Questions and Replies

Reply:

The travel privileges of former Ministers/Deputy Ministers and their spouses are paid for and administered by Parliament and I would therefore suggest that the Honourable Member approach Parliament in this regard.

Reply:

We do not have any former Ministers or Deputy Ministers for the time periods requested as the current appointees hold their portfolios since before the dates mentioned in the question.

Reply:

1. The official Cricket South Africa (CSA) gate numbers from the International Cricket Committee (ICC) approved stadia, does not confirm this claim.

2. CSA therefore designed a nationally agreed Stadium Model Agreement to maximise efficiencies to ensure an equitable arrangement in the allocation for all international match allocations (i, ii iii) amongst its Members.

MS. Y. XASA, MP

MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION

DATE: /

Reply:

I have been advised by the department as follows:

After publication of the memorandum, all vacancies were frozen, except for the appointments relating to core and critical functions. 

(a)

Name	Positions filled
N Gcabashe	Accountant
J Mocoma	Senior Producer
M Ramsimphi	Climatologist
L Snyman	Account Executive

b) All appointments were done in line with the SABC’s recruitment and selection policy and salaries were determined in line with the SABC’s remuneration guidelines.  Specific salary information cannot be divulged as this is confidential information pertaining to an individual.

c) The Vacancy Committee which was established to deal with critical appointments took the decision.  All requests to deviate from the memo are sent to the vacancy committee who then determines the merits of the request and take a decision if recruitment can go ahead.  Once a decision is taken by the vacancy committee, HR manages the recruitment process in conjunction with the relevant line manager.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

Institution	(a)What number of tender Briefings held in 2018	(b) What number of the specific briefings were compulsory
(i)Department	Seven	Seven
(ii)Entity – South Africa Tourism	One	One

Reply:

a) The number of additional beds (not rooms) constructed and completed at each university in the 2018 academic year is as follows:

Institution	Number of beds
Durban University of Technology	260
University of the Free State	268
Mangosuthu University of Technology	630
University of Mpumalanga	100
Rhodes University	264
Vaal University of Technology	300
University of the Witwatersrand	351*
Total number of beds completed	2 173

*Extension of various residences

Larger projects are at different phases of planning, procurement and construction. As part of the first phase, eight universities are embarking on large projects for which funding is being secured. These projects once finalised, will yield about 18 000 new beds over the next three years starting in 2019.

The Department’s Student Housing Infrastructure Programme (SHIP) aims to provide 300 000 new student beds, 200 000 at universities and 100 000 at TVET colleges over the next ten year period. More than R4.1 billion has been allocated from the Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant for university student housing for the period 2015/16 to 2020/21 and are mostly for equity in large projects (2000 beds) although some smaller projects have been funded (250 to 500 beds). At this stage no specific funding is available to TVET student housing within the baseline grant to colleges. Additional funds are in the process of being sourced for TVET Colleges.

(b) No new beds were constructed at Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges during 2018.

Reply:

1. I have not been informed by the Commission that evidence has been or will be led.

2. In 2009, in response to Parliamentary question 1661, I confirmed that I am a founding member of Dyambu and that I have always declared this in the Register of Members’ Interests. I further indicated that I have not received any dividends from Dyambu and that I have declared such in either the public or private part of the Register of Members’ Interests over the years. I have continued to declare same in both the Parliamentary register, as well as the Register of Member’s Interests of the Presidency.

Reply:

I have been advised by the department as follows:

1. The Minister intended to invoke section 8 (3) of Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Act, Act 13 of 2000, at the time. However, Mr Mohlaloga filed urgent application to interdict the process of Parliament on consideration to removal before the Western Cape High Court. Settlement agreement was reached between the parties to remove item on the agenda dealing with removal of Mr Mohlaloga. The settlement agreement was made an order of the court.

2(a) Mr Mohlaloga was convicted on 15 January 2018. Subsequent to conviction, he lodged an application an application for leave of appeal against the whole judgement.

(b) On 14 February 2019, Mr Mohlaloga was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by Regional Court for Gauteng (held at Pretoria). Subsequently, Mr Mohlaloga lodged an application for leave of appeal against the sentence which was granted.

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

No, the Minister did not appoint a panel to advise her on the 2018 Turnaround Strategy of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

The Department of Military Veterans does not disburse grants to military veterans.

Reply:

The National Director of Public Prosecutions has informed me that the matter was referred to the Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) for investigation. The National Prosecuting Authority will only be involved after the investigation has been finalized and the docket is forwarded to them.

Reply:

1. In line with the Presidential pronouncement that there will be a configuration of Government departments as well as entities to improve efficiency in the delivery of Government services, there has been engagements with various entities to look for synergies. This is still work in progress and currently there is no definite decision that has been made on the merger of USAASA and MDDA.

2. Once discussions are finalized and a decision is made, further details will be provided. However, it should be noted that the Board Members referred to were not removed following a damning report by the Public Protector, but instead the Board was dissolved due to a fundamental breakdown of their relationship with Minister.

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

I have been advised by the departments and entities as follows:

Dept. and Entities	What number of tender briefings were held in 2018?	What number of tender briefings were compulsory?
DoC	None	Not applicable
DTPS	Four (4)	All briefings were compulsory
GCIS	4	All briefings were compulsory
FPB	Three (3)	Two briefings were compulsory
Brand SA	3	All briefings were compulsory
ICASA	Fifteen (15)	Twelve of the briefings were compulsory
MDDA	None	Not applicable
SABC	Forty (40)	Twenty three briefings were compulsory
SENTECH	Forty four 44	Twenty five briefings were compulsory
SAPO	Seventy four 74	All briefings were compulsory
NEMISA	One (1)	One was compulsory
zaDNA	1	None
USAASA and USAF	7(seven) (USAASA) 2 (two) (USAF)	All the briefings were compulsory
BBI	1	The briefing was compulsory
SITA	35 (thirty five)	One briefing was compulsory

_____________________________

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

As members of Parliament would know, the appointment of MDDA board members is a Parliamentary process in terms of section 4(1) (b) of the MDDA Act. The date for the interviews is determined by the Portfolio Committee on Communications.

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

(1) Yes; the National Codification Bureau employed contractors between year 2015, 2016, and 2018 respectively. The total amount of contractors employed is 71.

a) The persons specified are currently utilised as codifiers since they were all trained for the codification environment.

b) No; the positions were not advertised since in line with the provision of the Department of Defence Instruction C PERS NO 89/99 the advertisement of contract positions within the Department of Defence is not regulated.

c) Contracted members qualification in various fields are as follows:

i. Honours (1)

ii. National Diploma (18)

iii. N4 (2)

iv. N5 (1)

v. N6 (3)

vi. Matric (46)

d) Salary Lev 7 (47), Salary lev 8 (23) and Salary Lev 9(1).

e) The appointment of contract workers took place in the following dates:

i. 01 October 2015 – 37 casual workers were appointed.

ii. 01 April 2016 – 3 casual workers were appointed.

iii. 01 February 2018 – 31 casual workers were appointed.

f) The Chief of the Division approved all appointments of contract workers.

(2) Seven (7) are related to already retired military veterans and 3 are related to active members of the Department of Defence.

Reply:

The reason for the evictions at Steenvilla is that there is an order of court to this effect following non-payment of rentals by residents, which is a breach of the lease agreement.

In October 2016, SOHCO applied to court for an eviction order for 22 households. The High Court granted the eviction order at the end of March 2017.

Reply:

Government has started implementing the most pressing recommendations that were made by the Commission. These include terminating the appointment of Mr Tom Moyane as the Commissioner of SARS on 1 November 2018, and initiating the process to appoint a new Commissioner.

A new commissioner is expected to be appointed in the near future.

While some of the organisational recommendations can only be implemented by the Commissioner, the Minister of Finance announced during the Budget speech that the Acting Commissioner has already taken steps to:

• Re-establish the large business unit, which will be formally launched in early April 2019.

• Launch an illicit economy unit to investigate syndicated tax evasion schemes in high-risk sectors, including the tobacco trade.

• Harnessing opportunities from information-sharing agreements between tax authorities to fight cross-border tax evasion.

• Reviewing contracts that breached procurement regulations and acting to recover funds from any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

The Minister of Finance has requested Judge Davis to assess the tax gap, which is the difference between revenue collected and what ought to be collected.

The Minister also intends to introduce legislative amendments this year, giving effect to a number of the Commission’s governance recommendations. These matters will be included in this year’s draft tax legislation.

Reply:

(1) Yes, the Minister of Police, Honorable B.H Cele is aware of the testimony

given by Mr Agrizzi at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to Inquire into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. In his capacity of the former Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Honorable B.H Cele was invited by the former President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency G.J Zuma to go and view an Aqua Cultural project by two (2) brothers, which was later known to be the Bosasa CEO and his blood brother who manages the Aqua Cultural prawn farm in the Vaal.

(2) No, there were no gifts either financial or material received from Bosasa by the former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Honorable

B.H Cele.

R O POLICE, MP

B.H CEL DATE:

Reply:

(a) Honourable Member, I am not aware of any invitation issued or sent out for the Ubuntu Awards in 2019.

(b) Falls away.

(c) Falls away.

Reply:

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud in public institutions is currently underway.

Following the conclusion of the inquiry, the Commission will submit findings and recommendations to the President. The President will await the report of the Commission before determining what action needs to be taken, including against any Members of Cabinet that may be implicated in the report.

Nothing prevents the relevant authorities within the criminal justice system from investigating allegations of impropriety by Ministers or any other persons. In any such instances, legal processes must be allowed to be concluded with due regard for the rule of law.

Reply:

The South African Reserve Bank publishes information on our gold reserves every month, which can be accessed from its website. In particular, for this question, I refer you to the following link on its website:

https://www.resbank.co.za/Lists/News%20and%20Publications/Attachments/8974/GoldFXReserves_November2018.pdf.

I also refer the Honourable Member to the previous response to his question PQ2333 (as published on 19 June 2015).

1. (a) The value of the official gold reserves as at 31 October 2018 was US$4,9 billion (ZAR72,4 billion) (as outlined in the above monthly release), which is approximately 4 million fine ounces.

(b) The SARB holds a large percentage of South Africa’s gold reserves in vaults of official sector institutions at offshore bullion centres, while a smaller amount is held locally. It is operationally efficient to store gold at offshore bullion centres should the need arise to conduct gold transactions. The exact percentage allocation per location is not made public.

(c) There is no material transportation cost incurred currently, as the bulk of the gold reserves were transferred to the respective places of storage in the 1990s.

(d) No particular procurement processes have been conducted in recent years as no service provider has been required for many years. In the past, the South Reserve Bank utilised government and state institutions to provide the necessary services.

2. The SARB performs monthly reconciliations on its gold reserves held at various centres, while senior SARB officials conduct due diligence visits as well as formal audits (which include sample verifications) at offshore centres, every three years and at local centres, on an annual basis. An audit of locally held gold is also conducted annually.

3. (a) 31 March 2004 (b) The South African Reserve Bank (c) USD423.00 (d)161.51 fine ounces (to put it into perspective, a standard gold bar weighs approximately 400 fine ounces) (e) A Bullion Bank (Nova Scotia) (f) Settlement of a gold swap transaction

Reply:

Under this new bursary scheme where funded students are not required to pay back money, the scheme is reliant on an allocation from the fiscus to meet its obligation to students in line with government’s commitment in this regard. Thus, any shortfalls, should they arise, will be met by the fiscus in line with resources available in the fiscal framework.

Reply:

I have provided my reasons to the Police Portfolio Committee on the 18th of February 2019.

Kind reg ds,

MINIS ER OF POLICE

B.H CELE DATE:

Reply:

The Department and entities responded as follows:

(i) Department of Home Affairs

1. Twenty seven (27) tender briefings were held in 2018 by the Department of Home Affairs.
2. Twenty five (25) specified tender briefings were compulsory

(ii) Electoral Commission

1. The Electoral Commission held fifty-nine (59) briefing sessions.
2. None of these briefing sessions were compulsory.

(iii) Government Printing Works

1. Five (5) tender briefings were held.
2. Four (4) out of the five (5) tender briefings were compulsory.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Ms N Mohoboko Dr Siyabonga Cwele, MP

A/Director-General Minister of Home Affairs

Date: Date:

Reply:

I have been informed by SAPO as follows:

The Ennerdale Post Office has been closed due to a dispute with the landlord regarding rental amount for the office. A meeting between SAPO and the landlord took place on 21 February 2019 to reconcile. Agreement has been reached on the following:

(a) That total amount outstanding is R489,846.36

(b) That settlement for the total outstanding amount will be effected on 08 March 2019.

(c) After negotiations with the landlord and partial payment, the branch was re-opened on 21 February 2019.

Ms. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP

Minister

Date:

Reply:

(1)(a) The artwork under the curatorship of National Treasury is recorded in its asset register and audited on an annual basis by the Auditor General of South Africa. There is no artwork owned by the rest of Government under the curatorship of National Treasury;

(1)(b) The National Treasury does not have any artwork under its control that meets the definition of Heritage Assets in accordance with Generally Recognised Accounting Practice 103.

(2)(a) During the past five financial years the National Treasury has not written off any artworks after completion of its physical verification process, due to loss or other reason. During the current financial year starting 1 April 2018 to date, no artwork has been found missing;

(2)(b) There is no applicable detail, as there is no missing artwork at the National Treasury.

Reply:

1. (a)

(i) The Department contributed R20 million to the now successfully completed project which is approximately half of the total value of the project; the other half was funded by Okhahlamba Municipality. R20 million was paid in total to Okhahlamba Municipality, in 2 payments of R10 million during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.

(ii) The agreement was to pay R20 million which has been paid already. The project is completed and so are the payments for this exemplary first class facility that provides amenities to youth and the larger rural community of Bergville.

2. No. The Department is not aware of such a request. The decision to support the project was made years prior to that date following engagements between officials of the Department and the Okhahlamba Local Municipality.

3. No.

Reply:

(a) Tender Briefings: 242

(i) Department: 218

(ii) Entities: 24

Entity	No of tender briefings
Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB)	4
Office of the Valuer General (OVG)	2
Deeds Trading Account	18

(b) Compulsory Tender Briefings: 234

Department	214
ITB	4
OVG	2
Deeds Trading Account	14

Reply:

a) (i) SSA held eight (8) briefing sessions in 2018.

(ii) Not applicable

b) Eight (8) compulsory briefing sessions were held in 2018.

Reply:

	Number of tender briefings in 2018		Number of Compulsory briefings
Department of Science Technology	6		5
Entities reporting to the DST
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research		86	82
National Research Foundation		22	22
Technology Innovation Agency		3	3
Human Sciences Research Council		11	11
South African National Space Agency		5	1
Academy of Science of South Africa		None	None

Reply:

1. (a) and (b)(i) Please refer to the enclosed Annexure A and (ii) CIPC does not have a record of the managing directors of African Global Operations.

(2) (a) CIPC cannot provide B-BBEE certificates. (b) CIPC can only provide the enclosed financial years statements referred to as Annexure B. (c) CIPC can only provide Turnover from 2005 at this stage as per the table below.

 

Year	Turnover total declared to CIPC[1]
2005	R133 434 460
2006	R248 349 915
2007	R390 507 954
2008	R445 554 000
2009	R467 509 494
2010	R432 884 566
2011	R345 212 894
2012	R0
2013	R648 181 225
2014	R753 166 122
2015	R818 397 894
2016	R806 893 890
2017	R115 497 288

Please note that according to the CIPC, the figures for 2015 and 2017 as provided by the companies as contained in the table below, differ from the recently received audited financial statements. The CIPC will be investigating the difference in figures. ↑

Reply:

(a)(i)(iii) and (b) No contract was awarded during the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017.

Reply:

The targeted number of teacher education graduates for 2019 as approved in the mid-term review of the Enrolment Plan (2014 to 2019) is 20 414.

Universities are currently working on their new enrolment plans for the period 2020 to 2025 for approval by their Councils. These plans are due to be submitted to the Department on
15 April 2019 for consolidation and finalisation. Once the enrolment planning statement has been approved by the Minister, the enrolment and graduate targets for the next period will be made available.

Reply:

a) (i) The following tender briefings were scheduled and concluded by the Department during 2018:

Bid Number	Number of tender briefings held in 2018	(b) Compulsory / Non Compulsory
DHET118	1	Compulsory
DHET120	1	Compulsory

b) (ii) The entities reporting to the Department have provided the following responses to the questions posed:

Entity	Number of tender briefings held in 2018	(b) Compulsory / non-compulsory
1. Agricultural Sector Education and Training Authority	1	Compulsory
2. Banking Sector Education and Training Authority	13	12 Compulsory and 1 non-compulsory briefing
3. Construction Education and Training Authority	3	Compulsory
4. Council on Higher Education	5	Compulsory
5. Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority	2	Compulsory
6. Education Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority	3	Compulsory
7. Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority	4	Compulsory
8. Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority	6	Compulsory
9. Food and Beverage Sector Education and Training Authority	7	Compulsory
10. Fibre Processing and Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority	1	Compulsory
11. Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority	5	Compulsory
12. Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority	14	5 Compulsory and 9 non-compulsory briefings
13. Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority	1	Compulsory
14. Manufacturing Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority	3	Compulsory
15. Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority	4	Compulsory
16. Mining Qualification Authority	3	Compulsory
17. National Student Financial Aid Scheme	4	Compulsory
18. Public Sector Education and Training Authority	10	Compulsory
19. Quality Council for Trades and Occupations	2	Compulsory
20. South African Qualifications Authority	4	2 Compulsory and 2 non-compulsory briefings
21. Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority	14	Compulsory
22. Services Sector Education and Training Authority	10	Compulsory
23. Transport Education Training Authority	15	13 Compulsory and 2 non-compulsory briefings
24. Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority	4	Compulsory

Reply:

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

(1)(a) The terrorist attacks in the landside area of Brussels Airport on 22 March 2016 and Istanbul Airport on 28 June 2016, has brought aviation security sharply into focus from all aviation stakeholders, governments and the media. Ensuring the security of the traveling public is a top priority for ACSA. The appropriate authority has defined “landside.” To include areas of mass gathering inside or close to the terminal, where there is a regular concentration of people. There is collaboration with the appropriate authority responsible for civil aviation security matters and other security agencies to conduct risk and vulnerability assessment of Airports to determine if any adjustments to current security measures are warranted. This requirement is contained in our National Civil Aviation Security Programme that allocate responsibilities to state agencies. Engagement with the National and Airport Security Committees on appropriate measures to implement on specific threat scenarios.

(i) Metal barriers and bollards are being used to prevent drive-in attacks

(ii) The separation of vehicle drop-off and pickup areas from the terminal building

(iii) Relocation of vehicle parking close to the terminal building to open areas further from the buildings

(iv) Management of crowds around the landside areas to reduce gatherings of meters and greeters has been implemented.

(v) Security considerations have been considered for access areas such as balconies, terraces or windows that open, close to the terminal building where an active shooter or bomber might have access to crowded public areas by enhancement of patrols and CCTV surveillance.

(vi) Airport workers & passenger awareness & communication, there is a continuous reminder through the public-address system to passengers and visitors to be vigilant and report unattended baggage or suspicious behavior.

(vii) Security awareness training is provided for all Airport workers (both airport and non-airport employees, including those not involved directly in security) to recognize suspicious behavior, and provide a simple and quick means to report it.

(b) Airports Company South Africa is not obligated under any legal grounds to implement the restricted road access. This road is under the jurisdiction of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipality. The municipality is charged with this legal responsibility. The management of O.R Tambo International Airport has raised its concerns and suggested that the airport controls the access and egress onto the airport frontage roads.

(i) Aviation-specific security regulations focus on the airside spaces (non-public spaces of airports accessible only to air passengers who hold a valid boarding pass and to security cleared staff). These regulations are designed to prevent unlawful interference with air transport. Landside spaces (airport spaces accessible to the public) are subject to general security regulations enacted by national civil aviation authority. It is therefore up to the national civil aviation authority to review and coordinate with airports to identify the appropriate measures that match their specific threat scenario.

(ii) A new set of standards regarding landside security are included in Amendment 15 to Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention (April 2017) which require States to ensure that landside areas are identified, that measures are established to mitigate and prevent attacks based on a risk assessment, that measures are appropriately coordinated, and that responsibilities are allocated within a State’s national civil aviation security programme.

(iii) Accompanying this standard is guidance material within Doc8973, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Security Manual, which provides additional information on how measures might be implemented. DOC 8973 states that no vehicle shall park within 50 meters from the terminal building.

(iv) The following list provides some best practices in detection, deterrence or mitigation of landside threats that reflect current ICAO guidance material and other industry best practices.

(v) Consider infrastructure and airport design features to mitigate the threat from attack. These might include:

(vi) bollards, flowerpots and other structures to prevent drive-in attacks

(vii) the separation of vehicle drop-off and pickup points from the terminal

(viii) Reduce access areas (such as terraces) where an active shooter or bomber might have access to crowded public areas.

(c) Studies was conducted by a traffic consultant in accordance to municipal by laws

(d) Public participation will be done prior to implementation

(e) Workable alternatives are:

(i) the separation of vehicle drop-off and pickup points from the terminal

(2) (a) none

3. (i) ASA and the Ekurhuleni metro police, doesn’t intimidate parking operators at the airports. In terms of ICAO Doc 9873 and National Civil Aviation Program vehicles cannot be left unattended on the roadway and within 50 meters from terminal building.

(ii) ACSA must ensure adequate road marking and appropriate signages in accordance to road ordinance act.

Reply:

a) According to information at our disposal there are only two other mutual banks operating in South Africa which are:

1. GBS Mutual Bank; and
2. Finbond Mutual Bank.

There are no records of any municipal investments for 01 January 2009 to 30 June 2014. Based on municipal reports submitted to the National Treasury from 01 July 2014 to December 2018, there were no municipal investments in either GBS Mutual Bank or Finbond Mutual Bank.

b) In terms of section 7(2) of the PFMA the above-mentioned banks are not approved in writing by the National Treasury.

• Therefore, approval was not granted to national or provincial departments or national or provincial public entities to invest funds with these institutions.

In terms of section 7(3) of the PFMA Schedule 2 entities (SOE’s) may open bank accounts without the approval of the National treasury.

In terms of Treasury Regulation 31.2.1 The South African Library for the Blind reported that they held an account with GBS Mutual Bank. 

Reply:

(1) With reference to the reply to question 3520 of 10 November 2017, on which specific date did (a) the Bus Rapid Transport kerbside and (b) trunk route both become fully operational;

(a) The Kerbside operations of the City of Ekurhuleni’s Bus Transport commenced in October 2017 with an introductory service (operating with limited buses) which will be ramped up to full operations as the system matures.

(b) The trunk route is not fully operational. The operations of the trunk route have been delayed by the construction of median trunk stations and the stream crossing. The trunk route is expected to be fully operational early 2019/20 financial year.

(2) Have negotiations with taxi associations been completed; if not, what are the obstacles preventing finalisation of the negotiations;

Significant progress has been made regarding the negotiations with the Taxi industry, however the negotiations were suspended due to the expired contract of the Taxi Industry Technical Advisory (TITA) Team. The pending appointment of TITA and Market surveys are the main obstacles preventing the conclusion of the negotiations.

(3) On what date were all the pedestrian bridges (a) completed and (b) opened?

(a) The pedestrian bridges are still underway construction. The completion of the pedestrian bridges was delayed by design related issues including the bulk water pipeline which was detected during construction and plexiglass specifications.

(b) The planned completion date for pedestrian bridges is during May 2019.

Reply:

1. The Department was exploring the possibility of converting the bursary tuition amount into a conditional grant to minimise the bursary administrative processes, which would have had an impact on the 2019 Bursary Rules and Guidelines. However, it was not possible to implement this for the 2019 academic year. In addition, the process of introducing standardised allowances for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges were also protracted.

2. The Department introduced a new category of allowance, i.e. a personal care allowance, for all bursary recipients to assist them with their necessities. The introduction of standardised allowances and a new category of allowance changed the amounts that were initially considered for travel and accommodation contained in the draft version that was sent out to colleges for their comments.

The Department, in collaboration with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), had numerous engagements with Principals and financial aid practitioners towards the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 to prepare for the administration of bursaries. In addition to the ongoing engagements with colleges, the Department also issued Circulars to all colleges which set out the immediate and key steps that colleges had to follow to ensure a smooth 2019 bursary application process.

3. Preparing the draft guideline documents for my approval by June at the latest.

4. Engagements with college Principals and Student Representative Councils will start in June 2019 to finalise the 2020 Bursary Rules and Guidelines, which the Department aims to release early in October 2019. Concluding all of these activities timeously will allow colleges and students to focus on teaching and learning rather than on student financial aid matters.

Reply:

i) Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines. At the present time, there is no globally agreed methodology for calculating the contribution of artificial intelligence to gross domestic product (GDP).

ii) Nevertheless, it is expected that AI will impact economies in at least three inter-related ways. Firstly, on the production side the deployment of artificial intelligence capabilities will raise the productivity of firms by reducing costs, and/or production time, and/or improve product customisation.

iii) Secondly, on the consumption side artificial intelligence will upgrade or fundamentally modify traditional goods and/or services, thereby increasing their utility and value to consumers. In additional, artificial intelligence will likely reduce the time required for routine tasks to be concluded, thereby freeing consumers’ time which can be spent on other activities including consumption of other goods and services.

iv) According to Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), 2017, “AI to drive GDP gains of $15.7 trillion with productivity, personalisation improvements”, global GDP will be 14% higher in 2030 as a result of artificial intelligence.

Reply:

a) (i) Twelve (12) tender briefings were held in 2018 as follows:

Number	Reference	Date
1.	DoE/001/2017/18	1 February 2018
2.	DoE/002/2017/18	3 April 2018
3.	DoE/003/2017/18	3 April 2018
4.	DoE/004/2017/18	5 April 2018
5.	DoE/005/2017/18	5 April 2018
6.	DoE/001/2018/19	3 May 2018
7.	DoE/002/2018/19	3 May 2018
8.	DoE/003/2018/19	15 May 2018
9.	DoE/004/2018/19	16 May 2018
10.	DoE/005/2018/19	28 May 2018
11.	DoE/006/2018/19	11 June 2018
12	DoE/007/2018/19	24 July 2018

b) Yes, all the twelve (12) briefings were compulsory.

Entity	a) (ii) Number of tender briefings held in 2018	b) The specified briefings were compulsory
Central Energy Fund (CEF)	86 (inclusive of PetroSA and SFF)	CEF 10 briefings – 9 compulsory 1 non-compulsory SFF 11 briefings – All compulsory PetroSA 65 briefings – 1 compulsory 17 non-compulsory 45 non-briefings
National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)	5	Yes
National Nuclear Regulator (NNR)	1	Yes
National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI)	None	N/A
South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI)	7	Yes
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA)	13	Yes

Reply:

1. Production of Medical Isotopes did resume in February 2018 with limited runs and stopped in May 2018 following another safety incident.

The plant resumed production in November 2018 and has been producing steadily for local customers and international customers. Both MO-99 and I-131 are produced and dispatched.

Major improvements have been made in maintenance of the old facilities and enhancement of safety culture is ongoing.

(2)(a) NTP Radioisotopes reported a profit of R108 million in 2018 compared to R184 million in 2017. The estimated loss for 2019 is R224 million. NTP is confident it will rebuild market share in 15 months.

(b) NTP Radioisotopes did not lose any customers during this period; however, market share has severely eroded. With the support of international backup supply partners.

(i) Its customers were supplied with product based on the NTP Radioisotopes contracts.

(ii) There is continuous effort to communicate with customers on production status.

(3)(a) The decisions taken by the Board to cease disciplinary processes of Senior Executives and to take them through a counselling process aimed at addressing the mistakes identified, has had a positive impact on the performance of NTP. They also indicated how the challenges were to be managed and committed to reporting periodically to the Board on the progress. Safety and Security is included in the agenda of Board meetings, and the return to service plans highlighted both operational efficiencies and improvement on safety and security standards.

(b) New strategies, plans and systems were developed to strengthen the safety standards and performance of the operations. International and local experts were also allowed to come and assess the operations. In particular, the Regulator played a crucial role in guarding and monitoring to ensure compliance. A culture of heightened safety awareness and performance has been established which will promote sustainability and ongoing growth and development of the company. The Minister of Energy and the Department promoted policy alignment between the various institutions responsible for the cycle of production to enhance compliance.

4. The plant is building on its history of outstanding excellence and performance under the leadership of the outstanding executives. The staff morale is high and the lessons learnt from many months of the shutdown have enhanced focus on both safety and performance. Production levels are increasing and the global market is responding positively.

Reply:

(1) The person referred to in the question, Mr Faiez Jacobs, is not employed by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA). Mr Jacobs was, however, previously employed by MISA as a Programme Manager for the Western Cape Province on a consultancy contract from 2012 to August 2015. He resigned immediately after he was elected as the Provincial Secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape in 2015.

(a) The person referred in the question is currently not occupying any position in MISA.

(b) As explained above, Mr Jacobs is currently not employed, in any way, by MISA.

(2) There is no threat of conflict of interest in relation to the person referred to in the question since he is not employed by MISA.

Thank you

 

Reply:

Not to my knowledge.

1. Not Applicable
2. Not Applicable

		Approved	Not Approved	Approved as amended
		Comment:
Dr NC Dlamini-Zuma Minister in the Presidency: Planning Monitoring and Evaluation
Date:

Reply:

The resolution reached between parties in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council does not indicate that all Assistant Directors must have their salary levels’ upgraded from Level 9 to Level 10, and that all Deputy Directors must have their salary levels’ upgraded from Level 11 to Level 12.

Resolution 3 of 2009, sub-paragraph 3.6.3.2 states that “The commencing salary of all employees on posts not covered by an OSD as per PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2007, and 3 of 2008, who are appointed as Assistant Directors and Deputy Directors shall, with effect from 1 July 2010, be on salary levels 9 and 11 respectively”.

PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2012 paragraph 18.1 clause 3.6.3.2 amended Resolution 3 of 2009 to allow employees whose posts graded on salary levels 10 and 12 to be appointed and remunerated on salary levels 10 and 12 respectively. This resolution re-introduced salary levels 10 and 12 without abolishing salary levels 9 and 10, and without the intention that all employees at Assistant Director and Deputy Director Levels be upgraded to Level 10 and Level 12 respectively.

The Director General of the Department of Public Service and Administration clarified the implementation of the resolution through Circular 4 of 2014, dated 05/08/2014, which states that “Please note that this directive must be read in conjunction with PSCBC, Resolution 3 of 2009, DPSA Circulars 16/P dated 12 September 2011 and 25 February 2013. Furthermore, this Directive should not be interpreted as a general upgrading of all posts/jobs from salary level 9 to 10 and salary level 11 to 12”.

The Department has complied with the resolution and Directives of the DPSA.

SOUTH AFRICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (SALGA), MUNICIPAL DEMARCATION BOARD (MDB) & SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES NETWORK (SACN)

Not applicable to SALGA, MDB and SACN, as the organizations do not fall under prescripts of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

Thank you

Reply:

Over the past 15 years, South Africa’s primary steel industry consisted of the following major flat and long steel producers: ArcelorMittal SA, Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium, Cape Gate, Columbus Stainless Steel and SCAW. Small mini-mill players (Agni Steel, Fortune Steel, SA Steel Mills, Cape Town Iron and Steel Works and Veer Steel Mills have started operation in recent years.

The steel industry has been in decline in the last 15 years. Apart from weak demand, a major cause of the decline is the influx of steel imports which adversely affect the profitability and capacity utilization rates of the domestic steel producers. This trend has been aggravated over the years by massive global excess capacity, high production costs and aged plants.

The table and diagram below depict the decline from 2004 where production was 9.4 million tons per annum compared to current production of 6.3 million tons per annum in 2018. Highveld Steel and Vanadium closed in 2015 accounting for a reduction in 1 million tons per annum of steel capacity.

SA’s crude steel production per annum (2004-2018)

Year	SA Crude steel production (tonnes)
2004	9 405 568
2005	9 393 123
2006	9 603 324
2007	8 985 805
2008	8 154 958
2009	7 483 932
2010	7 616 762
2011	7 546 489
2012	6 938 400
2013	7 161 900
2014	6 412 200
2015	6 417 100
2016	6 141 300
2017	6 299 200
2018	6 328 300

Source: South African Institute of Iron and Steel

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department. However, the Department has a letter to all the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs to engage municipalities to provide the relevant information. The information will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available.

Thank you

Reply:

(1) (a) No

(b) No

(i) No

(ii) No

(2) (a) No

(b) No

Reply:

1. (a)(i). My Department held ten (10) tenders briefings in the year 2018, (b) of the ten briefings eight (8) tenders briefing sessions were compulsory.

(a)(ii). In relation to entities reporting to me the information is slow coming as soon as I received them I will alert the honourable member.

Reply:

Question	DSD	NDA	SASSA
(a)	3	24	26
(b)	3	6	20

________________________

Approved by the Minister on

Date……………………….

Reply:

No tender briefings were held in 2018 by the department