Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) (i) & (ii)

The Department of Home Affairs does not have specific initiatives and/or programmes for homeless persons.

However, the department assists only in cases of disaster wherein the disaster management from various municipalities provides a disaster management report and certificate in order for the department to determine the kind of service required as well as the cost element attached to it. Upon receiving of the latter mentioned documents, the department may waive the fees of those affected.

(b) The services for registration of first issuance of identity documents and birth certificates is free of charge.

END

Reply:

a) I have been informed that in the last 12 months the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Northern Operations has carried out repairs to the Nzhelele Mount Steward Syphon 2/3. In addition, maintenance activities of the irrigation system are scheduled as indicated below:

• Canal D (total length 7.10 km),
• Canal E (total length 2.7 km)
• Canal A (total length 2.74 km)
• Clearing of vegetation and cutting of branches overhanging above the canal
• Application of herbicide
• Removal of debris, algae and sediment from the canal
• Grading of the access roads
• Construction of gabions
• Repairing of damaged sluices
• Earthwork in dispersive soil at E Canal

b) The budget for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the canal is R 2.4 million.

c) The maintenance backlog will be addressed through ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance of the canal as indicated above.

d) The budget for these activities is R 2.4 million.

Reply:

a) The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure is currently responsible for Border infrastructure at Ports of Entry and along the borderline, however the Border Management Authority is putting plans to address Infrastructure challenges which impact on the processing of people and goods at Ports on Entry as part of its legal mandate.

The plans include the redevelop of six land Ports of Entry as One-Stop Border Posts (OSBP). It is intended that these infrastructural improvements will enable the secure and efficient processing of people and goods at Beit Bridge; Maseru Bridge; Ficksburg; Oshoek; Kopfontein and Lebombo Ports of Entry.

b) It is anticipated that the OSBPs will be operational by 2024.

END

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation is unable to provide the total amount spent on water tankers in the KwaMashu area in eThekwini since 2010 as this responsibility falls within the mandate of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.                                      

The Honourable Member is therefore advised to address the question to my colleague, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), as that Department is responsible for the oversight of municipalities.

Honourable Member, it is important to distinguish the functions of various government departments and the different spheres of government when it comes to access to water and sanitation services.

• The Department of Water and Sanitation is the custodian of water and in terms of the National Water Act is responsible for ensuring that water as a resource is allocated equitably and used beneficially in the public interest, while promoting environmental values.
• Schedule 4B of the Constitution places the function of provision of water services to local government (municipalities).
• Section 154 of the Constitution places a responsibility on national and provincial government to support and regulate local government in carrying out this mandate.
• Section 3 of the Water Services Act outlines the right of access to basic water supply and sanitation which mandates that “everyone has a right of access to basic water supply and basic sanitation” and places the responsibility on Water Services Authorities to ensure that they develop a Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) to ensure the realisation of this right.
• Section 4 of the Water Services Act sets conditions for the provision of water services.
• Section 9 of the Water Services Act prescribes that the Minister may from time to time develop compulsory national norms and standards for water services which outline the exact levels of services that municipalities must provide.
• Section 10 of the Water Services Act provides norms and standards for setting tariffs for the provision of water services.
• Section 11 of the Water Services Act mandates that “every Water Services Authority has the duty to all consumers or potential consumers in its area of jurisdiction to progressively ensure efficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water services.”

• Section 84(1) d of the Municipal Structures Act mandates that municipalities are responsible for the provision of potable water and domestic waste water disposal systems.

Reply:

(a–b) Primary function to vaccinate is that of the Department of Health. However, the DHA’s Inspectorate Unit is provided for within the Immigration Act 2002, has the mandate to conduct investigations and enforcement operations that will assist with the identification of persons who are undocumented or have an illegal status in the Republic. Such persons may be detained and dealt with under Departmental Regulations.

END

Reply:

(a)(i) According to DHA system, there are currently 40 455 persons from the SADC region with the recognised refugee status.

(ii) South African government has signed the 1951 United Nations Convention without any reservations, including settlement and encampment, whilst other Member States have signed the Convention with the obligation to settlements and encampment in order to house and control the movement of refugees and asylum seekers. Therefore, in South Africa asylum seekers and refugees reside where they wish to, if there are those that are indigent they are able to approach UNHCR to seek assistance for accommodation, whilst refugees do qualify to apply for RDP houses.

(b)(i) Not all refugees are indigent and dependant on social grants. Those who require such assistance do approach the Department of Social Development that would subject them to the necessary means test like South African citizens and receive grant if they qualify.

(ii) Section 27(1) (a) of the Bill of Rights provide that; everyone has the right to have access to ¬health care services, including reproductive health care. Therefore, the Department of Health has its protocols and procedures to deal with persons who attend their health facilities.

END

Reply:

1. South African Missions abroad provided limited services to South African citizens during lockdown. This included applications for passports and emergency travel certificates for those who wanted to return to South Africa.

2. No contact was made with governments of countries with large expatriate communities of South African citizens because South African citizens abroad were allowed to apply for passports during lockdown.

3. The transportation of applications and official correspondence from South African Diplomatic Missions abroad is done in term of Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961and is done via Diplomatic Bag which is administered by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

4. Yes, the Department is considering the installation of the eHome Affairs and Live Capture System in the Missions abroad in order to reduce the turnaround times for South Africans living abroad. In July 2019, an IT team visited the UK Mission and concluded that before such installation is done a network security review should be conducted by the State Security Agency (SSA) before implementation, in order to prevent vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks and the implementation plan will be finalized during the 2021/2022 financial year.

END

Reply:

(1) The details of the beneficiaries and allocations is attached as Annexure A

Further, the Honourable Member will be aware that the document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly” prohibits Members of Parliament, including Members of the Executive, from providing names of people or companies. 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)”

(2) The status of the accounts is indicated in Annexure B

(3) The status of the accounts in arrears is indicated in Annexure C

(4) The replacement of concrete lining for the E canal (length 2.70 km) where the soil around the canal is very dispersive and often obstructs the canal when rainfall occurs with pipeline is being considered. The repair of flow measurement structures at water delivery points will be addressed through the ongoing rehabilitation of Nzhelele Water Canal.

ANNEXURE A

No.	Customer Type	WU Sector	Registered Volume	Volume MU	Interval Type
1	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	4,317,600.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
2	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	3,902,640.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
3	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
4	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	36,120.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
5	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	87,360.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
6	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
7	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	108,360.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
8	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	215,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
9	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	122,640.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
10	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	80,640.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
11	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	3,651.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
12	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	431,760.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
13	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	719,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
14	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	288,120.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
15	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	612,360.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
16	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	360,360.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
17	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	180,600.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
18	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	2,144,520.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
19	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	1,430,520.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
20	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
21	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	719,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
22	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	3,597,720.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
23	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	719,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
24	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	14,280.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
25	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	237,720.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
26	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	624,120.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
27	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	571,200.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
28	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	1,619,520.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
29	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	466,200.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
30	Company	Industry (Non-Urban)	182,500.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
31	Company	Industry (Non-Urban)	189,000.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
32	Company	Industry (Non-Urban)	3,650.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
33	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	201,600.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
34	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	57,960.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
35	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	86,520.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
36	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	648,480.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
37	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	580,440.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
38	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	719,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
39	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	71,400.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
40	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
41	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	66,360.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
42	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	504,000.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
43	Individual	Agriculture: Irrigation	461,160.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
44	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	1,186,920.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
45	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	1,070,160.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
46	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	176,400.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
47	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	180,600.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
48	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	215,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
49	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	336,000.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
50	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	504,000.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
51	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
52	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	1,187,760.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
53	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	72,240.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
54	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	50,400.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
55	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	57,960.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
56	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	126,000.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
57	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	431,760.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
58	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	153,400.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year
59	Company	Agriculture: Irrigation	215,880.00	Cubic Metres	Per Year

ANNEXURE B

	BP Type	30+ Days	60+ Days	90+ Days	120+ Days	150+ Days	180+ Days	Total
	Company	-	-	-	- 2,986.37	-	-	- 2,986.37
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	27.60	-	-	- 32,673.14	-	-	- 32,645.54
	Company	718.61	-	359.30	33,951.44	-	- 3,021.04	32,008.31
	Company	-	-	-	0.45	-	-	0.45
	Company	164.05	-	82.03	14,144.17	-	-	14,390.25
	Company	-	-	-	- 968.12	-	968.12	-
	Individual	2,504.05	-	1,252.02	38,406.81	-	219,123.06	261,285.94
	Individual	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Individual	12,997.23	-	6,498.60	205,154.72	-	1,201,862.90	1,426,513.45
	Company	16,823.39	-	8,560.52	324,481.32	-	1,343,869.73	1,693,734.96
	Company	6,147.03	-	3,127.59	115,679.11	-	495,568.80	620,522.53
	Company	8,432.73	-	4,290.87	162,451.34	-	673,679.88	848,854.82
	Company	1,628.63	-	827.47	33,401.07	-	127,006.20	162,863.37
	Company	50,118.15	-	25,176.02	693,156.36	-	3,826,074.30	4,594,524.83
	Company	81,048.01	-	41,266.44	1,626,484.69	-	6,354,486.23	8,103,285.37
	Company	20,379.57	-	10,343.64	334,519.49	-	1,638,799.85	2,004,042.55
	Company	4,610.61	-	2,305.32	102,541.76	-	329,411.81	438,869.50
	Company	19,824.05	-	9,912.02	280,137.91	-	1,874,860.81	2,184,734.79
	Company	44,646.13	-	22,323.07	729,356.92	-	3,124,191.93	3,920,518.05
	Company	101,379.04	32,488.69	28,349.17	51,585.90	8,664.64	463,720.23	686,187.67
	Company	741.39	-	370.70	30,025.38	-	- 91,791.17	- 60,653.70
	Individual	14,479.56	-	7,239.78	273,654.30	-	1,157,180.89	1,452,554.53
	Company	2,755.19	-	1,377.65	31,273.11	-	283,852.64	319,258.59
	Company	10,833.99	-	5,417.00	113,544.15	-	1,130,532.39	1,260,327.53
	Individual	3,470.47	-	1,735.21	44,216.71	-	438,707.39	488,129.78
	Individual	14,739.02	-	7,369.51	83,441.25	-	1,868,118.97	1,973,668.75
	Individual	1,035.81	-	517.90	27,860.29	-	66,319.89	95,733.89
	Individual	16,525.18	-	8,262.58	229,294.95	-	1,586,307.39	1,840,390.10
	Company	7,830.50	-	3,915.25	415,801.96	-	314,324.53	741,872.24
	Company	193.69	-	116.77	20,019.17	-	-	20,329.63
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	127.45	-	82.77	14,190.05	-	-	14,400.27
	Individual (I)	520.40	-	260.21	7,514.83	-	46,090.25	54,385.69
	Company	1,734,563.96	-	-	-	-	-	1,734,563.96
	Company	29,946.91	-	14,973.46	2,581,874.50	-	-	2,626,794.87
	Individual	36.91	-	18.44	691.82	-	3,026.83	3,774.00
	Company	1,972.15	-	986.09	33,365.49	-	163,750.62	200,074.35
	Company	25,247.35	-	12,623.70	521,175.36	-	1,944,691.78	2,503,738.19
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Company	12,127.11	-	6,063.54	209,014.96	-	992,889.57	1,220,095.18
	Company	4,801.79	-	2,400.92	95,994.37	-	363,046.40	466,243.48
	Company	3,393.55	-	1,696.75	68,241.16	-	256,096.63	329,428.09
	Individual	15,852.86	-	7,926.44	168,519.86	-	1,704,002.34	1,896,301.50
	Individual	35,585.32	-	17,792.63	405,605.78	-	3,841,617.95	4,300,601.68
Total Outstanding		2,308,229.44	32,488.69	265,821.38	10,084,145.28	8,664.64	37,739,368.10	50,438,717.53

 

ANNEXURE C

	30+ Days	60+ Days	90+ Days	120+ Days	150+ Days	180+ Days	Total
	-	-	-	2,986.37	-	-	2,986.37
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	27.60	-	-	32,673.14	-	-	32,645.54
	718.61	-	359.30	33,951.44	-	- 3,021.04	32,008.31
	-	-	-	0.45	-	-	0.45
	164.05	-	82.03	14,144.17	-	-	14,390.25
	-	-	-	968.12	-	968.12	-
	2,504.05	-	1,252.02	38,406.81	-	219,123.06	261,285.94
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	12,997.23	-	6,498.60	205,154.72	-	1,201,862.90	1,426,513.45
	16,823.39	-	8,560.52	324,481.32	-	1,343,869.73	1,693,734.96
	6,147.03	-	3,127.59	115,679.11	-	495,568.80	620,522.53
	8,432.73	-	4,290.87	162,451.34	-	673,679.88	848,854.82
	1,628.63	-	827.47	33,401.07	-	127,006.20	162,863.37
	50,118.15	-	25,176.02	693,156.36	-	3,826,074.30	4,594,524.83
	81,048.01	-	41,266.44	1,626,484.69	-	6,354,486.23	8,103,285.37
	20,379.57	-	10,343.64	334,519.49	-	1,638,799.85	2,004,042.55
	4,610.61	-	2,305.32	102,541.76	-	329,411.81	438,869.50
	19,824.05	-	9,912.02	280,137.91	-	1,874,860.81	2,184,734.79
	44,646.13	-	22,323.07	729,356.92	-	3,124,191.93	3,920,518.05
	101,379.04	32,488.69	28,349.17	51,585.90	8,664.64	463,720.23	686,187.67
	741.39	-	370.70	30,025.38	-	- 91,791.17	- 60,653.70
	14,479.56	-	7,239.78	273,654.30	-	1,157,180.89	1,452,554.53
	2,755.19	-	1,377.65	31,273.11	-	283,852.64	319,258.59
	10,833.99	-	5,417.00	113,544.15	-	1,130,532.39	1,260,327.53
	3,470.47	-	1,735.21	44,216.71	-	438,707.39	488,129.78
	14,739.02	-	7,369.51	83,441.25	-	1,868,118.97	1,973,668.75
	1,035.81	-	517.90	27,860.29	-	66,319.89	95,733.89
	16,525.18	-	8,262.58	229,294.95	-	1,586,307.39	1,840,390.10
	7,830.50	-	3,915.25	415,801.96	-	314,324.53	741,872.24
	193.69	-	116.77	20,019.17	-	-	20,329.63
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	127.45	-	82.77	14,190.05	-	-	14,400.27
	520.40	-	260.21	7,514.83	-	46,090.25	54,385.69
	1,734,563.96	-	-	-	-	-	1,734,563.96
	29,946.91	-	14,973.46	2,581,874.50	-	-	2,626,794.87
	36.91	-	18.44	691.82	-	3,026.83	3,774.00
	1,972.15	-	986.09	33,365.49	-	163,750.62	200,074.35
	25,247.35	-	12,623.70	521,175.36	-	1,944,691.78	2,503,738.19
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	12,127.11	-	6,063.54	209,014.96	-	992,889.57	1,220,095.18
	4,801.79	-	2,400.92	95,994.37	-	363,046.40	466,243.48
	3,393.55	-	1,696.75	68,241.16	-	256,096.63	329,428.09
	15,852.86	-	7,926.44	168,519.86	-	1,704,002.34	1,896,301.50
	35,585.32	-	17,792.63	405,605.78	-	3,841,617.95	4,300,601.68
Total Outstanding	2,308,229.44	32,488.69	265,821.38	10,084,145.28	8,664.64	37,739,368.10	50,438,717.53

Reply:

It is correct that passport holders of Israel are not required to be in possession of port of entry visas for holiday and business visits. This decision was, however, not taken by the Minister of Home Affairs, but by Cabinet. The decision and the countries who benefitted from the decision is documented in Cabinet Memorandum number 8 of 1992, dated 23 April 1992. In so far as Palestine is concerned, the Minister of Home Affairs has already approved a submission seeking a waiver of visa requirements for diplomatic and official/service passport holders. Currently the necessary protocols are being applied in order to conclude a reciprocal visa waiver agreement between the two countries. In so far as normal passport holders are concerned, the Department of Home Affairs is exploring ways in which to lower the restrictive travel measures which applies to Palestine nationals. The latter process is more extensive and requires wider consultation which is not the case with diplomatic and official/service passport holders

END

Reply:

a) The department is finalising the Upstream Petroleum Bill to further augment the regulations governing the oil and gas sector.

b) As per the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019), South Africa continues to pursue a diversified energy mix that reduces reliance on a single or a few primary energy sources. Natural Gas forms part of the country’s energy mix.

Reply:

 

The Department investigated the complaints. The outcomes of the investigation were that Khwezela Colliery air blast and ground vibration exceeded the limits of 125dB and 5mm per second, respectively.  

The Department issued Khwezela colliery with instruction to comply with the air blast limit of 115 dB and ground vibration limit 5 mm per second. Secondly, colliery was instructed to conduct a follow up structural survey on all the affected houses in proximity of the mine, determine if the damages to the houses were caused by blasting from the mine and fix all the houses that were damaged due to mine blasts. The mine must also review their blast design to ensure that they are able to comply with the air blast and ground vibration limits. The mine was also issued with an instruction to reduce the dust levels that were emanating from the dragline.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation is unable to provide the total amount spent on water tankers and bulk infrastructure in Umzinyathi in eThekwini since 2010 as this falls within the responsibility of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

The Honourable Member is therefore advised to address the question to my colleague, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), as that Department is responsible for the oversight of municipalities.    

Honourable Member, it is important to distinguish the functions of various government departments and the different spheres of government when it comes to access to water and sanitation services.

• The Department of Water and Sanitation is the custodian of water and in terms of the National Water Act is responsible for ensuring that water as a resource is allocated equitably and used beneficially in the public interest, while promoting environmental values.
• Schedule 4B of the Constitution places the function of provision of water services to local government (municipalities).
• Section 154 of the Constitution places a responsibility on national and provincial government to support and regulate local government in carrying out this mandate.
• Section 3 of the Water Services Act outlines the right of access to basic water supply and sanitation which mandates that “everyone has a right of access to basic water supply and basic sanitation” and places the responsibility on Water Services Authorities to ensure that they develop a Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) to ensure the realisation of this right.
• Section 4 of the Water Services Act sets conditions for the provision of water services.
• Section 9 of the Water Services Act prescribes that the Minister may from time to time develop compulsory national norms and standards for water services which outline the exact levels of services that municipalities must provide.
• Section 10 of the Water Services Act provides norms and standards for setting tariffs for the provision of water services.
• Section 11 of the Water Services Act mandates that “every Water Services Authority has the duty to all consumers or potential consumers in its area of jurisdiction to progressively ensure efficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water services.”
• Section 84(1) d of the Municipal Structures Act mandates that municipalities are responsible for the provision of potable water and domestic waste water disposal systems.

Reply:

a) Employee Wellness programmes dealing with Gender Based Violence and Femicide implemented.

(i) Counselling services for employees and their immediate families offered

(ii) Awareness campaigns conducted throughout the provinces.

b) Men’s forum established as an agent of change and capacity awareness programmes for men implemented on combating GBV and Femicide conducted throughout the Provinces issues including sexual harassment in the workplace.

c) Officials have been vetted within the Department but not against the National Register of Sex Offenders.

END

Reply:

The matter raised by the Honourable Member falls within the ambit of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

The Honourable Member is therefore advised to address the question to my colleague, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), as that Department is responsible for oversight over municipalities.

Honourable Member, it is important to distinguish the functions of various government departments and the different spheres of government when it comes to access to water and sanitation services.

• The Department of Water and Sanitation is the custodian of water and in terms of the National Water Act is responsible for ensuring that water as a resource is allocated equitably and used beneficially in the public interest, while promoting environmental values.
• Schedule 4B of the Constitution places the function of provision of water services to local government (municipalities).
• Section 154 of the Constitution places a responsibility on national and provincial government to support and regulate local government in carrying out this mandate.
• Section 3 of the Water Services Act outlines the right of access to basic water supply and sanitation which mandates that “everyone has a right of access to basic water supply and basic sanitation” and places the responsibility on Water Services Authorities to ensure that they develop a Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) to ensure the realisation of this right.
• Section 4 of the Water Services Act sets conditions for the provision of water services.
• Section 9 of the Water Services Act prescribes that the Minister may from time to time develop compulsory national norms and standards for water services which outline the exact levels of services that municipalities must provide.
• Section 10 of the Water Services Act provides norms and standards for setting tariffs for the provision of water services.
• Section 11 of the Water Services Act mandates that “every Water Services Authority has the duty to all consumers or potential consumers in its area of jurisdiction to progressively ensure efficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water services.”
• Section 84(1) d of the Municipal Structures Act mandates that municipalities are responsible for the provision of potable water and domestic waste water disposal systems.

Reply:

1. (a) Project Kuyasa is in the final stages of consolidating and updating the database on statistics on the work of the Commission including the determination and confirmation of the hectares claim on number of outstanding claims lodged.

(b)

Province	Hectares transferred
Eastern Cape	18 811
Free Sate	60 828
Northern Cape	633 791
Gauteng	6 191
North West	507 475
KwaZulu-Natal	504 391
Limpopo	558 650
Mpumalanga	346 220
Western Cape	10 832
TOTAL	2 647 189

2. (a) 2.6 million hectares

(b) Attached as Annexure A

END

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

(a)(i)

PROVINCE	TOTAL FINALISED
E CAPE	17,663
F STATE	3,278
GAUTENG	11,323
KZN	1,243
LIMPOPO	4,485
MPLANGA	2,999
N CAPE	3,193
N WEST	2,216
W CAPE	17,070
TOTAL	64,422

(ii) 359 cases are in court

(b) Lists attached per Province

(c) Refer to each Provincial list where the year that each case has been in court is captured.

 

END

Reply:

a) 140

(b) (c) Attached as Annexure A

Reply:

(1) (a) Yes

(b) The Public Service Regulations in this regard came into effect in August 2016. It should further be noted that the approval is only valid for a period of one year from date of approval. Below are the current valid cases:

(i) Number of Staff Members (25)	(ii) Job or work categories are the specified staff members employed
11	Economic Cluster
1	Human Resources
1	Security Management
11	Financial Cluster
1	Information Technology

(2) Approval was granted to all employees doing other remunerative work outside public service.

a) National Treasury is guided by the provisions of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 and associated procedures

b) All cases are sent to the Director-General for consideration and approval

c) No contraventions were identified following an investigation of such cases

d) There were no transgressors

Reply:

I presume that the Honourable Member is referring to the R200 billion Loan Guarantee Scheme (LGS), which is 40 per cent of the broader government-led R500 billion package that was announced by the President on 20 April 2020.

Firstly, there is no shortfall, or grant or loan, that any business is entitled to receive directly from the R200 billion scheme. Since it was introduced on 4 May 2020, the purpose of the loan guarantee scheme was to assist financially distressed businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As stated in my response to a previous Parliamentary Question, No 1346 [NW1716E] on 24 August 2020, National Treasury entered into a partnership with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the Banking Association South Africa, to launch the Covid-19 loan guarantee scheme on May 2020, to make it easier for banks to lend more than they normally would have, to small businesses during the lockdown, to assist them in their efforts to survive the pandemic. When the scheme launched, it applied to small businesses with a turnover below R300 million. On 27 July 2020, the scheme was improved and this turnover limit was abolished and replaced with a maximum loan R100 million per loan to qualifying businesses. Banks were to fund such loans from their own funds, using their own balance sheets. Government would only pay from the fiscus if these small businesses defaulted on their payments to their bank, and only after the bank had taken the initial losses, as follows:

• First loss is absorbed by the lending bank, 2% on each Covid-19 guaranteed loan;
• Second loss is indirectly absorbed by the lending bank – there is a guarantee fee with the SARB of 0.5%;
• Third loss is also absorbed by the lending bank to a maximum of 6% of the Covid-19 guaranteed loans; and
• Fourth loss is the guarantee provided, to be paid by Government.

As of February 2021, banks had provided R17.8 billion in relief to 13 173 approved beneficiaries. It should be noted that the actual take-up was lower than initially expected, as the demand for such loans was low, possibly because many small businesses were reluctant to take up additional debt, given the uncertainty around how long the pandemic would last. Companies may not want to re-invest and borrow more until they feel more confident about the future strength of the economy. In addition, even before the loan guarantee scheme took effect, many banks took their own initiatives to assist their customers, by allowing for payment holidays and other forms of forbearance, which provided significantly more relief than the loan guarantee scheme.

It is important to note that the National Treasury and the SARB never intended for the guarantee to be called in full, and expected only a relatively small portion of the R200 billion to be paid. Any call on the guarantee would impact negatively on our fiscal framework and our efforts to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio. As such, any underutilized portion of the scheme cannot be regarded as a “shortfall” nor should there be any expectation that it can be used to fund other programmes, as it would effectively increase such debt-to-GDP.

There is regular information on the take-up of the loan guarantee scheme, which is published in Treasury documents like the 2021 Budget Review, as well as on the website of the Banking Association South Africa at https://www.banking.org.za/news/jan-loan-scheme-update/ .

Reply:

In 2020 the PCHEST received a complaint from NEHAWU and some NSFAS employees about alleged maladministration at NSFAS. The issues related in the main to the following broad categories:

1.      Changes in Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan
2.      Failures in Corporate Governance and PFMA Principles
3.       Supply Chain Management Processes:

• Appointment of consultants
• Procurement of laptops for students

      4. Human Resources Processes:

(i)   Appointment of Advisors and their benefits

(ii)  Appointment of other employees

(iii) Purged employees and disciplinary action against employees

The PCHEST was on the verge of instituting an enquiry into NSFAS as the result of these allegations. The envisaged enquiry coincided with the appointment of the new Board.  The new Board, therefore, requested PCHEST to afford it the opportunity to conduct its own review into these matters, PCHEST acceded to the Board’s request. The Board opted to appoint independent experts to conduct this review, the experts included an accounting firm and a legal firm, to ensure objectivity of the process. Part of the review included the reviewing of underlying records and also included deposing affidavits of either those that were named in the allegations or those that made the allegations to ensure that the process was fair and transparent.

Reply:

Please note that the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines is a line function responsibility of the Department of Health. The Department of Health is the sole procurer of Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa on behalf of the public and private sector.

The National Treasury plays an advisory; compliance monitoring; and oversight role in the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Insofar as the role of the National Treasury in this regard is concerned, the NT will ensure that procurement legislation is complied with which includes the appropriate requests and approvals for departures from procurement procedures in line with Treasury Regulation 16A6.4 and SCM Instruction Note 3 of 2016/2017 (Preventing and Combating Abuse in the SCM System).

The National Treasury engages with the Department of Health on an ongoing basis prior and during the vaccine procurement process, particularly in respect of departures from procurement procedures.

The funding and procurement of the vaccines are kept central (through the National Department of Health). This allows for comprehensive central control of procurement, governance and the spending of funds. This approach also minimizes the opportunities for corruption, provides for central record keeping of agreements and centralised contact with manufacturers.

Reply:

Yes, National Treasury has appointed Revenue and Budget Advisors in seven (7) provinces. These advisors have undertaken a baseline assessment on revenue and budget management in municipalities in each of the seven Provinces through a tool called the “Survey Monkey” which is a questionnaire based assessment. The results of the assessments are collated into a support plan for the respective municipality.

a) The following are the main findings impacting on the revenue potential of the municipality:

Covid-19 impact - During the total lockdown some businesses had to close and a large number of customers lost their jobs and did not earn an income, consequently, their ability to honour the municipal account was affected, thus, increasing the consumer debt drastically. As the result unemployment increased and these consumers failed to register as indigent beneficiaries, causing the outstanding debt to increase.

On the municipal operations side:

Effective Credit Control - Although municipalities have Credit Control Policies in place, the ability to implement them efficiently is a challenge. The officials are reluctant to implement the credit control for various unethical benefits and there is no political will to support the implementation thereof. Additionally, municipalities lack of resources to implement the credit control policy effectively.

Bad Debt Write-off – Where the situation warrants a debt write-off, municipalities fail to correct their records timeously especially in cases where there is uncollectable debt due deceased estates and indigent households.

An effective Customer Care strategy is most neglected in municipalities. This unit is not well capacitated and lack the prerequisite skill to manage a “Help Desk” with a proper control over the handling of queries. Subsequently, feedback to the customer regarding their queries are very poor resulting in a very unhappy customer.

Poor Infrastructure (Water and Electricity Networks) - Due to the poor and dilapidated infrastructure, proper credit control cannot be implemented. With poor infrastructure, illegal connections cannot be controlled. The Free Basis Services of the indigent households cannot be monitored and the indigent household cannot be restricted or disconnected when the allocated consumption is exceeded.

Billing System and Inaccurate Billing - Incorrect and inaccurate billing pose a challenge in the municipalities. The communities in the various municipalities are dissatisfied with the municipal bills and public confidence suffers, communities are unwilling to pay for the bills issued and as such, municipal debt gradually accumulates and the municipal collection rates fall.

Illegal Connections is a huge area of concern. A lot of consumers use adverse methods not to pay for the consumption. In some municipalities the technical staff seems to promote illegal connections by bypassing the system for a bribe. This behavior is unacceptable and seriously impacts on the finances of the municipality.

Indigent management – The observation is that most municipalities do have an approved and adopted Indigent policy. Indigents are not properly vetted and several households that can afford to pay for services are benefiting unjustly.

Customer information – Capturing of customer information is a critical task in municipalities. Incorrect information and outdated information makes it difficult to implement credit control when required. Equally, credit checks are not adequately undertaken and municipalities lack the methodology to do credit check for new accounts.

Non-payment Culture - Culture on non-payment for municipal services is throttling the finances. Even customers that can afford to pay are reluctant to pay due to fear that municipal finances will be misappropriated.

b) The first and foremost the responsibility rests with the municipality to self-correct, put in efficient processes and procedures. These are underpinned by adequate policy formulation and oversight responsibilities. This means that governance and leadership is essential and critical to ensure that prudent financial management practices are carry out. This is complimented with well-functioning system as an enabler to bill and collect what is due to the municipality. Proper asset management serves as a conduit for efficient revenue generation in municipalities. Many municipalities underperform on their budgets for repairs and maintenance which is allocated to ensure that their revenue generating infrastructure are optimized thus impacting on a sustainable and reliable delivery of service.

Reply:

OFFICE OF THE MILITARY OMBUD

Ser No	Question	Response
	a.	b.
1.	Mr T C R Walters (DA) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans: 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?	The Office of the Military Ombud is utilising a private security firm. The details wrt the question posed are as follows: a) Name of Security Firm: Wenzile Phaphama Trading and Projects. b) Purpose: A security assessment was done and according to the recommendations received it was essential for the Office to acquire the services of a physical security. c) Value: R854,324,60 d) Duration of Contract. 01 September 2019 – 31 August 2021

ARMSCOR

Yes Armscor SOC Ltd and the R&D Facilities do make use of private security

For the Gauteng area (HQ building, Protechnik and Gerotek)

-Tyeks Security Services

- Guarding services

- R24 886 076.16

- 3 years from 1 October 2020

Westen Cape (IMT building)

- TDP Enterprise and Projects

- Guarding services

- R 3 125 021.76

- 3 years from 1 November 2020

Northen Cape (Alkanpan test range)

- Bomogale Enterprise (Pty) Ltd

- Guarding services

- R11 088 255.20

- 3 years from 1 October 2020

CASTLE CONTROL BOARD

The Castle Control Board (CCB) does not utilise private security.

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY VETERANS

Curretly the Department of Military Veterans is not making use of the private security firm. The DMV Head Office is guarded by the SANDF Reserve Force members with effect from 01 April 2020 to date as a temporary measure. The landlords provide security services for Provincial Offices.

The department has commenced with the process of procuring the Private Security Service Provider for the DMV Head Office.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

The Department of Defence is house within ARMSCOR and all security needs of the Department are taken care of by ARMSCOR.

DEFENCE FORCE SERVICE COMMISSION

The Defence Force Service Commission does not make use of a private security company.

Reply:

The Electronic Vaccination System is built to be agile and responsive to the Vaccine Roll-out programme within the principles of inclusion – the system should not be excluding anyone that wants to be vaccinated. The registration system for beneficiaries is built to respond to the phases of the Vaccine Rollout programme and the sequencing of the population within the phases.

The enormity and importance of the vaccination programme requires that the administration of vaccines be appropriately captured and monitored. The Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS) has been developed to capture vaccination events digitally and provide data to its data analytics platform to monitor and report on vaccinations.

The EVDS, which is a web-based application accessible through multiple devices, including mobile and desktop devices, is critical to the success of the vaccine roll-out programme. It should be noted that although digital systems will be used and all vaccinations will be digitally recorded, those without access to digital technology must not and will not be excluded. All steps of the vaccination process will also be available through walk-in services where members of the public will be assisted for registration.

To streamline the vaccination, process a vaccination beneficiary register is required. A pre-vaccination registration functionality forms part of the EVDS., This pre-registration component of the EVDS is providing the public with two options for registration, i.e Self-Registration and Assisted Registration:

• The Self Registration will require the members of the Public as identified per phase and sequencing to log into a web portal and register themselves;

• For those members of the public that do not have the means and ability to do self-registration, the function of assisted registration will be made available in walk in centres and at vaccination sites.

END.

Reply:

The laboratory assessments indicate that the variant is more prevalent, now. The prevalence of the variant grew from 11% in October 2020 to 98% in February 2021.

a) The prevalence of the variant is consistent across all provinces sampled, KZN (>95%), EC (>95%), WC (>95%), NC (>90%), GP (>80%). Reports from neighbouring countries suggest that the prevalence of the variant is similar to South Africa.

b) (i) number of infections with the 501Y.V2 variant will be similar to the number of infections in the population, given that the variant has a prevalence > 90%.

(ii) There is no evidence to suggest that the variant is more deadly than the previous lineage. It is more transmissible hence more people are infected. Even though the proportion of people hospitalised (compared to being infected) has not changed - the number of hospitalisations and deaths has been higher due to a greater number of people being infected. There has been no reported difference in the clinical response to usual treatment.

The graph below provides the temporal emergence of the 501Y.V2 (B.1.351) variant

 

Table 1: The temporal emergence of 501Y.V2 (B.1.351) variant in SA over time

END.

Reply:

(1) Since the move to alert level 3 public transport operators operating shorter trips were allowed to carry 100% of the loading capacity of their vehicles whereas for longer trips the permissible loading capacity remained at 70%. These relaxations were coupled with other mitigating factors such as the mandatory wearing of masks and allowing for ventilation. To this end there has been no indication that public transport has been the main contributor in the spread of the virus. This, therefore, implies that measures put in place when the carrying capacity restrictions were relaxed yielded positive results.

(2) The fact that public transport has thus far not been detected as the main contributor to the spread of the virus, is to a large extent proof that operators are generally complying with specified regulations.

 

Reply:

1 (a) (i) SANRAL was not involved in selecting the site.

1 (a) (ii) SANRAL appointed service provider VEA Roads was responsible for selecting this site and entered into the lease agreement.

1 (b) Minimum lease period is 36 months with monthly lease of R20,000 per month.

2 (a) No operations conducted by SANRAL from 266 Harley Rd Blackheath, Johannesburg.

2 (b) No operations conducted by entities reporting to SANRAL from 266 Harley Rd Blackheath, Johannesburg.

SANRAL has no position in terms of operations form 266 Harley Rd Blackheath.

3 (a) According to SANRAL records the registered owner of the property is not employed by SANRAL and/or entities/Department of Transport

3 (b) (c)(d) Falls way

Reply:

In response to a request made by the Honourable Member under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the Honourable Member was informed in 2020 that the meeting was a verbal meeting and no minutes were recorded.

Reply:

I have been advised by the SAPO as follows:

1. Acting Group Executive Sales/Commercial

2. (a) In terms of the Board approved Generic Delegation of Authority, Group Executives (EXCO members) have the authority to sign off contractual agreements on behalf of SAPO, depending on the value, nature, complexity and type of contract and delegation of Authority or sub-delegation of authority (if permitted).

(b) See reply (a) above in as far as it relates to contract/s. It further depends on the nature, type etc and exigency of the appointment of the official representatives and in which capacity such official is officially appointed by SA Post Office SOC Ltd.

 

MS. STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Reply:

(a) The university funding guidelines could not be finalized given the uncertainties about the demand for funding and the available budget, which was addressed by Minister Nzimande in his media statement on 8 March 2021. The Bursary Rules and Guidelines policy document, which governs the administration and management of bursaries in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, were distributed to colleges in November 2020.

(b) The funding guidelines for universities for 2021 will be finalised as soon as Cabinet has made a determination in this regard. The Department, in collaboration with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, conducted regional capacity-building workshops for college officials on the revised policy document from November 2020 to December 2020.

(c) The 2021 Guidelines have been kept as close as possible to the 2020 Guidelines.

Reply:

I was not aware of the allegations at the time of the appointment of the person.

I am informed that the relevant internal processes of the political party concerned were followed with respect to these allegations, in line with the law applicable to such complaints by an employee as well as the political party’s policy on sexual harassment, and that this process was concluded.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

1(a) Yes employees on salary levels 4 to 12 performed approved remunerated overtime and standby duty.

1(b) The information is available in the employee’s personal files and it is reported in the annual report.

(i) 51 staff members.

(ii) 11 Deputy Directors.

14 Assistant Directors.

1 Senior Administrative Officer.

1 Supply Chain Management Practitioner.

2 Senior Administration Clerk.

14 Security Officers.

2 Maintenance Officers.

1 Auxiliary Services Practitioner.

3 Human Resources Practitioners.

2 Senior Secretaries.

2(a) The departmental overtime policy provides for 15 hours per week of pre-authorized overtime work. Standby duty is regulated by Public Service Co-ordination Bargaining Chamber (PSCBC) Resolution 3 of 1999 and is also pre-authorized.

2(b) The authority is delegated to the Chief Director: Human Resources.

2(c) No contraventions of both the policy and PSCBC regulations were identified by the Auditor-General and reported to National Treasury.

2(d) No transgressions were identified.

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

(1) (a) Yes, there are employees who have performed remunerative work outside the public service.

(b)   It is through the mandatory disclosure of financial interests, where officials disclose all their financial interests, and information obtained from other governmental structures such as the Public Service Commission, National Treasury database, Department of Public Service and Administration, and Auditor-General.

2015/16 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, eight officials requested approval, seven were approved and one was withdrawn. Five officials did not apply for permission to perform remunerative work outside the public service.

2016/17 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, six officials requested approval and all were approved. Eight officials did not apply for permission to perform remunerative work outside the public service

2017/18 financial cycle: According to departmental records, five officials requested approval, four were approved and one was withdrawn. 

2018/19 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, eight applications were received and all were approved.

2019/20 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, fifteen officials requested approval and all were approved.

2020/21 financial cycle:  There are twenty applications that are being processed.

(i) A total number of 62 applications were received for remunerative work outside public service.

(ii) According to the analysis, most of the applications are related to lecturing in private institutions, invigilation, counselling and some working for their own private businesses.

(2) According to information at the Department's disposal, the majority of employees who perform remunerative work outside the public service do apply for and obtain approval in line with the DPSA determination. However, those who do not apply are subjected to consequence management.
(a) The Department applies the Public Service Act, 1994, the Public Service Regulations, 2016 and its applicable determinations.  Employees can perform other remunerative work provided that they have obtained written permission to do so from the Executive Authority/Accounting Officer, in terms of Section 30 of the Act. If any employee did not obtain written permission to perform other remunerative work, disciplinary action against such an employee will be instituted as consequence management.

(b) According to the Public Service Regulations, the delegated powers are vested with the Director-General of the Department.

(c) No contraventions were brought to the attention of the National Treasury as it is not required; however, all contraventions are reported to the Minister for the Public Service and Administration.

(d) The Department has invoked appropriate disciplinary steps in line with the misconduct provisions of Section 16A (2) of the Public Service Act of 1994.

Reply:

No.	University	Number of students who did not receive degree certificates due to outstanding fees    (period 2010 – 2020)	Fee amount outstanding for these students	System(s) is in place for students to access their results if they are owing resources to the university.
1	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	The current situation is that both the Certificates and Academic Records are released to students even if they owe fees to the University. Management is considering the matter with a view to make representation to Council to review same.	R1 130 000 000.00
2	Central University of Technology	12 985	R1 782 552 433.72	No information provided.
3	Durban University of Technology	5 155	R99 134 074.40	Graduation certificates are withheld for those in arrears. Assistance is provided to those seeking employment and/or access to studies at other institutions by sending an academic transcript (student record) to these institutions directly. Graduates also receive a letter indicating completion of studies.
4	Mangosuthu University of Technology	3 870	R74 678 403.16	No information provided.
5	Mpumalanga University	No response
6	Nelson Mandela University	820	R62 857 952.00	To assist our students in gaining employment, the University has a standard process in place as a concession by providing proof of completion of qualifications directly to potential employers. The students owing the University fees approach the University and provide the University with the contact details of the potential employers.
7	North-West University	766	R18 750 358.17	NWU does not withhold any transcripts and that any person who had studied at the NWU has access to his/her full academic record.
8	Rhodes University	378	R15 246 000.00	Options for payment plans. Students receive a letter of invitation to graduation so that they participate in graduation.  Where prospective employers request, and with the student’s permission, results are sent to the prospective employers. Parchments are released to students owing less than R1 000.
9	Sefako Makgatho University	No response
10	Sol Plaatje University			Since 2016 to 2020, SPU did not withhold any degree certificates and academic transcripts.
11	Stellenbosch University	568	R18 831 981.40	Students with outstanding debt at graduation are allowed to attend the ceremony, but do not receive their degree certificate.  They receive a communique to contact the student fees office to enter into a monthly payment arrangement. Where students are unable to afford a monthly payment arrangement, they are required to sign an acknowledgement of debt form. Once either the monthly payment arrangement or acknowledgement of debt is in place, the official academic transcripts are sent directly to potential employers/other tertiary institutions upon the graduate’s request.
12	Tshwane University of Technology	11 255	R4 401 096 000.00	No Information provided.
13	University of Cape Town	325	R14 077 628.79	Outstanding fees are regulated by Council policy and the Council approved UCT policy is explicit: qualifier students with outstanding balances on their fee account will not receive an academic transcript and will not be permitted to graduate.  At UCT, in cases where a transcript is withheld, and where students so request, UCT issues written confirmation to a prospective employer that the student concerned has met qualification requirements. This provision assists the student in applying for and being considered for a job.
14	University of Fort Hare	5 922	R285 977 088.00	No information provided.
15	University of Johannesburg	7 722	R537 674 000.00	No information provided.
16	University of KwaZulu-Natal	17 840	R868 000 000.00	Every graduate is entitled to an official academic record/transcript on application and an official letter confirming ‘Degree Complete’, again on application and payment of the a fee. On settlement of fees outstanding and the requisite ‘fee clearance’, a graduate can formally request to be issued with their withheld degree/diploma certificate(s).
17	University of Limpopo	10 345	R342 579 200.45	All students are allowed to attend their graduation ceremonies. They are also provided with a transcript of academic record for free, and the University does confirm with a potential employer that the affected student has complied with the requirements for a particular qualification. Each student is expected to make a payment plan with the University. The certificate is released upon full settlement of the debt.
18	University of Pretoria	1 092	R34 872 944.53	It should also be noted that the University has and will make available official transcripts, at the request of a student, to a potential employer so as not to prevent gainful employment of University graduates. PS: It should be noted that 1 597 students who owe the University a total amount of R29 898 160.68 received their official transcripts and qualification documents as they have entered into payment plans with the University.
19	University of South Africa	No response
20	University of the Free State	4 023	R64 968 521.11	Students who owe fees may request their academic records from the Deputy Registrar: Student Academic Services. There is a process in place to assist these students by sending the relevant documents directly to their potential employer or educational institution.
21	University of the Western Cape	No response
22	University of the Witwatersrand	3 426	R224 320 052.50	It should be noted that students who have fees outstanding can request their official academic transcript reflecting their results and degree completion. The transcript does indicate that there is an outstanding amount owed to the University. We do however assist students with a letter to confirm that their conduct was satisfactory if they have a debt outstanding should they require this for work purposes. Students who have not graduated are also assisted with letters confirming the completion of their degree for work purposes. Students who can bring the total amount of their debt down to an amount of R15 000 can sign an Acknowledgement of Debt, which enables them to graduate.
23	University of Venda	1 405	R42 592 027.82	Students can view their results on the students’ portal but certificates are withheld.
24	University of Zululand	5 450	R83 227 792.00	Students are furnished with a letter confirming that they have graduated but due to outstanding fees, their certificates have not been issued, which they may furnish to external parties.
25	Vaal University of Technology	3 402	R118 873 105.00	No information provided.
26	Walter Sisulu University	20 088	R526 000 000.00	No information provided.
Total	106 494	R10 403 730 362.60

 

The submission is based on responses received from 21 universities as at 8 March 2021.

Reply:

The Department has advised me as follows:

(1)(a) Yes

(b) By completion and submission of application of approval for Other Remunerative Work and financial disclosures on an annual basis

(i) It differs each year based on the number of applications received each year. (refer to the table below developed from the actual applications and disclosures).

(ii) It differs each year based on the applications received and disclosures made. (refer to the table below developed from the actual applications and disclosures).

Table 1: This table provides the employees that have applied for and disclosed their other remunerative work performed in the past five years:

No	Level	Other Remunerative Work approved and disclosed in the financial disclosures
		2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	2016/17	2016/15
	Chief Director	2	3	3	3	1
	Director	5	1	4	3	5
	Deputy Director	2	2	2	2	1
	Assistant Director	2	2	1	1	1
	Other lower levels	1	1	1	3	1

(2)   Yes

(a) The policy is in line with the Public Service Act section 30 and Public Service Regulations 2016. The Financial Disclosures Policy further requires employees that are required to complete financial disclosures to disclose any other remunerative work performed. In line with the policies and legislation including section 195 of the RSA Constitution, employees are made aware that they have to complete the relevant forms to request permission to perform other remunerative work, disclose any other remunerative work in their financial disclosures and to ensure:

• The Work of the Department is prioritised (comes first);
• They cannot use the Department’s resources to conduct the other remunerative work;
• They are prohibited from doing business with an organ of state (Regulation 13(c) of the Public Service Regulations 2016; and
• They cannot perform the work during office hours.

(b) There are different levels where they are considered such as:

1. Supervisor: - to consider if the work will not interfere with the employee’s Departmental duties and recommend for approval;
2. Ethics Officer: - to ensure the correctness of the form and compliance with the relevant legislation and policies; and
3. Executive Authority or Delegated Authority: - Approval.

(c) None

(d) N/A

MS. STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Reply:

a) The Ministers of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and Communications and Digital Technologies met on 30 March 2020 and agreed on the importance of data for students and established a Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on zero-rating to advise the Ministers on the implementation of affordable access to data for education and training purposes over the short, medium and long term.

The two Ministers also met with all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on the urgent implementation of zero-rating and data bundles. 

b) The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies also published the government's call for telecommunication companies to provide free access to educational websites to support online teaching and learning. According to Section 9.1 of the Electronic Communications, Postal and Broadcasting Directions issued under Regulation 10(8) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (Government Notice No 417 of 26 March 2020), “electronic communications service licensees must provide zero-rated access to local educational content websites”.

The Department of Higher Education and Training has adopted a hybrid approach combining zero-rating and “educational data bundles”.  The Departments of Higher Education and Training, and Communications and Digital Technologies, concluded the negotiation on the standardisation of data pricing and conditions with MNOs early in April 2020. Students across the board made use of these offers through their institutions. 

The November 2020 report received from universities shows that data bundle provision to students remains high across the system. The average across the system for all undergraduate students is 94%. Some of the reasons for lower than 100% deployment at some institutions include students not submitting their cell phone numbers; incorrect cell phone numbers submitted; no device to connect with; no connectivity; and service provider glitches; including some SIM-cards being blocked for various reasons.

Nationally only 10% of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges have access to data. Data for NSFAS funded TVET students will only become effective when devices are made available to students in 2021.

The zero-rating of Departmental and public institutions’ websites is 97% completed. This is following directions issued under Regulation 10(8) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (Government Notice No 417 of 26 March 2020). Service providers providing zero-rating include Electronic Communications Service Licensees (Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers).

As of 1 June 2020, private higher education institutions and colleges, and private publishers’ websites were also implemented. The full list of websites that have been zero-rated has been published on the individual institutional and Departmental websites.

Reply:

(a) The cleaning services allocation of R45.7 million is for the 2021/22 financial year, which is effective from 1 April 2021. The appointment of service providers will be done by each Community Education and Training (CET) college following their supply chain management policies and processes for procurement. The cleaning services are for Community Learning Centres and Satellite Centres that fall under each CET college.

(b) (i) Each CET college will appoint a service provider in the 2021/22 financial. The first tranche of funds, i.e. 25%, will be transferred to CET colleges in April 2021.

(b) (ii) The colleges will contract the services for a period of 12 months, i.e. April 2021 to March 2022, as the funds are for the 2021/22 financial year. There are preliminary funding allocated for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years amounting to R54.5 million and R51.2 million, respectively.

Reply:

Armscor disclosed an amount of R585 000 relating to penalties in the 2019/20 Annual Report. Of this amount R 190 000 was relating to the 2019/20 financial period and R395 000 to the 2018/19 financial period.

These penalties were levied on Armscor’s facilities (Protechnik, Flamengro and Ergotech) in the execution of work for the Department of Defence where services/products were delivered late and were therefore penalised. Late deliveries occured due to a lack of of capacity due to resignations as well as technical dificulties experienced.

The services rendered were in relation to :

• Non enginerring work on the upgrade of the SANDF’s mobile defence laboratory technology demonstrator ;
• Increasing the range of current artillery systems in the SANDF ;
• Development and testing of sample body armour sizes for SANDF males and females.

The reasons for all penalties levied were investigated and the appropriate corrective actions taken in terms of Armscor’s disciplinary processes.

Reply:

(a)  NSFAS is expecting the first batch of laptops to arrive on 18 April 2021. 

(b)  Distribution to students who have opted to participate in the digital learning device scheme will commence once institutions have confirmed registration data of students with NSFAS.

(c)  All universities have developed multimodal teaching and learning plans and are putting in place several measures to support students.

Reply:

(a) The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements has indicated that the Dodoma Avenue Housing Development forms part of a sub-phase of the broader Kennedy Road Housing Project. The project consist of 45 units. Currently, all 45 units are at roof level.

(b)(i) The unforeseen reasons for the delay of the construction programme by a further 12 months include the following:

• objections received from ratepayers in the surrounding area;
• disputes over labour rates resulting in work stoppages;
• social challenges from adjacent informal settlements;
• Covid-19 impact, and
• Geotechnical constraints.

(ii) to (v) I am constrained and prohibited by the document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly” from providing the Honourable Member with the names of the primary contractor, the sub-contractors, site engineer, and the design architect 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)”

(vi) I am informed that the original budget for the implementation of the project was R 14 613 997, 57.

(vii) The cost incurred to date is R 10 440 174, 08 and the beneficiary handover will take place on a phased basis on completion of sections of the project, which will be completed by July 2021.

(viii) The additional cost of approximately R2 000 000 was incurred due to the following:

• • the need for stabilizing work, retaining structures as recommended by an independent assessment of soil conditions;
  • additional time related costs and remedial works due to stoppages and invasions of completed housing units, and
  • additional assessments due to claims of ancestral graves at the Dodoma Avenue site.

 

 

Reply:

1. For the 2019/2020 financial year, Armscor incurred R44 296 000 for consultants and professional fees. The fees incurred were in relation operational expenditure for the following reasons:

• Contractor services related to building maintanance (electric, pest weed and pollution), security services, infrastructure upgrade project (to upgrade facility to comply with DPWI requirements for the rental of facility on the behalf of the DOD), ICT related services (normal course of business services of equipment and ICT software), expertise for the implementation of integrated reporting and cleaning services

• Expert services required for statutory audit , ie. valuation of properties, actuarial valuation of Armscor’s post retirement medical liability,

• Facility accreditaitons, which are required for facilities to operate and generate revenue

2. Armscor last paid Fever Tree during the 2018/2019 financial year, and no payment was made to Fever Tree during the 2019/2020 financial year.

Reply:

(a) There is a process underway to review the provisions of the Act.

(b) The last meeting was held on 13th October 2020 with the Deputy Minister.

Reply:

I have been informed by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans that the donation of personal protective equipment to Cuba was coordinated by the former South African Ambassador to Cuba, Amb Phatse Justice Piitso.

It was through his interactions with the Cuban Mission in South Africa that the former Ambassador got to know about the flight organised by the SANDF to collect its members and to carry personal supplies to SANDF members and South African medical students training and studying in Cuba. The arrangement was between the Embassy of Cuba and the donor.

This arrangement was made under the exceptional circumstances resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, which included limitations on commercial air travel.

This service would not be available to private organisations and individuals under normal circumstances.

Reply:

(a) Yes, the Department of Cooperative Governance makes use of use of private security firms

(b) N/A

(i)	(ii)	(iii)	(iv)
Wenzile Phaphama Security Services	Security Services for provision of 24/7 guarding services in five Departmental buildings.	R 33 769 546,72	3 years (1 June 2018-31 May 2021)
Delco Distributors	Provides rented security equipment such walkthrough metal detectors and X-ray machine in four Departmental buildings	R 385 825,20	12 months (1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021)

Reply:

Annually, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) identifies and classifies schools according to the support required. Differentiated support plans are developed based on the identified needs of the school which include training of teachers, extra lessons and resources for learners such as study guides, regular oversight and monitoring visits by Districts, the Province and the DBE. 

Provinces are also required to submit such support and intervention plans as well as quarterly reports to the DBE for monitoring purposes to ensure turn-around strategies are implemented and are yielding results.  

Reply:

The question has been referred to the Mpumalanga Department of Education and a response will be submitted as soon as it is received.

Reply:

a) For the office accommodation the Department of Basic Education has signed a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement for its head office. The agreement provides security as part of the services provided.

1. Sethekgo Private Party,
2. The Private Party security services are provided for the securing of the perimeter, CCTV monitoring and access control to the building,
3. The Department pays a single unitary fee to the Private Party,
4. The PPP agreement is for a 25 year period. 

           

   For the Administrator at the North West Provincial Education Department the response is as follows:

                   i)  Wise Training Centre.

                   ii) To provide protection for the Administrator as an intervention due to the

North West Province which was placed under Administration, Section100 (1) (b).

                   iii) R206 906.00

                   iv) 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021.

(b) Umalusi:

    (i) Rise Security Services (PTY) LTD

    (ii) The security company provides perimeter security services, access control to the building as well as emergency reaction unit.

    (iii) Contract value is R3,276,136.00

    (iv) Contract period 01 October 2018 -30 September 2021

(b) SACE 

The South African Council for Educators makes use of a private security company for its Head Office in centurion and for its Limpopo Provincial office makes use of the school security (Tom Naude).

(i) For the SACE Head Office in Centurion WANGIS security services provides the service; (ii) The security contract entered into with the provider is to offer security services by securing of the perimeter and access control for the SACE building. (iii) R 437 400 (iv) The contact is for a 12-month period 

(i) For the SACE Limpopo provincial office – School security (Tom Naude). (ii) The security agreement entered into with the school security is to offer security services by assisting with access control. (iii) R10 000 MONTHLY (iv) The contract is for the duration of our lease agreement 2 years.

Reply:

Learner drop-out statistics are not available at this point. Based on the information provided by the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) during the DG's weekly one-on-one virtual meetings with PEDs, provinces are still collating the drop-out statistics. As they work out drop-out-statistics, PEDs are identifying learners who do not physically come to school, but have not dropped out, because they are learning from home.  These are learners who have comorbidities or other illnesses, as well as those who are in the home education programme.

Reply:

No, the Minister has not been informed that the George Municipality has sold land to developers that was meant for middle-income housing.

In terms of section 9(1)(b) of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013, the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform must monitor compliance with the development principles and norms and standards for the performance of land use management functions.

Reply:

a) There are 751 318 Learners who are in need of Learner Transport nationally; and 616 126 of these learners are being transported, which leaves out 135 192 Learners who are eligible for learner transport and are not benefiting from the service.

b) The reason for not transporting these learners is purely attributed to insufficient funding, as the demand for learner transport exceeds the budget allocated; which result in the exclusion of a number of qualifying learners.

Reply:

1. (a) (b) (c) Breakdown of projects cancelled or postponed during 2020/21 financial year (d) No savings were realised as these projects were stopped or delayed as a result of budget cuts as a result of COVID 19. The budget for these projects was reallocated to address COVID 19 requirements.

2. All those projects that could not be addressed in the 2020/21 financial year will be carried over to 2021/22 MTEF for implementation. The infrastructure budget will be revised to make sure that all other projects that were planned for 2021/22 MTEF are not negatively affected.

 

Province	Projects stopped or delayed
EC	R114m for 17 new and replacement projects, R105m for 15 Upgrades and additions and R9m for 1 refurbishment project.
FS	R120m for 17 upgrades and additions as well as 44 maintenance projects.
GP	R9m for 55 new and replacements, R35m for 47 upgrades and additions, R162 for 168 rehabilitation and refurbishments and R17m for 32 maintenance projects.
KZN	R78m for 22 new and replacement schools and R222m for 400 repairs and renovations projects
LP	R50m for 7 new and replacement projects and R135m for 101 refurbishment and rehabilitation projects.
MP	R56m for 24 new and replacement projects, R48m for 435 maintenance projects and R56m for 249 upgrades and additions
NW	R143m for 24 new and replacement projects and R16m for 4 upgrades and additions
NC	R41m for 51 upgrades and additions and R40m for 22 new and replacements projects
WC	R159m for 200 maintenance projects

SUMMARY                                          1 938 Projects
New and Replacements	168 Projects
Upgrades and additions	388 Projects
Rehabilitation and refurbishment	269 Projects
Repairs and renovations	400 Projects
Maintenance	711 Projects