Questions and Replies

Reply:

Reply to this Parliamentary Question has been logged with the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence

Reply:

(a)(i) The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements indicated that the total number of government-sponsored houses, commonly referred to as Breaking New Ground (BNG) Houses that have been built in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu areas is 622.

(ii) 126 Title Deeds have been handed over to the residents in Inanda, 83 Title Deeds have been handed over to residents in Ntuzuma and 39 Title Deeds have been hand over to residents in KwaMashu from 1 October 2019 to date.

(b) 2 Houses were built and handed over to persons with disabilities in July and August 2020.

(c) No houses were built for child-headed households since October 2019.

 

 

Reply:

Honourable Member, I have been informed by the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements that the roofs of 2 433 houses damaged by a hail storm have been replaced in the areas of Kanyamazane, Entokozweni and Tekwane South in Mbombela Local Municipality under the Provincial Emergency Housing Programme.

Most of the damaged houses were part of the pre-1994 housing stock and were roofed with asbestos fiber roofing sheet. The roofs of these houses has since been replaced with more durable and environmentally friendly roofing sheets i.e., roofing tiles.

Reply:

1. International market.

South African Tourism has kept all its international trade partners and stakeholders regularly updated on key matters of relevance to travel to South Africa. The continuous flow of information helps to sensitize international markets of the situation in South Africa and highlights the high standard of safety protocols adopted and implemented by the tourism industry. This will boost the confidence in the destination and inspire travel choices in favour of South Africa. On the business events front, SA Tourism together with the industry players participated at various events, meetings and conferences aimed at invigorating the industry through virtual platforms. On the economic diplomacy front, the Minister is leading engagements with missions of market countries and also reaching out to our key trade partners to provide insights on facts related to tourism and the pandemic in South Africa. All these are part of the regional and international market rejuvenation campaign.

1. Domestic market.

The domestic tourism campaign led by the Minister and supported by the Deputy Minister has been rolled out across all provinces in the country, showcasing some of the best but less known attractions. The campaign is supported through both mainstream and digital media platforms. While official account of the sector’s domestic recovery performance is yet to be compiled, indications from the sector are that these efforts are bearing fruits and that domestic tourism is on its way to recovery dependant on the pandemic trends.

Reply:

(a) (i) Department of Tourism working together with the private sector have been pro-active in establishing Directions and Protocols respectively as measures to reduce transmission risk across all sub-sectors. The Covid-19 protocols are rolled out by the sector under a self-regulatory framework in conjunction with the government’s Risk-Adjusted Strategy. The domestic tourism industry was not excluded to the efforts of law enforcement authorities to enforce adherence to the measures put in place by government to limit the spread of the virus. Law enforcement agencies has raised concerns of some establishments who were found to be none- complaince, this were mainly by some restaurant and this was raised with the sector.

.

(ii) (aa) and (bb) No survey was done on this matter. However feedback received from the industry points to majority of the sector being in compliance. Furthermore, observations made during visits to establishments show that industry is ready with compliance to the protocols and safe operations.

(b) (i) There has been some form of recovery in the domestic sector although it is still below the pre-COVID-19 levels. Since the Risk adjusted strategy was implemented in March 2020 there has been a steady improvement/ progress from Level 5 to Level 1. Following the easing of lockdown to level 3 in June 2020, domestic tourism started picking up from August 2020 resulting in the performance at different levels of lockdown depicted in the table below.

Month	COVID 19 Level	Trips
August 2020	L2	2,465,260
September 2020	L1	2,236,371
October 2020	L1	2,266,853
November 2020	L1	1,174,491
December 2020	L1 and adjusted L3	1,358,772

(ii) (aa) and (bb) SA Tourism conducts monthly surveys that track travel patterns and behaviour of South Africans within the country.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I am informed by the Department that:

1. The Department undertakes maintenance on a day-to-day basis.
2. The Department has various maintenance contractors appointed to render day-to-day maintenance according to their building disciplines.
3. The current contractors provide:
   • • Maintenance and Repairs to domestic appliances ie. fridges, stoves, etc.;
     • Maintenance to pumps, pools and irrigation systems;
     • Maintenance to fire detection / protection / suppression systems and access control (CCTV, automated doors / gates, PA systems, surveillance);
     • Maintenance and repairs to air-conditioning;
     • Buiding services;
     • Pest control;
     • Repairs and service to standby generators and electrical; and
     • Plumbing services.
4. No, term contractors are available as and when required.
5. The budget for services is R25 million.
6. Yes, all tenders are advertised on the Government Tender Bulletin (National).

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

I have been informed by the Department that the Board is chaired by the Acting Director-General of the Department. The current Board is operating in accordance with the Parliamentary Villages Management Board Act, and held its inaugural meeting on the 16th September 2020. Subsequently, two meetings were held on the following dates: 23rd March 2021 and the 01st April 2021.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. I have been informed by the Department that the intruder alarms were removed and re-instated as part of the scope of work under contract WCS 045661/002 which was the refurbishment of Sessional Officials’ accommodation. The challenge however, was the ageing infrastructure at SAPS Rondebosch Static Protection Service, where not all intruder alarms reported the signal to the SAPS site office at Groote Schuur Estate. The Department is currently attending to these challenges and will resolve the intruder alarm and signal under the current MP maintenance project, WCS 046748.
2. Yes, at the inception of the project in 2015, the appropriate study was done through the SAPS Security Assessment Report.
3. Yes, the appropriate study was done through the SAPS Security Assessment Report. (a) It was recommended that the perimeter of the park must consist of the following:

• Single welded mesh fence (high security fence);
• Concrete plinth underneath;
• Effective perimeter illumination for easy patrol and enhancement of cameras either during the night or adverse weather conditions, SANS 10389-2;
• Beams were already fitted for detecting would-be intruders trying to tamper with the fence and/or for zone breaching;
• The fence must, at all times, be free from holes and/or any sort of damages,
• Vegetation around the fence was also not recommended; and
• The placing and number of cameras, namely 17 (PTZ) Pan Tilt Zoom in Acacia Park, 6 fixed and 5 (PTZ) in Pelican Park and 7 fixed and 5 (PTZ) in Pelican Park.
• (b) Liberty Technologies was sub-contracted by Bambana Management Services to install the security system and perimeter security beams at Acacia Park.
•  
• 4. Yes, the correct tender process was followed. The open tender was advertised in line with sound supply chain management processes. The contract for the upgrading of the access control at the three Parliamentary Villages undertaken in 2015 amounted to R32 231 266.29 and the successful bidder was Bambana Management Services.

Reply:

The Department of Tourism does not have policy and/or legislative responsibilities regarding Community Tourism Organisations. However, the department has a responsibility to reach out to tourism stakeholders at all levels, and to maintain sound intergovernmental relations by working with and through provinces and local government where appropriate.

Reply:

The timeframe cited in the question suggests that the Honourable Member is referring to the filling of vacancies in the Departments of Human Settlements.

In September 2020, I instructed the Department of Human Settlements to fill all vacant and funded posts from Assistant Director and above by the end of the financial year. Following the foregoing instruction, National Treasury reduced the DHS’ allocation of the Compensation of Employee’s (COE) budget over the MTEF 2021/22 -2023/24. Subsequent to the reduction of the COE, the Department identified a list of priority posts which could be filled from the available funds. The lists hereunder contains the posts which the Department and its Entities have identified for filling.

No	DHS Post Name	Salary Level	Progress
1.	DDG: Human Settlements Delivery Frameworks	15	Post to be advertised
2.	CD: Executive Support	14	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
3.	CD: Human Resources	14	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
4.	CD: Legal Services	14	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
5.	CD: Human Settlements Plan	14	Interviewed-Pending appointment
6.	CD: Monitoring & Evaluation	14	Interviewed-Pending appointment
7.	CD: Program Implementation Facilitation	14	Earmarked for advertisement and filling by April 2021
8.	CD: Regulatory Compliance	14	Earmarked for advertisement and filling by April 2021
9.	D: Budgeting	13	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
10.	D: Financial Accounting	13	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
11.	D: Contract Management	13	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.
12.	D: HS Framework Legislation & Research	13	Shortlisting completed - Pending interview.

DHS Entities

Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS)
No.	Post Name	Progress
1.	Chief Financial Officer	The interviews have been finalised and Minister will soon approach cabinet for concurrence for the appointment of the recommended candidate
National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC)
1.	Chief Executive Officer (CEO)	The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NHFC retired on 31 August 2020 and thereafter the Minister appointed an acting CEO with effect from 1 September 2020. The appointment of the CEO is underway.
Housing Development Agency (HDA)
1.	Chief Executive Officer (CEO)	An Acting CEO was appointed in February 2021, which will be followed by the recruitment of a fulltime CEO.
2.	Chief Financial Officer (CFO)	The CFO was appointed in May 2020 into a fulltime fixed contract post.
3.	HDA Board	The Interim Board in February 2020 and the process of appointing a permanent Board has begun in earnest.
Estate Agency Affairs Board
No.	Post Name	Progress
1.	Chief Financial Officer (CFO)	A Chief Financial Officer has already been seconded from the NHFC to the EAAB and commenced with duties on 01 March 2021.
Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)
1.	Chief Executive Officer (CEO)	The contract of the former CEO ended on 31 January 2021. The recruitment process to fill the vacancy has commenced.
2.	SHRA Council	The call for nominations has been finalised and the Selection Committee furnished the Minister with a list of recommended persons which the Minister will exercise oversight on and thereafter submit the same for the concurrence of Cabinet.

(b) The post of Director-General for the Department of Human Settlements is not vacant. The positions indicated below have also been filled, utilizing the available CoE budget:

 

No	Post Name	Salary Level	Progress
1.	CD: Governance Framework	14	Filled
2.	DD: Occupational Health and Safety	11	Filled
3.	Office Manager	11	Filled
4.	DD: Internal Control	11	Filled
5.	DD: Information	11	Filled
6.	ASD: Corporate Secretariat Support	9	Filled
7.	ASD: Municipal Accreditation	9	Filled
8.	Senior Internal Audit X 2	9	Filled

Reply:

1. The Minister of Tourism undertakes tourism stakeholder outreaches across the country, wherein she engages with various stakeholders within local communities. Thus, the Minister takes an inclusive approach at a community level with participation by all affected and interested parties.

2. (a) and (b) Neither the Department of Tourism nor the Minister of Tourism have mandate to evaluate functionality of Community Tourism Organisations or any other tourism association as these are voluntary associations.

3. (a)(i) and (b)(i) and (ii) The latest engagement was in the Northern Cape in the areas of Upington and Rimvesmark in a form of Ministerial outreach linked to the tourism recovery efforts and revitalisation of domestic tourism in particular.

(iii)The engagements were attended by amongst others the provincial government, local government, and local tourism business community.

(iv)To obtain insights into the key tourism issues and opportunities for improvements where necessary.

Reply:

The Ministerial Directive is issued in terms of section 63 of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act 108 of 1997 (WSA). The issuance of a Directive involves a consultative process whereby the Minister engages all the stakeholders; including the Premier, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Member of the Executive Council responsible for COGTA and the Mayors involved in the implementation of a directive as per the legislative requirements.

If a municipality or any of the stakeholders fail to implement the Directive, Sections 63 (2) (b) of the WSA and section 151 of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998) (NWA), empower the Executive Authority to take over the functions after due process or take legal action.

Regarding the particular case referred to in the question, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation and Minister of Minerals Resources and Energy, Premier of North West, COGTA MEC and the Mayor of the municipality met on 04 March 2021 to resolve the impasse. The Minister of DMR is the champion for the District Development Model in North West Province. During the course of the meeting, it was resolved that the municipality will hand over the operations and maintenance of the water and sanitation infrastructure to the Magalies Water Board, in accordance with the Minister’s directive. The municipality did not object and all processes are currently underway to implement the resolution.

Reply:

The Department of Tourism does not keep data on Community Tourism Organisations (CTOs) and works through provinces and local government as points of entry when it comes to outreaches and engagements with local tourism stakeholders including CTOs. The Honourable member may directly liaise with relevant province/s and/or local government in this regard.

Reply:

The Department of Tourism does not keep data on Community Tourism Organisations. The Department’s point of entry to community organisations is through Provincial and Local government with due recognition of the concurrency of the tourism legislative mandate. The department maintains this approach as it has worked effectively in terms of outreach and engagements with local tourism communities as well as from an intergovernmental relations point of view. Thus, the department acknowledges concurrent legislative competence and that local govenment is responsible for the development of local tourism including matters related to community tourism organisations.

Reply:

Mrs C Phillips (DA) to ask the Minister of Transport:

(a) Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM) was allocated funds from the Public Transport Network Grant from the 2010/11 financial year. From 2010/11 to June 2020, a total of R 3,855 billion has been allocated to the RLM and total expenditure is standing at R3, 163 billion.

The table below summarises the allocation and expenditure per financial year.

(b) Was the original budget for the project?

The original budget was estimated at R3 billion rands. It is important to highlight that it was impractical to construct all routes and other infrastructure at once and within a short space of time as this would have caused a gridlock. The municipality therefore had to phase-in construction. There were further objections in the initial stages of construction, which halted construction of bus lanes in the CBD and resulted in construction delays.

(c) What is the expected total spend to complete the project?

The majority of construction is completed and the municipality needs depot infrastructure. From henceforth, the city will use the grant operational component to pay compensation to taxi industry incumbents and run the service, these are estimated at R1.4 billion rands including compensation for affected operators over the next 12 years.

Reply:

(1) and (2) Community Tourism Organisations (CTOs) are independent associations based on voluntary participation by their membership. The organisations are responsible for their operations including financial aspects thereof. The Department of Tourism does not fund CTOs.

Reply:

a) (i) (aa) Directors-General - 37 Nationally appointed; 8 Provincially appointed (Schedule 1 of the Public Service Act, 1994) - (Directors-General are appointed on contract for a term not exceeding five years)

(bb) Acting Directors-General - National 8 Directors-General are acting; Provincially 1 Director-General is acting.

(ii) (aa) Heads of Department: 87 appointed – (Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act, 1994) – (Heads of Department are appointed on contract for a term not exceeding five years)

(bb) Acting Heads of Department – 25.

(b&c) Officials are appointed to act from the date the post has become vacant – Period of Acting Directors-General Nationally by Department (data: as at 31 December 2020):

National Departments	Post vacant date	Duration vacant (months)
Department of Social Development	2017-05-31	43
Department of Water and Sanitation	2017-11-30	37
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development	2020-10-31	2
Department of Military Veterans	2018-06-15	31
Small Business Development	2018-09-30	27
The Presidency	2020-08-31	4
Communication and Digital Technologies	2020-06-30	6
State Security Agency	2018-04-30	33
Provincial Department	Post vacant date	Duration vacant (months)
North West Office of the Premier	2019-04-30	20

(b&c) Officials are appointed to act from the date the post has become vacant – Period of Acting Nationally by Department: (data: as at 31 December 2020):

Province	Provincial Department	Post vacant date	Duration vacant (months)
KZN	Provincial Treasury	2020-06-30	6
	Transport	2020-04-30	8
Northern Cape	Provincial Treasury	2014-10-31	74
	Education	2020-08-31	4
	Roads and Public Works	2020-07-31	7
	Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development	2019-10-31	14
	Environment and Nature Conservation	2020-02-01	11
	Economic Development and Tourism	2014-10-31	74
	Health	2020-02-28	10
Eastern Cape	Health	2020-09-30	3
	Rural Development and Agrarian Reform	2018-09-30	27
Mpumalanga	Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs	2018-05-31	31
	Public Works, Roads and Transport	2019-10-31	14
	Economic Development and Tourism	2014-10-31	74
	Education	2019-08-31	16
	Health	2013-06-01	90
	Cooperative Governance	2020-02-29	10
Gauteng	Community Safety	2020-02-29	10
	Health	2020-10-01	3
	Economic Development	2020-11-30	1
Limpopo	Education	2020-01-31	11
	Social Development	2020-05-01	8
North West	Agriculture and Rural Development	2020-10-01	3
	Health	2020-01-13	12
	Social Development	2018-11-30	26

Reply:

a) About 943 578 hectares of land in Northern Cape are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

a) About 1 941 974 hectares of land in North West are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

(1) The Government of South Africa is not paying to receive this training from China. The programmes are sponsored by the Government of China and exist within the context of the MoUs entered into between the NSG and the China National Academy of Governance and the University of China Academy of Social Sciences.

(2) For details of the curriculum please see the following annexures:

Annexure 1: Building Governance Capacity for South Africa

Annexure 2: Economic Governance

Annexure 3: Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development

 

The upcoming programme on Governance and Emergency Management will cover topics such as (1) Modernization of Chinese Government Structure and Governance Ability, (2) Chinese Government Performance Management, (3) China's Public Policy Making, (4) Response to Emergencies, (5) Emergency management in China, (6) Practice and exploration of the construction of national emergency management system

These programmes are targeted at Senior Managers in the public service and have also attracted Deputy Ministers, Councillors and Executive Mayors.

(3) The NSG has prioritised the use of strategic partnerships with leading institutions from around the world in pursuit of knowledge exchanges. These partnerships include institutions in Europe, Asia and the Americas. These partnerships are with the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (France), University College London (United Kingdom), Thunderbird School of Global Management – Arizona University (USA), China National Academy of Governance and the University of China Academy of Social Sciences.

The NSG also enjoys exchanges with countries such as Germany, Chile and India where we facilitate learning opportunities for South Africa’s public servants. The pursuit of these strategic partnerships is in line with South Africa’s White Paper on Foreign Policy. We pursue our relations with countries that have diplomatic relations with South Africa, China being one of them. Regardless of its Political System, China boasts a public service that is based on a strong system of meritocracy and has its own unique governance system which other countries can learn from in crafting or improving their own in pursuit of their own national objectives and interests. Over the past decades, China has excelled in development planning, testing and mass rollout of integrated development initiatives. China has been very successful in translating strategic plans into operational plans and implementing them. We would like South Africa’s public servants and leaders to be exposed to the education and learning programmes that have underpinned the successes of development-oriented states such as China.

We also facilitate learning opportunities with institutions in Germany, France, Chile and India, because like China, they have mastered State craft.

End

Reply:

 

a) About 20 182 hectares of land in Gauteng are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

a) About 3 501 621 hectares of land in the Eastern Cape are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations. The Eastern Cape proclamations however have not been recently mapped since the Provincial Government, with the assistance of the national Department of Traditional Affairs, is still verifying the accuracy and completeness of the proclamations in their possession. Once this process is completed, all the boundaries of traditional communities will be mapped in order to confirm existing information particularly with respect to the boundaries.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

a) About 2 912 679 hectares of land in Limpopo are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

a) About 642 670 hectares of land in Mpumalanga are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

a) About 2 883 720 hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal are held by the Ingonyama, as trustee of Ingonyama Trust, on behalf of the communities that are listed in the schedule to the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act, 1994. An additional amount of about 559 559 hectares are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities in the same province.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities, on whose behalf the land is held, are provided in the attached schedule.

c) None

Reply:

1. For the purpose of responding to this parliamentary question, departments that received a disclaimer or adverse finding from the Auditor-General for the 2019/2020 financial year are regarded as having underperformed. (a) The North West Department of Human Settlements is the only provincial department that received a disclaimer or adverse finding from the Auditor-General for the 2019/2020 financial year. (b) According to information available on PERSAL no performance bonuses were paid by the department for the 2019/2020 financial year.
2. (a) None of the national departments received a disclaimer or adverse finding for the 2019/2020 financial year. (b) According to information available on PERSAL no performance bonuses were paid by departments that are regarded as underperforming.

End

Reply:

 

a) None. People that reside on Ingonyama Trust land do not do so purely on the basis of a Permission to Occupy, but rather on the basis of customary tenure. There are instances where some may have had Permission to Occupy documents issued to them in the past, but the conclusion of a lease has never necessitated that the lessee surrenders the Permission to Occupy or forsake their customary tenure rights. It has therefore never been significant for the Ingonyama Trust Board to record the fact that a lessee may have had a Permission to Occupy document since it plays no significant role in the determination whether a resident on Ingonyama Trust land should be granted a lease or not.

b) The conclusion of a lease agreement by a resident on Ingonyama Trust land has no impact on the customary tenure right of such a resident.

Reply:

The question is vague as it is not clear when it is alleged that I “neglected to respond to the previous Advisory Council”.  I issued a Ministerial Directive in 2019 on the interpretation and application of the mandate of the Advisory Council with specific reference to, amongst others, this provisions in the Act, and it is trusted that once a new Council is appointed that  they will operate within these parameters. 

 

 

Reply:

a) About 140 277 hectares of land in the Free State are held by Government on behalf of traditional communities, whose boundaries are defined in various proclamations.

b) The names and locations of each of the traditional communities concerned are provided in the attached schedule.

Reply:

The procurement of goods and services in municipalities is governed by the Municipal Finance Management Act, the Supply Chaim Management Regulations of the National Treasury as revised and the applicable Practice Notes as issued National Treasury. The MFMA, SCM Regulations and the various Practice Notes prescribe procurement requirements from SMMEs and Co-operatives of each municipality.

To augment the legislated mandates, the Department of Small Business Development consults and lobbies the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) on various policy and SMME support instruments it develops for adoption and implementation in municipalities. A recent example is that of when the Department was developing the SMME-Focused Localization Framework in 2020, it held consultations and mobilized for adoption by municipalities for implementation. The Localisation Framework identifies over 1000 products and services that must be procured from SMMEs and Cooperatives. To date, SALGA continues to create a platform for the Department to create awareness of the Localisation Framework amongst the municipalities to consider SMMEs and Co-operatives produced goods or services when issuing out tenders to bidders. To demonstrate success of this mainstreaming work, the City of Tshwane continues to consult with the Department in their process of developing its own localisation policy and reviewing its supply chain management policies.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Reply:

a) Disbursements under the SMME Debt Relief Fund amounted to R316.2 million to 1 151 SMMEs of the R513 million that was set aside. It must be noted that no additional claims from approved beneficiaries were received against the Scheme when the economy moved to lockdown level 3.

b) The racial profile of the businesses is outlined as follows:

Race	Number	%
Asian	3	0.26
Black	696	60.47
Coloured	67	5.82
Indian	98	8.51
White	287	24.93
Total	1 151	100.00

Reply:

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigations are regulated in terms of the Special Investigation Unit and Special Tribunal Act, 1996.

According to this Act, the SIU is empowered to investigate serious malpractices or maladministration in connection with the administration of State institutions defined in the Act.

Section 1 of the Act defines State institution to “mean any national or provincial department, any local government, any institution in which the State is the majority or controlling shareholder or in which the State has a material financial interest, or any public entity as defined in section 1 of the Reporting by Public Entities Act, 1992 (Act No. 93 of 1992)”.

All final reports of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) received by my Office are therefore released to all affected State institutions to implement the recommendations of the SIU.

In the case of SIU making certain findings of wrongdoing against a particular professional based on evidence, the SIU refers this to the relevant professional body with recommendations regarding professional disciplinary action.

The said referral is accompanied by relevant evidence to enable the professional body to institute the recommended disciplinary action and hold the professional to account.

The SIU has established a function which will follow up with the statutory professional bodies or councils to establish whether the SIU recommendation is implemented.

The SIU also makes similar referrals to government where there is evidence of wrongdoing by any government official. In the latter case, a referral accompanied by evidence is sent to the Accounting Officer or Accounting Authority of the relevant state institution to enable the Accounting Officer or the Accounting Authority to institute disciplinary action and thus to hold the official to account.

In view of the above there is no need to develop a separate policy in this regard.

The SIU has found evidence of wrongdoing by five (5) professionals – all attorneys – since January 2011. In each case, referrals were made to the relevant professional body.

Reply:

1. As reported by provincial education departments, there were no schools that did not have any access to water.

2. No water tanks were installed in the provinces since November 2020.

Reply:

The former South African Ambassador to Cuba His Excellency Mr Pitso coordinated the donation and requested the SANDF to take the collected items to Cuba since there was a chartered flight to Cuba which was taking personal artefact for students in Cuba and fetching those that has completed their studies. This was under special circumstances when borders were closed in many countries.

The former Ambassador is in regular contact with the Cuban Mission in South Africa, hence he got to know about the flight to Cuba by the SANDF for their own members as well as those of the NDoH. The arrangement was between the Embassy of Cuba and the donor.

Private organisations and individuals would normally not have this service available to them.

Reply:

(a)       R774 430 461

(b) 

The Classrooms are located as follows:

           

FREE STATE	2704
KWA-ZULU NATAL	1925
LIMPOPO	605
NORTHERN CAPE	65
NORTH WEST	73
WESTERN CAPE	206
GAUTENG	240

Reply:

1. It should be noted at the outset that student protests do occur on university campuses from time to time and relate to a broad range of issues. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and funding-related matters do sometimes feature in these protests, but are often institution-specific and appear to be NSFAS-related, but are not always.

In 2017, NSFAS introduced and implemented a new funding system for all universities, termed the “student-centred” model. The system was intended to provide an improved information technology platform for submitting and processing student applications, where students apply directly to NSFAS through an online application system and manage allocations to students.

While some changes to systems and processes at NSFAS resulted in students applying directly to NSFAS in 2017 with some of the preliminary funding decisions being concluded and communicated to students on time, the rest of the processes at NSFAS were subject to severe challenges and unacceptable delays.

NSFAS did not have the requisite capacity and technical knowledge required for the successful implementation of the new system. The information technology platform and systems built to manage the processes were not able to function effectively. There were huge delays in the exchange of registration data between NSFAS and universities, making funding decisions, and paying students on time. As a result of these challenges, there was much dissatisfaction across universities and the following universities experienced disruption of the academic activities during 2017:

The Vaal University of Technology, Witwatersrand, University of Limpopo, University of Venda, Sol Plaatje University, University of Cape Town, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, Walter Sisulu University, Rhodes University, Nelson  Mandela University, University of Fort Hare, Central University of Technology, University of the Free State, UNISA, University of Zululand, Durban University of Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Mangosuthu University of Technology.

In August 2018, an Administrator was appointed to, amongst others, deal with the operational challenges explained above, ensuring improved systems and policy controls, and addressing backlog issues from previous funding cycles. In the first period of administration, operations at NSFAS stabilised significantly, resulting in a comparatively smooth funding cycle for 2019, improved relationships between institutions and NSFAS, improved data exchange between NSFAS and institutions, and better controls being put in place to manage funding rules. There was also a significant improvement in payments to students, which, with the support of institutions, were paid on time to students for the first time ever. Reconciliations were also done monthly, which resulted in smoother administration of the funding scheme.

The Department developed guidelines on how the new DHET bursary would be implemented. Standards were set up early in January 2018 based on research that NSFAS had undertaken. These were communicated to the system but were not implemented by all universities in the same way.  In 2019, it was discovered that some universities did not implement the policy correctly for first-time entering students, and payments of allowances were made to students who did not qualify. NSFAS had no means to validate funded undergraduate courses in universities, and that a funded qualification management system was not in place. With a lack of controls at NSFAS, institutions were able to submit data that did not comply with the policy, such as allowance amounts not in line with the policy and qualifications that did not qualify for funding.

This led to some confusion and dissatisfaction and resulted in turmoil. Many demands made by students and protests were experienced on many campuses. It should also be noted that many universities had protests as a response to the call for a national shutdown by the South African Union of Students. The following universities experienced student protests:

The Mangosuthu University of Technology, University of Fort Hare, University of Zululand, the University of Venda, University of Mpumalanga, the Vaal University of Technology, University of Limpopo, Sol Plaatje University, University of Cape Town, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, Walter Sisulu University, Rhodes University, Nelson Mandela University, Central University of Technology, University of the Free State, UNISA, Durban University of Technology, and University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The government also made funds available to pay off the historic debt of NSFAS funded students incurred prior to the introduction of the DHET bursary.

The lack of policy controls at NSFAS had a significant effect. Closeout issues were still being addressed in 2020, and weaknesses in data controls persisted. There were delays in finalising appeals by NSFAS. Although there was a call for a national shut down by SAUS, the sector was relatively calm and only the following institutions had major disruptions:

Central University of Technology, North West University, University of Fort Hare, University of Venda, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of South Africa, Central University of Technology, Durban University of Technology, Sefako Makgatho University, Sol Plaatje University, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Limpopo, University of the Free State, University of the Western Cape, University of Zululand, Vaal University of Technology, Walter Sisulu University and Witwatersrand University.

There is a significant improvement in terms of controls at NSFAS and the payment of allowances. The protests that are currently experienced by universities relate to the broader funding of the sector and in particular, matters relating to student debt of missing middle students.  

The following table presents a summary of NSFAS matters that prompted recipients to demonstrate in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges:

2019	2020	2021
Outstanding allowances	Outstanding allowances	Outstanding allowances
Late or non-disbursement of allowances	Late or non-disbursement of allowances	Late or non-disbursement of allowances
Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system	Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system	Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system
		Issuing of laptops

The main goal of the Department and NSFAS is to ensure that financial aid reaches the right student timeously. To this end, the value chain process is dependent on the active participation of all stakeholders regarding, amongst others, the following:

• Development and distribution of the bursary policy by the Department;
• Capacity building training of college officials by the Department and NSFAS;
• Accurate completion and timeous submission of a complete application by a student; and
• Timeous submission of the student registration data to NSFAS by colleges.  

The Department, together with NSFAS, college management and Student Representative Councils collectively have a responsibility to address the issues reflected in the table above. The Department and NSFAS have put various mechanisms in place to address these issues such as developing standard operating procedures for the administration of college fees and allowances as well as the introduction of the NSFAS wallet payment system to expedite payment of allowances.

(2)    Yes.

Reply:

The SOE’s are separate legal entities and employees in the SOE’s are not employed in terms of the Public Service Act. This makes the flagging of the employees who leaves the SOE’s pending disciplinary action or investigation difficult to track and trace in as far as other government departments. Heavy reliance will be on the strengths of our government departments recruitment processes to ensure that the vetting is done diligently to be able to detect such red flags. The prescripts developed under the auspices of Department of Public Service and Administration place a responsibility on the accounting officer of each government department to ensure that rigorous integrity assessments and background checks are conducted against candidates applying for employment.

The SOE’s have measures in place as part of their recruitment processes to prohibit the reappointment of employees who left through dismissal. The SOE’s are reviewing their measures to ensure that through the HR processes employees who leave the institution whilst under investigation or pending a disciplinary procedure are flagged. These should be done in line to what is permissible in terms of our Labour Relations Act.”

The department has also developed the SOC Risk and Integrity Management Framework that will be implemented with effect from 01 April 2021. Among others, the framework introduces reforms designed to regulate the affairs of the SOCs under the Ministry of Public Enterprises as follows:

• Ensure that SOCs conduct rigorous background checks to prevent employment of candidates whose integrity indicates that they cannot be entrusted with the management of public resources;
• Prohibit employees and board members of SOCs from doing business with their respective SOC.
• Prohibit employees and board members of SOCs from soliciting or accepting gifts and/or donations from companies doing business with the SOC.

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom:

On 14 October 2020, the SIU issued a report to SCOPA for the period 2015/16 to 2019/2020 identifying 5452 cases involving Eskom officials that had failed to submit declarations of interest for the indicated period. These cases have been handed over to Eskom by the SIU and the disciplinary process has commenced for the identified employees.

In order to ensure compliance, Eskom has implemented the following improvement actions to the declaration of interest management process:

• The information system used to monitor employee declarations has been upgraded to enhance the ability to track and monitor non-compliances to the Eskom requirements.
• Trained ethics coordinators and trainers have been appointed throughout the organisation to assist with ethics issues at the Eskom sites throughout the country.

• Ethics training is provided to all employees through online learning, as the classroom training sessions have been placed on hold due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
• Employees that fail to comply are taken through a consequence management process.

Reply:

According to the information received from Transnet:

1. Every asset in the dry dock facility in the Port of Cape Town has a maintenance plan. Each maintenance plan is derived from the Original Equipment manufacturer (OEM) operating and maintenance manual. Each asset has its own maintenance interval (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly etc.). All maintenance plans are raised in the form of job cards through Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), in this instance SAP.

The port adheres to annual maintenance repairs and ad hoc maintenance plans. This involves the reaction to the predicted asset failure which is not imminent. The repair cost is estimated, and funds are allocated accordingly. Job cards are created, and jobs are executed and documented and kept for a period of three years for auditing purposes.

2. The Port of Cape Town is in the process of refurbishing its outdated ship-repair facilities in line with Operation Phakisa initiatives. The port is providing an essential gravity point in the ship-repair sector. It has three main facilities namely, Robertson Dry Dock (RDD), Synchro-lift (SL) and Sturrock Dry Dock (SDD). The investment in the refurbishment of the facility to date is as follows:

• All three-facilities combined capital spend to date is approximately R50 Million
• Latest Estimate by end of the financial year is approximately R69 Million
• The total estimated capital spends inclusive of all facilities above is “R1b”.
•  

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Kgathatso Tlhakudi P J Gordhan, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

(a) In terms of the enabling Legislation of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Compensation Fund (CF) and Supported Employment Enterprises (SEE), the Minister of Labour (now Employment and Labour) appoints a Commissioner and support staff to perform the functions of the Funds and seconds such to the Funds.

As a result of this, it is the Department that is the registered employer and all appointments are made in line with the Public Service Act and accompanying Regulations. The Department therefore performs all payroll functions for the Department, the UIF, CF and SEE as one employer.

In terms of Compensation of Employees (CoE or payroll), the allocation of expenditure is governed by an Organisational Development (OD) exercise determining the functions and the level of such functions performed by positions contained in the approved establishment. This is commonly referred to as the “Approved Percentage Split”. This information is captured against positions on the establishment and is monitored and controlled by the Human Resource Management units within the Department as well as the UIF, CF and SEE.

The establishment is confirmed as being correct at regular intervals as it is this establishment which determines the value of CoE that is expensed against the Vote or alternatively recovered from the respective Fund.

(b) As a result of this symbiotic relationship, the Department reflects an approved establishment of 9990 on PERSAL however, only expenditure in respect of 2987 positions are expensed against the CoE allocations reflected in the Estimates of National Expenditure, and not 9990 positions as per the approved establishment.

Reply:

10. The Department has adequate measures to ensure SOCs accountability in instances where the executive authority fails to table an annual report of the department and/or entity. Furthermore, extenuating circumstances would need to be considered on a case by case basis. The following are the extenuating circumstances that led to the following SOCs in not tabling annual reports and financial statements:

a) Denel: Denel’s AGM was held on the 29 January 2021. Several reasons resulted in the delay, including the liquidity challenges, which affected its ability to continue operating on a going concern basis. Consequently, Denel was unable to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it is a going concern, resulting in the delayed external audit finalization by the Auditor General. The delayed finalisation of the AFS was also exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted day-to-day activities in general. The AFS and Integrated Report were tabled at Parliament on Tuesday, 9 February 2021.

b) Safcol: The audit was protracted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual report was tabled on 10 March 2021, followed by the presentation to the Portfolio Committee, held on 17 March 2021.

c) Alexkor: The Alexkor AGM is expected to be held during the last week of March 2021. Alexkor’s operational and liquidity challenges not only resulted in delayed finalisation of the AFS and external audit by the Company’s auditors but has impacted its ability to continue operating on a going concern basis, resulting in a disclaimed audit opinion. It is expected that the AFS and IR will be tabled immediately after the AGM is held.

d) SAA: The airline could not table the annual report and financial statements due to financial and liquidity challenges. This had an impact on the going concern assessment which eventually led to the airline being placed under business rescue.​e) SA Express: The airline could not table the annual report and financial statements due to financial and liquidity challenges. This had an impact on the going concern assessment which eventually led to the airline being placed under business rescue and is now in provisional liquidation.

 

2. The last 2 years have been a difficult period for all SOCs, in terms of addressing all matters related to state capture, stabilising the SOC, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the SOCs are facing serious financial challenges, which impact on going concern and the audit outcome. The accountability framework includes the oversight of Parliament as it relates to non-submission of annual reports. The SOCs, being corporate entities are also required to apply to the Companies Tribunal to grant an extension of the date within which to hold the Annual General Meeting and to present its annual report to the Shareholder. Late submission of the annual report, coupled with going concern and the viability of the company also impacts on loan covenants, which the Board and the Shareholder must address.

3. The Boards are also accountable for other non-negotiable targets such as the achievement of an unqualified audit outcome and the achievement of at least 80% of the total sum of key performance indicators of the Compact. In line with consequence management, but also informed by the financial constraints, Boards and management takes a 0% annual increase when these non-negotiable targets are not met. However, addressing the viability of the SOC remains one of government’s key objective.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. (a) I have been informed by the Department that for the period 1 April 2020 – 31 December 2020, a total of 515 862 work opportunities have been reported through the EPWP Reporting System across all the spheres of Government and the four (4) EPWP sectors. Of the 515 862 work opportunities, 68% of work opportunities (i.e. 349 311) were for women empowered in the programme.

(b) In the same reporting period, 44% of work opportunities (i.e. 225 753) were accounted for youth empowerment.

 

2. The target for women is 60% and the target for youth is 55%, which means that the EPWP programme, which is coordinated by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has managed to exceed the women target, but has been unable to reach the youth target.

The rationale for achieving the targets on women participation is attributed to the nature of the Programmes implemented. For example, the Provincial Roads Programme has contributed 102 336 work opportunities out of the 515 862 work opportunities, this means 20% of the total work opportunities came from the Provincial Roads Programme. The Provincial Roads Programme is a routine road maintenance programme, mainly located in rural areas and has a 75% ratio of work opportunities (i.e. 77 037) going to women, whilst only attracting 23% youth (i.e. 23 826). Based on the nature of the work in this programme which entails cleaning of the road surface, clearing of drains & channels and clearing & cleaning of verges, a lot of youth do not find this type of programme attractive.

Furthermore, programmes such as the Home Based Community Care (HBCC) contributed 60 857 work opportunities toward the 515 862 work opportunities. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of work opportunities (i.e. 53 774) were awarded to women, whilst only 27% of the work opportunities were provided to the youth (i.e. 16 681). In this programme, the nature of work entails caring for the poor, elderly and sick through house visits, the provision of palliative care and patient referrals and most youth do not find this work attractive.

However, there are Programmes within EPWP that have high youth participation and these programmes are the National Youth Service, the NPO Programme, Tourism & Creative Industries, Mass Participation and Sustainable Land Based Livelihoods which are implemented on a smaller scale than the above-mentioned programmes and collectively contribute to 84 820 work opportunities.

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

All residential customers who fall within the allocated area to be funded by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy qualify for free prepaid meters (20A) installed by Eskom or by municipalities. The electrification programme is rolled out in line with the municipalities’ Integrated Development Plans (IDP).

Only customers who require more than 20A supply are required to pay an upgrade fee from 20A to 60A.

Reply:

1. According to NAC policy and procedures, applicants with active files are not eligible to be funded. They are declined at assessment stage on the basis of having active files or expired files. However, if a narrative report has been sent with financial reports, and compliance documents such as a valid tax clearance certificate, evidence of work done, the new application will be considered according to its own merit. In the event of expiry, three -year cool off period is observed before any application is considered.

2. Applicants only receive the final pay out of funding once they have provided satisfactory reports (narrative and financial reports depending on amounts granted) with valid tax compliance status as per the signed funding agreement. Where applicants have failed to comply with reporting processes, then their projects are expired based on failure to comply within specified time periods. There are five organizations funded under AOSF 2019–2021 that were expired immediately; due to falsification of information, attached as Annexure 4.

Reply:

The technical assessment on water losses was conducted for the entire UThukela District Municipality, including losses in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality. The technical report was completed on 27 August 2020. UThukela District Municipality is the Water Service Authority (WSA) within its juristic area and it submits a monthly water balance report to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). 

The water balance report from the WSA for the 2019/20 financial year was calculated to be at 41.2% with about 19 858 129 kl of water losses. Water losses may be further divided into Apparent and Real Water Losses, and the figures are 4 693 740 kl and 15 164 389 kl respectively.

The UThukela District Municipality is part of the KwaZulu-Natal Water Conservation and Demand Management Forum where managing water loss remains the key focus. Through this initiative, the Department of Water and Sanitation, in partnership with COGTA, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial government and Umgeni Water has provided support to the District Municipality. As a result, this has contributed to the development and implementation of water conservation and demand management programmes by all KwaZulu-Natal WSAs including the Uthukela DM. The KZN Programme provides support with the following: 

• • Water Loss and Non-Revenue Water Master Plans; 
  • Development of Revenue Improvement Strategies; 
  • Determination of the true cost of water; and 
  • WSA Water Loss Mentorship and Training.

 

Grant funding for Water Services Authorities is made available through both the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) and Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). As part of the grant conditions, funding is available for implementing water conservation projects. 

 

Reply:

Honourable Member, the department used a company contracted for hiring or rendering services in respect of travel, accommodation, venue and facilities for conferences, departmental meetings and events.

Personal protective equipment that was paid for was part of the cost of community events coordinated on behalf of the department. This was to ensure that the events comply with the requirements and the guidelines issued by the Department of Health and the South African Police Service (SAPS) as well as the disaster management regulations on Covid-19 issued by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Reply:

(1) No passengers were carried on the outbound and inbound flights

(2)(a) The awarding of such tenders is the responsibility of the National Department of Health. SAA has the capacity an infrastructure to transport cargo including the vaccines. SAA will put forward its value proposition for this role in South Africa and in the continent.

(2)(b)(i) The aircraft used will depend on the size of the consignment and distance to and from where the vaccine is transported.

(2)(b)(ii) The vaccine procurement regulations are the responsibility of the Department of Health.

Obtaining and transporting vaccines to SA is of national interest and importance. The state’s limited capacity must be utilized to avail vaccines to South Africans who are waiting to be vaccinated in order to prevent the worst effects of the COVID pandemic.

It is regrettable that some pilots and their collaborators, are doing everything possible to selfishly extract more Benefits for themselves, even if it means misleading the public.

Government is fairly advanced in securing an equity partner, and every effort must be made to ensure that this is successful- such that there is no future imposition on the fiscus.

Reply:

1. The spreadsheet is herewith attached detailing the requested information.

Thank you.

Reply:

(1)(a)(b) The Uthukela District Municipality (DM) developed a water services master plan (water and wastewater) with the support of the DBSA in 2017. However, the master plan was not submitted to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for approval.

(i) The master plan has therefore not been approved by the DWS.

In terms of the Water Services Act (Act 109 of 1997), a Water Services Authority is required to submit a water services development plan (WSDP) to the DWS for the department to consider the plan before it is adopted. The Uthukela DM last submitted an updated WSDP in 2018.

Notwithstanding this, a number of water and sanitation feasibility studies for water and sanitation projects included in the WSDP have been submitted to the DWS for recommendation and/or approval. These plans are for projects to be implemented under the various grant funds i.e. Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) and the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG). The table below details the projects recommended in 2019/20 and 2020/21 for implementation.

(ii)(iii) No funding is allocated for the District’s Master Plan but funding is allocated by the Uthukela DM for projects included in their WSDP and master plan pending finalisation of feasibility studies. The budget allocations from the MIG, WSIG and RBIG grants to the Uthukela DM are indicated in the table below. The expenditure on each programme is included.

(2) Projects and interventions identified in the master plan are being implemented within the available funding allocations of the MIG, WSIG and RBIG grants as detailed above.

Reply:

According to the information received from Transnet:

1. The average number of equipment breakdowns at the Cape Town Container Terminal per shift for the 2020/21 financial year, in respect of all equipment is as follows:

• Shift One = 162 breakdowns per month (April 2020 – March 2021)
• Shift Two = 134 breakdowns per month (April 2020 – March 2021)
• Shift Three = 126 breakdowns per month (April 2020 – March 2021).

2. Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) keeps daily statistical records of the number of equipment breakdowns, the description of each breakdown and the associated outage times. The root cause of these breakdowns is largely attributed to the equipment reaching its mid-life.

There are 8 (eight) Ship-to-Shore Cranes due for mid-life refurbishments and with the high demand for crane density, a new strategic approach to replace all critical components within these cranes is now in place and will take Transnet Port Terminals to the desired reliability of 90% versus the current 85%. To improve the reliability of the Rubber-Tyred Gantry Crane (RTG) fleet, a ramp-up plan has been finalised to move from an average of 20 RTG Cranes to 28 RTG Cranes, within the next 24 months.