Questions and Replies

Reply:

Yes, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, provides support for processing infrastructure through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP). It should be noted that the programme is demand driven, thus the support is reliant on the number of applications received.

Reply:

1. Community Care Centres:-

a) The objectives and functions of the Community Care Centres are to:

• Strengthen prevention, early identification and early intervention services for vulnerable groups within communities.
• Improve access to quality, comprehensive and integrated social services provided by Social Workers, Community Development Practitioners, Social Auxiliary Workers, Child and Youth Care Workers and trained Community Care Givers.
• Provide services in partnership with other Government Departments and Civil society organisations.
• Provide skills development programmes and social and behaviour change programmes for beneficiaries.
• Bring government services closer to the people in rural areas.

The table below reflects (b) the breakdown of costs of construction and operation costs, (c) the total breakdown of donor and state expenses in construction and operation, (d) the names of the construction companies involved and (e) the breakdown of centres are operational and that are not:

Kwa Zulu-Natal Province

Name of CCC	(b) Costs of construction and operations	(c) Donor and state expenses in construction and operations	(d) Construction companies involved	(e) Operational Status of the CCCs
Idlebe CCC, Ulundi (Khululekani operates in the CCC)	R18’192,590.75 for construction of 2 CCCs. R1’751, 236.20 for service delivery	R18’192,590.75 donor funds for construction. Zero state funds for construction R1’751, 236.20 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds each NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery (R 977 780.00 for Idlebe CCC and R 773 456.20 for Nibela CCC).	Khuthala Building Construction	All CCCs are operational.
Nibela CCC, Hluhluwe (Vukuzakhe operates in the CCC)
Esidumbini CCC, Ndwedwe (Sithandukwedza operates in the CCC)	R21’330,846.03 for construction of 3 CCCs. R 2’109,058.15 for service delivery	R21’330,846.3 donor funds for construction Zero state funds for construction R2’109,058.15 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually each NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery (R500,000.00 for Esidumbini CCC; R815, 544.20 for Stoffelton CCC and R793, 513.95 for Charlestown CCC).	Bhekanani Building and Construction	All CCCs are operational.
Stoffelton CCC, Impendle (Khanyisani Health support Organisation operates in the CCC)
Charlestown CCC, Newcastle (Sukumuzenzele operates in the CCC)
Bethany CCC, Bergville (Sinothandolwethu operates in the CCC)	R8’577, 188.88 for construction of 1 CCC R745,472.47 for service delivery	R8’577, 188.88 donor funds for construction Zero state funds for construction R745,472.47 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually the NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery		Operational and funded annually by the province for service delivery.

North West Province

Name of CCC	(b) Costs of construction and operations	(c) Donor and state expenses in construction and operations	(d) Construction companies involved	(e) Operational Status of the CCCs
Ventersdorp CCC (Tshireletsego Care and Support operates in the CCC)	R25’530, 846.00 for construction of 3 CCCs. R4’280,780.00 for service delivery	R25’530, 846.00 donor funds for construction Zero state funds for construction R4’280,780.00 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually each NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery (R1’557,356.00 for Ventersdorp CCC; R1’418, 308.00 for Ipelegeng CCC and R1’305, 116.00 for Kgomotso CCC).	Risimati (RS) Civil construction	All 3 CCCs are operational. The three CCCs were completed and handed over to the province in September, October and November 2019 respectively.
Ipelegeng CCC, Schweizer Reneke (Lesedi HCBC operates in the CCC)
Kgomotso CCC, Taung (Malebogo HCBC operates in the CCC)
Letlhakeng CCC (Ikageng Basha HBC operates in the CCC)	R32’551,113.15 for construction of 3 CCCs R259,579.00 for operations R3’591,112.00 for service delivery	R 17 551 113.15 donor funds for construction R15’000.000 state funds for construction (towards the completion of the 3 CCCs that were left incomplete by the previous contractor). R259,579.00 for operations (R9, 579.00 for approval of building plans by the Moses Kotane Local Municipality for Letlhakeng CCC and R250, 000.00 for the rezoning of Groot Marico CCC). R3’591,112.00 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually each NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery (R1’211,580.00 for Letlhakeng CCC; R1’211,580.00 for Lethabong CCC and R1’ 167,952.00 for Groot Marico CCC).	Baitiredi Management Properties – Contract was terminated due to poor performance and cash flow constraints. Bhekanani Building and Construction was appointed to complete construction of the three CCCs.	All 3 CCCs are operational. The 3 CCCs were completed and handed over to the province in June 2022 for the first two CCCs and on October 2022 for the third CCC.
Lethabong CCC (Lethabong OVC Programme operates in the CCC)
Groot Marico CCC (Tlhokomelo HBC and DIC operate in the CCC)

Limpopo Province

Name of CCC	(b) Costs of construction and operations	(c) Donor and state expenses in construction and operations	(d) Construction companies involved	(e) Operational Status of the CCCs
Ndindane CCC, Greater Giyane (Ndindani DIC operate in the CCC)	R14’000,000.00 for construction of 2 CCCs R854,286.74 for service delivery	R14’000,000.00 donor funds for construction Zero state funds for construction R854,286.74 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually each NPO operating in the CCC for service delivery (R489,677.60 for Ndindani CCC and R364, 609.14 for Bonn CCC).	MUMS Building Construction	Both CCCs are operational. The two CCCs were completed and handed over to the province in January 2018.
Bonn CCC, Greater Giyane (Hluvukani DIC operate in the CCC)
Mamvuka CCC, Makhado (Dzanani Community HBC operate in the CCC)	R32’277,521.00 for construction of 3 CCCs. R1’730,244.74 for service delivery	R25’277, 521.00 donor funds for construction (R15’458,115.50 already used on the existing, unfinished buildings and R9’819,405.50 will be used towards completion of the CCCs) R7’000,000.00 state funds will be used to complete the remaining works towards finalisation of the CCCs. R1’730,244.74 state funds for service delivery during 2022/23 FY, the province funds annually each NPO to operate in the CCC for service delivery (R467,265.54 for Mamvuka CCC; R806 979.20 for Taueatsoala CCC and R456, 000.00 for Elandsdoorn CCC).	Segabokeng Building Construction was appointed in 2015 and contract terminated in February 2017 due to non-compliance, non -performance and cash flow challenges. Left the CCCs incomplete. Striking Force Civils and Construction was appointed in 2018 and contract terminated in 2019 due to non-compliance, non -performance and cash flow challenges, left the CCCs incomplete. Bhekanani Building and construction has been appointed to complete the CCCs. Commenced with construction in February 2023 – to complete the CCCs in November 2023	Under Construction and will be completed in November 2023.
Taueatsoala CCC, Mogalakwena (Kopanang DIC to operate in the CCC once its completed)
Elandsdoorn CCC, Elias Motsoaledi (Pholosho DIC to operate in the CCC once its completed)

2. Community Care centres:

The table below reflects (b) names and contact details of the operational centres, (c) physical addresses and contact details of respective managers

(b) Name of Operational CCCs	(C) Physical Addresses and contact details of respective managers
1. Idlebe CCC	Mbambankunzi, Dlebe Ulundi Local Municipality Ms Tholinhlanhla Primrose Nhlanzi (Site Facilitator) Contact No: 076 378 0354
2. Nibela CCC	Hluhluwe, Nibela Big Five False Bay Local Municipality Nkosinathi Mlandu (Social Worker) Contact No:0826788432 MH Mkhize 078 559 9156
3. Charlestown CCC	Charlestown New Castle Local Municipality Sibonelo Zondi (Social Worker) Contact No: 0604693170 Thabisile Hlabisa 082 689 4028 Vusi R Ndlovu (Chairperson) contact No: 0835871930
4. Stoffelton CCC	Stoffelton Impendle Local Municipality Wandile Dladla (Social Worker) Contac No:0790554469 T Funeka 071 361 0598
5. Esidumbini CCC	Esidumbini Ndwedwe Local Municipality Ms Duduzile Linda (Social Worker) Contact No: 0735910683 Thobile Shabalala 079 111 0262
6. Bergville	Bergville Okhahlamba Local Municipality Dombi Ngwenya (Chairperson) Contact No: 0722042077 Lungile Sithole (Secretary) Contact No: 073 537 9408
7. Letlhakeng CCC	Letlhakeng Moses Kotane local Municipality Ms Bafedile Motaung NO: 0639479828 NO: 0760736873 [email protected]
8. Lethabong CCC	Lethabong Rustenburg Local Municipality Ms Lebogang Moilwe NO: 0762374678 [email protected]
9. Groot Marico CCC	Groot Marico Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality Ms Gerzia Ratshefola NO: 0823242460
10. Kgomotso CCC	Kgomotso , Taung Greater Taung Local Municipality Ms Tshegofatso Phefo NO: 0798850469
11. Ipelegeng CCC	Ipelegeng, Schweizer Reneke, Mamusa Local Municipality Ms Funky Tsheboeng NO: 0820430536 [email protected] Cecilia Mabone 082 041 2422
12. Boikhutso CCC	Boikhutso, Ventersdorp Local Municipality Boniwe Mgwagwa NO: 0648102993 [email protected]
13. Bonn CCC	Bonn Village, Berlin Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality Mavis Mkhari 0603942135 Ms Yvonne Chauke District Coordinator 0614626873 [email protected]
14. Ndindani CCC	Ndindani Village Greater Giyani Local Municipality Grace Chavalala 0837682421 Ms Yvonne Chauke District Coordinator 0614626873 [email protected]

(d) successes and challenges of the 17 community care centres

Successes:

• Employment of staff in the CCCs has contributed to job creation. All CCCs have a staff complement of a Social Worker, Child and Youth Care Workers, Community Care Givers, Security personnel, Gardener and Cooks.
• The launch of Multi- media centres and safe spaces for men in some of the CCCs in the North West and Kwa- Zulu Natal provinces by the Deputy Minister. This means that more children and youth can access computers for their studies and job hunting purposes. Men and boys in the communities have safe spaces within the CCCs, where they can discuss their issues and contribute to championing change initiatives.
• Huawei has also been engaged to provide training on Robotics and Coding to these young people and so far, almost 40 young people have been trained in Letlhakeng.
• The CCCs reach more beneficiaries in communities, through the services provided such as psychosocial support services, Social and Behaviour Change programmes, Early Childhood Development services, services to Older Persons, Skills development programmes and sports and recreation.
• Provision of nutritional support in terms of meals and food parcels to those in distress which contributes to reduction of extreme poverty as highlighted in the NDP.
• Provision of Educational support and homework supervision to keep children at school.
• Promotion of cultural practices through the intergenerational programmes that are rendered in the CCCs where the elderly transfer skills and knowledge to the children and youth.

Challenges:

• Delays in construction due to challenges with appointed contractors, in terms of performance, and cash flow challenges. This hampers service delivery that is promised to communities and escalates finances for the building of CCCs, hence the department had to contribute in order to ensure that all CCCs are completed.
• Difficulty in getting intergovernmental collaboration and support from other Municipalities especially those that are charging fees to the department for their services.
• The NPOs operating in the CCCs are under-funded by provinces for operations due to fiscal constraints (the funding is not yet comprehensive to cover all services as per the comprehensive package of services for the CCCs). This does not go with the intended purpose of the CCCs, as they are intended to render services to all beneficiaries in the communities.

Reply:

a) The Gauteng Department of Social Development is funding:

1. Two (2) homeless shelters in Ekurhuleni
2. Eight (8) homeless shelters in Johannesburg
3. Thirteen (13) homeless shelters in Tshwane

b) The Department is funding

1. Two NPOs in Ekurhuleni
2. Four NPOs in Johannesburg
3. Seven NPOs in Tshwane

Their details are as below:

Region	Name of shelter	Name of NPO
Ekurhuleni	1.Manger Care Centre	1.Manger Care Centre
Ekurhuleni	2. MES Kempton Park	2.Mould Empower Serve NPC (MES)
Johannesburg	1. Immaculata Hall	1.Mercy Shelter for Homeless
Johannesburg	2. Strabane Centre
Johannesburg	3. Tudhope Avenue
Johannesburg	4. MES Impilo	2. Middestad Evangelisasie en SendingOpheffingsorgansasie (MES Impilo)
Johannesburg	5. Wembly Stadium	3.Ikusasa Lethu Youth Project NPO
Johannesburg	6. Dan street florida
Johannesburg	7. Windsor	4.Vukovar Community Development Initiative
Johannesburg	8. 3 Kotze shelter
Tshwane	1. 2 Struben	1.Kitso Lesedi
Tshwane	2. Home for the homeless
Tshwane	3. Mabheshane	2.Thandanani Drop in Centre
Tshwane	4 Letjabeng
Tshwane	5.Gate Centre (Wing 1 and Wing 2)	3.Youth for Survival
Tshwane	6.TLF Men	4.Tshwane leadership Foundation
Tshwane	7. TLF Women
Tshwane	8. Tau Village
Tshwane	9.The Life Changing Project Projects	5. The Life Changing Project Projects
Tshwane	10. Ladies Arise	6. Participate Empower Navigate
Tshwane	11. NG Church
Tshwane	12. Bethesda
Tshwane	13.Homeless Upliftment Project	7. Homeless Upliftment Project

 

Reply:

a) There are no plans to establish new shelters for family units due to the fact that shelter services are integrated. There is no separation of family and individual victims in a shelter. The Department has developed minimum norms and standards for shelters and the intersectoral shelter policy to guide provision of the shelter service. Both guideline and the policy advocates for keeping family together. The set-up of a shelter makes provision in the accommodation arrangements that families are kept together however, all other activities/services are integrated. (Please may we respond to the question-any specific dates for the establishment of the family units shelters?)

b) There is no specific criteria to establish family unit in shelters apart from the shelter minimum norms and standards;

1. The upcoming shelter establishment will focus on districts without shelters in the country (KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Limpopo and North West)
2. KwaZulu-Natal - Zululand, Northern Cape – Namaqua and John Toalo Gaetsewe Districts, Limpopo – Waterberg, Sekhukhune and Vhembe Districts and North West – Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Ngaka Modiri Molema)

 

Reply:

1. The total number of public servants that were in the employ of the Public Service as reflected on PERSAL for the 3rd quarter ending 31 December 2022 is:

 (a)  1 154 799 in 2020/21 financial year, and

(b) 1 155 203 in the 2021/22 financial year.      

2. The data of the total number of public servants as at 01 January 2023 is not yet available on PERSAL, however, the total number of public servants during the 3rd quarter ending on 31 December 2022 is 1 166 354.

End

Reply:

1. Yes, the first draft of the Animals Protection Bill has been completed. The draft was considered by the Animal Welfare working group which comprises of provincial representatives on animal welfare. Due to the amount of research required to be undertaken; as well as the sensitivity around animal welfare and the need for benchmarking with the international community and practices, the Department is of the opinion that it does not have sufficient capacity and decided to place the project on tender.

2. (a),(b)(i),(ii),(iii) The first draft of the Bill is in place. It is anticipated that the consultant will start their work in the first quarter of 2023/24 and conclude the assignment in 6 months. The consultant will be required to consult broadly, including the gazetting of the draft document for public comments, and also arranging consultations with focus groups with expertise in animal welfare. The Bill will be submitted for public consultations a month after completion; and processed to Cabinet in the first quarter of 2024/25.

Reply:

1. There have been many initiatives in Eskom after the State Capture period to identify corrupt individuals, contracts and payments. A number of individuals and companies have been charged, dismissed or required to pay back money that was earned through illegal or improper means. Among these are ABB, McKinsey and others. The above is a result of the work of SIU, DPCI and Eskom’s own investigations.

2. In terms of section 34 of PRECCA, I am advised that:

• a) Mr De Reyter is a “person who holds a position of authority” as the Chief Executive Officer of Eskom and therefore bears a duty to report corrupt transactions to the DPCI in terms of that section; and
• b) I am excluded from the definition of such persons in section 34(4) of PRECCA.

3. In addition, the following law enforcement and other actions relating to Eskom should be noted:

a) Various measures taken by the Department of Public Enterprises and reported to Parliament regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Zondo Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector, including Organs of State regarding Eskom in particular;

b) The cancellation of coal supply agreements and construction contracts by Eskom with a value of approximately R11 billion ;

c) Litigation by Eskom that declared invalid coal supply agreements to an approximate value of R3.7 billion;

d) Preventing further losses of approximately R10 billion to Eskom by setting aside other coal supply agreements and constructions contracts;

e) Eskom defending arbitrations brought by contractors with an approximate value of R7.2 billion;

f) Eskom pursuing claims with a value of approximately R4.8 billion against suppliers and former directors of Eskom;

g) Eskom recovering approximately R2 billion unlawfully paid by Eskom to service providers;

h) SIU investigations and Eskom disciplinary action regarding 14 coal transportation service providers concerning payments from 01 January 2010 to 31 January 2021;

i) Ongoing internal investigations into 4 diesel suppliers to Eskom;

j) SIU referrals of 5,635 matters to Eskom for institution of disciplinary proceedings against employees for their failure to submit financial declarations, declare or get approval for doing work outside of Eskom, as a result of lifestyle audits, whistleblower reports and other internal investigations;

k) Pending criminal cases or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority by law enforcement in at least 125 instances and a further 65 referrals to the Asset Forfeiture Unit relating to Eskom;

l) The Department of Public Enterprises finalising external advice regarding it launching applications to have several former directors of Eskom declared delinquent; and

m) The inclusion of at least 25 former senior executives at Eskom in a database of individuals dismissed for their involvement in state capture and corruption at Eskom.

4. When Mr De Ruyter advised me of this further investigation, I understood that law enforcement (specifically, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) was involved in the investigation.

5. I have no additional knowledge or evidence of “criminal activities by a senior government official in relation to Eskom coal contracts” referred to in the Question.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

(1) The Department leads the implementation of Pillar 4 of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP-GBVF 2019-2024) which is about Response, Care, Support and Healing; and also contribute to Pillar 1 which is about Prevention to combat the atrocious and brutal murder of children. NSP-GBVF 2019-2024 is the government’s Framework aimed at providing a multi-sectoral coherent strategic policy and programming to eliminate gender-based violence and Femicide against women and children. The following are interventions that currently implemented by provinces, however there is a need to upscale these programmes in all communities where there is none. The upscaling is dependent on the increase in resources.

 

Pillar 1: Prevention.

a) Implementation of Social and Behaviour Change programmes namely;

(i)Traditional Rock Leadership-a programme that empowers Traditional Leaders with the knowledge and skills to assist their communities to address GBVF, substance abuse, HIV and other social ills

(ii) Family Matters programme- Enhances positive parenting skills to initiate conversations, sstrengthen relationships and protect children from violence and murder and other risk behaviours.

(iii) Community Capacity Enhancementoialogues.

(iv) Let’s talk Family strengthening programme- Adolescents focus on building skills for better emotional coping, communication, and problem solving.

(v) Men championing change- Mobilise men to effectively prevent and efficiently respond to issues that adversely affect our communities; and for men to be positive role models in their families (in particular children) and to act as progressive leaders in communities,

(vi) Boys championing change- the programme targets boys under the age of 18 years old and is aimed at empowering Adolescent boys to express more favourable attitudes towards gender equity and an increased value of girls and women in the society.

(vii) Chommy- targets children (both genders) between the ages of 10 and 14 under. It instils active citizenry by using indigenous games to stimulate dialogues on issues around child protection, HIV prevention, gender-based violence and substance abuse.

(viii) You Only Leave Once(YOLO)- creates a safe and enabling environment for youth dialogues, where young people can discuss social issues including violence against children, HIV prevention, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence and Femicide, positive values and decision making around sex and sexuality. It builds resilience and increase self-esteem.

(ix) Ke Moja- Creates awareness among young people about harmful effects of substance abuse.

(x) Zazi-

(xi) A Sikhulume- A programme that capacitate and empower the religious sector on how to protect women and children against violence and murder in their sector.

(xii) Risiha- aims at moving children from vulnerability to resilience

Social Development is spearheading the implementation of INSPIRE strategies which are evidence-based solutions as advocated by WHO to address violence against children. In an effort to operationalise the INSPIRE strategies, the department implements the 365 days child protection campaign with technical support from UNICEF targeting provinces with highest number of cases of violence against children.

(2) The Department’s plan is embedded within the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP-GBVF 2019-2024), supporting implementation of Pilllar 1 and leading the implementation of Pillar 4 of the NSP-GBVF. (NSP on GBVF is attached). In addition, the Department developed an Intersectoral Protocol for the prevention and Management of Violence against children, child abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Department monitors provinces on quarterly basis on the implementation of this protocol.

(3) Provinces are implementing the NSP-GBVF. On annual basis provinces are required to share their plans on the implementation of the activities of the NSP-GBVF. The activities of the NSP-GBVF are the implementation of programmes as indicated above in question 1.

Reply:

The colloquium on Animal Welfare will be held once a consultant to conduct the necessary background research and develop the Bill has been appointed. This is envisaged to be facilitated within the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.

Reply:

The National School of Government is rolling-out the Disability Mainstreaming Course. The training materials are available in Braille and Software enabled programmes. Training and development in the Public Service is framed by a range of policy statements and legislation, particularly the White Paper on Public Service Education and Training, the White Paper on Human Resource Management, the Public Service Regulations, and the Strategic Framework on the Development of Human Resources in the Public Service.

Ultimately, through this course, we want to create a positive reaction in the Public Service, a reaction that will bring about change that will open-up a space for Persons with Disabilities to assume their rightful position in our democratic society, where there is respect for their human dignity and where they experience equality and freedom.

This course is framed in the context of the Public Service ethos and its partnership with disability movement organisations. It is designed in accordance with the objectives of the JobACCESS Strategic Framework on the Recruitment, Employment and Retention of Persons with Disabilities in the Public Service, along with its Implementation Guidelines and Plan, and the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, (WPRPD), 2015. The strategic objective of the course is, in the main, to contribute to the transformation of the Public Service workplace, and to also impact on the social

transformation of society through appropriate service delivery, by valuing diversity, removal of discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, and contributing to the vision of universal design and access.

The purpose of this training course is to facilitate the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace, and removing barriers that prevent their successful participation in the job market. Learners can develop presentations and raise awareness to the benefit of supporting a diverse workplace, and with benefits to the employers, employees, customers, and the community. Learners will be equipped to know what the legal requirements, the Codes of Good Practice and manuals on the employment of Persons with Disabilities are.

Qualifying learners are capable of: Communicating benefits and rights of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace; facilitating equitable representation for Persons with Disabilities in the workplace and conducting interventions to remove barriers for Persons with Disabilities in the workplace. Also, qualifying learners will be able to: Apply the DPSA Monitoring and Evaluation Framework; effectively report on disability issues in their organisations; understand the needs and challenges of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace; understand the needs and challenges of the employer (manager) appointing and managing a Person with a disability in the workplace; compile effective action plans for their organisations; advise line managers and human resource units on disability management issues in the workplace and a standardised approach and strategies aimed at organisational implementation of the Strategic Framework.

Overall, the 5-day training will result in enhanced skills, knowledge and abilities of disability programme managers. Specific outcomes as outlined in the Unit Standard from which the course credits are derived are as follows:

1. Communicate benefits and rights of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace (Specific Outcome 1).
2. Facilitate equitable representation for Persons with Disabilities in the workplace (Specific Outcome 2).
3. Conduct interventions to remove barriers for Persons with Disabilities in the workplace (Specific Outcome 3).

The National School of Government participates in the Disability forums convene by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. The National School of Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities for the implementation of a customised Disability Mainstreaming Course. The Agreement is funded by the United Nations Population Fund aimed at capacitating officials in the mainstreaming of disability into operations.

The NSG also offers Championing Anti-Discrimination in the Public Service as a free, online course. This Course has been specifically developed for public servants to intervene in, and ultimately to end, discrimination in the public service, amongst public servants, and by public servants against the public. The public sector is an extension and reflection of society. Yet, it is this very public sector that is compelled to uphold, promote and protect a legislative and ethical higher ground. The public servants are responsible for implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and Medium-

Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-2024, which are based on promoting and protecting the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights, in addition to meeting continental (AU Agenda 2063) and international (UN SDGs) obligations.

The Course includes the complexities of difference, power and privilege, the need to claim agency rather than victimhood, to routinely and safely intervene when witnessing discrimination, and to act as allies to the marginalised. In this way, the public sector will contribute significantly to building a society in which everyone’s rights are realised, a public sector that is compassionate, just and ethical, for a capable, developmental state. The purpose of this Course is to examine our beliefs, attitudes, thinking and behaviour to strengthen public sector officials to be capable of combatting discrimination wherever they may find it. This Course provides information on the key concepts, principles and application of Championing Anti-Discrimination in the Public Service. The participants are encouraged to continue with conversations about this programme content with peers, colleagues, friends and family, privately and in public. It is designed to be accessible for all public servants. Throughout the course participants do ‘Knowledge Checks’ facilitated by the NSG on-line system. They are only deemed to have succeeded at the course, and so to be eligible for a certificate of completion once they have achieved 75% at the Knowledge Checks. Participants will be awarded a Certificate of Completion after completing the programme, which they can print out for themselves online.

End

Reply:

1. The work done since 2018 to date to address corruption within Eskom is as follows:

a) Contracts cancelled by Eskom because of SIU’s investigations:

• Coal Supply Agreement (CSA) - R6.955 bn.
• Build contracts – R4.128 bn.
• Total – 11.083 bn.

b) Contracts declared invalid by the courts.

• Tegeta – Brakfontein/Majuba Coal Supply Agreement - R3.7 bn.

c)  Savings/Losses Prevented

• CSA: Setting aside Brakfontein CSA – R2.684 bn.
• CSA: Cancellation of Koorfontein CSA - R5.550 bn.
• Build Contract matter before Dispute Arbitration Board - R400 m.
• Prevention of future losses – R1.45 bn.

d) Evidence referred to assist Eskom in the defence of five contractors' claims of R7.2 bn before the Dispute Arbitration Board.

e) Approximately R4,8 bn is being claimed against suppliers and former directors of Eskom.

f) Eskom and SIU successfully recovered R2 bn unlawfully paid to Trillian, Deloitte, ABB, and Meagra Transport CC.

g) SIU launched investigations into 14 coal transportation service provider concerning payments from 01 January 2010 to 31 January 2021.

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

h) Four diesel suppliers implicated in potential wrongdoing are under investigation.

i) SIU has referred the following 5620 matters to Eskom for institution of disciplinary proceedings:

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

j) Eskom officials who failed to declare their conflict of interest and/or who conducted business with Eskom:

• 334 officials have been identified who are potentially linked to entities that are Eskom’s vendors with 161 of them potentially linked to entities that received payment from Eskom.

k) Total of 134 officials were referred for disciplinary proceedings relating to conflict of interest. 116 cases have been finalised as follows:

• 67 guilty.
• 18 not guilty.
• 19 resigned.
• 4 retired.
• 8 withdrawn.
• All cases are being evaluated to determine the prospects of civil recoveries.

l) 11 Eskom officials were red flagged through lifestyle audits and referred for disciplinary proceeding. The cases were finalised as follows:

• 7 guilty.
• 2 not guilty.
• 1 resigned.
• 1 retired.

m) Eskom has opened 11 criminal cases for investigation by law enforcement agencies with the view to ensure that perpetrators of state capture are prosecuted.

n) 2 cases of corruption are before the courts, one relates to ABB and another one relates to former Acting GCE Mr. Koko.

o) The SIU has recommended the restriction of 76 vendors who are linked to Eskom officials.

p) A total of 112 referrals have been made to the NPA.

• Conflict of interest: 14 matters referred.
• Build contracts: 73 matters referred.
• Coal procurement/transportation: 15 matters referred.
• IT contracts: 10 matters referred.

q) A total of 65 referrals have been made to the Asset Forfeiture Unit.

• Build contracts – 61 matters referred with restraint orders totalling R1.48 bn obtained.
• Coal procurement/transportation – 15 matters referred.
• IT contracts – 10 matters referred.

r) The DPE is currently finalising consultations with CIPC with the view to imminently launch director delinquency proceedings against 13 former directors of Eskom.

s) 25 names of former senior executive of Eskom have been identified for inclusion into a centralised database of individuals dismissed for their involvement in state capture or who resigned from Eskom to avoid accountability for state capture. The database will be used to monitor those individuals who abused their positions of authority in one sphere of government and/ or entity, do not resurface in another.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

There is no reluctance on the side of the Department Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to take advantage of indigenous plants in the Republic. This position is demonstrated through DALRRD’s support of research on several indigenous plants which have actual or potential use in agriculture and agro-processing. This includes research on a number of indigenous plants (such as African Ginger, African wormwood); the research focus include, amongst others:

• development of suitable or optimal cultivation practices to prevent harvesting of plant material from the wild;
• phytochemical analyses of active ingredients of the plants to elucidate or confirm potential useful characteristics;
• collection, storage and characterization to maintain its genetic diversity; and
• product development and value-adding.

It should be noted that bioprospecting (which cover commercial application) of indigenous plants is subject to the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004). This requires complex compliance conditions which hinders commercial exploitation of indigenous plant and investment. Plants used traditionally in agriculture (such as maize, wheat, etc.) are excluded from the provisions of NEMBA.

DALRRD is currently developing the Cannabis Master Plan, which aims to unlock the economic potential of the Cannabis sector.

Reply:

1. In the current financial year Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) sold 49 364 doses of horse sickness vaccine.

a) (i) In 2021, 6236 equines were vaccinated (ii) 2022, 5898 equines were vaccinated In the African Horse Sickness (AHS) surveillance zone and AHS free zone, the number of equines vaccinated is known as permission is required from the Veterinary Authority for vaccination.

(b)(i)(ii) The Department does not keep records of animals vaccinated for any endemic disease in the country even though it encourages owners to vaccinate their animals. AHS is endemic in the rest of the country, no records of numbers vaccinated is kept.

(c)(i)(ii) OBP produced enough vaccine during 2020 for the market. Thereafter until 2023 disruptions due to equipment breakdown and load-shedding started which disrupted consistent production supply.

2. (a)(b) responded by in 1(c)

3. (a) OBP is currently refurbishing critical equipment and has commenced in procuring new equipment.

(b) Negotiations are currently taking place to consider contract manufacturing with the aim of increasing OBP production output.

Reply:

There are currently 6 Boards within the Department’s portfolio of State-Owned Companies, comprising 50 Board members. To date, all the Directors have been inducted.

Board induction process is undertaken jointly between the Department and the SOC when a new Board is appointed. This is not a compulsory process in that there is no legislative requirement prescribing Board induction. Rather, it is a good governance practice that has been adopted and implemented by the Department.

In addition, an introductory meeting is held with the Minister and the Board wherein key issues pertaining to inter alia Shareholder’s expectations are outlined. Moreover, the Company itself prepares and undertakes an ongoing Board training programme upon identification of individual Board members’ areas of development.

Further, the Company reports on its Board training and development to the Shareholder on a quarterly basis as part of its Quarterly Report to the Shareholder, to enable the Department to monitor both the Board and Company’s performance against set targets.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) Recording of animals that die because of controlled animal diseases is done at provincial level while the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) only records the number of outbreaks. DALRRD is however, in the process of collating and verifying data in this regard, which will be submitted once verified.

b) Below is the total amount of blood vaccines available at Ondersterpoort Biological Products as at 29 March 2023:

Blood Vaccine Type	In Packaging Department	In Distribution Department	TOTAL
Anaplasmosis	271	0	271
Redwater African	4709	849	5558
Redwater Asiatic	1480	627	2107
Heartwater	2870	163	3033

More batches of Anaplasmosis currently being tested are expected to be released at the end of April 2023 and the production of more blood vaccines is planned for April and May 2023.

Reply:

When a disaster occurs DSD partners with different stakeholders to provide humanitarian assistance to affected households and individuals, it is at the point where it is determined who will provide which assistance.

The role players that DSD partners with are provincial departments of SASSA, the National Disaster Management Committee, ProvJocs and disaster coordinating forums at provincial levels, as well as NatJoints at National level. The list of persons or households to be provided with assistance are verified by the Provincial or Local Disaster Management Response Unit.

REPLY:

Interventions that were provided by DSD during the recent floods

PROVINCE	SUITE OF INTERVENTIONS PROVIDED BY DSD/SASSA
Eastern Cape	The hard-hit area in the Alfred Nzo District is Matatiele with 77 households, followed by Umzimvubu with 45 households and Ntabankulu with 37 households.   DSD provided Psycho-social support and Trauma Debriefing services are being rendered by the Social Workers to the affected families. With integration between DSD and SASSA all families with schooling children were referred to SASSA for school uniform. A total of 1,850 people were affected, and SASSA intervened as follows: Meals were provided to 449 individuals to the value of R289, 605. School uniform applications were taken for 171 to the value of R407,800 Cash for 4 deceased victims was processed to the value of R7,960 The most affected districts were;Alfred Nzo, Amathole District Chris Hani District, Joe Gqabi District and OR Tambo District Cash SRD applications were processed for 433 affected victims to the value of R 863,670 The total assistance provided by SASSA Eastern Cape Region was to 1024 individuals at an amount of R1, 569,035.00
Gauteng	2384 people were affected and 85 people were displaced 21 Food vouchers and 2 Cash vouchers were issued to the value of R45 770.00. Most affected areas were Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng
KwaZulu-Natal,	On 10 February 2023 KwaZulu Natal experienced severe rainfalls which resulted into flood disasters. A total of 84 incidents were reported with 3010 households affected.   SASSA KZN region participate in all disaster management structures both Provincial and Local. This ensures that interventions are coordinated for speedy response and prevention of duplication. Provincial Departments and municipalities are currently finalising disaster recovery plans as there was an extensive damage to the public infrastructure. SASSA, DSD, affected Municipalities and civil society organisation such as Al Imdad Foundation and Gift of the givers were able to provide immediate assistance victims. DSD conducted assessment on affected families in order to determine the social impact and in order to provide Psychosocial support such as trauma counselling and debriefing. SASSA KZN provided the social relief of distress food vouchers to 826 households to the value of R1, 635 480. SRD food vouchers was also provide to 6 households with disaster fatalities to the value of R 3960 which an amount of two older person’s grant as stipulated in the SRD policy . The total assistance to all affected families is R 23 760
Limpopo	Limpopo had 222 affected households by floods. None of the affected were displaced. SASSA provided SRD cash valued at R443 810.00.
Northern Cape	No people were displaced due to the floods.   Those that were affected by the river over-flows were provided with food and blankets by DSD and Gift of the Givers.
North-West	Floods occurred in the areas of Ngaka Modiri Molema district; Deelpan; Lombaardslaagte; Slurry and Mahikeng (extention 38), Deelpan village DSD conducted profiling within the affected community and 50 food parcels were distributed on 08 Feb 2023. 77 houses were profiled. The affected families were not relocated to temporary accommodation due to resistance. SASSA provided vanity packs as immediate intervention. The first consignment of 100 (50 males and 50 females) vanity packs valued at R 27 500. 00 were issued. Vouchers were issued as follows; 35 at Lombaartslaagte, 6 Mahikeng (extension 38) and 12 at Slurry informal settlement. Profiling continues and SASSA will provide interventions as required.
Mpumalanga	All municipal districts were affected; Ehlanzeni District: Nkomazi and Mbombela Local Municipalities the mostly affected Gert Sibande: both Lekwa and Mkhondo Local Municipalities were affected. Bushbuckridge district and Nkangala District : Dr. J.S. Moroka and Emakhazeni were reported as affected In Mbombela Local Municipality 112 households were reported to have been evacuated, however intervention disaster relief was provided form the Provincial disaster structures Gert Sibande District: SASSA and DSD participated in the coordinated interventions from Mkhondo Local Municipalities and Lekwa and Gert Sibande District, in partnership with all stakeholders provided disaster relief. Two (02) households with six (06) people were evacuated and DSD provided disaster relief. SASSA provided SRD – Disaster (cash) to 16 affected individuals to the value of R20 780.00. Nkangala District: Dr. J.S. Moroka was reported as affected by the floods, which affected the households that were already affected by rains that happened from 29th January 2023. SASSA provided SRD Disaster (cash vocher) to 23 affected individuals to the value of R45 770.00 In total SASSA provided cash vouchers to 45 clients to the value of R78 490.00 In Nkomazi Local Municipality, 1 701 households were affected and eight (08) cases of loss of life reported, and none of these families were displaced. SASSA formed part of the district and provincial disaster management structures. The other partners including Gift of the Givers, Red Cross business also provided assistance and donations consisting of food parcels, gel stoves, blankets, mattresses, collapsible structures, sponges, tarpaulins, children’s clothing and sanitary towels. SASSA is still conducting assessments of the households referred by DSD, assessments and cash vouchers issued so far at the value of R11 940.00. The households where loss of life was reported are still being assessed. The affected families were not relocated to temporary accommodation, although some houses were damaged hence the provision of collapsible structures by the Dept. Human Settlement.

Reply:

The key objective of the study is to provide National Treasury with independent advisory services on the operational challenges impacting on the appropriate interventions that will turn around the operations of the entity. The service provider “will be reviewing and advising on the operational challenges being experienced at the existing power plant level, appropriateness and effectiveness of maintenance regime being implemented, the level capital expenditure required for the existing power plants”. The service provider will be required to visit all the power plants in the Eskom network and engage with various divisions within Eskom and the Department of Public Enterprises.

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane Pravin Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

National Development Agency (NDA)

a) (i) The annual salary for the NDA Chief Executive Officer is at P3 grade used by the NDA for employees. The total cost to company for the CEO is R2 514 176.28 for the current financial year 2022/23 and adjusted annually for inflationary related adjustments approved by the Board, Since November 2022 to date the NDA had an Acting CEO. and

b) (ii) The top executives’ positions at the National Development Agency are on P4 (Peromnes) of the NDA salary scale. The NDA uses the Peromnes job grading methodology for grading the levels to determine the salary levels. The six executives are listed below, including the current Acting Chief Executive Officer. Acting positions are paid an additional 10% of the position they are acting on.

No		Designation	Salary Grade	Total Cost to Company Earnings
1	R.L.Hlapolosa	Corporate Services Executive	P4	R 1 711 189
2	S.L.Khumalo	Chief Operations Officer	P4	R1 730 970
3	K.M.Muthen	Chief Financial Officer	P4	R1 730 970
4	B. Magongo	Acting Chief Executive Officer	P4	R1 970 279
5	H. Mansour	Chief Audit Executive	P4	R1 988 627
6	X.S.Baloyi	Acting Executive Research	P6	R1 312 094

c) The Chief Executive Officer and Executives are paid total cost to company salary packages and as employed officials they do not receive additional payment for meeting attendance.

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)

a) (i) and (ii) The salaries of the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Managers appointed by the South African Social Security Agency are aligned to those of the Director-General (DG) and Deputy Director-Generals (DDG) applicable to the public sector and the determination is made by the Minister of the Department of Public Service and Administration (refer to the table below for details).

No.	Designation	Salary Level	All-inclusive salary package
1	Chief Executive Officer	16	R2 650 000.00 Personal Notch
2	Chief Financial officer	15	R1 791 978.00
3	Chief Information Officer	15	R1 864 698.00 Personal Notch
4	Executive Manager: Grants Administration	15	R1 590 747.00
5	Executive Manager: Strategy & Planning Development	15	R1 791 978.00
6	Regional Executive Manager: Eastern Cape	15	R1 791 978.00
7	Regional Executive Manager: Gauteng	15	R1 713 696.00
8	Regional Executive Manager: North-West	15	R1 663 422.00
9	Regional Executive Manager: KZN	15	R1 590 747.00

b) Kindly be advised that there are no meeting allowances payable to the Chief Executive Officer and her Executives as it does not form part of their structured salary packages.

Reply:

1. For the period referred to in the parliamentary question from 2012/2013 to 2021/2022 financial year, the total potential loss that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has recorded in terms of cases reported is broken down as follows:

Number	Year	Potential Loss	Budget Amount	Loss as a %
1	2021/2022	R 23 141 386.15	R 221,716,422,608.00	0.010%
2	2020/2021	R 8 554 573.60	R 195,516,422,608.00	0.004%
3	2019/2020	R 6 861 156.50	R 175,155,593,000.00	0.004%
4	2018/2019	R 215 402 889.89	R 162,960,723,000.00	0.132%
5	2017/2018	R 6 886 687.94	R 151,580,232,000.00	0.005%
6	2016/2017	R 75 085 055.62	R 140,498,691,000.00	0.053%
7	2015/2016	R 14 712 807.44	R 129,818,278,000.00	0.011%
8	2014/2015	R 59 203 282.32	R 120,952,101,000.00	0.049%
9	2013/2014	R 109 949 555.00	R 113,006,841,000.00	0.097%
10	2012/2013	R 16 885 784.66	R 104,887,916,000.00	0.002%
Total	R 536 683 179.12	R 1,516,093,220,216.00	0.034%

NB: The above response covers 1 (a) and (b), (c) to (h) are not applicable.

(2) (a) The total number of the SASSA officials and/or personnel who were found to be involved in each specified case above is broken down in the table below:

Number	Year	Officials Charged and found guilty
1	2021/2022	108
2	2020/2021	58
3	2019/2020	88
4	2018/2019	71
5	2017/2018	59
6	2016/2017	25
7	2015/2016	20
8	2014/2015	14
9	2013/2014	2
10	2012/2013	0
	Subtotal	445

b) The following is illustrative employees’ levels break down per financial year:

2021/22	108
Administration Clerk	2
Administrative Officer	1
Assistant Manager: Financial Services	1
Assistant Manager: Grants Administration	4
Assistant Manager: Records Management	1
Assistant Manager: Supply Chain Management	4
Clerk: Beneficiary Maintenance	1
Clerk: Customer Care Operational	1
Clerk: Financial Services	1
Clerk: Pay Point Management	1
Clerk: Personnel Provisioning And Maintenance	1
Clerk: Supply Chain Management Support	3
Document Management Administrator| Support	16
EPWP Learner| Support Function	5
General Assistant| Support Function	2
General Manager: Finance| Support Function	2
Grant Administrator| Operational / Core Function	24
Manager: Personnel Provisioning and Main	1
Manager: Records Management |Operational	1
Manager: Security Administration |Support	1
Manager: Supply Chain Management |Support	2
Practitioner: Beneficiary Maintenance	3
Practitioner: Human Capital Management	1
Practitioner: Supply Chain Management	2
Senior Grant Administrator| Operational	10
Senior Manager: Facilities Management	1
Senior Manager: Service Management| Support	1
Senior Manager: Supply Chain Management|	2
State Accountant| Support Function	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration	2
Supervisor: Records Management	2
Support Technician| Support Function	1
Team Leader: Grant Administration|	6
Unit Coordinator| Support Function	1
2020/21	58
Administration Clerk	1
Administrative Officer	2
Assistant Manager: Financial Services	1
Branch Coordinator| Support	2
Clerk: Customer Care |Operational	1
Clerk: Financial Services	1
Clerk: Human Capital Management |Support Function	1
Clerk: Operations Management |Operational	1
Department Coordinator |Support Function|	3
District Manager| Operational	2
Document Management Administrator| Support Function	4
General Manager: Finance| Support Function	1
Grant Administrator| Operational	9
Lan Administrator |Support Function	1
Local Office Manager| Operational / Core	2
Manager: Administrative Support Services	1
Manager: Facilities Management and Auxilliary	1
Manager: Grants Administration| Operation	2
Manager: Human Capital Provisioning |Support	1
Practitioner: General Support	1
Practitioner: Operations Management	3
Practitioner: Vendor Management |Operation	1
Security Officer| Support Function	1
Senior Grant Administrator| Operational	3
Senior Manager: Human Operations Management	1
Senior Manager: Vendor Management	1
Specialist: Human Capital Development	1
Specialist: Human Capital Provisioning	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	2
Unit Coordinator| Support Function	2
Unit Coordinator| Support Function |Region	4
2019/20	88
Administration Clerk	1
Administrative Officer	3
Assistant Manager: Facilities Maintenance	1
Assistant Manager: Human Capital Managem	1
Clerk: Customer Care| Operational / Core Function	3
Clerk: Disability Management |Operational	1
Clerk: Facilities Management And Aux Sup	1
Clerk: Financial Accounting| Support Function	2
Clerk: Financial Services	1
Clerk: General Support| Support Function	1
Clerk: Pay Point Management	1
District Manager |Operational / Core	1
Document Management Administrator	1
Grant Administrator |Operational	30
Local Office Manager |Operational / Core	3
Manager: Administrative Support Services	2
Manager: Customer Care |Operational	1
Manager: Facilities Maintenance |Support	1
Manager: Vendor Management |Operational	1
Mobile Unit Operator |Operational / Core	1
Pract: Personnel Provisioning And Maintenance	1
Practitioner: Customer Care |Operational	1
Practitioner: Facilities Mngt And Auxilliary	1
Practitioner: Operations Management	3
Practitioner: Pay Point Management	1
Practitioner: Supply Chain Management	1
Senior Grant Administrator |Operational	5
Senior Manager: Facilities Management An	1
Supervisor: Document Management |Support	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	8
Team Leader: Grant Administration |Operation	8
2018/19	71
Administration Clerk	1
Administrative Officer	1
Assistant Manager: Facilities Mngt	1
Assistant Manager: Grants Administration	2
Assistant Manager: Supply Chain Management	4
Asst Manager: Personnel Provisioning And	1
Clerk: Customer Care| Operational / Core	2
Clerk: Executive Support| Support Function	1
Clerk: Facilities Management And Aux Sup	1
Clerk: Financial Services| Support Function	1
Clerk: General Support| Support Function|	1
Clerk: Labour Relations| Support Function	1
Clerk: Operations Management| Operational	2
Clerk: Pay Point Management Operational	1
Clerk: Personnel Provisioning And Maintenance	2
Clerk: Supply Chain Management |Support	3
District Manager| Operational /	4
Document Management Administrator | Support	2
EPWP Support Function	1
Grant Administrator| Operational / Core	15
Local Office Manager| Operational / Core	4
Manager: Administrative Support Services	1
Manager: Grants Administration |Operation	1
Manager: Vendor Management |Operational /	1
Mobile Unit Operator| Operational / Core	1
Practitioner: Communication |Support	1
Practitioner: Operations Management	1
Practitioner: Supply Chain Management	1
Senior Grant Administrator| Operational	4
Senior Manager: Human Capital Management	1
Senior Manager: Supply Chain Management	1
Senior Manager: Vendor Management	1
Specialist: Performance Management	1
State Accountant |Support Function	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	1
Team Leader: Grant Administration |Operation	3
2017/18	59
Administration Clerk	1
Assistant Manager: Financial Services	1
Assistant Manager: Grants Administration	2
Assistant Manager: Supply Chain Management	1
Clerk: Customer Care| Operational / Core	1
Clerk: Supply Chain Management |Support	2
District Manager |Operational /	1
EPWP Learner 2|Support Function| District	1
EPWP Learner 2|Support Function| Local Office	1
EPWP Learner| Support Function |Local Office	1
Grant Administrator| Operational / Core Function	19
Local Office Manager| Operational / Core	1
Manager: Administrative Support Services	1
Manager: Facilities Management and Auxil	1
Mobile Unit Operator| Operational / Core	1
Pract: Personnel Provisioning and Maintenance	1
Practitioner: Communication |Support	2
Practitioner: Customer Care |Support Function	1
Practitioner: Facilities Mngt And Auxill	1
Senior Manager: Facilities Management	2
Senior Manager: Supply Chain Management|	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	9
Team Leader: Grant Administration |Operation	7
2016/17	25
Administration Clerk	2
Assistant Manager: Grants Administration	1
Assistant Manager: Operations Management	1
Department Coordinator |Support Function|	1
Document Management Administrator | Support	1
Grant Administrator |Operational / Core	9
Local Office Manager |Operational / Core	1
Manager: Facilities Management And Auxil	2
Practitioner: Customer Care |Support Function	1
Senior Grant Administrator |Operational	3
State Accountant |Support Function	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration	1
Team Leader: Grant Administration	1
2015/16	20
Administration Clerk	1
Administrative Officer	3
Clerk: Customer Care |Support Function |Re	1
Grant Administrator |Operational / Core F	13
Manager: Administrative Support Services	1
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	1
2014/15	14
Clerk: Operations Management| Operational	1
Document Management Administrator | Support	3
Grant Administrator |Operational / Core	6
Local Office Manager |Operational / Core	1
Senior Grant Administrator |Operational	2
Supervisor: Grant Administration |Operation	1
2013/14	2
Manager: Personnel Provisioning & Maintenance	1
Senior Grant Administrator| Operational	1
Grand Total	445

Reply:

1 (a) In terms of Regulation 30(2) of the Social Assistance Act (Act No. 13 of 2004), SASSA may conduct a review at any time when it has a reason to believe that the beneficiary's circumstances, including financial circumstances, may have changed. These reviews are often triggered when SASSA beneficiaries are found on databases indicating that they may be in receipt of income that they’ve not declared. Similarly, a large portion of the reviews are also triggered by the the office of the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) audit finding, which also involves database checks.

(b) Number of clients selected for review per social grant type is reflected in table 1 below:

Table: 1 Number of Clients per Social Grant Type

GRANT TYPE	TOTAL CLIENTS
OLDER PERSON'S GRANT	42942
DISABILITY GRANT	17065
CHILD SUPPORT GRANT	8559
FOSTER CHILD GRANT	8793
CARE-DEPENDENCY GRANT	3097
DG GRANT-IN-AID	1841
GRANT-IN-AID	188
OAG GRANT-IN-AID	1904
TOTAL	84389

 

(c) (i) Number of clients that have been reviewed per Province is displayed in table 2 below:

Table: 2 Number of Clients per Province

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF CLIENTS
Eastern Cape	4531
Free State	5137
Gauteng	6868
KwaZulu Natal	20029
Limpopo	5049
Mpumalanga	4336
Northern Cape	1401
North West	3004
Western Cape	8193
Total	58548

(ii) Number of clients still to be reviewed per each Province is reflected in the table below:

Table 3: Number of Clients to be Reviewed.

PROVINCE	CLIENTS
Eastern Cape	3234
Free State	1488
Gauteng	2625
KwaZulu Natal	6871
Limpopo	2422
Mpumalanga	2236
Northern Cape	2817
North West	1892
Western Cape	2256
TOTAL	25841

d (i) Number of social grants that have been stopped since clients are not coming forward in each province:

(ii) Number of grants stopped due to clients no longer meeting the means test and qualifying criteria in each Province:

(e) SASSA uses registered mail sent via the post office as provided for in Regulation 30 of Social Assistance Regulations. By law, the onus is on the beneficiary to ensure that the contact details are up to date with the Agency.

(f ) The Regulations makes it the responsibility of the clients to notify the Agency of any changes in personal details. This will enable SASSA to share important information with the client as it uses the details captured on the application form.

The legislation follows three steps. The first is notify the client of a review. The second is to suspend their grant, if they do not respond to the review request. This caters for beneficiaries who did not get the communication, as they would / should approach SASSA if their grant is suspended, to find out why. They will then be notified of the review, and should they complete the review and still qualify for the grant, the suspension will be lifted. The third and final step is cancelling the grant if the beneficiary does not come forward for the review or approach SASSA after being suspended.

Reply:

a) Government has been unsuccessful in its attempt to increase the value of the Social Relief of Distress grant due to fiscal constraints. The Department is also concerned that since its implementation in 2020, the value has remained unchanged and is not keeping pace with inflation which directly translate to the value of the grant decreasing every year as the inflation increases. The Department approached the National Treasury with a proposal to increase the value of the grant. However, the request was not favourably considered due to fiscal constraints.

b) Yes, whilst the Department appreciates that the grant has been extended to March 2024, it remains a temporary grant. An agreement on the future of the COVID-19 SRD (cSRD) has not as yet been reached, nor what should replace the grant when the temporary arrangement comes to an end. However, the Department is currently exploring options to introduce a more sustainable permanent intervention aimed at addressing the needs of working age population.

Reply:

Yes, I have full confidence in the Board.

Eskom is currently facing very constrained energy availability:

1. Kusile units 1, 2 and 3 are not available until later in the year, due to the damaged flue. This removes 2100MW.
2. Koeberg unit 1 is offline and undergoing refurbishment to extend the life of the unity by 20 years.
3. There are a number of units on outages - both planned and unplanned (plus not being returned to service on time). This results in a total unavailability ranging between 15000MW and 18000MW.

In addition, renewable energy projects which are under construction at present do not, yet supply an adequate number of megawatts.

Nonetheless, the Board and management of Eskom have developed a Recovery Plan for the next 18 months, which will ensure incremental gains at each power station.

The public – both residential and areas and business, can also make an important and sizeable contribution to reducing demand by a careful use of geysers, lights and other water heating equipment.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

I was not briefed about the identities of people who are allegedly involved in cartels in Eskom.

In terms of section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, I am advised that Mr De Ruyter is a “person who holds a position of authority” as the Chief Executive Officer of Eskom and therefore bears a duty to report corrupt transactions to any police official.

Once any such person has presented evidence to an appropriate law enforcement agency, such agency should take whatever action it deems relevant.

There are several pending law enforcement and other actions relating to Eskom that include:

a) Various measures taken by the Department of Public Enterprises and reported to Parliament regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the State Capture Commission.

b) The cancellation of coal supply agreements and construction contracts by Eskom with a value of approximately R11 billion.

c) Litigation by Eskom that declared invalid coal supply agreements to an approximate value of R3.7 billion.

d) Preventing further losses of approximately R10 billion to Eskom by setting aside other coal supply agreements and constructions contracts.

e) Eskom defending arbitrations brought by contractors with an approximate value of R7.2 billion.

f) Eskom pursuing claims with a value of approximately R4.8 billion against suppliers and former directors of Eskom.

g) Eskom recovering approximately R2 billion unlawfully paid by Eskom to service providers.

h) Special Investigating Unit investigations and Eskom disciplinary action regarding 14 coal transportation service providers.

i) Ongoing internal investigations into four diesel suppliers to Eskom.

j) Special Investigating Unit referrals of 5,635 matters to Eskom for disciplinary proceedings against employees for their alleged failure to submit financial declarations, declare or get approval for doing work outside of Eskom.

k) Pending criminal cases or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority by law enforcement in at least 125 instances and a further 65 referrals to the Asset Forfeiture Unit relating to Eskom.

l) The Department of Public Enterprises finalising external advice regarding the launching of applications to have several former directors of Eskom declared delinquent.

m) The inclusion of at least 25 former senior executives at Eskom in a database of individuals dismissed for their involvement in state capture and corruption at Eskom.

Reply:

Since the beginning of 2019 financial year up to December 2022, the Department of Human Settlements has worked with all Provinces, municipalities and entities in a concerted effort to significantly reduce the housing backlog. The measures used include delivering 158 769 serviced sites, upgrading 329 informal settlements, issuing 17 492 first home partial subsidies for houses, 9 764 social housing units, 1675 community residential units, delivered 87 687 title deeds ,constructed 184 637 housing units to qualifying beneficiaries, acquiring 12,8774 hectares of land from state owned entities and 3902,5075 hactares of land from the public works and rural development and 11902,6699 hactares of land from private owners.

The Department has provided grant funding to Provinces and metropolitan municipalities. It has also prepared the informal settlements upgrading plans across the nine Provinces. The plans promote participatory planning processes to enable development of layout plans based a negotiated process with the communities to ensure incremental upgrading of areas.

The Department has facilitated that Provinces develop Multi-Year Housing Development Plan (MYHDP), that are aligned with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) and the Provincial Spatial Development Plans (PSDP). This has created a roadmap to identifying mechanisms to further reduce the housing backlogs. This integration and alignment of plans seek to incorporate planning systems which promote densification, infill and compaction in the wake of high rates of urbanisation in urban areas and migration patterns prevalent in the Province. Such mechanisms and programmes aim to significantly reduce housing backlogs and ensure that approved beneficiaries receive dignity and enjoy spatial transformation and sustainable human settlements.

The department is also providing social housing in identified restructuring zones and is also acquiring land and the providing bulk infrastructure where capacity issues and deficits have been identified. Where there has been blockages the Department has prepared national unblocking plans to ensure development is not stalled and that human settlements service delivery imperatives continue.

In line with the Medium Terms Strategic Framework the Department has been focusing its investment in strategic areas that are often a subject of Urbanisation around the metropolitan municipalities and identified priority housing development areas. The department has also appointed and deployed technical teams comprised of civil engineers, planners, social faciilitators and quantity surveyors to serve as members of the War Rooms. These members have also crisscrosed the country diagnosing challenges and providing the required technical housing support to Provinces.

Reply:

In terms of the Broadcasting Act sections 1 and 13, the President is the appointing authority, who appoints the members of the SABC Board on the Advice of the National Assembly. In terms of the President’s oath of office and sections 83, 84(1), 84(2)(e) and 237 of the Constitution, he must uphold and respect the Constitution, and perform his responsibilities diligently and without delay.

In appointing members of the SABC Board, or in performing any other obligation, I have a responsibility to ensure that proper lawful processes have been followed, including before the matter is brought to me.

The full submission on the appointment of the SABC Board was only made available to me in mid-January 2023.

In fulfilment of this Constitutional responsibility, I wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly on 3 February 2023 and 9 March 2023 seeking clarity on:

• the legality of having a reserve pool, and what ‘eventualities’ were envisaged by Parliament;
• whether the individuals in the ‘reserve pool’ had been vetted;
• whether the Portfolio Committee had considered all of the objections received by the Committee during selection process.

In a letter dated 10 April 2023 the Speaker of the National Assembly indicated that the resolution adopted by the National Assembly last year is lawful and that the President is not precluded from selecting a candidate from the reserve pool of three names in case any of the 12 names are not legally appointable.

I duly appointed the SABC Board on 17 April 2023.

Reply:

1. Attached are lists of international trips undertaken by each Minister and Deputy Minister from 2018 to 2023 that were approved by the President.

2. There is no record of official trips abroad by Ministers or Deputy Ministers during that period that were not approved by the President or Acting President.

Reply:

All the travels that the Minister and the Deputy Minister undertook are within the rules and prescripts as contained in the Ministerial handbook and the national treasury Cost Containment Instruction note 2021/2022 financial year.

Reply:

1. Solar PV, wind and CSP with storage present an opportunity to diversify the electricity mix, to produce distributed generation and to provide off-grid electricity. Renewable technologies also present huge potential for the creation of new industries, job creation and localization across the value chain. As of 31 January 2023, 134 IPPs have been selected as preferred bidders with 11 904MW of electricity capacity procured, of this, 6 105 MW is already operational from 89 IPPs with 82397Gwh of energy generated from renewable energy sources. The IRP(2019) plan for wind from 2019-2030 is a total of 17742MW.

2. The Wind Atlas developed for South Africa provides a basis for the quantification of the potential that wind holds for power generation elsewhere in the country, over and above the prevalence of the wind resource around the coastal areas. Most wind projects have been developed in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, so far.

3. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 targets a total installed electricity generating capacity of 77,834MW. This total installed electricity generation capacity is expected to comprise of the following technologies; Coal (43%), Wind (22.53%), Solar PV (10.52%), Gas & Diesel (8.1%), Storage (6.35%), Hydro (5.84%), Nuclear (2.36%) and CSP (0.76%).Wind generation is targeted to make up 17,742MW of this installed electricity generation capacity by 2030.

End.

Reply:

In terms of the Broadcasting Act sections 1 and 13, the President is the appointing authority, who appoints the members of the SABC Board on the Advice of the National Assembly. In terms of the President’s oath of office and sections 83, 84(1), 84(2)(e) and 237 of the Constitution, he must uphold and respect the Constitution, and perform his responsibilities diligently and without delay.

In appointing members of the SABC Board, or in performing any other obligation, I have a responsibility to ensure that proper lawful processes have been followed, including before the matter is brought to me.

The full submission on the appointment of the SABC Board was only made available to me in mid-January 2023.

In fulfilment of this Constitutional responsibility, I wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly on 3 February 2023 and 9 March 2023 seeking clarity on:

• the legality of having a reserve pool, and what ‘eventualities’ were envisaged by Parliament;
• whether the individuals in the ‘reserve pool’ had been vetted;
• whether the Portfolio Committee had considered all of the objections received by the Committee during selection process.

In a letter dated 10 April 2023 the Speaker of the National Assembly indicated that the resolution adopted by the National Assembly last year is lawful and that the President is not precluded from selecting a candidate from the reserve pool of three names in case any of the 12 names are not legally appointable.

I duly appointed the SABC Board on 17 April 2023.

Reply:

Eskom is continuing to work on implementing the legal separation (or unbundling). This is a key strategic priority of Eskom’s Turnaround Plan as envisaged in the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Roadmap.

In line with the roadmap, the corporatisation of the transmission function was completed in December 2021. A legally binding merger agreement was entered into between Eskom and its wholly-owned subsidiary, the National Transmission Company South Africa SOC Limited (NTCSA).

Reasons for the delays in unbundling transmission relate to external dependencies such as obtaining lenders’ consent, acquiring electricity licences and designation of the transmission entity as a buyer.

The next step is to operationalise the NTCSA, which is subject to the satisfaction of certain suspensive conditions. These include, but are not limited to, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) granting all applicable licences required for NTCSA to operate the transmission business and Eskom obtaining all applicable creditor consents to the transaction.

Future phases of the legal separation will be dependent on legislative changes, including the amendment of the Electricity Regulation Act regarding licensing and the Electricity Pricing Policy of the South African electricity supply industry.

The addition of new transmission capacity through expansion of the grid is being accelerated through the implementation of the Transmission Development Plan, supported by the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee.

Reply:

The Department supports investigations into corrupt practices taking place at universities, including at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Law enforcement agencies are currently seized with the investigations, once they have concluded their investigations, I will ask for an official report. The Department further welcomes the courage of the whistle-blowers who have exposed corruption, and its officials will continue to monitor all accommodation related reports. The Department has been advised by the university that it has established a hotline to encourage more reporting on an anonymous basis.

In addition, the Department will continue working with the heads of Safety and Security in all our universities, and ensure they receive the support to assist with reporting and monitoring crime at our universities. A future workshop is planned to, amongst others, better understand the challenges around accommodation within universities, and what additional support the universities require to ensure that accommodation management is transparent and devoid of corruption.

Reply:

According to the information at my disposal at the moment:

(1). It is a well-known fact that arts funding in South Africa, before 1994, largely benefitted the white minority. It is also a fact that prior to the formation of Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, orchestral funding benefitted the 3 established orchestra in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg. And the following sample of allocation over the past 15 years testifies to that:

Name of Orchestra	2008/09	2009/10		2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
KZN Philharmonic	4 472 000	4 740 000		9 772 000	10 300 000	10 815 000	6 180 000
Cape Philharmonic	4 472 000	4 740 000		6 660 000	7 020 000	7 371 000	4 422 000
Cape Town Jazz Orchestra	4 472 000	4 740 000		3 535 000	3 726 000	3 912 000	2 347 000
Jhb Philharmonic Orchestra							3 000 000
GRAND TOTAL	13 416 000	14 220 000		19 967 000	21 046 000	22 098 000	49 000

(2) The Department is committed to transformation of the orchestral sector. It is also a known fact that black musicians and black managers are underrepresented in orchestras. However, the Department is not about to embark on a study or research of the racial ratio of the  orchestras in South Africa over the past 5 years.

(3) Mr Bongani Tembe was initially appointed to project manage the formation stages of the national philharmonic orchestra based on his qualifications and unique experience: Mr Bongani Tembe has a Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music from the prestigious Julliard School in New York; he has led the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra since the dawn of democracy in 1994 (for 29 years); and has been a highly effective CEO of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016. As Commissioner-General, he also led the SA-UK Seasons 2014 and 2015 and the SA-French Seasons 2012 and 2013 presenting more than 3000 South African artists in France, for which he was awarded a high honour by the French Government. (Mr Bongani Tembe’s qualifications and track record are beyond reproach).

Subsequently (in December 2019), DSAC appointed a board of highly distinguished South Africans who in turn after applying their wisdom and vast experience, appointed Mr Tembe as the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra.

(4). According to the 2022 Annual Report of Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, which was submitted by DSAC to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Sport, Arts and Culture, the national orchestra, through its partnership with regional orchestras, has eight (8) cadets and three (3) fellows.

(5) The programmes of Mzansi Philharmonic, which includes developmental programmes, are highlighted in their 2022 annual report which has been distributed to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Reply:

1. The MNPO has performed at the following venues since its establishment in 2022: -

Albertina Sisulu Special School Centre in SOWETO (Orlando west) on the 29 July 2022

Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg collaboration with top SA Artists 18 August 2022

Inauguration of the G20 Orchestra representing SA at global stage in Indonesia 12 September 2022

International Cultural Festival in Algeria 15-21 October 2022

Mpumalanga Cultural Xperience, in Nelspruit 10 December 2022

Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg 15 December 2022

The Playhouse in Durban 17 December 2022 and

Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town 21 December 2022

(a)- Albertina Sisulu Special School Centre in SOWETO (Orlando west) on the 29 July 2022

(b)- New Apostolic Church Silvertown in Cape Town 20 December 2022 community engagement

(c)- Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Cultural experience 10 December 2022

Durban Playhouse Opera Theatre “breakfast soup kitchen” open rehearsal for members of the Payless Shelter, 17 December 2022

 

Reply:

According to the response received from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture:

(1) The Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage recommended the establishment of a national orchestra in South Africa. However, in the implementation of this recommendation a decision was made to name the national orchestra as the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra. It is important to note that the naming of the orchestra is a separate issue from the recommendation for its establishment. The specific naming of the orchestra may have been influenced by various factors such as cultural significance, relevance, and appeal. It is also a legal and/or registration requirement that names should not be identical or too similar to the name of any existing company in your jurisdiction, as this can cause confusion for customers and may violate intellectual property laws such as trademark. The decision to name the national orchestra the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra may have been made based on these considerations. For instance, Bafana Bafana is our national soccer team. If you hear on the news that Bafana Bafana qualified for the Afcon, bear in mind that we are taking about the same national team. Therefore, allocation of funding to the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra is the same as funding the national orchestra.

(2) There is no one associated with the DSAC or the national orchestra who has been aligned with money irregularities. In addition, the audited annual financial statements of the DSAC, NAC and Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra are all not qualified for the period 2021-2022.

Reply:

a) Total number of children (0 – 59 months ) who died in public health facilities in each province since 1 January 2013 to December 2022 (ten years period)

Table1: Children who died in public health facilities by province since 1 January 2013 to December 2022 (ten years period)

Organisation unit name	Value
Eastern Cape	25 189
Free State	10 189
Gauteng	38 243
KwaZulu-Natal	38 711
Limpopo	24 744
Mpumalanga	14 226
Northern Cape	5 107
North West	10 300
Western Cape	11 736

Source DHIS

(b) Detailed breakdown of the reasons for each death

Provision of individual cause of children’s death to the house contravenes section35 of the Protection of personal information Act (POPIA), aggregated data on common causes of deaths in children are diarrhoea and pneumonia, including the underlying causes such as severe and moderate acute malnutrition, are collected routinely through the district health information system.

Table 2: Causes and underlying causes of deaths from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2022

Data name	TOTAL
Pneumonia death under 5 years	10,216
Diarrhoea death under 5 years	9491
Moderate acute malnutrition death under 5 years	1410
Severe acute malnutrition death under 5 years	11172

Source DHIS

(c) Number of deaths that were due to unnatural causes?

Number of child deaths due to unnatural causes in public health facilities may not project accurate picture across the country as final causes are documented following the forensic report analysis. Statistics South Africa, Home Affairs and South African Police Service provides accurate information as shown in the table below.

Table 7: Non-natural deaths from 2013 to 2018

Year	Non-natural deaths	% under-5 deaths
2013	2 452	7.0
2014	2 496	7.3
2015	2 509	7.9
2016	2 364	8.3
2017	2 0 4	7.9
2018	2 199	8.4

  Source: StatsSA

 

END.

Reply:

According to the Information received from SAFCOL

1. The SA Forestry Company (SAFCOL) SOC Ltd has not entered into joint venture contracts with any companies in the last five years. Strategic partnerships are part of the company’s growth strategy; the joint ventures opportunities are currently in the identification and selection process.

a) N/A

b) N/A

2. N/A

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

Attached herewith please find the Reply to the parliamentary question 784, which was submitted to the Parliament Questions Office

https://pmg.org.za/committee-question/21635/

 

 

 

Reply:

The budget process involves making many trade-offs, including between different priorities. As stated in the 2023 Budget Review, the extension of the COVID-19 SRD grant and the inflationary increases to social grants cost R65.3 billion. Given the priorities and pressures facing the 2023 Budget and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, it is clear that there was (and is) limited fiscal space to accommodate the increase in the COVID-19 SRD grant values. Under spending or savings from 2022/23 do not go through the next year because of the large budget deficit. In addition, a broader agreement on the future of the COVID-19 SRD grant is required, including the financial implications of the proposed change, and how to finance it.

Reply:

(1) The turnaround time to fix a dispatched work order is 7.5 hours and for auditing a meter that is flagged as a low buyer, it is seven days.

Customers across all areas are classified into various categories, each with its own threshold per month. The threshold for identifying low buyers in this area, is R300 per month. This customer on average buys R50 electricity a month.

Eskom experienced a high volume of faults over this period and the customer in question falls within the lower buyer category and further investigation had to be conducted. The investigation has been concluded, and it revealed that the cable to the premises was stolen. The cable has been replaced and the supply was restored on 3 April 2023.

(2) Alfred Chatbot is working. In case of a downtime, the problem gets fixed within a reasonable timeframe, so as not to inconvenience our customers. Each case is assessed according to the need of the request and differs per circumstance.

(3) As stipulated in question 1, it is also dependent on a number of factors such as investigations that need to be conducted. The referred to community has since had their cable replaced as at 3 April 2023.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The phenomenon of mobile higher-income earners is well-documented and known across tax jurisdictions – beyond South Africa. Indeed, “increased tax competition” of highly skilled, but mobile labour was identified as a key risk to inclusive tax policies as far back as 2018 (see Tax policies for inclusive growth in a changing world (oecd.org)).

Our highly unequal distribution of income coupled with very progressive marginal tax rates necessarily means that we collect a high proportion of our revenue from upper income groups – more so than many of peer countries. This is due to (1) a relatively high personal income tax exemption threshold and (2) high upper income tax rates (see Inchauste et al for a comparison to other developing countries).

1. The latest Tax Statistics includes an analysis of changes in residence (on pg 44) along with a new table regarding taxpayers that changed residence (Table A2.1.10 on pg 79). It indicates that 32 831individuals changed tax residence in the period between the 2017 and 2021 tax years. Of those individuals, 2 788 earned taxable income greater than R500 000 p.a. A total of 1 125 earned more than R1 million p.a., equating to R1.3 billion in taxed assessed during 2021. While any loss in revenue is important to track and understand, it is useful to indicate the scale of the phenomenon relative to our revenue raising capacity. As indicated in Ch. 4 of the Budget Review, we expect to raise R280.6 billion in 2023/24 from taxpayers with taxable income greater than R1 million p.a.

2. It is not clear that the country will be losing or gaining future revenue from PIT. The most important contribution that National Treasury can make at this point is to fight corruption and promote tax morality and confidence in the country, and to ensure that public finances stabilize, in order to lay the foundation for strong inclusive growth. Restoring growth is the most reliable determinant of increased tax bases.

Over the Medium-Term National Treasury aims to:

• Restore value-for-money in public expenditure, particularly through spending reviews.

• Make it as simple and as easy as possible to comply with tax requirements, as SARS did with automatic assessments over the last years.

• Increase the probability of detection of non-compliance, which is one of the main reasons behind rebuilding SARS and an increase in their budget allocation, and

• Broaden tax bases to lower tax rates, as high tax rates offer a strong incentive not to comply.

National Treasury is not currently considering any specific taxes to compensate for fluctuations in the tax base. Moreover, there are no new policy announcements or proposals that aim to prohibit or discourage taxpayers from leaving. Indeed, exchange controls have been relaxed over the last 2 years – to enhance South Africa’s position as an investment destination and to lower the cost of business. From a policy perspective, we are trying to reconcile our provisions with the commercial reality of more globalised operations and careers that include stints in numerous tax jurisdictions – notwithstanding the challenges posed by Covid 19. From a tax perspective, the objective is to ensure that the appropriate tax is paid for any assets that are transferred abroad. Some of the measures that had been in placed have become outdated as a result of exchange control reforms. As a result, the tax provisions regarding foreign remunerative work and pre-retirement pension withdrawals on cessation of tax residence have undergone significant reform in the last 5 years.

Reply:

The 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) provides for participation of State-Owned Companies (SOCs) and the private sector to provide generation capacity currently and in the foreseeable future. Through the 2019 IRP, Government procures power from independent power producers who play a significant role in the provision of power to the national grid as Eskom. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) continuously models the future generation outlook as part of the IRP review and the degree that private sector will contribute to security of supply.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

In terms of the National Indicator Dataset, the hospital beds are classified according to disciplines in which patients are admitted. The Department of Health does not have record of beds that were taken up by cases relating to vigilantism, mob and/or community justice in all provinces.

END.

Reply:

The report titled, The Mental State of the World in 2022 (third report), from Sapiens Labs, is based on responses from 407,959 across 64 countries. The second report of 2021 has an equally small sample size of 223,087 respondents across 34 countries. The reports do not indicate how many persons responded per country, however, the sample size of these reports represent a very small fraction of the population of the countries from which respondents were sourced. Even if the total number of respondents were from South Africa only, the sample size is still too small and the results of the reports can therefore not be generalized to the entire population of South Africa. We nevertheless provide a response to the honourable member’s questions.

a) The Department has prioritised mental health in view of the burden of diseases associated with mental illnesses. The upstream determinants of mental health cut across responsibilities and mandates of a number of sectors and the NDoH collaborates with other Departments in Government and NGOs such as Higher Health and the SA Federation for Mental Health on a number of aspects related to promoting mental health including activities aimed at combating stigma.

b) Future plans are aimed at expanding prevention, advocacy and stigma combating activities. This will entail working with a wider range of partners in line with the strategies articulated in the National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases 2022-2027 and the Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategy 2023-2030.

END.

Reply:

a) No payments were made to Kelotlhoko Consulting Services. The successful bid was cancelled before any contract could be signed with Kelotlhoko Consulting Services.

b) The tender was re-advertised on the 10th of March 2023 with a closing date of 31st March 2023.

END

Reply:

The NHLS has confirmed that all four positions are filled with the following specific positions details:

a) The Chief Financial Officer was appointed on a five-year contract: The appointment was effective from 01 January 2023.

b) A permanent Head of Supply Chain was appointed: The appointment was effective from 01 August 2022.

c) A permanent Facilities Manager was appointed: The appointment was effective from 01 August 2018.

d) The Chief Information Officer was appointed on a five-year contract: The appointment was effective from 01 January 2020.

END.

Reply:

Kindly refer to Figure 1.6 of the Budget Review 2023.

Reply:

National Treasury will be engaging with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) on its concerns, as it is not necessarily correct that a municipality will lose revenue, especially if there is greater economic activity as a result of more secure electricity to business and households.

Further, households are being encouraged to use and move to solar energy as part of the government's deliberate attempt to reduce the demand for energy that is causing the load-shedding crisis. In the absence of such efforts, more pressure on the grid could result in grid collapses which would be more detrimental to municipal finances. Therefore, participating in this initiative may benefit municipalities as a result of a "payback scheme". By feeding excess energy back into the grid, customers can provide stored excess energy at lower rates than Eskom at peak times.

National Treasury has observed that many municipalities adopted tariffs that are not cost-reflective, which in essence means they are not recovering the full cost of providing electricity in the first place. To make the tariff more affordable, municipalities need to eliminate inefficiencies in the service value chain. The changing energy sector and its impact on municipal services must also be considered when setting tariffs. Energy conservation and efficacy must be facilitated and enforced in municipal consumption (across all services). Municipal operations should align with the decline in traditional electricity purchases by buying less from Eskom. It is also necessary for municipal strategy to re-align any earlier resolutions to flat rate selected areas with national policy, which limits the supply of basic water and electricity to 50 kilowatt hours of electricity and 6 kiloliters of water for indigent consumers.

The National Treasury is currently undertaking research on establishing norms and standards for electricity surcharges. This is in line with section 8 of the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act, 2007. This Act gives the Minister of Finance the power to prescribe mandatory national norms and standards for regulating municipal surcharges on electricity. The National Treasury is also working on identifying supplementary or replacement revenue sources for electricity surcharges as part of this ongoing research.

Considering the fiscal and economic risks posed by loadshedding, there is a need for further research into: 1) the implications of local trends in municipal finances; 2) how the municipal electricity business can adjust; and 3) how to minimize the adverse fiscal and economic impacts that energy sector reforms could have.

The National Treasury’s 2021 State of Local Government Finances report found that 165 municipalities were in financial distress at the end of 2020/21. Revenue management was the most prevalent factor contributing to financial distress. Moreover, many municipalities fail to adopt funded budgets, which means they will not be financially sustainable even if they remain within their budgets. This implies that they lack credible financial management. Those indicators are early warning signs of dysfunctional councils in the future.

In addition to issues that are leading to dysfunctional councils, our analysis shows that municipalities are diverting the LGES free basic provision to other initiatives, mainly paying salaries and a generous system of benefits for employees.

Once the research and engagements with SALGA are concluded, National Treasury will respond to the budgetary challenges via the annual budget process.

Reply:

National Treasury issued MFMA circular 117 on 04 May 2022 titled “SCM Circular on reporting of procurement in response to the National State of Disaster as a result of severe weather events”

The purpose of the circular was mainly to provide a framework in relation to procurement in response to the national state of disaster as a result of the severe weather events and a need for greater transparency on procurement and expenditure related to the disaster.

All municipalities and municipal entities affected by the flood disaster, must when procuring goods and services, follow section 217 of the Constitution, the Municipal Finance Management Act and its regulations and circulars as well as supply chain management policies of institutions.

In addition to MFMA circular 117, National Treasury issued MSCOA Circular 14 on 16 May 2022 to give effect to the recording of disaster events in mSCOA.

Reporting and monitoring

As contained in MFMA circular 117, all municipalities and municipal entities affected by the disaster are required to report all disaster-related transactions on a weekly basis effective from 13 May 2022. Furthermore, all municipalities and municipal entities are required to report monthly as per sections 71(1) and 87(11) of MFMA for both municipalities and municipal entities respectively.

National Treasury has advised all municipalities and municipal entities affected by the disaster to utilize their internal audit units to undertake preventative audits for quality assurance on procurement to respond to the effects of the damage caused by floods.

The reporting template provided in MFMA circular 117 requires affected municipalities and municipal entities to report weekly and both MFMA section 71(1) (municipalities) and section 87(11) (municipal entities) reports to provide real-time information that will allow Auditor General to conduct real-time audits.

The aim of the real-time audits is to prevent, detect, and report on the findings to ensure an immediate response to prevent leakage, potential fraud, financial mismanagement and wastage.

The Auditor-General of South Africa will further provide real-time insights into the management and usage of funds earmarked for disaster relief in accordance with the objectives and targets set for those funds.

Reply:

According to the feedback received from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture:

(a) Yes, public consultations were conducted before the names were submitted to the South African Geographical Names Council as follows: Brooksnek on 12 October 2022, Fort Beaufort on 31 October 2022, and Somerset East on 14 November 2022. These public consultation meetings were advertised in the Daily Despatch, Isolezwe lesiXhosa, and Hartland newspapers. All these meetings supported the three name changes.

(b) No polls were held before the name changes were considered. This is not provided for in the South African Geographical Names Act 118 of 1998.

(c) No feasibility studies were conducted before the name changes were considered. This is not provided for in the South African Geographical Names Act 118 of 1998.

Reply:

The process in the recruitment of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) is not different between Provinces. As all appointments of CEOs across provinces are guided by the Policy on the Management of Public Hospitals that amongst others, makes provision for the criteria pertaining to minimum qualifications, relevant experience and generic qualities required for appointment to the position of hospital CEO (at all levels). This was introduced by Minister of Health in terms of sections 3(1)(c) and 23(1) of National Health Act, 2003, (Act No. 61 of 2003), after consultation with the National Health Council in August 2011.

In line with the above Policy, the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health has informed the Minister that the Chief Executive Officer positions in the Province, are advertised in the National Media (newspaper) and the e-Recruitment platform (Gauteng professional job centre)

The selection process entails the interviews, presentation on the technical exercise prepared by the Selection Committee. Recommended candidates are subjected to the Senior Management Service competency assessment or developmental assessment and vetting processes depending on the level of the position. The department conducts reference checks from the referees provided and conduct suitability checks with the current and previous employers. The recommended candidates are also required to complete Security Vetting Forms, a process facilitated by the State Security Agency.6 The outcome of the above processes is considered by the Executive Authority (EA) in appointing Chief Executive Officers (CEO).

END.