Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. With the implementation of the new BAS version delays in the processing of payments were experienced. All entities not registered on the National Treasury central database system were not converted to the new BAS version. Suppliers and claimants had to resubmit their banking details in order to process payments. These issues have been resolved and payments are now flowing.

2. Monthly review of expenditure and projections are in place to ensure a streamlined process. Regular meetings with provincial offices to determine the status of projects and the settlement of claims are in place.

3. (a) The Restitution Business is broad and labour intensive. The verification process requires extensive consultation with claimants who at times leave in different areas far apart from each other. Households have also multiplied since the time of dispossession and the verification has to be done in collaboration and in agreement with the community representatives. This process is also intended to prevent fraud in the process.

 (b) The Commission is also engaged through a process of review of its business processes with the intent to find more efficient and effective ways to settle claims.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i)(aa)(bb)(ii)(b)(c)

(i)(aa) 2015/2016	(i)(bb) 2016/2017	(ii) 1 April 2017 to date	(b) Date of escape	(c) Officers on duty
3	2	0	2016-09-24 2016-12-12	Lt Col Thapeli Lt Col Qangase

(2) Yes, Germiston, CAS 243/06/2015, CAS 238/06/2015, CAS 430/08/2015, CAS 709/09/2016 and CAS 348/12/2016.

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii) Not applicable.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i)(aa)(bb)(ii)(b)(c)

(aa) 2015/2016	(bb) 2016/2017	(ii) 1 April 2017 to date	(b) Date of escape	(c) Officers on duty
0	0	0	Not applicable	Not applicable

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii) Not applicable.

Reply:

Sourcing the information from our archives, as each case must be verified, before the information can be submitted.

Reply:

We are sourcing information from our provinces. It must be obtained from the provinces and verified, before it may be submitted.

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) The local state of disasters declared by municipalities due to water shortages caused by drought during the past three municipal financial years, that have been reported to my department, are listed in a table below. All the other states of disasters during the indicated period were provincial states of disasters, declared by respective provinces.

For the past three municipal financial years:

Provinces and Municipalities	Financial Year
Eastern Cape Province Joe Gqabi District Municipality	2014/15 (January 2014)
Western Cape Province Central Karoo (Prince Albert) Eden District (Knysna, Bitou, Oudtshoorn) Cape Winelands (Witzenburg)	2015/2016 (November 2015)

(ii) Since 01 July 2017, the following municipalities were declared a local state of disaster:

Provinces and Municipalities	Period
Eastern Cape Province Sarah Baartman District Municipality Nelson Mandela District Municipality Amathole District Municipality	August 2017 August 2017 September 2017

(b) The dates for the (i) declarations and (ii) gazettes are as follows:

Provinces and Municipalities	(b) dates for the (i) declarations and (ii) gazettes
Eastern Cape Province Joe Gqabi District Municipality	30 January 2014, GN3115 - 6 EC 2014
Western Cape Province Central Karoo (Prince Albert) Eden District (Knysna, Bitou, Oudtshorn) Cape Winelands (Witzenburg)	25 November 2015, GN632-365 WC 2015
Provinces and Municipalities	(b) dates for the (i) declarations and (ii) gazettes
Eastern Cape Province Sarah Baartman District Municipality Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality Amathole District Municipality	11 August 2017, LAN3893-118 EC2017 14 August 2017, GN13895-19 EC2017 04 September 2017, GN3908-180 EC2017

(c) Where applicable, the department performs the following roles:

• Conducts assessments and classification of disasters as per section 23 of the Disaster Management Act (Act No. 57 of 2002);
• Facilitates the provision of technical support and guidance through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA);
• Coordinates the funding allocation to address the situation; and
• Monitors the implementation of intervention measures as per the Division of Revenue Act and applicable grant conditions.

(d) The amounts spent on addressing drought and water shortages in all the municipalities that were declared a state of disaster were provided through reprioritisation process by affected municipalities, Provincial Treasuries as well as relevant provincial and national government departments. The bulk of the funds that were made available by the provincial and national spheres of government were for implementation of drought intervention measures with regard to declared provincial state of disasters. With regard to the recent state of disasters declared by Amathole, Sarah Baartman District Municipalities and Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality respectively, there are no amounts allocated by the department and spent so far, as the process for the drought assessments and disaster classification are underway.

The bulk of the funds that were made available by the provincial and national spheres of government were for implementation of drought intervention measures with regard to declared provincial state of disasters. However, it should be noted that the indicated municipalities also benefitted from the funding that was allocated due to the declaration of a provincial state of disaster as a result of drought, since they were incorporated within the provincial declarations.

2. (a) The relevant national departments contributed funding to assist the affected provinces whereby the municipalities that declared a local state of disaster also benefitted. The details below are as per the reports from sector departments as well as where my department facilitated funding:

Table 1: Funding facilitated by different national sector departments to address the drought situation

Province that benefitted	National department that facilitated and contributed funding	Amount and source of funding	Financial year	Type of Assistance
Eastern Cape	COGTA through National Treasury	R29 million Contingency Reserve	2016/17	Provision and transportation of livestock feed for agriculture sector
	Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF)	R37.4 million Reprioritization from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP)	2015/16	Provision and transportation of livestock feed
	COGTA through National Treasury	R8.6 million Contingency Reserve	2016/17	Water tankering and storage for human consumption
	Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS)	R4.9 million Reprioritisation from existing programmes	2015/16	Water tankering and storage for human consumption
Total Amount - EC : R79.9 million
Western Cape	COGTA through National Treasury	R12 million Contingency Reserve	2016/17	Provision and transportation of livestock feed for agriculture sector
	Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	R6 million Reprioritization from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP)	2015/16	Provision and transportation of livestock feed Inputs costs to small grain
	COGTA through National Treasury	R8.6 million Contingency Reserve	2016/17	Water tankering and storage for human consumption for the water sector
	Department of Water and Sanitation	R8 million Reprioritisation from existing programmes	2015/16	Drilling of boreholes for human consumption
Total Amount – WC : R34.6 million

(b) The following provinces reprioritised within their internal resources to address the impacts of drought. The details below on Table 2 are as per the reports received from the sector departments in the provinces:

Table 2: Funding facilitated by different provincial sector departments to address the drought situation.

Province that made contribution	Amount contributed and source of funding	Financial year	Type of Assistance
EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE
Eastern Cape	R95 million Equitable share	2016/17	Livestock feeds, refurbishment and drilling of boreholes (Agriculture Sector)
	R5.9 million Equitable share	2015/16	Provision and transportation of livestock feed Inputs costs to small grain (Agriculture Sector)
	About R200 million Equitable share	2015/16	Water infrastructure for human consumption (Water Sector)
Total Amount – EC : R 300.9 million
WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE
Western Cape	R40.9 million   CASP, Equitable share & AgriSA donations	2016/17	Provision and transportation of livestock feed Inputs costs to small grain
	R5.1 million Equitable share	2015/16	Provision and transportation of livestock feed Inputs costs to small grain
Total Amount – WC : R46 million

Reply:

(1)

SA Express Aircraft Reg. No Aircraft Type Status ZS - NMI CRJ200 In Service ZS - NML CRJ200 In Service ZS – NMM CRJ200 Out of Service ZS - NMN CRJ200 In Service ZS – NMC CRJ200 Out of Service ZS - NMD CRJ200 In Service ZS - NME CRJ200 In Service ZS - NMF CRJ200 In Service ZS – NBF CRJ700 Out of Service ZS - NBG CRJ700 In Service ZS- NMO Q400 Out of Service ZS – NMS Q400 Out of Service ZS - YBP Q400 In Service ZS - YBR Q400 In Service ZS - YBT Q400 In Service ZS – YBU Q400 Out of Service ZS - YBW Q400 In Service ZS - YBX Q400 In Service ZS – YBY Q400 Out of Service ZS - YBZ Q400 In Service (2)The following aircraft were out of service: Aircraft Aircraft Type Reason for Out of Service NMO Q400 NLG, Engines, Propellers, Engine mounts and robbed spares NMS Q400 NLG, Engines, Propellers, Engine mounts and robbed spares YBU Q400 NLG, Engines, Propellers, Engine mounts and robbed spares YBY Q400 NLG, Propellers, Engine mounts and robbed spares NMC CRJ200 Engines, Spares NMM CRJ200 Aircraft is robbed spares beyond economic repair. (3) See below the link for  Annexure A.

http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW2803Annexure-171030.pdf

 

Mogokare Richard Seleke Lynne Brown, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

 

Reply:

Yes

a) Not applicable

b) Mid November 2017

Section 17CA (1 of SAPS Act) provides as thus:

(i) Minister of Police, with concurrence of cabinet, appoints National Head of DPCI for a non-renewable fixed term of not shorter than 7 years but not exceeding 10 years.

(ii) End of January 2018

Reply:

(1)(a)

Province	Number Of Helicopters
Gauteng: Pretoria West	4
Gauteng: Wonderboom	2
Gauteng: Germiston	2
Limpopo	2
Mpumalanga	1
KwaZulu-Natal	3
Eastern Cape: Bhisho	2
Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth	2
Western Cape	1
Northern Cape	1
Free State	2
North West	2

(1)(b)(i)

Province	Type of Helicopter
	BK117	AS350B	MD500	R44
Gauteng: Pretoria West	0	0	N/A	N/A
Gauteng: Wonderboom	N/A	N/A	2	N/A
Gauteng: Germiston	N/A	1	N/A	N/A
Limpopo	N/A	0	N/A	1
Mpumalanga	N/A	1	N/A	N/A
KwaZulu-Natal	N/A	0	N/A	0
Eastern Cape: Bhisho	N/A	1	N/A	1
Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth	N/A	1	N/A	1
Western Cape	N/A	1	N/A	N/A
Northern Cape	N/A	0	N/A	N/A
Free State	N/A	1	N/A	1
North West	N/A	1	N/A	1

(1)(b)(ii)(aa)(bb)(cc)

Province	Type	(aa) Service	(bb) Duration	(cc) Date
Gauteng: Pretoria West	AS350B3	Midlife Inspection	Six Months	2017-03-06 Expected: 2017-11-30
	AS350B3	Periodic Inspection	Two Months	2017-09-06 Expected: 2017-10-30
	AS350B2	Periodic Inspection	Two Months	2017-10-02 Expected: 2017-11-17
	BK117	Replacement Aircraft	Not Applicable	Expected Delivery: 2017-10-20
	AS350B3	Periodic Inspection	Two Months	2017-08-04 Expected: 2017-10-31
Limpopo	AS350B3	Midlife Inspection	Six Months	2017-07-26 Expected: 2017-11-30
KwaZulu-Natal	AS350B3	Midlife Inspection	Six Months	2016-11-18 Expected: 2017-10-31
	AS350B3	Periodic Inspection	Two Months	2017-08-28 Expected: 2017-10-30
	R44	Periodic Inspection	Three Weeks	2017-10-04 Expected: 2017-10-20
Northern Cape	AS350B3	Periodic Inspection	Two Months	2017-08-23 Expected: 2017-10-31

(2) No.

Reply:

(a) Turnover and (b) Profitability

The information provided in this response comprises the performance in percentages of all companies participating in the Gazelles programme (grouped by sectors). This response meets what the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) can issue as public information limited by provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). POPIA disempowers the Department and the implementing Agency on reporting on what may be viewed as a public domain, individual companies’ information which include profits and turnovers, release of such would have to be issued with written consent from respective companies.

The turnover and profitability figures fluctuate from month to month. Noted factors that contributed to the negative growth are as follows:

• Cyclical products that have low turnover during certain seasons and pick up thereafter.
• Product mix, especially with companies in the construction sector (short term contract more profitable than long term contracts).
• Government business which tends to peek in February-March of each year.
• Companies not always updating their information on the system on time.

The table below depicts turnover and profitability figures per sector grouping all 40 companies for period April 2016 to March 2017.

a) Turnover results per sector grouping of the 40 companies in the programme see the link below

http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW2399Turnover-171026.pdf

b) Profitability

Profitability results per sector grouping of the 40 companies in the programme see the link below

http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW2399Profitable-171026.pdf

c) Staff numbers = Jobs per company

As reported before, staff numbers have increased by 4% from 1068 to 1112 for 9 months to December 2016. The table below depicts employee numbers for each company.

SECTOR	COMPANY	Fulltime	Part time	Total	Fulltime	Part time	Total
Agriculture and Agro-Processing	Comessa Food Services	36	1	37	36	1	37
	Fawakhe Trading cc	3	0	3	4	1	5
	Roses for u	24	0	24	24	0	24
Construction	F-F Engineering (AIRCONDITIONING)	38	4	42	48	2	50
	Lakeshore Trading 102	30	68	98	30	69	99
	Ordained Trading	15	28	43	15	28	43
	TCM Developments (Pty) Ltd	73	0	73	73	0	73
Energy and Green Economy	Conretype (Pty) Ltd			0			0
	Cybronix (Pty) Ltd	2	0	2	2	0	2
	iGreens	4	1	5	4	0	4
	Gridbow Engineers & Technical Services	10	15	25	10	15	25
	Ugesi Africa Consulting	6	2	8	6	2	8
Health and Bio-Sciences	Deline Investments(Pty) Ltd	1	0	1	38	0	38
	Natural Medicinal Services	8	1	9	8	1	9
	Omy Naidoo Pty Ltd	3	1	4	3	1	4
Information and Communication Technologies	Bayajula (Pty) Ltd	16	135	151	16	136	152
	Digital Republic Consulting (Pty) Ltd	15	0	15	14	1	15
	Lan Telecoms	28	6	34	28	1	35
	Memeza Shout (Pty) Ltd	5	0	5	6	8	14
	Pretend cc			0			0
	Wam technology cc	21	0	21	21	0	21
	Xspark	4	1	5	6	0	6
Management and Consulting	Futurent Consulting solutions(Pty) Ltd	9	0	9	9	0	9
Manufacturing	Amphiguard Brickyard	55	0	55	55		55
	Buttercup trading 47cc	4	0	4	4	2	6
	Bronscor	11	0	11		10	0
	ECO Furniture Designs cc	27	3	30	27	3	30
	Fred Footwear	50	0	50	50	5	55
	National Adhesive Manufactures cc	9	0	9	9	0	9
	Prothane Industrail cc	22	0	22	31	0	31
	Umzungulu Windows (Pty) Ltd	26	4	30	37	0	37
Mining, Metals and Engineering	Brimis Engineering	10	0	10	10	2	12
	Modi Mining cc	152	2	154	152	2	154
Tourism	Tzaneen Country Lodge cc	63	0	63	39	0	39
	Vaalnest Bout Hotel	16	0	16	11	0	11
Transport and Logistics	DC Mobile Forklift mechanics			0			0
	Total			1 068			1 112

These numbers will be updated when a second benchmarking exercise is taken in November 2017.

Reply:

As the Honourable Member is aware, housing is a concurrent function and the Housing Act of 1997 clearly stipulates the mandates of the national, provincial and local spheres of government in respect of housing delivery. In addition, the National Housing Code 2009 requires municipalities to include a Housing Chapter in their Integrated Development Plans. The case that the Honourable Member is inquiring about resides within the local sphere, at the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to be specific.

The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality has advised that it has not been able to construct a house for the person referred to by the Honourable Member due to the following reasons:

• The site on which he resides is situated on unfavourable topography (steep terrain) and
• There are four other families residing informally on the same site.

The eThekwini Municipality also advised that the person referred to by the Honourable Member is not prepared to relocate to an alternative site, as was suggested by the Municipality. This means that a retaining wall will have to be constructed when the construction of the house commences.

My Department has also been informed by the eThekwini Municipality, that it was in the process of identifying alternative land for the four families who are at present informally residing on the same site, and the target date for the completion of the process of relocation (once the site has been identified) is June 2018.

Reply:

1. (a) Total amount paid out in 2016-17 financial year for bonuses: R3,712,034.58

(b) Detailed breakdown of bonuses to each employee on each salary level

Salary level	Number of employees who qualified	Total
Lower skilled (levels 1-2)	0	0
Skilled (levels 3-5)	23	112,358.22
Highly skilled production (levels 6-8)	94	712,301.52
Highly Skilled supervision (levels 9-12)	144	2,121,609.57
Senior Management (levels 13-16)	26	765,765.27
TOTAL	287	R3,712,034.58

2. (a) Total estimated amount to be paid out in 2017-18 financial year for bonuses: R3,848,701.15

(b) Detailed breakdown of bonuses to each employee on each salary level that will be paid out in
2017-18 financial year.

Salary level	Number of employees who qualified	Total
Lower skilled (levels 1-2)	0	0
Skilled (levels 3-5)	21	72,321.38
Highly skilled production (levels 6-8)	109	746,210.52
Highly Skilled supervision (levels 9-12)	152	2,246,521.70
Senior Management ( levels 13-16)	30	783,647.55
TOTAL	312	R3,848,701.15

Reply:

(a)  (i) The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Education Department made commitment that all learners in the affected schools and districts will be provided with meals as per the feeding calendar. The Department further deployed a team of National School Nutrition Programme officials between 25-29 September 2017 to visit districts and schools to assess the state of the alleged non-feeding. In all schools visited, there was feeding.

(ii) The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Education Department requested the service providers with capacity to apply food items to areas where there was no feeding.

(b) The director-General has requested the Head of the Department in KwaZulu-Natal province to respond on all the above issues. The responses will be made available as soon as the province has responded in writing.

Reply:

(a)(i)(aa) The current status of Mokolo and Crocodile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP) Phase 1:

• • Phase 1 was commissioned in June 2015. The project is at Defects Notification Stage, which will be completed in October 2017. The project (excluding refurbishment) will be closed in June 2018, after the environmental rehabilitation of the servitude and land owner sign off on the various farm portions.
    • • The refurbishment of the old pipeline from Mokolo Dam is primarily aimed as back-up supply to Lephalale Municipality during maintenance outages on the main pipeline, in lieu of 18 day storage capacity. The pipeline will also offer some redundancy to other water users. The refurbishment is forecasted to be completed in December 2022, if a go-ahead is given in the current financial year.

(a)(i)(bb) The current status of Mokolo and Crocodile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP) Phase 2A:

• • • • Phase 2A is at the planning stage, after the confirmation of the transfer capacity of 75 million m3 per annum.
      • The EIA and other Planning work is expected to be concluded by December 2018. 
      • TCTA will raise commercial funding and implement MCWAP-2A with co-funding from the fiscus. I have granted TCTA a borrowing limit, with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, to raise commercial funding for the project. Approval to issue government guarantees in relation to some of the funding to be raised by TCTA has been granted.
      • The requirements for fiscal funding contributions are being addressed to cover this year’s commitments in order for pre-construction activities to start by January 2018 in accordance with the current programme to achieve water delivery by October 2023 and to achieve Eskom’s required water delivery date for Medupi FGD retrofitting (to reduce Sulphur emissions) in terms of Eskom’s World Bank loan commitments.

(a)(ii)(aa)The Total Amount spent Mokolo and Crocodile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP) Phase 1 is as follows:

• MCWAP 1:- Expenditure to date is R 1 602 466 000.
• MCWAP 2:- No expenses to date

(a)(i)(bb) The total amount spend for Mokolo and Crocodile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP) Phase 2A

• • MCWAP 1:- Forecasted cost to complete (including refurbishment) is R 2 138 635 114 (on the base date of 2015)
  • MCWAP 2:- Forecast project costs is R 13 308 127 000

(b) The phases will be completed as follows:

• MCWAP 1:- Project excluding refurbishment will be closed in June 2018.
• MCWAP 1:- Project including refurbishment will be closed in Dec 2022.
• MCWAP 2:- Water delivery is forecasted for October 2023, and project closed in October 2025, after rehabilitation of the servitude and land owner sign off.

(c) The total amount of Litres transferred is as follows:

• MCWAP 1:- Zero liters from Crocodile River, and 30 million m3 per annum (30 billion litres per annum) from the Mokolo Dam
• MCWAP 2 will transfer 75 million m3 per annum (75 billion litres per annum) from the Crocodile River.

---00O00---

Reply:

1. What is the:

(a) Total amount that was paid out in bonuses to employees in his department and?

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries spent R25, 327, 000.00 on performance bonuses.

(b) Detailed breakdown of the bonus that was paid out to each employee in each salary level in the 2016-17 financial year;

Below is the breakdown of the employees who were paid bonuses in the 2016-17 financial year for 2015-16 performance:

Salary band	Beneficiary profile	Cost
	Number of beneficiaries	Number of employees	% of total within salary bands	Total cost (R’000)	Average cost per employee	Total cost as % of the total personnel expenditure
Lower skilled (levels 1-2)	124	1 387	8.9	777	R6 266	0.9
Skilled (levels 3-5)	335	1 199	27.9	2 864	R8 549	0.7
Highly skilled production (levels 6-8)	554	1 637	33.8	9 500	R17 148	1.5
Highly skilled (levels 9-12)	392	1 111	35.3	12 186	R31 087	1.9
Total	1 405	5 334	26.3	25 327	R18 026	1.2

2. What is the:

a) Total estimated amount that will be paid out in bonuses to employees in his department and?

In terms of the Department of Public Service and Administration Incentive Policy Framework departments should budget 1.55 of the annual remuneration budget for performance incentives. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 1.5% is R30, 121,800.00

b) Detailed breakdown of the bonus that will be paid out to each employee in each salary level in the 2017-18 financial year?  

In terms of the Public Services Regulations, 2016 as amended the head of department shall ensure that the outcomes of the annual performance assessments are implemented by 31 December of the financial year following the year of assessment. The department his currently finalising the process 2016/17 performance assessments report.

Reply:

The department approved an application under the Aquaculture Development Enhancement Programme (ADEP) for the Camdeboo Satellite Aquaculture project submitted by the applicant Karoo Catch Pty Ltd which is 100 % owned by Blue Karoo Trust. The project was approved for a qualifying investment of R11 million and a grant amount of R3,502,800. To date R947,564 has been disbursed for the investment in owned building and expenditure for aquaculture feed.

Reply:

a) The Ford Kuga investigation is still ongoing. It is at an advanced stage. The NCC is currently analysing the evidence it has obtained thus far.

b) Ford is cooperating fully thus far with the NCC investigation.

c) The NCC is not aware of any other investigation being currently conducted by other bodies regarding this matter.

Reply:

a) The National Prosecuting Authority has informed me that the person who laid the charge of assault against the accused later submitted a further statement and withdrew the charges. The child was in her custody at the time of making the withdrawal statement. The State relied on this statement and withdrew the charges against the accused.

b) The NPA have informed me that in hindsight, the charges should not have been withdrawn. The charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm will be added to the charge murder against the accused. This matter is on the court roll at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.

Reply:

There is no Manager at the NCR who is on contract.

Reply:

The first phase of the audit has been completed. The second and final phase will be commencing before the end of October 2017. African Bank held a very large loan book and the transactions revealed a level of complexity. We will provide information with regards to the completion date of the audit in due course.

Reply:

a) Yes. The comprehensive report will include among others, the following areas of achievement in dressing transformation in schools:

(i) Facilities and programes;

(ii) Access;

(iii) Youth school sport programmes; and

(iv) Gender Equity.

b) There is a correction between sport programmes and better learning performance of learners. This, according to various research, is based on a number of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that learners /participants acquire from participating in sport. There is reason to believe that participation in primary school sport may have a positive impact on intellectual growth and development.

Studies have further indicated that when children enter into the period of adolescence, investments in non-cognitive skills, self-concept and discipline have a greater impact on long-run human capital accumulation than investment in cognitive skills (cunha et al, 2006; Heckman et al; 2006 Pfeifer and Reuss, 2008). This is because children with better self-concept and discipline are more efficient at transforming investments in cognitive skill into learning skills. To the extent that socialization and training in sport improve self-concept and discipline, participation in school sports may improve learning.

Reply:

(a) (i) The Ministerial Report on the Review of Student Housing at South African Universities undertaken in 2010 showed that the public university sector had sufficient spaces in university owned on-campus accommodation for approximately 107 598 or 20% of the contact student population. The report estimated that 195 815 new beds were required to effectively house an ideal number of students who required accommodation.

Between 2012/13 and 2014/15, the Department allocated R1.748 billion in infrastructure and efficiency funds towards the development of student housing and approximately 7 400 new beds have been constructed (completed) bringing the current on-campus stock up to approximately 115 000 beds. Some funded projects are still due for completion. This figure does not include any university projects funded by other means, or private accommodation that may have been developed. However, it is known that substantial private housing has been developed, especially in urban areas. The updated stock of available accredited affordable student housing needs to be determined as part of the Student Housing Infrastructure Programme.

(ii) The Department conducted a survey on student accommodation at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in 2010 and is currently updating this information as part of a college infrastructure self-assessment.

The survey was to have been completed by 31 August 2017. At this date, 47 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges had completed and submitted their information. Follow-ups are being made with the 3 remaining TVET colleges to complete and submit their information. Preliminary data indicates that there are approximately 15 489 bed spaces at TVET colleges.

(b) The Ministerial Review Report recommended that ideally universities should be providing beds for 50% of contact students on campuses in urban areas where there are available and affordable off-campus accommodation, and 80% on rural campuses where there is little / inappropriate off-campus accommodation.

These figures were used to calculate the estimated shortage of on-campus accommodation. However, it is recognised that the solution involves institution owned accommodation on-campuses as well as privately owned accommodation and ideally, over time, all student accommodation should meet the norms and standards required for conducive living and learning spaces.

(c) The Department is committed to addressing the student housing shortage through its comprehensive long-term plan, the Student Housing Infrastructure Programme (SHIP), planned over a 10 year period from 2016-2026.

The objectives of the programme are to provide safe, affordable housing for students so that they can study, graduate and provide the skills necessary for employment and economic development. Through this programme, the Department aims to address the backlog of student housing at universities and TVET colleges and to create sustainable living and learning environments. The goal of the 10 year programme is to provide 200 000 new beds at universities, and 100 000 new beds at TVET colleges, depending on the availability of funding not only for infrastructure projects, but also for operations and student financial aid. A challenge still remains that there are no earmarked allocations of voted funds for TVET College infrastructure ever since the Department was established in 2009.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

ACTING DIRECTOR–GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2868 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

 

Reply:

1. SEDA eThekwini is independent from SEDA and is a Non Profit Company with its own Board of Directors. As one of the funders of SEDA eThekwini, SEDA had a fixed term funding relationship with SEDA eThekwini which expired at the end of March 2017.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) defined this relationship with reviews every three years. As it does with the network of business incubators it provides funding to, each periodic agreement is subject to review. Renewal of agreement should be based on a criteria as determined by conditions outlined by the MoA for the forthgoing period. Currently, a one year agreement is in place that will ensure the sustainability of funding for the 2017/18 financial year and will be guided by the decision on the eThekwini Board on the way forward. In cases where there is no new agreement concluded following a funding cycle that came to term and in line with PFMA requirements, SEDA cannot grant further funding to other organisations.

2. SEDA eThekwini, formally known as eThekwini Business Development Centre, is an entity of eThekwini Municipality. As SEDA needs to account for the allocation it disburses to SEDA eThekwini, the relationship with SEDA eThekwini is performance based and is also guided by other requirements in line with capacity to deliver and corporate governance best practice.

At least three months earlier to the expiry of the funding agreement in March 2017, SEDA National Office initiated a consultation process that entailed a discussion of a combination of key factors that needed actions or decisions by SEDA eThekwini. Conclusions on these were to form a basis that would allow SEDA to continue funding SEDA eThekwini under a new MOU that was going to be signed at the beginning of the new financial year in April 2017. Discussed institutional obligations and options also sought to demystify the use of SEDA’s name by SEDA eThekwini.

It was only in June 2017 that we received a response from the SEDA eThekwini Board, leading to a transitional arrangement by means of a one (1) year funding agreement which was signed by both parties on the 8th of August 2017. The agreement enables the flow of funds contributing towards provisions for continuation of operations particularly delivery of programmes and further outlines commitments between the two parties to support a process that will ensure timeous decisions and compliance arrangements to enable funding beyond the expiry of this new agreement.. Initial payments under this agreement were made on 22 August 2017.

3. The Minister is consulting internally on the matter with the Board of SEDA and has indeed communicated her intention to visit the centre.

Reply:

a) The challenge of student housing at the University of Venda (Univen) is linked to the increasing student numbers at the institution. Given its rural setting, in an ideal situation accessible and affordable student accommodation facilities, whether owned by the university or privately owned, would be available for 80% of the student population. 80% of the 2016 student headcount enrolment is 10 798 students. The 2016 university bed capacity is 2165 beds. This means that student housing for approximately 8 633 students is required in addition to the current university stock.

b) Over the past 10 years R168.494 million has been allocated by the Department to Univen for the construction of student accommodation. R35.5 million was allocated over the 2010/11 to 2011/12 funding cycle and R132.994 million over the 2012/13 to 2014/15 cycle.

c) Two residence construction projects, one intended to house 320 female students and the other 314 male students, at a cost of R135 million, are unfinished. The projects have been abandoned by the contractors. The reason reported for the abandonment by the contractor, who had won the tender for both student housing projects, is that the contractor had cash flow challenges and then realised that they had under-quoted for the work and would not be able to complete the projects within the amount approved by the university. The university has launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the abandonment. The university has calculated the funds required to complete the projects and is currently raising additional funds to do this. It should be noted that there is a further student housing project currently underway at Univen funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) that is progressing well. This will provide an additional 1800 beds for the 2018 academic year.

d) The need for student housing is a system wide challenge. The Department has supported Univen through its Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant as indicated in (b) above and will support them further in the next funding cycle (2018/19 to 2020/22), once it has solved the problem of the current projects and is in a position to manage a new set of projects. In addition the Department supported Univen to gain Ministerial approval to take on a loan of R300 million through DBSA for the additional R1800 beds mentioned in (c) above. The Department is currently undertaking feasibility studies at five universities and one Technical Vocational Education and Training college, supported by the Integrated Infrastructure Programme of South Africa (IIPSA), to identify effective funding models to accelerate student housing for the university sector.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2867 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

The Council on Higher Education (CHE) has provided the following response:

1. (a) The CHE is not involved in the appointment of examiners at an institutional level. The Council expects all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), whether public or private, to have clear institutional assessment policies in place. These must be in line with their teaching and learning policies, which may be differentiated according to the programme and module outcomes. The use of external moderators for exit level outcomes at the programme level is standard of good practice. HEIs will differ on the number of external examiners and moderators used, and whether international academics are utilised or not.

(b) The CHE does not prescribe to institutions outside of the criteria it applies to review programmes for accreditation. During the CHE Quality Assurance processes, a check is made as to whether the institutions assessment processes are rigorous and appropriate. The CHE considers the evaluation in a holistic way rather than as a tick-box exercise. While the CHE expects all public and private institutions to have robust and rigorous assessment practices in place, it cannot confirm that this is always the practice. In the first cycle of institutional audits that ran from 2004 to 2011, institutions were required to show that they had policies and processes in place to address the 19 criteria specified in the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) Institutional Audits Manual 2007. This includes criterion 12, which states:

“The institution has effective procedures that facilitate the quality of the internal and external moderation of its assessment procedure and results, in order to ensure their reliability, as well as the integrity of the qualifications it awards.”

All universities that were in existence prior to 2015 were subjected to institutional audits. Where any of the criteria were not met, universities were required to devise and implement improvement plans, which were monitored by the HEQC. The three new universities have not yet undergone institutional audits as they are still developing their policies and processes.

2. The methods used by HEIs to determine the distribution of marks in a course lies outside the remit of an external quality assurance agency. The CHE cannot comment on the extent that HEIs in the country may be using bell curves to determine the distribution of marks in courses as an alternative to using external examiners. However, the CHE expects that all exit level assessment will have external examiners in place, as this is standard of good practice.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2864 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a),(b),(c),(d) and (e) Department’s financial statements are declared annually in the Annual Reports as required by section 65 (1) (a) of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999. The Izimbizo expenditure report will form part of the 2017/18 Annual Report.

END

Reply:

(a)(b) Department’s financial statements are declared annually in the Annual Reports as required by section 65(1)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999. The Izimbizo expenditure report will form part of the 2017/18 Annual Report.

END

Reply:

Provinces have been requested to replace unsafe and unhealthy structures. Provinces, including Gauteng, Free State and Northern Cape have started addressing this issue. However, the Department of Basic Education is not in possession of such information. The honourable member is advised to direct the question to the Provinces.

Reply:

1. (a) R6 596 217.24

    (b) Detailed list attached.

2. (a) Approximately R6 857 000.00

    (b) Evaluation process will only take place after March 2018. Detailed list cannot be provided.

Reply:

The allocated budget for 2017/18 for the Eastern Cape Department of Transport was initially R498 000 000.00. However, due to reprioritisation the amount was revised to R462 000 000.00. The figure of R10 Million stated in the Daily Dispatch Newspaper of 22 May 2017 is incorrect.

Reply:

1. (a)(b) The Department’s expenditure reports / financial statements for 2016/17 Financial Year that has been audited by the Auditor General has been tabled to Parliament on 29 September 2017.The amount paid out to employees is part of expenditure in the 2016/2017 financial year statement.

2. (a)(b) PMDS process has not been finalized for the current financial year. Audited financial statements will be declared in the Annual Report for the 2017/18 financial year .The Department does not project the detailed breakdown. This information can only be supplied after the assessment process has been concluded.

END

Reply:

1. (a) The Department advertised 112 management posts at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and filled 69 posts. The remaining 43 posts are at various stages within the recruitment and selection processes.

(b) 19 Posts were vacant for a period of longer than 12 months.

(c) The following factors contribute to the delays:

• The Department receives large volumes of applications (approximately 30 000 applications) to be captured and processed;
• The non-availability of panel members for shortlisting and interview sessions; and
• Security clearance and screening processes of successful candidates takes longer to process as the Department relies on the State Security Services.

2. Steps to improve turnaround times to fill vacancies:

Plan	Activities	Time frame
Branch Head to manage and coordinate shortlisting and interview processes	Assign the Branch Head as the responsible official to manage and coordinate shortlisting and interviewing processes. Incorporate the filling of posts as a Key Result Area in the performance contracts of all Senior Managers.	31 March 2018
Develop a Recruitment Plan to fill posts within a specific financial year	Identify all vacant funded posts to be filled within the following financial year. Prioritise posts to be vacated and advertise them six months prior of the post being vacated.	January every year
Utilise an e-Recruitment system to advertise posts	Facilitate the appointment of a service provider to develop an e-Recruitment system to manage recruitment processes.	31 March 2018 for use by 1 April 2018
Standardise recruitment and selection processes across the country	Train College Human Resource Officials on recruitment and selection processes to ensure uniformity.	31 December 2017
Utilise Regulation 65(8) of the Public Service Regulations to fill vacancies	Fill generic posts on salary level 8 and below by utilising applications from previously advertised positions, within a period of six months.	On going
Service Standards for recruitment and selection processes	Develop Service Standards for recruitment and selection processes.	31 December 2017

3. College Principals already have delegations to advertise and fill positions on salary levels 1-8 and post levels 1-3.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2931 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

a) (i) The Department does not collect data on the number of vacancies and the appointment of personnel at universities. The Council of each university is the employer and not the Department of Higher Education and Training.

(ii) College lecturer vacancies are filled on a permanent or temporary basis, as and when the need arises, by college Principals who have the delegation of authority to fill these vacancies.

b) Not applicable.

c) Not applicable.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2738 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

The Department does not have listed current and non-current assets or investments. Information pertaining to its entities can be found in the financial statements published in their annual reports submitted to Parliament.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 2884 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

PROF. HB MKHIZE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

1. (a) R1 383 428.55 is the total amount that was paid out in bonuses to employees for the 2016/17 financial year.

(b) 1. Salary level 3 (3 employees) - R21 815.04

2. Salary level 5 (4 employees) - R30 787.35

3. Salary level 6 (4 employees) - R66 248.01

4. Salary level 7 (6 employees) - R112 082.79

5. Salary level 8 (12 employees) - R240 185.68

6. Salary level 9 (4 employees) - R113 389.05

7. Salary level 11 (5 employees) - R200 923.95

8. Salary level 12 (9 employees) - R393 625.73

9. Salary level 13 (2 employees) - R92 632.65

10. Salary level 14 (2 employees) - R111 738.30

2. This information is not yet available.

-END-

Reply:

(a) None of the staff from the Department of Small Business Development were awarded any contracts or agreement to conduct business with any state entity in (i) 2014-15 nor in (ii) 2015-16. Below are however the details for 2016 – 17;

(iii) 2016-17
(aa)(aaa) Name	(aa)(bbb) Professional Designations	(bb)(aaa) Details of the contract/agreements awarded	(bb)(bbb) Amounts in each case
Michael Malomane	Trade and Industry Advisor: Black Business Service Development Programme (BBSDP)	The staff member is a business partner in the company (Gradobyte).	R 775 000
Theophilus Matsimbi	Transport Officer	The staff member is the spouse to the company owner of Dyambu Rithlavile Trading and PR	R 164 490

(b) The contracts or agreements undertaken by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) with state entities are attached in Annexure A.

(c) The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) does not have any staff members who was awarded any contracts to conduct any business with any state entity for the financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 nor for 2016-17.

Reply:

1. No contract has been entered into between the Department of Transport or PRASA and the people Republic of China or Chinese companies

a) Refer to 1 above.

b) Refer to 1 above.

c) Refer to 1 above.

d) Refer to 1 above.

Reply:

(a) R 141 850.30

(b) Details of the expenditure on legal fees

(a) Period	(b)(i) Details	(b)(ii) Outcomes	(b)(iii) Cost of case
(i) Financial Year	(aa) 2014-15	Legal Opinion on the absorption of contract employees	Finalised. Opinion accepted	R 26 500
	(bb) 2015-16	None	None	None
	(cc) 2016-17	Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP)unit	Pending. The matters are still with the State Attorneys, other matters is sub judice.	R 115 350.30
(ii)Since April 2017	Arbitration matter at the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council GPSSBC	Pending

Reply:

1. The Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) does not readily have the breakdown of actual total monthly costs of the office of the SEDA eThekwini.

As an explanation to the above, SEDA eThekwini is non-profit entity separate from the SEDA network under the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD). SEDA eThekwini is owned by eThekwini Municipality where it possibly submits monthly management accounts. SEDA’s Memorandum of Agreement with SEDA eThekwini is to a maximum of R936 250 per quarter, totalling R3 745 000 per annum and this is primarily a client services performance based with quarterly and annual performance reviews. SEDA’s funding does not make up total funding to Seda EThekwini.

2. As explained above, SEDA’s relationship with SEDA eThekwini is limited to that of a funder, therefore cannot effect disciplinary processes over SEDA eThekwini personnel. Having been informed through media reports on allegations of non-payment of staff and funding of SEDA EThekwini’s office through personal loans, SEDA sought clarity on the matter from eThekwini’s Board of Directors. Following from these engagements, a report is expected from SEDA eThekwini Board. An agreement has already been reached with SEDA eThekwini Board for a due diligence audit to be conducted as part of the current financial year conditional funding agreement.

Reply:

1. In terms of section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, every worker has the right to strike. The right to strike is regulated by the Labour Relations Act which sets out the procedures for orderly strike action as well as limitations on the right to strike. Therefore any steps taken by Government in relation to strike action must be cognisant of the constitutional and legal framework surrounding strikes.

2. In February 2017, after lengthy engagement in the National Economic Development and Labour Advisory Council (NEDLAC), Government, organised business, organised labour and the community constituency signed an agreement on labour market stability and wage inequality. One of the elements of the agreement is an Accord on Collective Bargaining and Industrial Action in which all social partners commit to taking steps to prevent violence, intimidation and damage to property and to improve the capacity of the social partners and other agencies to resolve disputes peacefully and expeditiously.

3. Another outcome of the NEDLAC engagements has been a number of proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Act. One of these amendments is a provision for advisory arbitration to endeavour to resolve strikes or lockouts that are intractable or may cause a local or national crisis. Once the amendments to the Labour Relations Act are promulgated, Government together with the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will implement them to contribute to greater labour market stability.

4. Already the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration is implementing a CCMA-specific dispute and strike prevention programme and is already bearing the desired results.

END

Reply:

(a)The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, gazetted the Threshold for Major B-BBEE Transactions which must be submitted to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) Commission in terms of Section 13F (1) (f) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 as Amended by Act 46 of 2013 as well as Section 18 of the B-BBEE Regulations on 9 June 2017 for all Transactions with a value that equals or exceeds R25 Million and further provided for the voluntarily registration of transactions concluded before the 24 October 2014.

Thus, the B-BBEE Commission is mandated to register such Transactions concluded on 24 October 2014 and to date two hundred-ten (210) such transactions have been submitted for registration of which seventy (70) have / are related to trusts.

(b) Based on the analysis and assessment conducted thus far over 50% of the trusts registered are not compliant with B-BBEE; this figure will be confirmed once final findings are approved for publication in this quarter.

(c) Most of the Trusts presented do not satisfy the requirements of the Ownership Scorecard because they are dedicated towards Skills Development and Community Projects but not Ownership, which means that the Black Participants are treated as mere Beneficiaries and not Shareholders.

Where Black Shareholding is held through a Trust, Code Series 100, requires Trusts to define the participants and the portion of their entitlement to receive distribution of the economic interest. In most instances, the Trusts do not provide guidance on how they will record information relating to the identity of each Black Participant. The transactions are structured in a manner where the beneficiaries will only be selected each year to receive benefits for education or it is stated that a portion of dividends will go towards projects.

This means that Measured Entities will, for majority of the time of the transaction, have unidentified Black Participants, contrary to the requirements of Code Series 100. This will further frustrate the use of verification methodologies that an accredited verification professional will have to employ when measuring the Ownership Element of a Measured Entity.

Reply:

(1) Incentive programmes are cost sharing and reimbursable grants dependent on investments made by enterprises. The expenditure on incentives by its nature is linked to the business cycle of enterprises as well as the timing of investments and commissioning of assets and infrastructure. To date Critical infrastructure has spent R90 million, Manufacturing Development Incentives R856 million, Service Sector Development Incentives R308 million and Special Economic Zones Programmes R220 million.

(2) Incentive claims are payable once all performance criteria agreed at application are met and verified. In addition compliance documentation as outlined in the guidelines must be submitted. Given that payment of claims is performance based, there is usually a disjuncture between projections and actual expenditure. This disjuncture is normalized by year end resulting in the division spending all its allocated budget as it has been the case in previous financial years. The division engages with approved enterprises throughout the claim cycle to ensure that performance criteria are met and required documentation is submitted timely.

Reply:

E-Commerce in South Africa is facilitated and regulated through the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002. This is the constitutional mandate of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services. Requests for e-commerce information should therefore be directed to the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

Reply:

Since the designation of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone in July 2016, implementation has been progressing relatively well, as highlighted by the following:

1. The Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs has approved the use of the community land for development purposes,
2. Land Lease Agreement between the Mulambyane Community Trust and the Limpopo Economic Development Agency has been signed,
3. Operator Agreement between the Musina SEZ SOC Ltd and the Shenzhen Hoimor Resources Holdings Company Ltd has been signed for the Energy and Metallurgical Zone,
4. The SEZ Operator Permit for the Energy and Metallurgical Zone has been issued,
5. The design of the anchor industrial plants within the zone is progressing well, and some plant designs are completed,
6. Elements of the support infrastructure plan have been identified.

However, there are still many other critical activities that still require attention for the success of the initiative, including but not limited to the following:

education, training and skills development plan, small and medium enterprise development plan, housing development, and health infrastructure.

(a) There are many ways in which Blacks will participate in and therefore derive benefits from the initiative. Some people will benefit as investors in the various investment projects within the zone, others as direct providers of various goods and services required to support the zone and projects within the zone, still others as indirect providers of goods and services to the business community within and outside the zone, while others will provide goods and services to the expanding community around the zone.

(i) At this stage of implementation, it is too early to determine how many will benefit. The dti trusts that the number of black companies benefiting directly and indirectly from the Musina-Makhado SEZ initiative will be continuously increasing over time.

(ii) At this early stage of implementation, the dti is unable to provide both the number, names and value of contracts that will arise of the Musina-Makhado SEZ initiative.

Reply:

1. (a)The Learning and the Teaching Support Material (LTSM) Directorate contracted Pioneer Printers as a sole provider to print and deliver braille workbook for visually impaired learners in the 22 schools for the blind. The same company developed braille and Large Print textbooks for Western Cape Education Department schools and took the initiative to braille other textbooks on the National Braille catalogue. Provinces were advised to procure such materials from them.

(b) The authorisation for Braille workbooks has been renewed since 2012.

(c) No changes have been effected in the curriculum that affects the Braille books.

2. The national Catalogue for Braille and Large Print was developed in 2012 and 2013. Provinces incrementally started procuring since the catalogue was developed. This was based on the availability of the finalised material by Pioneer Printers. Yearly, provinces procure top-ups, where applicable and print content using braille embossing machines available at schools. An Information Communication and Technology (ICT) solution has been employed at other schools where textbooks are loaded on braille readers.

3. The National Department does not fund any post at Pioneer Printers. The Western Cape Education Department funds 24 posts at the institution for the development of Braille and Large Print. The Department is engaging with Pioneer Printers, publishers and other stakeholders to find a long term solution to the lack of capacity in the country to develop and print materials in Braille in addition to finding alternative solutions through the use of ICT.

 

Reply:

1. Question 1 answers on bonuses paid out to employees in 2016/17:

(a) The total amount to be paid in bonuses to employees is not available. The projections have not been submitted as yet for the Minister’s approval.

(b) Detailed breakdown of the bonus will be made available as soon as the Minister has approved the payment of bonuses to employees.

2. Question 2 answers on bonuses to be paid out to employees in 2017/18:

(a) The total estimate amount that will be paid out in bonuses for 2017/18 financial year will be 1.5% of the compensation budget.

(b) Detailed breakdown of the bonus that will be paid out to each employee in each salary level will be known after 2017/18 annual assessments are finalised.

Reply:

(a) (i), (ii)(aa), (bb), (cc); (b); (c) (i);(ii); (d)(i),(ii).

The Department monitors teacher attendance in terms of the indicators in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). The details in terms of absenteeism in specified schools and how it is managed and matters related to curriculum coverage can only be provided by the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). The honourable member is advised to request this information directly from the provinces.

Reply:

1. Schools are encouraged to report such cases to the police for further ionvestigation. The Department does not collect such data at this time.

2. The Department does not collect such data at the moment.

Reply:

The response below outlines payment of performance bonuses to employees as well as a breakdown of bonuses in each salary level for the 2016/17 financial year. Furthermore, the total estimated amount to be paid in bonuses to employees for 2017/18 financial year is provided. It should be noted that a breakdown of bonuses for the 2017/18 financial year would only be possible after all employees have been assessed at the end of the performance cycle i.e. 31 March 2018.

1(a) The total amount that was paid out in bonuses to employees in the Department of Transport for the 2016/17 financial year is R8 652.15 million.

1(b) Detailed breakdown of bonus according to each salary level for 2016/17:

Salary level	Total number of Beneficiaries	Amount
3	12	R 43 402.56
4	16	R 54 237.56
5	26	R 83 529.77
6	74	R 409 128.99
7	54	R 363 139.61
8	72	R 565 331.81
9	62	R 584 158.92
10	49	R 562 119.22
11	58	R 832 364.34
12	61	R 1 160 331.95
13	50	R 2 597 918.06
14	18	R 1 396 486.40
Grand Total	551.93	R 8 652 149.19

2 (a) In line with legislation and prescripts that regulate Performance Management and Development System in the Public Service, at least 1,5% is annually budgeted for payment of performance bonuses for employees. However, the Minister has the prerogative, in special circumstances to exceed the 1,5% allocated budget.

It is based on the above background that the 2017/18 projected amount for payment of performance bonuses to the deserving employees’ amount to: R6, 750,315.00.

2 (b) The Department is currently not in a position to provide detailed breakdown of the bonus that will be paid out to each employee in each salary level in the 2017-18 financial year, as this is dependent on the individual performance outcome which will only be determined at the end of the financial year (i.e. 31 May 2018).