Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Whether teachers have the capacity to deal with cases of (a) gender-based violence and (b) rape in schools;

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has several programmes that coalesce to provide a comprehensive response to gender-based violence. These programmes have been institutionalised in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in the Life Orientation Curriculum across all grades and bands. The Department uses a human rights-based approach to address gender-based violence. Following are some of the programmes that the Department is undertaking in its response in dealing with gender based violence:

The Bill of Responsibilities (BOR): “Building a culture of humanity and accountability in schools”

This programme, which is captured as Rights and Responsibilities in the Life Orientation Curriculum, includes gender rights. The programme is supported by a Bill of Responsibilities that is premised on the Bill of Rights that each right comes with corresponding responsibilities. The programme is further supported by a teacher training manual that provides the content and activities for teachers to teach about rights and responsibilities. The programme has been supported by other Departments and many of our partners, including Faith-Based Organisations. Thus far all provinces have received training in the Bill of Responsibility.

Training of Master Trainers on Gender-Based Violence

During 2014/15, the Department undertook a national training programme targeting master trainers. The purpose of this training was to enable them to identify and respond to Violence against Women (VAW) and Violence against Children (VAC), including Gender-Based Violence (GBV), using the revised training manual called Opening Our Eyes. About 400 master trainers were reached. The training touched on the following topics:

• Gender-based violence: an introduction;

• Dealing with hate crimes at schools;

• Responding to situations of sexual abuse;

• Recognising harassment and taking action;

• Gender and HIV – the link;

• Educators as facilitators of healing;

• A school policy on GBV; and

• A whole school approach on GBV.

Challenging Homophobic Bullying in Schools

The Challenging Homophobic Bullying in Schools guide explains what homophobic bullying is and what teachers, parents and learners can do to make schools safer for all learners. It provides clear and simple steps that teachers and learners can take in challenging homophobic bullying in schools. Distribution of the manual has been done to all provinces, with the purpose to further deliver to schools.

The Department has completed training provincial master trainers on the roll out of the National School Safety Framework. The master trainers will cascade the training to schools.

2. Whether her department has any plans in place to employ social workers in schools to deal with the learners who are the victims of gender-based violence and rape; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

Currently a limited number of social workers and psychologists have been employed by some Provincial Education Departments at district level. The Department of Basic Education is in the process of developing integrated norms for funding, staffing and infrastructure for inclusive education, including psycho-social support. These norms are aimed at ensuring an equitable distribution of these scarce resources in each district to serve the needs of learners with specialised needs in ordinary, full-service and special schools. It is recommended that support services be based at district level. These services will include support to victims and survivors of violence, including gender-based violence, in schools. The Department plans to complete the norms by March 2016 for incremental implementation up to 2019.

(3) What other mechanisms does her department have in place in order to inform learners and teachers about steps to take in instances where rape or sexual assault by a fellow learner or learners takes place?

Speak Out Against Abuse

The Department has developed an advocacy programme for learners that inform them of their rights and the course of action if they are sexually harassed or raped. The advocacy programme is supported by a comprehensive and learner friendly handbook entitled “Speak Out” Youth report sexual abuse-A handbook for learners, on how to prevent sexual abuse in public schools. The advocacy programme utilises school dialogues and role-playing to address gender-based violence in schools.

Prevent Violence in Schools Training focuses on enabling and supporting learners to take action to prevent violence in their own schools. About five hundred (500) master trainers have been trained across all provinces and they will, in turn, train learners. The following were the topics covered during training:

• Introduction to prevent violence in schools;

• Understanding violence;

• Gender Based Violence;

• Analysing violence;

• Reporting violence;

• My school, my reality; and

• Taking action.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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	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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Reply:

I wish to refer the Honourable Member to the unqualified Annual Report (2014/2015) and audited clean Financial Statements of my department that were tabled in Parliament on 28 August 2015 and published in the ATC dated 28 August 2015, wherein travel costs are reflected under the item ‘Travel and Subsistence’.

In regard to accommodation, I wish to remind the Honourable Member that accommodation of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in Cape Town and Gauteng is provided through the Department of Public Works.

 

END

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works

(1) (a), (b) and (c) (i) The Department of Public Works has taken the following remedial action:

• Improved systems and training of staff members

• Appropriate delegation of authority to Regional Offices was implemented to ensure operational effectiveness in service delivery. As a form of control to ensure that Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes are adhered to, all successful tenders awarded by Regional Offices are now reviewed at the Head Office by the Compliance Inspectorate to check for compliance with the SCM framework prior to being confirmed.

• A change management programme is being implemented in the Department that seeks to build on three fundamentals underlying infrastructure delivery. These include business process re-engineering through the implementation of the Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS), human resource capacity development, as well as governance and accountability improvements.

          The IDMS, which was developed in partnership between the Public Works sector (national and provincial), along with             National Treasury, is a best practice methodology for the delivery of infrastructure. Its implementation will result in                 improved achievement of infrastructure delivery targets with respect to time, quality and budget.

• The Department of Public Works, with the assistance of the State Security Agency (SSA), has embarked on a vetting project of all its SCM officials. The vetting of SCM officials at the Head Office has been prioritized, as well as at the Regional Offices that have a significant portfolio of Prestige projects (Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria Regional Office).

• As part of the overall DPW Turnaround Strategy, the Department has concluded a detailed review of its business processes, which resulted in extensive business process re-engineering to vastly improve the SCM system. The 7-year reform path for SCM business processes began with a phase of the correction of inefficiencies to stabilisation (2014 – 2017) and will move ultimately to standardization, integration and optimization of the SCM business process (to take place during the period 2017 – 2020). This will ensure that DPW supply chain management is fully compliant with the regulatory framework and will also be able to meet its business requirements effectively. The SCM reform initiatives are pursued in collaboration with National Treasury’s Chief Procurement Office. The Department of Public Works was selected by the Minister of Finance as a pilot site for the implementation of general procurement reforms in the public sector.

• The DPW has reviewed its SCM Policy, which now promotes stricter governance and compliance. The SCM policy is to be reviewed annually. For every SCM activity that is performed, there is a mapped out process flow with activity checklists, templates and reports. Utilisation of the mentioned documentation now enhances compliance, thereby contributing to reducing irregular expenditure.

• The organizational structure of SCM has also been reviewed and a new structure was developed to meet business requirements. The structure is geared to focus on the support of the various functional streams of the Department through the correct mix of skills sets and competencies. The new structure provides for adequate segregation of duties and thus conflicts of interest will be avoided.

• The Department’s Inspectorate and Compliance Unit is now a key role player in SCM processes prior to the award of every bid or quotation. This unit verifies that every SCM activity leading up to the recommendation of the bid has been complied with. Only upon receipt of the approved compliance checklist, will the bid be forwarded to the relevant committee for approval.

• The Department is examining the guidelines, policies, norms and standards for the implementation of security measures at the private and official residences of the Executive and the Legislature in general, as well as certain administrative buildings, for consultation with the security cluster departments. It is envisaged that these consultations as well as those planned with the Department of Public Service and Administration will result in a refined procedural framework with respect to the implementation of physical security measures for tabling before Cabinet.

(ii) The following disciplinary action has been taken against the staff in DPW:

• The investigation by Special Investigating Unit (SIU) indicated that 12 employees or former employees of the Department were probably guilty of misconduct due to acts and omissions in 30 separate matters related to the appointment of contractors for the security upgrades at President’s residence in Nkandla.

• The Department has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the 12 officials. One official has since pleaded guilty with a sanction of two months suspension without pay and a final written warning and barred from participating in procurement processes for three years until he has undergone training. Disciplinary cases with respect to the remaining 11 employees are still on hold pending the high court application for media access to the disciplinary hearings by various media houses.

(iii) (aa) and (bb) No other action has been taken against officials or staff of the Department of Public Works.

(2) (a) (i), (ii) and (iii) The SIU investigation into the conduct of contractors/service providers has provided a basis for civil action against the architect, Mr M Makhanya for the recovery of R155 million. As the Principal Agent, Mr Makhanya bore the overall responsibility for the project.

The civil claim against the Principal Agent was instituted by the SIU on 11 August 2014 for the recovery of R155 324 516.49, being the amount of losses suffered by the Department for over-billing. The matter is before court and the hearing is pending.

(3) See the paragraph (2) (a) (i), (ii) and (iii) above. There is currently no basis in terms of a finding to warrant recovery of money from any staff member of DPW.

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Reply:

The Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) standard on prevention of Fraud and Corruption assesses whether department have measures and requisite capacity in place to prevent and combat corruption. Elements that are assessed in the standard are on:

• whether departments have fraud prevention plans and whistle blowing policies minimum anti-corruption capacity to prevent fraud and corruption;
• whether departments are providing feedback on anti-corruption hotline cases to the Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC); and
• whether disciplinary and criminal procedures are being instituted where fraud and corruption occurs.
  
  a) Whereas the 2014 MPAT assessments results are in the process of being finalised, the 2013 results showed a total number of 55 departments (25 national and 30 provincial) are compliant with this standard.
  
  b) The 2013 results also shows that twenty five (25) departments (11 national and 14 provincial) met the level 3 compliance requirements, whilst 30 exceeded the requirements (14 national and 16 provincial).
  
  
  END

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

Reply:

 

1.     Yes, The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is aware of international trade in tiger and tiger products from South Africa. The following table, obtained from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Trade Database (http://trade.cites.org) reflects the exports from South Africa from 2004 till 2014:

Taxon	Term	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Panthera tigris	bodies					1			1	1
Panthera tigris	claws								1
Panthera tigris	live	8	18	5	4	11	25	32	29	33	21	4
Panthera tigris	skins		1	1	1			2	2	2
Panthera tigris	skulls		1							1
Panthera tigris	trophies	4		2			6	3	4	3	1
Panthera tigris altaica	live						4			2
Panthera tigris altaica	trophies						1

It is clear from the above that the majority of trade is in live specimens. Trade in tiger specimens is regulated in terms of the CITES Regulations, promulgated in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004). It should be noted that due to the fact that tiger is listed in CITES Appendix I, import permits are issued by importing countries before an export permit can be issued by South Africa. The import permit must specify the purpose of the transaction and because commercial trade is not allowed in Appendix I specimens, the international trade authorised in terms CITES will be for non-commercial purposes only and this will be reflected on both the import and export permits. Compliance with the CITES Regulations and requirements are monitored by the Environmental Management Inspectors, who are responsible for the inspection of consignments and the endorsement of permits prior to export.

2.      The CITES Regulations, 2010 are implemented by all provinces as well as the Department of Environmental Affairs and provides a uniform regulatory framework to implement and enforce the provisions of the Convention. In terms of these regulations a captive breeding facility or a person who trades internationally in CITES Appendix I species (tiger) must be registered with the relevant provincial CITES Management Authority.

The Department identified the need to strengthen regulatory provisions relating to the activities involving CITES Appendix I listed specimens that are imported to South Africa and in this regard the following provisions have been included in the draft Threatened or Protected Species Regulations that was published for public participation in terms of Section 100 of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004) on 31 March 2015:

Specific circumstances relating to the prohibition to possess and trade in listed protected species that are also included in Appendix I of CITES

74. (1) A person may not possess—

     (a) an imported specimen of a listed protected species that is also included in Appendix 1 of CITES; or

     (b) The off-spring of a specimen contemplated in paragraph (a);

     unless such person is authorized by a permit issued in accordance with these Regulations to possess such imported            specimen or the off-spring of such imported specimen.

(2) A person may not sell or donate an imported specimen contemplated in subregulation (1)(a), unless—

(a) such imported specimen originates from a commercial captive breeding facility that has been registered with the CITES Secretariat; and

(b) the selling or donation of such specimen is authorized by a permit issued in accordance with these Regulations.

(3)   (a) The regulatory provisions referred to above address the possession of tiger specimens as well as the captive breeding of tiger.

(b)    Illegal activities should be reported to the Department through the Hotline number: 0800 205 005. Concerns relating to the Transvaal Nature Conservation Ordinance No 12 of 1983 should be addressed to the relevant provincial legislature.

 

 

 

 

END

Reply:

(1) Yes the batches were tested by the NICD prior to distribution. Pre distribution reports attached. At the time of initial testing, the batches met the requirements.

Advanced Quality Titima Medical 2015011616_PMS FEB 2015

Advanced Quality Titima Medical 2015010602_PMS JAN 2015

Advanced Quality Titima Medical 201501 615_PMS FEB 2015


(2)

	SUPPLIER	NO. OF BATCHES RECEIVED AND TESTED
	ABON	26
	TITIMA MEDICAL	13
	ADVANCED QUALITY ARMADA	9

(3) (a)-(c) Reports attached with batch numbers. All reports met the required specifications.

Herewith the batches distributed by Armada / Advanced Quality as from the start of the new tender in 2014:

2014071401

2014071701

2014080101

2014090221

2014091821

2014092308

2014112702

2014121510

2014122409

Total of 9 batches distributed to date.

 

END.

Reply:

The information on travel costs in both the Departments of Defence and Military Veterans is contained in their respective Annual Reports for the Financial Year 2014-15 that were tabled in Parliament.



END

Reply:

 

 

(1) & (2) The information requested by the Honourable member is provided in the 2014/15 annual report of the Department which has already been tabled in Parliament on 28 August 2015.

 

 

END

Reply:

1. Yes Honourable Member, the Department has definitely made serious strides in the war against TB. The treatment success was 76% in 2009 and it is 89% now. By 2009 70 000 people were dying of TB per annum but now the figure has dropped to 40 000. However, TB still remains the biggest killer in our country.

2. Yes the measures are doing well but we need to do more to eradicate TB. Hence the President announced in the State of the Nation Address this year that we are going to focus on TB.

The Deputy President launched a massive TB screening campaign on 24 March this year, focusing on high prevalence districts, the mineworkers and the inmates in Correctional Service facilities.

We used to have only 9 centralised treatment centres to treat MDR-TB and XDR-TB. Now we have 298 decentralised sites, 272 satellite sites and 150 injection teams to help decentralise management of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

We have trained 1 700 nurses to manage MDR-TB and 230 of them can even initiate treatment of MDR-TB in the absence of a doctor.

3. According to Stop TB Partnership, the measures in South Africa are far ahead of many countries, for instance there are 700 patients globally who are on Bedaquiline treatment. A total of 400 of these are in South Africa alone. The remainder is scattered all over the world. We are now putting 3 000 on Bedaquiline this financial year.

END.

Reply:

MINISTER OF LABOUR REPLIED:

Both the Department of Mineral Resources and the Department of Labour are handling this matter in terms of applicable legislations, viz; Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act and Section 52 of MPRDA. The CCMA is also fully engaged on this matter.

END

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.

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

 

Reply:

(1) a) The total amount that the department spent on air travel between Gauteng and Cape Town for employees attending Parliament business in the 2014-15 financial year is R1, 442,598.01.

(b) The total number of return trips that were undertaken was 68.

(2) (a) The total amount spent by the department on accommodation in Cape Town for employees attending Parliament business in the 2014-15 financial year is R257, 626.03.

(b) The total amount spent by the department on car rental in Cape Town for employees attending Parliament business in the 2014-15 financial year is R107, 251.02.

 

Approved by the Minister on
Date: 22/09/2015

Reply:

The information on international visits undertaken by both the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans and the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans are contained in the Annual Report that was tabled in Parliament.


END

Reply:

(1)(a) An amount of R642 886-72 was spent on air travel in the financial year 2014/2015 for employees attending Parliamentary business during 2014-2015; and (b) 120 trips were undertaken;

(2)(a) An amount of R128 994-48 was spent on accommodation; and

(b) an amount of R55 007-56 was spent on car rentals, for employees attending Parliamentary business in Cape Town for the 2014/15 financial year.


END

Reply:

The Minister of Energy and the Deputy Minister travel to Gauteng and Cape Town as per official government responsibilities.



END

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works

(1)(a)(i) There are 507 housing units at the three Parliamentary villages.

(ii) There are 155 apartment units at the three parliamentary villages.

(b)(i) 621 units are in a condition for habitation.

(ii) 41 units are not available for use currently.

(2)(a)(i) 347 housing units have been allocated to Members of Parliament.

(ii) 160 housing units have been allocated to other persons or entities.

(b)(i) 2 of the 155 apartment units have been allocated to Members of Parliament.

(ii) 127 apartment units have been allocated to other persons or entities.

(3) There are currently no Members of Parliament (MPs) who have requested accommodation and who have not been allocated units within the Parliamentary villages.

(4)(a) Persons allocated accommodation in the Parliamentary villages include Sessional Officials, Public Works Officials who are servicing the Parliamentary Villages, Party Support Staff, Aides to disabled Members of Parliament, domestic workers and a former Member of Parliament’s dependents residing in the parliamentary villages.

(b) Sessional Officials employed by the following Government departments are accommodated at the parliamentary villages:

1. Ministry of Public Enterprises

2. Ministry of Social Development

3. Ministry of Health

4. Ministry of National Treasury

5. Ministry of Water Affairs

6. Ministry of Communications

7. Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans

8. Ministry of Arts and Culture

9. Ministry of Rural Development

10. Ministry of Trade and Industry

11. Department of Energy

12. Ministry of the Presidency

13. Ministry of Human Settlements

14. Ministry of Public Works

15. Ministry of Police

16. Ministry of State Security

17. Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities

18. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries

19. Ministry of Labour

20. Ministry of Tourism

21. Ministry of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs

22. National Youth and Development Agency

23. International Relations and Co-operation

24. Ministry of Sports and recreation

25. Ministry of Science and Technology

26. Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services

27. Ministry of Higher Education

28. Ministry of Economic Development

29. Ministry of Home Affairs

30. Ministry of Small Business Development

31. Ministry of Basic Education

32. Ministry of Environmental Affairs

33. Ministry of Mineral Resources

34. Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services

35. Ministry of Water and Sanitation

(c) The rationale for accommodating the categories mentioned above, is as follows:

• Sessional Officials designated by the Heads of their Departments for a Parliamentary session are accommodated at the Parliamentary villages.
• Officials employed by the Department of Public Works who perform standby duties at the parliamentary villages are accommodated at the parliamentary villages.
• Party Support Staff / Aides to disabled Members of Parliament: Special ministerial approval was granted for aides to disabled Members of Parliament to be accommodated at the Parliamentary villages.
• Domestic workers who are registered by a legal tenant at the Parliamentary villages and approved by the Department of Public Works.
• Former MP’s dependents: Extension of stay was granted after the commencement of the Fifth Parliament, as the dependents were still attending school. Subsequent notices to vacate were ignored. A final notice to vacate is being processed, where after the case is to be handed over to the office of the State Attorney for eviction, should the subjects ignore the final notice to vacate.

(5) No members of the newly established Chamber Support Unit within the Parliamentary Protection Services have been allocated units within the Parliamentary villages.

___________________________________________________________________

Reply:

The Workload Indicators for Staffing Norms (WISN) method is an evidence-based Human Resource planning and management tool developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This tool was applied in sampled facilities located within the NHI pilot sites to determine the number of health workers of a particular category required to cope with the workload of the given health facility. The findings from this work were subsequently used to develop health workforce normative guides and standards for Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities.

Implementation guidelines of health workforce normative guides and standards for fixed PHC facilities are available. This guideline will be used in the process of determining staffing requirements in all fixed PHC facilities by benchmarking facility staffing against normative guides using facility headcount as a proxy of workload.

END.

Reply:

REPLY: MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

The Department has no knowledge of support received by Tshwane TV from the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.


END

Reply:

 

MINISTER’S REPLY

1. The certain person is not on suspension and as such the question in its entirety is not relevant.
   
   
   
   END

Reply:

(1) (a) The Department spent R2 424 728 on air travel for a total of 62 employees attending Parliament business on different occasions during that financial year.

     (b) Undertook 31 trips.

(2) (a) Spent R339 663 on accommodation

     (b) Spent R41 200 on car rental

 

END.

Reply:

No, the Department has not yet met this target. However, the Department has disabled people who refuse to be classified as such. Hence the Department dropped below 1% on this target.

END.

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

Reply:

 

1.  (a) The total amount spent on air travel between Gauteng and Cape Town on officials of the Department of Public Works attending official Parliamentary business during the 2014/15 financial year is R238 670.94

     (b) The total number of trips undertaken is 48.

2.  (a) The total amount spent on accommodation is R79 666.50

     (b) The total cost of car rental was R25 844.61

 

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.

Reply:

Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

a) Red Tape refers to unduly strict regulations that often make it difficult for small emerging enterprises to thrive and hinders aggressive competition with medium and macro enterprises that do business with government. It also refers to rules, regulations, and I or bureaucratic procedures and processes which are excessively complex and which impose unnecessary delay(s), inaction and I or costs which exceed their benefits, and I or is no longer effective in achieving the purpose for which they were originally created. Red tape results in undesirable economic, business and I or social impacts or outcomes as a result of negatively impacting on productivity.

(b) (i) The department has implemented key actions to facilitate a progressive improvement in the payment of suppliers, within the prescribed 30-day period, such as the centralisation of the receipt and recording of invoices as well as an integrated order and payment tracking system.

In addition to the above, the Departments are currently implementing parts of the Shared Services Model between DCOG, OTA and MISA and are working together with National Treasury's Technical Assistance Unit to enhance and refine the model. Lastly, the department is also implementing the automated submission system, which will improve efficiency in decision making processes within the departments.

South African Cities Network

1. The South African Cities Network (SACN) (ii) defines red tape as an expression used to describe rigid conformity to formal rules that may hinder or slow down the decision-making process.

(b)(i) The SACN believes in early submission of documentation that requires approval to allow enough time for the recipient to thoroughly engage with the documentation without compromising the deadlines

(ii) The Annual Performance Plan assists in forward planning and eventual execution of tasks and this is reviewed on a monthly basis to ensure we are still working within the correct timeframes.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

1. (ii) Red tape refers to excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making.

(b)(i) Development of an automated procurement system to eliminate the lengthy manual processes to ease decision-making and action or implementation.

(c) (ii)(aa)(bb) Systems implemented to enhance efficiencies without compromising on compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Automated requests, workflows, approvals and reporting have been implemented to ensure effective service delivery.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MOB)

1. (a)(ii) Defines Red tape as the excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making.

(b)(i) No specific interventions have been implemented;
(b)(ii) (aa) and (bb) Systems and processes have been implemented to enhance efficiency without compromising on compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Applicable work processes, public and stakeholder consultation forums, reporting and approval structures have been implemented to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission)

(1)(a)(ii)

The CRL Rights Commission defines red tape as the duplication of processes that lead to waste of resources and strict adherence to official rules and formalities.

(b )(i)(bbb)

The Commission has streamlined its internal process and developed Standard Operating Procedures with the view of improving efficiency. Furthermore, these were processed through internal governance structures of the Entity and communicated to general staff.

The CRL Rights Commission utilise the strategic plan and annual performance plan to ensure that there are no duplication in functions and that every program deliver on a unique specialisation in the mandate of the Commission. In planning ahead it helps the Commission to be able to reach its goals without having to deal with unplanned and other issues that just crop up.

Reply:

The information on travel and accommodation costs requested is contained in the respective 2014-15 Annual Report of the Department of Defence that was tabled in Parliament.


END

Reply:

 

The Annual Report of the Department that I tabled during September 2015 provides information on the expenses incurred by the Department including travelling and accommodation both locally and abroad by all our officials. The Auditor General audited all this information. The Annual Financial Statements format did not however allow us to provide a breakdown of this information in the manner that the Honourable member requires.