Questions and Replies

Reply:

The questions raised here have potential to compromise the operational integrity of the SANDF with regard to force deployment; force movement and tactical planning.

It is however suffice to say that the SANDF deploys in the National Campaign against Rhino poaching in support of other government departments as part of its constitutional mandate.

Reply:

The total number Reserves that were called-up up at the Joint Tactical Headquarters and Ops Corona in Mpumalanga during the financial years 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 is indicated in the table below:

CALL-UP CATEGORIES (Months)	NUMBER OF MEMBERS CALLED-UP (Individuals utilised)
	FY 2012/2013-2014/2015
0-6	2 601
6-12	1 712
12-18	417
18-24	89
24-30	8
30-36	0
TOTAL	4 827

Reply:

1.  The three submarines are currently operational.

2. Not applicable

3. NO

Reply:

1 (a) (i) and (ii) National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding for the 2016 academic year has been allocated to the universities to administer on NSFAS’s behalf. Universities administering NSFAS funding through the non-student centred model will apply guidelines provided by NSFAS through the NSFAS Rules and Regulation Handbook for the selection of students and determining the actual loan or bursary value to be awarded to a student.

First-year students and other undergraduate students will be funded through the DHET General Loan programme funding (R3.2 billion), DHET Teacher Education loan programme (R124.3 million), DHET Final Year loan programme for final year students only (R1.2 billion), the National Skills Fund (R800 million) and a range of smaller bursary programmes whose beneficiaries are selected by the funder.

Universities are concluding allocation processes and information on the number of students within categories in 2016 is not yet available.

(iii) One funding category is made available for postgraduate studies and therefore the number of students funded is limited. The allocation for the 2016

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 832 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) and (b) (i) No

1. Not applicable

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 934 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) No, Ministry does not have frozen vacant positions

(b) N/A

(C) N/A

 

 

Approved/not approved

Mr MJ Zwane, MP

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-………………/………………/2016

Reply:

(1), (2) (a), (b), (i), (ii) and 3. This matter is sub judice.

Reply:

There is a performance agreement in place that is binding on the Minister of Mineral Resources. This agreement has been signed with the President.

The Minister has recently been appointed and as a result has not done any assessment with the President.

 

Approved/not approved

Mr MJ Zwane

Minister of Mineral Resources

Date Submitted:-………………/………………/2016

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Tlokwe Local Municipalitie. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The rationale for the proposed amendments is to strengthen the administration of exports of scrap metal to achieve public policy objectives.

ITAC has published a notice requesting members of the public and interested parties to comment on a range of proposals in this regard.

One of the proposals related to the possible designation of one port to enable the concentration of resources to enable effective compliance. ITAC will need to take into account all relevant factors, including the additional costs on parties and weigh these against the likely benefits. A public call for comments assists ITAC to take all views into account.

-END-

Reply:

a) The project allocation process is initiated by the Project Management Unit of the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA), which conducts a needs analysis, derived from the:

• National Skills Development Strategy;
• CETA Sector Skills Plan;
• CETA five-year Strategic Plan;
• CETA Annual Performance Plan; and
• Service Level Agreements.

   (i) The grant allocation approval process is entirely transparent and meets the relevant supply chain management principles. The process involves the following:

• Applications are made through the CETA online application tool;
• Evaluations are done independently and recommendations are made to the CETA Board;
• After approval by the CETA Board, the CETA issues an offer to contract with the successful applicant, which is subject to various conditions, including a due diligence exercise to determine the ability of the approved applicants to implement their proposed projects; and
• CETA finally approves the relevant grants, only after applicants have satisfied CETA of its ability to implement their proposed projects.

The process that is followed in respect thereof ensures the integrity of the CETA’s project allocation.

  (ii) Since the 2011/12 financial year, all payments to successful applicants were made in accordance with the CETA’s performance based payment system, in terms of which:

• Payments are made after submission and approval of compliant invoices and supporting documentation;
• All payments can accordingly be traced back to costs incurred in respect of specific learners, in accordance with the supporting documentation which entities are required to submit prior to receiving payment;
• The supporting information required before payments are made include, where applicable, learner attendance registers, proof of payment of stipends to learners and proof of receipt of learning materials received by the learners;
• No advance payments are made to any entities;
• As a consequence, entities who do not perform in accordance with their project planning will not receive their full grant allocation;
• Payments are only made in respect of services rendered or expenses incurred; and
• the CETA has strict invoicing processing compliance requirements in which payments are only made into approved bank accounts, or, in the instance of public entities, separate cost centres, allocated exclusively to the approved CETA project.

(b) Below are the three areas in which the CETA ensures quality:

• Accountability and conformance to standards;
• Maintaining and enhancing the quality of facilitation and learning by accredited Skills Development Providers; and
• Quality enhancement and continually improving practitioners, assessors, moderators and staff.

(c) The following measures are implemented to ensure that CETA accounts for all funds utilised:

• A commitment schedule, which is reviewed on a regular basis, is maintained;
• Monthly management reports are reviewed by the Finance Committee;
• Financial statements are prepared on a quarterly basis;
• Annual financial statements are reviewed by the Audit Committee; and
• Annual Financial Statements are audited by the Auditor-General who tests the accuracy, validity and completeness of financial information.

 

Compiler/contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 341 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

The Department did not award any contract to Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta during the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15 financial years.

Reply:

(1) One of the key performance indicators (KPI) and targets in SANBI’s approved Corporate Strategic Plan is the development of black biodiversity professionals. By the year 2019/2020, SANBI’s target is to develop 140 black biodiversity professionals which is on track and consistently monitored and reported on.

• Recently SANBI, together with partners in the biodiversity sector, has just included implementation of the Groen Sebenza Programme which is a pioneering and innovative initiative that has developed 854 young black biodiversity professionals.
• Career ladders for scientists and horticulturists were introduced in order to attract, develop and retain black biodiversity professionals.
• In addition, the following interventions are being implemented to ensure that our black scientists’ careers development paths are supported:

o Staff bursaries towards higher degrees;

o Scientific writing training courses;

o Studentships and Internships programmes;

o Mentorship/coaching; and

o Participation in workshops and conferences (local and international).

(2) The Board of Directors appointed by the Minister provides oversight to SANBI on all organisational matters including human related matters (NEMBA Section 13). The department through its governance protocol with its entities (including SANBI), provides support for the operationalisation of the business processes. In terms of the established governance practices, the current institutional arrangements suffice to enable SANBI to discharge its operational duties including the analysis of the outcomes of exit interviews. The specific matter of Mr Qwede is being addressed by SANBI Management and the department will address the same when it is raised through proper channels.

---ooOoo---

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department acknowledges the increased health risks resulting from excessive sugar intake. The Department of Health, as well as our government partners, have already announced steps to deal with the excessive consumption of sugar by the population at large. For example the Treasury has recently announced a tax on sugar sweetened beverages that will come into effect in April 2016. The Department developed a multi-sectoral strategy to prevent and control obesity in South Africa. One of the actions in the strategy is to educate the public about healthy food choices including the risks of excessive sugar intake. The Department has developed a Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) which will be used to assess and classify foods as having excessive amounts of sugar, salt and fats. The NPM together with the labelling regulations will ensure that consumers are educated on how to make informed choices.

However it is important to note that while sugar is an important contributor to the rising incidence of Non-communicable diseases is South Africa, it is by no means the only contributor and other dietary risk factors as well as lack of physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use are also important risk factors. The Department of Health is thus dealing with the excess of sugar intake as part of a more comprehensive plan to deal with non-communicable diseases.

With respect to “indirect consumption” the Director General of Health has led a partnership with the Consumer Goods Council and its affiliates to ensure that the industry reformulates its products to be more healthy and that consumption patterns, including sugar consumption, decreases. Outcomes of these processes are expected to become evident soon.

2. No. It is the prerogative of the public broadcaster to secure the rights and air programmes and not that of the Department of Health.

The Good Life Network channel that was launched in December 2015 by the Department is one of the platforms used to inform and educate consumers about the importance of making Healthy food choices. Various other channels are being utilised where information is shared around the importance of healthy eating and the risks of excessive intake of sugar, salt and fat.

The Department of Health will be launching a public awareness campaign in late March for healthy lifestyles as part of World Health day activities under the theme “beat diabetes”.

3. Yes. Provision was made in the draft Food Labelling Regulations (R429/2014) for a front-of-pack labelling option, in addition to the fact that total sugars must always be declared in the table with nutritional information.  The new Labelling Regulations will make Nutritional information mandatory for most foods (a few exemptions are allowed).

The following is an example of a front-of pack labelling, following the principles of the Traffic light system: red means dangerous, yellow means caution and green means safe:

This example could be further developed into a simpler format which simply include the traffic light colours, the name of the nutrient, e.g. sugar, or salt and if possible a graphic representation of a typical household measure such as a teaspoon.  Further work is this regard is still being pursued with the food industry.

 

END.

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the remaining three Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Tlokwe Local Municipalitie. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

Yes. By way of example, the Minister’s office in the last month received on average, 10 invitations and requests per day from a wide range of stakeholders. Some of these requests are for meetings to be held in the office, invitations to events at embassies, networking sessions organised by Chambers of Commerce, numerous speaking engagements and so forth. Stakeholders include owners of large businesses, Chief Executive Officers of multi-national corporations, Ministers, Ambassadors, labour formations and so on. In other words, the dti mandate dictates that the Minister of Trade and Industry interacts with a wide spectrum of prominent stakeholders who believe their businesses may benefit from the dti’s offerings and he does so, in a variety of settings.

In this light and in common with a number of politicians across the political divide, including the Premier of the Western Cape, Ms H Zille, the Minister responded positively to some invitations from the Gupta family, to attend various events.

On the few occasions that any conversations took place between the Minister and representatives of the family, the content was general and no specific projects were discussed. This is in line with the standard practice Minister adopts with stakeholders where any specific requests for incentives are referred to relevant decision-making structures for approval or rejection. The Ministry would then only consider intervening for the sake of efficiencies if there appear to be purely bureaucratic delays in bringing a process to its conclusion.

To the knowledge of the Ministry, approximately 6 years ago one meeting at the request of the Gupta family was held at the dti offices in Hatfield, Sunnyside attended by the Minister, dti officials and a Mr Gupta to discuss the company’s investment plans. The nature of the meeting was similar to innumerable meetings the Minister has held with potential investors, both foreign and domestic. In the event, no follow-up meetings were requested or held.

The Minister also accepted an invitation to attend the wedding of a Gupta family member as it potentially presented an unexpected but welcome opportunity to informally meet with his then Indian counter-part. Regrettably, the Minister did not in fact attend.

Reply:

In terms of the rules applicable to Members of the Executive and Members of Parliament, Ministers have to disclose their Financial and/or business interests to both Parliament and the Presidency in compliance with the applicable ethics code. All financial interests of the member and family are disclosed annually. The Minister has always complied with these requirements.

Minister Davies has no interests in any businesses and none of the members of his family has had any business dealings with Government. The Minister is a Director of the Institute of African Alternatives, a non-profit organisation, for which he receives no remuneration.

 

Reply:

Upon receipt of this question, we requested the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality to provide information on this matter and are still awaiting. We will therefore keep the Honourable Member updated on progress.

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

(a) With reference to my reply to question 335 on 14 March 2016, an update is provided on the costs of damage caused to property at North West University, University of Cape Town and University of the Free State resulting from student protests since 1 February 2016:

• University of Stellenbosch – R352 000.00
• North West University – R151 000 000.00 (updated)
• University of Limpopo – R1 786 294.52
• University of Johannesburg – R345 000.00
• University of the Western Cape – R46 544 446.00
• Walter Sisulu University – R351 287.19
• Tshwane University of Technology – R5 073 747.73
• University of KwaZulu-Natal – R82 000 000.00
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology – R689 850.14
• University of Cape Town – R3 200 000.00 (updated)
• University of Zululand – R 4 500 000.00
• Rhodes University – R250 000.00
• University of the Witwatersrand – R1 410 223.00
• University of the Free State – R2 800 000.00 (updated)

Total cost: R300 302 848.58 (updated)

The following universities submitted damage reports, however they did not provide estimates of the cost of damage, which will be requested from them:

• University of South Africa;
• Central University of Technology;
• Durban University of Technology; and
• University of Fort Hare.

The following universities reported no/minor incidents of damage on their campuses:

• Vaal University of Technology;
• Mangosuthu University of Technology;
• University of Venda;
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; and
• University of Pretoria –graffiti on walls, which have been repainted.

(b) The universities have not confirmed from which university budgets these damages will be recovered. However, certain damages will be paid or recovered from insurance claims.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 833 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

1. The R24 (P16/1) from km 12, 5 (Olifantshoek) to km 0.0 (Buiten ST, Rustenburg) was split into two sections. Section One km 0.0 to km 4.9 (Project One) and km 4.9 to km 12 ,5 (Project Two). These projects were procured approximately 24 months apart.

2(a) Project One was awarded to DIP Civils in April 2013. In February 2014 the pace of construction slowed down considerably and it was evident that the Contractor was experiencing some financial problems that led into the contractor seeking for a and entered into Business Rescue in April 2014. Unfortunately the Business Rescue was not successful and a new contractor was appointed together with the Liquidator in October 2014. This project is scheduled to be completed by end April 2016.

(b) The Second Project commenced in March 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in September 2017. Currently progress is on schedule.

(3) As part of government’s key delivery programme being implemented by SANRAL, the Minister has no plans to single out this programme through any form of statement on this road.

Reply:

On 03 June 2015 the National Assembly recommended that I appoint Mr Ntenteni as a member of the MDDA board. Acting on the recommendation I the appointed Mr Ntenteni on 19 June 2015.

The security screening that we undertook later revealed that he was convicted of culpable homicide in 1998. Following the results of the security screening I requested the National Assembly on 07 December 2015 to initiate a process of checking if Mr Ntenteni is suitable to be a member of the board of the MDDA.

I will be guided be by the outcome of the parliamentary process in this matter.

Reply:

The question by the Honourable Member is more on operational matters which the Ministry at the national level, does not monitor. The question can therefore best be responded to by the Municipal Managers and the Honourable Member may consider using his representation in those councils.

Reply:

On 29 February 2014 and 27 January 2016 the Commission received complaints related to a visa service provider.

The first complaint was that the visa service provider had allegedly concluded contracts with various foreign governments in terms of which it had been given exclusive rights to provide visa support services, and was charging excessive prices for its visa support services.

After investigating the complaint, the CC decided not to refer the matter to the Competition Tribunal, due to jurisdictional issues relating to the conduct of foreign governments. The Commission also found that the prices that were being charged were in fact aligned with the embassies’ own tendering frameworks.

The Commission did however engage in advocacy efforts with the embassies concerned, to make them aware that such practices could have anti-competitive effects.

On 27 January 2016, the Commission received a complaint that the same company was abusing its dominance in the provision of visa support services to international travellers to South Africa who have to use South African embassies abroad. This complaint is still under investigation by the Commission.

-END-

Reply:

No.

END.

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) There were thirty three (33) reported cases of natural deaths

(1)(a)(ii) There were five (5) reported cases of unnatural deaths (known and unknown causes)

Information for (1)(b),(c)and (2) is reflected in the tables below:

(1)(b) Date of death	(1)(c) Reason of death	(2) Date reported to JICS –if not give reason
NATURAL DEATHS
2015.03.13	Respiratory Failure	2015.08.24
2015.04.09	Heart Problem	2016.02.23
2015.04.26	Respiratory Failure	2015.05.25
2015.05.11	Respiratory Failure	2015.05.17
2015.08.24	Nephrotic Syndrome	2015.08.27
2015.08.27	Broncho Pneumonia	2015.09.06.
2015.08.29	Acute Liver Failure	2015.08.30
2015.10.15	Respiratory Failure	2015.10.29
2015.11.20	Cardio Pulmonary Arrest	2015.12.13
2015.05.17.	Retro Viral Disease	2015.05.20
2015.05.26.	Plasma Blastic Lymphoma	2015.05.28
2015.06.08	Retro Viral Disease	2015.06.24
2015.06.11	Idiopathic Thrombo Cytopenia	2015.06.17
2015.06.11	Kaposi Sarcoma	2015.06.17
2015.06.10	Retro Viral Disease	2015.06.17
2016.01.29	Respiratory Failure	2016.01.29
2016.02.20	Opportunistic Infection /Diabetes	2016.03.07
2016.02.28	Electrolyte Imbalance	2016.02.28
2015.05.27	Epilepsy Hypertension Previous Cerebro vascular accident	2015.05.28
2015.11.10	Retro Viral Disease	2015.11.12
2015.11.13	Retro Viral Disease	2015.11.13
2015.12.08	Diabetes Hypertension Asthma	2015.02.09
2016.02.24	Hepatitis	2016.02.24
2015.09.09	Acute asthmatic attack	2015.09.09
2015.06.15	Retro Viral Disease	2015.06.22
2015.06.16	Retro Viral Disease	2015.06.18
2015.06.18	Retro Viral Disease	2015.06.26
2015.07.06	Meningitis	2015.07.10
2015.07.26	Hypertension	2015.07.31
2015.09.01	Retro Viral Disease	2015.09.03
2015.09.13	Retro Viral Disease	2015.09.16
2015.11.30	Sepsis renal failure	2015.12.01
2016.01.19	Jaundice	2016.01.26
UNNATURAL DEATHS
2015.08.26	Suicide: Medication overdose	2015.08.27
2015.11.08	Unnatural: Post mortem outstanding. Death register number 1619/15: Steve Biko Forensic Pathology Laboratory	2015.11.08
2015.11.12	Assault: Inmate on Inmate: Stabbed in the heart	2015.11.12
2015.11.19	Suicide: Hanging	2015.11.19
2015.12.12	Stab wound of the chest. Injury to the pulmonary artery. Blood in the pericardial sack around the heart. Massive haemothorax of the left chest cavity. Superficial incised wounds of the right flank and back	2015.12.12

(3) The JICS does not investigate all deaths reported to it, due to lack of capacity; it does however follow a process to confirm that deaths did occur and this is done via the Independent Correctional Centre Visitor.

Natural Deaths – when a natural death is reported the Independent Correctional Centre Visitor will fill in a record of confirmation to confirm that the death has taken place.

Unnatural Deaths - when an unnatural death is reported the Independent Correctional Centre Visitor will be required to conduct an enquiry on the death and depending on the severity of the case it will then be referred to the JICS investigating unit to investigate

The last enquiry conducted was at Kgoši Mampuru Local in November 2015 where it was alleged that the inmate committed suicide by hanging himself. The Independent Correctional Centre Visitor did the enquiry and found that indeed the inmate had committed suicide by using his shoes laces and a piece of bed sheet as a rope.

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.

Reply:

The requested information is not readily available within the department. We are however, collating the information from both the Provincial CoGTA departments and the Metropolitan Municipalities and will submit as soon as we have concluded. The Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

Reply:

According to the Northern Cape Department of Health, the response is as follows:

1. (a) The breakdown in expenditure on air ambulance services

    (i) 2012-2013: Unable to source information;

    (ii) 2013-2014: R14,359,809.26;

    (iii) 2014-2015: R11,768,985.19;

(b) 2015 – 18 March 2016: R10,851,059.19

2. Third parties were not used to provide such services.

3.The fixed wing aircraft, Aerocare (Ambulance Air Africa) is operational in the Northern Cape Province. The current contract operates on a month-to-month system until National Treasury finalises the new tender for aeromedical services.

END.

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The question by the Honourable member should be directed to the National Treasury. The National Treasury manages the expenditure and the budgets of municipalities in line with the provisions in the Municipal Finance Management Act. Municipalities report budgetary matters in terms of s71 of the MFMA and are best placed to respond to matters relating to budget and expenditures of all municipalities.

Reply:

The Department is able to provide information for learners with disabilities in the schooling system for 2015. The Department is currently collating 2016 learner information. Below is the summary of information on learners with disabilities as reported by the Provincial Education Departments.

(a)(b)

Table 1: Number of learners with disabilities, in special schools, by age, in 2015 see link:

http://www.pmg.org.za/files/RNW854Province.docx

Source: Special Needs Education Centre’s SNAP 2015

(c)

Table 2: Number of learners with disabilities, in special schools, by grade, in 2015

Note1: Kindly note that not all Special Needs Education (SNE) centre’s learners are classified

into grade.

Grade	Total
Grade R	4 102
Grade 1	7 939
Grade 2	6 046
Grade 3	6 679
Grade 4	4 293
Grade 5	4 283
Grade 6	5 057
Grade 7	5 214
Grade 8	6 134
Grade 9	5 409
Grade 10	4 181
Grade 11	2 384
Grade 12	1 828
Special	55 097*
Total	118 645

Source: Special Needs Education Centre’s SNAP 2015

* Learners not classified according to the grade.

(d)

Table 3: Number of learners with disabilities, in special schools, by race, in 2015

RACE	TOTAL
AFRICABN/ BLACK	77 830
COLOURED	20 820
INDIAN/ASIANS	2 377
OTHER	263
WHITE	17 355
TOTAL	118 645

Source: Special Needs Education Centre’s SNAP 2015

Reply:

There is no requirement for the verification of national teacher education qualifications of South African Citizens by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

However, all teachers are required to submit their qualifications to education departments for evaluation to be employed in education. The policy on the Criteria for the Evaluation and Recognition for Qualifications for Employment in Education, former Department of Education, 2000, published in Notice No. 935, Government Gazette No. 21565 of 22 September, 2000 is in the process of being revised. This policy describes the process and procedures for the evaluation, approval and recognition of initial qualifications, advanced and postgraduate qualifications for employment in education and the assigning of Requirement Education Qualification Value (REQVs) to these qualifications.

The principal end users of this policy are evaluators of teacher qualifications in national and provincial departments of education and admissions officials at universities and higher education institutions that offer teacher education to ensure that teacher applicants are admitted to the correct and most appropriate qualification type and programme.

 

Reply:

(a) There are 53 key indicators for the ten Medium-Term Strategic Framework Outcomes, namely a) Universal Health coverage progressively achieved through implementation of National Health Insurance; b) Improved quality of health care; c) Implement the re-engineering of Primary Health Care; d) Reduced health care costs; e) Improved human resources for health; f) Improved health management and leadership; g) Improved health facility planning and infrastructure delivery; h) HIV & AIDS and Tuberculosis prevented and successfully managed; i) Maternal, infant and child mortality reduced; and j) Efficient Health Management Information System developed and implemented for improved decision-making

The result of the above work is aimed at improving of the health status of South Africans. The impact indicators and targets are: see the link: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/RNW83Table.docx

(b) Cabinet, chaired by the President, monitors performance on the Programme of Action which includes MTSF outcome Two, and its sub-outcomes for every quarter of the financial year (i.e. four times per financial year).

(c) The Minister accounts to Cabinet on a quarterly basis on these key indicators. Some of the high level indicator achievements for this MTSF period against set targets are as follows:

• The Life expectancy at birth (which has a target of 63 years in March 2019) has increased from 60 years in 2012 to 62.9 years in 2014.
• Maternal Mortality ratio (which has a target of < 100 per 100,000 live births by March 2019) reduced from 269 per 100,000 live births in 2012 to 155 per 100,000 live births in 2014.
• The Under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) significantly decreased from 56 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009, to 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014. The health system is working towards a further 25% reduction of child mortality with a target of 30 per 1000 live births by 2019.
• The infant mortality rate (IMR) decreased from 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009, to 28 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014.
• The Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) also declined from 14 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 11 per 1,000 live births in 2014. It has remained stable at 11 per 1,000 live births for the past 3 years.

(Source: The Rapid Mortality Surveillance Report, 2015)

More information on progress made on the Programme of Action is published on the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation website.

(d) The targets of the MTSF sub-outcomes are set as annual and five-year targets but monitored quarterly. Impact indicators do not change much within a year. On a quarterly basis, performance of some MTSF sub-outcome indicators has been below planned annual targets due to data inaccuracies, poor recording at health facility levels and incomplete reporting by health facilities. For example, low coverage of long-acting contraceptive methods and inappropriate recording of the oral method have been found in some areas. This is resulting to quarterly Couple Year Protection Rates lower than the planned annual MSTF target. Similarly, poor data recording is also causing sub-optimal in-year performance of planned MTSF targets for multi-resistant TB and male medical circumcisions. For example, currently only male medical circumcision performed among men between the ages of 15 and 49 years is reported. Data systems on male medical circumcisions performed is being developed for young boys between ages of 10 to 14 years and men who are 50 years and above.

(e) Annual Performance Plans of the National and Provincial Department of Health are largely aligned to MTSF outcome and sub-outcomes. Remedial actions to challenges of implementation are therefore captured and recorded through the quarterly reporting system of the Annual Performance Plans. These actions are then taken through the various national policy and strategic forums at national level which are filtered down at provincial levels. For example with the regard to Couple Year Protection Rate data, re-training of providers has been undertaken.

Implementing partners have also committed to assist with addressing data capturing issues on MDR-TB indicators. Partners are assisting with addressing the data quality issues with regards to male medical circumcisions. The Department is strengthening data collection systems for these developing programmes through the development of patient-based information system and implementation e-Health strategy.

END.

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Tlokwe City Local Municipality. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Metropolitan Municipalities. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

1. Authorisation for the amount in question from the University Council was not required as Dr T Eloff, the former Vice-Chancellor, was authorised in terms of the delegations of authority of the North-West University (NWU), to approve all expenditure up to the value of R10 million. The Vice-Chancellor’s authorisation of the expenditure is therefore not deemed irregular or unauthorised.
2. However, the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor ND Kgwadi, reported in the 2014 Annual Report that the public benefit trust, the North West Higher Education Trust (NWHET), which was established as a mechanism for receiving all philanthropic donations, was scrutinised in order to address a need to clarify the relationship between the NWU and the NWHET.

The University has also provided an update to the Department on the decisions made by Council following the inquiry initiated into alleged fraud by the former Vice-Chancellor.

The Council deliberated extensively on the matter at a meeting held on 19 June 2015 and resolved that:

• The establishment of the North-West Higher Education Trust (NWHET) was an endowment fund with the aim of raising money by commercial investments for the North-West University and other selected higher education institutions in the North West Province;
• Accepted that there had been no improper motive on the part of the former Vice-Chancellor, Dr Eloff, in approving a university donation of R10 million to the Trust;
• Acknowledged that Dr Eloff consulted widely with responsible University officials regarding the viability and feasibility of the NWHET initiative;
• Acknowledge that the Trust had been registered as such in accordance with legal requirements;
• Recommend that all purported projects linked to, or evolving from the Trust, be terminated with immediate effect;
• Steps be taken to recover the full amount of R10 million from the NWHET; and
• The process according to which the amount of R10 million is to be recovered is still underway.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 853 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) Lieutenant General Dramat was discharged from the South African Police Service in terms of sect 35(b) of the SAPS Act (Act 68 of 1995)

(b) Further relevant details are as follows:

Lieutenant General Dramat through his lawyers requested the Minister of Police that he is desirous to vacate his post as the Head of the Directorate as provided for in Section 17DA (4)(b) of SAPS Amendment Act.

The Minister of Police allowed the request of the employee in terms of the powers conferred upon the Minister in terms of Sect 17DA (4)(b) to vacate his office earlier than the expiry of his tenure for reasons which the Minister deems sufficient.

The Lawyers of the Minister of Police and Lieutenant General Dramat’s Lawyers agreed that:

• Lieutenant General Dramat be granted permission to vacate his Office with immediate effect.

Reply:

(a)

This needs to be responded to by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

(b) (i), (ii) and (iii)

Yes.

All cities can be considered environmental hotspots simply due to the density of people – this shear density of humanity means that cities are huge sinks for food, water, energy and other natural resources as well as being significant sources of waste, effluent, heat and atmospheric emissions (often mostly vehicle emissions). Nevertheless, in the Western and Eastern coastal regions of the South African ocean space, abalone and rock lobster are currently over-exploited and showing signs of depletion.

With this, it is estimated that over 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities and urban areas. These large communities provide both challenges and opportunities for environmentally-conscious developers, and there are distinct advantages to further defining and working towards the goals of sustainable cities. Humans are social creatures and thrive in urban spaces that foster social connections. Because of this, a shift to denser, urban living provides an outlet for social interaction and conditions under which humans can prosper. Thus, contrary to popular belief cities can be more environmentally sustainable than rural or suburban living. With people and resource located so close to one another, it is possible to save energy for transportation and mass transit systems, and resources such as food.

Operation Phakisa led by the Department of Environmental Affairs has key focus areas on Marine Protection Services and Governance that include key initiatives addressing over-exploitation and depletion of natural resources or marine living species. These include a network of 22 of Marine Protected Areas and Coordinated enforcement programmes.

The monitoring and evaluation of local authorities’ performance is the mandate of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

(c) (i), (ii) and (iii)

Yes

The South African coastline currently has areas that are prone to soil and beach erosion, and these include Glentana, Oyster Bay, St Francis Bay, Langebaan and Milnerton. The Department of Environmental Affairs however, is in the process of conducting a National Coastal Assessment which will identify such hotspots.

(d) (i), (ii) and (iii)

Yes

Coastal cities by their nature are potential environmental hotspots with respect to water quality. As an example, some of recreational beaches in Durban have lost their Blue Flag status due to poor water quality. The department has tools whose aim is to assist the municipalities to better manage water quality.

(e) (i), (ii) and (iii)

Yes

All cities contain highly prized ecosystems which are eroded on account of the pressing needs of ever expanding cities to provide for housing and other land uses. However, most of the more advanced metropolitan areas and bigger cities entertain these pressures through proper land use planning. Conservation plans and other tools are in place to indicate where the environmental hotspots are located. Planning of infrastructure is taking these hotspots into consideration. Designing these cities consider environmental impacts and is dedicated to the minimization of the required inputs of energy, water and food, waste output and water pollution.

A number of conservation and legislative tools to ensure conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have been developed and these include:

• Bioregional Plans developed in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004). Bioregional Plans provide for integrated and coordinated biodiversity planning to ensure the monitoring of the conservation status of various components of South Africa’s biodiversity and promote biodiversity research. A number of Bioregional Plans exist such as in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan (Eastern Cape Province), the City of Cape Town (Western Cape Province), the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan and the West Rand District Municipality (Gauteng Province), the City of Tshwane (Gauteng Province), the Gert Sibanda (Mpumalanga Province) as well as the draft Bioregional Plan for the Waterberg District (Limpopo Province).

• Biodiversity Management Plans for ecosystems are also made provision for in terms of the Biodiversity Act. These plans can be developed by any person, organisation or organ of state and are intended to ensure the long term persistence of an ecosystem that is of special concern. Management interventions put in place for landowners, resource users and other key stakeholders can impact positively on the functioning of the particular ecosystem. The department is in the process of developing the first Biodiversity Management Plan for an ecosystem which will be addressing threats to the Colbyn Valley Wetland and its associated sub-catchment (Hartebeesspruit River).

In addition to these biodiversity legislative tools, the government has taken steps towards local government support relating to the mainstreaming of environmental considerations into local government and such interventions undertaken include:

• The Environment Sector Local Government Support Strategy. The strategy which is being implemented mainstreams relevant environmental priorities into local government. This came about from a need for a more coordinated and structured mechanism of dealing with sustainable environmental management in local government. The objectives of the strategy are to:
  • clarify the environmental sector mandate for local government support;
  • clarify the local government mandate for environmental management;
  • identify opportunities for streamlining and integrating the support initiatives of the environment sector with the local government development agenda;
  • identify gaps in cooperation with the local government sector;
  • rationalise municipal reporting requirements;
  • promote consistency and synergy in approach with provinces on local government support programmes (LGSPs); and
  • maximise the environmental sector’s relations with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) the South African Cities Network (SACN) and COGTA as representative organs of local government.

The implementation of the strategy is done through the establishment and regular convening of the Local Government Task Team.

Government has also developed the National Framework for Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Local Authorities which sets out biodiversity specific considerations that should be mainstreamed into Local Authorities. The development of this framework was conducted through a series of Local Authority stakeholder workshops. Government recognises the need to implement this framework, an important intervention to strengthen support to Local Authorities towards mainstreaming biodiversity in Local Government.

In addition

The department has developed a proposed Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) known as
SIP 19: Ecological Infrastructure for Water Security. The proposed SIP 19 is the second water-related SIP and provides a framework for the integration of a number of impactful water-related ecological infrastructure investments and interventions into a coordinated, coherent and focused project specifically aimed at improving South Africa’s water resource quality and quantity. Thus, the purpose of SIP 19 is to make a significant contribution to the overall goal of ensuring a sustainable supply of fresh, healthy water to equitably meet South Africa’s social, economic and environmental water needs for current and future generations through the integrated implementation of projects within identified priority water catchments.

Although, the concept of ecological infrastructure is not very well known in traditional infrastructure sectors, the essential life-supporting and life-enhancing ecosystem goods and services that are generated by this infrastructure are universally experienced (for instance, nutrient dispersal and cycling; seed dispersal; food (such as seafood, fresh-water fish and game); crops; wild foods; spices; water; minerals; medicinal plants; pharmaceuticals; bio-chemicals; industrial products; energy (hydropower, biomass fuels); carbon sequestration and climate regulation; waste decomposition and detoxification; purification of water and air; crop pollination; pest and disease control; cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration; recreational experiences (including ecotourism) and scientific discovery).

Thus, as infrastructure is often broadly defined as the substructure or underlying foundation on which the continuance or growth of a community or state depends, similarly, ecological infrastructure is the networks of natural lands, working landscapes and other open spaces that are the substructure or underlying foundation on which the continuance or growth of ecosystem goods and services depends.

In terms of cities and the impact SIP 19 may have on cities like Durban, in recent years, a number of ecologists and economists have touted New York City's (NYC’s) efforts to preserve the Catskills watershed, one of three major basins from which the city obtains its water supply, as a key example of the benefits of effective watershed management.

New York City’s water supply system is still largely derived from surface water north of the metropolitan area with the Catskill and Delaware watersheds supplying 5.3 billion liters of safe, but unfiltered, drinking water to nearly half of the population. The reliable function and safety of this water supply was, and is, absolutely essential to the existence of NYC and is entirely based on the maintenance of ecological infrastructure. In terms of cost-effectiveness, although NYC invested $1.5 billion on watershed protection over 10 years they avoided at least $6 billion in capital costs and $300 million in annual operating costs if their ecological infrastructure was replaced by a traditional water treatment plant.

---ooOoo---

Reply:

The HPCSA is an independent organisation, as such, it has a legal obligation to adhere to all Constitutional and relevant legislative prescripts in the exercise of its mandate. The implementation of the recommendation made in the Ministerial Task Team Report on the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is therefore subject to adherence to these prescripts. I am being kept informed by the HPCSA on the progress in this regard.

 (a) At this point, I have not been informed by the HPCSA that any of the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team have been rejected;

 (b) Not applicable;

 (i) Not applicable;

 (ii) A final implementation report is expected by the end of April 2016

END.

Reply:

Whether she has entered into a performance agreement with the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma, with regard to the implementation of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019

The Minister of Basic Education Mrs A Motshekga, MP, has signed her Performance agreement with the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma in December 2014.

a) Which key indicators and targets from the MTSF are reflected in the agreement

The indicators in the Agreement are as captured in the Outcome 1 MTSF chapter. In summary, these indicators come from the following areas:

1. Impact Indicators – which come from the Action Plan to 2019
2. Sub-Outcome 1: Teacher supply, development and effective utilisation
3. Sub-Outcome 2: Provision of infrastructure
4. Provision of Learning and Teaching Support Materials
5. Sub-Outcome 3: Improving assessment (ANA)
6. Sub-Outcome 4: Improving Grade R and extension of Early Childhood Development (ECD).
7. Sub-Outcome 5: Strengthening accountability at schools and district level
8. Sub-Outcome 6: Partnerships for education reform and improved quality

b) How many performance assessments has she undertaken in consultation with the President since the agreement was signed?

The Minister’s performance has been assessed through the Cabinet Memorandum which is tabled before Cabinet every quarter. In this financial year, two reports have been tabled at Cabinet, and the third quarterly report is being prepared for submission to the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation by March 2016.

c) What progress has been made in meeting the key indicators and targets from the MTSF?

Significant progress has been made for the 2015/16 financial year. As at the end of the second quarter, out of a total of 55 indicators, performance is as reflected below:

1. Eleven (11) indicators were fully achieved;
2. Forty (40) indicators were work in progress with the assurance that the targets for 2015/16 will be met by the end of the financial year;
3. No indicators were under-performing due to reasons stated in question (d); and
4. Four (4) indicators have not been reported because of lack of tools to collect the required data or information.

 

d) What are the key obstacles to implementation?

1. Lack of Agreement, tool and regularity in the administration of the ANA;

(ii) Concurrent functions challenges in providing information required from provincial departments of education in the correct format timeously; and

(iii) Interdepartmental dependency in providing information, such as the ECD programmes, ICT and Teacher Development.

e) What is the plan to address such obstacles?

1. The lack of Agreement, tool and regularity in the administration of the ANA:

• The Department is in the process of resuscitating the ELRC as a platform for engagement and,
• The Department has established a task team with representatives from teacher unions to deal with the instrument and the frequency of the administration of the ANA.

(ii) Concurrent functions challenges:

• The department has started developing the norms and standards, business processes and sector plans to be used to solicit the buy in of the provinces to comply with the key deliverables of the sector;

(iii) Interdepartmental dependency:

• These challenges are attended to at the Cabinet Cluster meetings, MINMECs and Minister’s Implementation Forum (MIF);
• The department’s Director General also holds bilateral meetings with the Director Generals of the affected departments.

 

NW75E

Reply:

The requested information is yet to be received from the Kannaland Local Municipality. We are however, making efforts to follow-up on it and the Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

 

Reply:

In the attached Excel files, the performance in the NSC examinations, in terms of the nine provinces and the 81 districts is provided for each of the five quintiles. This data is provided for each of the three years i.e. 2013, 2014 and 2015 as requested.

There are six Excel files and each file focuses on the following sub-components of the question as identified in the question:

(a) (aa) See attached file Q350 (a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (aa) - 2013 Districts Quintiles.

(a) (bb) See attached file Q350 (a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (bb) - 2014 Districts Quintiles.

(a) (cc) See attached file Q350 (a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (cc) - 2015 Districts Quintiles.

(b) (aa) See attached file Q350 (b) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (aa) - 2013 Province Quintiles.

(b) (bb) See attached file Q350 (b) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (bb) - 2014 Province Quintiles.

(b) (cc) See attached file Q350 (b) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (cc) - 2015 Province Quintiles.

Reply:

The requested information is not readily available within the department. We are however, collating the information from the Metropolitan Municipalities and will submit as soon as we have concluded. The Honourable Member will therefore be updated on progress.

Reply:

(1) (a) The maximum loan amount that may be awarded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to a university student in the 2016 academic year is R71 800.

(b) (i) and (ii) The maximum loan awarded from the DHET general fund for university students is determined annually and approved by the NSFAS Board as part of the allocations process each year. For the 2016 academic year, the maximum loan amount was approved by the Board in the third quarter of 2015/16 and communicated to institutions in December 2015.

(iii) The university loan amount is determined based on the provisions within the NSFAS Act 56 of 1999 under Sections 4(a) and 4(b), which specifies that it is the function of NSFAS “to allocate funds for loans and bursaries to eligible students; to develop criteria and conditions for the granting of loans and bursaries to eligible students in consultation with the Minister”. It is further provided for under Section 19(1) that “Loans and bursaries granted by the board may be subject to such conditions as it may determine, either generally or in respect to a particular loan or bursary”.

(iv) The maximum loan is calculated by taking into consideration factors such as the increase received from the national budget process and weighted average full cost of study at universities.

(2) An extract of the NSFAS Board meeting minutes of 25 November 2015 is attached.

(3) According to data received from universities, the average full cost of study across the 26 universities was R70 679.11 and weighted average full cost of study was R71 878.40. Based on the weighted average full cost of study, the maximum-capped award was determined as R71 800.

 

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 834 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

No, the matter was referred to the Magistrate Commission for further handling and investigation.