Reply:

(a)(b) The DPSA is not mandated to conduct lifestyle audits on members of the Executive, which includes members of Cabinet and Deputy Ministers.

(c) The newly established Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (called the “Ethics Enforcement Unit”) is mandated in terms of section 15 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 (PAMA), to conduct ethics profiles, which includes lifestyle audits, and includes all employees in the public administration, including Director-Generals.

(i) On 1 April 2019, a proclamation issued in terms of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 (PAMA 2014) brought into effect the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (the “Ethics Enforcement Unit”).

The mandate of this Unit, in terms of section 15 of PAMA 2014, (see Tag A) is to:

• support and provide technical assistance for the management of ethics, integrity and disciplinary matters relating to misconduct in the public administration;
• develop norms and standards for the above;
• build capacity around the disciplining of misconduct;
• strengthen oversight of ethics, integrity and discipline; and to intervene in cases where systemic weaknesses are identified;
• promote ethics and integrity; and
• cooperate with other institutions and organs of state.

As such, this Unit is the legal custodian of all integrity testing information and is responsible for lifestyle audits and integrity testing in all spheres of government.

The Unit is currently incubated in the DPSA, with efforts underway to fund and staff it properly, through a process of internal reprioritisation and reorganisation. The first phase will commence from 01 September 2019, and will include lifestyle audits as a function.

ii)-iii) The Unit has identified lifestyle audits as a priority and during its incubation phase will focus on the Public Service. To this effect, the unit has drafted a Framework for conducting lifestyle audits on public service employees. The Framework will be presented for approval to the Minister of the Public Service and Administration, where after terms of reference will be developed. As soon as this is finalised, it will be announced.

End

Reply:

1. The DPSA identified twenty public service employees who may have conducted business with the State and therefore, may be in contravention of section 8 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014.
2. No public service employees were prosecuted or fined for contravening section 8 of the specified Act. However, on 24 June 2019, the DPSA submitted a list of twenty employees referred to in paragraph 1, to both the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and the National Director for Public Prosecutions, with a request to conduct the necessary investigations and possible prosecutions.
3. No public service employee has had their employment terminated for contravening section 8 of the Act; as the identified cases still need to be investigated.

END

 

Reply:

a) The Department of Social Development does not employ Forensic social workers, however appoints probation officers and Assistant Probation officers in terms of Probation Services Act, no,116 of 1991 and operate within the criminal justice system to provide probation services and also within child justice system in terms of Child Justice Act no,75 of 2008

b) In South Africa forensic social work is a specialist area in social work, which implies that these social workers have additional registration to the generic social work registration as regulated by the South African Council of Social Service professions. Forensic Social Workers are currently employed by the South African Police Services and linked to detective units and Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in the family advocate offices to conduct forensic services in probation and divorce cases.

Reply:

(1) (i) The last Blue Drop (BD) report assessments were conducted in 2014 and the report was published in January 2016.

(ii) The last Green Drop (GD) assessments were conducted in 2013 and the report was published in 2014.

(2) (a) &(b) My Department has advised me that there are no plans to conduct Blue Drop and Green Drop assessments in the current financial year due to capacity and financial constraints.

Honourable Member, I have been made aware that the Department is supposed to conduct Progress Assessment Tool (PAT) on a yearly basis to ensure that the Municipalities whose schemes were not compliant when the last Blue Drop and Green Drop Assessments were conducted do progressively address challenges identified.

I wish to appeal to the Honourable Member to afford me an opportunity to look into the capacity and financial challenges that may have hampered the conduct of these assessments on a regular basis.

 

Reply:

This response is according to the information received from South African Express:

Response attached as Annexure A.

Specific details in part (c) relating to Namane Capital attached as Annexure B.

 

Reply:

No statutory service provider has been appointed in terms of section 3 (1A)(b)(ii) of the Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990, however, assignees have been designated by the Minister in terms of section 2 (3)(a) of the said Act as far back as 1991 until recently in 2016. A total of 7 assignees have thus far been designated to conduct inspection on regulated agricultural products destined for export and those that are sold locally. The empowering section that was used in the designation of assignees is the very same section 2 (3)(a) of the said Act. The obligations, duties and rights of parties, the assignee, the regulated community and that of the Honourable Minister, are set out in the said Act.

Reply:

There are 13 rehabilitation centres that are run by the state in 9 provinces.

Province	Name of centre	Bed capacity	Status
Gauteng	Dr Fabian and Florence treatment centre	300	Operational
Northern Cape	Northern Cape substance abuse treatment centre	40	Operational
North West	J.B. Marks treatment centre	40	Operational
	Taung treatment centre	20	In the process of being operationalised
Western Cape	Kensington treatment centre	30	Operational
	De Novo treatment centre	120	Operational
Eastern Cape	Ernest Malgas treatment centre	38	Operational
Mpumalanga	Swartfontein treatment centre	50	Operational
	Nkangala treatment centre	50	In the process of being operationalised
Limpopo	Seshego treatment centre	72	Operational
Free State	Botshabelo treatment centre	40	Under construction
Kwa Zulu- Natal	Madadeni treatment centre	44	Operational
	New lands treatment centre	100	Operational

Reply:

1. The development of decent, affordable student housing for universities and TVET colleges is a priority of government. The Student Housing Infrastructure Programme has been developed to accelerate the provision of 300 000 beds over 10 years, which includes
100 000 beds for TVET college students. A pilot project is currently underway at the King Hintsa TVET College with the Lephalale and Northlink TVET Colleges forming the next projects in the pipeline. A further six colleges will be selected for consideration during the course of this year.

The Department is also assisting TVET colleges with the repairs and maintenance of existing student accommodation through the College Capital Infrastructure Efficiency Grant.

The Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation is also working towards supporting the development of student housing as part of their social housing developments.

2. Given the substantial increase in the bursary allocation from R2.437 billion in 2017 to R5.164 billion in 2018 and R6.517 billion in 2019 for the introduction of fee-free education, the Department is able to provide accommodation or travel allowances to qualifying TVET college students. In view of the increase in funding, the Department has standardised rates for allowances to ensure that TVET students’ basic needs are met to be successful in their studies.

NSFAS assesses the financial eligibility of all applicants while the colleges’ financial aid committee verifies the students’ supporting documents to make a determination on eligibility for either a travel or accommodation allowance. NSFAS pays out the allowances to students in accordance with the recommendation of the college financial aid committee, based on the College Bursary Rules and Guidelines developed by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

In 2018, approximately 115 000 students qualified for accommodation allowances.

Reply:

1. There is no person whose asylum application was rejected due to fraudulent documents was ever arrested in each of the past five years. In terms of Section 24 (3) of the Refugees Act 1998 (Act 108 of 1998) the Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO) must at the conclusion of the hearing either grant asylum, or reject the application as manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent or reject such application as unfounded.

Section 1(xi) of the Refugees Act 1998 defines a fraudulent application for asylum as meaning an application for asylum based without reasonable cause on facts, information, documents or representations which the applicant knows to be false and which facts, information, documents or representations are intended to materially affect the outcome of the application.

Therefore decisions are taken on the basis of the adjudication of the asylum claim which may contain documents which the applicant knows to be false and which documents are intended to materially affect the outcome of the application. Fraudulent decisions like manifestly unfounded or abusive are referred to Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA) for automatically review. In the event such decision are upheld by SCRA, such applicant is then referred to Inspectorate for deportation.

2. It must be noted that any of the specified persons are finally rejected by SCRA, they are still at liberty to approach the courts for a judicial review if they so wish to do so.

END

Reply:

The Department has a Branch, Counter Corruption & Security Services which is mandated to prevent and combat fraud and corruption as well as to promote organisational integrity within the DHA. Because people who commit fraud and corruption are motivated by a number of things, the Prevention Unit of the Branch undertakes awareness interventions aimed at educating officials about fraud, corruption and the negative consequences thereof through awareness initiatives that also promote ethical behaviour.

At the same time, wrongdoing needs to be addressed hence reported allegations of fraud and corruption involving officials are investigated. Once the allegations have been proved to be true through investigations, the matter is referred to Labour Relations for instituting of disciplinary against implicated officials. Line function managers are informed of methods used to commit fraud and corruption that are uncovered during investigation so that these can be addressed.

The Unit also undertakes the following proactive measures in its fight against fraud and corruption by officials:

• Evaluation of Departmental processes in order to identify gaps that may contribute to fraud and corruption. Recommendations thereof are then sent to the relevant Branches for implementation, i.e. close the gaps.

• Two processes are earmarked for the current financial year, Ports of Entry as well as Passports.
• Vetting investigation of officials in order to determine their security competence in relation to the grading of their posts.
• Threat and Risk Assessments are undertaken in line with the Minimum Physical Security Standards as well Minimum Information Security Standards. This is to ensure that our facilities and document management are in compliance with prescripts. Recommendations from these exercises are referred to the relevant office managers for implementation.

The Department also launched Operation Bvisa Masina (Weeding out the rot), which is a collaboration with other Law Enforcement Agencies in fighting fraud and prevention. During the previous financial year, 17 officials and 12 non-officials were arrested as a result of this Operation.

The Department is also working at integrating its systems as the non-integrated systems have been flagged as contributing factors to fraud and corruption.

 

END

Reply:

(1);(2) This information is not routinely collected by the national department. The member is advised to request the information directly from the provincial departments.

Reply:

1. The national Department of Basic Education has a responsibility to oversee, guide, monitor and support the provinces in the implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), and to ensure compliance with National Treasury regulations and the Conditional Grant Framework in particular. The Provincial Education Departments on the other hand, have a key responsibility to implement the programme in line with the applicable prescripts and guidance. Procurement of services for the NSNP is a provincial responsibility. To ensure that learners benefit maximally, the Conditional Grant Framework of the NSNP specifies the following conditions: the percentage of funds that are to be used for procurement and cooking of meals (feeding); the quality of school meals; as well responsibilities for districts and provinces with respect to monitoring and support to ensure adherence.

2. The selection of service providers in the NSNP is managed like all procurement processes in the public service. The selection is done by provinces in line with the Supply Chain Management (SCM) System processes and applicable prescripts. Where the procurement model is centralised (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Western Cape), an open tender process is followed. In the remaining provinces where the decentralised model is used and funds are transferred to schools, the 3 quotation system is mostly utilised, as determined by the ceiling price of the service in line with SCM prescripts. In all instances, procurement is required to be open, fair, transparent, equitable, effective and efficient, among others. The DBE has developed a guideline for schools on the management of NSNP funds which was disseminated to provinces and districts. School Management Teams were trained on the use of this guideline.

Reply:

a) In order to address long queues, the department has partnered with several stakeholders including, Government Communication and Information Services (GCIS) wherein causes of long queues were identified and the following strategies are to be implemented:

• Continue to increase the footprint through e-channel, mobile offices, roll-out additional modernised offices to ultimately phase out the manual process, come up with kiosk counters (in future) and lastly consider a booking system at local offices.
• re-open negotiations with organised labour as well as DPSA to allow the department to work on Saturdays through the introduction of a shift system as this will assist in reducing queues as most clients found themselves not able to visit DHA offices during the week.
• Engage with SITA and other role-players to continue with the stabilization of the IT system. In addition, the department will improve system functionality through the introduction of an “offline” mode facility which will continue rendering services to clients even if the system is offline and
• the department is in the process of prioritising filling of critical positions even though the department has not been in a position to fill vacant posts due to budget cuts.

b) The department is on a journey to modernise all the back end legacy systems and automate all front end processes to issue vital documents. To date the department has automated front end processes of issuing IDs, Passports, Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates. The system development programme is ongoing and back end legacy systems are still to be completed to ensure full integration rather than the current multiple interfaces which are not ideal and causes intermittent downtimes.

The network infrastructure in which all the DHA systems run on is provided for by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and is often a cause of system downtime. A comprehensive assessment was done by SITA in the last financial year and produced a new network architecture and implementation plan which will provide a fully redundant and high availability network throughout the DHA footprint.

(c) The department has been mandated by Cabinet to establish the Border Management Authority (BMA) as a strategic intervention aimed at circumventing the challenges which prevail in the border environment that enable illegal migrants access into the country. As Parliament is aware, the BMA Bill is presently in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The intention is to fast-track this Bill for finalisation in 2019.

In the short-term, the BMA Project Management Office (PMO) in the Department of Home Affairs is responsible for the coordination and management of organs of state in the border environment. In this regard 17 Directors-General/Accounting Officers have signed a Multi-Party Agreement on Enhanced Border Coordination.

 

END

Reply:

1. The Teacher Laptop Initiative was part of a strategy to take forward the objective of improving Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning.  After its announcement in 2009, the initiative was widely hailed as one of the critical steps towards the improvement of the quality of education. The initiative’s aim was to ensure that every teacher owns and uses a laptop, by providing them with a monthly allowance which will contribute to the purchase costs as well as the costs of connectivity.

2. Due to a number of challenges the Department did not launch this project.

3. STATE OF THE NATIONS ADDRESS (SONA) INJUNCTIONS

Based on the 2019 SONA injunctions, the DBE plans to provide each learner and teacher with an ICT device with access to digitised Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM).

3.1 A comprehensive ICT plan has been developed to provide a framework for an affordable and sustainable implementation of ICTs in education. The plan will be implemented in three phases, commencing with Phase 1 that will target multi-grade, multiphase, farm and selected rural schools (2020-2021). The Second Phase will target quintile 1 to 3 schools (2022-2023), and Phase 3 will target quintile 4 and 5 schools (2024). All Special schools will be accommodated in all phases according to the type of disability.

3.2 The DBE will work with other government departments, the private sector and social partners in the deployment of ICTs, and will drive a sector-wide campaign to maximise the benefit of e-Learning at all schools in the country.

4. FOCUS AREAS

Four areas have been identified from the e-Education White Paper (2004) as follows:

4.1 Digital content resource development (digitisation)

The DBE will invest in digital content development to ensure that high quality digital resources are available free of charge offline and online via the DBE Cloud, Thutong and other platforms. The basic education sector aims for a balance between ‘state-owned’ content resources, open education resources (OERs) and publisher-created (proprietary) content resources. The Department will continue with its initiative of digitising state-owned content resources.

4.2 ICT professional development for management, teaching and learning integration

The introduction of ICT in the education sector necessitates the professional development of all teachers, managers and educator support staff in the Provinces. This means the provision of appropriate training for teachers and managers before they attempt to introduce the use of ICT in the classrooms. The training of teachers will be guided by the Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning.

4.3 ICT infrastructure

The DBE plans to provide each learner and teacher with an ICT device to enhance teaching and learning. It should be noted that ICT infrastructure is fundamental to the implementation of e-Education and offers opportunities to access learning, redress inequalities and improve the quality of teaching and learning.

4.4 School connectivity

The Departments of Basic Education and Communications have developed a connectivity plan for schools. The plan seeks to provide cost-effective, secure and efficient connectivity that will advance the quality of teaching and learning in schools, specifically ensuring access to quality education.

 

Reply:

THE DEPARMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

The Department of Human Settlements and five of its six entities namely, Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB), National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), Housing and Development Agency (HDA) have advised me that they do not own land and therefore the question is not applicable to these. However, the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) has indicated that it owns various properties and further details are provided below:

A) The President Place which is situated at 78 President Street (Corner of Odendaal Street) in Germiston and that,

1. The property is a mixed use building, residential and commercial space, comprising of 320 rental apartments of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms and 22 shops.
2. Investment property in Germiston is worth R102 222 000.
3. The duration of the investment is 10 years.

B. Investments in Cape Town and Upington

(a) (ii) The Cape Town Community Housing Company Pty Ltd (CTCHC), a company owned 100% by the NHFC.

(b) (i) CTCHC owns 1006 repossessed institutional subsidy houses, which are still occupied by the original beneficiaries. These houses are located in and around the Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain area, Cape Town. The CTCHC also owns 94 gap-market houses in Upington which are available for sale to qualifying beneficiaries.

(ii) The houses in Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s have an approximate value of R 85 million and the ones in Upington are estimated to be worth R 4.6 million.

(iii) The houses are currently let on short-term rentals.

 

THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION:

a) (i) As much as the department owns land, no investment company has invested on the land it owns.

(ii) Refer to the table below for responses from entities.

(a)(ii) Entity	(b)(i) Nature	(b)(ii) Value	(b)(iii) Length of each investment
Amatola Water	None	None	None
Bloem Water	None	None	None
Lepelle Northern Water	None	None	None
Magalies Water Mhlathuze	None	None	None
Mhlathuze Water	None	None	None
Rand Water	None	None	None
Sedibeng Water	None	None	None
WRC	None	None	None
TCTA	None	None	None
BGCMA	None	None	None
IUCMA	None	None	None
Overberg Water	Transnet rent income for access to the servitude land of Overberg Water	Transnet R45 265.65 pa (annual escalation 8%)	Transnet: Area 338 hectares - indefinitely based on a five year review basis
	Telkom rent income for access to the servitude land of Overberg Water	Telkom R51 757.49 pa (annual escalation 8%)	Telkom: Area 224 hectares - indefinitely based on a five year review basis
	Vodacom rent income for access to the servitude land of Overberg Water	Vodacom R40 528.38.49 pa (annual escalation 10%)	Vodacom: Area 262 hectares - indefinitely based on a five year review basis
	MTN rent income for access to the servitude land of Overberg Water	MTN R40 528.38.49 pa (annual escalation 12.38%)	MTN: Area 230.25 hectares - indefinitely based on a five year review basis
Umgeni Water	Brookdale farm in Howick: Cattle Farming	R 19 835.92	200.0408 hectares. 5 Years Lease duration
	Doorenhoek farm (Pietermaritzburg): Sugarcane Farming	R18 163.11	297.4926 hectares. 10 Years Lease duration

Reply:

The number of persons living in each informal settlement in each province are given in the attached Annexure A. The status of the information is as at November 2017, based on information provided by Provinces and some Metropolitan municipalities, as well as information gathered by the Department during the informal settlement assessments, categorisation and development of the upgrading plans.

Reply:

Honourable Member, please find information provided to me by the Department of Human Settlements, of Water and Sanitation and the entities reporting to me.

A. HUMAN SETTLEMENTS:

(1) (a)(i)The Department is currently faced with three (3) disputes, with two of these (2) at conciliation stage and one (1) at arbitration stage.

(b)(i) The Causes of the two (2) disputes at Conciliation are as follows:

• The 1st dispute arose from an employee who lodged a formal grievance on 22 October 2018 alleging wrongful conduct by the employer in a disciplinary hearing which impaired her dignity resulting in suffering and humiliation. The employee further sought compensation for her suffering and humiliation:

• The grievance was investigated with recommendations on findings thereof supported and approved by the Head of Department.
• The aggrieved employee was however dissatisfied with the outcome and opted to refer a dispute to the CCMA.
• The CCMA considered that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter and advised the employee to refer the dispute to the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC).

• The 2nd dispute arose after an employee was placed on pre-cautionary suspension on 29 April 2019 pending conclusion of investigations into possible acts of misconduct, including incidents of gross financial misconduct, gross insubordination, gross dishonesty, gross misrepresentation, gross violation of prescripts and gross negligence that occurred between July 2018 to March 2019.

The Cause of the one (1) dispute at Arbitration is as follows:

• The dispute arose from an employee who lodged a formal grievance on 4 December 2017 regarding the department’s failure to pay acting allowance in that the DDG: CS granted approval for the payment of an acting allowance, however, the Director-General advised that the post the employee was acting against did not exist and the employee must move back to her original post:
• The grievance was investigated and recommendations on findings thereof supported and approved by the Head of Department.
• The aggrieved employee was however dissatisfied with the outcome and opted to refer the dispute to the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC).

(ii) The Nature of the two (2) disputes at Conciliation are as follows:

• The 1st dispute is regarding an unfair labour practice relating to an occupational detriment and contravention of the Protected Disclosure Act;
• The 2nd dispute is regarding an unfair labour practice relating to suspension.

The Nature of the dispute at Arbitration is as follows:

• The dispute is regarding an unfair labour practice relating to the payment of benefits, i.e. the non-payment of an acting allowance.

(c) (i) The dates the two (2) disputes at Conciliation were reported:

• One (1) dispute was reported to the GPSSBC on 11 April 2019.
• One (1) dispute was reported to the GPSSBC on 20 May 2019.

The dates the dispute at Arbitration was reported:

• One (1) dispute was reported to the GPSSBC on 6 June 2018.

(ii) Status on Resolution of the disputes

• None of the disputes have been resolved.
• The Department is awaiting notices of sit-down for the two (2) disputes referred for conciliation.
• The dispute at arbitration is continuing in that parties are leading evidence and cross-examination.

(2) (a)(i) The Department dismissed four (4) employees in the past five years.

(ii) The four (4) dismissal by the Department were as follows:

• One (1) employee was dismissed on 27 August 2014 after being charged and found guilty for the following:

• • Negligently mismanaging the finances of the state
  • False statements
  • Gross dereliction of duty
  • Prejudicing the administration of the Department
  • Fruitless expenditure of R114 100

• Three (3) employees were dismissed on 23 May 2018, 1 June 2018 and 31 January 2019 respectively for absconding from the Public Service, in terms of Section 17(3)(a)(i) of the Public Service Act, 103 of 1994 .

• A termination by virtue of the said provision is regarded, not as a dismissal, but a termination “by operation of law” and hence not arbitrable under the Labour Relations Act.

(b)(i) No employees were paid severance packages;

(ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

DHS Entities

Community Scheme Ombud Service

(1) (a)(ii) There is only one dispute being currently faced by the Community Scheme Ombud Service.

(b)(ii) The cause was subsequent to a precautionary suspension, pending an investigation.

(c)(ii) The nature of the labour dispute is: “Unfair suspension or disciplinary action”

(d)(i) The matter was reported to the CCMA on the 4th April 2019.

(d)(ii) The last set down for an arbitration was on the 25th June 2019. The matter was postponed to a date to be confirmed.

(2) (a) (i) Only one employee was dismissed in the past five years

(a) (ii) The employee was dismissed for poor performance.

(b) (i) No employees were paid severance packages.

(b) (ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

Estate Agency Affairs Board

The table below summaries the response to question 1(a) (b) (c) (d):

NO (a)	NATURE OF DISPUTE (c)	DATE REPORTED (d) (i)	STATUS OF THE MATTER (b)	OUTCOME (d) (ii)
1	Section 186(2) (a) - Unfair conduct - promotion/ demotion/ probation/ training/ benefits.	17 August 2018	The matter was scheduled for 4 September 2018 for In Limine/ Conciliation. The matter was not resolved and was scheduled for Con/Arb on 01 October 2018. Subsequently on 05 October 2018 a Jurisdictional Ruling was made for the matter to be heard by the Labour Court. The matter was scheduled for 04 June 2019 with the Labour court, however on 27 May 2019 the EAAB received communication that the Labour Court removed the matter from the unopposed roll and the matter would not proceed as scheduled as it had been cancelled. This means NEHAWU may apply for a new court date, however no correspondence has been received in this regard thus far.	Pending
2	Section 186(2) (a) - Unfair conduct - promotion/ demotion/ probation/ training/ benefits.	20 December 2018	The matter was scheduled for In Limine on 09 January 2019. The matter resumed on 28 January 2019 where it the employee applied for condonation which was denied and the matter dismissed.	Resolved
3	Section 198B - Alleged unfair termination of contract.	30 November 2018	The matter was unresolved at conciliation and was referred for Arbitration on 28 February 2019 the applicants declared their intention to subpoena witnesses in support of their case. The commissioner postponed the matter to a later date in order to allow the witnesses to subpoenaed. The matter was rescheduled for Arbitration on 21 June 2019, however it was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.	Pending
4	Section 191(5) (a) (iii) - Reason for dismissal not known.	22 March 2019	The matter was scheduled for Arbitration on 24 April 2019 however the HR Department received a postponement notice on 17 April 2019. Details of the new date have not been communicated.	Pending
5	Section 198B - Alleged unfair termination of contract.	03 April 2019	The matter was referred for conciliation on 03 April 2019 remained unresolved. The matter was scheduled for Arbitration on 21 June 2019 where both parties presented. The Commissioner is yet to make a ruling on the matter.	Pending
6	Section 191(5)(a)(iii) - Reason for dismissal not known	04 June 2019	The employee lodged the dispute at the CCMA on 04 June 2019. The matter sat for Con/Arb on 24 June 2019 where the Commissioner recommended a Section 198B application to be aligned to the applicant’s dispute.	Pending

(2) (a)(i) 1 (One) – Audit Compliance Officer was dismissed on 13 June 2016.

(ii) Reasons for dismissal - Gross dishonesty and unauthorised use of company property

(b)(i) No employees paid severance packages

(ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

Housing Development Agency

(1) (a)(ii) Number of labour disputes are currently faced by the HDA are as follow:

• Fixed Term Temp employment contract ended (x3)
• Claim of Constructive Dismissal (x3)
• Unfair Dismissal (x1)
• Allegations of Misconduct (Disciplinary enquiry pending) (x3)
• Suspensions (x5) – matters are in progress
• Internal Grievance (x5) – internal matters will be managed as guided by the organisations’ policies and procedures

(b) (i) The Causes of the three (3) disputes are categorised as follows:

• Fixed Term Employment Contracts:
• Both employees were dissatisfied that their Fixed Term Temp Contract of employment was not renewed, and the dispute was referred to the CCMA by the employee on grounds of unfair labour practice in April 2019. The matter is still in progress with the CCMA. This matter is unresolved.

• Claim of Constructive Dismissal matter:
• This is after the employees were placed through the internal Disciplinary process where they were facing gross allegations of misconducts and resigned during the course of the proceedings and later approached CCMA claimed constructive dismissal in June 2019. CCMA dismissed the case and closed the matter.

• Unfair Dismissal matter:
• The employee was seconded to HDA for a specified period with a proviso to return to his primary employer at the end of the secondment period. It appears that the primary employer had backfilled the role permanently while the said employee was on secondment.

(c)(i) The employee has referred the matter to the CCMA as unfair dismissal which is still to be heard in July 2019.

(2) (a) (i) Five (x5) employees dismissed

(a) (ii) The five (5) dismissal by the Entity were as follows:

• Three (x3) on Gross misconduct
• One (x1) Insubordination and Incompatibility
• One (x1) Gross Negligence and Misconduct

(b)(i) No employees were paid severance packages

(ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

National Home Builders Registration Council

The table below summaries the response to question (1) (a) (b) (c) (d)

CAUSE OF DISPUTE (b)(i)	NATURE OF DISPUTE (c)	DISPUTE LODGED DATE (d)(i)	DISPUTE RESOLVED DATE (d) (ii)
Alleged unfair suspension	Unfair labour practice	25-Apr-18	Pending
Breach of fiduciary duties	Section 188A CCMA Enquiry	25-Jun-18	31-Jul-18
Alleged unfair suspension	Unfair labour practice	25-Apr-18	Pending
Alleged corruption	Unfair dismissal	10-Jul-18	27-Jul-18
Failure e to work	Disciplinary hearing -	13-Jul-18	27-Aug-18
according to	Misconduct
operating procedures
& carry out
reasonable and
lawful instruction
Gross dishonesty	Disciplinary hearing –	15-Aug-18	14-Nov-18
Gross negligence	Disciplinary hearing - Misconduct	16-Aug-18	14-Nov-18
Failure to adhere to company policies	Disciplinary hearing - Misconduct	17-Jul-18	17-0ct-18
Failure to respond to emails without valid reasons	Disciplinary hearing - Misconduct	06-Jul-18	06-Jul-18
Behaving unprofessionally	Disciplinary hearing - Misconduct	06-Jul-18	06-Jul-18
Failure to discharge duties and obligations with due diligence and in the best interest of the organization	Disciplinary hearing - Misconduct	04-Jul-18	31-Oct- 18
Failure to carry lawful and reasonable instruction	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	21-Jun-18	21-Jun-18
Failure to obey reasonable and lawful instruction	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	16-Apr-18	16-Apr-18
Negligence and carelessness of duties	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	25-0ct-18	25-0ct-18
Failure to conduct a pre-inspection to confirm status of construction	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	10-Sep-18	28-Jan-19
Not attending to work at the mobile office in Umtata	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	07-Dec-18	07-Dec-18
Equal pay for work of equal value-discrimination	Unfair labour practice	18-Dec-18	09-Jan-19
Dishonest behavior in capturing a stand number	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	14-Jan-19	14-Jan-19
Submission of incorrect information in that construction has commenced on site	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	11-Feb-19	12-Feb-19
Misrepresentation and failing to act in the best interest of the organisation	Disciplinary hearing – Misconduct	26-Apr-18	26-Apr-18
Unfair discrimination in recruitment process	Unfair discrimination	09-Sep-14	06-Feb-19

(2) (b)(i) No employees were paid severance packages

(ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

National Housing Finance Corporation

(1) (a) (ii) There are no disputes that the NHFC currently is facing

(b) (i) Not applicable

(c) (i) Not applicable

(d) (i) Not applicable

(d) (ii) Not applicable

(2) (a)(i) 2 (two) employees were terminated by the NHFC on issues of ill-health and poor performance , furthermore in and around 2014, the NHFC experienced a high cost to income ratio that would render it financially unsustainable if not addressed, the majority of the costs emanated from labour costs. The NHFC Board embarked on a company-wide restructuring that included recommendations on reducing the high labour cost. As a result, Management began consultation processes with the representatives of the union in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. The outcome of these consultative processes resulted in Twenty Eight (28) employees accepting voluntary severance packages.

(b)(i) Twenty Eight (28) employees were paid Severance Pay, the other two (2) employees were not paid severance packages only the normal notice pay;

(ii) The total cost of the severance packages were R 22 264 381.80.

Social Housing Regulatory Authority

(1) (a)(ii) There is one dispute currently faced by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority.

(b)(i) Allegations of an unfair precautionary suspension.

(c)(i) The nature of the dispute is unfair labour practice.

(d)(i) The case was reported to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on the 13 November 2018 and second case was reported to the CCMA on the 23rd June 2019 as well as the Labour Court on the 24th June 2019.

(d)(ii) On the first case, a postponement was granted by the Commissioner on the 24th June 2019 due to a change in legal representation, thus case is still pending the arbitration award. With regard to the second case, the CCMA case has not been heard yet but the labour Court has heard the matter on the 28 June 2019 and reserved the judgment to the 3rd of July 2019.

(2) (a)(i) Two (2) employees were dismissed by the department in 2018.

(a)(ii) Both employees were dismissed for absconding from the Public Service, in terms of Public Service Act Section 17(3) (a) (i). A termination by virtue of the said provision is regarded, not as a dismissal, but a termination “by operation of law” and hence not arbitrable under the Labour Relations Act.

(b)(i) No employees were paid severance packages

(b)(ii) Therefore a nil monetary value.

 

B. WATER AND SANITATION:

(1) The information relating to labour diputes provided by entities in the water and sanitation portfolio is attcahed as Annexure A.

The information availed by the Deparrment of Water and Sanitation is provided in the table below:

(a)(i) Number of labour disputes are currently faced by the Department	A total of 229 labour disputes.
(b)(i) Cause of dispute	Unfair Dismissal and suspensions: Theft; Mismanagement and embezzlement of state funds; Misuse of state Property; Gross Dishonestly Unfair Labour Practice: Promotions and Benefits Interpretation of collective agreement: movement of levels. Discrimination for equal pay for equal work at equal value
(ii) Nature of each dispute	Total of Unfair Dismissal: 4 Unfair Dismissal outstanding at bargaining council: 1 Unfair Dismissal finalised: 3 Total of Unfair Labour Practice: Promotions and benefits and unfair suspensions: 133 Unfair Labour Practice outstanding at bargaining council: 94 Unfair Labour Practice finalised: 39
(c)(i) On what date was each dispute reported	Date reported: Unfair Dismissal 28/09/2017 26/04/2018 25/5/2018 18/08/2017 Date reported: Unfair Labour Practice: Promotions and benefits 29/03/2019 total of 27 18/05/2019 total of 70 27/11/2018 total of 14 20/04/2016 one case 27/03/2017 total of 15 26/04/2019 one case 03/10/2017 total of 4 07/05/2019 one case Date reported: Interpretation of collective agreement On 22/11/2018 total of 69 On 15/03/2019 total of 3 On 13/06/2019 total of 10 On 27/09/2017 total of 2 On 18/05/2019 one case On 30/05/2019 one case On 06/05/2019 total of 3 On 15/05/2019 one case Date reported: Discrimination for equal pay for equal work at equal value One 14/05/2019 one case matter still on going
(c)(ii) On what date was each dispute resolved	Date resolved: Unfair Dismissal On 09/11/2018 On 07/03/2018 On 29/04/2019 Date Resolved: Unfair Labour Practice: Promotions and benefits On 01/03/2019 total of 14 On 23/03/2019 one case On 28/06/2018 a total of 2 On 09/05/2019 one case On 23/07/2018 total of 15 On 07/03/2019 one case 19/10/2018 total of 4; 23/10/2018 Date Resolved: Interpretation of collective agreement On 02/04/2019 total of 66; On 11/05/2018 one case On 21/09/2019 total of 2

(2) Information relating dismissal in the Department is provided in the table below:

(a)(i) The number of employees have been dismissed by her department in the past five years	A total of 30 dismissal.
(ii) For what reason was each employee dismissed	Fraud a total of 8 Theft a total of 6 Assault a total of 4 Mismanagement and embezzlement of state funds a total of 3 Sexual Harassment a total of 1 Fraudulent qualification a total of 1 Absenteeism a total of 1 Irregular appointment in the Recruitment processes a total of 1 Gross dishonesty a total of 3 Misuse of state vehicle a total of 1 Racism a total of 1
(2)(a)(i) What number of the specified employees were paid severance packages	No severance packages was paid
(ii) was the monetary value of each severance package	No severance packages was paid

Reply:

a) It is anticipated that the houses in the Msunduzi Local Municipality’s Wirewall Rectification Programme in Phase 4 project will be completed by 31 December 2020.

b) The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements terminated a contract with the original Service Provider, Masiqhame Trading 376cc in 2013 due to failure to perform in terms of the contractual agreement agreed to. Subsequently, the Msunduzi Local Municipality was instructed by the Provincial Department to procure the services of a new Service Provider to rectify the houses that were not completed by Masiqhame Trading 376cc. A contractual agreement was then entered into between the Msunduzi Local Municipality and the new Service Provider, Farfield Development for the rectification of the outstanding houses and the agreement was signed on 16 May 2016. It then came to the attention of the Local Municipality that some of the houses that were constructed by Masiqhame Trading 376cc were not built in accordance with the layout plan of the area. As a result, a Town Planner was appointed to re-design the project area and amend the zoning of the properties where required.

Reply:

1. No further action is planned beyond the public statements I previously made concerning this matter . I informed the Ambassador to articulate policies of South Africa and that she needs to adhere to the Social Media Guidelines of the Department.

2. (a) I and the Department have reiterated Government Policy on the land issue.

(b) Government Policy on the land issue has not changed, and is readily accessible to residents and investors in Denmark, and all other interested parties.

Reply:

1. 5G stands for fifth-generation cellular wirelass networks technology that provides broadband access, which has the potential to be 40 limes faster and suffer shorter fag times than the current 4G/LTE. The mobile networks service provider automatically upgrade to the latest version of network during the rollout where there is infrastructure for the coverage. It is uced to transmit data, voice, video and multimedia streaming cannot be used in weapons.
2. SG is the cellular wireless networks technology that provides broadband accass, is not the tool to be used for ctowd dispersal:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL

I SERVICES NP MASIYE

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 5 JULY 2019 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 3-2019)

Reply to question 148 recommended/not recommended

DEPUTY NATIONAL FN VUMA

Date:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL MIGSIONER- ASSET AND LEGAL MANAGEMENT

Reply to question 148 recommended/ not recommended

NATIONAL COMMISSIONER KJ SITOLE (SOEG)

GENERAL

SOUTH TH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE

Reply to question 148 approved/not approved

GENER BH CELE, MINISTER OF POLICE

Date:

Reply:

1. On the matter of land ownership changing the Ambassador did not make any comments that directly linked to Government policy.

2. The Ambassador made some statements in the tweet that could be construed as personal and that made negative references to individuals she exchanged tweets with. I therefore advised her to always communicate in a manner that is consistent with our expectations as representative of South Africa and to have regards to the Social Media Guidelines of the Department.

 

Reply:

(1) The Station Commander of SAPS Vosloorus was found guilty and sentenced to twelve (12) months Imprisonment or R10 000 fine and 19 currently back at work. The disciplinary matter was finalised on 24 November 2017, by means of the expedition process and the officer was given a final written warning.

(2)

The Information provided Is for 2017/2018 and 2019-2020 financial years, from 1 April 2017 to September 2018.

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 28 JUNE 2019 lNTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 2-2010)

Reply to question 100 recommended

VI NAL C NTSHIEA

LIEUTENANT GENERAL

Divisional Commissioner

Reply to question 100 recommended/ not recommended

LIEUTENANT GENERAL DEPUTY NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: ASSET AND LEGAL MANAGEMENT FN VUMA

Date:

Reply to questlon 100 recommended

S9I LE (SOEG)

GENERAL SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 28 JUNE 2019 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 2-2010)

Reply to question 100 approved/ not approved

Reply:

a) Consultations on the rationalisation of South African foreign missions are ongoing.

b) Savings can only be determined once the process has been finalised.

Reply:

Water recycling is done by the Water Boards as Water Service Providers that are also operating Water Schemes on behalf of municipalities. The information provided to me by Water Boards in response to the Honourable Member is as follows:

Entities	What percentage of water that was consumed in the Republic was recycled in each province in 2018?
Amatola Water	Amatola Water does not recycle waste water as it is operating upstream of the water value chain in the bulk purification, distribution and storage space. Amatola Water’s processing methods at plant level involve an insignificant amount of water recycling which is approximately 1% of the raw water abstracted from source.
Bloem Water	Bloem Water Treatment works does not recycle consumed water at any of its plants; however during the purification stage water is backwashed and sent back to the catchment (Dams). This process is then metered and reported under unaccounted for water (apparent losses) which is one portion of the Non-Revenue Water for the Entity the other being water consumed by the Entity at Plants and the Head Office which is and average of 1.2%.
Lepelle Northern Water	Refer to Annexure A below for recycled water amounts by Lepelle Northern Water
Magalies Water	Magalies Water presents the quantities that constitutes 4,21% recycled water as a percentage of raw water abstracted for the period July 2018 up to 31 March 2019, for the 2018/19 financial year.
Mhlathuze Water	No recycled water activities.
Overberg Water	No recycled water activities. Overberg Water only provides bulk drinking water to its customers mainly, the Hessequa and Theewaterskloof Municipalities and industrial agriculture.
Rand Water	Rand Water does not recycle water. However, our customers Tswane and Rustenburg do recycle water in their plants as follows: Tswane: Roodeplat pumping 30M;l/d (maximum capacity 60Mll/d) Rietvliet pumping 36Ml/d (maximum capacity 40Ml/d) Rustenburg: Bospoort pumping 12M/d (maximum capacity 15Ml/d)
Sedibeng Water	15% of water consumed was recycled water in the North West.
Umgeni Water	The treated waste water effluent re-use is about 8% and the direct recycling is 2% (At present all of Umgeni Water managed Waste Water plants discharge treated waste water to rivers that flow into downstream dams. In this way all of the treated waste water effluent is re-used / recovered in a downstream system (approximately 100Ml/d). This can be classed as indirect reuse. Umgeni Water does not treat any wastewater to potable standards and hence do not have any direct reuse systems. Umgeni Water has a 100% shareholding in Umgeni Water services (UWS) SOC Ltd. This subsidiary holds an 18.5% investment in Durban Water Recycling, with direct recycling volumes amounting to 30 Ml/d out of 1257 Ml/d (2%).

Annexure A

See the link: Lepelle Northern Water 

http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW60_Annexure.pdf

Reply:

The response provided by my predecessor in August 2018, to a question by the Honourable Member, is still relevant.

I will request that updates be obtained from a task team led by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (“DALRRD”) looking at regulation for hemp and that further work be done to explore the commercial cultivation of hemp.

Reply:

(a) Total number of vacancies: 200

(b) We have

Placed a halt on the filling of current vacancies due to inadequate resources.

Reply:

a) There is a current total of 13 437 foreign nationals incarcerated in South African Correctional Centres.

b) Currently there is a total of 2 052 undocumented migrants/illegal immigrants incarcerated in South African Correctional Centres.

Foreign nationals, whether documented or undocumented, upon receiving custodial sentence are expected to serve their sentences in correctional centres within the Republic of South Africa (RSA) due to the fact that there is currently no Inter-State Transfer Agreement with other Countries. They are considered for placement after serving the prescribed minimum detention or non-parole period and if placement is approved, undocumented foreign nationals are deported back to their country of origin after Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has finalised deportation process. The documented foreign nationals are allowed to serve parole within the Republic of South Africa if their permits are not revoked by DHA.

Reply:

a) What number of court intermediaries is currently employed by the department in each province?

In the 2014/15 financial year, the Department created 185 permanent posts of court intermediaries and 9 permanent posts of Assistant Director (ASD) Intermediaries. The periodical recruitment process commenced in the 2015/16 financial year, and by the 2017/18 financial year, the Department had filled 179 of 185 posts of court intermediaries and 5 of 9 posts of ASD Intermediaries. However, due to the declining economy, austerity measures in budget allocations are persistently introduced, and in effect, constraining the Department’s plan to fill the remaining vacant posts. The current demand on social work services in the country has also resulted in the exodus of many intermediaries to better opportunities. As at 31 March 2019, the number of court intermediaries in permanent posts declined from 179 to 153, while the numerical capacity of the ASD intermediaries dropped from 5 to 4.

In bridging intermediary service gaps at our courts, the Department has recently introduced an automated Intermediary Diary Management System to ensure the shared use of the intermediaries within provinces and beyond. Through this system, the existing pool of intermediaries can be accessed by any court in the country, as and when the need arises, to match the special needs of the victim, often relating to language, age, disability, etc.

In strengthening further the existing human capital in intermediary services, the Department also utilises a pool of ad hoc intermediaries- mostly drawn from the NGO sector. This intervention also assists in relieving the pressure of unemployment in the country. In certain provinces, there are social workers employed by the Department of Social Development (DSD) who are released to assist, whenever the demand arises. The Table below gives a numerical spread of these services over all provinces in the country:

Province	DoJ&CD Intermediaries as at 31 Mar 2019	DSD Intermediaries	Total
	Court Intermediaries	Assistant Director Intermediaries	Ad Hoc Intermediaries
Eastern Cape	16	1	-	-	17
Free State	10	-	3	2	15
Gauteng	12	1	27	16	56
KwaZulu-Natal	34	-	1	2	37
Limpopo	17	1	-	-	18
Mpumalanga	14	-	2	-	16
Northern Cape	9	-	-	-	9
North West	18	1	-	2	21
Western Cape	23	-	3	2	28
Total	153	4	36	24	217

b) What courts do the intermediaries serve?

In terms of section 170A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No 51 of 1977), intermediary services are offered in any criminal proceedings pending before any court where it appears to such court that such proceedings would expose any witness under the biological or mental age of 18 years to undue mental stress or suffering if such witness testifies without support. Among all witnesses appearing in criminal proceedings held at our courts in the country, only children and persons with mental disabilities are entitled to intermediary services. Likewise, section 61(2) of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act No 38 of 2005) also require the use of intermediary services when children testify in proceedings held in terms of this Act.

At present, intermediaries are spread over and shared between regional criminal courts and children’s courts, where the demand for this service is predominantly high. As at 31 March 2019, the country has 405 regional criminal courts of which 89 are the sexual offences courts. The childrens’ courts are operating at 309 magisterial district courts and some at the 332 branch/ periodical courts. Intermediaries also service our high courts, whenever the need arises. Currently, in South Africa there are 11 high court divisions with 5 local seats. As indicated, the service of intermediaries is subject to demand and may therefore not be a daily occurrence at a given court.

c) What number of cases do the intermediaries attend to each month?

The Department uses the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS) for Intermediary Services to collect data from our courts. Currently, this system collects data of intermediary services offered at regional criminal courts and the children’s courts, where the demand for these services is currently highly concentrated. The statistics are collected in terms of people who receive these services and not in accordance to the cases registered at our courts. The plan is to increase the functionality of the ICMS and extend its scope to other cases. During the period of 12 months (i.e. 1 April 2018 to 31 Mar 2019) intermediaries rendered services to 14 907 children and 261 persons with mental disabilities who appeared in sexual offences and children’s courts proceedings held nationwide. The Table below gives the spread of these services over provinces per annum:

CASES WHERE INTERMEDIARY SERVICES WERE RENDERED: 2018/2019
Province	Sexual Offences	Children’s court
	Child Witnesses	Child Victims	Mentally Disabled Witnesses	Mentally Disabled Victims	Witnesses	Victims	Total
EC	787	1 894	3	105	43	62	2 894
FS	451	890	1	5	54	64	1 465
GP	603	2 114	-	9	16	20	2 762
KZN	392	1 912	2	51	5	16	2 378
LIMP	269	640	6	15	21	23	974
MP	329	1 150	1	13	11	11	1 515
NW	198	585	1	11	61	30	886
NC	216	715	1	16	39	19	1 006
WC	340	915	4	17	4	8	1 288
TOTAL	3 585	10 815	19	242	254	253	15 168

The demand for the intermediary services differs from court to court and from month to month. In each month there are about 1 000 eligible persons who receive these services nationwide. Monthly statistics is only available in services rendered to child victims of sexual offences. Below is the number of child victims of sexual offences who received intermediary services per month in the 2018/ 19 financial year.

d) What languages are the intermediaries proficient in?

Intermediaries are appointed on the basis of proficiency in the language predominantly used at the courts they would be stationed at. With the recent introduction of the automated Intermediary Diary Management System, intermediaries are now booked for cases in accordance with the language needs of the victim/ witness and are shared throughout the country. This system is intended to avoid the unnecessary postponement of cases due to language shortages. Services are offered in all 11 official languages. For persons requiring sign language, ad hoc intermediaries are used. Below is a matrix showing language utilisation in each province:

Province	English	Afrikaans	Setwana	Sesotho	Isizulu	Siswati	Isixhosa	Isindebele	Tshivenda	Sepedi	Xitsonga
EC	216	70	1	27	50	0	257	5	0	0	1
FS	37	25	12	76	11	0	16	0	0	0	1
GP	116	73	72	84	172	6	89	9	17	77	33
KZN	209	9	0	11	275	0	74	0	0	0	1
LIMP	84	4	15	12	17	8	1	7	14	97	24
MPUM	55	10	5	6	63	39	0	23	0	44	11
NC	58	34	94	25	7	0	3	1	1	12	2
NW	55	97	75	0	0	0	22	0	0	1	1
WC	115	147	1	0	2	0	103	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	945	469	275	241	597	53	565	45	32	231	74

Reply:

a) There has been an increase in the number of enforcement operations conducted in the Gansbaai, Kleinbaai, Franskraal and Pearly Beach areas which have been identified as hot spots for abalone poaching. During the 2018/19 financial year, 10 (ten) operations took place in the Overberg area in the Western Cape under Initiative 5 of Operation Phakisa (Oceans Economy) — the Enhanced and Co-ordinated Compliance and Enforcement Programme. This initiative has created a platform to achieve an integrated and coordinated approach to ensure compliance with, inter alia, the South African Maritime Legislative and Regulatory frameworks within the coastal regions. These operations are a combination of proactive and reactive operations, focused in some instances on visible policing and, in others, are aimed at disrupting illegal activities and apprehending poachers.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OUESTION NO.33 NW990E

These operations resulted in arrests of some key role players and the confiscation and seizure of equipment used in illegal harvesting. Overall confiscations during Initiative S Phakisa operations for the 2018/19 financial year were R28 022 983, with the value of confiscated abalone and rock lobster being R21 317 365 and R675 050, respectively, with most of the abalone confiscated coming from the Overberg region. Confiscated equipment associated with illegal activity in the coastal region amounted to R5 052 160 for the same period. In the last six months, there have been four operations over 81 days, together with other law enforcement agencies where approximately 539 potential poachers were prevented from diving and 40 arrests were made.

b) The Department will continue to engage the South African Police Services around the approval and implementation of a medium-term deployment plan that will ask for additional resources in the affected areas to increase Government’s response to illegal harvesting of marine resources. In addition, we are looking at the dynamics driving demand, illicit exports and markets for illegal trade and obtaining a comprehensive threat assessment.

Operation Phakisa will also continue to undertake compliance and enforcement operations in the Overberg Region. Both proactive and reactive operations will be planned to ensure Government has a visible presence in the high-risks areas. The ongoing collaboration with the SANDF’s Operation Corona as a force multiplier will continue to have a positive impact on operations.

Regards

MS B D CREECY, MP

MINISTER OF ENYIRONMENT, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

DATE:.. .. ....... :..

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY QUESTION NO. 33 N\/Y990E

Reply:

1. No action has been taken to enforce compliance with the court order by the National Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (previously the Department of Environmental Affairs) as it has not been involved in the legal proceedings which resulted in the court order competing, among others, the Municipality to undertake rehabilitation, maintenance and installation of security measures at the Makana landfill site.

2. The Makana landfill site is a general landfill site and, accordingly, the regulatory duties, including taking compliance and enforcement action when non-compliances are detected, falls within the mandate of the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

This Department has contacted the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Developement, Environmental Affairs and Tourism who confirmed that they are actively engaging with the Makana Municipality, and that they undertook a compliance visit to the landfill site as recently as June 2019.

Regards

MS B D CREECY, MP

MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Reply:

In line with National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS), the efforts to grow tourism have in the main two interrelated priorities, which are inclusive growth and sector transformation. Inclusive growth will bring about employment creation, investment and GDP contribution. In this regard, in partnership with the industry and other stakeholders we will increase the number of tourists to our country and their expenditure on related goods and services during their trips. Government overall has also highly placed tourism on the priority list and a whole-of-government approach to tourism development and promotion will be applied to maximise on our growth potential. On transformation, there are a number of initiatives aimed at increased participation of black people in sector. These are access to finance, development of capabilities of South Africans in particular youth and women across the tourism value chain, enterprise and supplier development, and implementation of the B-BBEE tourism sector codes of good practice. The department will continue to take advantage of the expanded Public Works Programme to empower youth through development of skills while they also earn a stipend wage through job opportunities.

Reply:

1. Currently PRASA has an approved Security Operational Plan which is based on five critical issues namely:

1.1 Stop non-compliance with the relevant legislative and regulatory requirements with emphasis on the Private Security Industry Regulating Act (PSIRA) and regulations and the Railway Safety Regulator of South Africa Act (RSR) and regulations to turn PRASA Protection Services around into a professional security service;

1.2 Stop the un-procedural selection and appointment of security officials who do not meet the minimum physical, training, fitness and other PSIRA qualification standards and turn the inefficiencies and other challenges caused by this practice around to comply with PRASA Company Policies;

1.3 Stop the scourge of theft and M.D.T.P (Malicious Damage To Property) which paralyses the business and will destroy our capacity and ability to meet our strategic objectives and performance targets determined by the Department of Transport;

1.4 Stop crime affecting our passengers and staff. Turn it around through joint operations with the police and other law enforcement agencies to meet our constitutional obligations, security performance and targets;

1.5 Stop the escalating operational security cost. Turn ineffective and inefficient security services (and the perceptions) around through the implementation of technology and the correct balance between own and contracted security services.

2. From the 1st of September 2019, Prasa will be employing new security companies, with new performance based contractual arrangement. The new agreements will include a heavy emphasis on reducing the vandalism and theft that is bedevilling our infrastructure.

3. A strong technology roll out is underway, in the form of CCTV, and other surveillance equipment. These are aimed to act as force multipliers to assist in areas where physical security cannot reach.

4. The new approved PRASA Group Security Strategy supports a different security outlook that fosters professionalism and a culture of sensitivity towards commuters and passengers alike.

5. This is supported by a new structure that is dedicated to give credence to the prioritization of security at stations.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has not conducted teacher training for coding, however some PEDs and individual schools have conducted training and this information may be obtained from PEDs. DBE has finalised Plans to deliver training of Teachers on coding. 

Reply:

		PRASA Rail
Metrorail Passenger Trips (Journeys)
	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
Western Cape	174 934 932	163 002 997	127 745 294	75 074 682	46 986 046
Kwa Zulu Natal	78 810 656	78 783 593	71 536 136	63 443 383	55 060 960
Gauteng	252 807 231	197 743 040	164 871 194	117 603 876	99 972 237
East London	7 765 109	7 267 814	6 403 992	5 437 730	5 070 622
Port Elizabeth	1 691 877	1 582 061	1 466 963	1 333 550	1 411 218
TOTAL	516 009 805	448 379 505	372 023 579	262 893 221	208 501 083
Main Line Passenger Services (MLPS)
Number of passengers using the service
	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
MLPS	930 881	854 164	658 100	465 862	387 504

Reply:

(a) There is a shortage of the abacavir/lamivudine and zidovudine/lamivudine combination used in second line. The shortage meant that there was lesser stock than is ordinarily available but we do not have stock. There are 360 000 patients on both combinations that are in short supply. There is currently 558 382 (AL = 177 741 + ZL = 380 641) units of the second line regimen available as at 28 June 2019.

Additionally the contracted supplier is bringing 650 000 units in July 2019. The National Department of Health has implemented stock visibility system where we have sight of the medicine stock holding at facility level. We have managed this situation by asking facilities to reduce the quality dispensed. Some patients receive two/three months supply at a time and we have advice that patients are dispensed only 1 month treatment. Secondly, we have moved stock around between facilities with higher stock levels to facilities with less stock. Thirdly, we have proposed an alternative treatment regimen should the current second line regimen not be available;

(b) The global supply of lamivudine API remains erratic however, the new ARV tender commenced on the 1st July 2019 where we have contracted additional suppliers, which we anticipate will fill the gap.

END.

Reply:

The South African government remains seized with the modalities of downgrading the South African Embassy in Israel, and we will communicate further actions once we concluded our deliberations.The South African government remains seized with the modalities of downgrading the South African Embassy in Israel, and we will communicate further actions once we concluded our deliberations.

Reply:

The Department of Health currently stockpiles the first line treatment regimen (Tenofovir/metrictabine/efavirenze) which 90% of patients are prescribed on. There is adequate supplies of the first line treatment , 10 million units currently with no shortage of API at this time. The stockpile will last for eight (8) weeks.

END.

Reply:

(a) The Name and Location

i) There are 429 Primary Health Care facilities that do not have 24 hours’ security in place.

ii) There is no hospital that does not have 24/7 security

A list with names and location of each facility is attached as Annexure A

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF FACILITIES
Eastern Cape	112
Free State	129
Gauteng	6
KwaZulu-Natal	22
Limpopo	15
Mpumalanga	15
Northern Cape	75
North West	34
Western Cape	21

END.

Reply:

The Department of Health supports the integration of traditional medicine in primary health care and the national health system as follows:

(1) The Department of Health has taken steps towards the official recognition and inclusion of Traditional Medicine in the National Health System through relevant regulatory frameworks;

(2) The Traditional Health Practitioners Act, 2007 (Act No. 22 of 2007) was enacted as one of the tools to assist the Department in achieving this goal. The objectives of the Act are:

(a) to establish the Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council of South Africa;

(b) to make provision for control of the registration, training and practices of Traditional Health Practitioners in South Africa;

(c) to serve and protect the interests of Practitioners and those of members of the public who use the services of Traditional Health Practitioners.

(3) In implementing the Act, the Department has appointed the Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council of South Africa. It was established to oversee the registration and regulation of the practice of Traditional Medicine by setting practice standards. This will assist in eliminating bogus practitioners and charlatans in the practice. The Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council has to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of services provided by Traditional Health Practitioners through the enforcement of the code of ethics and conduct.

(4) The Department has appointed the Registrar of the Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council of South Africa who assumed duty on 1 September 2017. The Registrar is the secretary and accounting officer of the Council and performs the functions assigned to him by the Interim Council in terms of the Act. Amongst his responsibilities is to set up institutional arrangements such as structures and systems for the registration of Traditional Health Practitioners. Registration of Traditional Health Practitioners will commence as soon as this office is capacitated and it is functional to carry out its mandate.

(5) Processes are underway to finalise the draft policy on Traditional Medicine in South Africa. The policy on Traditional Medicine will serve as a guide to avoid a clash between the traditional medicine system and western medicine. Within the context of primary health care, they should blend in a beneficial harmony, using the best features of each system, and compensating for weaknesses in each.

END.

Reply:

(1) Yes. I am aware that the MRC Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (based at the University of the Witwatersrand) is taking part in a multi-centre, multi-country study that aims to provide critical information on the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity profile of the ChAd155-Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine in infants likely to be unexposed to RSV. Sites in European, South American and North American countries are also participating.

Although RSV infection is a leading cause of death in young children, interventions to protect children against RSV infection and to treat children who acquire RSV infection are not available. For this reason, the World Health Organisation ranked a vaccine against RSV as the most important vaccine that needs to be developed in order to protect children in low- and middle-income countries from preventable mortality.

(2) (a) The vaccine should not be regarded as untested. The immunogenicity, safety and reactogenicity of the ChAd155-RSV vaccine in healthy adults has been evaluated and determined to be satisfactory by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC). A clinical study is currently being conducted in RSV-sero positive infants aged 12 to 23 months (study 204838 [RSV PED-002]) in Europe. The proposed study will only proceed if the safety profile of the current study is evaluated as being satisfactory by an IDMC. The study will be monitored by an IDMC at each step for safety, and any reports communicated to the regulatory authorities in real-time.

(b) There is no merit in the concern that children are being exposed to a dangerous vaccine, since this is a non-replicating vaccine and the vaccine itself cannot biologically cause any illness. As noted above, the trial will be conducted in line with clinical trial guidelines and will be strictly monitored to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.

END.

Reply:

(a)(i)-(ii) Table 1 below provide information on the numbers of alcohol related deaths in South Africa was obtained from the South African Medical Research Council, that was extracted from unit records of deaths provided by Statistics South Africa which are available up to 2016.

Table 1:

Number of registered deaths with underlying causes that is alcohol related by province, 2012-2016
PROVINCE	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	TOTAL
Eastern Cape	47	87	110	116	107	467
Free State	19	26	39	30	33	147
Gauteng	40	53	45	48	57	243
KwaZulu-Natal	65	76	73	83	75	372
Limpopo	20	15	18	23	20	96
Mpumalanga	18	12	16	22	11	79
North West	22	18	16	26	22	104
Northern Cape	21	33	36	30	29	149
Western Cape	118	120	129	123	139	629
TOTAL	370	440	482	501	493	2286

(b)(i)-(ii) Currently, data is available on the prevalence of foetal alcohol syndrome among grade-1 learners which is collected through surveys that were conducted in selected communities. Table 2 below provides a summary of the prevalence data that is available and was provided by the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research[1]

Table 2:	Summary of the prevalence of foetal alcohol syndrome among grade-1 learners
PROVINCE	COMMUNITY	PREVELANCE RATE AS A PERCENTAGE	REFERENCE
Eastern Cape	Bethelsdorp, Port Elizabeth	13,0	Olivier, et al., 2017a
	Burgersdorp	6,2	Still to be published
Free State	Jacobsdal	12,9	Still to be published
Gauteng	Soweto, Diepsloot, Lenasia	2,6	Viljoen, 2001
Northern Cape	De Aar	11,9	Urban et al., 2008
	Upington	7,4	Chersich et al., 2012b
	Kimberley	6,4	Urban et al., 2015
	Renosterberg Municipality	28,2	Olivier et al., 2017b
	Hanover	20,8	Still to be published
Western Cape	Wellington	8,9	Viljoen, Gossage, Brooke, Adnams, Jones, Robinson ... & May, 2005
	Aurora	10,0	Olivier et al., 2013
	Witzenberg Sub-district	9,6	Olivier et al., 2016
	Saldanha Bay Municipality	6,7	Olivier et al., 2016
	Wellington, Montague, Ashton, Robertson	13,5 - 20,8	May et al., 2016

END.

1. Probst, C, Parry C, Wittchen H, Rehm J. The socioeconomic profile of alcohol-attributable mortality in South Africa: a modelling study. BMC Medicine. 2018; 16:97 ↑

Reply:

(a)-(b) The table below reflects the total number of drug-related deaths in South Africa. This data has been extracted by the South African Medical Research Council from unit records of deaths provided by Statistics South Africa which is available up to 2016.

Number of registered deaths with underlying causes that is drug-related by province, 2012-2016
PROVINCE	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	TOTAL
Eastern Cape	25	24	56	38	34	177
Free State	26	21	23	14	26	110
Gauteng	42	46	56	82	88	314
KwaZulu-Natal	38	52	53	42	65	250
Limpopo	5	12	13	13	17	60
Mpumalanga	5	16	14	13	23	71
North West	13	23	13	12	15	76
Northern Cape	16	25	24	19	19	103
Western Cape	27	39	22	42	24	154
TOTAL	197	258	274	275	311	1315

END.

Reply:

(aa (i) None

(aa) (ii) None

(aa) (iii) None

(bb) (i) 14 buildings

(bb) (ii)14 properties

(bb) (iii) 14 facilities

(b) (i) Value - Not applicable

(ii) The purpose of renting the properties is for office accommodation.

(c) The table below indicates the value, how long has each property been rented, from which building/property and monthly rental fee:

Number	(c) (i) Period of rentals	(c) (ii) Landlord of the property	(c) (iii) Monthly rental fee
1.	01 April 2010	Mowana Properties - Public Investment Corporation	R3,657,813.49
2.	01 November 2009	Old Mutual Properties	R414,363.57
3.	01 February 2009	JHI Properties - Atterbury	R417,359.25
4.	01 May 2009	X Vest Investment	R153,403.57
5.	01 November 2009	Olympic Flame	R534,650.77
6.	01 April 2009	Vaal University of Technology	R549,997.71
7.	01 April 2014	Park with Spark/ Interpark	R36,216.20
8.	01 March 2017	Redefine Properties	R265,436.54
9.	01 January 2016	Hopley Centre	R54,590.01
10.	01 January 2019	ELS Properties	R258,358.99
11.	01 January 2016	Mvulazana Trading	R387,802.42
12.	01 September 2015	Gritpop Investment	R248,533.78
13.	01 January 2016	JHI Properties	R339,938.91
14.	01 January 2017	Public Investment Corporation	R35,929.07

NCooperate Services DDG: Patricia amede Date:

Recommendedl

Director General : Department of Mineral Resources

Approved/ -

Reply:

The Draft IRP is undergoing a consultation process with Nedlac. As soon as the process is completed and subject to the outcome of Cabinet, it will then be released.

Reply:

1. The department has developed Youth Policy in the Energy Sector. The policy seeks to attract young people and create an environment that enables youths to reach their potential in the energy sector. The policy is aimed at addressing amongst others; employment creation, youth economic participation and access to business opportunities, speed up transformation in a way that will benefit young people, enhance skills development to ensure that young people are equipped with necessary skills to enter energy sector job market and access to business opportunities throughout the value chain, outreach projects, youth volunteerism on energy projects, and public private partnenhip.
2. There are different measures in place to develop and assist young people to participate in the energy sector:

the measures are as follows:

•  Learners Week (LFW) Programme - The LFW programme is a department’s flagship project focusing on awareness on careers in the energy sector, The programme aims to promote skills development amongst the youth by creating awareness and exposure of career opportunities within the Energy sector for learner doing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The programme targets 250 learners from five provinces per year, whereby the Department of Education in the provinces identifies 50 top Grade 11 12 learners in quintile 1-3 schools doing STEM to pa#icipate in the programme. This year alone the department through our partners (private energy companies) will give 56 bursaries to learners from disadvantage communities to study engineering, computer sciences and other related energy programmes.
• Integrated Energy Centre Programme - The Integrated Energy Centre (leC) is aimed at enhancing access to energy, stimulate enterprise development and job creation. The IeC trades in petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, convenience shop and other services such as internet café in other instances. This programme is a partnership between the Department and oil and gas companies The Depa#rrent has established a youth owned Integrated Energy Centre enterprise which will trade in Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Makhado Local Municipality, Limpopo. This enterprise is expected to be operationalized by July 2019. There are different IeC fuel service stations around the country whose ownership and management include young people.
• Youth in Energy Dialogues - Youth in Energy Dialogue encompasses youth from different facets with interest in the energy industry and encourage youth to participate in the energy sector as entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and leaders within the energy field. The dialogues take advantage of th opportunities in the energy sector and how to access them. The dialogue further explore how young people fit into the growing industry and I\ow they can better their industry reach and growth potential to take advantage of this growing sector. The programme showcase opportunities in the energy sector,
• School Ener9y Days — School Energy Days is aimed at providing and exposing learners in Grade 09 to 11 rural areas in particular studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to careers, opportunities in the energy sector and other energy related information. The department hosts approximately four School Energy Days per year from different provinces in pannership with different Stakeholders and expose them on career opponunities in the energy sector. The event is an appropriate platform to interact with learners on career development, economic development issues and information dissemination on variety of energy issues aimed at:
•  
• Encourage learners who take STEM to choose energy related career development path
• Promotion of sustainable use of energy iesou‹ces; and
• Encourage participation of young people located in rural and developing areas in business opportunities within the energy sector.

In this financial year alone, the Department has already conducted two school energy days in the Eastern Cape with the target of about 700 learners.

 

Reply:

1. The departmental legislation does not make provision for ‘waiver certificate’ as stated above. Rather, the department will issue an asylum transit visas to new asylum applicants that declare their intention to apply for asylum on arrival at designated ports of entry. The basic requirement is that a person must declare the intention to apply for asylum.

2. The department has personnel appointed at the Refugee Reception Centres for the above asked function in terms of section 8(2) that reads with section 21(1), (2) and (5) of the Refugee Act.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugee is the UN agency operating in South Africa with offices and implementing partners across the country that is also assisting new and existing asylum applicants through the asylum process. The agency is fully equipped and mandated to provide support to both clients and the department.

(3)(a) The department has five Refugee Reception Centres.

Addresses and contact details that currently exist in the Republic are as follows:

OFFICE	LOCATION	CENTRE MANAGER	CONTACT DETAILS
Cape Town Refugee Reception Office	5th Floor, Custom House, Corner Heerengracht & Table Boulevard Streets, Cape Town	Akos Essel	Phone: 021 421 9173 / 9200 Mobile: Email: [email protected]
Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Office	Corner Eskia Mphahlele & Struben Streets, Pretoria	Bangwalang Chiloane	Phone: 012 395 4174 / 4000  Email: [email protected]
Durban Refugee Reception Office	137 Che Guevara Street, Durban	Naleen Balgobind	Phone: 031 362 1201 Mobile: Email: [email protected]
Musina Refugee Reception Office	8 Harold Grenfel Street, Musina	Jimmy Malemela	Phone: 015 534 5300 Mobile: 083 852 0104
Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office	10A Gidbaud Road, Sydenham, Lakeside	Sabelo Ngxitho	Phone: 041 404 8361/ 3 Mobile: Email [email protected]

(3)(b) The department does not provide shelter to asylum seekers and refugees.

 

(3)(c) Asylum seekers and refugees are not issued with full birth certificates, rather a recognition of birth that must be taken to the centre for a full asylum permit.

(3)(d) This category of decision/rejection does not exist in the Refugee Act.

(4)(a) All Centres have security personnel.

(4)(b) Centres have private security in uniform 24 hours, whilst the Department’s security personnel are present during the day.

(5) There are no difficulties in registering children of asylum seekers born in South Africa. Asylum seekers are issued with recognition of birth document. It is the responsibility of the parents to take such document and submit them to the Refugee Reception Centre with immediate effect to allow their children proper registration and issuance of the asylum permit.

 

END

Reply:

a) The total number of cases processed per year for the past 10 years (First instance adjudication):

Year	Total
2009	157 204
2010	77 071
2011	43 953
2012	63 228
2013	68 241
2014	75 733
2015	60 640
2016	41 241
2017	27 980
2018	18 104

b) The cases granted for the past 10 years per country according to the Departmental system is as below:

Country	Total
Somalia	36512
DRC	25953
Ethiopia	18022
Congo	4859
Zimbabwe	3432
Burundi	2774
Angola	2365
Eritrea	2096
Rwanda	1416
Bangladesh	563
Uganda	443
Cameroon	368
Kenya	143
Sudan	134
Zambia	69
Liberia	51
Syria	47
Palestine	41
Ivory Coast	37
Tanzania	32
Pakistan	28
Sierra Leone	19
Sri Lanka	15
Iraq	15
Russia	13
Togo	12
Nigeria	11
Ghana	11
Solomon Islands	10
Malawi	9
Swaziland	7
Central African Republic	7
Ukraine	7
Turkey	6
Egypt	6
Mali	6
India	6
Afghanistan	5
Other	5
Morocco	4
Estonia	4
Namibia	4
Yemen	3
Mozambique	3
Bulgaria	3
Myanmar (Burma)	3
Lebanon	3
Niger	3
Iran	3
Seychelles	3
China	2
Macau	2
Bahamas	2
Jordan	2
Gabon	2
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2
Comoros	2
Benin	2
Lesotho	2
Kyrgyzstan	1
Guinea Bissau	1
East Timor	1
Poland	1
Colombia	1
Brazil	1
Senegal	1
Chad	1
Oman	1
Algeria	1
Djibouti	1
Sweden	1
Cambodia	1
Libya	1
Principality of Andorra	1
Grand Total	99624

(c) As at 31 December 2018 there were 3 534 cases still to be processed by the Refugee Status Determination Officers.

END

Reply:

Yes. During and post the 2018 Wage negotiations, economic realities and financial pressures were discussed with organised labour. The purpose was to jointly look at tangible measures going forward, to remain within the budgetary ceiling without negatively impacting on job security, as well as ensuring continuous efficient and effective functionality of departments within the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and beyond.

Numerous Human Resources (HR) related areas to reduce the Public Service wage bill have been jointly identified between the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the National Treasury (NT) as follows:

(i) Organisational structures interim measures

Regulation 25(2) of the Public Service Regulations (PSR), 2016 confers the authority to executive authorities to determine their department’s organisational structures, define and create posts necessary to perform the relevant functions of the department, grade the proposed new jobs and to engage in human resources planning.

Organisational structure of each government departments will be finalised when the National Macro Organisation of Government (NMOG) Project has been concluded by the 6th Administration.

(ii) Creation and filling of posts

Due to the current financial constraints, executive authorities of the 5th Administration were encouraged to align their organisational structures with their respective personnel budgets, and to create posts within the available funds in the current MTEF. Furthermore, executive authorities were encouraged to only fill critical posts in terms of section 9 of the Public Service Act (PSA), 1994.

Where the creation of a post is based on the redirection of funding from an abolished post to another post, the redundant post must first be abolished before the creation of the newly funded post.

(iii) Employment of persons additional to the approved fixed establishment

Regulation 57(2) of the PSR, 2016 states that “an executive authority may, unless otherwise authorised by the Act, within the available budget and at a salary linked to a grade determined through job evaluation or as determined in an OSD, employ persons additional to the establishment”.

The employment of persons additional to the establishment shall not exceed 12 consecutive calendar months unless otherwise directed by the MPSA. Requests made for the extension or continuation of the employment for periods longer than 12 months, must be assessed against the original reasons for the employment of persons additional to the fixed establishment to reduce such expenditure if no longer necessary.

(iv) Posts in the Offices of Executive Authorities

Chapter 3 of the guide to Members of the Executive and regulation 66 of the Public Service Regulation (PSR), read in conjunction with section 9 of the Public Service Act (PSA) 1994, stipulates the standard configuration of Offices of executive authorities and the capacity requirements for such offices.

The DPSA has issued a circular informing government departments that appointment made to private office of Executive Authority or Deputy Minister in terms of Regulation 66 of the PSR should be linked to their term of office of the relevant Executive Authority or Deputy Minister.

(v) Granting of Early Retirement without penalty for employees between 55 and 60 years

Section 16(6) of the Public Service Act, 1994 as amended states that “an executive authority may at the request of an employee allow him or her to retire from the public service before reaching the age of 60, notwithstanding the absence of any reason for dismissal in terms of section 17(2) if sufficient reasons exist for the retirement”.

Granting of Early Retirement without penalty for employees is in response to a need identified by employees who wish to exist the public service before the official retirement age of 60 years.

The provision for applications for early retirement, where National Treasury provides funding support to departments, is limited to the period 01 April 2019 to 30 September 2019. An assessment will therefore be conducted to determine whether a further need for financial support for early Retirement is required by departments.

The DPSA and NT have between April and June 2019 concluded National, Provincial and Sectoral workshops with the relevant human resource officials to support implementation. In addition the requisite governance, financial and administrative tools, documentation and reporting templates have been issued to departments.

(vi) Decremental Budgets allocated for payment of Performance Bonus

Regulation 73(3) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 states that “the Minister shall from time to time determine a percentage of a department’s remuneration budget that shall not be exceeded for the purpose of granting performance rewards”. This regulation is supported by regulation 73(4) which states that “the Minister shall from time to time determine the maximum percentage reward to be granted to an employee or category of employees”.

A strategy to decrease the percentage of a department’s allocated remuneration budget for the payment of performance rewards has been developed together with the National Treasury.

The approved Incentive Policy Framework (2017), provides that departments may not utilise more than 1.5% of their annual remuneration budget for the payment of performance rewards. The strategy decreases the budget allocation as follows:

Financial Year	Maximum % of Remuneration Budget
2018/19	1.5%
2019/20	0.75%
2020/21	0.5%
2021/22	0%
Post 2022	To be determined based on the comprehensive review of all PMDSs for all categories of employees

The above initiatives are envisaged to support government’s approach to manage the wage bill. The DPSA and NT monitor the public service wage expenditure to identify new and further areas for potential savings.

Reply:

The MPRDA provides for submission of a Social and Labour Plan (SLP) which is one of the requirements of the granting criteria. The Human Resource Development (HRD) is one of the elements of the SLP. Its key objective is to ensure that mining right holders provides for training of employees and community workers. The training provided is aimed at improving the skills base such that productivity is improved. Furthermore companies must provide portable skills which prepares employees to compete in the broader labour market. In order to realise the HRD objective, mining right holders must invest a minimum 5% of leviable amount (excluding the statutory skills development levy) on essential skills development.

In the event that there might be threatening job losses, the mining right holders should identify and reskill workers with the objective of either adjusting to the new methods of working or competing in the labour market.

 

Recommendedl

Director General: Department of Mineral Resources

proved/

Mr Ma tasher

::

a:S::::

aIRD. ources

./2019