Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) No, the Government does not generally regulate transactions that involve any entity, be it foreign or domestic, public or private. Aside from been very difficult (if not impossible) to do for any country or regulator, it is not clear what problem the Honourable Member wants Government to deal with, and therefore to regulate.

b) There are some sectors that may be regulated (e.g. financial or mining sector, but such regulating does not generally involve overseeing every transaction for any regulated entity, not even for an organ of state. Indeed, the audit process only focuses on a sample of transactions when auditing the financial statements of any entity – the audit process also relies on internal control systems to prevent wrongdoing. To the extent that there is any wrongdoing with regard to any specific transaction, the regulator will act when such transaction is identified.

c) If the problem that the Honourable Member is concerned about relates to illicit financial flows, then there are number of measures that are in place, either through the SARS (eg to deal with transfer pricing), the Financial Intelligence Centre to assess suspicious transactions, or the South African Reserve Bank when overseeing regulations in terms of the laws like the Currency and Exchange Act, 1933. Such measures apply to all companies, irrespective of whether they are domestic or foreign, public or private. To the extent that there is criminal wrongdoing, such activities are reported to the relevant criminal justice authorities like SAPS and NPA. In this regard, it should be noted that we have to be mindful that regulatory or enforcement activities do not cause undue delay for trade and economic activities, nor impose significant costs, as South Africa needs to remain competitive if it wants to attract investments and grow the economy more rapidly to create jobs and deal with problems of poverty and inequality.

 

Reply:

(a)(i-ii) 15,083,238 total recorded movements for traveller arrivals in 2017 on visitor’s visas for holiday purposes.

(b) 16,181,312 total recorded movements for traveller departures in 2017. The difference between arrivals and departures could arise as a carryover of movements from 2016.

(c)(i) The top five nationalities whose movements indicate they have not yet departed the RSA are:

1. Zimbabwe: 227 365

2. Malawi: 66 742

3. Mozambique: 47 031

4. Lesotho: 38670

5. Swaziland: 4 549

(c)(ii) 24,174 applications for asylum were received in the 2017 calendar year.

Reply:

a) Total cost of Rooivalk Helicopter unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo for financial year 2017/18 is: R122 316 383.04

Flying Cost per year = R104 927 400

Rockets for training per year = R8 165 783.04

Fuel cost per year = R9 223 200.00

Total Cost R122 316 383.04

b) The details of statements forwarded to the United Nations for reimbursement for the Rooivalk Helicopter Unit are:

Letter of Assist 2013-076 (from 01 November 2013 to 30 October 2014)

Flying Hours: R128, 746,200.00

Ammunition: R11, 360,283.55

Paint (White): R965, 412.00

Total: R141, 071,895.55

Letter of Assist 2014-062 (from 31 October 2014 to 30 October 2016)

Flying Hours: R296, 415,360.00

Ammunition: R130, 942,961.20

Total: R427, 358,321.20

c) The agreement between the United Nations and Ukraine to employ the MI-24 helicopter is a legal agreement and a third party such as the Republic of South Africa is not privy to the contents of the costs contained in the agreement.

d) The Rooivalk helicopters are a resource that is dedicated for employment by the Force Intervention Brigade. Should the helicopter be withdrawn, the ability to employ Combat Air Support will no longer be directly available to South African Forces. The Rooivalk helicopter is armoured and can withstand light weapons fire and is utilised to gather intelligence by making use of its sensors. The helicopter is able to interdict targets with a high rate of fire in dense jungle terrain that ground forces are unable to reach.

The Rooivalk helicopter is a force multiplier to the Force Intervention Brigade and the risks associated are: reduced intelligence gathering capability, reduced fire power and the absence of an air interdiction capability will seriously reduce the combat potential of South African Forces to stabilise conflict affected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Should the helicopter be withdrawn, the Force Intervention Brigade’s morale and confidence will be impacted on negatively.

Reply:

(a) Same gender parents

The birth of the child from same gender parents shall be registered in terms of the Birth and Death Registration Act (1992). The same gender parents shall upon registration of their child provide proof of birth with details of the child and that of the same gender parents. Upon registering the child, a birth certificate shall be issued bearing details of the child, parent A and Parent B.

(b) Heterosexual parents

The birth of the child from heterosexual parents shall be registered in terms of the Birth and Death Registration Act (1992). The heterosexual parents shall upon registration of their child provide proof of birth with details of the child and that of the heterosexual parents. Upon registering the child, a birth certificate shall be issued bearing details of the child, parent A and Parent B.

Reply:

The Visa Adjudication System (VAS) is not designed to keep statistics according to company names. The system keeps records of applicants’ details in a unique identification code, commonly known as a reference number. Only through these details would the Department be in a position to retrieve the original application and explain each decision.

Reply:

(1)(a-b) A total of 23004 foreign nationals were found by Inspectorate to be illegal in the country during financial year 2016/17and were deported to their country of origin. A more in depth analysis would need to be undertaken to determine how many of these deportees had expired visas and those who entered illegally.

(2)(a-b) All 731 Inspectorate officials in the country conduct duties that require them to actively detect foreign nationals who are in South Africa illegally as well as conduct investigation to any contraventions of departmental legislations. They are therefore not an office bound unit except for when they complete case files attached to their duties.

Reply:

(1) Imraan Butt:

Yes, under section 5(5)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995.

Imaan Butt [maiden surname: Gqwetha]:

No, she is a South African citizen.

The rest of the responses relates to Imraan Butt:

a) 3 March 2005

b) He had been in the country for 3 years and 10 months. He has also been in possession of a Permanent Resident Permit for 1 year, 4 months and 13 days.

c) Mr Butt’s citizenship was granted prematurely through miscalculation by Ferreirasdorp Office in 2006. This resulted in the erroneous issuance of the naturalisation certificate. The Department noticed that various applications from Ferreirasdorp Office were not compliant with regulations and an investigation unfolded in this regard. The office manager resigned hereafter and the office was closed due to maladministration issues.

As a result of this situation, a legal opinion was sought. The legal opinion was that all applicants who had been granted citizenship without meeting the requirements but who then qualified, provided there was no fraud or other unlawful behavior on the part of the applicants in applying for naturalisation. No fraud could be proved, hence the naturalisation status quo should be maintained and deprivation should not be processed.

2. No, there was no appeal escalated to the Ministry.

Reply:

According to IEC:

The Electoral Commission has not awarded any tenders or contracts to Mchunu, Mashinini and Associates during the past five financial years.

Reply:

a) 144

b) The department through its Front Offices receives passport applications and urgent issuance requests as citizens submit their applications. There are a number of reasons advanced by various citizens who seek urgent assistance by the department. However, there is no recording of these requests which details the reasons for these outcries. Generally, the following examples can be indicated as reasons for urgent requests:

• While the citizen was processing his or her travel with the airline and Immigration Services at the airport he or she was told you need to have more than two pages left on the passport in order to travel with a passport.
• A citizen only realised in the morning of travel that the passport was missing.
• A citizen only realised in the morning of travel that the passport has been erroneously cancelled on the system while valid for another few years.

• A citizen lost his or her passport a night before or on the day of travel. A citizen is a business person who is involved in international engagements and has a trip to undertake but cannot find or has misplaced the passport.

• A citizen has just received an emergency that involves a relative who needs support or to be brought back from outside the borders of the Republic.

Amongst the greater concerns from citizens on issues raised as demand for immediate travel, is financial commitments as well as financial loss implications should they fail to travel under the circumstances.

Reply:

The Electoral Commission responded as follows:

a) Section 55 of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000 provides that a voter who is unable to cast his or her vote on voting day at the voting station in the voting district where he or she is registered may apply to cast a special vote within that voting district prior to voting day by applying for a special vote in the prescribed manner, which includes submitting a paper application form to the municipal office of the Electoral Commission, applying electronically via the on-line special vote system, or via SMS (for voting station special votes only, but not home visits).

Importantly, no reasons are required to be furnished by a special vote applicant when applying for a special vote at the voting station. In the case of home visits the applicant needs to be a voter who cannot travel to the voting station owing to physical infirmity or disability.

In the 2016 Local Government Elections (LGE 2016) in Mpumalanga, 86% (174 336) of the total of 202 646 approved special votes were voting station special votes; 14% (28 310) were home visits – compared with the national average of 44% being home visits and 56% being voting station special votes. Evidently, in Mpumalanga the vast majority of special vote applications were for voting station special votes, rather than home visits.

In accordance with the legislation, the Commission does not require special vote applicants to provide a reason when applying for a special vote. The Commission has thus not collected evidence with which to analyse the relatively high number of special votes in Mpumalanga in LGE 2016.

b) 2 409 additional voting officials were added to the initial allocation of 5 326 to cater for the approved special votes at voting stations and home visits in Mpumalanga in LGE 2016.

c) Adequate voting officials were allocated in Mpumalanga in LGE 2016 to ensure that all approved special votes were conducted within the timeframe specified in the election timetable.

Reply:

Response is based on information received from Alexkor.

ALEXKOR SOC LIMITED

(1)	The Department notes that the approved EMPR was based on the utilisation of sand material as opposed excavated material to construct the coffer dams. In 2013 Department of Environment and Nature Conversation gave Alexkor permission to continue with the coffer dam operations whilst the application of Section 24 (g) of NEMA Act 107 of 1998 is being assessed. Subsequently Alexkor was required to revise the EMPR and this was submitted to the Northern Cape Mineral Resources (Regional Offices) on 4 May 2018.
(2)	The Department noted the concerns raised with regards to the coffer dam operation at the Alexander Bay operations. The Department has commissioned an investigation into the legality of the operations to determine whether the processes followed in assessing and evaluating the likelihood of environmental impacts on socio economic, community and marine life, were considered. The Department intends to conclude the investigation during the 2018/19 financial year.

Reply:

Question	Response	Notes
Whether any abalone has been stolen from departmental stores in the past three financial years	Yes
(a) On what date did the incident take place	29 October 2015 and 18 December 2017
(b) What is the total value of abalone that was stolen	Estimated R1.5m
(c) What are the details of government officials who were involved	No government officials were involved in any of the mentioned incidents
(d) Whether investigations and/or criminal charges have been launched against officials and others who are implicated and	No government officials were involved in any of the mentioned incidents The incidents were both reported to authorities
(e) What steps have been taken against officials and others who are involved	No government officials were involved in any of the mentioned incidents

Reply:

1. Yes, the complaint was against the Chief Audit Executive (CAE)

2. These allegations currently form the basis of a labour dispute and as such will not be discussed until the matter has been finalized.

Reply:

Sub-question (1)

Amathole Forestry Company (Pty) Ltd (“AFC”) was created by government to house state forestry assets in the East Cape South package (Stutterheim and Hogsback region). Amathole Forestry Company owns the plantations and leases the plantations land from the state. In 2005, the Rance Group of Companies through Amathole Timber Holdings (The Holding Company) and its Black Economic Empowerment partners successfully won a public tender and acquired 84% stake in AFC from the state owned parastatal, SAFCOL.

To advance transformation in the sector and achieve Socio economic development as one of the elements of empowerment in terms of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment legislation by the Rance Group of Companies, Rance Rural Development Agency (RRDA) was created to provide support to rural communities along the Wolf River. AFC through Rance Rural Development Agency is currently supporting 83 rural communities along the Wolf River and Lower Zingcuka Agricultural Cooperative was among the beneficiaries. Predominantly, these rural communities are involved in chillies production as well as vegetables and maize with support from RRDA.

AFC through RRDA entered into a partnership with Lower Zingcuka Agricultural Cooperative Limited in 2012 in which the cooperative was to produce chillies on its land while AFC provide technical support, inputs, operational costs and markets. The product was delivered to a processing plant in Grahamstown that processes the chillies into spice. The facility (Plant) is owned by the Rance Group.

However, the partnership between AFC and the cooperative lasted for two years (2012 & 2013), after which it was terminated. The reasons for termination were cited as poor and declining yields as a result of viral infection in the soil. The cooperative indicated that they received no money from this partnership as AFC claimed to have made no profits owing to poor yields. Currently the cooperative produces vegetables and maize with support from the Office of the Premier which provided a tractor, fencing and production inputs.

Sub-question (2)

At this stage, there is no relationship between AFC and the cooperative as the partnership ended in 2013 and AFC plays no role in the operations of the cooperative. Consequently, DAFF will not be launching any investigation into the role of AFC into the operations of the cooperative.

Reply:

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

DEPARTMENT:

a) The Department has contracted five (5) consulting firms.

b) (i)

• Laetoli
• Intini Research & Consulting
• Crossroad Consulting House
• K. Edmunson
• Broadband Infraco

(ii)

• Laetoli: To conduct the organisational climate and culture survey
• Intini Research & Consulting: Undertake a survey of transformation of the top 100 ICT sector companies
• Crossroad Consulting House: Conducting the organisational design investigations to determine Department of Telecommunications & Postal Services (DTPS) organogram and evaluate newly created positions.
• K. Edmunson: Assist with the drafting of the ICT Sector Commission and Tribunal Legislation.
• Broadband Infraco: Implementation of SA Connect Phase 1

(iii)(aa)

• Laetoli – 16 June 2016
• Intini Research & Consulting – 29 September 2017
• Crossroad Consulting House – 01 February 2018
• K. Edmunson – 01 December 2017
• Broadband Infraco – 09 March 2018

(bb)

• Laetoli – 21 Months
• Intini Research & Consulting – 2 Months
• Crossroads Consulting House – 3 Months
• K. Edmunson – 5 Months
• Broadband Infraco – 12 Months

(cc)

• Laetoli – R 1 246 600.00
• Intini Research & Consulting – R 356 343.00
• Crossroad Consulting House – R 495 900.00
• K. Edmunson – R 462 350.00
• Broadband Infraco – R 11 775 060.00

 

(dd)

• Laetoli - Mr. Joe Mjwara: Acting Director General
• Intini Research & Consulting – Mr. Alfred Mmoto: Chief Director: BBBEE
• Crossroad Consulting House – Mr. Robert Nkuna: Director General
• K. Edmunson – Ms. Mameetse Masemola: Acting Director General (ADDG) Policy Development Branch
• Broadband Infraco – Mr. Robert Nkuna: Director General

ENTITIES:

ENTITY	(a)CONTRACTOR	(b (i) PURPOSE	(aa)START DATE	(bb)TIME PERIOD	(cc)VALUE	(dd)CONTRACT APPROVAL
SAPO	KPMG	Implementation partner for Postbank Corporatisation Project	26 Jan 2016	Extended to 30 Sept 2018	R21 101 881.40	Mr Mark Barnes (GCEO); Mr Shaheen Adam (Acting MD: Postbank)
ZADNA	Duja Financial Management	Accounting Services & Secretariat Services	01 March 2008	12 months	R200 000	Mr Vika Mpisane CEO
	Nduma Chartered Accountants Incorporated	Internal Auditors	01 Oct 2016	12 months	R121 023. 13	Mr Vika Mpisane CEO
	Rakoma & Associates	External Auditors	01 Apr 2018	12 months	R132 450.90	Mr Vika Mpisane CEO
	Eagle iLab	Web presence	01 Apr 2017	12 months	R18 000 per month	Mr Vika Mpisane CEO
NEMISA	STP Consulting	Organisational Design	01 Jun 2017	31 May 2018	R760 665.00	Tender Process CEO signed Off
	BDO HR Advisory Services	Labour Relations Specialist to support organisational restructuring	21 Jun 2017	31 May 2018	R1 000 000	Tender Process CEO signed Off
	Rise Security	Security Services	01 Dec 2017	31 Oct 2020	R3 369 326.03	Tender Process CEO signed Off
	Walking Tall	Cleaning Services	01 Dec2017	31 Oct 2020	R1 352 788.96	Tender Process CEO signed Off
	ORCA	Internal Audit Services	01 Apr 2018	31 Mar 2021	R3 000 000	Tender Process CEO signed Off
SENTECH	Bitz technologies T/A Abacus Advisory	Value for-money assessment on capital investments over the past two years.	18 Sept 2017	30 April 2018	R 1,611,589.00	Exco
	Bayajula (PTY) Ltd	Sentech Performance Management Training	19 May 2017	Once-off	R 400,000.00	Head-SCM
	Quest Research Services	Customer Satisfaction Measurement Service Provider	10 Feb 2016	9 Feb 2019	R 923,657.89	Exco
	Sekela Xabiso	Review of IT General Control	4 Mar 2016	3 Mar 2019	R 1 837 957 .47	Exco
	Momentum OCSA	Medical surveillance programme at Sender Transmission Park (STP) Honeydew offices, in Sentech’s OC’s and at Meyerton	7Aug 2017	6 Aug 2019	R360 755.00	Head-SCM
	Transformex cc	B-BBEE verification	25 Oct 2016	24 Oct 2019	R 240 558.00	Head-SCM
	Brink Stores Mkhize	Architectural Services required for renovations to the Upington office Sentech	22 Feb 2017	22 Feb 2020	R1 219 800.00	Exco
	Nkonki Incoporated	External Audit Services and Assurance Service for the period of five years to Sentech SOC LTD (renewable annually)	17 Aug 2017	16 Aug 2022	R1, 426 754.46	Exco
	Delta Built Environment	Principal agent for STP renovations	11 Oct 2016	31 Jan 2019	R 1,160,000	Exco
	JHI Properties	Re-evaluation of Sentech's Land and Buildings	25 Nov 2015	24 Nov 2018	R 963 300.00	Exco
	Edward Nethan (ENS),Cliff Decker Hofmeyer,Rice Boulton,DM5 Ink,Malebeye,Motaung (MMM),ODBB Attorneys JV(Inqubeko),Sitsehedi Makgale (SMMA), NMA attorneys, Phuthi Manamela, Mkhabela attorneys, Hogen Lovells, Seanago attorneys, Selebogo ink, Manong attorneys, Crawford attorneys	Panel of legal practioners	23 Jul 2015	23 Jul 2018	The monetary value is not quantifiable upfront as it depends on the nature of the case etc. But our legal budget for the year 2017/18 was R500 000.00	Board
	Xicon Solutions	SAP & CSD Integration	29 Nov 2017	(3 month contract, not yet started) - end date to be determined	R435,000.00	Head-SCM
	Nyeleti consulting,RBI assets,Delf consulting	Structural analysis on masts structures and related work	14 Jan 2018	14 Jan 2023	Panel, the estimated tender value has been capped at R15 million over 5years	Board
	One Zerro Consulting Pty	Design and principal agent for implementation of solar sytems	28 Feb 2018	Linked to the appointment of a service provider for the installation	R 793,611.00	Exco
	MFT Advisory Services	Assurance review of the SAP functional update project (phase 1&2)	1 Mar 2018	Until completion of the project	R766.08 per hour, contract value estimated at R330 000	Head-IA
	Institute of Directors Southern Africa (IoDSA)	Board Appraisal	3 May 2017	30 Jun 2019	R464 151.00	Company Sec
	Palladian	Skills Audit	3 Apr 2018	1Oct 2018	R163,875.00	Exec: HR
	Emergent Growth	Executive Coaching	15 May 2018	30 Nov 2018	R422,625.00	Exec: HR
	Careways	Employee wellness	4 Oct 2018	month to month until appointment of a service provider	R250,000.00	Exec: HR
SITA	Five Network Technologies	Procurement of Audit Service for SITA NGN	19 May 2015	3	R1 641 600	Mr Sizwe Majavu: Acting Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	McKinsey Incorporate	Appointment of a panel of service providers to provide supply market intelligence services for 3 years	01 Aug 2015	3	R2 000 000	Mr Sizwe Majavu: Acting Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Work Dynamics (Pty) Ltd	Provision of Leadership Assessments	28 Sept 2015	3	R4 800 000	Mr Sizwe Majavu: Acting Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Accenture SA	Procurement of consultancy Architectural Services for SITA Strategic Technology Management	22 Jul 2016	2	R31 998 319.14	Ms Jabulile Tlhako: Executive SCM
	Gartner Ireland	Microsoft for SAPS	01 Aug 2016	3	R15 014 052	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Enterpriseroom (Pty)	Programme Management: SITA ICT Management	01 Nov 2016	3	R4 883 999	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	The Innovation Hub Management Company (Pty) Ltd	Renewal of the MoU between SITA and Innovation Hub (SOC)Ltd	26 Apr 2017	3	R3 071 315.79	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Gartner SA (Pty) Ltd	SITA subscription for 2 years	01 Jul 2017	2	R9 246 152	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Fundudzi Forensic Service (Pty)Ltd	Professional services for investigation into employees non- compliance to SITA’s conflict of interest Policy & Investigation of employees who have conducted business with the State	20 Nov 2017	12 months	R5 178 336	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Fundudzi Forensic Service (Pty)Ltd	Scope expansion for contract between SITA & Fundudzi Forensic Services for the appointment of external company to perform an independent forensic investigation of the SCM function	15 Feb 2018	4 months	R5 070 957.12	Ms Mimi le Roux: Acting Exec Internal Audit
	Flow Communications (Pty) Ltd	Appointment of a Public Relations Agency	01 Mar 2018	3	R3 000 000	Mogogodi Dioka: Head of Department: Technical Sourcing
	Bowman Gilfillan Inc.	Independent forensic investigation into allegation of irregular and /or fruitless expenditure or wrongdoing between SITA, SAPS, FDA & ISS	01 Jan 2018	6 months	R14 890 245.77	Ms Mimi le Roux: Acting Exec Internal Audit
	Council foe Science and Industrial Research	Conduct research, provide advisory services and develop the specification document for the procurement of National Identity System	17 Jan 2018	2	R28 900 113.16	Jabulile Tlhako: Executive SCM
BBI	-	-	-	-	-	-
USAASA	-	-	-	-	-	-

 

Reply:

(1)(a) It needs be mentioned, that the Umhlali Police Station Is not a devolved police station and as ·a result, the South African Police Service Is reliant on the Department of Public Works for all minor and major repairs.

The police station's yard is not regularly maintained, as the grounds man that worked at the police station, passed away and the post has not yet been filled.

The glass door at the Community Service Centre (CSC) entrance Is shattered.

However, the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Commander, is currently looking for alternatives with which to replace the glass door. The roof of the CSC leaks when it rains.

There is a shortage of space for the storage of case dockets and other official documents. Currently, a detention cell is used to store case dockets.

The detention cells at the police station are in a poor condition. Rain water seeps through the roof.

Find here: (1)(b)(i)

Reply:

The property known as the Old Post Office building in Irene, Centurion, Pretoria, is privately owned and therefore not the responsibility of the National Department of Public Works.

(a) and (b) The department is not empowered to undertake any works on privately owned buildings.

________________________________________________________________________

Reply:

(a) (i) The current estimate is that there are 300 lion breeding facilities in South Africa. This is based on reports provided by the provincial issuing authorities.

(ii) (aa) the lion breeding facilities register with the Provincial Authorities as competent Authorities; hence the data referred to in (a) (i) (the Department, therefore, does not have information on the detailed breakdown of the number of the specified facilities registered with SA Predators Association and other associations. Such information on the registration aspects to respective associations can be sourced from associations themselves;

(bb) As indicated above, information on any other associations is also not available to DEA.

(b) Information on the names of other associations is not available to DEA. However, DEA works, or cooperates, with a number of associations individually or through various forums, depending on issues at hand.

(c) (i) Information on the type of each predator is not available to DEA and are closely connected with and under the control of the Provincial Issuing Authorities

(ii) Information on the number of each type of predator found at each specified facilities is not available to DEA and are closely connected with and under the control of the Provincial Issuing Authorities.

---ooOoo---

Reply:

a) The Department has installed Kiosks in 22 sites by March 2018. There are further 40 sites that have equipment that are awaiting cabling.

b) The total cost for equipment for the 62 sites was around R12 million.

c) The Labour Centers that are currently live are:

Alberton

Atteridgeville

Benoni

Bethlehem

Boksburg

Bloemfontein Labour Centre

Cape Town Labour Centre

East London

Giyani

Hazyview

Kimberley

Lephalale

Mokopane

Mahikeng

Oudsthoorn

Port Elizabeth

Potchefstroom

Richard's Bay

Soweto

Upington

Verulam

Kempton Park

d) The Kiosks offer the following functions:

1. Registration of work seekers
2. Searching for job opportunities
3. Registration of job opportunities
4. Application for UIF benefits
5. Letters of Good Standing for the Compensation Fund
6. Career Interest Assessments

e) As at 31 March 2018, the detailed statistics relating to usages for all services was not available as the landing page is being enhanced.

Reply:

1. The targets were reduced to align with the reduction of the operational budget of Branch that was effected by the National Treasury.

2. (a) The Department has placed 40,078 work seekers into different employment on a daily basis from the various Labour Centers during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years and records of placements were audited by the Internal Audit and the Auditor General. The placement during 2017/18 still to be audited stands at 21,076.

(b) Placement happens on a working daily basis and dates are linked to individual records.

(c) The Department has not conducted tracer studies to determine those that remain employed 3 years after placement.

3. The Employment Services Board is still busy discussing Regulations and I will publish them as soon as they are certified by the State Law Advisors.

Reply:

Response to Sub-question (1)

The matter of a state house being occupied by Amathole Forestry Company representative was only brought to my attention when the Honourable Member asked the question. Part of the state assets transferred to Lower Zingcuka community is a residential house that was used by agricultural extension officers during the Ciskei government. It should be pointed out that DAFF was never involved in this process. However, it was established that that house in question was abandoned and vandalised. The community took a decision to preserve the house and used it as a crèche. Unfortunately vandalism on the property continued unabated. Subsequently, Lower Zingcuka Agricultural Cooperative Limited in agreement with the community took over the use of the house for business purposes. The cooperative stores its implements and a tractor at the property. Through the partnership described under response to question 1028, Mr Jerry of Amathole Forestry Company was deployed to the Wolf River area by Rance Rural Development Agency to provide technical support to the cooperative and other villages in the area. Through the agreement of both the community and the cooperative, Mr Jerry was given permission to reside in the house.

Response to Sub-Question (2)

Even after the partnership between AFC and the cooperatives lapsed, Mr Jerry continues to reside in the house providing production related technical support to other communities in the area. Mr Jerry also services the tractor belonging to the cooperative and other equipment, even though there is no formal contract in place. It has been established that the continued stay of Mr Jerry at the house is per agreement by the community and the youth cooperative due to the value of the services that he provides to them. Mr Jerry has become part of the community and provides various forms of assistance to members of the community.

In conclusion, there are no formal agreements or documents signed between the state and Amathole Forestry Company allowing Mr Jerry to use the house in question. This is a matter between the community, Lower Zingcuka Agricultural Cooperative and Amathole Forestry Company. The continued stay of Mr Jerry at the house is purely based on the value that he (Mr Jerry) brings to the community. Should the community wish to reclaim the use of the house, it is envisaged that they will engage Mr Jerry personally who has expressed his willingness and readiness to vacate the property should the community so wish.

Reply:

I have been furnished by the named entities with the information furnished below.

a) ITAC has a total number of four (4) consulting firms or companies currently contracted to provide services within the organisation. Refer to the table below:

Name of Consultant	Service Provided	Start Date / Time Period / End Date	Monetary Value in Rands	Name and Position of each individual who signed off on each contract
Document Warehouse	Records management	3 Nov 2016 - 2 Nov 2021	R12 000.00 pm	Chief Commissioner
Wilmar Brokers	Assets insurance	1 April 2015 - Till Cancel	R242 508.00	Chief Commissioner
Careways	Employee Health and Wellness Programme	1 Oct 2017 - 30 Sept 2020	R477 831.68	Chief Commissioner
EOH	Microsoft Licencing	1 Dec 2017 - 30 Nov 2020	R1 996 995.81	Chief Commissioner

b) EDD: A total number of two (2) consulting firms or companies were contracted with EDD during April and June 2017. Refer to the table below:

Name of Consultant	Service Provided	Start Date / Time Period / End Date	Monetary Value in Rands	Name and Position of each individual who signed off on each contract
21st Century	Job Evaluation	April 2017	R64 638	Director General
Indlela growth strategies	Recruitment related project management	June 2016	R222 023.84	Director General

(C) COMPETITION TRIBUNAL has a total number of eight (8) consulting firms or companies currently contracted to provide services in the organisation. Refer to the table below.

Name of Consultant	Service Provided	Start Date / Time Period / End Date	Monetary Value in Rands	Name and Position of each individual who signed off on each contract
Altimax	AFS compliance review	2015-04-01 (36 months)	R450 223, 62	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process.
BLX Solutions	Reporting tool (Qlikview) support and development	2016-11-01 (36 months)	R489 316, 50	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO.
KPMG Incorporated	Internal Audit	2015-04-01 (36 months)	R1 417 438,84	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by the Chairperson.
Paprika Graphics and Communications	Annual Report Design and printing	2016-04-01 (36 months)	R322 682,27	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO.
Podrouzek	Case management software support and development	2016-07-01 (60 months)	R655 704,00	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO.
Pro-Publico Consultancy	Policy Consultancy	2015-05-01 (36 months)	Rate per hour	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO.
4Design Creative Media	Website support and development	2010-09-01 (Green contract)	R13 500,00	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO.
4Design Creative Media	Website support and development	2017-10-01 (Deviation extension)	R301 000,00	Chairperson and Tribunal EXCO sign off on procurement process. SLA signed by COO - Janeen de Klerk

 

(d) COMPETITION COMMISSION: has a total number of 87 consultants for the 2017/18 financial year. The approval of these services and contracts were done in line with the Competition Commissions internal delegation of authority. In most cases, one consultant may have been appointed on more than one case or activity and that may span over a number of years.

Consultancy/ Type of Service Provided	Nature of Service	Period	Monetary Value
Economic Experts	The following consultants were utilised for economic advisory services as and when required Acacia Economics Pty Ltd AC Nielsen Marketing & Media Pty Ltd Alexander Forbes Business Metrics Consultants Pty Ltd DNA Economics Dr Joachin Vermooten Genesis Analytics IMS Health Impact Research International Meridian Economics	Assignment duration	R 105 405 951
Sector Experts	The following sector and forensic experts were utilised as and when required as, Bizz Consult Bureau for Food and Agricultural Century Technical Solutions Control Risks Ecyber Systems Pty Ltd Ethel Teljeur T/A Sizwe Gas Exactech PTY LTD Kasturi Mooaliyar	Assignment duration	R 68 427 072
External Legal Services	The following were contracted for legal services as and when required AC Ndzabandzaba Adv A Bhana Adv M Le Roux Adv NH Maentja Adv J Wilson Adv P Ngcongo Adv H Rajah Adv N Muvangua Adv M Lekoane Adv B Lekokotla Adv A Hassim Adv T R Mafukidze Adv K Moroka Adv Kazee Adv PG Seleka Adv V Notshe Adv C Dauds Bowman Gilfillan Bradeley Conradie - Halton Cheadle Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Incorporated De Louw Le Roux and Deofrann Du Plessis Dept of Justice & Const Development Adv D.I. Berger SC (S ATTORNEY) Fasken Martineau Gildenhuys Malatji Inc JE KLAAREN KBK ATTORNEYS INC Maenetja Attorneys Maponya (Johannesburg ) Inc Mike Brierley Consult CC Mkhabela Huntley Adekeye Inc Mokgwasa INC Mokwana Attorneys Morare Thobejane Incorporated Nandisile Mokoena Ndobela & Lamola Incorporated Ngeno & Mteto INC	Assignment duration	R 105 289 244
Inquiry Support	The following experts and consulted were used for Inquiry Consult and Support as when required Inquiry Consult and Support BASE 36 Clint Oellerman Dr Lungiswa Nkonki Professor Sharon Fonn KPMG Service Proprietary Limited Lulama Mtanga Dr Ntuthuko Melusi Bhengu Sipho Mtombeni	Assignment duration	R 68 848 687
Bioss- Southern Africa	Psychometric Assessments	Once-off	R 10 317
Control Risks	Business Continuity	Once-off	R 49 494
Deloitte Consulting JHB.	Finance	Assignment duration	R 1 330 380
Deloitte & Touche No 2	Finance	Assignment duration	R 290 700
FRRW Consulting	Recruitment	Case duration	R 677 160
FTG Business Advisory Services (PTY) LTD	Recruitment	Assignment duration	R 615 932
Hiside Eventing PTY LTD	Strategic Planning Facilitation	Once-off	R 48 923
Isendlu Business Companion	Survey	Once-off	R 491 910
Kelly A Division of Kelly Group Ltd	Recruitment	Once-off	R 318 242
Key Careers and Consulting	Recruitment	Once-off	R 154 323
Kwakuhle Staffing Solutions	Recruitment	Once-off	R 396 296
Michael Page International SA	Recruitment	Once-off	R 280 000
Paul Bowning	Recruitment	Once-off	R 182 000
Price Waterhouse Coopers Incorporated	Change Management expert	assignment duration	R 919 165
QA Auditors INC	Finance	Once-off	R 706 800
Rangewave	IT	Once-off	R 1 479 264
SAGE Talent Solutions	Recruitment	Once-off	R 106 974
Sustainable livelihood Consultant	Research	Once-off	R 1 024 846
The Coaching Center	Executive Coaching	Once-off	R 254 106
The Dream Team	Strategic Planning Facilitation	Once-off	R 39 900
Thomson Reuters	Research	Once-off	R 90 938
Tibane Group	Strategic Planning Facilitation	Once-off	R 75 750
Towers Watson	Data Analysis Health Inquiry	Inquiry duration	R 2 017 837
Work Dynamics	Job Evaluations, HR	Once-off	R 68 578

e) Industrial Development Corporation: The Industrial Development Corporation uses consultants for expert advice and insight on certain transactions across industries and sectors which the IDC operates in. There are two types of consultancy contracts: those where the IDC is the only client and those where a consultant is appointed to render work to an IDC client which is funded on a cost sharing basis with its clients as part of an IDC business support grant. We provide details below of consultancy contracts for work rendered specifically for the IDC (excluding work commissioned on a cost-sharing basis with IDC clients):

I am advised that contracts are signed-off by specifically delegated IDC officials.

Consultancy agreements for consultancy work rendered to the IDC:

No.	Name of the Consultancy Firm	Name of each Consultant	Description of Services	Start Date	continue Duration	Contract Monetary Value
1	Umoya Consulting (Pty) Ltd	Adrian Crewe	Development and execution of Industrial Policy Media Strategy for the Industrial Policy Support Fund (IPSF) of the dti, which is administered by the IDC	1-Nov-16	2 years	R1,740,000
2	B and M Analysts (Pty) Ltd	Julia Wedgwood	Development of a chemicals sector strategy for the Industrial Policy Support Fund (IPSF) of the dti, which is administered by the IDC	6-Dec-16	Phases 1 - 4 completed within 9 months (6 Dec 2016 until 5 Sept 2017) Phase 5 is ongoing support for 2 years	R1,247,502
3	Rothschild (SA) (Pty) Ltd and Identity Capital Partners (Pty) Joint Venture	Paul Bondi, Rudy Scholtz, Lumka Mlambo	Transaction Advisory Services for Scaw Metals	1-Jan-16	30 Months	R22,725,000
4	SAB&T Chartered Accountants Incorporated t/a Nexia SAB & T	Ndumi Medupe, Tando Mbatsha, Mohamed Koor, Rajen Kistan	Risk Management consulting services on an as needed basis	1-Aug-17	3 years	R495,810
5	Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd	Peter Raymond, Cornelia Holtzhausen, Abre Smit Johnny Kalala, Doug Belle, Max Clark, Ashleigh Maritz, Jan Lategan, Ivor Poultney, Ian du Plessis, Greg Traquair, Lisa Stowe	Independent review of Foskor business operations	25-Oct-17	18 weeks	R2,406,688
6	OABS Development (Pty) Ltd	Ryan Newborn, Daan Louw, H. Oosthuizen, Michael Brink, Andrew McEwan, Muedanyi Ramantswana	Development of the forestry investment program for the Industrial Policy Support Fund (IPSF) of the dti, which is administered by the IDC	9-Jan-18	8 months	R800,325
7	PWC	Zulfah Murray, Barry Reynolds, Corne Conradie, Sebenzile Mathebula	Implementation of IFRS 9	6-Jun-17	3 years	R2,941,415
8	Riscura Solutions	Malcolm Fair, Monika Kraushaar	Diversification of IDC listed equity portfolio	10 Nov 2015	First phase completed during FY 2017 and now awaiting regulatory approval for implementation phase.	R1,500,000 Deliverable 1 at a cost of R439K has been paid. Deliverables 2 to 4 is dependent on approval to proceed with implementation of the diversification project.
9	Agricultural Research Council (ARC)	Dr Alayinka Aiyegoro Sydwell Langa Ziyanda Dlamini Lehlogonolo Moeng	Reduction of post-harvest losses in tomato fruits by enhancing the shelf-life through the use of fungul probiotics: increasing the economic power of smallholder farmers done for the EDD through the agro processing competitiveness research grant.	01 Jul 2015	2 years 9 months	R1,550,000
10	OABS Development (Pty) Ltd	Professor Andre Louw Dr. Danie Louw Urbanus Badenhorst Johannie Pienaar	A study on potential product development for the commercialization and value add to beef products done for the EDD through the agro processing competitiveness research grant.	01 Aug 2016	2 years	R1,676,223
11	Luhlaza Intergrated Sustainable Solutions	Ntombifuthi Monedi-Noko Mosimo Macatsha Zandile Fuyane Yannias Nuapia	A study on the agricultural development of alternative medicine in South Africa done for the EDD through the agro processing competitiveness research grant.	01 Aug 2016	2 years	R1,734,238
12	LHA Management Consultants (Pty) Ltd	Dr, Oliver Damm, Ralph Triebel, Dr. John Barnes, Prof. Dawie van Vuuren	Prefeasibility study for the development of metal powder production capability for the additive manufacturing (AM) industry	01 May 2018	4 months	R1,722,500
13	Golder and Associates	Etienne Roux	Provide expert advice on African Chrome groundwater monitoring	23-Jan-2014	3 year (continuing until final site closure)	R7,537 per month

-END-

Reply:

The department and entities reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration do not own land. The department of Public Works is responsible for the accommodation needs of the department and entities

Reply:

a) There were no grievances filed against the Department due to irregular appointments.

b) n/a.

Reply:

(1)(a)(ii) Provincial Task Team.

(1)(b) No, the vehicle is being used by the Detective Trio Task Team, at the EThekwini Outer North Cluster Office.

(2)(a) Yes, available electronically, due to the size of the documents.

(2)(b} Yes, the AVL and fuel consumption records are available.

(3) No.

(3)(a) Not applicable.

(3)(b) Not applicable.

Original signed LIEUTENANT GENERAL

DIVISIONAL COMMISSIONER: VISIBLE POLICING

NPMASIYE

Date: 3 May 2018

Reply to question 1273 recommend
 

Original signed LIEUTENANT GENERAL

DEPUTY NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: POLICING

SFMASEMOLA

Date: 5 May 2018

Reply to question 1273 recommend

GENERAL NATIONAL COMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
KJ SITOLE 9SOEG)
Date: 2018/05/11

Reply to question 1273 approved

MINISTER OF POLICE
BH CELE, MP
Date: 2018/05/17

Reply:

Yes; the Department has an operating Employment Equity Plan.

a) The Department’s Employment Equity Plan has been in operation since 01 September 2015.

b) The Department’s Employment Equity Plan was last reviewed on 27 February 2018.

c) The Department’s Employment Equity Plan has been in operation for 2 years 8 months.

d) Yes; the copy of the plan is attached herewith.

Reply:

a) Lease compliance inspections on the Amathole Forestry Company were conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) officials on the 23 and 24 of February 2017. The main purpose of the inspections was to monitor whether the land use on the leased land is all authorised. On the 9 and 10 May 2017 the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) conducted an audit that covered a number of aspects including social issues. The original audit report is herewith attached to this response for your consideration.

a) (i) The DAFF conducted one (1) compliance and inspection visit in 2017.

(ii) The names of the officials who conducted the (aa) inspections, (bb) compliance and (cc) visits are Mr Simon Nkosi (Deputy Director: Forest Land Management) and Mr Dakalo Tshivhase (GIS Technician). During the inspection original Geographical Information System (GIS) and land use maps were overlaid on the current Geographical Information System (GIS) and land use maps to determine changes on the leased land that have taken place over time. Land use changes concerns picked up from the GIS maps were physically visited to verify the land use and boundaries.

(cc) The findings of the visit were that all the land use changes that took place on the leased land were done according to the lease agreement. Most of the land use changes that took place were as a result of planted areas being converted to conservation areas on the basis of the wetland delineation programme.

b) The DAFF is in a position to provide a report should it be required to do so.

Reply:

(1)

(a) The Department does not have job centres and/or mobile job clinics operational in Provinces; it has Labour Centres and 2 Mobile Buses.

(b) N/A

(c) N/A

(d) N/A

(e) N/A

2.

(a) The Department will not be opening any job centres and/or job clinics in the 2018/19 financial year. However, the Department intends to pilot Youth Employment Centres in the existing Labour Centres and the Compensation Fund intends to introduce 4 multipurpose mobile units and 4 mobile clinics to take services closer to the people.

Reply:

(a) Total amount of hectares considered plant ready

During 2017/18 financial year, a total of 2 693. 77ha were ploughed and planted in both the Local Municipalities broken down as follows: - Dr. J.S. Moroka (1 032. 7ha) and Thembisile Hani (1 661.07) Local Municipalities. In the current financial year, 2018/19, only 3 ha were cultivated in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality and ready to be planted.

(b) Total amount of hectares that have been;

(i) Planted over the past three (3) financial years: 2015/16; 2016/17 and 2017/18

The total hectares planted in the past three years in Dr. J.S. Moroka Local Municipality amounted to 3 231.92ha and for Thembisile Hani Local Municipality 3 561.96ha. These amount to a total of 6 793.88. Maize is the main crop grown in these two Local Municipalities.

 

(ii) Ploughed over the past three (3) financial years: 2015/16; 2016/17 and 2017/18

The total hectares ploughed in the past three years is the same for both in Dr. J.S. Moroka Local Municipality and Thembisile Hani Local Municipality which are:- 3 231.92ha and 3 561,96 respectively, amounting to 6 793.88 in total.

 

(iii) Harvested over the past three (3) financial years: 2015/16; 2016/17 and 2017/18

The average yield in these two Local Municipalities is estimated at 2.6 ton/ha. However, during 2015/16 financial year, the Province experienced severe drought conditions and this has resulted in significant yield reduction.

During 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years a total of 1 576.964 tons were harvested. The total tonnage harvested from the Local Municipalities is as follow:-

• Dr. J.S. Moroka 845.853 ton
• Thembisile Hani is 731.111 ton

Harvesting for maize planted during 2017/18 financial year, will only commence in May / June 2018.

Reply:

a) Disciplinary action was taken against Mr N Lubelwana.

b) Disciplinary action was taken due to a salary overpayment to an official that resigned with immediate effect.

c) The official was issued with a written warning.

Reply:

(1) (2) (3) Audit process on the figures with regard to the cost and the numbers referred has not been completed.

(4) Not at this stage

Reply:

(a)

Trauma Debriefing: Reactive

Psychological trauma debriefing is conducted, subsequent to all traumatic Incidents. This intervention is employed within 48 hours after exposure to a traumatic incident. Trauma debriefing is offered to all members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), who have been exposed to trauma. The table below reflects the number of employees of high risk units and operational members, who were debriefed during 2017/2018:
 

Province	Number of SAPS Act members debriefed
Eastern Cape	804
Free State	198
Gauteng	1178
KwaZulu-Natal	408
Limpopo	368
Mpumalanga	258
Northern Cape	128
North West	451
Western Cape	1007
Head Office	573
Total	5371

Find here: Multiple Stressor Intervention: Proactive (Biannual)

Reply:

(1) The officials were removed from their positions following disciplinary steps taken against them.

(2) (a) The officials were removed from their positions following an investigation and discplinary hearings that were convened.

(2) (b) Mr T Thejane was issued with a final written warning and suspended without pay for one (1) month. Ms A Bobani was issued with a final written warning, suspended without pay for one (1) month and demoted from the level of Deputy-Director to Assistant-Director.

(2) (c ) Mr T Thejane is currently employed as the Chief Director: Communications and Ms A Bobani is employed as the Assistant-Director: UIF.

(2) (d) The salary of Mr T Thejane did not decrease but the salary of Ms A Bobani decreased from the level of Deputy-Director to Assistant-Director.

Reply:

According to the Persal system of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) does not have an official by the name of Ms Peteni, so we are not in a position to confirm her role in enabling Amathole Forestry Company’s operation in Keiskammahoek and Stutterheim.

Reply:

The National Treasury is in better position to provide a response in this regard, since the Treasury is responsible for finance to the State.

Reply:

(1) (a) A report was compiled by the Department of Public Works’ Professional Services branch, which indicated that the property is not habitable, and not suitable for use.

(b) This report was subsequently handed to the occupant for their immediate remedial action. The occupant duly committed to reinstate the house to its original state.

(2) No, remedial action has not been carried out by the occupant. A process of eviction has since been instituted by the Department of Public Works.

The current zoning of the erf is residential.

 

Reply:

a)  Productivity SA’s mandate is not to create jobs. It is important to carefully note that Productivity SA’s mandate is to assist companies in distress through its programmes, such as Work Place Challenge and Turn Around Solutions to sustain and save jobs. Therefore, there are no jobs created by Productivity SA in the past 3 financial years.

b) In the past 3 financial years Productivity SA had a total of 1 797 (One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Seven) companies ranging from small to large corporates participated in the Workplace Challenge Programme and managed to assist in sustaining just over 143 429 (One Hundred and forty Three Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty Nine) jobs.

Furthermore during the period in question Productivity SA assisted just over 163 (One Hundred and Sixty Three) companies through the Turnaround Solutions Programme and managed to save a total of 20 251 (Twenty Thousand Two Hundred Fifty One) jobs.

Reply:

(1) To date 13 contracts have been completed, 23 contracts are still in progress, 10 contracts are at evaluation stage and 1 contract is at tender stage. Refer to Annexure A for the estimated completion dates and estimated cost.

Contracts in Progress:

The Polihali Dam as well as the Polihali to Katse Transfer Tunnel design is progressing well. Presently the Geotechnical drilling contract is 3 months behind schedule. Alternatives are being considered to mitigate any delays this may have on the above-mentioned designs.

 

Infrastructure, Social and Environmental consultancy work in progress are the design of:

• Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Western Corridor,
• ESIA Dam and Tunnel site establishment areas,
• Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for Project Housing, main reservoir, Major bridges & road realignments (iv) RAP - Western access road and
• Hydropower feasibility study now concentrating on the detailed feasibility of conventional hydropower generation at three sites.

Designs and tender documentation are ready to be issued by June 2018, of the following works are:

• Western Access Road,
• Power supply and Telecommunications.

Tender evaluation of the first three (3) construction contracts, were advertised in September and October 2017 are complete and is about to be awarded. The contract for the Advanced Infrastructure construction works are:

• An Access Road,
• Civil works at the Polihali Village accommodation area and,
• The short Diversion Tunnel around the Dam wall to mitigate any delays when the Dam construction commences.

(2) No construction contracts have been awarded to date.

 

Annexure A

Phase II: Progress to date (Budget figures exclude escalation):

KEY items	Milestone dates	Budget at completion	Cost to date Rand	% Invoiced	Comment (Reference Program V11.0)
Administrative cost	Dec 2025	329 052 613	272 428 720	82.7
Advanced Infrastructure – design and supervision	Apr 2015 – Sept 2018	252 502 764	120 194 418	47.7	Average 2 months behind schedule. Budget includes supervision costs.
Advance Infrastructure – construction	May 2018 – Aug 2020	4 125 620 005	-	-	Various awards starts in May 2018
Polihali Dam - design & supervision	Jul 2017	465 103 216	13 541 039	2.9	Design on programme. Budget includes supervision costs.
Polihali Dam – construction	Feb 2020 (Start)	3 800 000 000	-	-	To be awarded by Feb 2020, Completion date - Dec 2025
Geotechnical investigations	Apr 2019	42 719 213	29 881 290		3 months behind due to flooding and cashflow problems. Alternatives considered
Diversion tunnel around dam wall – design and supervision	Sept 2016 – Sept 2019	82 460 557	22 883 723	27.8	On programme. Non critical item
Diversion tunnel around dam wall – construction	May 2018 – Sept 2019	-	-	-	To be awarded by end of May 2018
Polihali to Katse Tunnel - design and supervision	Nov 2017	920 000 000	-	-	Awarded in Nov 2017. Budget includes supervision costs.
Polihali to Katse Tunnel – construction	May 2020 (Start)	4 500 000 000	-	-	To be awarded by May 2020. Completion date – Feb 2026
Social development projects	Present to Dec 2024	128 722 147	39 862 675	40	3 months behind on average. Resettlements will be completed in time for construction
Environmental projects	Present to Dec 2024	53 646 560	26 837 363	50	Studies and designs on programme
Start impounding water in Polihali	Nov/Dec 2023	-	-	NA	On programme Ver 11.0
Water delivery into Katse Dam	By end Jan 2026	-	-	NA	Water in storage since Nov 2023 Volume of transfers to Katse Dam will be dependent on the agreement reached with Lesotho on the new Operational Rules of the LHWP
ESTIMATED COST AT COMPLETION INCLUDING ESCALATION AND CONTINGENCIES	24,326 bill	525 629 228	2.7%	Scheduled complete 3.48%

 

Reply:

The Government of South Africa manages its species in line with the provisions of the provisions of Chapter 4 of of National Environment Act: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No.10 of 2004). NEMBA has its objectives framed in the context of conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources. The relationship between captive bred predators and the survival of wild populations is not simplistic or linear and therefore requires an understanding of interacting underlying factors as well as the potential risks. A precautionary approach which is evidence based and supported supported by regulatory tools and management systems constitute the government orientation.

The key wild predators that the South African government instituted additional protection measures on, include Lion, Leopard, Brown and Spotted Hyena, Cheetah and African Wild Dog. All of these are listed as threatened or protected species in line with the Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) Regulations, 2007, and their trade is also regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  These regulatory tools accord additional conservation, hunting and trade restrictions to the use of these species. South Africa, cooperates with the SADC countries on approaches and conservation of predators in Southern Africa especially on areas of common interest. This is done despite the varying conservation philosophies of each country.  South Africa adopts an evidence-based approach which is anchored on the regular advisories that are presented in the form of Non-Detrimental Findings(NDFs) from the established National Scientific Authority. The Scientific Authority has to date developed the NDFs for Leopard and Lion. The determination of the Leopard Quota was evidence-based precautionary approach and such led to the allocation of zero quota for 2016 and 2017, as well as a proposal for a limited quota in 2018. The government further developed and is finalizing the Draft Norms and Standards(N&S) for the Management and Monitoring of the Hunting of Leopards in South Africa for Trophy Hunting Purposes. These N&S are aimed at managing the impact of trophy hunting on the wild Leopard population. This is a clear demonstration of the government commitment to facilitating sustainable use while ensuring adequate protection and the survival of leopard population in the wild.

The relationship between captive bred predators and survival of wild populations in southern Africa may be best analysed in the context of lions in South Africa. Lion, like any other predator is managed with the aim, of safeguarding the survival of lion population in the wild. The South African population of Panthera Leo (African lion) is included in Appendix II to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES).  In terms of Article IV of the Convention, an export permits shall only be granted for an Appendix II species when a Scientific Authority of the State of export has advised that such export will not be detrimental to the survival of that species. Government published the NDF for lion for implementation on 23 January 2018. The NDF analysed the threats to lions in South Africa in the wild and also presented a view on whether the hunting of captive bred lions in South Africa poses a threat to the survival of the wild lion population. The Scientific Authority determined that the trophy hunting of captive bred lions poses no threat to the survival of the wild lion population within South Africa. Furthermore, is the view that captive lions, may in fact serve as a buffer to potential threat to wild lions by being the primary source of hunting trophies and other associated derivatives.

The reference to the two species referred above may also be relevant to the other predators, however Government addresses each of the species and populations on their own merits. Government has since commissioned a research study to investigate how the international trade in products from the captive bred lions under an export quota system impacts on wild lion population. This will further assist in informing the policy orientation in the management of captive bred predators and ensuring the survival of lion population in the wild.

Reply:

Each government department is in a better position to provide required details including representivity, demographic and total number of employees

Reply:

(1) An investigated was initiated on 22 February 2016.

(2) Yes, the investigation has been finalised.

(a) 01 July 2016.

(b) The findings are as per the table below:

	Allegation	Finding
1	Unlawful/unilateral powers of the Executive Committee to change moderated performance scores. The CEO has powers to award discretionary bonuses.	The allegation was unfounded.
2	Unilateral blanket correction of scores.	The allegation was substantiated. Senior management scores adjusted downwards (3%) by the Moderating Committee without justification. Error in the calculation and award of a bonus to the General Manager: Operations (employee underpaid by R47 400.12). Error subsequently corrected: R47 400.12 retrospectively paid to the General Manager: Operations.
3	Implementation of performance-based salary increases.	The allegation was unfounded. Executive Management, however, incorrectly applied Board Resolution in determining salary increases (upward adjustment of 0.16%), without justification.
4	The CEO sets commercial targets for SAWS in terms of organisational performance.	The allegation was unfounded.
5	The former General Manager: Corporate Affairs was awarded a performance bonus despite being on a prolonged leave of absence during the assessment period.	The allegation was unfounded. The former General Manager: Corporate Affairs was, however, overpaid by an amount of R9 270.22 and the money was refunded to the SAWS.

---ooOoo---

Reply:

1. (a) and (b) public servants on salary levels 1 to 10 are eligible to apply for housing allowance in terms of Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolution 7 of 2015, approximately 950 090 public servants are receiving Housing Allowance.

(2) (a) public servants on salary levels 1 to 10, certain educators on salary levels 11 and 12, Occupational Specific Dispensations and Department of Defence (administrated by PERSOL) qualify to apply for GEHS Housing Allowance. Public Service employees on salary levels 11 and higher receive a total cost to company package of which the housing allowance is included.

2. (b) and (b)

Salary level	Number of employees receiving the GEHS Housing Allowance as at 1 March 2018
1	1 721
2	51 462
3	68 031
4	31 060
5	181 054
6	88 061
7	228 887
8	113 852
9	81 683
10	42 809
All others	61 470
Total	090

2. (c) An arrangement has been made with SA Home Loans, however, each employee is required to submit application to SA Home Loans for consideration and processing.

Reply:

a) (i)The tender to constitute a panel of advertising agencies to assist with the procurement of community media was advertised on 17 November 2017.

(ii) The tender was advertised on the GCIS website and on the Government Tender Bulletin.

b) There was a total of 8 bids received

c) The process of evaluation is still in progress.

d) There is no monetary value attached to the tender (the value/ budget will be dependent on the client’s expected demand.)

Reply:

(a)(I). The process of constituting Councils is prescribed in relevant enabling legislations that compel the Department to ensure that issues of diversity are addressed. The process of appointing Councils also prescribes that an open and transparent process is followed and as such the shortlist of recommended candidates is only drawn from the public nominations received. All efforts are made to ensure that diversity considerations are made in terms of age, gender, race, class and geographical spread during the selection process.

II). PACOFS Management

The Council of PACOFS will ensure that issues of diversity are addressed when filling the following managerial vacancies:

1. Chief Executive Officer
2. Technical Director
3. ICT Manager
4. Marketing Manager

(b). Leadership vacuum is a major contributor to the instability at PACOFS. To this end, my Department is working closely with the Council of PACOFS to complete and finalise the litigation cases which have held up the filling of critical leadership positions. Further, we have granted the Council of PACOFS permission to utilize the previously ring-fenced funding to upgrade the infrastructure of the entity which will enable the PACOFS to host national and or international programmes.

(c). The Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) will be guided by its policies and disciplinary code in instituting consequence management against any person found to have brought PACOFS into disrepute.

Reply:

(1) (a) There is a total of 1 471 protected areas in South Africa.

(b) A list of all protected areas are kept in the Register of Protected Areas in line with the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), Section 10, and can be downloaded from https://egis.environment.gov.za/. All the information on (i) and (ii) are contained in the file.

(2) (a)(b) Protected areas are managed by either goverment departments, statutury bodies or by a suitable person, organisation or organ of state as assigned by the Minister or Member of Executive Council in terms of Section 38 (1) and (2) of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003).

---ooOoo---

Reply:

The Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) will be guided by its policies and disciplinary code in instituting consequence management against any member of PACOFS who is found to be responsible for incurring irregular expenditure.

Reply:

(1)(a) I have been advised that the nature of the Settlement Agreement is to address the outstanding matters connected with the Correctional Officials Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) 2nd Phase experience recognition for the production salary levels 03 to 08 that emanated from General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) Resolution 2 of 2009.

(b) The collective agreement allows for a multi-year implementation of back pay amounts. The Department has already paid 17% of the back pay amount owed to fourteen thousand two hundred and ninety (14290) qualifying correctional officials, and 6% back pay amounts to twelve thousand three hundred and sixty five (12365) qualifying correctional officials respectively. With regard to the six thousand three hundred and six (6306) qualifying correctional officials who terminated services, the Department has initiated an audit to determine the debt owed to them in relation to the OSD Departmental Bargaining Chamber settlement agreement. To date a total of three thousand two hundred and seven cases (3207) have been audited and submitted for payment. The agreed 4% payments which are due in the 2018/2019 financial year for both serving and terminated officials are scheduled for payment during the 2nd quarter starting July 2018 of the current financial year.

(2)(a):

(i) The 17% owed to qualifying officials plus 6% of the staggered payments have been paid.

(ii) 4% payments are scheduled to be made to serving officials during the 2nd quarter of the current financial year (2018/2019).

27% (17% + 6%+ 4%) payments are scheduled to be made to ex officials during the 2nd quarter of the current financial year (2018/2019).

(2)(b):

(i) The 17% payments were made during June 2017 and October 2017.

6% payments were made during February 2018.

4% to serving officials as well as 27% to ex-officials are scheduled to be paid during the 2nd quarter of the current financial year (2018/2019).

(ii) R57, 463 574.00 already paid to serving officials.

An estimated amount of R71 million is to be paid to both serving and ex-officials (4% for serving officials and 27% to ex-officials back log).

(3)(a) As agreed in the Settlement Agreement it is expected to conclude this matter not later than 31st March 2020.

(b) Utilisation of a task team to oversee payments centrally on a continuous basis and assist/guide regions with all relevant administrative processes to conclude the remaining 3% payments in the 2019/2020 financial year.

Reply:

The Department of Environmental Affairs is committed to utilising resources allocated through the Parliament appropriation process in the most cost effective and responsible way. As a first priority the Department utilises public servants in the department to do the work. Only if the specific expertise is not available internally, will the department consider using the services of consultants.

In making use of consultants, the department ensures cost effectiveness. Where possible, we aim to ensure that consultants transfer these skills to departmental officials. The Department will continue to ensure that the use of consultants are in line and guided by the PFMA and the relevant Treasury Regulations. The use of consultants is reported in our quarterly financial reports to the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs (PCEA), and in our annual financial statements. These are audited by the Auditor General and are tabled in Parliament as part of our Annual Report.

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Reply:

Not Applicable

Reply:

No, there were never any meetings with the ITU on the June 2019 switch-off date. ITU resolutions are communicated through World Radio Conferences held every four years or through specific Circulars sent by the ITU.

The ITU mandated analogue transition date was June 2015, which has since passed. Beyond this date, the ITU no longer provides protection for analogue services in the affected spectrum bands. Beyond June 2015, it is up to the neighboring member states to negotiate mutual terms to avoid causing interference with each other. The ITU can merely be informed for the record on the progress made regarding analogue switch off in the affected member states.

South Africa has set June 2019 analogue switch off target, it is not an ITU directive.

a) Not Applicable

b) Not Applicable

c) Not Applicable

d) Not Applicable

____________________

Dr Boloka Mashilo

Department of Communications – Director-General (Acting)

Date:

Approved/ Not approved

_______________________________

Ms Nomvula Mokonyane

Minister

Date: