Questions and Replies

Reply:

On page 96 of the Annual Report 2014/15 ‘Travel and Substance’ are listed under Appropriation per Economic Classification under ‘Goods and Services’. Also listed, amongst others, is the Final Appropriation and audited Actual Expenditure in regard to travel and subsistence. But more specifically, the figures obtained from the travel agent show that Minister and Deputy Minister travelled between Cape Town and Johannesburg 35 times at a total cost of R202 488 and 33 times at a total cost of R222 693, respectively during the financial year in question.

Reply:

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

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

The elements that are assessed in the standards are on:

• whether members of the Senior Management Service (SMS) in departments are complying with the requirements to submit their financial disclosures by 31 May of each financial year; and
• whether disciplinary action is taken against SMS members who do not comply with these requirements.
• In addition, the standard assesses whether departments have mechanisms of communicating sections or provisions of the Public Service Code of Conduct to new and existing employees on an annual basis.
  
  a)   Whilst the 2014 MPAT assessment results are still being finalised, the results show that there was a notable improvement between 2012 and 2013 assessments, with the average compliance moving from 1.8 in 2012 to 2.8 in 2013. The total number of departments that complied with this standard are 118 out of a total of 152 departments.
  
  b)   90 departments (24 national and 66 provincial) met the level 3 requirements of the standard whilst 28 departments (9 national and 19 provincial) exceeded the requirements.
  
  END

Reply:

All citizens have the responsibility to report cases of fraud and crime to the South African Police Services. The Honourable Member is encouraged to do the same. The Police will investigate and if there is sufficient evidence, they will arrest those who commit these crimes. The Courts are tasked with the responsibility to test the evidence and pass judgement regarding those who are found guilty.

END

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 Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill has not been subjected to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIAS). SEIAS was only introduced this year after approval by Cabinet in February 2015. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) conducted a series of awareness and inductions between April and June 2015 for departments to institutionalise the SEIAS. About 136 officials in 33 departments were trained on SEIAS application.

The implementation of SEIAS for developing or amending policies, legislations and regulations came into effect from 01 July 2015.

Reply:

The above Bill and Regulations have not been subjected to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIAS). SEIAS was only introduced this year after approval by Cabinet in February 2015. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) conducted series of awareness and inductions between April and June 2015 for departments to institutionalise the SEIAS.

The implementation of SEIAS for developing or amending policies, legislations and regulations came into effect from 01 July 2015.

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 2 September 2015 and published in the ATC of 7 September 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.

Reply:

The methodology for Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) is only developed to monitor the contribution of the tourism sector to the economy on a national level. Noting that tourism, and the management thereof, is of particular interest to policy makers and government structures on a sub-national level, the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) embarked on a process to develop Tourism Economic Accounts (TEA) that will allow for similar information on a lower level of geographic disaggregation.

This will take a number of years as there is no agreed international framework or standard. The development of provincial TEA is driven by UNWTO which produced a provisional set of concepts and definitions in May 2015. This is currently open for global consultation until September 2015.