Reply:

The clinic in Mabeskraal is functional. The cleaning materials have been provided and the monitoring system put in place to ensure continuous supply and availability.

The facility has a total of 43 toilets, 15 non-functional toilets have been attended. The remaining toilets process will be completed by the 15th of April 2022. The delay was due to replacement of the old plumbing system (complete flush master units) as they are worn out and problematic to repair. The current process is to replace the whole plumbing system.

END.

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) The National Department of Health has followed and conducted all due process required in the disclosure of financial interests by designated categories of employees and found no one doing business with the Department.

(ii) Information related to Provinces is not readily available and will be submitted once received.

(b) (i) Not applicable.

(ii) Still awaiting information from Provinces.

(2) Yes, all SMS members submitted their declarations of interest during the regulated time (01 – 30 April 2021).

(a), (b), (c) Not applicable.

(3) (a) The National Health Department completed ninety five (95) investigations.

(b) National Health Laboratory Service completed Eleven (11) investigations.

(4) Yes, NDOH 91 cases - employees issued with final and written warning and 4 cases disciplinary action to be instituted against the employees. NHLS recommendations for ten (10) out of eleven (11) investigations were implemented. The outstanding one is still in progress as outlined below:

No	Investigation	Outcome	Recommendations	Implemented recommendation
1.	Allegations that the Area Manager in Eastern Cape Region was appointing her relatives (Nepotism)	Substantiated	Disciplinary Action against Area Manager and implicated staff	Disciplinary Action is in progress

 

END.

Reply:

(a) There were only 6 (six) Section 23 visas issued in the period 1 February 2021 to 1 February 2022. These visas were all issued at OR Tambo International Airport.

(b)(i) For the period 1 February 2021 to 1 February 2022 a total 41 applications were captured due to special circumstances e.g writing matric, furthering studies or assuming new employment.

(b)(ii) These applications were granted at the following offices: 8 at Cape Town Refugee Reception Office and 33 at Desmond Reception Office.

(c) There were 155 thousand extensions granted during the period in question.

END

Reply:

The Department of Corporative Governance (DCOG) together with MISA, all provincial departments responsible for local government and provincial treasury departments, under the leadership of the Minister of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), prepared the State of Local Government report 2021.

The reasons for the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) was found to be dysfunctional with challenges in all pillars namely political, governance, administrative, financial & service delivery. All these challenges contribute to the MMM not able to sufficiently deliver basic services such as waste removal and fixing of leaking sewerage pipes.

It is for that reason that Mangaung Metro has since been placed under section 139(5)(a) and (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa; read together with Section 150 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (MFMA) to deal with challenges identified above.

 

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that:

a) and (c) Yes, consequence management has been initiated against the officials who are alleged to have had a hand in irregular appointments at a national and regional offices of the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure. The disciplinary hearings are chaired by independent chairpersons who are practicing advocates. One hearing was completed in 2020 with not guilty findings. A second hearing is nearing conclusion, but has been postponed to 20-22 April 2022. A third hearing took take place on the 30 March 2022. Furthermore, the Department has, in May 2019, lodged a court application to review and set aside the irregular appointments at the Labour Court. The date of this hearing is in May 2022.

Response with respect to North West Provincial office:

b) Yes, there is consequent management that is being applied against the officials who have been found to have had a hand in irregular appointments at Provincial Department of Public Works and Roads.

• There are three (3) cases which are currently in the process of consequence management with two (2) of the contracts being further investigated by forensic auditors

• Furthermore, there are seventeen (17) contracts currently in the process of forensic investigation with one of the terms of reference being to identify responsible official(s).

Upon completion, consequence management will be implemented as per recommendations.

NB: Kindly note that with respect to other Provincial Public Works and Roads offices, the question should be directed to their responsible MECs.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still trying to get the necessary information from the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health. The response by the Minister will be furnished to the Honourable Member as soon as the report has been received from the Gauteng Health MEC on this matter.

END.

Reply:

The following are names of Primary Healthcare Facilities that will be completed by end 2021/22 financial year.

Province Owner	Facility Asset Name	Project Name
Gauteng (GT)	Greenspark Clinic	Greenspark Clinic-Construction of new Clinic-ID
KwaZulu - Natal (KZ)	Chwezi Clinic	Chwezi Clinic: Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Park Home Unit
Mpumalanga (MP)	Pankop Clinic	Construction of new Pankop Clinic and 2 x 2 accommodation units at Pankop in Masobye Village
North West (NW)	Gateway Clinic	Gateway Clinic Parkhome
Northern Cape (NC)	Bankhara/Bodulong Clinic	Facility Replacements: Bankhara Bodulong Clinic
Western Cape (WC)	Avian Park Clinic (NEW)	Worcester - Avian Park Clinic - New
Western Cape (WC)	Khutsong South Clinic	Khutsong South Ext2 Clinic-Construction of new Clinic-ID
Western Cape (WC)	West Rand District Clinics	West Rand District Clinics - Electro
Western Cape (WC)	Ekubungazeleni Clinic	Ekubungazeleni Clinic - Re-route existing sewer line & upgrading the existing septic tank
Western Cape (WC)	Hlathi Dam Clinic	Hlathi Dam Clinic: Replacement of Existing Sewer System
Western Cape (WC)	Impilwenhle Clinic	Impilwenhle Clinic (Imbal)- New borehole.
Western Cape (WC)	KwaMashu Poly CHC	KwaMashu Poly CHC - Replacement of Fencing
Western Cape (WC)	Mazabeko Clinic	Mazabeko - Replacing of Existing Sewer system
Western Cape (WC)	Ndwedwe CHC	Ndwedwe CHC - Construction of medical waste area
Western Cape (WC)	Nondweni Clinic	Nondweni Clinic - Replacing of Existing Sewer system
Western Cape (WC)	Ntabeni Clinic	Ntabeni Cinic - Replacement of perimeter security fencing
Western Cape (WC)	Oqaqeni Clinic	Oqaqeni Clinic - Replacement of Fencing
Western Cape (WC)	Underberg Clinic	Underberg Clinic (Pholela CHC)- New borehole
Western Cape (WC)	Heuningvlei Clinic	Replacement of Heuningvlei Clinic
Western Cape (WC)	Gansbaai Clinic	Gansbaai - Gansbaai Clinic - Upgrade and Additions (Alpha)
Western Cape (WC)	Laingsburg Clinic	Laingsburg - Laingsburg Clinic - Upgrade and Additions

END.

Reply:

• The Office Manager, Supervisors and floorwalkers manage long queues outside the offices and using manual ticket system to serve clients.
• The public is given information relating to the requirements of various applications/ services in the morning before they enter the office.
• The collection clients are also verified by service manager to avert a situation where the clients come to the office to check personally even if they did not receive the text SMS.
• The collection counter is strategically placed to allow efficient and better flow of queues.
• People with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women and breast feeding mothers are prioritised and those who applied on line are also prioritised.
• All the Births, Marriages and Death re-issues of certificates are prioritised as they are already on the system and most can be issued on the spot.
• Back office staff assists at the front office during peak and high volume periods in line with the operations management principles.

To alleviate long queues at offices the Department has piloted the Branch Appointment Booking System at some live capture offices for Smart ID Card and Passports applications, as well as for the collections of both documents during the 2021/22 financial year. This system will allow clients to make a booking (appointment) and visit the office on the day and time of the appointment without standing in queues. The system will be rolled out to other identified high volume offices in the next years.

The Department also has a strategy to expand its infrastructure and its footprint, whereby currently twenty eighty (28) bank branches which are operational and available to service clients requiring DHA services. As part of the outreach programmes, mobile units are being deployed to far flung areas to deliver services to the public. There is currently a fleet of hundred (100) Mobile Units across the country. An additional ten (10) mobile units are being procured to increase the footprint in the department. The plan is to have all ten mobile units delivered before end of this financial year 2021/22.

END

Reply:

The National Department of Health is working with the North West Provincial Department of Health to obtain the details that the Honourable Member is requesting. The full response will be provided to the Honourable Member as soon as it is finalised with the North West Provincial Department of Health.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is working with the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to obtain the details that the Honourable Member is requesting. This information is being finalised and will be furnished to the Honourable Member as soon as it is finalised, in the next week or so.

END.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Competition Commission undertakes stakeholder education and training initiatives on various aspects of the Competition Act, to promote compliance to its provisions. For the past five years, training has been focused on Public Procurement, with the following workshops conducted from 01 April 2021 to 14 March 2022:

Dates	Stakeholder	Notes
September 2021	Auditor General	The Commission provided training on Competition issues in Public Procurement to 180 participants in the Free State and Gauteng Business Units.
February 2022	Auditor General	The Commission provided training on Competition issues in Public Procurement to over 300 participants in the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal Business Units.
March 2022	Auditor General	The Commission provided training on Competition issues in Public Procurement to over 100 participants in the Eastern Cape Business Unit.
March 2022	Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport	The Commission provided training to officials at the GDRT Competition issues in Public Procurement. The training session also sought to highlight issues related to a particular tender number PPR 2017 and SBD 9 Sub-contracting requirements.

In March 2022, the Commission published a training manual on procurement for officials, entitled: “A Guide on Promoting Competition in Public Procurement”; and a YouTube video entitled: “What Bidders Need To Know About Bid Rigging”.

(2)(a) and (b) The Commission did not conduct any benchmarking exercises, or have key performance indicators in place for this area of work. However, the Commission receives formal and informal feedback on its workshops from the institution/department where the training was provided and directly from workshop participants, all of which has been positive to date. The Commission also regularly receives complaints from government departments- in the main. These complaints are lodged by officials who are either aware of, or have received the Commission’s training on bid-rigging detection. Further, suspicious bid activity is an area which the AG highlights in their audit reports of entities. The relevant entities are expected to engage with the Commission on the matters, as they resolve audit findings.

-END-

Reply:

a) (i) The National Health Insurance (NHI) Pilot Programme took place over a five year period starting in the 2012 / 2013 financial year and concluding in the 2017 / 2018 financial year. The 1% decrease in the budget has no effect on the programme that was concluded four(4) years ago.

(ii) Any budget decrease reduces the amount of care that the health sector is able to provide. The NHI is a reform that will take time and that is to be phased in. The reduction of allocations will not impact the rollout of the NHI programme but it will negatively impact health care for those who use the public health system.

b) (i) Programme 3: Communicable and Non-Communicable diseases is the most affected by the decrease.

(ii) The decrease is mainly due to a reduction in the allocation to procure COVID-19 vaccines because sufficient stock were obtained during 2021 for the vaccination programme.

END.

Reply:

The mandate to investigate complaints against sheriffs as well as to institute disciplinary proceedings lies with the South African Board for Sheriffs.

In terms of Section 44 (1) of the Sheriffs Act, 1986 (Act No. 90 of 1986), any complaint, accusation or allegation against a sheriff may be lodged with the Board in the prescribed manner.

The prescribed manner is in terms of the Regulations relating to Sheriffs, 1990, and includes the submission of formal complaint to the South African Board for Sheriffs in an affidavit-format and/or per the form as prescribed in the Regulations.

In terms of section 44 of the Sheriffs Act, 1986, the Board can charge a sheriff for improper conduct and institute a disciplinary proceeding.

In terms of Chapter IV of the Sheriffs Act, 1986 (Act No. 90 of 1986), the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services can suspend the sheriff from office under certain circumstances and usually only does so on the recommendation of the Board for Sheriffs as the regulatory authority.

It is therefore recommended that the Honourable Member addresses her concerns to the Chairperson of the South African Board for Sheriffs for investigation.

 

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(1) I have been informed by the Department that:

(a) There are two pumps at the ESSEX pump station.

(b) Only one pump is operational.

(2)

(a) They are serviced monthly by DPWI Workshops personal.

(b) They were last serviced on 17th March 2022.

(3) The pumps were installed in 2019. One pump is in a good working condition and the other one is overheating due to ceased bearings and it is undergoing repairs.

(4) The faulty pump was discovered during the monthly servicing which took place on the 17th March 2022. The Facilities Management unit is in the process of requesting a quotation from the service provider who services the pump in order to determine whether the replacement cost can be accommodated under day to day servicing or if the replacement will need to be registered under planned projects.

Reply:

Within the available time, the Department advises that 132 projects (involving 112 firms) have been supported in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality through 3 programmes, namely the support administered by the Industrial Financing Branch, the funding by the Industrial Development Corporation and the transactions of the National Empowerment Fund. Other programmes are in the process of recording their activities at District Municipality level, and the figures may be updated in future.

Data on ownership demographics for firms in Nelson Mandela Bay metro are available as follows:

1. The IDC supported 64 firms since the 2018/19 financial year. Forty-one (41) firms have black shareholding, ranging from four percent to 100% black ownership. Nineteen (19) of the firms were 100% black-owned.
2. The NEF supported 12 businesses all of which are black-owned and managed. More broadly in the E Cape, the NEF approved R706 million to date.
3. The Industrial Financing Branch supported 61 projects, involving 36 companies, 1 Trust and 11 projects in Coega, for 2018/19 to January 2022. Demographic details will be compiled by the Department. The Department advises that R1,7 billion was approved for the 61 projects, with total investment generated of R3,5 billion, which are projected to create 1 150 new jobs and retain 13 850 direct jobs with a further 926 construction jobs.

The Department has highlighted a number of success stories involving masterplan sectors in the presentation to Parliament on 27 October 2020. These include sectors with exposure in the Eastern Cape, including the following:

• The auto sector, covering both production of cars, bakkies and trucks as well as the manufacture of components locally. This is important for Nelson Mandela Bay as the auto sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the E Cape. Further examples of progress relates to VW production, Isuzu’s new model that is being rolled out and the new auto plant, namely BAIC.
• Clothing, textiles and footwear, with a stronger focus on localisation of supply-chains.
• Steel and metal fabrication, with programmes to rebuild the foundations of the sector.

-END-

Reply:

The National Department has not experienced problems of not capturing expenditure on transferred funds in the Basic Accounting System (BAS)

Internally, the National Department:

• Captures all Human Settlements Grant funds to be transferred/ disbursed to both Provinces and Metros on the Basic Accounting System (BAS) as per the monthly Payment Schedules approved by the National Treasury
• All transfers that could not be effected on scheduled dates were re-scheduled in consultation with the National Treasury. The rescheduling was done immediately when the Basic Accounting System (BAS) would reject captured payments.

On Provinces’ capturing of transferred funds on BAS, the responses from Provinces are as follows:

	Province	Details
1	Eastern Cape	All of the Province’s Conditional Grants and related expenditure and payments are paid through and captured on BAS, against the relevant segments and are accounted for.
2	Free State	The Province confirmed that expenditure on transfers is recorded against the correct BAS segment types. Monthly reconciliations are performed to ensure accuracy and completeness of transactions.
3	Gauteng:	The Province captures all transfers under the Funds segment on the Basic Accounting System within the SCOA framework.
4	Limpopo	The Province has never had a problem of capturing expenditure of transferred funds on BAS. All incurred expenditures are indicated under the fund segment, whether they are HSDG or ISUPG or PEHG payments.
5	Kwa-Zulu-Natal	The province has never experienced such a problem. All of the Province’s expenditure on BAS are captured against the Fund segment i.e. Human Settlement Development Grant, ISUPG, Voted Funds, etc. There is no expenditure captured without the full 8 segments of BAS.
6	Mpumalanga	The Province does not have expenditure on transfers that is not captured on Basic Accounting System. All incurred expenditure on transfers is recorded on BAS.
7	Northern Cape	All of the Province’s Conditional Grants’ expenditure are transferred through and captured on both the Housing Subsidy System and Basic Accounting System.
8	North West	The Province has not had an instance where expenditure was inappropriately captured for the fund segment in BAS. Loading of budget for grant funding is done specifically under conditional funds allocation in BAS and related expenditure is also reported under same. The only challenge previously experienced was that, budget and related expenditure were reported under incorrect interventions but under the correct fund segment.
9	Western Cape	The Province captures every cent spent on either the HSDG or and ISUPG on BAS and the HSS.

Reply:

a) (i) Internal Audit investigated irregular expenditure associated with a pre- Budget Vote cook-off event which took place in Tembisa on the 17 May 2021. The first part of the investigation was concluded around October 2021; however, the report was inconclusive as the payment was not yet affected. The report is now concluded has recommended that a further investigation involving external parties must be conducted as internal audit does not deal with investigation of external parties. Terms of reference for the next stage of the investigation have been developed.

In addition to this the Minister received a letter from the Public Service Commission (PSC) which is also investigating the matter after a complaint was received in this regard. The department is cooperating with the investigation process and the outcome of this process is awaited.

(ii) In relation to an irregular expenditure associated with the physical security services provider, the Department approached the National Treasury (Office of the Chief Procurement Officer) to review the procurement process followed and make recommendations to the Accounting Officer. The feedback from National Treasury is awaited.

(iii) In relation to the double payment by R50,000 to one of the beneficiaries of the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF), the terms of reference for the investigation have been developed. This is pursued jointly between the Accounting Officer of the Department and the Accounting authority of South African Tourism.

(iv) Terms of reference have also been developed for a follow-up investigation on the possible fraud and corruption related to the irregularities found at South African Tourism.

(v) The information verification process in relation to the Tourist Guides Relief Fund is still underway. Terms of reference for the investigation will follow the verification process outcome.

The recent Constitutional Court Judgement that set aside the Preferential Procurement Framework Act 2017 Regulations has presented a challenge in the procurement of goods and services which impacts on the sourcing of investigators. The Department is engaging with National Treasury for applicable exemption for the procurement process.

To ensure continuous oversight strengthening, management has put in place an audit steering committee which regularly reviews the implementation and effectiveness of the controls as contained in the Audit Action Plan. The Executive Authority is also provided with reports on the implementation of the Audit Action Plan.

b) Upon receipt of final investigation reports, the Accounting Officer shall implement the recommendations.

Reply:

Molnupiravir and Paxlovid® (ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir) are oral antiviral agents that have been reviewed by the National Essential Medicines List (NEML) Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on COVID-19 Therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19 in ambulant patients.

The current rapid reviews or advisories, based on available published evidence at the time are accessible from the National Department of Health website. As evidence on COVID-19 therapeutics is emerging rapidly, the MAC on COVID-19 Therapeutics reviews are routinely updated when new evidence becomes available. The MAC on COVID-19 Therapeutics considers a range of factors apart from efficacy and safety when making recommendations.

The rapid review of molnupiravir, issued on 20 December 2021, was based on the available published evidence at the time which was a single randomised controlled trial by Bernal et al. (2021). Based on this data, a conditional recommendation was proposed by the MAC on COVID-19 Therapeutics that molnupiravir not be used for the management of COVID-19 in ambulant unvaccinated patients.

However, in March 2022, more information has been released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the form of a supplement to the published WHO living guidelines: Safety and efficacy of molnupiravir compared to standard care/placebo. The NEML MAC on COVID-19 Therapeutics will thus be reviewing this additional evidence to update the rapid review. Based on this new data, the recommendation may or may not be revised.

Similarly, for ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), a conditional recommendation was proposed against it’s use for the treatment of COVID-19. The evidence base for the rapid review report dated the 14 March 2022, was a single randomised controlled trial of ambulatory unvaccinated adult patients with confirmed COVID-19, who were at high-risk for progression to severe COVID-19. This antiviral has the potential for many drug-drug interactions (including anti-epileptic and anti-diabetic medicines, protease inhibitors amongst others) and therefore given the potential safety risks associated with its use patient and healthcare worker- education would be required.

Products have yet to be registered in South Africa, and the NEML MAC on COVID-19 Therapeutics will be updating the review, when there is more information on the availability and pricing of generic products.

Both antivirals requires rapid access to definitive diagnosis and initiation within five days of the onset of symptoms and is contra-indicated in pregnancy, requiring women of childbearing potential to take effective contraception.

However, it is important to note that these oral antiviral formulations do not replace vaccination for prevention of COVID-19, but as treatment, once infection occurs.

END.

Reply:

(a) There are five (5) vacant Professional Nurses posts which are in the process of being filled, to mitigate the understaffing, namely: three (3) vacant General Nurses posts and two Clinical Nurse Practitioners posts.

(b) Gauteng Department of Health did prioritize the project of constructing a new Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre on the current site. The design or layout plan, however, requires additional land. There is land available behind the current structure. Submissions were made to City of Tshwane Metropolitan to acquire additional land and this process is still not finalized.

END.

Reply:

a) The current status of the specified circulars, as provided by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is as follows:

(i) The Council for Medical Schemes issued circulars 80 and 82 in December 2019 based on two sets of research results at its disposal at the time. The main message contained in these circulars was a message to the industry that was indicating that the exemption that had been granted to the primary insurance products that had applied to the CMS, previously may not be granted again at the end of March 2021, if there were no significant improvement and changes made to them. The exemption that had been granted to these products at the time was done in April 2017 and was expiring in March 2019. The responsibility for the granting of these exemptions lies with the governance body of the CMS upon advice from the Registrar and team and is based on the Exemption Framework that was developed between the Council for Medical Schemes, National Treasury and the National Department of Health.

(ii) The first set of research results is based on a study that was commissioned by the CMS and was conducted by a group of economists. The results of this study were released by the CMS in a circular at the end of March 2019 indicating the undesirability of these primary insurance products and the Low-Cost Benefit Option in the medicals schemes industry. These results can be briefly summarised as follows:

• These products are targeting individuals that are already tax-exempt based on their low income. Expecting these individuals to spend more of their remaining disposable income contributing to health products with thin benefits did not make sense;

• The introduction of the Low-Cost Benefit Option and related products will be adding yet another set of benefit options in an industry with too many options that are already making rational purchasing choices difficult for the consumer. This goes against the Health Market Inquiry recommendations;

• The Low-Cost Benefit option will also require some tax subsidies and credits and further burden the fiscus during a period of economic constraints;

• There is no evidence that these options will ensure that relief is provided to the over-burdened public health system, given the fact that their beneficiaries still largely rely on the state for the provision of the greater part of their health benefits.

(iii) The second set of results indicated that the primary health insurance products that were subjected to an analysis had serious structural shortfalls. These can be summarised as the following:

• The greater part of the contribution made by policyholders was spent on broker fees and administration instead of the relevant health benefits;

• The marketing of these primary insurance products was clearly misleading, promising unlimited GP consultations when in fact the entitlements are no more than 3 per annum;

• These products were experienced very low claims simply because their members were not aware of the extent of their benefit entitlements.

(iv) The impact of circulars 80 and 82 on the primary insurance products that are in the market has been minimal as no product was discontinued as a result of these circulars. The facts are:

• The CMS undertook an extensive stakeholder roadshow following the issuing of circulars 80 and 82. These engagements took place in the greater part of January and February 2020;

• The agreement with the key stakeholders was that further engagements were necessary and that a Low-Cost Benefit Framework will need to be developed that will assist these primary insurance products to migrate into the medical schemes’ environment;

• There was also an appreciation that the regulator cannot perpetually exempt these primary insurance products from complying with the Medical Schemes Act and its Regulations as this is the only legislation that is at its disposal for regulatory purposes.

• The engagements in these Advisory Committees are proceeding well and have included 3 workstreams:

• Schemes and administrators
• Insurance providers and brokers
• Service providers, policyholders and consumers.

(v) Circular 56 of 2015 provides a summary of input received on the classification of managed care services. This circular has no bearing on the ability of low-earning households to have access to quality medical care other than providing a guide for medical schemes to report better-managed services. However, a more relevant circular to low-earning households' affordability of care is circular 56 of 2020;

(vi) The objective of Circular 56 of 2020 was to provide an overall update regarding establishing the LCBO Advisory Committees and developing the Low-Cost Benefit Guidelines and notice of extension of exemption period to 31 March 2022. The Advisory Committees were tasked with addressing the challenges faced by primary health insurance providers in complying with the Medical Scheme Act:

• The need for medical schemes to develop options for low-income earners;
• They would also develop a roadmap leading to the end of March 2022;
• Provide inputs on the LCBO framework before the CMS submits it for approval to Council and final approval by the Minister of Health;
• The Charter and Code of Conduct were issued to nominees during June/July 2020;
• A regulatory workshop with the National Department of Health, National Treasury, Prudential Authority, Financial Sector Conduct and the Council for Medical Schemes was held on 29 September 2020;
• Introductory workshops were held with interested parties and nominees during October 2020, whereafter the Charter and Code of Conduct was adopted.

(vii) The Advisory Committee's work entailed the establishment of four technical workstreams that provide technical support to the advisory committees in the development of an LCBO framework and guideline. The scope of work for each workstream is summarised below:

• Workstream 1 - Market / Affordability

• Needs assessment/Quantity market/affordability issues;
• The market needs assessment report issued on 8 September 2021 for comments by committee members

• Workstream 2 - Benefit, Product and Pricing

• Benefit design, package and price;
• Key discussions on the minimum products considered against the GEMS Sapphire option has been started as a reference point; key factors need further discussion: Direct access to healthcare nurse with GP, mediation EDL approach or diagnostic definition conditions, dentistry, and optometry are significant affordability constraints and the question on whether private honour should be excluded.

• Workstream 3 - Compliance & Legislative requirements

• Enabling environment and legal framework;
• Key policy considerations: Medical Schemes Amendment Bill; Health Market Inquiry; NHI
• A legislative comparison indraft has been done to identify which legislative framework would be the best outcome for insurers conducting the business of a medical scheme

• Workstream 4 - Implementation Plan & Risk

• Development of a risk matrix/roadmap for LCBO
• Risk framework discussion, Timeline and Risk matrix discussion workbook developed

(b) Herewith the summary of engagements that took place between 2020-2021:

1. February 2020- LCBO Engagements with Industry
2. March 2020- Engagements with NT on LCBO & Demarcation
3. October 2020 - 1st Joint Advisory Committee meeting
4. December 2020 - 2nd Joint Advisory Committee meeting
5. January 2021 – 3rd Joint Advisory Committee meeting
6. June 2021 – 4th Joint Advisory Committee meeting
7. November 2021 – 5th Joint Advisory Committee meeting

All the above stakeholder engagements and Advisory Committee consultative processes emanated from the concerns raised by stakeholders following the publications of Circulars 80 and 82.

• The current engagements on the LCBO stem from the regulatory non-compliance with the provisions of the MS Act, section 20(1), given the implementation of the Demarcation Regulations;

• The technical workstreams have developed position papers that will form a basis of an LCBO framework and guidelines and will be submitted to the Registrar and Council once finalised;

• The exemption period of insurers conducting the business of a medical scheme, which was granted from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022 will terminate on 31 March 2022. Input from the National Department of Health, National Treasury, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, and the Prudential Authority was sought to allow for extending the exemption period by a further two years, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024. Further details are contained in Circular 9 of 2022;

• This extension was granted to ensure continued cover for members currently covered by the existing exempted insurance products. Furthermore, to allow for the finalisation of the LCBO framework and recommendations.

The recommendations will be submitted to the National Department of Health for final approval.

END.

Reply:

a) (i) Nil

(ii) Nil

(aa) Nil

(bb) Nil

b) (i) Nil

(ii) Nil

(iii) Nil

c) Nil

 

 

N LETSHOLONYANE

DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: CORPORATE SERVICES

DATE:

QUESTION FOR WITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER: PQ 880 [NW1061E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11 MARCH 2022

Recommended/not recommended

M TSHANGANA

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

DATE:

__________________________________________________________________________

Approved/Not approved

MS M T KUBAY, MP

MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

DATE:

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still sourcing this information from the provinces. As soon as this information has been collated, it will be furnished to the Honourable member and Parliament.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health is still collating this information from the provinces. As soon as information is received from all the provinces, the Minister will consolidate the response and submit to the Honourable Member and Parliament.

 

END.

Reply:

a) The total number of inspectors posts is = 1 951

• The total number of filled inspectors’ posts as at on the 30th of March 2022 is = 1 785
• The total number of inspectors vacant posts is = 166.
• A vacancy rate of 8.50%
• The rate of filled posts is at 91.50%

b) The standard set is that 100% of all vacancies are expected to be filled within 4 months of being vacant.

The following table depicts the status quo with regards to progress on the filling of vacancies per province:

	EC	FS	GP	KZN	LP	MP	NC	NW	WC	TOTAL
Total vacancies	10	11	72	16	13	8	9	9	18	166
Number of vacancies advertised	2	1	33	7	3	4	2	2	6	60
Number of vacancies at shortlisting stage	4	2	11	0	0	3	3	6	4	33
Number of interviews conducted	2	4	14	2	0	0	2	0	1	25
Number in the process of being filled/issued with letters	2	4	14	7	10	1	2	1	7	48

Reply:

On 22 March 2022, I advised the Portfolio Committee of the work of the Department and its entities on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. In the course of the presentation and the engagement, I drew attention to the need to scale up the impact of the state’s efforts to promote spatial development. The Project Management Unit (PMU) was set up at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to enable better performance of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks; and to integrate work on SEZs with the overall work of industrial funding by the IDC. Staff from the dtic were seconded to the Unit, with the budgeted financial allocation for salaries still being the responsibility of the Department. Their responsibilities include assisting companies to establish new businesses and significant progress has been made in the Tshwane SEZ, which has helped to create close to 4000 construction jobs and 559 permanent jobs to date.

-END-

Reply:

a) There were no incidents of sexual harassment or sexual assault reported during the past three (3) financial years and since 1 April 2021.

b) and (c) There were no cases of sexual harassment opened/withdrawn and thus no sanctions had to be issued.

-END-

Reply:

The National Director of Public Prosecutions has received the following information from the Director of Public Prosecutions, KwaZulu-Natal in whose jurisdiction the matter is being prosecuted:

1. The evidence in the docket presents a strong case against the accused with at least two witnesses who made statements in terms of section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
2. There is further evidence corroborating their evidence independently.
3. The matter is set down for trial due to start on 18 August 2022. At present, the State is ready to proceed and witnesses will be called to present evidence in pursuit of a successful prosecution.
4. The granting of bail does not amount to the weakness of the state’s case despite the ruling by the Magistrate, which the State is intending to appeal.
5. The State opposed bail on 21 May 2019 after the accused were arrested and bail was refused. On 03 February 2022 the accused appeared at Ixopo Magistrates’ Court where they applied for bail on new facts. The State opposed bail and the accused were nonetheless granted bail on 15 February 2022. The accused were each granted bail of R5000. The court found that exceptional circumstances existed which in the interest of justice permitted the granting of bail, based essentially on the delay in the commencement of the trial and issues related to the facts of the case. The court decided on its own which conditions to impose and the amount of bail without engaging the parties thereto. The State has indicated its intention to appeal and the record of the bail proceedings is being transcribed. The accused are required as bail conditions to attend the criminal proceedings at all times, report to identified police stations on Mondays and Fridays and reside in identified places, not to enter the jurisdiction of Umzimkhulu during the subsistence of the criminal proceedings against them, not to communicate with state witnesses and to hand over their passports.

 

Reply:

864. (a) (b) (c) (i) (ii)(iii)

All expenditures in relation to catering, entertainment and travel and subsistence including accommodation are disclosed in the audited Annual Financial Statements. The expenditure for the 2019/20 financial year was disclosed in the audited Annual Financial Statements of the former departments of Trade and Industry and Economic Development Department and the expenditure for the 2020/21 financial year was disclosed in the audited Annual Financial Statements Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). The current financial year’s audited Annual Financial Statements will be available in September 2022.

Catering:

The accounting records reflects expenditure on a cost centre level and according to the departmental records, the following amounts were spent for Ministry on catering which covers catering for meetings convened by Minister, Deputy Ministers and/ or the staff of Ministry. Catering covers refreshments, light meals or snacks.

Cost centre	2019/20	2020/21	Total
Ministry	R53 870	R22 292	R76 162

Entertainment:

The departments have spent the following amounts on entertainment for Ministry which largely cover expenditure for dinner meetings on international trips with international counterparts.

Cost centre	2019/20	2020/21	Total
Ministry	R10 556	R0	R10 556

Accommodation:

The departments have spent the following amounts on accommodation for Ministry which covers local and international accommodation booked for Minister, Deputy Ministers and/ or the staff of Ministry.

Cost centre	2019/20	2020/21	Total
Ministry

-END-

Reply:

We are still verifying information; we will revert to you as soon as it has been finalised.

Reply:

The Compensation Fund Board has been established in terms of section 12 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act as an Advisory Board to advise the minister on policy matters.

It is not an Accounting Authority of the Fund and as such not involved in the day to today operations of the Compensation Fund.

Reply:

The oral antivirals, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid® (ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir), are indicated for use in the treatment of COVID-19 infections. These antivirals are indicated for use in ambulant patients and not in patients with more severe disease. Therefore the benefit of these agents for widespread use requires careful consideration as not all patients would be eligible to receive these traetmnets. Furthermore, the clinical trials for both agents were conducted in the unvaccinated population.

Additionally, Paxlovid is associated with significant drug-drug interactions with many commonly used agents in the management of comorbidities such as diabetes, epilepsy and HIV, i.e. high risk populations for COVID-19 infections. Significant training will be required to ensure its safe use in the target populations.

The aim of vaccination is to prevent morbidity and mortality. Vaccination has been proven to be a key intervention to prevent infections, or the severity of infections, in order to reduce the loss of life and to mitigate the public health and economic impact of the pandemic and end the acute phase of the global pandemic.

END.

Reply:

The National Department has not experienced problems of not capturing expenditure on transferred funds in the Basic Accounting System (BAS)

Internally, the National Department:

• Captures all Human Settlements Grant funds to be transferred/ disbursed to both Provinces and Metros on the Basic Accounting System (BAS) as per the monthly Payment Schedules approved by the National Treasury
• All transfers that could not be effected on scheduled dates were re-scheduled in consultation with the National Treasury. The rescheduling was done immediately when the Basic Accounting System (BAS) would reject captured payments.

On Provinces’ capturing of transferred funds on BAS, the responses from Provinces are as follows:

	Province	Details
1	Eastern Cape	All of the Province’s Conditional Grants and related expenditure and payments are paid through and captured on BAS, against the relevant segments and are accounted for.
2	Free State	The Province confirmed that expenditure on transfers is recorded against the correct BAS segment types. Monthly reconciliations are performed to ensure accuracy and completeness of transactions.
3	Gauteng:	The Province captures all transfers under the Funds segment on the Basic Accounting System within the SCOA framework.
4	Limpopo	The Province has never had a problem of capturing expenditure of transferred funds on BAS. All incurred expenditures are indicated under the fund segment, whether they are HSDG or ISUPG or PEHG payments.
5	Kwa-Zulu-Natal	The province has never experienced such a problem. All of the Province’s expenditure on BAS are captured against the Fund segment i.e. Human Settlement Development Grant, ISUPG, Voted Funds, etc. There is no expenditure captured without the full 8 segments of BAS.
6	Mpumalanga	The Province does not have expenditure on transfers that is not captured on Basic Accounting System. All incurred expenditure on transfers is recorded on BAS.
7	Northern Cape	All of the Province’s Conditional Grants’ expenditure are transferred through and captured on both the Housing Subsidy System and Basic Accounting System.
8	North West	The Province has not had an instance where expenditure was inappropriately captured for the fund segment in BAS. Loading of budget for grant funding is done specifically under conditional funds allocation in BAS and related expenditure is also reported under same. The only challenge previously experienced was that, budget and related expenditure were reported under incorrect interventions but under the correct fund segment.
9	Western Cape	The Province captures every cent spent on either the HSDG or and ISUPG on BAS and the HSS.

Reply:

According to the information received from the Free State Provincial Department of Health, Pelonomi Hospital has a total number of 2 053 approved posts in their Establishment/Organogram. Currently, 1 573 posts are filled and 484 posts are vacant bringing the vacancy rate to 23.6%. The Province has processed and finalized the filling of 108 posts in various occupational classes from 1 April 2021 to date, as steps to bring down the vacancy rate at the Hospital to enhance service delivery.

Further to the above, through a process of prioritising posts; Management of in the Hospital, has identified 116 critical posts in various occupational classes (i.e. Ranging between administrations to clinical posts) to be filled during the 2022-2023 financial year.

The process of filling these critical posts has commenced and submissions are underway to approve advertisements and administrative processes to fill the posts.

 

END.

Reply:

 1) One of the root causes of long queues in DHA office is the office space constraints which limits the capacity of the office to accommodate its infrastructure and clients thereby it is not fit for purpose. Currently the total office space occupied by the department in Alberton office is approximately 594 square metres which is significantly lower than the norms and standard required by the Department. The office space constraints lead to overcrowding and long queues in and outside the office. Clients prefer to visit the Alberton office as opposed to other Home Affairs offices in the vicinity probably as a result of access to public transport and accessibility of secured public parking facilities.

(2)(a)(i)(aa) The Department can not divulge the names of the officials and their respective positions. However, the name and contact details of the local office manager is displayed in the office.

 

(2)(a)(i)(bb) & 2(a)(ii) The positions held and vacancy rate is as follows:

POSITIONS OF EMPLOYED OFFICIALS	SALARY LEVEL	NO OF OFFICIALS	VACANCY RATE
CLEANERS	3	1	0
IMMIGRATION OFFICERS	6	1	0
ADMINISTRATION CLERKS	6	16	0
CHIEF ADMINISTRATION CLERKS	7	2	0
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER	7	1	0
CIVIC SERVICES SUPERVISOR	8	1	0
LOCAL OFFICE MANAGER	10	1	0
TOTAL		23	0%

(2)(b) The department will be prioritising Alberton amongst the offices that need additional staff in order to cope with the demand. As explained above civic support will be added with two positions and one position for Immigration service and will be considered for the next level of recruitment.

The business case regarding filling in of vacancies has been approved. The Department will resume the recruitment process as of the new financial year 2022/23.

3) The department has conducted geographic accessibility study used to revise the DHA Access Model. This DHA Hybrid access model provides the optimal number and location of offices the department requires to meet the service delivery levels based on the service norms and standards, including population threshold and the distance norm. Accordingly, the maximum distance norm of the department is set at 25km in urban areas and 20 km in rural areas. This implies that clients are considered having access to the department’s services if they travel 25km or less to DHA service points. Thus, Alberton office is within 25 km radius of the following DHA functional offices in the surrounding areas.

• Germiston – 8 km
• Johannesburg – 12 km
• Edenvale – 15 km
• Boksburg – 15 km

However, the Department also is looking at extending its services as it has a strategy to expand its infrastructure and its footprint. In so doing the Department also delivers services at twenty eighty (28) bank branches which are operational and available to service clients requiring DHA services. As part of its outreach programmes, there is currently a fleet of hundred (100) Mobile Units across the country that are deployed to far flung areas to deliver services to the public. An additional ten (10) mobile units are being procured to increase the footprint in the Department.

4) Alberton office uses the Live Capture System to process and issue smart ID cards and Passports, it also uses National Population Register System for processing and issuing Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates. The Department experiences system unavailability due to various causes like power outages, hardware issues, network outages, and application failures. Frequent network downtimes are experienced and the matter is dealt with by State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and the Department in terms of the SITA Act.

END

Reply:

1. (a) Eight (8) delegates from the Department of Tourism attended the Dubai Expo 2021.

(b) (i) Travel: R1 360 705.30 (Flights and ground transport)

(ii) Accommodation: R754 426.98

(ii) Catering: R0

2. No delegates outside her Department formed part of the Department’s delegation to the Dubai.

Reply:

a) (i) (aa) 1

(ii) 0

b) (i) 1

(ii) 0

(c) The accused was due for retirement when the case was finalised at the CCMA which was in favour of the employee, therefore the disciplinary hearing did not happen as he was already out of the system. The department paid the compensation to the employee to the value R160 118.88 as result of the arbitration outcome.

END.

Reply:

Vaccines are intended to prevent infection or reduce the severity of infection when it occurs. Most vaccines used in the prevention of illnesses are injectable.

In contrast, oral antiviral therapies are generally indicated for the treatment of infections when they occur. Therefore, the purpose of the vaccine compared to oral antiviral therapies are different, and they should not be considered as alternatives.

The role of the National Department of Health is to identify medicines which are safe, effective, cost-effective and affordable for inclusion in the Essential Medicines List. Medicines on the list are then procured for use in the public sector. To date, no antivirals against Covid-19 have met the criteria to be included on the Essential Medicines List.

Manufacturers are responsible for decisions regarding where medicines are manufactured. One of the key considerations that will inform the viability of local manufacturing is the volumes that may be intended for use that will produce the economies of scale leading to affordable prices. The required volume is informed by the size of the population that will benefit from a particular therapy.

END.

Reply:

(a) The figures of cases which are being prepared for deportation are 323.

(b) Illegal foreign nationals who are detected as illegal in the country, but found to have children or family units are issued with Orders to Depart and not deported, in order to allow them time to make their own arrangements to leave the country.

(i) Children born in the Republic

In cases where parents do not have legal status, they are issued with Orders to Depart from the country with the minor child, as they are attended to in the spirit of family unit principle.

(ii) Children attending schools in the Republic

All learners in schools (South African or foreign national) are managed primarily by the Department of Basic Education, whose policy allows for provisional registration over a 90-day period. At the end thereof, a study visa or proof of application at the Visa Facilitation Services must be submitted.

In cases where minors are unaccompanied, the Department of Social Development (DSD) becomes involved when requested to perform a background verification of the child, and this would be done with the Social Development and, International Red Cross where, necessary in the country of origin.

After tracing the child’s family, the family’s immigration status in the country is also verified. The DSD prepares report and can apply through the Children’s Court for a court order to place the child or relocate them to their country of origin.

END

Reply:

a) South African Tourism has its Head Office in South Africa and offices in 10 countries globally, operating as regional hubs and servicing key source markets. The Netherlands Office is now operated virtually.

AFRICA	AMERICAS	EUROPE	ASIA	AUSTRALASIA
South Africa	Nigeria	US	Germany	UK	France	Netherlands (virtual office)	India	China	Japan	Australia

b) Markets served by each Office. Please note: In the 2021/22 fiscal, SA Tourism revised its market investment portfolio, moving from servicing 44 markets to 24 selected markets as illustrated below.

SAT Offices	Markets serviced from office
South Africa Office	South Africa Hub: Domestic Market Central, East, Land Hub: Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia South America Hub Brazil (GSA representation in the market) Europe: Russia
Nigeria Office	West Africa Hub: Nigeria
USA Office	Americas Hub: USA and Canada
Germany Office:	Central Europe Hub: Germany
UK	UK Hub: United Kingdom
France	South Europe Hub: France, Spain, Portugal and Italy
Netherlands	North Europe Hub: Netherlands
India	MEISEA Hub: India
China	Asia Pacific Hub: China
Japan	Asia Pacific Hub: Japan
Australia	Australasia Hub: Australia

c) The annual budgeted costs of running each country office in the 2021/22 fiscal are stated below. The Netherlands country office costs were budgeted based on a physical office, but SA Tourism has since terminated the lease agreement and moved into a virtual office in the Netherlands.

AFRICA	AMERICAS	EUROPE	ASIA	AUSTRALASIA
Nigeria	US	Germany	UK	France	Netherlands	India	China	Japan	Australia
R 10 966 330,22	R19 907 735,29	R15 036 995,68	R15 816 763,86	R18 299 468,49	R15 303 134,83 ( Virtual Office)	R12 404 995,45	R9 570 171,17	R 6 210 215,70	R 11 469 591,43

d) Return on Investment

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted arrival into the destination. International tourist arrivals into South Africa between January and December 2021 reached to 2.2 million, remaining well below the 2019 pre-pandemic levels of 10.2 million arrivals.

South African Tourism marketing initiatives in key source markets focused on delivering brand positioning campaigns to both consumers and distribution channels to improve South Africa’s brand strength by creating awareness of the destination and its value proposition and showcasing value for money products, experiences and attractions. The annual results of these campaigns will be finalised at the end of the fiscal.

(e) (i) The Netherlands Office, while still servicing the hub, is now a virtual office in the Netherlands. SA Tourism does not have a directive to close any other offices.

(e) (ii) SA Tourism does not have a directive to open more Offices.

(f) In order to extend its global footprint, SA Tourism works closely with DIRCO by empowering and supporting Missions to execute their tourism mandate through training and the provision of tools to promote the destination.

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

The Department takes approximately 71 days to allocate a farm from the date the advertisement was published until the signing of the lease agreement. This is indeed not acceptable and is being reviewed with the aim to shorten the process.

The Department is currently finalising an on-line system through which applications for land allocations will be processed in line with the approved Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy. I

Reply:

1. It is incorrect to say that the Department funded lawyers to litigate against the ZM Makeba Trust. We were approached by the family through the Miriam Makeba Foundation (NPC), to assist to resolve the dispute on the intellectual property of Mama Miriam Makeba. Following failed attempts, it was clear that the judiciary could only resolve this matter, and the Foundation then took the matter to the court. The Foundation later approached the Department for financial assistance to employ the services of the lawyers. Accordingly, the Department entered into an agreement with the Foundation and not with the lawyers. This perception that we wanted the lawyers should be corrected.

1. Yes. The Department was established with the key mandate to provide, inter alia, clear leadership in the art, culture and heritage and to accelerate the transformation of the arts and culture sector.

In addition, the Culture Promotion Act (CPA) as amended, provides inter alia that the Minister may in order to develop and promote arts and culture in the Republic provide such other services as are necessary or expedient, or subsidise or finance the provision of services by any person (see section 2(1)(b)(vi)). It was for this reason that we saw it fit to assist in this matter, given our mandate.

Reply:

(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)

The mandate of State Security Agency is to provide intelligence to government on domestic and foreign threats or potential threats to national security across the country as a whole that includes major cities. Hence, the SSA directed by various legislative prescripts plays a supportive role to law enforcement agencies through the provision of intelligence on the threat posed by organised crime syndicates, racketeering and gangsterism to the country’s national security with emphasis on the following:

• The nature and extent to which organised crime syndicates and gangs threaten the state’s economy, human welfare and sovereignty.
• The nature and extent to which organised crime syndicates and gangs contribute to the manifestation of corruption.
• The nature and extent of relationships between gangs and organised crime syndicates.
• The efficacy and functionality of the state’s anti-gang policies and interventions.

The SSA, in partnership with various law enforcement agents and stakeholders (both public and private) makes use of technologies to counter the extent to which organised crime undermines good governance, sabotages the State’s economy and threatens the welfare of communities and sovereignty.

Technologies include those prescribed by the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA) 70 of 2002, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) 38 of 2001, and security monitoring systems installed throughout the country, including in major cities.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) facilitates skills transfer and capacity building on Animal Improvement through implementation of the Animal Improvement Act, 1998, (Act No. 62 of 1998), by collaborating with tertiary institutions that offer agricultural science and State-Owned Entities such as the Agricultural Research Council - Animal Production Institute to train students, farmers and farm workers to do artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis.

The Department also maintains a database of registered reproduction operators that help with artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis. Any livestock business and participants in the sector who need such support do receive assistance. Farmers requiring assistance may contact the Registrar for the Animal Improvement Act, 1998, (Act No. 62 of 1998), Mr Joel Mamabolo contact number (012) 319 7597/7424 Email: [email protected]

Reply:

(1)(a). There is no construction of a R500 Million Resistance and Liberation Museum in the Eastern Cape.

 

Reply:

The Department in partnership with The Ethics Institute (TEI), South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) are implementing a project on ethical leadership in municipalities. This is in line with one of the focus areas of the Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy which calls for a national dialogue on ethical leadership in local government. The aim of the project is to develop a Code for Ethical Governance for municipalities which will have a similar standing as the King Code on Corporate Governance (King IV) has in the private sector. The focus of the Code will be on the principles, values and spirit of ethical leadership in local government.

Reply:

1(a)(i). The Department had one case/ incident of sexual harassment handled by the Directorate: Human Resources Management.

(ii). To date no case/ incident of Sexual assault has been reported in the Department.

(aa). The Department had only one (01) case of sexual harassment and no case of sexual assault reported during the past three financial years and;

(bb). The Department had no cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault reported since 1 April 2021.

(b)(i). One case of sexual harassment was opened and concluded.

(ii) No case of sexual harassment and sexual assault was withdrawn.

(iii) No case of sexual harassment and sexual assault remains open and pending based on the incidents.

(c). No disciplinary hearing sanction pronounced or meted out; the alleged employee resigned whilst the disciplinary hearing was still in progress.

Reply:

1. (a) The table below reflects the 2020 HEMIS audited information received from universities.

Institution	(i)  Life and Physical Sciences	(ii)  Health Sciences	(iii)  Engineering	(iv) Computer and Information Technology
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	1 772	2 196	5 591	1 792
University of Cape Town	2 363	4 123	4 037	1 454
Central University of Technology	568	1 163	3 435	2 593
Durban Institute of Technology	647	2 785	5 760	2 903
University of Fort Hare	1 002	790	62	515
University of Free State	3 389	2 406	89	666
University of Johannesburg	3 313	2 715	6 631	1 995
University of KwaZulu-Natal	6 309	6 199	2 431	949
University of Limpopo	3 588	1 557	5	1 070
Nelson Mandela University	1 515	2 000	2 082	2 082
North West University	4 236	2 260	1 769	1 752
University of Pretoria	4 779	7 485	6 948	2 512
Rhodes University	1 181	892	0	388
University of South Africa	14 180	2 354	8 128	11 012
University of Stellenbosch	3 621	4 346	3 917	896
Tshwane University of Technology	2 730	2 387	8 695	6 077
University of Venda	3 168	1 160	142	329
Vaal University of Technology	1 360	533	6 240	1 522
Walter Sisulu University	978	1 633	2 071	2 605
University of Western Cape	3 488	3 011	0	1 093
University of Witwatersrand	4 141	6 805	5 653	1 033
University of Zululand	2 650	358	0	335
Sol Plaatje University, Northern Cape	179	0	65	275
University of Mpumalanga	319	0	10	353
Mangosuthu University of Technology	410	344	5 085	805
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University	1 473	3 816	0	93
Total	73 357	63 314	78 844	47 098

(b) The Department does not collect data on the number of students who find or do not find employment. However, the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) — Quarter 3 of 2021 indicates that only 2.7% of unemployed persons were graduates, while 7.2% had other tertiary qualifications as their highest level of education.

2. (a) As at 31 December 2021 the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) reported that 533 358 new and continuing students registered at public universities were funded for the 2021 academic year. Audited data for the 2021 academic year will only be available upon finalization of the NSFAS 2022 statutory audit starting in April 2022.

(b) The Department does not collect data on the number of students who pay their own fees.

3. The table below reflects the 2020 HEMIS audited information received from universities.

Institution	International Students
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	1 868
University of Cape Town	5 125
Central University of Technology	484
Durban Institute of Technology	476
University of Fort Hare	475
University of Free State	1 270
University of Johannesburg	4 223
University of KwaZulu-Natal	1 947
University of Limpopo	158
Nelson Mandela University	1 151
North West University	1 797
University of Pretoria	4 206
Rhodes University	1 271
University of South Africa	16 231
University of Stellenbosch	2 888
Tshwane University of Technology	1 438
University of Venda	163
Vaal University of Technology	1 042
Walter Sisulu University	121
University of Western Cape	1 332
University of Witwatersrand	3 648
University of Zululand	117
Sol Plaatje University, Northern Cape	14
University of Mpumalanga	64
Mangosuthu University of Technology	47
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University	131
Total	51 687

Reply:

The Honourable Member speaks of the legal opinion which we do not know. We have not received as such.

 

Reply:

(a) The total number of incidents of sexual harassment is 42.(a) 

(i) (aa)	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
	5	9	11
(b) (i)	Concluded	Concluded	Concluded
	2	6	3
(b)(ii)	Withdrawn	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
	None	1	1
(b)(iii)	Pending	Pending	Pending
	3	2	7
(c)	Sanction	Sanction	Sanction
	1- Dismissal	1-One month suspension without salary. 2- Two month suspension without salary. 4- Not guilty	1- Final written warning. 1- Verbal warning 1- Not guilty

 

(a)(i)(bb) since 01 April 2021

 

(a)(i)(bb)	Since 01 April 2021
	17
(b)(i)	Concluded
	5
(b)(ii)	Withdrawn
	1
(b)(iii)	Pending
	11
(c)	Sanction
	2- Dismissal 1- One month suspension without salary 1- Not guilty 1- No outcome (contract of complainant lapsed prior to investigation being finalised

 

END

Reply:

As responded in question 776. The status quo remains.