Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) The Department of Basic Education is in the process of conducting an audit to determine the number of schools in the country that have existing computer laboratories for teaching and learning. The aim is to determine the state of these computer laboratories and what support should be provided to these schools. It should be noted that while provinces like Gauteng and the Western Cape have made strides in equipping schools with computer labs, others such as Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo are still struggling to roll out these facilities effectively. This is caused by the limited availability of ICT budgets and other competing priorities in these provinces.

b) The provincial governments have outlined plans to provide schools with classroom technologies in rural schools in 2024. However, the scale and speed of these plans vary significantly across the country. Some provinces aim to expand their current programs, while others may focus on upgrading and securing existing facilities. Despite these efforts, the theft of the ICT devices remains a significant issue, disrupting the educational progress and posing a challenge to the sustainability of these digital initiatives.

c) To address these security concerns and ensure that learners can still access digital education tools, provinces are exploring alternative solutions, such as providing mobile devices like laptops and tablets to students and educators. These devices are easier to secure and can be used both in and out of school, ensuring continuous access to educational content. Coupled with data bundles, this approach aims to bridge the digital divide more effectively, allowing rural learners to be at the same level with their urban peers despite the ongoing challenges in equipping schools with traditional computer laboratories.

d) Table below indicates the number of ICT devices provided to learner, teachers, and schools during 2022 and 2023 financial years.

PEDs	2022			2023
	Learners	Teachers	Schools	Learners	Teachers	Schools
Eastern Cape	9 896	-	487	3 360	1 380	86
Free State	1 689	300	544	1 775	14	7
Gauteng	71 494	215	286	62 500	4 000	1 000
KwaZulu Natal	440	235	27	660	360	492
Limpopo	44 777	158	-	35 740	-	-
Mpumalanga	66 701	7 130	-	61 691	7 074	-
Northern Cape	13 000	204	331	12 000	505	-
North West	2 793	2 397	-	270	181	140
Western Cape	600	1 766	1 677	21 546	1 735	1 737
DBE	1 855	-	32	840	112	28
Total	213 245	10 669	3 384	200 382	15 361	3 490

 

Reply:

Driven by the urgent need to deliver universal access to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes, the Department of Basic Education developed the Basic Education 2030 Strategy for ECD programmes. The strategy centres around a Social Compact for ECD. In the Social Compact, the DBE is responsible for subsidising access to ECD programmes for indigent children. 

To do this, we require funding, and we have, therefore, submitted a budget bid to the National Treasury. The bid sets out the necessary resources to achieve universal access to ECD by 2030. 

It proposes increasing the ECD conditional grant to expand access to an additional 800,000 poor children over the MTEF and restore the subsidy's value.

 A summary of the bid is provided.

However, the Social Compact proposes a strategic partnership between the government, donors and the private sector to support the investment required to increase access and improve quality. The DBE's Results-Based Financing Initiative will test this strategic partnership approach with donors matching the government's contribution to expanding access and improving quality.

Reply:

The provisioning of Learner Transport Programme is a provincial competency and Provinces are responsible for appointment and contracting of Learner Transport Transport Operators. The National Departments of Basic Education and Transport are responsible for policy development and monitoring of learner transport provisioning by Provinces.

However, it must be noted that the reported rising number of scholar transport road accidents related mostly to privately arranged learner transport by parents. The subsidized learner transport programme that is managed by government has reported few incidents and accidents. 

The Department of Basic Education in collaboration with the Department of Transport have intensified their monitoring efforts to ensure compliance with safety regulations. These steps include road safety implementation programmes to deal with operators that are not in compliance with road safety regulations including the implementation of road safety educational programmes with specific focus on learner transport stakeholders including operators, schools, parents and learners. 

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) promotes partnership with relevant Mathematics and Sciences programmes which educates during weekends or school holidays. 

AWQAF SA revised Mathematics content for grades 10, 11 and 12 through online lessons before learners write June Examinations, Trial (in August-September) and final examinations. AWQAF SA together with DBE are currently revising both papers in Mathematics, grade 10 paper 1 on 31 August 2024 and paper 2 on 01 September 2024. Mathematics papers 1 and 2 were revised last weekend on 24 and 25 August 2024 respectively. 

All learners in all quintiles benefit from this programme. South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) also assists teachers and all learners by promoting and skilling both teachers and learners in the field of Mathematics and Sciences. Science programmes are conducted to capacitate both teachers and learners through science workshops and lessons. Teachers are trained on Mathematics content especially those in schools not producing good Mathematics results in Grades 9 and 12

Reply:

(a) The planning and provision of infrastructure is not based on the race of learners attending these schools. However, it is a reality that schools with pit latrines are predominantly found in schools located in previously disadvantaged areas as a result of policies of previous governments prior to the attainment of democracy. 

(b) The ASIDI (Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative) and SAFE (Sanitation Appropriate for Schools) programmes were initiated to provide sanitation in schools without and schools using pit latrines, respectively.

Reply:

(a) None 

(b) Not Applicable 

Reply:

(a) The sector priorities in relation to the provision of infrastructure are articulated in the Regulations Relating to Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure. These are; 

1. Schools that do not have access to any form of power supply, water supply or sanitation; 

2. All buildings built entirely or substantially from materials such as mud, asbestos, metal and wood; 

3. Schools that do not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate learners enrolled in the schools; 

4. Schools that do not have adequate perimeter fencing; 

5. Schools that do not have the relevant minimum education areas for an enabling school environment. These includes libraries and laboratories.

(b) The Department initiated a Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) initiative in 2018. The purpose of SAFE was to eradicate basic pit toilets. At inception Provincial Education Departments indicated that 3 898 schools were using basic pit toilets. This number later increased to 4 707 and only 3 375 SAFE projects could proceed to implementation. To date 3 116 projects have been completed and the plan is to complete the remaining 259 by March 2025.

Reply:

(a) The DBE is aware that recruiting and retaining qualified educators in rural and underserved areas remains an ongoing challenge. However, the Department gathers information through its monitoring and oversight role, which shows that, although it may take longer than usual to fill vacancies in these areas, the posts eventually get filled with qualified teachers. Therefore, the Department believes that the ongoing recruitment and retention efforts in various Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) are adequate to address the recruitment needs for schools located in the affected areas and that no policy and regulatory intervention from the National Department is necessary at this stage. However, the Department will continue to monitor the filling of vacant posts in the rural and underserved areas. The Honourable Member is encouraged to bring any specific incident of the non-filling of vacant posts that she is aware of to the attention of the Department so that it can be urgently attended to with the affected PED.  

(b) As indicated above, the Department will work with PEDs to ensure that all schools will have access to qualified educators as part of the overall package of efforts to ensure access to quality education for all learners regardless of their geographical location.

Reply:

Inputs as requested:

	(a) 2022-23
	Budget	Expenditure	(a)Returned Amount	(b) Intended for?
PROGRAMMES	R'000	R'000	R'000
ADMINISTRATION	569 582	564 259	5 323	Ministerial visits.  Due to cost containment ministerial visits were reduced.
CURRICULUM POLICY, SUPPORT AND MONITORING	3 267 520	3 172 133	95 387	Delivery of Workbooks.  Invoices were received late from service provider.  National Treasury approved Roll-over worth R99,245 million in 2023/24 financial year. As per Treasury regulation 6.4.1 limitation are set on Economic Classification, not on the Programme hence amount requested as Roll-over on Goods and Services is more than the remaining amount on the programme.
TEACHERS, EDUCATION HUMAN RESOURCES AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT	1 497 761	1 496 587	1 175	Monitoring and evaluation in Provinces.  Due to cost containment provincial visits were reduced.
PLANNING, INFORMATION AND ASSESSMENT	15 529 447	15 366 653	162 794	Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative.  Invoices were received late from contractors and professional service providers.  National Treasury approved Roll-over worth R135,735 million in 2023/24 financial year.
EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT SERVICES	8 828 850	8 827 028	1 822	Monitoring and evaluation in Provinces.  Due to cost containment provincial visits were reduced.
Total	29 692 500	29 426 659	265 841

 

 

	(b) 2023/24
	Budget	Expenditure	(a)Returned Amount	(b) Intended for?
PROGRAMMES	R'000	R'000	R'000
ADMINISTRATION	577 874	576 283	1 591	Ministerial visits. Due to cost containment ministerial visits were reduced.
CURRICULUM POLCY, SUPPORT AND MONITORING	3 344 465	3 320 739	23 726	Delivery of Workbooks.  Invoices were received late from service provider. Roll-over worth R20 million has been requested.
TEACHERS, EDUCATION HUMAN RESOURCES AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT	1 507 090	1 500 400	6 690	Monitoring and evaluation in Provinces.  Due to cost containment provincial visits were reduced.
PLANNING, INFORMATION AND ASSESSMENT	15 023 186	14 990 222	32 964	Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative.  Invoices were received late from contractors and professional service providers.  Roll-over worth R41,554 million has been requested.
EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT SERVICES	9 575 980	9 573 598	2 382	Monitoring and evaluation in Provinces.  Due to cost containment provincial visits were reduced.
Total	30 028 595	29 961 242	67 353

 

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) performs its duties in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) to ensure that measures are in place to pay valid invoices and claims within 30 days as required by legislation.  In addition, this task forms part of the Performance Agreement of all senior Managers not to allow the responsible officials for late or non-payment.  There are internal controls such as, a payment schedule to ensure that funds are transferred on time to provinces for payment of services rendered. The school nutrition programme is consistently monitored for compliance.

Reply:

(a) A total of 255 firearms were traced and returned to their owners, during 2022/23.

(b) Recovered firearms with serial numbers are linked to the owners and handed back, provided that the owner is still fit to possess the firearm(s). Firearms without or obliterated serial numbers are sent to the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Ballistics Section, within the Forensic Science Laboratory, for analysis. The etching process is employed to attempt recovery of the serial numbers, which may then be used to trace and link the firearm to its rightful owner. Any firearms that cannot be returned to the rightful owners, are forfeited to the state, and subsequently sent for destruction,

Reply:

(a) and (b) None.

Reply:

• The Department has set up a project management plan to eradicate the backlog for the above-mentioned categories by end of December 2024.
• A Project Manager who is also a data analyst that monitors and tracks daily progress leads the team and the project manager is required to report to the Minister on daily basis.
• I have directed that the backlog should be finalized by December 2024.
• The Backlog team has been capacitated with additional officials from provinces and head office.
• The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) approved overtime for the officials working on the backlog to work additional hours to process applications.

END.

Reply:

(a) The Department of Home Affairs took a decision to modernise most of its enabling documents by introducing the Live Capture System in 2013. The intention was to replace the Green Barcoded ID book with the more secure Smart ID Card.

The Department used a phased approach which focused primarily on persons who are citizens by birth. The second phase is to focus on other categories of citizens, e.g. Naturalized Citizens, which will be followed by Permanent Residence Permit holders.

(b) Permanent Residents will be eligible to apply for Smart ID Cards after the Naturalised Citizens have been included in the process flow of issuance of Cards, this would have proven system stability and capability to verify such applications.

END.

Reply:

a) The total number of officials who were suspended and dismissed over the past five financial years are as follows:

Financial Year	Total suspended	Total Dismissed
2019/2020	357	102
2020/2021	277	94
2021/2022	286	96
2022/2023	378	123
2023/2024	381	154
TOTAL	1679	586

Dismissal cases were finalised and officials were terminated from service of the Department of Correctional Services. The total number of suspensions reported are precautionary suspensions.

b) The Status of such cases is as follows:

Financial Year	Total finalised	Total active
2019/2020	321	36
2020/2021	246	31
2021/2022	203	83
2022/2023	301	77
2023/2024	322	59

It needs to be noted that precautionary suspensions are applied under the following circumstances:

• If the employee is alleged to have committed a serious offence,
• If the employer believes that the presence of an employee at the workplace might jeopardise any investigation into the alleged misconduct, or endanger the wellbeing or safety of any person or state property.

END

Reply:

Social housing is developed within the gazetted Restructuring Zones, which is a minimum investment criterion as per the Social Housing Act 16 of 2008. The Restructuring Zones are geographic areas which have been identified by the Municipalities with the concurrence of the provinces for the purposes of social housing development. These are further expressed in both Local Government Plans IDPs and Provincial Plans.

The principle behind the Restructuring Zones is to promote spatial and racial integration, economic mobility and access to public amenities. It must however be said that in approving projects, the location of these public amenities is critical, and it is one of the key determinants for an investment decision. Equally, the schools for the disabled population are few and not as commonly found throughout the country.

In so far as the current social housing development is concerned, the Minister has on the 20th of January 2023 approved the Norms and Standards for social and rental housing, which amongst others, deals with the infrastructure required to accommodate people with disabilities. The Social Housing Regulatory Authority has in the recent past approved projects on Prasa owned stations to reduce travel time and save tenants cost of mobility. Furthermore, SHRA looks at Municipalities to consider Spatial Development Framework, bulk services availability, etc. to support the project locations through the DDM in order to respond to the needs of the people with disabilities.

As part of a development, each social housing project has a recreational facility such as a 6 side soccer field, kids play areas, jungle gym and braai areas.

For the 2024/25 financial year the provinces allocated a total budget of R15 097 825 towards the Institutional subsidy programme from the Human Settlements Development Grant.

Reply:

1. The total number of critical skills work visas that were issued to non-South Africans since 1 January 2020 is 4 913.
2. The detailed list of skills classified as critical was published by the Department through a government gazette in October 2023. The Critical Skills List is available on the Department’s website at www.dha.gov.za and is also herewith attached as Annexure A.
3. The detailed statistical breakdown of visas issued per country of origin, including the number of recipients and their respective skills is herewith attached as Annexure B.
4. Yes, the Department thoroughly exhausted all efforts to determine that no South African citizens or permanent residents possess the necessary skills and qualifications to fill these positions before issuing visas to foreign nationals. This was done in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training. The methodology used to determine the critical skills is detailed in a Technical Report on Critical Skills published on the website DHET.

END.

Reply:

(1). The family of Ms Jo-Anne van Dyk has not been reimbursed. After the 2024 Paris Olympics there have been further engagements with the affected parties, and it emerged that there was a level of miscommunication on this matter. All athletes that participated at the 2024 Paris Olympics were supported by their various federations through the qualification periods, for example at the World Athletics Championships, and Confederation of African Athletics Championships.

In addition, all the costs, including allowances for participating at the 2024 Paris Olympics, were covered by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. It is true that Ms van Dyk was not part of the Bidvest Operation Excellence Programme, which provides dedicated support to athletes in preparation for the major competitions. These athletes are identified by their National Federations based on their performances at the time of the call to be considered for the Bidvest Operation Excellence Programme, and sometimes athletes who are truly excellent are missed, which can also be rectified later. Ms van Dyk will continue to receive support to prepare and participate in major competitions through her National Federation, Athletics South Africa, and multi-coded major competitions through the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.

(2). Increasing financial support is dependent on the budget allocated to Sport by National Treasury. It is evident from the current budget allocated to sport in total for all sport programmes that all concerned role players such as Parliament and National Treasury need to assist in lobbying for better budget allocation. However, the Department is currently engaging various stakeholders, including corporate sponsors, to ensure investments in programmes and the expansions of budgets to support existing high-performance programmes.

We have also had a very promising engagement with the National Lotteries Commission, which would like to recommit to funding sport.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

(1) There is one statue located within the Parliamentary Precinct, namely the statue of Queen Victoria in the Queens Gardens. The Louis Botha statue is located just outside the Plein Street entrance of the Precinct and is the property of the City of Cape Town.

(2) The statues form part of the history of South Africa.

(3) No plans are currently in place or underway to remove these statues from the Precinct.

(4) No talks have been initiated with affected communities, historians and other stakeholders to date.

Reply:

The Department has written to the Sports Trust and requested the information. The Trust has provided a detailed response to the questions. See the attached spreadsheet.

Reply:

(a) Unblocking Stalled Projects

The 6th Administration prioritized addressing the issue of blocked housing projects, which significantly hamper housing delivery. A blocked project is defined as an approved project that has been contractually committed, has commenced planning and physical phases, but has experienced a significant delay (at least 12 months) and is not nearing completion (less than 95% complete).

In collaboration with Provincial Departments, the Department undertook a comprehensive exercise to identify and list all blocked projects. The sector then worked collaboratively in actively unblocking these projects. These collaborative efforts and the use of digitized monitoring tools like the Dashboard further demonstrate the Department's dedication to resolving this critical issue.

The Department's records indicate that as at end March 2024 there were 3150 unblocked housing projects out of 3445. There were 295 blocked housing projects carried over from the previous administration. The Department is actively working to address the remaining backlog, with 100 projects targeted for intervention in the 2024/2025 financial year.

(b) Completed Houses and Handovers

During the 6th Administration, the department made significant strides in delivering housing units to beneficiaries. A total of 240,933 houses were completed and handed over to their rightful owners. This achievement demonstrates substantial progress towards the target of 292,946 units.

The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to accelerating housing delivery and ensuring that more South Africans have access to safe and dignified housing. We continue to implement various strategies, including unblocking stalled projects, optimizing resource allocation, and fostering partnerships with key stakeholders to achieve this goal.

Reply:

(1). Car spinning is part of motorsport and Motorsport South Africa is one of the Federations supported by the Department. The Department has started engaging with Motorsport South Africa to formalise car spinning to grow it as a recognized sporting discipline. This process is currently in the consultation phase and the Department will provide an update (plan) once a draft is finalised. We understand that a recognised body is currently also being set up, led by the sport’s most influential leaders, to govern its operations. The initiative of car spinning is being piloted in phases, building up to a comprehensive programme that will include sponsors, broadcasting and a calendar of sanctioned events.

(2). There is no need to amend legislation to include car spinning as a priority sport. What is required is rather to formalise the discipline within motorsport.

Reply:

Importance of Public Consultations

Chapter 10 (Section 195) of the Constitution of the Republic prescribes that people’s needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making processes. The Department considers public consultation and participation as key features of an effective policy development process as they provide an opportunity for stakeholders to engage openly and robustly. It is one of the most important channels through which inputs and feedback are elicited and properly ventilated by a diverse range of stakeholder using different platforms of engagement. In the spirit of promoting maximum public participation, the Minister of Human Settlements had on three occasions extended the closing date for the submission of public comments on the draft White Paper.

Requests on Submission of Comments

The first closing date for the submission of public comments was on 31 January 2024. Upon receiving requests from various organisations and individuals for the extension of the closing date for the submission of public comments due to December holidays, the Minister concurred duly and extended the initial date to 28 February 2024. Further requests were again received from various organisations to have the draft White Paper translated to pertinent official languages; including direct correspondence addressed to the Office of the Minister by the land and housing movements, namely, Reclaim the City, Indibano Yabahlali, Intlungu Yasematyotyombeni and Housing Assembly.

The Minister again agreed to have the closing date for the submission of public comments extended from 28 February 2024 to 15 March 2024. This was indeed well beyond the prescribed statutory obligations.

Nationwide Physical Consultations

In addition to inputs and comments submitted via email, post and hand delivery, we have successfully embarked on nationwide physical consultation sessions with Provinces, Municipalities and various stakeholders, including NGOs. Given the concurrency of the Human Settlements function and as part of our broader stakeholder consultation process, the Department had established an Inter-departmental Technical Workstream with various government departments not only to elicit inputs on the draft White Paper but also to strengthen the technical capacity of the draft White Paper Team. The invited Departments included Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, (COGTA); Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, National Treasury, Transport, Home Affairs, Public Works and Infrastructure, Statistics SA and Social Development.

Establishment of the Reference Group

Following consultation concerns from Academia and Civil Society, the Minister directed the Department to set up a consultative structure in the form of a Reference Group to adequately respond to the emerging issues and concerns. The Reference Group was then established. The composition included representatives from Academia, NGOs, pertinent government Departments, Developers, Contractors, Entities, and so forth. The strategic intent of the Reference Group was to critically assess the draft White Paper limitations relative to received comments and inputs as collated and classified by Department. The overall purpose was to enhance the quality of the document. We then assigned subject matter experts from the Reference Group for each Section to enrich and substantiate the referenced shortcomings.

This was executed by appointing Principal Authors to lead Thematic Areas were each supported by corresponding teams. Following the submission of the write-ups from the Lead Authors, the Department held a series of dialogue sessions to discuss each Thematic Area with authors and teams. Part of the Reference Group activities was a session on Affordable and Social Housing including Backyard Housing. The session was at the request of Isandla Institute and they invited the Built Environment Support Group (BESG); Community Organisation Resources Centre (CORC); Development Action Group (DAG); Legal Resources Centre (LRC); Ndifuna Ukwazi; People’s Environmental Planning (PEP); Planact; Project Preparation Trust (PPT); Socio-economic Rights Institute (SERI); etc.

The Minister also hosted a consultation session with Civil Society Organizations (NGOs) and Institutions of Higher learning in February 2024. We have now concluded all the Reference Group work and consolidated the revised version of the White Paper and was presented to the Minister for final inputs.

Finalisation of the White Paper

The Minister will in the coming weeks convene a session with all stakeholders to provide a status update on the White Paper before the document is submitted to Cabinet for approval. We have undoubtedly gone far beyond expectation with respect for consultation and addressing comments and inputs received. This was to ensure that the White Paper for Human Settlements is an inclusive framework that has maximised our collective efforts towards addressing human settlements implementation challenges.

Reply:

(1) The implementation of the accreditation programmes is anchored in the Revised Accreditation Framework 2023 as its policy foundation. The Revised Accreditation Framework 2023 was approved by Human Settlements MinMEC on 15 September and it places the accreditation programme as a progressive capacitation mechanism and delegation by Provinces for municipalities to play an active role in the administration and delivery of housing programmes and projects. The Housing Act of 1997 section 10 provides for the MEC as the delegating authority, whilst it empowers the National Minister to develop the criteria that the municipality must meet before they accorded an accreditation status. The Housing Act further allows the National Minister to establish norms and standards that must be followed by Provinces and Municipalities in pursuit of municipal accreditation, all of these are encapsulated in the accreditation framework. In terms of the Revised Accreditation Framework 2023, there are two levels of accreditation that the municipalities can be considered for, namely:

Level 1: means that the municipality is empowered to undertake the following functions on behalf and under direct supervision of the province, namely: Subsidy Budget Planning, submission of identified housing projects and programmes to the MEC for approval, beneficiary management, housing subsidy registration, subsidy management, accreditation reporting and document management.

Level 2: means that such a municipality is empowered to undertake the following functions on behalf of the province in addition to level 1 responsibilities, namely: procurement and appointment of implementing agents, project/ programme management, contract administration, technical quality assurance and budget management, accreditation reporting.

(2) The are presently 35 municipalities that have been accredited at different levels across the country. However, the erstwhile eNgcobo Local Municipality presently known as Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality, located in Chris Hani District, is not amongst the municipalities that have been accredited either at level 1 or level 2. Therefore, the dispute resolution and subsidy administration in the case of the 400 beneficiaries remains the responsibility of the province supported by National Department of Human Settlements. The matter was brought to my attention on the 21st of August 2024 and engagements between our department, province and communities have commenced and a detailed report will be concluded by the end of September 2024.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

a) Please see below table with vacant residential properties per province;

PROVINCE NAME	NUMBER OF VACANT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
EASTERN CAPE	34
FREE STATE	07
GAUTENG	56
KWA-ZULU NATAL	27
LIMPOPO	03
MPUMALANGA	13
NORTHERN CAPE	17
NORTH WEST	10
WESTERN CAPE	26
TOTAL:	193

b) See attached departmental plans per property.

c) See attached valuations per property.

* The number of properties listed above exclude properties which are illegally occupied. The Department is in a process of implementing Operation Bring Back (OBB) Programme, which is intended to recover all stolen properties and more state-owned immovable properties might be discovered during the investigations.

* The listed amounts on the values of the properties are based on the rates and taxes that are payable to the municipality. The determination of the market value for each residential property would require more time

Reply:

I have been advised by the Department that this current constrained situation arose as a result of various factors, all underpinned by limited financial resources available to the Department and the apparent inability of or difficulty for Federations to secure sufficient funding from the corporate sector.

In the main, international participation is the responsibility of National Federations, informed by the International Federations calendar. Unfortunately, some private organisations also arrange international tours outside of the main calendar developed by a Federation. These tours generally require payment from participants, which deepens the challenge being highlighted.

Another factor that contributes to this scenario is the different financial positions of the various sporting codes, both nationally and internationally. If we take cricket and hockey as an example, international bodies such as the International Cricket Council (ICC) often pay for countries participating at ICC-sanctioned events, with the National Federation only needing to cover flights, while a sport code such as hockey does not have this luxury. Hockey has 10 national teams (including males and females, so 20 teams in total) that participate internationally and at an average cost of R1.6 million, depending on the host country. With the limited resources available to the Department, DSAC could only allocate R3m overall to hockey in 2024/25. This allocation includes capacity-development programmes.

While more needs to be done to ensure National Federations attract more and sustainable private sponsorships, as a developing country, the state requires additional resources if it is to level the playing field.

This is the reason why I as the new Minister have been working so hard to engage the private sector and one of our former bastions of funding, the National Lotteries Commission, to recommit to supporting and funding our various sports teams, because the dividends for society far exceed the investment.

We are approaching this matter holistically, by also including opportunities for potential broadcasting of sports. We also need to ensure that every federation and confederation is governed extremely well, so that funders feel confidence that their money is going to what it should.

We are already starting to see signs of progress in this matter.

Reply:

1 Yes, there is a household income threshold for the First Home Finance (FHF) subsidy. The subsidy is available to first-time home buyers with a total monthly household income between R3,501 and R22,000. The subsidy amount is not fixed but is granted on a sliding scale based on the applicant's income. The maximum subsidy amount is R169,625, while the minimum is R38,911. The lower the household's income, the higher the subsidy amount they will receive.

The FHF subsidy is a valuable resource for first-time home buyers in South Africa, helping to make homeownership more affordable. The sliding scale ensures that the subsidy is targeted towards those who need it most.

2. People can apply for the FHF subsidy anywhere in the country through various channels, making it accessible nationwide. The application methods include:

• Online: The most convenient way to apply is through the Online Application Portal, which can be accessed at https://www.nhfc.co.za/finance-solutions/first-home-finance or www.firsthomefinance.co.za.
• Call Center: For those without internet access, the First Home Finance Call Centre at 010 085 2199 can provide assistance with online applications.
• Origination Partners: The subsidy application process can also be facilitated by various origination partners, including major banks, some non-bank lenders, developers, contractors, building material suppliers, and employers. These partners will apply for the subsidy online on behalf of their clients.

The multiple application channels and the involvement of origination partners ensure that the FHF subsidy is readily available to eligible individuals across South Africa, further promoting homeownership opportunities.

Reply:

(a) nd (c)

The COVID 19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of health systems globally to the pandemic. This has led the World Health Organisation to coordinate a Pandemic Treaty so that the global community acts as a collective in responding to the next pandemic. The Treaty which is still being negotiated between countries is intended to achieve a collective response to the another pandemic. The WHO has published guidelines based on the best evidence on how countries should prepare for the next potential pandemic.

The National Department of Health has developed a Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Plan, taking note of global best practice on prevention and preparedness from WHO. The Plan has also been tested through a simulation exercise to identify gaps in our planned response to future health emergencies.

A Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) has been established at the National Department of Health as well as at provincial departments The PHEOC will act as a central hub for managing public health emergencies. National and provincial staff have also been trained on Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM).

An assessment of the risks that may trigger a health emergency has been conducted in several provinces so that there is a readiness to respond to threats.

Over several years now, the health budgets have been reducing significantly thus funds available for pandemic preparedness has been limited. We have consequently also made an application to various donor agencies for financial support for early warning surveillance systems, health workforce strengthening & capacity building, and laboratory strengthening.

(b) The global toll of COVID-19 has been massive. Recent WHO data indicates more than 775 million cumulative confirmed cases and 7 million deaths from COVID globally,. Successive waves of the pandemic has put health systems under enormous pressure in both developed and developing countries. In addition to increased patient loads, health workers themselves have been at the frontlines of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 as thousands of health workers lost their lives to COVID-19 often in the line of duty.

The pandemic has also set back progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This impact has not been felt equally, with the most vulnerable and disadvantaged affected and suffering the most lasting damage. It has also been predicted that inequality (Gini coefficient ) has increased by 6%. South Africa has developed long term plans that integrate COVID management into the health system.

There are also those that suffer the long term effects of COVID often referred to as “Long COVID”. Patients suffering with Long COVID have symptoms that last for at least 2 months (fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction). Long COVID requires a coordinated public health response, including research activities and clinical services that are an important part of this response, so we better understand this new condition in affected individuals. The Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on COVID-19 had developed clinical guidance on Long Covid including the management and integration of Long Covid into the current health system.

END.

Reply:

It is difficult to ascertain whether or not a foreign national entered the country specifically for healthcare reasons. In most instances pregnant women who are immigrants present themselves at health facilities when they are about to go into labour, resulting in the need for emergency healthcare. Section 27 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, provides that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment.

Furthermore, the Gauteng High Court issued a court order instructing that all pregnant and lactating mothers and children below the age of six who are not members or beneficiaries of medical aid schemes and who have not come to South Africa for the specific purpose of obtaining healthcare are entitled to free health care services at any public healthcare establishment. This is irrespective of their nationality and documentation status.

END.

Reply:

The relevant details of the plans that are in place to reduce non-compliance with supply chain management prescripts and regulations regarding contract management amongst others, are the implementation of legislative frameworks governing the supply chain management which are applicable to all spheres of government, i.e. Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Preferential Procurement Policy Framework (PPPFA) along with its Treasury Regulations. National Department of health has Policies, delegation of authority, directives and, also issue circulars from time to time to monitor and to ensure contract management is effective and efficient.

There are Departmental policies implemented, monitored and evaluated from time to time in accordance with National Treasury Instructions.

END.

Reply:

In order to comply with the Identification Act, 1997, (Act No.68 of 1997), the person referred to herein, was to furnish the Department with a full set of fingerprints on the DHA-9 form, and the registration of birth particulars forms, namely DHA-24 and, DHA-288 as well as a copy of his mother’s ID for the case to finalise the matter.

Section 12 of the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No.68 of 1997) provides for the “Verification of particulars” and states as follows:

“The Director-General may—

(a) request any person to furnish the Director-General with proof of the correctness of any particulars which have been furnished in respect of such person in any docurnent in terms of this Act; and

(b) investigate or cause to be investigated any matter in respect particulars are required to be recorded in the population register.”

Mr Nkeane was requested to submit an application with fingerprints and supporting documents in order for the department to finalise his case, however, he delayed to submit the requested documents.

Upon receipt of the requested documents, an investigation in this regard was conducted and Mr Nkeane’s case was finalised in July 20224. As a result, Mr Nkeane was allocated a new identity number.

Mr Nkeane was contacted and is aware of the new identity number allocated to him. A copy of a confirmation letter was emailed to him as proof of the finalisation of his case. Mr Nkeane was also advised to approach the nearest office to apply for a Smart ID card.

END.

 

Reply:

The questions regarding potential sanctions on Santam for anti-competitive behavior and its impact on marginalised service providers and the economy should be directed to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC), which oversees the enforcement of the Competition Act (Act 89 of 1998) and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act (Act 53 of 2003) by the Competition Commission and the B-BBEE Commission, respectively.

Reply:

 

(a). The department applies the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) funding strategy, and to ensure fairness and transparency, an open call is made annually for all creatives seeking to travel for market access opportunities through the MGE Touring Ventures workstream.

(b). The maximum grant amount for Touring Ventures is R1 million. Furthermore, proposals are considered on an ad-hoc basis throughout the financial year subject to the availability of Funds.

Reply:

a) 119 cases have been reported

b) 

1. 101 cases have been resolved
2. 18 cases are still under investigation and will be resolved within the prescribed timeframe allocated for the finalisation of cases

c) The APP target for the finalisation of cases is 90 working days from the date of allocation.(b)

END.

Reply:

The questions regarding sanctions or penalties on Santam for anti-competitive behavior, the economic exclusion of marginalised service providers, and market concentration should be directed to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC), which oversees the enforcement of the Competition Act (Act 89 of 1998) and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act (Act 53 of 2003) through the Competition Commission and the B-BBEE Commission, respectively. The FSCA's primary mandate is to promote the fair treatment of customers by financial institutions and to enhance and support the efficiency and integrity of financial markets, and it only imposes sanctions related to its mandate.

Reply:

a) The shortage of health workers is not uniform across categories. Whilst there may be shortages experienced, several factors are at play, for example, production levels from higher education institutions, availability of posts in the public service, preference of location of employment (often a choice between urban or rural facility) and migration between the public and private sectors. To mitigate these factors, the provincial Departments endeavour to create posts in line with budget availability. At national level, the National Department of Health, Department of Higher Education and Training, and National Treasury are engaging on the planning and financing of health sciences education and training through a mechanism called the Joint Health Sciences and Education Committee.

b) Plans associated with maintaining and refurbishment of existing health care facilities are evolving and geared towards complete utilisation of the facilities to augment the capacity in alignment with the needs of the hospitals involved. They are the following:

• The Provincial departments are required to submit Infrastructure Asset Management Plans (IAMP) and/or User Asset Management Plans (UAMPs) that table the project pipeline and their intent towards maintaining the immovable asset base of the province. The UAMPs are submitted to National Treasury and National Department of Health.
• These plans would, in future, be subjected to additional review via the Ten-Year Infrastructure Plan (Health infrastructure portfolio system) to ensure that only projects on the strategic runway of the department gets approved and vetted for implementation. Projects will get prioritised based on their condition rating, their ability to fulfil in the needs of the community they serve and their utilisation.
• In addition, an accelerated prioritised infrastructure plan is currently proposed. This plan aims to assist in accelerating delivery of the HIPS priority projects.
• A developing partnership with Infrastructure South Africa is also in the pipeline to assist in facilitating the risk associated with aging infrastructure.

END.

Reply:

(a) The Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food and Related Matters, R638 of 23 June 2018, published under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectant Act, 1972, (Act 54 of 1972) provides standards and requirements for premises where food is handled, prepared and sold to the public, including in school premises. Various other regulatory frameworks have been promulgated over the years governing the microbiological and chemical quality of various foodstuffs.

Vendors are also required to comply with the relevant Municipality’s Street Trading By-Laws.

(b) The National Department of Health developed National Environmental Health Norms and Standards for Environmental Health and Acceptable Monitoring Standards for Environmental Health Practitioners (Health Inspectors), that provide for minimum frequencies required for inspections for health surveillance of premises, including schools. The department audits Municipalities annually on their adherence to these norms and standards in rendering environmental health services. For the 2024/25 assessment, special focus is on food safety monitoring and enforcement.

As part of inspections, food samples are taken particularly in areas where sporadic foodborne illnesses were reported, to determine the linkages between the cases and foodstuffs consumed.

Other measures implemented by the department include capacity building of inspectors to ensure they adopt a risk-based approach in food inspection, to ensure focus on high-risk food premises, such as hospitals, schools and other settings for vulnerable members of the population.

END.

Reply:

The questions raised should be directed to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC), which oversees the enforcement of the Competition Act (Act 89 of 1998) and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act (Act 53 of 2003) through the Competition Commission and the B-BBEE Commission, respectively. The FSCA does not regulate company-specific competition issues, such as Santam's dominance in the glass, spare parts, and other sectors. These matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission, which investigates market dominance and can implement measures to prevent the abuse of a dominant position. As a result, the FSCA has not assessed Santam's or Sanlam's monopolistic practices or their effects on marginalised communities. For information on the participation of black-, coloured-, and Indian-owned businesses in Santam’s and Sanlam’s supply chains, the B-BBEE Commission is the appropriate source, as companies are required to report on B-BBEE compliance annually.

Reply:

The questions raised regarding the steps taken by National Treasury to ensure fair competition in the insurance sector, specifically addressing monopolistic practices of companies like Sanlam and Santam, are best directed to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC). The DTIC is responsible for administering the Competition Act (Act 89 of 1998) and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act (Act 53 of 2003). These Acts govern competition policy and transformation in various sectors, including insurance.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is the market conduct regulator established under the Financial Sector Regulation Act, (Act 9 of 2017). Its mandate is to promote the fair treatment of financial customers by financial institutions, enhancing and supporting the efficiency and integrity of financial markets. The FSCA currently plays a limited role in promoting transformation of the financial sector, as outlined in its strategy for promoting financial sector transformation, which is available through this link: https://www.fsca.co.za/Regulatory%20Frameworks/Regulatory%20Frameworks%20Documents/FSCA%20Transformation%20Strategy.zip.

However, it is expected that the FSCA will play a more active role in the future, as proposed in the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill.

Reply:

South Africa has been responding to mpox cases since May 2024, working with the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and other government departments. From May to date (30 August 2024), 24 mpox cases were reported from 3 Provinces i.e. (Gauteng: 12; KwaZulu-Natal:11; Western Cape: 1) with 3 deaths. The last case was reported on 3 August 2024.

Mpox is gazetted as a notifiable medical condition, making it mandatory for health

care workers to report suspected and confirmed cases within 24hrs to facilitate case management, contact tracing, screening and health education in order to prevent further spread. A multi-disciplinary Incident Management Team (IMT) was appointed by the Director General: Health to steer South Africa’s response to mpox.

Key activities to manage the mpox outbreak include the following:

1. National and provincial response plans were developed, agreed on and implemented.
2. Outbreak response teams conduct investigations as soon as cases are reported.
3. The Department has disseminated updated clinical guidelines and treatment protocols to healthcare facilities, ensuring that all healthcare workers are equipped with the latest information on managing mpox cases.
4. Clinicians across the country have received training to enhance their ability to diagnose and manage mpox cases effectively. Training is ongoing with clinical teams providing support to health care workers.
5. The WHO donated drugs for mpox treatment through Section 21 approval is adequate while laboratory testing capacity is available in both public and private sectors.
6. The National Advisory Group on Immunisation (NAGI) provided recommendations on the selection and deployment of vaccines (including for pre-exposure vaccination of high-risk groups and post exposure vaccination of contacts) and the Department supported by WHO is working to source vaccine from other Countries.
7. The Department of Health in collaboration with various stakeholders in the sector has activated and intensified both targeted and general Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities as part of the country`s response to the mpox outbreak to empower the public with health education, to make well informed health choices. These activities include mass media (regular interviews and media statements), social media, webinars, development and translation of mpox messages into other official languages, community engagements in the affected communities and forged partnerships with organisations representing the vulnerable groups such as Men who have Sex with Men (MSM).
8. Public health measures to prevent, early detect and respond to a possible mpox case presenting at the points of entry, are being implemented by the Border Management Authority (BMA). These include ensuring conveyance operators notify port health, should there be a traveller who experiences symptoms during travel, sharing information on mpox with travellers and conducting temperature screening on all arriving travellers.

Following the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of continental security and WHO declaration of mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, South Africa has reviewed the temporary and standing recommendations. The national mpox preparedness and response plan has been updated to incorporate and implement the relevant recommendations.

END.

Reply:

a) The Department provides up to three types of work visas to foreign nationals. Sheep shearers and other seasonal workers are processed through corporate visas. Section 21 of the immigration Act, No. 13 of 2002 stipulates that the Director-General may issue a corporate visa to a corporate applicant, to employ foreigners who may conduct work for such corporate applicant in the Republic. Sub-section 21(4)(a) further states that the Minister may apply this subsection in respect of foreigners required for seasonal or temporary peak period employment. This includes sheep shearers. The process to follow is detailed in Regulation 20, which prescribes the manner, and the process in which such an application for a corporate visa shall be made.

b) I have already responded to a similar request by AgriSA in which the process was outlined. There is no need for a statement as there has not been a policy or legislative change regarding the manner in which sheep shearers and other similarly affected semi-skilled occupations are concerned.

END

Reply:

a) According to the Internship and Community Service Placement (ICSP) online system, 15 community service doctors are still waiting to be placed for the Mid-year Cycle due to a minimal number of available posts, provided by Provinces. NDOH is continuously engaging Provincial Departments of Health to unblock posts to accommodate the 15 applicants within their available resources. A total of 215 medical doctors have been successfully placed for Community Service and have since assumed their duties.

All 216 newly-qualified and eligible medical graduates who applied on the ICSP online system for Medical Internship, have been allocated / placed in the 2024 Midyear Cycle and have since assumed duty at their respective allocated health facilities.

b) To ensure that mechanisms are put in place that all eligible South African Citizens and Permanent Residents medical interns and community service doctors are allocated/placed timeously for the 2025 Annual Cycle, the National Department of Health developed a project plan that has since been actioned and the following have been achieved:

1. NDOH hosted a three-day workshop in partnership with service provider attended by Provincial Departments of Health Coordinators and Professional Associations/Unions to review the ICSP Guidelines to better the users experience – 3 to 5 July 2024.
2. Engaged Higher Education Institution (HEI) Stakeholder to provide data of qualifying final year students that will be applying for allocation/placement for the 2025 Annual Cycle – 1 February 2024 to 22 July 2024.
3. Opened the ICSP online system to allow potential applicants to verify their details (data received from HEI) and self-registration for potential applicants who are not covered by HEI data – 23 July 2024 to 30 August 2024.
4. Provided both online and onsite training and information sharing sessions to potential applicants on how to apply on the ICSP online System – 19 June to 20 August 2024.
5. Ensured that funded posts are timeously approved and loaded on the ICSP online System by Provincial Departments of Health – 1 February 2024 until 20 July 2024.
6. The ICSP online System was opened early for applications to ensure that allocation/placement are concluded by October 2024 – System opened for posts application on the 9 August 2024 to 30 August 2024
7. Appointed a committee of experienced Health Professionals to deal with special considerations and the session is planned for 2 September 2024 to conclude assessment of all cases by 4 September 2024

NB. Allocation/placements will be prioritised to accommodate South African Citizens and Permanent Resident first. Consideration for Foreign Nationals allocations can only be entertained if resources are still available. However, with the current financial status it is unlikely that such will occur.

END.

Reply:

In providing health services to every person entering health facilities, provinces are guided by the National Health Act (NHA) no 63 of 2003 as Amended on access to health services to all persons according to the stipulations of Section 4 (3) which states as follows regarding Eligibility for free health services in public health establishments:

Eligibility for free health services in public health establishments

1. The Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Finance, may prescribe conditions subject to which categories of persons are eligible for such free health services at public health establishments as may be prescribed.
2. In prescribing any condition contemplated in subsection (1), the Minister must

have regard to-

(a) the range of free health services currently available;

(b) the categories of persons already receiving free health services;

(c) the impact of any such condition on access to health services; and

(d) the needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children, older persons and

persons with disabilities.

3. Subject to any condition prescribed by the Minister, the State and clinics and community health centres funded by the State must provide-

• a) pregnant and lactating women and children below the age of six years, who are not members or beneficiaries of medical aid schemes, with free health services;
• b) all persons, except members of medical aid schemes and their dependants

and persons receiving compensation for compensable occupational diseases, with free primary health care services; and

• c) women, subject to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 (Act 92 of 1996), free termination of pregnancy services

The rights of South African citizens to access medical care are prioritised and also of those of foreign nationals, refugees and asylum seekers that are eligible as per Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 - Chapter 2: Bill of Rights

END.

Reply:

a) Role of medical schemes and their lifespan

The Act provides for medical schemes to be amended from their current form once the NHI Fund is operational. At that point the NHI Fund will cover a wide range of benefits for every person and schemes will no longer cover the same benefits. Schemes will cover only benefits that the Fund does not cover. The many changes and institutional capacity building that is required to get to that point may take several years, during which time medical schemes will remain and continue to be regulated through the Medical Schemes Act of 1985.

The department repeatedly communicates these facts to the media, meetings of investors, at conferences, and to the many professional bodies that the department interacts with.

b) Accreditation of both public and private health facilities

For the Fund to pay a provider (individual or health establishment) the Fund will be required to ensure that they deliver health care services at the appropriate quality and level of care to users who are in need of and entitled to health care service benefits that have been purchased by the Fund on their behalf. It is common practise that businesses pre-authorise suppliers and this is no different in principle. The Fund will verify that the provider is legitimate, registered with the necessary professional councils, is registered as a taxpayer, has a tax compliance certificate, and has secured a certificate from the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) that basic quality standards have been achieved. The Fund must also monitor that the provider’s service attains the agreed quality and outcomes standards agreed when contracting the provider. These requirements will apply to both public and private providers. The Fund will accredit all establishments that meet these requirements and apply for accreditation. All accredited providers will be offered a contract, with no distinction made between private or public sector providers.

The Act makes provision for conditional accreditation for health establishments who have not yet been awarded a certificate by the OHSC.

The OHSC is presently inspecting and certifying both public and private health establishments. The department, working with the OHSC, and in collaboration with several health practitioner groups, is developing the accreditation and conditional accreditation policy, procedures and contracts for primary health care providers.

The department repeatedly communicates these facts to the media, meetings with practitioners, at conferences, and to the many professional bodies that the department interacts with.

END.

Reply:

The National Department of Health did not participate in the 44th Ordinary Southern African Development Community Summit of Heads of State and Government that was held on 17 August 2024.

His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, in His capacity as the Pandemic Prevention Preparedness Response (PPPR) Champion for the African Union, made a statement in support of the declaration of the mpox as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, wherein he encouraged collaboration between countries.

The matter was further discussed in the World Health Organization (WHO) 74th Regional Committee meeting attended by all Ministers of Health in Brazzaville Congo which took place from the 26th to the 30th of August 2024.

END.

Reply:

(a). The provision of sport and recreation facilities is the constitutional responsibility of Local Government; however, the Sector department is mandated to define the parameters within which local government must deliver. In this regard, DSAC developed Sport and Recreation Norms and Standards.

Projects (including sport and recreation facilities) are identified through the Integrated Development Plan process (IDP), which takes place at the local government level. Depending on the priorities of each municipality, identified projects find expression in the final IDP document of the municipality. Most of these projects are then considered for funding under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) administered by the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), with inputs from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC).

Over and above the MIG, as part of the Department’s outreach programme, since 2013/2014 to date, a total of about 105 outdoor gym and kiddies’ play areas have been installed. In the next three years, the Department intends delivering about 30 outdoor gyms and kiddies’ play areas.

(b). Most of these facilities are constructed in public spaces, which encourages access. Part of the inputs that DSAC makes to COGTA during the planning phase and while funding considerations are being made for proposed new projects is that the municipality concerned needs to prove proper consultation was done with the community and specifically the local sport council. This is another way to ensure access as well as utilisation once the facility is completed. Upon completing the construction of a facility, it is handed to the municipality for operation and maintenance.

Reply:

a) The Constitution assigns the responsibility of ensuring access to basic services, including water and sanitation services to municipalities. The role of the national and provincial spheres of government is to support, monitor and regulate local government.

As the regulator of the water sector, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is required to set national norms and standards for municipal water and sanitation services in terms of the Water Services Act. This responsibility includes monitoring compliance to the norms and standards and taking appropriate measures to correct and address non-compliance by municipalities which have the responsibility to provide appropriate water and sanitation services to communities.

In January 2024, the DWS published draft Norms and Standards for water and sanitation for public comments. The Department is in the process of strengthening its role as the regulator of water services. As part of strengthening its regulatory roles, the draft Norms and Standards will set minimum competencies required at management level within the municipal Water and Sanitation line functions, to ensure the sector is managed by suitably qualified personnel.

In addition to the above, in June 2023 the DWS published Regulation 3630 which is a standard for process controllers and water services works, which is aimed at ensuring that personnel discharged with responsibilities of operation of these water services works are qualified, subjected to minimum annual training and prescribes a level of each process controllers relative to the water services works class and size.

Other capacity interventions that are implemented by the DWS to support municipalities include:

• The Implementation of the Regulatory Drops Programme to assess the state of drinking water, wastewater treatment systems and Water Conservation and Demand Management in municipalities. The drop results were released in December 2023 and subsequent Water Services Sumit was held in January 2024. Generally, the drops reports indicate the dire situation in provision of water and sanitation services by most of the WSAs. WSAs were instructed to develop action plans to alleviate the challenges, which were submitted to the Department and are being monitored for implementation.
• Amendments to the Water Services Act will include amongst other reforms, introduction of an Operating License for Water Service Providers (WSP). The Department will specify minimum competency and minimum performance levels for WSPs linked to gazetted minimum norms and standards for water and sanitation services (including full financial transparency and reporting). A Municipality will have to fulfil the license conditions if it provides the service itself or must contract with a licensed WSP.
• Strengthening enforcement by Amending Section 63 of Water Services Act to enable enforcement through directives (as is done in the National Water Act). Currently sections 62 and 63 of the Water Services Act enable the Department to intervene in municipalities where monitoring of municipal water and sanitation services by DWS indicates failure to adhere to national norms and standards, subject to section 139 of the Constitution. The amendments propose, as the last resort, enabling the Minister to enforce the separation of water services function from the municipal administration where there is persistent failure to meet license conditions.
• The Department implements the No Drop Incentive based regulatory programme, used as a tool to regulate municipal performance on water loss management and water use efficiency practices. The programme provides guidelines to water services institutions on what is required to manage water losses and improve efficiency. This includes the No Drop Guideline, which focuses on the key requirements (water resource balance diagram, water balance, Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WCWDM) Strategy) as building blocks for planning and implementation of WC/WDM projects. The guideline has been workshopped nationally and made available to municipalities.
• The Department has further established a Water Partnerships Office (WPO) within the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The WPO has developed five standardized national programmes for private sector participation in municipal water and sanitation services, to make it easier, quicker and cheaper for municipalities to enter into private funding partnerships. One of the five national programmes within the WPO is Non- Revenue Water (NRW), aimed at reducing losses, reducing over consumption and improving cost recovery. This is implemented in collaboration with identified municipalities.
• The DWS, through the Cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency has constructed a Non-Revenue Water training yard and developed a training material. 89 municipality officials from the 16 WSA have attended this training programme.

In terms of financial/infrastructure investment support:

• The Department manages two conditionals, namely, the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG), which are aimed at supporting municipalities to deliver on their mandate by developing new, refurbishment, and upgrading of water and sanitation infrastructure to ensure access to water services. The grants account for an average of R14 billion per annum to support municipalities. The DWS is also in engagements with the Infrastructure Fund for Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) funding, collaborating in projects planning and implementation for large projects, through blended finance where there are deficits in funding for infrastructure projects.
• However, this does not address the lack of maintenance by municipalities, which must be funded from municipal revenue – this can only be addressed by improving municipal billing and revenue collection and by prioritization of budgets for maintenance by the municipal leadership.
• DWS is engaging with the mining sector for infrastructure investment. There are 2 projects which are examples where there is collaboration between DWS and the mining sector in Limpopo and the Northern Cape. The Olifants Management Model is one example of a project where DWS is undertaking/in collaboration with the mining sector through the Lebalelo Water Users Association (LWUA) in Limpopo. The funding model is on a 50/50% agreement. It is a R25 billion programme aimed at fast-tracking bulk and potable reticulation water infrastructure to supply communities and mines in Sekhukhune and Mogalakwena in Limpopo by 2030. The programme will provide potable water to yard connection to approximately 390 000 people.

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Reply:

(a). Gender Based Violence (GBV), with particular attention to femicide (the killing of women) has been declared a pandemic by the President of the Republic of South Africa. By its nature, it cuts across all of society. It therefore becomes the responsibility of every member of society to play their part in preventing it.

This is true for both civil society (including business and the media) and government.

There are leading Departments, such as DSD, who are the custodians of GBV programmes in South Africa, supported by other government departments such as the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities (DWYPD) as a coordinating department. The DWYPD coordinates inter alia the reporting on the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2030, which has six (6) pillars.

Under the NSP, DSD reports under Pillar 4: Response, Care Support and Healing. The DSD is a critical partner in the work executed by DSAC on prevention of GBV. The DSD acts as a co-facilitator during community conversations and dialogue workshops partly or fully funded by DSAC under its Social Cohesion and Nation Building platforms. Key DSAC community engagements, awareness, detection and prevention initiatives for strategic partnering with other departments are created under the Social Cohesion Advocates (SCAs) programme and the Community Capacity Enhancement platforms also initiated by the DSAC and the moral regeneration programmes enabled through DSAC’s support for the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM). The MRMspecifically has an anti-femicide programme. The DSD significantly assist with psychosocial support through counselling for participants who would be emotionally triggered during sessions or need placement in safe places or social work services. Further, DSD is one of the delivery partners of Priority 6, which is on Social Cohesion and Safer Communities.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) is a critical partner in the service chain, from prevention of GBV to correctional services for the rehabilitation of perpetrators. Together with DSAC, DOJCD works with the United Nations Protection Working Group (UNPWG). The two departments also partner on community conversations, Social Cohesion Advocates platforms and National Days, with particular attention given to Human Rights Month (focusing on women’s rights) and Women’s Month. The DOJCD also reports on the NSP under Pillar 3 on Justice, Safety and Protection. The Department is also a delivery partner under Priority 6 on Social Cohesion and Safer Communities.

(b). Resources for these programmes fall under the different DSAC Programmes, such as the Human Resource Management (HRM) programme under the Employee Wellness Programme, the funding of programmes initiated under the Social Cohesion Advocates Programme, the Community Conversation Programmes and the Moral Regeneration Programmes. Additional to these is funding towards Not-for-Profit Institutions/Organisations (once-off annual calls for proposals) dealing with GBV Programmes. This funding is done under DSAC’s Arts and Social Development Programme. DSAC has also invested in the Orange Day Campaign that advocates for collaboration efforts to end violence against women and girls. Other campaigns within the Department include the Golekane Campaign that operates a Survivors Guild and promotes candid conversations between boys and their male adults.

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has resuscitated the Blue Drop Certification Programme to intensify regulation and monitoring of the municipalities to ensure that all municipalities provide drinking water that is safe for human consumption. The Blue Drop Certification ensures that municipalities are assessed on all regulatory requirements with the intention for municipalities to put mechanisms in place to improve compliance with microbiological and chemical water quality requirements as prescribed by SANS 241.

A system that is Blue Drop Certified must have systems in place to identify risks and mitigate them before disease outbreaks can occur. However, systems that are categorised as critical systems, are put under regulatory surveillance and corrective action plans must be developed by Water Service Authorities (municipalities) to turn around the situation. The DWS monitors these corrective action plans for their implementation.

The Department of Water and Sanitation developed a web-based regulatory tool called Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) where municipalities upload their drinking water quality results for monitoring by the department. This system serves as an early warning system, whenever microbiological water quality failures are detected, the IRIS sends automated emails bi-weekly to the municipalities and DWS. The DWS provincial offices monitor and ensure rectification plans are implemented. Information loaded on IRIS is available not only to the Department but to the public at large to ensure that there is level of accountability to the consumer. By making this information available to the public, the results or lack thereof can be accessed by the public and consequently a municipality will have to account why requirements for drinking water are not met or no samples are taken regularly.

The Constitution assigns the responsibility of ensuring access to water and sanitation services to municipalities. The role of the national and provincial spheres of government is to support, monitor and regulate local government. As the regulator of the water sector, the DWS is required to set regulatory rules, norms and standards for municipal water and sanitation services in terms of the National Water Act and the Water Services Act. This responsibility includes monitoring compliance to the norms and standards and taking appropriate measures to correct and address non-compliance by municipalities which have the responsibility to provide clean water to communities.

In terms of its mandate the DWS is in the process of effecting legislative reforms to strengthen its regulatory capacity:

• DWS published draft Norms and Standards for Water and Sanitation on 12 January 2024 for public comments. These reviewed norms and standards put emphasis on the quality of drinking water by ensuring compliance to the South African Drinking Water quality standards, SANS 241 which is based on UN Guidelines on drinking water quality. The intended outcome is to ensure implementation of risk management, through water safety planning which will ensure that risks associated with drinking water supply and treatment are managed to safeguard the quality of water supplied to communities.
• Furthermore, the Water Services Act is under review to strengthen enforcement of compliance with water services regulations and ensure that the Minister is empowered to enforce the legislation. The review also provides for licensing of Water Services Providers which is aimed at ensuring that organisations that have the responsibility to treat and supply water services have adequate capacity and can be held accountable.
• DWS facilitated identification of chlorine manufacturing by two industrialists with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to address chlorine supply challenges since this is an industrial issue with negative impact on supply of water. DTIC has identified two industrialists for production in the Pietermaritzburg Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Both are at due diligence stage for funding by the DTIC, with the next phase being the construction of chlorine manufacturing plants in the next two years. DWS has also collaborated with the National Treasury on a transversal contract for chlorine supply and its derivatives. This is to create sufficient economies of scale for the development of local industry.

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Reply:

a) Major lessons learned from health districts that piloted the National Health Insurance (NHI)

The pilot projects were detailed in the Public Health Strengthening Report 2017 - 2018 Final Evaluation Report released in August 2019.

The report notes that the “first phase of the NHI programme did not involve developing new funding arrangements for healthcare in South Africa, but rather piloted various health system strengthening (HSS) interventions focused at the primary healthcare (PHC) level. The interventions implemented during this phase were mainly funded by a direct NHI Conditional Grant to provinces, although there were other funding mechanisms. The NDoH established workstreams to develop and refine NHI-related policy and incorporate feedback from the phased NHI implementation. This evaluation focused on the 10 PHC interventions in the pilot districts.” The ten interventions were:

• Ward-Based Primary Healthcare Outreach Teams
• Integrated School Health
• General Practitioner Contracting
• Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance
• District Clinical Specialist Teams
• Centralised Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD)
• Health Patient Registration System (HPRS)
• Stock Visibility System (SVS)
• Infrastructure

The report lists intervention successes and challenges for each. The findings highlighted “the importance of strong leadership and good governance in order to drive a successful and effective health system.” This included clarity of vision, setting appropriate priorities, performance management and accountability. The other observation was that managers implemented the interventions in silos and seemed to lose the overall objective of improving access to, and the quality of, services at facilities.

(b) At service and programme levels there have been efforts to incorporate improvements from the detailed findings. However, most of these interventions are funded through conditional grants, rather than being integrated into the routine budgets. This remains a challenge because of increased reporting demands on managers without the option to institutionalise the improvements. However, some of the interventions are now well entrenched. For instance, the CCMDD programme has become an extensive and award-winning programme. The Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance is a successful country-wide public sector quality improvement programme. School health is also a country-wide component of the public primary health care system. The digital systems are implemented country wide.

END.