Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) The preparation of the financial recovery plan for the Madibeng Local Municipality has not yet commenced. Due to the nature of the problems confronting the municipality, a multi-disciplinary team with experience in Financial Management, Human Resources, Legal Skills, Organizational Design and other competencies is required. Some of this expertise does not currently exist within the Municipal Finance Recovery Services Unit of the National Treasury and a process to recruit these skills externally is underway.

It is anticipated that a multi-disciplinary team will be on board by June 2020 and once imposed restrictions on travel are lifted and working conditions return to normal, the team will be able to assist the North West Provincial Treasury and the municipality in drafting a financial recovery plan. Alongside these appointments at National Treasury, the North West Provincial Treasury have also finalized a Terms of Reference for the appointment of specialists to provide assistance to the province in preparing financial recovery plans for the Madibeng municipality and other municipalities in the North West.

(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) In order to determine the changes required, a diagnostic assessment will first have to be undertaken by the multi-disciplinary team. Only once this assessment is concluded, will it be possible to determine the changes required in terms of the budget, revenue raising measures, spending limits and revenue targets.

Reply:

1. No tenders were awarded
2. Not applicable
3. Not applicable
4. Not applicable

Reply:

a) Clinics and hospitals across the country receive water from the municipal water reticulation system. These facilities do however have back up water supply to assist when the municipality is unable to supply. A total of 2 908 (94%) clinics have piped water, and 2 568 (83%) have backup water supply in case of emergency. Those that do not have piped water and backup water receive water through municipal tanker supply system. All hospitals are connected to the municipal water reticulation system and also have backup water reservoir for the days that there is no supply from the municipality.

b) Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital does not have water shortage. It has the main Reservoir supplying Laundry and the Boiler and numerous tanks around the Hospital. There is, however, a need for two more reservoirs to be devoted to supply Maternity and Accident and Emergency Areas. The project for water reservoir to expand the water supply for the Hospital is planned for during this 2020/2021 financial year. Whenever there is a shortage of water from the municipality, the Hospital is able to supply the affected sections from its reservoir.

END.

Reply:

(a) As part of training, healthcare workers and contact tracers were sensitized on how to assist cases and contacts to deal with stigma and its impact on their mental health and well-being. Stigma, as a major cause of discrimination and exclusion, affects people’s self-esteem, disrupts relationships and contributes directly to human rights abuses. Recognising the need for mental well-being during this period of Covid-19 pandemic, the National Department of Health has developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on contact tracing in SA, which also include section on mental and psychological support to community during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The following aspects were covered during trainings:

• When referring to people with COVID-19, do not attach the disease to any particular ethnicity or nationality. Be empathetic to all those who are affected, in and from any country. People who are affected by COVID-19 have not done anything wrong, and they deserve our support, compassion and kindness.
• As part of health education, contacts are requested to seek information only from trusted sources and mainly so that they can take practical steps to prepare and protect themselves and their loved ones, should anyone in the household test positive for Covid-19.
• In other households, psychosocial support is offered to the family members who are not working and who need to take care of child or elderly dependents.

In addition to what is listed earlier in terms of combating stigma and discrimination, here is what the Department of Health has done to assist people to cope, in order to reduce anxiety, namely:

• Protect themselves and be supportive to others. Assisting others in their time of need can benefit the person receiving support, as well as the helper.
• Seek information updates at specific times during the day, once or twice. The sudden and near-constant stream of news reports about an outbreak can cause anyone to feel worried;
• Gather information at regular intervals, from the Department of Health and NICD websites and local health authorities, in order to help you distinguish facts from rumours;
• Honour caretakers and health care workers supporting people affected by the disease in your community. Acknowledge the role they play to save lives and keep your loved ones safe.

National Contact Tracing Guidelines are currently being revised to emphasise the following issues that are covered during training:

• • Contact tracing should not be used punitively;
  • Contacts should be provided with details of how their information will be used, stored, and accessed, and how individuals will be protected from harmful disclosure or identification;
  • Contact tracing and associated steps, such as quarantine of contacts and isolation of cases, should not be associated with security measures, immigration issues, or other concerns outside the realm of public health.

(b) Stigma is associated with a lack of knowledge about how Covid-19 spreads, a need to blame someone, fears about disease and death, and gossip that spreads rumors and myths. Stigma can also make people more likely to hide symptoms or illness, keep them from seeking health care immediately, and prevent individuals from adopting healthy behaviors. This means that stigma can make it more difficult to control the spread of an outbreak. As part of training of healthcare workers and contact tracers, the National Contact Tracing Team help prevent stigma by ensuring that contact tracers in provinces and districts:

• Always maintain the privacy and confidentiality of those seeking healthcare and those who may be part of any contact investigation;
• Quickly communicate the risk, or lack of risk, from contact with products, people, and places;
• Use of inclusive language and less stigmatizing terminology by sharing accurate information about how the virus spreads;
• Use of social media to spread facts about how the new coronavirus disease is transmitted and treated, and how to prevent infection, including speaking out against negative behaviors and statements, including those on social media;
• Engaging social influencers such as community leaders in prompting reflection about people who are stigmatized and how to support them, or respected celebrities to amplify messages that reduce stigma;
• All health promotion materials show diverse communities being impacted and working together to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and do not reinforce stereotypes.
• The use of news media and social media creates an environment in which the disease and its impact is openly and honestly discussed, to speak out against stereotyping groups of people who experience stigma;
• Suggesting resources for mental health or other social support services for people who have experienced stigma or discrimination;
• The contact tracers are expected to show empathy with those affected and make them understand the disease, and adopt effective practical measures to help keep themselves and their families safe.
• The Department carefully communicates with the public on Covid-19 to aid public/community implementation of the preventive measures and to avoid fuelling fear and stigma.

(c) The privacy of patients and contacts is protected by the following:

 

• Medical records of patients and contacts are subject to privacy and confidentiality. As part of training, healthcare workers and contact tracers are trained to better understand that patient information remains cordoned within the Prescripts of Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). All health care workers know that they are not supposed to divulge any information, of any patient in any media platforms. When such arise, there are legal implications to deal with the person divulging the information;
• The databases that are also used should be encrypted so that the information storage becomes secure. More work still needs to be done to ensure all data sources are aligned across all the provinces;
• All health care workers and contact tracers are expected to comply with Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions as outlined in the National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003). Covid-19 is a category 1 notifiable medical condition (Respiratory disease caused by a novel respiratory pathogen). Confidentiality, protection of health records, and offences and penalties are dealt with in Chapter 4 of the Regulation.

END.

Reply:

(a)(b) The Madibeng Local Municipality revised their 2019/20 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework as part of the Special Adjustments Budget process initiated by the National Treasury on 8 November 2019. Subsequent to the Provincial Treasury’s assessment, the municipality’s 2018/19 MTREF budget reflected a positive cash position of R69 million from a negative balance of R209 million in the first year of the 2019/20 MTREF period while the two outer years showed marginal surpluses. These surpluses are reflective of the municipality’s strategy to prioritise arrear debt owed to bulk suppliers.

Following the mid-year budget performance assessment in December 2019, the municipal council did not deem it necessary to further adjust the 2019/20 budget.

However, it is important to note that all municipalities are now afforded a further opportunity to adjust their budgets in response to the changes in revenue and expenditure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for this process is 15 June 2020.

Reply:

1. As the Minister of Health, one of my key responsibilities is to ensure the health and safety of all health workers. It is an obligation put on me not only by my conscience, but also by our own legislation regarding labour and occupational health and safety. We are also signatory to International Conventions on Labour, that underpin employee health and wellness management.

In terms of the Determination and Directive on Danger Allowance in the Public Service, dated July 2017 (PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2007 as amended by Resolution 4 of 2015) Part 2: PROVISION ON DANGER ALLOWANCE, employers pay standardized danger allowance to employees who in the course of their employment experience a genuine risk to their life because of exposure to psychiatric patients.

We are also fortunate as a country that over time we have established functional and effective structures and processes that involve both organized labour and employers whereby the labour and employment issues such as this call by the nurses should be presented and evaluated. In this regard I am confident that once presented to the Public Service Bargaining Council, the Department of Health will be advised accordingly.

2. (a) Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital currently has 165 acute gazette (approved) beds. The beds are sufficient for a Tertiary Academic Hospital. More beds need to be created in the Regional and District Hospitals and need to strengthen Community-based Psychiatric services.

(b) the Annual Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan for the Department talked about 80 hospitals to be revitalized or constructed over the MTEF. All these hospitals will have a dedicated mental health ward.

END.

Reply:

1. Yes, the following tables reflect the details in this regard.

No.	(a)	(b)	(c)
1	Mobility Solutions	R208,725-00	Procurement of 300 Infra-red Portable Thermometers for all ports of entry to mitigate Covid-19 risks.
2	Unicore Holdings	R353,527-83	Procurement of 350 Infrared Portable Thermometers for screening at exit points at Ports of Entry.
3	Mabhelonke Enterprise (Pty) Ltd	R233,000-00	Printing of 800 000 Travel Health Questionnaires for Covid-19 screening at the Ports of Entry.
4	Vision Projects 2020	R230,000-00	Printing of 800 000 Health Questionnaires for Covid-19 screening at the Ports of Entry.
5	Moetswadi Trading Projects	R 35,000-00	Decontamination, cleaning and disinfection of 10 pool vehicles allocated to Port Health at OR Tambo International Airport.

2. Yes.

(a) The deviations were due to health emergency as a result of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak;

(b) Details in each case;

No.	Supplier Name	Amount	Description of goods or services
1	Tammy Taylor	R115,000-00	Procurement of 2000 cloth face masks for NDOH employees to ensure compliance to Covid-19 regulations.
2	ExecuJet Aviation	R142,760-99	Emergency procurement of a charter flight for 4 officials to travel from Lanseria to East London to conduct contact tracing, attend to epidemiological issues and PPE supply during the surge of Covid-19 in Eastern Cape.
3	Libera Management	R132,298.53	Procurement of various sizes of hand sanitizers for use at entrances, boardrooms and laboratories of the NDoH.
4	Tammy Taylor	R 46,000-00	Procurement 800 additional cloth face masks for NDOH employees to ensure compliance to Covid-19 regulations.
5	Libera Management	R 79,524.16	Emergency Cleaning Services at Forensic Chemistry Laboratory in Johannesburg due to Covid-19.

3. The following table reflects the details in this regard

No.	Supplier Name	Reasons that the goods and/ or services were from the specified companies
1.	Mobility Solutions	Due to Lockdown, most of suppliers were not open for business, as a result there was a limited access to suppliers. The Central Supplier Database (CSD) was used to identify the suppliers to render the required services.
2.	Unicore Holdings
3.	Mabhelonke Enterprise (Pty) Ltd
4.	Vision Projects 2020
5.	Moetswadi Trading Projects
6.	Tammy Taylor	Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic most companies were not operating as a result of lockdown. This supplier was willing to provide the department with the quotation of cloth masks in preparation for return of employees as per requirements of Covid-19 regulations.
7.	ExecuJet Aviation	Only this supplier was urgently available to execute the urgent task at the time.
8.	Libera Management	Since this supplier is currently providing cleaning services In-house, they were requested to urgently procure the required items in line with Covid-19.
9.	Tammy Taylor	Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic most companies were not operating as a result of lockdown. This supplier was willing to provide the department with the quotation of cloth masks in preparation for return of employees as per requirements of Covid-19 regulations.
10.	Libera Management	The supplier was approached on an emergency basis to disinfect Forensic Chemistry Laboratory in Johannesburg due to the fact they are currently contracted to provide the cleaning services for NDoH.

4. No there will be no statement.

 

END.

Reply:

The Honourable Member is advised to seek more specific details on the matter with the department of Employment and Labour.

Reply:

(a) The process to draft a financial recovery plan commences with a status quo analysis of the municipality after a formal request to draft such a financial recovery plan has been received by the National Treasury. To conduct the status quo analysis, a multi-disciplinary team is required with expertise in financial, legal, human resources and organizational development. The status quo is often conducted on-site as it is impossible to infer the extent of the problems in a municipality from an analysis of the financial statements only. As part of the process, interviews are conducted with key municipal officials and this is normally a week long process.

The COVID-19 pandemic regulations have placed restrictions on travel, thus delaying this particular process. To date, a multi-disciplinary team has been appointed by the National Treasury and assumed duties on the 1st June 2020. Once travel restrictions are lifted, an on-site status-quo assessment will be undertaken to commence with the preparation of the financial recovery plan for the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality.

In addition, the North West Provincial Treasury have also finalized Terms of Reference for the appointment of specialists to provide assistance to the province in the preparation of a financial recovery plan for the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality and other municipalities in the North West.

(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) Changes required to these measures will be determined once the status-quo assessment is finalized.

Reply:

The joint Integrated School Health Programme Task Team (ISHP TT) between the Departments of Health and of Basic Education developed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for COVID-19 Screening in South African Schools. This applies to all public and special schools in all provinces in the country.

The purpose of the SOP is to detect potential cases of COVID-19 and efficiently manage them to avoid further transmission and risk to other learners and school personnel.

There are four important aspects of the SOP:

• To provide guidelines to the School Health Team, composed of a Professional Nurse and Enrolled Nurses, and the School Screening Team (non-clinical) staff comprising of Youth Brigades, the School Based Support Teams (SBST) are trained to screen learners and school staff for symptoms of COVID-19 including daily temperature monitoring;
• To ensure that all learners who are identified as being symptomatic through screening are managed and referred appropriately;
• To ensure that contact tracing is conducted for all those who test positive. It is the responsibility of the professional nurse and the School Health Team to liaise with the appropriate contact training team within the district;
• The School Health Team and the School Screening team are required to work very closely with members of the SBST for co-ordination purposes within the school. If the school does not have an SBST, a member of the School Management Team should be nominated and designated to perform this role. Where there are insufficient school health teams to cover every school, a professional nurse from a local clinic may be nominated to provide support to the school (every school must have direct access to a named professional nurse).

All schools developed plans which were submitted to their District (Health and Education) to indicate readiness for school re-opening. These plans outline how they will manage the screening and testing including reporting and data management within the schools and districts.

Learner Health Questionnaires were also developed, translated into all official languages and distributed for parents to complete in order to identify children with comorbidities that put them at risk of contracting severe COVID-19. School principals are responsible to provide alternatives to face-to-face learning for these learners.

END.

Reply:

a) According to the information available on the National Surveillance centre, there are three clinics in Ekurhuleni that have reported a stock-out of the first line ARV, Tenofovir/emtricitabine/efavirenz (TEE).

TEE was reported out of stock at the following clinics:

• Boksburg Civic Centre Clinic
• Dawn Park Clinic
• Palmridge Clinic

b) There is currently a supplier constraint with regards to TEE as the following suppliers have been unable supply the ordered quantities: Innovata Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd and MacCleods Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd. However, available stock in the district from other facilities has been allocated to these facilities based on expected patient numbers.

END.

Reply:

(1) The process for assessing and preparing quarantine facilities is properly defined in the approved Guidelines for Quarantine and Isolation Facilities. This process entails the identification of possible sites, the assessment thereof and the operationalisation of said sites. Apart from that, there are also a few state-owned facilities that were earmarked and prepared. This entailed basic maintenance to the sites, procurement of beds, linen and kitchen equipment and then the operationalisation of these sites again with staff, catering where necessary, PPE and medical waste management services;

(2) Yes. Sufficient water, electricity, clean beds, bedding and food is a prerequisite for a quarantine facility. Prior to activation, sites are inspected specifically related to the above and a list of criteria as contained in the approved guidelines. Where facilities were found to not comply to these requirements, they are decommissioned and will not be utilised again.

(3) Yes. Various inspections are done. There is the initial assessment to determine if a facility would meet the requirements as per the guidelines provided. All facilities need to be assessed for suitability. These assessments are done either by the National Department of Health, National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure or their provincial counterparts.

Once activated, there is a quality assessment that is done to determine if the operational side is in place and that subsequent infection control protocols are followed. This is a relatively new function and they are only now engaging in doing these on-site audits.

Where complaints have been received, various teams have been sent to these facilities and report on the status of these that were assessed.

(4) (a) The following quarantine facilities have been activated in the provinces:

(b) PROVINCE	NO OF SITES	NO OF BEDS
Eastern Cape	19	662
Free State	5	313
Gauteng	21	6236
KwaZulu-Natal	48	1098
Limpopo	6	313
Mpumalanga	6	434
North West	6	188
Northern Cape	9	497
Western Cape	16	2537
GRAND TOTAL	136	12278

(5) Yes. A statement will be made on the matter as part of media statements to update the country on the outbreak.

END.

Reply:

a) Occupational therapy (OT) services for children are still running at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH).

• Children who are admitted to the wards are still receiving in-patient therapy services as required. During these sessions, caregivers are trained in carrying out exercises with their children to ensure carry-over to the home environment. On discharge from the wards, caregivers are given follow-up appointments for OT should this be required, or they are referred to their closest facility for out-patient OT services;
• Out-patient OT services are still running as follows:
  • New patients who are referred to the OT department, are seen on the day of referral. During this session, caregivers are trained in carrying out exercises as well as given a home program to ensure carry-over to the home environment;
  • Caregivers of current patients are called telephonically and given the option of coming to the hospital for their appointment. Should they wish to attend their appointment, they are seen at the Hospital as normal. Should they not want to bring the child to the Hospital for their OT appointment, caregivers are given an option:
• They can bring their child for OT the next time they are at the Hospital for a Doctor’s appointment (four to six monthly), scan, collection of medication, etc. and the child will be seen by OT;
• The caregiver can attend without the child and bring their concerns (verbal or video) which will be addressed by OT (if the caregiver is at the Hospital for something without the child such as collection of medication);
• If a child has not been seen by OT for a month, their caregiver will be contacted telephonically to follow up on the home program as well as the child’s progress;
• Caregivers who have not brought their child to see OT for more than three consecutive months, are encouraged to bring their child in due to the rapid development of children so that they can be trained in new exercises and given a home program that is appropriate for their child’s current developmental level;

- Children who have sustained burn injuries receive follow-up with the doctors weekly at the Hospital. Should they require OT services, such as splinting or scar management, they are seen in the OT department weekly after their doctor’s appointment. Once they are discharged from the doctor’s clinic, they are followed up as above for scar management, ensuring that the child has the necessary pressure garments and resources (silicone, cream, etc.) to last them until their next appointment (every second month).

b) All caregivers of children who receive OT services, are encouraged to carry out exercises daily in their home environment as part of their home exercise program. To ensure efficient carry-over, during face-to-face contact sessions, caregivers are shown the exercises they will need to carry out with their child and then given a chance to practice these before they return home and are expected to carry out the program independently.

Pamphlets of different exercises have been developed and parents are given the relevant pamphlets as a reminder of the exercises they need to carry-out daily.

END.

Reply:

(a)(b) The Lekwa-Teema Local Municipality revised the 2019/20 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework as part of the Special Adjustments Budget process initiated by the National Treasury on 11 November 2019. Subsequent to the Provincial Treasury’s assessment, the municipality’s 2019/20 MTREF budget still reflected a negative cash position of R283.9 million from a negative balance of R313.5 million in the first year of the 2019/20 MTREF period.

Following the mid-year budget performance assessment in January 2020, the municipal council further adjusted the 2019/20 budget during February 2020 and adopted a short term financial plan.

However, it is important to note that all municipalities are now afforded a further opportunity to adjust their budgets in response to the changes in revenue and expenditure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for this process is 15 June 2020.

Reply:

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) CEO advises me that the acquisition transaction has been successfully executed and the project is currently in development, including a Bankable Feasibility Study is in the process of being finalised and negotiations are underway with all key stakeholders including Eskom. The IDC has concluded it negotiations with the parties and is now a 22.5% shareholder in New Largo Coal (Pty) Ltd (NLC).

By way of background, at the end of 2015, Anglo American plc announced it would be disposing of its coal assets as part of its restructuring and drive to reduce debt. Amongst the South African coal assets was New Largo Mine, which was at an advanced feasibility study stage at the time of disposal.

The IDC, CoalZar and with the Seriti Consortium agreed to co-bid for the purchase, with the purchase price and pre-implementation costs are being funded by shareholder loans. The purchase price was funded in proportion to shareholding. The IDC funding also included funding on behalf of Employee and Community Trusts and the bankable feasibility study review and completion. Seriti and Coalzar continue to fund the New Largo’s operational costs.

The mine will be strategically developed to support Eskom’s Kusile Power Station. Given New Largo Coal’s proximity to Kusile, I am advised by the IDC that it is well positioned as a supplier, and it is expected that Kusile will purchase approximately 70% of the company’s coal production.

The IDC decided to participate in the transaction, since in its view it facilitates the creation of a significant black industrialist in the coal mining space and supports its strategy of increasing production of energy minerals that ensure security of energy supply. I am advised that the project is expected to create 1 100 direct jobs and 478 construction jobs.

The IDC’s participation in the New Largo Coal project, brings the total value of approvals to black industrialists in the mining sector to R8,4 billion since 1 April 2015, supporting 29 deals (net) in the sector over the period. Total approvals to black industrialists across all sectors totals R25,2 billion since 1 April 2015.

 

-END-

Reply:

1. On 13 December 2019, a total of 4 971 new recruits successfully completed their training.

2(a)(b) Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and reservists were and are still deployed for routine operations, for policing services and the enforcement of the coronavirus (COVID-19) preventative measures. It is preferred/recommended that the figures are not provided, for security reasons.

3. The process of finalising the SAPS 2020 Trainee Intake was at an advanced stage. However, it was unfortunately suspended, until further notice, by the Minister of Police, due to the State of National Disaster and subsequent nationwide lockdown, which was announced by the President of the Republic of South Africa, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recruitment plan of the SAPS is currently being reviewed, in order to respond to the COVID-19 restrictions put in place, such as social distancing, restriction/suspension of large gatherings/meetings, etc..

4. The filling of other vacancies in the SAPS is continuing, however, it has not been po9sible to enlist new SAPS member6 to report for training at the various training academies in the country, due to the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols (social distancing, large gatherings/meetings, physical training, etc)

Reply:

1. (a) (c) The following goods were procured:

• 75 Laptops and 75 Laptop bags from Massmart Stores for a total of R682 350.00.
• 75 Data cards and 75 Wi-Fi routers through the RT 15/2016 (Vodacom) for R43 038.75.
• 1000 Masks from Hlathi Developments and Enterprises (Pty) Ltd for R35 750.00

2. No

Reply:

1. There are no South African Police Service (SAPS) athletes on an Operational Excellence Course Programme.

1. Not applicable.

Reply to question 1298 recommended/

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SREVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2020/07/02

Reply to question 1298 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL, BH CELE, MP

Date: 04/07/2020

Reply:

To assist existing SMMEs to start conducting businesses again after the effects of Covid-19, the Department of Small Business Development has initiated various programmes to support both formal and informal businesses. The informal and micro-business support schemes include:

1. The Spaza Support – this scheme is not only meant to su
2. Small Scale Bakeries and Confectioneries Business Support Scheme;
3. Small Scale and Micro Clothing, Textile and Leather Business Support Scheme; and
4. Automotive Aftermarkets Support Scheme.

More dedicated interventions such as those for butcheries, informal restaurants, personal care support are being finalised to support the micro and informal businesses to ensure the most vulnerable sector, which employs the largest number of people is adequately supported. These schemes fit in well with the Cabinet approved Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme that the DSBD is expected to implement during this current financial year.

In addition, the Department of Small Business Development is finalising other interventions to support formal SMEs when they return back to business activities during and post-Covid-19 pandemic. These interventions include the Business Viability scheme, which is targeting businesses through the economic recovery phase as we will be ensuring that SMMEs are ready to adjust to the new ways of doing business and ensuring that their business processes are adjusted to suit the new ways of doing business. Another intervention is the small scale manufacturing scheme to support and bolster local manufacturing as part of the department’s localization programme.

Public announcements are made as and when a support programme is ready to be rolled out. The four interventions specified in the first paragraph above, were all in place by the 24 May 2020.

Reply:

I have been provided with the requested information by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Department and following the tabling of the information, no statement appear to be necessary.

The information supplied by the CFO is as follows:

1. The service providers for the specified goods are as follows:

 

Service provider	Goods provided	Total amount (R)
Multisurge (Pty) Ltd	Masks	69 000
Evergreen	Gloves	2 493
Triple N Medical Supplies	Gloves, masks, hand sanitiser	117 301
		188 794

2. There were no deviations from standard supply chain management procedures. The procurement for PPE was done in line with the initial Instruction Note from NT in which NT identified and provided a list of suppliers on which the State could urgently procure PPE from identified suppliers.

3. Procurement was assessed and awarded in line with National Treasury prescripts for procurement as per the Health and Safety guidelines issued by the Department of Public Service and Administration due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

-End-

Reply:

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

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is responsible for the production of population estimates. The South African Police Service (SAPS) does not calculate the murder rate, per 100 000 persons, for (a), (b), (c) and (d), due to the complexity of the determination of the population estimates around those variables. Stats SA applies specific models and the SAPS does not have record of the models for population e6timates and computations. The crime statistics for 2019/2020 have not been published by the Minister of Police.

Reply to question 1297 recommended

GENERAL NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SREVICE
KJ SITOLE (SOEG)
Date: 2020/07/02

Reply to question 1297 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
GENERAL, BH CELE, MP

Date: 04/07/2020

Reply:

(a) (i) South Africa has a constitutional dispensation that recognises and protects the rights of those who lawfully occupy land that belong to others whilst simultaneously protecting the rights of those who own land. There’s currently no moratorium on eviction from farms since there’s no law authorising a moratorium and further, because any law seeking to provide for a moratorium is unlikely to survive constitutional scrutiny.

(ii) It is not correct that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) does not address the issue of evictions from farms. It needs to be appreciated that whilst the Legislature has passed laws to provide statutory recognition of occupation rights to persons that lawfully occupy land, such laws do provide for situations where occupation rights may be lawfully terminated and therefore evictions may then follow. There are however balancing safeguards in that evictions are subjected to a judicial process and self-help measures by landowners are criminalised. The Department therefore addresses eviction matters within the provisions of existing land tenure laws.

In addition to the above during this time of national disaster, Regulation 36(1) issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 enables any competent court to grant an order for the eviction of any person from land in terms of the provisions of Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 0f 1997,provided that any order of eviction shall be stayed and suspended until the last day Alert Level 3, unless a court decides that it is not just and equitable to stay and suspend the order until the last day of the Alert Level 3 period. All legal representatives appointed for farm dwellers have been made aware of these Regulations and courts are enforcing them.

(b) The following measures will be put in place:

• Promote awareness regarding the existence of statutory tenure rights and mechanisms that are designed to support the observance or protection of such rights through local media, art and direct interaction with farm dwellers;
• improve access to justice for those with insecure land tenure through collaboration with Legal Aid South Africa and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development; and targeted acquisition of land in areas that are prone to evictions as well as in areas that are in close proximity to, or are habited by farm dwellers.

Reply:

a) The quantum of the Financial Management Grant to Madibeng Local Municipality amounted to R2 235 000 for the 2019/20 financial year, as published in the Division of Revenue Act.

b) This is a conditional grant and in terms of the framework covers a next three-year period.

c) The grant is administered through transfers to the municipality, reports received from the municipality, and is in terms of their municipal support plan.

d) Section 12 of the Division of Revenue Act provides the checks and balances as wll as the framework within which the grant is implemented. It also stipulates the roles and responsibility of the receiving officer. Municipalities must submit to NT regular reports on spending, which are aligned to their support plans. Moreover, the grant and its utilization is submit to the external audit process undertaken by the Office of the Auditor-General.

Reply:

a)  The R 1.3 billion Covid-19 grant came from different programmes of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

b) Please refer to the table below.

Programmes	Relevant Details	Amount
Programme 5	Land Reform	R 147 600 000
	Agricultural Land Holdings Account (ALHA)	R 923 000 000
Programme 1	Administration	R 129 400 000
Programme 3	Rural Development	R 100 000 000

Reply:

1. (a) The Department has allocated R1.1 million and reprioritised R1.5 million for the management of COVID-19 within its offices, i.e. four buildings at head office and six regional offices. The budget is meant to cover the supply of masks to 3 800 employees, procurement of sanitisers, scanners, personal protective equipment for the cleaning staff, decontamination and deep cleaning of offices. In view of the capacity constraints in cleaning services, a service provider had to be procured for deep cleaning and augment the existing capacity for a three months period. In addition to the above, the Department is in the processes of procuring emergency and pyscho-social support services, stands for sanitisers with foot pedals, thermal cameras and digital scanners as the small hand-held scanners are proving to be unreliable. The additional needs will amount to R2.3 million. In total, the Department will incur expenses to the total value of R5.0 million

(b) Letters were sent to universities on 13 May 2020 requesting them to submit costed Teaching, Learning and Assessment Plans, as well as Campus Readiness Plans to the Department by 19 May 2020. Universities submitted costed Campus Readiness Plans, which varied considerably with respect to what institutions wanted to implement and with regards to the funding required and the equipment requested. Funding required varied from as little as R2.1 million to R 402.8 million. Some suggested items were large infrastructure changes that would not be possible. The total cost of the submitted plans was R1.85 billion. This was assessed as unrealistic as many items indicated were unnecessary.

The Department, in consultation with Higher Health who assessed these plans, decided that there are certain legitimate expenses that institutions will incur that they could not have been budgeted for prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Department should consider providing a second COVID-19 Responsiveness Grant (CRG-2) to assist institutions with these costs. The Minister has been requested to approve the re-prioritisation of R526.3 million from the 2020/21 earmarked grants not yet transferred to assist universities to pay for unbudgeted items for campus readiness and health and safety measures over the next period.   

TVET Colleges have been able to reprioritize approximately R780 million from their current 2020 operational budgets to assist with COVID 19 related expenditure.

Total cost to be incurred by Community Education and Training (CET) colleges is
R27 million to prepare for the reopening of their facilities after the easing of the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.

(2)  (a) The Department had planned to acquire additional capacity in the form of nurses within the Employee Health and Welfare unit but has since entered into a partnership with the Health and Welfare SETA for the provision of nursing services to do screening and contact tracing. The Department will be increasing its cleaning capacity by employing more cleaners at head office and in colleges, and in particular Community Learning Centres colleges that do not have dedicated cleaners as they are using the Department of Basic Education’s facilities.

(b) (i) Universities’ plans make provision for the employment of additional staff where required. All universities have made provision for physical distancing in their plans.

Social distancing has been prioritised in TVET colleges firstly through the staggered return of different student cohorts over a 7-week period, as well as through the splitting of classes and revision of timetables. These arrangements will not require additional lecturers.

The CET colleges are not employing additional staff; however, the following conditions have been applied in determining the resumption of classes. Only colleges that have satisfied the social distancing requirements have allowed staff and students to return effective from 23 June 2020. The return of different categories of CET college staff to their workstations and students to their learning sites is subject to readiness of the colleges and learning sites as well as appropriate social distancing measures put in place by colleges.

(ii) All universities have made provision for essential health and safety items. The Department has recommended to the Minister that funding through the proposed CRG -2 be approved for the following categories as advised by Higher Health: 

• Requirements for environmental and regular cleaning in line with the health and safety protocols, including cleaning equipment and material and the appointment of additional cleaning staff.
• Personal protective equipment appropriate for front-line staff, staff in university clinics and the general student and staff population.  
• Internal isolation and quarantine facilities (levels 4 - 2 of the risk-adjusted strategy) and external facilities (only if this is necessary after level 1 has been announced and 100% of students have returned to the campus).
• Clinical support in the form of locums at the university clinic, mental health support, etc.
• Screening stations and equipment. This may include additional staff.

TVET colleges have been monitored over the last 6 weeks in terms of their readiness to receive staff and students. By mid-June 2020, all the protocols for COVID-19 compliance, as set out by the Department of Health and the Guidelines for PSET institutions for Management of COVID-19, were above 90% readiness. As at 26 June 2020, the state of readiness was at 98%. Higher Health trained staff across all colleges on implementing the protocols.

All CET colleges have assured the Department that personal protective equipment for staff and students were procured from the budget set aside to deal with COVID-19.

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department purchased goods below the amount of R500 000.00.

Name of company (a)	Amount of each transaction (b)	Service and/or product rendered (c)
Bidvest	R14 173.45	500 surgical masks
Bidvest	R41 021.88	Sanitizers
Bidvest	R20 100.00	1 200 surgical masks
Biologica Pharmaceuticals	R53 300.00	2 000 surgical masks
Multisurge	R23 000.00	10 infrared thermometers
Womens Edition	R135 000.00	5 litre x 500 sanitisers
Maxitrade 48 General Trading	R126 500.00	5000 cloth masks
Maanda-nes investments	R429 000.00	Decontamination for 12 months
Lechoba Medical Technologies	R13 179.00	200 safety goggles to protect eyes
Training and Consulting	R27 500.00	500 face shield
Kgosigadi Health Solution	R84 604.26	First Aid room goods
Blax Interactive Trading	R96 887.50	Pedal operated sanitisers
Mutanzhela Bidvest Services	R285 000.00	Auto Dispenser, sanitisers x12 months for monthly delivery and refill

(2) Yes, there was a deviation from the standard supply chain management procedures for the procurement of sanitisers.

a) Quotations were sourced immediately after the President announced the Covid-19 National State of Disaster and there was no stock available from other prospective suppliers.

b) Sanitisers for an amount of R41 021.88 were procured from Bidvest.

(3) Most of the purchases were done via the National Treasury Convid-19 contract list.

(4) No statement will be made on the matter.

Reply:

1 a) Progress in establishing the stakeholder forum has been severely impacted by the lockdown restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently a stakeholder mapping exercise i9 Underway aimed at ensuring that all affected stakeholders are part of the forum. This exercise is being undertaken in conjunction with the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal Province, which have provided a database of existing air quality stakeholders in the South Durban Basin (SDB).

(b) The stakeholders that have been identified for the mapping exercise and inclusion in the forum are Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) /Community Based 0ganÏ98tI0n8 (CBO's) that are active in air quality issues in the SDB, industry organisations in the SDB (specifically those who have an impact on air quality), departments responsible for air quality management across all three spheres of government, academia and any other interested and affected parties that may be identified in due course

(c) As already indicated, the Department is working closely with the municipal and provincial officials who have provided the Department with a database of existing air quality stakeholders. The database has been used to announce the establishment of the forum as well as the stakeholder mapping exercise currently under way. Prior to the lockdown restrictions, the plan was to hold community gatherings in the SDB as a means of introducing the forum. This plan will be implemented once the restrictions Ioosen up enough to allow community gatherings to take place

(d) The contact person in the Department is Vumile Senene (Director: Air Quality Management Service), Tel: (012) 399-9217, Email: [email protected]

e) Completion of the initial stakeholder mapping and •on-boarding sessions' for stakeholders happened at the end of June 2020. The on-boarding sessions will assist the stakeholder to contribute to the terms of reference for the forum and other related aspects. The first virtual meeting will take place on 22 July 2020 and the Department has already sent out a letter to identified stakeholders introducing the forum.

(2) (a) The process to conduct the South Durban health study has been initiated by the department. The department, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the Provincial government are in the process of concluding the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the study. The TORs will then be consulted with the various stakeholders, which include indU9tdes, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations and academia. The Department is determined to use available channels to expedite inputs from all affected and interested parties. As such the first stakeholder consultation will be conducted on 22 July 2020 and it will be a virtual meeting given the Covid-19 restrictions on both travel and meeting/gatherings .

b) Once the TORs are finalised, the government Supply Chain Management process will be followed to appoint a qualified and suitable service provider. Any potential service provider is allowed to submit a proposal, which will be evaluated following the Supply Chain Management process and National Treasury Regulations. The plan is to conclude the appointment of the service provider during this financial year and start the actual work in the next financial year (2021/22). Given the financial constraints and the experience with the precious health studies conducted in the Highveld and Vaal Triangle Air shed priority areas, this study is planned for a maximum of 36 months.

c) The National Air Quality Officer, Dr Thuli Khumalo, is the person responsible for the health study. Her contact details are: [email protected] Tel (012) 3998187.

Regards

MS B D CREECY,

MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE EWIRONMENT

DATE: 2/07/2020

Reply:

The control of Roodeplaat Dam is covered under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Environment, forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), and the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHSW&S). DHSW&S appointed DEFF as the implementing agent to control all Invasive Alien Species (AIS) on the dam, including Water Hyacinth (Eichhomia cassipes] which is the major aquatic weed present on the Roodeplaat Dam.

a) The 2014 Strategic Plan for the Control of Aquatics Weeds in Roodeplaat Dam is currently under review due to the National Water Act amendment regarding the application of Section 21 (i) and Section 21 (c) permit applications. This requires that any activities that are implemented on the dam needs to be approved by the DHSW&S. The directive to stop all spraying on Roodeplaat dam was given by the DHSW&S at a stakeholder's meeting held on the 7th of February 2020.

b) DEFF has been working on the permit needed to commence activities on the dam for the manual

removal, biological and potential harvesting of biomass. The Department submitted a proposal for a Section 21 (c) permit for the algal control programme that occurred In March 2020, prior the SA Rowing championships event. This was approved, and assisted the swing event to go ahead due to the removal of the cyanobacterial blooms on the dam. The COVID-19 lockdown temporarily stopped all implementation activities such as the manual removal of the Water Hyacinth biomass from the dam and the release of biocontroI agents.

c) DEFF is currently in the process of directly appointing contractors to manually remove the Water Hyacinth biomass on the dam, but first needs to ensure that and safety compliance measures are in place. Furthermore, COVID-18 risk assessment training must be done with the contractors before allowing them to start work again. The stakeholders around the dam agreed to assist in the control of the Water Hyacinth, in the stakeholder's meeting held on 7 February 2020. DHSW&S informed stakeholders of their responsibilities on the dam, ‹elating b the National Water Act. It was indicated that the stakeholders' assistance in this regard is a responsibility under the National Water Act and, as such, they will not be compensated.

Regards

MS B D CREECY,

MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

DATE: 3/07/2020

 

Reply:

(1)(a),(b)(i),(ii),(c),(i),(ii) Please refer to the table below.

Province	(a) Applications Received	​(b) (i) Applications Approved	b. (ii) Applications Rejected	(c)(i),(ii) Rand Value Approved Applications
Eastern Cape	10 608	1 627	8 981	R 65 694 654.50
Free State	5 384	389	4 995	R 17 197 596,77
Gauteng	1 299	991	308	R 38 471 000,00
KwaZulu Natal	4 695	2 786	1 909	R 99 741 480,61
Limpopo	7 776	2 030	5 746	R 86 465 940,34
Mpumalanga	5 439	825	4 614	R 38 953 637,76
North West	8 645	2 988	5 657	R 69 114 248,00
Northern Cape	8 861	1 428	7 433	R 46 050 944,00
Western Cape	2 440	1 555	885	R 58 128 746,00

2. No.

(a),(b),(c) Falls away.

Reply:

SASCOC indicated that;

1. SASCOC does not pay any retainer to any lawyers. Lawyers are paid as billed for each individual legal matter engaged.

2. Staff members are currently working remotely and will need to go to the office to extract the information required. Therefore we are unable to respond to this question at the moment.

Reply:

a) The members in Ghunu Diamonds CC are Martins Bernardo Paolo Sergio who is a 50% member’s interest holder and Cloete Ghusain who is also a 50% member’s interest holder. All members are South African residence.

b) The corporation holds a prospecting rights with bulk sampling to prospect for diamonds.

c) The right was issued on the 10th September 2015 under reference number NC 30/5/1/1/2/10090 PR to prospect for Diamond (Alluvial) in respect of a Portion of the farm Brazil No 329, in extent of 4043.9282 hectares, situated within the administrative district of Namaqualand. The right was issued for a period of two years ending on the 9th September 2019. The corporation applied for a renewal under reference number NC 30/5/1/1/2/12024, which is now granted pending execution.

d) The rehab amount requested is R210 000.00 and is deemed adequate.

 

DDG: MR

Date:

Recommended / Not Recommended

Advocate TS Mokoena

Director General: Department of Mineral Resources and Energy

………………/………………/2020

Approved/Not Approved

Mr SG Mantashe

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2020

Reply:

(1) Yes, reporting through the section 71 reports have been inconsistent in the last months. There have been cases of overstatement and sometimes understatements but the former more prevalent. The newly regulated (1 July 2017) Municipal Standard Chart of Account (mSCOA) requires that municipalities upload their budget and financial information in a data string format to the Local Government portal across the six mSCOA regulated segments. This is the first municipal financial year that the section 71 report is compiled by using the figures from the mSCOA data strings. Previously (prior to 01 July 2019) the National Treasury allowed parallel reporting and used data from return forms that was submitted to the Local Government Database to prepare the section 71 reports. The introduction of the mSCOA is intended to improve reporting to a substantially accurate level in the future, however, most municipalities are still getting used to the mSCOA requirement, therefore, inconsistencies in the current reporting are observed. Municipalities are making an effort to submit credible section 71 reports.

(2)(a) In as far as the submission of credible data is concerned, the defaulting municipalities differ from month-to-month.

(2)(b)(i) At the core (nature) of the problem is:

• The incorrect use of the mSCOA chart and municipal accounting practices by municipal officials;
• Municipalities are not locking their adopted budgets or their financial systems at month-end to ensure prudent financial management;
• Poor or no ICT upgrades (servers, hardware and software) and maintenance, resulting in the ICT environment not being able to cope with the modern technology required to implement mSCOA; and
• Some municipalities are still not budgeting, transacting and reporting directly in or from their core financial systems. Instead they prepare their budgets and reports on excel spreadsheets and then import the excel spreadsheets into the system. Often this manipulation of data lead to unauthorised, irregular, fruitful and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure as well as fraud and corruption as the controls that are built into the core financial systems are not triggered and transactions go through that should not.

(2)(b)(ii) Before each quarterly Section 71 publication, the municipalities receive their submitted financial figures in the publication report format and are asked to verify the accuracy of the financial data. They are given 5 days to make any corrections. Publication reports are re-issued until the municipality is satisfied. The accuracy of section 71 information is then signed off by the respective Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer.

As the National Treasury has no access to municipal financial systems, inaccuracy of submissions compared to the figures carried within the financial systems cannot be determined. The signatures of the Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer indicate to the National Treasury that the municipality agrees with the representation of their figures in the Section 71 publication.

(3) The improvement of the credibility of the data strings is a priority for National and Provincial Treasuries and is analysed monthly upon successful submission of the data strings. The findings of the analysis are shared by the National and provincial treasuries with the respective municipalities. Municipalities are required to correct any errors in the data strings in the next month and non-compliance letters are send to those municipalities that are persistently not complying with the mSCOA Regulations. Technical assistance to correct errors and training are also provided to ensure that municipalities submit credible information.

Reply:

(a) The NLSA does not have any employees sitting at home pending disciplinary hearings.

(b) N/A

(c) 

Year	Number of Acting Positions
2017	4
2018	1
2019	7
2020 (to date)	5

Reply:

SASCOC indicated that no loans are provided to staff as per policy and standard operating procedures.

Reply:

1. The department did not award tenders for Covid-19

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

1. The is no procurement facilitated through deviations for Covid-19

Not applicable

Not applicable

1. There were no tenders awarded

Reply:

SASCOC indicated that no athlete that represents the Republic as part of Team SA that is delivered by SASCOC to any multi-coded sporting event has to pay anything. Team SA is funded by grants and sponsorships.

Reply:

Minister of Employment and Labour was neither asked nor replied to Question 1057 on 19 June 2020.

Reply:

1. The feel reserves at each of the refineries and depots are a function of the market share of each of the oil companies as well as company policy.
2. No domestic shortages are foreseen, Currently all the refineries are operational with the exception of the Milnerton Refinery which is on a planned maintenance shutdown. It is expected to be back online by the first week of July 2020.
3. Yes. Oil Companies have individual contracts with neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, and they supply them accordingly

Reply:

a) The funds were shifted from Programmes, 1, 3 and 5 of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

b) Please refer to the table below.

Programmes	Relevant Details	Amount
Programme 5	Land Reform	R 147 600 000
	Agricultural Land Holdings Account (ALHA)	R 923 000 000
Programme 1	Administration	R 129 400 000
Programme 3	Rural Development	R 100 000 000

Reply:

1. (a) No. The CEO did not create two senior positions of Compliance Manager and Covid-19 Manager.

(b) (i) – (iii) and (2) Falls off as indicated above.

Reply:

1.  The Department has promulgated a Guideline for the Compilation of a Mandatory Code of Practice for the Mitigation and Management of Covid-19 Outbreak. For instance, the Guideline requires the employers to ensure that employees returning from areas which are regarded as hotspots of COVID-19 are quarantined for 14 days before they return to work. Also, there must be vigorous screening and testing at the mines as well as to ensure that hygiene practices and the provision of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) are maintained.

Further, the Department conducts inspections to ensure that effective measures are implemented on the mitigation and management of COVID-19 and issue instructions where necessary to ensure compliance with the legal provisions.

2. The Guideline issued by the Department does not require for only screening to be done but for employees to also be tested. In fact, most of the cases reported by the sector were asymptomatic and were as a result of the DMRE requirement for testing to be done.

The mines are also required through the Guideline to work in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) when conducting contact tracing.

 

Chief Inspector Mines

Date:

Recommended / Not Recommended

Advocate T S Mokoena

Director General: Department of Mineral Resources and Energy

………………/………………/2020

Approved/Not Approved

Mr SG Mantashe, MP

Minister of Mineral Resource and Energy

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2020

Reply:

1. The Department will make available all narrative and financial reports of the previous CCIFSA board within its disposal upon request.

2. (a) The Department has allocated the sum R2, 5 million to the current CCIFSA.

(b) The purpose for this allocation is ensure that CCIFSA hosts a policy conference as resolved in the last CCIFSA election conference.

(3) No. There is no lack of transparency.

Reply:

1. The Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP) no longer exists in the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform. The new Land Development Support Programme (LDS) was introduced to implement projects identified under the Stimulus Package. The implementation is done through commodity organisations and some financial institutions. Thus far, 146 farmers have been approved for the Stimulus Package an farms are at different levels of implementation of Business Plans that were compiled with the assistance of Commodity Organisations.

(a) The total cost approved for the LDS policy in March 2019 is R 1 272 686 995,87.

(b)(i) Seven (7).

(b)(ii),(c) Please refer to the table below.

Number	(b)(ii) Names of the Commodity Organisation	(c) Amount Paid To date
1	National Emerging Red Meat Producers Organisation (NERPO)	R 139 475 117.73
2	GFADA (Grain Farmers Development Association)	R 64 431 316.66
3	Grain SA	R 0.00
4	SAPA (South African Poultry Association)	R 0.00
5	Potato SA	R 0.00
6	Citrus Growers Association	R 0.00
7	Deciduous Fruits Development Chamber (DFDC)	R 0.00

(2)(a) The role of Entsika Foundation in the implementation of the LDS programme was to conduct farm assessment, monitoring and evaluation. Entsika Foundation has since completed its work and exited the programme.

(b) The amount of R 143 016 641.12 was paid to the Entsika Foundation.

Reply:

 

1. Beaches are open under Alert Level 3 to fisherfolk with permits for commercial, small-scale and recreational fishing.
2. The Disaster Management Regulations and the Fisheries Directive under Alert Level 3 set no curfew for the operations of commercial, recreational and/or small-scale fisherfolk.
3. During Lockdown Alert Level 3, Marine Protected Areas that are zoned for fishing are still open to fisherfolk with permit for recreational fishing
4. Commercial Fishing Harbour remain open to fisherfolk with permit for recreational fishing. Although it is important to note that due b security concerns, ports under the National Ports Authority (TNPA) remain heavily regulated, with some ports having a restriction on recreational fishing and others having designated and open areas for the public, with relevant permit, to fish.
5. Determination of safe staffing levels (or the number of individuals who are permitted on private fishing vessels) is the e9pon9Ïbility of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), and this is done in terms of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951) section 68(1),72a(2) and 194(1).

Regards

MS B D CREECY, MP

MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

DATE: 2/7/2020

Reply:

SASCOC indicated that no monies where ever paid to the Commonwealth Bid Committee. All expenses for the Commonwealth bid were paid directly to service providers by SASCOC.

Reply:

All the twelve (12) prohibited fish species that apply to the South African recreational fishing sector as listed in Table 4 of the Recreational Fishing Brochure have been listed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species under different categories.

Regards

MS B D CREECY, MP

MINISTER OF FORESTRY FISHERIE8 AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Date: 3/7/2020

Reply:

1. State-owned entities reporting to the Minister of Finance, namely, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA), paid dividends to the state in the last 10 years:

2. Over the past 12 years, government has allocated about R162 billion to the financially distressed state-owned companies (SOCs). These allocations generally provide short-term support to the relevant distressed SOC as a result of various reasons. Of the total allocations, Eskom accounts for 82 per cent. In 2019/20, government allocated R49 billion to Eskom and committed R112 billion in the medium-term funding. For more details on the bail outs and government guarantees extended to each respective SOC, please refer to the attached annexure A and B.

Reply:

(a) The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act 28 of 2002) as amended, allows any person (legal/natural) to apply for either mining rights, prospecting rights or mining permits. The department has a Small Scale Mining Section which is responsible to assisting those who are struggling financially to apply for permits or rights. Applications can be accepted and processed only where there is no existing applications or rights issued for the same mineral and land. Illegal activities that are taking place in Namaqualand are in respect of areas that are part of rights already issued to other entities. It is unfortunate that others resort to conducting illegal mining instead of approaching the Department for assistance.

(b) There was a process initiated by the department to engage the legal right holders before national lockdown to work on a plan to accommodate the illegal miners in the area. The department also advised the illegal miners to form Cooperatives so that they can be collectively assisted (where possible), and only on areas where no entity holds a right or permit. NW1493E

DDG: MR

Date:

Recommended / Not Recommended

Advocate TS Mokoena

Director General: Department of Mineral Resources and Energy

………………/………………/2020

Approved/Not Approved

Mr SG Mantashe

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2020

Reply:

1. Yes, the NLSA appointed the Director: Graduate Development Programme.

(a) The NLSA’s Recruitment and Selection Policy was followed as it relates to head hunting as the appointment was on a short-term fixed contract.

(b) The person has project management training and experience working in LIS projects continentally and internationally.

Due policy processes governing appointment of personnel in the National Library of South Africa were not observed fully in the appointment of this director, subsequent to this I have written to the Chairperson of the Board directing that an Investigation be instituted on the matter and a report be sent to me in fourteen working days.

Reply:

(a) What efforts have been undertaken to facilitate the growth and development of the tourist guiding sector:

The initiatives that the department has implemented in terms of promoting and developing the guiding sector are individual projects that run over a financial year rather than on a monthly basis.

i) In the past three financial years:

Year	Facilitation of growth and development of the tourist guiding sector
2017/2018	Implemented training and up-skilling initiatives as follows: Adventure Guiding (NQF2) in Northern Cape Culture Guiding (NQF2) in Northern Cape Culture Guiding (NQF2) in North West Adventure Guiding (NQF4) in KwaZulu-Natal Culture Guiding (NQF2) & Customer Service Training in Limpopo
2018/2019	Implemented training and up-skilling initiatives as follows: Adventure Guiding (NQF4) in Eastern Cape Nature and Culture Guiding (NQF2) in Limpopo Nature Guiding (NQF4) in KwaZulu-Natal
2019/2020	Implemented up-skilling initiatives as follows: Mandarin Language Training (HSK1) – Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng

ii) Since 1 April 2020

Year	Facilitation of growth and development of the tourist guiding sector
2020/2021	In the process of implementing up-skilling initiatives as follows: Mandarin Language Training (HSK1) – Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

(b) How were these efforts rolled out and actioned in each case respectively?

2017/18

Training Initiative	Details	Roll-out
Adventure Guiding (NQF2) in Northern Cape	12 learners were selected to undergo training. All 12 were deemed competent as adventure guides (hiking).	The Department recruited and selected suitable candidates in collaboration with the Northern Cape Provincial Registrar. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.
Culture Guiding (NQF2) in Northern Cape	15 learners were selected to undergo training. Only 10 completed and were deemed competent as culture guides.	The Department recruited and selected suitable candidates in collaboration with the Northern Cape Provincial Registrar. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.
Culture Guiding (NQF2) in North West	10 learners were selected to undergo training. All 10 were deemed competent as culture guides.	The Department recruited and selected suitable candidates in collaboration with the North West Provincial Registrar. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.
Adventure Guiding (NQF4) in KwaZulu-Natal	16 guides were selected to undergo training. All 16 were deemed competent as adventure guides (hiking).	Guides were Identified by Ukhahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Site, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Beneficiaries were community guides operating on a freelance basis without the requisite qualifications. The Department partnered with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the KZN Provincial Registrar to implement the training. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme..
Culture Guiding (NQF2) & Customer Service Training in Limpopo	8 learners were selected to undergo training. All 8 were deemed competent as culture guides and in customer service.	Guides were identified by Mapungubwe World Heritage Site, SANParks. Beneficiaries were employed by SANParks and required up-skilling. The Department partnered with SANParks and the LP Provincial Registrar to implement the training. The Department appointed SANParks as the implementing agency for the project. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.

2018/19

Training Initiative	Details	Roll-out
Adventure Guiding (NQF2) in Eastern Cape	20 learners were selected to undergo training. All 20 were deemed competent as adventure guides (hiking).	Candidates were identified by the Eastern Cape Provincial Registrar. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.
Nature and Culture Guiding (NQF2) in Limpopo	15 learners were selected to undergo training. All 15 completed and were deemed competent as nature and culture guides.	The Department recruited and selected suitable candidates in collaboration with the Limpopo Provincial Registrar. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.
Nature Guiding (NQF4) in KwaZulu-Natal	10 learners were selected to undergo training. All 10 were deemed competent as culture guides.	The guides were identified by iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority to complete their NQF4 training. The Department appointed iSimangaliso as the implementing agency for the project. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.

2019/20

Training Initiative	Details	Roll-out
Mandarin Language Training (HSK1)	20 learners were selected from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng. All 20 completed the training and were deemed competent.	Candidates were identified by the Department in collaboration with the respective Provincial Registrars. The Department procured the services of a suitable training provider to implement the training. Learners completed their theory, practicals and final assessments before receiving certificates of competencies. The Department monitored the training programmes and finalized all reporting on conclusion of the training programme.

2020/21

Training Initiative	Details	Roll-out
Mandarin Language Training (HSK1)	20 learners were selected from Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.	Recruitment and selection was conducted in collaboration with the respective Provincial Registrars. The Department will procure the services of a suitable training provider to implement online training given the Covid-19 risks. The Department is currently working on the logistics and envisages training to commence in the third quarter.