Questions and Replies

Reply:

• Hon. Abrahams, the Department of Employment and Labour has 9 Provincial Offices, which are equivalent to the number of Provinces that the country has. This is so, even because this particular Portfolio does not have concurrence function when it comes to other spheres of government.

• Over and above that the Department of Employment and Labour has about 126 Labour Centres across the country. In this number please add about 30 Satellite Offices again country wide.

If you travel around the country, you will also notice that the Department of Labour is having 41 Thusong Services Centre as well as 447 Visiting Points in the Republic.

• This is the infrastructure or footprint if you like that the Department of Employment and Labour is having to ensure that citizens of this country have access to the services that we render. And I have not even spoken about one of the programmes that we have of Taking Services To the People or Road-Shows as others would prefer to call them. They normally take place outside of the cities like Cape Town, due to the fact that we need not to leave anyone behind, even those who are in the country-side must be provided with the decent public services that other fellow South Africans enjoy.

• The office that you are refereeing to at No. 10 Molteno Street, Goodwood, Cape Town is not even a Labour Centre. It is a Satellite Office, with the supervisor Mr Thembekile Hoza – [email protected]. He is ably assisted by five (5) other officials. It is operating from 07h00 up until 16h00. Nearby Goodwood in Bellville the Department of Labour has the Labour Centre, which is more capacitated than the Satellite Office which is only having 6 personnel. There are no vacancies in there are no Labour Satellite Office, situated at No. 10 Molteno Street, Goodwood, Cape Town.

 

• In the private sector the booking system may work fairly well, due to a limited number they are dealing with, but in the public sector the same system may just be creating some mayhem, disorder, havoc, chaos and confusion, thereby defeating the same objective that you wanted to achieve. And again this is due to the number of people that public sector is dealing with, nature of the services they look from in as far as public facilities are concerned. So, for now, the Department find it better to serve people as they come and just find a way of managing the queues if they are there in a more orderly manner.

• And yes, forms get received, assessed and processed further to the payment of claims in the event where they meet all the required particulars. It may be confirmed that screening of applications, prioritisation of claims per benefit types maternity application, sick applications, elderly 60+, physically challenged are served first every morning.

• Sometimes, the Department remains not sure when one is asking about the backlog. Because this may mean so many things. As it is indicated above correctly filled out claim forms after received, assessed and processed further when they meet all the known and communicated requirements. In the event where those forms have outstanding information, then applicants have to furnish that which is still required.

• The Department is still exploring possible ways to mitigate challenges of load-shedding, with our sister Department of state assets, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Thank you!

Reply:

At this stage, it is premature to approach National Treasury to lobby for additional funding for the remedial actions from the public protector. The matters of conditions of service for Clinical Associates have been presented to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and are being considered as part of the wider process of the Personnel Expenditure Review exercise that includes the review of OSDs in the public sector. Engagement with National Treasury will subsequently be informed by the outcomes of the DPSA process.

END.

Reply:

According to the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health, Edenvale Hospital did not award any tenders to Minzorex and its subsidiaries.

a) The Gauteng Department of Health has not awarded any tenders to Minzorex and its subsidiaries in the past twelve months.

b) The investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) are still in progress and the Department will implement the recommendations once investigation is concluded.

c) Suppliers been red-flagged by SIU are not prohibited to do business with government unless been blacklisted. The blacklisting of the suppliers such as Minzorex will be performed once the SIU have concluded their investigation. No provincial health department has contracted with Minzorex as per the confirmation received from the provinces.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health does not have specific emergency funds in preparation for another global pandemic, the emergency funds are enshrined in the Disaster Management Act and is the competency of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs through the National Treasury. Funds are released when the President of the Republic of South Africa declares a disaster through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

END.

Reply:

1. Yes, the Minister is implementing the remedial actions from the Public Protector’s report guided by prescripts of the law. As such, the DPSA are dealing with the issue of Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) through a process lead. DPSA has commissioned Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to conduct a Personnel Expenditure Review (PER), that includes the review of OSDs in the public sector.

2. Yes, the National Department of Health has commenced discussions with relevant stakeholders to facilitate negotiations to address the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for Clinical Associates. The Department has held meeting(s) with the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to table issues pertaining to the conditions of service for the Clinical Associates as raised in the Public Protector’s report.

3. Fiscal constraints continue to be a limitation on the issue of creation of additional posts for all categories, including Clinical Associates posts within the public health system. Currently, Provinces are unable to fill existing vacant posts or create new ones, despite service delivery needs/demands. Instead, they are required to prioritize posts across all levels of care within the available budget.

END.

Reply:

a) The grants payments Master Services Agreement entered between SAPO and SASSA in 2018 was ceded to Postbank which was originally a division of SAPO when the contract was concluded. The cession of the contract to Postbank by SAPO was concluded given that the payments are financial services facilitated through the National Payment System (NPS) in which Postbank is a participant and SAPO is not a recognized participant. Since the inception of the contract in 2018, Postbank was facilitating more than 90% of the grants payments via the NPS, whereby grant recipients mostly received their money via ATM’s and retailers similar to any bank transaction. SAPO only facilitated limited beneficiary numbers payments within its branches and it still continues offering this service, providing the rationale for the contract cession.

b) Postbank together with SASSA implement a public campaign that included roadshows and on the ground activations creating public awareness that Postbank is responsible for social grants payments.

Reply:

a) According to Free State province, Batho clinic has been operating on extended service hours (07:00 -19:00) since 12 July 2022 after consultation was done with the clinic committees and local communities. Further awareness was done daily both to the internal customers and still continues. Batho clinic still operates 07:00 – 19:00 hours and the same operational hours are displayed on the service board at the clinic entrance.

b) The deceased was not refused healthcare services as he came after 19:00 when the clinic was already closed and there was no one (clinicians) on duty in the clinic. The security officials on duty who were  guarding the facility called Emergency Medical Services for the deceased.

c) The nearest health  facilities closer to Batho clinic are Mangaung and University of the Free State Community Partnership Program (MUCPP) and Pelonomi Hospital both are within 5km radius and operates 24hours. The awareness of the primary health care facilities operating hours is continuously done through local radio stations, media and displayed on the service board at the clinic and through clinic committees. The department of health management from the province and district offices visited the bereaved family at their home and provided redress on the matter (responding to media statement). The family was also encouraged to write a formal complaint so that the responses on the specific concerns can be given.

END.

Reply:

Yes, Social Assistance legislation provides for primary care givers and relatives of children in receipt of the Child Support Grant (CSG) including CSG Top Up to receive the grant until the month in which the child turns 18 years of age. The same legislation provides for COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) for working age unemployed adults (18 -59). Although the provision is temporary, it caters for the same group of beneficiaries.

It is important to emphasise that children’s grants should be seen in the context of comprehensive social protection programmes rendered by government. To this effect, Government provides essential services for example, food nutrition programme to poor children through the Department of Basic Education and other free basic municipal services at reduced and controlled costs to impoverished households of which the majority of these children come from. In addition, the same children are exempted from paying school fees.

Government has ensured that basic food items such as brown bread, maize meal, vegetables, fruits, eggs, samp, mealie rice and milk are zero-rated, meaning the 14% VAT is not paid on these goods.

The Department did consider extending the CSG for beneficiaries over 18 and still at school up to the age of 21 years (similar to the FCG) in previous years, however, the proposal was not supported due to fiscal constraints.

Reply:

(a)

• The National Treasury allocates funding for Social Assistance Grants to the National Department of Social Development on an annual basis as “specifically and appropriated funds”, which means it may not be used for any other purposes.
• Annually, the Department request approval from the National Treasury to disburse the Social Assistance grants funds on a monthly cashflow requirement linked to the annual budget allocation.
• National Treasury also approves the monthly payment dates of the social assistance grants
• Monthly, the National Department of Social Development submits a payment schedule instruction to National Treasury to approve payments to be released to the nine (9) SASSA regions for the payment to social assistance beneficiaries as per agreed payment dates and amounts.
• The Department ensures that payments to SASSA are approved within four (4) days of the scheduled payment dates. Once payments have been made, SASSA is required to submit expenditure reports on a monthly basis to reflect all payments made. This is used as a monitoring mechanism.
• The Department participates in the review of the agreement with the Post-Office to ensure that the arrangement ensures timely and accurate payments.
• The Department also has an oversight forum which reviews SASSAs performance reports which includes targets relating to approval and payments to eligible beneficiaries.

(b)

SASSA has developed a schedule and follows it rigorously for processes leading to pre–payment files extraction, as well as actual payment extraction. These processes include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The schedule covers a process to verify new and changed bank accounts/cellphones and is performed daily, to ensure that there is no backlog of unverified accounts at the time of payment file extraction. Where an account is on unverified status for more than 5 days, such account is re-extracted and re-submitted for verification through National Treasury with the banks.
• The schedule covers the process to verify new and existing applications against external databases and where the datasets are not received in time, internal control processes are implemented to ensure that verification and payment processes are not delayed.
• The schedule, which covers processes to means test new and existing applications with the banks, has been formalized and is scheduled in advance leading to the extraction of the payment file.
• For bulk payments of social grants, a payment schedule is compiled and agreed to with the banks and retailers to ensure enough cash is supplied and in circulation during payment periods.
• The payment dates for social grants and COVID-19 SRD have been staggered in a manner that ensures that there is no disruption within the financial sector.
• The workflow for the extraction and authorization of payment files has been automated to ensure seamless processing.
• Constant client directed (via SMS) and public communication is done throughout all communication channels to ensure that clients are kept up to date regarding payment dates, as well as, any changes in payment dates or processes.
• Biometric authentication for staff has been implemented – especially in the payment environment - to ensure enhanced controls are in place and observed.
• Reconciliations are performed with all banks to ensure correct payments were effected and to detect payments which were not effected (EF70 codes – where client accounts were closed / not FICA’d etc. post payment.) In these cases, the money is returned and reconciled with SASSA, whereafter SASSA engages the clients for updated information.

(c)

The Grants Payments System used by Postbank to facilitate social grants payments has been migrated to a more stable environment from in January 2023. This was done to immediately address the infrastructure-related performance issue. The migration to the cloud platform also provided improved security in the Grants Payments System and reduced downtime, given that most of the payments challenges were Information Technology system related

Reply:

(a) A total of 6,225 caregivers under the age of 18 years have benefited for one child support grant in the past five (5) years, that is, from 2018/19 financial year to end of February 2023. A provincial breakdown is depicted in the table below:

(b) A total of 221 caregivers under the age of 18 years have benefited for more than one child support grant, during the past five years. A provincial breakdown is depicted in the table below:

Reply:

(a) (i) The satellite clinic in Ward 29 Makolokwe, Rustenburg, in North West started operating in 2002.

(ii) The satellite clinic in Ward 29 Makolokwe, Rustenburg was replaced by a mobile clinic since 2005. Currently, the mobile clinic station is at the community hall.

(b) (i) This structure, built by Bophuthatswana Government, was used as  a storage area for some of the Sub-district equipment, while awaiting equipment disposal. The equipment was removed by 1 April 2023. The building is currently not in use. The sub-district management is still to decide what the building will be used for going forward.

(ii) During the time that the equipment was stored at the building, security personnel were posted at the facility to secure the equipment. Since the equipment has been moved out of the building (1 April 2023), the security personnel have been posted to another health facility that urgently required additional security staff.

END.

Reply:

Issues that may be affecting the SA Post Office will not impact the targets of the SA Social Security Agency in the 2023-24 financial year.

SASSA processes payments of social grants recipients directly into their nominated bank accounts at the beginning of the payment cycle and it is not dependant on the SA Post Office to execute this function, hence the target on the payment of social grants will invariably be achieved.

Reply:

1. What (a) number of social workers have been employed by the Government for the period 1 April 2022 to 1 April 2023.

• 2 233 social service professionals employed by government during 1 April 2022 to 1 April 2023.

What (b) is the breakdown of the specified number in each department.

There are several government departments that employs social services professionals. The table below reflects those that submitted. The Department is still collating information from the Department of Health, Department of Defence, Department of Correctional Services.

Social Development	Basic Education	Justice	Grand Total
1 545	674	14	2 233

(2) what is the total number of social workers who are currently in the employ of Government.

Grand Total = 23 561

(3) what are the details of the plans that have been put in place to achieve the target of employing 55 000 social workers by 2030?

• The Department of Social Development developed a draft Strategy for the Employment for Social Service Professional’s in collaboration with the following departments:
  • Social Development Provincial Departments.
  • Department of Basic Education.
  • Department of Health.
  • Department of Correctional Services.
  • South African Police Services.
  • Department of Justice.
  • Department of Defence.
  • HWSETA.
  • COGTA.
  • South African Council for Social Service Professionals (SACSSP).

• The cost analysis was done based on the additional required 31 744 Social Service Professionals by NDP vision 2030 to reach 55 000 by 2030.
• The estimated cost based on the workforce needs is approximately R9 578 552 700.
• A bid was developed to request funding from the National Treasury.
• The draft Strategy for Employment of Social Service Professionals was presented on 28 February 2023 to the Technical Working Group for Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster.
• The draft Strategy for Employment of Social Service Professionals was also presented on 15 March 2023 to the Technical Working Group for Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster.
• The draft Strategy for Employment of Social Service Professionals was further presented on 29 March 2023 to the Portfolio Committee workshop.

Reply:

a) We can confirm that there are no delays for social grants payments for the month of April 2023. All SASSA grants recipients using the SASSA/Postbank gold cards that were due to be paid in April via the National Payment System (ATMs, retailers and over the counter in Post Office branches) have been paid. The payments being concluded currently are those affecting people that collect their grants in Cash Pay Point in areas that are not covered by the NPS, and there are no notable delays in those payments. The current queues visible within Post Office branches are not payment queues, but queues of beneficiaries whose SASSA card will expire end April 2023, and they are responding to the call to come forward to collect new cards. The process of collecting the new SASSA cards has been communicated extensively to beneficiaries since the beginning of this card replacement program in March 2023.

b) The Grants Payments System used by Postbank to facilitate social grants payments has been migrated to a more stable environment from in January 2023. This was done to immediately address the infrastructure-related performance issue. The migration to the cloud platform also provided improved security in the Grants Payments System and reduced downtime, given that most of the payments challenges were Information Technology system related.

Reply:

1. No incidents of inmates that have gone missing were reported in the past 10 years. The following number of inmates escaped from lawful custody:

Region	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	01	06	07	05
Free State & Northern Cape	09	11	03	03
KwaZulu-Natal	05	03	06	02
Western Cape	04	75	03	05
Gauteng	10	12	02	02
Eastern Cape	05	10	01	10
TOTAL	34	117	22	27

Below is information in relation to inmates who remain at large after escaping from lawful custody:

Region	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	00	03	06	05
Free State & Northern Cape	01	02	00	00
KwaZulu-Natal	01	01	01	00
Western Cape	01	00	00	00
Gauteng	04	10	00	01
Eastern Cape	00	00	00	05
TOTAL	07	16	07	06

1. Not applicable, however in the event that an escapes from a correctional centre the incident is reported to the South African Police Services (SAPS) for further investigation and other related action.

END

Reply:

The recommendations and implementation of 2022 Greendrop Report are led and championed by Department of Water and Sanitation.

End.

Reply:

Municipalities are at the liberty of choosing their own financial system that they utilise to, amongst other things, bill their customers. In this regard, the Minister has no legal oligation/authority to put measures in place to regulate the functionality of the billing systems of municipalities because each system operates differently. In relation to the billing system being utilised by the City of Matlosana Local Municipality, according to the municipality, it uses Business Connexion (BCX) Solar system to bill residents on a monthly basis in five (5) areas within its jurisdiction to which it distributes electricity, namely; Klerksdorp including its suburbs, Orkney, Stilfontein, Hartbeesfontein and Jouberton.

According to the City of Matlosana Local Municipality, the municipality is not aware of irregularities with the billing system which could have caused exorbitant electricity costs, as it has implemented the tariffs as per the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)’s 2022/23 tariffs approval letter. The municipality became aware that some of the accounts distributed to residents levied abnormal usage due to load-shedding which interrupted the system whilst the final accounts levies were in process. The affected accounts were since identified and rectified. The municipality has indicated that it has implemented corrective measures which will curb future system interruptions in the form of installing additional inverters which will ensure continuous power supply to the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and IT servers in the event of load-shedding.

The Department, in its capacity to provide relief to the residents, makes grant transfers to municipalities through the local government equitable share, which should be used to, amongst other things, cover the free basic services component for indigent customers. Each indigent household, through the local government equitable share grant, is entitled to 50 kWh free electricity and 6 Kl of water each month.

End.

Reply:

1. Brand-SA is a crucial entity that is responsible for overseeing the management of South Africa's brand and safeguarding the country's reputation as an appealing investment and tourism destination. The reconfiguration of pre-existing departments and the establishment of new departments to conform with the Ministries was declared by His Excellency, the President on 14 June 2019. As per the President's proclamation, the Government Communication, and Information System (GCIS) and Brand South Africa (Brand SA) have been placed within the purview of the Minister in the Presidency, with the former serving as the overseeing department for the latter.

Brand South Africa is classified as a Schedule 3A public entity and has been duly registered as a trust in accordance with the Trust Property Control Act No. 57 of 1988. The review of the organisational structure of Brand SA therefore, beyond the purview of the MPSA and solely the responsibility Executive Authority of the organisation, which is the Minister in the Presidency. The Minister in the Presidency would be better placed to respond in detail on the considerations that informed the current organisational structure.

2. As a Schedule 3A public entity, Brand South Africa is not legally obligated to seek consultation with the MPSA regarding changes to its organisational structure in accordance with the Public Service Act and the 2016 Directive on changes to the organisational structures by the departments.

End

Reply:

a) Section 12 of the Municipal Structures Act provides the legal framework for the establishment of municipalities by MECs responsible for local government in the respective provinces. If there are therefore any changes required to the governance structure of a municipality to address matters of instability, the changes will have to be initiated and effected by the relevant MEC and not the Minister. 

(b) Falls away.

End.

Reply:

An Energy Safety and Security Priority Committee was established to address ESKOM-related crime on an inter-departmental, multi-disciplinary basis to address the objectives of Work Stream Six of the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM).

A total of 1952 Eskom-related cases were reported to the SA Police Service between 1 April 2022 and 29 May 2023, with 1405 cases still under investigation, and 126 arrests have been made.

Whilst much remains, these interventions are beginning to turn the situation around, and there are indications that operational measures implemented have clearly disrupted the activities of criminal syndicates.

Reply:

I have been informed by the Department that the projects started in 2012 and that the responsible Deputy Director-General at the time of the project, retired from public service in July 2020.

The DDG, relied on monitoring visits that were conducted by officials charged with project management responsibilities in the Programme. Project progress was assessed through monthly financial and project reports submitted by the Implementing Agents.

A review of the Working for Tourism Programme was undertaken around 2017. The Programme is now aligned to the Framework for Infrastructure Delivery and Procurement Management (FIDPM).

The Department further contracted with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) in November 2020 which has built environment professional capacity to manage infrastructure projects.

This happened before my time but what I have since started work to build infrastructure capacity.

The Department is also in the process of acquiring built environment professionals to support internal infrastructure programme management and is also finalising discussions with Infrastructure South Africa in this regard.

The matter has been reported to the police for investigation in September 2020.

Reply:

The review of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD)`s organizational structure can be traced back 2007. Many structures were designed but not approved and in some cases the structure was partially approved making it difficult to appoint people on permanent positions.

The organizational structure was not expanded as the new Branches previously existed but were not formalized through an approved structure. The Department Organization Structure was reviewed and all the Branches including the Department`s Executive Committee (EXCO) and organized labour, were consulted throughout the process.

The revised organizational structure is aligned to the Departmental mandate and legislative framework and the National Development Plan (NDP) vision 2030 and the Strategic Plan 2021/2025.

Among other challenges addressed in the revised organizational structure, is to address the poor span of control and blurred reporting lines. Benchmarking exercise was conducted with other departments in the Justice Cluster.

a) Approval of the new structure ha been obtained from the Minister of Public Service and Administration; and

b) The new approved structure does not include a position of Deputy Director- General (DDG) in the Office of the Director- General, but the reviewed structure includes the creation of only one Branch: Institutional Development and Support and one (1) post of Deputy Director- General that will head the said Branch. The post is not in the Office of the Director- General but closely linked to the responsibility of the Director- General.

The rationale for the creation of the said Branch is aligned to the DPSA proposals; but specific to the functional needs of the Department. The new branch is responsible for the following functional areas:

1. Strategic Management; an existing component previously reported directly to the DG. The component is responsible for Strategic planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistical and Research information by National Operations Centre, Service Delivery and Improvement of norms and standards;
2. Public Education and Communications Services, an existing component that previously reported to the Branch: Corporate Services. The component has been renamed Communication Management in line with the naming convention used in the Public Service. The component provides public education, media liaison support for the Department and Ministry, and oversee communication support services for the Provincial offices.
3. Justice College, also and existing component that previously reported to the Branch: Corporate Services. The component is responsible for offering Legal, Quasi-Judicial, Justice –specific Systems training and development services, for the public services and State- Owned Enterprises (SOE`s) officials, and other legal fraternity. The reorganisation of the structure was aligned to the college`s repositioning strategy and direct how it is capacitated; and
4. Policy, Entity and Cluster Coordination (previously known as Chief Director: Chief Legal Researcher) is newly defined to provide for the management and coordination of macro policy, the coordination of activities in the Justice cluster and the overseeing of entity oversight that falls within the Minister`s portfolio.

END

Reply:

1. The MDDA does not fund through intermediaries. Applications are submitted directly to the MDDA and communication is between the MDDA and applicants. Upon approval of a funding application, contractual arrangements are concluded between the MDDA and successful grantees.

2. No intermediaries are used. There are no transactions to report.

 

Drafter of the Reply

Name: Prof. Hlengani Mathebula

Designation: Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Recommended by:

Acting Director-General: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)

Mr Michael Currin

Approved / Not approved

______________________

Minister in The Presidency

Ms Khumbuzo Ntshavheni, MP

Reply:

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs does not keep the records of vehicle licensing and fees. It is recommended that the honourable member redirect the question to Ministry of Transport who may obtain the required information from Provincial departments of Transports.

End.

Reply:

(i) The total cost to company package of the CEO of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is R1 999 525, 44.

(ii) The Total cost to company for the Chief Financial Officer is R1 800 000.

The total cost to company package of the Executive Projects is R1 831 060, 44.

(b) Total amount each paid to attend a meeting.

Reply:

No executive gets paid to attend meetings other than for incidental expenses.

Drafter of the Reply

Name: Prof. Hlengani Mathebula

Designation: Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Recommended by:

Acting Director-General: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)

Mr Michael Currin

Approved / Not approved

______________________

Minister in The Presidency

Ms Khumbuzo Ntshavheni, MP

Reply:

(a)The salaries of the (i) Chief Executive Officer and the (ii) top Executives are included in the table below. The salaries include medical aid and provident fund benefits.

SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (SACAA)

Position	Annual Salary
Director of Civil Aviation	4,757,586.47
Executive: Aviation Safety Infrastructure	3,230,584.59
Executive: Aviation Safety Operations	3,016,418.95
Executive: Aviation Security	3,016,418.86
Chief Audit Executive	2,695,172.42
Chief Financial Officer	2,858,015.91
Executive: Legal and Aviation Compliance	2,219,700.00
Executive Accident & Incident Investigations	2,288,405.00
Executive: Corporate Services	2,243,691.37
Company Secretary	2,341,387.37
Executive: Human Resources	2,717,845.93

PORTS REGULATOR SOUTH AFRICA (PRSA)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	3 811 900.50
Chief Financial Officer	2 206 345.56
Executive Manager Legal	2 032845.0
Executive Manager: Policy, Strategy & Research	2 206 345.56
Executive Manager Industry Development	1 978 101.97

SOUTH AFRICAN MARITIME SAFETY AUTHORITY (SAMSA)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	3 641 880
Chief Operating Officer	2 819 000
Executive Legal Services	2 291 000
Company Secretary	2 400 000
Executive Maritime Projects	2 129 000
Chief Financial Officer	1 918 000
Chief Information Officer	1 766 000
Chief Human Capital	2 066 000
Deputy Chief Operating Officer	2 455 000
Executive Corporate Affairs	1 831 000

CROSS BOARDER ROAD TRANSPORT AGENCY (CBRTA)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	R3,711,800
Chief Information Officer	R2,705,136
Executive: Corporate Service	R2,703,500
Executive: Regulatory Services	R2,703,500
Executive: Facilitation and Advisory	R2,703,500
Chief Financial Officer	R2,703,500

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY LIMITED (SANRAL)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	R6 000 000.00
Chief Financial Officer	R3 603 711.00
Engineering Executive	R3 308 861.00
Chief Corporate Affairs Executive	R2 191 415.00
Business Operations Executive (VACANT)	R2 904 374.00

ROAD TRAFFIC INFRINGEMENT AGENCY (RTIA)

Position	Annual Salary
Registrar/Chief Executive Officer	R2,469,928.00
Deputy Registrar: Traffic Infringement Management	R1,864,698.00
Deputy Registrar: Strategy Development and Monitoring	R1,864,698.00
Chief Financial Officer	R1,864,698.00
Senior Executive Legal & Compliance	R1,864,698.00
Chief Audit Executive	R1,864,698.00

ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (RTMC)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	5 689 838
Executive Manager: Road Information and Technology	2 833 487
Executive Manager: Financial Services	3 182 407
Executive Manager: Road Safety Stakeholder Relations Management & Marketing	2 710 930
Executive Manager: Corporate Services	2 753 430
Executive Manager: Road Traffic Law Enforcement	2 684 999
Executive Manager Road Traffic Academy	2 743 586
Executive Manager Transactional Services	2 177 914

AIR TRAFFIC & NAVIGATION SERVICES (ATNS)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	4 416 300,00
Chief of Finance	891 625,00
*Chief Operating Officer (vacant)	3 280 515,28
*Company Secretary (vacant)	1 690 000,00
Chief Information Officer	2 468 066,08
*Chief Operations Technology(vacant)	2 167 733,49
*Chief Air Traffic Services (vacant)	2 212 166,00
Executive: ATM / CNS Planning	2 494 872,47
*Executive: Strategy and Optimisation (vacant)	2 367 666,00
*Executive: Commercial Services (vacant)	2 652 818,78
Chief Audit Officer	2 086 355,67
Chief Risk Officer	2 027 791,18
Legal Counsel	2 066 751,69
Chief Aviation Training Academy	2 326 092,55
Chief Human Capital Officer (6.5 months fixed term contract with total value of R996 664,50)	1 839 996,00
Regional Director Africa Affairs (Canso)	2 789 438,95

*Annual salary of previous incumbent

ROAD ACCIDENT FUND (RAF)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	R6 177 316,00
Chief Financial Officer	R3 255 000,00
Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer	R3 100 000,00
Chief Governance Officer	R2 811 076,00
Chief Internal Audit Officer	Vacant
Chief Claims Officer	Vacant
Chief Corporate Support Officer	Vacant
Chief Investment Officer	Vacant

RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR (RSR)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	3 800 000
Chief Operations Officer	Vacant
Chief Financial Officer	Vacant
Executive Media and Communications	2 003 574
Executive Risk and Strategy	2 330 588
Executive Legal Services	1 700 489
Executive Human Resources	1 566 601
Chief Information Officer	1 678 813
Company Secretary	1 566 601
Chief Audit Executive	2 003 574

PASSENGER RAIL AGENCY OF SOUTH AFRICA (PRASA)

Position	Annual salary
Group Chief Executive Officer	6 800 000.00
Chief Finance Officer	2,967,363.00
Chief Executive Officer	2,800,000.00
Executive Manager: Office of GCEO	2,967,879.00
Chief Financial Officer (Prasa Cres)	2,514,809.00
Executive Manager:Real Estate	2,208,714.00
Executive Manager: Facilities Management	1,961,000.00
Group Executive: Legal,Risk & Compliance	3,271,444.00
Acting Chief Executive Officer (Autopax)	3,094,284.00
Chief Financial Officer: PRASA Rail	2,420,800.00
Chief Operations Officer	1,950,000.00
Chief Financial Officer: PRASA Corporate	3,590,464.00
Chief Information Officer	2,761,809.00
Chief Executive Officer (Autopax)	2,600,000.00

AIRPORTS COMPANY SOUTH AFRICA (ACSA)

Position	Annual Salary
Chief Executive Officer	4 763 676
Chief Financial Officer	3 551 556
Executive Strategy & Sustainability	3 183 899
Chief Information Officer	3 153 066
Executive Operations Management	2 850 000
Executive Enterprise and Airport Security	3 000 000
Chief Audit Executive	2 711 159
Executive Human Resource	2 700 000
Executive Corporate Services	2 500 000

(b) The CEO and Executive members of State-Owned Entities do not get paid to attend meetings.

Reply:

All offenders including maximum offenders have access to rehabilitation programmes as stated in the Correctional Services Act, 111 of 1998. Section 41 states that the Department must provide or give access to as full a range of programmes and activities, including needs-based programmes, as is practicable to meet the educational and training needs of sentenced offenders.

The following education programmes are offered- Adult Education and Training (AET) Levels 1-4: This is equivalent to Grades 1-9 in normal mainstream education and it is for offenders who want to pursue studies in the General Education and Training (GET) Band; Further Education and Training (FET): Offenders are given an opportunity to pursue Grade 12; Higher Education and Training (HET) and to advance their education through distant education. In this instance, they are assisted with registration at various institutions of higher learning at their own cost.

East London Female Correctional Centre incarcerates 312 females’ offenders. There are 55 female offenders who are classified as maximums. Of these 55, there are 12 offenders that are currently participating in the GET programme and 2 are busy with amended Senior Certificate programme.

A support visit to East London is planned for 3 August 2023 as part of Women`s Month with the aim of marketing the various education programmes and providing resource support to female offenders. Further to this, a directive compelling all offenders 30 years and below who have not attained Grade 9 or AET level 4, to attend development programmes has been issued.

END

Reply:

Figure 1 below provides details of the municipalities across the country regarding (1) What is the (a) total number of fire stations in each province, (b) current number of (i) bakkies, (ii) trucks and (iii) other specified vehicles at each fire station and (c) respective reaction time for each of the stations to attend to an emergency.

NAME OF PROVINCE	a) TOTAL NUMBER OF FIRE STATIONS IN EACH PROVINCE	(b) CURRENT NUMBER FIRE APPLIANCES (in all categories)	MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING/ MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT
Western Cape	95 (ninety five)	657 (six hundred and fifty seven)	In terms of Section 12 of the Fire Brigade Services act 99 of 1987,and contextualizing of front-end partnerships, provinces, districts/metro and local municipalities maintains a formal Mutual Aid Agreement. Coordination of assistance and resources are performed by the respective District Municipalities in terms of the Section 84 (1) (j) (i) of the Municipal Structures act 117 of 1998. All municipal as well as Designated fire services have access to said agreement.
Free State	20 (twenty)	41 (forty one)
Gauteng	93 (ninety three)	204 (two hundred and four)
Eastern Cape	33	114
KwaZulu Natal	61	145
North West	21	83
Limpopo	27	86
Mpumalanga	17	69
Northern Cape	9	32

End

 

Reply:

Find reply here

Reply:

1. (a) and (b) I have been informed by the Department the TOMSA levy collected by TBCSA will be confirmed upon payment of the contribution to SA Tourism from 2022/23 collections.

2. .No funds in relation to TOMSA levy collections for the period under review have been received by South African Tourism as yet.

Reply:

The information required by honourable member is administered by the National Treasury.

End.

Reply:

I have been informed by South African Tourism that these funds were directed to marketing campaigns and activities. In this case, the funds were allocated and used for the planned localisation of the global advocacy campaign in the USA, which is a priority source market for South Africa.

Reply:

The Ministry had conversations with the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng Provincial governments, the Cape Town, Buffalo City, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality regarding their individual energy needs. In addition, the Ministry is scheduling fresh visits to each of the 9 Provincial Executive Councils, the leadership of Metropolitan Municipality and secondary Cities during June/July 2023 on the Energy Action Plan (EAP) and the interventions being undertaken to improve generation and reduce demand. These conversations will include the impact of revenue for municipalities and challenges regarding wheeling frameworks and feeding tariffs.

 

Reply:

The Eskom board and management continues to deal with management and operational shortcomings that impede the optimisation of generation capacity, in this regard, the necessary disciplinary action is being pursued as required by relevant legislation and sector collective agreements.

In addition, an Energy Safety and Security Priority Committee was established to address ESKOM-related crime on an inter-departmental, multi-disciplinary basis to address the objectives of Work Stream Six of the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM).

A total of 1952 Eskom-related cases were reported to the SA Police Service between 1 April 2022 and 29 May 2023, with 1405 cases still under investigation, and 126 arrests have been made.

Whilst much remains, these interventions are beginning to turn the situation around, and there are indications that operational measures implemented have clearly disrupted the activities of criminal syndicates

Reply:

I do not have such a consequence management responsibility to deal with the Administrators, except if the Minister has directly appointed an Administrator, especially in instances of the invocation of Section 139 (7) of the Constitution.

(aa) Ditsobotla Local Municipality in North-West has been placed under Section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution by Provincial EXCO, the municipality was dissolved and re-constituted on the 9 January 2023. Provincial Treasury has currently placed the municipality under section 139(5) in terms of Mandatory Financial Recovery Plan, a Provincial EXCO Representative assumed responsibilities on 1 April 2023, the MEC CoGTA has also seconded an Acting Municipal Manager.

(bb) The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State Province has been placed under Section 139 (7) of the Constitution during April 2022 and is led by National Treasury.

(cc) The Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape has been placed under Section 139 (7) of the Constitution on 6 April 2022 and is led by National Treasury.

The honourable member is advised to direct the question to the National Treasury as the lead for Section 139(7) interventions.

End.

Reply:

(a)

(i) I have received the report of the Portfolio Committee dated 5 May 2023. On 22 May 2023, I convened a meeting with Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to discuss the poor performance on infrastructure projects.

(ii) These projects started in 2012, before I took office and therefore the report was not handed to me. However, I have been informed by the Department that upon receipt of the report in June 2020, the following steps were taken:

1. the Accounting Officer opened a case with the South African Police Services (SAPS) on, 14 September 2020.

2. briefed the national office of the State Attorney to pursue civil claims against implementing agents on 25 July 2020 and, upon instruction from the State Attorney, reinstituted the claims around 27 July 2021 in the Mahikeng Office.

3. instituted disciplinary proceedings against implicated officials in October 2020. The process is still ongoing with cases before the Labour Court.

(b) I am informed by the Department that the forensic investigation found that certain officials did not comply with the requirements of Section 45(a) to (c) of the PFMA, which states that:

An official in a department, trading entity or constitutional institution—

(a) must ensure that the system of financial management and internal control established for that department, trading entity or constitutional institution is carried out within the area of responsibility of that official;

(b) is responsible for the effective, efficient, economical and transparent use of financial and other resources within that official’s area of responsibility;

(c) must take effective and appropriate steps to prevent, within that official’s area of responsibility, any unauthorised expenditure, irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure and any under collection of revenue due;

Reply:

a) Twelve staff members

(b)

NAME	SURNAME	DESIGNATION	NOTCH
Kgosietso David	Ramokgopa	Minister	R 2 473 682.00
Sarel Jacobs	De La Rouviere	Special Advisor	R 2 158 533.00
Silas Mzingeli	Zimu	Special Advisor	R 2 158 533.00
Subesh	Pillay	Chief of Staff	R 1 371 558.00
Nhlamulo Corinth	Sewela	Parliament and Cabinet Support	R 1 162 200.00
Boitumelo Albertina	Mthimunye	Private and Appointment Secretary (Secondment)	R 1 162 200.00
Kgothatso Fortune	Mathabathe	Community Outreach Officer	R 811 560.00
Kutlwano Joas	Huma	Parliament and Cabinet Support	R 811 560.00
Ndanduleni Jacqueline	Kwinda	Assistant Appointment Secretary	R 424 104.00
Penelope Nomacala	Mahlangu	Receptionist	R 202 233.00
Joseph	Mofokeng	Messenger/driver	R 171 537.00
Lebohang Reginah	Mogotsi	Household Aide	R 147 036.00
Elizabeth Selaelo	Mosebedi	Food Service Aide	R125 373.00

c) KD Ramokgopa

Date	Gross
2023/04/15	R 178 311.24
2023/05/15	R 178 311.24

 

Reply:

(a) How has her department dealt with the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to promote sustainable tourism practices in the Republic,

I have been informed that the Department has a Tourism Environmental Implementation Plan 2020-2025, which was published for implementation on Gazette Number 45425, 05 November 2021 the department has developed and implemented the Tourism Resource Efficiency Training Programme.

The programme was initiated in the 2021/22 financial year whereby a concept was developed and approved to train 25 youth on Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production Methodologies.

Simultaneously as part of the Tourism Environmental Implementation Plan 2023/2024 objectives, the department aims to implement and coordinate awareness campaigns that are aimed at raising environmental consciousness in the operations of tourism facilities.

The awareness campaigns also aim to provide a platform that will enable the showcasing of green initiatives that will be adapted within the tourism sector spectrum to reduce the dependence on greenhouse emitting products and practices.

In addition, the department has a continuous Tourism Adaptation Project (TAP) that seeks to build resilience and adaptive capacity within the tourism sector to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

To date, thirty-six (36) climate change risk and vulnerability assessments (RVA) have been completed in various tourism sites across the country, including major tourist attractions such as Table Mountain National Park, Robben Island, Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.

Furthermore, the Department’s Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP) aims to encourage private sector tourism enterprises to move towards more sustainable tourism practices through the offering financial support for the installation of solutions for the sustainable management and usage of electricity and water resources.

(b) What are the strategic measures employed to achieve the specified goal

Green Tourism Incentive Programme

Under the GTIP, eligible applicants are able to qualify for the full cost of a new energy and water efficiency audit or the review of an existing audit. Furthermore, eligible applicants are also able to apply and qualify for grant funding of between 50% and 90%, capped at a maximum of R1 million per applicant, on the cost of approved solutions that will improve the energy and water efficiency and reduce the costs of their tourism operations. The GTIP will not only help reduce pressure on electricity and water resources, but also contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring an uninterrupted visitor experience for tourists, reduce operational input cost for the qualifying enterprise.

(c) Green Tourism Incentive Programme in each province

1. The GTIP is available nationally for prospective applicants to apply regardless the province in which they are located. As such there are no specific or predetermined allocation per province.
2. Following from the response in (c)(i), the utilisation or uptake of the GTIP per province is a factor of the number of applications received from, and approved for a particular province.
3. Based on the latest available information, the majority of GTIP approvals are located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo, followed by KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Free State.

(d) What are the specific projects and their outcomes.

While it is not possible to provide information on specific GTIP projects under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), it is worth noting that solutions approved for each qualifying applicant varies depending on the specific needs identified during the energy and water efficiency audit. Typical solutions supported under the GTIP may include renewable energy generating systems (e.g. solar, wind, etc.), energy efficient equipment and lighting (e.g. solar water heaters, gas stoves, LED lighting, etc.), and water efficient appliances and systems (e.g. low-flow/ aerated taps, rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling systems).

In terms of outcomes of GTIP projects, it is worth noting that projected energy consumption savings for approved GTIP applicants range between 65% and 80%, while projected water saving for those that are installing water efficiency systems range between 30% and 50% on water consumption.

Province	Number of GTIP applications approved (excluding projects cancelled after approval)	Value of GTIP applications approved (excluding projects cancelled after approval)
EC	26	R19 080 788
FS	2	R1 726 567
GP	20	R12 913 859
KZN	11	R5 981 145
LP	15	R11 580 095
MP	5	R2 925 879
NC	6	R4 753 255
NW	11	R5 870 313
WC	32	R18 133 822
Total	128	R82 965 723

Reply:

1. How has the Tourism Safety Plan been operationalised to mitigate such incidents and ensure a secure environment for both domestic and international visitors.

I have been informed by the Department that the Tourism Safety Plan has been implemented since 2018. The Tourism Safety plan has initiatives that speak to the three main themes that form part of the strategy. The bulk of the initiatives form part of the “Proactive Measures” which are those initiatives that have to be put in place even before an incident happens, to minimise the risks. Some of the initiatives that were operationalised include:

The Tourism Monitors Programme – this programme entails the recruitment and training of young unemployed youth, who are then deployed at the various identified attractions and to assist the tourist with basic tourism related and safety information.

Identification of the hot spots – This process is about understanding some of the key areas where most of the crimes/attacks against tourist take place. Such information will not only assist in putting measures to counter such attacks in the identified areas but will also ensure that the risks of attacks to tourists is minimised.

Police Reservists – The department together with SAPS made a call up for police reservists back in 2019 as part of ensuring police visibility especially in Mpumalanga then, following a spate of follow-ons.

The department has over the years conducted “tourist safety awareness” sessions jointly with SAPS and other security structures in the various provinces.

Establishment of Provincial Tourism Safety Forums (PTSF) – the department has been instrumental in the establishment of the PTSF.

 

(2) Whether she will furnish Ms H Ismail with a thorough assessment of the implementation of the specified plan, including the

a) Strategies:

The National Tourism Sector Strategy’s pillar three on “Visitor Experiences” demands that there should be a plan of safety. It’s on that premise that department developed that National Tourism Safety Strategy in 2018 and the current plan being implemented is based on the strategy.

(b) Resources:

Tourism Monitors programme is funded through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

(c) Partnerships leveraged to address the challenge; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details

The 2018 strategy was developed through a partnership between government and tourism private sector. The implementation has over the year been more government lead but recently the Minister had conducted a session with both private and public sectors to assess the progress on implementation and to ensure that private sector also contributes to the strategy implementation.

On Monday 29 May 2023, I held a multi-sector Tourism Safety Dialogue, which included a range of stakeholders including the National Department of Tourism, provincial tourism departments and agencies as well as the private sector.

The dialogue agreed to the full implementation of the Terms of Reference of the National Safety Forum, the Memorandum of Understanding with the South African Police Service and the use of technology to further mitigate the impact of crime on local and international tourists.

This meeting will, now, be held quarterly in a bid to track implementation and progress.

 

Reply:

(1)- (2) & (3) On the 23rd of October 2022, a section of the Kusile Unit 1 flue gas duct (the equivalent of a chimney in a household) exiting the sulphur dioxide absorber failed on the horizontal rubber expansion joint as well as the compensator (a bend to direct flue gas up the chimney that allows for thermal expansion of the chimney) whilst the unit was on forced shutdown for Flue Gas De-sulphuration recirculating pump repairs. The failure at Unit 1 subsequently affected units 2 and 3 as the ducts for all these three units are welded together.

ESKOM is currently fabricating and erecting temporary stacks at Kusile Power Station to enable operation of the three units without the use of the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) mechanism which is an emission-abatement technology, for a period of 13 months while the flue gas ducts are being repaired. This will be subject to final authorisation by DFFE to grant ESKOM an exemption to operate the units at full capacity with the temporary stacks. The temporary stacks will be completed by the end of November 2023 and Units 1, 2 and 3 synchronised to the grid by the end of December 2023.

The steel fabrication for the chimney pieces are fairly well, factories are operating 24 hours and are ahead of schedule. The welding of the steelwork is done at the factories while the stacking together of the pieces is consolidated on site.

Unit 3 is projected to be completed by the 28 November 2023, unit 1 is projected to be completed by the 11 December 2023, while Unit 2 is projected to be completed by 24 December 2023. Unit 5 is expected to be completed by October 2023 and unit 6 is expected at the end of 2024

Reply:

Implementation of Public Service Commission (PSC) Recommendations by Government Departments (2019/20-2021/22)

1. Total number of recommendations issued by the PSC to government departments in the (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21 and (iii) 2021-22 financial years,

Province	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	Total
Eastern Cape	8	9	4	21
Free State	27	23	19	69
Gauteng	109	26	15	150
KwaZulu-Natal	85	10	27	122
Limpopo	38	5	122	165
Mpumalanga	21	23	0	44
National	180	126	67	373
North West	20	64	7	91
Northern Cape	42	28	14	84
Western Cape	75	23	13	111
Total	605	337	288	1 230

2. Total number of the specified recommendations that were implemented by each government department (2019/20-2021/22)

Province	Departments	Total Recommendations	Fully implemented	Partially implemented
Eastern Cape	Health	9	2	1
	Total	9	2	1
Free State	FS Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs	14	5	6
	FS Education	5	4
	FS Health	28	5
	FS Police, Roads and Transport	1		1
	Statistics South Africa	8	1
	Total	56	15	7
Gauteng	Cooperative Governance	10	2	2
	GP Agriculture and Rural Development	21	9	5
	GP Community Safety	7	4
	GP Economic Development	13	7	2
	GP Education	16	12
	GP Health	32	1	28
	GP Infrastructure Development	24		6
	GP Provincial Treasury	6	6
	GP Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation	2	2
	GP Social Development	6	6
	Total	137	49	43
KwaZulu-Natal	KZN Health	16	4
	KZN Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development	6	4	1
	KZN Sports, Arts and Culture	12	1	1
	KZN Community Safety and Liaison	8	2
	KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	9	4	4
	KZN Education	35	7	4
	KZN Finance	6	5	1
	KZN Public Works	7	1
	KZN Transport	13	3	1
	KZN Economic Development	2	2
	KZN Social Development	2	1
	Home Affairs	6
	Total	122	34	12
Limpopo	Limpopo Education	1	1
	Limpopo Health	7	1
	Total	8	2	0
Mpumalanga	Mpumalanga Education	18	11	3
	Mpumalanga Health	22	3
	Social Development	4	2
	Total	44	16	3
National	Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries	3	1
	Basic Education	19	3	1
	Defence	7	1
	Environmental Affairs	5	2
	Home Affairs	26	8	10
	Independent Police Investigative Directorate	1	1
	International Relations & Cooperation	5	2	2
	Labour	13	10
	Performance Monitoring and Evaluation	15	4	3
	Public Service & Administration	11	4	1
	Public Works	33	8
	Rural Development & Land Reform	29	4
	Trade & Industry	16	5
	Women, Children & People with Disabilities	6		6
	Total	189	53	23
North West	NW: Co-Operative Governance, Human Settlement & Traditional Affairs	16	2
	NW: Health	21	2
	NW: Public Works & Roads	35	8	1
	Total	72	12	1
Northern Cape	NC Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs	6	4	2
	NC Education	21	11	2
	NC Environment and Conservation	2	2
	NC Health	26	13	10
	NC Office of the Premier	7	6
	NC Provincial Treasury	4	2	1
	NC Roads and Public Works	5	2	2
	NC Transport, Safety and Liaison	7	4	3
	Total	78	44	20
Western Cape	WC Agriculture	1	1
	WC Community Safety	2	2
	WC Education	4	4
	WC Environmental Affairs and	1	1
	WC Health	89	67	1
	WC Office of the Premier	4	2
	WC Social Development	5	2
	WC Transport and Public Works	4	4
	Total	110	83	1

3. Number of PSC recommendations that were not implemented by government departments (2019/20-2021/22)

Province	Departments	Total Recommendations issued by the PSC	Not yet implemented	No feedback received
Eastern Cape	EC Education	1		1
	EC Roads and Public Works	8	5	3
	Health	9	6
	Human Settlements	3		3
	Total	21	11	7
Free State	FS Agriculture	3	1
	FS Education	5	1
	FS Health	28	13
	Statistics South Africa	8		7
	Total	44	15	7
Gauteng	Cooperative Governance	10	6
	GP Agriculture and Rural Development	21	7
	GP Community Safety	7	3
	GP Economic Development	13	4
	GP Education	16	4
	GP Health	32	1	2
	GP Infrastructure Development	24	16	2
	GP Roads and Transport	6	6
	Human Settlements	5	5
	Rural Development & Land Reform	2		2
	Total	136	52	6
KwaZulu-Natal	KZN Health	16	10	2
	KZN Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development	6	1
	KZN Sports, Arts and Culture	12	8	2
	KZN Community Safety and Liaison	8	5	1
	KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	9	1
	KZN Education	35	13	10
	KZN Public Works	7	5	1
	KZN Transport	13	6	3
	KZN Social Development	2		1
	Home Affairs	6	6
	Total	114	55	20
Limpopo	Limpopo Agriculture	4	1	3
	Limpopo Health	7	4	2
	Limpopo Office of the Premier	6	2	4
	Limpopo Public Works	17	6	11
	Limpopo Roads and Transport	2	2
	Limpopo Sport, Arts and Culture	6		6
	Total	42	15	26
Mpumalanga	Mpumalanga Education	18	1	3
	Mpumalanga Health	22	17	1
	Social Development	4	2
	Total	44	20	4
National	Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries	3	2
	Sports, Arts & Culture	28		28
	Basic Education	19	3	12
	Cooperative Governance	11		10
	Correctional Services	18	8	6
	Defence	7		6
	Environmental Affairs	5	3
	Higher Education & Training	5		5
	Home Affairs	26	3	5
	International Relations & Cooperation	5	1
	Justice & Constitutional Development	54		54
	Labour	13	1	2
	Military Veterans	6		6
	Mineral Resources	5	3	2
	Performance Monitoring and Evaluation	15	8
	Public Service & Administration	11	2	4
	Public Service Commission	28	10	18
	Public Works	33	10	15
	Rural Development & Land Reform	29	4	21
	SA Police Service	11	3	8
	Tourism	15	12	3
	Trade & Industry	16	2	7
	Water Affairs	3	2	1
	Total	366	77	213
North West	NW: Arts, Culture, Sports & Recreation	6	6
	NW: Co-Operative Governance, Human Settlement & Traditional Affairs	16	13
	NW: Health	21	19
	NW: Public Works & Roads	35	14
	NW: Social Development	13	13
	Total	91	65	0
Northern Cape	Arts & Culture	6	1	5
	NC Education	21	6	2
	NC Health	26		3
	NC Office of the Premier	7	1
	NC Provincial Treasury	4	1
	NC Roads and Public Works	5	1
	Total	69	10	10
Western Cape	WC Health	89		2
	Total	89	0	2

4. Consolidated recommendations issued by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to government departments in the (2019/20-2021/22) financial years, per (i) national and (ii) provincial department.

Province	Departments	Total Recommendations	Fully implemented	Partially implemented	Not to be implemented	Not yet implemented	No feedback received
Eastern Cape	EC Education	1					1
	EC Roads and Public Works	8				5	3
	Health	9	2	1		6
	Human Settlements	3					3
	Total	21	2	1	0	11	7
Free State	FS Agriculture	3			2	1
	FS Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs	14	5	6	3
	FS Education	5	4			1
	FS Health	28	5		10	13
	FS Human Settlements	6			6
	FS Police, Roads and Transport	1		1
	FS Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation	4			4
	Statistics South Africa	8	1				7
	Total	69	15	7	25	15	7
Gauteng	Cooperative Governance	10	2	2		6
	GP Agriculture and Rural Development	21	9	5		7
	GP Community Safety	7	4			3
	GP Economic Development	13	7	2		4
	GP Education	16	12			4
	GP Health	32	1	28		1	2
	GP Infrastructure Development	24		6		16	2
	GP Provincial Treasury	6	6
	GP Roads and Transport	6				6
	GP Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation	2	2
	GP Social Development	6	6
	Human Settlements	5				5
	Rural Development & Land Reform	2					2
	Total	150	49	43	0	52	6
KwaZulu-Natal	KZN Health	16	4			10	2
	KZN Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development	6	4	1		1
	KZN Arts and Culture	12	1	1		8	2
	KZN Community Safety and Liaison	8	2			5	1
	KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs	9	4	4		1
	KZN Education	35	7	4	1	13	10
	KZN Finance	6	5	1
	KZN Public Works	7	1			5	1
	KZN Transport	13	3	1		6	3
	KZN Economic Development	2	2
	KZN Social Development	2	1				1
	Home Affairs	6				6
	Total	122	34	12	1	55	20
Limpopo	Limpopo Agriculture	4				1	3
	Limpopo Education	1	1
	Limpopo Health	7	1			4	2
	Limpopo Office of the Premier	6				2	4
	Limpopo Public Works	17				6	11
	Limpopo Roads and Transport	2				2
	Limpopo Sport, Arts and Culture	6					6
	Total	43	2	0	0	15	26
Mpumalanga	Mpumalanga Education	18	11	3		1	3
	Mpumalanga Health	22	3		1	17	1
	Social Development	4	2			2
	Total	44	16	3	1	20	4
National	Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries	3	1			2
	Sports, Arts & Culture	28					28
	Basic Education	19	3	1		3	12
	Cooperative Governance	11			1		10
	Correctional Services	18			4	8	6
	Defence	7	1				6
	Environmental Affairs	5	2			3
	Higher Education & Training	5					5
	Home Affairs	26	8	10		3	5
	Independent Police Investigative Directorate	1	1
	International Relations & Cooperation	5	2	2		1
	Justice & Constitutional Development	54					54
	Labour	13	10			1	2
	Military Veterans	6					6
	Mineral Resources	5				3	2
	Performance Monitoring and Evaluation	15	4	3		8
	Public Service & Administration	11	4	1		2	4
	Public Service Commission	28				10	18
	Public Works	33	8			10	15
	Rural Development & Land Reform	29	4			4	21
	SA Police Service	11				3	8
	Tourism	15				12	3
	Trade & Industry	16	5		2	2	7
	Water Affairs	3				2	1
	Women, Children & People with Disabilities	6		6
	Total	373	53	23	7	77	213
North West	NW: Arts, Culture, Sports & Recreation	6				6
	NW: Co-Operative Governance, Human Settlement & Traditional Affairs	16	2		1	13
	NW: Health	21	2			19
	NW: Public Works & Roads	35	8	1	12	14
	NW: Social Development	13				13
	Total	91	12	1	13	65	0
Northern Cape	Arts & Culture	6				1	5
	NC Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs	6	4	2
	NC Education	21	11	2		6	2
	NC Environment and Conservation	2	2
	NC Health	26	13	10			3
	NC Office of the Premier	7	6			1
	NC Provincial Treasury	4	2	1		1
	NC Roads and Public Works	5	2	2		1
	NC Transport, Safety and Liaison	7	4	3
	Total	84	44	20	0	10	10
Western Cape	WC Agriculture	1	1
	WC Community Safety	2	2
	WC Economic Development and Tourism	1			1
	WC Education	4	4
	WC Environmental Affairs and	1	1
	WC Health	89	67	1	19		2
	WC Office of the Premier	4	2		2
	WC Social Development	5	2		3
	WC Transport and Public Works	4	4
	Total	111	83	1	25	0	2

End

Reply:

1. The Minister is not in contempt of court. The High court ordered as follows:

1. Directing the First Respondent to register the Applicant’s birth in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 51 of 1992, as amended, within 30 (thirty) days of this order.

2. Declaring the Applicant to be a South African citizen by birth in terms of section 2(2) of the South African Citizenship Act, 88 of 1995, as amended (“the Citizenship Act).

3. Alternatively, declaring the Applicant to be a South African citizen by naturalisation in terms of section 4(3) of the Citizenship Act.

4. Directing the First Respondent to enter the Applicant into the National Population Register as a citizen, to issue him with an identity number and to amend and re-issue his birth certificate accordingly, within 30 (thirty) days of this order.

5. Directing the First Respondent to accept and adjudicate applications in terms of section 2(2) on affidavit pending the promulgation of regulations.

6. Ordering the Respondents to pay the costs of this application on an attorney and client scale, jointly and severally, the one to pay the other to be absolved, which costs will include the costs consequent upon the employment of 2 (two) Counsel.”.

As the High Court did not make any order setting aside section 2(2) of the South African Citizenship Act, 1995 (Act No. 88 of 1995), the Minister has not, therefore, been ordered to make regulations with regard thereto and cannot, therefore be in contempt of the court order.

(2)(a) However, the department is in the process of finalising the drafting of the regulations in order to provide a Form as per the order in Minister of Home Affairs vs Ali [2018] ZASCA 169; 2019 (2) SA 396 (SCA). Once the Minister has approved the Regulations, they will be published in the government gazette for implementation.

(2)(b) Currently, the department accepts and processes applications submitted in an affidavit in line with the Pretoria High Court.

END

Reply:

1. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) determines the priority subject areas using various means for the purposes of replacement of teachers into the correct phase and subject specialisation using the Funza Lushaka Bursary funding in training the teachers required in the sector.  Secondly, the Department caters for the newly introduced subjects (currently about 26 new subjects) which require new teachers are also considered. Furthermore, each PED submits their priority subjects to the Department of Basic Education. The lists are signed off by their respective Heads of Department (HODs).  The DBE then consolidates the list to draft the National list of priority subjects.

2. Yes.

3. The attached composite list of subjects are made available for any one that may require it.  The DBE on an annual basis disseminates the list of priority subjects to Higher Education Institutions, SACE, DHET, and other stakeholders. 

Reply:

1. The Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Transport (DoT) published the Learner Transport Policy in 2015 with the main intention of standardizing the implementation of Learner Transport Function. Both the DBE and DoT are currently reviewing the Learner Transport Policy to address among others issues of unmet Demand, insufficient funding, and varied provincial cost models.  The Review is expected to be completed by the end of the 3rd Quarter of 2023/2024 Financial Year. Also the two Departments are currently developing the Standard Cost Model to standardise the costing of Learner Transport Programme to be used by all Contracting Provinces as there are varied cost models from one Province to the other.

2. No decision has been made to award the Learner Transport Function to either the Department of Basic Education or the Department of Transport. The Departments jointly wrote a Cabinet Memorandum through the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) requesting Cabinet to seek strategic advice and deeper analysis on the location of the Learner Transport Function. DBE’s Council of Education Ministers (CEM) indicated that they do not have authority to decide on the optimal location of the function and that Cabinet or a higher political structure must decide on the location. The Departments are still waiting for feedback on this matter.

3. Legal advice was solicited internally from the DBE’s Legal Services Unit during the development of the current Learner Transport Policy promulgated in 2015. The advice was provided in engagements internally and was not a formal written legal opinion.  

4. Refer to 3 above.

Reply:

The Department has been engaging with School Governing Bodies (SGB) of affected schools to find amicable solutions under difficult circumstances. The current powers given to SGBs in the South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 makes it difficult to resolve such cases. The current BELA Bill aims to remedy this situation  by allowing Heads of Departments to intervene when elements of discrimination in the language and admission policies are detected.

Reply:

The question asked by the Hon Member falls within the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for education in Mpumalanga, and therefore should be referred as such. 

Reply:

a) Over the past few years, the Ugu DM has experienced significant water supply challenges throughout the district due to several challenges outlined in the table below:

• The current operational treatment capacity of the Ugu DM WSA (excluding boreholes) is approx. 130 Ml/day. The 2020 water demand model indicates a current water demand of approximately 200 Ml/day (immediate 70 Ml/day shortfall) and a future predicted (2050) water demand of approx. 330 Ml/day. Water supply shortages are exacerbated during the peak holiday periods when demand often doubles.
• Due to shortage of bulk water and bulk storage capacity any interruptions in supply from bursts, equipment failures, leaks and power outages result in the systems emptying rapidly and systems destabilising and resulting in water interruptions. Due to demand outstripping supply, systems can take extensive periods to stabilize.
• There are staff disputes and ongoing vandalism.
• Damage to assets and infrastructure during the July 2021 unrest.
• Problems with the billing system, revenue collection and dissatisfaction with service have reduced revenue and sustainability of service.
• Illegal connections resulting in water losses, reduce revenue and demands on systems.

b) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has been actively participating in different structures and the inter-Ministerial Task Team and other structures established by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal in January 2022. The participants include the Planning Commission, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), DWS, Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).

The Task Team was intended to determine the root causes of water supply interruptions in the various supply systems in the municipality and develop actionable interventions. In addition, the Minister of Water and Sanitation established a WAR room in November 2022 to monitor the progress made with implementation of the interventions being implemented in the area.

In line with its mandate, the DWS has focused support to ensure availability of sufficient water resources to supply the area. The Minister issued a Directive to Umgeni Water to fund and implement the Cwabeni Dam, an off channel storage dam with a capacity of approximately 70 million cubic meters to augment the Bhobhoi/ uMzimkhulu supply system which feeds Port Shepstone and surrounding areas. This project will increase the yield of the raw water supply system and reduce the risk of non-supply during dry periods.

The DWS is also supporting the Ugu DM with the detailed planning for other regional bulk water supply projects including Harding Weza, Mtamvuna and Vulamethlo regional schemes that are required to ensure there is sufficient water to meet the growing demands in the area. It is anticipated that these planning studies will take about 12 months to complete.

Furthermore, during the 2022/23 financial year the department transferred R150 million from the Water Service Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to Ugu DM, to accelerate the infrastructure refurbishment. Allocations over the MTEF are indicated below:

Financial Year	Allocation
2023/24	150 000 000
2024/25	87 750 000
2025/26	90 000 000
Total	327 750 000

T

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Reply:

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE), in collaboration with a team of reading experts from civil society and academia, is reviewing the Integrated Sector Reading Plan. A revised National Reading Literacy Strategy is therefore being developed, and central to it is the need to improve the teaching and learning of African home languages reading literacy on a large scale, in the emergent and early grade phases (Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase)

The recent transfer of ECD functions to DBE creates an opportunity to improve school-readiness, by helping Early Learning Programmes to become incubators of emergent and early literacy. To this end, we have sourced dedicated funding to empower over 20 000 under-resourced ECD programmes with early learning resources which will include those that foster emergent and early literacy skills.

The revised Strategy will comprise refining policy to explicitly guide the development of reading literacy, with a primary focus on Home Language literacy; Teacher training focused on Home Language reading literacy; provision of culturally relevant and age-appropriate reading resources for both ECD and Early Grades; as well as strengthening collaboration with parents, communities and partners. We will be tracking implementation through strengthening the monitoring, quality assurance, evaluation and feedback loop. 

The Department is also intensifying its support of teachers in implementing the Revised Annual Teaching Plans (RATPs), which take into account fundamental skills that should be taught in the light of learning gaps learners have. 

In relation to the utilisation of the data from Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), we will be:

• Initiating an extensive capacity building programme for officials and teachers, which will be facilitated by an expert Technical Advisory Group (TAG). This programme will include item analysis using some of the excerpts from PIRLS which have been released. 

• The TAG has been assembled to intensively examine the data on reading literacy from PIRLS, Early Learning National Assessments (ELNA), and Systemic Evaluation (SE).

• The TAG will also assist the DBE in implementing a national capacity development programme.

• The purpose of this program is to enhance the knowledge and skills of senior decision-makers at national, provincial, and district levels

Reply:

The Minister and department have advised water boards and municipalities to:  

• Revise their minimum operational levels for reservoirs
• Increase water treatment and reservoir storage capacity
• Revise water treatment schedules to maximize water treatment while electricity is available or other measures to ensure security of water
• Requiring water boards and municipalities to revise the minimum operational levels for reservoirs
• Develop alternative sources of electricity supply to meet their electricity needs, either through off-take agreements with independent power producers or embedded generators, or through direct ownership. This could include for example, solar panels coupled with inverters and batteries.
• Develop alternative sources of electricity supply to meet their electricity needs, either through off-take agreements with independent power producers or embedded generators, or through direct ownership. This could include for example, solar panels coupled with inverters and batteries.
• Where electricity is supplied from municipality, Water Boards and Water Services Authorities shall, where practically possible and through municipal electricity departments, isolate water and sanitation infrastructure.  
• Develop integrated response plans to maintain drinking water and drinkin water and wastewater standards during loadshedding, covering water and sanitation, electricity, and other divisions of the Water Service Authority. 

The Department has also requested Eskom to exempt water boards and water service authorities from penalties for exceeding the notified maximum demand during periods of load shedding. Eskom has not yet acceded to this request.

The DWS is also in the process of issuing a Request for Information (RFI) for the private sector to invest in renewable energy generation coupled with energy storage capacity to supply DWS with its electricity needs, based on long-term electricity off-take agreements with DWS. This will incrementally reduce the reliance of DWS on the electricity grid over time.

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