Questions and Replies

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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 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:

(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. 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:

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:

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:

(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:

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:

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:

1. Whether a report has been commissioned to establish the (a) number of tourists who arrive in the Republic for hunting in the captive lion industry and (b) loss in tourism revenue caused by the international outcry over the captive lion industry;

(a) No study has been commisioned

(b) Refer to (a)

2. What are the details of the revenue generated to tourism from the captive lion industry;

There is no information available on revenue generated to tourism from the captive lion industry.

3. What is the demographic breakdown of the beneficiaries of the revenue to tourism

Refer to (2)

4. (a) What number of tourists visit the Republic for eco-tourism in each year

The UNWTO defines eco-tourism as “forms of tourism which have the following characteristics: All nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourists is the observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas”. Through South African Tourism’s monthly Departure Surveys, the number of tourists who indicated that they visited natural attractions and participated in wildlife activities such as game viewing in a nature reserve and whale watching is

Activities engaged in while in South Africa	2017	2018
Visiting natural attractions e.g. scenic drives, parks, dams, rivers, mountains	1,6 million	1,7 million
Wildlife e.g. game viewing in a nature reserve, whale watching	1,4 million	1,5 million

(b) is the annual rand value of tourism from this industry?

We do not have information on the annual rand value of tourism from eco-tourism.

Reply:

1. (a) The SA Tourism Board instituted an independent disciplinary enquiry which was conducted during the suspension period.

(b) As mentioned above, the only legal process was a disciplinary enquiry conducted by the Board. The only costs incurred related to the disciplinary process amount to R837 322.34.

(c) The Independent Chairperson of the disciplinary enquiry found the CEO not guilty of all charges.

2. (a) The forensic audit was in relation to the allegations of impropriety made against the CEO through an anonymous whistle-blower.

(b) The CEO was suspended on full pay in terms of the Labour Relations Act. There are no costs that were incurred on monthly basis. The costs of the forensic audit amounted to R1 918 192.50.

(c) The report of the Forensic Investigation recommended a disciplinary process against the CEO, which was undertaken by the Board. The Chairperson of the disciplinary enquiry found the CEO not guilty of all charges.

Reply:

What appointments of top management of SA Tourism whilst the CEO was on suspension were made.

What appointments were made	(b)What is th annual gross salary of each appointment	(c ) what process was followed in making such appointments in each case?	(d) who signed off on each appointment in each case	(e ) on what date does each appointment (i) commence and (ii) terminate
Chief Financial Officer	R2 315 771 per annum	Role was advertised internally and externally. First round of interviews yielded successful candidate who later declined the offer before the start date. Second round interviews the services of a headhunter was used. Internal candidate was considered in this round and was subsequently appointed	Acting CEO – Sthembiso Dlamini ARCO Chair – Dr. Tanya Abrahamse HCREMCO Chair – Ms. Dawn Robertson Board Chairperson – Ms. Pam Yako	Start Date – 05 August 2019 End Date – 31 July 2024 (Contract)
Chief Marketing Officer	R2 540 000 per annum	Role was advertised externally in newspapers as well as sourcing CVs through a headhunter. CVs were shortlisted for interview and the relevant checks conducted	Acting CEO – Sthembiso Dlamini HCREMCO Chair – Ms. Dawn Robertson Board Chairperson – Ms. Pam Yako	Start Date – 1 September 2019 End Date – 31 August 2024 (Contract)

Reply:

(a)What reviews have been initiated?

The Board conducted an independent evaluation of its effectiveness based on the Board Charter and

King IV best practice recommendations.

 

(b) On what dates did the specified reviews

(i) commence: September 2019

(ii) Report submitted to the Board: February 2020

 

(c) What was the outcome of each review?

The Minister is yet to receive a final report adopted by the board.

 

(d) What (i) were the recommendations in each case?

The final report with adopted recommendations has not yet been submitted to the Minister.

 

(d) (ii) What was the reason for each specified recommendation?

Not yet applicable

 

(e) what (i) recommendation was implemented as a result of such reviews in each case and

Not yet applicable

 

(e) (ii) was the reason for each such implementation and

Not yet applicable

 

(f) how is the process being monitored in each case?

Not yet applicable

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. (a) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me that various government departments currently use Fernwood Estate for team buildings, meetings, training, end year functions, and Members of Parliament use the facility for private functions.

(b) (i) There is no operating budget.

(ii) There is no projected income.

2. (a) In 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 financial year the Department undertook an exercise of a feasibility study of the Fernwood Estate with the possibility of building Ministerial Residences at Fernwood Estate due to the increase of Cabinet then, the preliminary report of a feasibility study indicated that such exercise would be influenced by the following three items, namely:

• Environmental application;
• Heritage application;
• And a planning application (Town planning/zoning); which was estimated to take approximately 18 months.

At present, there are no plans for Fernwood Estate.

(b) The current Municipal value of Fernwood land according to City of Cape Town Municipal valuation is R 205 353 431.00

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:

1. With reference to the recent announcement by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech regarding the reduction of the public sector wage bill, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration has developed the following strategies to give effect to the announcement:

(a) In terms of the respective Ministers, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration is not responsible for the Public Sector. The strategy is to reduce the cost of Public Administration in terms of minimizing the spending on the following cost drivers among others that have been identified:

i) Litigations against the state;

ii) Information and Communication Technology (ICT);

iii) Office accommodation;

iv) Corruption and fraud;

v) Use of Consultants;

vi) Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure;

vii) Introduce reforms in the procurement and supply chain management processes; and

viii) The wage-bill.

The strategy is to create consistency in government wide remuneration through the following measures:

i) Curbing benefits and conditions of service that have proliferated.

ii) Consolidating efficiency measures in allowances, overtime and contract appointments.

iii) Introducing cost effectiveness and efficiencies in the guide for Members of the Executive in terms of office accommodation, cell phone allowances, securities and travel benefits.

iv) Extending such cost effectiveness and efficiencies to State Owned Entities, Boards and the Executive of Entities.

(b) The wage bill is currently at R629 billion and is unsustainable. Savings garnered from the above will allow increased investment in goods and services.

Definite amounts from the above will emerge as measures are put in place.

(c) Many of these are subject to legislation and collective bargaining in the short to medium-term.

2. Yes, all categories of employees in the public service who meet the qualifying criteria in terms of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) for the 2019/20 financial year will be paid their performance bonuses, within the reduced percentage allocation for remuneration budgets for the payment of performance bonuses for all categories of employees with effect from 1 April 2019.

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:

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 Department is currently implementing the Tourism and Climate Change Response Programme (2010). The programme addresses both climate change mitigation and adaptation measures within the tourism sector as follows:

Mitigation Measures

• • The Department has a Tourism Resource Efficiency Programme. The programme focuses on energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste management in tourism.
  • 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 at tourism establishments across the country for a period of six (6) months. During their placements, trainees assisted establishments to better manage their energy and water use.

• • The Department also has a Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP). The incentive is implemented through a partners that include the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) and National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC). Through this grant, the Department provides funding to assist tourism enterprises with between 30% and 90% on the capital investment cost of retrofitting tourism facilities with renewable energy and energy efficient systems. Through this incentive, the Department seeks to encourage private tourism enterprises to move towards cleaner and renewable energy sources to facilitate increased competitiveness and operational sustainability; encourage enterprises to improve energy efficiency; reduce high up-front capital requirement and facilitate reduction in operational input costs.

Adaptation Measures

• • The Department is also involved with 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.

• • In 2012, the Department partnered with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the Deutsche fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German Corporation for International Cooperation (German Development Agency) to conduct a Baseline Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism. A Basic Vulnerability Guideline was developed to assist tourism attractions to assess their vulnerability to climate change.

Currently, the Department has partnered with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFEE) and the GIZ to conduct risk and vulnerability assessment of 27 tourism sites across the country. A three-year tourism adaptation implementation plan will be developed as part of this project. The project will be completed at the end of March 2020.

Communication and Outreach:

• • The Department continues to raise awareness on both the contributions of tourism and its vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Information booklets on tourism and climate change are distributed to stakeholders. Furthermore, awareness is raised through capacity building and information sharing sessions.

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.

Reply:

The response to the questions above is depicted in the table below. Please note that on the payment system there are no distinctions between payments of capped leave and unused leave. Consequently, the DPSA cannot report on capped leave specifically. This is a shortcoming that I have already addressed with my colleague the Minister of Finance.

	2018/2019 financial year	2019/2020 financial year
Implementation Area	number of officials paid	number of days payment made	total amount paid out	number of officials paid	number of days payment made	total amount paid out
National Departments	53	574.18	R7 512 648. 67	61	862.71	R7 320 156. 28
Provincial Government	632	17 531.63	R56 932 737.96	679	17 710.38	R64 902 746.42

Reply:

The National Minimum Wage Commission is required by section 11 (b) of the National Minimum Act to investigate and report annually to the Minister on the impact of the national minimum wage on the economy, collective bargaining and in conducting that exercise, they have outsourced a research that will inform the adjustment to the national minimum wage level.

For the 2020 adjustment the researchers experienced some challenges such as the fact that accurately isolating the main effects of the NMW would require a reasonable time to have elapsed after the introduction of the NMW, and given that the NMW came into effect in January 2019, a comprehensive study on the short-term impacts in South Africa could not justifiable begin until after June 2020.

Also, there is an unavoidable time lag in the release of the quarterly survey (Quarterly Labour Force Statistics) by Stats SA that the researchers use to obtain the relevant labour market information that they need to accurately analyse the impact of the NMW.

These challenges inadvertently led to the delay in the reviewing of the national minimum wage which was only reviewed and implemented on the 1st March 2020 by CPI 3.8% in order to protect low-income workers from erosion in their incomes.

For the 2021 adjustment, the Commission is intending to publish a comprehensive research in the second half of the year into the overall impact of the national minimum wage on employment, poverty and inequality. This is however dependent on the progress that will be given by the researchers on the meeting scheduled for the 24th March 2020.

Reply:

Honourable Dr MJ Cardo, the bargaining councils furnished the Registrar of Labour Relations with the aggregated figures of exemptions from SMMEs. They classify them all under small business.

• For 2017, bargaining councils with extended collective bargaining to non-parties received from SMMEs a total of 1388 exemption applications. 1266 were granted; 91 were refused; and 17 were either withdrawn or still under consideration by end of 2017.

• For 2018, bargaining councils received from SMMEs a total of 2764 exemption applications. 2588 were granted; 114 were refused; and 93 were either withdrawn or still under consideration by end of 2018.

• In 2019, bargaining councils received from SMMEs a total of 1712 exemption applications, 1464 were granted; 168 were refused; and 76 were either withdrawn or still under consideration by end of 2019

Reply:

The Department appointed an independent 15 member COVID-19 Adjudication Panel. The panel is responsible for making recommendations on the distribution of relief funds to Arts, Culture and Heritage organizations and individuals excluding the DSAC public entities as stated in the Treasury regulations.

The Adjudication Panel was officially appointed on the 17th April and commenced the adjudication process on Tuesday 21st April 2020.

To expedite the process, the Department has also availed eleven Departmental staff members to provide administrative support to the adjudicators.

A criteria for application was announced to the public during the open call for Relief Fund requests and the adjudicators will use the criteria as a basis for assessment which includes the following:

• Quality of the Proposal,
• Value for Money,
• Nobility,
• Sustainability of the Project,
• Positive Legacy of project supported

Reply:

The total enrolment in public higher education institutions (universities) is just over one million students (1 085 568 students). There are 11 official spoken languages in South Africa. Universities need to ensure that language is not used as a barrier to access higher education. Language has been used to exclude the majority of South Africans from accessing some universities in the past. Government supports the initiatives taken by universities to remove barriers, linguistic or otherwise, to ensure that universities across the country remain truly national entities and are accessible to all South Africans. In the democratic South Africa, there are no exclusively IsiZulu, IsiXhosa or Afrikaans language universities, but rather, South African universities that uphold the values of the Constitution and are mindful of the legacies of the past, and play their part in creating a fully transformed united South Africa that is at peace with itself and the rest of the world. Students of all linguistic backgrounds can enter any university to study, and must be supported to succeed. Therefore, students whose home language is Afrikaans or any other South African language may choose to study at any university in the country. We certainly cannot go back to a past where some of universities were earmarked for exclusive cultural and linguistic communities. Moreover, while English is utilised as the main language of teaching and learning, there is no official South African language that is excluded by universities as all universities have multilingual language policies. Universities determine their language policies and plans in terms of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997 as amended). These policies and plans must be in line with the Higher Education Language Policy Framework determined by the Minister as well as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

 

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department. The information will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available

Thank you

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department. The information will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available

Thank you

Reply:

The data for the 2019 academic year is currently not available. Preliminary (unaudited) student enrolment data and data required for calculating success rates is due from universities on 30 April 2020. Some universities have indicated that they may require an extension due to the lockdown period. The final submission date for data is 31 July 2020. A process of verifying this data will thereafter commence and the full set of audited data is normally available in October each year.  

Reply:

The Department of Cooperative Governance have established processes and procedures, including the monitoring support system, Municipal Infrastructure Grant Management Information System (MIG-MIS), to manage the assessment, registration, approval and implementation of the MIG projects.  It should however be noted that the MIG is a direct grant allocated to municipalities with specific conditions on what the funds could be utilised for.  The Department is not involved with the procurement processes within municipalities; however, municipalities are expected to comply with procurement legislation and policies issued by the National Treasury.  As such, municipalities follow their own procurement policies in the tendering and appointment of contractors and service providers. END.

 

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department. The information will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available

Thank you

Reply:

From historical records, the project received a total of R 15 000 000 in funding, R14 000 000 in phase one between 2004 and 2007 and R1 000 000 in 2009. This funding was provided by the then Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The project was handed over to the Capricorn District Municipality pre 2010.

Reply:

a) On What date will the specified fund be launched?

The launch of the Tourism Equity Fund (TEF) pilot project to which the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr M C Ramaphosa, referred in the State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020, was initially planned to take place during the first Quarter of 2020/21 on a date that was yet to be determined. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic all plans were put on hold to focus on the response to the pandemic.

b) (i) How will it be funded?

In his address to the nation on 21 April 2020, the President announced that part of the social relief and economic support package of R500 billion to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will come from the reprioritization of about R130 billion within government’s current budget. This means that the current budget allocations are all going to be revised. Once we have the revised budget we will communicate

(ii) What initial amount will go to the fund?

Refer to (i)

c) Who will administer the fund?

refer (i)

d) (i) To whom will the fund administrators report?

Refer to (i)

(ii) How regularly will they report?

Refer to (i)

e) What will be the objective of the fund?

Refer to (i)

f) (i) How will funds be disbursed?

Refer to (i)

(ii) How will such disbursement be monitored and evaluated?

Refer to (i)

Reply:

 

 

Reply:

The National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use amongst Learners in Schools, is the response to drug use/abuse by the Department of Basic Education.  This is in line with the National Drug Master Plan developed by the Department of Social Development.

a) All School Safety Provincial and District Coordinators have been trained.

b) The Provincial and District Coordinators have the primary responsibility to train the School Safety Committees.  

Further information regarding the roll-out in schools is obtainable from Provincial Education Departments

Reply:

(a),(b)(i) and (ii)(aa) and(bb). Information on un- and under-qualified Maths and Science educators is not available at the national level; as it is not routinely collected as part of the Department's monitoring frameworks.

Reply:

Table 1 below indicates the number of learners enrolled in quintile 1 to 5 schools per province.It shows that the majority of learners are in quintile 3 with 3 218 301 followed by quintile 1 with 3 113 123.

Table 1: Number of learners in quintile 1 - 5 schools,by province, in 2019

Part 2 of the response refers to the attachment.

Province	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Grand Total
EC	555 913	335 572	744 697	53 600	80 385	1 770 167
FS	210 541	168 041	207 385	39 271	68 518	693 756
GT	310 456	319 183	385 513	464 180	671 763	2 151 095
KZN	562 445	703 099	832 338	362 525	320 254	2 780 661
LP	590 191	668 730	358 027	21 366	49 062	1 687 376
MP	476 069	391 077	98 192	52 136	49 801	1 067 275
NC	67 058	66 719	71 786	49 287	37 770	292 620
NW	231 983	165 320	326 956	87 844	16 138	828 241
WC	108 467	167 072	193 407	326 029	389 635	1 184 610
Grand Total	3 113 123	2 984 813	3 218 301	1 456 238	1 683 326	12 455 801

Source: LURITS 2019

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me an amount of R3 million was transferred from Programme 4 to Programme 1 for goods and services to assist the Chief Directorate: Legal Services. The Department usedthese funds to procure the services of the legal advisers to support the Department with its process of finalising the Expropriation Bill.

The Department received 50 000 public comments after the Expropriation Bill, 2019 was published in December 2018.

Senior Counsel assisted the Department by analysing substantive issues raised in comments submitted to the DPWI and assisted with the drafting of clause 12(3) of the Bill.

Reply:

The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, launched the District Development Model (DDM) in OR Tambo (ORT), Ethekwini and Waterberg municipalities in 2019. The DDM is intended to enhance service delivery through collaboration of all government departments in all municipalities through a single plan called the One Plan.

The basic education sector is already steps ahead in the implementation of the DDM. Firstly, the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga MP, gazetted an amended Policy on the Organisation, Roles and Responsibilities of Education Districts in January 2018. The Policy, in addition to providing norms for the structure, size and resourcing of education districts, mandates that education districts should be aligned to municipal districts and metros. This is done in a manner that makes educational sense and takes into account other factors such as geographical orientation. For example, a municipal district/metro might have more than one education district in order to enhance manageability and support to schools. Subsequently, ORT municipality is comprised of two education districts - ORT Coastal and ORT Inland, Ethekwini metro is comprised of Umlazi and Pinetown education districts.

Education districts within a municipal district/metro, like all other government departments, should contribute to the development of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The education sector must identify catalytic projects/programmes, e.g., school nutrition, infrastructure and sanitation to enhance service delivery, and impact positively on the lives of the people; and to address their needs. The identified projects must be informed by research. For example, one of the immediate needs in ORT district municipality is that more than 60% of the youth have not passed the National Senior Certificate (NSC). To this necessity, the education sector is providing the Second Chance Matric Programme (SCMP), which provides learning materials and tuition to ensure that more youth can attain the NSC. Overall, all planning for capital projects in the basic education sector, will be done and coordinated through the One Plan of the District Development Model in each of the district municipality or metro.

Reply:

(a) A total of 4831 ordinary schools were provided with ICT equipment and Internet connectivity as part of the Universal Service and Access Obligation since 2015. The breakdown of schools that benefitted per Network Operators are follows:

Network operators	Phase 1: Ordinary schools
Vodacom	1501
MTN	1360
Cell C	1360
Neotel/Liquid Telcoms	610
	4831

(b) (i) (a)  Details of each school (Annexures A, B, C and D)  that benefitted from the rollouts.

(b) (ii) Each school was provided with the following ICT equipment:

• 24 x Learner tablets;
• 2 x Teacher laptops;
• 1 x Wireless Access Points;
• 1 x Server loaded with DBE electronic content;
• 1 x Data projector;
• 1 x Mobile charging trolley; and
• Connectivity (A SIM Card to support 26 devices) with 2GB of data.

(b) (iii) The date of installation per school are attached as Annexures A, B, C and D.

Reply:

The information requested falls within the competence and purview of the Department of Higher Education and Training. The Honourable Member is urged to request the information through the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology.

Reply:

57 193 permanently appointed educators resigned between January 2012 and December 2019.  The unusually high numbers of resignations were recorded in 2014 and 2015.  This coincided with the period in which there was uncertainty relating to the changes in pension dispensation.  However, it should be noted that as at February 2020, about 17 800 of the educators who resigned, were back - appointed as educators in schools.
Number of permanently employed educator that resigned, 2012 to 2019
PROVINCE	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Grand Total
EASTERN CAPE	464	830	1566	886	357	635	728	533	5999
FREE STATE	297	394	683	535	242	487	446	435	3519
GAUTENG	1477	1650	2678	2267	1083	1768	1611	1654	14188
KWAZULU/NATAL	1640	1589	2332	2299	1491	1379	1235	1376	13341
LIMPOPO PROVINCE	248	385	1098	1021	572	533	395	354	4606
MPUMALANGA	442	660	1026	633	383	364	286	393	4187
NORTH WEST	201	289	924	669	497	529	508	444	4061
NORTHERN CAPE	98	142	247	216	98	203	196	344	1544
WESTERN CAPE	365	544	821	784	450	896	916	972	5748
Grand Total	5232	6483	11375	9310	5173	6794	6321	6505	57193

Source: PERSAL 

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

As the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, I was not informed that the 5000 contracts, of participants in the Expanded Public Works Programme in Gauteng, were being terminated.

Each public body that implements an Expanded Public Works Programme is responsible for the recruitment and terminations of contracts of participants in a programme. However, in this particular case, I was subsequently informed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) that the matter was addressed by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, as the coordinator of the EPWP in the Gauteng Province.

a) The participants were initially informed of the termination of their contracts by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, via a text message. This was to be followed by letters from public bodies to the participants in their respective programmes.

b) The contracts of the affected participants had come to an end on 31 March 2020.

c) The following public bodies were affected by the termination of the EPWP participants:

Provincial Departments	Municipalities
Gauteng Department of Health	Sedibeng
Gauteng Department of Education	Merafong
Gauteng Department of Community Safety (SAPS)	Emfuleni
	Rand West
	West rand

d) The public bodies affected were informed in advance, by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management,of the contracts ending on 31 March 2020. The public bodies were advised to recruit new participants to avoid disruption of services.