Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) (i) Restitution: 5 315.

(ii) Redistribution: 5 172.

(i) Restitution
In each province since 1 January 2006
Province	Total
Eastern Cape	115
Free State	55
Gauteng	57
KwaZulu Natal	899
Limpopo	1284
Mpumalanga	1225
North West	1479
Northern Cape	170
Western Cape	31
Grand Total	5315
In each district since 1 January 2006
District Municipality	Number of Properties
!Kheis	1
Amajuba	41
Amathole	18
Bedford	1
Bizana	2
Bojanala Platinum	777
Buffalo City Metro	5
Bushbuckridge	28
Capricorn	242
Capricorn and Waterberg	1
City of Tshwane Metro	73
Dlambe	1
Dr Kenneth Kaunda	145
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati	118
Ehlanzeni	559
Elliot	44
Ethekwini	5
Fezile Dabi	1
Frances Baard	29
Garden Route (Eden)	17
Gert Sibande	252
Grahamstown	1
Harry Gwala	18
Humansdorp	7
Ilembe	210
Inxuba Yethemba	1
John Taolo Gaetsewe	35
Kagisano-Molopo	1
Kai !Garib	1
King Cetshwayo	71
King Williams Town	9
Lejweleputswa	6
Lephalale	1
Mangaung Metro	13
Mopani	258
Mzinyathi	100
Namakwa	33
Ngaka Modiri Molema	394
Nkangala	300
Pixely Ka Seme	29
Polokwane	3
Ramotshere Moiloa	44
Sarah Baartman	19
Sedibeng	14
Sekhukhune	197
Sekhukhune and Waterberg	5
Tabankulu	1
Thabo Mofutsanyana	24
Ugu	64
Uitenhage	1
Umgungundlovu	106
Umkhanyakude	20
Umzimvubu	3
Uthukela	86
Vhembe	305
Waterberg	320
Waterberg and Capricorn	4
West Coast	14
West Rand	2
Xhariep	11
ZF Mgcawu	42
Zululand	178
OR Tambo	1
Amahlati	1
Emalahleni	2
Grand Total	5315
(ii) Redistribution
In each province since 1 January 2006
Province	Total
Eastern Cape	817
Free State	658
Gauteng	442
KwaZulu Natal	871
Limpopo	263
Mpumalanga	886
North West	678
Northern Cape	278
Western Cape	279
Grand Total	5172
In each district since 1 January 2006
District Municipality	Number of Properties
Alfred Nzo	22
Amajuba	115
Amathole	109
Bojanala Platinum	112
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality	49
Cacadu	333
Cape Winelands	55
Capricorn	64
Central Karoo	30
Chris Hani	188
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality	19
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality	18
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	96
Dr Kenneth Kaunda	156
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati	188
Eden	108
Ehlanzeni	88
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	9
Fezile Dabi	91
Frances Baard	40
Gert Sibande	603
iLembe	13
Joe Gqabi	95
John Taolo Gaetsewe	22
Lejweleputswa	146
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality	80
Mopani	38
Namakwa	62
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality	10
Ngaka Modiri Molema	228
Nkangala	194
Overberg	15
Pixley ka Seme	66
Sarah Baartman	16
Sedibeng	157
Sekhukhune	17
Sisonke	68
Thabo Mofutsanyana	212
Ugu	16
uMgungundlovu	113
uMkhanyakude	18
uMzinyathi	75
uThukela	170
uThungulu	99
Vhembe	10
Waterberg	144
West Coast	54
West Rand	135
Xhariep	131
ZF Mgcawu	88
Zululand	187
Grand Total	5172

(b)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)(aa)(bb).

Information regarding personal details of beneficiaries allocated in respect of part (a) above cannot be shared as it would contravene the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act No. 4 of 2013, which prescribes that the collection of personal information must be for a specifically defined, lawful purpose related to a function of the responsible party; the data subject must be aware of the purpose of collecting data and that the purpose for processing personal information must be clear.

Reply:

a) Onderstepoort Biological Products (SOC) Ltd met with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to submit information relating to the GMP construction facility contracts during 2022. After the initial meeting, OBP forwarded to the SIU information at its disposal. Interviews were conducted with senior OBP officials who were employed at OBP at the time of the procurement. No feedback has been received from the SIU since then.

b) Full details on the matter are as outlined above and there has been no development since that exchange of information.

Reply:

Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF)

(1) As of the conclusion of the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023/2024, all state departments and public entities participating in the Government Employees Pension Fund have been diligent in remitting their monthly contributions on behalf of their employees to the Fund. The data indicates that 99.90% of the total monthly pension contributions due were received and reconciled punctually as mandated by the relevant legislation.

(a)

(i) The minor discrepancy of 0.10% does not reflect arrears from any particular state department or public entity but rather pertains to adjustments necessitated by various scenarios such as service termination or changes in service conditions.

(ii) Consequently, there are no specific public entities identified as being in arrears with contributions.

(b) Given the nature of the discrepancy, it does not affect a quantifiable number of employees in a manner that would result from arrears in contributions.

(c) The financial impact represented by the 0.10% discrepancy is being analysed and resolved on a regular basis. The administrator conducts a reconciliation process which is a routine and rigorous part of ensuring compliance and accuracy in the contributions made to the Fund.

(d) To rectify the matter and ensure complete reconciliation:

- A robust process of reconciliation is conducted monthly to address any discrepancies and ensure that contributions reflect the accurate service conditions of all employees.

- Any adjustments required are being handled expeditiously, with a standard resolution timeframe of 30 days.

- Continuous monitoring and engagement with all participating employers are being maintained to ensure timely payment and accurate reporting of contributions, thus fostering a culture of compliance and transparency.

(2) No. All the concerned state departments and public entities have maintained a consistent track record of timely contributions, irrespective of the fiscal situation

South African Revenue Service (SARS)

1. From an employer point of view, SARS pays all statutory contributions on behalf of its employees to third parties such as Government Employees Pension Fund, Medical Schemes and the South African Revenue Service (PAYE, UIF and SDL) in full on a monthly basis. The current CC measures has no negative impact on the monthly commitments for the current staff establishment covered by the grant allocation.

From a Revenue Administration point of view, SARS is responsible for the collection of PAYE, UIF and SDL part of the payroll creditors (contributions) from respective employers. Pension and Medical Aid contributions are paid directly to the respective fund administrators.

(a) Of the 5,303 Departments and Public entities, 4,899 (92%) pay their PAYE, VAT and other tax obligation on time. In observing taxpayer confidentially provision of the Tax Administration Act, we are unable to provide any further specific taxpayer information including the list of the defaulting taxpayers as prompted by the question, it should be noted further that the specific entities can provide directly to the parliamentary oversight bodies such information.

(b) SARS information is limited to Employer account and the defaulting taxpayer debt is at an aggregate entity level. Information on the affected Employees is not yet available from the current Tax Administration data.

(c) The balance of 404 entities (from the total of 5,303) owe SARS R5.9bn in debt for the 2023/24 fiscal year comprised of PAYE R2.4bn, VAT R3.5bn. Of the R5.9bn debt R1bn is under dispute leaving a balance of R4.9bn undisputed of which R2.9bn is older than 3 years.

(d) SARS debt collection processes are employed to follow up on defaulting taxpayers and arrangements made to enforce that the debt is settled within reasonable time where feasible. Engagements with National Treasury to deduct from Grants the necessary amounts to settle taxes owed to SARS have been evoked as the last resort following lack of cooperation or lack of positive response from defaulting taxpayers. It is genuinely concerning for State Organs not to comply with the very tax laws that generate revenue that enables them to exist in order to delivery on their respective mandates of rendering public service to SA citizens who are the taxpaying community.

2. Prior to the Cost Containment measures coming into effect, SARS records have over the years noted an increasing level of Departments and SOCs indebtedness to SARS. There is no correlation between the current Cost Containment measures and the increase in the Departments and SOCs inability to pay their tax obligations over to SARS. This will be monitored closely in the coming months to observe trends post the implementation of the Cost Containment measures.

(a) Not applicable

(b) (i) Not applicable.

(b)(ii) Not applicable

 

Reply:

(1). A reliable response regarding this question is dependent on the availability of the existence of a national sport facilities database that can filter data as per the required variables such as province, towns, and suburbs, schools, and coordinates of the exact site where the facility is located.

As a department, we have previously made efforts to ensure establishment of such database by trying to mobilise resources required to conduct a facility audit that will, among others, identify locations of all sport facilities in the country, including in terms of province, towns, suburbs, and schools.

These efforts included engagements with provinces to allocate resources from their budgets for this purpose, but budget availability was also a constraint for them. Another effort included submission of a request for R20 million under the second wave of Presidential Economic Stimulus Programme (PESP) to conduct this audit and use

it to drive employment creation among young people, but unfortunately that application was not successful.

As a result, national department has not yet conducted this audit and does not have the information as requested. However, it has engaged with Swimming South Africa (SSA) to establish a possibility of availability of this information.

Fortunately, the Federation provided a report for an audit of swimming pool facilities in Mpumalanga province conducted in 2015 which, at the least, give an idea of the minimum number of facilities that exist in the province. While the other limitation of the report is that it does not provide information to a level of town and suburb, but it gives

the total number of swimming pools in the province, as well as the district and local municipalities where they are located.

In summary, by 2015 Mpumalanga had 61 swimming pools that are accessible to the public. For a provincial distribution of these facilities kindly refer to the attached Swimming Facility Audit Report of Mpumalanga. Department is still awaiting reports covering other provinces from the Federation and they will also be shared as soon as they become available.

(2). As indicated in the response above that due to lack of facility audit conducted by the department, reliance was placed on audit conducted by Swimming South Africa, and they have so far provided a covering Mpumalanga province only. However, report reveals that of the total sixty-one swimming pools in the province, only fourteen are in good conditions and fifteen are not usable. The remaining twenty-six was in average conditions and six in poor conditions, respectively.

Reply:

(a) Please refer to Annexure A

(b)(i) The farmers were not given any equipment except for the 200 x 2 500 litres water tanks.

(ii) The process of selecting beneficiaries was done in two ways. One hundred (100) beneficiaries were food security/ subsistence/ backyard farmers identified by the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development through Matlala and Moletji service centres. The focus was on farmers producing at a small scale mainly for subsistence and have no access to water for their gardens. The other hundred (100) beneficiaries were indigent households who were identified by Moletji and Matlala Traditional Councils. The tanks will be used for rainwater harvesting.

(iii) Tents, podium, chairs and the sound system were hired, as well as catering for those who were in attendance.

(c)(i) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) participated in the establishment of the Rural Safety Strategy that is led by the South African Police services (SAPS) and remains an active member of the safety strategy established in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, under a visible policing programme which is currently implemented in terms of the Rural Safety Strategy. This is an integrated and multidisciplinary approach that aims to mobilize rural communities to create a safe, secure and crime free environment that is conducive to food security, prevention of stock theft as well as social and economic stability. Members of the SAPS stock theft unit have access to DALRRD’s animal identification system, this enables relevant SAPS members to monitor stock theft including verification of animal ownership and sale of animals at auctions.

(ii)(aa),(bb) The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) provides for conditional grants to Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDAs) which caters for animal fencing as part of animal production projects. Furthermore, the Department, through its collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) provides for agricultural infrastructure such as construct camps, fences etc on communal land to secure livestock in rural areas. However, this work is not exclusively the responsibility of DALRRD; there are other departments and agencies who also play a role in this area.

(d)(i) The supplier of the 200 water tanks is Manekwane Business Enterprise.

    (ii) R 800 000 for 200 water tanks at R 4 000.00 each.

 

ANNEXURE A TO NA-QUES 2985 OF 2023

a) Expenses incurred for each event during the minister’s engagements with the villagers of Moletji and Matlala.

Date	Name of event	Purpose	No of persons	Expenditure
				Item	Amount
11/04/2023	Career Guidance, Mahoai High School	Career Guidance	250 (Learners and Departmental Officials from DALRRD, PDARD, LEDET and Department of Education)	Marquee, structural engineering, etc.	R95 000
				Artificial lawn, stage, sound, generator, public liability, etc.	R219 255
				Catering for 250 people	R55 000
				Service Fee	R20 613.75
				Sub-Total	R389 868.75
11/04/2023	Minister’s visit to Kgoshi Matlala	Courtesy visit and listen to concerns raised by Kgoshi Matlala	Minister and Departmental Officials	None
13/04/2023	Minister visit to Kgoshi Moloto III	Courtesy visit and listen to concerns raised by Kgoshi Moloto III as the area is Minister’s constituency	Minister and Departmental Officials	None
14/04/2023	Tibane Shopping Centre Flea Market	Minister engages farmers and facilitate conversation between farmers and centre manager/shop owners	60 Exhibitors and Departmental Officials	Tent, gazebos, ablution, tables, chairs, generator, etc Service fee	R58 607 R3 271.75
				Catering 100 people Service fee	R30 385.00 R1 696.25
				Sound system Service fee	R26 028.10 R1 453.03
				Sub-Total	R121 441.13
17/04/2023	Farmers Day Moletji Moshate	Minister/departmental officials direct engagement with backyard farmers and handing over of water tanks	550 community members, including backyard farmers	Item	Amount
				Catering 550 people Service fee	R167 117.50 R9 329.38
				Sound and podium Service fee	R152 212.99 R 8 497.33
				Marquee (incl. ablution, chairs, tables, stage, VIP tent, deco, generator, etc.) Service fee	R734 256.10 R 40 990.03
				Media (Radio) Service fee	R69 010.00 R3 852.50
				Sub-Total	R1 185 265.83
17/04/2023	Farmers Day Moletji Moshate	Procurement of 200 Water Tanks		200 water tanks	R800 000.00
GRAND TOTAL	R 2 496 575.71

Reply:

A reliable response regarding this question is dependent on the availability of the existence of a national sport facilities database that can filter data as per the required variables such

as province, towns, and suburbs, schools, and coordinates of the exact site where the facility is located.

As a department, we have previously made efforts to ensure establishment of such database by trying to mobilise resources required to conduct a facility audit that will, among others, identify locations of all sport facilities in the country, including in terms of province, towns, suburbs, and schools.

These efforts included engagements with provinces to allocate resources from their budgets for this purpose, but budget availability was also a constraint for them. Another effort included submission of a request for R20 million under the second wave of Presidential Economic Stimulus Programme (PESP) to conduct this audit and use it to drive employment creation among young people, but unfortunately that application was not successful.

As a result, national department has not yet conducted this audit and does not have the information as requested. However, it has engaged with Swimming South Africa (SSA) to establish a possibility of availability of this information.

Fortunately, the Federation provided a report for an audit of swimming pool facilities in Mpumalanga province conducted in 2015 which, at the least, give an idea of the minimum

number of facilities that exist in the province. While the other limitation of the report is that it does not provide information to a level of town, suburb, and public schools, it however

provides a total of 26 swimming pools for both public and private schools. Unfortunately name of schools, their towns and suburbs are not provided.

 

Reply:

(a),(b) Please refer to the table below.

 

2020/2021
(a)	(b)
PROVINCE	HECTARES	CALENDAR MONTH(S)
EC	4 046	Mid-June 2020 to early July 2020.
FS	100 000	October 2021.
GP	No Report	No Report.
KZN	52 088	Calendar month not specified.
LP	No Report	No Report.
MP	57 809	July to October.
NC	103 924	Calendar month not specified.
NW	No Report	No Report
WC	No Report	No Report
TOTAL	317867
2021/2022
EC	4046	June 2021 to July 2021.
FS	100 536	Calendar month not specified.
GP	No Report	No Report.
KZN	27 149	Calendar month not specified.
LP	No Report	No Report.
MP	489 929	July to October.
NC	752 871	Calendar month not specified.
NW	738 302	Calendar month not specified.
WC	No Report	No Report.
TOTAL	2 112 833
2022/2023
EC	No Report	No Report.
FS	76 943	Calendar month not specified.
GP	No Report	No Report.
KZN	14 535	Calendar month not specified.
LP	No Report	No Report.
MP	403 373	July to October.
NC	754 024	Calendar month not specified.
NW	483 453	Calendar month not specified.
WC	No Report	No Report.
TOTAL	1 732 328
2023
EC	10321	September.
FS	106 000	September.
GP	5 000	June to August.
KZN	12 332	September
LP	619	August.
MP	34 291	August.
NC	76 178	September.
NW	367 902	September.
WC	No Report	No Report.
TOTAL	612 643

Reply:

1. There are no dysfunctional Farmer Production Support Units (FPSUs). In the Free State the Springbokfontein Agri-Hub is experiencing conflict within the existing cooperative, which will be resolved by registering a new cooperative. This however does not indicate that the Agri-Hub is a failure or dysfunctional.

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

The Agri-parks programme is comprised of three legs, i.e, the Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSU), where mechanisation and production inputs are provided; the Agri-Hub where production is collated with a little bit of value addition; and Rural-Urban Markets where the produce is sold. Currently, the Department is implementing only the first leg of the programme, which is the Farmer Support Programme (FPSU). The diagram below depicts a typical Agri-park.

There are two (2) major components in the establishment of a Farmer Production Support Unit, (FPSU) namely: Infrastructure and Operations. The functionality of the FPSU is determined or defined by the FPSUs ability to provide any of the following to producers towards agricultural production and market access:

• Governance structure;
• Production inputs;
• Mechanisation support;
• Human resources support; and
• Producer registration.

(2) Yes. Please refer to Annexure A.

Reply:

The matter of intimidation, attacks and violence against Intercape’s operations in parts of the Eastern Cape is currently servicing before the High Court of South Africa, Eastern Cape Division in Makhanda. Intercape argues that it has been deliberately subjected to sustained acts of intimidation and violence allegedly by some taxi associations. They also alluded to the fact that these acts of violence were reported to the South African Police Services for investigation and bringing perpetrators to book. The outcome of these processes would expose the root cause of the problem.

Reply:

a (i), Details of The RAF Post-Retirement Medical Aid Benefit (PRMA);

PRMA is a historical condition of service benefit provided to employees who were permanently employed with RAF (Fund) prior to 01 May 1998.

In terms of this benefit, the RAF would subsidize 50% (fifty percent) towards the medical aid contributions on/and throughout the retirement of such employees until the death of the retired employee or voluntary termination by the employee.

(a)(ii)

The post-retirement medical aid benefit was discontinued due to not only the dire financial status of the Fund but also the long-term unsustainable financial liability that such a benefit would have on the RAF.

The total estimated liability on this scheme has grown from R2 300 000 (two million three hundred thousand rands) (in April 1998 to an estimated R55 609 000 (fifty-five million six hundred and nine thousand rands) as of 31 March 2021 as per the actuarial valuation report.

The 31 March 2021 actuarial valuation report further projected a substantial increase in this liability to sixty-two million four hundred and sixty thousand rands (R62 460 000) as of 31 March 2022 This figure would continue to escalate exponentially considering changes in mortality rates and high inflation.

The RAF management with due and careful consideration of the above factors and the current financial sustainability of the RAF resolved that it was not viable to continue with the benefit.

The benefit was therefore discontinued with effect from 01 October 2021 for all eligible and active employees.

Moreover, this termination further ensures that the provision of benefits is consistently applied, uniformly across the board, benefitting all employees. Whereas only a few employees benefited from this benefit in the past it is now applied equitably and affordably amongst all employees. The Fund therefore sought to apply benefits to all its employees, not just a few.

(b)There is no alternative or equivalent benefit provided to the affected employees due to cost containment measures.

All employees are remunerated on total employee costs (TEC) and this ensures a uniform and equitable pay structure for all RAF employees.

All employees are equally responsible for ensuring medical cover post-retirement.

(2)(a) Upon confirmation of the Fund’s legal recourse in terms of its obligation and rights, an extensive and transparent consultation process was undertaken with affected parties. This included written correspondence with affected parties and consultation with current and those employees eligible for the benefit.

Following that, consultations with individual employees, and notice of termination letter(s) were issued to all affected employees on October 2021.

(2)(b)Of the 107 (one hundred and seven) employees, 8 (eight) employees have since retired post the October 2021 and are not receiving the benefit.

(3)(a) There were 107 (one hundred and seven) active employees who would have qualified and were affected by the cancellation of this medical benefit for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.

Of the 107(one hundred and seven) employees, 8 (eight)have since retired and did not receive the benefit as this was terminated before their retirement date. 3(three) took voluntary severance package, 3(three) deceased, 3 (three)resigned and 1(one) dismissed.

There are currently 88 (eighty-eight) employees in service affected by the cancellation.

There are currently 22 (twenty-two) employees who have the benefit as they retired before the benefit was terminated on 01 October 2021.

(3)(b)The total estimated liability on this scheme has grown from R2 300 000 (two million three hundred thousand rands) in April 1998 to an estimated R55 609 000 (fifty-five million six hundred and nine thousand rands) as of 31 March 2021 confirmed by the actuarial valuation report.

This actuarial valuation report further projected a substantial increase in liability to increase to R62 460 000 sixty-two million four hundred and sixty thousand rands at 31 March 2022.

(4) Letters were issued to all affected employees

(5)The CCMA has postponed the matter indefinitely at the request of the employees. The

matter will be set down only when the employees revert to the CCMA.

Reply:

The property in question relates to a historic matter where the landowner signed an agreement with SANRAL and agreed to the transfer of the road portion to SANRAL’s name without compensation. The portion of property falls within the road reserve of N14 section 11 that was taken over from the Province and declared as a National Route in 2006 under Declaration 217 of 2006. The N14 has been in existence for more than 25 years as a provincial road before its declaration a National Road in 2006. The transfer relates to a process where SANRAL transferred the road reserve (between road fence boundaries) of roads that were ceded to SANRAL by the Province or Municipalities. In nearly all instances a lifetime right was acquired by the previous Roads Authority but the road reserve portion (between road fence boundaries) was never separated or subdivided from the original owner’s property. The landowner has no control or use of the road reserve portion (between road fence boundaries) as he cannot lawfully prevent the public from using the road, hence it is considered a bare dominium to him. This is also to the benefit of the landowner as he/she will now pay rates on a smaller portion of land that excludes the road reserve portion.

Landowners are not compensated for the road reserve portion during the transfer process because they were compensated for their land by the previous Roads Authority that ceded the road to SANRAL.

Although the landowner originally agreed, the issue of compensation later became a major contention from the landowner and was never resolved as no agreement could be reached with him in this regard.

Despite numerous engagements, the landowner was unwilling to sign transfer documents and was served with a notice informing him about the matter and that it was going to be referred to the Minister of Transport for expropriation of the road reserve portion (between road fence boundaries) if he did not sign the necessary transfer documents. The matter will be referred to the Minister of Transport for expropriation as per SANRAL Act..

Reply:

The RAF, over the past 3 years, implemented quality assurance processes. These include checking for: i) payments made induplicate, ii) mortality of claimants, iii) foreign claimants are in the country legally and iv) if tax affairs of the claimant representative attorney are in order. Quality assurance processes are in line with the PFMA, the Immigrations Act, Treasury Regulations and any other applicable framework.

Out of this exercise, a number of challenges were identified and are being rooted out.

Also, the RAF obtained Judgement in terms of Rule 45A to suspend all court orders not older than 180 days as a means to have equitable and systematic payment process. In this regard older claims are prioritised.

Implementation of quality assurance processes together with obtaining Rule 45A judgement saw the RNYP reduce to below R10 billion in both 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years.

RAF has since been able to make payment to all claims which have been quality assured.

Reply:

1. One of the key problems identified in the current public transport system in South Africa, which is being attended to, is the lack of integration. This is manifested in the current subsidy regime that is still mode specific i.e. rail and bus. Recently, great emphasis has been sought to introduce subsidies for the minibus-taxi operators. Unfortunately, the mode linked operations and subsidy approach prevents the planning for and implementation of efficient services to commuters

2. As a result, the Department is developing a public transport subsidy policy that will locate the subsidisation of minibus taxi users within the wider, multi-modal subsidy framework as part of the public transport funding reforms. The draft subsidy policy proposes a move away from mode specific subsidisation to a position where a subsidised network will be serviced by a combination of modes to minimise the cost of transport. Integrated transport plans will be used to design the most efficient public transport systems irrespective of modes. There are a number of different subsidy models being considered and explored that includes the minibus taxi industry based on applicable integrated transport plans.

3. The draft public transport subsidy policy is being processed for submission to Cabinet for consideration and approval for a public consultation process. Only when the final policy is approved by Cabinet will it be implemented.

Reply:

a)  The October Transport Month Campaign is a flagship programme of the Department that is implemented every year to celebrate the achievements of the Department, its entities and provincial departments of transport, municipalities and other achievements of the sector. The campaign celebrates contributions that enable the realisation of government’s economic recovery objectives in the aftermath of the ravages of the COVID 19 pandemic, which we have achieved through transport infrastructure build and maintenance projects; this includes improvement of transport services delivered and we celebrate the innovation that improves efficiencies in the delivery of services and/or propels sustainable infrastructure build that is cutting edge, while, highlighting areas of success in transport safety and security, development of transport skills, jobs created and growing transport industries and enterprises.

The campaign also aims to influence perceptions towards the transport brand and deepen awareness of transport policies and plans.

b) Following from the above exposition, what we aim to achieve through the OTM Campaign 2023 therefore, is a better positioning of the department and its entities to the public and our stakeholders, where the positioning implies:

1. Having fulfilled commitments to deliver transport infrastructure and services resulting in job creation and economic development;
2. A strong brand with a service delivery track record and the will to attend to challenges;
3. Increased awareness on the DoT’s programmes and improved public perceptions about our work across spheres and thus growing our credibility as capable of delivering on promises made;
4. Increased awareness on the measures taken to improve safety and security across all modes of transport; and
5. Demonstrating work being done to improve the public transport system towards better access, affordability, increased efficiency and reliability of services, and improving overall safety and security across all modes of public transport with better awareness of key policy decisions made to enhance services.

Secondly, the campaign will also have enhanced the direct unmediated interaction with stakeholders, mobilised society and consolidated social partnerships in our work. It will therefore enhance citizen-centred participatory interactions in mobilising social compacts and consensus while showing how we have enabled job creation and improved service delivery.

Thirdly, the campaign would have won over members of the communities, business, and civil society as transport brand ambassadors and it would allow for greater cooperation across all spheres of government.

 

Reply:

PROVINCE	Potholes Patched (m2)	Labour: internal	Budget Allocation	Six-month Expenditure	Total
				Quarter 0ne	Quarter Two	Six-month Expenditure
E. Cape	112 286	Internal & external	R2 057 539 888	227 085 055	245 691 706	472 776 761
Free State	20 000	Internal	R1 337 642 000	95 073 000	252 226 000	347 299 000
Gauteng	213 321	Internal	R 680 058 000	30 516 948	30 594 076	61 111 024
KZN	500 000	Internal	R3 309 978 000	405 005 809	268 494 643	673 500 452
Limpopo	139 925	Internal	R1 280 899 865	269 965 632	281 861 021	551 826 653
Mpumalanga	141 186	Internal & external	R 905 915 000	178 421 690	93 662 392	272 084 082
N. Cape	23 676	Internal	R1 064 972 000	354 819 058	137 040 441	491 859 499
North West	94 996	Internal	R1 068 127 000	177 595 892	88 145 659	265 741 551
W. Cape	46 052	Internal	R 960 309 000	181 432 000	332 620 000	514 052 000
TOTAL	1 291 442		R12 665 440 753	1 919 915 084	1 730 335 938	3 650 251 022

a) The total number of potholes on roads that fall under her administration repaired in each province in the past six months is 1 291 442 (m2) of blacktop patching including pothole repairs as indicated in the table below:

(b) There was no specific budget allocated for the pothole repair/maintenance of the provincial road network for the six-month period, however, provinces are allocated the maintenance budget as provided in the table above of which blacktop patching and pothole repairs forms part of 2022/23 financial year.

(c) The total amount spent for the maintenance of the provincial roads through PRMG over the six months (Q1 and Q2) is R3 650 251 022, and as indicate above, this budget covers the entire maintenance of provincial Strategic and Secondary roads networks inclusive of blacktop patching and pothole repairs.

Reply:

Table 1: Number of learners  above 18 who received social grant, in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, in 2022

Province	Grade 9	Grade 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
EC	834	3 018	4 552	6 063
FS	370	2 023	1 973	2 764
GT	76	636	914	1 563
KZN	1 420	7 225	12 321	12 655
LP	677	3 330	4 539	7 074
MP	607	2 785	4 443	5 817
NC	97	810	809	1 120
NW	355	1 978	2 175	2 905
WC	205	2 462	4 318	7 632
Grand Total	4 641	24 267	36 044	47 593

Source 2022 LURITS

Reply:

1. (a) Municipal- and executive mayors are generally not charged in matters against the local or district municipality as they are not accounting officers. Municipal Managers are also not as a general rule charged in their personal capacity, but the Municipal Manager is cited as the accounting officer in civil and charged in criminal matters as the head of the municipality (corporate entity). Should gross negligence or misconduct be reported or detected we are obliged to investigate and these individuals including the mayors can be charged. The matters below are cases against municipalities where the Municipal Manager has not been charged in their personal capacity. The Department of Water and Sanitation together with Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment has however recently had a successful engagement with the National Director Public Prosecutions to reinstate and charge the delinquent Municipal Manager of Lephalale Local Municipality. There are also three contempt of court applications for Lekwa LM, Mookgopong LM and Dr Ruth Segomotsi DM where the Municipal Managers will be held personally liable.

Criminal Enforcement Actions Taken Against Non-Compliant Municipalities
Sector	2021 – 2022 financial year	2022 – 2023 financial year	1 April 2023 onwards
Local Government [WSA/WSP]	3	10	11
Total	3	10	11

2. (a) The criminal charges instituted against municipalities and their municipal managers vary on a case by case basis. Based on section 151(1) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act no. 36 of 1998) this can include subsection (a) use of water other than permitted under this Act; subsection (c) failure to comply with any condition attached to a permitted water use under this Act; subsection (d) failure to comply with a directive issued under section 19, 20, 53; subsection (i) unlawfully and intentionally or negligently committing any act or omission which pollutes or is likely to pollute a water resource. Cases opened in the 2023/ 2024 financial year are listed in the table below:

Wastewater Treatment Works	Municipality	SAPS CAS Number
Bushkoppies and Goudkoppies WWTW	City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality	62/07/2023 & 423/07/2023
Hoedspruit WWTW	Maruleng LM	10/10/2023
Percy Stewart WWTW	Mogale City	76/08/2023
Hlelo Lunathi Hendrina	Nkangala District Municipality	108/08/2023
Thabazimbi WWTW	Thabazimbi LM	112/08/2023
Lindley WWTW	Nketoana LM	116/09/2023
Koffiefontein WWTW	Letsemeng LM	12/09/2023
Zandspruit pumpstation	Johannesburg Water	127/09/2023
Giyani WWTW	Mopani District Municipality	404/10/2023
Ermelo WWTW diversion	Msukaligwa LM	108/10/2023

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Reply:

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Reply:

1. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has not issued a Water Use License (WUL) to the Serendipity Truck wash because no WUL application was received from the client.

2. No other licenses have been issued to the Serendipity Truck wash because as there were applications received by the DWS.

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Reply:

According to the National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998), [Section 37 (I)], spiral plants are not considered to be a controlled activity. However, Section 38 (1) allows the Minister to declare any activity as controlled if it is deemed to have detrimental impact on water resources.

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Reply:

1. In terms of administrative justice, prior to the issuance of an administrative directive, a notice of intent has to be issued indicating suspected non-compliance and what actions the transgressor will be expected to take should the directive be issued. Upon receipt of the notice the alleged transgressor must respond within a stipulated timeframe and provide a response or plan to rectify the non-compliance. Should no response or representation be received or if the plan submitted is not acceptable, a directive is issued. If the representation brings other facts to light and illustrates that there is no transgression, or an acceptable plan is tabled, then the process does not proceed to the issuance of a directive and the department continues to monitor compliance.

(i)(aa) During the 2021/2022 financial year, the Department had issued a total of 75 Notices of Intention to Issue a Directive in response to identified contraventions related to requirements stipulated under Sections 19 (3) and 22 of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998). The Department also issued 36 Directives in response to contraventions. These administrative actions pertain to instances where sewer systems failed to contain wastewater, or treated wastewater insufficiently resulting in water pollution, and also water users that are engaging in unlawful water uses.

Enforcement Actions taken against non-compliant Municipalities *from April 2021 to March 2022
Sector	NWA Notices Issued	NWA Directives Issued
Local Government [WSA/WSP]	71	33
Government (National/Province]	4	3
Total	75	36

(bb) During the 2022/2023 financial year, the Department had issued 67 Notices of Intention to Issue a Directive and 25 Directives in response to contraventions in response to identified contraventions related to requirements stipulated under Sections 19 (3) and 22 of the National Water Act. These administrative actions pertain to instances where sewer systems failed to contain wastewater, or treated wastewater insufficiently resulting in water pollution and unauthorised water uses.

Enforcement Actions taken against non-compliant Municipalities *from April 2022 to March 2023
Sector	NWA Notices Issued	NWA Directives Issued
Local Government [WSA/WSP]	62	23
Government [National/Province]	5	2
Total	67	25

From 1 April 2023 to date, the Department had issued 22 Notices of Intention to Issue a Directive and 5 Directives in response to identified contraventions related to requirements stipulated under Sections 19 (3) and 22 of the National Water Act. These administrative actions pertain to instances where sewer systems failed to contain wastewater, or treated wastewater insufficiently resulting in water pollution and unauthorised water uses.

(ii) Eight (8) public entities have fully complied with the administrative enforcement actions taken by the Department for the period 2021-22, 2022-23 and current financial year. There was partial compliance in other instances which has led to criminal charges being laid against public entities that did not comply.

2. The Department has laid 25 criminal charges against public entities that have not complied with the directives issued to compel their compliance with the provisions of the NWA. The Department obtained 3 Plea Sentencing Agreements against Rand West City Local Municipality (LM), Thaba Chweu LM and Lekwa LM for contravening NWA provisions. Criminal charges including causing pollution of water resources were laid, and the municipalities pleaded guilty on all counts. Fines were imposed on each Local Municipalities. The Department is actively monitoring the implementation of compliance with the plea sentencing agreement.

Enforcement Actions taken against non-compliant Municipalities in the past three FYs
Sectors	Cases Registered at SAPS	Plea Sentencing Agreement
	FY 21/22	FY 22/23	FY 23/24	FY 21/22	FY 22/23	FY 23/24
Local Government [WSA/WSP]	3	10	11	-	2	1
Government [National/Prov]	-	1	-	-	-	-
Total	3	11	11	0	2	1

Furthermore, the Department obtained a court order against Msukaligwa LM. The Department will continue to monitor the implementation of the court order.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) manages use of water resources by commercial afforestation where this activity is declared as engaging in a streamflow reduction activity (SFRA) as contemplated in s36(1) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998) (NWA) from the water use authorisation process. Upon receipt of a water use licence application for s21(d) water use (SFRA), the Department undertakes technical assessment to estimate the impacts associated with the activity on the water resource and any decision to issue a water use licence is based on sustainable water availability. The application must satisfy the requirements of the Reserve, both ecological and basic human needs, and where a water use licence is granted, conditions are attached to ensure that efficiency, equity, and sustainability in the use of water resources are promoted throughout the project’s lifetime.

The impact of commercial forestry plantations on surface water resources has been researched extensively, and impact assessment tools have been developed and are being applied in the water use authorisation processes. However, in recent decades, researchers have also shown interest of studying the impact of commercial forestry plantations on groundwater resources. These studies show that commercial afforestation trees may influence evapotranspiration rates and deep roots, lowering groundwater water tables. These studies make recommendations which are considered in the authorisation process.

The other factors considered when authorising a water use for commercial forestry plantations are found in s27(1) of the NWA, where factors, including the need to redress the results of past racial and gender discrimination, and efficient and beneficial use of water in the public interest are considered. These factors ensure that when allocating water resources, the principle of fair allocation is considered for equitable water allocation.

Water use authorisation instruments issued by the Department are continuously monitored for compliance by the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement component of the Department to ensure that water users comply with the conditions attached to their water use entitlements and any best management practices (SFRA best management practices) recommended for the sector. Compliance is assessed via the auditing process and corrective actions are addressed as enabled by the NWA.

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Reply:

Please find response attached.

Reply:

The Donation of emergency power equipment by the People’s Republic of China to South Africa is a consolidation of the strategic diplomatic partnership between the respect Republics, in an attempt to resolve the energy crisis, which presently besets South Africa.

The donation is in the form of emergency power equipment procured and supplied by the Chinese government, which will be distributed/dispatched in line with the differentiated energy demands in public facilities, in particular, public heath, educational and justice facilities to mitigate the impact during loadshedding.

Reply:

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) established twelve (12) new bulk water projects in various provinces since June 2022. The details are provided in the table below;

Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant Projects

No	Province	(c) Municipality	Project Name	(b) Amount Spent (April 2022 to October 2023) R’000
1.	Eastern Cape	Nelson Mandela	Nelson Mandela Bay - Water Security Programme	R71,840
2.	Free State	Maluti a Phofung LM	Maluti-a-Phofung BWS - Intervention	R72,660
3.	Free State	Matjhabeng Local Municipality	Matjhabeng Bulk Sewer (Welkom)	R106,561
4.	KwaZulu Natal	Zululand District Municipality	Mandlakazi Bulk Water Supply - Intervention	R240,015
5.	Limpopo	Polokwane	Ebenezer & Olifantspoort Scheme	R422,000
6.	Mpumalanga	Thembisile Hani Local Municipality	Thembisile Water Scheme (Loskop)	R419,472
7.	Mpumalanga	Lekwa Local Municipality	Lekwa Water Services and Sewer - Interventions	R41,676
8.	Northern Cape	Hantam Local Municipality	Calvinia Bulk Water Supply Project	R60,000
9.	North West	Moses Kotane Local Municipality	Pilanesberg South Bulk Water Supply Phase 2	R421,972
10.	North West	Moretele Local Municipality	Moretele North Bulk Water Supply	R421,972
11.	North West	Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality	Kagisano Molopo Bulk Water Supply	R145,000
12.	Western Cape	Drakenstein Local Municipality	Drakenstein Local Municipality - Sanitation Infrastructure Project	R9,100

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has put in place the following interventions to address water supply challenges in the various Wards within the Emakhazeni Local Municipality:

Ward	Water supply status and Challenges	Plans and Time Frames
1; 2; 8	The wards comprise parts of Siyathuthuka township and farming areas The municipality supplies these wards through the municipal water supply system in the township and boreholes/ground water in the farms/rural areas. Siyathuthuka township is serviced through the Belfast Water Treatment Works with a design capacity of 4 ML/D which is shared with ward 2, 3 and 8. Belfast is abstracting the raw water from the Belfast dam. The total estimated demand as per the areas serviced by the plant is 5.2 Ml/d against the 4 Ml/d design capacity of the plant. The farms are supplied with water through boreholes/ground and water tankering. Inadequate water infrastructure in the farms/rural areas.	Upgrading of the Belfast Water Treatment Works (WTW) from 4 ML/D to 8ML/D. The project is currently at procurement stage implemented by the Mpumalanga Provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport. Start Date: January 2024 End Date: March 2025
4	Ward 4 comprises of Dullstroom town, Sakhelwe township and farming areas. Both Dullstroom town and Sakhelwe are serviced by the Dullstroom Water Treatment Works. The plant abstracts raw water from the Dullstroom Dam which has a design capacity of 2 Ml/d. Farming areas receives water through boreholes and water tankering in particular where the water infrastructure is inadequate. Inability to retain sufficient raw water in the Dullstroom dam due to the leaking and collapsed spillway. Water rationing is currently being implemented as a short-term intervention for water supply to the community	Upgrading of Dullstroom WTW Project funded through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant. Start Date: July 2024 End Date: June 2025 Drilling of a borehole and provision of storage facility in Meschunfontein (Tonteindoos) farm funded through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. This project is currently at design stage. Start Date: January 2024 End Date: June 2024
5; 6	The ward comprises parts of Emthonjeni township and farming areas The municipality supplies this ward through both conventional water supply in the township and boreholes/ground water in the farms/rural area. Emthonjeni township is serviced through Machardodorp WTW with a design capacity of 2.7 Ml/d which is shared with parts of Ward 6 (Entokozweni town). The Machardodop WTW abstracts raw water from Elands River. The total estimated demand as per the areas that are serviced by the plant is 3.5 Ml/D. Upgrading of the Machardodorp WTW is incomplete due to budget constraints Inadequate water infrastructure in the farming areas	Upgrading of the Machardodorp WTW project from 2,7Ml/d to 4Ml/d. Start Date: July 2024 End Date: June 2025
7	Emgwenya town and township are both supplied with water through Waterval Boven WTW. The plant draws water from Elands River through rising main. Waterval Boven WTW has a design capacity of 3 Ml/d against the estimated current demand of 2,2 ML/D which depicts a surplus of +0.8 Ml/d. Interrupted water supply is experienced during load shedding or power outage due to lack of stand by generator at the raw water pump station and Waterval Boven WTW. Plans are in place for the procurement of stand by generators which are prioritized in the 2024/2025 financial year.	Procurement and Installation of standby generators. Start Date: February 2024 End Date: June 2024

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Reply:

The Department, in compliance with Pretoria High Court order, accepts, adjudicates and processes applications submitted on affidavit in terms of section 2(2) of the South African Citizenship Act, 88 of 1995. The amended regulations published on 7 July 2023, are in essence reciprocating the order.

END

Reply:

Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) project are “behind the meter” solutions and not subject to regulator approval, but simply require a generator to register with the Regulator. The financial viability of SSEG projects is subject to a generator securing a concomitant power purchase agreement with a prospective buyer of the electricity produced.

Where the electricity is required to be wheeled, the wheeling agreements are subject to approval by the respective distributor (Municipality or Eskom) through whose distribution infrastructure the energy is evacuated from the point of production to the point of consumption.

To assist municipalities/Eskom to structure and price wheeling agreements, a National Wheeling Framework has been developed and is currently being reviewed by NERSA

Reply:

1.  The Vlakfontein Reservoir was substantially completed on the 31 March 2023. Subsequently, it had to be filled to full capacity to test for leaks and to allow for backfilling around the reservoir which was completed on the 20 September 2023. The reservoir was then commissioned on the 21 September 2023 for normal operations.

2. Two major water outages affected the Mapleton System supply (which supplies Vlakfontein) because of power failures at Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant. These water outages were promptly communicated to customers through various media platforms. Unfortunately, power failures cannot be communicated in advance as they are not planned. The system has however experienced multiple and extended power failures at Mapleton Pumping Station which receives power from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. Rand Water is in the process of installing generators at Mapleton Pumping Station which will be used as alternative power supply. The full commissioning of the generators is planned for first quarter of 2024.

3. There are municipal areas that are dependent on Rand Water’s reservoir levels being high. These areas will then get affected if reservoir levels are lower. Reservoir levels depends on consumption downstream as well as consistent pumping/supply. Besides failures experienced at Zuikerbosch and Mapleton Pumping Station; the municipalities have also been consuming more than what was allocated to them and as a result depleting the reservoir storages. Ideally, municipalities are also expected to have booster pumping stations to counteract reliance on higher Rand Water reservoir levels.

4. Please refer to the answer provided under Question 1.

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Reply:

Municipalities can purchase electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPP) through the Small Scale Embedded Generation Project, subject to section 217(1) of the Constitution, read with their respective Supply Chain Management Policies.

Further, Municipalities may apply to the Minister in the Presidency for Electricity under s34(1)(d) of the ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 4 OF 2006, as amended, for a determination that will enable a Municipality to purchase energy from an IPP.

Reply:

The Border Management Authority has as part of its strategic enterprise risk management process, identified seven (07) strategic enterprise/organisational risks of which ‘Fraud and Corruption’ is one. As a mitigation strategy to curb this risk, and given the lack of capacity within the BMA, the Authority has already commenced the process towards appointment of various service providers to “conduct the lifestyle audit of its employees” starting with critical areas which may be susceptible to fraud and corruption such as employees at all Ports of Entry, deployed at the borderline, SCM and HR units. The BMA is guided by the risk assessment and no employee of the BMA is immune to the lifestyle audit.

The request for issuance of the Request for Proposal or Expression of Interest has already been submitted to the BMA’s Supply Chain Management Unit to source the service providers with vast experience in conducting the exercise of this nature.

END

Reply:

(a) the 100MW threshold has been lifted as part of the deregulation of the energy sector. Currently, no limit exists for embedded generation.

The pipeline of confirmed private sector generation projects has increased to 126 projects representing more than 12 GW of new capacity since the amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act to remove the licensing threshold for generation facilities. 1338 MW is expected to connect to the grid in 2023 and 3081 MW in 2024. A survey by Eskom showed that the total number of projects in the pipeline is 66 GW.

(b) All Generators are required to Register their Projects with the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

Reply:

The supply of South Africa’s energy demand is broadly determined by the energy mix as set out in The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. Based on the 2019 IRP, Coal constitutes 43% of installed capacity followed by Wind (22.53) Solar PV (10.5) CSP (0, 76) Nuclear (2,36) and Gas and Diesel (8.1) Hydro (5.84).

Whilst the IRP is currently being reviewed, Coal, Nuclear and Gas is expected to continue to be significant contributors to SA’s base load demand in the foreseeable future, with investments in cleaner technologies to mitigate negative environmental impacts, coupled with and battery storage to neutralise and solar/wind hybrid solutions to stabilise the intermittency challenges of renewables.

Reply:

1. (a) It is estimated that more than R390 billion will be required over the next decade to meet the demand for grid capacity, largely due to the increase in generation capacity through renewable energy projects and insufficient grid capacity following the various Bid Windows.

Eskom’s current financial position places significant limitations on its ability to attract sufficient capital towards expanding the transmission grid, with the delivery of transmission infrastructure taking, on average, between 7 to 10 years. It is estimated this delivery rate needs to be scaled-up by eight times to connect the energy generation required for energy security by 2030.

It is anticipated that the transmission gridbuild rate needs to increase from 300km to 2300km per year with a greater rate of investment and delivery required through to 2050.

The Ministry in the Presidency for Electricity co-hosted a Transmission Financing Seminar with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is currently finalising a cabinet submission on transmission financing pathways aimed at fast-tracking transmission infrastructure investments to support the anticipated growth in generation capacity and secure long-term energy security.

1 (b) The generation supply gap will be addressed through a combination of base-load and renewable technologies, acting in concert to close the demand/supply deficit whilst maintaining frequency control in the management of the National grid. Closing South Africa’s supply gap will, therefore, require a balance between these technologies and not a choice between one or the other. The Eskom Winter 2023 demand analysis projected a maximum demand of 34 000 MW, and supply for the period June 2023 to October 2023 averaged at around 28 400 MW. This suggests a supply deficit (based on peak demand) of around 6000 MW. In the medium term, accounting for growth based on an industrial-intensive path will increase the demand for baseload supply to guarantee energy security.

2 (a) Refer to 1(a) above.

2 (b) REfer to 1(a) above.

Reply:

a) The transmission losses are the difference between the total energy that came into the transmission network from the generating sources and the energy delivered to Transmission customers. These are purely technical losses incurred in the transportation of energy. In the 2022/23 financial year, the transmission losses were 4 700 GWh or 2.32%. There are meters at all transmission boundaries to ensure accurate accounting of energy flows. There are processes in place to ensure that this data is accurate, which include routine maintenance of meters and associated infrastructure, and data validation processes to identify errors.

The losses are affected by the generating pattern, as they are sensitive to the proximity between sources and loads. Independent power producers (IPPs) have an overall positive impact because of the way that they are distributed. The usage of open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) has a positive impact as well. Network strengthening projects also have a positive impact on losses.

b) Maintenance and data verification processes are normal operational processes, so there are no additional costs.

Generation dispatch is done to optimise overall system energy costs. Network strengthening is done according to the Transmission Development Plan (TDP).

(c) Conductor theft is one of the primary security threats that face the Eskom network and critical infrastructure. Transmission Security has embedded a strategy to reduce network theft by dealing with the product (precious metals), the market (scrap metal dealers), and the thief (crime syndicates).

The following security operations have been initiated:

• Weekly operations meetings are held with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to visit illegal and legal scrap metal dealers to enforce the Second-Hand Goods Act. Fines are issued to non-compliant vendors, and illegal vendors are arrested. The operations deter the illegal purchase of Eskom material.
• A specialised investigation contract has been procured to deal with high-profile cases and organised crime.
• Transmission incident management is conducted via the Mission Area Joint Operation Centre (MAJOC SAPS) to ensure that all reported criminal cases that affect Transmission critical infrastructure receive immediate attention.
• Technology (vibration sensors) is being rolled out on high-risk lines for early warning, as well as improved security systems at high-risk substations, to ensure deterrence, detection, delay, and response.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) The regulations were withdrawn and subsequently replaced with new regulations which were gazetted on 7 July 2023.

(1)(a)(ii) The final regulations were published on 7 July 2023 in Government Gazette No. 11603.

(b) There are 71 citizenship applications in terms of Section 4(3) that are pending.

(c) The above applications will be adjudicated before the end of November 2023.

2. The amended regulations were open for public comments and the new regulations have already been published as indicated above.

 

END

Reply:

Section 16(1)(a) read with section 16(2) of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 (PAMA) provides for the Minister to issue minimum norms and standards regarding the promotion of values and principles referred to in section 195(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa subject to the approval by all relevant executive authorities, which includes all municipal councils. The latter provision has created challenges in the issuing of such norms and standards under the PAMA as obtaining the consent of all municipal council is impractical. Therefore, the Department has, as part of the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, proposed amendments in respect of section 16(2) to assist with the issuing of those norms and standards. Once the Amendment Bill is passed, the Department will be better placed to develop norms and standards regarding the promotion of values and principles referred to in section 195(1) of the Constitution that traverses all three spheres of government.

In any event, the Department has and continues to promote the values and principles espoused in section 195 of the Constitution in all the norms and standards that it develops. In addition, the Department is working to institutionalise the Service Charter adopted in Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council Resolution 1 of 2013 and to reaffirm the Batho Pele Principles.

End

Reply:

The details pertaining to the (a) total budget allocated towards and (b) actual year to date expenditure with regards to the

(i) salaries of public servants for the 2023/2024 financial year are as follows:

ii) travel expenses and (iii) accommodation of public servants for the 2023/2024 financial year are as follows:

End

Reply:

1. A Water Use License is required to operate a washing plant. The License largely depends on the location of the site, but the following water uses in terms of section 21 of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998) could be applicable:

(a) taking water from a water resource:

(b) storing water:

(c) impeding or diverting the flow of water in a watercourse:

(e) engaging in a stream flow reduction activity contemplated in section 36; engaging in a controlled activity identified as such in section 37(1) or declared under section 38(1):

(f) discharging waste or water containing waste into a water resource through a pipe, canal. sewer. sea outfall or other conduit:

(g) disposing of waste in a manner which may detrimentally impact on a water resource; disposing in any manner of water which contains waste from

(i) altering the bed, banks. course or characteristics of a watercourse.

2. (a) In cases of non-compliance with water use authorisations; the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has enforcement tools in place to address transgressions and manage unlawful water use. This ensures that a set of actions (administrative, criminal, and civil) are taken against non-compliance with the provisions of the National Water Act (NWA) through various measures including notices, directives, and legal action.

(b) The frequency of inspections of authorised wash plants varies across Water Management Areas (WMA) or Provinces. Some Provinces have a higher concentration of wash plants compared to others leading to more frequent inspections. Generally, some inspections occur quarterly or annually depending on the priorities or plans of WMAs. Furthermore, it is important to note that other provinces like Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape do not have coal and chrome wash plants. Eastern Cape has one coal wash plant which is currently not operational.

Furthermore, unauthorized wash plants are being investigated on a continuous basis when reported or detected. Where enforcement action has been initiated, follow-up is conducted to assess progress on implementation of instructions/requirements stipulated in the notices, directives issued and/or action plans.

(c)(i) The table below depicts the number of reported non-compliant coal and chrome wash plants that have been found in other provinces and (ii) wash plant in the past three years and

(d) the table below also depicts actions taken to rectify the contraventions.

Table 1: Number of non-compliant cases related to Coal and Chrome Wash Plants investigated since April 2021

(c)(i) Province	Number of reported non-compliance cases investigated	Administrative Enforcement Action (i.e. Notices and Directives	Administrative Enforcement Actions currently in Process -	Number of Criminal Cases Opened	Wash Plant Closed as result of Enforcement Action taken
Gauteng	1	1	-	-	-
KwaZulu Natal	9	9	-	-	-
Mpumalanga	21	19	-	2	-
North-West	22	11	8	-	2
(c)(i) Total	53	40	8	2	2

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Reply:

(a) The type of automated online tourism visa application system the Department has launched is the electronic-visa (e-Visa) system which is similar to the ones many other countries have implemented. The e-Visa platform is designed to accept tourism visas. This is a fully automated system whereby clients apply for their tourist visas online, pay online as well as upload their supporting documents for adjudication at the hub in Pretoria.

(b)(i – iv) The e-Visa is a fully automated system that was launched to allow clients to apply for their tourist visas from the convenience of their homes.

(c) The e-Visa system was piloted in 2022, enhanced in April 2023 and expanded to 20 additional non-visa exempted countries. In total there are 34 countries who are utilising this system.

END

Reply:

It should be noted that Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is demarcated into Six Regions and not aligned to the provincial dispensation.

a) Total number of inmates in correctional facilities in each region as on 19 October 2023:

Region	Unsentenced Inmates	Sentenced Offenders	Total Inmates
Eastern Cape	6 889	13 944	20 833
Free State & Northern Cape	6 408	14 094	20 502
Gauteng	15 540	20 485	36 025
KwaZulu-Natal	7 078	16 203	23 281
Limpopo Mpumalanga & North West	5 740	15 506	21 246
Western Cape	12 875	13 624	26 499
TOTAL	54 530	93 856	148 386

(b)(i) Number of beds in correctional facilities as on 19 October 2023:

Region	Bedspace
Eastern Cape	12 427
Free State & Northern Cape	18 462
Gauteng	23 247
KwaZulu-Natal	17 778
Limpopo Mpumalanga & North West	14 789
Western Cape	17 855
TOTAL	104 558

(b)(ii) The information is provided in part (a) and (b)(i) as requested.

END

Reply:

a) The Department of Home Affairs in collaboration with the National Department of Health (DOH) facilitated the allocation of office space to the Department of Home affairs in health facilities.

There are 41 Priority 1 public health facilities responsible for the delivery of approximately 32.5% births, followed by 109 Priority 2 contributing to the delivery of approximately 36.50% births, 101 Priority 3 responsible for the delivery of approximately 15.50 % of births, 95 Priority 4 contributing to about 7.21% births delivered and 1099 Priority 5 which are mostly clinics and health community centres accounting for approximately 8.28% births delivered in public health facilities.

To date the Department rolled out the online birth registration system in 161 health facilities which contributes to approximately 68.35% of births delivered across the country.

b) The Department has a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DOH regarding registration of births at health facilities. The Department is engaging DOH and National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) in relation to exploring the provision of providing paternity tests free of charge or at a minimal fee to indigent clients. A revised agreement has been prepared to engage both DOH and NHLS.

END

Reply:

(a)(i) The total cost incurred on the implementation of the Ministerial Review Panel recommendations amounts to R4 184 843.18.

(a)(ii)(aa) No costs were incurred by the GPW on the project to recover and/or recompile data lost in February 2021.

The following organisations were consulted to assist with data recovery:

• Hewlett Packard (OEM)

• CSSI data recovery specialists

• State Security Agency (SSA)

GPW did not raise purchase orders for all the above organisations, therefore no costs were incurred.

(a)(ii)(bb) No data loss was experienced in January 2022, therefore no costs were incurred.

(a)(ii)(cc) GPW did not raise purchase orders on the project to recover and/or recompile data lost in March 2022, therefore no costs were incurred.

(a)(ii)(dd) No data loss was experienced in April 2022, therefore no costs were incurred to recover/recompile data lost.

(b) Funds were allocated to Professional Services and the R4 184 843.18 budget was taken against this budget item.

END

Reply:

The Department has introduced the Human Resources Training Grant (HRTG) to amongst other required speciality areas create a pool of trained specialists to enhance capacity in essential services that includes radiation oncology. The Grant is funding 52 Registrar posts of Radiation Oncology that are in various years of their training programme between first to fourth year.

END.

Reply:

According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), 217 foreign trained applicants sat for theory examinations on the 25th of October 2023.

END.

Reply:

1. and (2) The table below reflects the details in this regard.

Province	Facility Name	No of psychiatrists	No of usable beds	Patient to psychiatrist ratio	Ratio compliant with the Norms and Standards (1:28 – 1:42 for acute beds and 1:50 for medium to long stay beds)
Eastern Cape	Elizabeth Donkin Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	2	163	1:82	No
	Fort England Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	2	313	1:156	No
	Komani Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	0	440	None	No
	Tower Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	0	352	None	No
	Dora Nginza Regional Hospital	1	35	1:35	Yes
	Cecilia Makiwane Regional Hospital	1	50	1:50	No
	Mthatha Regional Hospital	1	30	1: 30	Yes
Free State	Free State Psychiatric Complex	5	760	1: 152	No
	Mofuhadi Manapo Mopedi Regional Hospital	1	30	1:30	Yes
	Boitumelo Regional Hospital	1	34	1: 34	Yes
Gauteng	Sterkfontein Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	18	613	1:34	Yes
	Tara Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	8	137	1:17	Yes
	Weskoppies Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	16	780	1:49	Yes
	Cullinan Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	0.5 (sessional)	180	1: 360	No
	Dr George Mukhari Central Hospital	4	48	1: 12	Yes
	Charlotte Maxeke Central Hospital	7	65	1:9	Yes
	Chris Hani Baragwanath Central Hospital	10	165	1:17	Yes
	Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital	1	45	1:45	No
	Steve Biko Central Hospital	2	18	1:9	Yes
	Helen Joseph Provincial Tertiary Hospital	3	60	1:20	Yes
	Thembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital	0	30	None	No
	Leratong Regional Hospital	1	40	1: 40	No
	Mamelodi Regional Hospital	0	28	None	No
	Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital	1	20	1: 20	Yes
	Kopanong District Hospital	1	54	1:54	No
KZN	Ekuhlengeni Specialised Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	0	700	None	No
	Fort Napier Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	5	378	1:76	No
	Town Hill Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	7	242	1:35	Yes
	Umngeni Specialised Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	0	392	None	No
	Umzimkhulu Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	0	284	None	No
	King Dinuzulu Regional Hospital	4	78	1:20	Yes
	Madadeni Regional Hospital	1	250	1: 250	No
	Port Shepstone Regional Hospital	1	8	1: 8	Yes
	Ngwelezane Provincial Tertiary Hospital	2	30	1:15	Yes
	Prixley KaSeme Regional Hospital	3	28	1:9	Yes
	St Benedictine District Hospital	0	15	None	No
	Prince Mshiyeni Regional Hospital	3	25	1:8	Yes
	Addington Regional Hospital	2	18	1:9	Yes
	King Edward IV Central Hospital	3	20	1:7	Yes
	General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital	1	20	1:20	Yes
	RK Khan Regional Hospital	1	20	1:20	Yes
	Northdale District Hospital	0	10	None	No
	Ladysmith Regional Hospital	1	14	1:14	Yes
	Harry Gwala Regional Hospital	3	15	1:5	Yes
	Mahatma Ghandhi Regional Hospital	1	18	1:18	Yes
Limpopo	Evuxakeni Specialised Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	0	354	None	No
	Hayani Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	2	250	1:125	No
	Thabamoopo Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	2	500	1:250	No
	Mankweng Provincial Tertiary Hospital	1	20	1:20	Yes
	Donald Frazer District Hospital	0	40	None	No
	Elim District Hospital	0	36	None	No
	Letaba Regional Hospital	1	40	1:40	No
	Malamulele District Hospital	0	20	None	No
	Nkhensani District Hospital	0	14	None	No
	Siloam District Hospital	0	30	None	No
	Tshilidzini Regional Hospital	0	12	None	No
	Matlala District Hospital	0	12	None	No
Mpumalanga	Ermelo Regional Hospital	1	30	1:30	Yes
	Rob Ferreira Provincial Tertiary Hospital	1	30	1:30	Yes
	Tintswalo District Hospital	0	50	None	No
	Themba Regional Hospital	1	27	1:27	Yes
	Embhuleni District Hospital	20	0	None	No
Northern Cape	Kimberly Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	2	170	1:85	No
North West	Bophelong Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	1	314	1: 314	No
	Witrand Specialised Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	2	797	1: 399	No
	Mahikeng Provincial Regional Hospital	1	26	1: 26	Yes
	Job Shimankane Tabane Provincial Tertiary Hospital	1	60	1: 60	No
	Taung District Hospital	1	20	1:20	Yes
	Potchestroom Regional Hospital	1	11	1: 21	Yes
	Tshepong Provincial Tertiary Hospital		10
Western Cape	Alexandra Specialised Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Hospital	0	300	None	No
	Lentergeur Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	9	690	1:77	No
	Stikland Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	9	423	1:47	Yes Medium
	Valkenberg Specialised Psychiatric Hospital	8	391	1:49	Yes
	Worcester Regional Hospital	2	24	1: 12	Yes
	Paarl Regional Hospital	2	30	1:15	Yes
	George Regional Hospital	2	12	1:6	Yes
	Tygerberg Central Hospital	5	42	1:8	Yes
	Red Cross Provincial Tertiary Hospital	3	6	1: 2	Yes
	Groote Schuur Central Hospital	2	55	1: 28	Yes
	Mitchell’s Plain District Hospital	1	44	1: 44	No
	Khayelitsha District Hospital	0	55	None	No
	Eerste River	0	30	None	No
	New Somerset Hospital	0	32	None	No
	Victoria District Hospital	1	15	1: 7	Yes

• There is a limited number of psychiatrists in the country.
• Facilities that are in rural areas struggle to attract specialists
• In all provinces where the ratio is low, the psychiatrists do outreach (care and training) to areas where there are no psychiatrists.
• The academic hospitals have more psychiatrists because over and above caring for patients, they provide training at universities.
• In the Limpopo Province, hospitals without psychiatrists, have medical officers with diplomas in psychiatry.

END.

Reply:

The table below shows the total number of unsuccessful and successful UIF applications and expenditure for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23.

FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22	FINANCIAL YEAR FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/23
Number of successful UIF Applications	Number of unsuccessful UIF Applications	Expenditure	Number of successful UIF Applications	Number of unsuccessful UIF Applications	Expenditure
1 073 548	207 299	R22 599 302 590.69	982 124	185 284	R15 648 732 618.33

The number of claims was high in the 2021/2022 financial year and have started to decline in the 2022/2023 financial year.

a) The table below depicts the expenditure of all benefit types for 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years.

Benefit payments to beneficiaries	2021/2022 Financial year	2022/2023 financial year
COVID	R4 534 768 051.07	R449 587 581.73
WABU	R14 148 233.36	R7 657 043.20
BEN-Unemployment	R14 976 052 618.47	R12 417 076 372.27
BEN-Reduced Work Time	R294 161 421.79	R 321 199 678.30
BEN-Illness Benefits	R394 575 411.48	R395 953 173.85
BEN-Maternity	R1 625 630 329.92	R1 503 523 855.80
BEN- Parental Paternity	R3 797 326.54	R3 352 519.75
BEN-Adoption	R465 723.40	R416 574.00
BEN-Dependants Benefits	R755 703 474.66	R549 965 819.43
Total	R22 599 302 590.69	R15 648 732 618.33

NB: In the 2021/2022 financial year the UIF paid a high number of companies Covid-19 TERS and WABU benefits, which significantly decline in the 2022/2023 financial year, as businesses started showing signs of recovery from the impact of the pandemic and returned to normal business operation.