Questions and Replies

Reply:

The COVID-19 pandemic that has spread rapidly and extensively around the world since March 2020, has had profound impact on the delivery of social development services to citizens especially community mobilisation, sustainable livelihoods, food security, registration and funding of non-profit organisations services. The unfolding crisis has affected these services and threatened people’s access to services and food. The country has witnessed not only a major disruption to food supply chains in the wake of lockdowns triggered by the global health crisis, but also a major global economic slowdown.

These crises have resulted in lower incomes and higher prices of food, putting food out of reach for many, and undermining the right to food and stalling efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goals. The Department (DSD) has been providing food and nutrition services to combat the growing challenge of malnutrition and hunger amongst poor and vulnerable communities therefore Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the provision of such very important commodity.

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the department developed a system of service delivery that empowered communities with economic empowerment projects, mobilisation and dialogue, food distribution and registration and funding of NPOs. South Africa has experienced an increase in the levels of food insecurity and vulnerability during this pandemic and the necessary lock-down to prevent the spread of the virus. Prior to lock-down the percentage of households with inadequate access to food was at 20.2% (3 347 342 people) in 2018. The lock-down exacerbated the magnitude of the need for food as more poor people living below the food poverty line found themselves with limited resources to sustain food supplies for their families.

The number of people accessing nutritious foods through DSD Food Programmes increased to 9 244 072 and 2 264 325 households, whilst the target set was 3 300 000 people and 1 million households. There was an increase in the number of persons accessing Psychosocial Support Services in 2020 as opposed to 2019. The increase can be attributed to the trauma resulted from the overall COVID-19 situation in the country.

The DSD through the Gender Based Violence Command Centre (GBV CC) mended by Social Workers dealt with all forms of trauma. There are number of reasons to the increase in the number of persons accessing psychosocial service via the GBV CC. For e.g. during the hard Lock down of March 2020, many people found themselves in confined spaces, with threatened job losses/security, this meant more people needed psychosocial support services. The Command Centre as a 24/7 telephonic service and was easily accessible under lockdown restrictions. Below table indicates over 50% increase on the comparison of number of persons who accessed the Centre for the period under review (2019 Vs 2020).

• Above indicates exponential increase of over 50%
• The below is the reflection of number recorded cases that have since remained stable in 2021 as the situation of COVID-19/restrictions have been eased:

GBVCC Statistical Report
Date	Telephone call Receive	USSDs Received	SMS’s Received	Total
Jan - Dec	73 829	3484	2843	80156

Some of the impact of COVID 19 on shelters for victims of crime and violence are as follows:

• Beneficiaries of services in social welfare facilities which amongst other include older were negatively impacted by restrictions imposed by the Disaster Regulations and Directions which did not allow any visitation to these facilities during COVID 19. The closure of community-based programmes also created a burden to families who were strained and were not prepared to care for their individual members during that period.
• There was also a sudden increase in the number of persons who used the anti-substance abuse services. The following table illustrates number of persons reached through Anti-Substance Abuse programme during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years:

Level of services	2020/21	2021/22
Prevention	217 9218	5 085 296
Treatment	32 575	44 332
Aftercare	7 557	10 032
Total	2 219 350	5 139 660

In general, the social welfare programme has been partially negatively impacted to render services as expected as the result of the outbreak. Some of the programmes that are customised to be delivered physically were compromised and delivered using the hybrid model and not all provinces and persons are having excess to the technological infrastructure.

The Department of Social Development (DSD) along with its agencies (South African Social Security Agency – SASSA and the National Development Agency - NDA) have initiated a Social Sector Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Working Group for COVID-19 related projects. The studies which included three (3) rapid assessments were conducted to gather robust evidence on high priority strategies implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The table below summarises the findings of the three studies.

TITLE OF STUDY	KEY FINDINGS
1. Rapid Assessment on the Implementation and Utilisation of the Special R350 COVID-19 Grant	The findings indicates that: a) Communication about access, application process and criteria as this was misunderstood by those in need and this area requires improvement. b) The beneficiaries of the Special R350 COVID-19 grant are most likely in rural areas, less educated, less tech-savvy, and heavily reliant on word of mouth communication. c) Reach was subsequently hindered as those that qualified did not have the means and/or knowledge of how to apply. d) There is also a strong need to find ways to mitigate and bridge the digital divide in the administration of social security. This is supported by majority of the respondents (88%) who maintain that the grant to be accessed by all poor individuals that apply as there are many poor people in South Africa (as explained by 77% of respondents).
2. A rapid assessment of key monitoring indicators of measuring the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on child wellbeing in South Africa	a) General observations: The responsibility to care for children predominately rest on single parents. There are variations in family dynamics and support structure in different districts with possible implications for wholesome childcare and protection. This supposition is illustrated in various findings and should be considering in developing community specific interventions. Most households are headed by unemployed females who predominantly depend on child support grants. The high burden of childcare on single parents may be an impediment to pursue opportunities to improve their material circumstances and possibly break the circle of poverty and impoverishment. b) Child Protection and Psychosocial Domains: A higher proportion of children feel unsafe even if they have never been hurt. This may be reflective of the internal and external environment they find themselves. Exposure to adult violence was high in most of the districts and children in most cases reported being hurt, highlighting child safety and protection issues. Sexual abuse rates are high and affects children of all ages, with risk increasing by age group. The long-term psychosocial health implication of this may require attention and the integrated school health programme can be leveraged. c) Food Security and Anthropometric Findings: Rates of experience of hunger are concerning and vary considerably across districts. These variations are potentially due to prevailing socio-cultural, environmental, and economic dynamics. Anthropometric findings indicate that among vulnerable children targeted by this study, the prevalence of malnutrition is very high as reflected by the high proportions affected by stunting and underweight. d) Education and Economic Wellbeing Domains: A concerning proportion of children of school going age are not attending school especially among the younger age groups. Special programmes to ensure greater school attendance are essential as a path to true self-reliance. High proportions of children reported having limited or no support with schoolwork and also many don’t have access to stationery. A portion of the household heads reported not being able to provide basic needs such as food, water, and clothing despite the grants. Higher proportions of children from households with other income sources access basic needs compared to those that are solely dependent on social grants. Families that reported being able to provide basic needs had higher proportions of children who attend school regularly and their daughters are less likely to miss school due to not having sanitary pads. e) Health and HIV/AIDS Domains: There are varying levels of poor health among children across districts, with high rates of recent illness reported in the same districts that also had the lowest health seeking rates. Overall findings indicate high rates of recent illness reported among vulnerable children. Poor health seeking observed in some districts may indicate systemic challenges related to access to healthcare which require more investigation.
3. Synthesis evaluation of Social Development sector’s response to food relief mechanism during Covid-19	a) Relevance: The study found that the DSD food relief intervention was relevant for SA government needed to continually address the root causes of poverty, hunger and unemployment through policy initiatives and safety nets such as social grants to economically disempowered persons. There is a need for a systematic and consolidated approach to address the haphazard nature of government response to hunger and unemployment due to the lack of an integrated strategy to assist vulnerable people during crisis periods. b) Cohesion: The relief effort was targeted at reaching the vulnerable families, experiencing severe food insecurity during the lockdown period and was designed to be a stopgap measure to allow time for the more systemic government grant solutions to come on stream, and the resumption of government feeding programmes at schools and DSD centres. c) Effectiveness: The department was able to reach the most deserving vulnerable people through its partnership with SASSA. DSD and SASSA worked on a digital method for people to apply for grants as well as for the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant. This digital method applied to both smart and non-smart mobile phones to allow for others to apply on behalf of people who did not have a mobile phone or were not comfortable using one. d) Efficiency: There was resource efficiency given that most of the Fund’s disbursement went directly to beneficiaries, with very limited funding covering intermediary distribution costs. On average, the distribution costs were 6% of the total disbursement, with remote areas incurring higher distribution charges. e) Sustainability: Collaboration between the various levels of government and non-state actors in providing food relief response proved the potential of effective intergovernmental relations in responding to the needs of the poor. The use of hybrid food distribution (food parcels, cooked food and e-Voucher) model. The use of other stakeholders (multi-stakeholder approach to food distribution) will in future provide a working model for implementing food relief for future disasters. The disaster also assisted the capacity development of DSD internal systems for planning for disasters.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (DSD)

(a)(b) (i)(ii) (aa)(bb)(cc)(dd)(ee) Neither the Department nor its public entities have concluded any commercial contracts with the Government or any entity.

Reply:

a) It is true that the road infrastructure plays a critical role in the economy of our country and has to play a complimentary role with regards to its sister mode, the rail infrastructure. It is for this reason that while the department is putting policies for rail sector, the road sector is going ahead with its road infrastructure plan:

i) The road policy is being developed with four critical chapters, namely: Road Safety, Road Financing, Non-Motorised and road infrastructure delivery models. The consultation of this policy position is underway and would be concluded soon.

ii). The classification of roads in South Africa is underway and this in terms of the RISFSA guideline document and this classification will guide spheres of government on the responsibility as Road Authorities.

iii). The national roads are managed by SANRAL which is the road agency of the National Department of Transport whilst other categories of road are managed by provincial road department and municipalities.

Table one below explains road network and the responsible authority to manage it:

Authority	Paved	Gravel	Total
SANRAL	22,262	0	22,262
Provinces – 9	46,511	226,273	272,782
Metros – 8	51,682	14,461	66,143
Municipalities	37,680	219,223	256,903
Total	158,124	459,957	618,081
Unproclaimed (estimated)		131,919	131,919
Estimated total	158,124	591,876	750,000
Unproclaimed roads = Public roads not formally gazetted by any authority

iv) Provincial roads receive a grant called Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant (PRMG) from National Department of Transport (NDOT). The NDOT does oversight role on business plans submitted by provinces during the implementation stages of the grant.

This grant started during 2011/12 financial year and it is addressing the maintenance challenges the provinces face on their roads.

(b) (i)There has been huge successes with regard to road programs across the country:

-SANRAL: Road network is one of the best and it is ranked 18th in the world

-Provincial Roads are mostly having challenges due to the lack of critical technical skills at both Provincial and Municipal spheres of government. For this reason SANRAL is now assigned responsibilities to assist with technical skills for the construction and maintenance of provincial road in particular by entering into MOU/MOA, and also in skills transfer.

(ii) Challenges experienced:

• There is a shortage of requisite technical skills particularly at Provincial and Municipal levels. They are unable to keep top engineers and relevant technical skills where the private sector pays more than the government.

• The business forums disrupt projects demanding 30 percent without doing any work.

• Another challenge is the level of funding in general, which is still lower than what is required and this is a general problem across all sectors.

As the economy improves, we believe government will be able to assist all sectors of our economy.

Reply:

Yes.The recommendations made by the Technical Committee for Payments of Social Grants were mostly implemented, as most of them dealt with the transition of the payment services from Cash Payment Services (CPS) to the South African Post Office (SAPO) and the governance thereof.

The review of the SASSA implementation processes is in line with the amendments to the regulations. There are however, few governance and institutional reviews that are still work in progress. For example, the Department of Social Development has prepared a draft South African Social Security Agency Amendment Bill whilst the operationalisation of the Social Assistance Amendment Act No. 16 of 2020 and the amendment regulations thereof will be published shortly.

The recommendations by the Technical Committee can be summarised in 7 categories in the table below.

List of recommendations	a) Implemented	b) Not Implemented and why?	Ongoing
1. Documenting standard operating procedures: SASSA needs to document standard operating procedures of the new system as well as incorporate the biometric system. The SOPs must cover the entire cash transfer programme.	Yes:
2. Management and administration: A formal process of accountability and responsibility is required in which the system and institution operates. SASSA and SAPO need to collaborate to determine and implement a synchronised accountability system.	Yes: There is a Service Level Agreement governing and delineating responsibilities in the contract between SASSA and SAPO.
3. Process redesign: Identify multiple payment channels: (a). Different methods of payment available to beneficiaries; (b). The investment of SAPO and SASSA staff at the SAPO offices needs to be informed by the beneficiaries’ choice of accessing money.	Yes:
4. Management information system: Management and Information systems (MIS) are of crucial importance to ensure cash transfer programmes are effectively implemented.	Yes. Payment files are generated by the system and verification of beneficiary status with Home Affairs is done monthly before payment is processed.
5. Grievance and redress: Implement a grievance system at the different SAPO station and ensure it corresponds to SASSA office grievance and redress.	Yes. A system is in place whereby beneficiaries can lodge their complaints and grievances at the post office, Postbank and SASSA. Beneficiaries are able to lodge their complaints due to alleged payment fraud. These are investigated and refunded based on the merits of the fraud.		The refund of beneficiaries is still ongoing.
6. Monitoring and evaluation system: Robust monitoring and evaluation are crucial both for programme performance and political sustainability as well as to ensure quality control and assurance.	Yes: The SASSA has a monitoring and evaluation system in place though the following structures: SASSA/ SAPO Steering Committee Joint Steering Committee at a ministerial level between Minister of the DSD and Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies Joint EXCO DSD/(DCDT), SASSA & SAPO.		This process is ongoing, because the committees meet on a regular basis to monitor and evaluate progress.
7. Financial Inclusion: The current payment plan excludes financial integration for beneficiaries. Increasing financial access to the poor and allowing transfers into an account for beneficiaries enable households to save for future needs.		No: This is due to the high number of deductions on the CPS card; unauthorised deductions such as: airtime, data, enticing people to take more than one funeral policy and loans. Discussion were held with the oversight structures that the SAPO card will be restricted. Beneficiaries will only be allowed to have one funeral policy deducted and no other unauthorised deductions will be allowed on their SAPO card.

Workstreams: For SASSA to be able to effectively insource its core functions (grant administration and distribution) it had to undertake an extensive change programme spanning over 5 years with key functional components and sub-components that required:

• new and up-skilled workforce,
• improved business processes, and
• technology investments.

Therefore, 11 programmes were developed by the workstreams to ensure that a careful and tightly integrated orchestration of activities can be set into motion to ensure that, in parallel to sourcing new payment service providers, that SASSA is able to undertake a number of change and readiness exercises.

It was recommended that in year one (1), a new service provider/s can commence with an on-schedule transfer of functions to SASSA in a phased “transition and integration” towards strategic insource completion.

Recommendations	Implemented	Not implemented
CPS phase-out – Build-Operate- Transfer (BOT) model has been recommended - transitioning strategic functions to SASSA in two phases, every two years in duration, thus resulting in a three-year contract with a two-year extension or ultimately a five year contract.	CPS is no longer rendering any contracted services for SASSA. Inter-Governmental Partnership in place - SAPO/Postbank services comprising: card issuance over-the-counter payment cash disbursement at pay points. .	The Built-Operate-Transfer model (BOT) as part of the payment review process – the SASSA / SAPO agreement was based on BOT arrangement, but unfortunately due to other complications within SAPO and how some of their contracts with service providers were structured, it was not feasible for SASSA to continue on a BOT arrangement, Hence SASSA opted to go through a BPR process.
New payment infrastructure programme - strategic business processes are insourced and other payment functions co-sourced. Core Banking and Payments Electronic payment Alternative pay points		As far as card issuance and payments are concerned – SASSA is currently engaging South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to establish possibilities for participation in the National Payment System (NPS) space as a non-bank organisation. The engagements are at an early stage. In the same note, there is a project which is at a conceptual stage to look at implementation dynamics for a number of disbursement options in an effort to get the recommendation by the work-streams to life. The first report of this team was presented to SASSA EXCO in April 2022 and the team is currently packaging the terms of reference of the project, including finalisation of the appointment of team members.
	SAPO/Postbank is responsible for - Card Body Production, Card Issuing, Account Issuing and transaction processing.
	Insourced service: A cash send payment option has been introduced, although currently used only by COVID 19SRD R350 grant recipients.
	Merchants network established and selected Retailers are now part of the Grant Payment eco-system. Various banks offer payments services including a wide range of ATMs.
Identity and Access management programme - integrated multi-factor authentication and access control capability. User Biometric Access for internal staff	Biometric and Smart Card, as the central identity database and authorization for frontline staff project started in 2019. The project was stopped as a result of COVID-19. However, by the end of the 2020/2021 grants value chain officials have been registered and are making full use of the system.	Beneficiary Biometric project was halted due to disagreements with organised labour in 2019/2020 financial year. The issues of dispute have since been resolved. For the 2022/23 financial year, the beneficiary biometrics project will be piloted in 4 local offices in line with the agreement with the organised labour.
Fraud, risk management and cyber assurance - ensure a more robust integrated risk management process to adequately address Fraud & Risk Management System Cyber Assurance & Risk Analytics Service		Introduction of Signature pads – this has not been done as yet but this is part of the SASSA Automation Strategy which goes beyond the Signature but focuses on their ICT and service offering to support business operations.
Web enabled platform - build a single web enabled platform to host all applications the user can access to process grants Applications for deductions to manage Regulation 26 are internally performed.	The web enabled platform is being implemented. The Online Grants Application System is being rolled out and is stabilising. Regulation 26A deduction has been insourced with the assistance of QLink.
Biometric enrolled programme - SASSA to biometrically enrol beneficiaries and recipients of grants. High performance one-to-many matching server and integration to Home Affairs for identity verification.	SASSA has completed the rollout of Biometrics for Socpen Users access. A non-repudiation capability is built into the authentication process and this has significantly reduced user identity swaps and/or stealing to perform unauthorised access to the system or perform fraudulent transactions. SASSA performs beneficiary validation and verification with Department of Home Affairs systematically before payment is run.	The one-to-many biometric server has not been implemented.
Integrated customer care and support - improve beneficiary experience through quality of service delivery	Electronic Queue Management system – Piloted in Benoni Office and work is in progress to roll-it out to an additional 18 offices during 2022/23 financial year.
Alternative pay points and Local Economic Development Cashless environment where beneficiaries can utilize the SASSA payment card to purchase goods electronically.		SASSA to fast track some of the changes that were envisaged over time. These changes included automation of the application process; opening of multiple application channels, and introduction of an additional payment channel. SASSA is extending these lessons to cover the normal social grant process.
Date service integration An integration layer must be built to support integration of data and the system between SASSA’s internal systems and external partners (government and non-governmental).	SASSA is able to conduct real-time personal information verification (ID numbers, name match etc.) of beneficiaries through the Department of Home Affairs. Other departments and entities that SASSA has a system interface with and where such information is currently utilised for the COVID 19 SRD R350 grant applications with the intention of progressively introduced for main-stream grants applications process and these are: SARS, Department of Labour (UIF) National Student Financial Aid Scheme Correctional Services PERSAL and PERSOL Department of Public Service and Administration Government Employees Pension Fund Pensions database from National Treasury.
SASSA readiness change management office - Project Management framework developed to govern evolution of projects and programmes Establish Programme and Project management office to support the change management	Projects management office has been established. Change management – culture and ability audit conducted and the entity is currently implementing recommendations from the survey.
Supply Chain Management readiness SASSA’s capacity and capability to manage external partners including merchants in the payment value chain		Only manual monitoring is conducted at merchants as part of the customer care programme.

Reply:

a) PRASA operations are receiving increased attention from the Department in a number of ways:

1. In terms of the Shareholder Compact and Corporate Plan Prasa submits quarterly reports to the Department as a monitoring mechanism to track progress in key deliverables signed by the Minister and the Board of Control;
2. Quarterly meetings are held to present progress reports to the Department of Transport;
3. The Capital Project Steering Committee (CPSC) has been established and is convened quarterly to monitor progress in the implementation of CAPEX;

In addition to the above mechanisms the CPSC conducts oversight on the projects to verify information submitted.

b) PRASA has made strides in implementing the Integrated Security Plan launched by the Minister in October 2020. Security deployments have been made across identified hotspots.

Crimes and the type of crimes vary within PRASA. Constant intelligence and crime operations shows the different modus operandi within the different regions. When looking at the various crime data and information gathered, it shows how different regions will experience different types of crimes.

Intelligence driven projects, and criminal syndication penetration operations, have yielded great results. This would need to be intensified by strengthening PRASA joint operations with both the State security agency and SAPS crime intelligence.

Reply:

According to the Western Cape Department of Health, the Department has taken a multi-pronged approach to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. In line with the Departments security strategy, the department has commenced with the following:

1. Liaised with Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety for a standard operating procedure to guide hospital CEOs with oversight and management of armed South African Police Service (SAPS) officials who access health care facilities including armed SAPS officials who are guarding patients requiring inpatients care.
2. Coordination by the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety for the implementation of a Provincial Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the SAPS Western Cape Provincial Commander and the MEC of Western Cape Health and Wellness. This MOA is to commit local resources for visibility and support of Health Facilities in the Province.
3. The implementation of complementary security measures such as the implementation security technology to bolster the security officer deployment.
4. A review of the current CCTV installations at health facilities and the procurement of CCTV systems on the approved tender since July 2021.

END.

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

The Copyright Review Commission set up by the Department, considered the matter and its report recommended as follows:

“The Copyright Act must be amended to include a section modelled on that in the US Copyright Act providing for the reversion of assigned rights 25 years after the copyright came into existence. Such an amendment will go far to relieve the plight of composers whose works still earn large sums of money that are going to the assignees of the composers’ rights long after the assignees (or their predecessors) have recouped their initial investment and made substantial profits, in excess of those anticipated when the original assignment was taken”, page 102.

The Copyright Amendment Bill, 2017 and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill, 2016 Bills addresses the challenges of musicians in terms of the Copyright Review Commission report.

One of the amendments to the Copyright Act (Act No. 98 of 1978) is limiting the period of assignment to 25 years in order to aid musicians and creators to reclaim the rights to their copyright which was assigned to a producer or publisher, because they can exploit those works after 25 years when it reverts to the musician and creator.

One of the challenges musicians face is unfair contracts signed on a work that continues to make significant returns over time including after those assigned have recouped initial investment. In many cases, the musicians have signed the rights away in assignments and earn no royalties or income to those works and are locked in those contracts without economic benefits accruing to them. The Department advises that in a number of cases, musicians would have been paid a very small initial once off amount for their original work. This provision in section 22 of the Bill ensures that the musicians can have access to the copyright in musical or literary works after 25 years of such assignment.

The Copyright Tribunal under the Act has limited scope and jurisdiction. The scope of matters the Tribunal may hear has been extended to all Copyright matters in the Bill, therefore addressing issues of access. Regulations will further empower how the Tribunal will operate once the legislation has been finalised. The Department and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission will embark on education and awareness programmes on the amendments to educate citizens on the changes.

On 16 June 2020, the President referred the Copyright Amendment Bill, 2017 and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill, 2016 back to the National Assembly to address constitutional issues. The remitted Bills are currently before the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition, and will be referred to the National Council of Provinces for consideration thereafter.

-END-

Reply:

Honourable Member is advised to refer to the response to Question 1770 she asked on 13 May 2022.

END.

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

Thank Hon. Member by this question. The matter you have raised shall be attended to. Employer Audit Services under the Inspection and Enforcement Services in the North West Province will visit the two mines and ensure that all employees are registered for UIF and contributed for.

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

• While the National Treasury has not specifically done a full cost analysis evaluating the impact that load shedding has had on GDP since 2008, various analyses have been undertaken over the past few years to assess the impact of the electricity constraint on economic activity.
• To understand the impact of electricity shortages on factor productivity, investment and potential growth, the National Treasury uses analytical tools such as its macro-structural model (which is also used for the macroeconomic forecast) as well as a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model.
• This macro-econometric analysis generally builds on detailed energy modelling conducted by institutions such as the CSIR and is always supplemented by secondary research, data from Eskom’s Medium-Term System Adequacy Outlook as well as consultations with key stakeholders in the energy sector.
• Some of this analytical work has focused specifically on the economic impact of load shedding, which has been published in several editions of the Budget Review as macro-fiscal scenarios that inform the budgeting process. This includes:
  • • The 2019 Budget Review quantified the impact of a decline in Eskom’s average energy availability factor to between 65 and 70 per cent for 18 months. As a consequence, GDP growth was anticipated to weaken to 0.2 per cent in 2019 relative to the baseline forecast of 1.5 per cent (which is equivalent to a loss in GDP of R40 billion in real terms).
    • The 2015 Budget Review estimated growth to decline by 1 per cent in 2015 should there continue to be a deterioration in electricity availability.
• Beyond assessing the impact of load shedding on the economy, several studies on the evolution of electricity supply and economic growth have been conducted as part of the National Treasury’s Southern Africa - Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) programme. These studies are available on the SA-TIED website (https://sa-tied.wider.unu.edu/climate).
• National Treasury takes into account the energy constraint when generating its macroeconomic forecasts, and frequently reviews its outlook for load shedding based on the most recent information at its disposal.

Reply:

This and other poor service delivery issues of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) were brought to our attention.

a) To that end Cabinet approved an intervention in terms of section 139 (7) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 aiming to create stability and improve service delivery. DCOG is in the process of appointing senior managers as was highlighted in the background above.

b) It is expected that the acting senior personnel, including the Acting Municipal Manager and Acting Engineering Services Head of Department, will ensure that service delivery plans are in place within three (3) months, budgeted for and implemented to remedy the situation.

The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) will provide technical support to MMM with regard to infrastructure development and service delivery.

Reply:

Kindly note that National Treasury Instruction Note 3 of 2021/2022 paragraph 6 states that, should an organ of state opt to restrict the contractor and or any other persons from obtaining a business with the public sector, the relevant institution must:

• Inform the contractor or person(s) of the intention to impose a restriction, provide the reasons for such decision and the envisaged period of restriction.
• Allow the contractor and or person (s) to provide reasons why the envisaged restriction should not be imposed.
• Consider any reasons submitted by the contractor and or person in terms of two bullets;
• Inform the National Treasury such imposition of the name of the restricted person(s), the reasons for restriction, the period of restriction and the date of commencement of restriction ( date, month and year).
• National Treasury will then consider the submission by an Accounting Officer/Authority then list the affected contractor and or person (s) to provide reasons.

Summarily: Government institutions that utilized services of such a contractor and or person (s) must follow the National Treasury Instruction Note 3 of 2021/2022 paragraph 6 and finally send the submission to the National Treasury; without that submission National Treasury would not be able to finalize any restriction of suppliers.

Reply:

South Africa’s foreign policy promotes human rights and a broad developmental agenda both in the continent and the world. As the political head of the Department of Employment and Labour, the Minister leads the country’s domestic priorities in the global labour agenda (i.e. promoting rights at work, encouraging decent employment opportunities, enhancing social protection and strengthening dialogue) linking these to own priorities such as sustainable economic growth, employment, social justice and ultimately equality for all.

In line with the objectives set above and since his appointment in 2019, the Minister and support staff from his office have undertaken 7 international visit to the following destinations:

 

Botswana: ARLAC Ministerial meeting (February 2022);

Cost:

Accommodation& Flights: R 26890.26

Daily allowances: R6000

Brazil: Attending BRICS Ministerial meeting (September 2019);

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 403923.79

Daily allowances: R6 633, 64

Cuba: Consolidation of Bilateral relations as per the signed MoU (November 2019);

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 205651.86

Daily allowances: R14 759, 73

France: Attending the Global Deal Conference of which South Africa is a member (February 2020);

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 277429.79

Daily allowances: R9694, 60

Geneva: Attending the International Labour Conference (June 2019) and Governing Body (November 2019)

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 252779.79

Daily allowances: R 31000

Ivory Coast: ILO Africa Regional Meeting and part of Presidential visit and signed an MoU (December 2021)

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 374608.85

Daily allowances: R10536,47

Ivory Coast: ILO Africa Regional Meeting (December 2019) and part of Presidential visit and signed and MoU.

Cost:

Accommodation & Flights: R 152105.79

Daily allowances: R10089, 73

Reply:

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

 

-END-

Reply:

The Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), Ms Thabang Mampane has advised as follows:

(a)(i) and (ii) Provincial breakdown of the total number of applications received,:

Provinces	2020/21	2021/22
Gauteng	1 183	1 867
Mpumalanga	545	889
Limpopo	1 354	1 796
North West	324	421
Northern Cape	346	370
Eastern Cape	1 133	1 456
Free State	622	1 006
Western Cape	576	907
KwaZulu-Natal	1 376	2 270
Total	7 459	10 982

(b) Funding applications per legislated sector:

Sectors	2020/21	2021/22
Arts, Culture and National Heritage	2 129	2 797
Charities	3 061	4 880
Miscellaneous	203	154
Sports and Recreation	2 066	3 151
Total	7 459	10 982

(c) Total number of applications funded per sector:

Sectors	2020/21	2021/22
Arts, Culture and National Heritage	631	677
Charities	861	893
Miscellaneous Purpose	24	26
Sports and Recreation	1 121	1 698
Total	2 637	3 294

-END-

Reply:

In terms of the provisions of the Constitution, policy and legislation, the Kwazulu Natal Department of Human Settlements (KZNDHS) is responsible for the planning and implementation of housing and human settlements programmes in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. This includes the Human Settlements Emergency Housing Programme. The KZNDHS have advised that they have commenced with the process of providing temporary residential units (TRUs) for households whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the floods which occurred during the course of April 2022. The households are currently being accommodated and housed with neighbours and/or in halls and/or churches and/or tents..

The KZNDHS Department was at the final procurement phase the temporal residential units as follows: 200 units for Ugu District municiplality, 200 units for iLembe districts and 600 units for eThekwini, respectively. To date approximately twenty five (25) temporary residential units (TRUs) have been completed and allocated to families affected by floods, in the various Municipalities in the Province. The procurement of the balance of the temporal residential units will be finalised during May 2022.

The KZNDHS are providing the TRU’s to those families whose homes have been totally destroyed and damaged to the extent that they are unfit for human habitation. As of 25 April 2022, the estimated number of totally destroyed houses was determined to be 4478. Where a home has been partially damaged and can be repaired in the immediate short term, the KZNDHS are providing vouchers for material to be sourced, for the homes to be repaired.

Furthermore, post the disaster the KZNDHS has identified public owned land parcels, focusing on Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) land and property. In addition provincial and municipal vacant and suitable land is also being identified by the province and various municipalities to support the flood disaster mitigation and intervention measures. The process to identify DPWI land suitable for human settlements is on-going. In addition to identification of land parcels, geophysical constraints assessments are undertaken to identify factors such as slope, 1 in 100-year flood plain, intersection by river/streams and/or wetlands as well as whether the land is Critical Biodiversity Area (CBA), Ecological Support Area (ESA) or in Protected Area.

Reply:

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

-END-

Reply:

• Department of Correctional Services officials are continuously sensitised to comply with Security policies and procedures by ensuring that proper and regular searches of inmates, officials, visitors and services providers are conducted at access control points and in and around Correctional Facilities. For any non-compliance, consequence management which includes disciplinary cases and opening criminals cases with South African Police Services (SAPS) is undertaken.
• The Department is in the process of finalising the Intergrated Security System maintenance and repair programme in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The programme will ensure that Integrated Security Systems work effectively and efficiently.
• A bag-less society is implemented in all Correctional Facilities and this is reinforced during morning parade and at security forum committee meetings. Lockers fare installed outside the Correctional Facility for officials to leave their bags.
• Frequent patrolling of outer perimeter fencing is conducted on a daily basis, including foot patrols during the day and night. Vehicles are also fitted with spot lights for good visibility during night patrols.
• Tower posts around Correctional Facilities are manned.
• Searching of official vehicles, service providers and visitors using metal detectors search mirrors, scanners and body scanners at entry points is conducted.
• The use of Emergency Support Team (EST) officials to conduct random surprise search operations at all access points of the Correctional Facility are a constant feature.
• The assistance of SAPS, Metro Police (Sniffer dogs), South African Revenue Services (SARS) inspection services (illegal imports) and Crime Intelligence Unit are requested at different intervals.
• the use of DCS K9 Unit (sniffer dogs & corridor dogs) during surprise searching operations.
• The use of walkthrough, hand held metal detectors, scanners serves to help detect contrabands.

END

Reply:

(1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(aa)(bb)(cc) The attached annexure provides the detail of the number of municipalities over the past five years that did not pay or partially paid salaries per province per year. It further distinguishes which municipalities within the two categories did not pay for one month or two to six months or more than six months.

(2) No, the Minister will not make/issue a statement in this regard, the onus rests with the Municipal Council to ensure all financial obligations are honoured timeously. The design of the Local Government Fiscal System does not allow any Organ of State to “bail-out” a municipality should they find themselves in this position. This by implication means that a municipality is required by law to adopt a funded budget as per section 18 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (ACT NO. 56 of 2003), MFMA. A funded budget will consist of any financial obligation due by the municipality which includes salary obligations.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

According to the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health, the situation is as follows:

(1) (a) (i) 935 vacant posts as of 31 April 2022

(ii) Salary levels of the posts:

Management	Number		Nursing	Number
Level 12	4		Level 4	81
Level 13	1		Level 5	80
Level 14	2		Level 6	40
Admin			Level 7	82
Level 5	122		Level 9	103
Level 7	20		Level 10	17
Level 9	9		Level 12	1
Level 11	3		Medical	Number
Allied	Number		Level 11	39
Level 7	1		Level 12	82
Level 8	9		Support	Number
Level 9	4		Level 2	177
Level 10	5		Level 3	34
Level 11	3		Level 4	9
Level 12	1		Level 5	20
Allied Support	Number		Level 7	4
Level 4	4
Level 5	7
Level 6	3

Out of the 935 vacant posts, 302 are funded and are in the process of being filled

(2) (a) Doctors: 12

(b) Nurses: 40

(c) Medical Interns: 300

(3) The response is as follows:

• All Community Doctors have been paid on time
• 12 of the Medical interns were not paid on time as a result of late funding and creation of posts
• 16 Nurses were timeously paid as the Hospital had enough posts to accommodate them. The other 24 Nurses’ posts were only created on the 2nd week of May 2022. The affected Nurses will be paid as soon as their transactions are processed on the Personnel and Salary (PERSAL) system.

(4) The response is as follows:

(a) Medical Specialist: 279

b) Professional Nurses: 474

The ideal staff compliment can only be determined once Provincial staffing norms are adopted and work studies completed.

END.

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

The National Treasury is monitoring the impact of the global and domestic economic developments on the fiscal framework. This is part of the macro-fiscal planning process that takes place every quarter which involves updating the macroeconomic and revenue forecast. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war will be included in the updated macroeconomic forecast and framework that will be published in the 2022 MTBPS.

Reply:

Honourable Member, this information can only be made available by sourcing it from all provinces, it is not readily available at the National Department of Health (NDOH). In this regard, the NDOH is busy soliciting this information from all the provinces of the country, to enable the Minister of Health to respond to the question.

The Minister will provide the full response to the question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

The monitoring of performance by the National Treasury was conducted within the Framework for Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans. This framework was issued by the National Treasury in 2010 in order to guide institutions’ short and medium term planning. The Framework provided a standardised approach to strategic and annual performance planning; and promoted accountability for performance and service delivery, and alignment between the planning, budgeting and reporting processes.

To improve government-wide planning and to align planning with other government processes, the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) was established in 2009 in order to facilitate country-level long-term development planning through the NDP, outlines key policy trade-offs and sets out the sequence of decisions required to achieve the objectives, mobilise stakeholders and harness resources towards the implementation of the NDP, monitoring and evaluation for improved service delivery. In order to operationalize these functions, the planning and quarterly performance reporting function was transferred from National Treasury to the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). DPME can report on progress against programmes and projects using the Electronic Quarterly Performance Reporting System. However, National Treasury is responsible for tracking expenditure /spending performance on appropriated funds. National Treasury has access to the Quarterly Performance Reporting data on a quarterly basis.

Reply:

In dealing with the digital economy, the Honourable member will know that the President has established a commission. Amongst the others, the Commission is to assist the government in taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy. The work of the Commission will be tabled at NEDLAC for further discussion on how to come up with policies that will respond to the changes in the labour market.

Over and above this, NEDLAC social partners are hard at work in dealing with how to regulate the e-hailing industry. The first question that must be answered is whether uber workers are employees and if they are employees, what conditions of employment are suitable to their sector as way of introducing a sectoral determination.

Albeit the above, kindly note that the national minimum wage covers all workers, already uber drivers earn above the national minimum wage.

END

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:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The table below shows comparison between the amounts collected as contributions versus benefit payments including COVID-19TERS and Workers Affected By Unrest (WABU) from 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2022. Collected contributions for the period in question were about R 42 614 054 783.39 and payments made amounted to R98 227 419 458.80. The payments made were augmented by UIF’s investment income.

MONTH AND YEAR	CONTRIBUTIONS COLLECTED	BENEFITS PAID OUT
April 2020	R 1 489 744 791.06	R 5 595 676 052.28
May 2020	R 1 375 298 505.07	R13 172 928 723.51
June 2020	R 1 335 564 830.96	R13 068 700 225.51
July 2020	R 1 496 909 778.13	R9 415 898 814.82
August 2020	R 1 585751 566.86	R5 667 762 970.91
September 2020	R 1 611 552 998.33	R7 908 312 370.75
October 2020	R 1 568 512 532.29	R5 980 930 862.56
November 2020	R 1 622 687 992.99	R4 456 953 942.35
December 2020	R 1 763 727 010.25	R3 927 167 367.31
January 2021	R 1 661 367 602.89	R2 899 403 916.45
February 2021	R 1 636 027 114.57	R2 310 584 770.16
March 2021	R 1 723 779 766.38	R404 273 999.73
April 2021	R 1 592 978 941.54	R2 323 066 342.86
May 2021	R 1 640 087 379.41	R2 514 408 103.46
June 2021	R 1 721 034 856.93	R2 355 909 336,52
July 2021	R 1 840 499 770.09	R1 983 650 328.24
August 2021	R 1 780 033 476.48	R2 153 009 834.92
September 2021	R 1 834 927 690.29	R1 744 262 146.86
October 2021	R 1 834 616 317.72	R1 872 803 420.63
November 2021	R 1 833 004 513.85	R2 061 444 524.61
December 2021	R 2 023 204 166.34	R1 040 830 165.00
January 2022	R 1 874 300 044.96	R1 387 392 619.75
February 2022	R 1 860 885 762.66	R1 348 257 031.23
March 2022	R 2 058 845 885.37	R1 179 149 173.01
April 2022	R 1 848 711 487.97	R1 454 642 416.20
Total	R 42 614 054 783.39	R98 227 419 458.80

Reply:

The Honourable Member is requested to refer the question to the National Treasury as they are well positioned to provide response on the issues raised. A number of measures have been put in place by National Treasury aimed at enhancing the tender system to ensure there is value for money.

Reply:

The CCMA has reviewed progress on the case file and reports as follows:

1. FAWU obo Mahlalela & Others v Umbhaba Estates (Pty) Ltd initially relating to an Organizational Rights dispute under case MP6595-14 which, led to a strike following which employees were dismissed for misconduct.
2. The dismissal dispute was referred to the CCMA under case number MP10027 – 15 for dismissal of employees for participating in a strike. The dismissal was not related to wages as per the EFF parliamentary question but emanates from the dispute about Organizational Rights.

Chronology of Events

1. The matter commenced 03 September 2014 when FAWU referred an organizational rights dispute to CCMA against Umbhaba. The matter was conciliated on 23 September 2014.
2. The matter remained unresolved and a certificate of non-resolution was issued.
3. FAWU opted for a strike route.
4. The strike was long and protracted,in between there was intimidation and later employer dismissed the employees.
5. After the dismissal, the union referred an unfair dismissal dispute to CCMA under case MP10027-15 on 18 November 2015.
6. On 03 December 2015, a jurisdictional challenge was lodged.
7. On 30 June 2015, the Respondent forwarded a withdrawal notice of review under Labour Court case number JR640/2016.
8. On 01 July 2016, the parties were directed to hold a pre-arbitration conference scheduled for 25 July 2016.
9. On 03 July 2017, the Applicant attorney forwarded a notice of attorney of record withdrawal.
10. On 04 October 2018, the Respondent attorney sought a postponement of the arbitration which was opposed by the Applicant.
11. On 12 April 2019, the Respondent attorney forwarded a notice of attorney of record withdrawal.
12. On 28 October 2019, the dispute was postponed without a date and the file closed on account of the intention of the Respondent to file a review application at the Labour Court.
13. The CCMA received the review application on 18 November 2019.
14. To date, the matter remains before the Labour Court.

Reply:

According to the KwaZulu Natal Provinicial Department of Health, the response is as follows:

1. Please note that the waiting times on the table below is based on waiting time survey in 2021/2022 quarter four (04)

SERVICE POINT	AVERAGE ACTUAL TURN AROUND TIME (as per quarter 4 21/22)
Screening area	48 Minutes
OPD file registry	37 minutes

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING IN DELAYED WAITING TIME:-

• Head count: Manguzi District hospital see +/-458 clients per day
• Special clinic: mental health care user clinic and high risk clinic for maternity cases (every Wednesday), orthopaedic clinic, etc
• Incomplete record management system (patient registration using identity document) and limited record storage room.
• New normal (Covid-19 screening)
• Fast-tracking all emergency cases
• Border of Mozambique and Swaziland which increases influx of unplanned/ unreferred patients visits.

(2) The following table reflects the details in this regard.

Challenges	Plan to improve
Non referred cases	The hospital management has identified designated area to see non referred cases so as to reduce overcrowding in OPD which will also improve OPD waiting time.
Special clinics	Strengthening of booking system to clients referred from different clinics.
Limited record storage room	Extra record storage area in a form of a container – The procurement process is in the advertisement stage.
Incomplete record management system	- Continuously educating the community about new system (use of identity document for registration) - noting unplanned/Unreferred visit of patients from Mozambique.
COVID -19 screening in waiting area	- Integration of services and educating community about the new normal. - ensuring community compliance in covid-19 precautionary measures
Improved communication with the public	Strengthen education to the clients on existing national guidelines for complaints, compliments and suggestion procedure.

END.

Reply:

Honourable Member, the National Department of Health is still consulting with all the provincial departments of Health to gather this information. The Minister will provide full details on this question as soon as the information has been received from all the provinces.

END.

Reply:

The decision for the support and or withdrawal of the candidacy of Professor Mthunzi Mdwaba for the position of the International Labour Organisation Director-General was a Cabinet matter.

END

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), Ms Thabang Mampane has advised as follows:

“(1)(a) )(b)(i), )(ii), (c) and (2)

Neo Solutions is not engaged in any ICT related tender or contract with the NLC neither is the NLC aware of any affiliate of Neo Solutions currently involved in any ICT related tender.

-END-

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:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

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.

-END-

Reply:

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.

-END-

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:

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:

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:

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