Questions and Replies

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.

________________________________________________________________________

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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Reply:

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

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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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”.

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.

Reply:

The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) has provided the following response: The SARB fulfils its responsibility for financial stability and continually monitors developments that may affect this mandate, and has taken steps to mitigate the effects of a possible sovereign ratings downgrade on the stability of the financial system. The SARB produces its Financial Stability Review (available on its website www.resbank.co.za) twice a year to report on how it is fulfilling this mandate.

The dual mandates of the SARB (price and financial stability) are pursued through the tools available in a manner consistent with its defined objectives, irrespective of the source. The framework for dealing with financial stability risks (including those posed by a possible sovereign ratings downgrade), includes:

1. Monitoring for financial stability risks
2. Contingency planning for various risk scenarios

iii) Stress testing

i) Monitoring framework for financial stability

The Financial Stability Department has in place a monitoring framework that focuses on the systemic vulnerabilities that may propagate adverse shocks to the South African economy and financial system. As noted in the SARB Financial Stability Review (May 2016), an important component of this monitoring framework is the risk assessment matrix (RAM) that identifies key domestic and external risks to financial stability, and their likely impact. The risks associated with a sovereign credit rating downgrade to sub-investment grade have been included in the versions of the RAM presented to the Financial Stability Committee since at least 2014.

ii) Contingency planning for various risk scenarios

The SARB is involved in continuous efforts to identify, quantify and mitigate possible adverse events that could pose a financial stability risk including a ratings downgrade. This contingency planning involves engaging with key public and private sector stakeholders.

The systemic risks associated with various scenarios are then discussed with all key stakeholders and contingency arrangements are put in place.

iii) Stress testing exercise conducted

The SARB conducted a common scenario stress test exercise to evaluate the soundness of the South African domestic banking sector (2016 stress testing exercise). Details of the scenarios and methodology are contained in the Financial Stability Review (May 2016).The scenarios made provision for vulnerabilities similar to what could be experienced following a downgrade.

In addition to these measures aimed at ensuring financial stability, action have been taken (by the Bank Supervision Department) to mitigate risks that may arise to individual financial institutions.

Reply:

1. The purpose of the review is to determine the money spent, by government on Small Medium and Micro Enterprises and the impact thereof. This will be done in order to ascertain the effectiveness government programmes and to improve interventions going forward.

2. However, the Department of Small Business Development has just recently, 1 April 2016, established its Policy and Research Branch. This component in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders, in the focus of developing the research agenda that will inform the policy formulation within the Department of Small Business Development. Given this fact, no timeframe has yet been formulated for the review in question and it is also dependent on the available resources within the Department of Small Business Development. With this in mind and the multi-faceted nature of the review it is safe to say that the Department will take a phased approach to implementing the said review.

3. It is reasonable to assume that the review will consider the value of investment by Government and impact thereof. It might be difficult to determine the total universe of private sector investment, however it will be borne in mind in the planning of the review.

Reply:

1. (aa)Yes, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation has taken steps in an effort to stop the execution of the South African citizen in Malaysia. The Minister wrote a personal letter to her Malaysian counterpart in which she requested the Malaysian Government to reconsider the death penalty handed down and to commute the sentence to an appropriate prison sentence.

(bb) No, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation have not taken steps to secure a transfer or exchange agreement with the government of Malaysia. The mandate to consider entering into such agreements falls within the ambit of the Department of Justice and Correctional Services.

(2) The position of Government is that South Africa has abolished the death penalty and that the South African Constitution does not mete out capital punishment and that the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation should therefore, in instances of South African citizens who receive death sentences in foreign states, approach her counterpart in that state and request the foreign state to reconsider the death penalty handed down and to commute the sentence to an appropriate prison sentence. The outcome of the subsequent decision by the other sovereign state needs to be respected irrespective of South Africa’s position.

 

Reply:

1. (a) (i) 11 May 2009 – 23 May 2014: approximately 191 days

         (ii) 14 December 2015 – 25 April 2016: approximately 16 days

(b) France; Nigeria; Angola; United Kingdom; Kingdom of Swaziland; United States of America; Turkey; Scotland; India; Switzerland; Tanzania; Cote d’Ivoire; Korea; Canada; Namibia; Hong Kong; Sierra Leone; China, Portugal; Spain; Egypt; Italy; Mexico; Ethiopia; Argentina; Sweden; Germany; Japan; Morocco; Malawi; Russia; Islamic Republic of Iran.

1(c) and (2)

The Minister contributes to and draws on a number of international fora meetings. These include all the G20 meetings, the IMF/WB Annual Meetings as well as the OECD Ministerial Council meeting, New Development Bank meetings, BRICS meetings, and many other for a where South Africa participates. For example, the issues emanating from the G20 discussions informs the policy approaches or choices that the National Treasury proposes in its day to day economic management of the South Africa.

Again, engagements in an international arena are important to enforcing global agreements, for example agreements on i) financial architecture; ii) money laundering and iii) finance regulations. These engagements further provide an insight into matters in the international environment. Issues that are raised at the G20 meetings assist in the shaping of South Africa’s economy in the global arena. During the 2008/09 global financial crisis, the Minister was able to draw insight on how South Africa was to respond to the crisis as a developing country. Specifically, the global cooperation among the G20 member countries has helped South Africa to avert the negative decline of the country’s economy through a set of possible policy options that were used to restore global stability and growth during the global financial and economic crisis.

Recently, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, that was held in February 2016 and July 2016, discussed a number of issues concerning global economy, framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, investment and infrastructure, international financial architecture, financial sector reform, international tax, anti-terrorist financing, green finance and climate finance. It is within this context that the Minister attends international meetings to assist the country in exploring the scope for cooperation amongst the G20 while acknowledging the interconnectedness of policy options between the different economies.

Reply:

Attached reply for Metroplitan find here: Reply

Reply:

(1)(a) The Mining Permit was never withdrawn but operations suspended due to non compliance with the terms and conditions of the consent granted and disputes that were unresolved in the community.

(b) A Mining Right was issued to Oersonskraal Mining (Pty) Ltd.

(2) Please see (1)(a) above

(3)(a) The current holder of the right is Oersonskraal Mining (Pty) Limited. The relevant Communal Property Association has a 15% shareholding in this company.

(b) The value has not been determined yet. The value of the diamonds can only be determined through a physical inspection/valuation of the diamonds according to the three C’s (Colour, clarity and carats of the diamond).

(4)(a)(b)The Department has not issued any administrative notice to suspend any operations on the relevant land during 2016.

(5) No official from the Department stopped operations on the specified community land.

Approved/not approved

Mr MJ Zwane, MP

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-………………/………………/2016

Reply:

The National Department of Health does not employ temporary health workers. Community Health Workers are deployed through service level agreements with non-governmental organisations.

The Department is currently finalising an investment case which will assist the Department to determine the budget required as well as the benefits that could be derived from appointing Community Health Workers as formal employees.

An audit of all provincial departments of health needs to be done to determine categories and numbers of temporary workers.

END.