Questions and Replies

Reply:

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

Public Employment Services (PES) is established by Section 5 of the Employment Service Act of 2014.

• The Department of Employment and Labour must render the following services free of charge to members of the public:
• Register work seekers on ESSA (Employment Services System of South Africa).
• Register learning or work opportunities received from employers.
• Match work seekers to opportunities and produce qualifying work seekers as per criteria requested by employers.
• Facilitate the placement of the work seekers into opportunities.
• Provide career counselling, life skills, psychometric assessments, and employability enhancements.
• Regulate private employment agencies
• Make recommendations to DHA before work visas are issued.

2 Labour centres in the Free State fall under Maluti-a- Phofung Local municipality. For the 2022/2023 financial year, their performance on registration of work and learning opportunities is as displayed below:

From the opportunities registered in 2022/2023 financial year. The 2 Labour centres placed work seekers into work and learning opportunities as displayed below:

LABOUR ACTIVATION PROGRAMME:

• 2 Companies were assisted for BUSINESS TURN AROUND AND RE-ENGINEERING: MALUTI- A- PHOFUNG LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
• ENTRAKO(PTY) LTD: 75 Jobs were Preserved and 14 new employees were appointed. Overall 89 jobs were preserved.
• ENTRAWOOD CC: 115 Jobs were preserved and 4 were created. Overall 119 jobs were preserved.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

• The PES embarks to build upon a partnership strategy involving prospective actors in the labour market with the common objective to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality in South Africa.
• This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to create a partnering- relationship between The Department of Employment and Labour through its Public Employment Services branch and stakeholders in order to promote co-operation and achieve employment objectives
• In 2022/2023 financial year, the department of Employment and Labour has entered into Memorandum of understanding with two stakeholders in the Maluti-a- Phofung Local municipality:
• MALUTI TVET COLLEGE
• MALUTI –A – PHOFUNG LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Eastern Cape

It is very important to note that the Department of Employment and Labour does not create employment opportunities or develop Local Economic activities for job seekers but creates an enabling environment for a labour market that is conducive to investment, economic growth, employment creation and decent work. This is done by partnering with other Government Departments, Local Government, Government Entities including Institutions of Higher Learning and Private Sector in support of initiatives that assist in bringing in investment, economic growth, employment creation and decent work in the labour market and that is done through the main services as provided by the Department’s Public Employment Services (PES) as follows:

• Work seeker registration – Registration of work seeker in the Employment Services South Africa (ESSA) database

• Employment Counselling – Empowerment of work seekers with job hunting and job readiness counselling programmes

• Recruitment and Selection – Registration of employment and learning opportunities received from employers with the purpose of recruiting suitable candidates from the ESSA databased based on the selection criteria specified by the employer

• Placement – Placement of suitable candidates into registered job or learning opportunities based on the employers’ selection preference using the ESSA system.

• Labour Activation Programme (LAP) – UIF funded programme aimed at funding labour activation initiatives for training and placement of UIF beneficiaries back into the labour market.

(a) In Ngqushwa Local Municipality, through the Labour Activation Programme funding was awarded to Walter University, 50 young people have been skilled in Animal Production and New Venture Creation with the purpose of encouraging self-sustainability and self-employment with potential to develop into entrepreneurship and employment of other young people. The 50 young people were recruited from the villages of Ngqushwa Local Municipality.

For this financial year 2023/2024, Ngqushwa Local Municipality, through its Local Economic Development Unit, is going to partner with the Department in recruitment, selection and placement of young people in their approved planned projects as per their IDP which are as follows:

• Bee keeping and honey processing

• Livestock movement project with feedlot and abattoir

• Training of young people in Traffic related opportunities

• Life guards for the 42km coastal area

These young people from all the villages of Ngqushwa Local Municipality will be encouraged to register in the ESSA database so that they can be recruited and placed in these opportunities. The ESSA database ensures that only people from that particular municipality are recruited according to the specification of the employer. The selected young people will also be provided with work ethics training and other life skills training such as financial management skills.

The Department continuously engages with other social partners to ensure more opportunities are marketed to local young people ensuring that they benefit from opportunities in their regions thus avoiding their influx into urban areas.

(b) The identified project and partnership is for this current financial year i.e. 2023/2034

City of Matlosana Local Municipality

The Department of Employment and Labour through its Labour Activation Programme (LAP) implement various projects to enhance the employability of the unemployed, to enable entrepreneurship and preserve jobs by integrating the unemployed people back to the labour market. This is achieved through entering into partnerships with both private and public sector entities to implement job creation initiatives and training of the unemployed and underemployed for the purpose of re-integrating them with labour market and economic transformation.

In the City of Matlosana, the LAP has implemented the following interventions since 2021:

 

Sector	Intervention	No. of Learners	Area of Training	Employer	Project Status
MICT SETA	Learnership	27	Film and TV Production	Platinum NW TV	Completed in 2021
MICT SETA	Learnership	3	System Support	52 Benji	Completed in 2021
MICT SETA	Learnership	1	System Support	Sediko Primary School	Completed in 2021
MICT SETA	Learnership	1	System Support	Hotspot Café Internet and Business Solution	Completed in 2021
MICT SETA	Learnership	1	System Support	REX Building	Completed in 2021
THENSA(Technological Higher Education Network South Africa)	Learnership	9	Environmental Practice	A & P Scrap Metal Paper and Waste	Project put on hold in 2021 due to contractual issues. To resume in 2023
TOTAL		42

The following interventions are in the pipeline for implementation during 2023/2024 financial year

Sector	Area	No. Learners	Project Status
Media	Matlosana	300	Submission on route for DG approval
Agriculture	Matlosana	7000	Submission on route for DG approval
Hospitality, Sports, Media, Health, Textile	Matlosana	1000	Submission on route for DG approval
Total		8300

In addition, the DEL through Public Employment Services (PES), plays a significant role in coordinating programmes that contribute towards the reduction of unemployment, poverty and inequality across four districts in the North West Province. For the City of Matlosana, 1770 work seekers have been placed on various opportunities through the PES Programme since 2017:

Placement Opportunity Type	Sector	Area	No. Workseekers
Formal Job	Various	Matlosana	588
Internship	Various	Matlosana	46
Learnership	Various	Matlosana	243
Projects	Various	Matlosana	867
Total			1770

Reply:

(1) In case of loadshedding or any other offline situation the SA Post Office has procedures in place that all manual transactions must be captured within 24 hours on an online platform. It will not interrupt normal operations.

(2) It is procedural for branch managers to conduct end of day balancing. Daily reports are generated from Finance and IT of any branch that did not capture an end of day and forward to regional operations for correction. Quality and oversight audits are conducted to ensure procedures and processes and adhered to. Receipt book are used to verify capturing.

Thank You.

Reply:

The Department and its Entities presented to Minister, Programmes of Action (PoA) being undertaken and executed in collaboration with the sector. The Minister was satisfied with the PoA and called for the acceleration, so that digital transformation enables efficiency in service delivery; and that digital communication services are affordable and accessible.

In this regard, the Minister has negotiated his PA with the President which include the PoA.

There was no disruptions or instability as the Department and its entities continues to implement his PoA which support the MTSF.

 

Thank You.

Reply:

Due to liquidity concerns, the contract between SAPO and SASSA for the payment of social grants was ceded to the Postbank in October 2022.

This was probably done just in time as SAPO is currently facing liquidation. The ceding of the contract, means that the liquidation – from a contractual perspective – will not impact the service agreement of clients, as a new entity (Postbank), which is solvent has taken responsibility for the contract.

However, Postbank was only given 3 months to prepare themselves for taking over the contract, and remains heavily reliant on SAPO for services – which are failing at present.

This over reliance on SAPO remains a concern for DSD and SASSA and we’ve been in constant engagement with the Postbank around alternatives to mitigate this challenge. These include:

• Postbank developing their own infrastructure, in particular, ATM infrastructure in strategic locations.
• Postbank partnering with other stakeholders to reduce their reliance on SAPO. These include larger merchants (which has been implemented to date) as well as smaller merchants such as SPAZA shops.
• Postbank introducing a cardless solution. This will limit the need for clients to interact at branches. This has already been rolled out successfully with the COVID SRD grant and has alleviated the congestion seen at Post Offices during the COVID period. This should have a similar impact when rolled out to the other grants.

Beneficiaries also have a choice to receive their social grants payment directly into own commercial bank account. More than 50% of SASSA clients utilise this option.

These options cover approximately 98.5% of our clients. The remaining 1.5% who live in far flung areas remains a challenge, and are still reliant on the cash pay point services provided by Postbank. Discussion are being held across government, led by the Presidency on a possible government wide solution to service these communities. In the meantime, the Postbank will continue running the cash paypoints that were previously run by SAPO.

Reply:

1. The following grants have been established:

(i) NHI Schedule 5 Direct Grant

(ii) NHI Schedule 6 Indirect Grant which consists of:

• Health Facility Revitalisation Component (In Kind Grant)
• Personal services component
• Non-personal services component

(a)-(b) The overall budget and expenditure of the NHI Grant has been as follows:

For the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years, it was only the NHI Indirect grant allocation and from 2019/20 it was funded from both direct and indirect grant allocations as follows:

(c) The items that the specified amount were spent on and (d) the amount returned to the National Treasury are as follows:

2. (a) NHI Pilot Projects were conducted from 2012/13 to 2015/16. The breakdown of the amounts that were budget for during this period are outlined in the Table below:

National Health Insurance Direct Grant
	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	Total
NHI Direct Grant	150000,000	48000,000	72000,000	72000,000		342000
Eastern Cape	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
Free State	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
Gauteng	31,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		50,554
KwaZulu-Natal	33,000	9,700	14,000	14,408		71,108
Limpopo	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
Mpumalanga	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
Northern Cape	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
North West	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554
Western Cape	11,500	4,850	7,000	7,204		30,554

(b) The breakdown of the projects that were funded through the direct NHI Conditional Grant were as follows:

The NHI project was undertaken in 11 pilot districts across the country namely:

1. OR Tambo (Eastern Cape)
2. Thabo Mofutsanyana (Free State)
3. City of Tshwane (Gauteng)
4. Amajuba District (KwaZulu-Natal)
5. Umzinyathi (KwaZulu-Natal)
6. uMgungundlovu (KwaZulu-Natal)
7. Vhembe (Limpopo)
8. Gert Sibande (Mpumalanga)
9. Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West)
10. Pixley ka Seme (Northern Cape)
11. Eden (Western Cape)

The following interventions were undertaken in the aforesaid pilot districts:

1. Ward-based Primary Healthcare Outreach Teams (WBPHCOTs), which were responsible for the provision of promotive and preventative healthcare to households;
2. the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP), which aimed to provide a range of health promotion and preventive services to school-going children at their places of learning;
3. General Practitioner (GP) contracting, which aimed to increase the number of GPs at PHC facilities to improve the quality and acceptability of care;
4. the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance (ICRM) model, which aimed to increase the quality of services through the establishment of minimum standards;
5. District Clinical Specialist Teams (DCSTs), which were responsible for supporting clinical governance and undertaking clinical work, research and training;
6. The Centralised Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) system, which aimed to improve the distribution of medicines to patients through the provision of chronic medication at designated pick-up points (PUPs) closer to the communities in the pilot districts;
7. The Health Patient Registration System (HPRS), which has the ultimate goal of a fully electronic patient record-keeping system but commenced with the capturing of patient data and the generation of electronic files;
8. The Stock Visibility System (SVS), which aimed to improve the oversight of stock through an electronic stock monitoring system, thereby reducing stockouts by allowing for appropriate and timely ordering;
9. Infrastructure projects, which were implemented to improve health infrastructure and thereby ensure increased access and quality of care;
10. Workload Indicator for Staffing Need (WISN), which are a World Health Organization (WHO) planning tool implemented to help facility managers make more efficient staffing decisions.

(3) (a) Some of the core outcomes of the project are outlined below per district:

Amajuba (KwaZulu-Natal): This district recorded a mixed set of results when it comes to key indicators that were being tracked as part of the NHI interventions – antenatal first visit before 20 weeks and HIV positive on IPT. There was a noticeable improvement in 2015, then followed by a decrease in both indictors over 2016 and 2017.

uMzinyathi (KwaZulu-Natal): There was a marked improvement in the immunization rate for children under the age of one, with a further indication that directed efforts needed to be implemented to prioritize mother and child health interventions;

uMgungundlovu (KwaZulu-Natal): The district has recorded an improvement in the immunization rate, specifically for the uptake of the measles second dose. However, indicators also pointed to the need to improve the roll-out and capacity of the Ward-Based Outreach Teams.

OR Tambo (Eastern Cape): As a result of various interventions, the district recorded a year-on-year improvement in cervical cancer screening for women over 30. This improvement also showed a marked increase in the ranking of the district as compared to other pilot and non-pilot districts. The same can be reported Diarrhea with dehydration under five.

Gert Sibande (Mpumalanga): This district recorded the highest rate of improvement in immunization uptake for those under five for all the pilot districts. This was specifically for the 2016 to 2017 period. The main challenge they experienced was around having well-capacitated Ward-Based Outreach Teams, and the ability to recruit and retain adequately skilled team members.

Vhembe (Limpopo): The district recorded an improvement in the reported number of cases with diarrhea and dehydration under five. Vhembe showed a sharp decrease in performance for this indicator. The qualitative information revealed a lack of functional DCSTs, with speculation that they need to be dismantled and a new solution found. This is potentially problematic because, with poor immunization coverage, there is a higher risk for poor child health. The DCSTs will then be critical to ensuring that child mortality does not increase.

Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West): The district also recorded a year-on-year improvement in cervical cancer screening for women over 30. This improvement also showed a marked increase in the ranking of the district as compared to other pilot and non-pilot districts. It ranked second only to OR Tambo District.

Eden (Western Cape): A key achievement for the district was that it consistently reported the lowest levels of drug stock-outs amongst all the pilot districts.

Thabo Mofutsanyana (Free State): The district recorded a significant improvement in the number of diarrheal cases with dehydration over the period 2013 to 2017. They also achieved significant improvements in the number of school learners screened for eyesight, hearing and related conditions.

Pixley ka Seme (Northern Cape): The district recorded significant improvements and was consistently the lowest performer among the NHI pilot districts for the HIV positive with IPT and the BCG dose coverage indicators respectively.

City of Tshwane (Gauteng): This district was amongst the lowest performers of the districts included in the NHI project for the indicator on Antenatal visit before 20 weeks. However, it still recorded significant improvements in the indicator on diarrheal cases with dehydration over the period 2013 to 2017.

More generally, it must be noted that majority of the NHI districts recorded significant achievements in the establishment and roll-out of the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams (WBPHCOTs). The WBPHCOT intervention is currently underpinned by the Policy Framework and Strategy for Ward-based Primary Healthcare Outreach Teams 2018/2019 – 2023/2024 and aims to ensure the successful implementation of the teams and the overall success of NHI implementation in South Africa. As far back as September 2017, a reported 3,519 WBPHCOTs were covering 12 816 152 households. At the end of 2017/2018 financial year, there were a total of 3,323 WBPHCOTs providing basic health services to children and adults across the country, not just in the NHI districts.

(4) (a)-(b) The evaluation of the various interventions implemented as part of NHI is based on a number of interrelated processes, including regular monitoring and evaluation of progress through the Annual Performance Plans at the National and Provincial Departments of Health. It also included undertaking a rigorous evaluation exercises and the prepartion of technical reports detailing the various interventions implemented over time and the impact that these selected interventions have had on key indicators such as antenatal visits, incidence of diarrhea cases as well as establsihment of key teams such as PHC outreach teams. The Evaluation Report is attached as Annexure 1. The implementation of various interventions resulted in a number of interellated achievements, some of which include:

1. The successful roll-out of the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams (WBPHCOTs) intervention aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the PHC teams and the overall success of NHI implementation in South Africa. As far back as September 2017, a reported 3,519 WBPHCOTs were covering 12 816 152 households. At the end of 2017/2018 financial year, there were a total of 3,323 WBPHCOTs providing basic health services to children and adults across the country, not just in the NHI districts.

2. The rollout of the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP). The aim of the ISHP intervention is to provide a range of health promotion and preventive services to school-going children with a particular focus on the screening of health-related barriers to learning such as vision, hearing, cognitive and related developmental impairments (National Department of Health, 2017). The programme is underpinned by the Integrated School Health Policy, which outlines the complementary roles of each government department responsible for addressing the needs of learners with the aim of ensuring that strong school health services operate according to clear and uniform standards across the country (National Department of Health, 2013). This intervention was implemented by the NDoH in collaboration with the DBE and holds important lessons with regard to inter-departmental collaboration and coordination during implementation. National stakeholders expressed the belief that, overall, there was good collaboration between the national departments in implementing ISHP.

3. Contracting of Health Practitioners (“GP Contracting”): Recognising that Human Resources for Health (HRH) are a key component of a well-functioning health system, and that the inequitable distribution of human resources within the dual health system in South Africa has been an ongoing challenge. Historically, GPs have not been part of the staffing composition at public PHC facilities. Furthermore, the lack of GPs in the public sector has impacted the system in a number of ways. Notably, this has impacted patients’ perceptions of the quality of care received at PHC facilities. This intervention was implemented to improve quality of care and access to needed health care services at the local facility level, especially in targeted clinics through the introduction of different contracting mechanisms with the aim of improving access and quality services to vulnerable communities.

The contracting of GPs was introduced in 2012 as part of NHI Phase 1 implementation, and at the end of 2017/2018, 330 GPs had been contracted. GP contracting was identified by stakeholders as one of the most important interventions to ensure health system strengthening (HSS). The intended aims and objectives of contracting GPs are evidently clear and well understood among stakeholders. The key objectives of GP contracting were to reduce the over-utilisation of hospitals and to improve quality of care (and perceptions thereof) of public healthcare facilities.

4. Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenace (ICRM): ICRM was introduced in response to existing insufficiencies in the quality of PHC services and to lay the foundation for NHI implementation. This intervention was introduced in South African facilities in July 2013 with the aim of improving quality of care after a baseline audit commissioned by the NDoH in 2011 discovered that only one facility in the country met the required standards of a health facility. An ideal clinic is defined as a clinic with good infrastructure, adequate staff, adequate medicine and supplies, good administrative processes and sufficient adequate bulk supplies. It uses appropriate clinical policies, protocols and guidelines, and it harnesses partner and stakeholder support to ensure the provision of quality health services at PHC level to communities. There are 10 components of the ICRM programme, all of which contain subcomponents that specify the initiatives under each component.

The evaluation findings suggest that ICRM is an intervention that achieved considerable scale and reach during NHI Phase 1. At the end of 2017/2018, 3 434 facilities had been assessed, and of these, 1 507 had attained ideal clinic status. Of the facility managers surveyed, 51 of 60 (86%) reported that ICRM was being implemented in their facility.

Moreover, the intervention is commonly understood to have significantly contributed to HSS over the previous five years of implementation as a result of its initial large scale-up across the country.

5. Establishment of District Clinical Specialist Teams (DCSTs): The DCSTs were envisioned to comprise highly specialised HCPs, including an obstetrician and gynaecologist, a paediatrician, a family physician, an anaesthetist, a midwife and a professional nurse, and it was expected that they would spend 70% of their time supporting clinical governance, 20% on clinical work and 10% on research and training. Clinical governance encompasses the maintenance and improvement of standards for patient care at facilities. The various activities of clinical governance have been implemented to different extents in PHC facilities. The four major components of clinical governance are role identification, improving care, improving patients’ experiences and identifying good practice. The DCSTs are responsible for driving these components of clinical governance at district level and are an extension of the district management team and report directly to the district manager as well as the provincial DCST coordinator.

6. Centralised Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD): This is a unique model of medicine dispensing and distribution that has been adopted in South, which is led and implemented by the NDoH. CCMDD was introduced in 2012 to improve the successful distribution of medication to patients. This intervention is made up of two components: CCMDD and Pick-Up Points (PUPs); These two components were envisioned (a) to improve the quality of care of patients as chronic patients will be accessing their medication from a private service provider rather than going into facilities, thus decreasing congestion at facilities, making more staff time available and improving the staff’s ability to provide quality services and (b) to increase access for patients and decrease patient waiting times as there will be no need for patients to go to pick up their medication at congested facilities. During the implementation of NHI Phase 1, CCMDD was heavily focused on the provision of antiretrovirals, fixed-dose combinations in particular, to stable HIV patients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART).

The evaluation findings suggest that CCMDD is overwhelmingly believed to be the NDoH’s most successful intervention implemented during NHI Phase 1. This has been identified as a flagship programme, and for this reason, there are numerous valuable lessons to be learned from its implementation. These lessons will only apply to the continuation of the CCMDD programme but can be useful for the continued implementation of other interventions.

Specifically, lessons around the issues of contracting private service providers, which has been communicated by the NDoH to be a key component of NHI Phase 2. At the end of 2017/2018, there were 2 182 422 patients enrolled in the CCMDD programme who were collecting their medicines from over 855 PUPs across the country (National Department of Health, 2018). On balance, it is evident that CCMDD has indeed achieved its immediate aims of decongesting facilities, which helps improve the availability of HCPs’ time and, as a result, improve health outcomes. The success is largely reflected in the successful scale-up of the programme beyond the pilot districts and beyond the expectations of NHI Phase 1 implementation plans.

7. e-Health interventions: e-Health interventions are those that employ digital solutions to assist health workers and PHC facilities to operate more efficiently, with the ultimate aim of contributing to improved access to and improved quality healthcare.

a) As part of the preparatory work for the phased implementation of NHI, the Department has successfully rolled-out the Health Patient Registration System (HPRS). The HPRS serves as an online registry of all patients using healthcare services in South Africa that can be accessed at any facility to provide health workers with patients’ demographic information and their most up-to-date health records. Patients are registered with a unique identification number (for example, their national identity number or passport number) and assigned to a host facility, which is the facility that they attend most frequently. The HPRS is thus the entry point for patients into the formal health system. The HPRS is expected to lead to more efficient patient registration and record-keeping, which is in turn expected to contribute to better decision-making, to facilitate easier access to patient data and to lead to a better referral system. Overall, the implementation of the HPRS during NHI Phase 1 can be understood to have presented both successes and challenges. At the end of 2017/2018, 2968 PHC facilities were using the HPRS, and there were 20 million people registered on the system (National Department of Health, 2018). Moreover, IT hardware for an additional 918 PHC facilities in 13 health districts was purchased, totalling 4862 computers in total (National Department of Health, 2018). However, challenges have hindered the intervention’s ability to contribute to improved decision-making and referrals thus far. It should be noted, however, that the first stage of implementation was focused largely on setting up user profiles and is not expected to contribute greatly to decision-making as yet. As the implementation of NHI continues and the HPRS becomes more widely used, it will need to be further populated with routine and referral information to improve patient tracking and, in turn, contribute to improved decision-making.

b) Another intervention in the e-Health space is MomConnect. MomConnect is an SMS-based initiative that “aims to support maternal health through the use of cell phone-based technologies integrated into maternal and child health services” (National Department of Health, 2018). The purpose of MomConnect is ultimately to prevent maternal and child deaths through targeted health promotion messages to pregnant women to improve their health and that of their infants (National Department of Health, 2018). At the end of 2017/2018, the number of pregnant women and mothers registered on MomConnect was 1 888 918, which had doubled from the previous financial year. Moreover, a total of 818 688 pregnant women and mothers were receiving health-promotion messages at the end of 2017/2018.

c) There is also the Stock Visibility System (SVS) which is an application designed to address the challenge of drug and related stock-outs and ensure that all South Africans have access to the medicines they need. It is a mobile application used in PHC clinics to monitor and report on stock availability levels for essential medicines like anti-retrovirals, TB medication and vaccines. The purpose of the SVS is to enable more informed decision-making and proactive stock management at PHC facility level. Using the SVS application, clinic staff are able to capture information on the availability of essential medicines at PHC facilities, which is then uploaded to a central online repository. The data from this repository is consolidated in real time to improve oversight of stock availability and, consequently, improve the accuracy and efficiency of stock distribution based on demand.

The SVS is able to detect reported stock-outs at clinic level and automatically send early warning alerts to managers at each point in the supply chain when stock-outs are predicted, from clinic through to national level. In a similar vein, the system also alerts managers to over-stocking, which is necessary to avoid situations where stock is lost due to expiry. These types of alerts thus enable managers to more proactively manage stock levels and avoid stock-outs as well as stock losses. At the end of 2017/2018, the SVS was being implemented in 3167 clinics and CHCs, which equated to 92% coverage (National Department of Health, 2018). The findings of the evaluation indicate that, where it has been implemented as planned, the implementation of the SVS has largely been a success, leading to a reduction in stock-outs and pressure at facilities where it was being implemented.

Over and above all these targeted interventions, the National and Provincial Departments of Health continue to implement a number of interventions directed at maintaining existing infrastructure (clinics, hospitals, CHCs, etc.); refurbishments as well as the commissioning of new ones to address quality and related challenges. Poor infrastructure limits the extent of health services that can be provided to communities. Therefore, since the 2013/14 financial year, more than R1.9 billion has been spent on infrastructure projects in the NHI pilot districts.

END.

Reply:

a) (i) The records of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development reflects that the following number of rape cases were heard in courts during the financial years requested:

FINANCIAL YEAR	REGIONAL COURT
2018/2019	5 720
2019/2020	5 616
2020/2021	3 863
2021/2022	3 640

(ii) The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) extracted information from the

Electronic Case Management System (ECMS).

As at 31 March 2023, the extracted information indicates that the number of verdicts for the financial years requested, as well as convictions and acquittals during each of the financial years, is depicted in the Table below:

Financial Year	No. of Convictions (Per Charge)	No. of Verdicts (Per Case)	No. of Convictions (Per Case)	No. of Acquittals (Per Case)
2018/19	3 055	4 215	2 820	1 395
2019/20	2 910	3 984	2 684	1 300
2020/21*	777	1 045	724	321
2021/22	1 979	2 826	1 841	985
Total	8 721	12 064	8 066	3 998

• The number of rape matters reported to the South African Police Service declined during the 2020/21 financial year due to the restricted movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The details on the afore-mentioned numbers could be obtained from the South African Police Service (SAPS). Coupled with this, the courts were also limited in their operations as accused, witnesses and parties to proceedings had limited ability to travel or visit court proceedings.

Statistics of prosecuted cases regarding matters reported at the Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) for the financial years as requested are reflected in the table below:

Financial Years	Conviction rate and actual number of all TCC sexual offence cases prosecuted	Number of Rape charges – conviction versus acquittal	Percentage of rape charges in TCC sexual offence cases prosecuted
2018/19	73.5% (1636 / 2225)	1914 (1328 / 586)	86%
2019/20	74.9% (1408 / 1881)	1628 (1156 / 472)	86.5%
2020/21*	73.9% (734 / 993)	858 (604 / 254)	86.4%
2021/22	76.7% (1033 / 1346)	1080 (789 / 291)	80.2%

*The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in less court hours and less cases prosecuted due to Disaster Management Act restrictions which limited the courts in their operations. However, the 2021/22 financial year returned an increase of 35.5% in court performance compared to the previous year regarding the number of TCC-cases being finalised in court.

b) Various factors are taken into account collectively by the court and thus no list can be regarded as a finite list because the acquittal of cases depends on these various factors based on the impact and consideration by the court of the importance of each of such factors which can seldom if ever, be quantified.

c) On a broad level, below are the possible reasons that will result in an acquittal of these cases in court:

(i) Credibility of witnesses, that include cases where the court is unable to rely on the evidence presented; and

(ii) Furthermore, in most of these cases the State relies on a single witness and/or solely on circumstantial evidence, this present challenges in court which may lead to an acquittal. This will specifically be the position in the absence of any other substantial or corroborating evidence.

Reply:

(1), (2), (3)

Find here: National 5G coverage

Reply:

a) The Chief Executive Officer of Rahima Moosa hospital Dr Mkabayi has been transferred to the Provincial Department of Health for the duration of her contract. Dr Mkabayi is receiving professional support and training required and she is adapting very well in the new environment and her performance is good. There are no challenges experienced thus far as she has knowledge, skills and abilities required to execute her responsibilities at this office. She has also subjected herself to the Health Professions Council of South Africa(HPCSA) processes and the outcome of which is now the mandate of the HPCSA.

In a letter received on 15 May 2023 the Office of the Premier has advised that they have requested the SIU to conduct the respective investigations relating to some of the matters raised by the Ombuds.

The above encompass nine (9) of the Ombud’s recommendations specific to Dr Mkabayi.

b) (i)-(ii) Table 1 below represents a list of the other recommendations from the Ombudsman report and the status to date.

Table 1: (i) Ombudsman recommendation and status to date

	RECOMMENDATION	STATUS	ACHIEVED
	Human Resources Related
1	Appointment of the new CEO for RMMCH is identified and appointed within 3 Months	In progress	Post was advertised in the Sunday Times Newspaper of 23 April 2023 with a closing date of 5 May 2023. The Selection Committee has been appointed. Shortlisting will be conducted on 30 May 2023
2	The advertisement for the CEO position should be in line with standardised requirements for CEOs of regional and tertiary level hospitals to ensure any potential candidates meet all relevant criteria and are 'fit for purpose'	Completed	Post was advertised in the Sunday Times Newspaper of 23 April 2023 with a closing date of 5 May 2023. Post was also placed on the GPG Jobs Portal
3	GDOH to consider using recommended CEO advert as outlined in the Ombuds report (pg 16 & 17)	Completed	Post was advertised in the Sunday Times Newspaper of 23 April 2023 with a closing date of 5 May 2023. The advert for the CEO is in line with the recommended KPAs.
4	Only candidates with relevant and proven expertise and experience should be shortlisted with detailed records indicating the reasons for shortlisting or rejecting each candidate	Not yet started	Shortlisting will be conducted on 30 May 2023
5	An experienced CEO knowledgeable in management of regional level hospitals should be appointed. It would be critical that the new CEO is viewed as a leader who would have the ability to unite the health workforce with RMMCH	Not yet started	Advert closed on 5 May 2023 Shortlisting will be conducted on 30 May 2023
6	To ensure success, the GDOH should provide ongoing regular support to the new CEO, which should be documented on a monthly basis	Ongoing	The Acting Chief Director Hospital Services is receiving reports from the ACEO. The Acting Chief Director: Hospital Services has conducted multiple visits to the institution
7	The Gauteng HoD for Health and DDG: Corporate Services must urgently review the Provincial HR processes for the appointment of CEOs and other senior staff within six (6) months. The review should evaluate provincial HR processes with regards to the advertised requirements and competencies required for the position, pre-employment reference checks and vetting for senior positions, especially those of hospital CEOs	In progress	The HR processes have been reviewed for the appointment of CEOs . An Supply Chain Management (SCM) process is underway to appoint a service provider to vet staff including CEOs in the Department
8	During the period of the investigation, it was noted that at least 2 Tertiary Hospital CEOs in Gauteng were suspended for maladministration and misappropriation of Funds (Tembisa & Kalafong Hospitals) raising questions about the calibre of individuals hired for these positions as well as HR processes followed	N/A	The CEO of Tembisa has been charged. The CEO of Kalafong was never suspended.
9	The Gauteng MEC of Health must urgently appoint an independent forensic and audit firm within two (2) months to conduct a competency, ‘fit for purpose’ assessment of the leadership and management staff at RMMCH	In progress	In a letter received on 15 May 2023 the Office of the Premier has advised that they have requested the SIU to conduct the respective investigations
10	The Gauteng MEC of Health must urgently appoint an independent forensic and audit firm within two (2) months to assess the need to upskill all RMMCH managers / EXCO members to ensure they are able to perform their functions in line with the expectations of RMMCH service delivery.	In progress	In a letter received on 15 May 2023 the Office of the Premier has advised that they have requested the SIU to conduct the respective investigations
11.	The GDoH should prioritise the review of the RMMCH staff establishment and appoint staff in line with their skill sets in all departments to ensure compliance with Regulation 19 (2) (a) of the Norms and Standards Regulations.	In progress	This process forms part of the GDoH organizational structure review
12	A review of the utilisation of nurses from Nursing Agencies is also recommended to reduce the strain on the goods and services budget.	In progress	R 48 million has been allocated to permanently appoint nurses to complement services that are normally provided for by nursing agencies. Nurses appointed under COVID-19 grant contracts have currently been prioritised.
13	A report detailing progress on recommendations regarding the review of the RMMCH staff establishment should be sent to the Ombud within six (6) months.	In progress	The process of reviewing the organogram is at an advanced stage. The HR capacity challenges have been addressed in the new organogram; Over 800 new permanent posts will be created and filled in the current financial year. Rahima Moosa has been allocated 58 posts
14	The staff allocated to the MoUs should include Advanced Midwives to ensure support	Done	Hillbrow CHC = 5 advanced midwives (one per shift and the 5th one is the manager responsible for maternity) Discoverers CHC also has 5 advanced midwives. (two are managers)
15	The GDoH is to fast-track the establishment of a fully functional adult ICU at RMMCH within six (6) months. The ICU will ensure that patients are treated in a manner consistent with the nature and severity of their health condition as provided for in Regulation 5 (1) of the Norms and Standards Regulations and allow scheduled surgical procedures within the theatres to continue in an uninterrupted manner	In progress	Discussion initiated. Propose a phased approach - convert an existing H/C bed to an ICU bed with the added nursing and medical resources required
16	The Gauteng Department of Health and RMMCH should institute a disciplinary inquiry within one (1) month following prevailing policy and compatible with the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 against the following personnel: 4.1.1. Sr T Goduka for using an unauthorized self-concocted solution in the maternity operating theatres during August and September 2022 by doing so she put the lives of patients at risk and the reputation of GDoH at stake. Her actions led to several adverse events (post-operative wound sepsis) which necessitated eleven 'relook' surgeries in theatre in August and September 2022; Done RMMCH initiated a disciplinary process for Sr T Goduka.		An independent advisory team completed and submitted recommendations to the Acting CEO. Progressive discipline was undertaken Disciplinary action taken and matter concluded - Official has been issued with a written warning
	Infrastructure related recommendations
14	The Premier should ensure that RMMCH is one of the first hospitals to be refurbished, within six (6) months	In progress	Project plan completed with input from GDID & RMMCH Management. A detailed Request for Service (RFS) was sent to GDID. GDID has responded and the GDoH is addressing the issues raised by them as per readiness matrix provided by GDID It should be noted that the 6 months’ timeframe will not be met as all capex works are expected to take no longer than 608 days or 21 months at best.
15	Consideration should be given based on the collapsing sewage system, leaking steam pipes, dilapidated buildings and unkept surrounding areas within the hospital perimeter	In progress	Project plan completed with input from GDID & RMMCH Management. Maintenance division of GDID has scoped some of the work that needs to be undertaken and which doesn't fall under capex. The work of maintenance is being coordinated with that of capex to prioritise urgent works whilst the capex works is taken through the FIDPM stages. The sewer system is planned for medium term redirection to an alternative area until the final design of the sewer is designed and implemented.
16.	The GDoH should provide additional maternity capacity within the district, including but not limited to the construction / refurbishment / repurposing of buildings suitable for a Maternity Obstetric Unit (MOU) to cater for the delivery of low-risk maternity cases within the region, within twelve (12) months. This will further alleviate the overcrowding experienced at RMMCH.	In progress	Management has planned the following to increase the maternity beds in the JHB District: 1. Operationalization of Florida Clinic and convert into a CHC by 2023/24. 2. Conversion of Westbury Clinic into a CHC by 2024/25. The above plans however require availability of posts
	A suitable HR Plan that meets the needs of the health establishment in line with Regulation 19(1) and (2) (a) of the Norms and Standards Regulations must eb developed and implemented within one (1) month	In progress	Draft HR Plan completed by RMMCH. Central Office to take over this task - it is linked to the finalisation of other processes such as the Dept organogram, and the Tertiary Services status of the hospital.
	The HR department should be upskilled and capacitated to carry out the mandate of RMMCH within three (3) months	In progress	Audit completed. Initial training by GCRA commenced 8 May. GCRA committed to further analysis of HR skills.
	Finance and Audit Related
	GDoH should prioritise and fast-track the gazetting of RMMCH as a Tertiary hospital which would ensure that RMMCH receives a tertiary grant, within eight (8) months.	In progress	The National Department of Health in collaboration with the Gauteng Department have started the review The process of classification of all hospitals is in progress.
	In the interim, within two (2) months) GDoH should apply short-term interventions including the application of PFMA section 16A to ensure allocation of additional funds for RMMCH.
	The Gauteng MEC of Health must urgently appoint an independent forensic and audit firm within two (2) months to review corporate governance at the hospital in line with appropriate and applicable King IV corporate governance principles to promote and improve a culture of good corporate governance	In progress	In a letter received on 15 May 2023 the Office of the Premier has advised that they have requested the SIU to conduct the respective investigations
	In the interim, within one (1) month, a larger “Smart Fridge” should be procured to ensure the storage of adequate quantities of emergency blood at RMMCH.	Completed	Fridge procured, delivered and in use
	2017 Rahima Moosa Maternal Child Hospital Coovadia report related
	The MEC and HoD for Health should revisit the 2017 RMMCH report with a view to implementing the recommendations as a matter of urgency. A comprehensive implementation plan is to be submitted to the Ombud within six (6) months including detailed realistic strategies, time frames, and names, designations and contact details of persons responsible for implementation.	In progress	2017 Report and recommendations are being reviewed by the Acting Chief Director Hospital Services in preparation for the development of a feasible implementation plan
	Hospital Administration , Management and Governance related specific to RMMCH
17	The HoD’s office should be sufficiently strengthened to conduct comprehensive oversight of hospitals in Gauteng. A detailed implementation plan is to be shared with the Ombud within one (1) month.	In progress	It is proposed that the HOD establish a multidisciplinary Head of Department Advisory Committee (HODAC) tasked with oversight of hospitals
18	GDoH is to prioritise the reclassification of Discoverers CHC to a district hospital within six (6) months, to alleviate the patient load within the region. It will also ensure compliance with Regulations 5(1) and 8(1) of the Norms and Standards Regulations	In progress	The National Department of Health in collaboration with the Gauteng Department have started the review The process of classification of health facilities and all hospitals is in progress.
19	The GDoH should ensure that RMMCH, a specialist hospital, has Laboratory Services and Blood Bank Services available 24 hours a day, within two (2) months.	In progress	NHLS lab open on site during the day. After hours proposal to improve bloods turnaround time to be discussed. Blood bank obtained 2nd smart fridge for afterhours blood availability.
	The Gauteng MEC of Health is to diligently monitor that the appointed Hospital Board is adequately trained and able to discharge their functions to ensure compliance with Regulation 18 of the Norms and Standards Regulations. 12.2 This should be implemented with immediate effect.	Done	Board has been appointed and given training on their functions and responsibilities.
	The Acting CEO of RMMCH must ensure that the Hospital has a system in place to manage healthcare personnel in line with relevant legislation, policies and guidelines within one (1) month	Carried out on an ongoing basis	Policy updating and distribution to staff is ongoing. Staff also now requesting policy changes which are being considered. Registers in place and checked by HR personnel for compliance Ongoing rollout of policies - PMDS, Records, Absenteeism, Incapacity and Leave Management, R&S done.
	The Acting CEO of RMMCH should identify a suitable area to create a Discharge Lounge, within one (1) month. This will cater for discharged patients who are waiting to return to their homes.	Completed	Completed
	The Discharge Lounge should be allocated dedicated staff to ensure that patients are monitored until they leave the hospital premises	Completed	Completed
	The Acting of RMMCH and HoD must within one (1) month submit to the Ombud a security plan to protect users, health care personnel, and hospital property from security threats and risks and ensure that security staff is capacitated to deal with security incidents, threats and risks	In progress	Security cameras all upgraded and functional. SLA between facility and security company has been reviewed and given to company, which has failed to respond. The on-site security manager has implemented SLA and is monitoring compliance. Weekly reports will be sent to Central Office Security unit on their performance. Security plan has been finalised
	A clear plan is to be developed within one (1) month regarding the safety of healthcare staff over 24 hours, both within the hospital premises as well as within the immediate areas of the hospital periphery to ensure RMMCH complies with Regulation 17 (1) and (2) of the Norms and Standards Regulations	In progress	Security cameras all upgraded and functional. SLA between facility and security company has been reviewed and given to company, which has failed to respond. The on-site security manager has implemented SLA and is monitoring compliance. Weekly reports will be sent to Central Office Security unit on their performance. Security plan has been finalised

(c ) The recommendations from the Ombudsman range from immediate to twelve(12) months.

END.

Reply:

a) The National Department of Health is still waiting for the data from other provincial health departments. However, the Department has been informed by the Gauteng Department of Health about the stolen cables at Charlotte Maxeke, Steve Biko and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospitals. To date, only 9 Hospitals were reported for cable theft in the Free State Province.

b) Hospitals that have been reported for cable theft are listed below:

1. Bongani hospital (Welkom)
2. Boitumelo hospital (Kroonstad)
3. Thebe hospital (Harrismith)
4. Mohumadi Manapo hospital (Qwa Qwa)
5. Elizabeth Ross hospital (Qwa Qwa)
6. National hospital (Bloemfontein)
7. Universitas hospital (Bloemfontein)
8. JS Maroka hospital (Thaba Nchu)
9. Mohau hospital (Hoopstad)

c) All the cable theft incidents were reported to the nearest police stations and case numbers were issued accordingly. Mast lights have been installed at various facilities; Manned security was instructed to patrol areas that were identified as high-risk areas for cable theft.

d) All the affected facilities were attended to by replacing the stolen cables during 2022/23 financial year.

e) The Free State Department of Health is planning to employ more security personnel to facilities that are high risk areas. Key interventions also include installations of Clearview fencing and CCTV at health facilities.

END.

Reply:

1. Nieu-Bethesda is a Retail Postal Agency (RPA) and the owner is Grace Nel.

(a) No Post Office staff are allocated to RPA
(b) No Part Time staff at RPA

2. The last payment loaded was for end of February 2023, an amount of R1500.

3. The Nieu-Bethesda RPA’s contract is still valid.

Thank You.

Reply:

a) The role of the Shareholder representative is to ensure that the Board of a State-Owned Company (SOC) is held accountable and the Board in turn holds the Executive accountable. In the case of Eskom, the shareholder was concerned about the devastating impact of loadshedding on the households, businesses and the South African economy. On 30 September 2022, a new Eskom Board was reconstituted with a task to reposition Eskom to play a key role in the energy sector. Furthermore, the new Board had to deal with immediate loadshedding issues, procurement, elimination of corruption and ensuring that there is reliability of energy supply in the medium to long term.

It is for that reason that the Board had to evaluate the tenure of the former Eskom Executive management including Mr Andre De Ruyter to account for his tenure as the Eskom Group CEO. Unfortunately, in the course of the process, Mr De Ruyter choose to resign before the Board evaluation process.

b0 That was not for the shareholder to determine as explained in the above response, that was for the Board to determine unfortunately, Mr De Ruyter chose to resign before that evaluation process by the Board could commence.

Nonetheless, there were many engagements with the Board, Management and CEO on the declining performance of generation and my concerns about the lack of improvement in output of generation plant.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Melanchton Makobe PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

(a) According to the Eastern Cape province this issue was experienced in August 2021 and is attributable to a tender process that made it impossible to have the necessary range of products to choose from.

The key challenge with implants at Livingstone hospital and the whole EC province is the absence of a comprehensive transversal contract and gross budget limitations within the province. The hospital is the only referral hospital for implants in the Western area of the Eastern Cape resulting in massive backlogs.

(b) We are not aware nor informed of any other hospitals experiencing this issue;

(c) (i) To address the budgetary limits, there is a plan to source additional funding that can only be sourced from the Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury. Where possible, the National Department of Health may assist the province, however, it also depends on the availability of additional funding from the National Treasury.

To address the orthopaedic surgery problem that have an impact on Livingstone hospital the following interventions have been proposed to the Eastern Cape Province:

• Strengthening the General Surgical service provision to Uitenhage Provincial Hospital with the allocation of a designated theatre with needed staff support
• Increase Level 1 and 2 beds through the reclassification of PE Provincial Hospital (hybrid) to provide additional theatre access for general surgery.
• Fully establish the surgical disciplines at Dora Nginza Hospital.
• Establish the out-reach and in-reach (Cataract Surgery and General Surgery).These are both underway for Humansdorp and Settlers Hospitals.
• The above-mentioned measures will help address the backlog issues, theatre inefficiencies, remove level 1 cases from regional and tertiary hospitals.

(ii) To deal with the issue of the provision of adequate suppliers, there is also a plan to develop a transversal contract at National level that will also enhance services across other provinces facing similar challenges.

There has also been a discussion that the Eastern Cape should participate in the Western Cape contract to fast track the provision of surgical implants as an immediate intervention.

END.

Reply:

As indicated in the oral reply question 55 given on 01 March 2023, the number of sexual offences backlog cases have declined since 31 December 2021 and thus the number of sexual offences backlog cases as at 31 December 2022 is significantly lower than the year before.

With regards to the number of sexual offences backlog cases as at 31 December 2021 (a) 2844 charges were withdrawn,

(b) of the 2797 cases finalized with a verdict, 1844 cases were finalized with a guilty verdict.

We remain concerned about the high rates of charges withdrawal and attrition in cases sexual offences. However, it must be noted that the December 2021 period fell within the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic when the restrictions of COVID-19 regulations were still operational. This inevitably led to a decline in the number of witnesses and accused persons who came to court and this unfortunately contributed to a higher figure of withdrawn charges. However, it should be noted that some cases are subsequently reinstated on the court roll as soon as the challenges that led to the withdrawal of the charges had been resolved.

END

Reply:

According to information received from, Alexkor; Denel; Eskom; Safcol, SAA and Transnet

ENTITY	RESPONSE
DPE	(a)The Department of Public Enterprise does not have any current contracts with the security company G4S. (i)(ii) Not applicable
Alexkor	(b) Alexkor SOC Ltd does not have any contracts with the security company G4S. (i)(ii) Not applicable
Denel	(b) Denel has not procured any services from the said companies since the 2018-19 financial year. (i)(ii) Not applicable
Eskom	(b) G4S is not a security service provider to Eskom or any of its subsidiaries. (i)(ii) Not applicable
SAFCOL	(b) The SA Forestry Company (SAFCOL) Ltd and its subsidiaries have not signed contracts with the security firm G4S. (i)(ii) Not applicable
SAA	(b) SAA does not have any contract with G4S (i)(ii) Not applicable

The following table provides details of the current contract with the security company G4S in Transnet.

(b) (i) & (ii)

Transaction Advisor/s (Supplier Name)	Operating Division (OD)	Contract Description	Contract Expiry Assessment	Contract Start End	Contract End Date	The monetary value of contract
G4S Secure Solutions (SA)	Transnet Port Terminals	Supply and installation and commissioning of Embedded Application Biometric Readers (EABR)	Contract Expires in 31 - 60 Days	Friday, February 3, 2023	Wednesday, May 31, 2023	R 758,825.22

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Melanchton Makobe PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department as follows:-

a) The old Digitech website did not meet DCDT specifications.

b) The site has been redesigned and is now live on www.digitech.gov.za

c) The security of the new Digitech site has been enhanced and new design has been implemented.

d) R 743 644.95

e) The redesign was concluded on 30 March 2023 and the site has now live.

Thank You.

Reply:

1. Hosting clients is a standard practice in any commercial environment. The SABC has not had a sales conference in years. The total cost was R1 448 085. The original booking was made on 22-24 August 2022, but the event was postponed to February 2023 to ensure that the right attendees attend.

2. Conferencing: R628 975
Accommodation: R589 811
Transport: R43 554
Merchandise: R150 000

3. This was not a trade exchange transaction.

4. This was a combined Marketing and Sales event to optimise costs and maximise benefits. The clients that attended the conference already spend more than R2,5bn annually across SABC platforms. The event showcased the SABC’s capabilities and transformational efforts with the objective to protect the current revenue as well as to increase the revenue spend. Clients responded very favourably and were very excited about the SABC’s plans, which enabled them to plan better.

 

Thank You.

Reply:

1. (a) (i) and (ii)

The Ideal Health Facility Framework measures the average time that a patient spends in a Primary Health Care (PHC) facility. It is recommended that patients should not wait longer than 3 hours in the 8-hour facilities. The table below shows percentages for the provinces in terms of PHC facilities that have waiting times less than 3 hours.

PROVINCE	CLINICS	COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRES
Eastern Cape	75%	74%
Free State	82%	70%
Gauteng	99%	95%
KwaZulu-Natal	94%	80%
Limpopo	91%	96%
Mpumalanga	94%	86%
Northern Cape	78%	75%
Northwest	69%	68%
Western Cape	88%	77%
National Average	86%	80%

The average for PHC facilities (Clinics and Community Health Centers) and hospitals for the country:

• An average of eighty six percent (86%) of all clinics have an average waiting time not longer than 3 hours, ranging from 69% in the Northwest Province to 99% in Gauteng.
• Eighty percent (80%) of all CHC’s have an average waiting time not longer than 3 hours, ranging from 68% in Northwest to 96% in Limpopo province.

(b) The average waiting time for all District and Regional hospitals in all the nine (9) Provinces ranges between 60 to 120 minutes.

(2) The information on the average waiting time for surgeries at public healthcare facilities in the Republic (a) nationally and (b) in each province changes daily as new cases arise. Provincial departments of health continuously strive to reduce surgical backlogs.

(3) The information on current backlogs and procedures with backlogs is not readily available. Provinces have been requested for an update and this will be provided on receipt.

Table 2 below provides information received as at end of October 2022 and the situation may be different currently.

Table 2: information on surgical backlogs provided by provinces as of 15 September and end of October 2022.

Province	Total number of backlogs on surgeries July to September as reported on the 15 September 2022 (PQ 2474)	Total number of backlogs on surgeries as at end of October 2022
Eastern Cape	5373	Information not submitted
Free State	2947	6885
Gauteng	13433	32017
KwaZulu Natal	17906	18906
Limpopo	45690	12373
Mpumalanga	3005	4286
Northwest	5531	7922
Northern Cape	4000	3937
Western Cape	77139	77139 (Same figure submitted as at July 2022 -Not updated)

Table 3 below provides information received from provinces regarding steps taken to address specified surgical backlogs as of October 2022.

Table:3 Steps have been taken to address the specific backlogs as at end of December 2022

Province	What steps have been taken to address the specified backlog
Eastern Cape	Information not provided
Free State	Increased number of days for Elective slates: from 2 days (2021) to 4 days (2022) theatre allocation. Prioritized emergency surgery within first 6 to 12 hours. Developed quality improvement plan to monitor theatre utilization and efficiency via Theatre User Committee Meeting. Expedite appointment and transfer of two (2) Theatre trained nurses form KZN and other areas in October 2022. The utilization of four (4) agency nurses from 1 November 2022. Appoint one medical officers by 01 January 2023. All the backlog patients have elective dates for surgery. Emergencies done daily. Gynecology electives are seven (7) operations weekly. Obstetric electives are ten (10) operations weekly. Electives will stop on 31 December 2022, and resume 2nd week of January 2023.
Gauteng	Procurement of Brachytherapy machines and rental of mobile units as an interim measure. Filling of critical posts at institutional level. Setting up surgical camps within clusters. Extending sessional work to private sector staff to assist to reduce surgical backlogs at public hospitals. Utilising the Public Private Partnerships to address the backlogs, depending on the budget. Working with Eskom to exempt most facilities from load shedding schedules. Working with Johannesburg water to exempt facilities from water shedding. Maximise the referral pathways and channel the patients to the appropriate level of care for surgical procedures by down referring and up referring patients. Working with Department of infrastructure to strengthen maintenance issues at facility level.
KwaZulu Natal	Catch-up has been done by increasing theatre times. Elective slates done over the weekend to catch up. Camps have also been planned. Using after-hours to reduce backlog. Elective theatre slates run after hours. Maximum utilization of theatres with added slates on weekends. An elective marathon is planned to further reduce the backlogs. Cataract camps are regularly conducted. All slates have re-commenced with increased theatre times and using after-hours to reduce backlogs.
Limpopo	The Outreach Surgical Services occur monthly rotating in the five districts to ensure that specialised clinical and surgical operations are conducted at district hospitals. Teams of specialists allocate each other for seven days a month to conduct these surgeries, thus address the backlog. Limpopo Department of Health has a Public Private Partnership with three private hospitals, wherein some of the elective surgery like hysterectomies, hip replacements, urology and general surgery cases are conducted for an agreed fee
Mpumalanga	Rob Ferreira Hospital: A sessional Orthopaedic Surgeon was appointed during the second quarter of 2022 and operating days has been increased to four days in a week. Additionally, the orthopaedic team also operates in Barberton District Hospital four days in a week. Witbank Hospital: Expanded outreach to Ermelo, Evander, Middelburg, and Kwa Mhlanga. Increased operating times for orthopaedics from office hours to after hours and weekends. Improved efficiencies in orthopaedics by streamlining its functions into responsible units. Theatre time during office hours, was increased. Ermelo Hospital: Appointed fulltime orthopaedic surgeon with effect from 01 October 2022. Mapulaneng Hospital: Appointed fulltime orthopaedic surgeon who conduct surgeries and does outreach to surrounding district hospitals.
	Themba Hospital: Increased theatre time by opening the 4th theatre.
Northern Cape	Information not provided
Northwest	At present Klerksdorp/Tshepong theatres are undergoing revitalisation and multiple theatres are being renovated. Most of the theatres are likely to be handed over back by the end of the year. However, all efforts are made to make theatres functioning efficiently to reduce backlog. Weekend blitz is planned next year once theatre renovations are completed. Outreach to Moses Kotane Hospital. First round started 13 October 2022. General surgery recruited a surgeon on 01 October 2022 In Ophthalmology weekend blitz was started on 22nd October 2022 Urology specialist employed and planned outreach to start as soon as new ordered equipment is delivered. In Gynaecology number of theatre days have been increased Ear, Nose and Throat specialist recruited and started on 01 November 2022 Daily optimization of operations thus increasing output during working hours. Doctors on call to perform minor procedures whilst on call. Every weekend, 2 doctors on call with an intern to continue with some cases from the backlog. First part of the recruitment of additional nursing staff required for maximum theatre utilization has been completed, and the process of other staff member is underway. Utilization of other facilities for referring minor cases such as cataracts. Planned weekend marathons have been started particularly in orthopaedic Cases. Procurement of autoclave and sterilising machines underway.
Western Cape	Operations increased by dedicated budget increase and efficiency gains. Operations increased by outreach support and efficiency gains.

END.

Reply:

(1)

(a) 40% salary cut all employees                                   R1 078 405 519 (annually)

(b) 6 000 employees                                                     R1 139 217 297 (annually)

(2) SASSA only started to charge penalties from the 2020/2021 FY. Penalties to the value of R75 624 598 have been imposed on the SA Post Office from 2020/21 FY to 2020/23 FY.

Find here: SASSA PENALTIES

 

Reply:

The Department has published the draft Regulations relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs for public comments in April 2023. These regulations include mandatory Front of Pack Labelling (FOPL) on the main panel of any foodstuff that has high levels of sugar, saturated fats and salt or contain artificial sweeteners. The closing date for public comments is Thursday, 20 July 2023.

Furthermore, the Department has updated the Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Obesity in South Africa 2023 – 2028. The sixth strategic objective intends to create an enabling policy and legislative environment to prevent and manage obesity. The activities include the extension of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) to other unhealthy foods and developing a regulatory framework/instrument that restricts the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in South Africa.

END.

Reply:

I wish to inform the Honourable Member as follows:

a) The Backlog Reduction Framework has been finalised and approved on 7 April 2022.

b) The Framework has been partially implemented.

(i) The initial Phase was implemented with the establishment of the Departmental Backlogs Reduction Committee. At this stage, as part of the second phase of implementation and in order to establish a Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Stakeholders’ Forum, the Department has developed a National Integrated Criminal Court Optimization (NICCO) Framework and Governance Structure that seeks to address challenges to the efficient running of our courts in an integrated criminal justice system manner with the participation of all relevant stakeholder JCPS departments and entities. We are currently seeking the approval of the JCPS Directors-General Cluster to implement this Framework and Governance Structure which seeks to report to the JCPS Directors-General Cluster to ensure the responsibility and accountability of all stakeholder departments and entities to optimize the efficiency of our criminal courts.

In the meantime, the Provincial Heads of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) are meeting with the JCPS role-players at the provincial level, and attending meetings of the Judges President of the Provincial Efficiency Enhancement Committees (PEEC) to discuss and unblock any blockages encountered in court performance at provincial level. Meetings of the Regional Efficiency Enhancement Committees (REEC) chaired by the Regional Court Presidents of the Provinces, as well as District Efficiency Enhancement Committees (DEEC) chaired by the Chief Magistrates or Judicial Heads of Offices are further attended, where the matters concerned are addressed at the Court levels.

(ii) It should also be noted that the percentage of the sexual offences in the criminal court, which are currently on the backlog roll as at the end of February 2023, is at 36, 9%.

Furthermore, the DoJ&CD is committed to collaborate with all the relevant stakeholders in the JCPS Cluster as well as the Judiciary to reduce the relevant backlogs, and thus improving citizens access to speedy and efficient justice.

Reply:

(a) Limpopo, Free State, Western Cape, and Mpumalanga Provinces do not have irregular expenditure associated with provision of security services. Mpumalanga Department of Health does not have the budget nor expenditure incurred, the security contracts are centralised at Mpumalanga Department of Safety and security in the province.

Eastern Cape incurred R34.9 million irregular expenditure in 2019/20 Financial year (FY), R108.5 million in 2020/21 FY and in 2021/22 FY an amount of R76.1 million. In total for the past three years the Department incurred R219.6 million irregular expenditure on security contracts. There were delays in the appointment of a new service provider as were investigations for the previous contract, however, a new contract has been appointed in 2022/2023 financial year.

The Northern Cape committed R28.4 million irregular on security service in 2020/21 FY, R191.5 million in 2021/22 FY and R208 million in 2022/23 FY. The total expenditure incurred amount to R427.9 million for the past three years on security services due to month-to-month contracts and exceeded the allowed threshold for variation. The procurement process was interrupted by local business forum in several attempts to source new contractor.

North West spent R524.1 million in 2021/22 FY and R583.7 million in 2022/23 FY. The total irregular expenditure incurred on security services amount to R1.1 billion for the past two years, the irregular expenditure is in the process of condonations.

Kwazulu Natal Department of Health incurred R1.377 billion irregular expenditure on average on security services due to month to month contracts after the contracts expiry dates. There were appeals by the bidders hence the Department had to continue with month to month with service providers those contracts have expired.

(b) The National Department of Health has considered insourcing of cleaning and security services in health facilities through National Health Council however it remains the competency of Provincial Health Department to implement the operational services.

The Free State, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga insourced the cleaning services. Eastern Cape, and North West partially outsourced the cleaning services in some areas where there are budget pressures to insource.

The Eastern Cape has partially implemented insourcing as the feasibility of insourcing security services, is unaffordable in some areas. Once the financial position improves it will be reconsidered. The Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West outsourced the security services due budget constraints. The security contract in Mpumalanga Department of Health is centralised at the Mpumalanga Department of Safety and security in the province hence contracts are managed at that level.

KwaZulu-Natal outsourced the security and cleaning services, the insourcing of all services for the department is part of the strategic and operational plan, the implemantation is delayed by budget cuts by impacting negatively on compensation of employees economic classification. However, the provinces opted to implement insourcing in phases for various services.

END.

Reply:

1. The SASSA Polokwane Local Office located at Schoeman Street, lost one of its officials through death. Guided by clause 6.2.4 of the SASSA Bereavement policy, a memorial service of the departed colleague was arranged by the local office staff with the permission of the family.

The memorial was scheduled for the 09 March 2023 at 12H00 in the Seshego Hospital Hall. The local office management prepared and submitted a request to the Regional management which was duly approved, to hold a memorial service and arrange that skeletal staff remain in the office.

Three (3) officials out of fourteen (14) staff members, were identified to ensure continued service delivery. It transpired that these officials upon seeing that there were no clients to be serviced at about 14H00, decided on their own accord to join the rest of the staff at the memorial service. The time of their departure was corroborated by the security guard who was on duty.

The Regional Manager did not inform the Minister and the CEO of this occurrence disciplinary measures were effected upon receipt of complaints from customers.

2. Leaving an office unattended is not acceptable and if this happens, it has to be under exceptional circumstances permitted by the Regional Executive Manager with the CEO sanctioning it. Since the behaviour of the three (3) officials were regarded as untoward, corrective disciplinary measures were taken and they were all served with written warning(s) for unauthorised closure of the office.

 

Reply:

(a)&(b) Postbank has a pre-schedule annual marketing programme that include on the ground engagements with customers and prospective customers for the purposes of creating its brand visibility as well as products awareness. This is in addition to offering financial literacy programmes to the unbanked and under-banked in line with its founding mandate.

The marketing programme is annually pre-scheduled during the beginning of each financial year to access all provinces of the Republic of South Africa. In each province Postbank systematically identifies historically disadvantaged areas utilising publicly available market data which demonstrates the areas where the financially unserved and under-served are predominantly located. In addition, the periods of the activations are timed around significant national calendar events including public holidays and weekends to maximise their reach.

The Western Cape Province’s activations was timed in Postbank’s marketing programme calendar to coincide with the State of the Nation Address. Prior to this, it had anticipated announcements relating to the progress in relation to the Postbank corporatisation journey and developments in relation to the Postbank Amendment Bill. Similar activations in accordance with its annual calendar were also activated in other provinces including KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, and the Eastern Cape. Langa Township, Gugulethu Township, Struisbaai, Grabouw (Taxi Rank), Hermanus (next to the local clinic) and Strand (Broadway square) were areas already scheduled for activation during in the period in question in Western Cape province.

 

Thank You.

Reply:

Province	a	b	c (i)	c (ii)
Western Cape	During the 2022-23 financial year, there were 28 child-headed households in the Western Cape Province, with a total of 54 children living within those homes.	Services will be sustained to the CHH, by WC DSD as the service is not target-driven. New identified CHH will also be provided with services and assistance.	The Western Cape Department of Social Development funds designated child protection organisations to provide support to children in child-headed households. This support includes loss and grief support; nutritional support; individual and group counselling; referral to after-school programmes, assistance with school fees exemptions.	The NGOs rendering servcies in the WC to CHH reports on a quarterly basis regarding the children and DSD to site visits to ensure the children are not separated or placed in Foster Care with indivudals who will self-enrich.
Northern Cape	(a) No child-headed households were reported to the DSD Northern Cape for the 2022/ 23 Financial year.	(b) The plan is to continuously raise awareness and inform Districts and Stakeholders that all child-headed householders must be reported to DSD, for Social Workers to conduct an investigation and submit a report to the HOD to declare the family a child-headed householder in terms of the Childrens Act.	(c)(i) If a child-headed household is reported, the case will be referred to the Social Worker for statutory intervention and support, which will be done through the Risiha Child and Youth Care workers and monitored from the Provincial Office.	(c)(ii) The monitoring will be done from the Children’s Unit to ensure that the Children do not struggle and that Children are kept together as far as possible to avoid irregular placement.
Eastern Cape	Number of Child-headed households assisted in the 2022/23 financial year- 115.	(b) The provincial Target for 2023/24 is120	(c)(i) The department is funding 46 RISIHA Programme (19 RISIHA sites and 27 Drop-in Centres) in all 08 districts. It is a Community Based Prevention and Early Intervention programme delivering Core Package of services which is a service delivery strategy consisting of seven (07) interrelated areas aiming at holistically addressing the needs of vulnerable children, including children in Child headed households. This programme provides a safety net for children within their communities offering access to meals when nutrition within the family is uncertain, psychosocial support, educational support by nurturing the child’s educational performance and helping them to overcome barriers such as uniform, transport and poor or no parental support for education. It is also strengthening the economic foundation of households by facilitating access to social security grants, entrepreneurial resources and other activities that improve their financial wellbeing.	(c)(ii) The province implement Community Based Prevention and Early Intervention programme which aimed at preserving families. It is designed to support and sustain families, and to prevent removal of children from their home environment and communities.
Free State	(a)During the 2022/23 financial year seven (7) families with a total of fifteen (15) children received services in the province.	(b)The department does not put a target regarding child headed households as the ideal situation is that children should not be responsible to manage households. All reported cases will however be assessed and supported.	(c)(i) Guidance and Support are provided at “Intake” level, cases are assessed, and referrals are done for application for Top -up Child Support Grant.	C(ii) Children in Child Headed households will only be put in foster care if it is assessed that they need care and protection and that it will be in their best interest to be placed in foster care. This will be done if it is found that the eldest sibling is not fit to take care of the younger siblings. Siblings are not separated from each other and are placed in foster care with the same family if needed.
Mpumalanga	No response
Kwazulu-Natal	No response
North West	No response
Limpopo	No response
Gauteng	No response

Reply:

The total number of standby generators at SA Post Office sites is 32 across all provinces. Post Office branches within shopping centres make use of the centre’s generators during loadshedding. Other standalone sites are not equipped with emergency generators.

Post Office branches are able to continue providing services in an offline situation during loadshedding. They are able to process transactions on a manual basis and capture these as soon as power is restored and the branch goes online again. Mail delivery and acceptance can also continue during loadshedding.

Thank You.

Reply:

1. Table 1 below indicates (a) total number of ambulances in each province based on the ratio of 1 ambulance per 10 000 people, (b) short fall and (c) number available for a buffer is as follows:

Table 1:

Province	(a) Total of No. ambulances	(b) Short fall	(c) Buffer
Eastern Cape	448	222	30
Free State	138	152	42
Gauteng	1 600	942	60
KwaZulu-Natal	432	742	0
Limpopo	262	348	0
Mpumalanga	168	230	70
Northwest	72	298	0
Northern Cape	110	40	0
Western Cape	120	460	0

2.The number of ambulances not in use, those due to accidents and those due repairs and maintenance per province as at week starting 24 April 2023 are as per table below. These numbers fluctuate daily. 

Province	(a) No. not in use due to accidents	(b)(i) No. not in use due to repairs	(b)(ii) No. not in use due to maintenance
Eastern Cape	15	136	52
Free State	9	43	38
Gauteng	12	64	89
KwaZulu-Natal	15	10	25
Limpopo	15	102	31
Mpumalanga	12	25	24
Northwest	8	57	42
Northern Cape	5	35	61
Western Cape	24	13	22

3. The average waiting time for ambulances to transport patients in each province assuming an immediate scene turnaround time is as follows:

PROVINCE	AVERAGE WAITING TIME
	URBAN < 30 MINUTES	RURAL < 60 MINUTES
Eastern Cape	41%	69%
Free State	47%	81%
Gauteng	55%	85%
KwaZulu-Natal	43%	52%
Limpopo	49%	39%
Mpumalanga	65%	69%
North West	81%	73%
Northern Cape	78%	74%
Western Cape	53%	77%
National Average	56%	67%

(4) The ratio is currently being used (a) nationally and (b) in all provinces is 1 ambulance per 10 000 people.

END.

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

Eskom is of the view that the approach related to Econ Oil and ABB was carried out fairly, within the prescripts of the law and to protect Eskom’s financial and reputational interests as is required by the Public Finance Management Amendment Act (PFMA). Eskom is of the view that there was no mistake in the of supplier discipline process and the correlating sanction imposed on Econ Oil and its director.

Ms Madokwe focuses on just two companies, being Econ Oil and ABB. Eskom is currently working through a backlog of ~230 supplier disciplinary matters and has, within the past two months, initiated ~50 supplier disciplinary actions. All may not translate into a deregistration from Eskom’s supplier database, however various sanctions including deregistration, may be levied once the disciplinary process for each supplier is finalised.

As relates to the action taken against Econ Oil, Eskom is dealing with a highly litigious company which is exercising its legal rights through “forum shopping” by initiating action in multiple judicial fora tying up Eskom in spurious litigation. Eskom acknowledges that Econ Oil has the constitutional right to seek just and equitable legal remedy and is accordingly dealing with these matters (despite the time and cost) as they arise.

The ABB matter is distinguishable from Econ Oil in a number of respects. ABB was awarded the contract for the supply and installation of the Control and Instrumentation Systems at Kusile Power Station (the Project).

ABB made a voluntary disclosure in respect of conduct relating to the Project and is cooperating in all relevant criminal investigations related thereto, which has been facilitative of criminal charges being brought against implicated Eskom officials, including Mr Matshela Koko, Eskom’s former Chief Executive Officer. In addition, in December 2020, ABB repaid approximately R1.56 billion to Eskom. In December 2022, ABB agreed to repay an additional R2.5 billion to the NPA. The ABB matter is also distinguishable as ABB was midway through performing an existing Scope of Work as related to the Project, which Eskom requires ABB to compete.

Nevertheless, ABB is flagged on the Eskom supplier database and is unable to bid for future contracts. As such, ABB is effectively in the same position as Econ Oil and cannot be awarded future contracts. Once all relevant processes have been completed in respect of ABB, ABB will be taken through Eskom’s supplier disciplinary process and the consequent time period of its removal from the Eskom Supplier Database will be determined.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ. Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The Provincial Departments of Health are required to phase out or terminate contracts of the temporarily employed nurses in clinics and hospitals funded through the Covid-19 Grant. National Treasury has since terminated the Covid-19 Grant with effect from 1 April 2023 amounting to R1.9 Billion. The National Department of Health is continuously engaging National Treasury to consider the prolongation of funding some or all of these terminated contracted employees (including the nurses) during this current financial year (i.e. 2023/2024). The discussions are continuing in this regard.

The Provincial Departments of Health are the employers of nurses’ categories and continuation of employment of permanent or temporary is based on service delivery needs. Due to budget constraints, Provincial Departments of Health had opted to continue to maintain and fund temporary employment of nurses who manage periodical campaigns (e.g. Immunization campaigns amongst others) through voted funds in the provinces.

END.

Reply:

a) The Minster of Health has appointed a Ministerial Task Team for safety and security in all public health facilities. The purpose of the task team was to assess the effectiveness of security measures and make recommendations. The task team has conducted security assessments at all public health facilities. Subsequently reports were drafted with the following recommendations:

• Improve security infrastructure like perimeter fencing and security guard rooms.
• Installation of security technology like CCTV cameras system, access control and alarm systems.
• Development of standardised security framework.
• Effective security contract management to hold Service Providers accountable.
• Regular security patrols at public health facilities by SAPS especially in hotspot facilities.
• Deployment of police reservists at hotspot public health facilities.
• Implementation of intelligence driven security measures at hotspot facilities
• Escort of EMS by SAPS to hotspot communities.

In this regard, memorandum of understanding was entered into between SAPS and NDoH to ensure regular patrols and deployment of police reservists.

Ministerial task team meet on regular basis to monitor the implementations of the recommendations and to assist provinces with any required security intervention.

b) St Georges Hospital is a private hospital under Life Healthcare group at Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. The matter has not been reported to the National Department of Health for intervention. However, the National Department of Health keeps advising hospitals to improve security measures and to report the matter to their local police.

END.

Reply:

The Western Cape Department of Health reports that it only has one visit card for all patients in all facilities. The information on the visit card will be the name, surname, contact number and address and the date of next appointment. No diagnosis is written on the visit card. Confidentiality is a priority to ensure person-centred care.

The only other card that patients carry with them is the card for TB patients enrolled in directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) and who receive medication at the facility. These patients do not queue at registration but report directly to the consulting room as a measure to fast-track their visit.

END.

Reply:

1. The formal extradition request, together with the Arabic translation thereof, was delivered by South Africa to the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 25 July 2022.

2. No additional documentation was requested by the UAE authorities relating to the extradition request as at 1 February 2023. All documentation was submitted in the initial extradition request.

Reply:

a) During the 2022/2023 financial year 100% of the total allocation was assigned to health awareness and education on common risk factors as well as access to screening and linkage to care. However only 51.7% of the budget was spent due to lack of human resources. The Department plans to put out a call for proposals to NGOs in the health promotion and non-communicable diseases areas to scale up the health promotion and disease prevention activities.

b) The chronic disease prevention and health promotion levy (sugar tax) is presently allocated toward addressing non-communicable diseases including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and mental health.

END.

Reply:

I was advised by SAPO as follows:

(a) The Post Office branch was loss making and was identified as part of the postal network optimisation programme and amalgamated with the Benoni Post Office.

(b) There were three employees – 2x Tellers opted for a voluntary severance package at end of March 2023 and 1x was transferred to the Dunswart Post Office.

(c) The branch has been permanently closed.

(d) The box holders will be reallocated post boxes at the Benoni Post Office. There is also a street delivery in the area.

Thank You.

Reply:

Yes, the rationalisation project has been undertaken by the Department, with the initial phase involving the acquisition of Broadband Infraco (BBI) by Sentech. This will entail the transfer of the 74% shareholding in BBI by the State to Sentech, whilst the 26% will remain with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Sentech has since concluded and submitted a due diligence report and turnaround plan to the Department, which together with the Sale Share Agreement are still under consideration by the Department.

The Department is also working on the repurposing of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) so that it can timely and adequately respond to its clients whilst leading the digitalisation of Government and other related deliverables. In this regard the Department will employ the expertise of an external service provider to conduct a deep study of the SITA business model, with the aim to improve Government services to Departments and the citizens. This aim is to conclude this work by end of FY2023/24.

The Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) is also in the process of being dissolved due to duplication of roles. On 30 November 2022 the Cabinet approved the:-

a) commencement of the process to disestablish the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA);
b) transfer of the USAASA functions to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and relevant entities under the portfolio
c) transfer of the management of the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), temporarily to the Department while formalizing the corporatization of the South African Postbank SOC Limited.

 

Thank You.

Reply:

1. (a) All mortuaries, Forensic and hospitals are adequately equipped to deal with loadshedding to prevent bodies from decomposing.

b) All Forensic mortuaries have a backup generator capacity and hospital mortuaries are linked also to the generator capacity of the hospital.

(2) Yes all bodies at both mortuaries are refrigerated.

(3) Table 1 below responds to Forensic pathology mortuaries with space and/or refrigeration challenges.

 

Table 1:

(i) Province	(3)(a) Names of mortuaries that have specific issues with space and/or refrigeration facilities	(2)(b)(ii) In which town/city
Eastern Cape	7 Mortuaries; Mthatha, Lusikisiki, Mount Frere, Bizana, New Brighton, Mount Road and Gelvandale potential to experience space issues related to unclaimed bodies.	Mthatha FPS is in Mthata Lusikisiki is in Lusikisiki Mount Frere is in Mount Frere Bizana is in Bizana New Brighton is in Port Elizabeth Mount Road is in Port Elizabeth Gelvandale is in Port Elizabeth
Free State	None	Not applicable
KwaZulu-Natal	10 Mortuaries: Port Shepstone, Harding, Estcourt, Newcastle, Madadeni, Nongoma, Vryheid, New Hanover, Richmond and Ladysmith have potential refrigerator challenges related to unclaimed bodies. Ladysmith has also space challenge	Port Shepstone FPS is in Port Shepstone Harding FPS is in Harding New Hanover FPS is in New Hanover Vryheid FPS is in Vryheid Richmond FPS is in Richmond Ladysmith FPS is in Ladysmith Madadeni FPS is in Madadeni Nongoma FPS is in Nongoma Estcourt FPS is in Estcourt
Gauteng	3 Mortuaries: Roodepoort, Diepkloof and Johannesburg and have a potential space challenge due to increased intake. 4 Mortuaries: Heidelberg, Sebokeng, Springs and Pretoria have a potential refrigerator challenge due to increased intake.	Roodepoort FPS is in Roodepoort Diepkloof FPS is in Diepkloof Johannesburg FPS is in Hillbrow. Heidelberg FPs is in Heidelberg Sebokeng FPS is in Sebokeng Springs FPS is in Springs Pretoria FPS is in Pretoria.
Limpopo	2 Mortuaries: Tshilidzini and Mokopane have space challenge due to unclaimed bodies.	Tshilidzi FPS is in Thohoyandou. Mokopane FPS is in Mokopane
Mpumalanga	5 Mortuaries: Themba, Ermelo, Kwa Mhlanga, Lydenburg and Tintswalo have refrigerator challenges.	Themba FPS is in Nelspruit Ermelo FPS is in Ermelo Kwa Mhlanga FPS is in Kwa Mhlanga Lydenburg FPS is in Lydenburg Tintswalo is in Acornhoek
Northern Cape	4 Mortuaries: De Aar, Portmansburg, Hartswater, Douglas FPS have challenges with refrigerators due to loadshedding surges. This led to Kimberley FPS reaching its maximum capacity in terms of storage space	De Aar FPS is in De Aar Hartswater FPS is in Hartswater Douglas FPS is in Douglas Postmansburg FPS is in Postmansburg Kimberley FPS is in Kimberley
Northwest	2 Mortuaries: Mafikeng and Lichtenburg have space challenge due to inadequate infrastructure.	Mafikeng FPS is in Mafikeng Lichtenburg FPS is in Lichtenburg
Western Cape	2 Mortuaries: Laingsburg has a space challenge. Ceres has a refrigerator challenge	Laingsburg FPS is in Laingsburg Ceres FPS is in Ceres town

(4) Table 2 below responds to Forensic pathology mortuaries with generators and fuel supply challenges.

(i) Province	(4)(a)(i)(ii) names of the mortuaries that have generators, and fuel supply	(4)(b)(ii) in which town and/or city and province is each specified mortuary located?
Eastern Cape	None	Not applicable
Free State	Phuthaditjhaba FPS Mortuary problems with electricity supply and vandalisms, using adjacent hospitals (Phekolong and Dihlabeng) for storage	Phuthaditjhaba FPS is in Phuthaditjhaba
KwaZulu Natal	Pinetown FPS needs generator that will supply power to the whole facility. Phoenix, Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith, Dundee and Kokstad facilities experience fuel shortages sometime	Pinetown FPS is in Pinetown Phoenix FPS is in Phoenix Port Shepstone FPS is in Port Shepstone Pietermaritzburg FPS is in Pietermaritzburg Ladysmith FPS is in Ladysmith Dundee FPS is in Dundee Kokstad FPS is in Kokstad
Gauteng	None	Not applicable
Limpopo	None	Not applicable
Mpumalanga	None	Not applicable
Northern Cape	None	Not applicable
Northwest	None	Not applicable
Western Cape	None	Not applicable

END.

Reply:

(a) The Lansdowne Post Office is fully operational and has not been closed. During loadshedding, the Post Office is closed as it does not have a standby generator. It is also unable to operate manually owing to its location with limited lighting being available during the hours of loadshedding.

b) No alternative arrangements are required for residents to receive their (i) municipal bills and (ii) other postal items - as neither the Lansdowne Post Office nor the Mail Delivery Depot have been closed.

Thank You.

Reply:

(1) No. The draft Regulations published on 15 March 2022 will not be withdrawn. These draft Regulations do not deal only with Covid-19 but also with other notifiable medical conditions. The comments from the public are still being processed and will be considered for any decision/amendments to be made regarding the published draft Regulations. The draft Regulations also mean to address pandemic situations as the 2017 Regulations do not address the outbreak of pandemics.

(2) Notifiable Medical Conditions are diseases that are of public health importance because they pose significant public health risks that can result in disease outbreaks or epidemics with high case fatality rates both nationally and internationally. Covid-19 is such a condition and will therefore remain a NMC. COVID-19 is not listed specifically as it resorts amongst the respiratory diseases caused by a novel respiratory pathogen - NMC 20).

(3) The National Department of Health still believes contraventions of these Regulations has serious health implications and as such must remain an offence.

END.

Reply:

(1) (a)-(b) Existing facilities with Green Rating Cards

Capital Projects in the pipeline for the Green Rating Cards:

(2) Aging public health facilities remains a challenge and growing concern for the Department of Health. The short-, medium- and long-term focus is thus more on restoring many of these facilities to an acceptable state of operability. This does not imply that the Department is not considering environmental sustainability. To the contrary, challenges with electricity and water supply at many of our facilities calls for a more concerted effort towards greater sustainability with less carbon footprint and such thus come into play in the design and refurbishment of these projects. The National Department of Health with the CSIR is currently busy with an investigation into how to become more green in future and will include the outcome of the study into our Infrastructure Strategy.

END.

Reply:

a) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) has requested the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) to increase the day-to-day maintenance threshold from R100 000.00 to R1 000 000.00 per incident.

DPWI has granted approval to the request and DoJ&CD has revised the delegations accordingly effective from 01 October 2022. This increase has since been communicated to all Provincial Offices of DoJ&CD for immediate implementation. The devolution does, however, have limitations with regards to the disciplines and specialised work that will remain within the custodianship of DPWI as per the current approved day-to-day Maintenance guidelines.

DPWI as custodians have reviewed the current day-to-day Maintenance guidelines to ensure process improvements, in relation to execution of the maintenance and operations services function to ensure alignment in respect to asset care obligations between the DoJ&CD and DPWI. A workshop on Day-to-day Maintenance and Devolution of R1 million to DoJ&CD was conducted by DPWI to DoJ&CD on 23 March 2023. Discussions and engagements were undertaken on contents and implementation of the reviewed guidelines and DoJ&CD requested more time to review and peruse the guidelines with all provinces. The current 2019 Guidelines remain in effect until such a time that they are rescinded.

There have been 70 completed projects implemented through the newly approved delegation threshold of R1 million per incident. These refurbishments will improve the conditions of the courts and ensure that the infrastructure is maintained and fit for the intended purpose.

Reply:

There has been sporadic water supply especially in the high lying areas such as the Rampodi and Thabeng sections in the Motlhabe Village due to increased demand, unauthorised household connections in the area and ongoing loadshedding.

In the short-term, the Moses Kotane Local Municipality (LM) has made funds available for drilling and equipping of additional boreholes to augment the current water supply. It is envisaged that this work will be completed by end of June 2023. The municipality is providing water through water tankers in the affected areas, whilst exploring medium to long term interventions.

In addition, the municipality has resolved that all unauthorised household connections should be formalised and metered to ensure sustainability of water supply as most of these connections are on the main pipeline supplying the village.

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Reply:

a)  The Department through the Bucket Eradication Programme implemented 5 projects in David Kruiper Local Municipality from 2013 to 2017. These include

Area	No. of toilets eradicated
Pabalelo	596
Kalksloot	120
Rosedale	1771
Louisvale	600
Dakota Weg	306
Total	3393

b) Several areas or settlements are being formalised which still use the bucket toilet system and are considered “new” buckets. These cases occurred after the implementation of interventions aimed at reaching the target set in 2015, hence they have not yet been addressed.

c) The Department has noted the moving target however, an implementation plan will be developed to attend to the remaining bucket toilets including the required bulk services necessary for planning and budgeting purposes.

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Reply:

The Mbashe Local Municipality is supported by the Department of Water and Sanitation through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) and is implementing two water augmentation projects over a three-year period to address water supply challenges in the municipality. The table below provides details of the projects:

Project Name	Number of people to benefit	Budget	Implementation year
Equipping of boreholes in Mnquma and Mbhashe	1 886	R37 599 984	2023 - 2026
Drilling and testing of boreholes in Mbhashe, Mnquma and Great Kei	9 830	R21 881 418	2023 - 2026

The Xhora and Sundwana Bulk Water Schemes (BWS) currently being implemented by the Amathole District Municipality funded by DWS through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG). The Sundwana Bulk Water Scheme is at an advanced stage of planning which is expected to be concluded in 2023/2024; whilst commencement of construction is planned for 2024/2025. Construction on the Xhora BWS which includes a dam, Wastewater Treatment Works, reservoirs, and bulk pipelines has been completed. Construction for additional pipelines and reservoirs is at 61% and planned for completion in September 2023. The summarised details for both projects are indicated in the table below.

Project Name	Number of people to benefit	Budget	Implementation year	Status
Xhora BWS	67 000	R494, 082, 388.00	2009 - 2020	Contracts 1-7 all 100% completed
			2020 - 2023	Contract 8 is at 61% anticipated to complete in September 2023 with pipelines and reservoirs.
Sundwana WSS	126 782	R682 873 392	2024/25	Advanced stage of planning

Areas affected by outages due to the electricity crisis are provided with water through water tankering. There are ongoing discussions between the municipality and Eskom for the exemption of water infrastructure from loadshedding.

 

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Reply:

The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) continues to embrace the advantages that technology present and leverages on it. The modernisation of court processes remain key priority areas for the OCJ to improve access to justice for all in accordance with section 34 of the Constitution.

The Court Online system has been rolled out to the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria and Johannesburg. The CaseLines evidence management platform, is an integral part of the total Court Online Solution, and is being utilised in the Gauteng Division of the High Court. The implementation of the total Court Online solution is subject to the litigation process which is underway in the courts.

END

Reply:

1.The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is mandated and limited to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’s recommendations approved by the fourth Parliament and pay the recommended reparations to people that have been declared as victims by the TRC. Therefore, the Department cannot, not under this mandate, come up with initiatives to consider victims of apartheid excluded from the TRC process and reparations.

Below are the TRC’s recommendations, approved by the fourth Parliament, that the Department must implement:

1. Once off Individual grant of R30 000.00;
2. Symbols and monuments;
3. Medical benefits and other forms of social assistance; and
4. Community Rehabilitation.

2. The Department met with Khulumani Galela campaign in 2022 and undertook to receive a list of the Khulumani members on protest at the Constitutional Court for purposes of verifying the campaign members that are TRC identified victims and to enable the members’ access to Parliament’s approved TRC reparations. The Department provided the information to Khulumani as requested. The Department also indicated its obligation to implement the decisions of Parliament to pay the recommended reparations to people that have been declared as victims by the TRC.

3. The President’s Fund does not have any investors but has donors with the last donation received in 2012. In terms of concerns expressed, the President’s Fund is not aware of any correspondence in this regard.

Reply:

The question relates to the performance of judicial functions, which falls under the purview of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice. It is advised that information relating to the performance of judicial functions, be directed to the Chief Justice.

Reply:

The Victor Khanye Local Municipality is supported by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to implement Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WCWDM) projects to reduce non-revenue water.

The DWS approved funding of R68 million over a period of three financial years (2022/2023 -2024/2025) to be allocated to the municipality for the WCWDM projects. The intended outcomes are:

• To reduce water losses in Botleng Ext. 3 to 7
• Ensure that water is supplied to Botleng Ext. 3 to 7 through the reconfiguration of existing pipelines and installation of new pipelines to address the intermittent water supply
• Ensure installation of water meter in every household
• Management of different water pressure in the water supply systems in Botleng Ext. 3 to 7
• Raise awareness on water conservation.

 

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Reply:

Gauteng has been experiencing water shortages in recent weeks. Water supply interruptions have largely been a function of unstable electricity supply as well as incidents of vandalism. Rand Water has always maintained that their infrastructure capacity is sufficient to meet the current real demand. Nevertheless, Rand Water has ringfenced R42 billion to rehabilitate and augment their infrastructure. Rand Water has sufficient funding headroom to fund this programme and does not require additional government funding yet.

The improvement of supply is being ensured through engagements with Eskom and other electricity suppliers. To this extent, Rand Water is also implementing their own strategies towards an energy mix approach which includes hydropower generation, photovoltaic and installation of generators to mitigate the risk of energy supply. These initiatives are all underway and being implemented.

 

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Reply:

(1) Details of grant funding paid to the Uthukela District Municipality in KwaZulu Natal from 1 July 2016 to 31 January 2023 provided in table below:

Financial year	(a) total amount of each payment	(b) date of each payment
2016/17	RBIG: R 64 000 000 WSIG: R 81 807 000 Total = R145 807 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: 29/08/2016 (R40 000 000) 21/10/2016 (R24 000 000) WSIG dates: 15/07/2016 (R24 542 000) 14/10/2016 (R40 904 000) 20/01/2017 (R16 361 000)
2017/18	RBIG: R 75 052 000 WSIG: R 82 500 000 Total: R157 552 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: 21/07/2017 (R30 000 000) 25/01/2018 (R45 052 000)   WSIG dates: 28/07/2017 (R41 250 000) 27/10/2017 (R24 750 000) 09/03/2018 (R16 500 000)
2018/19	RBIG: R 45 000 000 WSIG: R108 493 000 Total: R153 493 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: 29/01/2019 (R40 000 000) 25/03/2019 (R5 000 000)   WSIG dates: 20/07/2018 (R20 000 000) 19/10/2018 (R25 000 000) 26/03/2019 (R63 493 000)
2019/20	RBIG: R 10 000 000 WSIG: R108 000 000 Total: R118 000 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: 07/11/2019 (R5 000 000) 27/03/2020 (R5 000 000)   WSIG dates: 16/08/2019 (R30 000 000) 22/11/2019 (R40 000 000) 28/02/2020 (R38 000 000)
2020/21	RBIG: R 39 399 000 WSIG: R 90 000 000 Total: R129 399 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: 31/03/2021 (R39 399 000)   WSIG dates: 31/07/2020 (R36 000 000) 27/10/2020 (R30 000 000) 09/02/2021 (R24 000 000)
2021/22	RBIG: R 0 WSIG: R80 000 000 Total: R80 000 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: n/a   WSIG dates: 29/07/2021 (R25 000 000) 20/10/2021 (R30 000 000) 07/03/2022 (R25 000 000)
2022/23	RBIG: R 0 WSIG: R60 800 000 Total: R60 800 000	Paid in tranches as per payment schedule for schedule 5B allocations approved by National Treasury: RBIG dates: n/a   WSIG dates: 02/09/2022 (R20 800 000) 27/10/2022 (R40 000 000)
Total	R845 051 000

(c) Conditions attached to each payment:

• RBIG condition: Funds are to be used for implementation of the Driefontein Bulk Water Project
• WSIG condition: Funds are to be used to implement projects approved by the Department of Water and Sanitation

(2) Yes, funds were expended in terms of the conditions imposed and for the purposes prescribed in terms of the grant frameworks gazetted every year. The details of the conditions are mentioned in 1(c) above. With regards to the purpose, the details are as follows:

RBIG:

• To develop large regional bulk infrastructure serving numerous communities over a large area within a municipality.

WSIG:

• Facilitate the planning and implementation of various water and sanitation projects to accelerate backlog reduction and enhance the sustainability of services;
• Provide basic and intermittent water and sanitation supply that ensures provision of services to identified and prioritised communities, including spring protection and groundwater development;
• To implement water conservation and water demand management projects.

(3) No funds were paid to the municipality for the payment of outstanding debt with Umgeni Water. The RBIG funds were used for implementation of the Driefontein Bulk Water Project. The WSIG funds were used for implementation of projects approved by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The projects that were implemented with the WSIG funds are as follows:

1. Ezakheni/ Ladysmith Water Conservation and Demand Management (Lombardskop)
2. Mimosadale Water Project
3. Indaka & Okhahlamba Boreholes
4. Wembezi Water Conservation and Demand Management
5. Imbabazane ward 7 sanitation
6. Kwanobamba/Ezitendeni Water Supply Project (phase 1F)
7. Wembezi Water Conservation and Demand Management
8. Ezakheni/ Ladysmith Water Conservation and Demand Management
9. Reticulation to Ennersdale , Epangweni and Bhekuzulu
10. Estcourt Industrial Pipeline Upgrade
11. Moyeni/Zwelisha Water Treatment Works Upgrade and Bulk Rising Main
12. Spring Protection District Wide
13. Ladysmith Network Pipeline Replacement
14. Loskop (Mqedandaba) Water Reticulation Phase 1

(4) None of the RBIG and WSIG funds were paid to Umgeni Water by the municipality.

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Reply:

a)  The total cost of the partially achieved Vaal River Intervention Programme since its inception is as follows:

Vaal River Intervention Programme expenditure
Vaal River Intervention Programme expenditure classification	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Costs to date
Goods and services (OPEX)	224,701,156	168,332,863	200,721,371	159,649,698	753,405,090
Payments for capital assets (CAPEX	-	-	23,375,713	103,404,225	126,779,939
Total Vaal River Intervention Programme	224,701,156	168,332,863	224,097,085	263,053,924	880,185,029

b) The projected cost for the entire intervention has been estimated at a value of R7.6 billion.

Reply:

1. Yes. Registration for newly developed vaccines may be granted within a shorter time frame in emergency situations. Following the support of the need to make the vaccine available by the Director of Animal Health and consultations with potential manufacturers of the vaccine if available in the country, there will be speeding up of the evaluations for urgent consideration by the Registrar of Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Seeds and Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947), and these will be considered if such products meet the requirement in terms of safety, efficacy, and quality.

2. Yes. In exceptional circumstances, where there is no other product for the intended use, the Department may fast track the review of registration applications in terms of the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No 36 of 1947). The registration of new vaccine product applications by the private sector in terms of the Fertilisers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. Act 36 of 1947) is receiving attention and registration may be granted within a shorter time frame.