Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. 2525 mining licenses applications were received since the beginning of the 2023/24 financial year.
2. None of the applications mentioned in (a) above have been finalised.
3. Please see (b) above

Reply:

a) In fulfilment of the responsibility to oversee SASSA’s management, administration and payment of social assistance, the Department has put systems and structures in place at different levels and there are regular engagements between the two entities to continuously monitor payment of social grants.

The following are some of the key oversight initiatives by the Department:

• The Department has initiated the establishment of a Social Assistance Service Delivery Assurance Committee (SASDAC) comprising of senior officials from both DSD and SASSA and formalised through the terms of reference duly signed by accounting officers of both institutions (the Director- General and the Chief Executive Officer). The committee meets bi-monthly amongst other things the committee monitors compliance with social assistance legislation, service delivery norms and standards and deliberates on service delivery related challenges, with the intent to improve service delivery. The key focus areas include access to social assistance, spending in accordance to voted funds, service delivery quality and business processes. Since its establishment in the 2nd quarter FY23/23 two meetings have already been held.
• The Department also conducts oversight visits at SASSA local offices, SAPO branches and cash pay points, to monitor compliance with legislation, as well as norms and standards. For this financial year, visits have been conducted to four Provinces namely North-West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Western Cape.
• The Inspectorate for Social Assistance also conducts financial and compliance audits on the integrity of the social assistance frameworks and systems at SASSA. Reports are subsequently shared with SASSA and the Department and presented to the Audit Committee.
• The Agency also submits quarterly performance reports to the Department. The reports and other management issues are subsequently analysed and discussed at the Entity Oversight forum which is led by the Department on a quarterly basis.

(i) On a month-to-month basis, DSD ensures that a payment schedule is uploaded and payments are authorised well in advance. SASSA pays the grants directly into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries, every month without fail. Where incorrect payments are made it is sometimes as a result of instances where beneficiaries’ circumstances have changed and SASSA is not notified in time or the databases that are relied upon are not updated in time.

(ii) The error rate of grant approvals remains very low, as can be seen by the low number of appeals that get upheld; as well as research that indicates that South Africa has one of best targeted systems in the world. SASSA also implements stringent background checks on applicants when they apply as well as regular reviews while they are accessing the grant. However, there will always be applicants who attempt to defraud the Agency, or client who do not update their records when their circumstances change. These remain a small group of clients. SASSA has a relatively strong Fraud unit aimed at deterring such behaviour.

The Inspectorate for Social Assistance also conducts audits aimed at identifying any weaknesses in the systems that may expose SASSA to fraud.

 

 

Reply:

a) Various lessons have been learnt from the coordination of disaster response measures and engagements of stakeholders. The key lessons are as follows:

• Review and strengthening of the disaster management function placement, capacity and capability across spheres and sectors; Mainstream Disaster Management in all organs of state; Improvement of intergovernmental collaboration and coordination through integrated disaster management plans and contingency arrangements; Identification of risks early through multi-hazard community-based risk assessments; Improvement of the Early Warning Systems to activate local early action initiatives;
• Implementation of a centralized information management system; Educate communities to increase resilience and decrease vulnerability; development & increase of the use of risk transfer mechanisms and development of the disaster risk financing strategy for the country.

b) The recent budget adjustment allocation for the National Disaster Management Centre will be utilised for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of municipal infrastructure damaged by the floods in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape provinces. The funded municipal infrastructure are mostly roads and water related infrastructure.

End.

Reply:

1. There are no memorandums of understanding or service level agreements in place between the Department of Cooperative Governance – NDMC and private rescue centres.
2. No, there is no memorandum of understanding between International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the department.

End.

Reply:

I have been advised that:

a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) does not have an instrument to quantify the number of established businesses in a given time. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) either has to do the analysis of differentiating the registered businesses according to the size class. However, the DSBD agency, Seda, through the Bureau of Economic Research in Stellenbosch undertakes periodic statistical research on the growth of the SMME sector. The latest results show that the total number of SMMEs rose by a significant 148 000 firms (+5.9% year-on-year). This brought the level of SMMEs back to its pre-COVID level. Meanwhile, the total level of employment in the economy remains below its pre-COVID level. Relative to 2021Q3, the number of SMME owners rose by 11.6% to 2.68 million. On an annual basis, the 17% increase in formal SMMEs is encouraging – albeit that the majority of SMMEs still operate in the informal space. The statistics are collected on a quarterly basis and the current figure is for 3rd quarter of 2022/23 financial year and therefore does not capture numbers from January 2023. This period has not been released yet.

(b)(i) Despite the fact that the DSBD does not have an instrument to quantify the number of established businesses in a given time, Seda is able to report their support for small, and medium enterprises as per the table below:

Province	No. of clients Supported	R Value of Support
Eastern Cape	21	R 2 571 935
Free State	374	R 1 383 606
Gauteng	103	R 1 224 186
KwaZulu Natal	311	R 4 431 613
Limpopo	77	R 971 346
Mpumalanga	222	R 995 462
North-West	35	R 375 560
Northern Cape	176	R 1 093 195
Western Cape	243	R 3 521 397

During the same period, 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2023, sefa was able to support SMMEs as per the tables below:

Number of SMMEs Financed 1 Jan 2023 to 30 Sept 2023
Eastern Cape	10 006
Free State	606
Gauteng	1 282
KwaZulu Natal	6 654
Limpopo	11 808
Mpumalanga	6 573
Northern Cape	77
North West	4 092
Western Cape	380
Unclassified	124
Total	41 602

sefa disbursed R1.37 billion to 41 602 SMMEs as follows:

Province	Number of SMMEs Financed	Amount Disbursed
Eastern Cape	10 006	R126 366 218
Free State	606	R20 504 421
Gauteng	1 282	R447 510 567
KwaZulu Natal	6 654	R261 820 491
Limpopo	11 808	R144 003 460
Mpumalanga	6 573	R138 369 180
Northern Cape	77	R10 148 996
North West	4 092	R51 907 193
Western Cape	380	R166 101 683
Unclassified	124	R2 309 605
Total	41 602	R1 369 041 814

(ii) This support was provided through various programmes. These include but is not limited to, the Manufacturing Support Programme, Supplier Development Programme, Empretec Programme, Export Development Programme, and the Women’s Enterprise Coaching Programme.

Seda’s service also extends to its Technology Programme, Incubation Programme and the Quality and Standards Programme.

Reply:

The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) did not undertake to assist the Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM) in delivering the service of building a community hall for Ward 25 in Hazyview, Mpumalanga.

The identification, prioritisation and budgeting of projects, like a community hall among others, is the responsibility of a municipality in accordance with the integrated development planning process. DCOG’s role is to provide support, together with the rest of the provincial and national governments, as stipulated under section 154 of the Constitution.

DCOG also administers the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) that is annually allocated to municipalities through the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) for the provisioning of basic services to poor households. Furthermore, DCOG provides technical support by deploying built environment professionals to municipalities for infrastructure development through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) in accordance with section 154 of the Constitution, mentioned above.

It is brought to the attention of the Honourable Member of Parliament, that MLM prioritised the construction of building a community hall in Ward 25 in Hazyview through the MIG funding. The construction project of the community hall commenced on 26 March 2018 and was completed on 12 March 2021 as per completion certificate attached hereto as Annexure.

End

Reply:

1. (a) As responded to question 3199 the charges included several acts of misconduct relating to prejudicing the administration of the department, failing to carry out lawful instructions, abuse, insolence and gross insubordination. The details are in the charge sheet which can be made available if Parliament so permits.

(b) As responded to question 3199, the employee was suspended on full pay in terms of paragraph 2.7.2(b) of the SMS Disciplinary Code. The salary of the employee during the suspension was at salary level 15 notch 9 which amounted to a total cost, before taxes and deductions, of R4,772,395.87.

(c) The role of the certain person was to facilitate the appointment of legal practitioners through the Department of Justice to assist with the disciplinary processes and related matters and to support the Minister and the Director-General, where required.

2. There was no fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred in relation to the suspension of the person.

3. (a) The cost of the settlement recorded in a court order issued by the Labour Court was as follows-

1. R193,727.67 in respect of the re-instatement with effect from 1 September 2023;
2. R1,871,454.00 in respect of a gratuity equivalent to 12 months’ salary;
3. The other pension benefits were payable in terms of prevailing retirement laws by the Government Employees Pension Fund.

(b) The Department is not aware of any reputational damage that has arisen from it having exercised its right to discipline the employee.

End

Reply:

1. Appointment of the Board of Directors of the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) follows a call for nominations, assessment of nominees by the appointed selection committee and shortlisting of nominees who best meet the criteria. The call for nominations advert also specified the requirement for nominees to be fit for appointment as board members. OBP will be requested to conduct personnel suitability checks on all appointees.

The notice inviting nominations specified that personnel suitability checks will be conducted on suitable candidates.

The appointment letters of the new members stated that their appointments were subject to a personnel suitability process.

2. No. There is no record of an investigation at the instance of SA Weather Services into the specified person.

Reply:

I have been advised that:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) is planning to implement the SMMEs and Co-operatives Funding Policy in the 2024/25 financial year with a view to resolve the problems of red tape around access to funding by small-scale and informal businesses. The following are proposed interventions:

• To reduce the red tape on access to funding by small enterprises, the SMMEs and Co-operatives Funding Policy is proposing that the financiers must implement a simplified lending process by introducing common funding application form, standardised term sheet and business plan template. This will make the referral of misdirected funding applications seamless.
• That the funding institutions digitise their funding application processes to address the issue of prolonged lead times on funding applications, more especially in instances where capital is required on an urgent basis for working capital or purchase of raw material to service a contract.
• As part of financial literacy, the SMMEs and Co-operatives Funding Policy requires that the Business Development Service providers in South Africa institutionalise the practice of assisting SMMEs and Co-operatives with pre-funding support (compliance, directing small businesses to the relevant financiers, matching funding to business needs, etc.).
• The banks’ preferred collateral is not aligned to the asset composition of small enterprises which mainly consists of short-term (movable) assets in the form of inventories, receivables, insurance policy and cash deposits. To alleviate this challenge, the SMMEs and Co-operatives Funding Policy proposes that the DSBD develop an enabling legislation for the operation of the movable collateral registry in South Africa and to provide operational infrastructure for such a registry.

Reply:

1. No, the NSG depends heavily on the national allocation for its operations as it operates the Vote Account and Training Trading Account (TTA). The Vote Account receives its funding from the government fiscus whereas the TTA is partly funded from government fiscus through a transfer from the Vote Account and revenue generated from course fees. The allocation from the government fiscus is appropriated for the operation of the Vote Account to support the TTA. The funding from the fiscus does not cover the operational costs of the TTA since this account is funded from course fees including the costs relating to the design and development of training programmes, as well as the delivery of the training programmes.

The scope of work of the NSG has been expanded to provide Education, Training and Development (ETD) in the three spheres of government, state-owned entities (SOEs) and organs of state. Furthermore, the delivery of the mandatory programmes, professionalization initiatives that introduce the offering of qualifications, continuous development and increased online learning add to the NSG scope of work. The National Framework Towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector requires the NSG to establish Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Centre as well as campus environment with relevant technology. The NSG is finalising a new strategy to reposition itself as the premier provider of ETD.

(2) The following are Compulsory Training Programmes with statistics from 2021/22 financial year until 05 September 2023:

Compulsory Training Programmes	Financial Year
	2021/22	2022/23	2023/2024 (1 April to 5 September 2023)
Khaedu Project	571	399	61
Ethics in the Public Service	32 381	13 765	2 460
Executive Induction Programme	21	21	0 (7 booked)
Compulsory Induction Programme 13-14	159	217	72
Compulsory Induction Programme 1-12	5 393	5731	911
Nyukela	6 832	5 440	2 096
Supply Chain Management for the Public Service	260	798	217
Financial Management Delegations of Authority	84	0	0
Re-orientation in the Public Service	177	374	202
Managing Performance in the Public Service	37	1 386	0

End

Reply:

1(a)

(i0 SASSA KZN Region has been the occupant of the Chatsworth building since April 2006 in a shared services arrangement with the Department of Social Development (DSD), with DSD being the primary contract holder with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. After the departure of DSD from the premises, SASSA started experiencing glitches with the building maintenance as KZN Provincial Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (PDPWI) stopped maintaining the building on the basis that their tenant (DSD) had vacated the facility.

When it became apparent that PDWI would not provide maintenance services, SASSA attempted to address the issues they were experiencing by requesting for quotations to possibly manage the challenges but found the costs were prohibitive.

The next option was to approach National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (NDPWI) to take over the responsibility of the building. When an assessment was done on the state of the building by both NDWI and the Depart of Labour they both declared the building unfit for occupation as it had deteriorated to a point that it did not meet occupational and health standards.

(ii) Both NDWI and the Department of Labour declared the building unfit and unsafe for occupation after Occupational Health Safety (OHS) inspections were conducted leading to the declaration and the office being vacated.

(b)

(i) To ensure the safety of the specified premises, quarterly committee meetings between SASSA OHS and Durban District are held since 2017

(ii) As part of the oversight, a cost was established to correct the maintenance issues raised, but these costs were more than what the Agency could afford. NDWI was approached to take over the premises, however, upon inspection of the building by their OHS inspectors it was found that the building was no longer fit for purpose.

2. (a)

(i) NDPWI has taken over the Chatsworth building, and according to NDPWI the building has been prioritised for rehabilitation in its 2023/2024 financial year with their professional teams working on this project.

(ii) It is expected the rehabilitation of the building in the care of NDPWI will comply with OHS occupational requirements, norms and standards, and other property legislation applicable.

(iii) According to NDPWI, they have prioritised funding for the rehabilitation of the building in its 2023/2024 financial year budget with their professional teams working on this project.

b. According to NDPWI, rehabilitating the property will commence in January 2024. We recommend the MP engages NPDWI directly on the rehabilitation project plan and timeframe to re-open the building.

3. To ensure the safety of other SASSA local offices in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality region, SASSA has taken the following preventative measures;

• The more recent lease agreements entered into by SASSA directly with the Metropolitan Municipality include maintenance.
• There are existing offices wherein SASSA has shared services costs with DSD KZN, with these SASSA is in the process of finalising a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on shared office service costs that includes maintenance, payment of utilities and other running costs related to each facility where such an arrangement exists.

• All NDPWI contracts have been standardised to include a maintenance plan for the duration of a lease period. The NDPWI has since appointed an official from SASSA to form part of the Bids Specification and Evaluation Committees to represent SASSA’s interests to ensure that buildings selected meet the safety requirements.

Reply:

(a) Outcomes of the CDA 3rd National Summit on Substance Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

a) The 3rd National Summit hosted by the CDA was preceded by provincial dialogues and culminated into the adoption of resolutions to address the problem of alcohol and drugs misuse, and illicit trafficking.

b) The main aim of the Summit was not to come up with new plans, but to expedite the implementation of the key priorities and the 7 Goals of the National Drug Master Plan (2019-2024). The full report and programme of action will be submitted to the Portfolio Committee in due course for oversight purposes.

Reply:

I have been advised that:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) capacitated the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) by transferring a total amount of R885 939 000.00 in the past 12 months (01 October 2022 to 30 September 2023) to continue the implementation of the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP).

Date transferred	Amount
25-Nov-2023	R 238 313 000
24-Jan-2023	R 238 386 000
26-May-2023	R 181 884 000
30-Aug-2023	R 227 356 000
Total transferred	R885 939 000

The DSBD and its entity sefa are reviewing a number of moderations/improvements that if approved, will result in improved uptake of the TREP and a wider reach of targeted beneficiaries. These improvements include:

• Strategic Partnership / Joint Venture with the key industry players such as Masisizane Fund, African Bank, Lulalend, Standard Bank and other key intermediaries within the sefa Wholesale Lending portfolio. Forging partnerships with the key stakeholders to develop accessible and innovative solutions that addresses client challenges has a potential of ensuring that TREP makes a developmental impact in the economy.
• 18 District Co-ordinators employed in those districts where uptake of DSBD products is low to work together with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) in the districts to assist with building a sizeable pipeline for all DSBD offerings.
• Increase TREP resources – Five (5) interns responsible for pre-screening new applications and establishing initial contact with applicants were employed. Increasing the number of TREP resources will enable the programme to improve its performance by increasing the number of approvals, disbursements, and impact numbers. Employing more people on a commission basis across various access points and co-locations particularly the rural space.
• Basic assessment to be conducted upfront by Compliance in relation to Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), PIP and ITC to ensure that we consider bankable deals.
• Reduction of TREP requirements for deals below R350 000 – the qualifying criteria is cumbersome for starts-up and informal businesses. It is therefore imperative to review the TREP requirements particularly for small and upcoming businesses. Basis of on lending is purely based on the financial viability and repayment ability but that is different for start-ups and businesses operating in townships hence we need to review some of the TREP requirements.

The current review process is looking at the administrative, logistical, financial and legal ramifications of each of the proposed improvements to avoid any comeback and delays once the revised programme hits the market. These proposals are looked at through a phased approach and timelines range from 01 June 2023 – 31 March 2024.

Reply:

1. The relevant sections of the Municipal Property Rates Act (MPRA) contain sufficient provisions that guides how the MECs responsible for local government establish Valuation Appeal Boards (VABs) and what constitute a quorum for a VAB. In this regard, sections 56 and 58 outline how VABs are established and composed, section 64 provides for appointment of alternate members of a VAB and section 68 outlines what constitute a quorum of the members of a VAB.

a) According to information supplied by the provincial CoGTA and Ekurhuleni municipality, the Ekurhuleni VAB is currently composed of 4 members and 4 alternate members.

b) In terms of section 68 of the MPRA,

“(1)(a) A majority of the members of an appeal board serving at any time constitutes a quorum for a meeting of the board.

(b) In addition to a quorum being present, a meeting may not continue unless the valuer member of the appeal board is present.”

2. According to Ekurhuleni municipality:

(a) 3023 hearings have been concluded; and

(b) 2755 hearings are still to be conducted.

3) According to Ekurhuleni municipality, during the 2017/2021 valuation roll period:

(a) 687 appeals were concluded where the rateable value decreased; and

(b) 117 appeals were concluded where the rateable value increased.

4. According to Ekurhuleni municipality, during the current 2021/2025 valuation roll period and to date:

(a) 2293 appeals have been concluded where the rateable value decreased; and

(b) 462 appeals have been concluded where the rateable value increased.

End.

Reply:

Yes, SASSA offices have undergone infrastructure upgrades to improve services. SASSA has a national toll-free number for the public to contact the Agency for any social grants related enquiries. SASSA has dedicated employees to receive and deal with public enquiries on the Toll Free: 0800 60 1011.

This is complemented by the national e-mail address for the public to contact the Agency for queries: [email protected]. There are SASSA employees dedicated to receive and respond to the public via this platform. For the younger generation SASSA also features on social media where members of the public can engage SASSA:

• Twitter: @OfficialSASSA
• Facebook: SASSA News and #SASSACARES

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The matter regarding the revamping of the Kempton Park Hospital is not within the purview of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. All matters in relation to hospitals, as public structures, can be best dealt with by our sister Department of Infrastructure Development, which is responsible for providing public infrastructure delivery and property management solutions for the people of Gauteng. Therefore, the question should be referred to the relevant MEC, accordingly.

Reply:

The Minister for Public Service and Administration establishes the overarching frameworks and guidelines that shape recruitment and structural organisation within various departments. For example, according to Section 3(7)(a) of the Public Service Act of 1994, the Executive Authority possesses comprehensive responsibilities and obligations related to the department's structural and organisational setup. Furthermore, Section 3(7)(b) of the Act confers upon the Executive Authority extensive powers and duties in the domain of recruitment processes and the setting of employment criteria. Similarly, determining essential job criteria, such as requisite qualifications, falls under the jurisdiction of the respective Executive Authority. As such, it is each Executive Authority that verifies and provides clarity on such matters.

End

Reply:

1. Roads are guided by the Constitution, which states the “Roads is an exclusive” responsibility of National, Provincial and Local Government.

Therefore all “Road Authorities in South Africa have an obligation to plan, design, construct and maintain the road network, to protect the public investment in the road infrastructure, to ensure the continued functionality of the transportation system and to promote the safety of traffic on the road network. Authorities also have the obligation to provide a reliable, effective, efficient and integrated transport system that supports the sustainable economic and social development of the country”.

As part of the Transport Sectors contribution towards “Infrastructure Build that stimulates Economic Growth and Job Creation”, the programme of action for the roads infrastructure sector includes the implementation of road maintenance, construction, and upgrading projects. The activities by the Department include:

• implementation of a massive capital works programme by SANRAL; for National roads
• the strategic expansion of national road infrastructure (taking over of provincial roads by mutual agreement).
• extending support to provinces and municipalities for coordination of road refurbishment and maintenance, including the fixing of potholes as part of the Acceleration of Operation Vala Zonke. In this regard, the Roads War Room has been established with teams:
  • assigned for Work-Flow allocations and to track and trace progress and/or facilitate (activate) assistance to Road Authorities;
  • assisting with key project monitoring and oversight and coordinate intervention support of the following sub-projects - Adopt a Road, Rural Bridges, Grave Roads, Job Creation and Skills development.

2. The question was referred to the North West Department of Public Works and the provincial road that belongs to the Department of Public Works and Roads is road Z644 that links Losasaneng and Gataote villages who confirmed that this road was meant to be re-gravelled in September 2023.However, the re-gravelling never took place as yet, because the community declined the project and are demanding for a tarred road or block paving. As things stand, the matter is not yet resolved.

Reply:

1) SITA was given the mandate to connect the Thusong Service Centres in 2007/2008 Financial Year. SITA was part of DPSA at the time. Given the allocated budget, out of 138 Thusong Service Center operational at the time, only 91 were connected either with fixed or wire-less infrastructure for connectivity. The connectivity project of the Centres encountered implementation challenges that included the allocation of finances, expired Service Level Agreement and disputed amounts claimed for the work done.

As result of the Macro organisation of the State of the 6th Administration, SITA was moved to the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies. The Department is coordinating the revised Cabinet approved SA Connect Phase 2 model and implementation plan which connects public offices inclusive of the Thusong Service Centre Programme. The approved model is based on partnership between SITA, Broadband Infraco and Sentech, and includes other industry service providers for the implementation of the SA Connect Project Plan.

2) The Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA) has put in place multiple mechanisms and platforms that enable the regular assessment, monitoring and continuous reporting on the service delivery complaints and challenges at Service delivery Points that include the Thusong Service Centres to ensure optimal functionality and sustainability of frontline service delivery. These include reports from Khaedu deployment of senior managers, Integrated Public Service Month, Outreach Programmes, feedback from Chapter 9 & 10 Institutions as well as oversight visits by the Portfolio Committee.

Furthermore, the MPSA initiated an Assessment Project to determine the trends on the functionality and challenges facing the Thusong Service Centres across all 9 Provinces during the 2018/2019 and 2022/2023 Financial Years. The findings and recommendations of the Assessments were shared with key critical stakeholders within the Thusong Service Centre Operations, such GCIS, National Treasury, COGTA and DPWI, Provinces and Centre Managers. The main objective of sharing these recommendations were to provide an opportunity to the affected key stakeholder to develop corrective and intervention measures.

The work on the functionality and sustainability of the Thusong Service Centres is central to the discussions and engagements at different platforms and structures across the spheres of government. These structures include Batho Pele Forum, National, Provincial and Local Inter-Sectoral steering committees on Thusong Service Centre Programme.

3) The role of the MPSA is derived from the legislative instruments such as Public Administration Management Act of 2014 and the Public Service Act of 1998. These legislative frameworks empower her to develop norms and standards with respect to the establishment, management, and monitoring of Service Centres. Furthermore, the setting of these norms and standards are aimed at addressing the operational challenges to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, and optimal functionality of the Service Centres inclusive of the Thusong Centre Programme. NW4580E

End

Reply:

(a) I did not attend the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

(b) The Deputy Minister of Transport did not attend the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

(c) No other official from my Department attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

(i)(ii)(iii)(aa)(bb)(cc) Falls away

Reply:

a) The current total number of suspended staff who hold senior management service positions in the Public Service is 49, as reflected on PERSAL.

b) The work that is usually performed by the suspended officials is redirected to other officials in the departments.

End

Reply:

1. The Public Service Commission investigated a complaint in relation to the appointment, in 2021, of a certain person into the post of Personal Assistant to the Director-General and found no irregularity or illegality in the appointment. The investigation into the allegation concluded that the allegation was unsubstantiated.

(2) (a) The Department of Public Service and Administration funded the trip in respect of the Director-General only.

(b) The Director-General received an invite from conference organisers to present at the main plenary of the conference with the title of the paper: “Developmental States and Professionalization of the Public Administration and Public Policy for Developmental States: The South African Case”. Furthermore, the Director-General contributed in the development of an academic paper submitted for joint presentation, however it was ultimately presented by Prof Halima Khunoethe who is a public servant with academic interests and pursuits.

(3) (a) The Acting Member of the Executive Committee: KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; and

(b) The Acting Minister for the Public Service and Administration.

End

Reply:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has in response to the State Capture Report’s recommendation for a need to have greater protection whistle-blowers, implemented the following steps as its contribution towards strengthening the measures:

1. During the month of April 2022, the PSC convened a seminar under the theme: Improving governance, systems and processes in the public sector outcome of the commission of enquiry into allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud in the public sector – implications for the public service. Through this seminar various ways of building integrity and resilient anti-corruption systems and processes which ensure the prevention of future State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector were explored.

2. The PSC in collaboration with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNCD), UNISA and civil society, hosted the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) on the 09th to 10th of December 2022, at University of South Africa (UNISA) hosted at UNISA. The theme for 2022, edited to reflect the local SA context was, “The Cost of Failure of Governance and Ethics in the Public Service: Response to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of States.”

2. The IACD made critical resolutions which included the whistleblowers’ protection and an Action plan was developed for further monitoring by the National Priority Crime Operation Committee (NPCOC), formerly known as Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) and the National Advisory Council on Anti-Corruption’s unit responsible for monitoring of the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

3. The resolutions on the whistle-blowers’ include amongst others the protection of employees from retaliation, removing caps on compensation of whistleblowers, providing financial rewards and incentives for whistleblowing, protecting whistleblowers’ identity and consolidating whistleblowers’ legal protections. The PSC has been designated to coordinate and implement the above-mentioned resolutions by the IACD

4. The PSC has in implementing the resolution and carrying out its responsibilities as assigned by the IACD, did the following:

1. Developed a Position paper on the nature and extent of the protection of whistleblowers, which was consulted with the ACTT members, Civil Society organisation, and State Owned entities to provide inputs.
2. Host a Whistleblowers’ symposium on the 21 July 2023 in partnership with civil society and business sector under the theme “The extent and nature of the protection of whistle-blowers in South Africa”. The position paper was presented to the attendees and further inputs were provided and incorporated into the position paper.
3. The PSC developed inputs for Department of Justice to consider for the amendment of the Protected Whistleblower Act, taking into consideration the inputs from the Whistleblowers’ symposium. The inputs were submitted to Department of Justice on the 31 July 2023.
4. A report on the discussion and resolution of the Whistleblowers’ Symposium was developed, citing resolutions which proposed the establishment of a “Whistle-Blower Protection House” aimed at
   • 1. facilitating access to support for whistleblowers
     2. create awareness of whistleblowers plight,
     3. provide financial help, legal counsel and
     4. Psychological support
5. The PSC has since developed a Business Case on the establishment of the Whistle-blowers’ Protection House, which was presented to the NPCOC on the 16 November 2023. The objectives thereof are as follows:

• • • 1. To protect whistle-blowers, whether in the public or the private sector from being subjected to an occupational detrimental actions on account of having made a protected disclosure;
      2. To provide for certain remedies in connection with any detrimental actions
      3. suffered on account of having made a protected disclosure; and
      4. Rewarding whistle-blowers who made a disclosure of improper conduct in good faith.

5. The Department of Public Service and Administration is in the process of developing a Whistle-Blowers guide in collaboration with the Witness Protection Unit, aimed at creating awareness for public servant whistle-blowers to follow when reporting corruption.

6. The PSC also presented to the NPCOC a need to relook at the Cabinet approved National Anti-Corruption Hotline revamping and upgrading of the system, to be modernised and capacitated fully to operate 24/7. The PSC approached the Criminal Assets Recovery Accounts (CARA) fuding for revamping of the NACH.

7. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has already started the process of strengthening the protection of whistle-blowers through the amendment of the Protected Disclosures Act of 2017.

8. In conclusion, an upgraded National Anti-Corruption Hotline and a strategically placed and well-resourced Whistleblowing Protection House will add value to the Government’s fight against corruption and the protection of whistle-blowers.

End

Reply:

The Department is not mandated to deal with financial matters such as lending. However, the Department places its reliance in this regard on existing and enabling legislation such as the National Credit Act (35 of 2005) (NCA).

The NCA is designed to protect the Consumer in the credit market and make credit and banking services more accessible. The NCA aims “to promote and advance the social and economic welfare of South Africans, promote a fair, transparent, competitive, sustainable, responsible, efficient, effective and accessible credit market and industry, and to protect Consumers.”

The Purpose of the NCA is to: promote a fair and non-discriminatory market place for access to Consumer credit; regulate Consumer credit and improve standards of Consumer information; prohibit certain unfair credit and credit marketing practices; promote responsible credit granting and use; prohibit reckless credit granting; provide for debt re-organization in case of over-indebtedness; to regulate credit information; and establish recourse for unfair credit practices.

The Department is empathetic to the plight of taxi operators in respect of the vehicle instalments. However, there is reprieve in acknowledging that the agreement entered into between the operator and the financial institution is governed by the NCA.

The Department has with confidence placed its reliance on the NCA to protect taxi operators and believe that the recourse provided herein has assisted may operators who chose to comply when applying for finance and sought the necessary assistance when circumstances were adversely affected.

Reply:

(1) The Smart Enrolment Solution was indeed piloted at the DLTCs of Waterfall Park and Ecopark. The pilot was a partial proof of concept trial limited only to driving license renewals and excluded new driving license applications as well as Professional Driving Permit (PrDP) applications.

In its 16-month lifespan, the pilot has been very successful, and in total, 108 741 renewals were successfully carried out through the smart enrolment solution at the two centres. Very minimal glitches were experienced in the process and lessons from those glitches were utilised to reinforce the solutions’ resilience and proficiency, ahead of the full-scale roll-out which is now due to commence before the end of the third quarter of the current financial year.

As of 31 October 2023, the Driving Licence Card Account Entity (DLCA) has already commenced with readiness to deploy an additional three hundred (300) Smart Enrolment Units (SEUs) at fifty-five (55) centres around the country. These fifty-five are the first centres earmarked for the first phase of the full expansion of smart enrolment before the end of December 2023. A further nine hundred (900) new SEUs will be deployed in the last quarter of the financial year to bring the total deployment of new SEUs to thousand two hundred (1200) across four hundred and twenty-seven (427) DLTCs nationally. This will translate to an average of forty-seven (47) DLTCs per province.

To answer the question, the smart enrolment solution has not yet been piloted to other provinces for the reasons mentioned above, but the process is well underway to deploy to fifty-five (55) Centres and to expand even further as explained above.

(2) A tender for the purchase of the new Driving License Card printing machine has not been awarded yet. The process of evaluation is still ongoing and projections are that it will be finalised on or before end-December 2023.

Delays in concluding this evaluation process have been occasioned mainly by the complex nature of this bid itself, coupled with the fact that the evaluation criteria also included a compulsory site inspection process as part of due diligence.

(3) As part of the DLCA and RTMC’s integrated response to reduce red tape in the driving license testing and licensing process, there is a multiplicity of interventions that are already being introduced.

From the DLCA side, the four major areas of focus are with respect to the reduction of:

1. turnaround times in the duration an applicant spends at the DLTC to apply for or renew a driving license
2. turnaround time in the duration it takes for enrollment details from the DLTC to reach DLCA and enable DLCA to commence with the printing process,
3. turnaround times in the duration to successfully print, quality assure, and package the driving license card for dispatch back to the DLTC,
4. turnaround in the duration to have a printed card dispatched from DLCA and delivered to the DLTCs, thereby enabling the applicant to come and collect it.

Within this integrated business process, the introduction of Smart Enrolment Solution has already assisted with a significant reduction of turnaround time from an estimated thirty (30) minutes which an individual applicant currently takes, to a maximum of twenty (20) minutes which an individual applicant will take under Smart Enrolment Solution.

Also, the fact that the Smart Enrolment Solution operates on a real-time basis, means when an individual applicant enrolls his/her application data at a Centre, the information is immediately transmitted to the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) in real-time and there is no longer delayed transmission which at times could result in hours or an entire day before the information is received from the DLTC to the DLCA, via the NaTIS system.

Reduction of turn-around times in terms of the other two business process elements will only be fully realised once the new driving license card printing machine has been procured and commissioned. This will see DLCA now able to produce a single driving license card within five (5) working days as opposed to an average of fourteen (14) working days as is currently the case.

(4) The question is in my view widely worded and not specific to a particular aspect to which I need to respond. Suffice it nevertheless to state that the Department has in the past made a statement about SEUs and their progressive rollout throughout the country depending on budget availability. That being said, my replies to the questions above serve as further statements in the above regard.

Reply:

1. The Minister for Public Service and Administration issues guidelines and directives to the Executive Authorities of each national and provincial department and government component. Section 9 of the Public Service Act (PSA) states, "An executive authority is empowered to appoint individuals within his or her department in alignment with this Act and under prescribed conditions.” Section 11(2) of the PSA stipulates that "When appointing under section 9 within the public service (a) all applicants meeting the criteria for the post must be considered; and (b) the assessment of candidates should be based on their education, skills, competence, and knowledge, as well as the imperative to rectify historical inequities as per the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act 55 of 1998), to reflect the diversity of the South African population, including race, gender, and disability representation." Therefore, verification that appointments adhere to stipulated guidelines is ensured by each department or government component conducting its audit of such processes.

Additionally, the Treasury's Regulations under the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 decree under Regulation 8.3.4 that "Individuals at the respective pay-points must certify the legitimacy of all individuals on the payroll report to receive payment." Regulation 8.3.5 adds, "The payroll report, once certified, must be returned to the chief financial officer within ten days. The accounting officer must confirm the monthly receipt of all pay-point certificates." Confirmation that the payee is the rightful recipient of the payment can only be established through physical verification of each individual. Hence, the verification of employee payments is mandated for each manager responsible and the accounting officer within every national and provincial department and government component in the Public Service.

2. As of 30 September 2023, the number of public servants appointed in the Public Service was 1,243,920. This excludes the Department of Defence and the State Security Agency.

3. As indicated in reply (1) above, all national and provincial departments and government components within the Public Service are guided through the PSA to verify employee appointments and if an employee is a ghost employee using physical verification methods.

End

Reply:

a) In October 2022, the Cabinet approved the National Framework designed to enhance the professionalism of the Public Service. This approval occurred mid-financial year; hence, no specific key performance indicators could be established.

b) Despite the circumstances above, the Department of Public Service and Administration contributed significantly to implementing the National Framework towards professionalising the Public Service during the 2022/2023 financial year. On a broad scale, the accomplishments entail:

• Revisions to the Public Administration and Management Act.
• Updates to the Public Service Act.
• Development programmes for the youth.
• Dissemination of the strategy across national and provincial departments, following its approval, via diverse outreach programmes, Imbizos, and events conducted throughout the term.

End

Reply:

The National Department of Transport has not issued a tender in respect to private sector participation for the Ngqura Container Terminal in Port Elizabeth.

The Office of the CFO decided to conduct a quick search to assist the Parliamentary office in routing the Parliamentary Question to the applicable organization and we believe this bid was issued by Transnet.

The Departmental Supply Chain Management office does not have any information related to tender in question and humbly requests that the enquiry be re-routed to Transnet.

Reply:

The Office of Standards and Compliance was operationalised as a Chief Directorate within the Department on the 1st of April 2020, through a restructuring process. Section 17(4) of the PAMA, 2014, sets out the Office of Standards and Compliance (Office) functions as follows:

(a) evaluate the appropriateness of norms and standards and their basis of measurement as determined by institutions in relation to public administration and management;

(b) promote and monitor compliance with minimum norms and standards determined by the Minister in relation to public administration management;

(c) advise the Minister on the execution of his or her duties with regard to— (i) the determination of minimum norms and standards contemplated in section 16; and (ii) enforcing compliance with the minimum norms and standards;

(d) conduct capacity and functionality audits of skills, systems, processes and advise on capacity building initiatives;

(e) develop and implement an early warning system to detect public administration non-compliance; and

(f) report in writing— (i) at least once every quarter to the Minister on the performance of the Office’s functions; and (ii) as directed by the Minister on the progress made in the investigation and finalisation of matters brought before the Office.

Furthermore, Section 17(6) states that the objects of the Office are to ensure compliance with minimum norms and standards set by the Minister in Section 16, taking into account that the spheres of government are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated.

It is worth noting that the Office of Standards and Compliance does not have a mandate to set norms and standards. Norms and standards are set by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration who is supported by the department in programmes Human Resources Management and Development, Negotiations, Labour Relations & Remuneration Management, E-Government Services & Information Management and Government Services and Improvement. The programmes are also responsible for monitoring implementation and to also to conduct evaluations on the impact of the policies and prescripts. According to PAMA section 17 (4) (a) the OSC‘s mandate is to evaluate the appropriateness of norms and standards and their basis of measurement as determined by the institutions. The Office of Standards and Compliance has developed criteria and guiding questions to aid in assessing the appropriateness of norms and standards. Therefore, the Office evaluates the appropriateness of norms and standards at two stages: during the drafting phase prior to approval, and after implementation when instances of non-compliance come to light.

Since its establishment in 2020, the Office of Standards and Compliance has formulated and sought input on three frameworks and guidelines to facilitate the execution of its mandate. The Office has monitored compliance and produced annual reports on compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements in the public service, focusing on six norms and standards: Recruitment matters, Discipline Management, Precautionary Suspensions, Sexual Harassment in the workplace, Public Administration Delegations Management, and Information and Communication Technology. These reports also contain recommendations for improvement. Managing the wage bill in the public service is a key strategic priority for the Department. Consequently, the Office of Standards and Compliance has identified two specific areas of focus: precautionary suspensions and sick leave, both of which contribute to substantial costs for the state.

The Office has evaluated the appropriateness of the guidelines relating to precautionary suspensions and has compiled a report with recommendations which will be submitted to the Minister.

End

Reply:

(a)(b) Neither the Minister or the Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

(c) No officials from the Department of Public Service and Administration attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023 in an official capacity as this activity falls outside the mandate of the department.

End

Reply:

(1) The person was seconded to perform the responsibilities of the vacant and funded post of Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance in the department. She is responsible among others: to manage and ensure the setting, promotion and enforcement of Public Administration Norms and Standards as contemplated in the Public Administration Management Act, 2014.

(2) (a) The person is seconded to the Department to perform the duties of the Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance in the department whilst the post is filled through the normal recruitment processes.

(b) The person is seconded in accordance with section 15(3) of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended, read with regulation 62(1)(b) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016.

(c) The person is the Chief Director: Capacity Building at the KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

(3) The person has not been seconded to the department to assist the Director-General with responsibilities external to the department. The person is seconded to perform the duties of the post of Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance which exists on the organisational structure of the Department and is overall responsible for the management of functions contained in section 17 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 which includes:

• Evaluating the appropriateness of norms and standards and their basis of measurement as determined by institutions in relation to public administration and management;
• Promoting and monitoring compliance with minimum norms and standards determined by the Minister in relation public administration management;
• Advising the Minister on the execution of the Minister’s duties in relation to the determination of minimum norms and standards and enforcing compliance;
• Conducting capacity and functionality audits of skills, systems and processes and advise on capacity building initiatives;
• Developing and implementing an early warning system to detect public administration non-compliance; and
• Managing the operations systems and processes of the Chief Directorate.

(4) A personnel suitability check was conducted in respect of the person and no negative information was detected. The employee has submitted the necessary documents for the security clearance from the State Security Agency (SSA) and is awaiting the processing thereof by SSA.

The person, as an employee of the State and subject to approval processes, has the necessary authority to participate in certain foreign matters of the State including, participating in discussions on the work of the department, presenting on work related to the department, presenting research conducted or sharing best practices.

(5) The person is a South African citizen.

End

Reply:

I do not know of any funding of the Housing Development Agency Eastern Cape Branch. I have no knowledge of any political campaign funded by officials as alleged in the member’s question.

Reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 3924

(1-3) Honourable member, in my previous response to parliamentary question 3586, I indicated that there is a need for better coordination at national level for similar operations by the NATJOINTS and Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) inclusive of all law enforcement Agencies, as well as DHA and Border Management Authority (BMA).

(4) Law enforcement operations are currently still underway in the same area and the assessment and impact of the operations will be evaluated once concluded.

END

 

Reply:

a) In 2021, the National Department of Human Settlements and its sector partners (Provinces and Municipalities) took a decision to unblock all blocked projects over a period of three financial years, namely, 2022/23 – 2024/25. A blocked or incomplete project is defined as: A project where no delivery progress has been made for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. The blocked or incomplete projects include serviced sites and houses at different levels of construction namely, slab level, wall-plate level, roof level, etc.

Factors that usually lead to human settlements projects being blocked are;

• illegal land occupations,
• geotechnical variations,
• construction mafias,
• community unrest,
• poor performance by contractors (some of whom would have abandoned sites),
• the lack of bulk infrastructure and link services,

As at April 2023, the Eastern Cape Province had identified 79 blocked and incomplete projects. From the 79 projects, a total of 11 have been unblocked and the balance is 68.

From the 68 remaining blocked and incomplete projects, the Ngqushwa and Emalahleni Local Municipalities both account for 2 projects in the approved 2023/24 Business Plan of the Eastern Cape Province- See table below

Table 1: Blocked Projects in the 2023 /2024 Business Plan to be unblocked

No.	Project Name	DM	LM
	Peddie - Mphekweni 500 subs	Amathole	Ngqushwa
	Lady Frere 715	Chris Hani	Emalahleni

Reply:

Country	Total Applications Received	Approved	Rejected	Pending
NIGERIA	10103	4250	5689	164
PAKISTAN	8706	5676	2947	83
INDIA	4607	1726	2715	166
CHINA	4577	2058	2454	65
EGYPT	1050	498	535	17
ROMANIA	828	311	502	15
LITHUANIA	441	164	260	17
PHILLIPINE	424	125	285	14
CAMEROON	422	192	223	7
ETHIOPIA	385	167	213	5
GHANA	375	65	288	22
CROATIA	322	106	197	19
MEXICO	312	76	225	11
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO	249	74	168	7
UGANDA	237	80	149	8
ALGERIA	227	80	144	3
SLOVAKIA	87	16	66	5
KENYA	85	20	60	5
SAUDI ARABIA	76	8	59	9
BULGARIA	67	24	41	2
IRAN	62	27	35	0
INDONESIA	54	17	35	2
OMAN	31	11	19	1
MOROCCO	27	7	19	1
ALBANIA	20	6	14	0
SENEGAL	17	4	13	0
BULGARIA	17	3	13	1
CONGO	13	1	11	1
COTE D IVOIRE	9	3	6	0
LIBERIA	7	1	6	0
NIGER	5	3	2	0
MALI	4		4	0
CUBA	2		1	1
GUINEA	1		1	0
Grand Total	33849	15799	17399	651

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

END

Reply:

(1)(a)(ii) The Department of Home Affairs contributes to the APEX priority of government on Social Cohesion and Safe Communities. As such the Department supports the Department of Arts, Sports and Culture and the Department of Justice on matters of social cohesion, tolerance and integration by issuing enabling documents. The registration of births and issuance of identity documents to citizens are key to access rights and services as all administrative and financial transactions in South Africa are based on identity. The Department also collaborates with UNHCR and IOM among other role players regarding migration issues. The Department confirms and provides enabling documents to foreigners legally residing within the country as well as facilitate and regulate the secure movement of people through ports of entry into and out of the country according to a risk-based approach.

(b)(i) The department is part of structures such as the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration which has been looking at issues such as violence within the trucking industry which is alleged to be the result of preferential hiring of foreign truck drivers.

(b)(ii) The department is part of law enforcement operations such as “Operation Shanela” to root out criminality and also conducts its own immigration law enforcement operations thorough its Inspectorate Division. These multi-faceted operations are amongst the efforts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of South Africans and foreign residents.

END

Reply:

According to the information received from the North West Department of Human Settlements, the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality returned the erroneously transferred funds back to the North West Department of Human Settlements. The Boitekong Cluster Project is currently funded by the province under two grants, namely the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) for bulk infrastructure and top structure as well as the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUP) for planning and servicing. A tripartite Agreement has since been signed between the National Department of Human Settlements, the Province and the Rustenburg Municipality on the implementation of the project. Further to this, the province has also signed an Implementation Protocol with the Rustenburg Municipality, where the province has appointed contractors in the third quarter to construct 1849 houses on serviced sites, while the Municipality has appointed professional service providers.

Reply:

1. Appointment of the Board of Directors of the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) follows a call for nominations, assessment of nominees by the appointed selection committee and shortlisting of nominees who best meet the criteria. The call for nominations advert also specified the requirement for nominees to be fit for appointment as board members. OBP will be requested to conduct personnel suitability checks on all appointees.

The notice inviting nominations specified that personnel suitability checks will be conducted on suitable candidates.

The appointment letters of the new members stated that their appointments were subject to a personnel suitability process.

2. No. There is no record of an investigation at the instance of SA Weather Services into the specified person.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

With regard to the assessments and studies conducted to evaluate the current state of infrastructure at the Kempton Park Hospital, the matter is not within the purview of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. It can be best dealt with by our sister Department of Infrastructure Development, which is responsible for providing public infrastructure delivery and property management solutions for the people of Gauteng. Therefore, the question should be referred to the relevant MEC, accordingly.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

With regard to the revitalisation of the Kempton Park Hospital to ensure that it aligns with healthcare service requirements, the matter is not within the purview of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Hospitals are public structures, therefore, the matter can be best dealt with by our sister Department of Infrastructure Development, which is responsible for providing public infrastructure delivery and property management solutions for the people of Gauteng. Therefore, the question should be referred to the relevant MEC, accordingly.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The matter regarding the revamping of the Kempton Park Hospital is not within the purview of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. All matters in relation to hospitals, as public structures, can be best dealt with by our sister Department of Infrastructure Development, which is responsible for providing public infrastructure delivery and property management solutions for the people of Gauteng. Therefore, the question should be referred to the relevant MEC, accordingly.

Reply:

It is important to highlight that firstly, the Draft Employment Equity Regulations gazetted on 12 May 2023 were published as part of preparations for the implementation or commencement date of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022 (EE Amendment Act, 2022), which was assented into law in April 2023. These Draft Regulations with proposed sector EE targets were published for public comment to gather more information and public input aimed at enhancing the content of the final EE Regulations, which will only be published for implementation upon the publication of the commencement date of the EE Amendment Act, 2022.

Secondly, it is critical to note that having considered all the written public comments received, the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) and the Department are in the process of finalizing the revised Draft EE Regulations on the proposed sector EE targets, which will then be re-published for further public comment in order to enhance the consultation process and also to enrich the content of the final sector EE targets Regulations for future implementation.

END

Reply:

1. No, National and Provincial Treasuries are responsible for monitoring municipal budgets.
2. No, the Department of Water and Sanitation is responsible for accounting and monitoring of water losses.

End.

Reply:

(a) According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force survey released by Statsa, South Africa's unemployment rate dipped again in the third quarter of 2023, to 31, 9%.

That's a decrease of 0,7 of a percentage point from 32,6% in the second quarter of the year indicating that there is a recovery of employment levels since Covid -19 period.

It has been noted that service industries that were heavily affected by COVID-19 are gradually recovering, and these are largely labour-intensive. There was a level of increase in employment, to pre-COVID-19 levels in the labour market.

The Statistician General has indicated that "Employment gains were observed among all sectors with the highest in the formal sector (up by 287 000), followed by the Agricultural sector (up by 61 000), Informal sector (up by 29 000) and Private households (up by 22 000) in Q3: 2023."

Government has undertaken a number of steps to assist private firms and businesses, including the provision of stimulus through tax incentive, small business development activities to help firms recover and massive injections by the Department of Employment and Labour through its entities like UIF and initiatives like Turnaround Programmes of Productivity SA, and CCMA interventions to help prevent job losses.

(b) The Department has extended legislative coverage to all employees, including domestic employment, as demonstrated by the changes to National Minimum Wage, extension of UIF coverage and more recently extension of coverage by the Compensation Fund.

The Department is also introducing a National Labour Migration Policy whose main objective is to protect lower level workers from unfair employment completion. The Employment services Amendment Bill will regulate the manner in which foreign nationals can be employed, it imposed conditions or obligations to transfer skills during the limited employment duration,

it will restrict the total numbers of foreign nationals that can be employed at any point in any establishment and will strengthen the role of both Employment Inspectors and Home Affairs Immigration Officers in addressing the problem of undocumented foreign nationals employed in various sectors of the economy.

The Department of Small Business Development working with Provincial and Municipalities are also tightening operations of foreign nationals in the informal sector as we believe that millions of South Africans can create self-employment in those sectors.

The Department of Home Affairs has also released a white paper that seeks to address the inconsistencies that we have since identified in the Refugees Act, the Citizenship Act and the Immigration Act.

Reply:

This is an excellent and progressive question which will take the Fund far if implemented and agreement between the two entities are secured. At one level it increases compliance and also ensure that UIF has the necessary data at the time of claim processing.

In terms of status, 98% of UIF contribution is already collected by SARS and this is managed through service level agreement. The only remaining part of the agreement is the sharing of data contained in the EMP201 and EMP501.

The Acting Director General, Dr Moemi has already started engagement with the SARS Commissioner to consider a number of options including discussions around the mainframe and data sharing mechanism while mindful of the POPIA requirements.

 

Reply:

(a-b): The Deputy Minister and I did not attend the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

(c) No official in the Department of Home Affairs attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023 in an official capacity.

The Department of Home Affairs did not incur any expenditure in relation to the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.

END

Reply:

South Africa respects the legal and judicial system of Zimbabwe. As a country, we believe that all legal avenues should be used if there is a legitimate belief that Mr Sikhala is being detained unjustly. The Department will engage with the report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to assess whether measures outside of the national legal system of Zimbabwe may be necessary.

Reply:

a) The Work Visa Review Report by Operation Vulindlela did not state that it takes Home Affairs 48 weeks to process an application. What the Report pointed out was that a work visa applicant can take about 48 weeks across all entities to obtain supporting documents for an application. These entities are the applicant’s security authorities from country of origin for the Police Clearance certificate, SAQA verification of qualifications, Medical Practitioners for medical certificates, the recommendation certificate from the Department of Employment and Labour, and the now removed requirement for a radiological report. These are the activities that take place prior to the applicant approaching the Department to submit an application. On receipt of the application, the Department processes the application within 20 working days.

The Department is already implementing the Vulindlela recommendations, some of which are that certain non-critical supporting documents should be removed from the process.

b) As at the 24th of November 2023, there were 349 pending critical skills work visa applications pending in the system.

c) The above mentioned applications are due for completion within 20 working days from date of application.

END

Reply:

(a) The Republic of South Africa, like all other countries throughout the world does experience scarce and critical skills in those job types for where employers cannot find suitably qualified or experienced employees. One of the alternatives of deploying these skills in the labour market is to source them from foreign nationals. To ensure the orderly and transparent manner to address this problem and to prevent the abuse of this “shortage” or displacement of citizens from employment, government has introduced different mechanism that are consistent with other practices in other countries.

The Government, led by the Department of Home Affairs publishes a scarce skills list that foreigners can accommodated in or provided with corporate or individual work visa if they find employment locally and an employer can provide evidence that they could not find an equally suitably qualified and or experienced South African in the applicable category.

The Department of Higher Education and Training leads in the research process to publish and receive public comments on the National Scarce Skills List. The National Development Plan, the National Infrastructure Plan, Industrial Policy Action Plan and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) Scarce Skills Lists, which indicates shortages in certain career fields, are used to determine the skills that are needed.

(b) According to research, economic sectors within South Africa that are affected the most by skills shortages are those sectors that South Africa benefits most from skilled migrants and include:-

• Information Technology
• Business and Management
• Design
• Engineering
• Financial Sectors
• Marketing
• Medical and Health
• Arts and Media

The Department of Employment and Labour, assist with the negotiations and approval of such a list at NEDLAC. We also provide recommendations to Home Affairs with regards to availability of such skills in the country as we process Corporate and Individual Work Visas on behalf of the employers.

We have also developed a National Labour Migration Policy and the Employment Services Amendment Bill to amongst others, regulate the manner in which foreign nationals can be employed in the South African labour market, transfer of skills to locals, setting of quotas in those low and mediums skills levels where we may employ foreign nationals because of various circumstances, the employment of South Africans abroad and the types of Bilateral Agreements that will have to be concluded in these regard.

Reply:

It is fundamental for all us to recall that all the painful injustices and inequalities of the past apartheid system were racially driven. In fact, race was a key determining factor in relation to how all resources and opportunities were distributed to the citizens of this country being its finances, education, employment, housing, energy, water, health, just to mention a few. Therefore, in order to protect the human rights to equality, human dignity and fair treatment, including access to equal opportunities in all spheres of life, section 9 of the Constitution is explicit that measures must be taken by enacting legislation to ensure that no person is directly or indirectly unfairly discriminated against based on any of the prohibited grounds listed, which are inclusive of race.

It is against this backdrop of section 9 of the Constitution, the ‘Equality clause’ that various legislation, in particular the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) was enacted. The primary purpose of the EEA is to promote equity through the elimination of unfair treatment and unfair discrimination in employment policies and practices;

and the implementation of affirmative action measures to redress the imbalance of the past suffered by the previously disadvantaged groups, that is black people; women of all racial groups; and persons with disabilities irrespective of their race and gender. In fact, the section 1 of the EEA defines black people as a generic term that means Africans; Coloureds and Indians. It is important to highlight that this definition and section 6(1) of the EEA, which lists all the prohibited grounds of unfair discrimination, inclusive of race has not been amended. In fact, it is crucial to note that these listed prohibited grounds of unfair discrimination in section 6(1) of the EEA mirrors those listed in section 9 of the Constitution. In context of the objectives of both section 9 and that of the EEA, if ‘race’ as a classification should be removed as a prohibited ground for unfair discrimination, amendments should be considered not only for the EEA, but for the Constitution; including other legislations that make reference to the race classifications.

END