Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) No, as ststed in my response to PQ2015/2464 I am not aware of these assertions.

(2) I intend writing to the MEC responsible for local government in Gauteng, in terms of Section 106(4)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No.32 of 2000), requesting him to commission an investigation into the matter.

Reply:

I am not aware of these assertions.

I intend writing to the MEC responsible for local government in Gauteng, in terms of Section 106(4)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No.32 of 2000), requesting him to commission an investigation into the matter.

 

Reply:

I am not aware of these assertions.

I intend writing to the MEC responsible for Local Government in Gauteng, in terms of Section 106(4) (b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No.32 of 2000), requesting him to commission an investigation into the matter.

I will await the outcome of the investigation to determine whether or not there are findings that will enable me to provide specific responses in respect of sub-questions (1),(2) and (3).

Reply:

I am not aware of these assertions, nor, have not investigated this matter and therefore, I have not established any facts surrounding this matter.

I intend writing to the MEC responsible for Local Government in Gauteng, in terms of Section 106(4)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No.32 of 2000), requesting him to commission and investigation into the matter.

Reply:

The department is currently gathering the information required to respond to this question as it is not information that is readily available. After the details of the 12 auditees referred to in the General report have been received from the Auditor General, each of these municipalities will be requested to provide the details of the cases that constituted the total of the irregular expenditure in question in order to respond to part two of the question.

The response will be provided as soon as possible after this information is made available.

Reply:

NATIONAL TREASURY

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 58 945.10	R 60 760.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 131 131.69	R 31 640.00
(cc) 2014-15	R 183 605.28	R 0.00

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES BOARD

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 18 148.80	R 24 519.39
(bb) 2013-14	R 18 148.80	---
(cc) 2014-15	R 53 286.74	---

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PENSION FUND

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 64 022.40	R 87 723.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 0.00	R 0.00
(cc) 2014-15	R 0.00	R 0.00

GOVERNMENT PENSIONS ADMINISTRATION AGENCY

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 726 707.52	R 812 130.97
(bb) 2013-14	R 598 581.50	R 705 080.88
(cc) 2014-15	R 462 578.27	R 362 853.79

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BOARD FOR AUDITORS

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 20 174.00	R 0.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 53 904.90	R 0.00
(cc) 2014-15		R 0.00

LAND BANK

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 47 174.02	R 0.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 107 963.33	R 0.00
(cc) 2014-15	R 149 736.10	R 0.00

PENSION FUNDS ADJUDICATOR

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 8 166.96	R 0.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 0.00	R 0.00
(cc) 2014-15	R 0.00	R 0.00

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 80 028.00	R 421 956.70
(bb) 2013-14	R 0.00	R 116 520.77
(cc) 2014-15	R 648 226.80	R 62 996.40

SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 892, 611.88	R 651, 197.07
(bb) 2013-14	R 794, 341.85	R 452, 260.17
(cc) 2014-15	R 1, 405, 492.00	R 827, 689.12

SASRIA

Financial year	The Sowetan	The Daily Sun
(aa) 2012-13	R 0.00	R 0.00
(bb) 2013-14	R 0.00	R 0.00
(cc) 2014-15	R 33 744.00	R 0.00

Other entities have not spent any funds on advertising in Sowetan and The Daily Sun during the financial years in question.

Reply:

The following response is based on the information provided by Ekurhuleni, EThekwini, City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, City of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung Metropolitan municipalities. The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality did not meet the deadline for submission of responses. However, the municipality has been requested to respond accordingly. The information will be delivered to the Honourable Member as soon as it is received:

1)

Municipality	Qualified and Registered engineers
City of Johannesburg	68
Ekurhuleni Metro	170
City of Tshwane	328
Mangaung	10
City of Cape Town	547
EThekwini	55
Nelson Mandela Bay	53

2)

Municipality	Field of specialisation of each specified engineer in respect of civil engineering, electrical engineering and any other engineers employed
Ekurhuleni	Energy :71 Engineers Roads and storm water : 44 engineers Water and sanitation:55 engineers
City of Tshwane	74 Engineers/ Engineer Technologists 185 engineers/technologists 67 Civil Engineers/ Engineer Technologists 2 Civil Engineers/ Engineer Technologists
City of Johannesburg	Technical Engineers (Water); Civil Engineering (Water); Civil Engineering; Capital Planning Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Electrical Engineering: Network Planning; Network & Services Planning; Network operations; Electrification; Electrical Technology; Plant Test; Roads Engineers: Local Roads Planning; Economic Roads Planning; Road Safety; Storm water Planning; Freight Standards and Compliance; and Freight Infrastructure Support.
Mangaung	8: Civil Engineering 2: Project Engineering
City of Cape Town	2: Chemical Engineers 134: Civil Engineers 11: Construction Engineers 2: Development Engineers 31: Electrical Engineers 208: Engineers I ii iii iv 12: Mechanical Engineers 2: Network Engineers: 2 145: Project Engineers
EThekwini	55: Civil Engineers Information on other engineers is outstanding.
Nelson Mandela Bay	53 Civil engineers

3)

Municipality	how many vacancies exist for qualified and registered engineers in each metropolitan municipality	what is the job title of each vacancy and	since what date has each position been vacant
Ekurhuleni	44 vacancies	See attached	See attached
City of Tshwane	96 vacancies	Job titles vary between Chief engineers, engineering consultant/technologist and engineers and engineering technicians	80 positions since December 2013 Transport Department, 45 positions since the structure was approved. They are unfunded. Tshwane Rapid Transit: The 4 positions are all new. They are unfunded and part of the current approved structure.
City of Johannesburg	16 vacancies	1 :Manager: Technical Co-ordination; 1 :Senior Engineer: Local Roads Planning; 1 :Senior Engineer: Economic Roads Planning; 2 :Manager Regional Storm water Planning Region; 3 :Manager: Network Planning; 1 :Manager: Road Safety Engineer; 1 :Manager: Freight Standards and Compliance; 1 :Manager: Freight Infrastructure Support; 1 :Network & Services Planning; 1 :Network operations; 1 :Electrification; 1 :Capital Planning; and 1 :Plant Test.
Mangaung	45 vacancies	Job Title: Engineer in Training//Senior// First Engineer	The majority of vacant posts are new posts on the MMM structure and have been created with effect from August 2012.
City of Cape Town	55 vacancies	Senior Professional Officer: Tenders and	05-May-15
		Professional Officer	30-Apr-15
		Principal Professional Officer	21-Apr-15
		Senior Professional Officer	21-Apr-15
		Senior Professional Officer	21-Apr-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Apr-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Apr-15
		Waste Water Treatment Works Manager	01-Apr-15
		Pump Station Manager	05-Mar-15
		Professional Officer	01-Mar-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Mar-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Feb-15
		Head: Asset Management Water	01-Feb-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Feb-15
		Senior Professional Officer	20-Jan-15
		Principal Professional Officer	01-Jan-15
		Senior Professional Officer: Infra Man	01-Jan-15
		Bulk Water Storage & Conveyance Specialist	01-Jan-15
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Dec-14
		Professional Officer	25-Nov-14
		Professional Officer	25-Nov-14
		Professional Officer	25-Nov-14
		Professional Officer	25-Nov-14
		Professional Officer	18-Nov-14
		Senior Professional Officer	18-Nov-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Nov-14
		Co-ordinator: Transmission System Developer	01-Nov-14
		Professional Officer	01-Nov-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Nov-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Nov-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Nov-14
		Head: Water Laboratory	01-Oct-14
		Professional Officer	01-Oct-14
		Professional Officer	01-Aug-14
		Professional Officer	01-Jul-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Jul-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Jul-14
		Head: Fleet Management	01-Jun-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-May-14
		Head: Quantity Survey	04-Apr-14
		Senior Professional Officer	18-Mar-14
		Senior Professional Officer	01-Mar-14
		Professional Officer	01-Jan-14
		Head: Public Transport Survey & Analysis	01-Dec-13
		District Manager: Waste Water Ops	01-Sep-13
		Principal Professional Officer	07-Aug-13
		Director: HS Planning & NHP Implementati	01-Aug-13
		Principal Professional Officer	01-Aug-13
		Chief Mechanical Design Engineer	01-Jul-13
		Head: Integrated Waste Man Strat & Pol	25-Jun-13
		Bulk Water Scheme Manager	01-Feb-13
		Principal Professional Officer: IMS-DS	01-Jan-13
		District Manager: Waste Water Ops	01-Jan-13
		Professional Officer	01-Oct-12
		Pump Station Manager	01-Sep-12
EThekwini	69 vacancies	Professional engineer	31/05/2014
		Professional engineer	29/06/2011
		Professional engineer (chemical)	01/07/2012
		Professional engineer (chemical)	01/07/2012
		Professional engineer (chemical)	01/07/2012
		Professional engineer (chemical)	06/12/2010
		Professional engineer (electrical)	02/05/2014
		Professional engineer (electronics)	31/10/2014
		Professional engineer (mechanical)	06/07/2014
		Senior professional engineer (civil)	31/05/2012
		Senior professional engineer (civil)	01/12/2014
		Information is outstanding
Nelson Mandela Bay	16 vacancies	16 technicians	5 technicians: 2010 2 technicians: 2011 2 technicians: 2012 2 technicians: 2013 4 technicians: 2014

 

4)

Municipality	Whether there are any criteria determining the number of engineers in each field to be employed by each type of municipality; if not, why not; if so,	b) what are the relevant details and	c) where is this codified
City of Johannesburg	Positions are determined in terms of the approved Organisational Structure and the service delivery requirements	This is determined in terms of the approved Organisational Structure.	This is determined in terms of the approved Organisational Structure.
Ekurhuleni	The number of engineers needed is determined in collaboration with the relevant Head of Department by means of a functional analysis and work study.
City of Tshwane	Service Infrastructure –Water and Sanitation , Transport Department and TRT	The details are on approved structure of the department	The details are on approved structure of the department
	Transport Department and TRT	Organizational Structure	Organizational Structure
Mangaung	Not provided	Not aware of any criteria determining the number of engineers in each field.
City of Cape Town	Yes. Competency framework for local government occupational streams	Knowledge, experience and qualifications	Not provided
EThekwini	Yes	ECSA and Water Services Act requirement	ECSA and Water Services Act
Nelson Mandela Bay	Yes	1 Professional engineer. 4 technologist and technicians	ECSA and SAICE

 

Reply:

Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

1. Yes

(aa)(i) Amount	(aa)(ii) Person	(aa)(iii) Reason
R2 443 574.83	Ms Lindiwe Gail Msengana-Ndlela	Re-determination of term of office

The CRL Rights Commission

(bb)(i) Amount	(bb)(ii) Person	(bb)(iii) Reason
R 1 397 711.20	Adv. Moreroa (former CEO)	Based on certain complaints received by the Commission, the Commission initiated an internal investigation into such complaints. During the course of the investigation, the CEO reached an agreement with the Commission to terminate his services and therefore the investigation was suspended.

The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

1. Yes

(bb)(i) Amount	(bb)(ii) Person	(bb)(iii) Reason
R385 683.00	Clayton Sebastiaan Swart	During January and February 2014, the former Chief Executive Officer made offers of employment to three candidates, although the Board had taken a decision that the three candidates should not be appointed. The Board overturned the decision of the former Chief Executive Officer that the employment offers be retracted and invalidated. The three candidates took the matter to court, after which the matter was settled out of court.
R192 827.00	Thandokuhle Ignatias Ngoza
R143 717.00	Tsholanang Sinatra Polori
R1 691 622.00	Gabusile Caroline Gumbi-Masilela	The former Chief Executive Officer was suspended by the previous Board on 12 February 2014, pending an investigation. In March 2014, the new Board and the former Chief Executive Officer reached an out of court agreement resulting in the termination of the employment contract.

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

The South African Local Government Association has not paid out the remainder of any employee's contract before the contractually stipulated date of termination of the contract since the 2008-09 financial year up to the latest specified date.

The South African Cities Network (SACN)

The South African Cities Network has not paid out the remainder of any employee's contract before the contractually stipulated date of termination of the contract since the 2008-09 financial year up to the latest specified date.

Reply:

Attached find here: Reply

Reply:

The Office for Witness Protection (OWP) is an independent covert office and is a sub-programme of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Its mandate is derived from the Witness Protection Act 112 of 1998.

Witness protection, in terms of the Witness Protection Act, is not a police or prosecution function; therefore the honourable Minister of Police is not the correct minister to respond to the said questions (as in PQ 2395).

Regarding the question posed to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, I wish to inform the Honorable member as follows:               

1. For the financial periods 2001/02 up to 2014/15 and current financial year up to date, no witness or their related person/s were attacked, threatened or killed while in the programme.
2. Falls away.
3. Falls away.

Reply:

(a) (i) The Department of Basic Education spent R50 800 on advertising in the Sowetan Newspaper during the period (aa) 2012 - 2013 while R14 080 was spent during the period (bb) 2013-14 and a further R 29.611.20 in the (cc) 2014-15 financial years

(ii) The Department of Basic Education spent R 56,640.00 on advertising in the Daily Sun Newspaper during the period (aa) 2012 -2013, R28,240.00 during the period (bb) 2013-14 and R 67 929 in the (cc) 2014-15 financial years

(b) Umalusi (i) Umalusi did not spend on advertising in the Sowetan during the period (2012 - 15) (ii) Umalusi did not spend on advertising in the Daily Sun during the (aa) 2012-13 and the (bb) 2013-14 financial years, R 93 270.44 was spent during the (cc) 2014-15 financial year.

(b) South African Council for Educators (SACE) did not spend any money on advertising in the (i) Sowetan nor did it spend in the (ii) Daily Sun during the (aa) 2012-2013, (bb) 2013-14 and (cc) 2014-15 financial years.

Reply:

(1) What (a) are the details of the baseline assessments carried out in February 2015 prior to the commencement of the piloting of three alternative interventions in selected schools in the districts of (i) Ngaka Modiri Molema and (ii) Dr Kenneth Kaunda in April 2015 and (b) methodology was utilised in each of the interventions;

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is evaluating three new interventions aimed at improving early grade reading. The evaluation is being conducted through a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate the causal impacts of the following three interventions: (i) a teacher training course focused specifically on the teaching of Setswana reading and literacy. accompanied by scripted lesson plans and graded reading materials; (ii) an on-site support programme to teachers from reading coaches, accompanied by scripted lesson plans and graded reading materials; (iii) and a package designed to improve parent involvement in - and monitoring of - learning to read.

Each intervention is being implemented in a group of 50 schools over a period of two years in North-West Province (specifically, in the education districts of Ngaka Modiri Molema and Dr Kenneth Kaunda). A further 80 schools have been selected as a comparison group.

The project has two arms: 1) a service provider undertaking the implementation of the project interventions. 2) An independent service provider conducting the assessment of the project's impact.
The separation of the services required is in line with best practices to maintain objectivity between implementers of the interventions and assessors of the impact in order to attain objective findings.
Both service providers have been appointed.

(1a)
In line with the RCT design and project plan. a baseline assessment of all the 230 schools in the research project was conducted from 3-24 February 2015 by the appointed service provider. The service provider was not informed of the distinct groups of schools as part of the mechanisms to eliminate a bias.

The service provider that conducted the baseline assessment is still in the process of finalising the data collected. The DBE, in partnership with a Research Team of local and international experts, will then process the data and compile a baseline report by October 2015.

(1b)
The same assessment methodology was used in the baseline assessment for all 230 schools in the research project. The baseline assessment consisted of the testing of 20 Grade I learners in each of the 230 schools in the research project. The test focused on pre-literacy skills and was administered orally by an independent fieldworker in Setswana. In addition, questionnaires were administered to the Grade 1 teachers and school principals. A home background questionnaire was also administered.

(2) Who (a) developed and (b) provided the training to the teachers involved in the specified interventions;

As indicated above, the DBE appointed a second service provider to implement all three interventions in the research project according to the approved Terms of Reference. Each of the three interventions requires specific deliverable5 from the service provider; the same applies for the interventions based on teacher training and on-site support. The service provider has considerable experience in running similar training programmes in the sector and has therefore developed and improved the content over a period of time. The content was then adapted for this project by the service provider. The training and on-site support is provided by employees of the service provider, including former teachers who are fluent in Setswana.

The Terms of Reference specify that all material developed/used for the research interventions must be Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) aligned. A Reference Group consisting of the implementation service provider, representative from the North West Provincial Education Department (PED), Subject Advisors from the Ngaka Modiri Molema District and the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District as well as DBE officials in the Curriculum Branch has ken established to review the materials used for the project.

(3)Whether the teachers' abilities to teach reading skills were assessed either before or after the training; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

The study did not administer any substantive assessment of teacher knowledge or pedagogical skill for those teachers receiving the training programme. The research design would require that such a test would be valuable if it were administered to all teachers in the evaluation. i.e. also those teachers in the control group.

The research design in its current format. as it follows an RCT methodology, would have allowed the testing of only the 50 schools in the intervention (i) a teacher training course focused specifically on the reaching of Setswana reading and literacy. accompanied by scripted lesson plans and graded reading materials. This would provide the DBE with information on these schools only but the same information would not be available for the remaining 180 schools, and thus no comparison would be possible. Therefore. testing only those teachers who are participating in the training programme would have been of limited value.

The DBE did. however. administer teacher questionnaires in all 230 schools as pan of the data collection effort. These questionnaires collect information about teaching beliefs and practices (thus providing some indication of pedagogical knowledge). The DBE will again collect this information at the end of the interventions to examine whether teachers improved their knowledge of effective teaching methods through the programme. A small component of the teacher questionnaire administered at baseline was also a short reading fluency test in Setswana.

This was a very rudimentary assessment, but it will enable the department to explore whether the success of a training programme depends on the teacher's own reading fluency. The DBE plans on assessing reading fluency after the intervention again, to see whether their own reading fluency might have improved through the training.

All the data collected in this project will be made available for public release for further research purposes once the project reaches completion. i.e. no sooner than July 2017.

(4) What are the relevant details of other alternative interventions to address reading And literacy being (a) piloted, (b) implemented and (c) planned elsewhere in the county?

a) Piloted

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) is currently being piloted in 1000 schools nationally in Grades 1 to 3 in all 11 official languages.

b) Implemented

The resuscitation of the Drop All and Read programme is being implemented nationally. The English Across the Curriculum (EAC) programme is being implemented in Grades 4 to 12 to support the acquisition of English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). The provision of Workbooks. reading resources, the hosting of the annual National Spelling Bee Competition, the establishment of reading clubs and the implementation of the Annual National Assessments (ANA) in Grades I to 9 in 2015 is aimed at improving reading and literacy outcomes.

c) Planned elsewhere in the country? The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) has rolled out literacy projects in the Foundation and intermediate phases in targeted districts in KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Mpumalanga. This project i s currently being replicated in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

Reply:

(a) Yes.

(b) Yes.

2014 / 2015 Financial year:

The Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa is, in accordance with section 165 of the Constitution, the Head of the Judiciary, an independent arm of the State and by virtue of his position, receives invitations from various international judicial bodies which he sometimes has to honour. Additionally, the Chief Justice is also one of the Vice-Presidents of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa, a body comprising 34 members of Constitutional Courts and Constitutional Councils in Africa, established to promote constitutional justice within the Continent and responsible for ensuring compliance with the Constitution. He is also a member of the Southern African Chief Justices’ Forum, a body comprising of all the Chief Justices in the Southern and East Africa intended to deal with issues affecting the Judiciary in the SADC region. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa is also a member of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice comprising of 71 Constitutional Courts, Councils and Supreme Courts, with the aim of promoting constitutional justice.

(i) Turkey

In April 2014, the Chief Justice attended the 2nd Congress of the Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions, and the 52nd Anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Turkey, in his capacity as the Vice-President of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa which was held in Instanbul, Turkey, at the invitation of the President of the Turkish Constitutional Court. The Chief Justice gave a speech at the conference and also chaired a session on “The Role of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts in the Protection of Constitutional Order”.

(ii) (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Acting Director: Executive Support Services; and the Security Coordinator.

(i) Nigeria

In July 2014, the Chief Justice attended and addressed a Judicial Reforms Conference at the invitation of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association which was held in Abuja, Nigeria.

(ii) (aa) Five.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services; Executive Personal Assistant to the Chief Justice; and the Security Coordinator.

(i) Zambia

In September 2014, the Chief Justice attended the Annual General Meeting of the Southern African Chief Justices’ Forum at the invitation of the acting Chief Justice of Zambia.

(ii) (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services; and the Protocol Coordinator.

(i) South Korea

In September 2014, the Chief Justice attended the 3rd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice of which the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa is a member, at the invitation of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Korea and the President of the Venice Commission. The Chief Justice chaired a session and gave remarks on “Constitutional Instruments Enhancing / Dealing with / for Social Integration.

1. (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services; and the Security Coordinator.

(i) United Kingdom

In October 2014, the Chief Justice attended the Opening of the Legal Year in England and Wales at the invitation of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice of the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom.

1. (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services; and the Security Coordinator.

(i) Singapore

In October 2014, the Chief Justice went to Singapore and delivered a Lecture on “Twenty Years of the South African Constitution – Origins, Aspirations and Delivery” to the Singapore Academy of Law at the invitation of the Chief Justice of Singapore and President of the Singapore Academy of Law. The Office of the Chief Justice in Singapore paid for the air travel and accommodation for the Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and his Spouse.

1. (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Director: Executive Support Services; Executive Personal Assistant; and the Security Coordinator.

(i) Swaziland

In November 2014, the Chief Justice was requested by the Executive Committee of the SADC Lawyers Association, International Commission of Jurists and the Justices of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa to discuss concerns regarding the Swaziland Judiciary.

1. (aa) Two.

(bb) Director: Executive Support Services and the Security Coordinator.

(i) Mozambique

In February 2015, the Chief Justice attended the Fifth Session of the Executive Bureau of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA) as Vice President of the CCJA, at the invitation of the President of the CCJA.

1. (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services and the Security Coordinator.

(i) United Kingdom

In February 2015, the Chief Justice attended and addressed the Global Law Summit marking the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta at the invitation of the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom.

1. (aa) Three

(bb) Director: Executive Support Services; Protocol Coordinator; the Security Coordinator.

The following is applicable to all the official visits abroad for the 2014 / 2015 financial year as listed above:

 

1. (aa) The Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the Office of the Chief Justice, approved that the relevant officials may use air travel in business class to render the required in transit close proximity support to the Chief Justice as provided for in paragraph 3.2 of the Handbook for Members of the Executive and Presiding Officers, the “Ministerial handbook”. The Office of the Chief Justice uses the Ministerial Handbook as a guide in the absence of an approved handbook for the Judiciary. The referred paragraph stipulates as follows: “In cases where Members perform official functions by virtue of their office, and where this is in their opinion warranted, a member (or members, as the nature of the official duty prescribe) of the Private Office staff may accompany them and stay in the same hostelry and travel in the same class at Government expense”.

(bb) To enable the members of the delegation to render close proximity support to the Chief Justice whilst in the foreign country and in keeping with the provisions of paragraph 3.2 of the Ministerial handbook as quoted in paragraph (iii) (aa) above, the Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the Office of the Chief Justice, approved that the delegation use the same accommodation as the Chief Justice.

2015 / 2016 Financial year

(i) Republic of Gabon

In May 2015, the Chief Justice attended the Third Congress of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA) in his capacity as Vice President of the CCJA, at the invitation of the President of the CCJA. The Chief Justice chaired a session on the “The Synthesis of Responses to the Questionnaire by the Anglophone Constitutional Courts and Councils.”

1. (aa) Four.

(bb) Chief Justice’s Spouse; Acting Head: Judicial Policy, Research and JSC; Director: Executive Support Services; and the Security Coordinator.

1. (aa) The Secretary-General of the Office of the Chief Justice, approved that the relevant officials may use air travel in business class to render the required in transit close proximity support to the Chief Justice as provided for in paragraph 3.2 of the Handbook for Members of the Executive and Presiding Officers, the “Ministerial handbook”. The Office of the Chief Justice uses the Ministerial Handbook as a guide in the absence of an approved handbook for the Judiciary. The referred paragraph stipulates as follows: “In cases where Members perform official functions by virtue of their office, and where this is in their opinion warranted, a member (or members, as the nature of the official duty prescribe) of the Private Office staff may accompany them and stay in the same hostelry and travel in the same class at Government expense”.

(bb) To enable the members of the delegation to render close proximity support to the Chief Justice whilst in the foreign country and in keeping with the provisions of paragraph 3.2 of the Ministerial handbook as quoted in paragraph (iii) (aa) above, the Secretary-General of the Office of the Chief Justice, approved that the delegation use the same accommodation as the Chief Justice.

Reply:

(1)(a)&(b) Yes, the Department is / has taken various steps to prevent or reduce the use of unauthorized communication devices within Correctional Centres. These steps include the following:

• The launching of a Back-2-Basics security campaign aimed at reasserting the importance of basic security measures and competencies such as searching of persons and goods.

• As part of broader engagements, the Department is part of an inter-departmental process exploring technical counter-measures in part response to gangs as a security threat group. This is a conscious effort to partner with other state law enforcement agencies in finding sustainable solutions to the holistic challenges (including integrity management of personnel).

• The searching of inmate cells and belongings at irregular (extraordinary) times to find and remove unauthorized communication devices that may have entered the Correctional facilities.

• The installation of cell phone detection systems in various Correctional Centres to assist officials in the identification and removing of unauthorized communication devices. Cell phone detection systems have been installed (or are currently in the process of being installed) at 39 Correctional Centres.
• The Department is also in the process of installing 14 Body Scanners at 7 Correctional Centres to further assist officials.
• The Department has initiated a process of engagement with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to explore various technical and/or legal solutions – including but not limited to cellphone jamming.

(2)&(3) In response to questions 2 and 3 the following information is provided in table format:

(2)How many unauthorised communication devices have been confiscated from:	(i)(aa) 200910,	(i)(bb) 201011	(i)(cc) 201112,	(i)(dd) 201213	(i)(ee) 201314	(i)(ff) 201415	(ii)1 April 2015 up to 31 May 2015
2(a) Remand detainees	2899	4276	7238	10399	9394	13119	2498
3(a)(i) Type and quantity of communication devices confiscated
Cell phones	1712	2908	4808	6722	6167	8482	1693
SIM Cards	1187	1368	2422	3665	3214	4616	792
DSTV Walker device	0	0	0	2	2	5	0
Chargers	0	0	8	10	10	12	13
Cell phone watch	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Memory cards	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Memory sticks (usb)	0	0		0	0	1	0
2(b) Convicted Inmates	1191	2865	5479	7594	11976	15482	4003
3(a)(ii) Type and quantity of communication devices confiscated
Cell phones	767	2071	3614	5227	8070	9447	2430
SIM Cards	346	673	1677	2100	3395	5486	1475
DSTV Walker device	0	0	0	1	11	4	2
Chargers	0	0	0	0	8	28	3
Cell phone watch	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Memory sticks	3	8	11	4	6	3	3
Memory cards	72	99	173	259	475	486	89
Cellphone battery	0	0	0	0	4	7	0
Modem	3	3	4	3	3	2	1
Drifter	0	0	0	0	3	19	0
Bank cards	0	10	0	0	0	0	0
Hard drive	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

Reply:

In the 2013-14 financial year -

(a) the following national Road Accident Fund roadshows were hosted:	in the following provinces:	(b)(i) the budget for the respective roadshows were:	(b)(ii) the expenditure for the respective roadshows were:
Balfour	Mpumalanga	R 350 000	R 72 053.40
Mamelodi	Gauteng	R 350 000	R 145 400.00
Cape Town - Nyanga	Western Cape	R 350 000	R 100 000.00
Venda - Thohoyandou	Limpopo	R 350 000	R 215 266,00
Welkom - Thabong	Free State	R 350 000	R 184 268.60
Mafikeng - Barolong	North West	R 350 000	R 264 063.00
Eastern Cape - Mt. Frere	Eastern Cape	R 350 000	R 201 708.00
Kwazulu Natal - Port Shepstone	Kwazulu Natal	R 350 000	R 197 831.34
Polokwane	Limpopo	R 350 000	R 185 668.6
Kimberley	Northern Cape	R 350 000	R 599 014.54
Bloemfontein - Mangaung	Free State	R 350 000	R 547 692.04
Port Elizabeth: Kwa - Zakhele	Eastern Cape	R 350 000	R 75 580.00
Bushbuckridge	Mpumalanga	R 350 000	R 122 655.00
Upington	Northern Cape	R 350 000	R 298 930.98
Eastern Cape - Umthatha	Eastern Cape	R 350 000	R 486 401.52
Gauteng - Soweto	Gauteng	R 350 000	R 228 994.42
Durban - Umlazi	Kwazulu Natal	R 350 000	R 332 458.00
Secunda	Mpumalanga	R 350 000	R 259 269.75

In the 2013-14 financial year the Road Accident Fund assisted a total of 20 490 people at RAF on the Road.

Reply:

(a) One hundred and twelve (112) applications for medical parole were received in the 2013-2014 financial year.

(b) Thirty eight (38) applications were recommended by the Medical Parole Advisory Board (MPAB) and out of this thirty seven (37) were successfully released. One (01) not released due to lack of family support.

(c) Fifty nine (59) applications were not recommended by the MPAB for medical parole as they did not meet criteria for release. None of these applicants died whilst incarcerated.

For the remaining fifteen (15):

• Seven (7) died before they could be examined by the Medical Parole Advisory Board (MPAB):
• One (1) died whilst awaiting further medical examination and
• Seven (7) are awaiting further review by the MPAB.

Reply:

(1) An intergovernmental agreement was signed between the governments of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and Botswana in 2006. Further to this an MOU was signed between Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Eskom in 2006 giving effect to PPA discussions. Following this, the PPA negotiations commenced between Eskom and CIC Energy. CIC Energy presented a commercial offer to Eskom in March 2009. Eskom indicated that it would defer its decision on the offer until such time as an appropriate enabling environment had been created and the funding model resolved. These events were then superseded by the gazetting of the Integrated Resources Plan 2010 (IRP 2010) and the Regulations on New Power Generation projects by the Department of Energy (DoE). This put the onus of procurement on DoE. The Honorable Member is therefore advised to redirect this particular question to the Minister of Energy.

(2)(a) This is unknown. As an example the new and smaller Moropule B power plant in Botswana is experiencing significant time delays and performance issues. Assuming the construction of Mmamabula was concluded on time and performed reliably, the level of reduction in load shedding would have been commensurate with the capacity purchased by the RSA. Therefore, load shedding may not have been possible to prevent even with this project in commercial operation at this time.

(2)(b) I am not in a position to respond on the entire project as the power to stop or commence with the project lies with the developer. Eskom is not aware of whether or not the developer engaged with the DoE regarding advancing the project further. The Honorable Member is advised to redirect the question to the Minister of Energy.

(3) The Honorable Member is advised to redirect the question to the Minister of Energy.

Reply:

According to the information received from the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, there was no record of a forensic investigation report on the matter. There is no record of the alleged report being tabled at the Council of Makhado Municipality.

Reply:

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development spent the following amounts on advertising: Publication (aa) 2012/2013 (bb) 2013/2014 (cc) 2014/2015 Sowetan N.A. R1,899,151.22 R2,207,842.37 Daily Sun N.A. R2,184,923.24 R1,894,286.46 (i)Legal Aid SA: Publication (aa) 2012/2013 (bb) 2013/2014 (cc) 2014/2015 Sowetan R60,374.40 R154,967.04 R90,944.64 Daily Sun R112,039.20 R186,732.00 R149,385.60 (iii) National Prosecuting Authority: Publication (aa) 2012/2013 (bb) 2013/2014 (cc) 2014/2015 Sowetan R28,892.16 R18,374.76 R275,193.26 Daily Sun N. A. N.A. R59,635.68   (ii) Special Investigation Unit: The SIU has reported that they have not spent on advertising in the Sowetan and Daily Sun newspapers in the period in question.

Department of Correctional Services

The details pertaining to amount spent on advertising are as follows:

(i) The Sowetan

(aa) 2012-13 financial year : None

(bb) 2013-14 financial year : None

(cc) 2014-15 financial year : R59 540.83

(ii) The Daily Sun

(aa) 2012-13 financial year : None

(bb) 2013-14 financial year : None

(cc) 2014-15 financial year: None

Office of the Chief justice and judicial administration

The Office of the Chief Justice did not place any advertisements in the (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun newspapers in the (aa) 2012-13, (bb) 2013-14 and (cc) 2014-15 financial years, consequently no monies were spent towards advertising.

Reply:

The Minister wishes to inform the Honorable member as follows: Questions regarding investigations by the South African Police Service and the SA Revenue Service should be submitted to the Minister of Police and the Minister of Finance, respectively, as it does not fall within the line function of my Ministry. I have been informed that the National Prosecuting Authority is not aware of such a matter being referred to the prosecutor. Falls away. Yes. If more substantiated can be provided.

Reply:

Vulnerable workers are workers in ordinary employment who are less likely to have formal working arrangements and are therefore likely to lack decent working conditions, inadequate or no social security, no voice through a trade union and are characterised by inadequate earnings and difficult conditions of work. Often their fundamental workers’ rights are undermined or violated willy-nilly.

Reply:

The following response is based on information provided by the Municipal Demarcation Board.

A consultation meeting was held with the municipal leadership of Umshwathi Local Municipality including traditional leaders, representatives from the IEC, members of the public and other interest groups.

(a) (i) The meeting took place at 10h00 on the 04 of May 2015.
(ii) It was held at a community hall in Cool Air.

Reply:

The SIU Report is still in process of legal review by the SIU. The reason for this process taking so long is that the lead investigator passed away. As a result a new investigator had to be assigned to re-engage the whistleblowers to clarify certain aspects of the investigation.

Reply:

1. (a) It is confirmed that 2 813 officials are involved in the administration of Third Party Funds at courts throughout the country.

(b) A total of 354 of these officials have been vetted during the previous financial year (2014/15).

(2) The current registered receivables for Third Party Funds for the financial years under question include R 3, 160, 615.80 registered in the 2012/13 financial year (0.05% of the value of all transactions that occurred during the year), R 7, 804, 641.23 registered in the 2013/14 financial year (0.13% of the value of all transactions that occurred during the year) and R 4, 360, 332.81 registered in the 2014/15 financial year (0.07% of the value of all transactions that occurred during the year). These receivables relate to dishonored cheques, maintenance overpayments and shortages. Shortages include amounts for theft, fraud, system errors and break-ins. Shortages account in general for 93% of receivables at financial year end. The receivables registered are systematically being investigated and finalized as per the Treasury Regulations and Departmental Prescripts. After such investigation should the amounts not be recovered, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development stands as security should amounts be written-off and as such these activities have no impact on maintenance being paid to the beneficiaries. When write-offs occur within the ambit of the Treasury Regulations and Departmental prescripts, it would be appropriately reflected in the financial statements of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and audited as appropriate.

The department established the following controls to limit and prevent shortages in TPF in future:

1. Daily reconciliation of monies at court level being submitted electronically for review by the regional supervisory staff;
2. Weekly review of reconciliations submitted by National Office;
3. Follow-up on corrective measures being implemented on a weekly basis by National Office;
4. Consistent national effort with SITA to address system errors on JDAS that has led to a clear understanding of the system challenges that were 95% resolved at the financial year end of 2014/15 and will be finalized in the 2015/16 financial year;
5. Physical Security and Programmatic Security to prevent Cyber Crime;
6. Appropriate training at grass-roots level and supervisory level; and
7. Appointment of financial technically proficient staff that can review reconciliations and fulfill oversight functions at the required levels.

3) The following numbers of officials were subjected to disciplinary processes as a result of the specified losses for the amounts stated for each financial year in question. Please take note that such disciplinary processes may have taken place in different financial years as to when the actual registration of the receivables occurred.

FINANCIAL YEAR	(a) NUMBER OF OFFICIALS	(b) AMOUNT (R)
2012/2013	87	2, 525, 622.45
2013/2014	56	1, 138, 621.01
2014/2015	43	1, 839, 635.60
April & May 2015	5	769, 807.78

Reply:

The Minister wishes to inform the Honorable member that:

(a) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has no instance where the remainder of any employee’s contract was paid out before the contractually stipulated date of termination of the contract since the 2008-09 financial year to date.

(b) (i) Yes, out of the entities reporting to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority has paid out employee contracts before the contractually stipulated date of termination of the contract. The details are as follows:

(bb) (i) Payout Amount	(ii) To Whom	(iii) Reason for early termination
R7,500,000	Mr Vusi Pikoli, NDPP 2005 – 2009	Payment made as a result of settlement agreements reached between the NDPP and the Presidency.
R17,357,233	Mr Mxolisi Nxasana, NDPP 2013 – 2015	Payment made as a result of settlement agreements reached between the NDPP and the Presidency.

(b) (ii)Legal Aid SA, the Office of the Chief Justice and the Special Investigating Unit have confirmed that there were no employees that were paid out their contract before the contractually stipulated date of termination of the contract.

The Department of Correctional Services or its entities does not have any employees whose contracts were terminated before the expiry of such contracts, and no paid outs made for the remainder of their contracts.

The Office of the Chief Justice was proclaimed as a National Department in 2010. From 2010 to 2015, the Office of the Chief Justice has not paid out the remainder of any employees’ contract before the contractually stipulated date of termination of their contracts.

Reply:

According to information submitted by the Gauteng Provincial Department of CoGTA:

1. Mr M Mlandu was charged with gross misconduct, unlawfully and improperly obtained documents, gross dishonesty and incompatibility. He was found guilty by the presiding officer who imposed dismissal as a sanction. Mr Mlandu has referred the matter to the Bargaining Council and the matter will be dealt with in July 2015.
2. The municipal council is empowered to appoint, suspend and dismiss section 56 managers. In this particular case, a Council resolution was not passed as the decision to terminate the employment of Mr Mlandu, was delegated to the Executive Mayor by the Council.
3. The Local Government: Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers, 2011 (‘‘the Regulations’’), regulation 10(6) provides that the presiding officer must, by not less than ten days after the last day of the hearing, provide the municipality and senior manager or his or her representative with a written reasons for the findings and a copy of the sanction.

Regulation 12(2) of the Regulations provides that the presiding officer must submit a record of the proceedings to the municipal council, within ten days after imposing the sanction. Regulation 12(3) of the Regulations further provides that the municipality must implement the sanction imposed by the presiding officer and report the outcome of any disciplinary hearing within fourteen days after the finalisation of such disciplinary hearing to the Minister and MEC responsible for local government in the province.

The findings of the disciplinary hearing were never presented before the Municipal Council which is a requirements in terms of Regulation 12(2) of the Regulations. The municipality will be advised to adhere to the process as provided in regulation 12 of the Regulations.

Reply:

Yes, the country’s system of rehabilitation of offenders is contributing positively in the war against crime. The Department’s philosophy of corrections is based on the ideals contained in the South African Constitution where it is stated that all South Africans should contribute to maintaining and protecting a just, peaceful and safe society in our country. There are thus inherent in the correctional system inter alia two obligations that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) strives to adhere to, viz. the protection of society and creating opportunities for the correcting of offending behaviour and development and care of offenders.

Rehabilitation consists of various programmes, interventions and services to inmates in correctional centres as well as community corrections. These include amongst others, correctional programmes, social work services, psychological services, skills development and training, education, health care services, etc. Services to sentenced offenders are based on a comprehensive assessment as contained in their individual Correctional Sentence Plans (CSPs).

Rehabilitation services are geared to address individual needs as well as the offending behaviour and other factors such as substance abuse that might have contributed to committing of a crime. While the department is confident that this holistic approach contributes to the war against crime, we cannot wage this war alone. The department in its efforts to address offending behaviour and prevent re-offending needs the continued partnership with other government departments as well as civil society. While the offenders serve their sentence the department uses all its available resources to bring about a changed mind-set, while also developing skills and improving the educational levels, in an effort to release people with a greater sense of responsibility and better prospects to be law abiding. However, it is imperative that immediate families and society at large keep in contact with offenders and support them while being incarcerated, but more importantly upon their release from DCS facilities. This continued support would go a long way in addressing the tendency to fall back into crime due to lack of support, unemployment and substance abuse. Some of our programmes even consist of relapse prevention and coping plans to assist sentenced offenders coping with the challenges they are faced with upon release.

In addition and to assist in objectively establishing the impact of our rehabilitation efforts, we have partnered with University of South Africa (UNISA) who is currently busy with research to determine the impact of some of our rehabilitation programmes in Gauteng. This is an initial pilot phase. The results of this pilot will determine future impact research.

The department has developed clear targets for all our services, programmes and interventions to ensure participation of offenders both in our centres and within the community corrections system.

Through sport, recreation, arts, culture and library programmes and services, the department is assisting in the preparation of offenders for release, employment and self‐sufficiency. These programmes are structured and coordinated to be geared towards building and supporting self‐sufficiency and necessary for reducing the likelihood of offenders becoming involved in criminal activities.

The provisioning of Skills Development Programmes is aimed at reducing recidivism by ensuring that offenders are provided with Skills programmes that will assist them not only in the job market but also to create employment opportunities for themselves. The Department of Correctional Services is also partnering with the external service providers and government departments e.g. Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), in ensuring that the programmes offered are accredited by the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA’s). Between October 2014 and March 2015, 1732 offenders were trained on different accredited trade related programmes e.g. furniture making, electrical, upholstery, building and plastering etc. These programmes were funded from by DHET through the National Skills Fund (NSF).

The work opportunities that are provided to offenders as part of offender rehabilitation in the Departmental Production Workshops and Agriculture/farms do contribute positively in the war against crime. The Departmental Production Workshops and Agriculture/

farms, provide the following to rehabilitate offenders and to contribute positively in the war against crime:

• Opportunity for skills utilization and skills development, as well as work opportunities in the Departmental Production Workshops and Agriculture/farms.

The Department has 21 farms (mix farming-both animal and plant production) and 96 small sites (for vegetable and fruit production), as well as 19 textile workshops, 10 wood- and 10 steel workshops, furthermore there are 6 bakeries nationally, and one (1) shoe factory.

The offenders in the Departmental Production Workshops and Agriculture/farms are exposed to various technical fields, viz.:

• Production Workshops: wood machining, cabinet making, wood polishing, upholstery, sheet metal working, welding, fitting and turning, spray painting, shoe manufacturing, clothing manufacturing and textile machine mechanics as well as baking (bread baking).

• Agriculture/farming: vegetable, fruits, piggery, beef, dairy, agronomy, broiler/chicken production, layers/egg production, sheep and goats farming, abattoir operation/butcher, agro-processing, tractor as well as equipment operation.

The technical skills that are imparted to offenders in the Departmental Production Workshops and Agriculture/farms empower the offenders with technical knowledge, through which, upon their release, offenders can be employable and or create job opportunities, furthermore they can be self-sustained.

As part of offender rehabilitation, during 2014/2015 financial year, on average 1559 of offenders have worked in Production Workshops per day, meanwhile in Agriculture 3275 of offenders have worked per day, thus acquiring various technical skills in Production Workshops and Agriculture.

Education and participation in educational programmes is central in the department’s approach to provide opportunities for personal development of offenders as part of the rehabilitation process.

The Department is currently focused on the strengthening of the registered schools to ensure compliance to Department of Basic Education (DBE) policies and standards and to address the pass rate of the grade 12 learners. The Department reached the desired outcome of the establishment of 14 full time schools by 2014. The expansion and increase of the number of full time schools will be considered after all the currently registered schools have complied with the DBE Policies and Regulations. A Compulsory Education Task Team was established to ensure that all offenders without a qualification equal to Grade 9 or Adult Education and Training (AET) Level 4 are enrolled in the education programme. In 2015 participation of offenders in all the available education programmes stands at 16 444.

Acknowledging the efforts by the DCS in the rehabilitation of offenders, one should also acknowledge that no guarantee can be given that an ex-offender will not reoffend, due to various external factors that are beyond the control of DCS, e.g. lack of support from family and community, poverty, unemployment, etc.

The South African Department of Correctional Services has taken a deliberate and conscious decision to put rehabilitation at the center of all its activities in order to ensure that ex-offenders return to society as law-abiding and self-supporting individuals. In this process the Department is aware of the fact that corrections is a societal responsibility, therefore the Department is working very closely with civil society organizations and other government departments in its rehabilitation efforts.

Achievements

• There is a notable increase in parolee and probationer compliance levels in South Africa. Of the 71, 623 Daily average community corrections caseload, 51 634 are parolees and 18 545 probationers, whose compliance levels are at 98% and 95% respectively. This was done through the establishment of community corrections satellite offices as well as service points managed in consultation with stakeholders. These interventions help build credibility and public trust in the system increasing more non-custodial sentencing by the judiciary.

• The introduction of the innovative Electronic Monitoring System which was launched in July 2014 marked another milestone in the modernisation of correctional services. Since its rollout, cumulatively 1009 people were tagged and currently 604 persons are monitored by this system. Electronic Monitoring System has enabled the department to effectively track offenders on 24-7-365 basis. During the 2015/16 financial year at least 1000 people can be tagged at any given time.

• Major strides were made in advancing victim participation in the parole system in line with Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 and Correctional Services Act, 1998, which provide a framework for consultation of victims of crime in parole considerations. The department is committed to ensuring effective social reintegration with more involvement and participation by victims, families and communities.

• Significant progress was made in championing the implementation of restorative justice model as an integral part of broadening access to justice and enhancing the criminal justice range. In order to improve victim and community participation at various stages of corrections. The Department introduced the victim offender mediation and dialogue, thus far 1541 victims and 3738 offenders have participated in these restorative justice initiatives in the last financial year alone.

• DCS has made concerted efforts to explore a possibility of reducing the period of criminal record for ex-offenders particularly for minor and non-violent cases as part of enhancing rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into their respective communities as productive and law-abiding citizens.

 

• DCS has made courageous efforts to introduce a concept of Halfway House in 2012 in order to enhance social reintegration of offenders and to reunite offenders with their families especially those who did not have support systems at their time of release from the correctional centre. There are seven (7) halfway houses which have established through partnerships. These include the following :

REGION	HALFWAY HOUSE	NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION
Gauteng	Naturena	House of Glory
Eastern Cape	Vezokuhle	Vezokuhle Youth Development Project
LMN	Lehae la Batho	New Life After Prison
	Klerksdorp	Dream Team Foundation
	XILEMBENI	Nomasojabula
Western Cape	Beauty for Ashes	Beauty for Ashes
	Realistic	Realistic

• Halfway houses have contributed positively towards minimizing chances of re-offending and reduction on overcrowding in correctional centres. The total numbers of eighty four (84) residents were successfully reintegrated. The majority of offenders who went through halfway houses were assisted to find permanent employment and others have started their own businesses through the assistance from Non-Governmental Organisations.

• Greater strides were made with regard to building partnerships with academic institutions to use learners from these institutions to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to conduct profiles of community of origin of offenders. The provision of community profiles will effectively assist the Department to identify needs and risks of offenders who are due to return those particular communities and to guide services and interventions targeting offender behaviour. The profiles of community of origin of offenders are the key indicators of rehabilitation and successful reintegration of offenders

• DCS has partnered with state agencies and departments, Non-Profit Organisations, academic institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations, and other relevant external stakeholders to broaden the scope and spread of interventions to correct offending behaviour.

• These partnerships have led to 76 parolees being employed permanently by the Working-on-Fire programme. To improve offender reintegration, 212 parolees and probationers were provided with start-up tools to enable them to open their own businesses and thereby contributing to employment creation. These partnerships have added employment opportunities for parolees in the current financial year. There are also numerous cases of successful rehabilitation/reintegration including businesses operated by ex-offenders who have been provided with start-up tools, who have in turn employed other offenders/community members.

• The employability of ex-offenders is the key indicator of successful reintegration. In numerous interactions former offenders who have remained law-abiding citizen for years but they are finding it extremely difficult to maintain or retain their employment after employers had discovered that they have criminal record. A criminal record is a barrier to a successful reintegration of offenders because the majority of employers are reluctant to hire ex-offenders, thereby relapsing into life of crime as means of survival. The Department of Correctional Services is in the process of providing inputs on the expungement of a criminal record to the South African Law Reform Commission.

Reply:

No, parole has not been approved for the mentioned offender. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 October 1999 for Robbery x 4; Rape x 2; attempted murder; assault grievous bodily harm (GBH); attempted escape x 2; housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances; housebreaking with intent to steal; theft; unlawful possession of fire-arm x 5 and unlawful possession of ammunition x 3.

The offender was considered by the Minister of Correctional Services on 11 October 2013 for possible placement on parole. The Minister decided that the offender should be reconsidered during October 2015. During this period, the following should inter alia be addressed:

• Offender needs to undergo individual Psychotherapy in order to address his anger towards females and needs to attend counselling sessions to address parental guidance and communication styles.
• A copy of the judgement on conviction and sentence be obtained.
• The profile reports of the accomplices of the offender should be subjoined to the National Council for Correctional Services and Minister during October 2015.

Reply:

1. The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services wishes the Honourable member to know that there are a total of 25 Family Advocate Offices countrywide. A full description of the services are as follows:

Name of Office	Location	Number of Social Workers dealing with custody matters
Family Advocate Pretoria	4th Floor, Die Meent Building, c/o Thabo Sehume & Pretorius Streets	12
Family Advocate Johannesburg	94 Pritchard Street, 13th Floor, Schreiner Chambers, Johannesburg	10
Family Advocate Palm Ridge	Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court	1
Family Advocate Vossman	Vossman Magistrate’s Court	2
Family Advocate Nelspruit	No 3 Marloth Street, Nelspruit	7
Family Advocate Polokwane	Wyndom park Building, 23 Rabie Street, Polokwane	7
Family Advocate Sibasa	Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court	2
Family Advocate Mafikeng	461/805 Steve Biko Drive, Unit 2, Mmabatho	4
Family Advocate Rustenburg	Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court	1
Family Advocate Kimberley	5th Floor, New Public Building (Magistrate Court), c/o Knight & Stead Street, Kimberley	7
Family Advocate Upington	Upington Magistrate’s Court	2
Family Advocate Durban	15th Floor Maritime House, 143 Grove Street Durban	10
Family Advocate Pietermaritzburg	Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court	6
Family Advocate New Castle	New Castle Magistrate’s Court	3
Family Advocate Ntuzuma	Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court	1
Family Advocate Cape Town	55 Union Castle Building, 10th Floor ,c/o House Street & St George’s Mall, Cape Town	10
Family Advocate George	Batleur Park Building, Cnr Cathedral & Cradock Street, George	3
Family Advocate Worcester	67 High Street, Worcester	2
Family Advocate Mitchells Plein	Mitchells Plein Magistrate’s Court	1
Family Advocate Port Elizabeth	No. 1 Bird Street, Central, Port Elizabeth	10
Family Advocate East London	29 St Peters Road , Southernwood, East London	4
Family Advocate Graaff Reinett	Graaff Reinett Magistrate’s Court	3
Family Advocate Mthatha	29 St Peters Road , Southernwood, East London	2
Family Advocate Bloemfontein	163 A Nelson Mandela Drive, 2nd Floor Sanlam Building, Bloemfontein	8
Family Advocate Welkom	Welkom Magistrate’s Court	2

2. (a) The office of the Family Advocate does not rely on external Welfare Organisations for Custody matters but obtains collateral reports from the following organisations when necessary:

PROVINCE	ORGANISATIONS
LIMPOPO	Child Welfare Suid Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie Huis Maroela Families South Africa (FAMSA)
GAUTENG	Department of Social Development
MPUMALANGA	N. A.
NORTH WEST	Mental Health Suid Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie Child Welfare SA
EASTERN CAPE	Families South Africa (FAMSA) Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging( ACVV) Christelike Maatskaplike Raad (CMR) Department of Social Development
FREE STATE	Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging( ACVV) Christelike Maatskaplike Raad (CMR) Department of Social Development
WESTERN CAPE	Child Welfare Badisa Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging (ACVV) CMC Ukakhanya Parent Centre Child Line Mosaic Litha labantu Valley development projects
NORTHERN CAPE	Families South Africa (FAMSA) Department of Social Development Child Welfare NG Welsyn Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging (ACVV) South African National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (SANCA)

2. (b) No subsidies are paid out to welfare organisations by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

Reply:

(1) The Emfuleni Local Municipality together with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements is in the process of refurbishing the Kwa-Masiza hostel. After the completion of the project, the units will be rented out to qualifying beneficiaries. Currently, occupants who do not qualify for the rental programme are being relocated to BNG houses in Golden Gardens. These beneficiaries have been screened, verified and approved through the Provincial and National subsidy approval process. This approach is being followed in order to create space for the contractor to refurbish units at Kwa-Masiza Hostel.

(2) (a) A total amount of R52 000 000 was spent in the 2012/2013 financial year. Due to budget constraints only R46 000 000 was available during this budgeting period. It must be noted that there were other expenses incurred e.g.: provision of Temporary Relocation Units which are used to accommodate occupants from the hostel during renovations. As the financial year progressed, funds were sourced from projects which delivered slower than planned to cover for these expenses; hence the total amount spent exceeded the original budget allocated.

(b) During the first year of construction (2012/2013), the contractor installed water and sewer services inside the premises. Some original hostel residents are still occupying the units whilst the Department continues with the relocation process to Golden Gardens as mentioned above. No new refurbished units were completed to date and therefore no families have taken occupation.

(3) (a) Occupants that have been approved for BNG houses are being moved to Golden Gardens and the Department is assisting with the relocations. To date, more than 800 qualifying families have been moved from Kwa-Masiza hostel to Golden Gardens and the department has provided transport to assist with relocation.

(b) Water and sewer services were not in an acceptable condition as there were a number of leaks and burst pipes. The contractor has been appointed to upgrade the system for every block and each unit will have running water after completion. The contractor has been requested to provide water stand pipes to the hostel blocks which do not have water in the interim. Electricity has not been operating for the past couple of years as the occupants were not paying for these services.

After the power was cut off by the authorities, the occupants then resorted to illegal connections from the adjacent township. The department is now busy with the refurbishment of the entire electrical network. Once completed, all the units will be legally connected and every occupant will be responsible for paying their respective electrical consumption bills. Qualifying beneficiaries that will be allocated to the newly refurbished hostel units are those whom qualify to benefit from the Community Residential Units Programme and will be liable for rent and electricity payments.

(4) The water canal is not part of the scope of work of the contractor appointed by the Department of Human Settlements. However, Emfuleni Local Municipality are currently busy with an investigation into the storm water canal which is located on the west side of the property. Once this study has been concluded, a decision will be taken regarding the best possible option available for the ducting of water.

(5) Notice must be taken that there is VIVCA 20 and VIVCA 41 whose directors were the same people and Kwa - Masiza Hostel was owned by VIVCA 20.

It was determined in 2008 that Kwa-Masiza Hostel was not fit for human habitation and that necessary measures were to be taken to address the situation. Several measures such as a feasibility study to be carried out by the Gauteng Department of Local Government and Housing (now Human Settlements) into possible development of the property, were adopted to correct the situation. It would be necessary to mention that Emfuleni held rights in the property before such measures could be realised and thus Council resolved as per Mayoral Committee resolution of 22-07- 2008 ( item G1.6) and Council resolution of 30-09 2008 (Item A 1040) that the property should be expropriated.

The previous offer by VIVCA 20 for the sale of the property for the written offer, as was requested by the municipality’s Attorneys of Record, is for the sale of the properties in question for an amount of R15 million The offer entailed that Emfuleni Local Municipality shall relinquish all its claims against VIVCA, including the one that is being pursued via the involuntary liquidation application instituted by Emfuleni Local Municipality against VIVCA 41. The Municipal valuation of the property put its value at just above R18,9 million in 2009, which can reasonably be assumed to be the current value. The debt owed to the Municipality by VIVCA 20 was last computed to be R3 665 678.92 and the ArcelorMittal Bond of about R5 million excluding interest thus the offer for R15 million.

It was however discovered that there has been misrepresentation of facts relating to the alleged Bond held over the property by ArcelorMittal. The Bond was payable immediately and VIVCA 20 had failed to pay such and that the debt had accumulated interest. Contact was then made with ArcelorMittal and they ceded its rights over the bond in respect of Kwa Masiza in favour of Emfuleni Local Municipality to the value of R10m (the initial bond of R5m had attracted interest of R5m) The condition put forward by ArcelorMittal is for the Emfuleni Local Municipality to acknowledge the donation and put an advertisement to this effect as a contribution towards the rehabilitation of Kwa-Masiza. Taking the above into consideration, VIVCA was paid the sum of R5m by way of entering into a sales agreement with the municipality rather than giving it the money as compensation for expropriation.

Reply:

(1) I wish to refer the Honourable member to the statement issued by the Cabinet giving approval for the intergovernmental Human Settlement Programme to assist the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBM) in the implementation of the Human Settlements Programmes. The statement referred to is attached.

(2) Yes. However, I am currently not in position to provide any information regarding investigations conducted or yet to be conducted.

Reply:

 

(a) No

(b) No

(i)(aa) Not applicable

(i)(bb) Not applicable

(ii)(aa) I am informed that a Recruitment Process Outsourcing was appointed to work with the Department of Labour to process matters of adjacent community involvement.

(ii)(bb) I am also informed that the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Company was appointed by Gibela in April 2015.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Integrated Justice System (IJS) Programme comprises a number of Departmental Sub-Programmes of which each is overseen by the respective Departmental Government IT Officer (GITO) and a Senior Departmental Business representative, who represent the participating departments at the IJS Board that is chaired by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services (DOJ&CS).

Overall coordination of the IJS Programme is provided by the appointed IJS Programme Management Office (IJS PMO) personnel on behalf of the IJS Board that are under the auspice of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD).

Notwithstanding the deliverables which have already been achieved, there are at least three (3) major factors that contribute to the delay in the implementation of IJS, which includes:

• The network capacity constraints and sites upgrades to support the latest technologies.

There have been delays in setting up the contracts for the NNUP, by SITA. It has taken at least 3 x years before there could be some significant advancement in carrying out the Network upgrades, the process which was finally handled by SAPS in December 2014; when constraints in advancing the NNUP via SITA could not be resolved.

The long lead times for network capacity upgrades therefore impact on the rate at which new technology can be deployed.

• Ability to source and retain technical expertise / technologies / solutions to execute on services required.

SITA has reported a generic difficulty in appointing and retaining skilled technical expertise to execute some critical services, such as architectural services, both within the IJS Programme as well as within the Departmental Programme. This impacts on timely finalization of projects.

• Other Departments’ network capacity and system applications delays.

This delay impact negatively on the testing and rolling out of SAPS upgrade integration developments, which are intended to share / transmit the information within the value chain.

Further details may be obtained from the IJS Board Chairperson in this regard.

(1)(b) Although accountability vests with each department, sanctions for non-performance of Departments should also be handled at IJS Board level as coordinating and monitoring mechanism. These details may also be obtained from the IJS Board Chairperson and/or DOJ&CS, which is the overall, lead Department driving the IJS Programme.

(2) The South African Police Service (SAPS) in essence has a decentralised system for its procurement and supply chain management and not a centralised system, except for certain items such as weapons, ammunition and clothing. The adequacy of the central environment in order to promote compliance is also an important aspect that has to be taken into account. This is in accordance with and in terms of section 217 of the Constitution, the PFMA, the regulations of the PPPFA and National Treasury Regulations whereby delegations have been granted to all Divisions, Provinces, Clusters and Accounting Stations to procure according to the delegation of authority as well as to manage their own assets according to SAPS prescripts. This also includes procurement actions from transversal contracts that have been established by National Treasury.

Reply:

1. Not applicable.
2. Notice was taken of the provisions of diplomatic immunities and privileges as published in the Government Gazette No. 38860 of 5 June 2015, applicable to the attendants of the African Union Summit;
3. at a Cabinet meeting held on 10 June 2015;
4. by the relevant departments.

Reply:

1. The status quo remains. Minister did not attend further training.
2. Not applicable
3. Not applicable

MR D LIPHOKO

[ACTING] DIRECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI, MP

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

Reply:

The responsibilities of the Deputy President with respect to anti-poverty programmes and short-term job creation programmes are not constitutionally mandated. They are responsibilities assigned by the President.

In terms of the Constitution, the role of the Deputy President is to assist the President in the execution of the functions of government, as stated in section 91(5), and he is responsible for the powers and functions assigned to him by the President, in terms of section 92(1).

The role of the Deputy President with respect to anti-poverty programmes and short-term job creation programmes, working with the Inter-Ministrial Committee, includes:

• Providing strategic oversight to enable rapid scaling up of short-term job creation while managing associated risks.

• Coordinating multiple stakeholders and addressing institutional and other obstacles.

• Building accords with partners outside government, especially labour, business and communities.

• Ensuring that the programmes reach the most marginalised people and communities in our country.

• Supporting innovative approaches to creating employment, and creating opportunities for cross-cutting learning.

The initiatives that form part of these programmes are implemented through the relevant departments.

• National Skills Fund

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has been advancing the strategic objectives of the National Skills Development Strategy III through the Discretionary Funding Window for skills development of the National Skills Fund (NSF). This is done by providing financial support to projects that contribute towards improvement of human capacity. The acquisition of skills and knowledge by beneficiaries is meant to enhance their participation in the economy.

To date, the NSF has provided funding for state-owned companies, namely Denel and South African Airways Technical (SAAT), Eskom and Transnet, which has together amounted to R430 679 128. The total number of beneficiaries is 2 583 evenly spread across all nine provinces of South Africa.

Eskom will train 1 250, Transnet 1 000, Denel 197 and SAAT 136 artisans. Eskom and Transnet will train artisans in various trades, such as welders, electricians, fitters, tool makers, and mechanics, whereas Denel and SAAT will train artisans in aircraft related trades such avionics, aircraft structures and aircraft electricians.

The apprenticeship training is in progress and at various completion phases. The majority of learners at Denel and Transnet will be preparing for trade tests in 2015.

• Maritime Skills Development

Furthermore, the NSF made a grant for maritime skills development, which commenced on 21 August 2012. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) project seeks to unlock the potential opportunities lying in the maritime sector.

The total funding for SAMSA amounts to R93 610 300 targeting 420 beneficiaries across various programmes, which include the following:

• National Cadetship Programme for 150 learners;
• Conversion of unemployed mechanical engineers, targeting 100 learners;
• Training on board the SA Agulhas for 120 learners;
• Subvention for 30 lecturers;
• Assisting 20 learners with disabilities across the programme.

• TVET College Infrastructure

The TVET Infrastructure Programme entails the building of 12 new campuses and refurbishment of 2 existing campuses. The new campuses are evenly spread across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The total funding of the programme is R2.5 billion.

Ingwe TVET College campuses in the rural part of the Eastern Cape are also receiving new and refurbished workshops and trade testing centres. Funding for infrastructure and capacity building is R187 000 000.

No funding for recapitalisation was allocated to TVET colleges in the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 financial years. The Recapitalisation Project started in 2005 with the planning phase and an allocation of R50 million. Over the 2006 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), R1.860 billion was allocated to fund and recapitalise 50 TVET colleges:

Strategic Objectives	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	Total
	R’000
Human Resources Development	23 025	23 323	25 676	70 724
Development of Systems and Procedures	27 905	28 020	36 345	92 270
Upgrading of Infrastructure	174 312	174 622	195 368	544 302
Upgrading of College Sites	25 603	38 118	16 836	80 557
Buying or building of infrastructure	59 406	136 364	283 862	479 632
Purchase of Equipment	118 739	153 913	183840	456 492
Develop programme/curriculum material	41 011	40 640	53 242	134 893
Total	470 001	595 000	795 169	1 860 170

Of the total budget allocation (R1.860 billion) indicated in the table above, 98 percent had been spent by the end of the project (2008/09). The unspent committed funds at the end of the project were rolled over and transferred to TVET colleges in the following financial year (2009/10) to complete these projects.

• National Rural Youth Service Corps Programmes (NARYSEC)

The National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) project aims to recruit and develop youth aged 18-35 years to be trained as para-professionals in the rural areas. The specific objectives of the programme are:

• Skills development of the rural youth through the TVET colleges which will result in the youth obtaining a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level certificate;
• Practical work experience for 6 months at the workplace;
• Ensuring that participants obtain NQF credits after completion of each training phase; and,
• Exit strategy linked to further study, increased employment opportunities, deployment opportunities, cooperatives or business opportunities.

• Expanded Public Works Programme

One of the most notable initiatives undertaken is the implementation of the third phase of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which began on 1 April 2014, and which aims to create 6 million work opportunities by 31 March 2019.

The EPWP created 1,103,983 work opportunities in the 2014/2015 financial year. Of these, 563,031 were taken up by the youth. To intensify efforts for the participation of youth in the EPWP, the Non-State Sector (NPO Programme) has collaborated with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to bring 2 000 young people to participate in the programme for a duration of three years starting from the 2014/2015 financial year.

The training provided by EPWP targets skills that the economy demands. It is envisaged that the youth from the Supervision of Construction Processes Learnership Programmes and Artisan Development Programmes will be absorbed into the formal economy.

• Small Business Development

The Department of Small Business Development has undertaken the following initiatives as measures to reduce poverty and to create opportunities for poor and marginalised individuals to begin to earn decent incomes through jobs or self-employment:

• The establishment of Centres for Entrepreneurship at further education and training institutions and higher education institutions funded by DHET to educate students in entrepreneurship. The department is in collaboration with five institutions of higher learning: Ekurhuleni West College in Gauteng, False Bay Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Western Cape, Gert Sibande TVET in Mpumalanga, Orbit College in North West and the Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal to host and implement the Centres for Entrepreneurship. The colleges are rolling out awareness campaigns to students on self-employment and entrepreneurship as career options.

• The National Informal Businesses Upliftment Strategy, which was launched in 2014, supports local chambers, business associations and municipal local economic development offices to deliver and facilitate access to upliftment programmes that will provide business skills and infrastructure support to informal businesses.

• The Department of Small Business Development collaborated with the Department of Energy to undertake the Renewable Energy Youth Cooperatives initiative, which focused on establishing youth cooperatives in the rural Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Eight youth cooperatives were trained at the Engcobo, Mbashe, Ubuhlebezwe and Ingwe local municipalities in technical skills to install, repair and maintain solar water heating equipment, as well as business skills to run a cooperative enterprise.

• The department developed the Mass Youth Enterprise Creation programme (MYECP) and the Youth Business Support Development (YBSD) initiatives designed to provide non-financial and financial business support to youth enterprises.

• Jobs Fund

The Jobs Fund leverages on existing capacity in the public and private sector through co-financing projects with the potential to contribute significantly to sustainable job creation. Through this collaboration, the Fund aims to improve the employment prospects of young people and foster innovative approaches to job creation. The Jobs Fund complements rather than displaces other public funding programmes. The Fund offers once-off grants in the areas of enterprise development, infrastructure, support for work seekers and institutional capacity building.

About 40 259 permanent jobs were created by Jobs Fund supported projects in 2014/15. Of these, 18 567 went to youth and 24 522 went to women. About 46,348 persons received training over this period. Of these 26,561 were youth and 29,825 were women.

• Entrepreneurship

The Economic Development Department worked with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and its subsidiaries to provide funding for young entrepreneurs, with R144 million approved by the IDC for youth-led investment projects in the past 12 months. In the same period, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) disbursed R310 million to youth-owned businesses.

The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) is now tracking jobs on about 40 infrastructure projects, which currently employ an estimated 95 000 young workers.

While the youth unemployment rate has not decreased in this period, the number of new jobs created for young people rose by 240 000 in the past 12 months. However, 500 000 young people entered the labour market, so while jobs are being created for young people, they are not yet on the scale required.

The collective measurable impact of the initiatives that have been undertaken as part of the anti-poverty programme in lowering youth unemployment is yet to be determined with the assistance of Statistics South Africa.

Reply:

1. According to the assessment of the condition of aquatic animals, there is a negative impact especially on the fish which is used as an indicator for monitoring of river health.

1. Yes, the Department is continuously taking action by conducting Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement of water users upstream of the Kruger National Park.

1. No, there is no specific or single company that can be attributed to the impact on aquatic ecosystems as they are also impacted by natural disasters such as the recent floods in the lower Olifants, which caused damage to habitats of the aquatic animals.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1) A study conducted in July 2012 suggested that the backlog for buckets in formal areas is estimated at 58 010; a substantial drop from the 88 127. The latter was further clarified in as far as the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro which had 19 444 buckets with an unsubstantiated claim of a further 100 buckets in the informal areas which was to be deducted from the 88 127. A second clarification came from the Free State Province in that the initial backlog was 42 815, however, after clarification reduced to 32 042 (a drop in 10 773), thus arriving at 57 910 in formal areas.

However, the Department has verified the buckets in formal areas which amount to 58 453.

(2) Refer to table below.

Province	Municipality	Project Name	Total
Eastern Cape	Makana	Grahamstown	737
	Makana 2	Grahamstown	288
	Sundays River Valley	Patterson	1245
	Baviaans	Steyterville	14
	Joe Ggabi	Steynburg	985
	Chris Hani	Indwe	89
	Ikhwezi	Jansenville	21
	Blue Crane	Somerset east	4
	Ndlambe	Nemato	2230
TOTAL			5613

Province	Municipality	Project Area	Total
Northern Cape	Dikgatlong	Proteahof	277
		Koopmansfontein	37
	Phokoane	Malelwane	85
	Ga-Segonyana	Bathlaros	498
	Emthanjeni	Britstown	424
	Thembelihle	Hopetown	52
	Tsantsabane	Maranteng	791
		Postdene	450
	KharaHais	Rosedale	2682
		Pabalello	533
		Louisvale	800
		DekotaWeg	306
		Kameelmond	122
		Kalksloot	138
	Renosterburg	PetrusvillePh 2	20
		Phillipstown	107
	Siyacuma	Breipal	282
		Bongani	555
		Bongani - Reservoir	49
		BonganiPhomolong	31
		Griekwastad	527
		Campbell	596
	Siyathemba	Marydale	175
	Sol Plaatjie	Ritchie	1345
		Freedom Park	167
		Promised Land	787
	Ubuntu	Victoria West	890
	Nama-Khoi	Various Sites	192
	Kai Garib	Various Sites	800
TOTAL			13 718

North West	City of Matlosana	Jouberton /Kanana	293
		Kanana	73
	LekwaTeemane	Boitumelong	230
TOTAL			596

-3-

Province	Municipality	Project Area	Total
Free State	Mohokare	Smithfield	148
		Fauresmith	36
		Bethulie	23
		Trompsburg	149
		Zastron	90
		Rouxville	756
	Naledi	Dewetsdorp	191
	Dihlabeng LM	Rosendal	976
	Mantsopa LM	Tweespruit	1266
		Hobhouse	1224
	Phumelela LM	Memel	568
		Vrede	150
	Mafube LM	Cornelia	612
		Villiers	1056
		Frankfort	2105
		Tweeling	304
	Ngwathe LM	Heilbron	1584
		Vredefort	1120
	Nala LM	Wesselsbron	1800
	Masilonyana LM	Theunissen	1438
		Hennenman	2848
		Winburg	180
	Matjhabeng LM	Virginia	2240
	Matjhabeng LM	Odendaalsrus	264
	Tokologo LM	Hertzogville	294
	Setsoto LM	Marquard	1431
		Ficksburg	5396
		Senegal	2913
		Clocolan	3379
	Nketoana	PetrusSteyn	2424
		Lindley	517
		Arlington	210
		Reitz	834
TOTAL			38526

(3)(a) All buckets in the formal areas will be eradicated by end of the financial year.

(3)(b) The programme is estimated to cost R975 339 000,00.

---00O00---

Reply:

(a) and (b) The Department of Environmental Affairs gives such notices and/or directives only in instances where there is non-compliance with specific Environmental Acts and EIA regulation.

--ooOoo--

Reply:

Nether the department nor PRASA has given any information indicating of any investigation that can clarify the matter raised in the question.

Reply:

(1)(a) PART A: WK Construction (company), PART B: Ascul Construction (company) and PART C: Murray and Dickson (company). In addition to these appointments in this project the following companies were appointed: Vuwani/Valdezia pipeline: Internal Department of Water and Sanitation Construction North, Design and construction monitoring: Bigen Africa Services (company), and Specialist Quality Control: QPI/TIS (company).

(1)(b) Refer to the table below for the scope of the work to be completed by the company:

Contract	Pipe Size	Chainages	Pipe Length
Part A WK Construction	800mm Ø	CH 1 326 to 11 460	10 134 m
Part B Ascul Construction	800mm Ø	CH 11 460 to 23 130	11 670 m
Part C Murray & Dickson	800mm Ø	CH 23 130 to 31 617	8 487 m
	900mm Ø	Valdezia Section	2 200 m

The supplying dam is Nandoni Dam. The Luvuvhu River Government Water Scheme will supply water for domestic use to the area between Makhado and Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province, to about 800 000 people (380 communities) with the potential of reaching 1.3 million people.

-2-

(1)(c) The original completion date for Ascul Construction was 5 July 2013, however was further extended to 30 November 2013 with anticipated completion date for Part B being 31 March 2014. The last anticipated delivery date is 31 July 2015 as proposed by the project engineer design and construction monitoring engineer: Bigen Africa Services (company). With the Defect liability expected to start from August 2015 to 31 March 2016.

During the extension of the contract the original cost of the contract was not affected, as the extension was only for the duration of the contract. The project encountered some delays due to a number of reasons, including some financial difficulties by one of the companies; as a result, some sub-contractors withdrawing from site; inclement weather resulted in flooding of trenches and pipes and long delays were experienced to clean the pipes. Rainy conditions also prevented work and humid conditions prevented repair of linings and coatings, some land owners not allowing contractors into their land, strike action by communities, availability of water for hydraulic testing, pipeline deflection defects; delays in the supply of pipes and fittings; etc.

It is confirmed that construction progress is currently standing at 95% overall completion.

(2)(a) W0497-WTE: Levuvhu Rever GWS-Construction of the 800mm diameter Vuwanisteel pipeline was advertised on 01 February 2012 and closed on 01 March 2012.

(2)(b) The contract was awarded in March 2012 and the contract was signed by the representative of the Department on 20 April 2012 and by the Contractor on the 23 April 2012.

(3)(a) Refer to the table below for the value of the contract:

Contract	Pipe Size	Chainages	Pipe Length
Part A WK Construction	800mm Ø	CH 1 326 to 11 460	10 134 m
Part B Ascul Construction	800mm Ø	CH 11 460 to 23 130	11 670 m
Part C Murray & Dickson	800mm Ø	CH 23 130 to 31 617	8 487 m
	900mm Ø	Valdezia Section	2 200 m

(3)(b) Refer to the table below for the amount paid to the contracting company to date:

Contract	Pipe Size	Chainages	Pipe Length
Part A WK Construction	800mm Ø	CH 1 326 to 11 460	10 134 m
Part B Ascul Construction	800mm Ø	CH 11 460 to 23 130	11 670 m
Part C Murray & Dickson	800mm Ø	CH 23 130 to 31 617	8 487 m
	900mm Ø	Valdezia Section	2 200 m

-3-

(4)(a) Refer to the table below for the amount of work that has been completed on the project:

Contract	Pipe Size	Chainages	Pipe Length	Percentage
Part A WK Construction	800mm Ø	CH 1 326 to 11 460	10 134 m	99%
Part B Ascul Construction	800mm Ø	CH 11 460 to 23 130	11 670 m	95%
Part C Murray & Dickson	800mm Ø	CH 23 130 to 31 617	8 487 m	99%
	900mm Ø	Valdezia Section	2 200 m

(4)(b) The construction progress is currently standing at 95% overall completion.

(4)(c) Contractor appointed will complete the project on 31 July 2015 with the Defect liability expected to start from August 2015 to 31 March 2016.

(5) Copies of the contracts as mentioned in (4)(a) are available for inspections.

---00O00---

Reply:

(1)(a) Agri-SA and the Agri-Sector Unity Forum (ASUF). However, the positions of Agri-SA and Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa (TAUSA) vacillated, particularly at the September 2014 Land Tenure Summit.

(b) The advice of all stakeholders, whether for or against the proposal, was taken into consideration.

(c) Please refer to Annexures A and B for copies of comments received from Agri-SA and ASUF.

(2)(a) The African Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA) supported the ceilings proposals subject to certain conditions. The conditional support by AgBiz and TAUSA representatives was that, if implemented, the policy on ceilings should:

- Consider the technical determinants for each district;

- Consider a sliding scale of floors and ceilings, depending on the circumstance of each district;

- Be coordinated at district level through the District Land Committees; and

- Initially target the large land holders.

(b) Yes. Please refer to Annexures C, 5 and E for AFASA's, and AgBiz's submissions as

well as the Summit Report, with reference to:

- Page 6 - 13 on stakeholder inputs;

- Pages 20 and 25 - 27 on Commission 4 that address ceilings as well as final recommendations on the matter; and

- The AFASA proposals are further outlined in Section F on page 27.

Attached find here: Annexure A of NA-QUES 2132 of 2015
Annexure B of NA-QUES 2132 of 2015

Reply:

1. The buckets in informal settlements are located in the provinces appearing in the table below. The Department is in a process to verifying and assessing all buckets in informal settlements by province and municipality. However it should be noted that with the proliferation of informal settlements, households utilizing the bucket toilets as a form of sanitation is a moving target hence backlog is not constant.

PROVINCE	NO OF SETTLEMENTS	NO OF HOUSEHOLDS
Eastern Cape	50	23 958
Western Cape	62	59 932
Gauteng	0	0
KwaZulu-Natal	0	0
Limpopo	0	0
Northern Cape	6	5 350
North West	21	4 150
Free State	75	46 758
Mpumalanga	3	600
TOTAL	217	140 748

(2) A preliminary figure is provided in the table above.

(3) The Department anticipates, subject to additional funding being made available that a further R4,3bn over the next 4 years will be required to address informal settlements.

---00O00---

Reply:

Department

(a) (aa)

(bb) (i) R280 740.96

(ii) R32 864.83

(cc) (i) 0

(ii) 0

Air Traffic & Navigation Services SOC Limited (ATNS)

I am imformed that ATNS has not advertised in any of the mentioned publications in the financial years indicated.

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

(a) I am informed that it is not applicable and (b) the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s advertising spend in the (i)(aa) Sowetan was R0 in the 2012-13, R72 368,04 in the 2013-14 and (i)(cc) R23 118,62 in the 2014-15 financial years and in the (ii)(aa)(bb)(cc) Daily Sun it was R0 during the same periods.

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

I am informed that, “ACSA does not procure its advertising services with these newspapers directly, but uses marketing agencies who then choose respective newspapers”. ACSA therefore does not have records of amounts spent per newspaper.

(b) Road Accident Fund (RAF)	(aa) 2012-13,	(bb) 2013-14, and	(cc) 2014-15 financial years:
(i) The Sowetan and	R0.00	R133 966.87	R101 183.44
(ii) The Daily Sun	R0.00	R111 398.97	R269 472.04
(b) Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA)	(aa) 2012-13,	(bb) 2013-14, and	(cc) 2014-15 financial years:
(i) The Sowetan and	R0.00	R0. 00	R0. 00
(ii) The Daily Sun	R0.00	R0. 00	R0. 00
(b) Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)	(aa) 2012-13,	(bb) 2013-14, and	(cc) 2014-15 financial years:
(i) The Sowetan and	R0.00	R0. 00	R186 250.87
(ii) The Daily Sun	R0.00	R0. 00	R0. 00
(b) South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL)	(aa) 2012-13,	(bb) 2013-14, and	(cc) 2014-15 financial years:
(i) The Sowetan and	R64 943	R2 061 673	R1 565 367
(ii) The Daily Sun	R100 711	R2 711 834	R1 787 011
(b) Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA)	(aa) 2012-13,	(bb) 2013-14, and	(cc) 2014-15 financial years:
(i) The Sowetan and	R0.00	R0. 00	R 89 706.12
(ii) The Daily Sun	R0.00	R0. 00	R 63 635.04

South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

(b) I am informed that No payment was made to any of the newspapers for any of the period stated above.

(i) (ii) (aa) (bb) (cc) Falls away

Railway Safety Regulator (RSR)

1. I am informed that Railway Safety Regulator has spent the following amounts on advertisement in The Sowetan (Times Media):

1. 2012-13 R56 886, 00
2. 2013-14 R0,00
3. 2014-15 R132 481,68

1. I am also informed that Railway Safety Regulator has not placed advertisements in The Daily Sun on the mentioned financial years.

Passenger Rail South Africa (PRASA)

1. The Sowetan
2. 2012-13 R0
3. 2013-14 R0
4. 2014-15 R104,470.71
5. The Daily Sun
6. 2012-13 R0
7. 2013-14 R0
8. 2014/15 R0

Reply:

Responses provided by the University of Fort Hare are tabulated below:

(aa) Tenders issued in the 2013-14 financial year

Contract Reference number	(a) and (b) Names and details of companies
	(i) successful bidder/contractor	(ii) bidders who lost the tender
UFH-SCM02/2013	Dimension Data (Pty) Ltd	VX Telecom
UFH-SCM03/2013	Simo Solutions CC & Dimension Data (Pty) Ltd (Joint Venture)	Gijima Datacentrix Business Connexion
UFH-SCM09/2013	Ntinga Projects Managers	DPV Quantity Surveyors Lurco Trading 307 Indwe Quantity Surveyors Ntlonzi Investments Aurecon SA Bigen Africa PD Naidoo & Associates Consulting Engineers Ngonyama Okpanum Zintle's Rural Development EOH Mthombo Dimension Data
UFH-SCM10/2013	SFM Electrical and Refrigeration CC	Interpro Trading cc Amatola Airconditioning Electric Link Flat-Foot Air conditioners
UFH-SCM13/2013	First Technology (Pty) Ltd	Aloe Office and Business Equipment Allied Business Solutions Dimension Data Datacentrix
UFH-SCM14/2013	Dimension Data (Pty) Ltd	First Technology Ubuntu Technologies Datacentrix Store Tech Business Connexion
UFH-SCM15/2013	Business Connexion (Pty) Ltd	Datacentrix Dimension Data First Technology Ceos Technologies
UFH-SCM17/2013	KPMG Incorporated	Aza Kopano Rakoma & Associates Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo PWC Marais and Smith Delloite & Touche Moore Stephens Nexia Sabat Umnotho Business Consultant

(bb) Tenders issued in the 2014-15 financial year

Contract Reference number	(a) and (b) Names and details of companies
	(i) successful bidder/contractor	(ii) bidders who lost the tender
UFH-SCM02/2014	Kamo Construction (Pty) Ltd	Thalami Consortium Golden Rewards cc Impelelo Construction cc MIS Maintenance
UFH-SCM16/2013	Itec East Cape (Pty) Ltd Aloe Office and business equipment t/a Xerox	Northern Cape Printing & Stationery Vitom Technologies Penit Printing & Stationery NRG Office Solutions Morvest Eratis Pinnacle Business Solutions
UFH-SCM05/2013	Asag and Isondlo Investments (Joint venture)	Iyevest Group & Partners Inframax/Africast Escotek Consortium Transtuct Building & Civil LDM Consortium Crowie Projects Focus & Enza Consortium VDZ Construction Kao Consortium SMADA Property Holdings Majestic Silver Trading 118 Equicent CBD Consortium - Bigen Africa

Compiler/contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 2514 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

The University of Limpopo has responded as follows:

1. (a) Mr LL Lebelo was employed by the erstwhile University of the North, now the University

of Limpopo, on 1 June 1996.

(b) In 2014, the University embarked on a qualifications audit as Mr Lebelo could not

submit an original matriculation certificate.

1. Managed Integrity Evaluation (Pty) Ltd was employed to perform the verification of his qualifications and was unable to verify his qualifications. He is currently subject to a disciplinary hearing.

Compiler/contact persons:

Ext:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

REPLY TO QUESTION 2516 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

Reply:

(a) During February 2010, the Department of Human Settlements paid out an amount of

R 1,873,347.53 for the remainder of an employee’s contract due to termination before the contractually stipulated date of termination.

(b) None.

Reply:

The Eastern Cape Province is considering this matter and will be making a decision shortly.

The key imperatives in considering this matter are:

1. Our policy to provide Primary Health Care free at the point of delivery; and

1. The need to increase our EPI coverage in a manner that also makes access to immunization services as easy as possible.

END.

Reply:

1. Yes, forensic investigations were conducted in relation to non-compliance with the contractual agreements and suspected mismanagement of funds by project implementers. The department has decided on legal recourse in such cases. Where projects could not be completed due to cost escalations related to the changes in the built environment, the department will provide support for completion of such facilities based on availability of funds.

Page 2

1. Yes, the department has undertaken a review of the Social Responsibility Implementation’s (SRI) planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting processes in relation to infrastructure projects to ensure closer alignment with the built environment requirements. SRI also undertakes continuous improvement based on annual audits and monitoring of project implementation.

(3) No, the department did not revise the method of appointment of project implementers. The appointment of implementers is governed by the public finance management requirements as contained in the Public Finance Management Act and its regulations.

(4) Thirteen projects have been subjected to forensic auditing.

Reply:

1. The construction of Cool Air clinic was decided upon as part of the need to expand services to the underserved areas. The Cool Air clinic will be one of the clinics to be built out of the In-Kind-Grant in the 10 NHI Pilot Districts. Currently, the residents of Cool Air are serviced through the provision of a mobile clinic that visits the area twice a month as per schedule.

1. (a) (i) The budget for the proposed clinic is R31 million;

(ii) The budget will be allocated during the 2016-2017 financial year.

(b) The clinic is expected to be in operation in 2018.

END.