Questions and Replies

Reply:

1.(a) The Human Settlements Development Grant and other related grants under the National Department of Human Settlements are linked to a 3-year Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) planning cycle, therefore no information is available over a 5-year period.

(b) Provinces are required to annually prepare Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) Business Plans. Based on the approved 2023/24 Business Plan for the Northern Cape, the planned target for RDP houses is illustrated per Municipality in Table 1 for the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF) period (2023/24 to 2025/26). A total of 1 271 housing units will be constructed.

Table 1: Planned RDP houses per Municipality

 

2. Although the Province did not allocate any stands (erf/plots) to beneficiaries in the Namaqua District Municipality in the 2023/24 HSDG business plan, it has allocated R11 million for the provision of bulk infrastructure, which will pave the way for the delivery of erven in the 2026/27 financial year. Furthermore, the province plans to build 178 units over the MTEF period (2023/24 to 2025/26) in the Municipalities cited above.

3. Owing to budget constraints, the province did not make provision for the delivery of RDP houses in Hantam Local Municipality, but plans to build 50 houses in Williston, a community under the jurisdiction of the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in the current Medium -Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework. The 50 houses in Williston will replace mud houses in the area.

Reply:

1. The National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) and the then Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) currently known as NMU, entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on 6 November 2012. The signed MoA provided for the establishment of a Chair of Education in Human Settlements Development Management. The established Chair of Education in Human Settlements Management was responsible, amongst other things, for the design and delivery of a unique professional degree known as the Bachelor of Human Settlements Development Degree. This degree is an undergraduate 4-year integrated multidisciplinary qualification with a focus on human settlements issues. (See Annexure A- MoA)

The partnership was extended for a further two years and an addendum was added to the original Agreement. The addendum extended the scope of the NMMU Chair of Education in Human Settlements and focused on the Capacity Development programme for the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee. (See Annexure B – Addendum).

2. A copy of the MoA and related addendum to the Agreement are attached as Annexure A and B in this response.

3. The expired MoA did not include the provision of job opportunities for the enrolled students that were recipients of the Departmental bursary, because the NDHS already had a Scholarship Implementation Unit that was responsible to facilitate the placement of graduates with Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and Metropolitan Municipalities. The immediate placement of students became a challenge due to the reduction in compensation of employees’ budgets in the different spheres of government, and the impact of COVID 19 on the operational budgets of the Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and the Metropolitan Municipalities.

Reply:

The matters raised by this question are located in the mandate of the national Department of Social Development (DSD). The question may be directed to the Minister of Social Development for reply.

Reply:

a) Since its inception in 2010 the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has, among other achievements:

1. Supported more than 200 000 youth owned enterprises with non-financial interventions which include business development training, business development support, access to market initiatives and mentorship and aftercare.
2. Provided more than 25 000 youth owned enterprises with financial support to start and scale their own enterprises.
3. Assisted more than 500 000 with skills development and work readiness programs to support their transitions into the labour market.
4. Placed more than 100 000 youth in jobs.
5. Supported more than 250 000 youth through National Youth Service programs which have contributed to social cohesion and nation building.
6. Commissioned over 20 independent monitoring and evaluation assessments of the impact of its programs.
7. Developed the approved Integrated Youth Development Strategy 2030 aligned to the National Development Plan and the National Youth Policy. Two progress reports on the IYDS have been completed to date.

b) The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) is under the custodianship of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC). This part of the question may be directed to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition for reply.

c) Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are under the custodianship of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). This part of the question may be directed to the Minister of Higher Education and Training for reply.

Reply:

Find reply here

 

Reply:

Combating the abductions of women and children falls within the mandate of the South African Police Service (SAPS), thus a detailed response on investigations initiated may be obtained from the Minister of Police.

The department coordinates the implementation and monitoring of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF). This includes monitoring various interventions in the fight against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) by the SAPS as detailed below:

#	Monitoring Area	Progress Noted as at April 2023
	DNA kits	100% procurement of DNA kits by SA Police Service and delivery of kits to police stations, mainly to collect DNA samples in reported sex crimes.
	Conviction and detection rates for crime committed against women	As at March 2023, the conviction rate was 83.38% and the detection rate was 69.55%. The police attributed the low detection rate to difficulties in tracing attempted murder and arrest of undocumented repeat offenders.
	Conviction and detection rates for crime committed against children	As at March 2023, the conviction rate was 81.68% and the detection rate was also 81.68%. The police attributed the low detection rate to the mediation of cases before arrest of suspect and that complainants are unable to identify the perpetrators due to intoxication and environmental design.
	GBVF Backlog Cases	The SA Police Service has worked intensively to clear backlog cases where in December 2021 80 656 were backlog and as at April 2023 the backlog was reduced to 31 021.
	Quality of victim-friendly services	100% (1 159) of functional police stations render victim-friendly services. However, do police stations do not meet the quality dimensions as per the SA Police Service Categorisations: Bethule police station (in Free State Xhariep District) and Moeka Vuma police station (in North West Bojanala District).
	GBVF Hotspots	665 preventions interventions conducted in top 30 GBV, domestic violence and sexual offences police stations in the country between February and March 2023.
	Training and Support for Police	In 2022/23 2 262 (100%) Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) officials received trauma debriefing. This is important in the fight against GBVF. Training on proactive interventions targeting 3806 officers, by 31 March 2023. 12 950 members trained and 12 938 declared competent. Indicator is at 340% performance. Training on reactive interventions targeting 3 497 officers by 31 March 2023. 13 015 members trained and 12 991 declared competent. Indicator is currently at 372% performance. The courses covered have relevancy for dealing with abductions. The courses include: human rights and policing; vulnerable groups; victim empowerment; first responder to sexual offences; resolving of crimes skills; domestic violence learning; family violence, child protection and sexual offences; psychological motivated crimes; and dignity, diversity and policy.
	Breaking alcohol and GBVF linkages	A total of 53 259 illegal liquor outlets have either closed or the illegal traded terminated from May 2021 to March 2023.
	Budget and Expenditure	The SA Police Service report a budget of R100 Million for the implementation of the GBV Action Plan for the 2022/23 financial year. As at March 2023, expenditure was R89 Million with a variance of about R11 Million.

Reply:

• Building a uniform and integrated a National Health Information System (NHIS) which caters for both the current public and private health sectors for the purposes of National Health Insurance is complex and requires a standardised approach. The Department has, over the past few years, worked on the development of the backbone and technology platform to enable the development and implementation of the National Health Information System:

“To date the building of the NHIS platform and architecture focussed on answering the following question WHO the user (Patient Registry) is who receives services - WHERE (Health Establishment Registry) they receive those services - FROM WHOM (Service Provider Registry) -FOR WHAT (Clinical, Diagnostic and Procedural Coding)”

• Critical to a successful NHIS is ensuring that each citizen and legal resident (USER) has a Master Patient Index (MPI) or Health Patient Registration number (HPRN). This number is the thread that will enable healthcare service providers and establishments to be able to access anywhere in the health system the correct and relevant patient information required to render a service. The National Department of Health built and implemented the Health Patient Registration System (HPRS) which creates and issues a unique number for the USER of health care services. This number is the number that will link all health service encounters within the South African health sector to a single person. Since 2014 extensive work was done to implement the HPRS in public health establishments and to conduct the relevant change management. To date (28 August 2023) we have implemented the HPRS in 3 220 public health facilities ( 3 136 PHC establishments and 84 hospitals). We are engaging with the private sector on the implementation of the HPRS and the use of the MPI as the unique identifier for patient information systems deployed in the sector. The HPRS will be the authoritative source for ALL demographic details of a USER and is the cornerstone on a portable electronic health record.

• WHERE a USER accesses health services is obtained from the Master Health Facility List (MHFL) platform. The MHFL provides for the identity of ALL health establishments and community-based health service points that provide health services in the country. The MHFL was used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic for both public and private establishments (facilities). Currently there are 51131 establishments registered on the Master Health Facility List (MHFL) and there are continuous efforts to enhance the register. A Health Establishment Registry Technical Working Group with stakeholders from public and private sector was established in beginning of 2023 to review existing practices and make recommendations to the National Health Council for a standardised Health Establishment Registry data framework and its governance.
• Management of data regarding from whom a USER receives services (clinical professional) is in concept phase and the plan is for this system to be fully functional within the next financial year. All systems that currently maintain healthcare service provider information must be interfaced with this Service Provider Registry.
• Knowing what services were rendered at a health establishment for a USER is key to ensuring quality and efficiencies in the provision of health services. A Technical Working Group was established in 2022, comprising both public and private sector. Recommendations on Clinical Diagnostic and Procedural Coding of health services were made and tabled at the National Health Council. These recommendations will be published in the Government Gazette.
• Work has also been done on building a Health Information Exchange which is a platform that allows different computer systems to communicate in a clear manner ensuring that data can be exchanged across the system. The Health Normative Standards Framework (HNSF) for Digital Health were gazetted in 2014 and more recently 2022. These standards provide guidance for anyone developing systems within the South African health sector and are regarded as the minimum technical standards that must be included. Both the HIE and HNSF assist in ensuring that interoperability of health systems is upheld and maintained.
• Ultimately every USER must have a portable Electronic Health Record (EHR). Work has started on the development of a modular Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, to be deployed in public health facilities, which contains data collected during care episodes and which send data to our EHR. The first EMR module, focussing on HIV and TB will be introduced by March 2023 while a fully-fledged EMR will take approximately 5 years.
• Integrated digital patient solutions are critical to a functional health system but require appropriate and quality broadband connectivity to function. Reliable electricity and connectivity require a government wide approach.

END.

Reply:

Yes, unused Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been destroyed. Doses of vaccine doses that are yet to expire will also be destroyed.

A total of 70 573 820 does of COVID-19 vaccines were acquired, either as a donation or purchased in line with the bilateral agreement.

• For Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, 453 600 doses were received as a donation and 30 848 000 doses were purchased.
• Similarly, for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, 7 877 610 doses were received as donation and 31 million doses were purchased.
• 76 800 doses of Paediatric Pfizer vaccine were received as a donation.

To date, 27 536 318 doses have been destroyed, i.e. 20 643 322 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and 6 892 996 doses of Pfizer vaccine.

This is 39% of all doses that were acquired and includes both donated and purchased doses.

a) The estimated monetary value of vaccines to be written off:

• Jannsen vaccine = R 2 501 583 564
• Pfizer vaccine = R 1 328 606 043 (value of donated vaccine written off)

b) Steps to avert such waste

• There is no possibility of any further extension of shelf life of the vaccines from manufacturers and SAHPRA.

• Covid-19 vaccination has been integrated into routine health services.

• The NDoH continues to promote vaccinations to the public until the last dose expires. Various demand creation strategies including vaccinating hard to reach communities through outreach services have been implemented to increase uptake of the vaccine.

END.

Reply:

According to Mpumalanga provincial department of health:

(a) There are 62 clinics out of 294 clinics in Mpumalanga that do not have visiting doctors because of difficulty to recruit and retain doctors.

(b) Patients who use the specified health facilities and those who needs to be seen by the doctors are referred to the nearest referral hospital, since the Primary Health Care services are nurse managed with doctor support.

(c) The department is contracting GPs to increase support to PHC facilities and is currently in the process of contracting a total of 69 general medical practitioners to increase support to PHC facilities.

(d) It is not possible to provide this date because it is uncertain what the recruitment/contracting process will yield for 62 clinics that do not have visiting doctors.

(e) and (f) PHC Facilities that do not have visiting doctors and the wards in which they are located are in the tables below:

District	Sub-district	(e) what are the names of the clinics in Mpumalanga that do not have visiting doctors and	(f) in which wards are they located?
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela North	Clau-Clau	10
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela North	Khumbula	34
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela North	Manzini	7
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela North	Zwelisha
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela South	Glenthorpe clinic	45
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela South	Kaapsehoop clinic	30
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela South	Boulders clinic	30A
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela South	Low’s Creek clinic	43
Ehlanzeni	City of Mbombela South	Louieville clinic	30B
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Masibekela	14
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Figtree	11
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Mbangwane	12
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Mbuzini	13
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Ndindindi	13
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Strydomblok (Municipality)	6b
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Mananga	12
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Dludluma	6
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Jeppes Reef	32
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Driekoppies	26
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Middelplaas	31
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Jeppes Rust	18
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Mgobodzi	15
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Sihlangu	16
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Sikhwahlane	19
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Phiva	10
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Boschfontein	23
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Sibange	16
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Ritchershoek	29
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Buffelspruit	29
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Schoemansdal	28
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Ntunda	19
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	Schulzendal	31
Ehlanzeni	Nkomazi	KaMdladla	07
Ehlanzeni	Thaba Chweu	Brondal	11
Ehlanzeni	Thaba Chweu	Simile	06
Ehlanzeni	Thaba Chweu	Kiwi Clinic	05
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Calcutta Clinic	03
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Mkhuhlu Clinic	01
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Oaklely Clinic	24
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Jim-brown Clinic	06
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Thokozani Clinic	06
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Madras Clinic	02
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Cottondale Clinic	20
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Moreipuso Clinic	32
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Orinocco Clinic	12
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Arthurseat Clinic	10
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Xanthia Clinic	37
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Zoeknog Clinic	32
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Cork Clinic	23
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Belfast Clinic	23
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Goromane clinic	01
Ehlanzeni	Bushbuckridge	Skukuza Clinic	38
Total PHC facilities not supported by a doctor in Ehlanzeni: 52

District	Sub district	(e) what are the names of the clinics in Mpumalanga that do not have visiting doctors and	(f) in which wards are they located?
Gert Sibande	Chief Albert Luthuli	Diepdale Clinic	01
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Glenmore Clinic	11
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Swallowsnest Clinic	06
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Bettysgoed Clinic	06
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Kroomdraai Clinic	12
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Vlakplaas Clinic	19
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Arhmberg Clinic	10
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Mbejeka Clinic	18
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Carolina Clinic	15
	Chief Albert Luthuli	Silobela Clinic	22
Total PHC facilities not supported by a doctor in Gert Sibande: 10

 

Grand total for Ehlanzeni and Gert Sibande= 62 PHC facilities not supported by the doctors but refers patients to the nearest hospitals.

END.

Reply:

(a) (i) and (ii) The following table reflects the details in this regard

a) What is the current waiting list of
Hospital	(i) Surgeries	(ii) backlog in the hospitals in Mpumalanga
	General Surgery	Gynae	Cataract	Paediatric	Orthopaedic
Rob Ferreira	170	0	1900	110	0	2180
Witbank	204	0	1710	0	54	1968
Mapulaneng	70	0	63	0	13	146
Themba	180	32	225	0	12	449
Ermelo	50	0	410	0	72	532
Total	674	32	4308	110	151	5275

(b) The department is running a Registrar Training Programme, which is a programme that offers bursaries to Mpumalanga Medical Officers to train as specialists in the different disciplines. The Medical Officers sign a contract with a work-back obligation to ensure they serve the province after completion of training. The period of the work-back obligation is equivalent to the time the registrar spent in training. The department continues to headhunt surgeons and other specialists to increase the pool.

The department is running synchronised marathons in the regional- and tertiary hospitals (namely Rob Ferreira and Witbank Provincial Tertiary hospitals and Mapulaneng, Temba and Ermelo regional hospitals) to reduce the backlogs of patients waiting for operations and this is beginning to bear fruits. The following can be reported:

• Orthopaedic marathon was conducted from the 8-31 May 2023. A total of 427 patients were operated in the two tertiary and three regional hospitals. Some of the operations conducted include Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), Femur nailing, K-Wire removals, debridements, tendon repairs etc.
• For General Surgery, 19 patients were operated in July 2023 at Ermelo regional hospital in one day to reduce backlog because Ermelo hospital does not have surgeons. The team that worked there included three surgeons, two anaesthetists from tertiary and other regional hospitals, as well as Ermelo hospital medical officers. The operations conducted included Myomectomies, Skin graft, Inguinal hernia repair, Laparotomy (complex), Mastectomy (complex). The plan is to provide outreach to Ermelo until they have at least one surgeon. This approach is meant to support any hospital that doesn’t not have a specific specialty.
• Women’s Health Gynae Operations were done throughout the month of August 2023 from 3rd to the 31st in all the two tertiary and three regional hospitals. A total of 259 women were operated. Operations conducted include total abdominal hysterectomies, vaginal Hysterectomies, Myomectomies, Bilateral Tubal Ligations, Rectovaginal Fistula Repairs and Laparoscopy.

The department continues to work on interventions to manage the waiting list of patients waiting for surgeries. The department also works with Tshemba Foundation NPO for cataract surgeries

It is worth noting that the recruitment of specialists in rural provinces remains a major problem and the affected provinces continue to look for innovative ways to recruit and retain specialists.

END.

Reply:

1. There is no obligatory mechanism or legislative provision which empowers government and the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) to appoint black-owned companies or Black Executive Managing Agents to render services at gated communities. This means that this largely remains a voluntary scheme and the current statistics simply reflect that there has neither been a discourse on this matter nor an appetite to engage Executive Managing Agents from historically disadvantaged communities and other forms of procurement within the schemes such as the gardening, plumbing and other services mentioned in my speech.

A need to develop managing agents from historically disadvantaged communities is therefore an urgent requirement and as a result, the CSOS has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with large-scale managing agents to possibly incubate and train the Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI) / managing agents in implementing the transformation agenda. Over time and with Black Executive Managing Agents obtaining practical exposure through collaboration with experienced Executive Managing Agents, these executives will become empowered to independently offer these services to a variety of community schemes.

2. The Memorandum of Understanding will be implemented gradually with the large-scale managing agents in order to achieve the transformation imperative cited above.

Reply:

1. (a) Inspections are conducted by Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to identify unregistered persons posing as practitioners.

(b) Some of the inspectors within the HPCSA’s Inspectorate Unit are based in the provinces to conduct compliance inspections and identify unregistered persons posing as practitioners.

(2) The Department through the HPCSA took a proactive approach to establish the Inspectorate Unit that works with the South African Police Services, the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Office of Health Standards Compliance, the South Africa Pharmacy Council, the South African Nursing Council, the Board of Health Care Funders and other authorities to ensure that persons practising any health professions whilst not registered are brought to book.

The HPCSA has conducted 2727 inspections in collaboration with the stakeholders mentioned above during the period April 2022 until March 2023. The awareness campaigns are held to educate members of the public on how to identify and report unregistered persons practicing illegally. It is equally important to note that the Constitution places the mandate to investigate and prevent crime under the portfolio of the Minister of Safety and Security. Furthermore, the Constitution places the mandate to prosecute persons charged with criminal offences under the portfolio of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

(3) There were 33 unregistered bogus doctors who were posing as registered practitioners identified by the HPCSA for the period, 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023..

END.

Reply:

The department has noted media reports regarding apparent rebellion against the Government’s proposed National Health Insurance. Brain drain of health personnel in search of a better standard of living and life quality, higher salaries, access to advanced technology and more stable political conditions in different places worldwide is a common global phenomenon.

As long ago as 1998 Weiner, Mitchell, Price published findings that data from South African medical schools suggested that a third to a half of medical graduates emigrated to the developed world. There are many well documented ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors, such as:

Push Factors

• Financial reasons
• Limited career opportunities
• Poor working conditions and management (corruption, limited     resources, equip. etc.)
• Political instability, war, violence

Pull Factors

• Financial reasons
• Greater career opportunities
• Better opportunities for family (schooling, living conditions, etc.)
• Recruitment by destination countries

Policies that are currently in place to control healthcare worker migration have, since May 2010, included the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. This is a voluntary protocol that sets principles and recommendations for health workers and associated stakeholders concerning migration. The key components of the code include:

• Commitment to assisting countries facing critical health workforce shortages
• Investment in information systems to monitor international migration of health workers
• Emphasis on education and efforts to retain health workforces in member states
• Protection of migrant worker’s rights
• Responsible recruitment policies by destination/receiving countries and fair treatment of migrant health workers

Our own policy considers directly addressing some of the push and pull factors that drive health workers to migrate. But the issue is complex and multifaceted, particularly because demand remains for healthcare workers in developed countries.

END.

Reply:

The combating of underage drinking and the sale of liquor to minors are entrusted to the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) respectively. Consequently, a detailed response on what initiatives have been undertaken by government to curb these social ills should be directed to the Ministers of Social Development and of Police respectively.

The Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) monitors and coordinates the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF) working with various stakeholders, including the DSD and SAPS particularly to implement pillar two on prevention and rebuilding social cohesion. This work entails the coordination of reporting on the enforcement of current legislation on licensing of alcohol outlets, including the withdrawal of licenses for those that do not comply with their liquor license conditions, with particular focus on the sale of liquor to minors. Further, the DWYPD cooperates with the DSD on programmes that raise awareness on the ill-effects of alcohol and drug abuse by minors.

Reply:

1. The mental health facility was opened and operationalised with effect from 14 April 2023.

2. The facility provides a comprehensive package of mental health services to voluntary, assisted and involuntary mental health care users. It also provides child and adolescent mental health services on an outpatient basis and forensic mental observations that are conducted on an outpatient basis. The facility does not have capacity to admit State patients or accused that require forensic mental observations by a panel in terms of Section 79 of the Criminal Procedures Act, 1977. The facility also does not have inpatient beds for children and adolescents. Mpumalanga province is in a process of constructing a 220 bedded specialised psychiatric hospital that will provide specialised mental health services including forensic mental health services, inpatient child and adolescent mental health services as well as services for those mental health care users whose conditions and treatment plans require medium to long term hospital stay. This facility when commissioned will service the entire population of Mpumalanga.

3. The facility plans to collaborate with other stakeholders including schools, primary health care clinics, school health nurses, NGOs and mental health care users themselves in the area to educate the surrounding communities and raise awareness on mental health.

4. The facility offers:

• Inpatient and outpatient mental health services to voluntary, assisted and involuntary categories of mental health care users
• Outpatient child and adolescent mental health services
• Mental disorders, substance abuse and dual diagnosis treatment programmes
• Psychogeriatrics programmes
• Outpatient single psychiatrist forensic mental observations of accused in terms of the Criminal Procedures Act, and also
• Conduct mental health research and training

END.

Reply:

According to the Northern Cape Provincial Department of Health, the Frank Smith Diamond Mine is situated 65 km northwest of Kimberley on the farm Frank Smith No HV37, in Dikgatlong Local Municipality (Barkly West area). The population for Smith’s Mine is approximately ±200-300 residents.

These residents are serviced by a mobile clinic from Dikgatlong.

Due to the population size the area will continue to be serviced by a mobile clinic as it does not qualify for a fixed health facility.

The department is engaging on infrastructure improvement on a continuous basis, however not all areas will get a fixed facility for now but will be continuously serviced by the mobile unit. It should be noted that services rendered at mobile unit are same services rendered at fixed clinics.

END.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. The constitution or appointment of the Committee was made in accordance with Section 4 of the Land Titles Adjustment Act No. 68 of 1979.

Section 4(1) (a) of the Acts read thus: “A committee shall consist of three members appointed by the Minister, of whom one shall be a judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa or a magistrate with at least ten years’ experience as a magistrate or a person who has held office as such a judge or such a magistrate’’

(b) The Minister shall designate such judge, magistrate or a person as chairman of the committee and the chairman shall regulate the conduct of the business of the committee’’.

The Department consulted the office of the State Attorney Cape Town to enquire about the reasons why the transfer of other portions of Farm 1331 was not completed. Subsequent consultation with the office of the State Attorney, the Department was advised that two members (one being the Chairman) of the committee has since passed on and there is only one surviving member.

The office of the State Attorney assisted in identifying three candidates to act as members of the Johannesdal Land Division Committee (JLDC) one candidate is the surviving member of the previous committee and the second candidate is the retired conveyancer who worked on the transfer of other portions of Farm 1331 then.

Following the identification of the candidates, the Department prepared letters of appointment in respect of the two candidates for them to serve as members of the Johannesdal Land Division Committee (JLDC) and letters were signed in 2021 by the then Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Ms P de Lille, however the candidate to serve as chairman was not yet identified at the time of signing the appointment letters of the two members.

In order to complete the quorum, the Committee needs to have a judge or a magistrate as Chairman as indicated in subsection (b). A judge was suggested to the Department by Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

2. The committee has since ceased to function, it is defunct. A new committee need to be appointed. The question is who has the authority to appoint a new committee.

3. The Department has sourced legal advice concerning the appointment of the committee owing to the issues raised by the identified judge (to serve as chairperson) pertaining to the relevant ministry to confirm appointment, this is because the appointment of the committee was in terms of Land Titles Adjustment Act 68 of 1979, which has been wholly repealed by the Land Titles Adjustment Act No. 111 of 1993.

It is advised that, the saving clause in the Section 15(2) of the Land Titles Adjustment Act No. 111 of 1993 (any proceedings commenced with prior to the commencement of this Act, in terms of any law amended or repealed by this Act shall be concluded as if this Act had not been passed) only talk to proceedings that had already commenced and in process.

It is further advised that the powers of the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure to appoint a committee cannot be sourced from a wholly repealed Act. A wholly repealed Act is regarded as Act that does not exist. We cannot use a repealed Act to appoint a committee.

In that sense, the authority now vest with the Minister of Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural development and as such the matter must be transferred in accordance with the now operational Legislation Act 111 of 1993.

Reply:

(a) The Mental Health Care Act 2002, (Act No 17 of 2002) (the Act) prescribes adherence to human rights principles in rendering mental health services which includes humane and fit for purpose facilities. Furthermore, the Act prescribes integration of mental health into the general health services environment. The Department has made strides in improving mental health facilities to comply with the human rights prescripts in the Mental Health Care Act, 2002. Among these are the following:

• Mental Health Infrastructure norms were developed and gazetted in 2014. These guidelines ensure that new mental health infrastructure construction and revitalisation of the current infrastructure complies to the Mental Health Care Act, 2002 and the other health and human rights prescripts.
• Mental health units have been attached to forty-two (42) general hospitals to increase access to mental health services and strengthen integration of mental health into the general health services environment. We continue with this expansion of service within the annual available budget.

(b) The Department is implementing different approaches to educate the public in urban, rural and townships communities on communicable diseases, risk factors to non-communicable diseases including mental health, mother and child health and safety from injuries. This is done in partnership with other government departments, professional bodies, schools, provincial communicators and NGO’s. The department has developed targeted message for priority conditions and these are communicated through role playing, poetry community dialogues and platforms such as radio and social media.

In PHC facilities, clients are educated on different topics on a daily basis. Fact sheets are developed and translated into different languages, these are accessible in health facilities and distributed during campaigns. Different Apps such as Mom Connect and B-Wise are used to send messages to different target groups. The B-Wise App aims to engage youth on health and the content includes mental health issues. Health experts respond to young people through this App.

END.

Reply:

1. The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements (ECDoHS) advised that it appointed Kou-Kamma Local Municipality in 2021 as the Implementing Agent for the construction of RDP houses in Koomansbos. However, the Service Level Agreement was withdrawn by the ECDoHS on 22 March 2022 due to a contractual dispute between the Provincial Department and the Municipality. This has contributed to delays in implementing the project, therefore no houses were built for the residents.

2. The ECDoHS further indicated that it appointed the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) in October 2022 to serve as the Implementing Agent for the project. In August 2023, the CDC put out an advertisement for the appointment of a Professional Service Provider (PSP) to construct RDP houses for the residents of Koomansbos, and the tender closed on 28 August 2023. It is anticipated that the construction of RDP houses will commence around mid-October 2023.

Reply:

The combating of underage drinking and the sale of liquor to minors are entrusted to the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) respectively. Consequently, a detailed response on what initiatives have been undertaken by government to curb these social ills should be directed to the Ministers of Social Development and of Police respectively.

The Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) monitors and coordinates the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF) working with various stakeholders, including the DSD and SAPS particularly to implement pillar two on prevention and rebuilding social cohesion. This work entails the coordination of reporting on the enforcement of current legislation on licensing of alcohol outlets, including the withdrawal of licenses for those that do not comply with their liquor license conditions, with particular focus on the sale of liquor to minors. Further, the DWYPD cooperates with the DSD on programmes that raise awareness on the ill-effects of alcohol and drug abuse by minors.

Reply:

According to the North West provincial health department:

(a) Makolokwe Ward 29 in Rustenburg has a mobile service point and staff are not appointed to the service point but are assigned from the Sub-district office to perform the mobile service. The current staff that are on the mobile clinic are: 1 x Professional Nurse; 1 x Enrolled Nursing Assistant and 1 x Driver.

(b) (i) and (ii) Please see response to (a) above. Furthermore, there are no staff members specifically allocated to the mobile services as they are from the fixed clinic the mobile is attached to, hence when the professional nurse for the mobile is not available, one professional nurse from the facility will be rendering mobile services.

(c) The health service point has never operated as a satellite clinic but operated as a mobile point since 2002 as indicated in the response (a) (i) to question 1754 on 12 June 2023. This mobile point was not closed but in pursuit of better conditions (parking space, waiting area for patients) moved to the Community Hall in the same Ward 29. The mobile service is still operational to date.

END.

Reply:

The Honourable Member is kindly referred to the attached Annexure 1, containing the response to the same question asked by Honourable Christians of the DA.

END.

Annexure 1

NCOP

QUESTION: 187

FOR ORAL REPLY

DATE: 06 SEPTEMBER 2023

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 25 AUGUST 2023

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 30)

Ms D C Christians (Northern Cape: DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(a) What is the current surgery backlog at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley and (b) to what extent are elective surgeries taking place as opposed to emergency operations? CO724E

REPLY:

a) According to the Northern Cape Department of Health, the current surgical backlog at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley is standing at 6000 cases as at 31 August 2023. This backlog was accumulated during the Covid-19 period. The following table shows the breakdown per specialty field:

Area	Surgery backlog	Type	Waiting time
Urology	471	Multiple type of operations	20 months
General surgery	201	Multiple type of operations	4-5 months
Orthopaedics	Emergency – 41 Elective – 481 Arthroplasty – 509 Hands – 131 Wards – 59 Total = 1221	Multiple type of operations	2-3 months
Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT)	977	Multiple types of operations	6 months
Ophthalmology	Cataract – 2060 Other – 634 Total 2694	Blind patients Partially sighted Pterygium Oculoplastic and strabismus Children with squint	2-3 months
Plastic Surgery	52 electives	Multiple type of operations	No waiting time
Oral and Maxillo-Facial	65 patients	Multiple type of operations	No waiting time
Obstetrics and Gyneacology	250 patients	Multiple type of operations	Gynae 6 months

b) Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital has the possibility to operate in 8 theatres, but due to severe speciality nursing staff shortage the hospital can only operate in 3 theatres on a daily basis Monday to Friday. One operating theatre is reserved for elective surgeries which are performed daily from 08h00 - 16h00 Monday to Friday.

Emergency surgeries are done daily on a 24/7 surgical list basis. During weekends the hospital only performs emergency cases. The average number of emergencies per week is 105 cases.

 

END.

Reply:

1. Table 1 below indicates the number state mortuaries in the four (4) provinces over capacity status as of 29 August 2023.

 

Table 1:

Province	Total number of State Mortuaries with over capacity
Eastern Cape	None
Free State	None
Gauteng	8
Western Cape	None

 

(2) All facilities in the four provinces have back-up generator capacity. However, there are adverse impact on equipment (Generators and Fridges) as breakage are increasing due to frequent electrical surges. High diesel costs are also experienced.

(3) Table 2 below indicates the status of unclaimed bodies at state mortuaries in the four (4) provinces as of 29 August 2023.

Table 2

Province	Total number of unclaimed bodies
Eastern Cape	315
Free State	108
Gauteng	1009
Western Cape

(4) No. There are continuous discussions between Forensic pathology service, local municipalities, and the South African Police service with regards to unclaimed bodies.

END.

Reply:

1. Department of Women Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD):

Description	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Total Amount	R103 117.50	R109 029.82	R189 698.50
Name of Supplier	Uvo Communication-Design-Print	Jetline	Mvuvhelo Events and Communications
Number of Copies	60	150	150

2. National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)

Description	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Total Amount	R122 000	R115 000	No costs recorded as the report is still under internal design for tabling prior to 30 September 2023
Name of Supplier	Moraba communications	Pixycorner
Number of Copies	200	200

Reply:

The reply in relation to the Department of Human Settlements and the Human Settlements Entities is as follows:

Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(i)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(i) 2020/21 Annual Report	(ii) 2021/22 Annual Report	(ii) 2022/23 Annual Report
National Department of Human Settlements	R25,360.00 Printing of the annual report R11,000.00 English language editing of the annual report	R420,000.00 Layout, design, and production of the annual report R189,750.00 Printing of the annual report	R43,264.00 Layout, design, and production of the annual report Printing cost: Procurement award must still be finalised	2020/21 Brand Inn Printing & Branding, Expert English Editors cc 2021/22 Ray Printers, Mict Projects 2022/23 Shereno Printers, Company still to be appointed – Request for Proposal Stage	400	150	150
Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(ii)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(i) 2020/21 Annual Report	(ii) 2021/22 Annual Report	(ii) 2022/23 Annual Report
Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS)	R186,459.28	R77,688.25	R65,665.00	2020/21 Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd 2021-22 Zippy Calendars CC and Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd 2022-23 Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd	500	150	100
Housing Development Agency (HDA)	R45,500.00	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	2020/21 Digital Republic Consulting	100	0 Digital copy produced for downloading	0 Digital copy produced for downloading
National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC)	R141,113.62	R149,560.57	R164,516.62	Milk Brown Design and Communica-tions	100	100	100
National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC)	R30,000.00	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	Projection R48,000.00	2020/21-22 Interactive Web Works 2022-23 Kashan Advertising	60	0 Digital copy produced for downloading	60
Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA)	R492,200.00	R182,732.80	Procurement award must still be finalised	2020/21 Asvato Projects 2021/22 Office Haven Trading 2022/2023 Procurement award must still be finalised	160	160	Procurement award must still be finalised
Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(ii)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report
Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)	R66,256.50	R90,500.00	R23,735.25	2020/21 Litha Communications (Pty) Ltd 2021/22 Motsangope Business Solutions 2022/23 Litha Communications (Pty) Ltd	300	250	100

Reply:

The approach to improving safety and security in all public health facilities is to ensure provision of adequate security infrastructure. Security assessments were previously conducted by the Ministerial Task Team at all public health facilities and the following recommendations were made:

• Improve security infrastructure like perimeter fencing and security guard rooms.
• Installation of security technology like CCTV cameras system, access control and alarm systems at hotspot facilities.
• Effective security contract management to hold Service Providers accountable.
• Regular security patrols at public health facilities by SAPS especially in hotspot facilities.
• Deployment of police reservists at hotspot public health facilities.
• Implementation of intelligence driven security measures at hotspot facilities
• Escort of EMS by SAPS to hotspot communities.

In this regard, a Memorandum of Agreement was entered into between SAPS and NDoH to ensure regular patrols and deployment of Police Reservists. The local hospital management take primary responsibility to provide patients and health care users as safe environment.

END.

Reply:

a) According to the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, the following factors and occurrences have caused delays on the project:

• Construction Tender delays.
• COVID-19 pandemic delayed the commencement of construction.
• An Implementer (in terms of the IDMS) was appointed in 2023 to manage the implementation of the projects.
• Professional Service Providers (PSP) Contracts came to an end and new PSP’s had to be appointed who need to familiarise themselves with the project documentation.

b) Provision of access to healthcare to the affected community:

• The Pacaltsdorp Clinic is a fixed facility operating from Monday to Friday (07h30 to 16h00), providing comprehensive health including acute, mother and child and chronic diseases management including HAST, with full doctor and pharmacy services daily. The facility is congested, and an appointment system is being implemented to try and relieve this.

In addition

• A dentist and oral hygienist visit the facility once a month, patients are pre-booked for these services. Emergency cases are referred to the Regional Hospital.
• A Mental Health nurses visits the facility twice a week to see booked cases and uncontrolled mental health clients.
• There are three external pick-up points located within the facility catchment area where stable chronic patients collect their medication.
• Mobile outreach services providing comprehensive PHC are provided at 4 sites (one site per week) in 4 different areas furthest away from the clinic in Pacaltsdorp.
• Health promotion outreach is done twice a month where preventive services are provided (family planning, immunisations, screening for HIV and TB, health promotion talks, etc.). The outreach is done to different sites on a rotational basis throughout the suburb so as to reach as many people as possible.
• Where specific health related concerns are identified, ad-hoc outreach is done to address the specific concern and to conduct surveillance as part of our outbreak response.
• Schools and creches are visited quarterly according to a roster for health promotion and dental outreach.
• Psychiatry outreach to the facility is provided by George Regional Hospital, twice a month. Patients requiring urgent specialist psychiatry consultations or urgent and routine specialist services by other medical disciplines, are referred to the Regional Hospital.
• Our partner, SAHARA, does substance rehabilitation on an outpatient basis at the facility, once a week.
• Allied health services are provided on a rotational basis i.e. Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy visits the facility once a week, one speciality per week on a rotational basis. Patients are booked to see these specialists in advance. Patients requiring emergency consults with Allied Health Specialists are discussed with the specialist and seen on special outreaches (additional to planned visits) or refereed to the Regional Hospital Allied Health services.
• Social Work services are provided by DSD and instances where the DSD Social Worker is not available, the Sub-district Social Worker will attend to the case on an urgent basis.
• SASSA Dr does remote file assessment and so doing considers approximately 40 client applications per week.

To increase space in the limited size-facility, space has been extended with standalone containers wherein some of these services are delivered. until the facility is upgraded

Once the building is upgraded and there is a full-time security, we will explore extended hours at the facility and flexible hours for staff to decrease pressure on the facility.

END.

Reply:

(1) (a) The Department has not yet finalised its position on the various agenda items.

(b) The countries mandate is based on the latest scientific evidence and country policy decisions

(2) (a) The Department has not yet finalised its position on various agenda items.

(b) The countries mandate is based on the latest scientific evidence and country policy decisions.

(3) (a) The Department has not yet finalised its position on the various agenda items.

(b) The country’s mandate is based on the latest scientific evidence and country policy decisions.

(4) (a) The Department has not yet finalised its position on various agenda items.

(b) The countries mandate is based on the latest scientific evidence and country policy decisions.

END.

Reply:

(1) (a) and (b) In response to the meeting to be held in Panama, the Department has not yet decided on the size of the Delegation (no decision has been taken about a delegation due to cost containment). South Africa has not rectified the Illicit trade protocol and therefore does not participate in MOP.

(i) The Department is not aware of a meeting taking place in Rwanda.

(ii) There is no public sector entities reporting to Minister that will be attending as part of the delegation.

(2) (a),(b) and (c) There is no planned research, training, or policy formulation budget for the anticipated delegation.

(d) and (e) Travel, and substance will be determined once the delegation is approved.

(3) (a) In previous meetings one delegate was funded by WHO and one by the DOH.

 

END.

Reply:

1. (a) The official was dismissed as a result of several transgressions including the lift incident in which she displayed gross dishonesty in dealing with it, unauthorised disclosure of confidential information, underperformance, and manipulation and inconsistent application of the Job Grading System.

(b) It is important to note that Minister’s locus standi to dismiss the concerned official was never questioned in this matter- Honourable Member, your allegations are therefore baseless.

(i) The above-mentioned transgressions which resulted in the department incurring unnecessary costs, including potential risk of litigation, clearly illustrate and justifies the need for consequence management, which were implemented and resulted in litigation.

Below are some of the reasons that necessitated consequence management:

• the disclosure of confidential information.

• She was issued with a final written warning on 10 November 2022 for achieving 33% of quarter 1 targets and 0% of quarter 2 targets of the 2022/23 Annual Performance Plan.

• She had been served with another final written warning regarding her underperformance on 22 March 2023.

• She manipulation and inconsistent application of the Job Grading System in the Grants Management Unit in 2015 and 2016 which resulted in back payments of R1 243 783.65 in 2023. The matter further caused instability, disputes, and unhappiness in this Unit.

• She signed permanent appointment letters of eight (08) Public Liaison Officers without delegations and/or authority and without following the recruitment processes. The department had to keep these officials in employment to allow for the conclusion of legal proceedings. This has costed the Department R11 412 944, 10 to date.

• Upon Minister’s arrival at this portfolio in the year 2021, she was already on suspension for a period of almost 2 years and Minister directed that she be brought back to work since it would be a waste of tax-payers money to have employees suspended for that long period with a salary sitting at home, and further directed that she be properly re-integrated to work- place.

(ii) The legal costs stand at R502 818.75- These include costs of the main application, application for leave to appeal, the application for the execution of the order of Court in terms of Section 18 (3) of Superior Courts Act, and initiation of a petition to the Judge President for leave to appeal.

2. The Department complied with section 18(3) of Superior Court Act and allowed her to return to work, whilst awaiting the decision on petition to the Judge President. She was moved to work in the Office of Director-General until the disciplinary process that was issued in 2019 and investigations into matters mentioned in paragraph 1 above are completed and/ or the petition is granted.

Reply:

a) According to the response received from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), registration with the HPCSA for foreign qualified applicants is not guaranteed. The relevant Board must satisfy itself that, the curriculum and/or training received is equivalent to that offered in South African institutions, or at least, satisfactory. For the relevant Board to make the necessary determination, it relies on the submission of documentary proof by the applicants for review. Such documents must respond to requirements as set by the relevant Board, including hours of training received domains and evidence of satisfactory clinical exposure during training. The documents usually written in foreign languages may also need to be translated into English and notarised.

A Task Team of the relevant Board will review the submissions and may decide to either reject the application or subject the applicant to a Board examination. Once the Board has approved the application for a Board exam, the applicant may need to wait until a Board examination is available according to set schedules (exams are available frequently set and sometimes may happen only twice in a year).

These processes are lengthy and may sometimes take several months especially as applicants sometimes do not provide all the documentary evidence as required timeously (a non-compliant application will not be processed).

Internship placements is the responsibility of the National Department of Health. Applicants for internship registrations must submit proof of placement to perform internship in an accredited facility. This requirement is in terms of the regulations relating to registration of interns. Those who are waiting placement are therefore not registrable until such time that they have been placed.

b) Based on the above it is evident that there are a number of factors that an applicant must comply with before an application can be processed. If applicants fail to comply with these requirements, then they will unfortunately be delayed. Thus the only way these issues would be permanently resolved is when applicants are in full compliance of the HPCSA requirements.

END.

Reply:

a) There has been no study done to assess the impact of health hazards caused by the zama-zama illegal mining activities on the public healthcare system. The zama-zama illegal mining is an occurrence that needs to be stopped through collaboration between the mining industry and law enforcement. It is not an area that the health sector can spend its limited resources on.

b) There are no specific health interventions on matters related to the zama-zama illegal mining. The zama-zama illegal mining is an occurrence that needs to be stopped through collaboration between the mining industry and law enforcement. It is not an area that the health sector can spend its limited resources on.

END.

Reply:

a) Since 2018 the department has rehabilitated thirteen (13) derelict and ownerless mines.

b) Eleven (11) of those mines are in Limpopo, one (1) in Mpumalanga, and another one (1) in the Northern Cape.

Reply:

(a) According to the information received from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements, construction could only commence when the households residing in informal structures within the project footprint could be relocated, to allow for development. The households were relocated to temporary units in January 2019. The civil contractor started on site in March 2019. However, the civil programme was impacted by various challenges. One landowner refused to leave the project site and this matter took several months to resolve. The Covid-19 pandemic and the supply chain management process to extend the contract of the civil contractor, also caused further delays on the project. The extension of the contract was eventually granted in June 2022.

It should be noted that top structure construction can generally only start once sites are serviced- The delays in the civil work, also impacted negatively on the start of the construction of the top structures. The top structure contractor commenced with a show block of 11 units, however, due to the delay in installation of services, the units could not be completed. The top structure contractor’s agreement then expired. The tender process for the appointment of a new top structure contractor is underway through the Municipal Supply Chain Process and is anticipated to be awarded by October 2023. The construction of the houses is planned to resume in December 2023.

(b) An amount of R14 093 242.81 (which equates to 22% of the budget) has been spent to date, the majority of which was spent on servicing the site.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(i) With respect to the Department:

a) In terms of the annual reports for (aa) 2020-21, (bb) 2021-22 and (cc) 2022-23 financial years, no service providers were used and no costs incurred in the printing of the Annual reports. The compilation of the Annual reports were done in-house (from collection, analysis and provisioning to stakeholders via emails as electronic documents as well as making it available on the Departmental website.

b) No suppliers were used as these document in the financial years in question, have been compiled in-house.

c) Over the 3 financial years in question, given that these were compiled in-house, electronic copies were provided via emails as electronic documents as well as making it available on the Departmental website.

(ii) With respect to Entities reporting to the Department:

Agrément South Africa (ASA)

In terms of the annual reports for ASA (aa) 2020-21: R13 864.91, (c) 100 copies were printed by the supplier: (b) (Lebone Litho Printers).

(bb) 2021-22: R 88 844,40, (c) 112 copies were printed by the supplier: (b) (Seriti Printing Digital).

(cc) 2022-23: R 64 585, (c) 30 copies printed by the supplier (b) (YesDirect Trading (Pty) Ltd).

Council for the Built Environment (CBE)

In terms of the annual reports for CBE (aa) 2020-21, (b) printed by supplier Lebone Litho, (c) Zero (0) distribution (lockdown, only electronic distributions, R 102 645.55).

(bb) 2021-22, (b) printed by supplier Lebone Litho, (c) 25 limited distribution, R 111 151. 26.

(cc) 2022-23, (b) printed by supplier Atlarela Consulting, (c) in progress, CBE will be limiting the distribution to 50 copies, Design/Layout: R 38 000 + Printing Cost estimated at R 35 000.

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)

a) In terms of the annual reports for (aa) 2020-21, (bb) 2021-22 and (cc) 2022-23 financial years, cidb appointed Meropa to assist with design and layout on the cidb’s annual reports. There is no cost for printing cidb's annual report. All annual reports were electronic. The compilation of annual reports were compiled internally (from collection, analysis and delivery to stakeholders via email in the form of electronic documents as well as posting on CIDB website).

b) No suppliers were used for printing as these documents were, in the relevant years, produced in-house by a contractually appointed service provider during the stated years.

c) During the 3 financial years, as these were developed in-house, electronic copies were made available via e-mail in electronic document form as well as on the CIDB website.

https://www.cidb.org.za/resource-centre/downloads-1/#45-49-wpfd-annual-reports

Independent Development Trust (IDT)

(aa) 2020-21; the supplier was (b) Letheric Solutions; (c) 250 Copies of the Annual Report were printed, and the total cost was R268 488.00.

(bb) 2021-22 financial year; the supplier was (b) Shinning Nova; (c) 300 copies of the Annual Report were printed, and the total cost was R367 780.00.

(cc) 2022-23 financial year; no service provider has been appointed.

Reply:

(a) The current surveillance capabilities to respond to epidemics and pandemics to health risks include the existence of Notifiable Medical Conditions system managed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), National Emergency Operation Centre, nine NICD Epidemiologists placed across nine provinces, as well as Surveillance Sub-Directorates under Communicable Disease Directorates and Outbreak Response Teams within the Department of Health across nine provinces. The list of priority diseases is being expanded to include subtropical diseases as guided by the World Health Organization. Capacity building workshops are being conducted across the provinces to ensure that clinicians, managers and epidemiologists are ready and equipped for pandemics and epidemics.

The existing surveillance capacity has been reviewed in May 2023 to inform the current draft Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Strategic Plan 2030 which aims to –

(i) institute early warning systems to prevent the mass spread of infectious diseases and other health risks;

(ii) revive event and community-based surveillance systems;

(iii) strengthen one health approach by linking human health to animal health;

(iv) improve Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) surveillance systems at hospital level; and

(v) build an integrated health information system that uses existing electronic platforms through the mediator approach of linking webDHIS2 with Notifiable Medical Conditions electronic system, Port Health Surveillance, event-based and community surveillance, Animal Health surveillance system and disease specific surveillance systems.

(b) The Department is working with the Presidency in supporting the role of the President of the Republic in the African continent. The Department is supported by WHO to ensure compliance to the International Health Regulations of 2005 and participates in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body in order to ensure readiness to respond to epidemics and pandemics. This includes establishing an integrated platform for surveillance early warning system for early detection and curb the spread of emerging diseases.

END.

Reply:

The Department has in the past two financial years compiled a monitoring report on the empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities focusing on levels of equity, employment, ownership and participation women, youth and persons with disabilities.

The report records the participation of women in senior leadership as follows:

1. Women Magistrates were 48.7% in 2020/21 and increased to 52.1% in 2021/22.

2. Women judges were 43.1% in 2020/21 and increased to 45.5% in 2021/22.

3. Representation of women in South African Police Services as Major General is at 37.9%, and Brigadier is at 38.2%. The percentage increased to 50% at higher position of Divisional Commissioner, Provincial Commissioner and Top Management. While the National commissioner is a man, two of the three Deputy National Commissioner are women.

4. Women representation at SMS level in the public service was at 27.9% in 2021/22. Youth are represented at levels 13, 14 and 15 with 1.4%, 1.7%, and 3.2 % respectively while persons with disabilities are represented by less than 2% in three levels.

5. Top Management level representation of women in the Private Sector was at 24.6%.

6. Data from StatsSA indicates that there are 4 407 Councillors of which 1 309 are female which translates to 29.7% women representation as Councillors.

Reply:

(i) National Department of Health

(aa) The National Department of Health annual report was not printed in the 2020/2021 financial year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronic copies were circulated to the stakeholders and uploaded on the departmental website.

(bb) For the 2021-2022 Annual Report –

(a) R279,900 was paid for printing

(b) Ribola Holdings

(c) 500 copies

(cc) The procurement process of printing of the 2022-2023 annual report is underway and the appointment of the successful service provider is expected to be finalised before the end of September 2023.

(ii) Public Entities

Council for Medical Schemes

Financial Years	(a)(ii) Total amount spent on printing	(b) who were the suppliers	(c)(ii)(i) Total number of copies printed in each specified year
(aa) 2020-21	R109 940.00	Kashan Advertising	300
(bb) 2021-22	R336 974.70	Shereno Printers	500
(cc) 2022-23	R 42 535.57	Lebone Litho Printers	150

Office of Health Standards Compliances

Financial Years	(a)(ii) Total amount spent on printing	(b) who were the suppliers	(c)(ii)(i) Total number of copies printed in each specified year
(aa) 2020-21	R138 600	The Link Institute	200
(bb) 2021-22	R29 900	Creative Boost	200
(cc) 2022-23	R166 310	Rebuild Group	200

National Health Laboratory Service

Financial Years	(a)(ii) Total amount spent on printing	(b) who were the suppliers	(c)(ii)(i) Total number of copies printed in each specified year
(aa) 2020-21	R88 456	Milk Brown Design and Communications	150
(bb) 2021-22	R82 245.70	45TH Media (Pty) Ltd	200
(cc) 2022-23	R37 600.40	Litha Communications (Pty) Ltd	200

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority

Financial Years	(a)(ii) Total amount spent on printing	(b) who were the suppliers	(c)(ii)(i) Total number of copies printed in each specified year
(aa) 2020-21	R159 988	45th Media	500
(bb) 2021-22	R192 860	Shereno Printers CC	500
(cc) 2022-23	R156 319.50	Shereno Printers	300

South African Medical Research Council

Financial Years	(a)(ii) Total amount spent on printing	(b) who were the suppliers	(c)(ii)(i) Total number of copies printed in each specified year
(aa) 2020-21	R83 288.75	Blackburn Solutions	100
(bb) 2021-22	R55 549.60	Lebonelitho Printers	100
(cc) 2022-23	R87 429.90	Blackmoon Advertising	100

END.

Reply:

No, the department does not approve expenditure on security as there is no policy provision for such. The Department is undertaking a review of its existing policies which will inform improvements on the utilisation of the grants.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

Legal opinion is attached as requested. Annexure A.

In terms of the legal opinion obtained from the State Attorney, the complainant should not be paid unless if there is a court order to that effect. The complainant, as per the legal opinion provided, is not being disadvantaged, but in the event they believe in their case, they may proceed and test their case before a competent court of law as they did by way of issuing a letter of demand, hence litigation starts by issuing a letter of demand and the subsequent process shall follow thereafter.

Reply:

The following table reflects the details in this regard:

Table 1.

NAME OF THE PROVINCES	HEALTH FACILITIES HAS HE FOUND ACCOUNT FOR THE MOST MEDICO-LEGAL CLAIMS IN EACH PROVINCE?
Eastern Cape	1. Livingstone Hospital
	2. Frere Hospital
	3. Mthatha Regional Hospital
Free State	1. Pelonomi Regional Hospital
	2. Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital
	3. Bongani Regional Hospital
Gauteng	1. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital
	2. Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital
	3. Tembisa Hospital
Kwazulu-Natal	1. Prince Mishyeni Memorial Hospital
	2. King Edward the 8th Hospital
	3. RK Kahn Hospital
Limpopo	1. Tshilidzini Hospital 2. Pietersburg Hospital 3. Mankweng Hospital
Mpumalanga	1. Rob Ferreira Hospital
	2. Themba Hospital
	3. Witbank Hospital
Northern Cape	1. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital
	2. Kuruman Hospital
	3. Dr Harry Surtie Hospital
NorthWest	1. Mahikeng Provincial Hospital
	2. Klerksdorp Hospital
	3. Job Morolong Memorial Hospital
Western Cape[1]	1. Tygerberg Hospital
	2. Groote Schuur Hospital
	3. Mowbray Maternity Hospital

END.

1. According to Western Cape’s response: The Department has not identified any specific facility with any disproportionate number of claims, compared to other facilities. Tygerberg, Groote Schuur and Mowbray Maternity Hospitals together account for 31.15% of active claims. ↑

Reply:

(1) The delegates would agree with mandates that are in-line with the country’s goals, existing and planned regulatory frameworks to control the use of Tobacco and related products.

(2) The current Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has not been passed yet, if during the consultative process there individual or stakeholders that would propose amendments that can advance public health without compromising the health of vulnerable groups they may be considered.

(3) The mandate of the delegation is to engage on matters that will advance public health, as indicated in earlier responses, the country position on various agenda items has not been finalised.

(4) South Africa follows its own legislative process as mandated by Parliament.

 

END.

Reply:

Admittedly, the Provincial Departments of Human Settlements have been, and some are still experiencing numerous delivery challenges including spending the Human Settlements Grants fully, however, there are various interventions to improve and stabilise the performance of these Provinces.

The Department has taken the following key steps to improve performance:

• Planning
  • More emphasizes has been placed on the business planning processes.
  • For the financial year under review, the approval of the business plans was done after the financial year had begun due to vigorous processes that were done and various consultations with the provinces including MINMEC.
  • Before the approval of the plans and the transfer of grants, Provinces were requested to submit and sign-off that projects included in their business plans were ready for implementation.
  • Included and as part of the business plans submitted by Provinces were the Projects Readiness Matrix and the Procurement Plans.

• Monitoring and Mitigating on Provinces Performance
  • Provinces are monitored in line with the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA) provisions to report and account monthly and quarterly on their financial and non-financial performance against their annual allocations. This performance is continuously monitored and analyzed,
  • There are quarterly contact sessions that are held with Provinces to discuss the performance and the projects under implementation.
  • Different Forums, including MinMEC, which is a forum chaired by the Minister are held regularly to discuss the performance and to share ideas on how to improve performance by learning from others (Provinces and Metro Municipalities).
  • The Department has appointed Engineers (additional to the establishment) as Project Managers to support project level monitoring.
  • Specialists have been seconded to Provinces and Metros with performance challenges for specialized interventions, and this includes Free State and Mangaung.
  • War Rooms and Task Teams have also been appointed for immediate identification of emerging problems, stakeholder consultation and mitigations across all government levels and identified communities.
  • The Department has appointed a panel of 120 specialists in the built environment- This Panel is in the Department’s database. Services will be sourced from the panel as and when the need arises.
  • By the 5th month of the financial year, Provinces with observed poor performance are advised to submit their Recovery Plans, which are interrogated through intensive consultations with affected Provinces to confirm if these mitigation plans will indeed positively turn around and improve poor performance.
  • One-on-one attention is given to Provinces that need intervention.

• On Policy Changes
  • The subsidy quantum was also increased by 29.7% for the 2023/24 financial year, mainly to address the increasing building costs. The adjustment seeks to ensure that contractors accelerate the delivery pace, that contractors do not abandon commenced projects due to unaffordable building costs; and to ensure that the quality of houses handed over to beneficiaries do not deteriorate.

Reply:

a) There are two (02) correctional centres that are currently under construction, namely Parys Correctional Centre in the Free State and Northern Cape Region and Burgersdorp Correctional Centre in the Eastern Cape Region.

b) The planned completion date for the construction of Parys Correctional Centre is Quarter 4 of 2024/2025 financial year, and Burgersdorp Correctional Centre is planned to be completed by Quarter 4 of 2025/ 2026 financial year.

c) Parys Correctional Centre currently has bed spaces of 74, additional 176 bed spaces will be achieved, yielding a total of 250 beds. Burgersdorp Correctional Centre currently has 197 bed spaces, an additional 322 bed spaces will be achieved, yielding a total of 519 bed spaces.

END.

Reply:

(a) There are 28 social workers appointed in the first Quarter (01 April – 31 June 2023).

(b) The current total number of social workers employed across government is 17 571.

 

Reply:

1. The Department’s plan to deal with land hunger includes the Housing Development Agency’s (HDA) targeted land acquisition of 1500 hectares of both state and privately-owned land parcels. In addition, the Department supports Provinces and the Metropolitan Municipalities to acquire land through various human settlements grant funding mechanisms.
2. The Department is encouraging the utilisation of expropriation in terms of section 9(3)(a) of the Housing Act, Act 107 of 1997 by all municipalities. Accordingly, effecting the same clause, through the HDA, the Department has facilitated the process to acquire approximately 42,8243 hectares of land on behalf of the Rustenburg Local Municipality that will be used for the development of housing and human settlements in the North-West Province.

Reply:

According to the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health, the

a) On or about the 11th day of June 2013, the Eastern Cape Department of health made a conditional offer of R 500 000. 00 as a full and final settlement without admission of liability. The offer was made purely on humanitarian grounds. The following factors have been advanced:

• The stipulated time on the offer lapsed, and the department deemed that the plaintiff had rejected the offer.
• On or about the 17th day of June 2011 the plaintiff submitted an Actuarial Report demanding a payment of R 4 355 307. 00 (Four million three hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and seven rand).
• The matter has been set down on several dates and we are not aware about any outcomes.
• There is no Court order and essentially the matter is considered dormant.
• The plaintiff has been engaging outside the Court processes and pressurising the Department to pay her R 4 355 307. 00.
• The Department has one medical report dated 1st June 2005 which is inconclusive and does not make any recommendations.
• The Department is of the opinion that there is no offer, and the Department should not revise or entertain plaintiff's demands.
• The Department is advised that there was no nexus or causal link between tooth extraction and the disability that she suffers from.

b) Attempts will be made to advise the plaintiff that she has no claim against the Department but that the Department would still be prepared to make good on its humanitarian offer.

c) (i) The attempts referred to in (b) above will be acted upon on or before 30th September 2023,

(ii) It is hoped that the matter could be finalised before the end of October 2023.

END.

Reply:

The spending by the Department is set out below. Information on entities will be provided in a supplementary reply.

Entity		(aa) 2020-21	(bb) 2021-22	(cc) 2022-23
Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC)	Total amount paid	R279 950.00	R255 850.00	R269 400.00
	Supplier	Bakhoni Ba Kopane Trading (Pty) Ltd	Indulgence Palace (Pty) Ltd	MKYJAN Trading (PTY) Ltd
	Total number of copies printed	420	420	420

-END-

Reply:

• 1. Cabinet approved the revised SA Connect Phase 2 model and implementation plan which connects both Government and communities.
     
     The approved model is based on a partnership between SITA, Broadband Infraco and Sentech. It includes implementation via the social obligations in the new licensing plan of high demand spectrum, with Departments being responsible for maintenance thereafter.
     
     The step-by-step targets for each category are as follows:
     
     1. SITA will connect Government Sites (National and Provincial Departments – including the South African Police Service) and excluding schools and clinics (unless they are part of the existing broadband initiatives). Over the next 3 years:
     SITA will connect at a minimum of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) a total of 14 742 Government sites as well as 949 libraries and Thusong Centres

     Existing budgets from line departments must be utilised for maintenance and the extension of services provided by SITA.

     
     2. Telecommunication companies through the ICASA-awarded High Demand Spectrum licenses will be mandated as part of their Service Obligations within 36 months to provide 10Mbps (uplink and downlink), uncapped and upgradable for the same duration that the entities are licensed to utilise the spectrum broadband services to connect a total of:
     • 18 520 schools
     • 1764 pitals and 3967 clinics
     • 567 libraries and Thusong centres; and
     • 8241 Traditional and Tribal Authority centres
     
     3. Broadband Infraco and SENTECH will provide broadband infrastructure to enable more broadband connection possibilities at a minimum of 5 Mbps, positively affecting 5 830 208 households over the next 3 years, as follows:
     • 840 Open Access Base stations
     • 33 539 community Wi-Fi hotspots to connect 5 830 208 households
     • 1 600 households using a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) connections in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape mountainous areas
     
     Thank You.

Reply:

As a public broadcaster, the SABC is expected to broadcast national sports events as provided for in the ICASA Sports broadcasting regulations. When right holders’ sell Free to Air (FTA) rights to a subscription / pay television broadcaster, the SABC is forced to sub-licence these rights from the broadcaster to fulfill its mandate. This, unfortunately, often comes with inflated pricing and with additional restrictive and possibly anti-competitive conditions.

Thank You.