Questions and Replies

Reply:

2975 schools dependent on basic pit toilets have been provided with appropriate sanitation infrastructure through SAFE.

The table below provides a number of schools on SAFE provided with appropriate sanitation per province.

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Hon Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

1. The question relates to the operations of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Social Development, which is under the political oversight of the MEC of Social Development. As reported in several meetings of the Portfolio Committee, the National Treasury is implementing budget cuts across all government departments, including provincial departments of Social Development.

Reply:

In 2011, the Department of Basic Education launched the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI-2011). This programme focused on the following:

• Appropriate building for schools made entirely of inappropriate materials.
• Appropriate water supply to schools with no water.
• Appropriate sanitation at schools with no toilets.
• Appropriate electricity supply to schools with no electricity supply.

In 2018, the Department of Basic Education launched the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE-2018) initiative.  This programme focused on the following:

• Providing appropriate sanitation at schools dependent on basic pit toilets.

Both the ASIDI & SAFE programmes are funded from the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG).  The Department submit weekly progress reports on the ASIDI & SAFE programmes to the Minister (DBE-2023).

(1) SIBG budget allocation in the past four financial years are:

(2) Actual expenditure in the past four financial years is:

(3) Construction and/or maintenance

330 of the 338 schools made entirely of inappropriate materials, have been provided with appropriate structures through ASIDI. This is 97.6% progress.

1 298 of the 1 307 schools with no water supply, have been provided with water infrastructure through ASIDI. This is 99.3% progress.

1 087 of the 1 087 schools with no toilets, have been provided with sanitation infrastructure through ASIDI. This is 100% progress.

373 of the 378 schools with no electricity supply, have been provided with electricity through ASIDI. This is 100% progress.

2 975 of the 3 380 schools dependent on basic pit toilets, have been provided with appropriate sanitation infrastructure through SAFE. This is 88% progress.

A list of the constructed schools is attached hereto indicating which are (i) Primary and (ii) High Schools.

ASIDI and SAFE do not do maintenance of schools.

Reply:

1. The total number of correctional facilities under construction in each province are as follows:

Name of Province	Number
Gauteng	01
Eastern Cape	01
KwaZulu-Natal	01
North West	03
Free State	01
TOTAL	07

2. The details are as follows:

• Gauteng: Emthonjeni - Baviaanspoort:
• The centre has ramps to access all the sections;
• All single cells do not have disability toilets;
• Hospital cells have bathtubs without rails;
• Hospital cells have ramps for access; but don’t have disability toilets
• Correctional Centre is partially complying and this matter will be addressed under the auspices of the current project.   

• Eastern Cape: Burgersdorp:
• Complying with regards to accessibility for persons living with disabilities.
• The new Correctional Centre, currently under construction will fully comply.

• KwaZulu-Natal: Qalakabusha:
• Major security system refurbishment project underway as well as storm damage repair. The Correctional Centre is equipped with disable ramps and ablution facilities. The Correctional Centre is not fully complying.

• North West: Brits:
• Complying with regards to accessibility for persons living with disabilities (construction is on hold after the termination of the contractor).
• Correctional Centre is partially complying and this matter will be addressed under the auspices of the current project.   

• Potchefstroom:
• Complying with regards to accessibility for persons living with disabilities.
• Correctional Centre is partially complying and this matter will be addressed under the auspices of the current project.

• Klerksdorp
• The is complying with regards to accessibility for persons living with disabilities

• Free State: Parys:
• Parys Centre under upgrading is designed in accordance to the National Building Standards in respect to access for people living with disabilities.
• The new Correctional Centre, currently under construction will fully comply.

END

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

I wish to inform the honorable Member that I have been informed that

The following interventions has been identified for training of Judicial Officers, Prosecutors and Investigators within the Anti-Corruption and Law Enforcement Agencies, to build cybercrime expertise on the following courses:

Cyber Forensic First Responder Course

This course gives a broad view of Cyber equipment and the methods to collect and seize information from devices on a high level. It gives the delegate a broad understanding of the various methodologies which could be used in gathering information, determining the criticality of various information stored in digital media.

It also provide insight into the various Acts which would come into play when collecting digital information with a broad idea of the responsibilities of the first responder. It should be noted that this is not an advance technical course but rather an introduction to the various aspects of collecting information and the responsibilities of the first responder during an investigation. The course provides the first responder with a broad understanding of the various aspects relating to cyber forensic investigation after completion of the course, understanding the various conventions relating to the regulation of electronic evidence, laws, computer science, information security systems, cyber forensics and the management are key outcomes of the course.

Open Source Intelligence Training Course

This training allows the investigators to search the internet to find clues and evidence that could guide their investigations. The roll-out of this training was first for the SIU Trainers,

This is a five day training focusing on the understanding of the network theory, technical searches, IP Addresses, E-Mails, investigations using accounts created on the social networks etc

DARWIN TOOL (Data Analysis Response Windows)

The DARWIN Tool has been developed by the French Cybercrime Department (SDLC) and the French Judiciary Police Dept (DCPJ). This tool is used by the cybercrime investigators to boot a computer and to make technical searches and to fulfill the investigation report.

The course enables the First Responder (FR) to use the DARWIN tool while retrieving data and preserving the chain of custody. The aim is to perform a quick scan from a shutdown computer and realize a forensic copy of the data. It was created under Windows 10 environment and supports a program called LIBERKEY. This Program allows you to embed all the programs in a portable version that will be used for analysis.

Mobile Investigations Training

Building expertise on the use and application of UFED Cellebrite to extract and

analyse evidence

Arrangements has been made with the NPA, Civilian Secretariat Police Service, Campus Protection Services of South Africa (Camprosa) representing 24 universities, to train prosecutors in the case of the NPA and Investigators for others in the above indicated courses starting February 2024 and on a range of Investigation courses at the Anti-Corruption Academy (Justice college).

TRAINING OFFERED 2022/23

Topic	Target Audience	#
Open Source Intelligence	Prosecutors	16

(2) what further measures has he put in place to expand the specified training? NO4749E

Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) entered into with PSETA on 17 August 2023

The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) is for the Special Investigating Unit (“SIU”) and the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (“PSETA”) to record their intention to collaborate and partner in building the skills capabilities within the public service, and to fulfil both Parties’ constitutional and statutory obligations.

• 1. Both committed to maintain accreditation status of courses identified for public servants, Certification of Learners and the achievement of accreditation status of the Anti-Corruption Academy by 4th Quarter of current financial year.
  2. PSETA and the SIU agreed on the training of public servants nationally on accredited courses over two phases
     1. Phase1: Corruption Prevention
     2. Phase 2: Public Education
  3. The SIU Submitted the Corruption Prevention course targeting public servants for accreditation to PSETA during September 2023 which contain the following modules:
  4. Corruption Prevention course scheduled for roll-out during January 2024, a total of 810 public servants targeted for training by 31 March 2024 with an increased number planned for the 2024/25 financial year.
  5. SIU Accredited trainers, Assessors and Moderators are already registered as part of the compliance requirements of the accreditation of the academy.
  6. SIU submitted Anti-Corruption Academy accreditation application to PSETA, accreditation process in final stages, accreditation expected by 30 November 2023.

MoU’s signed with SADC Member States Anti-Corruption Agencies

MoU’s signed with 5 SADC Member States Anti-Corruption Agencies on 01 August 2023, namely; the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau, Zambia Anti-Corruption Commission, Namibia Anti-Corruption Commission, Independent Commission Against Corruption of Mauritius, the Independent Bureau Against Corruption of Madagascar and the Anti-Corruption commission of Seychelles to train their investigators on cyber forensic investigations, open source intelligence training from February 2024.

TRAINING OFFERED UNDER COOPERATION PROTOCOL SIGNED BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE MINISTERS

Topic	Target Audience	#
Cyber Forensic First responder	Investigators, Public Education Officers and Corruption Prevention Officers from Anti-Corruption Agencies of Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar	36
Cyber Forensic First Responder	Investigators scheduled for 04-08 Dec 2023 Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Agencies 19 Africa countries to be trained at the Academy in Pretoria	To be confirmed

(Attached please find a copy of MoU signed with PSETA, and a copy of MoU signed with SADC Member States, Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau).

These MoUs serve as additional measures taken by the SIU to expand training offered. Training for the Public Servants as per MoU with PSETA and for SADC Member States as per MoU with the SIU to be offered at the Anti-Corruption Academy.

Reply:

Section 27(3) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) states that an annual budget must be in accordance with a format prescribed by the National Treasury. The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Technical Guidelines 2024 for provinces were issued in June 2023 to make such prescriptions, provide government departments, as well as provincial public entities, with guidance on how to prepare their medium-term estimates for the 2024 Budget and to promote alignment between the budget and procurement plans.

As part of these guidelines, infrastructure projects and programmes must be undertaken following the Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS) supported by the Framework of Infrastructure Delivery and Procurement Management (FIDPM). Infrastructure (User) Asset Management Plan (IMAP/U-MAP) must be prepared and updated annually outlining the asset activities and resources required. The plan must include a list of programmes and projects for a minimum period of five years. To promote alignment between the budget and procurement plans, the IAMP/UAMP must inform the development of the Infrastructure Programme Management Plan (IPMP) and Infrastructure Procurement Strategy (IPS) which specifies what the department intends to achieve in the next 3 years of implementation of projects/programmes.

In May 2023, the National Treasury also published a Guideline on Budget Submissions for Large Strategic Infrastructure Proposals. This guideline invites submissions from public institutions in respect of large infrastructure projects and/or programmes that require budget support over the 2024 MTEF. To promote alignment between the budget and procurement plans, each proposal should include a procurement strategy that details the selected packaging, contracting, pricing and targeting options for all the required goods and services or a combination thereof as well as the procurement procedure to ensure alignment to Constitutional requirements and other legislative requirements. Furthermore, all proposals that require direct budget support over the 2024 MTEF must be shovel ready – in other words, they should be ready for immediate procurement, contracting and construction.

Reply:

a) The partnership with the Republic of Ghana is a bilateral relationship that seeks to;

Establish and formalise exchanges on adequate and affordable housing delivery. The Department of Human Settlements has had ongoing exchanges with the Ministry of Works and Housing of the Republic of Ghana, mostly at international meetings, advancing the creation of sustainable human settlements.

The partnership also becomes a platform to facilitate the establishment of networks between sector actors outside of government to forge public-private collaboration that will enable the delivery of affordable housing. Moreover, the platform was instrumental for bringing together business entities to respond to the growing need for human settlements infrastructure that is required at scale and pace, in response to the trends of rapid urbanisation.

The Minister of Human Settlements undertook to advance the cordial relations between the two countries to deepen exchanges in respect to approaches in the provision of adequate housing and undertook an official visit in this regard during October 2023.

b) Some of the best practice models witnessed in Ghana include, but are not limited to;

• Employer assisted housing, through which public-private partnerships are developed (government and a private companies/ employers) with the view to build houses for a predetermined category of employees who would ordinarily not be able to build houses for themselves.

• Blended finance from government and private sector sources to raise capital in a complimentary manner in order to fund joint business ventures.

• Property practitioner regulations and management, which regulates the affairs of all property practitioners, spells out the obligations of the property practitioners towards housing consumers and strives to maintain professional standards in the property practitioners’ sector.

These areas will be explored through further knowledge exchanges between the two countries.

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(1.a) The following number of sanitation facilities were provided in each province per financial year through SAFE Programme.

(ii.b) DBE provides wet or dry sanitation based on reliability of water supply by the water service authority where the school is located.

(2) (a) SAFE and ASIDI Programmes are funded through the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG).

(b) SIBG Expenditure for 2019/2020 FY to date is as follows.

(c) All SAFE schools have been allocated to implementing Agents and their completion date has been affected by budget cuts.

(d) DBE planned to complete the SAFE programme by end of 2023/24 financial year subject to availability of funding.

Reply:

1. The details of the destination, total costs for accommodation, travel and other costs incurred for international of each Minister and Deputy Minister since 1 June 2019 are depicted in the tables below:

International Travel
(aa)		(a)	(b)(i)	(b)(ii)	(b)(iii)
	Date	Destination	Accommodation	Flights	Forex & Insurance
Minister	Oct 2019	BRAZIL		R90 264,43	R225,00
	Oct 2019	ETHIOPIA		R32 700,93	R5 402,00
	Sep 2019	KENYA		R28 213,43	R0,00
	Feb 2020	ETHIOPIA		R66 062,93	R5 132,00
	Feb 2020	UNITED STATES		R155 327,93	R0,00
	Nov 2021	ETHIOPIA		R63 965,75	R0,00
	Mar 2022	UNITED STATES		R108 409,75	R0,00
	Jun 2022	MALAWI		R59 935,80	R225,00
	Nov 2022	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES		R109 106,00	R17 436,00
	Nov 2022	TOGO		R48 584,40	R8 045,00
	Jun 2022	RWANDA		R27 390,40	R5 810,00
	Feb 2023	UNITED STATES		R228 927,45	R36 000,00
Total			R0,00	R1 018 889,20	R78 275,00
International Travel
(bb)		(a)	(b)(i)	(b)(ii)	(b)(iii)
	Date	Destination	Accommodation	Flights	Forex & Insurance
Deputy Minister	Oct 2019	BELGIUM		R83 956,93	R225,00
	Feb 2020	UNITED STATES		R170 091,43	R405,00
Total			R0,00	R254 048,36	R630,00

2. The total cost incurred for domestic air travel for each Minister and Deputy Minister of her Office since 1 June 2019 are depicted in the tables below:

(a)	Period	Total cost Domestic Air Travel
Minister	1 June 2019 to 1 Mar 2023	R578 096,79
(b)	Period	Total cost Domestic Air Travel
Deputy Minister	1 June 2019 to 1 Mar 2023	R327 696,51

________________________

Approved by Minister

Dr NC Dlamini-Zuma, MP

Date:

 

Reply:

a) The Department has implemented new funding model with effect from October 2023. The new funding model entails paying NPOs in tranches on a quarterly basis. The tranche will be paid in April, July, September and January each financial year. This will ensure timeous payment of subsidies to NPOs

b) 

1. Subsidies for August 2023 were paid in full on 06 October 2023;
2. Most of NPOs have been paid subsidies for September, October and November 2023. The remaining unpaid NPOs will be paid on 2 November 2023.
3. October is included on the New Funding Model, final payment will be made on 2 November 2023.

c) There were delays in payment of subsidies due to cash blocking resulting from budget cuts. The funds are allocated by Provincial Treasury on monthly basis. The department does not have enough cash to pay for its contractual obligations and operational costs.

The department has requested funds for NPO subsidies to be allocated quarterly in order to pay NPOs in tranches to avoid late payments. The tranche payment to NPOs will be paid in April, July, September and January each year. The first tranche for 2023/24 has been effected in October 2023 and the next one will be in January 2024.

Reply:

1. The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

1. The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(1) (a) Nationally, there were 3 898 schools initially identified on the SAFE programme and additional 809 schools were later added. 867 schools did not proceed due to some schools closing, some schools not meeting SAFE criteria, some of the schools are on private land and some have sufficient number of toilets in line with the Norms and Standards. DBE proceeded to intervene at 3 380 schools. 

(b) The following tables provides a breakdown of schools per Province.

(i) Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) focused on providing appropriate sanitation to schools with no toilets. The following schools have been provided with sanitation:

(ii) Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative focused on providing appropriate sanitation at schools dependent on basic pit toilets. The following number of schools have been provided with sanitation. (iii) The table below includes sanitation provided by both provinvial education departments and Donors.

(2) (a) ASIDI sanitation projects have been completed. Number of SAFE schools completed are provided in (1.ii) above.

(b) The Completion date for the remaining SAFE schools has been affected by budget cuts. DBE had planned to complete the schools by end of 2023/24 financial year.

Reply:

Yes, the issue was on the agenda of the MINMEC meeting held on 5 December 2023 and was discussed at length with all MECs. The meeting to discuss and find long term solution is scheduled for early next year with the KZN Provincial Department of Social Development. The meeting will address issues that are a challenge for both parties. All the NPOs that have signed the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Department have been paid their subsidies as in December 2023.

Reply:

The implementation of lifestyle audits became compulsory from 1st April 2021 in the public service. The national departments, provincial departments and government components conduct lifestyle audits in their respective institutions and report annually to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).

The process of conducting lifestyle audits in the public service comprises three phases namely lifestyle review, lifestyle investigation, and lifestyle audit (quantification and evaluation).

a) The 2022/2023 financial year is the second year since the implementation of lifestyle audits in the public service. During the first year (2021/2022) of implementation, the DPSA focused on capacity building to capacitate more than two hundred Ethics Officers in the public service on how to conduct lifestyle reviews, which is the first step when conducting lifestyle audits. Currently, during the 2023/2024 financial year, the DPSA focuses on investigators in the public service to capacitate them on how to conduct lifestyle investigation, since the process of lifestyle audit is a new phenomenon in the public service. As a result of this training, about 200 Senior Management Members reviews were referred for investigation in this financial year.

b) The process of conducting lifestyle audits in the public service is in its second year and is still yet to be evaluated for effectiveness in preventing and detecting fraud and corruption. However, the improvement in the number of national departments from 24 (in 2021/2022) to 36 (in 2022/2023), and provincial departments from 71 (in 2021/2022) to 89 (in 2022/2023) who started to conduct lifestyle audits, indicates that departments are geared to conduct lifestyle investigations.

End

Reply:

The following information reflects the total number of public servants in the Republic of South Africa. The information is obtained from PERSAL as of 30 September 2023
(3rd quarter 2023/2024).

a) The number of public servants in each National Department and Components are as follows:

TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC SERVANTS IN THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENTS AND COMPONENTS
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development	6 812
Basic Education	809
Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service	172
Communications and Digital Technologies	267
Cooperative Governance	632
Correctional Services	37 650
Employment and Labour	9 288
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries	3 323
Government Communication and Information System	410
Health	823
Higher Education and Training	29 295
Home Affairs	8 101
Human Settlements	467
Independent Police Investigative Directorate	369
International Relations and Cooperation	1 861
Justice and Constitutional Development	21 672
Military Veterans	125
Mineral Resources and Energy	1 445
National School of Government	212
National Treasury	1 932
Office of the Chief Justice	2 009
Office of the Public Service Commission	258
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation	384
Police	186 143
Public Enterprises	156
Public Service and Administration	384
Public Works and Infrastructure	4 636
Science and Innovation	401
Small Business Development	203
Social Development	645
Sports, Arts and Culture	530
Statistics South Africa	3 260
The Presidency	463
Tourism	461
Trade, Industry and Competition	1 077
Traditional Affairs	101
Transport	687
Water and Sanitation	4 822
Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities	109
TOTAL	332 394

b) The number of public servants in each Province is as follows:

TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC SERVANTS IN THE PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS
Eastern Cape	112 003
Free State	55 501
Gauteng	179 702
KwaZulu-Natal	174 990
Limpopo	93 584
Mpumalanga	69 099
North West	64 076
Northern Cape	20 897
Western Cape	81 428
TOTAL	851 280

End

Reply:

Applicable to both questions one and two:

Government does not have and has never had a policy of cadre deployment. Employment in the public service operates on a merit-based recruitment and selection system, rendering the concept of cadre deployment inapplicable for filling positions. The Minister for the Public Service and Administration directs and guides departments in formulating norms and standards governing employment practices, ensuring strict adherence to a meritocratic framework and ethical recruitment practices.

The legislative and regulatory structure of the public service encompasses essential governance measures aimed at fostering a professional, ethical, competent, and merit-based state. These measures contain, but are not limited to:

1. The Public Service Regulations (PSR), 2016, particularly sections 65 and 67, delineate the conditions for recruitment and selection in the public service. Under these regulations, the executive authority is obliged to publicly announce all vacancies within their department, setting forth guidelines and standards for recruitment and selection to promote a fair and open competition that attracts qualified candidates.
2. The Public Service Act (PSA), 1994, requires adherence to sections 9 and 11(2) stipulating the necessity of merit-based recruitment.
3. The Department of Public Service and Administration is consulting critical stakeholders on a draft directive to professionalise the public service. This draft directive outlines norms, standards, and ethical considerations in the employment management process.

The collective implementation of these processes and the comprehensive suite of services they represent, are instrumental in shaping a public service that is efficient, transparent and anchored in merit and ethical principles. Such a coordinated approach ensures the establishment of a capable and professional public service, which is crucial for effective governance and delivering high-quality services to the public. This synergy of regulations, standards, and directives reflects a robust commitment to excellence and integrity in appointments and administration across the Public Service.

End

Reply:

(a) and (b)

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is guided by Section 41 (1) h (ii) which call for all organs of state to “co-operate with one another in mutual trust and good faith by “assisting and supporting one another”. The following are some of the specific measures that have been initiated to improve the oversight capacity of the department and promote compliance on the norms and standards issued in line with its mandate:

• In January 2022, the DPSA entered into a cooperation agreement with the Auditor General of South Africa (AG-SA) to include in the audit plans of departments norms and standards issued in pursuit of the mandate of the Department. The AG-SA is already implementing this agreement including an agreement on the auditing of performance of the Public Service against the Directive that is being developed to implement the Professionalisation Framework. This agreement allows the DPSA to borrow on the powers of the AG-SA, resulting in more enforcement capability.

• In line with Section 16A (3) of the Public Service Act, 1994 the Minister for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA) prepares regular compliance reports to Cabinet or, through the relevant Premier, to the Executive Council of the relevant province on any non-compliance by an executive authority. These compliance reports are used to ensure that there is accountability at the executive authority level.

• The Minister initiated one-on-one sessions with Executive Authorities of departments including Premier’s of Provinces that have been identified as having challenges with complying with the norms and standards set by the MPSA. These sessions, discuss specific areas of concern, which are then followed by specific technical assistance that is provided by the DPSA to address these challenges.

• The Director General of the DPSA convene quarterly engagements with Heads of Cooperate Services which receives presentations on compliance trends and performances. In these engagements, lessons are shared on best practices towards improving compliance.

To introduce a systematic approach to compliance monitoring and reporting, the DPSA is currently developing an Early Warning System to actively monitor compliance with the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1994 or a regulation, determination and/or directive made in line with its mandate. This Early Warning System will be institutionalised to ensure that governance matters are monitored in an active manner to avoid the collapse of public institutions and services. In line with the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) tabled in Parliament, it is envisaged that the Early Warning System will become active during the 2024/25 Financial Year.

End

Reply:

1. (a) the provisions of regulation 61(6)(b) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 relate to the unauthorised release of information and is authorised by section 41 of the Public Service Act, 1994 read with section 17(4) of the same Act.

(b) Privileged information is information that is protected from disclosure due the rights vested in individuals or bodies by the Constitution, other laws and rules of the Republic of South Africa.

(c) Whistleblowing is managed through the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000 and authorises an employee to disclose information to authorities listed in the Practical Guidelines for Employees issued in terms of section 10(4)(a) of the Protected Disclosures Act. In addition, regulation 13(e) of the Public Service Regulations requires and authorises the reporting of fraud, corruption, nepotism, maladministration and any other act which constitutes a contravention of any law (including, but not limited to, a criminal offence) or which is prejudicial to the interest of the public, which comes to the attention of an employee during the course of his or her employment in the public service to relevant authorities.

(i) the authority to report certain protected disclosures to Parliament is contained in the Practical Guidelines for Employees issued in terms of section 10(4)(a) of the Protected Disclosures Act.

(ii) the authority to report certain protected disclosures to the media is contained in the Practical Guidelines for Employees issued in terms of section 10(4)(a) of the Protected Disclosures Act.

2. Yes, the amended Public Service Regulation 61(6)(b) is in line with the Protected Disclosures Act. The Protected Disclosures Act authorises the disclosure of certain information. If so authorised, the employee cannot be found guilty of misconduct relating to unauthorised disclosure of information as per the Public Service Regulations.

3. (a) A disclosure contemplated in section 1 of the Protected Disclosures Act can, in addition to the persons and bodies listed in section 8 of that Act, be made to the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) of the DPSA. The TAU therefore maintains a database of matters so referred.

(b) Protected disclosures may be made to other bodies provided for under the Protected Disclosures Act.

End

Reply:

1.(a) Public servants that received grants:

TABLE 1

No	Province	Number public servants identified by AGSA
1	Eastern Cape	1257
2	Free State	103
3	Gauteng	280
4	KwaZulu-Natal	1102
5	Limpopo	468
6	Mpumalanga	296
7	Northwest	1460
8	Northern Cape	566
9	Western Cape	280
10	National
Total	5812

In March 2023 33833 public servants had their grants lapsed and also referred to the Fraud and Compliance Unit for further investigations as they failed to present themselves to a SASSA office to have their grants reviewed. Below is the distribution of the public servants (according to provinces)[1].

TABLE 2

(i) The 5812 Covid related (refer to Table 1) and 33833 normal grants (refer to Table 2) recipients had their grants lapsed upon identification that they had contravened Section 21 of the Social Assistance Act (furnished untrue information when applying or continue to receive social assistance when they standard of living has changed).

(aa) According to SASSA dataset extracted from Covid and SOCPEN systems, distribution is according to province as per Table 1 and 2 above indicating where grant application was submitted and not according to employing department (be it provincial or national).

(bb) SASSA dataset did not distribute civil servants according to employing department, but according to the province where the application was submitted

(ii) The numbers of civil servants contained on Table 1 and 2 may have qualified through misrepresentation which has been uncovered as SASSA systems were improved and enhanced.

(b) 5812 civil servants benefited from the Covid 19 Social Relief of Distress grant within the period of May to October 2020. Distribution of the 33833 was not provided by SASSA.

2. What total number of public servants have been disciplined for receiving grants they do not qualify to receive in each

(a) Provincial departments: 36

(b) National departments: 6

Misconduct cases of Public Servants who benefited from social grants as at 30 September 2023 - cases referred from 2008)
National/ Provincial department	Number of cases	Number of people
Total		44	42
Eastern Cape	Total	2	2
	Social Development	2	2
Free State	Total	1	1
	Human Settlements	1	1
KwaZulu-Natal	Total	18	18
	Health	6	6
	Public Works	12	12
Limpopo	Total	1	1
	Transport and Community Safety	1	1
National	Total	6	6
	Home Affairs	2	2
	Police	4	4
North West	Total	16	14
	Community Safety and Transport Management	14	12
	Social Development	2	2
Data source: PERSAL
Compiled by the DPSA
Excluding Defence and State Security Agency

3. What total number of cases has her department opened against public servants who benefited from grants that they did not qualify to receive?

To date 1815 cases have been referred to the South African Police Service by SASSA for further criminal investigation for the contravention of the Section 21 of the Social Assistance Act, as it is a criminal offence.

4. What total amount has her department recovered to date from public servants who benefited from grants that they did not qualify to receive?

The recovery of loss is being managed where the employee is located through signing of an acknowledgment of debt that SASSA at provincial office will submit to the Office of the Premier. Where employees refuse to sign acknowledgement of debt forms, Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Act, will be invoked. DPSA and SASSA will coordinate the process.

End

1. See 1 (bb) ↑

Reply:

a) A professional public servant in a rapidly changing and evolving governance environment requires the capacity to innovate and manage innovation, especially in a digitised public sector. As such the CPSI is working closely with:

• NSG to introduce relevant capacity building courses such and Managing Innovation in the Public Service, Design Thinking and soon Strategic Foresight.
• DPSA and other Departments such as DCDT and Home Affairs and academic institutions such as Wits School of Governance to engage on, develop and implementing digital transformation initiatives.
• Participated in the PSETA/TUT in the research on future skills for public servants.
• Currently conducting a comprehensive assessment of public sector innovation in partnership with NACI to ensure evidence-informed innovation policy and practices.
• Facilitating a ‘trailblazer’ network (ie a network of system developers) in provinces and departments to develop ‘in-house’ capacity and share code and documentation for replication across government.

b) CPSI has engaged extensively with all stakeholders to ensure a future-fit organisation. This culminated in 2021 in a comprehensive study by Wits School of Governance on the strategic direction, capacity and resource requirements of the CPSI. As such, a new structure was approved by the MPSA. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints and no additional allocation in the MTEF this cannot be operationalised and as such the CPSI would be reliant on reprioritisation within the MPSA portfolio.

End

Reply:

Background

In pursuit of a comprehensive understanding of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) landscape within the public service, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) utilized the PERSAL system to generate reports concerning ICT personnel within various departments. Regrettably, these reports revealed discrepancies, as many departments had failed to update the field designating personnel involved in IT-related roles, consequently compromising the accuracy of the reports.

Subsequently, the DPSA formulated a data collection instrument, mandating all departments to provide the following particulars regarding their respective ICT personnel:

• Department or Government Component Name

• Sphere of Government (National/Provincial)

• Province

• PERSAL Number

• Full Name

• Branch

• Chief Directorate

• Directorate or Unit

• Job Title

• Salary Level

• A concise summary of the job description

It's noteworthy that this data collection initiative did not aim to ascertain specific ICT skills; nonetheless, through a meticulous analysis of the data received, the DPSA managed to infer a rudimentary skill level based on the roles that were being undertaken. It is imperative to highlight that a more comprehensive collection of skills information will be undertaken as part of the broader public service skills audit initiatives currently in progress.

Of the anticipated 161 departments, 132 provided responses, revealing a salient opportunity for departments to enhance the quality of their human resources data, particularly in relation to personnel information, job descriptions, and job titles.

Response to Question 1

(a) What number of public servants have skills related to information and communications technology (ICT),

As indicated above, pending the completed public service skills audit, the skill levels will be inferred based on the functions being performed.

Furthermore, the majority of public servants that have access to computer technologies would have ICT skills that typically encompass basic competencies required for everyday tasks such as word processing and internet browsing, while specialist ICT personnel deployed in ICT functions would have skills that involve a deeper and specialized knowledge, often focusing on complex system development, cybersecurity, or network administration.

Therefore, the data collected reveals that there are 4548 ICT personnel deployed in departments’ ICT functions.

and (b) how often do the relevant government departments upskill the specified skills.

Upskilling and training of employees is decentralized with departments prioritizing resources based on their specific needs. The DPSA does not currently have a mechanism to track and report on the ICT specific training and upskilling by departments.

Response to Question 2

What number of cyber security specialists are currently employed in the Public Service?

From the 4548, 64 personnel have been identified as having either a job title of job description that involves ICT security / Cyber security. The data does not show the level of expertise and specialization at this point. The broader skills audit programme will provide further clarity upon its completion.

Response to Question 3

What number of ICT and/or e-Government-related courses does the National School of Government currently offer?

Currently the NSG has one programme.

The Digital Transformation for Public Sector Programme targets:

• Chief Information Officers and ICT Practitioners.
• Strategic managers in IT – dealing with service delivery improvement through digitization.

The programme was developed during the 2019/20 financial year in partnership with the curriculum development sub-committee for the Government Information Technology Officers Council (GITOC). The programme content was further peer reviewed in 2022 by colleagues from DPSA, DSI, SSA, SITA and DCDT.

The intention was to create a programme applicable and relevant to Government-wide needs in the digital transformation and ICT spheres and furthermore, to make it impactful in enhancing service delivery through 4IR and other transformative ICT tools.

Programme Overview

The programme is structured into four modules, each of which is divided into a varying number of units, as indicated below:

Module 1 - ICT Leadership in Government Information Communication and Technology

Unit 1: CIO Role

Unit 2: IT Organisation

Unit 3: IT Governance

Unit 4: IT Planning

Unit 5: Overview of Public Sector Procurement

This section focuses on the IT organisation, its leadership and management. It looks at how IT should be governed and the role of business and leadership in the corporate governance of ICT.

Module 2 - Technology Platforms

Unit 1: Service Oriented Architecture and Micro-services

Unit 2: Cloud Computing

Unit 3: The Fourth Industrial Revolution

• • Social Media & Mobile Technology
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • Internet of Things
  • Blockchain

This section covers current technology trends and how they are used to enable business. The information will help learners not only gain a deeper understanding of the technologies available but how they can be used in public sector service delivery and administration.

Module 3 - Public Sector Digitisation

Unit 1: Data Management

Unit 2: Business Process Management

Unit 3: Digital Government

This section covers the fundamentals of digitisation and how these fundamentals can be applied to the public sector.

Module 4 – Cyber Security

Unit 1: Cyber Law

Unit 2: Cyber Security

Unit 3: Cyber Security Governance

Unit 4: Cyber Threats

Unit 5: Cyber Attack Threat Vectors

This section covers the fundamentals of Information Security and the threats or challenges posed by ever increasing digitisation and connected cyber networks. The section will also look at the legal matters related to information security and what IT organisations must do in the public sector to protect the state.

End

Reply:

1. (a) The authority for the Public Service Regulations is contained in section 41 of the Public Service Act. The review of regulations is usually triggered by gaps or challenges identified, policy changes, strengthening processes or managing interpretational challenges, amongst others.

(b) The requirement to seek the Minister’s determination on secondments that exceed 12 months is to ensure that secondments do not affect service delivery and do not become a mechanism to create long term employment which places undue burden on the seconding department and its employees to carry the tasks of the seconded employee over a protracted period. The Minister therefore assesses the operational requirements taking into account the circumstances and the impact of the secondment in excess of 12 months as motivated by relevant departments. It must be noted that this requirement was not introduced in the recent Public Service Amendment Regulations, 2023.

2. (a) Prior to the Public Service Amendment Regulations, 2023, transfers were regulated by section 14 of the Public Service Act. It became necessary to provide further clarity to ensure proper implementation of transfers by requiring-

1. in respect of a transfer to another department, the executive authorities of the two relevant departments must agree in writing to such a transfer;
2. due regard be had to the inherent requirements of the job and the employee’s competencies to perform the functions of the post to which he or she is being transferred; and
3. that an employee is not transferred into a post in the Office of an executive authority, Deputy President or Deputy Minister.

(b) A challenge on transfers of employees without their consent cannot be sustained as it is authorised by section 14 of the Public Service Act and is not dependent on regulations.

3. We are not aware of a case of Saloojee v Minister of Police 2004 and therefore we are unable to respond on the import thereof in relation to transfers.

4. (a) The Public Service Amendment Regulations, 2023 does not make reference to operation requirements in respect of transfers.

(b) Regulation 7 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 provides for decision-making in cases of conflict of interest.

End

Reply:

a) (i) and (ii):

The Minister for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA), guided by section 3 (c) of the Public Service Act (PSA), issued a Directive guiding national and provincial departments on Compulsory Capacity Development Mandatory Training Days, and Minimum Entry Requirements, specifically for Senior Management Service (SMS) roles. The Directive sets forth mandatory requirements and standards which define qualification criteria that must be met for recruitment into SMS positions.

Since the Directive was issued the following has been noted:

• The majority of officials that do not meet minimum entry requirements, entered into those positions before the Directive was issued and at a time when they were meeting the requirements. This means that departments are complying with the Directive.
• As South African law does not allow for retrospective application unless specifically ordered by a court of law, the officials are being encouraged to improve their qualifications either through academic study or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
• Most of the Public Servants have since secured improved qualifications, however these are yet to be captured on PERSAL by their departments.
• The DPSA is working with relevant departments to ensure that improved qualifications are correctly updated and captured on PERSAL.

Within the context of the Directive, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), fulfilling its role, compiles qualification data solely for SMS members in compliance with this Directive. The total number of SMS Members in each national and provincial government department is attached as Annexure A:

b) (i) and (ii):

The total number of SMS members with qualifications not specified on PERSAL as of 30 September 2023 is 1 801.

SMS Members with Qualifications Unspecified on PERSAL

Occupational Classification	Date Appointed In SMS	Total
	Before 1 August 2016	From 1 August 2016
Total	1 259	542	1 801
Administrative Related	91	55	146
Advocates		1	1
Agriculture Related	2		2
Communication And Information Related	4	2	6
Computer Programmers.		1	1
Computer System Designers and Analysts.		1	1
Crime Investigators/ Misdaad Ondersoekers		1	1
Custodian Personnel		1	1
Economists	2		2
Finance And Economics Related	20	6	26
Financial And Related Professionals	18	11	29
Financial Clerks and Credit Controllers	2		2
General Legal Administration & Rel. Professionals	2	1	3
Head Of Department/Chief Executive Officer	20	6	26
Health Sciences Related	3	2	5
Human Resources & Organisational Development & Related Professions	10	4	14
Human Resources Related	11	4	15
Identification Experts	3		3
Information Technology Related	4		4
Legal Related	4	1	5
Natural Sciences Related	2	2	4
Operational Planning		1	1
Other Administration & Related Clerks and Organisers	2	3	5
Other Administrative Policy and Related Officers	2		2
Other Information Technology Personnel.	8		8
Other Occupations	9		9
Police.		1	1
Professional Nurse	1	1	2
Prosecutor		1	1
Risk Management and Security Services	4		4
Saps	1	1	2
Secretaries & Other Keyboard Operating Clerks		3	3
Security Officers	1		1
Senior Managers	1 027	432	1 459
Social Sciences Related	1		1
Social Work and Related Professionals	2		2
Trade/Industry Advisers & Other Related Profession	2		2
Veterinarians	1		1

Table 1: PERSAL Data as of 30 September 2023 Occupation Specific

End

Reply:

(a) and (b) The number of OSD employees in each department and current total costs

Sphere / Province	Name of the Department	a) Number of OSD officials	b) Current total costs
Eastern Cape	Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs	38	32 000 277
	Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism	146	76 439 952
	Education	53 115	20 509 133 643
	Health	28 877	10 615 391 757
	Human Settlements	67	68 151 942
	Office of the Premier	13	15 103 227
	Provincial Treasury	2	1 328 907
	Public works and Infrastructure	240	114 707 706
	Rural Development and Agrarian Reform	172	112 685 385
	Social Development	3 076	1 027 143 894
	Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture	17	11 772 783
	Transport	162	76 191 501
Free State	Agriculture and Rural Development	50	35 090 604
	Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	14	10 423 284
	Community Safety, Roads, and Transport	83	42 955 533
	Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs	75	40 041 237
	Education	23 156	8 819 080 161
	Health	11 332	4 357 227 426
	Human Settlements	8	5 619 375
	Office of the Premier	5	6 382 212
	Public Works and Infrastructure	128	52 014 009
	Social Development	736	254 000 352
Gauteng	Agriculture and Rural Development	232	143 643 240
	Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	19	16 638 204
	Community Safety	3	2 283 381
	E-Government	2	1 701 510
	Economic Development	2	2 078 754
	Education	75 479	28 547 983 953
	Health	46 336	19 798 096 956
	Human Settlements	84	90 353 199
	Infrastructure Development	691	297 457 170
	Office of the Premier	8	8 685 627
	Provincial Treasury	1	895 137
	Roads and Transport	131	85 466 487
	Social Development	3 359	1 066 815 162
	Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation	2	1 864 659
KwaZulu-Natal	Agriculture and Rural Development	139	100 856 100
	Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	38	35 570 190
	Community Safety and Liaison	1	351 618
	Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs	187	102 382 005
	Education	88 999	33 819 171 582
	Health	46 429	18 651 581 223
	Human Settlements	70	41 119 125
	Office of the Premier	5	6 966 771
	Public Works	202	121 996 509
	Social Development	2 405	813 447 888
	Sports, Arts & Culture	2	1 819 698
	Transport	446	194 137 263
Limpopo	Agriculture and Rural Development	155	101 776 944
	Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs	91	90 145 737
	Economic Development, Environment and Tourism	149	109 694 280
	Education	53 220	20 502 681 339
	Health	22 201	8 913 796 371
	Office of the Premier	8	12 697 959
	Public Works, Roads, and Infrastructure	275	117 116 286
	Social Development	2 168	768 332 787
	Transport and Community Safety	22	8 509 869
Mpumalanga	Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs	117	83 281 068
	Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	13	9 777 660
	Culture, Sport, and Recreation	2	1 536 432
	Economic Development and Tourism	2	1 241 895
	Education	34 119	13 007 176 482
	Health	14 019	5 463 956 094
	Human Settlements	17	15 940 116
	Provincial Treasury	4	4 117 281
	Public Works, Roads, and Transport	301	131 932 098
	Social Development	1 196	415 166 202
North West	Agriculture and Rural Development	46	30 650 952
	Arts, Culture, Sports, and Recreation	1	531 381
	Community Safety and Transport Management	17	7 156 959
	Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs	10	5 447 409
	Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism	82	50 903 394
	Education	28 749	10 860 139 755
	Health	12 790	4 977 296 637
	Human Settlements	11	6 411 768
	Office of the Premier	5	4 337 892
	Provincial Treasury	1	543 969
	Public Works and Roads	279	103 078 668
	Social Development	1 583	502 267 020
Northern Cape	Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform	92	54 943 071
	Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs	6	4 213 749
	Economic Development and Tourism	1	895 137
	Education	10 098	3 819 470 646
	Health	4 535	1 834 593 873
	Office of the Premier	6	7 966 260
	Roads and Public Works	44	30 301 173
	Social Development	661	210 115 851
	Sport, Arts and Culture	3	752 061
	Transport, Safety and Liaison	1	1 081 953
Western Cape	Agriculture	94	56 350 647
	Cultural Affairs and Sport	1	687 879
	Education	36 424	13 786 617 735
	Environmental Affairs and Development Planning	166	117 424 167
	Health and Wellness	21 868	9 574 968 660
	Infrastructure	323	230 986 251
	Local Government	7	6 135 051
	Social Development	1 828	540 649 101
	The Premier	51	53 534 403
National	Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development	608	439 097 178
	Basic Education	83	81 963 714
	Cooperative Governance	80	85 110 819
	Correctional Services	34 708	10 776 529 947
	Employment and Labour	222	157 899 498
	Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment	570	408 740 031
	Health	75	66 344 493
	Higher Education and Training	10 382	3 744 058 359
	Home Affairs	139	47 709 462
	Human Settlements	12	14 850 924
	Independent Police Investigative Directorate	165	73 574 844
	International Relations and Cooperation	11	12 206 517
	Justice and Constitutional Development	5 378	3 859 592 781
	Military Veterans	3	1 590 030
	Mineral Resources and Energy	17	11 688 324
	Office of the Chief Justice	109	49 778 241
	Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation	3	3 794 706
	Police	139 029	42 592 961 358
	Public Service and Administration	6	4 101 528
	Public Works and Infrastructure	497	346 447 563
	Science and Innovation	3	3 651 852
	Small Business Development	5	3 724 875
	Social Development	134	85 216 542
	Sport, Arts and Culture	9	6 471 867
	Statistics South Africa	2	1 587 360
	The Presidency	8	10 489 695
	Tourism	6	5 636 835
	Trade, Industry and Competition	5	5 494 335
	Traditional Affairs	1	1 252 374
	Transport	3	2 099 697
	Water and Sanitation	1 260	804 582 825

In addition, the OSD salary levels range from level 3 to 12. Detailed breakdown of employees’ respective salary levels and the current total cost to the state are attached in Annexure A and B.

(c) With regard to the projected forecasts for future uptake of OSD positions in the upcoming financial years, note should be taken that salaries for Public Servants, including OSD categories would be adjusted in line with PSCBC Resolution 2 of 2023 with effect from 1 April 2024, which would adjust the salaries and the total cost to the state accordingly. Furthermore, the appointments of officials, including those within OSDs fall within the authority of the various Executive Authorities and therefore the uptake in terms of appointments would thus be in line with the relevant processes, including the availability of funding and prioritization by the respective departments. There are currently no new OSDs being considered in line with PSCBC Resolution 3 of 2010.

End

Reply:

I have been advised that:

a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) provided support to small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. sefa contributed towards the Covid-19 emergency fund (relief programme) which was aimed at providing relief to small businesses during the pandemic. Through the fund, sefa disbursed R316 million to 1 144 small businesses. Of this amount, R28 million was disbursed to businesses in townships and R60 million were to businesses in rural areas.

(a)(i)&(ii)

b) An additional R10 million was disbursed towards business growth and resilience facilities.

R105 million has been approved for SMME payment holidays. The Department further introduced the Economic Recovery Programme to assist small businesses in the South African economy. The economic recovery programme disbursed R1.3 billion to small businesses operating in various provinces as per the table below. The disbursements to small businesses operating in townships amounted to R552 million and R392 million to those in rural areas.

c) Through the Covid-19 relief scheme, a total of 1 161 clients were funded. As at end of September 2023, 450 clients had their loans settled, 407 are still honouring their payment obligations and 304 clients are not paying.

d) The businesses that have settled their loans are no longer under sefa monitoring. 450 clients are still honouring their payments although their term has expired. These businesses are still operational and sefa is considering restructuring these loans. The 304 clients which are not paying sefa and are handed over to pursue collection. An exercise is underway to re-verify their existence.

Reply:

I have been advised that:

(a) The total amount spent on the Minister and her Deputy Minister’s travel costs in the 2022-23 financial year is R2 615 876.16

(b) The number of trips the Minister and her Deputy Minister undertook in the specified financial year: 198 domestic trips and 12 international trips

(c) The amount spent by her department on:

(i) Hotel: R474 660.68

(ii) Residential: R0.00 (The Deputy Minister has been allocated state accommodation in Cape Town and Pretoria and DSBD has not incurred costs on rental or maintenance as it is the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI)-Prestige responsibility. The monthly fee is charged from the Deputy Minister’s salary in line with the lease agreement signed by herself (an amount of R1 196.57). The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has only spent on relocation costs and related housekeeping services.

(iii) Other accommodation for the Minister and her Deputy Minister: R0.00

(d) The amount of any further costs incurred by her department in relation to such travel: R2 141 215.48, this is the cost of domestic air travel, car hire and international air travel (see table below).

DSBD - Minister and Deputy Minister Travel Expenses for the Period April 2022 to March 2023
Category	Number of transactions	Amount “R”
Domestic Air Travel	195	783 799.39
Accommodation Domestic	98	474 660.68
Car Hire	62	1 234 134.69
International Air Travel	12	123 281.40
Total	367	2 615 876.16

Reply:

In 1994, the new government inherited a highly unequal and concentrated economy, with very low levels of entrepreneurship, little to no black economic ownership, and an extremely weak and fragmented SMME support eco-system.

This made South Africa an outlier. SMMEs play a major role as a driver of growth and employment in both developed and developing economies.

To realise the growth and jobs potential of SMMEs, Government established the Department of Small Business Development in 2014. The mandate of the Department Small Business Development (DSBD) is defined: “to lead and coordinate an integrated approach to the promotion and development of entrepreneurship, Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) and Co-operatives, and to ensure an enabling legislative and policy environment to support their growth and sustainability”.

Since its inception, the work of the DSBD has been driven by several key policy frameworks, including the National Development Plan, Vision 2030, which is aimed at harnessing the potential of SMMEs, Co-operatives and the informal sector, and sets specific goals for the small business sector as follows:

• To enhance economic growth through SMMEs and Co-operatives as assessed through an increased contribution by the sector to GDP.
• To enhance economic growth through SMMEs as assessed through an increased contribution by the sector to GDP.
• To create 9 million of South Africa’s 11 million needed jobs by 2030 through the SMME sector.
• To reduce the cost of regulatory compliance and promote ease of doing business for SMMEs and ensure policy coherence through partnerships among for SMMEs and ensure policy coherence through partnerships among key societal players, business and government.

The work of the DSBD has until recently been framed by the Integrated Strategy on the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprises (ISPESE), which was reviewed and a new national SMME and co-operatives strategy developed – the National Integrated Small Enterprise Development Strategic Framework (NISED) – adopted by Cabinet and launched in November 2022.

The ISPESE and NISED have been focused on addressing the core constraints faced by SMMEs and co-operatives, including:

• Red-tape and regulatory burdens.
• Market concentration, and lack of access to markets.
• The lack of access to finance, and
• Weak entrepreneurial and business development skills, and

Progress since 2014 is framed around what has been done to address these constraints and create a more enabling environment for SMMEs and co-operatives.

Red-Tape

To address the issues of reduced cost of doing business and regulatory compliance in South Africa, commonly referred to as red tape, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) is the custodian of red tape reduction (RTR) for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and has initiated a number of interventions to reduce red-tape for SMMEs and co-operatives.

This includes reviewing the Businesses Act (1991), which was transferred from the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) to the DSBD in the 2020/21 financial year. The DSBD has reviewed the Act and is in the process of finalising the Business Licensing Amendment Bill. Recently Cabinet has approved the National Business Licensing Policy for gazetting for public comments, by the end of the term a policy on Business Licensing will have been finalised.

The other piece of legislation which has been reviewed is the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act No. 102 of 1996). A National Small Enterprise Amendment Bill, 2023, has been developed and is currently before Parliament, National Assembly has referred this to the NCOP for concurrence and this should be finalised by the end of February by Parliament. The amendments:

• provide for the establishment and registration, in terms of the Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008, of the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency (SEDFA) and the subsequent incorporation into SEDFA of the sefa, the Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA) and the Seda.
• establish of the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombud Service ("the Office").
• enable the Minister to declare certain practices in relation to small enterprises to be prohibited as unfair trading practices.
• propose an amendment to section 20(2) of the Act to provide clarity on the interpretation of the powers assigned to the Minister in amending the Schedule to the Act as well as the definition for small enterprises, to allow for simplification of the Schedule.

The DSBD has also, in 2023, undertaken a “Rapid Review of ALL legislation that impacts SMMEs and Co-operatives” for “regulatory guillotining”, that is, at the level of National, Provincial and Local Government.

The DESBD has also supported red-tape reduction at municipal level, and has supported 23 Districts, 108 municipalities, and 4 Metros to roll out the Red-Tape Reduction Awareness Programme. Recently, the department has piloted the Pilot Administrative Simplification Programme (PASP) in association with KwaZulu-Natal EDTEA, COGTA and SALGA, targeting key red-tape reduction including access to infrastructure (specifically water as it permeates all municipalities), customer/complaints management, municipal policies, by-laws/regulations; land development and SPLUMA, building plan approval timelines/processes; and informal trading management. The idea is to consolidate this is a Municipal Red Tape Reduction Dashboard.

Market access

To address market access, the Department developed and continues to implement the SMMEs-focused Localisation Policy Framework that was adopted by Cabinet during the course of the 2020/21 financial year. At the end of 2022/23 financial year, 807 products produced by SMMEs, and Co-operatives were linked/introduced to domestic markets through working relationships with large retailers and wholesalers across the country against a five-year target of 1 000 products.

To drive localisation, the Department designed a focused Small Enterprise Manufacturing Support Programme (SEMSP) aimed at building and supporting SMMEs participating in the manufacturing value chain. The purpose of the SEMSP is to build a manufacturing sector for an improved industrial base through a focused import replacement programme and build the industrial base for both the domestic market and external market. The Programme aims to contribute to South Africa’s localisation strategy. As at 30 September 2023, SEMSP approvals concluded amounted to R879.2m to 94 SMMEs, facilitating 5295 jobs.

The DSBD has also partnered with the International Trade Centre to improve market access for women-led enterprises. As of 30 September 2023, the total cumulative number of South African members registered on the ITC SheTradesZA platform is 3004, whilst the ITC'S web developers finalise the system update. The Department is continuing to intensify its effort working towards realising its outcome to increase participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities, SMMMEs and Co-operatives in the domestic and international markets.

To date, 188 SMMEs and Cooperatives were exposed to global market opportunities, between 2022/23 and 2023/24, through international missions, exhibitions, and fairs. Our work in exposing SMME products and services to global markets through the Small Business Exported Development Scheme has seen an extension in driving the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) markets during the 2023/24 financial year.

The other area of focus for DSBD has been the opening of corporate supply chains for SMMEs and co-operatives. To this end, an Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) Community of Practice (COP) has been established with the private sector to overcome fragmentation and strengthen the key element of targeted entrepreneurship development. The ESD COP is complemented with an ESD e-learning platform and a series of masterclasses by Seda along with a website for COP member recruitment and the promotion of capacity building events and activities.

Access to finance

Here the focus has been on supporting SMMEs and co-operatives from under-served communities with access to finance, be it direct lending, blended finance, and micro-finance.

There have been numerous instruments designed and impended since 2014. This includes those for supporting SMMEs, Cooperatives and informal enterprises in townships and rural areas such as the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship programme. There are instruments for youth, such as the Youth Challenge Fund, those targeting people with disabilities such as the Amavulandlela Funding Scheme, as well as those implemented during COVID-19 to support SMMEs and Cooperatives experiencing financial distress such as the Business Viability Programme

Since 1 April 2014 to 31 October 2023, the DSBD, through its implementing agency sefa, approved loans to the value of R12.3 billion, disbursed into the South African economy R14.5 billion[1], and provided financial support to 597 473 SMMEs and Co-operatives. These funded clients in turn helped create and retain 809 148 jobs.

In terms of developmental impact:

• sefa disbursed R11.6 billion to enterprises owned by black entrepreneurs,
• R5.5 billion to women-owned businesses,
• R2.9 billion to businesses owned by youth,
• R109 million to enterprises owned by persons with disabilities,
• R1.9 billion to small businesses operating in the townships, and
• R4.4 billion to enterprises operating in rural towns and villages.

The DSBD has also developed an SMME and Co-operatives Funding Policy to ensure improvement in access to finance for SMMEs and Co-operatives. The Policy is now at NEDLAC.

Business Development Services

Much of DSBD’s entrepreneurship and business development support is implemented through Seda. Since 2014, the following has been achieved:

Number of clients reached through entrepreneurship awareness sessions	201 879
Number of clients supported with various interventions	414 205
Number of clients supported through Incubation Programme	69 840
Number of incubation centres established	110
Number of jobs created by supported clients	38 787
Number of jobs sustained by supported clients	62 118

The 110 Incubation Centers and Digital Hubs are aimed at nurturing new and existing small enterprises by providing them with financial and technical advice pertaining to the running of a business. The breakdown of these 110 that are in various stages of implementation is 73 Technology Business Incubators; 31 centers for Entrepreneurship and Rapid Incubation; and six Township and Digital Hubs that focus on various designated sectors within which small business start-ups are functioning.

The goal of increasing incubation centers and digital hubs to 100 by 2024 has already been achieved, and the new focus is on improving governance, independent sustainability and returns on investments.

Conclusion

As is evident, much has been achieved since the establishment of the DSBD in 2014. But much more needs to be done to place SMMEs at the centre of driving the country’s inclusive growth. The merger of Seda, sefa and the CBDA will provide seamless and customised support to the sector but needs to be effectively capitalised to effectively contribute to addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, and leveraging the kinds of partnerships envisaged in the NISED.

1. Due to the nature of sefa’s partnership with the intermediaries, disbursements are always higher because the intermediaries roll sefa’s money several times a year before paying it back. ↑

Reply:

I have been advised that:

a) In Encouraging entrepreneurship in township and villages:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has in place the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP) which aims to assist informal, micro and small enterprises grow their businesses. The financial package is structured at a maximum value of R1 000 000 that consist of:

• Maximum of R1 000 000.00 towards working capital, cost of equipment, or any other CAPEX (paid directly to the supplier where applicable).
• The financial package will be offered in the form of a blended finance with 50% of the total approved amount being a grant i.e., a maximum grant amount of R 100 000.00.

TREP supports all small enterprises operating in townships and rural areas that meet the qualifying criteria including, but not limited to, the following:

• • Clothing and Textile
  • Bakeries and Confectionaries
  • Tshisanyama and Cooked Food
  • Retail (including restaurants, car washes, general dealers etc.)
  • Automotive
  • Personal Care
  • Artisans

Also, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) has a big network of offices in the country, with 53 branches and 52 co-location points. Our co-locations are specifically established to extend access to Seda services in underserviced and rural South Africa. It is also realised that there are still several areas where entrepreneurs and SMMEs still must travel far for them to access services. Seda has therefore established 80 service points or access points. Seda will continue to expand service delivery to rural communities through various modalities whilst striking a sound balance between community needs, budget availability and collaboration with ecosystem partners. Furthermore, the organisation has 110 incubators, of which 32 are based in rural areas.

The agency also employs alternative mechanisms for ensuring that services are available, like mobile offices. Information is provided through DSBD, Seda and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) websites and contact centers. Where possible, Seda also provides virtual interaction with those clients that can attend, for example online training and webinars. To this end, 801 clients attended virtual sessions during the 2022/23 financial year, and 1 630 during the second semester of the current financial year (2023/24). Support includes, amongst others, Pitch for funding, Access to markets, including Pop-up markets, Digital skills development training, Inventory Management Training, etc.

b) Providing sustainable employment to township dwellers:

While the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP) described in part (a) is aimed at the individual entrepreneur, the National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS) seeks to uplift informal businesses and micro enterprises through a systemic and institutional response collaborating with and supporting local chambers/business associations and municipal Local Economic Development offices to deliver and facilitate access to upliftment programmes aimed at providing sustainable employment to township and rural dwellers, targeting informal business entrepreneurs from designated groups, i.e., women, youth, and people with disabilities.

• 1. NIBUS has two Instruments under its enterprise development pillar, namely the Shared Economic Infrastructure Facility (SEIF) and the Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP).
  2. The Informal and Micro Enterprises Development Programme (IMEDP) is a 100% grant offered to informal and micro enterprises from a minimum grant amount of five hundred rand (R 500.00) up to a maximum of ten thousand rand (R10 000.00) to assist them in improving their competitiveness and sustainability.
  3. The key objective of this financial facility is to provide developmental support to informal and micro businesses that are operating in townships and rural areas of South Africa with an emphasis on support for designated groups, i.e., women, youth and persons with disabilities.
  4. The programme aims to develop and strengthen the capacity of credible informal and or micro enterprises to be sustainable through the provision of access to information, appropriate business development support and business infrastructure (machinery, tools, equipment, and stock) and excludes (working capital, conversions, clothing) for eligible applicants.
  5. Going forward, it is planned that Informal and micro enterprises are to be supported using the DSBD’s Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP) capped at R 30 000.00 for informal businesses and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) to support micro businesses with amounts above the R 30 000.00 threshold.
  6. The funding will be 100% grant for the informal sector and subject to availability of funds.

During the 2022/23 financial year, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) provided a total of 21 181 skills development and support interventions to township and rural businesses and 10 836 interventions during the second semester of the 2023-24 financial year. These interventions included amongst others Basic Business Skills, Business Start-Up 1, Cybercrimes, South African Revenue Service (SARS) Incentives, Costing & Pricing, Business Planning, Business Model Canvas, Financial Management training, Access to funding, Point of Sale Training, Access to Funding, Business Plans, Mentoring and various others.

Seda also has a dedicated programme, the Basic Entrepreneurship Skills Development (BESD) which was jointly developed by the Agency and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) since 2012. GIZ left the programme in December 2016 and since then the programme is funded by the National Skills Fund for an amount of R84 million. The BESD approach utilises coaching as an innovative methodology to facilitate and reinforce learning and development support to emerging entrepreneurs. A total of 2 038 Emerging Entrepreneurs were supported through the programme to date. All the project sites across the country were completed in 2019, we are currently utilising remnants of the budget to benefit more SMMEs.

Seda, through its Learning Academy, has also developed different training programmes. These programmes are credit bearing and accredited by the Services Seta. Quality training aims to assist organisations of all types to implement and operate the Quality Management System (QMS) to increase effectiveness, consistency, and customer satisfaction, explain the benefits of implementing QMS and understand the quality, management principles. Whilst Food safety introduces Food Safety, Understand Pre-Requisite programme, HACCP (Hazard Analysis, Critical, Control, Point) system and HACCP principles and Implementing a Food Safety Management System (SANS 22000:2019.).

Seda has also forged the following skills development partnerships namely:

• A 3-year partnership with the National Skills Fund (NSF) to benefit 14 000 beneficiaries for a total budget of R 592 275 000. The aim of the project is to recruit unemployed graduates with Accounting and Business Management qualifications to be trained on New Venture Creation, Coaching, and Mentorship Programme to enhance their skills to provide support to Micro Enterprises. Seda will use coaching as an innovative methodology to facilitate and reinforce learning and development support to Micro Enterprises and the unemployed graduates will be trained on new venture creation as well as business coaching to enable them to transfer skills and knowledge to Micro Enterprise owners.
• Seda and Wholesale and Retail Seta signed an agreement to support one thousand (1 000) Tuckshops, General Dealers to the value of R 9 975 000.
• In 2021, DSBD, Seda and Merseta signed Agreement for Merseta to release a discretionary grant to Seda to the value of R 50million. The funding will be provided in a phased approach over a 3-year period. The purpose is to train Small Enterprise in the Automotive Trade Sector as well as facilitate Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning (ARPL).
• A partnership between Seda, GIBBS and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women was forged. The Cherie Blair Foundation has an award-winning Mobile App that offers women entrepreneurs essential business training and support on the go. It features a range of learning tracks on topics including launching a business, accessing finance, expanding market access, e-commerce, and mobile money.

During the first two quarters of the 2023/24 financial the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme supported the sustaining and/or creation of 10 884 jobs, whilst 38 059 jobs were supported in the 2022/23 financial year.

Proposed future interventions will utilise a macroeconomic approach that combines the expertise of public and private sector partners to counteract resource and capacity constraints.

Furthermore, provision of sustainable employment to township dwellers the level of the social economy and community empowerment levels include through the Co-operatives Development and Support Programme (CDSP), for new and budding primary co-operatives.

1. There is a start-up grant of up to R1,5 million, up to R2.5 million for growing primary co-operatives and up to R5 million for secondary co-operatives.
2. All co-operatives to be funded are subjected to co-operative governance training so as to ensure that they understand what is expected from them in running a successful organisation.

Reply:

The investigations have not been finalised and as a result the National Treasury is unable to provide a response to the above question at this stage. The Honourable Member is encouraged to request the findings from the relevant institutions when the investigations are complete.

Reply:

The misconduct investigated by the Competition Commission is specifically the type of abuse the National Treasury considered in 2011 when proposing and implementing the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA) as part of the Twin Peaks reform.

This reform established a new dedicated market conduct regulator to ensure that all financial institutions treat their customers fairly and operate with the highest ethical standards, which is the nature of the misconduct Standard Chartered Bank was found to have committed.

Specific reforms have also been undertaken as a result of observing misconduct in other jurisdictions to ensure that these do not occur domestically. For this reason, National Treasury tabled Regulations in Parliament in March 2023 which proposed to designate the “provision of a benchmark” as a financial service in accordance with section 3(3) of the FSRA, and to specify that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority is the responsible authority for the regulation, supervision and oversight of the financial sector. In terms of section 288(1)(b) of the FSRA, which empowers regulations to provide for procedural and administrative matters that are necessary to implement the provisions of this Act, some specific powers and duties are provided to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in relation to the provision of benchmarks to enable the effective regulation and supervision of the “provision of a benchmark”.

In 2024, National Treasury will introduce further legislation to ensure South African financial markets are fair, transparent and operate with integrity. The Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) Bill proposes that banks and other financial institutions in the Financial Exchange market are carried into the CoFI licensing activities and will be subject to the CoFI Act in addition to the markets regulation. This implies that requirements for good governance, transparency, managing conflicts of interest, among others will continue to apply.

Reply:

a) The ceiling on main budget non-interest expenditure was introduced in 2012 to anchor fiscal policy. However, budget deficits and debt have continued to grow, in part because the ceiling was not binding. The target of reducing and stabilising debt has been persistently shifted out, largely because of lower‐than‐expected economic and revenue growth, and large spending pressures such as state‐owned company bailouts and compensation costs. As a result, main budget expenditure has remained relatively high at over 29 per cent of GDP over the past two years. This has led government to consider additional rules to provide an anchor for fiscal sustainability. Further details will be provided in the 2024 Budget.

b) Over the medium term, government will support the economy, stabilise the public finances and protect the social wage. In the context of persistently low economic growth, government’s fiscal strategy remains focused on consolidating the public finances to narrow the budget deficit, stabilise public debt and ensure fiscal sustainability. Fiscal policy will pursue a balanced approach that includes spending restraint, revenue measures and additional borrowing. Tax measures to raise additional revenue of R15 billion in 2024/25 will be proposed in the 2024 Budget. Relative to the 2023 Budget estimates, proposed reductions to main budget non-interest spending mainly baselines and provisional allocations and changes in reserves amount to R33.1 billion in 2023/24 and R213.3 billion over the next two years. On a net basis, non‐interest expenditure will decrease by R3.7 billion in 2023/24 and R85 billion over the next two years. Compared with the 2023 Budget, the main budget deficit increased by R54.7 billion in 2023/24, R51.8 billion in 2024/25 and R66.7 billion in 2025/26. The gross borrowing requirement for 2023/24 has increased from R515.6 billion to R563.6 billion, relative to the 2023 Budget. Gross loan debt is projected to stabilise at 77.7 per cent of GDP in 2025/26. And government will propose new fiscal anchors to ensure a sustainable long‐term path for the public finances.

Reply:

The following responses were provided by Boxing SA.

Most promoters owe Boxing South Africa due to the income declarations that are made after tournaments through affidavits in terms of the Boxing Regulations.

(a)(i)&(II) The Board resolved to establish a sub-committee that looks at the tournament applications of each promoter and each promoter that is owing Boxing South Africa appears before the committee to commit to some arrangement in terms of which the debt can be settled and once this arrangement is in place the promoter is then allowed to stage tournaments subject to payment arrangements as approved by this committee.

(b). All promoters who owe Boxing South Africa are subject to this arrangement and therefore none of the debts by the promoters have prescribed.

(2). Boxing SA indicates that it is not correct to suggest that a promoter has been banned from staging tournaments. It is only those who have not made suitable arrangements with BSA that have not been allowed to stage tournaments.

(a). The National Professional Boxing Promoter Associations is an independent structure of licensed promoters established in terms of section 28 of the Boxing Act. This structure operates on its own constitution, and it held elections of its leadership, and all the office bearers were duly elected in an open and transparent process. It is not for BSA to dictate who are supposed to be the leaders of the structure. As far as the question around the boxer is concerned, it must be noted that contracts between Promoters and Boxers are concluded without the intervention of Boxing South Africa and so are disputes arising therefrom.

(b). Tournaments are cancelled for a variety of reasons, and it is not a breach of any Rule of BSA to cancel tournaments as cancellation of tournaments happens routinely across the world and therefore there is no basis to charge any promoter noncancellation tournaments. In fact, the Boxing regulations recognises that boxing tournaments may be cancelled or be postponed for a variety of reasons.

 

Reply:

1. The predominance of domestic debt indicates that the local financial sector is heavily invested in government bonds and loans. This scenario fosters a mutually dependent relationship, wherein the financial well-being of the government significantly influences the stability and health of the domestic financial sector. If this risk premium were to increase (due to an impairment in risk perceptions) and National Treasury were not to include this increased premium into the price of government bonds, investors would choose to invest their cash in other instruments (i.e. corporate bonds or equity, which offer better return, albeit at greater risk). This would result in government being unable to borrow the funds necessary to finance the borrowing requirement. The same principle would apply when borrowing in foreign markets; however, there is less quantum demanded for South African bonds at attractive rates in the international markets. Higher premiums on government debt can lead to crowding out of private investment, as the government absorbs a significant portion of available credit. This can slow economic growth, affecting both the state and the financial sector. The risk premium highlights the need for sustainable borrowing practices, efficient debt utilization, and a clear plan for debt reduction.

2. Risk premiums, while a considerable factor, are not the sole determinants of fiscal policy. They are, however, a critical indicator of investor confidence and perceived risk. When investors demand higher premiums, it reflects their concerns about the country's ability to repay its debts, often influenced by factors such as political stability, economic performance, and fiscal management. Most domestic investors in government debt, such as pension funds and insurance companies, are crucial for the country's financial and economic stability. If the government's debt becomes unsustainable, these institutions could face severe challenges, impacting a broad spectrum of the population. The instances of US regional banks facing near collapse due to holding weakened debt, highlights the tangible consequences of fiscal mismanagement and the importance of maintaining liquidity through the appropriate government loans. It underscores the need for prudent fiscal policies and sustainable debt management. Chapter 3 of the MTBPS emphasizes government's commitment to sustainable debt management, ensuring that borrowing is balanced with economic growth and fiscal responsibility. This along with reforms in the Logistics, Electricity, Water and Communications sectors will ensure that government plays its part in reducing the risk premium.

Reply:

(1). The Minister announced the appointment of the new board on Tuesday, 28 November 2023. The new board assumed it’s duties on 12 December 2023 whilst the erstwhile board concluded its term on Monday, 11 December 2023. The new board has a responsibility to review all outstanding legal and disciplinary matters not concluded by the previous board before the end of the financial year 2023/2024 ending in March 2023

(2)(a). The Qithi matter has been settled.

(3)(a&b). Provincial Departments are at liberty to implement sport programmes that benefit their athletes and communities. However, Boxing and all National Federations must get to a point where they run with limited support from government, this requires corporate investment. To this end, BSA has committed to developing a funding model for the sector. BSA is expected to provide details of this strategy (operating model) with due dates. This will be shared with Parliament as soon as BSA provides these, a timeline of 31 March 2024 has been set for this plan.

(4). BSA cannot interfere with contracts between promoters and the boxers. However, BSA will investigate the possibility of establishing minimum purse monies for specified bouts to ensure that there is no exploitation of boxers. There is a need to ensure that there is profitable business model for the sport of boxing, and this is part of the turnaround strategy that BSA is already implementing.

 

 

Reply:

It is not clear to the Minister of Finance what specific consultative measures the Honourable member refers to. As enshrined in section 224(2) of the Constitution, the operational independence and autonomy of the South African Reserve Bank are constitutionally guaranteed. The Minister of Finance and the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank regularly interact so as to ensure the alignment of fiscal and monetary policy.

Whilst there is constant collaboration between the Minister of Finance and the South African Reserve Bank, the investigation into allegations of uncompetitive practices by banks was conducted by the Competition Commission, with neither the Minister of Finance nor the South African Reserve Bank taking part in it.

Reply:

(a) The Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (ERRP) outlines the country’s near-term growth agenda. It includes a number of structural reforms aimed at supporting the economic recovery by unlocking investment and removing barriers to growth.

(b) The National Treasury provides forecasts from the expenditure side of GDP, details of which can be found in the Budget Review 2022 and Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) 2022.

With regard to the estimated impact of reform implementation, this was estimated to result in a 2.3 percentage point growth above the baseline over the next ten years. The details of this work can be found in the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan.

(c) The MTBPS does not make specific allocations to departments and programmes. Such allocations will be published in the 2013 Budget.

Reply:

The Rules Committee took a decision on 4 and 23 November 2022, in respect of questions requesting information prior to 1994, that such questions should take into account the possible non-availability of information before the pre-democratic era (see page 10 of attached ATC).

The SABC has indicated that it is proving difficult to track information dating back to the 1980s.

Thank You.

Reply:

The response to question from Boxing SA is as follows:

(1). Most promoters owe Boxing South Africa due to the income declarations that are made after tournaments through affidavits in terms of the Boxing Regulations. All promoters who owe Boxing South Africa are subject to this arrangement and therefore none of the debts by the promoters have prescribed, hence Boxing SA is not able to take any action based on this arrangement.

(a). The National Professional Boxing Promoter Associations is an independent structure of licensed promoters established in terms of section 28 of the Boxing Act.

This structure operates on its own constitution, and it held elections of its leadership, and all the office bearers were duly elected in an open and transparent process. It is not for BSA to dictate who are supposed to be the leaders of the structure. As far as the question around the boxer is concerned, it must be noted that contracts between Promoters and Boxers are concluded without the intervention of Boxing South Africa and so are disputes arising therefrom.

(b). The Board resolved to establish a sub-committee that looks at the tournament applications of each promoter and each promoter that is owing Boxing South Africa appears before the committee to commit to some arrangement in terms of which the debt can be settled and once this arrangement is in place the promoter is then allowed to stage tournaments subject to payment arrangements as approved by this committee.

(2). Boxing SA responded as follows: It would amount to fallacy to hold the view that Boxing South Africa penalises licensees upon postponement of its programmes. Boxing South Africa held its second phase training timeously and those who were successful in the assessments have been duly licensed.

(3)(a&b). The Board established a committee in terms of section 7 of the Boxing Act and this committee was established based on experience and therefore there was no need for
the training to be outsourced.

 

 

Reply:

a) It is too early to provide a detailed answer to the question as the amended Regulation 28 only came into effect on 1 January 2023. The first investment reports, post the amendment, will be submitted to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in 2024. Secondly, it will be difficult to make the comparison since there is no reference point to compare changes in investment in infrastructure due to the ERRP with the amendment to Regulation 28. It is also not only retirement funds that are expected to invest in infrastructure, but other asset managers that are not subject to Regulation 28.

In general terms the financial sector continues to heavily fund government. As noted in the MTBPS, National Treasury will seek to achieve infrastructure investment growth through establishing an Infrastructure Finance and Implementation Support Agency that will systematically address the need to crowd-in private sector finance and expertise into the public infrastructure programme. In addition, government will also widen the scope for concessional borrowing by creating new mechanisms through which private-sector investors and multilateral institutions can co-invest with government for selected infrastructure projects. These interventions will lay the basis for broader investment by private sector including pension funds through the 45% asset allocation to infrastructure investment in Regulation 28.

b) The share of foreign exposure relative to the 45% upper limit increased across all institutional investors moderately. Where increases in offshore asset allocations have occurred, retail investors i.e., unit trusts have accounted for the majority in percentage terms. For all institutional investors, offshore exposure remains at about 23% of total assets under management (AUM). The data suggests that the impact of the increases in offshore allowance has expanded the scope of possible outflows but has not triggered actual large outflows in line with the maximum permissible amounts.

Reply:

1. No.

2. No

3. In partnership with Huawei, the DCDT implements a yearly programme called ‘Seeds for the Future.’ The programme targets students from previously disadvantaged universities at third or fourth year level who attend a two-week training programme in China. The programme offers training in various fields such as Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, cloud and Artificial Intelligence. Moreover, as part of the implementation of the Cooperation Contract, the DCDT and Huawei jointly train SMMEs on the SMME Digital Skills Transformation which focuses on skills and capacity building in the areas of cloud computing, digital marketing, Huawei Cloud including cloud services.

Thank You.

Reply:

Table 3.8 from Chapter 3 of the MTBPS 2023 shows a projected national government’s gross debt. Gross debt is projected to reach R5.28 trillion by end of 2023/24. This debt is made up of domestic debt of R4.64 trillion and foreign denominated debt of R595.2 billion.

Reply:

(a). The Department have through the COVID 19 pandemic recovery plan aim to focus on the following Five Critical Priority Areas:

• • Job creation using the employment multiplier model through the PESP 2&3
  • Creating an enabling environment through the Regulatory Environment
  • Enabling access to local and international markets
  • Monetisation of the cultural, creative and sport industries
  • Enhancement of the arts, culture; heritage and sport tourism as well as the Cross-cutting priority of reviving the economy through Infrastructure development through the DSAC contribution.

(b)(c). The department have through the following programmes that focussed on the above priorities

(i) continue to support the CCI industry in 2022/23 utilizing PESP Budget allocation; using the employment multiplier model, where creatives are funded to create work for themselves. The allocation to the implementing agencies and the focus areas are as follows:

National Arts Council (NAC): to be responsible for disbursement to the following domains.

Performance and celebrations (including the area of theatre, dance opera); Design and Creative services; Books and Publishing (including indigenous language development and promotion); and Public Art.

National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF): Audio-Visual and Interactive Media.

National Heritage Council (NHC): Cultural Heritage.

National Museum (Arts Bank): Visual Arts and craft.

Business Arts South Africa: Support to SMMEs and/or Cooperatives in the Creative industry.

In PESP 3, 44 329 Jobs have been created over the target of 24 400 jobs and in PESP 4 the target number of jobs is 37 800 and to date, 11 478 jobs have reported, and the number will increase, and some projects are currently implementing their projects under PESP4 which should indicate that PESP has contributed to the growth and sustainability of the CCI sector.

(ii) Enabling the creative industry to thrive Creating spaces in the provinces that were previously marginalized. e.g. declaration of Nelson Mandela Theatre Complex in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape provided with a budget of R13m for operational costs; and R17m for infrastructure and maintenance in the Northern cape; refurbishment has been completed, resulting into a fully-fledged theatre space in Northern Cape; construction that will commence in Limpopo with DSAC contributing R7m in 2022/23 financial year. For the Limpopo Theatre, a contractor has been appointed and will be on site by Mid-January 2024 to commence with construction. Preferred locations have been identified in Mpumalanga. Govan Mbeki LM has appointed a service provider to assess the building. In the Northwest and engagements continue with those Provinces Northwest Theatre/Mmabana Arts Centre completed a feasibility study. DSAC has included this project in the UAMP for 2024/25 until 2026/27.

(iii) CCI Masterplan: The CCI Masterplan was approved by Cabinet in August 2022. A roll-out of the implementation plan was undertaken in all 9 provinces through Information Sessions with the sector and provincial representatives. National IGR and stakeholder meetings are attended once a month to strengthen the implementation of the Key Action Programs; and DSAC reports there with all National departments. The approved CCI Masterplan has also been aligned with the ACPD Annual Performance Plan.

(iv) Outcome of the Davis Commission: Department of Sport and Recreation led by Sports Trust and Department of Arts and Culture together with BASA developed a detailed submission requesting for the inclusion of arts and culture and sport as eligible activities for public benefit consideration . Based on the submission, Schedule 9 was amended to include these activities amongst others. Sport. Arts and culture are now eligible for consideration as public benefit organisations and if approved can administer donation certificates for specific taxation exemption and tax rebates.

(v) Skills transfer/ Capacity building: Academies project implementing skills transfer project including this includes Incubator Programs in Performing Arts Institutions. Allocated budget towards Incubator and Training Programs where artists are provided with practical skills that enable them to grow their businesses changes per year as it forms part of the branches Annual Performance Plan (APP). These are run in different Performing Arts Institutions throughout the country; and also conducted by different Academies. The 2023/24 APP includes the 22 Capacity building which is budgeted at a total of R68.7m.

(d). In the 2023/2024 financial year.

(e). PESP: To date, a sum of R412 818 600 million has been transferred to the 5 implementing agencies out of the R459,2 million PESP allocation for the 2023/2024 financial year. A total of R46 381 400 remains to be disbursed to entities.

Skills Development programmes are budgeted annually and the 2023/24 budget was R 68 750 000.

Nelson Mandela Theatre Complex in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape was provided with a budget of R13m for operational costs; and R17m for infrastructure and maintenance in the Northern Cape Theatre. The Limpopo Theatre construction the DSAC contributing R7m in 2022/23 financial year.

Reply:

a) In 2020 National Treasury launched the Covid Loan Guarantee Scheme (LGS) as part of a package of measures to help small and medium business survive the most severe lockdowns related the global Covid pandemic. The LGS enabled eligible businesses to access loans via commercial banks in terms of a finance facility administered by the Reserve Bank. At the termination of the LGS scheme (27 March 2021), banks had approved 14 827 in loans, with the LGS providing R14,6 billion in loans.

Following the conclusion of the LGS, South Africa experienced another economic set-back due to civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng from the period 8 July 2021 to 19 July 2021. The civil unrest resulted in damage to business properties and caused major supply chain disruptions. The impact of the civil unrest was mostly felt by businesses, some of which were still recovering from economic losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdowns.

The Bounce Back Support Scheme (BBS) was launched in April 2022 and was terminated in April 2023. This scheme operated on an opt in basis. The BBS resulted in 3211 small businesses being provided with support. The total disbursed amounts was around R 1 billion (R935,385,620.)

2. Data on the geographic and other demographic information was not collected.

Reply:

a) The GEPF implemented its revised actuarial factors with effect from 1 November 2022. The actuarial factors of the GEPF are updated in accordance with any changes to the actuarial assumptions at each statutory valuation of the GEPF. In terms of the Government Employees Pension Law, 1996, (GEP Law), the actuarial factors are consulted with public sector labour unions. Upon conclusion of this process, the actuarial factors were implemented with effect from 1 November 2022, as referred to above. Pension benefits, as prescribed in the GEP Law, are determined and finally calculated as at date of service termination. The GEP Law specifies the date on which a benefit shall become payable to a member, pensioner or beneficiary, and this date is typically the last day of service at the employer.

Any Estimate of Benefits provided prior to the last date of service, is a mere estimation of current/future benefits. This is clearly indicated on the Estimate of Benefits which indicates that benefits are awarded in terms of the rules of the Fund and will be confirmed by the Fund when the benefits become payable.

Pension benefits are thus not calculated and/or confirmed on the date applying for retirement but on the information as on the last day of service. In this specific instance the Estimate of Benefits referred to, was provided as at 30 September 2022, being a date prior to the last day of service.

The actuarial factors applicable as from 1 November 2022 adjusted the actuarial factors applicable at 30 September 2022 and accordingly influenced the calculations. It is however not correct to state that the member did not receive her full pension. Members continue to receive their full benefits in accordance with the GEP Law, 1996, and rules. The adjustment to the actuarial factors were not applied retroactively as the adjustments were implemented effectively from 1 November 2022 onwards, applying only to exits on or after 1 November 2022.

b) The amended actuarial factors, which became applicable as from 1 November 2022, influenced all resignations as well as other exits where members had less than 10 (ten) years pensionable service and which members terminated service on or after 1 November 2022. Thus, all resignations and other exits from the GEPF, where the members’ exit date was on or after 1 November 2022, would have been influenced by the adjustment of the actuarial factors as all such benefits refer to the actuarial interest a member has in the GEPF. The adjusted actuarial factors was applied to all pension benefits paid as a result of resignation and other exits from the Fund where members had less than 10 (ten) years pensionable service, where the exit from the Fund occurred on or after 1 November 2022.

It is again confirmed that there was no retrospective application of the adjusted actuarial factors as it was implemented from a future date being 1 November 2022. The application of the adjusted actuarial factors follows the approval thereof by the GEPF Board of Trustees after the required consultation process with organized labour as per the GEP Law, 1996 and Rules of the GEPF.

The GEP Law,1996 and Rules provides for the adjustment to actuarial factors as part of the benefit structure of the GEPF. Actuarial interest factors are based on a set of financial and demographic assumptions as recommended by the Fund’s valuator in the statutory actuarial valuation report. These assumptions are expected to reflect the experience of the GEPF membership and its investments. The assumptions are based on reasonable expectations about future events and are guided by actual experience and statistics. The main driver of the actuarial factors is the investment returns above inflation, which the Fund’s investments are expected to earn from now until the pension benefits are payable. Economic conditions however change from time to time and, as a result, the actuarial interest benefits can rise or fall depending on how the actuarial factors is adjusted, as explained above.

Members however still received their pension benefits prescribed in the Rules of the GEPF as per the formula set out in the Rules.

It must be clarified that the adjustment to the actuarial factors apply consistently to all active GEPF members, maintaining fairness across the board and reflecting current economic realities.

Reply:

ENTITY	INTERNATIONAL	DOMESTIC
BBI	8	52
FPB	2	3
ICASA	13	18
NEMISA	0	11
POSTBANK	2	162
SAPO	0	6
SABC	0	64
SENTECH	46	2413
SITA	11	50
USAASA	1	42
ZADNA	9	29

Thank You.

Reply:

Boxing South Africa has responded as follows to this question:

(1). Most promoters owe Boxing South Africa due to the income declarations that are made after tournaments through affidavits in terms of the Boxing Regulations. The Board resolved to establish a sub-committee that looks at the tournament applications of each promoter and each promoter that is owing Boxing South Africa appears before the committee to commit to some arrangement in terms of which the debt can be settled and once this arrangement is in place the promoter is then allowed to stage tournaments subject to payment arrangements as approved by this committee. All promoters who owe Boxing South Africa are subject to this arrangement.

(2)(a). No formal process with supporting evidence has been submitted to the Minister that warrants the Minister’s action within the ambit of his responsibilities within the legislative framework.

(3). The suspension of a board is based on the formal submission to the Minister of substantive reasons to display any misdemeanors. There has been no process to inform the Ministers decision to suspend the Board or initiate a full commission of enquiry into the administration of BSA.