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28 September 2015 - NW3395

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Boshoff, Ms SH to ask the Minister of Basic Education

(1)What percentage of learners at schools have been (a) threatened with violence, (b) assaulted, (c) sexually abused and (d) exposed to corporal punishment by a person at the relevant school in each (i) province and (ii) district in the 2013-14 financial year; (2) which schools in each (a) province and (b) district have implemented the Early Warning System which is a guide and management tool that was designed by her department in conjunction with the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention for school management teams, school governing bodies and teachers and learners to identify and report on risks and threats at schools; (3) which schools in each (a) province and (b) district are still aligned to the Safety in Education Partnership Protocol between her department and the SA Police Service signed in 2011 to reduce crime and violence in schools and in communities; (4) which schools in each (a) province and (b) district are utilising the SA School Administration and Management System to report on behavioural transgressions, crimes and violence; (5) how many schools in each (a) province and (b) district have established Safe School Committees?

Reply:

1. Extrapolated from the National School Violence Study of 2012 (released in 2013) amongst randomly selected secondary schools from all provinces (of which the sample comprised of 5939 learners, 121 principals and 239 educators),

(a) 12, 2% had been threatened with violence by someone at school;

(b) 6. 3% have been assaulted;

(c) 4, 7% had been sexually assaulted or raped;

(d) in terms of the National School Violence study of 2012, an overall of 49,8% of learners claimed to have been caned or spanked by an educator or principal.

Provincial rates of corporal punishment ranged from 22.4% to 73.7%, with the highest levels of corporal punishment observed in KwaZulu-Natal (73.7%).

When assessing the rates per province, the data shows increases as well as decreases in the rates of corporal punishment by schools across the country.

Increases in the use of corporal punishment over the past four years were noted for Mpumalanga (rates increased from 43.6% in 2008 to 63.5% in 2012), the Eastern Cape (rates increased from 58.5% in 2008 to 66.9% in 2012), KwaZulu-Natal (rates increased from 48.7% in 2008 to 73.7% in 2012) and the Western Cape (rates increased from 17.1% in 2008 to 22.4% in 2012).

The most significant decrease in the rates of corporal punishment reported by learners was observed for Gauteng, with rates dropping from 61% in 2008 to 22.8% in 2012.

The use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline was also less frequently reported in Limpopo, the Free State, the North West and the Northern Cape in the 2012 wave of the study.

While the difference between male and female learners was not significant, males (50.4%) did report fractionally higher levels of corporal or physical punishment than female (49.4%) learners

(2) The Early Warning System (currently referred to as the National School Safety Framework) was approved in April 2015 and the training of Provincial Master Trainers commenced on 1 June 2015 and was completed on 27 August 2015. The roll out of school-based training workshops by the trained Provincial Master Trainers will commence in January 2016. Therefore no statistical data is available regarding implementation in (a) provinces and (b) district.

(3) The Partnership Protocol between Department of Basic Education and South African Police Services (SAPS) is still valid and schools linked to local police stations are collaborating with police officials in terms of combatting crime and violence in schools.

(4) Training workshops conducted by Information Management Systems are currently underway (a) in provinces and (b) districts on the utilization of the South African School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS) to report on behavioural transgressions, crimes and violence.

(5) As part of the Partnership Protocol between the Department and SAPS 16603 (verified data) schools have been link to local police stations and established School Safety Committees.

28 September 2015 - NW2944

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Lotriet, Prof A to ask the Minister of Science and Technology

(1)Whether her department is in any way involved in research regarding the new nuclear build programme in the country; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?”

Reply:

The Department is not involved in research regarding the new nuclear build programme in the country since the nuclear technology option/choice is yet to be decided on. However, there are existing initiatives in support of nuclear energy industry that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is involved in for the development of know-how and technologies in the nuclear technologies fields.

These include the Nuclear Engineering Research Chair at North West University; Carbon Materials and Technology Chair at the University of Pretoria; Advanced Materials Initiative (AMI); South African Nuclear Human Asset Research Programme (SANHARP); Masters in Accelerator and Nuclear Science (MANUS) and Masters in Material Science (MatSci) programme, involving the University of Zululand, the University of the Western Cape and iThemba Labs.

The focus of the work is as follows:

  • Nuclear safety, which includes radiation effects of mining and routine discharges of Koeberg nuclear power station and also radiation standards and regulations;
  • Nuclear materials beneficiation;
  • Carbon technologies research with emphasis on nuclear graphite technology to support nuclear power generation;
  • Reactor technology research on modelling and simulation of nuclear reactors and their associated power plants and process applications. These models are applied in the analysis, design and optimisation of pressurised water reactors and high temperature reactors;
  • Nuclear project management, nuclear energy economics; and
  • Collaborative research on system analysis of passive safe small modular high temperature gas cooled reactors.

28 September 2015 - NW3460

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Walters, Mr TC to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform

Whether, with regard to a certain law firm (name furnished) that deals with eviction issues on behalf of his department, (a) his department funds the specified law firm entirely with regard to litigation in eviction matters, (b) how many cases have been handled by the specified law firm since its appointment, (c) what amount has been spent by his department on average in respect of each case and (d) how many of the specified cases were successful in the sense that the court ruled against landowners in claims for eviction in terms of (i) the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Act 62 of 1997 and (ii) the Land Reform Act, Act 3 of 1996; (2) on what basis does his department exclude persons from being represented by the (a) specified law firm and/or (b) approved members of the panel of the specified law firm; (3) what criteria does his department utilise to determine who qualifies for legal support that is provided by the specified firm; (4) does his department have an agreement that the specified law firm must appoint private law firms to represent land occupiers; if so, (a) what are the reasons for allowing the specified appointments at the Government’s expense and (b) on what relevant legislative provision does his department rely when it allows the specified appointments to be made; (5) does his department have an agreement that the specified firm appoint branches of the Legal Aid Board to represent land occupiers; if so, on what legislative provisions does his department rely when it allows the specified appointment to be made?

Reply:

(1) (a) Yes.

(b) 1145

(c) R57 284.34

(d) (i) 134

(ii) 0

(2)(a),(b) If persons do not meet the definition of the relevant legislation and or if they fall outside the qualifying threshold of R5000.00 gross income in terms of ESTA Regulations or a Means Test.

(3) Same response as Question 2 above.

(4) Yes.

 (a) Same response as in Question 2 above.

 (b) The Department relies on the judgement of Nkuzi Development Association and the Government of the Republic of South Africa.

(5) No.

28 September 2015 - NW3461

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Walters, Mr TC to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform

What proactive measures are in place to ensure that the state fulfils its constitutional duties in terms of section 26(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, read together with chapter 2 of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Act 62 of 1997, when his department and local municipalities are notified of the statutory prescribed form of the intended eviction proceeding in terms of section 9(2)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Act 62 of 1997?

Reply:

Through district offices, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) on receipt of such notifications always attempts to negotiate a settlement using internal capacity by calling upon affected parties and stakeholders such as relevant Municipalities to find a solution. If these internal interventions fail, external assistance through the Land Rights Management Facility is sought either for further mediation and or litigation. Depending on the outcome, DRDLR may negotiate an on or off farm settlement for occupiers in terms of section 4 of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act No. 62 of 1997).

28 September 2015 - NW3634

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Esterhuizen, Mr JA to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

(1)In view of our outbound foreign direct investment which grew by 17% this year, in contrast to foreign direct investment into the country which has fallen by 24%, can he provide an explanation as to why there seems to be an overarching desire by South African businesses to grow offshore than to invest locally; (2) what steps is his department taking in order to foster an environment which will attract foreign capital investment in the country? NW4211E

Reply:

(1) According to the World Investment Report released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in June 2015 aggregate global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 16% in 2014 as a result of the continued uneven and weak recovery of the global economy after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Not surprisingly, South Africa was also impacted and FDI inflows slowed from US$8.3 billion in 2013. The fdi report 2015 by fdi intelligence which tracks investment projects also reports a decline in greenfield fdi projects globally.

Nevertheless, South Africa still attracted a substantial US$ 5.7 billion in 2014. By comparison, Nigeria attracted US$ 4.6 billion, Mozambique US$4.9 billion, Kenya US$ 900 million and Mauritius US$ 418 million. In 2014, South Africa was again the largest recipient of FDI on the African continent. South Africa remains an attractive investment destination as per the latest Ernest and Young attractive destination survey launched in June 2015. According to the EY survey South Africa remains the top destination in Africa for fdi projects. Over the past five years South Africa received twice as many fdi projects as any African country. Multinationals have affirmed South Africa as a regional manufacturing hub and have retained and expanded their investments in new plants. Companies such as Unilever have invested R 4 billion in expansions, upgrades and new plants in South Africa.

In addition to South Africa being a destination for FDI, we are now also a leading source of FDI on the African continent. As this Government has stated on many occasions, our domestic market is simply too small to – on its own – sustain high economic growth rates over the long-term. The African continent is now widely acknowledged as the next growth frontier and South Africa is in the fortunate position of having identified the growth opportunities in Africa many years ago already.

This is why our trade policy prioritises regional development through the Southern African Development Community (SADC); the Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) signed in June 2015 in Sharm el-Sheikh and the Continental Free Trade Area (C-FTA).

These Agreements do not only open the door to South African exporters. They also provide investment opportunities for companies owned by South Africans or domiciled in South Africa.

Companies such as Vodacom, MTN, SAB-Miller, Standard Bank, Pick n Pay, Shoprite-Checkers, Woolworths, Nando’s and mining companies are just a few of the many South African brands which have become instantly recognisable across Africa. These investments partly account for FDI outflows from South Africa and show the extent to which South African entrepreneurs and companies have become serious participants in the global economy. In most cases, these outward investments draw on their South African value-chains, expertise and financial resources.

These outward investments are positive and should be celebrated. Market opportunities are arising as Africa’s population urbanises and consumer demand grows off a low base in many African countries. We encourage our firms to seize these opportunities, noting that their ability to do so is precisely because they are able to leverage off the financial resources and market successes in South Africa.

Such investments by South African companies contribute to Regional Integration, Infrastructure Development and Industrialisation of the African such as Scaw Metals investment in Ghana.

 

(2) President Zuma during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), 12th February 2015 announced a nine point plan to push the economy forward, ignite growth and create jobs. Government is also committed to improving the investment climate and ease of doing business. Also announced during the SONA was the establishment of a one stop Inter-Departmental Clearing House to attend to investor complaints and problems. the dti has given effect to the Inter- Departmental Clearing House and has established a dedicated division for investment promotion, facilitation and aftercare. Specialised capacity is been added that will fast track, unblock and reduce red tape in Government. Investors are encouraged to contact the dti investment unit for this clearing house service.

28 September 2015 - NW3599

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Robinson, Ms D to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

Is his department currently working on any (a) financial and/or (b) economic empowerment initiatives in collaboration with the Department of Women in The Presidency; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the specified initiatives?

Reply:

  1. The dti fully recognises the challenges that women face in society and in the economy. The department recognises that women tend to face more barriers that hinder them from contributing meaningfully and effectively to the country’s economic aspiration of becoming a globally competitive industrial economy. It is for this reason that one of the objectives of our industrial policy is to promote increasing participation of previously marginalised citizens and regions in the mainstream industrial economy.
  2. Currently, the dti does not have any collaboration or joint projects with the Department for Women in the Presidency. The department is, however, open to such collaborations should the opportunity arise.
  3. The dti continues to provide a wide range of measures aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs and increasing their participation in the economy. Our wide range of incentives provides support to entrepreneurs and industrialists, including women. These incentives include those that support women entrepreneurs (e.g. Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme, National Exporter Development Programme, Film, Incubation), women students and researchers (THRIP and SPII) and job placement of women graduates (ITUKISE). Some selected achievements include the placement of 645 women graduates in jobs through ITUKISE Programme in 2015; employment of over 14 700 women through the Business Processing Services incentives in 2015; supporting 574 women-owned companies through EMIA between 2011 and 2014; supporting 351 women-owned companies through the Exporter Development Programme between 2013 and 2015. To date, THRIP has supported 585 female students and 335 women researchers. However, the dti recognises that more can be done and, indeed, more will be done.
  4. When the President established the Department for Small Business Development, some of the functions of the dti were transferred to the new Department. Women and Gender Programmes, together with all responsible officials and business units, were also transferred.
  5. However, the dti has since established a new Women Empowerment Chief Directorate to drive women empowerment. A Chief Director has been appointed and has started to develop women empowerment programmes and initiatives. Once these programmes and initiatives have been finalised and concretised, we will gladly share them with you and the public.

 

28 September 2015 - NW3391

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Lovemore, Ms AT to ask the Minister of Basic Education

(1)How many applications by (a) educators and (b) non-teaching staff employed by each provincial department of education are still awaiting processing for (i) incapacity leave and (ii) retirement on the grounds of ill-health; (2) with reference specifically to employees of each provincial department of education, what is the (a) average and (b) maximum time that lapses between the date of application and the date of processing the application for (i) incapacity leave and (ii) retirement on the grounds of ill-health; (3) (a) why is there a backlog in respect of the processing of incapacity leave and applications for retirement on the grounds of ill-health, (b) what is being done to address the backlog in each province and (c) by when will the backlog be cleared; (4) has she made the Minister of Public Service and Administration aware of the backlogs; if not, why not; (5) has the Minister of Public Service and Administration communicated any action that he has taken in respect of the specified backlogs; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) How many applications by (a) educators and (b) non-educators employed by provincial departments of education are still awaiting processing for (i) incapacity leave and (ii) ill-health retirement in each province?

1 (a) (b) (i) and (ii)

The table below captures the number of educator and non-educator applications for i) incapacity and ii) ill health retirement per province.

Outstanding Incapacity Leave and Ill-Health Retirement Applications- Jan 2006 - May 2015

PED

Educators

Non-teaching Staff

 

Incapacity Leave

Ill-Health Retirement

Incapacity Leave

Ill-Health Retirement

EC

12 375

126

2 924

8

FS

1 682

11

577

0

GP

140

1

35

2

KZN

6 929

6

1 556

2

LIM

1 943

6

219

1

MP

3 198

96

498

5

NC

1 579

8

631

0

NW

873

5

191

4

WC

2 444

4

443

5

(2) with reference specifically to employees of each provincial department of education, what is the (a) average and (b) maximum time that lapses between the date of application and the date of processing the application for (i) incapacity leave and (ii) retirement on the grounds of ill-health;

Details on the turnaround times regarding the processing of applications are currently not available nor collected in the normal process of monitoring by the Department. This information will be requested from the provinces and will be provided accordingly.

(3) (a) why is there a backlog in respect of the processing of incapacity leave and applications for retirement on the grounds of ill-health, (b) what is being done to address the backlog in each province and (c) by when will the backlog be cleared;

(a) The processing and finalisation of an application for incapacity leave involves many steps and procedures and involves various entities, that is, the employer, the employee, the Health Risk Manager and Health Practitioners. It also involves the submission of various documentation. Delays, mainly administrative, can happen at any stage of the process thus leading to backlogs.

b) The Department of Basic Education (DBE) decided, as part of the plan to address underlying pressures that affect quality teaching and learning, that the nature and extent of backlogged PILIR cases be examined and resolved through direct involvement with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). The DBE visited all PEDs to discuss the nature and extent of backlogged PILIR cases; discussed challenges and possible ways of resolving the blockages and formulated a management plan to resolve the backlogged PILIR cases. Subsequently, the DBE draws reports from PERSAL to monitor whether the management and administration of PILIR is improving. These reports are shared with the PEDs.

(c) The administrative and infrastructure complexities within Provinces prevent the PEDs from providing a definitive deadline as to when all backlogs will be cleared. This is a continuing process that has the commitment of all PEDs.

(4) has she made the Minister of Public Service and Administration aware of the backlogs; if not, why not;

The Minister of Basic Education has been communicating regularly with the Minister of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) since January 2013, informing her of the growing backlogs and their impact on the sector. This included explaining that, due to the imperative that there must be a teacher in every classroom, the PEDs have to appoint substitute teachers whilst teachers were sick for long periods, and this was exerting further pressure on already stretched compensation budgets.

(5) has the Minister of Public Service and Administration communicated any action that he has taken in respect of the specified backlogs; if so, what are the relevant details?

No direct response to the Minister of Basic Education has been received from the Minister of Public Service and Administration with respect to PILIR backlogs. However, the Department of Public Service and Administration communicates regularly with all government departments on PILIR matters through circulars to all Heads of Department.

28 September 2015 - NW3396

Profile picture: Boshoff, Ms SH

Boshoff, Ms SH to ask the Minister of Basic Education

(1)In respect of each province and each district, (a) how many identified Provincial Master Trainers have been trained on the National School Safety Framework and (b) when will these trainers train (i) school governing bodies, (ii) senior management teams and (iii) other relevant educators and support staff; (2) in respect of each province and each district, (a) what are the minimum standards for safety at schools and (b) who determines what these standards should be; (3) in respect of each province and each district, (a) how many schools conduct risk assessments twice per annum and (b) are these reports (i) forwarded to the relevant provincial education departments, (ii) provided to her department and (iii) available to the public?

Reply:

 

1. Training workshops for provincial master trainers on the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) have been conducted in all nine provinces in collaboration with the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP), supported by UNICEF. These workshops started on 27 June and were completed on 27 August 2015;

In respect of each province and each district, (a) Provincial Coordinators for School Safety were responsible for the identification and selection of the relevant trainees at provincial and district levels. The Trained Master Trainers are obligated to roll out school-based training workshops in all schools (b) starting at the beginning of 2016, which will (i) include training for school governing bodies, (ii) senior management teams and (iii) other relevant educators and support staff;

2. The NSSF is located within a range of international and national laws and policies that recognize the safety of learners and educators as a prerequisite for quality teaching and learning. In terms of provinces and districts the following minimum standards have been identified (a) minimum school-level policies and procedures are implemented and enforced; safety audits are undertaken annually; safety plans are formulated, adopted, submitted and revised annually; consistent engagement with community structures and actors; school safety teams are established and functional; Codes of conduct have been formulated, adopted and implemented; reporting and response systems are developed, utilised, and reviewed continuously; and referral systems and networks are established and functional,

3. In terms of the NSSF risk assessments have to be conducted at school-level after which school safety plans have to be drawn up and executed. As mentioned the roll out of the NSSF will commence in 2016 and with respect to provinces and districts, (a) schools must conduct risk assessments twice per annum to be used internally to identify risks and threats in terms of violence in schools and to draft a school-based Safety Plan (b) and forward these School Safety Plans (i) to the relevant district (School Safety Coordinator) and provincial (School Safety Coordinator), (ii) it is expected that from the school safety plans provinces will be able to identify the prevalence and trends of incidences of violence and work collaboratively with schools, districts and all relevant stakeholders to address violence in schools. (ii) the risk assessments implemented at a school-based level and are internally used to determine risks and threats and to develop programmes to address specific issues related to violence. .

NW4055E

28 September 2015 - NW3572

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Figg, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

(1) Considering the usefulness of visiting other countries and learning lessons from their practices and experiences, (a) how many days has he spent out of the country in (i) 2014 and (ii) since 1 January 2015, (b) which countries did he visit and (c) what useful lessons did he learn; (2) (a) have any of the useful lessons learnt been implemented in South Africa and (b) did the specified lessons yield positive results; if not, why not in each case; if so, what were the results in each case? NW4239E

Reply:

(1) and (2) After years of international isolation because of Apartheid policies, South Africa was accepted into the global community with the onset of democracy in 1994. Responding to these new opportunities was a strategic imperative of the new democratic government in order to build mutually beneficial regional and global relations to advance South Africa’s trade, industrial policy and economic development objectives. All the working visits detailed below in Annexure A were undertaken in support of this strategic imperative; which in turn yielded a number of notable outcomes.

For further detailed information regarding the working visits and these outcomes, the Honourable Member is advised to consult the dti Annual Report 2013/2014 and several previous Parliamentary Questions on the same matter.

25 September 2015 - NW3083

21 AUGUST 2015Mr S M Gana to ask the Minister of Human Settlements

(a) How does (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her define red tape and (b) what (i) specific interventions and/or (ii) systems have been implemented to (aa) identify and (bb) reduce red tape in (aaa) her department and (bbb) the entities reporting to her?

Reply:

(i) & (ii) The Department and the entities who report to the Minister of Human Settlements define red tape to, inter alia, include:

  • Excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that are bureaucratic, and hinder or prevent action or decision-making. This includes the collection or sequence of forms and procedures required to gain bureaucratic approval for something, that is complex and time-consuming, to be addressed as per prescribed procedures
  • Series of actions or complicated tasks that seem unnecessary but that a government or organization requires you to do in order to get or do something;
  • Processes that are onerous to navigate when one is trying to get some service, usually from Government.
  • Certain legislative and policy compliance aspects and processes being too excessive when dealing with various compliance matters which are aligned to and is complemented by founding legislation and organisational policies governing specific processes of Government.

(b)(i)(aa) &b (ii)(bb) The following specific interventions and/or systems have been implemented to identify and reduce red tape in the department and the entities reporting to the Minister and include:

  • The Department and entities interact with officials and have meetings with those especially involved in transactions. The minutes are kept of these meetings as a record of discussions and resolutions taken; when excessive problems are apparent they are escalated to senior management or even to board members;
  • Entities including NHFC utlilize their own internal qualified personnel, but also has access to external resources when required. They have efficient administrative processes to avoid delays; they also communicate with the officials within the Department and National Treasury to get clarity on what is required (where applicable) if there is uncertainty; others utilise processes that are prescribed in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999) and the Treasury Regulations to address matters if they are unnecessarily protracted;
  • The CSoS utilizes a dispute Resolution Model to receive and resolve complaints on an end-to-end basis. They also make use of an Enterprise Resource Planning system which includes facilities for self-service / self-tracking of complaints lodged. This system allows citizens to keep track or the progress on their particular cases and complaints, monitor the turn-around times, as well as register and escalate complaints where the service provided is slower than promised;
  • The EAAB continuously embarks on stakeholder awareness activities and educational programmes, they have optimised certain processes by creating online options and electronic means for stakeholders to use in their interactions with the entity; other processes employed to protect the interests of the consumer, include internal control measures, regulations, policy and other procedures as defined by legislative and policy prescripts;
  • The SHRA support in capacitating Social Housing Institution’s and making social housing projects ready for awarding the Restructuring Capital Grant is regarded as an intervention in identifying and reducing red tape.
  • The HDA has all the necessary policies and procedures in place to ensure the smooth, complaint and on-going delivery of targets, systems as envisaged in the Public Finance Management Act and complementary legislation are employed.

 

25 September 2015 - NW3219

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Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Human Settlements

(1)Whether her department has withheld or caused to be withheld any grants to (a) local, (b) district or (c) metropolitan municipalities (i) in the 2014-15 financial year and (ii) since 1 April 2015; if so, in respect of each specified case, (aa) what amount was withheld, (bb) what were the reasons for withholding the grant and (cc) in terms of which legislation and/or regulations was the grant withheld; (2) whether her department consulted with the National Treasury in respect of each specified case; if not, why not; if so, what was the National Treasury’s advice in this regard; (3) whether her department notified the affected municipalities properly of her department’s intentions; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Department of Human Settlements transfers the allocations for grants to nine Provinces and eight Metropolitan Municipalities. The Department does not transfer allocations for any grant to district municipalities as implied in the Honourable member’s question.

 

During the 2014/15 financial year, the department withheld the Municipal Human Settlements Capacity Grant (MHSCG) to six metropolitan municipalities until such time that Metropolitan Municipalities had demonstrated that they had spent this conditional grant for the purpose for which it was intended as envisaged in the relevant prescripts, in particular the Division of Revenue Act (DORA).

In actual fact Honourable member, the grant referred to in the question is not the only one giving my MECs and I sleepless nights. The misuse of the Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) is also worrisome. We need to review the grants framework to address serious anomalies. To illustrate my point, the USDG was introduced as a conditional grant to ensure the provision of bulk connector, link and internal services; well-located land and public amenities because we realised that these plagued the optimum performance of the human settlements sector. Metropolitan municipalities spend the USDG on other things such as roads, street lighting and social facilities when there are still bulk infrastructure constraints. This is frustrating to say the least.

The Honourable should be interested how this grant is used by the City of Cape Town allocated the USDG funds for 2014/15 financial year as indicated below:

Description

Allocated Budget

% Total Available Funds

Spent by Municipality

% Spent

Variance

% Unspent

R’00

R’00

R’00

Electricity

231 698

14.1

189 286

81.7

42 412

18.3

Solid Waste Management

50 000

3.0

50 000

100.0

 

0.0

Water and Sanitation

195923

11.9

182 885

93.3

13 038

6.7

City Parks

30 595

1.9

24 797

81.0

5 798

19.0

Sport, Recreation and Amenities

41 636

2.5

34 423

82.7

7 213

17.3

Library and Information Services

23 644

1.4

23 644

100.0

 

0.0

Assets Management and Maintenance (Transport)

262 765

16.0

195 118

74.3

67 647

25.7

City Health Sub Districts

7 467

0.5

7 391

99.0

76

1.0

HS Development & Delivery

120 608

7.3

97 695

81.0

22 913

19.0

HS Planning and National Housing Programmes Development

419 900

25.5

416 727

99.2

3 173

0.8

Public Housing and Customer Services

42 674

2.6

27 853

65.3

14 821

34.7

HS Urbanisation

92 332

5.6

79 003

85.6

13 329

14.4

Disaster Risk Management

5 500

0.3

5 492

99.9

8

0.1

Spatial Planning and Urban Design

1 230

0.1

1 230

100.0

 

0.0

Provincial Allocation

49 048

3.0

49 048

100.0

 

0.0

Project Pre-Planning

68 405

4.2

24 964

36.5

43 441

63.5

Human Settlements - Title Deeds

500

0.0

343

68.6

157

31.4

Project Managemnet

1 500

0.1

 

 

1 500

100.0

VAT

 

 

72 031

 

- 72 031

 

Total

1 645 425

100.0

1 481 930

90.1

235 526

14.3

 

In summary, the table indicates the following:

  • From the R1.6 billion total allocated budget, Human Settlements Planning is allocated a larger portion of R419.9 million or 25.5% whereas 99.2% of those funds were spent. The expenditure is attributable to land purchase amounting to R416.7 million.
  • The second highest allocation is on Assets Management and Maintenance at R262.8 million or 16% of the total allocated budget of which only 74.3% of those funds were spent.
  • At least four of the services spent 100% of their budget at year end i.e. Solid Waste Management, Library/Information Services, Spatial Planning/Urban Design and Provincial Allocations.

We are required intervene to ensure that we provide the much needed houses for our people. I will certainly not abdicate my responsibilities by not acting when funds are not spent in line with the DORA. Not a cent from the USDG should be used for amenities or stadium construction while housing infrastructure is lacking or in some cases is non-existent.

25 September 2015 - NW3399

Profile picture: Lekota, Mr M

Lekota, Mr M to ask the Minister of Human Settlements

Whether, in the period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2015, her department had (a) to contend with any community-organised housing protests either in demand for houses and/or to draw attention to corrupt practices or shoddy construction, (b) substantially addressed the accommodation needs of backyarders, especially in townships where congestion was so acute as to make fire hazards and disease a serious and constant danger, (c) done anything substantial to address the accommodation needs of people living in informal settlements and/or at the very least provided such communities with proper planning and adequate services, (d) worked harmoniously and co-operatively with provincial and municipal governments in each province to accelerate housing delivery and (e) worked in partnership with the private sector to develop affordable housing for the working class where income did not exceed a certain threshold; if not, why not in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

Reply:

(a) The National Department in terms of the Constitution as well as relevant policies and legislation is not directly responsible for the programme and project planning, prioritisation and implementation of National Housing Programmes, as contained in the National Housing Code.

The mandate to plan and implement human settlements and housing projects in terms of the various National Housing Programmes vests with the nine Provincial Governments and the Municipalities. The various community organised protests, as they may be related to human settlements and housing, are therefore by and large organised and directed to local municipalities and/or the provincial departments. There are isolated cased community protests that are directed to national department offices.

(b) Each human settlement development project is unique and requires tailored and specific planning and design to meet the prevailing circumstances and housing specific needs and priorities. The Provinces and Municipalities endeavour to follow a balanced, integrated and developmental approach in the targeting of the most vulnerable households that require housing assistance. This means that projects will, where possible and required, be designed to accommodate predetermined percentages of households from the diversity of the housing backlog in an area, including households residing in informal backyard rental units, who wish to relocate to permanent ownership housing financed properties when such becomes available.

(c) The upgrading, relocation and redevelopment of informal settlements remains a priority developmental objective of Government. The Provinces allocate the majority of the annual Human Settlement Development Grant (HSDG) allocation for informal settlement upgrading projects and the Government remains committed to improve the lives of our communities who are residing in these areas on a priority basis. In the case of the Metropolitan Municipalities, the Department during the 2011/12 financial year introduced the Urban Settlements Development Grant with the object of prioritisation of funding allocations for land development and servicing aimed at households residing in informal settlements. The first phase intervention under the National Housing Programme for the Upgrading of informal Settlements is the identification of provision of emergency services needs and the design and deployment of such emergency services to curtail any health and life threatening situations.

A fundamental objective of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme is the participation, involvement and consultation with targeted communities in all aspects of the planning and implementation of their housing development solutions.

(d) The Department and the nine provincial human settlement departments and the metropolitan municipalities are collaborating in the planning and implementation of priority development areas. The Department is furthermore conducting quarterly performance reviews in collaboration with the provinces and municipalities to ensure that planned targets are pursued and to address any constraints where such is encountered.

(e) The Department has recently initiated an enhanced housing programme for the provision of assistance to households who are able to access mortgage finance and the rollout of the programme was aided by the important role that was fulfilled by the National Housing Finance Corporation as the National Programme Management Agent. The Department is furthermore continuously monitoring the implementation of the National Housing Programme in collaboration with the private sector and further enhancements to the programme are already in an advance stage of development.

23 September 2015 - NW3095

Profile picture: Kalyan, Ms SV

Kalyan, Ms SV to ask the Minister of Health

(1)(a) What are the categories of specialty for nurses in South Africa and (b) how many registered nurses are there in each category; (2) which training institutions offer nurses training in each category of specialty; (3) whether nurses specialising in neonatal care are trained at any type of institution; if not, why not; if so, (a) at which institutions and (b) how many nurses specialising in neonatal care have been trained since 1 January 2009?

Reply:

  1. (a), (b) and (2)

The categories of nurse and midwife specialists and production is covered in the template provided below depicting Universities and Public Colleges that offered such specializations.

UNIVERSITIES

 

NURISNG EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

PROGRAMME

 

YEAR OBTAINED

 

               

 

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

TOTAL

CPUT

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

15

12

1

12

1

41

 

Treatment and Care

 0

 0

 0

 0

 0

 0

 

Occupational Health Nursing

28

21

28

21

0

98

 

Oncology

12

6

 0

12

6

36

 

Nursing Administration

39

20

 0

20

39

118

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

Nursing Education

6

10

19

10

19

64

 

Nursing Administration

8

23

84

25

78

218

 

Community Nursing

28

43

117

28

100

316

 

Operating Theatre Nursing

10

3

14

3

12

42

 

Nursing Science: Neonatal Nursing

 0

 

27

 0

 0

27

 

Advanced Psychiatric Nursing

7

3

8

9

8

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF STELLEBOSCH

Advanced Psychiatric Nursing

14

13

14

12

13

66

 

Nursing Administration

8

61

18

12

25

124

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

58

142

58

34

45

337

 

Treatment and Care

 0

 0

 0

 0

 0

 

Nursing Education

42

26

59

42

36

205

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TUT

Occupational Health Nursing

62

99

25

35

24

245

 

Oncology

23

10

14

13

20

80

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

 

Nursing Administration

54

25

46

34

 

159

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF VENDA

Nursing Administration & Community Health

23

16

15

23

26

103

 

Psychiatric Nursing

15

31

73

34

13

166

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNISA

BA Cur Health Science Education & community

18

63

164

45

32

322

 

Specializing in Occupational Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BA Cur Health Science Education & Health Service

7

36

42

48

23

156

 

Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Science Education, Community Health Nursing

58

48

36

40

41

223

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WITS UNIVERSITY

Nephrology Nursing

6

10

13

10

8

47

 

Nursing Education

1

2

10

5

7

25

 

Nursing Administration

5

1

8

5

6

25

 

Trauma & Emergency Nursing

 

 

1

 

 

1

 

Occupational Health

11

4

0

0

0

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KZN UNIVERSITY

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

3

24

70

68

73

238

 

Treatment and Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nursing Administration

55

42

25

38

40

200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DURBAN UNIV OF TECHNOLOGY

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

3

1

1

7

8

20

 

Treatment and Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN

Nephrology Nursing

9

11

15

14

19

68

UNIVERSITY

Nursing Education

0

3

0

0

0

3

 

Critical Care Nursing

4

5

7

6

3

25

 

Advanced Midwifery& Neonatal Nursing Science

4

8

7

9

5

33

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

2

5

8

9

9

33

 

Treatment and Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advanced Psychiatric Nursing

1

3

5

2

1

12

 

Nursing Administration

5

8

9

5

12

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE

PSYC (880)

6

5

6

6

6

29

 

PSYC (212)

3

7

3

2

3

18

 

Occupational Health Nursing

32

26

29

24

23

134

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

80

25

44

45

40

234

 

Treatment and Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Child Nursing Science

12

14

2

8

12

48

 

Critical Care

8

4

4

6

5

27

 

Advanced Midwifery& Neonatal Nursing

7

17

9

9

6

48

 

Operating Theatre

17

14

5

7

9

52

 

Nursing Administration

81

15

22

26

23

167

 

Nursing Education

10

15

10

15

17

67

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POTCHEFSTROOM UNIVERSITY

Nursing Management

50

141

21

34

22

268

 

Nursing Education

82

23

23

26

25

179

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diploma: Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment,

13

10

9

13

15

60

 

Treatment and Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advanced Midwifery & Neonatal Nursing Science

2

14

7

3

6

32

 

 

12

35

26

19

20

112

 

Occupational Health Nursing

22

35

31

25

32

145

 

Nursing Administration

13

38

16

17

20

104

 

Nursing Education

12

14

15

18

16

75

 

Community Health Nursing

5

6

1

8

5

25

 

Medical & Surgical Nursing Science Critical care

1

1

5

7

6

20

 

Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Science

2

1

1

3

4

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NURSING COLLEGES

NURSING EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

PROGRAMME

YEAR OBTAINED

     

 

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

TOTAL

NET CARE EDUCATION

Critical Care Nursing: General

12

6

7

13

10

48

 

Operating Room Nursing

8

9

11

11

14

53

 

Trauma and Emergency Nursing

14

17

4

4

18

57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SG LOURENS NURSING COLLEGE

Psychiatric Nursing Science

15

17

19

32

10

93

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment

32

29

28

89

45

223

 

Treatment & Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARAGWANATH NURSING SCIENCE

Nephrology Nursing Science

12

10

3

25

15

65

 

Child Nursing Science

12

12

6

30

30

90

 

Critical Care Nursing: General

 

35

8

43

34

120

 

Ophthalmic Nursing Science

16

13

5

34

15

83

 

Trauma and Emergency

21

13

3

37

22

96

 

Oncology Nursing Science

6

12

2

20

13

53

 

Operating Theatre Nursing Science

17

20

2

39

17

95

 

Orthopeadic Nursing Science

17

10

6

33

28

94

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment

45

23

5

73

56

202

 

Treatment & Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advanced Midwifery & Neonatal Nursing

35

25

16

76

23

175

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FREE STATE COLLEGE

Critical Care Nursing

11

12

10

15

15

63

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MCCORD HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment

45

38

43

42

36

204

 

Diagnosis, Treatment & Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LILITHA COLLEGE OF NURSING

Ophthalmological Nursing Science

9

12

10

10

16

57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orthopeadic Nursing Science

12

8

13

11

14

58

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFE COLLEGE

Operating Theatre Nursing

6

4

9

13

8

40

 

Emergency Nursing

19

13

10

29

12

83

 

Critical Care Nursing: General

5

14

10

19

13

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KZN COLLEGE OF NURSING

Critical Care Nursing Science

15

15

15

15

15

75

 

Child Nursing Science

14

14

14

14

14

70

 

Orthopeadic Nursing Science

15

15

15

15

15

75

 

Midwifery & Neonatal Nursing Science

24

24

24

24

24

120

 

Child Nursing Science

16

16

16

16

16

80

 

Ophthalmic Nursing Science

15

15

15

15

15

75

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANN LATSKY NURSING COLLEGE

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment

61

59

44

53

41

258

 

Treatment & Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GA-RANKUWA

Midwifery & Neonatal Nursing Science

35

32

36

23

20

146

 

Child Nursing Science

30

21

20

12

23

106

 

Operating Theatre Nursing

20

18

12

12

16

78

 

Critical Care Nursing: General

18

12

12

16

15

73

 

Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment

18

16

27

30

23

114

 

Treatment & Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY PRODUCTION OF SPECIALIST NURSES: NURSING COLLEGES

PROGRAME

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Advanced Midwifery& Neonatal Nursing Science

94

77

76

123

67

Advanced Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing Science

15

17

19

32

10

Child Nursing Science

72

63

62

54

62

Clinical Nursing Science Health Assessment Treatment & Care

201

165

147

287

201

Community Nursing Science

0

0

0

0

0

Critical Care General

61

94

69

121

108

Critical Care Trauma

0

0

0

0

0

Critical Care Trauma & Emergency

14

17

4

4

18

Nephrology Nursing Science

87

36

16

81

55

Nursing Administration

0

0

0

0

0

Nursing Education

0

0

0

0

0

Occupational Health Nursing Science

0

0

0

0

0

Oncology Nursing Science

6

12

2

20

13

Operating Theatre Nursing

51

51

34

86

100

Ophthalmological Nursing Science

24

27

25

25

72

Orthopaedic Nursing Science

27

23

28

26

73

           

SUMMARY PRODUCTION OF SPECIALIST NURSES: UNIVERSITIES

PROGRAME

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Advanced Midwifery& Neonatal Nursing Science

13

39

50

21

17

Advanced Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing Science

48

63

110

68

48

Child Nursing Science

12

14

2

8

12

Clinical Nursing Science Health Assessment Treatment & Care

169

219

182

238

176

Community Nursing Science

62

73

136

84

126

Critical Care General

13

10

16

19

14

Critical Care Trauma

0

0

0

0

0

Critical Care Trauma & Emergency

0

0

1

0

0

Nephrology Nursing Science

15

21

28

24

27

Nursing Administration

290

366

260

225

263

Nursing Education

162

125

218

139

136

Occupational Health Nursing Science

155

185

113

105

79

Oncology Nursing Science

35

16

14

25

26

Operating Theatre Nursing

27

17

19

10

21

Ophthalmological Nursing Science

0

0

0

0

0

Orthopaedic Nursing Science

0

0

0

0

0

           

(3) (a) Yes, the University of Johannesburg and University of Pretoria;

(b) A total of 310 since 1 January 2009, however, this programme has been discontinued after it was identified that there were no Regulations related to the offering of such programme. It should also be noted that candidates who underwent such training were duly registered based on Council resolution.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW2903

Profile picture: James, Dr WG

James, Dr WG to ask the Minister of Health

(1)For each pilot district of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHI), what have been the major (a) successes and (b) failures of the implementation of the NHI in that specific pilot site; (2) how many private general practitioners have contracted with the State to work in the pilot districts?

Reply:

1.   The National Health Insurance pilot districts are significantly varied in terms of institutional and organizational capacity. This variability is partly due to the selection methodology that was applied but also reflective of the geographic areas within which they are located.

​a)   Nonetheless, many of the programmes that have been piloted in the past few years have recorded significant successes such as establishment of fully functional Primary Health Care (PHC), namely Municipal Ward-based Outreach, District Clinical Specialists and Integrated School Health teams; strengthening of monitoring and evaluation capacity through appointment of key personnel; improved coordination and oversight of district planning through appointment of the provincial NHI coordinators; improved infrastructure maintenance and planning through involvement in the Operation Phakisa Ideal Clinic Realisation project; innovation dispensing and distribution of chronic medication as well as making steady progress towards e-Health-based patient registration systems, among many others.

b)    Given the nature of the pilot districts, it is anticipated that challenges will exist in some districts, such as OR Tambo and Pixley Ka Seme, the ability to attract key health personnel to form part of the District Clinical Specialist Teams. Weak supply chain management systems and unforeseen delays in procuring key items is a key challenge that characterizes majority of the districts.

2.   To date, 307 health practitioners have been contracted to render health services in public clinics across the pilot districts.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW2902

Profile picture: Volmink, Mr HC

Volmink, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Health

Whether the country will meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 relating to health this year; if not, (a) which of the goals and/or targets will not be met, (b) why will the specified goals and/or targets not be met, (c) who will be held accountable for the missed goals and/or targets and (d) what measures has he implemented to ensure that missed goals and/or targets are met?

Reply:

(a), (b), (c) and (d) Honourable Member, the final target for MDGs is end of September 2015. The United Nations General Assembly is meeting then to finalise and release the final results for each country. You may have to be a bit patient until that final moment. But generally the United Nations is of the view that MDGs 4, 5 and 6 are going to be included in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3424

Profile picture: Lotriet, Prof  A

Lotriet, Prof A to ask the Minister of Science and Technology

Whether any measures have been put in place to ensure that there is further growth of the Southern African Large Telescope and its instruments; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? ˮ

Reply:

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is an international facility with South Africa holding a 33% share. In 2012, the SALT Board resolved to start a R75m Development Fund for the purpose of providing the resources necessary for continued development of the telescope and its instruments. Each of the partners in the telescope consortium had committed to pay a pro-rata share of the fund in proportion to its shareholding in the telescope and the contributions are meant to be made by May 2016. South Africa’s contribution amounts to R25m and this amount has already been paid. To date approximately R33m, both in-kind and in cash, has been received from the SALT partners, and this matter is raised at each meeting of the SALT directors. The DST is using its bilateral inter-governmental engagements with the relevant countries to solicit higher levels of government support to the respective consortium partners so that they may contribute their outstanding share to the development fund. In addition, the DST and NRF are actively seeking new partners to extend and recapitalise the consortium.

23 September 2015 - NW3099

Profile picture: Jooste, Ms K

Jooste, Ms K to ask the Minister of Health

(1)(a) What is the total number of prisoners in correctional facilities who have (i) tuberculosis and (ii) multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and (b) which facilities have the highest number of prisoners infected with tuberculosis; (2) whether he has implemented any infection control measures at the specified correctional facilities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether there is a national database for prisoners infected with tuberculosis in the country’s correctional facilities; (4) whether there are guidelines for tuberculosis (a) diagnosis and (b) care in the country’s correctional facilities; (5) whether he has put any specific measures in place to combat (a) tuberculosis and (b) multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the country’s correctional facilities?

Reply:

  1. (a) A total of 127,830 tests were conducted from October 2013, the time the Department of Health got involved with the management of TB in Correctional Services, until August 2015. Those confirmed with TB were 6,273 (4.9%) of whom, 263 (4.2%) had MDR-TB. The yearly breakdown is indicated in the Table below.

(b) There are 8 Management Areas with the highest number of inmates with TB disease. The list of these management areas by region are shown in the table below.

Region

Department of Correctional Services Management Areas with highest number of inmates infected with TB

Eastern Cape

St Albans

 

Mthatha

Free State

Groenpunt

Northern Cape

Kimberly

Gauteng

Kgoši Mampuru

 

Johannesburg

KZN

Durban Westville

 

Pietermaritzburg

Western cape

Pollsmoor

 

Allandale

(2) The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, has conducted infection risk assessments in selected correctional facilities to determine the risk for the spread of TB infection. There is routine screening of inmates for TB. Inmates with TB are isolated until they are non infectious. Inmates are also provided with education/information about TB, including information on how TB is spread and the symptoms of TB.

(3) Information about inmates with TB is contained in relevant TB registers kept at the respective correctional facilities.

(4) The National Department of Health developed “Guidelines for the Management of Tuberculosis (TB), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Correctional Facilities” and were launched by the Deputy President in March 2013.

(5) The following interventions are implemented in correctional facilities to combat tuberculosis and MDR-TB:

  1. Infection control measures;
  2. Preventive therapy is provided to inmates who are at high risk of developing the TB disease, especially those living with HIV;
  3. Screening all inmates for TB at least twice a year and testing those with TB symptoms using GeneXpert;
  4. All inmates with TB are retained on treatment until completion;
  5. Inmates living with TB and HIV are initiated on ARVs.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW2637

Profile picture: Dudley, Ms C

Dudley, Ms C to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What is his department’s policy and regulations regarding the disposal of foetuses in (a) public hospitals and (b) abortion clinics; (2) which companies in each of the provinces have contracts to dispose of foetuses aborted at (a) public hospitals and (b) clinics. (3) (a) what are the laws and regulations regarding foetuses being used for experimental purposes and (b) how is this practice monitored?

Reply:

1.  Public Hospitals use the following regulations as stipulated in the National Health Act No. 61 of 2003 to dispose of foetuses:​

(i)   ​R. 177 Regulations relating to the use of human biological material Section 2. In terms of section 68 of the Act, - regulates who should remove human biological material from health institutions.

(ii)   R. 180 Regulations regarding the general control of human bodies, tissue, blood, blood products and gametes, Section 68(1) – regulates handling of deceased bodies/human biological material.

(iii)  R. No. Regulations relating to health care waste management in health establishments – the Environmental Health Directorate within the National Department of Health has developed the above mentioned regulation and it has just been approved.

2.  (a)-(b) Contracted companies for disposal of foetuses in both public hospitals and abortion clinics are:

Province

Company

Eastern Cape

Compass Waste Management Services

Free State

Solid Waste Management Services

Gauteng

Buhle Waste Management Services

KwaZulu-Natal

Compass Waste Management Services

Limpopo

Buhle Waste Management Services

Mpumalanga

Buhle Waste Management Services

North West

Buhle Waste Management Services

Northern Cape

Tshenolo Waste Management Services

Western Cape

Solid Waste Management Services

3.   (a) The Department of Health is currently guided by the following regulation:

  • R. 180 Regulations regarding the general control of human bodies, tissue, blood, blood products and gametes section 68 (1) in conjunction with section 90 of the National Health Act stating

“Any person who acquires the body of a deceased person or any tissue, blood or gamete by virtue of any provision of the Act and these regulations, shall, subject to any restrictions in terms of the Act or any other law and provided she or he uses the body, tissue, blood or gamete for the purposes for which it has been donated, handed over or supplied to her or to him, on receipt of that body, tissue, blood or gamete acquire exclusive rights in respect thereof.”

(b)  The National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC) is a statutory body established in terms of The National Health Act (NHA) to set norms and standards for conducting research on humans, to monitor and institute appropriate disciplinary actions in cases of violation of ethics and human rights. It monitors ethical conduct in research, including the use of fetuses for experimental purposes. Section 72(7) particularly makes provision for “clinical trials” which includes experiments involving human subjects for research purposes. (NHA s 73(1)) requires that every organisation/institution, health agency and health establishment at which health and health-related research involving human participants must have access to a registered Human Research Ethics Committee (REC) that review research involving human participants must be assessed and register with the NHREC (NHA s 73(1)). The NHA (s 72(1)) requires that proposals to conduct ‘health research’ must undergo independent ethics review before the research is commenced.

  • Section 3.3.5 of the 2015 Ethics Guidelines relates to Restrictions on collection of biological materials. The document highlights certain persons who are specially protected. The guidelines explains that without Ministerial permission, biological materials may not be taken from mentally ill persons; biological materials that are not naturally replaceable may not be taken from a minor; no gametes may be taken from a minor; and no fetal biological material except for umbilical cord progenitor cells may be collected from anyone. These restrictions are absolute which means that research with the categories of person mentioned requires special permission. RECs must satisfy themselves that the necessary special permission has been obtained, where appropriate.

Furthermore, the Department has established a National Health Research Database (NHRD) to register and monitor all research being conducted in the country. All research studies have to be approved by the Ethics committee and registered in the database before commencement.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW2898

Profile picture: Jooste, Ms K

Jooste, Ms K to ask the Minister of Health

Whether he or officials of his department are aware of the key findings of an investigation conducted by a team of professionals in the built environment and the Special Investigating Unit into possible financial mismanagement and corrupt practises that may have taken place and resulted in the delayed completion of the construction of the new mental health facility in Kimberley, Northern Cape?

Reply:

We are indeed aware of the findings. This investigation was in fact initiated by the National Department of Health. The investigations you refer to forms part of a more holistic assessment of the project. The initial phase of the investigation, focussed on technical issues, has been concluded. The team is now busy with an assessment of procedural and contractual issues. For obvious reasons, we cannot at this stage discuss the detail of the findings, as this will jeopardise the balance of the investigation.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3098

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Jooste, Ms K to ask the Minister of Health

(a) How many GeneXpert instruments have been rolled out across the country and (b) where are the specified instruments situated?

Reply:

a)  A total of 309 Xpert instruments of varying sizes (GX4: 110; GX16:190; GX48: 3; GX80:8) have been placed in 221 sites. The placement includes seven Correctional Service facilities and six mobile vans.

b)  The Table 1 below reflects the details in this regard

Province and District

GX4

GX16

Infinity GX48

Infinity GX80

Total

Eastern Cape

15

27

 

2

44

Alfred Nzo

 

4

   

4

Amathole

3

6

 

1

10

Cacadu

3

1

   

4

Chris Hani

3

5

   

8

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro

 

2

 

1

3

O.R Tambo

3

4

   

7

O.R. Tambo

 

3

   

3

Ukhahlamba

3

2

   

5

Free State

8

10

 

1

19

Fezile Dabi

 

2

   

2

Lejweleputswa

6

1

   

7

Motheo

2

   

1

3

Thabo Mofutsanyane

 

6

   

6

Groenpunt Correctional Facility

 

1

   

1

Gauteng

12

28

 

2

42

City of Johannesburg

5

8

 

1

14

City of Tshwane

3

8

   

11

Ekurhuleni

2

3

 

1

6

Sedibeng

 

3

   

3

West Rand

 

6

   

6

Westrand

2

     

2

Kwazulu-Natal

34

49

1

1

85

Amajuba

1

2

   

3

eThekwini

9

13

 

1

23

iLembe

2

4

   

6

Sisonke

4

3

   

7

Ugu

 

4

   

4

uMgungundlovu

1

6

   

7

Umkhanyakude

4

4

   

8

Umzinyathi

 

4

   

4

Uthukela

3

3

   

6

Uthungulu

8

2

1

 

11

Zululand

2

4

   

6

Limpopo

15

25

   

40

Capricorn

1

7

   

8

Greater Sekhukhune

1

5

   

6

Mopani

3

4

   

7

Sekhukhune

2

     

2

Vhembe

2

5

   

7

Waterberg

6

4

   

10

Mpumalanga

4

14

 

1

19

Ehlanzeni

2

6

 

1

9

Gert Sibande

2

3

   

5

Nkangala

 

5

   

5

North West

6

16

   

22

Bojanala Platinum

3

4

   

7

Dr Kenneth Kaunda (Southern)

2

5

   

7

Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati (Bophirima)

1

3

   

4

Ngaka Modiri Molema (Central)

 

4

   

4

Northern Cape

 

3

   

3

Frances Baard

 

2

   

2

John Taolo Gaetsewe (Kgalagadi)

 

1

   

1

Nothern Cape

2

3

   

5

Namakwa

2

     

2

Pixley ka Seme

 

1

   

1

Siyanda

 

2

   

2

Western Cape

16

13

 

1

30

Cape Winelands

 

4

   

4

City of Cape Town

11

5

 

1

17

Eden

3

3

   

6

Karoo

 

1

   

1

West Coast

2

     

2

Grand Total

112

188

1

8

309

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3102

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Walters, Mr TC to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With regard to his reply to question 441 on 8 June 2015, in respect of each province, (a) how many new clinics or community health centres will be built in accordance with the relevant infrastructure plan, (b) where will they be located and (c) what are the relevant time frames for the building of each clinic; (2) in respect of each province, (a) what are the names of the clinics and community health centres that require refurbishment, (b) where are they located and (c) what are the relevant time frames of the refurbishment of each clinic?

Reply:

1. (a) In the NHI Pilot Districts 16 clinics and 5 CHCs will be built in accordance with the relevant infrastructure plan.

(b) The clinics are located as follows: Limpopo Province (Magwedzha, Makonde, Mulenzhe, Thengwe and Kutama), Free State Province (Borwa, Clocolan and Lusuka) and Eastern Cape Province (Lusikisiki, Sakhele, Nolita, Genqe, Lutubeni, Maxwele, Lotana and Nkanga). The CHCs are located in Mpumalanga (Mkhondo, Msukaligwa, Nhlazatshe 6, Vukuzakhe, Balfour).

(c) Relevant timeframes for building clinics range from 12 to 18 months.

2. (a) The Department of Health is busy with the repair and upgrade of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in the Pilot Districts of the NHI programme. The first phase currently of the programme includes the implementation of a multi-disciplinary building condition technical assessment and to establish the status-quo of the relevant services and installations, recommend appropriate remedial interventions, where required, prioritise these in terms of criticality, and determine the associated cost estimates. This will put the Department in a position to appoint contractors to do repairs to PHC facilities and to plan any facility upgrades and/or replacements within annual allocated funding.

(b) The Department intends to repair and upgrade all the health facilities in the NHI pilot districts to a set standard.

(c) Relevant timeframes for the refurbishment of each clinic can range from 1 to 12 months.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3106

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James, Dr WG to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What is the brand name of the rapid HIV test kits provided by each of the suppliers who were awarded a contract by his department; (2) whether the specified test kits provided by the different suppliers are from the same manufacturer; if so, why was there no attempt to diversify the types of HIV test kits that were made available in the country?

Reply:

  1. (a) ADVANCED QUALITY ONE STEP ANTI-HIV (1&2) Test (InTec Products Inc): Used for screening;

          (b) ABON HIV 1/2/O Tri-Line Human Immunodeficiency Virus Rapid Test (ABON Biopharm Hangzhou Co., Ltd): Used for confirmatory;

     2. No, the specified test kits are not from the same manufacturer as specified below:

ADVANCED QUALITY is used for screening and ABON is used for is used for confirmatory. ADVANCED QUALITY is supplied by 2 suppliers because it is used for screening and needed in large quantities, while ABON is supplied by another different supplier and is from a different manufacturer.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3213

Profile picture: James, Dr WG

James, Dr WG to ask the Minister of Health

Whether the Advanced Quality HIV rapid test kit supplied by certain companies (names furnished) to his department since 1 April 2014 is a World Health Organisation approved test; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Advanced Quality met all the specifications for award as per the advert. This included two pre-qualifications by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3096

Profile picture: Kalyan, Ms SV

Kalyan, Ms SV to ask the Minister of Health

Whether there are any (a) hospitals, (b) hospital wards, (c) clinics and/or (d) any other health facilities dedicated to treating patients with (i) tuberculosis and (ii) multi-drug or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis; if not, why not; if so, (aa) what are the names of the specified facilities, (bb) where are they situated and (cc) what is the treatment capacity of each specified facility?

Reply:

Patients with Tuberculosis are diagnosed and started on treatment in all public sector hospitals and clinics as well as 154 facilities in the private sctor and 243 owned by the South African Military Health Services and NGOs. Patients with MDR and XDR TB are treated in 9 specialised central hospitals and 298 decentralised sites and 272 satellite sites. There are also 150 injection teams that manage some of the patients at home (on an ambulatory basis).

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3094

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Volmink, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Health

How many nurses qualified at each type of training institution in each province in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014?

Reply:

The production of nurses and midwives are provided in the template below indicating the Public Colleges, Universities and Private Colleges from 2010-2014.

OUTPUT 4-YEAR PROGRAMME (2010-2014) NURSING COLLEGES

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

EASTERN CAPE

364

580

502

549

558

LIMPOPO

207

248

339

220

271

NORTH WEST

327

234

297

322

230

MPUMALANGA

216

140

120

197

145

GAUTENG

784

663

757

793

842

FREE STATE

182

174

147

174

153

KWAZULU NATAL

555

570

604

586

630

NORTHERN CAPE

62

56

3

0

0

WESTERN CAPE

269

301

456

420

392

OUTPUT 4YEAR PROGRAMME(2010-2014)UNIVERSITIES

 

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

81

24

109

72

94

NORTH WEST

18

44

60

57

64

MPUMALANGA

  0

  0

  0

 0

  0

GAUTENG

127

92

110

113

100

FREE STATE

47

33

49

35

32

KWAZULU NATAL

69

70

70

62

124

NORTHERN CAPE

0

  0

  0

  0

  0

WESTERN CAPE

168

191

227

170

179

EASTERN CAPE

119

136

127

142

147

           
 

OUTPUT MIDWIFERY PROGRAMME PUBLIC INSTITUTION 2010-2014

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

300

132

242

161

136

NORTH WEST

35

45

41

22

79

MPUMALANGA

163

93

122

180

102

GAUTENG

61

18

39

187

138

FREE STATE

44

63

22

74

18

KWAZULU NATAL

343

355

356

499

263

NORTHERN CAPE

  0

 0

19

26

8

WESTERN CAPE

10

5

0

0

70

EASTERN CAPE

118

87

81

69

77

           

OUTPUT MIDWIFERY PROGRAMME PRIVATE INSTITUTION 2010-2014

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

 

 

 

 

 

NORTH WEST

  0

  0

  0

 0

 0

MPUMALANGA

 0

0

 0

 0

  0

GAUTENG

  0

  0

  0

4

0

FREE STATE

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

KWAZULU NATAL

22

40

36

52

53

NORTHERN CAPE

 

 

 

 

 

WESTERN CAPE

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

EASTERN CAPE

  0

  0

  0

3

1

           
           

OUTPUT NURSING AUXILIARIES PUBLIC COLLEGES 2010-2014

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

237

123

38

55

30

NORTH WEST

102

110

76

40

202

MPUMALANGA

43

137

107

68

7

GAUTENG

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

FREE STATE

106

165

180

190

110

KWAZULU NATAL

18

 

110

108

15

NORTHERN CAPE

7

  0

  0

  0

  0

WESTERN CAPE

40

50

53

53

64

EASTERN CAPE

346

380

323

666

539

           

OUTPUT NURSING AUXILIARIES PRIVATE COLLEGES 2010-2014

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

272

146

130

147

174

NORTH WEST

37

60

57

85

74

MPUMALANGA

93

186

243

276

305

GAUTENG

2276

2293

2253

2441

2696

FREE STATE

83

79

59

108

109

KWAZULU NATAL

929

993

959

1075

1134

NORTHERN CAPE

  0

  0

  0

  0

 0

WESTERN CAPE

454

405

361

436

478

EASTERN CAPE

82

105

60

161

204

OUTPUT ENROLLED NURSES PUBLIC COLLEGES 2010-2014

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

494

436

409

162

134

NORTH WEST

  0

  0

  0

23

41

MPUMALANGA

211

219

211

271

216

GAUTENG

401

396

540

802

394

FREE STATE

139

126

173

129

154

KWAZULU NATAL

413

524

536

634

297

NORTHERN CAPE

 0

  0

  0

 0

  0

WESTERN CAPE

257

164

119

212

164

EASTERN CAPE

399

368

501

416

377

           

OUTPUT ENROLLED NURSES PRIVATE COLLEGE 2010-2014

   

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

105

92

99

120

132

NORTH WEST

165

171

103

183

153

MPUMALANGA

12

34

34

46

25

GAUTENG

2099

2079

1978

2345

1998

FREE STATE

39

47

41

62

57

KWAZULU NATAL

2383

2278

2448

2951

2301

NORTHERN CAPE

  0

  0

  0

 0

 0

WESTERN CAPE

296

307

345

387

260

EASTERN CAPE

98

150

195

211

246

OUTPUT PSYCHIATRIC NURSING PROGRAMME 2010-2014 PUBLIC COLLEGES

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

LIMPOPO

  0

9

7

55

57

NORTH WEST

12

7

6

10

2

MPUMALANGA

0

0

0

0

0

GAUTENG

1

2

  0

6

16

FREE STATE

0

0

0

0

0

KWAZULU NATAL

14

37

28

35

37

NORTHERN CAPE

0

0

0

0

0

WESTERN CAPE

15

0

0

17

0

EASTERN CAPE

 

 

 

 

 

 

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3100

Profile picture: Walters, Mr TC

Walters, Mr TC to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With reference to his reply to question 442 on 26 May 2015, what is the maternal mortality ratio per 100 000 live births in each province in the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15 financial years; (2) whether his department has identified the main causes of the high maternal mortality ratio; if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the relevant details and (b) steps has he taken to address the main causes since 1 June 2014?

Reply:

  1. (a)-(c) The latest data for maternal mortality ratio was published in 2013, by the Medical Research Council in the Rapid Mortality Surveillance Report. The maternal mortality ratio in 2011 was estimated to be 197 per 100,000 live births.

The National Committee on Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths monitors maternal deaths that occur within health facilities. The most recent data from this Committee is reflected below.

Institutional Maternal Mortality Ratio (Saving Mothers report 2011-2013)

 

PROVINCE

2011

2012

2013

 
 

Eastern Cape

164.74

153.71

172.73

 
 

Free State

246.84

149.34

185.08

 
 

Gauteng

136.44

163.67

114.99

 
 

KwaZulu-Natal

197.60

170.19

146.54

 
 

Limpopo

196.40

192.89

201.21

 
 

Mpumalanga

199.74

177.39

150.25

 
 

North West

173.05

164.80

168.48

 
 

North West

193.62

166.53

158.32

 
 

Western Cape

62.64

81.81

83.91

 
 

South Africa

174.56

157.81

153.50

 
           

2. Yes the causes are known through the work done by National Committee on Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Death (NCCEMD) established by the Minister of Health.

a) The main causes of Maternal Mortality according to the latest NCCEMD triennial, 2011-2013 report are as follows:

  • HIV/AIDS which accounts for 50% of the deaths;
  • Obstetric Hemorrhages;
  • Hypertension;
  • Health professional training;
  • Health system strengthening

(b) Interventions to address the main causes of maternal deaths being implemented include:

(i) Option B plus to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV

This policy was adopted and implemented from 01 January 2015. The policy stipulates that all HIV pregnant and breastfeeding women must be initiated on lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART) for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and their own health regardless of CD4 count and on diagnosis.

(ii) Essential Steps in the Management of Obstetric Emergencies (ESMOE) and Emergency Obstetric Simulation Training (EOST)

  • ESMOE are trainings for doctors and midwives to improve their skills to manage, among others, hemorrhage and hypertension and are currently being done in all facilities rendering maternity care;
  • EOST are fire drills to simulate the real obstetric emergency situations to refine and reinforce the clinical skills;
  • To date, 1937 doctors and 5110 professional nurses have been trained on ESMOE. This has led to a 30% decline in maternal mortality due to improved health care providers’ skills in the management of mothers, neonates and children in the districts that we have conducted ESMOE training in;

(iii) Community mobilization efforts

  • Mom-Connect services which is an electronic cellular system to give health messages to pregnant women to help them access care early in pregnancy as well as post delivery. Currently over 508 000 women have been registered and receive weekly messages about their pregnancy and care for the infant post delivery;

(iv) Efforts of Health System Strengthening

  • The District Specialist Teams (DCST’s) include specialists in maternal, newborn and child care, have been appointed in all 52 districts. This team is responsible for clinical governance within all public facilities and specifically focusing on Maternal Neonatal and Child Health;

​(v) Efforts to address access to services

  • Maternity waiting homes: Currently there are 81 maternity waiting homes + 18 on site beds nationally;
  • Nationally there are 241 dedicated obstetric ambulances to improve access to health facilities;

(vi) Family planning

The launching of the family planning campaign in 2014 and introduction of sub-dermal implant as a long term method of family planning had a positive impact on family planning practices. The Couple Year Protection Rate has improved from 37.7% in F/Y 2013/2014 to 52.7% in F/Y 2014/15. Improvement of family planning strategies assists in preventing unwanted pregnancies as well as teenage pregnancies which may lead to maternal mortality.

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3097

Profile picture: Kalyan, Ms SV

Kalyan, Ms SV to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether his department has identified certain areas as tuberculosis hot spots; if so, which areas have been identified; (2) what criteria were used to identify the specified areas as tuberculosis hot spots?

Reply:

(1) The Department has identified 17 districts as TB hotpsots for enhanced intervention (See Table 1).

Table 1: TB hotspots

Province

TB Hotspots Districts

Eastern Cape

Buffalo City

 

Cacadu

 

Chris Hani

Free Sate

Lejweleputswa

Gauteng

Johannesburg Metro

 

West Rand

KwaZulu Natal

eThekwini

Limpopo

Sekhukhune

 

Waterberg

Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni

North West

Bojanala

 

Dr Kenneth Kaunda

Western Cape

City of Cape Town

 

West Coast

(2) The following criteria were used to identify TB hotspots:

  1. Number of people diagnosed with TB (exceeding 5,000 per year);
  2. Treatment success (below 80%);
  3. Defaulter Rate (exceeding 6.2%);
  4. Death Rate (exceeding 5.6%);
  5. Transferred Out Rate (exceeding 2.4%);
  6. Drug resistant TB burden;
  7. High concentration of (especially gold) mining

END.

23 September 2015 - NW3380

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James, Dr WG to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What is the estimated timeline for the appointment of a permanent chief executive officer (CEO) for the National Health Laboratory Service; (2) whether a certain official of his department (name and details furnished) was or is in any way involved with the appointment process; if so, what is the extent of the specified official’s involvement; (3) whether the specified official (a) attended any of the interviews for the vacant CEO position and/or (b) gave any instruction to the selection interview panel; if so, (i) why and (ii) what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1.  Ms. Joyce Mogale was appointed as the full-time CEO of the NHLS on the 28th of August 2015.

2.  Three officials were involved with the recruitment process, namely Mr Andre Venter and Dr Devanand Moonasar – in their capacity as Members of the Board of the NHLS, and Ms Malebone Precious Matsoso in her capacity as an independent technical expert;

3.  Ms. Matsoso attended the second round of interviews, but provided no instruction to the Selection Panel. Ms. Matsoso as the Director-General: Health did not participate in any discussion or process that resulted in a preferred candidate being identified.

The process of appointing the CEO of the NHLS was as follows:

The NHLS placed an advert in the Mail and Guardian for a CEO on a 5-year contract in November 2015. The NHLS board determined that a selection panel would oversee the recruitment process, from the short-listing through to interviews and making a recommendation to the NHLS board on a preferred candidate. Mr. Andre Venter as the chair of the Finance Committee of the NHLS and a NHLS Board member was appointed as a member of the selection panel.

Both Mr. Venter and Dr Moonasar participated in the shortlisting process. During the shortlisting 8 candidates were identified as meeting the requirements as advertised.

A first round of interviews was conducted. The panel established constituted the selection panel as well as any other board members who were available. Both Mr. Venter and Dr Moonasar participated in the first round of interviews.

The result of the first round of interviews was that the top 4 candidates were called in for a second round of interviews. In addition to the selection panel members, any NHLS board member who was available was invited to participate in the interviews.

In the second round, the Director-General: Health (Ms MP Matsoso) was the only official from the NDOH that participated. Mr Venter (due to ill health) and Dr Moonasar (prior commitments) did not attend.

Ms Matsoso’s role was only to provide an external assessment of the candidates, and upon completion of the interviews she excused herself from the process. The Selection panel, after the departure of Ms Matsoso, consolidated the scores of each candidate.

The selection panel made a recommendation to the NHLS Board, that the top 2 candidates are subject to a proficiency assessment. Following which, a teleconference was convened to inform all those present during the second round interviews of the outcome of the proficiency testing. Ms Matsoso and Mr. Venter participated in this teleconference.

Following the disclosure of the results of the proficiency test, Ms. Matsoso informed the NHLS chairperson, that her role was complete and asked to be excused. The Chairperson thanked Ms Matsoso for her contribution and confirmed that she was excused. Once Ms Matsoso was excused, the selection panel deliberated on the interview and proficiency results. A recommendation was then drafted and tabled to the NHLS board at the meeting held on the 29th of July 2015. Mr. Venter participated in the in drafting of the recommendation.

The NHLS board mandated the NHLS Chairperson to inform the Minister of Health of the outcome of the selection process. Both Mr. Venter and Dr Moonasar participated in the Board meeting in their capacity as Board Members of the NHLS.

The Minister of Health duly noted the outcome and was satisfied that the Board had followed a fair and rigorous process. As such, the Minister supported the recommendation of the NHLS Board to appoint Ms. Mogale as the CEO of the NHLS on a 5-year contract.

END.

22 September 2015 - NW3326

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Cardo, Dr MJ to ask the Minister of Economic Development

Has it at any stage since 11 May 2009 been his policy position for a devaluation of the rand by the SA Reserve Bank?

Reply:

Since October 2010, Cabinet has supported a more competitive and stable exchange rate. This does not involve a “devaluation of the rand by the SA Reserve Bank”.

-END-

22 September 2015 - NW3194

Profile picture: Lees, Mr RA

Lees, Mr RA to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans

(1)What was the (a) total amount spent and (b) breakdown of the specified expenditure on each specified foreign Defence Attaché Residents in the 2014-15 financial year; (2) what was the (a) total amount spent and (b) breakdown of the specified expenditure on all foreign Defence Attaché Residents in the 2014-15 financial year?

Reply:

(1)&(2) The information requested is depicted in the Table hereunder:

Defence Attaché Residents

Total Expenditure

FY 14/15

Rental

Household

Furniture

Municipal

Services

43

32 228 545.00

27 143 511.00

105 480.00

4 979 554.00

 

 


END


 

22 September 2015 - NW3186

Profile picture: Mileham, Mr K

Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)What is the basis of the cost of collection of the contract with a certain company (name furnished) and/or its subsidiaries for the installation, maintenance, management and vending related to smart electricity meters in the City of Tshwane, as (a) calculated by the metro and (b) presented to the Council by the specified company and/or its subsidiaries; (2) who calculated the cost of collection on which the actual contract is based; (3) whether the actual cost of collection matches the costs presented in the initial proposal; if not, (a) why not and (b) what is the actual cost of collection?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the City of Tshwane to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.



END

22 September 2015 - NW3509

Leader of Opposition (DA) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

Has her Department extended an invitation to the President of Sudan, Mr Omar al-Bashir, to attend the sixth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation which will be hosted in the country on 4 and 5 December 2015; if not, when does her department intend to do so; if so, who authorised the invitation?

Reply:

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation does not extend invitations to Presidents.

 

 

END

22 September 2015 - NW2907

Profile picture: Chewane, Dr H

Chewane, Dr H to ask the Minister of Health

Whether he is aware of the lack of water in most health facilities in John Taolo Gaetsewe district in the Northern Cape, which resulted in some important procedures not being performed; if so, what is he doing to ensure that the poor people in the specified district, who depend on the public healthcare system, are not compromised by the lack of water?

Reply:

Yes, the Department of Health is aware of the water problem in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District in the Northern Cape, but it is not in most facilities as claimed by the question. The problem is in 10 out of 42 Primary Health Care facilities (PHCs). Most of these facilities are located in the deep rural areas of the District where there is no connection to the municipality’s water supply source. In areas where there is a connection it has been difficult for the municipality to meet the demand.

The District engaged the municipality to supply water tanks and fill them regularly with water. Interruptions have been very minimal.

The following were done as remedial action:

  1. Skilled technical officials have been appointed by the Department;
  2. An action plan has been developed;
  3. The District and the Department are in the process of procuring service providers to erect boreholes to supplement water supply;
  4. Approval has been granted to procure 5 000 litre water tanks for all 10 facilities; and
  5. The procurement process was anticipated to commence in the week of 24 August 2015.

END.

22 September 2015 - NW2994

Profile picture: Lotriet, Prof  A

Lotriet, Prof A to ask the Minister of Science and Technology

Whether her department is in any way involved in research regarding the new nuclear build programme in the country; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

REPLY:

 

The Department is not involved in research regarding the new nuclear build programme in the country since the nuclear technology option/choice is yet to be decided on.  However, there are existing initiatives in support of nuclear energy industry that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is involved in for the development of know-how and technologies in the nuclear technologies fields.

 

These include the Nuclear Engineering Research Chair at North West University; Carbon Materials and Technology Chair at the University of Pretoria; Advanced Materials Initiative (AMI); South African Nuclear Human Asset Research Programme (SANHARP); Masters in Accelerator and Nuclear Science (MANUS) and Masters in Material Science (MatSci) programme, involving the University of Zululand, the University of the Western Cape and iThemba Labs.

 

The focus of the work is as follows:

  • Nuclear safety, which includes radiation effects of mining and routine discharges of Koeberg nuclear power station and also radiation standards and regulations;
  • Nuclear materials beneficiation;
  • Carbon technologies research with emphasis on nuclear graphite technology to support nuclear power generation;
  • Reactor technology research on modelling and simulation of nuclear reactors and their associated power plants and process applications. These models are applied in the analysis, design and optimisation of pressurised water reactors and high temperature reactors;
  • Nuclear project management, nuclear energy economics; and
  • Collaborative research on system analysis of passive safe small modular high temperature gas cooled reactors.




    END

 

22 September 2015 - NW3079

Profile picture: Van Dalen, Mr P

Van Dalen, Mr P to ask the Minister of Energy

(a) How does (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her define red tape and (b) what (i) specific interventions and/or (ii) systems have been implemented to (aa) identify and (bb) reduce red tape in (aaa) her department and (bbb) the entities reporting to her?

Reply:

The Department of Energy’s processes are subject to due diligence that is informed by the Public Financial Management Act of 2000, The Treasury Regulations and the National Treasury instruction notes. These are to ensure transparency, accountability and compliance and cannot be regarded as bureaucratic processes.


END

22 September 2015 - NW2984

Profile picture: Macpherson, Mr DW

Macpherson, Mr DW to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)Whether the Cool Air Community Hall in Cool Air, Kwazulu-Natal, was owned by the former Services Board before 1994; if so, (a) when was the hall transferred to the uMshwathi Local Municipality and (b) what process was followed; (2) what arrangements have been put in place for Cool Air Secondary School to make use of the hall?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the uMshwathi Local Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

END

22 September 2015 - NW3167

Profile picture: Dreyer, Ms AM

Dreyer, Ms AM to ask the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services

(a) Which (i) department, (ii) government entity, (iii) company and (iv) independent consultant aided in the development of the Cybersecurity Awareness Implementation Plan, (b) at what cost was the specified plan developed, (c) what are the details of the plan, (d) how will the specified strategy be implemented, (e) how will the implementing agency be chosen, (f) what is the budget for this media strategy and (g) what are its (i) objectives and (ii) deliverables over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework?

Reply:

(1)(a) The Cybersecurity Awareness Implementation Plan was developed internally by DTPS. It must be noted that Cybersecurity Awareness Implementation Plan is informed by the Cybersecurity Awareness Strategy of 2012 which was developed in consultation with stakeholders that included academia, the Internet Service Providers’ Association, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association and civil society.

(b) The Plan was developed in-house utilising internal skills and resources. Other than the internal resources, the Cybersecurity Awareness Implementation Plan did not have any additional costs.

(c) The details of the Plan focuses on the following four broad channels: Public Relations, Advertising, Stakeholder Communication and Social/Community mobilisation.

(d) The strategy will be implemented in phases. The strategy entails mass communications.

(e) The Department will leverage GCIS’s bulk buying power to maximise the impact of the rollout of the Cybersecurity Awareness Programme.

(f) The budget for this media strategy is R1 869 600.00 for this Financial Year.

(g) (i) In line with the JCPS Cluster outcome 3, the objectives of the media plan are to ensure that all people in South Africa are and feel safe; to influence South Africans to be vigilant about practicing safer online habits; and to provide the public with resources, tips and tools to adopt safer online behaviour. ii) Deliverables over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework are subject to budget availability. The primary target will be private sector, public sector and communities (school children, youth, and parents).




END

22 September 2015 - NW3198

Profile picture: Macpherson, Mr DW

Macpherson, Mr DW to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Whether, with reference to the appointment of a certain person (name and details furnished), who was found guilty by a forensic audit of nepotism, intimidation of external auditors and irregular investment and procurement transactions at the Technology Innovation Agency, he will take steps to ensure the City Manager terminates the specified person’s contract; if not, why not?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We are, however, still investigating the matter and the Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as we get it.


END

22 September 2015 - NW3329

Profile picture: Matshobeni, Ms A

Matshobeni, Ms A to ask the Minister of Tourism

(1)(a)(i) What total amount did his department spend on his travel costs between Gauteng and Cape Town in the 2014-15 financial year and (ii) how many trips did he undertake between Cape Town and Gauteng in the specified financial year and (b) what total amount did his department spend on (i) hotel and (ii) residential or other accommodation for him in (aa) Cape Town and (bb) Pretoria in the 2014-15 financial year; (2) (a)(i) what total amount did his department spend on the Deputy Minister’s travel costs between Gauteng and Cape Town in the 2014-15 financial year and (ii) how many trips between Gauteng and Cape Town did the Deputy Minister undertake in the specified financial year and (b) what total amount did his department spend on (i) hotel and (ii) residential or other accommodation for the Deputy Minister in (aa) Cape Town and (bb) Pretoria in the 2014-15 financial year?

Reply:

  1. (a) (i) Spent on travel                          R184 543.72

              (ii) Trips undertaken                        27 trips

          (b) (i) Total amount spent on hotel       R0.00

              (ii) Total amount spent on residential or other accommodation:

                     (aa) Cape Town R0.00

                     (bb) Pretoria R0.00

 

     2.   (a) (i) Deputy Minister spent on travel    R160 358.38

               (ii) Trips undertaken                         25 trips

           (b) (i) Total amount spent on hotel         R0.00

               (ii) Total amount spent on residential or other accommodation:

                        (aa) Cape Town R0.00

                        (bb) Pretoria R0.00

END

22 September 2015 - NW2938

Profile picture: Bhanga, Mr BM

Bhanga, Mr BM to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)What is the scope of the section 139(1)(b) intervention at Madibeng Local Municipality in the North West; (2) (a) what will be the cost of rehabilitating the water and sanitation infrastructure in the specified municipality and (b) how will this be funded; (3) whether income from water and sanitation to the specified municipality will be ring-fenced; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the North West Provincial Government to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.
 

 

END

22 September 2015 - NW3211

Profile picture: Matsepe, Mr CD

Matsepe, Mr CD to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)Whether the requisite supply chain management processes were followed in the appointment of a certain company (name and details furnished) by the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality in Limpopo; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether the specified company’s tax compliance status was verified with the SA Revenue Service; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) (a) on what date was the specified company appointed by the specified municipality, (b) what amount has been paid by the municipality to the specified company since its appointment and (c) why was it deemed necessary to appoint a company to render the specified service; (4) why are the services of the specified company still needed considering that all the game on the farm have already been sold off; (5) why did the specified security company not prevent the cutting and flattening of the fence around the farm, which resulted in nearby hawkers clearing trees on the farm for firewood?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.




END

22 September 2015 - NW3330

Profile picture: Khawula, Ms MS

Khawula, Ms MS to ask the Minister of Women in the Presidency

(a)(i) What total amount did her department spend on her travel costs between Gauteng and Cape Town in the 2014-15 financial year and (ii) how many trips did she undertake between Gauteng and Cape Town in the specified financial year and (b) what total amount did her department spend on (i) hotel and (ii) residential or other accommodation for her in (aa) Cape Town and (bb) Pretoria in the 2014-15 financial year?

Reply:

(a) (i) The department spent R275, 905 on travel costs between Gauteng and Cape Town in the 2014-15 financial year for the Minister.

(ii) The Minister undertook 27 trips between Gauteng and Cape Town in the 2014-15 financial year

(b) (i) (aa) Not applicable.
(ii) (aa) Not applicable.

(i) (bb) Not applicable.

(ii) (bb) Not applicable

Approved by the Minister on
Date
: 18/09/2015

22 September 2015 - NW3212

Profile picture: Matsepe, Mr CD

Matsepe, Mr CD to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)Whether the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality has contracted any person or company to provide refuse removal services in the municipality; if so, (a) what is the name of the person or company and (b) what is the (i) value and (ii) duration of the specified contract; (2) whether the specified contractor uses (a) tools, (b) vehicles and (c) fuel owned by (i) drivers and (ii) labourers employed by the specified municipality when undertaking the refuse removal services; if not, does the specified contractor only use its own equipment and staff; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.





END

22 September 2015 - NW2820

Profile picture: Mileham, Mr K

Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)Whether a closeout report has been submitted for the term of a certain person (name furnished) as administrator of Makana Local Municipality; if not, (a) why not and (b) when can such a report be expected; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether, if such a report has been submitted, each key objective as identified in the person’s letter of appointment was achieved; if not, why not; if so, what is the current status thereof; (3) what is the current financial status of the municipality as at the end of the administration period in terms of (a) creditors in each aging category, (b) debtors in each aging category and (c) cash-on-hand; (4) what was the financial status of the municipality at the start of the administration period in terms of (a) creditors in each aging category, (b) debtors in each aging category and (c) cash-on-hand?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the Eastern Cape Provincial Government to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.




END

22 September 2015 - NW3187

Profile picture: Mileham, Mr K

Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)Whether a cost-benefit analysis was conducted on the installation of smart electricity meters in the City of Tshwane by a certain company (name furnished) and/or any of its subsidiaries; if not, why not; if so, did the specified analysis indicate financial threats or challenges arising from the proposal; (2) (a) what are the cost implications of the withdrawal by the municipality from the specified contract and (b) what amount (i) has been spent on this contract to date and (ii) is anticipated to be spent in terms of future costs associated with the specified contract; (3) whether (a) he, (b) his department or (c) the National Treasury issued any advice with regard to the specified contract; if so, (i) what was the nature of the advice and (ii) did the municipality followed the advice given; (4) whether he will instruct or advise the municipality and/or the municipal council to take any action against the mayor and/or the municipal manager of Tshwane to (a) recover the funds which have been spent to date and (b) initiate the necessary disciplinary action in this regard; if not, what steps will he take to minimise such expenditure in future; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, since requested the City of Tshwane to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.



END

22 September 2015 - NW3379

Profile picture: Stubbe, Mr DJ

Stubbe, Mr DJ to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(a) How many registered farms are owned by each of the 25 municipalities in the Northern Cape and (b) what is the (i) name and (ii) size of each farm?

Reply:

This question can better be responded to by Rural Development and Land Reform as the competent authority.





END

22 September 2015 - NW3382

Profile picture: Selfe, Mr J

Selfe, Mr J to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

Whether, in light of paragraph 39 of the judgment of Judge President D Mlambo in the case of the SA Litigation Centre versus the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and 11 others, case number 27740/2015, the National Director of Public Prosecutions will institute criminal proceedings against any individuals; if not, why not; if so, (a) which individuals, (b) what will they be charged with and (c) when will they be charged?

Reply:

The Respondents are appealing the matter. Judgment in the application for leave to appeal is awaited. As such, we deem it prudent for the appeal processes to be finalised before we consider the matter.




END

22 September 2015 - NW2996

Profile picture: Motau, Mr SC

Motau, Mr SC to ask the Minister in the Presidency

How many (a) government departments have systems in place to promote ethical behaviour in order to comply with Management Performance Assessment Tool Standard, Assessment of Policies and Systems to Ensure Professional Ethics and (b) of the specified departments meet the specified standard at Level 3 or higher?

Reply:

The Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) standard on assessment of Policies and Systems to ensure Professional Ethics seeks to promote:

  • compliance with chapters 2 and 3 of the Public Service Regulations, 2001;
  • chapter 9 of the SMS Handbook (2003);
  • Financial Disclosure Framework;
  • section 6 of the Public Sector Integrity Management Framework;
  • section 195 of the Constitution; and
  • the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, Act 3 of 2000.

The elements that are assessed in the standards are on:

  • whether members of the Senior Management Service (SMS) in departments are complying with the requirements to submit their financial disclosures by 31 May of each financial year; and
  • whether disciplinary action is taken against SMS members who do not comply with these requirements.
  • In addition, the standard assesses whether departments have mechanisms of communicating sections or provisions of the Public Service Code of Conduct to new and existing employees on an annual basis.

    a)   Whilst the 2014 MPAT assessment results are still being finalised, the results show that there was a notable improvement between 2012 and 2013 assessments, with the average compliance moving from 1.8 in 2012 to 2.8 in 2013. The total number of departments that complied with this standard are 118 out of a total of 152 departments.

    b)   90 departments (24 national and 66 provincial) met the level 3 requirements of the standard whilst 28 departments (9 national and 19 provincial) exceeded the requirements.

    END

22 September 2015 - NW3364

Profile picture: Vos, Mr J

Vos, Mr J to ask the Minister of Tourism

(a) What amount has his department spent on overseas travel for (i) the Deputy Minister (ii) the Director-General and (iii) the Deputy Directors-General. In the period 1 May 2014 until 1 September 2015 (b) what was the purpose of each specified visit in each case. (c) what were the destinations and (d) what amount was spent on (i) flights (ii) accommodation and (iii) daily allowances?

Reply:

 

(a) How much was spent

(b) Purpose of the Visit

(c) Destination

(d) (i)

Flights

(d) (ii)

Accommodation

(d) (iii)

Daily allowances

(i) Deputy Minister

Total:

R 191 764.88

To attend the China Incentives. Business Travel & Meetings (CIBTM) in China and World Youth & Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) in Dublin.

China: Beijing

Date: 17 - 19 September 2014

Ireland: Dublin

Date: 22 - 25 September 2014

Flight:

R 114 212.00

Accommodation:

R 51 917.79

Allowance:

R 25 635.09

 

Total:

R 73 390.97

To attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association(IORA) First Tourism and Travel Mart in Seychelles

Seychelles: Mahe

Date: 21 - 22 November 2014

Flight:

R 59 603.39

Accommodation:

Complementary

Allowance:

R 13 787.58

 

Total:

R 73 291.04

To attend the World Exhibition for Incentive Travel. Meeting and Events (IMEX) 2015 and to participate in the IMEX Politicians Forum to be held in Villa Kennedy Hotel in Frankfurt

Germany: Frankfurt

Date: 19 - 21 May 2015

Flight :

R 67 436.72

Accommodation:

Complementary

Allowance

R 5 854.32

 

Total:

R 122 651.19

To attend a South East Asia Tourism Trade Roadshow in Malaysia. Singapore and Indonesia.

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

Date:16 - 17 August 2015

City: Singapore:

Date: 17 August 2015

Indonesia: Jakarta

Date: 18 - 19 August 2015

Flight:

R 84 960.72

Accommodation:

R 28 600.00

Advance:

R 9 090.47

(ii) Director General

Not applicable

The DG did not travel overseas for the period 1 May 2014 - 1 September 2015

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

(iii) Deputy Director-General

Policy and Knowledge Management

Not applicable

The DDG: PKS did not travel overseas for the period 1 May 2014 -- 1 September 2015

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

(iii) Deputy Director General

Domestic Tourism Management

Total:

R 97 842.95

To attend the 5th Carnival International de Victoria in Seychelles

Seychelles: Mahe

Date: 22 - 27 April 2015

Flight:

R 49 904.72

Accommodation:

R 33 120.00

Allowance:

R 14 818.23

 

Total:

R 73 338.01

Attended the Home Stay Study Tour in Malaysia

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

15 - 22 August 2015

Flight: R66 341.72

Accommodation:

R 2000.00

Allowance:

R 4 996.29

(iii) Deputy Director General

International Tourism Management

Total:

R 99 856.37

To attend IMEX and related side meeting

Germany. Frankfurt

17 - 23 May 2014

Flight:

R 61 624.00

Accommodation:

R 30 462.07

Allowance:

R 7 770.30

 

Total:

R 24 879.70

To attend the SADC Meeting

Zambia: Livingstone

17 - 21 June 2014

Flight:

R 6 924.00

Accommodation:

R 13 616.00

Allowance:

R 4 339.70

 

Total:

R 105 135.84

To attend the World Youth Student Conference where South Africa was announced as the host for the 2015 Conference

Ireland. Dublin

21 - 28 September 2014

Flight:

R 68 966.00

Accommodation:

R 17 500.85

Allowance:

R 18 668.99

 

Total:

R135 193.82

To attend the World Travel Market

United Kingdom: London

02 - 07 November 2014

Flight:

R 84 475.39

Accommodation:

R 37 999.98

Allowance:

R 12 718.45

 

Total:

R 76 984.48

To attend and present a paper at the 13th Global Forum on Tourism Statistics and UNWTO Special Workshop on Tourism Statistics

Japan: Nara

14 - 21 November 2014

Flight:

R62 385.39

Accommodation:

R 6 115.47

Allowance:

R 8 483.62

 

Total:

R 18 618.15

To attend the Extra Ordinary SADC Meeting

Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls

25 - 29 November 2014

Flight:

R 7 122.39

Accommodation:

R 7 530.89

Allowance:

R 3 964.87

 

Total:

R 97 927.03

To attend the ITB and visit SA Tourism’s offices

Germany: Berlin

Italy. Milan

02 - 08 March 2015

Flight:

R 65 358.39

Accommodation:

R 23 996.76

Allowance:

R 8 571.88

 

Total:

R108 888.15

To attend the 100th UNWTO Executive Council meeting. South Africa through the National Department of Tourism was elected to serve on the Executive Council of the UNWTO for the period 2014- 2017.

Croatia: Rovinj

25 - 29 May 2015

Flight:

R 83 938.72

Accommodation:

R 17 564.99

Allowance:

R 7 384.44

 

Total:

R 26 064.40

To attend the 54th RETOSA Board and Annual General meetings

Malawi: Lilongwe

28 July 2015

Flight:

R 14 520.72

Accommodation:

R 8 920.00

Allowance:

R 2 623.68

(iii) Deputy Director General/ Chief Operations Officer

Not applicable

The COO did not travel overseas for the period 1 May 2014 -1 September 2015

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

22 September 2015 - NW3011

Profile picture: Alberts, Mr ADW

Alberts, Mr ADW to ask the Minister of Labour

Whether, given the fact that the Public Service is already broadly representative of the demography of the country, she will consider abolishing affirmative action in the Public Service; if not, (a) why not and (b) what constitutional prescripts compel the Government to continue applying affirmative action when the requirement that the Public Service should be broadly representative of the national demography has already been attained; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

MINISTER OF LABOURS RESPONSE:

No, I will not consider abolishing Affirmative Action (AA), in the Public Service as the Affirmative Action is not a Public Service Sectoral Determination but a National dispensation. If the Public Service is broadly representative, that should be an inspiration to other sectors and not the reason to abolish the policy.

The preamble of the Constitution sums up the constitutional rationale of the need for Affirmative Action.

END