Question & Replies No 2226 to 2250

2009-11-26

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[PMG note: Replies are inserted as soon as they are provided by the Minister]

QUESTION NO. 2249 INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28 of 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 November 2009

Mr G R Morgan (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(1) Whether any functions besides the management of mariculture are still to be transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether (a) any new functions have been transferred or (b) transfer of such functions has started from the Department to Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) since 1 January 2009; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(3) whether a policy document or position paper is being drafted by MCM for making a case for it to be transformed into an agency; if so, who mandated this project; if not, what is the position in this regard;

(4) whether the matter is being reviewed in another form within Marine and Coastal Management; if so, what are the relevant details; if not,

(5) whether any entity outside MCM has been contracted to draft the policy document or position paper; if so, (a) what entity and (b) what is the cost of the project?

NW2958E

Mr G R Morgan (DA) SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

2249. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:

(1) The possibility of transferring wild fisheries (in addition to marine aquaculture) to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has been mooted, but no final decision has been taken in this regard.

(2)(a) No.

(2)(b) No. There has been no transfer of new functions from the Department to the Branch: Marine and Coastal Management. The only change since 1 January 2009 is that the corporate affairs or support functions which previously fell under the Branch: Corporate Affairs but whose staff were based at MCM, will now report directly to MCM.

(3) No position or policy paper has been drafted to transform MCM into an agency. The Department is however, currently considering various organisational models and options.

(4) The possibility of creating an accounting board for the entity to alleviate the conflicting dual accounting authority role of the Director-General is being considered. This would require an amendment to the existing legislation.

(5) No. The Department has to date made use of internal organisational design capacity and expertise.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 2247

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 28)

Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(1) Whether the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, Act 54 of 1972, is being enforced by all metro or district councils; if not, (a) why not and (b) which metro or district councils are not enforcing the Act; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether there are any minimum requirements for enforcing the Act, if not, why not; if so, (a) what are they and (b) what is the (i) actual and (ii) optimal number of inspectors each metro or district council has?

NW2956E

REPLY:

(1) No, Section 23(1) of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 1972 (Act 54 of 1972), states that the Minister of Health may authorize by notice in the Government Gazette, any local authority to enforce within its area of jurisdiction and through its duly authorized officers, the provisions of the Act as the Minister may specify in the notice. To date, requests for authorization have been received from all six metros (category A) and 24 of the 46 district (category C), municipalities, in total 62%, which represent coverage of the majority of the country's population related to the enforcement of the Act;

(a) no requests for the remaining 22 district municipalities have been received;

(b) details of the district municipalities currently not authorized are as follows:

EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE

Amatole District Municipality (DC12)

O R Tambo District Municipality (DC15)

Alfred Nzo District Municipality (DC44)

FREE STATE PROVINCE

Xhariep District Municipality (DC16)

Motheo District Municipality (DC17)

Lejweleputswa District Municipality (DC18)

Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality (DC19)

GAUTENG PROVINCE

West Rand District Municipality (CBDC8)

Metsweding District Municipality (CBDC2)

LIMPOPO PROVINCE

Bohlabela District Municipality (CBDC4)

Mopani District Municipality (DC33)

Vhembe District Municipality (DC34)

Capricorn District Municipality (DC35)

Sekhukhune District Municipality (CBDC3)

MPUMALANGA PROVINCE

Gert Sibande District Municipality (DC30)

Nkangala District Municipality (DC31)

NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE

Frances Baard District Municipality (DC9)

Karoo District Municipality (DC7)

Siyanda District Municipality (DC 8)

NORTH WEST PROVINCE

Central District Municipality (DC38)

Bophirima District Municipality (DC 39)

Southern District Municipality (DC40)

Note: All metro and District Municipalities in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces authorized.

(2) No, the Act does not stipulate minimum requirements for the enforcement thereof by a metro or district municipality. However, the Department of Health requires that a request for authorization should be accompanied by a copy of the relevant municipal council's resolution recommending that the Minister of Health be requested to authorize such municipality, as well as a letter from the relevant provincial health department indicating whether the request is supported, or not.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 2246

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 28)

Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(1) Whether there is an agreement with any country for the training of doctors; if so, (a) which country, (b) when did the agreement come into effect, (c) how many students have (i) commenced studying in respect of each year since the start of the agreement and (ii) have graduated, (d) at which institutions do they get taught and (e) in which language;

(2) whether any restrictions are placed on the students with regard to (a) freedom of movement or (b) any other human rights within the country of training; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) (a) what is the cost of training for each doctor and (b) who is paying for the training in each case?

NW2955E

REPLY:

(1) Existence of the Health Cooperation Agreement with the Republic of Cuba to train doctors

(a) The Ministry of Health currently has a Health Cooperation Agreement with the Republic of Cuba to train South African medical students to attain medical degrees.

(b) (i) The Health Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Health (SA) and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health was signed in the year 1996. The Agreement provided for the Cuban Ministry of Public Health to train South African medical students in Cuba for a full six year medical degree. The Agreement also provided for twelve months of Spanish tuition prior to the commencement of medical studies. The medical students were therefore expected to spend seven years in Cuba before coming back to South Africa as qualified doctors.

(ii) The Agreement was revised in October 2001 to allow the medical students to return to South Africa after completion of the fifth year of training in Cuba to do final clinical training in local Medical Schools.

(iii) The reasons and benefits for revising the Cooperation Agreement were as follows:

· Familiarise with South African Health System including disease profile and management of the workload, trauma, etc.

· Integration in the SA Medical Education System including assessment thereof with local counterparts; and

· Registration with Health Profession's Council of South Africa without foreign qualification assessment

(ii) The total number of qualified medical doctors is 221 as at 18 November 2009.

(d) The medical students undergo a twelve months Spanish tuition in Cuba at Saqua La Grande - the language institution. They are then divided between three medical schools namely; Santa Clara, Sancti Spritus and Cienfuegos. When they return to South Africa for final clinical training, they are allocated to all local medical schools except the University of Free State. The University of Free State has not been hosting the medical students since 2006 due to transitional challenges that students experienced at the University.

(e) The students are taught in Spanish language for the first five years of medical training in Cuba and in English in South African Medical schools during final clinical training in South Africa.

(2) (a) No, students are free to visit one another between the four academic institutions namely; Saqua La Grande, Santa Clara, Sancti Spritus and Cienfuegos in Cuba. They are also allowed to participate in the South African National activities organised by the South African Embassy. The same applies when they are back in South Africa.

(b) None that has been reported to the Department of Health through the South African Embassy in Cuba.

(3) Costs of training per medical student in South Africa and in Cuba for a full medical degree:

(a) (i) Total costs of training medical doctors through this programme in Cuba is R419 478.00. The amount covers tuition fees, books accommodation, meals, transport between South Africa and Cuba and allowance for six years.

(ii) The amount paid in South Africa during final clinical year depends on the medical school that students are allocated to for final year. Example of the fees paid for a medical student at the University of Cape Town per annum is R86.129.00. The amount covers registration, tuition, books, accommodation and meals.

(b) Provincial Departments of Health are responsible for the costs incurred in training medical doctors recruited through the Training Programme

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 2245

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 28)

Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(a) What were the findings of the study that his department has conducted into the production capacity of training institutions, (b) which learning institutions were included in the study, (c) how many positions were offered to students in each year, (d) for what professions and (e) what progress has been made to improve the human resources situation since the release of the report?

NW2954E

REPLY:

(a) Investigations into the production capacity of training institutions are being undertaken as part of a review of health sciences education and training. This review committee is chaired by the Deputy Director-General in the National Department of Higher Education and has as members, officials from the National Departments of Education, of Finance (National Treasury) and of Health as well as representatives from the Health Sciences Professional Council and also from Higher Education institutions. As part of its terms of reference, the committee is also examining the current student carrying capacity of health sciences of faculties with a view to making recommendations on how this capacity can be increased.

Preliminary findings of the review suggest that production can be enhanced by providing resources to institutions for filling of vacant practitioner posts, earmarked investments in space, faculty and systems to support the expansion of health sciences education.

(b) Only programmes with clinical training requirements have been included in the review. These are under-graduate degree programmes in medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, speech pathology, audiology, dietetics, dental therapy, and masters level specialist training programmes in medicine, surgery and dentistry. Programmes in nursing are being reviewed in a separate study which is in progress.

(c) The review of production capacity of training institutions has not been finalized. It is therefore not possible at this stage to quantify its effects on enrolments in the institutions.

(d) All health sciences education and training institutions offering the abovementioned programmes are participating in the review. The review of production of nursing professions covers all public nursing colleges and schools. Resources are being mobilized to source information from all private nursing training providers in the short term.

(e) Additional clinical training budgets to 12 Universities have been enhanced as a result of the review. Funds to the value of R200 million have been earmarked for one or more of the following purposes:

· appointment of staff

· appointment of other staff to support the delivery of clinical training services

· to support partnership agreements with public and/or private providers of clinical training services

· to help meet the operating costs of clinical training

· to improve the infrastructure needed for clinical training, including equipment, building refurbishment and the construction of new clinical training facilities

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 2244

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13/11/09

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 28-2009)

Mr DC Smiles to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

Whether any plans are in place to ensure that the workbooks for the grade 1 to 7 learners are (a) delivered at the (i) right time and (ii) right place and (b) of the right (i) quality and (ii) quantity with specific reference to (aa) procurement process, (bb) distribution plans and (cc) the relevant timeframes to successfully complete the project; if not, why not; if so, what plans in each case? NW2953E

REPLY:

The Department of Basic Education has cancelled the order of Workbooks. The Department will provide further update on the matter as required.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NUMBER 2243
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1) Whether the National Treasury has considered any proposals regarding the increase in
taxation to fund the SA Broadcasting Corporation; if not, why not; if so, what are the
relevant details;
(2) whether he intends introducing measures to ensure efficient taxation administration of
such a tax; if not, why not; if so, what measures?

REPLY:

(1) No. The current policy is to keep earmarked taxes to an absolute minimum as taxes not
only limit the fiscal space available to government, but also tend to be inefficient from
both revenue and expenditure perspective. There is generally more accountability in
spending when an entity is reliant on a user charge rather than an earmarked tax. It is
not prudent to encourage a proliferation of earmarked taxes.

(2) No. Such a tax is not under consideration at this stage by the National Treasury.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2242

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28- 2009)

Date reply submitted : 15 December 2009

Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:

(1) How many (a) Hawks are there currently and (b) Hawks employees have computers;

(2) whether the investigative teams are manned and function in the same way as they did under the Scorpions; if not, (a) why not and (b) how are they currently structured;

(3) whether ex-Scorpion cases are securely stored; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) how many cases of the Scorpions have the Hawks finalised;

(4) whether salary structures have changed for former investigators and employees of the Scorpions that have transferred to the Hawks; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(5) whether any former Scorpions employees that transferred to the Hawks have had salary reductions; if so, (a) how many, (b) what percentage of transferred employees have had their salaries reduced, (c) with what amount was it reduced and (d) for what reason?

NW2951E

REPLY:

(1)

(a) 1 400 provisional appointments.

(b) Investigators have access to323 laptops and 804 desktop computers nationally.

(2) No

(a) The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations deploys various working methodologies, inclusive of investigative teams.

(b) Teams are structured according to a particular need. Experts from the organisation are placed in those teams.

(3) Yes

(a) The cases are treated in the same way as the cases originating from the rest of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

(b) 38

(4) The former Directorate Special Operations members who elected to move to the SAPS were translated to the broad banding salary structure of the SAPS. These employees are now fully fledged police officials with the same benefits (i.e. Polmed, pension benefits, etc.) as other police officials on equivalent levels.

(5) The translation of salary packages were done on a total cost-to-employer basis. None of the staff members who have been transferred to the SAPS have had their salaries reduced.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2241

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: TUESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2009 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 28 – 2009)

Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

(1) Whether an investigation will be launched into the alleged speeding incident of a certain person (name furnished) as reported in the media on 2 November 2009 (copy furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether the said person was speeding; if so, what was the speed transgression;

(3) whether he will be fined; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) whether he had any outstanding fines when he was pulled over; if so, what was the total (a) value, (b) amount, (c) date and (d) speeding transgressions;

(5) whether he was arrested; if not, why not?

NW2950E

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

(1) Following the media article that the Honourable Member refers to in part (1) of the Question, the Department of Transport (DoT) contacted Ms Pinky Kekana, MEC of Roads and Transport in the Limpopo Province to conduct an investigation regarding the incident in question. According to the information at my disposal, the Province does not have any proof of the alleged incident. Therefore, the Limpopo Provinces' investigation has yielded no concrete facts about the alleged offence.

(2), (3), (4) and (5) Fall away.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2240

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28- 2009)

Date reply submitted : 15 December 2009

Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:

Whether a certain person (name furnished) receives (a) VIP protection or (b) police protection; if so, (i) what is the extent of the protection, (ii) how many bodyguards are assigned to him, (iii) what is the cost per month for this protection, (iv) what has been the total cost of protection for him for the past twelve months for which information is available and (v) why is he receiving protection?

NW2949E

REPLY:

As the issue deals specifically with the security of an individual, which may be compromised as a result of the reply, the answer is classified.

QUESTION NO 2237

Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

(1) Whether the Competition Commission is engaging the Law Society of SA and banks as a result of a complaint lodged against Absa Bank and law firms, case number 2007NOV3370, in order to request (a) the Law Society to intervene with law firms who have undertaken not to act against a bank in any manner for as long as they remain on the bank's conveyancing panel and (b) banks to remove this or similar parts of clauses from their agreements with law firms; if not, why not in each case; if so, (i) what progress has been made in each case and (ii) what is the position with regard to such practices;

(2) Whether he will make a statement on the matter? NW2946E

REPLY:

(1) (a) According to the Competition Commission, they wrote to the Law Society of South Africa on 7 June 2008, requesting the Law Society's intervention in this matter. Several e-mails have been sent, however the Law Society has not reverted to the Competition Commission on the matter.

(b) The Competition Commission has met with ABSA and raised its concerns regarding the wording of the Letter of Engagement. However, ABSA is adamant that no aspect of its arrangement with the panel of law firms gives rise to competition concerns. Whilst ABSA is open to removing the words "or not' from the provision of the Letter of Engagement, they would prefer to wait for the Law Society to complete its review before implementing any amendments. It is for this reason that the Competition Commission wrote to the Law Society.

(2) The matter in question falls squarely within the exclusive mandate of the Competition Commission and in this regard, the Competition Commission will be the one to make a statement upon finalization of its investigation. The Competition Commission has indicated that it is concerned about the impact this arrangement by ABSA has on the availability of legal services, as ABSA seems to have tied up the market. The Competition Commission is also concerned that the clause in the Letter of Engagement may be too far reaching, given that it covers all matters whether giving rise to conflict of interest or not. Hence the need to discuss this matter further with the Law Society.

DEPARTMENT: JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO.: 2236 DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

2236. Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the contracts of the district surgeons are being (a) cancelled or (b) curtailed; if so, (i) why and (ii) what are the financial implications in this regard;

(2) whether doctors are paid expert witness fees based on their time spent waiting or giving expert opinion; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2945E

REPLY:-

(1) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has not signed any contracts with district surgeons. The Honourable Member is requested to contact the Department of Health in this regard.

(2) Doctors who are in the employ of the State are not entitled to be paid expert witness fees in terms of the Departmental Financial Instructions (DFI) paragraph 23.17 for the hours spent in court. However those who are in private practice are entitled to be paid expert witness fees and loss of wages. A medical practitioner who is required to give evidence after the expiry of a period during which he/she acted as locum tenens for a district surgeon is entitled to the same allowances as ordinary witnesses. When the amount claimed exceeds the tariff as prescribed by the DFI, the claim is referred to the Regional Head who serves as the delegated official for approval.

I would also like to advise the Honorable Speaker that no agreement, promise or recommendation as to fees are entered into or made to an expert witness unless prior authority has been obtained from the delegated official.

DEPARTMENT: JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO.: 2235 DATE OF PUBLICATION: 29 OCTOBER 2009

Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether a certain magistrate (name furnished) refused further postponement and

dismissed a certain case (details furnished) because the prosecutor was not ready to

proceed; if so, why was the prosecutor not ready to proceed;

(2) whether a senior public prosecutor was called to explain the circumstances in this

regard; if so, what were the details of the explanation;

(3) whether the Director of Public Prosecutions in Grahamstown refused to release the prosecutor who originally prosecuted the case; if so, why?

Details : Accused : Siyanda Robile, Monwabisi Vuku, Odwa Sepepa;

Magistrate: Ronel Erasmus; date of arrest and charge: January 2008.

NW2944E

Reply:

(1) I have been provided with information from the National Prosecution Authority that indicates that the magistrate in question did dismiss the case referred to. The background is that the prosecutor who had started the trial was appointed as a State Advocate in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Grahamstown, leaving the matter partly-heard in the lower court. The prosecutor left comprehensive notes in the docket for the new prosecutor destined to take over the prosecution. On the date of the incident under query, the Regional Magistrate dismissed the case in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act after declaring the State's case closed, apparently in terms of section 342A of the said Act. It is, however, not, because the State was not ready to proceed. The prosecutor was ready to proceed and made this clear to the magistrate. On an earlier date the case had been postponed to allow for the transcription of the record in order to allow the new prosecutor to familiarize herself with the record. Although the record had not yet been transcribed on the date, the prosecutor nevertheless advised the court that she was ready to proceed and to call the next witness. The magistrate refused that the State lead any further evidence as the defence objected to the trial proceeding, saying the matter was postponed for the record to be typed and that, in any event, they had other cases in other courts. The Office of the DPP in question was consulted, and provided the prosecutor with the directive that the magistrate was to be advised in the case in question that the State would not close its case but that the prosecution was ready to put the witness in the stand and proceed with the trial. Notwithstanding the fact that the witness was ready and available, the magistrate proceeded to dismiss the case.

(2) Yes, the Senior Public Prosecutor was called by the court to explain why the record was not typed. She explained that the prosecution had requested the office manager who heads the local court administration in question to deal with the transcription of the court record.

(3) The prosecutor had left extensive notes in the docket for any subsequent prosecutor to familiarize herself/himself with the trial. It was not anticipated that she would be required to return for the prosecution. When the Director of Public Prosecutions was advised that the prosecutor in question had a partly-heard case, she had already been allocated to other duties and had prepared for prosecuting appeals in the High Court and could not, at the time, be released to do the partly-heard case in the regional court. The dismissal of the case however had nothing to do with the availability or otherwise of the prosecutor in question. The prosecutor who took over the case had in fact repeatedly asked the magistrate to allow the available witness to testify. The magistrate however refused this. The transcription of the record is awaited for the National Prosecution Authority to consider what course of action to take in the light of the decision by the magistrate.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2233

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13 NOVEMBER 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28- 2009)

Date reply submitted : 15 December 2009

Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:

(1) Whether the SA Police Service provides psychological counselling to police officers who are on active duty; if not, why not; if so, what form does this assistance take;

(2) whether SAPS members are aware of this assistance; if not, why not; if so, how is this communicated to the officers;

(3) how many officers in each province received psychological counselling in the past three financial years;

(4) whether there is any compulsory psychological counselling for members involved in traumatic incidents; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2942E

REPLY:

(• Trauma counselling

• Psychological counselling/Psychotherapy

• General counselling - work related, relationships

• Spiritual counselling

• Substance abuse and dependence

• Bereavement

• Suicide Prevention

Province	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010 Up until August 2009
Head Office	3358	482	39
KwaZulu-Natal	1854	2364	1013
Mpumalanga	1836	3929	1118
Gauteng	5388	2463	464
Limpopo	2887	637	176
Free State	2092	2862	209
Northern Cape	1848	2113	122
Eastern Cape	2206	498	482
Western Cape	4857	6932	249
North West	1832	775	360
Total	28 158	23 055	4154

(4) TRAUMA COUNSELLING

Psychological counselling is viewed as a broad form of counselling and can provide support in any problem that an employee may have to deal with. Trauma counselling however is very specific and provided to SAPS employees after a critical incident or traumatic experience.

Trauma counselling is not compulsory within the SAPS as it will be an infringement on the basic human rights of the employee.

Trauma counselling or trauma debriefing is guided by the National Instruction 18/98 version (0.03) which provides the organisation with specific regulations in terms of trauma reporting, the rights of the employee such as receiving trauma counselling within official hours and confidentiality.

The provision of trauma counselling to employees is viewed as in the best interest of the organisation, however the employee may still make an informed decision whether to receive the service or not.

All trauma counsellings and refusals of trauma counsellings are recorded and kept within the trauma register at cluster stations and units.

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO.: 2232

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 November 2009

2232. Mr J Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:

What was the total amount of (a) goods transported by Spoornet/Transnet Freight Rail and (b) such goods in tonnes transported by Spoornet/Transnet Freight Rail to (i) Botswana, (ii) Zimbabwe, (iii) Zambia, (iv) the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (v) Mozambique, (vi) Swaziland and (vii) Namibia in each case in the (aa) 2005-06, (bb) 2006-07, (cc) 2007-08 and (dd) 2008-09 financial years? NW2941E

REPLY

(a) The table below indicates the total amount of goods in tonnes transported by Transnet Freight Rail nationally, for the years 2005 to 2009.

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

181,672,720

180,830,626

179,300,254

179,623,814

(b)(i-vii)(aa-dd) The table below indicates the total amount of goods in tonnes transported by Transnet Freight Rail to neighbouring countries, for the years 2005 to 2009.

Country	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Botswana	669,976	664,943	751,413	818,229
Zimbabwe	551,164	393,868	298,588	319,661
Zambia	291,959	235,397	211,445	231,905
Democratic Republic of Congo	112,083	79,607	69,197	33,346
Mozambique	1,992,331	1,978,004	1,916,508	2,374,783
Swaziland	241,786	240,347	248,749	215,369
Namibia	395,060	344,375	336,840	360,071

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 2231

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: MONDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2009 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 28 – 2009)

Mr J Schmidt (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

(1) What is the total number of rolling-stock in the possession of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) in the operation of (a) Metrorail and (b) Sosholoza Meyl (i) in (aa) 2005, (bb) 2006, (cc) 2007 and (dd) 2008 and (ii) during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) what is the total number of train stations in each province? NW2940E

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

(a) Metrorail Rolling Stock

The Metrorail rolling stock quantities have not changed dramatically over the period since 2005. No new rolling stock has been acquired in the past decades. However, rolling stock has been lost due to accidents or burnings (arson) during this period. The units that were totally destroyed or rendered economically irreparable were identified for scrapping. Despite this, with the assistance of modern body upgrade techniques, it has been possible to recover some identified scrapped coaches and return them back to service.

PRASA is currently busy with an asset verification process for 2010. The following table gives the total fleet size and how it has changed during this period:-

TOTAL ALLOCATION	(aa) 2005	(bb) 2006	(cc) 2007	(dd) 2008	(ii) 2009
TOTAL ALLOCATION	4 632	4 634	4 622	4 632	4618

(b) Shosholoza Meyl

The Shosholoza Meyl fleet size did not change to any great extent over the period in question, other than reductions from accidents and severe corrosion – please refer to the table below. The quantities and types of vehicles transferred from Transnet to Shosholoza Meyl on 01 April 2009 are still being verified as certain vehicles should have been retained by Transnet (such as workmen's cabooses), while certain staged coaches should have been transferred to Shosholoza Meyl.

TOTAL ALLOCATION	(aa) 2005	(bb) 2006	(cc) 2007	(dd) 2008	(ii) 2009
	1 227	1 227	1 223	1 223	1 219

The total number of train stations in each province is reflected in the following table:-

Region	STATIONS
Region	PRASA Owned	Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) Owned	Total Used
Gauteng	175	46	221
Western Cape	86	32	118
KZN	56	44	100
Eastern Cape	0	29	29
Total	317	151	468

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO.: 2230

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 November 2009

2230. Mr J Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:

(a) What is the total number of kilometers covered by railway lines in each province in terms of route distance (i) in general and (ii) that has been electrified and (b) how much extra distance was covered (i) in the (aa) 2005-06, (bb) 2006-07, (cc) 2007-08 and (dd) 2008-09 financial years and (ii) during the period 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available? NW2939E

REPLY

(a) The rail network is managed as a national resource by classification based on freight volumes, axle loading and strategic priorities. Operational and maintenance plans are derived from these parameters and have no bearing on provincial boundaries. Rail network information based on provincial boundaries is therefore not available. The information requested is provided for the entire network:

(a)(i) The total route kilometers are 20,079 kilometers.

(a)(ii) The total route kilometers that have been electrified are 8581 kilometers.

(b) The track and electrification route kilometers have not changed significantly over the period 2005 to 2009.

(b)(i)(aa) 2005/06 – Zero Kilometers

(bb) 2006/07 – Zero Kilometers

(cc) 2007/08 – Zero Kilometers

(dd) 2008/09 – Zero Kilometers

(b)(ii) During the period 1 April 2009 up to November 2009 – Zero Kilometers.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 2225

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [No 28-2009]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 November 20092

2225. Mrs A Steyn (DA) to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform:

Whether, with reference to his reply to Question 1382 on 29 October 2009, his department received the total amount of rent from lessees of state-owned farms in the 2008-09 financial year; if not, (a) why not, (b) what (i) amount and (ii) percentage of the total amount due was received and (c) what steps are taken against lessees who do not honour their payments; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2934E

THE MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM:

No.

(a), (b)(i)-(ii), and (c) Please refer to Annexure A.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 2226

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [No 28-2009]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 November 2009

2226. Mrs A Steyn (DA) to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform:

Whether, with reference to his reply to oral question 233 on 4 November 2009, any of the evictions happened (a) on State land or (b) because of land restitution; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, (i) how many in each case and (ii) what steps did his department take in each case to ensure that the farm dwellers received homes? NW2935E

THE MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM:

(a) Yes.	(b) No.
(i) Two.	(i) Falls away.
(ii) In the first case the farm dweller already had alternative land and in the second case the Court ordered the relevant local municipality to provide the farm dweller with housing.	(ii) Falls away.

2009-11-26

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