Questions and Replies

Reply:

Two Co-Operatives were approved for the Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS), as follows:

Should any of the co-operative require additional funds, it may apply for a relevant incentive programmme.

Reply:

1. In accordance with the provisions of Statement 005 of the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice, issued in terms of Section 9(1) of the B-BBEE Act, the B-BBEE Status level of Measured Entities are determined by Accredited Rating Agencies, through the issuing of Verification Certificates. Said Verification Certificates are valid for 12-months from date of issue, based on verified information requested by and supplied to the Accredited Rating Agency by the Measured Entity.

B-BBEE Status is determined through evaluation against the B-BBEE Scorecard contained in the Codes of Good Practice, measuring the participation in and recognition of black people in Ownership, Management Control, Skills Development, Enterprise and Supplier Development and Socio Economic Development.

2. The question on G4S BBBEE credentials was brought to the attention of the dti before the establishment of the Office of the BEE Commission. Following the establishment of this Office, all BBBEE potential fronting cases were handed over for further investigation. Therefore, further investigation into the G4S BBBEE credentials is being conducted by the office of the BEE Commissioner.

Reply:

a)  The National Lotteries Commission annually publishes priority areas to ensure more focused funding and maximum impact of the funds allocated. Priority areas are published yearly and available on the NLC’s website. There is continuous work done to ensure that beneficiaries are aware of priority areas and the NLC holds regular Indabas and Post Indaba Stakeholder Engagements with its beneficiaries to ensure that they are aware and actually contribute to the decisions of this nature.

b) Due to the limitation of funds and the increasing demand for assistance by non-profit originations, the NLC’s funding is aligned to the published priority areas to ensure more focused funding and maximum impact on funding allocated. The result is therefore that some funding areas get affected by this categorization.

c) The NLC held a meeting with NSPCA and fully explained the position relating to priority areas. A budget has been ring-fenced from the miscellaneous category of funding for the national body to apply on behalf of its branches.

Reply:

a)  The CIPC system authenticates individuals against valid Identity Number supplied from the Home Affairs database. This is done either through electronic or biometric validation against the Home Affairs (DHA) database. The DHA is the owner of all Identity Number database.

b) The CIPC is only aware of 2 instances of different Identity Numbers for a single individual.

c) The CIPC does not have the right to record or amend any particulars in the Population Register. The status awarded to the CIPC by the Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs in terms of section 6 of the Identification Act No. 68 of 1997 is that of right to access to authenticate individuals exclusively against their Identity Number and any associated bio-metrics.

Reply:

Response from the dti and the entities:

the dti and its entities do not own/have exclusive rights/lease from the State with the exeception of the South African Bureau of Standards. (SABS)

(b) The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)

(i) owns the following land:

• The SABS Head Office, at 1 Dr Lategan Road Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0001 which is on 22.0907 hectares of land;
• The National Electrical Test Facility (NETFA) laboratory at Apollo Road, Olifantsfontein, 0001, which is on 11.3927 hectares of land;
• The Office at 20 Nile Road, Perridgeval, Port Elizabeth, 6056, office space of 215m2;
• Testing Laboratories and office space at 20 Brook Road, Rosebank, Cape Town, 7701 in the Western Cape, which is on 4,121m2 of land;
• The Testing Laboratory in East London at 1 Teichmann Drive, East London, 5208, which is on 8.2672 hectares of land;
• The Little Go Farm in East London at East London Road, which is on 96.166 hectares;
• The Durban Office at 15 Garth Road, Durban, 4058, which is on 24,272 m2 of land; and
• The Saldanha property at 22 Henry Wicht Avenue, Saldanha Bay which is 674m2.

(ii) have exclusive rights to:

• Secunda Building B, 8 Bunsen Street, Secunda, erf size of 647 m2; and
• The Richards Bay Coal Laboratory, 57 Dollar Drive, Richards Bay, 3900, erf size of 650 m2.

(iii) leases from the State:

• Kloppersbos, on Pyramid Road Pretoria on 156,7738 hectares; and
• The Coal and Mineral Laboratory, at the CSIR Campus at Lynwood Bridge, Pretoria, 0040, on land 460,031 m2.

(aa) use:

• The SABS Head Office, at 1 Dr Lategan Road Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0001 – offices space, training academy, design institute, provision of services and laboratory testing;
• The National Electrical Test Facility (NETFA) laboratory at Apollo Road, Olifantsfontein, 0001 - Electrical Testing Facility;
• The Middelburg Coal Laboratory, at 8 Rand Street, Middelburg, 1050 – Coal Laboratory;
• The Offices at 20 Nile Road, Perridgeval, Port Elizabeth - Certification;
• Testing Laboratories and office space at 20 Brook Road, Rosebank, Cape Town, 7701 in the Western Cape - Regional Office space and Certification Services;
• The Testing Laboratory in East London at 1 Teichmann Drive, East London, 5208 - Laboratory Services;
• The Little Go Farm in East London at East London Road - leased for farming;
• The Durban Office at 15 Garth Road, Durban, 4058 - Regional Office space and Certification Services;
• The Saldanha property at 22 Henry Wicht Avenue, Saldanha Bay, - Laboratory Services;
• The Coal and Mineral Laboratory, at the CSIR Campus at Lynwood Bridge, Pretoria, 0040 – Coal Laboratory;
• Secunda Building B, 8 Bunsen Street, Secunda - Coal Laboratory;
• The Richards Bay Coal Laboratory, 57 Dollar Drive, Richards Bay, 3900 - Laboratory Services; and
• Kloppersbos, on Pyramid Road Pretoria - Permitted explosives.

(bb) occupy:

All properties that are owned or hired by the SABS are occupied by the entity, except for the following:

• The Little Go Farm in East London is occupied by a tenant;
• Kloppersbos, on Pyramid Road Pretoria is occupied when testing is conducted; and
• Saldanha Bay is unoccupied at present.

Reply:

A decision has been taken by the SACU Summit of Heads of State and Government in June 2017 to review the 2002 SACU Agreement. The review of the revenue sharing formula is one of the focus areas. The review aims to among others identify financing options for regional infrastructure and industrial projects. The dti has been working with National Treasury in this regard. National Treasury is working on proposals.

Reply:

(a) The number of BITs that have already expired is 9.

The response to (i)(aa), (bb), (cc), (dd) is attached hereto as Annexure 3.

(ii) There is no intention to renew the agreements. In accordance with the decision by Cabinet, South Africa will only enter into bilateral investment treaties in future on the basis of a compelling economic or political reasons. In addition, the Protection of Investment Act provides adequate protection to all investments in South Africa in accordance with the Constitution.

2. Yes the BITs do, the relevant clauses are attached hereto as Annexure 4.

Reply:

1. B-BBEE promotes the achievement of the constitutional right to equality, within the historical context of race being used to control access to South Africa’s productive resources during apartheid. The increase of effective participation in the South African economy by the majority of South Africans previously denied such is envisioned, so as to promote the stability and prosperity of the economy in the future to the benefit of all South Africans, irrespective of race.

The examples higlighted of safe houses and children homes for B-BBEE purposes finds insight in the Socio Economic Development element which has a 75% black beneficiary base target. Qualifying Socio Economic Development Initiatives which has a maximum of 25% white beneficaries will enjoy 100% recognition under the Socio Economic Development Element. Black South African citizens as well as White people are thus recognised for the promotion of Socio Economic Development on the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. The intent of such donations are crucial as B-BBEE can not be a tick-box exercise.

2. Code Series 500 of the Amended B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice which is the Socio Economic Development pillar extensively documents the requirements for B-BBEE recognition. Eligibility is determined through measurement of:

(i) the specific objective with which the contribution was made; and

(ii) the black beneficiary percentage benefiting from the contribution.

3. . The B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice were gazetted, and thus became effective on 09 February 2007. The Codes were subsequently amended. The Amended B-BEE Codes of Good Practice came into effect on date of gazette thereof, being 11 October 2013. An 18-month transition period was however granted for entities whom wished to be rated in terms of the 2007 Codes of Good Practice to allow them to adopt B-BBEE strategies which speak to the Amended Codes, should it wish to. The election option expired on 01 May 2015.

4. As per Question (1), white children and white disabled persons are not excluded from Socio Economic Development recognition for B-BBEE purposes.

5. -BBEE Measurement is informed by a balanced scorecard, of which the measurement of Ownership makes up only 21.19%. Furthermore, the targets contained within all of the elements are not absolute, i.e none of the elements have a 100% target for black participation. The employment of and financial and social contributions to a white person therefore does not disadvantage a business looking to obtain B-BBEE points.

Reply:

(a) The number os BITs in force is 13.

The response to (i)(aa), (bb), (cc), (dd) is provided in Annexure 1.

(ii) The Government does not intend to renew the BITs still in place. Discussions have commenced with the affected countries. The protection of investment will going forward be in accordance with the Protection of Investment Act.

2. The BITs do provide for expropriation with compensation. The reference to the relevant clauses are attached hereto as Annexure 2.

Reply:

According to the information received from Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC):

The above information reflects close corporations that have both an active status (03) or a deregistration status (38 or 08). The legal personality of companies and close corporations are only withdrawn upon final deregistration and therefore those in a deregistration status may still be active and may at any time revert to an active status (cancelling the deregistration status).

Reply:

a) All provinces with proposed Special Economic Zones were allocated and received financial support from the dti annually from 2013/14 – 2016/17 financial years as part of the pre-designation support for the proposed SEZs. Northern Cape Provincial government was allocated R31 938 587 for the preparation of the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Upington, in particular, to fulfil the following key objectives:

• Pre-feasibility Study
• Feasibility Study
• Strategic Plans
• Establlishment of the Project Management Unit (PMU).
• Environmental Impact Assessment.
• Detailed Engineering and Site Assessment Services.
• Planning and Development of Strategic Industrial Clusters.
• Investment Facilitation and Promotion.

In line with the above stated objectives, the Northern Cape Economic Development Agency (NCEDA) was appointed by the province to undertake management and operationalisation of the SEZ PMU (Project Management Unit) as well as the management of the funds.

The PMU was established with the sole objective of undertaking all SEZ preparatory work over the years corresponding with the funding. To this effect, an MOU was signed between the dti and NCEDA for the transfer and management of the performance of the SEZ PMU.

(i) There is no further allocation provided for the years beyond 2016/2017 except for the completion of outstanding work using savings accrued from the previous allocation by the dti. Therefore, no further allocation for 2018/19; 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 period for the Northern Cape.

b) Progress to date has been made in relation to the following areas:

• Pre-feasibility studies
• Technical Feasibility studies
• Land acquisition
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
• Detailed Engineering and Site Assessment Services.
• Investment Facilitation and Promotion
• Appointment of some key PMU staff position/s

The remaining work concerning the finalisation of the application for the designation of the proposed SEZ includes the finalisation of the sector strategy, strengthening of the investment pipeline, business plan, financial model as well as the supporting plans such as finalisation of the skills development plans, SMME strategy, etc. It is anticipated that the application will be submitted to the dti by second quarter (Q2) of the financial year of 2018/19 for the SEZ Advisory board’s consideration.

c) Northern Cape spent R17 394 328 as at the end of 2016/17 financial year in preparation of the Application for Designation of the proposed Special Economic Zone in Upington.

Reply:

(1) B-BBEE is not an exception to the principle of equality in terms of section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa:

In fact, section 9(2) of the Constitution states that:

“Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms.

To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.”

In promoting equality as envisaged above, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act No. 53 of 2003 (“the Act”) was enacted and subsequently amended by the B-BBEE Amendment Act No. 46 of 2013. The Act as amended and the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice constituted the legislative and other measures which are designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.

• Section 14(1) of the Act entrust the Minister of Trade and Industry to make regulations with regard to:
  • Any matter that in terms of the Act may or must be prescribed;
  • The lodging of complaints with the BEE Commission;
  • The conducting of investigations by the Commission;
  • The information that any organ of state, public entity or private enterprise is required to provide to the Commission and the form and period of such reporting;
  • Requiring all broad-based black economic empowerment transactions above a prescribed threshold to be reported to the Commission; and
  • Any ancillary or incidental administrative or procedural matter that is necessary to prescribe for the proper implementation and administration of the Act.

• Section 14 (2) of the Act provides as follows:
  • The Minister may by notice in the Gazette issue guidelines and practice notes relating to the interpretation and application of the Act.

(2) B-BBEE is an integral part of the principle of equality in terms of section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa;

- In terms of the Statement 000 of the B-BBEE Act 46 of 2013, as amended-

- Paragraph 12: Duration of the Codes

• A Code remains in effect until amended, substituted or repealed under Section 9 of the Act.
• The Minister may review the Codes at any stage and regular reviews will take place to monitor the implementation of BBBEE throughout the economy

Reply:

The management of the SABS has provided the Department with the following information.

1. The SABS does not issue product licences. Since the promulgation of new legislation, the SABS Act of 2008, the SABS Mark is a voluntary tool for quality assurance in the domestic and global market.
2. The SABS Mark continues to be issued. Companies that hold an expired SABS Mark can continue to use it even if it has expired. A SABS Division was created in 2017 to deal with the backlog and provides access to laboratories all over the country to test products as well as provide the necessary governance and assurance oversight of these SABS conformity assessment services.
3. The management of the SABS has not provided a satisfactory response containing the requisite information. I have written to the SABS management demanding that they do in fact provide an urgent response to the Department of Trade and Industry.
4. No calculation of this cost has been undertaken.

The Department of Trade and Industry is the only shareholder of the SABS. In my capacity as the Minister of Trade and Industry, in the light of the above and with respect to ongoing concerns relating to the SABS Mark function, I recently gave instructions to the SABS Board to urgently oversee a detailed process to develop a turnaround strategy for SABS. This will, inter alia, include a full scope of all the existing SABS Mark functions and processes involved in developing the Mark; operational challenges and stakeholder engagements in order to strengthen this critical pillar of SA’s industrialisation effort. I shall provide a full report to Parliament in this regard in due course.

Reply:

GSSSD RESPONSE:

(1) Yes, the Department has a Sexual Harassment Policy in place.

(i) According to the dti Sexual Harassment Policy’s reporting procedure, employees who are of the view that they may have fallen victim of sexual harassment are strongly encouraged to report the case directly to the Manager: Employment Relations or the Manager: Quality of Worklife. All such reports are treated in the strictest confidence and are dealt with in a sensitive and supportive manner. Upon receiving the complaint (due to its employment equity-related nature) the matter is referred to the focal person for Employment Equity and Transformation for thorough investigation. A report with findings and recommendations is compiled and submitted to the Deputy Director-General responsible for employment equity, for implementation.

(ii) Due to the sensitivity and seriousness of sexual harassment, the disciplinary procedure is utilised to address the complaint. In problematic cases of sexual harassment involving sexual assault such as rape, molestation, attempted rape or physical assault, the alleged harasser is suspended with full pay pending the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.

For cases such as attempted rape, molestation, physical assault, rape or persistent harassment, the Chairperson of the disciplinary hearing uses the Disciplinary Code and Procedure to determine the sanction. The victim of sexual assault has the right to open separate criminal and/or civil claims against the alleged harasser and the employer. The legal rights of the complaint are in no way limited by the dti Sexual Harassment Policy.

(2)

Reply:

The South African National Accreditation Service (SANAS) gave accreditation to;

a) 49 laboratories in 2015-2016, (b) 60 laboratories in 2016-17 and (c) 63 laboratories in 2017-18.

A list of accredited laboratories in the periods mentioned is attached in Excel format. To facilitate access to clients of laboratories and other stakeholders, the SANAS website under “Directory of Accredited Facilities” carries information on accredited facilities and what they do.

Reply:

According to the management of the SABS;

1. (i) (aa), (bb) and (cc) Nil.
2. (i) and (ii) Does not apply and (b) does not apply, and
3. The management of the SABS has not provided a satisfactory response containing the requisite information. I have written to the SABS management demanding that they do in fact provide an urgent response to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Reply:

According to information provided by the SABS management:

a) (i) The SABS Chief Executive Officer has a driver as an approved benefit by decision of the SABS Board.

(ii) The SABS CEO does not have a bodyguard despite the fact that the SABS 2015 security assessment recommended one.

b) (i) The cost to the fiscus of the driver is in line with the remuneration framework for SABS drivers.

(ii) Does not apply.

Reply:

The management of the SABS has not provided a satisfactory response containing the requisite information. I have written to the SABS management demanding that they do in fact provide an urgent response to the Department of Trade and Industry

Reply:

a) The SABS has only one Executive Board Member who has not resigned and still occupies the position.

 (i) (aa) and (bb) and

(ii) (ii) and

b) Do not therefore apply.

Reply:

According to information provided by the management of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS):

a) The SABS has 30 business units undertaking testing.

b) The SABS conducts testing as part of conformity assessment in line with the prescripts of ISO 17 000. Testing falls into 3 categories as follows; Third Party Testing where a product complies fully with a standard and the testing activities were conducted by an independent third party (SABS); Second Part Testing where the SABS tests products on behalf of another institution which defines the required specification and First Party Testing where the SABS provides product development support to manufacturing companies.

c) The management of the SABS has not provided a satisfactory response containing the requisite information. I have written to the SABS management demanding that they do in fact provide an urgent response to the Department of Trade and Industry.

d) As above.

e) As above.

The Department of Trade and Industry is the only shareholder of the SABS. In my capacity as the Minister of Trade and Industry, in the light of the above and with respect to ongoing concerns relating to the SABS testing function, I recently gave instructions to the SABS Board to urgently oversee a detailed process to develop a turnaround strategy for SABS. This will, inter alia, fully scope all the existing SABS testing facilities and their respective capabilities, those which are no longer functional or have been degraded; the cost of maintaining and/or upgrading and reopening those facilities which are critical to SA’s industrialisation effort; resolve any legal issues which may stand in the way of undertaking partial testing and conduct a review of the three technical infrastructure Acts. I shall provide a full report to Parliament in this regard in due course.

Reply:

The Ministerial Handbook provides guidelines on the appointment of the staff in the Private Office. It equally provides the recommended salary levels of each post. The salary levels are adjusted on an annual basis as prescribed in the Public Service Regulations.

The Office of the Minister has a staff complement as defined in the Ministerial Handbook. In line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPi) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act I am unable to provide the members with such confidential information in the manner it is requested.

I however draw the honourable members to the department’s Annual Report wherein the organogram of the department provides the information required. Should it be insufficient, the department will make the personal files of the officials available for further scrutiny by the Auditor General as prescribed by the Act.

Reply:

(a) (i) (ii) (aa) (bb) (iii) (iv) (aa) (bb)

the dti did not incur any expenditure on the promotion or celebration of the Year of O R Tambo.

Reply:

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications has not received a bonus for 2017. The 2017 financial year concludes in March 2018 and the Acting CEO’s annual assessment will determine whether he qualifies for a bonus or not.

Reply:

Refer to Annexure A.

Reply:

According to the information received from National Lotteries Commission:

1 (a) The Board had identified specific Flagship projects (below) to promote social cohesion in different provinces. This was done in line with the Department of Arts & Culture Priorities.

• Cape Town Jazz Concert – Western Cape
• MACUFE – Free State
• Diamonds and Dorings – Northern Cape
• Buyelekhaya / Grahamstown Arts Festival – Eastern Cape
• Mapungubwe / Marula Festival - Limpopo
• Joyous Celebration / Cohesion Project - Gauteng
• Shaka Musical / SATMAS – Kwa-Zulu Natal
• Trooper – Mpumalanga
• Kgalakgadi / Kalahari – North West

(b) Yes, the projects applied directly for funding except the project below:

Mapungubwe – The assisting organization (conduit) was Matsila Community Development Trust.

(c) Refer to Annexure A

(d) Refer to Annexure A

2 (a) Refer to Annexure A

(b) Refer to Annexure A

(c) Refer to Annexure A

3 The NLC verifies the NPO registration of the applicant.

see the link for Annexure A:  http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW206-AnnexureA.pdf

Reply:

1. (a) (i) (ii)

Travel with Flair (Pty) Ltd) provided travel related services to the department upon request. Services are remunerated according to an agreed fixed fee per transaction. The types of services procured and the transaction fee per service is indicated below.

The supplier was a paid a total amount of R529 795.00 in Transaction Fees for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 October 2017.

2. (a) (i) (ii) (iii)

Travel with Flair (Pty) Ltd) assisted in providing the services below for international travel for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 October 2017. These costs are inclusive of the cost that was paid to the airlines for the respective tickets and the transaction fees paid to the travel agency.

Response from the Entities

Reply:

In response to PQ 3789, the list of transactions registered as at 21 November 2017 is attached as Annexure A. As the B-BBEE Commission does not register trusts but major B-BBEE transactions, we outline the process for registration of major B-BBEE transactions below:

The Explanatory Notice issued by the Commission on 13 June 2017, pursuant to the threshold for major B-BBEE transaction the Minister of Trade and Industry issued on 9 June 2017 in Notice No. 551 in Government Gazette No. 40898 (“Notice”) prescribes documents that must accompany B-BBEE18 for registering a major B-BBEE transactions, which includes trust deeds where applicable.

As of 21 November 2017, the B-BBEE Commission has received two hundred and nineteen (219) major B-BBEE transactions for registration and of these seventy-five (75) involve trusts. Each trust deed identifies the trustees and important to note that not all trusts have undergone the process of registration at the Masters office as at the date of registration of a major transaction.

Further, the Explanatory Notice requires any party to the transaction to register the transaction to the B-BBEE Commission. Most of the transactions are either registered by the party which sells shares or an asset to black people or a third party nominated by the party (ies) to the transaction such as consultants or attorneys.

Furthermore, we wish to advice that there are three types of transactions:

Transactions concluded prior to the amendment of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003. In terms of the Notice, parties to such transaction are encouraged to voluntarily register the transaction. These are not mandatory to register.

Transactions concluded as of 24 October 2014 when the amended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 46 of 2013 came into effect. The Notice required such transaction to be registered within sixty (60) days from date the threshold was gazetted. The B-BBEE Regulations require the B-BBEE Commission to assess each transaction upon registration.

Transactions registered within fifteen (15) days of being concluded. The B-BBEE Commission will not be able to determine the value that black people derived, because the transaction is at an infant stage.

The B-BBEE Commission will publish a report annually of these transactions which will provide details that will include the value and benefits to black beneficiaries, who in essence are indirect shareholders through a trust. The obligation to report major B-BBEE transactions only commenced on 9 June 2017, and the B-BBEE Commission is in the process of registering and assessing in line with the Notice.

Reply:

Response from the Department

The department does not own any land.

Response from the Entities

Reply:

Due to the detailed information requested for the department and its entities per order issued during the past 5 years it will unfortunately not be possible to provide a meaningful response within the limited time frame allowed in responding to Parliamentary questions.

The information requested is not readily available and supporting documents will have to be requested from archives filed off site.

Further to that it should also be noted that the BEE status level as requested per supplier will not cover the 5 year period and that the department previously recorded and reported on the HDI status of suppliers. The software system that was used at that stage is no longer in existence as it has been discontinued with the implementation of the Central Supplier Database hosted at National Treasury.

Based on the above it is proposed that the department be allowed more time to gather information and that a response be submitted directly to the member.

Reply:

Due to the detailed information requested for the department and its entities per order issued during the past 5 years it will unfortunately not be possible to provide a meaningful response within the limited time frame allowed in responding to Parliamentary questions.

The information requested is not readily available and supporting documents will have to be requested from archives filed off site.

Further to that it should also be noted that the BEE status level as requested per supplier will not cover the 5 year period and that the department previously recorded and reported on the HDI status of suppliers. The software system that was used at that stage is no longer in existence as it has been discontinued with the implementation of the Central Supplier Database hosted at National Treasury.

Based on the above it is proposed that the department be allowed more time to gather information and that a response be submitted directly to the member.

Reply:

Due to the detailed information requested for the department and its entities per order issued during the past 5 years it will unfortunately not be possible to provide a meaningful response within the limited time frame allowed in responding to Parliamentary questions.

The information requested is not readily available and supporting documents will have to be requested from archives filed off site.

Further to that it should also be noted that the BEE status level as requested per supplier will not cover the 5 year period and that the department previously recorded and reported on the HDI status of suppliers. The software system that was used at that stage is no longer in existence as it has been discontinued with the implementation of the Central Supplier Database hosted at National Treasury.

Based on the above it is proposed that the department be allowed more time to gather information and that a response be submitted directly to the member.

Reply:

Trusts are registered through the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The B-BBEE Commission is mandated to only register major B-BBEE Transactions and of the registered transactions to date only seventy (70) involved trusts. The B-BBEE Commission does not register trust funds and as such has no access to such trust funds.

Reply:

1.  The number of officials granted permission to do business in the past three financial years were:

    (a) May 2015-April 2016= 32 officials

    (b) May 2016-April 2017= 12 officials

   (c) May 2017 to present = 8 officials

2. No officials were granted approval to do business with the State however in 2015/16 it was found that one official did business with the state:

The official applied for approval to undertake remunerative work outside public service and received approval. The official stated that business was done in the previous year (2015), but payment was received in 2016. Since that payment, no business was done with the State.

In 2016/17 it was found that one official did business with the state:

The official is a Foreign Economic Representative based outside South Africa. He was not aware of the regulation of not doing business with the State. Immediately he became aware of it, he resigned as Director of the company.

Reply:

(a) (i) (aa) (bb) (cc) (dd)

The department does not have any unpaid invoices that are outstanding for more than 30 days or longer.

the dti has an invoice tracking and reporting system which allows the department to closely monitor and track invoices received within the department. Currently on average the department pays 40% of invoices within 15 days and the remainder within 30 days.

Reply:

(1)(a) (b) Please note that animal welfare is not part of the priority areas for the financial year. However, the animal organisations which have applied for funding are the following:

(1)(c) The NLC is operating on an open call and it adheres to the 150 days turn around as legislated. As at the 31st October 2017 there are 3 219 (with 1292 projects from 2015 backlog) applications remaining to be adjudicated, the breakdown of the application per sector are as follows:

Reply:

Reply:

(1) (a) (2) (a) (b) (3) (a) (b) (c)

The department and its group of entities procured a variety of goods and services over the past 5 years, ranging from leasing accommodation, consultant services, travel and transport, ICT related goods and services etc. The quantum of these individual transactions run into the thousands on an annual basis, for example the department alone processed an approximate 6,805 transactions during the last 12 months. The same can be said for the entities.

Goods and services are classified in accordance with its SCOA classification or on the nature of the goods and services procured. This information is reported in the Statement of Financial Performance in the Annual Financial Statements of the department and the entities.

Goods and services are procured using the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and Regulations. The Regulations prescribe the preference points that can be claimed in accordance with the BEE status level of the supplier. This approach is a scorecard approach rather than purely an ownership approach.

Prior to 1 April 2016, goods and services were procured from suppliers registered on the departments own supplier database. With effect from 1 April 2016, National Treasury has implemented the Central Supplier Database (CSD) that has made it compulsory for government entities to use only suppliers registered on this database. The CSD maintains data on expenditure categories and supplier information.

Reply:

The first phase of the audit has been completed. The second and final phase will be commencing before the end of October 2017. African Bank held a very large loan book and the transactions revealed a level of complexity. We will provide information with regards to the completion date of the audit in due course.

Reply:

The department approved an application under the Aquaculture Development Enhancement Programme (ADEP) for the Camdeboo Satellite Aquaculture project submitted by the applicant Karoo Catch Pty Ltd which is 100 % owned by Blue Karoo Trust. The project was approved for a qualifying investment of R11 million and a grant amount of R3,502,800. To date R947,564 has been disbursed for the investment in owned building and expenditure for aquaculture feed.

Reply:

a) The Ford Kuga investigation is still ongoing. It is at an advanced stage. The NCC is currently analysing the evidence it has obtained thus far.

b) Ford is cooperating fully thus far with the NCC investigation.

c) The NCC is not aware of any other investigation being currently conducted by other bodies regarding this matter.

Reply:

There is no Manager at the NCR who is on contract.

Reply:

Since the designation of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone in July 2016, implementation has been progressing relatively well, as highlighted by the following:

1. The Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs has approved the use of the community land for development purposes,
2. Land Lease Agreement between the Mulambyane Community Trust and the Limpopo Economic Development Agency has been signed,
3. Operator Agreement between the Musina SEZ SOC Ltd and the Shenzhen Hoimor Resources Holdings Company Ltd has been signed for the Energy and Metallurgical Zone,
4. The SEZ Operator Permit for the Energy and Metallurgical Zone has been issued,
5. The design of the anchor industrial plants within the zone is progressing well, and some plant designs are completed,
6. Elements of the support infrastructure plan have been identified.

However, there are still many other critical activities that still require attention for the success of the initiative, including but not limited to the following:

education, training and skills development plan, small and medium enterprise development plan, housing development, and health infrastructure.

(a) There are many ways in which Blacks will participate in and therefore derive benefits from the initiative. Some people will benefit as investors in the various investment projects within the zone, others as direct providers of various goods and services required to support the zone and projects within the zone, still others as indirect providers of goods and services to the business community within and outside the zone, while others will provide goods and services to the expanding community around the zone.

(i) At this stage of implementation, it is too early to determine how many will benefit. The dti trusts that the number of black companies benefiting directly and indirectly from the Musina-Makhado SEZ initiative will be continuously increasing over time.

(ii) At this early stage of implementation, the dti is unable to provide both the number, names and value of contracts that will arise of the Musina-Makhado SEZ initiative.

Reply:

(a)The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, gazetted the Threshold for Major B-BBEE Transactions which must be submitted to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) Commission in terms of Section 13F (1) (f) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 as Amended by Act 46 of 2013 as well as Section 18 of the B-BBEE Regulations on 9 June 2017 for all Transactions with a value that equals or exceeds R25 Million and further provided for the voluntarily registration of transactions concluded before the 24 October 2014.

Thus, the B-BBEE Commission is mandated to register such Transactions concluded on 24 October 2014 and to date two hundred-ten (210) such transactions have been submitted for registration of which seventy (70) have / are related to trusts.

(b) Based on the analysis and assessment conducted thus far over 50% of the trusts registered are not compliant with B-BBEE; this figure will be confirmed once final findings are approved for publication in this quarter.

(c) Most of the Trusts presented do not satisfy the requirements of the Ownership Scorecard because they are dedicated towards Skills Development and Community Projects but not Ownership, which means that the Black Participants are treated as mere Beneficiaries and not Shareholders.

Where Black Shareholding is held through a Trust, Code Series 100, requires Trusts to define the participants and the portion of their entitlement to receive distribution of the economic interest. In most instances, the Trusts do not provide guidance on how they will record information relating to the identity of each Black Participant. The transactions are structured in a manner where the beneficiaries will only be selected each year to receive benefits for education or it is stated that a portion of dividends will go towards projects.

This means that Measured Entities will, for majority of the time of the transaction, have unidentified Black Participants, contrary to the requirements of Code Series 100. This will further frustrate the use of verification methodologies that an accredited verification professional will have to employ when measuring the Ownership Element of a Measured Entity.

Reply:

(1) Incentive programmes are cost sharing and reimbursable grants dependent on investments made by enterprises. The expenditure on incentives by its nature is linked to the business cycle of enterprises as well as the timing of investments and commissioning of assets and infrastructure. To date Critical infrastructure has spent R90 million, Manufacturing Development Incentives R856 million, Service Sector Development Incentives R308 million and Special Economic Zones Programmes R220 million.

(2) Incentive claims are payable once all performance criteria agreed at application are met and verified. In addition compliance documentation as outlined in the guidelines must be submitted. Given that payment of claims is performance based, there is usually a disjuncture between projections and actual expenditure. This disjuncture is normalized by year end resulting in the division spending all its allocated budget as it has been the case in previous financial years. The division engages with approved enterprises throughout the claim cycle to ensure that performance criteria are met and required documentation is submitted timely.

Reply:

E-Commerce in South Africa is facilitated and regulated through the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002. This is the constitutional mandate of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services. Requests for e-commerce information should therefore be directed to the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

Reply:

(1)(a) The total amount paid out in bonuses to employees in the 2016/17 financial year is R13,591,461.

(1)(b) A breakdown of the bonuses per employee per salary level paid in the 2016-17 financial year is attached as Annexure A.

(2)(a) The amount paid out in bonuses to employees in the 2017/18 financial year as at 3 October 2017 is R18,798,258.

(2)(b) A breakdown of the bonuses per employee per salary level paid up to 3 October 2017 in the 2017-18 financial year is attached as Annexure B.

ANNEXURE A