Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) (a) There are four vaccines approved for use in the Republic.

(b) (i) Covid-19 vaccine Jannsen

(ii) Pfizer Comirnaty

(iii) Coronavac (Curanto Pharma); and

(iv) BBIBP-CortV-Vaccine (Sinopharm) [MC Pharma]

(2) (a) (i) Covid-19 vaccine Jannsen - 31 000 000 doses

(ii) Pfizer Comirnaty - 30 002 310 doses plus 1 392 300 doses through the COVAX Facility

(b) The pricing information cannot be shared as we are bound by non-disclosure agreements with manufacturers.

(3) There is no law that gives the government exclusive rights to procure vaccines from approved suppliers. However, with regards to COVID-19 vaccines, manufacturers opted to contract exclusively with government to make vaccines equitably available.

(4) The Department has spent approximately R 6 billion on vaccines to date.

END.

Reply:

According to the Eastern Department of Health -

(1) An inspection was carried out by the Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) from Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and a report was written with full recommendations to the company. It was established that the company was operating legally and at the site that is suitable for storage of medical waste as per the investigation.

(2) The report of the investigation is attached (Annexure A).

(3) The company has registered with the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DFFE) for a waste storage licence for two (2) sites in Eastern Cape, East London and Gqeberha (Annexure B).

(4) The company has no medical waste disposal site located in Eastern Cape, but has arrangments with companies outside the province where it disposes medical waste.

(5) The company makes use of the following facilities which are equiped for appropriate disposal of medical waste and body parts:

1. Averda in George – Western Cape
2. Averda in Klerksdorp – North West

END.

Reply:

Attached find here : Reply

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

(1) The South African Revenue Service, in processing all refunds, will always seek to balance the protection of the fiscus from illegitimate refund claims and the optimal processing of all refunds that are legitimate. This balance is further enhanced when considering that more than R50bn in illegitimate refunds are prevented from flowing out of the fiscus every year.

SARS has for the period ending 31 December 2021 paid R193bn in refunds and 72% (R138bn) was paid within 21 days, furthermore it is worth noting that almost 80% of all refunds claims are paid without audit or verification interventions thus confirming our compliance theory that most taxpayers are honest that want to meet their tax obligations fully. The remaining 20% is the combination of taxpayers who make genuine errors as well as those who unfortunately seek to defraud the fiscus. It must be noted that the law does not prescribe a minimum period for the completion of an audit or verification process, therefore rendering the notion of overdue refunds a misnomer in law however SARS has committed to turnaround times in its service charter in line with the SARS desire to provide superior service to taxpayers in order to bring about clarity and certainty on their affairs

 

Yes, SARS has some refunds that are outstanding. SARS at any given time will have amounts outstanding on refunds for a number of reasons, key amongst these reasons are 1) SARS is at various stages of the audit and verification process and 2) Taxpayer related issues including invalid banking details, instances of outstanding documentation where SARS has communicated in more than one instance with the taxpayer requesting such supporting documentation (these are continuous non-compliance cases) as well as instances of suspected fraud by the taxpayer. The sectorial view of the balance of refunds in audit in excess of 21 days is as follows:

Industry	Vendors	Sum of Balance
AGENCIES AND OTHER SERVICES	11718	-R 3,485,040,995.02
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING	11228	-R 2,032,265,989.44
BRICKS, CERAMICS, GLASS, CEMENT AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS	338	-R 52,091,107.65
CATERING AND ACCOMMODATION	1827	-R 302,765,982.13
CHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL, RUBBER AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS	707	-R 362,900,673.78
CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR	520	-R 67,148,930.30
COAL AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS	555	-R 216,979,759.08
CONSTRUCTION	10316	-R 4,273,709,791.85
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES	471	-R 81,063,823.27
ELECTRICITY, GAS AND WATER	583	-R 261,615,811.24
FINANCING, INSURANCE, REAL ESTATE AND BUSINESS SERVICES	13678	-R 4,327,781,607.92
FOOD, DRINK AND TOBACCO	1630	-R 248,802,796.42
LEATHER, LEATHER GOODS + FUR(EXCLUDING FOOTWEAR + AND CLOTHING)	205	-R 20,001,623.97
MACHINERY AND RELATED ITEMS	1243	-R 304,557,104.71
MEDICAL, DENTAL AND OTHER HEALTH AND VETERINARY SERVICES	774	-R 218,844,178.05
METAL	437	-R 275,891,258.63
METAL PRODUCTS (EXCEPT MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT)	529	-R 108,858,944.81
MINING AND QUARRYING	3990	-R 934,174,989.83
OTHER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES	719	-R 183,565,764.57
PAPER, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING	571	-R 98,998,679.73
PERSONAL AND HOUSEHOLD SERVICES	509	-R 177,524,560.34
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION	236	-R 264,314,018.60
RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL SERVICES	561	-R 75,341,201.10
RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES	145	-R 24,340,885.13
RETAIL TRADE	4491	-R 707,260,203.27
SCIENTIFIC, OPTICAL AND SIMILAR EQUIPMENT	149	-R 60,521,555.14
SOCIAL + RELATED COMMUNITY SERVICES NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED	785	-R 95,335,672.15
SPECIALISED REPAIR SERVICES	599	-R 94,216,037.19
TEXTILES	300	-R 62,412,722.77
TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT(EXCEPT VEHICLES, PARTS AND ACCESSORIES)	756	-R 338,988,730.81
TRANSPORT, STORAGE AND COMMUNICATION	3059	-R 757,966,821.77
VEHICLES, PARTS AND ACCESSORIES	1236	-R 240,996,838.88
WHOLESALE TRADE	3695	-R 1,740,906,434.94
WOOD, WOOD PRODUCTS AND FURNITURE	412	-R 46,556,690.16
Grand Total	78972	-R 22,543,742,184.65

The financing, insurance, real estate and business services accounts for the largest balance, followed by Agencies and other services, Wholesale Trade then Construction sector.

(2) SARS adopts a number of strategies to address the credit book backlog including but not limited to working overtime, repurposing of experienced staff to focus on audits and verifications, applying secondary risk tolerance and appetite based on taxpayer previous compliance track record and continued attempts to get taxpayers to comply with outstanding requirements in order to process refunds. SARS accepts that the balance of supply and demand is not always possible to maintain thereby leading to increase in inventory faster than the available capacity can handle. In this regard refinement of our risk approach is on-going.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that, after engagement with the Client, it was confirmed that the facility has been vandalised while SAPS is in occupation. Security of the facility is the Client’s responsibility.

• (a)(i)(ii) The Client confirmed the availability electricity and water. However both electricity and water are turned off due to vandalism that takes place at the facility.

• (b) There is currently no repair and renovations project at the facility, the last repair and renovations project was signed off in April 2012.

• (c) Cleaning and security of the facility is the Client responsibility.

Reply:

1. Food Control is one of the 9 Municipal Health Services that has been devolved since July 2004 in terms of the Municipal Structures Act, 1998, (Act no 117 of 1998) to the 44 district municipalities and 8 metropolitan municipalities. The department continues to develop policies and provides support on municipal health services delivery in all 9 provinces, 44 districts and 8 metropolitan municipalities that are rendering food control. The department has developed National Environmental Health Norms and Standards to ensure that the provision of food control and other municipal health services is standardised throughout the country. Municipal Health Services Assessments (Audits) are continuously conducted to assess compliance with National Environmental Health Norms and Standards (NEHNS).

2. (a) The department through the authorised municipalities monitors all schools on a number of areas including food safety. The above-mentioned document, NEHNS which guides municipalities on the frequency of inspection requires that schools be inspected once a year. This is just a guide as municipalities conduct risk assessment to determine whether a school is a high risk facility which would require constant monitoring or it falls in a low risk category. Investigations are only carried out if incidents take place relating to food. The school in question was visited on the 1st of February 2022 after receiving the complaint on the 31st January 2022. The municipality conducted an investigation at the school where field visits were done, samples of the affected products were taken for laboratory analysis and a follow up investigation on the 2nd February 2022 was done and the outcome was that most of the affected victims had recovered. Further samples will be submitted for chemical analysis.

(b) The department will eventually publish the outcome of the investigation once all the areas of concern have been finalised. The department takes precautionary measures when dealing with such cases to avoid being sued if things are not correctly handled.

END.

Reply:

The National Treasury sets the overall expenditure ceiling for compensation budgets, which can be managed either through headcount adjustments or remuneration by departments. Wage agreements - for individual salary changes - in government are negotiated at the Public Service Coordinated Bargaining Council (PSCBC) with the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) representing both the national and provincial government departments. Once the wage agreements are reached, a circular is issued by the DPSA to the rest of government for implementation. Adherence to these circulars is a requirement for government departments. In this regard, the Department of Transport is no exception.

The Driving License Card Account (DLCA) is a trading account of the Department of Transport, with an acting chief executive currently a deployed employee of the Department of Transport. The reasons for approval of the salary increases of four of its employees may be answered by the DLCA and the Department of Transport. The National Treasury ensures that departments stay within their allocated budget ceiling, whether this involves changes in staff numbers or unit cost of employment.

Reply:

Yes, National Treasury keeps a record of the debt owed to creditors.

(a)(i)(ii)(iii) The tables (attached as Annexure A) provides the detail of the debt owed by municipalities to creditors for the respective years per province as per the Local Government Data Base - Section 71 reports of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003, (MFMA). This information is for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years and the Annual Financial Statements for the 2019/20 financial year.

(b)(c) The column, “Year 2021/22 – Month 06” in Annexure A provides the year to date amount owed by each municipality. The total for municipalities is R76.6 billion (unverified). Due to the amounts being accumulative, it will be the same for total amount in debt as well as current total outstanding.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The following table reflects the details in this regard, as received from the provinces.

Province , Tender No. & Description	(1) (a) Date of Advertisement	(1) (b) Names of Bidders who Applied as SP	(1) (a) Name(s) a of Successful Bidder	(2) (a) Total Value of Top 5 Bidders	(2) (b) Value of Tender Awarded incl JV Partners	(2) (c ) Total Amount Paid to a Successful Bidder To Date
EASTERN CAPE SCMU3-18/19-0461-HO: Supply of Containers, Safe and Effective Handling of HCRW, Through Appropriate Segregation, Packaging, Carting Storage, Loading, Transportation, Treatment And Safe Disposal Of Health Care Risk Waste/Medical From PHC Facilities, Nursing Colleges, Ems, And Forensic Pathology, Psychiatric Hospitals And Tb Hospitals For A Period Of 36 Months With An Option To Extend For 24 Months.	01 February 2019	1. Phuting Medical Waste 2. Wastegro Project 3. Seane Medical Waste JV Diponto Investment 4. Compass Waste Services JV DOH Enterprise 5. Compass Medicall Waste Services 6. Enerwaste Solution 7. Mampuru Waste Management CC 8. Zikhumbuze Aborist and General Service 9. Ecocycle Waste Solution (Pty) Ltd 10. Power Sprinks JV Vikela Afrika Waste Care CC 11. Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd 12. Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd 13. Cycle Sol CC	Buhle Waste	Bidder 1 – R214 582 468.81 Bidder 2 – R316 069 497.15 Bidder 3 – R325 535 297.26	R214 582 468.80 (value based on rates and indicative quantities)	FY 20/21 - R44 264 070,38 FY 21/22 - R48 862 888,33 (Based on actual waste collected)
LIMPOPO HEDP027/18/19: Collection, Treatment & Disposal of Health Care Risk Waste	14 December 2018	1. Stericycle Medical Waste Management 2. NTC Group JV Ngwako a Maloa Farming 3. Averda South Africa 4. Q Waste Management Services 5. Enerwaste Solutions 6. Ingwe Waste Management Services 7. Tshenolo Waste 8. Buhle Waste 9. Seane Medical Waste	Buhle Waste	Compass Medical Waste Services Eco-cycle Waste Solutions Limpopo Supllements Traders	Per kg = R28.00 Training cost = R700.00 pp Service & Repair = No charge Chest Freezer outright purchase 130L = R2 279.05 195L = R2 564.00 207L = R2 659.05 210L = R2 659.05 270L = R3 609.05 285L = R3 609.05 320L = R5 129.05 530L = R5 984.05	R160,369,231,55
MPUMALANGA Heal/038/19/MP: Provision of Health Care Waste Management for Mpumalanga Department of Health for a period of three (03) years	Tender Bulletin No. 276 Advertised: 09 April 2019 Closing: 06 May 2019	1. Vumani Waste Solution 2. Erner Waste Solutions Gauteng 3. Ingwe Waste/Hitekani Trading 4. Healthcare Waste Services 5. Compass Medical Waste Service 6. Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd 7. Mampuru Waste Management 8. Averda South Africa (Pty) Ltd 9. Cinding Enterprise 10. Zenzeleni Cleaning and Transport 11. Nyembe Waste Management JV Clinix Medical Waste Management 12. Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd	Buhle Waste Medical (Pty) Ltd	None of the Service Providers were evaluated in terms of the Preferential Points	Tendered Rates	R 124 824 713,13
Kwazulu Natal Department of Health is currently participating on contract awarded by Mpumalanga Province and approval to participate was obtained. The participation is in line with Treasury Regulation 16A6.6 which states that "The accounting officer or accounting authority may, on behalf of the department, constitutional institution, or public entity, participate in any contract arranged by means of a competitive bidding process by another organ of State, subject to written approval of such organ of State and the relevant contractors."
KWAZULU-NATAL HEAL/038/19/ MP: Appointment of the service provider for the provision of healthcare waste management for Mpumalanga Department of Health for a Period of 3 Years	Date Advertised 9 April 2019 (Bid information and Document available online): Duration 3 year period from 1/12/2019 to 30/11/ 2022	1. Vumani Waste Solution 2. Ener Waste Solutions Gauteng 3. Ingwe Waste/ Hitekani Trading 4. Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd 5. Healthcare Waste Services 6. Compass Medical Waste Services 7. Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd 8. Mampuru Waste Management 9. Averda South Africa (Pty) Ltd 10. Cinding Enterprise 11. Zenzeleni Cleaning and Transport Nyembe Waste Management	Buhle Waste	Refer to Mpumalanga Department Contract Heal/038/19/MP	Refer to Mpumalanga Department Contract Heal/038/19/MP	Fin Year 2019/2020 R 63 753 398.63 (From 1/12/2019 to 31/03/2020) Fin Year 2020/2021 R 159 409 734.90 Fin Year 2021/2022 R 130 685 862.96 (1 April 2021 to 31st December 2021) Grand Total R354,004,326.73
Northern Cape did not award to Buhle Waste
NORTHERN CAPE NCDOH/ENV/001/2018: Removal of medical waste	10 March 2017	1. Tshenolo Waste 2. Buhle Waste 3. Eco Cycle 4. Compass Waste 5. Averda 6. Thari Waste	Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd		R 154 008 00.00	R 214 799 626,89
North West did not award to Buhle Waste
NORTH WEST NWDOH 270/2019: Supply Of Containers, Collection, Removal, Transportation And Treatment Of Health Care Risk Waste (Hcrw) And Final Disposal Of Residues From Public Health Care Facilities Of The North West Department Of Health For A Period Of Four (04) Years	20 February 2019	1. Reagetswe Trading and Waste Management services 2. Dodi Medical waste Enterprise 3. Enerwaste Solutions 4. Averda South Africa 5. Phuting Medical Waste 6. Buhle Waste 7. Seane Medical Waste. 8. Ingwe Waste Man 9. Anele Masego Project JV Vikela Waste Management 10. Mohaumolotsi Civils Works 11. Nyembe Waste Management 12. Tshenolo Waste Management 13. T & T Group & Projects 14. Black Stone Enviro Solutions 15. HealthCare Waste Services 16. Compass Medical Services 17. Mampuru Waste Management CC 18. Golden Skips PTY LTD	Phuting Medical Waste Tshenolo Waste Management	Value not applicable as it is as in when required	N/A	1.R 49,008,676.60 2.R 37,449,215.37
WESTERN CAPE	Indicated that they do not have a contract with Buhle Waste

We still await information from Gauteng and Free State Provinces. This will be submitted to Parliament as soon as it is received.

END.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

There are no records of correspondence received from a certain political organisation (details furnished), via email, WhatsApp, hardcopy, and/or in any other format.

a) As indicated above there are no records of any correspondence received either on the 20 June 2020 or any other date

b) There are no records of any correspondence received as indicated above

c) The matter is not applicable due to the fact that there are no records of any correspondence received from the political organisation ( details furnished).

Reply:

(1)(a) Although the Minister of Finance is the custodian of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003, (MFMA), it is the policy adopted by the respective municipality or Metro that dictates the process or procedure to be followed for debt recovery. In this case, the policy will be the Credit Control and Debt Management Policy. National Treasury have been persistently advocating through various correspondence and budget circulars that debt owed to creditors by municipalities must be paid within 30 days as stipulated by Section 65(e) of the MFMA.

The City has informed National Treasury that majority of the debt owed by Soweto is to Eskom. National Treasury has no legal mandate to address the debt owed by consumers to Eskom, however, the Government through the Political Task Team Chaired by the Deputy President is addressing municipal debt owed to Eskom. It is the City’s responsibility to intensify its credit control and debt collection strategies to ensure that the debt owed by consumers is collected. Similarly, it is the responsibility of Eskom to implement its Credit Control and Debt Management strategy to achieve a sustainable solution to the recovery of Soweto arrear debt.

The City reported that the following measures are being institutionalised to collect the outstanding debtors:

• Councilor intervention in areas with limited access.
• Applying of strict control measures on customers who acknowledges their debt, by ensuring thorough affordability checks are done against each customer to determine the down payment and reasonable terms of payment.
• Intensify internal meter audits on accounts confirmed by entities as successfully disconnected.
• Promote support from the councilors during the City’s Open Days (to assist on educating customers about City’s relief programs and instant query resolutions); and
• Promote visibility of the Stakeholder Relations Officers to all the regions at all times (as the support for clear communication of the customers concerns in the entire value chain).

(1)(b) The City has informed National Treasury that it has embarked on a number of revenue enhancing initiatives to collect debt older than 90 days (this includes debt owed by Soweto residents). The City will be in a better position to provide the progress made so far in relation to revenue collection of debt older than 90 days. The City has intensified the credit control actions taken since December 2021 and January 2022 by issuing pre-termination notices and delivered it to most of the Soweto owing households. Disconnection of services have commenced after 14-days lapse of the notices delivered but with low return on investment, this is due to community disturbance to effect credit control measures. JMPD Officers have been called to provide security since the beginning of February by escorting the technicians to various areas wherein they are likely to experience backlash (trusting that their visibility will slowly show improved results).

2. According to the Section 71 of the MFMA reports for the second quarter ending December 2021, reports submitted to National Treasury by municipalities indicates that the total debt owed by municipalities to various creditors is R73.7 billion.

(3)(a)(b) Below is the list of municipalities with debt owed over R100 million as per the Local Government Data Base - Section 71 reports of the MFMA.

Reply:

a) The following factors were considered to convene the Appeal Committee

Section 24A (1) of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 965) as amended ("the Act") provides that any person aggrieved by decision of the SAHPRA may appeal against such decision by notifying the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) within 30 days of becoming aware of such decision of his or her intention to appeal and setting out the full grounds of appeal. The Act also provide for a mechanism where CEO must meet with the Appellant to try to resolve the matter, especially if the appeal involves administrative matters (Section 24A (2). This process is done without the presence of the legal representative.

Section 24A (3) and (4) of the Act provides as follows:

‘‘24A. (3) Should the Chief Executive Officer and the appellant fail to resolve the matter as contemplated in subsection (2), the appellant shall within 30 days of being notified by the Chief Executive Officer of the failure to resolve the matter and upon payment of a prescribed fee, request the Minister in writing to convene an appeal committee.

(4) The appeal committee contemplated in subsection (3) shall -

(a) comprise the chairperson who shall have knowledge of the law and four other persons who shall have knowledge of the subject matter of appeal but with no financial or business interests in the affairs of the parties to the appeal, two of them nominated by the appellant and the other two by the Chief Executive Officer; and

(b) conduct the appeal hearing and make a decision within 30 days from the day when it first meets to hear the appeal.’’

Free the Children Save the Nation NPC represented by Mr John Taylor launched an appeal in terms of Section 24A (4) of the Act. The Appellant and the CEO of SAHPRA met to try and resolve the issues raised by the Appellant as provided for in the Act. However, the matter could not be resolved.

If the issues raised by the Appellant had not been resolved through the mechanism of a meeting between the CEO of SAHPRA and the Appellant, the Act compels the Minister to convene an Appeal Committee. Therefore, the Appeal Committee was convened after the processes envisaged in section 24A (1) to (3) were done but the matter remained unresolved.

b) (i) The process for hearing of evidence by the Appeal Committee

In terms of Regulation 48 (2) (a) and (b) of the General Regulations made in terms of the Act, the Appeal Committee has to determine the procedure for its hearings and may in this regard, if it deems necessary, call for oral evidence or argument.

The Appeal Committee in its meeting of 21st January 2022 agreed that it will conduct the hearings through oral submissions together with both medical and legal representation. The Parties may call their experts to lead evidence in support of their case.

(ii) The Appeal Committee in its meeting with the Parties held on 08 February 2022 had agreed that both the media and the broader public be invited and have access to the link of the hearings. Therefore, the expert testimonies will be open to the public as the hearing will be open to the general public.

END

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

(a) None. The latest report (ie. for January 2022) on the list of invoices paid after thirty (30) days, and invoices older than thirty (30) days but not yet paid from receipt by the Department reflects as a ‘NIL’ report, and by taking in to consideration that the current month is February 2022, the received invoices would currently be within thirty (30) days. Hence, there are no invoices that are more than 30, 60, 90 or 120 days within the Department of Employment and Labour.

(b) In relation to the 'NIL' report, there is no total outstanding amount.

(c) Since there is no outstanding amount, the above question is not applicable.

REPLY: The Entities: https://pmg.org.za/files/RNW183-220225.xlsx

 

 

Reply:

The South African Revenue Service, in processing all refunds, will always seek to balance the protection of the fiscus from illegitimate refund claims and the optimal processing of all those refunds that are legitimate. This balance is further enhanced when considering that more than R50bn in illegitimate refunds are prevented from flowing out of the fiscus every year.

SARS has for the period ending 31 December 2021 paid R193bn in refunds of which 72% (R138bn) was paid within 21 days. It is worth noting that almost 80% of all refund claims are paid without audit or verification thus confirming our compliance theory that most taxpayers are honest and want to meet their tax obligations fully. The remaining 20% is the combination of those taxpayers who make genuine errors as well as those who unfortunately seek to defraud the fiscus. It must be noted that the law does not prescribe a minimum period for the completion of an audit or verification, therefore rendering the notion of overdue refunds a misnomer in law. However, SARS has committed to various turnaround times in its service charter in line with the desire to provide superior service to taxpayers.

The following table reflects the number of VAT credit returns submitted since March 2019 with total value and a column indicating credit balance in relation to those submissions. Some of the credits submitted will be outstanding and are reflected in the rolling credit balance. As can be generally noted on the percentage unpaid refunds, the amounts yet to be paid for these periods are much less than the original submission.

It must be noted that the unpaid refunds column is inclusive of all statuses i.e. cases where supporting documents have been requested and vendors have not submitted to date. Such vendors are categorized as Continuous Noncompliant (CNC). To date, SARS has over R11.5bn CNC cases for VAT which largely cannot be processed until the taxpayer responds to the SARS query.

As can be noted on the table, there is an increase in value of unpaid refunds from March 2021 onwards as reflected in the current balance per month which is in line with the increased number of return submissions and values coupled with an increased focus on the risk mitigation against refunds fraud (this focus in risk mitigation has resulted in R59 billion revenue protection across all tax refunds in current fiscal year). This is to ensure that SARS maintains the balance of protecting the fiscus from illegitimate refund claims whilst processing legitimate refunds. It must be noted as well that there are challenges experienced in matching the available capacity and the generated case load as the risk system responds to compliance risks that are inherent in the filed returns.

SARS at any given time will have amounts outstanding on refunds for a number of reasons including the following:

1. Audit within 21 days amounting to R8.5 billion,
2. Audit above 21 days amounting to R20.6 billion,
3. Continues Non-Compliant CNC) amounting to R9.1 billion, *
4. Suspected fraud amounting to R0.369 billion,
5. Outstanding Returns amounting to R1.8 billion, and
6. Invalid Banking details amounting to R0.5 billion.

* CNC includes cases where SARS is awaiting taxpayer response on long outstanding documents having granted in excess of 35 days for taxpayer to respond.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. (a) I have been informed by the Department that the damages incurred at the police station as a result of community protest.

DPWI assessed the damages and the work was to be done though a quotation, estimated below R500 000.00. The scope of work for the repairs was developed by DPWI and the service provider appointed. When the service provider and the Project Manager went to the site for handover 12 December 2018, they found that the entire building was vandalised further, beyond the initial damages that resulted from the community protest.

It was discovered that SAPS vacated the building without notifying DPWI. SAPS was requested to confirm the funding for the rebuilding of the Police Station. A reminder letter was sent to Provincial office of SAPS on 4 December 2020, following numerous correspondence, to confirm if it is still in need of the service and for the confirmation of funding.

(b) The SAPS is yet to confirm funding. Upon confirmation of funding DPWI will commence with planning and design processes including the development of timelines for the rebuilding of the Police Station.

2. The relevant details of rebuilding will be communicated as soon as the budget is confirmed by SAPS.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed that Dr. Michael Sutcliffe has not been appointed to head the new board of the Independent Development Trust (IDT). He is only one of the 12 newly appointed board members approved by Cabinet.

a) The current Chairperson of the board is Ms Zimbini Hill.

b) The board’s term of office started on 05 July 2021 in accordance with the provisions of the IDT Deed of Trust, which stipulates that the term of each Trustee begins when they receive their letter of authority from the Master, which is on the date indicated above.

c) (i), (ii) and (iii) The board members do not receive a salary, but are paid an honorarium for preparation and attendance of board meetings. The board fees are aligned to the National Treasury prescripts and committee members are paid at the ordinary Board Member’s rate of R4 317.00

________________________________________________________________________

Reply:

The most recent update of the NHI cost model was carried out in 2019/20, details of which can be found in section 8 of the explanatory memorandum to the NHI Bill and the 2019 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. This modelled the medium-term cost of specific NHI interventions at approximately R33 billion per annum by the 5th year. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has thus not been factored into the cost model. The need for and timing of further updates to the model will be determined by practical progress with preparing for the implementation of NHI, spending on the existing NHI allocations, as well as progress with processing the NHI Bill in the two chambers and relevant committees of Parliament.

Reply:

No, neither my office nor the Department of Health received any such correspondence.

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

END.

Reply:

(a)- (c) The Ministry of Tourism does not have a record of such correspondence or the receipt thereof. As for the Department of Tourism no such correspondence was received.

Reply:

Honourable Member, there is no positive trace results of such a correspondence or memo from the records, from the Ministry and Office of the Director General. The conclusion therefore is that such correspondence was not received.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1.0I have been informed by the Administrator that the various stages of construction are as follows:

a. (i) Tlotlang Thuto Secondary School – 98%

a. (ii) Loretlweng Primary School – 25%

b.

(i) Tlotlang Thuto Secondary School – 400 Learners

(ii) Loretlweng Primary School – 930 Learners

Both schools were handed over to Special Investigating Unit by the Minister on instruction, dated 24/07/2020.

2. Poor quality of work, Poor workmanship, Inherent structural instability of the proprietary system utilised by the contractor / proprietor of the building system.

23. e Department has taken the decision not to proceed with the project due to structural challenges identified with the construction method being declared unsafe by specialists who advised the complete demolition of the existing structures. Both construction contracts have been terminated.

(a) Tlotlang-Thuto Secondary School –

(i) R 41 356 312.38 (Contractor only)

R 51 819 451.67 (Contractor & Consultants excluding disbursements)

(ii) Loretlweng Primary School – R 46 886 401.08 (Contractor only)

R 56 787 571.00 (Contractor & Consultants excluding disbursements)

b) (i0 Tlotlang Thuto Secondary School – R35 777 620.05

    (ii) Loretlweng Primary School – R15 182 979.82

Reply:

a) There are no conditions attached to the loan.

b) The loan has a 13-year repayment period including a 3-year grace period (period after the disbursement where no capital repayments are required). The interest rate of the loan consists of the 6 month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) (currently at 0.05%) plus a 0.75% variable spread, for an all-in rate of 0.80%.

c) It is a budget supported loan to assist the government to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reply:

Noting the growing concerns by various stakeholders on lack of progress in repairing the damages done to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, following the devastating fires more than nine months ago and the hospital allegedly running only at 40% capacity. A joint intervention between NDOH and the province was initiated. Its objective was to identify the following:

i) The latest progress of the remedial work; and

ii) The best approach that can be applied in order:

1. To speed up the execution of remedial work.
2. To ensure compliance with the COJ (City of Johannesburg) Occupational Health Safety requirements.
3. To ensure that the hospital is fully functionally and operationally.

1. The latest progress reports on the repair work at the hospital

It covers the following areas:

i) The assessment and Identification of the gaps that are related to the infrastructure requirements of health care facilities, particularly areas in Charlotte Maxeke that are required to be recommissioned for occupancy after the fire incident dated the 16-17th of April 2021.

ii) Outlining the Health and Safety Requirements and approach that will be used during the refurbishment and maintenance of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) Hospital and to ensure that the remedial works programme and compliance monitoring are aligned with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, National Building Regulations 103 of 1977 and National Health Act 61 of 2003 and its latest regulations.

i) Advising the hospital management on standard to comply with on the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, City of Johannesburg By-Laws and other related Health and Safety Legislation for the proposed functional and support services such as the Mortuary, Kitchen, Laundry and Waste Management Areas.

ii) Providing specific recommendations in addressing gaps and over and above that, ensuring that the priority concern areas are addressed to comply as a matter of urgency.

iii) Proposing mitigation measures to improve the overall condition, efficiency and functionality of the Hospital to prevent Health and Safety Incidents.

iv) Ensuring that the monitoring, evaluation, reporting and review methods for this OHS inspection report are implementable and appropriate measuring tools to ensure effectiveness are put in place.

v) Listing the outcomes to be expected through the implementation of this Site Assessment Report recommendations and monitor its effectiveness.

vi) Providing guidance and assistance in the development of the Health, Safety and Environmental Systems during Construction and Operation that will include Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Methodologies, Documentation Control, communication, Training, Management Approach and reviews. This will ensure continual improvement of the hospital management.

2. Status provided by the appointed service providers

The has been some progress through the Solidarity Funding. They have covered some of the remedial work related to electrical, mechanical, fire safety, structural and architectural works for the following Blocks:

# Block 1 – 17% complete

# Block 2 – 18% complete

# Block 3 – 20% complete

# Block 4 – 22% complete

# Block 5 – 29% complete

3. The timeframe for the remedial work

The project plan has been submitted to the National Department of Health (NDOH) covering all the milestones including the timelines of the indicators. The duration of the project is estimated as being 22 months long. Over this period the hospital remedial works will be completed to achieve compliance with the applicable COJ requirements.

Additionally, the project is intending to cover the remedial work for the following Blocks as indicated in Table 2 below:

REMEDIAL WORK FOR THE BLOCKS	EXPECTED DATE OF COMPLETION
Emergency Unit	March 2022
Block 1	March 2023
Block 2	July 2023
Block 3	October 2023
Block 4	November 2023
Block 5	November 2023

Table 2 – High Level Plan for the Blocks

END.

Reply:

1) State hospitals have employee wellness programmes which are aimed at supporting the staff that have any workplace-related health problems including those who have mental health problems. These programmes are staffed by professionals who are trained in Employee wellness, including mental health support. Whenever there are staff members who are faced with a case that is beyond their level of expertise, they refer such cases to the relevant professionals for further management.

2) Health care workers who are suffering from Covid-19 burnout are managed on the case-by-case basis, as the situation differs from person to person. Whenever cases are reported in the health establishments, these are referred to the Employee Wellness programme manager, who makes a determination on the recommendation for leave of absence. Some of these health care workers make use of family doctors and such cases have been accepted by health establishments as genuine cases deserving leave.

(3) (a) The department has no record of any hospital management that has marginalised staff who admit to needing mental health leave as a result of the extreme pressures they have been subjected to as a result of COVID-19, and loss of life they have seen in the past 20 months. To the contrary, the department has been very appreciative of all health care workers including hospital managers who have equally been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

(b) The department is also not aware that there have been people that were stigmatised as a result of being in need of mental medical leave. The department is working on the sector wide productivity management and wellness services as part of post Covid-19, management for psycho-social support and reintegration.

END.

Reply:

1. Appointed and Acting Deputy Directors-General

(a) i Deputy Director-General (DDG)

SURNAME	INITIALS	DESIGNATION	NT APPOINTMENT DATE	APPOINTMENT DATE AS DDG
SISHI	NE	DDG: BUDGET OFFICE	01/10/2007	01/02/2022
PIETERSE	DE	DDG: ASSET AND LIABILITY MANAGEMENT	01/09/2013	01/12/2020
VUMENDLINI	V	DDG: INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY	15/04/2010	01/03/2018
MODISE	MP	DDG: PUBLIC FINANCE	29/09/2009	01/11/2017
NGQALENI	MT	DDG: INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS	01/10/1998	01/01/2014
MNGOMEZULU	JS	DDG: CORPORATE SERVICES	01/11/2002	01/11/2011
MOMONIAT	I	DDG: TAX AND FINANCIAL SECTOR POLICY	01/01/1996	01/01/2001

(ii)Acting Deputy Director-General (DDG)

SURNAME	INITIALS	DESIGNATION	DATE OF APPOINTMENT AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE NT	DATE OF APPOINTMENT AS ACTING DDG
MODISE	BM	ACTING DDG: ECONOMIC POLICY	16/01/2012	26/10/2021
FANI	MI	ACTING CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER	01/12/2018	25/08/2021
MAREE	K	ACTING ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL	01/04/2011	13/12/2019

(b) Expected retirement age

SURNAME	INITIALS	DESIGNATION	EXPECTED RETIREMENT DATE
MODISE	BM	ACTING DDG: ECONOMIC POLICY	18/06/2050
MODISE	MP	DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL: PUBLIC FINANCE	03/05/2048
PIETERSE	DE	DDG: ASSET AND LIABILITY MANAGEMENT	13/03/2045
SISHI	NE	DDG: BUDGET OFFICE	19/01/2042
VUMENDLINI	V	DDG:INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY	05/06/2041
MAREE	K	ACTING ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL	19/01/2041
FANI	MI	ACTING CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER	23/07/2034
MNGOMEZULU	JS	DDG: CORPORATE SERVICES	06/08/2031
NGQALENI	MT	DDG: INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS	11/06/2024
MOMONIAT	I	DDG: TAX AND FINANCIAL SECTOR POLICY	19/08/2022

2. Regulated retirement age

(a) No employee is above the regulated retirement age.

(b) All employees are still within their regulated retirement age.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The No Fault Compensation Scheme is not operational as the regulations and directions are still being finalised.

a) Not applicable.

b) So far there are 33 causally linked adverse events following immunisation with reported injuries.

(i) All 33 will be considered for compensation

(ii) None.

END.

Reply:

The National Treasury does not have any record of receipt of the correspondence dated June 2020.

a) No record of receipt of this document.

b) No record of receipt of this document.

c) National Treasury continue to apply the prescripts defined in the Public Service Act and Regulations related to employment.

Reply:

The following table reflects the details in this regard, as received from the provinces.

PROVINCE	1. Whether a certain company (name furnished) has all the relevant waste storage licences in each province; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, will he furnish Ms E R Wilson with copies of the licences	2. where is each medical waste disposal site located that the company uses to dispose waste in each province;	3. where are the furnaces of the company located for the disposal of body parts in each province?
1. Eastern Cape	The Company, Buhle Waste has the relevant storage licences in the Eastern Cape (attached).	The disposal site is Enviro-Serv Waste Management and Landfill site – Holfontein in Springs.	Averda in George – Western Cape Averde in Klerksdorp – North West
2. Free State	Free State Health has currently signed an agreement with Limpopo DoH to participate on contract HEDP 027/18/19 Validity of agreement is from 01/09/2020 - 30/04/2022. Contractor: Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd (attached).	Buhle Waste Waste (Pty) Ltd uses the following treatment plant for disposal:  Averda (Pty) Ltd located in Gauteng (COVID -19 waste  and anatomical waste). Biomed  (Pty) Ltd located in Gauteng Ekurhuleni ( Infectious waste and sharp waste). Buhle (Pty) Ltd Treatment plant in Polokwane, Limpopo (Infectious and sharps waste) Enviro-Serv (Pty) Ltd  located in Roodepoort, Gauteng ( COVID-19 waste , anatomical waste and pharmaceutical waste).	Buhle Waste Waste (Pty) Ltd uses the following treatment plant for disposal of anatomical waste:   Averda (Pty) Ltd located in Klerksdorp Enviro-Serv (Pty) Ltd  located in Gauteng (Roodepoort).
3. Gauteng	No response received	No response received	No response received
4. Kwa-Zulu Natal	Buhle Waste has a waste storage in Mkhondeni in Umsunduzi Municipality. The license is attached.	The waste is being disposed in Holfontein landfill site in Gauteng	Anatomical waste is being incinerated in Averda, Klerksdorp, North West and Enviro-Serv in Roodepoort, Gauteng.
5. Limpopo	The company (Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd) has a licenced storage in Limpopo Province license 12/9/11/L/1906103812/5/Rand variation 12/9/11/L/200211114048/5/V (attached).	Enviro-Serv Waste Management in Holfontein: Located in portion 23&24 of the farm Holfontein 71 IR and Portion 8 of the farm Moderfontein, Benoni , Ekurhuleni 236 IR Metropolitan Municipality.	Biomed: Located in 13 Licon Road Dunswart, Benoni, Ekurhuleni, Metropolitan Gauteng Province Averda SA (Pty) Ltd located at Goudweg Street Dawnkinsville Klerksdorp, North West.
6. Mpumalanga	Buhle Waste does not have waste storage facility in the Province,	The service provider uses five (5) treatment plants for disposal. A. Enviro-Serv@Roodeport Pixer Rd, Rand leases Roodepoort 1724 B. Biomed@Benoni 13 Lincoln rd BENONI 1505 C. AVERDA@City Deep, 82 Heidelburg rd Citydeep 2197 D. AVERDA@Klerksdorp Golden Ave, Dawkinsville, Klerksdorp 2571 E. Limpopo WT@buhle Waste 25 Freedom Dr Seshego 0751	Eviro-Serv in Roodepoort, Gauteng Averda in Klerksdorp, North West
7. Northern Cape	Tshenolo Waste does not have waste storage facility in the Province, They transport waste for disposal after collection using cooler trucks (Trucks with freezers).	There is no waste disposal site in the Northern Cape or treatment site.	No treatment site in the Northern Cape.
8. North West	Tshenolo and Putting Waste Services does not have waste storage facilities in the Province.	Tshenolo and Putting Waste Services does not have waste disposal sites in the Province.	Putting Waste Services uses Averda SA (Pty) Ltd City Deep Treatment Facility in Gauteng Province.
9. Western Cape	Both Compass and Averda has Waste Management Licences in place for handling, storage and treatment of HCRW	Averda make use of two (2) HCRW treatment and storage sites; this is Averda, Killarney Gardens in Cape Town, Du Noon area and also Optimum Waste Treatment and storage facility in George, Garden Route District. Compass Medical Waste Services has a treatment and storage facility at Blackheath, Cape Town.	Compass Medical Waste Services make use of BCL Medical Waste Services Delft for disposal and treatment of anatomical waste Averda make use of their Optimum Incinerator for disposal and treatment of anatomical waste.

NB.

1. Information still outstanding from Gauteng Department of Health
2. “Name furnished” refers to Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd.
3. Five (5) Provinces (Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State, Eastern Cape & Limpopo) has contracted Buhle Waste (Pty) Ltd for Health Care Risk Waste (HCRW) management.

END.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

(a) (i) Directors-General: 35 (Nationally) Directors-General: 7 (Provincially)

(ii) (aa) (bb) List is appended at Annexure A, derived from PERSAL ending January 2022.

End

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The details of the spouses’ pension benefit cannot be provided due to the fact that such information is deemed to be personal and cannot be made available to third parties.

Members are encouraged to utilize the available GEPF channels to obtain information regarding their pension benefits such as the call centre (telephone number 0800 117 669); walk in centre facilities across the country (details obtainable on the GEPF website (www.gepf.co.za)) or via email at [email protected] to deal with enquiries.

 

Reply:

The South African Revenue Service, in processing all refunds, will always seek to balance the protection of the fiscus from illegitimate refund claims and the optimal processing of all refunds that are legitimate. This balance is further enhanced when considering that more than R50bn in illegitimate refunds are prevented from flowing out of the fiscus every year through tight risk engine rules.

The following table depicts the ageing of the VAT credit book as at 31 December 2021. The month end reports run on the 3rd of the following month hence the report is dated 3 January 2022.

Age Bracket	Amount
0 – 1 Month	12 124 197 396
2 Months	8 096 487 168
3 Months	6 013 454 301
4 – 6 Months	10 972 108 740
7 – 9 Months	5 197 216 823
10 – 12 Months	3 993 203 326
13 – 24 Months	4 620 035 970
25 – 36 Months	1 181 352 081
37 – 48 Months	928 762 378
49 – 60 Months	717 706 100
60+ Months	2 358 401 594
Grand Total	56 202 925 877

It must be noted that 81% of the book is within 12 months whilst 45% is within 3 months.

SARS at any given time will have amounts outstanding on refunds for a number of reasons including the following:

1. Audit cases amounting to R39.9 billion,
2. Continues Non-Compliant CNC) amounting to R11.1 billion, *
3. Suspected fraud amounting to R0.369 billion,
4. Credits payable within 24 hours amounting to R2.6 billion
5. Outstanding Returns amounting to R1.8 billion, and
6. Invalid Banking details amounting to R0.5 billion.

* CNC includes cases where SARS is awaiting taxpayer response on long outstanding documents having granted in excess of 35 days for taxpayer to respond.

Reply:

No, they have not been capped for good reason, given the complexity and potential unintended consequences arising from such measures. As you may be aware, Government has been totally committed to bringing down charges in the retirement industry to maximise benefits for members of such funds, as can be seen from the government policy paper titled Charges in South African Retirement Funds published in 2013. The paper found that the layering of many fees and costs, which were also opaque for certain products, was driving the high charges, and therefore clearly unfair to members of retirement funds since they were reducing their savings significantly by up to 40% over a lifetime in one scenario presented in that paper.

It is also recognised that structural reform issues were also driving costs, with too many funds (nearly 4 500), many of which only had small memberships and were not economical – hence the focus on consolidation, widening coverage and strengthening preservation to drive costs down. The recent December 2021 papers give further effect to these reforms.  The proposed reforms are in line with best international practices than direct measures like caps, which have limitations and could have perverse outcomes. Different countries are taking different approaches to regulating the fee structure of retirement fund providers.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

 

 

Reply:

(1) (a) Material misstatements of receivables, payables, immovable tangible assets, and commitments identified by the auditors in the submitted financial statement were corrected. Effective and appropriate steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure, as required by section 38(1)(c)(ii) of the PFMA and treasury regulation 9.1.1. The majority of the irregular expenditure disclosed in the financial statements was caused by contravention of procurement processes. Some of the contracts were awarded to suppliers whose tax matters had not been declared by the South African Revenue Service to be in order, as required by treasury regulation 16A9.1(d). Some of the contracts were awarded to bidders who did not submit a declaration on whether they are employed by the state or connected to any person employed by the state. Some of the goods and services of a transaction value above R500 000 were procured without inviting competitive bids, or deviations were approved by the accounting officer, but it was practical to invite competitive bids.

(b) The Department has a Loss Control Committee which will investigate and determine if there are any officials accountable. Subsequently, appropriate measures in line with the labour relations prescripts will be applied.

(2) The labour relations directives and prescripts have prescribed timelines on dealing with consequence management once accountability issues have been dealt with and determined.

(3) (a) Non-compliance with the prescripts such as Public Financial Management Act no.1 of 1999, National Treasury Instruction note 3 of 2016/2017, Departmental Policy and SARS requirements;

(b) Departments that were guilty are as follows:

a) Nature of Transgression	b) Guilty Department
AGSA had indicated that the transaction did not meet the definition of emergency procurement in terms of National Treasury prescripts. Management should have requested pre-approval from National Treasury. The service was to render emergency support services to Project Management Office (PMO) during Covid-19.	Supply Chain Management
AGSA had indicated that the transaction did not meet the definition of emergency procurement in terms of National Treasury prescripts. Management should have requested pre-approval from National Treasury. The service was to investigate an urgent transaction on expenditure that was deemed irregular.	Supply Chain Management
AGSA had indicated that the transaction was Non-compliant with Local production and content for designated sector and noncompliance with tax requirements on foreign procurement. The services were for emergency procurement of vaccines for the country.	Affordable Medicines
AGSA had indicated that the services were rendered outside the approved period without sourcing the necessary approval from the accounting officer / delegated official / approving authority such as National Treasury.	Workforce Management
The service was for rendering of strategic communication services for NHI and emergency communication for Covid-19: Non adherence with SCM processes and National Treasury prescripts on emergency procurement.	NHI and Communication

4. (a) Other cases have been sent for assessment in terms of the Irregular Expenditure Framework as published by National Treasury, dated 16 May 2019 to determine whether the transactions are indeed irregular or not. Some of these transactions have been sent to the Office of the Accountant-General to determine if indeed the findings of AGSA are valid or not in terms of the Mechanism for Resolving Disagreement Between the Auditor (AGSA) and Auditee dated 01 June 2021, the auditee in this cases is (NDOH). Some of the officials implicated in the cases mentioned had been suspended and disciplinary hearings are underway/ in progress.

Below is the table indicating all transactions declared irregular by AGSA in terms of NDOH Final Management Letter. The table below provide details in so far as question 4(a) is concerned on the nature, the amount and the status.

Nature of the services	Amount	Status on Disciplinary Action	Non-compliance with the law, regulations and documents, internal policies and procedures
According to AGSA, the transaction did not meet the definition of emergency procurement in terms of National Treasury prescripts. Management should have requested pre-approval from National Treasury. The service was to render emergency support services to PMO during Covid-19.	R14 671 755	Referred to NT to mediate between AGSA and NDOH to determine if transaction are irregular.	Non-compliance with NT instruction note.
According to AGSA, the transaction did not meet the definition of emergency procurement in terms of National Treasury prescripts. Management should have requested pre-approval from National Treasury. The service was to investigate an urgent transaction on expenditure that was deemed irregular.	R592 250	Referred to NT to mediate between AGSA and NDOH to determine if transactions are irregular.	Non-compliance with NT instruction note.
Non-compliance with Local production and content for designated sector and non-compliance with tax requirements on foreign procurement. The service was for emergency procurement of vaccines for the country.	R4 350 502	Referred for assessments to determine if the transgression is non-compliance or irregular.	Non-compliance with SARS requirements
Services were rendered outside the approved period without sourcing the necessary approval from the accounting officer / delegated official /approving authority such as National Treasury.	R14 984 000	Referred for assessments to determine if the transgression is non-compliance or irregular.	Non-compliance with NT instruction note.
The service was for rendering of strategic communication services for NHI and emergency communication for Covid-19: Non adherence with SCM processed and National Treasury prescripts on emergency procurement.	R150 000 000	Disciplinary hearings are currently in emotion.	Non-compliance with NT Instruction.

(b) The status above encompasses both non-compliance and irregular expenditure.

(5) The National Department of Health developed and implemented the online National Quarterly Reporting System (NQRS) in 2017 to ensure quarterly progress on the Annual Performance Plan (APP) is tracked and on-line evidence storage. The system tracks progress towards attaining the objectives and targets set in the APP, highlighting achievements, deviations, factors enhancing or inhibiting progress, as well as corrective action when targets are not achieved. The Portfolio of Evidence for reported performance is uploaded on the online NQRS to support indicator performance reports. By Day 6 of the reporting month, the Quarterly Performance Information is captured and signed-off by Directors/Cluster Managers together with the Portfolio of Evidence which is uploaded on the online NQRS. The Quarterly Performance on APP targets is reviewed and signed off by Branch Managers. The Internal Audit Unit of the National Department of Health reviews the Performance Information and supporting evidence every quarter and reports to the Audit and Risk Committee. The primary objective is to review reported Performance Information against the Portfolio of Evidence and provide feedback to the Department to address any shortcomings identified. The NQRS system provides a single online storage for all Performance Information updated during quarterly reporting which is also used by Auditor General for auditing purposes

END.

Reply:

The Deputy President has not commissioned any short term interventions to mitigate the effects of the increase in petrol prices. The Basic Fuel Price consists of factors outside of South Africa’s control, hence international fuel prices fluctuate from day to day. South Africa is a net importer of Petroleum Products, and has no control over crude oil prices, exchange rates, and any factors informed by geo-politics.

The calculation of fuel prices is done by the Central Energy Fund on behalf of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. In this regard, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy announces the adjustments of fuel prices based on current local and international factors, and in terms of the amended regulations of the Petroleum Products Act, 1977 (Act 120 of 1977).

Reply:

a) The construction of the Mpumalanga High Court was completed in May 2019, and the practical completion certificate was issued. Before the practical completion certificate was issued, there was a two weeks’ assessment which was performed by the project team, i.e. the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD), Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ), Independent Development Trust (IDT), Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Consultants and Contractor, to determine the condition of the buildings and its equipment. The outcome of this assessment was a snag list that was issued to the contractor. As per the signed construction contract, the court buildings were under warranty/guarantee for a period of one (1) year, from June 2019 to May 2020, where the contractor was responsible for maintenance and completing the snag list that was issued during the assessment.

The DoJ&CD transferred the court facility to DPWI as per Section 42 of PFMA in September 2019. The transfer letter further requested DPWI to implement a Total Facility Management Solution (TFMS) for the maintenance of the court buildings.

Whilst the process of appointing TFMS is underway within DPWI, DoJ&CD and OCJ are maintaining the facility through day-to-day maintenance. On monthly basis, a report is generated regarding the maintenance requirements of the court and this are addressed through day to day maintenance.

The maintenance of major equipment like HVAC (aircons), lifts and fire system are done by DPWI on behalf of DoJ&CD.

The technical assessment of Mpumalanga High Court is underway by the professional engineers to conclude the specification for the TFMS.

The DoJ&CD did not perform any separate investigations regarding the security concerns since these were part of the infrastructural challenges of the building project. However, the Department appointed a security service provider to repair and maintain the system. During the system assessment, the service provider identified two (2) faulty Network Recording Devices (NVR’s) that records the images in cameras, and as a result the cameras became dysfunctional. The two (2) NVR’s were taken for repairs, and it was discovered that they cannot be repaired due to unavailability of spares in the local market, the recommendations were to replace them with local manufactured NVR’s. As interim security measures, the Department has deployed the contracted security guarding services in the High Court, hence the Integrated Security System (i.e. cameras, card reader systems) are also partially working to provide safety to the court building. The procurement processes for the new NVR’s are currently in progress and anticipated to be finalized on or before 31 March 2022.

b) The court is maintained by DoJ&CD and DPWI using day-to-day maintenance delegations. The DoJ&CD is allocating R10 million per annum to OCJ for day-to-day maintenance of all the High Courts in the country. Following a meeting with DPWI in January 2022, DPWI agreed to take over the full maintenance of the court until TFMS is implemented. The DoJ&CD has agreed to make funding available for the full maintenance.

END

Reply:

The Human Resource Development Council established ten (10) Technical Task Teams based on the Five-Point Implementation Plan and focused on the following: Foundational Learning, TVET, Worker Education, Production of Academics and Stronger Partnerships between Industry and Higher Education and Training Institutions, Production of Professionals, Entrepreneurship and Education, Skills System Review, and Artisan Development as well as the Maritime Sector Skills. Broadly, the Technical Task Teams played a catalytic role towards the achievements of the Council.

Artisan Development

The Human Resource Development Council established a Technical Task Team on Artisan Development which assisted in ramping up the artisan development. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of competent artisans have steadily increased from 14 389 in 2014/15 to 24050 in 2019/20. Should this trajectory indeed be sustained, the country will be able to meet the National Development Plan target of producing 30 000 artisans per annum by 2030.

University Sector

The Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology has advised us that University enrolment at public institutions has increased from 495 356 in 1994 to 1 036 984 in 2017, indicating that the country is on course to reach the National Development Plan target of 1,6 million enrolments by 2030. The enrolments in Science, Engineering and Technology have increased with an average annual growth rate of 4,3% in 2017. The number of students graduating in technical fields in both Universities and Universities of Technology has also been increasing over the years.

TVET College Sector

Through the recommendations of the Human Resource Development Council, measures were put in place to reposition TVET as an important skills development sector to incrementally produce the required numbers of artisans. The TVET sector has expanded and enrolments amongst the youth. The TVET enrolment has increased from 358 393 in 2010 to 673 490 in 2019. This was made possible by mobilising government to make funding available to improve access, which has resulted in increased allocation for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Maritime Skills

The Human Resource Development Council SA established the Maritime Sector Skills Technical Task Team in September 2013 to investigate blockages within the maritime skills development pipeline, and to propose measures that can be implemented to address those. The consequence of this intervention, amongst others, was the establishment of the South African International Maritime Institute which was funded by the National Skills Fund.

A considerable number of young people have benefited from the South African International Maritime Institute, as a result, some have been awarded bursaries, and scholarship to pursue maritime studies abroad.

In conclusion, the Human Resource Development Council has assumed the role of Human Resource Development pillar of the National Development Plan 2030 with an emphasis on “building the human resources required for an improved and competitive economy”. The location of Human Resource Development within the National Development Plan is intractably linked to achieving the broader socio-economic goals, including poverty alleviation, equity and social inclusion as central goals.

Reply:

The Office of the Deputy President did not receive the correspondence referred hereto. There was nothing to be brought to the attention of the Deputy President, as the correspondence is non-existent

Reply:

The department and entities responded as follows:

(i) Department of Home Affairs

Details	Quantity (a)	Amount (b)	Anticipated date of Payment (c)
(aa) 30 days,	1	R5 120.51	18 February 2022
(bb) 60 days,	0	R0.00
(cc) 90 days	0	R0.00
(dd) 120 days,	0	R0.00

The above report is for the Department of Home Affairs as at 15 February 2022.

(ii) Government Printing Works

(a&b) At the Government Printing Works (GPW), which is a Government Component, reporting directly to the Minister of Home Affairs there are 68 invoices still unpaid:

Details	Quantity (a)	Amount (b)	Anticipated date of Payment (c)
(aa) 30 days,	67	R38 150 550.17	Within 30 days
(bb) 60 days,	0	R0
(cc) 90 days	0	R0
(dd) 120 days,	1	R1 814 509.82	GPW envisages settling the amount at the end of March 2022, due the ongoing discussion between GPW and the Service Provider to resolve the disagreement

 

(ii) Electoral Commission

a) There are 358 supplier invoices that still need to be paid.

Details	Quantity (a)	Amount (b)
(aa) 30 days,	102	R6 982 726.00
(bb) 60 days,	20	R331 331.00
(cc) 90 days	31	R395 181.00
(dd) 120 days,	205	R1 325 335.00

(c) Most of the outstanding payments relate to service providers who are experiencing challenges with the National Treasury prescribed Central Supplier Database (CSD). Supplier registration and the updating of banking details on CSD appear to be the predominant challenges. The mandatory use of the CSD, inter alia, obviates fraudulent payments. Once the suppliers’ status on CSD is compliant, the Electoral Commission stands ready to immediately make payments.

 

END

Reply:

a) Basil Read was appointed in 2014 as the contractor for the construction of the new Port Shepstone Magistrate Court. The site was handed over to the contractor in October 2014 with the initial construction period of 24 months. The contract was terminated following payment disputes and voluntary business rescue of the contractor in 2019.

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) disputed the terms and conditions that the contractor required for contract cancellation and the matter is in litigation. Part of the dispute is the contract final account, which was prepared by DPWI, that Basil Read is rejecting.

DPWI has since advertised the outstanding scope and it took more than 18 months to appoint the replacement contractor to complete all the outstanding works. The replacement contractor (Musan Trading Enterprise) was appointed, and the site was handed over in September 2021. The project is anticipated to be completed in March 2023.

b) The first contract of Basil Read was awarded at a contract amount of R286 million over 24 months. By the time the contract of Basil Read was terminated, R265 million was already paid to the contractor for work done. Basil Read is further claiming R162 million for the final account, which DPWI is refusing to pay, a matter which is part of the litigation in court.

The second contract was awarded at R95 million over 18 months. The project is anticipated to be completed in March 2023. The new scope includes incomplete (outstanding) works, remedial works, commissioning and snagging.

END

Reply:

(a) In 2019 the Department engaged with subject matter experts and the drafters of the Occupations in High Demand (OIHD) list published by the DHET. The purpose of the engagement was to request assistance with methodologies and best practice in drafting a credible critical skills list. The DHET officials agreed to the request and requested that a memorandum of agreement be concluded between DHET and DHA to that effect.

In August 2019 an official request to the Minister of DHET requesting authorization for the collaboration was concluded. The Minister of DHET responded positively and indicated that DHET welcomes and supports the collaboration between the two departments. An MOA was signed between the two departments. The agreement was that the DHET will use its subject matter experts and resources, at no cost to the DHA, to draft the Critical Skills List on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs.

(b) The details of the investigations and findings that were undertaken by the DHET researchers in the drafting of the Critical Skills List are captured in the Technical Report on the Critical Skills List available at the Department of Higher Education and Training.

END

 

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department has appointed a service provider on a 12 months contract while awaiting the finalisation of the long term solution. As such, the appointed service provider is responsible for supporting both Court Recording Technology (CRT) and Sexual Offences System across the country. At the same time, the Department has embarked on a process for procuring an overarching contract for a period of three (3) years. This process is at an advanced stage, and is expected to be published by the end of February 2022.

if not, (a) on what dates did the previous contracts lapse?

The contract expired on 21 April 2021, and interim measures were put in place to ensure continuity. These interim measures relate to providing support and maintenance as part of an existing contract that is providing regional support service. In terms of this arrangement, the service provider was appointed to perform the maintenance and support services for Court Recording Technology (CRT) and SOS between June 2021 and August 2021, on a project basis. Thereafter internal officials were assisting in trouble-shooting and reporting on a case by case basis.

(b) what are the reasons that the specified contracts were not timeously renewed?

Capacity constraints in both Information Systems Management (ISM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) as well as Contract Management Units were part of the reasons. The Department operated without the Head of ISM, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Director: SCM and Director: SCM for a while. However, such capacity constraints are now being addressed. The following posts have been finalised to capacitate the finance section:

1. CFO
2. Chief Director: Financial Accounting
3. Director: IT Strategic Sourcing
4. Chief Director: SCM (awaiting interviews)

Director: SCM (awaiting short listing)

(c) and what steps are being taken to rectify the matter; if so, what are the relevant details;

In order to rectify the matter, the Department has concluded the following to ensure operational continuity, whilst concluding an overarching contract for a period of three years:

• The Department has appointed a company on a 12 months contract for maintenance of Court Recording Technology (CRT) and Sexual Offences System.
• Concurrent to this, the Department has already started the procurement process to appoint a service provider to deliver the support and maintenance for Court Recording Technology (CRT) over a period of three years. At the date of writing, this process has progressed quite significantly with the Bid Specification having been finalised and is being Quality Assured, with the view of publication by the end of February 2022. Implementation of this process is being monitored on a weekly basis by the relevant senior manager, supported by a Task Team monitoring High Priority procurements.

2. As at 1st February 2022, there were 700 backlog calls of which the appointed service provider has already started to deal with the backlog, so far the provider has managed to resolve 90 calls and the process is ongoing.

3. South African courts are courts of record, which depend on court recording technology to conduct efficient and effective court proceedings. The Court Recording Technology (CRT) solution allow for electronically recorded cases that are stored in a data repository and made available whenever requested, either for transcription or other purposes. In most instances, when the recording is non-functional, this means that the court session cannot take place and must be postponed.