Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) Yes, steps have been taken to implement the recommendations of the Auditor- General with regard to preventing the procurement of goods and services with a transaction value below R500 000, refer below:

• The Accounting officer invites and accepts written price quotations for requirement up to an estimated value of R500 000.00 from as many suppliers as possible, that are registered on the list of prospective suppliers.

• Where no suitable suppliers are available from the list of prospective suppliers, written price quotations may be obtained from other possible suppliers.

• If it is not possible to obtain at least three (3) written price quotations, the reason should be recorded and approved by the accounting officer/ authority or his /her delegate.

• The Supply Chain Management policy which incorporates the above and other quotation process has been approved and is currently utilized within the Water Trading Entity as a guideline for the procurement process which include other related National Treasury practices notes and related circulars issued by other authorities within the Water and Infrastructure Sector e.g. CIDB Regulations.

(2) Yes, steps have been taken to implement the recommendations of the Auditor-General with regard to preventing the procurement of goods and services with a transaction value above R500 000.00, refer below:

• Accounting officer invite competitive bids for all procurement above R500 000.00.

• Competitive bids are advertised in the Government Tender Bulleting and in other appropriate media should an accounting officer deem it necessary to ensure greater exposure to potential bidders. The responsibility for advertisement cost lies with the relevant accounting officer.

• Should it be impractical to invite competitive bids for specific procurement, such as in urgent or emergency cases or in cases of a sole supplier, the accounting officer/ authority may procure the required goods and services by other means, such as price quotations or negotiations in accordance with Treasury Regulation 16A6.4. The reasons for deviating from inviting competitive bids are recorded and approved by the accounting officer or his/ her delegate.

• The Accounting officer reports within ten (10) working days to the relevant Treasury and the Auditor-General regarding all cases where goods and services above the value of R1 Million (VAT inclusive) and providing description of the goods or services, the name/s of the suppliers/s, the amount/s involved and the reasons for deviating from the prescribed competitive bidding process.

• Goods, works or services may not deliberately be split into parts or items of lesser value merely for the sake of procuring the goods, works or service otherwise than through the prescribed procurement process. when determining transaction values, a requirement for goods , works or services consisting of different parts or items must as far as possible be treated and dealing with as a single transaction

• Accounting officers apply the prescripts of the preferential procurement policy Framework Act, 2000 (Act No. 5 of 2000) and its associated Regulations for all procurement equal to or above R30 000.00.00 (VAT included) less than
  that amount if and when appropriate.

• The Supply Chain Management policy which incorporates the above and other bids processes has been approved and is currently utilized within the Water Trading Entity as a guide-line for the procurement process which include together with other related National Treasury practice notes and related circulars issued by other authorities within the Water and Infrastructure Sector e.g. CIDB Regulations.

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Reply:

Refer to the table below for the current Chief Financial Officers of the Department and the Entities:

Department/ Entity	Full Names	Qualifications
Department: CFO Water Trading Entity	Mr Mpho Mofokeng	B Tech: Cost & Management Accounting Degree
Department: CFO Main Account	Ms Nthabiseng Fundakubi	B Tech: Business Administration
Amatola Water	The CFO post is vacant.	N/A
Bloem Water	Mr OJ Stadler	B Comm Honours; Masters in Business Leadership (MBL)
Lepelle Northern Water	Mr JC Kilan	Honours: Accounting; Masters in Business Administration
Magalies Water	Ms A Raphela	B Comm Honours; Chartered Accountant
Mhlathuze Water	Mr B Ndaba	(b) B Comm (Accounting)
Overberg Water	Ms A Cilliers	B Compt, B Compt Honours; Chartered Accountant
Rand Water	Mrs SM Nyembe	B Comm (Accounting); B Compt Honours
Sedibeng Water	Ms MA Shasha	B Compt Honours
Umgeni Water	Mr TB Hlongwa	B Comm (Accounting); B Comm Honours (Accounting); Chartered Accountant
Inkomati-Usuthu CMA	Ms Thembelihle Mjaji	Qualified Chartered Accountant. Honours in Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree in Bachelor of Accounting Science
Breede Gouritz CMA	Mrs. Judith Ntombizanele Nkomombini	Bachelor of Commerce

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Reply:

1. Table 1 below reflects the amount that was spent by the Department on environmental rehabilitation due to sewage spills in each province (a) in the (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15 financial years and (b) since 1 April 2015:

Table 1

(a)Province	(a)(i) 2013-14	(a)(ii) 2014-15	(b) since 1 April 2015
Eastern Cape	N/A	N/A	N/A
Free State	R15 850 000 (ACIP)	R42 850 000 (ACIP)	R18 968 000 (Planned to be spent under ACIP)
	R5 000 000 (RBIG)	R47 000 000 (RBIG)	R90 474 000 ((Planned to be spent under RBIG)
Gauteng	N/A	N/A	N/A
KwaZulu-Natal	N/A	N/A	N/A
Limpopo	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mpumalanga	R9 000 000 (ACIP)	R13, 7m (ACIP)	R47m (RBIG)
Northern Cape	N/A	N/A	N/A
North West	N/A	N/A	N/A
Western Cape	N/A	N/A	N/A

(2)(a) Refer to the table below for the (a) location, (b) cause and (c) nature of the rehabilitation for each spillage within the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces.

 

FREE STATE PROVINCE

2013/14 (ACIP)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Clocolan	Non-functional sewer pump stations due to ageing infrastructure	Replaced all pumps, motors & electrical infrastructure	Setsoto LM
Ficksburg	Collapsed old sewer pipes	Unblocked sewer lines and replaced defective ones	Setsoto LM
Kroonstad	Collapsed 1,2 km old asbestos sewer line from Gelukwarts polluting the Vals river	Replaced 1,2km of sewer line.	Moqhaka LM
Wepener	Non-functional sewer pump station & waste water treatment works	Refurbished all pumps, motors & electrical infrastructure.	Naledi LM

2013/14 (RBIG)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Vredefort	Non-functional sewer pump station & waste water treatment works	Refurbished all pumps, motors & electrical infrastructure.	Ngwathe LM

2014/15 (ACIP)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Theunissen	Collapsed old asbestos line	Replaced a length of 500 meters	Masilonyana LM
Brandfort	Non-functional two sewer pump stations due to old infrastructure	Refurbished and upgraded the two pump stations.	Masilonyana LM
Winburg	Non-functional one sewer pump station due to old infrastructure	Refurbished and upgraded the one pump station.	Masilonyana LM
Vrede	Non-functional pumps & motors and electrical infrastructure	Replaced pumps and motors and refurbished electrical infrastructure	Phumelela LM
Waden	Non-functional pumps & motors and electrical infrastructure	Replaced pumps and motors and refurbished electrical infrastructure	Phumelela LM
Koffiefontein	Non-functional pumps & motors and electrical infrastructure	Refurbished pumps and motors and refurbished electrical infrastructure	Letsemeng LM

2014/15 (RBIG)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Wesselsbron	Non-functional electrical and mechanical components at waste water treatment plant.	Replaced all non functional electrical & mechanical components.	Nala LM
Kroonstad	Collapsed asbestos sewer pipe line in Hill street Collapsed Boitumelo Marabastad asbestos sewer pipeline Non-functional sewer treatment plant	Multi-year projects. Replacing and upgrading the Hill Street sewer pipeline. Replacing and upgrading the sewer pipeline. Upgrading of the sewer treatment plant to meet the demands	Moqhaka LM
Vredefort	Non-functional sewer treatment plant and old sewer line	Refurbished and upgraded the waste water treatment plant and replaced the sewer line	Ngwathe LM

2015/16 (ACIP Projects under implementation)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Koppies	Non-functional electrical and mechanical components at waste water treatment plant.	Replace all non-functional electrical & mechanical components.	Ngwathe LM
Reitz and Lindley	Non-functional of electrical and mechanical components in pump station	Refurbishment of non-functional of electrical and mechanical components	Nketoana LM
Koffiefontein	Non-functional electrical and mechanical components at waste water treatment plant.	Replace all non-functional electrical & mechanical components.	Letsemeng LM
Odendalsrus	Collapsed old sewer lines	Replacement of collapsed old sewer pipeline	Matjhabeng LM
Mamahabane	Oxidation ponds not lined and the sewerage seeps through the nearby environment.	Rehabilitation of oxidation ponds	Matjhabeng LM
Wepenar	Collapsed old asbestos sewer pipeline and non-functional of two sewer pump station.	Replace the collapsed sewer line and refurbish the two sewer pump stations.	Naledi LM

 

2015/16 (RBIG Projects under implementation)

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Kroonstad	Collapsed asbestos sewer pipe line in Hill street   Collapsed Boitumelo Marabastad asbestos sewer pipeline Non-functional sewer treatment plant	Multi-year projects. Replacing and upgrading the Hill Street sewer pipeline. Replacing and upgrading the sewer pipeline. Upgrading of the sewer treatment plant to meet the demands	Moqhaka LM
Vredefort	Non-functional of electrical and mechanical components in pump station	Refurbishment of non-functional of electrical and mechanical components	Nketoana LM

MPUMALANGA PROVINCE

2013-14

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Mhlatikop and Komatipoort	Ageing Infrastructure, operating beyond design capacities, poor operation and maintenance	Refurbishment of the WWTW and pump stations Phase 1	Nkomazi

2014-15

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Mhlatikop and Komatipoort	Ageing Infrastructure, operating beyond design capacities, poor operation and maintenance	Refurbishment of the WWTW and pump stations Phase 2	Nkomazi
Leandra		Refurbishment of the WWTW	Govern Mbeki

2015-16

Location (2) (a)	Cause (2) (b)	Nature of Rehabilitation (2) (c)	Municipality
Balfour	Ageing Infrastructure, operating beyond design capacities, poor operation and maintenance	Upgrade of the WWTW	Dipaleseng
Delmas			Victor Khanye LM
Botleng

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Reply:

(1) The total cost of the Olifants-Doorn River Water Resources Project (Raising of Clanwilliam Dam wall) is estimated to be R2.2 billion. This amount excludes the relocation of the N7, the relocation of the secondary road, cost for land acquisition, construction engineering supervising costs, Project Management costs, heritage expert costs, Environmental Impact Assessment Practitioner, Environmental Control Officer, Hydro-power plant over and above the civil structure, communications, and escalation (inflation).

(2) Bigen Africa Services (Pty) Ltd was appointed for construction supervision and contract management of the project. Two more emerging companies, namely Tlou Integrated Tech cc and Batseta Engineering Services (BES Africa Engineering and Management Consulting (Pty) Ltd), from the panel were appointed for developmental and transformational purposes to work under the stewardship of Bigen Africa. This is intended to ensure that the scope is not entirely allocated to one Professional Services Provider (PSP) and that the technical expertise of a developed PSP (Bigen Africa) is used to develop emerging enterprises that are owned and managed by Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs).

(3) Bigen Africa Services (Pty) Ltd is part of the panel of PSPs that was created by the Department, (a) in 2013 under Contract WP0485-WTE (b) in Category five (5).

(4) The guideline project value thresholds is as follows:

Category	Projects with a value between
1	R0 up to R10,0 million
2	R10.1 million up to R50 million
3	R50,1 million up to R100 million
4	R100.1 million up to R250 million
5	R250.1 million up to R500 million
6	R500.1 million - unlimited

It should be noted that the above thresholds are only a guideline. The final Category chosen is determined based on the project’s scope and is determined, amongst others, the type of project, its complexity, its timeframes, developmental and transformational outputs to be achieved and the experience of companies in each of the categories.

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Reply:

Yes, a submission has been made to the Director-General on 21 May 2015 for the release of water from the Katse Dam (Lesotho Highlands Water Project).

(a) Falls away

(b) In order to ensure the sustainability of supply within the system, pumping at the Tienfontein Pump Station (Caledon River) should be maintained. This can only be achieved by releasing water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme (Katse Dam) into the Caledon River. The transfer of water from Knellpoort Dam via the Novo transfer scheme to Rustfontein Dam should also be maintained. Fast-track and intensify the implementation of water conservation and water demand management measures in all affected municipalities. Urgent implementation of the gazetted water restrictions and the monitoring of possible unlawful water use along the Modder River, upstream of Maselspoort Dam.

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