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09 September 2016 - NW1689

Profile picture: Redelinghuys, Mr MH

Redelinghuys, Mr MH to ask the Minister of Police

With reference to his reply to oral question 95 on 25 May 2016, what steps is his department taking to implement the resolution regarding the specific and separate reporting of sexual crime statistics as contained in the report of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/ZAF/1) on the obligations and track-record of the SA Police Service under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?

Reply:

The South African Police Service, through the Division: Detective Service, has implemented the resolution regarding the specific and separate reporting of main sexual crime statistics as contained in the report of the United National Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/ZAF/1).

The statistics on sexual crimes are currently recorded on the CAS/ICDMS. The Division Detective Services also reports on this crime in its quarterly performance reporting mechanism.

08 September 2016 - NW635

Profile picture: Mente-Nkuna, Ms NV

Mente-Nkuna, Ms NV to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration

Whether, in accordance with section 3(4)(a) and (b) of the Public Service Act, Act 103 of 2007, his department conducted any study in order to advise the President on the possibility of reducing the size of the national Government and thereby reduce the size of Cabinet; if not, why not; if so, (a) which departments can be abolished and (b) what amount can be saved?

Reply:

In terms of section 91(2) read with section 91(3)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the President appoints the Deputy President and Ministers and assigs them powers and functions. The appointments are made under a President's Act, see for example President's Act No. 135 signed on 26 May 2014 after the 2014 general elections.

Following the appointment of the national Executive by the President (President’s Act) various administrative and legal steps are taken to give effect to the new Executive portfolios. The Presidency with the support of the Department of Public Service and Administration and the National Treasury, lead the National Macro Organisation of the State (NMOS) in 2014. The NMOS process gives effect to the Presidential proclamations regarding the establishment of new or amended Executive portfolios, the renaming and establishment of new departments, and the transfer of legislation between Ministers in terms of the Constitution.

The NMOS process does consider efficiencies in terms of the size of Ministerial portfolios and locate, as far as possible, more than one department or government component under a Ministry without the need to create a Ministry for every department. Examples of multiple departments within Ministerial Portfolios are:

(a) Communications - Department of Communications and the Government Communication and Information System.

(b) Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs - Department of Cooperative Governance, the Department of Traditional Affairs, and the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent.

(c) Defence and Military Veterans - Department of Defence and the Department of Military Veterans.

(d) Public Service and Administration - Department of Public Service and Administration, the National School of Government, the Office of the Public Service Commission and the Centre of Public Service Innovation.

(e) Justice and Correctional Services - Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Correctional Services and the Office of the Chief Justice.

(f) Minister in the Presidency: Planning Monitoring and Evaluation - Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Statistics South Africa

Departments are linked to Ministers' portfolios to administer the legislation and policies in that portfolio. The decision to establish national departments is an executive decision by the President. In terms of section 7(5)(a) of the Public Service Act, 1994, the President by proclamation may on the advice of the Minister for the Public Service and Administration amend Schedule 1 so as to establish or abolish any national department, designate such department and the head thereof or amend such designation.

The Department of Public Service and Administration has not conducted a study to advise the President on reducing the size of national government.

08 September 2016 - NW1556

Profile picture: Krumbock, Mr GR

Krumbock, Mr GR to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration

(a) What amount did (i) his department and (ii) each entity reporting to him spend on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year and (b) how much has (i) his department and (ii) each entity reporting to him budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year?

Reply:

(i) Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)

    (a) In the 2015-16 financial year, DPSA spent an amount of R 2 792 971.76 for advertising.

     (b) An amount of R1 666 000.00 has been budgeted for advertising for the financial year 2016-17

(ii) Entities namely: (1) National School of Government and (2) Centre for Public Service Innovation

National School of Government (NSG)

   (a) In the 2015 -16 financial year, The NSG spent R 977, 249 on advertising

   (b) An amount of R1, 121,041 has been budgeted for advertising for the 2016-17 financial year

Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI)

  (a) In the 2015/16 financial year, The Centre for Public Service Innovation spent R1.053 million of advertising

  (b) An amount R676 000 has been budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year.

08 September 2016 - NW1404

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Tarabella - Marchesi, Ms NI to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration

Whether (a) his department and (b) all entities reporting to him are running development programmes for (i) small businesses and (ii) co-operatives; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (aa) what are the relevant details, (bb) what amount has been budgeted and (cc) how many jobs will be created through the specified development programmes in the 2016-17 financial year?

Reply:

(a)(i)(ii) No. The Department does not have a mandate to run development programmes.

(b) Entities namely (1) National School of Government and (2) Centre for Public Service Innovation

(1) National School of Government

The National School of Government does not run development programme for (i) small business and (ii) co-operatives as it does not fall within the mandate of the National School of Government.

(aa)(bb)(cc) Falls away

(2) Centre for Public Service Innovation

The Centre for Public Service Innovation is not running dedicated development programme for (i) small businesses and (ii) co-operatives. However, in terms of its MoA with The Innovation Hub (one of the entities within the National System of Innovation tasked with developing SMMEs), the Centre for Public Service Innovation, annually post a public service challenge to small businesses and co-operatives on their Open IX Exchange.

Small business and co-operatives are invited to submit proposals for developing solutions. The Centre for Public Service Innovation then funds the piloting of the selected solution to a maximum value of: (bb) R250 000, (cc) the number of jobs to be created for 2016/17 has not been quantified yet, since pilot project will only be initiated later in the year.

08 September 2016 - NW534

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Lovemore, Ms AT to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration

With reference to commitments made during his department’s Budget Vote speech on 13 May 2015, what are the relevant details of the (a)(i) business processes mapped, (ii) standard operating procedures developed and (iii) organisational functionality assessments conducted in response to his department’s commitment to its Operations Management Framework and (b) strategy for providing resultant support to poor performing departments that was drafted for consultation with stakeholders in the Public Service in terms of the (i) strategy for providing support, (ii) poor performing departments referred to in the speech and targeted by the strategy and (iii) consultation that has taken place on the strategy his department committed to?

Reply:

(a)(i)(ii)(iii) Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is mandated by the Medium Term Strategic Framework and Outcome 12 to develop an Operations Management Framework (OMF) and to provide institutional support on the implementation thereof to selected national and provincial Government departments on an annual basis.

In pursuance of that mandate, the Chief Directorate: Operations Management of the DPSA developed an Operations Management Framework with supporting toolkits which includes amongst others includes Business Process Management and Standard Operating Procedures.

In the 2015-16 financial year, DPSA focused on the National Department of Labour, the Social Development Sector and the Transport Sector. Business Process Maps and Standard Operating Procedures were developed for these Departments as follows:

Labour:

No.

Branch

Core Service

1

Inspection and Enforcement Service (IES)

  • Conduct Review Inspection on Employment
  • Inspection in terms of Labour Legislation - Basic Conditions of Employment Act
  • Inspection in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act

2

Public Employment Services (PES)

  • Recruitment and Placement Services
  • Walk in Registration of Work Seekers at a Labour Centre
  • Online Registration of Work Seekers via ESSA
  • International Cross Boarder Labour Migration Management

3

Labour Practice and International Relations (LPIR)

  • Registration of Labour organisations
  • Processing of Collective Agreements

4.

Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

  • Online application for unemployment/ordinary claim by claimant

5.

Compensation Fund (CF)

  • Assessment: Tariffs Section 85: Reduction and Loading Assessment Rate
  • Assessment: Tariffs Section: Sub Class investigations
  • Raising Assessment (Manual Submission)
  • Registration of Employer
  • Revision of Assessment

Social Development:

  • Registration of Non-Profit Organisations
  • Funding of Non-Profit Organisations
  • Placement of children in need of care and protection in foster care

Transport:

  • Issuing of contracts to service providers for the transportation of eligible learners to and from school
  • Issuing of public transport operating licenses
  • Issuing drivers licenses

The DPSA provided institutional support and/or advice to other departments on the Operations Management value chain. A list of departments is provided hereunder:

No.

Name of the Government Department/ Component/ Institution

1

Gauteng Department of Health

2

National Department of Health

3

Batho Pele Forum

4

Free State — Office of the Premier

5

Mineral Resources

6

Military Veterans

7

Department of Corporative Governance

8

KZN — Arts and Culture

9

National School of Government

10

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

11

Eastern Cape — Safety and Security

12

Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services

13

KZN —Education

14

Correctional Services Inspector Judge

15

Northern Cape — Office of the Premier

16

Batho Pele Standards Steering Committee

17

Department of Trade and Industry

18

KZN — Office of the Premier

19

Human Settlements

20

Parliamentary Budget Office

21

Agriculture and Rural Development

22

Ministry: Public Service and Administration

23

National Consumer Commission

24

Independent Police Investigative Directorate

25

Agriculture — Mpumalanga

26

Gauteng Office of the Premier

27

Northern Cape Provincial Treasury

(b) (i) (ii) (iii)

(i) The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments was developed by the DPSA to coordinate targeted support to government departments in line with the mandate of the MPSA outlined in section 3 (6) of the Public Service Act, 1994 as amended by the Public Service Amendment Act 30 of 2007.

The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments is delivered in phases and the Initiation phase of the strategy looks at three key areas:

  • Cabinet initiated Intervention or Support
  • Pro-active requests from Departments for support and
  • DPSA initiated support (MPAT, SD sites)

The targeted support on year one focused on Pro Active requests from departments for support and the requests received were on Organisational Design support. Received requests on Organisational Design from 43 sectors, 25 were finalised and 11 in progress, attached at Annexure B. The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments has been approved for implementation.

(ii) With regard to poor performing departments, a presentation was made to the North West province on their performance against outcome 12 and it was agreed that the Province will be assisted in the new financial year on their Service Delivery Improvement Plans (SDIPs), and together with National Treasury assist the Province in unblocking the challenge of 30 day payment to suppliers.

(iii) Extensive consultations were held within DPSA and with National and Provincial departments. The draft strategy was finally presented at the Governance and Administration cluster on 01 October 2015 for endorsement and support.

07 September 2016 - NW1674

Profile picture: Stubbe, Mr DJ

Stubbe, Mr DJ to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation

(a) How many bucket toilets are still being used in the (i) Ramona, (ii) Santa Centre and (iii) Lerato Park informal settlements in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, (b) what measures have been put in place to eradicate the bucket toilets in the specified areas and (c) by what date will her department introduce a proper sanitation system in the specified areas?

Reply:

(a)(i) The settlement Ramona (located in Galeshewe) is occupied by approximately 200 households however it is an informal settlement using the bucket system for sanitation.

(a)(ii) The Santa Centre is a formalized township with some 143 even from the approved general plan however some buckets in 210 households occupying the area or land are using bucket system for sanitation. Municipality will once land is identified, relocate the balance of the settlement and allocate stands accordingly.

(a)(iii) The Lerato Park (is a formalised township in terms of an approved Surveyor General Diagram) area is the subject of a new housing development with approximately 1400 housing units. Lerato Park can be classified as in-situ upgrading and relocating families to the new housing units. A total of 1200 households occupying the area are using the bucket system. Currently, the growth of the settlement exceeds the number of housing units to be constructed and alternative land must be identified by the municipality for the households that cannot benefit from the current housing development.

(b) and (c) Providing sanitation in informal settlements and the upgrading or relocation of settlements into a new human settlements in the main is the responsibility of the Provincial Department of Human Settlements and Local Government (Municipalities).

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07 September 2016 - NW1678

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Schmidt, Adv H to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Whether funding has been allocated to her department through the Division of Revenue Act, Act 3 of 2016, for the provision of regional bulk infrastructure for the Sedibeng Regional Sewerage Scheme in the Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng; if so, what amount has been budgeted for the specified scheme in the (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19 financial years?

Reply:

Yes the Department through Regional Bulk receive conditional grant allocated in terms of Division of Revenue Act, 2016 (Act No. 3 of 2016) (DoRA).

Sedibeng Regional Sewerage Scheme is allocated funding as follows:

(a) 2016/17 - R50 000 000.00

(b) 2017/18 – R64 200 000.00

(c) 2018/19 – R100 000 000.00

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06 September 2016 - NW1650

Profile picture: Grootboom, Mr GA

Grootboom, Mr GA to ask the MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

(1). What steps he has taken in respect of high levels of fruitless and wasteful expenditure by (a) pan south african language board (b) performing arts centre of the free state in the i) 2013-2014 ii) 2014-2015 iii) 2015-16 financial years. (2). whether any officials in any of the specified entities have faced disciplinary processes in this regard; if not, why not? if so what are the relevant details in each case.

Reply:

1. (A) PAN SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES BOARD ( PANSALB)

  (i) 2013/14 financial year

The Department requested the National Treasury to conduct an investigation into the allegations of financial mismanagement for the period 15 June 2012 until 30 September 2014. The investigation was finalised on 31 July 2015. The investigation scope focussed on the overall governance of PanSALB and the Supply Chain Management processes; and covered only transactions that related to the period of Mr Zwane’s acting as Caretaker Chief Executive Officer of PanSALB.

  (ii) 2014/15 financial year

The investigation conducted by the National Treasury covered two quarters of the 2014/15 financial year until 30 September 2014. The remainder of the period is not covered as the Board of PanSALB was appointed in June 2014 to deal with challenges at the Pan South African Language Board

  (iii) 2015/16 financial year.

No steps have been taken. The Audit report for the 2015/16 financial year has just been completed and its findings will be dealt with during the current financial year.

2. No disciplinary measures have been taken against any official of the Pan South African Language Board. The investigation report did not recommend disciplinary measures against any official of the Pan South African Language Board. The report recommended that an in-depth investigation be conducted to establish the validity of the appointments, validity of payments made to the service providers and verification of value for money to the institution, during the period under review. The report further recommended that PanSALB should refer the possible contravention of sections 38, 39 and 40 read with section 86 of the Public Finance Management Act by Mr Zwane (former Caretaker CEO), in relation to the appointment of service provider, for criminal investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

1 (b) PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE OF THE FREE STATE ( PACOFS)

   i) 2013/14

No steps were taken

   II) 2014/15

No steps were taken

   iii) 2015/16

The Department of Arts and Culture conducted an Adhoc Audit investigation based on the Audit findings of 2013/14 and 2014/15. These findings were on the Capital Expenditure Project Allocation at the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS). The investigation started in February 2016 which was extended to cover the financial years from April 2009/10 to 31 March 2014/15. The Audit was completed in May 2015/16 and its recommendations were that a forensic investigation needs to be conducted. The National Treasury Forensic Investigation Unit is currently undergoing the investigation which will cover through the years 2013/14 to 2015/16 including the Audit findings of 2015/16.

2. Consequent to the results and recommendations of the Internal Adhoc Audit investigation conducted by the DAC, the Council of the PACOFS took an action to suspend the CEO of PACOFS and Disciplinary Hearings are underway.

06 September 2016 - NW1644

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Dudley, Ms C to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Whether she has been informed that (a) Chemtrail uses aircraft to spray chemicals, mostly aluminum and borax, from high altitude and in some cases modified fuels carrying other chemicals and (b) these heavy metals are carcinogenic and environmentally damaging, thereby contributing to global warming and having a significant effect on groundwater and soil; (2) has she initiated an investigation with regard to this practice and/or referred the matter to the relevant department or structure to be investigated; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) (a) and (b)

I am not informed about the company Chemtrail per se but I am provided with an insight that:

  • Passenger and military jetliner manufacturers, jet fuel companies and the Aviation Industry uses geo-engineering techniques to seed metallic particles to the fuel of the jet airliners. In the process, aluminium (mainly aluminium oxide) is used along with barium and strontium. These chemicals when used in a spray form a Chemtrail (chemtrail are trails of condensation that can be seen in the sky when a jet airplane is travelling at above 30,000 feet altitude);
  • Environmental concerns or damage on groundwater and soil are not fully known and the Department is researching the matter.
  • There is no evidence of carcinogenic effect of these chemicals. The Department will engage with the Department of Health on this matter in view of the increase in global air transportation.

(2)

  • No. We have not initiated investigations with the Aviation Industry nor with any other relevant Departments such as Defence, Transport and Energy;
  • The reason for not initiating any investigation is that studies have not shown evidence of environmental concerns. It was concluded that the use of heavy metals injected into the stratosphere by exhausts of jets might scatter negligible amounts of sunlight and seemingly poses no significant environment problems. There have been no radioactive and ozone destroying properties in the stratosphere to warrant environmental interventions.

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06 September 2016 - NW1651

Profile picture: Grootboom, Mr GA

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

Whether any official of his department has faced disciplinary processes for the missing R54 million that was allocated towards the upgrading of the Windybrow Theatre in Johannesburg; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

No official of my department has faced disciplinary processes. The funds were transferred to Windybrow to undertake the capital works projects. During the implementation of the projects, the department uncovered that funds were misused and that a forensic investigation was instituted. Subsequent to that the CFO and CEO were charged and subsequently fired.

06 September 2016 - NW1649

Profile picture: Grootboom, Mr GA

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

Has the forensic investigation into the expenditure on the Kimberley Theatre been completed; if not, why not; if so, what were the findings?

Reply:

No, my department has not launch forensic investigation into the expenditure of the Kimberly Theatre.

06 September 2016 - NW1696

Profile picture: Hadebe, Mr TZ

Hadebe, Mr TZ to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(1)Whether each (a) objection and (b) appeal to the proposed Malelane Safari Lodge in the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga was considered before her Department granted final approval for the specified development; if not, why not; if so, what are the further relevant details; (2) whether she will make copies of all (a) minutes and (b) accompanying documentation of all deliberations addressing the specified objections and appeals available to Mr T Z Hadebe; if not, why not; if so, by when?

Reply:

1. (a) All objections received during the public participation process for the application for Environmental Authorisation (EA) were considered by the Chief Director: Integrated Environmental Authorisations of the Department prior to the issuing of the EA on 26 August 2015.

(b) Following the issuing of the aforementioned EA, 5 appeals were lodged, all of which were considered by me, the Minister of Environmental Affairs, as per the Appeal Decision of
15 April 2016.

2. (a-b) The record of information considered by me in the appeal process consisted of the following:

  • Material information contained in the EIA project file (14/12/16/3/3/1/1/1280);
  • the first appellant’s grounds of appeal, and annexures thereto, dated
    30 September 2015;
  • the second appellants grounds of appeal, dated 15 October 2015;
  • the third appellants grounds of appeal, dated 16 October 2015;
  • the fourth appellants grounds of appeal, dated 26 February 2016;
  • the fifth appellants grounds of appeal, dated 16 October 2015;
  • the applicants response to the appellants’ grounds of appeal, dated
    14 November 2015;
  • the site visit conducted by the Department of Environmental Affairs officials (DEA) with the applicant on 09 November 2015;
  • the site visit and meeting conducted by DEA officials with the second appellant on
    10 November 2015;
  • the follow-up meeting by DEA officials held with the appellants on 13 January 2016;
  • the additional documents provided by the appellants at the meeting with DEA officials on 13 January 2016;
  • the meeting by DEA officials held with Leopard Creek, on 08 February 2016;
  • the meeting by DEA officials held with the South African National Parks management, on 09 February 2016; and
  • the comments received from the Chief Directorate: IEA of the Department.

Access to any of the aforementioned documents will be allowed upon request.

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06 September 2016 - NW1645

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Dudley, Ms C to ask the Minister of Public Works

(1) Is he aware that the lease of a certain property to a certain school (name and details furnished) that currently educates 282 learners and has 36 full-time staff members is about to go to tender despite the fact that the specified school (a) has (i) been running for many years and (ii) invested in the property and (b) desperately wants to continue and expand to meet local needs; (2) whether he will urgently look into this situation so that it can be rectified and the school be allowed to provide the much needed expanded services to the community?

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works

1. (a) (i) and (ii) and (b) The property in question is not being put out to tender. The National Department of Public Works (NDPW) received an application from Willow Academy on 20 July 2016, with two options for the Department to consider. The options were either to purchase Erven 182 & 183 Fairview at a fair price or to enter into a long term lease agreement between the NDPW and Willow Academy.

The Department is in the process of considering the application and as an interim measure a six (6) month caretaker’s agreement was entered into with Willow Academy with effect from 01 August 2016 until 31 January 2017.

2. The NDPW is considering the application by the Academy and following the necessary investigations and options analysis will engage with the school within the ambit of Government policy and legislation and a decision will be based on the consideration of the facts at hand.

________________________________________________________________________

05 September 2016 - NW1169

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)What is the (a) company name, (b) financial service provider (FSP) licence number and (c) FSP licence category of each brokerage firm used by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 (v) 2014-15 and (vi) 2015-16 financial years; (2) in respect of each specified brokerage firm used by the PIC, what was (a) the total amount of fees paid and (b) the total deal flow (i) in each specified financial year and (ii) over the five-year period?

Reply:

I am advised by the PIC that replies to these questions may contain confidential information pertaining to third parties and that the PIC may be in breach of its confidentiality obligations if such information is made public. The PIC has obtained legal advise on their disclosure obligations and the conclusion was that the PIC is not obliged to disclose confidential information with regards to its clients and assets under management to any third parties. However, the PIC Management and Board have carefully considered the legal opinion and it was resolved that the PIC will take into account the legal opinion but that it will also take an approach to disclose certain details regarding its unlisted investment portfolio without breaching its confidentiality obligations to clients. There are certain processes that need to be followed before these details can be disclosed. These processes are currently being undertaken. I will therefore table replies to these questions once the PIC has obtained the necessary approvals, in order to ensure that you receive relevant information without the PIC being in breach of any legislation, agreements or its mandate.

05 September 2016 - NW1646

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Dudley, Ms C to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

(1)Whether he is aware of a certain person’s (name furnished) urgent plea for assistance with regard to an application for a permanent residence permit (details furnished); if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (2) has his department launched an investigation into the circumstances regarding the delay of this application; if not, (a) why not, (b) will his department investigate and (c) will the specified person be provided with a speedy outcome to the application; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) The National Department of Home Affairs is aware of the plea by the referred to person, requesting the finalisation of his permanent residence application; reference number PRP1127280, submitted on 06 October 2014.

(2) When the referred to person originally enquired on the status of his permanent residence application he was provided with a reference number, 1605009216. The Department confirms the application has been received and is currently in the process of adjudication.

The person in question applied for permanent residence in terms of section 26(b) of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002), as amended: a spouse of a South African citizen, which is classified as one of the high risk categories which requires additional assessment. The Department ordinarily spends more time on applications in this particular category due to investigations that are undertaken.

 

The Department has taken cognisance that the applicant’s temporary residence visa expires on 09 September 2016.

05 September 2016 - NW1677

Profile picture: Hoosen, Mr MH

Hoosen, Mr MH to ask the Minister of Home Affairs

(1)What are the reasons for the resignation of a certain official (name and details furnished) from the Government Printing Works; (2) whether he appointed a certain official (name and details furnished) to act in the specified position; if so, is the specified person qualified to act in the specified position; (3) does the specified person hold two positions (details furnished) and receive remuneration for both positions; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. The former Chief Executive Official (CEO) of Government Printing Works expressed his desire to go back to the medical profession.

2. Yes. The Acting CEO has vast experience in public service, serving in different capacities at all spheres of government.

3. No. The Acting CEO was transferred to Government Printing Works as General Manager: Special Projects for a period of 12 months and was later appointed acting CEO of Government Printing Works upon departure of the former CEO.

05 September 2016 - NW1702

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Mackay, Mr G to ask the Minister of Energy

Whether she will furnish Mr. G Mackay with the (a) copies of the invitation to attend vendor parade workshops sent to (i) the Republic of Korea, (ii) the United States of America, (iii) the Russian Federation, (iv) the French Republic, (v) the People’s Republic of China, (vi) Canada and (vii) the United Kingdom and (b) list of topics each of the specified vendor countries were requested to address relating to the specified invitation; if not, why not, in each case; if so, in each case, by when?

Reply:

The documents requested herein are the same documents requested by Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute, the Applicants in a review application presently being opposed by the Minister of Energy and the President of the Republic of South Africa. This matter is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Western Cape Division of the High Court and thus sub judice. It is once again placed on record that the Applicants are clearly trying to litigate its case on platforms other than the court. It should also be noted that it cannot be expected of any responsible government to release sensitive Cabinet records and communication between two sovereign states in such a manner. In addition the request is refused as the documents requested are privileged as they relate to correspondence between sovereign States in the international domain and on an international level.

It should be noted that there was no invitation sent to the United Kingdom.

05 September 2016 - NW1701

Profile picture: Mackay, Mr G

Mackay, Mr G to ask the Minister of Energy

Whether she will furnish Mr. G Mackay with copies of the (a) proposal for the roll-out of new nuclear power plants as signed off by her, (b) Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review by the International Atomic Energy Agency, (c) terms of reference for the National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordinating Committee (NNEECC), (d) communication and stakeholder engagement strategy of the NNEECC, (e) phased decision-making approach of the NNEECC for implementing Government’s nuclear programme, (f) designation of Eskom as the owner and operator of nuclear power plants in South Africa, (g) 2004 Bilateral International Agreement with the Russian Federation and (h) May 2013 agreement signed between South Africa and Russia during the BRICS Summit meeting held in Durban; if not, why not, in each case; if so, in each case, by when?

Reply:

The documents requested herein are the very same documents requested by Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute, the Applicants in a review application presently being opposed by the Minister of Energy and the President of the Republic of South Africa. This matter is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Western Cape Division of the High Court and thus subs judice. The Minister of Energy accordingly cannot comment directly on the documents requested. It is placed on record that the Applicants are clearly trying to litigate its case on platforms other than a court. It should be noted that it cannot be expected of any responsible government to release sensitive Cabinet records and communication between two sovereign states in such a manner.

With regards to the other documents the response is as follows:

(a) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government and the release thereof could compromise the new build process.

(b) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government which relates to an interaction between a sovereign state and an international body or agency on an international level and on the level of international law.

(c) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government and the release thereof could compromise the new build process.

(d) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government and the release thereof could compromise the new build process.

(e) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government and the release thereof could compromise the new build process.

(f) No. The document requested is privileged as it is a sensitive state document of government and the release thereof could compromise the new build process.

(g) The 2004 Bilateral International Agreement with the Russian Federation is in the public domain and may be availed. The requestor will be provided with a copy of this Agreement from the Department of Energy.

(h) The agreement between South Africa and Russia was signed in March 2013 (not May 2013) during the BRICS Summit meeting held in Durban. The agreement is also in the public domain and may be availed. The requestor will be provided with a copy of this Agreement from the Department of Energy.

 

 

05 September 2016 - NW1471

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Steyn, Ms A to ask the Deputy President

(1)Whether he is monitoring the impact and effects of the recent drought on Government’s War on Poverty Programme; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether the specified programme has put any measures in place to ensure that there is no drastic increase in the number of citizens without access to food due to the recent drought; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the measures that have been put in place in this regard?

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) is monitoring the impact and effect of the recent drought throughout the country. The Department is a lead institution for the National Agro-meteorological Committee (NAC) which provides monthly advisory and early warning information on the rainfall season and impact on agricultural production for the whole country.

The drought is causing higher food prices in South Africa. Food inflation rose to 11% in April 2016. The Department continues to monitor retail food prices and likely impact on the poorest people through the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC). The cost of the basic food basket expressed as a share of the average monthly income of the poorest 30% of the population (mostly residing in War on Poverty sites) increased from 48.3% in April 2015 to 56.2% in April 2016.

The department is also a lead institution for the South African Vulnerability Assessment Committee (SAVAC), which conducts vulnerability and food and nutrition security assessments. The 2016 assessment is underway and is focusing mainly on the impact of the drought on livelihoods. The severity and magnitude of the impact of the drought on agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods will have to be understood for better targeting of programmes and quantifying the support required.

DAFF is a lead institution for a Multi-sectoral Food Security Drought Response Team that includes line function departments that are implementing different programmes aimed at addressing the impact of drought on food and nutrition security.

The Department has reprioritised funds from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme and Ilima/Letsema campaign to provide for immediate responses to the agricultural sector. Provision of animal feed and water resources for affected livestock farmers, especially smallholder and subsistence farmers, has been prioritised. The department has also invested in programmes such as equipping and drilling of boreholes. Furthermore, programmes to combat land degradation (including veld rehabilitation, control of declared alien weeds and invader species and promotion of conservation agriculture) are being implemented.

A Food and Nutrition Security Drought Response Plan has been developed and costed. The plan includes interventions such as social relief measures, households food production support, enhancing access to drought-tolerant seeds, expansion of the National School Nutrition Programme, health and nutrition responses to drought and a water sector response to drought in the affected areas.

05 September 2016 - NW1454

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)With regard to direct loans made by the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), referred to on page 98 of the GEPF’s 2014-15 Annual Report, in each case (a) what is the recipient companys’ (i) registered name, (ii) registration number and (iii) board members’ names and (b) with regard to the terms of each loan, (i) what was the amount of the specified loan, (ii) what is the interest rate, (iii) when was the specified loan made, (iv) what is the period of the loan and (v) what are the loan covenants;

Reply:

I am advised by the PIC that replies to these questions may contain confidential information pertaining to third parties and that the PIC may be in breach of its confidentiality obligations if such information is made public. The PIC has obtained legal advise on their disclosure obligations and the conclusion was that the PIC is not obliged to disclose confidential information with regards to its clients and assets under management to any third parties. However, the PIC Management and Board have carefully considered the legal opinion and it was resolved that the PIC will take into account the legal opinion but that it will also take an approach to disclose certain details regarding its unlisted investment portfolio without breaching its confidentiality obligations to clients. There are certain processes that need to be followed before these details can be disclosed. These processes are currently being undertaken. I will therefore table replies to these questions once the PIC has obtained the necessary approvals, in order to ensure that you receive relevant information without the PIC being in breach of any legislation, agreements or its mandate.

02 September 2016 - NW1580

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether the SA Revenue Service (Sars) reached any severance agreements with employees in each year since 2006; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (a) what was the (i) date, (ii) full name of the employee, (iii) position held, (iv) settlement amount and (v) reason for the settlement and (b) where were the specified settlement amounts recorded in the annual financial statements of Sars?

Reply:

The South African Revenue Service has submitted the following information. Please note that the Minister is unable to verify the content.

(a)(i) – (iv) Yes, according to available records SARS reached 13 severance agreements with employees since 2006 to date. The total value of the settlements combined is R19 334 333.91.

The breakdown of these payments per year are as follows:

Fin Year

Nr of Transactions

Sum of R-Value Pay out

2007/08

1

R 3, 150 ,894.81

2008/09

2

R 1, 674, 920.54

2009/10

1

R 435, 134.48

2010/11

3

R 3, 047, 735.00

2013/14

1

R 375, 048.00

2014/15

2

R 1, 681, 798.20

2015/16

3

R 8, 968, 802.88

Grand Total

13

R 19, 334, 333.91

Due to confidentiality provisions of these agreements, as well as protection of personal information governed by the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, SARS is prohibited from disclosing employee specific information regarding the agreements with regards to the names of the individuals concerned, the positions held, the date of separation, reasons for the settlement and the individual amounts involved.

(b) Yes, the amounts were disclosed in the annual financial statements under employee cost in the statement of financial performance.

02 September 2016 - NW1692

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Van Dalen, Mr P to ask the Minister of Energy

When will the regulations contained in the Consultation Paper on Small-scale Embedded Generation: Regulatory Rules, published on 25 February 2015 by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa), be finalised for both (a) low and (b) medium voltage connections by both (i) her department and (ii) Nersa; 2) Whether any plans have been put in place to grant exceptions for private generators of electricity in the interim while the specified regulations are being finalised; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? 3) Whether Nersa requires clients to have generator licenses in order to purchase power from Eskom’s net metering programme; if not, why do municipalities apply a different policy in this regard; if so, what are the reasons; 4) Whether clients of Eskom’s net metering programme require licenses to operate; if so, why is the same process of applying for licenses that is applicable to big independent power producers applicable to the specified clients, since the small generators cannot adhere to the requirements?

Reply:

1. (a)(b)(i) and (ii): The Small-scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) rules will be finalized once the notice of exemption from licensing has been gazetted by the Department of Energy. Gazetting of the exemption notice will happen once the opinion of the Office of the State Law Advisor on the exemption notice is obtained.

2. No, in the absence of an enabling legal and regulatory framework NERSA can neither license nor register SSEGs like Roof Top Photovoltaic. Generator installations up to 100kVA are exempted from being regulated, in terms of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act.

3. We are not aware of Eskom’s net-metering programme. Municipalities may have a different regime due to their Constitutional mandate pertaining to electricity reticulation.

4. We are not aware of Eskom’s net-metering programme.

01 September 2016 - NW1296

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Brauteseth, Mr TJ to ask the Minister of Communications

(1)(a) What marketing and viewer education campaigns are in place and/or are being contemplated to promote the uptake of government-funded set-top boxes, (b) what is the National Treasury’s approved cost of the specified programmes for the (i) 2016-17, (ii) 2017-18 and (iii) 2018-19 financial years and (c) from which budgets will the costs be paid in each of the specified years; (2)(a) how many households have applied for government-funded set-top boxes in each province since the inception of the programme and (b) how many of the specified households had valid TV licences on application?

Reply:

1. (a) Door to door registration campaigns by the Public Awareness team and Mitigation Izimbizo Campaigns.

(b) (i) 2016-17: R892,000 for Public Awareness, R232,000 for Project Management Office

(ii) 2017-18: R908, 000 for Public Awareness and R241,500 for Management Office

(iii) 2018-19: R5,651,660 for Public Awareness and R1,502,340 for Management Office

(c) The budget is in Programme 3: Industry and Capacity Development, under Sub-Programme Broadcasting Digital Migration Awareness

(2)      (a) as at 30 June 2016

            Northern Cape          = 14 591

            Free State               = 6, 502

            Limpopo                  = 2, 956

            Mpumalanga            = 508

            TOTAL                    = 24, 557

It should however be noted that there are many completed forms in the post offices waiting to be captured.

(b) The number of specified households that had a valid TV license was estimated at 12, 128 up 30 June 2016.

 

MR NN MUNZHELELE

DIRECTOR GENERAL [ACTING]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI (MP)

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

01 September 2016 - NW1538

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Steenkamp, Ms J to ask the Minister of Communications

(a) What amount did (i) her department and (ii) each entity reporting to her spend on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year and (b) how much has (i) her department and (ii) each entity reporting to her budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year?

Reply:

(a) (i) The Department’s total spending on advertisement was R3.2 million in the 2015-16 financial year

(ii) Entities reporting to the Department spent the following amounts on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year:

SABC = R35 422 million

FPB = R332,684.00

ICASA = R5,339,278.00

Brand SA = R1,082,373.00

MDDA = R175,000.00

(b) (i) The Department’s advertising budget for the current financial year is R602,000.00

(ii) Entities reporting to the Department have budgeted the following amounts for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year:

SABC = R42 008 million

FPB = R1,109,064.00

ICASA = R4,233,655.00

Brand SA = R6 million

MDDA = R80 053.67

                                                                                         

MR NN MUNZHELELE

DIRECTOR GENERAL [ACTING]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI (MP)

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

01 September 2016 - NW1605

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Shinn, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Communications

(a) What steps are being taken to fund the dual illumination period of the broadcasting digital migration process, (b) how much funding is being sought and (c)(i) from whom and (ii) for what time period is funding being sought?

Reply:

(a) Extensive discussions with all relevant stakeholders including Portfolio Committees, National Treasury and affected broadcasters are being pursued to find a sustainable solution to the shortfall by Sentech. These steps include among others, reallocation of existing funds towards digital migration to cover dual illumination costs and the borrowing capacity of the state.

(b) The dual illumination related costs being sought amount to R509 million over the MTEF period with approximately 90% of these costs being attributable to satellite rental, maintenance and energy.

(c) (i) The funding request was made to the National Government;

(ii) MTEF Dual Illumination breakdown:

Financial Year

Amount (R’000) VAT Included

FY 2017

159 252

FY 2018

169 604

FY 2019

180 628

Total MTEF Request

R509 484

Less Funding Allocated

(R100 000)

Total Funding Outstanding

R409 484

Thus far, the Government has made available R100 million through the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS). Therefore leaving a shortfall of R409 million over the period.

 

MR NN MUNZHELELE

DIRECTOR GENERAL [ACTING]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI (MP)

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

30 August 2016 - NW1684

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Selfe, Mr J to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

(1)Whether certain offenders (names and details furnished) at the Mangaung Correctional Services Facility have been placed in single cells for more than 60 days at a time during their incarceration; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) why and (b) when will the specified offenders be moved to regular cells; (2) Whether the two specified offenders qualify to be transferred to correctional services facilities in the City of Cape Town and surrounds, which is close to their families who wish to assist in their rehabilitation; if not, in each case, why not; if so, in each case, what processes should be followed?

Reply:

1. No.

(1) (a) The offender in question was not segregated for more than 60 days. He was segregated on 12 August 2016 after he stabbed officials at Mangaung Correctional Centre. The offender was in segregation for 7 days which expired on 19 August 2016 and will be reviewed.

(1) (b) No, the offender was never segregated.

2. The first mentioned offender stabbed officials at Mangaung Correctional Centre and the matter is under investigation. Therefore, he does not qualify to be transferred to other centres at this stage. The second offender did apply for a transfer. However, due to his security classification, he does not qualify for a transfer.

30 August 2016 - NW576

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Topham , Mr B to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Whether, with reference to the reply to question 2483 on 28 July 2015; he has received the outstanding information from the provinces; if not, why not; if so, when will this information be made available as requested?

Reply:

REFERENCE

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) In each (a) metropolitan, (b) local and (c) district municipality, what is the total amount currently owed for rates and service charges by municipal councillors and/or traditional leaders serving on municipal councils which is over 90 days;

(2) in respect of each case, (a) who is the councillor or traditional leader involved, (b) what is the amount owed and (c) has a repayment agreement been reached with the councillor and/or traditional leader; if so, when will the amount be repaid in full;

(3) whether any action has been taken against such councillors and/or traditional leaders in terms of section 13 and 14 of the Code of Conduct for Municipal Councillors; if not, why not; if so, (a) who is the councillor and/or traditional leader involved and (b) what action has been taken;

(4) whether his department will take any action against the (a) municipality, (b) speaker of the municipal council and (c) municipal council in cases where no action has been taken in this regard? NW2852E

RESPONSE

(1), (2) and (3):

On receipt of the question from the Honourable Member, the Department of Cooperative Governance (“the Department”) requested all provincial departments responsible for Local Government to obtain the required information from the municipalities within their area of jurisdiction, and to submit same to the Department.

The total amount currently owed from (a) metropolitan, (b) local and (c) district municipality municipalities for rates and service charges by municipal councillors and/or traditional leaders serving on municipal councils which is over 90 days is R 10 255 152, 78.

In respect of questions 1, 2 and 3, the responses attached as an Annexure were received from provinces and municipalities, respectively.

The report shows that some councilors and traditional leaders have entered into payment agreements with their respective municipalities including radical actions such as accounts being handed over for collection or disconnection of services. However, we have also noted that no actions have been taken against some of the defaulting councilors and traditional leaders.

In summary the following status prevails:

PROVINCE

NO. OF MUNICIPALITIES

NO. OF MUNICIPALITIES SUBMITTED

NO. OF MUNICIPALITIES

OUTSTANDING

NO. OF CLLRS. AND OR AND/OR TRADITIONAL LEADERS OWING

KWAZULU-NATAL

61

26

35

28

EASTERN CAPE

45

23

22

35

WESTERN CAPE

30

29

1

32

NORTHERN CAPE

32

13

19

53

NORTH WEST

23

15

8

90

FREE STATE

24

10

14

78

MPUMALANGA

21

18

3

31

GAUTENG

12

12

0

35

LIMPOPO

30

15

15

28

TOTALS

278

161

117

410

The breakdown in terms of debts owed by Councillors and Traditional Leaders, per province, is as follows:

PROVINCE

DEBT OWED FOR RATES AND SERVICE CHARGES BY MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS AND/OR TRADITIONAL LEADERS

KWAZULU-NATAL

R 199 621, 13

EASTERN CAPE

R 54 551, 13

WESTERN CAPE

R 130 346, 80

NORTHERN CAPE

R 595 552, 00

NORTH WEST

R 7 391 942, 72

FREE STATE

R 673 812, 79

MPUMALANGA

R 913 587, 08

GAUTENG

R 168 358, 87

LIMPOPO

R 127 379, 76

TOTALS

R 10 255 152, 78

4(a), (b) and (c):

It must be noted that in terms of Item 12A of the Code of Conduct for Councillors (“the Code”), a councillor may not be in arrears to the municipality for rates and service charges for a period longer than 3 months.

Item 14 Of the Code provides for breaches of the Code, and requires that a municipal council investigate and make a finding on any alleged breach of the Code, or appoint a special committee to do this.

If the council or a special committee finds that a councillor has breached a provision of the Code, the council may -

    (a) issue a formal warning to the councillor;

    (b) reprimand the councillor;

   (c) request the MEC for local government in the province to suspend the councillor for a period;

   (d) fine the councillor; and

   (e) request the MEC to remove the councillor from office.

If the council does not investigate a breach of the Code, the MEC for local government may appoint a person or a committee to investigate any alleged breach of a provision of this Code and to make a recommendation as to the appropriate sanction mentioned above.

Item 15 of the Code provides for the application of the Code, in the same way they apply to councillors, to traditional leaders who participates or has participated in the proceedings of a municipal council in terms of section 81 of the Municipal Structures Act.

However, If a municipal council or a special committee in terms of item 14 (1) finds that a traditional leader has breached a provision of the Code, the council may issue a formal warning to the traditional leader; or request the MEC for local government in the province to suspend or cancel the traditional leader's right to participate in the proceedings of the council.

Additionally, the MEC for local government may appoint a person or a committee to investigate any alleged breach of a provision of this Code and to make a recommendation on whether the right of the traditional leader to participate in the proceedings of the municipal council should be suspended or cancelled.

If the MEC is of the opinion that the traditional leader has breached a provision of this Code, and that such breach warrants a suspension or cancellation of the traditional leader's right to participate in the council's proceedings, the MEC may suspend that right for a period and on conditions determined by the MEC; or cancel that right.

The above provisions in the Code clearly place the responsibility on municipal councils, in consultation with the MEC for local government in the province, to take action against councillors and/or traditional leaders who are in default for paying for rates and service charges.

On 27 July 2016, the Department issued Circular 29 of 2016 to all Heads of Department of Local Government, and to all Municipal Managers. Item 3.2 (ii) of the Circular recommended to municipal managers to fulfil their responsibilities in terms of section 32 of Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 ("MFMA") to ensure that those councillors who owe the municipality money to make arrangements to recover those monies owed by non-returning councillors, if possible and by agreement, from the last salary amounts payable to such councillors.

30 August 2016 - NW1464

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Holomisa, Mr BH to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether, in respect of the Gobodo Forensic Investigation into an investment of R75 million in SacOil by the Public Investment Corporation Limited (PIC), the draft report dated 7 August 2015 was ever finalised; if not, why not; if so, what are the final findings and recommendations; (2) whether the recommendations made in the draft report have been acted upon; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether disciplinary proceedings were instituted against a certain person (name furnished) as recommended in the draft report; if not, why not; if so, what were the outcomes; (4) whether the possible criminal fraud disclosed by the draft report was reported to the law enforcement agencies; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (5) whether public monies were recovered from responsible persons as recommended in the draft report; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

I have been informed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) that:

These questions are based on a highly confidential report following a request from the PIC to Gobodo to investigate a certain transaction for the purchasing of SacOil shares. The PIC can state that it did act on the recommendations contained therein to the satisfaction of the Board of the PIC.

Further to this, as the matter was referred to the Public Protector of South Africa, the PIC regards it to be sub-judice and therefore they cannot respond to the questions raised, except to state that it will fully cooperate with any investigation the Public Protector may conduct.

30 August 2016 - NW1694

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Baker, Ms TE to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation

(1)Which municipalities are benefiting from the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme in Mpumalanga; (2) what is the (a) nature of the interventions being implemented, (b) cost thereof and (c) time frames for each of the specified municipalities?

Reply:

(1) The Municipalities benefiting from the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme in Mpumalanga are the following:

  • Thaba Chweu Local Municipality;
  • Dr Pixley ka Seme Local Municipality; and
  • Emakhazeni Local Municipality (with 3 projects).

(2) Refer to the table below for the Nature of projects, cost and timeframe for each of the specified municipalities:

Municipality

Nature of the Project/Project Name/

Cost /Budget allocated for the Financial Year 2016/2017

Time frame

Emakhazeni LM

Refurbishment of Waterval Boven WWTW and Booster pump stations

R6 365 000

6 Months

(March-Nov)

Emakhazeni LM

Refurbishment of Belfast WWTW and Booster pump stations

R8 567 000

6 months

(March- Nov)

Emakhazeni LM

Refurbishment of Machadodrop WWTW

R2 000 000

6 months

(March-Nov)

ThabaChweu LM

Refurbishment of Lydenburg WWTW

R7 731 000

6 months

(March- Nov)

Dr PixleykaSeme LM

Refurbishment of Amersfoort WWTW and Booster pump stations

R3 302 000

6 months

(March -Nov)

Total

R27 965 000

 

---00O00---

30 August 2016 - NW1695

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Baker, Ms TE to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Why was the R43 million tender for a regional water purification plant in the Umzinyathi District in KwaZulu-Natal that was initially awarded to a certain company (name furnished) cancelled and subsequently awarded to another company (name furnished) and (b) what criteria were used to award the specified tender to the specified company?

Reply:

(a) The tender in question was allocated a budget of R34 million and not R43 million. The tender was never awarded to any “certain company” before its cancellation. Out of five of the companies that had been shortlisted in terms of technical functionality, two of them were far above the allocated budget thereof, one was above, and two were far below the allocated budget, which would have compromised the quality of the final product.

(b) A Regulation 32 Appointment was done, with strict adherence to requirements related thereto in order to expedite the process of delivering a water purification plant quickly to the community of uMsinga Local Municipality that is experiencing serious water shortages in this time of drought. The company that was eventually awarded a tender and appointed is currently doing a good job at the cost which is within the allocated budget of the project.

---00O00---

30 August 2016 - NW563

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether the SA Revenue Services (SARS) Advisory Board has (a) examined and commented on any policy and/or (b) investigated, evaluated and advised on any (i) practice and (ii) decision of the (aa) SARS or (bb) the SARS Commissioner, and/or (c) received a report on any matter from the SARS Commissioner; if not, why not, in each specified case; if so, what are the relevant details in each specified case; (2) whether the SARS Advisory Board has produced any reports in this regard; if not, why not; if so, in respect of each specified report, (a) what is the title of the report and (b) on what date was the report finalised?

Reply:

I was informed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS):

  1. (a)(b)(i)(ii)(aa)(bb) That the SARS Advisory Board (SAB) had an occasion to consider, inter alia, the following issues:
  • SARS Strategic IT Assessment (Consultants on this issue were Gartner Ltd);
  • SARS Operating Model (Consultants on this issue were Bain Consulting); and
  • The related issue of Communications & Engagement Stream Overview;
  • The alleged SARS Intelligence Unit;
  • KPMG Report (forensic investigation into the affairs of SARS);
  • The investigative powers of SARS;
  • Disciplinary proceedings instituted by SARS and subsequent settlements reached;
  • Border Management Agency Bill;
  • Internal SARS Security;
  • Minutes of the Joint meeting with the Davis Tax Committee.

(c) The Board received a number of verbal reports on relevant matters from the Commissioner of SARS at a number of its meetings.

2. I am informed by SARS that:

     (a) The SARS Advisory Board produced and submitted untitled reports to the previous Minister of Finance and the Commissioner of SARS regarding its activities to date, and included copies of the minutes of the meetings that had been held. The minutes of subsequent meetings were submitted to the previous Minister of Finance and the Commissioner. Various emails were sent directly to the previous Minister of Finance from time to time dealing with other aspects considered by the SAB.

    (b) 30 June 2015

I cannot vouch for any of the above.

30 August 2016 - NW1439

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Mazzone, Ms NW to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) Why is the SA Airways (SAA) sponsoring three Members of Parliament with tickets to attend the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil, when SAA is making billions of rands in losses in each year and (b) how much will the specified tickets cost SAA?

Reply:

South African Airways (SAA) has provided the following response:

The sponsorship department which is tasked with managing sponsorships at SAA has not received nor approved any request for sponsorship of tickets for three Members of Parliament to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil.

The Minister requests that the Honourable Member provide more precise information on this matter, should this be available.

30 August 2016 - NW1642

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Alberts, Mr ADW to ask the Minister of Finance

Whether the National Treasury has made provision for contingency plans in the event that South-Africa’s credit rating is lowered to junk status; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the contingency plans?

Reply:

In the past few months, the growth challenge and transformation agenda have brought government, business and labour leaders together. Since the beginning of the year, as tasked by the President, government, business and labour have been working together intensively to help strengthen short term confidence and reinforce long term growth. The focus has been on three key areas:

  1. Restoring confidence and boosting investment by local and international investors,
  2. Taking action to reignite growth
  3. Unblocking obstacles to faster employment growth in key sectors, and
  4. Identifying fiscal and regulatory reforms and strengthening state-owned companies.

Investment, employment creation, a sustainable budget deficit, building plans completed, industrial productivity and competitiveness are the measures of the progress, and the indicators that require urgent attention and are being dealt with in the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Investment chaired by the President. The results of the partnership already include the adoption by government of a clear fiscal consolidation path to avoid the burden of debt that might cripple investment flows and government spending capacity.

Together with business and labour, the government, after the budget in February, embarked on a foreign investor road show to present a united message to the world that South Africa is embarking on necessary economic reforms and is open for business. Recently, the President has tabled a report of the Presidential Review Commission on State Owned Companies (SOCs) that outlines interventions aimed at addressing the issues in the SOCs. While the 2016 Budget has been tabled under the most difficult economic conditions, with low growth and weak revenue performance being the major impediments, the National Treasury’s fiscal policy is sticking to its nominal expenditure ceiling. The Deputy President C Ramaphosa is leading a process of instituting reforms aimed at strengthening governance, business models and financial performance of SOCs. Please refer to the 2016 Budget Review for more details.

30 August 2016 - NW1647

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Dudley, Ms C to ask the Minister of Transport

(1)With reference to her reply to question 2549 on 14 July 2015, what provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013, did her department rely on when it took the decision not to commercialise the use of decryption keys in the short to medium term; (2) where does one legally obtain a decryption key?

Reply:

1. The Protection of Personal Information Act, No 4 of 2013 promotes the protection of personal information by public and private bodies. The following provisions were considered in the decision not to commercialise the use of decryption keys in the short to medium term.

  • Section 2 – purpose of the act
  • Section 4 – lawful processing of personal information
  • Section 5 – rights of data subjects
  • Section 8 – responsible party to ensure conditions for lawful processing
  • Section 9 – lawfulness of processing
  • Section 10 – minimality
  • Section 11 – consent, justification and objection
  • Section 12 – collection directly from data subject
  • Section 13 – collection for specific purpose
  • Section 16 – quality of information
  • Section 19 – security measures on integrity and confidentiality of personal information.
  • Section 20 – information processed b operator or persons acting under authority.
  • Section 21 – security measures regarding information processed by operator.

2. I am informed that the decryption key is only legally available from the Department of Transport. The Department of

Transport is currently looking into the changing the configuration of the key to ensure that a public

portion of the key can be made available to relevant stakeholders.

30 August 2016 - NW1700

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

Whether the National Director of Public Prosecutions received a copy of the final report prepared by Advocate John Myburgh into the collapse of African Bank, entitled African Bank Limited: Investigation in terms of s69A of the Banks Act, 94 of 1990; if not, why not; if so, (a) what is the name of the person(s) who handed the specified report to him and (b) on what date was the specified report handed to the National Prosecuting Authority; 2) whether the specified report has been referred for further investigation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. The National Director of Public Prosecutions has (indeed) received the report prepared by Advocate John Myburgh SC entitled African Bank Limited: Investigation in terms of section 69A of the Banks Act, 94 of 1990.

    (a) The said report was handed by DR Johann de Jager the General Counsel of the South African Reserve Bank.

    (b) The said report was handed to the National Prosecuting Authority on 17 May 2016.

2. The said report has not yet been referred for any further investigation. The report consists of over 833 pages and is currently being perused by the prosecutor who has been assigned to the matter. Any action required will be taken after the perusal of the report has been completed.

30 August 2016 - NW1127

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether the Deputy Minister has ever (a) been present at a meeting and/or (b) conducted any communication with a certain person (name furnished); if so, what are the relevant details of each specified (i) meeting and (ii) communication; if not, (2) has the specified person (name furnished) ever arranged a meeting for the Deputy Minister with members of a certain family (name furnished); if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each specified case, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Deputy Minister has informed me that the matter involving the certain family (name furnished) is under investigation by both the Hawks and the Public Protector and therefore we are not in a position to provide any further details until those investigations have been concluded.

29 August 2016 - NW1492

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Mokgalapa, Mr S to ask the MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:

(1) Has (a) she and/or (b) her department been requested to waive the diplomatic immunity of a certain person (name furnished); if so, when was such a request made; (2) has she made a decision in respect of the specified request; if so, (a) when did she make the decision, (b) what was the decision and (c) what are the reasons for the decision; (3) has her department (a) conducted an investigation into and/or (b) initiated any disciplinary proceedings against the specified person for an alleged drunk driving incident that took place in Oslo, the Kingdom of Norway, in January 2016; if not, why not; if so, in each case, what are the (i) relevant details and (ii) outcomes?

Reply:

 

1. Yes, the Department received the request on 4 January 2016.

2) a) A decision was made on 12 January 2016.

b) The decision was to recall the employee concerned and not to waive his Diplomatic Immunity.

c) The decision was based on the provisions of Articles 29 and 31 the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 quoted as follows:

Article 29 of the Convention provides:

The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving State shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.

4.1.2 Article 31 states:

1. A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in the case of:

(a) a real action relating to private immovable property situated in the territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the sending State for the purposes of the mission;

(b) an action relating to succession in which the diplomatic agent is involved as executor, administrator, heir or legatee as a private person and not on behalf of the sending State;

(c) an action relating to any professional or commercial activity exercised by the diplomatic agent in the receiving State outside his official functions.

3) a) Yes the Department has already conducted an investigation, and the Report of the investigation has recommended that formal disciplinary proceedings be instituted against the employee concerned;

b) The employee concerned has been officially notified that disciplinary proceedings are going to be instituted against him. Disciplinary proceedings against the employee concerned have not yet taken place because the Department is still in the process of drafting and formulating charges and compliance with all other relevant labour law requirements.

29 August 2016 - NW613

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Dudley, Ms C to ask the MRS C DUDLEY (ACDP) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:

(1) With regard to the imprisonment in Sudan of two Sudanese Christian men (names furnished), detained on the grounds of exercising their religious beliefs, (details furnished), what diplomatic action is her department taking since Sudanese authorities have allegedly (a) attempted to distance themselves from accusations of religious intolerance by placing unsubstantiated espionage charges against the specified persons and (b) failed to meet international fair trial standards; (2) will her department apply any diplomatic pressure on His Excellency Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir with regard to upholding international human rights standards; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant detail

Reply:

1. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has taken note of the arrest of the two individuals for their alleged religious believes. We further noted that one of them has since been released. Considering that, this is an internal matter in a sovereign state; our government therefore is constrained by international conventions on the conduct of diplomatic practice.

2. South Africa like all sovereign states will be cautious not to be seen interfering in internal matters.

UNQUOTE

29 August 2016 - NW1655

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Hunsinger, Mr CH to ask the Minister of Transport

(1)What are the normal rates for the renting of the various spaces available for advertising at Cape Town International Airport; (2) what amounts were (a) invoiced to and (b) received by the Airports Company of South Africa from all political parties and/or their agents for each of the first eight months of 2016 in respect of advertising space rented at the specified airport ahead of the 2016 Local Government Elections; (3) do the invoices issued to political parties reflect a discount on the normal rates for advertising at the specified airport; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what were the (a) discount rates and (b) reasons for these discounts; (4) whether any agencies acted on behalf of any political parties to advertise in the specified airport in the specified period; if so, which agency or agencies was or were involved in each case?

Reply:

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

1. Advertising rates are not generic but rather a function of:

    (i) Medium used e.g. Digital vs static vs banners etc.

    (ii) Zone or area used e.g. Security check-in before international departures;

    (iii) Size of structure;

    (iv) Seasonality and demand;

    (v) Importantly, the number of passing foot traffic and

     (vi) Assessment of the passenger behaviour and Living Standard Measure (“LSM”).

The rates per site range from R15 000,00 per site per month to as much as R150 000,00 per site per month – the factors noted above determine the rental negotiated.

2. (a) Airport advertising sites are concession to the out of home media owners from one month up to 5 years, these entities pay ACSA monthly rentals irrespective of securing an advertiser. The advertising concessionaire in-turn secures advertisers.

   (b) Airports Company South Africa is however aware of one political party advertising at the three National Airports (OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town International Airport) for the period June 2016 to end August 2016 through advertising concessionaire called Provantage Pty Ltd (“Provantage”). The amount invoiced by Airports Company South Africa to Provantage for the sites is R346, 619.00 per month excluding VAT.

(3) (a) Invoices were issued by Provantage to the political party’s Advertising Agency i.e. Ogilvy. Provantage confirmed that no discounts were considered. ACSA did not discount the sites to Provantage.

     (b) In terms of the response in (a) above; this is not applicable to ACSA.

4. No, ACSA did not act on behalf of any political parties to advertise in the specified airport in the specified period. The appointed Advertising Concessionaire is Provantage Pty Ltd, and the Political Party Advertising Agency is Ogilvy.

29 August 2016 - NW1514

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Balindlela, Ms ZB to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

1)Whether her department was approached by any political party for any form of funding (a) in the (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16 financial years and (b) since 1 April 2016; if so, what are the relevant details in each case; 2) Whether her department provided any form of funding to any political party (a) in the (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16 financial years and (b) since 1 April 2016; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? (a) What amount did (i) her department and (ii) each entity reporting to her spend on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year and (b) how much has (i) her department and (ii) each entity reporting to her budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year?

Reply:

1) (a)(i) No, there was no funding request received in 2013-14 from any political party

(ii) No, there was no funding request received in 2014-15 from any political party

(iii) No, there was no funding request received in 2015-16 from any political party

(b) Not applicable

2) (a)(i) No, there was no funding provided to any political part in 2013-14

(ii) No, there was no funding provided to any political part in 2014-15

(iii) No, there was no funding provided to any political part in 2015-16

(b) Not applicable

UNQUOTE.

29 August 2016 - NW1570

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Mokgalapa, Mr S to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

(a) How many staff members are employed at South Africa’s embassy in the Kingdom of Norway and (b) what is the (i) designation, (ii) salary grade and (iii) name of each the specified staff members?

Reply:

(a) 5

(b)

DESIGNATION

SALARY GRADE

NAME

Ambassador

13

Ambassador QA Zondo

1st Secretary: Political

10

Ms BSM Mepha

2nd Secretary: Political

8

Mr ZHM Zondi

1st Secretary: CS

10

Ms MC Mashishi

3rd Secretary: CS

7

Ms EM Nkwane

24 August 2016 - NW534

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Lovemore, Ms AT to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration

With reference to commitments made during his department’s Budget Vote speech on 13 May 2015, what are the relevant details of the (a)(i) business processes mapped, (ii) standard operating procedures developed and (iii) organisational functionality assessments conducted in response to his department’s commitment to its Operations Management Framework and (b) strategy for providing resultant support to poor performing departments that was drafted for consultation with stakeholders in the Public Service in terms of the (i) strategy for providing support, (ii) poor performing departments referred to in the speech and targeted by the strategy and (iii) consultation that has taken place on the strategy his department committed to?

Reply:

(a)(i)(ii)(iii) Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is mandated by the Medium Term Strategic Framework and Outcome 12 to develop an Operations Management Framework (OMF) and to provide institutional support on the implementation thereof to selected national and provincial Government departments on an annual basis.

In pursuance of that mandate, the Chief Directorate: Operations Management of the DPSA developed an Operations Management Framework with supporting toolkits which includes amongst others includes Business Process Management and Standard Operating Procedures.

In the 2015-16 financial year, DPSA focused on the National Department of Labour, the Social Development Sector and the Transport Sector. Business Process Maps and Standard Operating Procedures were developed for these Departments as follows:

Labour:

No.

Branch

Core Service

1

Inspection and Enforcement Service (IES)

  • Conduct Review Inspection on Employment
  • Inspection in terms of Labour Legislation - Basic Conditions of Employment Act
  • Inspection in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act

2

Public Employment Services (PES)

  • Recruitment and Placement Services
  • Walk in Registration of Work Seekers at a Labour Centre
  • Online Registration of Work Seekers via ESSA
  • International Cross Boarder Labour Migration Management

3

Labour Practice and International Relations (LPIR)

  • Registration of Labour organisations
  • Processing of Collective Agreements

4.

Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

  • Online application for unemployment/ordinary claim by claimant

5.

Compensation Fund (CF)

  • Assessment: Tariffs Section 85: Reduction and Loading Assessment Rate
  • Assessment: Tariffs Section: Sub Class investigations
  • Raising Assessment (Manual Submission)
  • Registration of Employer
  • Revision of Assessment

Social Development:

  • Registration of Non-Profit Organisations
  • Funding of Non-Profit Organisations
  • Placement of children in need of care and protection in foster care

Transport:

  • Issuing of contracts to service providers for the transportation of eligible learners to and from school
  • Issuing of public transport operating licenses
  • Issuing drivers licenses

The DPSA provided institutional support and/or advice to other departments on the Operations Management value chain. A list of departments is provided hereunder:

No.

Name of the Government Department/ Component/ Institution

1

Gauteng Department of Health

2

National Department of Health

3

Batho Pele Forum

4

Free State — Office of the Premier

5

Mineral Resources

6

Military Veterans

7

Department of Corporative Governance

8

KZN — Arts and Culture

9

National School of Government

10

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

11

Eastern Cape — Safety and Security

12

Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services

13

KZN —Education

14

Correctional Services Inspector Judge

15

Northern Cape — Office of the Premier

16

Batho Pele Standards Steering Committee

17

Department of Trade and Industry

18

KZN — Office of the Premier

19

Human Settlements

20

Parliamentary Budget Office

21

Agriculture and Rural Development

22

Ministry: Public Service and Administration

23

National Consumer Commission

24

Independent Police Investigative Directorate

25

Agriculture — Mpumalanga

26

Gauteng Office of the Premier

27

Northern Cape Provincial Treasury

(b) (i) (ii) (iii)

(i) The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments was developed by the DPSA to coordinate targeted support to government departments in line with the mandate of the MPSA outlined in section 3 (6) of the Public Service Act, 1994 as amended by the Public Service Amendment Act 30 of 2007.

The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments is delivered in phases and the Initiation phase of the strategy looks at three key areas:

  • Cabinet initiated Intervention or Support
  • Pro-active requests from Departments for support and
  • DPSA initiated support (MPAT, SD sites)

The targeted support on year one focused on Pro Active requests from departments for support and the requests received were on Organisational Design support. Received requests on Organisational Design from 43 sectors, 25 were finalised and 11 in progress, attached at Annexure B. The Strategy on the Provision of targeted support to Departments has been approved for implementation.

(ii) With regard to poor performing departments, a presentation was made to the North West province on their performance against outcome 12 and it was agreed that the Province will be assisted in the new financial year on their Service Delivery Improvement Plans (SDIPs), and together with National Treasury assist the Province in unblocking the challenge of 30 day payment to suppliers.

(iii) Extensive consultations were held within DPSA and with National and Provincial departments. The draft strategy was finally presented at the Governance and Administration cluster on 01 October 2015 for endorsement and support.

24 August 2016 - NW1113

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Malatsi, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation

Whether the director-general has received any letters from (a) a certain person (name furnished) or (b) the legal representative of the specified person with regard to South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee's alleged failure to implement the recommendations of a certain report (details furnished); if so, (i) how many letters were received by the director-general, (ii) what are the dates on the specified letters, (iii) on which dates were the specified letters received and (iv) what were the director-general's responses, if any, to the specified letters?

Reply:

(a)Yes

(i) The Director General received two letters

(ii) 16/02/2015 and 18/12/2015

(iii) 16/02/2015 and 18/12/2015. Letters were resend on 26/01/2016 and on 16/02/2016

(iv)

  • The Director General instructed the legal unit to contact the legal representative (see attached)
  • The Director General spoke to the legal representative telephonically and also held a follow up meeting with him.
  • Following the meeting, a formal letter was written to the federation to make a written representation. (See attached)

24 August 2016 - NW699

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Malatsi, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation

(1)Whether (a) he and/or (b) his Deputy Minister met with (i) the President of the SA Rugby Union (SARU), Mr Oregan Hoskins and/or (ii) his deputy, Mr Mark Alexandra, individually or collectively, to discuss SARU's handling of the allegations of financial misappropriation by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Jurie Roux, levelled against him during his tenure with the University of Stellenbosch; if not, why not; if so, what are the (aa) dates, (bb) places and (cc) outcomes of each specified meeting; (2) what total amount was paid to Mr Roux as SARU's CEO with regard to (a) salaries, (b) bonuses and (c) travel allowances (i) in the past five financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2015?

Reply:

(1)

(a) The Minister has met with SARU to discuss SARU's handling of the allegations of financial misappropriation by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Jurie Roux, levelled against him during his tenure with the University of Stellenbosch.

(aa) The meeting took place on Friday 04 March 2016.

(bb) The meeting took place in Rosebank.

(cc) The Minister is satisfied that the Federation has properly exercised its fiduciary responsibility and refers the questioner to the legal opinion provided by Fanie Cilliers, S.C. and Professor Michael Katz. They advised that it would be unfair labour practice to take action against an employee on perceptions of third parties or on the basis of a report of which the facts have not been tested in court. Based on the above advice, the Minister will not be taking any action against Mr. Roux.

(2) SARU has indicated that they are unable to provide a breakdown of amounts (salaries, bonuses and travel allowances) paid to the CEO over the past five financial years. The Financial Statements contained in the published Annual Report for SA Rugby only provide consolidated amounts paid to the Executive members. The CEO of South African Rugby Union like any other employee has labour rights which are protected by law. The right of confidentiality of information between employer and employee is a protected right.

23 August 2016 - NW1682

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Lorimer, Mr JR to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources

(a) How many advisors are paid to advise him, (b) what are the (i) names, (ii) designations, (iii) qualifications, (iv) brief employment histories and (v) remuneration packages in each case and (c) what are the full relevant details of the processes followed to employ each of the specified advisors?

Reply:

The Minister has two advisors, Mr Malcolm Mabaso and Adv Zarina Kellerman. Between them, the Minister’s advisors have a wealth of knowledge and experience spanning over 25 years collectively, in the commercial, legal, governance and mining sectors. They advise Minister on the political environment, legal and regulatory environment, compliance matters and corporate and commercial sectors. Mr Mabaso was employed in October 2015 and Advocate Kellerman in April 2016. Both advisors’ contracts are linked to that of the Minister with a contractual period of 3 years. Advisors are appointed and remunerated according to applicable rules as set out in the Public Services Act, the Ministerial Handbook and with concurrence of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

23 August 2016 - NW1670

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Topham , Mr B to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

What was the (a) total amount spent and (b) breakdown of such expenditure by his department on its participation in the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Fraud, Corruption, Impropriety or Irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages to date?

Reply:

(a) The department spent a total of R2 763 194.97 towards its participation in the Commission.

(b) This amount entails fees paid towards securing external services for the provision of legal advice to the dti inclusive of the drafting of witness statements. However these external services were later terminated and the department utilised in house legal services. The internal legal service working in conjunction with the Office of the State Attorney provided the legal support until the conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Fraud, Corruption, Impropriety or Irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages. This move was a significant cost saving to the department.

19 August 2016 - NW1581

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) What (i) was the total cost of implementing the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI), as introduced by the Employment Tax Incentive Act, Act 26 of 2013, (aa) in the (aaa) 2014 and (bbb) 2015 calendar years and (bb) since 1 January 2016 and (ii) is the estimated budget for the 2016 calendar year, b) how many jobs were created through the implementation of the ETI in each of the specified calendar years and c) for each job created in each of the specified calendar years, how many of the jobs created were (i) newly created and (ii) created for a period of (aa) less than three months, (bb) between 6 and 12 months, (cc) between 12 and 24 months and (dd) over 24 months?

Reply:

The South African Revenue Service provided the following information:

 (a) In general, tax incentive information is only available at least two years after employers submit their annual tax returns for a tax year to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and most of the returns have been audited. Therefore, the data on the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) that is provided is preliminary and could be significantly revised. The data for the last tax year and the current tax year are as per the monthly returns that employers submit to SARS for PAYE, which are very preliminary and subject to revision. The imminent review of the ETI will be the first comprehensive assessment to be conducted and it is expected to be completed by September 2016.

   (i) The total cost (tax revenue forgone) of the ETI since implementation on 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2016 was R6 623 million.

      aa. These amounts were claimed as follows:

            aaa. R1 882 million during calendar year 2014

            bbb. R3 330 million during calendar year 2015, and

      bb. R1 411 million from 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016. The higher amount during the first three months of 2016 includes a correction for some understatements during 2015.

  (ii) The estimated tax revenue forgone for the 2016 calendar year is around R4 100 million (which includes the figure for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016, mentioned in bb above).

  (b & c)

An in-depth analysis of the estimated number of employees involved and jobs created is currently underway in the imminent review. During this review the efficacy of the ETI will also be studied. The National Treasury will provide the Standing Committee of Finance with a report of this review once it is available.

17 August 2016 - NW348

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Maynier, Mr D to ask the Minister of Finance

(1)Whether consulting firm(s) were employed to investigate allegations surrounding the so-called covert intelligence unit of the South African Revenue Service (SARS); if so, (a) what was/were the name(s) of the consulting firm(s) and (b) what was the (i) total cost and (ii) the breakdown of the costs of employing the consulting firm(s); (2) whether the consulting firm(s) produced any reports; if not, why not; if so, in respect of each specified report (a) what was the title of the report and (b) on what date was the report received by the (i) the National Treasury, (ii) SARS and (iii) SARS’ Advisory Board.

Reply:

The following information has been submitted by the South African Revenue Service except the query related to National Treasury, I have no way of verifying its content:

1. Yes, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) employed external services including a consulting company to assist with the investigations.

   (a) Kanyane Committee; Sikhakhane Panel; and KPMG.

  (b)(i)

Kanyane Committee

R332, 177.90

Sikhakhane Panel

R2, 978, 363.88

KPMG

R23, 131, 265.30

(ii) The reports were produced in line with contractual agreements.

2.Yes.

   (a) Kanyane Report

Report to the Acting Commissioner for SARS regarding the findings of the panel established into allegations of impropriety against Johann Van Loggerenberg

Sikhakhane Report

Investigation Report - Conduct of Mr Johan Hendrikus Van Loggerenberg (South African Revenue Service)

KPMG report

South African Revenue Service: Report on allegations of Irregularities and Misconduct

  (b) (i)

Kanyane Report

No record of receipt of document

Sikhakhane Report

No record of receipt of document

KPMG Report

December 2015. Report that was submitted was dated the 03rd September 2015. The report was submitted without any attachments.

(ii)

Kanyane Report

12 August 2014

Sikhakhane Report

05 November 2014

KPMG Report

31 July 2015

3 September 2015

4 December 2015

(ii)

Kanyane Report

Not received

Sikhakhane Report

01 April 2015

KPMG Report

31 July 2015 – This copy was recalled as it contained certain errors. An amended report was submitted on 3 September 2015 and stamped as a “final report”.

17 August 2016 - NW1544

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Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) What amount did (i) the National Treasury and (ii) each entity reporting to him spend on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year and (b) how much has (i) the National Treasury and (ii) each entity reporting to him budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year?

Reply:

NATIONAL TREASURY

   

NATIONAL TREASURY

RSA RETAIL BONDS

 

(a)(i) 2015/16 Expenses

R 6 344 136.51

R24 096 546.49

 

(b)(i) 2016/17 Budget

R 2 075 000.00

R25 000 000.00

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD

The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has not spend any money on advertising during the 2015-16 financial year, nor have they budgeted for any advertising in the 2016-17 financial year.

CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT AGANCY

(a) (ii) R162,000

(b) (ii) R200,000

DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

The table below provides a summary of the actual spend for 2015/16 as well as the budget for 2016/17.

Description

2015/16 Actual

2016/17 Budget

Advertising including TV, radio and print

Note: The amount includes advertising for operational procurement

1 720 464

1 500 000

Total

1 720 464

1 500 000

FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CETRE

(a)(ii) The Financial Intelligence Centre spent R112 033 on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year;

(b)(ii) and has a preliminary budget allocation for advertising of R352 542 in the 2016-17 financial year.

FINANCIAL SERVICES BOARD

  1. (ii) Spent R 1 306 886.00 - 2015/16
  2. (ii) Budgeted R 1 636 960.00 – 2016/17

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PENSION FUND

  1. (ii) The GEPF has spent an amount of R54 483.35 on advertising for the 2015-16 financial year.

Supplier's Name

Description of Services

Amount

JONTI TENDERS

Enterprise Risk Management Service

R24 175.30

ULTIMATE RECRUITMENT SOLUTIONS cc

Advertising for Vacant Post

R30 308.05

    54 483.35

GOVERNMENT PENSION ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY

(a)(ii) The GPAA spent R 6 388 347.00 on advertising in the 2015-16 financial year and (b)(ii) an amount of R17 752 800.00 has been budgeted by the GPAA for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year

INDEPENDEND REGULATORY BOARD FOR AUDITORS

The IRBA declares that no money was spent on advertising in the 2015-16 financial period and no money was budgeted for advertising in the 2016-17 financial year.

PENSION FUNDS ADJUDICATOR

  1. (ii) – OPFA spent R494 661 in 2015-16
  2. (ii) – OPFA budgeted R208 000 for advertising in 2016-17

LAND BANK

  1. (ii) Land Bank Budget for Marketing and Advertising during the Financial

Year 2015/2016

During the year under review the Land Bank budgeted R2 073 220.00 for Marketing. This budget covered the following budget items:

  • General Advertising
  • Print Advertising
  • Event Sponsorships and Promotion related Advertising

Amount Spent: R711 559.57

Budget Variance: R1 361 660.43

  1. (ii) Land Bank Budget for Marketing and Advertising for the current

Financial Year 2016/2017

For the current Financial Year, the Land Bank has budgeted R4 358 264.00. This amount will still cover the above-mentioned budget items.

NB: The under expenditure during the 2015/16 financial year was due to:

  • The implementation of the Organisational Review resulted in the halting of all marketing and advertising related expenditure i.e. event sponsorships, purchasing of promotional material and all advertising was put on hold. There is now a team on board with marketing spend commitments made for the current financial year.

OMBUD FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERS

  1. (ii) The FAIS Ombud spent R53 503.42 in the 2015-16
  2. (ii) The FAIS Ombud has budgeted R66 874.00 for advertising for the 2016-17 financial year.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT CORPORATION

(a)(ii) In respect of the 2015-16 financial year – R338 918 was spent on advertising; and

(b)(ii) In respect of the 2016-17 financial year – R928 980 was budgeted for advertising.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

For SAA, the amount spent on advertising/media for 2015/16 is R 41 047 717.16 excluding production.

For 2016/17 with a 6% increase is R 43 510 580.19 excluding production.

SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES

(a)(ii) The South African Revenue Service spent R 56,665,196.36 on advertising in the 2015/16 Financial Year.

(b)(ii) The South African Revenue Service has budgeted R 62,513,316.00 for advertising in the 2016/17 Financial Year.

SASRIA

(a)(ii) During the 2015-2016 financial year an amount of R2 800 861.19 was spent on adversiting by Sasria SOC Limited.

(b)(ii) The advertising budget for the 2016-2017 financial year is R R 3 068 310.00

TAX OMBUD

The Office of the Tax Ombud has spent R 239 964.07 on advertising for the 2015/16 financial year. The advertising budget for the 2016/17 financial year has not been finalized yet.

17 August 2016 - NW454

Profile picture: McLoughlin, Mr AR

McLoughlin, Mr AR to ask the Minister of Finance

(a) What percentage of South Africa's bank notes are printed in foreign countries, (b) where precisely are such banknotes printed in each case, (c) at what exact and precise cost per note and (d) why are South Africa's bank notes not all printed in South Africa; 2) (a) what are the specific reasons for using private charter flights for the transport of such bank notes, (b) what was the total cost of such flights in the (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15 financial years, (c) which company(ies) were contracted for this purpose and (d) what tender process was followed in the awarding of the contract(s) in each case; 3) (a) how often are orders for such bank notes placed, (b) to whom are such orders given and (c) what (i) procurement process is used in the granting of these contracts and (ii) has been the total cost of such orders for each of the specified financial years?

Reply:

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has provided the following response:

The SARB is responsible for production of banknotes and coins. The response below takes into account the need for appropriate security and confidentiality related to their production and distribution:

1)(a) South Africa is mostly self-sufficient as far as the production of banknotes and coins are concerned. The majority of the South African banknotes (close to 90%) are produced domestically with the small percentage produced externally.

(b) The current arrangements are with a European based service provider.

(c) The production costs per unit externally ranged below R1,00 in the 2015/16 financial year. The production costs per unit is determined by the denominational values and volumes that are ordered, which might differ from year to year and is influenced by factors such as the exchange rate. The costs do not vary significantly from domestic production.

(d) This is done as part of a risk mitigation and diversification framework. This prudent approach is consistent with best practice by central banks to provide for more than one production house.

 

2)(a) The choice of haulage reflects security and cost considerations. South Africa currently does not have long-haul heavy-lift aircraft available to transport the required volumes of banknotes in a single flight which would not require re-fuelling stop-overs. Furthermore, the limited number of two to three flights per year does not warrant the purchase of an aircraft. Air chartering for banknote transport is an international common practice by central banks.

(b) Total associated costs of air transportation:

2012/13 FY – R125 million;

2013/14 FY – R147 million;

2014/15 FY – R53 million.

The total associated costs include, amongst others, the international transport / handling costs and customs value-added taxes.

(c) The Bank contracts with a lead logistics provider. The identity of this provider is confidential and the Bank cannot for security reasons publically disclose the identity of the company.

(d) In accordance with the Bank’s policy, the Bank followed a closed tender process for the procurement of currency related products and services.

3)(a) These production orders are placed annually.

(b) Refer to 1(b).

(c) (i) In accordance with the Bank’s policy, the Bank followed a closed tender process for the procurement of currency related products and services.

(ii) For the past few years the total costs ranged between approximately R150 million and R180 million per annum.