Questions and Replies
01 December 2022 - NW4248
Zondo, Mr S S to ask the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
(1)Whether, in light of the fact that her department handed over 12 buildings between December 2019 and March 2020 to the Provincial Departments of Social Development of Gauteng and the Western Cape for use as shelters for gender-based violence victims, and in view of reports that her department has spent R1 960 411,84 to date on building and garden renovations for the six buildings in Gauteng while the buildings remain closed and unoccupied, she will furnish Mr S S Zondo with the details and/or an update on the occupation of the shelters by the Gauteng Department of Social Development; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether her department plans to retrieve some of the funds spent on the shelter whilst it remained unoccupied by the Gauteng Department of Social Development; if not, why not; if so, what are the further, relevant details?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:
1. I have been informed that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the respective Provincial Departments of Social Development (DSD), and their respective Infrastructure Departments; after having engaged extensively, have agreed that the method of disposal of these shelters will be that of Donation. In the meantime, all parties have resolved that User Agreements will be signed. The signing of the User Agreements will enable DSD to occupy the aforementioned properties. The Agreements have been prepared and are being signed by the various parties.
2. DPWI is mandated to ensure that its assets are safeguarded and kept in good condition at all times. Furthermore, DPWI intends to provide the properties in a habitable state and ready for DSD to use by victims of gender-based violence and femicide.
DPWI will not be recovering any funds from DSD, due to the fact that the delay in occupation is not due to any of the Departments’ doing, but rather the fact that the three departments needed to finalize the governance structure of how the properties will be managed. It has now been agreed that the properties will be donated to the user departments and that User Agreements will be signed in the meantime as a governance structure to allow DSD to use the properties.
01 December 2022 - NW4170
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
Given the reduction to the budget of Legal Aid South Africa (LASA) of R534 670 over the 2021/22-2023/24 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, what (a) was the justification for the specified reductions in LASA’s budget, (b) effect will the reductions have on service delivery rendered by LASA to indigent and vulnerable persons and (c) are the relevant details of any backlog in services rendered by LASA; (2) Whether LASA is able to provide effective services at all courts in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. (a) The National Treasury‘s mandatory baseline budget reductions were necessitated by the national fiscal constraints.
b) Any reductions in Legal Aid SA’s budget has an adverse impact as this affects the recruitment levels, i.e. number of employees as per approved establishment and consequently the court coverage.
c) There are no backlogs as pending matters’ turnaround times are monitored so that cases are not delayed unnecessarily.
2. Legal Aid SA is able to provide services at all courts in the Republic of South Africa through its practitioner per court model, meaning that there is a legal practitioner stationed in every court, responsible for taking all legal aid instructions in his/her or their assigned court. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development consults with Legal Aid SA whenever new courts are established, and provides necessary budget allocation.
END
01 December 2022 - NW3976
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
With reference to his recent report to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services that the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) finalised 380 cases with 344 convictions, translating to a conviction rate of 90,5%, what (a) total number of the 380 cases were dealt with by each SCCU unit, (b) were the charges in each specific case, including the quantum, (c) was the identity of the accused in each of the 380 cases, (d) was the specific sentence of each accused in respect of convictions and (e) was the date of (i) enrolment and (ii) finalisation of each case?
Reply:
a) The finalised cases reported by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) include cases disposed-of within the dedicated commercial crimes courts as well as those finalised by the prosecutors of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) in other courts, as the NPA measures the performance of the Unit rather than the dedicated courts.
The NPA, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) and the Judiciary, established various new dedicated commercial crime courts within the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and Northern Cape Divisions to ensure that each province has at least one dedicated commercial crimes court. the work of the SCCU) within the NPA as well as the dedicated courts are closely monitored and part of agenda points not only within the different management structures of the NPA but also in the other departments. Collaboration is also done in the National Serious Commercial Crimes Steering Committee where all stakeholders participate in improving the conditions and expansion of the dedicated commercial crimes courts.
The table below provides details on the total number of cases dealt with by each Special Commercial Crimes Unit:
NEW DIVISION |
NO. OF SCCU CONVISTIONS |
Bloemfontein |
10 |
Cape Town |
33 |
Durban |
47 |
ECD |
39 |
Mmabatho |
6 |
Mpumalanga |
9 |
Mthatha |
41 |
Pretoria |
61 |
SCCU Johannesburg |
89 |
SCCU Polokwane |
9 |
Grand Total |
344 |
b) The charges in each case from which the convictions were obtained is attached as Annexure “A”, and it also includes information relating to questions (c), (d) and (e). The data requested is kept manually and the information available, mostly from the dedicated commercial crime courts, has been extracted from the manual registers. The information relating to the quantum is not always included, neither manually or electronically, as it often creates ambiguity when an amount is indicated but in various instances the amount is indicative only of potential value and not actual prejudice sustained. It is also important to note that new selection criteria to adopt cases within the SCCU no longer focus on the quantum of cases but rather the intricacy of cases, national and international priority as well as other complexity- related criteria.
END
01 December 2022 - NW4207
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
With regard to the recruitment of 10 000 unemployed youth graduates to join the digitisation project of records of his department, (a) who was awarded the tender to assist with the appointments, (b) who makes the appointment decisions, (c) for each of phase 1, 2 and 3 list the (i) offices where the recruits will work and (ii) total number of recruits allocated to each specified office and (d) what is the status of procurement of (i) scanners and (ii) workstations for the specified project?
Reply:
a) The Department has not awarded any tender to assist with the recruitment process for the 10 000 unemployed youth graduates. However, the recruitment was facilitated by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) through the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) Programme. The service was provided at no cost to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
b) Interview panels were set up by the DHA nationwide to interview candidates. Interview panels make recommendations for appointments.
c) The DHA adopted a phased approach for the recruitment of young unemployed graduates and as demonstrated in the table below, the allocation recruits will be per province rather than offices and is aligned to the volume of documents that require digitisation.
d) The procurement of equipment and software for the digitisation process was advertised via an open Request for Bid, which closed on 23 September 2022. The evaluation process to select a preferred provider for the duration of the project is in an advanced stage. Workstation procurement is being done through a SITA transversal contract for the 1st cohort and is due for delivery in December 2022.
END
01 December 2022 - NW3682
Tito, Ms LF to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Noting how communal property associations are not regulated to an extent that they abuse the elderly beneficiaries out from an otherwise well-meaning restitution programme, what measures has she taken to extend the powers of her department, so as to deal with the office bearers of communal property associations who fleece the beneficiaries?
Reply:
Section 11 of the Communal Property Association Act 28 of 1996 provides for:
“An association or provisional association registered under this Act shall, at the prescribed times, furnish prescribed documents and information to the Director-General in order to enable him or her to monitor compliance with the provisions of the relevant constitution and this Act”.
The Director-General may undertake an inspection of the affairs of an association or provisional association. The Director General may; for the purposes of this ‘section-
- inspect and remove for copying any records, reports and other documents relating to the affairs of an association or provisional association; and
- subpoena persons who may have relevant information or documentation in respect of the affairs of an association or provisional association to appear before him or her to provide information or documentation in relation to the affairs of the association or provisional association, if the attendance of such persons cannot reasonably be procured otherwise.”
01 December 2022 - NW4060
Sharif, Ms NK to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether, with regard to the responsibilities of his department in relation to the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act 49 of 2003, he will furnish Ms N K Sharif with a statistical summary of the most common reasons provided by the Director-General (DG) for the rejection of applications in terms of section 2(3) of the specified Act; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) what total number of officials in the DG's office work on assessing and deciding upon the specified applications in terms of section (a) 2(1) and (b) 2(3) of the Act; (3) whether he will furnish Ms N K Sharif with copies of all standard operating procedures, guidelines, checklists and all other guiding documentation developed by his department to help officials in the office of the DG to take decisions in terms of section 2(3) of the Act; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details; (4) what is the average turnaround time for the specified applications from submission by an applicant to a decision communicated to the specified applicant?
Reply:
- There is no statistical summary of rejected applications in terms of section 2(3) of the Act.
- Four (4) Officials
- The standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status was signed in October 2020 and is applied by officials that process the applications. The Department is unable to provide a copy of the SOP due to the sensitivity of the procedures to be followed in this category of applications that involves the amendment of personal information. The documents required by the Department from applicants in this category are indicated under “Amendments” on the DHA website.
- The average turnaround time is 4-12 weeks
END
01 December 2022 - NW3293
Cebekhulu, Inkosi RN to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
(1) With regard to the increase in land invasions, more so in rural areas, what measures has her department put in place to ensure the security of land boundaries. (2) whether there have been stricter protective measures for (a) women and (b) persons of colour in the attempts to protect land; if not, why not, in each specified case; if so, what are the relevant details in each specified case; (3) what are the relevant details of the steps that are being taken by her department to ensure that agricultural land is not compromised for residential developments, and simultaneously attending to the needs of those who seek land for residential purposes?
Reply:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 3293
1. Where the farms belong to the state, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) makes use of the state land available by allocating the land in line with the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy to deserving beneficiaries. Furthermore, if the land is invaded, the Department engages the invaders and where there are no agreements, legal processes are taken to legally evict invaders from state farms.
2. No.
(a) and (b) There are no stricter measures for women and persons with colour. Measures put in place are applicable to everyone utilizing state farms.
3. DALRRD administers the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (SALA), 1970 (Act No. 70 of 1970) to manage and preserve agricultural land for agricultural production.
Section 3(f) of SALA states that no area of jurisdiction, local area, development area, peri-urban area or other area referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of 'agricultural land' in section 1, shall be established on, or enlarged so as to include, any land which is agricultural land. As such DALRRD receives and evaluates change of land use applications, assesses the development application based on the agricultural planning factors such as land capability, grazing capacity and crop suitability. Should the proposed residential development lead to direct and cumulative impact on agricultural production, the developer is advised to consider alternative site for balanced utilization of the natural resources.
To strengthen DALRRD’s abilities to preserve agricultural land, DALRRD developed the Preservation and Development of Agricultural land Bill which is currently in the parliamentary process. The Bill calls for the delineation of high potential and unique agricultural land for agricultural protection and for the establishment of agricultural sector plans.
To address the needs of those who seek land for residential development, DALRRD has embarked on a process to delineate areas of high potential agricultural land for cultivation and grazing purposes in order to guide the development based on the land capabilities for optimal use. Areas of low potential are demarcated for uses other than agriculture to accommodate other socio-economic activities.
DALRRD has developed guidelines to guide municipalities when developing land use schemes noting their roles in implementing the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (Act No.16 of 2013), specifically section (24) which stipulates that municipalities must develop a wall-to-wall Land Use Scheme (LUS) aimed to regulate the use of land within a municipal area.
DALRRD collaborates with municipalities on development of land use schemes to ensure proper zoning regarding the use of high potential agricultural land for agricultural purposes is implemented. DALRRD’s involvement on the land use scheme will aid the municipality to implement a balanced mechanism to cater for developments and agriculture without compromising sustainability.
Finally, the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy is meant to allocate land for various purposes including for residential use.
01 December 2022 - NW3683
Matiase, Mr NS to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
How has the African Continental Free Trade Area been used by her department as a policy instrument to gain markets for the Republic’s agricultural products?
Reply:
The Department has been part of the development and adoption of the agreed upon Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy Framework. The Department will, therefore, consistently apply this to gain markets through the harmonised standards that align the African SPS system with international science-based standards, border processes, sharing of information and technical capacity building.
This Policy Framework is guided by the World Trade Organisation SPS Agreement and International Standards Setting Organisation (Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), International Office of Epizootics (OIE). Therefore, South African agricultural products will gain markets through the harmonised standards and the specific protocols that would be negotiated at a bilateral level.
The AfCFTA market access pillar has been concluded with only a few outstanding technical issues, particularly the finalization of tariff offers, rules of origin and customs-related matters. At a policy level, the Department will domesticate the relevant legal policy instrument to facilitate the effective implementation of the Agreement. The AfCFTA Sanitary and Phytosanitary Annex will be incorporated into the DALRRD’s policy to process trade under the AfCFTA Agreement. This will help to ensure smooth access to the African market while ensuring that good quality standards in respect of food, plant & animal health are maintained. The Department will further embark upon trade promotion programmes to ensure detailed awareness and knowledge of the AfCFTA agreement and its market access requirements.
Through an Interdepartmental forum including the South African Revenue Services and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (SARS and the dtic), the Department will also work to ensure that member countries respect and comply with the agreed rules of trade. Where implementation challenges arise, the Department, through this forum, will work to resolve them using the agreed legal instruments such as the Dispute Settlement Mechanism in the agreement.
01 December 2022 - NW4025
Graham-Maré, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
(1)What total number of generators were bought for official Ministerial homes; (2) whether each house was equipped with a generator; if not, what are the relevant details of how the generators were allocated to each (a) Minister and/or (b) Deputy Minister who benefited from the specified purchase; if so, what are the relevant details of which (a) Minister and/or (b) Deputy Minister derived this benefit; (3) whether any new generators have been purchased and/or installed since 1 July 2022; if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the relevant details and (b) total amount has been spent on diesel to run the generators since 1 July 2022?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:
1. I have been informed that the total number of generators that were replaced due to redundancy for official Ministerial residences is 13.
2. Not all houses were equipped with generators:
a) The generators were replaced due to redundancy and was also too costly to maintain.
b) The generators were replaced due to redundancy and was also too costly to maintain.
3.a) 1 (one) generator has been procured and was installed on the 09 November 2022, and 3 (three) are still in the procurement stage.
b) The total amount of diesel spent is R784 135.00
30 November 2022 - NW3888
Luthuli, Mr BN to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
(1)Whether her department has any partnerships with Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) third-party providers for flood relief programmes; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of her department’s partnerships with ESDs; (2) what total (a) number of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have applied for funding from the Floods Relief Programme provided by her department, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency and the Small Enterprise Development Agency and (b) amount has been distributed to the specified SMMEs? NW4846E
Reply:
(1) MTN is providing support to SMMEs affected by the floods. There is no formal partnership with them. In certain instances, their funding has complimented DSBD support because it helped SMMEs with restoring their infrastructure which falls outside the Department’s scope.
(2) Floods Relief Programme (Formal SMMEs)
One hundred and seventy-nine (179) applications have been assessed through the Floods Impact Assessment on site. One hundred and forty-four (144) applications have been approved with a total value of R52 318 837,57. Currently, one hundred and twenty seven (127) purchase orders were issued and ninety three (93) paid, amounting to R26 452 877.
Informal Sector Flood Relief Programme Challenges
Eastern Cape:
Alfred Nzo:
- Alfred Nzo received applications from two (2) Municipalities namely Winnie Madikizela Mandela (WMMM) and Matatiele Municipality. All applications for Alfred Nzo have been adjudicated on 20 October 2022.
81 applications have been approved for Matatiele. The breakdown is as follows:-
Sector |
Number |
Fruit & Veg |
25 |
Spaza |
6 |
Salon |
2 |
Clothing & Textile |
2 |
Fast Food |
9 |
Agriculture |
16 |
Retail |
21 |
TOTAL |
81 |
374 applications have been approved for Winnie Madikizela Mandela. The breakdown is as follows :-
Sector |
Number |
Fruit & Veg |
128 |
Spaza |
173 |
Salon |
12 |
Clothing & Textile |
20 |
Fast Food |
14 |
Agriculture |
13 |
Retail |
14 |
TOTAL |
374 |
- .
OR Tambo:
- The panel approved 100 applications out of 281. The next step is to start the procurement process. The adjudication took place in mid-October 2022. The breakdown of the 100 approved applications is as follows:
Sector |
Number |
Fruit & Veg |
83 |
Fast Food |
11 |
Clothing & textile |
4 |
Salon |
2 |
TOTAL |
100 |
Kwa-Zulu Natal: Ethekwini
The eThekwini and Ilembe adjudications were completed. The breakdown is on the following sectors:
- Fruits & Vegetables (+ 404 applications); Arts and Craft (+ 409 applications); and Clothing & Textile (265 applications).
- These three(3) sectors constitute 55% of the1,993 applications.
There were applications that were not processed because of information deficiencies by the applicants. sefa and Seda still continue to work with the applicants and also provide Business Support services where possible and there’s willingness to co-operate by SMMEs.
STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS
MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
30 November 2022 - NW3606
Kruger, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
Whether her department has made an assessment on the regulatory measures (a) nationally, (b) provincially and (c) on the local government level that might impact negatively on (i) small , medium and micro enterprises and (ii) co-operatives; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the (aa) names and (bb) relevant details of all (aaa) legislation and (bbb) regulations that have been assessed to date?”
Reply:
(a)(b)&(c) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has considered nationally, provincially and locally the legislation negatively affecting Small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa. There are a multitude of legislative and regulatory criteria that small businesses need to comply with, not all of them are “onerous”, but still this provides a good indication that our regulatory frameworks are not well coordinated and synchronised, and are often duplicatory, placing both a cost and time burden on small businesses. The DSBD has prioritised twenty-nine (29) pieces of legislation (including related regulations, and by-laws, etc.) that impact on SMME growth and development. This is summarised in Figure 2 under point number aa&bb.
- The twenty-nine (29) pieces of legislation affect informal sector, small, medium micro enterprises and co-operatives across the spectrum.
- With regard to co-operatives, we have noted that CIPC reporting under the Co-operatives Development Act, is onerous as most co-operatives are required to submit audited financial statements. That imposes a considerable expense, which does not apply to any other small enterprise. This contrasts with the Company’s Act which has specified thresholds over which enterprises are required to submit audited annual financial statements.
(aa)&(bb) Names of legislation and (bb) relevant details