Questions and Replies

Reply:

According to the information received from SAA:

1. Yes, training has been conducted recently: requalification training including ground training and flight simulator training was conducted by SAA instructors during the month of March up to the commencement of industrial action by SAAPA affiliated pilots on the 2nd of April 2021. Safety and Emergency Procedure training for the pilots that are not locked out on the A319/320 fleet has been completed, as well as Crew Resource Management training for A319/320 and A330/340 pilots that are not locked-out, post 2nd of April 2021.

2. Yes, the SAA Engineering Department (SAAT) is working. However, the company continues to face challenges with reduced airline activity. This has resulted in less work for SAAT in the market.

As part of SAAT’s Business Plan, the organisation’s restructuring seeks to position SAAT as a viable business entity capable of growing within the current and future market outlook. SAAT remains a strategic entity in the country’s aviation strategy, as well as in enhancing economic recovery through air travel.

3. South African Airways (SAA) Safety Department has concluded its investigation with regards to the Alpha Floor event during a February 2021 flight from OR Tambo International in Johannesburg to Brussels in Belgium.

In addition to SAA’s internal investigation, SAA received the report from the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) investigation into the same Alpha Floor event.

The SACAA report has made findings and recommendations. SAA is studying the report to determine how the recommendations made by SACAA can be implemented.

Ultimately, the trajectory of the Covid pandemic and the possibility of further waves of infection or other events will determine the aviation recovery. This will in turn influence the business available to SAAT.

Reply:

According to the Information Received from Eskom

a) Eskom had two dealings with Liviero Group in the past:

• Liviero Wilge Joint Venture (LWJV) - construction of 336 units on erf 165 Wilge Township.
• Liviero Civils – manhole construction at Kusile Power Station.

(b) Eskom Holdings SOC Limited

(c)(d)(e) Table 1 sets out details of total amounts of the contracts; whether the contracts finalised within the entered contract price and whether there were amounts charged over and above the agreed amount of each contract.

Table 1: Details of total amounts of the contracts; whether the contracts finalised within the entered contract price and whether there were amounts charged over and above the agreed amount of each contract.

Contract	Liviero Wilge Joint Venture (LWJV) for the construction of 336 units on erf 165 Wilge Township	Liviero Civils for a manhole construction Kusile Power Station
(c) total amounts of the contracts;	Initially, the total contract monetary value was R226.49 million. Subsequent contract modifications (six modifications in total) were implemented. The amount paid to LWJV was R632.64 million.	The estimated value of the contract was R2 501 530.
(d) were the contracts finalised within the entered contract price;	Yes, the LWJV contract was finalised within the mandated contracted price, as it included the approved modifications and termination costs.	Yes. the work was finalised within the contract price.
(e) what amounts have been charged over and above the agreed amount of each contract?	No amount was paid over and above the agreed contract. The amount paid to LWJV was R632.64 million.	No amount was paid over and above the agreed contract. Upon completion of the work and an assessment, Liviero Civils was paid R 441 045.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

a) The Board approved Denel’s turnaround plan in 2019 with the aim to refocus the business to reduce duplications and dispose non-cores assets.

b) Denel and the Board has made significant inroads in the restructuring the business key initiatives and success include the following:

• 1. LMT (expected annualised savings of R48m).
  2. Exit of loss making subsidiaries
  3. Exit of Denel Aerostructures (expected annualised savings of circa R260m).
  4. Exit of onerous contracts.
  5. Cumulative cost savings in excess of R1bn since April 2018 to September 2020, mainly driven by a 27% reduction in employee numbers.
  6. A 43% forecasted reduction in operating expenditure in FY20/21 vs FY19/20. Mainly as a result in reduced employment costs [as a reduction in natural attrition of employees] and overall subdued business activity.
  7. Improvements to governance and co-operating with the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

However, much still needs to be done to reposition Denel and return it to functionality and profitability. A challenging road will have to be traversed to get to this point. Recovery from the huge damage done to these institutions by state capture is a challenging task. There is no “quick fix” in this regard.

Reply:

1. In the third quarter of the previous financial year, the Department of Public Service and Administration launched a project to address the delays in finalising disciplinary cases where the Minister for the Public Service and Administration addressed executive authorities (Ministers and Premiers) whose departments were identified to have long outstanding precautionary suspensions. This was followed by one-on-one sessions between these identified provinces and departments and the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) to assess the reasons for delays, to provide technical assistance to finalise cases and where a newly developed electronic register was provided to departments to user to record their cases and to provide monthly progress updates to the DPSA. The MPSA furthermore addressed the issue in the Forum of South African Director-Generals (FOSAD) which took place in May 2021. The Director-General: DPSA embarked on provincial visits where top management were engaged, amongst others, on discipline management.

To assist departments with discipline management and to address identified challenges, the PAEIDTAU developed a Guide on managing discipline in the public service. The Guide is available on the DPSA website and training on the guide will commence this year.

In 2020, the DPSA trained 204 presiding officers to preside over disciplinary hearings.

As an interim measure, the MPSA launched (on 16 April 2021) a Discipline Management Complaints Hotline to enable public servants to report incidents of bullying and victimizations by their supervisors, pending finalisation of their disciplinary cases.

2. Tag A, herewith attached, addresses question 2, and reflects the information provided by national and provincial departments who responded to the request of the DPSA to provide the necessary information.

3. As indicated in the response of question 1, the MPSA addressed the issue with executive authorities in one-on-one meetings. The MPSA will continue to issue non-compliance letters to non-compliant executive authorities as mandated in terms of section 16 A of the Public Service Act and will also report those executive authorities to Cabinet and the Presidential Co-ordinating Council.

End

Reply:

According to the Information Received from Eskom

1. The amount of R178 billion reported in the media is the total value of contracts in which there may have been corruption or malfeasance. It should not be inferred that the total amount has been misappropriated. All such contracts are under investigation and signification recoveries have already been made. An example is the recovery of about R1,5 billion from ABB.

2. Eskom is progressing with enhancing its commercial governance process to ensure robust scrutiny. Numerous initiatives implemented under the supply chain recovery programme to mitigate the occurrence of irregular expenditure, include:

• Enhancement of internal processes and controls to eliminate procurement processes being circumvented. In line with legislative and compliance requirements, checklists have been embedded into systems to ensure that the applicable controls and workflows are complied with before conclusion of a transaction
• Proactive reviews of newly established contracts, modifications and deviations. In instances where potential irregular expenditure is identified, an investigation is conducted and the necessary condonation process implemented if required. Sanctions are instituted against employees and suppliers where wrongdoing is identified, and civil action and recovery measures are pursued where applicable

In conjunction with these initiatives, training on the revised PFMA reporting procedures and guidelines was rolled out, with the aim of eliminating any ambiguities that may arise from different interpretations of our governance framework.

3. Loss of billions of rands from the State Owned Companies (SOCs) were mainly due to State Capture, malfeasance, fraud and corruption. Eskom is working with law enforcement agencies to recover monies stolen during State Capture, malfeasance, fraud and corruption. The individuals in the SOEs and in the business sector must face the consequences of their thieving. This is in the hands of the law enforcement agencies.

Reply:

(1)       Whether her department has investigated the fact that overcrowding in schools is one of the factors contributing to the increasing number of COVID-19 infections; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; 

RESPONSE:

The closeness of learners to each other in the classroom, and overcrowding, are clearly factors that can increase the risk of COVID-19 infection. This is clear from the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance and the guidance provided by South African experts, which is captured in the various guides and directives produced by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and aimed at schools. There is no clear scientific evidence from anywhere in the world on the exact effects of the proximity of learners to each other in the classroom on transmission of the virus. Thus, rules and guidelines around classroom distancing strategies and optimal distances between learners are based on expert opinion, and differ from place to place. For instance, the WHO has advocated a distance of one metre in classrooms, while South African experts have in the past advocated one and a half metres. The reason there is no clear evidence is that the required experiments would be unethical. They would require, for instance, imposing a one metre rule in some classes, and a one and a half metre rule in other classes, in the same schooling system, and then seeing the extent to which transmission differed across the two groups. The reason one cannot make simple comparisons across different schooling systems, is that the epidemiology in each schooling system is influenced by a great variety of factors, and not just one factor such as the stipulated distance.

(2)       whether her department has made similar findings; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; 

RESPONSE:

As explained in the response to the previous question, this type of research has not been conducted in South Africa for ethical reasons. What the Department is currently working on is analysis of Department of Health microdata on reported cases since the start of the pandemic, to detect whether correlations between schools being open and cases point to any clear benefits to either closures or re-openings. It should be kept in mind that learners are exposed to infection both inside and outside school, and that it is possible that learners may be safer in the more controlled environment of the school than outside the school. Initial findings from the DBE’s work does not point strongly in either direction, meaning whether schools have been open or closed has not made any significant difference to transmission patterns among children or the population as a whole.

(3)       whether her department is conducting the required research on ventilation and health protocols in schools in line with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s building recommendations in both (a) private and (b) public schools; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? 

RESPONSE:

The DBE has gone to great lengths to gather expert opinion, from South Africa and abroad, on optimal ventilation and other strategies in classrooms, and this informs government’s policy on these matters. Again, neither in the United States nor in South Africa are scientific experiments that directly assess the relationship between ventilation and transmission levels possible, for ethical reasons.     

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

(1)(a) The Commission filed the Notice of Referral as ordered by the Court. All interested and affected parties have been served. We are awaiting the Legal Representatives for the claimants /plaintiffs and owner defendants to proceed. The Commission arranged Legal Representation for the claimants in terms of section 29(4) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994.

(b) The land claim in question is pending in court. This claim was lodged with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights on behalf of Molekwa Sekungwe Community before the cut-off date of the 31st December 1998. The claim was referred to court for the reason that the landowner is challenging validity of the claim on farm Vluchtkraal 38 KR.

2. No, the matter is pending in court.

3. No, the matter is pending in court.

Reply:

As at 31 July 2021, The South African Council for Educators still had a total of 826 cases that still remain unresolved and are still being processed.

More resources are being deployed to deal effectively with the existing backlog that is a direct result of the negative effect of Covid 19 that has, to a large extent, made it extremely difficult to get access to victims and witnesses. Quite often this applies to learners who are restrained by their parents to participate on misconduct cases which are linked to educators. Such a development often leads to delayed resolution and finalisation of cases.

In addition, the fear by teachers and Presiding officers to travel during this pandemic, witness tampering and intimidation of complainants by accused educators has impacted negatively on SACE’s ability to clear cases as planned. These challenges are being addressed by seeking cooperation, implementing awareness programmes and encouraging the community to help in enforcing the code of professional ethics.

Reply:

1) The omission of the Spatial Data Infrastructure Act (Act 54 of 2003) in the Annual Performance Plan (APP), was due to an administrative oversight and will be rectified in the revision of the APP of the Department for 2022/23. Although the SDI Act is omitted in the APP, its implementation is underway with the Committee for Spatial Information appointed and the Electronic Metadata Catalogue developed in the current financial year.

2) The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has appointed the Committee for Spatial Information (CSI) on 8 August 2021.

3) Yes. The Minister has appointed the CSI and she is well informed about the importance of the CSI including the functions performed by the CSI in relation to the processing of applications for spatial data.

4) Funding allocated for 2021-2022 for the implementation of the SDI Act is R7million. The CSI will hold a strategic planning session to determine the activities and the cost of operationalising the CSI. The Department will then fund the priorities as outlined on the strategic plan of the CSI.

5) The Department is in the process of developing a service delivery model to support the full implementation of the SDI Act, which includes support to data custodians. The CSI strategic planning session will guide the Department terms of establishing a functional national spatial data Infrastructure which will contribute positively to spatial transformation.

Reply:

The remedial actions to be taken on:

(a). Financial Interventions

The following measures will be undertaken with the aim of enhancing efficiency to control measures already in place:

1. The grant frameworks as part of the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) governing the utilisation of emergency grant funding will be enhanced to include the following additional conditions:

a) Provinces and Municipalities to furnish Audit outcomes from previous financial year(s) when submitting an application for emergency funding;

b) Province/Municipality to provide evidence of the appointment of service provider prior to disbursements of funds. The approval letter by the National Department should be used to appoint a service provider;

2. Compliance concerns to be highlighted and discussed with Provinces and Municipalities during CFO forum(s) and quarterly performance reviews

3. Monthly and quarterly reminders to be sent to Provinces and Municipalities for submission of performance (i.e. financial and non-financial) reports in line with the DoRA provisions. Non-compliance letters will be issued to grant recipients in case of non or late submission of reports

4. Provinces and Municipalities to indicate strategies in place that will accelerate provision of TRU’s in their applications for emergency grant funding

5. It will be mandatory for Provinces and Municipalities to submit a credible and verifiable beneficiary list as part of the application process for emergency grant funding

(b) Non-Financial Interventions

1) At the MinMec of 23 September 2020 it was amongst others resolved that the quality assessments and or inspections of the NHBRC should include all human settlements projects and TRUs.

The process of reviewing the mandate of the NHBRC mandate has commenced in earnest. To this extent, the Department has drafted the Housing Consumer Protection Bill, which amongst others, will repeal the Housing Consumer Protection Measures Act of 1998, and address the following ;

a) Ensure adequate protection of housing consumers and the effective regulation of the home building industry;

b) Strengthen protection measures, regulatory and enforcement mechanisms as well as prescribing appropriate sanctions or penalties against defaulting persons.

To this end, on 30 June 2021, Parliament published the Housing Consumer Protection Bill for public consultation and this process will close on 13 August 2021, which will be followed by provincial visits.

In terms of the new Act the NHBRC will be the custodian in respect of providing quality assurance and inspecting TRUs for compliance with the norms and standards that are set in the Housing Code.

The Housing Development Agency was directed both by my office and the Director-General to ensure that processes leading up to establishment and construction of temporary residential areas and units are investigated, and a report provided on the outcomes thereof, including any consequence management measures.

It is also important that I advise that the South African Polices Services, under the Hawks have instituted a criminal investigation within the various projects including in Limpopo and Eastern Cape. In addition, the Special Investigating Unit are seized with matters based on a proclamation issued on the matter. As soon as I am provided with the relevant detail and reports I will advise the Portfolio Committee on the matter.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

1. This question would be best described by defining Capability, which is man-made creation that facilitate human endeavor. It consists of three elements: i) Science/knowledge, ii) People, and iii) Tools (materials, machines, and facilities). If any of the elements is removed the capability ceases to exist. Denel still has these three elements in terms of our missiles business, though a number of skills have been lost. Therefore, Denel still has the capability.
2. The designs are still being done because Denel still has the three elements to some extent, though impacted by loss of a significant number of engineers in the value chain.
3. No, Denel has not lost all the capability, but is aware of attempts by some of its people to siphon Denel capability to foreign jurisdictions.

Reply:

Government is committed to promoting economic recovery and returning the public finances to a sustainable position. Faster economic growth remains the most important determinant of fiscal sustainability, and private investment remains a key driver of that growth. For this reason, government is taking steps to promote both private and public investment.

The economy has started to recover in response to improved global conditions and the easing of lockdown restrictions – and in the months ahead, a mass vaccine rollout will support a full reopening of the economy. At the time of the 2021 Budget, GDP growth of 3.3 per cent was projected for 2021, although recent strong GDP outcomes have opened the possibility of a better growth outlook.

Government’s balanced and prudent fiscal strategy is designed to stabilise the public finances. For example, the 2021 Budget provided continued support to the economy and public health in the short term without adding to long-term spending pressures.

Capital spending remains the fastest-growing component of non-interest spending. The main budget primary deficit is projected to narrow from 7.5 per cent of GDP in 2020/21 to 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2023/24, and gross government debt is expected to stabilise at 88.9 per cent of GDP in 2025/26.

In addition to these fiscal measures, government is working to promote investment.

Operation Vulindlela, a collaboration between the National Treasury and the Presidency, is working with the relevant departments to address many of the structural impediments to investment, such as the high cost of doing business, low levels of competitiveness and a weak public‐sector balance sheet.

Addressing these can unlock large‐scale investment by the private sector to support inclusive growth and job creation.

Recent initiatives such as Infrastructure South Africa and the Infrastructure Fund are instruments to enhance collaboration and attract private‐sector investment. This is done through partnering with the private sector, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions to bolster investment capacity, expertise and financing.

The commitment to these initiatives was further solidified in the 2021 Budget, where it was announced that government will be providing initial support of R18 billion to the Infrastructure Fund over the medium term. Several collaborative projects under the Fund are already underway, including student housing, digital infrastructure and water infrastructure.

By carefully managing public spending, undertaking structural reforms and shifting public expenditure towards fixed investment, we have embarked on a path to reduce public debt in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Reply:

Engagements on the budget deficit are ongoing and at present there are no new developments to report in this regard.

Reply:

(1) Liaison between the Department of Defence (DOD) and other role players, including the Department of International Relations and Cooperation took place in this regard to streamline diplomatic and protocol procedures that will allow the Department to proceed with measures to hold the individuals accountable and to remedy the situation. Diplomatic processes are considered according to the Memorandum of Agreement to ensure that the Department’s actions are embodied thereon and are binding to all the affected parties involved.

(2) Yes,

(3) I have asked the CSANDF to provide same.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) and (ii) Non-availability of members who agreed to serve on the Task Team for various reasons relating to health, other commitments etc led to a further search for members to serve on the Task Team.

(b) The appointment was announced once members were appointed on 1 March 2021.

(c) (i) The Task Team is expected to finalise their report into all matters relating to their mandate within 6 months as of 1 March 2021.

(c) (ii) The task team is to investigate the allegations contained in 3 separate submissions: (i) An anonymous report of October 2019 alleging fraud, corruption and misuse of State funds in the Department of Defence (DoD), particularly in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF); (2) A submission made to the State Capture Commission by Maj Gen (ret) Sizani and Maj Gen B Ngcobo which similarly contained serious allegations of alleged criminal activity in the environment of the Defence Intelligence Division; and (3) A memorandum from Maj Gen L. Ford outlining concerns regarding some procurement irregularities by the SANDF in the purchasing of Interferon-B from the Republic of Cuba when Coronavirus reached our shores in March 2020.

(c)(iii) Members of the Task Team not in the employ of the State are remunerated hourly rates as prescribed by National Treasury for Commissions / Committees of this nature and must submit time sheets to claims such on a monthly basis.

(2) Members of the Task Team were selected based on their knowledge and understanding of Government and especially the security cluster. The Chairperson is Mr Zola Ngcakani and the other two members are Dr RC Lubisi and Mr B Masethla.

(3) As can be noted from their Terms of Reference they will be investigating the environment of Defence Intelligence and as such it is best suited that they be vetted by another security agency.

(4) The final report will be shared with the relevant oversight structures in a manner that will be dictated by the nature of the findings and recommendations given that some of it relates to the environment of Defence Intelligence, which may be better shared with the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.

 

Reply:

(1) (a) Section 19 of the Government Employees Pension Law, 1996 (Proclamation No. 21 of 1996) states, inter alia, that a member shall have the right to retire on pension and shall be so retired on reaching the age determined by the law governing his or her employment. Section 52 of the Defence Act, 2002 (Act 42 of 2002) makes provision for members to be appointed and utilised in the Regular Force from the age of 18 to 65 years of age. In terms of Regulation 21 of Chapter III of the General Regulations for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Reserve an officer serving in the Permanent Force shall have the right to retire on pension and shall be so retired, on the date when he or she attains the age of 60 years. Regulation 22 of Chapter III also states that the maximum age limit for temporary service in the Permanent Force shall be 65 years. The incumbent Surgeon-General (SG) of the SA Military Health Services (SAMHS) reached the age of 60 on 20 October 2016.

(b) The following are the reasons and motivation for allowing his continued service beyond the official exit age:

i. To ensure continuous effective strategic direction and management to the SAMHS (SANDF).

ii. To ensure the effective management of medical and health services to the Department of Defence (SANDF).

iii. To retain specialist skills, especially where there is a shortage of skilled members in the Senior Management System, such as Medical Officers and Special Forces Operators.

iv. To ensure the retention of experienced members to mentor young and inexperienced members.

(2) The SG will retire on 31 October 2021.

(3) The process for the appointment of the next surgeon-general has been finalised and the next SG will assume duty with effect from 01 November 2021.

Reply:

The response is detailed in the table below.

1. Department of Correctional Services – Veterinary Services

2. Department of Health (North West Province) – Medical assistance during strikes

3. Department of Health (Kalafong Hospital) – Transfer of patients

4. Department of Health (Steve Biko Academic Hospital) – Transfer of patients

5. Department of Military Veterans – Medical assistance

6. Department of Public Works and Infrastructure – Building of bridges

7. National Treasury – Medical treatment for military pension officers

8. South African Police Services - Veterinary Services

With regard to the feedback on the Budget Review and Recommendation Report to the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on 5 May 2021, where it was reported that several departments still owe her department for services rendered (details furnished), (a) what is the total amount owed by each specified department, (b) for what period has the debt been outstanding in each case, (c) what are the details of the payment arrangements that were agreed to with each department and (d) by what date will the outstanding accounts be settled in full? NW1766E

9. South African Revenue Services - Veterinary Services

Whether she will please confirm what

(a) is the total amount owed by each department;

(b) is the total period for which the debt has been outstanding;

(c) payment arrangements were agreed to with each department and

(d) confirm when these outstanding accounts will be settled in full?

OUTSTANDING AMOUNTS FOR SERVICES RENDERED TO DEPARTMENTS
S/N	Department Name	Type	Number of cases	(a) the total amount owed by each department	(b) the total period for which the debt has been outstanding	(c) payment arrangements agreed to with each department	(d) confirm when these outstanding accounts will be settled in full
1	Correctional Services	Veterinary Services	22	R35 093,23	Ongoing service and most outstanding amounts are in the current financial year less than one year.	Payments will be made on a regular bases	Probably in the current financial year as payments are received regularly
2	Dept Health: NW	Medical Assistance During Strike	1	R12 275 216	Two to three years	In the year the service was provided however the institution does not keep to its promise. Continuous follow up is being made.	Dept. of Health / North West indicates that there was no contract in place, hence payment cannot be made until there is a contract. Engagements between the two departments are ongoing to settle the amount owing.
3	Kalafong Hospital: Gauteng	Patient Transferred	20	R264 108,37	More than three years	In the year the service was provided however the institution did not keep to its promise. Continuous follow up is being made.	Probably in the current financial year, since engagements with the relevant department are in process for settlement of the account.
4	Steve Biko Academic Hospital: Gauteng	Patient Transferred	17	R50 036,86	More than three years	In the year the service was provided how ever the institution did not keep to its promise. Continues follow up is being made.	Probably in the current financial year, since engagements are in process for settlement of the account.
5	Military Veterans	Medical Assistance	4 671	R99 033 939,62	Ongoing service and 58% of the amount outstanding is between 1 year to 3 years.	In the year the service was provided however the institution has had challenges making payments. Continous engagements are ongoing.	The relevant department reconciles with the DOD on a quarterly basis. In most years the debts raised are greater than the payments received. DMV has requested for some of the historic debts to be written off
6	Nat Dept Public Works	Operations: Building Of Bridges	2	R12 568 571,08	One debt is less than one year and the other more than three years.	In the year the service was provided however the institution does not keep to its promise. Continues follow up is being made.	Probably in the current financial year, since engagements with the relevant department are in process for settlement of the account.
7	National Treasury	Medical Treatment For Military Pension Officers	1 292	R6 724 103,65	Ongoing service and most outstanding amounts are more than three years.	In the year service was provided. However, in the financial year 21/22 National Treasury has requested to review long outstanding claims for settlement.	Probably in the current financial year, since engagements with the relevant department are in process for settlement of the accounts.
8	SAPS	Veterinary Services	6	R39 802,81	Ongoing service and most outstanding amount is in the current financial year less than one year.	Payments will be made on a regular bases	Probably in the current financial year as payments are received regularly
9	SARS Veterinary Service	Veterinary Services	1	R3 255,74	Two to three years	In the year the service was provided however the institution does not keep to its promise. Continues follow up is being made.	Probably in the current financial year, since engagements with the relevant department are in process for settlement of the account.
				R130 994 127,36

Reply:

1. An amount of R210 000.00 financial provision is provided.

2. The quantity of the bulk sample is clearly described in the approved Prospecting work programme and has not been increased. Rehabilitation is described in the approved EMP

3. (a) Yes.

(b) Yes. All the studies were done copies are readily available in our offices in Springbok for collection as they can not be mailed through due to size.

4. This is the competency of the Department of Agriculture, Environment, Rural Development and Land Reform (Kimberley office).

Reply:

1. (a) It takes a minimum of 15 days to respond to appointments requests. The father (Dr Dare) received a response from this office via email.

(b) The office operating hours has been reduced due to covid-pandemic. Due to lack of personnel in this office, phone calls may only be attended to when counter duties to public members are completed for the day

2. The office was informed.

3. The office is not flouting the law. The children must be registered in the country of birth and submit proof of birth (foreign birth certificate) when applying for SA birth certificates.

4. (a) The current operational hours are from 9H00 to 15H00.

(b) Dr Dare was responded to on (i) 11 June 2021 (ii) his appointment date was 29 June 2021 @ 10H00. He attended his appointment on 29 June 2021 and the department is still awaiting the application from DIRCO’ s diplomatic bag.

• END -

Reply:

ANNEXURE A

list of all the (a) mining and (b) prospecting licences granted in the eMalahleni Local Municipality in Mpumalanga in the past three financial years

Seq No.	NAME OF THE COMPANY	REF NUMBER	STATUS	LOCATION	TYPE OF RIGHT	GRANTING/ISSUING DATE	EXPIRY	OPERATION OR NOT
1	Kusile mining (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/2/2/10049MR	GRANTED	ROODEBLOEM 58 IS, ptn 1 and 2	NEW	2019/03/11	2029/03/10	Not operational
2	SIDE MINERALS (PTY) LTD	MP30/5/1/2/2/10072MR	GRANTED	BANKFONTEIN 216 IR, ptn 7 and 11	RENEWAL	2019/11/03	2026/11/02	Operational
3	Eyethu Coal (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/2/2/10148MR	GRANTED	SPEEKFONTEIN 336 JS, ptn 4	RENEWAL	2019/03/18	2024/03/17	Operational
4	UMCEBO MINIING (PTY) LTD	MP30/5/1/2/2/10118MR	GRANTED	RONDEBULT 303 JS, RE and DOORNRUG 302 JS, ptn 11	RENEWAL	2019/03/17	2027/03/16	Operational
5	Eyethu Coal (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/2/2/10166MR	GRANTED	KOSMO 282 JS, BLOEKOMBOS 414 JS, DRIEFONTEIN 297 JS, LEEUWPOORT 283 JS, SUURWATER 366 JS, TWEEDAM 377 JS	RENEWAL	2019/03/17	2024/03/16	Operational
6	JOE SINGH GROUP OF COMPANIES	MP30/5/1/2/2/10197MR	GRANTED	HENMA 291 IR	RENEWAL	2019/03/11	2024/03/10	Operational
7	Ibumba Bricks (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/2/2/10124MR	GRANTED	LEEUWPOORT 283 JS, ptn 9	NEW	2019/03/17	2049/03/16	Not operational
8	Koornfontein Mines (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/2/2/10077MR	GRANTED	VLAKLAAGTE 45 IS	NEW	2020/08/14	2035/0813	Not operational

Prospecting Rights

Seq No.	NAME OF THE COMPANY	REF NUMBER	STATUS	LOCATION	TYPE OF RIGHT	GRANTING/ISSUING DATE	EXPIRY	OPERATION OR NOT
1.	Kusile Mining (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/14040PR	GRANTED	9, 11, 12 & 15 Rietfontein 100 IS	RENEWAL	2019/05/13	2015/09/04	Operational
2.	CREDOCRON CC	MP30/5/1/1/2/10891PR	GRANTED	25 Elandsfontein 309 JS	New	2018/04/25	2012/08/22	Not operational
3.	Makole Electrical (Pty) Ltd Trading As Makole Electrical (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/11732PR	GRANTED	26 & 94 Naauwpoort 335 JS	New	2020/03/25	2013/04/25	Not operational
4.	Invincibledrive Pty Ltd Trading As Invincibledrive Pty Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/11725PR	GRANTED	5 & 11 Rhenosterfontein 318 JS	New	2019/10/30	2013/04/10	Not operational
5.	125 Makole Investment cc Trading As 125 Makole Investment cc	MP30/5/1/1/2/12195PR	GRANTED	3 Steenkoolspruit 18 IS	New	2020/03/25	2013/07/26	Not operational
6.	NGULULU RESOURCES PTY LTD Trading As	MP30/5/1/1/2/13065PR	GRANTED	4,5,6,8,9,36,39, RE Hartgebeestlaagte 325 JS	New	2018/04/24	2014/06/03	Not operational
7.	J for Joy Development and Entertainment (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/14497PR	GRANTED	Portion of portion 4 Driefontein 297 JS	New	2018/07/20	2016/10/13	Not operational
8.	XAKWA INVESTMENT (PTY) LTD	MP30/5/1/1/2/12382PR	GRANTED	Waterkyk 304 JS	RENEWAL	2019/05/29	2013/09/26	Operational
9.	Superlane 137 (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/14001PR	GRANTED	Portion of RE Duvha Kragstasie 337 JS	RENEWAL	2018/11/08	2015/07/24	Operational
10	Umzobanzi Coal and Energy Pty Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/14632PR	GRANTED	8, 10, 30 Grootvallei 258 JS	RENEWAL	2019/05/29	2017/01/27	Operational
11	Inkanyezi Mining and Industrial Suppies cc	MP30/5/1/1/2/14670PR	GRANTED	2, 11 Nooitgedacht 300 JS	New	2018/07/04	2017/02/23	Not operational
12	AMULA RESOURCES (PTY) LTD	MP30/5/1/1/2/14181PR	ISSUED	31 Wolvenskrans 17 IS	New	2018/05/30	2016/02/23	Operational
13	Zama Jali Mining CC	MP30/5/1/1/2/14138PR	ISSUED	6, 12, 13 Speekfontein 336 JS, 12 Rhenosterfontein 318 JS	RENEWAL	2018/11/28	2015/12/18	Operational
14	Big Coal (Pty) Ltd	MP30/5/1/1/2/11318PR	ISSUED	1, 13 & 32 Blesboklaagte 296 JS	New	2018/10/03	2013/01/17	Operational
15	MH Kekana and Sons	MP30/5/1/1/2/14870PR	ISSUED	30-60, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 92, 112, 123, 134, 235 Nooitgadacht 300 JS, 2, 3, 10, 14-18, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 32 Hartbeestpruit 281 JS	New	2019/09/19	2017/08/22	Not operational

Reply:

1. a) On the 25th of October 2019.

b) Inspection findings;

• No mining activities were taking place onsite at the day of inspection.
• The access gate was locked with security guard onsite.
• Mine infrastructure onsite, include office, access and haul road, opencast pit, overburden stockpile, opened trenches with berms, coal stockpile.

2. a) There is no mining permit issued on the area that was inspected and as such no consultation took place.

b) (i) The court order found Lunathi to be mining; no authorization neither a permit/mining right or prospecting right was issued to Lunathi to mine the area.

(ii) No information could have been shared with the land owner as Lunathi was never authorized to mine the area.

3. The office of the Regional Manager has not received any concern or objection alleging that certain part of the applications constituted of cut and paste material.

4( a) The Department was still investigating the validity of mining permit.

(b) Ms A M M Weber was provided with the copy of the approved Environmental management plan (EMP) of Hlelo.

5(a) There is no mining permit on portion 24 of Boschmanspoort and as such no internal investigations are being conducted. This is being treated as an illegal activity and law enforcement will assist in dealing with the matter.

Reply:

Yes.

Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act will be amended to increase the NERSA licensing threshold for embedded generation projects from 1 MW to 100 MW.

Reply:

(1) An amount of R1,253,386,427.00

(2) Yes, the mentioned amount is held by the Department.

(3) (a) (i) West coast Resources is still the holder.

(ii) West Coast Resources.

(b) The date cannot be confirmed as the business rescue process is still underway.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel

1(a) Denel’s overall operating activities and environment has further declined in the FY2020/21 financial year with revenue (R2.8bn) projected to be in par with the previous financial year and further losses projected to be 23% lower than the previous financial year.

(1)(b) Denel has struggled to meet all its obligations due to low cashflow and limited business operations.

However, the board, management and DPE are in the process of confirming a new business model which takes account the current realities, including the financial constraints, the stealing of Intellectual Property and the need to rebuild Denel’s capability.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi P J Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

Honourable Member, the Housing Development Agency (HDA) hosted the National Human Settlements Command Centre (HSCC). I am informed that there were no costs incurred in the establishment and operations of the HSCC.

Following the findings published in the Auditor-General’s First Special Report on Government’s Financial Management of the COVID-19 crisis, I convened MinMEC on 23 September 2020 to discuss findings in respect of the Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) built in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was necessary because housing is a concurrent function between three spheres of government and the National Department of Human Settlements is responsible for policymaking. The meeting was attended by members of the HSCC, Provinces, HDA and Municipalities. At the said meeting and as part of remedial measures, Accounting Officers of these entities were instructed to; 

 

• Take the necessary steps immediately to ensure that the current TRU projects comply with minimum norms & standards.
• Revisit current contracts to ensure value-for-money is derived. 
• Institute Accountability and Consequence management measures - “act or be acted upon”.
• Consult with the NHBRC on specifications for TRU bids and implementation monitoring.

 

Further, the Honourable Member will be aware that the matter is also under investigation by the SIU.

Reply:

(1) (a) Honourable Member, the National Human Settlements Command Centre (HSCC) was established as an inter-governmental operational co-ordination platform to support the work of the National and Provincial Departments of Human Settlements, Provinces, as well as the Metropolitan Municipalities in between meetings of Technical MinMec meetings. The meetings of the HSCC were attended by officials employed in public institutions from the three spheres of government.

(b) There was no additional remuneration, incentives and bonuses in respect of the work of the HSCC.

(2)(a)&(b) I am informed that the HSCC met on the following dates:

• 8 April 2020
• 11 April 2020
• 14 April 2020
• 22 April 2020
• 29 April 2020
• 13 May 2020

Reply:

According to the Information received from Eskom

A forensic investigation revealed multiple instances where Ms Mlonzi, the sole director of Econ Oil was party to inappropriate and unethical behaviour, and in particular, in attempts to unduly influence Eskom officials to inappropriately and unlawfully act to the benefit of Econ Oil, either during procurement processes and/or contract execution stages.

On 29 August 2013, Ms Marah, a former Eskom employee, requested Ms Mlonzi/Econ Oil to make a contribution to “Women in Dialogue”. Ms Mlonzi complied and Econ Oil paid R10,000 to the organisation on 4 September 2013.

On January 2014, Econ Oil invited certain Eskom officials to an ANC Gala Dinner, inclusive of Ms Marah, and allegedly paid for such. The price for the cheapest table was R150,000.

On 11 April 2014, Ms Marah requested Ms Mlonzi on behalf of ANC’s Liliesleaf Farm Branch, to make a donation towards the ANC’s 2014 National Elections campaign. Ms Mlonzi complied and paid R100,000 on 23 April 2014.

Ms Marah was suspended in December 2018 and resigned in January 2019.

There is no causal link with the donation made by Ms Mlonzi to the ANC that would enable Eskom to take legal steps to recover the donation.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi Pravin Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

(a) As the honourable member might be aware that all Cabinet Ministers serves in their portfolios at the behest of the President.  The acting period remains the prerogative of the President.

(b) I continue to execute and fulfil my responsibilities as Minister for Small Business Development as detailed in my Performance Agreement with the President and both the Strategic and Annual Performance Plans whilst also acting as the Minister in The Presidency.

Thank you

Reply:

According to the information received from Transnet:

a) Transnet received 84 applications for rental relief in the 2020 -21 financial year.

b) The names of the tenants who applied for rental relief are listed in Annexure A.

c) The rental relief applications that were approved in line with the guidelines, are listed in Annexure A.

d) The Rand value of each approved application is contained in Annexure A.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi P J Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

According to the information received from Alexkor:

a) Alexkor has always bought these items directly from the main retailers. They are not procured through a third party

Consumables	YTD Spend	Forecast YE Spend
Cleaning products	R12,210	R13,320

According to the information received from Denel:

(1)(a) Denel, due to continued and prolonged liquidity challenges do not procure bulk bottled waters, milk etc. Cleaning material is part of the Cleaning contracts, which is a consequence of the competitive bidding process.

(1)(b) N/A

(2) N/A

According to the information received from Eskom

Background

Eskom’s Procurement and Supply Chain Management Procedure states that all prices paid need to be market related, thereby minimising the total cost of ownership. The cost of ownership may include items such as delivery, which could be included with each payment invoice. Eskom has since introduced various mechanisms, namely Price Check, e-Auction, Cataloguing, etc., which are embedded in the procurement system to ensure that the principle of obtaining market related prices is adhered to across Operating Units.

The data used to calculate the estimate for Eskom’s spend per unit on a basket of recurring consumables such as bottled water, toilet paper, milk, cleaning products and implements was extracted from SAP based on the text descriptions.

Eskom systems capture information at invoice level not per unit price. In order to respond to this question, Eskom undertook a manual exercise in order to remove items that are not related to the question, and obtained feedback at local level i.e. stations, operating units and offices.

1. (a) The outcome of an exercise undertaken to determine a reasonable estimate for Eskom’s spend per unit on a basket of recurring consumables, such as bottled water, toilet paper, milk, cleaning products and implements, is summarised in Table 1 below. The total spend in April 2020 to February 2020 was R15.6 million - 47% less than the 2019/20 financial year spend.

Category	Currency	FY 2019/20	1 April 2020 to 28 February 2021
Milk	ZAR	16 955 622	7 194 810
Toilet paper	ZAR	5 560 989	2 804 401
Bottled water	ZAR	382 566	258 627
Cleaning products and implements	ZAR	6 456 299	5 383 989
Total		29 355 476	15 641 827

Table 1: Total spend on bottled water, toilet paper, milk, cleaning products and implements

81.47% of the transactions for the last financial year were procured using the local purchase order (LPO)

• According to Eskom Procurement Procedure 32-1034, LPO is a procurement mechanism to be used by an accredited LPO-buyer to procure specific confined categories of goods and services in accordance with the prescribed Delegation of Authority Policy thresholds. The LPO is seen to procure specific confined categories of goods and services below the value of R26 000, excluding VAT.

• The spend on these items is considered as ‘low value’, and most spend is not on long term contracts. This is as a result of Eskom’s footprint across multiple sites, across the country. Further these items are procured locally, preferably local to site, in order to support to local business.

• Since LPO is the main procurement mechanism used, the transaction captured on the system could only reflect the total amount paid. This means the unit data is not standardised and could include varying unit sizes e.g. 20litres of milk, a six pack or 1 litre. This applies to cleaning materials.

(b) A total of 1646 transactions were identified for the period 1 April 2020 to 28 February 2021 and 73%, i.e. 1215 transactions, were analysed further.

In terms of wholesale or retail prices, the results of the price comparison are as set out in Table 2.

Eskom notes that the unit prices paid are above market rates. This is being attended to.

Table 2: Price comparison for bottled water, toilet paper, milk, cleaning products and implements

In terms of cleaning products and implements:

• Cleaning services are mostly procured as a combined service including labour, material and equipment, therefore it is not easy to identify cleaning products and implements costs.

• There are other costs included in the transactions such as transport and delivery cost. Therefore the individual items could not be rolled up accurately.

1. Eskom’ spend per unit on a basket of recurring consumables such as bottled water, toilet paper, milk, cleaning products and implements is a very small portion (less than 0.01%) of the total spend. Therefore it should not be extrapolated across the total spend, to make any conclusions on the rest of the Eskom spend.

The analysis presented above has been shared with the business and guidance on LPO usage will be provided to the business, since it is monitored at local level.

Overall, the exercise did not reveal issues that would impact on cash flow and profitability.

According to the information received from SAFCOL :

1 (a) SAFCOL procurement (2019/2020 FY)

Bottled Water 500l	Toilet Paper one ply pack 24	Milk 1Litre	Cleaning Products
Average Unit Price	Average Unit Price	Average Unit Price	Average Unit Price
R12.00	R290.00	R18.00	Handy Andy 750ML=R30.00 Pine Gel 5Litre =R180.00 Bleach 5 Litre =R70.00 Domestos 5 Litre = R150.00
Total Spend for the Financial Year R3 000.00	Total Spend for the Financial Year R120 000.00	Total Spend for the Financial Year R15 000.00	Total Spend for the Financial Year R70 000

1(b) Wholesale prices (2019/2020 FY)

Description	Bottled Water	Toilet Paper	Milk	Cleaning Products
Unit Price	R14.00	R250.00	R14.00	Handy –Andy 750ML =R25 Pine Gel 5L =R150 Bleach 5L =R50 Domestos =R120
Comments	The price varies depending on the brand or the supplier	The price varies depending on the brand or the supplier	The price varies depending on the brand or the supplier	The price varies depending on the brand or the supplier

2. Total spend does not affect cash flow nor profitability.

According to the information received from South African Express:

Not applicable. The SOC is under liquidation.

South African Airways:

The information from this entity is outstanding and will be submitted as soon as it becomes available.

According to the information received from Transnet:

1.(a) &(b): Annexure A provides details of the spend on a basket of recurring consumables.

2. The rate differences per annum for recurring consumables will not have an impact on the profitability or the cash flow of Transnet. Transnet has no long term agreements in place for consumable items and frequent RFQ’s are issued out to the market in order to ensure that the prices paid remain market related. There are certain instances that Transnet pays below the market rate for consumables and this compensates for the items procured above market rate.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi Pravin Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

To date, Denel has not been able to fully comply with the Court Order instructing it to settle the outstanding payments for the months of May, June and July 2020 as per the 4 August 2020 judgement of the Labour Court. Denel has however made significant progress in complying with the Court Order and is required to report back to the Labour Court in July 2021, with a report on progress made in this regard. This, in line with the Court’s ruling of 28 January 2021.

It is important to record that Denel finds itself in this dire position, as do its employees, because of the extreme and systemic damage done by corruption and state capture.

Denel’s Board and management are liasing with the unions on this matter.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi P J Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) What number of productivity champions are employed by Productivity SA?

Productivity SA does not employ and pay the salaries of Productivity Champions.

However, as part of our objective to promote a culture of productivity and accountability thereof, as part of our APP target in the 2020/21 FY, we have identified and trained 429 Productivity Champions. They are trained and capacitated on Productivity Tools and Techniques including that of Kaizen (Continuous Improvement).

(b) what is the total cost of their employment?

N/a - Productivity SA doesn't employ Productivity Champions. The training of the Productivity Champions is conducted by our Productivity Practitioners and funded through the appropriation as well as funding made available by strategic partners (including funding through Limpopo Economic Development, Environmental affairs, and Tourism (LEDET), Seda (Mpumalanga), and Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC).

(c) how are they selected for employment?

A Productivity Champion is an employee of a business entity which we are providing the Enterprise Development and Support Programmes to improve their competitiveness and sustainability through training in the fundamentals of productivity measurement and improvement.

(d) what are their roles and responsibilities

The purpose of training productivity champions is to capacitate the organisation with productivity and competitiveness enhancement tools to help sustain work we have done after we leave the organisation and for the organisation to continue the continuous improvement journey aimed at sustainability and growth.

(e) what is their numerical breakdown in each province?

REGION 1	REGION 2	REGION 3
Gauteng	169	Western Cape	109	KwaZulu-Natal	20
Limpopo	11	Northern Cape	2	Eastern Cape	50
North West	12	Free State	12	Mpumalanga	44
Total	192		123		114

Reply:

Most of the Departments, if not all, Department of Employment and Labour included are governed by Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) ICT Governance Policy Framework which guides on overall ICT Governance and Information Security processes that we should follow and implement as the government entity.

There is a committee at DPSA that deals will cyber security related matters called “Standing Committee on Information Systems Security (SCISS)”, as the department, we are standing member of that committee and this is where all other government departments are represented to discuss matters related to information security and cyber-security.

The SCISS has come up with an initiative of departments sharing resources and transferring skills to one another in matters relating to cybersecurity. The initiative is still at the beginning stage where a database of cybersecurity specialists in the public sector is being developed.

Internal Information Security staff have also subscribed with other global threat security intelligent institutions i.e. Microsoft- Security Slate, Centre for internet Security (CSI) and Hackers Choice, where we regularly receive ICT security related awareness’s, newsletters, information on vulnerabilities, viruses and data privacy related breaches that the department should be aware of.

Reply:

I am not aware of any registered bank in South Africa refusing to provide its services to clients on the basis of being black, or being black-owned. As the Honourable Member may be aware, the relationship between banks and their account holders is governed by the law of contract and hence confidential to any third party. The termination of any banking account is therefore not disclosed to the Minister of Finance or National Treasury, and we are not legally empowered to intervene in a bank-client relationship, as confirmed in case law, for e.g. in the 2017 Minister of Finance vs Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd and 2010 Bredenkamp and Others vs Standard Bank of SA. The only time National Treasury or I become aware of any specific closure of any bank account is when an affected customer contacts us (as was the case with Oakbay) or when it is reported in the media.

National Treasury does not have any evidence that implicates any bank in refusing to provide its services to any person or entity because of their race, gender or sexual orientation. Needless to say, any company or person discriminating on such a basis is breaking the laws of our country, and will have to face the Human Rights Commission, and also face criminal and regulatory sanctions in terms of the laws of our country. If the Honourable Member does have credible evidence on such discrimination by any bank, I invite him to provide such evidence to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, the criminal prosecution authorities and Human Rights Commission. I do want to caution about certain individuals who make it their business to make such (and similar) allegations for personal financial gain, as they then market their services to “help” customers on their interest rates or charges etc – I would warn the public not to fall for such scams.

A bank may refuse to take on a customer, or terminate its services to a client, for many reasons, provided the reasons for such refusal or termination do not violate public policy or constitutional values. Such reasons also include the obligation on banks to reduce risks related to criminal or money laundering - banks face steep sanctions from both domestic and overseas regulators if they do not have effective customer due-diligence measures in place.

In order to ensure that banks do not abuse their power and treat their retail customers fairly at all stages, even when closing their accounts, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has put in place conduct standards which came into effect on 3 July 2020 in terms of section 57 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017. Section 9 of Conduct Standard 3 of 2020 (Banks) requires banks to provide reasons to an affected customer when a bank refuses, withdraws or closes any financial product or financial service to any customer, and also has to provide reasonable prior notice. Section 9 (4) of the standard, allows a bank to refuse, withdraw or close a financial product or financial service without providing prior notice or reasons if:

1. compelled to do so by the law;
2. it has reasonable suspicion that the financial product or service is being used for any illegal purpose; and
3. it has made the necessary reports to the appropriate authority.

Treasury is aware that there are also more structural forms of exclusion due to the history of our country, forms of inequality and access to financial services. For such reasons, National Treasury has adopted a multi-pronged approach to transformation that seeks to enhance market conduct, market development and financial inclusion (deepening financial inclusion for individuals and small businesses).

(a) Transformation in the financial sector (including the banking sector) is set out in terms of the BBBEE Act and more specifically, the Financial Sector Code. It is led by the Financial Sector Transformation Council, and governed by the Financial Sector Code that was issued in terms of section 9 (1) of the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act 53 of 2003.The Financial Sector Code commits all participants to actively promote a transformed, vibrant and globally competitive financial sector that reflects the demographics of South Africa, and which contributes to the establishment of an equitable society by providing accessible financial services to poor and marginalized people and by directing investment into targeted sectors of the economy. Working together with the Financial Sector Transformation Council and its other members, National Treasury will continue working on the strengthening and implementation of the Financial Sector Code so as to enhance the transformation of the financial sector.

National Treasury is also developing legislation that will further seek to enhance the transformation imperatives of the South African financial services sector, with the publication of drafts of the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill for public comment in December 2018 and a second draft in September 2020 as the first steps. The current version of the Bill contains provisions (if enacted) that require financial institutions to develop transformation plans to guide them in meeting their commitments in terms of promoting transformation of the financial sector as envisaged in the BBBEE Act and the Financial Sector Code.

(b) Economic inclusiveness is also embedded in the financial inclusion leg of the multi-pronged approach. Treasury recently published a draft policy document on financial inclusion, titled “An Inclusive Financial Sector for All” for public comment, which is available on the National Treasury website. The link is as follows:

http://www.treasury.gov.za/comm_media/press/2020/Financial%20Inclusion%20Policy%20-%20An%20Inclusive%20Financial%20Sector%20For%20All.pdf

 

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

(a) In October 2020, Denel gave s189 notices to Organized Labour as well as the relevant applications for Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) facilitation on the process in two (2) of its divisions and one (1) subsidiary on operational requirements. The CCMA facilitated process has been carried out in line with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act no 66 of 1995.

(b) Denel is fully aware of its obligation to pay severance pay as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act. Section 189(3) of the Labour Relations Act stipulates matters of consultation, which among others include Severance Pay. To the extent that the consultation process has not been concluded, Denel is unable to state if it is able to pay the Severance Packages, which are still the subject of consultations.

Recognizing the liquidity challenges that Denel continues to experience to date, and, in the event the consultation process is concluded, the parties may have to consult and reach consensus on the period within which severance pay may have to be paid.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi P J Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. As Minister of Finance, I generally only make tax announcements on Budget Day, but given the exceptional circumstances after the first Covid-19 lockdown, I made some tax announcements on 29 March and 23 April 2020 to provide tax relief to businesses and individuals during the 2021/21 financial year. Two of these measures applied to corporations, namely delaying the base-broadening measures I had announced in the previous Budget and deferrals for provisional tax payments. These measures have now run their course. The corporate tax regime already contains automatic stabilisers as a tax on profits, and as companies’ profitability recovers so will revenue from corporate income tax. Companies that face financial distress can utilise the existing tax administrative measures to apply for hardship relief. To aid the medium-term recovery, I announced in the 2021 Budget speech the overall intention to restructure the corporate income tax system in a revenue neutral manner, through a combination of a tax rate reduction and base broadening measures. These measures are expected to enhance efficiency, transparency and fairness in the corporate tax system. The design of the corporate income tax system can influence taxpayer behaviour, which impacts the economy. A corporate income tax regime characterised by a broad base (fewer tax incentives and exemptions) and a lower rate is simpler with less loopholes and requires less onerous anti-avoidance legislation. By revising the corporate tax base in this manner, we can afford my proposed one percentage point reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 28 per cent to 27 per cent from April 2022 without a loss of revenue. 27 per cent is still higher than the current global average of around 23 per cent, but South Africa is working with more than 100 other countries on a multilateral solution for a global minimum tax rate of at least 15 per cent. A lower corporate tax rate is expected to make our tax system more attractive to investments: this can boost the post COVID-19 recovery; reduce the incentive for multinational firms to shift their profits to low-tax countries; and reaffirm our commitment to support business in working towards inclusive growth. The announced reduction from 28 to 27 per cent will be done in a revenue neutral manner by broadening the base through reducing the number of tax incentives and implementing the measures that were delayed last year, namely restricting the use of excessive interest deductions and limiting the setoff of accumulated assessed losses against taxable income. The combination of a rate reduction and base broadening measures aims to ensure affordability so that no social spending is affected as a result of these proposals.

2. No, as the tax system is a very blunt tool to achieve non-revenue related objectives, and introducing additional further tax incentives will also work against our objective to broaden our tax base and lower the tax rate for all businesses, and to do so in a revenue neutral manner. Tax incentives narrow the tax base, requiring a higher tax rate to raise a given level of revenue. The provision of tax incentives often undermines the principles of a good tax system, which should be simple, efficient, equitable and easy to administer. Tax incentives provide certain taxpayers/industries with preferential treatment compared to what is generally available to all, creating opportunities for vested interests and lobby groups. The 2021 Budget Review stated that “Government is reducing the number of tax incentives, expenditure deductions and assessed loss offsets…”. National Treasury has already commenced a process to review existing corporate tax incentives with a view to repeal those that are redundant and include sunset dates where there are none. Studies conducted by international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank confirm that investors also value other factors above tax incentives when making investment decisions. These include political and policy certainty, infrastructure, access to markets, access to skilled labour, etc. Reducing the corporate income tax rate and broadening the base is a better means of benefiting all businesses. In turn, employees and consumers can also benefit from higher wages and lower prices.

Reply:

1. The Honourable Member’s question covers a number of different entities and forums operating in the financial sector regulatory system and established in terms of the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017, which took effect on 1 April 2018. It is difficult to provide all the detail requested, as the regulators and the ombuds often deal with market-sensitive and confidential information, and may not have the power to even report such information to the Minister. This has also resulted in the delay in answering this question. Many of the entities are not fully-fledged entities listed as entities in terms of the PFMA, and are more like working committees or oversight committees/forums, and their membership is determined in terms of specific official positions rather than particular individuals. Some of the members of the various committees are determined by the positions held by members, be they the Governor, Deputy Governor of the SARB, or the Director-General or Minister of a specific department. However, all these committees or forums are built around the two core regulatory institutions established under the Financial Sector Regulation Act No. 9 of 2017, which are the Prudential Authority and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, as well as the ombuds and tribunal system.

2. I am not in a position to answer the detailed information requested by the Honourable Member, which in any case is provided via the statutory reports required from the entities in terms of the PFMA and other laws, like the annual reports which are all tabled in Parliament every year. Hence, I will restrict my responses to easily available information, like the name of the chair or deputy chair of such institutions, and not the entire staff of any entity. The Honourable Member is free to engage with each fully-fledged entity after they have submitted their annual and other reports to Parliament, when the relevant portfolio committee convenes a hearing to consider such reports. I will not answer more granular information like the number of meetings held by any committee or organization, as such detailed operational information is generally not part of the statutory reporting system.

3. The Honourable Member should also note that there has been a transitional period for implementing the FSRA, which has also taken longer than initially anticipated, particularly for the new positions and structures created, like the appointment of the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners of the FSCA, or the establishment of the Ombud Council. Some of the committees will only begin to function once the transition period is over, which I expect to be by October 2021.

Financial Sector Conduct Authority

4. I am happy to confirm that the first Commissioner of the FSCA has been appointed. I appointed Mr Unathi Kamlana as the Commissioner of the FSCA, starting on 1 June 2021. Ms Astrid Ludin was also appointed as a Deputy Commissioner of the FSCA, commencing on the same date. I have just received the second report from the Shortlisting Panel recommending two persons for the vacant Deputy Commissioner positions, and hope to make a final decision on such appointments by early July 2021. The appointment of a further Deputy Commissioner will enable the Minister of Finance to disband the Transitional Management Committee and mark the end of the transition process for the FSCA, and put it firmly under the new permanent leadership. In the meantime, from 1 June 2021 until it is phased out, the new Commissioner is the chair of the Transitional Management Committee in line with the provisions of section 66(4)(a) of the FSRA. More details on the FSCA are available in its annual reports, as tabled in 2020.

5. The FSCA Executive Committee is a committee of the FSCA, comprising the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of FSCA, established in terms of section 60 of the FSRA. During the transition, whilst there was no Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners appointed, the Transitional Management Committee (TMC) served, in terms of the Financial Sector Regulations, as the Executive Committee. Those who have acted as Chairs of the TMC include Mr Abel Sithole, Adv Dube Tshidi, Mr Olano Makhubela and Ms Katherine Gibson. I have been informed by the FSCA that the Executive Committee (i.e. the TMC) has generally been meeting at least twice monthly.

PRUDENTIAL AUTHORITY

6. With regard to the Prudential Authority (PA), it is an entity that resides within the SA Reserve Bank, and its CEO is one of the Deputy Governors of the SARB in terms of section 36(1) of the FSRA. Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo has been its CEO from the date it was established on 1 April 2018. The Prudential Authority Oversight Committee, which oversees the PA, is established in terms of section 41 (2) of the FSR Act, and comprises of:

(i) Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, who is the Chairperson;

(ii) CEO of the Prudential Authority, who is one of the Deputy Governors; and

(iii) All the other Deputy Governors of the South African Reserve Bank

7. The current chair of the Prudential Committee is thus Mr Lesetja Kganyago (as the Governor of the SA Reserve Bank), and its other members are the other Deputy Governors (Dr Rashad Cassim, Ms Fundi Tshazibana and Mr Kuben Naidoo). The Prudential Committee informed me that it held its first meeting on 16 April 2018.

OMBUD COUNCIL AND OMBUD COUNCIL BOARD

8 The Ombud Council was established in terms of section 175 of the FSRA. This section took effect on 1 November 2020. In terms of section 179 of the FSRA, the Board of the Ombud Council is comprised of:

1. The Chief Ombud;
2. The Commissioner of the FSCA;
3. 4-6 members appointed by the Minister of Finance.

9. The Minister appointed the Chair and Deputy Chair and 4 other members to the Board for a three-year term, commencing on 1 November 2020, in terms of section 180 of the FSRA, as follows:

1. Ms Deanne Wood (Chair);
2. Ms Dikeledi Chabedi (Deputy Chairperson);
3. Mr Emmanuel Lekgau;
4. Ms Silindile Kubheka;
5. Mr Adam Horowitz; and
6. Ms Charmaine Soobramoney.

10. The Board could only be properly constituted once the Chief Ombud was appointed, which was done on 2 May 2021, when I appointed Ms Eileen Meyer as the Acting Chief Ombud for a term of one year, starting 2 May 2021, in terms of section 188(1) of the FSRA (refer to attached media statement dated 24 May 2021). The Ombud Council Board is thus properly constituted, and held its first meeting on 26 May 2021.

11. The Chief Ombud will establish and operationalise the Office of the Ombud Council. As such, the Ombud Council currently does not have an executive committee, and thus has not held any meetings.

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES TRIBUNAL

12. The Financial Services Tribunal was established in terms of section 219 of the FSRA. It commenced its operations on 1 April 2018. In terms of section 220(1) of the FSRA, the Financial Services Tribunal comprises as many members as the Minister determines. Currently, the Financial Services Tribunal has 20 members. The current Chairperson of the Tribunal is Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, and the current Deputy Chairperson of the Tribunal is Judge Louis Harmse.

13. Whenever there is a case, panels of the Tribunal (usually consisting of 3 members) convene to hear and adjudicate on the case.

14. The rest of the organisations/entities named by the Honourable Member are not self-standing entities regulated or listed in terms of the PFMA, but rather are merely committees or forums, designed to either co-ordinate activities between regulators and/or departments or to exercise oversight.

Structure	(a) Date formed	(b) Names of persons serving on each structure	(c) Dates of meetings of each body since January 2020	(d) Names of Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson
Financial Sector Inter-Ministerial Council	No meetings have been convened as yet, as Section 83 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act is not yet in operation. This structure will only be convened as and when deemed necessary by the Minister of Finance.	Sections 83 and 84 of the FSRA determines that the following Ministers will serve on this Council: (a) Minister of Finance (chair); (b) Minister of Trade and Industry (for consumer protection, consumer credit and economic development); and (c) Minister of Health.	N/A	Minister of Finance, Mr Tito Mboweni Deputy Chairperson - none
Financial System Council of Regulators	13 June 2019	This is an advisory body established in terms section 79 of the FSR Act, and its members are as follows: (i) Chair: Director-General – National Treasury; (ii) Director-General – Department of Trade, Industry and Competition; (iii) Director-General – Department of Health; (iv) CEO – Prudential Authority; (v) Commissioner – Financial Sector Conduct Authority; (vi) CEO – National Credit Regulator; (vii) Registrar and CEO – Council for Medical Schemes; (viii) Director – Financial Intelligence Centre; (ix) Commissioner – National Consumer Commission; (x) Commissioner – National Consumer Commission; (xi) Deputy Governor responsible for financial stability matters – South African Reserve Bank.	22 January 2020	Chairperson – Dondo Mogajane Deputy Chairperson – None
Financial Stability Oversight Committee	9 March 2018	In terms of section 22 (1) of the FSR Act, the Financial Stability Oversight Committee consists of the following members:   (i) Chair: Governor – South African Reserve Bank); (ii) Deputy Governor for Financial Stability matters – South African Reserve Bank); (iii) CEO – Prudential Authority; (iv) Commissioner – Financial Sector Conduct Authority; (v) CEO – National Credit Regulator; (vi) Director-General – National Treasury; (vii) Director – Financial Intelligence Centre; (viii) Head: National Payment System Department – South African Reserve Bank; (ix) Head: Financial Stability Department – South African Reserve Bank; and (x) Head: Financial Surveillance Department.	31 March 2020 and 04 September 2020	Chairperson – Lesetja Kganyago Deputy Chairperson – Rashad Cassim
Financial Sector Contingency Forum	Forum to assist the FSOC, and launched as a statutory forum on 1 April 2018 (as it was originally set up as an advisory structure in 2008, following the global financial crisis)	Section 25 of the FSR Act empowers the Governor of the SARB to establish this forum to assist the Financial Stability Oversight Committee (FSOC). It consists of the following members: (i) the 3 Deputy Governors of the South African Reserve Bank; (ii) a representative of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority; (iii) a representative of the Financial Intelligence Centre; (iv) a representative of the National Treasury; (v) a representative of the Banking Association South Africa; (vi) a representative of the South African Insurance Association; (vii) a representative of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange; (viii) a representative of the Payments Association of South Africa; (viii) a representative of Bankserv; (ix) a representative of Strate Ltd; (x) a representative of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa; (xi) a representative of the National Disaster Management Centre; (xii) a representative of the South African Bank Risk Information Centre.	This forum meets twice a year	Chairperson – Rashad Cassim Deputy Chairperson – None

15. Where there is a Chair or Deputy Chair for any structure above, they are all appointed in terms of legislation, or by the Minister of Finance or Governor of the SA Reserve Bank, depending on the FSRA. No Chair or Deputy Chair is elected to such position.

16. As noted above, the only structure that has not been established as yet is the Financial Sector Inter-Ministerial Council, which will only be convened as and when deemed necessary, as it is an advisory structure. Further, section 83 has not taken effect as yet. More importantly, the underlying technical structure, the Financial System Council of Regulators, has been established, and has started meeting. Note that the aim of these two structures is to co-ordinate with related regulatory structures like the National Credit Regulator and the Council for Medical Schemes, which also regulate financial products, but report to different Ministers.

17. It should be noted that the agendas of many of these structures tend to be market-sensitive, and care needs to be taken not to make them public until appropriate steps are taken to present more comprehensive reports via public announcements by the regulators. Neither is the Minister involved with many of these structures. The regulators and entities will report to Parliament at least annually, and deal with the key issues, including on their performance.

 

Reply:

1. I am not aware that there was any letter from BASA dated 10 October 2020, and the attachment submitted by the Honorable Member appears to be a public media statement issued by BASA on 11 October 2020. The Minister of Finance cannot be expected to answer or account for any statement issued by BASA, or for the loan policies of any private registered bank.

I will, however, assist the Honorable Member by commenting and highlighting relevant points from this and other BASA statements, some of which they also sent to the National Treasury. I refer the Honourable Member to the BASA website (www.banking.org.za) for other relevant statements, and also bring to the attention of the Honorable Member my response to a previous parliamentary question PQ 869, published on 29 September 2020.

a) (i) Payment breaks on credit agreements

Yes, I am aware that all the major banks took steps to provide relief to their customers soon after the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown in 26 March 2020, based on the public statements issued by BASA and various individual banks, as well as meetings between BASA and Treasury. According to the BASA statement of 12 November 2020 (https://www.banking.org.za/news/nov-covid-19-relief-update/), most of the major banks restructured loans and credit facilities for their clients and corporate customers in financial distress through their own credit relief process, almost immediately at the start of the first lockdown. In this regard, the credit relief (repayment holiday or payment breaks on credit agreements) was a voluntary initiative by commercial banks, which was offered to individuals and small and medium enterprises (SME) for the six months (April – October 2020). As at 24 October 2020, BASA reports that banks had provided R33,61 billion in payment breaks on credit agreements to South African businesses and individuals who were in financial distress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown.

According to BASA, over 83 per cent of individuals and 95 per cent of businesses who requested help, with personal and home loans, vehicle finance, business mortgages and credit facilities, received the required assistance. This cash flow relief for 2 684 271 credit agreements for eligible individuals and 135 540 businesses was critical to the preservation of quality of life, jobs, businesses and the functioning of the economy.

a) (ii) Loan guarantee scheme

According to the last update on the loan guarantee scheme released by BASA as at 19 June 2021, a total 13 324 loan applications were approved for SMEs within the different turnover bands, with a total rand value of R18.39 billion. The majority of approved applications were submitted by SMEs with a turnover greater or equivalent to R1 million but less than R20 million. The relevant statement is available on the BASA website.

2. This information is not available to National Treasury, as it is bank-specific, and covers financial assistance beyond the loan guarantee scheme. But BASA has indicated (as stated above) that at least 83 per cent of individuals and 95 per cent of businesses that requested help, with personal and home loans, vehicle finance, business mortgages and credit facilities, received assistance. This implies that 17 per cent of individuals and 5 per cent of commercial enterprises, respectively, did not receive financial assistance as a result of their respective credit facilities not being up-to-date in terms of repayments credit agreements.

3. As at 19 June 2021, BASA reports that a total of 28 430 covid19 loan guarantee scheme applications were rejected. Applications were rejected since, inter-alia, they did not meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme, as set out by National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank, or because they did not meet commercial bank’s risk criteria. In some cases, applications were rejected as a result of outstanding financial records or documentation not submitted; or the loan value requested was either too high, being in excess of the R100 million maximum loan amount requirement, or that the reason for the application was not a COVID-19 related matter/distress.

4. The National Treasury, together with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the Prudential Authority and The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), have taken a number of measures to assist all businesses, using tax and regulatory instruments. The tax measures were outlined in announcements made by the Minister of Finance (see Supplementary Budget Review, page 32), and outlined in parliamentary questions PQ 850, 851, 852, 853, 854 and 869 in 2020. Small businesses (with gross income of up to R100 million) were able to defer a portion of up to 35 per cent of their employees’ tax payments and a portion of up to 35 per cent of their provisional tax payments. Businesses of any size could claim the increased Employment Tax Incentive and were exempt from the Skills Development Levy for 4 months. Companies that still face financial distress can utilise the existing tax administrative measures to apply for hardship relief.

FSCA, in consultation with the National Treasury, also provided further support to businesses and individuals by adjusting regulations to support insurance premium relief for policyholders, allowing them to claim while minimising disruptions to the expected income of intermediaries. In addition, the FSCA advised the boards of trustees for retirement funds and financially distressed employers to consider allowing appropriate relief with regard to retirement contributions.

The National Treasury continues to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and jobs, and recognises the challenges facing both small and large businesses, particularly those in the hardest hit sectors. Existing support measures by the South African Reserve Bank and FSCA, as detailed in the 2021 Budget Review (pages 173-174), will continue, subject to conditions and regulatory mandates. National Treasury, working with relevant stakeholders, continues to explore more appropriate support and risk-sharing mechanisms, including proposals related to non-bank financial institutions and development finance institutions, mindful of the fiscal challenges facing South Africa.

Reply:

According to the information received from TRANSNET:

(a) Findings of the investigation

In March 2020, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in Cape Town had an incident where an external truck driver was killed when a TPT Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) spreader fell, resulting in a container hitting the truck cabin with the driver inside.

A summary of the core findings of the internal investigation undertaken by TPT are set out herein below.

• On the day of the incident, the Operator of the Lifting Equipment (OLE) advised of an unusual sound emanating from the hoist breaks. The artisan attended to the RTG and recorded the sound for further consultation. Upon consulting with a Senior Artisan, and upon receiving advice to stop the machine immediately, the responsible Equipment Coordinator was called to stop the machine. The Equipment Coordinator did not timeously convey the instruction to stop the machine to the OLE operator resulting in operations continuing.

• The RTG25 hoist brake shoe was loose and eventually dislodged as the OLE operator was positioning the equipment. The spreader lowered by itself resulting in the braking system not responding. This resulted in the spreader falling on the truck cabin positioned under the crane waiting to be loaded.

• The OLE operator panicked and attempted to warn the driver by continuously hooting, however the driver did not hear the warning.

• The findings from the investigation suggest that possibly the hoist brake bolts were not correctly tightened to the right settings by the service provider when refurbished in May 2017. As a result, the bolt became lose over time and ultimately dislodged. This is a brake unit with a number of components that is refurbished by the service provider. These refurbished units are maintained as spares and used when required for maintenance purposes.

• The maintenance regime undertaken on the machine at the time did not trigger the need to check the torque settings of the brake pads and ensure that any loose bolts were detected and repaired accordingly.

• It is important to note that since the occurrence Transnet has tracked and ensured implementation of the control measures identified in the internal investigation in order to avoid the re-occurrence.

(b) What was the scope of the investigation?

The scope of the investigation is outlined in the Transnet Integrated Management System (“TIMS”) Occurrence and Non-conformance Management 013 Procedure.

An internal investigation was conducted by Transnet Port Terminals. A Board of Inquiry was not commissioned as the country had just entered COVID-19 Level 5 at the time.

The internal investigation team was required to investigate the fatality to determine the following:

• The root causes/facts/immediate/underlying and contributing causes surrounding and leading up to the occurrence; and

• Develop robust recommendations to avoid the recurrence of similar occurrences in the future.

Further to establishing the facts surrounding the occurrence, the investigation team also focused on:

• The activation, execution and management of the emergency processes and relevant directives;

• The effectiveness and execution of safety procedures at the site;

• The identification of the measurement of control – risk assessments and mitigation processes; and

• Adherence to procedures pertaining to giving and obeying lawful instructions.

The internal investigation report was based on the evidence collected and included for example, the review of governance documentation, interviewing of key witnesses, and the analysis of evidence provided.

The investigation team was requested to formulate their recommendations in such a way that:

• The recommendations are clear, specific and unambiguous as to what is expected by whom;

• The recommendations are measurable, practicable and attainable; and

• The recommendations are results orientated and coupled to specific timeframes.

.

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

Eskom has not concluded any agreement with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) in respect of the transfer of services provided by Eskom. However, the CoJ has formally approached Eskom in this regard and this matter is being considered by both parties.

Once Eskom has reached a formal agreement with the CoJ, we will endeavour to ensure that this information is shared via the CoJ, to yourselves and all relevant stakeholders.

Reply:

a) The bill has been enacted into law. National Treasury through the Minister of Finance may provide more details on the special appropriation process should that be required.

b) The funds will be paid to SAA as the shareholder and then transferred to the subsidiaries namely Mango, SAAT and Airchefs.

Reply:

The “50 Good Deeds” campaign was implemented alongside the District Development Model in the Amajuba District Municipality, as the Deputy Minister is the District Champion for that district.

The “50” was linked to the Deputy Minister’s 50th birthday where she wanted to give back to the communities as part of her birthday celebrations. The correct dates are from the 1st to the 8th of March 2021.

The Department covered all costs as this is part of the District Development Model. The Deputy Minister partnered with different private companies for different programs in addition to the different work that the department is doing.

Reply:

According to the information received from Transnet

a) An amount of R108 million has been spent to date and the breakdown is as follows:

(i) Robinson Dry Dock: approximately an amount of R8m was spent on infrastructure upgrades and pump system upgrades;

(ii) Sturrock Dry Dock: An amount of about R40m was spent on refurbishment and replacement of sliding caisson, water circulation pumps, electrical infra upgrades, physical infra upgrades and pump system upgrade; and

(iii) Synchro Civil Infrastructure upgrades: A further R60m has been spent on refurbishment of synchro lift, electrical control system, and mechanical infrastructure in the port of Cape Town.

b) This amount has been spent from 2016 to date and the remaining investment is to be spent over the next 5 years.

Reply:

Honourable Member, details of the dates, destinations and costs of flights I boarded from 1 March 2020 to 1 January 2021 are indicated on the table below:

A) DATES	B) DESTINATIONS	C) COSTS
04/03/2020	Cpt/Els	R3 832
05/03/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 061
05/03/2020	Els/Jnb	R5 854
07/03/2020	Jnb/Els	R3 344
09/03/2020	Els/Cpt	R6 976
09/03/2020	Els/Jnb	R3 344
13/03/2020	Cpt/Els	R6 289
14/03/2020	Els/Jnb	R2 846
16/03/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R5 064
18/03/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 111
22/03/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 014
24/03/2020	Cpt/Els	R3 145
24/03/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R5 111
25/03/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 233
25/03/2020	Els/Cpt	R3 145
09/06/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 595
17/06/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 622
24/06/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 527
25/06/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
30/06/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 511
13/07/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
14/07/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 591
19/07/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 586
25/07/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
27/07/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 581
29/07/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 588
29/07/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 588
05/08/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 589
06/08/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 589
09/08/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 604
11/08/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 604
12/08/2020	Cpt/Dur	R3 166
13/08/2020	Dur/Cpt	R3 166
17/08/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 608
18/08/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 608
02/09/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 585
04/09/2020	Cpt/Plz	R3 166
05/09/2020	Plz/Jnb	R3 166
07/09/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 511
11/09/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 592
14/09/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 592
26/09/2020	Cpt/Bfn	R3 109
27/09/2020	Bfn/Cpt	R3 109
30/09/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 600
03/10/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
03/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 205
05/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 600
06/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 587
09/10/2020	Cpt/Plz	R2 522
09/10/2020	Plz/Cpt	R3 166
11/10/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 586
12/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 586
13/10/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 583
14/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 583
15/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 583
23/10/2020	Cpt/Dur	R3 274
24/10/2020	Cpt/Dur	R3 166
25/10/2020	Dur/Cpt	R6 440
26/10/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 577
30/10/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 251
30/10/2020	Jnb/Dur	R2 867
31/10/2020	Dur/Jnb	R2 867
31/10/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 578
01/11/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
01/11/2020	Dur/Jnb	R3 033
02/11/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 580
02/11/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 511
04/11/2020	Cpt/Els	R3 166
04/11/2020	Els/Jnb	R3 201
06/11/2020	Jnb/Els	R2 867
07/11/2020	Els/Cpt	R3 166
08/11/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 572
08/11/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 572
17/11/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 556
19/11/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 433
19/11/2020	Jnb/Utt	R3 616
19/11/2020	Utt/Jnb	R3 573
21/11/2020	Cpt/Dur	R3 166
22/11/2020	Dur/Cpt	R6 882
24/11/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 017
25/11/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 511
27/11/2020	Jnb/Utt	R3 611
27/11/2020	Utt/Jnb	R3 568
28/11/2020	Dur/Jnb	R2 867
28/11/2020	Els/Jnb	R2 956
28/11/2020	Jnb/Dur	R2 210
30/11/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 511
02/12/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 551
03/12/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R3 511
03/12/2020	Jnb/Dur	R3 286
04/12/2020	Dur/Jnb	R6 624
05/12/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R3 205
08/12/2020	Cpt/Dur	R6 716
09/12/2020	Dur/Cpt	R3 481
09/12/2020	Dur/Jnb	R3 755
10/12/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R5 576
12/12/2020	Jnb/Els	R2 953
19/12/2020	Els/Cpt	R3 166
19/12/2020	Els/Jnb	R3 845
20/12/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 539
23/12/2020	Cpt/Jnb	R4 531
31/12/2020	Jnb/Cpt	R4 531
02/01/2021	Jnb/Cpt	R5 535
03/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R5 698
08/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R4 539
08/01/2021	Jnb/Els	R2 948
10/01/2021	Jnb/Cpt	R4 553
11/01/2021	Jnb/Cpt	R4 553
13/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R4 550
13/01/2021	Jnb/Cpt	R4 550
15/01/2021	Cpt/Els	R3 166
16/01/2021	Els/Jnb	R2 867
17/01/2021	Els/Cpt	R 599
23/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R4 540
24/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R5 557
25/01/2021	Jnb/Cpt	R4 540
30/01/2021	Cpt/Dur	R8 988
31/01/2021	Cpt/Jnb	R8 402
31/01/2021	Dur/Cpt	R5 438
31/01/2021	Jnb/Dur	R3 550
		R500 497.00

Reply:

I am assured by the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Department of Health that the management of the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital is in good order. All senior management positions at the Hospital have been filled. The current management is capable of handling challenges that emanate from managing this large and busy regional hospital.

END.

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

(a) Denel is in the process of implementing a new Strategy and Operating Model, code-named Denel 5.Y, as approved by the Board and the Minister. Denel 5.Y envisages a much leaner organization with only two operating divisions, i.e. Denel Maintenance & Manufacturing and Denel Engineering. In accordance with this model, the number of CEOs and Executives will reduce significantly. The restructuring process will be conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation.

(b) R11 720m

(c) Liquidity constraints

• • Insufficient working capital;
  • Inability to raise new performance and advance guarantees;
  • Non-payment of full salaries to employees impacting on execution;
  • Aging plant infrastructure and inability to service/maintain ie increased failure leading to increased downtime;
  • Hostile supplier environment due to non-payment of legacy debt. Increased time spend on trying to negotiate with suppliers on payment terms and plans eating into critical delivery times. Also, most suppliers demanding advance payments before order can be executed.
  • Loss of skills and capabilities

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

1. As things stand Denel has lost a significant amount of scarce skills, primarily due to non-payment or partial payment of salaries. To the extent that Denel continues to face liquidity challenges, it is difficult if not impossible to retain skills. Denel’s current focus is to stabilise and rebuild the organisation to make it attractive again. Once this is achieved, Denel will be able to attract the lost skills back as most employees have had demonstrable loyalty to Denel.

2. (a) The Denel Technical Academy (DTA) is currently not funded. Its reliance over the past few years has been on applications for government funding. However, the DTA Strategy and Delivery Framework is already under review in line with the Re-purposed Denel Strategy and Operating Model.

(b) The current scope of the DTA is aircraft trades and general engineering trades artisan training together with specific aircraft type training for Denel product types. Denel is of the view that the DTA has not been optimised to its Full Potential in the past. The Strategy review process presents numerous opportunities for Denel to Maximize Value out of this facility and this includes its Infrastructure usage and Integrated Learning Solution Delivery.

 

Reply:

According to the information received from Denel:

a) Fifteen GV6 Vehicles are in process of repair under the Maintenance and Repair Programme and upgrade as part of Project MUHALI at Denel Land Systems.

b) Three GV6 Vehicles were delivered to Denel Land Systems in September 2018, another eleven were delivered in April 2019. One GV6 was stationed at Denel Land Systems to be ready for parades, shows etc. as required by the SA Army. It is important to note that fifteen GV6 Vehicles are currently in the process of being upgraded with Project MUHALI. The reason for the delays in getting the systems completed is primarily due to Denel challenges to procure the required spares and replacement items required for the MUHALI Upgrades.

c) The current value for approved Work Authorizations (WA) to perform the repairs on the GV6 Vehicles and components is R5.5m. (This exclude the upgrades that are performed by Project MUHALI). The upgrades for project MUHALI are expected to be completed in March 2023.

Reply:

Number	Qualification1	Qualification 2	Qualification 3
	(i)	Matric	B.Sc. Engineering	MBA
	(ii)	Leseding Technical Secondary School	WITS	UCT
	(iii)	057 397 1002	011 717 4208	010 013 0378
	(iv)	1 year	4 years	1 year
a)	(v)	-South Sotho -English Second Language Mathematics Physical Science Technical Drawing Electricians work	Metallurgy and Materials Engineering Physical Metallurgy Option	-Company Analysis -Research Methods and Research Reports -Business Model Innovation lab -Strategy
b)	(i)	01 January1990	3 December 1996	-Social Innovation entrepreneuring -Marketing -Finance -Operation Management -Business, Government & Society
	(ii)	26 July 2020	26 July 2020	26 July 2020

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom:

On 17 March 2021, Government requested Eskom to suspend load shedding for the duration of King Goodwill Zwelithini’s memorial service on 18 March 2021 from 10:00 to 14:00. The System Operator evaluated the request and concluded that this was technically possible without putting the power system at risk and would not result in a higher stage of load shedding either before or after the memorial service.

The following was taken onto account:

• The stage of load shedding before and after the memorial service would not be increased from Stage 2 load shedding that was being implemented at the time.

• The load shedding that was being implemented was necessary to ration the remaining fuel at the pumped storage and OCGT power stations, as these resources were running low on diesel and water in the top reservoirs.  The suspension of load shedding would require additional generators at these power stations to be dispatched utilising some additional fuel.
• The duration of the suspension of load shedding was only four hours.
• Load curtailment of industrial customers would not be suspended.
• The suspension of load shedding would take place during the late morning and early afternoon when there was a reduction in demand.
• The event was considered to be in the national interest and is allowed by NRS048-9, the standard that governs load shedding in South Africa.
• A number of generating units were expected to return to service that afternoon and early evening.

In order to supply the additional demand due to the suspension of load shedding, the System Operator dispatched four additional OCGTs from 09:42 until 14:10.  These OCGTs supplied 2 404 MWh (approximately R8.5 million) during this period with a maximum output reaching 610 MW.  Furthermore, pumped storage generation was dispatched and supplied an estimated additional 2 240 MWh with a maximum additional capacity of 626 MW dispatched.  Between 12:00 and 14:00, four coal-fired generators returned to service adding 1 935 MW of capacity to the system, although it takes many hours to ramp these generators to their maximum capacity.