Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) The budget cuts to SASSA are as a result of the announcements made by the Minister of Finance in his 2021 Budget Speech, wherein he announced reductions in allocations across government departments, including the Department of Social Development.

(2) (a) In order to stay within the budget allocation, SASSA has no option but to implement below-inflation increases to the social grant amounts, while also implementing measures to achieve efficiencies in its operations and manage the wage bill. The Agency will consider initiatives to do more with less, such as encouraging grant beneficiaries to choose the most economical channel when withdrawing their grants to lower the cost of disbursing the grants, and review existing contracts and operations to identify areas where savings can be achieved.

(b) In due consideration of the Agency’s budget situation and to deal with budget pressures the following will be given attention:

• 1. Finalise the Business Process Re-engineering project to enhance future personnel and capacity planning.
  2. Reduce travel expenditure and encouraging the use of technology.
  3. Review of the existing contracts to assess their need in the current form.
  4. Improvement and strengthening of the controls in the management of assets e.g. fleet, telephones, etc.
  5. Implement cost containment measures on non-critical areas.
  6. Review prioritisation of projects/ activities to fund other key projects.

(c) SASSA will continue paying social grants to those who meet the qualifying criteria as set in the Social Assistance Act. Given the ever-shrinking financial allocation, SASSA will ensure that only qualifying persons receive the grants – this means that regular reviews of those already in the system will be strengthened; the application process must will be strengthened with external validations to confirm the means of those applying, and communication of the qualifying criteria will also be strengthened.

However, it should be noted that these measures will be undertaken without compromising the provision of social grants to qualifying persons, which is a constitutional right.

Reply:

(a). Table 1 shows the number of persons who are benefitting from the State’s social grants as at 30 April 2021. The total number is 18 478 567.

Table 1: Number of social grants by grant type as at 30 April 2021

Region	Care Dependency Grant (CDG)	Child Support Grant (CSG)	Disability Grant (DG)	Foster Care Grant (FCG)	Grant-In-Aid (GIA)	Old Age Grant (OAG)	War Veteran’s Grant (WVG)	Grand Total
Eastern Cape	23 042	1 957 054	177 510	72 585	32 823	593 015	8	2 856 037
Free State	8 753	711 420	75 633	22 956	10 267	213 604		1 042 633
Gauteng	20 504	1 989 063	116 726	38 939	10 077	681 084	10	2 856 403
Kwazulu Natal	38 514	2 952 283	217 560	58 033	78 987	731 196	4	4 076 577
Limpopo	16 383	1 949 424	98 024	37 984	54 366	489 863	2	2 646 046
Mpumalanga	11 334	1 159 496	75 679	21 061	23 275	267 300		1 558 145
North West	9 752	899 905	63 829	25 242	17 047	279 105	1	1 294 881
Northern Cape	5 755	326 678	49 724	10 175	18 516	93 480	1	504 329
Western Cape	16 121	1 054 197	139 560	31 186	23 951	378 511	10	1 643 536
Total	150 158	12 999 520	1 014 245	318 161	269 309	3 727 158	36	18 478 587

(b). (i) Table 2a shows the age breakdown of people receiving child grants.

Table 2a: Age breakdown of persons receiving adult grants

(b). (i) Table 2b shows the age breakdown of people receiving child grants.

Table 2b: Age breakdown of persons receiving child grants

Child Age	Grant Type	Grand Total
	Care Dependency Grant	Child Support Grant	Foster Care Grant
0	444	546 717	141	547 302
1	1 715	744 641	650	747 003
2	2 848	750 091	1 338	754 266
3	3 831	728 832	2 116	734 757
4	4 508	710 442	2 812	717 728
5	5 763	724 330	4 174	734 209
6	7 039	785 798	5 587	798 349
7	7 803	782 103	7 171	796 969
8	8 520	779 319	9 308	797 018
9	9 216	779 117	11 501	799 676
10	10 047	759 839	14 503	784 192
11	10 777	748 303	17 917	776 740
12	11 923	772 218	22 562	806 373
13	12 843	745 274	27 078	784 752
14	13 320	731 030	32 099	775 889
15	13 683	703 467	36 422	752 984
16	14 138	673 022	40 864	727 332
17	11 735	534 977	40 758	586 832
18+			22 465	22 465
Grand Total	150 153	12 999 520	299 466	13 444 836

(b). (ii) Table 3 shows the number of social grants by gender.

Table 3: Number of social grants by gender as at 30 April 2021

b. (iii) race of each specified person?

SASSA does not collect information on the race of grant beneficiaries. Thus the information on the racial breakdown of grant beneficiaries is not available.

Reply:

a) The current vacancy rate for all types of positions at the SA Social Security Agency is 1.7% for vacant and funded posts.

b) Breakdown of the numbers in each province are depicted in the table below:

Region/Office	Overall Number of vacancies
EASTERN CAPE	16
FREE STATE	13
GAUTENG	7
HEAD OFFICE	16
KWAZULU-NATAL	23
LIMPOPO	14
MPUMALANGA	8
NORTH WEST	19
NORTHERN CAPE	5
WESTERN CAPE	13
Grand Total	134

Number of vacancies per salary level:

Salary level	Numbers
Salary level 5	32
Salary level 7	27
Salary level 8	18
Salary level 9	3
Salary level 10	3
Salary level 11	18
Salary level 12	8
Salary level 13	19
Salary level 14	5
Salary level 15	1
Total	134

(c) Employees leave the organisation due to a number of reasons such as death, resignations, dismissal, retirement and ill-health.

(d) These 134 posts have been vacant for an average period of 12 months.

Reply:

The budget process of Government requires that all requests for roll-over on unspent funds be submitted to the relevant Treasuries. All provincial Departments of Social Development have applied for roll overs with their respective Provincial Treasuries for consideration. The Department has been engaging regularly with National Treasury to try and expedite this matter and make regular follow-ups, noting that all relevant process ought to be followed accordingly. Only once the roll overs requests are approved, the qualifying employees will receive their payment.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has requested the information from the South African Council for Educators (SACE); as they are the custodians of the database with the required information.  The DBE is awaiting the information, and will forward the response as soon as the data is received. 

Reply:

Honourable Member, the transformation of the property sector is well underway. I am proud that we amended the Estate Agency Affairs Act of 1976 and it will be replaced by the Property Practitioners Act, 2019, once it comes into operation. The 1976 Act was amended to ensure we have a healthy property market that restores the dignity of all South Africans through the basic constitutional right to ownership of an immovable property through security of tenure. 

The Property Practitioners Act seeks to transform the property market by ensuring that it reflects the SA demographics, and requires that:

• The Authority should set aside a portion of the Fidelity Fund for purposes of implementing transformation programmes such as enterprise development of historically disadvantaged and consumer education and awareness;
• Government across all levels is compelled to comply with BBBEE and employment equity legislation and the Authority should monitor transformation property market trends within government;
• The Authority should establish a transformation fund to aggressively accelerate transformation within the sector;
• The establishment of the Research Centre to conduct property market research

Further, in 2019, the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) issued Practice Note PDI01/2019. The purpose of the PDI01/2019 is to regulate the position of Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) who were previously registered as estate agents by the EAAB, and issued with valid Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFCs). These registered estate agents are currently disqualified and are prevented from operating & being issued with FFCs due to non-compliance.

In terms of the Estate Agency Affairs Board Act (112 of 1976), it is required that every estate agent and estate agency firm must obtain a Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) from the (EAAB). It is illegal for Estate Agents to operate without a valid FFC (being issued by the EAAB) and/ or educational requirements that are prescribed by the Standard of Training of Estate Agents Regulations (2008).

There is an amnesty programme for PDI applicants who previously practised as estate agents and now need or require to re-enter the sector. The PDI applicants are given a special dispensation not to pay any monies due to EAAB relating to previous debt.

To date, two hundred and sixty-seven (267) applications have been received for this amnesty programme. Of these, one hundred and ninety (190) have been assessed by the Committee and one hundred and eighty (180) applications have been successful.

The EAAB has also advertised an invitation for PDIs to submit applications to be part of a Small Medium Micro Enterprises (SMME) incubation programme. The aim is to empower PDIs within the real estate sector.

In addition to the above, the EAAB is working on a programme in terms of which twenty-five (25) SMME’s will be awarded an amount of R500 000, of which 50% will be a loan and the balance will be converted into grant funding. This programme will also include a benefit in terms of which the beneficiary SMME’s will be assisted with marketing their businesses and be given access to properties (stock) that is earmarked for selling.

The EAAB has created and implemented the “One Learner - One Estate Agency” Empowerment Programme that focuses on the placement of youth, women and people with disabilities in the real estate sector. Through this programme, over two thousand (2 000) interns have been placed with the real estate industry host employers.

The EAAB has also created and implemented the Principalisation Programme to capacitate principal estate agents. A specific intervention of this programme is directed towards encouraging and capacitating black women to act as principal estate agents.

Reply:

(a) In terms of the agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba on co-operation in the field of water resource management the details are as follows:

(i) 25 Cuban Nationals are currently deployed.

(ii) No decision has been made in this regard.

(b) The Cuban nationals are responsible for the following functions, among others;

• Evaluation of Operations and Maintenance of water infrastructure within clusters and area offices in different provinces as follows:
  • Northern Cluster – Limpopo, Part of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and part of North West
  • Eastern Cluster – KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Part of Eastern Cape and part of Free State
  • Central Operations – Parts of N Cape, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free state
  • Southern Cluster – W Cape, part of Eastern Cape and part of Northern Cape
  • Eastern Cluster – KZN, part of Eastern Cape and part of Free State
  • Central Operations – parts of Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free state
• Evaluation of infrastructure assets of the department including dams, bulk water infrastructure, irrigation canals and pump stations
• Evaluation and verification of quality control of maintenance as well as refurbishment of water infrastructure.
• Scoping of waste water treatment systems.
• Project management for grant funded infrastructure projects implemented by municipalities
• Verification and analysis of bulk infrastructure applications and business plans from municipalities to the DWS.

(c) The areas of specialisation and skills possessed by Cuban Nationals include the following:

 

NO.	Qualification	Area of Specialization
	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineer
	Engineer Hydrologist	Surface Water Hydrology.
	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
	Geophysics Engineer & Master in Science Geophysics	Civil/ Hydrological/Geophysical
	Civil Engineering	Design, Maintenance and Operation of Water Infrastructure
	Hydraulic Engineering, Master of Science: Hydraulic Engineering	Water Treatment Plants
	Hydraulics and Structural Engineering	Experience Civil/ Hydraulic Engineer
	Engineering in Automatic Control	Engineer with specialization in Automatic Control
	Technologist Engineer	Technologist Engineer in Hydraulics and Water Treatment
	Agricultural Mechanization Engineering	Trained as Mechanical Engineer and works as Investment Manager
	Irrigation and Drainage Engineering	Irrigation and Drainage Engineer with extensive experience in Planning and Design
	Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering & Master Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Technology

(d) The deployment of Cuban nationals will not negatively affect jobs which could be offered to South Africans. There are job opportunities in the same fields which are still offered to suitably qualified South Africans, including through the Graduate Programme being implemented by the DWS.

(e) The total estimated cost of employment for financial year are as follows, this includes the operational budget which is based on estimates prior to the COVID-19 realities, meaning that a significant reduction in actual cost is anticipated;

 

ITEM	EXPENDITURE
Compensation of Employees	R34 031 413,00
Goods and Services (Operations Budget)	R30 591 587,00
TOTAL BUDGET	R64 623 000,00

 

 

Reply:

The Department is currently in the process of engaging various stakeholders on the possible way forward on dealing with the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) holders before their current ZEP permit expires. A final decision will be made within the next 2 months.

END

Reply:

a) The Department has allocated R1 million for the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

b) (i) 2019/20: Two (2) Seminars on Men Against GBV in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape

(ii) 2020/21: Convened a virtual Disability Forum Workshop

(iii) 2021/22: There are two (2) planned interventions in August and December 2021.

END

Reply:

The total amount paid in legal fees by Government Printing Works for

(a) 2020/21 financial year = R90 123.13

(b) Since 01 April 2021 = R558 782.00

END

Reply:

(1) The Department has appointed ICAS as a Health and Wellness Services Supplier to provide emotional support to employees and their immediate family members.

(2)(a) Telephone and face-to-face counselling services (trauma, loss, sexual harassment, etc.), e-Care services (Online services by qualified professionals).

(b) It is a national programme accessible throughout all Provinces. Affected employees are serviced at their preferred venue nearer the workplace or home.

(c) Professional psychologists, social workers and registered counsellors.

(d) Personal and work related health and wellness issues affecting employees and their immediate family members (Stress, GBV, abuse, financial wellness, trauma debriefing, marital problems, parenting).

(3)(a) Awareness campaigns conducted through life management services through webinars to empower employees with coping mechanisms.

(b) (i) To date, the Department has hosted 6 webinars across the country.

(b) (ii) Webinars were held in Northern Cape, (1); Western Cape (1); Gauteng (1); and Head Office (3). Topics were: Sexual Offences; Implementation of National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence & Femicide.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) The Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements indicated that the housing project referred to is Alliance Extension 1 and not Alliance Extension 9, and that the project will be completed by 30 June 2021.

(b) A total of 410 beneficiaries have been approved for the project to date.

(2)(a) The detailed beneficiary list of the project contain confidential information which cannot be made public. It includes the following information:

• First names and surname of beneficiary
• Housing Subsidy System Status
• Date subsidy approved
• Site number
• Township – Alliance extension 1

(b) Approval dates of individual subsidy applications are reflected in the information which I had already indicated in (a) above that it is confidential.

(3)(a) The total number of beneficiaries declined is 98.

(b) The applicants were declined for the following reasons:

• Some of the applicants did not declare their monthly income;
• Some of the applicants did not declare their marital statuses;
• Incorrect and missing information on subsidy applications (Beneficiaries are contacted to submit the correct and complete information), and
• Applicants who have already previously benefitted from government housing subsidies
• It was established that some of the applicants already own property.

(c) The applicants that were declined as a result of their monthly income being more than the maximum R3 501.00 were advised to apply for other interventions/ programs such as the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP), Affordable Rental Housing and/or the Rapid Land Release Programme (RLRP).

Reply:

(1)(a) The Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements indicated that the housing project being referred to is Alliance Extension 1 and not Extension 9. To date 150 houses have been completed and the process of installing solar geysers stands at a 90% completion rate.

(b) The contracts of two contractors were terminated as a result of poor performance as they deviated from their construction programme due to cash flow challenges.

(2)(a)&(b) The newly appointed contractors have been appointed for the completion of 419 houses which are currently at various stages of completion. The contract period for both contractors is three months effective from 1 April 2021 and will end on 30 June 2021.

With regards to the request for name(s) of contractors involved in the housing project referred to in this question, I am constrained and prohibited by the document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly” from providing the Honourable Member with the name of the contractor. The document referred to states that:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

(c) (i) The total cost of the project is R88 653 998.62

(ii) No invoices have been submitted thus far.

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development has designed and implemented the SMMEs Debt Relief Facility to assist small business that were impacted negatively by Covid-19 pandemic. This main aim of this intervention was to protect the investment already made in the businesses involved, save jobs and prevent business closure.

To ensure that the Facility is executed efficiently and in a transparent manner, numerous control measures were put in place. These measures include heightening awareness about the Facility by publishing information, including the funding criteria on the websites of the Department and its agencies, Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa); and issuing of press releases. Furthermore, the information on all funded beneficiaries was published on the DSBD website for the consumption of the members of the public.

The SMMEs Debt Relief Facility was also subjected to an audit process. The audit performed by the independent auditors (Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo) awarded the Facility an unqualified audit opinion. In light of the above, the Department can provide a reasonable assurance that the principle of transparency and fairness were upheld in rolling out the SMMEs Debt Relief Facility.

_________________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

Government through the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies is in the process of developing the Digital Economy Master Plan, which will look into the entire digital ecosystem, including the digital core, infrastructure, technologies and services. Government is approaching digitisation in a holistic rather than on a piecemeal approach as suggested in this question. The Department of Small Business Development is part of the Team lead by DCDT on the Digital Economy Master Plan with a definitive focus on its impact on SMMEs and Co-operatives.

Furthermore, enhancing access requires affordable pricing mechanisms based on telecoms policies that reflect wide digital network and sound broad band strategies, specifically reaching remote areas such as townships, rural areas, and villages. Small enterprises based within the afore-mentioned areas may not necessarily have access to same digital environment. In this regard, the DSBD is in collaboration with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) whose mandate is to ensure provision of inclusive communications services. The partnership with the Department of Communications and Digital Technology (DCDT) is positioning the SA Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for the digital change and transformation through the investment in needed infrastructure like broadband fibre connectivity to all support hubs (Incubators, Accelerators, Centres for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator [CFERIs], Township and Digital Hubs) and high end computing and Rapid Prototyping facilities (3D printers, scanners, CNC and Laser cutting equipment) as shared facilities in all our TVET and University based CFERIs and new Digital Hubs.

The Department is also finalising agreements and engaging various stakeholders in the technology sector for the provision of supporting technological services and offerings to innovate and transition SMMEs and Cooperatives into the Digital era.

On the ICT side, Seda supported 13 Tech base Incubators and Accelerators and established 22 youth based CFERIs in underserviced TVETs and Universities in the 2020/21 financial year to the drive that transformation and support to Tech Start-ups to help build local technology solutions to solve both Social and Industry challenges.

The 13 Tech Incubators have recorded the following performance results in 2020/21 FY:

• 303 Tech Start-ups and SMMEs were supported.
• R49 284 220.16 in revenue was generated by the start-ups and SMMEs in portfolio.
• 441 of the total ICT related jobs in 2019/20 FY were sustained.
• 676 new jobs were created.

As part of our vision for township and rural economies in the digital sector Seda has established four (4) township based hubs in Mabopane in Tshwane, Kraaifontein in the Western Cape, Mogwase in the North West, and Thembalethu in the George. The new hubs will focus on building start-ups in the Gaming, Animation, E-Sports, Coding and Data Science, 3-D Printing, Hard and Software development, robotics, and Electronics. The hubs have taken in their first start-up cohorts in the fourth quarter of the 2020/21 financial year.

These hubs will be supported by the 6 new Digital Hubs that are positioned to lead SA charge in the 4IR space. The new Digital Hubs will endeavour to create start-up and digital business that can compete in local, regional and international markets while remaining locally relevant. The hubs will render support to young Grassroots innovators and start-ups providing needed shared infrastructure, industry collaborations, Enterprise supplier linkage, access to funding at pre-seed, seed and series A and B funding, private sector investor linkage. Also, the hubs will build firm level teams, revenue or paths to revenue, high touch mentoring and coaching aimed at building strong leadership, disruptive, scalable and smart business models poised for Rapid growth in sectors like EdTech, Fintech, E-commerce, HealthTech, Water, Energy and Agri.

Seda is focusing its efforts and have also approved four (4) new University based CFERIs:

• University of Johannesburg, Soweto - will focus on building young tech start-ups in Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain
• Nelson Mandela Bay University - will focus on start-ups in new technologies in water, oceans economy and Electronic Vehicles and Battery technologies.
• University of Venda - focusing on new Hardware, software, IOT and AgriTech start-ups.
• Rhodes University – start-ups in the Creative Industry.

The new CFERIs will be fully established before the end of the current financial year (2021/22).

_________________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), through the District Development Model initiative, has held a series of discussion sessions across the Western Cape District Municipalities, engaging SMMEs and Co-operatives on various matters that have an impact on their businesses and also focusing on the interventions that the Department has to offer the small businesses with the view of assisting them financially and non-financially. The Deputy Minister of Small Business Development led some of these engagements, particularly in Cape Town.

The growing practice of gangs demanding protection fee, not only from small businesses but from businesses in general is a serious matter that Government as a whole is acutely aware of and is attending to it with the seriousness it deserves. The DSBD, through the Government Cluster system has supported for the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster to look into developing a holistic strategy to address this phenomenon; and this is a process that is currently underway. This process will assist in determining the full impact of this specified practice on South African businesses, especially small businesses.

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

(1) The total number of officials deployed by the Department of Home Affairs is three (3). There is support staff (locally recruited) employed by Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and placed in the Civic Services =six (6), Immigration Services =two (2) and Administration =two (2). The names and designations of the officials deployed by the Department of Home Affairs are as follows:

• Ms Elizabeth Nkone Aphane Counsellor: Immigration and Civic Services (Salary level 11)
• Mr Ramoshoane Adam Sethosa as Second Secretary: Immigration and Civic Services (Salary level 8)
• Ms Tshepiso Emma Kube as Second Secretary: Immigration and Civic Services (Salary level 8)

2. The office is currently fully operational, Ms E.N Aphane is currently on leave as of 24 May to 30 June 2021

3. Applications for Permanent Residence are suspended on a National level and will commence once the Department of Home Affairs declares the services open.

4. Operations are from 9h00 to 15H00. All appointments are from 9h00 to 13h00 and the office serve`s 10 clients per hour operating from 15 Whitehall, London sw1a 2DD. The High Commission do not occupy a property at the above post code.

END

Reply:

1. Community Radio remains one of the most effective mediums made use of by the GCIS Provincial and District offices for conveying messages and information, especially in very remote and deep rural areas. These platforms are enjoying a good listenership from their respective communities.

GCIS implemented 296 paid for radio interviews or talk shows during the period under review to unpack government communication and programmes and to create an awareness around government programmes.  The total expenditure for the interviews is R1 627 515.77. The table below provides a broad spread of the interview per province.

#	PROVINCE	RADIO INTERVIEWS	TOTAL COST
	Free State	12 paid for Radio interview implemented	R60 000.00
	Eastern Cape	24 paid for Radio interviews	R168 115.00
	Northern Cape	07 paid for Radio interviews	R44 795.60
	Gauteng	15 paid for Radio interviews	R119 215.75
	North West	24 paid for Radio interviews implemented	R258 288.00
	Mpumalanga	40 Radio programmes implemented. 30 were paid for radio interviews and 10 were done as valued add.	R110 300,00
	Western Cape	59 paid for Radio interviews implemented.	R287 700.00
	Limpopo	11 Radio programmes implemented through engagements with Community Radio Stations bearing no cost.	R0.00
	KwaZulu-Natal	104 paid for Radio interviews implemented	R579 101.42
TOTAL	296 paid for radio interviews	R1 627 515.77

2. The GCIS uses councillors/ community-based leaders, mayors, traditional leaders, community-based leaders and government spokes persons or subject matters specialists at local or district level.

Thank You.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements has advised that they are only aware of a housing project referred to as Alliance Extension 1 and not Extension 9.

Beneficiaries are verified against the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) and if approved, applicants will be linked to the stand numbers in the project. On completion of the construction of the houses, beneficiaries are notified to visit the site on a specific date set aside for housing allocations. Beneficiaries are informed to bring their original Identity Documents (IDs) as well as three copies for verification purposes. The beneficiaries are then requested to sign the consumer agreements with the City of Ekurhuleni (Finance Department), where after they are issued with allocation and “happy” letters. The three ID copies are attached to the 1. Consumer agreement 2. Allocation letter and 3. Happy letter and after that they are presented with the keys to their houses.

(b) I am have been informed that the allocation of the first 150 houses commenced on 8 June 2021, and that the next batch of completed houses will be allocated by the end of June 2021.

(2) The Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements has advised that the services of two contractors were terminated. Both contractors did not complete some milestones and their claims were thus rejected.

(3) The Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements has indicated that the Lindelani Informal Settlement has been earmarked to benefit from the on-going Alliance Extension 1 project, the Helderwyk Mega Project and the proposed Dalpark Extension 25 project, all of which will have electricity, water and sanitation connections.

Reply:

The Department has undertaken to prioritize its services to those who have applied for their identity documents ahead of the general elections by issuing election enabling documents, i.e. Identity Documents, and also to issue Temporary Identification Certificates (TIC’s) on the spot to those whose identity documents are lost.

Furthermore, the Department has developed an ID distribution strategy that entails the following measures:

• Provinces in collaboration with stakeholder forums will embark on public awareness campaigns for the distribution and collection of ID’s.
• Provinces to work with Stakeholders to deploy mobile units for people to collect their Green Barcoded Identity Books.
• Targeted Communication intervention on uncollected Green Barcoded Identity Books and Smart Identity Cards.
• Provincial managers to make announcement making use of local media.
• Rescan all Green Barcoded Identity Books on hand on track and trace to reactivate the Short Message System (SMS) to clients informing them to collect IDs.
• Mobile Offices will be deployed to service a cluster of Voter Registration stations (Green Barcoded ID Books).
• A contingency plan to provide back office support services, where its front offices are experiencing problems with issuance of ID’s and TIC’s enabling documents.
• Clients to contact the Call Centre using 0800 60 11 90 to establish the status of their Identity Documents.

Lastly, the Department plans to extend its operational hours during the Voters Registration Weekend as well as on the scheduled Election day(s). It is against this backdrop that the Department has aligned its working hours with those announced by the Independent Electoral Commission(IEC). On the weekend of the 17th and 18th July 2021, all DHA offices will be opened from 8am until 5pm in order to fast track the processing of identity document applications and to ensure that all persons who are legible to vote are not excluded from participating in the next upcoming local government elections.

END

Reply:

Honourable Member, during the budget vote debate of the Department of Human Settlements (Vote 33) on 18 May 2021 I said;

“I wish to take this opportunity to restate what I said last year in this House about Social Housing and the Affordable Rental Relief Programme. I indicated in 2020 that this rental relief is solely aimed at assisting tenants in formal affordable rental housing to meet their monthly rent obligations. Of course, means testing will form part of necessary criteria to determine those who can be assisted. R600 million is allocated for this purpose”.

For those who might not be familiar with the language that we use, affordable rental housing is government subsidised rental housing, managed through the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. It cannot, as some has tried to interpret, mean the private rental space. So the category that we identified is the affordable rental sector. The private sector has no project for affordable rental housing and we have no jurisdiction over the private sector housing rental. When you hear the term affordable rental housing, it is our rental programme managed by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. We did indeed request R600 million to assist those who find themselves in distress in our housing institutions. This we did in our 2020 budget.

However, the Minister of Finance, in his Adjustments Appropriation approved R300 million to SHRA and the remaining R300 million to the NHFC/ Housing Bank. These amounts have now been transferred to the two entities. Therefore, R300 million to assist those who rent from the State to offset the impediments caused by the pandemic. The policies and qualifications are available from SHRA.

Similarly, R300 million was allocated to the NHFC to offset the debt incurred by its own clients. The amounts were not allocated to these two institutions to use for rental relief in the private sector. I want to emphasis, we cannot and do not regulate rental for the private sector. We regulate that which is under our jurisdiction. Our people should not allow those who are ignorant to mislead them”.

Reply:

(1)       What was the total number of applications that were submitted to her department by the Equal Education Law Centre, also known as the Equal Education, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, Act 2 of 2000, in the past three years;

Answer: The Department received seven (7) requests for information from the Equal Education Law Centre.

(2)       in the past three years, what was the total number of (a) letters demanding detailed information that her department has received from Equal Education and (b) legal proceedings that have been instituted against her department by Equal Education;

Answer to 2(a): The Department of Basic Education had received a total of 10 letters from the Equal Education Law centre - two (2) leathers in 2019; six (6) letters in 2020; and two (2) letters in 2021.

Answer to 2(b): The Department was served with one (1) application, where Equal Education was the Applicant.  The Department was served with another application, where the Equal Education Law Centre was the attorneys of record for the Applicant.

(3)       what (a) was the total number of protests led by Equal Education that her department has attended (i) in the past two years and (ii) since 1 January 2021 and (b) number of the specified protests was prior notice received by her department?   

Answer to 3(a):  There were no protest marches led by Equal Education (i) in the past two years; and (ii) since 1 January 2021; and (b) no prior notice was received by the Department of Basic Education as there has not been any protests.                            

Reply:

(a)(b) & (c) No, the said person is not an employee in the Department of Public Service and Administration; any departmental agency nor a state-owned entity reporting to the Ministry of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) portfolio. Consequently, there are no further relevant details that can be provided.

According to records on the Public Service payroll system (PERSAL) is currently NOT an employee of any national or provincial department or government component. The person was last employed in the South African Police Service between November 2005 and November 2020.

End

Reply:

(a) The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) pays allowances directly to students enrolled at 44 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges through the wallet system. Furthermore, NSFAS transfers funds for the allowances of qualifying students enrolled at six colleges that are responsible for making payments to their respective students. The following TVET colleges make allowance payments to their NSFAS students:

• College of Cape Town;
• Northlink;
• False Bay;
• Boland;
• West Coast; and
• South Cape.

The below responses are based on data obtained from NSFAS, as the Department is still in the process of obtaining the necessary information from the six colleges responsible for disbursing allowances.

(i) 2020

In terms of the NSFAS report, 12 colleges contravened the Bursary Rules and Guidelines by lodging student claims for tuition fees exceeding their respective tuition allocations. Furthermore, 26 colleges contravened the bursary policy by lodging claims for accommodation for more than 40% of its NSFAS recipients. Given the broad geographic footprint of TVET colleges with 265 campuses across the country, the Bursary Rules and Guidelines stipulates that colleges may lodge accommodation allowances to a maximum of 40% of its NSFAS recipients.

(ii)    2021

In terms of the latest NSFAS report, allowances have been paid to all qualifying students. The report indicates that 22 colleges are not complying with the requirement on claims for accommodation, as their claims exceeded 40% of their NSFAS recipients.

(b) The Department has introduced various measures to address these challenges and issued a communique in March 2021 compelling colleges to ensure that the awards for allowances are made within the available budget, as the funds earmarked for allowances have been fully allocated to colleges for 2021. The Department, together with NSFAS, convened a meeting on 13 May 2021, with colleges exceeding the stipulated percentage regarding student claims for accommodation. These colleges were urged to work on a strategy that will ensure their compliance with the Bursary Rules and Guidelines in respect of the awards for allowances. Some of these colleges have already shared the strategies they are putting in place to manage the excessive demand for accommodation allowances.

Reply:

No, the Mandela House is operating.

(a). The Mandela House is operating under normal trading under the management of the liquidators.

(b). Not applicable as the museum is operating.

Reply:

1. The Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAT) is not compensated from the MGE grant funding but the MGE Goods and Services budget. Last year’s funding was reprioritized for the Relief Funds precisely to benefit arts practitioners.

2 (a) (i) The total budget allocated to the established Ministerial Advisory Team (MAT) amounts to three million (R3 million)

(ii) To- date a total number of 28 meetings were held and a total amount of R 256,840.22 has been paid to the MAT.

b) The MAT has been in operation since end of February 2021, to date the engagements have primarily been strategizing and consulting with various stakeholders on areas of intervention that the Department will like to embark on.

To this end, a feedback session has been schedule for later in June 2021 to provide information on the developments thus far.

Reply:

a) The Limpopo Creative Economy Practitioner and local services providers will be the beneficiaries as the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will be transferring R45 000 000.00 over a period of three financial years to the Provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

b) The professional services rendered so far by the Limpopo Creative Economy Practitioners, has been in terms of conceptualization, designing, implementation and professional management of the entire construction of the Limpopo Theatre. The construction of the Theatre is expected to commence in February 2022.

c) The Provincial Department as the custodian of the project has consulted with Practitioners in the sector on the concept, design and construction of the Limpopo Theatre.

Reply:

(1) Honourable Member, I have been informed that the residents of Jika Joe Informal Settlements will benefit from the rental units under construction in Msunduzi Local Municipality. They are the primary beneficiaries of the new development as per the target market of the CRU Policy. The project is still in the first phase of construction.

(2) (a) The process of allocation has commenced per the Tenant Management Plan approved by Council and in line with the CRU Allocation Policy. Several community engagements have been held, requesting people to register at the office located at the CRU Complex.

(b) The rental charges range from R500 to R800 per month and are calculated at 30% of income.

(c) (i) It is anticipated that the first occupation will take place by 1 July 2021.

(ii) Rental agreements are expected to be concluded by the end of June 2021.

(3) A social survey of residents of the informal settlements was undertaken in 2018 and the information was updated in February 2021. The list of prospective tenants for the CRU project is available, however, we are not in a position to share it as it contains confidential individual personal details.

Reply:

The business case has been submitted to the relevant Ministers for inputs. The Department is currently taking the draft business case through government structures to get Cabinet endorsement on the preferred option first before finalisation of the business case which will then be followed by the drafting of the relevant legislation.

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

The Honourable Member is well aware that the document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from providing names in parliamentary questions and responses to questions. The document referred to states that:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the Honourable Member as it contains company names and other confidential inform

Reply:

The Department is well sensitised to the potential threats and risks posed to small enterprises. It is however important to note that the use of technology by small enterprises cannot be directly managed by the Department as this is an individual entity’s responsibility. Where the Department’s accountability lies is within the technology it exposes to small enterprises through its online platforms; and within this area, the Department has increased its own security measures and performs regular monitoring on potential breaches. Regular updates to the public via social media is maintained to inform of any risks or scams related to the Department.

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

(1).   loveLife responded to indicate that having consulted the then Department of Sport and Recreation SA, the mandate of loveLife was reviewed in 2010.

From 2011, the loveLife mandate included the assistance the department in encouraging recreation at community and school level (for the schools not part of the Schools Sport Programme) by having loveLife ground-BREAKERs (youth implementers) organise sport and recreational activities that encompass youth health messaging to foster behavioural change among young people to steer them away from risky behaviour like alcohol abuse, gangsterism, violence, etc. and also encourage physical activity as a way to combat non-communicable diseases that are made worse by inactivity.

(2)(a). The strategic objectives referred to were from the inception of the organisation in 1999 to the 2010. These objectives ended with the “love to be there” campaign that was run by loveLife to encourage young people to be part of the history-making 2010 World Cup that was hosted by South Africa. A study done in 2012 shows that loveLife did achieve their strategic objective in that period which was to respond to the number of youth contracting HIV by increasing knowledge as that was what loveLife’s mandate was based on, the increased knowledge among young people about HIV, and all Sexual and Reproductive and Health related information. (SRHR)

(2)(b). The NSRP strategic outcomes advocates for the department to take a lead with regard to the implementation of the Mass Participation related programmes. As an active nation pillar, this programme is implemented together with the Federations and other NGO’s whose mandate is aligned to the strategic objectives of the department. The partnership with loveLife and NGO has been revised to ensure that it aligns to the mandate of the department. Of critical importance to this partnership, is the fact that loveLife mainly targets the Youth in school and out-of-school, to address among others, lifeskills and health and behavioural aspects. To do this they have a programme groundBREAKERS, who are themselves, young people who help deliver the programme. These groundBREAKERS, are skilled both in lifeskills and coaching, with the aim of ensuring that they can use sport to communicate positive value to the youth.

This loveLife as a strategic partner of DSAC, forms part of the NGO’s that are able to work with the Sport Stakeholders to roll-out sport and recreation activities in their centres.

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) did not have any work exchange programme with the Republic of Cuba and has not employed any Cuban Nationals. There are no plans in the pipeline in this regard.

1. Not applicable.
2. Not applicable.

_________________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

(1)(a)&(b) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), nor its agencies – the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agencies (sefa), have not funded /contributed to the supply and/or installation of the production line for the manufacture of protective masks from the Dick Whittington Shoe Factory in Pietermaritzburg.

(2) The Department has not awarded any tender to any factory for the supply of masks. The masks procured in March 2020 were procured through a quotation process.

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

(a) (i)   According to the CATHSSETA report, there were 778 tour guide learner applications from the legacy data, which was transferred into the new system. 1 230 New applications of tour guide learners were processed on the new system.

(ii)  Training providers were requested to upload documents to the system, as well as submit hard copies as a security measure during the implementation of the system.  At that stage, CATHSSETA needed to ensure that the system functioned properly in relation to the management of learner documents. 

(b) The SETA is considering the physical submission of documents to be optional and stakeholders will be advised accordingly.

Reply:

The members referred to were appointed to fill the vacancies that were created when other Council members resigned. The four Council members who were appointed to replace those that resigned were part of the process which was presided over by an independent panel. These members were interviewed in public, their names were published for public to comment, and no objections were received against them.

The names of Council members who replaced those that resigned are Ms Linda Mvanana, Ms Layla Swart, and Ms Marion Mbina-Mthembu. There is no additional legal requirement that these members’ names be published for public comments. The appointment of these members was made in terms of section 4 of the National Arts Council Act, as amended, and as such, they are not precluded from operating as Council members.

Due to the challenges of the National Arts Council and the fact that it is currently facing legal challenges, the Minister decided to appoint one additional Council member (Advocate Steve Kekana) who has legal expertise to join the Council of the National Arts Council to boost the legal capacity of Council.

Reply:

(i) Honourable Member, the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements and Msunduzi Local Municipality confirmed that plans are afoot to formalise the Jika Joe informal settlements.

(ii) I have been informed that the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements will undertake an upgrading of informal settlement programme within Msudunzi Local Municipality, which will include the Jika Joe informal settlement. The Municipality has identified Ethembeni and Signal Hill Housing Projects, which are at Planning Stage, for the potential beneficiaries who will not qualify to rent in the Community Residential Units.

(iii) The Kwazulu Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements provided relief for people whose shacks were destroyed by a fire. The 174 beneficiaries were given materials in 2020 to rebuild their dwellings. It must also be noted that more than 350 temporary structures were built from 2014 to cater for the people whose shacks were affected by fire and those who were on the flood line and under power lines.

Reply:

(a) & (b). Mandela Bay Theatre Complex previously known as PE Opera House has been gazetted and declared as a Cultural Institution. The declaration was signed by Minister and announced on 31 May 2021; it was then published on June 4, 2021.

Reply:

(a) The Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) accredits tour guide trainers based on the 8-core criteria document that was developed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).  

(b) The eight core criteria are used to ensure that trainers meet the highest standards. Trainers must submit the following policies and procedures:

1. Policy Statement: The organisation’s aims, objectives and purpose.
2. Quality Management System: Outline procedures that implement quality management.
3. Review Mechanisms: Outline how the implementation of policies would be monitored. 
4. Programme Delivery: Outline how learning programmes would be developed, delivered and evaluated.
5. Staff Policies: Outline policies and procedures for staff selection, appraisal and development.
6. Learner Policies: Policies and procedures for the selection of learners are outlined, and learners are given guidance and support.
7. Assessment Policies: Outline policies and procedures for forms of assessments that are used and how they are managed.
8. Management System and Policies: Indicate the financial, administrative and physical structures and resources of the organisation, and procedures of accountability within the organisation.

(c) The set standards are the qualifications that are on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). There are two guiding qualifications, i.e. National Certificate: Tourism: Guiding, NQF level 2, SAQA ID 17174; and Further Education and Training Certificate: Tourist Guiding, NQF level 4, SAQA ID 71549. There are also skills programmes for Culture, Nature and Adventure Guiding.

(d) Over and above the trainers being tour guides themselves, they must be trained on the following unit standards:

-   Conduct outcomes-based assessment – SAQA ID 115753

-   Conduct moderation of outcomes-based assessments – SAQA ID 115759

(e) – (g) In the past three financial years there have been no improvements or changes to the qualifications as the industry has not requested them. However, there has been a need to re-align the qualifications to meet the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations standards, i.e. occupational qualifications. The curriculum is not improved by the SETA but by the accredited trainers. The SETA’s responsibility is to improve the set standards, i.e. the qualifications that are on the NQF with input from the guiding industry.

Reply:

THE Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture has met with the Minister of Basic Education to review the MOU. Both Directors- General have been tasked with the review of the MOU.

The review process is underway. Consultations have taken place internally in the Department and with the colleagues at the Department of Basic Education.

A first draft that integrate all areas of the Department’s programmes that need or are executed in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education has been finalised. This is still work in progress towards further consultation within the two Departments Executive management, Provincial Departments and other stakeholders in the Sport, Arts and Culture and Education Sector.

Reply:

(a). What are the processes for administering the fund?

Department administration:

The department administers the R10 million allocated to BASA for three years through a Memorandum of Agreement. R3 million was distributed in 2020/21, R5 million in 2021/22 and R2 million in 2022/23 with each amount distributed in tranches quarterly following submission of the progress report to the department. This administration is coupled with meetings with BASA and monitoring the process by the Project Manager.

As a requirement, BASA submits a detailed annual report with expenditure to the departments regarding the debut fund programme.

BASA’s administration:

1. Participation in immersion workshops and activities including submission of tasks.
2. Adjudication and selection of submissions by an external panel.
3. Announcement and communication to participants.
4. Mentorship and Participant support by Mentor/Facilitators and Provincial Liaisons (2 per province).
5. A final list of recipients whose documents have all been submitted, as well as the relevant documents for each individual is sent to the BASA Accounts department.
6. Accounts verifies that all documents have been submitted. These include: ID Copy, Proof of banking, SARS tax Registration and signed agreement.
7. A payment schedule is drawn up for each province and sent to BASA’s Finance Manager (FM) for review.
8. BASA’s FM verifies each recipient's banking details and ID numbers with the bank. Once details are verified, the payment schedule is sent to BASA’s Head of Programmes, CEO and a Board representative, usually the deputy chair or the chairperson. Each must review the schedules and sign for approval.
9. Once they have all signed, payments are then loaded and released from the bank.
10. All signed payment schedules and proof of payments are filed accordingly.

Key to note: Participants receive 70% of their grants at the beginning. They are required to participate in the activities of the next phase and to submit a report on the first tranche. Once this has been reviewed, they then receive the 30% balance. Report includes the narrative as well as the expenditure component.

(b) Who adjudicates the applications:

Participants’ applications and submissions are evaluated by an external adjudication panel. Below is a list of the diverse individuals who have assisted with applications and the submissions of tasks.

Name	Languages	Brief Profile
Tshepiso Shikwambane	Xitsonga, IsiZulu, English	Actor, director, voiceover artist. Director and co-founder of Phandicraft Active Drama
Aifheli Makhwanya	Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, English	Independent researcher and consultant for the cultural and creative industries. Managing Director of Dzanda Consulting & Events
Onthatile Ditshego	Setswana, Sepedi, Sesotho, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, English, Afrikaans, Siswati	Programme Manager at the Trevor Noah Foundation
David April	Setswana, Sepedi, Afrikaans, English	Director, teacher, choreographer, and lobbyist
Dimakatso Motholo	Sesotho, Setswana IsiZulu	Stage manager, performing artist, researcher, administrator, and project manager

(c) What is the criteria for qualifying for the fund?

Target Audience:

• Emerging artists working in all disciplines, in all provinces
• Between the ages of 18-35 years old
• Individuals from Rural/Peri-urban communities are given first preference

Applicants submit WhatsApp videos of who they are and why they want to join the Programme.

Adjudicators first check against the key requirements as per the above, including whether:

• The participant showed potential to develop further/alignment with programme objectives
• Reason(s) for wanting to join the programme
• Their ability to articulate their need for entrepreneurial /business skills and how they will utilise these skills

Access to funding within the programme:

For participants to make it to the next phase(s) of the Debut Programme and to receive funding they are required to complete all required tasks/activities in the relevant phase and then to submit a formal application for their business ideas or ventures, using the knowledge gained during the Workshops.

Criteria:

• Viability: How viable participants’ business ideas/ventures were
• Market Knowledge: How well the participant understands their market
• Finance: How well the participant understands the financial aspects of their business idea/venture
• Coherence: How coherent is the participant's overall submission?
• Translation: How well did the participant outline their business idea onto the Lean Model Canvas?

NB: Participants are required to meet the deadline in time for the adjudication.

 

Reply:

1 (a) 18 Transferred officials and 5 vacant posts.

(b) (i) Not Applicable

(ii) Designation

Position 1 - Deputy High Commissioner

Position 2 – Counsellor Bilateral

Position 3 – Counsellor Multilateral

Position 4 – State Security

Position 5 – Political Secretary

Position 6 - Political Secretary

Position 7 - Corporate Services Manger – Vacant since December 2019, waiting for a replacement

Position 8 – First Secretary Administration ( Acting Corporate Services Manager)

Position 9 – Third Secretary Administration

Position 10 – Third Secretary Administration

Position 11 – Counsellor ICT

Position 12 – First Secretary ICT

Position 13 - First Secretary ICT – Vacant since December 2020

 

Partner Departments:

Department of Home Affairs ( DHA)

Position 14 – Counsellor: Immigration and Civic Services

Position 15 – Second Secretary: Immigration and Civic Services

Position 16 - Secretary: Immigration and Civic Services

Position 17 - Second Secretary: Immigration and Civic Services – Vacant since December 2018 State Security:

Position 18 – Counsellor: Political

Position 19 - Political Secretary – Vacant since November 2019

 

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

Position 20 – Minister: DTI

 

Department of Transport

Position 21 – Minister Transport

South African Police Service ( SAPS)

Position 22 – Counsellor : SAPS

South Africa's National Defence Force

Position 23 - Defence & Air Advisor – Vacant since January 2020

Position 24 - Deputy Defence & Air Advisor – since August 2020

Position 25 - Defence Office Chief Clerk

(2) Yes, the Mission is fully operational.

(3) The services being provided by the office are Civic and Immigration services

which are rendered from 09h00 until 15h00 at Whitehall, SW1A 2DD.

All Consular services are rendered such as:

• The processing of legal documents for members of the public for use in South Africa. (mainly buying and selling property and banking matters)
• Support for the Department of Justice in matters relating to the UK. (Child maintenance, Service of Process, Extradition etc.)
• Supporting South Africans in distress according to the Consular handbook in matters relating to the death of a family member. (Contacting police, hospital, coroner etc. and arranging quotes for repatriation of remains.

Dealing with the Department of Health to arrange permits).

• Facilitating visas for diplomats travelling to South Africa.

(4) All services are currently being provided.

(a) and (b) Not applicable

Reply:

(1) To assess the real impact of the proposed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system budget cuts, it is important that the earmarked budget provided by National Treasury for the purpose of implementing the TVET Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) be excluded from the baseline increase, as it is actually being subsidised through a baseline reduction from the TVET Direct Transfers (subsidies). The PPN allocation is, therefore in real terms not a baseline increase, as the TVET sector and public TVET colleges will receive no additional funding for this purpose in particular.

The following table reflects in real terms the proposed budget reduction for the TVET sector over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which excludes the PPN:

Budget	2021/22 R'000	2022/23 R'000	2023/24 R'000	Total R'000
TVET Compensation of Employees (CoE) budget cut	(908,399)	(1,206,281)	(951,175)	(3,065,855)
TVET subsidy budget cut	(100,000)	(100,000)	(100,478)	(300,478)
Sub-Total	(1,008,399)	(1,306,281)	(1,051,653)	(3,366,333)
TVET operationalisation of new campuses budget cut	(16,664)	(22,136)	(31,648)	(70,448)
TVET Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant budget cut	(204,282)	(265,613)	(458,610)	(928,505)
Total	(1,229,345)	(1,594,030)	(1,541,912)	(4,365,287)
Impact on student enrolments: TVET CoE and subsidies
Budget reduction %	-8.39%	-10.47%	-8.60%	-9.17%
Annual Performance Plan Targets
Headcount enrolments in TVET colleges (State funded)	505 770
TVET enrolment reduction	(42 419)	(52 978)	(43 492)	(138 889)

As can be noted from the above table, the budget for the rest of the MTEF has been reduced by R3.3 billion affecting the TVET Compensation of Employees (CoE) and TVET Direct Transfers (subsidies), which translates to a reduction of student headcount enrolments by approximately 138 889 over the MTEF period. 

(2)   For many young people, attending a TVET college secures them with the skills and opportunities for employment in industries and businesses, and for some to venture into self-employment. A reduced budget will restrict access to TVET colleges for many students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, thereby exacerbating the challenges of escaping the generational trap of poverty.

(3)  The Department has been supporting TVET colleges in developing strategies to overcome the difficulties faced by the contracting budget:

-     The Department has identified the need for TVET colleges to expand access by developing partnerships with both private and public sector enterprises, and has incorporated this as a performance target for colleges to achieve. Colleges with partnerships have been able to increase their enrolments despite facing constrained budgets.

-     The Department has encouraged colleges to initiate online learning as a platform of learning that can be accessed by a larger number of individuals that do not require to be physically at the college.

-     In line with this and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, computers will be disbursed to TVET students thereby enabling the digital revolution for expanded blended and online learning.

All these innovations will boost the quality and quantity of competency achieved by young people attending TVET colleges.

Reply:

The definition of indigenous languages in the "Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions" (2020) was developed following broad consultations with different language practitioners and stakeholders in the country. In line with the Higher Education Act, the Department relied heavily on the advice from the Council on Higher Education, which made substantive input on the content of the policy, including the list of definitions included in the policy's initial draft. The Department also sought consistency in the use of terms with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which uses the term "indigenous languages", to underscore the importance of recognising and developing historically marginalised languages of the people of South Africa.

Alternatively, the policy framework could have used the terminology "indigenous African languages" as commonly used in literature. However, this expression could easily have been construed as excluding Afrikaans as it emphasizes the "Bantu" origins of the languages and their wide usage by the native population. The definition of the term "indigenous languages" in the policy is used purely to highlight the historical marginalisation of African languages as a result of both colonial and apartheid legacies, and the need to develop these languages for scholarly ends.

The policy framework does not in any way exclude or disadvantage Afrikaans or any other South African language, for that matter, as the need to develop all official South African languages other than English is well articulated in the policy, and in fact is, its underlying motive. The main objective of the policy is not to argue or settle the debate around the issue of indigeneity or otherwise of languages, but rather to highlight the fact of historical marginalisation of African languages in academia and propose ways and mechanisms in which this historical injustice could be corrected.

In terms of the Khoi language, the definition includes the following “an indigenous language is a language that is native to a region or country and spoken by indigenous people”. It, therefore, includes the Khoi language family.

These definitions should be read in the context of the policy and its aims. The policy aims “to contribute to transformation in higher education with specific reference to universities through enhancing the status and roles of previously marginalised South African languages to foster institutional inclusivity and social cohesion”. This policy does in no way, imply that Afrikaans must be removed/or not further developed. It simply aims to achieve the aspirations of Section 29(2) of the Constitution by making sure that all previously marginalised languages enjoy parity of esteem and that language is not an obstacle to access for all South Africans.

As indicated above, the Policy Framework does not exclude Afrikaans and San languages as indigenous languages. The definition adopted in the Policy when read correctly within the broader context of the framework is meant to highlight the colonial and apartheid history of the exclusion of indigenous African languages or simply indigenous languages of Bantu origin. At no point is the Policy intended to settle the debate of the indigeneity or otherwise of Afrikaans or any other language.  

Reply:

a) The major production areas for cotton in South Africa are Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North-West Provinces. The 2020/21 cotton crop is just over 80 000 lint bales for April 2021, which is considerably lower compared to the 2019/20 of 134 230 lint bales. This is largely because some cotton farmers have switched to food crops because of relatively good prices and the lateness of the marketing of the previous season’s crop that contributed to a contraction in planted area. In certain production regions, excessive wet and adverse conditions during planting season led to scaling down of number of hectares for cotton. Therefore, the 2020/21 cotton plantings are considerably lower compared to the previous season, which led to lower cotton crop volumes. The table below is an illustration of the status of cotton in the country.

 

Production	2021/21 estimate	2019/20 estimate
Hectares irrigated	5 836	11 543
Hectares dryland	11 122	16 132
Total ha	16 958	27 675
Yield: seed cotton kg per ha
Yield irrigated	4 542	4 393
Yield dryland	1 577	1 206
Total production of 200kg lint bales	80 235	134 230

b) South Africa is known for producing good quality cotton despite many challenges it is facing. It is true that the increase in volumes of imported cotton threatens the viability and sustainability of the cotton industry in South Africa. Government and stakeholders in the cotton sector established the Sustainable Cotton Cluster (SCC) in June 2014 led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. The SCC connects the entire cotton value chain under one umbrella: farmers, gins, yarn manufacturers, weavers and knitters, dyers, finishing plants and retailers. In the six years it’s been in operation, cotton production and processing has increased 800% and almost 50,000 jobs have been created or maintained in the cotton sector.

The outbreak of Covid 19 had a negative impact on this good initiative. During the lockdown harvesting and processing continued, but exports were suspended, striking a severe blow to the sector. Since then, export restrictions have been lifted, but global demand for cotton is decreasing and so are global prices. With around 80% of locally produced cotton being exported, this has significant implications for the sector. At the same time, severe financial strain on retailers is adding pressure. One of the main purposes of the SCC is to increase consumption of cotton by local retailers, aiming to increase local procurement from the pre-Covid average of 45% to 63% by 2030. Government is positive that by addressing the challenges, growth could be restored in 2021/22 and beyond.

Reply:

1. (a) and (b)The member completed similar courses in Cuba in 1983.

(c) and (i)On a parade officiated by erstwhile C J Ops on 24 March 2006, the member was awarded honorary Special Force (SpecF) insignia; and again on a parade hosted by then Officer Commanding 44 Parachute Regiment on 05 September 2016, he was awarded honorary Dispatcher wings.

(ii) SpecF operations is a top secret matter.

(iii) Only operators currently executing SpecF tasks are required to maintain a jump log, it is not applicable to the member being enquired on.

Reply:

(a) Since the introduction of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System in 2010 and subsequent Medium-Term Strategic Framework, the Department has been engaging with universities through enrolment planning on their targets for scarce skills areas.  In the new enrolment planning cycle, the targets for first time entering students into the scarce skills areas of engineering, life and physical sciences, human health, animal health and vet science, and teacher education are indicated in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1: 2020 to 2025 Proposed targets for first time entering students in scarce skills
	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	16 152	16 647	17 085	17 639	18 100	18 317
Life and Physical Science	16 948	17 161	17 584	17 391	17 459	17 614
Human Health	9 796	10 155	10 418	10 838	11 155	11 516
Animal and Veterinary Science	1 116	1 154	1 194	1 209	1 229	1 257
Initial Teacher Education	22 752	22 746	22 788	22 855	22 951	23 380

The targets for all undergraduate enrolments for the scarce skills are in Table 2 below:

TABLE 2: 2020 to 2025 Proposed targets for all undergraduate qualifications in scarce skills
	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	77 062	77 003	77 158	78 916	80 796	83 019
Life and Physical Science	58 267	59 240	60 613	61 218	62 092	62 890
Human Health	47 411	47 488	47 597	49 120	50 406	51 926
Animal and Veterinary Science	5 001	5 208	5 343	5 469	5 592	5 729
Initial Teacher Education	136 272	139 733	142 893	144 791	147 471	150 117

 (b) (i) Universities are funded through Teaching Input Units (TIUs) based on their approved enrolment plans.  If the universities adhere to the agreed upon targets, they will receive their full funding in terms of their approved TIUs.  If they are more than 2% under-enrolled, universities will be penalised financially and if they are more than 2% over-enrolled in their first-time entering enrolments, they will also be penalised due to the impact which over-enrolment has on the sector.

(ii) The above-mentioned strategy is not expected to have a significant impact on the Social and Human Sciences as the enrolment plan targets are also set in terms of the percentage in the Human Sciences (includes Social Sciences).  The targets are reflected in Table 3 below:

Reply:

(1) Although agriculture was declared as essential service, smallholder production activities were negatively affected in the sector as they struggled to access their fields during initial lockdown period. There were post-harvest losses because of agro-logistics challenges experienced by farmers. Many smallholder farmers experienced loss of income and were also unable to prepare for the next planting season. There were reduced availability and access to extension services particularly during levels 5 and 4 of lockdown. There were other challenges such as:

• Closure of input dealerships and temporary hike in input prices in the first two months of lockdown as well as challenges in travelling to purchase inputs due to movement restrictions during lockdown levels 4 and 5. This included the massive congestion at the Durban port as Cape Town was considered the epicenter of the pandemic from around April to end May/early June 2020
• Lack of transport/slow processing of permits impeded the ability of workers to get to work in the first months of the outbreak of the pandemic and the general misinterpretation of disaster management regulations by law enforcement agencies
• During levels 5 to 3 of lockdown, almost all types of informal markets where smallholder farmers supply their farm produce were closed, including those that trade in cooked / prepared food. Informal food traders were not allowed to operate during the hard lockdown without permit and distribution plans for the perishable foods already harvested); & even when they were eventually allowed to operate, the customer base was significantly reduced.

(2) Yes. The Department provided disaster-specific relief to farmers. The Minister of Agriculture of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development secured funding of R1.2 Billion to assist smallholder farmers during April and May 2020. The fund was able to assist about 14 400 distressed smallholder farmers due to COVID-19 pandemic. A further R1 billion was allocated to the Department from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (PESI) to assist about 74 626 subsistence farmers who were not considered for the R1.2 Billion COVID-19 Relief. The Department is still implementing the R1 billion PESI intervention through e-vouchers.

Reply:

(1)(a) Following the application to the Northern Cape High Court, in terms of case number 961/2019, by the Director General of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), and the order granted by the same court on 28 February 2020; Honey Attorneys were appointed as Judicial Administrator of the Richtersveld Communal Property Association (CPA). Mr Don Madjiet is a representative of Honey Attorneys and responsible for the day-to-day running of the CPA as per the Court Order.

(b) The terms of reference of the Judicial Administrator are as per the Court order of 28 February 2020 of case number 961/2019. The Administrator is required to exercise powers of the executive committee of the Richtersveld CPA and perform all functions assigned to him in terms of the said court order. The Judicial Administrator has developed a comprehensive workplan which has been approved. The details are specified in the court order. Please refer to Annexure A.

(c) The Judicial Administrator is appointed for a period of three (3) years from the date of the court order i.e. 28 February 2020 until 28 February 2023.

(d) The costs are determined as per the rates of the Land Rights Management Facility (LRMF). The rate of compensation depends on the experience of the appointed Administrator and the hours he spends doing activities relating to the work of the CPA. The minimum is R475.00 to a maximum of R750.00 per hour, and the minimum per day is R3 800.00 to a maximum of R6 000.00.

(2)(a) In 1998 the Richtersveld community lodged a claim against the Government for dispossession of land under the Restitution of Land Rights Acts 22 of 1994. Following protracted court proceedings, the Constitutional Court awarded the land and mineral rights to the community of the Richtersveld. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and the then Department of Land Affairs represented the Government in the settlement negotiations. The Deed of Settlement (DoS) was signed on 22 April 2007. In order to protect the interests of the community, the DoS sought to create a very comprehensive structure of Trusts and Companies to house the interests of the Community. The DoS signed by the parties in 2007 directed that at least two (2) Trusts: Richtersveld Community Trust and Richtersveld Investment Trust) and eight (8) companies must be established to manage and operate the various business dealings of the Richtersveld Community Claim and one (1) Communal Property Association as a land-holding entity. DALRRD is responsible for the CPA as determined through Communal Property Association Act, 28 of 1996. The Department of Justice, as the custodian of the Trusts in terms of the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988, is responsible for the administration and management of Trusts.

(b) DALRRD does not have any figures relating to the total amount of funding that is currently in the Trust account. It should be noted that Trusts are independent legal entities. Trustees had to report to the CPA on its operation but such could not be obtained from the previous CPA committee. The administrators function is to facilitate that such reports are consolidated and made available when meetings are convened and reports tabled to the members of the CPA.

(c) The term of office of the trustees has expired and DALRRD will assist the community with the elections of all structures within Richtersveld, as instructed by the Administration court order of 28 February 2020.

(d) DALRRD does not have that information and will only be known once trustees have reported to CPA members and submitted a report to the Administrator.

(e) Unknown at this stage.

Reply:

(1) (a) South Africa fluctuates between being a net exporter or importer of beef. Drought and FMD outbreaks are the major factors that contributes to the direction of beef import or export. The country currently produces 1 081 900 tons and consumes about 1 065, 000 tons of beef per year. It is currently a net exporter of beef, with only 3 000 tons imported in 2019/2020. The country exported 37 000 tons in the same period. South Africa consumes just over 97% of the beef that is produced locally and only about 3% from the imports.

1 (b) From which countries is the beef imported;

In the past 12 months live animals were imported mainly from Botswana & Namibia for feedlots. In that period 383,400 live animals were imported from these countries. Beef cuts that were either frozen or fresh were imported from the following countries:

• Botswana

• Lesotho

• Namibia

• Swaziland

• Australia

• New Zealand

• France

• Germany

• Republic of Ireland

• Spain

• Switzerland

• the United Kingdom

• the USA

• Argentina

• Brazil and

• Uruguay.

2. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is implementing Beef Recording and Improvement Schemes including the transformative Kaonofatso Ya Dikgomo scheme, that tracks performance of the individual beef animals farmed in South Africa under stud and commercial farming. The scheme also focuses on getting a beef farmer to be on a continuous improvement path through training and linkages with good markets. DALRRD also strategically included beef farming support on all funding scheme i.e. CASP; Ilema/Letsema; Blended funding and the Jobs Fund. DALRRD is in the advance stage of implementing the Livestock Identification and Traceability system which will help with health control and market access and thus improved productivity and profitability of the sector.