villages around Giyani Installation of metered yard connections for revenue enhancement & demand management	0% it is at planning state	TBC
Giyani water treatment works refurbishment Funded by MDM	Minor refurbishment of the operational 30Ml/d WTW components Major refurbishment of non-operational 6,5Ml/d WTW components	0% it is at planning state	September 2023
Giyani water services – bulk distribution Funded by DWS	Construction of eight (8) bulk pipelines to provide water to 55 villages (325 km) Repairs and refurbishments of existing water and sanitation infrastructure	53%	December 2022
Nandoni to Nsami pipeline Funded by DWS	Construction of 49km raw water pipeline to Giyani	40%	September 2023

The MDM has 346 newly drilled boreholes that require electrification. Applications for electrification of boreholes have been submitted to ESKOM. The district municipality indicated that electrical installations will be done in batches of 25 boreholes due to budget constraints.

Bulk water from the Nondweni water treatment works is reaching all the villages. The Mopani District Municipality is also constructing a booster pump station to ensure that water reaches the furthest point especially the Mayephu area. The booster pump station is 80% complete.

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Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

RIM has responded in the following manner:

1 (a) RIM received medical claims from the injured parties. The medical claims were submitted to RIM’s insurance provider for assessment through the Risk Manager’s office in order for any due pay-out to be effected.

b) The full incident investigation was conducted and concluded internally. The bus road-worthiness was the only external investigation conducted by the public transport and traffic department and the bus was found to have been fit for purpose at the time of the accident – a report was issued. The incident was also reported to SAPS and a case number was issued.

2) All the actions were implemented with the exception of the following which are in progress:

• RIM has a Substance and Alcohol Abuse Policy in place and enforcement of this policy will be on a shift basis to all relevant staff.
  • Breathalysers have been received and calibrated. SHEQ has provided training on the Policy for the security and medics. The Policy will as such be fully implemented once other relevant employees have gone through the workshop.
• The Operations staff are to receive refresher training on the incident management procedure.

Training material for the policy workshop and refresher course on incident management has been prepared and training dates are set to be scheduled during quarter 1 of the 2022/2023 financial period.

3) An effective communication platform is available. Tour schedules are shared daily on various RIM platforms to ensure everyone receives them timeously. The event schedules are also shared via email to all the relevant parties. Management also monitor and evaluate operating procedures regularly to adapt to evolving conditions.

 

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

(1)(a) The Department issued a verbal directive to Kromdraai Colliery during the site investigation on 17 February 2022 and issued a written directive confirming the verbal directive on 21 February 2022.

(1)(b) The directive issued instructed Kromdraai Mine to do the following:

• Take all reasonable measures to contain and minimise the effects of the incident.
• Undertake clean-up procedures.
• Remedy the effects of the incident.
• Appoint a suitably qualified environmental consultant to compile a rehabilitation plan for all the affected areas within ten (10) days upon receipt of this directive, which must be submitted to the Department for recommendations. The rehabilitation plan must entail amongst the others, the nature and extent of the impacts that the incident posed or may pose on the water resource and measures that will be implemented to remediate or mitigate the impacts with clear timeframes and descriptions of how and when each remedial/mitigation action will be implemented.
• Implement all the recommendations contained in the rehabilitation plan and rehabilitate the areas affected by the water use activities within thirty (30) days of Departmental approval of the rehabilitation plan.

(2) The department issued a directive in terms of Section 20(4)(d) of the National Water Act,1998 (Act No 36 of 1998) to Kromdraai Colliery, dated 21 February 2022.

(3) A copy of the directive is attached as Annexure A.

(4) A criminal case was opened with Vosman Police Station in eMalahleni, case number 299/03/2022. Both internal and external witnesses have made their statements in connection with the pollution incident.

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Reply:

1. Yes, the delegations for human resource practices were reviewed. The amendments to the Public Service Act, 1994 consider the proposals made pertaining to same and an Amendment Bill is being proposed to vest all administrative powers directly with heads of department while retaining strategic powers with executive authorities.

2. The procedural matters relating to the appointment of heads of department is contained in the Public Service Regulations, 2016. The relevant executive authority currently chairs the selection committee in respect of the particular head of department and the recommendation of the candidate, in respect of a national head of department, is submitted to the Cabinet before appointment by the President. The President may delegate the authority to appoint the national head of department to the Deputy President or a Minister in terms of section 42A(3).

End

Reply:

Lomanyaneng Ward 5 is currently provided with water from the Mahikeng Water Treatment Works and from seven (7) boreholes situated in Majemantsho Village. The current water supply of 5 Ml/d does not meet the demand of 7Ml/d in the area.

According to the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality (DM), which is a designated Water Service Authority (WSA), funding of R 55 million was made available for ground water augmentation project in Lomanyaneng. The project scope includes drilling and equipping of nine (9) boreholes and refurbishment of a booster pump station. Upon completion of this project, it is expected that additional 2.4 Ml/d will be supplied into the system. The project commenced in November 2021 and is expected to be completed in July 2022.

Furthermore, the Ngaka Modiri Molema DM is currently implementing a Bulk Water Supply Project in ward 31 at Dithakong Village which will also augment the supply to both Ward 35 and 5 once commissioned.

 

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Reply:

1(a) There is no Committee appointed by the Board of Mhlathuze Water to investigate allegations against the office bearer referred to. The Board cannot appoint a committee to investigate its own affairs. Such powers rest with the Minister of Water and Sanitation. The Ministry has performed a preliminary fact-finding exercise regarding this matter. The department’s Internal Audit will investigate the allegations levelled against the office bearer.

(2) Up until such time that the process outlined above has been concluded it would be premature to speculate on what action the Minister might take.

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Reply:

a) Since the inception of the course in 2016, of just over 9 800 members of the senior management services, 1,963 senior managers enrolled and successfully completed the course.

b) The following tables reflect the breakdown of this figure:

Period	National	Provincial	TOTAL
1 Apr 2016 to 31 March 2017	12	38	50
1 Apr 2017 to 31 March 2018	96	66	162
1 Apr 2018 to 31 March 2019	31	422	453
1 Apr 2019 to 31 March 2020	83	37	120
1 Apr 2020 to 31 March 2021	380	201	581
1 Apr 2021 to 31 March 2022*	300	297	597
TOTAL	902	1,061	1,963

* Statistics for the 2021/2022 financial year has not yet been audited

National Departments	TOTAL 902
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	4
Civilian Secretariat for Police	3
Communications	2
Cooperative Governance	1
Correctional Services	11
Defence	1
Economic Development	4
Energy	1
Environmental Affairs	3
GCIS	49
Health	9
Higher Education	7
Home Affairs	74
Independent Police Investigative Directorate	2
International Relations and Cooperation	4
Justice and Constitutional Development	31
Labour	81
Military Veterans	1
National School of Government	19
National Treasury	131
Office of the Chief Justice	16
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation	3
The Presidency	10
Public Enterprises	3
Public Service and Administration	15
Public Works	14
Rural Development and Land Reform	15
Science and Technology	11
Small Business Development	1
Social Development	44
South African Police Service	7
South African Revenue Services	1
Statistics South Africa	128
Telecommunications and Postal Services	2
Tourism	2
Trade and Industry	5
Traditional Affairs	1
Transport	3
Water and Sanitation	82
Women	2
Not Specified	99

Provincial Government	TOTAL 1,061
Eastern Cape	81
Free State	32
Gauteng	475
KZN	94
Limpopo	89
Mpumalanga	37
North-West	79
Northern Cape	26
Western Cape	75
Not Specified	72

Gender	National	Provincial
Male	440	548
Female	461	513
Not Specified	1	0
TOTAL	902	1,061

Salary Level	National	Provincial
13	686	787
14	176	201
15	29	53
16	11	20
TOTAL	902	1,061

Race	National	Provincial
African	602	790
Coloured	49	76
Indian/Asian	82	80
White	163	110
Not Specified	6	5
TOTAL	902	1,061

1. The below figures show a reasonable increase in the participation of officials below senior management level on the course:

Non-SMS members
Period	National	Provincial	TOTAL
1 Apr 2016 to 31 March 2017	298	561	859
1 Apr 2017 to 31 March 2018	400	541	941
1 Apr 2018 to 31 March 2019	947	3,535	4482
1 Apr 2019 to 31 March 2020	721	1,189	1,910
1 Apr 2020 to 31 March 2021	7,569	4,196	1,1765
1 Apr 2021 to 31 March 2022*	10,670	16,484	27,154
TOTAL	20,605	26,506	47,111

* Statistics for the 2021/2022 financial year has not yet been audited

National Departments (non-SMS members)	TOTAL 20,605
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	459
Arts and Culture	33
Basic Education	62
Civilian Secretariat for Police	11
GCIS	434
Cooperative Governance	29
Correctional Services	1,433
Defence	81
Economic Development	9
Energy	4
Environmental Affairs	39
Health	506
Higher Education and Training	265
Home Affairs	888
Human Settlements	26
Independent Police Investigative Directorate	59
International Relations and Cooperation	95
Justice and Constitutional Development	3,067
Labour	6,075
Military Veterans	23
Mineral Resources	29
National School of Government	99
National Treasury	566
Office of Chief Justice	579
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation	27
Presidency	62
Public Enterprise	11
Public Service and Administration	132
Public Works	144
Rural Development and Land Reform	301
Science and Technology	55
Small Business Development	15
Social Development	686
South African Police Service	275
South African Revenue Service	53
Sport and Recreation South Africa	13
State Security	17
Statistics South Africa	1,775
Telecommunications and Postal Services	9
Tourism	37
Trade and Industry	96
Traditional Affairs	6
Transport	29
Water and Sanitation	80
Women	18
Not specified	1,893

Provincial Government (non-SMS members)	TOTAL 26,506
Eastern Cape	1,533
Free State	946
Gauteng	6,264
KZN	2,548
Limpopo	1,026
Mpumalanga	625
North-West	11,828
Northern Cape	491
Western Cape	1,231
Not Specified	14

End

Reply:

According to the information extracted from PERSAL as at 30 April 2022, the total number of Cubans teachers, engineers, nurses and doctors currently employed in the Republic and the total cost of their employment are as follows:

Category	a) Total number of employees	b) Total costs
(i) Teachers	None	Not applicable
(ii) Engineers	65	R50 394 855
(iii) Nurses	None	Not applicable
(iv) Doctors	229	R257 917 774

End

Reply:

The National Framework Towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector has not as yes been approved by the Cabinet. The National Framework Towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector take cognisance of the fact that there are senior officials who do not have the requisite qualifications and the National Framework makes the following proposals to address this:

1. The National School of Government will collaborate with Professional Bodies and Higher Education Institutions to professionalise the Public Service. The NSG has already put systems in place to ensure the realisation of this proposal in the following manner:

a) For existing public servants –

(i) The NSG is working with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations for accreditation and registration of qualifications on the Occupational Qualification Sub-Framework from NQF Level 5-8, with the aim of professionalising the public sector (National, Provincial, Local government and Public Enterprises). These will form part of the compulsory suit of qualifications that the NSG will roll out in the public sector. This will replace the non-credit bearing senior management programmes that the NSG is currently offering. It will also assist the NSG to apply the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy to recognise the knowledge and experience acquired by public servants who enrolled and completed these programmes previously through formal, informal and non- formal learning.

(ii) Secondly, the NSG is at its final stage of granting a bid/tender to one of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) to collaborate in the accreditation and registration of a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Affairs & African Governance at NQF Level 8. Public servants will be recruited to study this qualification through that institution and some modules will be offered by the NSG. For this qualification, the Institution’s RPL Policy will be used to recognise the prior learning of the public servants.

(iii) Thirdly, the NSG finalised the design of an executive management qualification that will be registered at NQF Level 8 with the Council on Higher Education. The NSG is working with the Department of Higher Education & Training to declared it as a College to offer Higher Education Qualifications without changing its current structure like other existing government colleges for e.g., “Western Cape Government College of Emergency Care” who have already registered qualifications on the NQF. This qualification is meant to professionalise the executive management who do not have qualifications in the public sector. It has also been designed using some of the content of the existing NSG suites of non-credit bearing executive programmes. This will assist the NSG to apply its RPL Policy to recognise the knowledge and experience acquired by the public servants who enrolled and completed these programmes previously through formal, informal and non- formal learning.

(iv) Once the qualifications have been registered on the NQF, the NSG will also implement its RPL Policy to recognise the experience and knowledge acquired by the public servants through formal, informal non formal learning in the following manner:

• The RPL to grant access to study for a qualification to public servants who do not meet the admission requirements;
• The RPL for credits by exempting public servants to study certain modules of the qualification to recognise the knowledge and experience acquired through studying certain courses with the NSG that are related to the qualifications that are registered on the NQF;
• The RPL for access to the External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA): Public servants will be given access to write external integrated summative assessment (final examination) if they demonstrate the ability that they have met the outcomes required for the qualification.

b) The other initiative for professionalising the public service is the collaboration with statutory and non-statutory professional bodies recognised by SAQA. Various Departments including the NSG will collaborate with professional bodies in their area of work, e.g., for professional registration of public servants with professional bodies. This means that public servants who do not meet the criteria for registration or to be awarded professional designations will be required to go through the professional bodies’ processes to meet the criteria, through RPL or studying certain programmes designed by the professional bodies in collaboration with the NSG or Higher Education Institutions. Professional bodies will also play a critical role for designing programmes in collaboration with the NSG for continuing professional development of the public servants.

c) The above initiatives will assist in the professionalisation of senior government officials to ensure that positions are filled by qualified and competent officials.

End

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

1) The Department of Public Service and Administration does not have a mandate to perform lifestyle audits for members of Cabinet. This is the mandate of the Presidency. In March 2022, the Presidency responded to this question in Parliamentary Question 702.

2. The response was as follows: “The introduction of lifestyle audits for Members of the Executive has taken far longer than originally anticipated. While we have begun with lifestyle audits for senior public servants, it is important that we extend this practice to Members of the Executive.

Much work has been done on the approach and methodology to lifestyle audits of Members of the Executive. However, the finalisation of this work is being held in abeyance pending the submission of the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. This is so that any additional measures required to strengthen Executive accountability and conduct can be considered holistically.”

End

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(1)(a) I have been informed by the Department that there were no facilities management contracts in Pretoria for the specified periods. There are 67 Ministerial residences that the Department is maintaining through day-to-day maintenance. The scope of maintenance includes: plumbing, electrical, mechanical, civil and building works. Attached as annexure A are monthly maintenance costs for the specified periods.

(b) There was a facilities management contract in place in Cape Town for the period of 2019 until November 2020. There was no facilities management contract from December 2020. Maintenance was done through day-to-day reactive maintenance until March 2022 when a new Facilities Management contractor was appointed. The cost for day to day reactive maintenance went down from December 2020 because there was not preventative and proactive maintenance that was done. There are 63 ministerial residences and the scope of maintenance includes: plumbing, electrical, mechanical, civil and building works. Attached as Annexure B are monthly maintenance costs for the specified periods.

(2) There is no facilities management company that has been appointed for Ministerial residences in Pretoria. The envisaged date for finalisation of the appointment is November 2022. There is a facilities management company that has been appointed for Cape Town Ministerial residences as at March 2022.

(a) Tefla Group (Pty) LTD

(b) 5 years

(c) The envisaged cost for the maintenance of Ministerial residences will be R78 829 for corrective maintenance and R83 454 for preventative maintenance.

(3) I have requested the acting Director-General to do an assessment of the past three financial years to establish whether the Department received value for money.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that:

a) There is a total of 3742 vacant properties owned by the Department;

b) The properties have been vacant for between two and 10 years;

c) The properties are unutilised;

d) The Department is currently conducting feasibility studies to determine the highest and best use of each property. It should be noted that some of the properties shall be made available to the market for letting-out, to create jobs and generate revenue for the state.

e) The total costs incurred for security is R15 266 382, 16.

Reply:

(1) Recruitment and Selection in the Public Service under the Public Service Act, 1994, is based on an open employment system where persons apply and compete for positions. Persons already employed in the Public Service need to also apply for higher posts in the event that they wish to progress in the service and compete for such posts, promotion is not automatic. When a post is created it is subjected to a job evaluation process where the inherent requirements of the job is determiner, this includes educations qualifications, technical experience and managerial/supervisory experience (where such is required) and any other requirement which could be professional registration etc. The Job evaluation determines the salary grading for a post.

(2) Section 32(2) of the Public Service Act, 1994 makes provision for an appointment to act which is the prerogative of the relevant Executive Authority. Regulation 63(2) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 states that, an employee directed to act in another post in terms of section 32(2) should have the necessary competency for the post to which he or she is appointed to act. Competency means the combination of knowledge, skills, behaviour and aptitude that a person can apply in the work environment, which indicates a person’s ability to meet the requirements of a specific post. Therefore the requirement to act is based on the competency of a person appointed not whether she or he meets the inherent requirements in terms of years of experience. An acting person is not the incumbent of the post, she or he is appointed in the short term for purposes of business continuity for that work environment. For that reason there is no monitoring for purposes of acting and meeting experience requirements and it is not a prescriptive requirement to meet the inherent requirements of the job as determined through the job evaluation process.

End

Reply:

BACKGROUND

With the adoption of the Guide on implementing lifestyle audits in the Public Service, lifestyle audits for the Public Service became compulsory from 1 April 2021. When implementing the Guide, national and provincial departments follow a three step approach, starting with lifestyle reviews. When red flags (unexplained wealth, conflicts of interest, etc) are identified during this step, the department will move to the next step, which is lifestyle investigations. This step may lead to disciplinary action if an irregularity or wrong-doing was detected (and if action is required in terms of law and prescripts). When an investigation prove to be challenging, a department will move to the last step, namely a lifestyle audit. This step involves the utilisation of specialist auditors that will employ specialist tools to trace unexplained wealth (for example). Given the three step approach, the lifestyle audit process can end with a lifestyle review (when no red flags are identified). If investigations are conducted, the timeframe for completion will depend on the complexity of the case. There is therefore no due date for completion of lifestyle audits. However, lifestyle reviews are to be completed at the end of each financial year for SMS members, and every second year for other categories.

RESPONSE

(1) (a) The national departments and provincial departments that have not started to conduct lifestyle audits:

(i) Not started to conduct lifestyle audits:

National departments:

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Correctional Services, Employment and Labour, Government Communication and Information Systems, Higher Education and Training, Independent Police Investigative Directorate, Justice and Constitutional Development, Military Veterans, The Presidency, Rural Development and Land Reform, Science and Innovation, Sport, Arts and Culture, Statistics South Africa, Tourism, Traditional Affairs, Transport, Water and Sanitation, Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.

 

Provincial departments:

Eastern Cape: Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Education, Health, Human Settlement, Provincial Treasury, Roads and Public Works, Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Safety and Liaison, Social Development, Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Transport.

Free State: Agriculture, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Education, Health, Human Settlements, Office of the Premier, Police, Roads and Transport, Provincial Treasury, Public Works and Infrastructure, Social Development, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

Gauteng: Agriculture and Rural Development, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Community Safety, Economic Development, Education, E-Government, Health, Infrastructure Development, Office of the Premier, Provincial Treasury, Roads and Transport, Social Development.

Limpopo: Agriculture and Rural Development, Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Education, Health, Office of the Premier, Provincial Treasury, Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, Social Development, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Transport and Community Safety.

Mpumalanga: Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Economic Development and Tourism, Education, Human Settlement, Provincial Treasury, Public Works, Roads and Transport, Social Development.

North West: Community Safety and Transport Management, Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs, Education and Sports Development, Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development, Local Government and Human Settlements, Office of the Premier, Public Works and Roads, Rural, Environment and Agriculture Development, Social Development, Tourism.

Northern Cape: Education, Environmental Affairs and Nature Conservation, Economic Development and Tourism, Health, Office of the Premier, Provincial Treasury, Roads and Public Works, Social Development, Sport, Arts and Culture, Transport, Safety and Liaison.

Western Cape: Agriculture, Community Safety, Education, Human Settlements, Local Government, Social Development, Transport and Public Works.

(ii) Conducted lifestyle audits:

National departments:

Basic Education, Civilian Secretariat for Police Service, Communications and Digital Technologies, Cooperative Governance, Health, Government Technical Advisory Centre, Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries, Human Settlements, Home Affairs, International Relations and Cooperation, National Prosecuting Authority, National Treasury, National School of Government, Office of the Chief Justice, Office of the Public Service Commission, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Public Enterprises, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure, Small Business Development, Social Development, South African Police Service, Trade, Industry and Competition.

Provincial departments:

Eastern Cape: Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Office of the Premier.

Gauteng: Human Settlements, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation

Mpumalanga: Office of the Premier

North West: Health

Northern Cape: Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (SMS completed, rest in progress), Cooperative Governance (in progress), Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs.

Western Cape: Cultural Affairs and Sport, Economic Development and Tourism, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Health, Provincial Treasury.

(2) Of the six provinces (above) that completed lifestyle audits or indicated that they were in the process of conducting lifestyle audits:

(a) Provinces that completed lifestyle audits:

Eastern Cape: Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Office of the Premier.

Gauteng: Human Settlements, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation

Mpumalanga: Office of the Premier

North West: Health

Northern Cape: Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs.

Western Cape: Cultural Affairs and Sport, Economic Development and Tourism, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Health and Provincial Treasury. The Western Cape Province indicated that they have proceeded to lifestyle investigations to address identified conflicts of interest.

(b) Provinces that are still in the process of conducting lifestyle audits:

Northern Cape: Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (SMS completed, rest in progress) and Cooperative Governance (in progress).

(3) Departments who detected no red flags during the lifestyle review process is regarded to have finalised their lifestyle audit process. All departments are expected to complete lifestyle reviews for SMS members at the end of each financial year, and that for the other categories at the end of the second year cycle when they are performing lifestyle audits on those employees. When investigations and audits are taking place (thus, lifestyle investigations and lifestyle audits), no time frame was set, as the process will be guided by the complexity of the case. However, the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit will monitor completion of investigations and audits.

End

Reply:

The Public Service Act, 1994 and Public Service Regulations, 2016 requires that persons who are appointed in the Public Service must be fit and proper and further indicates that any person who is appointed must meet the inherent requirement of the job. Section 11 of the Public Service Act, 1994, states that in the public service- “(a) all persons who applied and qualify for the appointment concerned shall be considered; and (b) the evaluation of persons shall be based on training, skills, competence, knowledge and the need to redress, in accordance with the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act 55 of 1998), the imbalances of the past to achieve a public service broadly representative of the South African people, including representation according to race, gender and disability.”

Legislation applies to all appointments in the Public Service which must be open, transparent and fair to all of those who apply. The intention is to seek the best person based on the requirements of the post and within the parameters of the regulatory framework.

End

Reply:

(1) Yes, the Department uses the Water Authorisation Registration Management System (WARMS) wherein all authorised water uses including water use licenses are captured. In addition, there is a data base that comprise all copies of authorisations. Both data bases are internal to the Department.

(1)(a) The water use licences are accessible by request to the Deputy Chief Information Officer, Mr. Mpho Ratshisusu, Chief Director Legal Offices at the e-mail address [email protected], Private Bag X 313 Pretoria 0001. Tel: 012 336 7705.

(1)(b) A link to access all licences by members of public is yet to be created due to security issues associated with licensing. However, the Department can avail all licences that are requested through the office of the Deputy Chief Information Officer (contact details above) within a reasonable time.

(2) The view that all water users issued with water use licences must submit an externally audited report of compliance every year is not necessarily correct, there are licences issued where this condition may not be imposed due to minimal risks associated with the water use activities. The department can provide the Honourable Member with external audit reports where such have been received by the department from water users in question. These reports are often submitted to the Department in hardcopy. The department can provide a list of the Audited reports to the Honourable Member so that the specific reports required can be identified. This list will be provided by 31 May 2022.

(3)(a) The department needs so be furnished with property details of the water use licence required and the correct name of the Licensee (company name) to be able to provide the accurate information to the Member.

(3)(b) The response in point 3 (a) applies to this question.

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Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(1)

(a) I have been informed that the Department conducts annual occupancy audits of the Parliamentary Villages after all designation letters of sessional officials have been received from client Departments;

(b) Sessional officials are appointed on a yearly basis for a Parliamentary year.

(2) Yes, I received a complaint from the Minister of Tourism of six former sessional officials who are illegally occupying units at Acacia and Pelican Park Parliamentary Villages. The Department has instituted the process of eviction as at 12 May 2022. The Department has also requested that the SAPS at the gates refuse entry to the six former sessional staff members.

(3)

(a), (b) and (c)

Yes, the department will commence with the occupancy audit on the 01 July 2022;

Reply:

(1) & (2) The appointment of the CSOS Board was prioritised to ensure organisational stability and strategic focus and alignment to the priorities of government.

The appointment of the Sectional Title Schemes Management Advisory Council is in progress and should be finalised by 15 July 2022.

Reply:

a) Ligwa Advisory Services was contracted on 1 November 2021 to conduct forensic investigations into the SSA. The forensic investigators utilised the period between November 2021 and February 2022 to undergo induction, and to set up infrastructure required to commence investigations and to collect information. The forensic investigation officially commenced in March 2022, with 26 cases currently being examined. The first reports are expected in mid-June 2022.

b) The SSA directorate responsible for the enforcement of discipline is ready to conduct disciplinary hearings against any member implicated by the forensic investigations. The SSA is closely working with the Investigating Directorate (ID), National Prosecuting Authority, and other law enforcement agencies and on receipt of the forensic reports, will immediately refer all illegal activities uncovered to the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Reply:

The water challenges in Phokwane still persist but the municipality is working on a long-term plan address the matter. The Pampierstad bulk water supply system consists of seven reservoirs. One of these and two pumping stations are currently under construction. Raw water is obtained from the Vaalharts irrigation canal and stored in a 24Ml concreted lined dam, from which it is pumped to two concrete lined dams of 25 Ml at the water treatment works. The capacity of the treatment works is 9.6 Ml/day. Treated water is pumped via two asbestos cement rising mains to the main reservoir. The Phokwane Local municipality is planning to install a 315mm uPVC pipeline to augment the water supply from the treatment works.

The main reservoir site consists of one ground level reservoir of 6.5Ml and a 700-kl concrete tower reservoir. The tower reservoir is not operational as the electrical works required by the pumping station are not in place. Water currently gravitates from the ground level reservoir to the distribution networks of the town and suburbs.

A 400mm diameter uPVC pipeline was recently constructed to supply water from the main reservoir site to a new 10Ml storage reservoir on the hill near the village of Upper Majaekgoro. The reservoir was constructed as part of a bulk water supply upgrade project initiated in 2017/18 with the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) to the value of R31 433 484.

To address the aforementioned shortcomings, a feasibility study to assess the efficiency and reticulation systems of Pampierstad and surrounding villages in providing its water supply areas with water of acceptable quality and quantity in a sustainable manner, was completed in February 2022 by the Phokwane Local Municipality. An estimated R70 905 356 is required to complete the Pampierstad Bulk Water Supply and is to be allocated via MIG.

It is therefore critical that the tower reservoir of 700kl be re-commissioned. This is necessary to solve the low-pressure problems, as currently experienced in a large area in Pampierstad. It is also required to commission the new 10ML reservoir to meet the water demands.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has invested over R72 million to replace asbestos cement (AC) pipes. The Phokwane local municipality is currently busy with Phase 5 of the project which is funded through MIG.

As an interim measure, the municipality uses the tankering system to fill water tanks that are placed at strategic areas where water provision remains a challenge.

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Reply:

(a) (b) & (c) Please see the attached statistics for the different geographical regions as submitted by the Diplomatic Missions as follows:

• Annexure “A” for the European Geographical Region
• Annexure “B” for the Australasia and Oceania Geographical Region
• Annexure “C” for the Africa West and Central Geographical Region
• Annexure “D” for the Africa East and North Geographical Region
• Annexure “E” for the Africa SADC Geographical Region
• Annexure “F” for the Americas Geographical Region
• Annexure “G” for the Middle East Geographical Region

d) The Statistics received from the Missions were consolidated and reflects in Annexure H.

(e) The maximum processing timeframe for the issuance of visas is 10 working days.

(f) With the advent of the Corona virus-19 there has been a steep decline in international travel which also impacted on the volumes of Visa applications that went hand in hand with a curb in Government spending and an economic decline. There was therefore no specific focus in addressing the turnaround times for visa processing periods.

(g) The continued prevalence of the Coronavirus globally and the response thereto by the individual countries hinders the effective response mechanisms.

(aa)-(bb) The continued prevalence of the Coronavirus globally and the response thereto by the individual countries hinders the effective response mechanisms.

END

Reply:

a) School closures and lost contact time

After schools closed on the 18th of March in 2020, in response to the initial spread of COVID-19 in South Africa, a phased approach to reopening schools was adopted by the government. This meant that the amount of time that schools were closed varied across grades. Moreover, once schools were reopened they had to adhere to social distancing rules, which had the inevitable effect that most schools adopted some form of rotational timetabling. The overall effect of school closures and rotational timetabling meant that in some grades up to 60% of the 2020 school year was lost, as the figure below shows.

 

Figure 1: School days in 2020 by grade

 

After schools were reopened, contact teaching time was still compromised throughout 2020 and 2021 due to rotational timetabling systems. A large survey of no-fee primary school schools in the North West Province in term 3 of 2021 revealed that in 60% of the 190 schools visited, the school was on a rotational schedule. These findings are roughly in line with patterns observed in no-fee schools in Limpopo Province (Ardington & Henry, Funda Wande Limpopo Evaluation, 2021). A Department of Basic Education analysis of 2021 Term 3 administrative data on attendance suggested that approximately 22% of contact time in Term 3 of 2021 was lost nationally, but that in schools where rotational timetabling was still being implemented the amount of lost contact time was as much as 50%.

 

 

Figure 2: School attendance in 2021 in the North West Province

(b) (i) Measures in place to make up for lost time: The Three year Recovery Annual Teaching Plans (ATPs), which is a trimmed curriculum, provides guidance on core content, concepts and skills per subject and grade that teachers should prioritise. Mediation sessions have been conducted by PEDs on the implementation of the Recovery Annual Teaching Plans. A directive has been issued to schools to focus on formative assessment to ensure that more time is allocated to teaching. The Assessment for Learning (AfL) approach has been promoted at all levels in the system. Mid-year examinations were replaced by controlled tests. The weightings of school based assessment versus examinations has been reviewed so that a greater weighting is allocated to school based assessment conducted by the teacher in the classroom. Remote and Digital Learning programmes such as Radio and television lessons are broadcast for catch-up. The Education Assistants and Reading Champions were employed and placed in schools to alleviate some of the teachers’ administrative responsibilities, to ensure that teachers focus on the teaching and learning. The DBE has officially declared that 2022 to 2024 will be focussing on learning recovery, based on the Recovery ATP (trimmed ATP), even though normal schooling has resumed across all schools. This will allow schools more time to recover the learning losses. Teachers have been advised to first assess the learning deficits, for each of the sections of the work to be taught, so that learners can be taken from where they are, to where they need to get to.   

(ii) Provinces do report on the implementation of measures put in place to counter-act learning losses and the DBE monitors the implementation of these measures on an ongoing basis. However, given the extent of the learning losses, it may be pre-mature to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning recovery at this early stage. Evaluation studies in this regard are part of the DBE plan and will be implemented in 2023 and 2024.  

For other details on how much contact time was list, please see attachment.

Reply:

1(a) The Eastern Cape Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education initiative has 2 295 teachers who are able to teach through the medium of IsiXhosa and Sesotho.  

1(b) The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is in the process of putting a plan in place to promote all the nine previously marginalised official African languages as languages of learning and teaching beyond Grade 3. 

2. The DBE is collaborating with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) to put a plan in place to promote the nine previously marginalised official African languages (IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, IsiNdebele, Siswati, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, Tshivenda and Xitsonga) as languages of learning and teaching post Foundation Phase. The DBE is establishing a task team comprising different stakeholders. The Old Mutual is part of the Task Team. So is the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. We are still in the very initial stage of the plan and trying to identify and bring in all the relevant stakeholders. 

The DBE, through the Eastern Cape Education's own initiative, piloted the Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education wherein IsiXhosa and Sesotho were utilised as languages of learning and teaching for Mathematics and Science and Technology beyond Grade 3. The learnings from the Eastern Cape Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education pilot taught us to be very prudent on dealing with a programme of this nature.

3. The DBE has a working relationship with the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation (DHESI) on teacher production. The DHESI will be part of the African Languages Mother Tongue Education Task Team. The different options of accelerating teacher training in Mother-Tongue Based instruction will be explored by the Task Team and use of Teacher Training Colleges, could be one of the options. However, Teacher Training Colleges do not fall under the jurisdiction of the DBE.    

4. Research worldwide shows that learners learn best through their home languages. The DBE has continuously been conducting research on the impact of learning in one's home language. The Early Grade Reading Studies (EGRS) were designed as nested Randomised Control Trials led by the DBE in collaboration with other academics. The EGRS studies focus on the Foundation Phase, evaluating different interventions for supporting the teaching of reading. The studies aim to build evidence about what works to improve the learning and teaching of early grade reading in South African schools.

EGRS was a comparison of the cost-effectiveness of three promising intervention models to improve reading outcomes in Setswana as a Home Language. The interventions were (i) a structured learning programme with lesson plans and integrated materials as well as centralised training, (ii) the same structured programme with lesson plan integrated materials but with on-site coaching, and (iii) a parent involvement intervention.

Of the three interventions the coaching showed a substantial positive impact after two years of intervention. Learners who received two years of this coaching intervention were approximately 40% of a year of learning ahead of the students in the schools that received no intervention. The gains were sustained when the same learners were measured in Grade 4, one year after the intervention they were still about 40% of a year of learning ahead. A further follow-up on these learners was conducted in 2021 to measure long-term gains and the data thereof is currently being analysed. 

An improvement plan was developed based on the recommendations. This was adopted by Cabinet and the implementation of the improvement plan has been ongoing. Documents relating to EGRS are attached.

Reply:

(a) There are currently no legislated norms and standards for learner to educator ratio in public schools. The post provisioning norms apply what is referred to "ideal maximum class size" for each subject which ranges from six (6) learners per class in the case of Music, to 37 for subjects that accommodate large class sizes. As referred, these are ideal measures that the sector strives to achieve through continuous improvement in providing resources. It must also be noted that actual class sizes experienced by learners at schools are an outcome of various factors in the provisioning of educators. These include, among other factors, availability of classroom space; distribution of learners within and across grades; an increase of learners in certain geographic areas; time-tabling; and school size.

(b) Improving the class size towards a subject-specific ideal class size is an ongoing process.

Reply:

Date	Location	Suspects verified	Impact (Arrests)		Date	Location	Suspects verified	Impact (Arrests)
10-Apr-21	Hammanskraal	3	3		21-Sep-21	Waterkloof	3	1
17-Apr-21	Sunnyside	6	6		23-Sep-21	Villieria	9	9
19-Apr-21	Boekenhoutkloof	13	12		24-Sep-21	Hartebeespoort	3	3
23-Apr-21	Sunnyside	12	12		24-Sep-21	Rankuwa	50	0
25-Apr-21	Olivenhoutbotch	17	17		24-Sep-21	Pretoria	2	1
30-Apr-21	Mamelodi East	8	8		25-Sep-21	Sunnyside	42	19
30-Apr-21	Akasia	29	29		25-Sep-21	Pretoria	22	22
01-May-21	Sunnyside	13	6		25-Sep-21	Sunnyside	18	18
01-May-21	Olivenhoutbotch	9	9		25-Sep-21	Pretoria North	3	0
02-May-21	Mamelodi East	8	8		29-Sep-21	Hatfield	40	0
06-May-21	Sunnyside	4	0		29-Sep-21	Mabopane	4	4
06-May-21	Hammanskraal	47	0		30-Sep-21	Sunnyside	1	0
07-May-21	East Lyn	58	1		2-Oct-21	Akasia	4	4
07-May-21	Villieria	5	5		2-Oct-21	Hammanskraal	20	20
08-May-21	Sunnyside	15	11		03-Oct-21	Waverley	1	0
08-May-21	Olivenhoutbotch	81	81		03-Oct-21	East Lynne	5	3
15-May-21	Villieria	31	20		3-Oct-21	Villieria	3	3
20-May-21	Sinoville	7	7		08-Oct-21	Soshanguve	9	0
21-May-21	Soshanguve	10	10		8-Oct-21	Olivenhoutbotch	4	4
21-May-21	Hammanskraal	1	1		8-Oct-21	Bronkonspruit	4	4
21-May-21	Olivenhoutbotch	11	8		8-Oct-21	Soshanguve	3	3
22-May-21	Soshanguve	10	10		09-Oct-21	Soshanguve	6	0
22-May-21	Attridgeville	24	24		09-Oct-21	Mamelodi East	24	22
23-May-21	Mamelodi East	7	7		10-Oct-21	Villieria	8	8
28-May-21	Villieria	6	6		14-Oct-21	PTA West & Hercules	46	46
28-May-21	Hatfield	9	9		15-Oct-21	Brooklyn	3	3
29-May-21	Olivenhoutbotch	50	24		16-Oct-21	Olivenhoutbotch	79	79
29-May-21	Mamelodi East	11	11		16-Oct-21	Brooklyn	6	6
04-Jun-21	Pretoria West	17	17		19-Oct-21	Moreleta Park-	8	8
05-Jun-21	Hammanskraal	6	6		22-Oct-21	Hercules	2	2
10-Jun-21	Rankuwa	95	14		23-Oct-21	East Lynn	9	0
12-Jun-21	Bronkhorspruit	8	8		23-Oct-21	Bavianspoort	2	0
15-Jun-21	PTA West	27	27		23-Oct-21	Brooklyn	15	15
18-Jun-21	Erasmia	1	0		23-Oct-21	Boschkop	25	25
26-Jun-21	Moot	11	11		23-Oct-21	Loate-Mabopane	7	7
26-Jun-21	PTA West	3	3		23-Oct-21	Rankuwa	18	18
27-Jun-21	PTA West	3	3		23-Oct-21	Mamelodi	9	9
2-Jul-21	Laudium	15	15		24-Oct-21	Pretoria East	7	7
3-Jul-21	Silverton/ East Lynn	90	7		29-Oct-21	Temba, Hammanskraal	21	21
3-Jul-21	Loate-Mabopane	7	7		5-Nov-21	Olivenhoutbotch	42	42
4-Jul-21	Sinoville	25	25		20-Nov-21	Pretoria	15	15
8-Jul-21	N4 West Orchards	21	0		25-Nov-21	Bronkorhorspruit	24	0
17-Jul-21	N4 East Bronkhospruit	15	15		26-Nov-21	Attridgeville	5	5
18-Jul-21	Rankuwa	6	6		6-Dec-21	Pretoria	1	0
22-Jul-21	N4 West, Orchards	4	4		08-Dec-21	Erasmia	3	3
24-Jul-21	North Corridor, Mabopane	7	7		22-Jan-22	Sunnyside	15	14
25-Jul-21	PTA West	6	6		29-Jan-22	Brooklyn	2	2
4-Aug-21	NC- Rietgat & Soshanguve	9	9		05-Feb-21	Mamelodi East	25	25
7-Aug-21	Attridgeville	9	9		18-Feb-22	Strydfontein	1	1
08-Aug-21	Soshanguve/ Orchards	36	25		26-Feb-22	Brooklyn / Moot	25	25
15-Aug-21	Temba	14	14		07-Mar-22	Marabastad	23	15
20-Aug-21	Olivenhoutbotch	158	158		19-Mar-22	Menlyn	2	0
28-Aug-21	Soshanguve/ Mabopane	3	3		20-Mar-22	Soshanguve	38	0
29-Aug-21	Soshanguve/ Mabopane	6	3		20-Mar-22	Sunnyside	7	0
4-Sep-21	Akasia	46	46		22-Mar-22	Pretoria	8	0
16-Sep-21	Pretoria West	8	8		25-Mar-22	Olivenhoutbotch	37	35
17-Sep-21	Rankuwa	11	11			TOTAL	1172	812

END

Reply:

The Department of Transport in consultation with Free State and Kwa Zulu Natal Governments between which this road R74 traverses, the teams had already done the technical assessment to ascertain the treatment the road will need. It is however worth mentioning that R74 has two sections in it and these are P11 and P340.

a) The majority of this road needs heavy rehabilitation where first 30kms of P11 is planned for the current financial year (2022/23) and this repair work is estimated to take 30 months.

The remainder of the section of this road P340 is planned for the subsequent financial year (2023/24) and this estimated to a period of 20 months.

The holding measure that includes fixing potholes, stormwater repairs and drainage maintenance are already underway.

b) This Part of the Question has been responded to in (a) above.

Reply:

The Office of the Premier: Northern Cape

1. (a) Mr. R Palm, the HoD of Northern Cape Sports, Arts and Culture is suspended.

(b) Mr. Palm is facing charges relating to fraud.

2. (a) Mr. R. Palm has been on suspension since September 2020.

(b) An amount of R R2 014 340.00 has been paid to Mr. Palm since his suspension.

The Office of the Premier: KwaZulu Natal

1. (a) Dr GG Sharpley, the HoD of KwaZulu-Natal Public Works is on precautionary suspension.

(b) Dr GG Sharpley is facing charges relating to allegation of misconduct regarding the appointment of the consultant compliance officer. His continuous precautionary suspension is due to the fact that during the recent proceedings the Presiding Officer made a ruling in favour the Employer following the point in limine his legal representative had raised.

 

2. (a) Dr GG Sharpley, has been on suspension since November 2020.

(b) An amount of R2, 346,238.00 has been paid to Dr GG Sharpley since his suspension.

The Office of the Premier: Free State

1. (a) Mr N Mokhesi, the HoD of Free State Human Settlements is on precautionary suspension.

(b) Mr N Mokhesi is facing charges relating to misconduct – tender irregularities

2. (a) Mr N Mokhesi, has been on suspension since June 2020.

(b) An amount of R3 412,484,00 has been paid to Mr N Mokhesi since his suspension.

 

The Office of the Premier: Free State

1. (a) Mr SS Mtakati, the HoD of Free State Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation is on precautionary suspension.

(b) Mr SS Mtakati is facing charges relating to misconduct – tender irregularities

2. (a) Mr SS Mtakati, has been on suspension since May 2021.

(b) An amount of R1 978 533, 00 has been paid to Mr SS Mtakati since his suspension

The Office of the Premier: Mpumalanga

1. (a) Mr K Masange, the HoD of Mpumalanga Human Settlements is on suspension.

(b) Mr K Masange is facing charges relating to gross negligence

2. (a) Mr K Masange, has been on suspension since April 2021.

(b) An amount of RR1 308 568,15 has been paid to Mr K Masange since his suspension.

The Office of the Premier: Mpumalanga

1. (a) Ms BS Nkuna, the HoD of Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison is on suspension.

(b) Ms BS Nkuna is facing charges relating to serious offence

2. (a) Ms BS Nkuna, has been on suspension since June 2021.

(b) An amount of R1 196 064, 31 has been paid to Ms BS Nkuna since her suspension.

The DPME received the following responses from provincial Offices of the Premiers with regards the DGs and or HoDs on suspension.

a) Limpopo, Western Cape and Gauteng indicated that there are no DG’s nor HoD’s on suspension, as a result the provinces submit a nil report to the afore-mentioned question as raised by the National Assembly.

b) Eastern Cape and North West – None

Thank You.

Reply:

1. Between uMgababa and uMkhomazi there are two major embankment failures, one on the Northbound carriageway at N2 Section 24 km 2.0 to 2.6 and the other on the Southbound carriageway at N2 Section 23 km 49.8. Due to the nature of the failures they require extensive geotechnical investigations, hence geotechnical contractors have been deployed to undertake investigative drilling.

In terms of the northbound failure (uMgababa), the construction of a bypass lane in the median is being undertaken through the routine road maintenance (RRM) contract. Further, the appointed consultant team is finalising its design and procurement documents for the contractor who will implement the repairs.

In terms of the southbound failure (uMkhomazi), traffic accommodation measures have been implemented through the routine road maintenance contract, whilst the preparation of procurement documents for the design consultants are being finalised.

2. The procurement for the service providers to undertake repairs is in the preparation phase therefore there is no tender yet that has been let for the repairs. The only works currently underway is the construction of the median bypass lane in order to restore traffic movements in the northbound direction through the routine road maintenance contract. Availability of rock material from quarries did affect progress on the bypass lane, requiring this material to be sourced from further locations (further than 100km).

3. As noted above, material availability has affected the construction of the bypass lane in the median.

4. (a) No tender has been advertised for this repair as the procurement process is in the preparation phase. The temporary solution is being undertaken through the existing routine road maintenance contract which was awarded to Razzmatazz (Pty) Ltd in October 2021.It is noted that the RRM Contractor is also utilising a local subcontractor and local labour.

(b) It is estimated that the repairs will cost approximately R240 million at each of the locations i.e. northbound and southbound respectively.

(c) The estimated duration is 8 months for northbound failure and 10 months for southbound failure.

5. All holding actions have been undertaken within the budget of the routine road maintenance contractor. A budget has been allocated for the repairs for which tenders will be advertised.

Reply:

1. Honourable Hunsinger is welcome to meet directly with the City of Ekurhuleni as well as the KTVR operator to perform a detailed analysis of KTVR’s financial statements. KTVR’s operations cost numbers are highlighted below.

Line Items	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Operations Cost	R119,2m	R126,7m	R168,4m	R232,2m

2. (a)(b) The City of Ekurhuleni has acknowledged the criticism from NDoT (especially from 2019) in bilateral meetings held regularly 2 to 3 times a year. On the 05 March 2019, the Deputy Director General: Public Transport called all the cities to a meeting to direct them on the revised focus of the PTNG for 2019/20 on wards which is to fastrack operations while scaling back on infrastructure plans and spending and put them on notice to launch.

The City team is trying their best to finalise long outstanding matters like concluding minibus operator negotiations, scaling up to 80 buses and 20 000 passenger trips per weekday etc. Currently the city has deployed 40 buses, is procuring 15 more and plans to conclude negotiations by February 2023.

3. The majority of feedback has occurred in regular bilateral discussions. Please contact the Public Transport Branch at the NDoT for further information if required.

Reply:

The Guidelines for the Heads of Department (HoDs) Performance Management and Development System (PMDS), were developed by the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME) and were linked to the HoD PMDS Directive which was developed by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). The Directive requires all Directors-General (DGs) in national departments and HoDs in provincial departments to enter into Performance Agreements with their Executive Authorities. The HoD PMDS processes align individual performance (40%) with organisational performance (40%) which are Annual Performance Plans, Auditor-General findings, and Key Government Focus Areas (KGFAs). The KGFAs address areas of Supply Chain, Diversity and Transformation, Integrated Governance, Regional and International Integration as well as Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS). Furthermore, a department's performance accounts for 60% of the assessments of the accounting officers, with the objective of ensuring alignment between individual performance and that of a department.

The DPME has completed the assessment of departments through various reports such as the Biannual Reports, but has not yet conducted an exercise to establish a direct link between the performance of DGs to that of departments. The department has identified the need to review the current HoD PMDS, to amongst others, ensure alignment between the PDMS of Ministers and that of DGs. The review will also need to focus on a significant shift towards outcomes based approach to planning, monitoting and evaluation. It is once we have aligned the approach to Annual Persformance Plans (APPs) and PMDS to enable an all round outcomes based performance that we will also evaluate the relationship and interplay between the performance of heads of department and the relevant departments.

Thank You.

Reply:

(a) The question makes reference to the potholes in Bloemfontein. It is therefore important that roads in an around Bloemfontein are being maintained by The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) as well as the Department of Police, Roads and Transport (DPRT). MMM would therefore be responsible for all urban roads, while DPRT predominantly have custodianship of peri-urban and rural roads. This reply is therefore in relation to the broader Mangaung Metropolitan Area.

It is also important to consider that the MMM relies on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) to perform their maintenance, while DPRT relies heavily on the Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant (PRMG) in terms of its maintenance strategies. The PRMG has strict conditions that allows for 25% of the grant to be used for upgrades and the remaining 75% for maintenance activities. This is in contrast with the prevailing road conditions which warrant and require upgrade-related activities, as opposed to the maintenance activities that the grant makes provision for. For this purpose, intense engagement is required from Provincial Treasury to ensure that funding is availed through the Infrastructure Enhancement Allocation for the necessary upgrades. Alternatively, the strict PRMG conditions require relaxation in order for the country at large to be able to mitigate the current backlog in road maintenance. If this is not achieved, Provinces will continuously be challenged with the situation whereby maintenance is performed in line with grant conditions, while the actual need on the ground is much more intense and borders on upgrade activities.

A recent presentation by NDOT suggests that the South African road network was not planned for the current traffic volumes. A large volume of traffic have migrated from rail to road and households currently procure several vehicles as opposed to one vehicle per family as anticipated when the broader road network was planned.

This, as well as the delay of timely routine maintenance activities, contribute to the state in which road are.

The delay in maintenance, results in exponential repair cost if left unattended.

Information obtained from MMM suggests that their road network within Bloemfontein is as follows:

• Mangaung Metro contains a total of 3800km of road network entailing 2200km of unsealed and 1600km of sealed roads.
• Conditions are generally poor across most of the areas with about 90% of the bituminous road seal needing urgent attention to prevent moisture ingress and extend the life of the underlying pavement layers.
• Rehabilitation backlogs is also substantial with 35% of the pavement layers being in a very poor condition.
• Thus, Mangaung Metro Municipality should undertake a project of road network resealing and rehabilitation.

(b) The current conditions requires a total amount of R981 054 417 that will be distributed as follows due to capacity and available budget for the following activities:

• • Rehabilitation of 106km of sealed network
  • Treatment of 335km of sealed network with Micro Paving of 15 mm thick.
  • Replacement of 230km access streets with paving blocks. To avoid high maintenance costs on access roads of functional class 5.
  • Treatment of 30km of sealed network with Asphalt overlay.
  • Application of slurry seals preceded by application of Diluted Emulsion, crack sealing and patching for 149km

The anticipated catch-up period is as follows:

July 2022 to June 2023 R 339 112 210

July 2023 to June 2024 R 272 047 480

July 2024 to June 2025 R 369 894 727

TOTAL R 981 054 417

Similarly, the Department of Police, Roads and Transport have developed a maintenance strategy on its own network consisting of 220km that is being prioritized.

• The estimates are based on current market rates and the available internal maintenance capacity
• Where a service provider is appointed, the cost may differ due to other Logistical and General contractual obligations
• The underlying road pavements of most sections need to be rehabilitated thoroughly to prevent further defects and deterioration.
• The annual Routine Road maintenance must be considered, and have an annual budget allocation to attend ongoing road deterioration. Due to current procurement status of the said Maintenance strategy, costing was done with the aim of addressing it in one financial year as follows:

Description	Amount (R )
Material	R21 331 416,96
Material Transport (10%)	R 2 133 141,69
Labour	R7 250 040,00
Plant & Equipment	R6 849 888,00
Sub Total	R 37 564 486,65
VAT 15%	R5 634 673,00
TOTAL	R43 199 159,65

Reply:

a) The assessments have been undertaken by teams of engineering specialists and project managers within SANRAL, complemented by specialist consulting engineering firms.

b) (i) and (ii) as per table below:

c) Procurement documents are in the process of being finalised where applicable for the sites indicated above. In the interim, holding actions are being undertaken by routine road maintenance contractors.

Reply:

Department

The Department of has not concluded any commercial contracts with the government of the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.

Therefore (aa) (bb) (cc) (dd) (ee) Not applicable

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA)

ACSA has not concluded commercial contracts with (i) the government of the Russian Federation and/or (ii) any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.

Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS)

There are no registered contracts between ATNS and the Russian Federation. 

Cross Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA

1. (i) and (ii) The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) did not conclude any commercial contracts with the government of the Russian Federation or any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.
2. (bb) (cc) (dd) and (ee) Not applicable as the C-BRTA is contracting goods within the Republic and has not had a need to procure goods from the Russian Federation or any other entity in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.

Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA)

(b) (i) The Road Traffic Infringement Agency entity did not conclude any commercial contracts with the government of the Russian Federation and/or

(b) (ii) The public entity did not conclude any commercial contracts with any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.

(aa) Not applicable,

(bb) Not applicable,

(cc) Not applicable,

(dd) Not applicable, and

(ee) Not applicable

South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL)

(b) (i) and (ii) SANRAL has not concluded any commercial contracts with the Russian Federation, or any entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017 or before that date. As a state-owned company SANRAL takes guidance on international relations from the Minister in his capacity as the shareholder representative of Government with regard to executive authority over SANRAL.

(aa) Not applicable,

(bb) Not applicable,

(cc) Not applicable,

(dd) Not applicable, and

(ee) Not applicable

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)

(b) (i) and (ii) The Road Traffic Management Corporation has never concluded any commercial contracts with the Russian Federation.

(aa) Not applicable,

(bb) Not applicable,

(cc) Not applicable,

(dd) Not applicable, and

(ee) Not applicable

Road Accident Fund (RAF)

(b) Road Accident Fund has not concluded any commercial contracts with

(i) the government of the Russian Federation and/or

(ii) any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017; as there was no necessity to conclude a commercial contract with the government of the Russian Federation or any other entity based in the Russian Federation.

(aa) Not applicable,

(bb) Not applicable,

(cc) Not applicable,

(dd) Not applicable, and

(ee) Not applicable

Railway Safety Regulator (RSR)

The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) has not concluded any commercial contract with any Russian entity or the government of Russia since 1 April 2017 to date.

Ports Regulator of South Africa(PRSA)

(a) N/A

(b) The Ports Regulator did not conclude any commercial contracts with the (i) government of the Russian Federation and/or (ii) any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 01 April 2017.

(aa) N/A

(bb) N/A

(cc) N/A

(dd) N/A

(ee) N/A

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

(b) The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has not concluded any commercial contract with any Russian entity or the government of Russia since 1 April 2017 to date

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

(b) N/A (b) the South African Civil Aviation Authority HAS NOT concluded any commercial contract with (i) the government of the Russian Federation and/or (ii) any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017 (aa) N/A (bb) N/A (cc) N/A (dd) N/A (ee) N/A.

South Africa Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

(b) Yes, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

(i)No

(ii)Russian Maritime Register of Shipping

(aa)A Recognition Organisation (RO) Agreement was signed on the 6th of August 2019 between Russian Maritime of Shipping and SAMSA in compliance with Section 18 “Delegation of Authority” of the IMO Instruments implementation (III) Code for any South African ship, allowing a South African ship-owner or manager to use the Russian Register of Shipping as a ship’s classification society in order to conduct statutory surveys on behalf of SAMSA.

(bb)There is no financial burden on the South African Government associated with this contract. The classification society acts on behalf of the ship-owner and all costs related to their services are for the ship- owner’s account.

(cc)This RO Agreement expires on 5 August 2024 (5 years from date of signing).

(dd)The contract is a general agreement as signed with all other recognised classification societies globally by South Africa.

(ee)There are currently no South African ships using the Russian Register of Shipping as their classification society.

Reply:

The Department finalised the process for the procurement of a contractor to commence with the repairs on road R566 near the Pretoria off-ramp delayed by the court matters relating to 2017 Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act. Now that this matter has been clarified, the procurement processes will commence as soon as possible and a Suitable Contractor will be appointed. Therefore the date to start with repairs will be determined by the finalisation of the tendering process.

Reply:

Since the RTMC is on the accrual basis, the below table outlines the opening balance for the respective periods, transaction fees billed to the provinces as well as the actual transaction fees paid over by the respective provinces to the RTMC.

It is important to note that transaction fees due to the RTMC is exclusively applicable to vehicle licence disc renewals. On a continuous basis, the RTMC shows an under collection on transaction fees. Provinces have indicated that this is due to municipalities not paying over all the funds to them and in turn the province not paying the full amount to the Corporation. Even though the recovery rate of the transaction fees have improved, there are still provinces that maintains a unremitting growth in the amount owed to the Corporation.

Reply:

a) What has been done so far?

Following the National Taxi Lekgotla held in October 2020, the Department established a Joint Technical Task Team (JTTT) to oversee the implementation of Lekgotla resolutions. The JTTT is comprised of government and the taxi industry. An Implementation Plan has been developed to guide the process and serve as a monitoring tool in as far as progress is concerned in terms of short, medium and long term activities. The implementation of short-term activities has commenced.

b) the envisaged implementation date of the taxi subsidy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

The Department is developing a Public Transport Subsidy Policy that will guide the distribution of subsidies in line with demand without focusing on modes of transport. This implies, amongst others, that the policy is advocating for the inclusion of other role players such as the minibus taxi operators in the public transport subsidy. The policy is currently being consulted with stakeholders and will be submitted to Cabinet for approval and only then will it be implemented.

Reply:

Given the information at my disposal my Office, Media Development and Diversity Agency and Brand South Africa does not have any commercial contracts with the Government of the Russian Federation and/or any other Entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.

Thank you.

Reply:

The road P53/1 from road R510 (Rustenburg – Northam road) to Mogwase is in the plan of the North West Department of Public Works and Roads for rehabilitation of the entire section during the 2022/23 financial year.

Reply:

The Department awarded a tender for the amount of R65,018M to Botong/Nkolele JV for the

upgrading from gravel to surface, a 10km road D206 from Molelema to Matsheng in the greater Taung Local Municipality. Prior to the awarding of the tender, the Contractor confirmed in writing that it will be able to complete the work within the tendered scope, price and timeframe.

Immediately after commencement of the project, the contractor demanded an additional amount of R 49M, citing that, with the costed amount, only 7km of road will be completed as supposed to the contracted 10km. This would have increased the project value from R 65,018M to R114M with a variance of R 49 M which constitute an increment of 77%. Acceptance of this deviation could be classified as an irregular expenditure. To this end, the department could not agree to the deviation hence the contract was terminated as per the provision of the contract. The Contractor took the department to Adjudication process wherein the outcome came out in their favour. The department is not in agreement with the outcome of the Adjudication Board after one the board members resigned sighting procedural matters. The department has now filed papers in court opposing the outcome of the Adjudication Board. For that reason, the project cannot proceed pending the outcome of the court process.

Reply:

1. Prasa has concluded the first phase of project Ziveze verification where employees were asked to present themselves in person and submit qualifications and ID copies for verification and vetting.

The process is now on the second phase where salaries of all employees who failed to present themselves were locked at the April 2022 pay day. Subsequent to the locking of salaries some employees presented themselves with the necessary information for verification.

Part of this phase is that Internal Audit is auditing the project processes until July 2022. In addition PRASA has commenced with a forensic investigation.

The detailed reports with financial impact will be submitted on conclusion of the forensic audit.

2. A report detailing the final numbers of unverified employees; the salaries paid from inception to April 2022; the loss suffered by the organisation shall be made available on conclusion of the forensic audit. It must be noted that employees have been coming in for verification after salaries were locked on 27 April 2022.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. I have been informed by the Department that the Board of Trustees of the IDT resolved to sell the National Head Office building in the Board of Trustees meeting held on 23 February 2022.

• The Board resolved to sell the building as there are latent structural defects and electrical issues with the building that will be costly to fix.
• There are visible cracks at the entrance of the building and the basement also tends be flooded when it rains leading to the columns supporting the building to move.
• The building is therefore not safe to be occupied by employees, and it does not comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• The building also has high maintenance costs. A cost benefit analysis has been done and the conclusion is that the cost to maintain and refurbish the building outweighs the one of seeking for new leased office accommodation.

2. The sale of the building has not been advertised. This will be determined by the issuance of the Certificate of Compliance.

(b), (i) and (ii) Fall away.

(3) The advertisement for the lease of the new building was issued and the procurement process is in progress.

(a), (b) and (c)

The IDT does not therefore have monthly costs at this stage. The cost per square metre as well as the date for relocation to the new building will be determined once the procurement process is finalised. The cost per square metre should be within the Rode Independent guidelines.