Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) During December 2020, there was a total of 13 doctors to conduct medical assessments for SASSA clients. These doctors were utilised at a ratio of 40 clients per doctor per session. As from January 2021, this number has increased to 28 doctors in the province, and the maximum number of clients each doctor can attend to in a single session has been increased to 80.

(ii)The doctors are not confirmed to a single district municipality, but are allocated to specific areas as and when required.

b) A total of 108 assessments were done in December 2020 in Hantam local municipality as follows:

Calvinia 28

Brandvlei 20

Niewoudville 21

Williston 26

Fraserburg 13

Reply:

1. SASSA does not carry information as to whether an applicant for a grant is homeless or not. Any South African who meets the qualifying criteria for a grant is eligible to apply for, and receive the social grant.

Applicants for the R350 special relief grant also do not have to provide addresses, so it is not known how many of these clients are homeless.

2. The grants for all approved grant beneficiaries are paid on a monthly basis. All social grants are paid into a bank account, and can be accessed by the client at his/her convenience. Even the SASSA/SAPO card is a bank account into which the funds are paid.

Clients who receive the R350 special relief grant and who do not have bank accounts, collect these at the post office. As at end January, there are approximately 590 000 clients who have not yet accessed their grant from the post office. The reasons for them not collecting the funds is not known. However, all have been sent messages to remind them to collect the available funds.

3. Application channels for all social grants are available for every citizen. SASSA has offices throughout the country at which application can be made. There is no discrimination against citizens who are homeless.

One of the challenges which may be experienced by homeless applicants may be the inability to produce the required documents, as legislated in the Social Assistance Act, 2004. However, for all required documents, provision is made in the Act for an affidavit to be provided as an alternative, so this should not prevent eligible citizens from applying.

In addition to the above channels, applications may be lodged on line. SASSA is also exploring alternative channels through which applications can be lodged, including whatsapp, following the success of the process introduced for the R350 special relief grant.

Reply:

When the special relief grant of R350 per month was introduced, it was expected that the majority of the applicants would have the grant paid into their personal bank accounts. The second option was to pay through mobile money to a cell phone. However, on implementation, it was found that the number of clients who provided banking details was relatively small, while the process to positively link a cell phone number to a specific client, as required by National Treasury before any payments could be made to that number, did not yield the desired results.

Of the total approved grants paid to date, approximately 66% are paid through SAPO, 30% through direct deposits into bank accounts and less than 5% through mobile money. This has placed great strain on the post office infrastructure, and has resulted in long queues outside post offices every day.

Initiatives implemented to try and manage the queues at post offices include the following:

• The placement of volunteers at the busier post offices to assist with queue management ensuring that social distancing is maintained, and reminding all to keep their masks on at all times;
• Scheduling clients through sending SMS notifications as to when they should collect their money. The recent SMS notifications have included the name of the post office at which the client should collect, if this information is available from previous collection history;
• Encouraging clients to change the payment method by capturing their bank account details on the SASSA SRD website; and
• SAPO has introduced staggering of collection according the last 3 digits of the ID number, so, for example those whose ID numbers end in 080 and 081 are allocated a specific date; those whose IDs end in 082 and 083 another day, and so on.

With the extension of the grant for a further 3 month period, the communication to clients to advise them to capture their banking details on the website has been strengthened.

Reply:

a) A total of 1 383 clients in the Northern Cape did not receive their grants in January 2021. These were clients whose grants were approved, but who failed the bank verification process. Every new applicant, or client who changes the method of payment provides SASSA with the bank account details. Once this is captured on the system, the information is subject to a bank verification process, to ensure that the grant is paid into the account which belongs to that client and that the account is open. Where the account fails the verification process, the account cannot be credited. This process is in place to ensure that the grant is paid to the right person.

b) The process is system driven and the failure may be as a result of incorrect information provided; the client providing the details of an account which is in their spouse’s name; the account being closed by the time the credit should be processed or errors made during capturing.

c) The accounts will be credited once the information on the system has been corrected. This is done by the clients being contacted and requested to bring in a copy of their bank statement so that the record can be updated. Once the record is corrected, the payment is extracted, and the account credited, during the next payment cycle. The amount credited will then include the amount from when the grant was approved, or from the date of the last payment, to ensure that the client is not prejudiced.

Reply:

The Department of Social Development work very closely with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services and the Judiciary in child protection matters as mandated by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. The Act mandates the two departments to work together to care, protect and develop children. In order to successfully implement the Act it is important that officials from the two departments, who are key in the implementation of the Act should have a common understanding of the Act. It is against this background that capacity building sessions are held with the officials from the two departments.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development facilitated refresher training in 2018/19 on the submission of information to the Register of the National Child Protection Register in conjunction with the Registrar of the National Child Protection Register. This training targeted officials from the Department of Social Development in all the provinces.

Furthermore there is a structure that has been established in terms of the Children’s Act which is National Child Care and Protection Forum (NCCPF) where the two departments are key. This structure serves as a platform to engage on child protection issues of which Protection orders with regard to rights of children are one of those discussed to ensure common understanding and correct interpretation thereof.

The two departments established an inter-sectoral steering committee on Foster Care which provide a platform to share information, reflect on lessons learned, implementation challenges and strategies to address these challenges.

Reply:

a) The following municipalities have active Local Drug Action Committees:

Northern Cape Province

Municipality	Date committee was established	Number of times committee met since 1 January 2018	Contact details of committee secretariat	Reasons some municipalities don’t have committee
Kai Garib Municipality	Established and constituted in April 2019	The committee has met two times per quarter since April 2019, the last meeting was February 2020.	Name of the LDAC: Kenhardt Chairperson: Estelle Fritz Contact Details: 073 257 0024	None
Tsantsabane Municipality	Established and constituted in April 2019	The committee has met two times per quarter since April 2019, the last meeting was February 2020.	Name of the LDAC: Postmasburg No number provided	None
J.T.G District Ga Segonyana/Joe Morolong Municipality	Established and constituted in 2009	The committee has met on a quarterly basis since 2018, the last meeting was held in 18 October 2020.	Chairperson: Segomotsi Pule Contact Details: 079 8750 231	None
Francis Baard District Phokwane Municipality	Established and constituted in 2012.	The committee has met on a quarterly basis since 2018. Dates of their last meetings: 17 May 2020 12 August 2020 15 November 2020	Name of the LDAC: Pampierstadt Chairperson: Gloria Shuping Contact Details: 072 499 5205	None
Namakwa District Nama Khoi Municipality	Established and constituted in June 2019.	The committee has met on a monthly basis since June 2019, the last meeting was 6 March 2020.	Name of LDAC: Komaggas Welfare Forum Chairperson: Ms. Christine Cloete Contact Details: 076 715 9666	None
Karoo Hoogland Municipality:	Established and constituted in 2018.	The last meeting was in February 2020.	Name of LDAC: Williston Welfare Forum Chairperson: Ms. M. Klaaste Contact Details: 053 391 3025	None

e) Pixley Ka Seme District:

Currently no established LDAC Committee

The sub-program coordinator reported the following reasons that led to non-establishment of LDAC in the district. Programs aimed at community development with regards substance abuse were held integrated with Stakeholders i.e. Carnarvon Community (Kareeberg Municipality) and Richmond Community (Ubuntu Municipality) and Prieska (Siyathemba Municipality). During preparatory meetings it was decided that LDAC needs to be established to ensure follow up on issues raised but no commitment was showed by the very stakeholders who sat in those meetings, especially the Special Programs in the Office of the Mayor.

Failure to get support to the Office of the Mayor creates challenges for the Coordinator and in most instances, they will always show reluctance or lengthy of excuses or even postponement of meetings planned.

The Covid-19 pandemic also brought about its challenges and made it impossible to make follow ups as planned.

North West Province

Municipality	Date committee was established	Number of times committee met since 1 January 2018	Contact details of committee secretariat	Reasons some municipalities don’t have committee
Moretele municipality	18 July 2018	Once a quarter 24 May 2019 18 July 2019 15 November 2019 21 February 2020 AGM 13 MMARCH 2020	Social Development 082 0417 092	The meetings were not held quarterly during to COVID 19.
Moses Kotane municipality	The committee was revived in 2018 and 2019	The committee met in the following dates: 14/08/2018 26/09/2019 09/10/2019 20/11/2019	Social Development 0820431162	None
Kgetleng Municipality	Date LDAC was established 15 March 2020	Number of times committee met since 2018 15/03/2020 10/05/2018 14/06/2018 12/07/2018 03/04/2019 05/06/2019 03/07/2019 07/08/2019 04/09/2019 04/03/2020	Chairperson- Ms Joyce Thoane- 0820443357 Secretariat is circulating	The meetings were not held in 2020 due to Covid 19 and other competing activities. The office will revive the LDAC in 2021/22
Rustenburg municipalaity	Date LDAC was established 2012	Number of times committee met since 2018 2018 May was last meeting	Ms Motshegoa - 0820462538	It is established although meetings have not been held as forums were not active due to Covid 19 Lockdown levels

e) Madibeng municipality: The office intended to have an integrated forum during 2020 but was not able to convene meetings.

LIMPOPO PROVINCE

Municipality	Date committee was established	Number of times committee met since 1 January 2018	Contact details of committee secretariat	Reasons some municipalities don’t have committee
Thulamela municipality	established on 7 June 2017	committee has met ten times since January 2018	The Secretariat is Ms Dudu Baloyi at 076 482 8277.	None
Bela –Bela municipality	The committee was established in September 2016	The committee met six times.	Ms K Nkuna at 014 736 6482.	None
Mogalakwena municipality	The committee was established in June 2016	The committee met six times.	contact person is Mr F Mmola at 079 079 8442.	None
Mookgopong municipality	The committee was established in May 2015	The committee met four times.	contact person is Ms Khomotso Mogotlane at 082 397 5550	None
Tubatse municipality	The committee was established in September 2017	The committee has met four times.	Contact person is Ms Ntsoaki Nkadimeng at 072 177 4747.	None
Makhuduthamaga municipality	The committee was established in September 2017	The committee met four times.	contact person is Mr S Matswetji at 079 913 8409.	None
Elias Motsoaledi municipality	The committee was established in 2017	The committee met four times.	The contact person is Ms Beauty Mamaru at 072 746 6610.	None
Ephraim Mogale municipality	The committee was established in 2017.	The committee met four times.	The contact person is Ms Nancy Lenonyane at 078 732 7374.

e) The province is currently struggling to constitute and sustain the Local Drug Action committees (LDACs) mainly due to lack of cooperation from other stakeholders and lack of clarity in terms of resource allocation. LDACs are not yet on board in all municipalities and as such have not yet budgeted for the establishment and allocated personnel or other resources.

Structures that have been established over time could not be sustained and were not led by municipalities.

The Province embarked on programme to resuscitate and establish the LDACs through a process of establishing interim District committees charged with the responsibility and springboard structure for the establishment of LDACs. The meeting to kick-start the process was held on 13 November 2019 and the progress made is as follows:

Capricorn District: A meeting to establish district structures was held on 6 December 2019, but could not finalise the process as stakeholders felt they needed clear mandates from their principals and follow – up meeting was held on 3 March 2020 to constitute the structure. An interim structure was established with plan drafted to capacitate members and allocate responsibilities. The process was interrupted by COVID1 pandemic.

Vhembe District: Meeting to establish an interim district structure was convened on 30 January 2020 but failed to quorate with proper representivity of all relevant stakeholders. The meeting was postponed, but could not reconvene due to COVID-19.

Mopani District: There is no functional LDAC in the district and the meeting to establish the interim committee was held in March 2020, but unfortunately the process was interrupted by COVID -19.

The following provinces did not respond comprehensively:

Western Cape

Province	Name	Contact	Email
Western Cape	Ms Chantelle Pepper	Tel: (+27)21 483 4155 +27 76 398 9662	Chantelle.Pepper@westerncape.gov.za

Eastern Cape Province: Provincial Substance Abuse Coordinator

Province	Name	Contact Details	Email
Eastern Cape	Mr Nkosinathi Gceya	043 605 5194 /083 610 9276	Nkosinathi.Gceya@ecdsd.gov.za

Free State Province: Provincial Substance Abuse Coordinator

Province	Name	Contact details	Email
Free State	Mr Leloko Matsenyane Mr Charles Makappa	051 409 0545 /083 443 9029 051 409 0668 /083 443 8076	Leloko.Matsenyane@fssocdev.gov.za Charles.makappa@fssocdev.gov.za

Gauteng Province: Municipal Substance Abuse Coordinators

City of Johannesburg Municipality	Aletta	Mzimela	158 Civic Boulevard, Braamfontein	alettam@joburg.org.za
City of Tshwane Municipality	Maureen	Digamela	PO BOX 440, Pretoria,0001	MaureenD@TSHWANE.GOV.ZA
Ekurhuleni Municipality	Thabo	Tonga	P/BAG X1069, Germiston, 1400	Thabo.Tonga@ekurhuleni.gov.za
Merafong Local Municipality	Tshepo	Maloisane	P.O BOX 3, Carletonville, 2500	tmaloisane@merafong.gov.za
Mogale City Local Municipality	Nomvula	Mjuja	PO BOX 94, Krugersdorp, 1740	nomvula.mjuza@mogalecity.gov.za
Rand West City Local Municipality	Norah	Tsholetsane	Cnr Sutherland & Pollock Streets	Norah.Tsholetsane@Randwestcity.gov.za
Emfuleni Local Municipality	Rebecca	Letsoenyo	PO BOX 3,Vanderbijlpark,1900	RebeccaL@emfuleni.gov.za
Midvaal Local Municipality	Sello	Tlhake	PO BOX 9, Meyerton, 1960	SelloT@midvaal.gov.za
Lesedi Local Municipality	Corrie	Venster	PO BOX 201, Heidelberg,1438	corriev@lesedi.gov.za
City of Johannesburg Municipality	Aletta	Mzimela	158 Civic Boulevard, Braamfontein	alettam@joburg.org.za
City of Tshwane Municipality	Maureen	Digamela	PO BOX 440, Pretoria,0001	MaureenD@TSHWANE.GOV.ZA
Ekurhuleni Municipality	Thabo	Tonga	P/BAG X1069, Germiston, 1400	Thabo.Tonga@ekurhuleni.gov.za

KwaZulu Natal Province: Substance Abuse Provincial Coordinator

Province	Name	Contact	Email
Kwa Zulu Natal	Ms Cleopatra Dlamini	Tel: 033 341 7925 060 999 0440	Cleopatra.dlamini@kznsocdev.gov.za

Limpopo Province: Substance Abuse Provincial Coordinator

Province	Name	Contact	Email
Limpopo	Mr Tshepo Maxwell Rangata	015 230 4420/082 421 6954	RangataM@dsd.gov.za

Mpumalanga Province: Substance Abuse Provincial Coordinator

Province	Name	Contact	Email
Mpumalanga	Ms Isabella Makushe	013 766 3158/072 226 3460	IsabelMa@dsdmpu.gov.za

Going forward, the plan is to establish Local Drug Action Committees in line with the District Development Model.

Reply:

a) None of the Child and Youth Care Centres is registered to render drug treatment services. Such children are referred to registered treatment centres. Section 28 of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act (Act 70 of 2008) states that children that are dependent on substances must be treated in separate facilities and apart from adults, whether within treatment centres or facilities designated for children. It further states that any Child and Youth Care Centre (CYCC) that seeks to render treatment services to children who are dependent on substances must comply with conditions for registration, norms and standards for the establishment of treatment centres.

b) Children in the Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCC) specifically Secure Care Programme are children detained in terms of section 191 (2) (h) and (j) who are awaiting trial and or on compulsory residential diversion, sentencing and are receiving therapeutic intervention and Secure care programme as referred through the Child Justice Act, 75 of 2008. The therapeutic interventions are in line to section 191 (3) (b) that is therapeutic and developmental programmes.

In order to select interventions that appear likely to respond to the crime and social problem (s) identified, it important to look at the effective crime prevention practices that have yielded positive results. This is done through the developmental assessment approach wherein the arrested children are assessed by Probation Officers and Social Service Professionals in the secure care programme for identification of their individual personal needs to determine proper intervention either as part of awaiting trial, or compulsory residential diversion and sentencing.

c) The above-mentioned questions are therefore not applicable to children in CYCC, specifically Secure Care programme as the centres are not registered in terms of section 191 (3) ( c) of the Children’s Act which is treatment of children for addiction to dependence-producing substance. This service is already provided for in terms of section 28 of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act (Act 70 of 2008) for children and must not be duplicated.

Reply:

The department, not any of entities reporting to me, did receive donations of personal protection equipment in the form of (1540 litres of hand sanitisers; Hand soap 2000 litres; x216 hand sanitisers 250ml; and x20 5litres surface sanitiser) in the period indicated. The details are the following:

a) Date	b) Donor	c) Value	d) Branding	e) Distribution
30 April 2020	United Nations	Not known	Sheer Elegance waterless hand sanitiser. 70% alcohol	Distributed to shelters during Minister’s visits.
30 April 2020	United Nations	Not known	Cleaning Warehouse	Distributed to shelters during Minister’s visits.
7 May 2020	SACSSP/ HWSETA	Not known	Sticker written hand Sanitizer Composition 75% Alcohol	DSD Staff
7 May 2020	SACSSP/ HWSETA	Not known	Steri Guard 70% alcohol waterless hand sanitiser	DSD Staff

Reply:

(a) The detailed beneficiary list of food parcels recipients including all the categories enquired about (i) older persons, (ii) persons with disabilities and (iii) child-headed households to which some are combination of the above categories; in each province are kept by provinces and SASSA where food parcels distribution is delivered. All beneficiaries of the relief signed as acknowledgement of receipt upon collection of food parcels. It is important to note that the Department of Social Development partnered with Solidarity Fund so this was not a Solidarity Fund project.

(b) The officials keep the portfolio of evidence in the form of signed registers for all reported food parcels to confirm that food parcels were received by the reported recipients.

Reply:

(a) The Department continued with the payment of subsidies and the ongoing monitoring and support to NPOs albeit with delays in some provinces which have now been addressed.1. 

(b) (i) The funding delays were caused by technicalities such as migration from BAS to Central Supplier Database, slow network and lock down interruptions in the finalisation of Service Level Agreements, amongst others. All provinces have addressed the delays, with the exception of North West which is still experiencing technicalities with the migration to the Central Supplier Database.

(ii) I have not been made aware of any funding withdrawal in any of the 9 provinces.

(c) The affected Provinces have consulted the relevant NPO network structures on delays and budget cuts soon after it was communicated by the Provincial Treasuries.

2. Amongst some of the measures to expedite the payment of NPOs, the department is undertaking a rapid assessment survey to determine the causes for the delays and to come up with stringent monitoring mechanisms and steps to remedy this situation. The National Department has since stringently monitored progress on NPO payments and taking drastic steps to remedy this situation.

In addition, the Department has sought approval from National Treasury to seek approval to change from a quarterly to a two-tranche payment system to NPOs through a risk-adjusted differentiated approach that is aimed at reducing administrative burden on the transfer system.

The two-tranche payment system will be implemented at the beginning of the 20210-2022 financial year, as it must be incorporated in the department’s beginning of year projections that are submitted in line with section 40(4)(a) of the PFMA. However, for the new two-tranche payment system to be effective, NPOs need to be compliant as this system runs a risk of either increasing current levels of underspending or NPOs keeping large reserve funds that are not used at the end of the financial year. To date almost all the Provinces have paid up the first and the second quarter payments to eligible organizations that are compliant, thus they are in line with the payment targets. For the third quarter, the status of funding is as follows:

Name of Province	Total No of NPOs Eligible	Total No of NPOs Paid	Total % of NPOs Paid	Pending NPO Payments
W Cape	1 819	1 819	100%	0
N Cape	1 014	722	71%	292
Limpopo	2 917	2 635	90%	282
Gauteng	3 326	3 079	92%	247
Free State	1 826	1 821	99.70%	5
Mpumalanga	1 713	1 639	96%	74
E Cape	4 029	4 023	99%	6
KZN	3 586	2 798	76%	788
N West	924	647	70%	277
TOTAL	21 154	19 183	91%	1 972

For the remaining 1 972 NPOs that have not been paid, the reasons are varying, but mainly due to the following:

a) Late submission of claims by NPOs.

b) Non-compliance by NPOs

c) For KwaZulu Natal and Northern Cape, claims were processed at 50% where there was no attendance at Service Centres.

• For Gauteng, specific delays relate to payment of ECDs, particularly in Tshwane which has been identified as having challenges due to changes in the municipal by-law. This is a matter that continues to receive attention both nationally and at the Province.

• For other provinces, in relation to ECD, the provinces are implementing a special project on payment of outstanding subsidies in compliance with the SA CHILDCARE (PTY) LTD & OTHERS High Court Judgement handed on 20 October 2020.

Reply:

a) I must point out that AGSA had access to other databases which SASSA did not have at the time AGSA conducted the validations.

SASSA promptly suspended all accounts that were flagged by AGSA and suspected to be fraudulent. All the suspected accounts are currently under investigation. This will be followed by a recovery process, if it is indeed found that some of those paid were illegible for the Special COVID-19 SRD Grant. It is also worth repeating and bringing it to the attention of the Honourable Member that there were some discrepancies in the AGSA findings, which SASSA highlighted to them. Most of these could be attributed to a time difference between the time the assessment was done by SASSA and when AGSA considered the data. AGSA has acknowledged these findings.

b) From the inception of the grant, we were committed to ensuring that only eligible applicants receive it, considering the unprecedented socio-economic difficulties confronting many individuals and households.

In cases where applicants may have been erroneously excluded, SASSA has reconsidered every application every month. However, every applicant who has been declined has the right to request SASSA to reconsider the decision, should he/she believe that the decision made was incorrect.

Reply:

According to available data from the North West Provincial Department of Social Development, 422 support packages (which includes PPEs) wee procured and distributed to 59 ECD centres in and around Mafikeng Service Point (see the attached list). In addition, the Provincial Department:

• Advised ECD centres to conduct self- assessment in line with the published directions. The Department also provided support to ECDs which experienced challenges in conducting electronic self- assessments by means of providing them hard copies of the self- assessment documents.

• Conducted verification of ECD centres and programmes to ensure compliance with COVID-19 regulations.

NAME OF CENTRE

1. Driehoek crèche 2. Kganya E.L.C 3. Wise Guys ECD 4. Mpha Lesedi E.L.C 5. Ramothibe E.L.C 6. Repholositswe E.L.C 7. Olorato E.L.C 8. Kebadiretse E.L.C 9. Reitshupile E.L.C 10. Lore E.L.C 11. Roma Kideo Day Care Centre 12. Tsibogang Learning Centre 13. Tsibogang M 14. Morwa E.L.C 15. Segai E.L.C 16. Makgabana E.L.C 17. Segoele E.L.C 18. Matsheke E.L.C 19. Maphoana E.L.C 20. Mothusi E.L.C 21. Kelesitse E.L.C 22.. Ntshalele le Ngwana E.L.C 23. Joyland 24. Tshipidi Day Care Centre 25. Gola Monnye E.L.C 26 Mmadinonyane E.L.C 27. Tiroyabone E.L.C 28. Tlhabo Ya Letsatsi Pre School 29 Reatlamela Day Care 30. Tsetse E.L.C 31. Pepeletso E.L.C 32. Marang E.L.C 33. Mmangwana E.L.C 34. Lesedi La Podile E.L.C 35. Lonely Park E.L.C 36. Ramookeng E.L.C 37. Khulani E.L.C 38. Emmanuel E.L.C 39. Karabo & Rea 40. Ntutobolole Creche 41. Kgodisang E.L.C 42. Ngwana Sejo E.L.C 43. Moralo E.L.C 44. Ntataise E.L.C 45. Rotary E.L.C 46. Setumo Park Day Care Centre 47. Tshireletso Day Care Centre 48. Kopano Day Care Centre 49. Marang E.L.C 50. Lonika E.L.C 51. Letlanang E.L.C 52. Victorious E.L.C 53. Mmasehume E.L.C 54. Lerato La Motsadi E.L.C 55. Tsela Ya Botlhe Pre School 56. Mphela Bana E.L.C 57. Lomanyaneng E.L.C 58. Kago E.L.C

Reply:

1. Yes. There were concerns about issues of non-compliance. However, the Acting Director-General has since reviewed the decision and granted the organisation in a conditional accreditation for two years, subject to compliance with the Accreditation Guidelines.

2. Yes, the reasons for the de-accreditation are sufficiently in line with the Accreditation Guidelines, which upholds the principle of the best interest of children. Any organisation is required, without exception to comply with these Guidelines.

3. (a) Four Child Protection Organisations were declined accreditation. (b) The reason thereof is none of these organisations were rendering direct services to clients/beneficiaries.

Reply:

Section 57 of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act, 2008 specifically provides that the MECs must establish Provincial Substance Abuse Forums for their respective provinces. This is not a delegated power but a conferred power by the Act and the Minister cannot interfere with the powers conferred by legislation to her provincial counterparts as this would be in conflict with section 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa read with the Intergovernmental Relations Framework.

In terms of the same Act, the Minister is only empowered to establish the Central Drug Authority (CDA), which represents the national sphere of government. The Minister therefore does not have any executive or legislative mandate to establish Provincial Substance Abuse Forums and Local Drug Action Committees.

Provincial MECs are better placed to respond to this question.

Reply:

1. These are some of the challenges faced by Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in relation to the Covid-19 regulations and these are not exhaustive.

• Non-adherence to COVID 19 health and safety requirements including lack of PPEs,
• Financial constrains due to loss of income during lockdown period.
• ECD centres depend on fees paid by parents and this was not possible as the children were at home.
• COVID 19 has affected economic situation of many households and as such many children are still at home due to loss of income by parents as they cannot afford paying fees for their children.
• Some parents/caregivers are scared that their children will be infected by the pandemic and prefer keeping them at home.
• Some ECD centres might not reopen as practitioners are part of vulnerable groupings with existing co- morbidities and/or are 60 or above.

2. According to guidance from provinces there may be some challenges with ECD centres closing. It will be difficult to have accurate information in this regard due to us not having adequate data of all ECD centres in the country. The department repurposed Infrastructure Conditional Grant to prepare ECD centres for reopening, by facilitating the supply of essential equipment to meet COVID 19 health and safety measures. These include equipment that will enable temperature screening, frequent hand washing, frequent cleaning and basic hygiene to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The department is also continuing to pay subsidy to funded ECD centres.

Reply:

The Honourable Member to indicate the place where the said organisation is situated in order for the Department to provide a response.

Reply:

All women and children are assessed and provided with psychosocial support and social relief if needed. Part of the process is also to try and reunify them with their families.

During lockdown, the Western Cape Department of Social Development established a 60 bed family shelter, specifically focusing on single women/parents and their children that are homeless. The Department is planning on expanding it to 90 bed spaces by the end of March 2021.

Reply:

The department conducted the study on Ukuthwala: Baseline Assessment on the Prevalence and Perceptions about Harmful Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children in the OR Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (November 2011 and will be updated in 2020).

The study revealed the following impacts on young girls in the Eastern Cape:

Health: Young girls may be married to an older more experienced partners and therefore get exposed to sexually transmitted infection including HIV – partners who are less likely to test for HIV before the incident of ukuthwala. Girls below the age of 18 have small pelvises and are not ready for child-bearing, this puts them at risk hence higher morbidity and mortality rates. There is poor access to sexual reproductive health services and delayed testing for HIV during pregnancy resulting to late enrolment to Prevention of Mother to Child HIV Prevention program.

Education: Early school dropout by child brides may lead to increased economic dependency to the male partner. Early school dropout further perpetuates discrimination and low status of women and girls.

Emotional: Isolation and depression as a result of unrealistic expectations from the family and the husband to assume makoti duties while she is physically and emotionally not ready for this responsibility.

(a) Ukuthwala was found to be amongst practices that are prevalent in OR Tambo district and widely practiced although respondents were not clear about its origins however they participated in the practice. The frequencies of occurrence of these practices vary with the practice some occurring daily others weekly and monthly while others occur every six months and yearly. The findings also show that the majority of the people in OR Tambo district do not know the decision makers on these cultural practices. Men were identified as key decision makers when it comes to Ukuthwala.

The research found that it is not clear how the decision makers got their powers but the findings seem to suggest that only a small proportion of the population have knowledge on how decision makers got the powers to determine when these practices should happen. Ukuthwala was identified as one of the practices that is mostly disliked by the communities. The findings suggest that cultural marriages are more commonly practiced than civil marriages.

(b) The following institutions have been engaged in public education:

Office of the Premier (OTP); the Chapter 9 Institutions: CRL Rights Commission; The Public Protector; Commission for Gender Commission and the SA Human Rights Commission.

Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders; the Civil Society Organizations; the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; the Children’s Institute; South African Council for Educators; Traditional Leaders in the Province; Government Departments and a joint program implemented by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that was funded by the Department for International Development was implemented and output three of this program focused on social change interventions conducted through community dialogues. The program also invested in building the capacity of traditional leaders on their role in gender based violence prevention efforts.

UNFPA also took a delegation from OR Tambo District led by the then Executive Mayor Zoleka Chapha with a provincial delegation from the House of Traditional leaders, OTP and COGTA to Amhara Region Ethiopia on a South-South learning exchange. Ethiopia had previously had a similar challenge but had been able to reverse this picture through social behavior change programs and social change program.

An integrated approach was used utilising key community leadership, government Departments, civil society organizations from 2009 in OR Tambo District. This involved door to door visits, community dialogues and focus groups discussions.

The purpose was to discuss the practice of ukuthwala and to find out how communities at different age groups feel about the practice.

Household profiling conducted in June 2012 reaching 396 households in the following sub-locations – Buthulo, Mathambo and Gqibelana Locations and Hlabathi J.S.S.

Awareness Campaign on promotion of safety and healthy lifestyle was conducted in June 2012 during June 16 Youth Celebrations.

A Family Resource Centre was established to educate women and families about Human Rights and Children’s rights and to address all gender and family issues.

There is after school program for orphaned and vulnerable children in the area. The program provides life skills to the children and the volunteers assist with homework and holiday programs.

Conclusion: During 2021-2022 this subject has emerged as the focus again and this will be dealt with through a social norms change program that will be technically supported by partners like UNFPA. This will also extend the focus districts to OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo. It is also worth noting that this practice is a hidden practice and it happens in the furthest and left behind populations, these are the populations that will be prioritized in the coming financial year.

Reply:

(1) a) A total of 1 374 post offices provide disbursement services for the social grants. The provincial split is indicated in the table below:

Branch Summary
Region	Branches
Eastern Cape	166
Gauteng	302
KwaZulu-Natal	213
Free State	115
North West	112
Limpopo	141
Mpumalanga	99
Northern Cape	65
Western Cape	161
Total	1,374

(b) The list is attached as Annexure A

2(a) Social grants are paid by SASSA. All social grants are paid through a direct deposit into the beneficiary bank accounts, regardless of whether this is a private bank account or the SASSA card account. SAPO is responsible for the disbursement of social grants for those clients who access their grants using the SASSA card. The total number of persons who use the SASSA card to access their grant is 8,105,671.

(b) The breakdown per province is as follows:

SAPO is responsible, in terms of the contract to ensure multiple access channels for grant beneficiaries to access their grants. Of the total number using the SASSA card to access their grants, approximately 93% access their grants through the National Payment System – that is at bank ATMs and retailer point of sale devices; while 5% access their grants over the counter at post offices, and 2% access their grants through the remaining 1 740 cash pay points.

The actual numbers fluctuate monthly, as beneficiaries have the right to choose which channel they utilise. There are no designated cash beneficiaries.

The table below indicates the numbers of clients who use the SASSA card to access their grants through the various channels. There is unfortunately no provincial breakdown of these numbers.

PAYMENT CHANNELS STATISTICS
Month	SAPO Branches	NPS ( Retailers)	NPS (ATM)	Cash Pay Points	Total
April	315 716	2 396 250	5 184 787	96 910	7 993 663
May	287 537	2 367 234	5 153 083	254 051	8 061 905
June	327 439	2 322 316	5 225 329	225 926	8 101 010

3(a) SASSA pays a total of 11 509 390 social grant beneficiaries monthly (as at December 2020). The breakdown per province is as follows:

(b)(i) The number of beneficiaries who have chosen to receive their grants through SAPO by using the SASSA card total 8,105,671 while 3,403,719 or 29,6% receive the grants directly into their private bank accounts.

(ii) The percentage who have chosen to receive their grants through SAPO is 70.4%

4(a) Every beneficiary receives their social grant directly into their bank accounts. As indicated above, 8 105 671 receive their grants directly into their SASSA cards.

(b) The percentage of SASSA cards used in the payment environment is 70,4% of the total beneficiary population.

Reply:

The table below indicates the numbers of grant recipients per year as at 31 March of each year, from 1996/97, expressed as a percentage of the populations estimates. Unfortunately, the data from 1994 is not available, as this had not yet been consolidated into a single database, but was managed provincially.

FINANCIAL YEAR	Daily Stats as at 31 March	Population Estimates	% Share
1996/97	3 018 909	41 226 700	7%
1997/98	2 832 156	42 130 500	7%
1998/99	2 923 718	43 054 306	7%
1999/00	3 034 381	43 685 699	7%
2000/01	3 864 463	44 560 644	9%
2001/02	4 033 384	45 454 211	9%
2002/03	4 969 666	46 429 823	11%
2003/04	6 494 115	46 586 607	14%
2004/05	9 421 654	46 888 200	20%
2005/06	10 974 076	47 390 900	23%
2006/07	12 015 059	47 850 700	25%
2007/08	12 423 739	48 687 000	26%
2008/09	13 072 173	49 320 500	27%
2009/10	14 057 365	49 991 300	28%
2010/11	14 935 832	50 586 757	30%
2011/12	15 407 194	50 586 757	30%
2012/13	16 106 110	52 982 000	30%
2013/14	15 932 473	54 002 000	30%
2014/15	16 642 643	54 956 900	30%
2015/16	16 991 634	55 908 900	30%
2016/17	17 200 525	56 521 900	30%
2017/18	17 509 995	57 725 600	30%
2018/19	17 811 745	58 775 022	30%
2019/20	18 290 592	59 622 350	31%

Reply:

The Honourable Member to indicate the place where the said organisation is situated in order for the Department to provide a response.

Reply:

(a) & (b) The Court did not grant an order for the MEC to file a plan within five (5) days to the Court nor to the applicant no plans have thus been submitted.

(c) ECD centres were paid 60% of the subsidy from April to September 2020. The 40% of the subsidy that was not paid will be transferred to ECD centres from 18 November 2020. A total of 368 centres will be paid the backdated 40% for nutrition and the projected amount is R11 million.

Reply:

The department will employ Early Childhood Development Compliance Officers in the current financial year. R116 million has been allocated for the support of 25 500 compliance support officers, who are existing staff members at early childhood development programmes that will play a compliance support role within their ECD programmes. The Department is working with the Inter-Sectoral Forum (ISF) on the programme to make sure that the right services benefit from this grant.

Reply:

(a) It should be noted that the National Department of Social Development does note process Foster Care applications but provinces do. The following provinces have the following total number of foster care applications that are still unprocessed:

Eastern Cape: The Eastern Cape Province has a total of 665 foster care applications that have not yet been processed as at end September 2020.

Gauteng: The Gauteng Province has a total of 4025 foster care applications that are still unprocessed.

Limpopo: The new intakes that the department has to date is 1 068.

KZN: The province of KwaZulu-Natal has a total of 1637 foster care applications that are still to be processed.

Northern Cape: There are 184 applications for foster care placements under investigation.

Western Cape: The total number of foster care applications unprocessed until 30th September 2020 1900.

The reasons for deviations for non-finalisation of foster care applications are as follows:

• Challenges in tracing birth parents.
• Outstanding birth certificates from the Department of Home Affairs.
• Delayed responses from the National Department of Social Development in issuing Form 30 due to impact of lockdown.
• Outstanding school reports. We do, however, acknowledge the notable support from the WCED during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
• Await court dates from the Department of Justice & CD to finalise court matters.
• High turnover of social workers in Designated Child Protection Organisations.
• Unmanageable high caseloads of social workers.
• The safety situation in communities making it impossible for social workers to render supervision services as legally required.
• Administrative demands requiring more support staff.
• Reconsolidation/verification of information with SASSA to update orders on SOCPEN and submitting to the Provincial Office on a weekly basis.
• Foster care applications pending finalisation.

(b) by what date does she intend to have all of the specified applications processed?

The provinces are to complete processing these applications as follows:

Eastern Cape: The applications will be processed by 31 December 2020.

Gauteng: The finalization of the foster care process is dependent on other Departments and prospective foster parents. As a result, it is not possible to indicate by when the cases will be finalised. In terms of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, the turnaround time for foster care applications is six (6) months.

KZN: The department intends to have all foster care applications processed by 30 January 2021.

Limpopo: It is difficult to anticipate the date for finalisation of cases since the Department depends on other departments to finalise but efforts are made to fast track the finalisation of cases in the best interest of the child.

Mpumalanga: The department has a turnaround time of 6 months to investigate and finalize foster care applications as per the department’s service standards. However, in cases where there are challenges (e.g. documentation, advertisements for unknown fathers etc.) the finalisation of the cases may take longer.

Northern Cape: All placements will be finalised by 30 January 2021.

Western Cape: The Department of Social Development is in the process of consulting with regions (DSD and NPOs) and the relevant stakeholders in foster care management regarding the finalisation of unprocessed foster care applications. A date for finalisation will be determined.

It is expected that the challenges presented with the inevitable lockdown period would have had a restrictive effect on operations overall in the public and private sector. Although the courts could still be accessed for urgent matters pertaining to children and specifically foster care matters, there were operational limitations caused by limited access to courts and other lockdown restrictions. Various role-players, including the state attorneys’ offices, legal advisors and counsel had to meet lockdown requirements. The co-dependent functionalities have been highlighted with the authorities concerned and redress is awaited.

Reply:

(1) The shelters in Mopani and Sekhukhune are closed

Those who wanted to be assisted with rehabilitation from substance abuse addiction were admitted at the Seshego treatment centre.

Those that wished to be with their families were assisted in tracing their families and were transported home as part of our family reunification programme. It should be noted that role of the Department of Social Development in homeless Shelters is to provide Psycho-social support services, working with other stakeholders, Cogta provided shelter, and security in some instances provided food, SAPS brought in beneficiaries collected from the streets and arrested those with outstanding criminal cases, home affairs assists with repatriation and the department of Health was responsible for the provision of health services.

(2) Reunification services were rendered and the homeless who wanted to be reunified with their families were taken home. Some were admitted at the Seshego treatment centre for substance abuse rehabilitation, most preferred to go back to the streets as they wanted to make money.

In Waterberg, Thabazimbi one shelter with nine beneficiaries is still functional. The beneficiaries are mentally challenged and the department in collaboration with the department of Health, SAPS and Home Affairs are currently assisting them.

The nine beneficiaries have been put on an advert for their families to recognise them as they don’t know who they are and where they come from.

The Vhembe shelter has also closed, beneficiaries from local areas were given money to go home. The illegal undocumented foreign nationals left the shelter to look for work in town when lockdown restrictions were eased. Department of Home Affairs could not repatriate them as the Zimbabwe borders were not open for people, they are open only for cargo.

 

Reply:

a) All applicants for social relief of distress as administered by SASSA must meet qualifying criteria as set in the Social Assistance Act, 2004. This means that all applicants would have met one or more of the following criteria:

• Not receiving any social grant
• Temporarily disabled for less than 6 months
• Breadwinner of the family admitted to a state institution
• Applicant affected by a disaster
• Refusal of the application would cause undue hardship

b) (i) Each approved applicant was provided with a standard food parcel at a cost of R1 200 per food parcel. Each item was not costed separately, but the food parcel contained the items as indicated on the list attached as Annexure A.

(ii) SASSA utilised the allocated budget for social relief of distress. There was no specific allocation for Ekurhuleni. The total allocation for Gauteng Province is R61 050 000 for the 2020/21 financial year.

 

Reply:

The Deputy Minister has not appointed a special advisor as it is not provided for in Ministerial Handbook.

Only the Minister has appointed a special advisor.

a) Ms ESJS Hlapolosa.

b) 1 July 2019.

c) (i) To advise the Minister on the development of policy that will promote the departments objectives;

(ii) To advise Minister on the exercise or performance of the Ministers powers and duties; and

(iii) To perform any task as may be appropriate in respect of the exercise and performance of the Minister.

d) Compensation level IV.

e) R 1 978 533.00.

f) Fixed term contract linked to the term of office of incumbent Minister, Ms Lindiwe Zulu.

g) As indicated in (c) above, to advise on the development of policy that will promote the Departments objectives.

Reply:

(1)(a) The details of the members of each of the nine workstreams (8 workstreams were initially established, with a ninth one on communication established later) that were established, numbered as Annexure A.

(b)(i) Each workstream managed its own process to achieve the objectives of a workstream, under the lead of the workstream leader. The workstreams determined their own meeting dates.

(ii) The meetings of the workstreams under the lead of each workstream leader were held virtually, and as such no signed attendance registers were kept.

(2) No, the workstream did not recommend that R1,3 billion should be used for the appointment of compliance monitors. It should however be noted that initially the Presidency approached the department indicating that the department has been allocated R1.3 billion as a stimulus relief package for early childhood development sector. The department therefore deemed it fit to appoint the compliance monitors to support the ECD sector programmes. Subsequently, national treasury indicated that the department has to bid for the funds for them to be considered for the allocation. The department therefore developed a proposal for bidding of funds. This proposal was consulted with the National Inter-Sectoral Forum for Early Childhood Development established in terms of paragraph 7.3.3.5 of the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (2015) civil society secretariat regarding this programme as announced by the Minister to obtain views and inputs to complete the proposal that was submitted to National Treasury, of which ECD compliance officer is only a sub-component. National Treasury approved an allocation of R588 728 000; allocated for employment risk support that will benefit existing ECD workforce, 25 500 compliance support officers already employed in ECD centres, registration support officers who will support registration of ECD programmes recorded through Vangasali campaign and sustenance of 1 809 social workers who were appointed on contract.

(3) The workstreams were established at the meeting led by the Department of Social Development on 26 May 2020, where-after the leaders of each workstream had to take the responsibility to convene workstream meetings. The Department of Social Development invited all members of the workstreams to the general meetings where feedback was provided.

(4)(a) The below indicated the main purpose of each workstream:

Workstream 1: Data and information on the current situation and the implementation of measures.

Workstream 2: Assessment of ECD services: Covid 19 compliance before and after re-opening (including self-assessment)

Workstream 3: Support package (what is needed to support the re-opening)

Workstream 4: Protocols for re-opening;

Workstream 5: COVID-19 education and awareness as part of early childhood development programmes (for staff and children)

Workstream 6: ECD Programme Re-design (Including parent programmes), looking at adjustments in early childhood development programmes to accommodate the minimum health, safety and social distancing measures to address, prevent and combat the spread of COVID-19.

Workstream 7: Practitioner training and capacity building;

Workstream 8: Monitoring and Evaluation of implementation

Workstream 9: Communication and General COVID 19 awareness.

(b) During the meeting dated 26 May 2020 when the workstreams were established, officials were invited to volunteer to serve on the respective workstreams to facilitate representation based on interest. During this meeting participants also agreed on the leadership for each workstream.

(5) The workstreams were established for the purpose indicated above and were not permanent. The workstreams have served their purpose well and the work assigned to the workstream was concluded by mid-June 2020. The Department of Social Development is continuing to consult with the ECD sector through the civil society secretariat of the National Inter-Sectoral Forum for Early Childhood Development. The latter is the official mechanism established by policy for engagement and consultation with civil society.

ANNEXURE “A”

Membership for the work streams to support the DSD Inter-sectoral ECD COVID 19 Task team

Work stream 1: Data and Information
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Sumaya Hendricks	Nelson Mandela Foundation	SumayaH@nelsonmandela.org	Lead
2.	Robyn Wienand	Preschools 4Africa	robyn@pwap.org.za
3.	Jacqueline Saaiman	Lima – Do More Foundation	jackie@lima.org.za
4.	Janeli Kotzé	DBE	kotze.j@dbe.gov.za
5.	Colleen Daniels	Gerards ECD	gerardsecdcenter@gmail.com
6.	Leonard Saul	SA Congress for ECD	congress@global.co.za
7.	Mpho Komane	SA Congress for ECD	lttlroses@gmail.com
8.	Ivy Rapoo	NDSD	IvyR@dsd.gov.za
9.	Ipeleng Mohlala	Early care Foundation	ipeleng@earlycarefoundation.org
10.	Phumzile Ndlovu	NDSD	Phumzilend@dsd.gov.za	Member
11.	Huldah Barnard	Custoda Trust	custodaepos@gmail.com
12.	Bukiwe Lupindo	DPME	bukiwe@dpme.gov.za

Work stream 2: Assessment of ECD services: Covid 19 compliance
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Nabeel Bassadien	Ilifa Labantwana	nabeel@ilifalabantwana.co.za
2.	Lyndsey Petro	Innovation Edge	lyndsey@innovationedge.org.za
3.	Doreen Malinga	DSD Mpumalanga	DoreenM@dsdmpu.gov.za
4.	Andrea Sciarappa	Tools for Schools	andrea@toolsforschool.net
5.	Robyn Wienand	Pre school Africa and Jam	robyn@pwap.org.za
6.	Rebecca Hickman	SMART START	Rebecca@smartstart.org.za	Lead
7.	Justine Jowell	Smart Start	Justine@smartstart.org.za	Member
8.	Lize Bredell	AECYC	lize@vvos.co.za	Member
9.	Caroll Warmberg	NECTA EC	Caroll@itec.org.za	Member
10.	Tracey Collins	GROW	traceycollins@growecd.org.za	Member
11.	Kathy Rautenbach	ECD Upliftment	kathy@vanilla.co.za
12.	Melissa Jacobs	SA Congress for ECD	Jmelissa021@gmail.com
13.	Mpho Papale	NDSD	Mphopa@dsd.gov.za
14.	Ntombizodwa Sonkayi		ntombizodwa@earlycarefoundation.org
15.	Natalie Gross	SAMA	nat.rep@samontessori.org.za admin@samontessori.org.za	Member
16.	Saartjie Viljoen	AECYC	eldoraign@opti-baby.co.za
17.	Pheladi Makwala	NDSD	pheladima@dsd.gov.za
18.	Badi Mziwamadoda	Ubunye Foundation and NECTA	badi@ubunyefoundation.co.za	Member

Work stream 3 : Support Package
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Zaheera Mohammed	Ilifa Labantwana	zaheera@ilifalabantwana.co.za	Lead
2.	Patsy Pillay	New Beginnings	patsyp@intekom.co.za
3.	Jennifer McQuillan	Preschools 4 Africa	jennifer@pwap.org.za
4.	Jeffrey Wienand	Preschools 4 Africa	jeffrey@pwap.org.za
5.	Lisa Voortman	GROW	lisa@growecd.org.za
6.	Lizette Berry	Children’s Institute (UCT)	lizette.berry@uct.ac.za
7.	Mpho Papale	NDSD	Mphopa@dsd.gov.za
8.	Ghalieb Dawood	NT	Ghalieb.dawood@treasury.gov.za
9.	Yusuf Mayet	NT	Yusuf.mayet@treasury.gov.za
10	Thando Ngqase	NDA	thandon@nda.org.za

Work stream 4: Protocols for reopening
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Rodgers Hlatshwayo	SMART STRAT	rodgers@smartstart.org.za	Lead
2.	Jennifer McQuillan	Preschools 4 Africa	jennifer@pwap.org.za
3.	Cathy Moore	ACSI	Cathy_moore@acsi.org	Member
4.	Nelie Viljoen-Toet	SAVF	nviljoen-toet@savf.co.za	Member
5.	Mziwamadoda Badi	NECTA EC	badi@ubunyefoundation.co.za	Member
6.	Kathy Rautenbach	ECD Upliftment	kathy@vanilla.co.za
7.	Jabu Mthembu-Dlamini	DoMoreFoundation	Jabu.Mthembu-Dlamini@domore.org.za
8.	Andrea Scirappa	Tools for School	andrea@toolsforschool.net
9.	Colleen Daniels	Gerards ECD	gerardecdcenter@gmail.com
10.	Christine Radebe	SA Congress for ECD	matinteradebe@yahoo.com
11.	Bombeleni Munzhedzi	NDSD	BombeleniM@dsd.gov.za
12.	Natalie Gross	SAMA	nat.rep@samontessori.org.za admin@samontessori.org.za	Member
13.	Saartjie Viljoen	AECYC	eldoraign@opti-baby.co.za
14.	Ntombi Mazibuko	NDOH	Ntombi.Mazibuko @health.gov.za
15.	Rebone Ntsie	NDOH	Rebone.Ntsie @health.gov.za
16.	Sebotse Ngake	NDOH	Sebotse Ngake @health.gov.za
17.	Lesley Bamford	NDOH	Lesley.Bamford @health.gov.za

Work stream 5: COVID 19 education and awareness
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Rebecca Hickman	SMART START		Lead
2.	Bonginkosi Mpinda	Preschools 4Africa	business@pwap.org.za
3.	Christine Radebe	SA Congress for ECD	matinteradebe@yahoo.com
4.	Shireen Miller	GrowEcd	shireen@growecd.org.za

Work stream 6: ECD Programme Re:design (Parent programmes)
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Andre Viviers	UNICEF		Lead
2.	Thandeka Rantsi	Bridge	thandeka@bridge.org.za	Member
3.	Louise Erasmus	AECYC	louise.erasmus9@telkomsa.net	Member
4.	Michelle Wienand	Preschools 4Africa	michelle@pwap.org.za
5.	Pam Picken	Do More foundation	pam@leadershipindevelopment.co.za
6.	Lizette Berry	Children’s Institute (UCT)	lizette.berry@uct.ac.za
7.	Lydia Plaatjies	SA Congress for ECD	plaatjiesl@gmail.com	Member
8.	Prof Nicky Roberts	SA Congress for ECD	nicky@kellelo.org	Member
9.	Bombeleni Munzhedzi	NDSD	BombeleniM@dsd.gov.za
10.	Natalie Gross	SAMA	nat.rep@samontessori.org.za admin@samontessori.org.za	Member
11.	Puleng Motsoeneng	Ntataise	puleng@ntataise.org
12.	Liesel Brymmer	AECYC	Liesel.brummer@aros.ac.za
Work stream 7: Practitioner Capacity Building
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Ruby Motaung	NECDA	director@tree-ecd.co.za	Lead
2.	Charmaine Botha	Edu X SA	ceo@eduxsa.org
3.	Patsy Pillay	New Beginnings	patsyp@intekom.co.za
4.	Sheila Drew	SAIDE	sheilad@saide.org.za
5.	Bonginkosi Mpinda	Preschools 4Africa	business@pwap.org.za
6.	Bonita Daniels	TEEC South Africa	info@teec.org.za
7.	Arina Kitching	Learn2Live Community Centre	arinak@oakhill.org.za
8.	Leonard Saul	SA Congress for ECD	congress@global.co.za
9.	Meraldia Tape	Grassroots Training Provider	maredia@grassroots.org.za
10.	Leanne Keet	MASIKHULE	lee@masikhule.org
11.	Nontsapo Pasiya	Early Care Foundation	nontsapo@earlycarefoundation.org
	Puleng Motsoeneng	Ntataise	puleng@ntataise.org
12.	Mr. Rex Molefe	Motheo Training Institute Trust	rexmotheo@gmail.com
13.	Tessa Browne	Africa Reggio Emilia Alliance	tessa@reggio.co.za
14.	Sanny Maluleka	NDPWI EPWP Social Sector	sanny.maluleka@dpw.gov.za
15.	Roeleen Lemmer	AECYC	roeleenlemmer@gmail.com

Work stream 8: Monitoring and Evaluation
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Email Address	Lead/ Member
1.	Melissa Jacobs	SA Congress for ECD	Jmelissa021@gmail.com
2.	Lydia Plaatjies	SA Congress for ECD	plaatjiesl@gmail.com	Member
3.	Prof Nicky Roberts	SA Congress for ECD	nicky@kellelo.org	Member
4.	Ivy Rapoo	NDSD	IvyR@dsd.gov.za
5.	Kathy Rautenbach	ECD Upliftment	kathy@vanilla.co.za
6.	Andrea Sciarappa	Tools for School	andrea@toolsforschool.net
7.	Bonginkosi Mpinda	Preschools 4Africa	business@pwap.org.za
8.	Masego Maselwanyane	NDPWI	Masego.Maselwanyane@dpw.gov.za
9.	Nkululeko Kalipa	DPME	Nkululeko@dpme.gov.za
10	Kaley Le Mottee	Ntataise
11	Charmaine Jooste	AECYC	jooste.charme@gmail.com
No	Name	Name of Organisation	Lead/ Member
1.	Jeffrey Wienand	Pre Schools 4 Africa
2.	Cathy Moore	ACSI
3.	Charmaine Botha	EDUxSA
4.	Andrea Scirappa	Tools for Schools
5.	Mpho Komane	SA Congress for ECD
6.	Lydia Plaatjies	SA Congress for ECD	Member
7.	Prof Nicky Roberts	SA Congress for ECD	Member
8.	Mariette van Eeden	AECYC

General Issues

Issues:

• Will extra-mural activities continue;
• How will aftercare take place
• How will this be communicated so there is a common message?
• Suggestion to integrate parent issues across all the work streams.
• Also to integrate special needs issues across all the work streams.
• Involving municipalities
• DSD will send all documents that have been developed to date, including Overall discussion document by UNICEF for dissemination to wider sector.
• How to adapt ECD daily programmes to allow for social distancing
• How to encourage and support play under different conditions
• How to ensure that children experience all the varied play and early learning experiences to support their holistic development
• Development of play activities, stories, songs and rhymes to help children remember things like handwashing; to help them understand the changes in their daily lives; to help them develop resilience in the context of things they are hearing/experiencing
• How to fully engage and support parents to provide for their young children’s health, safety, nutrition and development, and involve them in their ECD services

Reply:

SASSA provided food parcels during the initial hard lockdown implemented as a measure to limit the spread of the virus. In excess of 147 000 food parcels were distributed by SASSA during this period.

The decision taken during the period when food parcels were provided to reduce the size of the food parcel was taken to try and standardise the support provided within the Social Development sector, and to provide support to more people.

With the introduction of the R350 relief grant, SASSA stopped the distribution of food parcels, as the qualifying citizens were effectively being supported by the special relief grant and could not benefit from both forms of relief.

SASSA is no longer distributing food parcels but is continuing to provide support in terms of the social relief of distress programme through vouchers and direct humanitarian support to citizens affected by disasters other than the pandemic, in accordance with the provisions of the Social Assistance Act.

Reply:

The table below shows the number of social grants paid in Johannesburg during the period March to October 2020 to;

a) Pensioners who receive the Old Age Grant or War Veterans Grant.

b) NB: SASSA does not have information on child headed households.

c) Child Support Grant

		Number of Grants in Johannesburg in 2020
Grant type	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October
Care Dependency Grant	6,890	6,870	6,978	6,966	6,940	6,927	6,914	6,941
Child Support Grant	580,369	579,904	577,837	580,131	581,204	582,846	584,342	586,613
Disability Grant	34,570	34,365	35,678	35,563	34,270	35,089	34,899	35,008
Foster Care Grant	8,488	8,461	8,582	8,841	8,998	9,250	9,341	9,451
Grant-In-Aid	2,043	2,026	2,014	2,005	1,964	1,954	1,944	1,940
Old Age Grant	190,373	189,733	191,317	192,864	192,002	192,374	193,144	193,884
War Veteran’s Grant	7	7	7	7	5	4	4	4
Total	822,740	821,366	822,413	826,377	825,383	828,444	830,588	833,841

Please note that information on all the other types social of grants paid during the period in question has also been included in the table.

d) The table below shows the number of COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant recipients in Johannesburg and Gauteng during the period May 2020 until October 2020. Please note that only 7% of the Covid SRD recipients provided information on the districts in which they reside. Thus the information on the entire Gauteng Covid SRD grant recipients has also been provided. Also note that no Covid SRD grant payments were made in March and April 2020.

Table: Covid SRD grant recipients in Gauteng from May to October 2020

2020	May	June	July	August	September	October
Gauteng	961157	1088058	1180741	1253453	1261494	1270938
Johannesburg	27337	32189	35821	39169	40120	41127

Reply:

The total amount spent on food parcels was R176 807 844. The details per province is provided below:

1. KwaZulu Natal Region

a) The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in KwaZulu-Natal spent R27 510 529.13 on food parcels.

b) The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in KZN:

(i) Name of Suppliers:

• KTZ Trading Enterprise
• Uzimatu J Events and Communication
• Bendalo Holdings
• Full Stop Logistics
• Duma Supplier Group Pty Ltd

(ii) Price of each contract

• KTZ Trading Enterprise was awarded 5751 food parcels at a total price of R7 013 429.13
• Uzimatu J Events and Communication was awarded 5781 food parcels at a total price of R6 937 200.00
• Bendalo Holdings was awarded 5636 food parcels at a total price of R6 763 200.00
• Full Stop Logistics was awarded 1575 food parcels at a total price of R1 890 000.00
• Duma Supplier Group Pty Ltd was awarded 4089 food parcels at a total price of R4 906 800.00

REPLY: 2. Northern Cape Region

a) The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Northern Cape spent R13 906 445.71 on food parcels.

b) The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in NC:

(i) Names of Suppliers:

• • Mandlakomoya Trading and Projects
  • Mamonyai Consulting
  • Bompembe Trading
  • Matiko
  • Mortar Board Trading Solutions

(ii) Price of each contract

- Mandlakomoya Trading and Projects was awarded 1683 food parcels at a total price of R2 041 345.94

- Mamonyai Consulting was awarded 2 582 food parcels at a total price of R2 994 076.25

- Bopembe Trading was awarded 3 084 food parcels at a total price of R3 865 032.38

- Matiko Holdings was awarded 2 601 food parcels at a total price of R3 164 634.36

- Mortar Board Trading Solutions was awarded 1 512 food parcels at a total price of R1 841 356.78

REPLY: 3. Eastern Cape Region

a) The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Eastern Cape Region spent R 47 295 882.62 on food parcels.

b) The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in the Eastern Cape

(i) Names of Suppliers:

• Bendalo Holdings
• Kwasa Food Supplies

(ii)) Price of each contract

• Bendalo Holdings was awarded 20 560 food parcels at a total price of R 24 784 936.69
• Kwasa Food Supplies was awarded 18 703 food parcels at a total price of R 22 510 945.93

REPLY: 4. Mpumalanga Region

1. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Mpumalanga spent R6 546 600.00 on food parcels.
2. The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in Mpumalanga:

1. Name of Suppliers:

• Machaka Harvest Enterprises
• M2R Events Management
• Molanco Trading Enterprises
• Mandlakomoya Trading and Projects

(ii) Price of each contract

• M2R Events Management 57 (PTY) LTD was awarded 1 505 food parcels at a total price of R1 757 100.00
• Machaka Harvest Enterprise (PTY) LTD was awarded 1 535 food parcels at a total price of R1 816 800.00
• Molanco Trading Enterprise (Pty)Ltd was awarded 1 013 food parcels at a total price of R1 196 400.00
• Mandlakomoya Trading and projects was awarded 1 485 food parcels at a total price of R1 776 300.00

REPLY: 5 North West Region

1. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in North West spent R 6 359 392.45 on food parcels.
2. The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in Mpumalanga:

(i) The details of each are:

• Kokumo Holdings
• Malakhiwe Akohlulwa Onwabo(Pty) Ltd,
• Mamonyai Consulting
• Mortarboard Trading Solutions
• Ntlhaku Traders
• Sweet Buss (Pty) Ltd

(ii) Price of each contract

• Kokumo Holdings was awarded 1 044 food parcels at a total price of R 1 251 400.00
• Malakhiwe Akohlulwa Onwabo (Pty)Ltd was awarded 6 711 food parcels at a total price of R 808 724.70
• Mamonyai Consulting was awarded 1 262 food parcels at a total price of R 1 514 400.00
• Mortarboard Trading Solutions was awarded 572 food parcels at a total price of R 686 400.00
• Ntlhaku Traders was awarded 775 food parcels at a total price of R 795 400.00

REPLY: 6 Free State Region

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Free State spent R13,286,994.16 on food parcels.

1. The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in FS:

(i) Name of each Suppliers:

• Imvusa Trading 509 cc
• Mamonyai Consulting
• Soft Touch Tours and projects
• Thengokhulu Investment Group holdings
• Duma Supplier Group Pty Ltd

(ii) Price of each contract

• • Imvusa Trading 509 cc was awarded 1708 food parcels at a total price of R2,098,237.50
  • Mamonyai Consulting was awarded 1667 food parcels at a total price of R2,012,926.40
  • Soft Touch Tours and projects was awarded 1945 food parcels at a total price of R2,334,000.00
  • Thengokhulu Investment Group holdings was awarded 1904 food parcels at a total price of R2,302,362.00
  • Duma Supplier Group Pty Ltd was awarded 1896 food parcels at a total price of R2,306,036.26

REPLY: 7. Limpopo Region

1. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Limpopo Region spent R35 112 000.00  on food parcels.
2. The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in LP:
3. Name of Suppliers:-

• DMB Leisure Solutions
• Mamonyai Consulting
• Kitso Projects and event management
• Mamoratwa Enterprice,Book shop,catering and Social Consultancy

(ii) Price of each contract

• DMB Leisure Solutions was awarded 8000 food parcels at a total price of R9 600 000.00
• Mamonyai Consulting was awarded 7050 food parcels at a total price of R8 472 000.00
• Kitso Projects and event management was awarded 6200 food parcels at a total price of R7 440 000.00
• Mamoratwa Enterprice,Book shop,catering and Social Consultency was awarded 8000 food parcels at a total price of R9 600 000.00

REPLY: 8 Gauteng Region

(a) The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Gauteng spent R14 708 400.00 on food parcels.

(b) The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in Gauteng:

(i) Name of Suppliers:-

• Kualah Investments
• Nakapedi Investments (PTY) LTD
• Ramafoko Cleaning & Projects CC
• M2R Events Management 57 (PTY) LTD

1. Price of each contract
   • Kualah Investments was awarded 2 988 food parcels at a total price of R3 585 600.00
   • Nakapedi Investments (PTY) LTD was awarded 2 972 food parcels at a total price of R3 566 400.00
   • Ramafoko Cleaning & Projects CC was awarded 3 291 food parcels at a total price of R3 949 200.00
   • M2R Events Management 57 (PTY) LTD was awarded 3 006 food parcels at a total price of R3 607 200.00

REPLY: 9 Western Cape Region

1. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Western Cape spent R12 081 600 on food parcels.
2. The following are the details of each supplier and prices of each contract in WC:
3. Name of Suppliers:-

• Ithemba Labantu
• Ciaca Primary Coorp
• Bendalo Holdings
• Mandlakamoya trading

(ii) Price of each contract

• Ithemba Labantu was awarded 2697 food parcels at a total price of R3 236 400.00
• Ciaca Primary Coorp was awarded 2458 food parcels at a total price of R2 949 600.00
• Bendalo Holdings was awarded 2414 food parcels at a total price of R2 896 800.00
• Mandlakamoya Trading was awarded 2499 food parcels at a total price of R2 998 800.00

Reply:

In terms of Regulation 6(5)(a) to the Social Assistance Act, a primary care giver applying for a child support grant for a child aged between 7 and 18 years, has the responsibility to ensure that the child is enrolled at and attends school.

Regulation 6(5)(d) requires the National Department of Social Development to notify the Department of Education, if it is aware that any child benefitting from a child support grant does not attend school, and the Department of Education has a responsibility to take steps to ensure that the child does attend school.

a) Currently, when an application is taken for a child support grant, the primary care giver is requested to provide proof that the child is enrolled at school. This is in the form of a report card or a letter from the school. If the applicant does not have the required letter, the application is still taken and processed but the letter of award, if the grant is approved, requires the care giver to submit the required proof within a period of 6 months.

b) There is no provision in the Social Assistance Act or Regulations to suspend payment of the grant if the confirmation of school attendance is not provided. This is considered a “soft” condition, as there are no consequences for failure to meet the requirement. There is therefore no enforcement of this particular provision.

National Assembly Written Reply: 2786 of 2020

________________________

Approved by the Minister of Social Development

Date……………………….

Possible follow up questions from the ANC:

Question

What is the current position regarding school attendance by children in South Africa?

Response

School attendance, particularly for children younger than 16 years of age is relatively high. Generally, where children are not attending school, it is because there is no school available within their vicinity. The challenge with school attendance is generally with children older than 16 years, where attendance is not compulsory.

Question

Is there any incentive for care givers to keep their children in education?

Response

The Department of Social Development, working together with SASSA, has signed an agreement with the Departments of Basic and Higher Education to identify all children who benefit from social grants, to ensure that they are the first priority for funding from NSFAS for their further education and training. This project has yielded very positive results, with some of our grant beneficiaries doing extremely well in both the matric examinations as well as in the higher education environment.

It is believed that this is the first step towards breaking the cycle of poverty – through education, children who benefitted from grants are able to compete on an equal footing with their more privileged peers.

Possible questions from the opposition

Why is the requirement in legislation if it is not enforced?

Reply

The inclusion of school attendance in the Social Assistance Act was to raise the profile of the importance of school attendance in ensuring that all care givers are aware of the importance of creating a solid foundation for children. The linking of child support grant beneficiaries to NSFAS funding is a further incentive for care givers to keep children in school, and then to get financial support for their further education and training.

Despite the obligations which are placed on the Department of Education, this cannot be managed through the Social Assistance Act, 2004.

Reply:

The Department of Social Development would not be in a position to have access of the list of the funded NPOs from Lotteries Commission.

However; in order to provide the requested information; the Department must be furnished with the information of grants paid out by Lotteries Commission.

Only on receipt of the list of beneficiaries from Lotteries Commission; the Department of Social Development will only be able to provide information about the NPOs that are registered in terms of NPO Act.

Reply:

(a) There are ninety-four (94) police stations around KwaZulu-Natal that have had Social Workers placed in their services since March 2020.

(b)(i) There are fifteen (15) Thusong Centre that have had Social Workers placed on specific days of the week

(b)(ii) There are eight (8) Thuthuzela Care Centres around KwaZulu-Natal that have had Social Workers placed in their services since March 2020.

Reply:

1. Regulation 3(b) to the Social Assistance Act, 2004 confirms that a person is eligible for a disability grant if that person has attained the age of 18 years, and “the disability is confirmed by an assessment ….” The Act further defines an assessment as “the medical examination by a medical officer of a person or child in order to determine disability or care-dependency for the purposes of recommending a finding for the awarding o social grant..” and medical officer is defined as “any medical practitioner in the service of the State, or a person appointed under a contract to perform the functions or render the services of a medical officer in terms of the Act”.

Given the challenges in the Health environment with the provision of assessment services for all applicants and beneficiaries for disability-related grants, SASSA strategically decided to contract medical officers to supplement the services provided by the Department of Health by contracting doctors directly through an open tender process for a period of 36 months. A set criteria is used to select doctors who are contracted to conduct social assistance assessments, see below:

The medical doctors must:

1.1  Have a Medical Qualification or a Medical Degree;

1.2 Be currently registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a medical practitioner for at least 2 years;

1.3 Must demonstrate Tax compliance through the submission of a Valid Tax Clearance Certificate as issued by the South African Revenue Services;

1.4 Must be Registered with the Central Supplier Database held by National Treasury;

1.5 Have an understanding of Social Assistance issues; and

1.6 Be willing to attend induction workshops on the assessment tools and the Social Assistance Act No 13 of 2004 as amended and related Regulations. This ensures that the contracted doctors are able to comply with the requirements for the rendering of disability assessment services prior to commencement of undertaking assessments.

2. The doctors must not have:

2.1. Been convicted in any court of law for Social Grants Related Fraud; or

2.2. Been excluded or suspended from conducting medical evaluations for SASSA or any other organ of state. An affidavit is sufficient at the point of Bid submission but should any bidder fail a vetting process, SASSA has the right to terminate the services of that particular service provider.

b) There are no doctors who have had their contracts terminated because of fraudulent transactions

c) There is no loss that is attributable to fraudulent doctors over the past five financial years.

Reply:

1. The backlog in the disability related grants is with new applications. The temporary disability grants and care dependency grants which will lapse at the end of December 2020 are all grants which were already in the system as at February 2020. The backlog of new applications reported in the response to Parliamentary question 1319 was 19 053. This has been reduced to 6 707 by end October 2020.

The provinces which still have a backlog of new applications are Gauteng with 1 282 and Mpumalanga with 277 and Western Cape with 5 148.

2. The numbers of doctors assisting with assessments is 472. This is 3 less than what was reported previously, as a result of 3 of the contracted doctors having passed away – 1 in Western Cape and 2 in KwaZulu-Natal. However, there are additional doctors from the Department of Health, particularly in the Western Cape Metro that are now assisting with assessments. Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape (for the Boland/Overberg and Eden/Karoo districts) are currently finalizing a procurement process to contract additional doctors to assist with the assessments.

Negotiations are also continuing with Provincial Departments of Health to identify additional medical officers who can assist with medical assessments. These discussions also extend to identifying facilities which can be used for assessments.

3. (a)(i) The number of temporary disability grants which will lapse at the end of December 2020 is 210 778.

(ii) The number of care dependency grants which will lapse at the end of December is 11 243.

(b) The total number of disability related grants which will lapse at the end of December is 222 021.

4. SASSA, with the Department of Social Development have been working on a plan to ensure that the beneficiaries who will be affected by the bulk lapsing have an opportunity to re-apply for the required grants by 31 March 2021.

Once care dependent children turn 18 years of age, their care dependency grants lapse, and they have to apply for a disability grant. This is because the care dependency grant is paid to a care giver of a severely disabled child, while a person over the age of 18 years is considered an adult, and must apply for the grant in his/her own name. For this reason, it cannot be an automatic conversion, but an application process.

However, in order to avoid the necessity for these young adults with severe disabilities to have to report to a SASSA office or health facility for a medical assessment and then to return at a later date to complete the application process, SASSA has developed a project plan to complete paper-based medical assessments, using the medical report already on file for the care dependency grant. The assessment will be done in the absence of the young person. This is provided for in the Social Assistance Act and can be implemented as there is a medical history for the applicant in SASSA’s possession.

Once the medical assessment has been completed, the care giver of the young person will be called in to the SASSA office on an appointment basis to complete the application as the procurator for the young person, in terms of Section 15 of the Social Assistance Act, 2004.

Measures have been put in place to manage cases where a medical report cannot be traced, or does not contain adequate information for the assessing doctor to make a recommendation, in order to manage risks associated with the process, and to ensure that SASSA can be accountable for decisions taken.

The above process will cater for the 11 243 care dependency grants which will lapse on 31 December 2020.

For the temporary disability grants, for those beneficiaries who are still unable to work as a result of the disability, assessments can start being scheduled in December already, with the application being done from January, since these can only be done once the temporary grant has lapsed. It should be borne in mind that a temporary disability grant is provided for a specific period only, because the assessment indicates that the condition can improve to the extent that it is not the disability which prevents the person from working. It is therefore not automatic that all those currently in receipt of the temporary disability grants will re-apply for the grant; or, if they apply, that they will qualify for the grant. A full application process, with a new assessment is thus required.

The process will be closely managed and all exceptions will be dealt with to ensure that inconvenience is limited as much as possible, and all who require access to services are attended to and people with disabilities are treated with care and respect.

Reply:

The care dependency and temporary disability grants which would have lapsed at the end of October and November have already been extended to 31 December 2020. The cost for this extension has been accommodated within the budget allocation provided for these grants for the current financial year.

We are now working on a plan to address the significant number which will expire at the end of December, costing approximately R1.2 billion. This estimated cost cannot be accommodated within the existing budget, so we are considering alternatives to prevent bulk lapsing on 31 December 2020 by introducing staggered dates for lapsing between December 2020 and March 2021 to manage the influx for citizens who may wish to reapply for the disability grant.

Reply:

(a) The temporary disability grants and care dependency grants which were due to lapse at the end of October 2020 have all been extended to 31 December 2020. The costs for this extension have been accommodated within the financial allocation for the social grants for the 2020/21 financial year.

(b) (i) The financial implications for the extension of the care dependency grants from October to December 2020 is R41 823 960.

(ii) The financial implication for the temporary disability grants for the period from October to December 2020 is R784 094 160.

(iii) The numbers of grants affected, should they be extended to 31 March 2021 is 11 243 care dependency grants and 210 778 temporary disability grants. To continue paying these for an additional 3 months will cost R62 735 940 for the care dependency grants, and R1 176 141 240 for the temporary disability grants (total of R1 238 877 180).

Reply:

The NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 Reports[1] provided insightful information to the Department of Social Development. The Department of Social Development appreciates that national surveys and studies assist with strategic decisions, while it is always important to interpret the findings of any study with rigour. However, the following needs to be noted with regard to findings and the generalisation thereof.

1. The NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data was collected through telephone interviews from a total sample of 5,676 individuals (80% of the original wave 1 sample), of which only 2,722 individuals (48% of the sample) indicated that they are in a household with children age birth to six years (sub-sample)[2].

2. Furthermore, the data indicated that of this sub-sample 950 individuals (35% of sub-sample and 16.7% of total sample) indicated that their child(ren) aged birth to 6 years attended and early childhood development programmes “such as a pre-school, creche, playgroup or day-mother”. The questionnaire explicitly excluded attendance of Grade R in primary schools, where a large majority of 5 and 6 years find themselves2.

3. NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data, most likely due to the design of the questionnaire, does not differentiate between attendance of registered and unregistered early childhood development programmes2, which is an important factor to be considered in the understanding and interpretation of data and trends, especially under the national state of disaster, for some of the following reasons:

3.1 ECD programmes are legally required to be registered in terms of the provisions of the Children's Act 38 of 2005 as to operate as a legal entity under the law passed by the Legislature and to be eligible for funding from government. Thus, a disaggregation in this study (and other studies by civil society) will be of value to indicate whether the impact of the minimum health, safety and social distancing measures to address, prevent and combat the spread of COVID-19 has affected and is comparable between registered and unregistered ECD programmes similarly or not.

3.2 ECD programmes that are registered generally have the capacity to meet the minimum norms and standards prior to the onset of the national state of disaster, which could have made them more resilient towards re-opening. Furthermore, lumping registered and unregistered ECD programmes together as one homogenous sample excludes a number of critical variables that differentiate these two groups significantly, while it prevents an analysis to determine whether there is bias in the finding towards unregistered or registered early childhood development programmes. Thus, it is not sure whether the findings of the NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data are skewed towards the one or the other.

3.3 Registered ECD programmes are eligible to be funded by the provincial Departments of Social Development in accordance with section 93(1) of Children's Act 38 of 2005 should they meet the necessary requirements and subject to availability of funding. A disaggregation in such data will also assist in determining the different experiences between registered and unregistered early childhood development programmes.

3. At the time of the survey (July/August 2020), shortly after the re-opening date of all early childhood development centres on 6 July 2020, only 127 (13% of 950 individuals responded) of children attending an ECD centre in March 2020 had return to that ECD centre2. In this respect the following:

a) This was a relatively short time after the date of re-opening and as the NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data confirms1 the reports that the Department of Social Development received from the field is that significant numbers of ECD centres, especially in in under resourced and rural areas, did not re-open2 (NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data indicates that 55% of the respondents cited this as a reason)2.

b) Furthermore, 5.6% of the respondents indicated that they did not return their children due to the fact that they believe that the ECD centre is not prepared for COVID-19, while a third (33.1%) cited fear of their child contracting COVID-19 at an ECD centre as the reason for not returning a child to an ECD centre1;2.

4. The findings of the NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 data should not be compared with other historic data as the methodology and sample sizes differs significantly, i.e. “attendance dropped to just 13% from July 2020 to mid-August 2020, which is the lowest rate of attendance in 18 years”. Firstly, it compares historic data with an extraordinary time in South Africa. Secondly, the GHS of 2002 (18 years ago) was based on a different sample size and methodology, while it confirmed the findings of the 2000 ECD audit was done with 22,256 ECD sites across the country of 16% attendance of ECD programmes for children aged to birth to 6 years, which was also prior to the introduction of Grade R.

5. ECD programmes have not been determined to be an essential service, though it is regarded as an invaluable part of young children’s growth, development and early learning. Other than with schools, attendance of early childhood development programmes is not compulsory and remain the choice of the parent at any time (before the national state of disaster and there-after). The closing of ECD programmes, however, did follow roughly the same timelines of closure and re-opening as schools. During the same period of the NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 cited by the Member, the attendance if schools showed a similar trend, with return to school at 37.3% (for open grades) at that time1, while it is currently still well below the percentage of attendance in March 2020.

6. At the time of the NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 (July/ August 2020) on which the question is based:

Part (a) of question

6.1 the Minister of Social Development has issued Directions that directed the Provincial Departments of Social Development to continue paying subsidies to early childhood development programmes (see Government Notice 517 published in Government Gazette No 43300 of 9 May 2020 and Government Notice No. 762 in Government Gazette No. 43520 of 10 July 2020), which was executed by the Provincial Departments of Social Development in accordance with section 93(1) of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 as provincial competency (see responses to Question NW1318).

6.2 The payment of social relief in distress grants during this time is believed to also indirectly benefitted children birth to 6 year old in households (see response to Questions NW2068 & NW1853)

6.3 Minister announced on 30 July 2020 the Department of Social Development’s contribution in relation to the Presidential Employment Stimulus (South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan) towards the early childhood development workforce. Since the following was approved by the national Treasury for the National and Provincial Departments of Social Development to continue to mitigate the impact of the national state of disaster on ECD programmes and to facilitate the continues re-opening of ECD programmes:

a) R380 million was allocated for unemployment risk support that will benefit 83 333 existing ECD related workers

b) R116 million was allocated for the support of 25 500 compliance support officers, who are existing staff members at early childhood development programmes that will play a compliance support role within their ECD programmes, contributing to mitigating a second wave of COVID-19

c) R16.5 million was allocated for registration support officers who will assist in scaling up registration as part of Phase 2 of the Vangasali campaign

d) The Department of Social Development engaged with experts from UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation as well members of the Inter-Sectoral Committee for ECD to develop an implementation plan for the implementation of this grant as part of the ECD stimulus package.

Part (b) of question

6.4 Funding was repurposed from the existing conditional grant allocation to provide PPE’s to qualifying ECD programmes (see responses to Questions NW1318; NW1578 & NW1652)

6.5 The Department distributed food parcels since the beginning of the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus to indigent persons and those whose income was affected, which is believed to also provided support households with children birth to 6 years (see responses to Question NW1561)

6.6 The National and Provincial Departments of Social Development continued to provide advice and guidance to early childhood development programmes regarding re-opening, which include information on how to re-open safe and in the best interest of children (see responses to Question NW1652)

1. Spaull et al. NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 Synthesis Findings. ↑

2. Wills, G., Kotze, J., Kika-Mistry, J. (2020) A Sector Hanging in the Balance: ECD and Lockdown in South Africa (National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) 2020, Wave 2) ↑

Reply:

(1)(a) Gauteng Social Development scheduled the third quarter subsidy payment of Springs Child Welfare which was due end of October 2020 earlier in the same month but could not release it due to system glitches.

(b) However, once the system glitches were resolved, an amount of R 488,353 was paid on 10 November 2020 which was an advance subsidy payment for the months of October to December 2020.

(2) Yes, Gauteng Social Development was informed about the possibility of Springs Child Welfare closing its doors due to late subsidy payment and the Department urged Springs Child Welfare not to do so, as their funding delays were receiving urgent attention. The subsidy was eventually paid on 10 November 2020 which was 10 days later than the cut-off date of 30 October 2020.

With regards to the consequences of payment delays, Gauteng Social Development endeavours to minimise the adverse impact of subsidy delays by providing alternative measures to NPOs such as giving assurance letters to be utilised to access short finance/funds from the banks.

Gauteng Social Development is currently upgrading its payment system which will come into effect mid-financial year of 2021/22. The system upgrade is geared to resolve the various glitches that causes payment delays and we expect to see improvement post implementation.

Reply:

The Children’s Act and regulations outlines the general norms and standards for all ECD programmes wherever they are. The Act also prescribes that ECD services can be registered conditionally. To address this, the department developed the registration framework which gives effect to the registration of the services conditionally. The framework recommends registrations in three levels, that is bronze, Silver and gold. The bronze and silver level gives programmes the opportunity to register even when they do not comply with all the norms and standards. This is a developmental approach that has been taken to assist the programmes for the department to assist them to ultimately move to full registration (gold). This quality standards apply to all programmes whether in urban, settlements, rural and farm areas.

Reply:

Eastern Cape:

Departmental Interventions

As part of intervention strategies, the Department of Social Development has implemented the following activities to Rural Areas and Informal Settlements:

• The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development teamed with South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and co- ordinated the lists of destitute people from all Local Municipalities who were forced to stay at home, as per COVID- 19 Regulations and were not able to do their temporal work for their living. These lists were submitted to SASSA for assessment and received Social Relief of Distress in the form of food parcels from their budget.

 

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of face masks, hand gloves and sanitizers were provided by Provincial office to all Department of Social Development (DSD) offices in order for Social Service Practitioners to be able to interact with all communities in their sphere of operations and continue the services during lockdown as essential service workers.

• The Department formed part of the COVID-19 Ward-Based Rapid Response Teams which were created by Eastern Cape Provincial Government that aimed at prevention, outreach and educational programmes to the rural and informal communities through joint operations with other stakeholders such as Department of Education and Health on the learner support programmes for the Grade 12 learners (e.g. coping mechanisms and family support programmes).

 

• Community Nutrition Development Centres (CNDC) were closed as per the national directive however food parcels were provided to all 33 CNDCs in 6 District Municipalities and 2 Metropolitan through “Knock and Drop” for CNDC participants to prepare food from their homes and not eating from the centre in order to apply social distancing.
• Psycho- Social services in the form of In-Depth Telephone Interviews and Counselling Services were provided to people infected and affected by COVID- 19 living in Informal Settlements and Rural Areas including those referred by Department of Health and Department of Education. The service was later extended to contact sessions with the change of levels of lockdown.

• The Department established 19 Shelters for the Homeless People in the 6 Districts and 2 Metropolitans Municipalities for the vulnerable individuals that were found homeless around Towns, Cities and Informal Settlements. Homeless People were provided with food, accommodation and psychosocial support during their stay in the Shelters. Social Service Practitioners also unified some of the homeless people with their families after being screened for COVID-19.

• The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development has spent R5, 239, 000 from Social Relief of Distress (SRD) budget on food parcels for 3,362 households/ families who are needy especially those staying in Informal Settlements and Rural Areas. The Department has also received additional budget of R78 million on SRD to cover families in need. The Department is considering provision of food voucher or bank generated coupons amounting R750 per family and discussions are at an advanced stage between Provincial office and the bank for implementation to take place.

• Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD) centres were closed as per the national directive ever since 26 March 2020 when Lockdown started. The Department funds 2, 933 Early Childhood Development Centres from the Equitable Share amounting to R219, 704, 000 and 1310 ECD centres from Conditional Grant amounting to R123, 817, 000. Households with ECD learners within Rural Areas and Informal Settlements were prioritised for provision of Food Parcels under Social Relief of Distress. The DSD has embarked on the process of assessment and verification of ECD centres, in preparation for supporting their opening which revealed that most of them were not ready due to unavailability of PPE.

• The steep rise of Gender Based Violence statistics after the National Lockdown, necessitated the Department of Social Development to re-open Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) Centers to back up Social Service Practitioners with all volunteers who were recruited under VEP in May 2020. Volunteers together with Social Workers were providing Psychosocial Support and Counselling to the infected and affected individuals in the rural and informal communities.

Free State:

At the time of responding to this question; the province had not yet provided their response.

Gauteng:

The Department funds NPOs across the Province. These NPOs targets risk areas with high rates of poverty, unemployment and social related issues. These areas include informal settlements and rural areas, noting that Gauteng demographics is characterized by semi-rural / urban areas.

Whilst ECDs remained closed during the Lockdown, all other NPOs rendering services to vulnerable groups were provided with 1st Quarter subsidy payment to assist the NPOs in putting the necessary safety compliance measures in place to ensure minimal disruption in service delivery and curb the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, the Department had firstly partnered with the Church of Scientology to decontaminate residential facilities (Old Age Homes and Homes for Disabled) and Homeless, secondly facilitated and supported NPOs with the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment, and thirdly guided and provided training on safety protocols.

In all of the above interventions, the Department targets all areas where there is a need for services whilst ensuring safety measures are in place at all times.

KwaZulu-Natal:

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development suspended operations in the ECD Centre, Community Care Centres for the elderly, rehabilitation programs for people living with disability, CND’s including youth academies operations were suspended during lockdown to curb the spread of covid19.

The Department further suspended public visits to residential facilities and gatherings targeting more than 50 people.

In the main, a large proportion of services provided by the department target communities in rural areas, per-urban areas including informal settlements and townships therefore the suspension of these services was a way of curbing the spread of covid19 in communities mentioned above.

 

Limpopo:

The Limpopo Department of Social Development has put in place the following measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas:

• Provision of directions prevented members of the public from visiting residential facilities and our institutions
• Psychosocial support services to the infected and affected members of the community
• Appointment of Covid-19 compliance officers in all institutions
• Training by Department of Health to the Covid-19 members of the screening committee
• PPE’s provided to our facilities and institutions
• Strategies and protocols have been developed on the management of COVID-19 in residential facilities and service points in the rural areas.
• Capacity has been built on officials working in communities such as Social Workers and Community Development Practitioners and those working in facilities of care for ability to self-protect and that beneficiaries in facilities.
• Ongoing plans in place to monitor facilities of care and to ensure that measures are in place to prevent spread of the virus in line with national regulations.

The facilities have been provided with PPE’s for all officials as well as all beneficiaries.

Mpumalanga:

• All services that required direct contact with clients were suspended to curb the spread of COVID 19.
• The Department operated as a nerve centre at Provincial, District and Local level to coordinate and provide services to clients in distress.
• The Department also opened a call centre for clients to call and or send sms and please call me for services required.
• The Department worked closely with other stakeholders to ensure proper referrals for clients who needed services.

North West:

The Department of Social Development in the North West implemented the following measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas:

Developed strategy and protocols on management of COVID 19 in residential facilities for older persons and Persons with Disabilities.

Training provided to 96 on the strategy and protocol to employees in the Department and those working in residential care facilities so that they protect themselves in their respective communities and the residents / beneficiaries in facilities.

61 x Residential care facilities monitored to ensure that measures are in place to prevent the spread of the virus as per the protocols.

61 x facilities provided with PPE of 2x5lt sanitizer and 2 x boxes of 50 pcs of mask per facility.

Intervened in 15 residential care facilities that had outbreaks of COVID 19 to ensure that protocols are complied with to curb the spread of the virus.

Northern Cape:

(a)(b) Rural areas and informal settlements. All officials were available to intervene in the following:

• Reported cases of Child abuse, Elderly Abuse or Neglect as well as Gender Based Violence.
• Victims were removed and placed in Child and Youth Care Centres, Old Age Homes or Shelters for Victims of GBV.
• Homeless persons were accommodated in temporary shelters and re-unified with family members as soon as possible.
• DSD took responsibility for transporting persons from these areas to the appropriate facilities and also linked with the Department of Health for assistance when needed.
• Officials received PPEs and were informed about the protocol to be followed when interacting with community members to limit the risk of infection with the Corona virus.
• Quarterly subsidies were paid for April - June 2020 to all funded organisations to pay the salaries of their professional and support staff including volunteers and caregivers and administration costs. From July 2020 the normal subsidy payment process applied.
• Monthly subsidies are paid to ECD Centres from April - September 2020 despite being closed. It is applicable to those who are subsidized, registered and submitted business plans and they receive 60% of the subsidy (40% for salaries and 20% for administration).
• Social Relief of Distress (Food Parcels and Clothing vouches) were provided to families assessed to be unable to meet their basic needs and are victims of disasters e.g. houses or belongings destroyed because of fires and floods.

• In essence the DSD services are rural biased. Out of a cohort of 143 Nutrition Centres, a total of 123 Nutrition Centres are located in rural areas and rendering food provision services in these rural areas.

• The Department took a deliberate decision not to open the Nutrition Centres, as that would have caused the convergence of people at these centres (creating a conducive environment for the spread of the virus).

• The Department instead worked with its DSD District Offices and Local Municipalities on rendering food provision services to DSD beneficiaries and indigent households on their indigent registers/beneficiary lists. The majority of the municipal indigent households are residing in rural areas and informal settlements and received food security services in the form of food parcels.

• To date 58 136 households received food parcels and to facilitate social distancing and to ensure that the poor and vulnerable are not exposed to risks associated with Covid-19, these food parcels were hand delivered/door-to-door to individual households.

• Officials from the Department were also provided with PPEs to protect themselves and household members to whom food provision services were rendered.

Western Cape:

• Protocols have been put in place between the WC provincial DSD and the Department of Health with regards to referrals of COVID-19 outbreaks at old age homes.
• Guidelines were also developed for Disabled Homes, Homeless Shelters and Shelters for Abuse Women
• Guidelines were developed for rendering statutory services related to child protection services.
• All NGOs contracted by the Department of Social Development was still paid a monthly subsidy and all NPOs received their full subsidies during the lock-down period in Western Cape. This ensured that NPOs could continue supporting vulnerable groups.
• Funds were made available to old age homes for the management of COVID19, providing of PPE, relief staff and covid 19 health training and support to the staff.
• Funds have been made available for disabled Homes for the management of COVID 19
• Funds were made available for PPE in preparation for the re-opening of ECD partial care facilities
• ECD facilities were assisted in the self-assessment of readiness for the re-opening after lockdown level 3.
• Additional masks, sanitizers, soap and hygiene products have been distributed to 117 old age homes, 40 Disabled Homes, 26 Homeless Shelter, 6 Foster Cluster Care Homes and 20 Shelters for Abuse Woman.
• Various NPOs rendering child designated work were also provided with masks for the Social Workers. The PPE’s were donations from private companies.
• Child Designated NPOs and DSD local offices continued providing psycho-social support to children and their families.
• DSD also facilitated the deployment of volunteers to deep-clean old age homes, disabled Homes, Shelters and inpatient treatment centres – with a focus on facilities in vulnerable communities, hotspot areas and rural areas
• Food parcels were distributed to communities
• WC Department of Education continued with their school feeding schemes during lockdown
• ECDs also provided food to children during lockdown
• Drop-in-centres and Isibindi Sites provided food during lockdown.

Reply:

SASSA is not aware of any challenges with payment in Idutywa for the November payment cycle. SASSA deploys customer care officials to monitor the payment process at post offices, retailers and banking infrastructure throughout the Eastern Cape on a monthly basis. No incidents of non-payment were observed or reported for the November payment cycle, which started on 3 November.

I would respectfully request the Honourable Member to provide more specific information, to enable SASSA to investigate the complaint and implement corrective actions.

Our Team from SASSA on the ground, in the Eastern Cape will keep vigilance and engage with the Post Office to ensure that we avoid interruptions to systems as grants recipients collect their grants.

Reply:

The Gauteng Department of Social Development does not have a registered treatment centre called “Gauteng Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation clinic” on its database.

The Department is kindly requesting the Member to provide more details.

Reply:

The temporary Homeless Shelter at Paint City in Bellville are managed by an NPO funded by the City of Cape Town and not by the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Development. The City of Cape Town’s forensic unit is investigating the allegations.

Reply:

(a)(i) Private Office of the Minister

(a)(i) Full Names	(b)(i) Job Title	(b)(ii)Relevant details of the annual salary	(b)(iii) Highest qualification
	Food Services Aid II	R184,359.00 per annum	Standard 8 (Practical) Certificate
	Domestic Worker	R122,595.00 per annum	Grade 11 Certificate
	Special Adviser IV	Total Cost-to-Employer (TCE) package R1,978,533.00 per annum	Bachelor of Journalism and Media Studies Degree, Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources
	Assistant Appointment Secretary	TCE package R733,257.00 per annum	Baccalaureus Artium Degree in Politics Philosophy and Economics
	Secretary/Receptionist	R265,302.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Parliamentary and Cabinet Support	TCE package R1073,202.00 per annum	Master's Degree in Public Management
	Media Liaison Officer	TCE package R1,073,202.00 per annum	Honours Degree in Journalism and Media Studies
	Branch Administrator	R316,791.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Domestic Worker	R122,595.00 per annum	Grade 11 Certificate
	Food Services Aid II	R173,703.00 per annum	Certificate Form III
	Private Secretary	TCE package R936,177.00 per annum	Standard 8 Certificate
	Driver/Messenger	R221,382.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Chief of Staff	TCE package R1,308,345.00 per annum	Bachelor of Social Science Honours Degree in Policy and Development and National Diploma in Diplomacy
	Community Outreach Officer	TCE package R1,057,326.00 per annum	BSc Degree in Science
	Registry Clerk	R376,596.00 per annum	Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies
	Chief Director: Research Monitoring and Evaluation	TCE package R1,308,345.00 per annum	Master of Arts Degree (Humanities) in Industrial Sociology
	Personal Aide to the Chief Director: Research Monitoring and Evaluation	R173,703.00 per annum	Senior Certificate and N5 Certificate in Marketing Management

(a)(ii) Office of the Deputy Minister

(a)(ii) Full Names	(b)(i) Job Title	(b)(ii)Relevant details of the annual salary	(b)(iii) Highest qualification
	Driver/Messenger	R173,703.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Senior Guiding Officer	R376,596.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Chief Registry Clerk	R257,508.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Parliamentary And Cabinet Coordinator	TCE package R733,257.00 per annum	Masters of Law Degree
	Special Needs Coordinator	TCE package R744,255.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Driver/Messenger	R173,703.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Community Outreach Officer	TCE package R766,764.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Chief Registry Clerk	R257,508.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Private Secretary	TCE package R908,694.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Senior Administrative Officer	R316,791.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Food Aid Services	R102,534.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Domestic Worker	R122,595.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Technical Specialist	TCE package R1,089,294.00 per annum	BA Degree in Development Studies
	Secretary/Receptionist	R208,584.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Head Of Deputy Minister's Office	TCE package R1,057,326.00 per annum	Baccalaureus Artium Honours Degree in English
	Domestic Worker	R122,595.00 per annum	Senior Certificate
	Senior Guiding Officer	R393,783.00 per annum	Grade 11 Certificate

(c) The Deputy Minister is directly related to one of the staff members.

Reply:

1. Requested information related to Uprising Youth Development (NPO 153-198), as follows:

(a) Constitution which is also a founding document, is attached as annexure (i)

(b) The names of the Office Bearers and the (c) registered address of the NPO as listed in the NPO Registeris attached as annexure (ii)

(c) For the financial year 2017 and 2019: the organisation submitted affidavits with reference to financial disclosure attached annexure (iii).

(d) The organisation submitted narrative reports of its activities for the financial year 2017 and 2019 attached annexure (iv).

(2) The compliance details of the organisation are as follows:

(a) The organisation failed to submit financial and narrative reports for 2018 and 2020.

(b) Steps to ensure compliance; the Department is encouraging non-compliant organisations like this Uprising Youth Development (NPO 153-198)to submit annual reports through a campaign known as “know your NPO status”

(c) The Department recognises that some of the organisations that are due for reporting are not able to do so due to the impact of COVID-19; however; the Department has De-registration program which will be implemented effective 01st April 2021.

(d) Therefore; should Uprising Youth Development (NPO 153-198) fail to submit outstanding reports it will be deregistered.

Reply:

Cabinet has not taken any decision on the conversion of the special COVID-19 SRD into unemployment.

Reply:

1. The SASSA cards are actually bank cards issued by the South African Post Office on behalf of Postbank to approved applicants who choose to collect their social grants through the post office. The cards are not managed by SASSA at all.

In 2019, SASSA was alerted to the fact that the master keys for the cards had been compromised in the bank environment. The South African Reserve Bank as the responsible entity for the National Payment System then issued an instruction late in 2019 that all the current SASSA cards would have to be replaced as they are potentially compromised. However, the SARB also set conditions for the improvement of controls within the Postbank environment related to card manufacturing, storage and issuing. These have been addressed by Postbank.

Given the need to replace the cards in circulation, SASSA took a decision not to issue any more of the existing cards, as the need to replace them within a very short period would inconvenience social grant beneficiaries.

Discussions are underway with SAPO and Postbank to ensure that the replacement of the cards is done with the least disruption to the clients.

It must be noted that the potentially compromised cards did not result in any social grant beneficiary losing any social grant money. The fraud that has been experienced by social grant clients has been as a result of poor implementation of controls in the management of the cards within the post office environment, and not because of the security of the card itself.

b) The security lapse for the master keys of the SASSA cards is not something which happened within the past few months, but right at the start of the payment contract with SAPO. It took some time to surface and, once made public, was addressed by the South African Reserve Bank.

c) As explained, SASSA is not the custodian of the cards. These are banking instruments which are managed within a banking environment. Fighting crime and corruption, including the detection of fraud, is a key national priority and SASSA is committed to play its part.

Reply:

(a) The Grant Proposal Evaluation Team comprising of NDA, DoSD, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and the Interim Steering Committee evaluated 589 qualifying proposals received in response to the NDA’s call for proposals from CSOs rendering services to support victims of gender-based violence and femicide. The Team short-listed and recommended 312 emerging and established CSOs for funding to the value of R 86,100,000, for the NDA Board’s approval. Table 1 below outlines the outcome of the evaluation process per Province.

Province	Number of recommended emerging CSOs	Number of recommended established CSOs	Total number of recommended CSOs	Total amounts of recommended CSOs per Province
Gauteng	8	52	60	R 17 200 000
Eastern Cape	37	30	67	R16 400 000
Western Cape	2	21	23	R 6 700 000
Mpumalanga	3	34	37	R 10 800 000
Free State	3	17	20	R5 700 000
Northern Cape	5	8	13	R3 400 000
North West	4	5	9	R 2 300 000
Limpopo	9	48	57	R16 200 000
KwaZulu-Natal	4	22	26	R7 400 000
Total	75	237	312	R 86 100 000

(b) The following criteria was used to make a decision on the proposals submitted:

1. Financial and operational capacity- this looked at whether the applicant organisation has experience and capacity to manage the project. The financial and governance capacity of the organisation was also examined. The applicant needed to indicate how the programme would address vulnerable groups such as women, children, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+.

2. Relevance. The relevance was to demonstrate how the proposed programme responds to the Emergency Response Plan (ERAP) to expedite the fight against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF). Additionally the application was to demonstrate how clearly defined and strategically chosen are those involved (intermediaries, final beneficiaries, target groups)?

(c) 168 organisations received their first tranche payments to date. 10 of these organisations have received their second and final tranche.

(d) The names of the organisations that receivedfunding are attached separately.