Questions and Replies

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:

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:

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:

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) 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:

(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:

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) 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:

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:

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:

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:

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

 

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:

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:

(1) During the intervention it was discovered that the Stock Then information Centre was not in place. The following government departments and organisations are represented in the Stock Theft information Centre:
The department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Stock     Theft and Endangered Species Units.
Red Meat Organisations.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Live Stock Farmers, National Agricultural Farmers Union (NAFU).
Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU).

The purpose of the Stock Theft information Centre, is as follows:
The sharing of intelligence between communities and detectives
Providing feedback, with regard to stock theft cases.
Creating community awareness, with regard to relevant legislation, e.g. the Animal Identification Act, the Stock Theft Act and the Meat Safety Act, etc.
Joint visits to livestock and meat disposal points.
Discouraging the community not to mediate serious stock theft court cases.

(2) The SAPS 1s continuously monitoring the stock theft trends and where a similar trend is noticed, various approaches are put in place after analysing the facts. There are currently four task teams operating in identified stock theft hotspots in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, in various districts.

Reply to question 422 recommended

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2021-03-04

Reply to question 422 approved

 

MIISTER OF POLICE
GEERAL BH CELE, MP
Date: 12/03/2021

 

 

 

Reply:

Internal investigations are continuing as they get finalised, the recommendations and direction will be given which path to follow, including the consequence management, if needs be.

Reply to question 305 approved

GENERAL BH CELE, MP
MINISTEROF POLICE
Date: 12/03/2021

Reply:

An allocation of 312 trainees was eamarked to be placed at the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units. To date, a total of 288 of the trainees have been placed at various units and the remaining 24 posts are in the process of been fillad laterally. The FCS was allocated a further 70 posts in Phase 1 of the Post Promotion process, for the 2020/2021 financial year and these post are yet to be filled.

 

Reply:

Yes, the Management of the South African Police Service (SAPS) is aware of the recent, 2021 survey, which was carried out by a statistics website, Numeo.com. The cities identified in the survey, according to the rankings, are as follows:

Pretoria	Number 3
eThekwini (Durban)	Number 4
Johannesburg	Number 5
Pietermaritzburg	Number 7
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)	Number 14
Cape Town	Number 16

It should be noted that the Crime Index is based on surveys from visitors to the website. To generate a current index, data up to 36 months old is used and includes only cities for which there are at least a certain number of contributors.

The table below provides a perspective on the number of participants over a 36 month period:

Pretoria	280
eThekwini (Durban)	240
Johannesburg	676
Pietermaritzburg	81
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)	103
Cape Town	510

Although the content of the survey is noted, the number of participants is indeed marginal if measured against the total population of each of these

The SAPS initiated the Safer Cities Project in collaboration with Strategic stakeholders, such as municipalities and went beyond the above mentioned six cities to also include Emalahleni, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Mangaung and Kimberley.

In the above cities, with the exception of Pietermaritzburg, the initiation process has been concluded, led by the SAPS Management and in some instances by the Minister or Deputy Minister of Police, who engaged with provincial and local government to brief them on the project and agreed on joint mechanisms for the development and implementation of a Safer Cities Project.

The implementation strategy entails the development of project and implementation plans by the provinces, with their respective cities. The city of eThekwini (Durban) has gone beyond the initiation phase and has developed a project plan with an implementation plan.

One of the milestones achieved by the city of eThekwini (Durban) is the establishment of an integrated Fusion Centre, which was launched on 20 November 2020. The other cities are expected to finalise their project plans with implementation plans, in the 2021/2022 financial year. This strategy is being rolled out with the District Development Model, in respect of planning and budgeting for the project.

The objectives of the Safer Cities Project (strategy) are:
A country free of crime and violence.

People feeling safe, within the city or district precinct.

Increased economic growth of the city.

Integrated functional governance system.

Public confidence and trust in the governance of the city/district.

Reply to question 238 recommended/

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2021-03-04

Reply to question 238 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL BH CELE, MP
Date: 12/03/2021

Reply:

The Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) implemented a multimedia communication campaign in respect of COVID-19 aimed at informing citizens and creating awareness about the Pandemic. Various Media Platforms were utilized in order to ensure that all segments of the population are reached. To date the ad spend summary is as per the below table:

GCIS COVID 19 AD SPEND SUMMARY (Media Buying)
PUBLICATION	APPROVED ORDERS (COMMITTED AMOUNT)	INVOICES RECEIVED	COMMITMENTS BALANCE
TV	R22 818 029,00	R18 399 325,50	R4 418 703,50
Radio	R16 893 447,51	R15 090 006,14	R1 803 441,37
Production/Creative Agencies	R 6 000 000,00	R5 915 799,38	R84 200,62
Outdoor	R13 303 730.21	R7 905 850,75	R4 400 879,46
TOTAL	R59 015 206.72	R47 310 981,77	R10 707 224,95

(b) proportion of black-owned advertisement agencies and/or companies were used

• Molibiz - 100% Black owned and 75% black woman owned.
• Cut-2-Black – B-BBEE Status level 1 of contributor.

(c) proportion of the budget that went to black-owned media for

(i) radio

1. Of the R16 893 447.51 spent on Radio, R2 746 592.37 which translates to 17.5% of the total radio budget was spent on black owned media owners/stations.
2. Of the total budget R10 996 477,80 was spent on SABC and on 60 community stations translating to 65% of the total radio budget.

Please see the below table for reference.

RADIO AD SPEND
SUPPLIER	ORDER AMOUNT	% SHARE	BEE STATUS
Mediamark (Igagasi FM, Kaya FM,	R1 268 185,38	7.5%	All 3 stations are 100% black owned
Motswako Media	R457 988,00	3%	100% black owned
MSG Group Sales	R620 572,61	4%	100% black owned
YFM	R399 846,38	3%
Total black owned media owners/stations	R2 746 592.37	17.5%
SABC Radio	R10 036 477,80	63%	Public Broadcaster
Community Radio (60 stations)	R960 000.00	5.6%
Total SABC & Community	R10 996 477,80	65%
Other commercial radio Media owners / stations	R3 150 577.34	17.5%
Total Radio Adspend	R 16 893 447.51

(ii) television broadcasters

Of the R22 818 029.00 spent on television broadcasters, R9 580 374.00 was spent on black media owners as per the below table which translates to 41% of the total television budget. Furthermore, R12 499 355.00 of the R22 818 029.00 was spent on free to air and public broadcasters which translates to 54% of the television budget. The distribution of the budget is as follows:

SUPPLIER	Total cost	BLACK OWNED
SABC TV	R 12 499 355,00	Public Broadcaster
ETV/ ENCA	R 8 453 374.00	Free to Air / Black owned
MVM Multimedia	R 828 000,00	Black owned (Soweto TV)
Zallywood	R 299 000,00	Black owned (Tshwane & Gau TV )

(iii) outdoor

Of the total R13 303 730.21 which was spent on Outdoor Media for this campaign, R10 413 674.17 was spent on 22 Black Media owners for the procurement of Billboards, Wall Murals and in taxi television. This translates to 78% of the total budget and the table below depicts the distribution of the budget amongst the approved suppliers:

BLACK OWNED OUTDOOR MEDIA OWNERS
Global Touch	R 997 000,00	Black owned
Huffing Post	R 733 643,65	Black female owned
Esona Communications	R 518 693,00	Black female owned
Luvuno Media	R 45 670,00	Black owned
Owakhe Media	R 422 050,00	Black owned
Platinum Outdoor Media	R 195 000,00	Black owned
Kemvest	R 217 494,90	Black owned
Bahn Media	R 128 620,00	Black owned
Rivoni Advertising	R 572 284,00	Black owned
Kwame Media	R 304 750,00	Black owned
The Guyz Media	R 282 900,00	Black owned
BLK Mercury	R 106 925,00	Black owned
Outsmart Outdoor Media	R 619 655,12	Black female owned
Hluma Media	R 213 854,00	Black owned
Sumep Media	R 1 132 119,00	Black owned
Kena Media	R 2 052 074,95	Black owned
Placement Media	R 314 709.00	Black owned
Tswalanang	R 308 200.00	Black owned
Keys Communications	R 525 992.17	Black owned
Indaba Billboards	R 140 061.00	Black owned
Tema Media	R 245 732.00	Black female owned
Sondlo & Knopp	R 336 246,89	Black owned
Total AD Spent on Black Outdoor Billboard Owners R10 413 674.17

 

(d) Total amount was spent in production of video adverts for both television and social media?

A total amount of R3 562 544,46 was spent on the production of video adverts for TV and Social Media.

Thank You.

Reply:

The National School of Government reporting to the Minister of Department of Public Service and Administration

(a) Spent a total amount of R15,089,360.38 on consultants for the period between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. It should be noted that whilst the details below are reflected as payments to consultants, they do not necessarily represent the outsourcing of services for which the NSG employs people to render. For example, internal audit services are outsourced hence they appear below, inclusive of fees paid to external members of the audit committee.

Further, it should be noted that the NSG operates a Training Management IT

system which requires specialists to manage linked to the term of the contract of the software solution. Also included are the services of a temporary nurse who was contracted to provide screening services for COVID-19. Finally, we also reflect fees paid to independent contractors who are an extension of training arm. Money paid to these independent training contractors are recovered through the training fees charged to learners.

i.e. 2019/20 – 01 January 2020 – 31 March 2020 = R 9 667 710,85

2020/21 – 01 April 2020 – 31 December 2020 = R 5 421 649,53

(b) Relevant details: IT Related – Outsourced services

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
The Training Room online	Management of the Moodle eLearning platform	R1,467,226.18	R290,151.17	R1,177,075.01
Esoftware Solutions	Management of the Training Management System	R736,894.16	R383,523.86	R353,370.30
Bytes System Integration	Outsourced ICT services	R2,021,343.81	R500,656.89	R1,520,686.92

(b) Relevant details: Professional Services

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
Lunika Incorporated	Internal auditing services	R587,867.36	R222,701.39	R365,165.97
Nkosi	Audit Committee Member	R39,861.00	R12,978.00	R26,883.00
Peense	Audit Committee Member	R81,576.00	R81,576.00	R0.00
Shikwane	Audit Committee Member	R54,721.00	R54,721.00	R0.00
Van Der Nest	Audit Committee Member	R12,978.00	R12,978.00	R0.00

(b) Relevant details: Research

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
Blue Oceans Information Solution	Research and Development Consultants	R338,100.00	R0.00	R338,100.00
De Waal Research	Research and Development Consultants	R18,960.00	R0.00	R18,960.00
Kula Development and Business	Research and Development Consultants	R149,130.00	R0.00	R149,130.00
Lokisa Human Development Solution	Research and Development Consultants	R21,000.00	R0.00	R21,000.00

(b) Relevant details: Nurse – Covid-19 screening

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
Revolution Human Capital	Professional nurse – covid-19 screening at the department	R117,142.19	R0.00	R117,142.19

(b) Relevant details: Training related (recovered from training fees)

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
Various Experts as per attached spreadsheet (attached)	Training of National and Provincial departments and Local Government	R9,387,290.68	R8,107,934.54	R1,279,356.14

(b) Relevant details: Verification Agencies

(i) Name of Consultant	(ii) Work done	(iii) Amount paid	2019/20 January – March 2020	2020/21 April – December 2020
Honeycomb Bee Rating	Verification of B-BBEE status	R51,750.00	0.00	R51,750.00
SA Qualifications Authority	Verification of qualifications	R3,520.00	R490.00	R3,030.00

End

Reply:

(1) Was to see former president Zuma and have a wide range of various discussions.

2(a)(i) Did not fly to Nkandla so no cost incurred.

2(a)(ii) Did not calculate on this one but used the normal transport I use when doing my political movement work.

2(b) Same as I always use.

2(c) Used the police cars I always use not sure the status either own or hired by police.

2(d) No accommodation used.

2(e) No gifts.

2(§ I have no knowledge of such details, those are administrative.

Reply to question 495 approved

GENERAL BH CELE, MP
MINISTER OF POLICE
Date: 12/03/2021

Reply:

1.Ministers don't effect arrest, if warrant of arrest is issued, it will follow the normal cause of procedures.
2. No. As explained above, ministers don’t carry out any arrests

 

Reply to question approved

GENERAL BH CELE, MP
MINISTER OF POLICE
Date: 2021/03/12
 

Reply:

(a)(i)(ii)(iii(iv)(b)(i)(ii)

A total of 104 out of 111 police stations in the Free State, fall within the rural safety category, this includes rural and the combination of urban/rural, in terms of the classification. A total of 100 out of 104 rural police stations have vehicles, which are allocated and dedicated to rural safety. All vehicles in the Visible Policing and Detective environments are regarded as operational. The details are reflected in the table below:

Reply:

The performance of remunerative work by employees of the South African Police Service (SAPS) is regulated by National Instruction 4 of 2012, which prohibits the performance of any remunerative work in the taxi industry.

Paragraph 3 of National Instruction 4 of 2012, Performance of Remunerative Work, lists the prohibitions on the granting of approval to an employee, to perform certain types of remunerative work or to perform certain a4iv•rties for gain. The tax‹ industry is listed in paragraph 3(a), which reads: Approval may not be granted to an employee to perform any remunerative work •f such work or activity is in any manner connected to the taxi industry. This includes, but is not limled to, the operation of a taxi service by the employee, himsel or herseP or by employing another person, or the performance of remunerative work for a taxi association, group of taxi owners or operator or for a single taxi owner or operator.

Any information, relating to the involvement of SAPS membem in the taxi industry. is followed up immediately by the Provincial Investigation Team.

de following measures are in place, with ægafd to the management of SAPs fileams:

O III SAPS fireams are accounted for, on a regular basis, by means of physical inspections.

o All SAPS fifBarITIS aæ dot paen marked and tested, in tems of the lntegrated BalliStiCS Identification System (IBIS) and record is kept for comparison with exhibits, recovered at crime scènes.

In order tg corruption, the following measures have been implemented:

• All the SAPS personnel, who are attached to the Taxi Violence Investigation Unit, are vetted and lifestyle audits are conducted on a regular basis.
• Corruption cases are investigated by the Anti-Corruption Unit.
• Allegations of corruption are investigated departmentally, independently from the criminal case.
• Employees face dismissal if found guilty on corruption charges.
• Employees are sensitised about the consequence of committing serious misconduct.

» Roll out of the National Instruction on ethics and integrity management.

• Trainees are subjected to integrity management to eliminate the potential risk of corruption.

The following SAPS members were convicted and dismissed for their involvement in taxi violence:

Station and Cæe Number	Charge	Name of SAPS Member	SAPS Flrearm used	Outcome
Gemiston CAS 289/11/2015	Murder x 2 and attempted murder	Thulani Wiseman Madidie	No	Guilty- 2 x life imprisonment
Pretoria Central CAS 1541/09/2013	Murder	Lungisani Arnold Mgaga	Yes	Guilty- life imprisonment
Roodepoort CAS 579/10/2018	Murder	Sibusiso Shongwe	No	Guilty- life imprisonment

 

Reply:

(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) Not applicable Mr Malema is no longer protected by the South African Police Service (SAPS), Very Important Persons (VIP) Protection Services.

Reply to question 354

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2021-03-04

Reply to question 354 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL BH CELE, MP
Date: 12/03/2021

Reply:

(1)(a)(b)(i)(ii) The academic qualifications and the practical experience of the Commander of the National Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and commanding officers of the respective forensic laboratories in the Republic, are reflected in the table below:

Occupation	Senior Member	Qualification	Experience
Component Head: FSL	Major General Ngokha	Diploma in Management B. Tech Management B. Com Honours Management Diploma in Applied Management BSc (Chemistry and Biochemistry)	DNA expert Facility Manager of the Laboratory Chemistry Manager Head of the FSL
Section Head: Ballistics	Brigadier van Niekerk	Diploma Datametrics: Unisa AFTE: Board	35 years’experience in Forensic Ballistics
Section Head: Chemistry	Brigadier J Allen	BSc (Chemistry andBiochemistry) BSc Hons (Biochemistry)	29 years’ experience at the FSL.

Find here: Table continuation

Reply:

An extension of 14 days is requested, in order to ob6in more information on the statement that was allegedly made by the said political party leader.

Reply to question 106 recommended /not recommended


GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE

KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2101-03-04

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL BH CELE, MP
Date: 12/03/2021

Reply:

1. The terms sheet with the Serum Institute of India was signed on the 7th January 2021.

2. The terms sheet for Pfizer was signed on 15 January 2021. The terms sheet for Johnson & Johnson was signed on 05 January 2021.

END.

Reply:

1. The list of vaccination sites for the Sisonke phase 3b study is attached;

2. The vaccine has not been study in children hence we are not sure about the efficacy and safety of these vaccines in children;

3. We have good evidence from clinical trials  to support the efficacy of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine against the 501Y.V2 variant. In vitro studies suggest that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are effective as well against the 501Y.V2. We are awaiting the data relating to the effectiveness of the Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V vaccines against the 501Y.V2. In terms of Astra Zeneca and Novovax the studies to date suggest these vaccines have diminished effectiveness and the Ministerial Advisory Committee does not support the use of these vaccines at this stage.

END.

Reply:

a) Vaccines are approved for use after clinical trials are successful and the data is assessed by regulators. Regulators must consider claims of the efficacy of the vaccine as part of the market authorization. SAHPRA will perform this function in South Africa hence all vaccines we procure will be efficacious.

b) The regulator and research will conduct regular assessment of the vaccine against new and emerging variants. The timelines for the effectiveness of the vaccine is dependent on various factors including the type of variants that emerge and the rate of these mutations.

END.

Reply:

a) The officials responsible for the misallocation is the Director Finance, Senior State Accountant and the Accounting Clerk. The misallocation does not relate to allocation of funds. It relate to a payment of an invoice that was erroneously paid from programme 4 instead of programme 5.

b) The 3 officials take responsibility for the honest mistake as this is the first time such a mistake occurred in the past 9 financial years and the Director Finance already had a discussion with the other 2 officials regarding the seriousness of misallocation of amounts and indicated that the 3 of them must take the responsibility for the mistake and going forward all payments must be thoroughly checked to ensure that similar cases will not recur.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

1. The UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) DDT Expert Group in its eighth meeting reaffirmed the continued need for DDT for IRS (Indoor Residual Spraying)-based malaria vector control in specific settings. South Africa is one of these settings in which DDT is indicated for malaria control owing to high level pyrethroid resistance in the major malaria vector mosquito species Anopheles funestus. Two factors support the continued need for DDT. Firstly, an anticipated resurgence in malaria cases and deaths, as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and cyclone Eloise, necessitates the use of DDT as a highly effective insecticide with proven efficacy over a very long period. Secondly, in South Africa DDT plays a role in resistance management via a mosaic strategy that also utilizes pyrethroid insecticides. New vector control products and tools are on the horizon and are expected to provide new modes of action for IRS as supplementary methods, but continued financing will be essential to support the epidemiological trials necessary to inform international and local policy.

2. In 2011, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a review on the human health effects of DDT and its metabolites in relation to DDT use for malaria control. The conclusions were that relevant exposure scenarios for the general population in countries using IRS are not of concern, because DDT and DDE (Dichloro-Diphenyldichloro-Ethylene) serum levels in sprayed households were generally below potential levels of harm. Recent findings showed weak associations between exposure to DDT and its breakdown product DDE and symptoms and diagnoses of allergies from an IRS area in Vhembe, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Another recent study reported that prenatal exposure to DDT, in Limpopo, a communitybased education programme was developed to reduce insecticide exposure from IRS. Community presentation through drama and song were implemented in 16 IRS pilot villages. The results showed an increase in the attendees’ knowledge of precautions to take before and after spraying, suggesting that the approach has promise to limit exposure to IRS insecticides.

It is especially important to note however that all insecticides have potentially harmful effects on human health, but their use is nevertheless necessary for the control of malaria, a potentially fatal disease. It should also be noted that malaria vector control via the use of insecticides, especially DDT, has reduced malaria incidence in South Africa by at least 95%, enabling South Africa to adopt an elimination strategy that will ultimately require fewer amounts of insecticide as malaria control becomes more targeted.

END.

Reply:

(1) It should be noted that HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support services in public health services were not shut down during the hard lock down for Covid-19 restrictions. Health care facilities remained opened as essential services during this time. However, due to restrictions of movement, the performance for HIV testing subsequently decreased as community testing stopped.

Facility staff were deployed and assigned to do Covid-19 activities, HIV activities were not fully covered.

HIV and other PHC services were negatively impacted by deployment of facility staff as they were assigned to Covid-19 activities. The effect was noted in the delivery of services, which negatively affected the clinical assessment, registration of new HIV patients, and they could not be initiated on ART.

The staff members who contracted Covid-19, were not replaced and facilities were closed for decontamination over a period of time as prescribed by guidelines for decontamination. These activities affected delivery of services, as facilities were closed. Some of the reasons given were that patients were locked down as taxis were not available (not working) and law enforcement officials were stopping clients from moving around without asked for reasons (therefore couldn’t come to health facilities).

Lack of public transport and patients’ fear of contracting Covid-19 when visiting the facilities led to patients not accessing HIV services. There was a decline in new patients initiated on ART and total number of patients remaining on ART (TROA) during Covid-19. The programme experienced high missed appointments and high lost to follow up (LTFU) of patients.

Proactively, before the hard lockdown, the HIV programme enrolled all stable patients on ART in the external pick up points for collection of treatment at facilities closer to their homes and work.

In some areas, where there was support of development partners, medication was delivered to client’s homes.

(2) There were notable disruptions:

1. There was a shortage of drugs supplies in some facilities due to an influx of clients from other facilities (could have been closed due to Covid-19 or patients went to nearest facility as there were restrictions on traveling or could have moved to other province and were locked down in there). These actions affected the ordering of ARVs and planning of facilities as they received more patients than planned.

2. There was a notable disruption to the antiretroviral therapy provision in the country that resulted from failure of suppliers to deliver on time and courier services shut down due to Covid-19 restrictions.

3. The locking of international borders led to low production, due to lack of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), this negatively affected delivery of ARVs to the country.

END.

Reply:

In 2020, a total of seven cases of human rabies was laboratory confirmed in South Africa, six of which originated in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province and one in Limpopo (LPP) Province. This compares to 10 laboratory-confirmed human cases in 2019.

In addition, three children were identified in 2020 who had dog bites/exposure and died of clinically compatible rabies disease. These cases could not be confirmed in the laboratory and were classified as probable cases in the provinces of KZN (n=1), LPP (n=1) and Eastern Cape (n=1).

To date, for 2021, 1 case of human rabies was reported from eThekwini, KZN.

The provinces that reported rabies cases during 2020 and 2021 have put in place prevention activities and plans. KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo have put the following measures in place:

Actions taken in KZN

• A circular informing all districts was released;
• There are On-going health education and awareness campaigns, which is being among the affected communities;
• There is ongoing training of Health Care Workers;
• Rabies meetings were held by eThekwini District with role players;
• A One health approach is in place, in collaboration with Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD);
• Alerts were sent out by DALRRD with real time surveillance maps and
• Animal rabies vaccination campaigns were completed in the affected areas.

Challenges identified by eThekwini District

• Patients presented late to health care facilities for medical help.
• Cultural beliefs resulted in delayed health seeking behavior by patients.
• Patients did not complete their vaccines according to the schedule given.
• There were delays in reporting on the notifiable medical conditions (NMC) system by health practitioners.

The DALRRD is responsible for controlling rabies in animals; most human rabies cases were as a result of dog bites. The DALRRD have also been experiencing challenges such as:

• too many stray dogs were roaming in the community;
• dog owners were not vaccinating their dogs on time;
• there was a need for further rabies education in the community and
• a high number of government vehicles were hijacked while rendering animal health services, including dog vaccinations.

Eastern Cape noted that despite the Covid-19 response having priority, the following were conducted:

• Routine surveillance of animal bites in humans were conducted (which was a proxy for suspected human rabies);
• Healthcare workers at the facility level were trained on case management;
• Treatment protocols were developed and distributed to health facilities;
• routine surveillance of rabies among animals by Veterinary Services are ongoing.
• Health promotion activities were conducted in high risk areas, especially when there were animal cases reported by Veterinary Services.

Rabies control in Limpopo are as follows:

• Health talks for the communities were conducted in collaboration with DALRRD.
• The DALRRD also vaccinated dogs; this is ongoing.
• Annual rabies awareness days were celebrated every year jointly with DALRRD.
• Politicians were engaged in promoting rabies prevention messages in the community.
• The province ensured that rabies post exposure prophylaxis was available in facilities.
• Refresher training for health workers were conducted and is ongoing.
• Health education on rabies were conducted for traditional healers.

END.

Reply:

As I had indicated previously the discussion held between Johnson&Johnson is subject to a non-disclosure agreement that government had to sign off on before discussions regarding access to them could be held. While we would certainly prefer to disclose as much information as possible this condition of non-disclosure is in place from all manufacturers. Nevertheless we can share some information with the Honourable Member.

(a) There were six formal meetings between Johnson&Johnson and the Department of Health between June 2020 and December 2020. In the period 1 January 2021 and 1 March 2021 there have also been six formal meetings. In addition, there has been significant exchange of email correspondence between officials and Johnson&Johnson.

(b) While there were various issues discussed in the meetings over the past 9 months the key issues are the following:

• • The characteristics of the vaccine-type of vaccine, storage, mechanism of action, dosing, administration requirements;
  • The anticipated date for completion of the phase 3 study;
  • The anticipated quantity of vaccine that can be delivered and the timelines for delivery;
  • The price of the vaccine;
  • The conditions in the advanced purchase agreement including liability, payment conditions, delivery dates, penalty clauses;
  • Access to the excess Johnson&Johnson trial doses following the pausing of the Astra Zeneca vaccine rollout;
  • Structure of the phase 3b study, logistics, reporting co-ordination, dose delivery dates.
  • The proposed contractual agreement from Johnson&Johnson has been reviewed by National Treasury and concurrence has been obtained. The agreement has been signed off for 11million doses with an option for an additional 20m doses based on availability of stock. The Johnson&Johnson vaccine is the most cost-effective vaccine for the following reasons:
  • it provides high level of protection against hospitalisation and death from clinical studies in South Africa;
  • It is effective against the 501Y.V2 variant;
  • Single dose vaccine;
  • It is stored at fridge temperature;
  • Price is lower compared to other vaccines

END.

Reply:

a)  On 29 January 2021 Johnson&Johnson released the results of their phase 3a clinical trial done in various countries including South Africa. The results of the trial indicate that the vaccine is 85% effective against preventing hospitalization and severe Covid-19 and 100% effective against death. The vaccine is also effective against the 501Y.V2 variant which is predominant in South Africa and was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe symptoms.

b) The Johnson&Johnson vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States of America. We anticipate that Johnson and Johnson will also submit a similar application to SAHPRA for consideration.

END.

Reply:

1. We are currently providing healthcare workers with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Thereafter we will access the Pfizer vaccine for healthcare workers and persons eligible for phase 2. The commercial stock of Johnson and Johnson vaccines will become available in mid quarter two. Thereafter the rollout programme will be based on these two vaccines;

2. Johnson&Johnson Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals;

3. A team has been investigating the cold storage capacity in South Africa and has been able to quantify the storage capacity across the country. The Johnson&Johnson vaccine is stored at fridge temperature for which there is adequate storage capacity. The Pfizer vaccine is stored at -70 degrees hence there is need for specialised storage facilities which we have secured. The team has been planning the logistics related to the storage, delivery and administration for each of the vaccines. South Africa has a vaccine programme that delivers close to 20m doses of vaccines annually so there is existing infrastructure, systems and human resources. This programme is on a much larger scale however vaccinations are not new for the department. 

4. The Department did provide an initial list of essential workers  that would make up phase two which included civil servants in particular sectors of the economy. Subsequently we have received representation from a number of sectors motivating for inclusion as essential workers. We are engaging with these matters and will provide a final list in the next couple of weeks.

END.

Reply:

The Department of Health has not been involved in the procurement of a “Cuban Covid-19 medicine” hence we cannot respond to this question. It must be referred to the Department of Defence.

END.

Reply:

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 learning programs at Higher Education Institutions, resulting in Medical Students completing their final year studies late in December 2020. There was also a recorded delay for serving medical interns who were transitioning to community service: medical officer posts from 1 January 2021. The delayed completion, impacted on the finalization of the professionals registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), which is amongst others, one of the requirement for commencement of duty in a health facility.

Despite all these challenges, Provincial Departments of Health made provision to ensure viable appointments of health professionals (i.e. medical interns and community service doctors) are captured and finalized as soon as all the required documents are receipt.

The National Department of Health hereby confirms that Provincial Departments of Health across all Provinces, despite the challenges outlined above, managed to capture and finalize appointments of medical interns and community service and salaries have been paid successfully in this professionals bank accounts during the periods 31 January 2021 to 15 February 2021.

The only remaining challenge was in the Northern Cape where one medical intern and one community service doctor, who commenced duty from 1 January 2021 have not yet received salary due to the fact that at the time of capturing the appointment on the PERSAL System, the Northern Cape Provincial Treasury deactivated the appointment functionality in the Province for all Departments due to over expenditures encountered.

 

The Acting Head of Health Department (HoD) engaged the Acting Head of Provincial Treasury on the matter. The Province have since been given back the appointment function on PERSAL temporarily. The appointments have now been captured on the System and emoluments are due to be paid by 15 March 2021 backdated to January 2021 to the affected doctors.

END.

Reply:

Covid-19 is having massive implications for the economy, mainly hitting hard the unemployed youth. As a result, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), an agency reporting to the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) has put in place the following measures in the 2020/ 2021 financial year up to 31 December 2020 (Q3):

(ii) The Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund, which provided relief funding to 1104 youth entrepreneurs;

(iii) The NYDA Grant programme, which provided 930 youth entrepreneurs with start-up and survivalist funding. Of the grant recipients 63% were male and 37% were female and most grants were disbursed in Gauteng at 18%, Mpumalanga at 15%, Eastern Cape at 15% KwaZulu Natal at 12% and Limpopo at 12%. The least were disbursed in North West at 9%, Western Cape at 7%, Free State at 6% and Northern Cape at 6%;

(iv) The NYDA Job Placements programme, placed 1845 young people into jobs, with more females than males placed at 63% females vs 37% males placed. Gauteng had the highest placements at 28% and Northern Cape at 25%, whilst Limpopo was at 9%, KwaZulu Natal at 14%, Free State at 0%, Eastern Cape at 8%, Mpumalanga and North West at 11% and 6% respectively;

(v) 1575 youth have been supported through non-financial business development interventions;

(vi) 1164 young people have been capacitated with skills to enter the job market; and

(vii) 2095 young people have been capacitated with skills to participate in the economy.

It is worthy to note that, the DWYPD developed a Cabinet approved National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020-2030. The NYP 2030 was launched on the 05th of March 2021 and, amongst others, proposes policy priorities to tackle long term structural and systematic youth unemployment. Key amongst these are measures to ensure economic transformation, entrepreneurship support, and provision of second chance opportunities for improved participation and inclusion of vulnerable youth.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

The COVID 19 vaccines were developed over 12 months in order to respond to the global crisis relating to the COVID 19 pandemic. The clinical trials that were done in the development of the vaccines did not identify cancer, seizures, heart disease, allergies and autoimmune disease as adverse events. There is also no data to suggest that vaccines in general cause any of these conditions.  Nevertheless we have implemented a pharmacovigilance programme to monitor any adverse events should they arise and will take the appropriate steps should they arise.

END.

Reply:

1. (a) Yes

(b) Yes, information available from 2017/2018 – 2020/21

Financial Year	Applications Received	Applications Approved (i)	Job categories of approved applications (ii)
2017-18	12	1	Environmental Health
2018-19	7	5	Health Attaché’; Environmental Health, Supply Chain Management, Stakeholder Support and Liaison Demand and Acquisition (Supply Chain)
2019-20	9	5	Internal Audit (X3) Admin Clerk Intern
2020-21	6	3	Stakeholder Support and Liaison (HIV/AIDS) Demand and Acquisition (Supply Chain) Environmental Health.

2. Fourteen (14) applications were approved from 2017/18 – 2020/21.

a) Permission to perform remunerative work outside employment is granted in terms of section 30 of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended;

b) RWOPS applications by employees at salary levels 2-14 are approved by the Director General. Applications by employees at level 15 are approved by the Executive Authority;

c) A total of 2 applications were found to have a conflict of interest in 2019/20 and 1 employee was found to have conflict of interest in 2020/21.

d) Disciplinary measures were initiated against the transgressors.

END.

Reply:

(1) In its records the Department of Employment and Labour found no employee who (a) performed work in addition to the responsibilities related to his /her work, outside working hours, in the past five financial years

(b) There are no employees who have been performing such work during the 01 April 2014 up to current.

(i) Zero number of staff members

(ii) Zero number of job or categories of specified staff.

(2) No approval was granted (a) if cases of this nature are received the Department of Employment and Labour utilise Section 30 of the Public Service Act, 1994 and Guide on other Remunerative work in the Public Service (b) if applications of this nature are received they then get considered by the Ethics Office and approval if there is any need for permission to be granted that is done by the Accounting Officer and the Executive Authority respectively, (c) Zero as the Department did not have cases,(d) No transgressors identified. If any transgressors are found disciplinary action get instituted.

 

Reply:

1. (a) Total number of health and safety inspectors in the republic?

Province	# Inspectors (includes vacancies)
TOTAL	674

(b) Number of inspectors per Province?

Provinces	Number of Inspectors (includes vacancies)
EC	66
FS	70
GP	118
KZN	167
LP	62
MP	39
NC	27
NW	47
WC	78
TOTAL	674

This number includes the five hundred new inspectors that have just joined the Department

2. The only assessment that has been done so far relates to the degree to which the inspectors are able to achieve their targets as well as the quality of work that they produce with specific regards to OHS inspectors, the majority of them are new and are still undergoing training, mentoring and coaching.

Inspectors are required to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Standard Operating Procedures when conducting inspections and reporting thereof.

In observing the inspections conducted and the notices served, the provinces are deemed to be effective in their reach and in terms of their footprint. Inspectors have risen to the ocassion over this period of COVID-19.

Table: Total number of OHS inspections for Public and Private sector (April 2020 to January 2021)

Province	Total Inspections	Number Compliant	% Compliant	Number Noncompliant	% Compliant	% Non-Compliance
EC	2228	1585	71	643	71	29
FS	4948	2825	57	2123	57	43
GP	2200	1947	89	253	89	12
KZN	4476	2357	53	2119	53	47
LP	1059	405	38	654	38	62
MP	1904	643	34	1261	34	66
NC	846	356	42	490	42	58
NW	1412	808	57	604	57	43
WC	5180	2690	52	2490	52	48
TOTAL	24253	13616	56	10637	56	44

Reply:

Please refer to Question 408 and its response.

END.

Reply:

1. The post of Chief Director: Governance and Compliance, Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is funded, vacant and in the process of recruitment;

2. The post has been advertised with a closing date of 12 March 2021 and the selection and appointment process is expected to complete by 31 July 2021.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

The current Covid vaccines assessed by SAHPRA and approved for emergency use do not contain any of these mentioned materials. In general, as part of the quality review of manufacturing, formulation and control of the vaccine, SAHPRA checks for all excipients and any possible impurities from these and from active substances used as well as their interactions and degradation products and establish if they are in acceptable safe limits, if not they are not approved.

END.

Reply:

(a) Data from the District Health Information System (DHIS) indicate that in the calendar year 2020, infant PCR test positivity rate is 0.51% at birth, 0.69% around 10 weeks and 0.23% at 18 months;

(b) Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV remains multi-factorial and thus interventions are developed at each possible point of infection. It could be (1) high viral load due to new infection during prenatal and post-natal period or pregnant women not virally suppressed, (2) pregnant women who are not aware of their HIV status, (3) women who develop drug resistance/ or treatment failure;

(c) The PMTCT guideline was revised in 2019 to address the mother to child transmission of HIV by introducing the following interventions:

• HIV negative pregnant women are retested for HIV at every basic antenatal care visit and at labour and delivery, and those who test HIV positive are initiated on ART immediately;
• Maternal viral load monitoring for pregnant HIV positive women done at ANC, at the time of delivery and another viral load monitoring at 6 months post-delivery to identify mothers who are at higher risk of transmitting HIV to their infants/babies;
• Enhanced infant prophylaxis where HIV exposed infants whose mothers has high viral load or the viral load is unknown receive HIV prophylaxis until their mothers are virally suppressed thus reducing the risk of transmission.

END.

Reply:

The Department conducted an electronic survey during April/May 2020, to determine the initial impact of the lockdown on the lives and livelihoods of women. This survey was not able to reach a sufficiently large enough number of respondents across the country to make any conclusive findings. It was further limited to access to some women’s organisations only who responded but they too were unable to reach women in the community level because of level 5 lockdown restrictions. However the survey findings enabled the DWYPD to facilitate that GBVF and the services thereof, be included in the regulations as essential service.

The DWYPD also collaborated with UN Women on the various surveys through CATI (use of cellular mobile technology) approach to reach a few thousands of respondents. The findings indicate that hunger by women and children was a growing problem at the start of the lockdown but eased somewhat with the provisions of the food parcels to indigent households and the social protection relief measures put in place by Government.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________