Questions and Replies

Reply:

	2021/2022	2022/23
(a) (i) total number of witnesses enrolled in the witness protection programme in the past two financial years	367	361
(ii) average duration of stay of witnesses on the programme	20 months	22 months
(b) cost per witness in each month	R 16 943.80	R 18 281.27

Reply:

(a) A total amount of R17 782 132,59

EFT	AMOUNT
109379	R430 424.37
109380	R761 207.41
109381	R4 912 046.36
109382	R572 419.55
109383	R4 983 504.36
109384	R3 140 524.81
109385	R2 982 005.73
Total	R17 782 132.59

(b) Unauthorized payments went through the bank after hours. Upon discovery of this incident, Internal Forensic Investigation was conducted, and the report identified 4 officials suspected of having aided the commission of this fraud incident.

(c) The bank account profile which was linked to all the Guardian’s Fund Offices was suspended, a new profile was created, and in the interim the National Office is making payments on behalf of the Guardian’s Fund Offices until a permanent solution is sought.

END

Reply:

1. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has taken steps to address the various complaints received in relation to sewage leakages affecting Blue Crane Route Local Municipality (BCRLM) communities. These have been investigated and the DWS in its regulatory role, has taken the following actions:

• Issued a Directive dated 31 October 2019 for the failing Somerset East sewage pump station.
• Notice of Pollution dated 19 December 2020 for the Aeroville pump station.
• Notice of failure to comply with license conditions dated 18 February 2021.
• Non-compliance letter for poor Green Drop Report Audit Findings dated 08 April 2022.
• Directive for failure to address pollution of the Somerset East Irrigation canal dated 22 February 2023.
• Notice of breach of obligation for sewer spillages in Cookhouse and Somerset East dated 25 July 2023.

2. The DWS takes a range of regulatory actions in terms of the National Water Act, including issuing non-compliance notices, directives, taking civil action, and as a last resort, laying criminal charges against polluting municipalities. Criminal charges has not been pursued as yet because the municipality has been responsive to the non-compliance directives and directives as indicated below:

• The municipality has submitted a suitable action plan to address various non-compliances. The implementation thereof is being monitored by the DWS. To this end, all blockages have been cleared and vandalised cables replaced, however the mechanical and electrical Professional Services Provider is awaiting delivery of spares and refurbished pumps for the high lift pump, the Mayele pump station and the Memese pump station all at Somerset East.
• The municipality has also appointed a new Water Services Manager who commenced duty on 01 August 2023
• The Ministry met with MEC of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Mayor and Leadership of BCRLM on 16 August 2023 during the Ministerial visit to the Eastern Cape, where provincial and municipal leadership committed to work towards improving wastewater management.

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Reply:

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development did not incur costs of printing the Annual Report in the past three financial years. However, details regarding the printing of Annual Reports by the public entities are provided in the tables below.

Legal Aid South Africa
FINANCIAL YEAR	No. PRINTED	TOTAL AMOUNT PAID	SERVICE PROVIDER
2020/2021	120	R110,214.85	Creativity Graphic Design & Marketing (PTY) LTD
2021/2022	120	R122,840.70	Shereno Printers CC
2022/2023	120	R189,708.84 (Still to be paid)	Lebone Litho Printers (Pty) Ltd

Table : Legal Aid South Africa

Special investigating Unit
FINANCIAL YEAR	No. PRINTED	TOTAL AMOUNT PAID	SERVICE PROVIDER
2020/2021	300	R195 295,84	Seriti Printing
2021/2022	147	R233 553,50	Msomi Africa
2022/2023	200	R263 837,60. (still to be paid)	Msomi Africa

Table : Special Investigating Unit

The Office of the Chief Justice; (a) (i) (ii); (aa); (bb); (cc) (b) (c) (i) and (ii) provides the following details:

OCJ Annual Report Financial Year	Total amount paid to the service provider/supplier for the proof reading and printing the OCJ annual report.	Number of OCJ annual report Copies Printed	Name of the Supplier responsible for printing the OCJ annual report/s
2020/21 FY	R113 502.98	150	Seriti Printing Digital
2021/22 FY	R129 600.00	200	Seriti Printing Digital
2022/23 FY	R127 581.00	150	Seriti Printing Digital

a) (i) (aa) The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) paid R130 422.76 for printed copies of the integrated Annual Reports for 2020/21.

a) (ii) (aa) Not applicable

a) (i) (bb) Department of Correctional Services paid R141 127. 35 for printed copies of the integrated Annual Reports for 2021/22.

a) (ii) (bb) Not applicable

a) (i) (cc) Department of Correctional Services has not paid printed copies of the Integrated Annual Reports for 2022/23.

a) (ii) (cc) Not applicable

b) The Annual Reports were printed by Shereno Printers. Department of Correctional Services has a five- year contract (01 October 2020 to 31 September 2025) with Shereno Printers for the design, layout and printing of the Annual Reports, Annual performance Plan and Strategic Plans.

c) (i) & (ii) Department of Correctional Services printed:

• 100 copies of the integrated Annual Report for the 2020/21 financial year.
• 250 copies of the Annual Report for 2021/22 financial year.

END

Reply:

The MDDA had four (4) matters before the CCMA in the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. Three of the matters were resolved by 31 March 2023 and one matter was pending. The three (3) were awarded in favour of the MDDA and one (1) against the Agency. All these matters are available as public records at the CCMA.

Parties	CCMA Case No.	Issue in dispute	Outcomes or status
T Sibeko versus MDDA & Z. Mqolomba	GAJB1019521	The employee referred an unfair labour practice on the basis that the MDDA failed to appoint (promote) T Sibeko into the contested position of Executive Manager: Research, Training, Monitoring and Evaluation.	Date of outcome: 27 July 2022 CCMA found in favour of the MDDA and found that the process followed in appointing Z Mqolomba was not flawless and by the same token was not unfair.
MDDA versus Z Potye	H040-22	The Board of the MDDA raised issued on incompatibility in terms of Sec 188A of the LRA with the Z Potye and issue was referred and determined by the CCMA.	Date of outcome: 22 January 2023 CCMA found in favour of the MDDA.
MDDA versus Z Potye	GAJB2028222	Z Potye referred an unfair labour practice matter to the CCMA to have it determined whether the conduct of the MDDA in relation to the non-payment of an annual bonus constituted an unfair labour practice.	Date of outcome: 10 May 2023 CCMA found in favour of the MDDA and found that it was persuaded that the decision to defer Z Potye’s second term bi-annual assessment pending the finalization of a Sec 188A inquiry by an Arbitrator and lifting her suspension was not unfair labour practice.
D Moreroa versus MDDA	GAJB2560222	D Moreroa referred an unfair labour practice on the basis of an unfair decision to demote him.	Outcome not issued by end of 2022/23 financial year

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: Professor Hlengani Mathebula

DESIGNATION : Chairperson of the Board of Directors

CONTACT DETAILS : 082 448 9219

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

_____________________________

Nomonde Mnukwa (Ms)

Acting Director-General: Government Communication and Information System

(GCIS)

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

(a) (i) The Department of Basic Education has not printed Annual Reports since 2020 due Parliament requesting electronic copies.

(ii) SACE response: Please see Annexure.

    UMALUSI response: Please see Annexure. 

Reply:

1. The total number of public servants on extended sick leave was 39 478 in the 2021/2022 financial year and 19 769 in the 2022/2023 financial year. The table below provides for breakdown per Province and financial years:

Extended Sick leave utilised by Public Servants in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years.

Province	2021/2022	2022/2023
	Number of persons	Median days on extended sick leave	Median days until return	Number of persons	Median days on extended sick leave	Median days until return
Total	39 478	6	44	19 769	15	56
Eastern Cape	2 514	13	0	1 614	26	108
Free State	2 087	5	0	970	15	0
Gauteng	6 656	4	0	2 464	16	40
KwaZulu Natal	5 708	6	0	2 823	16	56
Limpopo	1 562	9	0	743	19	126
Mpumalanga	727	8	0	369	18	0
National	14 055	8	44	7 843	12	25
North West	1 199	7	0	591	14	115
Northern Cape	1 143	8	0	663	20	115
Western Cape	3 827	5	0	1 689	14	56

(2) (a) Given the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act the Department (DPSA) is prohibited from sharing individual details of employees without their consent. The average number of days public servants were on extended sick leave was 16,53 days for the 2021/2022 and 25,23 days for the 2022/2023 financial years.

(b) Only 2 public servants were still on extended sick leave at the end of the 2021/2022 financial year and 115 at the end of the 2022/2023 financial year. The public servants returned within an average of 43,5 days after the end of the 2021/2022 financial year and within an average of 69,97 days after the end of the 2022/2023 financial year.

(3) (a) & (b) The salary levels public servants occupied while on extended sick leave in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years were as follows:

Extended Sick leave utilised by Public Servants in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years

by Salary level and Dispensation

Salary level	2021/2022	2022/2023
	MMS*	OSD*	Other	SMS*	MMS*	OSD*	Other	SMS*
Total	413	27125	11 729	211	269	13 810	5 568	122
01	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	0
02	0	0	2 231	0	0	0	938	0
03	0	537	1 443	0	0	210	657	0
04	0	696	586	0	0	233	245	0
05	0	4018	3 694	0	0	1626	1 787	0
06	0	3269	1 307	0	0	1673	668	0
07	0	7222	1 152	0	0	4167	579	0
08	0	4895	768	0	0	2888	399	0
09	0	3620	317	0	0	1698	154	0
10	0	1941	228	0	0	872	137	0
11	161	450	0	0	84	225	0	0
12	252	477	0	0	185	218	0	0
13	0	0	0	146	0	0	0	82
14	0	0	0	54	0	0	0	34
15	0	0	0	10	0	0	0	6
16	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

*SMS – Senior Management Service

MMS – Middle Management Service

OSD – Occupation Specific Dispensation

(4) The total amount the Public Service spent on extended sick leave was R2 028 877 538 for the 2021/2022 financial year and R1 853 919 973 for the 2022/2023 financial year.

End

Reply:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) reporting on the overview of Financial Misconduct for the financial year 2022-23 will be made during the 2023/24 financial year, as the data has not yet been audited and consolidated in the Annual Reports of departments. Such would be submitted as soon as the Annual Reports of government departments have been finalized, audited, and tabled to Parliament.

End

Reply:

a) 

Region	i) Quantum	ii) The number of persons affected
Bloemfontein	1 095 113	270
Cape town	980 803	81
Grahamstown	1 722 8912	155
Kimberly	241 659	28
Pietermaritzburg	6 202 007	66
Pretoria	15 393 866	99
Total	23 913 448	699

b) The National Office started processing payments on 13 June 2023 to date.

Reply:

(1) (i) No, The claim is projected for settlement in the 3rd quarter of the current financial year as per the reply to question 1195 submitted on 4 May 2023. The Settlement memorandum has been compiled and is currently undergoing the internal processes for consideration by the delegated authority.

(2) Yes, the offer was accepted by the claimants and the settlement agreement was signed with the addition verification lists.

(a),(b)(i),(ii) Falls away.

END

Reply:

a) The MDDA does not fund through intermediaries. Applications are submitted directly to the MDDA, and communication is between the MDDA and applicants. Upon approval of a funding application, contractual arrangements are concluded between the MDDA and successful grantees.

b) (i) and (ii) not applicable

(aa) not applicable

(bb) not applicable

DRAFTER OF THE REPLY

Name: Prof. Hlengani Mathebula

Designation: Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Contacts: 082 448 9219

Signature:

_____________________________

Ms Nomonde Mnukwa

Acting Director General: GCIS

Date:

__________________________

Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

a)  791 water use licence applications were approved since 10 February 2022

b) 198 of the 791 water use licence applications were issued to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals.

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Reply:

 

Find reply here

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS)has sent a Notice of Intention to issue a Directive in terms of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) to the Lesedi Local Municipality in relation to the operations and maintenance of Devon Waste Water Treatment Works. In addition, a non-compliance letter was issued to the municipality in terms of the 2022 Green Drop audit findings.

The DWS has provided support to the municipality in the 2022/2023 financial year through the Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). The WSIG transfer went towards Devon Wastewater Treatment Works for:

• Upgrading of power supply
• Refurbishment of critical Mechanical and electrical equipment
• Licensing of the works to ensure compliance with Green Drop Certification programme.

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Reply:

The Red Tape Reduction initiative led by Mr Sipho Nkosi is working on reducing red tape that impacts the climate for investment and business. The initiative has identified ten priority areas for intervention, of which five are underway, namely those related to tourism operator transport permits, the mining and prospecting rights license system, work permit and visa administration, informal trading, and early childhood development (ECD) centres in townships.

The impact of the programme is monitored through the internal management processes of the Presidency, including quarterly management reports. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation also conducts evaluations on a quarterly basis. The Presidency’s 2022/23 annual report will report on the extent to which the RTR targets contained in The Presidency’s 2022/23 APP have been achieved.

Moreover, the RTR initiative has since April 2023 been transferred to fall under the Project Management Office in the Presidency which will apply project management disciplines to measure the progress and impact of the programme.

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: ____________________________

DESIGNATION : ____________________________

CONTACT DETAILS : ____________________________

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

____________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms.)

Director-General and Secretary of the Cabinet

Date:

APPROVED/NOT APPROVED

______________________________

Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in The Presidency

Date:

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

a) It must be noted that an error was committed at the time of the publication of the amended gazette Notice No. 221 of 2014 in the Government Gazette No.37443 dated 20 March 2014.

The purpose of publishing property in terms of section 11(7) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, Act 22 of 1992, as amended, is to notify all the interested and affected parties of the land Restitution claim and should not include the Restitution award.

The error on the subject line of the Gazette notice in that the claim will be settled through financial compensation will be corrected through another Government Gazette.

b) (i). No payment has been processed.

(ii). Falls away.

 

END

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), has found the main reasons for the deterioration of the water and sanitation systems are:

• Infrastructure is in a poor condition, caused by a lack of maintenance, which is in turn caused by non-prioritization of budgets for maintenance and operations as well as poor billing and revenue collection, which are in turn caused by poor leadership and management.
• Non-adherence to standard operating processes for drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment, caused by municipalities failing to hire the necessary staff with the correct skills and qualifications as well as poor management in the municipalities. These factors are as important as infrastructure condition, if not more important, as contributors to poor performance.
• DWS, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and Department of Human Settlements (DHS) allocate approximately R20 billion per annum in water and sanitation infrastructure grants to municipalities, but often this money must be used to repeatedly repair and refurbish infrastructure which has deteriorated rapidly due to a lack of maintenance by municipalities.
• Vandalism and metal theft are an increasing cause of infrastructure failure, but this is partly a result of inadequate security being provided by the municipalities.

b) The DWS released its Green Drop report in 2022, which indicated that the performance of many municipal wastewater treatment systems has deteriorated. The report identified 334 wastewater systems in a critical state of performance, in 90 municipalities. Blue Drop assessments are also being conducted by the DWS to all Water Services Authorities to measure all aspects contributing to a sustainable Water Services Business, and provision of safe water to the citizens of South Africa. The Blue Drop report is due to be released at the end of September 2023. Beyond producing the Blue and Green monitoring reports, DWS is engaged in several initiatives aimed at addressing the problem of pollution of rivers by municipal wastewater treatment works in the following ways:

• Firstly, the Minister has agreed on action plans to address infrastructural deficiencies in many of the worst performing municipalities, and DWS is assisting municipalities with funding from the Water Services Infrastructure Grant and Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant to address these deficiencies.

• Secondly, DWS is taking regulatory action in terms of the National Water Act, including issuing non-compliance notices, directives, taking civil action, and as a last resort, laying criminal charges against polluting municipalities.

• Thirdly, DWS is drafting amendments to the Water Services Act to strengthen its role as the regulator of municipal water and sanitation services and to enable the Minister to intervene effectively when there is non-compliance with directives to stop pollution.

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Reply:

The Parliamentary Question 2468 does not fall within the scope of my competence.

 

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER :

DESIGNATION :

CONTACT DETAILS :

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

______________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has put measures in place to prevent underspending on the grants and transfers allocated for the provision of water and sanitation infrastructure. Some of the strategies and/or steps includes the following:

• Collaboration with Implementing Agents to address challenges emanating from Supply Chain Management.
• Reprioritising the budget towards projects with acceleration plans and effective contract management.
• DWS is improving project audits and ensuring compliance for both direct and indirect grants funded projects to mitigate against poor performance.
• The DWS has established and is capacitating its Water Services Branch with engineers and project managers to improve monitoring of all projects across the country.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and Rand Water, working with all Water Service Authorities (WSA) within the Gauteng Province, have put in place the following measures to curb shortages of bulk water in the province:

• Rand Water commissioned the Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant on 31 August 2023. The Zuikerbosch WTW will provide an additional 150ML/d into the water supply system and WSAs are expected to provide DWS with detailed plans on how the additional water will be used more efficiently.
• Municipalities are encouraged to fix leakages that result in high non-revenue water losses.
• Rand Water and Water Service Authorities are implementing Water Conservation/Water Demand management measures.
• Municipalities are raising awareness to water users to reduce consumption of water.
• DWS is also engaging all municipalities in Gauteng to build more reservoirs to curb water outages.

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Reply:

There is no significant increase on the expenditure for vehicle licence as The Presidency only spent R 6 000 for car licensing at the end of 2022-23 financial year. The projected expenditure of R 46 000 might be the result of misalignment of the budget as transfers and subsidies includes both vehicle and car licenses expenditure.

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER : Dineo Kau

DESIGNATION : Acting Chief Financial Officer

CONTACT DETAILS : 063 669 1968

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

______________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

a) There were no offices opened in rural areas during the period in question. The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) is in the process of concluding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). This MoU aims to secure locations for service points (shared office space in rural municipalities), which will cater for communities that are far from the existing main offices and the rural communities. Furthermore, the NHBRC reaches out to these communities through the utilisation of community halls and outreach programmes as part of its service strategy.

b) Not applicable.

Reply:

(1) (a) The details are part of the report.

(b) The report on the matter was concluded on the 31 March 2023. The report was submitted by the Board of Control of PRASA to the Minister of Transport for consideration. Based on the findings of the report the Chairperson was released of his responsibilities as the Chair of the Board.

(2) Mr. Ramatlakane, vacated the house on 15 March 2023, in line with the short-term lease. The house in question is owned by PRASA and is one of many others in the portfolio, which is leased out to tenants as part of the PRASA’s secondary mandate to generate revenue out of its assets. As already mentioned above, a proposal on the future use (internal or external consumption of the asset) has been prepared and will serve at the various committees within PRASA for approval to ensure the secondary mandate is achieved.

Reply:

a)  (i)The court ruled in favour of PRASA in the High Court (Gauteng Division) case number 14332/18 and declared the Siyangena Technologies contract unlawful and irregular. Siyangena Technologies proceeded to launch an appeal application in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) under case number 487/2021. The SCA confirmed the High Court decision and thereby ruling in favour of PRASA.

(ii) Refer to (i) above.

b) The Superior Courts Act, 2013 provides that an application for leave to appeal, or an appeal, suspends the operation and execution of a decision, pending the outcome of the application or appeal. Consequently, a court order cannot be executed until the appeal proceedings are determined.

c) Siyangena Technologies has launched an application for leave to appeal the SCA judgment in the Constitutional Court. Siyangena Technologies has launched an application for leave to appeal the SCA judgment in the Constitutional Court and PRASA is awaiting judgment in that regard. The judgement from the Constitutional Court dismissed Siyangena’s leave to appeal the SCA judgement which in favour of PRASA. The Con Court further awarded costs in favour of PRASA. The parties (Siyangena and PRASA) must now appoint an engineer within 30 days of the judgement in order to determine the value of the works as per the judgement.

Reply:

Noting that, in accordance with Section 71 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), municipalities submit Section 71 reports to National Treasury (NT) each month detailing their creditors, and NT assesses those reports. Given the foregoing context, this inquiry must be forwarded to the minister of finance so that National Treasury can react appropriately.

End.

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development and its agencies, Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), from time to time participate in Municipal LED Forums organised by the Municipalities in various Provinces across the Country. This includes Business Forums, Imbizos, Summits / Conferences, Community Outreach Programmes as well as Road Shows. The DSBD uses these platforms to share information regarding the services that are available to SMMEs and Co-operatives. The Department also utilises Seda and sefa offices across the country to share information regarding the services of the Department and its agencies.

Furthermore, and in line with the District Development Model (DDM), the Department had in the past financial year assigned senior and middle managers, from Acting Deputy Directors-General to Deputy Directors to all districts and provinces to act as both the provincial and district champions wherein they ensure continuous engagement with districts and municipalities to expose and enable SMMEs to access the services and programmes of the Department. The Department has taken this further by bringing in personnel, additional to the establishment, to link with the districts directly to take forward the work of DDM.

Reply:

My Hometown is Mthatha, in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, since the 1st August 2021 I have been advised that;

The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) funded 5901 Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality (KSD) to the value of R79.5 million. This financial support helped create and sustain 4963 jobs. In terms of developmental impact, sefa’s disbursements to businesses owned by black entrepreneurs were R79.5 million, women-owned businesses received disbursements to the value of R28.5 million, the youth owned businesses received R19.5 million in disbursements and those based in the rural areas received R49.5 million over the same period. And this covers small business in both Mqanduli and Mthatha my hometown.

The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) service delivery is geared on a provincial focus with District Municipalities as it’s networks for reach and access of services. From 2021 when I was appointed as the Minister of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) to date, Seda Eastern Cape (EC) supported 8516 SMMEs and Co-operatives of which 1706 are residents of OR Tambo District Municipality. These numbers pertain to non-financial support provided to SMMEs and Co-operatives by Seda EC and exclude support provided by various other ecosystem stakeholders.

Seda’s impact is not only based in the Minister’s hometown but rather regional. For the 2023 financial year in the Eastern Cape, the Seda Technology Programme currently supports fourteen (14) Incubators in the Eastern Cape. Twenty-seven (27) clients were funded through the Technology Transfer Assistance Programme at a total cost of R14 296 665.00. Furthermore, five (5) clients were supported with quality and standards interventions at a total cost of R237 103.97.

Annexure 1

The attached annexure illustrates Seda’s financial and non-financial support in the Eastern Cape Province:

Seda Eastern Cape clients

Newly Approved Incubators

Quality and Standards Beneficiaries

Technology Transfer Assistance Beneficiaries

Reply:

1. (a), Refer to Annexure A for amount allocated to Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSUs) and AgriHubs.

(b) The Agri-Hubs has three components, i.e. Farmer Production Support Unit, Agri-Hub and Rural Market Centres. The Department has thus far constructed 51 FPSUs and 10 Agri-Hubs

2. (a) 51 FPSUs and 10 Agri-Hubs

(b) Refer to Annexure B

(c) (i) and (ii) refer to Annexure B

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

State Capacity

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has a two-prong approach to executing the maintenance functions. It is a blend of Out-sourced and In-sourced Services. On the other hand, the In-sourced services, are executed internally through utilisation of the Workshops in our various Regional office, whilst on the other hand, the Department acquires the talent of young graduates and tradespeople and facilitates with the on-job training. Through this, the Department also assists in market absorption within the spheres of government with overflow branching-off to the private sector. The artisan trainees are paired with the appointed service providers to transfer the skills towards obtaining the trade certificates.

Furthermore, the continuous improvement strategy in Facilities Maintenance is inter alia to improve the up-keeping of assets throughout their life cycle through the increased use of the In-Sourced Workshops. The aim of the initiative is to expand on the Workshops to deliver in-sourced facilities management services, efficiently and cost-effectively in line with the FM Strategy. This will in turn build the maintenance capacity within the department.

Credible Suppliers

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure sources the suppliers for its various undertakings within the confines of current prescripts such as the National Treasury Central Supplier Database (CSD) and including the provisions of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) where applicable.

CSD is a repository of service providers that wish to participate in the goods and services rendered in government. The department has committed to enhancing the levels of screening of the service providers obtained from the CSD to ensure the department sources credible suppliers. Quotation-based procurement does not ideally facilitate for the adequate screening, hence a move toward tendering process where possible.

The tendering process allows for appropriate screening of the competencies of potential service providers. This is through an established procurement process that allows for the establishment of competent committees such as the Bid Specification Committee (BSC) and Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) and the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC).

 

Reply:

The revenue budgets for the SA Post Office are contained in the Corporate Plan. In determining the revenue budgets in the Corporate Plan the following aspects were taken into consideration:

• Current revenue
• Current cost
• Revenue projects and initiatives
• Cost containment projects and initiatives
• Revenue tariff increases
• Inflationary increases

The budget is as per the Corporate Plan 2023/24FY is indicated below:

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:-

(a) No external service provider was awarded the contract, as SITA was tasked by the DCDT to develop the website.

(b) No external service provider was awarded the contract, as SITA was tasked by the DCDT to develop the website.

(c) All requirements for the solution have been included in the User Requirement Specification (URS).

(d) The purpose of DigiTech is to collect data about digital products developed in South Africa with the aim of supporting the products’ technology enablement and promote and expand their adoption and use. Through DigiTech, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies seeks to promote SA-developed digital products in other markets whilst facilitating partnerships with other countries on the co-promotion of local technologies (source: https://www.digitech.gov.za/en/about)

(e) The development of the website included the following key items:

• Project Management
• Infrastructure Provisioning Requirements and Software Upgrade o Upgrade of the O/S
• Upgrade of Application software
• Commissioning of the beta environment at CFI
• Development (analysis, design, and testing)
• User Requirement Specification
• Conceptual Solution Architecture
•Developing the DigiTech according to the URS
•Updating the Digitech website with the new theme
• Testing o Technical Testing
• UAT and Sign-off
• Implementation o Vulnerability assessment scans
•Deployment

(f) SITA was tasked by the DCDT to develop the website

Reply:

(1)(a) The Chloe ‘LandCare’ Project was not funded from the LandCare Conditional Grant since its inception. On investigation we found out that the project was conceived from the umbrella principles of LandCare to pursue the LandCare ethos; it is for this reason the project was called Chloe LandCare.

The Chloe ‘LandCare’ Project sought to improve the grazing conditions of the area and to establish a livestock association. Workers were hired to erect the fence and to clear bush encroachment and sisal to improve the area under grazing.

Our further investigations revealed that this Project was funded from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)’s Integrated Incentive Grant and reported to Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as a National Transferring Officer for the grant.

(b) (i),(ii),(c)(i),(ii) List of 2021/22 and 2022/23 land care projects are attached. Please refer to Annexure A.

(2) The Limpopo Department of Agriculture undertook a rigorous economic assessment and research by a specialist who concluded that the Sisal projects should be closed since they were not economically viable.

Reply:

a) The Animal Health Act, 2002 is a complete departure from the Animal Diseases Act 1984 and requires a complete overhaul of the entire animal health regulatory service. The country, industry and markets must be thoroughly planned and prepared as any hasty overhaul will have implications for South Africa’s trading partners. We are in the process of ascertaining and analysing what would be in the best interest for South Africa i.e. whether to strengthen weaknesses identified in the Act that is currently in force (Act No. 35 of 1984) or repeal and replace it with the un-promulgated Act (Act No. 7 of 2002). The Department aims to conclude this exercise before the end of the current calendar year and will approach Parliament for guidance once all factors have been assessed.

b) There are no records that point to any one official who could have decided not to have the Act promulgated. The Department is currently undertaking an analysis as to whether to strengthen the current Act No. 35 of 1984 or proceed with the necessary steps to promulgate Act No. 7 of 2002.

Reply:

1. The school is an independent school and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) indicates that it receives support as required. It teaches the CAPS curriculum.

All independent schools are required to adhere to the Regulations relating to the registration of and subsidies to independent schools, which is monitored by the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).

The school must ensure that:

(i) The average duration of a school day and the minimum number of school days per calendar year comply with the prescribed national hours as stipulated in the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement Documents.

(ii) The curriculum for learners in the various school phases meet the required outcomes of the NCS and are recognised by the Authority and Higher Education South Africa, and after registration, the independent school applies for accreditation with Umalusi.

The WCED ensures that the standards by and conditions under which such examinations are conducted by an independent school, equate to those required of a public school for the same examination.

The WCED will monitor the school’s compliance with the assessment requirements, including School Based Assessment (SBA), Practical Assessment Tasks, and Language oral assessments. This involves, inter-alia, moderation of assessments.

2. The power to deregister schools lies with the relevant Provincial Education Department.

3. The CAPS curriculum is aligned to the Constitution.

Reply:

a) Offender Christiaan Prinsloo was released on parole on 04 August 2020, and his sentence will expire on 20 June 2033.

b) The offender in question benefitted from the special remission of sentence granted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 December 2019, which reduced his sentence with one (01) year. He then became eligible to be considered for parole as part of the Special Parole Dispensation and his placement on parole was approved by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB).

The following factors were inter alia taken into consideration when an offender was considered for possible placement on parole:

• the offender ‘s response to development and treatment programmes associated with rehabilitation;
• the existence and quality of support systems in the community;
• the probability of re-offending;
• the risk that the offender may pose to the community at large;
• the outcome of restorative justice processes and possible referral for mediation if it had not been done prior to the CSPB meeting; and
• the risk to the victim.

END

Reply:

(1). According to SAFA, the day-to-day work is progressing without any hindrance. The Legacy Trust as an entity has concluded its work and a closeout report has been sent to Parliament through the Department of Sport Arts and Culture and to the Portfolio Committee of Sport during SAFA’s appearance in April 2023. The ongoing litigations only mean that some of the funds meant for football development is now being channeled to defending the Association against such litigations.

(2). The status can only be provided by law enforcement and the individual who laid the charges.

Reply:

Background: Lifestyle audits, according to DPSA guide on lifestyle audits, are a critical and legitimate management tool and forms part of a department’s system of risk management. Accordingly, heads of department are required, in terms of Regulation 22 of the Public Service Regulations of 2016 to analyse ethics and corruption risks as part of their department’s system of risk management.

The DPSA guide on lifestyle audits divided the lifestyle process in three phases that include lifestyle review by using the financial disclosure framework as a tool, then the second phase is to conduct investigations if the lifestyle review is indicating that the declared interests are not commensurate with the lifestyle of the particular designated employee, and lastly a full lifestyle audit is to be conducted if the investigation has found indications or suspicions of the designated employee living beyond their means.

a) In the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the steps taken to ensure the audits are undertaken include the following:

(i) lifestyle reviews were done through the Financial Interests Disclosure Framework, as part of the lifestyle audit process for the previous financial disclosure periods. All the Senior Management Service members were verified, an assessment report with findings was provided by the Public Service Commission, and no SMS member was recommended for a detailed profiling in relation to their affordability and standard of living.

Secondly, lifestyle reviews were done for other categories of employees designated to disclose financial interests that include financial administration employees, supply chain management employees, Middle Management Service members and equivalent OSD designated employees, assistant directors and equivalent OSD designated employees. In this category, there were no referrals recommended after the reviews were done.

Furthermore, the Department has a risk management policy in place and is in the process of reviewing the Anti-Corruption and Ethics management policy to include lifestyle audits as one of the tools to prevent, investigate and ultimately deal with employees who are found to have acted unethically or committed any offence that include fraud, theft, conducting business with the organs of the State and corrupt activities in general.

​(ii) Steps taken to ensure the audits are undertaken in Department and entities reporting to the Minister,

• In the NPA, lifestyle review and lifestyle investigations were conducted for all SMS and Non-SMS members. During the 2021/22 financial disclosure period, 203 SMS members (Level 13-16) and 982 non-SMS members (Level 9-10 including OSD) submitted their financial declarations through the e-Disclosure system. These categories of employees were verified and there were no referrals recommended for detailed profiling in relation to conducting full investigations. In addition, the NPA conducted a total of 1185 random lifestyle reviews for both SMS and Non-SMS. Out of the 1185, a total of 7 officials were referred for lifestyle investigations.

• The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has drafted a lifestyle audit policy, which is in the consultation stage. However, lifestyle reviews are conducted in accordance with the Financial Interests Disclosure Framework, as provided by Regulation 18 of the Public Service Regulations, as the OCJ’s policy has not been approved, no audits have been undertaken in terms thereof and no outcomes can therefore be reported.

b) Are the details of the outcomes of any audit that has already been undertaken?

Regarding the Department as well as the two institutions/entities reporting to the Minister, there were no referrals emanating from lifestyle reviews for further investigations and therefore no audits have been conducted in the preceding periods.

There are no outcomes that can be reported at this stage.

Reply:

(1) The Legal Practice Council has not set specific race or gender targets for admission to pupillage. The Legal Practice Council does focus on transformation, as one of its core mandates, and this is evident in the pupils who are admitted into the pupillage programmes each year.

The Bar Councils are non-statutory independent bodies and the Minister does not account to Parliament for their actions and policies.

(2) Number of Pupils 2021, 2022, 2023 (broken down by race and gender) with registered Practical Vocational Training Contracts at the various Bar Councils in South Africa:

2021
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	29
Coloured	Female	4
Indian/Asian	Female	1
White	Female	7
Black	Male	36
Coloured	Male	3
White	Male	5
2022
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	42
Coloured	Female	1
Indian/Asian	Female	3
White	Female	7
Black	Male	34
Coloured	Male	1
Indian/Asian	Male	2
White	Male	2
2023
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	40
Coloured	Female	5
Indian/Asian	Female	2
White	Female	3
Black	Male	38
Coloured	Male	3
Indian/Asian	Male	3
White	Male	6

Reply:

According to SAFA, Ms. Amanda Dlamini has never been employed by the 2010 Legacy Trust, (a) and (b) falls off.

Reply:

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation convened a joint workshop with Water Boards, National Treasury, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and South African Local Government Association on 5 December 2022. The purpose of the workshop was to develop strategies to improve Billing and Revenue Collection in the water sector. The resolution from that workshop was to draft standardised operating processes (SOP) for debt recovery, to cater for both the Water Boards and the Department’s Water Trading Entity.

b) The proposed actions and strategies in place to tackle the municipal debt include the following:

• DWS will collaborate with National Treasury to ensure that equitable share allocations are withheld from non-paying municipalities.
• DWS will ensure that standardised credit control and debt recovery processes are put in place across all the water boards. This will include consistent enforcement of water restrictions on non-paying municipalities and legal processes to attach municipal bank accounts where necessary.
• Bulk prepaid meters will be installed by water boards in municipalities with a poor payment record.

c) The Minister has finalized the consultation process with 144 Water Services Authorities on the outcome of the above-mentioned workshop. The Minister is currently engaging with the Water Boards regarding the measures to address municipal debts to the Water Boards.

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Reply:

(1) On the 11th May 2023, US Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety convened a press conference and levelled allegations regarding weapons and ammunition being loaded onto US sanctioned Russian cargo vessel Lady R during the docking of Lady R in Simon’s Town in December 2022.

As stated in many previous public statements and I reiterate that nothing was loaded onto Lady R, but rather, Lady R was delivering equipment that was ordered by SANDF pre –Covid in 2018/19.

Due to the serious nature of these allegations, the extent of public interest and the negative implications for South Africa’s international standing, the President of the Republic of South Africa, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of an independent inquiry into the circumstance of the docking of Lady R in Simon’s Town.

Through this inquiry, Government seeks to investigate and establish all the facts that led to docking of Lady R in Simons Town.

The Department of Defence welcomed the President’s decision to institute the investigation as it would offer the department an opportunity to ventilate its side of the story with concrete evidence and to address any unwanted allegations.

It is therefore prudent that the panel be granted space and time to finilize its investigation and to bring this matter to its ultimate conclusion within its mandate.

(2) As stated in the response above, nothing was loaded onto Lady R and South Africa still remains neutral and non-align in the Russia- Ukraine conflict and still firmly believes in the view that multilateralism, dialogue and negotiations are the key to unlock sustainable international peace.

Reply:

According to SAFA, Football is being played in all our 52 Regions. We have the Men and Women Regional Leagues. The promotion and demotion system are in place, wherein teams from the Regional Leagues are being promoted to the Provincial Leagues, which are known as ABC Motsepe Leagues and Sasol Provincial Leagues. Furthermore, our teams are also being promoted from the Provincial Leagues to the Motsepe Foundation League and Hollywood bets Super League.

We believe that with the availability of more financial resources, the highlighted areas, which are financial stability, governance, and administrative capacity, can be improved.

Reply:

The Department of Defence was invited to make a submission to the panel probing the docking of Lady R in Simon’s town in 2022. The Department of Defence and its entities presented and submitted their version of events and evidence to the panel investigating the docking of Lady R in Simon’s town in 2022.

All invited parties were welcomed to submit any forms of evidence to the panel to assist it to finilize its investigation and to bring this matter to its ultimate conclusion within its mandate. However as stated in previous public statements, No arms were loaded and transported to Russia.

Reply:

(1) On the 11th May 2023, US Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety convened a press conference and levelled allegations regarding weapons and ammunition being loaded onto US sanctioned Russian cargo vessel Lady R during the docking of Lady R in Simon’s Town in December 2022.

As stated in many previous public statements and I reiterate that nothing was loaded onto Lady R, but rather, Lady R was delivering equipment that was ordered by SANDF pre –Covid in 2018/19.

Due to the serious nature of these allegations, the extent of public interest and the negative implications for South Africa’s international standing, the President of the Republic of South Africa, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of an independent inquiry into the circumstance of the docking of Lady R in Simon’s Town.

Through this inquiry, Government seeks to investigate and establish all the facts that led to docking of Lady R in Simons Town.

The Department of Defence welcomed the President’s decision to institute the investigation as it would offer the department an opportunity to ventilate its side of the story with concrete evidence and to address any unwanted allegations.

It is therefore prudent that the panel be granted space and time to finilize its investigation and to bring this matter to its ultimate conclusion within its mandate.

Reply:

Following the recommendations of the Portfolio Committee, I sent a letter to the Chairperson of the SA Tourism Board in response to the recommendations. The letter is attached as Annexure A.

I have, further, been informed by SA Tourism that to ensure compliance of its five-year strategic plan and Annual Performance Plans (APPs) with the SMART principle of being specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound before finalising and tabling the strategic documents to Parliament, SA Tourism has the following process when developing its Strategic Plan and APP:

• An external facilitator is appointed to drive the strategic conversation with the participants and document key insights from the discussions. SA Tourism compiles the Strategic Plan and APP with input from the different business units.
• The Strategic Planning, Evaluation, and Programme Management (SPEPM ) unit of SA Tourism ensures that the requirements of the Revised Framework for Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans and other relevant regulations are implemented; the interrogation of the business units’ targets to ensure the results are linked to the outcome; to review the targets and indicators to ensure they comply with the SMART criteria; as well as training and advising business unit managers on strengthening their KPIs to meet the SMART criteria.
• Furthermore, the Strategic Plan and APP is reviewed by SA Tourism’s Internal Audit unit as they are independent of the planning process.
• In prior years the Auditor-General reviewed the APP before submission to the Department, however, for the FY23/24 APP, the AGSA indicated that it would no longer undertake this proactive assurance. The Department of Tourism has a final review of the APP before submission to the Minister.

As detailed above, the indicators and targets are reviewed by the SPEPM unit, Internal Audit unit as an independent quality assurer and the Department of Tourism. The need for an independent review of the draft strategic documents will continue to be met through the use of Internal Audit as a competent, independent unit to implement relevant audit procedures to test for compliance with prescripts.

Reply:

1.  A total number of 805 Schools is being prioritized for the provision of comprehensive Psychosocial Support (PSS) across the nine (9) Provinces. The list is hereby attached.

 

2. The package of PSS interventions provided in these schools is as follows: 

2.1 Capacity building of School Based Support Teams on the School guide for Psychosocial Support.

2.2 Visiting Professional Nurses and Social Workers.

2.3 A Learner Support Agent (LSA) in each school.

2.4 Linkages with Community Based Organizations for referrals through a guided mapping process.

2.5 Childcare (ECD) Vouchers for young mothers.

2.6 Homework Support.

2.7 Keeping girls in schools programmes (Return to school programme support).

2.8 Gender Based Violence prevention programmes.

2.9 Linkage to Post-violence care services.

2.8 Debriefing services for educators and LSAs.

 

3. Placement of students of social work in schools is part of on-going discussions taking place as part of a Strategy for the placement of Social Services Professionals in Schools that is currently being led by the Department of Social Development. Placement of Psychology Students will be taken up with Universities as part of the development of the Mental Health App whose aim will be provision of counselling services to learners. Both these processes have started.

Reply:

(1)    With regard to the findings of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), as reported in the Final Consolidated Report for Proclamation R23 of 2020, dated 10 December 2021, in particular the findings of the SIU on the City of Cape Town (CCT) (details furnished), what progress has been made by the SIU regarding instructions to the State Attorney;

The SIU briefed the Office of The State Attorney, who in turn briefed suitable Senior Counsel on 25 November 2022.

(2)    whether any civil action has been instituted following the report of the SIU; if not, why not; if so, (a) on what date and (b) what is the current status of such action;

Papers have been drafted and the institution of civil proceedings is imminent. Whereas the SIU is currently involved in discussions with the CCT’s attorneys regarding certain technical issues pertaining to the proceedings, this will not preclude the institution of the proceedings.

(3)    whether the SIU informed the CCT that the (a) expenditure was regarded as irregular and (b) service provider profited excessively; if not, why not, in each case; if so, on what date was the CCT informed;

The CCT and/or its attorneys are aware of the SIU’s findings in the above regard. In view of the pending institution of litigation and the related current discussions between with the SIU and CCT’s attorneys, the disclosure of further detail is considered confidential at this stage.

(4)    whether the SIU had directed and/or expected of the City Manager (CM) to take any steps; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps

The SIU has not directed and/or pertinently required of the City Manager to take any specific steps.

(5) whether the SIU report found that the CM had taken the specified steps; if not, what are the consequences set out in the report of not taking the steps; if so, on what date did the SIU find that the CM took the steps?

As indicated above, the SIU has not directed and/or pertinently required of the City Manager to take any specific steps.