Reply:

1) The information or data that was encrypted was never decrypted because it needs a special decryption key which the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development does not have. The ransomware attacker is the only one with the decryption key.

2) (a) The information that was encrypted is still there in an encryption format, there is no way of decrypting the information. The focus was never to decrypt the information, instead the information and systems was restored from the backup tapes.

(b) The systems are fully restored and productive, but due to capacity constraints, the systems are not running at full capacity.

3) The Department is fully aware of the information that was targeted.

(a) The Department is unable to quantify the targeted information in terms of percentages.

(b) The Department cannot tell with certainty as to what happened to the compromised information.

4) The Department is not aware of any information that was exfiltrated, there’s an ongoing forensic investigation by South African Police Services (SAPS), and hopefully the final SAPS report will help us to answer that question.

5) (a) So far, the Department is unable to identify the ransomware attackers and hopefully the SAPS forensic investigation report will reveal such information.
(b) (i) No ransom demand letter was received by the Department.
(ii) No ransom amount was paid to the attackers.

 

Reply:

One of the primary objectives of South Africa’s participation at EXPO2020 is to provide South African companies exposure and access to global markets. To date, more than 219 companies have been recruited and economic development agencies are being provided a unique platform to display trade and investment opportunities offered by South Africa. In addition to the exposure received through the more than 125 000 visitors that have visited the stand since opening, a number of export and investment leads directly linked to South Africa’s participation at EXPO2020 have been registered.

 

Examples include potential exports orders of fresh produce and food products by supermarkets and importers with headquarters in the UAE and Lebanon. Leads on potential investments in oil and gas, renewables, agro-processing, healthcare, construction and real estate were also registered.

Following the Tourism Promotion month, which concluded on 31 December; an MOU between SA Tourism and Emirates Airlines has been initiated aimed at promoting South Africa as a tourist destination; facilitate packages to South Africa; as well as a number of code-share agreements with various airlines operating in South Africa. In terms of Tourism investment leads, the Bin Otaiba Hotels (or The Otaiba Group) from the UAE which currently has invested more than R 4 billion in the South African tourism sector, has pledged to continue investment in South Africa and work towards reopening closed hotels due to Covid -19 and take up new opportunities for investment in South Africa. In addition, Millat Investment has also pledged to expand their footprint in SA in-terms of their hotel chains, undertaking to open a third branch of the Hyatt Hotels in 2022.

As the Expo is still currently being held until 31 March 2022, a detailed report indicating the impact and exposure will be completed thereafter.

According to the official EXPO2020 website, 192 countries are participating in the Dubai EXPO2020, with exhibitors required to build their own pavilions and ensure that their products are services are marketed. the dtic has budgeted R54 million to the following line items to enable the participation of South African public and private entities:

 Pavilion Construction

 Exhibition Space Rental

 Business-to-Business Virtual Platform

 Freight

 Travel and Accommodation for officials

I am advised that the South African pavilion work within the regulated hours of the EXPO, requiring all pavilions to be open 7 days a week from 10:00 to 22:00, and include the following additional information provided by the Department, as follows.

 

The South African pavilion has only been closed to the public on three occasions. On 17 October 2021, the pavilion closed at 17:00 to allow for South Africa’s official opening and launch at EXPO2020. The second instance was on 28 October 2021, where doors closed from 18:00 to 20:00 for the hosting of a fashion show, allowing local South African clothing designers to present their exciting offerings to buyers from the Middle East. The third instance was on 31 December 2021 where the doors were closed at 20:00 to allow for fogging of the pavilion as part of Covid 19 protocols. The stand had been staffed for the full period.

Four dtic officials have flown from South Africa to be at the event and to remain until the closure of EXPO2020.

The list of the dtic officials mandated to attend to the stand are:

1) Ms Fuziwe Kubheka – Deputy Director

2) Mr Henry Mabale – Assistant Director

3) Mr Thabang Mamaru – Assistant Director

4) Ms Portia Chokoe – Trade and Industry Advisor

the dtic officials are also supported by four (4) ushers locally recruited in Dubai by the service provider as part of the stand building contract. The relevant attendance registers for officials and ushers can be supplied by the Director General of the Department.

-END-

 

Reply:

(a) The matter regarding the release of the mentioned person on medical parole is pending in court and therefore the Department will not be able to respond until court proceedings are finalised.

(b) Not applicable to Correctional Services

END

Reply:

The Constitutional court handed down its judgment on 4 December 2020. This judgment affirmed JICS’s important watchdog role over the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in South Africa’s democracy. It also set as a constitutional requirement that JICS be structurally, operationally and financially independent -- plus that in the public perception it also be seen as independent.

An Inter-Departmental Assessment Committee (IAC) was constituted and established by the then-Minister of Public Service and Administration (MPSA), Minister Mchunu. Significantly, the IAC recommended that JICS be established as an autonomous National Government Component.

This elicited also the support of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Correctional Services (DOJ&CD), Minister Lamola.

Since this judgment, JICS has compiled a draft JICS Bill which will provide the amendments the Constitutional Court required.

It is up to Parliament to confirm when the draft JICS Bill will be introduced. The Court has given Parliament 24 months to fix the problem it identified by amending the Act. The JICS draft Bill was promptly submitted to DCS, National Treasury (NT), the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), DOJ&CD, the office of the Chief State Law Adviser and other stakeholders for comment. Various comments were received and incorporated into the draft JICS Bill (except from NT and DCS).

JICS is leading the amendment process of those sections that are relevant to JICS, and in crafting an ideal draft JICS Bill.

Other stakeholders are better placed to provide fuller details on what the amending legislation will provide for.

This is because DCS is the Department responsible for the Correctional Services Act, 111 of 2008, which will require simultaneous repeal and amendment when the JICS Bill is passed. (Some of the provisions to be repealed or amended include Chapters 9 and 10 of the CSA.)

With the prior authorisation of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, JICS approached DPSA to gain advice on how to ensure greater independence. Officials of DPSA advised JICS to research the various Government Forms currently available and also assisted with presentations and expert advice. Interactions took place with the offices of the Minister, Deputy Minister, DCS, DPSA and National Treasury. After the IAC considered all possible options, it recommended that JICS be constituted as a National Government Component.

The funding model for JICS to be established as a National Government Component must be supported by National Treasury.

JICS has meticulously sought to engage with all stakeholders. JICS does not however have a date as to when the JICS draft Bill will be introduced to Parliament by Minister Lamola, or when any further engagement between stakeholders will take place to ensure that the process is taken further.

Reply:

In the 2019 general election, the ruling party put forward a Manifesto committing to an Industrial Plan to Support Localisation as a key element of measures designed to drive investment, economic growth and create jobs. This Plan was endorsed by millions of voters and is the basis for government policy in this Administration. Research data outlined in previous replies to parliamentary questions (namely PQ 1880 and PQ 1881) set out in detail the evidence on which the specific targets were set as well as the extensive support from within the economy by business and workers for the policy stance, one increasingly being pursued in many different parts of the world.

-END-

 

Reply:

The Reply to Parliamentary Question no. 1996 was submitted to the National Assembly on 19 November 2021 for tabling. The delay was caused by waiting for a response from the NCACC.

END.

Reply:

1) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development informed the Information Regulator as soon as it was confirmed that the Department has been affected by a ransomware attack.

2) The Department fully co-operated with the Information Regulator in terms of information sharing, guidance and their participation in the system restoration process.

3) As at 1 December 2021, the analysis and/or forensic investigation is still inconclusive in terms of the exact nature of the information that was sent outside of the Department as part of the breach. This information should present itself as part of the forensic investigation as expected to be conducted from the case that was opened with the South African Police Service. Therefore, the Information Regulator will be informed as soon as the information becomes available.

 

Reply:

(1) The Parolee Offender was subjected to the parole conditions as contemplated in section 52 of the Correctional Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 111 of 1998), over and above section 52(1)(r) of the Act was also applicable. Upon being placed on parole the parolee remained in the custody of State Security Agency (SSA) as per his parole conditions.

(2) At the time of assuming my duties as the Minister I was not aware of the allegations that parolee is paid as parolees do not receive payments from the Department of Correctional Services. The Parolee is not being paid or sustained by the Department of Correctional Services. The alleged services rendered to the parolee should be directly asked to the State Security Agency as the subject of an engagement between the State Security Agency.

Reply:

It is difficult to ascertain the exact backlog, as many of the clients are walk-in clients who could not be assisted during the system downtime, but have now been flocking to the offices since the system was restored.

All staff is 100% back in the offices, in line with Adjusted Alert level 1 regulations.

Officials are doing their utmost to assist as many applicants as possible in the time available and also need to deal with applications which were received via post and courier during the downtime period as well as still received on a daily basis.

After the system restoration the Guardian’s Fund continued with the payment of recurring maintenance.

The fingerprint verification link with Home Affairs was also off for some time, even after

the department’s systems were restored. Due to the biometric fingerprint facility (MOVIT) being unavailable, first time and final inheritance could however only be processed again from the 15th of November, when the new finger print verification server was restored. These payments could not be made earlier due to the inherent risk of fraud and to protect the interests of the beneficiaries for whom we hold funds.

Officials are working tirelessly to catch up on the backlog created and the new fingerprint verification has so far been deployed to 6 Master’s offices across the country.

The further rollout is currently a priority and should be restored to all Masters offices soon.

Overtime has been approved for all offices in a bid to address the backlogs and offices are doing their utmost in the period to ease the pressure and rendering services to those in need.

 

 

Overtime has been approved until 20 December 2021 after which a further assessment

will be made. However, it is envisaged, and offices are encouraged to ensure, that the

backlog is drastically reduced by then. Offices are however still experiencing some

technical difficulties on the systems from time-to-time which slows down performance in

our offices. Master’s Offices are open throughout the year, except on weekends and

public holidays – they do not close.

3 | P a g e

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(1)

(a) I have been informed that the Department has developed 30 audit action plans out of the 30 recommendations. The Department’s internal audit unit has completed the adequacy review of the audit actions plans. Binder Dijker Otte South Africa Services (Pty) Ltd (BDO) will be testing the effectiveness of the implementation of the audit action plans on the 20 December 2021. An update will be provided to the Audit Committee who, in return, will provide it to me.Once the process has been completed, I can be in a position to provide a comprehensive response.

(b) There were two audit findings related to safety. I will provide a comprehensive report once the process mentioned in 1(a) above has been completed.

(2) The report has been tabled to the Acting Secretary to Parliament and to the Speaker of the National Assembly. It is their responsibility to table the report to the Internal Audit Committee of Parliament.

 

Reply:

1) I have been informed that Sixty three (63) Contractors were selected to be trained through the programme when the North West Department of Public Works and Roads started the programme in 2014.

2) a) The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) grading levels, at the (a) commencement and (b) currently, are as per the attached list of contractors.

b) The programme has not yet been concluded and the grading levels of each contractor will be noted as and when contractors exit the Programme.

3) a) Two (2) contractors have left the programme since commencement.

b) The reasons are as follows:

 Kei 2 Trading Enterprise contractor has passed on.

 Technofacture 413 cc contractor was appointed as a public official within South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

4) a) Sixty (60) contractors have been awarded practical training projects through the North West Department of Public Works and Roads (DPWR) after the Public Protector’s intervention.

b) The contractors will continue to receive preferential treatment for a period of three (3) years from the 1st of November 2021 or when they attain the targeted grade whichever comes first.

 

Reply:

I have been informed that the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure [DPWI] had several engagements with the Department of Home Affairs – Border Management Authority [DHA - BMA] on this subject matter. The latest engagement was on 30 November 2021.

DPWI has provided the necessary input in relation to Section 97 Presidential Proclamation.

The Department of Home Affairs in its correspondence dated 29 September 2021 confirms the same (attached).

The Department is however, engaging with the recently revised letter of intent received from DHA’s [BMA] to jointly redraft Section 97 Presidential Proclamation to now include transfer of custodial functions from DPWI in relation to assets and liabilities within the border law enforcement area and at the ports of entry to the BMA in terms of the BMA Act No.2 (same letter dated 29 September 2021).

(a) NA.

(b)NA

 

 

 

Reply:

Find here: (a) The SDIP compliance rate is summarised below:

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(a) and (b)

I have been informed that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure does not have measures put in place to renovate vacant buildings for residential and industrial purposes.

(i) and (ii)

A number of houses have been previously identified for rehabilitation and conversion from residential to office accommodation with the aim to accommodate User Departments. The houses were identified in mostly rural areas where there are no State-owned buildings and there is scarcity or no leased buildings to accommodate Users. To this end, a number of site clearances for re-zoning has been issued and some houses are currently included on the implementation programmes for execution.

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(1) I have been informed by the Department that the Facilities Management (FM) contract will become effective by 01 March 2022. The said contract will provide the appropriate horticultural services required to adequately maintain the grounds at the three parliamentary villages. In the interim, a snake and mole programme has been implemented at Acacia Park, snake repellent will be sprayed around the houses and fumigation tablets will be dropped into the mole tunnels. For December 2021, the snake repellent and tablets will be administered on a weekly basis, whereafter from January 2022 a call will be logged to continue the programme, which will be on a need basis, until the FM contract becomes effective.

(2) There is no infestation of snakes, rats and frogs in the Laboria Park Parliamentary Village reported, however, should any of these become prevalent in the said or anyParliamentary Village, the same treatment would be provided as is currently the case in Acacia Park. In respect of the grass, it is untrue that the grass has not been cut in over a year, there is currently a contractor appointed to attend to the horticultural services at Laboria Park and the other two Parliamentary Villages.

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

a) I have been informed by the Department that the Department appointed an Engineering Service Provider to conduct tests at the ESSEX pump station. The testing included the inspection of electrical, mechanical and system integration. The testing revealed that some elements needed to be replaced and a service provider was appointed but could not perform according to the specifications and left the site. The Department is, now, in the process of appointing a new service provider. The appointment should be completed before the end of February 2022. It must be noted that one pump is running while the other is overheating and needs to be replaced.

b) The contract between Blyde River water utility and the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure expires in February 2024 and a multi-stakeholder forum has been established to ensure the smooth transfer in 2024. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), Maruleng Local Municipality and Mopani District Municipality are active stakeholders in this forum. The Forum is meant to deal with, amongst others, the water issues at Hoedspruit; the transfer of the pipeline to Department of Water and Sanitation as per the contract between Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and the Water Utility; and the provision of land by the Mopani District Municipality to DPWI, for a feasibility study. The plan discussed by the forum is aimed at aligning the transfer with the capacity of the Mopani District Municipality to provide bulk water supply to the community in 2024. The next meeting of the forum is planned to take place before March 2022. This will be preceded by the technical team which includes the IGR, DWS and DPWI to engage the new Council and assessing the capacity of the incoming water authority to continue with previous commitments made.

c) It must be noted that it is not the responsibility of DPWI to provide Hoedspruit town with water. It is by default that these services were provided by DPWI. It is the responsibility of the Mopani District Municipality and Maruleng Municipality to provide water services. DPWI is not paid for these services. The Hoedspruit town receives water directly from the DPWI treated water reservoir which was intended to supply the Hoedspruit Air Force Base.

It is not possible to put proper warning systems in place as the consumption from the town is not controlled. DPWI recently established that two estates have constructed their own massive reservoirs with booster pumps connected to the municipal supply piping and sometime they draw water during the night. DPWI requested the municipality to manage its water consumption and that of all estates with massive private reservoirs. All these challenges will be addressed once the municipality takes over the pipeline.

 

 

 

Reply:

(1) I have been informed that of the remaining 9 SACAP Council members, 7 have qualifications in Architecture and their professional registration category is indicated in theast column:

Find here: Reply

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(1) (a) I have been informed by the Department that the Identification of Work (IDoW) Policy Framework was developed and gazetted by SACAP on 30 April 2021.

 

(b) The IDoW Policy Framework is completed.

(2) (a) Yes, the IDoW is the overarching policy on identification of work for the architectural professions.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) forms the basis for the interaction between the SACAP and the Competition Commission and establishes the parameters within which the two parties will interact with each other to exercise their respective functions with regards to competition matters that may arise in the architectural profession. The MoU also makes provision for consultations annually on any proposed changes to the IDoW to ensure that its provisions are pro-competitive and does not contravene any sections or objectives of the Competition Act.

(3) (a)Yes, the identification of work is intended protect registered members of SACAP, as well as the clients that use the services of persons practicing in the profession, and the public in general. This is in line with Section 14 (j) of the Architectural Profession Act (Act No. of 2000), which enjoins the Council to take the necessary steps to safeguard public health and safety.

(b) The IDoW is not necessarily a benchmarking tool for Guidelines on Professional Fees. These are published in terms of section 34 of the Architectural Profession Act. Section 34 of the Act mandates the Council to, annually, after consultation with the voluntary associations, determine guideline professional fees and publish those fees in the gazette. The latest Guidelines on Professional Fees were published in the gazette on 26 November 2021.

 

Reply:

 

(1) I have been informed by the Department that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) contacted Boland College and it is indeed correct that Boland College is unable to provide feedback to applicants on learnership opportunities. Colleges in the Boland area do not receive their funding directly from the DPWI, but from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). WCED funds these learnerships from various allocations, which are not limited to the EPWP funding. It terms of DPWI records, WCED was eligible for R15,5 million in terms of the social sector incentive grant in 2021/22, of which 100% was transferred to WCED by DPWI and 73% was expensed by WCED, as per the in-year monitoring report provided by WCED to DPWI, at the end of October 2021. Therefore the reason for the delay by WCED is not clear, for WCED has received the entire EPWP Social Sector Incentive Grant allocation for 2021/22.

(2) The DPWI is unable to provide reasons as to why there is no allocation towards Levels 1 and 2 for ECD Training in the Boland area this year, as it is the WCED’s function to allocate funding for ECD training projects.

(3) The DPWI is mandated to be the overall coordinator of the EPWP. The mandate on the delivery of ECD is with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), which has to ensure the training of practitioners, whilst the Department of Social Development is responsible for care and stimulation of children 0-4 years. Therefore, these two departments are better placed to work hand-in-hand in conducting the requisite research to determine the need for ECD practitioners, their level of education and areas where they are to be deployed to ensure efficient and effective ECD service delivery.

(4) DPWI is unable to advise on what the funding allocations towards Levels 1 to 5 for ECD training is. The WCED determines how much of the EPWP Social Sector Incentive Grant is allocated to ECD training. The WCED also, through its own departmental processes, determine the funding criteria and process for ECD Learnerships.

The DPWI is merely the transferring officer for the EPWP Social Sector Incentive Grant and therefore WCED should be able to provide the allocation information for ECD Learnerships.

The DPWI requested the information from the WCED as requested in this Parliamentary Question on Friday, 10 December 2021 and made several follow-ups, without any success.

(5) The DPWI cannot advise on whether there is a training budget in January 2022 for ECD or ECD Learnerships, as DPWI is not responsible for funding ECD or ECD learnerships.

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

I have been informed by the Department that the printer at the Laboria Park Parliamentary Village office is currently functional. On the day the Member required a document printed at the Laboria Park Parliamentary Village office, the printer was not working. A call was logged and a technician came out on the same day and the problem was addressed. As and when challenges arise with the printing machines in the office, the relevant official logs a call and a technician is dispatched to attend to the problem.

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(a) I am informed that the CBE Council meeting of 25 November 2021 was indeed postponed due to the lack of quorum. It was, however, successfully held on 3 December 2021 and all matters of Council and its Committees for Quarter 3 that were on the agenda were addressed.

The postponement of the meeting of 25 November 2021 was the first occurrence since the 5th term Council was appointed in 2018. Although the Council currently has 11 members, the CBE is neither on the verge of collapse nor cancelling any meetings regularly.

The Department has received nominations for the replacement of the Council members that have vacated their positions and very soon these appointments will be made, after the necessary due diligence has been conducted.

(b) I have been monitoring the situation of the Council members that have been resigning from the Council and have undertaken to conduct an assessment of the Council’s performance at an individual level. The result of this assessment will enable me to take the necessary steps to address the identified challenges. In my engagements with the entities, I have emphasised the necessity to focus on the Objectives of the Boards and Councils as per the Acts of Parliament that establish these bodies. The most recent of such engagements was the CIDB National Stakeholder Forum that took place on 07 December 2021. Non-executive directors of State-owned public entities have an obligation to execute their fiduciary duties. The stabilisation of the leadership of these bodies is a top priority. In due course I will be in a position to update the Portfolio Committee on the assessment to be undertaken at the CBE and the outcomes thereof.

 

Reply:

 

1. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020/21 financial year, the SASSA offices were originally closed, under lockdown level 5. This is as a result of the SASSA administrative services not being declared an essential service. However, despite this lockdown, the payment of social grants continued without interruption.

The movement to the lower levels of lockdown resulted in the offices progressively re- opening, albeit with staff working on rotational shifts. The rotation of staff was to ensure that social distancing could be maintained, and also ensured business continuity, where, if one team was exposed to a positive case, that team could quarantine and the other team of staff who had been rotating could come in to continue providing services. However, this staff reduction through the rotation meant that only approximately 50% of the staff were on duty at any one time, which negatively impacted on the ability to provide services to all who required these.

Measures introduced to address the need for SASSA services, while attempting to reduce the queues at local offices, included the following:

• • Dedication of specific days for specific grant types, with Mondays being for older persons; Tuesdays for persons with disabilities and Wednesdays and Thursdays being for the child grants. Fridays were reserved for people who needed appointments for specific reasons, or dealing with the overflow from the week;
  • Temporary disability grants which should have lapsed during the year between February and December 2020 were not lapsed, but kept in payment until December 2020, thus reducing pressure on local offices for these beneficiaries to have to come in to re-apply;

• • The introduction as from September 2020 of the online grant application platform for grants for older persons, child support grants and foster child grants. Work continues to improve this access channel for social grant applications so that it becomes a viable alternative to having applicants queue at local offices for a face to face service;

• • Strengthening of the call centre through a contract for support services and additional call centre agents, in an effort to reduce the need for citizens to have to go to local offices for simple queries which could be responded to telephonically or through email;

• • Introduction of the online booking system for disability grant appointments, as well as the placement of the referral from on the SASSA website. This was done to reduce the number of times an applicant has to go to a SASSA office for an application for a disability grant from a minimum of 3 to only one – which also reduces the queues at local offices;

• • Strengthening the queue walking by SASSA staff for all those citizens waiting in queues for a service, to be able to attend to those who had only come to collect forms, make enquiries or submit documents while they were still in the queue. This reduced the numbers who need to wait for extended periods for services.

• • The introduction of the R350 social relief of distress grant was done entirely electronically, to ensure that these applicants did not have to go to any SASSA office for a service. Had this not been done electronically, the local offices would not have coped at all, as this grant brought in an additional 10 million applicants, never before serviced by SASSA. During times of full staff capacity, SASSA does on average 1, 2 million applications per year. The existing staff and office infrastructure could therefore not have provided face to face services for this new category of clients served; and

• • The use of volunteers to assist with queue management, both at the SASSA local offices as well as during social grant payments, at the various outlets where beneficiaries gathered to collect their social grants. The volunteers were sourced

through a partnership with the National Development Agency and is a model which the sector would like to continue implementing, if funding is available.

1. Many of the measures introduced in 2020/21 are still in place, to assist in managing the queues at SASSA service points. However, in addition to the above, the following has been introduced since April 2021:

• • The staff complement available at local offices is managed according to prevailing lockdown levels and COVID protocols. Under lockdown level 1, most offices, where there is adequate space to ensure safe social distancing, are now functioning with 75% of the staff complement or more present on any specific day. Rotation is still exercised, to limit exposure of the staff to the virus, and also to ensure that there is staff available to ensure business continuity in the event of positive cases amongst staff or their direct family members;

• • Progressive opening of service points, where the health and safety protocols are followed. Service points take pressure off local offices, particularly in provinces such as Western Cape which has only 16 local offices. However, the re-opening of service points can only be done in collaboration with the local authorities, as SASSA has to ensure that all safety protocols are followed;

• • Applicants for older persons grants, child support grants and foster child grants are encouraged to apply for the grants online, if they have access to the internet and are able to do so. The increased use of the online platform will reduce pressure on the local offices, and reduce the time that applicants have to wait in queues. SASSA continues to work to improve the functionality of this platform, and will progressively add additional services which can be done online, as well as extend it to the other grant types.

The situation will continue to be monitored closely and corrective actions implemented where necessary. Continued education and communication is absolutely critical, as it is not acceptable for citizens to sleep outside SASSA offices overnight in an effort to access services.

Reply:

 

Municipalities that were placed under administrations were required to develop financial recovery plans, which is aligned to four key pillars used to assess municipal sustainability namely: governance, institutional stability, financial management and service delivery. The aim is to address the financial distress of the municipalities by improving short and long-term financial sustainability.

The Department, SALGA, National Treasury and provincial counterparts assist municipalities with development and implementation of financial recovery plans in line with section 136 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), section 139 of the Constitution of RSA and related prescripts, which places obligations on the national and provincial government to assist in resolving financial problems in municipalities.

Recently, National Treasury and CoGTA have concluded roadshows in all nine provinces on the correct interpretation and implementation of S139 interventions. Provinces were alerted to the hierarchy of interventions provided for in the Constitution and the conditions that must exist for each type of intervention to be invoked.

Neither the Department of COGTA nor any of its entities have regressed in it’s audit findings. The department improved from a disclaimer in 18/19 was, which improved to qualified audit outcome in 19/20, and again in 20/21 although the AG noted a reduction in the areas of qualification, specifically related to the CWP program. This is an indication that the department is on target towards achieving an unqualified audit outcome.

Reply:

1. ​At all times, the Department guided by the provisions of the Children’s Act, of which the best interest of the child is paramount on all matters concerning children. The Department is working closely in collaboration with the designated and accredited Child Protection Organisations, as well as health professionals in the clinics and hospitals to help prevent child abandonment. These include awareness as part of the 100 Days Campaign, information on services and options available to parents who are unable to care for their children, family planning, psychosocial support and positive parenting programmes amongst others. The Department also conducts community dialogues, television, radio talks and other media platforms, educating expecting mothers and the communities about children’s rights, right to life and the dangers of abandoning children.

Expectant mothers are informed of available options such as termination of the pregnancy, alternative care placement such as adoption and foster care. The Department also implement a Community-Based Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (RISIHA) that support families, parents and caregivers in distress; identifying factors that put children’s lives at risk and mitigate the identified risks and vulnerabilities by linking parents with available services and resources in their respective communities.

2. Refer to (a)

Reply:

1. The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 2019 (Act No. 3 of 2019 commenced on 01 April 2021. It is important to distinguish between the leadership structures provided for in the Act. In the case of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (National House), provincial houses of traditional and Khoi-San leaders and local houses of traditional and Khoi-San leaders, the Act determines in section 63(12), (13) and (14), which section deals with transitional arrangements, that the houses that existed at the commencement of the Act, will continue to exist until their terms expire in 2022. The terms of local houses will end on 30 April 2022, provincial houses on 31 May 2022 and the National House on 30 June 2022. The reconstitution of these houses will therefore be done in 2022.

In the case of traditional leadership councils (kingship councils, queenship councils, principal traditional councils and traditional councils), section 16 of the Act requires of the Minister to issue a formula in respect of the determination of the number of members of such councils. The Act also requires that certain consultations be conducted before any formula is issued.

The CoGTA Ministry is currently finalising consultations on the formula for determining the number of members of traditional councils. The final joint consultation meeting of Premiers/provincial governments and Provincial Houses took place on 15 December 2021. Once consensus is reached by Premiers/provincial governments and Provincial Houses, the formula for determining the number of members of traditional councils will be published in a government gazette as required by the Act and provinces can commence with the constitution of traditional councils.

In respect of the formula for determining the number of members of kingship, queenship and principal traditional councils, the Department has developed a draft formula and consulted all Premiers. It is important to note that the Act requires that the Minister consults kings, queens and principal traditional leaders as well as their two forums specified in the Act on this formula before it is published in a government gazette.

Some of the kings, queens and principal traditional leaders have established their forums for purposes of the said statutory consultations. The Department has also requested those Majesties who have not yet established their two forums to do so. The Department is working with our provincial counterparts to assist them to establish these forums as a matter of priority. Once all kings, queens and principal traditional leaders have established their forums, consultations on the formula will start.

2. It is important to note that at national level, the Department of Traditional Affairs is responsible for administrative and financial support of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, and the Commission on Khoi-San Matters (Commission).

The National House is a structure that existed before the commencement of the Act and was allocated a budget at the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year. Therefore, after the commencement of the Act, the National House continued to operate in accordance with the already appropriated budget which is R22,182 million.

The Commission, however, was appointed with effect from 01 September 2021, which after the commencement of the Act and half-way through the 2021-22 financial year. The Department of Traditional Affairs is currently funding the Commission through a reprioritisation process, thus making funds available from other departmental programmes where possible.

Reply:

 

1. With regard to the Ballito matter, the SAPO Forensic Unit is working very closely with the SA Police Services with regards to the arrest and it can be confirmed that the suspect was not found in possession of SAPO/SASSA Cards. Rather, the suspect was found mainly with “White Plastic Magstripe Cards” that are used by criminal elements in skimming and cloning instances. Of the 771 cards confiscated:

• • 448 PVC white Magstripe cards with 1 SASSA Card number 4213 2911 1052 1176 encoded
  • 108 PVC white Magstripe cards with various SASSA Card numbers encoded
  • 37 Shell V Plus cards with various SASSA Card numbers encoded
  • 15 Clicks Club Cards with various SASSA Card numbers encoded
  • 222 Blank PVC white Magstripe cards and 1 Nedbank card
• 2 card skimming devices and other items used for skimming purposes were also confiscated

As the matter is being investigated by the SA Police Service and various aspects sub judice, it can be confirmed that from preliminary investigations, all the SAPO/SASSA card numbers are linked to beneficiary profiles and funds were withdrawn in the KZN region by making use of the skimming and cloning devices that were seized.

• The cards were not SAPO/SASSA stolen cards, but cards that were illegally skimmed at ATM’s where the beneficiaries transacted

To date, a total of 78 009 cards were stolen through business burglaries and armed robberies since inception of the cooperation agreement between SASSA and SAPO. I must point out to the Honourable Member all the stolen cards were timeously blocked to prevent losses.

b) SASSA has not incurred any financial losses. Any losses suffered are either by the individual or SAPO/Postbank. In cases where the beneficiaries have reported fraudulent transactions, cases are referred to SAPO/Postbank who then investigate the matter. In the last three (3) years that SAPO/Postbank and SASSA have had a contractual agreement, an amount of R90 993 960,56 has been reimbursed to 27 534 beneficiaries.

Reply:

 

The three grievances were on unfair labour practice, the fourth one was regarding threats which were allegedly made by the union against the aggrieved official, and the last one was on the non-payment of the performance management and development system (PMDS) incentives. Four of the five grievances have since been resolved, and one unfair labour practice grievance is pending.

Reply:

 

The Honourable Member will appreciate that matters of this nature take time as they involve thorough investigation by law enforcement agencies. In 2014, SASSA, through its internal investigations identified the irregular payment of invoices amounting to R4, 879, 023. 20 in respect of services rendered during the Ministerial Outreach Programme that took place in Engcobo and Nelson Mandela District in the Eastern Cape. SASSA opened a criminal case in terms of Section 300 of Criminal Procedure Act, and this was registered as per East London Crime Administration System (CAS) 145/12/2014.

The services were provisioned by service providers from EC, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng. When the first leg of arrests of 10 company directors by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations was carried out it included the service providers from KZN and Gauteng. DPCI, through its criminal investigations, estimated the loss at R12 million.

The DPCI has formally informed SASSA that the second leg of arrests will be targeted at SASSA officials as well as members of the public who were involved in defrauding the Agency.

With reference to loss recovery, the Asset Forfeiture unit has started with the recovery process. The process will go in tandem with criminal prosecution.

Reply:

The DSD Youth Policy (NYP) was developed through internal expertise and extensive consultations with a variety of stakeholders such as National and Provincial Departments of Social Development, international youth organisations, other government departments, civil society organisations and youth development sector.

The Policy focuses on services and programmes such as youth mobilisation, skills development, youth entrepreneurship and life skills programmes. The costs also cover services rendered through youth development centres and support to youth clubs.

Reply:

 

1. (a) The Department pays the unit cost for each older person per month which is inclusive of the package of service provided to the older person. The stipend for employees is determined by the Old Age Home and employees as the old age run independently and not by DSD.

Subsidies were last increased in April 2012 due to budgetary constraints

Refer to 2 below

2. Yes, provinces determine their own subsidies based on funds appropriated by the Provincial Treasuries through the equitable share budget. However, DSD in partnership with National Treasury is in a process of finalising the costing model aimed at standardising funding of services across the country. The implementation thereof will be determined by allocation of funds by the national and provincial treasuries.

1

Reply:

 

1. The bid to appoint a service provider had to be re-advertised and new specifications developed. The bid specifications had to be reviewed because the pricing difference between the first and second bidder was very huge (about R20 million) and the cheaper bidder could not meet the requirements of the bid and as a result would not have been able to deliver as per the requirements of the tender. On the other hand, the other bidder’s pricing was way above the available budget.

2. Refer to (a)

Reply:

 

(1)(a) 254 cases of irregular expenditure totalling R 88 million were previously finalised by SASSA and later reversed in 2017/2018 after the AGSA advised that the CEO was not the appropriate delegated authority to condone irregular expenditure.

SASSA subsequently wrote to the National Treasury for guidance and clarity on the AGSA’s findings. The National Treasury then issued a revised Irregular Expenditure Framework in May 2019 (Instruction Note No.2 of 2019/2020) which provided guidance on how institutions and departments should record and report on irregular expenditure including the process to be followed in the investigation of financial misconduct cases resulting from irregular expenditure.

SASSA had to restart the process and treat the above irregular expenditure cases in line with the revised Irregular Expenditure Framework, and all new cases were then treated the same.

The recently issued Framework requires that the cases should be submitted to National Treasury for condonation together with evidence of corrective disciplinary outcome and proof that the Agency has implemented measures to prevent recurrence of the irregularities.

To date, SASSA has submitted a total of 521 cases amounting to R 685 007 150.89 to the National Treasury for condonation. Treasury has condoned 303 cases amounting to R536 442 320.42 and still considering the remaining 218 cases totalling R 148 564 830.47.

(1)(b) In terms of the Irregular Expenditure Framework, every case submitted to National Treasury for condonation must be accompanied by evidence of corrective disciplinary outcome implemented. In all the 521 cases reported in 1 (a) and all other cases of irregular expenditure under investigation process, SASSA is complying with this requirement.

The reasons for the slow pace in the finalisation of investigations into past transgressions of irregular expenditure (Backlog cases) are as follows:

• SASSA experienced a number of changes in accounting authorities and each accounting authority required sufficient time to understand the transgressions and implement appropriate corrective disciplinary processes
• Some of the employees who need to be interviewed or assist with the information and circumstances affecting certain transactions are no longer in the employees of the Agency. Therefore, to trace them and/or request for their cooperation is to be done in terms of applicable prescripts which slow down processes.

Some of the processes are;

• cases that are before the courts require court orders.
• applying relevant Supply Chain Management (SCM) prescripts which require SASSA to appoint legal practitioners and/or engagement with National Treasury.

1. National Treasury required assurance that SASSA and DSD had

• • identified the causes for an increased debt book,
  • developed mitigating strategies,
  • provided assurance that the social grant debtors portfolio is managed well and efforts are made to reduce the irrecoverable debts.
  • errors resulting in over payment are reduced and or dealt with internally, and improved mechanisms implemented to recover funds paid erroneously.

SASSA and DSD were requested to ensure that:

• • Grants eligibility assessment are done satisfactorily at the application stage including income checks.
  • Regular reviews are done to reconfirm eligibility including income checks across various applicable database.
  • Improved validation to ensure transfers are made to the correct beneficiary and into the correct account, and corrective measures are taken swiftly where errors have occurred.
  • Review of debt recovery mechanism to strengthen tracing and follow up of debtors and deductions from existing grants where possible.
  • A quarterly report on the progress made on the recovery of the debt book is submitted to NT
  • Development of a gatekeeping and debt management improvement strategy. A draft has been written for consultation with the National Treasury before the end of the current financial year.

(3)(a) Of the 1228 cases, 566 cases of financial misconduct relating to irregular, fruitless, damages and losses are remaining, and in progress.

(b) SASSA has set target in its 2021/22 Annual Performance Plan (APP) of 95% to finalise financial misconduct cases. Efforts are being made to ensure this is achieved before the end of the current financial year.

Reply:

 

(a)(b) and (c) The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) may be provided as a response to a disaster. This may take the form of immediate humanitarian support when community members are relocated to temporary shelters as a result of the disaster, or a cash payment once the community members return to their homes, if the disaster was such that they lost all their possessions.

All social relief provided is done in response to a completed, approved application. The only province which experienced challenges in paying social relief in cash to previously approved beneficiaries was Western Cape.

The attached table below indicates the support provided in the Western Cape for disasters.

(d)A disaster caused by a fire in Vygieskraal occurred in October 2019. SASSA responded immediately and took applications which were processed and approved. However, the ability to pay cash, as SASSA had contracted the Post Office for all social grant payments, including cash social relief payments, as from 2018 and the processes had not yet been finalised for these.

(d) The last payments for the Vygieskraal residents were made in November 2021. The ability to pay SRD in cash as a response to disasters is now fully functional.

DISTRICT	LOCAL OFFICE	DISASTER INCIDENCE	Incident number	DATE OF AN INCIDENT	TOTAL NUMBER AFFECTED	APPROVED APPLICATIONS	TOTAL PAID OUT	DID NOT COLLECT/REJECTED
Metro 1	Athlone	Fire - Vygieskraal		21/10/2019	143	117	117
	Bellville	Fire - Delft	15885	11/10/2020	28	28	28
	Khayelitsha	Fire - Taiwan	16977	01/01/2021	310	200	200
	Wynberg	Fire – Masiphumelele Hout Bay Tokai	16818 15409 15378	17/12/2020 06/09/2020 03/09/2020	2200 115 37	682 115 37	682 (bank) 115 9	148 rejected 0 28 did not collect
Metro 2	Cape Town	Fire – Du Noon	16376	14/11/2020	13	13	13	0
	Eerste River	Fire - Lwandle	16775	10/12/2020	31	31	31	0
	Gugulethu	Fire- Europe	13648	18/03/2020	24	24	24	0
	Mitchell’s Plain	Fire – Various incidents		Various dates	58	58	58	0
Boland Overberg	Caledon	none			0	0	0	0
	Paarl	Fire - Mbekweni	None	28/02/2020	32	32	32	0
	Worcester	Fire - Worcester	None	Various dates	69	69	69	0
West Coast	Vredenburg	Fire – Atlantis and Piketberg	None	20/12/2020 08/01/2021	15	15	15	0
	Vredendal	Small fire incidents in Lutzville, Clanwilliam & Citrusdal	None	Various dates	22	22	22	0
Eden Karoo	Beaufort West	Small fire incidents in Laingsburg, Prince Albert & Beaufort West	None	24/06/2020 04/07/2020 04/07/2020	10	10	10	0
	Oudtshoorn	Fire - Oudtshoorn	None	11/09/2020	14	14	10	4 rejected

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER 2021/2807

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 10 DECEMBER 2021

2807. Dr N V Khumalo (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. What measures has she put in place to combat the level of negligence and embarrassing unlawful conduct and/or decisions in the execution of duties by political principals such as the Gauteng Member of the Executive Council of COGCTA who acted outside the law;

1. whether her department has consequence management mechanisms in place to minimise unprofessionalism in the execution of functions by political principals in provincial and local government; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3327E

REPLY:

The Minister has no legislative authority to discipline or hold MEC accountable for their conduct, only Premiers and Provincial Legislatures has powers to hold MECs accountable. Honourable member is encouraged to engage Provincial legislature and premier offices on this matter.

Reply:

 

• There are provincial roads as well as municipal roads in Ward 1 in Moretele Local Municipality (MLM). The Department of Public Works and Roads (DPWR) of the North West (NW) Provincial Government is responsible for all activities related to the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the provincial roads in the NW province. Moretele Local Municipality (MLM) is responsible for the provision and maintenance of municipal road infrastructure within its area of jurisdiction. The Bojanala District Municipality (BDM) supports all the municipalities within the BDM in executing their powers and functions including the MLM. Furthermore, the Department of Corporative Governance (DCOG) through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) together with the sector departments provide financial support for provision of basic services that include roads.
• According to the MLM, the DPWR appointed a service provider in November 2017 as Phase 1 for the upgrading of 5km gravel road (from Z614 to Z619) to a surfaced tar road which was completed in May 2019. The DPWR then appointed another service provider for the re-construction of a 10km tarred road as Phase 2. The Phase 2 contract commenced in January 2020 and is scheduled to complete in January 2022. As part of the District Development Model (DDM), the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) through MISA, is monitoring the implementation of the project.

• The MLM, through its maintenance teams, regravels internal roads as and when necessary in all the Wards including Ward 1.

Reply:

 

The investigation has not been concluded and The Department is still awaiting further updates from the municipality and province on the matter. The Honourable Member will be provided with the update as soon as it is available.

Reply:

 

The IMTT intends to conduct and conclude the intervention in strict accordance to the mandate given by Cabinet. Section 100 of the Constitution provides that when a province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation, the national executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure fulfilment of that obligation, including issuing a directive to the provincial executive, describing the extent of the failure to fulfil its obligations and stating any steps required to meet its obligations; an assuming responsibility for the relevant obligation in that province.

All the provincial departments in the North-West are subject to interventions, five of them being under section 100(1)(a) of the Constitution in terms of the issuing of directives; and the other five being under section 100(1)(b) of the Constitution under which there was assumption of responsibility of the provincial administration by the national government. The prerogative to intervene in the provincial departments is that of the national executive (Cabinet). Any Minister responsible for the corresponding portfolio in the provinces may request the national executive to intervene in terms of the provisions of section 100 of the Constitution.

The national departments, as part of their actions in the implementation of section 100 of the Constitution, are implementing various measures informed by the root causes to problems that led to the invocation of interventions in terms of section 100 of the Constitution. These measures are currently implemented by the national departments on concurrent functions in the corresponding provincial departments. Each national department has a responsibility to determine what type of intervention to invoke after the current intervention in terms of section 100 of the Constitution.

The IMTT will present a progress report on the matters that were outstanding from the briefing of the NCOP in September 2021. This includes the appointments of senior officials in the departments. The IMTT will outline lessons learned from this intervention as part of the presentation.

Reply:

 

The Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant was first introduced in May 2020 as part of the national response measures to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic and to control its further spread. The initial iteration of the grant ran from May 2020 to April 2021.

(a) The grant was re-introduced as from August 2021. As at 7 December 2021, the following number of requests for reconsideration have been received:

Month	Number of reconsiderations received
August 2021	984 702
September 2021	711 017
October 2021	570 111
November 2021	300 084

The period allowed for declined applicants to lodge a request for reconsideration is

30 days from receiving the outcome of the application. The above numbers, particularly for November 2021, may therefore change, as the window to request reconsideration is still open.

Applicants have to request reconsideration for each month that the application is declined, as this grant is administered on a month-to-month basis.

One of the critical compliance processes which have to be followed for each reconsideration request received, is that the application must be subjected to a means test through the banks. This is to ensure that the applicant is not in receipt of any financial support which exceeds R595 per month.

With the reactivation of the grant in August 2021, SASSA had to procure all services required for the support of this environment once again. This included services provided by the banks, with whom SASSA had a contract which ended on 31 July 2021. As a result, SASSA was advised to go on a closed tender to source services from the banks. This procurement process took time, and is still in process, which means that SASSA has not been able to attend to any of the reconsiderations received since August 2021. The process of contracting with banks is nearing finality and it is planned to be able to start processing the reconsiderations early in the new calendar year. Despite these delays, every reconsideration received will be attended to, and the grant will be paid, if approved on reconsideration

(a) Having learned from the initial iteration of the grant, where concerns were raised about the lack of communication of outcomes to applicants for the relief grant, SASSA has implemented a revised process of notification for each declined application. The applicant is sent an SMS notification to the cell phone number which he/she used to apply for the grant, advising him/her of the decline of the application, and the reason for this. He/she is then sent another SMS notification advising him/her to request reconsideration if the decision is disputed, and providing the link on which to lodge the request for reconsideration.

In addition to the above process which has significantly improved communication to the affected clients, SASSA has extensively communicated through various platforms including print media, radio and social media about the need to request reconsideration for each month that the application is declined. This general communication will continue throughout the life cycle of this grant.

Reply:

 

It is important for the Honourable Member to note all matters relating to fruitless and wasteful expenditure as a result of hotel no-shows damage to hired vehicles are dealt with by the Loss Control Committee. The Committee’s key function is to investigate all cases of losses and damage and determine liability, as well as make recommendations on recovery of losses.

1. DSD Officials (i)(ii) Refer to (a)
2. There are a number of reasons and each case is investigated and judged on its own merit. Where it is found that the loss or damage could have been avoided or is due to an official’s negligence, the money is recovered from the official concerned. Some of the main reasons for hotel no-shows include late cancellation at the hotels due to the postponed or cancellation of planned events at short notice.

With regard to damage to hired vehicles, DSD officials are frequently required to travel to provinces and to unfamiliar areas where it is beyond their control to avoid damages.

1. With regard to consequence management regarding hotel no-shows and damage to hired vehicles, see summary of cases below:

No.	(a) Who is responsible	(ii) Hotel No Shows	(b) Reasons in each case	(c) Consequences to officials involved.
1.	Official No. 1	Hotel No Show	It was beyond control of the official on the basis that the SAA had a problem, and the travel agent cancelled the bookings late at the hotel.	Official not negligent. Write off the expenditure
2.	Official No. 2	Hotel No Show	The official did not show up at the hotel and she failed to cancel the accommodation on time.	Recover from the official.
3.	Official No. 3	Hotel No Show	The official did not show-up at the hotel and she failed to explain why she did not show up at the hotel.	Recover from the official.
4.	Official No. 4	Hotel No Show	The meeting was cancelled on 16 March 2020 due to travel restrictions announced by the President on the 15th March 2020 as part of the safety precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.	Official not liable for the damage. Recover from the travel Agency.
5.	Official No. 6	Hotel No Show	The official did not show-up at the hotel and he failed to explain why he did not show up at the hotel.	Recover from the official.
6.	Official No. 6	Hotel No Show	The official did not show-up at the hotel and he failed to explain why he did not show up at the hotel.	Recover from the official.
7.	Official No. 7	Hotel No Show	The official did not show-up at the hotel and she failed to explain why she did not show up at the hotel.	Recover from the official.
8.	Official No. 8	Hotel No Show	The official did not show-up at the hotel and she failed to	Recover from the official.

No.	(a) Who is responsible	(ii) Hotel No Shows	(b) Reasons in each case	(c) Consequences to officials involved.
			explain why she did not show up at the hotel.
9.	Official No. 9	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation at the hotel due to cancellation of an event.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
10.	Official No. 10	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation at the hotel due to cancellation of an event.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
11	Official No. 11	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation at the hotel due to cancellation of an event.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
12	Official No. 12	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation at the hotel due to cancellation of an event.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
13.	Official No. 13	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation at the hotel due to cancellation of an event.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
14.	Official No. 14	Hotel No Show	Late cancellation due to cancellation of an event.	Recover from the official.

CAR DAMAGE:

No.	(b) Who is responsible	(i) Damage to Hired Vehicle	(b)Reasons in each case	(c)Consequences to officials involved.
1.	Official No. 15	Car Damage (scratch on the door)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
2.	Official No. 16	Car Damage (dent on the bonnet)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
3.	Official No. 17	Car Damage (damage on front bumper)	The official was not liable for the damage.	Official not negligent. Write off the expenditure.
4.	Official No. 18	Car Damage (wheel cap missing)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
5.	Official No. 19	Car Damage (dent on the left door)	The travel agent was liable for the damage.	Official not negligent. Recover from Travel Agent.
6.	Official No. 20	Car Damage (scratch on the left door)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
7.	Official No. 21	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	Write off the expenditure.
8.	Official No. 22	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
9.	Official No. 23	Car Damage (dent on the bumper)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	Write off the expenditure.
10.	Official No. 24	Car Damage (bonnet, bumper, mirror)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
11.	Official No. 25	Car Damage (scratch on the rear Bumper)	The travel agent was liable for the damage.	Official not negligent. Recover from Travel Agent.
12.	Official No. 26	Car Damage (scratch on the left side of the door)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	Write off the expenditure.
13.	Official No. 27	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
14.	Official No. 28	Car Damage (scratch on the left -door)	The travel agent was liable for the damage.	Official not negligent. Recover from Travel Agent.

No.	(b) Who is responsible	(i) Damage to Hired Vehicle	(b)Reasons in each case	(c)Consequences to officials involved.
15.	Official No. 29	Car Damage (dent on the left- hand side)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
16.	Official No. 30	Car Damage (roof panel, left post and bonnet)	The travel agent was liable for the damage.	Official not negligent. Recover from Travel Agent.
17.	Official No. 31	Car Damage (car accident)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
18.	Official No. 32	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
19.	Official No. 33	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
20.	Official No. 34	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
21.	Official No. 35	Car Damage (dent)	The case to be presented at the next Loss Control Committee to determine if the official is negligent.	The case is currently before the Loss Control Committee to determine liability.
22.	Official No. 36	Car Damage (tyre damaged)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
23.	Official No. 37	Car Damage (2 front side mirrors, windscreen, the front left wheel and scratches on the body of the vehicle)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	Write off expenditure.
24.	Official No. 38	Car Damage (damaged the left side of the car)	Awaiting further investigations from Labour Relations.	Loss Control Committee referred case to Labour Relations for further investigations.
25.	Official No. 39	Car Damage (front bumper)	Awaiting further investigations	Loss Control Committee referred

No.	(b) Who is responsible	(i) Damage to Hired Vehicle	(b)Reasons in each case	(c)Consequences to officials involved.
			from Labour Relations.	case to Labour Relations for further investigations.
26.	Official No. 40	Car Damage (damaged on the passenger side)	Awaiting further investigations from Labour Relations.	Loss Control Committee referred case to Labour Relations for further investigations.
27.	Official No. 41	Car Damage (windscreen chip)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
28.	Official No. 42	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
29.	Official No. 43	Car Damage (full valet)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
30.	Official No. 44	Car Damage (windscreen Chip)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
31.	Official No. 45	Car Damage (dome dents)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
32.	Official No. 46	Car Damage (wheel tyre and wheel balancing, rear bumper)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
33.	Official No. 47	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
34.	Official No. 48	Car Damage (windscreen chip)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
35.	Official No. 49	Car Damage (replacement of Windscreen)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
36.	Official No. 50	Car Damage (wheel cap)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.
37.	Official No. 51	Car Damage (scratch on the front right bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.

No.	(b) Who is responsible	(i) Damage to Hired Vehicle	(b)Reasons in each case	(c)Consequences to officials involved.
38.	Official No. 52	Car Damage (accident)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
39.	Official No. 53	Car Damage (scratch on the rear Bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
40.	Official No. 54	Car Damage (tyre damaged)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
41.	Official No. 55	Car Damage (scratch)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
42.	Official No. 56	Car Damage (front bumper)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
43.	Official No. 57	Car Damage (left side scratch)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
44.	Official No. 58	Car Damage ( rear bumper and tyre damage)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
45.	Official No. 59	Car Damage (Scratch on the left front rim)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
46.	Official No. 60	Car Damage (rear bumper, eft rear quarter glass, left fender liner clips, left rear door and L/F door)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
47.	Official No. 61	Car Damage (front bumper (left front fender)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
48.	Official No. 62	Car Damage (left door scratch)	The official was found liable for the damage.	Recover from the official.
49.	Official No. 63	Car Damage (tailgate repair)	The travel agent was liable for the damage.	The official was not negligent. Recover from Travel Agent.
50.	Official No. 64	Car Damage (windscreen chip)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.

No.	(b) Who is responsible	(i) Damage to Hired Vehicle	(b)Reasons in each case	(c)Consequences to officials involved.
51.	Official No. 65	Car Damage (damaged both doors and mirror)	The official was not found liable for the damage.	The expenditure was written off.

Reply:

 

SASSA has taken the implications of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 into account when developing the application and validation channels for the Special COVID-19 SRD Grant.

On application, the applicant has to complete and accept the consent and declaration form, which confirms that SASSA will check his/ her information against various sources, including government departments, South African Revenue Service (SARS) and financial institutions. By accepting this, the applicant grants consent for these checks to take place.

All data transfers take place through secure links and the system used to receive applications, validate and pay these grants meets the minimum-security requirements set for the industry.

All information obtained from any source is used only for the purposes intended, which is to process the application for the Special COVID-19 SRD Grant. SASSA is confident that it is compliant with the requirements to protect all personal information.

Reply:

 

The Department of Social Development (DSD) is implementing a range of protective, preventative, promotive, transformative and developmental programmes to ensure that the needs of children in child headed households are addressed holistically. Amongst these range of services is psychosocial support, educational support, health services, HIV and AIDS support, social grants, food and nutrition.

The department developed the Guidelines and Strategy for Statutory Services to Child Headed Households which highlight the rights, care and protection services to children in child headed households, as well as processes to access such services.

In addition, the department mobilized Community-Based Organisations to partner with the department in the provision of services to child headed households as a mechanism to maximise accessibility of services linking children with available services within their communities. There is also a strong Intersectoral collaboration with various departments and stakeholders to ensure that there is a seamless process for access of services by children in child headed households. The Social Assistance Act has provision for children in child headed households to be beneficiaries of social grants for themselves and their siblings.

The Department also deployed trained Child and Youth Care Workers in the communities to provide developmental support to children in child headed households. The Child and Youth Care Workers work in the life-space of children in child headed households addressing children’s immediate needs such as accompanying children to health care facilities to access medical treatment and immunisation, assist with cooking, cleaning and homework supervision, assist with application for birth certificate for those whose parents died without these documents, as well as social grants. For those children who have passed matric, they are assisted with applications to Institutions of Higher Learning and also accompanied to these Institutions for registration.

Reply:

 

1. With more recent financial misconduct cases, SASSA has made improvements in managing them, for example, in 2020/21, 99% (66 of 67) of the financial misconduct cases were finalised within 120 days.

The historical cases are a bit more challenging. These include the following:

• The number of backlog cases for are 1,228, of which 434 cases were finalised.
• The lockdown has limited movement of investigating officers and this resulted in delays in the finalisation of cases.
• There has been a number of changes in the accounting authority of SASSA and each new accounting authority required sufficient time to understand the transgressions and implement due corrective disciplinary processes.
• Some of the employees to be interviewed or assist with the information and circumstances affecting certain transactions are no longer in the employ of the Agency. There are challenges with tracing them and/or obtaining their cooperation. Thus, SASSA is only able to pursue a legal course of action, which is a lengthy process.
• The cases that are before the courts will have a direct bearing on the internal disciplinary processes and thus these are delayed due to the legal processes that are currently underway.
• Time taken to engage National Treasury to provide clarity on the basis of classification of certain transactions as irregular expenditure

1. The following steps are being taken to improve performance in this area:

• 1. The information on progress is made public through the APP with a target of of 95% of backlog cases to be finalised by 31 March 2022. This enables Parliament and other concerned bodies to monitor SASSA’s progress.
  2. Internally, a project plans has been developed and progress is monitored monthly at the EXCO level.
  3. Major cases (6) totalling R821 million are being managed by the Accounting Authority directly with the assistance of National Treasury.
  4. Disciplinary corrective measures have been concluded for 210 cases amounting to R143 896 178.83. SASSA has submitted these cases to NT for condonation in the period 2019/20 and 2020/21.
  5. In the 2021/22 financial year the agency has already submitted 8 cases amounting to R4 668 651.64 for Treasury’s consideration.
  6. 18 cases amounting to R9 314 998.15 will be submitted to Treasury before end of December 2021.

Reply:

 

The right to education is a fundamental human right issue and the Department always strives to ensure that children with disabilities (not living with disabilities) are not left behind. There are currently 786 ECD centres that cater for the educational needs of children with disabilities. Below is the provincial breakdown:

Province	Number of ECD centres catering for children with disabilities
EC	38
FS	10
GP	73
KZN	31
LP	59
MP	43 (up to 17 years). A total of 529 fully registered facilities have facilities to accommodate children with disabilities
NC	6
NW	35
WC	5

Reply:

 

372 who were funded through the Department of Social Development’s Social Work Bursary Programme graduated in the 2020/21 financial year. This notwithstanding that there are other Social Work Graduate Programmes run by other institutions. Social Work graduates are placed in the database of unemployed graduates and are notified and placed when vacancies arise across the country.

Whilst the department may absorb social workers, options outside of the DSD remain available for absorption, including in the private sector, in NGO’s and Civil Society movements as well as in broader government.

It should further be noted that whilst the Department of Social Development places social workers on a regular basis, the funding for social worker posts is limited and the Department is engaging the National Treasury on the possibility of increasing funding for absorption of social workers.

The Department is currently developing a strategy for the employment of Social Service Professionals to strengthen its ability to absorb more social workers – but as noted above the funding aspect becomes important hence the ongoing discussions with the National Treasury. The first draft of the strategy following consultations with Sector Departments has been concluded. The strategy will be consulted with the NPO and private sector before approval and implementation, as we well wider government.

Every opportunity is used for the employment of graduates whilst the strategy is being developed. The Social Development Sector was able to appoint approximately 1 300 social workers on contract to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic from 01 June 2020 for a period of three months. These contracts were extended until 31 March 2021.

The Provincial Departments of Social Development have recently received allocations for the short-term employment of approximately 2000 social workers. Provincial Departments are currently in the process of employing the unemployed graduates until 31 March 2022.

The below is an indication of the placement of social worker graduates from the 2020/21 financial year. It should be noted that the departments is still gathering additional data from provinces who have yet to provide this information as noted below and same will be made available as soon as received.

Province:	Scholarship Graduates 2020/21:	Number of Social Work Graduates placed:
NW	75
FS	36
GP	39
KZN	55
LP	25
MP	21
NC	18	14
WC	26	2
EC	77	None places
TOTAL	372

Reply:

 

The table below provides information on the numbers of beneficiaries receiving social grants in the Delft area, according to grant type and total value of the grants paid per month.

Grant Type	(a) Monthly grant payment	(b ) Number of community members receiving grants
(ii) Old Age Grant	R 8,659,980	4 582
(v) War Veterans Grant	0	0
(iii) Disability Grant	R 6,724,620	3 558
(iv) Foster Child Grant	R 659,400	628
Care Dependency Grant	R 807,030	427
(i) Child Support Grant	R 14,706,660	31 971
Grant-in-Aid	R 158,240	344
(c) TOTAL	R 31,265,930	41 510

Reply:

 

1. There are currently 13 public rehabilitation/treatment centres across the country which are situated in all the nine provinces. The breakdown per province is as follows:

Province	Facilities
Eastern Cape	Ernest Malgas Treatment Centre
Free State	Charlotte Maxeke Treatment centre
Gauteng	Dr Fabian and Florence Treatment Centre
KwaZulu-Natal	Madadeni Rehabilitation Centre Newlands Park Rehabilitation Centre Khanyani Treatment Centre
Limpopo	Seshego Treatment Centre
Mpumalanga	Swartfontein Treatment Centre Nkangala Treatment Centre
Northern Cape	Northern Cape Substance Abuse Treatment Centre
North West	JB Marks Treatment Centre Taung Treatment Centre
Western Cape	Kensington Treatment Centre

1. Public rehabilitation centres are established in terms of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act (Act No. 70 of 2008) to render counselling and treatment services for substance use disorders. The treatment services are aimed at reducing the negative health, social and economic consequences associated with alcohol and other drugs. The programmes implemented at the public rehabilitation centres include amongst others the following:
   1. Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) - the aim of the training series is to reduce the significant health, social and economic problems associated with substance use disorders. It focuses on screening, brief intervention, referral, assessment, treatment, continuum of care and continued care. The intention of the Universal Treatment Curriculum programme is to ensure that addiction practitioners working in the field develop a balanced perspective of the principles relating to both the science and art of treatment. The programme improves the knowledge, skills and competencies of treatment professionals, as well as promote evidence-based practice for the enhancement of service delivery and treatment outcomes. Through the implementation of the UTC programme, services users’/ recovery addicts receive comprehensive treatment and care for addiction management.

The implementation of the UTC programme has reshaped the delivery of Substance Use Disorders services in the country; through ensuring that treatment centres conduct a comprehensive screening and assessment of service users. The intended outcome is to ensure that people in recovery are assessed for co- occurring disorders such as: mental disorders, medical disorders and substance use disorder related treatment issues in order to provide an individualised treatment and recovery plan. The overall outcome of the programme is the provision of effective, efficient and comprehensive treatment programme.

• 1. Family Therapy is a set of therapeutic approaches that attempt to use the family’s strengths and resources to help them live without drugs or alcohol. It also seeks to reduce the harm of addiction on both the substance abuser and his or her family. Through education, the family can play a significant role in the service user’s recognition of the problem and acceptance of treatment. The aim of Family therapy is to educate family about relapse warning signs for alcohol and other drugs; and in turn help prevent a relapse.

• 1. Cognitive Behavioural therapy a tool that teaches service users to change the ways they think. It is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people to learn how to identify and change destructive thoughts that have a negative influence on behaviour and emotions.

• 1. Motivational Interviewing is a counselling approach designed to help people find the motivation to make a positive behaviour change. This is a client-oriented counselling style’ that seeks to help clients ‘explore and resolve ambivalence to change.

12 Step Model - the basic premise of the 12-Step model is that people can help one another achieve and maintain abstinence from the substances or to which they are addicted. They can do this through meetings in which they share their experiences with one another and support each other in the ongoing effort of maintaining abstinence.

Pharmacotherapy - medications can help alleviate the withdrawal manifestations among service users with severe physical dependence to help patients feel more comfortable during the early stages of treatment after stopping alcohol or drug use.

Time programme is a community based multi system approach to treatment family centred services. It provides a basket of services to address the needs of service users in a systemic way and contributes to harm reduction.

Vocational and skills development -It’s a programme that promote economic viability and provide job opportunities.

Relapse Prevention - focuses on the identification and prevention of high-risk situations in which a service user may be more likely to engage in substance use. Relapse prevention include challenging the service user’s expectation of perceived positive effects of use and providing psychoeducation to help the service user’s make a more informed choice. Relapse to drug use does not mean treatment has failed, but it is part of treatment.

Reply:

 

(1)(a) The total deportations conducted for the specified years: -

(i) 2017	-	14428
(ii) 2018	-	23525
(iii) 2019	-	26912
(iv) 2020	-	17743
(v) 2021	-	15148

(1)(b) Deportations were conducted via the following border posts as per table below:

PROVINCE	NAME OF PORT
EASTERN CAPE	QASHASNECK
FREE STATE	CALEDONSPOORT

	FICKSBURG BRIDGE
	MASERU BRIDGE
	VAN ROOYENSGATE
GAUTENG	OR TAMBO
	LANSERIA
KWAZULU NATAL	GOLELA
	KOSI BAY
	ONVERWACHT
LIMPOPO	BEITBRIDGE
	GROBLERSBRUG
	MAKHALEEN BRIDGE
	PAFURI
MPUMALANGA	BOTHASHOOP
	EMAHLATHINI
	JEPPE’S REEF
	JOSEFSDAL
	LEBOMBO
	MAHAMBA
	MANAGA
	NERSTON
	OSHOEK
NORTHERN CAPE	VIOOLSDRIFT

(2)(a) The Department only has one detention facility which is the Lindela Holding Facility in Krugersdorp, Gauteng.

(2)(b) The maximum capacity of Lindela Holding capacity is 4000.

END

Reply:

 

Legislative Review



Mine Health and Safety Act (Act 29 of 1996) will be strengthened through legislative amendments.

 The Department has issued a guideline for a mandatory COP on the right to refuse dangerous work. All mines are encouraged to popularise this COP so that mineworkers can exercise this important right without any fear of victimisation.

 The Department has also issued a guideline for a mandatory COP for the management and mitigation of COVID-19 at SA mines. The Department continues to encourage all mineworkers and their loved ones to vaccinate. As on the 14 December 2021, about 70% of the employees in the mining sector have been vaccinated.

Issuing of Chief Inspector of Mines (CIOM) Directives

 The Department issue CIOM directives where necessary to enhance the health and safety

of the mineworkers. The following directives have been issued by the DMRE:

• Elimination of rock-burst and rockfall accidents as a result of remnant pillar extraction.

• Elimination of shaft and winders accidents.

• Elimination of fire, explosion, heat and oxygen deficiency accidents.

• Emergency preparedness and secondary outlets.

• Start –up procedure and return to work post Covid -19 lockdown.

• Vigilance on health and safety matters during last quarter of the year.

 

Monitoring and enforcement of compliance

 The Department will be reviewing the organizational structure which will also ensure that the capacity to monitor the mining sector is strengthened.

 The Inspectors continuously monitor health and safety matters at mines by conducting proactive routine inspections and audits at various mines.

 During the routine inspections and audits Inspectors, as empowered by the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA), do issue relevant statutory notices/instructions in case of non-compliance to the legal provisions and dangerous conditions or practices which may endanger the health and safety of mineworkers. The relevant statutory notices include orders to stop an unsafe mine or part thereof in terms of MHSA Section 54 and Section 55 provides for the ordering of compliance to the provisions of the MHSA.

 During the 2021/21 financial year the Department issued 2 115 Section 54 instructions and 1 080 Section 55 instructions to various mine employers. In the current financial year (2021/22) from April to September, the DMRE has issued 750 Section 54 instructions and 794 Section 55 instructions. Before the said statutory instructions can be lifted, the mine management together with all organised labour representatives at that mine, are requested to confirm full compliance with the Inspector’s instructions through a formal presentation to the respective regional Principal Inspector of Mines.

Stakeholder Engagements

 The Department engages the CEOs of mining companies and Minerals Council of SA (former Chamber of Mines), to present their turn-around health and safety strategies and commitments.

 Mines are encouraged to adopt best/leading practices and technology advances to enhance health and safety.

 Meetings are also held with organized labour to discuss on the areas of concern and remedial actions.

 The DMRE has also established Regional Mine Health and Safety Tripartite forums in all the nine provinces where relevant officials of the Department, mine management and representatives of organised labour regularly meet to share mine health and safety challenges, best mining practices and proposed way forward to safeguard the mineworker’s health and safety.

 The Minister in collaboration with organised labour and business leaders convened a MineSafe conference on the 25 November 2021. The aim of the MineSafe was for the sector to recommit to health and safety as well as to urgently focus on actions to address the loss of life of the mineworkers. Subsequently, the stakeholders agreed on actions which will be implemented to ensure improvement.

Skills Development

 The Department is collaborating with the Mining Qualification Authority (MQA) on implementing health and safety skills programme including on the training and supporting learners in the sector to register for a qualification related to seismology and rock engineering as part of the efforts to mitigate the prevalence of FOG incidents.

 Also, the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) finalized the development of the business plan for Phase 2 of the Centre of Excellence (CoE).

 The following were the key recommendations of the business plan that would enable the implementation of Phase 2 of the CoE:

• Re-skilling of Mining and Mineral sector workforce.

• Development of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programmes that cater for modernized mines in line with 4IR developments.

• Inclusion of innovative technologies and techniques into training.

• Augmentation of the proposed career paths by linking them with other industries’ career paths in OHS.

(2) whether his department is investigating the high number of fatalities and injuries; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

DMRE REPLY

Conducting of Investigations and Inquiries

 The Department conducts accident investigations and inquiries in case of serious mine accidents to determine the cause of each mine accident, appropriate remedial measures to prevent recurrence and in case of gross negligence by any person, then make necessary recommendations for prosecution to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

 The Department will suspend or withdraw legal appointments and the Government Certificate of Competency of the responsible managers, engineers and supervisors who fail in theirnduties to safeguard the health and safety of mineworkers in their areas of responsibility.

 

Reply:

It is worth noting that the development of the upstream oil and gas industry is part of South Africa’s economic recovery strategy. Indigenous production of oil and gas will support the country’s energy security and provide an opportunity for local beneficiation of oil and gas. The IRP2019 has a large renewable energy build programme which needs to be supported by gas-to-power to ensure stability of the electricity grid. It would therefore be an added benefit to the economy if the gas to be used in the gas- to-power programme is indigenous gas. Having said the above, the decision made by the Department to grant the exploration right and approve the Environmental Management Programme was based on the following: 1. The application for the exploration right and the development of the Environmental Management fulfilled the prescribed regulatory framework i.e. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 and its Regulations. 2. The potential impacts associated with the proposed exploration activities on marine life were identified and assessed. The Department’s evaluation was that the proposed exploration activities would not cause detrimental impact on the environment as the majority of the potential impacts were assessed to have very low significance when taking into consideration the implementation of the mitigation measures. 3. The measures to prevent and minimise impact on the environment and marine life were also deemed suitable to manage potential environmental impacts. The Department therefore does not find it necessary to review its decision to allow Shell to undertake the 3D seismic survey as part of its exploration right.

Reply:

1) (a)(i) The provincial breakdown of the number of cases finalised during 2017 to 2020 is attached as Annexure “A”.

(b)(i) The NPA does not record rhino related prosecutions but does record the number of accused convicted, as reflected in the table on Annexure “A”

(b)(ii): The NPA does not record the number of accused released on bail involving matters of rhino prosecutions. The Department of Justice and Constitutional  Development does not keep such information either, but has however advised that the charge of “ Possession of an elephant tusk or a rhinoceros horn without he or she being the holder of a permit which authorizes him or her to do so” , has recently been added in the 2021/22 financial year. Therefore, the Department will not be able to report on the rhino matters for the years in question. However, in the near future, the Department would be able to supply such information.

(b)(iii): The Department of Correctional Services has further advised that their

Department does not keep information on bail granted or “ jail sentences” handed down.

2) The relevant department to respond is the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE).