Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) The reason why the target was not achieved is because the Department relies on the military veterans to approach the department with requests to update their records. It is assumed that those Military Veterans who are not updating their records, their personal details have not changed.

(2) As per the Act the listing of Military Veterans in the National Military Veterans database is a permanent function which is not expected to end as it caters for the transition of members of the defence force who exit service.

(3) The 21 322 updated files completed was not broken down as per former force, at the time of reporting, due to the nature of our system we may not be able to go back at the end of the reporting period to track the composition of the batch. With the current improvements on the system, we will make sure such a break-down is provided in future.

 

 

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

I do not engage suppliers. Armscor continually interacts with all suppliers on a range of projects with an aim to ensure that suppliers honour their contractual obligations at all times.

.

Reply:

a) Yes, Annual financial statements of the Special Defence Account (SDA) were always tabled with the Annual report of the Department of Defence as required by the Appropriations Act, and the last SDA Annual financial statements for the 2014/15 financial year were tabled in Parliament on 29 September 2015 with the tabling of the annual report of the Department of Defence.

b) The next Annual financial statement of the SDA will be for the financial year 2015/16, and the tabling thereof will be done with the tabling of the Annual Report after the financial statements have been completed and audited, which is usually around September/October each year

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 12 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

(1) A process of consultation with role players is underway.

(2) Depending on the outcome of the consultations, the department proposes to prioritise the former non-statutory force members who did not qualify for Special Pensions from 1996 and destitute World War military veterans in the provisioning of pension.

(a) In instances where the value of the Special Pensions is lower than the value of the military pension’s value, top-up is proposed.

(b) and (c) Special Pensions does not pay a standardized pension amount to the beneficiaries but utilizes a formula which considers the age of the beneficiary and the years spent in service.

(3) Whilst there are on-going consultations, the view of the Department is that any pension granted to Military Veterans may be offset against other benefits received from the State, such as the Special Pensions.

(4) During the 2014-15 financial periods, the department made contingency provisions to provide pension to 500 Military Veterans at an estimated cost of approximately R23 million.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

(a) The Department of Military Veterans still has a number of medals in stock to be awarded to members of the non-statutory force of uMkhonto we Sizwe for whom the first set of medals were designed and cast. At present the Department of Military Veterans has gone into negotiations with the former APLA for approval of designs of medals for their organisation.

(b) There have been no medal parades since 2012 to honour any military

Veterans.

(i) No medal parades were held nor planned to honour Statutory Forces.

(ii) The Department held three medal parades to award medals to uMkhonto we Sizwe non-statutory force.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

1. Yes,

(aa/ab) During July 2015, a meeting was held between the Minister, management of the Department and officials from Auditor General in which Supply Chain Management and Performance Information management were discussed.

(ac) The Contract Management Sub-Unit has been established, this Sub-Unit has a Practitioner and interviews for the Assistant Director: Contract Management will be conducted in December 2015. In addition to this the Director: Supply Chain Management has been appointed with effect from 01 December 2015. The appointment of these officials will not only secure stability in Contract Management in the Department but will also ensure consistent administration and management of contracts, e.g., the database of contracts kept in Supply Chain Management will be monitored and reviewed monthly by the Chief Financial Officer.

(ac)(i) The Supply Chain Management directorate had experienced capacity constraints however this was addressed through the appointment of contract employees.

(ac)(ii) In terms of oversight responsibilities, the Chief Financial Officer will ensure that there is regular monitoring and reviews of the contract administration and compliance with Supply Chain Management policies and procedures.

Reply:

(1) (a) Advertisements have been placed and short listing is underway.

(b) VACANCY RATE AS AT 01 APRIL 2014 TO DATE

SN	POST TITLE	SALARY LEVEL	TOTAL COST
1	Personnel Officers x 2	5	R 264, 798
2	Senior personnel Officers x 3	6	R 476, 955
3	Admin Assistants x 3	7	R 588, 834
4	Admin Officer x 1	8	R 243, 747
5	Assistant Director x 1	10	R 361, 659
6	Deputy Director x 1	12	R 674, 979
7	Director x 1	13	R 864, 177
8	Chief Director x 2	14	R 2, 085, 000
9	DDG x 2	15	R 2, 535, 612
10	DG x 1	16	R 1, 656, 618
GRAND TOTAL	R 9, 752,379

(c) The Department of Military Veterans (DMV) in collaboration with the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) developed its Service Delivery Model (SDM) which is fundamental to the design of the organogram. Discussions are underway to fine tune the first draft of the organogram.

 

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This question must be redirected to the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Performance, Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration. In addition the Minister is the current Chairperson of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC)

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

There has been no attempt to persuade the Minister of Finance to establish a Tourism Development Fund. The tourism development aspects raised in the question are funded through existing funding mechanisms in the department provided for by the National Treasury within the current appropriated budget. These include inter alia the Tourism Incentive Programme (TIP), the Social Responsibility Implementation (SRI) Programme and the Strategic Partners in Tourism initiative.

Reply:

1. (a) During the 2014-15 financial periods the Department had planned to build 1000 houses for the benefit of Military Veterans through its partnership with the Department of Human Settlements.

(b) The R31.9 million top-up transfer to the Department of Human Settlement was in respect of the planned construction of 400 houses.

2. The Department of Human Settlements plans as agreed with the Department was for the building of 400 houses in the following provinces:

• Kwa-Zulu Natal
• Eastern Cape
• Free State and
• Mpumalanga3. 

3. Questions 3-5 must be redirected to the Department of Human Settlements as they have the constitutional mandate to address housing issues in the Republic of South Africa.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

(1)(a) According to the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998 offenders sentenced to life incarceration before 1 October 2004 had to serve a minimum detention period of 20 years before being eligible for consideration for placement on parole. However, on 15 July 2011 the North Gauteng High Court handed down a judgment in the Van Wyk case which had the effect to change the minimum detention period for offenders sentenced to life incarceration before 1 October 2004 prior to them being eligible for consideration for placement on parole. The implication was that the previous credit system was also applicable to those offenders sentenced to life sentences from 1 August 1993 up to 30 September 2004 and after allocation of the maximum number of credits advanced their consideration dates from 20 years to 13 years and 4 months.

(1)(b)(i) & (ii) Section 63 of the Correctional Services Act, Act 8 of 1959; and section 136 of the Correctional Services Act, No 111 of 1998 determines the minimum periods of sentence that must be served before consideration may be given for possible placement.

(2) The mentioned offender was sentenced to life imprisonment on 11 January 2002 and is eligible for consideration for possible parole. However, parole applications are submitted in accordance with and in compliance to section 42(2) (d) of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, as amended. As soon as the requirements of the aforementioned section are complied with, the Case Management Committee will submit the profile report to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB). The CSPB will then make a submission to the National Council for Correctional Services for a recommendation to the Minister.

(3) See (2) above

(4) See (2) above

Reply:

1. The Chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) wrote to the Minister of Finance on 16 March 2015 requesting the National Treasury to provide the MDB with inputs on a number of matters including a definition of municipal viability, indicators to measure viability and an analysis of the potential impact of each of the proposed boundary re-determinations.

In reply to the specific questions asked:

(i) No date was specified for the requested information to be provided to the MDB.

(ii) The Municipal Demarcation Board published notices in provincial gazettes in early July 2015 formally announcing the details of proposed re-demarcations that they were consulting on. The National Treasury conducted a thorough analysis of these proposals and the Minister of Finance wrote to the Chairperson of the MDB on 6 August 2015 to provide the Board with the information requested.

(iii) National Treasury did not make recommendations to the MDB. The inputs submitted provided information on the affected municipalities and analysis about potential impacts of the proposed boundary redeterminations, noting that in advance of the actual implementation of the proposals it is not possible to know with certainty what the impact will be. This information was provided, at the request of the MDB, to contribute further to the information on which the Board made its decisions.

2. The report compiled by the National Treasury and submitted to the MDB explored a number of different aspects of municipal viability that could be affected by boundary redeterminations. These included financial viability, institutional viability, economic viability and service delivery viability. Again, no recommendations were made to the MDB.

Reply:

(1) I wish to advise the Honourable member that the legal responsibility for recovering monies belonging to government and which have been misappropriated lies with the heads of the provincial departments affected. This recovery can be done once an investigation has established legal liability on the part of the relevant contractors and officials. The details that the Honourable member seeks cannot be provided at this stage because the SIU submits its reports to the President in terms of the SIU Act. My department has not received a copy of the reports. A proper assessment will be conducted once the full reports have been received. In the meantime, the SIU has advised my department that an estimated amount of R747 530 961. 75 has been identified by the SIU as the amount that can be considered by the affected provincial departments recoverable from the liable contractors and/or officials. The SIU further advises that those departments have been informed of their options regarding these matters.

(2) (a) The SIU advises that it has referred a total of thirty-two (32) cases against implicated individuals and/or entities, that are not state owned entities or employed by the state, to law enforcement agencies, for criminal investigation and possible prosecution. It does not have further details of progress in that regard

(b) (i) & (ii) The SIU has further referred a total of thirty-five (35) cases against implicated government officials to law enforcement agencies, for criminal investigation and possible prosecution.

(3) (a) The SIU has further advised that it has finalised 30 investigations in respect of 91 low cost housing projects.

(b) One investigation in respect of a subsidised housing project in the Western Cape has not yet been completed, as the services of a Quantity Surveyor has had to be procured to conduct a value-for-money exercise in respect of this subsidised housing project, to complete the investigation report.

Reply:

Yes, the National Treasury has formally written to all national and provincial departments who have outstanding debts with municipalities. Please note that the notification was done through a letter by the Director-General: National Treasury who wrote to all Directors-General on 21 July 2015 conveying the message and I reiterated the matter with correspondence on 13 August 2015 to all the executive authorities alerting them of the arrears owed to municipalities.

It is important to understand that the process of addressing these unsettled accounts is being co-ordinated through the President’s Co-ordinating Council (PCC), where Premiers of provinces, Cabinet Ministers, and Accounting Officers of departments have committed to directly address the issue and give regular feedback to the PCC. The written communication from the National Treasury to departments and provinces is part of this high-level process.

The Section 71 of Municipal Finance Management Act (Act No. 56 of 2003) report for June 2015 shows that various departments owed municipalities as per the table below.

Table 1: Age analysis of debt owed to municipalities by National Departments

Section 71 of Municipal Finance Management Act (Act No. 56 of 2003) for June 2015 see the link: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/RNW4066-151210TABLE.docx

Section 71 of Municipal Finance Management Act (Act No. 56 of 2003) for June 2015 see the link: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/RNW4066-151210TABLE.docx

(a) All departments listed above were written to by the Minister of Finance on 13 August 2015.

(b) At the time of writing, the following debts were owed to municipalities by national departments amounted to R1.7 billion and provinces owed R2.5 billion.

(c) In addition, the report shows that a majority of the debt has been outstanding for more than 90 days.

(d) The Department of Public Works has initiated a process to verify the outstanding amounts owed by government in order to resolve problems with contested bills. This process is being undertaken to ensure that all outstanding amounts reported by municipalities are legitimately due by the named departments and to correct any undue errors. This process of verification is a work-in-progress and the outcome is not yet available. The report will also indicate a more accurate picture of progress made with payments of outstanding amounts by departments and province.

(e) Once the outcome of the work done by Public Works is made available, this will inform the actions to be taken.

Reply:

1. Yes, the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board considered the mentioned offender and his profile report was received by Head Office during September 2015 and submitted it to the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS). As soon as the recommendation of the NCCS is available, it will be submitted to the Minister for consideration.

(2)(a) & (b) See (1) above.

(3)(a)&(b) The offender was not denied to be considered for possible parole placement by the (a) Minister and (b) Correctional Supervision and Parole Board.

(3)(i) & (ii) Parole applications are submitted in accordance with and in compliance to section 42(2) (d) of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, as amended. Amongst others, during the said period the offender did not participate in Victim Offender Dialogue and the Department in collaboration with the offender was in the process of tracing his victims. Furthermore, his support system was also not positively confirmed.

Reply:

It is the duty of the political parties to ensure that their voters turn out to vote on Election Day.

 

Reply:

(a) My understanding of red tape is that it is bureaucratic delays in the administration processes that impede and hamper service delivery. We have simplified all business processes for the work of my Department in order to have swifter turnaround times for example, processing of water use licenses. We have reduced the turnaround times for decision makers with regards to Supply chain processes for bid evaluation and bid adjudication processes.

Refer below for response from Entities:

NO.	NAME OF ENTITY	RESPONSE
1.	Amatola Water	(a)(ii) Amatola Water Board defines red tape as “official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay or inaction” (b)(i)(ii); (aa); (bb) & (bbb) Amatola Water Board has governing structures internally that ensure an effective and efficient decision making process that reduces red-tape. The governing structures of Amatola Water Board have policies and procedures to give guidance and, to maintain sound control environment. Amatola Water Board is an active stakeholder that participates in various water sector forums and committees that are lead by Department of Water and Sanitation which are aimed at reducing the decision lag processes (e.g. DG’s Forum, PROWAF, SAAWU). The Shareholders Compact (SHC) which serves an agreement between the Water Board and Minister of Water and Sanitation is aligned to the corporate objectives of the water board. This SHC creates a common space for understanding and execution of strategy. The SHC also forms part of the performance system and monitoring is on a quarterly basis in order to take an immediate corrective action against adverse performance results.
2.	Bloem Water	(a) (i) N/A (ii)Legal mandate by Executive Authority, which is the Board appointed by the Minister, following the Delegation of authority to CE and further to staff. (b)(i) (ii) (aa)(bb)This includes Policies approved and procedures implemented to function in such a way to minimise and reduce processes, costs and red tape. (aaa) (bbb)N/A
3.	Lepelle Northern Water	(ii)Red Tape- excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities. (i) (ii) (aa)(bb) Our internal processes do not have red tape challenges. (aaa) (bbb) N/A
4.	Magalies Water	(a)(ii)Red tape is defined in Magalies Water within the context of normal managerial functions. This is such that management activities are executed in a certain sequence which follows planning within a formal authority of hierarchical decision making. (b)(i)-(ii)A materiality and significance framework and the Delegations of Authority (aa)-(bb)-(aaa) N/A (bbb)The above instruments do neither identify nor reduce red tape but facilitate effective decision making processes within the organisation. The materiality and significance framework facilitate decisions on material transactions by the Board and on significant transactions by the Minister of Water and Sanitation. The delegations of authority facilitate internal decision making processes at various managerial levels.
5.	Mhlathuze Water	(a) (i) N/A (ii) Our understanding of the word “red tape” is that it is a term used to describe excessive regulation that hinders timeous action or decision-making. (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) MW has recently reviewed its business processes in order to streamline all its processes for effective delivery of services. MW policies are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are still effective and relevant in achieving service delivery. (aaa)N/A (bbb)It should however be noted that statutory compliance takes precedence over internal processes, policies and procedures.
6.	Overberg Water	(a) (i) N/A (ii) Overberg Water is not experiencing any red tape in our engagement within and with the external stakeholders. (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) N/A (aaa) (bbb) N/A
7.	Rand Water	(a) (ii) There is no definition of red tape in terms of the law. (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb)To improve efficiencies within Rand Water’s Supply Chain Management we are continuously reviewing our systems and policies and currently participating in the review of the Preferential Procurement Act in order to improve economic transformation and participation of previously disadvantages entities in the business of Rand Water. (aaa) (bbb) N/A
8.	Sedibeng Water	a) (i) N/A (Applicable to the department) (ii) Red tape is when processes to approve and authorize activities of the entity are held hostage due to long authorization and approval processes. (b) (i) The necessary processes are still undertaken as per the prescripts of the legislation and business best practices, however business processes mapping was undertaken to respond to the legislation, policies and procedure are defined to enable business efficiencies. (ii) Systems implemented to identify red tape are (aa) The time taken to authorize transactions is checked against the target set to authorize and process; the level of authorization required in terms of the delegated authority; the number of people who hold the requisite authority to transact (bb) reduce red tape in: (aaa) N/A (Applicable to the department) (bbb) A shared services model and automation of the business processes systems was implemented. Reviewing the delegation of authority to allow back up and acting positions taking into account the level of understanding on accountability.
9.	Umgeni Water	a) (i) N/A (ii) Red tape is when processes to approve and authorize activities of the entity are held hostage due to long authorization and approval processes. (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) Umgeni Water has developed systems of internal control that include approved policies and an articulate delegation of powers framework. The framework gives appropriate officials powers to implement decisions at various and appropriate levels. (aaa) N/A (bbb) These systems assist the organisation to quickly dispatch resources and make business decisions without having to wait for executive and accounting authority meetings. However the accounting authority exercises appropriate oversight on decisions taken by management / officials.
10.	Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority	(a) (i) N/A (ii) TCTA is a service provider to other water management institutions.  It does not regulate (i.e. grant permission to an organisation /individual to carry out an activity) or provide a service over which it has a monopoly to others electricity water etc. (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) (aaa) (bbb) N/A The questions are, therefore, not of relevance to TCTA.
11.	Water Research Commission	(a) (ii) Definition of Red Tape. The term red tape is not used. (b) (i) The WRC has had no specific interventions or (ii) systems implemented. The WRC has a fairly efficient deal flow system with our research management system and while we continuously seek improvement, we have had no complaints about unnecessary red tape. The legislative requirements and regulations that apply to the WRC have been effectively integrated into the operations to ensure smooth process flows. (aaa) (bbb) N/A
12.	Inkomati CMA	(a)(ii) Red tape is defined as complicated official rules and regulations, especially when these are considered unnecessary: excessive bureaucracy (b) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) Not for the entities to respond to. (aaa) (bbb) N/A
13.	Breede-Gouritz CMA	(a) (i) N/A (ii) The BGCMA defines red tape as excessive impediments that require compliance and conformity to formal rules either in terms of established rules within the organization, policy, compliance register, regulations, Treasury Instructions or applicable legislation. These impediments can prevent the BGCMA from making a timeous decision. (b)(i) If it is a rule or policy the BGCMA applies either a deviation route having obtained the necessary approvals but if it is the legislation there is strict compliance. (ii)The performance process flow and compliance register define and identify areas of compliance plus the extent required to implement those. (bb) Depending on the nature of red tape, relevant officials are given specific delegations and if it is a governance issue the Board or the Minister is approached. (aaa) (bbb) N/A

---00O00---

Reply:

(1) Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) was allocated R713.1 million for the 2015/16 financial year and R285.3 million was transferred to the municipality on the 9th of July 2015. The municipality spent an amount of R69.1 million on Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) programmes as outlined in the table below as at 30 September 2015. The National Department of Human Settlements is therefore not aware of any funds allocated to BCMM in the 2015-16 financial year that have been utilised for activities or programmes or purposes for which they were not intended.

The departmental information is that the funds were budgeted and spent for the purposes which are illustrated below as at 30 September 2015:

 

(2) The department has utilises the USDG Framework and Division of Revenue Act No.1 of 2015 to regulate the use of its grants. The Grant Framework and the USDG Policy clearly outlines and guides municipalities on the scope of the utilisation of the USDG and this includes:

• Increase in bulk infrastructure capacity
• Increase in the basic services to poor households, specifically in informal settlements, including water, sanitation, electricity, refuse removal and transport access
• Increase in land provision for informal settlement upgrading, subsidy housing, or mixed use development in support of catalytic projects
• Increase in access to socio-economic amenities
• Improved dwelling unit densities within an improved spatial integration framework

The Division of the Revenue Act Section 17 (1) states that “despite anything to the contrary in any other legislation, an allocation referred to in Schedules 4 to 7 may only be utilised for the purpose stipulated in the Schedule concerned and in accordance with the applicable framework section”. Section 18(1) states that “a transferring officer may withhold the transfer of a schedule 4 or 5 allocation or any portion thereof, for a period not exceeding 30 days if (a) the province or municipality does not comply with any provision of this Act.

It is to be noted that in terms of relevant procedure, the Auditor-General also audits expenditure and application of grants by Provinces and Municipalities and these reports are provided to the Department and will be used take corrective action if there is misuse of the grants.

The Department through its Financial and Monitoring and Evaluation units also undertake quarterly visits as well as quarter review sessions with municipalities and provinces, and these also present the Department with an early warning opportunity if there is inappropriate use of grants.

(3) No. However, the Honourable member is encouraged to provide me with details regarding his area of concern.

Reply:

The Department of Home Affairs does not have information about this alleged appeal. A request from an organisation such as Cage Africa to the South African government should follow proper channels and be submitted through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

Reply:

There are no records of any investigation pertaining specifically to the entity in question at any of the DPCI Components.

Reply:

Visible policing in Vusimusi informal settlement is usually conducted by means of foot patrol mostly during the weekends. The 4 X 4 double cabs are also utilized to patrol the area.

Reply:

(a) Three (3) sectors.

(b) SECTOR 1: (Township), Jiyana, Isivana, Isishjetweni, Ibaxa, Welamlambo, Ethafeni

SECTOR 2: (Informal Settlement) Vusimuzi and hostels, Vusimuzi squatter camp, Enhlanzeni,Tembisa Plaza, Thiteng and Tembisa Taxi Rank, Mpho and Lekaneng.

SECTOR 3: (Township) Moedi, Khatamping, Endayini, Umnonjaneni, Esiqongweni, Entshonalanga, Umthambeka Ext 5, Umfuyaneni.

(c) The total population of Tembisa South policing area is 111 926. The population figures per sector is not available.

(d)

Police vehicles (i)	Police officers (ii)
03	06

 

Reply:

The total costs incurred to date amounts to R1 717 351-52 calculated as follows:

Disciplinary hearing R1 088 193-54

Review of the disciplinary hearing (SAPS) R 226 062-00

Review of the arbitration (Maj Gen Booysen) R 403 095-98

TOTAL R1 717 351-52

Reply:

The information can be processed through the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans in the new year, as the beneficiaries names are considered confidential.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This information has been requested from Tlokwe Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

This information has been requested from the Mbombela Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

The President of the Republic of Sudan did not attend the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation Summit, (FOCAC).

Reply:

The information can be processed through the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans in the new year, as the beneficiaries names are considered confidential.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This information has been requested from Tlokwe Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

This information has been requested from Tlokwe Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

Due to the voluminous nature of the information requested, I would recommend that the member approaches the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and request to have this information tabled in a meeting of the Portfolio Committee in one of their sessions in 2016.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

a) Yes, there has been progress in job creation in the South African economy, although the unemployment rate remains unacceptably high.

The most recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics SA puts total employment in September 2015 at 15 828 000. This is an increase of some 2 500 000 over the September 2011 QLFS estimate of 13 318 000 employed persons. It should be noted, however, that a new Master Sample based on the 2011 census data was introduced in 2015, and Statistics SA therefore cautions that year-on-year changes should be interpreted with care. Notwithstanding this caution, the data indicate that if the rate of increase in employment over the past years is continued over the period ahead, approximately 5 million jobs will be created by 2020.

It is also apparent from the QLFS data that the rate of increase in the labour force has exceeded the rate of job creation, and so the unemployment rate has remained broadly unchanged. In September 2011 the estimated rate of unemployment was 25.7 per cent, and in September 2015 it was 25.5 per cent.

b) With respect to the question whether decent jobs have been created on an incremental basis annually, Government is mindful that wages are low and employment opportunities are irregular in some parts of the economy. Between 2011 and 2015, formal non-agricultural employment increased by approximately 1.5 million. In the September 2015 QLFS, informal sector work accounts for 2.7 million jobs, agriculture employment is 900 000 and private households account for 1.28 million jobs. These are important and sizeable shares of the employment total, and working conditions are varied in these sectors.

Programmes and policy initiatives that are aimed at improving conditions amongst lower-income workers include sectoral wage determinations by the Minister of Labour, investment in training and skills development and small enterprise support programmes. Government’s main direct contribution to the expansion of job opportunities is through the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Community Work Programme, and the youth employment incentive has been introduced to encourage firms to create work opportunities for first-time young work seekers.

The objective of the Jobs Fund is to support innovative approaches to employment creation and work seeker support, thereby contributing to evidence and learning about effective employment initiatives and strategies. The Jobs Fund aims to create 150 000 sustainable jobs and will contribute to evidence-based policy making.

To date the Jobs Fund has issued 5 calls for proposals, and approved 108 project applications of which 85 are currently being implemented. R5.6 billion in grants has been committed to the 108 projects. These project partners have committed R7.9 billion in matched funding. To date R2.78 billion in grants have been disbursed to implementing projects and R4.2 billion in matched funding has already been leveraged from these partners. The 85 projects being currently implemented have to date created 60 675 new permanent jobs and an additional 30 358 persons have been placed in vacant positions on a permanent basis. 16 124 short term jobs have been created, 13 291 persons completed internships and 128 196 persons has received work readiness/technical training.

Most of the jobs created have been entry level jobs for which the salary ranges between the sectoral minimum wage and R3500. Most of those employed are youth in their first jobs. Jobs have also been created in the salary cohort of R3500- R8800 with a few jobs created at salary levels in excess of R8000 per month. Jobs are evidenced through the submission of contracts of employment and payroll amongst others.

Reply:

This matter is currently the subject of litigation between the Department and the company concerned and as such any comments at this stage are likely to prejudice the Department’s case.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This information has been requested from these two metropolitan municipalities and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

This matter is currently the subject of litigation between the Department and the company concerned and as such any comments at this stage are likely to prejudice the Department’s case.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

Due to the voluminous nature of the information requested, I would recommend that the member approaches the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and request to have this information tabled in a meeting of the Portfolio Committee in one of their sessions in 2016

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

Due to the voluminous nature of the information requested, I would recommend that the member approaches the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and request to have this information tabled in a meeting of the Portfolio Committee in one of their sessions in 2016

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

1. Yes
2. (a)(i) The process underway has been initiated by Armscor to test the market for information through the issuance of RFI (Request for Information).

At this stage Armscor has only done the RFI (Request for Information), depending on the findings from the RFI, the process can stop or be moved to the next step which will be a request for Offer (RFO).

(ii) Same as previous answer.

(b)(i) There is no specific amount allocated to the project, the request for information will assist in terms of the budget.

(ii) As above.

(c) This will dependent on whether we go ahead with the project in the first place. So far no such decision has been made.

3. The outcome of the findings will provide guidance on the way forward.

4. No statement will be made

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 07 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

Due to the voluminous nature of the information requested, I would recommend that the member approaches the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and request to have this information tabled in a meeting of the Portfolio Committee in one of their sessions in 2016

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This information has been requested from the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

This information has been requested from the metropolitan municipalities and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

In responding to the question the assumption is made that the Honourable Member is referring to daily maximum demand. The table below indicates the customer daily energy demand from 1 March 2015 to 29 November 2015.

Date	Customer Demand MWh
2015/03/01	615 989
2015/03/02	669 051
2015/03/03	674 638
2015/03/04	675 675
2015/03/05	678 546
2015/03/06	678 138
2015/03/07	644 353
2015/03/08	622 464
2015/03/09	677 087
2015/03/10	685 801
2015/03/11	687 776
2015/03/12	688 292
2015/03/13	689 000
2015/03/14	650 059
2015/03/15	625 750
2015/03/16	677 776
2015/03/17	684 592
2015/03/18	686 001
2015/03/19	687 755
2015/03/20	682 914
2015/03/21	644 010
2015/03/22	630 664
2015/03/23	683 404
2015/03/24	687 956
2015/03/25	685 945
2015/03/26	690 873
2015/03/27	669 502
2015/03/28	632 650
2015/03/29	608 103
2015/03/30	661 626
2015/03/31	669 967
2015/04/01	668 627
2015/04/02	651 398
2015/04/03	594 235
2015/04/04	590 128
2015/04/05	579 514
2015/04/06	589 727
2015/04/07	655 740
2015/04/08	666 176
2015/04/09	672 502
2015/04/10	672 108
2015/04/11	637 678
2015/04/12	619 241
2015/04/13	663 577
2015/04/14	677 597
2015/04/15	677 271
2015/04/16	679 907
2015/04/17	671 634
2015/04/18	645 426
2015/04/19	630 322
2015/04/20	669 247
2015/04/21	679 860
2015/04/22	683 606
2015/04/23	679 504
2015/04/24	680 109
2015/04/25	635 071
2015/04/26	611 130
2015/04/27	624 250
2015/04/28	666 329
2015/04/29	668 547
2015/04/30	663 547
2015/05/01	617 955
2015/05/02	612 217
2015/05/03	617 004
2015/05/04	662 729
2015/05/05	679 554
2015/05/06	675 633
2015/05/07	686 368
2015/05/08	683 972
2015/05/09	653 427
2015/05/10	630 569
2015/05/11	680 763
2015/05/12	684 688
2015/05/13	683 584
2015/05/14	683 452
2015/05/15	680 843
2015/05/16	652 459
2015/05/17	627 987
2015/05/18	672 777
2015/05/19	682 316
2015/05/20	680 819
2015/05/21	684 597
2015/05/22	678 270
2015/05/23	649 686
2015/05/24	636 941
2015/05/25	680 562
2015/05/26	691 093
2015/05/27	689 785
2015/05/28	687 883
2015/05/29	678 297
2015/05/30	636 299
2015/05/31	624 217
2015/06/01	663 832
2015/06/02	678 966
2015/06/03	687 834
2015/06/04	699 092
2015/06/05	702 533
2015/06/06	677 867
2015/06/07	653 802
2015/06/08	694 948
2015/06/09	703 928
2015/06/10	716 499
2015/06/11	716 836
2015/06/12	714 953
2015/06/13	661 765
2015/06/14	640 077
2015/06/15	673 059
2015/06/16	650 032
2015/06/17	706 515
2015/06/18	711 768
2015/06/19	705 245
2015/06/20	669 921
2015/06/21	650 940
2015/06/22	697 149
2015/06/23	706 460
2015/06/24	706 658
2015/06/25	706 221
2015/06/26	697 005
2015/06/27	672 992
2015/06/28	651 838
2015/06/29	688 460
2015/06/30	698 407
2015/07/01	692 949
2015/07/02	693 312
2015/07/03	690 260
2015/07/04	653 354
2015/07/05	637 854
2015/07/06	679 880
2015/07/07	698 275
2015/07/08	692 722
2015/07/09	686 403
2015/07/10	682 469
2015/07/11	655 458
2015/07/12	635 239
2015/07/13	685 843
2015/07/14	698 754
2015/07/15	695 409
2015/07/16	691 166
2015/07/17	696 565
2015/07/18	660 855
2015/07/19	646 471
2015/07/20	683 527
2015/07/21	690 396
2015/07/22	699 851
2015/07/23	708 383
2015/07/24	701 131
2015/07/25	670 257
2015/07/26	651 721
2015/07/27	694 919
2015/07/28	700 715
2015/07/29	704 311
2015/07/30	698 663
2015/07/31	703 594
2015/08/01	661 007
2015/08/02	636 444
2015/08/03	682 407
2015/08/04	689 477
2015/08/05	692 994
2015/08/06	690 907
2015/08/07	678 144
2015/08/08	638 883
2015/08/09	614 219
2015/08/10	628 776
2015/08/11	681 094
2015/08/12	685 460
2015/08/13	679 649
2015/08/14	677 149
2015/08/15	634 823
2015/08/16	607 120
2015/08/17	652 403
2015/08/18	660 354
2015/08/19	657 677
2015/08/20	657 116
2015/08/21	647 200
2015/08/22	617 489
2015/08/23	604 102
2015/08/24	644 647
2015/08/25	645 891
2015/08/26	646 045
2015/08/27	644 655
2015/08/28	634 684
2015/08/29	601 424
2015/08/30	591 426
2015/08/31	632 223
2015/09/01	669 042
2015/09/02	676 263
2015/09/03	682 373
2015/09/04	700 260
2015/09/05	661 441
2015/09/06	636 233
2015/09/07	675 372
2015/09/08	687 079
2015/09/09	677 477
2015/09/10	678 821
2015/09/11	678 059
2015/09/12	653 847
2015/09/13	629 895
2015/09/14	670 489
2015/09/15	679 680
2015/09/16	675 104
2015/09/17	676 985
2015/09/18	682 142
2015/09/19	653 659
2015/09/20	637 410
2015/09/21	688 762
2015/09/22	683 341
2015/09/23	673 321
2015/09/24	633 573
2015/09/25	650 464
2015/09/26	629 960
2015/09/27	617 185
2015/09/28	661 945
2015/09/29	675 770
2015/09/30	675 378
2015/10/01	662 080
2015/10/02	665 036
2015/10/03	630 343
2015/10/04	611 024
2015/10/05	658 813
2015/10/06	669 966
2015/10/07	670 396
2015/10/08	668 657
2015/10/09	670 214
2015/10/10	633 378
2015/10/11	615 977
2015/10/12	662 540
2015/10/13	671 910
2015/10/14	673 013
2015/10/15	667 974
2015/10/16	666 560
2015/10/17	633 974
2015/10/18	608 772
2015/10/19	660 891
2015/10/20	666 228
2015/10/21	668 833
2015/10/22	673 724
2015/10/23	665 720
2015/10/24	629 230
2015/10/25	608 906
2015/10/26	660 869
2015/10/27	664 197
2015/10/28	669 483
2015/10/29	674 863
2015/10/30	668 504
2015/10/31	627 524
2015/11/01	604 362
2015/11/02	645 209
2015/11/03	656 034
2015/11/04	653 911
2015/11/05	659 857
2015/11/06	659 962
2015/11/07	628 519
2015/11/08	609 244
2015/11/09	664 576
2015/11/10	666 367
2015/11/11	671 344
2015/11/12	676 683
2015/11/13	673 616
2015/11/14	632 639
2015/11/15	603 480
2015/11/16	652 420
2015/11/17	654 575
2015/11/18	655 851
2015/11/19	642 153
2015/11/20	645 569
2015/11/21	610 940
2015/11/22	588 569
2015/11/23	641 785
2015/11/24	660 352
2015/11/25	665 091
2015/11/26	663 060
2015/11/27	657 316
2015/11/28	615 845
2015/11/29	607 541

Reply:

This information has been requested from the metropolitan municipalities and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

This information has been requested from the Thabazimbi Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

The information can be processed through the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans in the new year, as the beneficiaries names are considered confidential.

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 08 DECEMBER 2015

Reply:

This information has been requested from the Tlokwe Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

The Honourable Member will be aware that African stability, development and prosperity have been the bedrock of the ANC-led government since the dawn of our democracy in 1994.

We continue this trajectory by committing to various AU programmes, with the following discernible examples:

1. Peace, Security and Stability: On 08 November 2015, I presided over the closing ceremony of the Amani Africa Field Training Exercise held in Lohatla, Northern Cape, whose main objective was to test the ‘Rapid Deployment Capacity’ (RDC) of the African Standby Force. The success of this Exercise points to the Continent’s readiness to expeditiously provide solutions to some of our instability challenges.

What was most gratifying about Amani Africa was the fact that Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Standby Force, North Africa Regional Command, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Volunteering Nations of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC), all participated in this historic exercise. Amani Africa is a practical headway that has been made to ensure stability, which is indispensable to continental development. The Honorable Member will also recall the swiftness with which SADC addressed the recent challenges in Lesotho.

 

2. NEPAD: As the Honourable Member will know, NEPAD has been one of the corner stones of the African Renaissance. The initiative is anchored on our collective determination to extricate ourselves and the Continent from underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalising world. It is a call for a new relationship based on domestic, continental and global partnerships to address under-development, founded on the realisation of common interest, obligations, commitments, benefit and equality.

NEPAD has a number of key programmes, one of which is infrastructure development. The Continent continues to make progress in this regard through the implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI) chaired by South Africa, and spearheaded by seven dedicated Heads of State and Government. PICI is part of PIDA, serving as an initiative to bring political leadership to bear, to fast-track the implementation of important projects from the PIDA Priority Action Plan by identifying and dealing with blockages, missing links and choke-points.

For example, under PICI, progress is being made in closing the missing link of the trans-Saharan highway project covering 4500 kilometres between Algeria and Nigeria and $40 million has been secured towards its continued construction. It is expected to be completed in 2016. The optic fibre component of the same project has seen substantial progress, with the completion of 60% of the project. The ICT Broadband Fibre Optic Network Linking Neighbouring States project, championed by Rwanda, has been completed. Egypt recently held the first Steering Committee meeting of the footprint states of the Navigational route between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea. Construction on the Grand Inga project is due to begin soon. The Dakar Financing Summit in June 2014 prioritized 16 PIDA projects for exposure to private and institutional investors.

With an infrastructure deficit of about USD 92 billion per year, NEPAD is making every effort to highlight this very important challenge. In light of this, at its annual meeting in May 2014, the African Development Bank launched the Africa50 initiative in order to mobilise USD 100 billion for regional infrastructure projects, focusing on addressing the key part of the project cycle that is project preparation. There are several projects in this regard, so this is by no means an exhaustible list.

3. APRM:

The APRM derives from NEPAD and its aim is to foster and promote good political, economic, social and corporate governance in Africa by encouraging Member States to adopt international best practice, which should eventually translate into political stability, economic growth, sustainable development and sub-regional and continental economic integration. South Africa is committed to advancing, nationally and continentally, the objectives of the APRM.

South Africa acceded to the APRM in March 2003 and was reviewed in July 2005. This resulted in the release of the Country Review Reports in 2007 and its’ National Programme of Action .South Africa tabled its First Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action in January 2009. The second such Report was tabled in January 2011, with the Third Report being tabled in January 2014. South Africa will soon enter the second Peer Review phase.

Membership of the APRM has risen to 35 and 17 countries have been reviewed to date. This is an utterly unique system of self-assessment in the world in terms of its transparency and extent, and the underlying benefits cannot be overstated in terms of the shaping of national development discourse and providing models of best practice on key cross-cutting issues.

4. CAADP AND OTHER PROGRAMMES:

Another key priority for African development is agriculture, as reflected in the AU/NEPAD Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). CAADP is one of NEPAD’s most successful programmes and has been key to driving development on the Continent and responding to poverty, hunger and joblessness. CAADP ensures that the great commodity that we have, arable agricultural land, is used for the benefit of all Africans.

In this regard, 52 states have been engaged in CAADP related interventions, 40 have received direct support under CAADP, 40 have signed CAADP national compacts, 30 National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans have been developed and reviewed, at least 8 countries have met the 10% of budget target, and 4 RECs have developed their own regional compacts. Ten countries have registered more than 6% annual growth in agriculture.

5. PARTNERSHIPS:

The role of international partners is to help scale up and accelerate our own efforts. Therefore, South Africa continues to play a leading role in engaging Africa’s Strategic Multilateral Partnerships, such as FOCAC, TICAD, Africa-EU, Africa India, Africa-Korea, Africa-Arab, Africa-South America, NAASP, and Africa-Turkey going forward. One of the key NEPAD principles is “New partnerships within Africa and with the international community”. It is for this reason that all of the Partnerships have been constructed on the understanding that engagement with Africa is to be done within the framework of NEPAD, as the socio-economic development programme of the AU, with the aim of assisting in the achievement of AU/NEPAD objectives and programmes.

South Africa continues to play a key role in the review of all of Africa’s partnerships with the North and the South, being conducted by the AU PRC Sub-Committee on Multilateral Cooperation.

South Africa is Co-Chair with China of FOCAC until 2018 and we have hosted a very successful FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg on 4-5 December 2015.

President Xi Jinping of China announced a development partnership with Africa worth $60 billion, accompanied by a 10 point plan focusing on areas that are key priorities for development in the continent. We look forward to taking the win-win cooperation further as the African continent as it holds great promise for the renewal of the African continent economically. This occurred on the backdrop of a very successful India-Africa Summit.

Reply:

This information has been requested from the Province and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.

 

Reply:

The general principle is that all political and other disputes should be resolved through discussion, negotiation, mediation, and other forms of non-adversarial dispute resolution mechanisms. We should only resort to the courts when these channels have failed. Parties should refrain from using the courts to resolve political disputes. Parliament has various mechanisms in place to resolve disputes between parties in terms of its Rules, and all parties should make optimal use of those Rules to resolve disputes.

Reply:

This information has been requested from Tlokwe Local Municipality and will be communicated to the Honorable Member when it is available.