Questions and Replies

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is provided in Annual Reports tabled yearly in Parliament by departments and public entities.

Reply:

The Department received the question, reviewed its contents against its mandate and has determined that the most appropriate respondent should be the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Reply:

(1) The qualifications required for a post of Deputy Director-General (DDG) are regulated in the Directive on compulsory capacity development, mandatory training days and minimum entry requirements for the Senior Management Service which was implemented on 1 April 2015. The qualifications for a Deputy Director-General post is an undergraduate qualification and a post graduate qualification (NQF level 8) as recognized by SAQA.

(2) All Deputy Director-General posts at National departments serve at Cabinet and the Minister for the Public Service and Administration performs an oversight. Should a candidate not meet the requirement, the Cabinet Memorandum does not serve at Cabinet so the appointment is not effected. Departments are often advised through circulars not only on the requirements for post but all regulatory requirements to fill posts including DDG level.

(a) The relevant details of all DDGs in National departments according to PERSAL indicates that there are currently 201 DDG posts in National government of which 135 are filled and 66 are vacant. Prior to 1 April 2015 there was no prescription on the educational requirements. In terms of professionalization, and the expected requirements, mobility is linked to the said qualifications. An individual will not be able to progress to higher levels without the said qualifications. Should a DDG have been appointed prior to 1 April 2015 such a DDG cannot be discriminated against if they currently occupy a DDG post. Should such DDGs apply for another DDG post or a Head of Department post they will not qualify in the event that they have not met the inherent requirements.

(b) The current qualification requirement is an undergraduate qualification and a post graduate qualification (NQF level 8) as recognized by SAQA as well as the inherent requirements of the post. All DDGs appointed with effect from 1 April 2015 must be in possession of those requirements. The information on qualifications for DDGs in posts is based on the data captured by departments may be incomplete or not captured and or updated on PERSAL. Where no information is reflected the department has not captured the qualification, Annexure A.

(c) An employee at a level below a DDG or at the level of a DDG can be appointed to act in a DDG post, therefore there are circumstances where employees are acting laterally. Acting in a post is not captured on PERSAL as the period are generally short. However, when an employee is receiving an acting allowance such acting in a higher post is captured on PERSAL. Based on PERSAL, there are currently six (6) Chief Directors receiving an acting allowance in DDG posts.

END

Reply:

The difference between salary level 11 and 13 is R324 069.

End

Reply:

The Department of Public Service and Administration is mandated by section 94 of the Public Service Regulations toissue the information security standard for the public service, after consultation with the relevant Ministers.

On the 2nd of June 2017 the DPSA and GITOC Security Committee (SCISS) issued the ICT Security Guidelines for implementation by the national and provincial departments within their respective departments.

The purpose of these ICT Security guidelines is to create an enabling ICT security environment and to address the security risks and weaknesses in e-governance systems.

Section 11 of the DPSA ICT Security Guidelines particularly covers the aspects of access management and acquisition of information systems as they relate to securing e-governance systems.

The ICT Security Guidelines cover a number of areas in relation to securing e-governance systems. Those include:

Section 11.7 – Information Systems Acquisitions, Development & Maintenance

Section 11.6 – Access Management

Section 11.10 – Third Party Management

Section 11.11 – Compliance

Section 11.12 – Intellectual Property Rights

The DPSA ICT Security Guidelines are currently being converted into a Public Service Information Security Standard to strengthen compliance.

End

Reply:

The details of these salary ranges and notches for employees appointed in terms of the Public Service Act,1994 and who are below the Senior Management Service, are contained in DPSA Circular No 10 of 2019 dated 28 March 2019. This circular can be accessed on the DPSA website at:

http://www.dpsa.gov.za/dpsa2g/documents/rp/2019/18_1_p_28_03_2019.pdf

The details of the salary ranges and notches applicable to the members of the Senior Management Service appointed in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994 are contained in DPSA Circular 19 of 2019 dated 2 July 2019. This circular can be accessed on the DPSA website at:

http://www.dpsa.gov.za/dpsa2g/documents/rp/2019/18_1_4_02_07_2019.pdf

End

Reply:

(a) 

(i) The total number of fulltime shop stewards elected by labour unions and paid by the state in the Public Service is 395.

(ii) The total number of elected National office bearers electedby labour unions that are employed and paid by the State in the public service is 32.

b) Breakdown of the number of (i) full-time shop stewards and (ii) national office bearers elected by labour unions employed and paid by the State in the public service in each (aa) national government department, (bb) provincial government department and (cc) public sector labour union is attached hereto as TagA1.

End

Reply:

a) The average salary levels paid to full-time shop stewardswho are elected by labour unions and are employed in the public service is R 309 860,00.

b) The average salary levels paid to National office bearers who are elected by labour unions and are employed in the public service is R 486 653,00.

End

Reply:

1. 

a) The total annual amount spent by the State on the payment of salaries, bonuses, housing allowances and medical allowances of full-time shop for the month ending 30 September 2020 is R 11 812 808.00

b) The total annual amount spent by the State on the payment of salaries, bonuses, housing allowances and medical allowances of national office bearers for the month ending 30 September 2020 is R 2 502 558,00.

2. Based on the information received, there are no senior managers elected by labour unions as office bearers or full time shop stewards in the public service.

End

Reply:

Yes, Government departments have adhered to the monitoring tool to obtain statistics in terms of discipline management, which the DPSA put in place in January 2012 and November 2014.

a) n/a

b) The steps taken in order to ensure compliance are:-

• The DPSA reported non-compliance of departments to the relevant Portfolio Committee.
• The Director-General (DG) of the DPSA addressed non-compliance of departments in the Forum of South African Directors-General and provided the Minister for the Public Service and Administration with quarterly reports, indicating those departments that did not report.
• The DG for the DPSA followed-up with the heads of departments who omitted to submit their statistics.
• The DPSA issued non-compliance letters (in terms of Section 16 A (4) of the Public Service Act,1994) to those departments who did not submit their statistics.
• The Minister for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA) hosted contact sessions with Executive Authorities of those departments identified to have suspensions older than one year, where they discussed the reasons for the delay in finalizing cases and support was offered by the DPSA to rectify the situation. MPSA met with the Premier of North West, the Premier of the Northern Cape, the Premier of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Premier of the Free State, as well as the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.
• To support departments, the discussions between the political heads were followed by workshops conducted by the DPSA. These workshops took place in the North West Province, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State, the Northern Cape and the Department of Correctional Services.
• The DPSA developed a new reporting tool for precautionary suspensions, and since September, those departments with long overdue suspensions are using it to capture their information on a database that is used by the DPSA for monitoring purposes.The DPSA uses the information obtained during workshops to draft a strategy to address backlogs of disciplinary cases and to develop a Guide on Discipline Management.

End

Reply:

Non-compliance letters were issued to all of the above-mentioned departments (a) (i) (ii) (iii)(iv) (v) and (b) for failing to submit misconduct cases for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 financial year. Departments were given up to 30 October 2020 to provide the information to the Office of the Director-General for the Department of Public Service and Administration, including reasons for failing to comply. Only Military Veterans responded (on 18 August 2020) and indicated that the document was delayed due to a technical glitch. To address non-compliance, letters will be directed before the end of November 2020 to the indicated Heads of Department to express dissatisfaction regarding the matter, to request that steps be taken to prevent a repeat of the situation, and to request disciplinary action to be taken against those responsible for the delay. The Minister of Public Service and Administration will also direct similar letters to the relevant Executive Authorities.

End

Reply:

The details of cases of misconduct that were reported in his department (DPSA) are as follows:

MISCONDUCT	DETAILS
a) Financial misconduct and the amounts involved in each case	None
b) Amounts of irregular expenditure	R505 677.95
c) Absenteeism and the period thereof	None
d) Dishonesty/Misrepresentation (Case initially captured as misrepresentation. The employee was found guilty on charge of dishonesty)	DPSA had one case of dishonesty in the 4th quarter. The case was finalised on 08 October 2020. The employee was found guilty and given the following sanctions: One month salary suspension without pay; Final written warning; and Corrective counselling.
e) Assault	None
f) Damage to state property and amount thereof	None
g) Contravention of code of conduct	None
h) Failure to carry out lawful order	None
i) Poor work performance	None
j) Sexual harassment	None

The information used to compile the above table was obtained from the 4th quarter FOSAD report for the 2019/2020 financial year.

The details of cases of misconduct that were reported in each province are as follows:

The information for the response to the question of misconduct cases reported in each province is based on information obtained from provinces during the 2018/2019 financial year, as the report on Financial Misconduct for the 2019/2020 financial year is work in progress and has not been finalized.

a) Financial misconduct cases reported by provincial departments for the 2018/2019 financial year and the amounts involved:

	CASES REPORTED BY PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS
1	Corruption
2	Fruitless and wasteful expenditure
3	Theft
4	Fraud
5	Gross negligence
6	Irregular expenditure
7	Misappropriation and abuse

AMOUNTS INVOLVED
Eastern Cape	R159 133 173.38
Free State	R121 333.19
Gauteng	R2 266 030.81
KwaZulu-Natal	R2 477 190.40
Limpopo	R941 159.70
Mpumalanga	R217 055.54
Northern Cape	R599 054.35
North West	R13 100.00
Western Cape	R983 569.11
Total: Provinces	R166 751 666.48

b) The Public Service Commission is not in a position to provide information with regards to the amounts involved in irregular expenditure, as the institution does not keep such records.

(c) - (j): Information is available for the following provinces:

Eastern Cape	Total Number
c) Absenteeism	8
d) Dishonesty	1
e) Assault	3
f) Damage to State property and amount thereof	2
g) Contravention of code of conduct	8
h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
i) Poor Work Performance	0
j) Sexual Harassment	4
Free State	Total number
(c) Absenteeism	6
(d) Dishonesty	30
(e) Assault	42
(f) Damage to state property and amount thereof	0
(g) Contravention of code of conduct	2
(h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
(i) Poor Work Performance	0
(j)Sexual Harassment	3
KwaZulu-Natal
(c) Absenteeism	2
(d) Dishonesty	0
(e) Assault	1
(f) Damage to state property and amount thereof	0
(g) Contravention of code of conduct	1
(h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
i) Poor Work Performance	2
j) Sexual Harassment	0
Limpopo	Total number
(c) Absenteeism	1
(d) Dishonesty	2
(e) Assault	0
(f) Damage to State property and amount thereof	1
(g) Contravention of code of conduct	1
(h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
(i) Poor Work Performance	0
(j) Sexual Harassment	1
Northern Cape	Total number
(c) Absenteeism	13
(d) Dishonesty	0
(e) Assault	4
(f) Damage to State property and amount thereof	1
(g) Contravention of code of conduct	1
(h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
(i) Poor Work Performance	0
(j) Sexual Harassment	1
North West
c) Absenteeism	11
d) Dishonesty	4
ec) Assault	4
f) Damage to state property and amount thereof	0
g) Contravention of code of conduct	2
h) Failure to carry out lawful order	Not available
i) Poor Performance	1
j) Sexual Harassment	4

End

Reply:

The following information is based on the 4th quarter FOSAD reports received from the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Provinces:

a) Department of Public Service and Administration:

(i) Insubordination:

Name of Department	No. of officials	Cost	Reason for disciplinary action being instituted	Period of suspension	Status of the case	Reasons for the case not to be concluded
DPSA	1	None	Insubordination	None	Sourcing a new chairperson	Sourcing a new chairperson

(ii)- (x) No cases reported.

b) Provinces:

The offences (i) to (x) are reflected in the table below.

Provinces	Name of Department	No. of officials	Cost	Reasons for disciplinary action being instituted	Period of suspension	Reasons for case not be concluded
Eastern Cape	DSRAC	2	R 1 439 542,80 R 1 194 770,3	(ii)Negligence and/or failure to comply with procurement procedures	281 days each employee	Interference with investigation x 2
Free State	COGTA	2	None	(i)Insubordination	None	Not indicated
	Pubic Roads and Transport	1	R 258 744,64	(i)Insubordination	88 days	Uplifted on 15 May 2020
	Office of the Premier	1	R 1 023 645,00	(x) theft, fraud and bribery	365 days	Postponement
	Health	2	R 25 189,58 R30 567,96	(x) theft, fraud and bribery	60 days each employee	Suspension uplifted
	Education	2	R 156 294,81 R 214 091,01	(x) theft, fraud and bribery	425 days each employee	The matter has been finalised, awaiting finding of the chairperson
	Public Works and Infrastructure	7	R 108 680,88 R126 152,78 R 126 152,78 R 195 454,00	(x) theft, fraud and bribery	23/09/2019 to date x 3, 20/12/2019 to date x 3, 16/1/2020 x 1 to date	National lockdown has hampered progress
Gauteng	Health	1	R 115 762, 68	Insubordination	45 days	In progress
	Provincial Treasury	1	n/a	Insubordination	n/a	Postponement
	Health	1	R 133 770,21	(ii)Negligence and/ or failure to comply with procurement procedures	52 days	In progress
	Sports, Arts Culture and Recreation	2	R 637 596,75 R497 365, 86	(ii)Negligence and/ or failure to comply with procurement procedures	226 days 184 days	Ongoing/ waiting for verdict
	Provincial Treasury	3	n/a	(ii)Negligence and/ or failure to comply with procurement procedures	n/a	Postponement
	Provincial Treasury	2	None	(iv)Intimidation	Not indicated	Investigating officer not yet appointed
	Health	1	n/a	(vi)Being drunk on duty	n/a	Postponement
	Sports, Arts Culture and Recreation	1	n/a	(vi)Being drunk on duty	n/a	Postponement
KwaZulu-Natal	Education	1	R 13 378,64	(i)Insubordination	-	Pending to the outcome of hearing
	Education	3	R 25 100,00 R12 947,84 R 55166,7	(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	30 days 30 days 44 days	Investigation in progress
	Human Settlement	5	R327 084,00 R269 162,00 R187 038,00 R47 634,00 R44 217,00	(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	60 days x4 150 days	Matter part-heard and will be proceeding in mid-April. Suspension extended x 4
	Education	3	R 67661,5 R 17226,35 R 19287,85 R 162 508,4 R 90848,4	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	30 days 30 days 44 days 150 days x 2	Suspension reviewed and return to work approved subject to alternative placement. Investigation in progress x 4
	EDTEA	3	R 46 673,00 R 63 884,05 R 58 996,15	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	60 days each employee	Interfere with witnesses
	Arts and Culture	1	R 710 722,05	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	265 days	Hearing has commenced and in process.
Limpopo	Health	1	R 32 975,25	(i)Insubordination	30 days	Investigation
	Public Works & Infrastructure	1	Not indicated	(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	375 days	Hearing pending
	Agriculture	2	R 697595,92 R347048,32	(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	150 days 90 days	Under investigation x 2
	Health	1	R 35 819,22	(iii)Dereliction of duty	150 days	Not indicated
	Health	1	Not indicated	(iv)Intimidation	120 days	Investigation
	Health	4	Not indicated	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	60 days x3 30 days	Investigation
Northern Cape	Office of the Premier	3	n/a	(i)Insubordination	n/a	Matter not reported
	Office of the Premier	3		(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures		Matter not reported
	Office of the Premier	2	n/a	(vi)Being drunk on duty	n/a	Charge sheet forwarded to the HOD for signature
	Office of the Premier	3	n/a	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	48 days	Sanction pending
North West	Health	1	R 60 447,90	(ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	180 days	Under investigation
	Agriculture	1	R 182 443,16	(iii)Dereliction of duty	2019/11/20 to date	None
	Health	3	R 537 405,21 R 55 248,00 R 50 692,00	(iii)Dereliction of duty	270 days	Unavailability of presiding officers
	Health	1	R 23 188,50	(x)Theft, fraud and bribery	60 days	Under investigation
Western Cape	Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport	2	n/a	(i)Insubordination (ii)Negligence and /or failure to comply with procurement procedures	79 days 100 days	Resigned Dismissed

End

Reply:

(1)(a) He was employed in the Branch: Policy, Research and Analysis as a Deputy Director: Learning and Knowledge Management (Case Study Writer/Analyst) on salary level 11, up to 31 October 2020. The department has offered him a post of Deputy Director: Knowledge Management in Branch: e-Government Services and Information Management due to the revised Organisational Structure with effect from 1 November 2020. He has not held a position within Corporate Services in the Department.

(1)(b) He has a Matric and a Diploma in Journalism.

(2)(c) The person is employed as Deputy Director on salary level 11. The requirements for the advertised post of Deputy Director-General Administration, which includes the management of Corporate Services, are as follows:

`An appropriate SAQA recognised undergraduate qualification and a post graduate qualification (at NQF. 8) in either Public Administration, Social Sciences, Business Management, Law, Human Resources or Finance. At least minimum of 8-10 years appropriate experience at a Senior Management level with demonstrable requisite technical skills. Knowledge of the Government legislative framework, Public Service legislative and Policy Framework, Government Medium Term Strategic Framework linked to the National Development Plan. Advanced knowledge of public policy analysis and policy development processes, Stakeholder management and coordination, Strategic thinking and leadership, Research skills, Financial Management and Human Resource Management.

(3)(a) The requirements for the position of DDG: Administration were not lowered; and

(3)(b) Ms Linda Dludla was appointed in the post of DDG: Administration in January 2017.

End

Reply:

The scores were not lowered prior to Ms. Ngqolombe being appointed as an Administrator on 7 January 2002 or prior to her being promoted to Labour Relations Officer on 1 June 2006.

a) No; the score sheetswere not altered when Ms. Ngqolombe was appointed.

b) &(c) The postof Administrator was on salary level 5 and the Labour Relations Officer on salary level 6.

End

Reply:

1. No. The appointment of employees in the National Treasury is the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

2. The post of Community Outreach Officer in the Office of a Minister is benchmarked at salary level 11 (R733 257 – R863 748).

End

Reply:

(a) (i) In terms of information on PERSAL as at 31 May 2020, 62 581 employees have been appointed on temporary basis. Attached is a breakdown of temporary appointments per department (Annexure A).

(ii) The breakdown from PERSAL as at 31 May 2020 on the permanent organogram in terms of staff structures of each specified department is attached at (Annexure B).

(iii) and (iv) Budget and expenditure details for the relevant contracted positions can be obtained from the National Treasury.

(b) Persons may be employed to contracted positions additional to the establishment of a department based on a temporary need and such appointments are in terms of Regulation 57 (2) where;

• The incumbent of a post is expected to be absent for such a period that his/her duties cannot be performed by other employees;
• A temporary increase in work occurs or it is necessary for any other reason to temporarily increase the staff of the department;
• An employee’s post has been abolished and he or she cannot be transferred into another post; and
• An employee is part of a development programme as contemplated in regulation 58 (Development Programmes: Internship)

Appointments of this nature are for a period that must not exceed 12 consecutive calendar months.

2. The following 10 departments were merged on 01 April 2020 to coincide with budget appropriations for the 2020/21 financial year:

No.	Departments that Merged	New Merged Departments
1.	Agriculture	Rural Development and Land Reform	Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
2.	Communications	Telecommunications and Postal Services	Communications and Digital Technologies
3.	Mineral Resources	Energy	Mineral Resources and Energy
4.	Sport and Recreation South Africa	Arts and Culture	Sports, Arts and Culture
5.	Trade and Industry	Economic Developments	Trade, Industry and Competition

3 (a) The process of placement has not yet been concluded. Consultations with organized labour are underway in the affected departments on the matching and placing of the staff of the merged departments. Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolution 1 of 2019 provides guidelines on the identification, transfer and placement of staff in a transparent, fair and inclusive process.

(b) The agreement provides that excess employees not matched and placed, be held additional to the post establishment. The employer must apply measures to enhance redeployment including training of employees additional to the establishment to meet the requirements of vacant posts.

A National Implementation Task Team comprising of the employer and organised labour under the auspices of the PSCBC will monitor implementation. Departmental Task Teams are established to facilitate the process of matching and placing.

End

Reply:

(a) Yes, the Department of Public Service and administration has specified criteria in place regarding the number of officials who should attend the committee meetings in the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.

(b)(i) The criteria for attending committee meetings in Parliament is included in the departmental Travel Policy which states the following “The number of employees attending official engagement on the same matter must be limited to 3 employees from the department. If the number exceeds 3, approval must be obtained from the Accounting Officer. The Accounting Officer, Deputy Directors-General or employees holding an equivalent rank, Ministerial advisors appointed in terms of section 12A of the Public Service Act and other EXCO members reporting directly to the Accounting Officer, people performing Parliamentary duty and the Chairperson and Secretary to the Public Service Remuneration Review Commission (PSSRS) do not contribute to the three (3) employees mentioned above.”

END

Reply:

(1)(a) What number of calls were logged with the Anti-Corruption Hotline during 2019-20?

During the 2019/2020 financial year, a total of 70 500 incoming calls were logged with the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH). 68 909 of the incoming calls include answered calls, unanswered calls and abandoned (dropped calls), enquiries, wrong numbers, children playing, abusive calls, calls with inadequate information, calls relating to institutions outside the Public Service, requests for feedback and additional information to a previous case reports. (The NACH keeps track of all incoming calls for monitoring the efficiency of the call centre).

(b) the specified calls resulted in (i) cases being opened,

1591 case reports were generated and referred to relevant departments/ public entities for investigation.

• 1007cases were relating to social grants fraud and all these cases were referred to SASSA for investigation. The monetary value of the cases referred to SASSA amounts to R216 799 29. 65, with the recovery of R106 263. 45;
• 76 cases were investigated by the PSC and these cases were concluded and closed on the NACH system; and
• 508 cases are outstanding and are being investigated.

(b)(ii) cases being prosecuted or, (iii) successful convictions.

The following table lists 18 cases inwhich officials were found guilty of misconduct.

ITEM NO	NAME OF DEPARTMENT	NATURE OF ALLEGATIONS	SANCTION IMPOSED
1	Water and Sanitation	Alleged abuse of state vehicle and company time	Final Written Warning
2	Water and Sanitation	Alleged abuse of Government resources	Final written warning and two months suspension without pay
3	Water and Sanitation	Alleged misuse of State vehicle	Final Written Warning
4	Water and Sanitation	Alleged misuse of state vehicle	Final Written Warning
5	Home Affairs	Alleged solicitation of bribes from foreign national in exchange for issuing them with fraudulent South African document	Dismissal
6	Home Affairs	Alleged unethical behaviour	Dismissal
7	Home Affairs	Alleged fraud	Final Written Warning and one month salary suspension.
8	Justice and Constitutional Development	Alleged absenteeism without submitting a leave form	An amount of R1 427.69 was recovered from the official in six monthly instalments.
9	Correctional Services	Alleged unethical behaviour	Demotion
10	Correctional Services	Alleged theft (3 officials)	Written warnings (2 X officials) Final Written warning (1 X official)
11	Correctional Services	Alleged submitting of fraudulent matric certificate	Resignation. A criminal case of fraud has been opened with the SAPS
12	Correctional Services	Alleged unethical behaviour	Written Warning
13	Correctional Services	Alleged unethical behaviour	Warning
14	Correctional Services	Alleged appointment irregularities	Dismissal
15	Home Affairs	Alleged abuse of government resources	Final Written Warning
16	SAPS	Alleged unethical behaviour	A case of theft has been opened with the SAPS
17	DOJ&CD	Alleged misuse of a state-owned vehicles	Final Written Warning and two months suspension without pay
18	Correctional Services	Alleged cover up of assault	42 days segregation and demotion. A criminal case of murder has been opened with the SAPS.

(iv) cases that are still open or pending;

508 cases are outstanding and are being investigated.

(2) whether he will make a statement on the matter?

The Public Service Commission has issued the information at a virtual media briefing held on 24 June 2020.

Reply:

Around 2002 the vision for a Single Public Service was conceived and since then work has been done towards the realisation thereof. The objective of this Single Public Service (now referred to as the Single Public Administration) was underpinned by the need to improve service delivery through harmonisation of norms and standards to align human resource, Governance, Information Communication Technology and related arrangements in all three spheres of government i.e national, provincial and local government, taking into account the constitutional imperatives. To this extent the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 was enacted which, to a limited extent, addressed some of the objectives of the Single Public Administration such as-

A) The mobility of staff between the spheres of government- sections 5 and 6 of the Public Administration Management Act make transfers and secondments across spheres of government possible;

b) The provision of service centres to provide services of the 3 spheres of government at one place is provide for in section 18 of the Public Administration Management Act;

c) The creation of a common ethos and culture of public service- principles of section 195 of the Constitution is recognised in section 4 of the Public Administration Management Act;

d) The provision for an anti-corruption strategy and standards of conduct- provided for in section 15 of the Public Administration Management Act;

e) Ensuring the creation of norms and standards for e-government governance, information and communication technology throughout the public administration- section 14 of the Public Administration Management Act; and

f) Providing for the professionalisation of the public administration through training and development- Chapter 4 of the Public Administration Management Act.

We are currently focused on the full implementation of the Public Administration Management Act, which includes promulgation of relevant regulations and may include amendments to address areas where there have been challenges experienced in its implementation or where new policy is required to be introduced. Once the work required to be done to inform such an amendment is completed, we will be better placed to indicate the details thereof.

Reply:

Questions 1 and 2

According to information received from National Treasury the salary adjustments granted to members at the various salary levels of the Senior Management Service (SMS), in real and nominal terms, between the 2009/10 and 2019/20 financial years, are reflected in the table below. No final decision on salary adjustments for the SMS for the 2020/21 financial year has been taken yet.

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	Total
Consumer Price Index	6,5%	3,8%	5,5%	5,5%	5,8%	5,6%	5,2%	6,3%	4,7%	4,6%	4,2%	57,7%
Cost of living adjustment (COLA)	Nominal salary growth (COLA)
Salary Level 13	10,5%	6,0%	5,0%	5,0%	5,6%	6,2%	5,5%	4,0%	5,5%	6,0%	5,2%	64,5%
Salary Level 14	10,5%	6,0%	5,0%	5,0%	5,6%	5,7%	5,5%	2,5%	5,5%	5,5%	5,2%	62,0%
Salary Level 15	10,5%	6,0%	5,0%	5,0%	5,6%	5,7%	5,5%	2,5%	5,5%	5,5%	5,2%	62,0%
Salary Level 16	10,5%	6,0%	5,0%	5,0%	5,6%	5,7%	5,5%	2,0%	5,5%	5,5%	5,2%	61,5%
	Real salary growth
Salary Level 13	3,8%	2,1%	-0,5%	-0,5%	-0,2%	0,6%	0,3%	-2,2%	0,8%	1,3%	1,0%	6,5%
Salary Level 14	3,8%	2,1%	-0,5%	-0,5%	-0,2%	0,1%	0,3%	-3,6%	0,8%	0,9%	1,0%	4,1%
Salary Level 15	3,8%	2,1%	-0,5%	-0,5%	-0,2%	0,1%	0,3%	-3,6%	0,8%	0,9%	1,0%	4.1%
Salary Level 16	3,8%	2,1%	-0,5%	-0,5%	-0,2%	0,1%	0,3%	-4,0%	0,8%	0,9%	1,0%	3,7%

Question 3

The number of Senior Management Service employees in the Public Service as on 30 June 2020, per salary level, is reflected in the following table:

Salary level	Number
13	6 805
14	2 173
15	503
16	126
Total	9 607

Data source: PERSAL

Excluding Defence and State Security Agency

Excluding resignations up to 30 June 2020

Reply:

1. The total allocated to the National School of Government was:

a) 2015/16 – R 140.4 million of which R47.8 million was transferred to the Trading Account. The trading Account then raised R 68.4 million of its own revenue.

2016/17 – R 88.6 million there was no allocation for the Trading Account. The Trading Account generated its own revenue of R137 million.

2017/18 – R 153.9 million of which R63.6 million was transferred to the Trading Account. The Trading Account generated its own revenue of R 115 million.

2018/19 – R 168.9 million of which R 72.8 million was transferred to the Trading Account. The Trading Account generated its own revenue of R 151.7 million.

2019/20 – R 187.9 million of which R84.8 million was transferred to the Trading Account. The Trading account generated its own revenue of R154.2 million

(b) from 1 April 2020 – R 190.6 million of which R93.7 million will be transferred to the Trading Account. The Trading Account budgeted revenue target has been revised downwards to R 75.2 million due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

 

2. In repositioning for the future, the NSG is expanding its mandate in three spheres of government, state owned entities and organs of state and support the outcomes of priority 1 of MTSF (professionalising public administration). In doing so, it is critical for the NSG to intervene DIRECTLY by providing or facilitate ETD programmes; INFLUENCE (content creation of public administration, quality of ETD); and REFER (where the NSG cannot offer ETD interventions, we refer public servants to other recognised training providers esp. HEIs). The five year strategy programmes places emphasis on the quality of our ETD interventions and of those who deliver on behalf of the NSG; as well as to embrace partnerships and collaborations with public and private institutions to support ETD interventions to achieve depth and scale. In this regard, we are co-branding programmes we deliver in partnership with HEIs to grow our visibility, impact and brand value. The NSG has concluded partnerships with the following HEIs:

The NSG Programme	HEI, Geographical Allocation and Programme Recognition
EDP Contract period: Oct 2019 – Oct 2022	University of the Free State (UFS): National Participants who hold a relevant Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent qualification) may apply for admission to the Post-Graduate Diploma (Public Administration and Management) and may receive exemption for one of the six modules.
EMDP and AMDP Contract period: 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2023	North West University (NWU): N.West, Mpumalanga & Limpopo EDP: Advanced standing (exemption) in relation to some 1st year modules of the BA Public Governance AMDP: Advanced standing (exemption) in relation to all 1st year modules of the BA Public Governance
	University of the Free State (UFS): Free State & KZN EDP: Exemption from 2 modules of the Higher Cert in Management Development AMDP: Exemption from 4 modules of the Higher Cert in Management Development
	University of Forte Hare through Fort Hare Solutions (FHS): E. Cape EDP: 81 credits toward the Higher Cert in Public Admin AMDP: 85 credits toward the Advanced Cert in Public Admin
	University of the Western Cape (UWC): W.Cape & N.Cape EDP: Exemption from one 1st year module of the B Admin degree AMDP: Exemption from one 3rd year module of the B Admin degree
	Tshwane University of Technology (TUT): National Departments & GP EDP: Exemption from 1st year Nat Diploma Public Management (to become Diploma in Public Affairs) AMDP: Exemption from 1 module of the BTech Public Management (to become Advanced Diploma in Public Affairs)

The National School of Government (the NSG) has been working in partnerships with public universities for more than 10 years for the delivery of training programmes such as Integrated Management Development Programme (IMDP) and for the Legislature programmes. The Universities we have partnered with previously on the IMDP programmes include the University of Stellenbosch, Nelson Mandela University, Vaal University of Technology, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, University of Pretoria, University of Limpopo, North West University (NWU), University of Forte Hare through Fort Hare Solutions (FHS), University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). On the Legislature programmes we have worked with WITS and University of Johannesburg.

The process of partnering with public universities is done through a tender process. New programmes are being explored with public universities and should bear fruits within two years – these will focus on economic governance, leadership in times of crisis (like Covid-19) and on a variety of 4iR programmes including Cyber Security and data analytics for policy making.

Over the last ten years, the training programmes in partnerships between NSG and Parliament have achieved the following based on successful participation by participants:

1. Certificate in Governance and Leadership - offered by the NSG in partnership with UNISA: Approximately 182 participants successfully completed the Certificate in Governance and Leadership; and
2. Graduate Certificate in Advanced Governance and Public Leadership - offered in partnership with the Wits University School of Governance as a short learning programme. The Graduate Certificate links to further qualification i.e. as determined by partnerships with HEIs and as determined by HEI admission requirements (PGDip in Governance and Public Leadership; MM in Governance and Public Leadership). Approximately 289 participants successfully completed the Graduate Certificate in Advanced Governance and Public Leadership.
3. Over the period of the last ten years 178 participants enrolled for the PGDIP in Governance and Public Leadership through WITS. Through the University of Johannesburg 41 participants enrolled in a Continuing Education Programme and 73 participants enrolled to complete a PGDiP at the University of Johannesburg.

3. The majority of facilitated courses offered by the NSG are accredited with a relevant quality assurance authority. These include:

• Higher Education Institutions
• Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies within the relevant Sector Education and Training Authorities, for example the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA); and
• Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO)

The School also offers non-credit bearing courses. The value of these courses lies in the agile development and up-skilling of public servants by developing knowledge, improving competency and enhancing practice. All courses offered by the School are approved through internal quality assurance processes. The NSG has 129 accredited and non-accredited courses/programmes of which 99 are accredited and 30 non-accredited. The details are as follows:

HEI approved	21
ETQA accredited	69
QCTO accredited	9
Total number of accredited courses/programmes (ETQA & QCTO):	99
Number of non-accredited courses/programmes	30
Grand total number of courses/programmes	129

The curriculum will be reviewed to align to the ETD needs for all salary levels (i.e. entry to exit). The NSG will also undertake the curriculum review using a peer review mechanism. The School is also building internal capacity for quality assurance and accreditation management. Furthermore, there is a process underway of establishing a Curriculum Review and Quality Assurance Committee which will also bring experts as part of continuing improvement of our curriculum and course delivery.

4. The NSG offered 9 self-paced open eLearning courses during the national lock down. Officials are able to self-register and enrol in the course or courses of their choice, which include:

1. Ethics for Internal Auditors
2. Ethics in the Public Service (Compulsory course)
3. Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP)
4. Introduction to Financial Management and Budgeting
5. Introduction to Leading Change
6. Introduction to Strategic Planning and Management
7. Know and live our Constitution
8. Policy and Procedure on Incapacity Leave and Ill-Health Retirement (PILIR)
9. Writing for Government: Basic writing skills for Executive Support

The implementation of the SMS Pre-entry Programme (Nyukela) continued during lockdown. Since the national lock down and up to the end of June 2020 there was a total of 9 156 enrolments on the NSG eLearning platform, 2166 of which were in the SMS Pre-entry Programme (Nyukela). Officials who are new to eLearning are able to self-enrol in Getting Started with eLearning, which prepares them for online learning.

The NSG in partnership with University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS) will deliver a two weeks online Seminar on Building Governance Capacity for South Africa through the ZOOM platform starting from the 13th July 2020.

The National School of Government (NSG), in partnership with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) will be launching in August 2020 a five-day gender course Leading Change by Championing Gender Equality. The course will be on the online platform and will cover the Mainstreaming of Gender, Gender Based Violence and Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting.

The NSG is in the process of entering into a MOA with TIPS to develop online courses on COVID-19 and the South African Economy and South Africa’s Industrial policy and action plan. The courses will be rolled out in quarter 3 of 2020/21 financial year.

Reply:

1. Shortly after the lockdown was announced, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration issued directions in respect of service delivery and business continuity for the Public Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. These directions were communicated to departments under cover of DPSA Circular 15 of 2020, dated 25 March 2020. In essence, the directions provided that each head of department must determine appropriate work arrangements for his or her department to ensure continued service delivery during the lockdown whilst also preventing the spread of COVID-19. These arrangements should also include remote working arrangements where possible.

Due to the unique circumstances and service delivery requirements of departments, these arrangements would differ from department to department. It should also be understood that the numbers of public servants working either from their normal workplaces or remotely from home, would fluctuate constantly due to changing circumstances and work requirements.

A survey was conducted in departments to determine work arrangements during the various lockdown levels. The responses received from departments to date are captured in Annexure A.

2. During the national lockdown all public servants will continue to receive their full salaries.

The salaries of public servants are protected in terms of the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1994. Section 34 of the Act provides that the salary of an employee shall not be reduced without his or her consent except in terms of section 38 of the Act (that deals with wrongly granted remuneration), an act of Parliament or a collective agreement.

3. As far as members of the Senior Management Service (SMS) are concerned, the directions issued by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration in respect of service delivery and business continuity referred to above, provided that all members of the SMS must be available during the lockdown to render the services required of them.

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department of Public Service and Administration purchased goods and services below the amount of R500 000.00 connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

1(a) SAFARMEX Medical Logistics, Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd, Tripharma (Pty) Ltd, BAJU Cleaning Chemicals, Breakthrough Co-operative Limited, Vitee General Dealer, Monabo Hygiene Service, Supra Latex (Pty) Ltd, Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd, Sikelela Medical and Dental Supplies, Mramazing The Stylist and Tebelelo Solutions.

1(b)

• SAFARMEX Medical Logistics - R69 893.55
• Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd. - R122 700.00
• Tripharma (Pty) Ltd. - R5 999.30
• BAJU Cleaning Chemicals. - R34 500.00
• Breakthrough Co-operative Limited. - R21 395.00
• Vitee General Dealer. - R72 500.00
• Monabo Hygiene Service. - R117 886.50
• Supra Latex (Pty) Ltd - R5 520.00
• Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd. - R407 855.00
• Sikelela Medical and Dental Supplies - R19 752.40
• Mramazing The Stylist - R3 600.00
• Tebelelo Solutions - R46 904.89

1(c)

• SAFARMEX Medical Logistics - 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 litre hand sanitizer.

• Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd. - 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves.

• Tripharma (Pty) Ltd. - Two Infrared Thermometers.

• BAJU Cleaning Chemicals. - Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles.

• Breakthrough Co-operative Limited. – 1100x Cloth Face Masks.

• Vitee General Dealer. - 2500x Packets of Disinfectant wipes.

• Monabo Hygiene Service. - Disinfecting Batho Pele Building.

• Supra Latex (Pty) Ltd - Four Infrared Thermometers.

• Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd. - PPE's and consumables.

• Sikelela Medical and Dental Supplies - 15x Wall mounted automatic hand sanitizer dispensers and 100x litres of sanitizer for the dispensers.

• Mramazing The Stylist – 240x Cloth Face Masks.
• Tebelelo Solutions - 120x 200ml hand sanitizer, 120x Face shields, 300x Aprons, 48x 1 Litre Handheld spray sanitiser, 100x 1 litre Hand Sanitiser to refill spray bottles and 120x Sanitising wipes.

(2)

• SAFARMEX Medical Logistics – Deviation approved.
• Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd. - No Deviation.
• Tripharma (Pty) Ltd. – Deviation approved.
• BAJU Cleaning Chemicals. – No Deviation.
• Breakthrough Co-operative Limited. – No Deviation.
• Vitee General Dealer. – No Deviation.
• Monabo Hygiene Service. – Deviation approved.
• Supra Latex (Pty) Ltd – No Deviation.
• Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd. – Deviation approved.
• Sikelela Medical and Dental Supplies – No Deviation.
• Mramazing The Stylist - R3 600.00 – No Deviation.
• Tebelelo Solutions - R46 904.89 – No Deviation.

2(a)(b)

• • SAFARMEX Medical Logistics – Deviation on the basis that it was the only supplier on National Treasury’s Transversal Contracts RT32-2019 and RT76-2019 who had stock from the excess of thirty suppliers engaged.
  • Tripharma (Pty) Ltd. – Deviation on the basis that from eleven (11) suppliers approached, only two responded with quotations instead of at least three quotation as prescribed by the SCM processes. Tripharma was the cheapest.
  • Monabo Hygiene Service. – Deviation on the basis that from the three (3) quotations received, two of the service providers did not quote according to specification.
  • Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd. – Deviation approval on the basis that Cognitive quoted an amount of R407 855.00 which was cheaper than the other three quotations received which exceeded R500 000.00. The second quote amounted to R662 707.50, the third R944 625.00 and lastly

R1 305 083.50. The quotations which exceeded R500 000.00 were not considered as they were above the “Request for Quotation” threshold.

(3)

• SAFARMEX Medical Logistics - 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 litre hand sanitizer for Batho Pele Building for the use by staff and visitors.
• Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd. - 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves for in-house Cleaners to use during cleaning operations.
• Tripharma (Pty) Ltd. - Two Infrared Thermometers to check body temperature of DPSA officials and visitors entering the Department.
• BAJU Cleaning Chemicals. - Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles for DPSA officials who make use of public transport.
• Breakthrough Co-operative Limited. – 1100x Cloth Face Masks for the issuing and use by DPSA officials.
• Vitee General Dealer. – 2500x Packets of Disinfectant wipes for the issuing thereof to DPSA officials for the disinfection of workstations and submissions.
• Monabo Hygiene Service. - Disinfecting Batho Pele Building. Disinfection of the building prior to officials returning to work in a staggered approach.
• Supra Latex (Pty) Ltd - Four Infrared Thermometers. Additional two thermometers for the use at Batho Pele Building and two for the use at the Thusong Service Centre located at Maponya Mall in Soweto.
• Cognitive Medicals (Pty) Ltd. - PPE's and consumables. Replenishment of PPE’s and consumables to be used by DPSA officials at Batho Pele Building.
• Sikelela Medical and Dental Supplies - 15x Wall mounted automatic hand sanitizer dispensers and 100x litres of sanitizer for the dispensers to be used at the Thusong Service Centre at Maponya Mall.
• Mramazing The Stylist – 240x Cloth Face Masks for officials at the Thusong Service Centre at Maponya Mall.
• Tebelelo Solutions - 120x 200ml hand sanitizer, 120x Face shields, 300x Aprons, 48x 1 Litre Handheld spray sanitiser, 100x 1 litre Hand Sanitiser to refill spray bottles and 120x Sanitising wipes for officials at the Thusong Service Centre at Maponya Mall.

(4) The Minister will make a statement on the matter should the need arise.

Reply:

1. For the current financial year only SMS members have been required to disclose their financial interests. In terms of regulation 18(1) and (2) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, SMS members are required to disclose their financial interests annually by 30 April. Out of 10 011 SMS members in the Public Service, 309 failed to disclose their financial interests by 30 April 2020 (243 in national departments, 14 in national government components and 52 in provincial departments).

2. a) Doing business outside the prescripts of the State: At the end of February 2020, 1544 public service employees were identified to be possibly conducting business with the State. Of these 1544 public service employees, 1111 were from Provincial Departments and 433 from National Departments. Letters were sent to relevant departments to take action against identified employees and to report investigation and disciplinary outcomes to the DPSA. The DPSA committed to present quarterly reports to the Forum of South African Director-Generals (FOSAD) and Ministers and Members of Executive Councils Meeting (MINMEC) to monitor implementation progress. As it is a criminal offence for Public Service employees to conduct business with the State, the DPSA had interaction with the South African Police Service to investigate confirmed cases with the aim of prosecuting offenders.

	A	B
	Provincial Departments	Number of Public Servants listed on CSD conducting business with an organ of state as at end of Feb 2020
1	KwaZulu-Natal	357
2	Gauteng	117
3	North West	40
4	Eastern Cape	118
5	Limpopo	138
6	Mpumalanga	104
7	Free State	93
8	Northern Cape	101
9	Western Cape	43
	Total Provincial Departments	1111
	Total National Departments	433
	Grand Total	1544

(ii) Conflict of interest and (b) potential conflict of interest: In terms of regulation 18(5) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, the Head of Department and the Executive Authority are required to submit the disclosed financial interests to the Public Service Commission (PSC) by 31 May 2020. It will only be thereafter that the PSC can determine if there is potential or actual conflict of interest regarding the disclosed financial interests, as per their mandate.

Reply:

1. The Department of Public Service and Administration will not be offering any Covid-19 financial or other relief to small businesses as this is not within the mandate of the department to provide relief to any private organisation.

2. Not applicable as no financial or other relief will be provided by the department.

Reply:

a) Yes, He is currently employed in the Public Service

b) He is not in a Ministerial office, but in the Presidency, employed as a Special Advisor to the Deputy President

 

Reply:

(1) (a) Tag A provide the names of officials from National Departments who have been suspended for more than 60 days.

(b) Tag B provide the names of officials from Provincial Departments who have been suspended for more than 60 days.

(2) Tags A and B provide reasons for each disciplinary action instituted against each official.

(3) Tag A and B provide (a) the period and (b) the cost of each suspension.

(4) Tag A and B provide the reasons why the cases have not being concluded.

(5) These responses are those of the departments which have submitted their information to the Department

Reply:

1. The Department of Public Service and Administration did not publish any tenders in relation to the COVID 19 pandemic. The Department facilitated the procurement requirements in relation to the COVID 19 pandemic through a Request for Quotation (RFQ) process.

1(a) Not applicable.

1(b) Not applicable.

1(c) Not applicable.

1. Not applicable.

2(a) Not applicable.

2(b) Not applicable.

1. Not applicable.

1. The Minister will make a statement on the matter should the need arise.

Reply:

1. The Public Service as an employer has made a number of interventions to reprioritise funding during the difficult and challenging economic conditions we are currently experiencing as a nation.

All posts in the Public Service are evaluated through the prescribed job grading system. The remuneration for a post is determined on the basis of a number of factors including, but not limited to, the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and the need to recruit and retain employees with appropriate skills and competencies.

All Directors-General in the Public Service are remunerated according to a standard salary structure that consists of a number of elements constituting total cost-to-employer packages (notches). The salary of R1 978 533 that was indicated for the Director-General of the Department of Small Business Development is the minimum notch of the standard salary level applicable to Directors-General.

1. With regard to vacant senior management service (SMS) posts, it is important to note that once an SMS post becomes vacant, irrespective of the notch the previous incumbent held, the remuneration of the post reverts to the minimum notch of the salary level attached to the post. These salary levels are determined through the job grading system and ad hoc changes or downgrades to levels would severely compromise the job grading and remuneration regimes of the Public Service.

The salaries of public servants are protected in terms of the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1994. Section 34 of the Act provides that the salary of an employee shall not be reduced without his or her consent except in terms of section 38 of the Act (that deals with wrongly granted remuneration), an act of Parliament or a collective agreement. The size of the Public Service wage bill is being managed through a number of initiatives but the reduction of salaries of individual employees is not being considered.

1. No statement on this matter is considered necessary at this point in time.

Reply:

(a)  Yes.

(b) Government’s position in this regard is to to slow down the growth of the public service wage bill as presented by the Minister of Finance in the 2020 Budget speech.

(c) The employer has tabled an agenda item, namely: Management of the Public Service Wage Bill for discussion with organised labour admitted to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council on 25/02/2020 which is now following council processes.

(d) As indicated above, the employer is engaging with admitted trade unions at the PSCBC on the 2018 wage agreement and engagements are ongoing.

Reply:

(a) the date on which the equipment was purchased,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – 19 March 2020
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – 23 March 2020
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – 3 April 2020
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – 20 April 2020

(b) the name of the supplier where the equipment was purchased,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – SAFARMEX Medical Logistics.
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – Ment Medical and Waste (Pty) Ltd.
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – Tripharma (Pty) Ltd.
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – BAJU Cleaning Chemicals.

(c) the monetary value of the purchase,

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – R69 893.55
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – R122 700.00
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – R5 999.30
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – R34 500.00

(d) the branding that appeared on the purchased equipment, including the branding of any political party, and

• Automated hand sanitizer dispensers and sanitizer - Germkill
• 1000x Masks, 1000x Aprons and 1000x Gloves – No branding
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – Shenzen BSX Technology Electronics C0.Ltd (BSX815)
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – No branding

(e)(i) how and (ii) where was the purchased equipment distributed?

• 50x Automated hand sanitizer dispensers - dispensers mounted on walls throughout the Batho Pele House Building for usage by all employees and persons entering the building and 200x 1 liter hand sanitizer – sanitizer bottles used to refill the various dispensers and Cleaners’ spray bottles.
• 1000x Masks issued to staff who attend meetings, Cleaners and front office workers, 1000x Aprons issued to Cleaners to perform cleaning activities on a daily basis and 1000x Gloves – issued to frontline staff and Cleaners on a daily basis,
• Two Infra-Red Thermometers – utilize for screening employees’ temperature prior to meetings and when entering the building.
• Hand Sanitizer, 600x 200ml bottles – intended for frontline officers and to be issued to employees who travel with public transport, when they are required to return to the office during alert level 4 and onwards.

REPLY:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent Constitutional body, accountable to the National Assembly. It is therefore not an entity or body reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Its budget was, prior to 2020/21 financial year, appropriated through the MPSA. With effect from 1 April 2020, the PSC’s budget is appropriated through the PSC allocated vote, and not through the MPSA.

The PSC has to date, not received any donation of personal protection equipment from any source. The details of the purchase for twenty two (22) infrared thermometers are as follows:

a) the date on which the equipment was purchased: 16 April 2020;

b) the name of the supplier where the equipment was purchased: Baitsanape Laboratory Supplies;

c) the monetary value of the purchase: R55 660.00 (VAT inclusive);

(d) the branding that appeared on the purchased equipment including the branding of any political party: Not Applicable; and

(e) (i) how was the purchased equipment distributed: Distribution to the All Provincial Offices PSC was through the contracted courier service company called Skynet South Africa; and

(ii) Where was the purchased equipment distributed? Two instruments per provinces were distributed to the nine (9) Provincial Offices of the PSC using the courier services for only eight offices outside the Gauteng Province. The Provincial Offices of the PSC are located as follows:

• Eastern Cape Provincial Office in King Williams Town;
• Free State Provincial Office in Bloemfontein;
• KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Office in Pietermaritzburg;
• Limpopo Provincial Office in Polokwane;
• Mpumalanga Provincial Office in Nelspruit;
• Northern Cape Provincial Office in Kimberly;
• North West Provincial Office in Mmabatho;
• Western Cape Provincial Office in Cape Town; and
• Gauteng Provincial Office in Johannesburg,

 

REPLY:

The National School of Government reporting to the Minister of Department Public Service and Administration purchased sanitisers

1. 11 March 2020
2. The NSG has a service provider (Masana Hygiene Services (PTY) Ltd.) that provides cleaning, maintenance and hygiene services of its building. As part of their cleaning service contract, an addendum was added requesting them to supply the NSG building with sanitizers.
3. The total amount was R13 314.61
4. No. There was no branding of any political party
5. (i) The sanitisers were purchased through request for quotations process

(ii) The sanitisers were used at the lifts and floor entrances

REPLY:

The CPSI has not purchased any personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(c) NA

(d) N/A

(e)(i) N/A (ii) N/A

Reply:

No

REPLY:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent Constitutional body, accountable to the National Assembly. It is therefore not an entity or body reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Its budget was, prior to 2020/21 financial year, appropriated through the MPSA. With effect from 1 April 2020, the PSC’s budget is appropriated through the PSC allocated vote, and not through the MPSA.

The PSC has to date, not received any donation of personal protection equipment from any source.

REPLY:

The National School of Government reporting to the Minister of Public Service and Administration

No. The department did not receive any donation of personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

1. No. Not applicable
2. No. Not applicable
3. No. Not applicable
4. No. Not applicable
5. (i) No. Not applicable

(ii) No. Not applicable

REPLY:

The CPSI has not received any donation of personal protection equipment since 1 February 2020.

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(c) NA

(d) N/A

(e)(i) N/A (ii) N/A

Reply:

1. For purposes of this report, departments who received Auditor-General findings of “Disclaimer” and “Adverse with Findings” may be regarded as underperforming departments. For the past three financial years the following six (6) departments (two national and four provincial) may be regarded as underperforming:

No	Department	2018/19	2017/18	2016/17
1	Department of Cooperative Governance		X
2	Department of Environmental Affairs		X	X
3	FS Office of the Premier	X	X
4	FS Agriculture and Rural Development		X	X
5	FS Sport Arts and Recreation		X
6	GP Human Settlements	X

2. No performance bonuses were paid to the HODs or acting HODs of the six (6) affected departments for the past three financial years.

Reply:

1. With reference to the recent announcement by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech regarding the reduction of the public sector wage bill, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration has developed the following strategies to give effect to the announcement:

(a) In terms of the respective Ministers, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration is not responsible for the Public Sector. The strategy is to reduce the cost of Public Administration in terms of minimizing the spending on the following cost drivers among others that have been identified:

i) Litigations against the state;

ii) Information and Communication Technology (ICT);

iii) Office accommodation;

iv) Corruption and fraud;

v) Use of Consultants;

vi) Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure;

vii) Introduce reforms in the procurement and supply chain management processes; and

viii) The wage-bill.

The strategy is to create consistency in government wide remuneration through the following measures:

i) Curbing benefits and conditions of service that have proliferated.

ii) Consolidating efficiency measures in allowances, overtime and contract appointments.

iii) Introducing cost effectiveness and efficiencies in the guide for Members of the Executive in terms of office accommodation, cell phone allowances, securities and travel benefits.

iv) Extending such cost effectiveness and efficiencies to State Owned Entities, Boards and the Executive of Entities.

(b) The wage bill is currently at R629 billion and is unsustainable. Savings garnered from the above will allow increased investment in goods and services.

Definite amounts from the above will emerge as measures are put in place.

(c) Many of these are subject to legislation and collective bargaining in the short to medium-term.

2. Yes, all categories of employees in the public service who meet the qualifying criteria in terms of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) for the 2019/20 financial year will be paid their performance bonuses, within the reduced percentage allocation for remuneration budgets for the payment of performance bonuses for all categories of employees with effect from 1 April 2019.

Reply:

The response to the questions above is depicted in the table below. Please note that on the payment system there are no distinctions between payments of capped leave and unused leave. Consequently, the DPSA cannot report on capped leave specifically. This is a shortcoming that I have already addressed with my colleague the Minister of Finance.

	2018/2019 financial year	2019/2020 financial year
Implementation Area	number of officials paid	number of days payment made	total amount paid out	number of officials paid	number of days payment made	total amount paid out
National Departments	53	574.18	R7 512 648. 67	61	862.71	R7 320 156. 28
Provincial Government	632	17 531.63	R56 932 737.96	679	17 710.38	R64 902 746.42

Reply:

The DPSA recognises the seriousness of public service employees involved in fraud and corruption and is putting the necessary processes in place. In doing so, it must be kept in mind that corruption and fraud investigations are the sole mandate of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and that of discipline management the mandate of the respective heads of department. As such, discipline management is inherently a decentralised process.

In terms of section 15 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 (PAMA), misconduct emanating from criminal investigations is a DPSA responsibility. It is therefore envisaged that the newly established Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit will establish a central disciplinary database to monitor, track and record public servants under investigation for misconduct which may include corruption and fraud.

As such, the Unit will play an important role (as contemplated in section 15(4)(f) of the PAMA) to coordinate the involvement of the two identified stakeholders in a decentralised process, so as to able to paint a holistic picture regarding the involvement of public service employees in fraud and corruption.

Reply:

There is no moratorium on the filling of funded vacant posts in the Public Service.

End

Reply:

In terms of section 12A of the Public Service Act, 1994 and the dispensation for the appointment and remuneration of persons (Special Advisers) appointed to executive authorities on grounds of policy consideration. Executive Authorities must submit proposals/recommendations for the appointment of individual Special Advisers to the Minister for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA) for approval of the individual’s compensation level before the appointment is effected.

(a) On 03 and 24 July 2019, I approved the compensation levels for Advocate Menzi Simelane and Mr. Mo Shaik respectively, as Special Advisers to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

(b) The MPSA is not responsible for the approval of appointments of Special Advisers but for the approval of the compensation levels of Special Advisers before appointment.

End

Reply:

The Minister for the Public Service and Administration does not exercise any authority to appoint staff in departments other than be the Department of Public Service and Administration.

The executive Ethics Code issued in terms of the Executive Member’s Ethics Act, 1998 regulates the conduct of Members of the Executive. The Public Service Commission may also be the appropriate institution to deal with this matter.

End

Reply:

The Guide for Members of the Executive was approved by the President effective from 20 November 2020. The benefits due to former Members was removed from the Guide and the process to review same was left to Parliament to deal with as it is a Scheme that is administered by Parliament and the costs emanating therefrom is borne by Parliament.

End

Reply:

(a) The 2019 Incentive Policy Framework for employees in the general Public Service, provides for the payment of non-pensionable performance bonuses to employees appointed in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994.

The other sectors (e.g. Correctional Services, Police Service, Educators, Defence) have their own sectoral unique performance incentive schemes.

(b) My Department does not have information on the amount budgeted by departments on the payment of performance bonuses. However, the actual expenditure incurred in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years is as follows:

(i) (aa) and (bb)

2017/18	2018/19
R1.54 billion	R2.6 billion

Source: PERSAL

Excludes National Defence Force and State Security Agency

(ii) The actual expenditure to be incurred on payment of performance bonus in recognition of performance in the 2019/20 (current) financial year will only be available in the 2020/21 financial year.

Reply:

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has not done business with any of the persons, companies and or trusts as listed in any of the past five (5) financial years or since 1 April 2019.

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

1. The National Building Regulations recognise at least one of three methods of satisfying compliance to the Building Regulations. Those are:

• Rational Design, as designed by a Professional Engineer,
• Compliance to “deem-to-satisfy” rules as set out in the South African National Standards (SANS) 10400 series, or
• Agrément South Africa certification.

The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), in its mandate to protect the interests of housing consumers and ensure that builders comply with the prescribed building industry standards, assesses the quality of construction of homes, subsidised and non-subsidised, based on their satisfaction of at least one of the three requirements indicated above.

The NHBRC provides general guidance on the implementation of Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs) and condition of IBTs (by means of a published database). However, it does not provide assurance of the IBTs’ fitness-for-purpose; and Agrément South Africa does so.

In simple terms, the National Building Regulations do not only consider the conventional “brick-and-mortar” method of construction as the only solution, but recognises three methods, including innovative technologies.

The choice of an IBT to use, lies with the owner(s) of the product, or in a case of public infrastructure projects, with the specifiers (at planning and design phase).

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), through its Standards Division, develops, publishes and maintains the South African National Standards (such as SANS 10400), which are referenced in legislation, as one of the three methods of satisfying compliance to National Building Regulations. The SABS also develops standards for the so-called “conventional methods”, and not the innovative solutions.

(2) In terms of the objects of the Agrément South Africa Act, 2015 (Act No 11 of 2015), Section 4 (b) and (c), ASA is empowered to:

- “support and promote the process of integrated socio-economic development in the Republic as it relates to the construction industry”; and also to

• “support and promote the introduction and use of certified non-standardised construction related products or systems in the local or international market.

This speaks to the issue raised by the Honourable Member relating to assisting South Africans to be entrepreneurs and to get their innovative products into the market.

This has been done with some relative success. Many non-standardised products certified by ASA have found their way into the market, but also we realise that we have not made the strides that we would like to. In this vein, we have engaged with ASA to come up with proposals as to how to further assist young entrepreneurs and to expand the footprint of the use of Innovative Building Technologies.

To this effect, ASA has established in the current financial year the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) which will serve to promote to the industry the use of innovative building technologies. We expect ASA to come up with proposals on how best to assist young entrepreneurs by, among other things, forming strategic partnerships with funding agencies, in order to promote socio-economic development by having more innovative products in the markets and also ensure the uptake thereof, which will ensure the viability of businesses.

Reply:

 1. (a) The general rules for the awarding of performance bonuses are contained in the Incentive Policy Framework issued by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration. Performance bonuses are awarded to employees who receive a performance rating of significantly above the expectation. The authority to grant performance bonuses resides with the Executive Authority or as delegated to the Head of the Department.

Therefore, the DPSA is not in a position to respond to the question regarding the grounds for the payment of bonuses by departments who recorded adverse audit outcomes and/or did not reach key performance indicators in the past three financial years.

According to the published reports of the Auditor General for the past five years (i.e. 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018), the National Department of Environmental Affairs and the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development each received an adverse audit outcome for the 2016/2017 performance cycle (Annexure B on Audit findings attached). The DPSA will write to the affected departments to request an explanation.

(b) The two affected departments, (National Department of Environmental Affairs and Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) paid performance bonuses during the 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 financial years.

(c) The amount paid for performance bonuses for the last three financial years was R45 769 407.95 and R5 036 752.95, respectively.

Name of Department	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019	Total
National Department of Environmental Affairs	*R14588100.00	R16189906.95	14991400.00	R45769407.95
Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development	*R1555018.62	R2474891.16	R1006684.17	R5036752.95

*Adverse audit outcome

2. The DPSA Circular dated 23 January 2013, requires all departments to capture information on the signing of performance agreements for members of the Senior Management Service and non-SMS employees on or before 31 June annually.

(a) According to the information extracted from the PERSAL system, all departments have captured their information on the signing of performance agreements for the 2018/2019 performance cycle.

(b) The DPSA monitors and report on the level of compliance with the signing of performance agreements. Letters will be sent to non-compliant departments, when such is identified.

(c) Performance assessments are conducted based on the signed performance agreement which contains the performance measures. The performance assessments are subjected to a half-yearly and annual review. The performance ratings or scores are further subjected to a moderation process and recommendations are made to the relevant Executive Authority on the outcome of performance.

(d) Departments have awarded performance bonuses to eligible employees. The detailed list of performance bonuses paid by departments is attached as Annexure A.

2. Government departments paid performance bonuses for the 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 financial years. The detailed list of the performance bonuses paid by departments is attached as Annexure A as extracted from the PERSAL system.  

Reply:

The Cabinet has directed that the Ministers of Finance, Public Works and Infrastructure and Public Service and Administration further engage on the financial implications of the Guide for Members of the Executive (referred to as the Ministerial Handbook).

a) The engagements have been finalised and proposals are being considered by the President and it is expected to be concluded shortly.

b) (i) The substantive matters that the Cabinet identified are-

• Vehicle purchases for official use;
• Tariffs in relation to privately owned vehicles used for official business by Members;
• Residential upgrades; and
• Staffing in Ministerial Offices.

(ii) Further details will be provided once decisions on any revisions are effected.

 

Reply:

1. The personnel suitability checks as prescribed by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration emanate from the National Vetting Strategy that resides with the State Security Agency. Departments keep their own databases on criminal records and information is not captured on the PERSAL system. A similar question was posed to me, when it was asked in the NCOP in relation to the murder of a 19 year old student of the University of Cape Town. My response to the question entailed that the Department of Public Service and Administration will be embarking on a number of initiatives to address the matter which includes, but is not limited to, the creation of a database of employees who have criminal records with the assistance of other relevant departments.

5. In terms of the provisions of the Public Service Regulations an Executive Authority must subject an employee or a candidate for employment to personnel suitability checks as directed by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration. The personnel suitability checks contemplated in Regulation 57(1) (c) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 shall consist of the following:

(i) Criminal record checks

(ii) Citizenship verification

(iii) Financial checks

(iv) Qualification/ Study verification

(v) Previous employment verification (Reference checks)

Should a verification confirm a criminal record, the department has to consider the relevance thereof to the person’s suitability for employment in a particular post on the following basis:

(a) The nature and severity of the negative finding.

(b) The relevance of the finding to the job duties and work environment in question.

(c) The amount of time that has passed since the negative incident and the applicant’s subsequent behaviour since then.

(d) The record of the applicant in respect of multiple incidents of misbehaviour and convictions.

A department’s decision to reject an application on the aforesaid grounds must, however, conform to the concept of a fair administrative action as provided for in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000.

Reply:

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (PSC)

Question 1

(1)(a) The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent Constitutional body, accountable to the National Assembly. It is therefore not an entity or body reporting to the Minister of Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Its budget is appropriated via the MPSA.

D1(a)(a) R238,679.79

1(b)(b) R229,481.00

1(c)(c) R255,660.47

Question 2

2 (i)

SUPPLIER	B-BBEE STATUS	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
		R'	R'	R'
Kone Staffing Solutions	100%	10,574.56	-	-
Human Communications	51%	86,270.18	21,939.58	15,870.69
Ultimate Recruitment Selection	100%	42,909.68	31,849.18	149,714.25
Basadzi Communication	100%	21,711.47	153,693.32	70,370.13
Lokoko Industries Primary Co-operative LTD	100%	73,548.46	-	-
Government Printing Works	100%	3,665.44	15,000.00	1,765.40
Black X Trading	100%	-	6,998.92	-
Digipaper Concepts CC	100%	-	-	17,940.00
TOTAL:		238,679.79	229,481.00	255,660.47

2(ii) No outdoor advertising cost were incurred during the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.

2(c) No outdoor advertising cost were incurred during the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION (DPSA)

REPLY:

(1) (a) (i) (aa), (bb) and (cc) Zero amount

(2) (a) (i) (ii) (c) None

CENTRE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE INNOVATION (CPSI)

(1)(a) (ii) (aa) (bb) (cc) The Centre for Public Service Innovation has not spent any amount on advertising in any of the financial years.

(2) (b) (i) (ii) N/A

(c) N/A

NATIONAL SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT (NSG)

REPLY:

(1)(a)(ii) reporting to him

(aa) No. There was no outdoor advertising done for financial year 2016-17

(bb) No. There was no outdoor advertising done for financial year 2017-18

(cc) No. There was no outdoor advertising done for financial year 2018-19

(2)(b)

(i) The was no expenditure incurred for outdoor advertising for financial years  2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19

(ii) There was no expenditure incurred for outdoor advertising for financial years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19

(2)(c) There was no outdoor advertising done for financial years 216-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19

Reply:

(a) The Department of Public Service and Administration has not incurred any costs related to the inauguration of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, held in Pretoria on 25 May 2019.

(b) The Department of Public Service and Administration has not incurred any costs related to the State of the Nation Address held in Cape Town on 20 June 2019.

(i) N/A

(ii) N/A

Reply:

1. Appointees appointed to the Middle Management Service (MMS) (salary levels 11 and 12) and Senior Management Service (SMS) (salary levels 13 to 16) are remunerated by means of Total Cost-to-Employer (TCE) packages, which include the following macro benefits:

1.1 Employer contribution to the Government Employees Pension Fund.

1.2 Employer contribution to a registered medical aid scheme.

1.3 13th cheque.

1.4 Housing benefit.

2. The annual average (mean) TCE packages of MMS and SMS members, per salary level, per national and provincial department, as at 1 July 2019, are as follows:

	Cadre	Salary level	Government Sphere	Annual average TCE package
1	MMS	11	National	R779 802
			Provincial	R779 435
		12	National	R922 750
			Provincial	R947 802
2	SMS	13	National	R1 078 267
			Provincial	R1 076 222
		14	National	R1 285 722
			Provincial	R1 269 755
		15	National	R1 557 121
			Provincial	R1 533 755
		16	National	R1 974 067
			Provincial	R1 984 885

Source: PERSAL (Julu 2019 data)