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06 October 2023 - NW3047

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De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

With reference to the entrance gate at the Three Rondavels of the Panorama route in Mpumalanga, (a) what are the reasons that bank card machines are not operational at the gate, (b) by what date will the bank card machines be fixed, (c) how is the cash received being monitored and controlled and (d) what measures, processes, procedures and mechanisms are in place to ensure that there is not theft of the cash received?

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06 October 2023 - NW2915

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Paulsen, Mr N M to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

What measures are in place to protect the coast and fishing grounds of the Republic against foreign fishing vessels?

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06 October 2023 - NW3035

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Phillips, Ms C to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Whether he will provide Mrs. C Phillips with the records of the written notice and consultation as envisaged by section 26(3) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act 28 of 2002, for the beneficiation of chrome currently undertaken by a certain company (name furnished) on Portion 71 of the Farm Groenkloof, in the Bojanala District, North West; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1, The entity referred to has no mining authorisations issued by this Department, furthermore the Department has no records pertaining their application to beneficiate minerals. However, section 26 of the Act was meant to promote beneficiation of mineral in the Republic. Section 26(3) requires any person who intends to beneficiate any mineral outside the Republic to do so with written notice and in consultation with the Minister. The constraints on electricity generation have limited the ability to facilitate local beneficiation.

06 October 2023 - NW3085

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

How did SANParks take into account the conclusions of the 2020 Elephants Alive Recommendations Concerning the Proposed Elephant Offtakes of the Associate Private Nature Reserves (APNR) in supporting and/or commenting on the proposed APNR Elephant Offtake of 55 elephants, as Elephants Alive recommended that only 35 elephants be hunted (details furnished)?

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06 October 2023 - NW3076

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Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity

(1)What number of megawatts (MWs) (a) has Mozambique undertaken to provide to the Republic in terms of the contractual relationship with Mozambique and (b) is the Republic currently using; (2) whether the Republic uses all the allocated MWs; if not, what are the reasons for the underutilisation of electricity in the midst of the loadshedding crisis; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) what are the terms of the agreement in respect of (a) the period, (b) the pricing matrix and (c) other material elements of the agreement?

Reply:

(1)(a)Mozambique is currently developing a number of power plant projects and is engaging with South Africa at present. At this point, there are no firm commitments. The projects would need to be incorporated into the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

(1)(b) Yes, Eskom is currently using the power from Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), as well as purchasing power from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) competitive markets, which, at times, includes power from Mozambique. Eskom has aspirations to buy power from cross-border countries. Depending on the pricing and technical feasibility, Eskom will procure power from Mozambique in terms of a fair, transparent, and equitable process.

(2) Eskom utilises the allocated megawatts (MWs) most of the time. On odd occasions, Eskom is unable to access the power when there are limiting factors, including infrastructure faults.

(3) (a) 31 March 2030.

(b) The price is based on avoiding the cost of building a baseload station.

(c) 1 150 MW capacity.

06 October 2023 - NW2766

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Hendricks, Mr MGE to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition

Whether he will disclose the beneficial owner registries and audited financial statements of mining companies and their subsidiaries publicly; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3161E

Reply:

I published Regulations in May 2023 under the Companies Act, as amended in 2022, to prescribe how companies will submit information to disclose; or make known companies shareholders; or those who hold beneficial interest in securities in companies.

Companies will be required to file the register of the disclosure of beneficial interest in their companies with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) when submitting their annual returns. The companies required to disclose the beneficial ownership information include mining companies or their subsidiaries. The information as currently provided for in the legislation and regulations, is for law enforcement agencies.

The new Companies Amendment Bill, 2023 addresses the matter of broader disclosure of information on shareholding. I believe it is in the public interest that beneficial ownership should be available more widely. The Bill is currently before Parliament and I await its consideration by Parliament

-END-

06 October 2023 - NW2923

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

What total number of (a) cheetahs and (b) cubs born later, which were exported to the Republic of India as part of a Memorandum of Understanding, have died as at the latest specified date for which information is available?

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06 October 2023 - NW2924

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

What is the current status of the implementation of the Just Transition to a Decarbonised Economy for South Africa?

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06 October 2023 - NW3075

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Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity

What (a) number of megawatts are being transmitted to the Republic from the Cahora Bassa power transmission system, (b) are the details of the extent of financing undertaken by the Republic to build and maintain the specified system since it was put back into operation in 1997 and (c) are the long-term plans for the system in terms of (i) life-span of the existing infrastructure, (ii) expansion of the system and (iii) on-going usage?

Reply:

(a)Eskom is contracted for 1 150 MW until 31 March 2030.

(b)The extent of infrastructure investment/financing undertaken by Eskom to build/sustain Apollo high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) is provided in Table 1 below for a period of 13 years. Ten of the listed projects have been completed (over R241 million), and eight of the projects are in the execution phase (over R951 million), with the remainder in the development phase (R321 million). The infrastructure includes HVDC key components such as transmission lines, converter transformers, and shunt capacitors, which amounts to a total of R1.5 billion. Obtaining information prior to the year 2010 will require more time, as this information has been archived.

Table 1: Details of infrastructure investment (from 2010)

PROJECT NAME

PLANT TYPE

INITIATIVE PHASE

TOTAL (rand)

Apollo Shunt Capacitor Bank Refurbishment

CAP BANKS

COMPLETED

18 693 718

Apollo CS Breaker 11 kV Replacement

BREAKERS

EXECUTION

31 116 104

Apollo CS Pietersburg Security Fence and Road

SECURITY

COMPLETED

12 342 665

Apollo Bridge 5 Converter Transformers

TRANSFORMERS

COMPLETED

11 554 690

Apollo Upgrade DC Harmonic Filters

CAP BANKS

EXECUTION

11 800 000

Apollo CS Line Voltage Divider Replacement

LINE DIVIDERS

EXECUTION

62 143 000

Apollo CS Problematic Bypass Breakers

BREAKERS

EXECUTION

219 225 000

Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 1: Tower 322

TOWER

COMPLETED

4 266 123

Apollo Songo PLC refurbishment

PLC

EXECUTION

14 200 000

Apollo Storage Plinths DC Side

NON-PLANT

CONCEPT

11 600 000

Apollo CS: HVDC Refurbishment Phase 2: Bridge 4 Transformers

TRANSFORMERS

EXECUTION

296 156 754

Apollo CS: HVDC Refurbishment Phase 2: Bridge 2 Transformers

TRANSFORMERS

EXECUTION

296 156 754

Apollo – Cahora Bassa No. 1 and 2 Quad Spacers

LINES

CONCEPT

130 000 000

Apollo CS: Deluge System Water Storage Tank

NON-PLANT

CONCEPT

17 769 000

Apollo – Cahora Bassa Lines Bird Guards

BIRD GUARDS

CONCEPT

5 400 000

NSP1 Security Build 2 – Apollo (NKP) ERA

SECURITY

EXECUTION

20 450 000

Apollo CS: Replacement of Pole 1 533 kV Reactor

REACTORS

CONCEPT

155 500 000

Apollo HVDC Lines Reinsulation Project

REINSULATION

COMPLETED

44 602 502

Apollo CS: CCTV Installations

SECURITY

COMPLETED

3 834 421

Replacement Bushings for Converter Transformers – Apollo CS

TRANSFORMERS

COMPLETED

17 193 111

Apollo CS Install Spare Transformer in Bridge 6

TRANSFORMERS

COMPLETED

10 000 000

Apollo CS Install Spare Transformer in Bridge 8

TRANSFORMERS

COMPLETED

10 000 000

Apollo 2 x Converter Transformers + Reactor (Capital Spares)

TRANSFORMERS

COMPLETED

109 145 411

   

TOTAL

1 513 149 254

The maintenance costs component, provided in Table 2 below, for a period of 14 financial years, amounted to over R165 million, which included the following:

  • Servitudes maintenance
  • Maintenance by Rotek Industries
  • Materials
  • Equipment spares
  • Production plant services
  • Facility services

The maintenance costs information can only be provided from the 2009/10 financial year, as Eskom changed to the current SAP system at that point. Obtaining information prior to that period will require more time, as this information has been archived.

Table 2: Maintenance (from the 2009/10 to the 2022/23 financial years)

(C) Are there long-term plans for the system in terms of (i) life-span of the existing infrastructure, (ii) expansion of the system and (iii) on-going usage?

(i) Details of the long-term plans for Apollo HVDC in terms of the lifespan of the existing infrastructure (refurbishment plan) are provided in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Long-term refurbishment plan

PROJECT NAME

PLANT TYPE

INITIATIVE PHASE

TOTAL (rand)

Apollo Install New Earth Electrodes

ELECTRODE

PRE-CONCEPT

14 000 000

Apollo CS: Permanent Bipole Bypass

ISOLATORS

PRE-CONCEPT

69 010 000

Apollo CS: Replace Bridge 1, 3, and 7 Transformers

TRANSFORMERS

PRE-CONCEPT

888 470 262

Apollo CS Repeater Station Pietersburg Battery System

BATTERY

PRE-CONCEPT

15 000 000

Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 1 Refurbishment

LINES

PRE-CONCEPT

230 000 000

Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 2 Refurbishment

LINES

PRE-CONCEPT

230 000 000

Apollo CS Problematic Equipment Phase 2

SUBSTATION

PRE-CONCEPT

105 600 000

Apollo CS Problematic Equipment Phase 3

SUBSTATION

PRE-CONCEPT

124 200 000

Apollo SS Auxiliary Transformer Bund Walls

NON-PLANT

PRE-CONCEPT

10 300 000

Apollo CS: HVDC System Ref. Upgrade Phase 3

SUBSTATION

PRE-CONCEPT

1 700 562 263

   

TOTAL

3 387 142 525

(ii) Currently, there is no long-term plan for expansion for the Apollo Converter Station.

(iii) Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) has indicated that it would like to start engagements in terms of the contractual extension beyond 2030. Eskom will be open to such engagements, as HCB power forms part of the baseload power supply mix.

06 October 2023 - NW2914

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Paulsen, Mr N M to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

What assistance is being offered by her department to black-owned small-scale mussel farmers on the West Coast of the Western Cape, who experienced serious setbacks during COVID-19, to ensure their ventures become viable and successful

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06 October 2023 - NW2907

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Mbatha, Ms SGN to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

What (a) are the relevant details of the process to empower communities in the forestry industry to ensure the prevention of deforestation and (b) is the state of pilot projects in this regard?

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06 October 2023 - NW2921

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Bryant, Mr D W to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

Whether she is actively exploring additional funding mechanisms for the implementation of the Just Transition to a Decarbonised Economy for South Africa to supplement the initial $8.5 billion commitment; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

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06 October 2023 - NW3084

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

(1) How prevalent is snaring (a) in and (b) on the borders of the Kruger National Park; (2) whether snaring is concentrated in any particular areas; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether there are any discernible snaring trends; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) whether snaring is increasing or decreasing overall and/or in any particular areas; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are relevant details; (5) what total number of snares were detected and/or removed in the Kruger National Park in the (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 calendar years?

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06 October 2023 - NW3086

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

By what date will the ordinance be effectively repealed as there are discrepancies between national and provincial legislation and the hunting and other ordinances in several provinces are outdates and no long in line with national legislation and with scientific evident in terms of biodiversity loss?

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06 October 2023 - NW2919

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Manyi, Mr M to ask the Minister of Finance

What consultation process does the National Treasury undertake before finalising the cost-containment measures to assist national departments, public entities and provinces to close a fiscal gap?

Reply:

Various high-level forums of government have been briefed about the fiscal challenges in the current fiscal year and the need for urgent and difficult measures to be taken to forestall their damaging impact during the course of the financial year. This includes briefings and discussions at Cabinet, the Minister’s Committee on the Budget, the Budget Council, the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD), and the Technical Committee for Finance, which is a committee of Provincial Treasuries. In addition, the National Treasury has publicly highlighted the difficult financial constraints facing government and its implications during a meeting of NEDLAC as well as in the 2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budgeting guidelines, which are published on the website of the National Treasury.

In all of these engagements, the National Treasury emphasized that measures will be required to achieve savings, improve efficiency and contain costs.

06 October 2023 - NW2817

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Van Dyk, Ms V to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(1) Whether he has found that the practice of seawalls is extremely harmful to the diamond diving industry and the littoral environment when hundreds of tons of residue stockpile are being dumped into the ocean every hour, destroying habitat, sterilising large areas of valuable diamond diving resource, turning the water column into a black slurry and driving the final nail into the coffin of the diamond diving industry; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps have been taken by his department to address the environmental crisis; (2) whether it is his position that seawall material is defined as residue stockpile and is therefore the responsibility of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to monitor, as provided for in the National Environmental Management Act, Act 107 of 1998, instead of his department that has no authority over the specified matter; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3232E

Reply:

(1) Response: Seawalls are generally created using sea – sand excavated directly from the sea mining block to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out and drained. The pumping creates a semi-dry working environment so that work can be carried out safely and efficiently. In most cases, particularly in the case of diamond mining, seawalls are created as temporal structures, they collapse as mining activities proceed from one block to the next. In cases where the mining block is set to have a longer lifespan, the sea – sand (i.e., seawall) is reinforced with rocks often collected on the coast and tailings material. There would be minimal impact on the sea and surrounding environment as there is no harmful or hazardous material introduced to create the seawalls. Naturally, when the seawalls collapse, they create high turbidity in the immediate area that often creates murky water, but given the strength of ocean currents, the sediment is swiftly dispersed. In cases where the mining block is situated in heavy mineral sands, the tailings may appear reddish-brown in colour due to the presence of the zircon element and this is often mistaken as a black slurry.

2. Response: According to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act 28 of 2002) as amended, the residue stockpile “means any debris, discard, tailings, slimes, screening, slurry, waste rock, foundry sand, beneficiation plant waste, ash or any other product derived from or incidental to a mining operation and which is stockpiled, stored or accumulated for potential re-use, or which is disposed of, by the holder of a mining right…”. Seawalls do not fall into this definition as the material used will not be reused or disposed of. However, the environmental impacts arising out of any mining/prospecting activities subject of a mining right or any right/permit issued in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, falls within the competent jurisdiction of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.

04 October 2023 - NW2835

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Cachalia, Mr G K to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

What (a) has he found to be the impact of the growth of small-scale embedded generation on electricity sales to municipalities (details furnished) and (b) is the strategy of Eskom’s distribution entity to ensure profitability when municipal demand for Eskom distributed electricity continues to decline due to the appeal of private solar generation?

Reply:

Recently released data by Eskom suggests that from March 2022 until the first quarter of 2023, the amount of electricity generated by Small-scale Embedded Generation (SSEGs), in the form of solar panels, has risen 350%. This increase in reliance on renewable energy is a welcome development for the environment, but poses a significant challenge to municipalities, which derive the majority of their income from electricity sales. Figures from Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality reveals that SSEGs have cost the municipality R350 million in electricity sales.

The City of Cape Town is currently at the forefront of exploiting this situation for maximum public benefit, by implementing feed-in tariffs, which pays private owners of SSEGs for electricity redirected into the grid, which can then be sold to other consumers at a profit. Energy experts suggest that feed-in tariffs, along with the installation of smart-meters, are the most feasible strategy to overcome the potential losses to municipal income. Much of the Energy Action Plan’s recent (although questionable) successes hinge upon a decline in electricity demand. Reliance on SSEGs significantly drive down demand, and therefore also account for progress made in the fight against nation-wide load shedding.

(a)

The uptake for embedded generators including small-scale systems like rooftop photo voltaic (PV) systems, has been driven largely by customers seeking alternative energy sources due to loadshedding, followed by those wanting to buffer against the upward annual electricity tariff trends, and those that are pursuing greener options aligned with climate change objectives.

The current year’s uptake has been further accelerated by incentive programmes like the SARS tax rebates, attractive distributor feed-in-tariffs as is the case with the City of Cape Town, and the National Treasury energy bounce-back loan guarantee scheme making funding more accessible.

The uptake of small scale embedded generators (SSEGs) has resulted in the displacement of traditional grid-supplied energy volumes. The Eskom Transmission System Operator has established models that estimate the installed capacity of PV on the national grid (i.e. include the SSEGs but exclude government independent power producer programmes) to be 4 841 MW at the end of August 2023 which is estimated to be 2 500 MW more than the previous 12 months window. This translates into an erosion of 2.3% (4.5TWh) of the sales base and 1% (R3.3bn) erosion in the margins (i.e. retail revenue less wholesale purchases) in the window period. The uptake is on an upward trajectory and the Gauteng Province is the largest adopter of SSEGs in the country.

(b)

Eskom Distribution pursues an SSEG framework that is attractive to customers and will ensure network safety, recovery of network costs through unbundled tariffs, retention of customers with new grid services (i.e., net-billing, wheeling and banking) and will offer the Standard Offer Programme which is a form of Feed-In-Tariff that seeks to procure customers’ electricity generation in a competitive manner.

Customers with SSEG installations realise a reduction of about 39% on their overall electricity bill, which translates into a 21% impact on the Eskom margin (i.e. retail revenue less wholesale purchases). This impact on margins is projected to improve from a 21% decline to an 18% decline on average through grid services revenue generated via administration charges (i.e. use of system, offsetting and banking) and ancillary charges.

As the penetration of SSEGs increase, it will necessitate a more dynamic Distribution System Operator (DSO) capabilities to manage supply and demand in real-time through the trading of flexibility energy services (FES) and virtual power plants (VPP).

While there are mechanisms to contain revenue and margin decline due to lost sales and volumes resulting from SSEGs, there are plans to enable and harness the DSO and trading capabilities to offset these revenue losses into the evolving energy future.

 

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2837

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Cuthbert, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

What amount of (a) historical student debt is currently stated in the financial accounts of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), excluding that which has been proscribed or written off, (b) the specified debt has been settled with NSFAS and (c) the debt has been written off?

Reply:

a) The historical student loan book value:

As at year ended 31 March 2022, the nominal value of the student loan book was R41.0bn (2021: R40.3bn). The net/carrying value of the student loan book, after considering the adjustments in respect of the actuarial valuation, is R5.1bn (2021: R6.4bn).

b) Debt that has been settled:

During the year ended 31 March 2022 the entity recovered R303m (2021: R388m). The recoveries including debtors that has partially and fully settled their NSFAS debts.

c) Debt written off:

Write offs during the year ended 31 March 2022 because of debtors being deceased amounted to R120m (2021: R114m). This is included in the total aggregated valuation adjustments processed.

04 October 2023 - NW2976

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Shaik Emam, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

What has been the latest development in progress towards providing Palestinians visa-free entry into the Republic?

Reply:

The visa waiver for Palestinian ordinary passport holders was implemented on 15 September 2023. Negotiations with Palestinian counterparts on the Agreement to waive visa requirements for Diplomatic passport holders only, are at an advanced stage.

END

04 October 2023 - NW2644

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Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development

What (a) total amount has been lost by the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) in the past two years due to fraudulent activities where officials of SASSA were involved, (b) amount has been recovered to date and (c) consequence management steps were instituted against the officials who were involved?

Reply:

a) For the period under review, approximately 701 suspected cases of fraud cases were detected, investigated, involving 40 SASSA who were implicated to the potential loss of R50 515 541.34. It is important to note that this figure represents a cumulative potential loss documented for the said period involving various other parties not limited to SASSA officials.

These cases ranged from fraudulent collection of grant funds intended for deceased individuals, the submission of disability grant applications with falsified medical information, and the illicit collection of child support grants.

Of the total suspected cases of fraud detected for the period in question, 698 were finalised while 3 are still under investigation. A total of 37 cases were referred to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation and prosecution.

The notable surge in detection of fraudulent cases can be attributed to SASSA’s anti-corruption strategy.

b) Disciplinary processes in the public service are guided by Chapter 7 of the SMS Handbook (March 2021) as well as the Disciplinary Code (Resolution 1 of 2003). Several sanctions may be issued such as warning letters, suspension, demotion etc. However; the regulations preclude financial recovery of a loss which occurred as a result of fraud that may have arisen through the conduct of the official.

c) The table below provides information on consequence management:

REGION

NUMBER OF CASES

CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMEMENT MEASURES IMPLEMENTED AGAINST IMPLICATED OFFICIALS AND SANCTIONS

Eastern Cape

19

4 x Withdrawn

3 x Pending

1 x Not Guilty

1 x Demotion + Final Written Warning

2 x Suspension without pay + Final Written Warning

8 x Written Warning

Free State

3

2 x Pending

1 x Written Warning + Referral to Employee Assistance Programme

Gauteng

3

2 x Dismissal

1 x Written Warning (Informal discipline)

KwaZulu Natal

15

10 x Pending

2 x Final Written Warning

1 x Dismissal

1 x Written Warning

1 x Not Guilty

Limpopo

10

1 x Withdrawn

5 x Suspension without pay + Final Written Warning

1 x Dismissal

1 x Demotion + Final Written Warning

1 x Not Guilty

1 x Resigned

Mpumalanga

17

1 x Written warning

9 x Final Written Warning

7x pending

North West

5

1 x Withdrawn

1 x Written Warning

2 x Financial Written Warning + Counseling

1 x Suspension without pay + Final Written Warning

Northern Cape

2

2 x Suspension without pay + Final Written Warning

Western Cape

10

1 x Written Warning

9 x Pending

Disciplinary actions were instituted against 74 officials, and 10 officials. Sanctions vary from written warning to dismissal. A total number of 62 cases have been finalised and 22 are in progress. It should also be noted that some fraud cases are being investigated or handled by external or third parties like SIU, Public Protector, National Treasury and SAPS.

04 October 2023 - NW2981

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De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) What tourism projects, undertaken by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, were initiated in the (i) past three financial years and (ii) current year to date, (b) on what date was each project initiated, (c) which of the specified projects were completed, (d) what was the set deadline for each project to be completed, (e) what are the actual completion dates for each completed project, (f) what are the reasons that each project was not completed by the set deadline, (g) what budget was allocated for each completed project and (h) what amount was spent in each completed project?

Reply:

The DBSA has seventy tourism-related projects, of which twenty-two have been completed, and forty-eight are in various stages of execution.

The detailed project list, which includes details (question (a)-(h)) is listed below.

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date ( e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

1

NW

Compliance Certificates

NW Lehurutshe Bird and Trophy Hunting owned by the Bakgatla ba Lencoe Trust

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-03-22

2024-03-22

Not Applicable

R28,209,243.11

R1,176,025.47

2

KZN

Compliance Certificates

KZN Isibhubhu Project

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-16

2023-11-15

Slow performance of the contractor at commencement due to cash constraints and material sourcing challenges. The DBSA loan facility to the contractor has assisted in procurement of material and the performance of the contractor has improved as they are recovering to complete on time. Suspension of works due to the yearly traditional reed dance for a week was the latest stoppage. Delay also caused by client request for change in design for the maidens change rooms.

R35,470,271.15

R13,489,181.26

3

KZN

Compliance Certificates

KZN Muzi Pan Project

2020-12-07

Concurrence

Procurement - Concurrence Requested

2024-06-13

2024-06-13

Not Applicable

R21,899,635.05

R578,852.36

4

MP

Community Tourism Projects

Numbi Gate - Nkambeni Safari Lodge

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-03-26

2024-03-26

Delays in commencement of the project due to community social issues and currently a land claim.

R24,563,693.62

R2,659,306.92

5

MP

Community Tourism Projects

Numbi Gate - Mdlhuli Safari Lodge

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-03-26

2024-03-26

Delays in commencement of the works due to the delays in appointment of the CLO and labour

R33,554,531.24

R3,455,932.19

6

LP

Community Tourism Projects

Nandoni Dam

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-05-16

2024-05-16

Not Applicable

R38,982,441.65

R1,738,488.51

7

LP

Community Tourism Projects

Tshathogwe Game Farm

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-09

2023-11-14

Poor performance of the Contractor. Penalties to be charged in accordance with contract.

R26,741,416.87

R9,476,563.90

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

8

LP

Community Tourism Projects

Mtititi Game Farm

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-06-10

2023-12-31

Poor performance of the Contractor. Penalties to be charged in accordance with contract.

R27,898,562.18

R14,455,737.46

2023-12-31

LP

Community Tourism Projects

Mapate Recreational Social Tourism Facility

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-06-16

2023-12-31

Suspension of works due to fatality on site, Poor performance by contractor at commencement of the constructions works.

R27,450,164.53

R9,245,260.80

2023-12-31

KZN

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at Anton Lembede Museum eThekwini Municipality (KZN)

2021-02-08

Construction

Construction

2024-03-02

2024-03-02

Not Applicable

R23,611,547.91

R979,096.02

11

NC

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at McGregor Museum (NC) WP1

2021-02-08

Evaluation

Procurement - Evaluation

2024-06-16

2024-06-16

Not Applicable

R240,750.00

 

12

NC

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at McGregor Museum (NC) WP2

2021-02-08

Evaluation

Procurement - Evaluation

2024-04-15

2024-04-15

Not Applicable

   

13

KZN

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at AmaHlubi Cultural Heritage (KZN)

2021-02-08

Concept NDT

Planning and Design

2024-03-11

2024-03-11

Not Applicable

R8,228,848.39

R979,069.02

14

NW

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at Sol Plaatjie Museum (NW)

2021-02-08

Construction

Construction

2024-02-01

2024-02-01

Delay in commencement of works due to an impasse on works to be implemented (new and maintenance work). Meeting between NDT, DBSA and Mahikeng Municipality to be held on 20.09.2023 to find way forward on scope.

R8,228,848.31

R832,007.41

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4), Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date ( e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

15

NW

Local Community Museums

Product Enhancement at Lehurutshe Liberation Heritage Museum

2021-02-08

Concept NDT

Planning and Design

2024-02-27

2024-02-27

Not Applicable

R15,384,460.00

R832,007.41

16

NC

lndi-Atlantic Route (Coastal and Marine Tourism initiatives)

Tourism development at Orange River Mouth (NC) as part of the Indi-Atlantic Route

2021-02-08

Design Development

Planning and Design

N/A

N/A

Project works to be completed till Design Stage. Further stages will await NDT instruction to Proceed.

R76,121,200.33

R949,421.57

17

EC

lndi-Atlantic Route

Tourism Development at Hole in the Wall (EC) as part of the Indi-Atlantic Route

2021-02-08

Design Development

Planning and Design

N/A

N/A

Project works to be completed till Design Stage. Further stages will await NDT instruction to Proceed.

R56,103,208.95

R1,760,791.87

18

KZN

lndi-Atlantic Route

Tourism development at Harold Johnson Nature Reserve as part of the Indi-Atlantic Route

2021-02-08

Design Development

Planning and Design

N/A

N/A

Project works to be completed till Design Stage. Further stages will await NDT instruction to Proceed.

R48,708,342.83

R1,443,770.69

19

GP

Maintenance & Beautification

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, Gauteng

2020-12-07

Evaluation

Procurement - Evaluation

2024-03-20

2024-03-20

Not Applicable

R8,733,665.78

R257,326.41

20

KZN

Maintenance & Beautification

J L Dube Precinct, KZN

2020-12-07

Design Development

Planning and Design

2023-11-27

2023-11-27

Not Applicable

R4,277,257.82

R37,527.79

21

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Gariep Dam Resort, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-14

2023-12-31

The contractor is behind schedule. Penalties to be charged in accordance with contract.

R4,999,748.71

R2,182,007.88

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

22

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Maria Moroka Resort in Thaba Nchu, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-15

2023-12-31

The contractor is behind schedule. Penalties to be charged in accordance with contract.

R4,999,748.71

R894,648.15

23

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Phillip Saunders Resort in Bloemfontein, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-08-15

2023-12-31

Additional scope of work requested by the end user Client and extension of time under review to determine the completion date.

R4,999,748.71

R2,637,239.48

24

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-08-14

2023-12-31

The contractor is behind schedule. Penalty to be charged in accordance with contract.

R4,999,748.71

R2,967,908.65

25

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Manyeleti Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R2,922,378.71

26

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Andover Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,476,227.74

27

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Songimvelo Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,801,835.77

28

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

SS Skosana Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,089,137.42

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status (c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

22

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Maria Moroka Resort in Thaba Nchu, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-15

2023-12-31

The contractor is behind schedule. Penalties to be charged in accordance with contract.

R4,999,748.71

R894,648.15

23

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Phillip Saunders Resort in Bloemfontein, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-08-15

2023-12-31

Additional scope of work requested by the end user Client and extension of time under review to determine the completion date.

R4,999,748.71

R2,637,239.48

24

FS

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, Free State

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-08-14

2023-12-31

The contractor is behind schedule. Penalty to be charged in accordance with contract.

R4,999,748.71

R2,967,908.65

25

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Manyeleti Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R2,922,378.71

26

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Andover Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,476,227.74

27

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Songimvelo Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,801,835.77

28

MP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

SS Skosana Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

2023-06-08

Not Applicable

R3,736,433.94

R3,089,137.42

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date ( e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

29

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Thomas Baines Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-08-08

2023-09-14

Certain areas on site were put on hold due to environmental concerns which did not form part of the scope. Practical completion has been achieved.

R4,285,162.35

R3,415,779.54

30

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Hluleka Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Concept To be Approved

Planning and Design

2023-12-27

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R4,185,939.39

R83,973.60

31

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Double Mouth Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-06

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,528,146.03

R2,859,541.75

32

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Oviston Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-25

2023-09-01

Project was affected by the hunting season as the contractor had limited access to site, hence the delay in completion against the baseline PC date. The project has achieved practical completion.

R3,504,584.39

R2,622,218.39

33

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-07-25

2023-10-31

Change in the design of the kitchen building and location allocated by the end user.

R3,528,146.03

R2,182,741.34

34

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Cwebe and Dwesa, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-12-01

2023-12-01

Delays in granting contractor access to all facilities on site due to a movie recording or filming.

R4,263,982.64

R888,768.16

35

EC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Mpofu and Fordyce Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-12-02

2023-12-02

Delay on works as some facilities had to be put on hold to accommodate the hunting season which generates revenue for the reserve.

R4,263,982.64

R1,502,586.19

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date ( e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

36

NC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Doornkloof Nature Reserve, Northern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-11-23

2023-11-23

Not Applicable

R5,254,310.06

R1,235,877.71

37

NC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Rolfontein Nature Reserve, Northern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-11-23

2023-11-23

Not Applicable

R5,254,310.06

R1,686,739.19

38

NC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Goegap and Witsand Nature Reserve, Northern Cape

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-11-23

2023-11-23

Not Applicable

R5,254,310.06

R3,410,098.70

39

LP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Makapans Valley WHS, Limpopo

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,145,623.58

R2,997,834.07

40

LP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Nwanedi Nature Reserve, Limpopo

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,145,623.58

R2,558,202.70

41

LP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Blouberg Nature Reserve, Limpopo

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,145,623.58

R2,465,052.22

42

LP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Musina Nature Reserve, Limpopo

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,145,623.58

R2,777,971.87

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

43

LP

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Modjadji Nature Reserve, Limpopo

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-16

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,145,623.58

R2,430,597.23

44

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Kogelberg Nature Reserve, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R3,003,843.38

45

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Goukamma Nature Reserve, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R2,527,332.95

46

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Lookout Hill Khayelitsha, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R3,277,649.65

47

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

De Hoop Nature Reserve, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R2,026,649.36

48

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Wolwekloof Nature Reserve, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R3,072,463.11

49

WC

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Cederberg Wilderness Area, Western Cape

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-06-14

N/A

Not Applicable

R3,634,316.46

R1,946,132.58

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

50

NW

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Mafikeng Hotel School

2022-04-04

Concept NDT

Planning and Design

2024-09-12

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

   

51

NW

Maintenance & Beautification of Provincial State-Owned Attractions.

Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, North West

2022-04-04

PSP Appointment

Pre-Initiation

2024-06-11

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

   

52

NC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

NC Platfontein Lodge

2020-12-07

Concept

Planning and Design

2023-12-27

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R36,944,350.33

R464,114.63

53

NW

Further detailed planning & construction

NW Lotlamoreng Dam

2020-12-07

Tender / Retender

Procurement - Contractor

2024-02-11

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R21,680,806.49

R392,300.67

54

NW

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

NW Manyane Lodge

2020-12-07

Evaluation

Procurement - Evaluation

2023-11-02

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R25,788,890.01

R392,300.67

55

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

LP Matsila Lodge

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-12-14

2023-12-14

Contractor is running behind schedule due to cashflow constraints on purchasing the high value items. DBSA has approved a loan facility and is assisting the contractor with purchasing of the material.

R43,036,821.09

R9,940,053.98

56

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

LP Phiphidi Waterfall

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-03-16

2024-03-16

Not Applicable

R24,984,745.91

R1,258,843.25

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

57

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

LP Oaks

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-02-07

2024-02-07

Not Applicable

R30,540,765.25

R6,582,104.00

58

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

LP Ngove

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-05-19

2024-05-19

Not Applicable

R35,488,790.91

R1,951,886.39

59

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

LP Tisane

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-12-24

2023-12-24

The Contractor had cashflow constraints that affected purchasing of material. The DBSA has approved a loan facility and the material has already been provided to the contractor.

R32,500,362.51

R10,759,639.31

60

LP

Further detailed planning & construction

LP Vhatsonga

2020-12-07

Evaluation

Procurement - Evaluation

2024-04-11

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R34,509,658.61

R1,164,067.68

61

FS

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

FS QwaQwa Guesthouse

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-09-18

2023-10-30

The design of the sewer had to be changed by engineers.

R24,619,623.73

R20,195,710.68

62

FS

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

FS Infrastructure through Monontsha

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-09-18

N/A

Not Applicable

R7,852,914.40

R5,605,553.72

63

FS

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

FS Vredefort Dome

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-10-17

2024/25FY

Contract Terminated due to poor performance of the contractor

R28,163,338.17

R7,165,192.19

No

Province

Work Package

Project Name (a)

Date IPW signed off by NDT to DBSA (b)

Status ( c)

Current Status (Planning & Design stage 1-3, Procurement (stage 4),Construction Stage 5, Close Out (stage 6-7)

Baseline Targeted Practical Completion & Occupation Date (d)

Actual & revised Practical Completion & Occupation date (e)

Comments on Delays & targets not being met (pls be precise to the point) (f)

Total Budget (PSP, Construction, DBSA Fees) (g)

Actual Total Expenditure as at End August 2023 (h)

64

NC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

NC Kamiesberg Tourism Development

2020-12-07

Design Development

Planning and Design

2024-04-15

2024/25FY

Not Applicable

R19,816,186.00

R1,016,253.44

65

EC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

EC Maluti Hiking and Horse Trail

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-07

N/A

Not Applicable

R21,953,838.99

R21,099,619.33

66

EC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

EC Mthonsi Lodge

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2023-11-14

2023-11-30

Delay due to inclement weather. EOT approved

R7,563,919.96

R20,649,930.73

67

EC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

EC Qatywa Eco Tourism Development

2020-12-07

Construction

Construction

2024-01-16

2024-03-12

Delay due to inclement weather. EOT approved

R39,654,075.62

R18,654,465.84

68

EC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

EC Chalets at Nyandeni Great Place

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-08-15

N/A

Penalties charged to contractor for late completion

R22,996,656.27

R20,600,239.42

69

EC

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

EC Western Thembuland

2020-12-07

Practical Completion

Practical Completion Achieved

2023-07-07

N/A

Not Applicable

R28,333,432.75

R26,545,363.06

70

LP

Construction Planning, Procurement & Implementation

Royal Khalanga Lodge

2021-09-13

Construction

Construction

2024-03-25

2024-03-25

Not Applicable

R17,772,742.44

R2,409,864.34

04 October 2023 - NW2956

Profile picture: Arries, Ms LH

Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development

In light of the gold cards of the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) which are due to expire on 31 December 2023, what (a) total number of beneficiaries have (i) renewed and (ii) not yet renewed their SASSA cards and (b) measures have been put in place to ensure that all cards are renewed before the expiry date?

Reply:

a) The Postbank currently provides banking accounts and cards to approximately 5.3 million SASSA beneficiaries. All the cards that are affected by the December deadline will be replaced as part of the Card Replacement Project Plan. The number of beneficiaries fluctuates on a daily basis as many beneficiaries have opted to migrate to other banks.

i) and (ii) Postbank has not provided details at the time of responding to this question.

b) Postbank has a phased-in Card Replacement Project Plan as follows:

  • Phase 1: will focuses on SASSA regions with the largest number of beneficiaries (KZN, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga), which account for 76% of the SASSA customer base.
  • Phase 2: will focus on SASSA regions with the least number of beneficiaries (Western Cape, North West, Free State and Northern Cape), which account for 24% of the SASSA customer base
  • As a contingency measure, Postbank is engaging with VISA and the South African Reserve Bank to extend the validity of cards as a contingency in the event cards cannot be distributed to all customers within the said deadline.

04 October 2023 - NW2978

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Shaik Emam, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Social Development

What measures has her department put in place to work together with the Department of Basic Education and other role players to place safety ambassadors at schools to identify learners from dysfunctional backgrounds and refer them to a system in which social workers and psychologists work together to create a better and healthier society?

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education leads the implementation of Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) working in collaboration with other relevant government departments, including DSD. This is an integrated programme with a number of interventions aimed at prevention and early intervention services for vulnerable children.

RISIHA, a community-based prevention programme works closely with local schools and assist in early identification of children in need of care and support services and complements other government interventions such as Safety Ambassadors at schools.

04 October 2023 - NW3032

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Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Social Development

(1)With regard to the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) payment glitch which affected SASSA beneficiaries over the period 5 to 8 September 2023, what (a) total number of beneficiaries were adversely affected in each (i) province and (ii) grant category, (b) were the root causes of the payment glitch, (c) was the cause of the payment glitch, (d) are the relevant details of any fraudulent activity that was detected during the specified period, (e) are the consequences of the SA Postbank being in breach of their service-level agreement given its inability to reliably pay grants and (f) progress has been made, together with financial institutions, in processing the payment of grants to beneficiaries through their bank accounts which have proven to be far more reliable rather than the SASSA gold card; (2) whether her department intends to work with retail stores to develop a training programme for retail staff to equip them to assist SASSA beneficiaries; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether SASSA have access to a bulk SMS system in order to communicate with the beneficiaries when payment glitches arise; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1.(a) The system glitch, which resulted in payment delays affected approximately six hundred thousand (3%) of social grants beneficiaries who access their monies through the Postbank.

(i) The system glitch affected Postbank clients randomly across all the provinces. At the time of responding to this question, Postbank was conducting a proper analysis of province-specific data.

(ii) The system glitch occurred predominantly on the first day of September payment cycle, which is the pay day for the payment of Old Age Grant.

(b) and (c) The glitch within the Postbank banking system was caused by the concentrated load capacity challenge resulting in intermittent timeouts, further complicated by a failure in the auto reversal process.

(d) Postbank reported there were various attempts to defraud the system. At the time of responding to this question, we did not receive any detailed information on this matter.

(e)Matters related to penalties, if any, are covered in the Service Level Agreement between SASSA and Postbank and will be discussed at the appropriate time.

(f) As I have mentioned on many occasions, SASSA clients have the right to choose any bank into which their money will be paid, including Postbank. All clients’ requests to change bank account details are initiated by the client and processed as quickly as possible. SASSA has put in place additional resources to accommodate the increased demand for alternative banks.

(2) neither SASSA nor the Department has any direct dealings with retailers. Retailers are places where clients purchase goods and/ or exchange funds. SASSA continues to conduct beneficiary education that they do not have to withdraw their money as they can use their cards to transact like any other ordinary bank card.

(3) Yes, SASSA uses this platform to communicate directly with beneficiaries on matters related to the administration of grants. However, with regard to the system glitch SASSA could not use this platform as it does not have access to beneficiary bank accounts.

04 October 2023 - NW3033

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Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Social Development

With reference to the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) gold card which has been extended and is expected to expire in December 2023, (a) what total number of cards are expected to expire in December 2023 in each (i) province and (ii) grant category, (b) on what date will SASSA and/or the SA Postbank commence with the renewal process of the cards, (c) on what date will SASSA communicate with beneficiaries on the status of the card renewal process, (d) what is the name of the service provider which has been awarded the contract for the design and roll-out of the new cards and (e) what is the total cost of the design and roll-out of the new cards?

Reply:

a) There are approximately 5.3 million cards due for replacement by 31 December 2023.

(i) The regional breakdown is as per table below:

PROVINCE

Beneficiary Volume

 
     

KWAZULU NATAL

1 120 702

 

GAUTENG

975 063

 

EASTERN CAPE

745 994

 

LIMPOPO

717 656

 

MPUMALANGA

490 188

 

WESTERN CAPE

484 131

 

NORTH WEST

331 618

 

FREE STATE

323 604

 

NORTHERN CAPE

110 542

 

GRAND TOTAL

5 299 499

 

(ii) The table below illustrates the grant type affected by the December deadline:

PROVINCE

Care Dependency Grant (CDG)

Child Support Grant (CSG)

Foster Child Grant

Combination of

CDG & FCG

Disability Grant

Old Age Grant

War Veteran Grant

Grand Total

KWAZULU NATAL

11 634

712 022

8 945

204

72 710

265 839

1

1 071 355

GAUTENG

9 331

648 802

10 966

210

41 916

315 252

2

1 026 479

EASTERN CAPE

7 677

488 694

16 082

378

58 151

226 837

 

797 819

LIMPOPO

5 339

427 652

10 068

143

34 113

222 683

 

699 998

MPUMALANGA

5 057

338 979

6 671

125

34 974

138 790

 

524 596

WESTERN CAPE

5 682

311 996

5 695

187

36 214

148 245

2

508 021

NORTH WEST

2 482

189 266

4 662

89

17 181

101 027

1

314 708

FREE STATE

3 463

211 542

5 522

160

26 261

94 629

 

341 577

NORTHERN CAPE

1 311

65 481

1 610

80

9 794

30 022

1

108 299

Grand Total

51 976

3 394 434

70 221

1 576

331 314

1 543 324

7

5 392 852

b) Work is currently underway to meet the December deadline and Postbank will make necessary information available to the public.

c) Refer to (b) above.

d) I cannot pre-empt the outcome of a procurement process of the Postbank. This is an administrative process that does not involve the Executive Athority.

e) Refer to (d) above.

04 October 2023 - NW3129

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Mafanya, Mr WTI to ask the Minister of Finance

Noting that in its ruling the Constitutional Court stated that section 2 of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, Act 5 of 2000, (PPPFA) allows organs of state to formulate their own regulations and further clarified that the power of the Minister to make regulations does not override section 2, what are the reasons that he has not liberated the stateowned companies to make their own regulations instead of forcing them to comply with the PPPFA regulations of 2022?

Reply:

Section 5 of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act No. 5 of 2000 – “the Act”) states that the Minister may make regulations regarding any matter that may be necessary or expedient to prescribe in order to achieve the objects of this Act. The judgement of the Constitutional court was that the impugned regulations 3,4 and 9 of the 2017 Regulations amounted to determining preferential procurement policy which was the responsibility of the organ of state in terms of Section 2(1) of the Act. The Minister made the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022 in line with the Constitutional Court judgement to prescribe what is necessary or expedient in order to achieve the objects of the Act.

It is important to note that the Constitutional Court did not rule that State-Owned Companies can make their own regulations as that would be going against what the Act provides, but it did rule that each organ of state is empowered to determine its own preferential procurement policy (in terms of section 2(1) of the Act) and that these policies must still comply with the Act, which includes the 2022 Regulations.

04 October 2023 - NW3108

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Hlengwa, Mr M to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises (1) What are the cost implications for the Government regarding the new State Asset Management Company as proposed in the National State Enterprises Bill that was recently opened for public comment, considering that some stateowned companies (SOCs) would allegedly be included, with others shut down

(1) What are the cost implications for the Government regarding the new State Asset Management Company as proposed in the National State Enterprises Bill that was recently opened for public comment, considering that some state owned companies (SOCs) would allegedly be included, with others shut down. (2) Whether any costing was done regarding (a) setting up the new company and (b) winding down the SOCs that are not included; if not, why not in each case; if so, what are the detailed costs in each case?

Reply:

1. The financial obligation with respect to the development of the National State Enterprises Bill is borne by the Department of Public Enterprises. For 2023/24, budget has been allocated and ring-fenced for the necessary external project support and expertise under the Departmental funds for the processing of the Bill. Working capital of the Holding Company will need to be secured, and consultation with the National Treasury is on-going in this regard.

2. (a) Preliminary costing of the HoldCo has been done on the basis that it shall become self-sustainable in the short term. The Holding Company will derive dividends from its subsidiary companies and it is envisaged that this income stream will be sufficient to cover its operational costs.

(b) The closure, merger or restructuring (some which is already happening, e.g. in Small Business Portfolio) will be considered by government on the basis of recommendations of the PSEC.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2908

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Abraham, Ms PN to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether he intends to continue financing and expanding public employment programmes such as the Expanded Public Works Programme and the 2021-22 Presidential Employment Stimulus programme over the medium-term expenditure framework; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Considerations for continued financing and expanding of public employment programmes such as the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Presidential Employment Stimulus programme are part of such the budget process, and the outcome of this process will be announced in the 2023 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.  

04 October 2023 - NW2839

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Smalle, Mr JF to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)What (a) are the reasons that the National Treasury stopped the R2.7 billion transfers of conditional grants for the current financial year and (b) is the breakdown of the types of grants that were (i) affected and (ii) effected; (2) what criteria were used to determine which municipalities were negatively affected by the specified grants; (3) whether the affected municipalities will be considered for the next financial year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) what is the relevant detailed report of the affected municipalities?

Reply:

(a) National Treasury initiated the process of stopping and re-allocation at the end of the second quarter of the 2022/23 municipal financial year, 31 December 2022 and conducted an analysis of the conditional grants performance.

The reasons that informed National Treasury to stop R2.7 billion transfers of conditional grants are:

  • Anticipation that a municipality shall substantially underspend the allocation or any programme; and
  • Serious or persistence material breach of the Division of Revenue Act.

This decision was considered to safeguard the allocations against possible misuse of the funds and prevent funds from being utilised for operational activities.

1. (b) (i) The grants that were affected are:

Capital grants:

  • Water Services Infrastructure Grant 5B;
  • Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant 5B;
  • Public Transport Networks Grant (PTNG);
  • Urban Settlements Development Gran
  • Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant;
  • Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant 5B
  • Integrated National Electrification Programme 5B;
  • Municipal Infrastructure Grant; and
  • Integrated Urban Development Grant.

Capacity Grants:

  • Rural Roads Asset Management System; and
  • Energy Efficiency and Demand-Side Management Grant.
  1. (b) (i) The effect of the stopped funds are:
  • The affected municipalities would not be able to implement their full budgeted plan against their programmes;
  • Municipalities have to reprioritise the remaining funds against committed and shovel ready projects;
  • National Treasury has an opportunity to reallocate the stopped funds (The entire R2.7 billion was reallocated to fast spending programmes between best performing municipalities) to other fast-moving projects in other municipalities; and
  • Persistent non-compliance to the Act and anticipated underspending implies that transferred funds may lead to fiscal dumping and possible conditional grants misuse

2. National Treasury used the second quarter reports (Section 71 of MFMA) for the period ending 31 December 2022 and the monthly DoRA reports (Section 10 of 2022 DoRA) received from the transferring officers as a benchmark to decide on municipalities that are underperforming against their allocations.

A benchmark between 40 and 45 per cent against the total allocation was used in determining the list of the proposed municipalities which were considered for stopping after six months into the financial year.

3. The stopping process in terms of Section 18 of DoRA is purely performance based. This section stipulates that National Treasury may in its discretion or at the request of a transferring officer stop the transfer of schedules 4, 5 or 6 allocation if it is anticipated that a municipality shall substantially underspend on the conditional grants that are partially or fully funded by the allocation in the respective financial year.

National Treasury invokes the stopping and reallocation section in the DoRA on an annual basis as part of the monitoring work on the performance of municipalities. When this opportunity arises, municipalities that have improved on their performance and have lost their fund previously are given preference on the reallocation of the allocation in terms of section 19 of DoRA.

4. The National Treasury used the second quarter reports (Section 71 of MFMA) for the period ending 31 December 2022 (mid-year) and the monthly DoRA reports (Section 10 of 2022 DoRA) as submitted by Transferring Officers (national departments administering conditional grants). These reports were used to determine, which municipalities were underspending against their conditional grants and earmarked for stopping of a portion of their conditional grants, i.e., municipalities that had expenditure of less than 40 per cent (for municipalities with allocations of less than R100 million) and 45 per cent (for municipalities with allocations of more than R100 million) of their allocations as at mid-year of the 2022/23 municipal financial year.

04 October 2023 - NW2609

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Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

(a) As at the latest specified date, to which institutions did the National Student Financial Aid Scheme deploy teams in order to assist students to verify themselves so that they may receive funds that were placed on hold because of incomplete verification, (b)(i) on what date and (ii) for how long are the specified teams on campuses to assist students and (c) what number of students have been assisted as at the latest specified date in resolving their issue?

Reply:

TVET COLLEGES

a) The direct payment process was introduced at TVET colleges in the last quarter of 2022, with the first payment made in November 2022, although engagements had started in September 2022. The 2023 academic year saw a continuation of this allowance payment method across all 50 TVET colleges.

To fully support the students with this new direct payments process, during the January / February student registration period, the TVET institutional support team, through the NSFAS Servicing Administrators, conducted working visits at their assigned institutions. During this period, the NSFAS team spent a month deployed in the regions, from 16 January 2023 to 17 February 2023. After this period, there has been instances where some colleges have been visited on an ad hoc basis dependent on what issues the college was facing.

b) (i) Most recently the NSFAS Team was deployed to TVET colleges for the purposes of assisting with challenges, including direct payments, from Monday 18 September 2023 to Friday 22 September 2023.

(ii) The teams were at the colleges for a period of a week.

c) Number of students who ultimately successfully completed KYC as a result of this week cannot be specified, as the KYC process takes place on the direct payment partner platform.

UNIVERSITIES

a) Preparing for the direct payments made for July 2023 allowances, NSFAS initiated a comprehensive process. Initially, NSFAS working with the direct Payment partner began by actively collaborating with institutions and the Student Representative Council (SRC) to define the procedural steps and address any queries or concerns they might have had. Subsequently, during the Month of July and August 2023 NSFAS dispatched resources to these institutions, providing valuable assistance during the onboarding process and offering timely responses to any inquiries that arose.

b) I) Continuing in its commitment to streamline the payment process, NSFAS, in conjunction with its direct payment partners, maintains ongoing engagement with institution management and the SRCs. This proactive approach ensures that any identified issues are promptly addressed. Whenever necessary for NSFAS to visit institution, additional resources are deployed to work closely with institutions, in ensuring that all outstanding matters are effectively resolved by NSFAS and the direct payment partners.

ii) It is not possible to specify the exact number of students who successfully completed the Know Your Customer (KYC) process this week, as the KYC procedure occurs on the direct payment partner's platform.

04 October 2023 - NW3116

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Marais, Ms P to ask the Minister of Social Development

What (a) time frames have been put in place to clear the delays experienced regarding the SA Social Security Agency grant payouts and (b) assistance has been provided to beneficiaries to compensate for the delays?

Reply:

a) The matter is currently receiving attention from myself and the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies to ensure there is no recurrence. To date, all failed transactions have been corrected.

b) The matter related to compensation, if any, will be discussed as part of the Service Level Agreement between SASSA and Postbank. I therefore, do not want to pre-empt the outcome of this process at this stage.

 

04 October 2023 - NW2848

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Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Social Development

(1)Whether the shortage of client-facing staff and resources is the true reason for not reintroducing the service of bringing the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) services to communities via community halls (details furnished); if not, what are the reasons that the SASSA no longer offers the specified service; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) by what date will (a) SASSA fill the many client-facing level vacancies at local offices, (b) communities expect the reintroduction of the services within the nine provinces and (c) SASSA (i) communicate and (ii) advertise a rotational roster including dates, times and venues for the service to communities?

Reply:

1. SASSA suspended outreach programmes during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the national state of disaster regulations. Subsequent to the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions in 2021, SASSA gradually commenced with restoring all direct client services. To date, the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme (ICROP) is being implemented by local offices in all nine provinces.

2. Refer to Annexure A

(a) The government wide cuts to the Compensation of Employees (COE) budgets across Government has adversely the filing positions within SASSA. SASSA continues to prioritise the filling of funded posts, with specific focus on front- line staff (based at local offices) with the limited resources allocated each financial year. SASSA is also looking at innovative ways (including digitisation of certain functions) to reduce the demand for direct interaction with clients. In addition to this, it is important for the Honourable to note:

  • Currently there are 7 433 posts filled. Of this number, 4 994 (67%) of the are based at local office layer, which forms part of the front-line staff;
  • Filling of some of the posts has been put on hold due to the Business Process Re-Engineering currently underway. This might result in the adoption of a new organisational structure in line with the strategic plan.
  • The National Treasury’s Cost Containment Circular directs all departments and agencies, SASSA included, to absorb the wage bills from their respective allocation of the Compensation of Employees budget.

(b) Refer to (a) and (b) above.

(c) Refer to 1 above. The implementation of ICROP is ongoing and SASSA utilises local media, including community radio stations and tribal councils to inform local communities.

  • Breakdown of the filling of posts within the Local Offices in each SASSA Regional Office:

REGION

2020/2021 FY

2021/2022 FY

2022/2023 FY

2023/2024 FY

 

 

FILLED LOCAL OFFICE POSTS

APPROVED FUNDED VACANCIES - LOCAL OFFICE

TERMINATIONS

FILLED LOCAL OFFICE POSTS

APPROVED FUNDED VACANCIES - LOCAL OFFICE

TERMINATIONS

FILLED LOCAL OFFICE POSTS

APPROVED FUNDED VACANCIES - LOCAL OFFICE

TERMINATIONS

FILLED LOCAL OFFICE POSTS

APPROVED FUNDED VACANCIES - LOCAL OFFICE

RECOMMEDED (STILL TO BE APPROVED)

TERMINATIONS

EC

875

14

47

885

12

32

885

5

35

867

3

11

12

FS

336

4

10

306

10

15

311

2

10

302

2

6

4

GP

644

13

16

624

5

19

611

4

18

603

3

8

7

KZN

1148

22

52

1112

45

26

1102

4

25

1095

3

17

8

LP

629

16

29

604

12

21

581

5

24

575

4

13

4

MP

343

6

9

350

14

4

343

6

8

340

4

6

4

NW

464

14

12

453

4

10

437

1

25

434

3

7

2

NC

281

7

7

280

14

11

273

10

12

271

4

3

2

WC

569

16

24

535

10

11

518

9

18

507

7

3

11

Grand Total

5289

112

206

5149

126

149

5061

46

175

4994

33

74

54

(b) All services have been restored post COVID.

(c) The schedule for community outreaches are planned with key local stakeholders through the various local stakeholder forums; who also assists with informing the communities on the planned activities. SASSA also conducts “loud hailing” before the outreach.

04 October 2023 - NW2836

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Cachalia, Mr G K to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

(a)What steps will he take through the Business Enhancement and Industrialisation Programme to ensure that the virtual wheeling system can be implemented nationally and (b) how will finances be arranged to implement the smart-meter and cloud system required for the project?

Reply:

Wheeling refers to a regime where private generators are allowed to sell directly to eligible customers by signing a use of system agreement with the transmission and distribution network owners. For eligible customers connected to the Eskom network, the process for entering into a wheeling agreement requires an amendment to the customer’s existing supply agreement with Eskom, which will allow the customer’s electricity bill to be adjusted (to be credited) to take account of wheeled energy. This type of wheeling requires an amendment to the customer’s existing supply agreement is called traditional wheeling, and it is limited to connections on the high voltage and medium voltage networks.

Virtual wheeling, however, eliminates the need for amendments to supply agreements and expands wheeling to customers connected at low voltage networks. This enables entities like banks, hotels, corporate offices, and retailers to wheel energy from private generators.

Virtual wheeling is designed to work alongside traditional wheeling arrangements, not replace them. Additionally, Eskom will contract the buyer of energy directly, without the need to contract with off-takers (load customers), including municipalities. As a result, there will be no impact on municipal revenue, and this distinguishes virtual wheeling from the traditional wheeling approach.

Currently, the project will be executed on a pilot basis between Eskom and Vodacom to enable Eskom to test the systems and resource capabilities before the official country wide roll-out.

The smart meters and cables that will be required by buyers and offtakes of electricity are already supported by a local market.

(b)

There is no requirement for municipalities to invest in large-scale systems and cloud servers. Eskom will invest in a digital tool known as a virtual wheeling platform to facilitate the virtual wheeling and this will integrate with buyer platforms. This wheeling platform is required to support the aggregation, processing and provision of generation and consumption data to calculate the wheeled energy refund.

Virtual wheeling requires the measurement and reporting of energy generated and consumed on a time-of-use basis and this is allocated by buyers of electricity to their off-takers. All off- takers will need to be equipped with the necessary meters capable of supporting these functions. The investment will need to be made by the buyers and/or off-takers (load customers) and not municipalities.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2869

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Manyi, Mr M to ask the Minister of Finance

What are the full details of the (a) total amount of the public debt of the Republic and (b) debt of (i) state-owned companies and (ii) municipalities that have been underwritten by the national fiscus as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product?

Reply:

(a) Gross debt of the national government is disclosed in Table 7.7 of the 2023 Budget Review. It is estimated to reach R5.06 trillion or 72.2 per cent of GDP by the end of the 2023/24 Financial Year.

(b) (i) Government guarantee exposure to state-owned companies is disclosed on Table 7.10 on page 91 of the 2023 Budget Review, and these are explicitly underwritten. Other contingent liabilities are included with the provisions in Table 7.11 on page 92 of the 2023 Budget Review.

(ii) There is no debt (borrowing) or loans taken up by municipalities that have been underwritten by the national fiscus.  Chapter 6 of the MFMA sets the legal framework that enables municipalities to take their own decisions regarding borrowing. Specifically, sections 50 and 51 of the MFMA deal with municipal guarantees and national and provincial guarantees.

This decision-making process for Municipal Councils were empowered by the Amendment to the Constitution of the Republic, in section 230A.  Therefore, Municipalities borrow on the strength of their own financial standing and status.

04 October 2023 - NW2922

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George, Dr DT to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether, with regard to the cost-of-living crisis that is currently exhibited most notably by the upward spiralling high food prices that are squeezing the average South African household, he intends to reconsider the position he outlined during questions for oral reply on 21 September 2022 in respect of the proposal by a certain political party (details furnished) to expand the zero-VAT rated basket of food items as a direct intervention; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) with regard to the announcement made by the Minister in The Presidency, Ms K P S Ntshavheni, that the Economic Cluster has been instructed by the President to develop a food security plan of action, what action is being taken by the National Treasury to relieve food insecurity of households in the Republic?

Reply:

  1. The position of the Minster has not changed since the last oral reply. As indicated then, zero-rating of specific foodstuffs provides a larger proportional benefit to the poor (i.e. progressivity is enhanced). Overall, goods have a progressive impact and a strong equity-gain ratio – poor people consume a relatively high share of zero-rated items. Nevertheless, the analysis of the independent panel in 2018 indicated that extending zero-rating to further food items would be inefficient, since high-income households tend to benefit more from such measures.
  2. We acknowledge the importance of the agricultural sector in tackling the issue of food insecurity which can both be addressed by increasing availability of food and affordability of food. National Treasury provides fiscal support to departments to support the agricultural sector. The fiscal support for agricultural sector is determined through the budget allocations to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, as articulated in the Estimate of National Expenditure (ENE) -Vote 29 and to provinces though the Division Revenue Act, and this information is available in various provincial budgets.
  3. Consolidated spending allocations for agriculture and rural development, as presented in the 2023 Budget, are R27.8 billion in 2023/24, R28.6 billion in 2024/25 and R29.9 billion in 2025/26.

04 October 2023 - NW2838

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Cuthbert, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

What (a) number of students who are funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme fall into the (i) R0 - 180 000, (ii) R180 001 - R350 000 and (iii) R350 001 - R600 0000 income bands and (b) proportion of funds are cumulatively allocated to each of the specified bands?

Reply:

NSFAS currently does not categorize as specified above. Financial assessment is based on household income (threshold) of R350 000 for non-disability and 600 000 for disability applicants.

04 October 2023 - NW2879

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Herron, Mr BN to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether, considering that in terms of the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act, Act 12 of 2007, a municipal base tariff includes a reasonable rate of return if authorised by a regulator and/or the Minister responsible for the municipal service, and whereas the National Energy Regulator of South Africa is the regulator for electricity services and that the annual approval of electricity tariffs levied by municipalities includes the reasonable rate of return or surplus margin, the City of Cape Town also charges a municipal surcharge on top of its electricity tariffs called a contribution to rates or an unregulated charge, he has prescribed compulsory norms and standards for municipal surcharges on electricity services as provided for in section 8 of the specified Act; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) on what date(s) were the norms and standards prescribed and (b) will he furnish Mr B N Herron with a copy of the norms and standards; (2) whether he has found that the City of Cape Town complied with the norms and standards as required by section 9(1)(a) of the Act; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether the City of Cape Town, on its own and/or as part of a group of municipalities and/or organised local government, applied for and was granted an exemption from compliance with the norms and standards as provided for in terms of section 9(1)(b) of the Act; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, (a) on what date did he gazette the exemption and (b) will he furnish Mr B N Herron with a copy of the notice in the Gazette; (4) whether he promulgated any regulations in terms of the Act, which provide for the municipal surcharge on electricity services currently levied by the City of Cape Town; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (5) (a) in terms of which provisions of the Act and/or any other applicable law is the City of Cape Town authorised to charge a municipal surcharge on electricity services and (b) what are the consequences to the City of Cape Town for charging a levy on a municipal surcharge on electricity services without being authorised by himself and/or the Act

Reply:

(1) Section 8(1) of the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act (MFPFA) stipulates that the Minister of Finance may prescribe compulsory norms and standards for imposing municipal surcharges. To date, the Minister of Finance have not prescribed any compulsory norms and standards for regulating the imposition of municipal surcharges. However, the absence of the norms and standards does not restrict a municipality from imposing surcharges in their tariffs given that this is a power given to municipalities in terms of section 229 of the Constitution and the Municipal Systems Act (MSA). Furthermore, if a municipality decides to levy a surcharge, approval is done by the municipal council in terms of a tariff policy, pursuant to section 75 of the MSA and will also be subject to section 8 of the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act (MFPFA), as soon as norms and standards for municipal surcharges are prescribed by the Minister of Finance. The National Treasury is currently reviewing the possibility of introducing compulsory norms and standards in terms of section 8 of the MFPFA and has appointed a service provider to assist with the development of compulsory national norms and standards for regulating municipal surcharges on electricity.

  1. Not applicable.
  2. Not applicable.

(2) It is not yet necessary for the City of Cape Town (or any other municipality) to comply with section 9(1) of the MFPFA given that the norms and standards referred to in section 8 of the Act is yet to be prescribed by the Minister of Finance. As soon as these norms and standards are prescribed, all municipalities levying surcharges on municipal services will however be required to comply with this provision.

(3) See response in (2).

  1. Not applicable.
  2. Not applicable.

4. See response in (1).

(5)(a) Various pieces of legislation regulate the levying of municipal surcharges:

The Constitution

Section 229 of the Constitution indicates that a municipality may impose—

(1) subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), a municipality may impose

(a) rates on property and surcharges on fees for services provided by or on behalf of the municipality

(2) The power of a municipality to impose rates on property, surcharges on fees for services provided by or on behalf of the municipality, or other taxes, levies or duties—

(b) may be regulated by national legislation.

The Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act (MFPFA)

Section 8 of the MFPFA gives power to the Minister of Finance to prescribe compulsory national norms and standards for imposing “municipal surcharges”. Furthermore, when levying surcharges, municipalities are required in terms of section 9(1)(a) of the MFPFA to comply with any norms and standards contemplated in section 8 of the MFPFA.

The Municipal Systems Act (MSA)

Section 4(1)(c)(ii) of the MSA indicates that the council of a municipality has the right to finance the affairs of the municipality by imposing surcharges on fees, rates on property and, to the extent authorised by national legislation, other taxes, levies and duties. In section 74(2)(f), the Act provides that a municipal tariff policy must reflect at least the following principles: “(f) provision may be made in appropriate circumstances for a surcharge on the tariff for a service”. In terms of section 94(1), the Minister responsible for Local Government may regulate the following matters: “(d) criteria to be taken into account by municipalities when imposing surcharges on tariffs for services and determining the duration thereof;”.

(b) Once norms and standards for municipal surcharges are prescribed for a specific municipal service as per section 8 of the MFPFA, any municipality that does not adhere to such norms and standards (e.g. exceeds prescribed levels) will be in non-compliance with the Act, except if the Minister of Finance has given approval to such municipality in terms of section 9(1)(b) to be exempted from complying to any of the norms and standards as contemplated in section 8 of the Act.

04 October 2023 - NW2752

Profile picture: Faber, Mr WF

Faber, Mr WF to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

What total amount did (i) his department and (ii) each entity reporting to him pay for printed copies of the integrated annual reports (aa) 2020-21, (bb) 2021-22 and (cc) 2022-23 financial years, (b) who were the suppliers in each case and (c) what total number of copies of the report were printed (i) in each case and (ii) in each specified financial year?

Reply:

Department of Public Enterprises

(a)

(i) (aa) The cost for Annual Report 2020-21 F/Y was R62 504.80. This amount was for design, layout, editing, proofreading and printing of 100 copies as well as 2 USB format.

(b) Fineart Printers

(c) 100 printed copies

(bb) The cost for Annual Report 2021-22 F/Y was R 69 080.00. This amount was for design, layout, editing, proofreading and printing of 100 copies as well as 2 USB format.

(b) PulseMag

(c) 100 printed copies

(cc) The cost for Annual Report F/Y 2022-23 F/Y is an estimate at +R70 000. 00. As the number of pages and print run has not yet been finalized.

(b) Pulsemag

(c) 100 printed copies

According to Information Received from SOCs

ALEXKOR SOC LIMITED:

(a)(ii)(aa) 2021-22: The integrated report (IR) was printed in-house for AGM attendees only.

(bb) 2021-22: The external audit was delayed due to the decision to request the AGSA to opt-in. The audit opinion for this reporting period was presented to the Board on 31 August 2023 and the IR will be printed in-house for AGM attendees before the end of September 2023.

(cc) 2022-23: An extension was granted for the submission of the AFS and IR for external audit to 31 August 2023. The IR will be printed for AGM attendees upon completion of the external audit.

(b)(aa) 2020-21: Nexus Sustainability (Pty) Ltd provided editing services to Alexkor SOC for R81 909.00 which was not inclusive of printing.

(bb) 2021-22: The IR will be printed in-house.

(cc) 2022-23: The IR will be printed in-house.

(c)(aa) 2020-21: 10 copies were printed.

(bb) 2021-22: Not yet printed.

(cc) 2022-23: Not yet printed.

DENEL SOC LIMITED:

(a)

(ii) Kindly note that the finalisation of Denel SOC Ltd Annual Reports has been delayed due to liquidity constraints. No Integrated Annual Reports for the said financial periods have been finalised and printed yet.

(b) The supply chain process to appoint a service provider is still underway.

(c) No Integrated Annual Reports for the said financial periods have been finalised and printed yet.

ESKOM SOC LIMITED:

a) (ii) Eskom has incurred the following costs for printed copies of its annual reports for the financial years shown below:

 

Annual reports for the year ended

31 March 2021
Actual
(aa)

31 March 2022
Actual
(bb)

31 March 2023
Budgeted
(cc)

Integrated Report

R91 517.64

R96 554.61

R107 070.30

Annual Financial Statements

R73 892.94

R91 672.39

R78 602.40

Sustainability Report

R17 966.67

R19 142.44

R23 054.40

Total cost (excluding VAT)

R183 377.25

R207 369.44

R208 727.10

Note: In each case, the annual reports are printed and published in the subsequent financial year (i.e., annual reports for the year ended 31 March 2022 were printed and published in the 2023 financial year).

Eskom has not yet published its annual reports for the year ended 31 March 2023 and therefore has not incurred any related printing costs. The budgeted amount has been shown instead.

b) The supplier contracted for design, typesetting, proofreading, and printing of the annual reports for the years ended 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022 was HKLM Hlapa JV (Pty) Ltd. The printing services were subcontracted to Law Printing (Pty) Ltd (Lawprint).

The reports for the year ended 31 March 2023 will be produced by Ince (Pty) Ltd.

c) The total number of copies printed for the annual reports are as follows:

Annual reports for the year ended

31 March 2021
Actual

31 March 2022
Actual

31 March 2023
Budgeted

Integrated Report

205

205

200

Annual Financial Statements

210

210

200

Sustainability Report

55

55

50

Total number of copies

470

470

450

SAFCOL SOC LIMITED:

a) The total amount by entity

 

(aa) 2020-21

(bb) 2021-22

(cc) 2022-23

(i) N/A

     

(ii) SAFCOL

R46 806,88

R51 134,29

R54 713,69 (estimate)

The service provider was appointed for a period of three years; the total contract value is R1 457 775,82. The Financial year 2022-23 amount is an estimate because page numbers are not finalised nor has the print run been confirmed but it’s included based on last year's amount. The integrated report is being prepared for finalisation soon.

b) Suppliers per financial year

2020 -21

2021-2022

2022-23

SILVAPOD (PTY) LTD

SILVAPOD (PTY) LTD

SILVAPOD (PTY) LTD

c) Total number of copies of the report printed per financial year

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

200

200

200

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS SOC LIMITED

For the period 2020 to date, South African Airways (SAA) are still having its final statements audited, as such the airline did not print copies, nor procured the services of a printing company for the printing of its integrated annual reports.

TRANSNET SOC LIMITED

The table below indicates the amounts paid by Transnet for the printed copies of the integrated annual reports and the number of copies printed in each of the financial years under question.

Year

Service Provider

(b)

Number of copies

(c)

Amount

(a)

(i)and(ii)

(aa) 2020-21

Magnific

490

R225,693

(bb) 2021-22

Magna Carter Corporate Advisory Services

490

R295,693

(cc) 2022-23

Ince

260

R169,636

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2937

Profile picture: Alexander, Ms W

Alexander, Ms W to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether, in light of financial losses incurred by municipalities as a result of lower electricity sales due to the rolling blackouts, the National Treasury has taken any steps to assist struggling municipalities to adapt and recalibrate their budgets; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No 56 of 2003) and through various sections of the Act, provide guidelines to municipalities on how to treat impending revenue shortfalls. In addition, the National Treasury also provides regular Budget Circulars to guide municipalities to prepare annual budgets and address situations like loadshedding.

Section 70 of the MFMA, subsection 1. “the accounting officer of a municipality must report in writing to the municipal council – (a) any impending (i) shortfalls in budgeted revenue, and (ii) overspending of the municipality’s budget, and (b) any steps taken to prevent or rectify such shortfalls or overspending.

Section 28 of the same Act provides guidance on Municipal Adjustments Budgets – (1)(a) that “a municipality may revise an approved budget through an Adjustments Budget and (2)(a) must adjust the revenue and expenditure estimates downwards if there is a material under collection of revenue during the current year.

Given the fiscal constrained environment within which the National Fiscus operates, the National Treasury was not in a position during the preparation of the 2022 MTEF, to make any additional funding available to municipalities for this purpose. As a result, they were advised to reprioritize their tabled 2023 MTREF Budgets to absorb the cost associated with loadshedding within baselines.

04 October 2023 - NW2918

Profile picture: Manyi, Mr M

Manyi, Mr M to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether the Government has run out of money; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Government is working to manage public finances in a prudent and sustainable manner. This includes appropriately responding to the materialization of risks, include unforeseen economic and financial conditions. To be clear, the Government has not run out of money. Government publishes the "Statement of the National Government’s Revenue, Expenditure, and Borrowing" monthly, available on the National Treasury website. This statement provides detailed information into government revenue collections, expenditure and borrowing.

Revenue collections for the first four months of 2023/24 have performed below expectations, primarily due to under-collections in corporate income tax and higher VAT refunds. Therefore, the main budget deficit for the first four months of 2023/24 is higher than expected.

Compared to the 2023 Budget, the economic and revenue outlook has deteriorated, and tighter financial conditions have constrained government’s borrowing programme and led to higher borrowing costs. Government remains committed to prudent fiscal management and addressing these challenges to ensure the financial stability of the nation.

04 October 2023 - NW2710

Profile picture: Faber, Mr WF

Faber, Mr WF to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)(a) What is the position of the National Treasury on the BRICS nations’ proposal to introduce a new currency for cross-border trade and (b) how will this proposal impact the Republic’s economic relations with other countries, particularly the United States (US); (2) given the potential impact of a new BRICS currency on the economic relations of the Republic with the US, what steps will the Government take to ensure that its participation in this initiative does not negatively affect its existing trade relationships with the US and the European Union countries?

Reply:

  1. (a) & (b)

There is no official proposal to introduce a new BRICS currency at this point.

The current discussion on facilitating trade and finance amongst the BRICS members is captured in the Johannesburg Declaration where BRICS Leaders highlighted the following:

We stress the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions between BRICS as well as their trading partners. We also encourage strengthening of correspondent banking networks between the BRICS countries and enabling settlements in the local currencies. We task our Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors, as appropriate, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to us by the next Summit.

In the BRICS Finance Track, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors will resume discussions regarding the instruction from the leaders to explore payment instruments and infrastructure of using local currencies for enhance trade.

2. As stated before, BRICS countries are not establishing a BRICS common currency.

To date, the United States and the European Union remain one of the largest trading partners of South Africa. South Africa trade relations with the United States and the European Union are governed by existing trade agreements with these trading partners. Any changes in the trade agreements are negotiated and agreed between the two countries.

04 October 2023 - NW2772

Profile picture: Herron, Mr BN

Herron, Mr BN to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

(1) With reference to the reply of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr S G Mantashe, to question 2266 on 30 June 2023, that the grid capacity constraints has no linkage with Karpowership and in view of Eskom’s Generation Connection Capacity Assessment of the 2024 Transmission Network that a total of 1220MW is being reserved for Karpowership (details furnished), furthermore considering that there is an urgent need to end load shedding and noting that although during Bid Window 6 of the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme, only 1000MW out of 4200MW was procured and the rest were rejected in the Eastern and Western Cape, due to insufficient grid space, the grid space remains reserved since 2021 for Karpowership in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Richards Bay, and given that Karpowership’s environmental authorisations remain refused and the current court cases on its generation licences could take many years to resolve, (a) what is the justification for the prioritisation of the Karpowership deal over adding new capacity through wind and solar energy and (b) by what date will the portion of the grid reserved for the Karpowership be released; (2) whether, given that Karpowership is holding up the grid space and the urgency to end the loadshedding, there will be a limit to the extension that is being given to Karpowership to reach the commercial and financial deadline; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what is the (a) current and (b) final commercial and financial close deadline for Karpowership; (3) given the grid constraints, what laws, policy and/or factors does Eskom rely on in its decision to (a) reserve the grid for independent power producers (IPPs) before commercial and financial close deadline and (b) release the grid that is reserved for a particular IPP?

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

1. (a)

The Karpowership projects are three of 11 preferred bidders selected under the Risk Mitigation IPP Programme (RMIPPP), which have applied for and been provided Budget Quotations in line with the procurement process and the associated grid application process. There is therefore no prioritisation of these projects over others.

1 (b)

Please see answer 2 below.

2. (a) and (b)

It is acknowledged that the Risk Mitigation IPP Programme has faced delays due to the changes in global economic conditions which have impacted these projects’ ability to reach commercial close. As a result, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) as procurer, has communicated a long stop date for the RMIPPP of 31 December 2023, by which time the projects under this programme will have to achieve legal close. Accordingly, the Budget Quotations issued to all the remaining preferred bidders under the Risk Mitigation IPP Programme have been extended to 31 December 2023, to enable these projects to achieve legal close.

3 (a)

It is to be noted that Eskom has not concluded on the issue of reservation of capacity, thus there is no policy that defines reservation of capacity. However, in terms of section 22(2) of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), the licence holder is permitted, with the concurrence of NERSA, to discriminate for objectively justifiable and identifiable reasons. The purpose of the reservation of capacity, to the extent that it is approved by the relevant stakeholders including the Regulator, will be to secure an orderly allocation of access to the grid.

The context is that currently there is saturation of the grid by private parties. Often, private parties request access to the grid without shovel-ready projects and this prejudices those projects that can demonstrate readiness, including the government section 34 programme, which ought to go through, among others, regulatory and other approvals (e.g., PFMA), whereas private parties are not subjected to these onerous processes.

The formal IPP programmes are initiated following the section 34 determinations issued by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act and concurred to by NERSA, which are administrative actions. The preferred bidders to these programmes therefore apply for and are provided with Budget Quotations. Any extensions to the Budget Quotation validity for the section 34 IPP preferred bidder projects are taken in line with a request from the preferred bidder and having due consideration of the time required for the attainment of certain approvals (required by either the Procurer or the Buyer) and the associated legal and financial commercial close dates as communicated by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

3 (b)

Please see the response under Question 2.

 

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2909

Profile picture: Buthelezi, Mr EM

Buthelezi, Mr EM to ask the Minister of Finance

How does the National Treasury ensure that municipalities comply and lock their adjusted budgets and/or financial systems at the end of each month to ensure prudent financial management?

Reply:

The Municipal Regulations on a Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA), Gazette No. 37577, 2014, was promulgated on 22 April 2014. All municipalities and municipal entities had to comply with the mSCOA Regulations by 01 July 2017. In terms of mSCOA, municipalities should budget, transact and report on all six (6) legislated mSCOA segments and submit the required data strings as per the legislated timeframes to the National Treasury’s Local Government Database and Reporting System (LGDRS). The budget and adjustments budgets adopted by Council must be locked on the core municipal financial system before submitting the data strings to the LGDRS. Most of the municipal financial systems have built-in controls that do not allow transacting if the budget or adjustments budget has not been locked. Also, Section 65(2)(j) of the MFMA requires that the accounting officer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that all financial accounts of the municipality are closed at month-end and reconciled with its records before submitting the monthly data string to the LGDRS.

As communicated in MFMA Budget Circular No. 123 dated 03 March 2023, the LGDRS is locked on the 10th working day of the month following the legislated deadline. The late submissions of data strings are not accepted by the LGDRS. The timeous submission of credible mSCOA data strings to the LGDRS has been included in the equitable share release criteria for 2023/24 that was communicated in MFMA Circular No. 122 (dated 09 December 2022).

Since the financial system must be locked at the end of the month to generate mSCOA data strings, municipalities may not open during closed periods to correct errors. Errors must be corrected in the next open period. Providers of municipal financial systems have also been instructed by the National Treasury in 2019 to ensure that the necessary internal controls are built into the financial system to prevent the opening during closed periods on the financial system and the bypassing of such controls.

04 October 2023 - NW2742

Profile picture: Chetty, Mr M

Chetty, Mr M to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) What total amount did (i) the National Treasury and (ii) each entity reporting to him pay for printed copies of the integrated annual reports in the (aa) 2020-21, (bb) 2021-22 and (cc) 2022-23 financial years, (b) who were the suppliers in each case and (c) what total number of copies of the report were printed (i) in each case and (ii) in each specified financial year?

Reply:

(i) NATIONAL TREASURY

Financial years

(a) Total amount

(b) Name of supplier

(c) Total number of copies printed

(aa) (i)(ii) 2020-21

The Annual Report was not printed.

(bb) (i)(ii) 2021-22

R87 845,28

Lebone Litho Printers

120

(cc) (i)(ii) 2022-23

Not in printing process yet.

(ii) ENTITIES

1. Accounting Standards Board (ASB)

From the Accounting Standards Board

We do not print our Annual Report/Integrated Report/Annual Financial Statements. All our reports are made available electronically.

2. Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA)

Reference

Financial Year

Amount Paid

Copies

Supplier

2742(a)(aa)

2020-21

Nil

Nil

Not Applicable

2742(a)(bb)

2021-22

Nil

Nil

Not Applicable

2742(a)(cc)

2022-23

Nil

Nil

Not Applicable

3. Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

4. Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)

(a) (ii) (aa) 2020-21 – R0

(bb) 2021-22 – R0

(cc) 2022-23 – R0

(b) Not applicable

(c) (i) and (ii) Not applicable. The Financial Intelligence Centre did not produce printed copies of its annual reports in the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years.

5. Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

(a) The total amount (ii) Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) printed copies of the annual reports in;

(aa) 2020 – 2021: 150 total copies

RP292/2021

ISBN: 978-0-621-49765-6

Title of Publication: Annual Report 2020/2021 Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

Printing costs: R44 676.35

Supplier: Shereno Printers

(bb) 2021 –2022: 150 total copies

RP282/2022

ISBN: 978-0-621-50641-9

Title of Publication: Annual Report 2021/2022 Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

Printing costs: R47 356.93

Supplier: Shereno Printers

(cc) 2022 – 2023: 150 total copies

RP249/2023

ISBN: 978-0-621-51379-0

Title of Publication: Integrated Report 2022/2023 Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

Amount spent: R34 859.59

Supplier: Blackmoon

NB: The 2022/2023 report has not been printed. The figures provided are based on the quotation received from the service provider.

5. Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF)

7. Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA)

(i) Not Applicable to the GPAA

(ii) The table below sets out the amount the GPAA paid for printed copies of the integrated annual reports, the utilised service provider and printed the number of copies in the respective years:

Financial Year

Service Provide

Number of Copies

Amount

(aa) 2020-21

Ulutsha Communication

200

R30 000.00

(bb) 2021-22

Ulutsha Communication

500

R77 250.00

(cc) 2022-23

No expenditure incurred to date

8. Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC)

(aa) R17908.95, 40 copies printed.

(bb) R10519.05, 25 copies printed.

(cc) R0, no copies printed.

(b) Grounded Media supplied printed copies in each case.

(c) 65 copies were printed in total.

(i) 40 copies printed in (ii) 2020-21 and 25 copies in 2021-22. No copies have been printed in 2022-23.

9. Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA)

A close-up of a logo

Description automatically generated

A black text on a white background

Description automatically generated

10. Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank)

  1. Land Bank has not printed Integrated Annual Reports for FY2020-21, FY2021-22, and FY2022-23. The Bank has only produced electronic versions of the Integrated Annual Reports for the specified period.
  2. Land Bank did not procure any suppliers for the printing of the Integrated Annual Reports.
  3. No Integrated Annual Reports were printed by the Bank.

11. Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers (FAIS Ombud)

Integrated Reports:

The FAIS Ombud has incurred no expenditure with respect to Integrated Annual Reports for the financial periods 2020-21 to 2022-23.

Annual Reports:

Annual expenditure incurred by the Office on the publication of annual reports for the financial periods 2020-21 to 2022-23 is as follows:

NO

Financial Period

Service Provider

No. of Copies

Amount

1.

2020-21

Lebone Litho Printers

150

R54,353.45

2.

2021-22

Litha Communications

150

R96,340.68

3.

2022-23

Lezmin 2771 CC

50

*R83,317.60

         

* Amount as per signed purchase order. As at 4 September 2023, the payment for the 2022-23 annual report has not been processed.

12. Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator (OPFA)

 Question

2020-21(aa)

2021-22(bb)

2022-23(cc)

(a)

R112 299.62

R99 690.05

R122 245.00

(b)

Broadsword Communication

Broadsword Communications

Seriti Printing Digital

(c)

100 printed copies (Including design and editing)

100 printed copies (Including design and editing)

100 printed copies (Including design and editing)

13. Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO)

14. Public Investment Corporation SOC Ltd (PIC)

(a)(ii)

(aa) 2020/21 Book one: Integrated Annual Report at a cost of R84 500 (excluding VAT); and Book two: Annual Financial Statements at a cost of R55 643.50 (excluding VAT).

(bb) 2021/22 Book one: Integrated Annual Report at a cost of R93 705 (excluding VAT); and Book two: Annual Financial Statements at a cost of R65 015 (excluding VAT).

(cc) 2022/23 Book one: Integrated Annual Report at a cost of R131 400 (excluding VAT); and Book two: Annual Financial Statements at a cost of R58 200 (excluding VAT).

(b)

(b) Msomi Africa Communications was the supplier for all three of the above-mentioned financial years.

(c)

(i) and (ii)

2020/21 700 copies printed

2021/22 500 copies printed

2022/23 800 copies printed

15. Sasria SOC Ltd

2020-2021: R29,500-00 (Exl VAT); Msomi Africa Communication (PTY) Ltd; 100 printed copies [R295-00/copy]

2021-2022: Quoted R11,800-00 (Exl VAT); Msomi Africa Communication (PTY) Ltd; 30 printed copies [R393-33/copy]

2022-2023: Not yet finalized

16. South African Revenue Service (SARS)

a) (ii) (aa) (bb) (cc) SARS did not print annual reports for the 2020 – 2021 financial years. The annual report was only printed for the 2022-23 financial year at the total amount of R140 000.

b) The supplier who was appointed for SARS annual report printing is Shereno Printers.

c) (i) (ii) The total number of copies that were printed was 250 for the 2022-23 financial year.

04 October 2023 - NW2767

Profile picture: Hendricks, Mr MGE

Hendricks, Mr MGE to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether he will introduce a general tax anti-avoidance policy that gives authority to the SA Revenue Service and other bodies to monitor acts pertaining to illicit financial flows; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Illicit financial flows (IFFs) take a variety of forms and are addressed by several bodies, including SARS. SARS takes action with respect to IFFs that have a tax or customs aspect in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962, Customs and Excise Act, 1964, and other legislation it administers.

A General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) is included in the Income Tax Act, 1962, as Part IIA of Chapter III of the Act. The GAAR permits SARS to counter impermissible tax avoidance arrangements that would not be addressed by the other provisions of the Act. While impermissible tax avoidance arrangements may involve IFFs, they may also be restricted to purely domestic arrangements or involve cross-border flows that would otherwise be considered legitimate. Another GAAR is provided for in section 73 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, which deals with schemes for obtaining undue tax benefits in that context. SARS may also make use of common law doctrines, such as “substance over form”, in challenging abusive arrangements.

In addition, a reportable arrangements system is included in the Tax Administration Act, 2011, as Part B of Chapter 4 of the Act. The reportable arrangements system provides for the reporting of arrangements that present a heightened risk of undue tax benefits by their participants or promotors to SARS.

Supplementing the GAAR, South Africa also has tax legislation dealing with more specific avoidance concerns. These include interest limitation rules (recently amended), thin capitalisation rules, controlled foreign company (CFC) rules, as well as transfer pricing rules.

Where SARS identifies IFFs with a tax or customs impact, either through its own efforts or in cooperation with other government entities, SARS applies the legislation and legal tools at its disposal to address the IFFs.

Addressing IFFs remains a consistent and key focus for SARS, the South African Reserve Bank, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks, South African Police Service, and the National Treasury. In this regard, South Africa is actively involved in international efforts aimed at mitigating the problem. Key steps taken in recent times include:

  • Becoming a member of the Global Forum of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes in 2009
  • Signing the Multilateral Convention in 2011
  • Introducing a Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) in 2012
  • Signature of the FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement in 2014
  • Introduction of the temporary Special VDP in 2016
  • First tax information exchange under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in 2017
  • Agreeing to the proposal for a minimum global tax rate (Pillar 2) to minimise global financial flows to tax havens (2021)

04 October 2023 - NW2732

Profile picture: Cachalia, Mr G K

Cachalia, Mr G K to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

With reference to the electricity supply cut off by Eskom to the Ditsobotla Local Municipality, including the town of Lichtenburg, for non-payment (details furnished), what is his position regarding condemning the alleged unconstitutional practices by Eskom and assure the public from their unethical business practices?

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

1. On 27 July 2023, Ditsobotla Local Municipality (the Municipality) and other Eskom customers were affected by a loss of supply due to a pylon that fell onto the 88kV powerline between Watershed Transmission substation to the Lichtenburg Distribution substation.

2. As the fallen structure was being repaired, Eskom observed oil leakages on Transformer 2 at Lichtenburg substation. Upon investigation it was discovered that the transformer was damaged in order to steal copper. As a result, the transformer required replacement.

3. Supply was restored to the substation and surrounding areas via Transformer 1. However, during this period only 10 MVA out of the 17 MVA that is required for peak capacity was available to the municipality to supply its customers.

4. A new replacement transformer was identified in Gauteng, with an estimated cost of R6.9 million inclusive of the transport, installation and commissioning.

5. Transformer 2 was installed but not energised, as the Municipality had not paid its current account in full since April 2022. By way of background, a court order in 2017 ruled for eight (8) applicants who are customers of the Municipality, to pay their electricity bills directly to Eskom. These eight consumers are embedded in the Municipality’s electricity network and Eskom relies on the Municipality, as the co-respondent in terms of the court order, for the availability of supply and billing for electricity.

6. Eskom therefore requested that the Municipality pays for the cost of replacing the transformer, their current account, and three months' accounts in advance before the transformer would be energised.

7. Whilst negotiations regarding payment arrangements were underway, it was discovered that Transformer 1 at Lichtenberg substation was experiencing oil leaks.

8. A decision was taken by Eskom to switch on Transformer 2 and remove Transformer 1 for repairs.

9. Engagements with various stakeholders were held and following the repair and commissioning of Transformer 1, the supply to the Municipality was restored.

10. Eskom confirmed that discussions are continuing with the Municipality, the North-West Province, organised business and other stakeholders to find a sustainable solution for electricity supply to the businesses and residents of the Municipality.

11. There is no evidence of “alleged unconstitutional practices” nor “unethical business practices”.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

04 October 2023 - NW2677

Profile picture: Kruger, Mr HC

Kruger, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Given the Auditor-General’s findings of 2020/2021 that 84% of municipalities consistently fall short of the statutory 30-day payment term which imposes a significant financial strain on small companies, sole proprietors and cooperatives, what (a) proactive measures are being developed by the National Treasury to ensure that municipalities honour their financial commitments to these entities within the required time frame and (b) considerations, frameworks and/or potential regulatory interventions are currently being contemplated; (2) what (a) are the details of the account of the fiscal liabilities and (b) proposed financial regulations and/or interventions are intended to enforce adherence to the payment time frame?

Reply:

(1)(a) Creditors with outstanding invoices have been encouraged to escalate matters to the National Treasury through the helpdesk facilities, [email protected], and [email protected], respectively. These are followed up with the respective Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer. Copies are also forwarded to the relevant provincial treasuries for their additional oversight, monitoring and facilitation of engagements with the relevant municipality, where required.

(1) (b) Section 65(2)(e) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (MFMA), requires the Accounting Officer to take all reasonable steps to ensure that all money owing by the municipality be paid within 30 days of receiving the relevant invoice or statement. The National Treasury has issued MFMA Circular 49 which includes a step-by-step approach to be adopted by municipalities to ensure that they consistently fulfil their financial obligations. Additionally, National Treasury has issued standard operating procedures for municipalities in relation to expenditure and liabilities management. These matters are also addressed when requested to develop Financial Recovery Plans.

(2) (a) The National Treasury publishes regular reports as required by section 71 of the MFMA. The latest publication of the Local Government Revenue and Expenditure: Fourth Quarter Local Government Section 71 Report, for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, reflects amounts owed by municipalities to creditors for more than 30 days of R75,9 billion for the 4th Quarter of the financial year. The details of which, are available on the National Treasury website.

(2)(b) Accountability arrangements in the MFMA requires the Municipal Council and the Municipal Manager to take disciplinary action against officials responsible for non-compliance with internal control measures.

04 October 2023 - NW2850

Profile picture: Buthelezi, Mr EM

Buthelezi, Mr EM to ask the Minister of Finance

What are the details of the budgetary initiatives that the National Treasury has put in place in the past three financial years, which are directly aimed at stimulating the economy of the Republic to ensure that it does not remain a welfare state?

Reply:

One of the key components of the budget is the economic development function, through which funds are allocated to promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, and to address unemployment, poverty and inequality. The various areas of spending include economic infrastructure, industrialisation and exports, innovation, science and technology, agriculture and rural development and job creation. Details of the expenditure are included in the budget documents of the past three years.

The economic recovery plan announced in October 2020 links infrastructure investment and related institutional reforms to support higher economic growth. Government has made progress in implementing the economic recovery plan including in the electricity and transport sectors, roll out of critical infrastructure in water and sanitation, energy and transport as well as the presidential employment initiative.

Public-sector infrastructure expenditure increased from R187.4 billion in 2019/20 to R212.3 billion in 2021/22, and an estimated R255.2 billion in 2022/23. These funds were mainly used to expand power generation capacity, upgrade and expand the transport network, improve sanitation and water services and for social services infrastructure.

Since the inception of the budget facility for infrastructure, a total of R56.8 billion has been approved and allocated to the relevant infrastructure projects, including Limpopo Central Hospital, Gauteng Schools Programme, SA Connect, and Rural Bridges Programme. Since inception, the Infrastructure Fund has helped to package and approve 13 blended finance projects and programmes to the value of R48.8 billion.

Government is working on several reforms to strengthen public investment management and the associated value chain. Many of these involve pooling resources with the private sector in blended finance initiatives aimed at funding and implementing infrastructure projects more effectively.

04 October 2023 - NW2619

Profile picture: Montwedi, Mr Mk

Montwedi, Mr Mk to ask the Minister of Finance

What is the total number of transactions that have been concluded since the launch of the blended finance with the Landbank in October 2022, (b) for which commodities were the transactions and (c) what are the reasons that there have been delays in finalising incomplete transactions, including those of acquiring livestock farms?

Reply:

a) What is the total number of transactions that have been concluded since the launch of the blended finance with the Land Bank in October 2022?

The total number of approved transactions as at 31 Aug 2023: 71

Total value of approvals as at 31 Aug 2023: R591.3 million (R279.9 million of loans, and R311.4 million of grants)

Total disbursements amount as at 31 Aug 2023: R153 million (R77 million of loans, and R76 million of grants)

b) For which commodities were the transactions?

Commodities of Approved Transactions as at 31 August 2023

Avocados

Nuts (Macadamia and pecan nuts)

Bananas

Poultry

Dry Beans

Raisins

Citrus

Sugarcane

Grains and Oilseeds

Table Grapes

Livestock (Red meat)

Vegetables

 

(c) What are the reasons that there have been delays in finalising incomplete transactions, including those of acquiring livestock farms?

(i) Reasons for delays in finalizing applications

1. Clients not submitting all the required application information simultaneously. The quality and accuracy of business and financial information contributes to the waiting time during which the processing of the transactions are paused until all the critical information is submitted.

2. Applications not viable and financial projections indicative of the business’s inability to service the loan – at times this leads into the submissions being reworked by the clients.

3. Lack of adherence to environmental and regulatory requirements such as environmental impact assessments, sufficient water volumes and water licenses. These issues generally take long to resolve, and are handled externally by the client through the relevant government departments. The application cannot be finalised without these matters being confirmed.

4. Poor credit records where clients need to resolve defaults and judgements prior to the application being taken forward.

5. Insufficient grazing capacity or applications with overgrazing where access to additional parcels of land are not easily accessible. The application will therefore be delayed as a result.

6. Intermittent capacity constraints and high volume of applications. Some of the Bank’s provincial offices were constrained to turn the transactions around at speed due to vacancies that are currently being field.

(ii) Delays in processing disbursements

  1. Delays in clients meeting the funding conditions which need to be fulfilled prior to disbursement of funds. These include the following:
    1. Delays experienced in clients obtaining licences for additional water rights from the Department of Water and Sanitation.
    1. Delays in obtaining the condition for provision of DALRRD’s written consent to cede all and any of the rights of the Borrower under the 30-year lease agreements.
    1. There are often delays where the client is required to provide Life Cover / Credit Life as clients undergo medical examination, and in some instances the clients may not qualify.
    1. The conversion of letters of intent to the required off-taker agreements may take longer to obtain.
    1. Title deeds in some of the provinces have restrictive clauses on selling to external buyers that are not from the location.

04 October 2023 - NW2733

Profile picture: Cachalia, Mr G K

Cachalia, Mr G K to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises

Whether, with regard to the reported irregularities in tender procurement at Tutuka Power Station that is still under investigation 19 months after the whistle-blower first lodged the complaint (details furnished), he and his department will perform their mandated duty of governance assurance and performance by intervening in the matter, escalating the investigation into irregularities at Tutuka, and keeping track of the progress of the complaint; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

ESKOM REPLY:

In January 2022, Eskom’s Forensic and Anti-Corruption Department received a complaint via email from an anonymous whistle-blower, which highlighted concerns regarding a procurement transaction for Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) at Tutuka Power Station.

A detailed preliminary investigation was conducted, and the preliminary findings revealed that the matter warrants a full investigation. The matter is currently outsourced to an external service provider, and it is envisaged that the investigation will be completed by the end of November 2023. Eskom will share the findings and recommendations of the investigation with the DPE. If the investigation uncovers fruitless and wasteful expenditure, Eskom will initiate proceedings to recover losses. Eskom will also further engage with law enforcement agencies if any criminality is uncovered.

DPE REPLY

The department has a process in place to oversee that recommendations emanating from forensic reports are implemented. The department shall monitor that the commitment made by Eskom to finalise the investigation. Accordingly, the department shall apply itself to the report to ensure that all recommendations are fully implemented should the allegations be confirmed; and that relevant parties are held accountable in line with the laws of the country. Furthermore, the department shall through the Shareholder Compact, hold the board accountable in ensuring that whistle-blower reports Eskom receives are addressed speedily; that forensic investigations are initiated and completed within a reasonable timeline and that recommendations are fully implemented within reasonable timelines.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date: