Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Blended Finance Scheme.

The approval information of the Blended Finance Scheme (BFS), which was launched in October 2022, is provided in the attached Annexure A.

The Bank prepares a report on a quarterly basis to provide the kind of details that is being requested. Therefore, the information herewith provided is for a period from the launch of the BFS to the end of September 2023.

2. Agro Energy Fund.

The Agro Energy Fund was launched on the 29th of August 2023. There are no transactions approved yet. As at 31st October 2023 the Bank had received 19 applications to the value of R53m that are still going through the due diligence assessment.

Reply:

(a) and (b) The number of schools closed as per the School Rationalisation and Realignment Process (SRRP) since 2012 is 2 547. See attached Annexure for detailed breakdown per province. 

Reply:

The Department has developed a comprehensive integrated national water and sanitation master plan, which is intended to guide the water sector with investment planning for the development of water resources and the delivery of water and sanitation services over the horizon until 2030, and beyond. The plan identifies key actions in the water sector and allocates roles and responsibilities to all in the water sector, from the various tiers of government, the private sector, and other stakeholders for the implementation of the plan. It also includes a list of key programmes, projects, and actions to be implemented for the protection and development of the national water resources, and for the provision of adequate and reliable water and sanitation services for all citizens. It addresses the enabling requirements, such as the institutional and legal arrangements for implementation, operation and maintenance, funding requirements and models, and monitoring and evaluation models.

Demand for water in Gauteng has grown rapidly, largely due to population growth, and partly due to increasing leaks in municipal distribution systems. The planners in DWS anticipated this growth in demand and put in place plans to address it as far back as the 1980’s, through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which transfers water from Lesotho into the IVRS. The R40 billion Phase 2 of the LHWP has been delayed by nine years. It is now under construction but is only due to be completed by 2028.

Rand Water’s total current supply capacity is 5 200 million litres of treated drinking water per day, and it is already exceeding its abstraction limit from the IVRS. It will only be possible for Rand Water to increase its abstraction of water from the IVRS after LHWP Phase 2 comes online.

Rand Water has a R35 billion capital programme which is timed to result in substantial additional treatment and storage capacity becoming available when LHWP Phase 2 comes online. This includes the recently completed R3.5 billion augmentation of the capacity of its Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant by 150 million litres per day. This additional capacity is now contributing to reducing the risk of shortages of water for Rand Water’s municipal customers but is also contributing to the over-extraction of water from the IVRS by Rand Water.

In this context, the demand-supply relationship for treated water in Gauteng is very tight and the system is vulnerable to disruptions caused by heavy load shedding, electro-mechanical breakdowns or theft of cables. Usually, such breakdowns would not have a noticeable effect on water supply due to the ability to draw on reserve supply capacity, but now there is no reserve supply capacity. Because the water is usually gravity-fed from municipal reservoirs to households, high-lying areas are worst affected by disruptions in supply.

To reduce the risk of water supply disruptions in future, the municipalities need to improve their billing and revenue collection and allocate increased funding to maintenance and to reducing leaks. There are also investments that they can make in pumps and reservoirs which can improve their ability to withstand the kind of disruptions described above (the City of Joburg is currently implementing several such investments).

The Minister of Water and Sanitation is coordinating regular meetings with Rand Water and the Mayors of the Gauteng municipalities. In addition, officials from Rand Water and the Gauteng municipalities are having daily meetings to ensure improved coordination of responses to disruptions in supply.

Even after LHWP Phase 2 comes on stream, Gauteng’s long-term water consumption will need to be carefully managed, because there are limits to which further phases of LHWP or other water transfer projects can continue to provide additional water to Gauteng at an affordable cost. The reality is that South Africa is a water-scarce country with limited sustainable water resources and amongst the top 30 driest countries globally.

DWS will be working with Rand Water and the municipalities in Gauteng to implement a more effective communications strategy regarding the need for people to use water more sparingly. Average per capita water consumption in Gauteng is 253 litres per day compared to the world average of 173 litres per capita per day. If water supply disruptions are to be avoided in Gauteng in future, a culture of careful water use needs to be promoted and awareness raised of the fact that, if some people do not use water sparingly, other people will get none.

Over half a million people have migrated into the Western Cape in the last fiscal year to date with vandalism of infrastructure exacerbating the issue. This has put a strain on water and sanitation infrastructure in the province. A total of R3,146 billion has been allocated by the Department for the next three fiscal years to fund infrastructure projects in the province through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grants (WSIG).

DWS is implementing several water resource infrastructure projects in the Western Cape, to ensure security of supply of water. For example, the R4 billion project to raise the wall of Clanwilliam Dam is currently underway. The project will enable improved assurance of water supply for agriculture and provide for water allocations to resource-poor farmers on the West Coast.

The TCTA is in the process of raising finance for the Berg River Voelvlei Augmentation Scheme. The project will increase the yield of the Voelvlei Dam and improve regional water security and create a more reliable supply to domestic, agricultural and industrial water users.

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Reply:

1. Please note that responses on the greylisting of the country by the Financial Action Task Force has been provided including a response relating to illicit financial flows. Please refer to PQ943, PQ3967, PQ2641, PQ2642 and PQ4712.

In PQ4712, the following was indicated, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD were running a 12-country pilot on the building of in-country capacity on the measurement of Illicit Financial Flows, with the pilot later being expanded to 22 countries, of which South Africa was one of the pilot member countries. The pilot has only produced unofficial estimates.

2. The areas that were identified by the FATF when it greylisted South Africa are listed in National Treasury’s media statement (https://www.treasury.gov.za/comm_media/press/2023/2023022401%20Media%20statement%20-%20Response%20to%20FATF.pdf which was published by
National Treasury on 24 February 2023. Furthermore, as indicated in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on 1 November 2023, since the greylisting of the country by the FATF in February 2023, a large number of government departments and agencies – including SAPS, the Hawks, NPA, SIU, SSA, SARB, FSCA, and SARS – have been working hard to address the deficiencies. The FATF noted during its plenary meeting on 27 October 2023 that the work is showing positive results, with South Africa having addressed 15 of the 20 technical deficiencies in our legal framework and making good progress on 17 of the 22 effectiveness action items, including 2 that are now deemed to be largely addressed.

Reply:

Universities are responsible for developing qualifications that are aligned to their different missions, visions and strategic directions. Further, the choice of the appropriate form of work integrated learning (WIL) or experiential learning depends on the nature, purpose, outcomes and the NQF level of the qualification. Institutions have the responsibility to ensure that they have sufficient capacity to provide quality assured opportunities for WIL for students and structures and systems in place within professional settings and sites of practice to support student learning. Universities are also responsible for placing students at appropriate work places and to ensure that WIL is structured, properly supervised, recorded and assessed.

The Department of Higher Education and Training (the Department) on the other hand, utilises national policies to steer higher education; examples are the Higher Education Act of 1997, as amended, the National Plan on Higher Education, the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework and the NQF Act. The Department does not have the mandate to regulate the content of universities’ qualifications, it can and does however offer incentives for universities to ensure their curriculum is relevant.

Reply:

MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION

Raw water is drawn from rivers and dams and treated in Water Treatment Works; the treated water is required by law to meet drinking water standards set by the South African Bureau of Standards in South African National Standard (SANS) 241. Municipalities and water boards are also required to conduct regular tests on the treated water to ensure that it complies with the standard and submit the tests results to Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) where the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) monitors compliance to these standards.

The Bloemhof tragedy in the North West Province occurred due to contamination of drinking water. In terms of SANS241 and the norms and standards issued by DWS under the Water Services Act, when the tests carried out by a municipality indicate that the water supplied poses a health risk, the municipality must inform its consumers that the quality of the water that it supplies poses a health risk.

The Department has revived the Blue Drop and Green Drop Certification programmes to intensify monitoring of municipal service provision by ensuring that the entire value chain is assessed. The results of the Blue and Green Drops Watch Reports released by DWS earlier in July 2023 also indicate that further legislative reforms may be required to ensure that water service providers are professionally managed, capable, efficient and financially viable institutions. The DWS is in the process of consulting with water sector stakeholders regarding such reforms.

The DWS is supporting and intervening in many municipalities across the country to improve water and sanitation services. The Minister has agreed on improvement plans with Mayors, and the Department is assisting the municipalities with grant funding to address infrastructure deficits. The DWS, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the Water Boards also provide support to the municipalities with technical expertise and management support.

Additionally, the Department is in the process of strengthening its role as the regulator of water services. This includes developing more comprehensive and more stringent norms and standards for water services and standardising its regulatory processes and actions so that they are implemented more consistently. It is anticipated that these Standards will be published for comment at the end of November 2023.

The discharge of treated wastewater into a resource is only allowed in terms of an authorisation issued under the National Water Act, which provides site specific conditions and effluent quality limits. This has a rippling effect on public health, as it aims to prevent pollution of the water resource. The Department monitors compliance to the water use authorisation conditions, through site inspections and effluent quality results submitted on IRIS.

The DWS issues compliance notices and directives where Municipalities are non-compliant instructing them to correct the situation. Failure to comply to directives is a criminal offence in terms of the National Water Act and the Department, upon conducting criminal investigations, then submits to the National Prosecution Authority for a decision to prosecute.

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Reply:

a) Whether the memorandum of understanding between the National Housing Finance Corporation and the Department of Public Services and Administration has been signed regarding the Government Housing Scheme, which will make non-mortgage financing available to lower income government employees and give them access to First Home Finance to purchase houses in both urban and rural locations.

Yes, the National Housing Finance Corporation and the Department of Public Services and Administration signed the Memorandum of Understanding in November 2021. The Primary objectives of the MoU are to:

• Establish a relationship that will enable qualifying government employees’ access to First Home Finance subsidies.
• Strengthen the contribution of First Home Finance towards leveraging increased home loans to government employees.
• Increase home ownership among government employees.
• Ensure a co-ordinated approach in marketing First Home Finance to government employees.
• Establish the basis of interaction between the parties.

The MOU does allow Government Employee Housing Scheme (GEHS) members to access First Home Finance subsidy with non-mortgage products to purchase or build homes in both urban and rural areas.

b) If so, what total number of government employees are anticipated to gain from the revised First Home Finance policy?

According to the June GEHS report, as at the end of June there were 204 650 potentially qualifying employees. This number reduced from 319 440 as at the end of March 2023, because of salary adjustment that became effective on 1 April 2023 that resulted in a number of employees in Salary Level 7 and upwards earning a gross income above R22 000 per month; and therefore, ineligible for First Home Finance subsidy. This number reflects total employees in Salary Levels 1 up to 6 because their monthly gross income falls within the R22 000 upper limit for First Home Finance.

The MOU signed between the DPSA and the NHFC was on the implementation of FLISP, which was later rebranded to First Home Finance. The MOU was signed based on the then draft revised FLISP Policy and is being implemented.

The aspect that includes the NHFC, DPSA, NDHS and NT pertains to the NHFC assuming a bigger role of providing certain GEHS services for the benefit of government employees is still in the process.

Reply:

a) No

b) No

c) No

Thank You.

Reply:

(1) The instrument used for this loan is a Development Policy Operation (DPO), which means this loan is provided to South Africa on the strength of a completed set of policies and reforms. The institutional reforms that are referenced on the DPO fall under climate change and the electricity sector, mostly covered under NECOM.

(2) The DPL terms includes the following:

(c) & (d) the loan and interest are to be repaid biannually in March and September, principal repayment to begin in 2029 and end in 2038.

(e) The DPL is a sovereign loan and does not require collateral or guarantee.

(f) & (g) In line with the World Bank’s International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) General Conditions for Loans and Guarantees, if any amount of the withdrawn loan balance remains unpaid when due and such non-payment continues for a period of thirty days, then the Borrower shall pay the Default Interest Rate on such overdue amount in lieu of the interest rate specified in the Loan Agreement.

(h) All other conditions of the DPL are governed by the IBRD General Conditions for Loans and Guarantees https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/577851500256855740/pdf/GCs-Board-paper-June-22-Final-with-Annexes-06232017.pdf

3. No, this type of funding is categorised as budget support loans aimed aims to support South Africa’s economic recovery, inclusive and accelerated growth, and commitment to the just transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy.

The loan will take effect within 90 days from signing the loan agreement.

Reply:

1. No, I have not been informed of any recording of the Chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and others. The honourable member can share further information.
2. NSFAS has appointed a panel of Legal Service Providers. All Legal Service Providers are appointed from this panel as and when legal services are required.

Reply:

1. With reference to the Sixth Annual Progress Report on the Implementation of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which calls for the minimum employment equity target for persons with disabilities as from the 2024-25 financial year to move from 2% to 3%, with the aim of reaching a minimum of 7% in 2030, the Department may not be able to meet the 3% target for the 2024-25 financial year. Currenty the total number of persons with disablitiies in the Department is 23, thus representing only 1,2% of the the total workforce.

2. The Department is committed to meet the 7% target in 2030 by collaborating with the various disability organisations with a view to encouraging their members to apply for advertised posts in the Department.

Reply:

The South African income tax system is progressive, meaning that taxpayers who earn more pay a higher rate of tax than those who earn less. Consequently, taxpayers at the lowest tax brackets get to take home a larger portion of their income after tax than those at the higher income tax brackets. For example, taxpayers who earn less than R 95 750 per annum (for those below 65 of age) fall below the tax threshold, meaning they keep 100 per cent their income after tax. In contrast, those who earn in excess of R 1.817 million per annum have to pay 45 per cent tax on their earnings above that amount. The majority of income tax revenue is collected from the higher income brackets. The tax brackets below indicate at which percentage each income group is taxed. South Africa’s graduated income tax scale ensures that there is progressivity and equity in the tax system.

Income tax brackets for 2023/24

Over the 2024 MTEF period, 61 per cent of consolidated non-interest spending goes to the social wage towards healthcare, education, social protection, community development and employment​.

Reply:

1. Table 3.7 (below) of Chapter 3 of the MTBPS provides a breakdown of redemptions for the current year and over the medium term. (a)(b) Government will redeem debt of R155.5 billion in 2023/24, (c) R78 billion has been penciled in for Eskom in 2023/24 (d) the gross borrowing requirement will be raised through the issuance of domestic long term loans, domestic short term loans, foreign loans as well as the drawdown of cash balances (refer To table 3.7 below).

2. Chapter 3 of the 2023 MTBPS states: “... the Minister of Finance will propose tax measures to raise additional revenue of R15 bliion in the 2024 Budget”. In this regard, Budget 2023 will provide details fo measures to be implemented.

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

There is no Free State RecoveryPlan by Public Protector that am I aware of.

Reply:

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Reply:

The Postbank which was previously a division of SAPO used SAPO’s outdated and ageing IT infrastructure which was not fit for banking purposes. As a result, the bank embarked on an IT infrastructure modernisation project which intended to address its legacy IT issues including those identified by the SA Reserve Bank. Progress has been made in this regard and the project is 70% complete.

In September 2023, in addressing the SA Reserve variation notice conditions and as part of its IT infrastructure modernisation, the Postbank migrated from an old financial switch to a new financial switch, which resulted in some issues which impacted the payment of SASSA grants.

The issues were identified, resolved and the payment processing system has since been stabilised resulting in 4.8 million beneficiaries being paid in September 2023. After this stabilisation phase, there have been no issues with the processing of payments.

Thank You.

Reply:

Neither (a) Minister Dr GNM Pandor, nor (b) Deputy Ministers KC Mashego-Dlamini and A Botes attended the Rugby World Cup final while (c) three (3) Departmental officials namely the Chief of State Protocol and two Protocol Officials provided support to the President during his attendance of the Rugby World Cup final. The costs for the Department were as follows namely (aa) R146, 714.86 (bb) R 327, 271.75 and (cc) R 213, 873.92

Reply:

a) The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Giyani Campus is being established at the former Giyani College of Education which is currently owned by the Limpopo Department of Education (LDE). In May 2023, my department commenced with a feasibility study for the establishment of the campus, but it then experienced a delay of more than 5 months from the side of LDE. An agreement on the way forward was reached on 16 October and the Department is now finalizing the feasibility study. Notwithstanding the delay mentioned above, in September 2023 I allocated R31.916 million to TUT for the University to carry out refurbishments and deferred maintenance on existing facilities upon the completion of the feasibility study.

b) The feasibility study will be completed in December 2023 and TUT will commence with the refurbishment and deferred maintenance in February 2024 which will enable the first intake of students during the 2025 academic year. Subject to the current budget cuts process, more funding will be allocated from 2024/25 onwards and over an anticipated 6-year period. The funding to be allocated during 2024/25 will enable TUT to start with the planning of the major projects during the 2024 calendar year.

Reply:

Reply:

There are two main challenges in terms of arrears owed to Eskom as well as municipalities: first, consumers who do not pay for municipal services delivered; and second, a lack of leadership to ensure that credit control is enforced and Eskom and / or municipal revenue is collected. As a result, a blanket approach to consumer debt write-off is not economically viable, affordable or prudent as it will not address these underlying challenges and will likely further exacerbate the consumer debt owed to Eskom and municipalities.

In this context, it should be noted that the write-off of consumer debt owed to municipalities and Eskom falls within the ambit of Eskom and / or the respective municipalities who are providing the consumer with electricity within the demarcation and cannot be separated from proper indigent management.

Annually the Local Government Equitable Share (LGES), based on the most recent statistical data, provides for a package of free basic services (FBS), including 50 kilowatt hours free electricity to poorer households within the identified municipal demarcations (including Eskom supplied areas). Unfortunately, the National Treasury analysis indicates that many municipalities do not provide all households that qualify with this benefit and many municipalities divert the LGES: FBS component earmarked for poorer households to fund other municipal priorities and salaries. Consequently, they do not pay Eskom the FSB: electricity component.

Both the Eskom and municipal debt relief conditions allows the write-off of consumer debt. However, this is subject to the implementation of pre-paid smart metering for any consumer who is unable to repay Eskom or the municipality coupled with restricting electricity to the national FBS: free electricity policy limit in the case of indigent consumers.

Please refer queries regarding the removal or confiscated transformers to Eskom as they are the appropriate institution to respond to this matter.

Reply:

a) The Minister, (b) the Deputy Minister and (c) the departmental officials did not attend the Rugby World cup final in France in October.

Reply:

1. The expenditure data presented in the 2023 MTBPS is a synopsis of the comprehensive details that will be presented at the time of the 2024 Budget. In the meantime, as indicated in the 2023 MTBPS the rise in debt-service costs, and weaker revenue collection, is having an adverse impact on the total amount available for government spending. This is the first and most fundamental consideration.

The National Treasury conducts regular assessment of the financial performance of departments, including in respect of entities that fall under the ambit of specific Ministries. In addition, since 2021 the National Treasury has conducted detailed spending reviews whose outcomes have been shared with departments. With this in mind, and in the context of proposed spending reductions, the National Treasury’s assessments has highlighted poor or low spending over time, poor programme performance, the accumulation of surpluses within departmental accounts and entities, own revenue generation capacity, and opportunities for savings as key considerations in applying reductions. In addition, broader policy decisions of government to refocus priorities has an impact on the decisions related to spending allocations.

The budget process, especially any downward or upward adjustments, is undertaken as a collaborative and consultative process within government. This is because it involves difficult choices and decisions that cannot and should not be made in a purely mechanistic fashion. Moreover, departments and sectors of government perform vastly different functions.

The choices and decisions that must be made are discussed in engagements at the national level in the Ministers’ Committee on the Budget, as well as Cabinet. For sub-national governments, all relevant budgetary issues are determined through the Budget Council (a legislated structure composed of provincial MECs for Finance and the Minister of Finance), and the Budget Forum (a legislated forum that includes members of the Budget Council, the Department of Cooperative Governance, and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). Prior to these discussions, direct engagements take place between departments and officials of the National Treasury on the details of their budgets. Through these processes, agreements are reached on the how to manage the adverse situation for the fiscus, including the choices for spending reductions. Some of these issues remain under discussion.

2. The fiscal constraints on government and the budget are determined by economic performance, tax revenues and market conditions for borrowing. High and rising debt-service costs act as an automatic crowding-out of government spending priorities, including the most important priorities. For this reason, the 2023 MTBPS proposes staying the course for growth and sound public finances, in order to arrest this negative trend. The MTBPS proposal includes measures to boost economic growth so as to improve tax revenue collections without increasing the individual burden on tax-payers – otherwise known as base expansion, and some spending reductions to ensure that the debt position of government does not go out of control. This strategy, if implemented, will prevent the need for even more severe spending adjustments to the budgets of critical service delivery functions.

Reply:

I, the Deputy Minister, and any department staff did not attend the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023 in an official capacity. The Honourable Member should note that nothing prevented officials from attending the Rugby World Cup final in France at their own expense.

1. (a) to (c) not applicable;
2. (i) to (iii) not applicable; and
3. (aa) to (cc) not applicable.

Once again, we are proud of the Springboks' triumph and especially the exciting matches against France, England, and New Zealand.

Reply:

The NDMC Fire Services Directorate, in its attempt to reposition fire services in the country is working closely with the Eastern Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre in improving capacity within the province to provide a sustainable Fire Services within the Eastern Cape Province, which includes the Joe Gqabi District Municipality. In May 2023 a functionality assessment was performed by the Eastern Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre to assess the municipality’s capacity, funding sources, human and physical resources to support a fire service. The NDMC Fire Services Directorate further supported the Eastern Cape during the 2023/204 FY by performing capacity assessments within five (5) identified municipalities for the implementation of the National Fire Safety & Prevention Strategy, aimed at lowering prevention of loss of life, with a particular focus on preventing multi-fatality causalities in buildings to which the public have access.

There are plans in place to assist the municipality, to improve its capacity to perform the firefighting function. The NDMC Fire Services Directorate is in the process of drafting a consolidated Status Report of Fire Services in the country which forms part of the Review of the Disaster Management System in the country, and a Fire Services Working Group have already been established to perform this task. The aim of the Status Report is to identify service delivery gaps, and to monetarily quantify the areas where support is needed, from which a business case will be forwarded to the Minister, and upon approval be submitted to National Treasury before the end of March 2024.

End.

Reply:

1. (a) The draft report (termed revision 1) of the VGBE Energy Service GmbH’s Independent Assessment of Eskom’s Operational Situation was submitted to the National Treasury on 21 July 2023.

(b) There was no additional mandate given to the consultants beyond the original scope of work that was agreed on which included the following:

• to undertake a review of the operational situation of the coal fleet;
• to assess the power plants maintenance budgets;
• to assess the skill levels of power plant personnel; and
• to assess the status of the transmission grid.

(c) The final report (termed revision 2) was submitted to the National Treasury on 01 September 2023.

2. The Minister of Finance is currently engaging with his Cabinet colleagues on the recommendations of the report to agree on the way forward as Eskom is expected to incorporate the findings into its Corporate Plan for 2024/25 financial year as part of the Eskom Debt Relief operational conditions. Once these consultations have been concluded, the conditionalities of its publication will be finalised.

Reply:

Municipalities have the option to utilise several grants, such as the Integrated Urban Development Grant (IUDG), Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), and Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG), for infrastructure-based LED initiatives. This is an acceptable practice. However, in terms of a specific introduction of a conditional grant like the Local Economic Development Grant, created to drive economic development and alleviate unemployment in rural areas, we are unable to offer details until the conclusion of the current review. Currently, government is reviewing the structure and system of conditional grants, limiting significant changes to existing grants until the review is completed.

Reply:

The Department did not conduct any financial audit on the University of Venda in the 2022-23 financial year. In terms of the Department’s annual reporting regulations for universities, an annual audit of the financial statements of a university is conducted by external auditors appointed by the University. All universities submit their annual report with the audited financial statements to the Department at the end of June each year.

Reply:

There is no motive or desire to withhold the report. I have tasked my team to process the report further to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

Reply:

South Africa remains a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, and as such enjoys all the rights of a State Party, including to do a referral of a situation to the ICC in terms of Article 14 of the Rome Statute. On 17 October 2023, South Africa, joined by Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti, referred the situation in Palestine to the ICC, in view of prima facie evidence that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC had been committed and are continuing to be committed within the context of the conflict in Gaza. By this referral, South Africa, joined by other members of the international community, is illustrating its commitment to fighting impunity.

Reply:

On 17 November 2023 South Africa, joined by Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti, referred the situation in the State of Palestine to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) pursuant to Article 14 of the Rome Statute. Although Israel is not a State Party, the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories by nationals of Israel. The ICC also has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Israel by nationals of the State of Palestine. Through this referral, South Africa has not called upon the OTP to investigate specific persons, rather it is a call upon the OTP to prioritise the Palestine situation and to vigorously investigate all crimes committed in the situation that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Reply:

1. The Municipal Regulations on Minimum Competency Levels, 2007 (Government Gazette No. 29967 of 15 June 2007) were promulgated in terms of section 168 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003). The Regulations are administered by the National Treasury, and therefore any details pertaining to progress in achieving the specified goals should be obtained directly from the National Treasury.

2. The following progress has been made since the adoption of the new system of local government in 2000 to build an ethical, professional and capable local public administration responsive to the needs of communities:

a) Regulations on appointment and conditions of employment of senior managers

These regulations contribute to the professionalisation of local public administration by setting out uniform procedures for appointment of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers (senior managers), including the appointment criteria (i.e. competency requirements, higher education qualifications and experience) necessary to enable incumbents to perform the duties associated with the relevant posts.

b) Municipal Performance Regulations for Municipal Managers and Managers Directly accountable to Municipal Managers

The objectives of these regulations are to provide a framework that ensures that municipalities are performance orientated and responsive to community needs; foster a culture of commitment to serving the public; and a collective sense of responsibility for performance in terms of standards and targets in order to maximise the ability of municipalities as a whole to achieve their objectives and improve the quality of life of their residents.

c) Disciplinary Regulations for senior managers

These regulations prescribe, amongst others, uniform procedures for reporting incidents of breach of the Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff; investigation of allegations of misconduct; appointment of presiding officers; roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders; and sanctions.

d) Municipal Staff Regulations

These regulations were promulgated on 20 September 2021 with the implementation date of 1 July 2022. The regulations incorporate minimum competency requirements for staff below management echelons which forms the basis for sector-wide skills audit and development programmes while ensuring that all municipal staff members participate in the performance management system in order to maximise the ability of municipalities to achieve their objectives and improve the quality of life of their residents. The skills audit exercise will provide a useful baseline information on skills profiles, workplace skills plans and sector skills plans.

e) Municipal Systems Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No. 3 of 2022)

The Municipal Systems Amendment Act provides legal certainty with regards to the Minister’ regulatory powers, including -

• Provision for the appointment of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers;
• Provision for procedures and competency criteria for such appointments, including consequences of appointments made otherwise than in accordance with such procedures and criteria;
• Provision procedures for performance evaluation;
• Limiting the political rights of all municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers from holding political office in a political party;
• Regulating the re-employment of municipal staff members who have been dismissed for misconduct;
• Prohibits the bloating of municipal administration;
• Provision for mandating procedures to be adhered to by organised local government before it embarks on wage negotiations in the bargaining council designated for municipalities; and
• Empowering the Minister to investigate maladministration, fraud, corruption or any other serious malpractice in municipalities, if the MEC fails to conduct such investigations.

End.

Reply:

No, the department does not budget for end-of-year functions and there is no expenditure for the current financial year. Where branches/programmes wish to have year-end functions, employees make personal contributions (it’s completely private).

1. N/A
2. N/A
3. None

Reply:

a) The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has elected to audit all 50 TVET Colleges as part of its mandate as provided through the Public Audit Act. The AGSA implemented a phased-in approach over a 4-year period, in which all 50 TVET were audited from the 2017 financial year. The audit outcomes of the TVET Colleges for the period 2017 to 2022 is listed in the table below:

b) The Department does not conduct audits on public universities. In terms of the Higher Education Act, 101 of 1997, the council of a public higher education institution must in the manner prescribed by the Minister ensure the implementation of the recommendations of an external auditor in accordance with accepted audit principles and standards on an annual basis. The Minister has prescribed through the Regulations for Reporting by Public Higher Education Institutions (2014) that the Councils must include in their annual reports the statement of the Audit Committee on how it fulfilled its responsibilities and the report of the independent auditor on the annual report. Independent (external) auditors of universities are appointed by the councils, with the concurrence of the Auditor General South Africa.

The Council on Higher Education through the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) also conducts institutional audits as part of its responsibilities for quality assurance. The audits focus on an institution’s policies, systems, procedures, strategies and use of resources. More specifically, the institutional audits also seek to assess an institution’s capacity for quality management of its academic activities in a manner that meets its specified mission, goals, and objectives, and engages appropriately with the expectations and needs of various internal and external constituencies.

Reply:

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation has taken the following steps to address the funding challenges related to the Umzimvubu Water Project:

• Through its Water Resource Development Planning unit, the Department has undertaken a project reconfiguration which resulted in a saving of 45% on the project.
• The reconfiguration included:
  • Using existing water services infrastructure rather than building new water services infrastructure
  • Deferring Lalini Dam to a later stage
  • Removing non-essential elements such as the visitor centre.
• The reconfigured project has been approved by national Treasury for funding from the fiscus.

b) The current activities which have had costs associated to them are mainly the Design Development and construction of the Access Road. There were no cost overruns for the design development as it was within budget. The current contract for the construction of the Access Road, which is ongoing, is also within the budget with no overruns expected. The Department has started work on the construction of Ntabelanga Dam.

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Reply:

Minister did not attend the Rugby World Cup in France in October 2023. 

Deputy Minister did not attend Rugby World Cup in France in October 2023.

Reply:

The NSFAS Board has sought legal advice on steps to take to cancel the impugned tender process. Of the advice received, approaching the High Court on self-review is the most legally astute and will afford all parties to state their cases before the court. NSFAS will abide by the just and equitable order once granted by the court.

Reply:

Protection for whistleblowers, including municipal employees and councillors who report allegations of corruption, maladministration and related offences at municipalities is provided by the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000 (Act No. 26 of 2000) (“the PDA”). The PDA was primarily enacted to provide for procedures in terms of which employees in both the private and the public sector may disclose information regarding unlawful or irregular conduct by their employers or other employees in the employ of their employers and most importantly to provide protection to employees who make a disclosure.

The purpose of the PDA is to protect workers from being subjected to an “occupational detriment” because they made a protected disclosure; to provide for remedies where an occupational detriment does occur and to provide procedures in terms of which information can be disclosed in a responsible manner. The PDA is administered by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

Practically, this means that if a person discloses information which is classified as a protected disclosure and an occupational detriment occurs because of disclosing, an employee or worker can approach any court with jurisdiction, which includes the Labour Court, for appropriate relief. The courts are empowered to make any appropriate order which is just and equitable in the circumstance where an occupational detriment has occurred.

Municipalities are encouraged through the Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy to develop whistle blowing policies to encourage the reporting of allegations of corruption, maladministration and related offences at municipalities. Furthermore, municipal officials and councillors can report any act of corruption and maladministration anonymously through the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH) administered by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

It has been highlighted that while the PDA is well intended, it is deficient in many important respects. As such, there is a process currently underway, lead by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to review the PDA with a view to close the identified gaps.

End.

Reply:

a) South Africa's financial services sector is sophisticated and well-regulated, and it offers a vast array of financial products and services. This level of variety requires consumers to be equipped with the information, knowledge, and skills necessary to evaluate their options and select the ones that best suit their needs and circumstances. This is especially true for populations that have historically been underserved by our financial system and those with low incomes who confront additional obstacles owing to resource constraints.

Several gaps have been identified as loopholes that allow the existence of bogus financial services that swindle vulnerable people. Firstly, limited financial literacy levels among South African consumers. According to the 2020 Financial Sector Conduct Authority Baseline survey, South Africans have an average financial literacy score of 52 out of 100. This suggests that South African consumers have limited knowledge to understand financial sector products/services. This exposes South Africans to predatory lending, financial scams, and acquiring inappropriate financial products or services with inadequate disclosures. As a result, there is a continued need for comprehensive financial consumer education programmes, complemented with a range of consumer protection measures.

Secondly, the rapid pace of digitalisation has encouraged development of innovative financial sector products and services, creating new opportunities and risks for consumers. While technology and digital financial services offer great opportunities to boost financial inclusion, increase access to the mainstream financial system and increase consumer conveniences, this development, adds complexity to how consumers engage with the financial services industry. Challenges are more pronounced for consumers with low financial and digital literacy.

According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre annual crime statistics report for 2022[1], South Africa faces challenges related to an array of financial and banking crimes spanning contact crimes, digital offenses, application fraud, and card fraud. Furthermore, South Africans continue to fall prey to get-rich-quick schemes. Scammers are increasingly exploiting conventional and trusted systems, such as stokvels. Scammers may, for instance, present themselves as legitimate stokvels, investment schemes, or property stokvels when, in fact, they are Ponzi or pyramid schemes[2]. The pursuit of unreasonably high returns also makes uninformed consumers easy targets for fraudulent investments. With the emergence of crypto assets, Ponzi schemes that are crypto based have become more common[3]. There is a need for greater vigilance and caution when engaging with this sector of the financial system.

b) National Treasury, through the National Consumer Financial Education Committee (NCFEC), comprising of representatives of government departments, regulators, financial sector industry associations, professional bodies, academia, and non-profit organisations, has annually been running a Money Smart Week South Africa (MSWSA), a financial education awareness campaign since October 2018. A variety of topics[4] including scam awareness are addressed through community radio station interviews, in-person activations and social media channels to relay the messages to consumers.

Furthermore, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regularly issues warnings to the public on fraudulent companies and individuals purporting to be offering legitimate financial services to the public. Members of the public are always urged to be cautious and verify the authenticity and registration status of service providers, by contacting the FSCA through a number of mechanisms the FSCA has made available on their website.

National Treasury has not been made aware of the existence of bogus medical insurance companies.

1. South African Banking Risk Information Centre annual crime statistics report for 2022 https://www.sabric.co.za/media/gq4hmbjw/sabric-annual-crime-stats-2022.pdf ↑

2. FSCA issues public warning against United African Stokvel https://www.fsca.co.za/News%20Documents/FSCA%20Press%20Release%20-%20FSCA%20warns%20the%20public%20against%20United%20African%20Stokvel%20-%2017%20July%202023.pdf ↑

3. FSCA media statement on investigation on Mirror Trading International Available https://www.fsca.co.za/News%20Documents/FSCA%20Press%20Release%20-%20The%20FSCA%E2%80%99s%20investigation%20on%20Mirror%20Trading%20International%20nears%20completion%2017%20December%202020.pdf ↑

4. Money Smart Week South Africa 2023 Activity List https://www.mswsa.co.za/MSWSA%20Documents/Money%20Smart%20Week%20South%20Africa%202023%20Activity%20List.pdf ↑

Reply:

The Minister has in compliance with the High Court Order retracted the Government Gazette number 49582 Vol 700 dated 27 October 2023, which published the decision to dissolve the UNISA Council and appoint an Administrator, consequent to the UNISA Council remains in office.

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

The Business Rescue Practitioners are in the process of finalising the SAPO business rescue plan, which will be submitted for approval by the creditors, by the end of November 2023.

The matters raised herein form part of what will be entailed within the plan. The BRPs request an opportunity to conclude their plan – and will respond to the questions thereafter.

Thank You.

Reply:

The Department has not approached the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) to request assistance with the monitoring and evaluation of water and sanitation across the water value chain.

Although the DPME has monitoring and evaluation expertise, it does not have technical and human capacity to monitor and evaluate the water and sanitation value chain. To monitor and evaluate the water and sanitation value chain, a suite of technical (e.g. scientific and engineering) and human resources are required. Also, the water and sanitation value chain does not only cover the functions of the national department but also those of municipalities (i.e. 144 water service authorities) and entities across the sector.

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Reply:

(a) and (b) Against the backdrop of Israeli contraventions of international law in Palestine, the South African Government has commenced preliminary discussions among relevant Government Departments to consider taking further steps for accountability by Israel for the crime of genocide. The South African Government is also considering steps for the potential mobilisation of support by UN Member States for holding Israel accountable, in the context of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. The commemoration by the UN in this regard presents a propitious moment for giving effect to the Genocide Convention.

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Reply:

(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) The SAPO does not have a product on funeral schemes. It only collects monthly premiums for Assupol, Lifewise etc. and no claims for these clients are processed via SAPO. The only claims for funeral cover that are claimed through the Post Office are for the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) which is funded by them, and there is no backlog with these (GEPF) claims.

Thank You.

Reply:

a) (i) The budgets for Higher Education Institutions are published in the Appropriation Bill annually.

(ii) The budgets for Higher Education Institutions are made public quarterly

b) (i) The amount transferred to Higher Education Institutions are published in the Annual Report of the Department.

(ii) The total amount transferred to Higher Education Institutions are made public quarterly.

Reply:

Following her assignment to the human settlements portfolio in 2021, Minister Kubayi declared the unblocking of human settlements projects as part of her apex priorities as these deny qualifying households their right to adequate housing and dignity. Thereafter the Minister directed her department and its sector partners (Provinces and Municipalities) to unblock all blocked or abandoned projects over a period of three financial years, namely, 2022/23 – 2024/25.

Subsequently, all provinces collectively identified a total of 320 blocked and incomplete projects which were placed in their 2023/24 Business Plans and later approved by the Minister with the requisite budget.

The human settlements sector defines a blocked and incomplete project as; A project where no progress delivery has been made for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. Blocked and incomplete projects include serviced sites and houses at different levels of construction namely, slab level, wall-plate level, roof level, etc.

The most common factors that lead to the blocking of human settlements projects are illegal land occupations, geotechnical variations, construction mafias, community unrest, the escalation of material costs, the lack of bulk infrastructure and link services including poor performance by contractors (some of whom would have abandoned sites).

The Department continues to monitor and support the progress of provinces on the unblocking of blocked and incomplete human settlements projects through physical site visits and the Provincial, Municipal and Human Settlements Entities Performance Reviews that are held each quarter.

In addition to the above, the Department has encouraged all sector partners to;

• Create mechanisms through which they will develop, empower and support small, medium and micro enterprises.
• Strengthen their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and contracts to enforce penalties and consequences against non-performing contractors and;
• Terminate the contacts of non-performing contractors as a last resort.

Reply:

The Department is currently finalizing the infrastructure plan for 2024/25 financial year. However, the plan consists of the completion of campuses that are under construction.

The process of planning for new campuses is dependent on the budget which has not been finalized. The projects that are in the plan are summarized below:

The request for the Villiers campus has been presented to the Department. The request will be processed.

Reply:

Poor service delivery can be attributed to various factors including financial liquidity challenges; inadequate allocation of financial resources for infrastructure development; poor contract management; and poor maintenance of infrastructure. Additionally, corruption, poor governance and political infights and/or disagreements distract priorities and delivery of services within municipalities.

Addressing these issues require a comprehensive approach involving improved governance; effective municipal leadership; collaboration with strategic partners within local government, and strategies to address governance failures.

The state of local government (SoLG) report identified 66 municipalities as dysfunctional, and these municipalities had challenges across the key performance areas of political, governance, administration, financial management and service delivery. In response to getting these municipalities out of this state of dysfunctionality, the Department developed Municipal Support and Intervention Plans (MSIPs) to address the short and medium-term challenges identified in the SoLG report for each of the municipalities and key local government performance areas. The implementation of MSIPs is monitored on a quarterly basis to assess achievement of proposed actions; facilitate adjustments based on changing circumstances, and for accountability.

The Department, including its provincial counterparts, have various intergovernmental forums and engagements on support to improve municipal performance and service delivery. Provinces also have provincial structures that discuss similar matters, and some established the Rapid Response Teams or Multi-disciplinary teams to respond to municipalities that have service delivery challenges.

The Department provides the following support aimed at strengthening the capacity within municipalities as a complementary process to enable a conducive environment for improved service delivery:

• The Department, through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), supports municipalities by among others, placement of civil and electrical engineers to assist with infrastructure management and capacity building in municipal project management units.
• Use of the Municipal Systems Improvement Grant (MSIG) to stabilize institutions and governance systems. The implementation of the projects through MSIG includes capacity building for long term viability in targeted municipalities.
• Municipalities that experience liquidity challenges and adopted unfunded budgets are persuaded to develop budget funding plans. Some have developed financial recovery plans to improve their cashflow and minimise the use of conditional grants for operational cost.
• Strengthen oversight committees to exercise their oversight role in ensuring accountability.

End.

Reply: