Questions and Replies

Reply:

Joint Ops:

1. The Joint Operations Division has done purchases of less than R500 000,00 with respect to support for COVID-19 (Op NOTLELA). The Joint Operations Financial System does not indicate where procurement is done as transactions are done via the Joint Support Base Garrison procurement system.

(a) The specified goods are as follows:

Ser	Description	Amount	Company	Unit
	a	B	c	d
1	Cleaning and Polishing Compounds	R42,888,00	NALEDI CHEMICALS	Northern Cape
2	Individual Equipment	R90,000,00	SIB DIVISION (PTY) LTD	J OP HQ
3	Toiletry and Paper Products	R18,675,00	PROMED TECHNOLOGIES	Northern Cape
4	Oils/Gas, Greases and Lubricants	R50,000,00	WO Fuels and oils CC	Northern Cape
5	Packaging and Packaging Materials	R115,350,00	YOKOGAZA WT ENTERPRISE	Eastern Cape
6	Fuels and Solids	R482,500,00	Alakha Trading	Eastern Cape
7	Oil and Grease	R27,588,00	Piston Power Chemicals	Western Cape
8	M & R D-Vehicle BMJ824M	R6,383,00		Western Cape
9	Cleaning and Polishing Compound	R24,420,00	Aristocraft	North west
10	Cleaning and Polishing Compound	R43,592,00	Promotha Mechanical Engineering	Limpopo
11	Diesel	R786,000,00
12	Oils and greases; Cutting, Lubricant	R163,185,00		Limpopo
13	Storage Tanks	R11,280,00	AMP Services	Limpopo
14	Food Cooking, Baking and service	R31,305,00	RINE SUPPLIERS AND PROJECTS	Limpopo
15	Food Cooking. Baking and service	R34,320,00	MM and MA GENRAL TRADING	Limpopo
16	M & D: D-Vehicles BMJ834M	R12,351,00
17	Toilet Paper Products	R44,270,00	Lifhasi Group	Limpopo
18	Petrol 93 ULP	R82,860,00	Valspar Petroleum	North West
19	Photocopy Papers	R14,600,00	GOMOLEMO TRADING AND PROJECTS	Gauteng
20	M & R D-Vehicle	R13,200,00	KHOKHO'S TECH ENGINEERS	North West
21	M & R D-Vehicle	R6,312,00	KHOKHO'S TECH ENGINEERS	North West
22	ADP Supplies	R11,774,00	IPT	Free State
23	Household and Commercial Utility	R22,360,00	EXODEC 60CC	Gauteng
24	ADP Supplies	R85,999,00	EXODEC 60CC	Gauteng
25	Brooms, Brushes and Mops	R10,250,00		Western Cape
26	Brooms, Brushes and Mops	R10,250,00	LA TOLO	Eastern Cape
27	Cleaning and polishing compound	R35,301,00	Jipalayo Trading	Gauteng
28	Cleaning and Polishing Compounds	R64,300,00	Qhaphelu (PTY) LTD	Eastern Cape
30	Bags and Sacks	R8,990,00	SINEMIHLE ENTERPRISE	Eastern Cape
31	Toilet Paper Products	R32,992,00	Glycoless	Free State
32	General Building maintenance	R32,657,00	KOTIPULA BUSINESS ENTERPRICE	Limpopo
33	Batteries Non Rechargeable	R18,125,00	LAMDALE TRADING	KZN
34	Office Supplies	R56,859,00	SC AEROTECH	KZN
35	Cleaning and Polishing Compounds	R38,337,00	Umtapo General Dealer	KZN
36	Bags and Sacks	R29,250,00	NASMO MARKETING	KZN
37	Toilet Paper Products	R82,480,00	Glycoless	KZN
38	Toilet Paper Products	R18,540,00	Promed Technologies	Eastern Cape
39	Diesel	R558,400,00
40	Diesel	R116,480,00
41	Diesel	R307,120,00
42	Diesel	R156,970,00
43	Paper and Paper Board	R32,400,00	HAMBANATHI FOODS	KZN
44	Sanitation and Plumbing work	R875,778,00	INGELOS PROJECTS	Western Cape
45	Toilet Paper Products	R118,590,00	EMU MEDICAL SUPPLIES	Gauteng
46	Paper and Paper Board	R23,760,00	EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT	Gauteng
47	Sanitation and Plumbing Work	R116,840,00	KOPANO EVENT	Gauteng

2. A deviation occurred when 200 reflector jackets were procured for the Joint Tactical Headquarters (20 per J Tac HQ).

(a) This was an emergency procurement after a member of the SANDF lost his life whilst performing road block duties. A decision was then taken that all J Tac HQs must be issued with reflector jackets for as PPE.

(b) Proper emergency procurement processes were followed to procure the items. This matter was submitted for urgent consideration to the Joint Operations COVID-19 Procurement Logistics Cell and three Companies were invited.

a. SIB DIVISION (PTY) LTD R 90 000.

b. GROUP EFFORT WORX R 100 200.

c. MOTHUSI BUSINESS ENTER PRICE R 100 000.

3. All companies were selected form CSD data base and they conform to treasury regulations, and procedures. The lowest company was selected. This are the only items that were procured with deviation of procurement, the rest of the items were procured through procurement processes via the e-Procure system.

SA Army:

1. The SA Army has not directly purchased any good and/or services below R500 000 connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. All equipment procured were obtained through either SAMHS or Logistics Division.

2. Not applicable. (See answer above)

3. Not Applicable. (See answer above)

4. No comment.

SAAF:

1. Everything that was procured in support of COVID-19 was under the amount of R500 000. All spending in the item segment of SCoA is recorded against the various appropriate FMS Item Codes depending on the use for the items or services procured. The SAAF has spent R616,018 to date on COVID-19 related goods and/or services (see Appendix A):

(a) The SA Air Force utilised a total of 117 regional suppliers in order to proceed with purchasing.

(b) The products that were procured are: thermo-scanners, cloth masks, surface disinfectant, sanitising dispensers.

2. There were no deviations from the standard Supply Chain Management procedures in the transactions. All procurement whether Government Order or Petty Cash were executed according to prescribed procurement prescripts.

3. Suppliers were approached that are supplied by the official Central Suppliers Database (CSD), where companies register themselves on the National Treasury database to be suppliers of specific items or can supply a service of a specific nature. If requirements were under R2 000 local suppliers within the local community were approached.

4. N/A

SA Navy:

1. Yes. (a)(b)(c) See Appendix B

2. No.

(a) Not Applicable.

(b) Not Applicable.

3. Not Applicable.

SAMHS:

1. The SAMHS did purchase goods and services below R500 000.

a) The companies that were utilised are reflected in Appendix C.

b) The amounts of all transactions are reflected in Appendix C.

c) The products and services procured are reflected in Appendix C.

2. Standard supply chain management processes were followed. Except for Price Quotations standing government contracts were utilised. When the contracted entity could not provide due to the national requirements other companies were requested to provide quotations in a comparative process, as prescribed. The Surgeon General is not in a position to express opinion on the process followed in terms of the two orders processed by the SA Army (order prefix 1H).

3. The rationale for the supplier utilised is premised on the following reason codes as indicated in Appendix A:

1. RT refers to National Treasury Transversal Contracts.
2. HP refers to Health Pharmaceutical Contracts.
3. HM refers to Treasury Contracts.
4. ROCD refers to Propriety Contract (Roche Diabetics).
5. RT COVID-19 refers to Treasury Contract.
6. AICC refers to Adcock Ingram Critical Care (This was a Price Quotation).
7. PQ refers to Price Quotation.
8. Del 3.2 refers to SA Army procurement entity.

Human Resources Division:

1. The HR Division expenditure on goods/services that were purchased connected to COVID-19 pandemic are as follows:

S/No	Description	Cost	Name of Supplier	Reason for Purchase
	a	b	c	d
1	Medicated Cosmetics and Toiletries( Hand Sanitizer)	R7 460.00	Mr First Aid (Pty) Ltd 24-28th Avenue Edenvale	Medical Supplies - the only supplier who had stock in hand to supply hand sanitizer with the correct alcohol content in March 2020 and delivery at short notice.
2	Clothing, Special Purpose(Cloth Masks)	R5 989.00	MTKP Designs(Pty) Ltd Pierre van Rheyneveld Pretoria	Purchase cloth masks for members on 05 May 2020 with delivery on short notice after announcement of Level 4 Lockdown.
	Total	R13 499.00

2. The above goods were cash purchases Personal Protective Equipment (hand sanitizers and cloth masks) by the different HR Division entities following the announcement of the Lockdown Level 5 State of Disaster declared by the State President in terms of the Disaster Management Act.

3. It can be confirmed that no deviation on standard supply chain management procedures occurred.

Logistics Division:

1. The Logistics Division did purchase goods and services below the amount of R500 000 connected to the Covid-19 pandemic. See the attached list (Appendix D) for the companies utilised for the purchasing of the specified goods and services, together with the amount of each transaction and the service and/or product that each company rendered.

2. With the purchasing of the goods and services the Logistics Division followed the process as stipulated in National Treasury Instruction No. 8 of 2020/21 (paragraph 3.7.6).

3. The purchasing of specified goods and services from the awarded companies was based on the availability of stock and the turnaround time of delivery from these companies.

Defence Intelligence:

1. Defence Intelligence (DI) procured goods below the amount of R500 000, 00 in order to implement Occupational Health and Safety measures iro COVID-19. The total amount for COVID-19 related procurement to date is R325 579, 30. The procurement (breakdown is reflected in Appendix E) was prior to the central distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

2. The reason for procuring from the respective companies was due to the fact that they were the most cost effective ito quotations provided.

CMIS Division:

1. CMIS Div did not purchase any goods or service referred to in the letter and therefore submit a nil return.

Defence Reserves:

1. (a) The office of Defence Reserves purchased protective equipment in the beginning of the lockdown process on 20 April 2020.

(b) For the amount of R1 818.00 from Resuduac Bakrier Technology (Pty) Ltd.

(c) It is confirmed that the service/product was rendered.

2. There was no deviation from the standard supply chain management procedures in the transactions.

3. The company was selected by the Department.

4. Not applicable.

Special Force:

1. South African Special Forces did purchase goods and/or services below the amount of R500 000 connected to the Covid-19 pandemic (see Appx F).

2. There were no deviation from the standard supply chain as three (3) quotations were obtained from the Suppliers that were approved by Chief Logistics.

3. A list of suppliers which have transversal contract with National Treasury and their address were provided to the Headquarters and were utilised.

Defence Corporate Communication:

1. One Touch Global - R5000,00 - Sanitizers, surgical masks and gloves.

Purple Square Media - R5000,00 – Sanitizers, surgical masks and gloves.

MJ Multimedia – R5000,00 – Sanitizers, surgical masks and gloves.

Valhalla Pharmacy – R3750,00 – 3 Layer cloth masks.

2. No deviation.

3. Names were from database and best value for money as per PFMA requirements.

MP Division:

1. (a, b & c) – 2020

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

S/N	Company	Amount	Product/Service	Remarks
	a	b	c	d
1	FKJ Consultants	R 1 998.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
2	S&S Dienste	R16 000.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
3	Budget Shop	R 3 930.00	Surgical Gloves and Face Masks	Product Rendered
4	A’ Africa Pest Prevention	R 1 794.00	Thermometer	Product Rendered
5	A’ Africa Pest Prevention	R 2 185.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
6	G Fox (Pty) LTD	R 4 918.21	Surgical Gloves, Face Masks, Face Shields & Eye Protections	Products Rendered
7	Clicks Humewood	R 1 999.99	Thermometer	Product Rendered
8	Conquest Cleaning Chemicals	R 1 975.00	Disinfectant	Product Rendered
9	Conquest Cleaning Chemicals	R 1 966.00	Face Masks	Product Rendered
10	Dischem	R 1  499.00	Thermometer	Product Rendered
11	Ronette Sanitizer, Dischem, Ukhamba Lobuntu, Offtek Wonderboom	R 15 722.75	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
12	Makro	R 4 500.00	Surgical Gloves	Product Rendered
13	Aruzest T/A// Nizams	R 2 000.00	Spray Bottles	Product Rendered
14	Makro	R 1 999.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
15	Super Hygiene	R 1 512.00	Batteries for Thermometer	Product Rendered
16	Valhalla Genaral Dealer	R 3 960.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
17	FKJ Consultants	R 4 200.00	Surgical Gloves	Product Rendered
18	FKJ Consultants	R 4 200.00	Dusk Masks	Product Rendered
19	Phi Development	R 23 104.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
20	Noko Health Care	R 707.25	Thermometer	Product Rendered
21	Moonflower/The Reeds	R 1 990.00	Thermometer	Product Rendered
22	Moonflower/The Reeds	R 1 897.00	Dusk Masks	Product Rendered
23	Moonflower/The Reeds	R 1 897.00	Dusk Masks	Product Rendered
24	Moonflower/The Reeds	R 1 900.00	Face Screens	Product Rendered
25	Moonflower/The Reeds	R 1 963.00	Dusk Masks	Product Rendered
26	Tahie Decor	R 1 990.00	Dusk Masks	Product Rendered
27	Tshinetisi General Trading	R 1 800.00	Sprayer (16lt)	Product Rendered
28	Tshinetisi General Trading	R  950.00	Foot Dispenser	Product Rendered
29	Tshimetisi General Trading	R  950.00	Foot Dispenser	Product Rendered
30	Hustleberg Holdings	R 2 000.00	Hand Sanitiser	Product Rendered
	TOTAL	R 117 507.20

2 There was no deviation from the Supply Chain Management in any of the above-mentioned processes.

3. Goods were purchased from the specific Companies after proper procurement processes were followed and the Company that adhere to all the prescripts according to Quotations was chosen.

Defence HQ Unit:

The following table depicts the Department of Defence Headquarters Unit Covid 19 related purchases below the amount of R500 000.00:

S/No	NAME OF COMPANY	AMOUNT	ITEMS PROQURED	DIRECTORATE
01	Solanga Fashion Creations	R1 995.00	Cloth Masks	DFSC
02	One Touch Global	R5 000.00	Cloth Masks	DCC
03	WTC Belegings	R3 750.00	Sanitisers	VIS COMMS
04	MCB Designs	R4 680.00	Cloth Masks	SEC DEF
05	Zamatungwa	R936.00	Cloth Masks	SEC DEF
06	Seamstress Delights	R1 920.00	Cloth Masks	TRG COMM
07	All out Mask	R1 000.00	Cloth Masks	CMIS DIV
08	Clicks	R359.94	Sanitisers	DFSC
09	MJ Multimedia	R5 000.00	Sanitisers	DCC
10	Steel and Pipes	R1 800.00	Sanitisers	C FIN
11	Soap Chemicals	R3 240.00	Sanitisers	DOD HQ Unit
12	Zome chemicals	R1 920.00	Sanitisers	DOD HQ Unit
13	Group Shape	R1 818.00	Sanitisers	MP Division
14	Makro	R1 999.00	Sanitisers	DEF RES
15	Recevoir Trading	R5 000.00	Sanitisers	CDLS
16	The Promo Group	R4 988.00	Sanitisers	TRG COMM
17	Van Roma	R1 570.00	Sanitisers	HR DIV
18	Modern Packaging	R1 797.00	Sanitisers	HR DIV
19	Servest	R1 828.50	Sanitisers	HR DIV
20	West Pack Lifestyle Store	R4 500	Sanitiser Dispensers	DOD HQ Unit

2. There were no deviations from the standard Supply Chain Management Procedures in the transactions. The Petty cash process was used as all transactions complied with the Petty cash rules.

No statement will be made on this Parliamentary question.

Reply:

1. Yes. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development purchased goods and services below the amount of R500 000 connected to the COVID-19 pandemic by means of price quotations and or transversal contracts.

(a),(b),(c) Please refer to Annexure A.

2. Yes.

(a),(b) Please refer to Annexure A.

3. Please refer to Annexure A.

4. No.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) initiated and gazetted the draft proposed amendment to Schedule 1 of the Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act No. 40 of 2000) hereinafter referred to as “the Act”, in order to curb unsustainable wildlife hunting for “bushmeat” and to ensure that where slaughtering or hunting for either consumption, or sale for local or export trade, happens in a regulated environment that would ensure food safety, feed safety and adherence to welfare prescripts.

The Act does not make any decisions on which animals are to be slaughtered but ensures that should an animal listed in the schedule be slaughtered, all requirements stipulated in the Act would have to be complied with.

A decision on which animals can be slaughtered lies outside of the mandate of the Meat Safety Act. Legislation under the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, stipulates which wildlife animals are protected and endangered and therefore there is a regulatory framework on how to handle them, including their disposal and slaughter if that becomes a necessity. The slaughter of animals for human and animal consumption, as required under the Meat Safety Act is subject to permissions of relevant other legislation, including conservation, food control, environmental health and animal welfare legislations.

There may be instances where endangered animals have to be culled for conservation, animal welfare (e.g. injured), animal health (e.g. having a contagious non-zoonotic disease), environmental concerns (e.g., overgrazing) or other justifiable reasons, in line with provisions of all applicable legislation outside of the Meat Safety Act. In such instances, the products of such a culling operation, if intended for human consumption, would have been regulated under the Meat Safety Act and food hygiene would have been promoted and assured. The Act also controls the importation of meat and therefore the absence of a specific animal on the list; it means that the Meat Safety Act does not apply to meat and meat products of such an animal and therefore the Department does not have any regulatory control at the ports of entry for such products entering the country. In the absence of the listing of an animal under the Act, anyone can import such an animal without having to comply with provisions of the Meat Safety Ac

Reply:

(a) The clinics in Ekurhuleni Health District Municipality which are being provided with tents are on the attached list (Annexure A)

(b) There was no tender that was awarded for the erection of the tents. These tents are erected by the Gauteng Provincial Infrastructure team, as part of the expansion of the space for the patients.

END.

Reply:

1. (a) (i) There is no list of the service providers that have been appointed in order to do deep cleaning at the clinics. Ekurhuleni Health District is using the Meridian Hygiene company to do deep cleaning at the clinics. A letter of appointment of Meridian Hygiene is attached as Annexure A.

(ii) Clinics they are cleaning within the City of Ekurhuleni are on the attached list (Annexure B)

(b) The clinics are fogged and deep cleaned each time there has been a positive case that has been reported in the facility. This is done in line with the guidelines issued by the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC). The process of deep cleansing is being monitored by the Ekurhuleni Steering Committee Members and the Environmental Health Practitioners.

2. Yes. There are criteria that have been put in place in terms of the deep cleaning process guide. The attached document explains in detail the criteria that are being followed for deep cleaning. Please refer to part (iii) on the second page of Annexure B.

END.

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:

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:

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:

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

Reply:

The total number of field hospitals that have been built in each Province since 1 March 2020 have been provided in the table below. The construction of the field hospitals is at different levels of completion, from site hand over to the completion of the construction of the hospital, and also includes utilization of the hospital. Most of these are the modification of the space in the existing hospitals.

PROVINCE	FIELD HOSPITAL	COMMENTS	Total Number per province
Eastern Cape	Port Elizabeth VW field hospital	The hospital is 35% complete and the completed section is being used for COVID-19 admissions.	1
Free State	Intra-Health Care Facilities for Surge	a) Universitas has converted the underground management parking to create a space for 110 beds. The contractor is currently on site. b) House Idahlia has been identified for 60 High Care Beds. The contractor is currently on site. c) Pelonomi hospital has been approved for 296 beds. The contractor is currently on site d) Bongani hospital Nurses has been identified for 150 beds. Waiting for the awarding of the contract. e) Itumeleng CHC has been approved for 200 beds. Waiting for the awarding of the contract. f) Manapo Hospital Hall has been approved for 53 beds. Waiting for the awarding of the contract. g) Albert Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg has been approved for 95 beds. The contractor is on site	7 hospitals with
Gauteng	NASREC Field hospital	The department has approved and completed 500 beds and it is currently being used	1 with 500 beds
KZN	Royal Agriculture Showground field hospital	The field hospital in Pietermaritzburg is operational with 254 beds. Ngwelezane hospital has been approved the construction of 113 beds, which are under construction. General Justice Ginzenga Mapanza has been approved for 113 beds which are under construction. Clairewood hospital has allocated 226 beds which are still under construction.	4 with 706 beds
Limpopo		Limpopo has not built any field hospitals as yet.	0
Mpumalanga		Mpumalanga has not built any field hospitals as yet	0
Northern Cape		Northern Cape has not built any field hospitals as yet	0
North West	Maseve Field hospital	This hospital has been approved for 200 beds in Rustenburg and it is 90% ready.	1 with 200 beds
Western Cape		a) CTICC has been approved for 870 beds and it is completed b) Thusong has been approved for 68 beds and it is completed c) Brackengate has been approved for 330 beds. The portion of the existing warehouse, design for the facility has been completed. Planned first patient admission will start on 7 July 2020.	3 with 1268 beds

END.

Reply:

Ekurhuleni Health District has employed fifty-two (52) Tracer Teams and one thousand and ninety-eight (1098) Community Health Care Workers. These teams are under the leadership of the District Health Management Offices of Ekurhuleni Health District. These teams assist the clinics to conduct screening and testing in the hotspots areas such as malls, informal settlements and hostels on a daily basis throughout the whole of the City of Ekurhuleni.

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:

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:

(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:

1. No, the Scooter Project that was launched by the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDOH) does not meet the basic criteria for patient transport as an ambulance. The purpose of this project by ECDOH is mainly for widening access to primary health care and delivering of chronic medicine for the most remote areas of the Eastern Cape Province.

2. The National Department of Health was not consulted on specifications before procurement of the scooters. However, the Province has been advised that none of these scooters will be used as ambulances because they do not meet the specific requirements as provided for in the EMS Regulations, such as, minimum patient compartment space and equipment requirements.

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 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:

(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)(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:

a) Mortality data from the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system permit the production of mortality statistics on a continuous basis and contribute to the understanding of the burden of disease at national, provincial and local geographic levels. The registration of deaths in South Africa falls under the mandate of the Department of Home Affairs. It is governed by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992). The Act has been amended several times, with the last amendment made in 2010 [Births and Deaths Registration Amendment Act (Act No. 18 of 2010)]. The principal Act states that after a death occurs, notice of death should be given as soon as practicable. To better enforce the registration of deaths, the 2014 regulations of the Act mandate the registration of deaths within 72 hours (three days) from date of occurrence. The principal Act further states that a medical practitioner should prescribe the cause of death if satisfied that the death was due to natural causes. However, if there is doubt that the death was due to natural causes, such a death must be reported to the police. After an investigation as to the circumstances of the death in terms of the Inquests Act, 1959 (Act No. 58 of 1959), the medical practitioner shall certify the cause of death. Upon completion of death registration, a death certificate is issued.

(i) Natural Deaths by Province

A total of 137 816 deaths form Natural causes were recorded for persons 1 year and older for the period, 1 February 2020 to 16 June 2020.

Province	Natural Deaths
Eastern Cape	22 241
Free State	8 817
Gauteng	26 941
KwaZulu-Natal	25 212
Limpopo	14 306
Mpumalanga	10 091
North West	8 711
Northern Cape	4 416
Western Cape	17 081
Total	137 816

Source: SAMRC

(ii) Unnatural Causes

A total of 13 866 Unnatural Deaths were recorded for the period, 1 February 2020 to 16 June 2020 at national level.

Province	Unnatural Deaths
Eastern Cape	2 173
Free State	662
Gauteng	2 946
KwaZulu-Natal	3 143
Limpopo	1 005
Mpumalanga	950
North West	628
Northern Cape	323
Western Cape	2 036
Total	13 866

Source: SAMRC

b) All death notification forms are collected by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) from Department of Home Affairs bi-weekly for capturing, processing, assessment, analysis and dissemination of statistical reports and datasets on mortality and causes of death. The last report released by Stats SA reported on deaths was in 2017, citing technical challenges as the reason. SAMRC sources only natural and unnatural causes of death data from the basic demographic information for all deaths registered on the National Population Register on a weekly basis for purposes of monitoring trends on behalf of the Department of Health. However, SAMRC is also not allowed to access detailed causes of death because it is confidential; and as a result the cause of death in each specified case cannot be provided.

END.

Reply:

(a ) Former Minister L. Sisulu commissioned two reports by Independent entities. One report looked at matters relating to irregular expenditure in the Department. This report was done by a company named Open Waters. A second report compiled by a panel led by former Justice Minister, B. Mabandla focused on matters related to organisational culture. This included looking at matters related to allegations of sexual harassment and allegations related to human resource management.

(b) The Open Waters report identified breaches in financial management but arrived at conclusions and recommendations that were not consistent with the findings. The second report made recommendations related to improving overall management and leadership in the Department. Based on the recommendations that were not aligned with the findings from the Open Waters Report, I will be appointing an external team to assess whether the findings in the report do not warrant further investigation, including a more thorough forensic investigation in some areas. The recommendations that will emanate from this report will allow me to complement measures related to improving leadership and management issues that emerged from the report compiled by the team led by Ms. Mabandla. This team will use the findings in the two reports mentioned above as the basis for further investigation and recommendations. The findings in both reports will have to be treated as draft findings at this stage given the need for further investigations. Given that these are draft finding, no action is proposed until the team that I will appoint completes the process initiated by my predecessor.

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)(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. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has issued Government Notice No. 43335 on the 18 May 2020 covering the Mandatory Code of Practice on the Mitigation and Management of the COVID-19 Outbreak. As part of the code of practice, the mines have a contact tracing programme for contacts of COVID-19 cases identified on the mine and works with the district communicable disease coordinator on tracing of contacts beyond the mine. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) contact tracing protocol is followed. The mines submit weekly reports to the Minerals Council South Africa, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Department of Health, on the number of miners screened, tested, those who have recovered and contacts traced for the index case;

2. The mines have a comprehensive programme on the Covid-19 response including risk assessments and public health interventions including social distancing. Communication materials and training is provided to the miners on the Covid-19 response and social distancing by the mining companies.

END.

Reply:

The following table reflects the details in this regard.

Province	Contracts	Reasons
Eastern Cape	95	95 holders of the contracts were community service doctors whose statutory one year-contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
Free State	67	36 holders of the contracts opted to transfer to other Provinces after the contract expiry period due to personal reasons. The remaining 31 holders were community service doctors whose statutory one year contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
Gauteng	130	128 holders were community service doctors whose statutory one-year contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed, and 2 were sessional doctors positions converted to permanent appointments
KwaZulu-Natal	0	The Province did not have medical officers whose appointment contract ended during the reporting period.
Limpopo	34	5 holders of the contracts opted to transfer to other Provinces after the contract expiry period due to personal reasons. The remaining 29 were community service doctors whose statutory one year-contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
Mpumalanga	45	14 holders of the contracts were foreign nationals appointed on three-year contracts. At the end of contracts, they were not renewed because opportunities are first given to South African Citizens in terms of the Immigration Act of 2002. The remaining 31 were community service doctors whose statutory one year-contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
Northern Cape	72	72 holders were community service doctors whose statutory one year contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
North West	81	46 holders of contracts were not renewed as posts were converted to Permanent Posts to reduce the vacancy rate. The remaining 35 were community service doctors whose statutory one year contracts (non-renewable contracts) were completed.
Western Cape	54	39 were Medical Registrars that completed their training and are replaced with new registrations. The remaining 15 doctors’ contracts terminated at the end of contract after completing specific tasks as per agreements.

END.

Reply:

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

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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) 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:

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) 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. 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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

(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 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