Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. (a) (i) Somhlolo Trust consists of 142 Originally Dispossessed Individuals and 1237 Total number of beneficiaries;

(ii) The Trustees are: Professional Trustees: Kenneth Mokoena (Attorney), Stefaan Sithole (Chartered Accountant), Ordinary Trustees: Fana Enock Nkosi, Qondeni Joseph Mathebula and Sonnyboy Mgazi Maseko. (Tete Elijah Nkosi and Dumisane Robert Mkomo are deceased).

  (b) The beneficiaries were verified before the finalization of the claim but the verification report was subsequently disputed. The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights together with the Trustees are currently in a process of verifying the beneficiaries again. The University of Pretoria has been engaged to undertake the process.

  (c) The last meeting of the Trustees was held on the 16th of November 2016.

2. (a)(b) There are no business concerns.

3. (a)(b) The Trustees have registered a Company called Zololor (Pty) Ltd which is fully owned by the Trust.

4. (a)(b) No Chief occupies Somhlolo Trust land .

Reply:

Requesting the Honorable Member to refer to the response provided to NA 583.

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Reply:

Kindly refer to the presentation provided to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 03 March 2017 by the Department of Water and Sanitation for details of supplier invoices and the reasons for non-payment.

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Reply:

Kindly refer to the presentation provided to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 03 March 2017 by the Department of Water and Sanitation for details of supplier invoices and the reasons for non-payment.

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Reply:

1. The independent was appointed to investigate the alleged fraud and corruption in the Kha Ri Gude programme for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years.

2. (a) There was no tender issued to appoint the service provider because the threshold allowed the Department to source the service through the quotation process. Quotations were sourced from the audit companies registered on Central Supplier Database;

(b) The selection process was based on the 80/20 point system whereby 80 points were for price and 20 points for B-BBEE because quotations were only sourced from the audit firms.

(c) The Terms of Reference required:

• The appointed service provider to investigate the alleged fraud and corruption in the Kha Ri Gude programme for 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years;
• During the 2015\16 financial year audit, the auditors found that there was registration of deceased learners before the start of the campaign resulting in the overpayment of stipends to educators, supervisors, coordinators and the project management company on account of fraudulent claims and the educators having less than 18 learners. This resulted in alleged fictitious payments made to educators.

(d) The findings and recommendations were as follows:

Findings

• Payment made to individuals with invalid, non-existent ID numbers
• Overpayment of stipend
• Anomalous data

Recommendations

• The Department must recover the money lost with immediate effect and a clear recovery plan must be formulated and implemented. (Recovery has already started. At 31 March 2017 an amount of R474 737 had already been recovered and the recovery continues).

Reply:

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

1. In terms of the IATA baggage policy, the airline is accountable and responsible for the passenger’s baggage. According to the IATA codes, delayed, damaged and/ stolen bags are recorded by either the airline or its handling company on behalf of the passenger which is handled as a claim.

2. See above answer to question (1).

3. When an airport official and/or staff is involved or positively implicated in pilferage, their access permit cards are blacklisted by ACSA and the matter is reported to SAPS.

Reply:

a) (i) are the details of these debts,

Service provider / Invoice holder	Invoice number	Invoice dates	Reason for non-payment	Settlement date
Putco Mafani Consulting	INV2016-09-06	06-09-2016	This matter has been referred to the Legal unit as there is a contractual disagreement.	Once agreement is reached
Nexus Travel	INV082193 to INV0920319	29-01-2016 to 15-09-2016	There was dispute on charges for accommodation and conference fees	RTMC has agreed on a settlement of R151 005.74 which was PAID in March. The balance of R557 990.74 will be reversed.

The RTMC has two debts over 30 days:

• Putco Mafani Consulting – R20 000
• Nexus Travel - R728 996.46

(ii) what are the reasons for non-payment in each case,

• Nexus Travel – Nexus overcharged RTMC on the accommodation and conference fees and we have agreed on a settlement of R151 005.74 which was PAID in March. The balance of R557 990.74 will be reversed.
• Putco Mafani Consulting – This matter has been referred to the Legal unit as there is a contractual disagreement.

b) Nexus Travel has been paid already during the last week of March and Putco Mafani Consulting will depend on the outcome of the advice from Legal unit.

c) (i) processes, (ii) procedures and (iii) mechanisms are in place to ensure that payments are made on time?

The Corporation pays creditors on a weekly basis and has no history of long overdue debts. The preliminary creditors’ age analysis for March 2017, indicates that only 0.03% of creditors were over 30 days; and it was only two suppliers.

When invoices are received, they are recorded in a register for follow up, sent to programme managers for sign off and paid promptly. Where there is a delay, Logistics Management follows up with programme managers.

Reply:

1.Did (a) his department or (b) any entity reporting to him participate in the Dialogue with the President: Unpacking of the SONA 2017 on Radical Economic Transformation Implementation event hosted at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, Durban, on 25 February 2017; if so, what amount was spent in each case;   2. did (a) his department or (b) any entity reporting to him participate in the auction of the (i) souvenirs or (ii) personal belongings of the President of the Republic, Mr Jacob G Zuma; if so, (aa) which items were purchased and (bb) at what cost, in each case?
		1.	2.
Department of Mineral Resources		No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable
Entities	CGS	No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable
	MINTEK	No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable
	SDT	No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable
	SADPMR	No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable
	MHSC	No	No No (aa) None (bb) Not applicable

 

Reply:

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

Below is the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s response to questions (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f).

a) The table below provides details on the total number of investigation conducted over the past three financial years by the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s Accident and Incident Investigation Division. In line with international standards, and as prescribed in Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), aircraft accidents are classified into two categories, i.e. as either an Accident or Serious Incident.

TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS IN THE PAST THREE FINANCIAL YEARS
Year of Occurrence (Financial Year)	Accidents	Serious Incidents	Total
2014/2015	120	77	197
2015/2016	110	26	136
2016 - Feb 2017	69	14	83

NOTE: The 2016/2017 financial year statistics excludes March 2017 occurrences, which will be tallied only at the end of March 2017.

TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS PER PROVINCE IN THE PAST THREE FINANCIAL YEARS
Financial Year	GP	NW	LP	FS	EC	WC	MP	NC	KZN	O/B
2014/2015	37	8	10	6	17	12	12	4	10	4
2015/2016	33	11	12	3	14	12	9	1	6	9
2016/2017	19	7	12	2	4	10	5	0	5	5

NOTES:

• GP Gauteng Province
• NW North West Province
• LP Limpopo Province
• FS Free State Province
• EC Eastern Cape Province
• WC Western Cape Province
• MP Mpumalanga Province
• NC Northern Cape Province
• KZN KwaZulu-Natal Province
• O/B Borders of South Africa.

b) The nature of aircraft accident and incident investigations differ depending on the occurrence. Investigation are conducted in line with requirements outlined in Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This means:

1. in instances where an aircraft sustains minor damages and there are no reported injuries, the investigation will commence immediately but will be conducted off site, meaning that the Investigator in Charge and his or her team of Investigators do not need to go to the crash site in order to conduct the investigation; and
2. In instances where the aircraft sustains major damages and there are reported injuries or a fatality or fatalities, the investigating would commence immediately and on site.

c) The table below outlines the total annual costs, over a three financial year period, of activities associated with aircraft accident and incident investigations.

ANNUAL COSTS OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION FOR THE PAST THREE FINACIAL YEARS
Financial Year	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017
Total Cost	R 16 919 937.45	R 18 378 990.80	R 17 736 577.23

d) The outcome of investigations revealed the following as main probable cause(s) and contributing factors for the accident or serious incident:

OUTCOMES OF THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
Occurrence Causals	Contributing factor(s)
Human Error	Poor technique/airmanship Failure to maintain flying speed/stall Loss of directional control Disregard of standard operating procedures Disorientation
Aircraft Technical (mechanical failure of a component)	Fuel starvation/Exhaustion Metal fatigue/fracture Engine failure Mechanical failure Loss of power Combustion malfunction
Aircraft Operations	Unsuccessful forced landing Sling load operation Missed approach Wake turbulence

e) The primary lessons learned from each investigations is that we are then able to determined what caused the accident or serious incident and what are the other factors that contributed to the accident.

f) The SACAA has formed partnerships with the industry aimed at developing and implementing measures that prevent a repeat of similar incidents. The following has thus far been implemented:

1. Safety recommendations emanating from the investigation reports are issued to affected aircraft operators and organisations that maintain the aircraft to implement measures to prevent future accident.
2. Safety awareness notices are issued where there’s a trend of similar incidents even if there’s different types of aircraft involved, e.g. collusion with wires due to low flying.
3. The Safety Management Systems (SMS) was introduced and has been and continue to be implemented by operators. This allows operators to manage their safety risk based on incidents they experience in their organisation.
4. The SACAA continuously hosts round-table discussions with the industry on aviation safety.
5. The SACAA introduced the Annual Safety Seminar and uses it to share safety information with the industry. Local and global trends relating to the causes and contributing factors of accidents and incidents are shared with the industry.
6. Once finalized, accident and serious incidents investigation reports are made public and available through the SACAA website (www.caa.co.za).

NW820E

Reply:

(a) & (b)

Number of Investigations Conducted
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	8	8	10	26
Derailments	14	32	24	70
Level crossing Collisions	7	13	18	38
People Struck By Trains	1	3	22	26
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	12	19	31
Averted Collisions	0	2	3	5
Runaways Trains	1	1	1	3
Train High Tension Fires	1	0	1	2
Electrocution	0	0	1	1
Signal Passed At Danger	2	1	0	3
Total	34	72	99	205

Gauteng
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	1	3	2	6
Derailments	4	9	13	26
Level crossing Collisions	1	3	1	5
People Struck By Trains	0	2	12	14
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	9	13	22
Other	2	2	5	9

North West
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	0	2	0	2
Derailments	0	2	1	4
Level crossing Collisions	4	4	1	9
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	1	0	1
Other	1	0	0	1

Western Cape
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	1	3	0	4
Derailments	3	6	1	10
Level crossing Collisions	1	2	4	7
People Struck By Trains	0	0	4	4
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	3	3	6
Other	1	0	1	2

Free State
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	0	0	0	0
Derailments	0	1	1	2
Level crossing Collisions	0	0	0	0
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0

Eastern Cape
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	0	0	1	1
Derailments	1	4	0	5
Level crossing Collisions	0	2	2	4
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0

Limpopo Province
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	3	1	0	4
Derailments	0	2	2	4
Level crossing Collisions	0	0	4	4
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0

Northern Cape
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	0	0	0	0
Derailments	0	3	12	15
Level crossing Collisions	0	1		1
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0

Mpumalanga
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	1	2	1	4
Derailments	4	2	0	6
Level crossing Collisions	0	0	11	11
People Struck By Trains	0	0	0	0
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	0	0
Other	1	0	0	1

KwaZulu Natal
Category	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
Collision between trains	2	0	1	3
Derailments	2	1	4	7
Level crossing Collisions	1	0	4	5
People Struck By Trains	0	1	3	4
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	0	0	4	4
Other	0	0	0	0

(c) The cost of each investigation:

Cost per Independent BOI
Occurrence	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
PE Station Derailment	R 831 184,27
Lebaleng rear-end Collision		R 514 026,00
Denver rear-end Collision		R 1 814110,73
Kaalfontein derailment		R 520 880,00
Lower Adamson and Gaika derailments		R 724 600,00
Blaney head-on Collision		R 358 188,00
Booysens rear-end collision		R 580 764,00
Booysens rear-end collision			R 140 402,00
Kimberley derailment (AFRO 4000)			R 361 500,00
Total	R 831 184,27	R 4 512 568,73	R 501 902,00

The costs for RSR internal investigations includes operational costs only. These are conducted by the RSR inspectorate. The table below show the total costs for internal investigation for the last three (3) financial years.

Operational Costs for RSR Internal Investigations
Financial Year	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
Cost	R 169 681,73	R 344 180,00	R 388 420,00

(d) The outcome of each investigation

See attached Excel Spreadsheet

(e) 

Category	Lessons Learnt
Collision between trains	We need collision avoidance systems installed in trains Invest in maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock
Derailments	We need more wayside monitoring equipment Invest in maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock
Level crossing Collisions	We need enforcement at level crossings We need to upgrade protection at level crossings We need to redesign some level crossings
People Struck By Trains	Protection of the railway reserves Awareness to the public Enforcement
Platform Train Interface Occurrences	Upgrade of stations Introduction of new trains Security at stations Public Announcements at stations (Improved and audible communication)
Averted Collisions	Re-Training of employees Fitness for Duty Declaration when reporting for Duty Manage overtime
Runaways Trains	Adherence to procedures
Train High Tension Fires	Maintenance of rolling stock
Electrocution	Supervision
Signal Passed At Danger	Adherence to procedures

(f) The Railway Safety Regulator has adopted a strategic approach to enhance its oversight role, by conducting research on driver behaviour at level crossings (human factors), new technologies and have developed regulations that will support safe railway operations.

Reply:

(1) The Department is not aware of closing down of any Frail Care Centre.

All movements that relate to what has just befallen our country in Gauteng has been temporarily suspended more particularly in frail care centers and mental health institutions. The Department advised MECs not to continue with this up until an amicable solution is found. While other Departments address issues of financial challenges, the Department of Social Development does its best to provide care and support.

The Department however is aware that the contract between Eastern Cape Frail Care (Pty) Limited and the Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape has come to an end on 31 December 2016. It was agreed that the service provider continues rendering the service on a month-to-month interim arrangement until 31 March 2017.

The Eastern Cape Provincial Office of the Department advertised a call for proposals on 19 October 2016 in accordance with the National NPO Financing Guidelines and closed the advert on 21 November 2016. Six NPOs responded to the call and none qualified. The Department then re-advertised for new proposals on 23 January 2017 which closed on 17 February 2017. Only one NPO responded to this call, the same NPO which was disqualified in the previous evaluation process. The Department has re-advertised and called for proposals for the third time in the local media to ensure transparency and fairness in the process.

(2) The protection of the rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities is paramount in the Department’s approach to handle the situation. The Department is currently working on a contingency plan. Prescripts of the Policy on Financial Awards, PFMA and National Treasury Regulations will be adhered to. If there is a need to negotiate with the current service provider, viz. Eastern Cape Frail Care (Pty) Limited, the Department will do so.

(3)(a) The Department has an obligation under section 16 of the Older Persons Act 13 of 2006 to inform the residents and families within 30 days of a proposed transfer or discharge. On 14 November 2016 a meeting was held with service offices, requesting them to visit the next of kin of all residents, to notify and prepare them for the possible transfer of residents as prescribed in Section 16 of the Older Persons Act, 2006. On 16 November 2016, the service offices started visiting families. 128 families were visited in the Nelson Mandela Metro; of which 87 families signed the notifications for relocations of residents to suitable alternative facilities, 30 families refused to sign the notifications, 3 families indicated that they wanted to take the beneficiaries home, 8 families were untraceable and 21 beneficiaries had been abandoned with no family. 1 family was visited in the O.R Tambo Metro, and the family signed the notification. 10 families were visited in the Sarah Baartman Metro, all of whom signed the notification. 8 families were visited in the Buffalo City Metro, all of whom signed the notification. The Department is still tracing families in the Chris Hani and Amathole Districts. On 18 November 2016, the social workers notified the residents of the centres regarding possible relocation. On 1 December 2016 and 4 December 2016, the Department also conducted group sessions with families at Uitenhage and Ibhayi building respectively to clarify concerns of the families, and to inform them that the Department would continue to provide the services to the beneficiaries. The Department of Health conducted Health Assessment to all beneficiaries in preparation for the possible re-location.

(b) Alternate accommodation is not necessary for now as the same service provider is still continuing with rendering the service. Once suitable NPOs have been identified to take over the service, accommodation will be provided by the NPOs.

(c & d) The Department does not have a plan to move beneficiaries far from their homes. The Department would like families to continue visiting their older persons in residential facilities. This promotes the rights of older persons to keep contact with their families.

(4) (a) Yes, next of kin will be advised of the transfer before residents are moved. The Older Persons Act, 2006 further mandates that Older Persons must be prepared accordingly, i.e. psychologically and as the need determines.

(b)(i) Yes, The Department will choose only those NPOs which meet the Norms and Standards of the Older Persons Act, 2006 and relevant pieces of Legislative Frameworks that impact on older persons who reside in residential care facilities, e.g. National Health Act, 2004, National Environmental Management Act, 1998 etc. to relocate beneficiaries.

(ii) Furthermore NPOs must be registered as residential facilities in terms of the Older Persons Act No 13 of 2006.

(c) Yes, proper arrangements to transport residents will be conducted in consultation with the Department of Health.

Reply:

The following table reflects the spending, per-learner, with regard to the school allocation. The spending, per-learner, is the same for both primary and secondary school learners.

		2016 School allocations per-learner
Province	Per learner allocation to no fee learners	Per learner allocation to fee paying learners in Quintile 4	Per learner allocation to fee paying learners in Quintile 5
EC	R 1 177	R 590	R 204
FS	R 1 177	R 590	R 240
GT	R 1 177	R 590	R 590
KZN	R 955	R 522	R 179
LP	R 1 102	R 590	R 204
MPU	R 1 010	R 503	R 173
NC	R 1 125	R 698	R 326
NW	R 1 177	R 605	R 204
WC	R 1 144	R 573	R 198

 

Reply:

a) The Department has instituted measures to ensure that the annual registrations for schools proceed smoothly in each province by holding scheduled meetings with all provincial co-ordinators who are at director level and responsible for admissions on a regular basis. They analyse the admissions processes in order to review and amend such processes to ensure that annual registration proceed efficiently from year to year. Provincial admissions co-ordinators share best practice as a way of bringing uniformity in the sector while taking into consideration provincial differences.

b) The following methods have been put in place for Provincial Departments to implement:

(i) Review Regulation/Circular;

(ii) Determine the admission period with a comprehensive management plan (timeframes) mapping out:

• Application Period – distribution of admission forms, when parents return forms, information on documentation needed;
• Management of registration – clear criteria for waiting lists and process to rank applications using feeder schools and residential information as examples, depending on provincial Regulation;
• The period to inform parents on the status of their children’s application;
• Period of placement of learners with information on period to lodge appeals, where to find support if a learner is not placed with contact details of provincial and district officials responsible admissions; and
• Clear strategies on admission of non-citizens.

(iii) Establish admission teams at provincial and district level;

(iv) Mediate admission Circular to schools;

(v) Ratify admission policies of schools;

(vi) Conduct advocacy campaigns to inform parents about early registration and provide all the necessary information about admission processes;

(vii) Place all admission information on the provincial website;

(viii) Monitor admission processes in schools and intervene where there is non-compliance with policy;

(iX) Identify hotspots and develop strategies to address them;

(x) Create a rapid response team to handle grievances and appeals;

(xi) Resolve/ mediate appeals within the shortest period possible;

(xii) Compile report and update figures monthly for the DBE is attention as per the requirement of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education; and

(xiii) Make requisition for additional resources (classrooms, teachers).

The most recent inter-provincial meetings on admissions took place on 6 and 7 December 2016, 7 March 2017 and 29 March 2017. Follow-up meetings focusing on progress reporting in terms of planned admissions activities are scheduled quarterly on the following dates:

1. 7 May 2017;
2. 6 August 2017; and
3. 28 November 2017.

c) Late registrations are centralised in districts as a measure to address disruptions caused by late registrations. This is also meant to prevent parents from disrupting teaching and learning by moving from school to school seeking placement for their children. Districts establish admission teams which collect admission information on available spaces in schools so as to direct learners seeking admission late to such schools accordingly. Letters are issued by disticts directors to schools with spaces available to ease the challenges of late registration.

Reply:

According to the layest information received by the Department of Basic Education, the results of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) IV Project will be made publicly available by the SACMEQ Coordinating Centre by the end of the second term of the 2017 academic year.

Reply:

a) The upgrading and improvement of Railway stations which are used for the delivery of both Commuter and Long Distance Rail services is ongoing and occurs annually through a National Station Improvement Programme (NSIP) and National Station Upgrade Programme (NSUP). Table 1 below reflects the number of completed projects since April 2012 to March 2016.

Table 1

 

It is anticipated that for the 2016/2017 financial year a total of forty three (43) station improvements (NSIP) and fifteen (15) station upgrades projects (NSUP) will be completed. For the 2017/2018 financial year a total of forty five (45) station improvement projects (NSIP) and fifteen (15) station upgrade projects (NSUP) are earmarked for completion. The table below outlines a project name list for stations prioritised for the 2017/2018 financial year per region.

National Station Improvement Programme (NSIP)

Gauteng South Region	Gauteng North Region	Western Cape Region	Kwazulu Natal Region	Eastern Cape Region
1.Dunnottar station	8) Akasiaboom Station	20) Du Toit	27) Winkelspruit Station	34) Arnoldton Station
2. Servaas Station	9) Silverton Station Drainage & Fencing	21) Fisantekraal	28) Charlottedale Station	35) De Mist Station
3. Selpark Station	10) Gezina Station	22) Gouda	29) Ottawa Station	36) Mdantsane Station
4. Noupoort Station	11) Soshanguve Station	23) Vlottenburg	30) Compensation Station	37) Mount Ruth Station
5. Union Station	12) Kopanong Station	24) Esplanade	31) Frazer Station	38) East London Station - Fire Infrastructure Refurbishment drainage and paving in Depot Yard
6. Betlhehem Station	13) De Wildt Station	25) Stellenbosch	32) Phoenix Station	39) Port Elizabeth Station – Fire Infrastructure Refurbishment
7. Grasmere Station	14) Komatipoort Station	26) Paarl	33) Shallcross Station	40) Sydenham Station
	15) Kaapmuiden Station			41) Port Elizabeth Station
	16) Nelspruit Station			42) East London Station
	17) Akasiaboom Station			43) Perseverance Station
	18) Pienaarspoort			44) Sterkstroom Station
	19) Mamelodi Gardens			45) Cradock Station

National Station Upgrade Programme (NSUP)

Gauteng South Region	Gauteng North Region	Western Cape Region	Kwazulu Natal Region
1. Florida Station	9) Akasiaboom Overhead Station	10) Cape Town Station Upgrade Phase 6	15) DBN Station Fire Compliance - (Phase 2)
2. Jeppe Station		11)Cape Town Station Phase 1 Forecourt & Amenities
3. Bloemfontein Station		12)Mbekweni Station Upgrade
4. Germiston Station -Shosholoza Meyl Office		13) Mutual Station
5. Park Station – (4) projects		14)Woltemade Station

(b) (i) Some stations have been closed due to operational requirements of rationalisation of stations in close proximity to each other, low passenger numbers and safety considerations.

(ii) Not applicable, see (i) above

(c) (i) Passenger are referred to an existing of upgraded stations, closer to them.

Reply:

a) The impact of the progressed learners on the overall results of the 2016 National Senior Certificate examination, is 3.7%.

b) The overall pass rate with the progressed learners included is 72.5% and the overall pass rate with the progressed learners excluded is 76.2%. The difference between these two figures is 3.7%

c) The impact was calculated after the standardisation process.

Reply:

Yes,

 (a) The Department is planning to conduct the baseline survey on substance abuse in the country.

 (b) The Department has prioritized the survey as it plays a crucial role especially for the importance of provision of the updated data on the nature, extent and patterns of substance abuse. The project will commence during 2017/2018 financial year.

Reply:

1.  Yes, the Department has set the deadline for provinces to ensure that all the necessary Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) is delivered to schools. The deadline is end of October annually. Between November of the same year and January of the following, provinces, districts and schools are conducting mop-up processes to accommodate the learner migration and late registration phenomena.

2. The Department has monitoring and oversight systems in place to ensure that provinces deliver all necessary LTSM to schools on time. These systems include reports to the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) meetings, Head of Education Committee Meetings (HEDCOM), Teacher Development and Curriculum Meetings as well as quarterly LTSM forum meetings. These meetings are platforms where provinces are held accountable, where applicable, and assisted where there are challenges.

Reply:

(1)

a) No one. Neither the Department of Transport nor the South African National Roads Agency Limited gave authority for such activities on the Road reserves.

b) Not applicable, as above (a).

c) Neither the Department of Transport nor the South African National Roads Agency Limited has the details on the dates as there was never any authority given.

(d Not applicable, see (a) (b) (c) above.

(2)

(a) Neither the Department of Transport nor the South African National Roads Agency Limited has the details about anyone charged.

(b) Any illegal activity with National network is enforced in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, SANRAL Act, and Criminal Procedure Act, to mention but three.

Reply:

a) The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has not awarded any tender to the certain company between 01 January 2013 to 31 December 2016

b) See response (a)

Reply:

(a) (b) The Director-General of the Department of Basic Education, Mr HM Mweli, has directed each Provincial Department of Education to implement principal competency testing in writing (i) on 27 January 2016.

(ii) Provinces have not complied with the directive because the matter has not been finalised at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC). It is important for the matter to be concluded by the Council as it affects the basic conditions of employment of educators.

The Western Cape has a functional competency testing system for appointment of principals but it is not mandatory yet. School Governing Bodies are still given an option to utilise the system if they so wish.

Reply:

The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) pays its debt timeously, at an average of 14 days per creditor. There are however, isolated instances where service providers are not paid within 30 days of receipt of invoices for a variety of reasons, for instance, where the service has not been satisfactory and warrants engagement with the service providers, or where errors have been picked up from the supplier invoices or where the price charged is not in line with what was contracted or quoted. As at end of February 2017, the following creditors’ balances were not paid and been over 30 days:

(a) i			(a) ii	(b)
Service provider	Invoice number	Invoice dates	Reason for non-payment	Settlement date
Eris Property	DBBMARCRO/2016/10 (Parking rental)	21-10-2016	Disputed as the invoiced service was never ordered or rendered to the Agency. Service provider to provide credit note.	Subsequently settled in March 2017 by means of credit note received from the Supplier
Madijo Trading Enterprises	INV 2549 (Supply of Uniform)	2015-04-16	Disputed as the ordered goods were not delivered as per the specifications. Goods returned to service provider.	Once engagements with the service provider for a credit note are concluded
Orange Fox Security Services	Inv0000866 (Security)	2014-06-13	Disputed as there is no proof that the ordered items were delivered.	Once engagements with the service provider for a credit note are concluded
Mdluli Office Automation (Seartec)	Various invoice numbers backdated by supplier between periods June 2016-January 2017. (Photocopiers)	Various invoice dates. Backdated between June 2016- January 2017. Invoices sent by supplier on 27 January 2017 and 30 January 2017	The service provider did not invoice the Agency and had internal backlog and were undergoing internal restructuring. Invoices were subsequently received in January 2017 and backdated.	Partially settled in March 2017. Disputed amounts will be settled once engagements with the service provider have been concluded.
Sipho Mano	Inv. 20278 Inv. 20277 Inv. 20258 (Catering and events)	05-02-2013 04-02-2013 19-10-2013	Disputed as the service provider invoiced above the quotation and approved purchase order amounts.	Supplier to credit the overcharged amount or amount to be written off in June 2017.
(b) i			(b) ii	(b)
Service provider	Invoice number	Invoice dates	Reason for non-payment	Settlement date
Atlantis Corporate Travel	Hof0124254 (Travel)	31/05/2015	Invoice was disputed due to overcharging by service provider. Invoice in excess of the purchase order and the initial quotation. The purchase order amount was paid. The service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to prove or explain the variance.	Ongoing engagements with the service provider for a credit note and efforts are being put in place to resolve this matter by the end of May 2017.
Atlantis Corporate Travel	Hof0142429 (Travel)	30/11/2015	Invoice was disputed due to overcharging by service provider. Invoice in excess of the purchase order and the initial quotation. The purchase order amount was paid. The service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to proof or explain the variance.
Duma Travel	Hof0710448 (Travel)	13/05/2015	Invoice was disputed as the service was not rendered and the service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to prove that the service was rendered.
Duma Travel	Hof0699427 Travel)	22/04/2015	Invoice was disputed as the service was not rendered and the service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to prove that the service was rendered.
Duma Travel	Hof0560673 (Travel)	31/08/2014	Invoice was disputed as the service was not rendered and the service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to prove that the service was rendered.
Duma Travel	Hof0710428 (Travel)	13/05/2015	Invoice was disputed as the service was not rendered and the service provider could also not produce any supporting documents to prove that the service was rendered.

(c) (i) (ii) (iii) Mechanisms and processes are already firmly in place to ensure suppliers are paid on time. There is a dedicated unit within the Finance division that handles payments to suppliers. All invoices received are recorded and stamped reflecting the date of receipt. Invoices are upon receipt, matched with the relevant supporting documentation and submitted to relevant officials to validate delivery of goods or services. Disputes are clearly communicated to the service providers to ensure that such disputes are resolved on time.

The Agency has a duty to ensure payments are not irregular, are not fraudulent and are for the services ordered and rendered. No interest or fruitless expenditure has therefore been charged to the Agency as a result of supplier payment delays in the last two financial years.

Reply:

(1) There are no delays in issuing Article 17 of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, 1993, by the SA Central Authority, for placing adoptable children with screened and approved intercountry prospective adoptive families except in cases where there are issues that needs further intervention.

(2) Intercountry placements are for all children including those with disabilities or special needs.

(3) The Department as the Central Authority did not refuse to issue Article 17 approval on a six year old child with disabilities. It is ensuring that all avenues in placing the child nationally are explored and exhausted before intercountry adoption is considered as this is in the best interest of the child to be placed locally.

(4) The department did not refuse to accept orders by a court regarding adoptability and termination of biological parents, or consents properly given in court by biological parents. The department is obliged to ensure that the subsidiarity principle is adhered to and reserves the right to question any decision of any party in the context for the fulfilment and the realization of children’s rights.

Reply:

On 28 February 2017 the Road Accident Fund (RAF) presented its financial position and cash constraints to the Portfolio Committee on Transport (PCoT). This presentation was linked to the debts as posed in this Parliamentary Question and included reference to the RAF’s 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 Annual Financial Statements previously presented to PCoT inclusive of the same financial reality.

The RAF has debt that has remained unpaid for 30 days or more, defined for purposes of this reply as money the RAF is required to pay immediately and excludes borrowings. To avoid doubt, the RAF has no borrowings;

(a)(i) debts older than 30 days (Claims Creditors as at 4 April 2017 and Trade Creditors as at 28 February 2017) comprise of a total of 14 555 individual debts with a combined value of R 5.5 billion, which are debts processed for payment but have not yet been paid. In respect of Claims Creditors (payments due in relation to claims made under the Road Accident Fund Act, No. 56 of 1996) (Act), the details of the debts are set out in the table below:

Claim Creditor Category	Number of Claims Creditors	Value in Rand	Payment Date
Claimant creditors - capital	5 198	R 3 960 543 951	Less than 180 days from date of payment request as per the RAF’s Cash Management Plan
Claimant creditors - cost	3 792	R 748 282 177
Writ creditors (capital and / or costs)	1 858	R 783 182 863
Supplier creditors	180	R 2 465 110
Undertaking creditors	199	R 3 100 830
RAF attorneys, actuaries and other claim operations service providers	3 147	R 60 009 169

Details of debts due to Trade Creditors are captured in the table below:

Category	Number of Trade Creditors	Number of Transactions	Value in Rand	Payment Date
Trade Creditors	17	181	R  6 147 178	Dependent on reconciling of items

(ii) the reason for non-payment in respect of each Claims Creditor is the lack of cash to make payment when due as a result of the mismatch between the funding the RAF receives via the Road Accident Fund Fuel Levy (approximately R2.8 billion per month) and the payments the RAF is required to make to Claims Creditors in terms of the Act (approximately R3 billion per month), and the reasons for non-payment in respect of each Trade Creditor is due to engagements in the ordinary course of business with the suppliers of goods and services on items being queried for any number of reasons – also known as reconciling items.

(b) the RAF implemented a Cash Management Plan based on the RAF’s actuarially determined Funding Model, to determine the number of days necessary to effect payment on the basis of the monthly Road Accident Fund Fuel Levy income forecast and the monthly claim settlement patterns and related service level agreements (these calculations are refreshed when circumstances change materially, or at a minimum once a year). The key objective of the Cash Management Plan is to ensure the maximum number of payments to all categories of Claim Creditors and Trade Creditors, within the available cash constraints, noting that there is insufficient cash to settle all debts which are due for payment at any point in time. Currently the maximum payment days the RAF endeavors to honor are 180 days from when the debt was processed for payment. However, the exact date of settlement of the outstanding debts in respect of each of the Claims Creditors is unknown as the payment date is dependent on the category of debt as defined in the Cash Management Plan and the available cash to make payment (which is in turn dependent on the fluctuating monthly Road Accident Fund Fuel Levy income and the ad hoc recovery of diesel rebates, which reduce the Road Accident Fund Fuel Levy income), number of claims settled, number of judgments, number of writs, and operational interruptions as a result of bank account attachments. The exact date of settlement of the outstanding debts in respect of each Trade Creditor is unknown because of the dependency on the reconciling of items.

(c) noting the challenges relating to cash constraints and the reconciling of items, the following mechanisms are in place to ensure that payments are made: (i) manual and automated payment processes, and daily, weekly and monthly reporting mechanisms, (ii) the RAF Accounts Payable Policy and Standard Operating Procedure, and (iii) the Cash Management Plan.

Reply:

a) The Board had resolved to request the Chairpersons of the respective Subsidiary Boards to attend and submit their reports to the Governance and Performance Committee of the Main Board, which is comprised of the PRASA Board Chairperson and the Chairpersons of the Board Committees. PRASA has two Subsidiaries, namely: Autopax (Bus service) and Intersite (Property Development).

b) (i) They engaged through the Governance and Performance Committee of the Board.

(ii) Subsidiary Board Chairpersons submit reports to and attend the Governance and Performance Committee of the Board.

c) Governance and Performance Committee of the Board – which is made up of the Board Chairperson and the Chairperson of the Board Committees.

d) The Board had resolved to request the Chairpersons of the respective Subsidiary Boards to attend and submit their reports to the Governance and Performance Committee of the Main Board.

Reply:

Department

REPLY

(1)(a)(i) The asset register of the Department of Transport is updated as and when asset transactions occur.

(1)(b) The asset registers of the Department of Transport are updated daily.

(1)(c) & Assets that were unaccounted for in the last three financial years and the values of these

(1)(d) assets are as follows for the Department of Transport, relating to the Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS):

Asset	Value	Year unaccounted for
eNaTIS Software	229,954,000.00	2014/15	2013/14
eNaTIS Hardware	264,201,000.00	2014/15	2013/14
eNaTIS Hardware	24,987,000.00	2014/15

(2)(a) The reasons why these assets were unaccounted for were because of uncertainty that existed regarding the ownership of the assets in terms of the Modified Cash Standard and the ongoing litigation between the Department and the eNaTIS service provider.

(2)(b) The eNaTIS assets were disclosed in the financial statements for the year ended on 31 March 2016. Currently the Road Traffic Management Corporation and the Department are verifying the assets as per the Constitutional Court judgment of 9 November 2016 that the

(2)(c) Opening balances of asset registers of the Department of Transport for the past three financial years:

Year	Tangible assets	Intangible assets	Immovable assets	Minor assets
2015/16	48,425,669.75	305,146.47	353,434,058.10	19,224,456.51
2014/15	42,979,152.90	305,146.47	353,434,058.10	17,446,342.55
2013/14	34,703,408.58	305,146.47	345,237,479.35	15,825,827.56

(2)(d) The Department has a reliable asset management function.

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

1. (a) Airports Company South Africa (ACSA)’s asset register is updated as and when asset transactions occur, (b) asset transactions occur on a continued basis and thus the asset register is continuously updated, (c) no assets are unaccounted for, (d) ACSA has no unaccounted assets.
2. ACSA has no unaccounted assets and has the appropriate procedures and processes in place to maintain the integrity and accuracy of asset registers.

Air Traffic and Navigation Services SOC Limited (ATNS)

(1) (a) ATNS’s fixed asset register is updated on a monthly basis with acquisitions and disposals. Useful life extensions are reviewed on an annual basis and updated prior to financial year end being 31 March annually.

(b) ATNS’s fixed asset register is updated on a monthly basis

(c) There are no assets that are not accounted for

(d) There are no assets that are not accounted for and thus this is not applicable

(2) (a) There are no assets that are not accounted for

(b) The annual fixed assets verification process identifies assets that are obsolete; idle; not barcoded; transferred without approval. Maintenance expenses, computer consumable expenses and small office equipment expenses are scrutinized on a monthly basis to ensure that all assets are correctly accounted for.

(c) The opening balances for the past three financial years are as follows:

• 2016/17 R 651 720 948 – Carrying amount
• 2015/16 R 616 658 761 – Carrying amount
• 2014/15 R 706 011 872 – Carrying amount

(d) The integrity and accuracy of the fixed assets is ensured through the following processes:

• Annual useful life review of assets
• Annual impairment test of assets
• Annual verification to ensure that assets are adequately barcoded and accounted for

Ensuring that the acquisitions and accounting of assets comply with the latest
International Financial Reporting Standards; Public Finance Management Act
and Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

The undermentioned is the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s response to the following questions: (1) (a) (i) N/A, (ii), (b), (c), (d); and (2) (a), (b), (c), (d) (i) and (ii).

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) Asset Register is updated on a monthly basis as and when assets are bought and sold. The Asset Register is also reconciled to the general ledger on a monthly basis. The SACAA Asset Register is updated on a monthly basis. All SACAA assets have been reconciled. The values of each of the asset categories is as per the table below as at the end of February 2017. The asset categories are Property, Plant, Equipment, and Intangible Assets.

Cross-Border Road Transport Agency

(1) (a) (ii) CBRTA updates assets register

(b) monthly as more assets are acquired and/or depreciated in line with the Agency’s Fixed Assets policy. There is a bi-annual (twice a year) asset verification exercise that is conducted in line with the current policy on Non-Current Assets (Fixed Assets).

(c) There are no assets that are unaccounted for, and the assets are accounted for in line with applicable GRAP statements, be it on acquisition and / or impairment.

(d) Not applicable.

(2) (a) Not applicable

(b) The bi-annual asset verification exercise is conducted in line with the current policy on Non-Current Assets (Fixed Assets) with the primary aim of ensuring amongst others, that the assets are accounted for and properly recorded.

(c) The audited opening balances per the C-BRTA statement of financial position (Property, Plant and Equipment) were as shown below:

April 2014 R7, 971, 345

April 2015 R9, 535, 112

April 2016 R8, 491, 941

(d) The asset register and the Agency’s balance sheets have been subjected to the audit processes by the Auditor General (SA), and no material findings have been reported. Internal audits have also been performed by the internal auditor on the assets as part of financial discipline review and there were no material findings noted in the last three financial years

Road Accident Fund

(1) (a)(ii) The Fixed Asset Register of the RAF was last updated on 6 October 2016 following the RAF’s bi-annual asset verification process. The next major update will happen on 5 April 2017 after the final asset verification process.

(b) the Fixed Asset Register is updated on a continuous basis for asset movements or additions in terms of the RAF’s approved Fixed Asset Management Policy. The updates are performed by specific individuals in accordance with the principle of segregation of duties. Major updates take place bi-annually as a result of the RAF’s bi-annual asset verification process.

(c) the assets which are unaccounted for in the past three financial years are reflected in the attached spreadsheet and

(d) the values of each of the assets are reflected in the attached spreadsheets;

(2) (a) the reasons for these unaccounted assets are largely due to the fading or removal of identifying barcodes due to normal wear and tear; the theft of assets in which instance the RAF considers claims against its insurers where this is possible and, or financially viable having regard to the excess payable in respect of the particular claim; and where the RAF was prevented from documenting assets which were removed during attachment processes executed by the Sheriff of the court,

(b) the RAF is doing the following to identify the assets:

• Asset verifications are performed bi-annually to ensure assets on the Fixed Asset Register are verified.
• Assets reported as unverified during the verification are flagged and the following procedures are performed:
• The Facilities Management Department and the Information Communication Technology Departments attempt to verify the asset on the floor. If the asset cannot be verified all information on the accounting system and the Fixed Asset Register, including manual records are utilised in an effort to identify the original purchaser in an attempt to pinpoint the cost centre owner in order to enquire from the cost centre owner as to the location of the asset. If the location of the asset cannot be identified using manual records, transfer documentation for the movement of assets to other regions as a result of asset transfer or employee secondment are also reviewed.

Only after these processes have been completed are the assets approved for write off by the RAF’s Asset Disposal Committee. All submissions motivating for asset disposal are presented to the committee to be reviewed before they are approved for de-recognition on the Fixed Asset Register. The Asset Disposal Committee commenced its duties in July 2016.

(c) the opening balance of the Fixed Asset Register (opening book values) for the

2014-15 financial year was R 268 169 000,

2015-16 financial year was R 281 807 000, and

2016-17 financial year was R 227 245 000,

(d)(ii) the following procedures, processes and mechanisms exist to ensure the integrity of the RAF Fixed Asset Register:

• The RAF’s Fixed Asset Management Policy
• The RAF’s Fixed Asset Management Standard Operating Procedure
• Management Directives have been issued where necessary
• Audits are performed by the Internal Audit Department
• Audits are performed by the Auditor General (no material findings have been raised)
• A bi-annual verification exercise is performed in September and March of each year
• The RAF has implemented the segregation of asset management functions for recording and maintaining the Fixed Asset Register
• Clearly defined roles are in place for the Facilities Management and Information Communication Technology Departments.
• Dedicated resources are employed to ensure Fixed Assets are recorded accurately and completely.
• A Reconciliation of the Fixed Asset Register to Financial Records is performed on a monthly basis.

Road Traffic Management Corporation

(1) (a) (ii) RTMC updates assets register on a

(b) Monthly basis with all assets procured and the relevant depreciation is also run.

(c) There are no unaccounted assets

(d) Not applicable

(2) (a) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

(c) opening balance: 2013/14 – R20,372,747

2014/15 – R26,338,596

2015/16 – R26,416,188

(d) procedures, processes and mechanisms exist to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the asset registers

• Regular physical asset verification spot checks.
• Monthly reconciliation of GL to FAR
• Receiving of all assets that are procured is done by Asset unit and the assets are barcoded immediately
• Asset movement forms are used to allocate assets to an end user
• Room inventory lists are posted for each area listing all the assets in the area.
• Assets under the control of a centralised unit with an asset controller appointed within each business unit for day to day controlling.

Road Traffic Infringement Agency

(1) (a)(ii) RTIA – during the month of March 2017

(b) On a monthly basis and as and when there are new transactions that are required to be added to the asset register.

(c) There are no unaccounted assets

(d) Not applicable

(2) (b)(a) N/A

(b) Asset count twice a year

(c) 2016 = R 9 923 359

2015 = R 4 209 735

2014 = R 643 257

(d) Approved asset policy

Bi-annual physical verification of assets

Assets are subjected to annual audit both internally and externally

A regular review and monitoring of asset movement and changes

All assets are insured.

Asset management function in place.

Monthly recording of the accounting records

Quarterly reporting to MANCO

EXCO and Audit Committee

Internal control around purchase maintenance recording and disposal of assets in place.

South African National Roads Agency Limited

1. (a)(ii) SANRAL

(b) SANRAL’s asset register is updated whenever a new asset is acquired or old/redundant assets are written off for various reasons, including technological obsolescence.

(c) There are no assets which are not unaccounted

(d) Not applicable

2. (a) and (b) No unaccounted assets exists.

(c) The opening balances for the past three financial years are:

2014/15 R303 747 772 000

2015/16 R308 819 013 000

2016/17 R315 293 979 000

(d) (ii) The integrity and accuracy of the asset register is ensured through monthly reconciliation of the asset register to SANRAL’s general ledger. Furthermore, asset verification is performed twice a year to ensure that assets physical exists.

South Africa Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

(a) SAMSA fixed asset register gets updated every time there is movement, eg acquisition, disposal, loss through destruction etc, of assets. The fixed asset register was last updated on 24 March 2017;

1 (b) The Fixed Asset Register gets updated immediately when there is a movement in fixed assets as well as monthly and annually as part of month end and annual reporting process;

1(c) Assets totaling R124, 660.86 were unaccounted for in the past three years by the entity;

1(d) The following is a list of assets that were unaccounted for:

ASSET DESCRIPTION	ASSET ID / SERIAL NUMBER	ACQUISITION COST
1.ACER TMP 255 Laptop	CH2388	R15,112.52
2.ACER TMP 255 Laptop	CH2389	R15,112.52
3. Trueline Bird Wattmeter	OQ2080	R12,871.74
4. Trueline Bird Wattmeter	OQ2081	R12,871.74
5.ARG Electric Design Tool/Tester	0203 000 333	R37,231.26
6. HP Probook 6360b Laptop	0201 000 671	R10,696.94
7. CANON Scan Front 300/300P	CH3090	R19,229.17
8. CANON Digital Camera	0303 000 120	R1,534.97
TOTAL		R124,660.86

2(a) Most of the assets were stolen and the Fixed Asset Register was not updated on time. Some could not be located during fixed asset verification but were never removed from the Fixed Asset Register.

2(b) Since the beginning of the 2016/17 financial year, a process has been implemented where fixed assets are verified quarterly. The reasons for missing assets are investigated and, if valid, eg stolen asset without a possibility of recovery, the Fixed Asset Register is updated.

2(c) Fixed Asset Register opening balances:

DESCRIPTION	31 March 2016 (R’000)	31 March 2015(R’000)	31 March 2014 (R’000)
Opening Balance	R37,487	R46,269	R46,035

2(d) Procedures and processes for fixed asset management have been improved to ensure completeness and accuracy of fixed assets. This includes ensuring assets are adequately safeguarded and regular verification of fixed assets is conducted - variances are investigated to understand the root cause and ensuring a repetition in the future.

Ports Regulator of South Africa (PRSA)

1. (a) (ii) the asset register of the Ports Regulator was last updated in August 2016 when computer equipment was purchased. (b) The asset register is updated every time there’s a purchase and/or disposal including changes in location for all assets. (c) All assets of the Ports Regulator are accounted for in the assets register. This is also confirmed by Auditor General from their last audit. (d) Not applicable.
2. There were no assets that belong to the Ports Regulator which were not accounted for in the asset register. (a) Not applicable, (b) Not applicable, (c) Not applicable, (d) Not applicable.

Passenger Rail of Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

1. (a) PRASA’ s asset register is updated and audited on an annual basis.
2. Asset register is updated when an asset becomes ready for use, when an asset is damaged (Part of Asset Departments’ function on a daily basis).
3. There are no known assets unaccounted for in the past three financial years.
4. See response (c) there are no known unaccounted assets.

2. (a) There are no unaccounted assets.

(b) Regular asset verification, at least twice a year.

(c) Audited balances over past 3 years

2015/16 Financial Year……………R32, 8 billion

2014/15 Financial Year……………R29, 7 billion

2013/14 Financial Year……………R26, 4 billion

(d) Frequent physical verification of assets, monthly reconciliations

Railway Safety Regulator (RSR)

(1)

(a)(ii) Asset Register of RSR was last updated in March 2017.

1. Asset Register of RSR is updated every time there are changes in assets. This includes acquisition, movements, disposals and asset verification results.
2. There were no unaccounted assets in the past three years.
3. Please see response in (c).

(2)Please see response in (1)(c).

1. Asset verification is conducted twice a year in line with the Asset Management Policy
2. The opening balances of the asset register for each of the past three years were:

Asset category	2015/16	2014/15	2013/14
Property, Plant and Equipment	R6 014 828	R6 744 003	R2 585 413
Intangible assets	R11 539 932	R2 901 167	R190 399
TOTAL	R17 554 760	R9 645 170	R2 775 812

These are the carrying amounts at the beginning of each financial year.

(d)(ii) The Asset Management Policy of the RSR governs how assets should be managed. This includes the recording, assets verifications and the disposals processes.

Reply:

Yes, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has debt that has remained unpaid for 30 days or more.

a) (i) Debt outstanding for more than 60 days see link below:

https://pmg.org.za/files/RNW897Table-170407.docx

a) (ii) 95% of debt is owed to Transnet. Discussions are ongoing between PRASA and Transnet to resolve the debt. 4% of debt is owed to other suppliers; some invoices have disputes that are in the process of clearing, whilst others have not have been paid due to cash constraints.

b) Debt is settled twice a month.

c) (i) Invoices are signed off by end user as confirmation that services were rendered

   (ii) Invoices are loaded on system

  (iii) Payments are made twice a month on invoices 30 days and older dependant on cash flow constraints, small suppliers is prioritised. Age analyses are scrutinised by CFO’s for reasons of non-payment.

Reply:

(1) (a) Tsalena Media.

(b) 06 June 2016.

(c) The total cost is R 44 404 385.10 inclusive of value added tax (vat).

(d) The contract period is for twelve (12) months.

(e) The agency received eleven (11) bids.

(f) (i) The highest bid received was R47 675 511.36 vat inclusive.

(ii) The lowest bid received was R 44 404 385.10 vat inclusive the lowest bidder met the minimum required score for functionality criteria.

(g) The service provider is expected to provide the following deliverables, media planning and bulk buying, develop a measurement and reporting tool; a brand communication strategy as well as events management strategy

(2) Yes, the service provider signed a service level agreement with SASSA.

Reply:

The Department’s response is as indicated below:

Service Providers	(i) Services Procured	(ii) The total cost	(iii) The detailed breakdown of such costs	(iv) The total amount paid	(v) The purpose of the payments	(vi) The detailed breakdown of such payments in each case
(a) Mr. Mzwanele Manyi	No services procured	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nothing procured	Nil
(b) The Progressive Professionals Forum	No services procured	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nothing procured	Nil
(c) The Decolonisation Fund	No services procured	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nothing procured	Nil
(d)The Black Business Council	No services procured	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nothing procured	Nil

Reply:

(a) The Department multiplies the number of lion hunts by the average price for a lion.

(b) Yes. The number of hunts are derived from professional hunting registers that have to be completed by the professional hunter subsequent to each hunt, and submitted to the relevant provincial conservation authority. The average price for a lion is obtained from the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa that updates this information on an annual basis. The Department consolidates reports from provincial conservation departments relating to trophy hunting on an annual basis.

(c) This will vary between provinces. Provincial conservation departments determine whether a species fee is charged for a lion hunt based on their legal requirements and provincial treasury approval processes.

(d) Public benefits include income tax paid by beneficiaries in the sector; the creation of hunting opportunities for members of the public interested in hunting lion; job opportunities in rural areas where lion hunting takes place; value-added multipliers in terms of associated industries (taxidermy, fire-arms and ammunition, accommodation and tourism opportunities to name a few) that creates economic opportunities; and the use of the income generated through hunting to manage the habitat and area where lion occur, addressing one of the main threats to lions, namely habitat loss.

(e) The Department does not have information relating to the job creation due to lion hunting. It does, however, have information relating to the jobs created by the lion captive breeding industry, and since the majority of lions hunted in South Africa originate from captive breeding facilities, the information is relevant. Based on a study commissioned by the Department and conducted by the University of Free State in 2009, it was concluded that a total of 379 full time job opportunities (direct (225), indirect (49) and induced (105)) are created by the captive lion breeding industry. A recent study conducted by Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society of the North-West University, regarding the economic significance of the private lion industry in South Africa; found that the lion farmers that participated in the study employ 369 people. The study concluded that an average farmer sustain 4 employees in the economy, and the extrapolated (number of farms 297) total number of 1 680 jobs are sustained in the economy due to lion breeding. This is mainly in rural provinces such as Free State and North West Provinces.

---ooOoo---

Reply:

Entity	1(a)	1(b)	1(c)	(i)	(ii)
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)	The Chief Executive Officer post does not exist	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post does not exist	Not applicable	Not applicable
Companies Tribunal (CT)	The Chief Executive Officer post does not exist	The Chief Financial Officer post does not exist	The Chief Operating Officer post does not exist	Not applicable	Not applicable
Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently not vacant	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Commission (NCC)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently not vacant	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)	The Chief Executive Officer post does not exist	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently not vacant	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Credit Regulator (NCR)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently vacant	The position has been vacant for 1 year 9 months	The vacancy is due to funding constraints
National Empowerment Fund (NEF)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post does not exist	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Gambling Board (NGB)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post does not exist	The position has been vacant since April 2014	The Entity is currently under Administration.
National Lotteries Commission (NLC)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently not vacant	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently not vacant	The post was vacated from 31 March 2017	The incumbent resigned
National Regulator For Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post is currently vacant	CEO – 5 Months CFO – 3 Months COO – Post created but never filled	CEO – Resignation CFO – Resignation COO – Never filled
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)	The Chief Executive Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Financial Officer post is currently not vacant	The Chief Operating Officer post does not exist	Not applicable	Not applicable
South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)	None	None	None	Not applicable	Not applicable

(2) have the vacancies been advertised; if so, (a) were interviews done and (b) on what date will the vacancies be filled;

Entity	2	2(a)	2(b)
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Companies Tribunal (CT)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Commission (NCC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Credit Regulator (NCR)	The vacancy has not been advertised	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Empowerment Fund (NEF)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Gambling Board (NGB)	The vacany has been advertised	The interviews are not yet done	After proclamation of the National Gambling Amendment Act
National Lotteries Commission (NLC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA)	The vacancy has been advertised	Interviews are planned to take place in May 2017	The vacancy is expected to be filled by August 2017
National Regulator For Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)	CEO - post adverstised CFO - Post advertised COO - post not advertised	CEO – Interviews are not yet done CFO – Interviews were done	Relevant processes to address the vacancies are underway
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

(3) (a) what is the total number of persons who are currently employed in the specified positions in an acting capacity, (b) for what period has each person been acting in each position and (c) has any of the specified persons applied for the positions?

Entity	3(a)	3(b)	3(c)
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Companies Tribunal (CT)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Commission (NCC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Credit Regulator (NCR)	No one is acting in the position	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Empowerment Fund (NEF)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Gambling Board (NGB)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Lotteries Commission (NLC)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA)	The process to appoint an acting Chief Financial Officer is underway, the previous incumbent ‘s last day of employment was on 31 March 2017	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Regulator For Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)	2 people (CEO and CFO)	CEO – 5 Months CFO – 3 Months	Recruitment process not yet finalised
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

 

Reply:

The South African National Parks (SANParks) has several policies and standard operating procedures in place with respect to the donation and selling of wildlife. Of primary importance is SANParks’ Policy on Wildlife Management as well as SANParks’ Policy on Resource Use which provides the contextual framework for the management of wildlife within national parks, including the donation and selling thereof. SANParks’ Policy on the Sale of White Rhino and SANParks’ Policy on Donation of Wildlife and Wildlife Products provide more details for the donation and sale of white rhino and other wildlife species from national parks. Further to donation and sale of wildlife, several SANParks’ Standard Operating Procedures are in place to guide the implementation of these policies.

Provincial Conservation Authorities have established their own game donation, loan policies and/or protocols that they are implementing.

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Reply:

The biodiversity mandate of the Minister of Environmental Affairs, as far as it relates to the conservation, protection and sustainable use of wildlife species, whether in the wild or in captivity, is vested mainly in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004) (NEMBA), which currently does not include any enabling provision relating to welfare.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (AFF) has a mandate to address welfare in respect of any animal, whether it is a wild animal or a domestic animal, in terms of the Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act No. 71 of 1962) (APA) and the Performing Animals Protection Act, 1935 (Act No. 24 of 1935) (PAPA).

(a) and (b)

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheires (DAFF) is in the process of reviewing the welfare legislation, and has further also developed measures for the breeding and keeping of lion in captivity. The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has been participating in the afore-mentioned processes, and will continue to do so during the formal public participation processes.

(c) and (d)

Since the mandate to regulate welfare matters currently rests with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheires, that Minister would be in a better position to provide details on collaboration with other departments on initiatives, legislation and measures to address welfare matters. The Departments do interact with each other on matters of mutual interests.

i) (aa) The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheires would be in a better position to provide details on welfare initiatives.

(bb) I have proposed the inclusion of a provision in NEMBA, relating to the well-being of faunal biological resources. This provision would facilitate the development of regulations that would address the well-being of a wild animal in respect of which a restricted activity (such as keeping, breeding, conveying, etc.) is carried out. This proposed provision has been included in the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill (NEMLA Bill), which will be tabled in Parliament in April/May 2017.

(cc) The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheires would be in a better position to provide details on any other relevant measures to address the welfare of captive wild animals in South Africa.

ii) The NEMLA Bill was approved by Cabinet in March 2017 and will be tabled in Parliament in April 2017.

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Reply:

(a)

(i) In 2015 a total of nine rhinos (8 white and 1 black) were sent to rhino orphanages outside the Kruger National Park. Six of the white rhino calves and 1 black rhino calf are currently still alive.

(ii) In 2016 a total of 21 white rhino orphans were rescued in 2016 of which 19 are still alive.

(b) The rhino orphans are currently kept at rhino holding facilities in the Kruger National Park and an external rhino rehabilitation centre.

(c) We cannot share locations of these rhino holding facilities for security reasons.

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Reply:

As at the 31 March 2017, the National Department of Human Settlements had no outstanding supplier invoices which remained unpaid for more than 30 days.

Reply:

(1) No, neither my Department nor any Entities reporting to me participated in the Dialogue with the President: Unpacking of the SONA 2017 on Radical Economic Transformation Implementation event hosted at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, Durban, on 25 February 2017.

(2) No, neither my Department nor any Entities reporting to me participated in the auction of the souvenirs, personal belongings of the President of the Republic Jacob G Zuma.

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Reply:

1. (a) Azande Consulting CC

(b) The service contract was signed on 22 July 2016

(c) R392 725 988

(d) The contract will run for three (3) years with effect from 1 July 2016

(e) The tender received 23 bid proposals

(f) The highest bid received was R4 304 354 475.00

The lowest bid received was R 20 734 680.60. However, this bidder did not meet the minimum required score for the functionality score and was therefore not considered.

(g) The Service Provider must develop a detailed implementation plan for the project and:

• Consolidate monthly reports from the household door-to-door surveys within the identified wards;
• Co-ordinate and provide logistical support on ICROP services as and when required by SASSA to do so;
• Electronic data capturing system for recording questionnaires with an E-business solution for reporting purposes and the system must be compatible with SASSA systems; and
• Provide a training plan and report for all the recruited youth workers.

2. Yes, the Service Level Agreement was signed after extensive consultation with different parties.

3. The Service Provider must conduct door-to-door surveys in all the identified wards and use following methods such as:

• Application of the SASSA customer satisfaction survey
• Print and distribute questionnaires for customer satisfaction survey to selected households in different wards
• Action research through door-to-door services to identify the potential beneficiaries and supporting them to access SASSA services
• Design and implement the detailed door-to-door project plan
• Recruit and appoint youth workers from the locality where the research is taking place as a mechanism to create job opportunities
• Train, manage and remunerate youth workers to administer the surveys
• Design and implement the training and development programme
• Capture, consolidate and analyze the collected surveys and household profiling reports and
• Develop capacity in the youth workers in areas such as interpersonal, interviewing, communication and administration skills

The benefits of this programme should not be under-estimated. In addition to taking services to communities, to ensure that all citizens who qualify for social grants actually are able to access services and receive the grants to which they are entitled, the project has also provided invaluable information on local communities through the profiling and door-to-door research. This enables the social development sector, and not only SASSA to provide services that are required. In addition, benefits of the programme are with the co-ordination of government services, in that other Departments are also included when ICROP services are brought to local communities. This includes services such as Home Affairs, for the provision of identity documents, social workers for services related to foster child grants and other social ills, South African Police Services for the commissioning of affidavits; Department of Health for medical assessments for social grant applications and other NGO’s active in the community being served, to ensure that their services are made known to community members.

Other benefits include the creation of job opportunities for unemployed youth from the areas being served and the transfer of skills, which will assist these young people to compete for employment after the conclusion of this contract.

4. The above details provide an overview of the specified actions required in terms of this contract. Additional detail which may be provided to the Honourable Member on request includes the list of wards already provided with ICROP services; details of the achievements realized during these engagements; as well as confirmation of the youth workers contracted.

Reply:

1. The amount referred to as payment contractors in the reply to question 2220 actually refers to:

(a) The budget for expenditure incurred towards the contractor for disbursement of grant monies (Cash handling Fees). Expenditure to date (end February 2017) for 2017/18 is R 1,889,541,996

(b) The budgeted amounts for the disbursement of grant monies is as follows:

R’000	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
Budgeted Amount	2,211,551	2,145,984	2,258,674	2,257,024

2. Following approval by the National Treasury for the South African Social

Security Agency to retain its cash surplus the Agency will utilise the cash surplus for the purpose of funding internal capacity for the takeover of the administration of the payment of social grants. The table below shows the budgeted amounts from the retained cash surplus and not necessarily from the baseline.

R'000
2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
66,050	132,669	248,000	14,000

Reply:

(1) (a) As at 31 March 2017, the National Department of Human Settlements was not in any legal contractual disputes or litigation processes with any company for their work on departmental projects.

(b), (c) & (d) Fall away.

(2) None.

Reply:

As part of Government’s sustainable development agenda, the Department of Environmental Affairs is facilitating a programme of expansion and management effectiveness of the protected areas estate. This programme focuses on inter alia, consolidating conservation priority areas, looking at economies of scale, and minimising duplication and overlaps in conservation management. The National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act makes provision for SANParks to manage all existing national parks and any other kind of protected area as assigned by the Minister. From time to time, opportunities exist for land consolidation through contractual agreements with neighbouring land owners and land managers, with clear guidelines for incorporation of conservation land. The KNP is one such case in which the feasibility of land consolidation is being explored at the technical level prior to any potential stakeholder engagement. As such, no official decision has yet been taken for consolidation pending the outcome of the feasibility process.

(a) and (b)

SANParks is not the current management authority of the 3 Nature Reserves; and as such, provision of the required information of annual management reports can be provided by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET).

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Reply:

a) The total number of state run rehabilitation centres is 7 (Seven)

b) All the 7 (seven specified centres are operational

c) The centres are located as follows:

Province	Name of Treatment Centre	(b) Location	d) Persons Accommodated
Eastern Cape	Ernest Malgas	Port Elizabeth	38
Gauteng	Dr Fabian & Florence Reibero	Cullinan	300
KwaZulu Natal	Newlands Park centre	New Land West	98
	Madadeni Rehabilitation Centre	Madadeni Township	32
Mpumalanga	Swartfontein Treatment Centre	White River	50
North West	Witrand Substance Rehabilitation Centre	Potchefstroom	40
Western Cape	De Novo Treatment Centre	Kraaifontein	40

e) Provinces have been requested to provide statistics on number of patients that are currently in state run drug rehabilitation centres.

Reply:

1. (a) No.

    b) No.

2. (a) No

     (i) No.

     (ii) No.

(aa) No items purchased.

(bb) Not applicable.

(b) No

    (iii) No.

     (iv) No.

(aa) No items purchased.

(bb) Not applicable.

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Reply:

The function of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) was to review a broad number of elements relating to the payment systems for social security benefits distribution or payments, taking into account the accessibility of services; payment infrastructure requirements - the current level of South Africa’s infrastructure development and affordability; legislative and general regulatory environment; cost to state and to beneficiaries; and the macroeconomic environment.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee concluded its work in December 2014.

The workstream leaders were appointed in 2016 to facilitate the implementation of the recommendation of the Ministerial Advisory Committee.

(i) List of Ministerial Advisory Committee Members

(aa) (bb)

Name	Qualification (s)
Mr. Themba Langa	LLB
Mr. Mark Davids	National Higher Diploma: Electrical Engineering
Mr. Sipho Majombozi	B Ed
Mr. Tim Masela	BComm
Mr. Patrick Monyeki	MBA
Mr. Sizwe Shezi	MA in Social Policy
Dr. Makhozi Khoza	PHD Administration
Ms. Tankiso Parkies	Honours in Sociology
Prof Ann Skelton	PHD Degree in law restorative and child justice
Mr. Sanjiv Mital	Engineering Degree Information Technology / Management Degree
Mr. Barend Petersen	Honours B Compt
Mr. Tim Sukazi	LLM in Commercial Law
Mr. Andile Nyhonyha	LLB

(ii) The workstream leaders appointed so far are:-

Mr Tim Sukazi: Legislative and Policy Requirements Management.

Ms Tankiso Pakkies: Benefits and Local Economic Development and

Mr Patrick Monyeki: Business information, Banking Services and Project Management

Over and above the workstream services, SASSA has a database of accredited service providers e.g. Actuaries, Risk and Security management etc. whose services will be utilized in the course on concluding this work.

(iii) Mr Sukazi will lead the process that review regulatory requirements including the SASSA act to obtain understanding of the legal operating environment.

Ms Mpolokeng Tankiso Parkies is responsible for identifying the benefits and Local Economic initiatives to be implemented with the delivery of the Social Security Assistance.

Mr Patrick Monyeki is responsible to develop system requirements to meet the recommended insourcing payment model while reviewing both the current CPS and SASSA systems for enhancement and systems integration.

(iv) (aa) work stream lead(s) accounts for the services rendered by companies they lead,

(bb) the work stream lead(s) lead their individual companies.

Reply:

A total of R67 617.677 was raised through the sale of the elephant ivory stockpile in 2008. R7 774.745 was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, Mpumalanga and North West provinces, as income from their ivory which was part of the sale. The South African National Parks have, thus far, spent a total of R48 963.210 on 21 different projects. These projects focused on aspects of elephant conservation and protection, elephant management, community conservation matters, and elephant related research and monitoring, as is stipulated in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora conditions of the ivory sale.

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Reply:

(1) Yes.

(2) The summary report has been published on the Department’s website. The following link can be used to access the report:

https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/reports/summaryreport_committeeofinquiry.pdf.

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Reply:

(1) I am aware the of the complaints related to the Shongweni landfill site, and the health related aspects have been brought to my attention.

(a) The Green Scorpions findings relate to breaches in terms of the conditions of the Waste Management Licence. These findings were reported to the Chemicals and Waste Management that subsequently decided, on 02 February 2017, to issue a notice of intention to suspend and/or revoke the Waste Management Licence.

(b) EnviroServ provided an initial response to this notice of intention on 09 February 2017. Further representations have been received from Enviroserv, as well as representatives of the community and members of the community. In line with the requirements of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, EnviroServ had a final opportunity to make representations to the officials at Chemical and Waste Management on/before 27 March 2017.

(c) EnviroServ will be held accountable for any health related impacts that the community are experiencing as a result of the impacts from this site. As honourable Member should know, the process of determining negative impact caused by such, do take particular procedures prescribed by law and regulator.

(2) The decision whether or not to close and rehabilitate the site will be made by the Department as part of the decision making process related to whether or not to suspend and/or revoke the Waste Management Licence after evaluation of the representations made.

(3) (a) The Department envisions all landfill sites, not just Shongweni, operating in a manner that does not pose a risk or a nuisance to any of the people that reside in the vicinity of landfills or impact negatively on the environment.

(b) The matter was raised and dicussed with community members, and all the members of the Enviornmental Monitoring Commitee are aware of the matter. Several meetings have been held in this regard.

(c) Lime on its own will not resolve the issue. A combination of treatment and physical construction interventions will be required to resolve the problem.

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Reply:

(a)

1. 30.7%
2. 31.7%
3. 21.6%
4. 22.2%
5. 24.6%

(b) 14.3%

Upon realization that NPO noncompliance rate has been incremental over the past years, the department has employed the following intervention approaches:

• Introduced a text message system to communicate efficiently to the NPOs and constantly reminding them of the outstanding reports and compliance status

• Conducted NPO Roadshows to over 200 local municipalities in the past two financial years (2014/2015 and 2015/2016). This initiate has enabled us to go to different communities and assist NPOs in submitting the required reports.

• The department has intensified its capacity building programme, training over 3000 organisations per annum on compliance.

• In all Ministerial and outreach programmes of the department, all NPO services have been and continue to be visible as part of mitigating the noncompliance status.

• At the center of the exorbitant noncompliance rate is the legislation (Non-Profit Organisation Act, Act 71 of 1997) governing the NPO sector. The department’s position is that the legislation needs to be subjected to a thorough review process, taking into consideration the current and evolving country dynamics. The department is therefore in its final phase of the mentioned review assessment, and it is envisaged that the final amended legislation should be able to eliminate the structural challenges which contribute to the increasing NPO noncompliance.

The impact of the above stated interventions, will go a long way in reducing high noncompliance statistics. It is the same reason why the department has institutionalized the mention programmes, to sustain the NPO compliance campaign in the next coming years.

 

Reply:

1. With reference to his reply to question 473 on 15 March 2017,

a) Who requested the payments?

In the recent past organised business was fragmented in South Africa and the Department of Trade and Industry was crucial in the facilitation of the merger of the business structures to form Business Unity South Africa (BUSA). The formation was critical to government because it created a platform for government to engage unified business. The Department further committed to fund the BUSA during their establishment period.

Following the split in BUSA in 2011, the Department deemed it necessary to continue the support of organised business in the form of the Black Business Council (BBC) as it was a new formation that carried the interests of its membership that had a direct interest linked to the economic transformation mandate of the Department.

The BBC approached the Department to present areas of collaboration and to request funding for specific projects that relate to the Black Economic Empowerment and the Black Industrialist Programme. Before any considerations for funding were made, the department requested the BBC to present a business plan detailing projects and costing.

The Department assessed the business plan and once satisfied commenced a process of obtaining an approval from National Treasury

in accordance with paragraph 6.3.1 of the Treasury Regulations.

The National Treasury approved the creation of a transfer payment budget line for the BBC within Budget Vote 36 of the Department. It also important to highlight that a transfer payment is defined as an un-requited transaction that differs from the procurement of goods and services and is appropriated separately as per the Appropriations Act.

b) Was there a contract in place?

Following the approval of the transfer payment budget line by National Treasury, the Department entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the BBC.

c) What are the details of the services that the Black Business Council (BBC) delivered? And

The MoA with BBC details the areas of collaboration in respect to the implementation of the Black Industrialists programme. According to the agreement, Projects consist of the Policy Advocacy, Regulatory Framework development, the Resource Centre and the Customer Relations Management component.

Furthermore, the BBC is required to provide reports based on approved yearly project plans. The BBC is further required to provide Audited Financial Statements.

d) What (i) competitive and (ii) open processes were followed in awarding the BBC the specified amount?

The payment to the BBC is an un-requited transaction that differs from the procurement of goods and services. As such, no procurement process is required.

2) Whether the BBC has been audited by (a) his department and/or (b) the Auditor-General; if not, why not in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

(a) & (b) The department does not perform a separate audit for the transfer payment to the BBC as it is included as part of the annual statutory audit by the Auditor General. Furthermore, in exercising oversight over the transfer payment, an MoA is in place.

 

Reply:

Information has been requested from the Mpumalanga Department of Education and will be provided as soon as it is received.

Reply:

(a) As at the time of the State of the Nation Address, 895 schools had been built since 2009.

(b) (i) & (ii) The requested information can be found on the link to the following webpage: http://www.education.gov.za/Newsroom/ParliamentaryQuestions/NA673Annexure.aspx containing the Annexure with the name and location of the schools.

(c) Projects were implemented by the Provincial Education Departments as well as the National Department of Basic Education on the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative Project (ASIDI).

(d) Information on schools constructed by Provincial Education Departments has been requested and will be collated with the ASIDI projects and provided as soon as it is received.

(e) Information on the total cost of each school constructed by Provincial Education Departments has been requested and will be collated with the ASIDI projects and provided as soon as it is received.