Questions and Replies

Reply:

1 (a) This investigation is not yet completed as it requires intense perusal of documents, schools visits and homesteads as well as engagement with external stakeholders to obtain information.

(b) It is anticipated that the investigation will be completed by 30 November 2016. Some of the phases involved in the process; which are the formal suspension and the construction of charges for each individual official: have been finalized. We will now be serving them with notices for disciplinary hearing which will contain their charges. Disciplinary proceedings will then commence in the first week of October 2016.

   (i) The main findings thus far are as follows:

• Court orders and proceedings issued without the children's court hearing.
• Court documents are generated in the office.
• Ethical erosion (accepting bribery, no tinge of conscience and sensitivity towards working with vulnerable groups)
• Trend of revolving children when exiting the system to add younger children to prolong the duration of receiving the foster care grant (ghost children)
• Noncompliance to Legislative mandates and Policies relating to Social Services Profession and Social Welfare Service delivery: Social Workers practicing without professional registration with the Council.

    (ii) We are implementing disciplinary action against 27 employees implicated to the alleged foster care grant fraud.

2. (a) All the 27 officials implicated to the alleged foster care grant fraud are precautionally suspended.

1. The names of the officials will be provided once the investigation is finalized by 30th November 2016.
2. All the 27 officials implicated to the alleged foster care grant fraud are Social Workers.

(b) These officials were precautionary suspended from the 17th August 2016 pending the outcome of the investigation.

3. Yes, the specified staff members are receiving their full salaries while on suspension and this is within the labour law.

    (a) The Disciplinary Code and Procedure for the Public Service makes provision of a suspension of an employee as a precautionary measure which does not constitute judgment, and must be on full pay.

    (b) Employees will receive their full salaries until disciplinary processes have been finalized. The Code stipulates that where an employee is suspended, a disciplinary enquiry must be held within 60 days. It is envisaged that the hearings of these employees will be set for the first week of October 2016 and it is envisaged that the process will be completed within 90 days.

Reply:

I was attending a Project Mikondzo outreach in Umlazi Township in my official duty as the Minister of Social Development, and I was accompanied by my Personal Assistant.

I was meant to return to Pretoria on the same day, due to the fact that the function ended very late I stayed overnight at the Oyster Box Hotel because at the time of making the booking the travel agency could not secure a cheaper hotel that offers government rates.

 

Reply:

(a) Department of Social Development

1. (aa) Not applicable to the department of Social Development

(bb) Not applicable to the department of Social Development

(ii)

(aa) The Department of Social Development facilitates the programme of linking cooperatives to economic opportunities. Cooperatives from poverty stricken wards are identified, profiled and linked to economic opportunities created through the Social Relief of Distress Programme which include supply of vegetables and school uniform to poor and vulnerable families and children. These cooperatives are also linked to economic opportunities created through the Household Food and Nutrition Programme and they supply Community Nutrition and Development Centres with food products and uniform.

(bb) There is no dedicated budget for Cooperatives. Those cooperatives with capacity building needs are referred to the National Development Agency and the Department of Small Business Development and Cooperatives for support.

(cc) not applicable to department of Social Development

SASSA

1. SASSA is not running any development programmes for small businesses

(aa) Not applicable to SASSA

(bb) Not applicable to SASSA

(ii)

(aa) SASSA is not running development programmes for co-operatives. However, SASSA utilizes co-operatives for procurement.

The co-operatives are identified and assessed by the Co-operatives Unit

in the Department of Social Development.

Those co-operatives which require development are identified and assisted through the Department of Social Development and the National Development Agency. Once these have met the requirements to register on the Central Supplier database, then SASSA is able to utilize them for procurement of various services, such as social relief of distress, school uniforms, SASSA uniforms and catering, amongst others.

(bb) No dedicated budget for only cooperatives

(cc) Not applicable to SASSA

NDA

The NDA mandate is derived from the National Development Agency Act, (Act No. 108 of 1998). In terms of the act, the primary objective of the NDA is to contribute towards the eradication of poverty.

   (i) Small business – the NDA has not supported small business as this function is outside its mandate of supporting Civil Society Organisations.

   (aa) Not applicable to NDA

   (bb) Not applicable to NDA

  (ii) 

   (aaa) NDA support cooperatives through its capacity building programme as part of its CSOs capacity strengthening interventions. The NDA provides training, mentoring and incubation for CSOs including cooperatives on governance, financial management, conflict management, registration of NPOs and cooperatives. The NDA has planned to capacitate 4950 of CSOs including cooperatives in the 2016/17 financial.

   (bbb) The NDA has budgeted R41 147 484.00 for CSOs including cooperatives capacity building interventions in the 2016/17 financial year.

   (cc) Not applicable to SASSA

Reply:

(a) The number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) subsidised in the 2014/2015 financial year per province:

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF FUNDED ORGANISATIONS	TOTAL AMOUNT ALLOCATED TO NGOs
EASTERN CAPE	2416	496, 417 000.00
FREE STATE	1613	1680	347, 637 732.00
GAUTENG	2791	1 530 972 449.00
KWA-ZULU NATAL	2945	783, 218 348.00
LIMPOPO	2058	442, 000 000. 00
MPUMALANGA	1263	461 135 000.000
NORTHERN CAPE	1029	204, 4338 38.00
NORTH WEST	812	264, 701 727.97
WESTERN CAPE	2320	2151	964, 774 190.00

 

(b) The Provincial Departments of Social Development are currently at different phases of funding the NPOs. The provinces implement a combination of unit costs and programme funding in the financing of services rendered by non-profit organisations (NPOs). Some provinces have been providing a per capita rate for most of the subsidised programmes based on the number of beneficiaries serviced. The subsidy, which is based on the available resources, covers the overall costs of the service including administration, human resources and goods and services.

It is therefore difficult to provide a breakdown in respect of expenditure for (i) administartion and (ii) core service delivery.

 

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) Legislative Policy Requirements Management

(ii) Information and Business Systems and Banking Services

(iii) Benefits and Local Economic Development

(iv) Change and Stakeholder Management

(v) Human Resource Management

(b) (i) The Legislative Policy Requirements Management is to provide comprehensive legal advice to SASSA and other in relation to the future Work Stream payment system focusing on legislative management policy requirements, contract development, design and

of the new system.

(ii) The Information and Business Systems and Banking Services is to facilitate for the insourcing of an ICT platform that will integrate the application of payment management system for social assistance and related social security benefits.

(iii) The Benefits and Local Economic Development is to identify the benefits and economic develop initiatives to be implemented with the delivery of the comprehensive security system.

(iv) The Change and Stakeholder Management is to provide guidance to the change management and stakeholder engagement.

(v) The Facilitate the development of integrated process that will support the new proposed functions to be institutionalized within SASSA.

(c) (i) and (ii) No staff member has been employed.

 

(2) (a) (i) and (ii) None

(b) Not applicable

(c) Not applicable

 

Reply:

(a) 44 142 complaints have been received and 38 357 were since resolved and blocked not to allow any further deductions from recurring. Five

thousand seven hundred and eighty five (5 785) of these cases have been refunded to the beneficiaries.

(b) The nature of the complaints is airtime, electricity and loan deductions.

(c) (i) and (ii) SASSA developed and implemented a Dispute Resolution Mechanism as a recourse system to deal with the rising number of deductions against social grants. The Dispute Resolution Mechanism has a built-in Communication Strategy that focuses on beneficiary education and awareness. In addition to this system, a Ministerial Task Team was established to play a monitoring, oversight and also propose interventions to deal with this challenge. This system has since reflected and improvement in dealing with this.

Reply:

The Department of Social Development (DSD) conducted a review on the National Development Agency (NDA) in 2013/14 financial year as requested by the National Treasury. The request from National Treasury was for DSD to review the NDA as they omitted NDA in their review of National Entities. The outcome of the NDA review indicated a need for a more robust approach of dealing with Poverty in the country and also for more resources to be made available for NDA to deal with the scourge. According to the NDA Act the NDA functions do not duplicate the Department of Social Development’s mandate but instead compliment it in contributing towards poverty reduction. For that purpose this financial year (2016/17) the NDA has developed a decentralization model to improve its visibility and footprints at the local level.

Reply:

(a) SASSA, Gauteng Region, through The National Department of Public Works (NDPW), is in the process of acquiring permanent office accommodation for the Kempton Park area.

The submission of bidding documents has since closed. Three (3) weeks ago SASSA was requested to view a possible facility, which was The Trust Bank Building, same is considered suitable.

The NDPW has indicated its commitment to accelerate and finalise the entire process of acquisition in a speedy manner.

(b) The Kempton Park office was shut down as a result of a Landlord who no longer had interests in the business of letting office accommodation; as a result the Agency had to leave the area.

Reply:

Regulation 21(1)(a) of the Regulations published in 2008 refer to the payment of a social grant into a bank account of the beneficiary or institution where the beneficiary resides, subject to written authorization by the beneficiary. This method of payment was clarified with the amendments to regulation 21 published on 6 May 2016, which now reads :

“Method of payment of social assistance

1.  The Agency shall pay a social grant –

           (a) Into a bank account of the beneficiary or institution where the beneficiary resides, provided that

           (i) The beneficiary of the social grant consents to payment in accordance with sub-regulation 21(1)(a) in writing and has submitted such consent in person to the Agency;

         (ii) Where a beneficiary is unable to submit the consent contemplated in sub paragraph (i) in person, alternative arrangements must be made with the Agency;

Or

     (b) By the payment method determined by the Agency.”

 (a) Each social grant beneficiary has his/her grant paid into a SASSA account, which is an individual special account with Grindrod Bank, set up in compliance with Regulation 21(1)(b) to the Social Assistance Act. These accounts are a vehicle to deliver grants through the payment method determined by the Agency.

Where a beneficiary requires his/her grant to be paid into a personal bank account, then he/she must request this in writing and in person, in compliance with Regulation 21(1)(a). SASSA then makes arrangements for the social grant to be transferred from the special account set up as the payment method for social assistance into the beneficiary’s personal bank account, at no cost to the beneficiary.

The only bank card which SASSA recognizes for the payment of social grants is the SASSA card, which is issued to every beneficiary when his / her grant is approved. It is known that there have been concerted efforts to promote other bank cards and products, which have not been sanctioned by SASSA. IN terms of the amended Regulations to the Social Assistance Act, 2004, transfer of the social grant money from the SASSA account into any other bank account can only be done with the express, written consent of the beneficiary.

It should be noted that the Regulations to the Social Assistance Act, 2004 were amended in May 2016, in an effort to offer increased protection to social grant beneficiaries who were being exposed to the increasingly aggressive marketing tactics of financial service providers. The amendments have not been well received by some in the financial sector, with SASSA having been taken to court for a declaratory order on the interpretation of the amendments.

In addition, the Department of Social Development, supported by SASSA and some civil society organisations have opened a criminal case against both Cash Paymaster Services and Grindrod Bank, for failing to implement the amended regulations. Once the outcome of the civil case is known, then the criminal matter will be actively pursued.

(b) The payment method utilized by SASSA is in compliance with the Regulations to the Social Assistance Act, 2004.

 

Reply:

(1) (a) The SA Social Security Agency reported on the circumstances and the reasons under which the R28 million irregular expenditure was incurred in its 2013/14 Annual Report. The agency could not finalize the bid award as anticipated due to nonresponsive bids during this reporting period, whereas urgent service delivery interventions were required by various communities to address identified service delivery gaps. The said transactions are currently considered for condonation by the delegated authority.

(b) There was no reported Irregular Expenditure in respect of Mikondzo Program in the year 2014/15.

(2) Refer to 1 above.

Reply:

(aa) This reply is only focused on the question regarding the S. A. Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP).

    (a) How many:

         (i) Social workers: In the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015; the following 25 complaints lodged against social workers had been attended to with specific reference to children. During the reported period, the Council received 25 complaints about social workers reported for alleged unprofessional conduct, however none of these social workers have been found guilty in a court of law for breaching the Children’s Act.

The reported 25 cases can be broken down as follows:

• • Five (5) matters that were pending served before the Registrars Committee for Professional Conduct (RCPC) on 4 May 2016 and were resolved.
  • Five (5) matters the practitioners were requested to familiarize themselves with the Rules Relating to the Acts or Omissions of a Social Worker, a Social Auxiliary Worker or a Student Social Worker, which shall Constitute Unprofessional or Improper, with specific reference to Rule 3 (2) the execution of his or her professional duties in a manner which does not comply with general accepted standards of practising the profession.
  • One (1) matter that is pending is still under investigation.
  • Fourteen (14) matters reported, and no unprofessional conduct could be detected and issues were thus closed.

At all levels of intervention of the Council as prescribed by the Social Service Professions Act, 110 of 1978, (as amended) where a complaint has been lodged, a legal person as well as a subject matter expert in children’s matters forms part of the panel.

No complaints regarding social workers writing ambush reports received, but the complaints were mainly about alleged biasness in mediation matters.

 (b) Steps to update the Code of Ethics SACSSP

    (i)The SACSSP always endeavours to take a developmental approach; hence its code of ethics booklet was translated into frequently asked questions to ensure capacitation of the social service practitioners as this will also be applicable to the updated version of the code of ethics policy:

• The 4th Council and 3rd Professional Board for Social Work (PBSW) identified the review of the Code of ethics as a priority and as such included in the handover report, for the incoming Council and PBSW to execute. The PBSW will constitute a Task Team for Profession Conduct (TPC), after which a steering committee will be constituted in order to revise the current Policy guidelines for Course of Conduct, Code of Ethics and the Rules for Social Workers.
• Expert advice will be consulted in different spheres of the social service practice for example; mediation, domestic violence, children in need of care.
• Both the child and the social worker should be protected in the Code of Ethics.
• Broad base sector consultation will be conducted on the code of ethics policy and this policy will be translated into Rules that will be published in the Government Gazette by the Minister of Social Development.

Ethical dilemmas regarding the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 that will be considered for inclusion in the revised Code of Ethics Policy document are:

• Consent of one parent is unreasonably withheld to assess a child. Section 30(2) of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 will then apply. However, it will be advisable to inform the other party involved of the assessment.
• Confidentiality pertaining to information requested by Department of Home Affairs – the children’s right to confidentiality must be vividly protected.
• Confidential information that must be divulged in the best interest of a child in terms of Section18 (3) of the Children’s Act.
• The following will also be included in order to ensure that social workers maintains the protection of a child and not to contravene the rights of children:
• Protecting a child form placing a photo on social media: Corrie L & Van Niekerk 2015 A Practical Approach to the Child Justice Act (LexisNexis, in printing):

"Section 8.3 of the South African Press Code, which is clearly based on section 28(2) of the Constitution and affirms that a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child, provides as follows:

“The press shall not identify children who have been victims of abuse, exploitation, or who have been charged with or convicted of a crime, unless a public interest is evident and it is in the best interest of the child.”

The best interests’ principle is also to be found in section 9 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, which provides as follows:

“In all matters concerning the care, protection and well-being of a child the standard that the child’s best interests is of paramount importance, must be applied.”

In protecting the best interests of minor children, and in regard to criminal proceedings, section 154(3) of the Criminal Code provides that:

“No person shall publish in any manner whatever any information which reveals or may reveal the identity of an accused under the age of eighteen years or of a witness at criminal proceedings who is under the age of eighteen years:  Provided that the presiding judge or judicial officer may authorize the publication of so much of such information as he may deem fit if the publication thereof would in his opinion be just and equitable and in the interest of any particular person.” "

(bb) The question regarding the Psychologist that is regulated by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) should be referred to the respective statutory body under the Department of Health.

 

Reply:

No, there is only one public substance abuse treatment centre that will be built in the Northern Cape and it is not yet completed.

   (a) According to the conditional grant framework and the allocation of funding, this centre is only scheduled to be completed in March 2017.

   (b) The centre is currently in the construction phase.

 

Reply:

1. As of 23 May 2016 SASSA had a total of 339 contracted active medical assessors on its database nationally.

(a) The provincial spread of SASSA contracted assessors (doctors) is as below:

Province	Contracted Doctors
Eastern Cape	13
Free State	31
Gauteng	71
KwaZulu-Natal	75
Limpopo	39
Mpumalanga	31
Northern Cape	48
North West	27
Western Cape	4
TOTAL	339

 

(b) 8 doctors have not renewed their contracts.

(c) 14 doctors still have to sign their contracts

2. (a)

Province	Awaiting Assessment
Eastern Cape	0
Free State	3 800
Gauteng	3661
KwaZulu-Natal	7587
Limpopo	2322
Mpumalanga	1755
Northern Cape	150
North West	893
Western Cape	6797
TOTAL	26 965

In the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape it should be noted that assessments are largely conducted by the Department of Health doctors and SASSA merely contracts doctors where the Department of Health does not have the capacity to support social assistance disability assessments.

(b) SASSA assessed a total of 660 773 clients for social assistance disability during the 2015/ 2016 financial year, subsequent to them being booked for such assessments with a SASSA contracted medical assessor. The number of total

booked clients currently at SASSA nationally is 26 965 and the number reduces on

daily basis as SASSA conducts assessments continuously. None of the clients will be

booked more than 30 days from the booking date with about 95% to be assessed

within 2 weeks.

Reply:

No. There is no comprehensive date available but currently the Department relies on the information from South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drugs (SACENDU). According to data collected from treatment centers on people admitted to treatment services by SACENDU between January 2015 and June 2015, the following were finding:

NUMBER OF PEOPLE ADMITTED FOR TREATMENT SERVICES DURING JANUARY-JUNE 2015

Number of persons admitted for treatment services	Province
3524	Western Cape
4285	Gauteng
226	Limpopo
850	Mpumalanga
1122	KZN
74	Northern Cape
126	North West
366	Free State
363	Eastern Cape

Plans are underway in the current financial year to develop a system to collect data on the number of people accessing anti-substance abuse services during 2016/2017 financial year. The Department will further conduct research on the nature, extent and impact of substance abuse amongst communities in South Africa during 2016/2017 financial year.

Reply:

(a) (b) No.

Reply:

1. Any beneficiary noticing any (a) unlawful; (b) fraudulent and/or (c) immoral activity on his/her social grant must immediately report this to the nearest SASSA office. At the SASSA office, the beneficiary will be requested to complete an affidavit confirming that he/she did not purchase any advanced airtime, pre-paid electricity or take out a loan. This affidavit can be commissioned by the SASSA official attending to him/her. The SASSA official will then log the dispute and submit the affidavit to Cash Paymaster Services, to facilitate the refund of the money deducted and to blacklist that social grant account for any future purchases. In terms of the approved Dispute Resolution Mechanism, all cases must be dealt with within a time frame of 10 working days.

Alternatively, any beneficiary can call the SASSA toll free number 0800 60 10 11 and register a dispute. Again, that beneficiary will be requested to submit an affidavit confirming the dispute and that he/she did indeed not purchase any financial services or commodities. On receipt of the affidavit, SASSA will submit the dispute to Cash Paymaster Services, which has 10 working days in which to resolve the dispute.

2. SASSA has conducted a training programme for identified SASA staff within all provinces as well as those manning the call centre at Head Office, to ensure that they are aware of the procedures to be followed. The approved Dispute Resolution Mechanism has been made available to all staff as well as Cash Paymaster Services. In addition, SASSA is continuing with its communication programme through both print and electronic media (radio and television) to try to ensure that all beneficiaries are aware of the processes to follow, should they become aware of any untoward activity on their social grant.

SASSA is also appealing to community leaders and NGO’s to assist in directing any social grant beneficiary who may have experienced challenges with his/her social grant payment to the nearest SASSA office.

Notwithstanding these measures which have been put in place, notice should be taken of the amendments to the Regulations to the Social Assistance Act, Act 13 of 2004 which were published on 6 May 2016. These amendments make it clear that no deductions or EFT debit transactions, apart from these authorized in terms of the Regulation 26A for funeral policies which comply with the regulations, may be effected off the SASSA card account. This is effective immediately and should halt the type of challenges beneficiaries have been experiencing. Should any beneficiary with to have access to the stop order or debit order facility, that beneficiary will be required to open a commercial bank account, and request SASSA to transfer the social grant from the SASSA card account to the commercial bank account. This will be done at no cost to the beneficiary, who is then free to manage his/her bank account as he/she sees fit.

Reply:

(a) Research conducted:

(i) 2011/12

There were no research studies conducted during the year

(ii) 2012-13

1. Civil Society Organization’s participation in Food security Activities in South Africa (March 2013)
2. Civil Society Organization’s participation in Income generating Activities in South Africa (March 2013)
3. Challenges faced by Early Childhood Development Sector in the Country (April 2012)
4. A situational Analysis of Civil Society Organizations in the Western Cape (June 2012)

(iii) 2013-14

1. Funding Constraints and Challenges faced by Civil Society Organizations in South Africa (June 2013)

1. Framework for the Development of an annual state of development report (January 2014)

1. Civil Society Organization’s participation in the MDG processes in South Africa (January 2014)
2. State of poverty and its manifestation in the nine provinces of South Africa (March 2014)

(iv) 2014-15

1. Community development foundation framework &capacity Development framework (March 2015)
2. Enhancing active citizenry engagement in South Africa (March 2015)

(v) 2015-16

1. Enhancing civil society participation in the South African Development Agenda : The role of CSOs (December 2015)
2. South African government funding to non-profit organisations: what is the investment value? (February 2016)

(b) Research contribution

The research studies conducted by the NDA has contributed in new knowledge on how to improve programmes aimed at supporting the civil society sector, government planning and implementation of programmes for the civil society and making information available to the broader public through publications of the research in the NDA website. Some of the research has been used to inform debates and discussions with relevant organs of state for purposes of informing policy and programme planning. In addition, research reports are printed in hard copies and made available for the public in the NDA Provincial offices and NDA Advisory Centres. In addition, all NDA research reports are presented to a range of stakeholders, including civil society, government, private and international donors.

Reply:

1. Social grant increases are determined in consultation with the National Treasury and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). The amount of money available for the individual grant increases is subject to government’s expenditure ceiling and is guided by the appropriation made for grants by Parliament. For this financial year a budget increase of 8.2% was allocated for grant increases. This increase needs to provide for both demographic and economic factors. All these factors have a considerable influence in determining annual grant increases. However, these increases are constrained by the available budget.

2. All grants, with the exception of the Child Support Grant (CSG) are above the country’s basic food poverty line as determined by Statistics, South Africa. They are also above the highest Upper Bound Poverty line (of R753 per month in 2014). Hence these beneficiaries should have enough to buy adequate food as well as additional non-food items.

Reply:

a) (i) Yes, the universalization proposals are rooted in the Taylor Committee recommendations of 2002. The Department of Social Development has also conducted studies on the social and financial impact of the universalisation of both the older Persons Grant (OPG) as well as the Child Support Grant (CSG) entitled “An exploration of the causes of poverty in old age in South Africa” and “The Feasibility study on the universal provision of the Child Support Grant (CSG) in South Africa”

(b) The Discussion Paper with policy options was developed. The Paper also highlights financial implications for each option.

(aa) The OPG study was conducted in-house by the Department, whilst the CSG study was conducted by the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) for the Department.

(bb) The CSG study was concluded in 2011 and the OPG study in 2014.

(cc) The OPG research report is available for various stakeholders. The CSG research report however is currently not available for public reading as the Department is currently working on another study related to the CSG Universalisation.

2. (a) (b) Essentially, the key factors contributing to the development of a policy on the universalisation stems from the need to ensure that all excluded eligible poor people are captured and receive social grants through an easier administration process that results from Universalisation. The CSG and OPG are poverty alleviation measures targeting the largest number of poor beneficiaries in comparison to all other grants, these grants have enabled the country to achieve progress in addressing the needs of children and older persons in the household with no or low income.

However, the promise of basic care for the poorest older persons and children still faces challenges; many are excluded due to various reasons including not having the correct documentation. While the Department has taken many steps to improve coverage to reach these poor beneficiaries in the past five years, evidence suggests that under-coverage will be effectively reduced by eliminating the means test and enabling all children and older persons to access the grants with minimum of bureaucratic requirements. Furthermore, universal provisions will enable many poor children that are excluded from the programme to realise the important developmental impacts that the CSG currently delivers to millions of others. The Department believes that universal provisions of these grants will build national solidarity and reflect a common understanding that South Africans are committed to providing income support to older persons and provide children with the opportunity to develop their full capabilities.

Reply:

(a) An amount of R500 000 000 has been made available for the social relief of distress programme for the 2016/17 financial year. Social relief of distress is a comprehensive programme which aims to meet the immediate material needs of citizens who experience a crisis. Food parcels are only one component of this programme. Social relief of distress may be provided in the form of food parcels, food vouchers, school uniforms, humanitarian support in times of disasters and/or cash, under certain circumstances.

(b) The social relief of distress programme is a needs driven programme, in that citizens who find themselves in such dire circumstances that they are unable to meet their or their family’s basic needs may apply for this assistance at SASSA offices and service points. In addition, where SASSA becomes aware of a disaster which has affected community members. The current drought is one such example of a natural disaster which may prompt the provision of social relief of distress.

It is therefore difficult to know in advance how many people will apply for this form of support. In terms of the Annual Performance Plan, SASSA has targeted to provide social relief of distress to 400 000 people. Of these, 160 000 are targeted for assistance in the first 2 quarters of the new financial year. However, it should be noted that these are projected numbers – the actual numbers will only be known when people come forward in response to a crisis situation. The numbers may be affected by natural disasters, which cannot be predicted, or economic circumstances in the country.

(c) Any social relief of distress is provided to South African citizens, permanent residents and refugees, who meet the criteria as set in the Social Assistance Act, Act 13 of 2004 and its Regulations. This means that every person who receives social relief of distress has gone through a screening and application process. These applications are available for audit.

The criteria which applicants must meet before they are considered for social relief of distress are that, in addition to the citizenship criteria, the applicant must have insufficient funds, and: meet one or more of the following-

Is awaiting payment of an approved grant;

The breadwinner has been assessed as being disabled for a period of less than 6 months;

The breadwinner of that household has died and application is made within 12 months of the death;

The breadwinner of that household has been admitted to a private or public institution for at least one month;

Where the refusal may cause undue hardship; or

The household has been affected by a disaster.

Social relief of distress is an on-going legislated programme which is budgeted for and implemented every year.

 

Reply:

(a) The NDA has funded 2612 Community Based Organisations and Non-governmental organizations since inception. However, in the last five years, a total of 485 NGOs/CBOs were funded for which have hereunder provided the responses. The status of all organisations since inception cannot be confirmed as The NDA Grant making process works with funded projects for a period of 12 to 18 months. During this period our relationship with an organization is regulated by a Funding Agreement between the NDA and the CBO/NGO. At the end of the funding period, the NDA would develop an exit/sustainability plan for the organization and then the formal relations between the NDA and the organization ceases.

(b) (i) Of the 485 organisations funded in the last five years, 452 are still operating and providing services to communities. A total of 33 NGOs/CBOs are no longer operational. (ii) The reasons for their lack of operation include lack of funding since the completion of NDA funding and governance challenges, including conflict within the organisations. (iii) The activities that they were involved in have been transferred to other organisations within the area. To mitigate the challenges faced by organisations the NDA in partnership with the Department of Social Development has implemented a capacity building programme since 2013 which has trained 4244 NGOs/CBOs in all provinces, including organisations that may not have been directly funded by the NDA. The capacity building will result in sustainability for the organizations and their service delivery capacity.

Reply:

(a) There are currently nine (9) state run treatment centers in the country. The location; capacity and current number of service users in these treatment centers is as follows:

 

Name of treatment centre	(b) Location	(c) Capacity	(d) Current number of service users
Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro	Zonderwater Correctional Centre, Cullinan, Gauteng	300	136 (113 adults and 23 children)
Swartfontein	White River, Mpumalanga	75	52 (adults)
Newland Park	Newlands West, KZN	100	36 (26 adults and 10 children)
Madadeni	Madadeni, KZN	80	24 adults)
Khanyani	Newcastle, KZN	24	8 (children)
Witrand	Potchefstroom, North West	18	11(9 adults and 2 children)
De Novo	Kraaifontein, Western Cape	90	86 (70 adult males and 16 children)
Kensington	Maitland, Western Cape	40	40 (adults)
Ernest Malgas	New Brighton, Eastern Cape	38	21 (children)

Reply:

(a)

    (i) There are currently 73 nonprofit / privately run alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities

(b) For capacity of each centre, see attached annexure

Reply:

Progress made to date with each of the specific recommendations made by the SA Human Rights Commission report (details furnished) of October 2013, into the Child Protection Register, is as follows:

1. Recommendation 11.1: “The DSD is required to put in place urgent measures accurately and fully populated with available information. This recommendation is made on the basis that the DSD has demonstrated a capacity to increase the capturing of data on Part B of the CPR by more than 1000% since the date of the Commission’s initial request in September 2012.to this end, the Commission therefore requests that:

11.1.1: The updated CPR is submitted to it within the next 4 months for the period commencing 2012 to date.” Pg. 45

1.1. Progress

• Two progress reports on updated CPR were submitted in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The third report is still being prepared for submission. The Register has now been updated to a record of 904 names on persons found unsuitable to work with children.
• DSD has continued to hold bi-lateral meetings with Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) where implementation issues are discussed. Meetings have been held with court officials and Chief magistrates to inform them about their obligations regarding the Register.
• The efforts of obtaining information on persons found unsuitable to work with children from forums such as the South African Social Services Professional Council (SACE) has not been successful. DSD has written to SACE requesting compliance with Section 120 (1) (c) of the Children’s Act, Act (No. 38 of 2005).

2. Recommendation 11.2:

“The DSD is required to conduct an urgent and comprehensive audit of challenges and needs across relevant business units to inform its needs, within the next 3(three) months. A report of the audit is to be provided to the Commission on completion thereof.’’ Pg 45

2.1. Progress

The department has conducted an internal audit on the implementation of the register). The report covers the period from 01 June 2013 to 31 July 2014. A key finding is lack of adequate capacity for the effective implementation of the Register. The report made recommendations that must be implemented during the 2015/16 financial year. The department has, thereafter, successfully secured R6, 5million to capacitate the CPR unit. The grant is for a period of three years for the appointment of staff and purchase equipment. Contract staff have been appointed as follows:

• 10 Data capturers
• 8 Registry clerks
• 6 social workers
• 1 Administration officer

Data capturers and registry clerks have assumed their duties on the 16/02/2016. The administration officer was absorbed when her previous contract expired. Social workers were only interviewed on 23/02/2016 and Human Resource is currently awaiting the security clearance from the National Intelligence Agency.

The human and financial capacity acquired will enable the department to focus on consultations with the courts and fora to ensure that the Register is properly updated to prevent unsuitable persons from working with children.

3. Recommendation 11.6:

“In light of the pending review of the Act, the Commission recommends that the DSD as the leading department in this regard, consult on possible reforms to the Act with a view to increasing practical efficiencies, accuracy and accessibility. In this regard section 120(4) of the Act could be considered for reform directed at reducing the administrative burden currently being experienced by the Courts by allowing Courts to deem a person unsuitable to work with children upon the relevant conviction in criminal proceedings:

(4) In criminal proceedings a person must be found (DEEMED) unsuitable to work with children-

(a) On conviction of murder, attempted murder, rape, indecent assault or assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm with regard to a child;

The recommended amendment may address the need for a second and separate administrative finding of unsuitability from having to be made, allowing the names of persons so convicted to be added to the CPR without the requirement of an unsuitability finding”. Pg.45

3.1. Progress:

The status of progress with the Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament.

The draft Bill was submitted to the SPCHD Technical Working Group on 17 February 2015 and to the SPCHD Cabinet Committee on 24 February 2015 and both Committees granted approval for its introduction to Parliament. It was then introduced to the National Assembly and is currently before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development as the Children’s Amendment Bill 13 of 2015.

Among other things, the Bill seeks to amend section 120 of the Children’s Act to provide that persons convicted of certain offences against children be automatically deemed unsuitable to work with children.

The Portfolio Committee conducted public hearings, and held several briefing meeting with relevant stakeholders. The process is at an advanced stage and the Bill is awaiting adoption by the Committee. Thereafter, it will be passed in the National Assembly and be referred to the National Council of Provinces for consideration by the Select Committee on Social Services.

4. The Commission further requested additional information to form part of the progress report as outlined below:

4.1. Status and copy of the draft policy document on the possible merger of the CPR and National Register for Sex Offenders

The portfolio committee on Social Development and Justice mandated the departments of Social Development (DSD) and Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) to look into the possibility of merging the two registers for the purpose of addressing the perceived duplication and related costs, and thereafter provide the following:

• report on the possible options that are available to address the duplication between the National Child Protection Register and the National Register for Sex Offenders;
• make recommendations; and
• obtain policy guidance from the Minister of Social Development and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

The registers were established under different legislative mandates which require the respective departments to establish and maintain them. The legislative mandates are as follows:

• NCPR: Children’s Act (No. 38 of 2005).
• NRSO: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (No. 32 of 2007).

The CPR provides for the protection of all children against all forms of abuse which include the physical, sexual, emotional and deliberate neglect (as stipulated in terms of Part A of the Register) and to ensure that offenders are prevented from working with these children (as stipulated in terms of Part B of the Register). The offenders are not limited to a criminal procedure, but include civil proceedings conducted in family courts including children’s courts. The Act further provide for Forums such as SACE to make findings of unsuitability on such offenders following disciplinary proceedings. The CPR, therefore, provides a wider scope of protection for all children irrespective of the type of offence committed and the nature of disability of that child.

The NRSO on the other hand, is a register on offenders convicted of sexual offences against children and persons with mental disabilities of all ages.

To comply with the portfolio committee mandate, therefore, both DSD and DoJ&CD have completed a report which is currently receiving the attention of respective Ministers. The report has identified three options for purposes of supporting amendment of legislation in order to merge the NCPR and the NRSO into one single Register.

4.2. Progress in respect of improvements to the information technology supporting the CPR programme

The information technology is currently redeveloping the electronic systems to integrate them on a single platform. The system is also being redeveloped to link with other systems within the Integrated Justice System (IJS) which include DoJ&CD, South African Police Service, Home Affairs, Correctional Services and National Prosecuting Authority which are vital for the electronic integration of information to the CPR.

6. CONCLUSION

DSD will continue to update the Commission regarding the implementation of the CPR in terms of the recommendations as stipulated in the Commission’s report.

Reply:

(1)&(2) No.

Reply:

The social relief of distress is an on-going, legislated programme which is implemented every year in every province in response to identified needs. This programme has been implemented annually for the period from July 2009 to February 2016. Social relief of distress is a programme which provides material assistance to citizens who experience a crisis, which is beyond their ability to deal with within their own resources. The assistance is provided for a temporary period only. This period may vary from one to three months, which may be extended to six months, under certain circumstances.

SASSA manages the social relief of distress programme in line with the provisions as legislated in the Social Assistance Act, 2004 (as amended). The legislation empowers SASSA to provide social relief of distress to South African citizens, permanent residents and refugees, where they meet certain criteria. One of the criteria is that social relief of distress may be provided where communities are affected by a disaster, even where that area is not declared a disaster area. This enable SASSA to respond to localized incidents such as floods, fire and other disasters.

Social relief of distress may be issued in various forms, depending on the reason for the issuing of the social relief of distress, as well as the specific arrangements made in the affected province. The social relief of distress may be issued in the form of food vouchers, food parcels, school uniforms or cash. Where social relief of distress is provided as a response to disasters, the assistance may take the form of pre-cooked hot meals, meal packs, blankets, dignity packs and/or mattresses. The actual assistance provided will depend on the specific needs of the affected communities. In addition to the immediate humanitarian assistance provided, in instances where the affected community lost all their possessions, for instance in the case of fire, the families may be provided with a once off cash amount when they are ready to return to their homes. This is to assist in buying some of the household items which were lost in the disaster. However, SASSA does not provide household items as part of the social relief of distress programme.

For every citizen assisted with social relief of distress, there is an application process followed, to ensure eligibility for the assistance. For humanitarian assistance provided in response to disasters, SASSA provides the relief off lists provided by the local disaster response team in the municipality.

While information on the numbers assisted each year since 2009, the table below reflects the amounts spent on social relief of distress for the years under review:

Year	Budget amount	Amount spent
2009/10	184 412 001	152 916 474
2010/11	178 813 600	164 857 431
2011/12	187 925 000	179 304 562
2012/13	255 181 000	250 430 329
2013/14	556 606 000	549 847 373
2014/15	501 835 000	460 569 541
2015/16	450 212 000	433,443,842

Reply:

(a) and (b) Following the decision not to award to re-advertised tender in October 2015, SASSA immediately started working on developing a plan to ensure that it is ready to take over the responsibility for the management of social grant payments as from April 2017, when the current contract with Cash Paymaster Services expires.

The plans developed take into account the recommendations made by the Ministerial Committee appointed to investigate options for social grant payments which were contained in the report released in December 2014. In addition, CSIR has been working with SASSA since February 2014 to assist with the development of specific work packages related to taking over the responsibility for biometric enrolment.

The plan developed contains details of all actions required to meet the deadline, with responsibilities and target dates indicated. The implementation of the plan developed is currently underway.

(i) Not applicable

(ii) Not applicable

Reply:

1. The ECD policy was approved by cabinet on 09 December 2015 after an extensive consultation process with the ECD stakeholders (government and non-government). It highlights 15 policy positions. It seeks to ensure integrated services by all partner departments, universal equitable access of the comprehensive age and stage appropriate quality services by 2030, empower and enable parents, ensure the alignment and harmonisation of inter-sectoral policies, legislation and programmes across the different sectors and ensure adequate and effective leadership, coordinated planning, funding, implementation, monitoring of progress and on-going quality improvements.

The short term (2017), covers establishment of the necessary legal framework, organisational structures and institutional arrangements, planning, financing mechanisms necessary to support and realise its commitments. The medium term (2024) includes the availability of age and developmental stage appropriate essential components of the comprehensive package of quality ECD services, accessible to all infants and young children and their caregivers. The long term (2030) covers availability of a full comprehensive age and development stage appropriate package of quality early childhood development services and accessible to all infants and young children and their caregivers.

Implementation thereof, is preceded by capacity building on the ECD policy and the National Comprehensive Programme in provinces which has commenced now in May 2016 until November 2016.

(2) The National Comprehensive ECD Programme has been developed which includes the essential components addressing nutrition, health, social protection, inclusion of children with disabilities and special needs, stimulation and early learning to ensure the best possible start in life. The programme puts emphasis on early detection of any disease or developmental delays from conception throughout the 1st thousand days. It was sanctioned in the ECD Policy as Chapter 5 which is the core of the National Integrated ECD policy and it has been aligned to the approved National Integrated ECD policy.

 

Reply:

(1) Whether her department has closed down any crèches that were operating illegally in the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16 financial years; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (i) how many crèches that were operating illegally have been closed down in each of the specified financial years and (ii) where were the specified crèches situated;

The Parliamentary Question has provincial implications and at the time of reply no response was received from Provinces

(2)

(a) In terms of the Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005, all partial care facilities (ECD centres) must be subjected to inspections and monitoring to determine compliance with the norms and standards. Inspections and monitoring are mechanisms in place to identify ECD centres that are not complying with the norms and standards.

(b) According to the said Act, section 84 and 85:

 

Cancellation of registration

84. (1) The provincial head of social development may cancel the registration or conditional registration of a partial care facility by written notice to the registration holder if-

(a) the facility is not maintained in accordance with the prescribed national norms and standards and such other requirements as may be prescribed;

(b) any condition subject to which the registration or renewal of registration was issued is breached or not complied with;

(c) the registration holder or the management of the facility contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of the Act;

(d) the registration holder becomes a person who is not a fit and proper person to operate a partial care facility; or

(e) a person who is not a fit and proper person to assist in operating a partial care facility is employed at or engaged in operating the facility.

Notice of enforcement

85. (1) A provincial head of social development may by way of a written notice of enforcement instruct-

(a) a person or organisation operating an unregistered partial care facility-

(i) to stop operating that facility; or

(ii) to apply for registration in terms of section 81 within a period specified in the notice; or

(b) a person or organisation operating a registered partial care facility otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act or any conditions subject to which the registration was issued, to comply with those provisions or conditions.

(2) A person or organisation operating an unregistered partial care facility and who is instructed in terms of subsection (1) (a) (ii) to apply for registration within a specified period, may, despite the provisions of section 80, continue operating the facility during that period and, if that person or organisation applies for registration, until that application has been processed.

(3) The Director-General or the provincial head of social development may apply to the High Court for an order to instruct a partial care facility, whether registered or not, to stop operating that facility.

(4) The High Court may grant an order for costs against the owner or manager of the partial care facility referred to in subsection (3) if so requested by the Director-General or provincial head of social development.

Reply:

1. Staff complement of the Directorate for Nonprofit Organisations (DNO)

 (a) (i) filled posts - 60

ii) vacant posts - 11

 (b) Below is a table providing detailed information:

Position	(b) Level	Number of posts
		Filled	Vacant
Deputy Director General	15	0	1
Chief Director	14	0	1
Directors	13	5
Deputy Directors	12	3
Deputy Directors	11	4
Assistant Directors	10	3
Assistant Directors	9	6	1
Admin Assistants	6	0	4
Senior Admin Officers	8	15	3
Senior Registry Clerks	5	8	1
Data Capturers	4	12
Contract Workers	4	1
Total		60	11

2. For each financial year the report of the DNO activities is presented by Department of Social Development in the Department’s annual report.

3. 15 440 compliance notices were sent to NPOs in the 2014-2015 financial year.

4. Yes, the DNO has cancelled cerficates of registrations of NPOs as below;

Form of Deregistration	2013/14 FY
Voluntary Deregistration	6
Wound up /or Dissolved	0

(a)

(b)

Form of Deregistration	2014/15 FY
Voluntary Deregistration	7
Wound up /or Dissolved	0

 

5. Yes the DNO keeps record of as follows:

(aa)

	Form of Deregistration	2013/14 FY
(a)	Voluntary Deregistration	6
(b)	Wound up /or Dissolved	0

(bb)

	Form of Deregistration	2014/15 FY
(a)	Voluntary Deregistration	7
(b)	Wound up /or Dissolved	0

Reply:

I have not met with any member, employee or close associate of the Gupta family or attended any meeting with the specified persons at the Gupta’s Saxonwold Estate in Johannesburg or anywhere else since taking office.

 

Reply:

(1) It is difficult to isolate the number of unauthorized, illegal and falsified deductions which have been effected, as not all deductions are unauthorized and illegal. There are many deductions taking place which have been authorized by the beneficiaries. However, since 2014, when SASSA started recording and tracking the disputes, a total of 21 466 disputes have been recorded. In addition, during January 2016, syndicate fraud affecting approximately 8 000 social grant beneficiary accounts was uncovered originating in the Western Cape. For all these cases, the beneficiaries have been refunded the amounts deducted and a criminal investigation is underway.

(2) Of these 21 466, a total of (a) 12 160 have been resolved and (b) 9 094 are still under investigation.

(3) (a) None of the cases under investigation involve SASSA officials. Deductions occur once the social grant money has been paid into the bank account, and generally involve the beneficiary responding to SMS (mobile) marketing or taking a loan from a micro-lender.

(b) Since the practice does not involve SASSA officials, no SASSA official has been arrested in this regard.

Reply:

1. The average turnaround time for the registration of all categories of social work practitioners is one day provided that applicants furnish the council with all the required documentation.
2. In terms of the Act the SACSSP has three complementary mandates to execute, namely, registration and professional services, education, training and development as well as professional conduct. These mandates are executed in relation to all registered social workers available to practice in the country.
3. Def Music Studio was contracted by the SACSSP for publication of promotional material during 2006. An amount of R81 000.00 was paid for services rendered.

 

 

Reply:

I wish to refer the Honourable Member to the Office of Registrar of Member’s Interest in Parliament where I have made submissions since becoming a Minister and a Member of Parliament.

 

Reply:

1. Yes, I am aware of the working conditions of social workers in the Free State. During 2014/15; I initiated district dialogues across the province where social workers identified and discussed issues pertaining to working conditions impacting on social work practice. This was in preparation for the National Social Work Indaba held in March 2015, where working conditions was identified as a theme for discussion. Feedback from Free State district dialogues was incorporated into a consolidated report on provincial dialogues, which was presented at the Indaba. Resolutions, inclusive of improvement of working conditions were adopted to guide the development of a National Action Plan to respond to the plight of social workers. Through the support of the department, the Provincial Department of Social Development in the Free State is developing a provincial Action Plan to respond to the situation.

2. (a) I am also aware of the situation in all other provinces.

(b) There are similar challenges to working conditions of social workers in all provinces, and these include inadequate tools of trade, inadequate office accommodation and poor office infrastructure, limited support staff (e.g. receptionists) and inadequate transport for social workers.

(c) Based on information collated from district and provincial dialogues I hosted a National Social Workers Indaba in March 2015 with the theme “Revitalising Social Work Practice in South Africa” providing a platform for further discussions and identification of solutions to alleviate poor working conditions of social workers. A consolidated report on working conditions was presented at the Indaba to inform discussions and resolutions. Based on resolutions adopted, a National Action Plan on the Social Work was developed to guide development of province specific plans. The Department is monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan in all provinces. Furthermore, implementation of the Action Plan is a standing agenda point of MINMEC to ensure monitoring thereof by senior managers within the department.

Reply:

(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii) Yes, the Department bought space for recruitment advertising in The New Age for the period only in 2014-15 and the total amount is R67 125.02

Reply:

1. The Department of Social Development transfered the following amounts respectively:

(a) 2012-13 : Amount transfered was R1 550 000.00

(b) 2013-14 : Amount transferred was R1 628 000.00; and

(c) 2014-15 : The Council was not funded for this financial year

2. (a)

The SACSSP is a statutory body established in terms of the Social Service Professions Act, (Act 110 of 1978) as amended. It has the primary aim of guiding and regulating practitioners within the sector and protecting the interest of the public at large.

The SACSSP has been funded in line with the Policy on Financial Awards to Service Providers for the development, management and implementation of projects linked to the departmental mandate and key strategic objectives.

As the lead employing organ of state and key role player in planning, supporting and ensuring that there is adequate workforce to provide services, the Department has to ensure support to the Council in order for it to meet its statutory obligations.

For the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14, the Council was funded in order to implement the current Social Service Professions Act, (Act 110 of 1978), deliver on its core mandate, priorities and ensure effective regulation of the Social Service Practitioners.

(b) the rationale behind the non-transfer of funds to the SACSSP in respect of the 2014-15 financial year was mainly to allow the SACSSP an opportunity to finalise the implementation of objectives funded in the previous financial years, utilizing funds rolled over to the 2014/15 financial year but also to develop and present an expenditure plan linked to the said funds. The Department continued to monitor compliance and performance in the 2014/15 financial year.

3. The audit opinions received by the SACSSP for each specified financial years were as follows:

2012-13 financial year

The opinion received on the financial performance of the Council presented a fair view on the financial performance of the Council in accordance with the accepted accounting principles.

2013-14 and 2014-15

For both specified financial years, the Council received qualified audit opinions although the financial statements presented a fairly financial position of the SACSSP in line with the accepted accounting principles.

Reply:

1. The recent severe drought has had a severe impact on the vulnerable groups in South Africa in terms of (a) food insecurity, (b) escalating food prices and (c) household water shortages.

According to the Issue 3 - March 2016 Food Basket Price Monthly report from the National Agricultural Marketing Council and the Food Price Monitoring Committee using the Stats SA data, In February 2016 the price a basic 22 item food basket increased by approximately R56 (+10.86%) in nominal terms from R510 to R566.

It is projected that South Africa will need to import an estimated five million tons of maize between May this year and April 2017, which will weigh heavily on the trade deficit.

Water shortages were reported across various Provinces, Districts, Local Municipalities and Communities. The drought disaster declared areas were supported with various measures including the supply of water using water tankers in Local Municipalities and the affected communities.

2. The Social Assistance Act, Act 13 of 2004 mandates the Department through the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to provide social relief of distress (SRD) to any person in need of immediate relief, provided they meet certain prescribed criteria. One such criterion is that the person has been affected by a disaster as defined in the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002).

During this drought period SASSA has continued to provide SRD to affected households. By December 2015, the following beneficieries were supported:

• 2 271 SRD disbursed in a form of cash
• 49 387 SRD disbursed in a form of food parcels
• 46 681 SRD disbursed in a form of vouchers

Over and above SRD provision DSD also continue to implement various programmes that seek to provide relief to the food insecure and vulnerable households, incliding the drought affected households. Below is the overview of other interventions that provide food relief to the effected specified groups, the number of beneficieries and the projected budget allocation to the programmes:

PROGRAMME	TOTAL NUMBER	BUDGET
Community Nutrition & Development Centres (CNDCs)	166 CNDCs reaching about 1,901 952 beneficiaries	R175 million (FY 16/17)
Drop Inn Centres (DIC)	678 DICs	R1, 7 million
Social Relief of Distress (SRD)	263 057 beneficiaries	R 450 million
Early Childhood Development Centres (registered)	26 553 ECDs & 1.5million children	R1,9 Billion
Social assistance	16 million social grant beneficiaries in SA	R130 Billion per year,

3. In the financial year 2016/17 budget speech the Minister of Finance announced the the social grants increase as follows:

• The old age, disability and care dependency grants will rise by R80 to R1 500 in April 2016 and by a further R10 to R1 510 in October.
• The child support grant will rise by R20 to R350 in April and the foster care grant by R30 to R890.

This overall increased expenditure on social assistance from R129 billion to R165 billion in 2018/19 reflects a decisive intention to curb food insecurity challenges amongst the poor and vulnerable people in our country. This will also curb the impact of drought amongst food insecure and vulnerable citizens.

Reply:

It should be noted that the only permissible deduction form a social grant is that which is done in terms of Regulation 26A to the Social Assistance Act, 2004. This provides for deductions from a social grant, before it is paid into the SASSA card, and is for funeral insurance only. There are limitations on the amount which may be deducted. There are currently approximately 778 000 such deductions taking place monthly.

All other “deductions” are in fact EFT debits, which come off the social grant once it is paid into a bank account. Again, not all of these are illegal as many are done with the express consent of beneficiaries. However, both the Department and SASSA are alarmed at the reported increase of disputed deductions.

The Ministerial Task Team, appointed to look at the whole issue of deductions from social grants, and make recommendations as to how this can be addressed, has been working from February 2014 and is still active. This Task team is comprised of representatives from the Department, SASSA and civil society. The Team has recently completed its second report, with recommendations which are currently under consideration.

Currently the Department is involved in two court cases on deductions, with a third pending; the outcome of which will have an impact on how deductions are dealt with in the future.

 

The Department has also published proposed amendments to the regulations to the Social Assistance Act, 2004 for public comment, which will allow for better control and limit most kinds of deductions. The closing date for public comments was 15 April and the Department has received a wide range of comments from various stakeholders, including the industry itself. There is now a process to work through these comments, before the proposed amendments are finalized and published for implementation.

SASSA implemented a recourse mechanism in 2015. The mechanism was developed after consultation with various stakeholders, including civil society. SASSA staff have been trained on the implementation of this mechanism, and follow up training and implementation monitoring is being done in all provinces.

Any beneficiary experiencing a problem with his/her grant, whether this be related to deductions in terms of Regulation 26A or EFT debits off the social grant once this has been paid into the bank account should contact the nearest SASSA office or phone the SASSA call centre on 0800 60 10 11, CPS 0800 60 01 60 or the GBV 0800 428 428. The beneficiary will be expected to complete an affidavit confirming that he/she never gave authority for the deduction and SASSA is then responsible to work with the relevant role players to resolve this query. Where it is confirmed that the deduction has been implemented without authority, arrangements are made to refund the money to the beneficiary.

In addition to the above, SASSA has embarked on an active communication campaign to educate and raise awareness about this problem. Community leaders are requested to assist in this task, so that every beneficiary understands that they should not give their card or PIN to anyone, it is their responsibility to safeguard their SASSA card, and that they should not respond to tele-marketing or SMS marketing offering financial services or products at all.

Reply:

(a) No SASSA senior officials have been (i) suspended, (ii) investigated, (iii) criminally charged or (iv) convicted for being implicated in illegal deductions in any province for any of the years indicated. There is currently an investigation underway in the Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth) and Western Cape (Athlone) provinces.

(b) No Cash Paymaster Services official have been (i)suspended, (ii) investigated, (iii) criminally charges or (iv) convicted for being implicated in illegal deductions in any of the provinces for the periods indicated.

(c) No other officials have been (i) suspended, (ii) investigated, (iii) criminally charged or (iv) convicted for being implicated in illegal deductions in any of the provinces for any of the years indicated. However, in 2015/16 a criminal case was opened in Western Cape following syndicated fraud activity affecting in excess of 8 000 social grant beneficiary accounts. This investigation is still underway and no further details are available at this time.

 

Reply:

Steps have been taken to employ social work graduates benefitting from the scholarship programme:

(a) Since the inception of the programme a total of 7 393 graduates have been absorbed into employment by Provincial Departments of Social Development; additional 94 graduates have been employed and placed at Departmental local service offices through the support of PACT (as part of the Government Capacity Building and Support Programme). A further 165 graduates are employed by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to support the administration and management of foster care grants.

A request has been submitted to National Treasury to utilise part of the 2016/17 allocation (R100m) for the absorption of 450 social work graduates.

(b) The Department is not aware of numbers of graduates employed by the private sector. However, the department is engaging with Non-Governmental Organisations to facilitate absorption of graduates in that sector.

Reply:

(1) SASSA was informed on 6 January 2016 that a number of areas had run short of SASSA cards, as a shipment ordered by the service provider had been delayed. However, this matter was resolved and by 11 January 2016, additional cards had been sent to Eastern Cape and were available for distribution. It is our serious concern that some of the cards are left with the loan sharks and reported as lost.

(2) SASSA has a monitoring programme which assesses all aspects of service delivery at local offices. Based on the findings, corrective actions are implemented. In addition, there is a commitment for all citizens over the age of 75 years to receive grant application and review services at their homes, if this is requested. For social grant payments, frail or otherwise incapacitated beneficiaries are advised to appoint a procurator who will be responsible for collecting their social grant, using the SASSA grant card.

(3) At all local offices, SASSA endeavours to ensure that the number of applicants / beneficiaries who report for services are attended to within the day they arrive. However, where it is clear that the number exceeds the capacity of the office to finalise, then those who are last in the queue are advised that they are not likely to be attended to and advised to return on another day. Should citizens be affected by this, they are given a number, so that they are indeed attended on the day they return, without having to queue again.

In addition to the above, there is a system in place to serve citizens in accordance with their level of vulnerability. This means that the local office manager will identify and prioritise people with disabilities, older persons waiting in the queue and bring them to the front of the queue. Where this is implemented, it should be made public, so that all the other citizens waiting for a service understand why certain people do not have to queue.

In an effort to prevent people having to travel long distances and incur significant transport expenses to access the services, SASSA provides mobile services in various communities, according to a pre-set schedule. This is done in an effort to improve service delivery. We would also welcome information from Members of Parliament about paypoints that need to be reviewed because our work is about human rights and dignity of our citizens.

Reply:

(1), (2) (a), (b), (i), (ii) and 3. This matter is sub judice.

Reply:

Yes, all Ministers are subject to Performance Agreements with the President.

a) The Performance Management Framework for Ministers is the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for 2014-2019, which is the first 5-year implementation plan of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030. The performance targets and indicators are derived from the 14 Outcomes which Government seeks to achieve.

These outcomes and targets constitute government’s Programme of Action (POA), against which performance is tracked and reported at least on a quarterly basis. POA reports are publicly available on government’s website.

b) To (e) Cabinet closely monitors the implementation of the NDP 2030/MTSF 2014-2019 through POA reports. These reports are tabled before an Implementation Forum of a Cluster of Ministers collectively responsible for MTSF outcomes, and then submitted to Cabinet, where progress is noted, and recommendation to address bottlenecks to implementation are considered and discussed, and recommendations to address bottlenecks are considered and approved.

Reply:

The Department of Social Development has checked its records and could not find companies with above mentioned names which have been awarded contracts within the abovementioned financial years.

a) None

b) None

c) None

(i) N/A

(ii) N/A

 

Supported/ Not Supported

_______________________________

Ms. S Mgwaba

Chief Director: Financial Administration

Date:

Supported/ Not Supported

_______________________________

Mr. C Appel

Chief Financial Officer

Date:

Supported/ Not Supported

_______________________________

Ms. L Oliphant

Chief Director: Communications

Date:

Supported/ Not Supported

_______________________________

Mr. A Phahlamohlaka

Chief of Staff

Date:

Supported/ Not Supported

_______________________________

Ms. N Ndabankulu

CD: Executive Support & IGR

Date:

Recommended/ Not Recommended

_______________________________

Mr. T Magwaza

Acting Director-General

Date:

Reply:

The Department does not have any frozen vacant positions. The organizational structure was approved in May 2015 and newly created posts are filled according to prioritization.

(a) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

(c) Not applicable

Reply:

The Minister of Social Development was involved in various Departmental and outreach programmes during the 2015/16 financial year. The additional funding allocated as part of the 2015 Adjusted Estimates process, was mainly for the following activities:

May 2015

• Post National Council of Provinces (NCOP) budget vote event, in Parliament, CPT
• Opening of an ECD, KwaLanga CPT
• DSD NCOP Budget vote
• Post NCOP Budget vote, Parliament, CPT
• MINMEC meeting
• Child Protection Week Activities

June 2015

• Opening address on the Day of the Africa Child
• International Day on Families
• DSD youth day celebration

July 2015

• International Day Against Substance Abuse, Eersterust ,PTA
• World Population Day

August 2015

• Launch of Cooperatives, Popo Molefe Informal Settlement, Rustenburg
• Launch of Food Security programme, Free State

September 2015

• National Summit on Social Development White paper, Boksburg
• 70th session of the UN general debate, at General assembly, NY (New York)

October 2015

• Active Ageing Programme
  • International day to Old Persons
  • Grandparents day
  • Ministerial Luncheon with Gauteng struggle veterans
  • 3rd National Parliament for Older Persons
  • 1st National Choir Festival
  • AGM of South African Older Persons Forum/ Conference of Older Persons

November 2015

• HIV/Aids Awareness Campaign
• Disability Month activities
• Launch of Community Nutrition and Development Centers (CNDC’s)
• Meetings of Minster and MEC (MINMEC)
• Various provincial Mikondzo Imbizos (DSD Services)
• 7th African Population Conference

December 2015

• Anti – Substance Abuse Festival Campaign, Durban

Reply:

1. The Department has developed draft amendments to the Older Person’s Act 13 of 2006. Consultations were done in provinces during the past year.

In terms of the legislative process, the provincial departments and interested NGOs will make inputs again once the draft Bill has been gazetted for public comments and during public hearing conducted through Parliamentary processes.

2. The time frames for feedback will be determined in the gazette itself.

3. The finalised draft Bill will be submitted to Parliament by 31 March 2017.

Reply:

(a) There are no lawyers (i) who have been reported to the law society and (ii) successfully prosecuted for (aa) hiding the must-mediate requirement of section 6(4) of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005), from their divorcing clients and (bb) for selling a litigation strategy. A relationship between a client and his or her legal representative is privileged and therefore it is not possible for the Department to be aware of the conducts in question unless it is reported to the Department by either the clients or some other whistle blower who has inside information. In this regard, no cases have so far been reported to the Department. (b) The protection of children involved in a divorce is regulated by section 6 of the Divorce Act, 1979 (Act No. 70 of 1979) section 4 of the Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Act, 1987 (Act No. 24 of 1987). It is therefore not necessary for this matter to be regulated under the Children’s Act.

Reply:

(a) The progress made with the co-ordination the Departments of Finance and Higher Education and Training

• The Department of Education has engaged HWSETA and funding was made for the appointment of some of the social work graduates in Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, and Mpumalanga Provinces.

• A budget Bid has been submitted to National Treasury by the National Department of Social Development whereby the employment of social work graduates was prioritised. The outcome is still awaited from National Treasury;

• In coordination with Treasury, the Department was advised to undertake

a process of re-costing of the funding of the scholarship programme. This is with an aim of determining how many social work graduates can be employed by reducing the number of intake of students for the MTSF period and also by utilising the savings from the scholarship funding due to drop outs and cancellations by students.

(b) The details of the specified co-ordination in each case:

• The specified coordination with the Department of Education has been that they make funding available to appoint social graduates as interns whilst a through HWSETA whilst a permanent solution is sought;

• To prepare and submit a budget Bid has to National Treasury by the National which will include the tools of trade;

• Re-costing of the funding of the scholarship programme with an aim of determining how many social work graduates can be employed by reducing the number of intake of students for the MTSF period and also by utilising the savings from the scholarship funding due to drop outs and cancellations by students.

(c) The number of times

(i)(aa) the Minister met with the specified Ministers from either of the

specified departments in connection with the matters indicated above

six (6) times. These meetings include one on one with the Ministers of

Education and Finance discussions and discussions of the matter in

the Social Cluster meetings where applicable;

(bb) officials from her department met with the officials from either of

the specified departments in connection with the matters indicated

above is eleven (11) times. These meetings include instances where

general budget matters are discussed with Treasury and also Social

Cluster meetings.

(d) Agreements reached with each of the specified departments on this issue:

• The Department of Education has agreed to continue to make funding available for the appointment of some of the social work graduates as interns in the provinces whilst a permanent solution is sought. This is based on the availability of funding.

• National Treasury agreed that the Department of Social Development submit a budget bid prioritising the employment of social work graduates;

• The Department and Treasury agreed on a process of re-costing of the funding of the scholarship programme as a possible way of making funding available to fund social work graduates.