Questions and Replies

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

Barolong Boo Maiketso lodged a land claim on the 11th December 1998, on 7 (seven) farms with a total of 87175.8062 hectares. To date the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights has settled a total of 45984.3105 hectares (which is inclusive of 2569.2962 hectares settled with financial compensation in lieu as of the land which was not restorable) to Barolong Boo Maiketso.
 
The acquisition of additional land towards settlement of this land claim is dependent on some of the landowners who are not disputing validity of the claim for acquisition of those specific farms.

Secondly, there are landowners who are disputing the validity of the land claim.
 
Therefore, the Land claim is being referred to the Land Claims Court for adjudication, and as such the Commission is unable to determine when the entire claim will be settled as this is dependent on the court processes.
 

 

END

Reply:

(a) Five (5) Senior Social Workers were trained on the rendering of adoption services - one per District. These officials have also registered with the SACSSP as such. Due to the relatively low number of adoption applications received annually (25 to 30), and the fact that Child Welfare South Africa is also accredited to provide these services in the Northern-Cape, there is no need for more social workers to specialize in this field at the moment.

b) The overall costs of the special training of the 230 social workers to handle adoption services was R 779 200.00 which was paid for by the National Department

________________________

Reply:

The Social Development Sector has not stopped the provision of food parcels as a form of relief completely. A number of the Provincial Departments of Social development still provide food parcels as an immediate form of relief for citizens facing severe challenges and food insecurity.

The sector has agreed to implement a hybrid model for the provision of assistance. This will entail a combination of food parcels, cash and food vouchers, depending on circumstances, and availability of service providers.

The interim decision not to continue issuing food parcels as the main form of social relief of distress by National Department of Social Development and SASSA was informed by a number of factors, including the costs, extensive logistics for the receipt, storage and issuing of food parcels as well as the lack of dignity for the citizens who receive the food parcels.

A decision was then made to explore alternative options for the provision of support for citizens who find themselves in situations of distress. The options considered include the provision of social relief in the form of cash as well as vouchers. Manual vouchers are already being utilised by SASSA and some provincial Departments of Social Development, such as KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng.

Initially the intention was to go on an open tender for an e-voucher solution as another option to be considered. However, given that some organisations, including the Solidarity Fund were piloting an e-voucher solution, it was agreed that the tender would rather be converted to a Request for Information (RFI) to determine what innovations exist in the market, and to have the opportunity to learn from the pilot implemented by the Solidarity Fund.

The RFI has been drafted and will be advertised in the new year. It will cover the entire social development sector, not only SASSA. This will then ensure that the hybrid model of support is implemented fully.

National Assembly Written Reply: 400 of 2021

________________________

Reply:

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/03/2021

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 08/2021

                  

Response

The information as per reports received from provinces as a sphere of government responsible for school infrastructure.

1. • 1. Table below shows that there are 23 259 public ordinary schools currently operational,
     2. The minimum standards relate to Basic Services (Water, Electricity, Sanitation and schools built entirely of inappropriate material), as well as fencing and classroom provision. See table below:

PED	Total number public ordinary school	Total number(%) of Schools provided with Water Supply	Total number(%) of schools provided with Electricity supply	Total number(%) of schools with sanitation	Total number of Schools built of inappropriate structures	Schools using pit latrines ONLY	Total number of school without adequate Fencing
EC	5290	100%	100%	100%	*96	944	5 227
FS	1084	100%	100%	100%	*2	47	339
GP	2073	100%	100%	100%	0	0	146
KZN	5803	100%	100%	100%	0	901	198
LP	3833	100%	100%	100%	0	219	138
MP	1713	100%	100%	100%	0	1	1101
NW	1469	100%	100%	100%	0	18	0
NC	545	100%	100%	100%	0	0	88
WC	1449	100%	100%	100%	0	0	0
Total	23 259	100%	100%	100%	*98	2 111	7 237

*These schools are subjected to the process of rationalisation and realignment.

  

(b)

• Unavailability of adequate budget;
• Learner migration - learners move from one province to another, and also move in the same province from one district to another, which makes the classroom and sanitation backlog a moving target;
• Rationalisation, were learner enrolment is low, or the school must be closed because it is not a viable school anymore;
• Movement of learners from one school to another, were the schools that had sufficient infrastructure end up falling with backlog of insufficient facilities;
• Drought were boreholes run dry, and waterborne toilets are not used anymore because of lack of water;
• Deterioration of infrastructure, when the facilities are dilapidated that the facility can’t be used anymore; and
• Vandalism and theft of infrastructure assets.

Reply:

a) The department presented the reports for Quarters 1, 2 and 3 of the 2020/21 financial year on the following dates respectively, 06 October 2020 and 02 March 2021. The reports contained details on areas of achievements, areas where quarterly targets were missed, reasons for non-achievement and the corrective measures.

b) The Honorable member is referred to the reports as previously submitted to the Portfolio Committee on Tourism.

c) The final information on the achievement of targets has not been verified/confirmed through audit processes as yet. The member will be furnished with the final details once the Annual Performance Report is tabled after the audit processes.

Reply:

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19/03/2021

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 09/2021

     

           

Response

(a) (i) Grade R is currently not part of compulsory education. And as such, allocation of educator posts in schools that offer Grade R classes is not done in terms of the post provisioning norms. The majority of educators appointed in Grade R posts are paid a monthly stipend as opposed to a salary. In schools where Grade R classes are offered, all posts are always filled. The is, therefore, no shortage of Grade R educators at schools, quantitatively. However, when considering the level of qualifications of Grade R teachers/practitioners appointed at schools there is an indication of qualitative shortage. The qualification of Grade R teachers/ practitioners currently employed at schools ranges from below Matric to a fully appropriate educator qualification. The latter category makes only about 34% of the 21 700 Grade R educators appointed at schools. It should, however, be noted that the sector will always find it difficult to attract fully qualified educators into Grade R teaching posts given the current conditions of service of Grade R educators.

(ii) The post provisioning norms are used to allocate posts of educators teaching learners with special educational needs. The allocated posts are filled with appropriately qualified educators.

(b) The Department runs ongoing targeted programmes that ensure the supply of educators in areas of need. Grade R and special needs education are part of the priority areas. With regards to improving Grade R qualifications, provinces are financially supporting Grade R educators currently employed in schools to upgrade their qualifications, either to the level of Grade R Diploma or the Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase. About 2 700 such educators are currently being supported. As part of the Funza Lushaka Bursary scheme, the Department prioritises, in addition to African Languages, bursaries for studying towards a Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase with specialisation neurodevelopmental needs, Braille, and South African Sign Language.                               

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 391

 

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

The Ad Hoc Committee to Amend Section 25 of the Constitution, a Committee of Parliament, determined its programme on the amendment of section 25 of the Constitution without involving the Executive, as it is usually the case. The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is therefore not privy to the reasons for determining the programme in the manner that it is said it has been done by Parliament.

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 403

 

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

 

1. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is aware of the possible inadvertent impact that the 16,1% wage increase will have on the agricultural sector given the dire economic predicament the country is experiencing. Correspondingly, the Department is also mindful of the escalating living expenses which is the major driver necessitating annual adjustments in the minimum wage, considering low wage levels of ordinary South African workers, including farmworkers. However, Government cannot turn a blind eye to the dire effect the current economic situation has had on businesses. To this effect, Chapter four of the National Minimum Wage Act has made provision for a state where an employer or an employers’ organisation registered in terms of section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, or any other law, acting on behalf of a member, may, in the prescribed form and manner, apply for an exemption from paying the national minimum wage.

1. (a) No - The process of consultations was made by the Department of Labour and Employment.

1. No.

1. No.
2. No.

(3) No. However, the Minister will be consulting the relevant and affected structures in the endeavour to devise on intervention(s) to mitigate job losses within the agricultural sector.

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 663

 

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [No 6-2021 SIXTH PARLIAMENT]
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05 MARCH 2021

663. Mr A N Sarupen (DA) to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development:

Whether (a) her department and/or (b) any entity reporting to her makes use of private security firms; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each case, what is the (i) name of each firm, (ii) purpose, (iii) value and (iv) duration of each specified contract? NW781E

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD)

(a)(i),(ii),(iii),(iv) Yes. Please refer to the table below.

(i) Name of Security Service Provider	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration
Long term Security Contracts (2 – 3 Years)
Pristo Trading Response	To safeguard and protect departmental assets, information and staff against any risk exposure to theft and damages on a 24/7 basis. The main and focal purpose and objective is to deny access to unauthorized personnel (including attackers or accidental intruders) from physically accessing a building, departmental facilities and safe keeping of resources	R 55 110 734.98	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Prosecure Security		R 19 072 012.00	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bulcof Security		R 13 357 567.40	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Siyejabula Security		R 37 713 478.12	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bamogale Security (EC)		R 22 870 556.00	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bamogale Security (WC)		R 25 286 303.50	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bamogale Security (MP)		R 37 488 528.00	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bamogale Security (FS)		R 39 870 757.60	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Bamogale Security (NW)		R 20 978 346.00	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Whisper Security		R 1 767 903.84	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Lekagang Security		R 2 229 050.88	01/12/2019 – 30/11/2022
Octaves Security		R 3 966 583.80	07/04/2019 – 07/04/2022
Octaves Security		R 3 403 618.68	04/04/2019 – 04/04/2022
Octaves Security		R 2 914 008.72	04/04/2019 – 04/04/2022
No Name Security		R 3 404 073.48	03/04/2019 – 03/04/2022
Tsangoane Security		R 1 286 650.56	01/03/2020 – 28/02/2022
Raite Security		R 3 164 902.68	07/04/2019 – 07/04/2022
Modise Security		R 3 075 625.76	09/04/2019 – 09/04/2022
Short term security contracts (3 x months)
Vhunene Security		R 277 951.11	15/12/2020 – 15/03/2021
Reliance Security		R 399 811.89	15/12/2020 – 15/03/2021
Pristo Trading Response		R 275 746.64	10/01/2021 – 10/04/2021
Makjus Security		R 254 092.50	15/01/2021 – 15/04/2021
Black Excellence Forensic and Security		R 222 250.00	15/01/2021 – 15/04/2021
Black Protectors Security		R 267 375.00	15/01/2021 – 15/04/2021
Raite Security		R 261 091.95	16/01/2021 – 16/04/2021
Siyefana Security		R 209 643.76	24/01/2021 – 24/04/2021
George B Security		R 243 501.59	25/01/2021 – 25/04/2021
Rise Security		R 198 532.50	28/04/2021 – 28/04/2021

(b)(i),(ii),(iii),(iv) Entities reporting to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

Name of each firm	Purpose	Value	Duration
Nceda Cleaning and Security	The purpose of using out-sourced security guarding services is to maintain the integrity and availability of research material and information, protection of assets, control of access in terms of the control of Access to Public Premises Act 53 of 1985 and all other relevant legislation	Nceda Cleaning and Security: R41 779 641,00	The contract supra are for three years (36 months) commencing in /March 2020 and ending in February 2023
Rise Security Services		Rise Security Services: R30 284 011,68
(c) Eldna Security Services		Eldna Security Services: R17 301 311,23

National Agricultural Marketing Council NAMC)

No. The National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) is renting office accommodation form the Landlord, namely Columbia Fall Properties 80 (PTY) LTD, who is responsible for the security of the building

Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP)

Yes. Please refer to the information below:

1. Firm: Ezingeni Security and Cleaning (Pty) Ltd
2. Purpose: Physical Security
3. Value: R3506 580,00
4. Duration: 12 Months (ends July 2021)

Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB)

Yes. Please refer to the information below:

1. Firm: Fidelity Security (PTY) LTD
2. Purpose: Provision of security services (guarding) at the ITB offices.
3. Value: R89 996,80 monthly
4. Duration: Month to month (the 3-year bid is at the evaluation stage)

Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB)

(i) Name of each firm	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration	(ii) Purpose
ADT Security (Pty) Limited (Cape Town)	R 837	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
ADT Security (Pty) Limited (Nelspruit)	R 763	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
ADT Security (Pty) Limited (Paarl)	R 743	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
ADT Security (Pty) Limited (Port Elizabeth)	R 608	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
B & S Alarms	R 195	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Blue Security	R 696	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Ceres Alarms	R 832	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
DRS Musina	R 550	Two-Years (Feb 23)	Monitoring & Armed Response
Hexvallei Security	R 389	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Hi-Tech Monitoring CC (Malelani)	R 450	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Hi-Tech Monitoring CC (Robertson)	R 350	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Letaba Alarms	R 579	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
National Security & Fire (Pty) Limited (Cape Town)	R 653	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
National Security & Fire (Pty) Limited (Pretoria)	R 808	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Specialised Agri Protection Services	R 490	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Test Lek Security CC	R 400	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
Valley Security	R 240	Month to Month	Monitoring & Armed Response
	R 9,583

Reply:

1(a) Yes, 12 staff members applied to performed remunerative work outside public service in the past five years and they were all granted permission.

1(b)(i) – (ii) The 12 staff members that were granted permission, between 1 April 2014 to date, to perform remunerative work outside the Public Service, guided by the Public Service prescripts and Departmental Policy directives, were or are employed in these work categories within DSBD: Co-operatives, BBSDP, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Financial Management and Office of the Director-General.

(2)(a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has an approved Ethics Management Policy and Remunerative Work Outside Public Service (RWOPS) Policy as guided by the Public Service Regulation 2016 and the circulars from the DPSA, guiding the management of the RWOPS. The RWOPS Policy allows the applicant to perform work after office hours and not more than 40 hours per month. The Policy further indicates that applicants are not allowed to use the state resources, including the time of the department, to perform their remunerative work.

(b) The appointed Ethics Officer is responsible for processing the applications and approval is granted by the Director-General.

(c) Zero.

(d) Not applicable.

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________

MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________

MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

_______________________________________________________________________________

RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

_________________________

MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

Reply:

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

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 335

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [No 02-2021 SIXTH PARLIAMENT]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19 FEBRUARY 2020

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

(1)(a) Yes.

(1)(b) It should be noted that remunerated work outside of Public Service (RWOPS) are verified against the Central Supplier Database and PERSAL System. These are also audited by Auditor General as part of its regular audit process. The tables below depict the information on RWOPS from 1 April 2014 to date.

1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
63	Management and general support
8	Administration related
71

1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
1	Financial Related
1	Management and general support
2

1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
63	Management and general support
8	Administration related
3	Social Science related
74

1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
3	Management support
2	Financial and related
1	Agricultural and support
6

1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
60	Management and general support
8	Administration related
3	Social Science related
1	Community Development related
72

1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
1	Manage and support
1	Agricultural support
2

1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
53	Management and general support
3	Administration related
1	Economic advisory
3	Cartographic Surveying and Related Technicians
60

1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
4	Administration Related
10	Management support
17	Public Health Related
5	Financial and Related
13	Natural Sciences Related
19	Agricultural and support
2	Economic Advisory Support
1	Info Tech and related
1	Horticulturists Fore Agriculture
1	Comm and Info
2	Artisan Foreman
75

1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
37	Management and general support
3	Administration related
1	Economic advisory
3	Cartographic Surveying and Related Technicians
44

1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
14	Administration Related
6	Management and support
11	Agriculture and support
1	Economic Advisory
7	ORG 17 DEFF
1	Line function support and Admin
3	Financial and Related
3	Public Health Related
10	Natural Sciences Related
56

1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 (former DRDLR)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
3	Health Sciences
8	Management and general support
3	Computer systems
6	Administration related
3	Financial related
2	Natural sciences
3	Finance & Economic
1	Deeds
29

1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 (former DAFF)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
8	Manage and Support
45	Agriculture and Support
1	Horticulturists Fore Agriculture and Support
54

1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021 (DALLRD)

(i) Total	(ii) Work Categories
22	Management and General Support
12	Financial and Related
6	Deeds
14	Agricultural production related
21	Administration related
6	Natural Sciences Related
3	Economic Development related
1	Material - Recording
1	Community Development
1	Social Sciences related
1	Health sciences related
88

(2) Applications were processed with either approval or disapproval outcome. In an instance an employee was suspected to be in contravention of the Directive such case would be investigated and when found guilty, appropriate actions would be taken.

(2)(a) The Department applies the DPSA Directive on Other Remunerative Work Outside Public Service as contemplated in Section 30 of the Public Service Act, 1994.

(2)(b) Approval is obtained from the Director-General for salary levels 1 – 12 and Minister for salary levels 13 – 16.

(2)(c) There were 5 (2 former DAFF and 3 former DRDLR) instances of contravention of the legislation. However, these were not reported to the National Treasury as this is not a requirement.

(2)(d) Appropriate and corrective actions were taken against the employees that were found to have contravened the law.

Reply:

THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION

(a) The Department of Water and Sanitation utilises security services to safeguard the offices and assets at the Head Office and in the nine provincial offices. In some cases the security services are utilised to safeguard infrastructure that is vulnerable to vandalism. The details of security services utilised by the department, including the value and duration of each contract are as indicated in the table below.

DWS OFFICES	DURATION	OVERALL TOTAL AMOUNT
Gauteng	3 years	R 51 343 490.67
Limpopo	3 years	R 107 445 391.45
North West	3 years	R 103 590 139.20
Northern Cape	3 years	R 42 975 919.99
Mpumalanga	3 years	R 126 243 166.10
Eastern Cape	3 years	R 35 941 560.09
Western Cape	3 years	R 28 108 990.50
Free State	3 years	R 28 224 645.84
Kwazulu Natal	3 years	R 73 029 989.30
Limpopo	3 years	R 49 002 318.79
Limpopo	3 years	R 86 248 327.02
Limpopo	3 years	R 74 959 628.90
Gauteng (Vaal River intervention Security Services)	6 months	R14 000 000.00
TOTAL	R 821 113 567.85

(b) The entities utilise security services to safeguard the offices and assets as well as to safeguard infrastructure that is vulnerable to vandalism. The details of security services utilised by the entities of the DWS, including the value and duration of each contract are as indicated below.

Name of the Entity	The value	The duration
Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA)	R354.25 monthly	1 year (expiry date: 31 October 2021)
Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)	R1,128,966.84	36 months (ending 31 July 2021)
Amatola Water	R5,003,846.82	The contract started on the 16th October 2020, for a duration of 3 years.
Bloem Water	N/A	N/A
Lepelle Northern Water	R16,635,920.64	3 year contract - April 2020 to March 2023
	R23,084,192.88	3 year contract - April 2020 to March 2023
Magalies Water	R21,033,179.07	Three (3) years 2018 - 2021
Mhlathuze Water	R8,634,793.20	Three (3) years – 2019 to 2022
Overberg Water	N/A	N/A
Rand Water	R158,120,783.85	Thirty Six (36) Months (March 2020 to 28 February 2023)
Sedibeng Water	R20,908,079.54	Thirty-six months
	R6,318,000.00	Thirty-six months
	R20,850,000.00	Thirty-six months
	R5,994,927.00	Thirty-six months
	R8,576,214.80	Thirty-six months
	R13,206,609.61	Thirty-six months
	R17,438,493.77	Thirty-six months
	R13,081,266.05	Thirty-six months
	R22,641,378.55	Thirty-six months
Umgeni Water	R345,318,429.60	Five (5) years
Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority	R6.1 mil	3 years From 01 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Water Research Commission	R1,152,638.10	Two (02) years - November 2019 to 31 October 2021

Honourable Member, I am constrained and prohibited by the document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly” from providing names of security firms as requested. The document referred to states that:

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

(a) DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLMENTS (DHS) AND ITS ENTITIES:

Department	(ii)Purpose	(iii)Value	(iv)Duration of specified contract
Human Settlements	To render guarding services	R9 199 080.00	01 June 2018 to 31 May 2021

(b) HUMAN SETTLEMENT ENTITIES

Entity	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specified contract
Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB)	Provision of security services at the EAAB office (63 Wierda Road Sandton)	R2 759 704.65 (?)	01 November 2016 to 31 October 2021
National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC)	Alarm and Armed response for 22 NHBRC offices	R155 728.00	01 January 2021 to 30 April 2021
	Physical Guarding Security and installation of security systems	R1 072 235.00	01 February 2021 to 01 February 2022
	Physical Guarding security services for office in Gqebertha	R259 191. 18	01 January 2021 to 01 January 2023
	Physical Guarding Security Service	R12 771 759.60	10 December 2020 to 10 January 2023
	Filed Risk Assessment	R453 800.00	01 October 2020 to 31 December 2021
Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)	Security officers to safe guard the property 24 hours	R695 669.00	January 2020 to June 2021
	Security Guard	R1 490 500.00	January 2020 to December 2020
Housing Development Agency (HDA)	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R328 440.00	1 March 2020 to 30 April 2021
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R2 196 684.00	1 September 2020 to 31 August 2022
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R324 161.17	1 March 2020 to 30 April 2021
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R401 579.17	1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R336 029.17	1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R398 898.66	1 March 2021 to 31 February 2022
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R431 231.23	1 June 2020 – 31 May 2021
	Antiland invasion – property guarding	R366 252.00	1 August 2020 – 31 July 2021
	Office security services performed by two (2) security officers	R544 536.09	1 February 2021 – 31 October 2022
	Alarm system and armed response	R450.00	Month to month contract
	Alarm system and armed response	R 412.00	Month to month contract

 

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:

(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:

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 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:

(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:

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:

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:

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:

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 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:

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 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:

(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:

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:

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:

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 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:

(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 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:

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

Thank you.

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.