Questions and Replies
22 November 2023 - NW3375
Sithole, Mr KP to ask the Minister of Transport
What are the relevant details pertaining to the (a) budget allocated for and (b) actual expenditure with regard to (i) travel and (ii) accommodation of employees of her department during visits to accident scenes in the period 1 January 2020 to 1 April 2023?
Reply:
Roads Branch
In terms of the SCOA (Standard Charts of Accounts) guideline from National Treasury, Travel and subsistence includes items such as car rental, air transport, own transport, transport provided, food and beverages, incidental cost as well as special daily allowance cannot be excluded from this item because the official don’t only utilize their own transport as sometimes they would use air transport and then there would be transport provided for them at the airport.
(b) The budget and actual expenditure for the directorate on travel and accommodation for the financial year 2020/21, 2021/22 to 2022/2023 financial year is as per the tables below.
2020/21 |
||
Item |
Budget |
Expenditure |
|
R'000 |
R'000 |
Travel and Subsistence |
180 |
176 |
Accommodation |
78 |
78 |
Total |
258 |
254 |
2021/22 |
||
Item |
Budget |
Expenditure |
|
R'000 |
R'000 |
Travel and Subsistence |
585 |
413 |
Accommodation |
320 |
83 |
Total |
905 |
496 |
2022/23 |
||
Item |
Budget |
Expenditure |
|
R'000 |
R'000 |
Travel and Subsistence |
625 |
744 |
Accommodation |
300 |
231 |
Total |
925 |
975 |
South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)
a) The budget allocation for the financial year(s) 2019 – 2023 is detailed as follows:
2019 – 2020 = R4 435 000.00
2020 – 2021 = R3 990 000.00
2021 – 2022 = R5 833 000.00
2022 – 2023 = R5 681 000.00
2023 – 2024 = R5 695 000.00
b) The actual expenditure with regards to travel and accommodation is broken down as follows:
Item Descriptions (Per Sub-Programme / Directorate in that particular FY) |
An allocated funds per annum |
T&S DOM: Accommodation |
R 90 000 |
T&S DOM: Special Daily Allowance |
R20 000 |
T&S DOM: Food & Beverages |
R5 000 |
T&S DOM: Incidental Cost |
R12 000 |
T&S DOM: Car Rental |
R22 000 |
T&S DOM: Km All (Own Transport) |
R17 000 |
T&S DOM: Km Allowance SMS |
R68 000 |
T&S DOM: Air Transport |
R250 000 |
T&S DOM: Road Transport |
R50 000 |
T&S Foreign: Accommodation |
R 70 000 |
T&S Foreign: Daily Allowance |
R25 000 |
T&S Foreign: Food & Beverages |
R20 000 |
T&S Foreign: Incidental Cost |
R15 000 |
T&S Foreign: Air Transport |
R120 000 |
The above budget allocation details expenditure per item(s). However, the (budget) allocations also cover items such as the Car rental, Incidental cost, Daily allowance, Foreign transport etc. Air transport usually devours the chunk of the money because ninety percent of maritime business is in the coastal provinces.
Be that as it may, when an accident happens, the Maritime Transport Branch /Department of Transport (DoT) refer South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) to the accident scene for investigation. SAMSA is a South African government agency established on 1 April 1998 as a result of the 1998 South African Maritime Safety Authority Act 5. It is in effect the governing authority and as such is required to investigate maritime accidents/incidents & to provide various marine related services both on behalf of Government as well as to Government.
SAMSA would compile a report of the findings that explains in details the cause of the accident and submit it to the DoT. The Executive Authority will then appoint a Court of Marine Enquiry (CoME) in terms of Section 267(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act. The CoME shall consist of the Presiding Officer, Panel Members (a knowledgeable legal committee) and the Clerks of the CoME to further investigate the circumstances that caused the accident.
There is an approved budget allocation for the CoME every financial year to take care of such unfortunate occurrences. The current budget allocation is R924 000.00. This budget is earmarked for the payment of the allowances (remuneration) of the Presiding Officer and other Panel Members in terms of Treasury Regulations 20.2.
South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACCA)
Local Travel
- Budget: R 43 7401.56
- Actual Expenditure: R 73 332.40
International travel
- Budget: R 251 062.80
- Actual Expenditure: R 219 591.71
The number of reported accidents was 98.
FY 2020/21
- Budget: R 23,742.26 (budget reduction due to COVID-19)
- Actual Expenditure: R 125,947.29
International travel
- Budget: Nil
- Actual Expenditure: Nil
The number of reported accidents was 97.
FY 2021/22
Local Travel
- Budget: R 397 274.04
- Actual Expenditure: R 161 080.04
International travel
- Budget: R 118 718.40
- Actual Expenditure: Nil
The number of reported accidents was 165 (including RPAS accidents)
FY 2022/23
Local Travel
- Budget: R 552 360.24
- Actual Expenditure: R 195 939.18
International travel
- Budget: R 106 088.76
- Actual Expenditure: R 62 819.00
The number of reported accidents was 141 (including RPAS accidents)
FY 2023/24
Local Travel
- Budget: R 264 970,00
- Actual Expenditure (YTD): R 77 221, 58
International travel
- Budget: R 110 400,00
- Actual Expenditure: R 73 600,00
The number of reported accidents is 75.
Notes and Variables:
These costs cover bookings for flights (economy class), accommodation (3-star rating), car hire and subsistence allowance.
Please note upon receipt of an accident notification, AIID will categorize the accident and at that point make a decision to dispatch or not dispatch investigators to the scene. AIID at times undertakes desktop investigations.
The scope, complexity and location of the investigation determines:
- The number of employees to be dispatched,
- The number of days on-site and
- The need for a follow-up investigation.
Rail Branch
There was no (i) travel or (ii) accommodation expenditure incurred by employees from the Rail Transport Branch.
There were no train accidents that needed officials from the Rail Transport Branch to attend from 1 January 2020 to 1 April 2023.
The country entered Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, with no train services provided, and to date, with limited services provided, no rail accidents occurred.
Public Transport Branch
Official for the Public Transport branch don’t conduct accident scene visits and therefore the branch not incur any expenditure in this regard
22 November 2023 - NW3259
Marais, Ms P to ask the Minister of Human Settlements
By what date does she envisage that asbestos roofs will be removed in areas such as Heidedal in Bloemfontein, where budgets were allocated to repair the specified houses, yet to date such roofing still exist and pose a health risk to residents?
Reply:
The Free State Department of Human Settlements has already appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as an implementing agent to undertake the revitalization of asbestos roofs for all asbestos roofed units that were identified during a survey that was conducted in 2015. A total of ten (10) Professional Service Providers (PSPs) have been appointed. The removal and replacement of roofs commenced in August 2023, and all the appointed PSPs have already been assigned work and will be able to cover the entire province. The process is scheduled as a multiyear project. Bloemfontein is also covered in the scope of work.
21 November 2023 - NW3446
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
With reference to the Thusong Service Centre (TSC) Programme, which was established by Cabinet in 1999, what are the reasons that there are only 121 fully functional TSCs out of the 197 TSCs in the Republic; (2) (a) by what date(s) will the 72 TSCs that are currently non-functional, be fully functional, (b) in which provinces are the specified TSCs located and (c) what total number of persons were depending on the services provided by the TSCs; (3) what are the reasons that currently there is no national department co-ordinating and leading the TSC Programme; (4) what are the reasons that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has not assumed the role of the national department leading and co-ordinating the TSC Programme as per the recommendations of a report by the Department of Public Service and Administration; (5) (a) by what date will or has her Office been designated to lead and co-ordinate the TSC Programme and (b) what will be the role of her Office?
Reply:
The 2006- 2014 Business Plan set out the operationalization guidelines which sought to assist provinces in a decision to delist Centres if they do not meet the set functionality criteria. These include amongst others:
i) A Centre that does not have any anchor department(s) present or services points (e.g., Home Affairs, SASSA) within 1km radius.
ii) A Centre’s infrastructure conditions are in a bad state and pose a health hazard or in state of collapse and might endanger people lives in contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
iii) Lack of ICT connectivity in the area as a permanent challenge.
iv) A Centre has been vandalised or destroyed during community protests.
(2) (a) By what date(s) will the 72 TSCs that are currently non-functional, be fully functional.
REPLY:
The Provincial Intersectoral Steering Committee (PISSC) to undertake extensive consultation process prior to a decision to re-list a Centre back to functionality. Furthermore, coordinating departments are required to prepare provincial business plans to guide the roll -out and management of the Thusong Service Centre Programme in their respective Provinces as guided by District and Municipal Plans.
(b) in which provinces are the specified TSCs located.
REPLY:
In terms of the GCIS database, the delisted Thusong Service Centres due to non-functionality are spread across the nine (9) provinces.
(c) what total number of persons were depending on the services provided by the TSCs.
REPLY:
Currently, there is no data in response to the total number of persons who are dependent on the services provided by the TSCs.
(3) What are the reasons that currently there is no national department co-ordinating and leading the TSC Programme:
REPLY:
The Thusong Service Centre Programme is still being coordinated by the GCIS since the inception of the Programme as Multi-Purpose Community Centres (MPCC) in 1999.
(4) What are the reasons that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has not assumed the role of the national department leading and co-ordinating the Programme as per the recommendations of a report by the Department of Public Service and Administration:
REPLY:
The Steering Committee which comprised of the DPSA, GCIS, DCoG, DPWI and National Treasury developed a Situational Analysis Report. The Report recommended that the Programme would be best situated at DCoG, due to its footprint in the Local Government Sphere. However, DCoG advised that they do not have the capacity to assume the role of leading Thusong Service Centre’s.
(5) (a) By what date will or has her Office been designated to lead and co-ordinate the TSC Programme and (b) What will be the role of her Office?
REPLY:
Currently there is no date that has been determined to ensure the lead and co-ordination of the Thusong Service Centre Programme by a designated lead department. NW4578E
END
21 November 2023 - NW3837
Manyi, Mr M to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
(1)In light of the dismal performance of the National Development Plan (NDP), what is the rationale for continuing to use the NDP as a guiding framework for national development; (2) whether there are any plans to revise and/or adapt the NDP to better meet the changing needs and/or circumstances of the Republic; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? [NO5059E]
Reply:
1. The NDP provides a long-term perspective on the attainment of the democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society anticipated in our Constitution and, as such, will remain our lodestar.
The NDP laid down a broad roadmap for South Africa to address and deal with the broad objectives of eliminating poverty, reducing unemployment, and reducing inequality by 2030. As these objectives, as identified in the NDP, remain relevant and applicable, we will continue to apply the development approach of the NDP, which is rooted in good governance, economic transformation, social cohesion, a just transition to more sustainable development pathways, and a bias in favour of the poor. You will concede, I trust, that these are objectives that every nation addresses to some degree and as a nation that has the added responsibility of undoing centuries of inequality, we recognise that the rationale remains
(2) As the basic rationale for maintaining the NDP as our lodestar remains, there is no plan to rewrite it. It is not the NDP that is the problem, it is the fact that it has not been sufficiently implemented. Now is the time to reinvigorate the implementation of the NDP so that it is effective. We need to include and involve the rest of the social partners more deliberately and work at forging a renewed consensus for NDP implementation. This will require all of us to focus on what is in the best interests of our country.
21 November 2023 - NW3854
Mothapo, Adv MR to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
What mechanisms are in place to ensure that private sector business players contribute to the planning phase of government programmes to ensure mutually reinforcing investments for job creation and economic growth? [
Reply:
The Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) was developed in consultation with the business sector and other social partners in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). Government has continued to collaborate with business in developing Industrial Master Plans in different sectors and in addressing pressing challenges such as the availability of electricity, improving logistics networks and addressing crime and corruption, including economic crimes.
The development of the Draft Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) for 2024-2029 involves the whole of government, experts, think tanks and non-state sectors, including the business sector, to ensure that it addresses the current socio-economic challenges. The institutional arrangements for the development of the MTDP include an Inter-Governmental Steering Committee and a Reference Group. The Reference Group consists of non-state sectors, including academia, business, labour and civil society as well as development partners. The key objectives of the Reference Group are to provide expertise, representation, feedback, and facilitate consensus building throughout the process of developing the draft MTDP. By doing so, the Reference Group will enhance the quality of policy decisions, promote inclusivity, and foster effective and sustainable governance. These representatives will actively contribute the perspectives and concerns of their respective stakeholders, including business and the private sector, ensuring a comprehensive and well-rounded approach in shaping the draft MTDP.
Apart from the Reference Group, further consultations with business will be held on the MTDP.
21 November 2023 - NW3855
Tobias, Ms TV to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
What are the details of the other institutional capabilities required in her Office to enhance its implementation, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and research capacity? [
Reply:
In keeping with the mandate of DPME, additional capacity is required to improve the country’s development planning system and implementation towards improving the country’s development outcomes. This includes modernising the planning system through improving capacity in areas of planning innovation, including macro-economic modelling, complex adaptive systems modelling, foresighting, scenario planning and futures thinking as well as using new technology such as Artificial Intelligence. Improving the planning system further requires experts in sector planning, including in new and emerging areas such as climate change, as well as the relevant policy analysts and researchers.
Additional institutional capacity will ensure that medium-term and short-term planning instruments address current weakness and gaps in the national planning system. This includes ensuring that planning instruments are inter-governmental in nature and are able to combine a sustained programmatic and predictable approach with a more flexible and agile approach, particularly in response to shocks and shifts in the environment and enhance the effectiveness of achieving developmental goals.
Additional professionals are also required to ensure the implementation of the National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF), to improve the spatialization of planning across spheres of government and state-owned enterprises and integrate of spatial planning in the overall planning system. This capacity will be essential in underpinning more effective spatial transformation in South Africa.
21 November 2023 - NW3700
Mbinqo-Gigaba, Ms BP to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(a) How did her department solicit inputs from the ordinary members of the public regarding the Early Childhood Development delivery model and (b) on what date does her department envisage the implementation of the model?
Reply:
1. The Department has done quite substantive consultations on the new Service Delivery Model both through internal and external structures. The Inter-Sectoral Forum, which is co-chaired by the Department as well as by civil society is the formal structure through which the Department engages with civil society on matters related to ECD. The Inter-Sectoral Forum is also replicated at a provincial level, which allows provinces to further engage with stakeholders at a local level. The ECD Service Delivery Model was thoroughly engaged through these structures. Similarly, the Service Delivery model was also consulted through the National Inter-Departmental Committee. The Department has now developed its 2030 Strategy, and various communication activities are being planned to enable rigorous engagement in the Strategy. This will entail holding an online dialogue in collaboration with the National Education Collaboration Trust, as well as partnering with the National ECD Alliance, SA Congress and Resource and Training Organisations to support an initiative called “The Big Conversation”. This will entail all our implementing partners having conversations on the ECD strategy with ECD practitioners and ECD programmes to solicit their input on the Strategy.
21 November 2023 - NW3619
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
(1)What number of public servants were found to be doing business with the state in the (a) 2020-21; (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial years and (d) what was the value of the business in respect of each public servant doing business with the State; (2) which government departments are the specified public servants employed in; (3) what action has been taken against the public servants?
Reply:
(1)(a) Number of public servants who were found to be doing business with the state in 2020-21 financial year is 484. Out of this number 8 officials were appointed in the state entities in an official capacity.
(b) Number of public servants who were found to be doing business with the state in 2021-22 financial year is 181.
(c) Number of public servants who were found to be doing business with the state in 2022-23 financial year is 366.
(b) The value of the business in respect of each public servant conducting business with the State can only be determined after finalization of a court process where the court will pronounce on losses.
(2) The following are the government departments in which the specified public servants are employed:
National Departments |
Provincial Departments |
|
1. Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development 2. Basic Education 3. Correctional Services 4. Employment and Labour 5. Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries 6. Health 7. Higher Education and Training 8. Human Settlements 9. International Relations and Cooperation 10. Justice and Constitutional Development 11. Military Veterans 12. Mineral Resources and Energy 13. National Treasury 14. Office of the Chief Justice 15.Office of the Public Service Commission 16.South African Police Service 17. Statistics South Africa 18. Social Development 19. Tourism 20. Traditional Affairs 21. Water and Sanitation |
KwaZulu-Natal 1. Community Safety and Liaison 2. Education 3. Health 4. Office of the Premier 5. Transport Gauteng 1. Community Safety 2. Education 3. Health 4. Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation North West 1. Community Safety and Transport Management 2. Education and Sports Development 3. Health 4. Office of the Premier 5. Public Works and Roads Eastern Cape 1. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs 2. Health 3. Office of the Premier 4. Provincial Treasury 4. Social Development 5. Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture 6. Transport |
Limpopo 1. Education 2. Health Mpumalanga 1. Education 2. Health 3. Public Works, Roads, and Transport Free State 1. Education 2. Health 3. Police, Roads, and Transport 4. Social Development 5. Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Northern Cape 1. Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development 2. Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs 3. Education 4. Economic Development and Tourism 5. Health 6 Social Development Western Cape 1. Education 2. Health 3. Provincial Treasury |
(3) The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) monitors the implementation of the prohibition on public servants who are conducting business with the State through the Central Supplier Database (CSD). Upon receipt of the report from the CSD, the DPSA forwards a list of identified public servants to the departments in which they are employed. These departments are required to provide the DPSA with progress made on implementing the prohibition, including on action taken against those public servants who were found guilty of conducting business with the state.
Based on the reports received, the following varied action were reported to have been taken against public servants:
- Final written warnings.
- Contract were terminated.
- Dismissal
- Some public servants were appointed after the transactions for which payments made had already occurred, as a result no sanctions were imposed against them.
- Other public servants resigned from their departments before their hearing could commence.
- Most of the cases are still under investigation and the DPSA constantly make follow ups on the progress from the affected departments.
The DPSA formed a Task Team with the South African Police Service and National Prosecuting Authority to assist departments to act against employees conducting business with the State. Seven (7) public service employees employed by SAPS were charged and convicted of conducting business with the State under Section 8 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014. These employees were dismissed from SAPS.
END
21 November 2023 - NW3020
Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1) Whether the National Treasury has approved funding for the Special Intervention Programme on Overcrowding in Schools (SIPOS) programme; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) what is the projected cost of the SIPOS programme?
Reply:
1. Treasury has not yet provided funding for the programme and there hasn't been progress thus far.
2. The submitted cost then was based on 13 465 required additional classes at the cost of R4 914,725.000.00
21 November 2023 - NW3847
Graham-Maré, Ms SJ to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
With regard to the role of her Office to monitor the implementation of the District Development Model (DDM), what (a) internal organisational restructuring has her Office undertaken in order to provide support for the DDM in line with its mandate and (b) additional costs have been incurred that can be directly attributed to the DDM function in her Office? [
Reply:
(a) The DPME did not perform any internal organisational restructuring to support the DDM but we did however allocate the support functions to existing posts. The reduction of the Compensation of Employees budget in the last few years due to re-prioritisation in 2019 and this financial year also did not provide scope to restructure the DPME.
(b) No additional costs were incurred as the functions were performed within the existing budget.
21 November 2023 - NW3701
Moroatshehla, Mr PR to ask the Minister of Basic Education
Noting that inclusive learning, training and availability of sufficient teachers with specialised capabilities for inclusive education are critical to support learners with various conditions, (a) how are the Funza Lushaka recipients encouraged to take subjects on inclusive education in their initial training and (b) what total number of teachers are produced for inclusive education through the Funza Lushaka bursary support?
Reply:
Noting that inclusive learning, training, and the availability of sufficient teachers with specialised capabilities for inclusive education are critical to supporting learners with various conditions, (a) how are the Funza Lushaka recipients encouraged to take subjects on inclusive education in their initial training, and (b) what total number of teachers are produced for inclusive education through the Funza Lushaka bursary support?
RESPONSE:
Teachers with specialised capabilities for inclusive education are teachers who possess the skills, knowledge, and mindset to effectively address the diverse needs of all students in their classrooms. Inclusive education aims to embrace and accommodate learners with varying abilities, backgrounds, and learning styles.
Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree programmes can vary among different Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), however, all institutions know the importance of preparing future teachers to work in diverse classrooms and therefore include elements of inclusive education and training in the programme content. Covering topics such as understanding diverse learning needs, creating inclusive classrooms, and implementing strategies to support students with varying abilities. Modules or courses relating to special education introduce future teachers to the basics of working with students who have disabilities.
- The Funza Lushaka bursary recipients are encouraged to take inclusive education subjects through the prioritisation of subjects such as Braille, SASL and other Neurodevelopmental Needs such as Autistic Disorder, Severe and mild intellectual disorders, etc.
- To continue to encourage the students, through the Funza Lushaka Bursary, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has reserved an amount of R100 000 per student to encourage students with disabilities to acquire assistive devices in accordance with their disabilities.
- On the other hand, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is working with HEIs to encourage them to introduce inclusive education subjects, as most HEIs do not have them in their curricula, so when DBE encourages the intake of those subjects, student teachers should find them in those institutions.
(b) Through Funza Lushaka, we offer three inclusive education specialisations 1. SASL, 2. Braille, 3. Neurodevelopmental Needs. But only 16 students registered for SASL. The other subjects had zero enrolments.
20 November 2023 - NW3810
Ngcobo, Mr SL to ask the Minister of Employment and Labour
What are the relevant details of how his department contributed to the (a) creation of youth employment and (b) support of youth entrepreneurship to curb rising poverty rates in the past three financial years?
Reply:
The Department registers more than1 million work seekers, provides career counselling to more than 300000 work seekers, and has placed about 60000 work seekers into employment, annually. For the period ending September 2023, 69% (32 816) of work seekers placed are young people aged 15-35 years and 31% (14 687) aged 36 years and above.
Through job creation investments the COIDA has created 1,325 additional jobs. The CCMA also assisted with the prevention of job losses. Between April 2023 and October 2023 more than 6000 jobs were saved.
Productivity SA’s Competitiveness Improvement Services (CIS) programme enhances the appropriate capacities of SMMEs and Co-operatives, targeting those in the productive or priority economic sectors to adopt world-class productivity enhancement best practices, focusing on products, processes and people. In Quarter 1 of 2023/24, CIS supported 420 enterprises within 20 districts contributing to 3500 jobs. Trained a total of 667 Entrepreneurs, managers and workers, and capacitated 247 Productivity Champions.
The UIF through Labour Activation Employment Programmes has placed 8 523 beneficiaries into employment opportunities and over 5 723 are youth and people belonging to vulnerable groups.
Labour Activation Programme is continuously placing beneficiaries in pursuit of the UIF annual target of 75 000 job opportunities for the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department also co-ordinates the Pathway management network, and contributes more than R 372 million annually to this process. Through the Pathway management network, more than 108,061, earning opportunities have been secured by youth, during the first quarter of 2023. Through the Youth Employment Service, which is a private sector initiative, more than 10695 youth secured workplace experience opportunities, through the revitalised youth service, more than 47000 youth gained insight into different fields of work. In collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training the Pathway Management Network has placed more than 16437 TVET graduates in opportunities.
Activities relating youth entrepreneurship, is also provided by the Department of Small Business Development and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
20 November 2023 - NW3669
Basson, Mr LJ to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
What (a) total amount in outstanding debts is owed by municipalities to water boards as at the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) steps has his department taken to mitigate the growing debt crisis to ensure the financial stability and viability of the water supply infrastructure of the Republic?
Reply:
a) The total amount in outstanding debts is owed by municipalities to water boards and the Department’s Water Trading Entity as at the end of September 2023 was R26.7 billion. The Water Boards are currently owed R18.3 billion and the Water Trading Entity is currently owed R8.4 billion by the municipalities.
b) Steps taken by the Department to mitigate the growing debt crisis to ensure the financial stability and viability of the water supply infrastructure include the following:
- Development of Standard Operating Processes (SOPs) for debt recovery have been developed, covering both the Water Boards and the Department’s Water Trading Entity.
- A consultation process inclusive of all water sector stakeholders was undertaken on the outstanding debt and the strategy to improve billing and revenue collection for bulk raw water and bulk water services. Stakeholders included 144 Water Services Authorities (WSA’s), 9 Members of Executive Councils (MEC’s) responsible for Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs, South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). All the sector stakeholders were given opportunity to comment on SOPs until 24 March 2023.
- On 6 October 2023, the Minister further convened a meeting with all the Water Boards and the SOPs were presented to the Water Boards. The resolution of the meeting was that the Water Boards should submit their comments on the SOPs to DWS by 20 October 2023. Comments were received from the water boards and are in support of the SOPs.
The Minister has now finalized the consultation process. The Department and Water Boards will continue to engage the local government sector through the Intergovernmental Relations Framework (IRFA) provisions to recover the outstanding debt. Should this not result in a solution the department and water boards will implement the following steps in line with the SOPs:
- DWS will collaborate with National Treasury to ensure that equitable share
allocations are withheld for municipalities not paying their current invoices. - Consistent enforcement of water restrictions on non-paying municipalities.
- Legal processes which will result in a judgement against the municipalities and repayment agreements can then be concluded which will be made an order of the court.
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20 November 2023 - NW3500
Buthelezi, Ms SA to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
In light of the heavy rainfall that destroyed over 12 000 houses in the south-east part of the country in 2022 and led to the declaration of a National State of Disaster by the President, whether any funds were allocated towards assisting citizens who were affected; if not, why not; if so, what is the (a) allocated budget, (b) actual expenditure, (c) number of temporary accommodation sites and (d) repair work that has been done already?
Reply:
Yes, funds were allocated by government through the respective organs of state as per their respective mandates and programmes to address the effects of the disasters within affected communities. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs coordinated response measures by the relevant organs of state to ensure alignment and collaboration of efforts.
(a) A total amount of R3.5 billion was allocated by COGTA from the existing Disaster Grants to the affected municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape to repair and reconstruct the damaged infrastructure for water, sanitation, roads, and bridges in order to restore the livelihood of the affected communities and ensure the provision of reliable service delivery. This approach was to facilitate a comprehensive and integrated relief package to the affected community members. Other allocations have been done by the relevant organs of state as per their mandates and budget votes.
(b) The total expenditure as reported by municipalities allocated Disaster Grant funds managed by COGTA is R993 337 206.00
(c) According to the information provided by the Department of Human Settlements, affected communities were supported through approximately 3 033 temporary residential units (TRU’s) in both KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces where the houses were damaged as a result of the heavy rainfall of April 2022.
(d) Repair work that has been done already?
Through the allocation to municipalities from the Municipal Disaster Response Grant, several assets that are owned by municipalities were repaired to ensure continuous and reliable services to affected communities. The repair of infrastructure includes repairing of tarred, paved and re-gravelling of damaged roads, replacement of valves and electrical components for water and sewer treatment plants and repairing damaged bridges to allow communities to access facilities such as schools, clinics, and hospitals. The table below depicts evidence of progress made:
Province |
Municipalities |
Allocation R'000 |
Implementation period extended until 30/06/2023 |
Expenditure R'000 as of 20/10/2023 |
% Spent |
Balance R'000 |
Types of Projects |
Completed within six months? |
1. KZN |
1. Msunduzi |
R620 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
R620 |
100% |
R0 |
Water & Sanitation |
Yes |
2. Mkhambathini |
R8 200 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
R8 200 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
Yes |
|
3. iLembe |
R19 500 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
R19 500 |
100% |
R0 |
Water & Sanitation |
Yes |
|
4. Inkosi Langalibalele |
R48 950 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
R48 947 |
99% |
R2 |
Roads & bridges |
No |
|
5. uGu |
R2 000 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
R1 980 |
99% |
R19 |
Water & Sanitation |
Yes |
|
6. Alfred Duma |
R14 354 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R13 792 |
96% |
R621 |
Roads and stormwater |
No |
|
7. Kwa-Dukuza |
R109 103 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R73 307 |
67% |
R35 735 |
Roads & bridges |
No |
|
8. Ray Nkonyeni |
R19 100 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R19 100 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
Yes |
|
9.e-Thekwini |
R185 000 |
Sep 22-Feb 2023 |
R163 119 |
88% |
R21 880 |
Roads, water & sanitation |
No |
|
Total |
09 |
R406 827 000.00 |
July 2022-February 2023 |
R348 565 000.00 |
86% |
R58 257 000.00 |
|
|
Province |
Municipalities |
Allocation R'000 |
Implementation period extended until 30/06/2023 |
Expenditure R'000 as of 20/10/2023 |
% Spent |
Balance R'000 |
Types of Projects |
Completed within six months |
EC |
Port St John |
R13 300 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R11 384 |
85% |
R1 916 |
Roads& stormwater |
No |
Ingquza Hill |
R4 130 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R3 858 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
No |
|
12.Nyandeni |
R2 693 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R2 578 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
No |
|
13.Umzimbuvu |
R10 500 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R10 500 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
No |
|
14.Ntabankulu |
R5 111 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R5 089 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads & stormwater |
No |
|
15.Mbashe |
R14 415 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R13 762 |
94% |
R652 |
Roads& stormwater |
No |
|
16.Winnie Mandela |
R12 790 |
Aug 22-Jan 2023 |
R12 790 |
100% |
R0 |
Roads &stormwater |
No |
|
17. OR Tambo |
R46 872 |
Aug 22-Jan 2024 |
R43 312 |
94% |
R2 936 |
Water & Sanitation |
No |
|
Total |
R109 811 000.00 |
R103 273 000.00 |
96% |
R 4 852 000.00 |
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3657
Van Der Walt, Ms D to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
What total amounts were owed to (a) Eskom and (b) water boards and/or agencies by the (i) Bela-Bela, (ii) Modimolle-Mookgophong and (iii) Thabazimbi Local Municipalities (aa) as on the last day of the 202223 financial year and (bb) in each month until 31 October 2023?
Reply:
Eskom and Water boards Debts, arrangements and monitoring of payments are managed and overseen by the National Treasury. It is recommended that the question be redirected to the Ministry of Finance for the National Treasury to provide response accordingly.
I thank you.
20 November 2023 - NW3654
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether, with the reference to the judgment in the matter of Women’s Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others handed down on 28 June 2022, wherein the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) set 24 months to enable the President, the Cabinet and Parliament to remedy defects in the registration of Muslim marriages, his department has sought a legal opinion on whether the proposed circular for the registration of Muslim marriages meets the requirements of the judgment; if not, why not; if so, why does the circular fall short; (2) whether his department intends to approach the ConCourt to request an extension of the deadline; if not what is the position in this regard; if so, why?
Reply:
1. The Department is currently in the process of developing the draft Marriage Bill, which Bill was published for public comments in July 2023, and the public participation stage closed on 31 August 2023. Following the lapse of the date for the public to submit written submissions, the Department proceeded to revise the draft Bill to incorporate the written submissions received.
In accordance with the Department’s Annual Performance Plan, the draft Marriage Bill will be introduced into Parliament within the current financial year, ending March 2024.
2. No, The Department is of the view that the draft Marriage Bill will be introduced into Parliament timeously to allow Parliament to finalise the Bill accordingly. END
20 November 2023 - NW3675
Myburgh, Mr NG to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
Whether, given the rapid deterioration of waste water treatment facilities in most parts of the Republic, he will consider advising the President to declare a National State of Disaster on the specified facilities to facilitate their urgent revamp in order not only to avert the loss of life due to communicable diseases associated with sewage such as cholera, tetanus and Hepatitis A, but also to arrest the increasing damage to the environment and the growing pollution of dams, rivers, and waterways across the Republic; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, by what date is it envisaged that he will advise the President?
Reply:
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is not of the view that the President should declare a National State of Disaster based on the deterioration of waste water treatment facilities to facilitate an urgent revamp of sanitation infrastructure across the country. Municipalities are allocated funding in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, and various grants from national government which are all intended towards development of infrastructure that is the responsibility of municipalities, including water and sanitation infrastructure.
The DWS contribution to the local government sector for water and sanitation is in the form of R12 billion for the 2023/2024 financial year through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant and the Water Services Infrastructure Grant; as well as technical advice and management support facilitated through the Department and the water boards.
In addition to the DWS grants, municipalities also receive national government transfers for water services as follows:
- R6.6 billion for the 2023/24 financial year allocated Municipal Infrastructure Grants from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
- R2.6 billion for the 2023/24 financial year allocated to Metropolitan municipalities through the Urban Settlement Development Grants deployed by the Department of Human Settlements
- For the current financial year municipalities have also been allocated R40 billion through the Equitable Share for water and sanitation
Apart from these grants, the water sector has to be self-financing through revenues from the sale of water and services rendered to users. Water sector institutions must be financially viable and sustainable through implementation of user charges and sound revenue collection systems. A portion of these revenues should then be utilised for the ongoing operation and maintenance of sanitation infrastructure so that wastewater treatment plants and associated infrastructure do not fall into disrepair.
The current challenges with wastewater systems management are not only due to infrastructure backlogs but also the lack of maintenance of the systems by municipalities. The Department is of the view that the root cause of deterioration of wastewater treatment facilities is the poor performance of Water Service Providers at the municipal level. The Department is intending to address this through the Water Services Amendment Bill which will include provisions which will specify that:
- Water and sanitation services to only be provided by an entity (municipality or other entity) that has an operating license
- Minimum competency and minimum performance levels for water service providers linked to gazetted minimum norms and standards for water and sanitation services
- Municipalities must fulfill license conditions if they provide the service itself, or must contract with a licensed WSP
The Water Services Amendment Bill is also intended to strengthen enforcement through the amendment of Section 63 to enable enforcement through directives (as is done in National Water Act).
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20 November 2023 - NW3725
Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether, in light of the Constitutional Court ruling between Constance Mogale and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others, her department had taken any steps in the North West to make way for the reconstitution of the traditional councils; if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps and (b) by what date does she envisage the elections of traditional councils will be held?
Reply:
Yes, the Department has taken steps to make way for the reconstitution of traditional councils which have recognised traditional leaders.
a) In February 2022, the COGTA Ministry published the formula for determining the number of members of Traditional Councils (TCs) as required by the Act. However, in January 2023, traditional leaders requested that the published formula be reviewed which led to provinces not being able to finalise the constitution and therefore not meeting the legislated timeframe of 31 March 2023. To address traditional leaders’ concerns, and as empowered by the Act, section 63(4)(c) Intervention Plan was developed to ensure that the TCs can be constituted and the implementation of the plan has commenced. As part of implementation of the Intervention Plan, on 12 May 2023, I convened a meeting of all Houses of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders as well as the MECs to address traditional leaders’ concerns on the current formula.
At this meeting it was resolved that the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San should consult all houses of traditional and khoi-san leaders to make proposals on the formular. The Chairperson of the National House called a Xivijo meeting from 23-24 October 2023 to discuss among others, the formula options and for traditional leaders to make their recommendations in this regard. Arising from the recommendations made at the Xivijo, I have now formally written to all MEC’s and Provincial Houses to consult them on the formula options that have been proposed.
b) Our intention is to gazette the new formula by the end of this calendar year. We envisage the elections of traditional councils to start being held in January 2024.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3686
Buthelezi, Ms SA to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
How will his department address the recent concerning data from Census 2022 that 8.7% of households have no access to piped water which only represents a 0.1% reduction in 11 years, indicating a failure by his department for lacking adequate plans to install the necessary infrastructure for provision of piped water to households?
Reply:
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has already commissioned projects in all Water Service Authorities (WSAs) to do situational assessments of water supply infrastructure and reasons for service delivery challenges. The outcomes of these assessments show that the backlogs are due to the significant growth in the number of households on the fringes of communities that have not been connected to existing municipal water supply infrastructure. This is also borne out by the census 2022 data indicating a 23,4% growth in the number households from 14,4 million households in 2011 to 17,8 million in 2022.
Although the overall access to piped water shows a small increase, the percentage of households with access to piped water inside the dwelling increased from 46.3% in 2011 to 59.7% in 2022, which indicates a focus on delivery of higher levels of service. The distribution of households by main source of water contrasts with the piped water figure as the majority of households across the three censuses made use of a regional/local water scheme as their main source of water. This proportion increased steadily from 74,7% in 2001 to 79,7% in 2011, and to 82,7% in 2022.
The DWS has two conditional grants which aim at addressing water and sanitation services backlogs across the country and is implementing over 250 water and sanitation intermittent and intermediate projects aimed at providing water and sanitation services to all municipalities across the country. These projects are funded through Water Services Infrastructure Grant which provide immediate to short term solutions.
Furthermore, the DWS has over 90 bulk water projects that will assist municipalities across the country to connect households to potable water. These bulk water projects are funded through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant. All these projects are initiatives by the DWS to ensure that households have access potable water.
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20 November 2023 - NW3434
Groenewald, Mr IM to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional
(1) What was the total annual expenditure countrywide from 1 April 2019 to date on the (a) deployment to provinces and municipalities and (b) payments of administrators in terms of section 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003, by the (i) national Government, (ii) provinces and (iii) municipalities. (2) whether she will make a statement on the matter?
Reply:
1. a) The prerogative to invoke Section 139 as stipulated in the Constitution vests in the Provincial Executive Committees (b) and they also decide the remuneration of Administrators. National government, through the National Treasury, had invoked Section 139 (7) in Lekwa (Mpumalanga), Mangaung (Free State) and Enoch Mgijima (Eastern Cape) led by National Cabinet Representatives (NCRs). The following is the breakdown of the contract values for each intervention:
(i) Lekwa Local Municipality
The Section 139 (7) has been implemented since April 2021 and approximately R4,5 million (inclusive of VAT) was spent on the NCR fees to implement the intervention. In addition, the province assisted with the deployment of resources to assist the NCR together with CoGTA national seconding a resource to support and monitor the implementation of the intervention. The NCR left the municipality in end of August 2022.
(ii) Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
The Section 139 (7) has been implemented since April 2022 and a contract value of R14,208,480 (incl. VAT) was spent for a period of a year that included fees for the NCR, with team of specialist ranging from governance, finance, service delivery and a small admin support team. The company did not charge for disbursements and agreed to absorb these costs. CoGTA also seconded resources to serve in the Administration. The NCR left Mangaung end of August 2023.
(iii) Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality
The intervention was implemented from April 2022 and the contract of the NCR has since lapsed. A total value of R12,956,170 (incl. VAT) including disbursement fees of approximately R1,5 million was spent to pay the NCR, and a team of specialists ranging from governance, finance, service delivery and a small admin support team. The team comprised of approximately 12 people..
For Sub section (ii) the prerogative to invoke Section 139 rests with provincial PECs as well as decisions on budgets to pay Administrators and (iii) in the case of Section 139 (7) costs were incurred by the National Treasury.
2. No further statement is necessary. The response to PQ 137 to the NCOP further expatiated on the benefits of deploying Administrators to lead the implementation of the intervention guided by the ToRs with the support of the municipal Council to achieve the set objectives of this course.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3555
Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
With reference to her reply to question 2611 on 15 September 2023, wherein she stated that regular site visits are conducted to ensure validation and verification of work that is reported to have been done, and noting that visits to various provinces and sites by a certain political party (name furnished) revealed that the participants neither have enough tools nor adequate uniform and thus they are unable to execute their work, (a) how is work done at the sites that are still without the tools of trade, (b) who should be responsible for the lack of tools of trade at such sites and (c) what are the relevant details of the expenditure of the budget allocated for tools of trade?
Reply:
(a) How is work done at the sites that are still without the tools of trade,
- Although procurement has not yet taken place, most sites still have tools of trade as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) procured in 2022/2023 Financial Year.
- Participants assigned to do useful work at social facilities or public institution like schools, clinics, etc. use tools of trade from those institution they work in.
- Municipalities, government departments as well as the offices of traditional leaders or community tribal offices also help providing tools when CWP useful work is done in their centres.
- Some donations have also been received e.g. in Makhado where a donation of lashers was received.
- Participants sometimes use their own tools especially if the useful work is meant to benefit them e.g. home gardens etc.
(b) Who should be responsible for the lack of tools of trade at such sites.
- The Department takes full responsibility for lack of tools of trade as well as PPEs at site level and the situation will be addressed as soon as the appointment of Implementing Agents is finalised latest by the 1 December 2023.
(c) What are the relevant details of the expenditure of the budget allocated for tools of trade.
- There is no expenditure incurred yet.
- The budget for tools and materials is R450.00 per participant and R450 for PPE per participant per year.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3380
Buthelezi, Ms SA to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether her department is responsible for allocating funds towards the repair of nearby bridges following the collapse of the Paardekraal Dam in Rustenburg, Northwest, which was damaged during heavy rainfall in 2022; if not, why not; if so, what is the (a) allocated budget, (b) actual expenditure and (c) details of the repair work that has already been done?
Reply:
No. The incident was not brought to the attention of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs – NDMC. Furthermore, no funding request was submitted by the Rustenburg Local Municipality (the municipality) through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in North West province (PDMC). According to the information provided by the PDMC, the bridge that was damaged by the floods was constructed by the Anglo Platinum Mine.
- Not applicable,
- Not applicable
- According to the province, the Municipality continues to monitor the water catchment as part of disaster risk reduction measure, particularly clearing culverts as and when necessary.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3220
Smalle, Mr JF to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
(1)Whether her department initiated any studies and/or research into urban search and rescue; if not, why not; if so, (a) by whom were the studies and/or research conducted and (b) what critical findings have been made; (2) what is current capacity of her department’s urban search and rescue in terms of (a) human resources and (b) aero fleet; (3) what are the current annual deployment budgets set aside for (a) urban search and rescue and (b) aeronautical and maritime search and rescue; (4) what are the current vacancy rates at the (a) aeronautical and maritime rescue, (b) fire rescue and (c) disaster rescue centres of her department in each province?
Reply:
1. The department (COGTA) has initiated capacity assessments that exist nationally into urban search and rescue; (a) conducted by the Directorate: Fire Services and the assessments were completed for Gauteng, Western Cape, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces and (b) It was found that the two provinces (GP & WC) are complaint and have capacity to render Urban Search and Rescue, moreover, the other provinces found not having required capacity to render USAR. In building capacity, the department has trained 25 personnel in each province (NW and KZN). Currently the directorate: Fire Services has embarked on USAR enhancement project in EC and LP.
2. (a) Currently the department (COGTA) operates by two (2) officials and one vacancy in the Directorate: Fire Services.
(b) The department has access to obtain aircraft through emergency procurement or through cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations where or when needed
3. The department (COGTA) do not maintain dedicated annual deployment budgets set aside for (a) urban search and rescue, but where funds may be required for deployment such funds may be allocated through reallocation of the unused operational budget of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC). (b) The Cooperative Governance And Traditional Affairs (COGTA) do not maintain a dedicated budget for aeronautical and maritime search and rescue as these functions are administered through the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) operated and maintained in terms of the South African Maritime and Aeronautical search and Rescue Act, 2002 administered by the National Department of Transport. As far as the maritime SAR is concerned, the National Department of Transport through SAMSA only submits an operational budget for the management and operationalization of the MRCC, not deployment of SAR assets. The financial implication for the deployment of private SAR assets is managed by the Department (of Transport), in liaison with the RCC Chief. It is on a pay for service basis and not on retention. “Private” referring to non-government organizations. Budget allocations for SAR asset deployment and maintenance should be available from the relevant SASAR member departments. ARCC is currently hosted and funded by Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS). The annual budget allocated by ATNS to resource ARCC is approximately R8,1 million rand annually for Human Resources and R500 000 annually for travel.
4. (a) The department (COGTA) do not have the details available of the vacancy rates at the aeronautical and maritime rescue as these functions are administered through the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) operated and maintained in terms of the South African Maritime and Aeronautical search and Rescue Act, 2002 administered by the National Department of Transport . The structure of the MRCC currently comprises of 17 positions in total. Namely:-.
- MRCC Chief (1)
- MRCC Operations Supervisor (1)
- Duty Controllers (7)
- Assistant Duty Controllers (7)
- Admin Officer (1)
Current Status:-
- MRCC Chief – Vacant
- MRCC Ops Supervisor- Filled
- Duty Controllers – 6 filled (1 vacancy)
- Assistant Duty Controllers – 5 filled (2 vacancies)
- Office Admin – Vacant
Total no. of vacancies: 5 (applicable to this Financial Year)
(b) The department (COGTA) has one vacancy in the Directorate: Fire Services in terms of fire and rescue, and
(c) The department (COGTA) do not maintain disaster rescue centres in each province as the Disaster Management Act, 2002 requires each province to establish and maintain a Disaster Management Centre in each province that play a role to coordinate and manage amongst other things the rescue of persons during a disaster.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3650
Smalle, Mr JF to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
(1)With reference to the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial years, which municipalities (i) submitted unfunded budgets, (ii) did not submit annual financial statements and (iii) submitted the annual financial statements late; (2) what is the total collection revenue percentage for each municipality for the 2022-23 municipal financial year to date; (3) what is the gross value added by each municipality per capita?
Reply:
Section 18 of the MFMA required Municipalities to have credible funded budgets. Provincial and National Treasury asses and monitors budgets (funded and unfunded budgets) of Municipalities.
It is recommended that this question be redirected to Minister of Finance for the National Treasury to respond accordingly.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3362
Powell, Ms EL to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether her department incurred any costs in relation to the hosting of the (a) BRICS Summit from 22 to 24 August 2023 and (b) BRICS Parliamentary Forum from 27 to 28 September 2023; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what was the total cost incurred by her department?
Reply:
No, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs did not incur any costs in relation to the hosting of the (a) BRICS Summit from 22 to 24 August 2023 and (b) BRICS Parliamentary Forum from 27 to 28 September 2023.
The BRICS Summit was coordinated by the DIRCO, it is recommended that this question be re-directed to relevant Ministry to respond accordingly.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3231
Van Der Walt, Ms D to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether, with reference to the total collapse of municipal services in the town of Ohrigstad, under the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality in Limpopo, her department intends to take steps to intervene to ensure (a) daily electricity supply, (b) clean drinking water, (c) maintenance of all local streets, (d) proper road and traffic signage, (e) functional municipal offices with qualified officials, (f) the implementation of all by-laws, (g) approval of all buildings in accordance with the zoning allowed in the planning department and (h) the cleaning, safety and accessibility of the new sports stadium in town?
Reply:
There is no collapse, let alone total collapse, of municipal services in the town of Ohrigstad, under the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality in Limpopo Province. To the contrary, the municipality is delivering municipal services as outlined below:
- There is continuous supply of electricity in Ohrigstad, except during scheduled times of national loadshedding.
- The Sekhukhune District Municipality is the water Services Authority for the FTLM area. in the town of Ohrigstad, the source of the water is a privately owned borehole that supplies a Water Treatment Works operated by Lepelle Northern Water Board where treatment takes place before distributing to residents.
- Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality (FTLM) is currently developing an Urban Integrated Roads and Stormwater Master Plan for Ohrigstad, Burgersfort, Steelpoort and other proclaimed townships to assist with planning, budgeting and implementing road construction and maintenance for municipal roads. SDM and the Provincial Government are responsible for district and provincial roads respectively that are in FTLM are of jurisdiction. The Master Plan also aims to address road and traffic signage.
- In September 2023, FTLM appointed a new regional manager for the Ohrigstad Regional Office to manage services and ensure functional municipal offices. The manager appointed has already reported for duty.
- The FTLM has in place Building Regulations that it enforces. In this current financial year, the Municipality is in the process of appointing a service provider to conduct audits on illegal land use and buildings in Burgersfort, Ohrigstad and Steelpoort as a measure to strength enforcement of by-laws.
- From 1 June 2023 the municipality commenced with cleaning services and maintenance of open spaces in Ohrigstad Town through a service provider appointed for a period of 36 months.
In accordance with section 154 of the Constitution, the Department of Corporate Governance (DCOG), through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), provides technical support to FTLM for infrastructure development throughout the whole project life on all infrastructure grants. Should FTLM fail to perform its functions, national government will intervene following the intervention of the provincial government in terms of section 139 of the Constitution.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3586
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What are the details of the actions that were taken to address the issue of the undocumented foreign nationals near Kleinzee in the Northern Cape, who were released from prison because officials of his department did not process them in time, as it was indicated by a certain political party (details furnished) at the meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs with his department on 30 March 2023?
Reply:
The South African Police Services (SAPS) undertook an operation in Kleinzee on 19 to 21 September 2023. This was a provincial-led operation. To this end, the Department of Home Affairs has written to the SAPS at national level to request them to ensure proper coordination for similar operations by the NATJOINTS and Justice Crime Prevention Cluster (JCPS) inclusive of all law enforcement agencies. This includes the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority (BMA).
This is to ensure that when operations of these magnitude are undertaken, there is better coordination and joint planning at a national level to ensure adequate resources are deployed when executing these operations that are intelligence-led.
END
20 November 2023 - NW3230
Van Der Walt, Ms D to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether, with reference to the inability of municipalities, particularly the Bela-Bela Local Municipality, to solve the daily electrical outages unrelated to load shedding, provide clean drinking water to all wards daily, repair streetlights and switch on new streetlights installed years ago, her department will instruct municipalities to undertake a full technical audit, which must co-exist with the Master Plan for the current and next five to ten years, on all their electrical infrastructure and/or equipment on the network; if not, why not; if so, on what date?
Reply:
The Department of Co-operative Governance (DCOG) will not instruct municipalities to undertake a full technical audit as DCOG has no authority to do so. DCOG however provides support, together with all the Provincial Governments and the rest of National Government, to municipalities in accordance with the District Development Model (DDM) to perform their functions in terms of section 154 of the Constitution.
DCOG provides technical support for infrastructure development to municipalities including Bela Bela Local Municipality (BBLM) through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) by deploying technical professionals. These professionals provide technical support throughout the project life cycle from integrated development planning, infrastructure delivery to operation and maintenance. This support includes the infrastructure assessments which are part of technical audits, development of master plans, project documentation, Asset Management Plans including Operations and Maintenance Plans.
DCOG monitors the performance of municipalities together with sector departments like the Department of Minerals and Energy (DMRE) on electricity provision, and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on water services provision as well as the National Treasury. Sector departments also perform assessments, which are technical audits, for example the Green Drop and Blue Drop Certification Programmes by DWS.
Should municipalities fail to perform their functions, the national government will intervene after provincial governments have done so, in terms of section 139 of the Constitution.
Reported outages in BBLM are attended to by a standby maintenance team. Water outages have currently been implemented to manage demand which is not met by the bulk supply from both Magalies Water Board and BBLM’s own water treatment works. BBLM’s street lights have been negatively affected by the theft of streetlight cables. BBLM has planned and implemented a multi-year theft proof mechanism due to insufficient budget to roll it out at once to the whole municipality. A few areas have been attended to with an overhead line which has proven to be efficient in addressing the theft of cables.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3534
Montwedi, Mr Mk to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
What has she observed as the top five greatest contributors to the problems that cause? (i) Instability and Lack of service delivery in local government. (2) What are specific steps of intervention has she taken to solve the specified problems?
Reply:
The Department, through the State of Local Government Report, identified the following key contributors to instability and lack of service delivery in local government:
- Instability in Councils (coalitions and changes in Council) and poor oversight (ineffective, incapacity and dysfunctional committees of Council).
- Weak administration (vacancies at senior management, incompetence, lack of technical capability, ineffective organograms and shortage of tools of trade).
- Inability to perform on conditional grants (poor planning, slow/ineffective SCM processes, Business forums, poor performing contractors, and sub-contractors, under expenditure and no value-for-money).
- Poor and lack of repairs and maintenance of infrastructure (cash management challenges, poor budgeting, poor planning for repairs and maintenance).
- Poor collection and management of revenue (low revenue base, ineffective revenue generation and enforcement controls).
Steps to address the problems:
The Ministerial outreach was conducted in 8 of the 9 provinces to drive the:
-
- Implementation of Municipal Support intervention plans focusing on 6 pillars with corresponding solutions to the identified challenges.
- Implementation of Schedule 6b of DORA, cost re-imbursement and other measures on MIG expenditure.
- Supported Section 139 interventions in distressed municipalities.
- The Department also collaborate with sector Departments, SALGA and provinces to build capacity in municipalities to conduct their own affairs.
- The Department is also considering the deployment of a team of experts to support municipalities to plan and implement service delivery initiatives.
End.
20 November 2023 - NW3698
Matuba, Ms M M to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
In light on the fact that the Government departments have a responsibility to use their budget and procurement spending to ensure the benefit of historically disadvantaged individuals, what total amount of his departmental budget has been used to benefit historically disadvantaged individuals, namely women, young persons and people living with disabilities in the past four financial years?
Reply:
Up until 2020/21 the Department was tracking Exempted Micro Enterprises and Qualifying Small Enterprises and was not tracking procurement expenditure in terms of the designated groups. The Department commenced tracking procurement expenditure relating to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) from 2021/22.
AREA |
2019/20 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
2022/23 |
Women |
- |
- |
R1,476 billion |
R1,394 billion |
Youth |
- |
- |
R610 million |
R364 million |
People living with disabilities |
- |
- |
R64 million |
R121 million |
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20 November 2023 - NW3680
Moore, Mr S J to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
Whether his department has put any interventions in place to resolve the water crisis in Gauteng, where some local communities such as in the Lesedi Local Municipality, have been without secure water supply for months; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of the interventions that his department has put in place to restore water to the local communities?
Reply:
The Department of Water and Sanitation has established a Water Supply Joint Operation Committee (JOC) together with Rand Water and all the three Metropolitan Municipalities (City of Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg, and City of Tshwane) in the Gauteng province. The JOC is a technical committee that has been meeting daily for the past two months to review the system yield and work out ways on how the water could be equitably shared. Also, the JOC looks at water supply challenges in the province as well as interventions to address the challenges. These interventions include restrictions of some of the bulk meters, closing some of the reservoirs overnight to allow the bulk water supply system to be at an acceptable healthy state. Currently, the water demand in Gauteng has grown rapidly, largely due to population growth and partly due to the increasing leaks in municipal distribution systems.
The Minister had held engagements with all the political and administrative leadership of all the municipalities in Gauteng and Rand Water in the Province wherein the municipalities are encouraged to address the increasing water consumption, non- revenue water and physical water losses. The municipalities are advised to improve their billing and revenue collection and allocate increased funding to maintenance and reducing leaks. It should be noted that the demand-supply relationship for treated water in Gauteng is very tight and the system is vulnerable to disruptions caused by heavy loadshedding, electro-mechanical breakdowns or theft of cables.
The Lesedi Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the south-eastern extents of Gauteng Province. It is one of three local municipalities within the Sedibeng District Municipality. Water supply for Lesedi comes from Mapleton Booster Station of Rand Water. The water is then pumped into Springs Brakpan Water Supply System of Rand Water. The storage facility is Selcourt Reservoir and there are 2-meter points on the western-edge i.e., Jameson Park/Kaydale and Heidelberg Town. The Selcourt reservoir must be above 50% capacity to sufficiently supply the Lesedi LM. The power failures, trips, pipeline failures and other emergency shut downs and overall water consumption by the metros affect the level of this reservoir.
The following water distributions systems are therefore affected: Rensburg Reservoir & Tower which supplied Walker, Vos, Zuid, JG Strydom and Coen Labuschagne. On the 12th of October, Rensburg Reservoir was at 15%. The Heidelberg Command Reservoirs which supplies the Heidelberg CBD, Jordan Park and Bergsig.
The Lesedi Local Municipality is currently implementing the below short-term measures to mitigate the water supply shortages in their area of jurisdiction when there are challenges: -
• Water tankering using three (3) municipal Water tankers, which services the affected areas. The high lying areas of Rensburg will be serviced as long as there are water shortages in the area.
• Designed System Operation alterations, to equitably manage supply to various settlements. That means the rotation of supply between low and high-pressure systems is done to ensure equitable access amongst all residents.
• Regular Feed back to the affected communities.
There are continuous engagements between the Municipality and Rand Water, on matters related to the water supply.
The Department provided R 18 million to Lesedi LM for the 2023/24 financial year for installation of the water supply infrastructure in Kaydale township.
Rand water is implementing an Upgrade of Mapleton Pumping Station which will be commissioned by December 2024. They are further Installing generators as a short-term measure in their Mapleton system by November 2023. Long- term interventions include construction of new reservoirs by 2028 at Brakpan 200Ml, and another 80 Ml Reservoir at Selcourt.
The daily JOC between Rand Water and Metros in the main also assist to ensure that the local municipalities are not negatively affected by the high consumption of the metros since water is appropriately shifted to ensure that everyone has some water despite the challenges of over-abstraction.
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20 November 2023 - NW3481
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What (a) is the status of the appointment of coastal border guards for the Border Management Authority in the 2023-24 financial year, (b) is the number of the specified guards that will be appointed in the specified period, (c) by what date will the guards be appointed, (d) what is the annual salary budget for the guards and (e) what sea vessels will the guards have access to in order to exercise their functions seaward to the outer limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone as defined in the Maritime Zones Act, Act 15 of 1994; (2) whether the coastal border guards will patrol the seaward area to the outer limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone as defined in the Maritime Zones Act, Act 15 of 1994; if not, (a) will they be based at ports of entry and (b) what will be their functions; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(1)(a) The BMA appointed 50 maritime Border Guards who started on 25 September 2023 for training and onboarding. They were onboarded in all functions related to maritime border control.
(1)(b) 50
(1)(c) They are already appointed and will be placed from 15 November 2023.
(1)(d) The salary levels are at entry level 6 – R241 000.00 per annum.
(1)(e) The BMA is currently in the procurement phase with ARMSCOR for maritime capabilities.
(2)(a) The BMA remains responsible for border law enforcement (including maritime – 12 nautical miles) and the border guards will be based at seaport from where operations will be launched.
(2)(b) Enforcement of maritime laws within the Law Enforcement area is in accordance with the BMA Act.
END
20 November 2023 - NW3653
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether he has found that the date of the 2024 national and provincial elections will be able to be proclaimed before the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill is signed into law and promulgated; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill will be submitted to Cabinet seeking Cabinet’s approval for the Bill to be introduced into Parliament within this current financial year. The Minister, and the Department, is working tirelessly to introduce the Bill timeously into Parliament, and allow for Parliament to process the Bill accordingly.
END
20 November 2023 - NW3676
Myburgh, Mr NG to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
(1)Whether he has found that the funding provided by his department to the Renosterberg Local Municipality for repairs to its sewer reticulation system and pump stations has been spent effectively and efficiently; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) what steps has his department taken to ensure that the Renosterberg Local Municipality complies with all the directives issued by his department?
Reply:
1. The Renosterberg Local Municipality (LM) requested support from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and The Northern Cape Department of CoGHSTA regarding urgent repairs and maintenance of its sewer reticulation system and pump stations. This assistance was required due to financial obligations and constraints that the municipality was experiencing.
A condition assessment was conducted by DWS, MISA and CoGHSTA and based on this assessment, the following scope of work indicated in the table below was finalised to rectify the sewer infrastructure challenges:
ITEM |
REPAIRS OF SET'UER PUMPSTATIONS IN VANDERKLOOF |
1 |
Main Pumpstation 36kW Gorman Rupp: Repairs on the Electrical Panel |
2 |
Repair of Minor Sewer Pumpstation 11kW (x2) Hidrostal (Electrical and Mechanical Repairs) - Suikerbossie Street |
3 |
Repair of Minor Sewer Pumpstation 11kW (x2) Hidrostal {Electrical and Mechanical Repairs} - Nature Reserve Street |
The abovementioned repairs could not be funded through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) of the DWS, with the exception for the level control switches for both pumps which were priced at R 150 000. Funding was allocated by DWS for this work.
The Northern Cape Department of CoGHSTA allocated R1 million for the required work. The Request for Quotation was issued by CoGHSTA during August 2022 for the repairs of the sewer pumpstations in Vanderkloof and work was completed by December 2022.
DWS assisted in monitoring of the works together with the CoGHSTA office. Retention work to the level control system was done during October 2022 and additional maintenance to the main pumpstation seals was done by the Renosterberg LM during October 2023.
2. Regulatory actions taken by the DWS to ensure that the Renosterberg Local Municipality complies with requirements for wastewater management include the following:
- The DWS issued notices of intent and Directives to the Renosterberg LM for spillages from the pumpstation and discharges from the Vanderkloof Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW).
- A Notice of intention to issue a directive in terms of Sections19(1) and 53(1) of the NWA was issued to municipality, on 24 November 2018. No response was received by DWS in relation to the notice issued.
- A directive issued 5 February 2019 requiring rectification of pollution activities as discharges from pumpstations and the Vanderkloof WWTW into the Vanderkloof dam. There were requirements to stop pollution and improve operation and maintenance. The municipality partially rectified operation and maintenance issues and waste discharges.
- There were complaints received by DWS from members of the public about accumulated to sewer discharges from 2 pumpstations and the Vanderkloof WWTW into the Vanderkloof dam from the beginning of March 2022. Verbal communication with municipal officials and investigation of the Vanderkloof pumpstations and WWTW on 23 December 2021 and during 18-22 March 2022 indicated discharges from the two pumpstations on the Vanderkloof dam had created algal blooms in March 2022. The Municipality indicated that the pumps were not pumping and discharging to the dam. The LM was in the process of refurbishing the pumpstations but are experiencing procurement challenges due to financial status of Renosterberg LM. AS an interim measure, the sewerage was pumped and trucked to the WWTW by the municipality.
- Another directive was issued by DWS in March 2022 for the municipality to stop the spillages and rectify the infrastructure.
A MISA report issued in April 2022 confirmed infrastructure deficiencies. A site inspection conducted by CoGHSTA also reached the same conclusion as the DWS investigations that the Vanderkloof WWTW and associated pump stations are contaminating groundwater resources and polluting the Vanderkloof Dam.
The municipality informed DWS of challenges experienced with the WWTW and pumpstations. The municipality indicated that its accounts were frozen due to outstanding Eskom debt and therefore no funds could be accessed to implement the corrective actions and comply with the DWS directives. However, the account was unfrozen as per the court ruling in May 2022. Afterwards, the DWS instructed the municipality to submit a corrective plant of action with clear time frames to address non-compliance on 22 June 2022. The plan is addressed as indicated in (1) above.
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17 November 2023 - NW3840
Smalle, Mr JF to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
With 66 or 25,68% dysfunctional municipalities and a further 107 or 41,63% medium-risk municipalities and only 10,5 % stable municipalities (details furnished), what measures has she put in place to ensure that municipalities that have applied to have their debt totaling R56,8 billion written off will (a) comply with the conditions for their debts to be written off and (b) adhere to the various sets of laws and regulations that will ensure the administrative accountability of such municipalities?
Reply:
Item 4.1.3.2 of the National Treasury issued MFMA Circular No. 124 (on Municipal Debt Relief) states
“If a delegated municipality did not meet any condition during any month, the Provincial Treasury’s certificate of compliance in terms of this paragraph must include as an attachment a report explaining the non-compliance and the progressive support measures instituted by both the provincial treasury and the municipality to facilitate the municipality’s progressive adherence to the condition(s).”
It is therefore recommended that the question be redirected to Ministry of Finance for the National Treasury to provide a response accordingly.
I thank you.
17 November 2023 - NW3649
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
What is the latest information on the criminal charges laid by her department against the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality regarding the sewage crises in the city of Durban?
Reply:
Find here: Reply
17 November 2023 - NW3635
Powell, Ms EL to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
Whether the Government is actively pursuing the attainment of a political settlement in Zimbabwe, following the disputed August 2023 elections in the specified country; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details of the political settlement that the Government hopes to achieve in Zimbabwe?
Reply:
The Republic of Zimbabwe held its harmonised elections on 23 and 24 August 2023 to elect the President, Members of Parliament and Councillors for local government. His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won the presidential elections by 52,6% of the votes and his closest rival and leader of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Advocate Nelson Chamisa, received 44% of the vote. The other presidential candidates received about 3,3% of the vote combined.
According to Section 93 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, any aggrieved candidate may challenge the validity of an election of a President by lodging a petition or application with the Constitutional Court within seven (7) days after the date of the declaration of the results of the elections. The Constitutional Court must hear and determine a petition or application within fourteen (14) days after the petition or application was lodged and the Court’s decision is final.
There has been no pursuance of the above prescribed process by any of the presidential candidates after the general elections held on 23 and 24 August 2023. South Africa continues to engage with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that peace and stability are improved in Zimbabwe. The results of the elections indicate that the two major players, being ZANU-PF and the CCC need to engage meaningfully with each other to ensure that their differences are solved so that Zimbabwe can focus on issues of inclusive development, peace and stability, which are important for Zimbabweans, South Africans and the SADC region.
17 November 2023 - NW3849
Spies, Ms ERJ to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether, with reference to the R56 billion debt municipalities owe Eskom and Treasury’s Municipal Debt Relief plan (details furnished), her department consulted with the National Treasury to commission an independent socio-economic impact assessment on the proposed National Treasury plan to ring-fence municipal grants meant for indigent households for use in the payment of debt by dysfunctional municipalities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The question is elicited by the Honoruable Member’s take that there is a “proposed National Treasury plan to ring-fence municipal grants meant for indigent households for use in the payment of debt by dysfunctional municipalities” of which the Department of Cooperative Governance is not privy of. Given that the “plan” is attributed to the National Treasury which also issued MFMA Circular No. 124 (on Municipal Debt Relief), it is therefore recommended that the question be redirected to Ministry of Finance for the National Treasury to provide a response accordingly.
I thank you.
17 November 2023 - NW3594
Engelbrecht, Mr J to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(1)With reference to at least three senior managers in his Department of Correctional Services (Chief Financial Officer & Directors) related to the COVID-19 pandemic procurements, what is the current status of the disciplinary processes against each of the implicated officials; (2) Whether the implicated officials are still receiving their full remuneration packages; if not, what is the position in each case, if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. The disciplinary hearing against the three DCS Senior Managers, who were charged in the same hearing, have been finalised and awaiting the findings by the chairperson (Senior Counsel) appointed by the state attorney. The chairperson in a procedural notice indicated that the findings would be provided by latest mid-November 2023.
2. It should be noted that the officials who are of the Senior Management Service (SMS) category in the Public Service are suspended in terms of chapter 07 of the SMS handbook with full pay.
END.
17 November 2023 - NW3658
Macpherson, Mr DW to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
Whether the National Empowerment Fund paid for any employee of his department to travel to France during the months of September and October 2023; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what is the name of the employee, (b) on what dates did the employee travel and (c) what was the (i) purpose and (ii) total cost of the trip?
Reply:
The NEF has not paid for any employee to travel to France during the months of September and October 2023.
.
-END-
17 November 2023 - NW3641
Myburgh, Mr NG to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
What are the details of the Awareness Programme of hr department regarding the importance of wetlands in terms of the (a) budget allocated,(b) personnel assigned and (c) roll out across the Republic?
Reply:
Find here: Reply
17 November 2023 - NW3591
Powell, Ms EL to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
In the aftermath of the alleged attack on Israel by Hamas, what (a) is the formal position of the Government on the conflict in the Middle East and (b) are the details of the actions that the Government has taken in response to the conflict to advance peace and security in the region?
Reply:
a) South Africa’s position continually supports all efforts aimed at the establishment of a viable, contiguous Palestinian State, existing side-by-side in peace with Israel, within internationally recognised borders, based on those of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with all relevant UN resolutions, international law and internationally agreed parameters. Additionally, a viable and sustainable peace plan for the Middle East must ensure that Palestine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and economic viability is guaranteed, with sovereign equality between Palestine and Israel. The Palestinian question remains at the heart of the Middle East situation. The international community has an obligation to find a comprehensive and just resolution to the Palestinian issue. So far, the traditional approach to conflict resolution has failed to achieve peace in Israel – Palestine. It is possible that a different approach, one that uses a human rights perspective on conflict resolution, could produce what the old approach could not. The international community cannot abandon its duty to act together, it must shoulder the responsibility to remove obstacles to peace and any violations of international law. Violence, extra judicial killings, administrative imprisonment, forced removals, illegal settlements in the West Bank, and the continued siege of Gaza, are not conducive to resolving the conflict. Urgent attention must be given to resolving the final status issues such as borders, the status of Jerusalem, the release of political prisoners, and the right of return.
b) South Africa supports all international efforts that seek to ensure lasting and durable peace and works with the international community through various initiatives aimed at establishing a viable, contiguous Palestinian State, existing side-by-side in peace with Israel, within the 1967 internationally recognised borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. HE President Ramaphosa was invited amongst a limited number of Heads of State, to participate in the recently held Peace Summit in Cairo. In addition, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr GNM Pandor, was invited to address the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to contribute to finding a resolution of the conflict in Gaza. Unfortunately, three (3) attempts by the UNSC failed to reach a resolution. However, the UN General Assembly (UNGA), by a two-thirds majority, reached a resolution that called for the immediate cessation of hostilities and to allow for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
17 November 2023 - NW3643
Myburgh, Mr NG to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
What progress has been in the development and/or implementation of the National Wetland Inventory ?
Reply:
Find here: Reply
17 November 2023 - NW3828
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1) Whether her department is responsible for monitoring schools; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (2) whether she has been informed of the appalling conditions at the Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School in the Eastern Cape and the mistreatment of learners; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what plans has she put in place to remedy the situation; (3) (a) how often do officials of her department visit special schools to ensure that basic norms and standards are maintained and (b) what are the full relevant details of the visits to the (i) specified school and (ii) other special schools; (4) what (a) actions had her department taken in 2018 when the school was in the news for the inhumane treatment of learners, (b) total number of teachers were disciplined and (c) are the relevant details of the disciplinary processes that were activated?
Reply:
1) No, the Department of Basic Education monitors and evaluates education in terms of Section 8 of the National Education Policy Act 27 of 1996. The direct monitoring of schools is the responsibility of provincial education departments (PEDs).
2) The Minister has been informed of the situation at Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School in the Eastern Cape.
3) The Department of Basic Education, through the Directorate: Inclusive Education, undertakes two rounds of provincial oversight visits annually to monitor and support the implementation of inclusive education. A sample of special care centres, special schools, ordinary schools, and full-service schools are included in the monitoring and support visits in four PEDs per year.
4) a) The Eastern Cape Department of Education intervened to address the issues raised in 2018; b) one educator was charged in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, but c) was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
17 November 2023 - NW3599
Faber, Mr WF to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
Considering the allegations of lack of accountability and delayed impact assessment reports from the African Renaissance Fund (ARF), what specific mechanisms has her department put in place to ensure that the migration of the ARF to the SA Development Partnership Agency will improve the financial management practices of the ARF?
Reply:
The African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF) has managed to receive unqualified audit opinions from the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) for the past five (05) consecutive years. This is an indication that the ARF Secretariat demonstrated accountability in relation to the administration and monitoring of the Fund and has also managed to establish internal controls and financial management practices that are in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury Regulations.
The current internal controls and financial management practices of the ARF will continue to be implemented and further strengthened when the Fund migrates to the South African Development Partnership Fund (SADPA). The establishment of the fully-fledged agency will enable for the creation of a staff compliment as compared to the current officials working under the ARF as well as the development of financial systems and processes for the agency.
17 November 2023 - NW3685
Ngcobo, Mr SL to ask the Minister of Basic Education
Whether her department has put measures in place to assist the Grade 12 learners who may not perform well in the 2023 National Senior Certificate examinations; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of the measures?
Reply:
Introduction
The Department of Basic Education initiated the Second Chance Matric Programme (SCMP) in January 2016 to support learners who could not achieve subject passes in Matric. The Department will use the SCMP to support the Grade 12 learners who are currently writing matric exams in case they desire to rewrite the exams again in 2024.
The objective of the SCMP is to provide support to learners, who are upgrading their matric qualification or did not meet the requirements of the National Senior Certificate (NSC), by providing access to quality resources and lessons with the intention to improve their life chances. The programme will provide support to learners on part-time basis.
The programme offers support to prepare learners to write one or both national examinations opportunities in May/June and October/ November, respectively.
Learners who are writing the 2023 matric exams and would like to rewrite supplementary examinations, can register at their own schools or at a District office or online. Information online registration and the link to register are available on this website:
https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/SeniorCertificate/SCRegistration.aspx
Matric learners are only required to use an ID Copy and Statement of Results or Matric Certificate to register.
2. Forms of support that will be made available to learners.
Once learners are registered, they will be provided with support in the following four platforms:
2.1 Platform number 1: Printed Learner Teacher Support Materials (LTSM) and other enriching resources
The Department annually reprint the state-owned LTSM that are provided to registered learners. The printed materials include Mind the Gap self-study guides, revision materials, previous question papers and memoranda and other self-help materials. The printed LTSM will be delivered to learners through the Provinces and District offices, and where necessary, materials are couriered directly to schools.
2.2 Platform number 2: Distribution of digital content through the Internet
The Programme distributes the digital study materials through the online and offline solutions. The digital study materials include the educational videos and audios that have been produced in the past. The online solution refers to the situation where learners who have access to the Internet and have devices are able to download digital study materials.
The Department has placed on the website: LTSM, multimedia and examination resources to be accessed by learners and teachers who have access to the Internet. Learners and teachers will be able to access these available resources before and during the exams. All these materials are available on this website:
https://www.education.gov.za/Programmes/SecondChanceProgramme.aspx
2.3 Platform number 3: Face-to-face classes
Working in collaboration with the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), the Department will facilitate the establishments of the face-to-face classes at selected schools throughout the country. At these centres, top-performing teachers will be selected to teach classes after hours and over weekends. Learners will be provided with the LTSM and other additional supporting materials. It is planned that 100 centres (centres refers to schools where learners attend classes) in Provinces will be established to support learners who will be writing the May/June 2024 examinations. The Department plans to support more than 50 000 learners through classes at the centres. The Department is working with the PEDs to gather learner data that will be finalise after registration.
2.4 Platform number 4: Broadcasting solution
The Department has forged partnerships with the public and private broadcasters to use both radio and television. The educational programmes are broadcast through major SABC regional radio stations and community radio stations. There are 12 SABC Regional radio stations and 10 local radio stations used to broadcast educational programmes to support the learners.
The educational programmes will also be broadcast through television stations that include SABC 1, DSTV Mindset (channel 319) and Open View HD (channel 201). The schedule of the programmes will be made available to learners so that they are aware about these programmes.
2.5 Additional Support to learners
- Learners will be also offered opportunities to access the educational programmes through the provincial initiatives and private sector support. The telecommunication companies, Vodacom and MTN, have initiated e-school programmes that are made available to learners at no cost. The MTN eSchool is available on this link: https://www.mtnonlineschool.co.za/logint. And Vodacom eSchool is available on this link: https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/shopping/v/vodacom-e-school
- Learners who have the mobile numbers of these companies, will access educational programs at no cost. More importantly, learners will access these programmes and do not need to have data.
- The NW Education Department has created the Toll-free number (0800 383 383) that will be given to learners who may call at no cost to access subject experts to assist them with subject contents.
- The Department has established a partnership with public libraries. The list of public libraries is shared through website and teacher WhatsApp Groups for learners to know where to access these libraries.
- Teacher/ Learner WhatsApp Groups – The teachers teaching at the centres are encouraged to form WhatsApp Group where learners will be able to engage with them. The Group will also be used to share study materials such as Study Guides, previous question papers and video materials.
3. Inclusive Education: The Department has expanded the SCMP to cater for learners with disabilities starting with the blind, deaf and partially sighted in these Provinces: Limpopo, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng. The programme will be expanded in the other five Provinces in 2024.
4. Registration to rewrite. Learner who would like to rewrite matric subjects, may register at their school or at the district offices close to where they live or via online. Those who would like to register online, may access registration on this link:
https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/SeniorCertificate/SCRegistration.aspx
17 November 2023 - NW3749
Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Basic Education
Whether her department has a framework and/or programme in place to monitor the state of special needs schools in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what (a) urgent monitoring measures has her department put in place at Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, which has no access to running water, broken toilets and adequate school infrastructure and (b) time frames have been set to effect the improvements to the infrastructure of the specified school?
Reply:
Yes, the Department of Basic Education has mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating education in terms of Section 8 of the National Education Policy Act 27 of 1996;
a) In response to the situation at Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School, the Director-General has established a Task Team to conduct an investigation and provide recommendations in terms of remedial actions; and
b) the work on the infrastructure at the school is underway, although this must be understood in terms of the fact that the school is governed in terms of Section 14 of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996.
17 November 2023 - NW3642
Myburgh, Mr NG to ask the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
(a) Who is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the National Wetland Management Framework and(b) what are the details of the success that has been achieved in restoring the wetlands since the inception of the framework?
Reply:
Find here: Reply
17 November 2023 - NW3593
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
What are the details of the practical steps he has taken to address the dysfunctional state of the Master’s offices, where service delivery has regressed, with some offices having issued instructions to practitioners not to contact them to enquire about progress of their cases and (b) by what date is it envisaged that he will address the dismal state of affairs?
Reply:
The Master’s Offices deals with not only deceased estates, but also bankruptcy matters, registration of trusts, curatorships as well as the Guardian’s Fund.
The Masters have been experiencing challenges with regards to appointment in deceased estates and trusts, as well as payment of Guardian’s Fund claims.
The Master’s Offices are not dysfunctional and though some offices are struggling more than others.
The challenges experienced by the Master includes, but are not limited to, the following:
i) Challenges in obtaining files from off-site storage
The Master’s Offices in Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg have been historically making use of offsite-storage service providers for trust files as they do not have enough space to store their files. The previous contract expired during March 2023 and the Department of Justice entered into a contract with a new Service Provider. The new service provider experienced challenges with the handover from the previous service provider and further to that, the Department decided that the Master Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town should also now make use of the service of the new service provider as digitization forms part of the contract. Old deceased estate files have also been included in this project now, as there are no electronic copies of these files available currently.
However, due to the challenges, the service provider experienced in the handover as well as the state of the files received from the previous service provider, they were unable to, to date scan all files in their possession.
In the light of this offices were unable to deal with correspondence received in most of those files, as they are unable to view / access the files.
This contract is managed by the Deputy Information Officer’s office and not by the Masters.
A meeting was held between all relevant parties to discuss a solution for the delay and fast tracking providing of files to the Masters Offices.
Task teams have been created for each province and will be liaising directly with the service provider to streamline and unblock challenges experienced by the service provider and the Master.
ii) Load shedding
The three sections which are struggling are all dependent on system access and hence load shedding has a paralyzing effect on the functions of these sections. This is however not affecting all offices as there are some which are situated in areas which do not get load shedding and /or have generators.
iii) System downtime
The three sections which are struggling are all dependent on system access and hence any system downtime, bugs and lags have a paralyzing effect on the functions of these sections.
Integration links with external service providers such as Department of Home Affairs also plays a pivotal role in the service delivery in these sections and downtime on their side is also hampering the performance of the Master.
Regular meetings are taking place between the Branch and the ICT Branch of the Department, as well as with DHA and other stakeholders in order to address these challenges.
iv) Vacancies and budget cuts
The Branch budget has been cut and a moratorium has been placed on the filling of any vacant posts and any post which becomes vacant subsequently, however, the Branch has been requested to identify critical post which will be considered for filling, should funds be available.
v) Backlogs
Due to the above issues the Masters have a revolving backlog challenge which will only be contained once the above challenges have been addressed and resolved.
Performance in the Branch is measured against targets set in terms of the Masters’ Annual Performance Plan which has been determined taking into account the challenges experienced in the Masters’ environment.
In the light of this, targets has been set at around 70% of matters done within the given timeframe, which allows for a 30% deviation on this to make provision for matters effected by the challenges listed above. It is envisaged that these targets and performance will increase as and when the above challenges have been addressed.
However, in a bid to improve service delivery, the Master’ Branch together with the ICT Branch, have been developing an Online Deceased Estates Solution to address challenges experienced by our clients when reporting an estate with the Master.
The Online Deceased Estate System seeks to enable South African citizens to submit their deceased estate applications online, giving the user the ability to register an estate from the comfort of their home or office without the need physically to visit any Master’s Office or Service Point of the Master. This system was launched into live production on 10 October 2023 in five Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and Thohoyandou).
Together with this Online System, a QR-coded appointment letter has been developed. This appointment letter is being sent electronically to the applicant instantly, upon approval of the appointment by the Assistant Master. The client then merely downloads the appointment letter, which can now be verified by scanning the QR-code, and then proceed with the administration of the estate. This alleviates the challenges experienced with collecting of original appointment letters at the Master’s Office, delays caused by postal services not being available, relevant institutions causing delays due to first awaiting verifications of appointments letters from the Master and the need for requesting copies from the Master in this regard. QR-coded appointment letters have already been implemented with great success in three Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) and the rest of the country is to follow suit as soon as possible.
Though the Master’s Offices are hard hit by challenges such as loadshedding, struggling to obtain files from off-site facilities, understaffing, budget cuts and constant network challenges, we are forever striving to implement solutions to better service delivery and ease the frustrations of not only the citizens, but also the employees of the Branch, who are working in a challenging environment.
Furthermore, the Department has set up a high-level Task-Team which will be zooming in on the issues in which the Masters offices are experiencing challenges and addressing them as part of a project action plan.
17 November 2023 - NW3634
Powell, Ms EL to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
(a) How has the Republic benefited to date from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the Chinese government which aims to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to improve trade and (b) what total amount has the BRI invested in the economy of the Republic?
Reply:
a) The Belt and Road Initiative is China's ambitious plan, which aims to link Asia, the Middle East and Africa through over-land and maritime trading corridors focusing on increasing interconnectivity between regions. Regarding Africa's common developmental agenda, the BRI is an important initiative that could realise some of the Continent's developmental priorities, particularly infrastructure development, which would facilitate intra-African trade. The BRI can potentially bring investment in infrastructure projects across the Continent. Realising the potential benefit of this visionary initiative, the African Union (AU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China in January 2015. The MoU focused on an intention to connect all 54 African countries through transportation networks and infrastructural projects, including modern highways, airports, and high-speed railways. South Africa signed an MoU with China in December 2015 on "Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road". However, there are currently no BRI-specific projects in South Africa. Thus, South Africa has yet to benefit from the BRI directly. The joint development cooperation and infrastructure projects currently under discussion between South Africa and China are undertaken bilaterally, including through the FOCAC programme. Recently, China has proposed a “Cooperation Plan between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on Complementarity between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP)”, which is under consideration. This Plan could link to the BRI, an over-arching approach of China that encompasses future funding for bilateral projects.
b) Although China is an important bilateral investor in the South African economy, currently, the investments linked to BRI have not yet commenced. However, considering the over-arching framework of the BRI for bilateral infrastructure development projects, SA may benefit in terms of investments, funding and technical skills transfer from projects such as the Small Harbours Development, Mega Focus School, Poverty Alleviation Village Initiative and the Mzimvubu Water Project, which are currently at various stages of implementation.