Reply:

(1)(a) The date of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team is currently being processed by the Deputy Presidency which is facilitating the meeting.

(1)(b) The mandate of the team, as prescribed by Cabinet, is to propose measures to mitigate potential unintended consequences that occur as a result of administrative challenges.

(1)(c)(i)-(ii) The team is constituted by Ministers as announced by the President drawn from the Social, Economic and Security Clusters.

(1)(d) The team is empowered to deliver on its mandate as per (b) above.

(2) Refer to 1(d) above.

Reply:

In the 2013/2014 year 1084 companies received financial assistance to participate in 25 National Pavilions and 40 Trade Missions. Export sales of R3,54 billion were facilitated. The sectoral spread of the companies supported comprises 42% to Multiple sectors; 25% to agro-processing; 8% to the Aerospace, Rail, Marine and Defence Sector; 6% to Electro technical; 6% to the Built Environment Sectors; 4% to the creative Industries; 3% to the Auto sector; 6% to Mining and Capital Equipment.

During the 2013/2014 period, the provincial spread comprises as a percentage the following: 45% from Gauteng; 27% from Western Cape; 10% from KZN; 5 % from International participants 4% from Limpopo; 3% from Mpumalanga; 3% from Eastern Cape; 3% from Mpumalanga and the remaining portion being attributable to the rest of the provinces at 1% each.

In the 2014/2015 year 923 companies received financial assistance to participate in 27 National Pavilions and 24 Trade Missions. Exports sales of R2,77 billion were facilitated. The sectoral spread of the companies supported comprises 30% to agro-processing; 40% to Multiple sectors; 7% to the Aerospace, Rail, Marine and Defence Sector; 7% to Capital Equipment; 7% to the Electro technical sector; 5% to the Auto sector; 4% to the creative Industries.

The provincial spread comprises a percentage spread as follows: 40.4% from Gauteng, 30.77% from Western Cape, 10.51% from KZN, 8,13% from International participants and the remaining portion being attributable to the rest of the provinces at less than 2% each.

The detailed breakdown for each financial year is attached in Annexures A and B.

Question

(2) whether the trip resulted in new contracts for those companies;

Response

In various instances the trips do yield sales contracts, joint venture partnerships or sub-contracting projects for South African companies. The value thereof is included in the total export sales facilitated which are detailed in part 3 of this response. A few examples of sales that have been facilitated through the trade shows in the 2014/2015 financial year include but are not limited to the following:

At SIAL China, export orders of R1.3 billion were generated as a result of the participation of South African companies. For example the company Dynamic Commodities from the Eastern Cape, reported that it generated R53 million worth of export business.

At the WAPIC Trade Fair in Nigeria, 18 South African companies exhibited their products and services. The Gauteng based exhibitors which include Powertech, Landis + GYR Pty Ltd, General Cables, ADC Energy, Poynting Antennas and Doble Engineering Africa reported expected product and service sales of R112 million as a result of their participation.

At the Ghana International Trade Fair (GITF) Aveng Africa from the Gauteng province, reported that it has signed a joint venture investment that is worth in excess of R12 billion.

During an Outward Selling Mission to The Netherlands, Redsun Raisins from the Northern Cape, reported export sales totalling R16,6 million.

After a special mission to Russia, Sea Harvest based in the Western Cape received an order of $10 million for hake and hake related products from a Russian company.

Question

(3) does his department monitor the effectiveness of this support programme to ensure that (a) his department is getting value for money and (b) recipients do not waste the financial support they receive? NW3313E

Response

The division monitors the effectiveness of the support programme through questionnaires that are completed by business participants at the end of each mission and National Pavilion. This questionnaire focuses on the sales that have been made at the event as well as the projected sales that are anticipated in the next six months. After a period of six months the same participants provide information that confirms the projected sales and / or additional export sales that may have accrued to the company during the period. In addition, the dti also utilises the services of an independent auditor who verifies the reported export sales as well as the local content of the manufactured products.

In addition the Department of Public Monitoring and Evaluation has recently assessed the effectiveness of the EMIA scheme and has recommended that this instrument be continued to facilitate Trade and Investment Missions and National Pavilions.

In the 2013/2014 period the cost of EMIA assistance of R113 million yielded R3,54 billion of export sales facilitated. In this regard, for each R1.00 spent, there was a R30.54 return. For the period of 2014/2015, the cost of EMIA assistance of R147 million yielded R2,779 billion of export sales. In this regard, for each R1.00 spent, there was a R18.90 return.

The financial support is in the form of full or partial payments to service providers for hotels, accommodation, transport, freight logistics, venue hire and space allocation at exhibition. To avoid potential wastage, the only direct payments that occur between the dti and the participants are in the event where a business participant has been pre-approved to claim for expenses which they had paid directly to service providers. The claims thresholds are governed by the EMIA rules which are signed off by the Minister and implemented through an adjudication committee.

Furthermore the financial support to companies is qualified according to the following categories: Emerging Exporters receive 100% funding towards an air ticket, subsistence and ground transport; SMMEs air ticket limited to R17,000.00 and subsistence limited to R2 300.00 per day; Other sized companies qualify for freight and stand in the case of a National Pavilion. For the same other-sized companies, the air ticket finance cannot exceed R8 500.00 and the subsistence of R2 300.00 per day. In addition for the Trade and Investment missions, all companies qualify for an R2000.00 allowance for excess baggage on exhibition material.

Reply:

The Bilateral Investment Treaty between South Africa and Zimbabwe is a negotiated Agreement. Furthermore, it is unusual for Agreements of this nature to have retrospective application as the guiding principle is that parties enter into such agreements with a view to addressing future events.

 

(2)Whether he intends to take steps to promote the rights, and claim compensation for the losses, of South African citizens who have been prejudiced by the Zimbabwean government and/or illegal occupiers before the commencement of the agreement; if not, why not, seen against the background of the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and relevant international law; if so, what are the relevant details;

Reply:

The Republic of South Africa is responsible for enforcing rights and obligations within its own territory. Any events that take place outside the borders of the Republic are extra-territorial and remedies or redress would have to be sought in the jurisdiction where prejudice occurred. The Bill of Rights contained the Constitution of the Republic is applicable only in South Africa and has no application in Zimbabwe. The South African Government is addressing concerns of South African investors as and when they arise through the diplomatic and multilateral channels available bilaterally and regionally.

(3)Whether he is considering legislation to bring about compensation for such disadvantaged people by way of making the confiscation of assets of the Zimbabwean government and/or responsible ministers and/or officials in South Africa possible; if not, why not, seen against the background of the Bill of Rights, as contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and relevant international law; if so, what are the relevant details;

Reply:

The dti respects the independence and competence of the judiciary to make determinations in that regard.

(4)What steps is he taking regarding the current unlawful dispossession of South African citizens’ property rights in Zimbabwe by the Zimbabwean government and/or illegal occupiers?

Under the Bilateral Investment Treaty concluded with Zimbabwe in 2009 and ratified in 2010, investors affected by measures taken by the Zimbabwean State can, after challenging such a matter in domestic courts, resort to international arbitration in order to settle any dispute. No further steps can be taken by the Government of the Republic of South Africa in that respect as the international arbitration process is independent and the rulings thereof are binding.

Reply:

The Department of Higher Education and Training has 0.72% of its employees who are classified as disabled. All advertisements for vacancies in the Department specify that candidates whose appointment will promote representivity in terms of race, gender and disability will receive preference. The Z83 application form that is used across the public service requires applicants to specify their disability. No qualifying applications received, have specified their disability status. The Department informally liaises with relevant organisations for persons with disabilities to recruit possible qualifying applicants for vacant positions within the Department. For the next five years, the Department aims at being an inclusive department through the implementation of strategies for the recruitment and retention of disabled individuals.

 

 

 

 

Compiler/Contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 2800 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) (i) In terms of the current information that the Department has received the number of cloned motor vehicles that have been captured by our law enforcement systems in and around the Province of Gauteng is ten (10).

(ii) There are no erroneous number plates that have been issued as the system automatically allocates number plates and does not have margin for errors.

(b) I am informed that currently, there has not been an increase in relation to the use of cloned number plates after the roll-out of the Gauteng e-Toll.

Additional information for the Minister:

The Department will be engaging with the SAPS to ensure that there is an interface between the SANRAL and the SAPS systems with regards to the transferring and sharing of information on the cases reported and captured by the various systems.

Reply:

 

1. The Skills and Vocational Curriculum currently being developed will address the needs of learners at primary school level, as it is the curriculum which would lead to an exit level qualification at NQF Level 1. The Skills and Vocational Curriculum is being developed at two levels:

(a) A Skills and Vocational Curriculum aligned to the National Curriculum Statement, Grades R to 12, to meet the needs of learners who experience barriers to learning (including learners with moderate intellectual disability) at Grade 6 to 9 level;

(b) A Skills and Vocational Curriculum (also CAPS aligned) to meet the needs of learners with severe intellectual disability at Grade R to 5 level.

2) Both curricula will provide clarity to schools for learners with special needs on how to adapt the National Curriculum Statement for learners with intellectual disability who struggle to meet the academic requirements of the National Curriculum Statement. Apart from the General Subjects (Language, Mathematics and Life Skills) which are adapted to be more functional and practical and less abstract, the Skills and Vocational Subjects are introduced to prepare learners more effectively for the world of work. For learners who do not have cognitive impairments, the Guidelines for Responding to Diversity in the Classroom and the Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support will be used to adapt the curriculum to meet their individual needs.

Reply:

(1) (a) How many Grade R teachers and/or practitioners are employed in public ordinary schools and (b) what percentage of them are qualified at (i) National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 4, (ii) NQF Level 5 and (iii) NQF Level 6 in each (aa) province and (bb) district;

Province	aa(b) i	aa(b) ii	aa(b) iii	(a)
	Level 4	Level 5	NQF 6 & above	Total (Employed)
EC	82%	4%	9%	4 765
FS	22%	19%	53%	1 270
GP	4%	52%	43%	2 710
KZN	74%	6%	17%	6 486
LP	0%	0%	100%	1 080
MP	38%	34%	18%	2 065
NC	42%	41%	15%	736
NW	Not Submitted
WC	30%	37%	30%	1 767
Total	52%	19%	26%	20 879

(bb) Provinces were only able to submit information aggregated at province

level.

(2) Whether qualified Grade R teachers are employed and paid as educators and not practitioners; if not, (a) why not and (b) when this will be the case?

(a) Grade R is currently not fully-funded as part of the mainstream education system. This refers to all funding including compensation of Grade R teachers.

(b) The Department is working towards the universalisation of Grade R by 2019. It is planned that by 2019, Grade R will be fully integrated into the mainstream education system and will accordingly be funded at the same level or fully-funded as part of the mainstream education system.

Reply:

(a-b) Neither the Minister nor Deputy Minister travelled to China during the 2014-15 financial year.

(c) The table below indicates the officials who travelled to China in the 2014-2015 financial year:

OFFICIAL	PURPOSE	(ii)(aa-bb) COSTS
DDG: Immigration Services, JW McKay	Study Tour on Integrated Border Management	Total: R 115 845.02 Flight: R 90 626.50 S&T: R 4 048.52 Accommodation: R 7 806 Ground transport: R 13 364
Director: Core Business and Change Audits, LT Kgopane Assistant Director: Audits, NS Somdyala	Audit of DHA services in SA mission in Shanghai	Total: R 129 959.68 Flight: R 28 409.39 S&T: R 9 055.45 Accommodation: R 22 944 Ground transport: R 4 571 Flight: R 28 409.39 S&T: R 9055.45 Accommodation: R 22 944 Ground transport: R 4 571
OFFICIAL	PURPOSE	(ii)(aa-bb) COSTS
DDG: Immigration Services, JW McKay Director: Corporate Accounts, IP Mbhele	Bilateral discussions on immigration and official visit to SA missions in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively	Total: R 161 444.82 Flight R 61 547.39 S&T: R 4 541.52 Accommodation: R 19 441 Ground transport: R 9 285 Flight: R 38 597.39 S&T: R 4 541.52 Accommodation: R 14 206 Ground transport: R 9 285
Senior Accounting Clerk: Foreign Revenue, V Andrews	Accompanied Auditor – General officials to conduct regulatory audit of SA mission in Shanghai	Total: R 89 766.64 Flight: R 54 165.22 S&T: R 8 520.42 Accommodation: R 17 106 Ground transport: R 9 975

Reply:

1. Yes. The Executive Authority has instructed the Board of PRASA and all other Department of Transport agencies / entities to verify the academic qualifications of all senior officials and to report to the Department by 31st October 2015.
2. See above response in (1).
3. (a) One

          (b) One

         (c) none

Reply:

 

(a) The De Wildt station to Wolmerton Depot line is identified for testing the new train and is ready. Procurement for the Wolmerton Depot testing facilities processes is underway.

(b) Permanent Way projects:

• Steffanutti Stocks – Cleveland Station (Platform rectification);
• Mpfumelelo Business Enterprises – Toronga Station & Denver Station (Platform Rectification)
• Lenong Civil engineering – Hercules Station  - Drainage Project; and
• Lettam Building and DKPB (JV) – Denneboom Station – Drainage Project

(c) Other than the pending appointment of contractors for the Wolmerton Depot and the non-performance of the perway contractor, current contractors are in compliance with their contracted timeline schedule.

Ministerial Note:

Due to deficiencies in the supply chain management process, the Wolmerton Depot tenders was withdrawn. Subsequent to re-advertising the tenders, it is being evaluated.

Reply:

(a) and (b) the dti has conducted extensive consultations with key stakeholders as part of the Black Industrialist Policy development process. Such Stakeholders include Cabinet Committee, MinMec, Business, Development Finance Institutions, State Owned Enterprises and NEDLAC. The inputs from these Stakeholders have been considered in the development of the Black Industrialist Policy (BIP) which is en route to Cabinet for consideration and approval. No applications have been approved as the application process for the BIP has not as yet been finalized.

(2) What are the names of all those (a) who have applied for support under the specified programme and (b) whose applications have been approved to date?

Response:

(a) None, the Black Industrialist Programme has not yet approved by Cabinet.

Reply:

 

(a) The department continues to engage in discussions and deliberations with National Treasury on this matter.

(b) The engagements concern the anticipated increase in applications in the extended period up to December 2017.

Reply:

 

	Purpose of visit	(ii)(a) Total Cost (Rand)	(ii)(b) Breakdown of cost (Rand)
Minister	Did not travel to China during the 2014-15 financial year.
Deputy Minister	To attend the China International Business Tourism Mart (CIBTM); one of the biggest business tourism events in the Asia region.	341 820.08	Deputy Minister Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fee: Allowance: Total:	83 430.00 22 026.00 585.00 625.00 11 317.92 117 983.90
Officials Ms L Mathopa Ms N Sifanele			Ms L Mathopa Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fee: Shuttle: Allowance : Total: Ms N Sifanele Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fees: Allowance: Total:	78 859.00 28 630.00 630.00 665.00 870.00 3 797.14 113 451.14 83 430.00 15 456.00 585.00 625.00 10 289.02 110 385.02
Ambassador LM Makhubela, Director General (DG). Mr V Tharage, Deputy Director General (DDG): Policy and Knowledge Services. Ms L Mfecane, Deputy Director (DD): Office of the DG.	To attend the 2014 World Travel &Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit. To attend the 2014 World Travel &Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit.	368 216.83	DG: Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fee: Allowance: Total: DDG: Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fee: Allowance: Total: DD: Flight ticket: Accommodation: Insurance: Service Fee: Allowance: Total:	129 683.00 17 259.52 534.90 350.48 6 642.77 154 470.67 105 423.00 17 600.00 534.90 775.00 5 971.00 130 303.90 66 448.00 11 079.52 534.90 350.48 5 009.36 83 442.26

Reply:

 

1. (a) It is not acceptable for schools to combine the Grade R class with Grades 1, 2, and 3. The recommendation that the Department of Basic Education is making to all schools that are delivering the curriculum through the multi-grade teaching model, is that the Grade R class should always be a stand-alone class.

(b) The Grade R prepares children to be ready for the primary school by developing their pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-numeracy skills. Children learn these skills through play. The real work of children in the Grade R class is predominantly characterised by play. Therefore, multi-grade primary schools should offer the Grade R class as a stand-alone class that will accord the children the opportunity to be introduced to formal schooling with ease and in a friendly and conducive environment.

2)  There is no need to make a determination on Grade R as the Department does not encourage multi-grade schools to combine Grade R with other grades. The post provisioning norms provide for the posts in Grade R in terms of relevant weighting in line with the ideal maximum class size for Grade R.

Reply:

(a); (i), (ii), (b), (c), (d). According to information received from Gauteng Department of Education, no educational sites have been provided during the town planning of the area mentioned. Rietfontein falls within the border of the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipalities and is surrounded by areas such as Greenstone, Linksfield, Modderfontein and Edenvale. At this point there are no sites earmarked for public schooling within the area and no schools are presently planned to be built on the specified sites.

Reply:

(a) The standard return of company assets.

(b) Sensitive information / unprocessed.

(c) 1st August 2015 to 30th November 2015.

(d) None.

(e) PRASA Board of Control decided that it was in the best interest of the entity that the then Group Chief Executive Officer be released early.

Reply:

(a) The Gauteng Department of Education is investigating the matter. A full response will be provided once the investigation has been completed and relevant information has been provided to the Department of Basic Education.

(b) The Provincial School Safety Coordinator (Mr Z Nkuna) has reported that the school was never vandalised whilst security was in place, the security was retracted at the end of the month of January 2015 with no reported incidents.

Reply:

The phenomenon of foreign nationals entering the country in contravention of the Immigration Act is difficult to quantify because, by their very nature, such movements do not take place through designated ports of entry and are therefore not recorded. As a result of this, the Department does not have a comprehensive view of the number of undocumented foreign nationals in the country.

Departmental systems do indicate, however, that since 2010, a total of 333 874 foreign nationals have overstayed the duration of their visas and have not departed through a designated port of entry. Further, in the first quarter of the 2015/16 financial year, 10 242 illegal immigrants were deported (and are therefore no longer residing in the country), whilst 4 860 were arrested during “Operation Fiela” as well as in normal operations. These figures only provide an indication of undocumented foreign nationals detected.

Reply:

(a)  None.

(b)  Not applicable

Reply:

The Department does not support the so-called principle of “publish or perish” for South African academics. The Department supports the development of academics that value teaching, research and community engagement as outlined in the recently approved Staffing South Africa’s Universities Framework (SSAUF). This includes supporting universities to be innovative and produce quality research. We expect that universities have some highly productive researchers, that may not focus much on teaching, and equally that there will be scholars who have a greater focus on teaching. The focus on publishing at all costs regardless of the quality or substance of the research is not supported by the Department.

It should be noted that the Department does not control nor develop policies on the promotions criteria at universities. The Department admits that highly productive academics, whether in the sphere of research or scholarship of teaching, should be recognised. It is also aware that some universities value research as a key criterion for promotion.

The Department has recently published a revised Research Output Policy (2015). The purpose of this policy is to encourage research productivity by rewarding quality research output at public higher education institutions. The policy is not intended to measure all output, but to enhance productivity by recognising the major types of research output produced by higher education institutions, and uses appropriate proxies to determine the quality of such output. While increased productivity is a key driver behind this policy, what has informed the revision was the need to ensure improved quality of subsidised research outputs.

Within the total subsidy funding allocated to universities in 2015/16, R3 billion which is just under 15% of the total block grant of R20.5 billion, is allocated for research output subsidies and implemented through the Research Output Policy. The remainder of the block grant (85%) is linked to teaching inputs and outputs as well as institutional factors. As can be seen, teaching is the area that is allocated the largest proportion of funding.

Since the implementation of the research outputs subsidy in 2005, South Africa’s research outputs have increased at a rate of 13% per annum, which is a substantial return on investment. The Department takes pride that our universities’ research productivity has improved significantly since 2005. South African universities’ research productivity is ranked top in Africa, and recent impact studies show that more South African research is published in high-impact journals than all other Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) member states.

 

 

Compiler/contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 2772 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

1. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa declares that “the official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu”. The Constitution, Section 6 (1), (2) and (4) of the Founding Provisions also states that “the state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these [the indigenous] languages” and that all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and be treated equitably. The Constitution enjoins the Pan South African Language Board to promote and create conditions for the development and use of these and other languages.

With regard to the provision of languages at institutions of higher learning, Section 29 (2) of the Constitution states that “everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure the effective access to, and implementation of this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account:

1. equity;
2. practicability; and
3. the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices.

These facts are stated so that there is a clear understanding on the obligations of the Minister of Higher Education and Training. In terms of Section 27 (2) of the Higher Education Act (101 of 1997, as amended), the Minister determines Language Policy for Higher Education. In accordance with this legislation, each institution of higher education is required to establish its own language policy, guided by the Constitution and Language Policy for Higher Education. This requirement takes into account the autonomy of institutions to determine flexible language policies provided that such determination is within the context of public accountability and my responsibility to establish the parameters. Although the Language Policy for Higher Education is designed to promote African languages in institutional policies and practices in higher education, it clearly does not make a determination for institutions to instruct in various mother tongues. It would be against the Constitution of the Republic if institutions were to instruct in a language that will disadvantage non-speakers of that particular language. For example, English as a medium language of tuition allows access for all to our higher education institutions and therefore, no one is prevented from accessing our higher education institutions if English is utilised as a language of instruction.

In terms of individual university language policies, multilingualism is supported. Currently, it is however not practical to use languages other than English or Afrikaans as a medium language of tuition, since these have not been developed as languages of instruction at school level. The language of instruction at most universities is therefore English, while most formerly Afrikaans institutions have a dual language policy. The action required is aggressive improvement of universities in developing indigenous languages. I believe that the promotion of multilingualism in the higher education sector is imperative as the Constitution of the RSA accords equal status to all our languages.

In this regard, the Language Policy for Higher Education published in November 2002 is the framework that guides the practices at higher education institutions. The Department is in the process of revising this policy to ensure that other South African languages can be developed to a level where they can enjoy parity in our universities.

 

 

 

 

Compiler/contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 2649 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) (i) Driving Licences issued 2012/ 13 financial year:

PROV	Apr 12	May 12	Jun 12	Jul 12	Aug 12	Sept 12	Oct 12	Nov 12	Dec 12	Jan 13	Feb 13	Mar 13
EC	9392	12474	12440	13692	12706	10349	12030	12540	6747	17276	14037	13278
FS	6874	9805	9568	10474	9515	7947	8753	8637	4671	13121	11230	9868
GP	50661	70317	68403	75559	73440	61958	68434	68946	39148	101448	78961	76874
KZN	21859	30604	29055	31493	30617	25800	28034	28409	16686	44105	33705	31572
LIM	11762	15552	15378	17079	16956	14165	15701	15220	8498	22219	18151	16628
MPL	11346	16038	15345	16682	16546	13955	15581	15298	8456	21828	17360	16456
NW	6644	8937	8611	8995	9314	7876	8461	9172	5213	11836	10512	10196
NC	2687	3572	3472	3876	3810	3473	3622	3614	1961	4764	4433	4012
WC	22606	32816	31582	32830	32103	26213	28646	29087	17300	48447	37291	34285
Grand Total	143831	200115	193854	210680	205007	171736	189262	190923	108680	285044	225680	213169

 

(a) (ii) Driving Licences issued 2013/ 14 financial year:

PROV	Apr 13	May 13	Jun 13	Jul 13	Aug 13	Sept 13	Oct 13	Nov 13	Dec 13	Jan 14	Feb 14	Mar 14
EC	12357	14850	12835	12524	13267	9484	15833	15052	11712	13327	12754	12291
FS	10062	10800	9084	10158	9515	8624	10447	9562	7625	9834	8903	8960
GP	73628	78857	67409	73625	70816	63412	76280	74557	56316	73135	62877	64868
KZN	31401	34296	28709	31914	31284	28695	34127	32717	28142	34155	29413	28998
LIM	16418	17811	15481	17347	16176	14509	17116	15956	13485	16974	15467	15589
MPL	16941	17613	15465	16685	17570	14527	18002	17340	12958	17025	16092	15399
NW	9790	10898	9119	9927	9863	8476	9927	9593	7137	9198	8528	8595
NC	4058	4349	3800	4056	3973	3706	4251	4228	2970	3665	3368	3601
WC	32783	36624	29491	30942	29025	27995	33771	32232	27039	31906	26600	28868
Grand Total	207438	226098	191393	207178	201489	179428	219754	211237	167384	209219	184002	187169

(a) (iii) Driving Licences issued 2014/ 15 financial year:

PROV	Apr 14	May 14	Jun 14	Jul 14	Aug 14	Sept 14	Oct 14	Nov 14	Dec 14	Jan 15	Feb 15	Mar 15
EC	12064	13656	12135	14236	13442	12329	14467	14313	10329	15367	13845	14848
FS	8723	9453	8102	10243	9716	8776	9391	8699	6797	11402	10037	10418
GP	61082	70525	59247	70734	70647	62664	73288	65968	55644	79129	67777	71353
KZN	27193	33159	26977	32857	31853	28914	31199	31798	24240	40237	30629	32553
LIM	14858	16926	14024	17547	16408	14895	16924	15343	12099	19733	15973	16473
MPL	15087	17361	14809	17970	17402	15740	18397	16422	12642	19230	16453	17884
NW	8055	9578	7870	9693	9678	8636	9645	9359	7490	10149	9381	10078
NC	3351	3786	3252	3911	3981	3719	3767	3730	2560	4053	3613	3819
WC	26134	29537	24932	29361	30841	27125	29785	30228	23552	36054	29036	31283
Grand Total	176547	203981	171348	206552	203968	182798	206863	195860	155353	235354	196744	208709

(b) (i) and (ii) the delay was as a result of contractual disputes between the Department and the Card Production Facility. This matter has been sorted out and the Department will henceforth in partnership with other relevant government entities take over the issuance of the driving licenses.

Reply:

1. The Court set aside the decision as indicated above and instructed the department to take a fresh decision, which was taken in November 2013. The department is not aware of a high number of new asylum seekers. According to the annual statistics shared with the public, the number of newcomers continues to decrease from approximately 233 300 in 2009 to 72 000 new applications in 2014. Departmental officials are coping with these numbers. The only bottlenecks remain with the appeal and review cases dealt with by the Refugee Appeal Board and Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs.
2. The construction of the centre has not yet commenced. The Department of Public Works (DPW) has identified a suitable site in Komatipoort. The site is however zoned for agricultural use. An application was then made by DPW to rezone and subdivide the site. The application was heard by the Tribunal on 31 March 2015. Approval was granted by the Tribunal for the rezoning and subdivision of the site subject to South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) commenting on the access route to the site. SANRAL comments are awaited.

Reply:

The Statistics South Africa monthly Tourism and Migration Statistical Release provides the available detailed information on arrivals and departures including in transit travelers. The number of tourists excludes in transit travelers and there was a year on year decrease for the period January to end April 2015 of 169 017 tourist arrivals, a decline of 7.19%, from the Africa continent. This was made up of a decline of 169 017 (7.1%) in tourism arrivals from SADC and a decline of 7 073 (11%) from the rest of the continent.

The reasons for the decline in arrivals from the African continent is not necessarily entirely attributable to the unfortunate attacks on foreign nationals.

Reply:

(a)(i)

Due to capacity constraints the Kha Ri Gude officials at the DBE were unable to conduct unannounced site visits during the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns.

However all Kha Ri Gude monitors, coordinators and supervisors in each province are required to visit 10 sites per month during the six (6) months of classes. The table below indicates the number of monitors, coordinators and supervisors contracted for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns.

Year	2012/13	2013/14
Province	Monitors	Coordinators	Supervisors	Monitors	Coordinators	Supervisors
Eastern Cape	10	45	852	10	46	875
Free State	4	16	296	4	16	299
Gauteng	7	27	495	8	28	529
KwaZulu Natal	10	41	792	9	41	800
Mpumalanga	2	17	308	2	17	315
Northern Cape	0	3	46	0	5	84
Limpopo	7	33	610	7	35	642
North West	2	11	186	2	12	196
Western Cape	2	7	100	2	6	101
Total	44	200	3685	44	206	3841

In addition, part of the monitoring of the Kha Ri Gude Campaign includes the verification of learning through site visits to the centres. This function is performed by SAQA. The SAQA reports show positive views of the reality and authenticity of classes. The sites visited during the period 2012/13 and 2013/14 are as follows:

(b)(ii)

PROVINCE	2012/13	2013/14
Eastern Cape	20	38
Free State	3	19
Gauteng	10	42
Kwazulu-Natal	32	64
Limpopo	26	55
Mpumalanga	12	42
Northern Cape	0	13
North West	0	18
Western Cape	0	10

Unfortunately information regarding districts was not available.

The 2013/14 Performance Report of the Auditor General recommended that the monitoring of the Kha Ri Gude Campaign should be strengthened in order to deal with the challenges experienced in the programme relating to fraud and deceased learners amongst others.

The 2014/15 campaign was then strengthened by increasing the capacity of the DBE officials, focusing on unannounced site visits which have assisted the programme to eradicate fraud.

Reply:

(a)  To attend the 76th World News Media Congress – 22nd World Editors Forum – 25th World Advertising Forum. The objective of the conference was bring together the industry and to discuss issues affecting the industry.

(b)(i) Flights – R56 334.72

(ii) Accommodation – R38 925.02

(c) Airline – SAA and JetBlue airways

(d) Washington Hilton Hotel

 

 

 

MR N MUNZHELELE

[ACTING] DIRECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

Reply:

(a) The rationale to review the position of the COO was based on the fact that the MDDA is a small organisation with a staff compliment of 34. After due consideration, the Board resolved that streamlining the organisational structure would result in a much more efficient and effective organisational performance.

 

 

 

 

MR N MUNZHELELE

[ACTING] DIRECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

Reply:

(a)  (i) Tshwane TV

No. Tshwane TV has been having compliance challenges with regards to community participation since the 2012/13 financial year. The problem started after the Licensee’s first Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2011 which then resulted in two controlling structures that were elected in two different AGM’s. The Authority tried to assist the Licensee to convene a properly constituted AGM that would elect a recognized controlling structure in accordance with the Licensee’s founding documents.

The mediation process was abandoned after one of the parties took the matter to Court and a default judgement was then awarded. The Authority is currently assisting Tshwane TV to put structures in place in order to comply with all aspects of their service license pertaining to community participation.

(ii) Soweto TV

Yes. Soweto TV held two annual meetings during the four financial years in question.

(iii) Cape Town Community TV

Cape Town TV reported that they have held two annual meetings for the four financial years in questions. However, ICASA is still awaiting the necessary documentation to confirm this.

(iv) Bay Community TV

Yes Bay Community TV held two annual meetings during the four financial years in question.

(aa) Programming

(bb) Programme related matters

Tshwane TV

See response to the first question.

Soweto TV

Yes, Soweto TV addressed programming and programme related matters at the two annual meetings during the four financial years in question.

Cape Town Community TV

Cape Town TV reported that they have held two annual meeting for the financial years in questions. However, ICASA is still awaiting the necessary documentation to confirm this.

Bay Community TV

Yes, Bay Community TV addressed programming and programme related matters at the two annual meetings during the four financial years in question.

(b)

Tshwane TV

See response to the first question.

Soweto TV

Yes, Soweto TV has provided ICASA with proof of their two annual meetings as well as attendance registers signed by community members.

Cape Town Community TV

Cape Town TV has not yet furnished the Authority with copies of the minutes of the minutes held with the community members.

Bay Community TV

Yes, Bay Community TV has provided ICASA with proof of their two annual meetings as well as the attendance registers signed by members of the community for those meetings for the four financial years in question.

 

 

MR N MUNZHELELE

[ACTING] DIRECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

Reply:

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that (a) neither I nor the former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development travelled to China during 2014-15;

(b) the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Deputy Minister of Correctional Services did not travel to China during 2014-2015; and

(c) I have been informed that no officials from all the departments, travelled to China during the 2014-15 financial year.

(i) and (ii) therefore fall away.

Reply:

1. 39 new Small Claims Courts were established during the 2014-2015 financial year:

Mitchells Plain (WC), Bergville (KZN), Clanwilliam (WC), Boshof (FS), Herschel (EC), Fouriesburg (FS), Lions River (KZN), Polela (KZN), Phalaborwa (LP), Stilfontein (NW), Glen Grey (EC), Christiana (NW), Calitzdorp (WC), Goodwood (WC), Kuils River (WC), Pearston (EC), Namakgale (LP), Adelaide (EC), Bedford (EC), Wellington (WC), Impendle (KZN), Murraysburg (WC), Hopefield (WC), Mount Ayliff (EC), Heidelberg (WC), Uniondale (WC), Lady Grey (EC), Nkandla (KZN), Pofadder (NC), Piketberg (WC), Mapumulo (KZN), Mtunzini (KZN), Postmasburg (NC), Hanover (NC), Molteno (EC), Hay (NC), Tseki (FS), Laingsburg (WC) and Prince Albert (WC)

30 new Small Claims Courts were established from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014:

Ngotshe (KZN), Elliot (EC), Msinga (KZN), Madikwe (NW), Peddie (EC), Middledrift (EC), Mooi River (KZN), Clocolan (FS), Camperdown (KZN), KwaMhlanga (MP), Mbibana (MP), Mdutjana (MP), St Marks (EC), Mutale (LP), Atteridgeville (GP), Secunda (MP), Dzanani (LP), Vanrhynsdorp (WC), Bultfontein (FS), Williston (NC), Sebokeng (GP), Melmoth (KZN), Reitz (FS), Nqutu (KZN), Hennenman (FS), Virginia (FS), Ventersburg (FS) Sasolburg (FS), Tsakane (GP) and Vuwani (LP)

14 new Small Claims Courts have been established since 1 April 2015:

Babanango (KZN), Libode (EC), Tabankulu (EC), Wodehouse (EC), Indwe (EC), Tsolo (EC), Qumbu (EC), Simon’s Town (WC), Middelburg (EC), Sterkstroom (EC), Tiyani (LP), Barkly East (EC), Kakamas (NC) and Flagstaff (EC)

2. The statistics for the new 39 Small Claims Courts is not yet readily available on the department’s ICMS system which is our main statistics information source as these courts are still being assisted to get registered and trained to use the system. However the 2014/15 national stats for the SCC were as follows:

Matters Finalized - Broken down into Regions:

Regions	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Grand Total	Amount	Average of Days : Registration to Finalisation Date	Average of Days: First Hearing Date to Finalization date
Eastern Cape	596	626	603	655	2480	R 10 609 170.11	70.48	52.97
Free State	267	205	252	279	1003	R 2 988 213.13	56.43	35.08
Gauteng	2711	2940	2217	2430	10298	R 53 338 021.86	39.48	19.87
Kwazulu Natal	870	901	809	816	3396	R 19 196 151.86	111.63	68.89
Limpopo	845	947	825	902	3519	R 12 391 156.03	87.96	60.12
Mpumalanga	419	571	573	374	1937	R 8 626 175.45	83.65	56.41
North West	671	585	497	361	2114	R 8 143 952.28	87.20	37.85
Northern Cape	177	99	85	90	451	R 1 814 831.20	45.93	20.79
Western Cape	740	901	801	890	3332	R 19 972 283.98	77.20	27.56
Grand Total	7296	7775	6662	6797	28530	R 137 079 955.90	68.38

Matters Finalized - Broken down into Outcomes:

Outcomes	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Grand Total	%
Absolution	131	155	100	143	529	2%
Case Dismissed	559	664	529	500	2252	8%
Case Struck of Roll	2380	2579	2283	2387	9629	34%
Case Withdrawn	81	98	77	103	359	1%
Default Judgement	1316	1284	1150	1526	5276	18%
Judgement Granted	2435	2604	2150	1859	9048	32%
Out of Court Settlement	317	329	272	229	1147	4%
Postponed	77	61	101	46	285	1%
Rescission Granted		1		4	5	0.02%
Grand Total	7296	7775	6662	6797	28530	100%

Reply:

 

(a) Minister: No trip to China undertaken.

(i) n/a.

(ii) (aa) n/a.

(ii) (bb) n/a.

(b) Deputy Minister: No trip to China undertaken.

(i) n/a.

(ii) (aa) n/a.

(ii) (bb) n/a.

(c) Officials:

Mr Daan du Toit: 21 to 23 May 2014.

(i) To participate in a bilateral meeting with Mr Xu, DDG MOST and the SKA Strategy and Business Development Committee Meeting 4, in China.

(ii) (aa) Total: R18 113.

(ii) (bb) R8 900 air ticket from Brussels and R9 213 accommodation.

Mr Isaac Maredi, Ms Sunita Kalan and Ms Punkah Mdaka: 22 to 26 September 2014.

(i) To participate in the science park development initiatives in China.

(ii) (aa) Total: R69 933.

(ii) (bb) R33 600 three air tickets, R15 333 travel & subsistence for three officials, R18 000 accommodation for 3 officials and R3 000 for shuttle transport to the airport for three officials.

Officials from the DST: Prof Yonah Seleti: 8 to 10 October 2014.

(i) To attend meetings of the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA) and the Belmont Forum in China.

(ii) (aa) Total: R26 432.

(ii) (bb) R12 213 air ticket, R2 576 travel & subsistence, R11 400 accommodation and R243 for parking at the airport.

Official from the DST: Dr P Mjwara: 15 to 17 October 2014.

(i) To participate in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Board of Directors meeting in China.

(ii) (aa) Total: R53 659.

(ii) (bb) R49 939 air ticket and R3 720 accommodation.

Official from the DST: Mr Bruce Tshilamulele: 27 to 28 October 2014.

(i) To participate in the first Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) workshop on pharmaceutical innovation and development in China.

(ii) (aa) Total: R27 189.

(ii) (bb) R12 213 air ticket, R2 576 travel & subsistence, R11 400 accommodation and R1000 for shuttle transport to the airport.

Official from the DST: Dr Cordelia Sita and Ms Anita Mnisi: 7 to 9 November 2014.

(i) To participate in the BRICS Solid State Lighting (SSL) Working Group Meeting, this takes place every year in China around November.

(ii) (aa) Total: R53 950.

(ii) (bb) R41 050 two air-tickets and R12 900 accommodation.

Reply:

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that I have been informed by the National Prosecuting Authority that:

1. 
   The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), South Gauteng indicates that Sandton CAS 63/3/2012 is a case involving theft (shoplifting) of lingerie valued at R99.00 at Woolworths Store in Sandton City on 2 March 2012 committed by a female student, aged 26 years, who appeared in court on 5 March 2012 and the matter was postponed to 20 March 2012. It is however inconceivable that this is a matter that the DA is referring to or interested in. It would assist if the Honourable member of the Democratic Alliance provides more details about the docket the Honourable member is referring to.The Serious and Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) Johannesburg Office only dealt with and declined to prosecute in Sandton CAS 1242/09/2010. The Special Director SCCU and Director of Public Prosecutions, Gauteng, are currently engaging in evaluating the request to review the said decision declining to prosecute in respect of Sandton CAS 1242/09/2010 where the complainant in the matter was Mr Sheldon Chellakooty and not the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). CAS number 63/03/2012 was never referred to the SCCU.
2. See response in (1) above.
3. The findings of the Auditor-General can be obtained from his office. These findings were specifically referred to by the suspect in Sandton CAS 1242/09/2010.
4. The SCCU Johannesburg office in particular has not been contacted.

Reply:

1. (a)The Metsi Matsho project is being built over two phases. The budget of the first Phase was R26, 125,000 and the expenditure incurred was R25, 734,505. The second Phase is under implementation. The budget for the second Phase is R28, 851,326.00 and the expenditure as at 31 July 2015 is R10, 964,585.

(b) The first phase started around August 2011 till October 2013. The second Phase commenced in February 2015 and is expected to be completed in January 2016.

(2) Due to the fact that the land belongs to the community, a Trust has been registered and ownership of the project will ultimately vest with the Trust with the support of the Local Municipality. The department will be assisting the Trust to appoint a private sector operator, to ensure that an operator is in place by the time the project is completed. This will be undertaken through a consultative process with the community and will adhere to the PFMA regulations and principals of Supply Chain Management.

Reply:

In terms of the housing programmes of the National Department of Human Settlements, delivery in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality was as follows:

(a) Total number of housing units completed for the period 01 July 2006 to 30 June 2011: 11 237

(b) Total number of housing units completed for the period 01 July 2011 to 31 May 2015: 5 508

Reply:

1. (a) – (b) (i)-(ii) Numerous engagements were held with PRASA and the Department of Transport (DOT) on both locomotives and coaches procurement to ensure that localisation requirements are fulfilled. Significant inputs were provided on the capabilities of the domestic rolling stock manufacturing sector including comprehensive information on components that should be localised. Efforts to maximise local content are on-going.

The locomotives procurement has been subjected to the National Policy Industrial Participation (NIPP) Programme and discussions on the development of offset projects are advanced. Further, the dti participated in the Rail Inter-Departmental Committee chaired by the DOT so as to provide support and inputs on how the coaches’ procurement can be leveraged to resuscitate and enhance the rail manufacturing capacity and capability.

In addition, engagements with the winning bidder of the coaches tender (Gibela Consortium) are continuing. The contract has provided the department with the opportunity to offer the various incentive programmes to the rolling stock manufacturing firms in order to enable the necessary investments to improve the competitiveness and to meet the Original Equipment Manufacturers’ requirements.

2. The procurement of both coaches and locomotives were not subject to the designation process as the request for proposals were issued before the issuance of the National Treasury Instruction Note ,that provides guidelines for the invitation and evaluation of bids for the procurement of rolling stock sector. This instruction note only came into effect on the 07 December 2011. It is for this reason that the locomotive procurement is subjected to the offset obligation programme as indicated above. Although the designation had not been effected on the coaches’ procurement, the dti played a critical role to ensure the draft policy framework on local content was incorporated into the extensive procurement processes driven by DoT and PRASA, hence the coaches’ tender was issued with a minimum local content of 65%.

 

Reply:

1. It should be noted that in terms of the contemplated regulations, the Minister shall make a final decision with the regard to the place where a CCS veterinarian shall perform compulsory community service, criteria for the selection of places where Compulsory Community Service (CCS) is to be performed and the placement of veterinary graduates are based on key strategic objectives of the Compulsory Community Service (CCS), namely:

(i) To promote accessibility of veterinary services particularly in under-served and resource poor areas,

(ii) To distribute veterinary profession in an equitable manner thereby rectifying the current state of distribution of veterinary personnel and;

(iii)To provide an opportunity for CCS veterinarians to acquire knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will help their professional development.

1. The processes followed for the placement of CCS Veterinarians is complex; this is to ensure that applicants are placed in a fair and equitable manner and to ensure that the aforementioned CCS strategic objectives are realised. In this regard, a comprehensive list of selected available places where CCS is to be performed is sent to prospective graduates. In the list, each CCS place is described in detail including the nature of work.

An electronic application must be completed by prospective graduates, and shall be submitted to DAFF. Applicants are required to make a selection of five (5) provinces and three (3) CCS places of their choice per province resulting in fifteen (15) choices per applicant. The applicant must rank their 15 choices in order of preference, i.e. Choices 1 to 15 with choice 1 being the 1st preferred choice and choice 15 being the least preferred choice. The placement process is based on these fifteen (15) ranked choices.

Once all the applications are received the placement process is as follows:

Step 1:

Applicant’s specific choices were assessed in order of their preferred ranking.

Unique choices (meaning no other applicant has chosen that CCS place for that specific choice) will automatically be allocated to that CCS place.

Where there is more than one applicant applying for the same place within the specific choice then applicants should be randomly placed. These processes are to be repeated until all the fifteen (15) choices are exhausted per applicant.

• For the 2015 cohort, DAFF received a total number of 131 applicants and 110 (84%) applicants were placed during step 1; the rest were subjected to step 2.

 

Step 2:

“Special circumstances”, for example medical conditions, may be considered at the discretion of the placement committee once all the applicant’s fifteen (15) choices are exhausted. Applicants who are not placed after this process are subjected to step 3.

.

• For the 2015 cohort, 5 (4%) applicants were considered for “special circumstances” and the remaining applicants were subjected to step 3.

Step 3:

For applicants that were not placed from the steps above i.e. from their 15 ranked choices, a list of available CCS places are to be sent to the remaining unallocated applicants. Applicants should reapply and rank places according to order of preference. Applicants that are not placed after this process are to be subjected to step 4.

• For the 2015 cohort, 14 (11%) applicants were considered for special circumstances and the rest were subjected to step 4.

Step 4:

Applicants who are not placed during step 1 to 3, if any, are to be placed randomly to the remaining CCS places. This means that the placement committee will allocate all the remaining applicants to all remaining CCS places without awarding them a chance to choose.

• For the 2015 cohort 2 (1%) applicants were considered for special circumstances and rest were subjected to step 4.

Step 5:

All applicants are to be informed by DAFF about their placement and should be given a period of one (1) month to swap their placement with a fellow applicant. This provision should be done in writing using a DAFF standard form. Both applicants are expected to give consent and this marks the end of the placement process.

(3) Since the placement process was mostly done by a random selection process based on the number of available CCS posts, as a result, most of the students are placed by chance or if they selected a CCS place that they are not competing with anyone which was also by chance. Based on the above there was no provision for an appeals process because this will disadvantage other students who have already accepted placements that are least suitable to their needs. Step 5 was designed to alleviate any dissatisfaction among the applicants.

Reply:

No.

Reply:

When a disability grant is approved, the approval is based on set criteria and is not related to the type of disability. Therefore no such information regarding the specifics of the disability is retained on the database. The system only captures the fact that the beneficiary is disabled and not the type of disability.

Reply:

(1) No. However the DTPS, DPSA and SITA have been collaborating on matters regarding e-Government and e-Enablement of the prioritised 5 e-Services. The consultations in between the three institutions was conducted through a working group established by the Directors Generals of the two departments as well as the then SITA CEO. The discussions were continued June and Jul 2105 and SITA was tasked by the DPSA on 15 July 2015 to initiate programmes around the prioritised e-Services.

(2) Yes the SITA has been consulted in respect of the specified strategy. SITA, DPSA and DTPS are collaborating on the e-Enablement of the 5 prioritised Services as outlined in the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019 Outcome 12.4.6 and the DPSA Annual Operation Plan 2015/2016. This strategy is aligned with the 2015 ICT Policy Review Green Paper and SA Connect programme.

Reply:

Neither the Minister, Deputy Minister nor Officials of the Economic Development Department travelled to China in the 2014-15 financial year.

-END-

Reply:

The Honourable Member must refer to my previous reply to question 1960 in which I have outlined the international trips undertaken for benchmarking purposes. The Honourable Member must also be clear in terms of what she is asking for because in the previous question the focus was on the period leading up to SASSA’s promulgation and now the question includes this period post SASSA’s establishment.

Reply:

1. (a) The South African Post Office (SAPO) is currently leasing one thousand two

hundred and forty three (1243) properties from private companies. These consist of Retail outlets, Depots, Office Space and Mail Centres.

(b) As of 6 August 2015 a total of six (6) Retail outlets were locked by the land lord due to non-payment of rentals. Four (4) of these Retail Outlets are located in Kwa-Zulu Natal and two (2) in the Witwatersrand region. In addition, electricity has been disconnected by the land lords in five (5) Retail outlets due to non-payment of rental.

In addition to the abovementioned closed offices, a total of twelve (12) Retail outlets have been closed due to eviction by the land lords since March 2015. Furthermore, five (5) Retail Postal Agencies have been closed by the Agents due to non-payment of their monthly allowance.

2. (a) SAPO is leasing eighteen (18) properties from the Redefine Group.

(b) None of the eighteen (18) properties rented from the Redefine Group are closed

Reply:

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is funded by a levy on fuel sold, which serves as an indirect tax used to fund the payment of compensation and to rehabilitate qualifying persons injured in road crashes. The fuel levy is also used to pay for the loss of support and funeral costs of those qualifying dependents that lost breadwinners in road crashes.

Although drunken driving has an impact on the incidence of road crashes and therefore on the cost of providing compensation, rehabilitation, support and funeral cover; the RAF does not currently maintain information or statistics (a)(i) of the estimated cost, and (ii) actual cost incurred by the RAF as a result of drunken driving and (b) does not have information or statistics of the economic cost of drunken driving in each (i) province and (ii) local authority for the (aa) 2012-13, (bb) 2013-14 and (cc) 2014-15 financial years.

Reply:

(1) the dti has received a total of 1864 applications from 2012 to date requesting exemption letters for the importation of raw materials which are not readily available in South Africa. These raw materials include polyester, nylon, acrylic fibres and textiles dyes and chemicals. The fibres are converted into finished products after manufacturing the yarns and fabrics in the country. Some technical fabrics which were imported in 2012 are now being woven in the country using high performance yarn like aramid yarns and high performance continuous filament polyester and nylon yarns.

(2) The turnaround time for responding to applications is 48 hours maximum due to high volumes received on a daily basis. The turnaround time is within 24 hours if all documentation including supporting letters from suppliers is provided with the applications.

(3) the dti established the South African Sustainable Textiles and Apparel Cluster (SASTAC) through the Clothing and Textiles Competitiveness Programme (CTCP) in close collaboration with all stakeholders. SASTAC is undertaking a comprehensive audit of textile manufacturing capacity and capabilities in the country, amongst other programmes. It is also in the process of developing a website which will make this information, inclusive of traceability, available to both Government entities and any potential supplier to government.

Reply:

At the time of replying to this question the Department was still awaiting a comprehensive response from provincial departments which are responsible for this function. I will furnish the Honourable Member with a reply upon receipt of provincial inputs.

The Member can also look for information through the relevant Provinces.

 

Reply:

1. The following training courses have been offered on “the management of discipline and incapacity issues in the workplace” during the 2012-2015 period.

Course	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	Totals
Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures	80	111	198	-	389
Investigating and Presiding Skills	159	136	145	-	440
PILIR - Policy & Procedure on Incapacity Leave & Ill health			324	166	490
					1319

(2) The NSG has three programmes related to management of discipline and incapacity issues in the workplace. The first is the Grievance and Disciplinary Action Procedures programme. This programme is accredited by the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA) against 2 (two) registered unit standards which are 12139 and 11286. The number of public service employees successfully accredited for this programme is 86 from 2012-2015. The second programme is the Investigating and Presiding Skills programme. This programme is not accredited, and thus has no registration number. The third programme is on Policy on incapacity and ill-health (PILIR). This programme is also not accredited, and thus has no registration number

(3) The NSG conducts training needs analyses on middle and senior management level for national, provincial and local government entities. Education interventions and capacity requirements are determined against the senior and middle management competency frameworks developed by the DPSA as well as specialised competency requirements in areas such as finance, supply chain management and human resources – which deal with issues of managing discipline and incapacity amongst others. Learning and education programmes provided by the NSG therefore meet the needs of public servants regarding the management of discipline and incapacity issues within the public service.

However, Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) reports from the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency (DPME) as well as various reports by the Public Service Commission (PSC) suggest that departments need to increase the numbers of supervisors and managers undergoing training. Also senior managers attending specific NSG programmes are of the view that their performance has improved, but further training in areas of Human Resource Management such as discipline management is necessary. MPAT reports have indicated the following with regards to the handling of disciplinary cases by all National Departments: 41% non-compliance with legal/regulatory standards; 39% partial compliance; 5% full compliance; and 15% full compliance while “doing things smartly”.

The NSG is currently piloting mandatory training for public service Managers and Supervisors beginning with Performance Management Development System (PMDS) training in an endeavour to further meet the training needs regarding HRM including discipline and incapacity management.

Reply:

(a) A preliminary investigation was conducted immediately after the accident by the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), the preliminary report was released on Monday, 20th July 2015. A Board of Inquiry (BOI) is currently underway to determine the root cause that led to the accident.

(b) It is estimated that the BOI process will take three to four months to finalise.

(c) The RSR has appointed specialists for the BOI with a Chairperson of the BOI, Human Factors Specialist and Signaling Specialist.

(d) The estimated cost of damage to both the Rolling Stock and the Infrastructure is R7 567 999.14

(e) Information not yet complete.

(f) See response in (e).

Ministerial Note:

Criteria used to determine compensation?

In the ordinary course of business, and because passengers who get involved in accidents of the nature this one is would invariably sustain injuries which affect each one of them differently, given the extent of such injuries, an opportunity gets created for claims to arise and for litigation to be instituted, by way of exercise of one’s rights, to recover damages that emanates from such accidents.

Ordinarily, the root cause of these types of accidents would be some negligence on the part of PRASA or its operators, and in full cognisance of the fact that passengers involved are affected and inconvenienced in a variety of ways, PRASA has had to, in the past, recognise that most of the passengers who are affected, require assistance that caters for their immediate medical expenses and other damages of the like, depending on the unique personal circumstances of the affected and injured persons. This recognition has led to some acceptance that indeed it is a responsible act of compassion to assist those very passengers PRASA is out to serve, which assistance normally takes place only in circumstances stated here under:

• (a)  That an accident, or incident of the nature this one is must have occurred;

          (b) That any passenger so to be assisted, or compensated, must have been involved in such an accident;

          (c) That such an involved passenger must have sustained bodily injuries, alternatively must have experienced traumatic emotional shock, which then necessitate medical treatment;

       (d)  That such an injured passenger must have received treatment, as a result of the accident and the injuries involved, from the hospital, a clinic or any other medical facility were medical treatment would be rendered; and

      (e) That such injuries sustained have resulted in passengers incurring medical and hospital expenses, or loss of income, or that in future there would be a need for medical treatment, and/or that non pecuniary losses, often referred to as general damages, are indicated.

It is against the background above that PRASA would engage with the affected and injured commuters in order that such a determination for the damages suffered, and/or compensation sought, be made. This exercise normally leads to settlements with the different passengers affected, and subsequently to compensation, as may be, depending on the nature of the injuries suffered.

Further, it is to be noted that over and above verifying the details and the information or documents as indicated above, and in respect on non-pecuniary damages, PRASA embarks upon a strict process of assessing damages by relying on useful legal tools and remedies that solely depend on legal authorities given the seriousness of the injury or injuries involved. The assessment of general damages, it must be added, is to a great extent arbitrary and incapable of true economic evaluation. There are strict guidelines, though, that are followed, that are dictated to by documents like the Quantum Yearbook, by Robert Koch, and Quantum of Damages, by Corbett & Buchanan, as an indication of what the estimation of such compensation should be.

There are no statutory limitations on what an affected passenger can recover from PRASA, and such passengers have a constitutional right, on common law grounds, to institute proceedings against PRASA, which they normally do through the assistance of attorneys.

Reply:

The three former Non-Executive Directors of the SABC were removed by the Board of Directors of the SABC in terms of section 71 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008.

The Minister of Communications as the shareholder representative in respect of the SABC SOC Ltd had informed me to note the resolution of the SABC Board of Directors in respect of the removal of the said Non-Executive Directors.

In making any appointment, I apply my mind to all aspects deserving of consideration.

Reply:

1. and (2)

The National Treasury recently circulated proposed draft amendments to the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) Regulations, 2015 for comment. The Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) has since responded officially to the draft amendments to the Regulations through the Office of the Director-General.

In the main, the dti confined its comments to the preference point system, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and local content. The substance of the comments is contained in the Submission to the National Treasury. An official response is awaited from the National Treasury.

Furthermore the dti has requested a further engagement with the National Treasury to support and clarify its comments, if the need arises. The position of the dti is that public procurement is an important industrial policy instrument and should be appropriately enshrined in any amendments to the Regulations of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act in combination with other policy objectives, inclusive of broad-based black economic empowerment.

Reply:

1-4 Government promulgated the revised Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity 2010 - 2030 (IRP2010) in March 2011. The IRP made provision for 9.6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity expansion.

The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) chaired the Nuclear Energy Sub-Working Group (NESWG) on Localisation, Industrialisation and Skills Development, with key economic departments and state owned companies (SOC) as participants, in support of the Nuclear Energy Working Group (NEWG).

The NESWG on Localisation, Industrialisation and Skills Development submitted its reports to the Department of Energy (DoE) dealing with all matters assigned to it.

All documents of the NESWG are classified as Top Secret and are in the possession of the DoE.

The Minister and Department of Energy have a constitutional mandate for national energy and energy related matters, inclusive of nuclear energy. Requests for programme specific information should therefore be directed to the Minister of Energy.