Questions and Replies

Reply:

No international agreements were signed during the State Visit of the King and the Queen of the Belgians as the responsibility for the signing of international agreements falls within the domain of the Government.

Reply:

1. See Annexure A for Limpopo

See Annexure B for North West and

See Annexure C for Free State

2. See Annexure A for Limpopo

See Annexure B for North West and

See Annexure C for Free State

Reply:

Ahead of the opening of two more gates at Vaal Dam, warnings were issued to the public through various media platforms and an official media statement issued by the department.

a) Development of a flood preparedness plan takes place every year before the rainy season. The implementation of flood monitoring and forecasting systems is a continuous process that the department uses to monitor the state of water flow in the rivers. This ultimately informs decision making regarding issuance of early warnings and opening of flood gates whenever necessary.

b) The alarm measures implemented and exposed to the communities around the dam include issuing of official media statements, dam operators post warnings in social media groups of exposed communities about impending flood control releases and the inevitable increase of water levels downstream.

This ensures that these warnings reach communities swiftly once decisions to release water are confirmed to allow sufficient lead time to react to the interventions.

Reply:

1. (a) The Daveyton train station has not been operational since 18 January 2020.

(b) Following the declaration of the state of disaster, the country was placed on lockdown level 5 that included prohibition of rail services. During that period, due to absence of security the station infrastructure was vandalised.

(c) PRASA has since deployed physical security to protect the commuter rail infrastructure, including stations. In the Gauteng East Region, where the station is located, a total of 926 physical security guards, which includes armed and unarmed have since been deployed.

2. An estimated budget of R15m has been set aside under the National Station upgrade programme. The funds will be used to upgrade the station including retail or shops to serve secondary mandate. The actual construction works will be sequenced and aligned to train service timelines, which have not been operationalised, as PRASA is bringing back corridors in phased approach to ensure that all aspects of operating the corridor are attended to.

3. (a) Commuters could travel to the following stations from Daveyton Station: Alliance, Van Ryn, Northmead, Avenue, Dunswart, Boksburg East, Boksburg, East Rand, Angelo and Delmore;

(b) Based on the prices in the table below, it was relatively cost-effective to travel by train between Daveyton – Johannesburg which means that commuters with destinations before Johannesburg were paying an even lesser amount.

Type of ticket	Price
Single	R 11.50
Return	R 22.50
Weekly	R 75.00
Monthly	R235.00

(c) The travel cost for commuters without train services is currently unknown to PRASA.

(4) The PRASA legal mandate to provide commuter rail services is not premised on a profit objective, but rather on rendering the service to communities as directed by government. It is therefore on this basis that the routes in question are not profitable. The rail operations work on a cost coverage model, recovering all input costs through fare revenue generation supplemented by the allocated government subsidy as total income. The overall cost coverage in the region is at 4%. PRASA is currently undertaking a corridor costing model that will assist in determining or apportioning the cost per line. As things currently stand, the costs of running the train services are centralised.

(5) Taking into account that the rail operations work on a cost coverage model, measures that were put in place were not meant to achieve profitability, but rather ensure sustainability and financial viability of the service. These included increasing the capacity of the train service to meet commuter demands through the repairs to damaged infrastructure, developing a timetable that is aligned to travel patterns; restoring the home and destination station to increase access to the system as well as improving security and guarding services.

Reply:

On 25 January 2023, President Ramaphosa in his capacity as the Chair of BRICS, signed letters inviting the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the President of the Russian Federation, the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and the President of the People’s Republic of China, to the Fifteenth BRICS Summit to be held in-person in South Africa from 22 to 24 August 2023.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a Press Release stating that it had issued a warrant of arrest for Mr Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. Cabinet is currently seized with this matter.

 

Reply:

a) The Department is guided by the provisions of the National Land Transport Act No. 5 of 2009 which empowers provinces to take decisions and/or steps to deal with and address any conflict situation. Section 79(2) and 91 of the NLTA empowers MECs to consider a number of interventions and remedial steps, which includes the withdrawal of operating licenses or closure of routes in extra ordinary circumstances of conflict or violence. These powers are legally bestowed to provinces and the Minister may only intervene and exercise any of these powers in consultation with the MEC and relevant planning authorities.

b) Same as in (a) above

c) Same as in (a) above

Reply:

(a) Robben Island Museum (RIM) and the University of Western Cape (UWC) have established a joint Task Team that is working on improving the relationship between the two institutions and look at practicalities of the possible relocation of Mayibuye Archives, thus developing a plan to be endorsed by the Governance Bodies from both institutions. The process faced minor delays, new RIM Council was appointed on 1 July 2022. This had an impact on the progress as the new Council had to be apprised and orientated on the Mayibuye Archives matter.

(b) Discussions with various stakeholders are underway for resumption of the Joint Task Team meetings with a view to put plans in place for the relocations.

Reply:

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

(1) The 2019 budget alludes to the budget that was distributed together with the Heads of Terms which the first document is outlining the key aspects of Agreement between International Netball Federation now known as World Netball and Netball South Africa.

The 2019 budget and the current budget are continuously being compared to highlight how revenue and expenditure have changed from 2019 to the present. The following revisions have been offered to show the real changes to the budget. The anticipated revenues substantially increased, whilst the anticipated expenses have significantly increased.

Revenue

	Bid Budget 2018	Head of Terms 2019	Current Budget
Public Funding	47 000 000	58 000 000	101 175 000
Commercial funding	30 000 000	30 000 000	111 500 000

1. The anticipated revenue shows a pattern of growth since 2018.
2. The initial public financing secured was R47 million in 2018, but after evaluation and the sourcing of additional funds, the revenue secured climbed to R58 million in 2019.
3. The national government provided additional guaranteed contributions, bringing the total public funding revenue to almost R101 million rands.
4. Commercial funding is made up of income from ticket sales, sponsorship, broadcasting, licensing, merchandise, and lodging fees, among other sources.
5. The amount of commercial support secured remained unchanged between 2018 and 2019.
6. In contrast to 34% in 2019 and 39% in 2018, commercial funding accounts for 52% of the budget currently.

Expenditure

	Bid Budget 2018	Head of Terms 2019	Current Budget
Business Operations Costs	R6 415 600	R6 415 600	R37 755 303
Tournament Operations Costs	R36 375 100	R31 675 100	R07 853 922
Personnel Costs	R16 000 000	R16 000 000	R5 501 910
International Federation Costs	R8 780 000	R8 780 000	R27 923 460
TOTAL	R67 570 700	R62 870 700	R189 034 596

1. Since 2018, the anticipated costs have progressively risen.
2. Cost assessments during the bid preparation process, followed by the signature of the hosting agreement in 2019 up to the present, have contributed to an increase in the Tournament's preparation and delivery expenditures over the years.
3. The advent of Covid 19 also had a detrimental impact on the costs.
4. Costs for competition locations have significantly increased since 2018.
5. To ensure viability after the event, legacy costs are maintained.

(2) The set budget has not been exceeded instead the data above shows that the money allotted has increased since 2019. Both the projected spending and the anticipated revenue have increased to a greater level as a result of the previously indicated causes.

Reply:

1. Cabinet approved the publishing of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) Bill for public comment for a period of ninety days on 17 August 2022. The NWRIA Bill was published on 16 September 2022 in the Government Gazette notice: 46917 p137, for a period of ninety days which concluded on 16 December 2022. During the ninety days period, the department embarked on an extensive consultation process to solicit comments on the Bill from its various stakeholders.

The period for consultation has been formally extended in the government gazette notice: 48017 p43 published on 10 February 2023, which period will conclude on 17 March 2023. The reason for the extension is to ensure a comprehensive consultation process, by providing the primary creditors of the Trans- Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) with an independent legal and financial opinion on the terms of the loans agreements currently entered with the TCTA in relation to the provisions of the Bill and to allow for the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC’s) chamber to appoint a task team that will be consider the Bill.

2. It is the intention of the Minister of Water and Sanitation, to have the Bill processed before the end of the sixth Parliament.

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Reply:

The Department has requested input response from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and awaiting their response.

Reply:

Yes, we are delighted to share the update on this project. For a very long period the National Archives and Records Service of SA (NARSSA) partnered with other institutions to digitise archival records due to lack of resources. The first digitisation project started in 2014/2015.

In 2020/21, as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package (PESP), the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) was allocated an amount of R30 million in response to the job losses that came as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The allocation was mainly used towards the appointment of 163 unemployed youth to assist in the digitisation of archival records. Another portion was to procure digitisation equipment. The project came to an end on 31 August 2022, however, the National Archives continues to digitise more records.

The success of digitisation at NARSSA was made possible by the funding received through PESP and through partnerships with other institutions. To date the following projects have been undertaken.

Rivonia Trial Dictabelts:

The digitisation of the Rivonia Trial dictabelts emanated from a joint project between the DAC and the INA (French National Audio-Visual Institute). This project started in 2013 when the first agreement was signed with France with INA. The first batch of dictabelts were handed over in 2014 and the 2nd batch in 2015, and handed over to DAC in 2016. Training of archivists formed part of the agreement and the first training took place in France in 2018. In total 591 Rivonia Trial dictabelts were digitized and were thereafter made available for public access on the National Archives website. SA now has equipment to digitise other collections that are in this format such as the Dimitri Tsafendas’ case which is preserved at the Western Cape Archives

Treason Trial dictabelts:

The collection is estimated to 3 250 dictabelts in total. To date 1650 dictabelts were digitised. The project was made possible by the employment of the youth who were appointed as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package Project

Truth and Reconciliation Commission audio tapes: 2100 audio visual records were digitised. This was also made possible by the employment of PESP Interns.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission: 118 375 records have been digitised. These include the Amnesty Decisions, Special Sector Hearings, Human Rights Violation Hearings of Cape Town, Gauteng, East London and KwaZulu Natal. Currently NARSSA is digitising Amnesty Hearings

CODESA, Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, the Constitutional Assembly: The National Archives partnered with the Constitutional Hill Trust to digitise records that led to Democracy. CODESA was the first to be digitised. The collection comprises of 37 796 -paper records CODESA and the Multiparty Negotiating Forum are the only collection that is now accessible online. NARSSA will be digitising approximately 870 boxes of the Independent Electoral Commission before the end of the current financial year.

The targets that were set for the 2022/23 financial year are as follows:

ITEM	TARGET	ACHIEVEMENT
Number of pages digitised	30 000	84 982
Number of photographs digitised	0	21 791 (the collection was initially not included for digitisation as an investigation regarding online publishing was required
Number of Treason Trial dictabelts digitised	150	463
Number of TRC Audio tapes digitised	90	1 721

It should be noted that the film digitisation equipment is still not available to allow NARSSA to digitise records. This is due to the fact that the equipment is not available in the country, it needs to be imported in order to digitise film. NARSSA is currently investigating other alternatives such as the identification of other partners who might have the equipment or to outsource this function or import the equipment.

Digitisation is an ongoing process that requires skilled personnel and resources. For the 2023/24 financial year, the National Archives has appointed 10 unemployed youth for a period of 6 months to assist in the digitisation of records. It is envisaged that this number and the project period will increase pending the approval of the digitisation project proposal submitted to the National Treasury.

The ultimate goal is to avail these records for online access.

Reply:

a) The department has not entered into any Private Public Partnerships (PPP) as defined by the PFMA and Treasury Regulations to date.

b) The department has, however, signed an agreement with the Commercial Mining Sector to jointly fund the Olifants Management Model (OMM) on a 50:50 basis. This is part of an innovative drive to collaborate with the private sector to fund public infrastructure to the benefit of all water users within a government water scheme. The Olifants River Water Resource Development Project (ORWRDP) experienced delays due to public funding constraints. and This collaboration has allowed the department to fast-track the construction of bulk and reticulation water infrastructure to supply the communities and mines by 2030. This R25 billion project started in November 2022 and is targeted for completion in 2030. The Lebalelo Water User Association is the Implementing Agent for the project. Similar collaborations are being explored in anticipation of similar benefits in other areas of the country, where local economic drivers could mutually benefit water services to local communities.

Reply:

Records at our disposal do not have an operator by the name of Transnet Coachline. Nonetheless, subsidised bus operators contracted to provinces are always advised to prioritise their contractual obligations anytime when the demand for special hires is high. All subsidised bus operators were urged to prioritise and honour their normal schedules in terms of the approved timetables as per contract conditions. Operators would then use their discretion as it relates to offering special hire transportation as long as it did not interfere with contractual obligations.

Reply:

a)  The total number of licences issued to historically disadvantaged persons and communities is as follows:

REGIONAL OFFICE	NUMBER OF HDI’S ISSUED WITH LICENCES
Eastern Cape	197
Free State	19
Gauteng	5
KwaZulu-Natal	1388
Limpopo	647
Mpumalanga	113
North West	27
Northern Cape	46
Western Cape	8
Grand Total	2450

b) KwaZulu-Natal province is where the highest number of licences were issued to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals.

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Reply:

Before providing a detailed breakdown and total cost of the SA Sport Awards that were held on Saturday, 25 March 2023, at the Sun City Superbowl in the North West it is important to share the strategic intent and steps being undertaken to realise such.

The National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP) specifically Strategic objective 8 is, “To acknowledge the achievements of individuals within the South African sport and recreation sector through the establishment of a recognition system. As a country it is important that we give recognition to the exceptional performances of our athletes, coaches, administrators and technical officials”. The South African Sport Awards is one of four programmes of the Department that are part of the Recognition System.

When the Department revised the South African Sport Awards in 2011, the vision was to build the Awards to a level of a self-funding premium brand. Remarkable strides were made towards the realization of an objective of attracting sponsors. To this end companies such Mercedes Benz came on board hence the Sports Star of the Year and the People’s Choice walked away with Mercedes Benz vehicles during the period up to 2016. During the same period other companies such as Carducci also partnered with the Department in dressing the nominees and other role-players with the Awards. The standard of the Awards declined over the years resulting in numerous negative feedback from the partners such as Official Broadcaster SABC, other partners such as SASCOC and Super Sport, the athletes and general sport enthusiasts.

After the Awards held in March 2022 at the Durban ICC the Department resolved to make appropriate investment to revise and reposition the Awards as the Premium Brand for Sport again. This to attract the sponsors and partners which will assist in attaining the vision of self-funding product.

(a) and (b) Below is a detailed breakdown and the total cost of the SA Sport Awards held on 25 March 2023;

COST AREA	AMOUNT
Prize Money	R3,390,000
Sports Star of the Year	R500,000
People Choice	R500,000
Steve Tshwete Life Time Achievers (5 x R100,000)	R500,000
Minister’s Excellence (9 X R50,000)	R450,000
Winners of 16 Categories (16 X R50,000)	R800,000
Non Winning Nominees in 16 Categories (16 x R20,000 X 2)	R640,000
Event Presentation (Below are the various covered)	R7,962,131.38
Invitation Management, Accreditation and Seating
Voting line
Presenters and Anchor of the Main Event
Set up and décor for Gala Dinner for 1000 people
Technical Production of the Show
Catering, meals, and refreshments (Set days)
Accommodation (Hosts, Anchors, Choreographers, Artists, and Crew
Transportation
Safety and Security
Emergency and Medical Services and Public Liability Insurances
Photography and Videographer
Public Relations, Marketing and Collaterals
Trophies and Medallions
Nominees Blazers and Local Apparel
Coffee Table Book
Panel Members (including debriefing)
Operations Venue Requirements and equipment
Researchers
Main Venue (Superbowl), Dinner (one thousand) Accommodation for Nominees, Panel Members (Adjudication Panel And Panel Of Journalists)	R2,052,122
TOTAL	R13,404,253

Reply:

1. No, South Africa is not a member of the Muslim World League. Membership is not considered given the fact that the Muslim World League is an international non-governmental organisation.

2. The Government does not regulate international travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for any South African citizen, including pilgrims.

Reply:

In the Free State there are 10 202 buckets that are still to be eradicated. Contractors were appointed for the remaining seven (7) projects and contractors are currently on site. Several sections of the outfall sewer line have been completed whilst others are in progress. Work on the construction of pumpstations in the respective projects has also commenced.

Whilst the challenges are common in most projects, the Free State Bucket Eradication Programme experienced the following:

• Delays with procurement for goods and services for its Construction Unit. The Department is in the process of addressing this by putting in place a new Infrastructure Procurement Policy and Strategy.
• Interruptions by Local Business Forums demanding to be given a greater share of the work.
• Local labour disputes
• Contractual disputes between the main contractors and their subcontractors which have caused delays.
• Some projects encountered unexpected high-water tables, which resulted in a need to pump out water before work could proceed.
• Poor soil conditions requiring changes to the designs mid-construction.
• Some projects cannot be completed because the wastewater treatment works are not yet ready (in terms of functionality or capacity to receive the additional sewage). Efforts to address the Wastewater Treatment Works are underway through either procurement (Senekal) or Conditional Assessments (through DWS) to determine the extent of the work to be done on each plant. Such projects will be packaged independently for implementation.

In the Northern Cape, a new procurement process has ensued and the procurement process including the appointment of a contractor is expected to be completed by April 2023.

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Reply:

During the South Africa-Tanzania Bi-National Commission, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Political and Diplomatic Consultations and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mozambique-Tanzania Centre for Foreign Relations of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Diplomatic Academy of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa were signed. The objective of the MoU on Political and Diplomatic Consultation is to conduct regular and structured political consultations to exchange views on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest. The objective of the MOU between the Mozambique-Tanzania Centre for Foreign Relations of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Diplomatic Academy of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa is to encourage and promote collaboration between the two institutions by sharing of training resources, exchange of lecturers, joint research, as well as capacity building and exchange programmes.

Reply:

(1) A cost estimate was not done for name changes of Fort Beaufort, Somerset East and Brooksnek in the Easter Cape, (a) all the work of both the Provincial Geographical Names and the South African Geographical Names is funded by departmental programmes as part of the allocation as per government mandate.(b) there will be no impact on the fiscus through the work of both provincial and national geographical names support as this forms part of budgeted mandates

(2) Yes, there was public participation in each of the three locations and the details are as follows:

(a)&(b) Brooksnek on 12 October 2022,

Fort Beaufort on 31 October 2022 and

Somerset East on 14 November 2022.

(b) These public consultation meetings were advertised in both the Daily Despatch and Isolezwe lesiXhosa and Hartland newspapers.

(c) All public hearing meetings supported the three name changes.

(3) (a) The total number of geographical name changes that took place in the Eastern Cape since 2019 is one hundred and three (103)

(b) The cost related to these name changes relates to public consultation notices, honoraria for Committee and Council sittings. These are budgeted for within government departments.

Reply:

MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION

1. The Minister of Water and Sanitation published the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency Bill on 16 September 2022 in Government Gazette notice: 46917 p137, for a period of 90 days which concluded on 16 December 2022. During the 90-day period, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) embarked on an extensive consultation process to solicit comments on the Bill from its various stakeholders. The comments received to date have been found favourable and supportive towards the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency, as an institution proposed in the Bill.

The period for consultation has been formally extended in government gazette notice: 48017 p43 published 10 February 2023, which period will conclude on 17 March 2023. The reason for the extension of the consultation period to is to ensure a comprehensive all-inclusive consultation process, by providing the primary creditors of the Trans- Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) with an independent legal and financial opinion on the terms of the loans agreements currently entered with the TCTA in relation to the provisions of the Bill and also to allow for the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC’s) Development chamber to appoint a task team that will be considering the Bill.

2. Yes, the National Economic Development and Labour Council’s Development Chamber was consulted on 12 December 2022. The NEDLAC’s Development chamber is expected to appoint a task team to further consider the Bill.

Reply:

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

a) The National Arts Council received 654 applications from arts practitioners in the various disciplines by the 9th of January 2023, which was the closing date. A total of 339 applications were served at panel for review after passing the compliance stage. On 06 March 2023, the Panel of Chairpersons Committee (POCC) received recommendations from the Panel and raised the following concerns:

1. It did not seem that this exercise was done for the intended purpose of the call. A concern was raised that the panel approached this call similarly to project funding.
2. The amounts recommended by the panel were minuscule and not justifiable for a three-year arts organisation support funding.
3. The provincial spread guidelines were adhered to by the panel. The guidelines also detail that marginalised groups require funding in the interest of redress and transformation and to ensure provincial equity in allocations.
4. The panel elected to consider applications receiving the highest scores over redress imperatives.

The Panel has been requested to review their allocations to be in line with the intensions of the three-year arts organisation support funding.

(b) Arts Organisations Support Funding (AOSF) aims to support arts organisations’ operations and artistic programmes to ensure the sustainability of these organisations for a period of three (3) years.

Organisations were required to apply within the 3 different phases under AOSF and they were to demonstrate the capacity to utilise the funding with integrity and comply with principles and practices of sound governance.

To ensure that arts creatives are assisted during application phases, the NAC published AOSF guidelines detailing all the required information. The assessment criteria for AOSF are attached for ease of reference.

Reply:

1. No agreements were signed during the Southern Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers Meeting held from 18-19 March 2023 in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

2. The decision on the operationalisation of the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) was first taken by the Council of Ministers in its meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in August 2019. Subsequent Council meetings of this body considered and approved standard operating procedures, staffing and budgetary issues pertaining to SHOC as well as a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to establish the SHOC, with Mozambique as the host. The SADC Secretariat continues to work with the Government of Mozambique to expedite the signing of the Hosting Agreement for the SHOC. Once the Hosting Agreement is signed, the Secretariat will commence with deployment of staff to the SHOC in Mozambique.

Reply:

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

(a) The project is currently at 95% progress (practical completion), service providers are currently attending to identified snag-list, it is anticipated that the snag-list will be completed within the next two weeks and the project will be handed over back to the department for further handling.

(b) The challenges faced by the department in the development of the project are as follows.

1. Termination of 1st Implementing Agent due to poor performance
2. Termination of contract by the initial contractor
3. Stoppages and delays due to Covid-19
4. Project stoppages due to strikes (Local Business Forums, National Shutdown, KZN-Strike) and KZN Floods

(c) The Department appointed Independent Development Trust (IDT) as the implementing agent however the Memorandum of Agreement was terminated due to unsatisfactory workmanship on site. The department then appointed the private company Risimati Consulting Engineers as an implementing agent on its behalf. The department then established a project steering committee to monitor and steer the project towards completion, the steering committee initially sat once a month, however due to challenges especially related to local business forum, the steering committee has been sitting on weekly basis so as to ensure progress and that deliverables of the project are realized by the set completion date.

Reply:

1. Rail remains the most cost-effective form of transportation as the fares are significantly much lower than other land-based modes of transport, making it more affordable. Below was the comparative pricing between Daveyton and Johannesburg for various modes:-

Type of ticket	Price
Single	R 11.50
Return	R 22.50
Weekly	R 75.00
Monthly	R235.00

2. Yes, there are plans to re-activate the Daveyton Station.

a) The improvement and upgrade of the Daveyton Station will be undertaken as part of the National Station upgrade program. The cost to upgrade the station, including retail or shops to serve secondary mandate, is estimated at R15m. The actual construction works will be sequenced and aligned to train service timelines. The project is anticipated to last for 12 months.

b) The upgrade of the Daveyton Station is planned for the 2023/2024 financial year under and the project will be completed over 12 months. The station is planned to be operational by 2023.

Reply:

(1) SA Gymnastics Federation (SAGF) is receiving ongoing criticism with regards to the one case mentioned in case 1. While the reflection is that SAGF dropped the ball, the cases were managed in accordance with the safeguarding policy in place at the time of the case being reported was one of misconduct and was therefore handled by an external safeguarding partner. In the internal process an allegation of rape was made, and the safeguarding partner recommended that the adult disclosing opens a criminal case against the alleged perpetrator.

As soon as there was a SAPS case Number, SAGF suspended the coach and immediately contacted SAPS and handed over the internal investigation notes as well as the hearing recordings. Through the process of this case SAGF co-operated with SAPS and followed the investigating officers lead once a case number was given to the federation.

The second case was referred to SAGF by Olivia Jasriel with a vague accusation without detail, evidence or alternatively SAPS case numbers and requests for this information from Athletes Against Abuse were met with no information being sent through but rather an email asking what credit their organisation would get. (Copies of this mail can be made available)

This second case is still ongoing after a second person had received disclosures and contacted SAGF directly with more detailed information enabling action to be taken. What is important to note in this second case is that the rape victim never filed a report with SAGF nor opened a case. We have been working with the victim over the last few months after we were able to get their name and contact information.

SAGF notes with concern that there is a constant narrative that they have done nothing with regards to the cases mentioned in 1. As they are ongoing investigations SAGF has chosen not to disclose the detailed information in line with the directives from SAPS in the interest of not jeopardizing the case.

The original case led to direct changes in policy as well as the contracting of an external safeguarding officer to assist in managing cases. The benefit of this has been seen in the case referred to in question 4. Where swift action was able to be taken.

2 (a) As per SAGF Safeguarding policy available on the website https://gymnasticssa.co.za/health/Safeguarding Clause 1.72 on page 12 of the policy the process for criminal matters to report directly to SAPS and work with the Investigating officer with regards to process going forward. In the case where an adult is disclosing abuse SAGF will encourage and support the adult to open a criminal case. In the case of a minor disclosing SAGF will follow one of two approaches in consultation with the victim. - Assist the minor with their care giver and the person who received the disclosure to report the case to SAPS FCS in their local community. - Where knowledge of abuse of a minor is disclosed to assist the first person to report the case to SAPS FCS in their local community.

(b) With regards to referral of criminal cases. All criminal matters where there is a clear disclosure will be referred directly to the local SAPS FCS for investigation. All Criminal matters where there is suspicion of abuse will be referred to the Statutory social work services in the local community of the victim. Should a criminal matter be dismissed by SAPS or the court SAGF will still maintain the ability to run an internal disciplinary process with regards to the code of conduct to act against members who have failed to adhere to the safeguarding policy and codes of conduct in accordance with the policies.

(3) This case refers to a minor disclosing abuse to a coach. The coach immediately contacted the National safeguarding officer, and we assisted the victim, parent, and coach to go an open a case with the local SAPS FCS station. The alleged perpetrator was immediately suspended from SAGF and FIG. There has been regular follow up with the family (initially daily, then weekly, now every 3 weeks) and with the coach as well as the investigating officer (around each new court date) with regards to the case, and SAGF offered therapeutic support to the victim through a psychologist in the community.

Through discussion between the parent and National Safeguarding Officer, the parent decided to have the child supported by the therapist at their school as there was already an established therapeutic relationship.

Reply:

The energy generation is still guided by the IRP, relevant policies, and regulatory prescripts.

The National Energy Crisis Committee is a Presidential led initiative which comprises of a number of Ministries including Minister of Electricity, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy working together to resolve electricity supply challenges through a number of interventions.

Reply:

The interim relief that was implemented by the Government through the sale of strategic stocks cushioned the pump prices by R1,50 per litre during the months of April and May 2022. The South African consumers could have paid R1,50 per litre more for petrol and diesel during the same period if the relief was not there.

Reply:

Operationally, the National Joints Operations (NATJOINTS) structure, which is chaired by the South African Police Services (SAPS), is responsible to coordinate the preventative and responsive actions of the justice and security cluster. The Department, through its Immigration Inspectorate, is represented in the NATJOINTS and participates in the joint operations that are conducted by law enforcement agencies to deal with crime countrywide. These operations are intelligence-driven.

The Department is also part of the National Intelligence Co-ordinating (NICOC) structure, where high security risks cases are identified and the investigation and prosecution thereof are planned and authorised for implementation. As and when illegal activities are detected, such as money laundering and the funding of terrorist organisations by foreign nationals as referred to, the information is shared at the structure and investigated within the shortest possible time.

The prevention of illicit financial flows and money laundering will be handled by the Financial Intelligence Centre who oversee all financial and banking transactions.

END

Reply:

Different provinces package psychosocial support to schools differently. However, in general, the support is given through a combination of direct appointments at schools, mainly at special schools, and support both from the provincial and district levels through the district-based support teams. It is therefore critical that the support given is viewed as such. The information provided is based on the data on PERSAL as of the end of February 2023. It includes both district/province-based and school-based posts.

(a)(i) counsellors, (aa) nationally (bb) in each province

PROVINCE	COUNSELLORS	TOTAL
	Office	School
GAUTENG	5		5
KWAZULU/NATAL	1		1
NORTHERN CAPE	1		1
WESTERN CAPE	2	39	41
Grand Total	9	39	48

 

 (ii) psychologists,(aa) nationally (bb) in each province

PROVINCE	PSYCHOLOGISTS	TOTAL
	Office	School
EASTERN CAPE	15	7	22
FREE STATE	8	6	14
GAUTENG	56	2	58
KWAZULU/NATAL	13		13
LIMPOPO PROVINCE	4		4
MPUMALANGA	9	4	13
NORTH WEST	2	1	3
NORTHERN CAPE	4		4
WESTERN CAPE	64	39	103
Grand Total	175	59	234

 

 (iii) psychiatrists 

The sector does not have the post of psychiatrists.

(iv) social workers who are employed in schools  

PROVINCE	SOCIAL WORKERS	TOTAL
	Office	School
EASTERN CAPE	53	1	54
FREE STATE	40	20	60
GAUTENG	137	20	157
KWAZULU/NATAL	68	5	73
LIMPOPO	62	9	71
MPUMALANGA	50		50
NORTH WEST	71		71
NORTHERN CAPE	20		20
WESTERN CAPE	95	1	96
Grand Total	596	56	652

 

 (b) vacancies in each case

 (i) nationally and  (ii) in each province?  

   

PROVINCE	COUNSELLORS	TOTAL
	Office	School
EAST CAPE	54		54
GAUTENG	3	1	4
LIMPOPO	5		5
NORTHERN CAPE	6	14	20
Grand Total	68	15	83

 

PROVINCE	PSYCHOLOGISTS	TOTAL
	Office	School
EAST CAPE	117	22	139
GAUTENG	13	5	18
KZN EDUCATION		4	4
LIMPOPO	2		2
MPUMALANGA	3		3
NORTH CAPE	8		8
NORTH WEST	29		29
WESTERN CAPE	20	20	40
Grand Total	192	51	243

                      

   

PROVINCE	SOCIAL WORKERS	TOTAL
	Office	School
EAST CAPE	65		65
FREE STATE	58		58
GAUTENG	5	1	6
KZN EDUCATION		10
LIMPOPO	4	7	11
NORTH CAPE	6		6
NORTH WEST E	8		8
WESTERN CAPE	13		13
Grand Total	159	18	177

           

Reply:

Yes, the Department has commenced with the process of procuring a Mining Licensing System in collaboration with SITA with the intent to have the system operational within 1 year after procurement.

Reply:

(1) Schools are responsible for (a) maintaining and (b) desludging the ventilated improve pit toilets.

(2)  what (a) total number of schools have ventilated improved pit toilets in each province, (b) is the name of each school and (c) number of ventilated improved pit toilets  does each specified school have?

(2)(a)

Province	No. of schools with VIP
EC	2148
FS	71
GP	15
KZN	2639
LP	2353
MP	863
NC	109
NW	174
WC	4
National	8376

(b) and (c) attached Annexure A

Reply:

1. Learner Transport Programme is a shared responsibility between the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Transport. The provisioning of the learner transport programme, is a provincial competency; and the national Departments of Basic Education and Transport, monitor the provisioning of the learner transport programme in provinces.

Province	(a) Number of Learners	(b) Learner Transport Routes	(c ) subsidized by her department
EC	125071	1608	Learner Transport programme is funded through the equitable share allocations to province; and not subsidised by the DBE
FS	9524	397
GP	190857	677
KZN	73933	672
LP	57636	399
MP	69725	524
NC	25878	408
NW	64450	671
WC	64843	566
TOTAL	681917	5922

2. There are no Public Private Partnerships, as the Learner Transport programme is funded through the equitable share allocations to provinces.

Reply:

 

a) The Tender for the Appointment of the Engineering, Procurement and Contract Management (EPMC) contractor is currently at the Bid Adjudication Stage. The item will be subjected to PRASA Board of Control for approval.

b) The complexity of the technical requirements of the bid resulted in bidders requesting an extension to the closing date of the tender.

Reply:

a(i). The department has assigned some of its resources to areas that were inaccessible, the work is being done using available resources. This means that some of the plans had to be put on hold to attend to some of these emergencies brought by flood damages.

ii) There are some bridges that have been included in the bridge programme where ECDOT is working with National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Confirmation for implementation will only be determined once Department of Défense has conducted assessment for suitability or feasibility.

b. ECDOT is mandated with maintenance and construction of provincially proclaimed roads. ECDOT always strives to improves delivery it is mandated with, using the available resources. Partnership with NDPWI and Department of Defence is one of other possible ways in which ECDOT is trying to avoid loss of lives.

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The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is leading a public discourse through dialogues and engagements in partnership with internal stakeholders, relevant Government Departments, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Development Agencies and other types of implementing partners to address violation of human rights and socio-educational inclusion of children with diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Schools. This engagement effort has been initiated to enrich the ongoing consultations on the Draft Guidelines for the Socio-educational Inclusion of Diverse SOGIESC in Schools. 

It is expected that the ongoing consultations will give direction to the sector regarding the necessary adaptations in basic education practice, to afford an opportunity for learners with diverse sexual and gender identities to participate in, among others, school sport and co-curricular programmes without discrimination, prejudice and related intolerance. 

The adaptations are going to unfold incrementally over a period. Already, in the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE), we have progressed in addressing school choir gender binary of male and female voices, to refer to the choirs as Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass voices, with their related voice variations. This will afford the learner with diverse sexual and gender identity an opportunity to participate in any voice category of their choice. 

In respect of Sport, the process will require a more in depth engagement with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the various National Sports Federations and the School Sport fraternity, because we are aware that the different game rules are guided by International Federation standards, which already come with compulsory heteronormative gender prescriptions. So, the DBE is unable to detangle these sports adaptations unilaterally, without the consideration of the international and national sports contexts. A confluence of ideas will be required to guide the sector in this exercise. 

In the meantime, as we continue to promote social cohesion and nation building through the Interdepartmental Bullying Prevention Campaign Roadshows, we include Homophobic Bullying as a prominent theme, to send out a strong message by the sector against bullying of learners with diverse sexual and gender identities and promote a school ethos of constitutional values, peace-building and tolerance. 

Reply:

(a) & (b) During this time government adopted an exploration strategy together with its implementation plan and augmented the funding for Council for Geoscience (CGS) to focus primarily on geo-mapping to support exploration. The CGS has now accelerated its mapping programme and launched a data portal to increase the efficacy of data access to all.

Reply:

1. PetroSA does not have a prepayment policy.

(a) See 1 above

(b) Not applicable, any change in policy has to be approved by the PetroSA Board

(2) (a) Payment for products is only released when the cargo vessel is docked at our seashores either in Mossel Bay or Cape Town and after confirmation received from PetroSA appointed Shipping Agents and Surveyors that the vessel has arrived and is ready to discharge and,

(b) The product is sampled upon vessel arrival, to confirmed that the cargo on board the vessel meets PetroSA Standard import specifications. PetroSA pays and takes title after all the samples and confirmation has been done. If it happened that the cargo is off spec, PetroSA would reject it without incurring any costs.

(3) There was no policy change as per 1 above, however, companies that transact with PetroSA are registered onto the National Treasury Database as well as PetroSA supplier database. There is a rigorous vetting process conducted by the PetroSA Treasury, Risk and Compliance Departments to ensure that suppliers listed on the database are in a position to deliver the requested products.

(4) If there is a contractual requirement for pre-payment, PetroSA rely on Regulation 31.1.2 (c) of the PFMA Treasury Regulations which authorises pre-payments only when contractual arrangements with suppliers bind the entity.

Reply:

1. Yes, officials from the Department have been instructed to implement the recommendations from the investigative report. As such, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated.

2. The reasons for the delays were varied. The main reason was that the contract between the Department and Nexia SAB&T had lapsed. This required the Department to enter into a new arrangement with SAB&T to provide expert witness testimony during the disciplinary proceedings.

3. Yes. Misconduct charges were preferred against the official and a disciplinary hearing was convened. The recommendation of the Chairperson was that the charges be withdrawn post the official’s last working day, as the Department lacks jurisdiction to continue to pursue disciplinary proceedings against an official whose employment relationship with the Department has been terminated. Notwithstanding the above, the Department has placed a marker on the payroll system against the official’s termination type, through which the Department will be notified should the official attempt to re-enter the Public Service. This notification will allow the Department the prerogative to invoke Section 16B, subsection (4) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation 103 of 1994), as amended, which directs as follows, should it deem expedient:

16B (4) - If an employee of a department (in this subsection referred to as 'the new department'), is alleged to have committed misconduct in a department by whom he or she was employed previously (in paragraph (b) referred to as 'the former department'), the head of the new department-

(a) may institute or continue disciplinary steps against that employee; and

(b) shall institute or continue such steps if so requested-

(i) by the former executive authority if the relevant employee is a head of department; or

(ii) by the head of the former department, in the case of any other employee.

 

END

Reply:

1. Currently there are 28 bank branches which provide Home Affairs services.

2. Yes, however there are engagements underway with BASA (Banking Association of South Africa) regarding the expansion of services to more banks.

END

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1. In 1996, the Department of Education assessed the infrastructure at all public schools.  At the time, is was estimated that about 9 000 schools had no appropriate toilets; and were dependent on basic pit toilets.

2. The SANITATION APPROPRIATE FOR EDUCATION (SAFE) Initiative was launched  in 2018.  An assessment was conducted to determine the number of schools dependent on basic pit toilets.  At the time, is was estimated that the number of schools dependent on basic pit toilets has reduced to 3898,  Several of the 3898 schools were small and unviable and were subsequently rationalized and/or closed.  Subsequent to the rationalization and/or closure of small and unviable schools, the SAFE project focused on 3 397; after schools, which were not part of the SAFE original list in 2018 were added. here were also additional schools which were  added to the list..

3. Of these 3 397 SAFE list, the sanitation projects at 2 547 schools have already progressed to practical completion.  The remaining 850 schools have been allocated to implementing agents, and the sanitation protects are scheduled to achieve practical completion during the current fin nail year (2023/24).

Reply:

 

a) There are two management systems being used to monitor projects, namely:

(i) Infrastructure reporting model (IRM) - a monitoring and reporting tool used by provincial departments to report on their infrastructure projects as required by in terms of section 13(1)(e) of the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA).

(ii) The other system being used is the Expanded Public Works Programme Reporting System (EPWP R-S), which is a web based digital is used to report and monitor job creation Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including job creation data for women, youth and people with disabilities.

b) The Infrastructure Reporting Model (IRM) system are being administered by the National Treasury and the EPWP Reporting System (EPWP R-S) is a system administered by Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

All the Provincial Departments are charged with the responsibility to report progress on those infrastructure projects via their respective Provincial Treasuries, who monitors progress and verify data quality against the funding allocated. The Sector Departments and National Treasury are responsible for overall monitoring, oversight and quality assurance, this case the Department of Transport for road projects.

Reply:

(1) With the recent surge in safety problems relating to schools, teachers and pupils, what steps has her department taken to provide support to schools to ensure that schools are a safe space for pupils and teachers

(a) National School Safety Framework

The Department has trained schools on the implementation of the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) which is a guiding framework in addressing all forms of violent incidences in schools including gangsterism. The NSSF empowers schools to identify and manage all safety threats in schools, establish school safety committees comprising of stakeholders such as teachers, police officers, school governing body members and learner representative council members. Furthermore, The NSSF also empowers schools to develop incident reporting mechanisms, establish collaborations with external stakeholders such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations, as well as develop school safety plans and policies to respond to safety challenges.

The Department has further developed a digital training on the NSSF and the Protocol on the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse in Schools. The training is accredited by the South African Council of Educators and it is granted 15 CPD points.   A circular to all schools was released late last year, requiring all School Safety Committee members to complete the training.

(b) Monitoring of   School Safety, Sport and Enrichment, Social Cohesion Programmes

The Department conducts annual monitoring of School Safety, Sport and Enrichment, as well as Social Cohesion Programme in 75 districts. The purpose of the Monitoring is to evaluate the level of implementation of school safety programmes in schools by districts and provide the necessary support to strengthen implementation. To date, in the Financial year of 2022-23, seventy-two districts have been monitored.

(c) Protocol to Deal with Incidences of Corporal punishment in schools

The Department developed and published a Protocol to Deal with Incidences of corporal punishment in schools to highlight the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools and to provide provinces, districts and schools guidance on how to deal with issues of corporal punishment. The protocol foregrounds the following areas:

• The steps to be taken by provincial, district, circuit and school SMT in reporting the incidents of corporal punishment in schools.
• The complaints procedures are outlined and the measures to be taken at every level of the system are explicit and include the labour relations processes in response to perpetrators of corporal punishment as well as sexual abuse and harassment.
• In line with the NSSF the Protocol further supports schools in ensuring safe and supportive learning environments that use protective behaviour, positive discipline, restorative justice and positive behaviour intervention support systems.

(d) Protocol on the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in Schools

The Department developed and published a Protocol on the Management and Reporting of Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Schools, highlight the illegality of sexual harassment and abuse committed against children in schools, and to provide Provinces, Districts and schools guidance on how to deal with issues of sexual harassment and abuse in schools. The Protocol foregrounds the following:

• The various key legislation that protect children against sexual harassment and abuse which include the Employment of Educators act, 76 of 1998, the South African Council for Educators Act 31 of 2000, the Children’s Act of 2005 and Criminal law (sexual offences and related matters) amendment act, 2007 (act 32 of 2007)
• The steps to be taken by provincial, district, circuit and school SMT in reporting the incidents of sexual abuse and harassment in schools
• The key stakeholders that schools are required to work with in dealing with cases of sexual harassment and abuse in schools

 

(e) Partnership Protocol between the Department of Basic Education and the South African Police Service (SAPS)

The Department also has an established Protocol with SAPS to address crime and violence in schools The Protocol has enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations, SAPS conduct searches and seizures in schools and conduct crime awareness campaigns in schools. Regularly, schools work with SAPS and local community police forums and social workers to address gangsterism issues. Constantly, searches and seizures of illegal drugs and weapons are done in schools and anti-gangsterism campaigns in collaboration with the Department of Social Development and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development are conducted in schools.   

(f) Inter-Departmental Campaign on the prevention of Violence, Bullying, Corporal Punishment, Gender-Based Violence, Learner Pregnancy, Drugs and Substance Abuse

The Department and its partner Departments, Social Development, Justice and Constitutional Development, Correctional Services, the South African Police Service and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies have also embarked on an Inter-Departmental Campaign on Violence Prevention. This Campaign raises awareness on issues such as the prevention of bullying, corporal punishment, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and drugs and substance abuse in schools. The Campaign has been championed by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education and is supported by other Deputy Ministers from the partner Departments. The Campaign has been targeting districts with high levels of crime and violence known as hot spots. The Campaign includes build up events that take groups of learners through priority content areas related to violence prevention.

Thus far, the Campaign has been rolled out in five provinces: Gauteng (Gauteng West District), Limpopo (Sekhukhune East District), Mpumalanga (Nkangala District) and the North West (Dr Kenneth Kaunda District), as well as the Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela Bay).  The Campaign also involves Senior Management Teams, School Governing Bodies, learners, parents and ward councillors of the participating schools, in this way the Campaign is a whole school community engagement. The Department intends to continue rolling out the Campaign in other outstanding provinces during this financial year and into subsequent years.

Moreover, districts in collaboration with provincial education departments and civil society organisations also conduct regular awareness raising interventions that explicit advocate for the prevention of violence in schools.  These provincial led programmes include school assembly talks, public debates and dialogues amongst learners.  The DBE monitors these awareness programmes through the District Monitoring of School Safety Programmes annually.

(g) Code of Conducts and Policies

The Department compels all schools to develop and adopt code of conducts to address ill-discipline behaviour of learners. School code of conducts are aligned with the Constitution of South Africa and child-protection legislation; and are communicated and adopted/ agreed to by all school stakeholders such as Senior Management Teams, School Governing Bodies and Learner Representative Councils. School codes of conduct are further supplemented by anti-bullying policies, alcohol and drug abuse policies which contribute towards creating safe and enabling environments in schools. 

(h) Disaster Risk Assessment Tool

The Department has collaborated with SANTAM in developing a disaster risk management tool. The tool enables schools to identify disaster risk challenges and develop alternatives to those challenges. Currently, the Department is primarily focusing on rolling it out in special schools across the country. To date, the tool was piloted in Limpopo and Free State Provinces. Furthermore, Mpumalanga has also been trained on the tool.

 

(2) Whether there are any long-term interventions that her department is planning to implement to ensure a secure and safe schooling environment; if not, why not; if so, what interventions?   

(a) National School Safety Framework (NSSF)

The Department plans to collaborate with Provincial Education Departments to promote the digital training on the NSSF and Protocol on the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse in Schools. The aim is to ensure that a high number of school safety committee members undertake the training and implement it in their respective schools. The Department will further provide additional physical training to some district officials across various provinces, with an aim to strengthen implementation of the NSSF at school level.

(b) Partnership Protocol between the Department of Basic Education and the South African Police Service (SAPS)

The Department intends to work with the South African Police Service and undertake a review of the Protocol. The aim is to identify the weaknesses of the current protocol and develop solutions to strengthen implementation. In the meantime, activities pertaining to the protocol such as searches and seizes will continue to happen in schools.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) develops the National Catalogue, which lists all Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM); and forward the National Catalogue to Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) for them to procure for their respective schools. These National Catalogue is further uploaded on the DBE website. Subsequently, the DBE develops a Sector Plan for provinces to develop their aligned provincial management plans for procuring learning materials for the ensuing year. The Sector Plan details the activities and time frames to be observed when procuring any learning materials. The sector Plan is attached as reference on when provinces can start with the procurement processes.

(a) (b) (c) and (d) The information requested can be sourced from provinces; as they have their different management plans guided by the Sector Plan.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE), in collaboration with a team of reading experts from civil society organisations, academia, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), and schools, developed the Integrated National Reading Sector Plan (hereafter referred to as the Sector Plan). The Sector Plan recognises that sustainable improvements in reading, require a comprehensive response that involves more than classroom interventions. It therefore, provides a framework for promoting reading and improving literacy levels by focusing on a number of pillars; for example, teacher development and support; strengthening classroom practices; building the capacity of the sector to monitor and support reading development; parental and community support and mobilisation; partnerships; etc. Using this framework, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) developed more localised plans.

The DBE, supported by the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), has however been reflecting on the implementation of the Sector Plan. This reflection process includes assessing the Sector Plan, to determine its strengths and weaknesses, with a view to strengthening it. To this end, a Steering Committee has been set up to oversee this work.  Experts from the sector, will be brought in to support the steering committee. It is envisaged that at the end of this process, the DBE will have a revised and strengthened Integrated National Reading Sector Plan.

Reply:

 

The road in question: D201, is a Provincial road that belongs to the North West Department of Public Works and Roads. This is an unpaved (gravel) road in the Greater Taung Local Municipality, which stretches from Pampierstad to Mokasa, approximately 24km long.

To improve the condition of this road (D201), the Province issued a tender on PWR 91/13 for “Upgrading from Gravel to Surface Standard”. The tender closed on 5 August 2021. The duration of the project is between January 2022 to July 2023 (18 months) but due to some delays, it is now expected to be completed by end of September 2023 which is less than two years. 

Reply:

a) The ex-mineworker’s compensation fund programme is the government’s national campaign that tracks, traces and pay former mineworkers' unclaimed benefits, including provident funding and compensation for lung diseases contracted on the job. The Department of Health is responsible for providing compensation benefits to eligible current and ex-mineworkers for occupational lung diseases caused by hazardous exposures in the mines. It also administers the Fund in accordance with the Occupational Diseases of Mines and Works Act, 78 of 1973 which provides for the compensation of occupational injuries or occupational diseases contracted by employees during the course of their employment or death caused by such injuries or illness.

b) 77 403 claims to current and ex-mineworkers or their beneficiaries (if the mineworker is deceased) have been paid as of 27 March 2023 amounting to R2 470 806 271, 00 in South Africa and other countries.