Questions and Replies

Reply:

When there is a death in the family, and the family is unable to bury their loved one, the municipality always liaises with the affected family through the ward councillor. The provincial department of Social Development is also engaged to assist with burial expenses, as it (the department), is budgeting for such. The municipality carries the expenses for burial services of paupers, and this is budget for by the municipality.

End.

Reply:

The criminal component of cable theft and damage is dealt with by the South African Police Service.

End.

Reply:

The the Municipal Manager of Chris Hani District Municipality provided the following table which represents the age analysis of the Chris Hani District Municipality as at 31 March 2023:

A. The municipality is owed by the consumers of its services an amount of R2,3 billion as at 31 March 2023 and of which the majority of the consumers that owe the municipality are domestic, businesses, indigents, municipalities and government departments.

There are notable slight decreases on businesses, government departments, municipalities, indigents, non-profits organisation, except the domestic consumers.

1. The municipality has capacity in the Budget and Treasury Office, where there is a Revenue Unit which still has vacancies that are yet to be filled at the latest June 2023.
2. The Municipality introduced a debt rehabilitation program that has been running for almost two years ending on the 30 June 2023. This is intended to assist the consumers with long outstanding debts. This was taken to the roadshows and the maximum assist is up to 50% write off for qualifying consumers.
3. Indigent consumers of R98 million have been approved and the write-off was effected in April 2023. The reduction will be reflected in the May 2023 In-Year Monitoring Report.
4. The Municipality has sourced a solution such as SMART Metering Water Meters that will be a phase approach that will focus more on businesses, government departments, schools, municipal areas and effluent areas etc. This solution will resume in beginning of May 2023.
5. On the SMART Metering Water Meters Project, the focus will be more on the pre-paid solution in order to recoup the water revenues.
6. Despite the strides of the municipality in trying to collect, there is a culture of non-payment including the government department.

1. The municipality is issuing 14 days disconnection notices to all consumers except the households due to Constitutional imperative related to Human Rights. However, businesses, government departments (but not all, like clinics), are disconnected where there is non-payment.

1. Payment arrangements are entered into, with all consumers, who responds to the disconnection notices and actual disconnections.

1. Employees and Councillors, payment arrangements are revisited and are increased, and further disciplinary processes and code of conduct are implemented.

B) Chris Hani District Municipality total outstanding Debt as at 31 March 2023 an amount of R2,3 billion.

C) Businesses total outstanding Debt as at 31 March 2023 an amount of R135 million.

D) Remaining Total outstanding except the above, B and C.

End

Reply:

In accordance with the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), municipalities choose which areas become residential areas. The Councilors Code of Conduct establishes guidelines for councilor behavior. Sadly, the honorable member's query does not specify which municipality's people would have been denied access to residential areas because of council members' greed.

End.

Reply:

The departmental of Cooperative Governance did not have a specific procurement any specific procurement goal and specific allocation for small, medium and micro-enterprises, cooperatives, township enterprises and rural enterprises as the process then was aligned to Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017.

(aa) 2021/22

The Department has however spent R124, 700 030.00 (R124,7.million) on BBBEE scorecard as per Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017.

In terms of the BBBEE scorecard:

• 76% was spent on Black People amounting to R110, 076, 246.00
• 37% was spent on Black Women amounting to R11, 862, 775.00
• 24% was spent on Youth amounting to R2, 761, 009.00

(bb) 01 April 2023

For the month of April 2023, the department of Cooperative Governance spent R706 601,50 on specific goals as per the Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2022.

In terms of the specific goals:

• 80% was spent on Black People amounting to R619 689
• 20% was spent on Black Women amounting to R77 222.50
• 40% was spent on Youth amounting to R9 690.

The Department is committed towards economic growth of the country by empowering the Small Medium and Macro Enterprises (SMMEs) particularly in rural areas and township. and the department has directed its preference in terms of specific goals to Blacks, Women, Youth and business owned by people living with disabilities as guided by the Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2022.

Our records for period under review (2023/24 FY) reveal that the new score card is in line with the Prefential Procorement Regulations 2022.

End.

Reply:

1. (a) The process started last year (2022) however due to challenges with bid committee sitting the tender lapsed. The process will be started this current financial 2023/2024

(b) The items that have been procured already are the following:

(i) Chairs;

(ii) Tables;

(iii) Sound system;

(iv) Air conditioning;

(v) Mobile toilets;

(c) R1 629 388.82

2. (a) The procurement has commenced.

(b) The award is expected to take place on the month of September 2023

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: QUESTION NO. 1314 (Written Reply) Ms A M Siwisa (EFF) asked the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The draft reply to Parliamentary Question No. 1314 (Written Reply) is submitted for your consideration.

The input has been provided by the Prestige Business Unit.

I hereby attest that the information provided in response to NA PQ 1314 is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge.

________________________

MR. M SAZONA

CHIEF DIRECTOR: PRESTIGE

DATE:

Draft reply supported / not supported/ comments

________________________

MS. N MAKHUBELE

ACTING-DIRECTOR GENERAL

DATE:

Draft reply supported / not supported/ comments

_____________________

MS. B SWARTS, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

DATE:

Draft reply approved / not approved/ comments

__________________________

MR. S ZIKALALA, MP

MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

DATE:

MINISTRY

PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Department of Public Works l Central Government Offices l 256 Madiba Street l Pretoria l Contact: +27 (0)12 406 1627 l Fax: +27 (0)12 323 7573

Private Bag X9155 l CAPE TOWN, 8001 l RSA 4th Floor Parliament Building l 120 Plein Street l CAPE TOWN l Tel: +27 21 402 2219 Fax: +27 21 462 4592

www.publicworks.gov.za

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER: 1314 [NW1479E]

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO.: 13 of 2023

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 21 APRIL 2023

DATE OF REPLY: APRIL 2023

1314. Ms A M Siwisa (EFF) asked the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

(1) (a) How far is the process of procuring own material that will be utilised during State funerals in order to avoid acquiring the services of external service providers, (b) what items have been purchased so far and (c) what amount did the specified items cost;

(2) whether the procurement process has started yet, if not, (a) what are the reasons for the delay and (b) by what date will the matter be resolved; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1479E

REPLY:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(a) The process started last year (2022) however due to challenges with bid committee sitting the tender lapsed. The process will be started this current financial 2023/2024

(b) The items that have been procured already are the following:

(i) Chairs;

(ii) Tables;

(iii) Sound system;

(iv) Air conditioning;

(v) Mobile toilets;

(c) R1 629 388.82

(a) The procurement has commenced.

(b) The award is expected to take place on the month of September 2023

__________________________

MR. S ZIKALALA, MP

MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

DATE:

Reply:

1. The Council of Traditional Leaders as contemplated in section 212(2)(b) of the Constitution, 1996, was established under the Council of Traditional Leaders Act, 1997 (Act No. 10 of 1997). However, this Act was repealed by the National House of Traditional Leaders Act, 2009 (Act No. 22 of 2009) which Act established the National House of Traditional Leaders in accordance with the provisions of section 212(2)(a) of the Constitution. This 2009-Act was subsequently repealed by the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 2019 (Act No. 3 of 2019) (TKLA). The TKLA provides for the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders. There is thus, currently no Council of Traditional Leaders as contemplated in section 212(2)(b) of the Constitution and referred to by the Honourable Member.

(a) to (c): Fall away.

2. The Honourable Member should note that the information on costs and expenditure related to the operations of traditional leadership institutions and support provided to traditional leaders resides with the relevant provinces. However, from the information that the Department received from four provinces (Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo) the costs of staff salaries, offices (office construction and rentals) printing and stationery is as follows:

ITEMS	EASTERN CAPE	GAUTENG	KZN	LIMPOPO
Staff salaries	R 6 089 280	R260 000	R6 332 000	R95 383 788
Offices: office construction and rentals (once off costs)	R6 010 920	R410 000	R575 000	R600 000
Office furniture (once off costs)	R190 000	R0	R0	R1 912 000
Printing	R0	R0	R22 000	R2 580 000
Stationery	R263 750	R50 000	R0	R501 600
Other administration and support services costs	R19 180 124	R250 000	R3 979 000	R29 958 194
TOTAL	R31 714 074	R970 000	R10 908 000	R130 933 582

 

Accordingly, we have approached provincial governments to provide the information as per the Honourable Member’s request and as soon as the information from the provinces is received, the Department will share it with the Honourable Member.

3. Section 7(1)(a) of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act (TKLA) makes provision for the following traditional leadership positions: King or queen, principal traditional leader, senior traditional leader and headman or headwoman. These positions apply throughout the country since the TKLA is a national law that prevails in the case of conflict with a provincial law dealing with the same matter. The Honourable Member should note that the majority of traditional leadership positions are hereditary in nature. It is only in some instances where the position of a headman or headwoman is an elected position in which case the provisions of section 8(2)(b) of the TKLA must be complied with.

End.

Reply:

a) The contracts of the Implementing Agents (IA)were not terminated, they expired as per Service Level Agreement with the department. The department is finalising the contracting of site staff (it should be noted that some of the implementing agents did not terminate the contracts of the site staff upon IA contract expiration and this led to delays in finalising the site staff contracting. Communication of delay in April payments was sent to the participants via sms. The participant payments for April are currently sitting at 99.9% as at 15May 2023. The 0.1% relates to errors in Timesheets which have been referred back to sites for correction. The department has augmented capacity in Payment unit and are already receiving training and this will expedite the payment process.

b) The department has contracted Provincial Managers, District Managers and Site Managers who are supervising the programme. Furthermore, there is provincial and national COGTA capacity (Chief Directors and Directors for each province) who are playing an oversight role. The Local Reference Committees are also in existence to provide support in terms of CWP implementation at ward level.

End.

Reply:

For the purpose of providing RDP homes, the municipalities collaborate closely with the department of Human Settlement. It is advised that the Ministry of Human Settlement receive this inquiry in order to receive appropriate answers.

End.

Reply:

a) The total number of municipalities with infrastructure maintenance plans in place per province is as follows:

Province	Number of municipalities with infrastructure maintenance plans
1	Eastern Cape	34
2	Free State	15
3	Gauteng	10
4	KwaZulu Natal	34
5	Limpopo	11
6	Mpumalanga	20
7	North West	1
8	Northern Cape	31
9	Western Cape	15

b) The total number of municipalities in each province that have implemented infrastructure plans either fully or partly are as follows:

Province	Number of municipalities with infrastructure maintenance plans
	Total	(i)That implemented fully	(ii)That implemented partly
1	Eastern Cape	34	14	20
2	Free State	15	0	15
3	Gauteng	10	0	10
4	KwaZulu Natal	34	1	33
5	Limpopo	11	1	10
6	Mpumalanga	20	0	20
7	North West	1	0	1
8	Northern Cape	31	2	29
9	Western Cape	15	0	15

End.

Reply:

 

1. The municipalities and areas at risk are prioritised by government on the dissemination of early warnings and advisories as issued by the South African Weather Service (SAWS) for informed decision-making by responsible organs of state including communities. The department through the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has been working together with relevant organs of state and the province to coordinate efforts in the implementation of sustainable interventions such as finding suitable land for rebuilding and settlement of communities for building back better, to promote resilience, prevent or minimise the impacts of flooding incidents.  

Furthermore, the department through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) is assisting municipalities in developing or reviewing the Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) and Land Use Plans which incorporates the review of the high flood lines and prohibiting future construction of infrastructure in flood prone areas, and wetlands. This minimises the risks of flood damage to infrastructure. 

MISA is assisting municipalities in design standards and upgrading of flood prone infrastructure by reviewing, among other things, design return periods (useful in calculating the riskiness of the structure) to take into account the new maximum probable flood trends due to climate change. Municipalities are further being assisted with reviewing by-laws and building scheme controls. These measures aim to prohibit building in high-risk flood zones as well as reducing the damage that floods may cause for example through enhancing flood attenuation measures such as discouraging paving surfaces unnecessarily and enforcement of the by-law provisions. MISA also advises municipalities to develop yearly Summer Season Flood Mitigation plans that includes activities such as road stormwater drainage systems cleaning.

2. The information from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in KwaZulu-Natal province indicates that alternate temporary shelters are identified by municipalities concerned. In most cases, nearby community halls are identified as alternative shelter. In some instances, available churches identified for support. There is currently no active shelters accommodating affected communities in the province.    

End.          

Reply:

a) The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) awarded tenders in terms of the Preferential Procurement Regulations (PPR), 2017 to designated groups in terms of percentages to:

(i) Small -, Medium- and Micro-enterprises for:

(aa) 2021-22 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUPS - MAIN CONTRACTOR	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Category of SMME? (EME/ QSE/ NON_EME/QSE)
EME	154	723 374 143	57%	23%
QSE	54	797 058 548	20%	26%
Non_EME/QSE	58	1 604 705 898	22%	51%

 

(bb) 2022-23 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUP - Main Contractor	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Category of SMME? (EME/ QSE/ NON_EME/QSE)
EME	183	1 334 210 574	76%	56%
QSE	31	338 383 610	13%	14%
Non_EME/QSE	25	707 957 842	10%	30%

​ii) Cooperatives for

(aa) 2021-22 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUP - Main Contractor	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Cooperative Majority Black Owned?	0	0	0%	0%

(bb) 2022-23 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUP - Main Contractor	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Cooperative Majority Black Owned?	0	0	0%	0%

​(iii) Township Enterprises for

(aa) 2021-22 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUP - Main Contractor	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Rural/ Underdeveloped/ Township Enterprise Majority Owned?	76	538 609 269	28%	17%

(bb) 2022-23 Financial Year as per the table below:

DESIGNATED GROUP - Main Contractor	COUNT OF AWARDS	VALUE OF AWARDS	% Awarded Count to the Designated Group	% Awarded Value to the Designated Group
Contractor Rural/ Underdeveloped/ Township Enterprise Majority Owned? (YES/NO)	113	1 183 731 654	47%	50%

​iv) Rural Enterprises

In terms of the PPR, 2017 the Rural Enterprises were provided for under one designated group, namely: Rural/Underdeveloped/Township Enterprises category. Information pertaining to the rural enterprises is therefore contained in the aforementioned category of designated groups as per the PPR, 2017 and cannot be disaggregated.

ENTITIES INPUT

In respect of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB):

Awardees of “set-aside” procurement allocation	Percentage allocated (aa) 2021/22	Percentage allocated (aa) 2022/23	Percentage allocated (bb) since 01 April 2023
((i) small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs)	N/A	N/A	20%
(ii) cooperatives	N/A	N/A
(iii) township enterprises	N/A	N/A
(iv) rural enterprises	N/A	N/A

2021/2022 and 2022/2023 – cidb’s targeted spend was based on BBBEE Levels in line with Regulation 04 of National Treasury PPPFA 2017. The cidb targets were not set based on the procurement allocations in the table above.

For 2023/2024 cidb has drafted a policy, pending cidb Board approval to implement percent spend for targeted procurement. The cidb has set procurement targets based on the Human Development Index (HDI) to achieve the goals. These targets are:

• 50% of procurement spend to be directed to HDI-owned or controlled businesses.
• 20% of procurement spend to be directed to women-owned or controlled businesses.
• 5% of procurement spend to be directed to businesses owned or controlled by people with disabilities.
• 20% of procurement spend to be directed to locally owned businesses.

In respect of the Independent Development Trust (IDT)

Awardees of “set-aside” procurement allocation	Percentage allocated (aa) 2021/22	Percentage allocated (bb) since 01 April 2023
((i) small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs)	The percentage of BBBEE expenditure stood at 44 per cent against a target of 70 per cent expenditure (R999,0713 million).	In the 2022/23 financial year, the IDT recruited 96 contractors into the CDP. Of these 44 (46%) are women (out of a target of 40 women contractors) and 37 (39%) are youth (out of an annual target of 30 youth contractors). The next stage is to ensure that these contractors are allocated enough contracts to enable them to grow and move up the next level according to the CIDB grading. BBBEE Expenditure: the IDT spent 45 per cent of programme expenditure on BBBEE-compliant entities. A sizable percentage of the contractors are women. Expanded Public Works Programme: A total of 109,871 work opportunities were created through the EPWP NSS Programme against an annual target of 64 000 work opportunities. Seventy-one per cent (71%) of the participants were women, 55 percent were youth, and one per cent being people with disabilities.
(ii) cooperatives	0.00%	0.00%
(iii) township enterprises	0.00%	0.00%
(iv) rural enterprises	0.00%	0.00%

In respect of the Council for the Built Environment (CBE)

Awardees of “set-aside” procurement allocation	Percentage allocated (aa) 2021/22	Percentage allocated 2022/23*	Percentage allocated (bb) since 01 April 2023
((i) small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs)	82.25%	89.00%	100%*
(ii) cooperatives	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
(iii) township enterprises	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
(iv) rural enterprises	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%

*Information not asked for in the Parliamentary question, but provided for context.

In respect of Agrément South Africa (ASA):

Awardees of “set-aside” procurement allocation	Percentage allocated (aa) 2021/22	Percentage allocated (aa) 2022/23*	Percentage allocated (bb) since 01 April 2023
((i) small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs)	51%	23%	23%
(ii) cooperatives	0%	0%
(iii) township enterprises	0%	0%
(iv) rural enterprises	0%	0%

*Information not asked for in the Parliamentary question, but provided for context.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: QUESTION NO. 1706 (Written Reply) Ms K L Khakhau (DA) asked the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

The draft reply to Parliamentary Question No. 1706 (Written Reply) is submitted for your consideration.

The input has been provided by the Supply Chain Management and all Entities reporting to the Department, processed by the Inter-Governmental Relations Business Unit.

I hereby attest that the information provided in response to NA PQ No. 1706 is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge.

_________________________

MR. I TLHASEDI

CHIEF DIRECTOR: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

DATE:

I hereby attest that the information provided in response to NA PQ No. 1706 is true and correct, as informed.

________________________

MR. A MTHOMBENI

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL: INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

DATE:

Draft reply supported / not supported/ comments

________________________

MS. N MAKHUBELE

ACTING-DIRECTOR GENERAL

 

Reply:

For the provision of water, the municipalities collaborate closely with the department of Water and Sanitation.

End.

Reply:

1. The Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality Council's 25 January 2023 decision to name Dr. Edward Rankwana as the Municipal Manager has not been shared with the Minister..
2. The Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality has not requested that the Minister waive Dr. Rankwana's retirement age in accordance with regulation 41(2) of the Regulations on appointment and conditions of employment of senior managers.
3. I am unable to decide at this time what course of action should be followed.

End

Reply:

The Department of Human Settlements is qualified to provide the information requested by the honorable member.

End.

Reply:

The Department of Traditional Affairs does not have at its disposal the information that the Honourable Member is requesting as the remuneration of traditional leaders is a competency of Provincial Governments.

End

 

Reply:

(a)(i) The Minister has no legal authority to compel businesses who are owing municipalities debt to pay that debt to municipalities. Chapter 9 of the Municipal Systems Act and section 28 of the Municipal Property Rates Act have provisions which municipalities can utilise to collect revenue, including debt.

Section 97(1)(g) of the Municipal Systems Act states that a municipality’s credit control and debt collection policy must provide for “termination of services or the restriction of the provision of services when payments are in arrears.”

Section 102 of the Municipal Systems Act allows a municipality to consolidate any separate accounts of persons liable for payments to the municipality; credit a payment by such a person against any account of that person; and implement any of the debt collection and credit control measures provided for (in Chapter 9) in relation to any arrears on any of the accounts of such a person. The application of the word “person” in law goes beyond a natural person.

In its interaction with municipalities, the Department reminds municipalities to implement their credit control and debt collection policies and terminate or restrict services to the property in question and the account be handed over for collection where necessary.

It is also recommended that municipalities issue notices in terms of section 28 of the Municipal Property Rates Act to recover outstanding amounts from the property owners through the attachement of rentals from the tenants of the owing properties.

(a)(ii) Similar to the response to (a)(i) above, the Minister has no legal authority to compel government departments who are owing municipalities debt to pay that debt to municipalities. Municipalities can, where appropriate, use similar measures mentioned in (a)(i) above to compel government departments that are owing debt to municipalities to pay that debt to municipalities.

Government departments are encouraged to service their municipal debt and where disputes and /or discrepancies arise, make use of the inter-governmental debt forums to resolve those. In the event that government departments continue to not service their debt and there is no justifiable reason, municipalities should implement credit control and debt collection policies.

(b) Based on the response to (a) above, there are no envisaged time frame that can be provided.

End

Reply:

a) The construction of the Nogqala Bridge in Ward 19, Engcobo, in the Eastern Cape Province is being funded by the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) that is administered by the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG). There was no additional amount granted for the construction of the Nogqala Bridge project.

The initial amount of R12 977 495.30 inclusive of VAT that was approved on 5 November 2021 is the only amount granted to-date. The total expenditure to-date for both professional services and construction is R 9 697 930.02 inclusive of VAT. The project budget of R12 977 495.30 is therefore not yet fully spent.

The contractor that was appointed for the project was terminated for failing to implement the project in terms of the conditions of the contract and abandoning site. Engcobo Local Municipality is currently in the process of procuring a replacement contractor. The bids are currently going through the Bid Evaluation and Bid Adjudication process.

The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent professional engineers are providing technical support to Engcobo Local Municipality throughout the project life cycle from planning, design development, preparation of terms of reference for procurement and construction monitoring.

b) Should the Auditor General of South Africa (AG) declare wasteful and fruitless expenditure on this project, or anywhere in the Audit Report, the AG or the Accounting Officer will determine who is liable in accordance with the Municipal Finance Management Act and all applicable pieces of legislation and Treasury prescripts.

End.

Reply:

Trade with the United States is regulated by two types of legal instruments: the first is the multilateral framework of the World Trade Organisation, under which the largest part of SA exports to the US is classified; and unilateral preferential market access arrangements, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

AGOA is a preference granted by the United States to sub-Saharan countries qualifying in terms of criteria established by the US Congress. AGOA is currently set to expire in 2025. Decisions around renewal are taken by the United States and it is then up to exporters from eligible countries to utilise the preferential access to the US market.

South Africa together with other African countries have put forward the proposal for the extension of AGOA beyond 2025.

While the value of trade under AGOA has decreased, it continues to provide benefits to South African exporters, which assists with job creation and has positive spill-over effects in the region. Given the size of South Africa’s employment challenge, every trade benefit that is available should be utilised.

In light hereof, South Africa continues to engage the United States on the future of AGOA and the value of extending AGOA beyond the current expiry date.

-END-

Reply:

The Department of Public Enterprises does not consider itself liable for jeopardizing the health rights of patients in public hospitals as the implementation of load shedding is a protective measure implemented by Eskom to avoid the posibility of a grid collapse. The costs of opposing the North Gauteng High Court order are minimal compared to the consequences of a grid collapse. If the grid system is left unprotected it will lead to disastrous consequences for the whole country, including patients in hospitals.

It is worth noting that the line function departments as well as Eskom are working on putting measures in place to protect the health facilities from being affected by load shedding. Eskom is currently working on a plan to exclude more health facilities and the line function Departments such as the Department of Health are procuring as much generators within their constrained budgets to alleviate the effects of load shedding.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. The Clinical Associates matters raised in the Task Team report as well as the proposals for addressing some of the concerns raised in the report were presented to the National Health Council Technical Advisory Committee (NHC Tech) which is a forum that consist of the NDoH’s Executive Committee with Provincial Heads of Health Departments on 18 November 2021.

NHC Tech accepted the proposal to undertake a comprehensive review of the Clinical Associates programme.

2. The Department engaged with the HPCSA on the matter of prescribing rights

for Clinical Associates and was appraised about the application made by the Council to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in terms of the provisions of Section 22A of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 1965) to add Clinical Associates to the list of authorized prescribers.

3. The National Department of Health has held meeting(s) with the Department of Public Service and Administration to table issues pertaining to the conditions of service for the Clinical Associates as raised in the Public Protector’s report. The issue of Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) is being dealt with through a process lead by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). DPSA has commissioned Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to conduct a Personnel Expenditure Review (PER), that includes the review of OSDs in the public sector.

4. The Department has commenced with the process of conducting the review of the Clinical Associates programme performance. The Terms of Reference and data collection tools for the review have been drafted and a process is underway to get them approved. It is therefore envisaged that the review will have been conducted by 30 November 2023. However, finalization of the review and recommendations thereof will be subject to various approval processes of the Department that may extend beyond 30 November 2023

END.

Reply:

The National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) resolution has already found expression in National Treasury announcement of allowing tax rebates in as far as rooftop solar installation by households and The Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME).

Reply:

(1) At present, Eskom is engaging with both the Department of Health and the Department of Water and Sanitation regarding their points of supply in the Eskom supply area identified as critical. Once completed and where possible, measures will be implemented to mitigate the impact of loadshedding as far as practically possible. Currently, Eskom exempts or partially exempts 25 public health establishments within its area of supply.

The Ministry of Electricity has developed costing scenarios for installing an embedded generation (solar installation) to address the impact of load shedding and mitigate the impact of high diesel costs on medical facilities (large and small hospitals).

Small Hospital (400kW power load) based on a 4-hour outage period for battery storage, solar panel and inverters option; R13 million per hospital capital expenditure is required. Large Hospital (1MW power load) based on a 4-hour outage period for battery storage, solar panel and inverters option; R59 million per hospital capital expenditure is required.

Based on the Department of Health figures, to cover 137 Hospitals (varying between small and large), R10.1 Billion capital expenditure will be required to provide a combined Solar, Battery and inverter solution.

In contrast, for the same 137 small hospitals, diesel generators will cost R89.1 Million in capital costs, whilst large hospitals will cost R411 Million (capital costs). However, the operating cost (primarily diesel purchase) will cost R3.3 Billion and R655 Million annually for large and small hospitals, respectively.

A rapid deployment of embedded generation or “micro-grid” solutions, including roof-top solar for hospitals, other critical installations, and economic hubs, will be possible through an aggregated power purchase agreement. Ministry to issue RFI before end of July 2023 and outline a fast track procurement process to secure IPPs for micro gridding.

(2) (a), (b), (c), (i) and (ii) Where a facility is deeply embedded in the network, partial exemption at lower stages of loadshedding has been granted. Eskom has concluded a preliminary assessment of establishing dedicated feeders for certain hospitals. This assessment has been shared with the Department of Health, and discussions on implementation are ongoing. A similar approach will be followed for other critical infrastructure. The implementation time is envisaged to take between 12 to 24 months, after the investment decision, depending on the type of solution and other factors such as environmental approvals and land acquisition.

(3)The legal matter before the Courts falls within the responsibility of the Minister of Public Enterprises and the Honourable Member should accordingly direct the question to the relevant Ministry.

Reply:

(a) The estimated number of doses of vaccine that may go for waste is:

• Janssen® COVID-19 vaccine (Janssen vaccine) is 20 780 450.
• Comirnaty® vaccine (mRNA COVID-19 vaccine) (Pfizer vaccine) is 7 479 930

(b) Monetary value of these vaccines is:

• Janssen vaccine = R 2 677 716 836
• Pfizer vaccine = R 1 208 569 690

END.

Reply:

(a) Procurement allocation of the Department is as follows:

TYPE OF SHAREHOLDING	% SPEND	NUMBER OF SUPPLIERS	AMOUNT SPENT
Women Shareholding 100%	28.50%	38	R4 387 777
Women Shareholding other %		52	R151 487 683
Disability %	0	0	0
Black %	64.20%	156	R251 977 964
Youth	1.36%	52	R7 719 112

(b)

(i) small-, medium- and micro-enterprises

  There is no procurement allocation for small-, medium- and micro-enterprises

(ii) cooperatives

    There is no procurement allocation for cooperatives

(iii) township enterprises

   There is no procurement allocation for township enterprises

(iv) rural enterprises

   There is no procurement allocation for rural enterprises

Procurement breakdown is not allocated as per the classifications above in (i) to (iv), but is done as per attached Table.

Reply:

a) The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is a programme of the African Union (AU) launched in 2012. It is coordinated through the AU Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in cooperation with regional economic communities, regional and continental technical agencies, and participating countries. The Presidency acts as the focal point in South Africa for PIDA.

According to the Virtual PIDA Information Centre, the following South African firms and entities have been involved in the development and implementation of the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PIDA PAP1 2012-2020):

No	Project Name	SA Firms/Entities	Status
01	Durban Port Expansion	Transnet	Ongoing
02	Maputo Port Expansion (Maputo and Matola Drybulk Terminal)	Grindrod and Zutari	Ongoing
03	Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Mwanza Standard Gauge Railway Project	DBSA	Ongoing
04	Beitbridge One Stop Border Post	Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank, Nedbank, ECIC and Raubex Group Ltd	Ongoing

* Source: PIDA Dashboard, company websites and media

b) With regards to the internet and Information and communication technologies (ICT), the PIDA Dashboard indicates a total of 114 projects that have been prioritised under PIDA PAP1. A further 11 anchor projects have also been approved for the PIDA PAP2 2021-2030, which is the second PIDA priority action plan for the period 2021-2030.

-END-

Reply:

(a) What amount is tourism expected to gain from the BRICS Road Show that took place in Mpumalanga on 4 April 2023.

The BRICS Roadshows are arranged by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. That Department is best placed to reply to this question.

(b) What steps does the Government intend to take to ensure that other regions in the Republic also attract tourists during the specified period.

The BRICS Roadshows are arranged by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. That Department is best placed to reply to this question.

Reply:

The Government is appealing the rationale of the decision of the High Court to exempt schools, hospitals and police stations from load shedding as the implementation of this decision is impractical. Load shedding is a measure that is implemented to protect the Grid from collapsing and the schools, hospitals and police stations do not have an isolated connection to the Grid and are rather part of the integrated Grid system which makes it difficult to only switch on those institutions during load shedding.

In addition, it is worth noting that where possible Eskom is able to exclude some of those institutions from load shedding. To date, Eskom’s number of supply points identified are 196 police stations, 22371 public schools and 2960 public health establishments. Also, most of the hospitals and SAPS offices do have generators to enable them to circumvent load shedding.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

Loadshedding in general causes damage to municipal electrical transformers and “damage to houses”. This is not necessarily the case. This has to be corrected and clarified upfront.

(a) Loadshedding in itself cannot reasonably cause damage to houses. Loadshedding itself cannot cause such damage, but there is a possibility that electrical power surges as a result of loadshedding, where voltage rises or falls above or below acceptable thresholds that may cause damage to equipment and / or appliances. Eskom’s customer agreements and conditions of service stipulate these possibilities for which the customers must take reasonable precautions such as, not leaving energised electric appliances unattended. 

The remedial action applicable, where negligence on the part of Eskom can be proven, is through the official Eskom claims process and customers may be compensated after a validated claim. In order for customers to plan around loadshedding, Eskom has published its schedules and the stage changes are also communicated as and when they are triggered.

(b) Switching transformers on and off as in the case of loadshedding, is a general Eskom Distribution network occurrence. However, for planned switching or maintenance activities, automatic clearing of network faults occurs via protection operations. The equipment is designed for such eventualities. 

Well-maintained networks and transformers should be able to withstand the burden of loadshedding, both on the Eskom network and the municipal networks, however failures can still occur. The Eskom and municipality tariffs also account for the required planned maintenance and /or upgrading and replacement or repairs of failed equipment and it is therefore up to the relevant supply authority such as Eskom or the municipality, to plan and budget for eventualities of such transformer maintenance, repairs and/ or failures. 

Eskom Distribution does have such “viable measures” in place in the form of network maintenance and refurbishment strategies and execution plans, as well as strategic transformer spares. Transformer repair contracts with reputable suppliers, internally and external to Eskom are also in place to repair damaged transformers that can be repaired.  Eskom Distribution cannot reasonably comment on measures taken by municipalities to deal with transformer failures.

Reply:

No, SA Tourism does not have formal partnership(s) with Robben Island and other iconic destinations.

However, I have had a meeting with the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture on Wednesday 31 May 2023.

We are, now, in the process of ensuring we Market Robben Island as a Heritage Site.

 

Reply:

The National Lotteries Commission has furnished me with the following response to the question

The NLC paid the following amounts for copies of its annual reports:

2020: R1, 987, 926

2021: R2, 695,956

2022: R2, 600, 897

The supplier in all three years was INCE (PTY) LTD.

The number of copies printed were as follows:

2020: 205 copies printed;

2021: 200 copies printed;

2022: 70 copies printed.

I am advised that an official with relevant information on the distribution of the copies of the Annual Report is currently on suspension and therefore not all the requested information is available. I have further requested the NLC to provide an updated report on the distribution of annual reports as soon as the information is available.

The SIU has made substantial progress with probing allocation of grant monies under the pro-active scheme. I have requested that the NLC also investigates all its procurement contracts and have proposed that the terms of the SIU be widened to cover procurement and payments to consultancies. Given the amounts of money involved in the printing of the annual report, this expenditure should also be covered by the internal and external investigation.

 

-END-

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

(a) Most of Generation’s coal-fired stations are currently operating at below aspiration, leading to a fleet Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 52.6% year-to-date as of 22 May 2023. The Generation Operational Recovery Programme, with the support of Eskom’s Board, aims to sustainably recover the performance of the plants over the next 24 months. The return of the three (3) units at Kusile before the end of 2023 will improve the situation significantly by adding up to 2 160 MW to the grid.

(b) Funds for Generation activities are sourced from operations, i.e., from income allowed in NERSA revenue determinations.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. The Department does not have any record of an application lodged by Kwernsig Twaalf (Pty) Ltd and the property description is incomplete.
2. There is no prospecting licence or BAR issued for the said application as it is still in process.
3. There is no Mining Permit or EIA issued for the said application as it is still in process.

Reply:

(1) (a) I have been informed by the Department that the extent of financial allocations to the Tourism Infrastructure Maintenance Programme is as Tabled below.

 

Tourism Infrastructure Maintenance in Annual Performance Plan 2023/24
Province	Projects	Number of projects	Total Value
Eastern Cape	Thomas Baines Nature Reserve Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve Double Mouth Nature Reserve Oviston Nature Reserve Mpofu and Fordyce Nature Reserve Cwebe and Dwesa Nature Reserves	6	R23 155 555,45
Free State	Gariep Dam Resort Maria Moroka Resort Phillip Saunders Resort Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve	4	R19 812 088,34
Limpopo	Makapans Valley WH Nwanedi Nature Reserve Blouberg Nature Reserve Musina Nature Reserve Modjadji Nature Reserve	5	R15 581 126,15
Mpumalanga	Manyeleti Nature Reserve Andover Nature Reserve Songimvelo Nature Reserve SS Skosana Nature Reserve	4	R14 806 055,98
Western Cape	Khayelitsha Lookout Hill De Hoop Nature Reserve Wolvekloof Nature Reserve Cedarberg Wilderness Goukamma Nature Reserve Kogelberg Nature Reserve	6	R21 602 105,31

(b) How have the specified funds been utilised to improve tourism infrastructure in the Republic.

The funds have been utilised for infrastructure maintenance at the sites listed in the table above. These state owned provincial sites are tourism assets.

(2) (a) A comprehensive breakdown of the expenditure and its allocation to specific projects in each province

Province	Projects	Budget (Including maintenance and professional service provider fees)	Current Expenditure
Eastern Cape	1. Thomas Baines Nature Reserve	R3 846 954,33	R720 078,92
	2. Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve	R3 495 172,70	R967 795,03
	3. Double Mouth Nature Reserve	R3 495 172,70	R1 992 618,51
	4. Oviston Nature Reserve	R3 471 831,27	R1 501 562,87
	5. Mpofu and Fordyce Nature Reserve	R4 224 132,34	R160 629,65
	6. Cwebe and Dwesa Nature Reserves	R4224132,34	R54 183,61
Free State	7. Gariep Dam Resort	R4 953 022,08	R128 592,70
	8. Maria Moroka Resort	R4 953 022,08	R128 592,70
	9. Phillip Saunders Resort	R4 953 022,08	R328 736,18
	10. Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve	R4 953 022,08	R814 239,23
Limpopo	11. Makapans Valley WH	R3 116 225,23	R1 784 311,46
	12. Nwanedi Nature Reserve	R3 116 225,23	R1 993 254,48
	13. Blouberg Nature Reserve	R3 116 225,23	R2 150 442,00
	14. Musina Nature Reserve	R3 116 225,23	R1 864 144,17
	15. Modjadji Nature Reserve	R3 116 225,23	R2 142 211,68
Mpumalanga	16. Manyeleti Nature Reserve	R3 701 514,00	R2 302 675,88
	17. Andover Nature Reserve	R3 701 514,00	R2 305 689,40
	18. Songimvelo Nature Reserve	R3 701 514,00	R2 792 223,71
	19. SS Skosana Nature Reserve	R3 701 514,00	R2 475 707,10
Western Cape	20. Khayelitsha Lookout Hill	R3 600 350.89	R2 390 511,14
	21. De Hoop Nature Reserve	R3 600 350.89	R1 046 725,70
	22. Wolvekloof Nature Reserve	R3 600 350.89	R1 787 692,35
	23. Cedarberg Wilderness	R3 600 350.89	R1 466 089,98
	24. Goukamma Nature Reserve	R3 600 350.89	R1 828 543,97
	25 Kogelberg Nature Reserve	R3 600 350.89	R2 007 848,37

(b) An evaluation of the impact of the investments on the overall quality and accessibility of tourism infrastructure; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details

The maintenance projects serve to improve the condition of existing tourism infrastructure. Public infrastructure assets are critical for economic development, maintenance extends the life and efficiency of public infrastructure assets.

 

 

Reply:

(1) What are the reasons that she appointed certain persons (names and details furnished) as board members of SA Tourism after she was advised not to appoint them by the Portfolio Committee on Tourism?

The appointments were made in accordance with Section 13 (b) of the Tourism Act, 2014. The said appointments were made prior to the Department’s appearance before the Portfolio Committee meeting which the Member is referencing.

(2) Whether she has found that this is direct nepotism and capturing of the SA Tourism Board by a certain party and a certain company (names furnished)

No, there is no nepotism and capturing of the SA Tourism Board. The Board members are appointed in Non-Executive positions.

Reply:

No.

Only six SOEs fall within the Department of Public Enterprises mandate. A large number of SOEs are the responsibility of other departments.

The following are some of the steps taken by the SOEs to fight corruption and stabilize their finances and operations:

Since 2018, the department has launched initiatives to eradicate fraud and corruption in the SOEs. This includes holding perpetrators of state capture and corruption to account. Progress to date in fighting corruption is as follows:

1. Eskom

• 1. Contracts amounting to R14.7 billion were subject to state capture.
  2. R4,8 billion is being claimed against former contractors and Eskom’s former directors.
  3. Eskom and SIU successfully recovered R2 billion unlawfully paid to contractors.
  4. Eskom has opened 11 criminal cases for investigation by law enforcement agencies with the view to ensure that perpetrators of state capture are prosecuted.
  5. 2 cases of corruption are before the courts, one relates to ABB and another one relates to former Acting GCE Mr. Koko.
  6. Consultations with CIPC and law enforcement agencies are unfolding to imminently launch director delinquency proceedings against 13 former directors of Eskom.
  7. 25 names of former senior executive of Eskom have been identified for inclusion into a state-wide central database of officials implicated in state capture and other administrative corruption.
  8. A central database to be used to monitor that individuals do not resurface elsewhere in the state is being established.
  9. DPE’s complaint laid with IRBA resulted in Mr. Aaron Buyiswa Mthimunye being fined R5.1 million and being barred from practicing as an auditor for incorrect audit opinion in respect of Eskom’s 2016 audit.
  10. The complaint laid with SAICA against Mr. Anoj Singh resulted in him being barred from practicing as an auditor and fined 50% (exact figure not provided) of the costs of the disciplinary hearing.
  11. The MOI of Eskom was revised in 2019 and all board tender committees were done away with.

1. 12. SIU launched investigations into 14 coal transportation service provider concerning payments from 2016 to 31 January 2021.

• Five employees were suspended, one resigned during the interview with the investigating team and one resigned prior to commencement of the investigation.
• The official who resigned during the interview received R3.1m from one of the vendors under investigation.
• The SIU Tribunal issued an order in October 2021 to freeze R11.5m held in a bank account of an entity, which a senior Eskom official was a signatory, and the official was dismissed.
• 15 criminal cases are being investigated in relation to coal transport contracts.

1.13 Four diesel suppliers are implicated in potential wrongdoing are under investigation. SIU has referred 5620 matters to Eskom for institution of disciplinary proceedings as follows:

• 5464 for failure to submit financial declarations that are integral in preventing and detecting conflict of interest concerning the management of Eskom's resources.
• 135 for failing to declare or get approval for doing work outside of Eskom.
• 11 officials red flagged through lifestyle audits.
• 10 officials referred through whistle blower reports.
• 14 officials referred concerning findings from build contract investigations.
• 1 official in relation to coal transportation contract.

1.14 Contracts cancelled by Eskom as a result of SIU’s investigations:

• CSA - R6.955bn.
• Build contracts – R4.128bn.
• Total – 11.083bn.

1.15 Contracts declared invalid by the courts:

• CSA - R3.7 bn.

1.16 Savings/Losses Prevented

• CSA: Setting aside Brakfontein CSA – R2.684 bn.
• CSA: Cancellation of Koorfontein CSA - R5.550 bn.
• Build Contract matter before Dispute Arbitration Board (Stefanutti Stocks) - R400m.
• ABB: Prevention of future losses – R1.45bn.

1.17 Evidence referred to assist Eskom in Defence contractors' claims before the Dispute arbitration Board:

• Stefanutti Stocks R.6 bn.
• Tubular - R60m.
• Tenova – R300m.
• ABB – R1.45 bn.
• Total R3.41bn.

2. Transnet

• 1. The total value of tainted contracts identified by the Commission amounted to R41.2bn.
  2. Transnet successfully recovered R744m from CRRC and Liebher R1.181bn.
  3. Transnet opened 12 criminal cases for investigation by law enforcement agencies with the view to ensure that perpetrators of state capture are prosecuted.

1. 4. The value of contracts under investigation is as follows:

• Procurement of 1064 locomotives - R49,46bn;
• Liebherr crane contracts - R1,084bn;
• ZPMC crane contract – R961m.
• Regiments and Trillian advisory services contract - R1.49bn;
• Nedbank interest rate swaps transaction facilitated by Regiments that has cost Transnet R2.339bn payments and interest rate of around R531m and fees of R146m paid to Regiments;
• Neotel contract for installation of CCTV cameras in ports with potential civil recovery of R834m;
• Global Software Solutions (GSS) contract for wagon optimisation project amounting to R250m;
• Commission paid to GSS for facilitating the IT contract awarded by Transnet to SAP on a R165m contract; and
• Zestilor for cession of Transnet hardware from T-Systems to Zestilor contract valued at R154,2m.

2.5 Value of successful civil recovering:

• R18m paid to CRRC for an advanced payment made for spares that were not delivered; and
• R54m paid to Liebherr for the crane contract.

2.6 Transnet and SIU progressing with litigation to:

• Review and set aside of1064 locomotives contract and just and equitable relief;
• Review and set aside of ZPMC 1064 locomotives contract and just and equitable relief;
• Review and set aside Neotel CCTV cameras contract and just and equitable relief;
• Review and set aside Liebherr crane contracts where just and equitable relief sought is that the settlement agreement of Liebherr is just and equitable remedy;
• Claims of R521,37m against Trillian and Regiments (both in liquidation) and former Transnet officials related to the transaction advisory services; and
• CRRC interdict and forfeiture of CRRC funds in South Africa (SARS has executed against R4.9bn and it is unclear what will remain after tax assessments are completed).

2.7 The DPE is currently finalising consultations with CIPC with the view to imminently launch director delinquency proceedings against 25 former directors of Transnet.

3. South African Airways

3.1 Value of contracts tainted by state capture that are under investigation amount to R1.8bn.

3.2 10 criminal cases have been opened with law enforcement agencies for investigation.

3.3 SAA and SIU are progressing with launching of the following civil claims:

• ARR/JM Aviation – R1.bn relating to corruption between third parties, board members and employees of SAA;
• Recovery of R14m emanating from disposal of Ground Processing Units at a loss of R5.64m;
• Motion papers filed at Special Tribunal to set aside a contract and recover R85m plus interest pertaining to leasing of aircraft from FlyoFofa Airways;
• Airbus/Pembroke - R824m regarding tender irregularities and contract non-compliance issues on sale and lease back agreement of aircraft; Zonkesiswe/IEPS Protection Services – R985m regarding irregular payments and contract extensions.

3.4 R130m savings registered concerning cancellation of a contract amounting to R170m that was awarded irregularly to Ugandra/TATA (Tata Consultancy Services).

3.5 McKinsey (Sale of obsolete stock)- SIU facilitated civil reimbursement of R14m contract by McKinsey.

3.6  former director (Yakwe Kwinana) was fined R6.1m and barred from practicing as a CA subsequent to a complaint laid by the department.

3.7 The MOI of SAA was revised in 2019 to do away with all board tender committees.

4. Denel

• 1. Former board chairperson implicated in state capture referred to Law Society to prevent them from practicing.
  2. All recommendations of criminal contained in the state capture report are under investigation by law enforcement agencies.
  3. DPE is currently finalising consultations with CIPC with the view to imminently launch director delinquency proceedings against 9 former directors of Denel.
  4. Former director (Daniel Mantsha) referred to LPC for discipline.

5. Alexkor

• 1. State capture report currently being analysed and cases being prepared for referral to law enforcement agencies.
  2. All recommendations of criminal cases contained in the state capture report are under investigation by law enforcement agencies.
  3. DPE is currently finalising consultations with CIPC with the view to imminently launch director delinquency proceedings against 25 former directors of Alexkor.

In addition, many other initiatives are in place (e.g., the intervention of government to take part of Eskom’s debt onto the sovereign balance sheet) to stabilize the SOEs.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom:

(1) At present, Eskom is engaging with both the Department of Health and the Department of Water and Sanitation regarding their points of supply in the Eskom supply area identified as critical. Once this has been completed, where possible, measures will be implemented to mitigate the impact of loadshedding as far as practically possible. Currently, Eskom exempts or partially exempts 25 public health establishments within its area of supply.

(2) Where a facility is deeply embedded in the network, partial exemption at lower stages of loadshedding has been granted. Eskom has concluded a preliminary assessment of establishing dedicated feeders for certain hospitals. This assessment has been shared with the Department of Health, and discussions on implementation are ongoing. A similar approach will be followed for other critical infrastructure.

(3)(a)(b) The implementation time is envisaged to take between 12 to 24 months, after the investment decision, depending on the type of solution and other factors such as environmental approvals and land acquisition. The impact on grid stability is minimal, as the System Operator will continue to balance demand and supply.

(4) The Minister has decided to file an urgent appeal to set aside the judgment. Therefore, the application by the Minister to appeal will suspend the operation and execution of a judgment of the High Court, pending the outcome of the application.

However, Eskom continues its endeavours to provide whatever relief is possible, given the design of the grid that the hospital or essential service is connected to. All of the above, is, of course, dependent on the total megawatts available from the generation system. It is the latter that is the fundamental cause of the current limitations on energy availability.

 

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. (a) Community Prosecutors are seasoned legal professionals who engage with local communities and relevant stakeholders to address the public safety concerns of a local community. Therefore, the Community Prosecution Initiative is a partnership between prosecutors, communities, law enforcement, NGOs and local authorities.

Community Prosecution Initiatives engage the community to identify local public safety challenge, develop and implement solutions to address these concerns and/or community irritants.

The Community Prosecution Initiative takes a victim-centric approach, prioritising the needs of victims of crime and the most vulnerable. The initiative provides practical services to local and disadvantaged communities through awareness raising, developing lasting solutions to ongoing crime problems and partnering with community-based organisations, local government and the SAPS.

(b) Community Prosecutors assist communities in building safer neighborhoods by

jointly developing solutions on ongoing forms of public safety concerns, including serious and violent crimes. Community Prosecutors assist their court-based colleagues to prosecute more strategically by targeting crime syndicates, criminals and repeat offenders. In addition, this approach will also assist in removing less serious cases from the court rolls (by implementing solutions for community irritants) to allow for increased court time for serious cases to be dealt with.

Community Prosecutors work with relevant stakeholders to develop crime prevention interventions, focusing on quality-of-life crimes, while also engaging in public education and information programmes.

2. (a) Nine (9) out of eleven (11) posts advertised are currently filled. These

permanently appointed officials on Senior Public Prosecutor level, are responsible as provincial coordinators, to oversee current implemented sites, facilitate stakeholder cooperation, manage the identification and implementation of new sites (a minimum of 3 new sites per division for the current financial year) and ensure impact delivery of all sites.

There are also Community Prosecutors appointed on a rotational basis who do Community Prosecutions work, over and above their daily prosecution work. These rotational Community Prosecutors are managed and their functions co-ordinated by the permanent Community Prosecutors.

2(b) The following table depicts the Division, Office, Site and Community Initiative type currently rolled out within the NPA:

Division	Office	Site	Initiative
Eastern Cape	Gelvandale	Gelvandale	Gender-Based Violence and Substance Abuse
Eastern Cape	Motherwell	Motherwell	Substance & Drug Abuse
Eastern Cape	East London	East London	Liquor Outlets
Eastern Cape: Mthatha	Butterworth	Msobomvu	Gender-Based violence
Eastern Cape: Mthatha	Mthatha	Ngangelizwe	Gender-Based violence
Free State	Bloemfontein	Bloemfontein	Substance & Drug Abuse
Free State	Sasolburg	Sasolburg	Substance & Drug Abuse
Gauteng North	Mamelodi	Mamelodi	Gender-based violence
Gauteng North	Vaalrand	Brakpan	Gender-based violence
Gauteng South	Alexandra	Alexandra	Liquor Outlets
Gauteng South	Kliptown (Eldorado Park)	Kliptown (Eldorado Park)	Substance & Drug Abuse
Gauteng South	Johannesburg	Hillbrow	Substance & Drug Abuse
KwaZulu-Natal	Pietermaritzburg	Plessislaer	Reduction of Assaults
KwaZulu-Natal	Umzinto	Umzinto	Reduction of Assaults & Domestic Violence
Limpopo	Giyani	Giyani	Gender-Based Violence
Limpopo	Mankweng	Mankweng	Gender-Based Violence
Mpumalanga	Ermelo	Ermelo	Stock Theft
Mpumalanga	White River	Msholozi	Gender-Based Violence
North-West	Molopo District Court	Molopo	Stock Theft
North-West	Odi	Moretele	Stock Theft
North-West	Ikageng (Potchefstroom)	Klerksdorp	Stock Theft
Northern Cape	Kuruman	Kuruman	Gender-Based Violence
Northern Cape	Phutanang Kimberley	Galeshewe	Gender-Based Violence
Western Cape	Wynberg	Browns Farm	Gender-Based Violence
Western Cape	Bellville	Delft	Gender-Based Violence

These officials are currently located in the respective DPP offices in the divisions. Currently, there are 25 Community Prosecution Initiatives rolled-out within the NPA. Out of the 25 initiatives that are already confirmed and running, the majority relate to Gender-Based Violence (14) followed by Substance and Drug Abuse (5), and Stock Theft (3), Reduction of Assaults (1) and Liquor Outlets (2), respectively.

Reply:

The Compensation of Employees (COE) when compared to the allocated budget for 2021/22 financial year has shown a decrease of 0.3% (R458.4 million) in 2022/23 and a further additional 4.0% (R6.1 billion) decrease in 2023/2024 baseline.

This has negatively affected Human Resources Capacity in the Public Health Sector, and has forced Provinces to freeze/cut posts funded through the Equitable Share to avoid overspending in Compensation of Employees (COE). The situation was further aggravated by the cessation of the Covid-19 Grant budget as on 31 March 2023, which resulted in termination of employment contracts for employees employed through the Grant.

Currently, Provinces are unable to fill existing vacant posts, despite service delivery needs/demands. Instead, they (Provinces) are required to prioritize filling of posts across all levels of care within the available budget.

In order to mitigate the above, the Provincial Department of Health have introduced several interventions to address the shortage of health workers (i.e. amongst others doctors, nurses and general workers) in healthcare facilities, which amongst includes:

• Prioritisation of the posts in the Annual Recruitment Plan – where funding permits
• Prioritisation of the posts for conditional grant funding
• Filling of replacement posts considered and approved through Annual Recruitment Plan
• Provision of internship and community service programmes

a) In accordance with the PERSAL report below, extracted on 30 April 2023, the overall vacancy posts are 45 072 (i.e. 35 462 health related posts and 9 610 administration and support related posts) in the public health sector.

1.1 Health-Related vacant post (Occupational Groups) per provincial departments as at April 2023
	EC	FS	GP	KZN	LP	MPU	NDoH	NW	NC	WC	Grand Total
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMES	0	0	0	101	0	8	0	23	0	568	700
EMERGENCY SERVICE AND RELATED PERSONNEL	270	576	574	191	69	21	0	112	134	124	2071
ENGINEERING RELATED AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	4	22	19	17	3	4	1	13	5	28	116
HEALTH ASSOCIATED SCIENCES AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	575	1454	1769	1133	272	136	47	474	355	524	6739
MEDICAL SCIENCES AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	421	719	1166	1077	678	152	10	197	111	341	4872
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	15	324	44	38	5	2	0	6	1	11	446
NATURAL SCIENCES RELATED AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	0	6	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	8
NURSING AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	4		1264	107	20	8	0	0	0	0	1403
NURSING ASSISTANT	255	718	368	513	101	143	0	320	122	213	2753
PROFESSIONAL NURSE	2033	1616	3753	2832	731	506	1	710	325	561	13068
SOCIAL SERVICES AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	1	44	26	35	2	4	0	13	6	33	164
STAFF NURSE	303	533	484	1014	186	246	0	142	57	157	3122
Grand Total	3881	6012	9468	7058	2067	1230	60	2010	1116	2560	35462

 

1.2 Admin Related vacant posts (Occupational Groups) per provincial departments as at April 2023
	EC	FS	GP	KZN	LP	MPU	NDoH	NW	NC	WC	Grand Total
ADMINISTRATIVE LINE FUNCTION AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	191	443	882	739	44	163	60	300	195	339	3356
AGRICULTURAL RELATED AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	6	28	72	34	26	18	0	57	1	0	242
ARTISAN AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	53	225	3	251	48	3	0	19	19	101	722
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION RELATED PERSONNEL	16	5	18	8	0	0	3	16	0	19	85
ECONOMIC ADVISORY AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	2	75	18	0	0	18	0	0	198	311
HUMAN RESOURCE AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	1	14	124	212	0	1	9	52	1	102	516
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND RELATED PERSONNEL	9	33	19	8	0	0	7	8	5	35	124
LEGAL AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	1	1	2	1		0	3	1	2	0	11
MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL	365	1060	662	893	311	481	86	264	74	40	4236
REGULATORY AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7
Grand Total	642	1818	1857	2164	429	666	186	717	297	834	9610

b) Even-though, the is a systematic process of approving funding and advertisements of posts by Accounting Officers (through the Annual Recruitment Plan) a further consultation with the Provincial Treasuries supersedes filling of vacant posts to avoid exceeding Cost of Employment (COE) budgets. It therefore not possible to mention a specific date but to alert that the filling of posts is prioritized across the Public Health Sector.

Reply:

1. The Minister did not conduct a site visit to Denel on 12 May 2023. On that specific week, the Minister was on an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. Site visits to operations of State-Owned Enterprises (SOCs) are part of the oversight mechanisms available to the Minister, Deputy Minister, and the Department to get a first-hand appreciation of the state of operations at each SOC and to interact with management and employees at the shopfloor level.

2. The primary purpose of the visit was not about inspecting weapons produced by Denel. The visit was part of the induction process for the Deputy Minister since his appointment in March 2023. The visit has given the Deputy Minister an opportunity to engage with management and employees of the Denel divisions and to visit the operations. The display of weapons on the day was the initiative of Denel to showcase the capabilities to the Deputy Minister and their relevance to national security.

3. Yes, all the weapon systems in the custodY of Denel are known by the Department. These are reported on in Denel’s Corporate Plan, Quarterly Reports and Annual Reports. Denel’s portfolio of weapons and weapon systems is regulated through the National Conventional Arms Control Act.

(4) Yes. Denel’s presentation outlined all the capabilities and product portfolio of the two divisions. Denel management confirmed to the Deputy Minister that Denel has not sold any military hardware or product to the Russian Federation.

The Ambassador of the United States to South Africa, has, in recent weeks, apologized for his unfounded claims.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) The failed transformer PAMS 65 that is referred to by the Honourable Mr Singh was replaced on Saturday 13 May 2023 according to the process where all customers who had tampered with their meters to avoid paying for electricity had paid the required fine and illegal connections had been removed. Important facts to note regarding this transformer are that some customers were found to have converted themselves to prepaid meters and had installed sub-meters; in such cases, the revenue does not come to Eskom.

Eskom never disconnected or suspended electricity to this area; however, the transformer overloaded and isolated itself due to overload caused by illegal connections, bypassed meters, and vandalism of the infrastructure.

Eskom is experiencing a very significant increase in transformer failures in residential areas due to meter tampering, illegal connections, and vandalism of Eskom’s infrastructure. Replacement of infrastructure without addressing the root cause has become unsustainable, costly, and unsafe for Eskom’s technicians and members of the public, specifically also innocent children.

In such cases, Eskom has an obligation to eliminate the associated safety risk before a transformer is replaced. The replacement of transformers without resolving the problem leads to repeated failures and unsafe conditions for our technical team and the community, and this is also financially unsustainable.

The existing infrastructure has been installed to cater for the supply requirements of Eskom’s legally connected customers.

(b)In addition to the Electricity Regulation Act and its licence conditions, Eskom is required to comply with, among others, NRS 047 Part 1: Quality of Service (“NRS 047”) and the Distribution System Code (“the Distribution Code”), attached to this as Annexures A and B, respectively, which regulate matters pertaining to unplanned supply interruptions. Clause 4.5.3 of NRS 047 regulates the restoration of supply after unplanned interruptions. Under “normal circumstances”, Eskom would be required to follow the restoration period provided in NRS 047. This provision must be read together with paragraph 18.4(1) of the Distribution Code, which requires customers to comply with instructions from Eskom before the supply of electricity is restored. Paragraph 3(1) of the Distribution Code, furthermore, states that Eskom is required to take remedial action to relieve any condition that may jeopardise the reliability of the Distribution system.

Therefore, before the transformer can be replaced and supply restored, an audit must be conducted, and the customers normalised. In line with the regulations and Eskom’s processes, community members who are found to have tampered with their meters are issued with tamper fines of R6 052.60 per tampered meter and all illegal connections are removed. Furthermore, at least 75% of customers legally connected to the transformer must be in good standing before the transformer is replaced. This is to ensure that the infrastructure on the ground will be able to cater for the required load.

Reply:

1) As part of our contingency measures for the high utilisation of the OCGTs, additional offsite storage has been secured in Mossel Bay and in Cape Town.

(2)Eskom has experienced maintenance and engineering staff to address any failures at the OCGTs with the support of the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

(3)(a) and (b) The OCGTs can run at the anticipated load factors for an extended period. YTD for FY2024, the OCGTs are running at a load factor (GLF) of 22%. The OCGTs are expected to run at approximately 20% for the winter period, until the end of August 2023. The required OCGT load factors after this period will depend on the performance of the generation fleet and the demand

Reply:

The breakdown of the procurement allocation submitted by health public entities in terms of the percentages allocated to the indicated enterprises (i-iv) is provided in the table below, per the (aa) 2021-22 financial year and (bb) since 1 April 2023:

Enterprises Categories b (i-iv)	(aa) 2021/22	2022/23	(bb) Since 1 April 2023
	Percentage of allocation	Percentage of allocation	Percentage of allocation
South African of Medical Research Council
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	1%	1%	1%
(ii) Cooperatives	0%	0%	0%
(iii) Township enterprises	0%	0%	0%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0%	0%	0%
Council for Medical Schemes
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	63.13%	50.07%	48.45%
(ii) Cooperatives	0%	0%	0%
(iii) Township enterprises	0%	0%	0%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0.28%	1.10%	0%
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	66%	84%	100%
(ii) Cooperatives	0%	0%	0%
(iii) Township enterprises	5%	1%	0%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0%	0%	0%
National Health Laboratory Service
For Requests for Quotations (RFQ) of less than R1m
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	37.9%	61.5%	71.7%
(ii) Cooperatives	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
(iii) Township enterprises	1.1%	0.4%	2.3%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0.7%	0.1%	0.2%
For Requests for Bids (RFB) with a value of over R1m
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	6%	21%	0%
(ii) Cooperatives	0%	0%	0%
(iii) Township enterprises	0%	2%	0%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0%	5%	0%
Office of Health Standards Compliance
(i) Small, medium and macro enterprises	29.02%	29.23%	38.09%
(ii) Cooperatives	0.03%	0%	0%
(iii) Township enterprises	2.87%	0.01%	13.73%
(iv) Rural enterprises	0%	95.31%	0

END

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom:

1. The failed transformer PAMS 65 that is referred to by the Honourable Mr Singh was replaced on Saturday 13 May 2023 according to the process where all customers who had tampered with their meters to avoid paying for electricity had paid the required fine and illegal connections had been removed. Some customers were found to have converted themselves to prepaid meters and had installed sub-meters.

Eskom did not disconnect or suspend electricity to this area; however, the transformer had overloaded and isolated itself due to overload caused by illegal connections, bypassed meters, and vandalism of the infrastructure.

Eskom is experiencing a very significant increase in transformer failures in residential areas due to meter tampering, illegal connections, and vandalism of Eskom’s infrastructure. Replacement of infrastructure without addressing the root cause has become unsustainable, costly, and unsafe for Eskom’s technicians and members of the public, specifically also innocent children.

In such cases, Eskom has an obligation to eliminate the associated safety risk before a transformer is replaced. The replacement of transformers without resolving the problem leads to repeated failures and unsafe conditions for the technical team and the community, and this is also financially unsustainable.

The existing infrastructure has been installed to cater for the supply requirements of Eskom’s legally connected customers.

(a) and (b) In addition to the Electricity Regulation Act and its licence conditions, Eskom is required to comply with, among others, NRS 047 Part 1: Quality of Service (“NRS 047”) and the Distribution System Code (“the Distribution Code”), attached to this as Annexures A and B, respectively, which regulate matters pertaining to unplanned supply interruptions. Clause 4.5.3 of NRS 047 regulates the restoration of supply after unplanned interruptions. Under “normal circumstances”, Eskom would be required to follow the restoration period provided in NRS 047. This provision must be read together with paragraph 18.4(1) of the Distribution Code, which requires customers to comply with instructions from Eskom before the supply of electricity is restored. Paragraph 3(1) of the Distribution Code, furthermore, states that Eskom is required to take remedial action to relieve any condition that may jeopardise the reliability of the Distribution system.

Therefore, before the transformer can be replaced and supply restored, an audit must be conducted. In line with the regulations and Eskom’s processes, community members who are found to have tampered with their meters are issued with tamper fines of R6 052.60 per tampered meter and all illegal connections are removed.

2. The response provided above adequately addresses the matter.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. The Mine health and Safety Council (MHSC) identified the Workers Museum and Mary Fitzgerald Square as the most appropriate locations to install the memorial for the fallen mineworkers. Permission to continue with the project on the site was given by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), then the project was initiated. However, the initial permission was not honoured as a result of the changes of officials and administrators at the CoJ. In this regard, the monument will be placed at the MHSC Office Building whilst there is ongoing engagements regarding the identified sites at the City of Johannesburg.

2. The total project amount was R4 800 000,00 inclusive of value added Tax. The cost of R1 513 333.06 for additional concept and technical designs that were required for installation of the monument at the identified location was incurred, bringing the total to R6 313 333.06.

 

Reply:

(a) I have been informed by the Department as tabled below.

Years	(i) Small, Medium and Micro-enterprises	(ii) Cooperatives	(iii) Township enterprises	(iv) Rural enterprises
(aa) 2021-2022	Total procurement allocation for the department amounted to R101 131 716 of which 40% (R61 775 393) was spent on SMME’s.	N/A	N/A	N/A
(bb) 1 April 2023	Total procurement allocation for the department equals to R436 966 of which 40% (R174 786) is allocated to SMME’s.	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

(b) South African Tourism

I have been informed by SAT that the service provider appointments were treated in accordance with the applicable Preferential Procurement Regulation.

Years	(i) Small, Medium and Micro-enterprises	(ii) Cooperatives	(iii) Township enterprises	(iv) Rural enterprises
(aa) 2021-2022	Total procurement spends for the entity amounted to R 732 340 185.38 of which 40% (R 292 936 074,15) was on SMME’s.	N/A	N/A	N/A
(bb) 1 April 2023	Total procurement spends for the entity equals to R1 343 895.20 of which 40% (R537 558.08) was on SMME’s.	N/A	N/A	N/A

Reply:

(a) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) (aa) In terms of the Office of the Chief Justice, the percentages spent in the 2021-22 financial year, are as follows:

Period	Total spend	Small-, medium- and micro-enterprises %	Cooperatives %	Township enterprises %	Rural enterprises %
Quarter 1	69,785,125.26	72.98%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Quarter 2	52,492,150.99	45.61%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Quarter 3	92,865,669.87	80.50%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Quarter 4	123,673,529.10	48.72%	0.00%	0.00%	2.95%
Total	338,816,475.22	61.95%	0.00%	0.00%	0.03%

(a) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) (bb) In terms of the Office of the Chief Justice, the percentages spent since 01 April 2023, are as follows:

Period	Total spend	Small-, medium-and micro-enterprises %	Cooperatives %	Township enterprises %	Rural enterprises %
Quarter 1	8,739,025.93	59.99%	0.00%	0.00%	0.04%
Total	8,739,025.93	59.99%	0.00%	0.00%	0.04%

Reply:

(a) The were no naturalisation ceremonies that have taken place from 1 May 2019 to date.

(b)(i) No ceremonies have taken place.

(b)(ii) As indicated above there has not been ceremonies conducted.

(c) The “naturalisation ceremonies” were discontinued a long time ago.

(d)(i)(ii) There are no “naturalisation ceremonies” planned for the near and foreseeable future.

END

Reply:

Through its procurement, the dtic group has a concerted effort to ensure that it procures from SMME, women, youth and people with disability, inclusive of township and rural enterprises.

The following information has been submitted by the dtic-group:

(a)&(b) DTIC and its Entities	(aa)&(bb) Financial Period	b(i)
Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) including B-BBEE Commission	2021-22	56%
	Since 1 April 2023	93,36%
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)	2021-22	There was no direct allocation to SMMEs. However, CIPC procures through RFQs and tenders from suppliers registered on the CSD. This includes SMMEs.
	Since 1 April 2023	There was no direct allocation to SMMEs. However, CIPC procures through RFQs and tenders from suppliers registered on the CSD. This includes SMMEs.
Companies Tribunal (CT)	2021-22	60%
	Since 1 April 2023	65%
Competition Commission	2021-22	85%
	Since 1 April 2023	98%
Competition Tribunal	2021-22	57.59%
	Since 1 April 2023	68.52%
Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC)	2021-22	45.63%
	Since 1 April 2023	58.82%
Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited (IDC)	2021-22	50.65%
	Since 1 April 2023	78.74%
International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC)	2021-22	46% (R928 047.80)
	Since 1 April 2023	71% (R213 420.34)
	Since 1 April 2023	0%
National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)	2021-22	55%
	Since 1 April 2023	R1.2 million
National Credit Regulator (NCR)	2021-22	58%
	Since 1 April 2023	54%
National Empowerment Fund (NEF)	2021-22	The National Empowerment Fund has procured goods and services to the total amount of R35.8 million for the period under review with a combined percentage of 75% being spent as follows: Exempted Micro Enterprises - R16,9 million (47%) Qualifying Small Enterprises – R9,9 million (28%)
	Since 1 April 2023	From 1 April 2023 to date a combined percentage of 89% of the total amount of R2,5 million being spent as follows: Exempted Micro Enterprises - R1,7 million (67%) Qualifying Small Enterprises – R560k (22%)
National Gambling Board (NGB)	2021-22	2.72%
	Since 1 April 2023	1%
National Lotteries Commission (NLC)	2021-22	32.80% was procured from Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE). 29.46% was procured from Exempted Micro Enterprises (EME).
	Since 1 April 2023	Approximately 40% was procured from Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE).
	Since 1 April 2023
National Regulator For Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)	2021-22	(i)(aa) 16% (R5 240 909,60)
	Since 1 April 2023	(i)(bb) 84% (R4 873 670,00)
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)	2021-22	43.2%
	Since 1 April 2023	Procurement spend for this category is unknown as the data is only manually calculated against B-BBEE certificates on quarterly basis.
South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)	2021-22	100% SMMEs - 73% EMEs - 27%
	Since 1 April 2023	100% SMMEs - 35% EMEs - 65%

-END-

Reply:

The Department is in the process of implementing a number of long term strategies to reduce the length of queues at the labour centers. These are:

• The appointment of queue marshals to direct the clients efficiently to the correct service area
• The appointment of more than 2500 client service officers to deal with UIF applications and payments more effectively
• The upgrade of ICT-systems to enable clients to register as work seekers, be referred for employment and other income generating opportunities on-line
• The implementation of a UIF USSD and mobile application that allows all UIF clients to apply on-line and submit payment continuation forms, any other required documents and make enquiries online, thus finalising their claims, without having to visit the labour center at any time. This service is available at no cost to the clients