Questions and Replies

Reply:

(a) Yes, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has plans to construct water boreholes for the communities in Mbhashe Local Municipal Area in the Eastern Cape Province. A total of 12 boreholes have been drilled through the Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) drought allocation of R 6,2 Million that was allocated from the 2019/20 financial year for drought relief programme for the Mbashe Local Municipality. The project of drilling, testing and equipping the boreholes is expected to be completed by the end of June 2020.

Furthermore, the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has also allocated in the 2019/20 budget adjustment an amount of R 2 000 000.00 (Two Million Rands only) from their Eastern Cape Drought Funding Allocation to the Amathole District Municipality which is allocated to Mbhashe Local Municipality, for the drilling and equipping of boreholes for hand pumps at Dwesa and connecting to the existing reticulation system as part of drought intervention plans.

(b) Yes, my Department has made plans for Mnquma Local Municipality to construct water boreholes for the communities. A total of 49 boreholes have been drilled through the Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) Drought allocation of R 57,929 million that was allocated for Drought Relief Programme for the Mnquma Local Municipality. A total of 31 boreholes are operational while a total of 10 boreholes are currently being tested and a total of 8 boreholes are being equipped. The project of drilling, testing and equipping the boreholes is expected to be completed by the end of June 2020.

In addition, DWS through the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) funding has allocated an amount of R 40 Million and has appointed the Amatola Water Board from 1 April 2020 (for a period of three years 2023) as an Implementing Agent to drill more boreholes (in addition to the 49 mentioned above) to cover the Mnquma, Adelaide, Bedford and Peddie areas. The number of boreholes to be drilled will be determined by the need and currently the Amatole Water Board is conducting an assessment in those areas to determine the needs. It is anticipated that the drilling will commence by the end of March 2020, followed by testing, yield, and water quality. The design of infrastructure pumps, pipes, reservoirs and construction will commence by mid - April 2020.

In summary, I have prepared a table with details of drilled boreholes that the Department has been and is still busy with as part of the DWS’ drought relief intervention to respond to Mnquma and Mbashe Local Municipalities.

MBASHE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
No	Local Municipality	Town/Area	Description	No. of Boreholes	24 hour yield L/S	Comments
1	Mbashe	Dwesa	Dwesa	2		Still to be equipped, quality poor
2	Mbashe	Idutywa Town	Idutywa Town	6	23	Still to be equipped. Requiring R55 million to equip and pipe back to Idutywa.
3	Mbashe	Idutywa Town	Idutywa Town	4	Newly drilled	Newly drilled, awaiting water quality results. Still to be equipped.
	Total 12 Boreholes- Mbashe LM
MNQUMA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
No	Local Municipality	Town/Area	Description	No. of Boreholes	24 hour yield L/S	Comments
1	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Borehole 1 Golf Course	1	2	Equipped with a submersible pump and generator. Supplying private individuals. Operating 12 hours per day
2	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Borehole 2 Golf Course	1	2	Equipped with a submersible pump and the generator. Currently operating 12 hours per day
3	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Borehole 2 -Golf Course	10	Currently being tested	Currently being tested
4	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Hospital Borehole	1	0.4	Equipped with a submersible pump and generator and supplying hospital only. Insufficient to meet full hospital
5	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Low yield, shallow borehole	24	<1	Equipped with hand pumps – 4 are fit for human consumption and 20 are not fit for human consumption.
6	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Teko Fihla Boreholes	4	14	Equipped with a submersible pumps and generator. Currently operating 12 hours per day
7	Mnquma LM	Butterworth	Teko Fihla Boreholes	8	27	Still being equipped. Project expected to be completed before June 2020. Water to be pumped to Ibika Reservoirs
	Total 49 Boreholes –Mnquma Local Municipality

Reply:

(1) (a) According to information received from the North West Provincial Department of Local Government and Human Settlements, the contractor was appointed in 2015 to build 65 Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses in Ward 5 in the Mamusa Local Municipality.

With regards to the name of the contractor, the Honourable Member should be aware by now that according to established practise applicable to parliamentary questions and guidelines contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, Members of Parliament, including the Executive, are prohibited from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. The guide referred to specifically states the following:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”.

(b) The Contractor was paid an amount of R3 295 000.00 which was for the construction of 46 foundations, 46 wall plates and 15 completed BNG houses.

(2) Some houses were left incomplete by the contractor. Despite interventions and support measures by the Provincial Department, the contractor experienced capacity challenges and subsequently vacated the site.

(b) The number of BNG houses that must still be completed in the project is fifty (50). The Provincial Department has since appointed another contractor to finalise the completion of the remaining houses.

(c) The Provincial Department has been advised to pursue the required legal consequence management against the defaulting contractor.

Reply:

1 (a)-(c)

Inter-Ministerial Committee	Date established	Meetings 2018-19
South African National AIDS Council	2000	3
Land and Agricultural Reform	June 2018	16
North West Intervention (changed to Inter Ministerial Task Team)	April 2018	15
Municipal Elections 2021	June 2019	Not met
Khawuleza District Development Model	August 2019	2
South African Airways	March 2020	2
State Funerals	2014	21*

* Since establishment in 2014

As part of a rationalisation process to improve coordination and functionality, 12 IMCs were abolished in 2018 and 39 IMCs were abolished in 2019.

2 (a)-(b)

The Land and Agricultural Reform Advisory Panel was established by the President to advise the Land and Agricultural Reform IMC. The members of the panel are:

1. Dr Vuyo Mahlati
2. Prof Ruth Hall
3. Dr Wandile Sihlobo
4. Bulelwa Mabasa
5. Thato Moagi
6. Prof Mohammed Karaan
7. Daniel Kriek
8. Adv Tembeka Ngcukaitobi
9. Dr Thandi Ngcobo
10. Nick Serfontein

 

The Land and Agricultural Reform Advisory Panel has met 14 times.

3 (a)

No IMCs have appointed consultants.

3 (b)

I am advised that the following payments were made in respect of the following IMCs:

IMC	(b) Contractors	(i) Date Appointed	(ii) Amount	(iii) Reason for Appointment
Land Panel	Birchwood Hotel	December 2018	R239,011	Venue hire, sound equipment and catering for consultative work in the form of the two national Colloquia, 11 roundtables and consultations with the National House of Traditional Leaders Design, Layout and Editing of the Final Report
	St Georges Hotel	February 2019	R476,967
	Sheraton Hotel	December 2019	R44,237
	Black Moon Design and Advertising	March 2019	R166,085
	Government Printing Works	June 2019	R71,415	Printing and publishing final report
North West Intervention	CSIR	July 2018	R1,417,143	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to provide capacity for the coordination and technical support for the first six months of the intervention.

4 (a)

Generally IMCs are coordinating structures. They do not require extra funding beyond the normal operations of coordinating structures.

North West Intervention IMTT/IMC: The cost to the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation for convening the IMTT for the North West Province is estimated to be R525,000. This calculation excludes costs related to the actual intervention in the North West province.

4 (b)

Land and Agricultural Reform Advisory Panel:

• Remuneration: R270,274
• Travel and accommodation: R324,595
• Catering for meetings and workshops: R26,044

Advisory Panel members were remunerated in accordance with the 2018 Service Benefit Packages for Office Bearers of certain Statutory and Other Institutions (National Treasury). Some Members of the Advisory Panel declined remuneration.

Reply:

The Department has finalised the drafting of the Human Settlements Development Bank Bill including the business case on the establishment of the Bank. The Department is currently in consultation with the relevant stakeholders including, but not limited to, the National Treasury and the State Law Advisors before requesting Cabinet’s approval to publish the Bill for public comments.

Reply:

(1) According to information we received from the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCM), the Fynbos Phase 1 and Fynbos Phase 2 housing development project was preceded by a shack and population survey that was conducted by the BCM in 2012 to cater for informal settlement dwellers. Thereafter, the BCM collected the subsidy application forms from the community members and dispatched the same to the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements for validation, approval and capturing on the Housing Subsidy System (HSS). The outcome of the approval process was communicated to the BCM in their capacity as the designated project developer.

(2) The BCM indicated that the community of Fynbos reportedly convened a general meeting where they resolved to use the BCM’s master survey list (962) to extract the names of subsidy applications in order to compose their own list of preferred beneficiaries for Fynbos phase 1 and 2. Thus, the Housing Demand Database (Local Housing Waiting List) was not used.

(3) & (4) The information requested by the Honourable Member cannot be made available through a

reply to a parliamentary because the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions and guidelines contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, Members of Parliament, including the Executive, are prohibited from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. The guide referred to specifically states the following:

 

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”.

It is therefore suggested that the Honourable Member approach the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCM) for the information she requires.

Reply:

a) The number of schools earmarked for each province are as follows:

	SAFE and EIG	ASIDI
EC	1598	61
FS	156
KZN	1365	11
LIM	507	97
NW	145
MPU	127

b.    The allocation was not made to provinces but to the programme.

• 2018/19: No allocation at all.
• 2019/20: An allocation of R700 million was made available.

c.    Donations

• No donated funds have been managed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The donors are allocated schools, given guidance on the Sector Norms and Standards of Infrastructure provisioning as well as a standard designs. The Site Development Plans (SDPs) are then approved by the Department following which the donor can construct the facility before finally handing over the finished product to the DBE / Provincial Education Department (PED).
• An allocation of R2.8 billion has been made for the SAFE Initiative over the MTEF, as follows: 2019/20 : R700 000 000, 2020/21 : R800 000 000 & 2021/22 : R1 300 000 000.
• No independently raised funds have been managed by the DBE.

d.    45 schools have been provided with appropriate sanitation through donations. As for the allocation of R700 million, it is planned that 606 schools will be provided with appropriate sanitation. These projects are all at tender stage. The concurrence approval,  to evaluate the procurement process to see whether it is compliant in terms of the PPPFA 2017, Section 38 (a), (i) and (iii) of the PFMA, is in progress. On completion of the evaluation, the contractors will be appointed.

Reply:

Response

Table 1 indicates that there were 8 096 single medium schools in South Africa. The majority of schools are English medium followed by Afrikaans with 6 483 and 1 261 respectively.

Languages	Number of single medium schools
Afrikaans	1 261
English	6 483
IsiNdebele	85
SiSwati	7
IsiXhosa	163
IsiZulu	31
SeSotho	17
Sepedi	22
Setswane	7
Tshivenda	4
Xitsonga	3
South African Sign Language	6
Other	7
Total	8 096

(2)(a) The establishment/building of schools is the competence of Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).

(b) The plan to improve mother-tongue education in each province is pursued through the proposed policy position to ultimately implement Multi-lingual Mother Tongue Based Education beyond the Foundation Phase.

All pieces of legislation provide for learners to learn through language(s) of their choice for as long as it is reasonably practicable. Supreme is Section 29(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa that provides that “everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable.” The Language in Education Policy further provides that "The language(s) of learning and teaching in a public school must be (an) official language(s). Any of the eleven official languages and the SA Sign Language can be used as medium of instruction in public schools.

The National Curriculum Statement encourages learners to learn through their Home Languages (Mother Tongue), particularly in lower grades where learners learn the critical foundational skills of reading, writing and numeracy. English and Afrikaans are used as Languages of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) throughout the system, although just 23% of South Africans identify English and Afrikaans as their Home Languages. African Home Languages are used as LoLT mainly in the Foundation Phase, and thereafter transit to English.

The EC DOE initiated the Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education pilot, wherein 2 015 schools are using IsiXhosa and Sesotho as LoLT beyond Foundation Phase. Learners in these schools are taught Mathematics, Natural Science and Technology in their home languages IsiXhosa and Sesotho. This initiative was started in 72 Confimvaba schools in Grade 4 in 2012 and incrementally in subsequent grades – the cohort is in Grade 12 in 2020. The province is working with other stakeholders such as the Rhodes University, University of Fort Hare, Oxford University Press, Pearson, and PanSALB. The MTBBE learners outperformed the non-MTBBE cohort in the June Common Examinations on 17 out of 18 questions.

On 13 January 2020, the Department of Basic Education wrote a letter to Provincial Heads of Department of Education, requesting them to provide ‘A plan that shows the utilisation of African Languages as Languages of Learning and Teaching beyond the Foundation Phase.’ The plans should reach the DBE by 3 April 2020.

Furthermore, the DBE in collaboration with the UNICEF, developed Multilingual Based Mother Tongue Education Concept Paper. The DBE is intending to introduce African languages as mother tongue incrementally beyond the Foundation Phase.

(3) Please see response to question 2(b) above.

(4) The Scripted Lesson Plans (SLPs)are not textbooks but serve as a teacher resources to assist them in the delivery of the content. The SLPs guide the teacher on how to deliver the sexuality education content of Life Skills (LS) and Life Orientation (LO)subjects and does not cover the other components of LS/LO.

Reply:

Response

(1) (a) Eastern Cape: 9 338; Free State: 6 375; Gauteng: 44 861; KwaZulu-Natal: 19 811; Limpopo: 8 626; Mpumalanga: 4 075; Northern Cape: 1 966; North West: 8 335; Western Cape: 17 797. 

    (b) The file: Disability type per province is attached below.

(2) 501 

(3) a) The file: Masterlist of Special schools is attached below. 

     b) The file: Masterlist of Special Schools is attached below. 

     c) The file: Masterlist of Special Schools is attached below. 

Attached Annexure A

Attached Annexure B

Reply:

The matter that the Honourable Member refers to was never brought to my attention. Further, the Western Cape Provincial Department of Human Settlements indicated that neither the Department nor the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality is aware of Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses being sold to farm owners or other persons.

I would be grateful if the Honourable Member could provide me with more information on this matter in order for my department to investigate it further.

Reply:

(a)(i) – Currently, Land Bank does not have any policies in place that would mitigate the risk of expropriation, without compensation, of land over which Land Bank holds mortgage bonds as security. This is so because the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2019 (“Expropriation Bill”) is yet to become law and some, if not most, of its provisions may (subject to the public comments received and incorporated therein) still be modified prior to it being signed into law by the President.

Even though the submission for public comments has now closed, the Legislature will still embark on a process of deliberating on the Expropriation Bill. Accordingly, it would be premature for Land Bank to put in place any measures for mitigating the land expropriation risk while the Expropriation Bill remains in draft form. However, Land Bank is mindful of the provisions of the Expropriation Bill that may impact on its rights and other lenders in the agricultural sector in general.

In this regard, the Honourable Member’s attention is drawn to the provisions of section 18(1) of the Expropriation Bill provides that “If property expropriated in terms of this Act was, immediately prior to the date of expropriation, encumbered by a registered mortgage or subject to a deed of sale, the expropriating authority may not pay out any portion of the compensation money except to such person and on such terms as may have been agreed upon between the expropriated owner or expropriated holder and the mortgagee or buyer concerned, as the case may be, after the claimant has notified the expropriating authority of the agreement.” (Our emphasis).

The phrase “expropriated holder” means the holder of a mortgage bond over the land that is being or has been appropriated (i.e., also known as the mortgagee). In light of the provisions of section 18(1) referred to above, it is clear that the Legislature intended to protect the interests of lenders whose loan facilities are secured by mortgage bonds over the property which is the subject of expropriation. Accordingly, Land Bank’s rights under the mortgages registered over such land would remain intact despite the expropriation and Land Bank would be entitled to receive the compensation payable for the expropriation of the land over which Land Bank holds mortgage bonds.

(b) What processes does the Land Bank have in place to recoup the outstanding debt on such land or will the Land Bank need a bail-out under these circumstances?

REPLY: (b)(i) – As Chairperson of the Land Bank indicated in the 2018 Integrated Report, “If expropriation without Compensation were therefore to materialise without protection of the Bank’s rights as a creditor, we would be required to repay R9 billion immediately. A Cross Default clause would be triggered should we fail to pay when these debts fall due because of inadequate liquidity or lack of alternative sources of funding. This would make our entire R41 billion funding portfolio due and payable immediately, which we would not be able to settle. Consequently, government intervention would be required to settle our lenders.”

However, in light of the provisions of section 18(1) of the Expropriation Bill, Land Bank’s normal recovery processes seem to suffice unless the provisions of section 18(1) of the Expropriation Bill are drastically altered to disentitle expropriated holders to the compensation payable by the expropriating authority. Consequently, Land Bank has not updated any of its current recovery processes to cater for the expropriation of land over which Land Bank holds mortgage bonds.

(b)(ii) – As part of risk mitigation of facility exposures, Land Bank generally does not restrict itself to only the mortgage bonds for security. Land Bank would ordinarily also require its clients to provide other forms of security such as general notarial bonds, special notarial bond, cessions (shares, receivables, bank accounts and insurance policies) together with suretyships and guarantees. Even in circumstances where Land Bank had only financed the acquisition of the land, nothing in law prevents Land Bank from taking the aforesaid security.

(b)(iii) – Again, with reference to section 18(1) of the Expropriation Bill, it appears that the expropriation of land would not on its own render Land Bank to be in a worse-off position than it would have been had the land over which it holds mortgages not been expropriated. It is, therefore, unlikely that Land Bank would be asking for Government bail-outs merely because of the expropriation of the land over which Land Bank holds a mortgage as security for the loans it advances in the ordinary course of its business.

Reply:

1. For purposes of this report, departments who received Auditor-General findings of “Disclaimer” and “Adverse with Findings” may be regarded as underperforming departments. For the past three financial years the following six (6) departments (two national and four provincial) may be regarded as underperforming:

No	Department	2018/19	2017/18	2016/17
1	Department of Cooperative Governance		X
2	Department of Environmental Affairs		X	X
3	FS Office of the Premier	X	X
4	FS Agriculture and Rural Development		X	X
5	FS Sport Arts and Recreation		X
6	GP Human Settlements	X

2. No performance bonuses were paid to the HODs or acting HODs of the six (6) affected departments for the past three financial years.

Reply:

(a)  Yes.

(b) Government’s position in this regard is to to slow down the growth of the public service wage bill as presented by the Minister of Finance in the 2020 Budget speech.

(c) The employer has tabled an agenda item, namely: Management of the Public Service Wage Bill for discussion with organised labour admitted to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council on 25/02/2020 which is now following council processes.

(d) As indicated above, the employer is engaging with admitted trade unions at the PSCBC on the 2018 wage agreement and engagements are ongoing.

Reply:

(a) the date on which the equipment was purchased,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – 19 March 2020
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – 23 March 2020
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – 3 April 2020
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – 20 April 2020

(b) the name of the supplier where the equipment was purchased,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – SAFARMEX Medical Logistics.
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd.
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – Tripharma (Pty) Ltd.
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – BAJU Cleaning Chemicals.

(c) the monetary value of the purchase,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – R69 893.55
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – R122 700.00
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – R5 999.30
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – R34 500.00

(d) the branding that appeared on the purchased equipment, including the branding of any political party, and

• Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and sanitizer - Germkill
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – No branding
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – Shenzen BSX Technology Electronics C0.Ltd (BSX815)
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – No branding

(e)(i) how and (ii) where was the purchased equipment distributed?

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers - dispensers mounted on walls throughout the Batho Pele House Building for usage by all employees and persons entering the building and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – sanitizer bottles used to refill the various dispensers and Cleaners’ spray bottles.
• 1000x Masks issued to staff who attend meetings, Cleaners and front office workers, 1000x Aprons issued to Cleaners to perform cleaning activities on a daily basis and 1000x Gloves – issued to frontline staff and Cleaners on a daily basis,
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – utilize for screening employees’ temperature prior to meetings and when entering the building.
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – intended for frontline officers and to be issued to employees who travel with public transport, when they are required to return to the office during alert level 4 and onwards.

REPLY:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent Constitutional body, accountable to the National Assembly. It is therefore not an entity or body reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Its budget was, prior to 2020/21 financial year, appropriated through the MPSA. With effect from 1 April 2020, the PSC’s budget is appropriated through the PSC allocated vote, and not through the MPSA.

The PSC has to date, not received any donation of personal protection equipment from any source. The details of the purchase for twenty two (22) infrared thermometers are as follows:

a) the date on which the equipment was purchased: 16 April 2020;

b) the name of the supplier where the equipment was purchased: Baitsanape Laboratory Supplies;

c) the monetary value of the purchase: R55 660.00 (VAT inclusive);

(d) the branding that appeared on the purchased equipment including the branding of any political party: Not Applicable; and

(e) (i) how was the purchased equipment distributed: Distribution to the All Provincial Offices PSC was through the contracted courier service company called Skynet South Africa; and

(ii) Where was the purchased equipment distributed? Two instruments per provinces were distributed to the nine (9) Provincial Offices of the PSC using the courier services for only eight offices outside the Gauteng Province. The Provincial Offices of the PSC are located as follows:

• Eastern Cape Provincial Office in King Williams Town;
• Free State Provincial Office in Bloemfontein;
• KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Office in Pietermaritzburg;
• Limpopo Provincial Office in Polokwane;
• Mpumalanga Provincial Office in Nelspruit;
• Northern Cape Provincial Office in Kimberly;
• North West Provincial Office in Mmabatho;
• Western Cape Provincial Office in Cape Town; and
• Gauteng Provincial Office in Johannesburg,

 

REPLY:

The National School of Government reporting to the Minister of Department Public Service and Administration purchased sanitisers

1. 11 March 2020
2. The NSG has a service provider (Masana Hygiene Services (PTY) Ltd.) that provides cleaning, maintenance and hygiene services of its building. As part of their cleaning service contract, an addendum was added requesting them to supply the NSG building with sanitizers.
3. The total amount was R13 314.61
4. No. There was no branding of any political party
5. (i) The sanitisers were purchased through request for quotations process

(ii) The sanitisers were used at the lifts and floor entrances

REPLY:

The CPSI has not purchased any personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(c) NA

(d) N/A

(e)(i) N/A (ii) N/A

Reply:

No

REPLY:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent Constitutional body, accountable to the National Assembly. It is therefore not an entity or body reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Its budget was, prior to 2020/21 financial year, appropriated through the MPSA. With effect from 1 April 2020, the PSC’s budget is appropriated through the PSC allocated vote, and not through the MPSA.

The PSC has to date, not received any donation of personal protection equipment from any source.

REPLY:

The National School of Government reporting to the Minister of Public Service and Administration

No. The department did not receive any donation of personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

1. No. Not applicable
2. No. Not applicable
3. No. Not applicable
4. No. Not applicable
5. (i) No. Not applicable

(ii) No. Not applicable

REPLY:

The CPSI has not received any donation of personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(c) NA

(d) N/A

(e)(i) N/A (ii) N/A

Reply:

1. Board Members of SAT

Board Member Name	(a) What other employment does each Board Member have outside SA Tourism	(b) How was each Board member vetted?	(c ) Why was each Board Member appointed in each case	(d) What Remuneration does each Board member get in each month?
Mr Ravi Nadasen	Chief Operations Officer: Tsogo Sun	Board members are vetted through a verification of candidates’ identification, criminal record, ITC and qualification checks. The Board has undergone security screening.	Human resource and hospitality sector experience.	There is no monthly remuneration for members of the Board. Board members are remunerated at an hourly rate per meeting. The current hourly rate is R540.00 for Chairperson and R327 for members. There is no remuneration for Departmental representative
Mr Thebeetsile Ikalafeng	Managing Director: Brand Leadership		Marketing and branding expertise.
Mr Enver Duminy	Chief Executive Officer: Cape Town Tourism		Tourism marketing expertise.
Ms Michelle Julie Constant	Independent Consultant		Arts and culture experience.
Dr Abba Omar Jacoob	Senior General Manager: Strategy & Communications		International relations experience.
Ms Kate Rivett-Carnac	Independent Consultant		Research and tourism experience.
Ms Dawn Elizabeth Robertson	CEO: Constitution Hill		Arts, culture and tourism marketing.
Ms Lindiwe Sangweni	Chief Operations Officer: City Lodge Hotel Group		Tourism industry and hospitality sector experience.
Mr Siyabonga Dube,	Independent Consultant: Chartered Accountant		Governance, public sector Finance and Auditing experience.
Ms Zola Tshefu	Founder & Executive Director: LiLiBo Investments (Pty) Ltd		Tourism and public sector governance experience.
Ms Nomzamo Bhengu – Departmental representative	Chief Director: Strategy & Systems: Department of Tourism		Governance and administration.

1(c) Board members are appointed on the basis of their knowledge, experience or qualifications relating to the functions of the Board.

2. SAT Board Members past three financial years

Financial Year	(a)(i)Which Board Members were appointed in each financial year?	a(ii) When was each specified Board Member appointed?
2020/21	Ms. Gloria Serobe	29 April 2020
	Adv. Mojankunyane Gumbi	29 April 2020
2019/20	Ms. Zola Baba Tshefu	11 August 2019
	Mr. Siyabonga Dube	11 August 2019
2018/19 2017/18	Mr. David Frost	01 March 2019
	Mr. Monwabisi Fandeso	01 June 2018
	Ms. Pamela Bulelwa Yako	01 June 2018
	Dr. Tanya Ethel Abrahamse	01 June 2018
	Mr. Aloysius Thebeetsile Ikalafeng	01 June 2012 01 June 2015 01 June 2018
	Ms. Michelle Julie Constant	01 June 2015 01 June 2018
	Mr. Enver Duminy	26 August 2016 01 June 2018
	Mr. Yacoob Abba Omar	21 November 2015 01 June 2018
	Ms. Dawn Elizabeth Robertson	01 June 2018
	Ms. Kathleen Elizabeth Rivett-Carnac	01 June 2018
	Ms. Lindiwe Sangweni -Siddo	01 June 2018
	Mr. Ravi Nadasen	01 June 2018
	Mr. Mohamed Baba	01 June 2018
	Ms. Nomzamo Bhengu (Departmental representative)	01 June 2018

Financial Year	b (i)Which Board Members resigned in each financial year	b.(ii) When did each specified Board Member resign?	b.(iii) What reasons were cited for resignations in each case?
2019/20	Ms. Pamela Yako	04 September 2019	Stepped down as Board Chairperson, and subsequently stopped participation, as a result Board membership also lapsed
	Dr. Tanya Abrahamse	03 September 2019	Other commitments
	Mr. Mohamed Baba	25 June 2019	Other commitments
	Mr. David Frost	29 July 2019	Other commitments
2018/19	Mr. Monwabisi Fandeso	14 August 2018	Other commitments.
2017/18	None.	None.	None.

Reply:

1. The Department developed and approved a Tourism and Climate Change Response Programme and Action Plan in 2011. The programme addresses both climate change mitigation and adaptation measures within the tourism sector.

2. The implementation of the Action Plan was implemented over three years in phases, i.e. 2012/13, 2013/14, and 2014/15 financial years. The final year of the implementation of the Action Plan was the 2014/15 financial year.

The Response Programme and Action Plan were designed to deliver on the following Five (5) outcomes:

2.1 Improved understanding of the vulnerabilities of tourism to the physical impacts of climate change in order to build resilience and adaptive capacity of the industry;

2.2 Reduced Tourism related greenhouse gas emissions;

2.3 A fully informed tourism industry through consistent and effective industry outreach and communications;

2.4 A nationally consistent, inclusive and cooperative approach to implementation; and

2.5 Maintaining effective climate change messaging and positioning in our key markets.

3. Reduced Tourism related greenhouse gas emissions - Mitigation measures:

Significant progress was made in the implementation of the Action Plan. The following measures were implemented to ensure that the outcomes specified above are achieved.

3.1 The department has a Tourism Resource Efficiency Programme that focuses on energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste management in the tourism sector.

3.2 The department is currently completing a pilot project on Tourism Resource Efficiency Training for unemployed youth. One Hundred and Eighty (180) unemployed youth were trained by the National Cleaner Production Centre – South Africa (NCPC – SA) on Resource Efficient Cleaner Production and the Fundamentals of Energy Management. The trainees were placed for a period of six (6) months with tourism establishments across the country. During their placements, trainees assisted establishments to better manage their energy and water use.

3.3 The department has a Green Tourism Incentive Programme. The incentive, which is implemented through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is designed to assist tourism businesses to implement energy and water saving measures in their establishments

4. Improved understanding of the vulnerabilities of tourism to the physical impacts of climate change in order to build resilience and adaptive capacity of the industry - Adaptation measures:

4.1 The department has a Tourism Adaptation Project (TAP). The project seeks to build the resilience and adaptive capacity of the tourism sector to the impacts of climate change.

4.2 In 2012, the Department partnered with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the GIZ (German Development Agency) to conduct a Baseline Assessment of the impact of Climate Change on Tourism. A Basic Vulnerability Guideline was developed to assist tourism attractions to assess their vulnerability to climate change.

4.3 Currently, the department has partnered with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the GIZ to conduct risk and vulnerability assessment of twenty-seven (27) tourism sites across the country. A three–year Tourism Adaptation Implementation Plan will be developed as part of this project. The project would have been concluded at the end of March 2020, however, due to the nationwide lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the final stage of the project was not completed.

5. A fully informed tourism industry through consistent and effective industry outreach and communications - Communication andOutreach:

5.1 The department continues to raise awareness on both the contributions of tourism and its vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

5.2 Information booklets on tourism and climate change are distributed to stakeholders. Furthermore, awareness is raised through capacity building and information sharing sessions.

6. A nationally consistent, inclusive and cooperative approach to implementation – intergovernmental coordination:

6.1 A Tourism and Climate Change Task Team was established in 2010. Its mandate was to develop the Response Programme and Action Plan. It consisted of representatives from provincial and local Government, business, NGOs, and academia.

6.2 Guidelines for the development of Provincial Tourism and Climate Change Action Plans were also developed to assist Provinces to customize their response programme. This is important in that climate change impacts are not uniform across the country.

6. Maintain effective climate change messaging and positioning in our key markets – green marketing

A carbon-offset programme for the tourism sector was developed. There has been limited work done in relation to green marketing. The department will work with South African Tourism (SAT) on positioning of South Africa as a green or carbon neutral destination.

Reply:

a) (i) and (ii)(aa) Number and percentage of international tourist that have postponed their visits to the Republic

Information not available

(i) and (ii)(bb) Number and percentage of international tourist that have cancelled their visits to the Republic

Information not available

b) (i) How will the minister ensure that local tourism improve once the current situation has been resolved

(ii)How will the minister ensure that international tourism improve once the current situation has been resolved?

The Department and SA Tourism are currently developing a recovery plan which will be centred around three strategic objectives of; re-igniting demand, rejuvenating supply and strengthening enabling capability. The gathering of information and inputs is currently underway through industry webinars and this will assist in further development and finalising of the plan. Initial indications are that the Recovery will be led by Domestic, then Regional and ultimately International, what is currently unknown are the durations of both the phases and pace of the recovery.

Reply:

What tenders were awarded whilst the Chief Executive Officer of SAT was on Suspension?

What tenders were awarded	(b)Value of each tender	(c ) what process was followed in awarding each tender	(d) who signed off on each tender	(e) on what date does each tender (i) Commence and (ii) terminate	(f) How will each tender be monitored	(g) What penalties are in place should a tender not meet tender specifications
SAT148/19-Departure and Domestic Survey	R 85 201 938.92	Competitive Bidding Process	The Board	i) 15 July 2019 ii) 15 July 2022	Monthly Report	Parties agreed on the following penalties to be applies in respect of the service provider’s performance: Timelines Data quality and Data Weight.
SAT 157/19-Land Market Research	R 3 481 713.00	Competitive Bidding Process	Bid Adjudication Committee	i) 30 October 2019 ii) 31 March 2020	Site visits during the field work. Report on progress and achieved milestones	Failure to deliver as per the timelines SA Tourism can terminate the contract immediately and appoint another service provider to provide similar services.
SAT 142/19 -Design And Construction Of International Exhibitions Stands	R 29 776 912.39	Competitive bidding process	Bid Adjudication Committee	i) 1 November 2019 ii) 31 October 2022	All services rendered by the supplier, its personnel, agents or sub-contractors will be subject to an on-going evaluation to determine the effectiveness.	If either party commits a material breach of this agreement which goes to the root of the agreement and fails to remedy the material breach within 21 business days of written notice from the aggrieved party shall require a remedy to the breach, failure to do so will result in the aggrieved party being entitled to cancelling/terminate this agreement.
SAT USA 001/19 -Integrated Marketing Agency: Public Relations, Social Media & Activations for the North America Hub	USD 1 026 000.00	Competitive bidding process	Bid Adjudication Committee	i) 15 October 2019 ii) 15 October 2022	All services rendered by the Bidder, its personnel, agents or sub-contractors will be subject to on-going evaluation to determine its effectiveness.	Performance management monitored continuously to ensure that products/services are delivered in accordance with the conditions of the contracts. The preferred bidders will be required to submit performance reports, i.e. through a progress tracking report monthly until closure of the contracts and failure to do so will result in the termination of the agreement.
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Strategy *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R 48 390 674.54	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	. Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party . Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Creative Agency *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R419 487 997.64	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Media Agency *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R40 228 879.41	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Digital Agency *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R198 170 931.96	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Brand PR *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R81 313 973.43	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- Corporate PR *	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R61 008 554.70	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach
SAT 162/19- Marketing and Communication Agency- B2B Direct Marketing*	Estimated budget amount for a period of five years R80 763 536.29	Competitive bidding process	The Board	i) 26 February 2020 ii) 26 February 2025	Clauses in the contract that manage the relationship are as follows: ·   Clause 6 on Quarterly meeting on performance and scope of work ·   Annual performance and relationship review by an independent 3rd party Performance metrics determined on a 40:40:20 scale to be carried by all agencies and in place April 2020 as follows: 40% SAT APP 40% score of the relationship and performance survey 20% individual KPI’s dependent on the specialist service the agency is delivering Dispute resolution on non-delivery (with rectification within 15 days) clause 34 operating model presentation which was due to be implemented 1 April, however will now be delayed to 17 April 90 day notice period for termination and/or reduction or change of services	Clause 33 covers termination of the agreement giving us 4 options: i. Termination for cause Detailed history of non-performance in a rolling 3-month period ii. Termination for convenience iii. Termination for change of control iv. Termination for breach

*Marketing and Communication Agency tender is actually one tender split into 7 marketing disciplines across the marketing and advertising ecosystem.

They are all interlinked although separately awarded as SA Tourism took a “best-in-breed” approach” where the services, because of their nature, have the same measures of monitoring (section F) and penalties (section G) which are standard with these types of commodities.

All 7 disciplines in essence relate to marketing and communications services.

Reply:

Our Department was made aware of this situation by the employees of the said company. Concurrently, the employees referred the matter to the

Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) for its intervention. The Federation’s intervention led to the withdrawal of the loan offer by the said

company. The company offered to pay the employees, whilst working with them to find a sustainable approach to supporting its workforce.

As the Department, we viewed the action of the company as unfair towards the employees. We are happy that an amicable solution was found.

Reply:

1. Yes, the tender falls within the R150 million allocated as a relief measure towards artists and sports programmes.

At this stage, the Department cannot determine the number of persons from townships and rural areas that will benefit from these contracts however; the contracts were awarded to 100% black-owned companies.

2. Yes. According to government prescripts, the Department does summit In-Year-Monitoring reports to the National Treasury on a monthly basis.

3. The contracts were awarded to 100% black-owned companies.

4. The Department appointed Adjudication Panel of experts knowledgeable of the sector and utilised sports federations to ensure all interventions are fit for purpose. The Department also established an internal team for relief fund, assigned administrative support to the adjudication panels, appointed a service provider with expertise in data capturing and ICT. Finally, there are project meetings that are held daily to report on status of implementation chaired by the Minister and the Deputy Minister.

5. The Department appointed 15 Panel Members from the Arts Sector; these are seasoned arts practitioners with expert knowledge of the sector to serve as independent adjudicators for all applications. Part of the reasons was to ensure that the Panel will be able to guide and screen the process to ensure that relief funds goes to arts and sport beneficiaries.

Reply:

1. Yes. The North West Provincial Treasury facilitated an investigation of the Municipality’s investments with VBS by certain person (details furnished). The final report is in possession of the North West Provincial Treasury.

2. The certain person (details furnished) is no longer in the employ of the Municipality. Therefore disciplinary proceedings cannot be instituted against her. A criminal case was open with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) with the case reference: DPCI HO 6/01/2019.

Reply:

(1)(a) Table 1 is displaying the total budget allocated to each provincial education department for the 2020-21 financial year:

(1)(b) Part of the total budget allocated to each provincial education department, includes specific purpose allocations (conditional grants) which must be met. These conditions are stipulated in the annual Division of Revenue Bill/Act.

(2) The reporting requirements specified in sections 32 and 40(4) of the PFMA, and also in the annual Division of Revenue Act (DoRA), requires that expenditure and revenue information for all programmes, including conditional grants, be provided each month to the Provincial Treasuries and the National Treasury for monitoring and evaluation purposes. This information is also used by Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures for monitoring purposes. Failure to provide this information is not only illegal and grounds for the sanctions under the Act to take effect, but also reflects poor management.

Reply:

The Provincial Executive Council (EXCO) in the North West Province has resolved to intervene in Lekwa-Teemane by invoking Section 139 of the MFMA to impose a financial recovery plan in the municipality due to persistent material breach of its obligations and failure to provide basics services or to meet its financial commitments. As a result, National Treasury in collaboration with the North-West Provincial Treasury will be assisting the municipality to prepare a financial recovery plan aimed at improving financial management in Lekwa-Teemane. Critical to this process is to also impose appropriate changes to the municipality’s budget and revenue raising measures, budget parameters, set spending limits and revenue targets that will give effect to this recovery plan.

In addition, National Treasury assessed the Lekwa-Teemane’s 2019/20 MTREF budget and it was found to be unfunded and unsustainable. Consequently, National Treasury advised the municipality to revise the budget to ensure that its expenditure is within the realistic revenue to be collected and to develop a financial plan outlining how it will improve its unfunded position to a funded budget. To this effect, the National Treasury will support the Provincial Treasury to closely monitor the implementation of the financial recovery plan and the budget plan of Lekwa-Teemane with the aim of improving the financial management in this municipality.

Capacity building and training programmes conducted by both National and Provincial Treasuries

Following the invocation of section 100 (1)(a) of the Constitution in the North West Province, the directive was issued by the Minister of Finance to improve Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the North West province and National Treasury developed a SCM learnership programme to improve and turn around SCM processes in municipalities. This programme is aimed at rebuilding and renewing trust in municipal services through training of SCM officials. As a result, two SCM practitioners of Lekwa-Teemane LM have been enrolled in this programme. Lekwa-Teemane is also a recipient of the finance management grant, administered by the National Treasury, which is intended to strengthen capacity in the financial management of a municipality. The municipality has appointed four interns in the budget and treasury office (BTO) to support the implementation of the financial management reforms.

The North West Provincial Treasury in partnership with the National Treasury, provided numerous training on financial management reforms and budgeting to municipal officials. Recently, an intensive five-day workshop was conducted to provide further training on budget, financial reporting and revenue management to municipal officials.

Reply:

No, the Finance Minister does not intend to introduce legislation of such a nature for the following reasons:

• The fiscal system has been designed to give autonomy to the spheres of government hence it is a decentralised fiscal system according to the Constitution of South Africa. In our view this system shifts accountability to where it belongs. Through this system, reforms regarding revenue and expenditure functions are transferred from central government. Having said this, the Constitution, Chapter 13, clearly states that nationally raised revenue must be equitably shared between the three spheres of government. Furthermore, it allows for a treasury control mechanism through punitive action against those guilty of transgression of this arrangement. Introducing new legislation contrary to the prescripts and spirit of the Constitution is not acceptable.

In addition, this question betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the way electricity is paid for in South Africa. Electricity users must pay for the electricity they use. In the case of customers supplied with electricity by municipalities, this means that users (including businesses and households) must pay the municipality for the electricity they use, and the municipality must in turn pay Eskom for the bulk electricity that they have purchased to sell on to their customers. National Government does not make transfers to municipalities to enable them to pay for electricity bought by municipal distribution customers. So it is not clear what source of funding the questioner is suggesting that funds should be deducted from and transferred directly to Eskom.

In line with the autonomy given to municipalities, the Accounting Officers is responsible for exercising prudent financial management at the institution, this is captured in section 60 and 61 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003) (MFMA). Similarly, Section 38(1)(c) of the PFMA states that the Accounting Officers of departments are responsible for the monies due by the department.

Creating an opportunity that take away the responsibility of the respective sphere of government will open the door for any creditor to approach national government for direct payment which is will be unmanageable especially in cases were disputes may arise as is the case of Eskom and some municipalities as well as municipalities and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Reply:

1. The Department received a total number of 6 088 emails in response to the Relief Fund and upon pre-screening of all emails the actual Relief Fund Applications came to 4011. The independent panel of adjudicators is currently processing all Arts and Culture applications. The Sports applications have been completed. From the Sport sector there were 323 applications.

2. (a) (b) (c) The call for the Relief Fund applications was categorised into the following:

• Individuals (artists and athletes)
• Companies
• Digital Solution Proposals:

We can only be able to provide a breakdown upon completion of adjudication processes.

3. There were more male applicants than female applicants. There were 239 males and 84 females.

4. The Department used the following platforms to communicate the message to the public:

(a) The Minister made a formal statement at a media briefing on 25 March 2020 where members of the Command Council updated the media on initiatives in their sectors. Thereafter, the Department issued a media statement on the relief fund

(b) .Following the issuing of the media statement, the Minister was interviewed on various television and radio stations. The statement was also picked-up by SowetanLive, Citizen, News24 (Sport24), and the Star newspapers on the 30th March 2020.

(c) The Department engaged organised formations in the Arts and Sports sector such as SASCOC, CCIFSA as the umbrella formations for the two sectors. Communication was sent as per an instruction letter to Sports Federations to advise their members to apply and also indicate their responsibilities in the process.

(d) Furthermore, the Department made a public call in Electronic media to announce the COVID-19 Relief Fund for athletes and creatives through media statements and interviews.

(e) The Department also issued an A-Z guide for applications and this was uploaded on all Departmental digital platforms, shared with provinces and organised formations in arts and sport.

(f) To ensure that the message of the Relief Fund extend beyond urban areas, the Department through the Minister’s Office consulted with all MEC’s and HOD’s of all Provinces on the Relief Fund.

(g) The Minister the Director-General and other officials were interviewed on radio and television to articulate the details of the relief fund.

Reply:

Below is the personnel information and the 2019/20 Compensation of employees adjusted budget per provincial department. Data has been provided at a departmental level as information per directorate is not readily available and would be best if it is sourced directly from Provincial Treasuries. Further information on personnel numbers and budgets per Programme is provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure which can be accessed at the National Treasury website under the following link;

http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/provincial%20budget/2019/3.%20Estimates%20of%20Prov%20Rev%20and%20Exp/Default.aspx

Reply:

1. There are matters that the specified attorneys are handling, as the NLSA’s attorney of record, that are currently before the Court.

2. Yes, the specified Attorneys have been rendering legal services to the NLSA since July 2014. However, with new matters requiring legal advice, the NLSA appoints legal counsel on a rotational basis.

3. There was no decision taken, to our knowledge, to report the lawyer to the Legal Practice Council.

4. The names of the other lawyers that are used by the National Library of South Africa are:

• MM Baloyi Attorneys
• Mamatela Attorneys Inc.
• Maserumule Attorneys
• MacRoberts Attorneys

Reply:

The Provincial Executive Council (EXCO) in the North West province has resolved to intervene in Madibeng by invoking Section 139 of the MFMA to impose a financial recovery plan in the municipality due to persistent material breach of its obligations and failure to provide basic services or to meet its financial commitments. As a result, National Treasury in collaboration with the North-West Provincial Treasury will be assisting the municipality to prepare a financial recovery plan aimed at improving financial management in Madibeng. Critical to this process is to also impose appropriate changes to the municipality’s budget and revenue raising measures, budget parameters, set spending limits and revenue targets that will give effect to this recovery plan.

In addition, National Treasury assessed the Madibeng’s 2019/20 MTREF budget and it was found to be unfunded and unsustainable. Consequently, National Treasury advised the municipality to revise the budget to ensure that its expenditure is within the realistic revenue to be collected and to develop a financial plan outlining how it will improve its unfunded position to a funded budget. To this effect, National Treasury will support the Provincial Treasury to closely monitor the implementation of the financial recovery plan and the budget plan of Madibeng in order to improve financial management in this municipality.

Capacity building and training programmes conducted by both national and provincial treasuries

Following the invocation of section 100 (1)(a) of the Constitution in the North West Province, a directive was issued by the Minister of Finance to improve Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the North West province and National Treasury developed a SCM learnership programme to improve and turn around SCM processes in municipalities. This programme is aimed at rebuilding and renewing trust in municipal services through training of SCM officials. As a result, five SCM practitioners of Madibeng LM have been enrolled in this programme. Madibeng is also a recipient of the finance management grant, administered by the National Treasury, which is intended to strengthen capacity in the financial management of a municipality. The municipality has appointed eight interns in the Budget and Treasury Office (BTO) to support the implementation of the financial management reforms.

The North West Provincial Treasury in partnership with the National Treasury, provided numerous training on financial management reforms and budgeting to municipal officials. Recently, an intensive five-day workshop was conducted to provide further training on budget, financial reporting and revenue management to municipal officials.

Reply:

(1). According to the South African Football Association the SA Football Museum is an idea which has not come to fruition yet. They need funders to realise the idea.

However it has been established that the SA Football Museum is a Section 21 non-profit company established to build an exhibition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. According to the Project Director of the SA Football Museum:

(a) The South African Football Museum is not a physical entity and is therefore not physically located in any city or province.

(b) This exhibition referred to above is currently housed in the grandstand entrance of the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng

(2) The South African Football Museum was awarded R7,4million from the SA National Lottery. The monies were received in 2 tranches (2014 and 2016)

(3) According to the SA Football Museum the funds were used to build another exhibition in celebration of South Africa’s 20 years of democracy. The focus of the exhibition was to celebrate South Africa’s 20year history of successfully hosting international sporting competitions.

(4) The names of the members of the non-profit organisation; The South African Football Museum are:

• • 1. Philippa M Freer
    2. Rehaad James
    3. Leepile Taunyane

(5) The SA Football Museum has requested an engagement with the Department to consider the possibility of the exhibition reaching a wider audience.

Reply:

The closure of schools was announced by the President as part of the lockdown measures and all school activities were ceased.  

The Department has been working with the Department of Social Development (DSD), through the National Food and Nutrition Security Task Team, led by the Presidency, through which it was agreed that learners would be targeted in families to receive food parcels in their Disaster Relief and Social Relief Management Programme. Corporate partners have been encouraged to donate to the DSD structures in this regard.

Reply:

The question has been referred to the Gauteng Department of Education for a response and will be submitted as soon as it is received from the province.

Reply:

According to the Directives for COVID-19 TERS, published by Minister of Employment and Labour, Mr TW Nxesi, employers are obliged to apply on behalf of their employees for the Covid-19 TERS Benefit. Furthermore, the Directives provide for Bargaining Councils or Entities that are legal bodies to apply for employees. Therefore, employees can have their applications made through any of the above options. Bargaining Councils or Entities or Employers are encouraged to apply for employees as it is them who have the information, systems and tools that will enable an efficient application process. In addition, Bargaining Councils or Entities or Employers are obliged through an Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to commit to certain conditions, which they can be held liable for should they fail to honour.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has provided me with the following information regarding the emergency procurement of the 40km borderline:

a) The description of required goods/services includes repair and replace 40km of borderline infrastructure (match existing fence) between RSA/Zimbabwe. This comprised of a 1.8m fence.

b) The service providers contracted by the department are Caledon River Properties trading as Magwa Construction (Reg. 2017/430436/07) (“the Contractor”) and Profteam cc (Reg. 2017/058 188/23) (“the Principal Agent”).

c) The DPWI informed me as following:

• DPWI was in the early stages in the process of appointing a service provider prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, after the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) stated that their strategic border infrastructure was in poor condition.
• The particular project addresses the short to the medium-term solution. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a very high risk for loss of life (i.e. Death), adverse health impact, cross-border smuggling and crime, negative economic impact and social impact in South Africa.
• Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on 15 March 2020 on the Covid-19 pandemic and the simultaneous declaration of a National State of Disaster
• Under Section 27(2)(L) of the Disaster Management Act, No 57 of 2002, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, issued a directive on 16 March 2020 for the emergency securing of the South African Border Posts
• Recognising the Ministerial Directive a site visit was held by DPWI and Department of Defence (DoD) officials on the 17 March 2020 at the Beitbridge Land Port of Entry.
• Officials discussed several options to meet the set deadline under an emergency basis (criteria).
• The National Treasury’s Instruction Note No. 08 of 2019/2020 Emergency Procurement during Covid-19 on paragraph 3.5.1 (i) provides for the invocation of emergency procedures.
• It was prudent to invoke the emergency procurement process that entails the appointment of the required service providers through a negotiated procedure that was approved by NBAC.

d) The palisade fencing was not considered due to the fact that the aim of the project was to repair and replace the existing borderline fence.

Reply:

There is currently no intention to introduce a jobs protection bill. The Department is however in the process of developing a national employment policy that would amongst others address the notion of protection of jobs. This policy will have to be presented to parliament when it is done.

Reply:

The question has been referred to the Gauteng Department of Education for a response and will be submitted as soon as it is received from the province.

Reply:

The question has been referred to the Gauteng Department of Education and a response will be submitted as soon as it is received from the province.

Reply:

In regards to the funds from the National Lotteries Commission for the provision of sanitation in Limpopo and Eastern Cape, the DBE liaised with the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs); however, the PEDs have no records of any funding that was obtained / donated by the National Lotteries Commission, as this donation could have been directly donated to the respective schools.  The DBE will contact the Commission in order to obtain the list of those schools that may have benefited from the donation.  

Reply:

(a) Releases on 2019 special remission of sentence from 17 December 2019 until 06 March 2020

TABLE: 01: STATUS OF SPECIAL REMISSION BY REGIONS: 06 MARCH 2020

REGION	COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS	CORRECTIONAL CENTRE	TOTAL RELEASES
EC	3 662	1 443	5 105
GP	3 281	4 103	7 384
KZN	3 889	2 142	6 031
LMN	2 288	2 157	4 445
FSNC	1 760	1 586	3 346
WC	4 273	4 480	8 753
TOTAL	19 153	15 911	35 064

(b) Details

Table: 02: RELEASES FROM CORRECTIONAL CENTRES PER: 06 MARCH 2020

Description	Males	Females	Total
Children(Less than 18 years)	31	10	41
Youth (18 – 25 years)	3 224	263	3 487
Adult (26 -64 years)	10 940	1 020	11 960
Elderly (65 & older)	355	23	378
Disabled	38	7	45
Total	14 588	1 323	15 911

Table: 03: UNCONDITIONAL and CONDITIONAL RELEASES FROM CORRECTIONAL CENTRES: 06 MARCH 2020

REGIONS	UNCONDITIONAL	CONDITIONAL	TOTAL
EC	956	487	1 443
GP	2965	1 138	4 103
KZN	1 492	650	2 142
LMN	1 532	625	2 157
FS & NC	1 093	493	1 586
WC	3 846	634	4 480
NATIONAL	11 884	4 027	15 911

Table: 04: STATUS OF CUMULATIVE RE-ARREST CASES AND REASONS

STATUS OF CUMULATIVE RE-ARREST CASES AND REASONS REPORTED BY REGIONS AS AT 06 MARCH 2020
REGION	NUMBER	REASONS	TOTAL RE-ARREST
EC	9	6x Theft; 1 x Possession of stolen goods, 1x Assault , 1x House breaking (2xAmathole, 1xSt Albans, 4x Sada,2x Kirkwood)	9
GP	8	8 x theft ( 1x Boksburg and 5 x Johannesburg,1X Krugersdorp, 1x Zonderwater )	8
KZN	4	1x Housebreaking;1x malicious damage to property, 1x House Breaking W/I to steal & Malicious damage to property, 1x theft (2x Kokstad, 1x Ncome and 1x Empangeni)	4
LMN	2	1 x offender released on the 02/01/2020 was readmitted on the 02/01/2020 for dealing with drugs and 1x theft (1x Bethal and 1 x Thohoyandou)	2
FSNC	5	1xRobbery, 2X House breaking and theft, 1x Theft, 1x violation of protection order (2x Upington, 3x Colesberg)	5
WC	22	13 x Theft, 5x Housebreaking & theft; 1x Assault, Theft & Housebreaking 1x Dealing in drugs & Assault; 1x Drug possession, and 1 x Suspected Stolen goods. (6x Pollsmoor, 1x Overberg, 4 x Voorberg, 1x Mosselbay; 2 x Oudtshoorn, 2 x Breede River (Worcester Male, 2 x Malmesbury RDF, 2 x Allandale 2 x Voorberg)	22
TOTAL	50	Theft , Assault, Housebreaking and theft, dealing with drugs, robbery , Drugs possession, Suspected Stolen goods, violation of protection order, Malicious damage to property	50

END

Reply:

The department of Social Development does not have any plans to build rehabilitation centres in Mhluzi Township in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

The Department is funding Greater Nkangala Rehabilitation Centre in Steve Tshwete Municipality which is a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO). The centre is a Community Based service which is located at Mhluzi Township. It provides prevention, treatment and aftercare services to communities around the Steve Tshwete Municipality.

Furthermore, the Department has a state owned treatment centre in White river called Swartfontein Treatment centre. The centre is operational and has the bed capacity of 50 service users.

Reply:

1. The National Office developed and trained the provinces on web-based Foster Care Monitoring Tool by March 2019. The National Office completed the hand over stage of the monitoring tool in April 2019 for implementation by provinces.

2. (a) The development of the web-based Foster Care Monitoring Tool was completed in March 2019.

(b) According to the National plan, provinces are to implement the monitoring tool. Provinces started implementation from April 2019.

3. There were no specific cost implications for the development of the web-based Foster Care Monitoring Tool as the Department utilised the existing resources.

4. The web-based Foster Care Monitoring Tool was developed within the Department, thus no service provider was appointed.

Reply:

1. Chairperson the updated Gender Based Violence Command Centre (GBVCC) statistics from inception to date are as follows:

GBV command centre call statistics report: November 2013 February 2020

DATE/YEAR	TELEPHONE CALLS RECEIVED	USSD’S RECEIVED	SMS’S RECEIVED
Jan- 16 Feb 2020	712401	2593	640
2019	87092	8741	787
2018	88957	12481	848
2017	163682	17332	1340
2016	60590	36692	39
2015	44614	46571	N/A
2014	2384	1419	N/A
2013	376	32	N/A

 

(b) Furthermore chairperson the GBV Command Centre is comprised of the below workforce:

STAFF BREAKDOWN IN TERMS OF NUMBERS
Command Centre Manager	01
Social Work Supervisors	07
Social Workers	36
Social Auxiliary Workers	02
Technical Manager	01
Technical Shift Supervisors	04
Information Technical Support	02
Quality Assurance Manager	01
Quality Assurers	02
Total staff complement	56

Chairperson the 2019/2020 financial year operational cost breakdown of running the Command Centre which consist of compensation of the team or employees indicated above is as follows:

ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION OF ITEMS	R'000
Current payments
Compensation of Employees	15 843 000
Good and Services	5 158 000
Transfers and Subsidies	0
TOTAL	21 001 000

Reply:

(a)(b)(c) No, the Department of Social Development is not paying for the Former Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini to attend the 64th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which was scheduled to take place from 09 March 2020 in New York, United States of America.

Reply:

1(a). It is imperative to contextualise the relationship between the Department of Social Development and (NDA) National Development Agency. As you may be aware, the NDA is a National Development Agency, which falls within the Social Development Portfolio. The Department and its two Agencies, which are South African Social Security Agency(SASSA) and the NDA have adopted the “Portfolio Approach” which is a more impactful approach used to deliver on our joint mandate and implement programme to avoid fragmentation and improve integration. This approach is inclusive of the three spheres of government. The role of the NDA in the CARA project is therefore against this background and should not be viewed as a commercial service provider to the Department.

Furthermore, section 4 of the National Development Agency Act, 1998 (Act No. 108 of 1998) mandates the NDA to act as a key conduit for funding from the Government of the Republic, foreign governments and other National and International donors for development work to be carried out by CSO’s. The CARA project is one of a few projects which are aimed at fulfilling this legislative mandate of the NDA and is therefore in line with the current legislative framework.

As far as I am aware the NDA has received an unqualified audit opinion with findings for the past three audits periods namely 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. After a clean audit, the unqualified audit opinion is seconded best audit opinion the Auditor General SA assessed the overall financial viability of the NDA as good and this is contained in pages 22-24 of the 2018-19 management letter.

(b) the administration fee of the 6% is intended to cover all administrative expenses associated with the implementation of the projects because this extra work would not have been catered for in the finalised budget.

2. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NDA and DSD has not yet been finalised and signed. The MoU is currently being vetted by legal services after which it will be signed by both parties before money is transferred.

3. The MoU will be made available once it has been signed.

4. (a) The total number of proposals received is 592,with the following provincial breakdown:

PROVINCE	RECEIVED PROPOSALS
Gauteng	105
Eastern Cape	102
Western Cape	56
Mpumalanga	97
Free State	29
Northern Cape	29
North West	19
Limpopo	98
KwaZulu Natal	57
Total	592

4(b) The request for Proposal was advertised in the City Press on Sunday 12th January and the Daily Sun on Monday 13th January. The City Press is a Sunday weekly newspaper with a circulation of 39 172 and a readership of 1 68 000. The Daily Sun is the biggest daily newspaper in the country with a circulation of 105 131 and readership of 3 821 000.

5(a) The Criminal Assets Recovery Account Funding has been a standing item in the VEP Management Forum quarterly meetings with Provincial VEP Coordinators and process reports have been presented in the presence of Provincial VEP Coordinators. Furthermore, when the date for advertising the call for proposal was announced by NDA a communication sent to all Social Development Provincial VEP Coordinators with an indication to communicate this information to NGOs within their Provinces.

(b) There is no specific allocation per Province.

The provincial allocation will be based on the qualifying and approved proposal after the assessment.

Reply:

The qualifying criteria for receipt of any form of social relief of distress, which includes relief parcels and vouchers, is set in the Social Assistance Act, Act 13 of 2004

In terms of regulation 9 to the above Act, social relief may only be given to South Africa citizens, permanent residents, refugees and representatives of a cluster foster care scheme who have insufficient means and meets on or more of the following criteria:

• Is awaiting payment of an approval grant
• Is assessed by a medical officer to be disabled for a period of less than 6 months:
• Is in a household where the breadwinners has died, and application is made within 12 months of the date of the death:
• The breadwinner has been admitted to a public or private institution for at least one month:
• The breadwinner has been admitted to an institution funded by the State( including a prison of Psychiatric facility)
• The person has been affected by a disaster
• Refusal of the application for social relief of distress may cause undue hardship

(b) All applications for social relief of distress are finally approved or rejected by a SASSA official, who is obliged to ensure that the requirements as set in legislation have been met. Community development workers may refer cases they identify in the course of their work, but they do not make the final decision.

Social relief of distress is provided by SASSA within the available budget. In addition, the approved policy makes it clear that the programme is offered within the confines of Section 195 of the Constitution, which requires all services to be provided impartially, fairly and equitably. The introduction to the policy states” The state and therefore SASSA is responsible for the issuance of social relief of distress (SRD). The role of political parties and the state is therefore separately and must be applied accordingly”.

The above explicit directive acts to ensure that SASSA can account for all SRD issued and that those who receive assistance meet the qualifying criteria as set in legislature.

Reply:

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has engaged the Embassy of China and expressed grave concern over allegations of racism targeted at Africans in China during the current COVID-19 outbreak. It was made clear that South Africa abhors racism, prejudice and discrimination, and rejects any treatment of a person in a negative way because of their colour. The South African Government views this alleged mistreatment of African Nationals in China as Top of Forman infringement on the rights to dignity, equality and other rights of Africans. Our Embassy in Beijing has also sent a Note Verbale to the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressing similar concerns as South African diplomats have also been targeted in alleged racism incidents.

During the BRICS Virtual Foreign Minister’s Meeting on the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on 28 April, I stated that “South Africa strongly condemns any stigmatization or discrimination of States, peoples or individuals in connection with COVID-19” and stressed “that there is no place for racism and xenophobia in the response to the pandemic…”

As this is a broader issue that affects all Africans, the AU Commission Chairperson, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat called-in the Chinese Ambassador in Addis Ababa to provide an explanation, and express the AU’s deep concern about this matter. The Chinese authorities have given assurances that it is not China’s policy to discriminate against African nationals.

South Africa urged the relevant Chinese authorities to investigate the reports and take appropriate remedial measures. The African Group of Ambassadors in Beijing was also encouraged to continue engaging the Chinese authorities to ensure that Africans are not subjected to any ill-treatment, and are treated equally, with respect and with dignity like all other nationals in China.

We are positive that this matter will be resolved amicably given the strong historical ties of friendship and mutual respect between Africa and China.

Reply:

DIRCO had a discussion with the Turkish Embassy in South Africa on 11 April 2020, which intervened and confirmed that the students may remain in the dormitories of the University (Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi Asariye). The Turkish Embassy further confirmed that the University agreed to provide food and all other requirements for the full period until at least end of May.

DIRCO negotiated with South African Airways (SAA) to utilise SAA’s charter flights to London and Frankfurt to repatriate South Africans to South Africa. Only South Africans who were able to travel to Frankfurt could be repatriated. South Africans in Turkey were unable to fly to Frankfurt due to the lockdown in Turkey and could therefore not be repatriated on these charter flights. We continue to seek solutions to the challenges posed by travel restrictions.

Reply:

As of 26 March 2020 South Africa closed off its borders and effected lockdown for all local travel, all flights both domestic and international have ceased operations. The tourism sector is not classified as an essential services sector and thus not allowed to operate in general. Similarly, many of South Africa’s key source markets have also closed their borders and curtailed travel. It is becoming evident that South Africa’s Tourism recovery will be driven first by the gradual easing of local travel restrictions and second, by the pace at which source markets emerge from their own lockdown conditions. The unknown duration of the pandemic means that timing – alignment of marketing investment with readiness to travel – becomes imperative.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimates that international tourist arrivals could decline by 20% to 30% in 2020. This would translate into a loss of 300 to 450 US$ billion in international tourism receipts (exports) – almost one third of the US$ 1.5 trillion generated globally in the worst-case scenario. Similarly, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) analysis also shows a sharp escalation in the economic loss to the world economy, up to US$2.7 trillion of GDP. This will put almost 75 million jobs at risk in G20 countries only. Apart from the international arrivals we received in the first two months, January (1 093 268) and February (800 815), before the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unlikely to receive more international arrivals this year. The sector’s recovery which will be on the latter part of this year will be driven by domestic tourism and international tourism will only start coming into operation next year. In essence the sector’s contribution to the GDP for this year will be very low.

SA Tourism is constantly monitoring and assessing the impact of the pandemic on the sector.

The department has a number reports so far on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the South Africa’s tourism sector, perhaps because we are still in the early stages.

• The Southern African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA), which represents vehicle rental and leasing companies that operate about 65 000 vehicles across the country reported that the subsector has seen a drastic contraction in demand due to both inbound tourism and all local travel and tourism activity declining. Contraction in the rental business thus far is estimated to be up to 80 – 90%. This affects jobs and potential for training.

• The Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), as the nation’s largest organization representing the interests of the business events trade and professionals, indicated that the global lockdown has resulted in cancellation of conferences and other events. Initial estimates are that R746,8 million in business is lost due to cancellations, with potentially 6 039 jobs losses already.

The Minister of Tourism is equally concerned about the effects of Covid-19 on tourism sector as a whole. It is for this reason that she has put aside R200 million under the banner of the Covid-19 Tourism Relief Fund to provide a once-off capped grant assistance to SMMEs in the tourism value chain to ensure their sustainability during and post the implementation of government measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country. The sector is dominated by small businesses, majority of which are survivalist without any support, which makes their situation during this time extremely dire.

Reply:

The Final Report of the Auditor-General indicated that there was a misstatement on the Barberton project. An amount of R24 784 279 was classified as capital work in progress instead of infrastructure project asset completed.

The department also appointed an independent quantity surveyor to establish the value of the asset and the report indicated the following:

Project	Barberton Tourism and Biodiversity Corridor
Project Number	DEAT1/2000/1705
Implementer	Barberton Chamber of Business
Construction Period	04/06/2010 - 30/06/2014
Location	Barberton Mpumalanga
Business Plan Value	R 24 784 279,00
Assessed Value	R 27 784 279,00

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me that DPWI spent R 11 790 000.00 for two houses in Cape Town and R26 500 000.00 for four houses in Pretoria during the past five financial years.

In respect of (a) and (b) please note that houses are not bought for a specific Minister or Deputy Minister, they can be occupied by any when the need arises. Different Ministers and Deputy Ministers have occupied these houses.

2. (a)

SUBURB	CAPE TOWN	PTA/JHB
Waterkloof	0	3
Athol	0	1
Milnerton	2	0

(b)  

AREA	HOUSE	NO OF BEDROOMS
Cape Town	House 1	4 Bedrooms
	House 2	4 Bedrooms
Pretoria and JHB	House 1	4 Bedrooms
	House 2	4 Bedrooms and Cottage
	House 3	5 Bedrooms
	House 4	5 Bedrooms

3. No renovation or upgrade was carried out.

4. None

(a) None

(b) None

 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me that the contractor indicated that the villages mentioned, namely Bennde Mutale, Tshikuyu, Masisi, Tshedzhelani, Gumbu, Sigonde and Madimbo were situated at least 50 to 100km away from Beitbridge border fence site. The Curriculum Vitae (CVs) (as per the CVs) sourced from Musina Local Municipality, were for labourers residing locally in Musina.

DPWI informed me that approximately 160 site workers were sourced from the local municipality.