Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) Land housing projects undertaken in Bela-Bela, Limpopo a) There is no collaboration agreement that was signed between the Housing Development Agency and Bela-Bela Municipality. However, as a result of relevant agreements between the Department of CoGHST A in Limpopo and HDA, the following were activities undertaken by the HOA in Bela-Bela Municipality:

(i) Period 2006 - 2011

The HDA assisted the Department in the acquisition of land (Erf. 1491 Warmbaths Ext.25). The price of the land that was paid by CoGHSTA to the land owner is R 65.4m.

(ii) Period 2011 - 2016

The HDA completed township establishment on Erf. 1491 Warmbaths Ext.25 in 2012/2013 financial year. The amount for rezoning and subdivision was R420 664. The project was completed. During 2015/16 financial year, the HDA completed installation of interim basic services on Erf.1491 Warmbaths Ext.25. This involved the following:

(a) Sewer:

• Supply and installation of 587m of Sewer pipeline, which involved construction of 9 manholes and connection to existing sewer line.

• Supply and connection of fittings to ablution facilities

(b) Water:
• Supply and installation of 50mm HDP water supply pipeline.

• Design, supply and installation of steel vertical tanks

• Supply and installation of water tanks

• Additional works, supply and installation of water taps cages

(c) Electrical:
• Supply and installation of lighting

• Supply and installation of a highlight mast.

• Additional work, supply and installation of radiant lighting at ablution facilities

(iii) No projects were undertaken during the 2016 - 2018 period.

b) The cost of the project for the period 2006 - 2011 was R2 104 822.92.

The cost of the project for the 2011 - 2016 period was R6 018 000.00. It was for the engineering designs for bulk and internal engineering services to supply Erf.1491 Warmbaths Ext.25 which was completed during the 2015/16 financial year. The project was completed.

(2) The projects were completed

a) N/A

b) N/A

(i) N/A

Reply:

The following is provided based on information provided by the Estate Agency Affairs Board

​

Cost Description	Jan 2014 – Dec14	Jan 2015 – Dec 15	Jan 2016 – Dec 16	Jan 2017 – Dec 1	Total Spent
a) Vehicle Hire	R 662,311.89	R 1,056,831.54	R 1,113,745.41	R 502,615.94	R 3,335,504.78
b) Hotel Stays	R 1,396,339.14	R 2,559,017.68	R 3,914,341.11	R 1,353,506.45	R 9,223,204.38
c) Conference Venue Hire (including CPD)	R 316,996.70	R 6,256,851.36	R 4,064,592.10	R 2,989,646.93	R 13,628,087.09
d) Catering	R 408,007.70	R 465,371.06	R 429,801.39	R 566,204.88	R 1,869,385.03
e) Furniture Hire	R 17,028.40	R 27,570.00	R 31,050.00	R 37,500.00	R 54,528.40
f) Stationery & Printing	R 1,175,435.08	R 1,355,302.41	R 1,301,325.21	R 2,353,454.68	R 6,185,517.38
g) T-Shirts	n/a	n/a	R 32,943.28	R 37,400.00	R 37,400.00
h) Gift bags	n/a	R 35,451.00	R 52,750.00	n/a	R 88,201.00
i) Leasing of offices	n/a	n/a	R 74,660.88	R 384,426.79	R 459,087.67
	R 3,976,118.91	R 11,728,825.05	R 10,951,216.10	R 8,224,755.67	R 34,880,015.73

 

Reply:

(1) (a} (i) The total number of hostels in the country is 166 excluding hostels in Limpopo. (Information from Limpopo is outstanding and will be submitted at a later stage)

(ii) The total number of hostels in each province since 1 January 1994 is as follows:
 

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF HOSTELS
Northern Cape	1
Eastern Cape	0
Mpumalanga	20
Gauteng	68
Kwa Zulu Natal	23
Free State	5
Western Cape	42
North West	7
Limpopo	(Information not available)

Find here: 2(a)(i)(ii) & (b) A list of all the hostels in each province owned or managed by the (a)(i) provincial government and (ii) municipality and (b) any other entity

Reply:

(a) The average time for construction of a government-subsidised house is 35 days.

The breakdown is as follows:

• Preparation of foundation and casting: 7 days

• Brick work: 3 days

• Roofing: 2 days

• Plumbing: 4 days

• Plastering: 3 days

• Painting: 1 day

• Glazing: 1 day

• Turnaround time for inspection by the Engineer; the Provincial Department of Human Settlements and the Municipality: 7 days

• Preparation and key handover: 7 days

(b) The average time for construction of a government-subsidised house in Savanna City has been 35 days.

(c) The total number of houses completed to date is 2 434 which comprises of 1 492 subsidised houses, 90 Financed Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) houses and 352 bonded houses.

Reply:

3.1 What (a) is the total number incidents of sexual harassment that were reported to the human resources offices of (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her in (aa) 2016 and (bb) 2017

3.1.1 Two incidents of sexual harassment were reported in the Department in the period under question.

3.2 and (b) are the details of each incident that took place.

3.2.1 In the 1st incident, the complainant brought an informal complaint to the department's Employee Health and Wellness unit. The complainant reported on comments with sexual overtones received from the respondent/perpetrator that resulted in the complainant being uncomfortable. Thus this incident involved sexual harassment of a verbal nature.

3.3.2 In the 2nd incident, the complainant brought an informal complaint to the Department's Employee Health and Wellness unit. The complainant reported an incident whereby the respondent/perpetrator inappropriately physically pressed against the complainant, when the two of them were in an elevator. The complainant was upset by this incident. This incident involved sexual harassment of a physical contact nature.

3.3 Was each incident investigated; if no, why not in each case; if so, what were the outcomes of the investigation in each case?

3.3.1 Yes, the incidents were investigated.

3.3.2 The 1st incident was resolved with the perpetrator being reprimanded by his supervisor and apologizing to the complainant.

3.3.3 The 2nd incident was resolved with the perpetrator issued a warning by the relevant supervisor; an apology by the perpetrator to the complainant; and the complainant transferred to another unit, as requested.

• Sexual harassment cases are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the departmental Management of The Sexual Harassment policy.

• The Policy was developed in order to facilitate, expedite, offer guidance and complement all other Labour relations prescripts that are meant to resolve matters related to sexual Harassment in the department.

• In addition to this, there are various interventions that the department apply for instance, awareness sessions that are frequently held in order to educate and make employees aware of lawful and prohibited behaviours at the work place especially sexual harassment.

• In essence, the department takes every opportunity and utilizes every available platform to provide information and education. For example, quarterly Human Resources Outreach Sessions; Staff meetings as well as Women Month and 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse, are used to ensure that sexual harassment matters are given sufficient attention by all.

Reply:

(1) (a) The spouse and I or (b) an adult family member of the Minister of Human Settlements did not accompany Minister Sisulu or Minister Mfeketo on any official international trip in each of the past five financial years to date. (i) N/A, (ii) (aa) and (bb) N/A, (ii) (aaa) and (bbb) N/A, (ii) (cc) (aaa) and (bbb) N/A.

(2) N/A

Reply:

Entities

1. Rural Housing Loan Fund

(1)(c) The Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF) has not undertaken a process of lifestyle audits for Members of the Board or Senior Management. There is no plan in place to perform lifestyle audits.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1)(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it should be noted that the disclosure of such reports will be done within the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

2. Social Housing Regulatory Authority

(1 )(c) The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) has not undertaken a process of lifestyle audits for Members of the Board or Senior Management. The SHRA has no plan put in place to perform lifestyle audits.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

( 1 )( c )(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it should be noted that the disclosure of such reports will be done within the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

3. National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency

(1 )(c) The National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency (NURCHA) have not undertaken lifestyle audits for Members of the Board or Senior Management. The NURCHA has no plan put in place to perform lifestyle audits.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it should be noted that the disclosure of such reports will be done within the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

4. Housing Development Agency

(1 )(c) The Housing Development Agency (HOA) has not undertaken lifestyle for Members of the Board or Senior Management. The HOA has no plan put in place to perform lifestyle audits.

4

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it should be noted that the disclosure of such reports will have to be done within the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

National Home Builders Registration Council

(1 )(c) The National Housing Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) has not undertaken any lifestyle audits for managers in the past three financial years. NHBRC Management intends making a recommending to the Audit and Risk Management Committee to execute lifestyle audits as a matter of urgency. A tender process will be initiated to request bids and appoint a firm to undertake the audits and the National Department of Human Settlements will be kept abreast on the process and outcomes.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) Once the lifestyle audit of senior management is completed, the management will provide the results to the Audit and Risk Management Committee (ARMCO) and thereafter through the Council then to the Department if so required.

5. National Housing Finance Corporation

1)(c) The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) does not conduct lifestyle audits. The Human Resource Policies provide guidelines on Business Conduct and matters related to conflict of interest. As a rule employees are not allowed to do business with the entity and its clients.

Where policy is breached the Disciplinary Code of the organisation is invoked.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) Not available for reason stated in (1 )( c) above.

6. Estate Agency Affairs Board

(1 )(c) The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) has not undertaken lifestyle audits for Members of the Board or Senior Management. The EAAB has no plan put in place to perform lifestyle audits.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

( 1 )( c )(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it should be noted that the disclosure of such reports will done within the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

7. Community Schemes Om bud Service

(1 )(c) The Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) has not undertaken lifestyle audits for Members of the Board Members or Senior Management. There is no plan put in place to perform lifestyle audits.

(1 )(c)(i) N/A

(1 )(c)(ii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iii) N/A

(1 )(c)(iv) N/A

(2) There are no reports available for submission and it is to be noted that the disclosure of such reports will have to be done consistent with the provisions of relevant prescripts governing such disclosure.

Reply:

1(a) (i) The total number of incidents of racism that were reported to the human resources in (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her in (aa) 2016: Nil

1(a) (ii) Total number of incidents of racism that were reported to the human resources in (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her in (bb)

2017: Nil

1(b) Details of each incident that took place: Not applicable 

2. Not applicable.

The Department has however proactively put initiatives in place to address discriminatory practices, inclusive of racism. Including:

• • The Departmental Employment Equity Committee (DEEC), which promotes non-discrimination of any form or ground, including race; whose objectives are the identification and elimination of barriers that can have an adverse impact on designated groups.

• • The Department Policy on Management of Bullying, to enhance employee awareness on ill attitudes and behaviours in the workplace; discourage workplace harassment; procedures to report harassment cases and indicate available support structures.
  • Quarterly diversity awareness sessions to enhance employee awareness on diversity issues, as part of implementing the Affirmative Action measures as contained in the Departmental Employment Equity Plan 2015-2021.

Reply:

(1) (a) Total amount the Department spent on Breaking New Ground magazine

(i) In each of the past three financial years was:

1. 2015/2016 – R0.00
2. 2016/2017 – R0.00
3. 2017/2018 - R812 000.00

(ii) Since 1 April 2018 - R315 000.00

(b) Total spent on the

(i) Compilation: R0.00 – the magazine is compiled internally

(ii) Publication: R0.00 – the publication is done internally

(iii) Payment of the writing contributors: R0.00 – the Department does not pay writers or contributors

(2) (a) Total Department spent on the Breaking New Ground television

(i) In each of the past three financial years and

A. 2015/2016 – R5 000 000.00

B. 2016/2017 – R3 000 000.00

C. 2017/2018 - R2 760 000. 00

(ii) Since 1 April 2018 – R1 680 000.00

(b) Total spent on the

(i) Production – R220 000 an episode

(ii) Payment of the presenter of the series, Mr Eric Myeni? The Department is not privy to the contractual arrangements between Mr Myeni and the service provider producing BNG TV.

Reply:

The Free State and Western Cape Provinces have incurred expenditure to replace asbestos roofs, while Gauteng and Northern Cape Provinces have incurred expenditure on the assessment of asbestos. The breakdown with regards to the above mentioned provinces is as follows:

1. Free State

a) The Province spent an amount totalling to R28 762 750 in the previous five financial years as illustrated below:

Financial Year	Total Number of Roofs replaced	Expenditure removal and disposal	Expenditure replacement
2013/14	168	R1 470 000	R4 032 000
2014/15	328	R2 846 000	R7 872 000
2015/16	76	R830 000	R1 824 000
2016/17	90	R618 250	R2 160 000
2017/18	214	R1 974 500	R5 136 000
Total	206	R7 738 750	R21 024 000

b) A total of 206 roofs were replaced.

2. Western Cape

(a) The Province spent R22 733 306 as indicated in the table below:

Financial Year	Contractor	Number of buildings	Cost
2015/16	Valostar	250	R22 733 306

b) A total of 250 units were replaced.

3. Gauteng Province

The Province reported to have spent R518 million on assessment of asbestos.

4. Northern Cape

The Province reported to have spent R72.7 million on assessment of Asbestos.

Reply:

(1) The Department of Human Settlements has (a) no incidents reported for vehicles owned by the department (i) None in the past three financial years and (ii) None since 1 April 2018, (b) no cost for repairs in each case and (c) (i) N/A (ii) N/A.

(2) None of the vehicles owned by the department have tracking devices installed.

Reply:

(a) The North West Department of Human Settlements has advised that no contracts were terminated during the 2017-18 financial year. (i) - (vii) Not applicable.

(b) The Free State Department of Human Settlements reported that it terminated two contracts for the 2017-18 financial year. The reasons provided for the termination by the Free State Department of Human Settlements is due to a contractual dispute. The further details as requested can be obtained from the Free State Department of Human Settlements subject to the provisions of the Promotion of Access To Information Act.

Reply:

(a) (i) What is the purpose of the Community Schemes Ombud Service?

The Community Schemes Ombud Service Act under which the Community Services Ombud Service has been established regulates the community schemes industry, to provide alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and management of all community scheme documentation.

(ii) What service does it offer?

The functions of CSOS include inter alia the following;

• Develop and provide a dispute resolution service in terms of this Act;

• Provide training for conciliators, adjudicators and other employees of the CSOS;

• Regulate, monitor and control the quality of all sectional titles scheme governance documentation and such other scheme governance documentation; as may be determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette; and
• Take custody of, preserve and provide public access electronically or by other means to sectional title scheme governance documentation and such other scheme governance documents as may be determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.

In performing its functions the CSOS has an obligation to: -

• Promote good governance of community schemes;

• Provide education, information, documentation and such services as may be required to raise awareness to owners, occupiers, executive committees and other persons or entities who have rights and obligations in community schemes, as regards those rights and obligations;

(b) (i) What is the funding mechanism of the Ombud?

In terms of Section 22(1) of the CSOS Act, the Community Schemes Ombud Service derives its revenue sources from:

• Money appropriated by Parliament;

• Levies collected from community schemes with the approval of the Minister;

• Fees for services rendered based on cost recovery;

• Interest derived from investments of the Service;

• Donations or contributions received by the Service with the approval of the Minister; and

• Subsidies and grants from organs of state.

(ii) What was the total income and expenditure of the Ombud over the past three financial years,

(ii) Based on information provided by the Community Schemes Ombud Service the following is the income and expenditure of the CSOS for the following periods:

Find here: Income and expenditure of the CSOS

Reply:

(a)& (b)The Department of Human Settlements and its entities reporting to the Minister of Human Settlements did not spend money on the promotion or celebration of the Year of O.R. Tambo on any television channels and radio station since 1 January 2017.

Reply:

(a)  + (b) The question has been referred to the Free State Province for a detailed reply. As soon as it is available, the Honourable Member will be provided with the reply.

Reply:

1.1 The Department has a Policy and Procedure on the Prevention and Management of Sexual Harassment, approved on 7 April 2017 by the Director-General. (Annexure A)

1.2 In terms of Section 12.1.1 the policy states that “The Head of Department shall appoint the Director responsible for Labour Relations as the Department Sexual Harassment Advisor to deal with sexual harassment complaints. This shall be a permanent appointment.”

1.3 In Section 13.3 (13.3.1 to 13.3.9) of the Policy it outlines the manner on how sexual harassment should be investigated, with provisions that

1.3.1 “The Sexual Harassment Advisor serves as the first line of contact to complaints of alleged sexual harassment.

1.3.2 The role of the sexual harassment advisor is to provide a neutral, confidential and supportive environment for employees who have reported that they have been sexually harassed;

1.3.3 Explain the disciplinary procedure and time frames to complainants and respondents in both formal and informal procedures; and advise the complainant on the appropriate course of action and support available;

1.3.4 Provide guidance (if necessary) on how to complete the appropriate grievance form; and provide the respondent with a copy of this policy and any relevant document on disciplinary rules and procedures in the department;

1.3.5 Issue a written notice of the complainant to the respondent and explain the protective measures available to the complainant;

1.3.6 Investigate the complaint and bring the case to the attention of the Director-General;

1.3.7 Avoid unreasonable delays during the investigation and conclusion of any sexual harassment complaint;

1.3.8 Monitor and submit quarterly statistical reports on all cases reported, resolved and pending to the Director-General;

1.3.9 Contribute to the development, coordination, and implementation of educational programmes and awareness raising activities for prevention and management of sexual harassment in the department.”

1.4 In terms of Section 13.2.5 of the Policy it provides for ensuring that “Disciplinary measures are applied in accordance with the Disciplinary Code and Procedures (PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2003) in the Public Service, and its specified timeframes.” In addition Section 16.4.1 of the Policy provides that, “Should the respondent be found guilty of the offence, in line with Section 19.3.2, the Presiding Officer shall recommend a disciplinary sanction which may include any of the following or a combination of them: Mandatory referral for counselling and/or EHW intervention/s; Verbal warning; Written warning; Final written warning; Suspension (without pay for not more than 3 months); Demotion (as an alternative to dismissal) and Dismissal.

2(a) Two incidents of sexual harassment and assault were reported in the Department in the past three financial years:

2(b) The complaints were reported to the Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) unit although no formal grievances lodged by complainants to the Labour Relations unit, in terms of the policy.

2(c) The 1st incident was investigated with the perpetrator being reprimanded by the appointed supervisor; The 2nd incident resulted in the perpetrator being issued with a warning by his supervisor; the perpetrator apologizing to the complainant; and approval granted for the complainant to be transferred to another unit was as requested by the complainant.

Reply:

(a) Based on information provided by the Province the site to be developed was already occupied by households residing in informal dwellings. The households were approached to completed subsidy application forms. The completed subsidy applications were captured on the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) against the project. The captured subsidy applications were validated against the various datasets as prescribed in the National Housing Code. The households that passed the validation process were approved to benefit from a housing opportunity. The households that were approved on the HSS were allocated house by the municipality after the completion of the family units and houses.

(b) The Province approved 250 beneficiaries to benefit from housing opportunities in the area. Of the 250 beneficiaries who were earmarked for the housing project , an Additional 77 hostel dwellers were also assisted in the building family units for their families in the area. On completion of the construction of the houses and family units, the Municipality allocated the houses and family units. Post the allocation process it was discovered that the list used to allocate families into the project contained the details of the approved households from the Province, that were not allocated into the project.

The Province as well as the Municipality then embarked on a formalization programme in 2014 to correct the houses and family units, which were not correctly allocated. The formalization programme is currently being undertaken on a phased approach and has not been concluded to date. A current status report on the formalisation process is attached marked as Annexure A, and includes the names and house numbers of the allocated beneficiaries.

Reply:

(1) I have been informed by Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality that the reported expenditure of R24 714 000 was for work in progress. The social housing projects are multi-year projects and the housing units are reported when the block of social housing units are complete, handed over and a completion certificate is issued. The projects have since been completed with 256 units delivered, in Germiston Fire station phase 1(144 units) and Delville (112 units) respectively, at the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

(2) (a) The contract of the appointed service providers had expired on 30 June 2016, therefore no construction could commence until new service providers were appointed. The appointment of the new service provider was finalised on 18 November 2016 and appointment letters from the Tender Office were issued on 15 December 2016. There was a period of six months where the Municipality had no service providers for the construction of houses. In addition, the late gazetting of the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) funds by the Province to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality also contributed to the poor expenditure of 2016/17. The Metropolitan Municipality received this part of HDSG in March 2017.

(b) The Municipality received an Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) allocation of R1, 985 billion for the 2017/2018 financial year.

(3) The approved National Subsidy Quantum is R111 000. The Provincial Subsidy Quantum on the other hand is capped at R102 953.55. The unit cost did not reduce as the National Subsidy Quantum stands at R111 000. Further, the Metropolitan Municipality reported that there were certain houses under the category of work in progress, as they were at various phases of construction. In addition, there were expenses for completed houses which were not included as they were subject to internal payment approval process at the time of reporting.

Reply:

(1) (a) & (b) Yes

The Honourable Member did not specify the period for which the information is required.

(2) Furthermore, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not be able to provide names of persons as requested in the question. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. It specifically states the following:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

Reply:

(i) & (ii) The information requested by the Honourable Member is available in the Department’s Annual Report.

 

Reply:

Honourable Member, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not be able to provide names of the service providers as requested. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. It specifically states the following:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

In addition, to spend time sourcing information for the past five financial years will take time and it would not be prudent to spend resources on a project such as this one. The Honourable Member is, however, encouraged to provide me with specific areas of concern that she might have in respect of any service provider used by my Department and the entities reporting to me.

 

Reply:

(1) The number of projects undertaken since the 2014/15 financial year in Limpopo in:

(a) Modimolle LM: 4 projects;

(b) Mookgopong LM: 6 projects;

(c) Bela Bela LM: 9 projects;

(d) Lephalale LM: 15 projects;

(e) Thabazimbi LM: 2 projects.

(2) (a) According to the information provided by the Provincial Department, not all projects mentioned above have been completed. Some projects are being implemented over multi-year periods.

(b) The names of incomplete projects and their monetary value are indicated in the table below:

NO.	PROJECT INFORMATION	(b) MONETARY VALUE
1.	WATERBERG/ MODIMOLLE / HOMES 2000 (78) (Delayed due to contract not being signed by the contractor)	R6 474 000
2.	WATERBERG/BELA-BELA/ MMAMOLOKO (86 URBAN)	R7 138 000
3.	WATERBERG/BELA-BELA/ HIGH POINT (92) URBAN	R7 636 000
4.	WATERBERG/BELA-BELA/ BARORISI (92) RURAL	R7 636 000
	(for the three projects above, site handover is in process after recently appointing contractors)

 

 

(c) Honourable Member, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not be able to provide names of the contractors as requested. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. It specifically states the following:

 

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

(3) All the specified municipalities, except the Thabazimbi Local Municipality, use waiting lists. Thabazimbi Local Municipality is making use of the previous instrument, the Beneficiary Status Report. Beneficiaries were approved using this instrument. The Limpopo Province’s current waiting list is still a manual one, and is not yet automated as is the case with the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR). The province is in a process of uploading data the NHNR system.

(4) Yes, 3 205 beneficiaries have title deeds registered in their names for houses built in the specified (new) projects.

Reply:

(a) The National Department of Human Settlements does not own any land.

(b) Of the eight entities reporting to me, four do not own land and these are; Community Schemes Ombud Service, National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency, Rural Housing Loan Fund, Social Housing Regulatory Authority.

 

The other four entities own land as indicated below:

Estate Agency Affairs Board

1. No 63 Weirda Road, Weirda Valley, Sandton, Johannesburg
2. Erf 16 ( 3965 sqm) and Erf 17 (3965 sqm)
3. Both properties are used for business use.

Housing Development Agency

The Housing Development Agency owns land acquired on behalf of Provinces and/or Municipalities for human settlements and housing development.

A.

1. Erf 13120, Queenstown, Lukhanji Municipality, Eastern Cape
2. 5.1900 ha
3. Currently leased to a community church

B

1. Ptn of 78 Farm, Hartebeestpoort No. 328 JR, City of Tshwane Municipality, Gauteng
2. 18.748 ha
3. Currently leased to vehicle dealerships, retail and panel beaters.

C

(i) The Farm Eloffs Park No. 772 JR, City of Tshwane Municipality, Gauteng

(ii) 19.3595 ha

(iii) Currently leased to a golf club, car dealership and offices.

D

1. Erf 10509, Philippi - Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Western Cape
2. 2.48 ha
3. The land is vacant

E

1. Erfs 17844, 17845,17847 and 18093, Knysna, Western Cape
2. 56.344 ha
3. The land is illegally occupied by the community

F

1. Rem of Farm 755/2, Machiel Heyns, Western Cape
2. 700.5669 ha
3. The land is illegally occupied by small scale farmers.

National Home Builders Registration Council

A

1. Erf 1086 Sunninghill
2. 8 260 square metres
3. The land is used to house the NHBRC Head Office and the Provincial Customer Care Offices for Gauteng Provincial Office.

B

1. Eric Molobi Innovation Hub, Thorntree View, Soshanguve
2. 15 000 square metres
3. Used for an innovation testing facility, training centre and to display the different show houses for innovative Building technologies.

National Housing Finance Corporation

A

1. President Place, Erven 300 and 585 West Germiston, Gauteng, known as President Place, situated at corner of President, Human, Clark and FH Odendaal streets.
2. 2 170 square metres
3. The land is owned on the basis of a body corporate investment property, acquired through step in rights per lending agreement, and comprises of affordable rental units.

B

1. Vacant land in Ermelo, i.e.  Erf 10097 Ermelo Extension 14.
2. 8 298 square metres
3. NHFC took judgment against ABC Cash Plus (Pty) Ltd being the surety for the indebtedness of Realty Dynamix (Pty) Ltd to the NHFC. The NHFC had registered a surety bond over the immovable property belonging to ABC which was situated in Ermelo. A sale in execution was arranged in 2013 and NHFC successfully bid for and purchased the property with the objective of then selling it in order to recoup the losses made as a result of funding Realty Dynamix. NHFC is still in the process of disposing the property.

C

1. Portions 1 to 14, 16 to 21 & 24 to 68 of Erf 12152 Mabopane X Township
2. Estate comprising of 68 individual residential stands of various sizes and a roadway for access purposes.
3. When Bella Casa was placed in liquidation the NHFC called up the mortgage bond which it had over the property, being Portions 1 to 14, 16 to 21 & 24 to 68 of Erf 12152 Mabopane X Township. In September 2016 NHFC entered into a development rights agreement with My Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd in terms of which the flow of funds would be made by way of instalment payments. The transfer has not passed to the purchaser as transfer will be effected upon sale of the various completed units.

D

1. Erf 2435 – Weltevreden Valley
2. 11.8 hectares
3. The land portion was acquired on the condition to develop the property for affordable rental housing numbering approx. 650 units.

E

1. Erf 6111 and 8175 in Eerste Rivier
2. 3.38 hectares
3. Condition from Provincial Government of Western Cape (PGWC) to develop 211 Institutional Subsidy units. The PGWC have requested Cape Town Community Housing Company to transfer this portion back to them as they are no longer undertaking new developments.

F

1. 40 residential erven in the David Kruiper Municipality
2. Approx. 750 square meter each.
3. The terms of acquisition is for development in accordance with affordable housing standards of David Kruiper Municipality.

Reply:

(1) (a) (i) During the 2016/17 financial year, an amount of R6 498 634.43 was paid out to employees on salary levels 2-12 and those covered by the Occupational Specification Dispensation (OSD) for 2015/16 performance cycle.

(ii) In the same year, an amount of R191 682 was paid out to qualifying Directors and Chief Directors for 2013/14 performance cycle and R396 365.57 for the 2014/15 performance cycle.

(b) The figures indicated above were disbursements to level 2 - 12 for 2015/16 performance cycle and to Directors and Chief Directors for 2013/14 and 2014/15 performance cycle.

(2) (a) It is estimated that in 2017/18 an amount of R7 581 731.64 will be paid out to employees for 2016/17 performance cycle.

(b) There is no breakdown available because the performance assessment process has not been concluded.

Reply:

(1) (a) The Department of Human Settlements is not in a position to comment on the remainder of the farm which was not purchased by the HDA.

(b) The Housing Development Agency acquire land for development human settlements.

(c) R65 400 000.

(2) (a) Land in and around Bela-Bela Township was also considered. Acquisition of land in the area would have perpetuated old separate development policy.

(b) Its ability to achieve human settlements spatial structuring imperatives.

Reply:

Honourable Member, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not be able to provide names of the companies that conducted valuations as requested. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. It specifically states the following:

 

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

Further, the Housing Development Agency (HDA) is a national public development agency that promotes sustainable communities by making well-located and appropriately-planned land and buildings available for the development of human settlements. As its primary activities, the HDA assembles state, private and communal land and buildings and releases it for human settlement development. It also provides land and housing delivery support services to organs of state at local, provincial and national level.

I have been informed that all land valuations undertaken by the HDA in Limpopo were undertaken at the request of the Provincial Department of COGSTA and the information is provided in the table below:

Number of valuations undertaken by HDA for Limpopo Coghta and Municipalities
Financial years	Municipality	Number of properties valued	Number of valuations	(a) Amount
(aa) 2013/14	None	0	0
(bb) 2014/15	Greater Tzaneen Municipality	4	6	R 25 000
				R 23 165
				R 27 500
				R 7 600
				R 8 395
				R 16 905
	Greater Tubatse	3	6	R 27 300
				R 22 500
				R 24 000
	Modimolle	1	3	The three service providers appointed to conduct land valuations in the Modimolle municipal district were contracted to do valuations in other areas and therefore did not separate the amounts for the work undertaken.
(cc) 2015/16	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3	R 19 150
				R 9 745
				R 24 000
(dd) 2016/17	Ephraim Mogale	1	3	R 7 600
				R 11 145
				R 6 874
	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3	R 12 850
				R 11 145
				R 8 718

 

Reply:

Honourable Member, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not be able to provide names of the companies that conducted valuations as requested. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. It specifically states the following:

 

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

Further, the Housing Development Agency (HDA) is a national public development agency that promotes sustainable communities by making well-located and appropriately-planned land and buildings available for the development of human settlements. As its primary activities, the HDA assembles state, private and communal land and buildings and releases it for human settlement development. It also provides land and housing delivery support services to organs of state at local, provincial and national level.

I have been informed that all land valuations undertaken by the HDA in Limpopo were undertaken at the request of the Provincial Department of COGSTA and the information is provided in the table below:

Number of valuations undertaken by HDA for Limpopo Coghta and Municipalities
Financial years	Municipality	Number of properties valued	Number of valuations	(a) Amount
(aa) 2013/14	None	0	0
(bb) 2014/15	Greater Tzaneen Municipality	4	6	R 25 000
				R 23 165
				R 27 500
				R 7 600
				R 8 395
				R 16 905
	Greater Tubatse	3	6	R 27 300
				R 22 500
				R 24 000
	Modimolle	1	3	The three service providers appointed to conduct land valuations in the Modimolle municipal district were contracted to do valuations in other areas and therefore did not separate the amounts for the work undertaken.
(cc) 2015/16	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3	R 19 150
				R 9 745
				R 24 000
(dd) 2016/17	Ephraim Mogale	1	3	R 7 600
				R 11 145
				R 6 874
	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3	R 12 850
				R 11 145
				R 8 718

 

Reply:

(a)(i & ii) The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) confirmed that it did not directly award any contract to the company referred to by the Honourable Member. Instead, the EAAB has a support service level agreement and end user licence contract with a South African company which is an authorised reseller of the company in question.

(b) Falls away.

(c) Falls away.

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is provided in the table below:

(i) NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS:

(aa) for more than 30 days	(bb) for more than 60 days	(cc) for more than 90 days	(dd) for more than 120 days
None	None	None	None

(ii) ENTITIES:

(aa) for more than 30 days	(bb) for more than 60 days	(cc) for more than 90 days	(dd) for more than 120 days
National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency
13 and total  amount outstanding is R1,573,617.68	7 and total  amount outstanding is R26,320.12	1 and total  amount outstanding is R33,345.00	1 and total  amount outstanding is R91.49
National Housing Finance Corporation
R316.92	None	None	None
Social Housing Regulatory Authority
92 and total  amount outstanding is R3 179 454.82	16 and total  amount outstanding is R946 184.22	1 and total  amount outstanding is R77 922.95	4 and total  amount outstanding is R83 022.03
Housing Development Agency
2 and total  amount outstanding is R15 104,00	6 and total  amount outstanding is R1 411 171,00	5 and total  amount outstanding is R164 227,00	12 and total  amount outstanding is R6 681 692,00
Rural Housing Loan Fund
None	None	None	None
Community Schemes Ombud Service
1 and total amount outstanding is R961,879.90	None	None	2 and total amount outstanding is R261,800.00
Estate Agency Affairs Board
13 and total amount outstanding is R242 332,46	None	1 and total amount outstanding is R11 475,00	None
National Home Builders Registration Council
20 and total amount outstanding is R2 505 610,00	2 and the total amount outstanding is R64 370,00	1 and total amount outstanding is R29 135,00	None

 

Reply:

(1) Three officials were granted permission to have businesses in the past three financial years.

(2) All three requests for approval were not for business with the state or its organs.

I wish to point out to the Honourable Member that employees are prohibited from doing business with the state or its organs. Incidentally, it was during my tenure as Minister of Public Service and Administration that the Public Administration Management Act of 2013 which introduced the prohibition was drafted, processed through Cabinet and Parliament and was enacted by the President in 2013.

Honourable Member, the prohibition referred to above is currently enforceable through section 13 (c) of the Public Service Regulations. The said section stipulates that an employee shall not conduct business with any organ of state or be a director of a public or private company conducting business with an organ of state, unless such an employee is in an official capacity a director of a company listed in schedule 2 and 3 of the Public Finance Management Act”.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In terms of the Public Service Regulations 13 (c), “An employee shall not conduct business with any organ of state or be a director of a public or private company conducting business with an organ of state, unless such an employee is in an official capacity a director of a company listed in schedule 2 and 3 of the Public Finance Management Act”;

Further, in terms of the Public Service Regulations 24, “An application by an employee to perform remunerative work outside his or her department shall be in accordance with the process determined by the Minister and in the form issued by the Minister.”

Accordingly, a Directive on Conducting Business with an Organ of State was issued in January 2017 by the Minister for Public Service and Administration.

 

Reply:

My official car was not involved in an accident in the 2016/17 financial year.

(a) to (f) Fall away.

 

Reply:

There was no new vehicle purchased for the Minister or the Deputy Minister in the 2016/17 financial year.

 

Reply:

(1) (a) The information provided to me in response to the Honourable Members’ question is indicated in the table below:

(i) Houses built in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality in the past ten years:

FINANCIAL YEAR	HOUSES BUILT IN GARIEP LM	HOUSES BUILT IN MALETSWAI LM	TOTAL HOUSES BUILT (WSLM)
2007/08	-	854	854
2008/09	-	227	227
2009/10	243	362	605
2010/11	295	18	313
2011/12	43	33	76
2012/13	127	68	195
2013/14	285	59	344
2014/15	45	14	59
2015/16	160	175	335
2016/17	88	43	131

(ii) Houses built since April 2017 (01 April 2017 to 31 July 2017)

FINANCIAL YEAR	HOUSES BUILT IN GARIEP LM	HOUSES BUILT IN MALETSWAI LM	TOTAL HOUSES BUILT (WSLM)
2017/18	-	86	86

Each of the houses built during the period of ten years cost between R54 650 and R110 947, informed by the approved national subsidy quantum to be used in the relevant project implementation period.

(2) (a) (b) The funding allocated, spent and not spent per applicable financial year:

FINANCIAL YEAR	(a) Amount allocated	Amount spent	(b) Unspent Funds
2010/11		77 297
2011/12	60 514	9 192	51 322
2012/13	59 855	28 833	31 022
2013/14	57 953	29 597	28 356
2014/15	22 075	31753	-9 678
2015/16	30 616	35 857	-5 241
2016/17	31 025	45 870	-14 845
2017/18	45 122	23 162	21 960

(c) In accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions and guidelines contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not provide names of each contractor appointed for each project. The document referred to specifically states the following:

 

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”.

(3) (a)(b) & (c) The table below refers to the number of houses that required rebuilding or residual repairs, the amount spent on the repairs and the communities in which the houses are located and the contractors who undertook the repairs.

Houses that required rebuilding and the amount spent on rebuilding houses in Burgersdorp.

Financial Year	Amount Spent(a)	How many houses were affected(b)	In which town or community(c)	Contractors(d)
2014/15	1 523 781	1 000	Burgersdorp	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2015/16	79 250	1000	Burgersdorp	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2016/17	5 035 525	1000	Burgersdorp	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2017/18	6 482 983	1000	Burgersdorp	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal

Houses that required rebuilding and the amount spent on rebuilding houses in Steynsburg:

Financial Year	Amount Spent(a)	How many houses were affected(b)	In which town or community(c)	Contractors(d)
2014/15	13 016 837	600	Steynsburg	In terms of applicable policy the information should be requested from the Municipality and/or Province
2015/16	7 205 121	600	Steynsburg
2016/17	219 600	600	Steynsburg
2017/18	43 050	600	Steynsburg

Houses that required rebuilding and the amount spent on rebuilding houses in Venterstad:

Financial Year	Amount Spent(a)	How many houses were affected(b)	In which town or community(c)	Contractors( d)
2014/15	2 849 242	500	Venterstad	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2015/16	193 649	500	Venterstad	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2016/17	6 784 177	500	Venterstad	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal
2017/18	7 740 133	500	Venterstad	NHBRC, Provincial and Municipal

Houses that required rebuilding and the amount spent on rebuilding houses in James Town:

Financial Year	Amount Spent(a)	How many houses were affected(b)	In which town or community(c)	Contractors(d)
2011/12	3 985 512	244	James town	In terms of applicable policy the information should be requested from the Municipality and/or Province
2012/13	7 076 612	244	James town
2013/14	4 825 948	244	James town
2014/15	2 007 720	244	James town
2015/16	5 874 028	244	James town
2016/17	-	244	James town
2017/18	-	244	James town

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is provided in the table below:

Question Number	Municipality/ Department	Number of land parcels Valued	Number of Valuations
(a)	None	0	0
(b)(i) 2013-14	None	0	0
(b)(ii) 2014-15	Greater Tzaneen Municipality	4	6
	Greater Tubatse	3	6
	Modimolle	1	3
	Thabazimbi	2	6
(b)(iii) 2015-16	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3
(b)(iv) 2016-17	Ephraim Mogale	1	3
	Elias Motsoaledi	1	3
Total		13	30

Reply:

(a) The Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality had indicated that the topography of the site on which the property is located is not conducive for the construction of a home within the required standards due to the steepness of the site and limited developable space. Proceeding with the construction of a house will require extensive excavation, levelling and filling to create sufficient space. Furthermore, retaining walls will have to be built on the front and back of the house, to retain the steep banks in order to prevent the house from being damaged during the rainy seasons. The other attendant matter which required attention was the relocation of other families residing in the informal structures on the site to another area before the site could be developed.

In the reply, I have included photographs to illustrate the challenging topography which led to the delay in resolving the matter.

The photograph below indicates the site boundary which extends from the edge of the footpath to where the lower informal structures are located on the site. The limited developable space of the site can be observed (it is where officials are standing), as well as the informal structure on the level portion of site. Note must be taken of the location and proximity of the existing dwellings, to the footpath with running water.

The photograph below illustrates the steepness of the bank and thus the need for the construction of retaining walls.

The eThekwini Municipality has now confirmed that after a long protracted consultation, a decision has been taken a decision to build houses for the five families living in the area and a process of identifying alternative accommodation has already commenced. However, it has also been brought to my attention that the said person is not prepared to relocate to a temporary residential area (TRA) to allow for the required planning and construction work to commence.

(b) The property details are as follows:

Site No: Erf 1210, Section F, Umlazi

Coordinates: 30°53'38.175"E 29°56'28.788"S.

Extent: 278m²

Reply:

As the Honourable Member is aware, housing is a concurrent function and the Housing Act of 1997 clearly stipulates the mandates of the national, provincial and local spheres of government in respect of housing delivery. In addition, the National Housing Code 2009 requires municipalities to include a Housing Chapter in their Integrated Development Plans. The case that the Honourable Member is inquiring about resides within the local sphere, at the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to be specific.

The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality has advised that it has not been able to construct a house for the person referred to by the Honourable Member due to the following reasons:

• The site on which he resides is situated on unfavourable topography (steep terrain) and
• There are four other families residing informally on the same site.

The eThekwini Municipality also advised that the person referred to by the Honourable Member is not prepared to relocate to an alternative site, as was suggested by the Municipality. This means that a retaining wall will have to be constructed when the construction of the house commences.

My Department has also been informed by the eThekwini Municipality, that it was in the process of identifying alternative land for the four families who are at present informally residing on the same site, and the target date for the completion of the process of relocation (once the site has been identified) is June 2018.

Reply:

Of the nine Provincial Departments of Human Settlements, only the Eastern Cape and the Gauteng province confirmed that there were contractors who initiated legal action for non-payment within the prescribed 30 days. All other provinces indicated “none” to the question posed by the Honourable member.

The Honourable Member should take note that I cannot provide much detail pertaining to these matters for the following reasons:

1. Some of the matters are before courts the and therefore sub judice.
2. The document titled “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly” prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from providing names when responding to parliamentary questions. The document referred to states that:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

In the tables below, please find information provided by the Eastern Cape and the Gauteng Province:

Eastern Cape

(a) The number of contractors who initiated legal action:	(d) current status of each contract (paid or not paid)
(i) Black	(ii) White	(iii) Female-owned contractors
The cases were mostly with subcontractors that have no direct contract with the Department of Human Settlements and therefore we do not have detailed information on them, including their BBEE Codes	Matter finalized .Department ordered to pay the claim with interest and costs. The department settled the amount.
	Department settled the amount as per court order. Contract ended 18 May 2017 and extension of time requested
	Parties are exchanging pleadings. Contract ended 23 March 2013
	Matter pending before court. Parties are exchanging pleadings.
	Matter pending before court. Parties are exchanging pleadings.
	Matter still pending at court. Contract extended up to 31st March 2018
	Matter still pending at court. The Extended contract ended 11 February 2016

Gauteng Province

(a) How many contractors initiated legal action:	(d) current status of each contract (paid or not paid)
(i) Black	(ii) White	(iii) Female-owned contractors
Black		Male	The matter is pending before a court of law
Black		Male	The matter is pending before a court of law
Black		Male	The matter is pending before a court of law
	White	Female	The matter is pending before a court of law
Black		Male	The Department has received a letter from the company concerned informing the Department that it is withdrawing the case against the Department. We have requested it to request his attorneys to file a formal withdrawal notice in court. We will close the file once a formal withdrawal has been served to the Department
Black		Female	State Attorney was instructed to enter an appearance to defend as there is no contractual relationship between the Plaintiff and the Department.
Black		Male	The matter is pending before a court of law
	White	Male	The matter is pending before a court of law
	The Department has settled the outstanding amount and the Plaintiff has been requested to formally file a withdrawal Notice in court.
	White	Male	The dispute related to the amount of claim for damages as a result of terminating the contract and interest for late payment of the capital amount. The Department has since effected payment to settle the claim.

Reply:

(a) No Transaction Advisors were appointed by the National Department of Human Settlements for tenders between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2016.

(b) Of the eight entities reporting to me, six entities indicated that they did not appoint Transaction Advisors for tenders in the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016. The Housing Development Agency and the National Home Builders Registration Council advised that they did appoint Transaction Advisors as per the Honourable Member’s question. However, in accordance with the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions and guidelines contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”, I will not provide names of the Transaction Advisors that the two entities appointed. The document referred to specifically states the following:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

The Housing Development Agency appointed two Transactions Advisors for tenders in the period 01 January 2012 to 31 December 2016.

(ii) (a) For the release of two inner city buildings for Human Settlements.

(b) For the Assessment of the Private Sector Human Settlements Projects.

(iii) (a) R478 122.00.

(b) R5 900 000.00.

(iv) The amounts were included as total values in (iii) above as the contracts were for the procurements of transaction advisors to assist with transaction advice on both the release of inner city buildings and assessment of Private Sector Human Settlements Projects.

The National Home Builders Registration Council has appointed three Transactions Advisors for tenders in the period 01 January 2012 to 31 December 2016.

(ii) (a) For the implementation of the SAP tender.

(b) For the leasing of two (02) mobile offices tender.

(c) For the provision of Human capital services tender.

(iii) (a) SAP tender was awarded at R73 754 352.00.

(b) Mobile offices tender was awarded at R11 080 800.00.

(c) Provision of human capital tender was awarded at R5 397 444.00.

(iv) (a) R134 250.00.

(b) R299 179.06.

(c) R22 550.00

Reply:

(1) (a) & (b) No. The Council of the NHBRC took a decision to place the official referred to in the question on precautionary suspension pending the outcome of an investigation.

(2) Honourable Member, the Council has advised me that it has never taken a decision to appoint the gentlemen referred to in the question in any position.

Reply:

I responded to a similar question from the Honourable Member on 30 June 2017 and indicated the terms of the Boards and Councils reporting to me. Please find enclosed a copy of the reply for ease of reference.

Currently, there are no new advertisements out for filling of any positions in Boards and Councils in my portfolio.

Reply:

Honourable Member, the Department could not find any information using the ID number provided and efforts to gain more information from your office failed.

I am therefore requesting that you provide me with further details so that we can make the necessary intervention and assist to resolve the matter.

Further, cases such as these should concern all of us as public representatives and our first instinct should be to assist. I hope the Honourable Member has, beyond asking the question, provided some assistance and advice on what the person referred to should do while this matter is being investigated.

Reply:

The information availed to me by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is provided in the tables below:

Fully Subsidised Individual Units Constructed

Financial Year	1) Number Of Houses Built	2(a) Allocation To The Human Settlements Department	Expenditure	2(b) Amount Not Spent
	R’ 000
2014-15	1(a) 303	42 751	35 604	7 147
2015-16	1(b) 368	106 765	40 984	65 782
2016-17	1(c) 305	65 782	20 107	45 674

Affordable and Social Housing Rental Units Constructed

Financial Year	1) Number Of Houses Built	2 (a) Allocation To The Human Settlements Department	Expenditure	2 (b) Amount Not Spent
	R’ 000
2014-15	1(a) Nil	-	-	-
2015-16	1(b) Nil	29 079	24 714	4 365
2016-17	1(c) 256	23 158	23 158	-

Reply:

(a)(aa) In its endeavour to ensure the professionalization of the human settlements sector, the National Department of Human Settlements has partnered with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), to enhance the capacity of the sector to deliver sustainable human settlements. The department funded the establishment of the Chair for Education in Human Settlements Development Management at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the Chair for Research in Human Settlements at the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT)

The aforementioned Chairs established in the two universities are responsible for the following functions, amongst others:

• Conducting of research in human settlements to inform policy and programmes development, as well as informing relevant solutions to deal with the housing challenge;
• Development and teaching of human settlements qualifications to enhance the availability of requisite skills in the human settlements sector.
• Providing a consultation service and advice to the Department in support of its capacity building and professionalization endeavours;
• Providing training in the form of Short Learning Programmes, workshops and seminars, ensuring transfer of skills to public officials;
• Conducting skills audits and analyses that align with the human settlements education and capacity development strategy of the Department; and
• Providing solutions to problems faced by the government, CBOs, communities, and NGOs relating to human settlements.

Further, the National Department of Human Settlements has in February 2015 appointed the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to revise and update the Guidelines for Human Settlements Planning and Design, commonly referred to as the Red Book. The guidelines review project is implemented over three years and is scheduled for completion by the end of the 2017/18 financial year.

The review was necessitated by substantial shifts in policy, priorities, values and the understanding of human settlements that have occurred globally as well as in South Africa in the 15 years since publication of the previous version of guidelines.

The purpose of the guidelines is to specify the Built Environment performance qualities that should be sought in South African settlements, and to provide practical guidance to users on how these qualities can be practically implemented to create sustainable human settlements.

(bb) The amount paid to the two universities are as tabulated below:

University	Period	Funding amount
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)	2013/14 To 2015/16	R11, 538, 000, 00
Mangosuthu University Of Technology (MUT)	2016/17	R3, 500, 000, 00
Total Amount Paid To Universities	R15, 038, 000, 00

The total amount contracted for the revision of the guidelines, is R19 932 574.00 (Vat included) and is paid in tranches in line with quarterly deliverables. To date R10 702 775.74 has been transferred to the CSIR for work completed.

(b) Entities reporting to the Minister

Of the eight entities reporting to me, it is only the National Housing Finance Corporation that is funding an institution.

(bb) The details of the funding arrangements are provided below:

Domestically / Internationally	Name Of The Institution	Function	Date	Amount
(i) Domestically	Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF)	Strategic partnership with research specialist in the field of affordable housing to capacitate and strengthen research capability.	2014 - 2017	R3 424 243
(ii) Internationally	None	None	None	None

Reply:

The information provided by the provinces in response to the Honourable Member’s question is provided below:

Eastern Cape:

(i)Contractual Disputes With Contractors Expenditure Incurred on Legal Fees	(i)Contractual Disputes With Contractors	Final Outcomes In Each Case	(ii) Labour Disputes With Departmental Officials In 2016/17 Financial Year	(i) Full Details	(ii) Final Outcomes In Each Case
1 105 773	The dispute was about the services rendered.	The Department settled the amount as per court order and the matter has been finalized.	value of R276159.00	Unfair Dismissal	Case was dismissed in favour of the employer
490 530	Plaintiff claimed after rendering services to the Department without a valid extension to the agreement with the Department on the Mayfield Phase 2 project.	The Department settled the amount as per court order. The contract ended 18 May 2017 and extension of time was requested	value of R33832.80	Unfair Dismissal	Case in progress
955 737	Plaintiff is suing the Department for professional services rendered on the Motherwell project. Plaintiff left site but claimed to be paid for services rendered as it is claimed that they suspended services due to the conduct of the Department and therefore be paid for the time they could have spent on the project.	The parties are exchanging pleadings. The contract ended 23 March 2013	-	-	-
2 280 301	The contractor is suing the Department for work done and completed in terms of a cession entered into with a contractor, contracted to the Department on the Lubala 94 project.	Matter pending before court.	-	-	-
400 338	The contractor is suing the Department for services rendered on the Gardening and Greening project. There is a dispute on the value of the services rendered and the contractor has failed to submit documentation proving their claim.	The matter is pending before court.	-	-	-
4 287 111	The dispute was about the installation of services in the Bethelsdorp Phase C project.	But the matter has been finalised and the department settled. The contract extended up to 31st March 2018	-	-	-
147 247	The Department entered into an agreement with the contractor for construction services on the All Saints 700 Inkwenkwezi Project. The contractor contracted a number of subcontractors in the project without the knowledge of the Department. The claim is a dispute for non-payment of the subcontractors.	The matter still in court. An extended contract ended 11 February 2016	-	-	-

Free State:

(I)Contractual Disputes With Contractors	(Ii) Labour Disputes With Departmental Officials In 2016/17 Financial Year	(I) Full Details	(Ii) Final Outcomes In Each Case
Contractor vs the provincial Department of Human Settlements	None	Dispute is as a result of a breach of contract by the Contractor that led to the Department terminating the contract for poor performance and poor workmanship.	A plea has been filled and the case is pending in court.
Contractor vs the provincial Department of Human Settlements		Matter is a contractual dispute over a cession agreement that the parties cancelled.	Province has filed a plea and the matter is set down for trial for the 21, 22 and 24th November 2017.
Contractor vs the provincial Department of Human Settlements		Dispute arose as a result of a breach of contract by the Contractor, which led to the Department terminating the contract, based on failure to perform in terms of the contract.	Case was withdrawn by the Applicant.
Total Legal Costs Paid during 2016/17 financial year is R 164 487.00.

Mpumalanga Province

Expenditure Incurred On Legal Fees	(i)Contractual Disputes with contractors	Final Outcomes In Each Case	(ii) Labour Disputes With Departmental Officials In 2016/17 Financial Year	(i)Full Details	(ii) Final Outcomes In Each Case
R926 216.47	The Attorneys were appointed to represent the Department against matters involving four contractors.	Two matters are still being processed and the other two have been finalised	R407 586.00	The matter is between the Department and two employees	Both matters are still being processed

North West

(i)Contractual Disputes with contractors	(ii) Labour disputes with departmental officials in 2016/17 financial year	(i) Full details	(ii) Final outcomes in each case
N/A	The Department of Local Government and Human Settlements in North West and an employee	The case is about a nullified appointment	The matter is still before the labour court
N/A	The Department of Local Government and Human Settlements in North West and an employee	Unfair dismissal claim	The matter is still before the labour court
N/A	The Department of Local Government and Human Settlements in North West and an employee	Level of grading dispute in terms of Resolution 3 of 1999	The matter is still before the labour court
N/A	The Department of Local Government and Human Settlements in North West and an employee	Unfair dismissal claim	The matter is still before the labour court

KwaZulu-Natal

(a)(i) None

(ii)None

(b)(i)None

(ii)None

Limpopo Province

(a)(i) None

(ii)None

(b)(i)None

(ii)None

Northern Cape

(a)(i) None

(ii)None

(b)(i)None

(ii)None

Western Cape

(a)(i) None

(ii)None

(b)(i)None

(ii)None

Gauteng Province

The information is being collated and it will be provided once the process has been finalised.

Reply:

Our policy does not prescribe a minimum waiting period as per the honourable member’s question because the allocation of a house to a qualifying beneficiary depends primarily on the completion of a housing project. However, our National Housing Needs Register indicates that the waiting period in the past fluctuated between 6 to 11 years on average. I am confident that as provinces and municipalities continue to improve the planning and packaging of projects, the waiting period will be minimised.

Further, this is one of the reasons that, during my budget vote speech on 18 May 2017, I indicated that the one-track system of building is no longer sustainable. We need to adopt a multi-pronged approach together with provinces and municipalities because time is not on our side. We are now concentrating on servicing sites and partitioning them so that people can build their own houses through a monitored PHP programme.

Reply:

(a) No.

(b) All eight entities reporting to me confirmed that they had not awarded any contracts or agreements to any staff members to conduct business with any state entity in the (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16 and (iii) 2016-17 financial years.

Reply:

The Deputy Minster and I, including our families, do not use any security services paid for by the State. Needless to say, both of us use the VIP Protection Services provided by the Department of Police.

The entities reporting to me confirmed that none of them use and pay for security services from State funds.

 

 

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is provided in the table below:

Entity	Board or Council composition	Appointment date	Expiry date	Person responsible for appointment
The Community Schemes Ombud Service (SCOS)	The Board has two (2) executive members (CEO & CFO) and seven (7) non-executive members. There are four (4) females currently on the CSOS Board.	1 January 2016	31 December 2018	The Executive
Estate Agency Affairs Board	The Board has fifteen (15) members. There are seven (7) females currently on the EAAB Board.	6 July 2016	5 July 2019	The Executive
The Housing Development Agency	The Board consists of two (2) executive members (CEO & CFO) and seven (7) non-executive members. There are two (2) females currently on the Board.	4 Nov 2015	3 Nov 2018	The Executive
Human Settlements Development Bank/NHFC	There are eleven Board members There are currently three (3) females on the Board.	24 November 2016	October 2019	The Executive
National Home Builders Registration Council	The Council consists of thirteen (13) members. There are five (5) females currently on the Council.	1 August 2015	31 July 2018	The Executive
Social Housing Regulatory Authority	The Council consists of Twelve (12) members. There are Five (5) females currently on the Council.	18 March 2015	17 March 2018	The Executive

 

Reply:

(a) The Department spent an amount of R49.3 million in the 2016-17 financial year on e- government services.

(b) The approved budget for the 2017/18 financial year is R52.7 million.

Reply:

Honourable Member, we are grappling with the issue of the paying supplier invoices within 30 days, it is a standard item on the agenda of MinMEC. The challenges remain and they are multi-faceted. The reasons provided by provinces for the late payment vary from late submission of invoices to verification of information pertaining to those invoices. Sometimes the required details for new suppliers are not always available in the financial system to facilitate payments due to inadequate completion of registration forms by suppliers.

With respect to the provision of names of suppliers or companies, the Honourable Members is referred to the established practise applicable to parliamentary questions and guidelines contained in the document titled, “Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly”. The document referred to prohibits Members of Parliament, including the Executive, from divulging names of persons, bodies when asking or responding to parliamentary questions. Accordingly, I will not provide names of the companies and/or suppliers whose invoices were not paid within the 30 days. The document referred to states the following:

“Questions are to be framed as concisely as possible. All unnecessary adjectives, references and quotations are omitted. Names of persons, bodies and, for example, newspapers are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable. If a question will be unintelligible without mentioning such names, the Departments concerned are notified of the name (-s) and this phrase is used: ".......a certain person (name furnished)”

The information received from provinces is provided below:

Eastern Cape Province

(a) 184 invoices remain unpaid by Eastern Cape Province.

(b) (ii) The amounts outstanding are included in the table below.

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	176 564 089

(iii) The Eastern Cape Province reported the reason for the non-payment as being the shrinkage of the equitable share over commitments and top slicing at the beginning of the financial year as well as the first tranche of the grant which was not enough to pay all the contractors.

(iv) The Eastern Cape Province is attending to its cash flow problems and it is hoped that this matter will be resolved soon.

Free State

1. 227 invoices remain unpaid by the Free State Province
2. (ii) The amounts outstanding are included in the table below:

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	122 196 958

 

(b)(iii) The Free State Province reported the reason for non-payment as due to insufficient funds being available for fund commitments.

(b)(iv)The Free State Department of Human Settlements has commenced honouring these claims in the 2017/2018 financial year as funding is disbursed from the National Department of Human Settlements. As at 24 May 2017 an amount of R46 million was still outstanding for payment which will be settled soon.

Gauteng Province

1. 824 invoices remain unpaid by the Free State province
2. (ii) The amounts outstanding are included in the table below:

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	597 600 355.14

(b)(iii) The Gauteng Department advised that it could not make payments linked to the Human Settlements Development Conditional Grants (HSDG) as from 1st April 2017 until Mid-May 2017, mainly because the first payment tranche for the 2017/18 financial year was transferred in late May from National department of Human Settlements. The reason for the late transfer of the first tranche is that the business plan was not able to be approved by the National Department, due to non-compliance and the Division of Revenue Act, which prohibits the transfer of funds before approval of the business plan.

(b)(iv) The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements plans to pay the outstanding invoices within the month of June.

KwaZulu-Natal

1. The province did not have any invoices that were unpaid for more than 30 days.

Limpopo Province

1. 3 invoices remain unpaid by the Limpopo province
2. (ii) The amounts outstanding are included in the table below:

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	529 631.83

(iii) Limpopo advised that one invoice was returned on the 19/04/2017 because of a negative amount on the budget line item and the other two were returned to the end-user as a result of a court order.

(b)(iv) Not specified.

 

Mpumalanga Province

1. 7 invoices remain unpaid by the Mpumalanga province
2. (ii) and (iii) The amounts outstanding and reasons for non-payments are included in the table below:

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	4 499 193.00

(iii) Mpumalanga reasons for non-payment within 30 days include: Delay by the contractor in registering with CSD. CSD finalized on 19/05/2017 by the contractor and the account will now be linked with Logis. A call was logged with Provincial Treasury in this regard; The Bank account details submitted to the Department did not agree with CSD. (iv) The invoices will be paid when all outstanding issues have been resolved.

Northern Cape

1. The province did not have any invoices that were unpaid for more than 30 days.

North West

1. 50 invoices remain unpaid by the North west province
2. (ii) The amounts outstanding are indicated below:

(b)(i) SUPPLIER	(ii) AMOUNTS OUTSTANDING
	R’000
TOTAL	5 756 280.05

(b)(iii) The Province reported the reason for non-payment as being the error in capturing of invoices which reflected as unpaid instead of being updated on the system as they were paid.

Western Cape

1. The Province did not have any invoices that were unpaid for more than 30 days.