Questions and Replies

Reply:

As DIRCO, we received confirmation from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) confirming an incident where an Oryx helicopter came under fire in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on 05 February 2023. A crew member, Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, was fatally shot. Major Omolemo Matlapeng suffered injuries but managed to continue flying the chopper and managed to land safely at Goma airport.

We believe that the investigation of the incident remains the responsibility of the SANDF, working with the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). DIRCO will be informed of the progress and outcomes once the investigation is completed and shared.

Reply:

1. (a)(b)(c) and (d)

There is a total of 231 staged locomotive, comprising of both new and legacy fleets.

New Fleet: there is a total of 151 staged locomotives, where the top 3 impacted fleets are 22Es, 21Es, and 19Es.

Legacy Fleet: there is a total of 80 staged locomotives, where the top 3 impacted fleets are 18Es, 10Es, and 7E2s.

2. The table below summarises the locomotive types and the reasons that they are staged. More detail, such as the date that the locomotives were stopped, can be seen in annexures A and B

Fleet	Main reasons for locos being staged
NEW	BT23E, CRRC20E, CRRC21E, CRRC22E	Delays in procurement of material. Most of the parts are purchased from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), thus resulting in Local Content (LC) issues. There are also contractual issues due to current litigations
	GE43D, GE44D, 43 Class	Delays in procurement and for contracted items there is a long leadtime from the OEM in terms of delivery.
	MITSUI19E	Delays in procurement.
LEGACY	GE34D, GE36D, 10E, 37D, 7E1, 18E, 34D, 35D, 37D, & 39Ds	Delays in procurement.

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. This is a matter under consideration. No decisions have been made, safe that the President has indicated that the reconfiguration of government will occur after the next election in 2024.

2. No, I have not.

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

Eskom is being restructured into three subsidiaries Generation, Transmission and Distribution, wholly owned by the Eskom Holdings SOC LTD. The debt will remain with Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Each entity will be allocated its portion through an intercompany loan account. The allocation is based on a pre-agreed methodology.

These matters are currently being resolved in discussions with National Treasury.

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

According to the information received from SAFCOL

(1)

SAFCOL contacted the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), and various other stakeholders for expanding its plantable area in the form of lease agreements. The stakeholders consist of:

	Stakeholders	Potential Plantable Area (ha)
1.	DFFE Plantations in Mpumalanga	4 086
2.	Mkhondo Municipality	2 528
3	Msunduzi Municipality	1 452
4	Madlangeni Community	1 100
5	Land under traditional authority	10 000
	Total	19 166

(2)

SAFCOL has formalised a land lease agreement with the Mamahlola community to operate their successfully claimed land as a timber estate as part of SAFCOL’s Woodbush plantation. A silviculture services contract has been ring-fenced for the community to allow them to participate in the timber farming activities on their land.

SAFCOL is in the process of negotiating with the Madlangeni community to lease their successfully claimed land for the purposes of re-establishing a commercial forestry estate (reforestation).

SAFCOL has formalised a Memorandum of Understanding with the nine communities in Entabeni to operate their claimed land as a timber estate as part of SAFCOL’s Entabeni plantation. SAFCOL’s information from the Land Claims Commission is that the transfer of the title deeds of the land to the communities are imminent. Upon transfer, SAFCOL will enter into a lease agreement with the communities. A sub-contracting opportunity to allow the communities to participate in timber logistics services has already been implemented.

SAFCOL has ring-fenced a silviculture services contract for the Kaapschehoop community to allow them to participate in timber farming activities on their claimed land. SAFCOL’s information from the Land Claims Commission is that the finalisation of the land claim is eminent. Upon finalisation and subsequent transfer of the land in title to the community, SAFCOL will enter into a lease agreement with the community.

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) In response to the escalating crime and violence in schools, in addition to strengthening the codes of conduct of schools, the Department has signed a protocol with the South African Police Services to support all schools in dealing with the challenges faced by schools. The initiative is informed by the fact that crime and violence are beyond the scope of school principals and School Governing Bodies. Such an intervention is the competency of the law enforcement agencies. The Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC) is focussing on the mobilisation of communities for a joint effort the tackle the challenge.

b) The funding allocated to infrastructure also covers fencing and gates. Guidelines and specifications for such fencing and gates are available. The prioritisation of infrastructure projects (including fencing projects) is the prerogative of the Province

c) The Department of Basic Education (DBE) uses the the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) as a guiding framework to address crime and violence in schools; including access control challenges in schools. The NSSF has led to the establishment of school safety committees, to address safety challenges in schools. As a new initiative, the DBE in partnership with the Wits RHI has developed a digital training on the NSSF for the broader school communities to strengthen the capacity of school based personnel in dealing with incidents of violence in schools. The DBE has also released circular, requesting all school safety committees to conclude the digital training by March 2023. 

The DBE and its partners, the South African Police Service and the following Departments: Social Development, Health, Home Affairs, Correctional Services, Justice and Constitutional Development, as a Communications and Constitutional Development are rolling out Inter-Departmental Campaigns on the Prevention of Violence, Bullying, Corporal Punishment, Learner Pregnancy, Drugs and Substance Abuse in schools. The Campaigns are led by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education and supported by Deputy Ministers of partner departments. To date, the Campaigns have been held in four provinces: Gauteng, Limpopo , Mpumalanga and the North West Province. The Campaign raises awareness on the social ills impacting negatively on teaching and learning in schools, and mobilises school communities to respond effectively to these social ills.  The Campaign will take place in the Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela District on the 10th of March 2023. 

Reply:

(a) 

1. To support schools with no infrastructure for sport participation, the Department, in collaboration with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) have initiated engagements with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to make municipal facilities accessible to schools at no cost. Engagements are also being extended to look at possibilities of how the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) can be accessed for the benefit of the schools.
2. Furthermore, through the Memorandum of Understanding between DBE and DSAC, signed in 2018, an entity of DSAC called the Sport Trust builds multi-purpose sport facilities in identified schools. These facilities are also accessible for utilisation by neighbouring schools.
3. The Department is also in partnership with partners like Supersport and UNICEF to build multi-purpose sport facilities in schools. These facilities are then shared and utilised by other the neighbouring schools.
4. In 2015, the Department, together with DSAC and Cricket South Africa (CSA) signed an operational agreement to fast track cricket development at schools through the Hub system. This initiative contributes to the revitalisation of sports development in the townships and rural areas, and it also improves educational outcomes in the basic education sector. These Hubs are committed to the following:

• develop cricketers at the Cricket Hubs;
• run cluster leagues to feed into the School Sport Programme;
• provide support to integrate the elite cricketers into the CSA High Performance Programmes through CSA’s existing integrated system of Talent Scouts, Coaching Mentors and Sports Science Programmes;
• support worthy educational and sporting causes, from time to time, as identified by the three parties;
• extend early learning and e-learning programmes through homework support, and
• dedicated cricket coaching educational programs are produced and aired on the MINDSET platforms.

(b)

1. The Department partnered with the Motsepe Foundation to further support the delivery of enrichment programmes in schools on 12 April 2016. This ten-year partnership agreement contributes towards the development of Schools Football, Netball, choral and traditional music across the country. This initiative concentrates on schools football (Under 19), schools netball (Under 15) and the Schools Choral Eisteddfod. These programmes start at a school level and proceed until the national level. The winning schools utilise the money for any development project that enhances or advances the mission and objectives of the school and/or its immediate community, e.g. building of extra classrooms, upgrading the soccer or netball pitch, school choral equipment, etc.
2. The Department implements the Integrated School Sports Programme, after-school, extra-mural and co-curricular activities in collaboration with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) together with other partners. The main role of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is to promote mass participation activities aimed at enriching the curriculum whilst DSAC focuses on social cohesion, talent identification and excellence in sports, arts and culture in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2018 by the two Departments. The programme starts at a school level and proceeds up to the circuit, district, provincial and finally national level. The programme is comprised of the Autumn Games, Winter Games, Spring Games and Summer Games in the following prioritized codes: Athletics, Cricket, Chess, Gymnastics, Swimming, Softball, Tennis, Table tennis, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Volleyball, Goal ball and Indigenous Games.
3. The Department established the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Unit (ASIDI). The objective of ASIDI is to eradicate the Basic Safety Norms backlog in schools without water, sanitation and electricity and to replace those schools constructed from inappropriate material (mud, plankie, asbestos) to contribute towards levels of optimum learning and teaching. The Schools Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG) funds the ASIDI portfolio. Sub-programme 1: Inappropriate Structures: Schools that were built from inappropriate material in their entirety are replaced with new schools that meet the department’s standards of basic functionality. This also includes the building of sport facilities depending on the available space in that particular area.

Reply:

RESPONSE FROM SACE: See below

a)  (i) SACE Chief Executive Officer's salary is R 2 205 349 and (ii) Chief Financial Officer receives R 1 910 323, Total = R 4 115 672

(b) The executive personnel do not get sitting allowances for attending meetings.

RESPONSE FROM UMALUSI: Please see attached 

Reply:

According to the information received from Eskom

1(a)

Reasons why Eskom is unable to provide the transmission capacity when it was aware of the President’s commitments:

Since the launch of the IPP programmes (Bid Windows 1 to 4), close to 6.1 GW of new generation capacity has been integrated into the power system. Following the announcement of the preferred bidders for Bid Window (BW) 5/6, there have been IPPs that participated in the private procurement process and quickly secured grid capacity, mainly in the Western, Eastern, and Northern Cape. The Transmission network capacity in these areas has been taken up according to grid code requirements, which requires Eskom to provide non-discriminatory open access to the grid. This has resulted in network constraints, requiring substantial augmentations before new generation capacity can be connected to the system.

To address this, the 10-year Transmission Development Plan (TDP 2022) identified the new infrastructure required to implement the IRP 2019 and Eskom’s 2035 Corporate Strategy. However, it takes time to establish new transmission infrastructure (especially the building of long lines and substations) mainly because of servitude acquisitions and constructability challenges. Eskom is aware of these challenges and is making every effort to expedite the building programme by engaging key stakeholders in the government, as well as in the private sector. A number of servitudes have already been acquired. Funds will also have to be mobilised for the capital expenditure. Different mechanisms are currently being explored.

1(b)

Reasons for the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) being incorrect:

At the time of publishing the GCCA 2024 in March 2022, based on information on the successful bidders from BW 1 to 5 of the DMRE IPP Procurement Programmes, the GCCA provided a correct indication of the potential capacity available on the transmission network to facilitate the connection of new generation projects. In summary, the potentially available capacities for the connection of new generation projects, taking into consideration the interest expressed by IPPs, as well as the environmental impact, is as follows:

• Southern regions of the country accounted for ~ 4.5 GW (Western and Eastern Cape, Hydra Cluster, excluding the Northern Cape that had already run out of capacity)
• Northern regions of the country accounted for ~ 12.1 GW (Free State, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng)

While the regulated procurement process, which was managed by the DMRE/IPP office and their timelines for BW 6, was progressing with procuring 4.2 GW of generation capacity, mainly from wind and solar. The privately procured IPPs secured most of the available capacity in the southern regions by following the due processes associated with grid connection applications. This resulted in a significant reduction in the generation capacity procured via BW 6 to around 1 GW.

The GCCA report was accurate at the time of release based on the snapshot view of committed generation projects and network assumptions. The national capacity published is based on the assumption of known generation commitments at the time of publication. Between publications, various applications for connections were made by IPPs that participate in the DMRE-/IPPO-regulated procurement programmes and the private sector IPPs.

2(a)

Which locations in the Republic does Eskom’s transmission grid have capacity to connect additional renewable energy from the IPPs:

Based on the GCCA 2024, approximately 12 GW of transmission network capacity is available in the northern regions of the country, for example, Free State, North-West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng, as indicated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Available grid capacity for renewable energy (RE)

2(b)

What justification can be given for the prioritisation of a long-term Karpowership deal over adding new capacity through wind:

The DMRE determines the supply options for the country and what takes priority. Eskom or DPE has NO role in this process, kindly direct all questions on “Karpowership deal” to DMRE.

Eskom must be an off taker of power and sign the required Power Purchase Agreements with parties determined by DMRE/IPPO. The role of Eskom Transmission is to provide open and transparent access to the interconnected power system for both load and generation customers. All applicants that require a connection to the transmission system follow a grid connection application process, as required by the South African Grid Code. In the case of Karpowership, the DMRE/IPPO procurement process for RMIPPP was followed, and on the announcement of their successful bid, transmission network capacity was allocated on the basis that all conditions for connection were met. In the event that the DMRE/IPPO or, for that matter, the IPP decides not to go ahead with the project for whatever reason, then the transmission capacity that was allocated for the project would be released back into the pool for other potential IPPs to consider.

3(a)

How does the grid have the transmission capacity in the Western Cape for power supplied by ships and/or barges but not by wind:

Following on from (2b), Transmission capacity is reserved on the announcement of preferred bidders by the DMRE/IPPO. Because of the lack of transmission network capacity in the broader Cape region, as explained above, no new generation capacity can be connected until new transmission infrastructure, as identified in the TDP, is implemented.

3(b)

What reforms are going to be put in place to restructure the bid procurement process so that IPPs are able to assist in the energy crisis as soon as possible:

The IPP procurement process is managed by the DMRE / IPPO. Eskom’s Grid Access Unit (GAU) is reviewing its processes and is coordinating on behalf of the electricity supply industry the introduction of Grid Capacity Allocation Rules to “level the playing field” in allocating grid capacity. It is expected that these rules shall require the sanctioning by NERSA’s structures, such as the Grid Code Advisory Committee, for implementation. These rules will facilitate the connection of projects on a ‘first ready – first connected’ principle which will result in a faster connection of new capacity to the grid.

We will ensure that further details on the implementation of the Transmission Development Plan and relevant timeframes are publicized as soon as possible.

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) The Department’s IT systems are not compromised but there has been instances during power failure or load-shedding where applications captured in offices do not automatically replicate in the central database, thus requiring the IT team to do manual replication which results in delays in the issuance of the documents.

b) The IT team is working on an alternative routing of the interfaces to minimize the impact of power failure.

END

Reply:

Department

There were no services procured from Sihlesive Trading, Rally Business Consulting and Siyakhula Forestry Contractors JV Zumda Trading during the 2018/2019 to 2021/2022 financial year.

According to the information received from Alexkor

1. The service providers did not render any services to Alexkor SOC Limited
2. – (5) All subsequent questions are not applicable

According to the information received from Denel

1. Denel has not procured any services from the said companies since the 2018-19 financial year.
2. – (5) All subsequent questions are not applicable.

According to the information received from Eskom

1. Eskom has never done any business with the companies in question. Should there be a need for Eskom to do business with them, then a proper procurement process will be followed which will be aligned with the principles of section 217 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
2. – (5) All subsequent questions are not applicable.

According to the information received from SAFCOL

1. Yes, SAFCOL procured services from the three companies:

Service Provider	a) Services Procured
Sihlesive Trading	Provision of silviculture services
Rally Business Consulting	Provision of silviculture services
Siyakhula Forestry Contractors JV Zumda Trading	Provision of silviculture services

b) Total Amount Paid

Service Provider	Amount inclusive of VAT
Sihlesive Trading	R73 434 659
Rally Business Consulting	R76 294 287
Siyakhula Forestry Contractors JV Zumda Trading	R101 795 895

2. Whether the amounts paid to the three service providers were found to have resulted in irregular expenditure; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what total amount was declared and/or disclosed in each case;

a) Yes

b) Disclosed Irregular Expenditure Amounts: 2018-2019 to December 2021:

Service Provider	Amount inclusive of VAT
Sihlesive Trading	R73 434 659
Rally Business Consulting	R76 294 287
Siyakhula Forestry Contractors JV Zumda Trading	R101 795 895

3. Whether any investigations were conducted to identify employees responsible for irregular expenditure; if not, why not; if so, what total number of times were the investigations conducted;

SAFCOL carried out and finalized an investigation in accordance with the prevailing irregular expenditure framework, in relation to the financial years 2015-16 up to and including 2021-22.

4. Whether investigations were conducted in-house or outsourced; if outsourced, what total amount was paid in each case since the 2018-19 financial year;

The investigation was outsourced to be carried out by an external service provider at a cost of R344, 850 inclusive of VAT.

5. Whether any members of the board and/executive were held accountable for irregular expenditure; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what are the names of such members and (b) will furnish Mr S Tambo with the investigation report with its recommendations?

The company is currently in the process of implementing consequence management based on the external service provider’s report in preparation for submission for condonation where applicable. None of the members of the Board and/or Executive were implicated in the irregular expenditure report.

According to the information received from SAA

1. South African Airways (SAA) have no record that the airline had any business relations with the three service providers mention, namely, Sihlesive Trading, Rally Business Consulting and Siyakhula Forestry Contractors JV Zumda Trading.
2. – (5) All subsequent questions are not applicable.

According to the information received from Transnet

1. The identified business entities are not registered on Transnet’s database. Transnet cannot trace any procurement of services from the identified companies.
2. – (5) All subsequent questions are not applicable.

 

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

The recent PQ 439 is the related to PQ 4169, which was published in IQP No. 47 on 11 November 2022, and the response was tabled on 18 November 2022. (See attached) Below here is the previous reply to PQ 4169, which serves as the response also to the recent PQ 439.

I have been informed by the Department that the properties located in the towns of Burgersdorp, Venterstad, Oviston and Steynsburg were unfortunately not included in the list of information provided for the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality. In addition to the 14 properties mentioned in the response to question 2802, the Department is the custodian of another 109 properties in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipal area:

• • Burgersdorp = 21,
  • Venterstad = 35,
  • Oviston= 23 and
  • Steynsburg= 30.

Reply:

a) The Department of Public Enterprises has not sourced a legal opinion. Please see my response to your question 237.

 

Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. The Department of Human Settlements has incurred the following expenditure:

	a) destination	(b) (i) accommodation	(ii)Air travel	(iii) any other(ground transport and S&T)
(aa) Minister M. T Kubayi	Switzerland	R351 800	R108 999	R186 413
	Poland	R139 526	R139 590	R80 400
	Switzerland	R224 060	R89 963	R376 815
	United State of America	R108 530	R108 274	R163 250
	Kenya	R28 560	R74 285	R9 600
(bb)Deputy Minister P Tshwete	United State of America	R56 000	R166 333	R32 000
	United Arab Emirates	R10 968	R92 608	R84 734

2. (a) The cost for domestic air travel for the Minister

Minister M Kubayi

R614 116

(b) The cost for domestic air travel for the Deputy Minister since

Deputy Minister P Tshwete

R1 174 874

Reply:

Eskom diesel funding until the financial year was addressed through the approval by National Treasury Guarantee for the entity to borrow additional R4 billion to R5 billion in the capital markets. Any further assistance will depend on the financial projections for 2023/24 and NERSA’s decision on what may be recoverable in tariffs. The challenges presented by the pricing policy of PetroSA and the fate of the license application by Eskom to be designated an importer will also have a bearing on this matter.

It is absolutely self-evident that the cost of diesel usage pales into insignificance compared to the compared to the cost imposed on the economy and citizens by excessive loadshedding.

 

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane Pravin Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

a) Eskom lenders plays a critical role in ensuring that the entity access required funding in the capital markets. Therefore, it is important that all lenders are taken through the restructuring process and assured that their investment is safe. All lenders from whom consent is required, have been contacted. Lenders have indicated that more clarification regarding the debt take-over by National Treasury is required before consent could be considered. This is currently being processed.

b) PIC, World Bank, Chinese Development Bank.

 

Remarks: Approved / Not Approved

Jacky Molisane PJ Gordhan, MP

Acting Director-General Minister

Date: Date:

Reply:

1. 

• The Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI programme) was launched in 2012.  The inappropriate material sub-programme of ASIDI focussed on the replacement of schools made entirely of inappropriate materials.  At present, there are 331 schools on this sub-programme.  We are proud to announce that 315 such schools have now been replaced.
• The water supply sub-programme of ASIDI focussed on schools that reportedly had no water supply. At present, there are 1272 schools on this programme.  We are proud to announce that water supply projects at 1259 have progressed to practical completion.
• The electricity supplies sub-programme of ASIDI focussed on schools that reportedly had no electricity supply.  At present, there are 373 schools on this programme.  We are proud to announce that all 373 have now been served with electricity.
• The sanitation sub-programme of ASIDI focussed on schools that reportedly had no toilets.  At present, there are 1053 schools on this sub-programme.  We are proud to announce that all 1053 such schools have now been served with appropriate toilets.
• The Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE programme) was launched in 2018.  This programme focussed on schools’ dependent on basic pit toilets.  The initial scope was 3898 schools.  As with ASIDI, there were some small and unviable schools that were closed, while other schools were added to the list as better information became available.  At present, there are 3357 schools on this sub-programme.  We are proud to announce that 2474 of the 3357 schools have now been served with appropriate toilets.
• Between ASIDI and SAFE, about 55 000 appropriate toilets were constructed at schools.  The sanitation projects at the remaining schools on the SAFE programme are all scheduled for completion in 2023/24.
• A high level analysis of growth in learners’ numbers revealed the following:
• FS : Constant growth of 1% over last 10 years
• EC : Average decline of 0.5% over last 10 years (1% decline over last 5 years)
• GP : Average growth of 2.5% over last 10 years (2% growth over last 5 years)
• KZN : Virtually no growth over last 10 year
• LP : Average growth of 0.5% over last 10 years (declining)
• MP : Constant growth of 1% over last 10 years
• NC : Constant growth of 1% over last 10 years
• NW : Average growth of 0.5% over last 10 years (declining)
• WC : Average growth of 2% over last 10 years (2.5% growth over last 5 years)
• Refinement of the analysis are ongoing to differentiate between:
• Over-crowding in Primary schools & secondary schools
• Over-crowding in Rural schools & urban schools
• A high-level analysis of the backlog in classrooms was determined based on the following:
• Learner numbers from EMIS (2021)
• Existing classroom number provided by Provincial Departments
• Preliminary indications are the following:
• More than 8 000 schools, there seems to be a shortage of classrooms.
• A total of 70 000 additional classrooms may be required.
• A capital investment of R44 billion may be required (Based on conventional implementation strategies).

2. The Hon Member will have to clarify what satellite schools are. 

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is responsible for the development of the National Catalogue for textbooks. Provinces procure and deliver LTSM to schools, including stationery. All provinces reported 100% delivery of the ordered stationery to schools during the weekly meetings. Further details regarding the delivery of Stationery to schools should be directed to the respective provinces.

Reply:

a) The Department does not have records of Mr Maselo who is/was appointed as Parliamentary Liaison Officer in the Office of the Minister.

Reply:

1. The following measures were taken over the festive season to reduce road crashes and fatalities.

• As an encompassing Strategy on Road Safety, the NRSS finds expression in the 365 plan, especially on critical roads and the heightened visibility of law enforcement.
• Critical routes with a high number of crashes and fatalities were identified and intensified law enforcement and road safety interventions were implemented.
• The interventions focussed on pedestrian management, overloading of cross-border vehicles, unlicensed/fraudulently registered vehicles, drunk driving, and speeding.
• Blitzes were conducted also conducted at points of departure and ports of entry to enforce the law on cross-border vehicles and drivers. This will continue over the festive season as heightened activations.
• Focussed attention was also given to truck operations, especially on the N3 Townhill and N2 Pongola including alternate provincial roads like R34, R33 especially in Mpumalanga and KZN Provinces.

2. Continuation of the festive season measures throughout the year

The said measures are part of the 365 plan with heightened operations during the Easter and festive season period and are being implemented throughout the year.

 

Reply:

a) (i), (ii) and (b)

National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)

Entity	a) (i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
NAMC	R2 194 379.25	Chief Financial Officer: R1 687 429.74.	NAMC Council Members: daily rate for attendance of meetings: Chairperson: R5 387. Vice Chairperson: R4 578 All other council members: R4 005. The total amount paid to Council members from April 2022 to February 2023 is R1 237 920.49.
		Senior Manager Statutory Measurers: R1 413 190.84.
		Senior Manager Markets & Economics Research Centre: R1 413 190.84.
		Senior Manager Human Resources: R1 413 190.84.
		Senior Manager Agricultural Trusts: R1 413 190.84.
		Senior Manager Agribusiness Development: R1 413 190.84.
		Company Secretary and Legal services: R 922 500.
		Manager Risk Management and Compliance: R740 950.

Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

(a) (i), (ii) and (b)

Entity	a)(i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
ARC	R3 229 856	Chief Financial Officer: R2 500 000.	R0
		Group Executive – Animal Sciences: R2 075 196.
		Group Executive – Crop Sciences: R2 075 196.
		Group Executive –Information Systems: R2 035 312.
		VACANCIES
		Group Executive Human Capital Management.	N/A
		Group Executive Impact & Partnership.	N/A

Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB)

(a) (i), (ii) and (b)

Entity	a) (i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
PPECB	R 3 228 319.	Chief Financial Officer: R2 694 998.	R0
		Chief Operating Officer: R2 258 582.
		Chief Information Officer: R1 960 241.
		Human Resource Executive: R1 664 335.

Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB)

1. (i),(ii) and (b)

Entity	a)(i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
ITB	R1 850 000.	Chief Financial Officer: R1 460 000 (seconded).	Board Members: Chairperson: R 654 per hour. Vice Chair Member: R556 per hour. Other members: R486 per hour.
		Head: Tenure: R 1 350 000.
		Head: Corporate Support Services: R990 000.

Note: Part (b) Total amount paid to attend meetings. Executive members of management i.e. CEO and other top management do not get paid specifically to attend meetings but receive a salary as detailed above.

If the meeting is out of office, subsistence and travel (S&T) will be paid in line with the entity’s S&T policy. Board members, however, get paid per hour of work done within the entity i.e. for each meeting they would receive payment for preparation time and actual meeting attended, including S&T, the board member’s rates per hour have been included above. Annual board members’ remuneration for past the two years has been included below based on audited financial results. Board members’ rates have not changed in the past three years.

Name of Board Member	Role	2021	2022
Mr SJ Ngwenya	Chairperson	R1 817 000	R1 634 000
DR NZ Qunta	Vice Chairperson	R207 000	R362 000
Inkosi PR Bele	Member	R493 000	R245 000
Inkosi ZT Gumede	Member	R369 000	R236 000
Inkosi SE Shabalala	Member	R293 000	R279 000
Inkosi WT Mavundla	Member	R687 000	R268 000
Adv W.E.R Raubenheimer	Member	R185 000	R0

Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP)

a) (i),(ii) and (b)

Entity	a (i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
OBP	R2 118 000.00 (Interim) Total cost to company per annum.	Company Secretary & Head of Legal: R1 287 401.95.	R0
		Chief Operating Officer: R1 446 525.62.
		Chief Financial Officer: R1 968 136.29.
		Sales and Business Development Executive: R1 482 544.01.
		Chief Scientific Officer: R1 446 525.62.
		Corporate Services Executive (Vacant).

Valuer General (VG)

b (i),(ii) and (b)

Entity	(i) CEO Salary	(ii) Top Executive Salary	b) Total paid to attend a meeting
VG	R2 068 458	Chief Financial Officer: R1 590 747.	R0

Reply:

The details of the Executive and Senior management team of each of the entities is disclosed in the respective annual reports. The final printed annual report is tabled in Parliament by 30 September yearly. The Honourable member is requested to obtain from the officially published audited 2021/22 reports. The 2022/23 annual reports are noted yet audited or published.

Reply:

a) The housing backlog numbers in the Republic are derived from Statistics South Africa (STATSSA). STATSSA General Household Survey 2020 indicated that 11.4% (1.9 million) households lived in informal dwellings and 4.3% (731 thousand) households lived in traditional dwellings.

The department has a National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) which is an application that is designed to register households/ individuals and their housing needs in South Africa. There are currently 2.3 million households/ individuals registered on the NHNR.

In terms of the NHNR, there are 2 456 773 households registered and awaiting assistance as at 02/03/2023. Below is a table with the stats per province.

Province	NHNR Households not yet assisted
Eastern Cape	604 594
Free State	265 110
Gauteng	1 030 099
KwaZulu Natal	34 603
Limpopo	86 814
Mpumalanga	254 027
Northern Cape	119 401
North West	62 125
Total	456 773

b) The province with the highest number is Gauteng with 1 030 099 households registered and awaiting assistance. Below is a table with the breakdown of numbers for Gauteng Province per municipality.

	NHNR Households not yet assisted
Gauteng	1 0303 099
City of Johannesburg	400 361
City of Tshwane	182 711
City of Ekurhuleni	280 584
Emfuleni Local Municipality	63 759
Lesedi Local Municipality	13 830
Merafong Local Municipality	12 829
Midvaal Local Municipality	9 281
Mogale Local Municipality	39 173
Randfontein Local Municipality	16 201
Westonaria Local Municipality	11 370

Reply:

The department does have the plan to deal with pedestrian fatalities on the roads.

In terms of that plan - which is encapsulated in the 365 days road safety programme, the Road Traffic Management Corporation, as the national lead agency on road safety, and provincial departments of community safety and transport jointly identify high-risk areas for pedestrian safety.

The plan identifies behaviour that puts pedestrians at risk such as jaywalking, drunk walking, distracted walking, scholar safety as well as the safe crossing of freeways and visibility.

The national and provincial teams then jointly deploy law enforcement and road safety operations in identified high-risk areas to discourage unsafe road usage by pedestrians.

The law enforcement and the road safety education and communication technical committees – comprised of the RTMC, traffic law enforcement authorities and road safety practitioners from all nine provinces – meet regularly to evaluate performance and decide on further required interventions.

The challenge with pedestrian crashes is that they take place within build-up areas where municipalities have jurisdiction. The mushrooming of informal settlements further exacerbates the situation as shops and transport amenities generally lie on the opposite side of major freeways requiring pedestrians to cross freeways when it is not safe to do so.

Reply:

In terms of section 30 of the Public Service Act, 1994 (PSA), public service employees (including senior managers and heads of departments) are allowed to perform other remunerative work outside their employment with the written permission of the executive authority of the department. This would also apply to the 379 senior managers identified in the Public Service Commission Report to be performing other remunerative work.

Regulation 24 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 (PSR), established a formal process that employees must follow to apply for permission to perform other remunerative work. This process includes the criteria listed in Section 30 of the PSA for executive authorities to consider when approving an application.

Therefore, if permission was received to perform other remunerative work by completing the prescribed form, and the application was approved by the executive authority or delegated authority, the employee concerned will be allowed to perform other remunerative work for 12 months, after which the permission will expire and the employee will have to request for new approval.

If successful, the employee will be provided with a certificate of approval that is valid for twelve calendar months. This certificate of approval is attached when the employee concerned completes his/her financial disclosures on the eDisclosure system, and serves as proof of permission to perform other remunerative work. This certificate is verified during the lifestyle review process to determine if approval was sought and serves as a measure to detect employees performing other remunerative work without permission and those conducting business with the State.

The procedure that allows employees to perform other remunerative work (as per Regulation 24 of the PSR) does not in any way permit public service employees to request permission to conduct business with the State.

Section 8 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 criminalizes the act of public service employees conducting business with the State, as the contravention of this section is a criminal offence. Any person found guilty of the offence is liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years or both such fine and imprisonment. It also constitutes serious misconduct.

To strengthen the implementation of Section 8, the Department of Public Service and Administration monitors the Central Supplier Database (CSD) on a monthly basis. This database (hosted by National Treasury) contains the information of all individuals seeking to tender business with government. The information on this system is compared with information on the Personnel Salary System (PERSAL) to identify public service employees attempting to register on the CSD. As soon as the DPSA detects employees on the CSD list, their departments are informed to take disciplinary steps and if guilty of conducting business with the State, to open a criminal case with the South African Police Service (SAPS). The DPSA follow up with the affected departments monthly to establish progress made. The DPSA, SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority also formed a Task Team that assists departments with the investigation process and to fast track cases for prosecution.

End

Reply:

An evaluation was conducted and finalised in August 2019, just prior to COVID-19.

The report found that:

“The evaluation findings suggest that the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) is overwhelmingly believed to be the National Department of Health’s (NDoH’s) most successful intervention implemented during NHI Phase 1. This has been identified as a flagship programme, and for this reason, there are numerous valuable lessons to be learned from its implementation. These lessons will only apply to the continuation of the CCMDD programme but can be useful for the continued implementation of other interventions. Specifically, lessons around the issues of contracting private service providers, which has been communicated by the NDoH to be a key component of NHI Phase 2.”

“On balance, it is evident that CCMDD has indeed achieved its immediate aims of decongesting facilities, which helps improve the availability of Health Care Practitioners’ time and, as a result, improve health outcomes. The success is largely reflected in the successful scale-up of the programme beyond the pilot districts and beyond the expectations of NHI Phase 1 implementation plans.”

“Stakeholders also observed this intervention was well integrated with other interventions, and this integration was evidenced by information sharing between the CCMDD programme and the WBPHCOTs.”

Like any other programme, funding is critical to the success of CCMDD. While the programme had limited donor funding initially it is now funded mostly from a portion of the NHI conditional grant.

During COVID-19 patients were able to collect their chronic medication from CCMDD Pick-up-Points (PUPs) outside of health facilities without undue exposure to the virus. During that time script periods were extended and patients were required to return less frequently to collect their medicines. This lesson has been adopted as current practice to extend the capacity of the CCMDD and to improve access to medicines for patients.

END.

Reply:

a) There has been minimal disruption to the delivery of health care services in all flood affected provinces within the public sector. However one private hospital in Komani, Eastern Cape was severely affected by flooding where our public sector Emergency Medical Services assisted with transferring of in-patients to nearby healthcare facilities.

The rendering of Primary Health Care services continued unaffected and assistance was also provided to the displaced community members in temporary shelters where necessary. Temporary shelters were inspected daily to monitor for water-borne diseases. No outbreaks or cases of food borne illness directly attributable to the floods were reported. Medication distribution was also not affected.

b) The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) through the Disaster Management Act of 2002 is responsible for disaster management however the Department of Health has also put several health measures in place at national, provincial and district levels to mitigate for the impact of floods as follows:

i) Governance

• The National Department of Health(NDOH) participates in the inter-sectoral national structures, the National Disaster Management Centres (NDMC); linking with the provincial Departments of Health for national oversight and support.

• The provincial Departments of Health are represented at Provincial Joint Operation Centres (ProvJOC), Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC) and/or local Disaster Management Centres, as activated within the respective provinces for effective and efficient response.

• EMS is placed on high alert to provide emergency response as and when required. EMS from unaffected provinces gets mobilized to assist affected provinces when needed and this is facilitated by NDOH.
• Urban search and rescue teams are on standby to assist affected provinces with rescue and medical personnel.

ii) Hospital Services

iii) Both public and private hospitals are alerted to receive patients in all affected areas in case of diversions as and when needed. If necessary, inpatients will be transferred to unaffected hospitals.

iv) Primary Health Care(PHC) Services If a PHC facility is affected, patients will be directed to an unaffected PHC facility, or mobile clinics will be utilized. PHC services may also be provided in temporary shelters.

v) Environmental Health Services (EHS)

National and Provincial EHS officials provide oversight and support. The respective local government EHS will undertake water quality monitoring and ensure appropriate sanitation measures are adhered to. Temporary shelters, if established, will be inspected by teams from the Environmental Health Units daily.

vi) Communicable Disease Control, COVID-19, Malaria and Zoonotic Diseases

• The respective Outbreak Response Teams at district, provincial and national, are placed on high alert to monitor affected areas and are on standby to respond to any water borne / communicable disease that may arise.

• The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) heightens surveillance for COVID-19, malaria and zoonotic diseases in the affected areas.

vii) Health Promotion & Nutrition

Awareness on water safety and communicable diseases is initiated within the communities as needed. Small scale water purification, safe food handling and keeping and monitoring of food is also done to ensure prevention of food poisoning and communicable diseases.

viii) Food Control

• Food Control makes food safety Information Education and Communication(IEC) material available to respective EHS and Health Promotion teams to create awareness as needed.

• EHS gets also support in terms of inspection of donated foodstuffs to ensure safety, and record keeping as and when required.

ix) Forensic Pathology Services (FPS)

FPS function is to remove bodies of flood victims in close collaboration with SAPS in affected areas.

x) Pharmaceuticals

Medication distribution will be monitored for disruptions and alternate distribution methods are applied.

xi) Risk Communication and Community Engagement

Media releases are undertaken on all platforms as and when required. Monitoring of local media clips, news and social platforms is also ongoing.

Additional technical expertise is also available and gets deployed where needed.

END.

Reply:

The Public Administration Management Amendment Bill and the Public Service Amendment Bill have both been drafted, consulted publicly and processed in terms of the requisite internal and statutory processes. The Bills are being processed to Cabinet for approval to table to Parliament by 31 March 2023.

End

Reply:

Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) and safety concerns in terms of contraindications, special precautions and warnings are reviewed and included in the product Information leaflet. All potential risk factors are outlined in the product information leaflet and the clinician/health care provider prescribing the vaccine is thereby informed. If there are critical concerns/risks, the product will not be registered and will not be made available to public.

The responsibility for pharmacovigilance and surveillance is ultimately with the regulator, SAHPRA. All clinicians and the public themselves have been encouraged to report both side effects and adverse events. There is ongoing assessment of safety of all medicines and vaccines. This information is shared globally so that all countries can combine their experiences and determine actions where appropriate.

In the case of the Covid-19 vaccines in use in the country there is a great deal of information available, it is included in the product information. There are known rare adverse events, just as rare side effects are known for all medicines. The evidence is that no elements of the two Covid-19 vaccines may put the lives of persons at risk any more that another medicine. There is however evidence that the vaccines improve immunity and protect the vaccinees from severe infection.

END.

Reply:

Child abuse, neglect or ill-treatment of children as well as the abandonment of children are all offences that are regarded in a very serious light by the National Prosecuting Authority. As such, these cases are heard by the Regional courts and are also prioritised due to the impact of the offence on the children.

The reasons that the court consider in imposing any specific sentence depend on multiple factors which the presiding officer in his/her discretion takes into account. These factors include, inter alia, the circumstances of the offence, the seriousness of the ill-treatment or neglect or injury as well as the age of the victim, the psychological and medical impact or consequences of the offence on the child, etc.

Furthermore, it must be noted that not all of these cases are heard in the Criminal courts, but some are diverted to the Children’s courts where enquiries are then carried out by the presiding officials in line with the procedures in Chapter 4 of the Children’s Act (38 of 2005).

The National Prosecuting Authority is not able to verify the figures that are provided in the question. Our information, from the Electronic Case Management System, indicates a total of 270 cases being disposed between April 2022 and February 2023. From the 270 disposed cases, 92 resulted in convictions and sentences and 19 resulted in acquittals. These cases were dealt with by the Regional courts whilst only 16 less serious cases were sentenced in the District courts over the same period.

END

Reply:

a). The total number of courts that have alternative energy sources to enable the courts to continue functioning during load shedding is one hundred and thirty nine (139) courts.

b). The total number of courts which are rendered dysfunctional due to load shedding is four hundred and seventeen (417) courts.

Below is a summary table of all the courts per province.

NO.	PROVINCE	FUNCTIONAL COURTS DURING LOADSHEDDING	DYSFUNCTIONAL COURTS DURING LOAD SHEDDING
1	Eastern Cape	25	65
2	Free State	8	79
3	Gauteng	41	19
4	Kwa-Zulu Natal	19	83
5	Limpopo	10	36
6	Mpumalanga	2	41
7	Northern Cape	17	22
8	North West	7	27
9	Western Cape	10	45
	TOTAL	139	417

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), is working very hard to minimize the impact of load-shedding on the functioning of the courts and other service delivery points.

To ensure that disruptions to court activities resulting from load shedding are kept to a minimum, DOJ&CD has registered a project to install eighty (80) generators with Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), at various service points. The project is at different phases of implementation at the Provinces.

All other capital, upgrading and refurbishment projects registered with DPWI include the provision of generators or alternative power supply to ensure that service points are always functional. DOJ&CD has also embarked on a pilot programme to install inverters/ solar power to the service points through the new minor works delegation received from DPWI in October 2022.

I have written to the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and the Minister of Public Enterprise requesting that DOJ&CD service points be red-flagged and not to put the power off during the times in which the courts and other service delivery points, need to function.

Courts with generators will now take part in the transversal contract on the provision of diesel so that courts can operate without disruptions. In addition, DPWI has advised that they are engaging a term-contractor for maintenance of the existing generators. Emergency lights have been procured for cells and all dark areas in the courthouses.

The court personnel continue to serve the public during load-shedding, focusing on administrative processes which can be done manually. These processes are then captured on ICMS, MojaPay and other IT systems once electricity is back.

END

Reply:

The DPSA is assisting the Public Service Commission (PSC) by referring reports of fraud, where reported to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU), directly to the PSC. Where direct assistance is required, the DPSA support the PSC.

The PAEDTAU is mandated in terms of the Public Administration Management Act, 2016 to provide technical assistance regarding ethics, integrity, conduct and discipline management. It is also mandated to set norms and standards on ethics, integrity, conduct and discipline, as well as to improve and strengthen oversight, and to promote good governance. Part of the mandate of the PAEIDTAU is to work with other institutions, such as the PSC, to be able to fulfil its mandate. Findings of the PSC therefore influence policy development, the adoption of norms and standards to address the PSC findings and the development of Guides and Manuals to address implementation of policy directives.

End

Reply:

a) The South African exploration landscape had reached its lowest ebb, notwithstanding its exceptional geology suggesting that the country remains host to the most prospective discovery of the world class mineral and hydrocarbons discoveries. Accentuated by these contradictions, the Government worked with the mining industry to develop a comprehensive “Exploration Implementation Plan” , which identifies, inter alia, the lack of appetite by the South African financial sector to invest in exploration, deemed to be the lifeblood of the future of the extractive industry, which remains the base of the country’s economy. The Plan was presented to Cabinet, with a proposed intervention to create a relatively small fund for the purposes of exploration, in order to demonstrate the capacity of a major discovery and affirm the importance of geology in de-risking exploration with maximum returns.

b) On this basis, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy secured a Cabinet approval for R200 million towards this initiative. A further R300 million was committed by the IDC towards the fund, in order to give it sufficient impetus to start implementation thereof.

Reply:

a) The development of an integrated portable Electronic Health Record (EHR) for Public Health Facilities will cost an estimate of R300 million per annum over the next five years. This solution will be available to all public and private health establishments and will result in a common portable health record for all users of the entire health system. The costs associated with the roll-out and implementation at scale inclusive of the ICT Infrastructure and change management for the users of the solution still need to be costed with the required detail. Based on industry practices it can be estimated that roll-out and implementation at scale, bare similar costs as the development of the HER software solution.

b) It will take approximate 5 years to develop the full solution and phased implementation, pending funding availability. The process will be governed through the National Health Information Systems Committee which is a multistakeholder sub-committee of the National Health Council.

END.

Reply:

The recruitment and selection in the Public Service is regulated in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994 and Regulations 65 and 67 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016. Furthermore, the Executive Protocol provides principles and procedure for the employment of Heads of Department (HoDs) and DDGs at National government. The provincial governments are encouraged to follow the practice. This a merit-based recruitment and selection system that is applied in the Public Service. Therefore, cadre deployment is not used to fill the vacancies in the public service.

1. Section 9 of the Public Service Act, 1994 states that an executive authority may appoint any person in his or her department in accordance with this Act and in such a manner and on such conditions as may be prescribed.

2. Section 11(2) of the Act stipulates that in the making of any appointment in terms of section 9 in the Public Service-

a) All persons who applied and qualify for the appointment concerned shall be considered; and

b) The evaluation of persons shall be based on training, skills, competence, knowledge and the need to redress, in accordance with Employment Equity act, 1998.

3. Regulation 65 (1) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 provides that an executive authority shall ensure that vacant posts in the department are advertised as efficiently and effectively as possible to reach the entire pool of potential applicants, including designated groups.

End

Reply:

(1) A comprehensive impact study was conducted and subsequently an Environmental Authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998GN and 983 as amended), for the upgrade and expansion of the Burgersdorp Correctional Facility within the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality was approved by the Department of Environmental Affairs.

(1)(a) Confirmation of bulk water services availability for the upgrades and renovations to the Burgersdorp Correctional Facilities was obtained from Joe Gqabi District Municipality. The Water Use License (WUL) was approved in respect of a general authorisation in line with section 39 of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998), by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWAS).

(1)(b) Confirmation of Electrical Services and Capacity availability for the upgrades and renovations to the Burgersdorp Correctional Facilities was obtained from the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, confirming availability of adequate electrical supply

.

(2) Yes, a copy of specified impact Study is attached as Annexure A.

(3) The upgrade of the water reticulation infrastructure includes:

• New elevated water storage;
• New borehole top structure;
• New pump main from borehole to the proposed vegetable site;
• New portable reticulation ring main for existing correctional centre as well as the new development;
• New fire water reticulation ring main for the existing correctional centre as well as the new development.

(4) Confirmation of Electrical Services and Capacity availability for the upgrades and renovations to the Burgersdorp Correctional Facilities was obtained from the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, stating that “the supply from the Municipality at the sub-station is indeed adequate for the required upgrade of the facility”.

It is worth noting that the design of the correctional facility incorporates more technological advanced technologies and building standards than in comparison with the current Correctional Centre, which will ultimately be more energy and water efficient. Advanced heating systems such as calorifiers, and the installation of energy saving lighting equipment will increase energy efficiency. The new Correctional facility will be equipped with adequate back-up power systems, which will enhance operational efficiency.

END.

Reply:

The shortages of human resources for health are a global phenomenon and South Africa has not been spared from this challenge. The human resources challenge was particularly glaring as the country grappled to manage and contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

The human resource for health shortfall is well recognized by the country’s 2030 Human Resources for Health (HRH) Strategy which makes a strong case for significant additional investment in the health workforce to improve health services access, quality, and equity.

In increasing the pool, the HRH Strategy provides some insights into the additional numbers of health workers needed Hence a case is also made for aligning health workforce education and training with the health system’s needs.

Specific to a pool of nurses, a baseline audit to quantify gaps between existing supply and existing needs for all categories of nurses including nurse specialists has been concluded. This will guide areas of training required to increase the pool.

In order to enhance services in the overstretched public health sector, particularly with regard to South Africa’s response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the department appreciated the introduction of the Covid-19 Grant and was able to inject an additional 6 688 health care workers (that included 3 460 nurses and 409 doctors) into the System on a contract basis

A further 7 583 (with 2 605 Nurses and 2060 Doctors) health professionals were allocated to do community service in health facilities to commence duty from 1 January 2023.

END.

Reply:

No, I was not aware of any refusal by the Witbank TB Specialised Hospital to treat newly diagnosed TB patients and directing them to Bongani Regional Hospital.

The Mpumalanga Province has been reorganising the service platform, due to demands in the Province. This has resulted in the repurposing of Witbank TB Specialised Hospital to be the internal medicine unit to support Witbank Provincial hospital. The repurposing of the hospitals means that Bongani Hospital is the new DR-TB referral site to take over the clinical management of complicated DR-TB patients for the entire province. All district hospitals are still responsible for the management of the DS-TB patients.

END.

Reply:

I have been informed by the Provincial Head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in the North-West, as follows:

a) The court proceedings were delayed where necessary in the first two weeks due to the postponement of cases, thereafter alternative accommodation was arranged for Court sittings.

b) Measures taken to restore the full functionality of the Court is that a contingency plan was compiled together with all the stakeholders at the Magistrates’ Court as follows:

1. Potchefstroom Magistrate engaged JB Marks Municipality to assist in identifying alternative accommodation. The Municipality made available the Town Hall and the Traffic Court. Security and cleaners were re-arranged accordingly, as well as parking for the Judiciary and stakeholders; and Two Mobile Court Recording Technology Machines, were arranged for the two alternative accommodation arrangements.
2. The Department of Arts and Culture vacated the second floor, and these are now being used by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
3. B and E District Courts were accommodated at the Town Hall for all cases where the accused persons are out on bail or warning.
4. Regional Court is accommodated at the Traffic Court for all cases where the accused persons are on bail or warning.
5. All Regional Court matters where the accused are in custody including sexual offences related matters are heard at the Regional Court.
6. All the cases whereby the accused persons are in custody including 1st appearance matters and bail applications are dealt with in the only available court room viz. Regional Court 3.
7. The Children`s court matters are dealt with in the Head of Court boardroom.
8. The rest of the family court matters (Domestic Violence and Protection from Harassment) including District Civil Court matters are dealt with in the dedicated Children`s Court.
9. Additional office space was made available on the 1st floor and the quasi- judicial functions (Small claims, Maintenance applications, Clerk of the Civil Court, Cash hall, Offices for the Magistrates Regional and District and Public Prosecutors have been accommodated there.
10. Separate transport have been made available to transport members of public, accused persons on bail/ warning and witness to the respective alternative accommodation.
11. Two buses are available to transport staff and witnesses. Some of the attorneys requested to use the bus, as according to them, parking was limited at the Town Hall.
12. The Department procured three (3) alternative recording devices for the Potchefstroom Court to assist the court in the prevention of postponements.
13. To ensure effective implementation of the contingency plan, daily meetings are held at 08:00 in the morning with all the JCPS stakeholders to discuss the circumstances prevailing.
14. On 22 February 2023, a meeting was held with DPWI National Office. The Supply Chain process is now in progress with regards to the replacement of the collapsed rooftop.

Reply:

1. The DPSA has already appointed a service provider to identify and pilot appropriate Integrity Psychometric Assessment tools to be included in the existing SMS assessment battery. This project has already commenced and will be concluded on the second quarter of 2023/24 Financial year. This project is mainly for SMS members and does not include all public servants for now. Lessons learnt from the pilot will guide and inform the way forward in as far as other public servants, outside the SMS, are concern.

2. The Integrity Psychometric Assessment tools will serve as a vehicle for advancing the notion of an ethical state and also as a tool towards professionalising recruitment and may be a permanent feature of the public service going forward and not subjected to specific timelines.

End

Reply:

Steps the department has taken to raise awareness amongst the public about the prevention and management of cholera.

After the WHO reported that the cholera outbreak had occurred in Malawi and Mozambique, and other countries in the SADC regions, the National Department of Health alerted all the provinces about the cholera outbreak. The provinces were requested to use the risk assessment and contingency plan tools to assess their capacity for preparedness and readiness for cholera outbreak. The National Department of Health met with the provinces to discuss the plans and actions required in preventing and controlling the spread of cholera. Steps that were taken to raise awareness amongst the public about the prevention and management of cholera are outlined below as follows:

a) Prevention and Control

The National Department of Health has activated the Multisectoral National Outbreak Response Teams (MNORT), which includes members from the National Department of Health, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), provinces and the World Health Organization (WHO). The focus areas include surveillance; water, sanitation and hygiene; social mobilisation; Risk Communication and Community Engagement. The MNORT meetings are held on weekly basis (Fridays) to discuss the ongoing cholera outbreak in the country.

• A public announcement was made to inform and alert the public about the outbreak of cholera.
• All provinces received cholera guidelines and case investigation forms.

b) Community Engagement

Community engagements were conducted in all provinces, and distribution of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) pamphlets and posters to teach the public about potential risks, symptoms of cholera, precautions to take to avoid cholera, when and where to report cases and to seek immediate treatment when symptoms appear continues to take place.

Awareness was raised about prevention through:

• Development and distribution of posters and flyers
• Giving health talks on community radio stations
• Cholera prevention and management messages were shared using departmental social media.
• Continuous health education is conducted in health facilities.

END.

Reply:

(a) The Department conducts investigations and inquiries, and the following measures are implemented where non-compliance is revealed:

1. Shutting down of respective operations pending the implementation of any determined remedial steps,
2. Suspension of legal appointments of managers and supervisors in charge of working areas with poor health and safety conditions,
3. Recommendation for criminal prosecution to the National Prosecuting Authority for all those who the findings of the inquiry proves that they may have been liable of serious violation of the law or have been found to be grossly negligent in their acts leading to an injury or fatal accident at a mine.

(b) No case of collusion has been reported to the Department by any person at this stage.

Reply:

Various scientific institutions and groups have been involved in the collaborative work on the cure for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). All scientists agree that finding a cure is far more complex because no one has ever been cured of HIV and AIDS and as such correlates of protection are not known. There is some other work towards a cure that include people who go on structured treatment interruption after receiving some intervention and South Africa is involved in these studies. There is also an investigation of the use of Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) or products derived from indigenous plants that have antiviral activities and claims to cure HIV. There is, further, an on-going work that is designing appropriate studies to investigate many claims of cure for HIV and AIDS, which will probably be structured treatment interruption based.

In the meantime, South Africa has participated in various HIV vaccine efficacy studies such as Phambili, Uhambo, Imbokodo, and Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP). The outcomes of these studies have found that the vaccines that were tried are not effective against the virus. These trials were critical to our endeavor to find an effective HIV vaccine, hence their findings have led us to pursue two alternative pathways:

• A programme of experimental HIV vaccine trials to improve immunogenicity using an approach to iteratively develop and improve both bnAb and T-cell targeting vaccines and that.
• The next (5) five years the country will be assessing the role of utilizing broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies as part of HIV prevention strategy.

We are also evaluating these vaccine approached in HIV exposed uninfected infants to try and prevent breastmilk transmission.

It is critical to collaborate with international partners because the costs of these trials are prohibitive.

While these efforts are ongoing, everyone must be mobilized to support the Antiretroviral programme which has demonstrated achievement in viral suppression when and where there is a strong adherence to treatment.

END.

Reply:

(a)-(b) At Primary Health Care level, the department has an Ideal Health Facility tool that is used to determine the number of health facilities that have functional piped water and the number of health facilities that have emergency water supply.

Each health facility is required to have both functional piped water and emergency water supply kept in water tanks connected to the water reticulation system in the health facility. There is also further arrangement with municipalities that in case of the emergency water tankers running empty during drought seasons, the municipality brings water by means of water tanker trucks to fill up emergency water tanks at the health facility.

END.

Reply:

The National Development Plan remains the framework that guides planning within government. Government’s five-year plan, Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) is based on the NDP which has been organized into 7 priorities namely:

• Priority 1: Building a capable, ethical and developmental state
• Priory 2: Economic transformation and job creation
• Priority 3: Education skills and health
• Priority 4: Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basic services
• Priority 5: Spatial integration, human settlements and local government
• Priority 6: Social Cohesion and safe communities
• Priority 7: A better Africa and world

The annual performance plans and strategies that are submitted to parliament by government departments seek to implement the MTSF based on the NDP. The department is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the NDP and the MTSF in line with these priorities. Amongst others the department present two bi-annual reports to the Clusters, FOSAD and Cabinet on the state of performance of government departments and state entities. The reports are published on the website of the department for public consumption.

In performing its work, DPME also relies on data from Statistics South Africa which is critical in measuring performance against outcomes and impact. Government continues to place more emphasis on achieving outcomes which speaks to addressing the immediate needs and expectations of South Africans. As outlined in the State of Nation Address 2023 the economy remains a major focus of government. In this regard DPME has prioritized the evaluation of the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (ERRP) with a view to assess the impact of the plan on the citizens be they individuals, corporate and public entities. This work is done in partnership with the Development Bank of Southern Africa which has agreed to assist government.

NAME OF THE DRAFTER: Dr Kefiloe Masiteng

DESIGNATION : Secretary of Planning

CONTACT DETAILS 

SIGNATURE : ____________________________

______________________________

Dr Robert Nkuna

Director General - DPME

Date:

__________________________

Ms Maropene Ramokgopa, MP

Minister in the Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

Date:

Reply:

Out of a total number of 56 067 remand detainees as on 01 February 2023, 5 680
(10, 13%) of those remand detainees were detained with the option of bail, while 50 387 (89, 87%) were not granted bail. Furthermore, additional analysis conducted showed that on 31 January 2023, a total of 1 291 remand detainees were detained with an option of bail of R1000 and less.

Below is a breakdown of bail categories as at 31 January 2023. From the data depicted below, 63.1% of the remand detainees were granted bail of R1000 and less while 36.9% of the remanded detainees were detained bail above R1000 up to R4 million.

Bail Amount	EC	FSNC	GP	KZN	LMN	WC	Grand Total	%
R500 and below	139	46	149	101	49	179	663	32,40
>R500 to R1000.	27	21	166	104	52	258	628	30,69
>R1000 to R5000	7	16	294	116	77	156	666	32,55
>R5000 to R10 000	0	0	35	5	12	9	61	2,98
>R10 000 to R50 000	0	0	12	2	1	6	21	1,03
>R50 000 to R100 000	0	0	1	0	1	2	4	0,20
>R100 000 to R500 000.	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0,10
R4million	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0,05
GRAND TOTAL	173	83	660	328	192	610	2 046	100

It should be noted that no information is available that explicitly confirms that the remand detainees granted bail are still in detention due to inability to pay bail.

END

Reply:

a) The National Department of Health has conducted few studies focusing on the condition assessments of the health facilities in line with the requirements of the Government Immovable Asset Management Act. The studies also covered few recommendations. Firstly, the study recommended that a certain portion of the capital budget for be hospitals must be set aside for the routine maintenance. Secondly, the study recommended that a certain portion of the capital budget for the hospitals should be set aside for the urgent redress of the major (and often dangerous) poor conditions of the identified hospitals. Thirdly, the study recommended that a certain portion of the capital budget should be set aside for the new infrastructure for the Primary Health Care; Level 1; Level 2 and Level 3 capacity and infrastructure for specialities.

b) Based on the recommendations mentioned above, a ten-year infrastructure plan of the health facilities for 2015 – 2025 was developed and signed off at the beginning of 2015 by the National Department of Health. The ten-year infrastructure plan covers the following areas:

1. priority sites that requires the access improvement;
2. condition of existing infrastructure;
3. illustrate relative capital (replacement) value;
4. maintenance estimate;
5. refurbishment estimate;
6. technology value estimate; and
7. timelines for the maintenance activities and refurbishment work.

The total budget implication over ten years was estimated to be in the order of R31bn. The breakdown of the recommended projects for hospital bed capacity improvement:

• Build Value R23,86bn
• Refurbish Value R2,57bn
• Technology Estimate R4,6bn
• Total R31bn

END.

Reply:

I would first like to set the record straight that as much as there are challenges in Health sector, it should be noted that the health sector has not collapsed.

a) I have been informed by the Gauteng Department of Health that it is unable to place junior doctors who are bursary holders due to budget constraints. However, there is a process underway to prioritize the human resources needs to place them in institutions across Gauteng.

b) Due to general budget cuts that affects the Cost of Employment (CoE) in the public health sector, there is a systematic process of approving funding and advertisements of posts by Accounting Officers in consultation with Provincial Treasuries supersedes filling of vacant posts to avoid exceeding Cost of Employment (COE) budgets. Therefore, the Department prioritised the filling of the critical and scarce skills within the available budget.

Across all provinces, both clinical and non-clinical posts are continuously identified and vacancies are filled through block adverts and recruitment throughout the year in response to the service demands.

END.

Reply:

I am aware that there were concerns raised by communities regarding provision of ambulances services around Botshabelo and Mangaung in 2022 in Free State. I am also aware that the MEC of Health in the Free State has also responded to some of the communities and have acceded to some of these challenges in this regard.

Pertaining to this particular incident in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality where an ambulance did not arrive to collect a patient when an emergency call was made to the Emergency Communication Centre, I was not informed of this. The lack of details on this particular matter makes it difficult to make an enquiry.

I have however been informed by the province that the Public Emergency Medical Services in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality currently operates with 26 ambulances distributed as follow:

• Bloemfontein 11
• Botshabelo 6
• Thaba Nchu 5
• Wepener 1
• Dewetsdorp 2
• Soutpan 1

The public also has an opportunity to report the matter through the Free State Department of Health’s complaints system.

END.

Reply:

1. According to the information received from our Provincial Departments of Health, no medico-legal cases have been referred to the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (HSACF) since it was established in 2018.

2. Not applicable.

END.