Questions and Replies

Reply:

According to Information Received from Eskom:

Eskom and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) are continuing to provide electricity to communities that do not have electricity. The Eskom and DMRE Electrification Programme has progressed well in the last financial year and has exceeded its annual target achieving 102 590 connections. In addition, alternative electrification technology called microgrids is being used to electricity areas that are not easily accessible through the conventional grid such as Zwartkopdam in the Northern Cape to speed up access to electricity.

Furthermore, Eskom is undertaking the refurbishment of old infrastructure, substations, lines, and transformers including introduction of smart meters to improve and increase access to electricity for citizens.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Council (PSEC) was appointed by the President to advise on the reforms of SOEs. PSEC is in the process of identifying SOEs that are to be consolidated, restructured and/or repurposed.

Any further announcements on the PSEC’s final recommendations will be made by the Presidency.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

Cell phone coverage in South Africa is one of the highest in the world, and smart phone coverage is estimated to be above 80%. Furthermore, the demographic for the COVID-19 SRD are working age people, who are actively seeking for employment, of which a cell phone is a key tool for such.

SASSA has also zero rated its application portal. Therefore, anyone can access it, even if they do not have data.

Lastly, application can be lodged on any person’s device (it does not need to be the applicant’s own device). It is estimated that there are more than 22 million people with smartphones in South Africa. Compared to approximately 400 local office where physical grant application can be lodged. It is easier to access a smartphone from a family member, friend or neighbour than a local office.

SASSA is however, considering installing kiosks at local offices in future, where applicants may also lodge an application.

Reply:

(a)(i)-(iv) read with (b)(ii)(aa)(bb) and (cc)

a SASSA does not have records of previous beneficiaries who have exited from the system due to age but remain in the school system, and therefore is not able to answer the question in the current form.

Table 1 below reflects the number of Child Support Grants (CSG) that lapsed due to the child turning 18 during the 2022/23 financial year.

TABLE: 1 TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO AGED OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT IN THE FY2022/23
Region	Female	Male	Grand Total
EC	56393	56661	113054
FS	20320	20437	40757
GP	53093	52030	105123
KZN	84149	83401	167550
LIM	48162	47783	95945
MP	31782	31771	63553
NC	8704	8716	17420
NW	24286	23995	48281
WC	27139	25966	53105
Grand Total	354028	350760	704788

a(i) Table 2, shows the number of CSG beneficiaries whose CSG lapsed, thereafter applied for COVID-19 SRD during the 2022/23 financial year.

TABLE: 2 TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO AGED OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT AND APPLIED FOR COVID-19 SRD
Province	Female	Male	Grand Total
EC	30002	28408	58410
FS	12236	11865	24101
GP	40731	34222	74953
KZN	53196	54586	107782
LIM	36403	34346	70749
MP	24056	23367	47423
NC	4674	4277	8951
NW	15213	14509	29722
WC	17055	13106	30161
Grand Total	233566	218686	452252

a(i&ii) Table 3 indicates the number of young adults who aged out of the CSG, applied and were approved for COVID-19 SRD during the 2022/23 financial year.

TABLE: 3 TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO AGED OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT AND WERE APPROVED FOR COVID-19 SRD
Province	Female	Male	Grand Total
EC	22,029	21,759	43,788
FS	9,203	9,238	18,441
GP	26,915	24,362	51,277
KZN	38,154	39,987	78,141
LIM	23,741	24,391	48,132
MP	16,249	16,871	33,120
NC	3,265	3,168	6,433
NW	11,219	11,219	22,438
WC	10,794	9,118	19,912
Grand Total	161,569	160,113	321,682

a(iii) Table 4 highlights the number of young adults who aged out of the CSG, applied and were approved for COVID-19 SRD during the 2022/23 financial year and, declined and appeal status for the COVID-19 SRD during the 2022/23 financial year.

TABLE 4 TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO AGED OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT AND WERE DECLINED FOR COVID-19 SRD
Province	Female	Male	Grand Total
EC	4,715	3,563	8,278
FS	1,563	1,273	2,836
GP	7,969	5,503	13,472
KZN	8,052	6,918	14,970
LIM	6,705	5,144	11,849
MP	4,431	3,634	8,065
NC	833	624	1,457
NW	2,105	1,655	3,760
WC	4,041	2,586	6,627
Grand Total	40,414	30,900	71,314

a(iv) Table 5 portrays the number of young adults who aged out of the CSG, appealed after being declined for COVID-19 SRD during the 2022/23 financial year and their appeals are still pending.

 

TABLE: 5 TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO AGED OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT AND ARE PENDING APPEAL FOR COVID-19 SRD
Province	Female	Male	Grand Total
EC	722	411	1,133
FS	264	190	454
GP	1,301	890	2,191
KZN	1,168	841	2,009
LIM	1,284	1,019	2,303
MP	851	677	1,528
NC	77	77	154
NW	358	261	619
WC	497	264	761
Grand Total	6,522	4,630	11,152

(b)(i) Due to the vastly different criteria between the COVID-19 SRD and the CSG, there is no direct link between the two provisions. Thus, a new application needs to be taken for the COVID-19 SRD following the lapsing of the CSG. However, the provision, is one of the easiest to apply for.

The Department and SASSA continue to engage in media campaigns from time-to-time to inform beneficiaries and the public about the application processes including eligibility requirements to promote the provision.

Reply:

1) While the South African Government works closely with the Palestinian National Authority to address the challenges it faces with regard to the building and strengthening of Palestine’s democratic institutions, renewal of the Palestinian Authority’s mandate, holding of the pending elections, and the issue of human rights, the South African Government cannot ignore the reality that Palestine’s ability to hold a credible free and fair election in all its territories, including East Jerusalem, is negatively impacted by Israel’s inflexible positions on, inter alia, (i) refusal of Israel to allow Palestine to hold elections in East Jerusalem; (ii) the freezing of Jewish settlement construction on Palestinian land in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is designated as the future capital of an independent Palestinian state; (iii) the right of return of Palestinian refugees expelled when the State of Israel was established in 1948; (iv) refusal to agree to the 1967 borders as a territorial starting point for genuine peace negotiations; and, (v) reneging on commitments agreed when the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, including the release of all pre-Oslo Palestinian prisoners.

2) South Africa consistently calls on UN Member States, the international community, as well as all political formations and parties in South Africa to support the efforts aimed at resolving the Israel-Palestine issue and to continue putting pressure on Israel as the occupying power to realise that relentless acts of repression, oppression and brutality serve only to undermine efforts directed at achieving a viable and sustainable Peace Plan that delivers Palestinian sovereignty, territorial integrity, and economic viability, with sovereign equality between Palestine and Israel.

Reply:

(i) The DBE reviews and approves the Provincial menus annually in line with a cost effective food basket aligned with the Conditional Grant Framework. Food specifications from the Department of Health are used to guide quality and quantities. NSNP performance on menu compliance at schools is measured using monitoring tools, based on a key performance indicator (KPI) scores, that include time for feeding, balanced meal, quantities in starch, protein, fruit and/or vegetables. 

(ii) Fighting between learners and the personnel who distribute food to learners is condemned and unacceptable.  However, the School Management Teams and School Governing Bodies are responsible for discipline in schools.  The school code of conduct is adhered to to deal with disciplinary matters.

(iii) (a) Warehouses are monitored and inspected by the local authority through Environment Health Inspectors, to ensure compliance to food safety standards.  The NSNP has employed monitors in each district to assess compliance on quality, quantity and food safety, when monitoring in schools. (b) District-based Food Safety Teams do spot checks periodically, and educators responsible for NSNP, are trained on food labelling etc., for daily inspections.

Reply:

The officials and players of the women national teams are not paid monthly, but are paid on an assignment basis, in other words, only when they come to camp.

The following rates apply:

• Team Doctor R3’500.00 per day
• Physiotherapist R2’500.00 per day
• Psychologist R1’500.00 per day
• Masseur R1’200.00 per day
• Physical trainer R2’000.00 per day
• Kit Assistant R950.00 per day
• Security R950.00 per day
• Assistant Coach R20’000.00 per camp (7 days)
• Goalkeeper Coach R15’000.00 per camp (7 days)
• Players daily allowances:
  • R500.00 per day at home
  • USD100.00 per day away
• Players bonuses
  • R40’000.00 official match win
  • R20’000.00 official match draw
  • R20’000.00 friendly match win
  • R10’000.00 friendly match draw

Reply:

The President of the Republic of South Africa is empowered to appoint Ministers and also in terms of the powers vested in him in terms of section 97 of the Constitution may transfer to a member of the Cabinet any power or function to any member of Cabinet. The President exercised his powers to appoint the Minister of Electricity to carry out all powers and functions in section 34(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 as a broader strategy to deal with load shedding.

In recent weeks, the President has gazetted the specific role of the Minister of Electricity (Annexure A)

The President is on record having stated that the delineation of powers and functions is directed at ensuring effective coordination and dedicated focus to deal more effectively and urgently with the electricity crisis.

In addition, the structure and operations of the National Electricity Crisis Committee ensure optimal coordination among all government entities.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The Department is not in partnership with the Mangaung Municipality in hosting the Southern Africa Football Associations Championship. A). There is no partnership. B) The Department is not aware of who is funding the event. C) The Department is not aware of the financial implications associated with the hosting of the event as it is not involved nor officially informed about it.

Reply:

(a). The National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) does not administer provincial and city orchestras; these orchestras do not report to DSAC and do not fall within the ambit of DSAC. Therefore, DSAC is not able to answer questions regarding operational matters of provincial and city orchestras, including submitting any financial statements of these provincial and city orchestras.

(b). DSAC will provide the MNPO’s audited Annual Financial Statements (AFS) on or before 30 June 2023.

Reply:

According to information received from the Eskom

(1)(a)

Eskom is buying diesel at the wholesale list price published by the Department of Energy on a monthly basis. Eskom then pays the wholesale list price less the negotiated discount.

(1)(b)

Delivered price: Wholesale list price less discounts.

(2)(a)

Eskom obtains negotiated discounts below the wholesale price list that varies across the suppliers.

• Astron
• BP
• Engen
• Shell
• PetroSA

(2)(b)

The discounts are contractual between Eskom and Service Providers and not for public consumption. In addition, there is a new tender currently undergoing internal approval process hence the sensitivity of sharing discount rates.

(3)(a)

All contractors have been contracted for 5 years: 01 October 2019 to 30 September 2024.

(3)(b)

Price follows monthly fluctuation as per the price list issued by the Department of Energy.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane Pravin Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

(a) Six African Heads of State, the President of South Africa, HE Mr CM Ramaphosa, HE Mr Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, H.E. Mr Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,  H.E. Mr Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, H.E. Mr Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Mr Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, are scheduled to travel to Ukraine and Russia on a peace mission to meet with President Volodimyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin respectively. The initial high-level engagements will primarily be aimed at understanding the Ukrainian twelve-point plan and the Russian proposals. The African peace mission’s objective is not aimed at competing or disregarding any previous or current peace efforts such as the Chinese ten-point plan and the Turkish Istanbul talks, rather it hopes to complement these.

(b) President Zelensky met with the African Union through a video link on 20 June 2022 and that engagement laid the basis for the upcoming in-person meeting. Through this peace mission, Africa’s vision for peace will be presented to the two Presidents. President Zelensky and President Putin’s willingness to meet with the peace mission for the peace mission to listen to both sides, is a first inspirational step towards the envisaged negotiations.

Reply:

a) (a) & (b) The nature of the work opportunities created by civil society organisations supported by the NDA are project based for the duration of the project which is between 6 and 24 months. As a result, there are no permanent jobs created but work opportunities based on programme implementation.

Below is a report on the work opportunities created (i) by Province (ii) during the Financial Years 2019/20 – 2022/23:

Reply:

a) Announced at the 2023 Budget Vote of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), South Africa has representation through 116 diplomatic missions in 102 countries.

b) In terms of the above DIRCO missions, the dtic has 31 missions allocated for the transfer of officials to serve as Foreign Economic Representatives (FERs), fulfilling the roles associated with trade attachés or commissioners

-END-

Reply:

(a)(b)

(i) The Department of Basic Education has signed an Intergovernmental Protocol Agreement with the Department of Social Development and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to compare and triangulate data between the Department of Basic Education’s Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (LURITS) and SASSA’s Social Pension System (SOCPEN) to identify if children who are at school-going age and receiving social grants, are enrolled and attending school.  This initiative continues to assist the department in tracking out of school children, who are receiving social grants.  Data is provided to Department of Social Development to assist them to intervene in a household social perspective.

(ii) Another initiative is the development of the National Integrated Protection Information System (NISPIS) across the social sector, which will also assist in monitoring out-of-school and vulnerable children receiving other social protection services.

Reply:

The findings of the Competition Commission report are taken up in a number of ways. They include the following:

1. Market Inquiries/investigations in terms of the Competition Act.

2. Considerations applied during the assessment of merger applications.

3. Support for SMMEs through financing packages.

4. Measures to strengthen the competitiveness of smaller firms.

5. Promotion of supplier development funds and partnerships.

6. Measures in masterplans.

the dtic and its entities, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and National Empowerment Fund (NEF) offer a range of funding instruments for the support of SMMES as grants and loans.

the dtic provides support to emerging exporters, to show-case their products at international exhibitions, funding to develop emerging black film makers through the Film and TV incentive as well as emerging black aquaculture farmers.

Other cost-sharing grant funding is available to SMMEs operating in the research and development field . The funding for these incentives is structured to encourage collaboration between industry and academia that will result in the development of pioneering prototypes ready for commercialisation.

A recent report to the Portfolio Committee highlighted the work of the dtic-group on township economies.

Additional resources are mobilised through supplier funds, such as:

1. Shoprite establishing a R350 million development fund to develop independent retails, spaza shops, micro caterers and micro farmers.
2. Heineken to establish a R400 million Supplier Development Fund, and procure R4.7 billion from Historically Disadvantaged Persons.
3. Pepsico has made R300 million available as a development fund to develop the capacity of emerging farmers, R100 million contribution for enterprise development and R200 million for educational programmes in partnership with universities.
4. Coca-Cola has contributed R240 million to a localization fund and will increase volumes of sugar procured from black sugarcane farmers.
5. Implats will contribute R50 million for regional enterprise development that will benefit women and youth owned businesses.
6. Mediclinic will for a period of five years will ensure procurement of R2.5 billion from small and black owned enterprises.

-END-

Reply:

(a). SAFA indicates that they received a loan from FIFA and the amount is USD 1’500’000.00. During the peak of Covid-19, most of FIFA’s Member Associations were experiencing a decline in income because of the global lockdown which put a halt on football activities. In order to mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19 on its Member Associations, FIFA introduced an array of relief measures which included interest free loans.

b). The interest free loans were to be used for the following:

• Implementation of return-to-play protocols, including testing
• Participation of national teams in restarted competitions
• Payment of staff costs and hiring of essential staff, where necessary

SAFA used the loan proceeds to restart its competitions and for the national teams to participate in international competitions. Some of the funds were used to pay the Men Senior National team technical staff.

(c). The repayment period of this loan is 3 years starting in 2023 until 2025 at a rate of USD500’000.00 per annum. FIFA will deduct a portion of our annual grant and allocate it towards this loan.

Reply:

a) SASSA currently pays all social grants into the bank accounts of clients. This is inclusive of the payments made at Pay Points and SAPO branches which are first paid into bank accounts.

SASSA has already in-sourced the payment function since 2018.

Whether or not SASSA should become a bank or provide a full or partial banking service to its clients is a matter being considered. However, the SASSA’s mandate and scope of SASSA’s capabilities are based on the Social Assistance Act, 2004 as amended.

b) The holding of SASSA cards, or any bank card, is illegal. SASSA works with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and law enforcement agencies in this regard. During May 2023, in the Province of the Eastern Cape, a multi-disciplinary team comprising of stakeholders focusing on loan sharks, led by the National Credit Regulator, involving SASSA, Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and South African Police Services (SAPS) conducted an operation targeting loan sharks, with the sole aim of preventing illegal withholding of banking cards and identity documents. The operation led to the arrest of 17 suspects and the seizing of 106 SASSA cards with cash of R401 800.00. Similar operations will be conducted nationally.

Reply:

(1). Regarding 1 & 2 above, it should be noted that the national Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture (DSAC) does not administer provincial and city orchestras; these orchestras do not report to DSAC and do not fall within the ambit of DSAC. Therefore, DSAC is not able to answer questions regarding operational matters of provincial and city orchestras.

(3). The government has never provided full funding for provincial and city orchestras.

(4). As explained in Mrs V van Dyk’s questions before, the policy of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the National Arts Council is that 75% of the budget must be spent on artists-related matters and only up to 25% on operations including administration. So clearly, the government, by policy and law, does not regard artists as secondary to administration

Reply:

The South African Government is not considering the downgrading of its diplomatic representation in Cuba as the Government believes that institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Attorney General have demonstrated their ability to deal with alleged human rights violations. Downgrading diplomatic relations is a drastic act that can only be considered when states continuously disregard international law in circumstances where states are illegally occupying the territories of other countries, deny people a legitimate right to self-determination and practice systemic forms of oppression, including breaching important international conventions, including for example, the Convention Against Apartheid.

Reply:

According to the information received from Transnet

a) Transnet Freight Rail faces three major challenges that impact its ability to deliver reliable rail services to all its customers on virtually all the corridors, with some more impacted than others.

1.1 Locomotive availability and reliability have decreased significantly on all the key corridors but especially on the North and North-East corridors that primarily rails coal, chrome and magnetite. In 2017/18 when TFR railed 226 million tonnes (mt), TFR had a total of 2215 locomotives available whereas in 2022/23 it has 1533 locomotives available and 364 so called long-standing locomotives at the end of May 2023.

The tender to return to service the long-standing locomotives has closed with Alstom and Wabtec proposing a return to operations schedule for the speedy return to service of their locomotives. Negotiations with CRRC loco are ongoing. The impact of reduced locomotive availability is estimated to cost TFR approximately R16 million per day in lost revenue.

​1.2 Infrastructure: Systemic underinvestment over the years has resulted in decreased reliability of infrastructure leading to increased derailments and speed restrictions that reduce available capacity on rail. To ensure the availability of cash to fund the maintenance of infrastructure, TFR is working on submitting an application to the interim rail regulator for full cost recovery tariffs. Furthermore, Transnet has taken the decision for TFR to exit all loss-making flows to ensure the profitability of all corridors. Lastly the operating lease on the container corridor is intended to curtail the losses on this corridor.

1.3 Security: Crippling theft & vandalism of key infrastructure and locomotives resulting in significant operational disruptions and additional unbudgeted costs associated with these repairs further reducing the funds available for scheduled maintenance. During the Covid shutdown period theft of copper cable escalated significantly. During the period 2016/17 to 2021/22, security related incidents increased by 179%.

TFR implemented various security initiatives ranging from the introduction of drones to support surveillance, customer partnerships to increase the deployment of security resources, specialised task teams in identified hotspot areas and various other initiatives that resulted in a 30% reduction in cable theft incidents during the 2022/23 financial year. Notwithstanding the improvement over the past year, the incidents remain high. Over 1000 km of copper cable was stolen during the 2022/23 financial year, costing TFR R310m to replace which is a reduction from the loss of nearly 1500km the previous year at a replacement cost of R462 million.

In 2021/22 and 2022/23, the majority (44% and 39%) of the cable theft incidents occurred on the Container Corridor. The scale of the theft of Overhead Track and Equipment (OHTE) is also the highest on the Container Corridor – 522km for the past year compared to an average of 130km per corridor for the rest of the system. During May 2023, the Container Corridor was severely impacted by unprecedented levels of theft and vandalism, resulting in a significant loss in available capacity. The situation was further exacerbated by the heavy rains during the same period that made repairing the network difficult. Operations have since resumed and improved following the implementation of additional security measures. TFR security has deployed ground forces in the targeted hotspot areas. This is an interim measure as engagements continue with law enforcement agencies to assist in the policing of the rail infrastructure.

TFR in isolation is not able to deal with the theft and vandalism of the rail infrastructure and made recommendations via the Industry Crime Forum (ICF) to the Non-Ferrous Metal Crime Combating Committee (NFMCCC) to support the following recommendations to the Natjoint:

1.4  The establishment of a dedicated crime court for criminal matters involving essential infrastructure,

1.5 The establishment of dedicated specialised essential infrastructure task team (EEIT) units in each of the provinces, which includes members from visible policing, crime intelligence, and crime detection, dedicated to the protection of essential infrastructure and;

1.6 For every SAPS station nationally to make available a dedicated small unit from visible policing, crime intelligence, and crime detection to focus on essential infrastructure related crime.

b) Security: the tender of Outcomes based Security closed with the roll out beginning shortly. In the case of the container corridor, given the potential operating lease, TFR has commenced the process to identify an Outcome Based Security service provider for 1 year on the Container Corridor.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

Department of Public Enterprises

(aa) PROCUREMENT ALLOCATION FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES 2021-2022

CATEGORY OF BUSINESSES	TOTAL RFQ AND BIDS	ALLOCATION NUMBER	ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE
(i) SMME’s/EME	60	55	91.67
(ii) Cooperatives	0	0	0
(iii) Township Enterprises	0	0	0
(iv) Rural Enterprises	0	0	0

(bb) PROCUREMENT ALLOCATION FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES SINCE 1 APRIL 2023

CATEGORY OF BUSINESSES	TOTAL RFQ AND BIDS	ALLOCATION NUMBER	ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE
(i) SMME’s/EME	3	3	100
(ii) Cooperatives	0	0	0
(iii) Township Enterprises	0	0	0
(iv) Rural Enterprises	0	0	0

 

According to the information received from all SOCs

(b) - (i – iv). SOCs are currently reporting Specifically on activities relating to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and development of Small- Medium- and Micro-Enterprises. Although SOCs may have supported cooperatives, township enterprises and rural enterprises such as in the case of Safcol that has supported close to 30 cooperatives, 24 township enterprises and 63 rural enterprises the information on % spend is not available due to SOC systems only capturing Exempted Micro-Enterprises and Qualifying Small Enterprises.

Tables 1 and 2 provide a detail procurement spend related to transformation.

Table 1: 2021-22 SOCs measured procurement and transformation spend.

% Allocated	Alexkor	Denel	Eskom	SAA	Safcol	Transnet	Total	Total on transformational initiatives
Total Measured Procurement Spend	-	R636m	R177bn	-	R575m	R23bn	R201bn	R129bn
Small- Medium- and Micro-Enterprises	-	20%	30%	0.3%	-	28%	R59bn	64%
Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE)	-	6%	15%	-	10%	10%	R24bn
Exempted Micro-Enterprises (EME)	-	2%	15%	-	15%	18%	R25bn
Black Youth Owned	-	2%	2%	0.3%	11%	6%	R1bn
Black People with Disabilities (BPD)	-	1%	1%	-	2%	0.3%	R341m
Black-owned enterprises (BOE)	-	15%	3%	0.6%	68%	43%	R10bn
Black women owned (BWO)	-	8%	9%	0.5%	27%	25%	R6bn
Cooperatives	-	-	-	-	-	-
Township Enterprises	-	-	-	-	-	18%	R4bn
Rural Enterprises	-	-	-	0	-

 

The above table provides an indication of the Total Measured Procurement Spend per SOC with the percentage of total procurement on each transformation initiatives. For the Financial year 2021/22 SOCs within the Department portfolio reported a total spent of R129 Billion on Transformation initiatives. Of the R129 Billion, 45% was on procurement from SMMEs, 18% on Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE), 19% on Exempted Micro-Enterprises (EME), 8% on Black women owned (BOE), 5% on Black women owned (BWO), 1% on Youth owned Enterprises and Black People with Disabilities (BPD), while spent on Rural and Township Enterprises was 3%.

Table 2: 2022-23 SOCs measured procurement and transformation spend.

% Allocated	Alexkor	Denel	Eskom	SAA	Safcol	Transnet	Total	Total on transformational initiatives
Total Measured Procurement Spend	-	R889m	R206bn	R1.0 bn	R644m	R30bn	R239bn	R191bn
Small- Medium- and Micro-Enterprises	-	36%	30%	0.6%	-	31%	R70bn	80%
Qualifying Small Enterprises	-	-	15%	0.1%	22%	13%	R31bn
Exempted Micro-Enterprises	-	-	15%	0.1%	50%	18%	R30bn
Black Youth Owned (BYO)	-	3%	2%	0.2%	10%	8%	R6bn
Black People with Disabilities (BPD)	-	0.8%	1%	0	1%	0.2%	R2bn
Black-owned enterprises	-	33%	16%	0.3%	71%	43%	R35bn
Black women owned (BWO)	-	15%	7%	0.2%	29%	34%	R17bn
Cooperatives	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Township Enterprises	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rural Enterprises	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

The above table provides an indication of the Total Measured Procurement Spend per SOC with the percentage of total procurement on each transformation initiatives for the financial year 2022/23.

For the 2022/23 financial year SOCs within the Department portfolio reported a total measurable procurement spent of R239 Billion. Of the R239 Billion, R191 Billion was spent on Transformation initiatives. Of the R191 Billion, 37% was on procurement from SMMEs, 17% on Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE), 16% on Exempted Micro-Enterprises (EME), 18% on Black-owned enterprises (BOE), 8% on Black women owned (BWO), 3% on Youth owned Enterprises and Black People with Disabilities (BPD), while spent on Rural and Township Enterprises was not reported.

(aa) and (bb). The set-aside policy has been discontinued by the National Treasury as from 16 January 2023 following a legal challenge. It is, thus, no longer applicable. The new Public Procurement Bill will seek to address this policy gap.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The Department of Social Development (DSD) in partnership with the Department of Health and Basic Education implements the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) and this programme advocates for an integrated multi-sectoral approach in addressing teenage pregnancy.

As part of the implementation of ISHP DSD provides social behaviour and change programmes to build the capacity of young people through life skills, teaching sexual and reproductive health, empowering young people to make right choices and lifelong decisions about their lives, preventing risky behaviours that would lead to teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy. DSD also provides Community Based Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (RISIHA) to vulnerable children, moving these children from vulnerability to resilience. These programmes are part of the 365 days child protection programme of action. The departmental approach is to focus on prevention measures but also empowerment of a family as a primary institution to socialise its members on values and morals. The department is therefore also implementing parenting programmes in this regard.

Currently, DSD is conducting a Diagnostic Evaluation to Understand Government’s Response to Teenage Pregnancy. The purpose of the study is to assess the relevance and responsiveness of government interventions (both programmes and services) in addressing the direct determinants of teenage pregnancies, as well as the budgeting and costing elements. In addition, the study will provide empirical evidence on the different interventions, legislation, policies and guidelines to manage teenage pregnancy. The study will draw on a variety of evidence types (mixed methods) which includes quantitative and qualitative data.

The evaluation will be conducted in five (5) provinces namely: Gauteng, Northern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape and Limpopo. The Steering Committee for the study will include officials from Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disability, Department of Health, Department of Basic Education, Development Partners (UNICEF and UNFPA) and stakeholders from Civil Society Organisations.

Benefits of study

Through the study the DSD and stakeholders will:

• Provide empirical evidence-based solutions for decision making, accountability and learning;

• Engage with a number of stakeholders including government from all three spheres of government, developmental partners and civil society;

• Understand the “As Is” Situation on Teenage Pregnancy;

• Identify common and unique teenage pregnancy programmes implemented across government;

• Conduct mapping exercise on available evidence on teenage pregnancy; and

• The findings and recommendations will be utilised to develop an Improvement plan to enhance services and policy areas with a number of stakeholders.

Reply:

Based on SARS provisional data, the top 10 countries from which SA imported goods in the period 1 January to 31 March 2023 are:

1. China

2. Germany

3. USA

4. India

5. UAE

6. Thailand

7. Nigeria

8. Saudi Arabia

9. Japan

10. Oman.

Based on SARS provisional data, the top 10 countries to whose markets SA exported goods in the period 1 January to 31 March 2023 are:

1. China

2. USA

3. Germany

4. Japan

5. India

6. UK

7. Netherlands

8. Belgium

9. Botswana

10. UAE

South Africa’s import suppliers (Rand values)

		Total (January to March 2023)
	World	R485 259 081 939
1	China	R99 146 820 610
2	Germany	R39 723 451 934
3	United States	R36 334 678 519
4	India	R32 626 305 702
5	UAE	R19 055 926 925
6	Thailand	R15 515 425 690
7	Nigeria	R13 003 529 551
8	Saudi Arabia	R12 835 399 393
9	Japan	R11 345 815 628
10	Oman	R10 959 640 838

Data source: SARS, adjusted for transit trade

(2)(a) and (b):

South Africa’s export destinations (Rand values)

		Total (January to March 2023)
	World	R455 061 074 141
1	China	R54 887 839 800
2	United States	R36 896 513 669
3	Germany	R31 268 892 040
4	Japan	R28 613 650 186
5	India	R22 963 598 797
6	United Kingdom	R21 062 612 635
7	Netherlands	R20 751 577 401
8	Belgium	R15 869 295 095
9	Botswana	R15 319 831 767
10	UAE	R12 369 444 500

Data source: SARS, adjusted for transit trade and errors in export data.

The Department also considers revisions in SARS data, as well as data from trading partners to build a more accurate picture. The latter data is not fully available for all countries yet.

-END-

Reply:

No	a) Specified Mission Properties	b) Nature of renovations works	(c) Projected cost of each renovation
1	Windhoek: Official Residence and staff houses	Renovations of the exterior at the Official Residence and 3 staff houses -	R3 688 300
2	Kinshasa: Chancery and compound	Repair of lift and repainting of the exterior Chancery and staff compound	R5 300 000
3	Mbabane: Official residence	Refurbishment of the of the official residence.	R6 600 000
4	Addis Ababa: Chancery	Repairs to the Chancery	R3 081 000
5	Maseru: Official residence	Repair and maintenance of the official residence	R5 600 000
6	Abuja: Chancery	Replacement of air conditioners	R895 000
7	Tokyo: Official Residence	Painting of exterior wall	R1 100 000
8	Ottawa: Chancery & Official Residence	Repair and maintenance at the OR and Chancery	R2 500 000
9	Brazil: Chancery	Repairs to generator room and upgrading of electrical system	R4000 000
10	Canberra: Official residence	Repair to the roof and replacement of kitchen and wooden windows	R2 300 000
11	Copenhagen: Chancery and Official Residence	Repairs and maintenance of the Chancery and OR	R14 800 000
12	Vienna: Official residence	Renovations at the Official residence	R 4000 000
13	Rome; Official residence	Repair of the Official Residence Basement	R 5000 000
14	Brussels: Official Residence	Upgrading of electrical and plumbing system and repair to the roof	R4 200 000
15	London: Chancery	Condition assessment and Repair and maintenance of staff houses	R7 2000 000
16	New York: Official residence	Condition assessment and maintenance of exterior and interior	R 6 200 000
17	Lisbon Chancery and OR	Repairs of plumbing and electrical works	R3 600 000
18	Lilongwe: Staff houses	Repair and maintenance of plumbing and electrical works	R1 400 000
19	Washington: Repair	Repair of damaged MEP system and staff house	R3 200 000
20	Madrid: Chancery and OR	Upgrading of electrical and plumbing system	R1 549 000
21	Dar Es Salaam: Chancery	Repair and maintenance to the roof and electrical system	R3 200 000
22	Berlin: Chancery	Repair to the roof, electrical and plumbing works	R2 700 000
23	Geneva; Official residence	Repair to the official residence	R 2000 000
24	Berne: Official residence	Upgrading of the electrical and plumbing works	R1 520 000

d) Service Providers are appointed through open bids (request quotations and open tender) depending on the value of the project.

e) The project risk assessment is undertaken for tender projects, Legal Service make inputs on the service level agreements and contract for all projects to ensure the Department is protected. Each project is allocated a Project Manager to ensure quality work is executed within cost and in time.

 

 

Reply:

For the 2023/24 financial the following lines will be opened.

• Leralla to Germiston
• Centurion to Kaalfontein
• Durban to Kwamashu/Bridge City
• Durban to Winkelspruit
• Germiston to Johannesburg
• Durban to Crossmoor
• Belle Ombre to Hercules to Capital Park
• Germiston to Kwesine
• Durban to Pinetown
• Johannesburg to Randfontein
• Johannesburg to Residensia
• Nyanga to Chris Hani
• Nyanga to Kapteinsklip
• Eerste River to Strand
• Eerste River to Muldersvlei

For the 2024/25 financial the following lines will be opened in the first quarter.

• Germiston to Daveyton
• Dunswart to Springs

Reply:

As the honourable member may be aware, most of the South African road network has reached their twenty (20) years design life with the maintenance backlog estimated to be R197 billion. It is also important to note that insufficient budget for roads at both provincial and municipal levels continue to hinder the sector hence most of these roads are riddled with potholes.

Following Cabinet retreat of 31 May to 1 June 2022, whereby SANRAL was appointed as the implementing agent for the programme to support the Roads authorities with skills capacity and use of the maintenance technologies already available at SANRAL. All provinces developed and presented their respective plans on the six months rollout till end of 2022/23 financial year.

The programme “Operation Vala Zonke” rollout was then launched on 08 August 2022 in Gauteng with all other eight (8) provinces simultaneously launching their rollout programmes.

The rollout plan has both the short and long-term interventions that is presented to the National Treasury for funding support which includes amongst others.

1. Substantial budget increase to Provincial Road Maintenance Grant (PRMG) to be ringfenced for national intervention to allow SANRAL direct intervention where authorities fail to discharge their mandates.
2. Department issuing practice notes for provinces to sign MoA’s with municipalities for future collaboration and assistance of skills capacity to utilise the pothole reporting app.
3. Support for provinces and municipalities in uploading the roads data in the SANRAL Integrated Transport Information System.
4. SANRAL to remain central in coordinating all pothole fixing programme with both provinces and municipalities jointly working together.

The Department is in the process of establishing the “Operation Vala Zonke War Room” whereby all matters relating to pothole information will be centrally coordinated.

Following my meeting with His excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2023, I will be meeting with all the nine Premiers with effect from the 5th of June 2023 to address amongst others, challenges facing the province’s financial, technological and human resource capacity and also agree on how the rollout can be strengthened.

Reply:

Yes. My Department has through the years taken several steps to (a) work with the SA Police Service to identify and/or apprehend individuals and/or syndicates responsible for the massive corruption at Driving Licence Testing Centers (DLTCs). The South African Police Service (SAPS) is a member of all the Department’s national legislation forums, where procedures and legislation are tabled to combat crime not only in the areas of DLTCs but in the road traffic environment as a whole.

Further to that, my Department is also a member of the National and Provincial Vehicle Crime Forums of the SAPS. In addition, my Department’s Directorate Compliance works closely with the SAPS and provides inputs and supplies evidence and expert witness statements in major SAPS operations if and when requested.

Both my Department and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), a Corporation of my Department, are therefore actively pursuing investigations into allegations of irregularities and bringing such cases with supporting evidence to the attention of the SAPS. Several such investigations are ongoing throughout the country. The RTMC reported that the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit investigated 247 cases of fraud and corruption in the past financial year and made 96 arrests in collaboration with the South African Police Services.

The Inspectorate for Driving Licence Testing Centres is appointed by the Minister. The purpose of this Inspectorate is to ensure that testing centres comply with the legislative requirements and non-compliance is reported to the Provincial Departments to act upon to, amongst others reduce crime.

The Department is also engaging with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to establish a link between the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) and DHA systems to further secure the environment by ensuring that we only transact with citizens or people who are legally in the country. Biometric verification is used to authenticate users on login. The biometric verification is currently deployed in the Smart Enrolment Units and will be deployed for the revised Computerised Learner’s Licence Testing (CLLT) within this financial year. The functionality will be extended to high-risk transactions when the applicant must be present.

The Online booking system is currently used at all DLTCs in Gauteng and 2 Metropolitan Municipalities in Eastern Cape to address collusion and fraudulent practices with bookings for tests. The solution is being rolled out in Free State.

Also with regards to part (b) my Department is working closely with DLCA to deal with the current backlog on processing licences;

The current backlog is however not a result of irregular activity at the DLTCs but as a result of maintenance on the card production machine that is taking longer than expected. The card production machine has been in operation since 1998 thus it’s obsolete and thus prone to constant breakdown. These breakdowns result in driving licence backlogs which the Department has been able to address once the machine is repaired and is in operation. A permanent solution to the problem is the replacement of this old machine with a new modern one, this is underway as part of the rolling out of the new driving licence card which was approved by Cabinet in August 2022.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) engaged the Thembisile Local Municipality and they confirmed that the pipeline supplying Zakheni village was damaged by the floods for a period of three (3) to four (4) months which affected water supply. The status is reported as follows:

• The contractor was appointed, and repairs to the damaged pipeline were completed on 30 April 2023.
• Water has been restored in the area and is supplied on rationing scheduling.
• Other areas still receive water through the water tanks to augment the unconnected or unserved areas.
• The municipality is building a new reticulation pipeline.

• The long-term water supply plans for the area are as follows:The Thembisile Hani Local Municipality is supplied by Rand Water and the City of Tshwane based on agreed contracts as it does not have a dedicated water source to supply water to the residents of the municipality. The water supply contracts with Tshwane and Rand Water are under review to increase the current water supply.
• The community of KwaMhlanga and Zakheni will also benefit from the Loskop Bulk water supply scheme once it is completed. The anticipated completion of the project is planned for November 2024.

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Reply:

The following lines in Cape Town are projected to be operational during the 2023/24 financial year, as follows:

• Nyanga to Chris Hani – 30 November 2023
• Nyanga to Kapteinsklip – 30 November 2023
• Eerste River to Strand – 30 August 2023
• Eerste River to Muldersvlei – 31 August 2023

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) regularly conducts inspections and audits on the operation and maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTWs) in all Water Services Institution (WSIs) in the Free State, including Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM). The inspections aim to assess whether WWTWs are operated and maintained in a manner that does not pose risks of pollution resulting in contamination of water resources and increasing risks to human health and the environment.

The Sterkwater WWTW was operational even though there were some issues owing to poor maintenance of the plant. In July 2022 it was discovered that the WWTW is in a dilapidated state. DWS then conducted detailed investigations and found that theft of electrical cables has rendered the core process units of the WWTW non-operational. Following this initial investigation, a non-compliance letter dated 03 October 2022 was issued to the municipality. The Municipality did not respond to the non-compliance letter with an action plan to address the problems.

DWS conducted routine inspections at the WWTW again in January 2023, which found that the WWTW was still non-operational and the sewage from the inlet works was being diverted to the stormwater channel. DWS sent follow up correspondence in March 2023 regarding the poor conditions of the Sterkwater WWTW.

The DWS will proceed with administrative enforcement, thereby issuing a Notice for intention to issue a directive in June 2023, following the Mangaung Municipality’s failure to respond to the non-compliance letters issued. Although the municipality has not responded officially in writing to DWS letters, municipal officials indicated that Mangaung received a Special Grant from National Treasury to address the Sterkwater WWTW challenges, and the following measures are in place to restore its functionality:

• The municipality has stripped the electric motors and other electric and mechanical equipment that need repairs to determine the work to be done for restoration of the equipment.
• Electric cables have been ordered.
• The security company has been appointed to render armed response to protect the new cables to be installed.
• The plant should be running in the next three months.

 

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Reply:

PRASA is currently offering commuter rail services in four regions namely KZN, Gauteng, Western Cape and Eastern Cape in the following lines:

• KZN: Durban – Umlazi, Durban – Kwamashu, Durban – Tongaat, Durban – Catoridge;
• Eastern Cape: East London to Berlin;
• Gauteng: Pretoria – Pienaarspoort, Pretoria – Saulsville, De Wildt – Hercules, Pretoria – Mabopane, Pretoria – Centurion, Johannesburg – Naledi and Vereeniging – Germiston;
• Western Cape: Cape Town – Simonstown, Cape Town – Retreat, Cape Town – Bellville (via Goodwood and Monte Vista), Cape Town – Wellington, Cape Town – Malmesbury, Bellville – Eersterivier, Cape Town – Langa (via Mutual and Pinelands) and Cape Town – Bellville (via Sarepta).

PRASA has also targeted to refurbish infrastructure on the following lines with the intention to restore passenger rail services in the 2023/2024 FY:

• KZN: Crossmore-Durban, Durban-Stanger, Pinetown-Durban, Wests-Durban.
• Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage.
• Gauteng: Daveyton-Dunswart-Germiston, Vereeninging-George Goch (via Midway), Kwesine-Germiston, Springs-Johannesburg, Randfontein-Johannesburg, Nigel-Springs, Johannesburg-Oberholzer, Germiston-New Canada (Booysen), Mabopane-Pienaarspoort (via Capital Park).
• Western Cape: Cape Town-Khayelitsha, Cape Town-Kapteinsklip, Cape Town-Kraaifontein, Cape Town-Worcester, Eerste Rivier-Muldersvlei.

Reply:

a) The Department is aware of the water supply interruptions in Rustenburg Local Municipality. Seven urgent notices were issued by the municipality on between February and May 2023 informing consumers of the expected water shortages owing to load shedding and routine maintenance which resulted in Water Treatment Plants not operating optimally and water supply interruptions. The municipality had reported a 40% reduction at the Vaalkop system which has since recovered and is back at 100% supply. However, the Bospoort system is still operating at an average of 85-90% supply.

The supply of treated effluent from the Rustenburg Wastewater Treatment Works to Anglo American and Impala Platinum mines was authorised in the water use authorisations for the mines as a way of promoting the re-use of grey water. At no point is the treated effluent pumped to any water supply reservoirs.

b) The municipality began implementing a Water Demand Management Strategy in October 2022 as a mitigation measure. Based on the strategy, water supply is isolated and rotated to specific areas at a time and a schedule has been issued detailing the supply times for different areas.

The municipality has requested Eskom to exempt the Bospoort Water Treatment Works (WTW) from load shedding to mitigate water supply challenges, the request was approved for Stage 2 loadshedding.

In addition, a back-up generator has been leased by the municipality as a preliminary measure. The municipality has indicated that the long-term plan is to solution to water supply interruptions caused by loadshedding to isolate the transformer supplying electricity to the Bospoort WTW to exempt the plant from loadshedding.

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Reply:

1. The Department of Transport has developed a High-Speed Rail (HSR) Framework following the adoption of the National Rail Policy by Cabinet on 23 March 2022. Drawing its policy direction from the National Rail Policy, the HSR Framework provides the foundation for the prioritisation of HSR corridors in the country. The Framework identifies the objectives of HSR and the criteria to be used in prioritising and ranking potential HSR corridors in the country. Following approval of the HSR Framework by Cabinet and the securing of the required funding, feasibility studies will be conducted on prioritised HSR corridors.

2. See response in (1) above.

Reply:

a) The Department of Transport has developed a High Speed Rail (HSR) Framework following the adoption of the White Paper on National Rail Policy by Cabinet on 23 March 2022. Drawing its policy direction from the National Rail Policy, the draft HSR Framework provides the foundation for the prioritisation of HSR corridors in the country. Following approval of the draft HSR Framework by Cabinet and the securing of the required funding, feasibility studies will be undertaken on prioritised HSR corridors. The outcome of feasibility studies on priority corridors will determine the estimated cost of implementing HSR on a specific priority corridor.

b) See response in (a).

Reply:

The Eastern Cape Department of Transport (ECDoT) is aware of the difficulty children in rural areas face when rivers are full and river crossings become impassable.

The National Department of Public Works & Infrastructure (DPWI) through BFI have secured funds with the purpose of constructing Welisizwe bridges aim at ensuring that access to schools, clinics, police stations are safe.

To this end the DPWI and ECDoT have entered into a memorandum of agreement for Welisizwe Bridges programme SIP No. 25. The following Departments are also involved in the rollout of this program:

• Department of Defence
• Department of Transport
• Department of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs

The ECDoT after the recent floods have identified 49 bridges that will be constructed over the MTEF period. The following table confirms that:

MTEF Targets
2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
17	16	16

Reply:

The matter was referred to Free State Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport, since this road falls under their area of jurisdiction and have indicated that roads in the Province are prioritized based on the outcome of optimal resource allocation. For that purpose, procurement processes have already commenced for parts of this request.

a) The province would like to address the concerns regarding the maintenance backlog on the Verkeerdevlei to Thaba Nchu (N8-N1) road. We understand the importance of maintaining our roads to ensure safe and efficient travel for all citizens.

The province acknowledges the potholes on this section of the road, as it forms part of the provincial departmental Potholes Repair Programme under Provincial Road Maintenance Grant (PRMG) funds. The Motheo region has a weekly target of pothole patching in line with the Departmental Annual Performance Plans (APPs). This is aimed at ensuring the road is safe for road users at all time, while the Department is planning to perform rehabilitation for the entire road later in the year because it has reached its life span.

b) The advert for the section between Excelsior and Tweespruit closed in 31 January 2023 and is currently undergoing evaluation with an allocated budget of R25 million for the 2023/24 financial year and a provisional R45 million for the 2024/25 financial year. The budget will be adjusted based on bids received and approved. The anticipation date appointment of a contractor is expected by end of June 2023.

The province assures that the Verkeerdevlei to Thaba Nchu road is not forgotten, and it will be prioritized in the next financial year. The province is aware of the urgency of the situation will work diligently to address the maintenance backlog on this road.

Reply:

The matter was referred to the Free State Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport, since this road falls under their area of jurisdiction, who have indicated that:

a) Delays were experienced for immediate repairs due a lack of resources

b) The planned intervention is the inclusion of the road on the Departmental Business Plan over the 2023/24 MTEF. Specifications have already been drafted and will be presented to relevant structures by end of May 2023, in an effort to kick-start the process of advertising for a contractor to fix and repair the two separate roads: i.e. Senekal – Rosendal and Rosendal – Ficksburg.

Reply:

Between November 2022 to February 2023 and in February and March 2023 Eastern Cape Province was again hit hard by torrential rains with OR Tambo District hit by both two events, resulting in severe damages to roads infrastructure. Damages includes roads surface wash-away, bridges including approaches, stormwater drainage blockages with debris and logs, and serious mudslides rendering roads unusable.

a). For the 6 District, about 6023 km of roads plus 77 bridges of damages were recorded. Due to limited resources to deal with most of the provincial roads affected, the Department resolved to restore trafficability by blading most roads and regravelling critical areas in severely damaged roads. In recent months persistent rains in the province affected the repair work and to date about 23 kilometers of roads and 7 bridges has been repaired, and work is still underway to repair most of the roads including 3 bridges due for completion soon.

b). For national roads floods damages were experienced on road works and bridges notably in the Port St Johns and King Dalinyebo Sabata (KSD) local municipalities during the March 2023 floods.

Temporary deviations/bypasses were constructed at 100% of locations to provide access to facilities and dwellings on the other side of the road slope failures and damaged bridge approaches. Emergency procurement processes are underway, and it is expected to have contractors on site for permanent repairs in June 2023.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) currently has numerous interventions being implemented across the various municipalities within the Mpumalanga Province. The table below provides information in interventions for the municipalities including Emalahleni Local Municipality, Emakhazeni Local Municipality, Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality, Victor Khanye Local Municipality, Lekwa Local Municipality, Dipaliseng Local Municipality, and the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

	Local Municipality	Intervention	Objective	Anticipated date of completion
a	Emalahleni	DWS has Infrastructure Development Management (IDM) relating to Water Conservation Demand Management (WCDM)	Water Conservation and Demand Management	Ongoing
b	Emakhazeni	DWS provided financial assistance for the construction of sewer outfall, upgrading and refurbishment of Madala Sewer Main Line and Emgwenya WasteWater Treatment Works	To improve the quality of treated effluent discharged into the water resource (Inkomati catchment for Mngwenya & Olifants catchment for Belfast) and prevent the associated environmental pollution.	Two projects are expected to be completed on 31 July 2023
c	Dr J S Moroka	DWS has Infrastructure Development Management (IDM) relates to Water Conservation Demand Management (WCDM) not water quality	Water Conservation and Demand Management	Ongoing
d	Victor Khanye	Upgrading of the Delmas Wastewater Treatment Works from 4.5ML/d to 12ML/d	To improve the quality of treated effluent discharged into the water resource (Olifants catchment) to prevent the associated environmental pollution	13 May 2024
e	Lekwa	Various projects relating to management of effluent in areas including Rooikopen, Sakhile and Standerton town	Eliminating sewer spillages within households. Project entails replacement of sewer reticulation network, refurbishment / upgrading of pump stations, unblocking of sewer lines and repairs of water reticulation including water conservation and demand management.	June 2024
f	Dipaliseng	Upgrading of Balfour WTW’s from 6.5ML/d to 19.5ML/d Construction of bulk pipeline from Fortuna to Grooitvlei including storage facilities	To supplement water supply to Balfour, Siyathemba, Grooitvlei / Nthorwane and Greylingstad.	Upgrading of WTW’s is due for completion in August 2023. Bulk pipeline due to be completed in March 2024.
g	Steve Tshwete	Assisting the municipality to refurbish and upgrade the Vaalbank Water Treatment Works which supplies water to Middelburg and Mhluzi areas	To improve process performance and reduction of sulphate to ensure acceptable drinking water quality.	December 2023

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Reply:

The sixth administration of the ANC led government identified the turnaround of the RAF as one of its priorities. At the core of this turnaround is claimant centricity and expeditious finalisation of claims. There was a backlog of more than 300 000 claims (including supplier claims).

The target is to settle claims within 120 days as per the legislative mandate. This is against a background where claims took an average of 5 years to settle.

The RAF embarked on a project to settle old claims that were older than 3 years. An audit then indicated that 93% of all these claims were not compliant with the minimum requirements; i.e., the forms were not filled with “all particulars” as envisaged in Section 24 (4) of the RAF Act.

The claims were deemed to be valid in terms of Section 24(5) of the RAF Act which deems claims valid “in law in all respects” as the RAF did not object within 60 days of receiving the claim.

The former Minister of Transport, Minister Mbalula gazetted the Minimum requirements and the RAF has amended the RAF Form 1 to include all these changes.

A pre–assessment process has been implemented at various regional offices and most of these non–complaint claims are rejected immediately on lodgement in line with Section 24(4) of the RAF Act.

All RAF claims are now paid within 180 days after settlement in line with the court order granted by the North Gauteng High Court.

The challenge continues to be in represented claims, where attorneys receive monies and do not pay over to the claimants and Section 19(c) of the RAF Act which makes direct claims unlawful if RAF initiates the claim on behalf of the claimant.

Organisational structure review and process re-engineering

A new Operating Model was introduced with re-engineered claims processes focusing on simplifying the processing of valid claims to improve processing turnaround times.

In order to ensure that the correct claimants are paid timeously, the RAF moved from outsourcing of actuarial services to calculate the quatum of the claims, and accident investigators as it was costly and time consuming and appointed permanent employees for the investigation and assessment of claims to be managed in a shorter period and in a mre cost effective manner.

The claims administration units focus on matters capable of settlement by engaging with the claimants and/or their representatives to settle these matters before they are taken to court.

Furthermore, the RAF has also strengthened and improved controls linked to payments, with various validations, including the utilisation of the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS), are undertaken to verify and confirm the identity and mortality of claimants and dependants. Bank information is externally validated to ensure payments are made into the correct bank account. The RAF also checks tax compliance and any contingency fee agreement's validity before payment.

Reply:

The President appointed the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity to focus on the following key priorities:

1. Reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding as a matter of urgency.
2. Oversee all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee and implementation of the Energy Action Plan.
3. Facilitate the coordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.

On 24 May 2023, I transferred to the Minister of Electricity all powers and functions contained in Section 34(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act, which were previously entrusted to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. I also transferred to the Minister of Electricity relevant powers and functions set out in Section 34(2) of the Electricity Regulation Act to the extent that the powers and functions relate to any purpose set out in Section 34(1).

The Presidency in consultation with National Treasury is in a process of finalising budget allocation to the Ministry in line with the assigned legislative mandate. Furthermore, coordination has been activated through intergovernmental relations to use available resources to respond effectively to the national energy crisis.

Reply:

I have been advised as follows:

a) As at 30 April 2023, the total outstanding Spaza Shops Support Programme (SSSP) beneficiaries who had not yet received the additional R7 000 grant were 504 nationally. During the month of May 2023, 426 beneficiaries of SSSP received their additional R7 000, and this has been confirmed with Nedbank. This means that to date only 78 beneficiaries are yet to receive their additional R7000 grant and the process to disburse these funds is underway.

b) Provincial breakdown of SSSP performance

Spaza Shop Support Programme Provincial budget allocation
Province	SPAZAS & General Dealers Per Province	Budget Rands	No . of approvals R3500	No . of approvals R10500	No. of top ups R7000	Amount committed to Spazas (R)	Budget balance (R)
Total EC	3 200	11 222 445	716	44	662	7 602 000	3 620 445
Total FS	1 430	5 015 030	232	107	205	3 370 500	1 644 530
Total GP	5 370	18 832 665	322	375	299	7 157 500	11 675 165
Total KZN	5 000	17 535 070	2473	269	2256	27 272 000	- 9 736 930
Total LP	2 690	9 433 868	1224	121	1125	13 429 500	- 3 995 632
Total MP	2 110	7 399 800	197	71	157	2 534 000	4 865 800
Total NC	840	2 945 892	72	48	70	1 246 000	1 699 892
Total NW	1 840	6 452 906	105	30	88	1 298 500	5 154 406
Total WC	2 470	8 662 325	99	55	74	1 442 000	7 220 325
TOTAL	24 950	87 500 000	5 440	1 120	4 936	65 352 000	22 148 000

It should be noted that the 426 beneficiaries that received the additional R7 000 in May 2023 are yet to be added to sefaLAS (sefa’s loan electronic system). The system periodically runs updates and the updated information should be available by mid-June 2023.

Reply:

I have been advised as follows:

That the interest rates between the Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and their clients are governed by the National Credit Act (NCA). All the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) funded MFIs charge interest rate that is within the rates prescribed by the NCA. However, both the clients and sefa acknowledge that the current rates are higher than what would be preferable, and sefa and its developmental clients are in the process of developing a sustainable way forward on rates and charges that bears in mind the MFIs’ need to be financially sustainable and the entrepreneurs’ need of finance at the best possible rates.

Reply:

I am advised follows:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has put together a loadshedding relief package called the Power Purchase Product (PPP) to be implemented through its agency Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa). The PPP is financial package which aims to assist small and medium enterprises across South Africa who have been severely impacted by loadshedding. The programme will support these enterprises with a blended loan facility of up to R1 million. An amount of R 490 million is allocated inclusive of Seda support to product markets. The blended facility will be utilised for the acquisition of alternative energy sources as well as related working capital.

As part of our medium to long term strategy, a separate request was submitted to the National Treasury to allow non-Banking Financial Institutions such as the Khula Credit Guarantee to participate in the Bounce Back Scheme so that funding support to enterprises can be maximised.

Reply:

I have appointed an independent panel to enquire into the circumstances of the docking of the Russian vessel known as Lady R in Simonstown in December 2022. The enquiry was established because of the seriousness of the allegations, the extent of public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations.

The inquiry has to establish the circumstances that led to the docking of the ship and the alleged loading of cargo, and the departure of the Lady R cargo ship from Simonstown, during the period from 6 to 9 December 2022.

The panel has been tasked to:

• establish the circumstances that led to the docking of the ship and the alleged loading of cargo, and the departure of the Lady R cargo ship from Simonstown, during the period from 6 to 9 December 2022;

• establish persons who were aware of the cargo ship’s arrival, and, if any, the contents to be off-loaded or loaded, the departure and destination of the cargo;

• evaluate whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with in relation to the cargo ship’s arrival, its stay, the loading or off-loading of its contents, and its departure.

The investigation will ensure all aspects of the docking are comprehensively and independently dealt with and will include recommendations on any steps that may need to be taken in light of their findings or as a result of any breaches that may have occurred.

The panel has been given a specific timeframe to finish its work and barring any challenges that could delay its work it is expected that it will finalise its investigation within the specified timeframe and to submit its report to the President after concluding its work.

Reply:

I have been advised as follows:

1. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is an agency under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). The department has not been apprised of Industrial Development Corporation’s motive to move into the SMME wholesale lending.
2. As indicated under (1) above, the motive for the move is not known to DSBD. However, sefa has been delivering on its mandate. To date, since its establishment in April 2012, sefa has disbursed R9.5 billion into the South African economy via the Wholesale Lending channel, supporting 629 971 SMMEs and Co-operatives, who in turn helped create and sustain 767 551 jobs.
3. The DSBD is currently undertaking a process of merging sefa and Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA) into the Small Business Development Agency (Seda). The establishment of the new entity will give effect to a Cabinet decision to enable and provide for integrated government support (both financial and non-financial) to small enterprises, which are defined as including Co-operatives.

Reply:

1. The department acknowledges the impact of load shedding across country which has led to some SMMEs closing down their operations while others decline in performance. The Small Enterprise Agency (sefa) conducted a dipstick survey on SMME’s it has funded to try and understand the impact of loadshedding on their operations. From the results of the survey, there was no client that indicated that they closed their doors permanently due to loadshedding. However, businesses showed that they experienced adverse effect of loadshedding on their businesses. Many clients, especially those in the manufacturing sector indicated that they are losing production while others have lost revenue.

2. The standard procedure followed when designing funding instruments is to conduct research to understand what else is offered in the market for an example, in designing the latest loadshedding relief scheme (Power Purchase Products), offerings from the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) – through the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), Department of Mineral

3. Resources (DMRE), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), and National Treasury were consulted. Furthermore, the relevant industry bodies and/or business formations such as Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) were consulted in order to design products that are needs based. The meetings normally take place virtually, so the recordings of these meetings are kept as evidence of these consultations.

Generally for other instruments the Department does conduct site visits to engage with the affected enterprises for example when the provinces of KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape were affected by loadshedding as the Minister together with officials we visited the SMMEs to see and also find out directly from them what kind of support they require for them to recover and get back to operation. Also the Provincial Roadshows which we hosted across the country in the last financial year played a very critical role in relooking at the existing instruments and adjusting them to fit with the needs of small enterprises. The Roadshows reports were recorded and are kept in the Department.

Reply:

(a) The total office hours lost in Quarter 4 (Q4) due to:

(i)	Load shedding as collated by Provinces is 6 268.
(ii)	Closure of offices: 1319.
(iii)	Water outages: 278.
(iv)	System downtime: 13 416.
(v)	Health facilities: 202.

(b) The total percentage uptime of the systems was 95%.

(c) The provincial screening committees are going to provide the details of the finalised LRB’s at the end of Quarter 1 of the current financial year.

END

Reply:

I am advised as follows:

The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) takes fraud and corruption seriously. There are various mechanisms and strategies developed by (sefa) to inwardly address potential risk of fraudulent activities. One of these is the anti-fraud hotline at sefa with contact number 0800 000 663. Instances where corruption and fraud has been reported Sefa has instituted investigations and will act on the recommendations where our officials might have been involved.