Questions and Replies

Filter by year

21 June 2017 - NW1767

Profile picture: Mokgalapa, Mr S

Mokgalapa, Mr S to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

Does (a) she, (b) her Deputy Minister or (c) any of the heads of entities or bodies reporting to her make use of security services paid for by the State for (i) him/herself, (ii) his/her immediate family members or (iii) any of their staff members; in each case (aa) what are the reasons for it, (bb) from which department or entity’s budget is the security services being paid, and (cc) what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Does (a) she, (b) her Deputy Minister or (c) any of the heads of entities or bodies reporting to her make use of security services paid for by the State for herself

The VIP Protection Services under SAPS have a legal mandate to provide protection services to Minister and Deputy Minister.

a) (i) Yes, The Minister makes use of Security Services for herself, paid for by the state through the South African Police Services VIP Protection Unit.

(ii) No, none of her immediate family members use security paid for by the State.

(iii) No, none of her staff members use security services paid for by the State.

b) i) Yes, The Deputy Minister makes use of Security Services for herself, paid for by the state through the South African Police Services VIP Protection Unit.

(ii) No, none of her immediate family members use Security Services paid for by the State.

(iii) No, none of her staff members use Security Services paid for by the State.

c) No, The Head of Department (Director-General) does not make use of Security Services paid for by the State.

(ii) No, none of his immediate family members use Security Services paid for by the State.

(iii) No, none of his staff members use Security Services paid for by the State

(aa) The Ministerial Handbook provides for the Security Services for both the Minister and the Deputy Minister.

(bb) The Security Services provided by the South African Police Services VIP protection Unit is paid for from the South African Police Services budget ;

(cc) No other details related to either the Head of Department, staff members or family members.

END

21 June 2017 - NW1556

Profile picture: Ollis, Mr IM

Ollis, Mr IM to ask the President of the Republic

(1)Whether he will furnish Mr I M Ollis with a copy of the latest report on the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative; if not, why not; if so, by what date; (2) by what date will the next Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative report be tabled; (3) what progress has been made to date with (a) increasing rail freight volumes on the Durban to Dar-es-Salaam route as part of the North-South Corridor Rail Project and (b) revitalising the Gauteng to Angola rail route?

Reply:

(1). A copy of the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI) Report that was tabled in the last meeting of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2016 is attached.

(2) The next Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI) Report will be tabled in the meeting of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2018.

(3) (a) There has been a stated commitment by North-South Corridor Member States to move more freight from road to rail but no measurement metrics for tracking this have been agreed to by the Member States on the North-South Corridor.

(b) The revitalisation of the Gauteng to Angola rail route is not part of the PICI nor is it part of the North-South Road and Rail Corridor Project.

21 June 2017 - NW1527

Profile picture: Vos, Mr J

Vos, Mr J to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

(a) What is the total number of applications for (i) permanent residence, (ii) critical skills and (iii) general work permits were (aa) received and (bb) approved in the fourth quarter of the 2016-17 financial year and (b) how do the statistics compare to the past three financial years?

Reply:

The information is tabulated as follows:

 

Category

Status

  1. 2016/17
  1. 2015/16
  1. 2014/15
  1. 2013/14

(i)

Permanent residence permits

(aa) Received

1360

1667

2534

5954

   

(bb) Approved

720

1075

1158

4266

(ii)

Critical skills permits

(aa) Received

1472

1206

1194

2639

   

(bb) Approved

1030

783

716

1821

(iii)

General work permits

(aa) Received

402

463

2554

7470

   

(bb) Approved

313

162

1149

5372

21 June 2017 - NW1445

Profile picture: Waters, Mr M

Waters, Mr M to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

(1)What are the reasons that South African citizens who are born outside the Republic have to wait six months for an identification document; (2) has the new smart card ID computer programme been updated in order to allow naturalised South African citizens to obtain the new smart card ID; if not, by what date will the specified computer programme be updated; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. Cases that may last longer than the prescribed turnaround time of 54 days for the issuing of an identity document and 47 days for requests for re-issue are those that do not meet the requirements or those under investigations where the client may be required to furnish additional information. This process applies to qualifying citizens including naturalised citizens. Documents attached by naturalised citizens are required to be verified before the processing and issuing of an identity document and it is always endeavoured to conclude the process within the specified set time frames.

(2) No. The Department continues to rollout the issuance of smart ID Cards in a phased- in approach. The process of expanding the Live Capture footprint and the verification process of the records for naturalised citizens are ongoing as are the system upgrades which will make provision for this category of applicants. Upon determination of adequate footprint and system status readiness, the Minister will make an announcement which will give naturalised citizens the opportunity to apply for Smart ID Cards.

21 June 2017 - NW1490

Profile picture: Majola, Mr TR

Majola, Mr TR to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

Whether (a) her department and (b) each entity reporting to her procured any services from and/or made any payments to (i) a certain company (name furnished) or (ii) any other public relations firms; if not, in each case, why not; if so, in each case, what (aa) services were procured, (bb) was the total cost, (cc) is the detailed breakdown of such costs, (dd) was the total amount paid, (ee) was the purpose of the payments and (ff) is the detailed breakdown of such payments?

Reply:

The Department and the entities responded as follows:

(a) Department of Home Affairs

(i) No, there was no need for such services

(ii) No, there was no need for such services.

(aa) Not applicable

(bb) Not applicable

(cc) Not applicable

(dd) Not applicable

(ee) Not applicable

(ff) Not applicable

(b) Government Printing Works

(i) No, there was no need for such services.

(ii) No, there was no need for such services.

(aa) Not applicable

(bb) Not applicable

(cc) Not applicable

(dd) Not applicable

(ee) Not applicable

(ff) Not applicable

(b) Electoral Commission

(i) No, there was no need for such services.

(ii) No, there was no need for such services.

(aa) Not applicable

(bb) Not applicable

(cc) Not applicable

(dd) Not applicable

(ee) Not applicable

(ff) Not applicable

 

21 June 2017 - NW1529

Profile picture: Hoosen, Mr MH

Hoosen, Mr MH to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

What are the reasons for the delays in the development of her department’s end-to-end e-permit system?

Reply:

There are no delays. The development of an e-permitting capability is a priority of the Immigration Services’ Branch and has been included as an outcome within the Departmental Modernisation Programme for 2017-18.

21 June 2017 - NW1519

Profile picture: Grootboom, Mr GA

Grootboom, Mr GA to ask the Minister of Arts and Culture

What (a) motivated his department to continue with the embattled Enyokeni Cultural Precinct project and (b) justified the further injection of R28,1 million into the specific project in the 2017-18 financial year; 2. What prompted the termination of projects in collaboration with the Independent Development Trust in the specified project; 3. With reference to the findings of the forensic investigation into the specified project, (a) which officials who were found to have been involved were charged with impropriety and (b) what progress has been made with the charges in each case?

Reply:

1. (a). Following the forensic investigation into Enyokeni Cultural Precinct and in order to determine if the Department received value for money, the Department obtained the services of Rubiquant Quantity Surveyors firm. The completion of the multipurpose amphitheatre facility together with other structures that are incomplete motivated the continuation of the Enyokeni project, which if not finalised, could lead to further wasteful and fruitless expenditure and could become white elephants. Furthermore, the project is in line with the Department of Arts and Culture’s (DAC) mandate to develop, preserve, protect and promote arts, culture and heritage for a creative and inclusive nation. The project also has the potential of helping the DAC fulfil its strategic outcome-oriented goals based on the National Development Plan and Government’s Programme of Action which include the creation of a transformed and productive Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH) sector that actively develops, preserves, protects and promotes diverse ACH, an effective and efficient ACH sector, an effective/impactful nation building and social cohesion programme and a professional and capacitated ACH Sector.

The motivation to continue with the project is based on recognition of its cultural and heritage value that also has the potential for the creation of job opportunities, sustainable cultural tourism, rural infrastructure development and socio-economic development.

(b). The R28.1 million budgeted for the Enyokeni project in the 2017-18 financial year is the cost estimate for the completion of the multipurpose amphitheatre facility subject to confirmation by Bill of Quantities (BoQ).

2. The termination of projects in collaboration with the Independent Development Trust was prompted by the findings of the final report by Rubiquant Quantity Surveyors which indicated that the DAC did not receive value for money in the implementation of Enyokeni Cultural Precinct Project and other Departmental infrastructure projects. Among others, the report outlines the following findings:

(a). The Department has been overcharged for a range of professional services as well as for the materials used on the Enyokeni Cultural Precinct. This is evident from the contracting that went beyond acceptable industry norms of 9% to 15% of the total project value to 30% that was charged on the Department.

(b). The report further indicates that the quantity in the tender Bill of Quantities (BoQ) was changed after the tender was advertised and such rectification caused high upward movement of the unit rates. While this is attributable to human error the DAC should have been notified of the possible escalation so that provision is made for such in the allocated budget for the project.

(c). The Department was overcharged on the materials used such as G7, 8, 9 gravel and C4 filling that was above the market related prices. Concrete, fencing and gates tariffs were also found to be higher than market tariffs.

(d). The Department was further overcharged on contractors preliminaries. Contractors generally charge preliminaries between 7.5% and 12.5% in relation to the value of the works.

(e). The assessment of the award of the contract at a price above what the actual cost of the project could have been.

3. With reference to the findings of the forensic investigation into the specified project, the details of the officials who were found to have been involved and charged with impropriety; as well as the progress thereto is as follows:

(a) Three (3) former officials of the Department who were involved in the project were found to have been implicated in and the following was preferred against each of the officials:

i. disciplinary action – against the senior official who was appointed to manage the ECP project from the Office of the former DG;

ii. Criminal charges – against the erstwhile Director General for violation of section 38 (1) of the PFMA; and the former Acting Director General of the DAC for the contravention of sections 86 (1) of the PFMA read with sections 38, 39, and 40 of the PFMA.

3 (b) The progress of the charges in each case is as follows:

(i) Disciplinary charges against the senior manager were transferred to his current employer for the attention of the then Acting Head of Department, Gauteng Human Settlement. The current employer was requested to proceed with disciplinary processes in line with Section 16B (4)(b)(ii) of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended.

ii. Criminal charges against the erstwhile Director General and former Acting Director General were registered with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the HAWKS), under the Serious Economic Offences Unit in April 2016. The Department registered a number of criminal charges which include Enyokeni, and the investigations are in progress. The Department has been making follow-up on progress and continues to do so.

21 June 2017 - NW1485

Profile picture: Kruger, Mr HC

Kruger, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Energy

Whether (a) her department and (b) each entity reporting to her procured any services from and/or made any payments to (i) Bell Pottinger or (ii) any other public relations firms; if not, in each case, why not; if so, in each case, what (aa) services were procured, (bb) was the total cost, (cc) is the detailed breakdown of such costs, (dd) was the total amount paid, (ee) was the purpose of the payments and (ff) is the detailed breakdown of such payments?

Reply:

The (a) Department of Energy and (b) entities reporting to the Minister have never procured any services and/or made any payments to (i) Bell Pottinger or (b) (ii) Only NTP (A Wholly-Owned Necsa Subsidiary) in August 2016, NTP Radioisotopes appointed Vuma Reputation Management (Pty) Ltd. (b) (ii) (aa) Services from Vuma Reputation Management (Pty) Ltd were procured to provide ad-hoc media, stakeholder engagement and related services to drive and enhance the reputation of NTP’s global operations and nuclear medicine product portfolio.

(b) (ii) (bb) The RFQ process (NTP-RFQ07122016), adjudication and final appointment was handled by NTP Procurement and NTP Finance in accordance with the Necsa / NTP procurement policies and procedures, and was in accordance with the criteria set out in the Preferential Policy Procurement Framework Act, Act No: 5 of 2000.

Since the value of the work to be done would be on an ad hoc basis, the overall RFQ value was capped at R500,000-00 (excl. VAT), for services rendered.

(b) (ii) (dd) When these ad hoc services were required, Vuma Reputation Management (Pty) Ltd, would be engaged using the approved resource / hourly rate as per the accepted quote.

To date, NTP has utilised the services of Vuma Reputation Management (Pty) Ltd to the value of R338,443-00, which amounts have been paid against invoices for work done.

(b) (ii) (cc)(ee) (ff) Details of the work done and payments made to date can be found below:

ACTIVITY

PAYMENT

South African Society of Nuclear Medicine (SASNM) pre- and post-congress stakeholder, events and media management.

R59,280

South African Society of Nuclear Medicine (SASNM) – arranging of stakeholder engagement dinner with congress speakers and high profile delegates.

R45,600

Meetings and briefing sessions on various projects held with client from 11 August – 14 September 2016 relating to enhancing NTP brand through internal and external communications campaigns.

R42,294

Stakeholder key message deployment covering the following:

o Stakeholder mapping

o SWOT analysis and presentation

o Consolidation of results

o Messaging and development plan

R93,913

Meetings with client to discuss:

o   Key messages and matrix

o   Overview of presentation

R25,080

Annual membership to:

o   African Chapter of International Brand and Reputation Community (INBREC)

R23,940

Social Media Strategy and Policy Development

R48,336

21 June 2017 - NW1525

Profile picture: Figlan, Mr AM

Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

Whether there are any aspects of the approved Integrated Border Management Strategy, which are relevant to the establishment of the Border Management Authority, that can be implemented before the necessary legislation has been passed by Parliament; if so, what (a) are the relevant details and (b) progress has been made to date in this regard?

Reply:

No.

(a) Not applicable.

(b) The Border Management Authority (BMA) Bill, 2016 which establishes and operationalises the Border Management Authority (BMA) is presently being considered by Parliament. The Integrated Border Management Strategy provides for a role of the future Border Management Authority (BMA) and all aspects of the implementation are dependent on the legislation being enacted and the President gazetting the BMA Act to come into force.

21 June 2017 - NW1301

Profile picture: Mazzone, Ms NW

Mazzone, Ms NW to ask the President of the Republic

(1)Whether a certain person in his office (name and details furnished) declared his non-executive directorship in a certain company (name furnished) to him before the specified company was awarded a R149 million contract to supply Eskom with wiring; if not, why not; if so, (a) on what date was the business interest declared to him and (b) what is his position with regard to the specific business interest; (2) whether any further business interests were declared by the specified advisor; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. The non-executive directorship was not declared before the specified company was awarded a R149 million contract to supply Eskom with wiring. The delegated Executive Authority is in engagement with the special advisor with regards to the declarations of interest.

2. Yes. The following business interests were declared by the specified Advisor:

 (i) Business Venture

 (ii) Vaal River City

 (iii) Titantrade

21 June 2017 - NW1446

Profile picture: Waters, Mr M

Waters, Mr M to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

(1)Whether any South African citizens have lost their South African citizenship in the (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17 financial years; if so, (i) what number of citizens and (ii) what were the reasons in each case; (2) (a) on which statutory grounds can citizenship be terminated and (b) which criteria have to be fulfilled?

Reply:

1. Yes. South African citizens who have lost South African citizenship during the past identified years are as follows:

(a)(i-ii) 2014 – 15: 2505 formally through renunciation

(b)(i-ii) 2015 – 16: 173 formally through renunciation

(c)(i-ii) 2016 – 17: 188 formally through renunciation

(2)(a) Citizenship can be terminated in terms of Section 8 of the South African Citizenship Act, Act no. 88 of 1995 which deals with deprivation of citizenship.

(2)(b) The Honourable Member is referred to section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1995 which provides for the circumstances under which a person may cease to be a citizen

 

20 June 2017 - NW1095

Profile picture: Hadebe, Mr TZ

Hadebe, Mr TZ to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(a) What is the annual income generated from day visitors at each of the entrance gates of Kruger National Park, (b) what number of vehicles enter at each gate annually, (c) how are these monies and vehicle numbers audited and recorded, (d) what number of non-paying vehicles (details furnished) enter at these gates annually, (e) where are the monies with regard to day visitors reflected in the annual financial statements and (f) why were entrance fees not lowered to original levels as promised after a temporary increase during the 2010 Fifa World Cup soccer tournament?

Reply:

(a) The Annual Income generated from Day visitors entering through all gates of the Kruger National Park for 2016-17 totalled R120, 772,581.00.

(b) The number of vehicles that enter Kruger during the 2016-17 financial year through all of the gates collectively is 539 088

(c) Gates are the control point for entering and departing guests accessing the Park by road. Guests arriving by air is recorded at the Conservation Office located at the Skukuza Airport. All guests and vehicles as well as Conservation Fees collected are recorded in an online system (Roomseeker) from where vehicle permits (indicating the number of guests, and approved entry and exit dates) and receipts for monies received are issued. The number of visitors and tourism income forms part of the Predetermined Objectives of SANParks and are accordingly audited by SANParks Internal Audit and the Auditor-General.

(d) There is no “vehicle” fee for SANParks. Entrée fees are per person and free entrant persons are recorded.

(e) The monies are reflected under Conservation fees in the Annual Financial Statements.

(f) Entrance Fees were never specifically (temporarily or otherwise) increased for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

---ooOoo---

20 June 2017 - NW1700

Profile picture: Figlan, Mr AM

Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Air Traffic and Navigation Services SOC Limited; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. Information Technology (IT) facilities and systems are maintained on a regular basis. Annually, an IT budget is compiled for the maintenance of all IT facilities and systems.2. 

2. Maintenance plans are documented and aligned to documented procedures. The plans include Daily, Weekly and Monthly schedules. Maintenance activities are outlined below:

2.1 Patching the IT system for software upgrades, for example, Anti-Virus patches;

2.2 Proactive monitoring and maintenance of our Database environment as well as conducting daily backups;

2.3 Manage disaster recovery on critical data;

2.4 Continuous monitoring of overall (IT) facilities and systems health checks for resolution of urgent issues;

2.5 Proactive monitoring and maintenance of the Wide Area Network and Equipment by External Service Provider;

2.6 Manage software updates and migration data to the Production environment.

3. Service Level Agreements are signed with External Service Providers for maintenance of specialist services and equipment.

20 June 2017 - NW1554

Profile picture: Ollis, Mr IM

Ollis, Mr IM to ask the Minister of Transport

Is the SA National Roads Agency Ltd aware that residents of Alexandra, Johannesburg, (a) have broken the concrete palisade fence alongside the N3 Freeway and (b) in some cases, are erecting structures close to or inside the road reserve; if so, (i) has a site inspection been carried out in this regard and (ii) will the fence be replaced?

Reply:

a) The SA National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) is aware that the concrete palisade fence along the N3 freeway near Alexandra, Johannesburg is continuously being vandalised by the community. The community (pedestrians) removes the fence uprights to gain access into the road reserve in order to walk a shorter distance to the Industrial area across the freeway, through the N3 freeway and Marlboro Drive.

b) There are no structures built or erected within the road reserve. The erected structures are within the yards, at the back of the houses.

  • (i)  As part of the SANRAL’s maintenance strategy, the national road network is continuously under the supervision of the Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) engineering consultants and contractors, who patrol their respective routes daily. Regarding the above-mentioned route, the RRM engineering consultant and contractor has inspected the area. The fence has been broken in two localized areas.
  • (ii)  The fence is being repaired continuously due to vandalism by pedestrians referred to in (a) above. The contractor has been instructed to repair the fence and will commence with the work as soon as the funds are available.

20 June 2017 - NW1709

Profile picture: Hadebe, Mr TZ

Hadebe, Mr TZ to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Traffic Infringement Agency; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Yes, regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Traffic Infringement Agency,

a) N/A

b) N/A

c) N/A (i) N/A (ii) N/A;

Maintenance of Data Center/ Server Room Facility is done at least once per annum, the following equipment are maintained:

Air Conditioning System, Fire Detector and Suppression System, Water Detection System, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), Humidity Monitoring System, Power conditioning and Distribution System (PDU).

Maintenance of Network Infrastructure such as Internet, Intranet, Internal Systems, E-Mail and Web infrastructure is done on a daily basis. Proactive security measures are taken by updating RTIA system into latest updates and patches to protect against cyber-attacks.

 

20 June 2017 - NW1819

Profile picture: Mathys, Ms L

Mathys, Ms L to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

Whether she (a) distributed and/or (b) communicated by any means and/or device of communication cabinet documents and communication to non-cabinet members, in particular to members of a certain family (name furnished) since her appointment as a member of the Cabinet?

Reply:

a) No and

b) No

END

20 June 2017 - NW1596

Profile picture: Paulsen, Mr N M

Paulsen, Mr N M to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

(a) How many patents were registered in 2016 and (b) how many of the specified patents were registered by (i) Black, (ii) Coloured and (iii) Indian South Africans?

Reply:

(a) During the 2016 calendar year, there were 9033 patent applications (provisional and complete) filed at CIPC and 4307 complete applications granted in 2016. Provisional patent applications contain only the specification of the invention and are valid for only 12 months in order to allow the inventor to work further on their invention. They do not proceed to grant. Complete patent applications contain both the specifications and claims of the invention. The said application will proceed to grant once it complies with all relevant formal requirements. The granted patent is valid for 20 years if renewed annually and the prescribed renewal fee is paid.

(b) In terms of the South African Patent Act 57 of 1978, as amended, the complete patent applications must be filed by a Patent Attorney or Patent Agent. Therefore, CIPC does not have data based on the racial demographics as applicants can either be a natural person or juristic person.

20 June 2017 - NW1694

Profile picture: De Freitas, Mr MS

De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport

With reference to the notice dated 20 April 2017 from the Mayor of the Rustenburg Local Municipality to residents indicating that all testing and licensing office capturing systems, including eye tests, are off-line, (a) why were the systems off-line, (b) until when will services not be rendered, (c) how are members of the public being accommodated whilst the specified services are not in operation, (d) what are affected staff being occupied with and (e) what are the causes and reasons in the delay to resolve this issue?

Reply:

a) The National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) is operational and no system is offline. The Department is aware that 2 of the 5 Live Capture Units (LCUs) deployed at the Driving License Testing Centre are not operational. The Driving License Card Account (DLCA) entity, which is currently responsible for the maintenance of the equipment is working towards a solution to this problem.

b) Services are being rendered and no member of the public is turned away. There are however delays due to only 3 LCUs being fully operational. The DLCA has deployed technicians to fix the faulty 2 LCUs but in the long term the units will have to be replaced.

c) The services are not offline as indicated in (b) above, the technical team is working on the replacement of the 2 LCUs that are not working.

d) The staff in question are administration staff, hence they are performing other administrative functions.

e) The challenges experienced by the DLCA is that the current LCUs are old and some of the parts are no longer available in the market. The Department is working with National Treasury on new acquisition of new LCUs.

20 June 2017 - NW1703

Profile picture: Gqada, Ms T

Gqada, Ms T to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Accident Fund; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Regular monthly scheduled maintenance, within the prescripts of the Cost Containment Instructions issued by the National Treasury, is undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Accident Fund, and performed in accordance with an approved Maintenance Calendar developed in terms of a Board approved ICT Service Management Policy; consequently, questions (a), (b), (c)(i) and(ii) are not applicable.

20 June 2017 - NW1701

Profile picture: Figlan, Mr AM

Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Airports Company SA; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Yes, regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Airports Company SA.

The necessary critical maintenance is taking place for the IT Facilities. Contracts are in place to enable the maintenance of critical systems and in some areas where contracts have expired, tenders to continue the services are currently being prepared for publishing on open market processes. We also have a three-year hardware maintenance and replacement plan as part of IT Digital Strategy approved by Exco, IT Steercom and the ACSA Board to refresh/ replace obsolete equipment that are expensive to maintain. That plan is being implemented as and when there is a need in different business units across the company.

20 June 2017 - NW1702

Profile picture: Figlan, Mr AM

Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Cross Border Road Transport Agency; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency undertakes regular maintenance on a quarterly basis on its information technology facilities.

(a) – (c) (ii) Not applicable.

20 June 2017 - NW1705

Profile picture: Gqada, Ms T

Gqada, Ms T to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the SA Maritime Safety Authority; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

 

South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Information Technology (IT) Department has formulated and put measures in place to ensure regular maintenance of Information Technology infrastructure and systems. The following are as follows

1. Infrastructure

  • Systems are in place to monitor performance of the infrastructure to ensure its ability to operate the critical systems that are used by the organization to carry out its duties.
  • The performance of the system is monitored frequently to ensure maximum availability at expected levels.

2. Applications Systems

  • Business and operations are regularly monitored to also ensure availability to the clients at all times.
  • There is a dedicated effort to ensure that these performed as expected and also at expected levels.

Systems generated reports are used to monitor performance and point to the nature or type of maintenance that will be required. As part of maintenance, there are also regular reviews with service providers to address issues prior to them escalating to problems.

The maintenance of the systems and the infrastructure has contributed significantly to avoiding down times and reducing systems and infrastructure performance inconveniences to very low levels which is critical to availability through high uptime.

 

20 June 2017 - NW1704

Profile picture: Gqada, Ms T

Gqada, Ms T to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the SA Civil Aviation Authority; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(a), (b), (c), (i), (ii):The South African Civil Aviation Authority ensures regular monitoring and maintenance of its hardware and software information technology facilities and systems.

NW1910E

20 June 2017 - NW1515

Profile picture: Mulaudzi, Adv TE

Mulaudzi, Adv TE to ask the Minister of Transport

With reference to a reply to a question 2496 on 21 November 2016, that the e-tolling of the Gauteng Freeways Improvement Project (GFIP) is not failing and the department needs to deal with the issue of civil disobedience, (a) how many people have registered since November 2016 and (b) what has the department done to deal with civil disobedience?

Reply:

a) From November 2016 to June 2017, 199 729 account units were registered.

b) SANRAL, as the Agency responsible for National Roads and the GFIP is currently issuing civil summonses to thousands of debtors. Some of these matters are far advanced and several court cases are foreseen shortly that will clarify the legal obligation to pay toll for the GFIP toll-roads. This is an ongoing process.

20 June 2017 - NW1638

Profile picture: Van Der Walt, Ms D

Van Der Walt, Ms D to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

(a) What is the date of the inception of the Government’s Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), (b) what are the reasons for the delays in implementing the IFMS, (c) which (i) provinces, (ii) departments and (iii) Government entities have implemented the programme to date, (d) what are the successes of the IFMS to date, (e) what is the total cost incurred in its implementation and (f) how will the system minimise corruption in the public sector?

Reply:

a) The Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) Programme was originally approved by Cabinet in 2005. The Cabinet approval entailed, amongst others, that a hybrid solution architecture, which comprised a mix of commercial off the shelf (COTS) and bespoke (in-house developed) modules, would be implemented. For purposes of this document this approach is referred to as “IFMS 1”. As a result of challenges that were experienced in the execution of the IFMS, a number of independent reviews were commissioned during 2013 in order to obtain a holistic view of its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improved execution of the Programme. Based on the recommendations emanating from these reviews, it was recommended to Cabinet that a revised approach to the IFMS solution architecture should be implemented, which entails that a single COTS solution, with minimal customization, should be utilized in future. The revised approach (for purposes of this document referred to as “IFMS 2”) was approved by Cabinet on 20 November 2013 which is regarded as the inception date for the current approach to the execution of the IFMS.

b) The implementation of the IFMS has been delayed by a number of challenges that have been encountered. These include the complexity of managing a multi-stakeholder programme, extended procurement and contract negotiation processes and insufficient internal skills for the development and integration of the various modules during IFMS 1.

c) In the question reference is made to “Government entities”. It should be noted that the scope of the IFMS is at this stage limited to Public Service departments as listed in the schedules to the Public Service Act, 1994. As part of IFMS 1 some modules were implemented in a limited number of lead sites. These included a human resource management module which was implemented in the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), a procurement management module in National Treasury and an asset management module in a number of departments in the Limpopo Provincial Administration. The human resource management module is currently being used by DPSA. Any modules still in use will eventually be replaced by the single COTS solution procured for IFMS 2.

d) The following can be regarded as successes in relation to IFMS 2:

  1. The procurement of a single COTS enterprise resource planning system that will form the technology platform for the IFMS, from Oracle South Africa.
  2. The establishment of a dedicated Programme Management Office to manage the IFMS going forward, in National Treasury.
  3. The establishment of various governance bodies, with representation from key Programme stakeholders, to govern and oversee the execution of the Programme. These include a Programme Committee, a Risk Committee, a Communications Committee, a Business Owners Committee and an Architecture Board.
  4. The mapping and documentation of Public Service business processes in the areas of human resource management, financial management, supply chain management and payroll management in consultation with the various policy owners. These business processes, which are based on best practices, will assist in the design and development of the IFMS.
  5. A number of pilot and lead sites, which include both national and provincial departments, have been identified and engagements with these departments are on-going.
  6. Detailed planning for the next phases of the Programme, which include the design and development of the solution and its implementation in pilot and lead sites, is being finalized.

e) National Treasury is funding the development and implementation of the IFMS. Questions relating to the cost of the Programme should therefore be directed at National Treasury.

f) It is believed that the IFMS will make a significant contribution in combating corruption in the Public Service. Some of the inherent features of the solution, such as keeping audit trails of transactions and the elimination of manual processes, will assist in this regard. The intention is also to integrate the IFMS with existing systems such as the e-Disclosure system on which certain categories of public servants must declare their financial interests, the Central Supplier Database in National Treasury and the population register in Home Affairs (which will assist to eliminate “ghost workers”).

End

20 June 2017 - NW1639

Profile picture: Van Der Walt, Ms D

Van Der Walt, Ms D to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:

What is the total number of Government employees who are currently on the state’s personnel salary system in each (a) national and (b) provincial department?

Reply:

The total number of Government employees appointed on PERSAL in each (a) national and (b) provincial department, as at the end of May 2017, is provided in the table below.

Number of appointments by national and provincial department

as on 31 May 2017

National/Provincial department

Number

Eastern Cape

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

1 428

 

Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism

545

 

Education

67 948

 

Health

39 519

 

Human Settlements

606

 

Office of the Premier

405

 

Provincial Treasury

463

 

Roads and Public works

4 891

 

Rural Development and Agrarian Reform

2 822

 

Safety and Liaison

142

 

Social Development

4 496

 

Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture

1 158

 

Transport

1 505

 

Total

125 928

Free State

Agriculture

1 027

 

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs

378

 

Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs

697

 

Education

28 490

 

Health

17 600

 

Human Settlements

314

 

Office of the Premier

623

 

Police, Roads and Transport

3 148

 

Provincial Treasury

380

 

Public Works

1 747

 

Social Development

1 929

 

Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation

914

 

Total

57 247

Gauteng

Agriculture and Rural Development

901

 

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs

670

 

Community Safety

1 172

 

E-Government

756

 

Economic Development

457

 

Education

85 442

 

Health

68 410

 

Human Settlements

819

 

Infrastructure Development

2 580

 

Office of the Premier

516

 

Provincial Treasury

856

 

Roads and Transport

2 105

 

Social Development

4 189

 

Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation

649

 

Total

169 522

KwaZulu-Natal

Agriculture and Rural Development

2 765

 

Arts and Culture

531

 

Community Safety and Liaison

169

 

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

1 548

 

Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs

719

 

Education

107 611

 

Finance

498

 

Health

70 000

 

Human Settlements

736

 

Office of the Premier

619

 

Public Works

1 765

 

Social Development

3 693

 

Sport and Recreation

244

 

Transport

4 148

 

Total

195 046

Limpopo

Agriculture, and Rural Development

2 926

 

Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs

2 157

 

Economic Development, Environment and Tourism

1 227

 

Education

56 820

 

Health

35 810

 

Office of the Premier

474

 

Provincial Treasury

511

 

Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure

3 311

 

Safety, Security and Liaison

122

 

Social Development

3 303

 

Sports, Arts and Culture

484

 

Transport

2 221

 

Total

109 366

Mpumalanga

Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs

1 376

 

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs

815

 

Community Safety, Security and Liaison

1 425

 

Culture, Sport and Recreation

420

 

Economic Development and Tourism

227

 

Education

40 695

 

Health

20 338

 

Human Settlements

375

 

Office of the Premier

249

 

Provincial Treasury

289

 

Public Works, Roads and Transport

3 492

 

Social Development

1 932

 

Total

71 633

National

National

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

5 930

 

Arts and Culture

466

 

Basic Education

860

 

Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service

129

 

Communications

106

 

Cooperative Governance

513

 

Correctional Services

40 656

 

Economic Development

117

 

Energy

586

 

Environmental Affairs

1 892

 

Government Communication and Information System

433

 

Health

2 230

 

Higher Education and Training

28 015

 

Home Affairs

10 250

 

Human Settlements

627

 

Independent Police Investigative Directorate

427

 

International Relations and Cooperation

2 297

 

Justice and Constitutional Development

22 280

 

Labour

8 073

 

Military Veterans

240

 

Mineral Resources

1 094

 

National School of Government

239

 

National Treasury

2 497

 

Office of the Chief Justice

1 837

 

Office of the Public Service Commission

263

 

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

351

 

Police

194 802

 

Public Enterprises

193

 

Public Service and Administration

500

 

Public Works

5 844

 

Rural Development and Land Reform

5 532

 

Science and Technology

450

 

Small Business Development

199

 

Social Development

895

 

Sport and Recreation South Africa

188

 

Statistics South Africa

3 314

 

Telecommunications and Postal Services

307

 

The Presidency

602

 

Tourism

519

 

Trade and Industry

1 401

 

Traditional Affairs

81

 

Transport

667

 

Water and Sanitation

6 078

 

Women

107

 

Total

354 087

North West

Community Safety and Transport Management

1 531

 

Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs

699

 

Economy and Enterprise Development

210

 

Education and Sport Development

30 978

 

Finance

615

 

Health

17 557

 

Local Government and Human Settlements

520

 

Office of the Premier

795

 

Public Works and Roads

2 917

 

Rural, Environment and Agriculture Development

1 495

 

Social Development

2 436

 

Tourism

154

 

Total

59 907

     
     

Northern Cape

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

589

 

Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs

620

 

Economic Development and Tourism

208

 

Education

12 730

 

Environment and Nature Conservation

253

 

Health

6 968

 

Office of the Premier

259

 

Provincial Treasury

339

 

Roads and Public Works

895

 

Social Development

958

 

Sport, Arts and Culture

467

 

Transport, Safety and Liaison

383

 

Total

24 669

Western Cape

Agriculture

949

 

Community Safety

341

 

Cultural Affairs and Sport

620

 

Economic Development and Tourism

232

 

Education

41 456

 

Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

391

 

Health

32 254

 

Human Settlements

473

 

Local Government

374

 

Premier

1 168

 

Provincial Treasury

357

 

Social Development

2 203

 

Transport and Public Works

2 342

 

Total

83 160

Total

1 250 565

Data source: PERSAL

Compiled by the DPSA

Excludes Defence and State Security Agency

Excludes periodical and abnormal type of appointments

END

20 June 2017 - NW1613

Profile picture: Alberts, Mr ADW

Alberts, Mr ADW to ask the Minister of Transport

(1)Whether, with reference to the judgment in the case The Road Traffic Infringement Agency Board v Fines 4 U (Pty) Ltd and Another in April 2017, in which it was found that the Road Traffic Infringement Agency did not comply with the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO), she will take steps to ensure that all officials in the AARTO process comply fully with the provisions of the specified legislation; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant particulars; (2) what number of the representations dealing with technical defects and handed to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency have been implemented since the test phase in Johannesburg and Pretoria; (3) whether, in light of the specified judgment, the Road Traffic Infringement Agency will take the specified representations under review, since it has been illegally dismissed; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the full relevant particulars and (b) whether reimbursement will be made to people from whom money was irregularly collected in this regard; (4) What are the road accident statistics (a) on the road on which AARTO was implemented since the beginning of the test phase and (b) for each year since AARTO has been implemented up to the latest specified date for which information is available; (5) (a)(i) why and (ii) in which manner AARTO will be implemented countrywide and (b) what (i) is the deadline and (ii) are the milestones in this regard?

Reply:

1. In order to ensure compliance with the legal prescripts and processes enshrined in the AARTO legislation, the RTIA has developed Standard Operating Procedures. The Standard Operating Procedures will be published as part of the Regulations in order to ensure compliance by all role players.

2. The RTIA regards every aspect raised in the representation made as a technical issue. To this extent, the number of representations that the RTIA dealt with since the pilot phase since 2008 up to 31 March 2017, is 506 984 representations.

3. The RTIA is in the process of giving effect to the court order in relation to the specified judgement. The Court made a ruling in respect of specified representations that were in dispute particularly due to the inconsistent adjudication outcomes. In this respect the specified representations will be reviewed and be made successful.

4. 

City of Joburg - AARTO Area

         

YEAR

Fatal Crashes

Pedestrian

Driver

Passenger

M/Cyclist

Cyclist

TOTAL Fatalities

"2012

556

363

206

73

1

607

649

"2013

693

431

188

148

11

7

785

"2014"

533

337

127

94

17

4

579

"2015

698

441

154

127

22

10

754

"2016

746

478

138

137

35

14

802

               
               

City of Tshwane - AARTO Area

         

YEAR

Fatal Crashes

Pedestrian

Driver

Passenger

M/Cyclist

Cyclist

TOTAL Fatalities

"2012

512

247

245

110

1

9

612

"2013

578

264

240

183

3

7

697

"2014"

482

243

135

148

14

18

558

"2015

537

254

168

141

31

16

610

"2016

618

313

186

166

24

7

696

               
               

Combined

             

YEAR

Fatal Crashes

Pedestrian

Driver

Passenger

M/Cyclist

Cyclist

TOTAL Fatalities

"2012

1068

610

451

183

2

616

1261

"2013

1271

695

428

331

14

14

1482

"2014"

1015

580

262

242

31

22

1137

"2015

1235

695

322

268

53

26

1364

"2016

1364

791

324

303

59

21

1498

5. The AARTO Bill is still in Parliament, once Parliament has gazetted for further public engagement the AARTO Bill will be enacted then become South African Legislation.

20 June 2017 - NW1699

Profile picture: Hunsinger, Dr CH

Hunsinger, Dr CH to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within his department; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

a) Regular maintenance is undertaken by the Department and its agencies.

b) No steps can be taken against officials if regular maintenance is done accordingly.

c) Officials cannot be suspended or charged when they are doing their duty and the systems are available

20 June 2017 - NW1708

Profile picture: Groenewald, Mr HB

Groenewald, Mr HB to ask the Minister of Transport

Whether regular maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Traffic Management Corporation; if not, (a) why not (b) what steps have been taken to change this (c) why have no officials been (i) charged and/or (ii) suspended for not ensuring that these systems and facilities are maintained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Maintenance is being undertaken on information technology facilities and systems within the Road Traffic Management Corporation;

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(c) (i) N/A

(ii) N/A;

In the period 2016/17 the Corporation upgraded the Network Security and is in full control of the perimeter firewall for all internal systems. Various core infrastructure components have been refreshed to facilitate the Virtualisation of the corporation’s servers. The Corporation has also implemented an Oracle EBS solution to integrate core financial, human capital, fleet management, asset management and payroll functions.

 

20 June 2017 - NW1695

Profile picture: De Freitas, Mr MS

De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport

When will he table the National Road Safety strategy document that was recently approved by Cabinet in Parliament?

Reply:

The Honourable members of the National Assembly are requested to take note:

(i) That the development of the Road Safety Strategy is part of the operational activities. It must be noted that unlike legislation and policy matters, the tabling of the operational activities at Parliament is not a standard practice. However, the Road Safety Strategy can be presented at the Portfolio Committee upon request.

(ii) That the process to develop the Road Safety Strategy before tabling it for Cabinet approval was widely consultative and very exhaustive, with multiple stakeholders taking interest. The National Road Safety Strategy was closing a crucial policy gap and addressing an urgent national malaise on the country's roads, thus cannot be delayed any further.

(iii) That the subsequent step after Cabinet approved the Strategy is to implement it in the fight against road carnage. Had this been a matter of a Policy shift or changing of Legislation, it would have been brought forward to serve before Parliament but in its current form, the strategy contains operational techniques to use in order to effectively make our roads safe.

20 June 2017 - NW1584

Profile picture: Madisha, Mr WM

Madisha, Mr WM to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

What (a) was the rationale for allegedly sharing sensitive government business with the specified persons (names furnished) and (b) is your relationship with the specified persons?

Reply:

(a) No and

(b) No

End

20 June 2017 - NW1555

Profile picture: Ollis, Mr IM

Ollis, Mr IM to ask the Minister of Transport

(1)Is the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) aware that (a) the security fence on both sides of the M1 Freeway at Buccleuch and Kelvin, Johannesburg, has been removed and (b) motorists and pedestrians are exiting and entering the freeway and road reserve from Old Pretoria Road on a regular basis; if so, (2) has an inspection been carried out on the Sanral section of the freeway to repair or replace the fences and guardrails; if so, (a) by what date will the fence be replaced and (b) what other remedial actions have been considered in order to prevent pedestrians and motorists entering and exiting the freeway illegally in this vicinity?

Reply:

1.The section of the M1 Freeway on which the above questions refer to, is under the jurisdiction of the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.

(a) and (b) falls away

2. (a) and (b) falls away

20 June 2017 - NW1777

Profile picture: Rabotapi, Mr MW

Rabotapi, Mr MW to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

Does (a) he, (b) his Deputy Minister or (c) any of the heads of entities or bodies reporting to him make use of security services paid for by the State for (i) him/herself, (ii) his/her immediate family members or (iii) any of their staff members; in each case (aa) what are the reasons for it, (bb) from which department or entity’s budget is the security services being paid, and (cc) what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Response (a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)

The Minister and Deputy Minister make use only of the security services offered in terms of the Ministerial Handbook. Such security services are provided only to the Minister and Deputy Minister and not family or staff members.

(aa) VIP Drivers/Protectors are appointed to provide security and driving services to the Minister/Deputy Minister.

(bb) The South African Police Services (SAPS) is responsible for the payment of such services.

(cc) These services comply with the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook.

(c) c(i) c(ii) c(iii) (aa) (bb) (cc)

The Head of the dti’s listed entities do not make use of security services paid for by the state for themselves, nor their families nor any of their staff members.

20 June 2017 - NW1742

Profile picture: Mackay, Mr G

Mackay, Mr G to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

Whether any staff of (a) his department and (b) each entity reporting to him were awarded any contracts or agreements to conduct business with any state entity in the (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16 and (iii) 2016-17 financial years; if so, what are the (aa)(aaa) names and (bbb) professional designations of the staff members and (bb)(aaa) details of the contract(s) and/or agreement(s) awarded and (bbb) amounts in each case?

Reply:

Response for the Department and Entities

No approval is granted for employees to conduct business with the state. In addition the “Standard Bidding Document SBD 4” covers the declaration of interest and the requirement stipulated therein eliminate the risk of anyone doing business with the state.

19 June 2017 - NW1125

Profile picture: Chance, Mr R

Chance, Mr R to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 215 on 6 March 2017, the requested information has been received from the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi); if not, (a) why not and (b) by what date is the information expected; if so, by what date will she communicate it?

Reply:

The 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) External Moderator Reports for the above listed subjects found that the subject question papers covered the scope and depth of the examinable content, examined the appropriate levels of cognition and difficulty outlined in the assessment syllabus and examination guideline of the examination assessment body. See external moderator’s reports in the accompanying USB flash drive.

19 June 2017 - NW1336

Profile picture: Mbhele, Mr ZN

Mbhele, Mr ZN to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

Has the Public Service Commission received disclosures of interest in terms of section 12(3) of the South African Police Service Employment Regulations of 2008 from the Minister of Police for (a) the National Commissioner, (b) the Deputy National Commissioner, (c) each of the Provincial Commissioners and (d) any person acting in any of the specified positions in the (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14, (iii) 2014-15, (iv) 2015-16 and (v) 2016-17 financial years; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

Reply:

The requirement to disclose financial interests by Public Servants is regulated by the Financial Disclosure Framework. This Framework was introduced in March 2000 with the requirement that all Heads of Department (HoD) and employees on post level 15 in National and Provincial Departments should disclose their registrable interests on the form determined for this purpose by the Public Service Commission (PSC). In May 2001, the Financial Disclosure Framework was incorporated into the Public Service Regulations (PSR), 2001 and extended to cover all members of the Senior Management Service (SMS i.e. levels 13 to 16). These Regulations have since been repealed by the PSR, 2016, which came into effect on 1 August 2016.

Prior to the implementation of the PSR, 2016 the disclosure of financial interests was made in terms of Chapter 3 C.1 of the PSR, 2001, which stipulated that every designated employee (SMS member) shall, not later than 30 April each year, disclose to the relevant Executive Authority, particulars of all her/his registrable interests in respect of the period 1 April of the previous year to 31 March of the year in question. Any person who assumed duty as a designated employee after 1 April in a year was required to make such a disclosure within 30 days after assumption of duty in respect of the period of 12 months preceding her/his assumption of duty. The Executive Authorities were required to submit copies of the forms on which the designated employees disclosed their financial interests, to the PSC by not later than 31 May of each year. These provisions of the PSR, 2001 were retained in new PSR, 2016.

The submission of financial disclosure forms by the National Commissioner, Deputy National Commissioners and Provincial Commissioners between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 are indicated in Tables 1 to 3 below:

Table 1: Submission of financial disclosure forms by the National Commissioner/Acting Commissioner between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016

Names

Financial Years

 

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016

Phiyega MV

(National Commissioner)

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

On suspension

Phahlane JK

(Acting National Commissioner)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

(Acting)

Table 1 above shows that the National Commissioner of the SAPS submitted her financial disclosure forms consistently between the financial years 2012/2013 and 2014/2015. The PSC did not receive the financial disclosure form of the National Commissioner in respect of the 2015/2016 financial year. This is apparently due to the fact that she has been placed on special leave during this period. The financial disclosure forms of the current Acting National Commissioner were submitted consistently between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016.

The submission rate of financial disclosure forms by Deputy National Commissioners is shown in Table 2 below:

Table 2: Submission of financial disclosure forms by the Deputy National Commissioners between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016

Names

Financial Years

 

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016

Masemola SF

(Operational Services)

Yes

Yes

Transferred to Limpopo as Provincial Commissioner

(Please see Table 3 below).

(Post not provided for in the structure)

(Post not provided for in the structure)

Lebeya SG

(Crime detection)

Yes

Yes

Termination of service

(Post not provided for in the structure)

N/A

(Post not provided for in the structure)

Mofomme AL

(Physical Resource Management)

Yes

Yes

Termination of service

(Post not provided for in the structure)

N/A

(Post not provided for in the structure)

Mazibuko NNH

(Human Resource Management)

Yes

Yes

Retired

(Post not provided for in the structure)

N/A

(Post not provided for in the structure)

Dramat A

(Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations)

Yes

Yes

Termination of service

(Replaced by Ntlemeza BM)

N/A

Ntlemeza BM

(Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations)

Yes

Yes

Yes

(Acting in the post vacated by Dramat A)

Yes

Schutte SJP

(New Structure: Resources Management )

Yes

Submitted as a Divisional Commissioner

Yes

Submitted as a Divisional Commissioner

Yes

Submitted as Deputy National Commissioner Asset and Legal Management/ Resources Management

Yes

Submitted as Deputy National Commissioner Asset and Legal Management/ Resources Management

Mbekela CN

(Corporate Service Management: name changed to Human Resource Management in 2016)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Termination of service

Mgwenya BC

(Chief Operations Officer)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Post of Chief Operations Officer was abolished. Official was moved to the re-established post of Deputy National Commissioner Human Resource Management

Yes

Molefe J

(Executive Legal Officer)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Resigned 31-08-2016

Table 2 above shows that the ten (10) officials who are/were on the level of Deputy National Commissioner in the SAPS submitted their financial disclosure forms for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. During the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years, the SAPS experienced certain changes relating to the incumbency of the posts of Deputy National Commissioner. The following changes were experienced:

  • Masemola SF, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Operational Services, was transferred to the Limpopo Province as a Provincial Commissioner. The PSC was informed that subsequent to this transfer, the post of National Commissioner: Operational Services was not provided for on the structure of the SAPS during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years. In view thereof, the financial disclosure form of the incumbent of the post of Deputy National Commissioner: Operational Services was not expected during these periods.
  • The services of Lebeya SG, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Crime Detection, were terminated. The PSC was informed that subsequent to this termination, the post was not provided for on the structure of the SAPS during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years. In view thereof, the financial disclosure forms of the incumbent of the post of Deputy National Commissioner: Crime Detection were not expected during these periods.
  • The services of Mofomme AL, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Physical Resource Management, were terminated. The PSC was informed that subsequent to this termination, the post was not provided for on the structure of the SAPS during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years. In view thereof, the financial disclosure forms of the incumbent of the post of Deputy National Commissioner: Physical Resource Management were not expected during these periods.
  • Mazibuko NNH, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Human Resource Management, retired from the service. The PSC was informed that subsequent to this retirement, the post was not provided for on the structure of the SAPS during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years. In view thereof, the financial disclosure forms of the incumbent of the post of Deputy National Commissioner: Human Resource Management were not expected during these periods.
  • The services of Dramat A, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations, were terminated during 2014/2015 financial year. This official was replaced by Ntlemeza BM in an acting capacity during the 2014/2015 financial year. Ntlemeza BM was subsequently appointed permanently to this position and his financial disclosure form for 2015/2016 financial year was submitted. Table 2 shows further that Ntlemeza BM has been submitting his financial disclosure forms consistently between the 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years.
  • Schutte SJP submitted the financial disclosure form as Divisional Commissioner during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. During the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years the official submitted the financial disclosure forms as Deputy National Commissioner: Asset and Legal Management/Resources Management.
  • Mbekela CN, who was the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Corporate Service Management (name changed to Human Resource Management in 2016) submitted the financial disclosure forms consistently between the period 2012/2013 and 2014/2015. The services of this official were terminated during the 2015/2016 financial year. In view thereof, the financial disclosure form of this official was not expected during the 2015/2016 financial year.
  • Mgwenya BC submitted the financial disclosure forms consistently between the 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years. During 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years the official was occupying the post of Chief Operations Officer. The PSC was informed that the post of Chief Operations Officer was abolished during the 2014/2015 financial year. The official was then moved to the re-established post of Deputy National Commissioner: Human Resource Management.
  • Molefe J submitted the financial disclosure forms consistently between the 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years. Although the official resigned from the SAPS during the 2015/2016 financial the financial disclosure form for this period was submitted prior to the resignation.

The submission rate of financial disclosure forms by Provincial Commissioners is shown in Table 3 below:

Table 3: Submission of financial disclosure forms by the Provincial Commissioners between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016

Provinces

Names

Financial Years

   

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016

Eastern Cape

Binta CC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free State

Sitole KJ

Yes

Yes

N/A

Replaced by Mpembe TS

N/A

 

Mpembe TS

Submitted as Limpopo Provincial Commissioner

Yes

Yes

Gauteng

Petros M

Yes

Contract expired

Replaced by Mothiba LJ

N/A

N/A

 

Mothiba LJ

Yes

Submitted as Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing

Yes

Replaced Petros LJ as Provincial Commissioner

Yes

Yes

KwaZulu-Natal

Ngobeni BM

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limpopo

Mpembe TS

Yes

Yes

Yes

Submitted as Free State Provincial Commissioner

 

Masemola SF

Yes

Submitted as Deputy National Commissioner

Yes

Submitted as Deputy National Commissioner

Yes

Yes

Mpumalanga

Ntobela TR

Yes

Yes

Contract expired on

31-10-2014

N/A

N/A

 

Nogwanya VM

Yes

Submitted as Provincial Head: Legal and policy services

Yes

Appointed as Acting Provincial Commissioner on

03-11-2014

Yes

The official returned to his/her substantive post of Provincial Head: Legal and Policy Services

Yes

Submitted as Provincial Head: Legal and Policy Services

 

Magadlela MD

Yes

Submitted as Provincial Head: Detective Services: Mpumalanga

Yes

Yes

Appointed as Provincial Commissioner on

01-02-2015

Yes

North West

Mbombo MZN

Yes

Yes

Yes

Retired on

31-05-2015

N/A

 

Tsumane LJ

Yes

Yes

Yes

Submitted as Provincial Head: Detective Services

Yes

Acting on a vacant post of Provincial Commissioner

Northern Cape

Basson JD

Yes

Yes

Yes

Retired on

31-08-2015

N/A

 

Shivuri RP

Yes

Yes

Submitted as Deputy Provincial Commissioner: Policing

Yes

Appointed as Provincial Commissioner on

01-09-2015

Yes

Western Cape

Lamoer AH

Yes

Yes

N/A

Contract expired on

30-11-2015

N/A

 

Patekile TE

Yes

Submitted as Provincial Head: Operations Coordination: Eastern Cape

Yes

Yes

Yes

Appointed as Provincial Commissioner pointed as on

09-01-2016

  • Yes: denotes that the Minister submitted the financial disclosure forms of officials to the PSC.
  • No: denotes that financial disclosure forms were not received by the PSC during the financial year in question.
  • N/A: denotes that financial disclosure forms were not expected by the PSC during the financial year in question.

Table 3 above shows that all the officials within the SAPS who were occupying or acting in the posts of Provincial Commissioner, submitted their financial disclosure forms for the period between 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years. The Table also shows that there were changes in relation to the incumbency of posts. These changes and the effects thereof on the state of compliance with the requirements to submit financial disclosure forms are explained in the following paragraphs:

  • Sitole KJ was replaced by Mpembe TS as Provincial Commissioner for the Free State Province during 2014/2015. In view thereof, the financial disclosure forms in respect of the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years were not expected from Sithole KJ.
  • Mpembe TS submitted the financial disclosure forms as Provincial Commissioner: Limpopo during 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. He was transferred to Free State during 2014/2015 where submitted his financial disclosure forms for the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years.
  • The employment contract of Petros M expired during the 2013/2014 financial years, and was replaced by Mothiba LJ as Provincial Commissioner: Gauteng. The financial disclosure form of Petros M was submitted in respect of the 2012/2013 financial year. This was the only period when a financial disclosure form was expected from this official. Mothiba LJ submitted the financial disclosure forms as Provincial Commissioner: Gauteng between the period 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 financial years. He had previously been submitting as Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing.
  • Masemola SF replaced Mpembe TS as Provincial Commissioner: Limpopo during the 2014/2015 financial year. This official (Masemola SF) submitted the financial disclosure forms as Deputy National Commissioner in respect of the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. The financial disclosure forms of the official were also submitted in respect of the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years.
  • The employment contract of Ntobela TR expired during 2013/2014 after the official had submitted the financial disclosure forms as Provincial Commissioner for Mpumalanga in respect of the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. Nogwanya VM was appointed Acting Provincial Commissioner on 3 November 2013. The financial disclosure forms of Nogwanya VM were submitted consistently between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years as Provincial Head: Legal and Policy Services.
  • Magadlela MD was appointed as a Provincial Commissioner with effect from 1 February 2015. This official (Magadlela MD), who was initially the Provincial Head of Detective Services in Mpumalanga has been submitting his financial disclosure forms consistently between the periods 2012/2013 and 2015/2016.
  • Mbombo MZN, who was the Provincial Commissioner for North West, retired during 2014/2015 financial year (on 31May 2015). The financial disclosure forms of this official were, however, submitted in respect of the period between 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 financial years. He was replaced by Tsumane LJ who is the Provincial Head of Detective Services in an acting capacity. Tsumane LJ has been submitting the financial disclosure forms consistently between the periods 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 financial years.
  • Basson JD who was the Provincial Commissioner for the Northern Cape submitted the financial disclosure forms consistently between the period 2012/2013 and 2014/2015. The official retired from the service on 31 August 2015 and was replaced by Shivhuri RP. The latter has been submitting the financial disclosure forms consistently between the period 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 financial years. The official was previously occupying the post of Deputy Provincial Commissioner: Policing.
  • Lamoer AH who was the Provincial Commissioner for the Western Cape, submitted the financial disclosure forms in respect of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial years. The employment contract of the official expired on 30 November 2015. The official’s financial disclosure form for the 2014/2015 financial year was not submitted. This form was supposed to have been submitted in view of the fact that the contract expired seven (7) months after the due date for the submission of financial disclosure forms.
  • Lamoer AH was replaced by Patekile TE as Provincial Commissioner for the Western Cape with effect from 9 January 2016. The official (Patekile TE) submitted the financial disclosure forms consistently between the period 2012/2013 to 2015/2016 financial years. The official was initially occupying the post of Provincial Head: Operations Coordination in the Eastern Cape.

The due date for the submission of financial disclosure forms for the 2016/2017 financial year was 31 May 2017. The PSC is still capturing data relating to that.

19 June 2017 - NW1505

Profile picture: Mokgalapa, Mr S

Mokgalapa, Mr S to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation

Whether (a) his department and (b) each entity reporting to him procured any services from and/or made any payments to (i) Bell Pottinger or (ii) any other public relations firms; if not, in each case, why not; if so, in each case, what (a) services were procured, (b) was the total cost, (c) is the detailed breakdown of such costs, (d) was the total amount paid, (e) was the purpose of the payments and (f) is the detailed breakdown of such payments?

Reply:

The Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa and the entities reporting to the Executive Authority did not procure any services from and/or made any payments to (i) Bell Pottinger or (ii) any other public relations firms.

**************************************

19 June 2017 - NW1499

Profile picture: Matsepe, Mr CD

Matsepe, Mr CD to ask the MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

Whether (a) her department and (b) each entity reporting to her procured any services from and/or made any payments to (i) a certain company (name furnished) or (ii) any other public relations firms; if not, in each case, why not; if so, in each case, what (aa) services were procured, (bb) was the total cost, (cc) is the detailed breakdown of such costs, (dd) was the total amount paid, (ee) was the purpose of the payments and (ff) is the detailed breakdown of such payments?

Reply:

DPSA

The Department of Public Service and Administration has not procured any services and/or made any payment to Bell Pottinger. The Department never required any services from Bell Pottinger.

NSG

b)(i) The National School of Government (NSG) did not procure any services from Bell Pottinger

(ii) The NSG did not procure any services from any other public relations firms

The NSG did not have any need for such services.

CPSI:

(b) (i) No-the CPSI did not have any need to procure from the said company

(ii) No the CPSI did not have any need to procure from any other public relations firms

(aa) Not applicable

(bb) Not applicable

(cc) Not applicable

(dd) Not applicable

(ff) Not applicable

END

19 June 2017 - NW1093

Profile picture: Hadebe, Mr TZ

Hadebe, Mr TZ to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(a) What is the estimated cost for the construction of the Shangoni Gate accommodation and tourist complex in Giyani, (b) what is the budget for the upgrade of roads within the Kruger National Park, (c) will the roads be tarred, and (d) will the gate facilitate (i) entry and (ii) exit to Mozambique for local and foreign nationals?

Reply:

(a) The estimated construction cost (2017) for the Shangoni Entrance Gate, tourism facilities (Camping site, tented site and picnic site) and tar road is R263 million.

(b) The current funding available is R25 million.

(c) Yes, the roads will be tarred.

(d) The new Shangoni Entrance gate will be used for (i) entry and (ii) exit of all guests visiting the park. We do not have a requirement nor mechanism to segregate entry into Park for nationals on the one hand and foreign nationals on the other.

ooOoo

19 June 2017 - NW1379

Profile picture: Nkomo, Ms SJ

Nkomo, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether, with reference to the Medical Schemes Act, Act 131 of 1998, he has found it to be just and in the interests of the provision of medical cover to all South Africans, that late joiners to medical aids, especially people over the age of 35 years are penalized in terms of paying higher medical aid rates because of them not being a member of a medical aid scheme at the age of 35 (details furnished); (2) would he consider motivating to cabinet to have this section of the Act repealed in the interests of making medical aid cover more financially accessible to new members over the age of 35; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) Late joiner penalties (LJP) forms part of the regulations made in terms of the Medical Schemes Act, 1998 (Act No. 131 of 1998) ("the Act")). Regulations 11 and 13 of the said regulations, refer to instances where a member wants to join a medical scheme after the age of 35 and LJP is determined by the number of years that a person was not a member of a scheme (from the age of 21) prior to the application for membership of a medical scheme. The LJP is aimed at protecting the accumulated risk pool funds from being accepted by high risk late joiners who have not contributed to them. It is also meant to incentivize people to join a medical scheme at an earlier age so that the penalty can be mitigated/avoided. There are circumstances that prevent persons from joining a Medical Scheme at an early stage. For such persons a late joiner penalty is unjust.

(2) The application of the LJP is discretionary and a scheme can choose not to apply to a member after applying to join a medical scheme after the age of 35. The Department is currently in the process of preparing amendments to the Medical Schemes Act. The matter of the Late Jointer Penalty is being reviewed as part of this process.

END.

19 June 2017 - NW1129

Profile picture: Dreyer, Ms AM

Dreyer, Ms AM to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 219 on 6 March 2017, the requested information has been received from the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi); if not, (a) why not and (b) by what date is the information expected; if so, by what date will she communicate it?

Reply:

The 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) External Moderator Reports for the above listed subject found that the subject question papers covered the scope and depth of the examinable content, examined the appropriate levels of cognition and difficulty outlined in the assessment syllabus and examination guideline of the examination assessment body. See external moderator’s reports in the accompanying USB flash drive.

 

19 June 2017 - NW1096

Profile picture: America, Mr D

America, Mr D to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(a) What has been the income generated directly for SA National Parks (SANParks) by franchise and concession operators in the Kruger National Park for each of the past 10 years in terms of (i) tour operators, (ii) private open-safari vehicle operators, (iii) private lodges and (iv) private restaurant franchises and operators and (b) where are these figures reflected in SANParks' annual financial statements?

Reply:

(a) 

(i) On tour operators, SANParks only has information for the last four years as follows:

  • 2013/14 R66 866 711 million
  • 2014/15 R65 471 604 million
  • 2015/16 R76 641 603 million
  • 2016/17 R83 305 805 million

(ii) Private open-safari vehicle operators operate under permit system and their income is not shown separately it is reflected under conservation fees.

(iii) The income from private lodges is R187.4 million over the last ten years.

(iv) The income from private restaurant franchises and operators is R231.3 million over the last yen years.

(b) Yes. The figures are reflected in the SANParks Annual Financial Statements.

---ooOoo---

19 June 2017 - NW1186

Profile picture: Purdon, Mr RK

Purdon, Mr RK to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(1)Whether her department followed due processes of public participation in processing the application for the proposed Spitskop West Wind Energy facility; if not, why not; if so, (2) why did her department accept and condone the gross underrepresentation of potential and registered interested and affected parties in this application (details furnished); (3) whether officials from her department were in any way (a) aware of and/or (b) involved in the actions of certain persons (names furnished) who engaged with 22 interested and affected parties without advising AVDS Environmental Consultants?

Reply:

1. I am advised that on 5 October 2016, Gestamp and Sarge Wind (Pty) Ltd, lodged an application in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014, with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) (the competent authority for this application) for the proposed construction of the 140 MW Spitskop West Wind Energy Facility and its associated infrastructure near Cookhouse within the Blue Crane Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.

In terms of record, the applicant commissioned an independent environmental consultancy, Terramanzi Group (Pty) Ltd, to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the above application. The final Scoping Report was received on 18 November 2016 and was conditionally accepted on 23 January 2017. DEA received the draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAr) for review and comment on 18 April 2017 and is awaiting submission of the final EIAr for review and consideration within the stipulated timeframes as outlined in the EIA Regulations, 2014, as amended. The Department has however not yet received the final EIAr, and hence the EIA process has not yet been concluded and the Department has advised therefore not made any decision on the application yet.

Honourable Member will know by now, that environmental assessment practitioner (EAP),
Mr Fabio Venturi of Terramanzi Group (Pty) Ltd., is responsible for the public participation process in terms of the requirements of the EIA Regulations, (please see regulations) 2014 as amended, and not the DEA. As such, the competent authority is not responsible for the actual public participation process and the applicant’s EAP would have to “follow due processes of public participation”. DEA is however required to review the final EIAr as part of its decision-making process to determine whether the methods used by the EAP during the public participation process, have met the legal requirements of the EIA Regulations, 2014. As DEA is still awaiting the submission of the final EIAr, it is not yet in a position to determine whether the “due process of the public participation process” as well as the requirements of the EIA Regulations, 2014 were met.

2. In terms of the department’s knowledge to date, not been any “acceptance or condonation of any alleged underrepresentation” of registered I&APs. Details of the public participation process (followed and to be followed) as contained in the scoping report was thus far deemed acceptable, hence the scoping report was accepted. The EIA process is, I am further advised, still underway, including consultation, and DEA is awaiting the submission of the final EIAr.

3. (a) As indicated above, the EAP is responsible for the public participation process according to the EIA Regulations, 2014, requirements; and

(b) DEA is not involved in any aspect of the actual public participation process. Proof of the public participation process conducted notifications, meetings held, and comments received, and so forth, form part of the final EIA which is still to be submitted by the EAP. Officials from DEA were therefore not privy to such details at this. Please note that I am the Appeals Authority in this matter and all such matters and therefore unable and unwilling to get into further correspondence and engagement on this matter for reasons related to fairness and remaining legally compliant and above board. I will only be able to deal with the responses to the Appellant , should there be one at the time when such an appeal may be received.

---ooOoo---

19 June 2017 - NW1086

Profile picture: Mashabela, Ms N

Mashabela, Ms N to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform

Whether, with reference to his reply to question 638 on 1 April 2016 regarding the settlement of the land claims lodged by the communities of Lower and Upper Zingcuka in Keiskammahoek, Eastern Cape, the specified land claims have been settled before 31 March 2017, if not, by what date will the land claims be settled; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(a) No. Verification for the Zingcuka could not be completed due to the dispute between the Upper Zingcuka and Amakhuze communities, as there are overlapping boundaries of the claimed land. The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR), Department of Agriculture Forestry & Fisheries and Amathole Forestry Company have jointly scheduled meetings during 2017/18 financial year in order to resolve the disputes. Upon resolving of the dispute, the CRLR will proceed with the finalization of the verification process, and the restitution processes will unfold in order for this claim to be settled.

 

19 June 2017 - NW1450

Profile picture: Grootboom, Mr GA

Grootboom, Mr GA to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation

How many (a) persons employed at government-sponsored sports clubs were assessed against the Child Protection Register in the (i) 2014, (ii) 2015, (iii) 2016 and (iv) 2017 calendar years and (b) of the specified persons were found not suitable to work with children in each case?

Reply:

(a) Government has and continues to support sport clubs. Clubs directly supported by Government are community based clubs and are normally run by volunteers. The aforesaid volunteers are not paid by Government and thus have not been subjected to an assessment against the Child Protection Act by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Although the requirement for such an assessment may be considered in future, it will require capacity from the relevant agencies, in a programmatic fashion, thus necessitating assessments of the volunteers from the same clubs more regularly. Due consideration must be given to the communication on the purpose of conducting the assessments, as the retention of the volunteers is quite low.

(b) There was no screening done.

19 June 2017 - NW1128

Profile picture: Dreyer, Ms AM

Dreyer, Ms AM to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 218 on 6 March 2017, the requested information has been received from the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi); if not, (a) why not and (b) by what date is the information expected; if so, by what date will she communicate it?

Reply:

The 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) External Moderator Reports for the above listed subject found that the subject question papers covered the scope and depth of the examinable content, examined the appropriate levels of cognition and difficulty outlined in the assessment syllabus and examination guideline of the examination assessment body. See external moderator’s reports in the accompanying USB flash drive.

19 June 2017 - NW1085

Profile picture: Mashabela, Ms N

Mashabela, Ms N to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform

(a) What is the total number of state-owned farms that were transferred to the ownership of private individuals during the period 1 January 1993 to 31 December 1999, (b) what is the geographical spread of the specified farms, (c) what are the names of the beneficiaries of the specified farms and (d)(i) what is the total number of the beneficiaries and (ii) what is the total number of those who are members of (aa) a certain political organisation (name furnished) and (bb) the Executive?

Reply:

(a) 5 farms. This number, however, refers only to farms that were controlled by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. It is therefore possible that farms controlled by provincial governments and other national departments were transferred during the same period.

(b) 1 in the Eastern Cape and 4 in the Free State.

(c) See the table below.

Name

Surname

Kheki Jerry

Makhalemele

Robert Lekhooa

Thekiso

Tsepiso Izak

Mokoena

Molehi Richard

Kodisang

Nelson Rolihlahla

Mandela

(d)(i) 5 individuals

(d)(ii)(aa) 1

(d)(ii)(bb) 1

19 June 2017 - NW1565

Profile picture: Cardo, Dr MJ

Cardo, Dr MJ to ask the Minister of Economic Development

Did the International Trade Administration Commission oppose the introduction of a 12% safeguard duty on imported hot-rolled steel in an essential facts letter issued in 2017; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) why and (b) what are the further relevant details in this regard?

Reply:

The Chief Commissioner of the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has advised that as part of its standard procedure before making a final determination on trade remedies, it normally issues essential facts letters. The purpose of an essential facts letter is to inform the applicant and interested parties of the relevant factors that the Commission was considering in making a final determination for all the participants to comment. It is always emphasised in these letters that the Commission has not yet made its final determination and nothing in these letters should be construed as such.

In the case of hot-rolled steel, the Commission relayed in the essential facts letter that it was considering making a final determination that: there were unforeseen developments; there was a surge in imports; there was serious injury to the domestic industry caused by a surge in imports; and that it was also considering not recommending imposition of safeguard measures on public interest grounds. It then called on parties to comment on these. ITAC considered comments received from the applicant and interested parties and the Commission made a final determination.

The contents of its final determination and reasons will be made public once the Report of the Commission on the safeguard investigation on hot-rolled steel is published for implementation by the Ministry of Finance.”

 

-END-

19 June 2017 - NW1094

Profile picture: Hadebe, Mr TZ

Hadebe, Mr TZ to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(a) What is the expected revenue and financial benefit for the South African National Parks (SANParks) regarding the proposed Malelane Safari Lodge in the south of the Kruger National Park, (b) were any monies exchanged between private and government entities during the period 01 January 2007 to 31 December 2010 regarding the approval of this project, (c) why has the project stalled for almost a decade and (d) why does her Department continue to approve this project despite the fact that a traffic assessment study has not been completed, as ordered by the last impact review process?

Reply:

Malelane Safari Lodge:

a) The expected revenue will be higher than the minimum rentals of 6% of actual revenue.

Minimum Rentals are as follows:

Year 1 - R864, 525.55.

Year 2 - R1, 152,700.73.

Year 3 - R1, 440,875.91.

Year 4 - R1, 602,063.32.

Year 5 onwards - R2, 161,313.87.

b) No monies were exchanged.

c) Due to long public participation processes, further delays has recently been experienced due to the BEE partners contractual disputes, the EIA approval was only received in April 2016.

d) The construction of the lodge itself has no impact on the Traffic Impact Assessment associated with the access road in the different projects. The final alignment of the access road will be informed by all the required studies. This EIA study on the realignment of the access road will still commence.

---ooOoo---

19 June 2017 - NW1127

Profile picture: Chance, Mr R

Chance, Mr R to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 217 on 6 March 2017, the requested information has been received from the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi); if not, (a) why not and (b) by what date is the information expected; if so, by what date will she communicate it?

Reply:

The 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) External Moderator Reports for the above listed subject found that the subject question papers covered the scope and depth of the examinable content, examined the appropriate levels of cognition and difficulty outlined in the assessment syllabus and examination guideline of the examination assessment body. See external moderator’s reports in the accompanying USB flash drive.