Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1)(a) A total of 3 021 offenders were transferred to different centres as per the below table

Receiving region	Receiving management area	Receiving correctional centre	Total offenders transferred
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	Barberton	Barberton Medium A	386
		Nelspruit	100
	Bethal	Standerton	120
	Polokwane	Modimolle	20
		Polokwane	68
	Rooigrond	Medium A	363
	Rustenburg	Losperfontein	162
		Mogwase	15
		Rustenburg Medium A	96
	Thohoyandou	Makhado	63
		Thohoyandou Medium A	299
	Witbank	Witbank Medium A	408
Free State & Northern Cape	Groenpunt	Groenpunt	351
Gauteng	Baviaanspoort	Baviaanspoort	30
Gauteng	Kgosi Mamapuru II	C-Max	15
	Zonderwater	Zonderwater	49
	Leeuwkop	Leeuwkop	16
	Johannesburg	Johannesburg	90
Western Cape	Drakenstein	Drakenstein	20
	Helderstroom	Helderstroom	100
	Brandvlei	Brandvlei	250
TOTAL	3 021

(1)(b) DCS issued an observation notice against the Management of South African Custodial Management (SACM) with regards to improper handling of grievances as per the Concession Contract.

(1)(c) The Management of SACM has written a report to DCS with a number of grievances that they claim to have addressed which are inclusive to the following:

• Food issue;
• Dysfunctional health care system;
• Lack of transfers;
• Assault and torture;
• Ethnic language or group of people;
• Sodomy; &
• DCS Controller and Prison Director.

2. The Department endeavours to detain inmates in proximity of their areas of origin however due to overcrowding across the DCS it is not always possible to do so and it is therefore applied based on availability of bed spaces in any given facility.

END.

Reply:

1. There have been some calls for the Act to be reviewed, particularly in the context of governance challenges over the years. Some of the issues and proposals are as follows:

• The current Act is seen to limit the framing of the Code of Conduct of councils to principles and practices for avoiding conflicts of interest. Provisions for Council to discipline members for misconduct beyond matters of conflict of interest should be formulated.
• Some of the governance challenges have been attributed to the way councils are structured. Proposed solution included reductio of the current maximum of 30.
• Consideration must be given to other intervention measures, in addition to issuing a directive, appointing an independent assessor, and appointing an administrator.
• The current economic environment, the underfunding of universities, the massification of higher education without matching funding, amongst others, has led universities to establish entities with a view to increase and diversify their third-stream income generation. However, the Act is silent on the establishment and regulation of such entities.
• Section 38 provides for public higher education institutions to co-operate with each other in any manner to achieve the optimal utilisation of resources and the performance of their functions, and to establish national and regional structures to facilitate the cooperation and collaboration initiatives. However, it does not include partnerships and cooperation between and among private HEIs inter se; and between public and private HEIs.
• The issue of alignment of definitions of various terms with other Acts such as NQF Act has also been identified as requiring the Higher Education Act to be amended.

2. The proposed review has not included tenderpreneuring in the sector and capacity of the department. The question of tenderpreneuring should ordinarily be addressed in the Audit and Risk Committee of the universities. With regards to the capacity in the Department, an organisational review is underway with the intent to address the capacity of the department, and alignment of the structure with the Act and White Paper. It is not immediately clear that the latter process will have to be factored in the review of the Act.

Reply:

Following several engagements with the sector the Department undertook to develop a programme of engagement with all relevant stakeholders with the aim of developing strategic partnerships across the sector to address issues of violence and violent cultures on campuses. This work was progressed through the workshop on safety and security held with universities and Universities South Africa (USAf). The purpose of this engagement was to understand and assess the different threats experienced by universities and identify urgent matters that need to be addressed at the institutions, including identifying areas of collaboration with different stakeholders to improve the capacity of universities to keep campuses safe.

As part of the outcomes of these engagements the Department identified a need to develop a framework at national level in a form of a blueprint for universities which will serve as a guide to standardise the systems on physical security measures across the sector. The blueprint will guide on minimum norms and standards on the provision of safety and security measures at the universities. This work is done in collaboration with the South African Police Services.

Thus far the Department has also:-

1. Developed blueprint for technical and vocational education and training colleges with the assistance of the South African Police Services (SAPS).
2. It held a workshop for the heads of security of the universities, and subsequently directed all universities on 23 June 2023 to ensure that they have developed safety and security policies aligned to the norms advanced by SAPS. Where universities sought additional assistance, this was provided by the Department. The intention of the department is to ensure that all universities incrementally and progressively exhibit uniform policies and supporting infrastructure through grants provided by the Department.

Reply:

1. Minister is contemplating placing the University of South Africa under administration. However, it should be noted that Minister can only make his final decision once he has followed due process as per Section 49(B)(1A) of the Higher Education Act which requires that the Minister must, before appointing an administrator,

1. give written notice to the council of the higher education institution concerned of his or her intention to make such an appointment;
2. provide the council concerned with the reasons for the appointment;
3. give the council a reasonable opportunity to make written representations; and
4. consider the representations.

The Minister issued a notice to the Council for the appointment of an administrator. The contemplated decision was on the basis that the Independent Assessor Report reveals financial and other maladministration of a serious nature and serious undermining of the effective functioning of UNISA. The Report also reveals that the appointment of an administrator is in the best interest of UNISA and of higher education in an open and democratic society. The findings and recommendations of the Independent Assessor are largely consistent with those reached by the Report of the Ministerial Task Team on the Strategic Review of UNISA. The Minister’s observation, after having carefully considered the Council response to the IA Report, was that it does not sufficiently demonstrate that the Council is disposed and committed to successfully address the serious issues raised in the Report.

2. Once a university is placed under an Administrator, the Administrator:

1. takes over the role, powers, functions and duties of the council concerned;
2. carries out the role, exercises the powers, perform the functions and executes the duties of the council concerned to the extent that such role, powers, functions and duties relate to governance;
3. takes over and executes the management of the public higher education institution concerned;
4. identifies and initiates processes and initiatives that restore proper governance and management; and
5. ensures that a new council for the higher education institution concerned is appointed and constituted in accordance with the institutional statute as soon as is practicable.

Therefore, operational matters pertaining to student enrolment, graduates, management, and daily operations of the university placed under administration remains the function of management under the directive of the Administrator.

Reply:

The Independent Assessor Reports over the years have highlighted a number of factors that contribute to governance failures. These range from the inability of councils, and in some cases the chairperson and deputy chairperson in particular, to provide strategic leadership and direction resulting in the abdication of its responsibilities to the Management; role confusion and contestation; fraught relationships between Council and Management; the phenomenon of the inability of council members nominated by internal/external constituencies to distinguish between the interests of the constituencies and the interests of the institution; the misunderstanding of the principle of cooperative governance; unacceptable and counter-productive conduct by some council members; non-adherence to good-governance practices, institutional rules and procedures.

Some of the systemic interventions that are being considered besides those provided for by the Higher Education Act, 101 of 1997 as amended include:

• The Resuscitatation of the role of the University Council Chair Forum (UCCF-SA)
• A sectorially-coordinated capacity building initiatives for induction of members. There is a council capacity development programme developed by the Department in partnership with UCCF-SA on offering induction and continuous development of members. This programme was envisaged to include two streams, the Basic and Advanced level. The basic training designed for new members of council, would explore the roles and responsibilities of Councils, the legislative and policy framework, as well as the distinctive context of academic institutions. The advanced training level designed for council members who have already attended the basic training or serving a second term, would explore various themes, namely institutional autonomy vs. accountability; council relationship with other governance structures and management; chairing of university councils; governance and management performance and evaluation; financial management and reporting etc. It may be important to make these compulsory for serving or potential members of councils.
• Development of a code of Good Governance for HEIs and a Governance Oversight Framework consisting of modern, transparent, and accountable governance arrangements.

• Ensuring that each member of Council is a paid member if the IODSA and any deregistered members be assumed not a member in good standing.
• Regular Ethics workshops and assessments to gauge the ethical standing of the member.

Reply:

(1) (a) My Department, which is the Department of Higher Education and Training, has identified nine (9) illegal institutions of higher learning in the past financial year and (b) all 9 of them were closed down because they were (i) (aa) operating without registration with the Department as either Private Higher Education Institutions in terms of the Higher Education (HE) Act 101 of 1997 or Private Colleges as required by the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Act 16 of 2006, (bb) neither were they accredited by the Sector Education and Training Authorities and / or accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations in its capacity as the custodian of Occupational Qualifications on the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework.

(ii) The nine institutions were defrauding parents and learners while offering qualifications without registration by the Department and/or without accreditation by the Quality Councils such as the Council on Higher Education, the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations and Umalusi.

(2) The Department has a dedicated Directorate which ensures that private institutions of higher learning are registered with the Department and meet the minimum requirements for registration as set out in both the HE Act and the CET Act and their attendant Regulations. This Directorate works very closely with the Quality Councils mentioned herein to ensure that private institutions are accredited for the qualifications they propose to offer and that the qualifications are registered on the National Qualifications Framework managed by the South African Qualifications Authority. To ensure that parents and students do not fall prey to unregistered and/or unaccredited private institutions, the Department, through its Career Development Services and in conjunction with the Quality Councils, consistently embarks on campaigns such as KHETA – Apply Now, Nelson Mandela Career Guidance Day and others to raise awareness among the parents and students on what they must look out for before they enrol at private institutions.

Reply:

The Independent Assessor’ s report is lengthy (316 pages) and makes reference to the following concerns, amongst others:

• Governance Structures: Council functioning found not to be optimal with an outdated statute, bloated committee structure and excessive meetings over the years. The student governance model found not to be optimal with an outdated SRC Constitution, SRC structure not fit for purpose, the centralised model is a disservice to students since all students are based in the regions, and excessive benefits to SRC members. The principle of co-operative governance appears to have been abused and weaponised, thus creating a difficult environment for those entrusted to manage the institution.
• The functioning and efficacy of management is not optimal, with the members working as a coherent team; and in a number instances, they too constitute part of the problem.
• The Registrar’s Portfolio in relation to the management of academic affairs, registration and certification matters: the Report describes a number of systemic and structural challenges that point to the dysfunctionality of the Office. These include the size of the portfolio, staffing and poor consequence management; outdated policies; very little evidence of a student centric culture at UNISA with substandard levels of service delivery across most functions from application to qualification audits; high levels of student frustrations stemming from a poor student support environment; poor change management around the transition to online examinations and assessments in response to Covid-19; poor enrolment management resulting in R186 million in a 5 year period over-spent; poor data management as demonstrated in UNISA’s failure to protect students’ data exposing students to exploitation by fraudulent tutors.
• Financial management, supply chain management, and procurement: The report mentions SCM policy violations, financial irregularities, internal control weaknesses, fraud and, possibly, criminality. When malfeasance is uncovered, disciplinary action is either not forthcoming, or slow to implement. Instances of tender manipulation, overpayments and double payment for the same work, backdating of contracts, tender splitting and related misdemeanours are described in the report. The Report also noted the under-utilisation of the Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant, and the unacceptable state of maintenance in some regions, as well as payment of services that were not rendered.
• Human Resources Matters: confusion around the review of the organisational structure, irregular recruitment practices, prevalent acting and secondment appointments with many cases of persons seconded or appointed to act into positions up to 3 post levels higher than their substantive positions, and non-compliance with HR policies. The University is rife with a culture of fear, intimidation and bullying, the poor functioning of the Unisa Bargaining Forum (UBF), undue influence of unions in appointments, and a culture of lack of consequence management.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT): instability of leadership in the ICT environment, implementation challenges of the newly approved strategy to improve the ICT environment, poor contract management resulting in UNISA losing licences, and outdated ICT infrastructure, are some of the observations in the report.

The above, amongst others, was compounded by leakage of documents and negative media reports which have negatively affected the reputation of UNISA.

Reply:

The steps taken are in line with the Concession Agreement contract between Department and SACM.

The Contracting parties are regulated by means of the signed Agreement and Schedule D Goal 7 Part 2 (B) of this Agreement deals primarily with the Standard of Requirements that needs to be complied with by the Centre.

According to the Clause of the signed Agreement the Standard Requirements are satisfied by compliance in the following categories.

• Security
• Cell Environment
• Essential Services
• Minimum staffing Level

If any of the above categories are not met, then the bed(s) will be deemed unavailable and the service provider will not be paid.

END.

Reply:

The Department is preparing for next year's academic period for higher learning institutions and skills development expansion planning in various ways. The details of preparations are provided below:

1. Enrolments for the 2024 academic year

The enrolment applications for TVET colleges for the 2024 academic year opened on 1 September 2023. All TVET colleges will use online application system to enrol new and returning students. This process will be completed by December 2023. When colleges re-open on 8 January 2024, colleges will go through the final administrative procedures to confirm registration for the admitted new and returning students.

2. Academic calendars for the 2024 and 2025 academic years

The TVET 2024 and 2025 academic calendars have been drafted and will be distributed to colleges by the end of September 2023 to enhance colleges' planning and preparations.

3. Student enrolment numbers for the 2024/2025 academic years

The TVET Colleges Fiscus budget allocation remains constrained over the MTEF and does not align to the envisaged growth trajectory as set out in the National Development Plan to 1.25 million full time equivalent enrolment. It will therefore remain imperative for the Department to apply a capped enrolment to approximately 500 000 TVET enrolments for 2024/25, as the budget does not allow for further expansion. The preliminary TVET Fiscus budget allocation is indicated below:

Draft CoE 2024/25 R'OOO	2024/25 Draft Direct Transfer R'OOO	2024/25 Draft Opex for new Campuses R'OOO	2024125 Draft NSFAS Tuition allocation R'OOO	2024/25 Draft Total allocation R'OOO
7 781 234	3 991 421	444 132	3 054 196	15 270 983

The impact of the latest Public Sector wage increase has a detrimental impact on the overall fiscus position, as the increase in student numbers must be absorbed within the existing baselines. Thus, no additional funding will be received from the National Treasury, which is further limiting any further expansion. Without a drastic budgetary increase into the TVET colleges, expanding access to TVET colleges will be a serious challenge.

4. Strategic planning

All colleges have commenced planning for 2024 enrolment and will submit their strategic and annual performance plans by the end of September 2023 to the Department for the Minister's approval. The department through its institutional support Chief Directorate provides colleges with continuous capacity building support and quality checks the planning documents both during the process of preparation and submission.

5. Expansion of skills provision

Considering the current economic situation and the budgetary constraints faced by higher education in general and the TVET sector in particular, the Minister is urging the Department to consider mobilising the private sector and other development sectors to expand the size and shape of the TVET sector. This growth and expansion strategy focuses on the following four (4) key pillars:

1. Utilising excess physical infrastructure.
2. Digitisation strategy.
3. Responsive curriculum and relevant programme qualification mix (PQM).
4. Mobilisation of the private sector.

The strategy that outlines these key pillars is being finalised. This strategy will be promoted and shared with all key stakeholders.

6. A responsive TVET sector

Since 2018 the Department has embarked on a plan to review and update programmes and qualifications offered at TVET colleges to align them with the needs of the rapidly changing economy and society.

Through monitoring and evaluation of TVET Colleges' strategic plans and PQMs, the Department is trying to encourage college to transition from qualifications that are oversubscribed in the labour market and towards offering those programmes and qualifications linked to priority skills sectors.

TVET Colleges are encouraged to focus on expanding their offering in programmes that support the interventions in the South African Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), Occupations in High Demand and those in the Critical Skills lists. These skills are mainly in the Manufacturing/Engineering, ICT, Transportation and Logistics, Tourism and Hospitality, Entrepreneurship and Agriculture.

7. Revision and updating of subject content

The Department has since 2018 updated curricula in at least 60 subjects of the NATED Report 191 programmes covering Engineering, Business and Services studies. The implementation of these revised/updated curricula started in January 2021. At least 10 subjects are identified for revision and update in the current year.

8. Occupations in high demand

The DHET through the Labour Market Intelligence research programme publishes a list of Occupations in High Demand (OIHD) every two years. This list consists of occupations that show relatively strong employment growth or experience shortages in the labour market.

9. Reviewing of learning materials

The learning material for reviewed subjects in the NATED: Farming Management and Mechanisation N6 and those of NCV: IT & Computer Science (Programming and Robotics) L3 will be introduced in January 2024. Currently the review is being screened and will be ready for TVET colleges to start ordering at the beginning of October 2023.

Site evaluations for new programme applications (2024 implementation) have been planned for the month of September 2023 and the outcomes will be communicated in the 1 st week of October 2023.

10. Teaching and learning capacity building

The following measures have been implemented to build capacity of lecturers at TVET Colleges:

A total of 1220 lecturing staff from all TVET colleges have been trained in digital skills to empower them to use a variety of digital methodologies and technologies.

1. The training of lecturers in project-based learning methods in electrical, plumbing, welding and mechanical and the infusion of entrepreneurial skills and culture will continue in 2024.
2. Managers from 22 colleges will be trained to develop plans and strategies for digital transformation of colleges.
3. Fifty (50) lecturers from colleges that have rolled out coding and robotics in NCV will be trained in 2024.
4. Thirty (30) lecturers from colleges that were accredited to roll out the renewable energy technologies in NCV Level 2 (September 2023); Level 3 in January 2024; and Level 4 in June 2024 will be trained in 2024.

The Department is supporting and monitoring colleges in their plans to place lecturers in industry for exposure and upskilling in line with latest industry technologies and practices.

University Education Preparation for 2024 academic year.

In preparation for 2024 academic year the Department of Higher Education and Training (the Department) has planned a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders including University Registrars, Finance Executives, the South African Union of Students and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The purpose is to discuss the preparedness of universities for the 2024 registration and start of the academic year.

In addition, the Department has designed a questionnaire to be completed by universities at the start of the registration period which will serve as a baseline for data collection. This will provide an opportunity to identify key areas requiring national intervention, and to see where specific support may be required.

The Director-General requested the Department to adopt a different approach in ensuring effective monitoring of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in relation to their preparedness for 2024 academic year. It is planned that during registration the Department will visit all twenty-six universities as part of the monitoring approach. The purpose is to assess the activities on the ground across all institutions to ascertain whether the registration processes are proceeding as planned or if a sector approach is required to deal with any matters needing immediate attention. The exercise will also provide an opportunity to deal with campus-based matters.

Across the sector, there continues to be growing demand for university places, as more students qualify for admission to universities and there are limited spaces to accommodate all students that have applied. The Department has made the Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) available to prospective students who have not been able to secure a study space at a university or TVET College. The prospective student signs up on the CACH Portal by visiting https://cach.cas.ac.za.  Once the prospective student has successfully signed or automatically loaded on to CACH an email is sent confirming them of the signup. Where places exist and prospective students meet the requirements, institutions make offers to them through the CACH system and contact them directly once they have accepted the offer on the CACH system. The placement through CACH minimise the number of walk-ins at PSET institutions thus eliminating potential problems that may be experienced.

Throughout the year the Department will work very closely with universities to ensure that the academic year proceeds as planned.

Skills development expansion

Skills development expansion planning forms part of the enrolment planning process. Universities are required to align the plans to the broader institutional strategic plans and policies, national plans, and the human resource development strategy of the country. The Department has an enrolment planning tool that is used to identify areas which may require focused attention and where targeted enrolment strategies should be implemented to produce better quality graduates who will contribute to the economy of the country. In the current enrolment planning cycle, the following are the strategic fields of study identified as areas where growth is required to be responsive to the strategic priorities of South Africa:

1. human health,
2. agriculture and food security,
3. maritime studies,
4. mining,
5. engineering and
6. initial teacher education.

In addition, massification of skills development will continue in the 2024/25 financial year as follows:

• Annual number of learners or students placed in WBL programs to increase 110 500 to 190 000;
• Number of learners registered in skills development programs annually to increase from 149 000 to 150 000;
• Number of learners entering artisanal programs annually to increase from 23 000 to 36 375;
• Number of artisans found competent annually to increase from 21 000 to 26 500;
• Number of learners who completed learnerships annually to increase from 32 550 to 53 000;
• Number of learners who completed internships annually to increase from 6 450 to 11 000;
• Number of learners who completed skills programs annually to increase from 105,000 to 128,000.

Reply:

The College campuses are mainly in rural areas and most of the landlords are the rural villagers.

In as much as the college assists in the type of accommodation when the students do their application for accommodation, however the college is not in control of the accommodation because students will finally choose the place where they want to reside, and it is the students who will submit the required documentation to NSFAS.

The college assists the students to apply for accommodation in the following manner:

• by checking that they are staying 10 kilometres away from the college based on their proof of home address. The 10 kilometres is a threshold by NSFAS to determine whether students qualify for 2023 accommodation or travel allowance.
• The following documents are submitted by the students when applying for the accommodation allowance,
  • signed form attached with the proof of home address,
  • student ID copy,
  • the landlord ID copy and
  • lease agreement or rental agreement.

Accommodation allowance is paid directly to student after all the requirements have been met as quality assured by NSFAS.

Letaba TVET College is currently not having accredited accommodation or college residential accommodation.

NSFAS is in the process of identifying accommodation services providers. The service providers will be accredited by NSFAS as per their student’s accommodation specifications. After receiving the list of the NSFAS accredited accommodation services providers, it is only then that the college will direct the students to only utilize the accredited accommodation service providers. Currently the college does not have control over where the students should have accommodation as it is subject to the assessment criterion at NSFAS before the award is made to the successful student.

Letaba TVET College is currently in a process of renovating Maake and Modjadji campuses student’s resident. It is also looking for funds to build College students residents for Giyani and Tzaneen Campus.

The College has no proof of students that are funded by NSFAS and are currently residing at informal settlements.

Reply:

(1) (a) 1 646 966 UI Act claims applications were lodged from the 1st of April 2023 to date; and

(b) 138 337 COVID-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) claims applications were lodged from the 1st of April 2023 to date.

(i) 10 644 COVIDTERS claims were allocated to the audit firms and 4 384 were audited so far; and

(ii) 6 260 COVIDTERS claims are still to be audited;

(2) (a) 161 COVID-19 TERS Relief Scheme were processed (from 2020), declined and unpaid due to the following reasons:

2 (b) The applications where previously processed and declined due to various validation reasons. The applicable response errors were communicated (automatically) with employers to rectify the relevant applications so that the system can re-adjudicate (again) so that employees’ benefits can be approved and paid-out. It should be noted that ALL the application within different iterations were processed and currently UIF is re-processing any updated/ corrected employer applications. Out of the total applications received for the period above, the outlined below provides the breakdown of incorrect employer application errors:

• 22 are not paid due to invalid ID numbers;
• 30 are not paid due to unverified foreign nationals
• 45 are not paid due to Employees not declared.

 

Reply:

a) The intergovernmental One Plans are the implementation tools of the District Development Model, which provides the framework for how service delivery challenges will be responded to by government. One Plans therefore contain budgetary commitments, performance and implementation targets, milestones and timeframes, by all of government that are confirmed and agreed upon at the various intergovernmental structures and platforms that are already in place across the three spheres of government.

b) Intergovernmental commitments made in One Plans are monitored and tracked through the work of the established intergovernmental structures and platforms across the three spheres of government as well as through the DDM Information Management System produced by the Department and individual provinces. These mechanisms are also complimented by the quarterly reports produced by the DDM political champions and the hosting of Presidential DDM imbizos in all provinces and in selected districts, where the Executive engage with citizens on not only service delivery challenges but also progress made in this regard.

End.

Reply:

The participation of Traditional Leaders in municipal council meetings is regulated by section 81 of the Municipal Structures Act, which was amended by the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 2019 (Act No. 3 of 2019). The amendment came into operation on 1 April 2021. More specifically, Section 81(4) of the Municipal Structures Act, provides that participating traditional leaders may participate in the proceedings of the relevant local, district or metropolitan municipality and may submit motions, make proposals and ask questions. A participating traditional leader may also address the municipal council on any matter directly or indirectly affecting traditional or Khoi-San leadership or the relevant traditional or Khoi-San council or community. More details of the roles of participating leaders in municipal council proceedings are found in section 81(8).

End.

Reply:

The appointment of special advisors is done in terms of section 12A of the Public Service Act, 1994 as amended and is limited to two full-time equivalent positions for each Minister and Premier, unless Cabinet or the relevant Provincial Executive Council approves a higher number up to two additional full-time equivalent for each Minister and Premier because of work requirements.

The National Energy Committee (NECOM) is led by Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and comprises of more than 100 high-level officials from across government, Eskom, business and social partners. NECOM is overseen at a technical level by the Director-General in the Presidency to advice on the energy crisis, the removal of barriers to new generation capacity and unlocking energy from various sources, including Eskom, Independent power producers, businesses and households.

It is important to distinguish that unlike officials seconded to NECOM for the purpose elucidated above, the special advisors are full-time in the office, advising the Minister in his engagements and discharging his delegated constitutional duties.

(b)

NAME	SURNAME	DESIGNATION	NOTCH
Sarel Jacobs	De La Rouviere	Special Advisor	R 2 158 533.00
Silas Mzingeli	Zimu	Special Advisor	R 2 158 533.00

(c) MR. SILAS ZIMU AND JACOBUS DE LA ROUVIERE

Mr. Silus Zimu

Mr. Zimu started his career in the electricity industry when he joined Eskom in 1992 where he worked as an engineer in the generation group. He then joined City Power as a General Manager - Planning and Technology and was thereafter promoted to Vice President, Customer Services. Because of the knowledge and passion he has for Engineering Operations, Silas was then appointed as a Vice President of Operations in December 2003 and served on Executive Management Committee.

Mr Zimu acted in the CEO position from February 2006, until he was appointed as Managing Director of City Power. Mr. Zimu was CEO of Suzlon Wind Energy South Africa (Pty) Ltd between October 2011 and 2015. He also served as a special advisor on Energy to Former President Jacob Zuma between 2015 and 2018.

Mr. Jacobus de la Rouviere

Jacobus de la Rouviere has over two decades experience in the independent power production cosmos and worked closely with the Southern African Power Pool countries like Eswatini and Mozambique. He has been a panellist in numerous energy summits and has published articles related to Eskom debt and possible solutions in resolving its existential challenges.

His key attribute lies in the development of realistic energy security mechanisms and installations that speak to critical evaluation of exit-price which will not burden the South African Economy with premium energy tariffs. Furthermore his strategic interventions have been tailored to resolve base-load underproduction and delivery of projects within the predicted project time.   

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1. Some of the proposed changes relate to (i) encouraging amendments to the section 12 Notices to change from Mayoral Executive System to a Collective Executive System to create an environment of “political inclusivity”, (ii) professionalising the administration, (iii) limitation on motions of no confidence through the introduction of a ‘2-year’ cooling-off period to force the focus on the functionality of council and service delivery, (iv) creation and publication of coalition agreements, (v) enabling the party with the highest number of seats to be given first preference to form a coalition with clear timeframes, (vi) enabling the party with the highest number of seats to be given first preference for the appoint of the Mayor (as appointed from the EXCO) and (vii) the introduction of a 1% threshold that will require parties to receive at least 1% of the votes casted to qualify for a seat on the municipal council.

2. Note that the department did not pre-empt the National Dialogue, in fact, the department was in the process of hosting a similar type of engagement but decided to halt its plans since government through the Deputy President’s office planned to host a session, albeit from a much broader perspective.

End.

Reply:

The Department has not been advised of any sports field project where services were procured with no construction taking place in the eDumbe local municipality. A sport field project (Mashekelela Sports Field) was completed in the 2022/2023 FY for a budget of R3 million funded through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.

End.

Reply:

1 Total Number of unprocessed Payments

(a) (i)Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) = 89366

(b) (i)COVID-19 Ters = 215557 (Includes corrections and unqualified)

(ii) Employees still awaiting payment since start of Covid-19 Pandemic-

From first month of Pandemic – Mar/Apr 2020 – 3259 employees were never paid due to incorrect applications.

(2) (a) It should be noted that UIF processed all the applications for all the lockdown periods and the outstanding applications are those that were rejected as the applications failed validations and awaiting corrections from employers. UIF payments have turn around to be finalised within 3 days and this turn-around is always achieved for over 95% of the payments. However, payments with outstanding information leverage delays and a guaranteed date to finalise such payments are difficult to commit.

(b) COVID-19 TERS – Applications that were corrected by employers are currently being processed and paid. This continuous processing is done by UIF to ensure that all the employers and employees receive their due benefits upon corrections from employers. The time-frame of when all these applications will be paid is heavily dependent on employers providing accurate and corrected employees information.

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1. No recommendation was made to move the Summit to China. Instead, there was a focus on options that would maintain South Africa as the host of the Summit (being the Chair of BRICS in 2023) inside the borders of the country, whether in hybrid, or in-person format, to fully capitalise on the historic opportunity provided by the BRICS bloc expansion and the geo-political environment.

2. The total costs incurred for the hosting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers was ZAR 9, 848 909.51.    

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1. No, the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) did not undertake any assessment of the cost incurred by local municipalities for electrical and water infrastructure damage as a direct impact of loadshedding. However, the South African Association of Local Government (SALGA) undertook an assessment of all municipalities in March 2023 to quantify municipal expenditure and revenue losses as a result of loadshedding. SALGA presented the preparatory work and survey instrument for this assessment to the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MINMEC meeting of 3 March 2023. According to SALGA, all 257 municipalities in the country were contacted to participate in this assessment. However, only 89 municipalities across the country responded with 75 of them being Water Service Authorities (WSAs) and 79 being licensed municipal distributors. The assessment, or study by SALGA, made several findings including the following:

• The frequency and intensity of cable theft and vandalism of infrastructure during loadshedding is so high that 12% of the surveyed municipalities recorded over 100 incidents per day per loadshedding period.
• The overall cost for fixing damaged and stolen municipal infrastructure and equipment during loadshedding amounts to R1.6 billion (R1 602 300 000) over the 89 municipalities for 2022/23 financial year.
• The cost to fix damaged Waste-Water Treatment Works (WWTW), Water Treatment Works (WTW), and to procure back-up generators and diesel across the 89 municipalities was R1 406 445 056.
• The total loss of revenue due to unserved energy from municipalities was in excess of R21 billion per annum for all municipal licensed distributors.
• Municipalities were incurring R1 107 583 200 per annum on staff overtime and contractors due to repairing electrical infrastructure in addition to the normal cost budgeted for the overtime and service providers.

2. (a) There are several reasons for the failure of municipalities to protect their assets as required by the applicable legislation in this regard which include the following:

• Governance, institutional and financial challenges as they all contribute to service delivery challenges.
• During loadshedding theft and vandalism of infrastructure increases as the loadshedding times are known to everyone including the would-be vandals and thieves.
• Lack of sufficient technical capacity to develop and implement operations and maintenance plans that include protection of these assets.
• Insufficient budget to implement the required measures as well as to ensure additional security during loadshedding periods.
• As a result of loadshedding middle- and high-income households, commercial and industrial customers are leaving the municipal grid and installing embedded generators, own generation resulting in municipalities losing revenues.

(b) DCOG has assisted municipalities in this regard in several ways including the following:

• DCOG led the development of Municipal Support Intervention Plans aimed address governance, institutional, financial and service delivery challenges following the development of the State of Local Government (SoLG) Report in 2021 that identified dysfunctional municipalities.
• DCOG, through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) has deployed built environment professionals to provide technical support to municipalities for infrastructure development throughout the project life cycle including protecting these assets during load shedding. To-date MISA has deployed 103 built environment professionals countrywide (86 of which are professionally registered with Statutory bodies as engineers and town planners).
• MISA technical support personnel are further supporting municipalities to implement the Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management (EEDSM) measures through funding administered by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DMRE).
• DCOG introduced reforms to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) that include up to 5% of the allocation being allowed to fund activities related to the development of an Infrastructure Asset Management Plan.
• Through the MIG grant municipalities can implement solar high mast lights which improve security during load shedding with the support of MISA technical support personnel.

End.

 

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With the conclusion of the National Dialogue on Coalition Governments hosted by the Office of the Deputy President on 04 and 05 August 2023 at the University of the Western Cape, the Department of Cooperative Governance will now commence with its consultative processes on the proposed draft amendments to the Municipal Structures Act.

We will endeavour to have this in place before the commencement of our next term of local government in 2026.

Some of the aspects to be addressed in the legislation relate to (i) encouraging amendments to the section 12 Notices to change from Mayoral Executive System to a Collective Executive System to create an environment of “political inclusivity”, (ii) professionalising the administration, (iii) limitation on motions of no confidence through the introduction of a ‘2-year’ cooling-off period to force the focus on the functionality of council and service delivery, (iv) creation and publication of coalition agreements, (v) enabling the party with the highest number of seats to be given first preference to form a coalition with clear timeframes and (vi) enabling the party with the highest number of seats to be given first preference for the appoint of the Mayor (as appointed from the EXCO).

I wish to also acknowledge the ongoing discourse on this subject on various platforms, but also the work done by various stakeholders, and we believe that the knowledge generated from these engagements will lay a good foundation to build on towards the regulatory framework to guide coalition arrangements in municipal councils, including whether or not and how the municipal electoral system may need to change to ensure greater stability.

In the meantime, we urge all political parties to prioritise the needs of our people, to put their differences aside, and ensure that we have councils that are stable, functional and delivering services to all our communities.

End.

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1. During the 2021/2022 cycle, Ambassador Mfeketo was on annual leave for 24 days, (18 October – 12 November 2021 = 20 days, and 28 December – 31 December 2021 = 4 days compulsory leave).

The Ambassador was also on sick leave for 39 days:  06 - 10 March 2023 = 5 days; 11 - 16 April 2023 = 4 days and 17 April – 31 May 2023 = 32 days.

Approval was granted by the Department for the Ambassador to take leave.

2. During the Ambassador’s absence, the Embassy remained open during all official working hours to the public. The Deputy Chief of Mission was appointed as Chargé d’ Affaires to manage the Embassy.

Reply:

a) I am informed by SAT that the Acting Chief Executive Officer, who also occupied another position at South African Tourism, tendered his resignation from the organisation on 5 May 2023. The resignation stated that he would like to leave with immediate effect and for the board to waive the contractual 3-month notice period, if possible.

On 6 May 2023, the Chairperson of the Board responded that the board had accepted the resignation with immediate effect and that he would not be expected to serve out the notice period.

(b) (i) He was paid for the days worked in the month of resignation. The date of the resignation was the last date of service with the organisation as the resignation was with immediate effect.

No other payments were made except for the leave pay-out, which is to be paid as per the statutory requirements of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

(ii) Not applicable as the resignation was with immediate effect.

(iii) Not applicable as the resignation was with immediate effect

(c) (i) and (ii) Not applicable as the resignation was with immediate effect and there was no enforcement of notice period.

(d) Delegation falls away during notice period and in this instance as the resignation was with immediate effect.

Reply:

Six out of the eight targets and milestones in the agreed MoA between the department and the Development Bank of Southern Africa as it programme implementation agent in these three pilot sites, were achieved by 30 April 2023, when the MoA was terminated. The one target and milestone not completely achieved, which stood at 85% achieved, relates to the filling of certain identified vacancies within the three DDM technical support hubs due to recruitment delays and the premature termination of the MoA. The other target and milestone not completely achieved, which also stood at 85% achieved, was the convening of scheduled Executive Steering Committee (ESC) and Operations Steering Committee (OSC) meetings on time as planned due to other priority commitments by both parties.

End.

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1. The Department of Home Affairs is best placed to respond on the details of the roadmap outlining the targeted milestones and timelines for the comprehensive implementation of e-visas as this is not the mandate of the Department of Tourism.

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The DDM implementation update reports produced by the department confirms that the DDM is now fully incorporated into the agendas of the various intergovernmental structures and platforms across the government. These reports also indicate that implementation of various One Plan projects are being implemented by the different government partners and stakeholders, which are further demonstrated in the site visits under taken by the Honourable President of the Republic and members of the Executive during Presidential DDM imbizos. For example the Tsomo river abstraction and water treatment plant in the Chris Hani District that will benefit 40 000 households and was constructed at a cost of R215 million and created 1692 jobs during construction and where locally based SMMEs were used. As well as the “Vlakkeland housing project” in the town of Paarl in the Cape Winelands District which is earmarked for mixed use development consisting of subsidy, GAP and social housing as well as social facilities. To date, R248 million has been spent on the completion of 432 houses and the construction of a further 323 units are underway. More than 180 local workers are employed at this site.

End.

Reply:

The Department is already working with the National Treasury on several local government reforms which include the development or review of municipal regulations, MFMA circulars, grants frameworks etc. which seeks to enhance the capacity in municipalities. There are also established intergovernmental structures i.e. budget forums, MFMA coordinators meetings etc. where the collaborative model is further entrenched.

Sound financial management requires stability within the administration from a governance perspective, therefore, as a response hereto, the Department has rolled out the following programmes to augment what the National Treasury is doing, as part of the collaborative strategy to support municipalities:

• promulgated the municipal staff regulations, which became effective from July 2022. To give effect to the implementation of municipal staff regulations, the Department is in the process of piloting the prototype staff establishment, which deals with review of organogram, which will enable municipalities to have a fit for purpose structure.
• Support to MPACs and other council committees to ensure their functionality;
• The department has also promulgated the Code of Conduct for Councillors Regulations to support the implementation of Schedule 7 in the Municipal Structures Act. This will contribute towards the stability at a council committee but also ensure that there is action in the event where there is instability or unwanted behaviour.
• Development of the Integrated Local Government Capacity Building Strategy which seek to introduce a strategy on how to address the skills deficiencies at municipalities to reduce the reliance on consultants.
• The department is also reviewing its support strategy which includes amongst others, how to better utilize Municipal Systems Improvement Grant (MSIG) to improve internal controls within municipalities and overall governance.
• The Department, through MISA, support municipalities on among others, the placement of civil and electrical engineers to assist with capacity building in the municipal project management unit.
• Data Management (Revenue)- aimed at assisting municipalities to improve accuracy and completeness of billing and address revenue leakages.
• Cost of supply study on water services- aimed at assisting municipalities to determine cost of providing trading services, revenue requirements and tariff design.
• Records management- aimed at assisting municipalities to improve records management, assist with the stabilisation of the administration and promote culture of accountability.

The above, together with support from the National Treasury will go a long way towards assisting municipalities to address the weaknesses identified by the Auditor-General. It is however important that this be looked at within the context of section 154 of the Constitution, meaning that municipalities still ultimately remain responsible and accountable to manage their own affairs. So by implication, the support initiatives is there to support municipalities but their success is highly dependent on the receptiveness thereto by the leadership within the municipality.

End.

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None of the passengers aboard the chartered aircraft to Warsaw, Poland, on 15 and 16 June 2023 were officials of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

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The land use management function in municipalities is regulated in chapter 5 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No. 08 of 2013 (SPLUMA). The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is the custodian of SPLUMA and therefore responsible for supporting the land use function in municipalities.

However, the Department of Cooperative Governance as the coordinator of the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) is implementing two key projects which have an impact on the land use management function in municipalities, namely, the development of Capital Expenditure Frameworks (CEFs) in intermediate city municipalities (ICMs), and the implementation of the Small-Town Regeneration (STR) strategy. The Department has to date supported 9 of the 39 ICMs with the development of CEFs.

The Small Towns Regeneration strategy, which entails the development of precinct plans for the towns, is currently being piloted in Piketberg (Bergrevier Local Municipality), Modimolle (Modimolle-Moookgopong Local Municipality), and Senegal (Setsoto Local Municipality).

End.

Reply:

I have been informed by the Department that the details are tabulated below:

	2020-21	2021-22	2022-2023	1 April 2023
(1) (a) What training and empowerment programmes have started	Incubator and Business Support Programmes: 4 Three Tourism Hub-based incubators: - Manyeleti: (Mpumalanga); Mier (Northern Cape); Phalaborwa: Limpopo. Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubator (TTGIIP) Programme ______________ _ Women in Tourism Programme: 1 Various webinars offered during COVID-19 Pandemic: Marketing and Market Access; Cash Flow Management; Pivoting your business in times of crisis; Mental Health care in times of crisis.	Incubator and Business Support Programmes: 2 National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: Food Service Incubation Programme _____________	Incubator and Business Support Programmes: 3 National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme. Food Service Incubation Programme. Community Based Tourism (CBT) Pilot Incubator: 8 CBT projects _____________ Women in Tourism Programme: 1 a) Women In Tourism (WiT) Business Management and Mentorship Programme: June 2022 – March 2023: Target 225	Incubator and Business Support Programmes: 3 Food Service Incubation Programme. Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubator (TTGIIP) Programme Homestay Pilot Incubation Programme ___________ Women in Tourism Programme: 1 a) Limpopo Women In Tourism Business Support Programme: 7 projects to be assisted
(1) (b) What training and empowerment programme have concluded	Incubators Three Tourism Hub-based incubators: Manyeleti: October 2019 officially closed in October 2021. Phalaborwa: Limpopo: October 2019 officially closed in October 2021. Mier (Northern Cape): December 2019 officially closed in December 2021. ________________	________________	Incubators: a) National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme. __________ Women in Tourism Programme: a) Women In Tourism (WiT) Business Management And Mentorship Programme.	Incubators: Incubators will close in 2023/24 ____________
(2) (a) What total number of persons enrolled in each programme	Incubators: Three Tourism Hub-based incubators: 50 SMMEs per incubator. Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubator (TTGIIP) Programme: 20 Youth. ______________ Women in Tourism Programme: Webinars: ranged from 40 – 250 persons.	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: 44 Tour operators. Food Service Incubation Programme: 100 youth _____________	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: 44 Tour operators. Food Service Incubation Programme: 100 youth Women In Tourism: a) Women In Tourism (WiT) Business Management And Mentorship Programme: 199	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: 44 Tour operators. Food Service Incubation Programme: 100 youth _____________ Women In Tourism: a) Limpopo Women In Tourism Business Support Programme: 7 projects to be assisted.
(2) (b) (i) What total number of persons did not complete each programme in each financial year and since 1 April 2023	Incubators Manyeleti: (Mpumalanga); Mier (Northern Cape); Phalaborwa: Limpopo: We had 1 drop-out in Bushbuckridge (Mpumalanga); 0 in the NC and 2 in Limpopo. Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubator (TTGIIP) Programme: n/a _______________ Women in Tourism Programme: Webinars: n/a	Incubators National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: 0 Food Service Incubation Programme: n/a ________________	Incubators: Food Service Incubation Programme: n/a Women in Tourism Programme: n/a	Incubators: Food Service Incubation Programme: n/a _____________ Women in Tourism Programme: n/a
(2) (b) (ii) What are the reasons for the dropouts in each instance	Incubators: We had 1 drop-out in Manyeleti: (Mpumalanga) due to lack of business as a result of pandemic; no drop-outs in the NC and 2 in Limpopo: due to death from COVID-19. Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubator (TTGIIP) Programme: n/a ________________ Women in Tourism Programme: - Webinars: n/a	Incubators National Tour Operator Incubator Programme: n/a. Food Service Incubation Programme: Left to take up full time employment offers; poor attendance of trainings in particular during the period of loadshedding; fourth wave of COVID-19 and increased infection cases and contributed to drop-outs. _______________ Women in Tourism Programme: - n/a	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: n/a. Food Service Incubation Programme: n/a Community Based Tourism (CBT) Pilot Incubator: 8 CBT projects: 01 June 2023 – 30 June 2025: n/a ______________ Women in Tourism Programme: n/a	Incubators: n/a _____________ Women in Tourism Programme: n/a
(3) (a) What total budget was allocated to each programme	Incubators: 4 x R 3 million = R 12 million _______________ Women in Tourism Programme: All Incubators are allocated a budget of R3 million per annum and run for 24 months. ________________ Webinars: Virtual Platform and all experts used volunteered their time.	Incubators: National Tour Operator Incubator Programme: R 3 million Food Service Incubation Programme: R 3 million _______________	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: R 3 million Food Service Incubation Programme: R 3 million ______________ Women in Tourism Programme: Women in Tourism (WiT) Business Management and Mentorship Programme: Budget: R1 883 million	SMME Compliance and Resilience Support Programme: R 3 million Incubators: Community Based Tourism (CBT) Pilot Incubator: R 3 million _____________ Women in Tourism Programme: a) Limpopo Women In Tourism Business Support Programme: 7 projects to be assisted: R3 876 million
(3) (b) What total amount was spent on each programme in each financial year and since 1 April 2023	Incubators: 3 incubators at R 3 m each: Total: R 6 million over two years per incubator. ________________ Women in Tourism Programme: a) Webinars: n/a	Incubators: National Tour Operator Incubator Programme: R 3 million Food Service Incubation Programme: R 3 million ____________	Incubators: National Emerging Tour Operator Incubator Programme: R 3 million Food Service Incubation Programme: R 3 million ______________ Women in Tourism Programme: Women in Tourism (WiT) Business Management and Mentorship Programme: R3 million	SMME Compliance and Resilience Support Programme: R 3 million Incubators: Community Based Tourism (CBT) Pilot Incubator: R 3 million _____________ Women in Tourism Programme: a) Limpopo Women In Tourism Business Support Programme: 7 projects to be assisted: R 3 million

I have been informed of the below, tabulated, inputs by SA Tourism

	2020-21	2021-22	2022-2023	1 April 2023
(1) (a) What training and empowerment programmes have started	Grade an Establishment training for tourism SMMES in uMkhanyakude District Municipality - 15 attendees TGCSA Online Workshop Assessor (3) - +- 40 attendees	Quality Assurance Workshop	Quality Assurance Workshop Nederburg – 49 attendees Ruth Mompati DM – 42 attendees Dr Kenneth Kaunda DM - 31 Platinum DM – 44 attendees Frances Baard DM -43 John Taolo Gaetsewe DM – 34 attendees ZF Mgcawu DM – 34 attendees Matjhabeng Local Municipality – 26 attendees Speed Marketing training for products in preparation for ATI – 35 attendees Free State Tourism training for officials – 31 attendees	Quality Assurance Workshop KwaDukuza region – 20 attendees Umhlabuyalingana - 56 attendees 5 -day compulsory training of new assessors – 22 attendees Speed Marketing training for products in preparation for ATI – 33 attendees
(1) (b) What training and empowerment programme have concluded	Basic Quality Verification Training for pilot, training aimed at unemployed graduates that assisted with the pilot. – 15 attendees	Quality Assurance Workshop uMkhanyakude DM – 44 attendees Zululand DM – 48 attendees Fezile Dabi District Municipality- Grading workshop – 21 attendees uThukela DM 39 attendees Harry Gwala DM – 29 attendees Dihlabeng Local Municipality – 22 attendees Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Workshop – 31 attendees Sedibeng District Municipality - 20 attendees City of Ekurhuleni – 29 attendees Ngakala DM – 30 attendees Ehlanzeni DM - 36 City of Tshwane – 41 attendees Weskus – 21 attendees Cape Wineland DM – 35 attendees Parys – 17 attendees Joe Gqabi DM – 27 attendees Chris Hani – 47 attendees Mopani – 21 attendees Westrand DM – 27 attendees New Grading IT System Training aimed at TGCSA Assessors - +- 30 assessors uMlalazi Local Municipality Speed-marketing Training – 18 attendees uMhlathuze Local Municipality Speed-marketing Training – 57 attendees	Basic Quality Verification Training for rollout to KwaZulu-Natal, training aimed at unemployed graduates. – 29 attendees	Quality Assurance Workshops KwaDukuza DM – 20 attendees Umhlabuyalingana DM 56 - attendees Amajuba DM – 37 attendees Gariep DM – 10 attendees 5 -day compulsory training of new assessors – 22 attendees Speed Marketing training for products in preparation for ATI – 33 attendees Free State Tourism Career Expo – 43
(2) (a) What total number of persons enrolled in each programme	185 SMME products in VTSD assessed 15 unemployed graduates trained	690 attendees at all workshops	29 unemployed graduates trained	221 attendees at all sessions
(2) (b) (i) What total number of persons did not complete each programme in each financial year and since 1 April 2023	N/A	N/A	N/A	1 person did not conclude the 5 day assessor training programme.
(2) (b) (ii) What are the reasons for the dropouts in each instance	N/A	N/A	N/A	Deceased
(3) (a) What total budget was allocated to each programme	Total budget for Basic Quality Verifiction Pilot Programme not specific to training: R2 573 125	There is no budget allocated for the programme other than arrangement of travel logistics	Total budget for Basic Quality Verifiction rollout to KwaZulu-Natal not specific to training: R462 500.00	Total budget set for Assessor Training R288 875.44 Total budget for Basic Quality Verifiction rollout to KwaZulu-Natal not specific to training: R414 000.00
(3) (b) What total amount was spent on each programme in each financial year and since 1 April 2023	Total budget for BQV Pilot Programme not specific to training: R2 573 125	There is no budget allocated for the programme other than arrangement of travel logistics	Total budget for BQV rollout to KwaZulu-Natal not specific to training: R462 500.00	Total budget set for Assessor Training R288 875.44 Total budget for Basic Quality Verification rollout to KwaZulu-Natal not specific to training: R414 000.00

Reply:

The response below was provided by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI). Accordingly, I have been advised as follows:

a) A total of 29 cases involving Councillors are being investigated by the DPCI as of 05 September 2023. Details on the status of the 29 cases are provided below:

Total no of cases involving Cllrs	Number of cases under investigation	No of cases in court	No of caes pending decision from the NPA.
29	10	13	6

b) A total of twenty-six (26) Councillors have been charged since 2019. Below are the details:

Province	Number of Councillors charged
Eastern Cape	1
Free State	1
Gauteng	1
KwaZulu Natal	8
Limpopo	0
Mpumalanga	4
Norrhern Cape	1
North West	2
Western Cape	8
Total	26

c) Awaiting response from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

d) Same as above.

e)   Same as above.

End

Reply:

a) The staff establishment for the private office of members of the executive is done in accordance with the approved 2019 guide for members of the executive in order to provide administrative support to the member in discharging his/her delegated constitutional duties. The operational cost relating to the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity is drawn from the budget of the Presidency.

 

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a) Firstly, I would like to state that stipends for participants and salaries for Site Management staff have been paid on time for the past three months i.e. participants payment date being 25th of each month and Site Management Staff being the last day of each month. Queries of non-payment relates to bank account changes and these participants are very few.

b) I am aware of the challenge of inadequate Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) for Participants intended to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. This challenge is largely as a result of delayed procurement processes by Implementing Agents (IAs) and further exacerbated by the discontinuation of their contract in March 2023.

c) The source of this PPE challenge was an attempt on the part of the department to promote value for money procurement by IAs. The department introduced a requirement that enjoins IAs to submit all intended procurement for approval.

d) The unintended consequence was that this requirement imposed additional strain on an already overstretched Finance unit resulting in delays in the procurement and distribution of PPE.

e) The provision of PPE for Participants is not a nice to have, but a compliance issue that the department must ensure is observed in accordance to the prescripts of the Occupational Health and Safety Act monitored by the Department of Employment and Labour.

f) It is for this reason that Site Audits are currently underway to determine the PPE needs of each Participant with the intention to expedite the procurement process and ensure compliance with the prescripts of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

End.

Reply:

a) Local Reference Committees (LRCs) are a deliberate design feature of the Community Work Program (CWP). They are primarily intended to provide an Oversight Role in the implementation of CWP at Site level. In this regard, this implies signing off on the development of Site Business Plans and monitoring the implementation thereof. Site Business Plans detail the Useful Work Projects that will be undertaken by the different work groups each led by a Supervisor.

b) LRCs meet once a quarter to receive reports on the implementation of the Site Business Plans from Site Managers. It is these reports that enable the oversight and monitoring of the implementation of the program. Where there are challenges, the LRC is enjoined to provide support to ensure remedies are expeditiously implemented. These reports, together with all relevant Portfolio of Evidence (POE) are submitted through the province to national department as attestation that the program is being implemented.

c) Additionally, the Monitoring and Reporting protocols of CWP enable regular Site Visits as a mechanism of ensuring validation and verification of what has been reported. This is the yardstick my department employs to illustrate that the program is implementable.

d) Indeed, there has been challenges regarding LRC functionality in the Gauteng and North West provinces. This is the function of a persistent instability that emanates from an attempt at unionisation of CWP participants in those specific provinces. In this regard, there seems to be a drive at recruiting Participants in this poverty alleviation program into Unions with a promise for access to employee benefits that are determined through the collective bargaining process. The department is dealing with this phenomenon.

End.

Reply:

According to Section 10A of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997) stipulates that the subsidy-financed property may not be disposed of by the beneficiary for a period of eight years from the date on which he or she acquired the property. This provision is to be registered against the title deed of the property and the Registrar of Deeds may not allow the transfer of ownership registration to occur without the approval of the relevant MEC.

Beneficiaries of subsidy-financed houses may therefore not sell or eliminate their properties within a period of eight years from the date on which the property was acquired, unless the property has first been offered to the relevant Provincial Human Settlements/Housing Department. It is worth noting that the sale restriction clause can only be enforced in the context of formal sale transactions between a beneficiary and a willing buyer. Therefore, in instances wherein the subsidy-financed property is sold in an informal process and transfer of ownership is not occurring, it is difficult for the Department to detect the sale transaction, thus making it hard to control or prevent such. The current mechanism of uncovering cases is where the sale transaction is reported to the Provincial Human Settlements Department, often done by a third party.

In addition, the Housing Act specifically states that “Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in any other law, it shall be a condition of every housing subsidy, as defined in the Code, granted to a natural person in terms of any national housing programme for the construction or purchase of a dwelling or serviced site, that such person shall not sell or otherwise alienate his or her dwelling or site within a period of eight years from the date on which the property was acquired by that person unless the dwelling or site has first been offered to the relevant provincial housing department”.

Due to the illicit nature of the transactions, buyers are unable to register the acquired properties in their names through the Deeds Office. The Department considers the practice of selling properties off-register as a slap in the face to the Government’s collective efforts of housing the nation, and the fight to confront the apartheid legacy of inequality and poverty, as well as reducing the number of people living in informal settlements.

As part of the Department’s concerted efforts aimed at addressing the phenomenon of selling BNG houses, advocacy programmes are undertaken with communities to create awareness amongst citizens. Such programmes include the use of social media platforms and radio announcements. In addition to that, the Department has various training and consumer education interventions, namely;

Train the Trainer- Which is designed to provide training on human settlements policies and programme to officials working in provinces and municipalities.

Housing Consumer Education- Which targets potential human settlements beneficiaries and communities at large and provides them with information on the different programmes of the Department that they can benefit from and how to protect and maintain their properties.

Councillor Training- Is done in conjunction with SALGA and empowers Councillors on their roles and responsibilities in the delivery of housing and human settlements.

Training of Traditional Leaders- Which focusses on unlocking land for human settlements and providing education on housing legislation and policies.

While pursuing the fundamental importance of legislative compliance, the Department is similarly cognisant of the arising challenges ascribed to the restrictive nature of the guidelines contained in sections 10A and 10B of the Housing Act. The policy proposals in the draft White Paper on Human Settlements is to address this area.