Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. The following Table shows the breakdown of implicated public service employees in each government department

Name of Department	Number of employees
Agriculture And Rural Development	1
Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development	4
Cooperative Governance And Traditional Affairs	2
Correctional Services	2
Culture Sport And Recreation	1
Economic Development Environment Conservation &Tourism	13
Education	75
Health	71
Justice And Constitutional Development	3
Offices Of The Premier	7
Police	1
Public Works	7
Public Works and Infrastructure	1
Roads And Public Works	1
SANDF	1
Social Development	5
South African National Biodiversity Institute	1
Statistics South Africa	1
Transport	45

 

2. The target date for the conclusion of the outstanding investigations is March 2022.

3. SASSA wrote to the Heads of the affected Departments on 1 April 2021. The 19 departments that have been listed in the response to question 1 have been approached to assist with the recovery of the monies that were paid and the disciplinary process.

SASSA has also elicited the assistance of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

The matter of government employees who benefitted from Covid 19 relief funds is also being investigated by the Fusion Centre.

Reply:

My department requested the Provincial department to provide a details in relation to question raised by the honourable member. The reply will be updated with the information as it becomes available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Reply:

1. The District Development Model (DDM) as a approach towards ensuring improved intergovernmental coordination and cooperation is premised on utlising enabling levers within existing legislation, policies, and experiences within the government and non governmental space. The Intergovernmental Relations Act, 13 of 2005 (IGRFA), is one such piece of legislation that contains several enabling provisions that are used to frame the design, institutionalisation, and implementation of the DDM. More specifically section 47. Currently Regulations as required and specified under section 47(1)(b) of the IGRFA are being drafted that will, once gazetted and approved provide a legal framework for the institutionalisation and implementation of the DDM. The draft Regulations as it stands is a culmination of extensive intergovernmental consultations and dialogues that were facilitated by my Department over the course of the 2020/21 financial year. Further consultations and dialogues will continue during the 1st quarter of this financial year that will provide further insights to the strengthening and finalisation of the Regulations.

2. Constant dialogues on the relevance and impact of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 13 of 2005, have been facilitated by my Department since 2015 (marking the 10 years of enactment of the Act), which were also complimented by various research studies. One key finding that came out from these studies and dialogues was a need to review the Act as a whole in order to discern which sections are still relevant, which sections need to be refined,and what additional sections could be added in a amended Act. At the end of the 2020/21 financial year a discussion document outlining several proposals for amendment was produced through several intergovernmental dialogues, which will continue during the course of the 1st and 2nd quarters of this financial year. The build-up and collected experiences gained from the implementation of the DDM will therefore compliment the review of the IGRFA where needed for future implementation. It therefore should be indicated that the review have been undertaken before the advent of the DDM as a continuos process.

Reply:

1143

Financial year	Description	Project No.	YTD Actuals (at 30 April 2021)	Total per FY in Rm
2020/21	MZINYATHI	X7533	-
	ETAFULENI TOWNSHIP	X5653D	0.185
				0.185
2019/20	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	2.706
	MZINYATHI,EMAQADINI RETICULATION	X7533	8.774
	Umzinyathi - 16 Water tankers		32.120
				43.600
2018/19	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	9.997
	Etafuleni Township	X5653	0.111
	Intathakusa elevated tower & outlet pipeline	X5028A	3.746
	Umzinyathi - 15 Water tankers		27.375
				41.229
2017/18	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	0.011
	Mzinyathi infill project	X6540	0.001
	Intuthuko infills	X4506A	-
	Umzinyathi - 12 Water tankers		19.710
				19.722
2016/17
	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	0.066
	Etafuleni Township	X5653B	0.737
	Umzinyathi - 10 Water tankers		14.600
				15.403
2015/16
	INTHUTHUKO WATER INFILLS		0.003
	Intathakusa Project		-
	Umzinyathi - 10 Water tankers		12.775
				12.778
2014/15	Ekukhanyeni/Mzinyathi	X3675	0.011
	Intuthuko Water	X4506	0.180
	Mzinyathi Baseline Survey	X5720	0.570
				0.761

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

It is to be noted that parliamentary question require information since 2010, however information submitted by the Ethekwini Metro is for period since 2011/12 financial year. According to the Metro, information before 2011/12 is not readily available and therefore will require more time to be extracted and submitted

Reply:

(1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)

	(1)(a) 2017/2018	(1)(b) 2018/2019	(1)© 2019/2020	(1)(d) 2020/2021
& (ii)	Firearms	6669	7373	7752	8388
	Knives	4902	4772	4553	3675
	Other sharp objects	2571	2330	2415	2097

* It is not possible to differentiate between legal and/or /licensed firearms and illegal and/or unlicensed firearms, as the type of weapon used is one reflected as “Firearm‘ on the Crime Administration System (CAS)/investigation Case Docket Management System(ICDMS).

(2) The Minister of Police will decide if he will make a statement. in this regard

Reply to question 1637 recommended

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
DATE: 2021-07-01

Reply to question 1637 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL BH CELE., MP
DATE: 22/07/2021

Reply:

1. I can only be able to respond on the Brand SA which is under my authority. The temporary moratorium was put in place, whilst the work assigned towards establishing an effective and streamlined entity out of the three mentioned entities. The mentioned entities will drive an international marketing programme of the country.

2. Whether there are plans in place to lift the moratorium in order to allow for the filling of critical posts at an executive level in the specified entities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

• In December 2020 my predecessor lifted the moratorium on critical posts, to be filled on a contract basis whilst this work continues.
• I have also met with the Board of the Brand SA to discuss their Annual Performance Plan (APP) for 2021/22. These discussions are continuing with the Director General of the GCIS to guide me on the posts that might need to be filled urgently whilst the work of rationalizing these entities continue.

Thank You.

Reply:

1. (a) The NDA raised an amount of R399 485 000 since 2016/17 to date (Three hundred and ninety nine million four hundred and eighty five thousand rand) towards support to civil society organisations. The funds were raised through strategic partnerships such as DoSD (National and Provincial), SASSA, Unemployment Insurance Fund, CARA and National Lotteries Commission.

(b) The revenue generation will be anchored on partnerships with strategic private sector partners such as Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), the Solidarity Fund and the Jobs Fund in order to establish high yielding collaborative partnerships in the fight against poverty. Within government, the NDA will seek to establish partnerships within the three spheres of government with regards to co-ordination of community-based development efforts. The NDA will also employ cross referral strategies with other funding agencies such as the National Lotteries Commission, NYDA and SEDA whereby unsuccessful applicant CSOs can be referred to the NDA for further capacitation.

2. The NDA has created linkages and ensured access to markets for 978 co-operatives through SASSA which provide social relief to poor communities through the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) programme. This programme procures uniforms, including sanitary pads for children and they provide nutritious food for families identified to be in social distress.

3. The Mikondzo approach affirmed the critical role that NDA has to play in building the capacities of the NGOs working in the most deprived wards and municipalities. As a result, the NDA adopted a decentralized approach that would be achieved through establishing district offices to bring its services closer to the communities. Nine District offices were then established with 52 additional Development Officers hired to work in the Districts across the country. In the process over 25 550 CSOs were profiled and formed the database of the NDA.

Reply:

The department does not currently rely on of the many external institutions or agencies to assess and compare the financial health and performance of municipalities. Municipalities also use different financial ratios and norms to assess their own performance and set benchmarks for improvement to be measured over time.

The department shares best practices from other municipalities and uses these benchmarking initiatives to improve efficiency and effectiveness of municipal services like the water services delivery, strengthening performance measurement monitoring and measurement, in order to build resilient and climate-smart communities and improve the quality of people’s lives.

Reply:

My department requested the North West Provincial department, and the line department for sanitation to provide a detailed report in relation to question raised by the honourable member. MISA will provide the necessary technical support. The reply will be updated with the information as it becomes available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Reply:

(1) Yes, a framework was developed.

(2) The President will perform reviews annually considering performance score cards developed by DPME. DPME will also submit Mid-Year reports concerning progress in the implementation of the Annual Performance Plans (APP’s) of Departments. This will serve as early warning systems to identify areas that are lagging behind against the targets set in the APP.

(3) The Mid-Year performance reviews on the APP’s are published on the website after approval by Cabinet.

(4)(a) The performance agreements signed by the Ministers have included the delegated functions to Deputy Ministers.

Thank You.

 

Reply:

No. The department has not concluded work exchange and/or employment agreements with any entity of the Republic of Cuba from the 2010-11 financial year up to the 2020-21 financial year.

Reply:

a) The Director – Generals and /or Heads of Departments are most Senior officials in Government and are expected to be exemplary by submitting on time. However, Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation sends reminders of the submission deadlines. In addition, the conclusion of Performance Agreements of Director-Generals and Heads of Departments are part of Performance Agreements of Ministers.

b) Section 7.2 of the Directive on Performance Management for Heads of Department state that the DG/HoD will forfeit their performance incentives (bonus and pay progression) if they do not comply with the submission date of their performance agreements. As stated above Ministers will also be assessed on this.

c) The Senior Management Service policy for the management of poor performance is also applicable to the HoDs. Annexure I to the PMDS for HoDs outlines the process to be followed in cases of poor performance. The process entails that if it is the first occurance then the reasons for non-performance will be explored and a performance improvement plan should be developed and implemented. If the non-performance is not the first time then the process of warnings and disciplinary hearings must be instituted which could result in sanctions, extension of notice period, demotion, transfer or dismissal.

Thank You.

Reply:

1142 AND 1143

Financial year	Description	Project No.	YTD Actuals (at 30 April 2021)	Total per FY in Rm
2020/21	MZINYATHI	X7533	-
	ETAFULENI TOWNSHIP	X5653D	0.185
				0.185
2019/20	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	2.706
	MZINYATHI,EMAQADINI RETICULATION	X7533	8.774
	Umzinyathi - 16 Water tankers		32.120
				43.600
2018/19	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	9.997
	Etafuleni Township	X5653	0.111
	Intathakusa elevated tower & outlet pipeline	X5028A	3.746
	Umzinyathi - 15 Water tankers		27.375
				41.229
2017/18	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	0.011
	Mzinyathi infill project	X6540	0.001
	Intuthuko infills	X4506A	-
	Umzinyathi - 12 Water tankers		19.710
				19.722
2016/17
	Intathakusa ET & Outlet pipeline	X5028B	0.066
	Etafuleni Township	X5653B	0.737
	Umzinyathi - 10 Water tankers		14.600
				15.403
2015/16
	INTHUTHUKO WATER INFILLS		0.003
	Intathakusa Project		-
	Umzinyathi - 10 Water tankers		12.775
				12.778
2014/15	Ekukhanyeni/Mzinyathi	X3675	0.011
	Intuthuko Water	X4506	0.180
	Mzinyathi Baseline Survey	X5720	0.570
				0.761

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

It is to be noted that parliamentary question require information since 2010, however information submitted by the Ethekwini Metro is for period since 2011/12 financial year. According to the Metro, information before 2011/12 is not readily available and therefore will require more time to be extracted and submitted

Reply:

• None of the two Entities (Brand SA and MDDA) use private security.

Thank you.

Reply:

To redirect the question to: Department of Agriculture, Land and Rural Development

Matters relating to the commonage land and farming activities are managed and administered by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. The Honourable member is advised to re-direct the aforementioned department.

Reply:

(1) Sixteen (16) Gender Based Violence Social Workers received training on psycho-social support.

The first training session was on Trauma Management and it was held on the 17-21 February 2020 and the second session was on Trauma Debriefing held on the 21-28 February 2020.

(2) The Northern Cape has six (6) functional Shelters in the Province.

NAME OF THE SHELTER DISTRICT AND TOWN

1. Ethembeni Centre, Pixley Ka Seme, De Aar

2. Colesberg Shelter, Pixley Ka Seme, Colesberg

3. Bopanang Centre, Z. M. Mgcawu, Upington

4. Prinsess Poffadder Safe House, Z. F. Mgcawu, Keimoes

5. Kimberley Shelter, Frances Baard, Kimberley

6. Bankhara Bodulong White Door, John Taolo Gaetsiwe, Kuruman

Reply:

1. The Department provides support and guidance to all municipalities with regards to the provision of FBE to indigent households, through the regular monitoring of monthly FBE executive summary reports reflecting transactions for that particular month, quarterly reports reflecting a list of municipalities that are in arrears on their FBE accounts and quarterly reports reflecting details of access/collection of FBE tokens per municipality. This assists with identifying municipalities that are constantly in arrears especially in light of the annual rate increment and enable the necessary interventions to be effected. It further assists with the identification of indigent households not collecting their FBE thus not benefiting from the provision of FBE and enable the necessary interventions to be effected.

The Department works closely with Eskom (where Eskom is the licensed service provider), Provincial COGTAs and Municipalities; with the objective being to ensure that municipalities provides FBE to all qualifying indigent households receive FBE guided by the FBE Funding Agreement.

2. No, there is no specific electricity tariff subsidy to the households that lost their jobs due to Covid-19 Pandemic. However, any household that requires subsidy for basic services is required to register at the municipality for free basic services subject to them meeting the criteria utilized for eligibility to receive the subsidy.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The government’s intention is to provide support to municipalities by facilitating the provision of free basic services, namely: free basic water, free basic electricity, free basic sewerage and sanitation, and free basic solid waste management services to all qualifying households/consumers. The Electricity Basic Services Support Tariff (EBSST) policy introduced by the Department of Energy prescribes that 50kWh per provided to indigent households connected to the national grid on a monthly basis. The provision of FBE is funded through the Local Government Equitable Share (LGES) which augments municipal own revenues, to assist municipalities in providing free basic services to indigent housholds.

The Department of Cooperative Governance’s (DCoG) monitoring of the provision of FBE in Eskom supply areas is based on the FBE Funding Agreement between Eskom and the respective municipalities. Eskom is a licensed service provider to provide FBE to 213 municipalities across the country. It is critical to note that the absence of signed Funding Agreements or SLAs makes it difficult for the DCoG to intervene when there are disputes, such as delays by municipalities in paying for services rendered by Eskom as well as the identification of indigent households not collecting their FBE tokens. This has a negative impact on the provision of FBE.

The current three-year contract cycle commenced on 1July 2018 and will end on 30 June 2021. The Department and Eskom are busy engaging on processes to facilitate the renewal fo the current multi-year Funding Agreement that is due to commence from 1 July 2021 and end 30 June 2024.

The increase in municipal debt and its effects has been reiterated by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and has been declared as an enormous challenge that has resulted in the disconnection of electricity of some indigent households. Poor communities are the ones who are affected the most by these disconnections and are deprived of their basic needs as reflected in the National Development Plan. Municipalities with escalating outstanding are constantly encouraged by the Department, to settle their FBE debt on time to avoid disputes and disconnections. It must be emphasized that municipalities, need to equally pay Eskom for the services rendered on their behalf for the provision of FBE to indigent households within their municipal jurisdiction.

Reply:

My department requested the Eastern Cape Provincial department to provide a detailed report in relation the water challenges raised by the honourable member. The reply will be updated with this information as it becomes available.

Reply:

Yes.

a) 365.3609 hectares.

b) The Payne and Qelana communities.

c) Crops production and grazing.

Reply:

The National Department of Social Development does not owe money to municipalities as the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure manages the account for services on behalf of government departments.

Reply:

The department signed an MOU with GovChat to support the implementation of the Early Childhood Development Employment Stimulus Relief Fund.

Reply:

Nr	Province	(a)Unspent Amount	(b) How has their underspending affected the budgets available to welfare programmes?
	Eastern Cape	R262 293 000	The amount of effect in the Welfare programmes is that, a big quantum of the beneficiaries could not get the food relief meant to be funded by the funding referred to. The employees in the ECD centres could not access the stimulus package meant by the conditional grant (Presidential stimulus package).
	Free State	R 50 870 000	The Programme for Children and Families is the worst affected in that R48.432 million was not spent. The under expenditure is mainly as a result of additional funding amounting to R38,880 million for Early Childhood Development (ECD) received late in the year (third quarter) during the adjustment budget process. The application and verification process for the stimulus package by National DSD was slow and it took longer than anticipated; as a result, the bulk of the funds were not spent. Furthermore, some ECD`s were partially paid and some not paid due to COVID-19 restrictions. A roll-over has been requested.
	Gauteng	R438 000 000	Programme 2: Social Welfare Services Food parcels at Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) clinics were not distributed as planned and the HIV Social and Behaviour change programme was not fully implemented by the end of the financial year. Programme 3: Children & Families Beneficiaries of Presidential ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund (ECD-ESRF) were not paid as the verification process took longer than anticipated. The underspending also affected the distribution of school uniform to identified learners because the production of school uniform was not finalized on time by the appointed cooperatives. In addition, the funding of ECD centres was affected by the changes of some of the municipalities by-laws. Programme 4: Restorative Services The underspending affected the implementation of substance abuse mobile services. Delays were caused by lockdown restriction and the Department contracted with NPOs from the third quarter after the easing of lockdown regulations. Programme 5: Development & Research The underspending in this programme was mainly recorded on dignity packs. Thus, the Department did not distribute the number of dignity packs planned by the end of the financial year. Roll-over of unspent funds The Department requested the roll-over of unspent funds from the 2020/21 to 2021/22 financial year on both equitable shares and conditional grant. A total of R 158 586 013 was requested to be rolled over to fund the commitments as per the signed Service Level Agreement and Purchase Order created.
	Kwazulu Natal	R97 627 000	If the rollover of R91,242 million is not approved, the Department will have no funds to pay for ECD practitioners, whose applications have been approved. The underspending did not affect the budgets available to welfare programmes to be offered in 2021/2022 but the budget cuts of R223 million will result in limited services made available to the needy communities.
	Limpopo	R 45 444 000	The ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund has its own allocation and has not affected budget for other Welfare programmes.
	Mpumalanga	R 44 836 000	The underspending affected Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in that not all batches of claims received from Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) eligible and approved to benefit from the funding were not processed for payment. Roll over application request amounting to R30.495 million of the unspent funds of Presidential Employment Initiative has been made to the Provincial Treasury.
	North West	R144 100 000	The budget available to welfare programme will be for sustenance of existing programs and projects. Expansion of services will be visible on COVID-19 relief initiatives e.g. Provision of food parcels to vulnerable households and care and services to the homeless. The rollover of R28million for stimulus package has been requested to fund ECD practitioners who applied before the end of the financial year in question
	Northern Cape	R 53 059 000	Programme 1: R3.786 million Programme 1 incurred a saving of R3.786 million. The Department will request a roll-over of R3.479 million for Buildings and Administration for the construction of office buildings in Daniëlskuil. Programme 2: R3.786 million The underspending did not have a negative effect on welfare programmes because the reason for the underspending was due to the following: Resignation and death of community caregivers. Two (2) NPOs rendering Social Behaviour Change programmes did not utilize all their allocated funds due to the Covid 19 pandemic, therefor the allocation of the second tranche was decreased.   Programme 3: R40 464 of which R39 300 million was for the Presidential Stimulus ECD Fund. The unspent budgets did not negatively affect welfare programmes due to the following: The Province was overfunded for the Presidential Stimulus Package. Any funds required in the 2021/22 financial year for the stimulus purpose will be requested as a roll over. Lesser ECD centres were funded due to expired registration certificates. Certain ECD centres did not submit applications for funding because they received funding from other sources ECD Centres did not open and therefore submitted Due to restrictions on movement during the Covid Pandemic, the process of returning children, who have been visiting friends and family, to CYCC’s, were delayed. This resulted in some of the centres not operating at full capacity for the entire financial year. Since claims submitted are based on occupancy of the centres, the underspending of reflects this exceptional situation. Programme 5: R5.331 million Saving incurred due to the closure of Soup Kitchens based on Covid-19.
	Western Cape	R5 067 000	The department was able to deliver on its services but was not able to expand their services to the extent which it planned to, due to fewer facilities than anticipated applying for funding, and because of non-compliant facilities.

Reply:

Yes.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has completed the Producer/Farmer Register. The report will be made available by end of July 2021.

Reply:

(1)(a) The total number of private firearm owners, in the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is 1 614 291.

(1)(b) The total number of firearms, in private ownership, is 2 718 300.

(2)(a) The number of firearms, which have been acquired for personal self-defence and/or protection, is reflected in the table below:

	Application reason		Type of firearm		Number of firearms
SECTION 13	COMBINATION	417
SECTION 13	LIGHT MACHINE GUN	1
SECTION 13	MAIN FIREARM COMPONENT	15
SECTION 13	PISTOL	825 617
SECTION 13	REVOLVER RIFLE	236 285
SECTION 13		24 582
SECTION 13	S/L: PISTOL CAL - RIFLE/CARB	1 241
SECTION 13	S/L: RIFLE CAL- RIFLE/CARBINE SHOTGUN	449
SECTION 13		28 649

Source. Enhanced Firearm Registration System (EFRS), as at 2021-06-10

(2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) The data, which is recorded on the EFRS, is not categorised, in terms of race or gender. The information, pertaining to black persons, white persons, brown per9one and Indians is, therefore, not available on the EFRS.

(3) The South African Police Service (SAPS) does not have a record of the number of illegal firearms, in the RSA. Illegal firearms are only recovered through policing activities.

(4) The Minister of Police will decide, whether to make a statement, in this regard.

Reply to question 1639 recommended/

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 202107-31

Reply to question 1639 approved/not approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL BH CELE, MP
Date: 04/08/2021

Reply:

a) SASSA currently links all children benefiting from social grants who are in matric to the Departments of Basic Education and Higher Education, so that they can be considered for NSFAS funding for further education. This is done in an effort to foster economic independence and break the inter-generational dependence on social grants.

With regard to citizens who receive disability grants, the ability to link them to opportunities is slightly more challenging. One of the qualifying criteria for a person to receive a disability grant is that the disability must be such that it prevents the person from being employed or able to support him/herself. The persons who receive permanent disability grants are effectively excluded from the open labour market. However, those who receive temporary disability grants, where the condition is likely to improve to the extent that it does not prevent the person from being employed, should be the target for opportunities.

In addition to SASSA interventions, DSD continues to support Persons with Disabilities in improving their socio-economic conditions with the following programmes:

• Protective Workshops

This programme seeks to improve and enhance the quality of life for persons with disabilities through socio-economic development programme, in order to ensure their full and equal inclusion into mainstream society and economy. The key elements of this programme are psycho-social developmental services, inclusion of persons with disabilities as important role-players in mainstream socio-economic growth and development and promoting income generating programmes through business partnerships between government departments, the business sector and protective workshops, functioning under the auspices of the NGOs.

• Residential Facilities

Residential facilities provide protection, support, stimulation, skills development and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities who are unable to live independently, making provision for the ultimate re-integration back to the community, where possible. Most residential facilities have protective workshops empowering residents and persons with disabilities from surrounding communities through psycho-social programme, skills development and business skills. DSD will continue to support and subside these protective workshops, residential facilities and Independent Living facilities and Supported Living facilities through the country.

• Disability Mainstreaming

This programme is implemented through a two-pronged approach:

• The provincial departments implement disability mainstreaming services within the Welfare services to facilitate the mainstreaming of disability across all services.
• Through a technical cooperation project implemented since 2012 in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to develop approaches on the empowerment of persons with disabilities and disability mainstreaming (the DEM approach) towards the promotion of social participation of

Persons with Disabilities in South Africa.

• The above-mentioned DEM project engages key departments, including local government and other stakeholders to identify and address disabling barriers, negative attitude and exclusion, as well as ensuring that persons with disabilities play central role in creating an inclusive society as change agents in order to improve their quality of life in line with the vision of the National Development Plan (NDP).

• Capacity Building/Training Programme on Covid-19

Children with disabilities and their parents have faced difficulties in accessing significant information such as COVID-19 news, especially in rural areas. As a measure against COVID-19, DSD in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) plans to conduct training for children with disabilities and their parents to deliver information effectively on COVID-19 in a train-the-trainer format.

b) The creation of opportunities for persons with disabilities is not a SASSA or Social Development sector responsibility alone, but requires a whole of government response.

Applicants for the R350 social relief grant who self-declared disabilities totalled 1 405 824. An initiative which has already been implemented is to try and link the applicants for the social relief grant who are aged between 18 and 35 with opportunities through cooperation with the Presidency. A project has been implemented in cooperation with both the public and private sector to list opportunities for employment and training for youth on the Youth.mobi website. SASSA sent approximately 6,5 million SMS notifications to the youth who had applied for the social relief grant (including those who self-reported disabilities) to advise them to register on the website.

The other initiative to provide opportunities for persons with disabilities is through direct employment. SASSA has a target to ensure that a minimum of 3% of the labour force comprises people with disabilities. We currently have achieved a total of 2.2%.

In addition to SASSA’s interventions, DSD has several plans including the following to enable persons with disabilities to achieve economic liberation:

• Protective Workshops and Residential Facilities

DSD has developed a Delivery Model for Protective Workshops that recognizes a need to identify beneficiaries’ barriers impeding their development and growth. An experiential learning will be conducted in nine provinces focussing on the following components of this Model:

• Psychosocial and Personal skills, including assessment, social services, self-care, life skills and assistive devices.
• Workplace Skills Development focusing on technical skills, job coaching, vocational, ABET, financial management, business skills, entrepreneurship and simulations.
• Supported Employment, including job placement, internships, job coaching, contract work, apprenticeship and learnership.

The key determinant factor for the successful implementation of the delivery model is collaboration with key and relevant stakeholders such as the Departments of Health, Trade and Industry, Small Business Development, Education, Labour, disabled people’s organizations and private sector partners.

DSD plans to identify residential facilities that have good practice protective workshops that have established partnerships with the private sector implementing economic empowerment programmes and contributing to the independent living of persons with disabilities in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons Disabilities.

• Disability Mainstreaming

DSD is planning to roll out the DSD/ JICA’s Guidelines on Empowerment of Persons with disabilities and Disability Mainstreaming (DEM) that were implemented Limpopo, KZN, Eastern Cape, Free State in Northern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces in 2021-2022 financial year, as follows:-

• Create a platform to roll out disability mainstreaming through supportive partnerships and cooperation among provincial governments, municipalities, relevant departments, NGOs, Disabled People Organizations (DPOs), national and international organizations.
• Empowering persons with disabilities through leadership training and strengthening the capacity of disabled people organizations and mainstreaming through creating barrier free environments to ensure the active participation of persons with disabilities in society.
• Establishing partnership with government departments that have shown interest in utilising the DEM guidelines to enhance the integration of disability considerations in government services.
• Consultation with SALGA and COGTA to develop a programme to train municipalities on the Guidelines are at an advance stage.

• Training in Covid-19

The planned DSD/ Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Covid-19 Training project for 9 provinces will focus on obtaining knowledge and skills on prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 and consists of the following two capacity development programmes:

• Training of Trainers for social workers in DSD and NGOs.
• Workshop for persons with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.

Capacitated persons with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities will be able to share knowledge and skills obtained with their families, friends and communities, including participating in the rolling out of the training. They will subsequently be able to participate and benefit from mainstream economy, despite the adverse impact of this pandemic.

Reply:

1(a) The total amount paid to beneficiaries who were not eligible for the Special COVID-19 SRD Grant is R11 175 950.

(b) All people who received food parcels from SASSA met the broad qualifying criteria as set in the Social Assistance Act, which, under Regulation 9(2) stipulates that a person may qualify for social relief of distress “if refusal of the application may cause undue hardship…”

While some of the citizens who received a food parcel may have also been in receipt of a social grant (largely one of the child grants), this is also permitted in terms of Regulation 16A which allows for the provision of social relief of distress to a child already benefitting from a social grant, “where the prevailing economic circumstances warrants the provision of social relief of distress.”

In addition, Regulation 9(5) to the Social Assistance Act provides for the provision of social relief of distress to citizens who are affected by a declared or undeclared disaster. The COVID pandemic has been the largest declared disaster faced by this country and the number of citizens requiring assistance increased significantly during this period.

The assistance provided by SASSA was provided in accordance with the requirements of the Social Assistance Act and Regulations. However, SASSA was not the only instance providing assistance in the form of food parcels.

(2) (a) what are the reasons behind the slow progress in finalising cases under investigation in the SA Social Security Agency

The total number of exceptions that were identified by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) is 67670. Most of these exceptions were mainly as a result of SASSA not having access to the databases that the AGSA had. SASSA immediately stopped payments to all the cases flagged by the AGSA.

The number of exceptions identified by the AGSA are as follows:

Table: Exceptions identified by the AGSA and action taken by SASSA

Category	Number of exceptions	SASSA action
PERSAL/ PERSOL	15711	SASSA has SASSA has commenced the process of recovering money from public servants who received the Covid 19 SRD grant. In addition SASSA has referred the implicated public servants to the relevant departments for disciplinary action. The Fusion Centre is working with the Department of Public Service and Administration to ensure that all implicated public servants are pursued.
UIF	15069	People who benefitted from the Covid SRD grant and UIF were referred to the Fusion Centre for further investigation.
UIF-TERS	2119	People who benefitted from the Covid SRD grant and UIF were referred to the Fusion Centre for further investigation.
Social Pension	15062	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose from timing differences in the validation databases that were used by SASSA and AGSA.
NSFAS	10358	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose from timing differences in the validation databases that were used by SASSA and AGSA.
Internships	6562	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the internships databases.
Department of Agriculture vouchers	1281	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the Department of Agriculture database on recipients of their vouchers.
Spaza support	372	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the Spaza support database.
Inmates	332	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose from timing differences in the validation databases that were used by SASSA and AGSA.
GEPF	312	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the GEPF database.
PLAS farmers	289	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose from timing differences in the validation databases that were used by SASSA and AGSA.
Artists	111	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the Department of Arts database.
IDC Debt Relief	65	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the IDC database.
Sport applicants	27	SASSA has stopped payments to these cases, which mainly arose because SASSA did not have access to the Department of Arts database.
TOTAL	67670

SASSA has referred the suspected fraudulent cases to the Fusion Centre (which consists of the Financial Intelligence Centre, Special Investigating Unit, State Security Agency, National Prosecuting Authority, South African Police Service) for further investigation. The Fusion Centre is still busy with the investigations.

(b) what is the impact of the slow progress of finalising cases on consequence management;

It should be noted that the Covid SRD grant applications were processed electronically by matching information from various databases and systems. There is thus no consequence management that needs to be pursued on officials. However SASSA has commenced the process of recovering money paid to the implicated government employees. SASSA has in addition referred the implicated government employees to their departments for disciplinary action.

(3) With reference to the 2020-21 procurement plan, 14 (fourteen) contracts of the 19 contracts planned as per the 5th (fifth) amendment of the procurement plan were awarded by financial year end. The two contracts referred to by the Auditor-General, as not being included on the 2020-21 procurement plan, were for the Western Cape Provincial office space, and the Mpumalanga - Hazyview District office space. These contracts were extended briefly during the 2020-21 financial year, to accommodate the removal of furniture and equipment, and were then terminated, in accordance with a decision taken by management, early in the financial year, to rationalise the costs for leased premises. These contracts were however listed in the 2019-20 procurement plan, a tender for office space was issued in that financial year, and adjudicated in April 2020. It was subsequently cancelled to align with management’s decision to terminate the lease contracts for Western Cape and Mpumalanga –Hazyview, and these contracts were therefore not included in the 2020-21 procurement plan.

Reply:

The South African Police Services (SAPS) in partnership with the National House of Traditional and KhoiSan Leaders (NHTKL) and other stakeholders coordinate the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy. The strategy primarily focuses on rural safety, including safety in traditional community areas.

In addition, the KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has advised that it has undertaken the following steps to address the recent killings of traditional leaders:

a) The Department entered into a Memorandum of Outstanding on 26 November 2020 with the Department of Safety and Liaison to foster safety and security in rural communities.

b) The Department of CoGTA met with the acting Provincial Commissioner, Mr. Zondi on 5 February 2021 to discuss progress on traditional leaders’ murder cases.

c) There are workshops planned for July 2021 that will be conducted for all local houses in partnerships with the Department of Safety and Liaison with the intent to create awareness on rural community safety strategies.

d) The Executive Council has also been apprised of the rampant killings of traditional leaders, which is a matter of concern.

e) An Imbizo has been planned and will soon be convened to communicate government interventions on Amakhosi and Izinduna killings.

Reply:

No, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) did not conduct a cost-benefit analysis relating to these aspects as the underlying economic and medical considerations that will inform such an analysis fall within the purview and expertise of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the National Treasury and the Department of Health. As such, these deaprtments are best placed to respond to the question.

 

Reply:

1. (a) The main contributors to the increase in irregular expenditure in the 2019-20 financial year (R39m), were the irregular contracting of the training service providers to implement the UIF third party contract (R23,3m), as well as lease costs related to the NDA’s head office (R5,9m), where the contract had expired, and was not extended on time. The training contract was terminated, and replaced by new service providers after a competitive bidding process was followed. National Treasury approved a deviation to continue with the head office lease for a further period of 5 years, thus regularizing this contract.

Up to the end of the third quarter of the 2020-21 financial year, the main contributors to the increase in irregular expenditure of R1,9m, were the internet services contract, the insurance contract, and lease contracts for the Western Cape and Gauteng provincial offices. The internet services contract had expired, and was extended irregularly in the past. This irregular contract was replaced in the 4th quarter, thus terminating the previous contract. The insurance contract was advertised for tender in April 2021, and will be regularised in the 2021-22 financial year. The lease contracts for office space were terminated in July 2020, thus curtailing the irregular expenditure.

1. (b)

(i) . In previous years the NDA experienced a high turn-over of staff and some instability in the Chief Financial Officer position, which resulted in this work not receiving the necessary attention.

(ii) The other contributing factor in the slow pace of implementing consequence management was the lack of capacity particularly in both Legal and HR Units.

(iii) However, the assessment of all cases from prior years done in 2020/21 financial year has revealed that there is no need for a formal investigation because such transactions do not raise ay suspicion of fraud fraudulent, corrupt or other criminal conduct.

The prior years’ irregular expenditure cases emanate from contracts which were concluded by officials who are no longer NDA’s employees. The individuals concerned are therefore no longer subject to the NDA’s Disciplinary Code and Grievance Procedures (“Disciplinary”).

The amounts involved have been included in the condonation application, which is currently under consideration by National Treasury

(2) Formal policies for Irregular and Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure were drafted and approved by the Board for implementation in November 2020.

(3) (a) The Department has never incurred a liable of R983 billion. (b)Therefore, does not have any information with regards to an investigation.

(4) (a)Not applicable to the Department of Social Development. (b)Therefore, does not have any information of any remedial actions taken.

Reply:

Yes, all funded Non-Governmental Organizations, including those in the disability sector are monitored in line with the Public Finance Management Act as detailed below:

1. First and foremost, for the organization to be funded, it must provide the information requested by the relevant department to demonstrate that it has the necessary capability and understanding to provide services according to the specified minimum norms and standards for that particular service, in this case, disability services.

2. Secondly, before the funds are transferred to any organization (including those rendering disability services), the Department obtains a written assurance from the organization that confirms that the organization implements effective, efficient and transparent financial management and internal control systems. The purpose of this assurance is to ensure that throughout the funding period, the organization is monitored towards adherence to its internal control systems as these are reviewed and tested on an ongoing basis during the funding cycle.

3. Lastly, as part of monitoring the organizations; appropriate measures are maintained to ensure that subsidies to organizations are used for their intended purpose in line with the norms and standards of that particular service. Such measures include-

• regular progress and annual reporting procedures on performance in line with the objectives and specifications i.e. for disability services – in this instance,
• analysis of the submitted progress reports to monitor performance and achievement of quarterly targets. This is also aimed at determining the release of the next tranche,
• internal and external audit requirements and, where appropriate, submission of audited statements; and
• regular monitoring procedures; which include both scheduled and unscheduled on-site visits to review whether the agreed upon objectives are attained or not.

4. All-in all, the organizations are monitored against the service level agreements that they enter into with the relevant department in terms of compliance, performance, financial management and reporting requirements.

Reply:

	Number of paid for Radio interviews	Date of the Radio programme	Name of the Community Radio	Name of the Messenger and Theme	Cost
	4 Interviews 16 Live reads	29 September 2020 30 September 2020 1 October 2020 6 October 2020 14-30 September 2020	WRFM –Witzenberg Radio	Mr P Titus Mr Maynier -Tourism Month Mr P Titus – Domestic Violence Mr P Titus – Gender Base Violence	R 15000.00
	3 Interviews 16 live reads	29 September 2020 30 September 2020 30 September 2020	Heartbeat FM	Heritage Day – Jethro Grootboom RCC Mr D Saur Mr J Grootboom	R 15000.00
	3 Interviews 16 Live reads	14 September 2020 18 September 2020 27 September 2020	Eden FM	Office of the Consumer Protector - Public Service Month Tourism Month - Mr J Grootboom Thusong Manager form Waboomskraal Thusong Centre	R 15000.00
	4 Live reads 20 Live reads	22 September 2020 30 September 2020 12 October 2020 15 October 2020	Radio Helderberg Radio Helderberg	Mr L Labantu Legal Officer Commission for Gender Equality Mr Z Badroodien Mr L Macakati MrsS Britz	R 15000.00
	5 Interviews 24 Live reads	2 October 2020 4 October 2020 6 October 2020 7 October 2020 9/10/2020	Whale Coast FM	Dr N Louw Mayor of the Overberg Sgt Jooste L Van Staden Badisa Brig D Heilbron Dr R van Renburg Surgeon Dr M Grobbelaar	R 24000.00
	5 Interviews 24 Live Reads	2 October 2020 9 October 2020 16 October 2020 23 October 2020 30 October 2020	Radio Namakwaland	Social Development Matzikama Municipality Disaster Management Disaster Management and Office of the Mayor - COVID-19 Cederberg Municipality – COVID-19	R 24000.00
	4 Live reads 24 Live reads	11 & 20 September 2020 12& 17 October 2020	Heartbeat FM	Mr J Grootboom - COVID-19 Mr Pat SAPS - GBV	R 24000.00
	5 Interviews 24 Live reads	30 September 2020 7 October 2020 14 October 2020 21 October 2020 28 October 2020	RWC - Radio West Coast	Disaster Management – COVID-19 Social Development–GBV Saldanha Bay Municipality – COVID-19 Disaster Management – COVID-19 Berg Rivier Municipality – COVID-19	R 24000.00
	24 Live reads 3 Interviews	18 September 2020 22 September 2020 29 September 2020	Radio Gamkaland	S Phiffers – COVID-19 Srg Louw SAPS – GBV H Jacobs – COVID-19	R 24000.00
	3 Interviews 24 live reads	14 September 2020 9 September 2020 22 September 2020	Eden FM	L Mcakathi CGE – GBV J Grootboom– Covid 19 Social Auxiliary Worker – GBV	R 24000.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	12 February 2021 25 February 2021	Whale Coast FM	E Maloy - Post Sona E Maloy and Dep Mayor Overstrand – Post Sona	R 9426.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	23 February 2021 25 February 2021	Radio Helderberg	M Mnqosela – Post Sona K Sayed Cllr Mfecane – Post Sona	R 7000.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	24 February 2021 25 February 2021	Heartbeat FM	T Wolmarans J Grootboom – Post Sona	R 7500.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live Reads	17 February 2021 18 February 2021	Radio KC	P Titus -Post Sona P Titus – Post Sona	R 10494.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	24 February 2021 25 February 2021	Radio Overberg	E Maloy & P Titus –Post Sona	R 8720.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	22 February 2021 24 February 2021	WRFM – Witzenberg FM	P Titus –Post Sona P Titus – Post Sona	R 8400.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	23 February 2021 27 February 2021	Radio 786	Nkodlo –Post Sona C Dagmore – Post Sona	R 9600.00
	2 Interviews 8 Reads	18 February 2021 12 February 2021	Eden FM	L van Rhenen – Post Sona Dr N Benjamin -Sona	R 8800.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	22 February 2021 24 February 2021	Radio Namakwaland	E Mckay - Post Sona E Mckay - Post Sona	R 5040.00
	2 Interviews 8 Live reads	24 February 2021	Paarl FM	P Titus – Post Sona	R 8720.00
TOTAL	59 radio interviews implemented with 292 Live reads where implemented	R 287 700.00

Thank You.

Reply:

1267

Financial year	Description	Project No.	YTD Actuals (at 30 April 2021)	Total per FY in Rm
2020-21	INANDA NEWTOWN C SEWER RETICUL	Y8136D	0.818
	INANDA B-SINAMUVA DRIVE SEWER	Y8783D	0.228
			1.046	1.046
2019-20	Umbhayi Housing Development	X8224	0.152
	INANDA NEWTON C SEWER RETICULATION	Y8136B	5.630
	INANDA NEWTOWN C SEWER RETICUL	Y8136C	-
	INANDA NEWTOWN C SEWER RETICUL	Y8136C	-
			5.782	5.782
2018-19	INANDA NEWTON C SEWER RETICULATION	Y8136B	0.186
	Inanda B Sinamuva drive sewer	Y8783	0.268
			0.454	0.454
2017-18	Inanda Newtown 'C' Sewer Reticulation	Y8136B	0.138
			0.138	0.138
2016-17			-
				0
2015-16			0
				0
2014-15			0
				0
2013-14	Inanda Glebe Sewer Reticulation	Y6459	0.079
			0.079	0.079
2012-13	Etafuleni phrase1 and 2 collector	Y6523	2.871
			2.871	2.871
Grand total				10.3698

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

It is to be noted that parliamentary question require information since 2010, however information submitted by the Ethekwini Metro is for period since 2012/13 financial year. According to the Metro, information before 2012/13 is not readily available and therefore will require more time to be extracted and submitted.

Reply:

The GCIS is not aware of any operation to harm the Independent Media Group and its major shareholder Sekunjalo Investment Holdings. The department is obliged in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa to treat all media fairly.

Thank You.

Reply:

South African Ministry of Employment and Labour concluded a Bilateral Agreement with the Cuban Ministry of Employment, Social Security and Occupational Health and Safety in Cape Town on the 1st March 2004 that is renewable unless terminated by either party through diplomatic channels. This agreement remains in force and forms part of the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba relations.

The rest of the questions posed by Honourable Mrs N I Tarabella Marchesi with regard to employment of Cubans locally are not applicable under this agreement.

The agreement with the Cubans only confines itself to cooperation in the fields of “Employment, Social security and Occupational Health and Safety on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, taking into account the experience of specialists in these fields and possibilities of cooperation available in each country” Each country bears its own costs in implementing the agreement.

Reply:

(a)(i) 117 determination applications

(ii) 407 retention applications

(aa) 68 determination applications processed

(bb) 76 retention applications processed

(b) While awaiting review of the Regulations, clients are advised not to assume citizenship of another country.

(c) Original documents are critical for authentication purposes.

(d) The proposal will be considered in the review process.

END

Reply:

The SSA through its National Communications provides the following as measures and steps to ensure that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Security or cyber security in organs of state is maintained.

Provision of ICT Security Solutions and services to organs of state for protecting and securing electronic systems:

Rendering periodic and on-demand Information Assurance services and continuous monitoring services to clients and identified Critical Information Infrastructure:

• • Conducting technical Vulnerability and Risk assessments to identify and report on common critical vulnerabilities affecting Organs of state.
  • Continuous monitoring of ICT Security network infrastructures and systems of Organs of state in order to provide proactive alerts and warnings that help to protect the systems before harm.
  • Provision of Incident response to compromised systems of organs of state to mitigate risks and deploy measures to avoid recurrence of ICT security and Cyber-attacks and incidents.
  • Provision of cyber security awareness.

SSA National Communications is also busy with the review of the Cyber Security Strategy to improve the security and resilience of national infrastructures and services. The strategy establishes a range of national objectives and priorities that should be achieved in a specific timeframe.

The review/finalisation of the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill:

• to define offences and impose penalties that have a bearing on cybercrime
• to criminalise the distribution of data messages that are harmful
• to provide for interim protection order
• to further regulate jurisdiction in respect of cybercrimes
• to further regulate the powers to investigate cybercrimes
• to further regulate aspects relating to mutual assistance in respect of the investigation of cybercrime
• to provide for the establishment of a 24/7 Point of Contact
• to further provide for the proof of certain facts by affidavit
• to impose obligations on electronic communications service providers and financial institutions to assist in the investigation of cybercrimes
• to report cybercrimes
• to provide for the establishment of structures to promote cybersecurity and capacity building
• to regulate the identification and declaration of critical information infrastructures and measures to protect critical information infrastructures
• to provide that the Executive may enter into agreements with foreign States to promote cybersecurity
• to delete and amend provisions of certain laws
• to provide for matters connected therewith.

Reply:

1.

Year	Asylum Seeker	Refugee	Total
2019	1746	52	1798
2020	210	4	214
Total	1956	56	2012

 

2. (a) A total of 1561 have received a first instance rejection.

(b) The application form mostly states political grounds and atmosphere between ruling party and opposition parties. However, through interrogation and adjudication they concede on economic grounds, which do not exist under the 1951 UN Convention and the 1998 Refugee Act.

END

Reply:

a) 15 October 2020 to 31 December 2020

	Application received	Applications were rejected on the grounds of incorrect Standard Industry Classification Codes	Rejected applications were overturned on appeal?
Tourism	No data showing this category	No data showing this category	9
Liquor	12655	440	14
Hospitality	16332	686	290
Conferencing-events sectors	28987	No data showing this category	50
Any other business in related value chains,	No data showing this category	11549	5

b)

1 January 2021 to 15 March 2021

	Application received	Applications were rejected on the grounds of incorrect Standard Industry Classification Codes	Rejected applications were overturned on appeal?
Tourism	No data showing this category	No data showing this category	6
Liquor	6222	62	9
Hospitality	10701	124	239
Conferencing-events sectors	No data showing this category	No data showing this category	39
Any other business in related value chains	16923	1420	7

Reply:

The Service Level Agreement with the VFS global company to provide visa front desk services has been extended until 31 December 2022. (a) The eVisa pilot process has been concluded and rollout is envisaged to commence in the second quarter of this financial year 2021/22 for short-term visitor’s visa applications. The eVisa adjudication hub has been identified and the staff for the eVisa adjudication hub are currently in their final stages of training. (b) the Public-Private Partnership process is underway. The Department consulted with the National Treasury and the Department was advised to recruit a Transactional Advisor and Project Manager to lead the process and ensure that activities and timelines are adhered to. The Department is currently busy with the Supply Chain processes for the appointment of the Transactional Advisor and Project Manager.

END

Reply:

The annual tariff escalation will be done strictly on the basis of what was negotiated and agreed to between the DHA and the private concessionaire. The agreed principle will then be provided for in the concession agreement as the sole basis of escalating the tariffs.  

For example, the concession agreement may stipulate that the annual tariff escalation will be linked to inflation, as calculated by StatsSA. Once this is agreed to, it becomes the only way that the concessionaire can escalate the tariffs.

END

Reply:

Yes, we are implementing programmes to equip recent graduates, other youth and people who have lost employment to re-enter the labour market under the current Covid-19 environment. The Department through its various entities, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Compensation for Occupational and Injuries and Diseases Fund (Coida), Public Employment Services (PES), Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), as well as Productivity (SA), all have programmes that are assisting these affected groups to enter the labour market.

Through the more than 126 labour centres the Department, daily provides assistance to work seekers to access the labour market. Work seekers, can register on the Employment Services System of South Africa (ESSA), and get access to many job and training opportunities that are posted by prospective employers.

The Department helps them to compile CV’s and also provides employment advise and were necessary even counselling from trained psychologists employed by the Department. They provide valuable life skills advise, psychometric assessments and career interest assessments.

During the period ending 31 March 2021, the Department registered 938,505 work seekers, provided counselling to 246,454 work seekers and was able to place 37,193 work seekers into employment or training opportunities. This is in addition to the 169,717 job opportunities, created through the stimulus packages that was made available by the Treasury to various government Departments.

Reply:

a) The average per capita costs per month incurred by the Department during the 2020/21 financial year (unaudited figures) are as follows:

The average per capita costs projected to be spent by the Department for the 2021/22 financial year to keep inmates incarcerated monthly including and excluding CoE are as follows:

The following should be noted on the calculations of the average monthly per capita expenditure of inmates:

• For both financial years the total number of offenders in the two Public Private Partnerships (PPP) correctional centres are 5 952. The PPP expenditure is excluded on calculations and the average monthly per capita of offenders in PPP correctional centres is indicated separately. It should be noted that the PPP Index Fee includes Compensation of Employees appointed in the two PPP correctional centres.
• The expenditure incurred under Programme 5: Community Corrections are excluded as the whole programme deals with Parolees, Probationers, and Awaiting Trial Persons who are not incarcerated.
• The average monthly per capita expenditure is also shown excluding Programme 1: Administration and Sub Programme Facilities under Programme 2: Incarceration. Programme 1: Administration deals with the administration and management of the whole department including PPP correctional centres and Community Corrections population. Sub Programme Facilities deals with maintenance, upgrade, and construction of correctional centres, municipal services and accommodation for state-owned buildings.
• The most accurate average monthly per capita total cost incurred in 2020/21 financial year would be R10 890.52 including CoE and R2 946.91 excluding CoE.

b) The items from the operational budget that cost the Department most (using the threshold of R200 million per annum) apart from Compensation of Employees are as follows:

• Property Payments item is for the payment of electricity, water and sanitation services to the various municipalities and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) where relevant;
• Agency and Support/outsourced Services item is used for the payments to the two PPP correctional centres;
• Operating Leases item is for expenditure incurred for the accommodation charges for state buildings paid to the DPWI and the private leases for various offices;
• Inventory: Food and Food Supplies is for the expenditure of food for inmates;
• Fleet Services is for the payment of all running costs of government vehicles including repairs and maintenance;
• Consumable Supplies item is for cleaning material, stationery and printing supplies, building material and supplies and IT consumables;
• Inventory Farming Supplies is for the animal feed, farming and gardening supplements, fertilisers, and seedlings.

Expenditure Items above R200 million for 2021/22 Financial Year Projected Expenditure are as follows:

END

Reply:

1. NEDLAC social partners are currently dealing with matters that are affecting e-hailing services workers the labour market will be informed as soon as this process is complete.

The Labour Relations Act of 1995 and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997 deal with the presumption of who is an employee. According to the two legislations, a person is presumed to be an employee if they are able to establish that one of seven listed factors in section 200A of the LRA and section 83A of the BCEA is present in their relationship with a person for whom they work or to whom they render services.

The presumption comes into operation if the applicant establishes that one of the following seven factors is present:

• the manner in which the person works is subject to the control or direction of another person;
• the person's hours of work are subject to the control or direction of another person;
• in the case of a person who works for an organisation, the person forms part of that organisation;
• the person has worked for that other person for an average of at least 40 hours per month over the last three months;
• the person is economically dependent on the other person for whom he or she works or renders services; and
• the person is provided with the tools of trade or work equipment by the other person; 'the person only works for or renders services to one person.

The presumption applies regardless of the form of the contract entered into. The issue of the applicant's employment status cannot be determined merely by reference to either the applicant's obligations as stipulated in the contract or a 'label' attached to the relationship in a contract. Therefore, a statement in a contract that the applicant is not an employee or is an independent contractor is not a conclusive proof of the status of the applicant.

Any person believing that is an employee based on one of the presumption of who is an employee and feels that his employment rights were violated is free to approach the CCMA for help.

2. The Department, has been working closely with the International Labour Organisation in the commissioning and development of a National Labour Migration Policy. One of the recommendations emerging from a range of proposals, is the concept of introducing complete prohibitions or quarters on the number of foreign nationals that can be employed in any sector and this may include e-hailing transport. This will be in line with Section 36 of our Constitution to justify fair discrimination against foreign nationals as part of our efforts to address local high unemployment levels and to uphold existing minimum labour standards. I will release the Draft Policy and the proposed amendments for public discussion and consultation with the social partners as soon as internal government processes are completed.

3. Honourable Mr Ngcobo, as I have alluded to the fact that NEDLAC social partners are already dealing with the matter of e-hailing service workers, let us allow NEDLAC time to deal with the issues and at the right time, the labour market will be kept abreast on the developments.

Reply:

Visas are administered in terms of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act 13 of 2002) as amended read in conjunction with the Regulations promulgated under the Act. The Department is not in the process of amending the Immigration legislation to authorise the issuance of Remote working visas that would enable travellers to work remotely in the Republic

END

Reply:

(1) No, the Department of Correctional Services has not yet embarked on the 2021/22 Learnership Programme. The enrolment will be determined by the human resource needs and the availability of funds. The absorption of learners who have completed their learnership is not a determining factor for the enrolment of the next group of learners on the programme. The aim of the programme is to provide training and skills development opportunities to the youth preparing them for the labour market.

(1)(a) None

(1)(b) Not applicable

(2) No, the learnership programme is a 12 month development programme and not an employment contract, in the case of group 1 of 2019/20 the contract was extended as the programme was suspended for two months during the lockdown levels 5 and 4. The programme came to an end on 31 December 2020.

(3) Yes, their contract appointment on the PERSAL system is created in such a way that, when the contract end date is reached, the learner is automatically removed from the PERSAL system enabling them to pursue alternative employment.

END

Reply:

1. The government does not have a precise number of the number of undocumented immigrants in Republic due to the clandestine nature of the act of being here illegally. A number of persons entered without being recorded on any system and live here as unrecorded. It is only when they are detected or their presence is noted that we are able to have figures. The number of undocumented migrants that were deported in 2019/20 was 29376 with the nationality breakdown as follows:

Mozambique	13834	Pakistan	32	Burundi	15	Bolivia	6
Zimbabwe	5790	Zambia	31	Ethiopia	13	Algeria	3
Malawi	4277	China	29	Botswana	11	Cape Verde	3
Lesotho	3963	India	29	Cameroon	11	Senegal	3
Tanzania	517	Bangladesh	26	Thailand	11	Bulgaria	2
Eswatini	314	Ghana	25	Brazil	10	Guyana	2
Nigeria	176	Angola	22	Congo-Brazzaville	10	Iraq	2
DRC	87	Kenya	21	Somalia	8	Sri Lanka	2
Uganda	50	Namibia	19	Egypt	7	UK	2
Spain	1	Saudi Arabia	1	Saint Vincent	1	Peru	1
Venezuela	2	Cuba	1	Gabon	1	Morocco	1
Cote d’Voire	1	Ecuador	1	Israel	1	Palestine	1

and in 2020/21 deportations dropped with the onset of the Covid pandemic and stood at 14859 the breakdown as follows:

Lesotho	5769	Kenya	5
Zimbabwe	3226	UK	4
Mozambique	2714	Botswana	3
Malawi	2019	China	3
Eswatini	622	Thailand	3
Tanzania	236	Cameroon	2
Nigeria	59	Guinea	2
DRC	51	Paraguay	2
Namibia	24	Philippines	2
Angola	23	Argentina	1
Burundi	19	Bolivia	1
Brazil	13	Bulgaria	1
Uganda	9	Germany	1
Zambia	8	Guyana	1
		Pakistan	1
		Seychelles	1
		Sierra Leone	1
		USA	1

2. The department is mandated by legislation to enforce immigration act and deport illegal immigrants. This activity continues unabated as reflected in response to question 1 above.

END

Reply:

The question was referred to the Electoral Commission which has responded as follows:

The Electoral Commission in consultation with the National Party Liaison Committee (NPLC) has agreed on a voting station COVID protocol which, inter alia, provides the following measures:

a) The mandatory wearing of masks within the perimeter of the voting stations

b) Enforcement of social distancing on queues at the voting stations

c) Mandatory sanitizing of hands at entrance and exit of voting station

d) Encouraging voters to bring own pens to the voting stations even though pens will be provided and sanitised.

e) Where the size of the voting station is small, allowing a single party agent per party

f) Providing Personal Protection Equipment for voting officials at all voting stations and during home visit special votes.

Additional measures are currently being discussed within the auspices of the NPLC. Once a common view emerges and budget permitting these measures will be presented to the Commission for consideration and possible approval.

END

Reply:

Since the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration and Labour we have put a number of measures that include the following:

• Establishment of a Technical Committee of Directors General that supports member Ministers on migration cross cutting measures that may be short, medium and long term that must be implemented to address various identified challenges.
• Developed a detailed discussion document that identified various Constitutional and existing Legislation and Regulations, Southern African Development Community and African Union instruments and protocols, Global Migration Treaties and Conventions, Courts judgements in relation to migration cases that we must always be mindful off and Legal opinions.
• We continue to implement short term measures that include, improvements in border management, joint enforcement and inspections on the roads and employment premises.
• We have established a National and Provincial Trucking, Logistics and Road Freight Forums that brought all stakeholders within the sector together to address the torching and looting of trucks, presence of foreign drivers and collective bargaining within the sector.
• The Action Plans developed, details measures that each Department is initiating in the areas of Statistics and projection of foreign nationals in the country, criminal and security measures, justice, human rights, social development, trade and bilateral agreements, agriculture etc.
• The Medium and long term measures include policy harmonization and development where there are gaps. The Department of Employment and Labour has developed a Draft National Labour Migration Policy and Draft proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill aligned to the policy that I will release as soon as I have completed internal government processes. The Department of Home Affairs is also reviewing the Immigration Act in its entirety.
• We have also established Committees that are assisting us to address other urgent matters relating to migration such as processing of Applications for Waivers of the current Immigration Act provisions, Work Visa applications by foreign nationals or corporates.
• We have made Submissions to brief Cabinet on the activities of the IMC.

Reply:

The Governance Task Team at Nedlac agreed to conduct a study on how Nedlac can become fit for purpose. The study did not specifically focus on reviewing the statutes and protocols of Nedlac.

a) The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

b) The cost of the study is R1 206 510. The study has been funded by the ILO and Yellowwoods Foundation

c) A number of recommendations have been made by the service providers which are yet to be considered by the governance structures of Nedlac. Once the recommendations are confirmed, they will be reported on to Parliament.

Reply:

1. (a)(i)(b)(i),(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)

The above-mentioned far flung areas are visited on a monthly basis by the Office to provide Services-on-wheels. There is a Monthly Program in place. More, recently, Jansenville and Klipplaat were visited by the Mobile Solution Unit on 17 and 18 May 2021, respectively, to provide services to the community and the learners.

2. The above-mentioned areas will be visited on a monthly basis to provide services leading to the local government elections in October 2021.

3. There is a Monthly Program in place, and it is communicated to the Local Municipal leader / active members in the Home Affairs / Municipal Stakeholder Forum that are assisting the communities, and Community Development Workers (CDWs) when the Department visits the areas

4. The programmes and visits are communicated, timeously, to all role players.

END