Reply:

(a) The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities spent R 994 955.80 on advertising for the 2020-21 financial year;

(b) The National Youth Development Agency spent R 1 891 696 on advertising for the 2020-21 financial year.

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(a) One (1)
(b) R 702,937.00

Reply:

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities procured officials vehicles for the Minister and the deputy minister as follow:

	Minister	Deputy Minister
(a)	Audi	Audi
(b)	Q5 2.0 TDI S TRONIC SPORT	Q5 2.0 TDI S TRONIC SPORT
(c)	2020	2020
(d)	R690 000.00	R690 000.00
(e)	06 January 2020	06 March 2020

Approved by Minister
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Date 28/02/2022

Reply:

Reply is attached here: DWYPD

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The Department of Women, Youth and Person with Disabilities (DWYPD) assists the victims of gender-Based Violence who report their matters to the Department by referring the cases to the appropriate unit at the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) for intervention.

If the matter is not effectively addressed, the DWYPD (through the office of the Director-General) expedites the process by directly liaising with the relevant department or unit to ensure that prosecution takes place, and justice is subsequently served.

Concurrently, the Civil Society Organizations within the ambit of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide collaborative platform also intervene at a local level. For instance, after ascertaining the exact location of the victim, a further referral is made to the local court / SAPS unitfor immediate intervention. This is followed up until the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the survivor

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane,MP
Minister
Date: 27-12-2021

Reply:

By regulating the use of guard dogs and service dogs, by regulating space between Wheelchairs in queues in service points, by encouraging the use of white canes instead of guards, by agreeing with the retail industry to allocate time and date for persons with disabilities and setting aside dates for the receipt of disability grants. This was published on the 2nd April 2020 Regulation 117B of the National Disaster Management Act (Alert

Level S) “The State has to take reasonable measures within its available resources to ensure safety and protection of persons with disabilities”

The Maintenance of social distance and self-isolation was adhered to by care givers and persons with disabilities, except in certain circumstance and instance such as SASSA Cape Town incidents. There is no MOA because this was done within the workstreams and in consultation with the Organisations of Persons with disabilities. It applies to all spheres of Government.

Approved by Minister
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Date 29/10/2021

Reply:

1. There are seven provinces which have finalized their implementation plans. These are Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Limpopo.

Two (2) Provinces i.e., Mpumalanga and Free State have not finalized plans for implementation of the NSP on GBVF. The two provinces have started working on their implementation plans but have not yet completed the process. The process has been very intensive requiring provinces to adequately customize the NSP on GBVF.

1. The department has been engaging provinces through information sessions to assist and fast-track the processes. The provinces have also wanted to align their plans to the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework that the department has developed and is currently embarking on a nation-wide multisectoral capacity building.

This process will help the remaining provinces I! ?.!ize their plans while the other four provinces will have to align where appropriate as part of standardizing the national

response to GBVF. In provinces that currently do not have aligned provincial GBVF plans, the department continuously organizes information sessions to localize NSP on GBVF and supports the establishment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs).

The current provincial public participation sessions on the NCGBVF Bill are also an entry point to resuscitate the prioritization of GBVF activities into plans. The department in the first quarter (Q1) and second quarter (Q2) of 2021/21 financial year (FY) held provincial NSP on GBVF Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Framework, technical indicator descriptors and reporting tools virtual consultative sessions to ensure each province is fully aware of their allocated M&E indicators and can report on their set NSP on GBVF targets.

The department in Quarter 4 of the financial year 2021/22, will conduct workshops for provinces on capacity building to harness the institutionalization and also mainly provide the much needed support to ensure coherent and integrated implementation of the NSP on GBVF.

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP Minister

Date: 29/10/2021

Reply:

The Department of Women Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD)  continues to contribute and strategically guide on the inclusion of women into the mainstream economy, by promoting the meaningful participation of women into all socio-economic activities of the country and ensuring that this is done comprehensively and in a financially inclusive manner.

It does this in the following ways:

1. Promoting an all-inclusive approach to Women’s Financial Inclusion;
2. Facilitating an enabling operating environment for mainstreaming women’s financial inclusion in government and private sector institutions;
3. Promoting financial inclusivity through equitable access to ownership and control  of all economic activities for women;

1. Lobbying the private sector, non-government organisations and international organisations to incorporate the inclusion of women in their policies, programmes, projects and products;
2. Mobilising resources to support campaigns and programmes that promote the inclusion of women in the economy;
3. Coordinating, collecting and disseminating information  on best practices  relating to the inclusion of women across all sectors of our economy;
4. Strengthening the capacity of women in leadership, management, control and entrepreneurship.
5. Sharing best practices relating to the economic emancipation of women

To this effect the DWYPD has undertaken the following economic empowerment and participation interventions in the previous FY:

DWYPD held a webinar with DFl’s and the ESEID cluster to promote the financial inclusion of women, facilitated the coordination of an Integrated Entrepreneurship Development Programme (IEEDP) to streamline programmes of implementing departments, hosted a capacity building workshop on opportunities within the Sanitary Dignity Programmes Economic Value Chain and coordinated an Enterprise Trade Fair for Women to not only promote inclusivity but further sustainability of Women Owned Businesses.

In the 2021/2022, the department would be embarking on a National Radio Talk Show. It is envisaged to be an impactful awareness raising tool which will reach over 30 million listeners, especially those from communities in rural and township areas. The shows would emphasize the importance of compliance with requirements for business operations in the country as well as raise awareness of opportunities for women owned businesses within public procurement.

Approved by:
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Minister
Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

1. The ERAP was a short-term intervention implemented over six months to deal with the heightened levels of GBVF whilst the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC) was developing the National Strategic Plan on GBVF (NSP on GBVF). The Department was mainly responsible for playing an oversight, catalytic and supportive role to assist the process of successful implementation of ERAP projects; working in collaboration with the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC), including relevant departments. Over and above this, the department had to coordinate the urgent finalisation of the NSP on GBVF to allow for a smooth transition from the ERAP to the NSP on GBVF 2020-2030.
   
   The targets allocated to the department under Thematic Area 4 had long term interventions that could not be implemented within the 6-months ERAP timeframe. Moreover, budget constraints further hindered the execution of the targets. Some of the targets were started as pilots. For example, in partnership with UN Women, the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC) piloted the Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) in the Eastern Cape as a potential vehicle through which to build and expand rapid response to GBVF cases in communities. As we institutionalize the NSP on GBVF, the model is being used by some provinces to establish or strengthen existing RRTs in line with the principles of the NSP on GBVF.
   
   Conceptualisation and design of a Multisectoral Coordination Structure formed part of the NSP on GBVF development process approved by Cabinet in March, 2020; and now included in chapter 5 of the NSP on GBVF. The multisectoral coordination could not be established before approval of the proposed model by Cabinet.

1. The ERAP targets that were not met were phased and integrated into the NSP on GBVF; and necessary revisions were made as some of the targets were outside the ambits of my department’s mandate. My department is currently coordinating the establishment and alignment of GBVF structures at province, district and local municipality levels. A lot of progress has been made with most provinces showing urgency in establishing or revitalizing GBVF multisectoral provincial structures; Rapid Response Teams (RRTs); developing implementation plans; and coordinating reporting on progress. The status of the institutionalisation of the NSP on GBVF as it relates to multisectoral structures is illustrated in the below table:

	Standard Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plan finalised	Established & Functional GBVF Coordination Teams	Established GBVF Provincial Task Teams but not yet functional	Finalised Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plans	Developing Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plans	Have civil society in Provincial Structures & are submitting reports
DWYPD	YES	YES	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Western Cape	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	YES	YES
Eastern Cape	N/A	YES	N/A	NO	YES	NO
Northern Cape	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
Free State	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
KwaZuIu-Natal	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	N/A	YES
North West	N/A	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Gauteng	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	N/A	YES
Mpumalanga	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
Limpopo	N/A	NO	NO	YES	N/A	YES

(2). A situational analysis of the reporting on the ERAP and NSP on GBVF was conducted as an initial step towards developing an appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system. A draft M&E implementation plan for the medium term (2020-2024) is developed for the NSP on GBVF. The M&E plan forms the basis for a functional, seamless, robust, comprehensive, and well-coordinated M&E system. The M&E Plan describes all M&E activities in an M&E system, including: indicators and targets; data collection tools; data flow mechanisms; reporting timelines; roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders; procedures to be implemented to determine whether or not the objectives are met; and expected results of the program and how they relate to goals and objectives.

Since 2020, the department has focused on the institutionalisation of the NSP on GBVF. GBVF is now a standing agenda item in all DG and Cabinet Clusters; and the Parliamentary Oversight Framework for the NSP on GBVF will contribute immensely towards reporting progress on implementation of the NSP on GBVF.

It is noted that for the year 2020, NSP on GBVF priorities were not optimally integrated into strategic plans and Annual Performance Plans (APPs) of national

departments. This made it difficult to monitor the implementation of the NSP on

GBVF. As we are in the new performance cycle, the NSP on GBVF priorities are likely to be prioritised in the Strategic Plans and APPs. In terms of progress, approximately 15 national departments have finalised refinement and integration of allocated NSP on GBVF targets for 2020-2024; and a total of 21 out of 30 national departments submitted progress reports in April 2021. We remain hopeful that as the culture of reporting is inculcated, M&E mechanisms will become much more seamless and systematic.

In addition, the DWYPD in partnership with UN Women and civil society partners has established a multisectoral implementation Collaborative Platform (CP) to foster monitoring and reporting systems. The Collaborative Platform is an organic structure that creates a voluntary platform to mainly facilitate multisectoral engagement and give impetus to the ownership and implementation of the NSP on GBVF. Six Pillar- based teams comprising government and its agencies; private sector, labour federations, research institutions, academia and civil society were established to enhance and assist in fast tracking implementation of the NSP on GBVF. The work of the Collaborative Platform feeds into the progress reports on the NSP on GBVF. The Collaborative Platform has developed a website as a one stop centre for documents and submission of progress reports by the respective pillar teams.

Approved by:
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Minister
Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

Please refer to Annexure A for responses to part (a) and (b) of the question

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister

Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

The ERAP was resourced through a reprioritization exercise by relevant government departments to the tune of R1,6 Billion. The departments and entities identified approximately R1,6 billion on baseline spending for 2019/20 relevant to the emergency action plan. This was higher than the R1,1 Billion costing for the ERAP. Below is a table of the baseline allocations breakdown across the 5 pillars of the ERAP:

ERAP	Departments and Agencies Baseline Allocation
Intervention Pillar	Estimated Budget	Total Baseline Allocation Per Intervention	Baseline Allocation Breakdown
Access to justice for victims and survivors	R 394 849 207	R 881 885 000	DoJ&CD	R 10 515 000
			NPA	R 871 370 000
	R 179 188 480	R 481 153 000	GCIS	R 5 715 000

Change norms and behaviour through high- level prevention efforts			SRSA	R 178 174 000
			DSAC	R 12 950 000
			DBE	R 46 594 000
			DHET	R 750 000
			DSD	R 66 000 000
			Provinces & Sport Federations	R 170 970 000
			Communications	R 0
Improved access to care, support and prevention services and interventions	R 517 000 000	R 251 377 000	CARA Projects	R 7 108 000
			DSD	R 244 269 000
			DoH	R 0
Strengthen accountability and architecture to adequately respond to the scourge of GBV	R 20 038 412	R 0	DWYPD	R 0
Total	R 1 111 076 099	R 1 614 415 000

Approved by:
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Minister
Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

(a) (i) The research entails details findings on experience of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations. Furthermore, the research report entails how South African government has performed in ensuring promotion, safety and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all measures introduced during the COVID-19 state of national disaster.
(ii) The outcomes of the research are available in the form of recommendations which outlines interventions and measures which must be put in place by government spheres to mitigate challenges faced by persons with disabilities during and for future state of national disasters.

1. The research project was entirely funded by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, no financial contributions from DWYPD and below is the breakdown of expenditure:

Consultancy fee: R139 200 Transport fees: R67 200

Incentives: respondents / participants: R114 000 Airtime & data: R6 000

Equipments (Tape recorder): R600
Sign Language Interpreters: R10 000 Braille printing: R1000
Incidental costs: R2000

• • TOTAL: R340 000

Approved by:
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP Minister
Date: 28 May 2021

 

Reply:

(1) The Department does not provide funding to any organisation of persons with disabilities, however the partnerships with other departments and International agencies assist regularly to a lesser extent. Each department has to fund programmes and initiatives for persons with disabilities according to its mandate, service delivery value chain and specific individual needs of those organisations.

(2)

1. Plans have been developed and included in the Strategic plan of the Department and will be implemented from the 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022

1. (i) The Department has developed an operational plan to accommodate Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and the Annual Performance Plan also have specific target where the Department must report on a quarterly basis. The plans include the following:

The development of the frameworks to implement the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (Self-Representation and Awareness Raising Campaigns Frameworks)
Constant ongoing consultation with the disability rights sector on the development of Disability Rights Legislation.
Covid-19 response efforts through the work streams of the NCCC. The 365 Awareness Raising Campaigns on disability rights.
Coordination of the Presidential Working Group on Disability and the National Disability Rights Machinery
Compliance reports on inclusion of persons with disabilities in plans of the Department, compliance reports with National and International protocols and analysis of strategic plans of Departments.
Regular consultation with individual categories of disability e.g. Albinism, Deafness, visual impairment and Mental Health.

(ii) The Department is allocated money by Treasury for its own work and activities.

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister
Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

 

1. The National Youth Development Agency, an entity of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities implemented the following programs in the financial year 1 April 2020 — 31 March 2021.
   • A total of over 2200 youth owned enterprises were supported through the NYDA Grant Programme compared to a target of 1500. The number was accelerated by the 1100 youth enterprises assisted by the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund.
   • Over 2665 beneficiaries were supported with business development support services offered by the NYDA.
   • More than 8047 jobs were created and sustained through supporting business entrepreneurs.
   • 5078 jobs were facilitated through placements in job opportunities.
   • Over 2445 young people were capacitated with skills to enter the job market.

In addition to the above, the NYDA has supported the rollout of Phase 1 of the Employment Stimulus which has resulted in the following outcomes as at 30 April 2021:

• • The Department of Basic Education has supported 313 000 young people with jobs who were enrolled as Teacher Assistants and General Assistants in 26 000 public schools between December 2020 — April 2021.
  • The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development supported 74 426 small scale farmers and 2000 agriculture graduates were utilised to verify 130 000 applicants claims.
  • The Department of Social Development is supporting 25 000 Early Childhood Development Centres.
  • The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has supported 8 000 jobs in the Business Process Outsourcing Sector.
  • The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has appointed 1 886 young people in rural bridges and other programs.

1. Phase 2 of the Employment Stimulus will commence in June 2021.

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister Date: 28 May 2021

Reply:

The National Youth Machinery meeting has been established at the national sphere of government, to coordinate youth development by all relevant stakeholders within the youth sector. It is a professional space to share information and showcase good practices. The meeting provides a platform to different stakeholders, to share information about their strategies, plans, programmes, and projects. The participants are youth workers who are mainly youth focal points from youth led and youth serving organisations.

The National Youth Machinery meeting consist of representatives from:

1. the National Youth Development unit in the DWYPD; to serve as the Convenor, Chairperson and Secretariat of the meeting;
2. the line function department responsible for youth development at the national sphere;
3. the youth units in the Offices the Premiers (representing each province);
4. the NYDA;
5. Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;
6. the South African Local Government Association (SALGA);
7. the South African Youth Council (SAYC);
8. non-government youth led organisations; and
9. Representatives of the private sector.

There are similar structures at provincial and local levels, where provincial and local youth focal points representing Offices of the Premiers, provincial sector departments as well as district and local municipalities, also participate. The meeting participants are expected to engage directly with the clients they are servicing. This would mean that at provincial and local level, the youth workers (youth focal points), cascade information to majority of young people they are servicing including those residing in rural areas.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

(a) The key issues that are emanating from the National Youth Machinery meetings relate to progress on youth development interventions in the form of policies and programmes. In the meeting which was recently held on 02 March 2021, the following were discussed:

(i) Update on the launch of the National Youth Policy 2020-2030 (NYP2030) to create awareness on its approval and call for its implementation;

(ii) progress on the draft Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to track the implementation of the NYP2030. The aim was to solicit inputs from participants;

(iii) presentation on the Amendment of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Bill to solicit inputs from participants. The NYDA Act is amended to optimise and intensify delivery of services to the youth by making the NYDA’s broad mandate to be more focused, improve its governance and increase its reach through establishing NYDA’s offices and district and local levels in line with the District Development Model;

(iii) update on the draft Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS) by the NYDA. The aim was to solicit further inputs from participants on the strategy which seeks to give effect to implementation of the NYP2030 through targeted programmes by government, business and civil society role players.

(iv) presentation of Techno girl Trust Program. The purpose of Techno Girl programme is to close the existing barriers of inadequate exposure of girls in the space of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The programme seek to reduce youth unemployment; provide second-chance; expose young people to 4IR; create needs innovative solutions; and provide youth with thorough training for businesses and employment opportunities. The purpose of the presentation was to solicit partnership in implementation of the programme.

(v) progress on the 4IR Youth Skills and Employment Initiative, which was presented to participants to appraise them that it will soon be presented to Cabinet. The initiative seeks to equip the youth with digital skills, so that South Africa and Africa, can reap the benefits from the 4th Industrial Revolution. The presentation was intended to encourage partnerships.

(b) The National Youth Machinery meeting was attended by youth focal persons in national line function departments; Offices of the Premiers; civil society organisations; South African Youth Council; and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). These attendees are the same participants who are targeted to attend all the National Youth Machinery meetings. The participants from business sector are also invited and attend the meetings on ad-hoc basis. The following are a list of organisations usually invited to send the representative/s to the meeting:

(i) Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (Chair and Secretariat);

(ii) Department of Social Development;

(iii) Department of Sports, Arts and Culture;

(iv) Department of Public Services Administration;

(v) Department of Home Affairs;

(vi) Department of Basic Education;

(vii) Department of Higher Education;

(viii) Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation;

(ix) Department of Economic;

(x) Department of Health;

(xi) Department of Minerals and Energy;

(xii) Department of International Relations and Cooperative Governance;

(xiii) Department of Small Business Development;

(xiv) Department of Employment and Labour;

(xv) Department of Justice and Correctional Services;

(xvi) Department of National Treasury;

(xvii) Department of Tourism;

(xviii) Department of Human Settlements;

(xix) South African Police Services;

(xx) Department of Communications and Digital Technologies;

(xxi) Department of Defence;

(xxii) Department of Employment and Labour;

(xxiii) Department of International Relations and Cooperation;

(xxiv) Department of Transport;

(xxv) Department of Public Works and Infrastructure;

(xxvi) Department of Small Business Development;

(xxvii) Department of Trade and Industry

(xxviii) Department of Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation;

(xxix) Department of Telecommunication and Postal Services;

(xxx) Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;

(xxxi) The Presidency;

(xxxii) Offices of the Premiers in all nine provinces;

(xxxiii) National Development Agency

(xxxiv) South African Youth Council

(xxxv) National non-Government Organisations

(xxxvi) South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

(xxxvii)Black Business Council

(xxxviii) Business Unity South Africa

(xxxix ) Development partners (e.g. UNFPA, UNICEF, GIZ)

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

• NYDA to speak on the Covid-19 grant programme launched as a result of COVID;
• NYDA to speak to the 1000 businesses in a 100 days, and how success was achieved despite Covid. And what are the plans going forward.
• Department to mention how they managed to consult young people throughout the pandemic

The Department will continue to engage young people and other stakeholders using both physical and virtual means. This will enable us to meet our targets and also meet the constitutional obligation of consulting those affected by policies and laws. The right to consultation has been centermost during the pandemic through using technology to engage youth for them to provide input into policy and legislation being developed by the Department.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

On media engagements and roadshows on the National Youth Programme, the Department has already had numerous radio and television engagement on the work it does. These has no cost associated. The cost of future media engagements will be determined only in the absence of invitations to interviews.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

(1) (a) Not in the Office of the Minister; (b) Not in the Office of the Minister as no employees requested approval to perform additional work; (i) not applicable; (ii) not applicable.

(2) Not in the Office of the Minister; all offers of employment stipulate that in terms of section 30(1) of the Public Service Act, 1994, they are required to obtain prior approval should they wish to perform any remunerative work outside the public service; (b) not applicable; (c) not applicable; (d) not applicable.

 

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

	Department: DWYPD	Entity: NYDA
(a)	Yes, Her office makes use of private security firm.
(b)	N/A	Yes, the NYDA makes use of a private security firm:
(i)	Idlangamandla Security Protection & Project cc	Rise Security Services (Pty) LTD
(ii)	The purpose is to provide physical (guarding) services to protect the DWYPD infrastructure and assets.	The purpose is to provide physical security services to twenty-one (21) NYDA branch offices and thirty-one (31) district offices in terms of access control, guarding, alarm services and emergency response to protect the NYDA infrastructure and assets.
(iii)	R2 378 660, 48	R18 551 388.66
(iv)	24 months from 01 January 2021 – December 2022	36 months from 1 November 2019 to 31 October 2022.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

The Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has regularly indicated its concern with the use of consultants by the department due to budgetary constraints.

It must be emphasised that due to budgetary cuts, especially in the allocation for compensation of employees, it has impacted on the ability of the Department to recruit and hire suitably technically skilled persons to carry out certain specific tasks and activities. Unfortunately the Department has been placed in a situation where it is forced to use short-term, temporary skilled personnel to assist in these areas of work.

One such area is in the development of an evidence-based knowledge portal, which requires high technical skills in conceptualising and developing a model for an electronic platform. Furthermore there is also an element of IT Skills that are needed to develop and undertake the back-end processes of such an electronic platform. These skills are not available within the current personnel in the department. Thus the Department has been working with the University of Johannesburg since 2019 towards this end. However due to the budget reprioritisation process redirecting government spending towards the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, this project was reprioritised for implementation in the 2021/22 financial year.

In order to reduce the use of consultants, the Department has also embarked on collaborative efforts with UN agencies in an effort to increase its capacity on areas that requires technical expertise. Two technical experts have been secured from UNFPA in respect of the development of a comprehensive M&E framework for the Sanitary Dignity programme, and the development of a comprehensive M&E Framework for the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence & Femicide.

It must be noted that in the use of these external technical expertise in these three programmes of the department, there is a level of ongoing skills transfer as well. However in achieving the majority of the targets in the Annual Performance Plan, the Department has been undertaking the work in-house, and meeting the necessary quarterly targets. The Department is therefore on course to meet its targets for the year with the work done by the officials in the department itself.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

Reply:

a) It is worth noting that there is reasonable progress in some of the interventions of the NSP on GBVF. However, reporting on progress has been mainly based on outputs of activities rather than outcomes. The NSP on GBVF is still in its early stages of implementation and outcomes and impact takes time.

b) The department has been working with national departments, provinces, districts and local municipalities towards integration of NSP on GBVF priorities in strategic plans. As part of localising the NSP on GVBF, provinces are working on their implementation plans and establishing structures aligned to the principles of the NSP on GBVF with the guidance of the department. The department is also conducting information sessions across all nine provinces. Between February and March 2021 eight (8) provinces have been covered with KwaZulu-Natal being the only outstanding province.

___________________________

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

(a) The Comprehensive National GBVF Prevention Strategy was prioritised. The department divided the prioritisation of the Prevention Strategy into two phases; The 1st phase involved the development of a communication strategy. This was based on the understanding that over the years, public dialogue and visibility of GBVF around social behavioral change programmes has not transpired on communication platforms. The communication strategy was developed and concluded last year to inform and raise awareness and influence behavioral change. The GBVF Communication Strategy was developed with men and boys as the core target audience. The goal is to change the norms and stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women, children and the LGBTQIA+ sector.

The communication strategy was the first step towards the development of a comprehensive national prevention strategy

Below is the response for phase 2:

(b) Due to a lack of resources the Department has partnered with four UN agencies, namely UN Office on Drugs and Crime; UN Women; United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF); and UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the development of a Comprehensive National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Prevention Strategy.

This partnership also includes the GIZ which is the German development cooperation with South Africa. This has been done to ensure that the implementation of the Prevention Strategy is not hindered.

It should be noted that the Prevention Strategy will be concluded in the 2021/22 financial year.

(c) The inability of the officials to develop the prevention strategy is based on the inadequate resources in terms of personnel and funding and not due to incompetency. It is the very officials that reached out to UN agencies in forging a partnership. This does not require consequences management. The partnership forged already is strategic enough and it will enhance existing capacity and yield the desired results.

___________________________

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

a) The draft Bill that the Department is developing will guide inter alia, the establishment of the NCGBVF, which will outline the details of the model in line with the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) NSP and the declaration.

b) The process to establish the National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Council requires enactment of a founding legislation first. The department is in the process of developing the draft Bill.

___________________________

Approved by:

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

The National Youth Machinery meeting has been established at the national sphere of government, to coordinate youth development by all relevant stakeholders within the youth sector. It is a professional space to share information and showcase good practices. The meeting provides a platform to different stakeholders, to share information about their strategies, plans, programmes, and projects. The participants are youth workers who are mainly youth focal points from youth led and youth serving organisations.

The National Youth Machinery meeting consist of representatives from:

a) the National Youth Development unit in the DWYPD; to serve as the Convenor, Chairperson and Secretariat of the meeting;

b) the line function department responsible for youth development at the national sphere;

c) the youth units in the Offices the Premiers (representing each province);

d) the NYDA;

e) Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;

f) the South African Local Government Association (SALGA);

g) the South African Youth Council (SAYC);

h) non-government youth led organisations; and

i) Representatives of the private sector.

There are similar structures at provincial and local levels, where provincial and local youth focal points representing Offices of the Premiers, provincial sector departments as well as district and local municipalities, also participate. The meeting participants are expected to engage directly with the clients they are servicing. This would mean that at provincial and local level, the youth workers (youth focal points), cascade information to majority of young people they are servicing including those residing in rural areas.

_________________________

Approved by Minister

Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP

Date _____________________

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 _____________________

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:

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 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 Recruitment process that was followed for the appointment of a person in the position of Chief Director: Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Rights of Persons with Disabilities was as follows:

1. Advertising

The post of Chief Director: Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Rights of Persons with Disabilities with reference no. DWYPD 002/2020 was amongst those posts advertised on 22 December 2019 in the media in the City Press / Rapport and the DPSA Circular 02 of 2020 on 10 January with the closing date of 31 January 2020.

2. Response handling

Response handling was done internally, all applications received were captured on the selection grid with a total number of 96 applicants.

3. Selection Committee

The selection committee appointed by the Executive Authority, consisted of three (3) members; namely a Deputy Director-General, (female) from the Department of Tourism as chairperson, Acting Chief Operations Officer (female) from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and a Chief Director (male) from the Department.

The selection committee members, including the HR representative, signed the declaration form as expected to maintain confidentiality and objectivity.

4. Selection process - virtual

The selection committee did a pre-screening to include those applicants who were assessed as having met the minimum post requirements and have completed and submitted all required documents. The selection committee concurred commonalities to finally short list three suitable applicants.

5. Security Clearance and Reference Check

Security screening were conducted in collaboration with the Directorate: Security Management; and references checks were also conducted.

6. Interview process - virtual

All shortlisted candidates were subjected to a 60-minute similar technical exercise prior to their interviews that was intended to test relevant technical competencies of the job and each of the candidates were scored on the basis of their performance during their interviews to enable the panel members to recommend the successful candidate to the delegated authority for appointment.

The selection committee reached consensus at the end of the interview process on the nomination(s) to be made; the necessary motivation for the recommended as well as candidates not recommended were provided to the HR representative.

A runner-up candidate was recommended to be appointed in the event where the recommended candidate declines the offer for any reason.

The selection committee signed the certificate of confirmation of nomination for appointment to the advertised post with the necessary motivation.

7. Competency Assessment

The selection panel recommended the top two preferred candidates to attend the generic managerial competency assessment in compliance with the Department of Public Service and Administration Directive on the Implementation of Competency-Based Assessment.

8. Recommendations/Approvals

A request submission for approval of the delegated authority was prepared for appointment to fill the advertised post of Chief Director: Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Reply:

1. The Department’s mandate is to regulate socio-economic transformation and implementation of the empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities. The Minister and Deputy Minister are members of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC). In terms of their role, they influenced programmatic interventions at the SANAC Inter Ministerial Commission meeting and the extended SANAC Plenary held in November 2020, in planning towards the commemoration of World Aids Day and advocated for heightened focus on young women.

2. The Director General and the CEO of SANAC met recently to discuss areas of alignment. Their focus was on how the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) interlinks with the National Strategic Plan for HIV& AIDS, and key programmes to focus on collectively. These included, amongst others, services to young women as the hardest hit sector and the LGBTQIA+ community. Further, the Deputy Minster is the chairperson of the prevention pillar of the NSP. A prevention Technical Task Team on HIV&AIDS and NSP has been formed in support of this pillar. It is meant to facilitate key interventions that reflects the interlink of HIV&AIDS and GBVF. One of the focus areas is Sexual, Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHR) of young women. Workshops with relevant stakeholders in this regard are taking place.

Reply:

There were two versions of the advertisement, namely (i) an abridged version that was published in the City Press / Rapport on 22 December 2019 and (ii) a comprehensive version that was published in the DPSA Vacancy Circular No. 02 of 2020 on 10 January 2020 and on the Departmental website and Intranet.

(i) CITY PRESS / RAPPORT

Chief Director: Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Rights of Persons with Disabilities (reference: DWYPD/002/2020). Preference will be given to applicants with disabilities.

Salary package: R 1,251,183 fully inclusive remuneration package per annum (salary level 14). National Office, Pretoria.

Purpose of the Post: to ensure maintenance and implementation of a 365 days integrated national disability inclusion campaign. Provide technical support for collaborative and coordinated implementation of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Requirements for the Post: undergraduate qualification (NQF level 7) in Disability Studies, Economic Sciences, Human Rights Law, Social Sciences. Post-Graduate qualification (NQF level 8) in Disability and/or Management Studies will be an added advantage. Minimum of 5 years’ relevant experience at senior managerial level. In-depth knowledge and ability to apply international treaties and instruments impacting on the lives of persons with disabilities, understanding disability from a socio-political and human rights perspective, sound understanding of universal design and access theory and application, inclusive of reasonable accommodation support measures as well as advocacy and mainstreaming approaches.

(ii) DPSA VACANCY CIRCULAR, DEPARTMENTAL WEBSITE AND INTRANET

Post: Chief Director: Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ref no: DWYPD/002/2020)

Note that preference will be given to applicants with disabilities

Salary: R 1,251,183 fully inclusive remuneration package per annum (salary level 14) Centre: Pretoria

Requirements: Appropriate undergraduate qualification (NQF level 7) in Disability Studies, Economic Sciences, Human Rights Law, Social Sciences. Post-Graduate qualification (NQF level 8) in Disability and/or Management Studies will be an added advantage. Minimum of 5 years’ relevant experience at senior managerial level. In-depth knowledge and ability to apply international treaties and instruments impacting on the lives of persons with disabilities, understanding disability from a socio-political and human rights perspective, sound understanding of universal design and access theory and application, inclusive of reasonable accommodation support measures as well as advocacy and mainstreaming approaches. Good understanding of government decision-making and procedures. Ability to work across spheres of government and interact at a senior level. Advanced planning, organisational and communication skills. Strong strategic capability and skills in policy analysis, analytical thinking, programme and project management, financial and people management skills. Solution-orientated and ability to work under tight deadlines and manage stressful situations. The successful applicant will be subject to personal security vetting at a top secret level.

Duties: To ensure maintenance and implementation of a 365 days integrated national disability inclusion campaign. Provide technical support for collaborative and coordinated implementation of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Facilitate development of partnership projects aimed at accelerating and advancing the realisation of socio-economic rights of children and adults with disabilities. Facilitate and support standardisation and embedding of universal access and design across public service delivery value chains. Facilitate embedding of disability inclusion in government-wide decision-making processes through, among others, effective support services to the National Disability Rights Machinery. Ensure effective management of the Chief Directorate, inclusive of full compliance with all legal and public sector prescripts.

Reply:

A budget analysis has not been conducted to evaluate the costs of implementing the National Youth Policy:

a) The National Youth Policy specifies policy priorities for socio-economic development and empowerment of young people. An Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS), which gives effect to the implementation of the National Youth Policy, is the one that would be costed.

b) The IYDS would be developed by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and finalised by the end of March 2021. The nature of youth programmes, projects, and activities aligned to the National Youth Policy priorities will be specified in the IYDS. These programmes, projects and activities are the ones to be costed. A budget analysis will be available once the strategy is finalized, costed and approved.

:

Reply:

a) The budget for monitoring and evaluation of the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2030 is within the budget of the National Youth Development branch in the Department. The total budget for the National Youth Development branch is R10 523 000. Of that amount, R3 134 000 is for goods and services. The monitoring and evaluation budget is within the goods and services line item.

b) The National Youth Development branch and the Monitoring and Evaluation unit in the Department will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the NYP2030 and they will ensure collection, analysis and reporting of progress of high level output and outcome indicators tracking implementation of the National Youth Policy by government, civil society, and private sectors on a continuous basis. Data will be collated and the NYP2030 implementation reports will be consolidated on quarterly basis.

c) The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework has monitoring and evaluation tools to be used to collect selected data that is disaggregated according to age, gender, disability status, geographic location, and racial grouping.

d) The monitoring and evaluation plan and templates will be completed together with the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework by the end of March 2021. They will be consulted with relevant stakeholders, before being processed to Cabinet for approval. Capacity building sessions will also be held in all provinces with targeted implementing agents.

Reply:

(1) The majority of the consultations included youth who are not affiliated to any organisation, with the exception of one webinar which only targeted youth from political and student formations. In many consultation sessions, including the provincial ones and received written responses, the majority of young people participated in their personal capacities. These included youth from various parts of the country who saw it as a moral responsibility to participate in shaping this important advocacy tool.

Venue/ Type	Dates	No. of participants	Target
Physical Contact Sessions
Free State	06 November 2019	103	Non-affiliated youth
KwaZulu- Natal	12 November 2019	70	Non-affiliated youth
Mpumalanga	15 November 2019	106	Non-affiliated youth
Western Cape	20 November 2019	74	Non-affiliated youth
Eastern Cape	23 November 2019	62	Non-affiliated youth
Northern Cape	05 December 2019	50	Non-affiliated youth
Limpopo	10 December 2019	91	Non-affiliated youth
Gauteng	12 December 2019	62	Non-affiliated youth
Local Government stakeholders (Thaba Nchu)	21-22 January 2020	60	Both affiliated and non-affiliated youth
North West	07 February 2020	55	Non-affiliated youth
Other Consultations
Venue/ Type	Dates	Written comments received
Gazette	07 February – 16 March 2020	17 written submissions from individuals; and 59 written submissions from organisations
Extension and newspaper advertisements	16 March – 28 April 2020
Webinar on youth policy in the age of COVID-19	29 June 2020	Non-affiliated youth and the public at large
Extension for written inputs	01 August – 31 August 2020	Non-affiliated youth and the public at large
Special webinar	18 September 2020	Affiliated youth from political and student formations. The Portfolio Committee was invited.

2) A summary of 42 pages of comments and inputs received would be sent directly to Hon. Mphithi.

Reply:

(a)

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is engaging with the Department of Health on the Investigative Report of the Commission for Gender Equality on Forced Sterilisation of Women living with HIV and Aids. This collaboration is based on the findings and recommendations contained in the report to respond so that justice be served where there is proof of the violation of human rights and dignity, and reproductive injustices committed.

In this regard the redress must include the following that:

• the Department of Health must facilitate engagement with the complainants so that where such violations were committed, the appropriate redress can be provided for;
• there be an immediate review of the policy on sterilisation and if necessary, of the Sterilisation Act No 44 of 1998.
• where necessary, the guidelines and protocols related to the issue of sterilisation be reviewed and amended in order to protect against any loopholes that could lead to such violations;
• the Department of Health investigate the issue so that those doctors and nurses guilty of the alleged heinous acts be appropriately sanctioned.

The meeting between the two departments was to establish what interventions the Department of Health has made to date and to determine how the matter can be expeditiously addressed and redressed. The Department of Health informed the Department of the actions taken to date:

• In February 2020, the Department of Health received the Report from the Commission on Gender Equality, following which the Minister of Health engaged the Chair, Deputy Chair and the CEO of the Commission for Gender Equality, seeking clarity on issues contained in the Report .

• In order to better understand the nature and extend of the complaints and to take corrective action, the Department of Health is establishing a panel of independent experts from various fields to further investigate the matter.

• The Department of Health will request through the media that women who feel that they have been sterilised against their will make representation to the Health Ombudsman confidentially, so that they are not prejudiced

• The Department of Health is probing the consent forms for sterilisation to ascertain whether the provisions contained therein provide for and protect the principle of informed consent in all respects. The Department of Health indicated that the previous consent form has a few limitations which need to be strengthened and tightened to avoid any unintended negative consequences and that they are currently addressing these, including the recommendations from the Commission for Gender Equality report on language of counselling, and the provision of a “cooling off” period for the person seeking the procedure before it is actually performed, among others.

(b) The Department is unable to directly engage the alleged victims as they remain anonymous. It is envisaged that in working with the Department of Health the issue will be addressed though the interventions that the Department of Health is putting into place.

Reply:

(a) (b)(i) All Government departments are supposed to be implementing the National Strategic Plan for Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

(b) (ii) Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development; Department of Communications and Digital Technologies; Department of Higher Education; Department of Transport; Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Sport, Arts and Culture; Small Business Development; Science and Technology; and National Treasury.

Reply:

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) is playing a key role by;

Providing strategic guidance, leadership and engagement with the key stakeholders with regard to the establishment of the National Council; and

Monitoring progress made on the implementation of the NSP and enforces accountability and compliance with reporting across all government departments. The IMC Chairperson ensures that the Department receives updated weekly reports that are sent to the President on the implementation of the GBVF-NSP.

Reply:

(a) The Department is in discussion with National Treasury on how the Council will be funded.

(b) The National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence & Femicide (GBVF-NSP) is still being costed. The costing will determine the model for funding that will be adopted.

(2) The R17m from the Solidarity Fund was allocated towards;

 Adding in the scale up of the GBV Command Centre to handle the increase in GBV related cases through the recruitment and training of social worker supervisors, trauma training for social workers and the procurement of equipment, data and furniture;

Supporting the 78 shelters under the National Shelter Movement and the 55 Thuthuzela Care Centres with funding for PPE and critical medical services; and 

Implementing a communication campaign to increase awareness and information about the services available at the shelters and the GBV Command Centre. 

(3) The COVID-19 relief funds were used for pillar 4:

The purpose of Pillar 4 is to provide Response, Care, Support and Healing to victims of Gender Based Violence. It further ensures that all relevant departments within the Criminal Justice System enhance their interventions to respond on time in an integrated manner, provide psycho-social support and eliminate or minimize secondary victimization.

A number of strategies and related interventions were developed and implemented to minimise the negative impact of COVID-19 on women. These included increases in social grants, the introduction of the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant, the distribution of food parcels and the establishment of homeless shelters.

Furthermore, according to the Department of Social Development COVID-19 Progress Report (August 2020) there are 134 GBV shelters in place as well as 193 new shelters which were established for homeless people, catering for 11 851 women and men as from April to July 2020.

Counselling and psychosocial services were provided, with 174 831 people reached from April to June 2020, for affected and infected persons and their families. The statistics from the Department of Social Development GBV Command Centre reveal that, since the lockdown, the Centre received 1 275 cases for GBV from March to May 2020. The Centre also received calls for counselling, and enquiries pertaining to substance abuse.

To address evidence of increased food insecurity and hunger of women and their families, the Department of Social Development led the distribution of food parcels to qualifying families. A total of 8 951 204 food parcels were distributed from April to August 2020.