Questions and Replies

Reply:

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

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

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

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Reply:

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

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER : Dineo Kau

DESIGNATION : Acting Chief Financial Officer

CONTACT DETAILS : 063 669 1968

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

______________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

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

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

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Reply:

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

 

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER :

DESIGNATION :

CONTACT DETAILS :

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

______________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

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

b) (i) and (ii) not applicable

(aa) not applicable

(bb) not applicable

DRAFTER OF THE REPLY

Name: Prof. Hlengani Mathebula

Designation: Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Contacts: 082 448 9219

Signature:

_____________________________

Ms Nomonde Mnukwa

Acting Director General: GCIS

Date:

__________________________

Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Reply:

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

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

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

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: ____________________________

DESIGNATION : ____________________________

CONTACT DETAILS : ____________________________

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

____________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms.)

Director-General and Secretary of the Cabinet

Date:

APPROVED/NOT APPROVED

______________________________

Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in The Presidency

Date:

Reply:

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

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

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Reply:

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

b) Not applicable.

Reply:

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

(ii) Refer to (i) above.

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

Reply:

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

End.

Reply:

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

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

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

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

Annexure 1

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

Seda Eastern Cape clients

Newly Approved Incubators

Quality and Standards Beneficiaries

Technology Transfer Assistance Beneficiaries

Reply:

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

(b) Refer to Annexure B

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

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

State Capacity

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

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

Credible Suppliers

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

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

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

 

Reply:

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

The school must ensure that:

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

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

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

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

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

3. The CAPS curriculum is aligned to the Constitution.

Reply:

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

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

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

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

END

Reply:

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

Reply:

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

Reply:

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

 

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

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

2.2 Visiting Professional Nurses and Social Workers.

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

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

2.5 Childcare (ECD) Vouchers for young mothers.

2.6 Homework Support.

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

2.8 Gender Based Violence prevention programmes.

2.9 Linkage to Post-violence care services.

2.8 Debriefing services for educators and LSAs.

 

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

Reply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reply:

a) How long will the specified investigation take

It is estimated that the investigation will take approximately 12 months. However, given the nature of forensic investigation(s), it may be finalised sooner or be extended, depending on the evidence uncovered during the investigation.

b) What total budget has been set aside

The Special Investigating Unit is not in a position to say whether any budget has been set aside by the relevant entity. However, it is estimated that the investigation will cost R4 880 554.24.

c) What are the expected outcomes

It is expected that the investigation should produce inter alia the following outcomes, provided that sufficient evidence be uncovered during the investigation to support these outcomes:

• The recovery of losses suffered by the state through the institution of civil proceedings;
• Referral of evidence of misconduct for the institution of disciplinary or corrective action;
• Referral of evidence indicating, or pointing to a criminal offence to the National Prosecuting Authority;
• Identify systemic gaps and make systemic recommendations to avoid identified instances of maladministration from occurring in future;
• Closure reports on all sub-investigations conducted as per the proclamation; and
• Submit Presidential Reports, as envisaged in sections 4(1)(f) and (g) of the SIU Act.

Given the nature of forensic investigation(s), the SIU cannot warrant that its investigations or its forensic services will result in the detection of impropriety, malpractice or criminal conduct, or in any successful remedial civil or disciplinary proceedings or criminal prosecutions. The outcomes of forensic investigations are unpredictable and the success of the legal outcomes, in particular civil litigation and/or criminal prosecution, are largely dependent on other entities, such as the National Prosecuting Authority, Office of the State Attorney, the South African Police Service, the Special Tribunal, the courts and the judicial system.

END

Reply:

The Presidency did not have the Minister in The Presidency under (Vote 1) until 06 March 2023. The Minister in The Presidency was located under Vote 08 (Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation).

There is currently no budget allocation linked directly to the office of the Minister

Procurement allocation is based on the Procurement Plan, which caters for the needs of The Presidency including the Ministries. There are no spending or allocations to the Minister for the period under review.

 

NAME OF THE DRAFTER : Dineo Kau

DESIGNATION : Acting Chief Financial Officer

CONTACT DETAILS : 063 669 1968

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

_____________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

__________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

The DSBD was requested to provide input on the Framework that has been put in place to address the issue of Red Tape.

The Department has indeed assessed measures nationally, provincial and locally. There are a multitude of legislative and regulatory criteria that small businesses need to comply with, not all of them are “onerous”, but still it provides a good indication that our regulatory frameworks are not well coordinated and synchronised, and are often duplicatory, placing both a cost and time burden on small businesses. The DSBD has prioritised twenty-nine (29) pieces of legislation (and related regulations, and by-laws, etc) that impact on SMME growth and development. This is summarised in Figure 2.

Names of legislation and Relevant Details

The twenty-nine (29) pieces affect informal sector, small, medium micro enterprises and cooperatives

across the spectrum. Regarding cooperatives, we have noted that CIPC reporting under the Co-operatives Development Act, is onerous as most co-ops are required to submit audited financial statements. That imposes a considerable expense, which does not apply to any other small enterprise. This contrasts with the Company’s Act which has specified thresholds over which enterprises are required to submit audited annual financial statements.

The Department has put out a request for quotations to enlist private sector red tape and small business development “experts” to conduct an analysis of these twenty-nine pieces of legislation and regulations, as well as other targeted sources of red tape like CIPC reporting for cooperatives. We have already however analysed several areas of “red tape” and ease of doing business challenges over the past few years and group these into the following categories:

1. Business Registration & Reporting;
2. State Procurement;
3. Construction Industry; and
4. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.

The Pilot Administrative Simplification Programme (PASP) focuses on institutionalising the best practices and learnings made by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and is focused on local government - its interventions target Districts/Secondary Cities and Local Municipalities. The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) is by no means the sole player in this ecosystem for measuring impact of the red tape reduction ecosystem:

1. The Investment Climate Reform Programme (formerly, the National Ease of Doing Business Programme) follows and focuses on improving the Investment Climate within the country. The key focus of the National Programme is starting a business, paying taxes, registering property, Construction Permits and trading across borders. The programme is located within the dtic and falls under its InvestSA branch.
2. The Sub National Doing Business Programme finds expression through the National Treasury’s Cities Support Programme targeting metros, and focusing on Construction Permits, registering property, enforcing contracts and getting electricity.
3. In addition to the Doing Business Survey, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) vigorously pursues the tracking of MTSF Priority 2 targets, monitoring 40% of the indicators, as well as focusing on the expansion of access to procurement opportunities to SMMEs, youth and women.
4. The integration of the MFMA, Circular 88 sector and economic indicators (including electricity) is thematic and provides a level of integration between traditional indicators measured in local government, and those that have been shown effective in National and Sub National Doing Business Programmes.

Measuring the Impact of the DSBD Red Tape Reduction PASP

The key focus of the PASP is measuring the impact of seven (7) Red Tape Reduction dimensions identified by the Guidelines approved in 2014:

1. Improving Municipal Service Delivery: Citizen Service Charters and Complaints Notification Systems (CNS).
2. Improving Municipal-Business Communication and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
3. Improving Municipal Policies, By-laws, and Regulations.
4. Improving Supply Chain Management Processes.
5. Speeding up Land Development Processes and Time Frames - Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA).
6. Speeding up Building Plan Approval Processes and Time Frames.
7. Better Management of Informal Trading.

The following is a multi-level strategy driven by the DSBD, that has been put in place for measuring the impact of the programme:

1. Questionnaires on compliance for managers, e.g., Supply Chain Manager, Building Plans Approval Manager, etc. for the seven (7) key red tape indicators.
2. Survey of SMMEs on the seven (7) key indicators of Red Tape challenges.
3. Focus groups with SMMEs to get clarity of the challenges they identified through the surveys conducted.
4. Assessment of Compliance for “good practise” in the above seven (7) areas of a municipality.
5. Functionality Assessment of compliance measures.
6. Action Plans developed to address performance deficits across the seven (7) key red tape indicators.
7. Action Plan Registers to Monitor Progress on the implementation of interventions contained on the seven (7) key red tape indicators of the Action Plans recommended.
8. Reports on the above.

The Presidency communicated to Premiers, in November 2022, to establish Red Tape Reduction Units in their respective provinces. There is continuous engagement with the provinces by the Presidency to facilitate the establishment of the Red Tape Reduction units in each province. The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) continues to engage the Presidency to get feedback on the progress made on the matter.

It is anticipated that the business units responsible for the red tape in the provinces, especially in offices of the Premiers, will act as Red Tape Reduction Champions at the highest level in the respective provinces as something that is sorely needed to galvanize the entire SMMEs and cooperatives sector at the provincial level. This will be complementary to the work that is being done by the Departmental and Presidential red tape reduction business units.

NAME OF THE DRAFTER : ____________________________

DESIGNATION : ____________________________

CONTACT DETAILS : ____________________________

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

Reply:

The Presidency did not have the Minister in The Presidency under (Vote 1) from 1 June 2019 to 06 March 2023. The Minister in The Presidency was located under Vote 09 (Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation).

On 6 March 2023, The President announced the appointment of the Minister in the Presidency (Vote 1), Ms. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. The Minister is supported by two Deputy Ministers, Mr Kenneth Morolong and Ms. Nomasonto Motaung. The Minister in the Presidency (Khumbudzo Ntshavheni) costs are covered by the State Security Agency.

1. (aa) Minister in The Presidency (Khumbudzo Ntshavheni)

(a) Destination N/A

(b) Total cost for R0

(i) Accomodation (International ) R0

(ii) Travel and other costs (International) R0

(bb) Deputy Minister Kenneth Morolong

(a) Destination N/A

(b) Total cost for R0

(i) Accomodation (International ) R0

(ii) Travel and other costs (International) R0

(bb) Deputy Minister Nomasonto Motaung

(a) Destination N/A

(b) Total cost for R0

(i) Accomodation (International ) R0

(ii) Travel and other costs (International) R0

2. Domestic Air Travel

(a) Minister in the Presidency (Khumbudzo Ntshavheni) R0

(b) Deputy Minister Kenneth Morolong R22 928

(c) Deputy Minister Nomasonto Motaung R73 075

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: Mr K Mashapha

DESIGNATION : Acting Chief Financial Officer

CONTACT DETAILS : 012 300 5998

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

____________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms.)

Director-General and Secretary of the Cabinet

Date:

APPROVED/NOT APPROVED

______________________________

Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in The Presidency

Date:

 

Reply:

1. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) has been working with other departments to improve financial management within the public sector. Some of the measures to this end include the implementation of the Heads of Department Performance Management and Development System (HoD PMDS), which includes the prevention of fruitless and wasteful expenditure as one of the Key Government Focus Areas that are assessed. This and other measures complement the amendments to the Public Audit Act, which empowers the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) to issue a certificate of debt for failure to implement the remedial action if financial loss was involved. Data shows that these measures are beginning to make an impact, as reflected in the 2021/22 report of the AGSA, which shows that there has been a decline in the number of institutions that incur fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

2. The 2021-22 report of the AGSA shows that public sector institutions disclosed fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R5,83 billion over the past three years of the current administration. In 2020-21 financial year public sector instituions incurred R1,72 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This was a decline from the 2019-20 financial year when R2,23 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure was incurred. Whilst challenges persist, the report notes that a descernible improvement trajectory has been established.

(3) According to the 2021-22 report of the AGSA, audit outcomes have shown a gradual upward trend since the previous administration’s term ended, with 114 institutions improving whilst 46 regressed. During the 2021-22 financial year, 312 out of 424 public sector institutions achieved unqualified audit opinion (128 clean and 184 unqualified with findings). This translates into 74% (30% clean and 44 unqualified with findings). If this trend can be maintained the target of 75% of auditees achieving an unqualified audit opinion would be achieved by 2024.

THANK YOU

Reply:

a) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) took a decision to consolidate all offices into a single building to improve access to services and service delivery.

b) September 2022.

c) 89% of deeds made available within 7 days from lodgement to registration against a target of 95%; and

99% of deeds are made available within 10 days from registration to delivery against a target of 95%.

d) Please refer to Annexure A for the Deeds Office project plan and communication to clients and the public.

e) (i) The Deeds Office did not fail to provide registry services during the relocation; the deeds office provided limited services i.e. only lodgement of deeds was suspended, and registration services proceeded as normal.

(ii) There is no need for a catch-up plan as the Deeds office was proactive and obtained approval for overtime before moving the office to ensure sustained productivity.

Reply:

The Public Service Commission Amendment Bill [B 21D of 2015], has already been assented to by the President on 19 September 2019. The Bill was published in government gazette No. 42742 of 03 October 2019 as Act No. 10 of 2019.

The Department of Public Service and Administration is however currently processing another amendment to the Public Service Commission Act, the amendment was approved by Cabinet and published, by the Minister of Public Service and Administration, for public comments in the government gazette of 9 June 2023. The Minister of Public Service and Administration is the relevant Cabinet Minister responsible for the processing of the Bill to Parliament, as such it will be difficult for me to give an answer as to on what date the Bill will brought before Parliament.

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: Geofrey Mphaphuli

DESIGNATION : Principal State Law Adviser

CONTACT DETAILS : Ext 5403

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

_____________________________

Phindile Baleni (Ms)

Director General and Secretary of Cabinet

Date:

_____________________________

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency

Date:

Reply:

Time Period	Total ad spend on Out of Home	Spend on 100% black owned companies	Spend on 100% white owned companies	Spend on other races
2019/20 – 2022/23	R182 461 332.10	R150 142 904.05	R31 439 248.53	R5 353 440.00 (Indian owned)
Percentage share		82%	17%	1%

b) GCIS has established the Marketing and Advertising Council (MAC), through which transformation in the Advertising and Marketing industry is at the top of the agenda. The council will conduct regular assessment and monitoring for compliance to the BEE code, to ensure that the entire industry comply and meet the minimum requirements,

 

Drafter of the Reply:

Name: Regomoditswe Mavimbela

Designation: DDG: Content Processing and Dissemination

Recommended/Not Recommended:

Ms Nomonde Mnukwa

Acting Director-General

Date: 10 August 2023

Approved / Not approved

______________________

Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, MP

Minister in The Presidency

Reply:

No,

The Portfolio Committee in its meeting on this matter thoroughly examined the issue; amongst other things, as to why Justice Cameron chose to disclose the details of the escape incident to the media in the way that he did. Therefore, there is no need to probe the matter further.

Reply:

1. There are 3388 schools that are dependent on basic pit toilets on the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) programme.

2. The balance of schools on the 3388 schools, sanitation projects at 2767 schools have already progressed to practical completion.

3. The target of the schools on the SAFE programme is scheduled to achieve practical completion by the end of 2023/24.

4. With regards to schools in Matatiele, DBE has provided 78 schools with Sanitation facilities and will provide sanitation facilities to the outstanding 4 schools in Matatiele by end of 2023/2024 financial year.

Reply:

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Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

South Africa has seen declining fixed capital investment and economic performance over the past decade. Analysis of this widening investment gap to National Development Plan targeted growth levels, shows that an additional R1.6 trillion in public sector infrastructure investment is required by 2030, over and above that forecasted for current public sector entities. Delivering an effective infrastructure-led economic recovery plan will require the government to overcome various challenges currently faced in the infrastructure ecosystem, including but not limited to infrastructure under-spend due to poor project preparation and lack of capability and capacity in the public sector.

The pipeline of well-prepared projects is scarce, therefore limiting investment opportunities. Given the risks and uncertainties of project preparation, private sector has understandably been hesitant to get involved during the early stages of infrastructure projects or programme. It is important that government invests in project preparation. The intended objective of the project preparation funding is to:

• unleash significant quanta of private sector investment for catalytic public sector infrastructure projects;
• ensure viable, efficient and bankable project portfolio;
• augment the technical and financial engineering capacity in under resourced provinces and municipalities; and
• enable economic and social development impact through projects that are brought to financial close

Infrastructure South Africa has a pipeline of projects and programmes, a significant number of these projects are not sufficiently prepared and packaged such that funding and financing decisions can be made. Moreover, the majority of these projects are submitted by less-resourced municipalities. The R600 million allocated to Infrastructure South Africa is over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. That is, R200 million is allocated in the 2023/24 FY; R200 million in 2024/25 FY and R200 million in the 2025/26 FY. The funding will be directed to preparing and packaging infrastructure investment projects and programmes in priority sectors such as water and sanitation, rural and municipal roads, energy, education and health infrastructure projects and programmes.

Infrastructure South Africa does not own projects, the relevant projects owners, when procuring and implementing their infrastructure projects must ensure that partnership opportunities in relation to promoting gender and race transformation as well as technical capabilities by growing the community of skilled black professionals and companies in the built environment. In addition, the project sponsors need to ensure that where appropriated, the use of locally manufactured materials are used when the assets are built.

Infrastructure South Africa will provide continuous oversight and monitoring of the projects that benefit from the project preparation funds to support the successful execution of projects beyond preparation stages. Through the Infrastructure South Africa Centre of Excellence, the impact of the infrastructure projects will be monitored closely to quantify the extent to which, inter alia, job opportunities in the local area were realised and the value to society and economy that is derived from the infrastructure asset.

Reply:

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Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

The recent PQ 596 is the related to PQ 255, which was published in IQP No. 02 on 17 February 2023. (See attached) Below here is the same reply that was provided for PQ 255, which serves as the response also to the recent PQ 596.

1. Yes, the Department has recently received the proposed budget requirement for the profiling of the Greydell community from the Buffalo City Municipality; the estimated cost is R600 000.00 and the estimated timeframe is 3 months to complete including compilation of the report. It is expected the profiling will commence in the new financial year in consultation with political leadership and subsequent to funding approval processes.

2. 

(a) The Department is currently surveying the land in question with a view to subdividing it for disposal to relevant identified stakeholders, inter alia, a portion to the HDA for BCM Human settlement purposes, a portion to ACSA for the extension of the runway and a portion to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment for incorporation into the Umtiza Nature Reserve.

(b) The Department is currently engaging other stakeholders on the Greydell resettlement program with a view to finalise an intergovernmental solution to the invaded land.

(c) Timeframes for the interventions are being determined at present; and

(d) Costs for the interventions are being determined at present.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has not been informed of the tap water in Ward 5, Riemvasmaak in the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality (LM). The Kou-Kamma LM has not captured water sampling results on the Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) of DWS, which led to regulatory notices being issued to Kou-Kamma LM.

a) Following an investigation, it was found that the Riemvasmaak is a community of about 40 informal houses within Woodlands the area. The community is served by one stand-pipe tap linked to the reticulation of the Woodlands Water Treatment Works (WTW). Kou-Kamma LM officials have provided copies of sample results for Woodlands WTW and water supply area. Results from water samples taken on each of the following dates 08 March, 12 April and 10 May 2023 showed that each test result complied with the microbiological health parameters of E.coli, total coliforms and total bacteria. The chemical results from March showed a lower pH (on acidic side) and levels of dissolved Iron and Manganese exceeding the aesthetic limits and dissolved Manganese exceeding the chronic health limit (SANS 241:2015). This dissolved Iron & Manganese could be the cause of brown discoloration.

b) Kou-Kamma officials reported that contact with the Clinic serving Woodlands and Riemvasmaak areas has not observed or recorded any increase of diarrhoeal cases. The following measures are put in place:

• A tender for laboratory analysis to increase monitoring,
• Commitment to capture monitoring results on Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS).
• Investigation into the reason for; and treatment options, to remove the Iron & Manganese found at the Woodlands WTW.

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Reply:

A water quality monitoring programme is being implemented by the Musina Local Municipality in relation to the compliance to South Africa National Standard 241(SANS 241) following the visit by the Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation to Musina in 2022. The following measures were implemented to improve the drinking water quality:

• Cleaning of reservoirs
• Chlorination/disinfection of water before distribution
• Monitoring programme of water quality was initiated from 26 May 2022 at seven monitoring points including Oorplaas, Musina Municipal Main Office, Musina Intermodal Terminal Ext 9, Venetia Guesthouse, Musina Hospital, Gateway Ext 8, and Beitbrige.

The outcome of the water quality compliance monitoring indicated the following:

• Microbiological - three sampling points complied (Oorplaas, Musina Intermodal Terminal Ext 9 and Beitbridge)
• Chemical - all sampling points complied
• Physical - six sampling points complied (Oorplaas, Musina Municipal Main Office, Musina Intermodal Terminal Ext 9, Venetia Guesthouse, Messina Hospital, and Gateway extension 8)

Recommendations to correct the failing sampling points were made to the municipality by the Department of Water and Sanitation. A follow up was done on 29 June 2022 to check progress made at the Musina Intermodal Terminal, Gateway Primary School, Bergview Reservoir, Messina Municipality, Messina Borehole, Messina Hospital, Messina Borehole, Venetia Guest House, Oorplas, Oorplas Inlet, Beitbridge PS. The outcome of the water quality compliance indicated the following:

• Microbiological- seven sampling points complied (Gateway Primary School, Bergview Reservoir, Messina Municipality, Messina Borehole, Messina Hospital, Messina Borehole, Oorplas, Beitbridge PS)
• Chemical- All sampling points complied
• Physical – All sampling points complied

As indicated above, water quality results indicate that there has been improvement on the microbiological compliance as a result of the remedial actions implemented by the municipality.

(2) (a) The municipality continues to monitor water quality on a monthly basis on Conductivity, Chloride, E.coli, Fluoride, Free Chlorine, Iron, Manganese, pH, Sulfate, Total Coliforms, Total Dissolve Solids and Turbidity since the establishment of the monitoring programme.

(2) (b) Tests conducted during May 2023 found that free chlorine was lower than the range of 0,2mg/l and 0,5mg/l. This non-compliance does not pose any health risk since the municipality is compliant with regard to microbiological compliance.

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