Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) (a)

Backlog cases are defined as cases older than 60 days

Retirements of Public Servants
Current Backlog as of 31 March 2022	1 345

(1) (b)

Pension Payouts for Retired Public Servants	no	%
Retirees Paid within 60 Days	29 855	88,78
TOTAL Retirees Paid	33 627	100,00

(1) (c) (i) (ii)

Year	Paid within 30 Days	Total Paid
	no	%	100%
Retirement Claims 2019/20	21 905	64,27%	34 081
Retirement Claims 2020/21	13 255	47,41%	27 956
Retirement Claims 2021/22	20 485	60,92%	33 627

(2) (a)

The GPAA has implemented the following initiates to improve the pay out of pension benefits:

• Improved staff capacity to deal with claim volumes given the constraints the department had faced under the Covid-19 regulations;
• System enhancements were done, where all retirement exit claims now pass through an automated process first allowing for reduced human intervention;
• Validations conducted in advance to further reduce unnecessary delays in the processing of claims. These validations include amongst others bank verifications of particulars and identification verifications with Department of Home Affairs;
• Reintroduction of member and employer department engagements under the required Covid-19 protocols. These engagements include Retiring Member Campaigns specifically focused on public servants who will soon retire, Human Resources forums with Employer Departments and Webinars;
• The establishment of a consultative forum between the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), GPAA and GEPF to deal with matters relating to the submission of exit claims by employer departments.

(2) (b)

In addition to the above, the GEPF has implemented the following initiatives:

• Hosted retirement member workshops on a regular basis. During these workshops the discussions and interactions focus on the requirements and responsibilities of members and departments when retirement is applied for. These workshops were conducted virtually in most cases but have now returned to physical format following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
• Set up mobile offices to execute its outreach initiatives and ease the burden of engagement for members who are located in remote or rural areas; and
• Developed educational videos which explain how members should complete the required exit forms and detail all the documentation required when a member exits.

The initiatives have resulted in varied success. In 93% of the cases, the GEPF is able to pay the retirement claims within 60 days from receipt of correct information. The initiatives have led to a reduced number of cases where documentation is sent back for correction. The initiatives have also resulted in more cases where employers provide the correct and complete documentation within 30 days. It is important to note that though there have been administrative delays in payments for some retirement benefits, this does not represent the majority of the cases. The majority of retirements are being paid within the 60 day period as per the GEP Law.

Reply:

The Municipal Demarcation Board is responsible for delimiting metropolitan and local municipalities into wards, a Councillor representing a ward is elected by the voters registered in that specific ward. The finalisation of ward boundaries was informed by a comprehensive public participation and consultative process that was undertaken by the MDB, and the number of wards in the country increased from 4,392 in 2016 to 4,468 in 2021.

In terms of Section 73 of the Municipal Structures Act (as amended), metropolitan and local municipalities must establish ward committees within 120 days after the election of a municipal council. If the ward committee is not established within the 120 days, the Speaker must request the MEC for an extension. Section 73(3) of the Act requires metropolitan and local municipalities to make rules regulating the procedure to elect members of ward committees, taking into account the need to for women to be equitably represented in the committee and for a diversity of interests in the ward to be represented.

The Department is currently monitoring the establishment of ward committees in all metropolitan and local municipalities across the country.

Reply:

On 17 February 2022, the Director-General (DG) of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) approved the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s request to establish a multi-disciplinary Task Team to Develop / Review the Draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Donor Review Committee prepared by the NPA.

The Task Team met on 8 March and 25 March 2022, and is currently in a process of compiling a detailed report to the National Director of Public Prosecutions and DG of the DoJ&CD in which certain recommendations will be made on its purpose as well as the rules and procedures that will govern its operations.

The target date for the implementation of the protocol is 30 June 2022.

Reply:

The Department has embarked on a process to review posts on the organogram for the following reasons:

• First, in order to create a fit for purpose capacity, aligned to the new Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan
• Second, to address the potential duplication caused by the merger of the Economic Development Department (EDD) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) into the new Department which was based on transferring all the posts of both departments to the new Department.
• Third, to align staffing to the available budget in light of reductions in the Department’s operating budget; and
• Finally, to take account of changes in technology and greater use of virtual platforms that requires a change in the skills sets in the Department and may make some functions redundant while requiring new skills and functions.

In the next phase of the consolidation of the Department, a revised staff structure is being developed. This is done in a manner that enables the core work of the Department to not be interrupted. This includes too a review of the organogram of the Department and will also benefit from consultation and staff feedback.

The new APP will require specific skills gaps to be identified and posts created. To avoid the bureaucracy expanding, current funded posts will be converted to the new skills profiles required. For example, the following skills needs have been identified to date:

• Business turnaround skills to assist companies undergoing challenges in the market
• Facilitation, social negotiation and engagement skills required to help unlock economic opportunities through Master Plans and firm-level compacts
• Financial analysis of company accounts and analysis of trade and other economic trends and data; and
• Facilitation skills to assist firms to expand their export footprints, including through accessing market opportunities through bilateral trade agreements.

The Ministry has further requested that the number of posts be reviewed to ensure (a) that a greater portion of the staff budget goes to front-office delivery staff instead of administration (which currently accounts for 33% of the staff); and (b) that the ratio of budget committed to staff compared to direct support to industry be reviewed, to identify ways of increasing budget allocation to industrial support measures.

The following staff numbers apply to the Department:

A total of 1 176 staff were in the employ of the Department as at 31 March 2022. This number includes staff appointed on contract.

As at 31 March, in light of the review described above, there were 9 vacancies that had been approved and declared with a process commencing to fill the following posts:

• Director-General: 1
• Deputy Directors-General: 3
• Chief Directors: 2
• Directors: 1
• Deputy Directors: 2

Of these, 2 have subsequently been filled and an offer has been made for a third person.

A further 130 positions are subject to the review set out above, which will be completed as follows:

• With effect from 1 June 2022, 33 posts have been approved for advertising and filling, as follows:
  • Chief Directors: 7
  • Directors: 11
  • Deputy Directors: 13
  • Assistant Directors: 2

• By end August 2022, the draft new draft organogram which will include details on the posts to be retained, will be completed. This will allow for consultation and feedback and for the final organogram to be completed and relevant parts to be implemented within the timeframes set out in the Annual Performance Plan of the department.

One DDG post is kept vacant until the return of the Ambassador to the WTO, who is retained at DDG level by the DTIC.

Appointments on contracts for a limited period will be approved to address short-term and urgent needs whilst the organogram process is being completed.

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I am advised by the Department as follows:

1. Information for 2019/20 on Communications, Marketing and Media services is classified according to the economic classification per the Annual Financial Statements. The related expenditure is contained in the Statement of Financial Performance and the notes to the Annual Financial Statements (see pages 140 and 260 of the dtic 2019/2020 Annual Report). Information on the details of service providers and services provided, is being compiled and will be provided shortly.

2. Information for the 2020/21 financial year was previously provided to the Member in response to PQ No. 1140 (published 07 May 2021).

3. Information for 2021/2022 financial year will be published in the Annual Report of the dtic once the AGSA has completed its audit.

The department further advises that all services were procured from suppliers registered on the National Treasury’s database and were in full compliance with the Supply Chain Management Policy of the department and in accordance with National Treasury’s prescripts. Single source procurement was only done when one supplier was qualified to fulfil the requirements in line with the objectives of the marketing brief.

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Reply:

Finetown Secondary School was only closed for two days. The challenge of overcrowding is common in schools serving informal settlement due to non-stop immigration to such areas which cannot be planned for.  The department requires an amount over 5 billion Rands to build over 16 000 additional classes to overcome overcrowding in the sector, Finetown Secondary included. Such funding is currently unavailable to the sector due to budget constraints as the country focuses on rebuilding flood ravaged areas of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and North West.

Reply:

(a) The public schools' sector loses between 18 000-22 000 (4.5%-5.5% of the overall educator population) educators annually due to natural attrition, in the main, driven by resignations, retirements and deaths. Analysis of excess deaths shows that there was a notable increase in deaths during the height of COVID-19. However, on the whole, the numbers were still within the range in terms of the annual attrition rate experienced by the sector. Therefore, educators that the sector lost due to COVID-19 deaths were continuously being replaced as part of the overall replacement of educators due to natural attrition. 

(b) The replacement of educators lost due to attrition is an ongoing process.

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development’s agency, Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), which provides financial assistance could not find any record of an application by a Mme Kate, who owns a Spaza shop in Maseru Street, Soweto. For Mme Kate to be considered for funding, an application for funding needs to be submitted. Mme Kate may also visit the nearest sefa Regional Office for assistance in completing and submitting the funding application. The necessary details, including the funding application form, can be found on www.sefa.org.za

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MIINISTER: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is still processing the response to the question, once done they will respond to us.

Reply:

(1). A number of universities and museums in the public and private sectors are in possession of human remains. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has developed the National Policy on the Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects to deal with this issue. As part of the implementation of this Policy, the Department, together with the South African Heritage Resources Agency is establishing the Repatriation and Restitution Office (RRO), which will directly deal with the repatriation and restitution of human remains and heritage objects. Additionally, the Minister has appointed an Advisory Committee that will provide expert advice on this matter to the RRO and the Department.

2. The Ministry has been advised of the Stuurman family dispute and is being regularly updated on the developments. In December 2021, the Minister wrote to the University of Cape Town and asked the University to ensure that all the Stuurman family members be involved in the reburial of the Sutherland 9 human remains, and in particular, that the House of Klaas and Dawid Stuurman as represented by Mr. Edmund Stuurman is part of the decision making about where the remains are to be buried.

Reply:

1. The CEO was suspended on 27 February 2021.

2. The disciplinary hearings of Ms. Mangope commenced in December 2021. Prior to the conclusion of the hearings, Ms. Mangope and the NAC agreed to part ways amicably. The disciplinary hearing of the CFO is ongoing.

Reply:

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is still processing the response to the question, once done they will respond to us.

Reply:

As indicated in our response to question 862, the status quo remains.

Reply:

(1). Robben Island Museum (RIM) does not have any records of Christian Albrecht Groepe who is said to have died on 7 August 1904, (a) and (b) falls off as there are no records of the said person.

Reply:

a) Sendelingsdrift; Onseepkans; Rietfontein; Middelsputs; Mc Carthys Rest; Makopong; Bray; Makgobistad; Swartkopfontein; Derdepoort; Pilanesberg Int Airport; Stockpoort; Zanzibar; Platjan; Pondrift; Giriyondo; Josefsdal; Nerston; Emahlathini; Bothashoop; Nerston; Waverley; Onverwacht; Monontshapass; Pekabridge; Sephaposgate; Makhaleng; Boesmansnek; Ongelusknek; Ramatsidiso.

b) Enforcement of Health protocols remains a critical requirement and with the absence of that capability the border posts cannot be re-opened.

c) The reopening of each border post is dependent on the Department of Health.

d) This is dependent on the Department of Health.

END

Reply:

When fraudulent documents are detected the Branch Civic Services refers such cases to the Branch: Counter Corruption and Security Services if it involves the Departments officials and/or to Branch: Immigration Services (Inspectorate division) if it entails investigation of foreign nationals. Otherwise cases are referred to the South African Police Services (SAPS) and other law enforcement agencies.

Upon conclusion of the investigations conducted by the above institutions, and when the outcome renders the enabling documents to be fraudulent, the Department follows a process to set markers to block, nullify and to cancel the fraudulently issued identity documents and passports on the National Population Register(NPR) as a means to maintain the credibility of the system in the Republic.

Furthermore, the Immigration Service Branch within the Department is also involved to flag such documents on the Movement Control System (MCS). As a result a note verbale is also published and circulated through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) as a means to communicate to foreign countries regarding fake or fraudulently issued passports and identity documents.

END

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education collaborates with the Central Drug Authority (CDA), a statutory body established in terms of the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act, 2008 (Act No. 70 of 2008). The DBE supports the implementation of the CDA Drug Master Plan, as reflected in the annual report.

The DBE has developed the National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in Schools, accompanied by Drug Testing Guidelines, which are currently under review to ensure these remain abreast of evidence-based developments in the field.

In addition, the resource High-on-Life Toolkit, was co-developed with the African Youth Development Agency and is used to capacitate District Co-ordinators to prevent the abuse of substances in schools.

In the course of 2021 through 2022 financial years, the Minister and Deputy Minister of Education are leading a multi-sectoral programme in all nine provinces towards the Prevention of Violence, Bullying, Corporal Punishment, Gender-based Violence, Discrimination and the Abuse of Alcohol and Substances in Schools. 

Reply:

(a), (b) (i)(ii). The National Department does not collect the requested information as part of its routine monitoring and support framework. The Department will, however, request each Provincial Education Department to provide the information as requested. The information will be provided to the Honorable Member of Parliament once it is obtained. 

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1. Yes, the department and its entities (SASSA and NDA) are planning to move to a new state-owned precinct, in Salvokop as part of the Tshwane Inner City Regeneration Programme. The plan is to permanently accommodate five state-owned government head offices as part of phase 1. These are Department of Higher Education and Training, Home Affairs, Correction Services, STASSA and the consolidated headquarters for DSD, SASSA and NDA.

The consolidated DSD/SASSA and NDA head office campus is anticipated to permanently accommodate DSD, SASSA and NDA within a state-of-the-art, custom-design, permanent facility enabling enhanced service delivery and efficient operations. This project is coordinated through a public-private partnership that is managed by National Treasury agency, the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC).

2. DSD transferred R10 million, which is a portion of the transaction advisory fees to GTAC. The rest of the outstanding fees (R10 million) will be transferred once the transaction advisors have finalised the feasibility study – which is due later in the 2022/23 financial year.

Reply:

a) The Social Work Scholarship Programme was implemented to increase the human resource capacity of the social work profession employed to deliver developmental social welfare services.

b) The Scholarship Programme stipulated conditions for funding and employment of social work graduates where-

(i) Students were to serve the Department of Social Development, NGO or any department in any capacity for which the department concerned or NGO may consider suitable, for a continuous period of number of years sponsored plus one extra year.

(ii) The department did not guarantee employment of graduates upon completion of their studies.

(iii) Opportunities for employment within DSD were to be guided by availability of posts, funds and departmental recruitment processes for all employees.

c) In the event the Department failed to appoint students on its establishment within six (6) months after completion of their studies, students would be entitled to take any social work job offers available from sector employers.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Yes, the Department is on track to achieve some of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 targets. It should be noted that the achievement of the 2030 targets is directly linked to the availability of funding from the fiscus. Whilst positive progress has been made despite funding challenges, the Post-School Education and Training service delivery environment has recently been impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 global health pandemic. The table below provides progress status on the NDP targets. 

NDP 2030 target	Current performance (2021/22)
1. University student enrolments-1.62 million	1 094 808
2. Improve academics’ qualifications: (75% of academics with PhDs)	49.3%
3. Number of masters graduates (all masters degrees annually)	12 922
4. Produce 100 PhDs per million per annum i.e. 5 000 per annum	3 552
5. Full funding for all NSFAS qualifiers (poor) and loans (state surety) for others	504 336 (universities)
	261 404 (TVET colleges)
6. Increase enrolments in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges to 1.25 million	452 277
7. Increase enrolments in Community Education and Training colleges to 1 million	142 538
8. 30 000 artisans produced per annum	15 107

University sector

Access to universities has grown substantially over the past 10 years, indicating that the country is on track to reach the NDP target of 1.6 million enrolments by 2030. Many more students enrolled in universities during the 2020 academic year.  Over 1.3 million students enrolled at public and private universities. Public universities were able to enrol 1 094 808 students, reflecting an increase of 4 808 (44%) from the set target of 1 090 000. In the same period, 504 336 qualifying students in universities received National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding for tuition fees and allowances. 

Graduation rates at public universities grew significantly, indicating that the country is on track to reach NDP targets by 2030. Student completions show that 237 882 (107%) students completed a university qualification. Doctoral graduates constitute 3 552 (107%), 12 652 (86%) engineering graduates, 9 642 (91%) life and physical sciences graduates, 9 646 (88%) human health sciences graduates, 12 922 (92%) masters graduates (all masters graduates), 1 075 animal and veterinary sciences graduates, and 30 809 (108%) initial teacher education.

Progress made on the quality of teaching provided at universities demonstrates that the country is on track to meet the 75% NDP target by 2030. To date, 49.3% of university academic staff hold PhD degrees.

TVET college sector

Admittedly, enrolments in the TVET college sector has not been at envisaged levels.  The final 2022 consolidated funding grid indicates that of the planned headcount enrolment into ministerial approved programmes, 508,445, is comprised of 503, 221 headcount enrolments funded by State and 5,224 students are to be funded by TVET Colleges from student fees. This planned enrolment respectively represents a 100% contribution to the target of 503,221 headcount enrolments funded by the state and only 6.02% contribution to the target of 86,779 headcount enrolments funded by TVET Colleges from student fees. This contributes to a combined achievement of 86.18% of the total 2022/23 target set of 590,000 for ministerial approved programmes. The total required budget for this enrolment plan amounts to R14.550 billion of which R14.385 billion is funding by the State with a correlating budget deficit of (R165 million or 1.15% funding deficit) that must be absorbed by TVET Colleges through the recovery of student fees. The NDP target of 2,5 million enrolments in TVET colleges is not likely to be met. Similarly, the target of more students to be enrolled in TVET colleges compared to universities will not be met.

CET college sector

Enrolments in CET colleges are also not growing at the envisaged levels. Enrolment stood at 142 538, showing an underachievement of 78 011 (35%) against the set target of 220 549 in 2020.

Artisan development

The skills development system targets have significantly slowed down when measured against the projected artisan registration and completion. However, since the relaxation of COVID-19 regulations, there were continuous engagements with SETAs to speed up enrolments in meeting the NDP target of producing 30 000 artisans per annum by 2030.

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Please refer to the source document attached Tag A. 

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The current audit process is that the Office of the Auditor-General has access to Financial, Procurement and Performance matters. The only part of the financial information that the office of the Auditor-General does not have access to is source information that relates to the identity of sources and their specimen signatures. However, arrangements are in place to assure the office of the Auditor-General of controls in such cases in terms of the Audit Strategy. This implies Internal Audit will verify source-related financial and performance information. In the Audit Strategy for the financial year end 2021-2022, the following areas are included in the Internal Audit Plan that the Office of the Auditor General will rely on:-

1. Operational expenditure and any other financial-statement line item that affects the covert expenditure e.g. Accounts Payable.
2. Audit of performance information (Covert operations and others as agreed).

The automatic audit qualification relates to the high inherent risk due to the nature of the environment. This means that the level of assurance that can be given by the audit is lower than in the case of other audits due to the significant inherent risk relating to the sensitivity of the environment. The combined assurance between the Office of the Auditor-General and Internal Audit is aimed at improving the access of the Office of the Auditor-General to the financial records of the SSA so as to ensure proper financial oversight.

In terms of section 3(a) of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act, 1994 (Act 40 of 1994) the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) receives reports from the Auditor-General  (AGSA) on the affairs of the State Security Agency and reports thereon to Parliament.  After obtaining such report from the AGSA, the JSCI considers the financial statements of the State Security Agency, any audit reports issued on those statements and any reports issued by the AGSA on the affairs of the State Security Agency. In order to perform its functions, the JSCI may in accordance with sections 3(i) – (l) of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act, 1994 (Act 40 of 1994):

(i) request the AGSA to explain any aspect of a report;

(ii) deliberate upon, hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and make recommendations including on the administration and financial expenditure of the State Security Agency;

(iii) consult with the Minister regarding the performance of the functions of the JSCI in terms of the above mentioned Act; and

(iv) consider and report on the appropriation of revenue or moneys for the functions of the State Security Agency.

Accordingly, the ambit of the oversight of the AGSA over the State Security Agency, and whether this is sufficient, is the subject of discussion between the Minister and the JSCI.

Yours Sincerely,

__________________________

Mr Mondli Gungubele, MP,

Minister in The Presidency

Date:

 

 

Reply:

There are no shelters in the (a) Hantam Municipality nor in the (b) Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality; In partnership with Namakhoi Municipality. The Department delayed to establish a shelter in that district, due to the fact that there has not been statistics of women who need safe accommodation and sheltering services. Establishing a shelter with no baseline information (statistics) may lead to the centre being a white elephant. A shelter was established in Springbok and was managed by an NGO, but it became a white elephant until it was closed down due to the fact that there were no victims accessing the service. Currently the victims of GBV are provided with psycho-social support service even though the shelter non-existent.

The Department is however currently in a process of establishing a shelter in Springbok district.

Reply:

a) The queue management system is a ticketing system, which identifies the services that an applicant would like to access and then issues a corresponding ticket to the applicant. The person is then able to sit anywhere in the office and wait for his/her ticket number to be called. This will do away with the current process where queues are managed through shifting positions on chairs, resulting in people being too scared to leave their chair they are sitting on, in fear of losing their place in the queue. It will also prevent those who take advantage of people queuing, by selling them priority places in the queue.

By using this system, the local offices will accurately be able to confirm the numbers of people served in any one day, the actual services they provided and also empower the local office manager to intervene when there are blockages by assigning staff to where the most pressure is.

b) As per our Annual Performance Plan for 2022/23, the queue management system will be piloted in 2 local offices in each of the 9 regions (provinces) – 18 offices in total; after which it will be progressively rolled out to all local offices, in accordance with available resources. Implementation depends on the procurement of hardware such as computers, monitors, tablets, ticket printers and a loudspeaker system.

c) The cost is estimated to be between R170 000 to R200 000 per site for rolling out the required infrastructure. This will vary depending on the size and layout of the application sites.

d) and (e) The queue management system is not directly intended to address the overcrowding of offices and the need to access the queues early. SASSA is currently also considering and piloting various online systems, which will reduce demand for accessing the physical premises and to allocate timeslots / bookings to applicants.

Reply:

1. The Northern Cape Province has eight (8) Victim Support Centres, six (6) are operational and two are in a process of being finalized. The total bed capacity of the shelters is 40. The bed capacity is sufficient because the Province has never experienced a situation where there is no space to accommodate and provide services to victims in the shelters. Victims whose home environment is safe and conducive, are provided with services by Social Workers outside of the shelter, in their homes. Over and above the four districts in the Province has a Victim Support Centre while one district does not have a Centre, which is Namaqua District. In partnership with Namakhoi Municipality, the Department is in a process of establishing a centre in the outstanding district in the current financial year 2022/23.

2. The Province does have enough capacity to render psychosocial services and has appointed sixteen (16) GBV Social Workers who are responsible for GBV related cases only. There are two (2) Victim Empowerment Social Workers in Z.F. Mgcawu and Frances Baard District who are also responsible for GBV. In partnership with National Department, HWSETA, four (4) GBV Social Work Interns are appointed on contract to strengthen GBV services in the Province. Probation Officers are also responsible to provide GBV services.

a) According to SAPS Crime Stats 2021/22, Francis Baard District (Galeshewe, Roodepan, Pampierstad, Hartswater) are the Hotspots of GBV in the Province. Furthermore, the Departmental Social Work Performance Reports from the districts confirms the crime stats, Francis Baard has the most number of victims provided with psycho-social support services.

b) The areas are identified as hotspots due to the number of cases of GBV reported at SAPS ranging from rape, murder, assault etc.

Reply:

(a) The following are the programmes in place that the Department provides to caregivers of CSG beneficiaries with more than six children:

• Participation and inclusion in Expanded Public Works Programme, poverty Alleviation Programme and Food Security.
• Parenting programmes to empower caregivers on parenting skills.

(b) The number of care givers who have 6 children in their care, for whom they receive the Child Support Grant are indicated below:

 

Caregivers with 6 children by Province (Not biological parents)
Region	No of care givers	Grand Total
Eastern Cape	336	336
Free State	62	62
Gauteng	92	92
KwaZulu-Natal	431	431
Limpopo	137	137
Mpumalanga	92	92
Northern Cape	64	64
North West	110	110
Western Cape	49	49
Grand Total	1 373	1 373

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The matters related to data from the Department of Education need to be referred to the relevant department.

1 (c) Regulation 11(1) of the Social Assistance Regulations, allows for a caregiver to apply for a social grant without identity documents; therefore an undocumented child can apply and receive a Child Support Grant, or any other grant they may qualify for.

2 (a)(ii) SASSA does not turn anyone away if they do not have identity documents. At present SASSA has provided grants to just over 35 thousand children without identity documents. In the odd occurrence that this does occur, it should be reported to the office manager of the relevant local office where the incident occurred.

Reply:

In total (11) inputs were received from various organisations and individuals which included the following: South African Institute for Race Relations, BlackSash, Institute for Economic Justice, Children’s Institute, Stellenbosch University, Banking Association of South Africa, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Department of Social Development Western Cape, Centre for Applied Legal Studies (WITS), Mr. T Brink and Mr. T Maphabela.

(b) The regulations were published on 22 February 2022 with a closing date of 13 March 2022.

Reply:

Information received from the North West Provincial Department of Transport and Roads (NWDoTR) through the North West Department of Education (NWDoE), indicates that the province experienced the budget depletion for the financial year 2021/2022 during the said period of interrupted service.  Therefore, the NWDoTR was unable to pay learner transport operators for the months of January, February and March 2022. 

When the budget for the new financial year 2022/2023 was loaded, all outstanding payments were processed. Therefore, at this moment there is no stopped or intention to stop payment intended for learners of Rakoko High School.

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(a) Total number of children reported as abandoned in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020 and (iv) 2021

	PERIOD	NUMBER OF CHILDREN REPORTED AS ABONDONED
(i) 2018	April 2017 – March 2018	144
(ii) 2019	April 2018 – March 2019	229
(iii) 2020	April 2019 – March 2020	589
(iv) 2021	April 2020 – March 2021	435

(b) The following programmes / interventions are put in place and provided in cases of abandoned children:

• In the case of an abandoned child, the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 stipulates that a social worker must gather all necessary information and affidavit/s from person/s who found or reported the child as abandoned and to report the case to police for investigation.
• The Department works with the South African Police Service (SAPS), to try and trace families of abandoned children.
• The Act makes provision for abandoned children in terms of section 150 and these children are identified as children in need of care and protection. These children can be placed in appropriate alternative care, meaning temporary safe care whilst awaiting finalisation of court proceedings on the decision for placement in foster care or child and youth care centre. Another child protection measure is adoption of such children. Section 157(3) of the Act provides that a very young child who has been abandoned must be made available for adoption in terms of Regulation 56 of the Children’s Act. Adoption as a permanent placement option gives a child the chance of growing up in a permanent family.

• Adoption services are promoted to address and sensitize communities on the dangers of child abandonment and made them aware of the available services such as counselling and support to biological parents with unwanted pregnancies and those who cannot care for their children. The service is also promoted to encourage communities to adopt children who are available for adoption and inform them of the benefits of adoption to the children and families.

• In addition to the above, the Department also provides, a programme called Risiha, which is a Community-Based intervention programme that renders core package of services within communities.

• Resiha programme is a prevention and an early intervention programmes that support families, parents and caregivers in distress, identifying risk factors that would put children’s lives in danger and further preventing vulnerabilities of children.

(c) The main reasons for child abandonment in the Republic are physio economic challenges, family breakdown and lack of family support.

(d) A total amount of R50 331 000.00 is allocated to the National Department’s Unit dealing with Children Services inclusive of child abandonment for this financial year 2022/2023.

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(a) The provisioning of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSMs) is a provincial responsibility. However, DBE guides provinces on the procurement processes which detail the activities and timeframes in line with the LTSMs sector plan.

Thereafter DBE monitors if provinces observe the timeframe set. According to the reports received from provinces, all schools received their LTSMs as per their orders for 2020/21 financial year. The Hounourable Member is requested to direct the question through the provincial legislatures, where there are province-specific questions or concerns.

(b) Provincial reports to DBE show that all schools received their ordered LTSMs. Provinces have assured the DBE that where there are shortages, the provinces are currently receiving requisitions from schools to address these shortages.

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1. (a) (b) (c). In 2011, the Department of Basic Education (in collaboration with the nine Provincial Departments of Education), determined the number of schools with no toilets.  A total of 1 053 such schools were included in the scope of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI).

At present, 1 039 of these schools have received a full set of appropriate toilets in accordance with the minimum uniform norms and standards for public school infrastructure.  The balance of 14 schools are scheduled for completion in 2022/23.

In 2018, the Department of Basic Education, again in collaboration with the nine Provincial Departments of Education, determined the number of schools that are dependent on basic pit toilets. A total of 3 482 such schools were included in the scope of the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) programme.

At present, 1 962 of these schools have received a full set of appropriate toilets in accordance with the minimum uniform norms and standards for public school infrastructure.  The balance of 1 520 schools are part of the DBE plans for this current financial year.

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Anecdotal evidence often indicates that the Child Support Grant (CSG) may be abused by a few members within society, however research has shown, that in the vast majority caregivers generally prioritise the needs of their children. It is thus important for government not to over burden the poor, mainly women, who are doing an excellent task of taking care of their children with the very limited resources at their disposal.

Because CSG applies “follow the child” principle, the grant is allocated to the caregiver who is actually taking care of the child (which may not necessarily be the biological parent). This incentivises the actual caregiver of the child to apply for the grant, if the child is not being cared for by the biological parent. In such cases, SASSA will assess, often with the support of local social workers, who is responsible for the care of the child, and pay the grant accordingly.

Raising a child is a community effort, and neither DSD, SASSA nor government, on its own, can be responsible solely for a child’s wellbeing. The reporting of child neglect, and in particular, child abuse is mandatory for professionals (such as health practitioners, teachers, ministers, etc), and encouraged for other citizens and community members in terms of section 110 (1) and (2) of the Children’s Act (Act 38 of 2005). It is thus the duty of Members of Parliament to not only listen to community complaints about child neglect and abuse, but to actively record these and facilitate reporting to the relevant authorities.

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a) The total number of 10 migrant children have been assisted with documentation.

b) The Department of Home Affairs is better positioned to respond this question.

c) 38 037 undocumented children have been referred to the Department of Home Affairs for documentation by the Implementing partners on the Children on the Move Project.

It should be noted that the R19 million programme called Children on the Move that was launched in December 2020 with UNICEF is aimed at providing capacity in the department to support implementation of the Children on the Move Programme.

Furthermore, the funds support the establishment and sustenance of the coordinating and collaborative mechanisms which amongst others include the functioning of national steering committee on Separated and Unaccompanied Children; and the development of the Standard Operating Procedures across relevant government departments.

It also funds initiatives to promote the Best Practices for Children on the move, which is a multiregional project and has been implemented in Central America (Mexico, El Salvador) and Eastern & Southern Africa (Zambia, South Africa).

The duration of the project is 30 months, starting December 2020. The funds are administered by UNICEF.