Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Eskom’s business case clearly demonstrated that they are not intending to be in the business of wholesale Petroleum Products. Purchasing diesel for own use does not require a Wholesale Licence.
2. As indicated above, Eskom is not in the business of wholesaling as envisaged in the law.
3. There is no impediment to the purchasing of diesel by Eskom as there are a number of experienced oil companies in the South Africa that are capable of supplying fuel to any customer at competitive prices as was envisaged by Legislation.

Reply:

1.

(aa) Minister
a) Destination	Date	(b)Total Costs	(bi) Accommodation	(bii)Travel Costs
1. United Kingdom	10 Feb 2020	R 110 320.80	R 25 239.80	R 85 081.00
2. Côte d’Ivoire	14 Dec 2020	R 71 662.88	R 5 536.88	R 66 126.00
3. Mozambique	24 Feb 2020	R 15 436.51	R 6 277.51	R 9 159.00
4. Nigeria	3 - 4 Dec 2020	R 60 175.38	R 3 798.38	R 56 377.00
5. Botswana	25 May 2022	R 23 231.03	R 16 751.03	R 6 480.00
6. Zimbabwe	27 May 2022	R 15 999.14	R 3 639.14	R 12 360.00
7. Indonesia	2 Sept 2022	R 26 388.90	R 16 080.90	R 10 308.00
8. South Sudan	8 Sept 2022	R 56 836.03	R 45 023.93	R 11 812.10

(bb) Deputy Minister
(a)Destination	Date	(b)Total Costs	(bi)Accommodation	(bii)Travel Costs
1. France	March 2022	R 160 856.00	R 50 117.00	R 110 739.00
2. Belgium	18 June 2022	R 12 409.58	R 12 409.58	Sponsored trip
3. Australia	31 August 2022	R 103 080.00	R 39 220.34	R 142 300.34
4. Austria	26 Sept 2022	R 138 683.30	R 48 682.30	R 90 001.00

2.

Year	Minister	Deputy minister
2020	R 7 123.00	R0
2021	R 227 551.00	R 57 982.00
2022	R 236 768.00	R 257 421.00
2023	R 60 600.23	R 45 611.66
Total cost	R 532 042.23	R 361 014.66

Reply:

1. (a) Rehabilitation of the old De Beers slime dams had started; however the rehabilitation is currently on hold due to West Coast Resources being placed on provisional liquidation (and now on business rescue). A section/portion of the slime dams is covered with >40mm material, therefore the dust emanating from those slimes is no longer as extreme as it used to be.

(b) It is DMRE’s responsibility to ensure that mining of mineral resources is done in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner and that the health of communities are not compromised. The Department will conduct regular audit inspections at the WCR operation to ensure full compliance with the issued Environmental Authorisation and the approved EMPR.

2. (a) (i) The last site inspections were conducted on 02 August 2022 & 21 September 2021. (ii) DMRE together with the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform (DAERL) as the regulating authority for Air Emission Licenses (AEL) in the NC conducted an inspection at WCR on 02 August 2022. On the day of the inspection there was little to no activity on site, site visit was undertaken in the windiest month of the year and still little to no dust emissions were observed.

(b) Two officials from the Department were part of the team that conducted the last inspection.

(c) The next inspection will take place during the course of March 2023.

 

Reply:

a) Infant Mortality Rate

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital -All Data	2020	2021	2022	Total
Death in facility 0-6 days	359	403	325	1087	59,6%
Death in facility 7-28 days	162	162	191	515	28,2%
Death in facility 29 days - 11 months	43	95	84	222	12,2%
Total infant deaths	564	660	600	1824	100,0%
DHIS data extracted 20th February 2022

(b)-(c) Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) does not procure ambulances. Provision of ambulances is the responsibility of Gauteng EMS. Gauteng EMS does not have dedicated obstetric ambulances as all ambulances are equipped to treat and transport all emergencies including obstetric cases.

Gauteng EMS is piloting the Gauteng Scheduled Emergency Transport (G-SET) which is a scheduled transport system between high call volume facilities like CHBAH. We are encouraged by the improved response times and plan to expand G-SET during the new financial year subject to recruitment of additional staff.

(d) (i) Action plans to reduce avoidable mortality

• All Health care facilities should have monitoring and evaluation team that monitors perinatal mortality data using the Perinatal Problem Identification Program (PPIP) to exclude avoidable deaths.
• Integrate PPIP programme into M & E teams at all levels of care.
• Facility management should develop quality improvement plan focussing on avoidable factors of death and address them.
• Facility Management must ensure that all delivering institution discuss every death within 7 days, report on PPIP, develop and follow up on implementation of Quality Improvement Plans (QIP)
• Senior management must ensure that junior staff is provided technical support on the job and onsite corrective measures.
• Provincial Management to submit and verify their PPIP data to NDoH establish Provincial Perinatal Mortality Meetings Committee, NDOH, Provinces, MNCH cluster.

(ii) Promote the prevention, early identification, and comprehensive management of the stabilisation phase of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)

• Strengthen the capacity of hospitals to identify and care for acutely sick children not limited to the following:

• Equitable allocation and non-rotation of staff
• Ensure effective triage system in hospitals.
• Strengthen daily ward rounds including on weekends.
• Sustain Outreach support to District Hospitals

• Empower households and strengthen community services to promote early entry into the health service and reduce barriers.

• Create a safe home and social environments for children to reduce non-natural deaths, such as burns prevention and road traffic accidents.

• Strengthen the capacity of community and primary health care services to address common childhood illnesses.

(e) The Department of Health reached the sustainable development goal set target of <12/1 000live births by 2030 for newborn nationally which is part of the infant mortality rate. The Department is therefore striving to sustain the performance not to regress below the current achievement, however.

The Infant Mortality Rate sustainable development goal which is also the Departmental goal is set at 20/1 000 live births by 2030.

(f) The Department of Health reached the sustainable development goal set target of <12/1 000live births by 2030 for newborn nationally and the infant mortality rate l recorded in 2020 was 23.6.

END.

Reply:

(1) According to the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health, Wentworth Hospital Gateway clinic has a backlog on issuing of spectacles to 300 patients. The reason for the backlog is that the institution exhausted the budget for spectacles in October 2022.

(2) There is no optometrist employed at Wentworth Hospital Gateway Clinic. However, the facility receives support from a visiting optometrist who visits the hospital once a week. There is one ophthalmic nurse employed at the clinic.

(3) The hospital has no budget to fill optometrist posts, however, the Department continues to advocate for enough funds to address this problem. The budget allocated to the hospital over the past years was insufficient to create new posts.

(4) The hospital has included the filling of the optometrist post in the budget bid for 2023/24. Additional funds for spectacles have also been requested.

Further information is awaited from the Province.

END.

Reply:

1. The Ministry undertakes international travel to carry out the core mandate on Trade, Industry and Competition. Travel is either at the request of the President, particularly for State Visits, or through our membership of global structures where South Africa’s interests have to be defended or advanced (for example in the World Trade Organisation), or meetings with investors.

In the period under question, the travel undertaken focused on the following four categories:

1. Promoting African trade, investment and industrialisation.
2. Meeting with major trading partners, including State Visits
3. Meetings where South Africa is a member of the International Organisations.
4. Travel to set out the case for investment in South Africa.

Total spending on the above will be finalised shortly and provided as an updated reply.

(2) Minister Patel’s domestic travel since 1 June 2019 amounts to R 748 328. This covers trips between the seat of Parliament (Cape Town) and the seat of the Executive (Pretoria), as well as meetings in different provinces, such as E Cape and KZN. All travel is currently in economy class, except where seats are not available.

Deputy Minister Majola’s domestic travel since 1 June 2019 amounts to R 518 460. All travel is currently in economy class, except where seats are not available.

Deputy Minister Gina’s total cost incurred for domestic travel since 1 June 2019 amounts to R1 154 770. All travel is currently in economy class, except where seats are not available.

3. The expenditure for the 2019/20 financial year was disclosed in the audited Annual Financial Statements of the former department of Trade and Industry and the expenditure for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years were disclosed in the audited Annual Financial Statements Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). The current financial year’s audited Annual Financial Statements will be available in September 2023.

-END-

Reply:

We are not aware of any deaths associated with the crisis of loadshedding as the question alleges. With regard to the details furnished by the Honourable Member, I am assured by the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health that there is no reported incident in Radiology relating to any death in CT/MRI due to loadshedding at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, as alleged. The Gauteng Provincial Department further confirms that the CT and MRI machines of the Hospital have uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and generators, which ensures the continuity of service during black-outs. It could be of great assistance if details of the abovementioned case can be made available to us for detailed investigation and response.

END.

Reply:

Since the function shift, the main focus of the Provincial Education Departments has been on stabilising the function under the new leadership and management of the Department of Basic Education. The DBE’s long-run vision for ECD is to have “All children accessing comprehensive, age-appropriate, quality ECD services to enable them to grow holistically and thrive”.

The following five strategies are proposed to achieve the DBE’s long-run vision of universal access to quality ECD:

1. Curriculum-based early learning for all children birth to 5 years
2. Early childhood development programmes for all children birth to 5 years
3. Training, education and development for all those working in ECD
4. Co-ordination of all early childhood development services
5. A flexible funding and provisioning framework

The DBE’s proposed integrated Service Delivery Model seeks to increase access to quality ECD services, while bearing in mind the need to streamline services to ensure that the government can feasibly support all ECD programmes. The DBE will therefore enable the provision of multiple modalities of ECD provisioning to ensure that they are age- and developmental-stage appropriate. These modalities include independent ECD programmes, public ECD programmes, playgroups and home-based programmes. These modalities will be supported by toy libraries and mobile ECD programmes.

The DBE is developing a 10-year sector plan for ECD. DBE has identified the following activities for the Sector Plan:

1. Develop a National Strategy for ECD delivery at scale.
2. Develop a costed Service Delivery Model that considers various modalities, compliance, appropriate skilling and quality in a coordinated integrated manner.
3. Develop a Human Resources Development Plan based on the approved HRD Strategy. This includes the professionalisation of the workforce and exploring appropriate registration mechanisms for the workforce.
4. Develop a Quality Assurance and Support System using a child outcomes lens to monitor and support Early Learning Programmes to reach the minimum quality standards.
5. Develop a Funding Model for ECD programmes that accommodate all aspects of the service delivery model
6. Develop a system of Infrastructure Support for early childhood development in programmes and schools.
7. The development of a Registration Management System for ECD.
8. Develop a streamlined Registration Framework and process with the Department of Health and ensure local government is on-boarded through engagement with COGTA and SALGA
9. Ensure that all Departments know their roles and responsibilities in delivering early childhood development programmes.
10. Develop a communication strategy and advocacy campaign.
11. Develop an Organisational Structure for effective coordination between different government departments and stakeholders anchored in the DBE.
12. Strengthen the institutional mechanisms for ECD like the intersectoral forum, interdepartmental ECD committee, and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for ECD.
13. Develop necessary legislation as the primary piece of legislation for ECD; and identify, review and amend existing policies and legislation.

DBE is also scoping and exploring the development of a primary piece of legislation for ECD; and identify, review and amend existing policies and legislation.

Reply:

1. Major public entities as listed under Schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act (1999) are required to operate as sustainable profit-generating businesses that borrow on the strength of their balance sheets. However, over the years the financial and operational performance of these entities has steadily deteriorated due in large part to state capture, corruption (as noted by the Zondo Commission), weak corporate governance, archaic business models and burdensome cost structures. Too many SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts. Various initiatives are underway across government to ensure that we create an environment where our SOEs can become sustainable and fulfil their developmental mandate without government support. In this regard, the 2022 Budget Review outlined the need for a new framework for managing bailouts to state-owned companies to reduce fiscal risks and promote long-overdue reforms. The framework, when finalised, will link bailouts of these entities to a range of reforms needed to make them sustainable and efficient.

2. Some SOEs have indeed become a burden on taxpayers. Between 2012/13 and 2021/22, SOEs received about R266.6 billion in bailouts from government. These bailouts crowd out important social expenditure. Therefore, government has shifted its approach in dealing with funding support to these entities, in particular those that are listed under Schedule 2 of the PFMA. Starting last year, and going forward, any fiscal support to SOEs is accompanied by strict conditions to ensure that these SOEs fix their underlying structural challenges if they are to qualify for support from taxpayers.

Reply:

The purpose of Business Rescue process as per the Companies Act is to provide for the efficient rescue and recovery of financially distressed companies so as to balance the rights and interests of all relevant stakeholders (employees, creditors and shareholders)

The primary objective of business rescue is the development and implementation of a business rescue plan that either:

• 1. Rescues the company by restructuring its debt and equity in a manner that maximises the likelihood of the company continuing in existence on a solvent basis; or
  2. Results in a better return for the company’s creditors or shareholders than would result from the immediate liquidation of the company

SAA was placed into voluntary business rescue on 06 December 2019 by its Board of Directors as they believed that the company was in financial distress, after which the airline’s Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) took over the management of the airline.

The National Treasury is not aware of any non-compliance to any legal prescripts in relation to SAA’s business rescue process as regulated by the Companies Act and the PFMA.

Reply:

	(i) Minister	(ii) Former Minister	(iii) Deputy Minister	(iv) Former Deputy Minister
(a) Make	None	Mercedes-Benz	None	None
(b) Model		C-Class (C180)
(c) Year of manufacture		2016
(d) Cost		R653 943.27
(e) Purchase date of all official vehicles purchased since 1 June 2019?		28 June 2019

Reply:

1. Progress in implementing the new organisational structure to reduce high vacancy rate:
   1. Matching and Placement Framework was approved.
   2. Placement and Appeals Committee has been established and approved.
   3. Placement for all salary levels has been initiated:
      1. The implementation plan provides for the placement process to be concluded by end of March 2023 and official implementation of the new structure on 1 April 2023 to ensure business continuity in respect of implementation of the 2022/23 Annual Performance Plan.
      2. At present, the Department is still on track to finalise within this timeframe with the placement of Chief Directors finalised with no concerns raised. The placement of all levels finalised by the Placement Committee and placement of Directors is at present with the Minister for a decision and salary levels 2 to 12 will be routed to the Director-General for a decision.
   4. Thirty-six (35) posts advertised and/or initiated for filling since approval of the structure (1 September 2022:
      1. 1 Deputy Director-General.
      2. 5 Director posts (includes Private and Appointment Secretary).
      3. 12 Deputy Director posts
      4. 8 Assistant Director posts.
      5. 1 Business Analyst
      6. 3 Level 7 posts - 2 Human Resources Practitioners and 1 Supply Chain Management.
      7. 3 Level 5 posts - 2 Accounting Clerks and a Registry Clerk.
      8. 2 Posts in the Ministry (2 Food Service Aids).

• 1. Fourteen (14) appointments and (9) interns since 1 September 2022:
     1. 1 Director: Human Resources Management (HRM).
     2. 5 Deputy Directors (Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Research, and Value Chain Support, HRM; and Performance Monitoring and Reporting).
     3. 3 Assistant Director (HRM; SMME and Policy and Oversight; and Demand and Acquisition [additional to the establishment])
     4. 1 Travel Coordinator (additional to the establishment).
     5. 1 Food Service Aid (contract).
     6. 1 Personal Assistant.
     7. 1 Private and Appointment Secretary to the Minister.
     8. 9 Interns (contracts).
     9. 1 Senior Internal Auditor.

• 1. Three (3) Terminations from November:
     1. Director: Legal Services
     2. Director ICT
     3. Deputy Director: International Relations

1. Impact to the DSBD’s recruitment process
   1. Vacancy rate reduced from 15.6% to 10.9% = 4,7% change in the vacancy rate.
   2. Appointment of a new service provider (recruitment agency) once the current contract of the existing service provider expires. Estimated due date of expiry is 31 March 2023 .

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

(a), (b), (c), (d) It is assumed that the Honourable Ceza is referring to the 2020/21 municipal financial year in which R1.26 billion was spent on consultants by municipalities to assist them with financial statement preparations as reported by the AGSA in its MFMA General Report (see the link below for a copy of the 2020/21 MFMA General Report, https://www.agsa.co.za/Reporting/MFMAReports/MFMA2020-2021.aspx). Section 2.2 of the MFMA General Report (page 18) sets out the AGSA’s conclusions on the use of consultants for financial reporting. Furthermore, section 2.3 of the MFMA General Report (page 20) sets out the AGSA’s conclusions on the “Financial Health” of municipalities. Information for use of consultants for the 2021/22 municipal financial year is not yet available as the audits are still in progress.

Various disciplines and specialist knowledge is required in financial management. An appropriate use of consultants, coupled with transfer of skills to municipal officials, can assist in making a difference in stabilising and sustaining municipal finances. In this regard, the National Treasury issued a Circular to municipalities in 2016 dealing with cost containment, followed by Regulations in 2019, requiring municipal managers to only appoint consultants if a gap analysis confirmed that the requisite skills or resources are not available to perform the necessary work. It also reminded municipalities of the legislated requirements to closely monitor contracts and the importance of transferring skills. The responsibility for the effective use of financial reporting consultants lies with the Municipal Manager and the relevant Chief Financial Officer.

Reply:

“With reference to her department’s SheTradesZA platform which aims to connect at least 50 000 women-owned businesses to markets by 2023”. The plan was to connect at least 50 000 women owned businesses to markets by 2023, however this figure was amended to 10 000 in the Department’s Strategic Plan to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to getting these women owned businesses export ready within the time period allocated.

a) As of 31 January 2023, there are 2999 South African users on http://SheTrades.com. For 2022/2023, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) reported that 2236 clients have already participated in ecosystem advocacy, awareness and capacity building events focused on women-owned businesses and ecosystem stakeholders to encourage registration, as well as participation on the international platform.

b) Since the easing of travel restrictions in 2021, SheTradesZA delegations comprising of clients from various sectors participated in trade shows and missions, with a focus on Africa. In November 2021, the first eight (8) women clients participated in Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).

Qualifying SheTradesZA Hub women clients have also participated in markets where beneficiaries are integrated into, and they participate in B2B fairs and exhibitions. The following are the details:

• Pan African Women’s Economic Summit Zanzibar: 06 – 08 March 2022 (20 women clients).
• Kenyan Food Event 2022, Nairobi: 23 – 25 March 2022 (18 women clients).
• SARCDA, Gallagher Estate: (20 women clients).
• Ghana Food Event: 23 – 25 March (11 women clients).
• FACIM, Mozambique: 29 August – 04 September 2022 (9 women clients).
• Mission to Mauritius, 17-23 October 2022 (20 women clients).

c) SheTradesZA Hub leverages the Seda Export Development Programme, hereby ensuring seamless integration into mainstream business platforms. This alignment ensures the work of the Hub is not isolated and integrates with relevant offerings sourced both internally and external to the Hub.

The 2023/2024 implementation approach aims to focus on the post-event mentorship as many women require bespoke assistance to follow through with deals due to complexities arising from logistical and tariff costs.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

Honourable Ceza’s question must be contextualised within the framework as contained in section 1 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (Act 56 of 2003) (MFMA). It outlines four instances where a municipality will incur irregular expenditure (a) where the expenditure incurred by a municipality is in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the MFMA, (b) where expenditure incurred by a municipality in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the Municipal Systems Act (c) expenditure incurred by a municipality in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with, a requirement of the Public Office-Bearers Act, or (d)

expenditure incurred by a municipality or municipal entity in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with, a requirement of the Supply Chain Management Policy of the municipality or entity or any of the municipality’s by-laws giving effect to such policy.

It is therefore incorrect to assert all amounts to fraud and corruption. To illustrate this using an example; the law requires a municipality to advertise a tender for 14 days and if a municipality advertises the tender for 13 days or less, the law requires for the associated expenditure to be disclosed as irregular expenditure.

Powers to deal with irregular expenditure vests with the Accounting Officer and the Municipal Council. Section 32 of the MFMA, requires municipalities to investigate the irregular expenditure and either recover the irregular expenditure from the person liable or write off that expenditure where value for money was obtained. Municipalities are also required to implement consequence management against officials who failed to comply with the MFMA and implement measures to avoid future recurrences of irregular expenditure.

Where matters are reported to law enforcement agencies, the recovery of proceeds of crime are largely dependent on the successful prosecution of criminal cases. This information is not maintained by the National Treasury.

Reply:

The Annual report produced by the Department of Small Businesses Development asserts that the statistic that 70-80% of SMEs in the Republic fail within first five years, is not only a South African phenomenon, but is a global one. This aspect is also confirmed by the European Commission and United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (2019). Therefore, the phenomenon of high failure rates for small businesses in South Africa should be understood in this context.

Further, the demise of the SMEs in the first few years of existence cannot be attributed to DSBD as their support emanates from all government departments and entities as well as the private sector in various forms and methods.

It is normally posited that the high failure rate amongst small businesses in South Africa are due to challenges such as lack of access to finance, caused by stringent requirements by financial institutions; inability to access markets triggered by dominance of large firms; lack of knowledge/skills; regulatory burdens such as labour laws that unintentionally discourage entrepreneurs from employing workers; inadequate infrastructure and high crime rate. The impact of COVID-19 has also exacerbated this failure rate as per study by World Bank Group and DSBD (2022), reflecting low sales levels with 4 out of 5 firms (80%) reporting sales being down compared to pre-pandemic levels as reflected below.

The Department also recognises the importance of ensuring that entrepreneurs that have experienced an honest business failure, can be given an opportunity to wind up previous businesses and be given a ‘second chances’ through being treated in the same way as new start-ups of receiving various financial and non-financial support by the DSBD’s agencies i.e., small enterprise development agency (Seda) and the small enterprise finance agency (sefa).

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) procured one vehicle since 01 June 2019 for the Minister of Small Business Development, which was transferred to the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies (DCDT) as per agreement between the incoming and outgoing Ministers to DCDT. The details are as follows:

(a) Make: Audi

(b) Model: Q5 40 TDI

(c) Year of manufacture: 2021

(d) Price: R726 469.25

(e) Purchase date: December 2021

No vehicle was purchased for the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development since 01 June 2019.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) continues to support informal and small businesses, inclusive of co-operatives, through a range of existing programmes. The support rendered is financial and non-financial.

The DSBD, through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), recently conducted a research study on the impact of loadshedding on its funded clients and the following are some of the findings identified:

• Respondents suffered loss of revenue and production due to loadshedding.
  • 76% of respondents indicated that they do not have alternative power in place to mitigate the effect of loadshedding.
  • To cope with the impact of loadshedding, most respondents indicated that they utilised the loadshedding schedule to plan their business operations and have reduced their production.
  • Majority indicated that they require assistance with funding to acquire alternative energy source and assistance with restructuring of their loans in respect of their loan repayment obligation with us.

In response to the challenges faced by the small and informal businesses, the DSBD is considering the introduction of interventions to address the situation. The DSBD together with its agencies, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the sefa are looking at a multi-pronged approach for supporting SMMEs affected by loadshedding:

1. The Power Purchase Product (PPP) is an immediate relief for formal and informal enterprises (alternative power sources). It is an initiative of the Small Business Development Portfolio (DSBD, Seda and sefa) to support SMMEs with alternative energy generating equipment (generators and Photovoltaic installations - PV). The programme will be implemented via the existing programme structures as follows:
   • Informal and Micro business to be supported via DSBD’s Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP).
   • Small to Medium enterprises to be supported through sefa’s Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP).

The power purchase IMEDP will be a 100% grant programme, whilst the TREP power purchase will be a blended term loan facility of 50% of the installed price (50% grant and 50% term loan). The programme will utilise the services and capacity of existing suppliers of equipment and accredited installers.

2. Guarantee programme via the Bounce Back Scheme administered by Khula Credit Guarantee (KCG) on behalf of government. This is a medium to long term intervention that still require intense discussion relevant parties including the National treasury who are the custodian of the scheme.

• Ongoing discussions with National Treasury indicates their interest and consideration of opening up the bounce back scheme to all Development Finance Institutions.

The DSBD will provide support to formal and informal enterprises as immediate intervention and within the available financial resources whilst working on the medium and long terms sustainable solutions.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) together with its agencies, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) are looking at a multi-pronged approach for supporting SMMEs affected by loadshedding:

1. The Power Purchase Product (PPP) is an immediate relief for formal and informal enterprises (alternative power sources). It is an initiative of the SBD Portfolio (DSBD, Seda and sefa) to support SMMEs with alternative energy generating equipment (generators and Photovoltaic installations - PV). The programme will be implemented via the existing programme structures as follows:

• The PPP is an initiative in the SBD Portfolio (DSBD, Seda and sefa) to support SMMEs with alternative energy generating equipment (generators and Photovoltaic installations - PV). The programme will be implemented via the existing programme structures.
• Informal and Micro business to be supported via DSBD’s Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP).
• Small to Medium enterprises to be supported through sefa’s Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP).
• The power purchase IMEDP will be a 100% grant programme, whilst the TREP power purchase will be a blended term loan facility of 50% of the installed price (50% grant and 50% term loan).
• The programme will utilise the services and capacity of existing suppliers of equipment and accredited installers.

2. Guarantee programme via the Bounce Back Scheme administered by Khula Credit Guarantee (KCG) on behalf of government. This is a medium to long term intervention that still require intense discussion relevant parties including the National treasury who are the custodian of the scheme.

• Ongoing discussions with National Treasury indicate their interest and consideration of opening up the bounce back scheme to all Development Finance Institutions.

(b) The Department will provide support to formal and informal enterprises as immediate intervention and within the available financial resources whilst working on the medium and long terms sustainable solutions.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPEMENT

Reply:

The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda):

a) Annual package of Top management in Seda:

Title(i) & (ii)	Annual package in Rands
Acting Chief Executive Officer	R 2 682 646
Executive Manager: Enterprise Development	R 1 846 069
Executive Manager: Seda Technology Programme	R 1 800 000
Chief Strategy Information Officer	R 1 737 200
Acting Chief Financial Officer	R 1 737 200
Acting Executive Manager: Corporate Services	R 1 737 200
TOTAL	R 11 540 315

b) No payments for meetings attended.

The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa):

a) The salaries of all executives are disclosed in the sefa annual report each year, including the Chief Executive Officer. Please refer to the attached extract from the financial statements, Annexure A (note 10.2.2) in the financial statement section of the annual report on our website.

b) Executives are not remunerated for attending meetings as they are Executive Officials and not Non-Executive Directors.

STELLA NDABENI ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

Since the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) established the Amavulandlela Funding Scheme in December 2016 to date, the scheme has approved loans to the value of R75.3 million, disbursed R54.8 million to 39 enterprises owned by entrepreneurs with disabilities. These enterprises in turn helped create and sustain 753 jobs.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

Inyamazane Funding Scheme was launched on 5 September 2018. This scheme is administered by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa).

a) Since the inception of the scheme 8 (eight) enterprises were approved to the value of R25 055 376.

b) R12 418 253 was disbursed to 2 (two) enterprises. sefa was not able to disburse to 6 (six) enterprises as these (enterprises) were not able to secure contracts – and these contracts were the basis for the financial support.

Enterprises that were supported are based in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. The slow uptake of the scheme can be attributed to the challenges of market access which is faced by most military veterans.

sefa continues to participate in various platforms where the subject of promoting economic transformation to military veterans are explored.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

In responding to the question, it is important to first contextualise the widespread and sometimes inaccurate use of the term municipal dysfunction. Municipal dysfunction refers to a situation where a municipality is not functioning as it is supposed to and the discharge of a municipality’s constitutional responsibilities is impaired for some or other reason. However, there are various degrees of municipal dysfunction ranging from dysfunction which is less serious or temporary in nature requiring only appropriate support to rectify and dysfunction that implies a full-blown crisis in the financial and service delivery affairs of a municipality warranting intervention. Often, the use of the term “municipal dysfunctionality” is construed to mean that a municipality is in crisis which is not necessarily the correct interpretation.

The 165 municipalities referred to by the President in his State of the Nation Address, are municipalities that the National Treasury has identified in its annual municipal financial health assessment to be in financial distress. This means that according to the 13 indicators used by the National Treasury to measure the financial health of municipalities based on their audited financial statements, these municipalities are showing signs of existing, recurring and/or potentially serious financial problems. Again, this should not be construed as a necessary crisis in the municipality’s financial affairs.

The assessment is just one of the many early warning systems developed by the National Treasury to indicate where problems are emerging in a municipality’s financial health and if used proactively as early warning systems should be, to avoid these problems from morphing into a financial crisis. This results of this annual assessment should be interpreted alongside many of the in-year monitoring systems already institutionalized by the National Treasury including the monthly S71 reporting process. The National Treasury also publishes on a quarterly basis municipal performance indicators outlined in Section 138 and 140 of the MFMA. S138 indicators are used to indicate “serious financial problems” in a municipality whilst S140 indicators refer to a “financial crisis”. Serious financial problems should ideally be addressed via a discretionary financial recovery plan prepared by the respective province whilst financial crises require that the Provincial Executive Committees institute a mandatory intervention in terms of Section 139(5) of the Constitution and imposes a financial recovery plan on the municipality.

The role of the Provincial Treasury is to implement S213 of the Constitution and to assist the National Treasury in enforcing compliance with the measures established in terms of S216 of the Constitution and chapter 2 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (no: 56 of 2003 as amended).

In terms of the delegation of responsibility, the National Treasury shares the responsibility for the oversight of municipal finances with the Provincial Treasuries. The role of the National Treasury is to develop the policies, regulations, norms and standards required to improve financial management and reporting in municipalities and the National Treasury is also responsible for directly monitoring the performance of the 17 largest municipalities responsible for 80 per cent of municipal expenditure. The remaining 239 municipalities are monitored by the respective Provincial Treasuries.

Apart from the development of early warning systems which help municipalities to identify the extent of their financial problems where they exist, there are several other support initiatives which the NT has focused on to strengthen and enforce transparency, improve fiscal discipline and promote the better use of municipal revenue. These include initiatives focused on improving budget compliance, such as the Municipal Budget and Reporting regulations which aim to standardize the format of municipal budgets, the adoption of a realistically funded and credible budgets by municipalities, integration and management of the revenue value chain, providing technical support to build municipal financial management capacity through the Municipal Finance Improvement Programme (MFIP), resolution of municipal financial problems through the development of financial recovery plans, the introduction of a Standard Chart of Accounts for municipalities (mSCOA) and processes to deal timeously with financial misconduct and consequence management.

National and Provincial Treasuries also engage municipalities annually through budget and benchmark engagements where the tabled budget is subjected to a rigorous assessment prior to adoption by the municipal council. There are also mid-year performance assessments which provide an opportunity to assess the financial and service delivery performance of the municipality against the adopted budget and effect the necessary adjustments. National Treasury also enforces compliance in terms of s18 of the Municipal Finance Management Act by ensuring that any municipality who adopts an unfunded budget must develop a credible funding plan which seeks to gradually improve the financial position of the municipality and achieve a funded budget status. The implementation of these funding plans is monitored on a quarterly basis by the Treasuries.

Reply:

The causes of South Africa’s poor economic growth and development are complex and multi-faceted. It includes the impact of state capture, as outlined by the Zondo Commission findings published in 2022. The National Treasury provides a bi-annual update on the performance of the economy and the policy proposals to improve it in the annual Budget Review and in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. In addition, both publications provide an update on the state of public finances, with the Budget Review providing a comprehensive outline of the spending plans, division of revenue, the liability position of government, as well as government assets in the form of public entities. The President also submitted the response of Government to Parliament on 22 October 2022, which outlined the response of Government to the recommendations made by Judge Zondo in his report on State Capture. Members of Parliament and the public may examine the details of these publications for information on what government is doing to address the country’s challenges. All the documents are available on the National Treasury or government websites.

Reply:

(a) There are no salaries of (i) chief executive officers and (ii) top executive positions in state-owned entities reporting to the Minister, as well as (ii) the total amount they are paid to attend a meeting. Thus, there are no state-owned entities that report to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Reply:

Based on the feedback conducted by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) on its funded clients, there was no client that indicated to have closed their doors permanently due to loadshedding.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Reply:

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Reply:

1. As clearly explained by my department (DSAC) and NAC during the Portfolio Committee Meetings of 16 September 2022 and 28 February 2023 (Ms. van Dyk was present at both meetings), the allocation of the R54,68million stems from 3 financial years: R11 515 600 (Eleven Million, Five Hundred and Fifteen Thousand Six Hundred Rands Only), allocated in the 2019 – 2020 financial year cycle but were not transferred as envisaged; R21 583 000 (Twenty-One Million, Five Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand Rands Only), allocated in the 2020 – 2021 financial year cycle and R21 583 000 (Twenty-One Million, Five Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand Rands Only), based on 2021 – 2022 financial year cycle allocation.

Out of this amount, the NAC was allocated 5% or R2,7million towards administrative costs, leaving a balance of R51,9million. On 11 December 2021, the first tranche of R41,57million was transferred to the Mzansi Philharmonic. As per contract between the NAC and the Mzansi Philharmonic, 75% of the Mzansi Philharmonic’s budget should go towards artistic endeavours and 25% towards operations.  The NAC reported at the Portfolio Committee Meeting of 28 February 2023 that the Mzansi Philharmonic has met this crucial condition and actually did much better than stipulated.  The NAC further reported that as per the Annual Audited Financial Statements  of the Mzansi Philharmonic (which are unqualified and achieved a clean audit), the Mzansi Philharmonic spent the following for the period under review which ended on 31 December 2022: R33,5million or 77,2% was spent on artistic programmes, including concerts, tours, and an allocation of R20million for grants to regional and youth orchestras, education and community engagement programmes in at least 7 provinces throughout South Africa. R9,92million or 22,8% of total expenditure was spent on operations, including administration and corporate marketing.

I am delighted that almost 80% of the resources were spent on artistic endeavours which yielded more than 1000 job opportunities for orchestra musicians, choral singers, and other creatives.

2. The contract between the NAC and Mzansi Philharmonic states that 75% of the Orchestra’s budget must be spent on artistic related programmes which include concerts, tours, and grants to regional and youth orchestras, education, and community engagement programmes. Up to 25% should be used on operations. DSAC plays an oversight role on the institutions that it funds, however, it does not get involved in operational matters and does not micro-manage these institutions. The Department is satisfied that the Orchestra has spent its budget within these prescribed parameters and that expenditure includes travel and accommodation as is necessitated by the demands of the concerts, tours and other programmes. The Department will receive the Audited Annual Financial Statements of the Orchestra by the end of March 2023 which will include further financials.

Reply:

There is collaboration between DBE and DoH, as health services, in schools, are provided by school-health-nurses through the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) as guided by the 2012 ISHP Policy.

a) According to the ISHP policy, vision and hearing screening are provided in all the school phases (see page 12 of the policy). The ISHP programme emphasises hearing and vision screening in the foundation phase for early detection and support.

b) Based on the screening results, learners in need of further assistance are referred to health facility for case management and support e.g. provision of spectacles.

 

 

 

COMPILED BY:

MS COCEKA NOGODUKA

CHIEF DIRECTOR: SUPPORT SERVICES

DATE: 03/03/2023

OFFICIALS INVOLVED

QUESTION NO: 620. IS APPROVED

DR G WHITTLE

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL: SOCIAL MOBILISATION & SUPPORT SERVICES

DATE: 03/03/2023

QUESTION NO: 620. IS APPROVED

MR HM MWELI

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

DATE: 04/03/2023

QUESTION NO: 620. IS APPROVED

DR MR MHAULE, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER

DATE: 07/03/2023

QUESTION NO: 620. IS APPROVED

MRS AM MOTSHEKGA, MP

MINISTER

DATE: 08/03/2023

Reply:

The People to People Exchange Mechanism is a structure set up to drive South Africa-China relationship in the social sector, under the framework of bilateral cooperation and Global Development Initiative.

There was no specific agreement signed between the Hon. Minister Nathi Mthethwa and his counterpart, H.E Ms Sun Chunlan of People’s Republic of China during the 3rd PPEM meeting between the two countries.

However, the two co-chairs signed a minutes of the meeting which serves as a review and report on the work done in the last three years since the 2nd PPEM was held and commitment to new goals to be achieved until the 4th PPEM to be held in 2025.

The agreed minutes covers work in the field of Education (Both Higher and Basic Education), Science, Technology and Innovation, Culture, Sports, Health, Media, Tourism, Youth, Women and Local Government. The commitment as captured by the agreed minute will be implemented by the respective Departments based on the individual bilateral agreements signed between the respective departments in the two countries.

The progress and any challenges will then be reported to the Minister who is the Co-Chair via the South African Co-Coordinator of PPEM, Deputy Minister Manamela, whose task is to coordinate the work of PPEM at an operational level. Minister Mthethwa as the Co-Chair of PPEM will then intervene at the appropriate level to ensure the work is carried out and the agreed outcomes as captured in the minute are implemented.

Nevertheless, during the 3rd PPEM, three Letters of Intent were signed between the two countries in the areas of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Tourism.

In Higher Education, the letter of intent commit the two countries to sign an agreement (2023-2027) to further pursue the following objectives:

1. Chinese Government scholarships
2. Expansion of education collaborations
3. Exchanges of students, academics, and experts and
4. Joint research project among others

In Health, the letter of intent calls for the following:

1. Prevention and treatment of tumors and non-communicable disease
2. Control and prevention of infectious diseases
3. Advanced diagnosis and treatment technologies such as genomic sequencing
4. Traditional medicine
5. Twinning of Hospitals
6. Vaccines and pharmaceuticals and
7. Creating a training platform at the NICD.

In Science and Innovation, the letter of intent calls for the two countries to implement joint SA-China short-term study visits and SA-China joint exchange programs among young scientists, research institutions, and universities for a period of 6 months among others.

Following the signing of the letters of intent, the participating department in PPEM will individually pursue the signing of agreements and/or MoU’s as per their individual needs. Each country will follow its own internal process in terms of signing the respective agreements

Reply:

1.(a). Yes, I was informed of the invitation, (b) and yes, I was made aware that the invitation was later revoked.

2. No, I did not apply any pressure and/or influence and/or had any involvement whatsoever in revoking the specified invitation.

3. This is an administrative matter of the SA Rugby Union, and as such neither myself nor my Department can get involved.

Reply:

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Reply:

a) Plans: Currently the department has two main programmes that support the development of women in sport and in particular, football:

(i) School Sport Programme: Through this programme, football is among the sixteen priority codes being supported. At the National School Sport Championships, provinces have been able to send at least 3 categories of participants which include male and female. These are Under 17 (Selected team), Under 16 (Top school) and Deaf football players. In each of these categories, there are women teams as well. So, it is a 50/50 representation, which is highly encouraged in all sporting codes as well.

(ii) Club Development Programme: The programme has concluded the pilot study in Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo, which has among other women football clubs. The Club development programme is a dedicated programme to ensure the development of sport, including women football.

b) Interventions:

(i) Women in Sport Policy: The department is in the process of developing a women in sport policy which is an intervention mechanism that will address the inequalities of funding and opportunities for women in sport.

(ii) Safeguarding regulations: We have also developed guidelines that serve as a barrier to women participation and serve to protect their participation in sport, through the introduction of these guidelines that will help curb the harassment of women in sport.

(iii) School Sport and Club Development Programmes: There is a deliberate effort to ensure that all schools and clubs establish women clubs and schools teams. This they do as they present their teams at the National School Sport Championships, where all provincial teams MUST bring women teams.

(iv) Other Male-dominate sport in Girls Schools: Girls schools are within the Schools Sport Programme, however majority are within quintile 4-5, which is not the target quintile. So, there is no direct intervention to such schools currently, what is being done is generally the same as what happens in public schools. The intervention is made through sporting codes, like Rugby, Cricket, Football, Basketball and all other school sport codes to ensure that the girls are adequately accommodated and provided the necessary coaching, participation, equipment and attire and general access in sport. It is for this reason that in School Sport Championships, Winter Codes are dominated by women participation, who represents 52% of the total participation and the Winter Championships are sitting at 50% of women participation.

(v) In addition we have also taken the following interventions:

• The Sport Ambassadors Programme: Have appointed former professional players in football, like Portia Modise, Amanda Dlamini and Simphiwe Dludlu, to help promote the participation of girls in football.
• Recognition: Have gone to provide the necessary financial and performance recognition of the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Club for Winning the CAF Women Confederation Cup, and also the Banyana Banyana Ladies for Winning the Women African Football Confederation Cup (WAFCON).

(vii) Achievements of Girls: As a result of these measures identified here, through the school sport programme, the girl’s football has achieved the following:

• Pan- African Schools Football Championships: After winning the National School Sport Winter Championships in 2021, the girls Under 16 team from Edendale Technical School (KZN), took part at the inaugural Pan-African Schools Football Championships and went on to win a Silver Medal, after losing to Morocco in the final.
• COSAFA Schools Football: in 2022 during the School Sport Winter Championships, the Under 16 girls team from Edendale won and went to represent the country at the COSAFA Schools Football Championships, where they won Gold and a prize-money of US$100 000. They will be representing the region at the CAF Schools Football Championships to be held in Durban in April 2023.
• National Under 17 Selections: Due to this good performance by Edendale Technical High, five of their players were selected to represent the Ladies Under 17 National Football Team, together with their Coach, a woman as well. They went to represent the country at the AUSC Reg V Under 20 Youth Games, which took place in Malawi in December 2022.

Reply:

(1)(a) Since the settlement of the claim, there have been serious internal conflicts that resulted in the instability within the CPA. This has led to non-compliance with the Communal Property Associations Act,1996 (Act No. 28 of 1996) and non-adherence to the Constitution of the Koegas CPA. A mediator was appointed through the Land Rights Management Facility to regularise the CPA, but the mediation efforts failed as members did not support the process. Reconciling parties to the dispute remains a challenge.

b) Due to unending conflicts, infighting, and non-compliance with both the CPA Act and the Constitution of the CPA, the Director General of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has decided to place the CPA under judicial administration in terms of section 13 of the CPA Act. The matter is being processed by the Kimberley Office of State Attorney in the Northern Cape, and the legal process will unfold in due course.

(2) No. Not all disputes have been resolved. The details are as follows:

• Verification will be finalized by the Judicial Administrator as the main dispute in the CPA relates to the membership list.
• The claim has been settled but not finalized.
• The outstanding matter relating to the release of development grants (section 42C grants) which will only be released once the determination of who are the beneficiaries has been resolved as required by the court order on this matter.

Reply:

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Reply:

1(a). Executive members are paid R 110 00-00 per month.

(b). Board members are not paid to attend meetings.

2. The president receives R 40 000-00 gross per month.

3. The president works for the Polokwane Municipality.

Reply:

a) 9 689 300 learners are beneficiaries of the National School Nutrition Programme.

b) The Department of Basic Education through the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) oversees the menu compilation in line with the conditions as set out in the Conditional Grant Framework. The DBE has in its employ a qualified Dietician and Nutritionists who are tasked to review and assess healthy nutritional menus for each Provincial Education Department during the annual business planning process.  The DBE periodically liaises with the Department of Health to align with health and food safety standards/Regulations.

Reply:

(1). No payments are made to Board members.

(2). None, the chairperson does not get an allowance.

(3). The Chairperson works for SASCOC.

Reply:

1. The interaction with SAFA has primarily focused on the need to review SAFA’s Vision 2022. This noting that the plan has run its full course.
2. As indicated above the SAFA’s Vision 2022, like any other plan is due for review to assess progress made, its successes and failures in an objective manner. The review would determine the correctness or appropriateness of the development plans for football.

Reply:

As previously stated, my department (DSAC) has been informed by the NAC that Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra is updating its Business Plan which is due to the National Arts Council of SA by 31 March 2023.  The process of updating the Business Plan, which includes budgets, entails workshops with some of the partners, stakeholders, and the board of Mzansi Philharmonic. Besides what we have already submitted, we will certainly furnish any latest information as and when required.

Reply:

(a)(i). salary of each Chief Executive Officer

(ii). salary for each top executive positions

https://pmg.org.za/files/Worksheet_in_C.xlsx 

(b). No amount is paid to any Chief Executive Officer and Executive management team of public entities for attending meetings.

Reply:

According to our records, R490 525.81 was spent from the R1 million received to establish a feasibility study for the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, and (b) the relevant details of the breakdown of the expenditure was submitted before to the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts, and Culture and to the Honourable member before. Nonetheless, I am pleased to resubmit the details which are enclosed herewith as Annexure 1.

Reply:

In instances where court transcripts are not available and/or are delayed, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has stated the following possible reasons, as well as the steps taken to recover such records:

a) Delays may be caused when records are being transcribed by the service provider appointed to manage Transcription Services, namely: Gauteng Transcription Services on various load-shedding stages. With the current challenges the country and the courts are facing with electricity, the service provider has declared load-shedding as a Force Majeure in terms of the Service Level Agreement, since this delays the transcription processes which neither the Department nor the service provider have control over the load-shedding schedules. However, these instances are normally communicated with the respective courts, and do not lead to indefinite unavailability of the records.

b) The delays are, sometimes, related to the retrievals of the records on some of the Court Recording Technology (CRT) machines. For an example, when the recorder is taken for repairs by the service provider, i.e. Datacentrix, one will discover that it is blank when returned back after repairs. This therefore will require that a call then be logged to have the recording uploaded back to the recorder.

c) Furthermore, there are some challenges experienced with the retrieval of audio recordings which was done on the old DCRS machines. Once the court provides the audio recordings, either from CRT via the server or the cloud link, the service provider proceeds with the transcriptions without major challenges.

d) The main reasons for not being able to provide records, relate to the following challenges:

1. Recordings or portions of old DCRS recordings that cannot be traced due to the way in which the recordings were transferred from the old DCRS servers. The court has to log a call with ICT to assist with case retrievals and conversions of DCRS cases. In a small number of instances, this seems to be a challenge. ICT has to search on a number of parameters such as case numbers, dates, court room etc. In some instances, all parameters are exhausted without successfully tracing all the portions of the recording.
2. Inaudible portions of a recording, delay finalization of the transcript.

In conclusion, missing records or portions of records, inevitably lead to the need for reconstructing the record. The process depends on the availability of the Magistrate and the Magistrate’s records.

Reconstruction of Court Records also require the availability and records of the Prosecutor/s and Legal Aid Attorneys and/or legal representatives involved.

Nevertheless, the Department’s nine (9) Provincial Offices regularly meet with various and relevant service providers to address any blockages that may occur.

Additionally, the Department has assured me that, in most cases, court documents are available. However, the Honourable Member is requested to alert/inform us if there are specific cases and/or matters that he is aware of where documents are missing so that the Department may investigate the matter(s) and report back accordingly.

END

Reply:

Kindly note that, I cannot confirm the accuracy of the statement and question provided by the Honourable member Madlingozi without additional positive evidence or information about the wasteful expenditure he referred to. However, and as a general rule, it is not uncommon for organisations and individuals that receive public funding to be subjected to strict regulations and guidelines regarding the use of those funds.

In the case of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, such obligations are stipulated within the agreement that the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra had entered into with the National Arts Council. In this context, strict measures will certainly be taken in cases where the public funds are not used in accordance with the agreement.

The measures will include penalties or other consequences for any organisation or individual found to be in violation of the applicable rules regarding the usage of the resources. Therefore, the Department will only act when evidence of such violation/s have been brought to light.

Reply:

There are no state owned entities reporting to the Minister of Health. There are five public entities (Section 3A) reporting to the Minister of Health. (a) The table below depicts the salary of each (i) chief executive officer and (ii) top executive position in each public entity reporting to the Minister of Health

Name of Entity	(a) (i) the salary of each chief executive officer	(a) (ii) the salary of each top executive position in each public entity reporting to the Minister of Health
Council for Medical Schemes	R 2 736 815	Executive Manager: Office of CEO - R1 849 744 Chief Financial Officer - R1 881 000 Chief Information Officer (Vacant) - R1 881 000 Executive: Corporate Services - R1 881 000 Executive: Regulation - R1 881 000 Executive: Policy, Research & Monitoring - R1 849 744 Executive: Member Protection (Vacant) - R1 881 000
National Health Laboratory Service	R2 792 380	Chief Operations Officer: Strategic Initiatives - R2 117 754 Chief Financial Officer - R2 117 754 Executive Manager: Human Resources - R2 328 376 Executive Manager: Information Technology - R2 117 754 Executive Manager: Academic Affairs, Research; Quality Assurance – R2 703 158 Executive Director -NICD - R2 521 313 Executive Director -NIOH - R2 398 227
Office of Health Standards Compliance	R2 368 024	Chief Financial Officer - R1 431 623 Chief Operations Officer – R 1 814 443 Executive Manager: HSDAS - R1 370 070 Executive Manager: Compliance Inspectorate - R1 540 533 Executive Manager: Complaints Management - R1 586 413 Health Ombud - R2 354 061
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority	R3 005 567.25	Chief Operations Officer - R2 247 799.61 Chief Financial Officer - R1 898 253 Chief Regulatory Officer - R1 604 650.30 Executive Manager: HR - R1 394 372.70 Company Secretary - R1 196 010.90
South African Medical Research Council	R3 280 727	Chief Financial Officer - R3 149 585 Vice President: Extramural Research Units - R2 730 269 Chief Research & Operations Officer - R2 594 400 Executive Director: Grants, Innovations & Product Development - R2 153 086 General Counsel - R2 102 207 Executive Director: Human Resources - R2 050 558 Executive Director (part-time): Transformation - R1 107 064

(b) Executives of Section 3A public entities do not receive remuneration for the attendance of meetings of their organization.

END.

Reply:

Health services, in schools, are provided by school-health-nurses through the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) as guided by the 2012 ISHP policy.

1. According to the ISHP policy, vision and hearing screening are provided in all the school phases (see page 12 of the policy). The ISHP programme emphasises hearing and vision screening in the foundation phase for early detection and support.
2. Based on the screening results, learners in need of further assistance are referred to health facility for case management and support e.g. provision of spectacles.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has been actively involved in ensuring that the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) supplies the need of the farmer. Relating to the backlog, the DALRRD has been assisting the OBP to liaise with the private sector partnership to alleviate the backlog and finding sustainable solution.

The capacity of the Agricultural Research Council to produce sufficient quantities of Foot and Mouth Disease and other vaccines is being improved.

Reply:

The Honourable Member is referred to the response to Question 283 asked on the 17 February 2023.

END.

Reply:

(a). The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has a total number of forty-eight (48) Director positions and forty-four (44) are permanently filled and only four (04) are vacant, therefore only four (04) Directors are acting capacity.

(b). The appointed acting Directors have signed a performance agreement with their respective Chief Directors and therefore, the Chief Director and Deputy Director-General monitor the work of the Directorate and the Branch.

(c). There are departmental Human Resources (HR) delegations signed by the Executive Authority, outlining responsibilities of all Senior Management Staff (SMS) members including the Directors appointed to take responsibilities in their field of work.

Reply:

Progress of Coding and Robotics Pilot of Draft CAPS

The Pilot programme is showing increasingly effective implementation, with teachers becoming more confident and proficient in their presentation and delivery of the draft curriculum to the Foundation Phase in 200 Primary schools.

 Educators have been trained using the DBE-UNISA Partnership via the UNISA MOOC platform.

The coding and robotics curriculum is still in draft form, but it is envisaged that it will be finalized in March 2023, specifically that of the Foundation Phase.

A significant number of pilot schools are not sufficiently resourced. Educators, however, have lesson plans, and DBE as well as provinces have orientated the educators.

The pilot has been extended also to the Intermediate and Senior phases, and training for teachers of these grades will be instituted fully once the curriculum is finalized.

Whether her department is increasing its capacity to offer coding and robotics in schools; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Numerous workshops for educators have been and continue to be conducted, and teacher support is available and accessible online via the UNISA MOOC Platform every Friday from 15H00-16H00.

The Director General has approved the continuation of the pilot in 2023 for Grades R-9, in the initial 200 pilot schools for Grades R-3, with extension to 1000 schools for Grades 4-7 and 569 Secondary Schools for Grades 8 and 9.

Teachers in these schools have been orientated to the draft curriculum, but there are persistent challenges relating to inadequate internet connectivity and insufficient provision of physical resources such IT devices and Coding and Robotics Kits.

The DBE continues to work with its corporate partners to improve connectivity as well as expansion of resource provision. The MST Conditional Grant allocation to PEDs specifically identifies Coding and Robotics to receive additional targeted funding, at the PED’s discretion.

The DBE, in collaboration with British Council has developed a programme for Grade 8 and 9 learners entitled, ‘#Learning2Code’, to cultivate interest and excitement in CAT and IT that exposes them to a range of digital skills, including coding.

The Coding and Computational Thinking Skills Teacher and Learner Development with British Council is an initiative for Grades 7-9 learners and teachers, using devices an programmes appropriate to the skills needed in the 21st Century.

Emanating from a DBE-SITA partnership, a Robotics Challenge for Grades 8 and 9 is  in place to further stimulate and maintain interest in Coding and Robotics – a programme that also capacitates educators. The current challenge ends 26 March 2023, and at a function in Mpumalanga, learners from Piloting Secondary schools will receive recognition and prizes for their efforts.

The ‘Girl Learner in Stem Initiative’ is designed to empower and encourage them to participate in STEM subjects.40 Girls in Grades 8 and 9 will participate in a Boot Camp in Limpopo during the June 2023 School Holidays, and a further 40 Girls will enjoy a similar Boot Camp in September 2023.  This Initiative a collaboration between the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the United Nations Women.

Moderate success has been achieved in the pilot programme:

•         Increased awareness of Coding and Robotics across the country;

•         All provincial subject managers have been orientated in Coding and Robotics;

•         Provinces have orientated teachers of Grades R-9 in preparation for implementation;

•         Partnerships have been entered into with HEIs, most notably NMU, where teachers are being trained in collaboration with Unions, with co-ordination at the DBE between Branch T and UNISA, aimed at training Grades R-3 educators in schools piloting Coding in Robotics;

•         Increased monitoring and reporting on the pilot (DBE APP 2.1.13 requires monitoring of 18 pilot schools, 2 per province. All schools have been monitored;

•         Three Inter-provincial Meetings with Project Management Teams have been held within the financial year 2022/23;

•         Improved digital skills of educators;

•         Increased expenditure on Coding and Robotics resources by PEDs through both the MST Conditional Grant and provincial equitable share;

•         Inter-directorate collaborations, and partnerships with NGOs have been established in all provinces;

•         Increased extramural exhibitions and competitions in provinces with increased interest shown by learners; and

•         Lesson plans, specifically developed for Grads R-9 educators will assist in effective implementation.