Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Operators are required to investigate all occurrences and report them to the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) in terms of section 38 of the National Railway Safety Regulator Act, 2002. The type of investigations the RSR conducts is where occurrences result in any of the following:

(i) Multiple (more than 1) injury or fatality in any occurrence category.

(ii) Significant damage to property including assets.

(iii) Significant environmental damage.

(iv) Any occurrences on the network which may attract media attention or may give rise to a possible evacuation of a community or part thereof, occurrences which may affect the normal public road usage or an injury/death to a public figure.

a) On 7 November 2021, at approximately 00h35 it was reported that Transnet Blue train that was staged at Union station had run away and derailed at SCAW SA siding. The RSR responded to the occurrence site to determine facts which contributed to the derailment.

Transnet Freight Rail has indicated that they are conducting a Board of Inquiry (BOI) into the cause of the derailment to establish facts surrounding the occurrence and develop recommendations aimed at reducing the recurrence of the occurrence.

b) On 16 January 2022 at 11h18 it was reported that A Blue train derailed during shunting at the TFR yard in Pretoria at 11h00. No injuries were sustained, no impact on assets and operations.

This occurrence does not meet the requirements for RSR to respond to site in accordance with the RSR procedures. Since it did not result in fatalities and/or injuries to operators’ employees, members of the public, and passengers. There were no injuries sustained and no impact to asset and operations as a result of this occurrence.

2. Transnet has one safety permit; the safety permit expires on 30 June 2022. Following a request from Transnet to submit their safety application in May month, their safety permit will be extended to expire in August 2022.

Reply:

The Lepelle Northern Water Board (LNW) is implementing a preventive maintenance plan that is combined with condition-based, predictive, and corrective maintenance on the bulk water infrastructure as a short-term solution to address water supply challenges in Polokwane.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is implementing the Olifantspoort and Ebenezer Water Supply Schemes (O&E WSS) project to upgrade and refurbish the schemes and increase capacity to meet demand in Polokwane and surrounding areas which is projected to grow to 272,3 ML/day by 2043.

Upon completion of the project, it is envisaged that water supply will be improved as follows:

• The capacity of the Olifantspoort scheme which is currently 60 ML/day will be increased by 40 ML/day.
• The capacity of the Ebenezer scheme which is currently 54 ML/day and will be upgraded by 15ML/day to 69 ML/day.

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Reply:

The Railway Safety Regulator has received reports with regards to (a) the incident where an empty Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) Blue train derailed at the Union Station Loop in Germiston on Sunday, 7 November 2021 and (b) two Blue Train coaches derailing within the Salvokop Blue Train train-yard in January 2022.

The reports are currently being reviewed by the Railway Safety Regulator.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has engaged the Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality on the matter and the municipality confirmed that at times the turbidity of treated water was elevated, but that there were no failures on bacteriological contamination as all E. coli results were within requirements.

The DWS officials conducted investigations at the Riverton WTW on 04 February 2021 and the following findings were reported:

a) Aged infrastructure on both the old and new plant and poor operations and maintenance of the works.

b) The old plant was non-operational due to chemical and chlorine pumps failure

c) The new plant has 48 sand filters in total with some sand filters out of operation; those that were operational were overloaded and full of scum due to pd) or operation and maintenance

d) From the on-site physical testing, the final turbidity count was ranging from 34.4, 18.08, 9.41 to 4.79 NTU

e) The bulk water network supply lines could be corroded or full of sand; with no routine cleaning of reservoirs; and no maintenance program for existing infrastructure.

f) No full chemical and bacteriological analysis of final treated water is available on the Blue Drop Information system.

On 21 February 2022 DWS directed the municipality, in terms of 53(1) of the NWA to:

a) In terms of the Water Services Act (Regulation relating to Compulsory National Standards, No. 5) to provide water services within its area of jurisdiction, ensuring compliance with the Compulsory National Standards for the Quality of Potable Drinking Water (DWAF, 1996), SANS 241 and subsequent updated versions.

b) Ensure all water supplied to a household is tested by the water service authority/provider, with the frequency of testing depending on the size of the community in accordance with SANS 241.

c) Establish a suitable programme for sampling the quality of drinking water; specify the sampling points, frequency and which substances will be tested for in the water; compare the results with SANS 241 and if such results indicate that the water poses a health risk - inform the DWS, the Department of Health, and consumers immediately; and

d) Ensure that all consumers are educated about water quality and its importance for human health.

Furthermore, in terms of Schedule 3(1)(2) of the NWA the municipality was directed to provide an action plan within five (5) working days including short- and long-term solutions with financial and human resource implications and assigned responsibilities on how the municipality will address all the areas of non-compliance identified above. The municipality is also expected to provide monthly reports (by the first working day of following month) indicating:

• Progress with implementation of actions,
• Operation and maintenance of treatment water,
• Storage and conveyance and the water quality test results to indicate ensure safe drinking water that meets the required standards

The response of the municipality with the action plan and implementation of the action plan is being monitored by the department of Water and Sanitation.

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Reply:

a)  (i) As of January 2022, the accumulated expenditure for the project was R646 111 833.

(ii) It is expected that the project will be completed in October 2022.

b) The main delays on the project were due to:

• Unforeseen technical challenges during construction
• Delays in the procurement of critical instrumentation
• Longer than anticipated timeframes for the re-appointment of the contractor through the legally required National Treasury concurrence and appointment of Engineers.

However, the contractor returned to site on 14 October 2021 and construction work has commenced.

c) There are 15 households affected by the raising of the dam wall. Compensation will be provided in the form of 100m2 houses being constructed at an alternative site for each affected household. The affected households are being accommodated in the temporary housing erected on the stands allocated to affected families at Oakford. There are two families that have opted to remain on existing properties until the permanent houses have been constructed. The department is finalising the appointment of the contractor for the new houses.

 

Reply:

On 12 April 2021, National Treasury responded to the application from the NDA for condonation of 421 irregular transactions, committed by employees no longer in the NDA’s employ, dating from the 2015-16 financial year to the 2019-20 financial year, to the value of R96,1 million. National Treasury did not condone the irregular expenditure, because no evidence of consequence management and additional measures to prevent future occurrences of similar cases, and no determination reports were submitted with the application.

On 27 October 2021, the NDA submitted to National Treasury determination reports for the irregular transactions and appealed the decision by National Treasury not to condone.

On 21 January 2022, National Treasury responded to NDA’s request for appeal, and requested evidence that the root causes of non-compliance have been addressed to prevent future occurrences of non-compliant transactions; a determination, where possible, that services were provided at a market related price; and proof of the termination of employees linked to the irregular transactions.

The NDA collated all the required supporting information, and submitted these documents to National Treasury on 21 February 2022 to assist in a review of the condonement decision, and include namely:

a) Evidence of market analyses confirming that costs incurred were reasonably market related;

b) Evidence that the NDA officials identified to have caused the transgressions, have left the NDA’s employ;

c) Evidence of the control processes that have been put in place by the NDA to prevent and mitigate the occurrence of irregular expenditure of a similar nature in the future, including reviewed and approved SCM policies and standard operation procedures and tools;

d) Evidence of appointment and training of SCM staff to enhance the capacity of the function, and training of NDA staff in general on the SCM policy and attendant processes.

In addition, given that some of the contracts were still active at the time of compiling the report of irregular expenditure for the period 2015/2016 to 2019/2020, totalling R96 115 315.51 in value, which was submitted for condonement, the NDA included in this submission (21 February 2022), an updated list of irregular expenditure transactions for the 2020/2021 and 2021/22 financial years, that relate to the same irregular contracts that remained active from the previous years, totalling an additional amount of R2,637,679.45 of irregular expenditure.

The total irregular expenditure that now forms part of the request to National Treasury for condonement, against these irregular contracts amounts to R98,752,994.96, totalling 484 transactions covering the financial period from 2015/16 to 2021/22. All these irregular contracts have since been terminated. The NDA now awaits a response from National Treasury on the revised condonement application.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. DPWI:

a) I have been informed by the Department that the total number of supplier invoices that currently remain unpaid (i.e. on the 15 February 2022) for the Department (DPWI) is:

Category	Number of Invoices Outstanding	Total Amount Outstanding
more than 30 days	0	R 0
more than 60 days	0	R 0
more than 90 days	0	R 0
more than 120 days	0	R 0

1. Not applicable;
2. Not applicable.

PMTE:

a) As at Friday, 25th February 2022 the number of invoices that were unpaid and beyond 30 days were 0:

Category	Number of Invoices Outstanding	Total Amount Outstanding
more than 30 days	0	R0
more than 60 days	0	R 0
more than 90 days	0	R 0
more than 120 days	0	R 0

Summary Narrative:

(i) DPWI and PMTE handles and pays on average 858 and 11 300 number of invoices on a monthly basis respectively:

(ii) The department used to have more than 11 500 unpaid invoices over 30 days before the introduction of Reapatala Tracking System;

(iii) Reapatala system is a platform where all invoices of the department are internally received and managed to ensure effective tracking of invoices to be paid timeously;

(iv) Weekly meetings with our regional offices and regular interventions by the Minister through Reapatala reports resulted in the zero (0) and ten (10) outstanding invoices for DPWI and PMTE respectively as illustrated above.

Reply:

a) Total number employers registered on CompEasy is 28 596 that includes users linked to multiple organizations.

b) Employers registered on the previous system (Umehluko): 45 336

Reply:

(1) What (a) are the relevant details of the plan regarding the mooted R90,00 temporary driving licence card fee and (b) measures are in place for persons who cannot afford to pay the specified amount;

The Temporary Driving Licence (TDL) Fees vary from Province to Province and that is from R54 to R94. It is Government plan to standardise the TLD fees so that the TDL holders can remain within their Provinces for service. All motoring public who have vehicles and are driving are encouraged to renew their driving licenses before end of March 2022.

(2) whether there is a plan to subsidise citizens who cannot afford the amount; if not, why not; if so, how will the subsidy process be implemented? NW330E

The Honourable Minister has expressed a desire to engage with the Shareholder’s Committee to offer a bouquet of incentives to encourage the public to comply before deadline. At present there is no subsidy for the people who cannot afford to pay for the TDL.

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

Response in respect of Loreto Convent School:

I have been informed by the Department that the status regarding Loreto Convent School in Gauteng can be best dealt with by the Department of Basic Education as it is not in the purview of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Response in respect of Tlotlang-Thuto Secondary School:

I have been informed by the North West Administrator that:

a) Litigation is in the Mmabatho High Court.

b) Progress is at 98%. Building work was declared structurally unsound, non-salvageable and recommended to be demolished.

c) The contractor opted to terminate the contract and follow the litigation route. The Department is defending the matter.

d) The project is deemed as evidence in the SIU investigation and all materials on site are being treated as such.

In the interim there is a high level discussion between the Department of Public Works and Roads and the Department of Education in the North West to facilitate temporary school accommodation.

Reply:

a) The percentage of finalised medical invoices that were paid within 40 days is 87% (464 532 invoices out of a total of 533 211 invoices received) as at 31 December 2021.

b) The total number of claims (invoices) rejected by the Compensation Fund in the 2021-22 financial year is 39 057.

Reply:

(1) There was no budget that was allocated for training of staff at Mohlakeng Old Age Home in Randfontein; however, the Department transferred the total amount of R 480 000 (R 120 000 per quarter) for managing the affairs of the Organisation.

(2) The staff did not receive any accredited training, instead focus was on the mentoring and coaching was conducted to prepare them to perform their duties.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that:

1 (a) Caledon RD, Grabouw : The Farm Vlakte No. 445 was registered in Name of the Republic of South African in 1975.

Caledon RD, Grabouw: Farms No. 335 & 336 were registered in the Name of the Republic of South Africa in 1911.

(b) - The Farm Vlakte No. 445 was previously an unregistered piece land.

The Previous owner The Farms Knoflokskraal No. 335 & 336 was Daniel Eliza Klem.

(c)(i) -The Farm Vlakte No. 445 measures 1355, 17.78 hectares.

The Farm Knofloskraal No. 335 measures 311.4212 hectares and Farm No.336 measures 166.5197 hectares.

(ii) The current value of the properties is not yet determined.

(2) The land parcels were allocated the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) for forest plantation purposes and those leases have since expired.

(3) DEFF must re-apply for the use of the said properties and has not yet done so officially. Once the application is received, it will be considered and processed in line with G.I.A.M.A.

 

 

Reply:

(a)(i)	(b)	(c)	(d)	(e)
Number	Name of Contractor	Type of work	National Route	Estimated Completion Date
1	Geomech Africa (Pty) Ltd	GEOTECHNICAL DRILLING SERVICES FOR THE UPGRADING OF NATIONAL ROUTE 2 BETWEEN UMTENTWENI INTERCHANGE (SECTION 22, KM 34.8) AND HIBBERDENE INTERCHANGE (SECTION 23, KM 5.3)	N2	June 2021
	Geomech Africa (Pty) Ltd	GEOTECHNICAL DRILLING SERVICES FOR THE UPGRADE OF NATIONAL ROUTE 2, SECTION 32 FROM PONGOLA (KM 30.80) TO THE MPUMALANGA BORDER (KM 70.16)	N2	June 2021
	Geomech Africa (Pty) Ltd	GEOTECHNICAL DRILLING INVESTIGATION FOR THE DESIGN OF THE UPGRADE TO NATIONAL ROUTE 2 SECTION 24 AND SECTION 25 BETWEEN LOVU RIVER (KM 12.0) AND UMLAAS CANAL (KM 2.7)	N2	October 2021
2	Leomat Construction (Pty) Ltd	WIDENING OF NATIONAL ROUTE R22 SECTION 5, THROUGH KWANGWANASE TOWN	R22	June 2023
3	Martin & East (Pty) Ltd	MANUFACTURE OF A TEMPORARY VEHICLE RESTRAINT CONCRETE BARRIER SYSTEM FOR THE UPGRADING OF NATIONAL ROUTES 2 AND 3 IN THE EASTERN REGION	N2 & N3	April 2023
4	Raubex Construction (Pty) Ltd	THE UPGRADE OF NATIONAL ROUTE 3, SECTION 2 FROM DARDANELLES (KM 26.6) TO LYNNFIELD PARK (KM 30.6)	N3	June 2024
	Raubex Construction (Pty) Ltd	THE UPGRADE TO NATIONAL ROUTE 3, SECTION 2, FROM CATO RIDGE (KM 20,2) TO DARDANELLES (KM 26,6).	N3	April 2025
	Raubex Construction (Pty) Ltd	THE UPGRADING OF NATIONAL ROUTE 2 FROM KWAMASHU INTERCHANGE, SECTION 25 (KM 28.6) TO UMDLOTI RIVER BRIDGE, SECTION 26 (KM 14.0)	N2	December 2025
5	Raubex KZN (Pty) Ltd	PERIODIC MAINTENANCE OF THE NATIONAL ROUTE N2, BETWEEN SECTION 21, IZINGOLWENI (KM 101.1) AND SECTION 22, MURCHISON (KM 18.4)	N2	June 2022
	Raubex KZN (Pty) Ltd	PERIODIC MAINTENANCE OF NATIONAL ROUTE 2 SECTION 22 FROM MTAMVUNA RIVER (KM 0.00) TO KANDANDLOVU (KM 12.40) - Package 1	N2	April 2022
	Raubex KZN (Pty) Ltd	PERIODIC MAINTENANCE OF NATIONAL ROUTE 2 SECTION 22 FROM KANDANDLOVU (KM 12.40) TO MBIZANA RIVER (KM 24.00) - Package 2	N2	April 2022
	Raubex KZN (Pty) Ltd	RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SLOW LANE ON NATIONAL ROUTE 3 SECTION 3 FROM SANCTUARY ROAD INTERCHANGE (KM 15.2) TO LINK ROAD (KM 21.2)	N3	August 2022
6	Rumdel Construction Cape (Pty) Ltd	THE UPGRADE TO NATIONAL ROUTE 3, SECTIONS 2 AND 3 FROM LYNNFIELD PARK (KM30.6) TO ASHBURTON (KM0.8)	N3	January 2025
7	Tau Pele Construction (Pty) Ltd	PERIODIC MAINTENANCE ON NATIONAL ROUTE 2, SECTION 29 FROM EMPANGENI T-JUNCTION (km 13.00) TO km 28.80	N2	July 2022
	Tau Pele Construction (Pty) Ltd	PERIODIC MAINTENANCE ON NATIONAL ROUTE 2, SECTION 29 FROM km 28.8 TO ETEZA WEIGHBRIDGE (km 44.6)  - Package 2	N2	July 2022
8	Telegenix Trading 799 (Pty) Ltd	MOOI RIVER TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTRE OPERATIONS	N3	May 2026
9	Trench and Blasting (Pty) Ltd	THE PROVISION OF CRUSHED AGGREGATE FROM THE RCL 9 QUARRY FOR THE UPGRADE OF THE N3 BETWEEN CATO RIDGE TO NEW ENGLAND ROAD	N3	August 2026
10	Triamic Construction (Pty) Ltd	CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW KOKSTAD INTERCHANGE AND TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTRE ON NATIONAL ROUTE 2, SECTION 21 (KM 6.4)	N2	November 2023

Reply:

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is one of the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations whose mandate is to advocate for decent work at the workplace. It carries out this mandate through a number of interventions which include setting and supervision of international labour standards, policy and technical advice, capacity building and advocacy. One area of technical support that the ILO provides to its member States is the review of labour administration systems as embodied in ministries responsible for employment and labour, and other related institutions, with a view to assessing their performance and ability to discharge their mandates, implement policies and laws within their remit, and to provide services to the public.

I would like to hasten to indicate that, in the performance of this review function, the ILO does so on the basis of requests from individual member States who are entitled to such support by virtue of their membership to the Organization. The reviews are not being done on behalf of my Department, since we do not have the power to influence the ILO to do these on our behalf, neither do we have the authority to decide whether reviews should be undertaken in other member States.

In addition, the ILO does not currently have any official benchmarking methodology which would enable the Organization to objectively compare national labour administration systems in the member States. These systems differ rather substantially in terms of their mandate, political systems they operate in, and forms of public administrations which make any direct comparison difficult, if not impossible.

However, the ILO Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) as well as its accompanying Recommendation 1978 (No. 158) provide a useful guidance by establishing some basic criteria that any labour administration system should draw from, such as, effectiveness, coordination, involvement of social partners, sufficient funding and material means, availability of qualified and independent staff, etc. These two international standards also provide other details concerning the role of labour administration in the areas such as labour standards, labour relations, employment and research and give guidelines on the organization of a national system of labour administration.

I therefore would like to indicate that the main purpose of the reviews is not to compare the different countries, but to assess their systems in the context of their individual circumstances, using international standards as a form of guidance.

I would like to inform this Honourable Member that my Department has gone through a process of review twice, in 2010 and in 2016. A number of findings were made and useful policy advice proffered resulting in significant changes in the Department. The findings touched on institutional shortcomings, performance management deficits, insufficient use of existing technologies, and inadequate human resources policies.

Based on the 2010 review recommendations, the following have been achieved:

a) Creation of the labour inspection and enforcement branch;

b) Strengthening of the oversight role of CCMA and NEDLAC by the Labour Market Policy / Industrial Relations Branch;

c) Passing of the new Public Employment Services Act, 2014;

d) Increase in the number of labour inspection staff and change in their terms and conditions of employment, including their qualification requirements; and

e) Development of a national labour inspection framework.

Another review was made in 2016/17 to assess the implementation of the recommendations of the 2010 review. Satisfied with the rate of implementation of the past recommendations, a set of new recommendations were made, which include:

a) Strengthening of the employment promotion mandate of the Department to coordinate other government departments;

b) Addressing the existing vacancy rate and filling of positions at the technical level;

c) Revision and strengthening of the performance management system;

d) Strengthening of data collection, research, and analytical capacity on labour market and employment conditions, as well as on performance of the Department;

e) Strengthening of social dialogue around labour inspection; and

f) NEDLAC and CCMA be encouraged to make their skills available in the resolution of disputes which have been prevalent in society.

According to the information that I got from open sources in ILO / Pretoria, similar reviews have been undertaken in some countries in Eastern and Southern Africa since 2010; namely; in Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Findings are generally the same, pointing to common weaknesses found in labour ministries in most countries. These include weak institutional structures; low resource allocation; poor coordination mechanisms between the headquarters and the field offices; poor working conditions for staff; unsatisfactory legal enforcement and sanction capacity; and insufficient articulation of employment policies.

Specific recommendations have been made to address the findings with due regard to country specificities. These have generally covered restructuring or creation of new departments or units; reforms of public employment services; strengthening of the coordination function and role by the headquarters; enhancement of the enforcement capacity; support by labour administration to social dialogue institutions for enhanced policy dialogue; development of human resource policies, including improvement in working conditions, career advancement and initial and continuous training; labour law reforms; improved performance management; and ratification of relevant ILO conventions.

I thank you

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

Question 1:

a) I have been informed by the Department that both Hout Bay and Gordon’s Bay Harbours respectively have always had boom gates. The new boom gates have merely been automated to assist our client, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) with better control over revenue collection, management of the harbour precinct and access control.

b) No permission was required as this is in line with the gazetted tariffs for the entry of a Proclaimed Fishing Harbour as per the Marine Living Resources Act. The Department did, however, consult all Interested and Affected Parties (I&AP) on the new automated system.

Question 2:

Yes, the correct procedures were followed to award the tenders for the erection of the booms. The automated boom gates were only one component of the Land Infrastructure upgrades which falls within the current repair and maintenance programme to the 13 Proclaimed Fishing Harbours in the Western Cape. All tenders were issued through our Implementing Agent, Coega Development Corporation (CDC) and are in line with all National Treasury prescripts and regulations for procurement. As CDC is a state entity, complying with the PFMA is mandatory.

Question 3:

As mentioned in the previous question, the boom gates were part of the land infrastructure upgrades project. The boom gates were formalised from a manual system to an automated system which intended to aid the client DFFE to collect the revenue for gate entry which is contained within the Marine Living Resources Act i.e. cars: R5 per day. Our client Department: DFFE presides over the revenue collection which adds to the financial resources of the State via the Marine Living Resources Fund.

Question 4:

Yes, as mentioned all Interested and Affected Parties were consulted throughout the entire repair and maintenance programme to the Proclaimed Fishing Harbours. The Interested and Affected Parties include the tenants as well as all harbour users i.e. boat owners, day-to-day harbour users, including fish fleckers and surrounding communities that obtain a livelihood from the harbours. The respective harbour masters played a critical role in keeping all harbour users abreast of progress against the scope of work for each project under the repair and maintenance programme.

Question 5:

Public Participation in the Hout Bay and Gordon’s Bay precincts were managed through the appointment of Community Liaison Officers (CLO) for each project package via the main contractor and/or the appointed local Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME).

DPWI can make copies of the public participation process records available subject to complying with the POPI Act. These records contain the names, surnames and contact details of each Interested and Affected Party that submitted comments during the various projects phases.

Reply:

Yes, although the issue relates to a large extent to employment and labour portfolio and the impasse plays itself on the public road, my Department has taken upon itself to actively participate in resolving the matter. My Department is currently in the process of amending its regulations to ensure that it supports the legal framework that Employment and Labour operates with regard to the acknowledgement of the driver documentation for the purposes of driving in the Republic.

My Department has established a Task Team of all the stakeholders within the transport sector, wherein issues that needs to be resolved are being presented and interventions developed. To this end there is some consensus with all the Stakeholders on those issues and they are currently being dealt with.

 

Reply:

OFFICE	Financial Year	a) Make	b) Model	© Year Manufacture	Price	Purchase Date
Minister	2019/20	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	2020/21	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Office	Financial Year	a) Make	b) Model	(c) Year Manufacture	d) Price	ee) urchase Date
Deputy Minister	2019/20	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	2020/21	Audi Q5 4.0 TDI	Audi Q5 TDI Quattro 5 Line Tronic	2020	R748 018. 65	18 Oct 2021

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. (a) I have been informed by the Department that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure used the competitive process on the waived existing requirements by requesting the two Implementing Agents to compete against each other for the appointment on the assessment phase.

(b) The value of the contract is R383 295.00 (Three Hundred and eighty three thousand) inclusive of VAT

(c) The first output of the first phase, being the initial assessment report that seeks to determine the structural integrity of the fire damaged building consists of Structural Engineers and Occupational Health and Safety Professionals. The second output of the first phase, being the comprehensive assessment report that seeks to determine the extent of the damage caused by fire, restorative scope and associated cost consists of all built environment professionals including Heritage Architects, Civil/structural Engineers, Electro/Mechanical Engineers, Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Quantity Surveyors.

2. All the identified professionals are professionally registered with their relevant Councils.

3. If the Department will adopt the Implementing Agent approach to implement the recommendations that emanates from CDC report, CDC won’t be considered for the work it is currently implementing as it will be conflict of interest and defeating the competitive process. The Department has not yet made a decision on the approach it will take until the assessment report is finalised.

Reply:

674. (1) (a) Total number of employers registered with Bargaining Council = 93:

Total employees in the Sector = 2 064

(b) Total number of employers belonging to party Employer Organisation that are registered and compliant = 58:

Total number of employees employed by the party employer

Organisation = 1 402

(c) Total number of employers based in Gauteng = 26

Total number of employees based in Gauteng = 505

(2) Breakdown of party trade union membership per province:

• Western Cape: 681
• Eastern Cape : 32
• Kwa Zulu Natal: 128
• Gauteng : 331

 

END

 

Reply:

1. Yes, the KZN Department of Transport has a plan to undertake the heavy rehabilitation of R74 known as P11 and will be executed utilising the EPC approach (Engineer, Procure and Construct).

2. a) The sections for the rehabilitation of R74 will be from 10.00 km to 33.00 km only.

b) Work of the section for heavy rehabilitation will start at the beginning of 2022/23 financial year and is expected to be completed at the end of 2022/23 financial year.

c) Prior to the heavy rehabilitation ,the province is planning to undertake the following maintenance activities, that is:-

• Design and construct of pavement layers that include sub base layer, base layer and wearing course
• Road markings and installation of road studs
• Construction of fixing of the drainage, and
• Reinstating the damaged road signs and guardrails.

d) (i) All maintenance activities will start in June 2022 and are expected to be completed by December 2022.

(ii) Considering the dangerous condition of the road, especially potholed during the rainy season, the department will continue with preventative maintenance such as pothole fixing using internal maintenance team until this section of road (10.00 km to 33.00 km) is rehabilitated.

Reply:

1. (a) The Department of Transport’s mandate relates to the monitoring of adherence to Committee of Transport Officials (COTO) requirements with regard to condition surveys performed by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) and the various Provincial Authorities. Therefore, the Department of Transport does not conduct its own condition surveys. (Department to verify response)

(b) As per COTO requirements, road condition surveys are required to be performed at least once after every 2 years for Class 1 roads. For the 69.1 km of National Roads (Class 1) under SANRAL administration in Uthukela District Municipality, the road condition surveys were performed on 9 October 2021 and 3 November 2021. For the 229 carriageway km (both directions) of National Roads (Class 1) under N3TC administration the road condition surveys were performed between 23 and 26 September 2021.

In addition to the above road condition surveys, both SANRAL and N3TC also perform daily route patrols to monitor for any accident damage, broken fences, flood damage, potholes, etc. and then issue appropriate job instructions for repairs to appointed service providers.

2. The outcome of the automated road condition surveys performed with road condition survey vehicles for the National Road sections in Uthukela District Municipality is summarised in Table 1 below for each km of National Road. The condition parameters measured include:

a) Roughness (m/km) - Measures smooth ride and wear and tear on vehicles and cargo.

b) Ruth Depth (mm) - Measures accumulation of surface water in wheel tracks and risk of vehicle aquaplaning

c) Texture Depth (mm) - Measures friction for safer wet weather travel at speeds exceeding 60km/h

d) Stuctural Strength – Measures structural strength to withstand the axle loads been applied.

e) Overall Condition Index – Weighted combination of the above condition parameters on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 is perfect

Reply:

The Compensation Fund received 223 644 return of earnings in the 2020-21 financial year.

Only companies who employ a person are required to register with the Compensation Fund in terms of section 80 of the COIDA and submit Return of Earnings in terms of section 82 of COIDA. Employers who meet the requirements of submission of return of earnings and do not do so, are levied penalties and referred to the Inspection and Enforcement Branch in the Department of Employment and Labour.

The Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) Branch of the Department of Employment and Labour conducts inspections for the assessment of employer compliance against a number of legislations; namely, Employment Equity, Occupational Health and Safety, Unemployment Insurance, Basic Conditions of Employment as well as the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID).

The reported number of 2 million inspections includes all inspections against the abovementioned legislations and not just those of the Compensation Fund against the COID Act. In addition, the Inspectors visit and inspect workplaces, one registered employer can have multiple workplaces from which his/her business operations are carried out.

Reply:

1. Yes, Honourable Mkhonto, Labour Inspectors visited farms in the financial year 2020-21. A total of 1150 inspections were conducted and only 169 workplaces were not compliant with the labour legislations.

Legislation	Number of Inspections	Compliant	Non-compliant	Number issued with Enforcement document
EE	72	21	51	51
BCEA	877	836	41	41
OHS	87	39	48	48
UI	46	27	19	19
COIDA	67	57	10	10
TOTAL	1149	980	169	169

2) Labour inspectors intend to conduct 1 174 inspections in the farming sector during the financial year 2022/23.

Reply:

a. Total number of claims registered on CompEasy as between October 2019 and 04 March 2022: 329 655. The claims are registered by employers, labour centres and third parties but we do not keep reports per category as all claims are considered valid registered claims if they meet the requirements of the law.

 

Reply:

The Department of Transport has plans to introduce the digital driving licence card in 2024/25 financial year. This project is the responsibility of the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) which is the trading entity responsible for the production of driving licence cards in South Africa. The introduction of the digital driving licence (commonly referred as the eDL) will be preceded by the introduction of the new driving licence card which is set to be launched in October 2023.

The design for the new driving licence card has been completed and is undergoing process for cabinet approval.

Reply:

(a) Department

Invoice Age Analysis	Number of Invoices	Total Amount (b)
More than 30 days (aa)	29	R 71,851.69
More than 60 days (bb)	13	R 35,607.16
More than 90 days (cc)	0	R 0.00
More than 120 days (dd)	223	R 1,187,235.53
Total	265	R 1,294,694.38

(c) The invoices more than 30 days and 60 days will be paid within the next 30 days. The invoices more than 120 days are disputed Phakisa invoices. A final offer was accepted by the supplier and once the supplier provides the new invoices, it will be paid.

Airport of South Africa (ACSA)

Days	Amount	Number of Invoices
120	18 770 475,26	499
90	1 267 884,84	25
60	2 791 207,73	20
30	5 280 488,09	56
Current	38 047 207,76	118
Total	66 157 263,68	718
As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, ACSA undertook a rental reprieve process for its tenants by giving out credit notes for the rental owed, amounting to R2,8 billion. In addition, the traffic volumes decline significantly reduced ACSA’s total revenues in the last two financial years. For the financial year ended 31 March 2021, revenues declined by about 80% i.e., from R7,2 billion to R2,2 billion, and this has led to decreased cashflows. ACSA engaged its suppliers for relaxed payment terms where possible, particularly among the bigger suppliers, leading to days average creditor days exceeding 30 days. The monthly payment to suppliers averages R150m to R200m. Invoices for which there are no queries are paid on a monthly. Invoices older than 30 days are those wherein there are queries with the suppliers pertaining to contractual matters pertaining to scope of works/goods delivered, timing and budgets/fees.

Air Transporting Navigating System ( ATNS)

Based on 31st January 2022 age analysis

		(aa)	(bb)	(cc)	(dd)
	Current Period	31 - 60 Days	61 - 90 Days	90 - 120 Days	120 Days and over	Total
	R	R	R	R	R	R
(a) No. of invoices	101	57	48	35	390	631
	16%	9%	8%	6%	62%	100%
(b) Total Amount	12,197,617	4,155,346	5,927,040	1,665,189	3,775,262	27,720,453
	44%	15%	21%	6%	14%	100%
Total No. of suppliers						150

(c) All suppliers where there are no disputes will be paid in 30 days

Cross Board Transport Agency( CBRTA

a) There are eleven (11) supplier invoices that currently remain unpaid at (b) Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) and are shown in the table below.

(a)	(aa) – (dd)	(b)	(c)
Total number of invoices	Period of non-payment	Amount Outstanding	Envisaged date on which amount will be paid
2	180 days	R127 123.89	The Service Provider has invoiced us incorrectly. They have agreed to re-invoice and once we receive the updated invoices, payment will be processed. The envisaged payment date is 28 February 2022.
9	90 days	R63 357.97	The Agency has raised a dispute with the service provider regarding the billed amounts. Disputed amounts will be settled once engagements are concluded. The envisaged payment date is 28 February 2022.
11

South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL)

(a)(ii) SANRAL has 5 outstanding invoices, which are older than 30 days. The age analysis of the creditors is indicated in the Table below.

Age	Number of invoices		(b) Value (R)	Reason
> 30 days	1		1 268 262.99	Rejected by bank due to banking details incorrectly supplied
> 60 days	1		1 738.00
> 90 days
> 120 days	3		12 405.80
TOTAL	5		1 282 406.79

b) The invoices will be paid immediately, once the vendor has supplied the correct banking details, as verified by the bank. SANRAL has a payment run twice a week.

Road Accident Fund (RAF)

(a)(ii) The number of supplier invoices that currently remain unpaid by the Road Accident Fund for more than	(aa) 30 days, is	(bb) 60 days, is	(cc) 90 days, is	and (dd) 120 days, is
	33	109	65	170
b) the total amount outstanding in each case is	R2,196,378.25	R5,921,095.21	R2,647,942.17	R11,881,697.38
and (c) the processing for payment of the outstanding amounts is an ongoing process, which is subject to certain challenges, including, unresolved queries relating to suppliers’ invoice details; suppliers’ change of banking details; disputes with suppliers on services or goods provided; and a lengthy and labour-intensive process involved in perusing itemised legal invoices, per item of cost incurred, having regard to different rates allowed per item.

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)

A) We have 8 invoices that are unpaid, please see table below:

Except for the one service provider, SAPO, all other invoices will be paid within 14 days and they are still within 30 day.

There is currently a dispute that is being resolved with SAPO, invoice to be paid within 7 days.

Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA)

a) What number of supplier invoices currently remain unpaid by

(ii) each entity reporting to him for more than

(aa) 30 days =0,

(bb) 60 days = 2,

(cc) 90 days = 3 and

(dd) 120 days = 4,

(b) what is the total amount outstanding in each case and

(aa) 30 days =0,

(bb) 60 days = R121 034.52,

(cc) 90 days = R117 134.56 and

(dd) 120 days = R25 136.72

(c) by what date is it envisaged that the outstanding amounts will be settled?

(aa) 30 days =Not applicable,

(bb) 60 days = January 2022,

(cc) 90 days = January 2022 and

(dd) 120 days = under dispute

Drivers Licence Card Agency (DLCA)

(aa) 0

(bb) 0

(cc) 0

(dd) As at 10 February 2022, the DLCA has one invoice that remains unpaid for longer than 120 days, the invoice was received in February 2021. However, the DLCA has paid the portion of the invoice that was not disputed. The other portion is still under dispute.

(c) By 31 March 2022 after the legal dispute is resolved.

South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

a) (i) Not applicable

(ii) (aa) 48

(bb) 10

(cc) 16

(dd) Included above, system ages up to 90+ days

b) (i) Not applicable

(ii) (aa) R95 043.21

(bb) R2 819.35

(cc) R205 930.79

(dd) Included above, system ages up to 90+ days

c) All outstanding invoices are planned to be settled in February 2022.

Ports Regulator of South Africa (PRSA)

(a)(ii) The Ports Regulator does not have any invoices that are outstanding for more than (aa) 30, (bb) 60, (cc) 90 or (120) days. The Ports Regulator has systems and processes in place to ensure that all invoices are paid within average of 14 to 21 days after the receipt of the invoice from supplier with no required amendments. This was further confirmed by the Auditor General during the 2020/2021 financial year audit.

(b) N/A

(c ) N/A

Railway Safety Regulator (RSR)

Number of invoices outstanding

Number of invoice outstanding
(aa) 30 days	(bb) 60 days	(cc) 90 days	(dd) 120 days
3	0	0	6

a) The total amount outstanding in each case is:

Period outstanding	Amount
30 days	R179,591-23
60 days	R0
90 days	R0
120 days	R19,923,304-65

b) The date envisaged for the outstanding amounts to be settled is:

Period outstanding	Amount	Envisaged date of payment	Notes
30 days	R179,591-23	28 February 2022	-
60 days	R0	Not applicable	-
90 days	R0	Not applicable	-
120 days	R1,855,767-89	31 March 2022	-
	R16,264,306-26	Unknown	The amount is being disputed and payment date is therefore unknown.
	R1,696,738-74	Unknown	The amount is being disputed and payment date is therefore unknown.
	R106,491-76	31 March 2022	-

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

(ii) The SACAA currently has (aa) zero 30 days outstanding invoices (bb) zero 60 days outstanding invoices and (dd) only has one invoice outstanding as per the creditors age analysis that is in 120 days (b) amounting to R33 741. (c) The invoice is currently in dispute and will be paid once the dispute is resolved.

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

Number of invoices outstanding

c) The total amount outstanding in each case is:

Please refer to table above in (a).

d) It is impossible to specify the date on which the outstanding amounts will be settled given the current situation that PRASA finds itself in, especially with the OPEX.

• The total group debt amounts to R4,8 billion, with OPEX accounting for 92% of this debt.
• Most of the debt, 53%, is owed to Transnet, with other suppliers constituting 39% and municipalities a further 8%.
• PRASA is currently not able to pay its debt as they become due with most of its debt being in excess of 180 days.
• Only invoices over 180 days will be settled monthly except for payroll, critical suppliers (i.e. ICT, security, municipal rates, etc.), statutory items, insurance related claims, legal disbursements and court orders.

Reply:

a) Compensation Fund has developed an Audit Action Plan to remedy the negative audit outcomes. The aim is not to deal with the symptoms of these audit outcomes, but to drill down to the root causes of them. The root causes of the audit disclaimer are not as a result of a specific person but the systemic issues related to business processes, skills shortages, ICT systems and policies. Action Plan that is currently in place, one of its key objectives is to remedy the defects that lead to the negative audit outcomes.

b) No backlogs have been reported as a result of infrastructure challenges and poor network challenges.

Reply:

a) What total number of:

(i) And (ii) Inspectors in the employ of the Department, including vacancies:

Province/Office	Filled posts	Vacant funded posts	Total posts
Eastern Cape	211	12	223
Free State	170	13	183
Gauteng	345	82	427
KwaZulu Natal	410	16	426
Limpopo	174	21	195
Mpumalanga	147	10	157
Northern Cape	87	8	95
North West	128	17	145
Western Cape	201	18	219
Head Office	18	1	19
Total	2089	198	2089

 

b) On what date is it envisaged that each positions will be filled?

Posts should be filled over the next 6 to 12 months.

About 50% of these posts are already at one or the other stage of recruitment and selection.

Reply:

a) The Department of Transport and /or its Entities do not manage road traffic at the mouth of the border, it falls within the Nkomazi Local Municipality jurisdiction supported by the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works in line with Schedule 5 Part B of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. However, the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) supports and contributes to the unimpeded flow of goods and passengers between South Africa and her neighbouring states through its law enforcement arm.

b) Since the Department of Transport and or its entities does not monitor traffic as stipulated above it has not done surveys to ascertain the impact of this practice. However, such a practice can contribute to the bridge collapse, congestion, reduction of efficiencies, lack of compliance to road traffic regulations and does not promote road safety.

Looking into the future, the C-BRTA is in a process of implementing a pilot, with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), on an Operator Compliance Accreditation System (OCAS) and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO). This pilot will fast-track accredited trucks to cross the border with limited interventions from border stakeholders. Furthermore, the C-BRTA is also in a process of negotiating with other government and private stakeholders regarding the implementation of a new electronic Queue Management system that will allow trucks to the border to be allocated designated time slots, the electronic queue management system will also be implemented together with a holding facility closer to the mouth of the border as there is no parking space along the corridor for such truck volumes. If trucks arrive at the border before their allocated time slots, they will then be allocated numbers on arrival and be released when called by border authorities to cross. These measures will alleviate congestion at the border and eliminate the possible utilisation of the Komatipoort Bridge as a parking space for trucks.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. I have been informed by the Department that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) does not have any Service Level Agreement (SLA) to render any Horticultural service to SAPS. This is a client function so SAPS is responsible for this function.
2. The DPWI is not in a position to enter into any such agreement for the same reason indicated above.
3. There was never a contract in place by DPWI to provide gardening/horticultural services at the SAPS Bomb Disposal Unit.

Reply:

The Compensation Fund does not outsource the management of the Call Centre, Help Desk, CompEasy and other call centre mailboxes.

The claim registration process is automated through the CompEasy system where employers can register claims on their own. Where manual claims are submitted, these are sent to the Labour Centres by employers.

Reply:

The claims processors and client service officers utilise the contact details on the claim forms to contact the employer, medical service providers and/or claimants in order to obtain information required to finalise claims.

Reply:

1 The Board of Control of PRASA is governed by section 24 of the Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Act, 1989 (Act No. 9 of 1989) which provides that –

“(1) the affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Board of Control of not more than 11 members including the chairman, who shall be appointed and dismissed by the Minister.

(2) At least-

(a) one of the members of the Board of Control shall be an officer in the Department of Transport;

(b) one of the members of the Board of Control shall be an officer in the Department of Finance;

(c) one of the members of the Board of Control shall be nominated by the South African Local Government Association recognised in terms of section 2 (1) (a) of the Organised Local Government Act, 1997 (Act 52 of 1997);

(d) three of the members of the Board of Control shall have expertise and experience in the management of a private sector enterprise.”

(a) There are currently nine Board members, with only two vacancies

(b) The two vacancies have been advertised through a mass advertisement for all Transport entities, and the process of filling the positions is underway.

(2) The Board of Control of PRASA does quorate with the 9 members as the Act requires not more than 11 members rather than 11 members. What will cause the Board of Control not to quorate will be vacancies emanating from non-compliance with section 24 (2) of the Act, of which the 2 vacancies mentioned above are not related to the provisions of section 24(2).

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that in terms of the Department’s books no money is owed to the Port St Johns Municipality.

As at 31st January 2022, the age analysis obtained from the Port St Johns Municipality (PSJ) reflected an outstanding amount of R10 million compromising mostly of historical debt that is broken down as follows:

NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS MUNICIPAL SERVICES, RATES & TAXES DEBT AS AT 31 January 2022
Municipalities	Opening Balances as at 01 April 2021	Billing Rates and Services: 01 April 2021 to Jan 2022	Payments made since 01 April 2021 to 31 January 2022	Total Debt After Payment	Custody/Ownership Dispute Under Investigation for Verification by Department	Amount Disputed By the Department due to non-allocation of payments
PSJ	10 312 579	83 806	946 442	9 449 943	2 521 886	6 928 057
GRAND TOTAL	10 312 579	83 806	946 442	9 449 943	2 521 886	6 928 057

The total amount billed and invoiced by the municipality in the current year (2021/22) amounts to R83 806.00. The payments made since April 2021 to Jan 2022 amounts to R946 442. The amount paid includes the invoices emanating from the opening balance (1 April 2021).

The amount in dispute amounts to R9.4 million. The Department has arranged for a working session from the 7th March 2022 until the 11th March 2022 to resolve the disputed amount.

The Department remains committed and continues to settle all valid invoices within 30 days.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1 (a) I have been informed by the Department that the building was boarded up to prevent any unlawful occupation.

(b) (i) The outcome of the Investment Analysis report recommended that the portion of land on which the damaged house is situated be subdivided and sold on the open market, subject to obtaining all the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

(ii) (aa) The damaged house will not be repaired as the intention is to sell the property via open tender.

(bb) The investment analysis report has been finalised, and the outcome was that the property be sold on an open market, subject to obtaining all the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

(cc) The outcome of the report recommended that the property be sold on an open market, subject to obtaining all the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

 

Reply:

1. Yes, the Minister and the Department of Transport did share information with provincial governments about the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (Act No 46 of 1998)

(a) Minister of Transport through the Entity issued a Letter “LINKING OF SAPS OFFICERS TO ISSUING AUTHORITIES” dated 14 January 2021. The substance of the correspondence clarified the linking of the SAPS to the local traffic authorities.

The Minister of Transport issued a circular on “AARTO ROLL-OUT FROM 01 JULY 2021” as pronounced. The aforesaid circular is dated 9 July 2021. Was forwarded to all provinces.

The Minister further through the Entity facilitated virtual meetings with the all provinces regarding the AARTO Rollout. The engagements further presented the following:

• AARTO Master Implementation Plan;
• AARTO Readiness assessments;
• System Deployments and NaTIS Connectivity;
• AARTO Training for Law Enforcement & Back-Office Staff;
• AARTO Service outlets to be deployed per province;
• Signing of MoU’s between stakeholders to give effect to the rollout;

(SAPO & GPW issues)

• AARTO Education and Awareness Campaigns;
• Monitoring & Evaluation of the AARTO Implementation.

The virtual consultation dates with provinces were as followed:

Schedule of AARTO Meetings with HoDs in Provinces

Province	Meeting Date
Eastern Cape	09 March 2021
Mpumalanga	16 March 2021
North West	16 March 2021
Free State	17 March 2021
Limpopo	30 March 2021
KZN	19 April 2021
NC & WC	No confirmation of availability was received as requested
Gauteng	Currently implementing AARTO

August 2021 schedule of meetings held with Provincial Management

Province	Date
MP	17 August 2021
LP	17 August 2021
WC	19 August 2021
EC	19 August 2021
KZN	19 August 2021
GP	20 August 2021
NC	20 August 2021
FS	20 August 2021
NW	25 August 2021

September 2021 schedule of meetings held with Provincial Management

PROVINCE	DATE
FS	02 September 2021
GP	08 September 2021
MP	13 September 2021
LP	13 September 2021
WC	14 September 2021
EC	14 September 2021
KZN	14 September 2021
NC	16 September 2021
NW	16 September 2021

(b) The Minister & the Department of Transport have established an AARTO National Steering Committee (ANSC) that convenes quarterly for AARTO Stakeholders to engage on matters of mutual interest in the implementation of AARTO. The ANSC is preceded by technical support committees before the main committee could convene. The following are dates and issues deliberated upon in the ANSC:

ITEM	DATE
ANSC	28 January 2021
ANSC	29 March 2021
ANSC	11 June 2021
Special ANSC	14 July 2021
ANSC	24 August 2021
ANSC	28 September 2021
ANSC	17 February 2022

ANSC Issues:

The following are standard agenda items discussed at the ANSC:

• Feedback on Executive Directives & Shareholder Engagements
• AMIP/ Draft AARTO roll out plan and related updates
• AARTO IT equipment deployment report
• System enhancement update
• Technical support committee reports
• Municipal Monitoring and Oversight Sub-Committee/ SALGA Engagements
• Provincial AARTO Coordinating Committee meeting feedbacks

2. The Minister & the Department through its Entity received the following substantive responses from the Western Cape in response to information shared, all stating that the province will not be ready to implement of AARTO by 01 October 2021and further raised the following concerns:

2.1. The RTIA Capacity to implement AARTO

2.2. Lack of meaningful consultation;

2.3 The issues around the AARTO Regulations and the need to review AARTO legislation;

2.4. Delays in Training;

2.5. The challenges around the successful rates of representations;

2.6. Transparency in reporting; and

2.7. Absence of an implementation report in the two jurisdictions where AARTO was piloted.

2.8 The province further requested the Entity, the RTMC and the Department to accommodate the e-force interface for the province since the province was already using smart law enforcement, which request is still under discussions;

Reply:

1.  A temporary raw water pipeline and pump station was installed by the Petra Diamond Mine in December 2019 after the flood damage of the Wilge Dam infrastructure. The temporary pumping system can supply on average, 11 Ml/d to the users. The average demand in Cullinan for the past financial two years was about 10 – 10.5 Ml/d which has been met by the Cullinan WTW. There have been interruptions to supply that are due to power outages.

(2) The Wilge Dam infrastructure, including the pumps, pipeline which was damaged by the flooding is owned and maintained by the Petra Diamond Mines. The Petra Diamond Mine is in the process of repairing the damaged infrastructure. The following progress has been made in this regard:

• Detailed designs and Bill of Quantities for the Civils, Mechanical Electrical and Control & Instrumentation (C&I) designs have been completed
• The Environmental Authorisation was received from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• Currently awaiting approvals for Water Use License Application from the Department of Water and Sanitation DWS.
• Tenders for appointment of Contractors have been advertised and appointment of contractors is expected to be concluded by end of April
• Construction is expected to start in May/June 2022. The expected Project completion date is January/February 2023.

(3) Magalies Water has a contract with the City of Tshwane (CoT) for power supply. Power supply interruptions are therefore reported to the CoT for investigation and resolution, whether the interruptions are a result of challenges with their own infrastructure or Eskom related. Interventions to resolve power supply outage challenges include:

• Engagements with the CoT to improve the unreliable electricity supply
• Formal correspondence to CoT, requesting that Magalies Water be exempted from load shedding as this negatively impacts bulk water supply
• The installation of standby generators was explored and found to be unaffordable
• The raw reserved buffer dam has been cleaned and repaired and recommissioned.
• Magalies Water is also exploring the possibility of the Petra Diamond Mine to supply the Cullinan WTW with electricity as alternative power supply.

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Reply:

What action has she taken to ensure that the Mjokwane Secondary School in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, which was declared a science school, is provided with sufficient (a) number of teachers and (b) learner support material, such as computers?

(a) number of teachers

There are norms and standards which stipulate learners teacher ratio. Mjokwane Secondary School is treated like any other public school in the country in terms of the number of teachers which this school should have. If there are vacant posts, the management of the school would follow all the necessary procedures to appoint teachers.  

(b) learner support material, such as computers

The same applies with learner materials, there are also norms and standards which govern how learner materials should be distributed. All schools in the country operate homogeneously in term of learner materials. For an example, one learner gets one textbook for a subject a learner is offering. Schools which offer Computer Applications Technology (CAT) have computers. Mjokwane Secondary School does not offer CAT hence computer at this school is primarily used for administration purposes. Kindly note the subjects offered at Mjokwane Secondary School from their 2021 Grade 12 Results:

 

Reply:

Answer: 1(a): In terms of the equitable share, 48% of the overall budget should be allocated to Basic Education in the provinces but this is not always the case. The allocation of the budget (i.e. equitable share) in the provinces is the prerogative of the Provincial Executive.

Answer 1(b):  The Public Ordinary Schools’ operations are funded through the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF). The NNSSF takes into account the quintile (Q) ranking of the schools which is pro poor with the poorest (Q1 to Q3) which are no fee schools receiving the highest subsidy. 

Answer question 2: The Department of Basic Education (DBE) does not have policy relating to the funding of Special schools.  The draft policy was not approved due to budget constraints. The DBE has developed Guidelines for Resourcing for Inclusive Education System in a quest to guide the PEDs whilst working towards a policy document in this regard.

Answer question 3: According to the National Treasury 2022 Budget, the equitable share formula for basic education is based on the age cohort 5 to 17 for school-going age and not 7 to 15. Table 2 is an example of the 2022 Budget. There is no earmarked or specific funding for learners above 17 years. The same allocation for the age cohort 5 to 17 is also extended to learners above 17 years. 

Reply:

a)  Construction of the water pipeline from Xhariep Dam to Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is scheduled to start in July 2025. The next phase of the project will comprise of detailed designs, securing funding and contracting agreements.

b) It is envisaged that the project will be completed by June 2029.

Reply:

a) The municipality rations water supply to avoid total collapse of the water supply infrastructure. The water rationing is done on a daily basis at night-time where demand for water is less allowing the infrastructure to build up storage. This is done from 20H00 to 03H00.

The Department of Water and Sanitation instructed eThekwini Metro as the WSA within its jurisdiction to undertake an investigation on the ongoing water supply interruptions within and surrounding Umlazi areas. The report indicated short, medium, and long terms solutions to mitigate the water supply challenges in the Umlazi areas.

The table below shows the short, medium, and long terms solutions that eThekwini Metro has initiated and planned to undertake to stabilize the Umlazi water system:

Item	Intervention	Description	Budget Required	Funding Source	Financial Year
1.	Short Term	Dedicated day to day operation and maintenance of Umlazi water supply system	R560 000 per month (outsourced excluding internal costs)	Internal O&M Budget	2021/2022
2.	Medium Term	Optimized maintenance of the Umlazi water supply system	R560 000 per month (outsourced excluding internal costs)	Internal O&M Budget	2021/2022
3.	Long Term	Replacement and Upgrade of the Umlazi water supply system	R2 billion (including bulk and distribution networks)	Not funded yet	N/A

Water supply into Umlazi system comes from Durban Heights Water Treatment Works (DHWTW) located in Reservoir Hills through the twin southern aqueduct lines, 1200mm steel and a 950mm diameter pipes. This aqueduct supplies Shallcross, Chatsworth, Northdene, Queensburgh, St Wendolins, Washington Heights, Welbedatch and ultimately Umlazi (including Nsimbini, Folweni and Golokodo).

The condition of the 950mm diameter pipe has deteriorated over the past four years which caused frequent major leaks that required major repairs resulting to a decision to isolate all sections of this pipe. The impact of the pipe isolation resulted in reduced system input volume to all downstream areas (Chatsworth, Shallcross, St Wendolins, Nagina, Northdene, Queensburgh, Welbedatch, Umlazi, Folweni, Nsimbini and Golokodo). This affected most the critical points (furthest and highest points), Umlazi 2 which supplies C, F, G, H, N & W Sections and ultimately Nsimbini, Folweni and Golokodo.

(a-c) The municipality, together with its water service provider (Umgeni Water) is in the process of refurbishing and upgrading bulk infrastructure which includes upgrade and replacement of bulk pipelines. The refurbishment of Reservoir 3 began in November 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by August 2022.

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Reply:

a) (i) 35 of the scope on the ASIDI programme

    (ii) The scope for electricity is completed

    (iii) 101 of the scope defined on the ASIDI programme

    (iv) 41 of the scope defiend on the ASIDI programme

 

b) (i) Sanitation: 544 on the ASIDI & SAFE programmes

        Electricity: Scope completed

        Water: 87 on the ASIDI programme

        Inappropriate Structures: 28 on the ASIDI programme

    (ii) Sanitation: 263 on the ASIDI and SAFE programmes

        Electricity: Scope completed

        Water:  100 on the ASIDI programmes 

        Inappropriate Structures: 32 on the ASIDI programme

Reply:

a) Bilateral political and economic relations between South Africa and Ireland are strong, the direct investment volume of Irish companies in South Africa is estimated at R23.66 billion with an average project size of around R815.51 million per project. In total, there are twenty (20) Irish companies in South Africa who employ an estimated 8 000 people. These include investments in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture and ICT. The export basket from South Africa Ireland in 2020 was composed of both primary agricultural products such as citrus fruits, apples and grapes, and value-added products such as tools; motor vehicles; chemical wood pulp, and mineral products such as coal; while the import basket from Ireland into SA consisted of mainly value-added products such as medicaments, powered aircraft, automatic data processing machinery, orthopaedic appliances, among others. South African products such as vegetables and fruit showed significant improvement in exports to Ireland.

b) During 2021 South African exports amounted to R 2, 661,777,372 compared to R 1,715,160,914 in 2020. The balance of trade is still very much in Ireland's favour as Irish exports to South Africa amounted to R 6, 570 billion compared to R 6, 501 billion in 2020.

Reply:

(1) There are three categories of educators appointed in a temporary capacity. Those appointed in posts that are temporary in their nature or posts that are additional to the declared school post establishment. These include educators appointed in temporary posts such as Dinaledi posts, growth posts, class size reduction posts etc. Those that are appointed against vacant substantive promotional posts. This is to address the temporary workload increase as a result of the vacant promotional post. And those that are appointed in vacant substantive post level one posts. These are vacant post level one posts that are part of the post establishment of a school and are filled through matching and placement in order to ensure that there is a teacher in front of the class and are continuously being converted to permanent in terms of section 6B of the Employment of Educators Act (EEA) and Collective Agreement 1 of 2018. Therefore only the latter group can be converted to permanent if they meet the requirements of the posts.

As of the end of December 2021, there were 8 713 temporary educators that were appointed in vacant substantive post level one posts.

(2) As indicated above these educators are continuously being considered for permanent placement upon confirmation by the Head of Department after consultation with the school governing body and confirmation that they meet the requirements of the post.

Reply:

a) Covid-19 showed that there are challenges within the province that are because of fiscal constraints and the impact of medico-legal litigations which impact quality of care provisioning. This was also because of critical staff shortage because of the fiscal constraints impact. Further exacerbating staff morale. The pull of these already tight resources to mitigate Covid-19 resulted in service backlogs in other priority programmes such as HIV and Aids, TB, and Immunisation.

b) The department has developed a five-pillar strategic approach to mitigate and improve the quality of care within the province. These are –

(i) Financial sustainability.

(ii) Medico-legal mitigation strategy

(iii) Service Optimisation.

(iv) Digitalisation and eHealth implementation.

(v) Healthy Communities initiatives with focus on:

• Maternal and child health.
• Communicable and non-communicable diseases.
• Mental health.
• Clinical governance.
• NHI implementation strategies.

On Covid-19 mitigation, the department had an intra-action review sessions in-between the covid-19 waves and shared the lessons were learnt that led to improvement of the response. These included:

(i) Empowering the Community Health Workers to use oxymeters for monitoring home isolated patients and educating communities to seek early intervention and hospital admissions.

(ii) Increased bed capacity to ensure all patients could be accommodated. This was further supported with increased oxygen point availability.

(iii) Improved clinical protocols and monitored management of patient care by clinical managers including ensuring all patients were seen daily including weekends.

END.

Reply:

The procurement of textbooks and stationery are managed by Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) through their allocated budgets for Learning and Teaching Support Materials(LTSM). The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has developed catalogues for Grades R-12 from which Provinces have to procure textbooks for all their learners in different grades. The DBE delivers only workbooks for Grades R to 9 to about 24 000 public schools. In addition, DBE has developed state owned resources for Reading ( Grades 1-3 Readers and Big books in 11 Languages) Physical Sciences, Natural Science and Technology and Mathematics in selected Grades and provinces have been provided with DVDs with these materials for printing. For stationery, provinces have been provided with allocations on LTSM to procure for all learners. These state owned resources were also made available on DVDs and are accessible through the DBE website.

Reply:

a) (i) 00 and (ii) 397

b) The shortage of scholar transport in KwaZulu Natal is attributed to shortages in funding from the Equitable Share. Discussions are however, ongoing with the respective Provincial Treasury to ensure that the Learner Transport Programme in KwaZulu Natal is funded, adequately. The Sector is also working towards an integrated sectoral school infrastructure planning, in trying to ensure that schools are build where there is a massive need, to relief pressure off the Learner Transport Programme. In the interim, the Sector is also working closely with the Department of Transport through the Shova Khalula Bicycle Programme, with the primary target being learners in rural, remote and poorly resourced areas, who walk longer distances to schools are provided with bicycles. The intended outcome is to reduce travel time for learners and improve school attendance thereby providing relief to the Learner Transport programme.

c) (i) Eastern Cape-R791 380 256.52 and (ii) KwaZulu Natal-R457 000 000.00

Reply:

The cultural and creative economy makes a significant contribution to the economy and employment in South Africa. The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) research funded by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture through Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) reports that Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) contributed R74.4bn to the country's GDP between 2016 and 2018. In the report titled Economic Mapping of the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa 2020 (SACO 2020) it was found that the core creative industries contributed 3.05% to the South African GDP in 2017, that is R155 billion, and the supporting industries had a share of 2.24% of the GDP at R115 billion, which is a total share of 5.29% of the GDP. In 2018 the direct impact (also called “Value Added”) of the CCIs was R74.39 billion which accounts for 1.7% of South Africa’s GDP. Furthermore, in same period of 2018, the CCIs contributed R271.9 billion to the capital stock of South Africa.

It is revealed in the preliminary SACO 2022 CCI Mapping Study that in 2015 the cultural and creative economy made up 5.6% of jobs in 2017 it increased to 5.9% and in 2019 to 6% of all employment in the country.

Further the Department has several interventions that it has and continues to implement; ranging from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Program; Creation of spaces; the Community Arts Development Program; the Visual Arts and Design Program; the Public Art Program; the National and Provincial Flagship Projects (including Festivals; Exhibitions and Cultural Events); amongst others. For an example; the Presidential Employment Stimulus Program has translated into a creation more than 36 000 jobs; as a result contributing to employment; reconstruction and recovery of the sector. The Department has also implemented an intervention that is part of ensuring that there an enabling environment through creation of spaces where the cultural and creative industries can thrive. Already great progress has been made in venturing into Limpopo; Mpumalanga and North West which are the only provinces that did not have Performing Arts Institutions at the calibre of those in Western Cape; Gauteng; Free State and KwaZulu Natal. The Flagship projects focus on preservation and promotion of culture in the country; through partnership with key stakeholders and alignment to the Social Cohesion and Nation building agenda

These and other programs mentioned above are key in bringing in a sense of identity; reflecting and encouraging local content; and promotion of the national identity.

My Department, through the community library grant, is employing a total number of 2489 contract staff to manage and provide access to library and information services to the citizens. In 2020/21, as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus package, the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) was allocated an amount of R60 million in response to the job losses that came as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Half of the amount, R30 million was allocated to the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) for the digitisation of archival records and the remaining R30 million to NLSA for the digitization of newspapers and periodicals. The allocation was mainly to be used towards the appointment of 326 unemployed youth and the procurement of digitisation equipment. As a result thereof, 453 youth benefited from the project which commenced in November 2020 to December 2021. In addition to this, 12 unemployed youth were also appointed at NARSSA to assist with cleaning services. They were appointed in September 2020 and are still in the employ of the Department. Investigations are underway to see the possibility of extending their contracts for additional 12 months.

Reply:

Significant strides and efforts continue to be made in educating particularly learners on water safety. Some of leading initiatives being, Swimming South Africa’s Water Safety Education, popular Learn to Swim, Ocean Splash Water Safety, Lifesaving Water Safety Awareness.

One of the major barriers to ensuring that the current programmes reach all the corners of the country remains access to facilities such as swimming pools. Inadequate provision of swimming pools and poor maintenance thereof by the Municipalities has a direct impact on rate at which water safety programmes are rolled out.