Questions and Replies

Reply:

The question asked by Honourable member, Mr K J Mileham, must be directed to National Treasury, as it is the competent authority to provide the information requested. National Treasury monitors Audit Committees in terms of sec 166 of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Reply:

This information is not readily available. It will take some time to assemble the information.

Reply:

According to the information received from the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, there was no record of a forensic investigation report on the matter. There is no record of the alleged report being tabled at the Council of Makhado Municipality.

Reply:

According to information submitted by the Gauteng Provincial Department of CoGTA:

1. Mr M Mlandu was charged with gross misconduct, unlawfully and improperly obtained documents, gross dishonesty and incompatibility. He was found guilty by the presiding officer who imposed dismissal as a sanction. Mr Mlandu has referred the matter to the Bargaining Council and the matter will be dealt with in July 2015.
2. The municipal council is empowered to appoint, suspend and dismiss section 56 managers. In this particular case, a Council resolution was not passed as the decision to terminate the employment of Mr Mlandu, was delegated to the Executive Mayor by the Council.
3. The Local Government: Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers, 2011 (‘‘the Regulations’’), regulation 10(6) provides that the presiding officer must, by not less than ten days after the last day of the hearing, provide the municipality and senior manager or his or her representative with a written reasons for the findings and a copy of the sanction.

Regulation 12(2) of the Regulations provides that the presiding officer must submit a record of the proceedings to the municipal council, within ten days after imposing the sanction. Regulation 12(3) of the Regulations further provides that the municipality must implement the sanction imposed by the presiding officer and report the outcome of any disciplinary hearing within fourteen days after the finalisation of such disciplinary hearing to the Minister and MEC responsible for local government in the province.

The findings of the disciplinary hearing were never presented before the Municipal Council which is a requirements in terms of Regulation 12(2) of the Regulations. The municipality will be advised to adhere to the process as provided in regulation 12 of the Regulations.

Reply:

The following response is based on information provided by the Municipal Demarcation Board.

A consultation meeting was held with the municipal leadership of Umshwathi Local Municipality including traditional leaders, representatives from the IEC, members of the public and other interest groups.

(a) (i) The meeting took place at 10h00 on the 04 of May 2015.
(ii) It was held at a community hall in Cool Air.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

(1) (a) The entire budget for the refurbishment was R 2 million.

(1) (b) An amount of R 2 million was spent on the renovations.

(i) For King MakhosokeII an amount of R 1 million was spent.

(ii) For King Mabhoko Ill an amount of R 1 million was spent.

(2) The budget for the construction of the Traditional Council offices was R10 million.

(3) The Honourable Member is requested to note that the Department does not provide any benefits to the royal households. The Provincial government budgets for administrative grants for traditional councils/king's council as well as funding for cultural events.

Reply:

(1) The response to question 953 clearly states that the request that was made to the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) was done after consultation with the Eastern Cape Province.

Subsequent to receiving the request from the Minister, it is the prerogative of the MDB to apply the provisions of sections 24 and 25 of the Municipal Demarcation Act when determining or redetermining municipal boundaries.

The final assessment and decision on any determination or redetermination of municipal boundaries rests with the MDB, and neither the Ministry nor the Department has any legislative authority to make any decision in this regard.

Reply:

Find here: Reply attached
 

Reply:

(1) The detailed report on legal costs expenditure is attached to this parliamentary question. Legal costs incurred by municipalities per each province for financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 is as follows:

Attached find here: Legal costs incurred by municipalities per each province for financial years

Reply:

QUESTION NO: 296

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

Mr N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many community development workers have been engaged by municipalities countrywide and (b) Provincial CoGTA. who is responsible for the salaries of these community workers;

(2) Whether his department is involved in successfully engaging these community workers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) Whether he will make a statement on the matter? NW312E

Reply

(1) According to the information received from the Department of Public Service and Administration there are 3153 community development workers engaged at ward level (b) The Provincial Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs or premier's offices are paying the salaries of the CDWs.

(2) The provinces as employers are dealing with the daily operations of the CDWs.

(3) No.

QUESTION NO: 1522

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 14 Of 21 May 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

Whether there are any consequences for an executive mayor and the mayoral committee members when the municipality they govern is placed under administration in terms of section 139 of the Constitution; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1778E

Reply

If the Municipality is placed under administration in terms of Section 139 (1 )(b) of the Constitution, normally all the executive functions of the executive mayor or mayoral committee related to that particular identified executive obligation will be assumed by the Administrator, but the Mayor and Mayoral Committee will still be responsible for all the other executive obligations. However, if the Administrator is assuming all the executive obligations of the executive mayor and mayoral committee, then the mayor and mayoral committee will be left without any executive obligations. In both these instances the Mayor and the Council remains with the legislative Authority over all the functions.

If the administration is in terms of section 139(1)(c) both the executive and legislative functions are taken away by the Administrator, as the Council is dissolved until a new Council is elected. Dissolution would mean the Mayoral Committee and Executive Mayor being stripped of their duties of executive functions as well as legislative functions. The remuneration package does not get to be paid out to the Executive Mayor and Mayoral Committee as the Municipal Council has been dissolved.

QUESTION NO: 1187

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Ms M Wenger to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether there are any national laws stipulating safety measures that must be enforced for domestic swimming pools and other water bodies such as fish ponds; if so, (a) what are these safety measures, (b) who enforces these safety measures; if not, (a) why not and (b) who is responsible for the development and implementation of these safety measures?

Reply

Available national Laws

There are national laws stipulating safety measures that must be enforced for domestic swimming pools and other water bodies such as fish ponds, This is in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act No, 103 of 1977), and on the recommendation of the Council of the South African Bureau of Standards which came into operation on the 1 October 2008,

Furthermore, in terms of section 14 of the Municipal Systems Act, the Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, at the request of organized local government representing local government nationally, or after consulting the MECs for local government and organized local government, may by notice in the Gazette- make standard draft by-laws concerning any matter, including standard draft rules and orders referred to in section 160 (6) of the Constitution, for which municipal councils may make by-laws,

(a) what are these safety measures?

In terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, Regulation 04 sub regulation (1) the owner of any site which contains a swimming pool shall ensure that access to such swimming pool is controlled and (2) any owner who fails to comply with the requirement of sub-regulation 1 shat! be guilty of an offence, The requirements of regulation 04 shall be deemed to be satisfied where change in level, the design of access to swimming pools, as the case may be, complies with SANS 10400-0.

(b) Who enforces these safety measures?

The municipalities enforce the measures. A Municipal Manager of a Municipality in terms of section 13 of the Local Government: Municipal System Act, 2000 (Act 32 of 2000), read with section 162 of The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996(Act 108 of 1996), publishes the Swimming Pools and Spa Baths By-laws which have been approved by the Municipal Council.

QUESTION NO: 1200

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has been informed of the expropriation of plots of land in Winterveldt by the City of Tshwane; if not,

(2) whether he will launch an investigation into the matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) what are the details of the process that is being followed in the investigation into the expropriation;

(4) whether he intends taking any steps to rectify this matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1358E

ANSWER

The matter has not been brought to my attention and thus cannot comment. However, the details if in possession by the member will assist in mapping the appropriate intervention.

QUESTION NO: 1200

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has been informed of the expropriation of plots of land in Winterveldt by the City of Tshwane; if not,

(2) whether he will launch an investigation into the matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) what are the details of the process that is being followed in the investigation into the expropriation;

(4) whether he intends taking any steps to rectify this matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1358E

Reply

(1) The said municipality, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, could not confirm if they had informed this Department of the expropriation of plots in Winterveldt. This Department has no record of any communication received from the City of Tshwane in this regard. In investigating this matter so as to respond to this parliamentary question, this Department was informed by the City of Tshwane that it did, on three separate occasions, during 2003, 2005 and 2007, expropriate land in Winterveldt Agricultural Holdings for housing purposes and that all the statutory prescriptions in this regard were met, including obtaining the prior written approval of the Gauteng and North-West Provincial MECs' for Local Government and Housing.

(2) Based on the information provided by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, this Department sees no need to launch an investigation into the matter. The Department is satisfied that the expropriation of Winterveldt does not violate any section of the Constitution, especially in terms of Section 25 (Property) and Section 26 (Housing). The current upgrading and development of Winterveldt ( which was until fairly recently, a densely-populated informal settlement on privatelyowned agricultural land ) is much more than just a housing construction project - it is a holistic development programme - which the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has ambitiously cast into the mould of the Winterveldt Reconstruction and Redevelopment Programme ( WRRP ) - The WRRP is based on an eight year Business Plan with developmental programmes which are collectively aimed at the eradication of the housing and infrastructure backlogs in Winterveldt, as well as a spectrum of urban renewal projects aimed at enhancing the social, economic and institutional sustainability of Winterveldt as an urbanized and integrated suburb of the City of Tshwane.

(3) The City of Tshwane has confirmed that it is not true that people's houses are being demolished, as alleged, without compensation. After extensive negotiations and consultations with the affected community in Winterveld, it was agreed that the following procedure would be followed when approved housing beneficiaries are relocated into their new RDP houses: As soon as a specific number of houses have been approved by the Inspectors for occupation, the officials of the Housing Department inform the housing beneficiaries that their new RDP house is ready for occupation and on which date they will be relocated into their new house. As soon as the said beneficiary has moved into his/her new house, his/her informal shack is then demolished by the Security Company appointed by the Municipality as a proactive measure of ensuring that that particular shack is not subsequently occupied by another family coming from outside of Winterveldt, which, if it were allowed to occur, would defeat the Municipality's objective of eliminating the housing backlog and also create opportunity's for queue-jumping.

(4) In light of the responses provided above, the Department sees no need at this stage to take any steps.

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QUESTION NO: 3512

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 39 OF 26 November 2010

Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether (a) his department and (b) any entities reporting to his department provided any financial support to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) for the World Festival of Youth and Students to be held in Pretoria in December 2010; if not, why not; if so, (i) what amount was provided to the NYDA, (ii) from which budget were these funds drawn, (iii) who made the decision to provide these funds to the NYDA and (iv) how is this (aa) decision and (bb) amount justified;

(2) whether the NYDA made any other request to (a) his department and (b) any entities reporting to his department to provide support to the festival; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW4351 E

Reply

The Department has not transferred any funds to the NYDA for the said festival and we have no know1edge of any request made by the Agency for funding towards such a festival.

QUESTION NO: 3464

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 39 OF 26 November 2010

Mr J R 8 Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a)How many employees of (i) his department and (ii) any entities reporting to his department who are on level 11 salary scale and above have been suspended with ful1 pay (aa) in the 2009-10 financial year and (bb) during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what is the total amount of money that was paid by his department in respect of these salaries? NW4299E

Reply

FINANCIAL YEAR	NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUSPENDED	DATE OF SUSPENDED	AMOUNT INCURRED
2009/2010	0	N/A	N/A
2010/2011	1	30 March 2010	R506 843,87

QUESTION NO: 3455

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 39 OF 26 November 2010

Mr G R Krumbock (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the Ekurhuleni Metro has taken out any loans or bonds since the 2000-01 financial year; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how many loans or bonds were taken out, (b) on which dates and (c) what (i) is the value of each loan or bond, (ii) are the interest and repayment conditions for each loan or bond and (iii) is the time frame of the repayment of the loan or bond? NW4290E

Reply

Response from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM):

Yes, the EMM has taken both loans and bonds since the 2000/2001 financial year.

The following loans were taken up:

- December 2001 - RiS0 million from INCA @ 12.25% (Annuity Loan)

- March 2002 - R150 million from DBSA @ 13.5% (Annuity Loan)

- March 2003 - R291 m consolidation of existing DBSA loans @ 12.2%

(Annuity Loan) (restructuring of existing loans, not additional funding)

- July 2004 - R400m from ABSA @ 11.99% (Bullet repayment)

- May 2009 - R1.1 b from Nedbank @ 10.78% (Annuity Loan)

- February 2010 - R400m from ABSA @ 11.68% (Annuity Loan)

- March 2010 - R200m from ABSA @ 11.68% (Annuity Loan)

- April 2010 - R200m from ABSA @ 11.68% (Annuity Loan)

- July 2010 - R815m - Municipal Bond @ 10.56% (Bullet repayment) -

R4b Domestic Medium Term Note Programme has been registered with the JSE.

A further R800m bond tapping is scheduled for January / February 2011.

The National Treasury Quarterly Return on Borrowings is attached as additional information.

 

QUESTION NO: 3433

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 39 OF 26 November 2010

Mr E J Marais (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has a plan for (a) large-scale services and (b) the (i) shortfalls and (ii) maintenance in respect of such services; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether he has submitted an application to National Treasury to make funds available for this purpose in the 2011-12 financial year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW4207E

Reply

(1)(a)The Department is in the process of finalising proposals with regard to the establishment of a Bulk Infrastructure Fund that would focus on unlocking the delivery of reticulation services by funding bulk infrastructure that includes the upgrading, refurbishment and rehabilitation of bulk infrastructure such as Water and Waste Water Treatment Works, especially in rural areas.

(b)(i) The shortfall in bulk infrastructure is estimated in the region of R400

billion.

1(b)(ii) The maintenance for bulk infrastructure municipalities for which municipalities are responsible for, should be accommodated through current operating revenue streams such equitable share allocations and rates and taxes.

(2) An application was submitted to National Treasury in respect of the funding for bulk infrastructure over the 2011/12 Medium Term Expenditure Framework period which amounts to R26,3 billion. National Treasury is still in the process of evaluating the funding request.

QUESTION NO: 3363

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 37 OF 12 November 2010

Mr P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the average age of municipal debt is increasing compared to previous years; if so, (a) what are the reasons that he has identified for this trend and (b) what are the implications in respect of (i) credit control and (ii) collection? NW4193E

Reply

Yes, (a) this is due to the need to strengthen our debt collection and revenue enhancement at municipal level (b) (i) and (ii) in terms of credit control and revenue collection, the Department has intervened through the implementation of the Local Government Turn-Around

Strategy and the implementation of outcome 9 signed between myself and the President.

QUESTION NO: 3335

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 37 OF 12 November 2010

Ms N P Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department has taken any steps to deal with issues affecting service delivery in the Qawukeni Municipality in the Eastern Cape; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW4167E consioutise

Reply

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs conducted an assessment in all the municipalities in the Republic of South Africa to ascertain the State of Local Government challenges and opportunities that were prevalent in various municipalities and the Ngquza Hill Municipality as it is called now was not an exception.

The state of Local Government Report has identified amongst others that in this municipality the following are challenges:

· Low revenue base

· Problems of financing by the National Treasury using the FFC formula

· Service delivery backlogs

· Conflict within the council

· High unemployment and poverty rate

When the Local government turnaround strategy was rolled out to various municipalities to address the challenges which were discovered during the local government assessment all municipalities were workshopped just to get to the understanding on the crafting of Municipal Turn Around Strategies and their implementation. This was done after an intensive workshop on the Local Government Turn Around Strategy. Through the efforts by this Department the Municipality was then able to develop its own MTAS and all the projects are linked to the MTAS and the lDP.

The Mayor of the municipality has through the initiatives of outcome nine (9) and its seven (7) outputs signed a delivery agreement on the 30 September 2010. The signing of this agreement is to ensure that this municipality is responsive, accountable, effective and efficient.

The provincial government of the Eastern Cape is empowered by all laws in this including Section 139 of the Constitution to deal with municipalities in their own jurisdiction. The Honourable Member may ask members of her political party in the Eastern Cape Legislature to ask this question.

QUESTION NO: 3317

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 37 OF 12 November 2010

Mr P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether h is department is working with other state agencies to deal with municipal corruption more effectively; if so, (a) what agencies, (b) what are the working arrangements (c) what is the geographical scope of the investigations, (d) what (i) human and (ii) other resources are being devoted to this initiative and (e) how are particular investigations prioritised;

(2) Whether the initiative is .applicable to alleged corruption extending as far back as' the establishment of municipalities in 2000; if not, why not;

(3) Whether, in view of his department's writ, the initiative also applies to corruption in the nine provinces and the national sphere; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW4144E

Reply

(1 ) Yes, the Department is· working with other state agencies to deal with municipal corruption more effectively. (a) the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), (b) the working arrangements with the SIU are by a presidential proclamation, unless there is a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the SIU and the concerned provincial department responsible for localgovernment affairs, (c) the geographical scope of the investigations is reliant on the nature of allegations levelled against each of the municipality, (d) (i) specialised forensic investigators and (ii) financial resources are deployed in conducting the investigation, (e) priority for investigations is given to cases that have the potential negative impact on service delivery.

(2) Yes, other reported cases are investigated by provincial departments responsible for local government and .covers periods back to the year 2000.

(3) No, the mandate of the department is limited to municipalities and provincial departments responsible for local government. National and other provincial departments are the responsibility of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

QUESTION NO: 3220

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 37 OF 12 November 2010

Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What is the (a) total cost and (b) number of copies of each (i) annual report and (ii) report on strategic plans that was produced by (aa) his department and (bb) any of its entities in the 2009-10 financial year? NW4034E

Reply

The CoGTA Annual Report for 2009/10 and the strategic plan for the financial year were produced and the details are as follows:

Name	Financial Year	Budgeted Cost	Actual Cost	Number Copies Of Printed	Number Copies Of Distributed
CoGTA Annual Report	2009/10	R 500 000	R 287 460.78	1 500	Being distributed
CoGTA Business Plan	2009/10	R 500 000	R 52 455.11	800	550
South African Cities Network	2009/10	R75000	Still under production no final cost yet	Not printed yet (300 planned)	Nil
Municipal Demarcation Board	2009/10	R160,000	R73,638.30	700	482
National House of Traditional Leaders	2009/10	Part of funds allocated for communications	R26298.66	1500	1500
National House of Traditional Leaders – Strat Plan	2009/10	N/A	R24 333.30	1000	1000
South African Local Government	2009/10	R 350,000	R 325,178.16	5000	5000
CRL Commission	2009/10	R300 000 Part of funds allocated for communications	R109440.00	1000	1000
CRL Commission	2009/10		R1 478. 81	12 digicards 12 CD's	12 digicards 12 CD's

QUESTION NO: 3139

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 36 OF 05 November 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with reference to copper thefts at Sabie's main pump station that left the town without water on 25 October 2010, municipalities are required to provide security at such pump stations in order to protect the supply of clean water; if not, (a) why not and (b) how is the supply of water protected; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3939E

Reply

According to the report received from Thaba Chweu Municipality

 The premises has a 2,4m high razorblade security fence with a locked gate.

 During the incident on 26 October 2010, access was gained to the premises by cutting a hole in the security fence.

 After the incident, they have arranged for security guards to protect the premises.

 A detection system has been installed which activates an alarm and sends an SMS to the personnel on duty, the moment there is tampering taking place. The pumps are switched off when the Electricity is cut.

QUESTION NO: 3004

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) Who are the members of his department's audit committee since 1 April 2010, (b) when were these members appointed and (c) how many (i) properly constituted, (ii) quorate, (iii) invalid and (iv) non-quorate meetings has the audit committee held;

(2) whether any issues of (a) internal control or (b) risk management have been (i) identified by and (ii) reported to the accounting officer of the audit committee; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW3718E

Reply

(1) (a) The members of the Department's audit committee are as follows;

· Ms Nonhlanhla Khumalo- Interim Chairperson

· Mr William Ndlovu - member

· Mr Thomas Ntuli - member

(b) Audit Committee members were recruited and inaugurated in March 2010

(c) Three(3)

i. Yes, they are properly constituted with diverse experience

ii. All three members were present in all the meetings held during the current financial period

iii. No invalid meeting took place

iv. There was no non-quorate audit committee meeting which took place during the current financial period.

(2) (a) The internal financial controls for the previous financial year were reported as not effective, however, during the current financial year management has put measures in place to improve the control environment, e.g. Annual Financial Statements checklist has been developed. Department has resuscitated the Internal Audit Steering Committee meeting which will convene and oversee all the audit matters and advice the Accounting Officer accordingly.

(b) The department did not conduct a formal risk assessment during the previous financial year. The risk assessment for the current financial year has been conducted and it will be used to direct internal audit efforts. The risk assessment report will be used to develop the internal audit plan where high risk areas will be subjected for auditing. Reports on how risks are being mitigated will be issued to the Accounting Officer and the Audit Committee.

QUESTION NO: 2992

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [*93.] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]

What (a) is the total number of ward committee members and (b) has been the total cost of their stipends in the 2008-09 financial year? NW2529E

Reply

1. The total number of ward committee members is 37750.
2. The Department does not keep records on stipend for ward committee members. However this information will be forwarded to the member once it becomes available.

QUESTION NO: 2991

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [*92.] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]]

Whether any funds have been earmarked by his department to assist the Sedibeng District Municipality with their regional sewer works; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so; how much money has been set aside for this purpose? NW2528E

Reply

The Department of Water Affairs is currently undertaking an environmental impact assessment for the development of Sedibeng Regional Sewer scheme Project.

The financial implications for the project will be finalised with proposals to undertake Public Private Partnerships to support the development of the scheme. Once these are finalised the commitments from the department will be made through the Municipal Infrastructure grant.

A meeting between the Minister and the Mayor is in the pipeline to also discuss this project.

QUESTION NO: 2968

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any (a) funding or (b) implementation plans have been set in place to deal with the dysfunctional water supply and purification system in the Brandfort region in the Masilonyana Municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW3660E

Reply

(a) Yes an amount of R8,030,507.00 is registered as a Municipal Infrastructure Grant project for the Upgrading of the Brandfort Water Purification Plant.

(b) An implementation plan does exist and the site was handed over to the Contractor Big Bravo on 9 June 2010. The project is currently under construction. The project is at 32% progress and the expected completion dateis March 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2941

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER. NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, with reference to the service delivery demonstrations in

Itsoneng on 5 October 2010, any research has been conducted into the causes of the demonstrations; if not, why not; if so, what causes have been identified;

(2) (a) what basic services are residents of itsoneng receiving, (b) what sanitation is provided for Itsoneng, (c) how many flush toilets are in operation, (d) how many people are still without access to flush toilets, (e) what plans are in place to increase the provision of flush toilets for Itsoneng, (f) what is the sanitation budget for Itsoneng, (g) how much of itsoneng's 2009-10 budget was a1located for delivering basic services and (h) what portion of the budget for service delivery was spent in the 2009-10 financial year? NW3637E

Reply

1) In a preliminary investigation conducted by the Local Authority (the City of Johannesburg), it was reported that a conflict resulted when the security to control access to the informal settlement prevented building materials to be taken into the informal settlement in an attempt to contain the growth of the settlement. This resulted in a violent demonstration to which a person was killed, a Johannesburg Metro Police Department vehicle was set alight and other individuals were injured. This matter is now being investigated by South African Police Services.

2) In responding to this question, it must be clarified that this is an informal settlement and that the following rudimentary services are being provided. The Province and the City has initiated a project to formialise this settlement into a development that is commonly referred to as Malibongwe Ridge. The legal processes, (environmental authorization and township establishment) is far advanced. The inclusion of the land on which the settlement is situated into the project is also far advanced but not concluded as yet. Once all approvals are obtained and the land acquisition process concluded, the project will be in a position to proceed on the same basis as Cosmo City, but subject to budget approvals.

1. The residents have access to basic sanitation and basic water.

Access to water is obtained through stationary water tanks and 36 (6 tap) communal standpipes.

1. Most stands are serviced with Ventilated Improved Pit latrines (VIP's). The settiement also has some chemical toilets.
2. No households are serviced with flush toilets.
3. All households are without access to flush toilets.
4. Currently no households are serviced with flush toilets. The Provincial Department of Housing and Local Government plans to formalize the township in order to provide permanent water and sanitation and provision of housing.
5. There is no budget allocated for 2009/10 financial year.
6. There is no budget provision as the basic service have been provided.
7. Not applicable as it relates to the above response on (G).

QUESTION NO: 2946

PUBUSHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the bucket system of sewage collection is still being used in Gauteng; if so, (a) in which (i) communities and (ii) municipalities is the system being utilised, (b) what steps have been taken to replace this system and (c) by what date is the project to replace the bucket system expected to be completed? NW3636E

Reply

Merafong City Local Municipality

The bucket system of sewage collection is still being used in the Merafong City Local Municipality in the following communities:

(a) (i) Khutsong - Number of buckets in use: 80

(ii) Kokosi - Number of buckets in use: 145

(b) All bucket systems were initially eradicated but were partly reinstated due to community demand emanating from the fact that families had to share VIP toilets installed as part of the eradication programme.

(c) The bucket system will again be eradicated after completion of the Informal Sanitation project scheduled for implementation during this financial year. Priority will be given within this project to first start with the eradication of the remaining bucket systems as reflected above.

Merafong City Local Municipality is presently in process of drafting tender documents with the project due to be advertised in November. Project implementation is scheduled for January 2011 taking into account the annual closure of construction over the December festive period. Complete eradication of the present bucket is anticipated to be completed by April 2011 latest.

Lesedi Local Municipality

(a)

I. There are some buckets being used in Ratanda community. A site visit was conducted and about 52 buckets were identified to our knowledge.

II. It is in Lesedi Local Municipality.

(b) Lesedi Local Municipality is currently servicing these buckets with their own funds. There is a plan in process to relocate the people to the formalized settlement of Albert Nkosi. This is a housing problem due to land invasions. Currently, sewer systems have been completed and water systems are being put in place. It is hoped by end of the financial year the problem will be resolved.

(c) Everything is expected to be completed by March 2011. However, some who have been rejected due to lack of IDdocuments, there is an interim place to provide them with VIP toilets.

QUESTION NO: 2684

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 29 OF 17 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all service charges at stadiums incurred by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Fifa have been paid; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3349E

Reply

No.

Only the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality has been fully settled by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (LOC) for the utilisation and consumption of municipal services during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

For the remaining eight Host Cities, the LOC has indicated that they are awaiting more detailed information and other supporting documentation to be provided by the relevant Stadium Authority / Host City before they could finalise payment for the utilisation and consumption of municipal services during the 2010 FIFA World Cup,

The Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that the relevant municipalities provide the outstanding information to the LOC, and that the LOC settles all claims in this regard.

QUESTION NO: 2682

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 29 OF 17 September 2010

Mr D CRoss (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all municipalities have reported and provided information to his department in terms of section 27 of the Electricity Regulation Act, Act 4 of 2006, regarding debts owed to Eskom; if not, (a) why not and (b) what action has he taken to ensure compliance; if so, (i) what amount is owed to Eskom by each municipality and (ii) what steps will he take to ensure that municipalities pay their debts?

Reply

Please see attached for reply

QUESTION NO: 2542

P BLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28 OF 13 September 2010

Mr. P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) is functioning as envisaged by its founding statute; if not, (a) why not and (b) what steps has he taken to ensure that the commission fulfils its mandate; if so, how has this conclusion been reached? NW3164E

Reply

(a) Yes1 the CRL Commission is executing legislated mandate within the available capacity and resources approved by Parliament and as reported annually through its Annual Report to Parliament.

(b) The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs provides financial resources to the Commission on annual basis. Nothwithstanding the above, the Ministry has since initiated a Strategic Planning workshop where the Business Plan of the Commission was discussed, and the Commission will report progress on a quarterly basis with effect from April 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2514

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mr J J Mc Gluwa (ID) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has launched an investigation into allegations that rural villagers in Limpopo have still not received proper access to boreholes because of problems with tenders (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, (a) when and (b) what are the further relevant details;

(2) Whether he will take any steps in cases where tender problems or any other problems have prevented the proper installation of boreholes; if not, why not; jf so, what are the relevant details? NW3090E

Reply

(1)The Minister has not received any complaint in this regard, but invite anyone with information on such allegations to come forward for his consideration.

(2)Yes, if any information relating to tender irregularities comes to his attention, he will take the necessary action.

QUESTION NO: 2451

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department will take steps to clarify the uncertainty surrounding the (a) future and (b) administration of the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund; if not, why not; if so, what steps;

(2) whether his department will release an audited statement for the fund in light of the fact that none had been released in the past four years; if not, why not; if so, when;

(3) Whether any action will be taken against administrators of the fund if the audit reveals mismanagement; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3019E

Reply

(1)Anational task team has been established and provincial meeting have been held to address issues surrounding the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund.

(2)The task team is working directly with the Registrar of Pension Funds on these matters, from ourside; we will be guided by their report while dealing with the matter.

(3)The Registrar is now in the final phase of concluding his investigation into the affairs of the Fund and a further meeting with the national task team is to be held to consider possible steps to be taken against those found to have acted irregularly.

QUESTION NO: 2450

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any action will be taken against parties responsible for sending out a memorandum contrary to the Government's official position on the purchasing of 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament tickets by municipalities; if not, why not; if so, what action? NW3018E

Reply

Prior to the commencement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the National Treasury issued a circular to municipalities indicating that the spending of municipal funds on the purchase of tickets for the event will constitute irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure in terms of the relevant provisions contained in the Municipal Finance Management Act, No. 56 of 2003.

Any party who has issued a memorandum that is contrary to the above will be subject to any sanction that is provided for in the Public Finance Management Act, Act No. 1 of 1999, the Municipal Finance Management Act, No. 56 of 2003, as well as the views expressed by the Auditor-General.

As both these pieces of legislation are primarily administered by the National Treasury, the Honourable Member is referred to that Ministry for further information relating to this matter.

QUESTION NO: 2395

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether (a) his department or (b) any of its entities has signed any contractual agreements with a certain company (name furnished) or any of its affiliates (i) in the (aa) 2006-07, (bb) 2007-08, (cc) 2008-09 and (dd) 2009-10 financial years and (ii) during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (aaa) what is the nature of each contract, (bbb) what is the monetary value of each contract, (ccc) what is the (aaaa) start and (bbbb) end date of each contract, (ddd) what are the details of the process that was followed for the signing of each contract, (eee) who else tendered for each contract that was awarded and (fff) what amount did each tenderer quote in each case? NW2964E

Reply

No, from our records, this Department does not have any contractual agreements with General Nyanda Security Advisory for the financial years in question.

QUESTION NO: 2358

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether the Senqu Municipality has adhered to the Auditor-General's recent recommendation to cease the illegal payment of rent to the executive mayor for his own house which has been treated as a mayoral house; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether any monies have been recovered in terms of section 167(2) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2927E

Reply

We were not aware of the said payments taking place at the municipality, We appreciate the fact the Honourable Member has raised this matter with us, We will launch a formal investigation on the matter.

QUESTION NO: 2357

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department will continue with the urban renewal programme in the current financial year; if not, when was it terminated; if so, (a) what is the total amount budgeted for this project, (b) how much of the budget has been spent since the inception of the programme, (c) what total amount of the budget for this programme is left for its implementation for the rest of this financial year and (d) what is the total number of personnel committed to it;

(2) Whether a report will be released on what this project has achieved; if not, why not; if so, when? NW2926E

Reply

1. Yes, the department will continue with the Urban Renewal Programme.

(a) The total amount budgeted for the programme over the years since the implementation of the Urban Renewal Programme under the former Department of Provincial and Local Government from 2001/2 until March 2010 was R30, 992,000.

(b) Since its inception a total amount of R20, 959,000 was spent on the programme.

(c) An amount of R4 856,000 is available for the implementation of the programme for the current financial year.

(d)Thetotal number of personnel committed to the programme is 4

(1 X Chief Director, 1 X Director and 2 X Administration Assistants).

(2) Yes, a progress report is available.

QUESTION NO: 2356

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What was the vacancy rate for municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers in terms of section 57 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, (a) in each province and (b) countrywide at the latest specified date for which information is available? NW2925E

Reply

FILLED AND VACANT MUNICIPAL MANAGER POSTS PER PROVINCE

A total of 247 out of 283 municipal manager posts have been filled as at March 2010 representing 87% filled posts nationally.

Province	Total MM posts	Total filled MM posts	Number of vacant MM posts	Vacancy rate
		March 2010	March 2010	March 2010
Eastern Cape	45	40	5	11%
Gauteng	15	11	4	26%
Free State	25	22	3	12%
Kwazulu Natal	61	61	0	0%
Limpopo	30	24	6	20%
Mpumalanga	21	15	6	29%
Northern Cape	32	26	6	19%
North West	24	20	4	17%
Western Cape	30	28	2	7%
TOTAL	283	247	36	13%

FILLED AND VACANT SECTION 57 MANAGER POSTS

A total of 1207 (86%) out of 1411 section 57 manager posts have been filled nationally as at March 2010.

Province	Total s57 Manager posts March 2010	Total filled s57 Manager posts	Number of vacant s57 Manager posts	Vacancy rate
		March 2010	March 2010	March 2010
Eastern Cape	236	209	27	11%
Gauteng	136	120	16	12%
Free State	100	90	10	10%
Kwazulu Natal	277	245	32	12%
Limpopo	156	132	24	15%
Mpumalanga	101	98	3	3%
Northern Cape	115	89	26	23%
North West	131	97	34	26%
Western Cape	159	127	32	20%
TOTAL	1411	1207	204	14%

QUESTION NO: 2319

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mr M Johnson (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether there are still ocean areas designated for whites only; if so, (a) which areas and (b) what is the Government's policy in this regard?

NW2854E

Reply

No. All previous legislation which permitted certain restrictions based on race or membership of a specific population group on the acquisition and utilization of rights to land were abolished in terms of Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991 (Act No. 27 of 1991 ),

(a)Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

QUESTION NO: 2312

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 30 August 2010

Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has put stricter measures in place to hold local government officials accountable for abusing public funds; if not, why not; if so, (a) how are these measures implemented, (b) who oversees its implementation and (c) what are the penalties for this type of transgression? NW2809E

Reply

Yes, the department has hitherto assisted 277 municipalities with the development of anti-corruption and fraud prevention plans and is in the process of revising the Supply Chain Management Regulations of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 to ensure that municipalities do not abuse the processes of awarding of tenders and other corruption related malfeasances. The Department is also currently involved with assisting municipalities with the Municipal Turn Around

QUESTION NO: 2301

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has taken any steps with regard to the repeated failure of the SA Local Government Association (Salga) to secure clean audits owing to problems centered on the status of the KwaZulu-Natal Local Government Association (Kwanaloga); if not, why not; if so, what is the (a) nature and (b) outcome of the steps? NW2859E

Reply

SALGA has obtained an unqualified audit opinion for the 2009/2010 financial year.

(a) The organisation has separated the legal issues from the accounting treatment and has thus de-recognised the assets for which it has lost control. In this instance the organisation has applied the applicable accounting standards viz, GRAP 1 which define an asset as follows:

"Assets are resources controlled by an entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits or service potential are expected to flow to the entity. 1!

For accounting purposes, the organisation has to recognise the fact that it has lost control of the KZN operation. Consequently, the organisation could not use GRAP 17 in accounting for the assets located in KwaZulu-Natal province since it has lost control. Furthermore, the accounting standard on revenue recognition requires that SALGA fair value its revenue on initial recognition. SALGA has fair valued revenue collectable from the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities to nil for 2009/2010 as a result of the outstanding impasse between SALGA and its KZN office (Kwanaloga).

You will recall that the PFMA in section 55(1)(b) prescribes framework for accounting treatment.

The accounting treatment adopted recognises the substance of the transactions and circumstances rather than the legal form. Furthermore, the above mentioned approach allows SALGA to account for its resources in terms of the prescribed framework without mixing-up the legal matters with accounting. The approach also allows for the political engagement that is unfolding between SALGA's political leadership and Kwanaloga's political leadership to continue.

Kwanaloga is to account as a provincial public entity for all resources employed under the contror of the KwaZulu-Natal political leadership. The Auditor-General has been granted access to audit the financial records of Kwanaloga.

(b) The outcome of the steps have led to SALGA securing an unqualified audit opinion for the 2009/2010 financial year.

QUESTION NO: 1741

PUBlISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 15 OF 28 May 2010

Mr. W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Government & Traditional Affairs:

What were the start and end dates of tenure In office of every (a) permanent and (b) acting (i) Director-General and (ii) chief financial officer during the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 20097 NW2007E

Director-General:

(a) (i) Permanent: 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2001

1 August 2002 to 30 June 2009

(b)(i) Acting: 14 January 2002 to 31 July 2002

1 July 2009 to 31 March 2010

Chief Financial Officer:

(a)(ii) Permanen: 1 January 2000 to 31 March 2006

(b)(ii) Acting: 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008

1 April 2008 to 3 December 2009

4 December 2009 to date

THIS FILE CONTAINS 25 REPLIES.

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QUESTION NO: 2288

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr M A Nhanha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has been informed of the shortage of water that has been plaguing Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape; if so, (a) what steps has he taken to ensure that (i) the township outside Grahamstown, (ii) the army base and (iii) the prison will have access to water and (b) who will be held accountable for this problem? NW2800E

Reply

No, the Minister had not been informed of water shortages in Grahamstown and hence there had been no initiative from DCOG to deal with the water crisis in the area.

However, the municipality has since reported that the water shortage is as a result of the drought situation that is being experienced by the Eastern Cape province generally and the town

In particular which has caused the water reserves to dry out, hence there are water challenges at the army base, prison and the township. To deal with this situation the municipality is engaging with the Department of Public Works who pledged to buy 10 000 L tanks for the prison and the army base. The municipality has also pledged to cart water to the affected areas using the fire fighting trucks which are not adequate for the extended responsibility. The Eastern Cape Province has received R86.8 million for drought relief of which a sum of R9.72 million will be going to Cacadu District Municipality as a short term intervention.

The Municipal Manager for Makana Local Municipality is responsible for ensuring that all areas under the jurisdiction of the Makana Local Municipality as a Water Services Authority has access to water by ensuring that there are skilled personnel and sufficient resources to ensure that potable water is being provided to the communities at all times.

QUESTION NO: 2253

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTiON PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department and/or any of its entities has purchased any 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament (a) clothing or (b) other specified paraphernalia; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, in each case, (i) what are (aa) the details and (bb) the total cost of the items purchased, (ii)(aa) how many items have been purchased and (bb) why, (iii)(aa) to whom has each of these items been allocated and (bb) why have these items been allocated to these persons and (iv)(aa) on what basis was the decision taken to purchase each of these items and (bb) on whose authority was the decision taken to make these purchases? NW2761 E

Reply

(a) No

b) other specified paraphernalia; if not, what has been the position in each case; if so, in each case,

(i) what are ,

(aa) the details and Flags, vuvuzela's

(bb) the total cost of the items purchased, R4230.95

(ii) (aa) how many items have been purchased and

(bb) why, Display purposes in the foyer of the Department and Ministerial offices

(iii) (aa) to whom has each of these items been allocated and (bb) why have these items been allocated to these persons, Personel with in department to celebrate opening of the World cup in the Department.

(iv) (aa) on what basis was the decision taken to purchase each of these items and (bb) on whose authority was the decision taken to make these purchases? Relevant Programme Managers (DG and Acting CFO)

QUESTION NO: 2221

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

2221. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department or any of its entities has (a) purchased

or (b) leased any buildings for administration (i) in the (aa) 2008-09 and (bb) 2009-10 and (ii) for the 2010-11 financial years; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (aaa) what is the cost of the building, (bbb) what is the size of the building, (eec) why was it bought or leased, (ddd) what will be its use, (eee) who will occupy it and (fff) approximately how many persons will occupy the total space of each building;

(2) whether his department and any of its entities intends purchasing or leasing any buildings for administration for the (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 financial years; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (i) what is the cost of each building, (il) what is the size of each building, (iii) why will it be bought or leased, (iv) for what will it be used, (v) who will occupy it and

(vi) approximately how many persons will occupy the total space of each building? NW2729E

Reply

1 (a) No

(b) The Department is leasing three buildings.

(i)

(aa) 2008-09: The Department was accommodated in three buildings.

(bb) 2009-10: The Department was accommodated in three buildings.

(ii) 2010-11: The Department is currently accommodated in three buildings on 24 months lease rentals.

(aaa) Not applicable

(bbb) The square meters comprises of:

87 Hamilton Street Building: 8933m2

NOSA Building: 3770m2

Pencardia Building: 9000m2

(ccc) The building is leased to accommodate all staff members in accordance with an approved establishment.

(ddd) Office accommodation

(eee) Office accommodation for all personnel of the Department. .

(fff) 87 Hamilton Street Building: 283 staff members

Pencardia Building: 301

NOSA Building: 100

2) (a) 2011-12: The Department is currently accommodated in three buildings on 24 months lease rentals

(b) 2012-13: The Department provided DPW with new accommodation requirements and requested DPW to acquire consolidated accommodation in accordance with integrated needs assessments. The Department is waiting for the outcome of the costing of the construction of a new building to consolidate the need for three buildings as a permanent solution beyond the lease period.

(c) 2013-14: The Department will have no other option but to continue renting beyond the existing lease period, should the DPW fall to acquire consolidated accommodation beyond 2012-13.

(i) Waiting for the outcome from DPW on the costing.

(ii) 15044m2

(iii ) The Department is opting for the construction of a new building as an alternative to consolidate the need for the

three buildings as a permanent solution. Acquisition of consolidated office accommodation is a necessity and

very critical for enhancement of service delivery in the

entire department. DCoG is experiencing numerous

logistical problems as a result of being accommodated in

different buildings.

(iv) Office accommodation

(v) Officials for the Department of Cooperative Governance

and Traditional Affairs.

(vi) According to the establishment for the 2012-13 financial

year eight-hundred and twenty-five (825) will have to be

accommodated in the new building.

QUESTION 2202

23 OF 2010 August

Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, in light of the recent problems experienced by Eskom in the Free State in recovering monies owed for services rendered to 54 municipalities, his department has formulated a policy to achieve sustainable solutions for these municipalities which will negate the necessity to terminate the supply of electricity to defaulting consumers and safeguard the interests of paying consumers; if not, why not; if so, what (a) measures have been included in the policy to compel consumers to pay for the electricity supplied by Eskom and (b) are the relevant details;

Whether this policy includes a provision which obliges Eskom to mitigate its losses when faced with the situation experienced in the Free State; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2709E

Reply

Two of the major reasons behind the inability of many municipalities in the Free State to meet their obligations towards, among other service providers, ESKOM, have to do with (i) their inability to accurately project their cash flows and (ii) the challenges associated with collecting all billed operating revenue due to them. The Free State Provincial Treasury, the National Treasury and other major stakeholders are currently working to find a sustainable solution to these factors. It is also hoped that the various training interventions in financial management being currently offered by the National Treasury will, in the near future, begin to make a significant impact in as far as building financial management capacity in these municipalities.

In addition, municipalities in arrears have been encouraged to engage with Eskom to make arrears payment arrangement and to honour current account. Currently ESKOM is satisfied that the arrears will be paid from the equitable share allocations in November 2010. However a concern still exists with ESKOM on the ability of municipalities to settle it's monthly accounts. In the interim it was agreed that although ESKOM will not stop their disconnection process, the dates of cut-off notices will be postponed to allow municipalities the opportunity to settle arrear accounts from Equitable share allocations.

In the meantime, municipalities are encouraged to vigorously implement their respective credit control policies as a way of compelling consumers to pay for the electricity supplied to them by ESKOM. ESKOM too is encouraged to apply its own credit control policy to customers it directly supplies and to municipalities,

QUESTION NO: 2186

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether all provinces have established disaster management centres in terms of section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002; if not, (a) which provinces have not established such centres and (b) what action is being taken to ensure the establishment of such centres;

(2) whether all provinces have submitted disaster management plans to the National Centre in terms of section 38 of the Act; If not, (a) which provinces have not submitted plans in terms of the legislation and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans are in place;

(3) whether all municipalities have established disaster management centres in terms of section 43 of the Act; if not, (a) which municipalities have not established such centres and (b) what action is being taken to ensure the establishment of such centres;

(4) whether all municipalities have submitted complete disaster management plans to the National Centre in terms of section 53 of the Act; if not, (a) which municipalities have not submitted complete disaster management plans and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that complete disaster management plans are in place;

(5) whether all provinces and municipalities have submitted annual reports to the National Centre in terms of section 36 and section 50 of the Act; if not, (a) which provinces and municipalities have not submitted annual reports and (b) what action has been taken to remedy the situation? NW2692E

Reply

(1) Not all provinces have established disaster management centres in accordance with section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002.

(a) The Northern Cape is the only province that has not yet established a disaster management centre. The reason being financial and capacity constraints. Mpumalanga Province currently operates from the disaster management centre in Nelspruit The permanent centre is complete and should be furnished and- operational by the end of September 2010.

(b) The relevant details of the Provincial Disaster Management Centres that have been established are attached as follows:

(2) In terms .of section 43 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 only Metropolitan and District Municipalities must establish a disaster management centre.

(a) The following municipalities have not yet established a disaster management centre:

Xhariep District Municipality, Free State

Sedibeng District Municipality, Gauteng

Metsweding District Municipality, Gauteng

Uthukela District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Amajuba District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Umkhanyakude District Municipality. KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Sisonke District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Vhembe District Municipality. Limpopo

Capricorn District Municipality, Limpopo

Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Limpopo

Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Northern Cape

Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape

Naka Modiri Molema District Municipality

Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape

Mothea District Municipality, Free State (Building has been identified)

Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Free State (Construction has commenced)

Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, Free State

Fezile Dabi District Municipality. Free State (Construction is complete - require assistance with regard to the development of aninformation management system)

No information is available with regard to the following municipalities:

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng

Nkangala District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Capricorn District Municipality. Limpopo Province

Frances Baard District Municipality, Northern Cape

Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape

(3) The Gauteng. Western Cape and Limpopo Provinces have submitted their disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 38 of the Act.

(a) The following provinces have not yet submitted plans:

Province		Reasons
Eastern Cape		Still finalising the development of the Provincial Disaster Management Policy Framework.
Free State	Draft Plan is complete and has been submitted to ExCo for adoption.
Kwa Zulu-Natal		Framework is being finalised for publication. Plan still to be completed
Mpumalanga	,	A draft disaster management plan is available.
North West		Plan still to be completed.
Northern Cape		In process of appointing a Service Provider to assist the PDMC to develop a plan.

(4) The following metropolitan and district municipalities have not submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 53 of the Act:

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (The plan has been completed).

Cacadu District Municipality (The first draft plan has been developed).

Amathole District Municipality (The draft plan is in place).

Chris Hani District Municipality (The draft plan is in place).

Joe Gqabi District Municipality (Process has been started but short of funds).

OR Tambo District Municipality (In progress starting with risk assessment process).

Alfred Nzo District Municipality (A service provider has been appointed).

Xhariep District Municipality (Plan is still to be reviewed)

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Sedibeng District Municipality

Metsweding District Municipality

Ethekwini Metropolity Municipality (Being finalised)

Ugu District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Umgungundlovu District Municipality

Uthukela District Municipality

Umzinyathi Dj"strict Municipality

Amajuba District Municipality (New plan being prepared - previous draft has expired)

Zululand District Municipality' (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Umkhanyakude District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Uthungulu District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

lIembe District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Sisonke Distrlct Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Vhembe District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Capricorn District Municipality

Waterbeg District Municipality (The reviewed Plan and Framework was submitted to the PDMC on 25 March 2010)

Greater Sekhukhune Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

Nkangala District Municipality

Ehlanzeni District Municipality

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality

Frances Baard District Municipality

Namakwa District Municipality

Pixley Ka Same District Municipality

Siyanda District Municipality

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (The municipality does have a plan)

Naka Modiri Molema District Municipality (Leve/1 plan completed)

Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality (Leve/2 plan is complete) City of Cape Town (Plan completed - submitted to the Province)

West Coast District Municipality (Plan completed - submitted to the Province)

Cape Winelands District Municipality (PDMC supporting and guiding

QUESTION NO: 2185

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many municipal public accounts committees (MPACs) have been established to date, (b) in which municipalities and (c) what training has been provided for members of MPACs by his department or any other agencies;

(2) whether his department will monitor the effectiveness of these committees; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether he will make a statement on this matter? NW2691 E

Reply

The establishment of MPAC's varies from province to province; training is being provided by the provinces that have established MPAC's and the other provinces will provide training as MPAC's are established,

The following is the status quo of MPAC's per province:

1. Gauteng Province

In Gauteng all municipalities currently have MPAC's, 13 MPACs have been established. The Metsweding district are utilizing the shared services model for the MPAC, hence 13 and not 15.

2. North West Province

No Municipal Public Accounts Committee were established in any of the municipalities in the province, the province is planning to assist with the establishment of MPAC's and the rolling-out of training programmes, this process will be completed by the end of the current financial year.

3. Limpopo Province

In the Limpopo Province the MPAC's system is being piloted only in the Sekhukhune District municipality and the other municipalities will follow during the financial year.

4. Nothern Cape

No MPAC's have been established in the province, there are Oversight Committees functioning in all municipalities with regards to annual reports.

Due to the demographics of the Province it will not be effective to have MPAC's at individual municipalities as the average number of councilor in a municipality is six.

The Province has decided to apply the shared services approach to the MPAC and therefore five MPAC committees will be formed in the five District Municipalities.

5, Eastern Cape Province

No municipality has established MPACs as yet however all the municipalities have oversight committees to deal with the annual reports.

6. Kwa-Zulu Natal Province

24 MPACs have been established in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province in the

following municipalities:

Ethekwini

Ugu (DC 21)

Vulamehlo (KZ211)

Umdoni (KZ212)

Umzumbe (KZ213)

Richmond (KZ227)

uMtshezi (KZ234)

Endumeni (KZ241)

Nquthu (KZ242)

uMvoti (KZ245)

Newcastle (KZ252)

Emadlangeni (KZ253)

Jozini (KZ272)

The Big Five False Bay (KZ273)

uThungulu (DC28)

Mfolozi (Mbonambi) (KZ281)

uMhlathuze (KZ282)

uMlalazi (KZ284)

Ilembe (DC29)

Mandeni (KZ291)

KwaDukuza (KZ292)

Sisonke (DC43)

Kwa Sani (KZ5a2)

uBuhlebezwe (KZ5a5)

The remaining municipalities are being assisted to establish MPAC's, it is envisaged that this process will be completed by 31 March 2011.

7.Mpumalanga Province

The following 7 municipalities have established MPAC's in the province:

Nkomazi Municipality

Bushbuckridge Municipality

Victor khanye Municipality

Govan Mbeki Municipality

Albert Luthuli Municipality

Emalahleni Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

The province is assisting the balance of municipalities to also establish MPAC's.

8. Western Cape Province

The following three municipalities have established MPAC's In the Western Cape province:

City of Cape Town;

Central Karoo OM; and

Swellendam LM

9. Free State Province

No MPAC's have been established in the Free State Province as yet, the Province has conducted a workshop whereby 24 of the 25 municipalities have signed a declaration to establish the MPAC's.

The provincial Public Account Committee is currently assisting municipalities in the establishment of MPAC's.

Yes the department is monitoring both the establishment and functionality of MPACS through the Operation Clean Audit Programme.

The provinces are required to include the MPAC's in their provincial Operation Clean Audit Action Plans which are monitored on a quarterly basis for progress. Within these plans Provinces are required to demonstrate details of the support being provided to municipalities in both establishment and training and timeframes.

A training programme is also being planned in partnership with SALGA to include MPAC training as part of the new Councillors induction process after the Local government elections in 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2183

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr T 0 Lee (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any funds have been allocated to a certain trust (Bethelsdorp Development Trust) since 1 January 2000; if so, (a) what amount in each year and (b) for what reasons in each case?

NW2689E

Reply

This department does not have any funds allocated to any Trust Account

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2175

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr. N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many municipalities are without permanent (a) municipal

managers and (b) financial officers and (b) what are the reasons for these municipalities not having permanent senior staff;

(2) whether he will take any steps to ensure that every municipality has qualified, permanent senior managers; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW2681 E

Reply

(1)(a)Attached is a list of municipalities are without permanent (a) municipal managers and (b) financial officers

1 (b) Section 57(6)(a) of the Municipal Systems Act,2000 stipulates

that the employment contract for a municipal manager must be for a fixed term of contract not exceeding a period ending one year after the election of the next council of the municipality.

Section 57(7) stipulates that a municipality may extend the application of subsection (6) to any manager directly accountable to the municipal manager. Therefore, there are no senior staffs appointed on a permanent basis.

The Honourable Member will note that information from Free State, Mpumalanga and Kwa Zulu Natal province is incomplete. The outstanding information will be made available to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available.

2 The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs has tabled the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill to Parliament.

The Act currently does not prescribe minimum requirements for the appointment of municipal managers and senior managers. The insertion of section 54A and the amendment of section 56 oblige municipalities to only appoint people with appropriate "skills, expertise, competencies and qualifications" as municipal managers or acting municipal managers. The employment contracts of managers who do not meet these requirements, shall be null and void and the MEC is obliged to take appropriate steps to enforce compliance with these requirements if a person has been appointed in contravention of the new legislation. Any councilor voting in favour of the appointment of a municipal manager, knowing that he or she does not meet the requirements of the legislation, may be held personally liable for any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2158

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mr N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any plans are in place to finance the maintenance of the new stadia where municipalities are unable to bear the costs; if not, why not; if so, what plans? NW2607E

Reply

No. There are no plans by national government to finance the maintenance of the new stadia where municipalities are unable to bear such costs.

In August 2006, the Host Cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup developed business plans with financial forecasts to ensure financial sustainability of the venues once the competition was over. The national government set up a conditional grant to assist the

municipalities with capital finance for the construction of the new stadiums.

It should be also noted that six of the ten stadia that hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup are owned by municipalities, and as such, it is the responsibility of these municipalities to budget for the long term maintenance of their respective stadiums and to implement a business model to ensure the financial sustainability of those venues. As part of their plans, the municipalities have decided to appoint independent authorities to ensure the commercial viability of these stadia.

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium (in the Rustenburg Local Municipality), the Ellis Park Stadium (in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality), the Free State Stadium (in the Mangaung Local Municipality), and the Loftus Versfeld Stadium (in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality) are privately owned.

The other six stadia are owned by the following municipalities:

NAME OF STADIUM	NAME OF MUNICIPALITY
FNB Stadium (known as Soccer City during the 2010 FIFA World Cup)	City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
Moses Mabhida Stadium	Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality
Cape Town Stadium	City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
Mbombela Stadium	Mbombela Local Municipality
Peter Mokaba Stadium	Polokwane Local Municipality
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium	Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality

QUESTION NO: 2118

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mrs A T Lovermore (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with regard to interaction between his department's advocate (name furnished) and the Ndlambe community, hehas taken any steps to improve service delivery by the Ndlambe municipality; if not, (a) why not and (b) when will steps be taken; if so, (i) what steps and (ii) what are the relevant details?NW2558E

Reply

NDLAMBE MUNICIPALITY

PORT ALFRED

Phone: (046) 624 1140

Causeway

PO Box 13

Port Alfred

6170

Fax: (046) 6242669

[email protected]

http://www.ndlambe.co.za

Please address all correspondence to The Municipal Manager.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our Ref: - 8469 17 August 2010

Your Ref: Adv Gaum

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enquiries: Mr R Dumezweni

DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS

Private Bag X 804

PRETORIA

000

FOR ATTENTION: ADV GAUM

Dear Sir,

PROGRESS REPORT AND SUPPORT PROVIDED BY BOTH PROVINCE AND NATIONAL

The MEC- Local government and Traditional Affairs - Eastern Cape was one of the instrumental people who assisted in securing the R 31 million grant for Water supply in Ndlambe Municipality. He arranged the meeting with DWAF-DG in Port Elizabeth and immediately three weeks later the grant was accessed. Again DWAF is giving the Municipality R 9 million for water harvesting.

The National and Provincial Treasury arranged a meeting with NAG, NRF and the Municipality to discuss the budget issues after they received a complaint/petition from NAG. Minutes of the meeting are appended.

The progress in general so far as other matter raised by NAG are addressed. Ms Mali issue on Johannesburg trip has been resolved. The Internal Auditor investigated the matter and the travel agency admitted that it was at fault and it has paid the money. Ms Mali is innocent in this regard.

The PWC report was submitted to council on 7 July 2010 and an ad hoc committee consisting of three (3) ANC councillors and one DA councillor have submitted their final report to council on 28 July 2010. This matter is also resolved or completed.

Your department is now facilitating a meeting with NAG to unlock the negotiations in the week of 23-27 August 2010 and the council is willing to faithfully participate in the session. Mr Christo Nel has arranged with the Mayor already to facilitate a workshop to unlock the negotiations between two parties.

The Municipal Manager and his management are going to submit a turnaround service delivery plan to council 011 the 31 August 2010 where it is changing the strategic and operational way of doing things especially on those matters that NAG and Imbizo's have raised, This is going to involve everybody in the staff component or hierarchy.

A proper declaration of interest form has been formulated and endorsed by council for both officials and councillors. This has been given to all councillors to fill in. This seeks to respond to the concern of NAG on officials/ councillors having businesses with the municipality.

The Chief Directorate: Rural Disaster Mitigation Services within the Department of Rural development and Land Reform is busy facilitating a meeting with the office of the Municipal Manager in response to the letter that was written to the Minister to Declare Ndlambe as Disaster area. This meeting should take place on the 9 September 2010.

Any further enquiries could be forwarded to my office.

Yours faithfully

R DUMEZWENI

MUNICI AL MANAGER

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2126

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he intends introducing changes to the current system of local government particularly with regard to district municipalities; if not, what is the position in this regard, if so, what are the relevant details? NW2566E

Reply

The Department is in the process of a Policy Review on Provincial and Local Government. As yet, the government has not taken any decision on any changes of the current system of local government, including the status of the district municipalities.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2177

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr R N Cebekhulu (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What steps will he take or measures will he put in place to ensure that future appointees to the post of municipal manager meet the prescribed requirements of the job? NW2683E

Reply

The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs has tabled the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill to Parliament.

The Act currently does not prescribe minimum requirements for the appointment of municipal managers and senior managers. The insertion of section 54A and the amendment of section 56 oblige municipalities to only appoint people with appropriate "skills, expertise, competencies and qualifications" as municipal managers or acting municipal managers. The employment contracts of managers who do not meet these requirements, shall be null and void and the MEC is obliged to take appropriate steps to enforce compliance with these requirements if a person has been appointed in contravention of the new legislation, Any councilor voting in favour of the appointment of a municipal manager, knowing that he or she does not meet the requirements of the legislation, may be held personally liable for any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

QUESTION NO: 2113

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with reference to the disclaimer in the Auditor-General's report of 19 March 2010 that R300 million has not been accounted for in the Kungwini municipality, an investigation has been conducted to establish why the amount was unaccounted for; if not, why not; if so, (a) for what purpose was this money utilised, (b) when will the report be made available to the pubJic and (c) what are the further relevant details of the report? NW2552E

Reply

The finding on the Auditor General's report pertained to Non disclosure of contingent liability of R300 000 000 in the 2008/09 AFS (Annual Financial Statements). The item was omitted in error and will be disclosed in 2009/10 AFS as a correction of error in previous financial year.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2093

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 19 OF 06 Aug 2010

Mr J J Mc Gluwa (ID) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, with reference to a certain court case (details furnished), any action has been taken against the municipal manager and the council that approved the sale of the 27 erven; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) (a) what (i) was the total legal cost of the said court case and (Ii) attempts have been made to recover the legal costs from a certain company (name furnished) since the judgement has been granted and (b) who are the current owners of the 27 erven?

NW2497E

Reply

(1) The case was only concluded in May 2010, thereafter Council went on recess. In essence the matter has not been submitted to Council as yet.

(2)(a) (i) R 381 845.00 (ii) The decision wif1 be a prerogative of the Council once a full report has been tabled. (b) The total number of the plots advertised was 36 (thirty six). Of the 36 only 5 (five) has been sold. Erf 2565:ABA Group Contract Management CC

Erf 5817: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

Erf 5818: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

Erf 5819: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

Erf 5826: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2032

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 17 OF 06 Aug 2010

Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all municipalities have implemented Schedule 1 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998, to allow for municipal demarcation boards to delimit wards for all qualifying municipalities in preparation for the 2011 local government elections; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2371 E

Reply

The Municipal Demarcation Board ("the Board") is the only authority responsible to implement Schedule 1 of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998) to delimit wards after consultation with the Independent Electoral Commission (lEG), not municipalities.

However, the Board works with all the municipalities, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Provinces and IEC and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as primary stakeholders, and communities to delimit wards.

Currently the process is at an advanced stage and the Board intends to hand over final delimited wards to the IEC by 1 September 2010.

QUESTION NO: 1996

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 18 OF 30 July 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) In each province, (a) how many community development workers have been appointed by 30 March 2010 and (b) who (i) was responsible for their appointment, (ii) is responsible for their remuneration and (iii) do they report to;

(2) Whether these workers form part of the civil service; if not, why not; [f so, what are the relevant details? NW2393E

Reply

1 (a) Number of CDWs

CDWs Per Province

598

There are currently 3327 CDWs deployed. To date, Eastern Cape has the highest number of CDWs employed per province while Western Cape has the lowest number of CDWs enrolled in the Programme. Initially 400 learners were trained on the learnership in Western Cape, but only 200 CDWs were recruited and l or employed due to budget constraints.

Appointment of CDWs

To begin to qualify for recruitment and selection, candidates should:

• Live in the community in which they wish to serve
• Be acceptable to and trusted by members of the community
• Show potential to be excellent communicators
• Be knowledgeable about the community
• Be known to be reliable and responsible, having voluntary or other community-

based experience in that community

• Be respectful of the community
• Have the best interests of the people in that community at heart
• Be able to work effectively with the local political structures
• Have a minimum of NQF level 4 or grade 11 (standard nine) or equivalent to access the learnership. (Provinces are reviewing additional educational requirements.)

Prospective CDW candidates are selected after being interviewed by their ward committees. As the selection panelists, ward committees are required to identify equal numbers of men and

women and are encouraged to include people with disabilities.

1 (b) (i and ii) The provincial governments (Department of Cooperative governance and traditional affairs). (iii) They report to coordinators employed at regional and district level.

2. CDWs are public servants and they are governed by the Public Service Act. A CDW regulations been developed and will be tabled in November 2010.

QUESTION NO: 1995

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 18 OF 30 July 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department's clean audit campaign has made provision to assist the municipalities who failed to submit their accounts in the 2008-09 financial year, to submit their accounts timeously for the 2009-10 financial year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2392E

Reply

Yes, through the Operation Clean Audit programme all the municipalities who did

not submit including those who received disclaimers and adverse opinion are

receiving support in order to submit credible annual financial statements (AFS) on the 31st August 2010.

The approach differs per province and per the requirements of the individual

municipality; in most cases it includes the following:

1. Where the root cause for late submission was a lack of adequate skills and knowledge the municipality is assisted to appoint key financial management personnel including the CFO.
2. In some instances where adequate skills and knowledge are an issue but there are no resources, a person is either seconded from the province or an external resource is appointed.
3. The partnership between CoGTA and DBSA on Operation Clean Audit has been used to co-ordinate the resources from the DBSA's Siyenza Manje project to be directly linked to those municipalities identified as requiring maximum support for credible AFS submission and improved audit opinions.
4. The Operation Clean Audit Provincial Co-ordinating Committee is a forum in each province where all role players, ie Provincial Treasury, Provincial CoGTA, SALGA, DBSA, Office of the Premier and Office of the Auditor General (as support but maintaining their independence) get together and strategise on the municipalities that require support and the approach required for each considering the individual circumstances and an action plan is agreed to.
   • This approach makes it possible for the resources to be combined and focused on areas of critical need and thus maximise impact whilst eliminating the risk of duplication.

• Operation Clean Audit nationally monitors the functionality of these forums, the performance on the action plans and the partnerships; whenever necessary they intervene.
• The individual municipalities as role players are also invited to some of these forums to give progress reports and report on any challenges experienced.

QUESTION NO: 1930

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 17 OF 26 July 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether Members of the Executive Council of each province have complied with section 47 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, in the (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05, (e) 2005-06, (f) 2006-07, (g) 2007 -08, (h) 2008-09 and (i) 2009-10 financial years; if not, (i) why not, (ii) which provinces have failed to comply in each of the respective financial years and (iii) what action has been taken in this regard? NW2318E

Reply

(a-d) There were no Section 47 reports submitted to the former Department of Provincial and Local Government during this period. The Department took a step to strengthen the implementation of Performance Management Systems through provision of technical support.

(e) In the 2005/06 financial year, all provinces submitted their consolidated Section 47 reports. However, only seven (7) were tabled at the provincial legislatures. The provinces that did not table their report at the legislature were Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape.

(f) The Department of Cooperative Governance (previously the dplg), in 2007/08 financial year provided technical support with regards to Performance Management Systems implementation (PMS) to Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape with the intention of improving the submission and quality of the Section 46 municipal reports thereby improving the quality of the Section 47 reports and consequently the Minister's Section 48 report.

(g) In 2006/07 seven (7) provinces submitted and tabled their reports to their provincial legislatures. Eastern Cape and Free State only submitted their reports to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and have not tabled their reports to their provincial legislature.

(h) In 2007/08, only seven (7) provinces submitted and tabled their reports to provincial legislatures. Free State province has only submitted their report to the Minister for Cooperative Governance without tabling at the legislature.

(i) Mpumalanga is the only province that has not submitted their 2007/08 report and they have stated capacity constraints as the reason for noncompliance.

1. In the 2005/06 financial year details of the submission to provincial legislature and gazzetting were not provided.
2. In the 2006/07 financial year, Northern Cape was the only province to submit their report to the NCOP and gazette it. North West also submitted their report to the NCOP. In the 2007/08 financial year, only three (3) provinces - Eastern Cape, North West and Western Cape submitted their reports to their NCOP and gazetted. Reasons for non-compliance by other provinces were not provided.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 1867

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 OF 04 June 2010

Dr L L Bosman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he will introduce amendments to the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002, to include measures to counteract financial losses suffered as a result of the recent disastrous Transnet strike; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2160E

Reply

No, Section 2(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No, 57 of 2002), clearly states that the Act does not apply to an occurrence falling within the definition of "disaster" in Section 1 of the said Act - "to the extent that that occurrence can be dealt with effectively in terms of other national legislation", such as labour law legislation-

"(i) aimed at reducing the risk, and addressing the consequences, of occurrences of that nature".

It would therefore not be appropriate to amend the Disaster Management Act for this purpose.

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QUESTION NO: 251

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, since his appointment, he appointed a ministerial task team to investigate (a) municipalities in the North West and/or (b) the Province itself; if not, on what grounds was intervention done in several municipalities; if so, (i) who served in the task team and (ii) what was the brief given to the task team;

(2) Whether he intends briefing the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the report; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW266E

Reply

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has since initiated a comprehensive assessment of state of local government in South Africa, The assessments were triggered by the resolve to ascertain the state of Local Government in 2009 and to establish what can be done to improve performance of Local Government going forward. The departmental officials working with provincial counterparts interacted with all 283 municipalities, including interviews and engagement with key stakeholders in municipalities such as business stakeholders, ward committees, traditional leaders, unions, and other organisations.

The members of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs attended the Launch of the "State of Local Government Report and Municipal Turn Around Strategy". Furthermore, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs officials have interacted and presented the Local Government Turn Around Strategy to the Portfolio Committee.

QUESTION NO: 259

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

Mrs M Wenger (OA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

With reference to the key findings in the Auditor-General's report in the 2008-09 financial year that 62% of the provincial departments do not comply with regulatory requirements, (a) which provincial departments are responsible and (b) for what percentage of the noncompliance; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW274E

Reply

Province	Department	Area of Non-Compliance
Gauteng	Education	Investment in infrastructure
	Health	Investment in infrastructure
	Transversal	Entities that are connected with government employees I
		doing business with departments .
KwaZulu-Natal	Education	Investment in infrastructure I
	Health and Social	Welfare Investment in infrastructure
Mpumalanga	Education	Investment in infrastructure
	Health	Investment in infrastructure
	Transversal	Entities that are connected with government
		employees doing business with departments
Limpopo	Education	Investment in infrastructure
	Health and Social	Investment in infrastructure
	Welfare
	Housing	Allocation of housing subsidies to municipal employees
	I	and the administration of low-cost housing projects by
		the department
	Transversal	i Entities that are connected with Government

	Province	Department	Area of Non-Compliance
			employees doing business with departments	--
	North West	Agriculture,	Procurement of agricultural equipment
		Conservation and
		Environment
		Education	Investment in infrastructure
		Health	Investment in Infrastructure
		I Transversal	Entities that are connected with government
			employees and doing business with departments
	Free State	Education	Investment in infrastructure
		Health	Investment in infrastructure
		I Housing	Allocation of housing subsidies to municipal employees
I			and the administration of low-cost housing projects by
			the department
		Transversal	Entities that are connected with government employees
			and doing business with the departments
	Northern Cape	Housing	Administration of low-cost housing projects by the
			department
		Transversal	Entities that are connected with government employees
			and dOing business with deoartments
	Eastern Cape	Education	Investment in infrastructure
		Health	Investment in infrastructure
		Transversal	Entities that are connected with government employees
			and doing business with the department
	Western Cape	Education	Investment in infrastructure
		Health	Investment in infrastructure
		Local Government	Allocation of housing subsidies to municipal employees
		and	and the administration of low-cost housing projects by
		Housing	the department
		Environmental Affairs	Handling of confiscated abalone
I		and Tourism
)		Transversal	Entities that are connected with government employees
		I	doing business with the department

(b) The Auditor-General has a specific formula which is using to quantify the level in percentages of non-compliance on the areas as reflected in the last column of the table above. We are still waiting submission from the Auditor-General on these figures.

QUESTION NO: 260

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

What are the (a) names and (b) details of the 42% municipalities that did not report on their performance as indicated in the findings of the Auditor General's report for the 2008-09 financial years? NW275E

Reply

This report has just been recently tabled to provinces; the Department is currently in the process of collating all relevant information required. A complete reply will be forwarded to you, once information is obtained.

QUESTION NUMBER 260
(Internal Question Paper NW275E - 2009)
Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. What are the (a) names and (b) details of the 42% municipalities that did not report on their performance as indicated in the findings of the Auditor General's report for the 2008-09 financial years? NW275Em

REPL.Y

According to the information received from the Auditor-General. 110 municipalities out of 283 did not report on their performance. The following are the names of the municipalities that did not report on their performance:

NO	Province	Municipal /Entity	Expected / actual date of tabling of the annual report
1	EC	Alfred Nzo District	29-Mar-10
2	EC	Amahlathl	31-Mar-10
3	EC	Amathole District	31-Mar-10
4	EC	Arna/hole Economic Development	31-Mar-10
		Aaencv
5	EC	Baviaans	31-Mar-10
6	EC	Buffalo City	31-Mar-10
7	EC	Buffalo City Development Agency	31-Mar-10
8	EC	Camdeboo	31-Mar-10
9	EC	Centenary Hall	31-Mar-10
10	EC	Chris Han; District	Not yet scheduled
11	EC	Emalahleni	31-Mar-10
12	EC	Engcobo	30-Apr-10
13	EC	Feather Market	31-Mar-10
14	EC	Ikwezi	31-Mar-10
15	EC	Ingquza Hilt	29-Mar-10
16	EC	Inkwanca	31-Mar-10
17	EC	Intsika	16-Mar-10
18	EC	Inxuba Yethemba	04-Feb-10
19	EC	Kouga	H-Mar-10
20	EC	Mandela Bay Development Agency	31-Mar-10
21	EC	Mbhashe	17":Mar-10
22	EC	Mnquma	31-Mar-10
23	EC	Nelson Mandala Metro	31-Mar-10
24	EC	Ngqushwa	Not yet scheduled
25	EC	Nkonkobe	02-Mar-10
26	EC	Ntinga OR Tambo Development	31-Mar..10
		Agency
27	EC	Nxuba	15-Feb-10
28	EC	Nyandeni	31-Mar10
29	EC	OR Tambo District	31-Mar-10
30	EC	Port St Johns	Not yet scheduled
31	EC	Sakhisizwe	31-Mar-10
32	EC	Senqu	31-Mar-10
33	EC	Sundays River Valley	Not yet scheduled
34	EC	Ukhahlamba District	09-Apr-10
35	EC	Umzimvumbu	31-Mar-10
36	FS	Centlec (pty) LId	31 March 2010*
37	FS	Letsemeng	23-Feb-10
38	FS	Mafube	09-Feb-10
39	FS	Malutl-A-Phofung	31 March 2010.
40	FS	Mantsopa	31 March 2010.
41	FS	Masilonyana	01-Feb-10
42	FS	Matjhabeng	10 March 2010.
43	FS	Nala	31 March 2010*
44	FS	Naledi	22-Feb-10
45	FS	Ngwathe	24-Feb-10
46	FS	Nketoana	12-Mar-10
47	FS	Phumelela	31 March 2010.
48	FS	Setsoto	31 March 2010"
49	FS	Tswelopele	31 March 2010*
50	GP	Lesedi local Municipality	23-Feb-10
51	GP	Metsweding District Municipality	21..Feb-10
52	GP	Nokeng Tsa Taemane	Awaiting confirmation
53	GP	Randfonteln Local Municipality	03.Feb.10
54	GP	Sedlbeng District Municipality	Expected in Mar-10
55	GP	Westonaria Local Municipality	02-Feb-10
56	KZN	eMadlangeni	No - date not available
57	KZN	Indaka	01-Feb-10
58	KZN	Mbonambl	18-Feb-10
59	KZN	Mkhambathini	No - date not available
60	KZN	Umgungundlovu District	04-Feb-10
61	LP	B10uberg	*30 March 2010
62	LP	Elias Motsoaledi	*Before 31 March 2010
63	LP	Greater Letaba	26-Feb-10
64	LP	Greater Tubatse	.11 March 2010
65	LP	Greater Tzaneen	23-Feb-10
66	LP	Lephalale	No date available
67	LP	Makhudutamaga	No date available
68	LP	MogalakwenEi	24-Feb-10
69	LP	Mookgophong	No date available
70	LP	Mutale	No date available
71	LP	ThuJamefa	No date available
72	LP	Vhembe District	No date available
73	LP	Waterberg District	No date available
74	MP	Dipaflseng	30-Apr-10
75	MP	Dr JS Moroka	#REF!
76	MP	Emalahleni	04-Mar-10
77	MP	Mkhondo	Audit not completed
78	MP	Msukaligwa	Audit not completed
79	MP	Pixley Ka Seme (Volksrust)	#REFI
80	MP	Thaba Chweu	#REF!
81	NC	Dikgatlong	11-Feb-10
82	NC	Ga-Seoonvane	22-Feb-10
83	NC	KailGarib	16-Feb-10
84	NC	Kamiesbem	03-Feb-10
85	NC	Kareeberg	16-Feb-10
86	NC	Karoo Hoogland	16-Feb-10
87	NC	Khat-Me	04-Mar-10
88	NC	Maaareng	Report not tabled yet. expected tabling 31-Mar-
			2010
89	NC	Mier	23-Feb-10
90	NC	Moshaweng Local	24-Feb-10
91	NC	Rlchtersveld	03-Feb-10
92	NC	Sivancuma	23-Feb-10
93	NC	Sol Plaatje	03-Feb-10
94	NC	Ubuntu	11.Feb-10
95	NW	Sojanala Platinum District	25-Mar-10
96	NW	Dr Kenneth Kaunda District	no date available
97	NW	Lekwa-Teemane	31-Mar-10
98	NW	Mafikeng	01-Feb-10
99	NW	Naledi	no date available
100	NW	Ramotshere Moiloa	no date available
101	NW	Rustenburg	3Q-Mar-10
102	NW	Rustenburg Water Services Trust	30-Mar-10
103	NW	Tlokwe	09-Feb-10
104	WC	Beaufort West	28-Feb-10
105	WC	Cape Agulhas	24-Feb-10
106	WC	Central Karoo District	28-Feb-10
107	WC	laingsburg	31-Mar-10
108	we	Prins Albert	31-Mar-10
109	WC	Saldanha Bay	22-Feb-10
110	WC	Swellendam	31-Mar-10

QUESTION NO: 209

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What (a) amount was owed to each municipality on 30 September 2009 for (i) water, (it) electricity, and (iii) rates and services and (b) is the breakdown in respect of (i) 0-30 days, (Ii) 31-60 days, (iii) 91-120 days (iv) 151-180 days and (v) more than 180 days? NW218E

Reply

The report is being disaggregated and thereafter it will be submitted to cabinet before it can be given to yourself.

QUESTION NO: 1231

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Mr. T. Botha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether government had given serious consideration to the viability of municipal structures, with very large and costly councils, after the transfer of revenue generating water, electricity and solid waste services to regional government; if not, why not, if so, how were failing municipalities expected to manage escalating costs with diminishing revenues?

Reply

This department has given serious consideration to the viability of the municipal structures in that the turnaround strategy which has been approved by Cabinet is at phase 2 of developmental stage at municipal level. The viability of municipalities and revenue generation are critical priorities which are going to be addressed by the turnaround strategy during phase 3 of the turnaround strategy implementation stage.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

FOR WRITTISN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 166

Mrs E C van Lingen (DA-EC) to ask Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he will provide a detailed progress report regarding an local municipalities which have been placed under administration since 1 March 2009; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) Whether he will provide details. regarding the main chs1lenges his department will overcome in respect of each of the abovementioned municipalities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) Whether his department has formulated a plan or policy to solve the challenges encountered within each of these municipalities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of each of these policies;

(4) Whether any dates have been determined by which each municipality will be able to operate without any form of assistance from his department; if not. what is the postion in this regard; if so, what date is it anticipated that each municipality will commence its operations independently of his department? CW197E

Reply

(1) Yes, the report will firstly be presented to Cabinet, then to yourselves.

(2) Yes, the challenges facing all municipalities are known to ourselves and to everyone. They are contained in the State of Local Government report presented to major stakeholders who attended the Local Government Indaba that was held in October 2009. We have developed the Local Government Turn-Around Strategy which is based on the report that covered broadly all challenges facing municipalities.

(3} Yes, the Local Government Turnaround Strategy is currently being implemented in all municipalities.

(4) The Department is anticipating that by 2014 the Local Government Turnaround Strategy will be fully Implemented and challenges: facing municipalities would be substantially addressed.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 171

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 07 May 2010

Mr M W Makhubela (COPE-Limpopo) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether a certain person (name and details furnished) will be designated as a Headman (Gota); if not, why not; if so, when will this happen? CW202E

Reply

The appointment of headmans is a function of the province. The province makes a decision on the appointment while guided by the history of the royal family. The national government get involved in a situation where there are disputes and reported to us. Or in other instances where appointments are long overdue and the province has not acted upon it. In this case, nothing has been reported to us. We will investigate and revert to you.

QUESTION NO: 1568

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 14 OF 21 May 2010

Mr E J Marais (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any staff member of the Bitou Municipality was redeployed and/or transferred to any other municipality in the past three years; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many, (b) what are their names, (c)(i) what was each person's position and (ii) to what position was each person transferred, (d)(i) on what basis were they transferred and (ii) who approved the transfer and (e) in each case, what (i) procedure was followed and (ii) were the cost implications? NW1827E

Reply

(a) One (1)

(b) Mr. MK Leluma

(c) (i) Political Advisor to the Executive Mayor

(ii) Acting Municipal Manager in Vetersdorp Local Municipality

(d) (i) to assist Ventersdorp

(ii) Executive Mayor and Municipal Manager

(e) (i) Request from Ministry

(ii) Period May 2009 to May 2010

Total Gross Salary R608 281.46

Total Cellphone and 3G Card Exp R34 655,22

Total Accommodation R123 555.00

Total cost of flights R 10 745.00

Total costs of car hire R297 275.71

Total R1 074512.39

THIS FILE CONTAINS 25 REPLIES.

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QUESTION NO: 1376

PUBUSHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO '12 OF Q1 May 2010

Mr. M Waters (DA.) to) ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance & Tradition Affairs:

(1) What is the (a) actual and (b) optimal number of (i) personnel and (ii) emergerny vehicles for Emergency Medical Services with regard to (aa) rescue services, (bb) emergency services, (cc) planned patient transport, (dd) inter-hospital services and(ee) other specified services for each local authority in each province;

(2) By what date will the lack of (a) personnel and (b) emergency vehicles be rectified in each province?

NW1613E

Reply

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs would like to apologise to the Honourable that the information requested is not in our possession. The Department does not have jurisdiction on emergency medical services. This question will be best responded to by the department of Health. We would like to advise the Hounarable Member to kindly direct this question to the Department of Health for an appropriate response.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 1377

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUEST/ON PAPSR NO 12 OF 07 May 2010

Mr. MWaters (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether there are any minimum standards for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with regard to the number of (i) emergency vehicles and (ii) personnel, including advanced life support personnel for (a) rescue services, (b) emergency services, (c) planned patient transport and (d) inter-hospital services; if not, why not; if so, what are the minimum standards in each case

(2) Whether minimum standards differ between local, district and metropolitan local authorities; if so, what are the relevant details?

(3) Whether the Government is obliged to meat any minimum international standards with regard to EMS; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1614E

'

Response:

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs would like to apologise to the Honourable that the information requested is not in our possession. The Department does not have jurisdiction on emergency medical services. This question will be best responded to by the department of Health. We would like to advise the Hounarable Member to kindly direct this question to the Department of Health for an appropriate response.

QUESTION NO: 645

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 OF 15 March 2010

Mr S N Swart (ACDP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) What role does the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) play in determining municipal guideline increases in electricity tariffs and (b) what steps will he take to resolve the impasse between the Government and Nersa on this matter?NW771E

Reply

(a) In terms of section 4 (ii) of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act no 4 of 2006) the National Energy Regulator must regulate prices and tariffs, Therefore NERSA on an annual basis determines and communicates municipal guidelines increases to promote co-operative governance between all spheres of government and public entities.

(b) This guideline increase is then sent through to municipal distributors as a guide to them in determining their annual electricity tariffs. Further to that, to provide timely information to enable municipalities to plan properly and to prepare their budget in accordance with the process set out in Chapter 4 of the PFMA. Please see the Table Here

QUESTION NO: 1221

PUBLISHED IN INTERNALQUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Ms. Patricia De Lille to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) In reference to the attached (Mr. Foster Moagi, email) is the Sekgopo Community-ward 10, Greater Letaba Municipality, Mopani District, limpopo Integrated Development Planning (lOP) for 2007/08 going to be put into place; if so, (a) what has been the delay and (b) when will it commence; if not, why not;

(2) Mr. Moagi has suggestions of other development that will help develop the community and grievances with the council, can the Minister indicate who he should be in correspondence with regarding these developments and grievances;

(3) As stated in the attached Mr. Moagi, has been to different spheres to government with his grievances, but has yet to have any assistance, (a) can the Minister indicate why this has happened and (b) is there going to be more accountability of government officials in the future; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details.

Reply

(1) The Municipality conducts lOP public participation processes during each and every financial year and with projected income and due to insufficient funding some projects may not be implemented entirely. Projects which cannot be implemented in the same year, are then shifted to the next financial year during budget adjustment and councillors later communicate changes during community meetings. As a result all communities at Sekgopo are aware of the changes made in all financial years.

(2) Members of the public are encouraged to communicate with Ward Committees and then the Mayor's Office on development matters and grievances. Mr. Moagi is not able to attend to all these meeting because he is working in Johannesburg fulltime. It must be further clarified that Mr. Moagi is not complaining for Ward 10 as a whole which has nine villages but he is complaining for his home village being Ramoadil Matlou or Bloc C, resulting in him playing village politics.

(3) It must be clarified that all matters raised by Mr. Moagi were long responded to, after he was not satisfied, he arranged for a meeting with the Mayor on the 15 October 2009 and his concerns were discussed between him and the Mayor. After that meeting, the Mayor attended a community meeting at Ga- Sekgopo which Mr. Moagi also attended on the 28 December 2009, All parties that attended the meeting including the traditional leader were satisfied with the discussions. The last meeting which was held at Ga-Sekgopo was on the 04 April 2010 and Mr. Moagi did also attend the meeting while the issues he is raising were not discussed because they have long been resolved, The Premier's Office and Public Protector visited the municipality and responses were given to them.

PROJECTS

1 km pavement 2008/09

This project is being implemented and about to be completed in this financial year. It is expected to be completed and handed over to the municipality before the end of this financial year by June 2010.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 1222

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 OF 19 April 2010

Ms. Patricia de Lile to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

In reference to the attached question (Question 728, Internal Question Paper No 7 _ 2009) whether tile Minister has required information been obtained, if so, can the Minister provide it; if not, (a) what is the delay and (b) when will it be provided?

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 728

(Internal Question Paper No 7 - 2(09)

Mrs P de Lille (I D) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) What are the salaries paid to the (i) mayor, (ii) speaker (Hi) municipal manager, (iv) general manager for infrastructure and economic development, (v) manager: customer relations, water services, and (vi) manager for special programmes in the Ugu municipality and (b) how were these salaries decided;

(2) whether these salaries match the job descriptions; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether these salaries correspond with similar salaried positions in other municipalities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW853E

Reply

1 (a)

Designation	Salaries paid
(i) Mayor	R 646 835
(II) Speaker	R 520 664
(iii) Municipal Manager	R 825 198
(iv) General Manager Infrastructure and Economic Development	R 682 325
(v) Manager: Water Services	R 621 098
(vi) Manager for Special Services	R 505 638

(b) The salaries in respect of (i) Mayor and (ii) Speaker are upper limits for a grade 5 municipality in terms of Government Gazette Notice No. 1319 dated 8 December 2008.

The salaries in respect of (iii) Municipal Manager, (iv) General Manager Infrastructure and Economic Development and (v) Manager for Water Services were determined by resolution of the Council, taking into consideration comparable jobs with similar responsibilities from equally graded municipalities.

The salary in respect of (vi) Manager for Special Services (being a full-time appointment) was decided by a Bargaining Councii agreement dated 31 July 2009 designated for municipalities.

In respect of the Mayor and the Speaker their roles are indicated in the legislation.

The relevant Municipal Council is of the opinion that the salaries are commensurate with the job description of the posts concerned. It has been verified that there are job descriptions for each of the posts concerned.

The salaries of the Mayor and Speaker correspond with the mayors and speakers in other grade 5 municipalities who are in full-time positions, as determined by the MEC responsible for local government.

The salaries of the municipal officials from the Ugu District Municipality are marginally lower as compared to similar positions in other district municipalities within KwaZulu-Natal. The levels of payment are currently not legislated and the Municipality is consequently not bound by prescriptive levels of payment, be it maximum or minimum. A comparison shows the following details:

Designation	Ugu Municipality (grade 5)	Municipality A (grade 4)	Municipality B ](grade 4)
Municipal Manager	R 825 198	R 866 491	R 1 053 896
Manager: Infrastructure and Economic Development	R 682 325	R 733 507	R 733 159
Manager: Water Services	R621 098	R 729 128	R 699 321
Manager: Special Programmes	R505 638	No such position	R 539 493

Kindly note that Ugu is the only grade 5 District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal in terms of the grading formula as determined by Government Gazette Notice No, 1319 dated 8 December 2008 which relates to the grading of municipalities in respect of councillors salaries and allowances payments, Other district municipalities are graded 3 and 4,

QUESTION NO: 193

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 01 OF 11 February 2010

Mr J J McGluwa (ID) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: (Interdepartmental transfer on 26 February 2010)

With reference to his reply to Question 2191 on 14 December 2009, (a) which municipalities are employing their own community development workers and (b) how many are there in each of these municipalities? NW199E

Reply

We are unable to respond to the Honourable Member's question as the question that the honourable Member is referring too was asked by the Honourable Member to the Minister for Public Service and Administration and not to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

QUESTION NO: 817

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 OF 23 March 2010

Mrs D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether legislation makes provision for the appointment of more than one municipal manager at a municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether the former municipal manager of the Mookgopong Municipality in Limpopo is still in the employ of the municipality; if so, (a) in what position and (b) since when;

(3) whether a new municipal manager has also been employed at Mookgopong Municipality in Limpopo; if so, (a) who is this person and (b) when was this person appointed;

(4) whether the Mookgopong Municipality in Limpopo is in a position to have two municipal managers appointed at the same time; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW950E

Reply

(1) Section 82 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act (Act 117 of 1998) makes provision for an appointment of a Municipal Manager who is the head of Administration and the Accounting Officer of the Municipality. The Act further makes provision for an appointment of an Acting Municipality Manager when necessary.

(2) The former Municipal Manager (Peter Modiba) of the Municipality is no longer in the employment of the Municipality. His contract expired in 2007 and he has since been released off his duties as a municipal manager.

(3) Mr. Mokgadi Kgatla was appointed as a Municipal Manager of the Municipality in 2007.

(4) Please refer to reply in (1).

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES 
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO: 188
PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 OF 21 May 2010
Mr R J Tau (ANC-NC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department has made any commitments to relocate the Magareng Municipality sewage plant in the Northern Cape; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) Whether his department will assist the municipality in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? CW272E

Reply

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has made funds available through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant to assist the municipality to address challenges of infrastructure, including the matter in question.

QUESTION NO: 396

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 OF 26 February 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has promulgated the recommendation by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers that an amount to which section 8 (1 )(d) of the Income Tax Act, Act 58 of 1962, applies form part of the basic component in the recent salary negotiations; if not, why not; if so, when will he do so? NW469E

Reply

No. The Recommendations of the Commission relating to the Allowance contemplated in section 8(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962, could not be implemented, This is due to the fact that section 6(4) of the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 20 of 1998, provides that section 8 (1 )(d) of the Income Tax Act shall apply to the remuneration of a Premier, Member of Executive Council, Member of Provincial Legislature concerned. Therefore section 8(1)(d) strictly relates to members mentioned above and not to the councillors and traditional leaders,

It is therefore significant to note that no such authority has been provided for in respect of determination of the remuneration packages of councillors and members of traditional leaders. Consequently recommendation of the Commission could not be implemented as the principal law, in this case the Remuneration Act, could not be amended by way of proclamation, Therefore provisions of section 8(1)(d) may only be extended to councillors if an appropriate amendment is effected to the Remuneration Act.

Shortly the bill to propose the amendment to the Remuneration Act will be introduced to the cabinet to extend this allowance to councillors.

QUESTION NO: 1008 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 OF 30 March 2010

Mr M Mnqascla (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether there are any vacancies for councilors at any municipalities; if not,

what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) which vacancies exist in which municipalities and (b) how many disputes on such vacancies by political parties and/or municipal managers have been brought to his department's attention;

(2) whether he intends taking any action in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1153E

Reply

The Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Cooperative Governance currently do not have this information at our disposal. The matter has been referred to the Independent Electoral Commission for verification and reporting. The information will be provided to yourselves once it has been obtained from the lEC.

QUESTION NO: 1533

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPE.R NO 14 OF 21 May 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department and/or any of its entities have purchased any tickets for (a) the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament, (b) the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and (c) any other entertainment event in the (i) 2009-10 financial year and (ii) during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, what has been the position in each case; if so, in each case, (aa) what is or has been the date of the event, (bb)(i) how many tickets have been purchased and (ii) why, (cc) what has been the total cost of the tickets and (dd)(i) to whom has each of these tickets been allocated and (ii) on what was the decision for the allocation of these tickets based? NW1789E

Reply

(a) The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and neither its entities have purchased any tickets for the upcoming world soccer spectacular,

(b) The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and its entities have not purchased tickets for the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in April 2009 and April 2010.

(c) The Department has not purchased any tickets for any entertainment events in the previous and current financial year.

 

Reply:

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 827

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr M H Hoosen (ID) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

What amounts were paid in constituency/party funding by municipalities to each (a) party and (b) councillor in the 2008-09 financial year?

ANSWER

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs does not monitor constituency/party funding by municipalities. As a result the department does not have this information at its disposal.

QUESTION 828

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 August 2009

Internal question paper no: 10

Interdepartmental transfer from Health on 11 September 2009

QUESTION NO 2305

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department has taken any steps to ensure that the original allocation and the extra allocation of R288 million for the 2009-10 financial year will be spent on municipal infrastructure only and not on running costs; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3011E

Answer

Yes. The department has the following monitoring systems in place to ensure that the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funds allocated to municipalities are spent for the intended purpose:

Project Registration

Municipalities are required to register the projects that will be implemented utilizing the MIG allocation. Projects are registered on the MIS system and are evaluated to ensure that they meet the MIG conditions.

Division of Revenue Act (DORA) Expenditure Report

The municipalities are required to submit monthly DORA expenditure reports. The expenditure of municipalities is monitored on a monthly basis and where a municipality is under-spending the funds for the following month will be withheld.

Project List

On the monthly project list municipalities are required to report on expenditure against each project that is implemented utilizing the MIG allocation.

Furthermore the monitoring role of the provinces will be strengthened to provide random site visits to the projects that are being implemented. The Department is also in a process of finalizing the partnership with the Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The SIU will assist the department in strengthening the monitoring systems by site visits and verification of expenditure against the implemented projects.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1546

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

1. What is the (a) name of each of the 17 municipalities that have not implemented the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, Act 6 of 2004, and (b) reason for the non-implementation;

2. whether he will provide any assistance to ensure that these municipalities comply; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

3. whether there will be any financial implications in this regard; if so, from which Budget will this be funded?

Answer

1. According to the Department's records, there are 13 municipalities that have not complied with the implementation of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, Act 6 of 2004. This figure represents statistics provided to the Department by the provincial departments responsible for local government as at 30 July 2009.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2031

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Dr A Lotriet (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. Whether his department has determined the extent of the damage caused during the protests in lntabazwe in the Eastern Free State; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

2. whether his department has determined the reasons for these protests; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

3. Whether he has taken any steps to deal with the reasons; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2683E

Answer

1. The department has not done assessment of the damages caused by any protests in Intabazwe in the Maluti a Phofung municipality

2. The department is supporting the task team in the determination of the actual reasons for the protest

3. The Free State Government is attending the grievances of the Intabazwe community and has formed a task team comprising of members of the community and government representatives.

QUESTION NO. 57

(Internal Question Paper No 57- 2009)

Ms M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many people have been charged with the practice of Ukuthwalwa in each of the past five years;

(2) whether any measures have been put in place to avoid further occurrences of this practice; if not, why not; if so, what measures;

(3) whether he has had or will have any interaction with traditional leaders in an attempt to prevent it from happening again; if not, why not: if so, what are the relevant details?

Answer

(1) According to information provided by Office of the Cluster Commander of SAPS in Port St Johns, cases presently reported at Mtontsasa Police Station are eleven (11). Four (4) cases are for abduction and seven (7) for abduction and rape. A task team has been established to deal with these cases. There are no statistics available at this police station that similar cases were reported or people were charged in the past five years on this practice (report from Mtontsasa Police Station is attached for ease of reference)

(2) Measures taken by the Eastern Cape Government include an ongoing outreach program led by the Human Rights Commission in the province to educate the community about this practice.

(3) YES, there was Interaction amongst the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr S Shiceka. Minister of Women, Children and Persons with Disability Ms N Mayende-Sibiya. Minister of Police, Mr N Mthethwa and the Traditional Leaders at Qaukeni Great Place on 26 June 2009. It was resolved to clamp down on the practice and for Traditional Leaders to work jointly with government. This decision was supported by the Provincial House and CONTRALESA.

QUESTION NO. 75
(Internal Question Paper No 75- 2009)

Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has been informed about the delay in publishing the findings of the forensic investigation of the uMngeni Municipality by the KwaZulu-Natal member of the executive committee (MEC) for local Government in 2007; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether he has been informed about the delay in acting upon the recommendations of the findings of the said MEC's forensic investigation of the Msunduzi Municipality, which were tabled before that council in 2007; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether he will take any steps to achieve a resolution of the issues identified in these forensic investigations; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW77E

Answer

(1) No. The MEC for Local Government in KwaZulu-Natal is engaging the Executive Committee of uMngeni Municipality to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the forensic investigation report are implement~d.

(2) No. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs is engaging the municipality on this matter. The Municipal Manager of Msunduzi Municipality has committed that the matters raised are being addressed.

(3) The MEC will be engaging the provincial executive to ensure that the municipalities comply and implement the recommendations of the forensic reports. Should municipalities not comply accordingly, legal action would be considered against them.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (WRITTEN REPLY): PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO. 75/2009: MR M H STEELE (DA) TO ASK THE: MINISTER OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS

QUESTION 1

Whether he has been informed about the delay in publishing the findings of the forensic Investigation of the uMngeni Municipality by the KwaZulu-Natal member of the executive committee (MEC) for Local Government In 2007; If not, what Is the position In this regard: If so, what are the relevant details:

ANSWER 1

No. the MEC is engaging the EXCO of Umngeni Municipality in order to ensure that the findings and recommendations on the forensic investigation report are implemented.

QUESTION 2

Whether he has been informed about the delay in acting upon the recommendations of the findings of the said MEC's forensic investigation of the Msunduzi Municipality, which were tabled before that council in 2007; If not, what is the position In this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

ANSWER 2

No. the Department-of Local Government and Traditional Affairs - KZN is engaging the municipality on this matter. The Municipal Manager has committed that the matters highlighted in the Investigation report are being addressed.

QUESTION 3

Whether he will take any steps to achieve a resolution of the Issues Identified in these forensic investigations; If not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

ANSWER 3

The MEC will be engaging the Provincial Executive to ensure that the Municipalities comply. Should Municipalities not comply, legal measures will be considered.

QUESTION NO 68

(Internal Question Paper No XXX - 2009)

Mrs N M Mdaka (ANC) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What measures does his department have in place to improve the capacity of provincial departments to monitor municipalities in their jurisdiction?

ANSWER

Provincial supervision, monitoring and support of local government is a constitutional obligation in terms of sections 154 (1) and Section 155 (6) and (7) of the Constitution. To give effect to these obligations, the departments for local government were established with the specific mandate to oversee and support municipalities. However, as increasing performance challenges build up within the local sphere, government initiated a comprehensive assessment of these departments' capabilities as well as those of the Offices of the Premiers.

The Department needed to get an understanding of the pressure points in these provincial departments, and investigated each entities' capacity, organisational structure, resource base, management of intergovernmental relations and coordination capacity. Findings demonstrated wide provincial variations among the capacity of these departments to manage their constitutional obligations. Most local government departments were found to be underresourced, receiving only, on average, 3.5% of the provincial budget (excluding Health, Education and Social Development).

Further, only 2% (average result) of staff are above salary grade 11, making these departments extremely 'bottom-heavy' with the result that the required skills and knowledge in these departments is largely lacking. With low budgets, low skills levels, and no specific internal structure dedicated to the monitoring and oversight of municipalities, it became clear that monitoring and support has been poorly resourced, and has received insufficient focus from national government.

Thus, while the previously constituted Department of Provincial and Local Government (dplg) had a very limited focus on Provincial Government, the new Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CGTA) has recognised the need to fully engage with provincial government. It has now adopted an extended mandate to support and monitor the full scope of provincial functions.

In this context, CGT A has made it one of its key priorities to build the developmental state in provincial and local government by making the execution of mandates by these levels of government more effective, efficient, accountable and responsive.

The following measures are set out in the Strategic Plan of CGT A (2009-2014) to ensure better provincial and municipal capacity:

· Review and strengthen the current IGR Act and other legislation;

· Strengthen legislative provisions to intervene directly in provincial and local government;

· Re-organise the department to better provide hands-on support to provinces and municipalities;

· Strengthen and support institutional and co-operative governance capacity;

· Enhance monitoring and oversight of provincial and local government; and

· Strengthening of the capacity of provinces to achieve clean audits and to support and oversee municipalities in relation to financial management.

The Turn-Around Strategy for Local Government which will be finalized in December 2009 will bring Provinces centre stage in their revived role of municipal support and oversight. All sector departments, the Offices of the Premiers and the Provincial Treasuries will work cooperatively with local and national spheres of government to strengthen and stabilise our municipalities.

Finally, the national Department intends to establish offices in each province which enable the Department to playa stronger complementary support and monitoring role with regard to the support that must be given to provinces and municipalities

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1892
(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. Whether he will take any steps with regard to the Sedibeng Local municipality's inability to prevent spillages from the regional sewerage works due to a lack of funds; if not, (a) why not and (b) who will be held responsible; if so, what steps;

2. whether he and or his department intends giving assistance to the communities of Emfuleni and Midvaal if the target is not met and spillages occur; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

3. Where and (b) when will the funding for the project be sourced from? NW2454E

Answer

1. (a) The Minister of cooperative government and traditional Affairs has conducted a Water and Sanitation Audit, to establish the state of infrastructure in the country. In terms of the National Water Act and Water Services Act, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs has already taken legal action against both Emfuleni Local Municipality and Midvaal Local Municipalities to enforce legislative compliance at affected Waste Water treatment Works in the region.

2. (b)This process is running parallel to the support programme to these municipalities to ensure that sustainable compliance is attained to protect the natural water resource (Vaal River and Vaal Barrage) in this area.2.1 The Gauteng Department and the Department of Water Affairs in collaboration with the CoGT A have provided technical experts to support the municipality to:

 Conduct root cause analysis at all regional water care works and to identify priority short term measures to arrest non compliance in terms of effluent, plant status and staff compliance.

 Implement all priority measures as a matter of emergency procurement, where necessary

 Assist Emfuleni Local Municipality to procure the services of Rand Water to take over the operations and management of all non compliant waste water treatment plants to compliment the human capacity of Emfuleni as well as providing expertise to implement interim priority measures required

3. (a) and (b) The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs Department has provided funding to both Emfuleni and Midvaal in the amount of R17m to implement priority measures necessary in the short term to arrest the situation, with necessary support from Rand Water and experts referred to above.

The Gauteng Provincial Governmental provided an amount of R50m in last financial year to assist the Municipalities to procure expertise to implement a long term solution in accordance with applicable legislation (MFMA, MSA, Water Services Act, etc.). This process is currently in progress with the following being the key deliverables:

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1891

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

1. Whether, with reference to his reply to Question 1323 on 14 October 2009, he has been informed of the report on the visit of the Minister of Human Settlements to Thokoza on the East Rand; if so, what (a) action will be taken and (b) are the further relevant details;

2. whether he has been informed of the conditions under which these individuals are living; if so,

3. whether any action will be taken to address the situation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2453E

Answer

1. The Minister is aware of the report on the visit of the Minister of Human Settlements in Thokoza and it is the jurisdiction of the Minister of Human Settlement to implement the recommendations of the report and actions.
2. The report entails the state of affairs in as far as hostel settlement is concerned;

3. The Minister of Human Settlement is well positioned to address the situation and such details reside with the Ministry.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1890

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

1. (a) Who were the members of the task team that was sent to Sakhile township in Mpumalanga after the violent demonstrations in September and October 2009 and (b) on what basis was every individual included in the task team;

2. (a) what did the task team investigate, (b) who did the task team report back to, (c)

when did they report back and (d) what were their findings;

3. whether any of the rioters have been identified; if not, why not; if so,

4. whether any action will be taken against them; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

5. whether he has visited the area and addressed the community; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2452E

Answer

1. (a) The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional, following the unrest in Sakhile township of Lekwa Municipality, comprised a team of experts comprising of senior officials in the national and provincial government to support the municipality to Acting Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The Department further appointed a Financial Task Team which was led by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to do a financial analysis of the municipality. (b) The members of the task team were chosen based on their expertise dictated by the situation in the Municipality.

2. (a) Investigate and resolve the challenges arising from the reported highly misstated consumer accounts. (b) The task team reported to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. (c) The ask Team reported during the Month of October.

3. The SAPS is investigating the riots and they are currently dealing with the rioters in terms of the law.

4. The response on question 3 addresses the concern on question 4.

5. No visit was undertaken specifically by the Minister to address the community but this was done by the Premier and the ruling party with the support of the Minister.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 510

(Internal Question Paper No 6 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any function was organised to mark the occasion of the delivery of his budget vote in 2009; if so, (a) what total amount was spent on this function, (b) from which budget was the money allocated, (c) what amount was spent on (i) food and refreshments, (ii) venue, (iii) entertainment, (iv) staff and (v) transport and (d) how many persons were invited to attend this function? NW573E

ANSWER

A function was organised to mark the occasion of the delivery of the Minister's budget vote in 2009.

(a) Total amount spent on the function: R 67 768.70

(b) The amount was allocated from departmental activities budget. (c) Amount spent on:-

(i) Food and refreshments: R 42 812.50

(ii) Venue: R 2 169.70

(iii) Entertainment: R 22 786.50

(iv) Staff: N/A

(v) Transport: N/A

(d) 125 persons were invited to attend the function.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 444

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr T Botha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) What were the achievements of the urban renewal programme in the cities that were targeted for renewal and (b) what monetary support was given to each approved site? NW505E

Answer

(a) There have been significant achievements in the nodal areas. Eight urban nodes were established in 2001 with the intention to "conduct a sustained campaign against urban poverty and underdevelopment, bringing in the resources of all three spheres of government in a co-ordinated manner' (State of the Nation Address, 2001). In 2008, a survey 1 done by the Department of Social Development (DSD) found that poverty levels in the urban nodes (with the exception of Kwa Mashu, where demarcation is impacting on the data) dropped significantly, compared to Census information from 1996 and 2001.

The poverty index on which this finding was based included 10 variables namely, incidence of female-headed households, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of household income, over-crowding, informal or traditional dwellings, lack of sanitation, water below RDP standards, lack of electricity for lighting purposes, and lack of refuse removal. The following graph illustrates the drop in poverty levels found in the urban nodes:

Khayelitsha	31.8	31.5	22.3
Galeshewe	23.2	23.4	20
Inanda*	55.4	40.5	26.9
Mdantsane	32.8	28.6	17.6
Alexandra	26.5	24.4	18.2
Mitchell's Plain*	22.6	20.3	8.6
Motherwell	22.4	30.7	16.3
Kwa Mashu*	18.2	24.5	18.7
ALL URP nodes	29.2	27.1	18.7

*Demarcation impacting on data

For an example, in Alexandra, City of Johannesburg, the percentage of households:

• living in informal dwellings were reduced from 32.3% in 2001 to 14.8% by 2008
• without flush or chemical toilets were reduced from 12.6% in 2001 to 3.6% by 2008
• without tap water inside their dwellings or on site were reduced from 27.3% in 2001 to 9.2% by 2008
• without electricity for lighting purposes were reduced from 27.9% in 2001 to 1.2% by 2008 .
• dwellings or on site were reduced from 68.3% in 2001 to 24.8% by 2008
• without electricity for lighting purposes were reduced from 29.7% in 2001 to 8.4% by 2008

In Khayelitsha, City of Cape Town, the percentage of households

• living in informal dwellings were reduced from 66.6% in 2001 to 50% by 2008
• without flush or chemical toilets were reduced from 35% in 2001 to 15.6% by 2008
• without tap water inside their dwellings or on site were reduced from 38.5% in 2001 to 18.4% by 2008 .
• without electricity for lighting purposes were reduced from 23.9% in 2001 to 8.4% by 2008
• without regular refuse removal by the local authority from 5% in 2001 to 2.8% by 2008

(b) The urban nodes have over the years attracted some funding despite the programme not having a dedicated fund. The socio-economic projects were funded from different sources including Municipal Infrastructure Grant, Neighbourhood Partnership Development Grant and the European Union. Some examples of funding flows are depicted in the Tables hereTables

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 449

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. How many municipalities against which protest actions were launched between 1 June 2004 and 30 June 2009 (a) were incorporated in Project Consolidated and (b) remain part of the Five-year Strategic Agenda for Local Government

;

2. which of the municipalities where incidents of rioting, demonstrations and protest actions because of no or poor service delivery took place is experiencing a shortage of municipal staff and (b) what is the shortage in each municipality;

3. at which of the municipalities where incidents of rioting, demonstrations and protest actions because of no or poor service delivery took place (a) did service delivery improve or (b) were services delivered regarding which protest actions took place in order to prevent new incidents? NW510E

Answer

1. A total of about 14 municipalities were part of Project Consolidate and the same number still remains part of the 5Year Strategic Agenda for Local Government,

2. The department has not conducted a comprehensive analysis of the municipal organizational structures in terms of funded and filled posts at municipal level. Currently the department does not possess information on whether the 14 municipalities are experiencing shortage of municipal staff.

3. Services continue to be provided by these municipalities and where there were deficiencies municipalities are managing communication with communities to prevent re-occurrence or occurrence of protests. Most of these issues will guide and form part of the municipal specific turn-around strategies.

Question 266

28 OCTOBER 2009

266. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 482]

(a) How much was spent by his department on consultants in the 2008-09 financial year and (b) what was the brief of each consultant contract? NW544E

ANSWER

(a) The department spent R45.8 million on consultants in the 2008/09 financial year. Refer to note 5.3 of the financial statements on page 213 of the 2008/09 Annual Report.

(b) The detail of the brief of each consultant contract is reflected in Chapter 4, pages 366 to 376 of the 2008/09 Annual Report.

Question 265

28 OCTOBER 2009

265. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 481]

(a) How many professionals and experts were deployed under programmes of his department at municipalities as at 31 March 2009 and (b) what is the total number of municipalities for each province they were deployed in? NW543E

ANSWER

(a) As of March 2009, about 1283 technical expert and/or professionals had been deployed to 268 municipalities (including the 139 Project Consolidate municipalities). This is the cumulative number since the launch of Project Consolidate in 2004 and includes all associated programmes, e.g. Siyenza Manje & Ilima Trust.

(b) The total number of municipalities that received support through deployments per province can be broken down as follows:

Province	Number of Municipalities received support
Easter Cape	42
Free State	23
Gauteng	20
KwaZulu Natal	54
Limpopo	31
Mpumalanga	22
North West	25
Northern Cape	21
Western Cape	30

Some municipalities received two or three deployees covering expert areas of Development Planning, Financial Management, Civil Engineering and Project Management. This includes Young Professionals and Artisans.

QUESTION NO 807

(Internal Question Paper No 9 - 2009)

Mr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) In how many municipalities (i) have qualified engineers been appointed in the works department and (ii) have no engineers been appointed and (b) why no engineers have been appointed:

(2) Whether he will make a statement on the matter?

ANSWER

(1) (a) (i) In 244 municipalities qualified engineers have been appointed.

(ii) About 33 municipalities currently do not have qualified engineers.

(b) There is a general lack of technical skills in the country. This is further exacerbated by the fact some Engineers join the consulting industry. However, municipalities are engaged in a process of recruiting and attracting qualified engineers.

(2) Since the Minister took over, he has identified the challenge of attracting scarce professional skills as fundamental towards strengthening service delivery capacity. The Minister has engaged other line ministries in order to coordinate programmes and resources in particular, Department of Water Affairs and Environment. National Treasury, Human Settlements, Public Works etc. the Local Government Recovery Plan to be informed by current assessment of the state of local government in South Africa shall provide a structured and sustainable strategy to address this matter.

QUESTION NO 689

(Internal Question Paper No 7 - 2009)

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, his department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in

this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

ANSWER

Yes

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has planned workshops on travel matters to implement the travel cost containment strategy by end of September 2009. This covers the use of hired vehicles, air travel, venue hiring, hotel accommodation and other travel related matters.

(a) Considering group travel instead of hiring individual vehicles

(b) Introducing advance booking for travel to cut costs on flights tickets.

(c) To reduce the number of officials to travel when attending meetings

(d) Consider the cost-effective graded hotel accommodation by officials.

(e) Utilising internal venues for meetings and teleconferencing facilities is the first priority before considering external conference venues.

Question 281

28 OCTOBER 2009

281. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 909]

(1) Whether his Director-General signed a performance contract with him; if not, why not; if so, when;

(2) whether all senior managers in his department signed performance contracts with the Director-General; if not, (a) which senior managers did not sign, (b) for what reason and (c) when will it be done; if so, on which date did each senior manager sign a performance contract? NW1065E

ANSWER

(1) No, the Director-General left the Department on 30 June 2009. The Acting Director-General however signed a Performance Agreement on 1 July 2009.

(a) Director: Youth HIV and Aids Programmes/Director: Local Government Organisational Development Systems. (b) Resignation/Maternity leave. (c) October 2009 for senior manager, who was on maternity leave, the other 103 Performance Agreements were signed by senior managers on dates varying between 1 April to 31 July 2009.

Question 282

282. Ms M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 925]

(1) Whether, with reference to the salary negotiations between the SA Local Government Association (Salga) and municipal workers, municipalities will receive additional funding; if not, how will the salary increase be funded; if so, (a) who will provide the additional funding and (b) what will be the impact of the allocation of additional funding;

(2) whether implementation of the salary increase will result in further strains on service delivery; if not, (a) why not and (b) from which municipal budgets will funds be allocated to fund the increase in salaries and wages; if so, (a) what action will be taken to reduce the impact on service delivery as a result of the increase of salaries and wages, (b) from which municipal budgets will funds be allocated for the increase and (c) who mandated Salga to negotiate up to a 13% salary and wage increase? NW1081E

ANSWER

(1) Municipalities do not, as a norm, get funding for salaries from National Fiscus. They fund these from their own revenue. There is no evidence of necessity for additional funding than what Municipalities have budgeted for in this respect.

The increases are funded from the general revenue of each municipality.

(2) (a) Strains that may be there on service delivery would not have been caused solely by salary increases. The inadequate nature of the Equitable Share, as it relies on 2001 Census data, contribute to a greater degree to the insufficient funding of local government. (b) As indicated above, Municipalities budget, normally under personnel administration, for salary increases and that is the budget they use for this purpose. (c) To start with, the agreement is not a direct 13% as the question says but a 10.5% normal increase with a non - pensionable allowance of 2,5%. There is a huge financial difference between the two with 13 % the bill would have gone up by R5,522,400.000 while the current formulation makes a saving of R162,000,000 as the bill increases by about R5,360,400,000. The sum total of the current formulation is an overall average increase of about 11.75%.

SALGA followed a vigorous mandating process with its members, the Municipalities on every step of this sensitive matter. Key highlights of such mandating process were, where 66% of its members agreed to the mediators proposal where the increases had to be 11.5% for 2009/2010, CPI + 2010/11 and CPI 2011/12.

When that did not result in an agreement and a strike ensued, a revised Mediator Proposal was for payment of 11.5% with an additional 1.5% in January 2010. SALGA again sought a mandate and a majority responded favorably thereto.

Of the 283 Municipalities, only one has applied for exemption from the provisions of this agreement on basis that it may not afford to pay same. All others have not. Lastly and by comparison, Local government salary increases were at 8.3% in 2008/09 while other employers were at double digit percentages.

A comparison of local government and Public Service for 2008/09 ( 8.3% Local Government and 10.5% Public Service) and 2009/10 ( average 11.75% local Government and 11.5% public Service reveals that local government salaries are conservative by about 1%. The minimum wage for both is fairly comparable.

Question 284

28 OCTOBER 2009

284. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1003]

Whether any municipalities were placed under administration (a) in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008 and (b) during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (aa) which municipalities, (bb) what are the reasons for being placed under administration in each case and (cc) what actions has been or will be taken against officials and councillors for creating this situation in each case? NW1226E

ANSWER

In 2006 no municipality was placed under administration; and

In 2007, 5 municipalities were placed under administration that included Amajuba District Municipality, Umzinyathi, Newcastle, Uthrecht and Oudtshoorn Local Municipalities; and

For the year 2008, five municipalities were placed under administration that included Xhariep District Municipality, Ditsobotla, Mohokare, Mbombela and Mkondo Local Municipalities; and (b)(aa) 1 January 2009 to date, seven municipalities were placed under administration that included Ngaka Modiri Molema and Alfred Nzo District Municipalities, Kou-Kamma, Mnquma, Pixley ka Seme, Lekwa and Nokeng Tsa Taemane Local Municipalities.

The cross cutting reasons were challenges in terms of (1) Governance that included political infightings, conflict between top management and councillors, HR management; (2) Financial - that included fraud and misuse of municipal funds and property, lack of proper financial systems, revenue collections, A-G disclaimers; and (3) Service delivery related to section 152/153 of the Constitution that clearly set out the service delivery obligations of municipalities.

Actions taken in each municipality ranged from taking away executive powers of the officials in the municipalities, suspensions to dismissals of officials in certain municipalities. 

Question 287

28 OCTOBER 2009

287. Mr T Botha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1029]

(1) Whether the monitoring of intergovernmental relations and the performance of provincial government had allowed his department to discover problems early enough for quick and timely remedial actions; if so, (a) which problems were discovered in each province through the monitoring programmes and (b)(i) how, (ii) when and (iii) to what extent were these problems corrected and resolved; if not,

(2) whether he has taken any steps to ensure the value of having such a monitoring service in his department; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW1267E

ANSWER

The Constitution gives national government the power to monitor the performance of provinces and municipalities, intervene when it is necessary to correct institutional failures, and a duty to support these spheres to develop their capacity. We recognized that this area was not fully exercised to enable us to better monitor and support provinces with challenges they encounter.

The Department will be partnering with both the Ministry on Performance Monitoring to build a stronger system of intergovernmental supervision. Part of the problem has been that there has been no national legislation regulating monitoring and intervention powers and this has led to inconsistent approaches, with no clear links between monitoring frameworks and programmes of support.

The expanded mandate of the department to focus on cooperative governance means that we will be presenting a Green Paper on Cooperative Governance during the course of next year. This Green Paper will propose how improved monitoring of provinces will be conducted in respect to intergovernmental performance.

Preliminary performance indicators for the practice of effective intergovernmental relations have been drafted, and these will be further developed in relation to the strengthening of sector coordination and oversight. The 'voluntarism' in the IGR system has allowed for the situation where provincial 'discretion' in the management of government budgets and programmes has allowed for a problematic in how monitoring of performance is intergovernmentally conceptualized.

Question 288

28 OCTOBER 2009

288. Mr T Botha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1030]

Whether the management, coordination and monitoring of the effectiveness of the integrated implementation of the urban renewal programme has resulted in improvements in the urban landscape; if not, why not; if so, (a) what improvements were achieved, (b) what monetary support was given to each approved site and (c) to what extent had the programme achieved its objectives? NW1268E

ANSWER

(a) (c) Certainly the urban renewal programme made its impact in the urban landscape. The anchor projects were identified to attract and mobilise a range of multi-sectoral developments with government creating enabling conditions. Let me cite two of the projects as examples that improved the urban landscape and demonstrate of programme achievements.

In Alexandra a London Road and Bridge project is an example:

Vehicle and pedestrian connectivity both within Alexandra and to the greater regional economy has substantially improved through the construction of major roads and bridges. Some 95% of the formal road infrastructure has been upgraded and tarred, with 22 km of sidewalks (pavements) created and paved. The construction of London Road linking Alexandra to both the N3 and M2 highways in particular and the upgrading of the road network in general have increased the linkage into the regional economy of sidewalks (pavements) created and paved. The construction of London Road linking Alexandra to both the N3 and M2 highways in particular and the upgrading of the road network in general have increased the linkage into the regional economy.

The Khayelitsha Central Business District is also a case in point.

The 17 500m² retail centre was completed in December 2006 at a total capital cost of R86,5 million. This project is establishing a mixed-use, viable and vibrant Central Business District (CBD) for the residents of Khayelitsha, in which the local community participates and is empowered to take up economic opportunities.

(b) Significant funding from various sources including Municipal Infrastructure Grant, Neighborhood Partnership Grant, European Union contributed in monetary terms to the programme.

Question 289

28 OCTOBER 2009

289 Mr T Botha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1031]

Whether his department's programmes of support and capacity building to local government over 15 years have achieved the objective of sound Intergovernmental fiscal relations; if not, why not; if so, what are the statistics informing his response? NW1269E

ANSWER

Intergovernmental fiscal relations (IGFR) is one part of the larger framework of Intergovernmental Relations.

The department had and has a number of programmes to mention a few – Masakhane Campaign, Project Viability, Project Consolidate, Municipal Infrastructure Programme, MIG, Local Government Equitable Share, 5 Year Local Government Strategic Agenda, Operation Clean Audit and the Revenue Enhancement and Debt Collection Programme.

The Department is presently preparing a discussion document on key reforms that need to addressed in the area of IGFR. Key challenges in this regard include:

1. Resource allocation does not take spatial differences & realities into account, e.g. topography, vastness
2. Vertical allocation: steady increase, but limited slice of the national fiscus to local government
3. Misaligned budgeting and planning across the three spheres of government
4. Equitable share and its formula does not address the real needs of small, rural municipalities with limited revenue base
5. Grants coordination, management and compliance is weak. Limited provincial role.

Some areas of proposed reform include:

 Consider long term fiscal planning (5-15 years) to be balanced with the current skills base; this will give even greater predictability to local government

• DORA: Address non-compliance; review grant conditionalities & improve coordination
• Explore specific target financial instruments to support (smaller rural) municipalities with a limited revenue base

Question 290

28 OCTOBER 2009

290. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1057]

(a) Which local municipalities are being considered for becoming metros, (b) what are the considerations in each case, (c) what are the processes for affecting such a change and (d) for when is it planned in each case? NW1317E

ANSWER

I am aware that the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) has taken a decision last year considering the municipalities of Mangaung, Buffalo City and Msunduzi as metros by year 2011. As part of the engagements with MDB, we are assessing the circumstances closely and will make a statement when appropriate and necessary.

Question 295

28 OCTOBER 2009

295. Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1118]

(1) With regard to a certain tender (details furnished) for the management of 21 water and 10 waste water treatment facilities and associated bulk infrastructure, what is the average lead time for (a) advertising, (b) receiving, (c) accepting and (d) finalizing tender bids;

(2) whether there are any reasons for the lead time of the said tender being short; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) (a) who were the bidders for the said tender, (b) to whom was the said tender awarded, (c) who are the (i) owners/directors and (ii) subsidiaries of the successful bid company and (iii) owners/directors of these subsidiaries, (d) what are the details of the contract of the said tender and (e) what is the total amount of this contract? NW1383E

ANSWER

I am currently verifying the details associated to this question and will be ready to provide a comprehensive response once completed and satisfied in due course.

QUESTION NO. 297

(Internal Question Paper No 5- 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department is playing a role in the planning for disaster management of the host cities for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament; if not; why not; if so; what are the relevant details?

ANSWER

Yes, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is playing a role in the planning for disaster management of the host cities for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament through the National Disaster Management Centre (NOMC) as part of the Safety and Security Workstream of the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

The involvement of the NDMC revolves mainly around the strategic level and not so much at a tactical and/or operational level.

The NOMC is supporting the provinces and host cities in developing disaster management plans as well as contingency plans for identified risks related to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament.

Question 298

28 OCTOBER 2009

298. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1172]

Whether his department uses temporary employment services and/or labour brokers; if so, (a) why, (b) how many positions have been filled by temporary employment services in the (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09 financial years, (c) what percentage of the total staff complement did temporary employment services contribute in each of these years and (d) how much money has been spent on temporary employment services in each year? NW1507E

ANSWER

(a) Temporary support staff is appointed through temporary employment services in cases where permanent staff is on long leave due to incapacity, maternity leave, special leave, etc and in cases where support staff is temporarily needed for special projects.

(b) None, temporary staff is not appointed in permanent positions since their services are only needed for specific periods and projects.

(c) Not applicable.

(d) 2006/07 R1 441 609

2007/08 R2 110 401

2008/09 R2 552 027

Question 299

28 OCTOBER 2009

299.Ms M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1194]

Whether, in each of the 216 municipalities in the country, in each of the past three years, the mayors of each municipality purchased a new official vehicle; if not, what vehicle is each mayor using; if so, (a) what is the (i) make, (ii) model and (iii) year and (b) at what (i) cost and (ii) what accessories, including extras, were included at an additional cost? NW1533E

ANSWER

Due to the extensive information required, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is currently conducting research in this respect and details regarding the above question will be provided to the Honourable Member once the required information has been obtained.

Question 280

28 OCTOBER 2009

280. Ms M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 890]

(1) Whether any assessments were done by him or his predecessor on municipalities around the country; if so, (a) what was the nature of each assessment, (b) when was each done, (c) what was the cost involved in each assessment, (d) who were the stakeholders in each assessment and (e) what steps were taken regarding the (i) outcomes and (ii) recommendations of each assessment;

(2) whether opposition parties were involved in (a) previous and (b) current assessments; if not, why not; if so, which opposition parties? NW1043E

ANSWER

(1) Yes. (a) The then dplg undertook assessments on the status of Local Government prior to the inception of Project Consolidate in 2004 and the 5 year Strategic Local Government Agenda in 2006. These previous assessments relied on information gathered by existing reporting systems and therefore were unable to unearth the acuteness and scope of challenges at Municipal level.

On the 7th of July 2009 I wrote a letter to provincial MECs responsible for Local Government, communicating the need to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the state of governance and service delivery in municipalities. These assessments focussed on the following categories:

· Governance;

· Financial Management;

· Service Delivery;

· Labour related matters.

The following elements were identified as key to the assessment process:

· The provinces must lead the process;

· Provincial Task Teams must be established to undertake the assessment;

· The assessment must take place through interactive sessions and direct engagements, and not through desktop research;

· All key stakeholders at municipal level must be engaged with: caucus/councils, senior management, unions, traditional leaders, opposition parties and communities;

· A report must be submitted on the engagements covering the underlying causes of the challenges and weaknesses in governance and service delivery, as well as the development of a support plan that identifies the actions and required support measures from national and provincial government, and other stakeholders; and

· The report with recommendations must be signed off by the Provincial Executive Council and finally be submitted to the National Minister.

(b) From late July 2009 until the end of August 2009, teams composed of officials from COGTA and the Provincial Departments of Local Government visited the provinces to conduct in-depth municipal assessments per province. In the case of the North West, an assessment was already completed during March and April 2009 by the Task Team lead by myself, while the Western Cape commenced with their assessment only in September 2009.

(c) The assessments were conducted within the normal budget for interaction between the three (3) spheres of government. No external service providers were used during these assessments.

(d) All key stakeholders at municipal level were engaged e.g. caucus/councils, senior management, unions, traditional leaders, opposition parties and communities.

(e)(i) Reports compiled by each provincial team and the provincial departments were submitted to COGTA. Theses reports investigated the underlying causes of the challenges and weaknesses of governance and service delivery in terms of the institutional capacity and capability financial challenges and the political environment. Provinces also reported on the State of Local Government in each province and the process undertaken at the COGTA Technical Minmec held on 22 September 2009. These Reports are now being assessed and consolidated into a draft report by COGTA. A National Indaba on Local Government was held on 21 and 22 October 2009. At this Indaba government a draft 'State of Local Government Report was presented.

(e)(ii) The outcomes of these provincial municipal assessments will culminate in the development of a national Local Government Turn Around Strategy (2009-2011). The turn around strategy will be based on objective conditions and evidence-based assessment that highlights weaknesses and challenges and what needs to be done to reverse the dire situation in our municipalities. COGTA will partner with key stakeholders to develop and implement the Turn Around Strategy. The National Indaba on Local Government received inputs for the Turn Around of Local Government.

(2) (a) Not applicable. (b) Provincial assessment teams were specifically requested to engage with all key stakeholders including opposition parties.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1634

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department developed and adopted a policy providing guidelines for the

appointment of persons with a criminal record; if so, (a) when was the policy (i) developed and (ii) adopted and (b) where can a copy of the policy be obtained; if not,

(2) whether his department has any plans in place to develop and adopt such a policy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether his department does any pre-employment screening of potential employees for criminal records; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) whether any employees with criminal records are currently employed by his department; if so, (a) how many and (b) what is their (i) job level and (ii) occupational category? NW2040E

Answer

1. The department does not have an approved policy on criminal record checks.

2. The department will be re-enforcing the pre-screening to include SAPS criminal records and will be implementing the policy from 1 April 2010 as part of Minimum Information Requirements.

3. The department currently conducts reference checks criminal check and disciplinary cases checks in the case of posts of HoDs and DOGs.

4. Since the department has not implemented the criminal record checks, it is not aware of any person employed with criminal record in the current establishment.

QUESTION NO 1038

(Internal Question Paper No XXX - 2009)

Ms H N Ndude (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has been informed of the concerns of environmentalists with regard to the impact of municipal pollution and sewer spillages on our natural resources; if so, what steps has he taken to ring fence intergovernmental grants for maintaining and extending municipal infrastructure?

ANSWER / REPL Y

Yes, both the Ministry and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs are informed of the concerns of environmentalists with regard to the impact of municipal pollution and sewer spillages on our natural resources.

In fact, the Department has already undertaken a national audit of bulk water and sanitation in the country together with Department of Water and Environmental Affairs in Limpopo Province. This study has assessed, inter alia, the maintenance needs for this bulk infrastructure.

At present there are no ring-fenced intergovernmental grants for maintenance. However, the Department is finalizing its local government assessment to inform a turn around strategy that will include amongst other things, a review of the fiscal environment impacting on municipalities including infrastructure maintenance.

Currently, municipalities have access to the local government equitable share and own revenue for infrastructure maintenance. The Department has also mobilized numerous support initiatives to assist municipalities with infrastructure management.

With regard to infrastructure extension, national government is contributing through the following intergovernmental grants:

 Municipal Infrastructure Grant which is managed by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;

• Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant which is managed by Department of Water and Environmental Affairs;
• Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant which is managed by the National Treasury; and
• Integrated National Electrification Programme Grant which is managed by the Department of Energy.

QUESTION NO 1037
(Internal Question Paper No - 2009)
Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

How many municipalities did not get their valuation rolls done by 31 July 2009 in order to implement the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, Act 6 of 2004? 

ORAL REPLY

Based on the information provided by the provincial departments responsible for local government, as at 29 May 2009, there were seventeen (17) municipalities that would not successfully implement the Act on 1 July 2009 due to the fact that they did not appropriately compile new valuation rolls in terms of the Act. Of these, twelve (12) municipalities had previously levied rates in terms of old provincial ordinances. Five (5) municipalities had never rated before.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1036

(Internal Question Paper No XXX - 2009)

Mr J H van der Merwe (lFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) How many strikes caused by an alleged lack of service delivery took place during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available, (b) what were the demands made during each strike and (c) what was the estimated loss suffered by the State during this period?

REPLY / ANSWER

To our knowledge a strike will refer to workers protesting for particular demands. This being our interpretation, we haven't yet received a reported case about workers striking because their municipality is not providing services or because of alleged lack of service delivery.

We however, have established the task team inclusive of the two main municipal unions launched on the 5th of August 2009 referred to as Ministerial Strategic Team. The MST comprise of South African Municipal Workers Union ["SAMWU], Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union ["IMATU"], SALGA, National Treasury [NT], Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Department of Public Services & Administration [DPSA].

The Strategic Team is guided by the terms of reference that essentially call for:

• conducting impact assessment of the global economic meltdown on the viability of the Municipalities;
• investigation of the genesis of the current service delivery challenges;
• assisting the stakeholders to develop the turnaround strategy in the local government;
• enhancement of the relationship between SALGA and organised labour both nationally and provincially; and
• Undertaking the comparative assessment of the wage gap between the highest paid employee and lowest salaried worker in Municipalities.

QUESTION NO 786

(Internal Question Paper No 9 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) Which municipalities were in arrears with their levies to the SA Local Government Association for the 2008-09 financial year and (b) how are the levies currently calculated?

ANSWER

(a)

1. EASTERN CAPE = 26

2. FREE STATE = 11

3. GAUTENG = Nil

4. KWAZULU NATAL = n/a

5. LIMPOPO = 6

6. MPUMALANGA = 2 7

7. NORTHERN CAPE = 18

8. NORTH WEST = 7

9. WESTERN CAPE = 9

TOTAL = 79

(B) The levy formula is as follows for the 2009/10 financial year:

Local Municipalities = 0,05% of its salary budget (minimum threshold of R100, 000) District Municipalities = 0.6% of its salary budget (minimum threshold of R120, 000) Metropolitan Municipalities = R8, 500 000 Flat rate

QUESTION NO 785

(Internal Question Paper No 9 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) Which 32 municipalities and (b) in which provinces had funds stopped in terms of section 27 of the Division of Revenue Act, Act 2 of 2008, in the 2008-09 financial year as part of their municipal infrastructure grant

ANSWER

Funds were stopped in 33 and not 32 municipalities in terms of section 27 of the Division of Revenue Act, Act 2 of 2008, in the 2008-09 financial year as part of their municipal infrastructure grant. Funds were stopped in 33 municipalities in 9 Provinces as per the table below:

b) PROVINCE	a) MUNICIPALITY
EASTERN CAPE	1. Ikwezi
	2. Makana
	3. Koukamma
	4. Nkonkobe
FREE STATE	5. Mohokare
	6. Matjhabeng
	7. Nala
	8. Ngwathe
	9. Mafube
GAUTENG	10. City of Johannesburg
	11. West Rand DM
KWAZULU-NATAL	12. Umtshezi
	13. Newcastle
	14. Umhlabuyalingana
LIMPOPO	15. Makhuduthamaga
	16. Molemole
	17. Capricorn DM
	18. Modimolle
MPUMALANGA	19. Govan Mbeki
	20. Emalahleni
	21. Emakhazeni
	22. Mbombela
NORTHERN CAPE	23. Kamiesberg
	24. Khai-Ma

b) PROVINCE	a) MUNICIPALITY
	25. Ubuntu
	26. Umsobomvu
	27. Emthanjeni
	28. Thembelihle
	29.Sivancuma
	30. Sol Plaatie
	31. Frances Baard DM
NORTH WEST	32. Naledi
WESTERN CAPE	33. Hessequa

QUESTION NO 784

(Internal Question Paper No 9 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities have been suspended; if so, for what reasons;

(2) whether any steps have been or will be taken against the CEO; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

ANSWER

(1) No, the CEO's was never suspended, but the contract lapsed on 31 July 2009.

(2) No steps will be taken as the contract legally came to an end and a new process of appointing new CEO is in place.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 1545

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. Whether he will put any mechanisms in place to monitor the establishment of Municipal Public Accounts Committees in all municipalities that will be chaired by a member of the opposition party; if not, why not; if so, what mechanisms;

2. Whether any action will be taken against municipalities that do not comply in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what action?

Answer

1. The department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs together with SALGA and Provincial Departments of Local Government have developed draft framework for establishment of Municipal Public Accounts Committees in municipalities. The support and monitoring of the establishment of MPACs will be done as part of the provincial and national programme i.e. Monthly quarterly reports submitted by Councils

2. All municipalities that will not comply will be engaged and supported to ensure establishment of MPACs through intervention of the provinces and national government working together.

QUESTION NO 751

(Internal Question Paper No 9 - 2009)

Ms A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether all provinces have established disaster management centres in accordance with section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002; if not, (a) which provinces have not yet done so and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that such centres are established; if so, what are the relevant details per province;

(2) whether all municipalities have established disaster management centres in accordance with section 43 of the Act; if not, (a) which municipalities have not yet done so and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that such centres are established;

(3) whether all provinces have submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 38 of the Act; if not, (a) which provinces have not submitted acceptable and appropriate plans to the national centre and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that such acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans are in place; if so, what are the relevant details per province;

(4) whether all municipalities have submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 53 of the Act; if not, which municipalities have not submitted acceptable and appropriate plans to the national centre; if so, what are the relevant details;

(5) whether all (a) provinces and (b) municipalities have submitted annual reports to the national centre in accordance with sections 36 and 50 of the Act; if not, which (i) provinces and (ii) municipalities have not submitted acceptable and appropriate plans to the national centre; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

ANSWER

(1) Not all provinces have established disaster management centres in accordance with section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002.

(a) The Northern Cape is the only province that has not yet established a disaster management centre. The reason being financial and capacity constraints. Mpumalanga Province currently operates a satellite centre. The permanent centre is under construction and will be completed at the end of November 2009.

(b) Several discussions have been held and submissions have been made to National Treasury in an attempt to secure funds to assist provinces to establish fully operational disaster management centres.

(c) The relevant details of the Provincial Disaster Management Centres that have been established are as follows:

Province	Physical Address	Tel/Cell	e-mail address	Head of Centre/Comments
Eastern Cape	Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs Ground Floor Tyamzashe Buiding Bisho	0824953107	[email protected]	Mr Peter Hlazo The Department is also intending to establish a stand alone Disaster Management Centre. The Department of Public Works is assisting in this regard.
Free State	Provincial Disaster Management Centre MANCOFS Building Dr. Belcher Road Pelonomi Hospital Bloemfontein	0828256514	[email protected]	Ms Princess Sekulisa
Gauteng	Cnr Tonnetti / Old Pretoria Road Continuity SA Unit 4 Midrand	082 785 1950	[email protected]	Mr Colin Deiner
KwaZulu- Natal	Wadley House 115 Jabu Ndlovu Street Pietermaritzbura	033-897 5670 082 955 1056	[email protected]	Mr Mthokozisi Duze
Limpopo Province	20th -12 Avenue Industria Polokwane 0701	015-284 5270 083 290 3570	[email protected]	Ms MG Makhurupelje
					I
Mpumalanga	Satellite Centre: Mbombela Station Fire 150 Henshall Street Nelspruit	082476001	[email protected]	Mr Slykie Dhludhlu The permanent Centre is under construction. The project will be completed in November 2009.
North West	Temporary Centre: 36 James Watt Crescent Mafikeng	083 654 8946	[email protected]	Acting Head: Mr T Watson-Thomas Land has been secured. Awaiting capital funds to build the permanent disaster manaaement centre.
Western Cape	Tygerberg Hospital Francie van Zijl Avenue Parow 7500	021-9370809	[email protected]	Acting Head: Ms J Pandaram

(2) In terms of section 43 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002) only Metropolitan and District Municipalities must establish a disaster management centre.

(a) The following municipalities have not done so due to financial constraints:

Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Eastern Cape

Xhariep District Municipality, Free State

Sedibeng District Municipality, Gauteng

Metsweding Distirct Municipality, Gauteng

Ethekwini Metroplitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Uthukela District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Amajuba District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Umkhanyakude District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Sisonke District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo

Capricorn District Municipality, Limpopo

Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Limpopo

Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Northern Cape

Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape

Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape

Central Karoo District Municipality, Western Cape

No information is available with regard to the following municipalities:

Motheo District Municipality, Free State

Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Free State

Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, Free State

Fezile Dabi District Municipality, Free State

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng

Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo

Nkangala District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Frances Baard District Municipality, Northern Cape

Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape

Central District Municipality, North West

(b) In view of the fact that the discussions with National Treasury on various occasions to support municipalities to establish disaster management centres by means of a start-up grant have had no positive result, the municipalities have been encouraged to rather make provision in their own budgets for this purpose or approach their relevant province for assistance.


(3) Gauteng Province is the only province that has submitted a disaster management planto the national centre in accordance with section 38 of the Act.

(a) The following provinces have not yet submitted plans:

Province		Reasons
Eastern Cape		Work is still in progress. The process is linked to the current Disaster Management Policy Development process
Free State		Plan is complete. Will submit it to the NDMC
Kwa Zulu-Natal		Plan still to be completed
Limpopo Province		Draft disaster management plan submitted to the Executive Management for approval prior to submitting it to the NDMC.
Mpumalanga		A draft disaster management plan is available
North West		Plan still to be completed
Northern Cape		In process of appointing a Service Provider to assist the PDMC to develop a plan
Western Cape		Plan is complete. Will submit it to the NDMC

(b) Provinces have again been requested to ensure that they submit disaster management plans to the National Disaster Management Centre in terms of section 38 of the Act. Guidelines will also be completed by the NDMC at the end of September 2009 to assist provinces in this regard.

(4) Not all metropolitan and district municipalities have submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 53 of the Act.

The following metropolitan and district municipalities have not submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre:

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

Cacadu District Municipality

Amathole District Municipality

Chris Hani District Municipality

Ukhahlama District Municipality

OR Tambo District Municipality

Alfred Nzo District Municipality

Xhariep District Municipality

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Sedibeng District Municipality

Metsweding District Municipality

West Rand District Municipality

Ethekwini Metropolity Municipality

Ugu District Municipality

Umgungundlovu District Municipality

Uthukela District Municipality

Umzinyathi District Municipality

Amajuba District Municipality

Zululand District Municipality

Umkhanyakude District Municipality

Uthungulu District Municipality

lIembe District Municipality

Sisonke District Municipality

Vhembe District Municipality

Capricorn District Municipality

Waterbeg District Municipality

Greater Sekhukhune Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

Nkangala District Municipality

Ehlanzeni District Municipality

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality

Frances Baard District Municipality

Namakwa District Municipality

Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality

Siyanda District Municipality

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality

Central District Municipality

Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality

West Coast District Municipality

Cape Wine lands District Municipality

Overberg District Municipality

Eden District Municipality

Central Karoo District Municipality

All the municipalities gave similar reasons, i.e. they have either omitted to submit their plan to the NDMC or the plan has not yet been finalised.

(5) (a) (i) Not all provinces have submitted annual reports to the national centre in accordance with section 36 of the Act.

(ii) The following provinces have not yet submitted their annual reports to the national centre:

Eastern Cape Free State Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape
(b) (i) Not all metropolitan and district municipalities have submitted annual reports to the national centre in accordance with section 50 of the Act.

(ii) The following municipalities have not yet submitted their annual reports to the national centre:

Cacadu District Municipality

Amathole District Municipality

Chris Hani District Municipality

OR Tambo District Municipality

Alfred Nzo District Municipality

Motheo District Municipality

Lejweleputswa District Municipality

Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality

Fezile Dabi District Municipality

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

Metsweding District Municipality

West Rand District Municipality

Ugu District Municipality

Uthungulu District Municipality

Mopani District Municipality

Greater Sekhukhune Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

Nkangala District Municipality

Ehlanzeni District Municipality

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality

Frances Baard District Municipality

Namakwa District Municipality

Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality

Siyanda District Municipality

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality

Central District Municipality

Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality

West Coast District Municipality

Cape Winelands District Municipality

Central Karoo District Municipality

The reason why the majority of the provinces and municipalities have not yet been in a position to submit their annual reports for the 2008/2009 Financial Year is because their financial year only ends on 31 July 2009. The process of preparing and finalising their annual reports and having them approved before submission to the national centre is a lengthy process.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 888

(Internal Question Paper No 10 - 2009)

Adv H C Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has issued (a) guidelines and/or (b) any other form of guidance to municipalities regarding the permissible or otherwise increase in the overall amount budgeted for

municipalities for the 2009-10 financial year compared to the 2008-09 financial year; if 50, what are the relevant details? NW1039E

ANSWER NO.

Guidance to municipalities on overall budget increases is dealt with through the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Municipal Budget Circulars. Please refer to the MFMA Circular No 48 of 2 March 2009 regarding the guidance to municipalities on the 2009/10 financial year budget preparation.

QUESTION NO 624

(Internal Question Paper No 7 - 2009)

Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any funds were allocated to remedy the flood damages in the UGU District along the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal in June 2008; if not, why not; if so, what amount was allocated?

ANSWER

Yes, an amount of R114, 762, 899. 00 was allocated to remedy the flood damages in Ugu District Municipality.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2092

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs:

What (a) is the (i) purpose and (ii) location of each Thusong centre and (b) services are envisaged to be delivered at such centres? NW2748E

Answer

(a) (i) The purpose of each Thusong Centre is to provide government services and Information about opportunities closer to communities in an integrated, efficient and professional way. (ii) About 139 Thusong Service Centre are located across municipalities in the country and the plan is to ensure established Thusong Centres for each municipality by 2014. (b) Thusong Service Centres link communities to the government's distribution network of publications and products about government programmes such as social grants, identity documents, and activities. Community participation events, campaigns, exhibition and road shows at Thusong Service Centres provide communities with information they can use to improve their lives and develop the community.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2091

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What, with the exception of the municipalities and metros referred to in Question 615 is the remuneration for (a) municipal managers and (b) chief financial officers with regard to (i) basic packages and (Ii) bonuses for each specified municipality;

(2) whether performance agreement contracts have been signed with each of the current (a) municipal managers and (b) chief financial officers (i) in each of the specified municipalities; if not, who do not have signed performance agreements? NW2747E

Answer

Due to the extensive nature of the information required, the department has sent the request to all municipalities to provide information.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2090

(Internal Question Paper No 29 - 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Why did the Gauteng Provincial legislature not pay the full amount of the loss of office gratuity to the members who exited after the 2004 general elections (details furnished)? NW2746E

Answer

According to the information received from the Legislature's Finance Unit, there are no outstanding payments due to former MPLs. All payments to individual MPLs were paid in full.

QUESTION NO. 30

(Internal Question Paper No 30- 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What was the (a) total amount of debt owed to municipalities as at the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) breakdown of this amount in terms of (i) rates and taxes, (ii) water, (iii) electricity and (Iv) other items as at that date? NW32E

ANSWER

ANALYSIS OF DEBT OWED TO MUNICIPALITIES FOR ALL PROVINCES PER CATEGORY - 31 MARCH 2009
Province	Water	Electricity	Property rates	Other	Total
Eastern cape	1 166 525	410,815	862, 632	1,352,512	R3,792,484
Free State	1,533,219	328,462	806, 741	1,157,881	R3,826,303
Gauteng	8,737,171	3, 515,919	5,711,0286	6,947,516	R24,911 ,634
kwaZulu Natal	1, 831,573	780, 596	3,112,995	1,294, 157	R7, 019, 321
Limpopo	396, 772	89, 487	207,023	818,125	R1,511,407
Mpumalanga	370, 654	196,963	367,182	679,117	R1,613,916
Northern Cape	293,744	140,799	159,131	436,346	R1,030,020
North West	1,029,974	438, 680	519,918	2,086,110	R4 074 682
Western Cape	2,623, 548	589, 605	1,431,149	1,273, 610	R5,917,912
TOTAL	R17,983,180	R6,491,326	R13,177,799	R16,045,374	R53,697,679

Source: Municipalities MFMA Section 71 reports 31 March 2009


(a). The total amount of debt owed to municipalities as at 31. March 2009 stood at R53, 697,679.

(b). i) Rates and Taxes contribute 25% (R13. 177,799) of the total debt.

ii) Water constitutes the highest at 33% (R17, 983,180) of the total debt.

iii). Electricity constitutes 12% (R6. 491,326) of the total debt.

iv). Other items constitute the second highest at 30% (R16. 945.377) of the total debt.

QUESTION NO. 31

(Internal Question Paper No 31- 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any municipalities were under administration in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available: if so, (a) which municipalities and (b) what was the main reason for imposing administration in each case?

Answer

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 31 (Internal Question Paper No 31- 2009)

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Provincial and Local Government:

Whether any municipalities were under administration in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (a) which municipalities and (b) what was the main reason for imposing administration in each case?

ANSWER

Name of municipality	Year of Intervention	End of intervention	Nature of Problem
Eastern Ca pe
1. Alfred Nzo DM	1 April 200	Still under intervention	Financial, service delivery and governance
2. Kou-Kamma LM	1 April 2009	Still under intervention	Financial and governance
Mpumalanga
1. Pixley ka Seme Local Municipality	2 March 2009	Still under intervention	Governance, financial and administration
Mkhondo Local Municipality	1 July 2009	Still under intervention	Financial and service delivery

Categories of the nature of problems experienced by municipalities

1. Governance	Political infightings, conflict between top management and councillors, HR management
2. Financial	Fraud and misuse of municipal funds and property, lack of proper financial systems. revenue collections, A-G disclaimers, lack of compliance in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act
3. Service delivery	Related to section 152/153 of the constitution that clearly set out the service delivery obligations of municipalities

QUESTION NO 301

(Internal Question Paper No 7 - 2009)

The Leader of the Opposition (DA) to ask the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs: (Interdepartmental transfer on 7 August 2009)

(1) Whether the Government intends abolishing or reducing the number of provinces; if so,

(a) why and (b) when is this process envisaged to begin;

(2) whether the constitutional imperative of three independent spheres of government has been considered; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

ANSWER

(1) No decision has been taken by Government on provincial re-configuration. The policy review on provincial and local government which was initiated by the previous government, identified a range of issues for consideration to improve the governance system as a whole including the structure of government, the allocation of functions between spheres, systems of representative and accountable government, the mechanisms for service delivery and integrated development. These are currently being considered.

(2) The Constitution clearly sets out in section 40(1) that the national, provincial and local spheres of government are not independent, but rather "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated." This is the reason why Chapter 3 of the Constitution sets out principles of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations which all spheres of government and all organs of state must adhere to.

Question 302

28 OCTOBER 2009

302. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1205]

(1) Whether his Deputy Minister or his department purchased a new vehicle on the Deputy Minister's appointment to office; if so, (a) why, (b) what make and model is the vehicle, (c) what did the vehicle cost and (d)(i) what accessories were included in excess of the vehicle's purchase price and (ii) what was the cost of such accessories; if not,

(2) whether he inherited an existing vehicle; if so, (a) what was the make and model and (b) how old is the vehicle? NW1544E

ANSWER

(1) No. The Deputy Minister currently uses, as are available, a Nissan X-Trail, Toyota Prado, Toyota Verso and his personal cars. He is to get a VW Touareg for use in Cape Town and another for use in Tshwane. The cost of each vehicle is R342 688. The Ministerial Handbook provides for a car of up to R1,1 28 437. The accessory is a Bluetooth device worth R3 647, which is included in the above price.

(2) He inherited a four-year old Mercedes-Benz E240 and a three-year old Mercedes-Benz E500.

Question 303

28 OCTOBER 2009

303. Mr M Swart (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1226]

(1) Whether the National Treasury made an intervention in Mbombela; if not, why not; if so,

(2) whether the intervention achieved the objective; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1565E

ANSWER

The member must redirect his question to National Treasury as intervention was undertaken by the National Treasury.

Question 305

28 OCTOBER 2009

305. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1324]

Whether the Demarcation Board is suggesting an increase in the number of councillors in municipalities with regard to the recent service delivery protests; if not, why not; if so, (a) for how many additional councillors (b) what is the cost implications for these additional positions and (c) where will the additional costs be funded from? NW1672E

ANSWER

In terms of section 20 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No.117 of 1998) the number of councillors of municipal council (a) must be determined in accordance with a formula determined by the Minister by notice in the Government Gazette, which formula must be based on the number of voters registered on that municipalities segment of the national common voters roll on a date determined in the notice and not in any way influenced by service delivery protests.

The current number of councillors, according to the statistics used in the Local Government Equitable Share Formula is 9267. However, the formula published projects a total of 10, 238 councillors for the 2011 municipal elections. This total number increases the number of councillors by 971, amounting to a percentage increase of 10.47%. This increase is primarily driven by the number of registered voters used in the formula which totalled 23, 181, 997 for the 2009 general elections as against a recorded number of 20 674, 926 registered voters for the 2004 general elections.

Additional costs may vary, depending on Councillors status as full-time or part-time and the grade of the municipality. The additional cost may be between R 625m to R344m. These cost will be borne by municipalities using own revenue including their equitable share allocation.

Question 307

28 OCTOBER 2009

307. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No1397]

(1) (a) What is the total debt owed to each municipality by each specified (i) national and (ii) provincial government department as at the latest specified date for which information is available, (b) for how long has each amount been outstanding and (c) by what date does each of these outstanding amounts have to be settled for each municipality;

(2) whether his department will be taking any steps in the case where the cash-flow of the municipality is affected by this outstanding debt, resulting in an inability to deliver basic services; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether interest will be added on outstanding amounts; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1752E

ANSWER

(1) The total debt owed to municipalities by government departments as at 30 June 2009, is R2 411 207 000. The breakdown according to municipalities is attached in table (Source: National Treasury Local Government Database). The amount may be more than R2.4b because some of the municipalities have not disaggregated their debt according to customer group. Furthermore the figures have not been broken down according provincial and national departments. (a) See attached table. (b) The debt has to be paid within 30 days upon acknowledgement of debt by national and provincial departments

.

(2) The department collectively with National Treasury and Provincial Departments of Local Government and Treasuries are in discussions with the Department of Public Works to resolve the problems and getting the data cleansing and invoicing sorted for payment.

(3) The matter of interest is handled by each municipality in accordance with their credit control and debt collection policy.

How much are municipalities owed by Government as at 30 June 2009
	0 -	31 -	61 -	91 -	121 -	151 -	181 Days -	Over 1	Total
	30 Days	60 Days	90 Days	120 Days	150 Days	180 Days	1 Year	Year	-
Location  Description	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000	R 000
Cape Town	61 514	24 675	17 393	17 779	16 187	11 277	55 416	107 625	311 867
City Of Johannesburg	1 014 460	3 985	3 754	350	76	361	656	519	1 024 161
City Of Tshwane	51 472	8 272	6 894	4 609	-561	20 230	4 711	0	95 627
Ekurhuleni Metro	13 684	7 937	8 092	6 490	7 336	5 871	39 032	87 050	175 494
eThekwini	3 783	4 428	1 469	765	562	369	2 308	34 035	47 720
Nelson Mandela Bay	18 312	5 112	1 733	51 831	0	0	0	0	76 987
Cacadu	2 180	62	150	2	51	23	-2	3 145	5 612
Cape Winelands DM	814	1 367	44	1	28	0	8	8 637	10 899
Eden	71	4	5	152	0	0	0	0	233
Frances Baard	39	3	3	42	0	0	0	0	87
Greater Sekhukhune	14 301	9 951	7 168	0	4 667	0	0	0	36 086
John Taolo Gaetsewe	166	256	173	22	0	0	0	0	617
Metsweding	413	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	413
Nkangala	3 302	0	0	0	0	0	0	3 231	6 534
O .R. Tambo	1 265	997	825	486	105	101	1 388	7 160	12 327
Ugu	1 302	359	42	52	575	0	0	0	2 331
Umzinyathi	4 099	0	2 202	0	0	0	1 720	915	8 936
Uthukela	0	2 855	1 448	2 521	3 449	32 342	0	569	43 183
uThungulu	704	457	273	1 311	0	0	0	0	2 746
Blue Crane Route	254	122	1	1	8	3	16	21	425
Buffalo City	4 873	1 063	905	554	456	442	1 314	817	10 424
King Sabata Dalindyebo	-3 231	1 050	620	315	145	119	3 541	0	2 559
Lukhanji	1 391	701	460	7 070	0	0	0	0	9 622
Matatiele	41	6	5	5	5	6	196	89	355
Mangaung	8 149	9 828	5 339	4 607	4 457	4 352	4 155	73 553	114 439
Metsimaholo	143	140	1 387	3 791	0	0	0	0	5 461
Moqhaka	291	124	102	3 923	0	0	0	0	4 440
Emfuleni	3 773	2 180	1 359	24 461	0	0	0	0	31 773
Kungwini	602	903	556	27 014	0	0	0	0	29 075
Lesedi	1 478	405	118	138	90	2 406	0	0	4 636
Midvaal	343	166	139	155	4 174	0	0	0	4 976
Mogale City	9 425	1 259	577	6 331	0	0	0	0	17 592
Nokeng Tsa Taemane	491	213	147	3 670	0	0	0	0	4 521
Randfontein	2 739	661	923	801	584	415	666	1 636	8 425
Dannhauser	40	27	25	24	22	886	0	0	1 024
eDumbe	28	5	9	7	11	0	0	0	61
Endumeni	807	549	466	469	285	2 175	0	0	4 751
Hibiscus Coast	552	125	602	378	369	5 649	0	0	7 674
Impendle	21	6	2	1	24	39	0	0	93
Ingwe	8	1	3	3	37	0	1 491	0	1 542
Jozini	3	6	6	6	4	3 011	0	0	3 035
Kwa Sani	0	20	18	16	18	0	58	0	129
Mpofana	139	149	130	2 727	0	0	0	0	3 145
Msunduzi	10 153	4 579	4 157	2 437	2 686	62 704	0	0	86 717
Mtubatuba	142	155	172	186	205	4 299	0	0	5 159
Ndwedwe	55	0	0	0	0	0	37	0	92
Newcastle	801	651	638	640	24 199	0	0	0	26 929
Nongoma	-593	10	19	9	9	499	0	0	-46
Nquthu	66	212	1 105	488	1 005	0	0	0	2 876
Okhahlamba	0	27	25	19	324	0	0	0	396
Richmond	-42	11	11	6	4	140	0	0	129
The Big Five False Bay	24	81	13	32	302	0	0	0	453
Umdoni	0	0	0	0	541	0	0	0	541
uMhlathuze	4 987	653	473	478	396	195	1 391	3 057	11 629
Umlalazi	-45	146	26	19	16	30	0	0	191
uMngeni	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23
uPhongolo	28	23	15	14	13	146	344	0	583
Aganang	492	492	983	3 260	1 259	492	492	0	7 469
Bela Bela	169	824	10	288	0	0	0	0	1 291
Greater Giyani	105	233	324	48	25	142	82	246	1 206
Greater Letaba	20	143	19	15	16	2 883	0	0	3 097
Greater Tubatse	314	315	210	4 694	0	0	0	0	5 533
Greater Tzaneen	14	711	185	219	209	164	5 715	0	7 217
Lepelle-Nkumpi	946	470	463	474	6 439	0	0	0	8 791
Makhado	33	870	758	618	600	8 259	0	0	11 138
Maruleng	130	108	-41	206	462	-44	0	0	821
Modimolle	-490	220	255	100	1 473	0	0	0	1 558
Molemole	15	14	14	48	0	0	0	0	90
Musina	6	6	2	2	78	0	0	0	94
Polokwane	4 758	1 765	2 174	1 068	17 354	0	0	0	27 119
Emalahleni (Mp)	1 068	712	455	172	126	101	1 666	2 128	6 427
Mbombela	892	0	859	914	928	2 191	0	0	5 784
Steve Tshwete	68	32	28	29	26	140	0	0	323
City Of Matlosana	1 173	371	230	2 737	0	0	0	0	4 511
Greater Taung	34	25	24	24	19	18	181	282	607
Madibeng	764	902	719	13 824	0	0	0	0	16 209
Ramotshere Moiloa	-1 618	427	416	423	516	5 420	0	0	5 585
Tlokwe	3 104	449	126	120	1 816	0	0	0	5 614
Ventersdorp	162	56	48	41	34	33	102	844	1 319
Emthanjeni	0	231	160	148	140	136	1 412	0	2 226
Hantam	183	121	230	1 400	0	0	0	0	1 933
Kareeberg	43	29	9	0	0	0	138	0	220
Khai-Ma	14	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	17
Magareng	4	85	82	20	0	0	0	0	192
Mier	10	10	8	7	7	15	25	74	156
Renosterberg	189	16	16	276	13	0	0	0	510
Richtersveld	4	3	2	2	2	3	18	27	61
Siyathemba	42	30	1	1	6	68	0	0	149
Thembelihle	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	6
Ubuntu	10	10	9	257	286	0	0	0	571
Breede River Winelands	-90	31	21	33	15	14	154	96	272
Breede Valley	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	14	18
Drakenstein	720	259	76	726	0	0	0	0	1 781
George	-28	21	2	4	76	2	420	103	600
Knysna	267	74	37	40	18	53	155	117	762
Mossel Bay	265	41	35	35	33	32	527	256	1 224
Overstrand	145	52	30	38	1 624	0	0	0	1 890
Saldanha Bay	750	38	24	23	8	6	681	803	2 333
Stellenbosch	410	23	5	5	1 780	0	0	0	2 222
Swartland	495	64	60	12	12	9	93	56	802
Theewaterskloof	-260	71	0	0	0	0	0	3 939	3 750
Total	1 255 174	107 333	81 290	209 561	108 264	178 227	130 309	341 047	2 411 207

Question 309

309. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1420]

(a) How many positions for (i) municipal managers and (ii) chief financial officers were vacant and (b) how many (i) municipal managers and (ii) chief financial officers were suspended at municipalities in each province on 31 August 2009? NW1776E

ANSWER

(a) The information acquired is as at 30 September 2009:

(i) Municipal Managers: 33 vacancies

(ii) Chief Financial Officers: 34 vacancies

Province	(i) Municipality with Municipal Manager vacancy	(ii) Municipality with Chief Fiancial Officer vacancy
Eastern Cape	Mbashe Local Municipality	Buffalo City Local Municipality
	Buffalo City Local Municipality	Nkonkobe Local Municipality
	Alfred Nzo District Municipality	Elundini Local Municipality
	Matatiele Local Municipality	Ntabankulu Local Municipality
Kwa Zulu Natal	Ilembe Local Municipality	uPhongolo Local Municipality
	Ezingoleni Local Municipality	Sisonke District Municipality
	Richmond Local Municipality	Mkhabathini Local Municipality
	Umkhanyakude Local Municipality	Emnambithi Local Municipality
		Emahlangeni Local Municipality
Limpopo	Sekhukhune District Municipality	Thabazimbi Local Municipality
	Makhado Local Municipality	Greater Marble Hall
	Waterberg District Municipality	Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality
	Modimolle Local Municipality	Capricon District Municipality
		Molemole Local Municipality
		Modimolle Local Municipality
		Bela Bela Local Municipality
		Magalakwena Local Municipality
North West	Naledi Local Municipality	Ditsobotla Local Municipality
	Tlokwe Local Municipality	Mamusa Local Municipality
	Ngaka Local Municipality	Greater Taung Local Municipality
		Molopo Local Municipality
		Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality
		City of Local Tlokwe Municipality
Northern Cape	John Taolo District Municipality	Richtersveld Local Municipality
	Nama Khoi Local Municipality	Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality
	Nama Khoi Local Municipality	Ubuntu Local Municipality
	Nama Khoi Local Municipality	Ubuntu Local Municipality
	Khai-Ma Local Municipality	Katelopele Local Municipality
	Siyancuma Local Municipality	Phokwane Local Municipality
	Mier Local Municipality
Western Cape	Central Karoo District Municipality	Breede Valley Local Municipality
	Overberg Local Municipality	Eden District Municipality
	Prince Albert District Municipality	Cape Agulhas
Free State	Moqhaka Local Municipality	Letsemeng Local Municipality
	Nala Local Municipality	Motheo Local Municipality
	Masilonyana Local Municipality
	Maluti-a-Phofong
	Dihlabeng Local Municipality
Mpumalanga	Lekwa Local Municipality
Gauteng	Emfuleni Local Municipality
	Ekurhuleni Metropolitan

(b) Suspension of Municipal Managers & CFOs:

Province	(i) Municipality with suspended Municipal Manager	(ii) Municipality with suspended Chief Fiancial Officer
Eastern Cape	Sunday's River Valley
	Kou-Kamma Local Municipality
	Great Kei Local Municipality
	Engcobo Local Municipality
	Nyandeni Local Municipality
Kwa Zulu Natal	Newcastle Local Municipality	Nongoma Local Municipality
	Indaka Local Municipality
	Umkhanyakude Local Municipality
	Nkandla Local Municipality
	Umhlathuze Local Municipality
Limpopo	Blouberg Local Municipality
	Molemole Local Municipality
	Polokwane Local Municipality
Northern Cape	No suspensions
North West	Mafikeng Local Municipality	Ngaka Modiri Molema
	Rustenburg Local Municipality	Kgetleng Rivier Local Municipality
	Greater Taung Local Municipality
	Madibeng Local Municipality
Free State	Letsemeng Local Municipality	Motheo District Municipality
Mpumalanga	Msukalingwa Local Municipality
	Nkomazi Local Municipality
	Mbombela Local Municipality
Western Cape	Bitou Local Municipality
	Oudtshoorn Local Municipality
	Saldanha Bay Local Municipality
	Drakenstein Local Municipality
	Witzenberg Local Municipality
	Eden District Municipality
Gauteng	No suspensions

Question 310

310. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1421]

(a) Which municipalities do not supply any free basic services relating to (i) water, (ii) electricity and (iii) refuse removal and (b) what is the position with regard to free basic electricity services by Eskom to the areas where they take responsibility for reticulation? NW1777E

ANSWER

(a) All municipalities within the Republic of South Africa provide Free Basic Services (i.e Free Basic Energy, Free Basic Water and Refuse) policies and programs in place. The department has released a report on the extent to which indigent households are benefiting. Eskom continues to provide Free Basic Electricity in local municipalities with whom they have a service level agreement. Eskom provides to 241 municipalities, with an exception of Matzikama and Nama –Khoi municipalities.

(b) In Eskom areas of supply a Funding agreement is signed between municipalities and Eskom. Municipalities submit to Eskom an approved list of qualifying households. Eskom provides 50Kwh of Free Basic Electricity (FBE) to qualifying households on a monthly basis.

Question 308

308. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [Written Question No 1398]

(1) Whether all the municipalities in which demonstrations took place are receiving free basic (a) water, (b) electricity and (c) sanitation; if not, (i) why not and (ii) which municipalities do not receive each of the specified services; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(2) whether any of these municipalities receive more than the minimum requirement; if so, (a) which municipalities and (b) what are the relevant details in each case? NW1753E

ANSWER

(1) All municipalities in which demonstrations took place do have free basic services policies and programmes in place for water and electricity. These municipalities purchase bulk water and electricity and provide a portion of this for free to Indigent households. Sanitation is not included since there is no national policy on free basic sanitation. The extent to which Indigent households benefit from these programmes differs across municipalities. Last week, the Department has released a report on Free Basic Services.

(2) In terms of the policies set by DWAF and DME, the service level for FBE is 50 KW/hand for FBW it is 6 kl. All the municipalities in question comply with the policy in the provision of FBE and FBW.

Municipalities affected by Service Delivery Protests: June 2009-September 2009

(See table on the following page)

Annexure A

Province	Municipality	Place	Community Issues	Periods of protests
Mpumalanga	1. Thaba Chweu Municipality	Lydenburg	Corruption within Local Government	June 2009
	2. Lekwa Local Municipality	Siyathemba	Poor roads, lock of access to water, electricity, housing and job opportunities.	July 2009
		Sakhile Township	Alleged acts of fraud by officials, maladministration and corruption.	September 2009
	3. Mbombela Local Municipality	Nelspruit	Residents demanded service delivery from the local municipality.	September 2009
	4. Dipaleseng Local Municipality	Balfour	Allegation that leaders ignore the community and do not listen to them.	July 2009
	5. Emalahleni Local Municipality	Witbank (Mpumalanga)	Poor service delivery, maladministration, fraud and corruption.	July 2009
Gauteng	6. City of Johannesburg	Diepsloot	Relocation of informal settlement dwellers	July 2009
	7. Emfuleni Local Municipality	Rust – de –vaal	There was a complaint that local municipality and government failed to provide residents with RDP houses.	August 2009
	8. City of Ekhuruleni	Thokoza	Poor sanitation and housing.	July 2009
		Ramaphosa informal settlement	Approximately 6000 residents handed a memorandum of grievances to the local councilor.	July 2009
	9. Midvaal Local Municipality	Vereeniging	Better service delivery.	July 2009
		Mayerton	Better service delivery	July 2009
Kwazulu Natal	10. Msunduzi Municipality	Edenvale	Youth demanded removal of Ward 22 councillors	July 2009
Eastern Cape	11. Nelson Mandela Bay Metro	Uitenhage	Poor municipal service delivery.	August 2009
	12. Buffalo City	Duncan Village	Poor service delivery.	July 2009
Western Cape	13. City of Cape Town	Khayelitsha	Housing	August 2009
		Masiphumelele	Anger over poor municipal service delivery.	July 2009
	14. Knysna Local Municipality	Hlalani Settlement	Allegation that the municipality ignored communities need for proper housing.	July 2009
North West	15. Maquassi Hills Local Municipality	Kgakala Township	Lack of municipal services	July 2009