Questions and Replies

Reply:

No allegations of corruption and/or maladministration were brought against Ms Nosisana Toni in the period 2014 to date.

 

END.

Reply:

None

Reply:

Since this parliamentary question is on public servants, therefore, every state department, which has public servants as its employees, is in a better position to account to Parliament on any damage and or legal cost incurred by the state due to actions of the specified public servants in their employ.  

Reply:

1. No.

(a),(b)(i)-(ii) Falls away.

2. Falls away

3. (a),(b) Falls away

4. (a),(b),(c) Falls away

Reply:

Parliamentary document entitled Announcements, Tablings and Committee (ATC) Report dated 25 November 2016 state that “Questions may not refer to matters under consideration of a parliamentary committee….” Therefore, allegations have been submitted to the Parliament Joint Ethics Committee on the Minister in relation to the family referred to in this Parliamentary Question.

Reply:

The Department and its entities have not outsourced any employees from private companies/or contractors in the past 3 years including 2018.

 

Reply:

1. The NYDA has not subsidised movie tickets for the viewing of the film Black Panther.

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

Reply:

The Department and the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights have not yet received the final report on the originally dispossessed individuals from Somhlolo Trust verified by the University of Pretoria. This report will then inform the verification of all beneficiaries of this land claim.

Reply:

1. Minister has never been –

(a)(i) Influenced by any person; nor has

(a)(ii) Minister ever influenced any member of staff in his department to take any official administrative action on behalf of any –

(aa) member;

(bb) employee; and/or

(cc) a close associate of the Gupta family.

 

(b) Minister has never attended any meeting where any of the specified persons were present.

Reply:

Yes, the Public Service Commission received a response dated 26 June 2017 from the former Minister of Water and Sanitation Ms NP Mokonyane.

Reply:

1. (a) The Directorate Food Safety and Quality Assurance does not have positions or designations of inspector posts in their establishment since in the main it is the policy development unit. The Directorate utilizes a matrix of inspectors residing within the Directorate Inspection Services and the designated assignees to enforce the two legislations (Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990 and the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989). There are currently 39 inspectors who are responsible for inspection of certain regulated products and the exercise of an oversight role over the activities of the designated assignees. (b) there is a total of (i) 30 (thirty) filled posts and (ii)  9 (nine) vacant posts.\
2. (a) There is no work of the Directorate Food Safety and Quality Assurance that has been outsourced. However, the Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990 does allow the designation of assignees to complement the inspection services. There are currently seven assignees in terms of the Agricultural Product Standards Act (b) the designation does not cost the department anything.

Reply:

1. The remainder of the Farm Groot Zalze 998 in Stellenbosch was defined as an agricultural land prior to the publication of 2 March 2018, gazette 41473.

2. Following engagement with the Western Cape Provincial Department of Agriculture, Stellenbosch Municipality and public consultation through gazette, the Farm Groot Zalze 998 was excluded in terms of section 1 of SALA

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), donated tractors to the Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDAs) eight years ago as a once off support. On delivery these tractors became the ownership and responsibility of each PDA to distribute within their respective provinces.

DAFF has conducted an investigation to verify the status of all tractor assets for each PDA focusing on the condition and usability of each tractor. During this investigation some tractors were found to be unavailable or missing. To date DAFF has compiled a status report that indicates the state of tractors in each province and the missing tractors have been captured as such. Currently communication to get responses on the missing tractors is in progress amongst the Engineers that were part of the investigation. The next steps are that in November DAFF will share the report and liaise with the Executive officials from PDAs to embark on further investigations to track these missing tractors with the intention of locating these back into the pool.

Reply:

(a),(b)(i),(ii) No, the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform is not aware of any arms of Government that may have earmarked any land for foreign investment and/or to serve as security for deals with foreign business investments.

(aa),(bb),(cc),(dd) Falls away.

Reply:

(a) (i)	Correctional centres being repaired
	Project	(b) Anticipated Completion Cost	(c) Capacity	(d) Province
1.	Rustenburg	R174 026 987	812	LMN
2.	Glencoe	R34 150 721	669	KZN
3.	Emthonjeni Youth Centre Baviaanspoort	R187 709 485	640	GAUTENG
(b) (ii)	Correctional centres under construction
1.	Pretoria C Max	R217 434 500	284	GAUTENG
2.	Standerton	R408 552 598	1468	LMN
3.	Estcourt	R368 527 072	500	KZN
4.	Tzaneen	R62 819 109	504	LMN

Reply:

(a) (i) No.

(ii) (aa), (bb) and (cc) No.

(b) No. I am not aware of any meeting which I attended where any of the specified persons were present. However, I cannot exclude the possibility that unbeknown to me, these individuals may have been present at large functions that I attended.

Reply:

(1)

(a) Although the department does monitor the cases in the Kruger National Park (KNP) Court; the department is provided with the information related to these cases and does participate in the relevant structures and attends the Mission Area Joint Operational Centre (MAJOC) meetings where monthly feedback is provided on progress related to the deployment within the area, arrests, seizures, cases and other related matters are discussed.

(b) The department has not taken the issue regarding lenient sentencing in the KNP District Court up with the Chief Magistrate of Mpumulanga. However, the South African National Parks (SANParks) has engaged with the Judge President of Mpumalanga and expressed concerns around the drop in the nature of the sentences in the district court, aspects related to bail, transfer of cases and other aspects related to cases in the KNP.

(2) The department is aware that bail has been granted to repeat offenders in some cases.

a)The South African Police Service is the custodian of this informaiton.

b) The National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice determine relevant conviction rates and should be approached in this regard.

(c) The department has not formally campaigned for stricter sentencing but is amending current legislation to make provision for priority crimes linked to wildlife trafficking and to increase penalties for such crimes.

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Reply:

THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS REPLIES:

FINANCIAL YEAR	NO. OF MATTERS	DETAILS	RELIEF SOUGHT	TIME PERIODS
2015/2016	nil	n/a	n/a	n/a
2016/2017	nil	n/a	n/a	n/a
2017/2018	1	NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SOCIETIES FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS VS THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND ANOTHER (LION BONES QUOTA) This is an application brought by the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA). It is an application which seeks to review and set aside the decision made by the Minister of Environmental Affairs in respect to setting a quota (2017, 2018) on the number of lion bone skeletons, with or without the skulls that may be exported in a calendar year. The application is a PAJA review, alleging that the decision made on the quotas is administrative action.	The application is seeking an order in the following terms: PART A 1 Prohibiting the first respondent and/or the second respondent from issuing permits for the exportation of lion bone pending the finalisation of Part B of the application, PART B 1 Declaring unlawful and unconstitutional the determination of the quota for 2017, 2018 and any further extension of the lion bone exportation quota as indicated and presaged in the notice, issued on 28 June 2017. 2 Reviewing and setting aside the quota under PAJA, alternatively under the Constitution.	Application received: 10.01.2018 Notice to Oppose: 12.02.2018 Record filed: 22.03.2018 (by agreement with applicants) The record of decision has been filed, along with a supplementary record. The NSPCA has not indicated formally whether they intend supplementing their papers. A “without prejudice” meeting was held between the Department of Environmental Affairs and its legal representatives, and the NSPCA and their legal representatives. The purpose and intention of the meeting was to explain to the NSPCA how the 2018 quota for the export of lion bones was established and to possibly reach a settlement out of court, however this could not be achieved. The NSPCA has since indicated its intention to supplement its papers and to join all the relevant permit holders and applicants for permits for the export of lion bones and to have the matter set down and to bring an urgent application in terms of Part A of the original application. We await such supplementation and set down from the NSPCA.
From 01 April 2018	nil		n/a	n/a

---ooOoo---

Reply:

The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) Report on Adult Prostitution (Project 107) (the Report) was published on 26 May 2017. Since its publication, the Report was discussed in various forums and engagements with interest groups, amongst others are:

A) Conference on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism;

B) Combined SANAC and Mail & Guardian Critical Thinking Forum on the decriminalization of “sex work”, in which the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development participated;

C) Conference on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism as invited by the acting National Executive Director of Child Welfare South Africa and ECPAT International;

D) The Human Rights Baseline Assessment Inception meeting jointly organised by SANAC and the Global Fund;

E) Engagements with the Global fund baseline assessment on human rights-related barriers to HIV and TB services for key populations in South Africa (including people who provide sexual services for reward);

F) The SANAC Government Task Team (GTT) meeting;

G) Roundtable Discussion on 'Prostitution/Sex Work: Is it work and is it a choice?: SACBC Parliamentary Organization, Embrace Dignity and the Hanns Seidel Foundation;

H)The Multi Party Women’s Caucus; and many more.

The Department closely followed the views expressed during these discussions. The Department also responded to various representations by interest groups, amongst others, representations by Cause for Justice, Stop Trafficking in Person Group and the Sex Worker’s Education and Advocacy Taskforce.

The report is currently being considered by the Department with a view to advising Cabinet on the proposals with regard to legislative reform on adult prostitution. In order to do this, the Department will draft legislation which will be published for public comments. During the drafting process, the Department may further consult with interested parties. Although the Report seems to be comprehensive, the recommendations that were made on legislative interventions to deal with adult prostitution as well as other non-legislative intervention proposed in the Report are not universally accepted by different interest groups. As a result of the divergent views, further research is necessary to explore, in detail, the recommendations made in the Report in order to make legislative proposals that are acceptable to the different interest groups. In particular, there must also be extensive consultation with government departments on the implementation of the non-legislative recommendations, which has financial and other implications, before Cabinet is approached to endorse the said recommendations.

Reply:

In responding to questions (a), (b), and (c), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has reported as follows, as per the case number opened at Orlando Police Station:

1. CAS 636/6/2010: This relates to an incident of drinking in public. A J534 form was issued. No docket was opened, only a control document was issued.
2. CAS 730/1/2018: This is an invalid CAS number according to the South African Police Service (SAPS) system.
3. 133/10/2015: This is a docket on trespassing. The docket, Orlando CAS 133/10/15, was not enrolled on 9 October 2015 as further investigations were requested. The said docket was brought back on 10 November 2016, but there were still investigations outstanding. The investigating officer was once again instructed to comply. The docket was only submitted to the prosecution during July 2018 at the the prosecution request. Investigations are still continuing. This docket is linked to Orlando CAS 130/10/15 (not 130/01/15, as indicated on the question paper).
4. CAS 130/10/15: This docket relates to an incident of malicious damage to property, with the same complainant. Further investigation was requested, but the docket has not been presented to the prosecution.
5. CAS 95/07/18: The same complainant, opened another docket for trespassing against the same suspect. This docket also required further investigation, again surrounding the same eviction order.
6. 366/07/2018: The docket relates to the alleged kidnapping and assault of a minor child. This matter was enrolled on 24 July 2018. The matter is in court 13, Protea and is now set down for trial for 12 November 2018. The accused is represented by Legal Aid South Africa.
7. CAS 244/10/2018: This relates to a housebreaking incident. There is only a statement by the complainant, with nothing to indicate who the suspect might be. This docket was not presented to the prosecution.
8. CAS 66/10/2018: This is an assault docket opened against a member of SAPS. There are two (2) complainants in the docket. This docket was not presented to the prosecution.

Reply:

(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)	(e)
PRASA Railway Train Station	Number	Date not being used	Reason for not being used	Current use
Ireagh	1	2010	Train service rationalised	None
Rolle	1	2010	Train service rationalised	None
Cottondale	1	2010	Train service rationalised	None
Acornhoek	1	2010	Train service rationalised	None
Hoedspruit	1	2010	Train service rationalised	Restaurant Lease
Zeerust	1	2015	Train service rationalised	None
Vryburg	1	2015	Train service rationalised	None
Total	7

Note: The above information only reflects PRASA properties. All these stations were identified for transfer with Main Line Passenger Service in 2009 from Transnet. These stations are on the Kaapmuiden-Hoedspruit line or Johannesburg-Mafikeng-Kimberley line. Stations not in use is not the same as being decommissioned.

2. (a) The option to link King Shaka International Airport (KISA) via the existing North Coast Rail

Corridor was considered along with other rail alignment options during earlier planning activities because of its proximity to KSIA. It was however not preferred, because such a service would result in lengthy journey times and inability to compete effectively with other modes of transport.

(b) As mentioned in (a), the option of linking to the North Coast Rail Corridor was not preferred. In addition, the passenger demand for such a service in the short term, is considered relatively low from a passenger rail perspective. A road-based feeder service from Verulam and/or Tongaat stations is considered more viable in the short term to provide access to KISA from the North Coast Line.

In the medium term, a more direct rail connection to KISA, with potential of linking to current and new growth areas in the northern section of eThekwini, is considered more viable.

(c) The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa concluded a conceptual planning study in 2015 around potential rail linkages to KISA and surrounds.

(d) The outcome of the study in 2015 is in support of (2)(b).

Reply:

(1) The department was not consulted or given an opportunity to comment on the release of the Thai kingpin. It should however be noted that the sentence that he was serving was not 40 years. Although the Magistrates Court had sentenced him to 40 years imprisonment, this was reduced to 30 years in the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court in Johannesburg and then reduced to
13 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

(2) The department has not found that there is a pattern of the appeal courts reducing sentences for wildlife crime.

(3) The department is of the view that generally the penalties provided for relating to wildlife crimes in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004) (NEMBA) are sufficient, which are currently as follows:

a) A person convicted of an offence in terms of NEMBA is liable to a fine not exceeding
R10 million, or an imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or to both such a fine and such imprisonment; and

b) If a person convicted of an offence, involving a specimen of a listed threatened or protected species, or an alien species or commencing the commercialisation phase of bioprospecting without a permit issued in terms of NEMBA, a fine may be determined. This may take place either in terms of (a) or equal to three times the commercial value of the specimen or activity in respect of which an offence has been committed, whichever is the greater. The department is however, strengthening national legislation by adding a category for those species that are specifically threatened by wildlife trafficking and which require preferential protection and stricter penal provisions. In addition, the department continues to support structures (Justice College and the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI)) which are responsible for training of prosecutors and magistrates.

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Reply:

1. The Minister was not informed neither was she aware of any allegation of irregular and or unlawful appointments that occurred during the hiring of persons for the Senior Staff Officer National Codification Bureau in 2015 since there has never been hiring of Senior Staff Officer at National Codification Bureau over the period mentioned. During the said period only contractors were hired and trained to be codifiers. Allegations pertaining to alleged irregularities during the acquisition of contractors were never reported through appropriate channels set up by the Department of Defence, and only came to the fore by a media enquiry from Rapport subsequently followed by an article published by Rapport and City Press on 21 October 2018.
2. The SANDF prides itself as a well-structured and disciplined force with adequate structures in place to resolve any inconsistency, malicious deeds, ill-discipline, or any other activity that might put the organisational name into disrepute warrants disciplinary processes as regulated in our policy. It should be noted that proper channels were never used to report any irregularity regarding hiring of any member by National Codification Bureau. The Department of Defence only became aware of these allegations regarding alleged irregularities when it received a media enquiry subsequently followed by the publication of an article pertaining the same matter by Rapport and City Press newspapers on 21 October 2018. This practice is contrary to the Department of Defence’s code of ethics. Following the publication of an article pertaining alleged irregularities an investigation was launched and is still ongoing.
3. National Codification Bureau (NCB) went on a project to acquire contract workers in support of the National Youth Development Policy Framework. All requirements were approved by the Chief of the Division and appointments of contract workers took place from 2015, 2016 and 2017. This was done in line within the prescripts of the National Youth Development Framework which encourages development of youth from the root level where opportunities for furthering education were not afforded due to different reasons stemming from non-affordability because of poor background. During the said period only contractors were hired and trained to be codifiers. The total amount of contractors employed is 71.

The Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy, enshrining the rights of all people in the country and affirming the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. This is inclusive of the appointment of youth from any cultural background and association without discrimination. No member can be disqualified when he/she meets the necessary requirement to be offered equal opportunities like any other youth in the country. By placing young people and their development in the broader context of reconstruction and development, common developmental goals and a spirit of cooperation and co-ordination is encouraged.

4. This should be done in line with Government’s broad approach to fundamentally address poverty and underdevelopment through comprehensive, integrated, cross-sectoral and sustainable policies and programmes. Young people ought to enjoy all the rights, responsibilities and obligations that all normal citizens of South Africa enjoy as contained in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, so are contractors who are related to members of the Department of Defence, unless it can be said they are not supposed to have rights that are accorded every citizen of this country which were attained through blood and sweat of their fathers, mothers brothers and sisters who had to face oppression by a brutal regime. The Department of Defence policy clearly states that a member of a selection board may recuse himself/herself if his/her familiarity with the candidate might affect his/her objective judgement. In the aforementioned case, no family member was directly involved with the acquisition of contract workers. DODI C PERS NO 8/99 stipulates that applicants should not be discriminated due to their status. The policy further states that all candidates should be measured against the same objective criteria.

5. The South African National Defence Force has systems in place to deal with issues regarding all ill-discipline aspects at all levels. Necessary internal processes are always followed regarding any irregularity or ill-discipline related behaviour. In order to ensure that checks and balances within the department are in place, staffing is handled as follows:

(a) Vacant funded posts are advertisement and this is done according to C Pers [DCM (PSAP)] by Human Resource Division.

(b) Shortlisting of applicants is done by Human Resource of the requesting authority.

(c) The Staffing Board identifies the suitable candidates according to the criteria.

(d) The decision of the Staffing Board is sent back to C Pers [DCM (PSAP)] for final endorsement.

Regarding the aforementioned criteria, posts were not advertised due to the fact that, contract appointments do not meet the advertisement requirement, as per DODI C PERS NO 8/99. However in an event where shortcomings or irregularities occur, the SANDF as the organisation will not hesitate to implement corrective measures as directed by the Defence Act.

Reply:

In respect to the CAS numbers opened and recorded at Orlando Police Station, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has reported as follows:

a) The case docket, CAS 535/05/2018, has been returned to the South African Police Service (SAPS) with an instruction to finalise investigations.

b) The NPA is waiting for a case docket, with CAS 490/05/2018, from SAPS before a decision can be made.

Reply:

a) The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) recorded progress on all cases of sexual offences over the past five (5) years. The table below depicts progress is:

	Financial Years	Change over previous year	Change over period 2013/14-17/18
	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
Sexual Offences	67,1%	69,0%	70,1%	71,7%	72,7%	1,1%	6,9%
Convictions	5 484	5 084	4 978	4 780	5 004	4,7%	-8,8%
Verdict	8 174	7 372	7 098	6 669	6 879	3,1%	-15,8%

Sexual offences are defined as “any case involving offences committed in terms of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act No. 32 of 2007, and may include common law rape or indecent assault.”

b) From the 2017/18 financial year, The NPA started to measure murder convictions, a 77.7% conviction rate was achieved at the end of that financial year.

Reply:

Minister of Labour’s Response;

1. At the disposal of the current management of the province, there is no record of the initial response to the 2016 enquiry. The current senior management started after the initial query and was not able to retrieve the original response. Notices were served on the school in June 2018 and a follow up inspection conducted in August 2018.
2. The structural damage has not been repaired. The structural damages and the non-repairs pose a danger to both the learners and the staff.
3. The roof does not seem to have been repaired and is still leaking, alternatively it is still not maintained as the whole asbestos block is affected.

WAY FORWARD

Prosecution will be recommended to the NPA for non-compliance.

Reply:

According to the Unemployment Insurance Fund records, Shoprite Checkers PTY LTD has employed the most people in the past five financial years, totalling 355 932 employees.  Shoprite Checkers operates in the Retail sector.

Reply:

1. (a) VEREENIGING INTERMODAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITY

CONTRACT NUMBER DRT: 24/07/2013

PRASA appointed the consulting engineers (AECOM/Khuthele Projects (AECOM)) to execute designs for the following:

• Vereeniging Station
• Commercial development around Vereeniging Station
• Vereeniging Intermodal Facility

(b) (i) PRASA has set aside R15 million for the fees of the project. The fees include for the following:

• Professional Services for Stages 1 to 6;
• Environmental studies
• Occupational Health and Safety; and
• Specialised professional services (e.g. Geotech, etc.)

(ii) The amount spent to date is R13,508,685-00, being for designs and construction supervision, as well as Occupational Health and Safety monitoring for the Intermodal Facility.

(c) (i) The main contractor appointed by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport ( GDRT) for the construction works, is Moreteng Investments CC.

(ii) GDRT Contractor: Moreteng Investments CC

Registration number: 2005/004671/07

Sub-Contractor: FlyBrotherSA CC

Registration number: 2010/133800/23

PRASA Consultant: AECOM/Khuthele Projects Pty (Ltd)

Registration number: 2010/013644/07

(d) The works are currently ongoing and are measured at 83% progress. However, due to contractual disputes between GDRT and the contractor, the works have been suspended since 7 September 2018.

(e) The completion date will only be known once the contractor is back on site.

2 (a) PRASA has not lodged any dispute with a service provider.

(b) Not applicable.

3. (a) Not applicable as no disputes were lodged by PRASA.

(b) Not applicable as no disputes were lodged by PRASA.

Reply:

The non-compliances that were reported in the response to Parliamentary Question 161, on 10 April 2018, were initially investigated by the Compliance team in the Department, and the matter was then referred to the Chief Directorate: Enforcement, around July 2018, to take enforcement action. An enforcement notice, as contemplated in section 31L of the National Environmental Management Act, has been prepared and is in the process of being reviewed, before it is issued. In order to undertake this process, the Department must comply with the provisions of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), as well as sub-regulation 8(2) of the EMI regulations contained in GNR 480 of 31 May 2017, by providing SANRAL with an opportunity to make representations in response to the allegations of non-compliance as well as the intended instructions prior to moving forward with further enforcement action. The decision as to whether the non-compliances have or have not been addressed and so forth, and also what type of final enforcement action will be taken, is dependent on various factors such as the submissions that are made by SANRAL in response to the enforcement notice.

 

Reply:

(a) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) (cc) and (b), I would like to inform the Honorable Member that I never influenced any person, department`s employees to take any official administrative action on behalf of any member or employee and neither have I been influenced by any close associate of the Gupta family and attended any meeting.

Reply:

1. In response to the question, it is best to consider each Protocol separately.

a) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights (ICCPR)

There are two Optional Protocols to the ICCPR, and South Africa has ratified both. The first Optional Protocol’s Preamble states,

“The State Parties to the present Protocol,

Considering that in order further to achieve the purposes of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant) and the implementation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable the Human Rights Committee set up on part IV of the Covenant (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) to receive and consider, as provided in the present Protocol, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant.”

As such, the first Optional Protocol allows direct claims to be made by individuals who believe that rights they are guaranteed under the ICCPR have been violated by the State, to the ICCPR Committee, but only once all domestic remedies have been exhausted. Thus, by ratifying the first Optional Protocol, South Africa has accepted the jurisdiction of the Committee to accept direct claims from individuals who have exhausted their domestic remedies. No further legislative amendments are required to our domestic law. In fact, the Committee has heard direct claims from South African applicants, and South Africa has responded as required in the procedures of the first Optional Protocol.

With regards to the second Optional Protocol, this Optional Protocol is aimed at the abolition of the death penalty. Our Constitution and jurisprudence from the case of the State versus Makwanyane (1995), has abolished the death penalty. No further legislation is required to give effect to the second Protocol.

b) Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

South Africa ratified the ICESCR on 12 January 2015 and has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.

This Optional Protocol allows the same type of direct access by individual claimants to the ICESCR Committee. South Africa is in the process of considering the Optional Protocol’s consistency with domestic and international law to which South Africa is obligated, with a view to ratifying the Optional Protocol. Any consideration of legislative changes, if any will be considered at the appropriate time

.

2. No further statement is necessary at this stage.

Reply:

I have been informed by the National Prosecuting Authority that:

1. The senior prosecutor was of the view that a prima facie case had not been made out. However, they relied on the wrong section of the relevant Act. The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reviewed the matter and decided to prosecute.
2. This question falls away as the DPP has overruled the decision of the senior prosecutor and decided that prosecution should be instituted. The matter is on the court roll of the Germiston Regional Court and has been remanded to 16 November 2018.

Reply:

 

(1) (a) On what date did his department last conduct an audit of artwork owned by Government which is under his department’s curatorship and (b) what are the details of each artwork under the curatorship of his department according to the Generally Recognised Accounting Practice 103;

(2) whether any artworks under his department’s curatorship have gone missing (a) in each of the past five financial years and (b) since 1 April 2018; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3953E

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

Yes, the Group Chief Executive (GCE) of Eskom received a letter from Martin Kingston, Chief Executive Officer of Rothschild.

Yes, the GCE responded to the letter. In the letter the GCE appreciated the interest shown by Rothschild in assisting with the challenges faced by Eskom and mentioned that the Eskom’s Executive Management Committee was in the process of developing its own strategic map for the organisation. The GCE undertook to advise Rothschild on next steps once there is internal alignment.

It must be noted that the said letter did not result in any business deals between Eskom and Rothschild.

Reply:

Response:

(a) All companies in the country are registering their business through the Department of Trade & Industry & SARS for tax purposes and therefore the Department of Labour does not have direct access to such information nor, does the department of labour have jurisdiction in this regard.

(b) The Black Economic Empowerment Act is administered by the Department of Trade and Industry and as such, compliance thereto is also monitored by the Dti.

(c) Our Inspection and Enforcement Services through its Annual Performance Plan, targets workplaces to be inspected in various sectors to determine level of compliance with employment law. The laws of the Department cover every person that is within the borders of SA, including foreign Nationals. In addition to companies that are identified for inspection, the Inspectors also conduct inspection on companies as and when complaints are lodged in our various labour centres.

(bb) There are Provincial Chief Inspectors in all 9 Provinces who are in charge of the Inspectorate and would take steps to address reported non-compliance. To this end, citizens are encouraged to report any suspected non-compliance to our Inspectors.

The Contact details of the Provincial Chief Inspectors are as follows:

NAME OF PROVINCE	NAME OF PROVINCIAL CHIEF INSPECTOR	CONTACT DETAILS
Eastern Cape	Adv. Lucky Mkhonto	0829082318
Free State	Ms. Amanda Mantutle	0829086809
Kwa-Zulu Natal	Mr. Edward Kambula	0609859286
Gauteng	Adv. Michael Msiza	0829008131
Mpumalanga	Ms. Nonyaniso Njwambe	0824157083
Limpopo	Mr. Phaswana Tladi	0845043801
Northern Cape	Mr. Solomzi Vass	0828026796
North West	Mr. Boikie Mampuru	0829082308
Western Cape	Mr. David Esau	0827914485

 

Each Province has Statutory Services personnel who handle litigations on behalf of the Director-General to refer non-compliant employers to the Courts. In addition, there is a statutory component in Head Office that deals with enforcement of workplaces that do not comply with notices and Director General’s Recommendations.

Reply:

Response;

The information is as follows;

DoL / Public Entity	(a)(i)(aaa) What is the total number of employees that have been outsourced from private companies and/or contractors in the past three financial years	(a)(i)(bbb) What is the total number of employees that have been outsourced from private companies and/or contractors since 1 April 2018	(a) (ii) What is the name of each company or contractor	(b) what amount is each employee paid
DoL	None	None	None	None
CCMA	Fourteen (14)	Nine (9)	1. Multilead 2. ebustech-consulting 3. Human Communication	1. 2 x P03 (R1 805 012.94 pa) 2. 4 x P06 (R 699 155.12 pa) 3. 1 x P07 (R 561 386.32 pa) 4. 2 x P08 (R454 297.90 pa
UIF	None	None	None	None
CF	None	None	None	None
NEDLAC	Six (6)	Two (2)	Thokazani Ntshingila	R30 000.00 per month ( 2015/2016)
			Tiaan Rosslee	R30 000.00 per month (2015/2016)
			Modiegi Mooko	R20 000.00 per month (2016/2017)
			Portia Kekana	R72 430.66 per month (2017/2018)
			Lorraine Mofokeng	R55 000.00 per month (2017/2018)
			Tidimalo Chuene	R78750.00 per month (2017/2018 & 2018/2019)
			Clarinda Simpson	R104 000.00 per month (2018/2019)
SEE	None	None	None	None
PSA	None	None	None	None

Reply:

(1) (a),(b),(c) The information is not readily available in the Department of Basic Education and it should be requested from the Provincial Education Departments.

(2) The information is not readily available in the Department of Basic Education and it should be requested from the Provincial Education Departments.

(3) (a)(i), (ii),(b),(c) and (d) The information is not readily available in the Department of Basic Education and it should be requested from the Provincial Education Departments.

Reply:

1. RESPONSE

 

1 (a). The bench mark study tour was initiated and funded by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) to assist the research work currently underway in the ELRC. Four(4) countries were visited, namely Finland, Singapore, Canada and Brazil.

(b). The engagements with the countries various departments took place from 26 February 2018 to 9 March 2018. The dates were as follows:

• Finland : 26 February 2018 – 27 February 2018.
• Singapore : 28 February 2018 – 2 March 2018.
• Canada : 5 March 2018 – 6 March 2018.
• Brazil : 8 March 2018 – 9 March 2018.

(c). At an Education Indaba in 2017 that was organised by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), three streams of work were identified to be undertaken to address challenges relating to education provisioning and related matters. One of these pertinent matters is post provisioning, which has become one of the difficult issues in the different provincial education departments in South Africa.

In addressing the issues raised by the Post Provisioning Commission at the Education Indaba, the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) commissioned desktop research to assess how international countries have approached post provisioning challenges, managed compensation of teachers and adopted effective distribution models within their education system. Based on the research, the four (4) countries that were identified that could best assist South Africa with its challenges and provide possible solutions.

During the visits three (3) focus areas were concentrated on primarily because of the South African context. The areas were:

• Annual and long-term human resource (HR) planning (teachers and other personnel) at state, provincial, and school levels;
• Budget allocation and funding structures from Grade R/ Kindergarten to Matriculation levels taking into account factors such as poverty, special education needs, and specialist subjects; and
• Norms and standards for HR provisioning in small and/or rural schools.

2. (a). The names of the departmental officials were the following:

• Mr T Kojana: Eastern Cape Department of Education;
• Adv T Malakoane: Free State Department of Education;
• Ms N Mutheiwana: Limpopo Department of Education;
• Ms L Moyane: Mpumalanga Department of Education;
• Mr E Mosuwe: Gauteng Department of Education;
• Ms S Semaswe: North West Department of Education;
• Mr T van Staden: Northern Cape Department of Education;
• Mr M Cronje: Western Cape Department of Education;
• Mr S Faker: Department of Basic Education; and
• Mr M Mfela: Department of Basic Education.

The names of the union officials were the following:

• Mr B Manuel: Teacher Union Executive Director: CTU ATU;
• Mr M Maluleke: Teacher Union SADTU; and
• Mr M Galorale: Teacher Union: SADTU.

The teacher unions identified the officials that were to attend on their behalf and they were invited separately from the DBE officials. The information on how the union officials were identified therefore needed to be obtained from the unions.

(b). The departmental officials were chosen because of their expertise and responsibility in either post provisioning, human resource management, early childhood development and finance. Unions were required to identify their own representatives.

(c) (i). The entire benchmark study tour was orgainised by the ELRC based on the resolutions taken at the Education Indaba 2017. The ELRC funded the entire study tour. There were no financial implications for the Department.

The Department is not in a position to provide the cost for each delegate on the benchmark tour.

(c) (ii). See (c) (i) above.

3. A detailed report with findings and recommendations were drafted by the ELRC with inputs provided by the delegates. A copy of the report may be requested from the ELRC.

Reply:

 

Response:

(a) The relevant details of the Early Grade Reading Norms and Standards which are meant to be implemented by provincial education departments are explained in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) from Grades R – 3. These include the text types that learners should engage with in a 2 weekly cycle and the time allocation per grade for each term of the year. They also contain the components of reading such as decoding, sounding letters of the alphabet, letter recognition to reading words and reading fluency which is clearly described in the Annual Teaching Plan (Section 3) of the CAPS. Additional guidelines were developed in February 2018 and mediated through the Foundation Phase Subject Committees and workshops at national, provincial, district and teacher training, as well as through Professional Learning Communities.

(b) Progress by province in meeting the specified norms and standards as per the CAPS are reported on quarterly through the National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA). In addition, the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) Programme is being implemented to assist teachers to evaluate learners reading progress. Base-line, mid-line and end-line assessments are conducted to evaluate learners. Currently, 1670 schools are using EGRA to support the implementation of the CAPS.

The Primary School Reading Improvement Programme (PSRIP) was launched in October 2016. As a result, 11 712 Foundation Phase teachers and 263 subject advisors have trained on reading content and pedagogy in preparation for delivering the reading component of the CAPS. The table below details the progress as at 30 September 2018 on the above programmes in provinces.

Province	Progress
Eastern Cape	334 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1677 Foundation Phase teachers and 58 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1. Jolly Phonics programme is currently being piloted in 48 schools in Grade 1 to support the implementation of the norms and standards.
Free State	100 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1108 Foundation Phase teachers and 25 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
Gauteng	112 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1098 Foundation Phase teachers and 38 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
KwaZulu-Natal	324 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 2350 Foundation Phase teachers and 24 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1. The Jika Imfundo programme is used to teach teachers on how to use reading strategies effectively in the classroom.
Limpopo	333 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1597 Foundation Phase teachers and 28 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
Mpumalanga	125 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1247 Foundation Phase teachers and 22 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
North West	117 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 668 Foundation Phase teachers and 19 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
Northern Cape	115 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 933 Foundation Phase teachers and 22 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.
Western Cape	110 schools are using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). 1034 Foundation Phase teachers and 27 subject advisors have been trained on the PSRIP Phase 1.

Reply:

(a) (i) and (ii)	(aa)	(bb)	(b)	(c)	(d)
	2015/16 R’000	2016/17 R'000	2017/18 R'000	Since 1 April 2018 R'00O
Department of Science and Technology(DST)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
Technology lnnovationAgency(TIA)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
South African National Space Agency(SANSA)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
National Research Foundation(NRF)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
Academy of Science of South Africa(ASSAf)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A
Human Sciences Research Council(HSRC)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

Reply:

(a)(i),(ii) Please refer to the table below.

 

Province	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	Since April 2018
EASTERN CAPE	631 993.99	1 039 008.04	711 718.52	202 887
FREE STATE	1 465 123.52	1 687 180.76	1 943 739.27	327 429
GAUTENG	351 422.51	593 502.09	499 167.72	430 00
KWAZULU-NATAL	430 625.41	1 716 154.11	1 197 198.69	156 789
LIMPOPO	599 266.68	660 528.17	1 402735.35	49 360
MPUMALANGA	1 726 532.65	10 195 210.48	13 794 929.66	1 195 428
NORTH WEST	941 738.29	2 840210.6	241 0344.04	870 755
NORTHERN CAPE	554 800.29	735 896.8	424 769.47	146 007
WESTERN CAPE	596 700.64	842 972.14	879 06.92	963 29
Total	7 298 203.98	20 310 663.19	22 472 509.64	3 087 984

(b)(i),(ii) ,(c) Please refer to Annexure A.

(d) With regard to properties not transferred under the Restitution Programme, there are conflicts amongst claimants that impact on their ability to take ownership. With regard to other programmes, properties have not been transferred since the current government policy provides for leasing of state land with an option to purchase. The transfer must therefore be preceded by a lease and the exercise of an option.

(e) Properties under the Restitution Programme will be transferred to the claimants as soon as the instability and disputes are resolved amongst claimants. The balance of the properties will be transferred after the relevant farmers exercise their option to purchase.

Reply:

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) Oversees six entities, namely, the National Reseamh Foundation (NRF), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). Currently 6 967 researchers and scientists are supported by the DST and its entities through a number of projects and programmes. A total investment of R2.5b has been made towards this in the current year, details are provided in Table 1, below.

 

Table 1: DST and entitiss’ support towards scientists/researchers

Source of Funding	Number	Researcher/Group	Funding (R)
DST	403		212,087,703
	144	Sector Innovation Fund	73,593,241
	41	Water Technologies Demonstration and Management Programmes	19,248,499
	43	Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Catalysts, Infrastructure and System	1,000,000
	5	USAID Peer Projects	218,000
	08 10	European Union Collaborale P acts Indigenous Knowledge System	7,285,863 26,360,000
	39	Strategic Health Innovation Partnership	SHIP)	66,588,000

 

Source of Funding	Number	Researcher/Group	Funding (R)
	15	Nuclear Technologies in Medicine and Biosciences Initiative (NTeMBl)	3,000,000
	4	Sterile Insect Technique for Malaria Mosquitoes Project	1,273,000
	4	Wheat and Breeding Platform	13,500,000
NRF	4708		1,684,293,868
	31	Academic Statistics Programme	6,130,126
	7	African Coelecanth Ecosystem Programme	3,217,949
	31	Academic Statistics Programme	6,130,126
	7	African Coelecanth Ecosystem Programme	3,217,949
	29	African Origins Platform	14,337,917
	1	African Origins Platform - Research	147,499
	1	Astronomy in Africa (Newton Fund)	1,500.000
	15	Astronomy Sub-Agency Funding Programme	1,919,625
	25	Blue Skies Research Programme	9,968,239
	5	Centre of Excellence (CoE) Grants	59,601,428
	1	CoE: Indigenous Knowledge Systems	8,000,000
	40	Community Engagement Programme	13,507,ze2
	477	Competitive Programme for Rated Reseamhers	127,486,515
	244	Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers	43,403,363
	11	Development Grant for Knowledge Fields Development (KFD)	1,345,679
	1	DST-NRF CoE in Epidemiological Modeling and Analysis	8,445,635
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Biomedical TB Research	11,862,714
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Birds	7,161,899
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Catalysis	s,ses,oo
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Integrated Mineral Resoumes and Analysis	12,151,063
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Invasion Biology	10,334,033
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Strong Material	14,287,643
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Tree Health Biotechnology	7,161,899
	1	DST- NRF CoE in Tree Health Biotechnology	4,268,445
	1	DST-NRF CoE in Palaeoeciences	12,155,063
	20	DST-NRF Conference Fund	13,934,819
	9	Education Research in South Africa	481,657
	4	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)/NRF Collaborative Research: Urban Transformation in SA	1,528,268
	5	ESRC/NRF Higher Education In Africa	3,519,957
	4	ESRC/NRF International Centre Partnership	610,150
	54	Foundational Biodiversity Programme	9,788,293
	2	French South Afnca Institute of Technology/ Cape Peninsula University of Technology	2,760,548
	40	Global Change Grand Challenge	47,104,215
	18	Human and Social Dynamics in Development	7,432,663

Source of Funding	Humber	Researcher/Group	Funding (R)
	4	Human Capital Development for Multi- Wavelength Astronomy	282,500
	2	IEPD - Institutional Engagement and Partnership Development	509,632
	1	Institutional Engagement and Partnership Development (IEPD) Flagship - UKZN	1,084,909
	1	IEPD Flagship - UWC	830,407
	1	IEPD Mobililty Support for UMP	150,000
	3253	Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers	146,ses,s37
	36	Indigenous Knowledge Systems	9,798,034
	24	International Council of Scientific Unions	1,150,263
	122	International Science and Technology Agreements	38,723,226
	5	International Research Grants (IRG) - Argentlna / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	673,458
	8	IRG - BRICS Multilateral Joint Call	847,183
	6	IRG - China / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1B4,678
	14	IRG - Egypt / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1,307,71g
	3	IRG - Finland / South Africa Reseamh Cooperation Programme	879,580
	6	IRG - Flemish / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	2,698,674
	14	IRG - France / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1,249,520
	12	IRG - Germany / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	3,391,626
	14	IRG - India / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	2,238,121
	8	IRG - Japan Society for the Promotion of Science / NRF Research Cooperation Programme	2,145,635
	11	IRG - Kenya / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1,081,289
	10	IRG - Namibia / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1,095,444
	3	IRG - National Natural Science Foundation of China / NRF Research Cooperation Programme	389,905
	3	IRG - NEPAD Flagship Programme	10,223,799
	5	IRG - NRF/International Centre for Theoretical Physics Joint Collaboration for Science Advancement	216,081
	6	IRG - Poland / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	847,378
	10	IRG - Romania / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	1,194,403
	16	IRG - South Africa / Austria Joint Scientific and Technological Cooperation Programme	1,976,553

 

 

Source of Funding	Number	Researcher/Group	Funding (R)
	6	IRG - South Africa / Canada Research Chairs Mobility Initiative	459,053
	2	IRG - South Africa / Canada Research Chairs Trilateral Partner9hips initiatives	431,907
	6	IRG - South Africa / Uganda Cooperation Bilateral Programme	1,023,46e
	4	IRG - South Africa / Wallonia-Brussels Federation Science and Technology Research Collaboration Programme	369,899
	1	IRG - South Africa/China Joint Science and Technology Research Collaboration (Water Research Flagship Projects)	6,660
	5	IRG - South Africa/Tunisia Research Cooperation Programme	800,312
	12	IRG - South Africa-Joint ln9titute for Nuclear Research (SA-JINR)-Grants for JINR Student Practice	277,531
	20	IRG - Sweden / South Affica Research Cooperation Programme	4,679,652
	12	IRG - Switzerland / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	5,065,o7e
		IRG - Taiwan / South African Research Cooperation Programme	1,149,283
	12	IRG - UK / South Africa Rasearchar Links Grants for Travel	1,961,770
	4	IRG - Zambia / South Africa Research Cooperation Programme	187,201
	447	Knowledge Interchange and Collaboration	11,390,207
	4	Nanotechnology Flagship Programme	389,348
	22	National Bioinformatics functional Genomics bursary & research granting	7,167,714
	59	National Equipment	154,914,522
	1	National Institute for Theoretical Physics	8,000,000
	3	Natural History Collections Funding Instrument	715,747
	4	NRF - European Research Council Partnership	367,827
	1	National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)/NRF Awards (Under Thuthuka)	1,492
	1	Palaeo/Anthropology Trust	2,050,000
	6	Research and Innovation Reward Programme	11,050,240
	81	Research and Technology Fund	22,651,474
	77	Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers	8,094,221
	87	Research Equipment Programme	6,977,415
	29	SA National Antarctic Programme	38,680,172
	15	SA Research Chairs	44,615,506
	1	SA Research Chairs - Indigenous Knowledge	1,822,144
	3	SA Research Chairs - Maths Education Chair Initiative	7,326,367
	2	SA Research Chairs - Nano Technology	8,683,390
	2	SA Research Chairs - Numeracy Chairs Initiative	6,92g,593

 

Source of Funding	Number	Researcher/Group	Funding (R)
	171	SA Research Chairs - Open	443,833,663
	1	SA Research Chairs - PBMR	3,336,198
	4	Sancor	214,843
	17	Special Transformation Awards	1,572,537
	101	Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP)	72,331,645
	624	Thuthuka	66,200,126
	5	Vulnerable Disciplines - Developing Health Sciences Research	700,000
CSIR	1664		530,010,802
	84	Biosciances	77,437,020
	159	Bullt Environment	52,132,354
	382	Defence, Peace, Safety and Security	53,398,900
	220	Implementation Unit	8,80,5000
	72	Integrated Energy Centre	43,073,000
	236	Materials Science and Manufacturing	106,818,631
	86	Modelling and Digital Science	32,675,450
	174	Meraka Institute	37,333,700
	72	National Laser Centre	39,839,756
	179	Natural Resources Environment	78,496,991
	12		7,799,635
SANSA	1	Rhodes University	40,000
	1	Universlty College London	150,000
	9	NRF Funding	7,033,710
	1	European Commission	576,025
TIA	180	TIA Programmes	115,000,000
HSRC	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable Not applicable
ASSAf	Not applicable	Not applicable

Reply:

I have been invited and did attend a Diwali celebration at the Gupta residence.

 

Reply:

The Ministerial Handbook provides guidelines on the appointment of the staff in the Private Office.  It equally provides the recommended salary levels of each post. The salary levels are adjusted on an annual basis as prescribed in the Public Service Regulations.

 

The Office of the Minister has a staff complement as defined in the Ministerial Handbook.  In line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPi) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, I am unable to provide the members with such confidential information in the manner it is requested.

 

I however draw the honourable members to the Department’s Annual Report wherein the organogram of the Department provides the information required.  Should it be insufficient, the Department will make the personal files of the officials available for further scrutiny by the Auditor General as prescribed by the Act.

Reply:

(a) No

(b) No. However, I have been invited and did attend a Diwali celebration at the Gupta residence.

Reply:

1. The department does not apply GRAP 103 in recognising any of its assets, and therefore is not required to apply the standard to any of its artwork.  Furthermore, SSA does not have heritage assets as defined and recognised by GRAP 103.  GRAP 17 is however used to recognise assets.

 

2. Artwork is included in the SSA assets register.  Verification of artwork occurs with the normal verification of other assets’ classes and have been audited as part of the statutory audit by the Office of the Auditor General.

 

Reply:

Response

(1)(a) The development of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for South African Sign Language (SASL) prior to the 2009 court case of Springate and others versus the Minister of Basic Education and others was impeded and limited by challenges faced by government which had not yet been finalised. This is in reference to the fact that SASL is not yet the Official Language of government which essentially means it may not be provided at Home Language level in Basic Education, which is what it is for Deaf learners. However, it must be noted that the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 already recognised Sign Language for use as language of learning and teaching (LoLT) for Deaf learners. Following the court case, the Minister instituted a process of developing SASL CAPS which is already being implemented even though the Department of Arts and Culture and the Pan South African Language Board have not yet concluded the process of making SASL one of the official languages of government.

(b) In addition to the response in (1)(a) above, it must be noted that there is nothing in legislation that prevents right holders from claiming their right from those who have a hold on it. This claim was inadvertently directed to government largely than it was directed to Basic Education given the response in (1)(a) above.

(2)(a) In preparation for the first Grade 12 NSC examinations and in an effort to prepare candidates for the exit examination, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has set and released SASL HL exemplar question papers for Grade 10 and Grade 11 in 2017. In 2018, the DBE has set the preparatory examination question papers for SASL HL in Grade 12, so that learners have full exposure to an examination that is equivalent to the final examination.

(b)The DBE appointed a panel of experts to set and internally moderate question papers for the Grade 12 NSC examinations. These question papers were externally moderated and approved by Umalusi. In preparation for the implementation and administration of examinations in SASL HL, the DBE established a task team to ensure that all schools, teachers and learners are fully prepared for the November examination. This task team developed Guidelines for the Implementation and Conduct of Examinations in South African Sign Language Home Language and this document was issued to schools prior to the preparatory examination. The DBE and PEDs also conducted an audit of all centres where SASL HL examinations are to be conducted. In cases where there were deficiencies, these were addressed. In addition, the DBE took a decision to mark the preparatory examination papers nationally in Pretoria. Teachers from schools that offer SASL HL in Grade 12 were appointed as markers. The DBE appointed a national team for the moderation of School-Based Assessment in SASL HL. All portfolios of candidates that offer SASL HL were moderated and feedback was given to schools.

On the basis of the above initiatives, the DBE is confident that we are adequately prepared to examine Deaf learners in SASL.

(3) (a) There are six (6) suppliers of South African Sign Language (SASL) learning and teaching support material in the DBE database.

(b) The DBE puts a call for submission of SASL materials to all suppliers. The following are the only suppliers that have responded: Sign Language Education and Development (SLED), National Institute for the Deaf (NID) and University of Stellenbosch. These are the only institutions that have developed and submitted SASL materials over the years.

Reply:

(a) Universities have a variety of ways in which they name their faculties, and therefore, the programmes offered by faculties across institutions vary considerably. The enrolment plan for each university is not developed per faculty, but rather for the institution as a whole. It is therefore not possible to indicate the capacity of each faculty at each institution. However, it is possible to provide the planned overall enrolments per field of study at each university.

Table 1 below shows the approved enrolment planning targets for each university by major fields of study in Science, Engineering and Technology; Business and Commerce; Education and Other Humanities, for 2019.

(b) The approved number of first-time entering students across all fields of study that each university will be able to accept in the 2019 academic year, is indicated in table 2 below.

Reply:

The EFF is advised to request the South African Revenue Service to indicate whether it produced the so-called spy-tapes.

Furthermore, the requested information is of such a nature that it would form part of the broader operational strategy of the State Security Agency and therefore as a matter of policy the SSA does not disclose such information.  It should however be observed that the SSA is held accountable on such matters by the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI).

Reply:

The final report will be released in the first week of December 2018.

1. The final report is currently with the printers. The delay was due to the NCC:

• consulting certain regulators and entities that have been drawn into particular recommendations;
• seeking legal opinions on the implementation of certain recommendations.

The intention of the NCC was to not merely release the report to the public but to also provide a broad implementation plan.