Questions and Replies

Reply:

(a) No fiscal allocations were utilised to cover the Electoral Commission’s contribution towards the conference. The contribution of the Electoral Commission to the conference was raised through the following sources:

1. Advertising exposure amounting to R5 million at the Result Operating Centre as well as live streaming of the conference.
2. Standard Bank of South Africa made a direct contribution of R 150 000.
3. Facebook contributed conference bags, note books and pens.
4. The UNDP made an additional contribution of R1 035 000 towards the event.

(b)(i) Travel costs R 1 452 592.97

(b)(ii) Accommodation of delegates R 1 854 923.95

(b)(iii) Conference costs R 1 455 116.68

END

Reply:

At this stage, considering the Department's shortfall under its Compensation of Employees budgetary allocation, the employment of additional staff within the Bethal Office as a critical priority, is not envisaged. Staffing levels will be monitored, and supplemented through other interventions, such as the temporary deployment of serving officials, amongst others, as deemed necessary.

 

END

Reply:

According to information provided by the Provincial Departments of Local Government, there are fifty-three (53) municipalities that have vacant positions of Chief Financial Officers. The details regarding the names of each of the specified municipality, and the date on which each of the specified positions became vacant as well as the reasons thereof are provided in the table below as follows:

PROVINCE	NAME OF MUNICIPALITY	DATE ON WHICH THE POSITION BECAME VACANT	REASONS FOR VACANCY
KwaZulu-Natal (9)	Ugu District Municipality	31 August 2019	Resigned
	Ray NkonyenI Local Municipality	14 February 2020	Resigned
	Umngungundlovu District Municipality	30 September 2018	Resigned
	Mpofana Local Municipality	April 2015	Deceased
	Umngeni Local Municipality	31 December 2019	Contract of employment terminated
	MkhambathinI Local Municipality	1 January 2020	Resigned
	Newcastle Local Municipality	31 August 2018	Resigned
	Edumbe Local Municipality	31 January 2019	Resigned
Limpopo (8)	Vhembe District Municipality	1 April 2019	Resigned
	Mopani District Municipality	1 March 2020	Resigned
	Maruleng Local Municipality	1 July 2018	Fixed-term contract ended
	Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality	1 August 2019	Resigned
	Lephalale Local Municipality	19 May 2019	Dismissal.
	Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality	1 January 2020	Resigned
	Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality	1 December 2018	Resigned
	Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality	1 December2019	Resigned
Free State (7)	Kopanong Local Municipality	1 October 2018	Resigned
	Masilonyana Local Municipality	31 October 2018	Resigned
	Tokologo Local Municipality	30 April 2017	Fixed-term contract ended
	Setsoto Local Municipality	28 March 2019	Appointment found invalid, the municipal council rescinded the appointment
	Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality	1 February 2019	Fixed-term contract ended
	Fezile Dabi District Municipality	15 June 2018	Resigned
	Metsimaholo Local Municipality	31 August 2019	Resigned
Northern Cape (6)	Frances Baard District Municipality	1 March 2020	Resigned
	Phokwane Local Municipality	30 March 2015	Contract Expired
	Richtersveld Local Municipality	31 May 2019	Medically board
	Namakhoi Local Municipality	16 November 2010	Employment contract expired
	Renosterberg Local Municipality	31 September 2011	Political Intervention
	Gamagara Local Municipality	20 February 2020	Resigned
Western Cape (6)	Matzikama Local Municipality	February 2020	Resigned
	Cederberg Local Municipality	February 2020	Resigned
	George Local Municipality	1 July 2019	Dismissal
	Beaufort West Municipality	1 March 2020	Resigned
	Mossel Bay Municipality	16 March 2020	Employment contract expired
	Witzenberg Municipality	30 June 2018	Employment contract expired
North West (6)	Madibeng Local Municipality	1/01/2019	Resigned
	Rustenburg Local Municipality	2018	Resigned
	Ratlou Local Municipality	2017 December 31	Fixed-term contract ended
	Naledi Local Municipality	27 September 2019	Resigned
	Greater Taung Local Municipality	08 March 2019	Fixed-term contract ended
	Dr Ruth Mompati District Municipality	30 April 2018 resigned	Fixed-term contract ended
Eastern Cape (5)	Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality	-	Employment contract expired
	Emalahleni Local Municipality	-	Employment contract expired
	Kouga Local Municipality	-	Resigned
	Port St. Johns Local Municipality	-	Resigned
	Ingquza Hill Local Municipality	-	Resigned
Gauteng (4)	Sedibeng District Municipality	5 December 2019	Resigned
	Lesedi Local Municipality	26 September 2018	Dismissed
	Midvaal Local Municipality	30 June 2019	Resigned
	Merafong City Local Municipality	1 January 2020	Resigned

END.

Reply:

 

ANSWER:

The school is not on the Department’s current Estimate of Capital Expenditure (ECE) and not listed as an immediate priority. However, the Department will be sending a Works Inspector to the school to assess if there is an immediate need for renovations at the school before the end of March 2020. The outcome of this assessment will inform the Department’s next course of action, subject to the availability of budget.

It must be noted that the Department has renovated the school recently as follows:

Electrical Work for R274,854.60 in August-September 2016.

Palisade Fence for R406,400.00 in October-November 2018.

It must also be noted that:

- The South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 as amended, provides that the School Governing Body is responsible to maintain and improve the school's property, buildings and grounds occupied by the school, including school hostels, if applicable. Therefore, the School Principals and School Governing Bodies are responsible for the day to day maintenance and minor repairs of the school.

- The Schools are provided a subsidy allocation, linked to learner enrolment figures and 12% of the subsidy is ring fenced to deal with the basic day to day maintenance and minor repairs of facilities. These works include minor maintenance that includes but is not limited to replacing window panes, door handles, paintings and replacing plumbing fixtures.

- The Provincial Department is responsible for complex work and additional infrastructure, like major rehabilitation of buildings, major civil works for the storm water management system, cracks in a wall of more than 5 mm wide, etc.

Kind Regards,

MR ANDREK (PANYAZ) LESUFI, MPL
MEMBER OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: EDUCATION
DATE: 2020/03/16

Reply:

Yes, the WCED has been informed of the condition of infrastructure at Conville PS.

The condition of the existing facility has been assessed by structural engineers.  No risk of imminent collapse was found. The risks that were identified that require immediate reaction shall be addressed as soon as possible. We are engaging DTPW towards timelines for execution.

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:

According to the information received from the Provincial Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, thirty-five (35) senior managers have been suspended for various accounts of misconducts. The details regarding the names of each municipality and position are provided in the table below:

EASTERN CAPE:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Nelson Mandela Bay MM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0
Sakhisizwe LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0
Ingquza LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0
Enoch Mgijima LM	1	0	0	1	0	Yes	0
OR Tambo DM	1	0	1	0	0	Yes	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 5

FREE STATE:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Nala LM	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dihlabeng LM	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Metsimaholo LM	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moqhaka LM	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 4

GAUTENG:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
West Rand District Municipality	1	0	0	1	0	Yes	0
Merafong City LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 2

LIMPOPO:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Ephraim Mogale LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0
Elias Motsoaledi LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0
Sekhukhune DM	0	1	1	0	0	Yes	0
Collins Chabane LM	1	0	0	0	1	Yes	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 4

KWAZULU NATAL:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Emadlangeni LM	1	0	0	0	Yes	Yes	0
Emadlangeni LM	0	1	0	0	Yes	0	Yes
Umzinyathi DM	1	0	0	0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Umzinyathi DM	0	1	0	0	Yes	0	Yes
Richmond LM	1	0	0	0	Yes	Yes	0
Abaqulusi LM	1	0	0	0	Yes	Yes	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 6

MPUMALANGA:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Msukaligwa LM	0	1	0	1	0	0	Yes
Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme LM	0	1	0	1	0	0	Yes
Dr JS Moroka LM	0	1	0	0	1	0	Yes

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 3

NORTHERN CAPE:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Dikgatlong LM	0	2	0	0	2	0	Yes
Sol Plaatjie LM	1	1	0	0	2	Yes	Yes

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 4

NORTH WEST:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Lekwa Teemane LM	1	0	1	0	0	1	0

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 4

WESTERN CAPE:

Name of municipality	Total Number of municipal/city manager that have been on suspension	Total Number of managers directly accountable to municipal manager that have been on suspension	Period	Municipal managers on suspensions are fully paid	Managers directly accountable to municipal manager on suspension are on fully paid
			Less than 3 months	Less than 6 months	More than 6 months
Knysna LM	1	0	1	0	0	Yes	0
George LM	0	1	1	0	0	0	Yes
Cederberg LM	0	1	0	1	0	0	Yes

TOTAL SUSPENSIONS: 3

(b) Where there is a record of suspension of a municipal manager, the municipal council appoints acting municipal manager until completion of the disciplinary hearing.

End.

Reply:

The town of Louterwater is in the Koukamma Local Municipality (KLM), which is a municipality under Sarah Baartman District. The Koukamma LM is a Water Services Authority (WSA) and a Water Services Provider (WSP), which is responsible for providing water and sanitation & other services to the communities in its precinct.

There have been several challenges pertaining to service delivery in Louterwater on Water, Sanitation, Roads and Electricity, however the municipality has several projects in place that seek to address these challenges.

There is currently a water Project funded by Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) under the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to the amount of R2,2m which is to Drill and Equip 4 boreholes to supplement the current water supply. Also under the WSIG project, a leak detection and pipe replacement project was carried out during the lockdown period.

Under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) there is a R17m allowed over three years for the upgrading of Roads Projects in Louterwater, for this financial year there is R3m allocated and there is currently a contractor on site.

A tender was advertised in November 2019 for the electrification of Ravinia, Krakeel and Louterwater over a three-year period ending on 30 June 2022 (± 250 Electrical connections for Louterwater town). Funding will be provided through the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) Grant provided by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) is currently providing technical support to the KLM, by deploying an Electrical and Civil Engineers to provide engineering expertise. MISA is involved in the engineering projects.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(1)(a)South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Paymaster General (PMG) Account, Type of account: Current Account, Account number: 8033-298-6, Branch code: 910145, Pretoria

(b) Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE)

(c) The request to open the bank account was made to National Treasury on the 26 February 2006 and approval was granted to operate the PMG account with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on 7 March 2006. The account was operationalised from April 2006.

(d) Chief Financial Officer, Mr Mandla Sithole; the Chief Director: Financial Planning and Budgets, Ms Juanita Prinsloo; and Director: Financial Accounting, Mr Kolobe Thomas Emmanuel Seletela.

(2)(a)

Date	Bank Balance
3/31/2007	( 851,374,703.46 )
3/31/2008	( 1,046,964,266.82 )
3/31/2009	( 1,499,519,234.86 )
3/31/2010	( 1,656,528,184.27 )
3/31/2011	( 1,291,797,347.89 )
3/31/2012	( 1,223,206,905.21 )
3/31/2013	( 1,401,077,845.82 )
3/31/2014	( 337,171,429.04 )
3/31/2015	( 660,557,325.79 )
3/31/2016	( 1,431,308,703.19 )
3/31/2017	( 1,124,206,307.37 )

(b)

Date 2018-19	Bank Balance
3/31/2018	(2,332,531,844.37)
4/30/2018	(1,454,496,012.66)
5/31/2018	(2,016,165,869.79)
6/30/2018	(2,328,239,436.22)
7/31/2018	(1,449,676,065.93)
8/31/2018	(1,994,489,779.03)
9/30/2018	(2,743,898,683.41)
10/31/2018	(2,195,767,094.81)
11/30/2018	(2,926,761,374.58)
12/31/2018	(3,524,851,312.39)
1/31/2019	(2,579,849,913.31)
2/28/2019	(2,831,643,872.82)
3/31/2019	(2,670,098,629.47)
Date 2019-20	Bank Balance
4/30/2019	( 1,290,128,154.71 )
5/31/2019	( 2,216,845,663.05 )
6/30/2019	( 2,108,231,745.36 )
7/31/2019	( 1,364,333,693.65 )
8/31/2019	( 1,706,096,148.11 )
9/30/2019	( 2,153,836,651.75 )
10/31/2019	( 1,337,075,183.16 )
11/30/2019	( 2,200,897,712.27 )
12/31/2019	( 3,820,937,183.91 )
1/31/2020	( 2,380,489,441.26 )
2/29/2020	( 2,816,940,398.38 )

(3)(a) The Paymaster General’s bank account was opened in terms of the approval granted by National Treasury on 14 March 2006 as one of the conditions for the establishment of the PMTE. The approval to establish the PMTE was granted by National Treasury in terms of Section 1 of the PFMA read with Treasury Regulations 19.

(b) It continues to operate as approved by National Treasury. The Paymaster General’s bank account is held with the South African Reserve Bank and is only used by PMTE to transact with client departments to make payments for claims that PMTE issue every month.

(4) The operating business model as approved by National Treasury was that PMTE incurs expenditure on daily basis rendering services on behalf of client departments after which it claims the said expenditure from those client departments. Claims to client departments are consolidated and issued every month. The expenditure that PMTE incurs on behalf of client departments includes infrastructure, maintenance and leasing, as part of the mandate of PMTE.

(5) (a) No disciplinary action was taken has been taken against the accounting officer since there is a legal basis to do so. It is incorrect that the accounting officer is “illegally operating the account” since the operating of the account, the business model to incur expenditure on behalf of client departments and claim after was approved by National Treasury. Furthermore, PMTE is required to submit monthly bank reconciliations to National Treasury and has been complying with this request.

(b) The account has not been closed since the account was opened and operated in line with the approvals of National Treasury. It must be noted that only client departments are allowed and permitted to make deposit for claims submitted by PMTE. PMTE also has a commercial bank account that was approved by National Treasury, and this account always has a positive bank balance. This account is used by other parties such as debtors to make a direct deposit to PMTE.

Reply:

(a) Special Industrial Zones

A working committee to support, enhance and streamline delivery of interventions in Industrial Parks by DTIC through its Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme (IPRP) and related programmes has been set up. This working committee will also consider an appropriate recommended name for the special initiative.

(b) Dimbaza IP

I am advised as follows:

A sum of R49 million will be spent on Phase One revitalisation of The Dimbaza Industrial Park. The scope of work entails -

• 10.50 km Boundary Fence,
• 2.03 km Diamond Mesh Fence,
• 5 High Mast Lights,
• Prefabricated Security Pods,
• Electrical Works (mini-substation)
• Vehicular Gates.

A Project Steering Committee (PSC) is responsible for project oversight. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation, Buffalo City Municipality, Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism, DTIC, Development Bank of Southern Africa and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, are represented on the PSC

I am advised that construction jobs created to-date total 161. There is a focus on youth inclusion, with a reported 40% of the total being drawn from young people from local communities. Upgrading work totalling R4 million is being delivered by 11 SMMEs appointed as Sub-Contractors.

-END-

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

a) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has informed me that the total number of properties owned by the Department in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality per category are as follows:

(i) Residential properties (1160)

(ii) Business erven (0)

(iii) Government buildings (1247)

(iv) Agricultural properties (5)

aa) Vacant (58)

bb) Occupied (2354)

cc) There are fifteen (15) properties earmarked for disposal for human settlements and one (1) property for restitution purposes within eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

b) DPWI owes the Municipality a total amount of R25 335 927,20, of which R23 387 788,12 relates to 293 properties. R338 139,07 is the current (less than 30 days) that is owed to the Municipality. The Department has disputed debt of R1 610 000,00 on one of the accounts with Municipality, and the Municipality is still investigating the dispute. DPWI informed me the confirmed amount will be settled as soon as the investigation has been concluded and both the Department and Municipality have agreed on the rate to be levied.

Reply:

The Honourable Member is correct that one of the problems with the adjudication of land rights disputes is the fact that the Land Claims Court has no permanent judges.

The Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994, established the Land Claims Court to adjudicate land claims. The Court also has jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate other land reform matters pertaining to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 62 of 1997, and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 3 of 1996. In terms of the existing legislative framework, Judges, of the Land Claims Court, including its Judge President, are seconded from the Divisions of the High Court randomly. The lack of a permanent bench for this important court is one of the contributing factors in South Africa falling behind in the development of land jurisprudence.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has been mandated by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform, which I chair, to develop a new Land Court Bill to address this challenge and a draft Bill has already served before the IMC. It is expected that the Bill will be presented to Cabinet within the next few months once it completed the internal consultation processes.

It is anticipated that the Land Court will have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of matters which demand expertise and speciality in resolving land disputes. An incremental approach might have to be followed towards defining the Court’s jurisdiction, the first step of which is to include those Acts of Parliament that facilitate the promotion of the vision enshrined in section 25 of the Constitution in respect of land reform, under the jurisdiction of the Court. The jurisdiction of the Court can then gradually be expanded to also deal with disputes arising from the administration and implementation of other legislation that regulate land reform and other land rights matters.

The President has, pending the finalisation of the Land Court Bill, approved creation of three additional positions of Judges, two in the Gauteng Division and one in the KwaZulu Natal Division, to hear exclusively land matters. The Judicial Service Commission will conduct interviews for these positions during its sitting of April 2020.

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 Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(1) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) wrote to all government departments responsible for infrastructure in South Africa in order to promote the benefits of using registered professionals in all their projects. SACAP is undertaking public awareness campaigns to all local Municipalities to ensure that only registered persons submit building plan applications for approval. SACAP also has planned workshops to promote the architectural profession to the public.

SACAP intends to access funding, mainly from the Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (CETA) to run a mentorship programme. A meeting has been arranged with CETA and the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) to deal with funding for the mentorship programme. This will assist graduates that do not have mentors to access mentors and progress to professional registration.

(2) In ensuring that all Provincial Public Works departments are implementing the Skills Pipeline Strategy; DPWI has established the Public Works Sector Capacity Building Forum. This forum was established based on a research study that was undertaken by the National Department of Public Works to examine the causes underlying technical capacity constraints within the Public Works Family. The establishment of the forum was primarily to have a structured approach to accelerate the production of professionals by Public Works through the Built Environment Skills Pipeline Strategy. It is further aimed at fostering cooperation with other institutions in order to strengthen the efforts of building technical capacity for the state and impact on job creation. The forum meets on a quarterly basis.

Through this structure the department not only monitors and reports on the implementation of the Skills Pipeline Strategy; but also provides strategic support and guidance to the Provincial Public Works and other partners on implementing, evaluating and mobilising funding from Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs), Department of Higher Education, National Skills Fund (NSF) and other funders to help execute the Skills Pipeline strategy.

To ensure that there is massive vocational training, the DPWI is partnering with Technical Vocational Training Colleges to implement the Centre of Specialisation (Dual Apprenticeship program), and Work Integrated Learning (WIL). The aim is to ensure that trainees are able to complete their full qualification and obtain “trade test” (in the artisanal and or apprenticeship program) in different trades. The piloting of the Centre of Specialisation (Dual Apprenticeship program), will be extended to the Provincial Public Works in the incoming 2020/2021 financial year. Further to this, the department will be embarking on an exercise to adopt the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Standard for Developing Skills through Infrastructure Contracts as a policy. This standard puts a percentage (between 0.25 to 0.5%) of the contract value being set aside for developmental goals.

(3) Without Mentorship and Vocational Training trainees are unable to register as professionals. Mentorship is a critical component in the professionalisation process. The department executes different types of mentorship strategies i.e.

i) Internal mentorship:-mentors appointed solely for mentoring and existing employees who are qualified as professionals are experienced and passionate about the development of young people in this country;

ii) By forging collaborations with the Industry, through among others, entering into a memoranda of understanding with the private sector. The parties commit to training, development and mentorship by accommodating trainees for practical work exposure in their respective fields of study. These companies further expose departmental trainees in their private sector work, which also includes International assignments where applicable.

(4) Yes, it is permissible for Infrastructure Departments to appoint graduates for developmental purposes, namely, as former bursary holders who are appointed to serve back the bursary scheme obligation. Secondly, graduates are appointed as part of the Graduate Recruitment programme and offered Internship or Candidacy opportunities in the departments. Once in the Internship Programme, graduates are assisted to register as Candidates with SACAP to prepare them for the structured Candidacy Programme. In DPWI’s Architectural Services Unit all employees and trainees are registered with SACAP as Candidates or Professionals.

(5) The department employs unregistered graduates as per point 4 above for training purposes and seeing out the obligations as per the bursary contract. Posts that require professional registration have stringent requirements as per Occupational Specific Dispensation. The incentive to register for graduates is that Infrastructure implementing departments have high vacancy rates on professional posts. Professionalised graduates improve their chances of employability as professional skills remain scarce in the country.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me that DPWI has no lease agreement with South African Police Services (SAPS) for Excelsior Court, 97 Peter Mokaba Drive, Berea. However, the relationship is managed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the entire state-owned asset portfolio which is allocated to SAPS. The MOU was duly signed by the Accounting Officers of both departments on 31 January 2006.

(a) SAPS, as an end-user, is responsible for the eviction and has reported to have initiated the eviction process.

(b) The renovations of the property is still pending the finalisation of the eviction process by SAPS and property being handed back to DPWI to commence with renovations. (i) There has been continuous high-level engagements between DPWI and SAPS which resulted in SAPS commencing with the evictions process. (ii) The finalisation of the eviction process is depended on the conclusion of the litigation process.

2. SAPS pays accommodation charges for the entire portfolio as per the 2006 devolution with an annual amount of R1 397 874 000.00 in the 2019/20 financial year. SAPS does not owe the DPWI on accommodation charges.

Reply:

The information used to respond to this question was provided by the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

(i) Below please find the full responses to the Parliamentary Questions 2019/507 and 2019/508 provided by the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance

(ii) The response to question PQ 507 is as follows:

1. The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department firearm audit is still being finalized in conjunction with the SAPS – Central Firearms Registrar and the Department, therefore this information cannot be provided until such time this audit has been concluded.
2. Firearms are inspected by Shift Commanders/Supervisors daily and records thereof are kept at the various Units/Sections and Divisions.

The response to question PQ 508 is as follows:  

1. (a) All members issued with a firearm have an obligation to report all firearm-related incidents, as well as their respective supervisors if they are informed, (b) 01 June 2019, however, was only reported to the Department on 01 July 2019 – Theft of Firearm – Vosloorus CAS no. 30/07/2019, (c) (i) The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department Firearm Audit is still being finalized in conjunction with the SAPS – Central Firearms Registrar and the Department. Such information will only be communicated once the audit is concluded.
2. The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department firearm audit is still being finalized.
3. No firearms have been issued to other Departments. The only Division issued with firearms was the Licensing Division, which has since been absorbed into the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department, which ensures compliance in this regard.

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 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 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 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 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:

I would like to apprise the Honourable Member that the profiles of the mentioned offenders have been submitted to the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) for reconsideration thereafter which it will be submitted to my office for a decision.

The fact that these offenders are eligible for consideration for placement on parole does not mean that conditional placement will be granted automatically, as a number of factors are considered before placement can be approved. Accordingly, dates of their placement on parole cannot be provided at this stage as they are still to be considered by the National Council for Correctional Services and where placement on parole or further profiling can be decided upon.

The following factors are among other factors taken into consideration when an offender is considered for possible placement on parole:

• The offenders response to development and treatment programmes associated with rehabilitation.
• The existence and quality of support systems in the community.
• The probability of re- offending.
• The risk that the offender may pose to the community at large and
• The outcome of restorative justice processes and possible referral for mediation if it had not been done prior to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board meeting; and the risk to the victim.

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:

Already, there is an existing independent corruption specific investigative and prosecutorial body, namely, the Investigating Directorate in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

In this regard, the President, in terms of section 7(1) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act, 1998 (Act No.32 of 1998) (“the NPA Act”), on recommendation of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Minister of Police and National Director of Public Prosecutions, proclaimed on 25 March 2019, the establishment of an Investigating Directorate in respect of the following criminal cases:

1. Common law offences of:

(a) Fraud;

(b) Forgery;

(c) Uttering;

(d) Theft; and

(e) Any offence involving dishonesty.

2. Statutory offences including but not limited to contraventions of:

(a) The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004);

(b) The Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (Act No. 121 of 1998);

(c) The Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities, 2004 (Act No. 33 of 2004);

(d) The Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);

(e) The Local Government: Municipal Finance Management, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003);

(f) The Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act No. 38 of 2001); and

(g)  Any other statutory offence involving dishonesty.

3. In addition, any unlawful activities relating to serious, high profile or complex corruption cases including but not limited to offences or criminal or unlawful activities arising from the following commissions and inquiry:

(a) The Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State promulgated under Presidential Proclamation No. 3 of 2018 published in Government Gazette No. 41403, 25 January 2018;

(b) The Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) established by Presidential Proclamation No. 17 of 2018 published in Government Gazette No. 41562 of 24 May 2018;

(c) The Commission of Inquiry into Allegations for Impropriety regarding the Public Investment Corporation established under Presidential Proclamation No. 30 of 2018. Published in the Government Gazette No. 41979 of 17 October 2018; and

(d) Any other serious, high profile or complex cases of corruption referred to the Directorate by the National Director in accordance with Section 28(1)(b) of the NPA Act.

The Head for the Investigating Directorate, Advocate Hermione Cronje, has been appointed, and the Investigating Directorate is functional.

It needs to be noted that, though the Investigating Directorate only deals with the high end corruption matters, the lower value corruption cases do, however, receive full attention as well through the normal processes. In this regard we have, for example, specialised courts to deal with serious commercial crime cases and corruption. They are called Specialised Commercial Crimes Courts (SCCCs), and are underpinned by dedicated prosecutorial Specialised Commercial Crimes Units (SCCUs) in the NPA and dedicated investigators from police (SAPS/ DPCI) side. The SCCUs and the SCCCs play an important role in dealing with corruption cases and in dealing with the investigation and prosecution of “graft”.

These measures are paying off dividends as NPA statistics indicate that 152 government officials were convicted for corruption or offences related to corruption in the first three quarters of the 2019/20 financial year, and a further 198 persons of private sector corruption. In 2018/19, 210 officials were convicted, and in the previous year 213 officials.

It needs to be pointed out that serious corruption matters are mostly complex and require significant investigations that take time. Fortunately, we also see lately, on a daily basis, media articles that mention cases of prosecution for corruption and convictions in that regard.

In an effort to fast track the recovery of funds lost to the state from corruption or irregular spending, His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa has furthermore established a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Special Tribunal in February 2019. This was done because of a need to fast-track the finalisation of matters that had been referred for civil litigation after the conclusion of an investigation. These are matters where the SIU would ordinarily have gone the normal High Court civil litigation route to have government contracts declared invalid or set aside.

Fast-tracking these matters through the Special Tribunal is currently enabling the SIU to recover monies and or assets lost by state institutions through irregular and corrupt means; thus ensuring that those who are responsible for the loss of monies and or assets by state institutions are held accountable. The litigation process includes both public and private sectors, persons and entities. Such civil proceedings will be based on the outcomes from the investigations by SIU.

Judge Gidfonia Mlindelwa Makhanya has been appointed as President of the Tribunal.

The Special Tribunal is fully functional and is able to adjudicate any civil proceedings brought to it by the SIU, either in its own name or on behalf of a state institution or interested party, which stems from an SIU investigation.

Reply:

(a)(i) The breaches were mostly as a direct result of the air-conditioning system that broke down during December 2019 and other day to day maintenance issues that occurred during this period. The reason for delay in dealing with these issues was due to the fact that service providers closed down during the festive period and that contractors were not available. In the interim the air-conditioning system was fully restored, and the toilets and water leaks have been attended to. In addition to this the following steps have been taken in order to ensure full compliance of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (OHS Act).

• A meeting was held with National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the landlord and other stakeholders on 8 January 2020 regarding the condition and maintenance of the building. As a direct result of this further commitments were made for upgrades and maintenance on the building by both the landlord and the department.

• A full OHS inspection was done by the OHS representatives of the Department of Home Affairs, DPW and the landlord and all identified issues were recorded and included in a repair program to be finalised before end of March 2020. Additional issues identified include signage in addition to the current signage, replacement of blinds, replacement of windows that members of public leaned against and cracked, replacement of some door locks, and looking at more and additional wheelchair accesses points. All of these issues were reported to the various responsible parties and is in the process of being dealt with.
• A full maintenance plan was received from the landlord that cover aspects such as the regular servicing of the air-conditioning systems, regular servicing of fire equipment (which is currently compliant with the legislation), regular quarterly fumigation of the building and the regular replacement of globes (lighting) in the building.

(a)(ii) The building is leased and the landlord is responsible for ensuring the office meets and maintains the required OHS standards in respect of the building itself.

(b)(i) All possible cases of corruption that is reported or detected at this office are immediately reported to the counter corruption and security services of the department and are subsequently investigated and actions taken were necessary. Two officials were dismissed in the 2019/20 financial year for cases of corruption relating to the fraudulent registration of births at this office.

(b)(ii) There is a misperception that queues are being closed early. The procedure followed at this office is as follows:

• The office knows how many persons they can approximately assist during the day and with this in mind and considering the time left and the number of persons in the office already awaiting services, the officials keep an eye on the outside queue to see if they will definitely be able to assist all in the queue.
• At a stage where they realise that the number of persons outside is more that the capacity of the office they will start warning persons after the cut-off point that there is a possibility that they might not be assisted. At no stage at this time is the queue cut, as there is always the possibility that a few extra people might be assisted. The public is however informed as early as possible to enable them to make an informed decision and to not allow persons to waste their time waiting in line if there is a possibility of them not being assisted at the time of closure. It is up to the clients whether or not they leave at this stage.
• Only around 30 minutes prior to closing will the line be cut and the last persons brought into the office. This is done due to the fact that officials do not have permission to work overtime as a rule and the department due to austerity measures cannot afford to pay officials overtime on a daily basis to work till after 16:00. It should be mentioned that on more than one occasion officials in this office will continue to work well after 17:00 in order to finish persons already inside the office.
• The only time that queues are cut other than at this time is when the office has gone offline and there is clear indication that the system will not be back online for the rest of the day.

END

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) Fifty-nine (59) units were refurbished.

(1)(a)(ii) Forty (41) units were newly procured to ramp up the numbers.

(1)(a)(iii) Nine (9) were refurbished and five (5) new trucks have been allocated to the Eastern Cape.

(1)(b) The areas are as follows:

DISTRICT MUNICIPALITIES THAT BENEFITED WITH MODERNISATION PROCESS

O. R. Tambo, and Alfred Nzo District

Chris Hani, and Joe Gqabi District

Amathole District, and Buffalo City Metro

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, and Sarah Baartman District

2. To find a solution SITA and DHA have agreed upon:

(i) A three year roadmap for the creation of alternative network routes within the Government Core Network; and

(ii) The proposed Software Defined Networking (SDN) model to be implemented on a case-by-case basis without negatively impacting the recent investments in networking equipment.

To date alternative network routes and alternative modes of connectivity have been deployed in partnership with SITA across not just ports of entry, mobile trucks and hospitals, but to front offices as well especially those offices highly impacted by cable theft.

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:

No, I have not considered facilitating the establishment of a specialist branch of anti-corruption courts with judges and prosecutors that are similar to the Agency Against Corruption (AAC) in Taiwan. This is because the Agency Against Corruption was historically formed to deal with integrity and ethics management in the Taiwanese government and aims to ensure a strong national integrity infrastructure through a specialised authority to enforce ethical governance. It plans and executes Taiwan’s overall anti-corruption strategies and not only acts as a police authority, but also as a prosecutorial power.

The way in which they operate is more of an institution that coordinates all aspects of integrity and anti-corruption related activities - much the same as the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) we currently have.

What should be noted is that the Taiwan High Courts, based on their various needs, have established several professional courts when required, such as the Professional Court of Anti-corruption, Professional Court of Fair Trade Cases, Professional Court of Sexual Harassment, etc.

This is similar to the South African situation where we have created specialist and dedicated courts when required. In this regard we have, for example, labour courts and land claims courts, etc.

In relation to the question, it needs to be borne in mind that we already have specialized courts to deal with serious commercial crime cases. They are called Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts (SCCCs), and are underpinned by dedicated prosecutorial Specialised Commercial Crimes Units (SCCUs) in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and dedicated investigators from police (SAPS/DPCI) side. In future, cases flowing from the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the NPA may also be taken to the Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts, where required. Noteworthy is that the Investigating Directorate has both investigative and prosecutorial capabilities.

Because they deal with serious corruption and other related economic crimes, these courts function mostly on a regional court level that can impose strong sentences on conviction. The Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit and Investigating Directorate of the NPA may also take very serious commercial crimes cases to the High Courts.

An important innovation of our Specialised Commercial Crime Court-model, is not that it only hears one type of case, namely, serious commercial crimes. Rather, it is the improved integration of the work of the prosecutors and investigators whose cases came to these courts that make a difference. Moreover, the fact that court time is specifically dedicated to such crimes means that, once in court, they can be processed more speedily than may have been the case on a normal general open court roll.

The dedication of specific staff (investigators, prosecutors, and designated regional magistrates) has assisted with the functioning of these courts.

For the 2018/19 financial year, these courts contributed to the NPA’s impact on serious economic crime as is evident in the 800 verdict cases finalised in complex commercial crime, with 760 convictions (95% conviction rate).

Unlike the practice in the rest of the criminal justice system, the prosecutor assigned to a particular case is involved in its investigation at a much earlier point in time. In this regard the prosecutor and investigator(s) are a team, but the prosecution helps guide the investigations and the integrated work methodology leads to improved convictions.

What have been assisting these courts are the following factors:

(a) In general, the involvement of the Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit prosecutors in coordinating the commercial crime cases and being involved from the start in the investigation phase, meant that the investigation tended, on average, to be both more effectively and more efficiently completed, making it that much easier to complete the charge sheet and present an effective case.

(b) Prosecutors, having been involved in the investigation, were much more attuned to, and familiar with, the specific facts of the case, making their presentation in court more effective. Moreover, this high level of preparedness made it that much more likely that defense counsel would advise their clients to plead guilty.

(c) The fact that particular magistrates were dedicated to commercial crimes also meant that both defense and prosecution had a better sense of the needs of the court, making cases more efficient. In addition, the familiarity of the court with the nature of these cases meant that the cases could proceed more rapidly.

We currently have fully established Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts in the following five (5) provinces:

1. Free State: Bloemfontein Regional Court;
2. Western Cape: Cape Town Regional Court;
3. Gauteng: Palm Ridge Regional Court; and Pretoria Regional Court;
4. Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth Regional Court; and
5. KZN: Durban Regional Court.

We anticipate that investigations and prosecutions of serious economic crime including corruption, will increase significantly, including cases arising from investigations conducted by the NPA’s Investigating Directorate, emanating from the various Commissions of Inquiry focusing on State Capture and Corruption. Therefore, we should have at least one Specialized Commercial Crimes Court per province. We need to create/strengthen capacity through the establishment and capacitation of Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts and the Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit of the NPA.

Funding has consequently been provided in terms of the MTSF and MTEF for the capacitation of both Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts and Specialized Commercial Crimes Units in the following 5 additional places, across the MTSF 2019-2024 period, in a phased manner as capacity and other required measures are put in place by all relevant role players:

a) Eastern Cape (Mthata);

b) North West (Mmabatho/Mafikeng);

c) Limpopo (Polokwane);

d) Mpumalanga (Mbombela); and

e) Northern Cape (Kimberley/Botshabelo).

Reply:

(a)(i) The total number of calls received by the contact center in the financial year 2018/2019 was 1 904 002 calls.

(a)(ii) 399840 were dropped before being pushed to the agents.

(b) 80% of calls received by agents after being pushed by the Integrated voice response system, answered within 20 seconds (80/20 rule). This is at the agent desk.

All escalations to Tier 2 done within 24hrs.

Less than 5% call abandonment rate (set based on a full staff complement of 120 agents and an average call handling time of 6 minutes)

(c) 96% of calls pushed to agent’s lines were answered within 20 seconds

98% of escalations to Tier 2 were done within 24 hours.

21% call abandonment rate (calls dropped before being pushed to the agents by the Integrated Voice Response). This is due to number of staff taking calls, complexity of calls fielded and call handling times per agent.

(d) The first contact/ call resolution rate for the 2018/2019 year was 92%. The unresolved calls/ cases were escalated to business units for further investigation and resolution.

(e) The center did not have any customer satisfaction measurement tools for the year in question. As this is a fairly new In-house center, the team had to ensure stability of the systems and users before advanced functionalities could be added and monitored. The customer satisfaction tool is envisaged to be rolled out as part of the optimization plan for the Contact Center.

(f) The customer satisfaction levels could not be measured as the center does not yet have a measuring system in place. Once rolled-out, customer satisfaction levels would be set and measured accordingly.

The call center had 97 agents for the financial year 2018/2019. Of the 97, 82 were assigned to handle voice channel (calls) and 15 assigned to e-mail channel.

(g) Total number of agents handling calls on any one given shift was 74 (planned leave, sick, family responsibility, study leave and any other emergency taken into consideration)

END

Reply:

The total number of active section 22 visas on the Departmental system as at 1 January 2020 was 188 296

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:

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 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 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 person to whom the question refers undertook an official trip to the United States and Switzerland in September 2019. As provided for in the Guide for Members of the Executive – which was came into effect on 8 June 2019 – she was accompanied by her spouse.

Should the Honourable Member or any other person have evidence of the misappropriation of public funds, they should provide that information to the relevant authorities.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. (a) The Expanded Public Works Programme is implemented across all provinces.

(b) (i) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) informed me that a total of 309 600 work opportunities were created by the provincial sphere. (ii) While a total of 168 922 work opportunities were created in the municipal sphere, Table 1 below reflects a breakdown of work opportunities created from April 2019 – December 2019 per each sphere of government.

Table 1: Number of work opportunities per sphere of government (April – Dec 2019)

Province	Municipal	National	Provincial	Grand Total
EC	23 329	65 820	71 662	160 811
FS	6 789	33 849	17 590	58 228
GP	21 240	32 821	28 188	82 249
KN	40 636	66 239	97 005	203 880
LP	17 231	42 459	29 980	89 670
MP	10 302	36 785	15 306	62 393
NC	4 699	25 029	5 966	35 694
NW	7 404	26 132	19 872	53 408
WC	37 292	30 033	24 031	91 356
Grand Total	168 922	359 167	309 600	837 689

(c) The remuneration that is paid to each EPWP worker in each province as reported into the EPWP Reporting System in the same reporting period is reflected in table 2 below.

Table 2: Average participants daily wages per province per sphere

Province	Municipal	National	Provincial	Total
EC	R 115	R119	R120	R 118
FS	R 156	R110	R116	R 127
GP	R 138	R116	R140	R 131
KN	R 154	R113	R118	R 128
LP	R 148	R103	R135	R 129
MP	R 133	R105	R139	R 126
NC	R 133	R104	R117	R 118
NW	R 161	R102	R133	R 132
WC	R 148	R119	R172	R 146
Total	R 148	R111	R128	R 129

2. EPWP participants have a job-specific task description. The job descriptions are based on the task the participant is required to perform in the project. The tasks vary due to the scope of projects across different sectors in which EPWP is active.

3. No

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

a) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) pays for electricity on behalf of user departments for properties under the custodianship of the Department. The significant number of properties get electricity from Municipalities and few directly from Eskom.

The Department is therefore only able to confirm for accounts where payments are made to Eskom on behalf of client departments for settlement of Eskom accounts. (See List A below)

b) According to the debtors age analysis dated 17 February 2020 received from Eskom, the DPWI owes an amount of R7.2 million for DPWI and the client departments where the payments of municipal servies is under its custodianship as follows:

Less than 30 days	30 + days	Total
919,454.66	6,316,741.36	7,236,196.02

The DPWI is in the process of validating and verifying the R7.2 million against its own records whilst continuing to pay invoices received for validated accounts.

Tabulated below is the rand value of payments made to Eskom and Municipalities in relation to Services. For Eskom it will be only for electricity, whereas for Municipalities, this will include electricity, water, sewerage and refuse services:

Municipal Expenditure 1 April 2019 to 31 January 2020
Supplier type	Municipal services	Property Rates	Grand Total
Eskom	473,644,667	-	473,644,667
Municipalities	2,581,190,340	727,408,713	3,308,599,054
Grand Total	3,054,835,007	727,408,713	3,782,243,720

List A:

1. Agriculture reseach council
2. Agriculture, Forest and Fish
3. Arts and Culture
4. Companies & intelec prop commission
5. Centre for public service innovation
6. Communications
7. Coop govt and traditional affairs
8. Correctional Services
9. Defence
10. Energy
11. Environmental Affairs
12. Film & Publication Board
13. Financial and Fiscal Commission
14. Gender Equality Commission
15. Government Communications
16. Government Pension Fund Administration
17. Health
18. Higher Education
19. Home Affairs
20. Human Rights Commission
21. Human Settlements
22. Independent Police Investigative Directorate
23. Inter Relation and Coop (DIRCO)
24. Justice and Constitutional Dev
25. Labour
26. Military Vetarans
27. Minerals Resources
28. National Prosecuting Authorithy
29. National School of Government
30. National Treasury
31. Public Enterprises
32. Public Protector
33. Public Service and Administration
34. Public Service Commission
35. Public Works
36. Rural dev and land affairs
37. SA Police Services
38. SAMAF
39. SARS
40. SASSA
41. Science and Technology
42. SITA
43. Social Development
44. Sports and Recreation
45. Statistics SA
46. Tourism
47. Trade and Industry
48. Transport
49. Water Affairs
50. Woman and children

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

Following the presentation on the Academy by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) to the Portfolio Committee for Public Works and Infrastructure, I subsequently engaged with officials within the Department. Taking into consideration the financial implications of establishing the Academy, namely the cost-cutting measures by the Public Service, I found it prudent to discontinue the plan. However, the Skills Development (Technical Capacity Building) Programme within the Department will not be negatively impacted but rather be more focused and dedicated to the rollout of its skills programmes. The Department has a dedicated Professional Services Branch to drive this.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

Yes, I have instructed the department to initiate processes to conduct lifestyle audits, commencing with myself as political head, followed by the departmental executives and senior management members and middle management. The audit will be undertaken in four (4) phases from May 2020 with the assistance of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) following my request in this regard to the head of the SIU during December last year. 

 a) Phase 1 of the lifestyle audit is estimated to commence in April 2020.

 b) The lifestyle audits strategy will be implemented in four (4) phases, and as follows:

• ➢ Phase 1: Minister and Deputy Minister, 
• ➢ Phase 2: Director-General and Deputy Director-Generals,
• ➢  Phase 3: Chief Directors, Supply Chain Management officials and other high-risk areas 
• ➢  Phase 4: Directors and below as required. 

c) (i),(ii), (iii) and (iv) The lifestyle audits have not yet commenced, and as a result, there are no findings or outcomes. Where there is prima facie evidence of possible criminal conduct, the matter will be referred to SAPS for further investigation. Where there is a reason to pursue any civil action, the matter will be referred to the State Attorney for civil litigation or the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for civil recovery through the courts. Where there is a reason to pursue disciplinary action, the matter will be referred to the department for further disciplinary action

 

Reply:

I appointed four investment envoys in April 2018 and a further three, with sector-specific focus areas, in November 2019. These appointments are at the President’s discretion and may be modified and/or withdrawn should I deem it necessary.

Investment envoys, like all other citizens, are subject to the laws that obtain in the Republic, and as such, where any misdemeanours occur these would need to be dealt with in terms of the applicable laws.

I am informed that the investment envoys have incurred the following travel and conference-related costs since their appointment:

Special Envoys	2018	2019	2020
Mr Mcebisi Jonas	R872,511	R965,004	R180,429
Ms Phumzile Langeni
Mr Jaco Maree
Mr Trevor Manuel
Mr Jeff Radebe

Reply:

(1) The President did not employ the SANDF to patrol the streets of Kimberley in January 2020.

(2) There was no employment under section 201 of the Constitution.

Reply:

a) The Department of International Relations and Cooperation uses the existing bilateral engagements with Zimbabwe to discuss all matters including political, economic and security situation in the country. Examples of such platforms are: the Binational Commission (BNC) held in Harare, Zimbabwe in March 2019; the BNC Mid-Term Review meeting hosted by South Africa on 18 November 2019; including the Symposium convened by the Minister at UNISA on 18 November 2019, where the importance of an inclusive political dialogue in Zimbabwe was underscored as part of wider solutions to solve the challenges faced by the country. The Minister is also scheduled to meet with Zimbabwe’s Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) on 2 April 2020.

b) Promotion and Protection of Human Rights remain central to South Africa’s foreign policy and this informs South Africa’s bilateral engagements with all countries.

Reply:

(1) (a) The high tension electrical distribution board (isolation box), which is part of the property and located at the main gate, disintegrated. This was allegedly caused by an explosion inside the isolation box which resulted in the whole electric supply system to the house being damaged beyond repair. The generator was required to ensure that the residence has electricity until all the processes were concluded for the repair.

(b) the generator started running on 23 June 2019.

(c) The estimated cost to run the generator is 1200 Euros in total per week.

(d) The electricity was restored on 17 February 2020.

(2) Yes, a complaint was received from the departmental official who resides in the house.