Questions and Replies

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department follows:-

(1) (a) The Department appointed Fidelity Security Group (Pty) Ltd.

(b) The service provider was appointed on 28 October 2016.The contract started on 1 December 2016.

(c) (i)The duration of the contract is two years.

(ii)The contract cost is R11 817 326.44 (VAT inclusive)

(2) (a) The material terms of the successful bid was that the service provider met all the requirement of the department regarding evaluation criteria stipulated in the bid documentation. The following were material terms for the successful bidder:

• Experience in providing physical security services,
• Proof of registration with Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA),
• Financial capability and
• Detailed Project Execution Plan.

(b) On the closing date, 70 bids were received by the Department.

(c) Normal government Supply Chain Management (SCM) bid evaluation and adjudication processes were followed.

(3) Imvula Quality Protection (Africa) (Pty) Ltd did not score the highest in the bid evaluation and adjudication processes.

Reply:

I have been informed by SITA as follows:

1.  Ms. Unathi Mtya was employed by SITA as the Head of Internal Information Technology division and has since resigned on 31 July 2016.

2.  SITA did not receive an application for a bursary nor award a bursary to Ms. Unathi Mtya to study at the Columbia University in New York.

a) Not applicable

b) (i) Not applicable

(ii) Not applicable

(iii) Not applicable

Reply:

 

No; The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Commission on Restitution and Land Rights have no record of any land transferred to the said Authority.

Reply:

1.   (a)(b)(c)All mining permits (processing of dumps) that were issued over these properties have lapsed, however, two mining rights have been granted and issued respectively.

(i)(ii) Samancor Chrome – granted for Chrome

Lebowa Platinum Mines (Bokoni Platinum Mines) – Issued for All minerals on different reef/seam

2.   The Department is working with law enforcement agencies and have also opened cases at the local police station. According to the latest developments, a lot of machineries were confiscated / impounded on site. The Department will continue to work with law enforcement agencies hoping that the perpetrators will be successfully prosecuted. The Department has served notices to most perpetrators as part of administrative enforcement but furthermore opened cases as part of criminal enforcement.

Approved/Not Approved

Mr MJ Zwane, MP

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2017

Reply:

I have been informed by SAPO as follows:

(a)

Province	Branch	Mobile	RPOA	Grand Total
Eastern Cape	182	2	123	307
Free State	118	1	16	135
Gauteng	332		9	341
KwaZulu Natal	240	2	68	310
Limpopo	136	2	123	261
Mpumalanga	116	1	100	217
Northern Cape	1			1
North West	127	1	87	215
Northern Cape	63		67	130
Western Cape	173		112	285
Grand Total	1 488	9	705	2 202

(b)

Province	Branch Mines	Rural	Urban	Branch Total	Mobile Rural	Mobile Total	RPOA Rural	Urban	RPOA Total	Grand Total
Eastern Cape		131	51	182	2	2	123		123	307
Free State		20	98	118	1	1	8	8	16	135
Gauteng		4	328	332			2	7	9	341
KwaZulu Natal		103	137	240	2	2	52	16	68	310
Limpopo		92	44	136	2	2	123		123	261
Mpumalanga		52	64	116	1	1	91	9	100	217
Northern Cape			1	1						1
North West	1	60	66	127	1	1	87		87	215
Northern Cape		38	25	63			53	14	67	130
WesternCape		25	148	173			94	18	112	285
Grand Total	1	525	962	1 488	9	9	633	72	705	2 202

(c)

Province	Sum of MVL systems Installed
Eastern Cape	113
Free State	18
Gauteng	235
KwaZulu Natal	37
Limpopo	52
Mpumalanga	9
North West	9
Grand Total	473

 

Reply:

(i) Minister

(bb) As follows:

(a) BMW (Pretoria)

(b) 5 SERIES

(c) R740 299.99

(d) 23 August 2016

(aaa) None.

(bbb) None.

(ii) Deputy Minister

(aaa) As follows:

	Pretoria	Cape Town
(a)	Mercedes Benz	BMW
(b)	ML400	X5
(c)	R962 793.20	R887 168.34
(d)	15 July 2014	31 July 2014

(bbb) None.

(bb) None.

Reply:

(1) Roshnee clinic is a municipality clinic under the jurisdiction of the then Vereeniging/Kopanong municipality which was amalgamated to form Emfuleni Municipality in the year 2000.

The clinic had four consulting rooms and rendered municipal health services which were provided 8 hours a day, five days a week excluding weekends. The clinic has never operated for 24 hours. The reasons for the closure of the clinic in 2004 were the low utilisation rate as the clinic headcount was less than 400 per month.

The resolution to close an underutilized health facility was adopted to improve the efficient utilisation of available resources as patients were redirected to Rustervaal clinic which was a 1 kilometer away from Roshnee. The decision was taken with the consultation of the community of Roshnee.

(2) No, there are currently no plans to reopen the Roshnee clinic as the services that were rendered by Roshnee clinic are rendered at Rustervaal clinic through a comprehensive integrated Primary Health Care Package. The infrastructure at Rustervaal clinic was upgraded and staffing levels increased over the years to accommodate the PHC Package of Services and the current headcount of 3450 patients per month. When Roshnee clinic was closed down it was handed back to the community and utilized as a center for children with disabilities. The center in its current state is designed to suit the needs of children with disabilities and no longer suitable or compliant for utilisation as a health facility.

END.

Reply:

1.   130

2.   The Department issues Pre-compliance Notice in terms of section 31 of NEMA following review of report and outcome of the compliance inspections

3.   The Department will issue compliance Notice as part of administrative enforcement. However, if non-compliance persist, criminal enforcement will be persued.

Approved/Not Approved

Mr MJ Zwane, MP

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2017

Reply:

The attached table reflects the information as obtained from the Provinces.

ANNEXURE 1

END.

Reply:

(i)  In the period under review the following vehicles were purchased for use by the Minister of Science of Science and Technology:

(aaa) 2014 – 15 Financial year for Pretoria Office:

1. Audi Q7 3.0 TDI 180 kw Q TIP;
2. 2015
3. R697,733.58 and
4. 23 July 2015 (invoice date)

(bbb) 2015 – 16 financial year for Cape Town Office:

1. Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quarto;
2. 2016
3. R798,020.53 and
4. 29 March 2016 (invoice date)

(bb) Since 1 April 2016

1. No cars were purchased.
2. Not applicable
3. Not applicable
4. Not applicable

(ii)  In the period under review , no vehicles were purchased for use by the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology.

Reply:

I have been informed by SAPO as follows:

1.  (a) The Kidds Beach Postal Agency is not yet closed down. It is scheduled to close at the end of April 2017.

(b) The Agency has terminated the agreement with SAPO for personal reasons.

(c) As of May 2017, residents of Kidds Beach and surrounding areas will conduct their postal business at Greenfields Post Office, which is just 25 km away. Private boxes will remain at the Agency building and clients will continue to receive mail from their boxes. The company is still pursuing alternative measures with prospective agents to provide services in the area.

2.  (a) The transaction viable amounts for December 2016 and January 2017 are outstanding but have been captured in the system for February 2017 payments. The capturing of these payments is dependent on the date of submission of claims by the Agent.

(b) In terms of the agreement with the current agent, the Post Office cannot divulge any confidential information to any third party without the agent’s express consent.

Reply:

(1) The Department of Health undertakes annual assessments of health care professionals against possible infections, generally, through occupational health units located within health facilities. Recently, the Department has decided to put together an additional policy, to look at TB specifically. While the policy is still being developed, with reviews being undertaken by all relevant stakeholders including associations of health professional workers and legal units, it has already been determined that medical checks for TB will be undertaken more frequently. The policy will be implemented once it has been approved by the National Health Council (NHC);

(2) The Department of Health provides N95 masks to all health care professionals and surgical masks for the use of patients. These are however used more consistently in high risk (for infection) areas of health facilities. These masks are provided on the basis of a tender that has been awarded to a service provider, following negotiations for lowering of the masks' prices

END.

Reply:

1.  This question is answered below in two parts, i.e. what Eskom owns directly and

what Eskom owns indirectly. Eskom directly owns one mine, called Kilbarchan Colliery.

Eskom indirectly owns some equity in the cost plus mines as a result of ownership of a portion of the mine assets through the cost plus coal supply agreements (CSA) signed. Mining houses have the statutory right to mine the coal, and the statutory obligation to rehabilitate. Eskom, through the CSA has the financial obligation to pay for these costs. The reserves dedicated to Eskom, can only be sold to Eskom.

In a case where the mining house intends to transfer its rights and obligations Eskom would have to provide consent.It should be noted that the CSAs do not include BEE ownership requirements as the last cost plus agreement was signed prior to Eskom’s current BEE Policy.

(1)(a)(b) Table 1 below presents Eskom’s Cost Plus CSAs. The Colliery column (a) provides the names of the mines and the Mining House (b) column provides the information on who is mining the mine.

Table 1Eskom's current Cost Plus CSAs

	Colliery (a)	Mining House (b)	B-BBEE Status	Start of CSA	Current End of CSA	Power Station	Investment made by Eskom, from inception to date	Annual Contractual Volumes (ktons)
1	Kriel	Anglo	LME 8	Dec 1979	Dec 2019	Kriel	R2.4 bn	8 500
2	New Denmark[1]	Anglo	LME 8	Sept 1989	Sept 2029	Tutuka	R3.2 bn	10 000 per CSA 4 500 Assumed
3	New Vaal	Anglo	LME 8	June 1989	June 2029	Lethabo	R1.6 bn	17 800
4	Matla	Exxaro	BO LME 4	July 1983	July 2023	Matla	R2.2 bn	10 066
5	Khutala	South32	LME 8	Dec 1993	Dec 2033	Kendal	R1.6 bn	13 300
6	Arnot	Closed mine	BO LME 4	June 1981	Dec 2015	Arnot	R0.8 bn	-

2.  Kilbarchan Colliery is recorded in Eskom’s balance sheet under the subsidiary Natal Navigation Colliery. It is recorded at R1, while the associated rehabilitation liability has been fully raised in Eskom’s financial statements

On cost plus mines, these are not on Eskom’s balance sheet because the direct ownership rests with the mining houses and their balance sheets.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Mr. Mogokare Richard Seleke Ms. Lynne Brown, MP

Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

1. PQ241 ↑

Reply:

i. Minister Office

(aaa) 2014/15 Fin Year	(bbb) 2015-16 Fin year	(bb) since 1 April 2016
(a) N/A	(a)N/A	(a) Mercedes Benz E400
(b) N/A	(b) N/A	(b) 2017 model
(c) N/A	(c) N/A	(c) R1,2 mil
(d) N/A	(d) N/A	(d)February 2017

ii. Deputy Minister Office

(aaa) 2014/15 Fin Year	(bbb) 2015-16 Fin year	(bb) since 1 April 2016
(a) N/A	(a) N/A	(a) Porsche Cayanne GTS
(b) N/A	(b) N/A	(b) 2017 model
(c) N/A	(c N/A	(c) R1,3 mil
(d) N/A	(d) N/A	(d) November 2016

Approved/Not Approved

Mr MJ Zwane, MP

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-……………/………………/2017

Reply:

(1)(a)(b)

Yes, provinces do have a database and/statistics on the number of learners with disabilities. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) together with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) conduct three surveys that collects information on learners with disabilities annually, which are: Snap Survey and Annual Survey for Special schools (collect learner enrolment in special schools), and Annual Survey for ordinary schools (collects information on disabled learners in mainstream and full service). Each PED provide their individual databases to DBE, which, in turn, establishes a national database.

(2)(a)

The last survey on schools for learners with Special Needs was conducted on the 01 September 2016, which was the Annual Survey for Special schools.

(2)(b)(c)

Table 1 below indicates the number of special schools surveyed in 2016. It shows that there were 462 special schools in 2016 with 119 403 learners.

Table 1: Number of special schools and learners, by province, in 2016

Province	(b) Number of Special Schools	(c) Number of learners in Special schools
EC	43	9 463
FS	21	5 984
GP	149	47 769
KZ	65	14 986
LP	35	8 630
MP	20	3 778
NC	11	1 494
NW	32	7 395
WC	86	19 904
National	462	119 403

Source: 2016 SNE SNAP Survey

(3)(a)(b)

The Department has forwarded the question to the Provincial Education Department and is awaiting the response. The response will be forwarded as soon as the Department receives it.

(4)

Table 2: Number of special schools converted into resource centres by province, in 2017/18 financial year

Prov.	No. SSRCs
EC	19
FS	5
GT	17
KZN	16
LP	5
MP	8
NC	5
NW	8
WC	25
Total	108

Source: PED’s submission

(5) (a) The information on the number of learners at each school for learners with special educational needs who have been erroneously placed in each financial year is not readily available in Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), given that the implementation to scale of the Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) at school level was preceded by training mainly during 2016/17 and effective implementation has only started in 2017.

(b) Measures in this regard will be put in place from 2018 onwards.

Reply:

I have been informed by SAPO as follows:

1. Mail is delivered at the Serenitas Retirement Village every second day.

2. The so-called “dumped mail” seen at the gate of Gracia’a Retirement Village on 09 January 2017, was for delivery at the Serenitas Retirement Village. When the volume for delivery in an area is too much for the postman to carry, excess mail is prepared and placed in an excess mail bag called dump bag. The bag is then transported by vehicle to a convenient spot, in this case, Gracia’s Retirement Village, where the postman will collect and deliver further. No dumping of mail took place.

Reply:

For purposes of the response, the payments to SMMEs and co-operatives cannot be separated as these are recorded together.

Information below covers the period from 01 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

(a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD)

The total procurement on goods and services in respect of the 30% set aside target is as follows:

No	Description	LOGIS transactions	BAS transactions	Total	%
(i) and (ii)	SMME’s and Cooperatives	R11 715 235.01	10,332,498.72	22,047,733.73	69.34%
(iii)	Non-SMME’s	R18 450.00	9,728,481.73	9,746,931.73	30.66%
Total procurement	11,733,685.01	20,060,980.45	31,794,665.46	100.00%

 

In addition the R3.5 million spent on capital assets was procured through the SMME’s.

(b) Entities reporting to the DSBD

The Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA)

The Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) total procurement on goods and services in respect of the 30% set aside target is as follows:

No	Description	Total	%
(i) and (ii)	SMME’s and Co-operatives	R255m	56%
(iii)	Non-SMME’s	R200m	44%
Total procurement	R455m	100%

The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA)

The R 126,016,582 total procurement on goods and services in respect of the 30% set aside target is as follows:

No	Description	Total	%
(i) and (ii)	SMME’s and Co- operatives	R 88, 211,607.40	70%
(iii)	Non-SMME’s	R 37, 804,974.60	30%
Total procurement	R 126,016,582

Reply:

I have been informed by Telkom as follows:

1. (a)(i) 207 038 058 Shares

(ii) R15 244 212 210.54 as on 31 January 2017 (Government shareholdings have not changed since the previous reporting period- September 2016)

(b) Government is not required to appoint any directors to the Telkom Board.

(c) Telkom does not have any government appointees on their current Board.

(d) No appointments

(2) (a) It is the prerogative of the Board on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee subject to Shareholder approval.

(b) It is the prerogative of the Board on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee subject to Shareholder approval.

Reply:

1. The audit that the Department conducted in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) provided a baseline of municipal and provincially owned tourism assets. This report was made available to all provinces for project and budget planning purposes.
2. The Department of Tourism has not support any project based on the outcomes of the report as yet. However, province would in a better position to share further detailed information regarding their respective tourism assets.

Reply:

1.  Minister

No vehicles were purchased for the Minister during 2014/15 and 2015/2016 Financial Years

2.  Deputy- Minister

	Year	(a)Make	(b)Model	(c ) Price	(d)Date
(aa) Financial Year	(aaa) 2014-2015	Audi Q7 TDI (Pretoria) Mercedes Benz (Cape Town)	2014 2014	R878 701.47 R762 443.19	17 January 2015 19 February 2015
	(bbb) 2015-2016	None	N/A	N/A	N/A
(bb) Since	1 April 2016	None	N/A	N/A	N/A

Reply:

A.   The Danger Allowance Dispensation was terminated in 2001 in the South African Police Service (SAPS) with the conclusion of Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC) Agreement 4 of 2001.

Agreement 4/2001, introduced a Service Allowance,taking into consideration the unique situation of the SAPS with regard to the affordability of the danger allowance and other allowances. The Agreement was a consolidation of the Danger Allowance, Special Danger Allowance and Standby Allowance into one amount of R400,00.

B.   The amount has never been reviewed since 2001, and it is currently on the agenda of the SSSBC, for review.

Reply:

(i).   The Minister

No new vehicles were purchased in (aaa) 2014-15; (bbb) 2015-16 financial years and (bb) since 1 April 2016

1. Not applicable
2. Not applicable
3. Not applicable
4. Not applicable (

(ii).   The Deputy Minister

No new vehicles were purchased in (aaa) 2014-15; (bbb) 2015-16 financial years and (bb) since 1 April 2016

1. Not applicable
2. Not applicable
3. Not applicable
4. Not applicable

Reply:

1.   With reference to question 1727, the paymentmade was for Kruger National Park not for Malamala.

With reference to question 1728, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) received 24 land claims lodged by individuals/ communities against the properties belonging toSabie Sand Game Resrve. Malamala Game Reserve is within Sabie Sand Game Reserve.

The claimants have lodged claims in the area against 21 properties, consisting of 63 portions, measuring 65 000 hectares. The CRLR has by now managed to partially restore 6 properties, consisting of 9 portions, measuring 13 184 hectares, which properties used to belong to MalaMala Game Reserve.

2.  In terms of the Restitution process, verification which entails compiling a list of originally dispossessed individuals and their households,was completed before the approval and handover. A Communal Property Association was set up and is called Nwandlamhari Communal Property Association.

3.   The agreed (average market related) price per hectare was done after an extensive analysis of comparable sales by three valuation experts who were representing all the three parties involved in the court case; namely, the Minister through the Commission, Landowners and Claimants.

The court had also concluded that the compensation which the State will have to pay in the event of expropriation will be at least a ballpark figure of R791, 289, 492 in respect of the land and the improvement thereon. This amount did not include any amount for actual financial loss which the the landowners were likely to claim, and if considered, the eventual compensation would be in excess of R1 billion rand.

The upwards valuation per hectare of the purchase price in the MalaMala land claim was justified taking into account that valuation was first commissioned in 2007, and settlement only happened during 2012/2013 financial year. The final offer was also guided by the provisions of Section 25 of the Constitution.

 

Reply:

 

1. No, I do not intend to resign. I have referred the matter to the Office of the Public Protector for investigation as the complainant. I have also requested that a lifestyle audit be conducted on me, from 1994 when I became a public representative as Speaker of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (1994 – 1999); as MEC: Housing, Local Government and Traditional Affairs (1999 – 2004); as MEC: Agriculture (2004 to 2009); and, as Minister for Rural Development and Land Reform (2009 to date).
2. Yes. In the 2011/12 financial year, I requested the President to issue a Proclamation (R23 of 2012) to authorise the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of theft, fraud, corruption and maladministration in relation to the Land Reform Programme of the Department. These investigations are currently ongoing. As a result of these investigations, several farms have been seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit; and,29 (1 Eastern Cape, 2 Free State and 26 KwaZulu Natal) of these were handed back to the Department during November 2016. Some of these matters are currently before the Courts.

As a result of the magnitude of the allegations of maladministration, financial mismanagement and/or fraud and corruption in certain PLAS and Recap farms, the then head of the SIU, Advocate Soni, requested the Department to conduct scoping exercises with a view to narrowing down forensic and related investigations for effective results. I,then, initiated several internal scoping and external forensic investigations, including Bekendvlei, into alleged irregularities in relation to the PLAS and Recap Farms. The Department is currently implementing the recommendations of the completed reports, in this regard.

Reply:

(1)(a)

The average price payable under the Renewable Energy (RE) IPP Programme, covering the production coming only from the RE projects signed in 2011, ending 30 September 2016 was 218 c/kWh, whereas for the RE projects announced in 2015, the production cost averages 62 c/kWh.

Eskom aggregate cost of coal produced electricity in 2016 is s 44.1 c/kWh. Kindly note that in order to make a like for like comparison, the Eskom marginal cost of production of coal generated power (determined by Medupi and Kusile) is not known as yet, but is believed to be in excess of 100 c/kWh.

(1)(b)

The average Eskom winter tariff is 105.1 c / kWh and the summer tariff is 73.5 c / kWh. The average annual Eskom tariff is 81.4 c / kWh, and it will escalate according to the tariff increase application to be submitted to NERSA (Eskom has applied for further tariff increases in the period from 2016 onwards and it is not as yet clear where this will end). In order to compare Eskom’s production costs to the production costs under the coal IPP Programme, the two coal IPPs will sell the electricity at 80,955 c/kWh and 79,71c/kWh respectively, without any tariff increases (the only escalation will be for inflation) for the next 30 years. We expect Eskom’s aggregate tariff to increase even higher than for IPPs within the next 3 years.

(2)(a)

Renewable Energy IPP contracts have a term of 20 years.

2(b)

The B-BBEE policy as promulgated under the BBEEE Act applies to IPPs as well.

2(c)

All IPPs are BBEEE compliant.

Reply:

(a)(b) There were no cases reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation on corruption allegations at any of the educational institutions in question.

Reply:

1.  Relating to Ministerial approved programmes, i.e. National Certificate (Vocational) and Report 191 excluding occupational programmes, the number of students are as follows:

Financial Year	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17 (Original)	(c) 2016/17 (Revised)
Target Headcount	650 000	660 000	755 000	664 748
Actual Headcount	670 455	664 748	To be confirmed	To be confirmed
Total Full-Time Equivalents (FTE’s)	325 507	322 737	368 888	322 737
Funded FTE’s	235 714	233 708	238 744	233 708
Unfunded FTE’s	89 793	89 029	130 144	89 029

2.  TVET Fiscus budget allocations:

Funding Classification	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
	R’000	R’000	R’000
Compensation of Employees	2 540 505	4 943 262	5 168 971
Other subsidies towards staff costs	1 796 776	Shifted to compensation of employees due to migration on 1 April 2015
Capital Expenditure	0	0	0
Transfers and Subsidies	1 399 051	1 140 945	1 274 848
Total Budget Allocation	5 736 332	6 179 574	6 443 819

The total fiscus funded budget for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for 2014/15 was R5.7 billion increasing to R6.4 billion in 2016/17. The budget caters for the salary costs and operational costs relating to the TVET Colleges. Based on the National Norms and Standards for funding TVET Colleges (NNSF-TVET), the budgets should be applied to the following economic categories:

Category	Percentage
Compensation of employees	63%
Non-personnel Non-Capital	27%
Capital infrastructure maintenance (repairs and maintenance)	10%
Total	100%

Compensation of Employees:

In 2014/15, subsidies towards staff costs were made to TVET colleges for salary costs of employees who were appointed and paid by the College Council as a Conditional Grant via the Provincial Education Departments. These employees were offering Ministerial approved programmes. From 1 April 2015, these employees were migrated to the Department as part of the function shift processes and the Provincial Conditional Grant was discontinued.

Capital Expenditure:

Since the last recapitalisation of TVET Colleges in 2009, no additional funding was allocated by the National Treasury to supplement capital expenditure at TVET colleges.

Transfers and Subsidies:

These funds are directly transferred to TVET colleges in three payments each year. These funds are mainly used to cater for operational costs such as water, electricity, services, learner and teaching materials, protective clothing, etc. in order to deliver effective and efficient teaching and learning.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 386 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a),(i) to (iv); (b) and (c)

The table below reflects the total number of police stations or satellite police stations that were opened since 1994, to date, in (i) Limpopo, (ii) Gauteng, (iii) Mpumalanga and (iv) North West provinces, (b) and the number of police stations that were subsequently closed and the reasons for their closure:

PROVINCE	POLICE STATION	SATELLITE	YEAR OPENED (since 1994 to date)	YEAR CLOSED	REASONS FOR CLOSURE
Limpopo		Muyexe	2010	Operational
Limpopo		Bandelierkop	2010	Operational
Limpopo	Mashashane		2012	Operational
Limpopo	Masemola		2011	Operational
Limpopo	Westenburg		2012	Operational
Limpopo	Muswodi		2016	Operational
Limpopo	Vhulaudzi		2016	Operational
Limpopo	Mokwakwaila		2015	Operational
Limpopo	Botlokwa		2010	Operational
Limpopo	Rakgoadi		2015	Operational
Limpopo	Matlerekeng		2016	Operational
Limpopo	Sebayeng		2013	Operational
Gauteng	Orange Farms		1997	Operational
Gauteng	Ivory Park		1997	Operational
Gauteng		Marabastad	2010	2015	The Community didnot want it anymore
Gauteng		Munsieville	1998	Operational
Gauteng		Zandspruit	2008	Operational	Poor facilities
Gauteng		Welverdiend	1998	Operational
Gauteng		Kocksoord	2001	1999	Investigation underway to re-open it
Gauteng	Katlehong North		2012	Operational
Gauteng	Zonkizizwe		2002	Operational
Gauteng	Midrand		2005	Operational
Gauteng	Temba		2006	Operational
Gauteng	Bekkersdal		2012	Operational
Gauteng	Moffatview		2012	Operational
Gauteng	Mamelodi East		2007	Operational
Gauteng	Eersterust		2008	Operational
Gauteng		Azaadville	2006	2010	Closed due to Sector Policing being implemented
Gauteng		Geluksdal	1996	2011	Closed due to the new TsakanePolice Station which is 1 km away from the Satellite
Gauteng		Zuurbekom	2012	Operational	Operational daily from 08:00 to 16:00
Gauteng	Vaal Marina		2012	Operational
Gauteng	Tembisa South		2014	Operational
Gauteng		Morula Sun	1998	2014	Insufficient personnel - Sector Policing
Gauteng		Phutanong	1999	Operational
Gauteng		Braam Fischer	2014	Operational
Gauteng		Glenharvie	2015	Operational
Gauteng		Melville	1994	2005	Insufficient Personnel - Sector Policing
Gauteng		Zithobeni	2002	2014	Burned down by community
Gauteng	Moffatview		2012	Operational
Gauteng	Olievenhoutbosch		2010	Operational
Gauteng		Cosmo City	2010	Operational
Gauteng		Thembelihle	2002	2011	Personnel Shortage (Security of SAPS members)

PROVINCE	POLICE STATION	SATELLITE	YEAR OPENED (since 1994 to date)	YEAR CLOSED	REASONS FOR CLOSURE
Mpumalanga	Pienaar		2004	Operational
Mpumalanga	Mbuzini		2013	Operational
Mpumalanga	Phola		2016	Operational
Mpumalanga		Ximhungwe	2009	Operational
Mpumalanga		Daggakraal	2000	Operational
Mpumalanga		Driefontein	1998	Operational
Mpumalanga		Badfontein	2003	Operational
Mpumalanga		Siyathemba	Post 1994	2000	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Emjindini	Post 1994	2015	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Botleng	Post 1994	2010	Building dilapidated
Mpumalanga		Tjakastad	Post 1994	2015	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Kwazamokuhle	Post 1994	2013	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Msogwaba	Post 1994	2004	New Police Station constructed (Pienaar)
Mpumalanga		Daanjie	Post 1994	2004	New Police Station constructed (Pienaar)
Mpumalanga		Hectorspuit	Post 1994	2009	Insufficient Workload
Mpumalanga		Lebohang	Post 1994	2008	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Badfontein	Post 1994	2014	Insufficient workload
Mpumalanga		Dundonald	Post 1994	2015	New Police Station in Planning Phase
Mpumalanga		Phola	Post 1994	2015	Upgraded to a Fully Fledged Police Station
Mpumalanga		Thuthukani	Post 1994	2011	Burned down during public protests
Mpumalanga		Phungutsha	Post 1994	2014	Police Station under construction
Mpumalanga		Kamhlushwa	Post 1994	2014	Police Station under construction

PROVINCE	POLICE STATION	SATELLITE	YEAR OPENED (since 1994 to date)	YEAR CLOSED	REASONS FOR CLOSURE
North West		Tigane	2010	Operational
North West		Skeerpoort	2010	Operational
North West	Hebron		2010	Operational
North West	Huhudi		2006	Operational	Satellite upgraded to Police Station
North West		Dinokana	1998	Operational
North West	Lethabong		1996	Operational
North West	Lichtenburg		2010	Operational
North West		Disaneng	2000	Operational
North West		Wonderkop	2010	Operational
North West		Bapong	2016	Operational
North West		Freedom Park	2010	Operational
North West		Monakato	2010	Operational
North West		Waterfall Mall	2013	Operational
North West	Sun City		1998	Operational
North West		Mabeskraal	2004	Operational
North West		Kokomeng	1998	Operational
North West		Zinniaville	2010	Operational
North West		Braklaagte	2010	Operational
North West	Bapong		Being built, not opened yet
North West	MoekaVuma		Being built, not opened yet
North West	Mareetsane		Being built, not opened yet
North West	Mabeskraal		Being built, not opened yet
North West	Dwarsberg		Being built, not opened yet

Reply:

No.

A.  The Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (Act No. 121 of 1998) provides for asset forfeiture in respect of the proceeds of crime or instrumentalities of crime. The Service may conduct investigations where a person has allegedly benefited from crime. The outcome of such investigations must be reported to the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority to facilitate the forfeiture of assets.

B.  Section 23 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004) provides that the National Director of Public Prosecutions (“NDPP”), may apply to a judge for an investigative direction in respect of a person who maintains a standard of living which is not proportionate to his or her past or present income or assets.  If the application is authorised, the NDPP may question the suspect or any other person to produce evidence or to answer questions.  

C.  (i)    See above.

     (ii)   Not applicable.

D.   Not applicable.

Reply:

The table below provides the amounts as budgeted for, for the different programmes in the different department in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.

Spending in terms of the budgeted allocation for the current financial year will only be available after the financial year.

The table below also provides information in terms of the kind or type of support each department will provide with regard to the budgeted amounts.

Department	Incentives/Initiative/Public Entity	Briefly explain Purpose/Possible Duplication within Government	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	Total MTEF
			R'000	R'000	R'000	R'000
DHS (NURCHA)	Loans to emerging contractors	Affordable housing development	345 000	360 000	390 000	1 095 000
DHS (NURCHA)	Loans to emerging contractors	Infrastructure development	180 000	180 000	270 000	630 000
DHS (RHLF)	Incremental loans to retail intermediaries and CBO's for housing development in rural areas	Rural housing financing and development	225 000	277 000	305 400	807 400
DSBD	Black Business Supplier Development Programme	Is a cost sharing grant offered to small black-owned enterprises to help them in improving the competitiveness and sustainability	245 000	256 750	270 953	772 703
DSBD	Cooperatives Incentive Scheme	Is a cost sharing grant offered to cooperatives to help them in improving the competitiveness and sustainability	75 000	78 750	83 318	237 068
DSBD	Industrial Development Corporation: Craft customised Sector Programme	Establishment of a Sector Coordinating Body, Enterprise Development Programme, Establishment of Craft Hubs, Market Access and Research and Development	10 000	10 000	10 000	30 000
DSBD	National Informal Business Upliftment Scheme	To create a conductive business environment for informal businesses and provide adequate skills and infrastructure	95 698	99 406	103 138	298 242
DSBD	Enterprise Incubation Programme	To provide funding for incubators that can generate revenue through the provision of services and initiatives that can be self-sustainable	46 274	49 665	54 737	150 676
DSBD	Small Enterprise Development Agency	Provides non-financial support through advice, consultancy, training, and monitoring, and assisting SMMEs with technology through the technology programme.	633 814	743 132	786 233	2 163 179
DMR	Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC)	Implementation of small scale mining projects	27 434	28 805	30 476	86 715
DMR	Marginal Mines	This entails providing subsidies to marginal mines to pump extraneous water from underground mine openings; and researching, developing and implementing strategic solutions for mine water management.	5 275	5 555	5 877	16 707
Tourism	Tourism Incentive Programme	To assist SMMEs to participate in local and international trade exhibitions, thus creating direct linkages with international tourism companies.	188 931	188 002	198 777	575 710
DST	Technology Innovation Agency	To support the development and commercialisation of new products from SME through the technology station and technology platform programmes	382 364	396 732	420 322	1 199 418
RURAL	Rural Enterprise and Industrial Development	The creation of an enabling institutional environment for sustainable rural development,	390 628	417 478	449 986	1 258 092
DAFF	Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme	Provides post settlement support to targeted beneficiaries of land reform and redistribution	1 565 090	1 678 413	1 769 821	5 013 324
DAFF	Cooperatives and Rural Enterprise Development	Facilitates and supports the development of businesses to ensure the transformation of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries products	120 334	73 119	74 880	268 333
DAFF	Agro-processing and Marketing	Develops and implements support programmes to promote market access and value addition for agriculture, forestry and fisheries products	55 921	63 425	66 662	186 008
EDD	Small Enterprise Finance Agency	Focuses on developing SMMEs by providing access to finance.	213 124	223 780	236 759	673 663
Total Spending on SMMEs	4 804 887	5 130 012	5 527 339	15 462 238

Reply:

The Agricultural Sector Education and Training Authority (AgriSETA) did not incur similar costs in support of board members’ travel and accommodation in the past three financial years.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

MR GF QONDE

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 438 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

Richards Bay CAS 61/12/2015 was sent to court on 2 November 2016 for decision.

The docket was returned to the investigating officer on 14 December 2016 with follow-up directives and a submission date of on or before 24 February 2017. The charge sheet will only be drafted by the Prosecutor once a decision on the charges to be laid is finalised.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i)(aa) Primaryco-operatives have been funded by the Department of Small Business Development

CO-OPERATIVE INCENTIVE SCHEME
DEPARTMENT	YEAR	NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS APPROVED	VALUE OF APPLICATIONS APPROVED	ESTIMATED NO OF JOB CREATED	VALUE OF DISBURSEMENT
Small Business Development	2014-15	207	R 56 103 695	1359	R 64 965 564
Small Business Development	2015-16	247	R 84 423 016	1872	R 75 000 000
Small Business Development	2016-YTD	172	R52 891 797.54	1115	R 47 214 253.97
Total A	626	R 193 418 508.54	3603	R 187 179 817.97

Table 1 – CIS under DSBD

Breakdown of funded primary cooperatives under DSBD

Link for Table 2.1 below depicts DSBD CIS programme data for the 2014/15 Financial Year

RNW10-170310Table2 1

Link for Table 2.2 below depicts DSBD CIS programme data for the 2015/16 Financial Year (Primary Co-operatives)

RNW10-170310Table2 2

Link for Table 2.3 below depicts DSBD CIS programme data for the period April 2016 to date

RNW10-170310Table2 3

(1)(a)(ii)(aa) Secondary co-operatives have been funded by the Department of Small Business Development

There was only one secondary co-operative supported, information is provided in the table below:

Table 3

TOTAL NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES 2015/16 (SECONDARY MARKETING)
Province	No. of Approved Projects	Approved Amount	% Per Province	Total Supported	Total
Limpopo	1	R7,648,690.00	100	1	R7,648,690.00

 

(1)(a)(i)(bb) Primaryco-operatives have been funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti)

Table 4 below depicts thedti CIS programme data for primary co-operatives:

CO-OPERATIVE INCENTIVE SCHEME
Department	YEAR	NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS APPROVED	VALUE OF APPLICATIONS APPROVED	ESTIMATED NO OF JOB CREATED	VALUE OF DISBURSEMENT
Trade and Industry	2008/09	93	R 14 634 075	744	R 9 330 000
Trade and Industry	2009/10	224	R 47 345 447	1792	R 34 523 371
Trade and Industry	2010/11	235	R 55 228 903	1880	R 44 170 626
Trade and Industry	2011/12	182	R 47 824 520	1456	R 52 555 674
Trade and Industry	2012/13	314	R 85 323 599	2512	R 64 979 000
Trade and Industry	2013/14	243	R 62 331 729	1944	R 75 479 830
Total (B)	1291	R 312 688 273	10328	R 281 038 501

(1)(a)(ii)(bb) Secondary co-operatives have been funded by the Department of Trade and Industry

No secondary co-operatives were funded by the Department of Trade and Industry

Table 5: Grand Total

Department	Number of approved projects	Value approved	Estimated no. of jobs supported	Disbursements
Small Business Development	626	R 193 418 508	3603	R 187 179 818
Trade and Industry	1291	R 312 688 273	10328	R 281 038 501
Grand Total	1917	R 506 106 782	13 931	R 468 218 319

2. Specified co-operatives still operating

Not all the funded projects have been visited after implementation of the interventions. Post investment support is done on a sampling basis.

Link to Table 5 below depicts CIS post investment verification for the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15

RNW10-170310Table5

NB: There are still 165 fully paid projects that are in the process of being monitored.

It should be noted that the function of monitoring was done by the monitoring and evaluation Chief Directorate under the dti when the CIS Unit was still part of the department. Therefore, due to capacity constraints, only one hundred and eighteen projects were visited post disbursement and plans are afoot to remedy the situation into the future.

The CIS Unit and Seda are currently piloting a working relationship whereby all new applications will be received through Seda branches and as well as conducting post disbursements visits to all funded cooperatives. The CIS unit has not been able to fully perform this function after being migrated from the dti to the DSBD. Post investment support was conducted through a chief directorate unit focusing on Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) while the CIS Unit was still at the dti. the dti was able to publish two M & E reports for financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15. Since migration no full M& E has been conducted to date.

Reply:

(i) MINISTER

Inherited from Minister Ben Martins

	YZB713GP	BZ93DBGP
(a) Make	BMW	LEXUS
(b) Model	X5	LX570
(c ) Price	R 789 924.00	R1 084 312.37
(d) Date of purchase	Apr-10	Aug-12

(ii) DEPUTY MINISTER

	CA954053	BZ84KGGP
(a) Make	BMW	BMW
(b) Model	X6	535i Gran Turismo
(c ) Price	R 790 000.00	R789 634.50
(d) Date of purchase	Sep-12	Aug-12

(aa) (aaa) 2014-15

The vehicles mentioned in (i) and (ii) above, were used by the Principals during this period.

(aa) (bbb) 2015-16

The vehicles mentioned in (i) and (ii) above, were used by the Principals during this period.

(bb) since 1 April 2016

The vehicles mentioned in (i) and (ii) above, were used by the Principals during this period.

Reply:

(a) (i)(ii)(iii) There were no raids conducted at a certain address (details furnished) in 2015, 2016 and since 1 January 2017.

(b) (c) Not Applicable

Reply:

The response is tabulated below.

Member of Parliament	Make	(b) Model	(c) Price	(d) Date	Financial Year
(i) Minister	Not applicable	(aaa) 2014/15
	Audi	Audi Q7	R680 878.04	29 September 2015	(bbb) 2015/16
	Not applicable	(bb) Since 1 April 2016
(ii) Deputy Minister	Not applicable	(aaa) 2014/15
	BMW	335GT	R727 770.02	7 March 2016	(bbb) 2015/16
	Not applicable	(bb) Since 1 April 2016

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 357 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

The Department received the question, reviewed its contents against its mandate and has determined that the most appropriate respondent should be the Department of Public Enterprises.

Reply:

No. The Minister for Public Service and Administration is not vested with legislative authority to oversee the implementation of the Protected Disclosures Act, Act 26 of 2000 (PDA). The powers to oversee the implementation of this piece of legislation are vested with the Minister responsible for the administration of Justice. The ambit of application of this Act goes beyond the functions and powers of the Minister for Public Service and Administration. However, we have embraced the intrinsic principle of reporting emanating from PDA and have infused this as an ethical value for employees in the Public Service. In terms of the Code of Conduct, which is an integral part of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, reporting of acts of corruption, fraud, nepotism and maladministration is an ethical duty for all employees in the Public Service.

END

Reply:

(1)  (a) The final interdict could not be enforced and Transnet was required to proceed with the institution of an eviction application in accordance with the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (“PIE Act”).

      (b) Transnet has applied for a court date and are currently waiting for same.

(2) Transnet has read the corrective measures given by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police department; Corrective measures were for Transnet to:

• Write an email to EMM to discuss the land issues
• Obtain a court interdict
• Fence off the premises and organise their own security until the property is fenced off.

(3) Transnet has an Informal Settlements Strategy that has been approved through internal structures to deal with informal settlements that are on Transnet land including cases similar to Elandsfontein

____________________________

Siyabonga Gama

Group Chief Executive:

Transnet SOC Ltd

Date:

Reply:

Budgets for pending cases, involving employees, is the responsibility of individual national and provincial Accounting Officers. The Ministry for Public Service and Administration thus does not have detailed information on such budgets.

END

Reply:

(a) The requested statistics of the number of people who died whilst in custody at Lindela is as follows:-

2007 – 10

2008 - 5

2009 - 1

2010 - 3

2011 - 3

2012 - 4

2013 - 2

2014 - 6

2015 - 7

2016 – 6

All these deaths occurred after the deportees were referred by the clinic at Lindela to the Leratong hospital in Krugersdorp. Only one person actually died within the facility in 2016 shortly after arrival at the facility. The person did not show visible signs of illness.

(b) The police cells at the South African Police Services (SAPS) are utilised for the detention of suspected or confirmed illegal immigrants, pending their direct deportation to their countries of origin or transferred to the Lindela Holding Facility. The SAPS statistics for any deaths in detention are not available to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

Prior to the proclamation of the “Determination of Places of Detention of Illegal Foreigners pending deportation” in Government Gazette No.534 in terms of s34 (1) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 on 22 June 2015, illegal immigrants were also held in correctional facilities. The statistics of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for the period prior to the declaration are not available to the DHA.

Reply:

(i) Late Minister Chabane.

1. Make: Volkswagen
2. Model: Touareg 3.0
3. Price: R 755 720.82
4. Purchased date: 25 July 2014

aa) None

aaa) 2014-15 Financial Year

bbb) None

bb) None

NB: Subsequently written off due to accident.

(i) Minister Ramatlhodi.

a) Make: Ford

b) Model: Everest 3.2D LTD 4X4 6At

c) Price: 714 500.40

d) Purchased date: 18 April 2016

aa) None

aaa) None

bbb) None

bb) 2016-17 Financial Year

(ii) Deputy Minister Dlodlo.

1. Make: Audi
2. Model: Audi A8 3.0 TDI QuatrroTip-tronic
3. Price: 750 000.00
4. Purchased order date: 02 June 2016

aa) None

aaa) None

bbb) None

bb) 2016-17 Financial Year

(ii) Deputy Minister Dlodlo.

1. Make: Audi
2. Model: Audi A7 Sportback3.0 TDI Tip-tronic
3. Price: 735 700.00
4. Purchased order date: 20 June 2016

aa) None

aaa) None

bbb) None

bb) 2016-17 Financial Year

END

Reply:

1.  Processes of the Commission

The restitution process is carried out in 6 steps or phases as follows:

2.  Lodgement and Registration of a claim

The lodgment of land claims is the first step in the restitution process. The Commission is required to assist the claimants in the lodgement of the claims. The current deadline to lodge claims is 31 December 1998.

On 27 March 2014 the National Council of Provinces passed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill.

A claim may be lodged by (1) a person that was dispossessed, (2) the direct descendants of the person (where such person is deceased), (3) an estate, or (4) a community.

The qualification criteria for claims are that a person, direct descendant of a person, estate, or community must have:

1. Been dispossessed;
2. Of a right in land;
3. After 19 June 1913;
4. As a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices;
5. Has lodged a claim before the cut-off date for lodgement of claims;
6. Was not, at the time of dispossession, paid compensation or any other consideration that is just and equitable (as determined in terms of section 25 (3) of the Constitution.
7. Screening and Categorisation

Once a claim is lodged it is screened to determine whether all the information required to lodge a claim was submitted, the type of the claim, the location of the claimed land, etc.

3.  Research / Investigation

In terms of the current Rules Regulating Procedure in the Commission, research takes place in two phases.

The first phase involves a determination of whether a claim is not excluded by the requirements of restitution. Where a claim is not excluded, it is accepted for further investigation and details of the claim are published in the Government Gazette. Where a claim is excluded, the Commission may reject that claim if it is frivolous and vexatious. Claims that are frivolous or vexatious are claims that do not have substance, or which are patently bogus.

The second phase involves a more thorough research that determines whether the claim meets the requirements for restitution. Claims that meet the requirements will proceed to the next stage. Where it is discovered at this stage that the claim does not meet the requirements, the claim will be de-gazetted (i.e. the publication of the details of the claims will be withdrawn).

4.  Negotiations

All parties to a claim (including current owner of claimed land, claimant and other right holder on the claimed land) are convened and discussions held about how a claim will be settled. This will involve provision of all information to the affected parties; and the claimant being required to indicate the form of restitution (i.e. restoration of land, alternative land, or financial compensation, or a combination of the above). Where the claimant choses financial compensation, the current owner of the claimed land ceases to become an interested party. Where the claimant has opted for the restoration of the land discussions will be held for the acquisition of the land by the State (on the basis of a valuation).

5.  Settlement or Referral to Court

Where no agreement can be reached on settlement the claim is referred to the Land Claims Court. If there is an agreement, the settlement is referred to the Minister.

6.  Implementation

If an award is made by the Minister (on the basis of the agreement that was reached) or Court (through an order) the award or order is implemented by the acquisition of the land and its transfer to the claimant or payment of financial compensation where the award is for payment of financial compensation. Development assistance is provided where land is awarded.

1. The qualification criteria for claims are that a person, direct descendant of a person, estate, or community must have:

• Been dispossessed;
• Of a right in land;
• After 19 June 1913;
• As a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices;
• Has lodged a claim before the cut-off date for lodgement of claims;

Was not, at the time of dispossession, paid compensation or any other consideration that is just and equitable (as determined in terms of section 25 (3) of the Constitution.

7.  The claim is become invalid if those not meet the requirement of the restitution act.Where a claim is excluded, the Commission may reject that claim if it is frivolous and vexatious. Claims that are frivolous or vexatious are claims that do not have substance, or which are patently bogus.

Reply:

1.   The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has undertaken two backlog projects in 2001 and 2006 with a view of reducing the backlog. While these projects were able to resolve most outstanding claims, they were not able to prevent the re-occurrence of the backlog. The problem is complex and as a result of many interlinked causes.

To address the existing backlog of appeal hearings it is necessary to contextualize the backlog: -

• In terms of section 13 of the Refugee Act (No 130 of 1998), the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB) must consist of a Chairperson and at least two other members. In the past members of the RAB would hear matters individually for each appeal.
• As explained under question 2649 (b) in the Harerimana v Chairperson of the RAB and others the honourable Judge Dennis Davis ordered RAB to sit as a quorum of 50 percent of members plus one of the members for each appeal hearing or at least two members.

• Apart from the capacity constraints the subsequent dilemma is if only two members sit to hear an appeal and they disagree they cannot come to a decision. As a consequence, RAB was advised to sit as a quorum consisting of the three members (at this point the Chairperson and two members) which will then be properly constituted. The main rationale appears to be that sitting as a quorum of three facilitates the process of decision-making.
• As at the end of January 2017, RAB consisted of one member based in Cape Town and an acting Chairperson based in Pretoria. This chronic incapacity was as a result, of the end of contract of the previous RAB Chairperson as well as the resignation of three RAB members around the same time in middle 2016.
• The DHA has about 90 Refugee Status Determination Offices (RSDO’s) based at the five Refugee Reception Offices on average these RSDO’s may hear and determine between four and seven applications per day. If the applicant is rejected as unfounded by the RSDO, he or she has a right to appeal to the RAB within 30 days. Most applicants for asylum are rejected as “unfounded” and almost all such rejections are appealed against. This further strains the backlog.

In order to address the immediate challenges of the incapacity, the Minister of Home Affairs appointed a new Chairperson for RAB on 07 February 2017. As a matter of urgency, RAB re-started appeal hearings on 20 February 2017 on the basis that it is now properly constituted. All three current members are conducting these appeal hearings sitting as a quorum.

There is also an imminent appointment of two additional members by the Minister of Home Affairs. These two members are going through the internal interview and vetting processes. The Minister will in this regard also make the appointment after the conclusion of these internal processes. (It must be noted that there is challenges in attracting qualified legal refugee experts to a mandate with such a high backlog and low salary band). As soon as the interview and vetting process is completed, it is planned that the members be based at the Durban and Musina Refugee Reception Centres, respectively. It is also planned, that the Chairperson and another member, as may be required, will travel to these centres to hold appeal hearings as an interim measure in anticipation of the adoption of the new amendments in particular related to the quorum requirements.

According to RAB statistics there are 1287 judicial review cases that were served on RAB to date. This is another capacity constraint.

Year -	No of cases
2013 to 2014	132
2014 to 2015	230
2015 to 2016	663
2016 to 2017	262 (to date)

The reasons for the high number of reviews are the following, firstly, the decisions taken by RAB as an individual member after the Harerimana case was decided in November 2011. At the time, the previous Chairperson of RAB failed to apply the judgement and continued with hearings as individual members in some instances. Secondly, reviews are submitted in order for RAB to provide a hearing date. These reviews are mainly to compel the extension of the asylum seekers permit and to order RAB to provide a hearing date.

In this regard, RAB has undertaken an open dialogue with legal representatives of the appellants to prioritise certain cases. These cases include legal challenges to demand a hearing date and cases where a single member in contravention of the quorum requirements took decisions. This process is ongoing and intended to reduce the number of legal proceedings against RAB. RAB also intends to approach organisations such as Lawyers for Human Rights, Wits Law Clinic, UCT Law Clinic and other interested representatives to open this dialogue. (It should be noted, that at this stage there are very few of these reviews based on the merits of the case.)

During July 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and representatives of South Africa had a high-level bilateral meeting in Geneva. The parties had agreed to develop a backlog project to address the outstanding RAB appeal cases. The project has not taken off due to the incapacity constraints listed above and financial constraints on both sides. The project was to run for three years ending in 2019.

RAB is continuing the dialogue with the UNHCR under the above agreement. RAB has approached the UNHCR and reopened discussion about the backlog project and its implementation. In this regard, the UNHCR was also approached to assist RAB with the development and financing of a comprehensive case management system. This system will be central to the management of any backlog project and will streamline the management of individual cases. The system will also provide a means to undertake a proactive approach to avoid a re-occurring backlog. The discussion is ongoing but promising.

At this stage, RAB is conducting hearings on an average of five to ten cases per day dependent on the complexity of cases. It has an estimated backlog of 258 232 cases with 92 535 active and 165 697 inactive cases. The institutional incapacity in this regard is evident and multifaceted. The institutional incapacity cannot be a problem that the DHA can alleviate on its own. Therefore, we are in discussion with all interested parties. This is in its infant stage.

2.   Yes, as discussed above the legislative amendments will play a key role in alleviating the current incapacity and thus assist in management of the backlog. Although the legislative changes is important there is more to be done in order to address the specified backlog and to manage the caseload proactively. For example, another key requirement in proactive management of the backlog is a case management system (discussed above). This will strengthen resource management and can pinpoint how to address institutional incapacity.

3.  (a) Since May 2016, no decision was taken by RAB members due to the resignation of three members and the end of contract of the previous Chairperson. It is unclear in how many appeal hearings RAB was improperly constituted.

3.  (b) The impact is not measurable at this point, however, as a result of the improperly constituted RAB hearings this has opened the RAB decisions to judicial review and these reviews are likely to be successful if submitted to a High Court. As mentioned above the total number of reviews on hand is 1287 cases. A percentage of this number is reviews based on the lack of a quorum. This percentage will have a marginal effect on the backlog, compared with the total backlog, if these matters are referred back to RAB.

Reply:

The reply in question was 

(a) Submitted on the 14 November 2016 to the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence for tabling.

Reply:

1. The matter was assigned to a Senior State Advocate within the Special Commercial Crime Unit who was tasked with the review of the report.

2. (a) Yes,

  (b) The National Prosecuting Authority is currently preparing its own report based on the findings of the curator. It is this report which will indicate what the next course of action should be. It is not possible to say at this stage whether or not the matter will be referred for further investigation as that will be dependent on the recommendations to be made in the said report. The finalisation of the said report took extraordinarily long because the report of the curator is quite voluminous. However, the indications are that the report is reaching its final stages, and will be concluded within a short space of time.

Reply:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (i) (aaa) (bbb) (bb) 

Minister Davies

No vehicles were purchased for Minister Davies during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 financial years. New vehicles were purchased in the 2016-17 financial year due to the fact that the existing vehicles had exceeded 120 000 kilometers and were deemed to be in violation of the security regulation and transport policy for Executive Authorities.

Make	Model	Price	Purchase Date
Toyota Fortuner	2016	R625 718.94	28 July 2016
Toyota Fortuner	2016	R623 788.94	28 July 2016

(a) (b) (c) (d) (ii) (aa) (aaa) (bbb) (bb)

Deputy Minister Masina

No vehicles were purchased for Deputy Minister Masina for the 2014-15 financial years. The vehicles below were purchased in the 2015-16 financial year. No other vehicles were purchased after 1 April 2016.

Make	Model	Price	Purchase Date
BMW X5	2014	R966 112.14	27 November 2015
BMW X5	2015	R900 309.48	22 December 2015

 

Reply:

1. Yes, there are external moderation and examination processes in place at all institutions. This is a programme accreditation prerequisite as stated by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in accordance with its programme accreditation criteria (refer to Criteria for Programme Accreditation, CHE, 2004).

Student Evaluation and Assessment Procedures must be explicitly stated in the Student Assessment Policies and Procedures of each university in accordance with Criterion 6, which states: “External moderation of students’ learning achievements by appropriately qualified personnel. Moderators are appointed in terms of clear criteria and procedures and conduct their responsibilities in terms of clear guidelines.”

In addition, Criterion 13 (CHE, 2004: 19-20) states:

“The programme has effective assessment practices which include internal (or external) assessment, as well as internal and external moderation.” Criterion 13 explicitly states that, in order for a programme to be accredited and offered by a university. The learning achievements of students on the exit level of a qualification are externally moderated by appropriately qualified people who have been appointed according to clear criteria and procedures and who conduct their responsibilities in terms of clear guidelines. External moderation includes the following:

• External moderators are recommended by the examining academic department, are independent experts in their fields, have qualifications at least on the same level as the qualification being examined, are changed regularly, are not appointed as part of reciprocal arrangements (where possible), and are approved by and responsible to Senate/equivalent body.
• The institution provides information on the curriculum and on continuous assessment, and guidelines to assist external moderators in the completion of their reports.
• External moderators mark fully at the exit level of the programme at least 10 percent of the examination scripts for each paper written and do random checks of at least 20 percent of examination scripts for each paper.
• Completed external moderator reports are returned to the lecturer concerned and also to the programme coordinator or head of department/school. Problems are discussed with the lecturer concerned and the programme coordinator monitors the implementation of agreed improvements. External moderators approve the final marks list for the qualification concerned.
• External moderators are expected to comment on the validity of the assessment instruments, the quality of student performance and the standard of student attainment, the reliability of the marking process, and any concerns or irregularities with respect to the observation of institutional/professional regulations.”

(2) (a) Academics from South African as well as from (b) international universities are utilised as external examiners. Such external examiners and moderators must adhere to the minimum criteria for examiners as set by the CHE in its Criteria for Programme Accreditation. At least one external examiner must be utilised for the examination and moderation of dissertations and theses. Their expertise to serve as external examiners is in accordance with the criteria for programme accreditation.

(b) The actual external examiners change and evolve continuously, regardless of whether they are from South African or international institutions. The Department does not collect information on the institutions from which external examiners are drawn. Examiners are used in all exit level examinations in major fields of study in programmes at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Levels 7 to 10. This is a quality assurance requirement.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 164 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

Reference must be made rather to Roving road blocks and not roving traffic Hotspots. The roving road blocks are also known as Mini Road side check points as opposed to fully fleshed road blocks with all the Road Traffic Signs displayed as prescribed in the Road Block Manual.

(a) The coordination of these roving road blocks is done within the provincial coordinating structures and Law Enforcement Technical Committee (LETCOM) to optimize the use and sharing of limited resources.

(b) The objectives of operations are to reduce road crashes and make road safe; target un-roadworthy vehicles and unfit drivers such as drunk drivers; and increase visibility of officers on the road.

(c) Number of Road blocks is (i) 74 382

(ii) The Road Blocks were conducted in all provinces.

(d) These operations are informed by the Road Traffic Intelligence report and situational analysis per area.

(e)Successes and failures are determined by number of crashes in the province, and number of arrests of drunk drivers.

(f) (i) Lesson learned is that there is a need for stronger coordination of joint operationsto be guided from national level and provincewith identified critical locations to be assisted through the deployment of the National Traffic Police resources from time to time.

(ii) Each province is currently establishing coordinating structures to plan and optimize coordination.

Reply:

(1) The Department does not prescribe specific student textbooks per subject in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as this is not a suitable model to use in a post-school vocational learning environment.

Students in TVET colleges do not pay for their textbooks. It is a requirement that colleges must provide every student with a minimum of one textbook per subject per level until the student has passed the subject. This is funded through the Voted Funds transferred to colleges. This principle applies to all the Ministerially-funded programmes and qualifications offered in TVET colleges.

I am aware of the high cost of knowledge resources (including prescribed textbooks, academic books, journals and e-journals and databases) relating to university education. While there is no specific initiative to deal with prescribed textbooks on their own, there have been two related initiatives linked to the issue of creating efficiencies and bringing down the costs of such resources. These are:

1. engagements with National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service around the issue of Value Added Tax and other taxes on knowledge resources; and
2. a process for enabling national negotiations with publishers on e-resources (initially e-journals and databases) with the long-term aim of to enable the establishment of a national digital library, including e-text books.

(2) The Department has an ongoing relationship with all publishers of student textbooks, actively involved in the college market, since 2006. Regular written and oral communication takes place between the relevant branch of the Department and related publishers in the form of correspondence and meetings to address specific needs and requirements for student textbooks.

TVET colleges have access to lists and prices of textbooks available in the sector and subject committees in these institutions select textbooks based on set criteria.

Most colleges procure student textbooks directly from publishers, to reduce the knock-on cost along the distribution value chain, although booksellers sometimes play an important role to relieve the burden on colleges to procure a wide variety of student textbooks needed for a range of programmes being offered in these institutions.

No significant annual increase in prices of student textbooks happened since 2006. In some instances, the increase has been as little as R5 per textbook costing in the region of R200. In 2016, one publisher dropped their prices as a result of healthy competition amongst publishers in a relatively small market compared to the schools market.

To date colleges have not complained about the cost of textbooks. Currently, what could pose a problem is the over-enrolment of students in colleges, which may lead to cash flow challenges resulting in institutions avoiding purchasing new textbooks for all students. The Department is aware of such challenges and is currently dealing with these as urgent cases and attention is given for immediate resolution.

I am prepared to engage with universities and the publishing industry. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has started this process through a focus on national site licenses for e-journals and databases which are prohibitively expensive and are not accessible to all universities and their students. Currently, universities and science councils purchase individual licenses to access electronic databases, with many not being in a position to afford the associated fees to enable an effective range of resources to support high level teaching, learning and research. Between 2014 and 2016, the Department commissioned the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to investigate and assist with evaluating options for implementing national site licenses for access to electronic journals and databases. The investigation, which was jointly overseen by the Department and DST, has recently been concluded. The investigation suggests that the establishment of national site licenses, through a high level national negotiating team, would bring about substantial savings, while at the same time improve equity of access to e-journals and databases across the university and science sectors. A process for taking this work forward is currently being worked on.

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 240 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE: