Questions & Replies: Questions & Replies No 201 to 225

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2010-03-01

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Question 201

Mr S J F Marais (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry

(1) Whether he or any representative of his Department met with the Aluminium Federation of SA on the requests for duty reviews on the imports of aluminium extrusion products; if so, (a) what will be the benefit to the economy and

(b) when will it be implemented; if not;

(2) Whether any request for such a meeting was received; and if so, (a) why

why has such a meeting not yet taken place and (b) when is it intended for such a meeting to take place? NW207E.

Response:

On the 10th of September 2009, the Minister of Trade and Industry met with the Aluminium Federation of Southern Africa (AFSA) and Hulamin in Cape Town. At this meeting, the possible negative impact of the removal of the import duty on downstream aluminium products (aluminium wire rod, aluminium extrusions, and aluminium roiled products) was discussed. This decision had been implemented by International Trade and Administration Commission (ITAC) in the preceding period.

Taking into account the depressed economic conditions as well as the phased closure of the Cast-House at Bayside House at Bayside Smelter, it was agreed that there may well be economic grounds to reconsider the decision and therefore reinstate the import duty. The industry was advised to meet with ITAC and to make a format application. It was agreed that such a submission would fall under the distressed sector work which is part of the Framework for Response to International Economic Crisis adopted at Nedlec and would therefore be processed on an expedited basis by ITAC.

Subsequently, ITAC has met with the industry and agreed to consider such an application. However to date, ITAC has not received a formal application from the aluminium industry as agreed.

QUESTION NO 202

Mr S J F Marais (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

(1) Whether he or any representative of his department met with the textile industry on the requests for duty reviews on the imports of textile-related products; if so, (a) what \'~II be the benefits to the economy and (b) when will it be implemented; if not,

(2) whether any request for such a meeting was received; if so, (a) why has such a meeting not yet taken place and (b) when is it intended that such a meeting will take place?NW208E

REPLY:

IT AC reviewed the tariff dispensation on textile products classifiable under chapters 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58 and 60 of Schedule 1, of the Customs and Excise Act, which are used for the manufacture of clothing.

The review of the tariff dispensation for textile products used for the manufacture of clothing resulted in a number of rebate provisions being introduced for textiles that are not manufactured domestically. The provisions were implemented on 12 June 2009.

The benefit is a reduction in the cost of inputs into the clothing sector to improve competitiveness through the downward adjustments of duties on selected textiles that are not manufactured domestically.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 202

DATE PUBLISHED: 28 May 2010

DATE SUBMITTED: 17 August 2010

202. Mr F Adams (ANC-WC) to ask the Deputy President:

What (a) progress has been made so far during this term to enhance the campaign for the Moral Regeneration Movement and (b) steps will he take to get closer co-operation from civil society to bolster this campaign, with special reference to the role of faith-based societies, institutions and groups? CW268E

REPLY

As the Honourable Member might be aware, the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) was established to lead social mobilisation at national and provincial levels in favour of promoting social values that enhance "healthy" families and cohesive communities

It has been reported by the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) that they are steadily making inroads into strengthening social integration. For example, to achieve the social reintegration among youth, the MRM engages young people in social dialogues which address various issues such as social integration as well as the role of families in moulding social values like respect; and protecting community and public infrastructure.

In order to gauge the true extent of the overall impact of the MRM programme, the Department of Arts and Culture has commissioned a formal evaluation. The outcome of this review will enable us to share evidence-based details of the success of MRM in this regard including areas requiring improvement.

Having said this, I wish to remind all Honourable Members that reversing the social disintegration in our communities is a collective responsibility which should never be outsourced solely to teachers, government or any other individual entity or non-governmental organisation. Disintegration begins at home and in communities and therefore reintegration should first happen there.

The Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) is a campaign that has successfully mobilised civic organisations, NGOs, faith-based organisations and activists. Continued efforts are made to ensure the closer cooperation and collaboration among all affected organisations and institutions.

What we must recognise Honourable Members, is that moral regeneration and social cohesion campaigns in general stand or fall on the shoulders of all members of society.

QUESTIONS 203 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

19 February 2010

203. Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister for the Public Service

and Administration:

(1) Whether the Sector Information Technology Agency (Sita) grades suppliers of IT services and/or goods; if so, on what (a) date was a certain company (name furnished) granted grade A vendor status, (b) information per criterium/category was the decision to grant a grade A vendor status to the company based and (c) why was a certain tender (details furnished) withdrawn by Sita;

(2) whether the grading requirements have changed since then; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether the withdrawal of said tender has had any negative effects on service delivery and/or the Sita budget; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW209E

REPLY:

1 (a) SITA does not generally grade suppliers of services/ goods. It is only on a specific tender/contract (RFB 398/2006) that suppliers were graded in terms of class A, B and C as follows:

· Class A –Total Electronic Content Management (ECM) Solution.

· Class B – ECM Core.

· Class C – Standalone Components.

Suppliers could tender for any of the classes

(b) Valor IT was approved to be on this contract on 12 June 2006 as a Class A and C supplier.

(c) SITA published a tender with requested product functionality to which vendors

responded. The products offered by the vendors were then evaluated to determine whether they have the required functionality. Based on the evaluation process Valor IT and other successful suppliers were accredited to be on this contract for various classes.

(d) The requirements as published with the tender remained the same until the contract

expired on 9 October 2009.

2. The decision to accredit a supplier was not based on the information provided by a supplier on a particular criterion or category, but overall points scored during the evaluation. The evaluation criteria on this tender, were as follows:

  • Solution / Functionality
  • o Mandatory requirements

    o Technology

    o Services

    • Preferential points

    o HDI Equity

    o Women Equity

    o Disability

    • Financial

    o Software

    o Hardware (applicable to Class C, if hardware is required)

    o Services

    o Training

    *Pricing was only requested in the tender document in order to provide SITA with an indication of solution feasibility for small, medium and large installations.

    The decision to accredit a supplier was therefore based on the total points scored overall for Solution / Functionality and Preferential points.

    3. (a) Tender 385 was withdrawn by SITA as a result of a number of complaints received from the ICT industry. The complaints were around the fact that the structure of the tender will limit the number of suppliers that will be accredited on the contract. SITA wanted to appoint a specific number of suppliers on this contract. SITA has since revised the structure of the tender and published on the website for comments.

    (b) The withdrawal will not have any negative effects on services delivery and/or the SITA budget due to the fact that the current contract was extended until 30 June 2009 to provide for service continuity.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION 203

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    Date of publication on internal question paper: 24 May 2010

    Internal question paper no:14

    Mr R J Tau (ANC-NC) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

    (1) What is the total number of vacancies at South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) offices across the country;

    (2) whether her department has any moratorium with regard to the filling of posts; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,

    (3) whether her department has put any measures in place to (a) ensure that services rendered by SASSA are not negatively affected and (b) fill all vacancies at SASSA offices, especially in the Northern Cape and Western Cape; if not, why not; if so, what measures? CO274E

    REPLY:

    (1) The current structure has been developed based on the norm of 1:800 (as approved by Cabinet). It is envisaged that the Business Process Re-engineering exercise will provide a more realistic outcome. The total number of vacancies at South African Social Security Agency, across the country is as follows:

    HEAD OFFICE / REGION

    NUMBER OF VACANT POSTS

    HEAD OFFICE

    556

    GAUTENG

    1100

    WESTERN CAPE

    641

    KWAZULU NATAL

    1894

    MPUMALANGA

    884

    FREE STATE

    1294

    LIMPOPO

    946

    EASTERN CAPE

    1959

    NORTHERN CAPE

    894

    NORTH WEST

    1071

    TOTAL

    11239

    (2) Yes, SASSA has placed a moratorium on the filling of posts since 10 November 2008 to date, due to austerity measures which have been imposed to manage the current deficit.

    (3) Yes.

    a. The prioritization of critical posts to be filled is underway in all the SASSA offices across the country to ensure service delivery continuity

    i. The first phase in the prioritisation of the filling of critical posts was undertaken during October 2009. Specific criteria had been set for the identification of critical posts which included amongst others; the current workload / service delivery requirements (including special projects) and the impact of the post on service delivery (Constitutional rights of beneficiaries / public / employees; essential services, etc), hereto attached as Annexure A.

    ii. During this process 203 critical posts were identified for filling country wide (Annexure B). These posts were submitted to the Budget Task Team comprising of the Department of Social Development, National Treasury and SASSA to assess if the filling of these critical posts would negatively impact on the imposed austerity measures and the current deficit

    iii. Since there was no outcome to the Budget Task Team in relation to the critical post process, Manco decided on 6 May 2010 that the reprioritisation of these critical posts had to be effected so as to ensure that service delivery was not compromised (Annexure C).

    iv. It was decided that, in the interim, 50% of the recommended critical post (for which there is budget allocation) are to be costed for a full year and a list thereof be forwarded to the Acting Chief Executive Officer for approval. As a result of this process 122 posts were identified for filling (Annexure D).

    b. Both the Northern Cape and Western Cape are participating in the re-prioritization of critical posts as per Manco decision.

    QUESTION NO 204

    Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

    (1) (a) When was the full forensic Investigation regarding the Companies and

    Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) requested and/or authorised. (b) when is it expected to be completed, (c) what is the scope of this Investigation and (d) by whom is it being undertaken

    (2) whether the report of the Investigation will be tabled in Parliament, If not,

    why not if so, what are the relevant details?NW210E

    REPL Y:

    (1 )(a)-(d)As per discussion with the Minister, the Information will be made available upon the conclusion of the Investigation

    (2) The Minister will make the findings of the Investigation known to the

    Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry

    QUESTION NUMBER 205

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NUMBER 02)

    205. Adv H C Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister Mining:

    (a) How many applications have been in the High Court to review her or her delegates' decisions relating to the granting or conditional granting of (i) prospecting and (ii) mining rights, (b) how many did she or her delegates oppose, (c) in how many was default judgment granted against her or her delegates when they failed to oppose such applications, (d) in how many did she or her delegates have initially opposed have conceded or not proceeded with the opposition of the application or having subsequently withdrawn such opposition, (e) in how many which were opposed by her or her delegates the judgment was granted (i) against and (ii) in favour of her or her delegates, (f) in how many has she or her delegates been ordered to pay legal costs of the applicant on the (i) party or party scale and (ii) attorney, client and own client scale and (g) what was the total quantum of such legal costs which she or her delegates were ordered to pay in each case? NW211E

    REPLY

    It should be noted from the outset that the information provided hereunder may not be complete, as the Department is currently in the process of verifying certain outstanding information with the various national offices of the State Attorney.

    (a) According to the Department's records, a total of 66 applications have been in the High Court to review the Minister's or her delegates' decisions relating to the grating of (i) 57 prospecting and (ii) 9 mining rights, Of those, the majority is pending.

    (b) 60 Applications were opposed

    (c) Of the six applications which were initially not opposed, five orders were granted in favour of the Applicant.

    (d) The opposition of six applications which was initially opposed, have been withdrawn.

    (e) (i) In 10 of the opposed cases, judgment was granted against the Minister.

    (ii) In five of the cases opposed, judgment was granted in the Minister's favour.

    (f) and (g) The information is not currently readily available, as it is currently subject to an investigation during which the Department is verifying its records with those of the various offices of the State Attorney.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NUMBER 205

    DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28 MAY 2010

    Mr Z Mlenzana (COPE-EC) to ask the Minister of Finance

    Whether the Government will further tighten the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 and Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003, to avoid similar lootings that occurred at the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office; if not, why not, if so, (a) how and (b) when will this happen?

    CW276E

    REPLY:

    The National Treasury is of the view that there are sufficient provisions in both the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), 2003 (Act 56 of 2003) to prevent the abuse of public funds. The challenge is to ensure that Accounting Officers implement the Acts fully and have the appropriate fraud prevention plans and internal controls in place to prevent such abuses.

    The PFMA regulates financial management in government departments and public entities and aims to ensure that public funds are used efficiently and effectively. In meeting this objective the PFMA provides for the responsibilities of persons entrusted with financial management.

    In terms of section 51 of the PFMA, the Accounting authority of a public entity is responsible for, amongst others:

    § Effective, efficient and transparent systems of financial and risk management. These risk management strategies must include a fraud prevention plan.

    § Effective and appropriate steps to prevent irregular expenditure, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, losses resulting from criminal conduct and expenditure not complying with the operational policies of the public entity.

    § Management and safeguarding of the assets and for the management of the revenue, expenditure and liabilities of the public entity.

    Sections 81 - 86 of the PFMA also make provisions for sanctions against non-compliance. Persons who are found responsible for non-compliance are liable to a charge of financial misconduct which may lead to a dismissal or suspension.

    The MFMA, through chapter 15, has similar provisions to the PFMA and deals with financial misconduct, disciplinary and criminal proceedings as they apply to municipal officials and councilors, municipal entities and members of boards of municipal entities. The provisions also cover offences and penalties. It provides for processes and procedures to be followed in the event that allegations of misuse of public funds arise. It also contains enforcement provisions that seek to sanction officials who are found guilty of financial misconduct.

    The National Treasury is of the view that incidences of fraud in public institutions are not due to deficiencies in legislation but rather deliberate non-compliance with the provisions of the legislation, lack of enforcement by implementing departments as well as a lack of adequate supervision by control structures.

    QUESTION NO. 206

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 2)

    Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

    (1) Whether any investigation has been done into the qualifications and experience of the chief executive officers (CEOs) at public hospitals; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, when did this investigation commence;

    (2) whether the investigation has been completed; if not, when is it expected to be completed; if so, what were the findings?

    NW215E

    REPLY:

    (1) We are not doing any investigations into the qualifications and experience of the CEOs of public hospitals because we already have this information. The Honourable Member is well aware of this information as well, which we provided to him in particular and to Parliament in general, through the responses we furnished to Parliamentary Questions raised by a number of Members of the Democratic Alliance in June last year, including himself. The plan we are having, headed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), is rather to evaluate functionality, efficiency and effectiveness of management in various public hospitals. This will also evaluate the appropriateness of management structures and management styles within the hospitals. It will look for various delegations or lack thereof and make the necessary recommendations.

    (2) This evaluation process is likely to start at the beginning of April and the initial phase will take 3 months.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NUMBER 206

    Mr M W Makhubela (COPE-Limpopo) to ask the Minister of Finance

    (1) Whether the Government has been informed that countries in the Eurozone were

    experiencing acute economic problems which could impact negatively on South

    Africa; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (2) Whether the Government is considering further austerity measures to curb the

    indebtedness; if not, why not; if so, what measures will be put in place in this regard?

    CW277E

    REPLY:

    (1) Government has been closely following the recent events in Europe. South Africa's

    relatively low debt and prudent countercyclical management of the fiscus has meant

    that we are not facing similar problems. The projections for the 2010 MTEF place

    South Africa on a path back towards long-term fiscal recovery and in line with

    economic recovery.

    (2) South Africa's debt levels are very low by European standards. Prudent management

    of the fiscus and low debt levels in 2008/09 meant that South Africa was able to

    respond appropriately to the revenue shortfall in 2009/10 without bringing into

    question the sustainability of the South African fiscus or jeopardising service delivery.

    We plotted a reduction of the budget deficit over the next 3 years in the 2010 Budget

    Review. This carefully balances the need to; sustain priority areas of expenditure and

    service delivery; provide stimulus to the economy; and return the fiscus to long-run

    sustainability in line with the economic recovery.

    Non-interest expenditure is projected to grow on average, in real terms, by 1 per cent

    over the next three years, while revenue is expected to improve as the economy

    moves out of recession. Government will act to reduce debt and borrowing in line with

    this recovery.

    As part of the 2010 Budget, the National Treasury also published debt projections

    beyond the 2010 MTEF. These were modelled using a wide range of economic

    circumstances, and also indicated that the probability of debt reaching unsustainable

    levels is very low - even assuming far lower economic growth outcomes than

    expected.

    The problems facing Europe were not foreseen at the time we published the

    2010 Budget Review. For this reason we will be taking careful consideration of the

    possible impact of the crisis on South Africa's growth trajectory and ability to access

    financing as we work to prepare the 2011 MTEF. The updated forecasts for the

    macroeconomic and fiscal position will be published in October during the tabling of

    the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament

    QUESTION NO. 207

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 2)

    Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

    Whether the SA Nursing Council is currently able to carry out inspections of nurses' training institutions; if not, when was the last time that such an inspection was carried out; if so, (a) which institutions have been inspected since 1 January 2008, (b) on what dates were they inspected and (c) what was the outcome of the inspection?

    NW216E

    REPLY:

    The South African Nursing Council (the Council) is still fulfilling the statutory obligation of inspecting nursing training institutions. The Council visited seventy-seven (77) nursing education institutions from August 2007 to date.

    THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
    Question 207
    Mr D B Feldman (COPE-Gauteng) ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

    (1). Whether he has been informed that only ethnic blacks are benefiting from black economic empowerment (BEE) and broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) if not , what is the position in this regard, If so what are the relevant details;

    (2) how is the BEE appointment of 26% for each company divided amongst (a) blacks, (b) coIoureds and (c) Indians;

    (3). whether this implementation of the broad-based black economic empowerment Act 53 of 2003 can be justified; if not why not ; if so what are the relevant details;

    Response

    1. In terms of the BBBEE Act and "qualified by the Codes of Good Practice, black people are defined as Africans, Indians and Coloureds, who are citizens of the Republic of South Africa by birth or descent or by naturalization. In terms of the BBBEE framework and application thereof, all those categories are entitled to benefit from BBBEE policy.

    2. The ownership element seeks to transfer 26% of equity to black people in an entity. This target gets measured through voting rights, economic interests and net value Therefore the 26% target Is not apportioned in terms of what percentage must flow to Africans and coloureds as the term "black people" encompasses all these categories including designated groups,

    3. The definition of black people applies to all elements across the BBBEE scorecard. BBBEE supports areas such as skills development entrepreneurship, job creation and poverty eradication.

    4. Under the apartheid regime, race was used to control access to South Africa's productive resources and access to skills, and thus the economy was unbalanced and excluded the vast majority of the people from ownership of productive assets and possession of advanced skills . The economy performed below its potential because of the low level of income to be earned and generated by the majority of the people. Hence steps had to be taken to increase the effective participation of the majority of South Africans in the economy. There has been some progress with regards to transforming the economy as evidenced by the levels of BEE activity over the past three years since the gazetting of the Codes. Some 125 BEE deals worth R96 billion: 83 deals worth R60.7 billion and 58 deals worth R58 billion were concluded respectively in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

    Section 9 of the Constitution pronounces on equality, which entails the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. This clause further seeks to promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.

    QUESTION NO. 208

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 2)

    Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

    (1) Whether the financial shortages experienced by the Free State department of health led to an increase in the waiting list for antiretroviral medication (ARVs); if so, (a) what was the number of people on the waiting list (i) before the moratorium was put in place and (ii) after it was lifted and (b) what is the current number of people on the waiting list;

    (2) what is the number of people currently on the waiting list in each of the other provinces;

    (3) whether any studies and/or reports have been conducted to determine the number of additional deaths that occurred as a direct result of the moratorium; if not, why not; if so, how many?

    NW217E

    REPLY:

    The Honourable Member is referred to the answer to Question 1489 asked in October last year, which is attached as Annexure 1 for easy reference.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NO. 202

    DATE PUBLISHED: 28 May 2010

    DATE SUBMITTED: 17 August 2010

    202. Mr F Adams (ANC-WC) to ask the Deputy President:

    What (a) progress has been made so far during this term to enhance the campaign for the Moral Regeneration Movement and (b) steps will he take to get closer co-operation from civil society to bolster this campaign, with special reference to the role of faith-based societies, institutions and groups? CW268E

    REPLY

    As the Honourable Member might be aware, the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) was established to lead social mobilisation at national and provincial levels in favour of promoting social values that enhance "healthy" families and cohesive communities

    It has been reported by the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) that they are steadily making inroads into strengthening social integration. For example, to achieve the social reintegration among youth, the MRM engages young people in social dialogues which address various issues such as social integration as well as the role of families in moulding social values like respect; and protecting community and public infrastructure.

    In order to gauge the true extent of the overall impact of the MRM programme, the Department of Arts and Culture has commissioned a formal evaluation. The outcome of this review will enable us to share evidence-based details of the success of MRM in this regard including areas requiring improvement.

    Having said this, I wish to remind all Honourable Members that reversing the social disintegration in our communities is a collective responsibility which should never be outsourced solely to teachers, government or any other individual entity or non-governmental organisation. Disintegration begins at home and in communities and therefore reintegration should first happen there.

    The Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) is a campaign that has successfully mobilised civic organisations, NGOs, faith-based organisations and activists. Continued efforts are made to ensure the closer cooperation and collaboration among all affected organisations and institutions.

    What we must recognise Honourable Members, is that moral regeneration and social cohesion campaigns in general stand or fall on the shoulders of all members of society.

    QUESTION NO: 209

    PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 OF 19 February 2010

    Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

    What (a) amount was owed to each municipality on 30 September 2009 for (i) water, (it) electricity, and (iii) rates and services and (b) is the breakdown in respect of (i) 0-30 days, (Ii) 31-60 days, (iii) 91-120 days (iv) 151-180 days and (v) more than 180 days? NW218E

    Reply

    The report is being disaggregated and thereafter it will be submitted to cabinet before it can be given to yourself.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION 209

    DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 28/05/2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 5 – 2010)

    Mr M J R de Villiers (DA – WC) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

    1. (a) Which provinces are in violation of the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999, by not being consistent in submitting their quarterly school reports, (b) what steps were taken to address this problem and (c) what was the outcome in each case;

    2. Whether any action has been taken to ensure that provinces do not contravene the relevant legislative provisions of the said Act in the future; if not, why not; if so, what action? CW282E

    REPLY

    1. (a) It is not a requirement of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999, for schools to submit quarterly reports to the national Minister of the Department of Basic Education. However, provinces duly submit quarterly reports on Conditional Grants as required by the National Treasury Regulations and the Division of Revenue Act.

    (b) Not Applicable

    (c) Not Applicable

    2. No action has been taken by the Minister of Basic Education because schools do not submit quarterly reports to the Minister.

    QUESTION NUMBER 211

    QUESTION NUMBER 210

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NUMBER 02)

    210. Adv H C Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of Mining:

    (1) Following the signing by the President into law of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Act, Act 49 of 2008, on 14 April 2009, (a) when will the Act be put into operation and (b) why it has not yet been put into effect;

    (2) Whether any representations have been received from (a) her department and/or (b) anyone else, in respect of such delay; if so, what are the (i) relevant details and (ii) reasons for the delay? NW222E

    REPLY

    (1)(a) The department will pronounce at an appropriate time.

    (b) The provisions of environmental management in the MPRDA No. 49 (as amended) requires additional work to align with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), as amended, to create an enabling balance between environmental compliance requirements precedent to granting of mining rights and sustainable growth of the industry. Accordingly, the process of reviewing the Mining Charter also presented prospects of amending the MPRDA, as a result of which the DMR deemed it necessary to await completion of this process.

    (2)(a) No.

    (b) No

    (b)(i) N/A.

    (b)(ii) N/A

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION 210

    DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 28/05/2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14-2010)

    Mr M J R de Villiers (DA-WC) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

    (1) Whether the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) is prevalent in all schools; if not, (a) why not, (b) in which schools is it not prevalent and (c) what is the reason for this; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (2) whether her department gave any written submissions to the principals of the schools where the IQMS is not prevalent; if not, (a) why not and (b) what follow-up (i) programmes and (ii) procedures were followed to check that the plan was implemented; if so, (aa) what are the relevant details and (bb) who was responsible to do these follow-ups;

    (3) whether the officials who did not do the follow-ups received any performance bonuses; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? CW283E

    Answer:

    1. All schools are expected to implement the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) in terms of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) Collective Agreement 8 of 2003. The responsibility of the DBE is to monitor the IQMS processes and procedures in the provinces. According to the statistics on the IQMS implementation received from provinces, 307 416 i.e. 82.17% of educators were evaluated in 2009 evaluation cycle. This information is available in the IQMS Annual Report for the period April 2009-March 2010.

    According to information gathered from reports of external IQMS moderators, 1577 schools i.e. 20.2% of the 7816 schools visited during the period April 2009-March 2010, did not comply with the implementation of the IQMS. Since the appointment of external IQMS moderators in August 2008 to June 2010, a total of 13529 schools were visited, out of which 2315 were not implementing the IQMS. Follow-up visits were conducted in 1804 schools during the same period.

    (a) The reasons for the non-evaluation of the educators in the schools, amongst others were:

    · Educators on sick leave;

    · Educators in the post for less than 12 months;

    · Educators deceased;

    · Resignations; and

    · Educators who refused to be assessed

    The reasons for non-implementation of the IQMS in schools, amongst others, are the following:

    · lack of proper, coordinated and standardized training for educators;

    · lack of understanding of the purposes of the IQMS;

    · insufficient capacity to manage the IQMS;

    · lack of proper leadership in managing the IQMS processes in schools; and

    · resistance by Labour Unions, particularly in some parts of Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape.

    (b) In terms of the categorization of schools, there is a high level of non-implementation in underperforming schools where the matric pass rate is less than 60% , as well as schools in rural areas with lack of proper facilities.

    (c) The reasons for the non-implementation of the IQMS in the above categories of schools are, amongst others, the following:

    · inadequate resources;

    · poor leadership and management;

    · lack of proper training;

    · Staff Development Teams (SDTs) lack the capacity to manage the IQMS processes; and

    · inadequate monitoring by the provinces.

    2. Yes. Provincial officials and external IQMS moderators provided all schools that were visited with a report on where they are not complying with IQMS processes. Furthermore, schools that were found not to be implementing IQMS were advised on the importance of being compliant, and also given training and support. Provinces were also informed of these schools and requested to conduct ongoing monitoring and support. Their observations and recommendations were contained in the report that was also signed by the principal, and a copy left at the school.

    (a) N/A

    (b) (i) Provincial IQMS coordinators conducted follow-up visits to 1454 schools from April 2009-March 2010. During the same period external IQMS moderators did follow-up visits to 1350 schools across all provinces.

    The purpose of these visits was to monitor whether the recommendations in their first report to school were implemented and to provide further support where necessary.

    Workshops were also conducted with district officials and educators in order to provide further support and development.

    (ii) During follow-up visits to schools, external moderators followed the following process:

    · Met with the principal and the Staff Development Team (SDT);

    · Perused through the IQMS documents;

    · Verified support and developmental activities offered by the schools;

    · Discussed progress made on the moderator's recommendation contained in the first school visit report;

    · Checked whether learner progress was being considered during evaluations;

    · Discussed the type of support rendered by the district office;

    · Provided guidance and further support, and

    · Compiled a follow-up report for the school.

    Officials from the DBE visited provinces to provide support where necessary. Schools were also visited to monitor the work of the moderators.

    (aa) Information provided in 2(b) (i) and (ii) above.

    (bb) Follow-up visits to schools were conducted by officials from the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Provincial and District IQMS Coordinators as well as external IQMS moderators.

    3. The payment of a performance bonus to officials does not depend only on follow-up visits on IQMS, but also on other responsibilities as contained in their respective work-plans.

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NUMBER 02)

    211.Adv H C Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of Mining:

    (1) Whether, following the publication of the Codes of Good Practice in the Government Gazette on 29 April 2009, her department and/or she has received any representation in respect thereto; if so, (a) what representations and/or (b) legal opinions were received and (c) from whom were these received;

    (2) whether as a result of these representations, she intends (a) amending or (b) withdrawing the Codes; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW223E

    REPLY

    1. Yes

    (a) Whether the Codes of Good Practice (i) would be legislatively enforceable (ii) contradict existing legislative provisions and (iii) would introduce a weighting point system analogous to the DTI codes.

    (b) Yes

    (c) Adv. C.D.A Loxton on behalf of the Chamber of Mines

    2. The department has engaged extensively with stakeholders on their representations relating to the Codes of Good Practice and established a multi-stakeholder task team to address specific representations, the outcomes of which remain outstanding

    (a) N/A

    (b) N/A

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NO 211

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: WEDNESDAY, 09 JUNE 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 14 – 2010)

    Mr D A Worth (DA - FS) asked the Minister of Transport:

    (1) Whether, in view of the rapidly deteriorating condition of the roads and the cost to rehabilitate or replace these roads, there are any long-term plans or strategies to raise the required funds; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (2) whether the Government is giving enough attention to expanding and improving the rail system, particularly in metropolitan areas to reduce the number of commuters and vehicles on the roads; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    CW284E

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    (1) The South African Government faces a myriad of challenges that have to be met by the fiscus. Therefore, we have to find new avenues of effectively using the limited financial resources we have at our disposal and selectively use other instruments to deliver on our mandate within the budgetary constraints.

    As a first step we are encouraging all road authorities to use the uniform set of guidelines to classify the condition of roads in South Africa. Furthermore, a joint task team comprising of the Department of Transport and other road authorities have engaged the National Treasury to earmark the funds required for the upkeep of the road network.

    This group is currently refining the procedure with the objective of phased implementation during the next Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget cycle. This should enable us to holistically detain the deterioration of the road network.

    Another instrument that is selectively used is the 'user-pay' principle (the toll road programme). This source of funding makes a major contribution to the upkeep of roads in South Africa. Every Rand invested by the private sector is an additional Rand available on the vast non-toll road network.

    (2) Expanding of the Commuter Rail System

    The Department of Transport (DoT) with its rail entity, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), have identified all priority corridors and possible extensions within the national passenger rail plan and the Integrated Rapid Public Transport Networks (IRPTNs) as part of the public transport strategy. The DoT has approved the PRASA corporate plan (submitted to Parliament as well), which has identified three phases in which expenditure will be prioritized to improve rail commuter services and also address extensions that have been identified as rail corridors.

    Gautrain Rapid Rail Link

    In addition to PRASA's commuter rail plans, Government has invested R22.2 billion in the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link. The Project will provide a fully integrated rapid rail link based on a north-south spine between Tshwane and Johannesburg and an east-west spine between OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) and Sandton. It will consist of 80 km of rail line and 10 stations.

    There is major emphasis on the need to draw people from private vehicles on to public transport.

    QUESTION NO: 212

    DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19 FEBRUARY 2010

    QUESTION PAPER NO: 2

    DATE OF REPLY: 25 FEBRUARY 2010

    Mr N J van den Berg (DA) to ask the Minister of Communications:

    (1) Whether Sentech has provided him and/or his department with a complete (a) report and/or (b) roll-out plan with regard to the preparation of their business in respect of the 2010 Fifa World Cup tournament; if not, (i) why not and (ii) when will such a report/plan be available; if so, what are the details of such a report and/or plan;

    (2) whether any (a) new transmission stations were built/will be build and/or (b) transmission stations were upgraded/will be upgraded; if not, why not; if so, (i) when, (ii) what (aa) are the details and (bb) cost in each case and (iii) what is the reason in each case;

    (3) whether any effort was made to increase the (a) television, (b) radio and (c) other coverage in remote and rural areas; if not, why not; if so, (i) what are the details, (ii) when, (iii) where and (iv) what is the cost in each case?

    NW224E

    REPLY:

    (1) (a) and (b): Sentech has provided detailed project plans for the preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament.These plans are in accordance with the Satellite Infrastructure Agreement which was concluded between Sentech and the Department of Communications. According to the agreement, Sentech was tasked to provide the following:

    · Satellite backup links from the 10 stadiums in line with the Government telecommunications guarantees;

    · International satellite links (on a commercial basis); and

    · Legacy infrastructure to enable Sentech to create a second teleport as a backup for the satellite teleport in Sender Technology Park (STP) at Honeydew.

    Sentech has complied with the above requirements in the agreement.


    (2) (a) and (b): In terms of the agreement between Sentech and Department there are no requirements for the building of new transmission stations nor for the upgrading of existing transmission stations.

    (3) (a) and (b): Yes, efforts have been and are being made to increase television and radio coverage in remote and rural areas.

    (i) The SABC has engaged Sentech to rollout low power transmitters to provide television and radio universal access to 2.5 million South Africans.

    (ii) To date 15 lower power transmitter sites have been rolled out. According to the Sentech 2010 – 2013 Corporate Plan at least 15 low power sites have been planned for the next 3 financial years.

    (iii) and (iv)

    PROVINCE

    COMMUNITY

    COST

    Western Cape

    Prince Albert

    R115,593.00

    Leew Gamka

    R108,500.00

    Nelspoort

    R 109,268.00

    Merweville

    R 90,000.00

    Klaarstroom

    R93,000.00

    Agter-Witzenberg (To be completed end March 2010)

    R118,951.00

    Genadendal

    R 114,311.00

    Northern Cape

    Heuningvlei

    R205,721.00

    Severn

    R113,775.00

    Loopeng

    R114,607.00

    Laxey

    R 156,844.00

    Limpopo

    Indemark

    R 132,212.00

    Mpzema/Phadzima

    R146,756.00

    Mavhunga

    R165,343.00

    Free State

    Villiers

    R 102,416.00

    Phillipolis

    R 95,561.00

    It should be noted that the SABC carries the cost for the infrastructure.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION 212

    DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 28/05/2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14-2010)

    Mr M J R de Villiers (DA-WC) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

    Whether her department has any plans in place to address the problem of insufficient water supply to schools in Limpopo; if not, (a) why not, (b) which schools' problems will be addressed and (c) when will this problems be addressed; if so, (i) what plans and (ii) what are the further relevant details? CW285E

    REPLY:

    (a) Yes. The Limpopo Department of Education has identified schools in the province that have no water facilities and those that have insufficient facilities in their Infrastructure Plan for 2010/11. The Provincial department is responsible for the capital works and recapitalization of water supply systems. It plans to spend 2% of the infrastructure budget each year on providing or rehabilitating water supply to schools. After the provision of water supply systems by the Provincial department, repairs to the water system is the responsibility of each school governing body using their allocation in terms of the National Norms & Standards for school funding.

    (b) Since 2006 the Provincial department has completed water projects at 345 schools and a further 113 will be provided with water in this financial year. See Annexures A and B.

    (c) The Provincial department plans to complete 113 water projects at schools during the 2010/11 financial year. Limpopo schools are provided with municipal supplies or boreholes and with rainwater harvesting as a backup supply. The municipality is responsible for water delivery in the dry months or at any other time when the borehole is dry. At primary schools, where the borehole yield is too low for it to be cost effective to fit a submersible electric pump, the charity Roundabout International is approached to fit the borehole with a Play Pump. The donation includes maintenance for 10 years.

    QUESTION NO. 213

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19 February 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 2)

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

    Whether the Medicines Control Council of SA received any applications for the registration of generic antiretroviral drugs over the past four years; if so, with regard to each application, when was it (a) received and (b) registered?

    NW225E

    REPLY:

    Yes.

    (a) and (b) Please refer to the attached Annexures A and B.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION 213

    DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 28 May 2010

    INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 14 of 2010

    Mr D A Worth (DA-FS) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:

    (1) Whether her Department still intends to introduce a new identity card for all South Africans; if not, why not; if so, (a) when will this process take place, (b) what will be the cost implications of this process to the (i) Government and (ii) citizens, (c) what is the envisaged timeline of this process and (d) what are the further relevant details;

    (2) whether this new identity card will incorporate the drivers licence details; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    CW286E

    REPLY

    (1)(a) Yes, the Department still intends to introduce a new identity card for all South Africans. The Department is, currently, preparing its front office, and back office processes to ensure the state of readiness of these offices. The outcome of these preparations will enable the Department to determine how best to introduce the identity card. Once the state of readiness is determined, the time frames for the introduction of the identity card will be announced.

    (1)(b)(i) & (ii) The costs have not, yet, been determined, and are dependent on the outcome of preparations, as indicated in (1)(a) above.

    (1)(c) It is envisaged that preparations of back offices, and front offices will be finalised by the end of this financial year (2010/11).

    (1)(d) None, at this stage.

    (2) Other relevant Departments will be consulted for purposes of additional smartcard capabilities, and utilisation.

    QUESTION NO 214

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 3 MARCH 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 2 – 2010)

    Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

    (1) Whether his department has identified the bus operating company (BOC) that will be used during the Fifa 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament; if not, (a) why not and (b) when will the BOC be identified; if so, (i) which BOC will be used, (ii) what process was followed to appoint this BOC, (iii) when was it appointed, (iv) what is its (aa) terms of reference, (bb) commencement mandate and (cc) termination mandate, (v) what procedures, processes and mechanisms are in place to ensure that this company meets the required standards, objectives and mandates, (vi) how will this company be monitored and audited and (vii) what costs are there to the department and/or any of its entities;

    (2) what are the operational or other plans for these buses after the tournament?

    NW227E

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    (1) Yes.

    (a) and (b) Fall away.

    (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (aa), (bb) and (cc), (v),(vi) and (vii)

    In terms of the Organising Committee (OC) and Match (FIFA's official event organising partner) the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has been identified as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Inter-City bus transport delivery agent. As such, Autopax (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary company of PRASA, will operate 420 inter-city busses for Match and will be leasing 40 inter-city busses to the OC during the World Cup. Autopax has already concluded a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Match in this regard.

    In terms of general spectators, the Operating Management Entity has not been identified yet. A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been advertised in the open media on 01 February 2010 and the closing date was 22 February 2010. Bids were received and are in the process of being evaluated. If a suitable Operating Management Entity (OME) is identified, an appointment will be made by 01 April 2010. The RFP is available on the Department of Transport's website under the link: Major Events/General Spectators 2010, and contains a detailed operational plan that responds to (bb) commencement mandate (cc) termination mandate, (v) what procedures, processes and mechanisms are in place to ensure that this company meets the required standards, objectives and mandates, (vi) how will this company be monitored and audited and (vii) what costs are there to the Department and/or any of its entities.

    The OME will be an administrative entity that will be tasked with identifying and sourcing vehicles (both bus and midi taxi) from the market (existing operators), entering into agreements with the operators, and with providing a commercial service (including ticket sales) for general spectators during the event.

    (2) The business and operational plans for the buses purchased by PRASA after the tournament are for Autopax to:-

    · retain its current market share as a provider of quality long distance coach services;

    · provide rural services to communities that are currently isolated from the mainstream public transport routes; and,

    · coordinate its services with Shosholoza Meyl passenger rail services.

    Given the population distribution of South Africa, there is a significant need for long-distance, low cost transport for low income earners, general workers, work-seekers and traders.

    The business and operational plans defining the financial implications associated with operating the expanded Autopax fleet after the 2010 World Cup has been submitted to National Treasury as part of the Government Guarantee application process. The Department of Transport has been successful in securing National Treasury's support for a Government Guarantee and successfully utilised the business and operational plans in securing long term funding from commercial banks.

    QUESTION NO 215

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 9 MARCH 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 2 – 2010)

    Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

    (1) Whether he intends taking any action with regard to the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union report that was handed to him in which several shortcomings within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was alleged; if not, why not; if so, what action;

    (2) whether he has taken any action with regard to the final CAA report into a certain accident (details furnished) in which several failings at the time within the CAA were revealed; if not, why not; if so, what action;

    (3) what outcome reports arose from the audits undertaken in the past three years by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA);

    (4) whether the FAA's reports together with his department's report responding to the FAA report will be made available to the public; if not, why not; if so, when?

    NW228E

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    (1) and (2)

    A Task Team has been appointed to look into the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union report as well as the final CAA Report into the mentioned accident wherein certain shortcomings within the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) were alleged. The Task Team's report will determine the action to be taken to address the alleged failings and shortcomings.

    (3) and (4)

    Outcome reports in the form of Record of Discussions were signed by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) and the SACAA after completion of the audits done in December 2007 and July 2008, respectively. As these reports have been jointly created by the SACAA and the FAA, the Department of Transport is in the process of engaging with the FAA through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to ensure that the FAA will not have any objection should the reports be made available to the public.

    QUESTION NO 216

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 3 MARCH 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 2 – 2010)

    Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

    (1) (a) When did the new regulations for obtaining a special temporary licence to provide transport for a fee during the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament come into effect, (b)(i) when and (ii) how were these regulations communicated, (c) what is the period in which parties can make applications and (d) what are the fees relating to these regulations;

    (2) whether any (a) procedures, (b) processes, (c) mechanisms and (d) timeframes exist to facilitate the requirements contained in these regulations; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

    (3) whether any (a) procedures, (b) processes, (c) mechanisms and (d) timeframes exist to process the application and the special roadworthy certificates; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

    (4) whether operators who have existing licences are required to obtain these temporary licences; if not, why not; if so, (a) why and (b) what process and procedures exist to ensure that these applications are dealt with accurately and timeously?

    NW229E

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    (1) (a) The National Land Transport Regulations for the FIFA Soccer World Cup was Gazetted on 8th December 2009.

    (b) (i) See part (a) above.

    (b) (ii) Once published in a Government Gazette the Regulations are in force and in the public domain. In addition, the Department of Transport (DoT) published notices to this effect in January 2010 in the Sunday Times, City Press and the Sowetan newspapers.

    (c) The Regulations require applications to be submitted by 28th February 2010. However, if applications are received after 28th February 2010, there is no guarantee that the application will be processed in time for the Event.

    (d) The application fee is R100,00 per vehicle.

    (2) (a) The DoT has developed and distributed a Standardised Procedure manual for application and dispensing of temporary operating licences to all Provincial Operating Licence Boards.

    (b) The process for application has been published as a notification to operators on the Department of Transport's website and has been distributed to Operating Licence Boards, the Provincial Transport Facilitators and to operator associations at national and provincial level.

    (c) The DoT has appointed a National Transport Facilitator and each province has appointed a Provincial Transport Facilitator to facilitate the requirements contained in these Regulations.

    (d) The Operating Licence Boards have three months to process all applications.

    (3) (a) and (b) The procedures and processes are outlined in Regulation 10, sections 1 to 8. In this regard it is worth noting that a vehicle is not required to undergo a full roadworthy test, unless it is found to be suspect by the examiner, in which case it can be referred for a full roadworthy test.

    (c) The special roadworthy certificate must be obtained from an accredited testing station. The lists of accredited testing stations are published on the Department's website and have been distributed to the Operating Licence Boards.

    (d) There is no specific time frame in the Regulations, except that the testing of 2010 applications must be prioritised.

    (4) Operators who already hold permanent operating licenses or permits for the routes or areas that they wish to serve may convey passengers to and from event areas within the authority of their operating license (OL) or permit and do not require a temporary operating licence.

    On the other hand, operators who already hold a permanent operating licence or permit for the vehicle, but wish to convey passengers on a route or in an area that is not covered by their OL/permit, must apply for a temporary operating licence. A person who wishes to convey passengers and does not hold an operating licence or permit for the vehicle may apply for a normal OL, but this will not be granted unless it can be shown that the existing and planned services for the event are not adequate and that there is a clear need for the service.

    (a) An open door to applications for new operating licenses would accentuate

    conflict in an already saturated industry.

    (b) Not applicable.

    QUESTION NO.: 217

    DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19 February 2010

    Mr P van Dalen (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:

    (1) Whether she has taken any steps to stop illegal and unsafe electricity connections; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (2) whether any claims for damages as a result of loss of life and injury has been instituted against the Government for illegal and unsafe electricity connections; if so,

    (3) whether the Government will enhance its efforts at disconnecting illegal and unsafe connections; if not, (a) why not and (b) how does the Government intend to ensure compliance; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (4) whether she intends engaging in talks with the relevant parties to deal with illegal and unsafe connections; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW230E

    REPLY

    (1) Eskom has a comprehensive programme in place throughout the country to address the problem. The programme consists of a public education campaign as well as physical inspections to identify and remove illegal connections. Through the programme, the public are encouraged to report illegal connections to Eskom or the nearest municipality.

    In areas in which un-proclaimed informal settlements are occurring, Eskom will be working with the relevant Municipalities to ensure that either such areas are proclaimed and are legally electrified or that communities are moved to suitable land where the relevant services (electrification included) can be offered.

    Furthermore, Eskom has formally requested an amendment to either the National Energy Act, Act 34 of 2008 or the Electricity Regulation Act, Act 4 of 2006, which amendment would seek to reintroduce the provisions of the former section 27 of the previous Electricity Act that sees electricity theft and tampering of electricity as a prosecutable offence.

    (2) Over the past year no claims have been received by Eskom resulting from loss of life or injury arising from illegal or unsafe connections.

    (3) Eskom is finalising a comprehensive public campaign to deal with energy losses, encompassing both illegal connections and meter by-passes. The campaign is aimed at changing people's attitude and behaviour around energy theft, illegal connections and conductor theft. The campaign will be launched in the first quarter of the Financial Year 2010/11.

    (4) Relevant stakeholders and interested parties are continuously engaging on this issue.

    QUESTION NO: 218

    Mr O de Beer(COPE-WC) to ask the Minister of Correctional Services:

    Whether her department has handed in any disciplinary cases to the labour court in the past two years; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how many cases, (b) how many of these cases were lost by her department in the process, (c) what were the costs attached to these cases and (d) who will be held responsible for this mismanagement?

    CW291E

    REPLY

    Yes the Department has referred disciplinary cases to the Labour Court for review during past two years

    (a) Thirteen (13) disciplinary cases were referred to the Labour Court for review

    (b) All thirteen (13) cases are still pending.

    (c) The Department will only know the costs involved once the cases are finalized and the bills of costs are taxed by the Master

    (d) Anybody found liable by law will be held responsible.

    QUESTION NO. 219

    DATE PUBLISHED: 19 February 2010

    DATE SUBMITTED: 5 March 2010

    219. Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:

    1) Whether the Presidential Reference Group on political pardons received any applications for pardon; if not, why not; if so, how many;

    2) Whether the Presidential Reference Group (a) recommended and/or (b) advised against applications for pardons; if so, (i) how many in each case and (ii) on what criteria or grounds? NW232E

    REPLY:

    1) Yes, the Presidential Reference Group received more than 2000 applications for political pardons;

    2)(a) Yes, the Presidential Reference Group recommended and/or advised against applications for pardons.

    (i) Further information on these applications for pardons is detailed below:-

    • 121 applications were recommended by the Reference Group (RG),

    • There was no unanimous decision on whether or not to recommend a pardon by the RG for 29 applications;

    • 1313 applications were not recommended for pardon by the RG; and

    • 683 applications were disqualified for the following reasons:-

    • 474 applications were disqualified because the offence(s) were committed after the cut-off date i.e 16 June 1999;

    • 65 applications were disqualified because the offence(s) committed were of sexual or domestic violence nature;

    • 5 applications were disqualified because the offence(s) committed were amongst those referred to in section 13 of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 which relates to the manufacture and supply of scheduled substances, the use and possession of drugs and dealing in drugs; and

    • 139 applications were disqualified because the Applicants were refused amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

    (ii) The President is responsible for pardoning or reprieving offenders and remitting any fines, penalties or forfeitures in terms of section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996.

    The RG was clearly created as an advisory body to the President mandated to make recommendations to the President for the exercise of his constitutional power. It should be noted that although the President can consider the RG's recommendations he will be obliged to indeed form an independent opinion.

    The Terms of Reference called upon the RG to develop its own criteria for determining whether an offence should be regarded as "political".

    The criteria applied by the RG in respect of recommendations thus rested on the following two main criteria:

    (a) That the Applicant was indeed a "political offender" and that it would therefore be in the public's interest to grant a pardon to the Applicant; and

    (b) That the Applicant's release would not endanger society.

    QUESTION NO. 220

    DATE PUBLISHED: 19 February 2010

    DATE SUBMITTED: 5 March 2010

    220. Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:

    1) Whether former President Mbeki furnished terms of reference to the Presidential Reference Group; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what were the terms of reference;

    2) Whether the terms of reference were amended; if so, (a) when, (b) on what grounds, (c) by whom, (d) at whose request and (e) why? NW233E

    REPLY:

    1) The terms of reference for the Presidential Reference Group (PRG) were developed by the Presidency and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in consultation with the Presidential Reference Group. The terms of reference dealt with the following:- the establishment of a PRG; the responsibility of the PRG; administrative support to the PRG; the sitting of the PRG; financial implications; lifespan of the PRG; the criteria to qualify for a pardon; how applications for pardon should be lodged; recommendations made by the PRG and the power to grant pardon.

    The details of Terms of Reference of the PRG were as follows:

    "1. WHEREAS there are individuals serving terms of imprisonment and those already been released from prison, for allegedly having committed offences they believe were in pursuit of political objectives;

    2. AND WHEREAS prior to the commencement of the new Constitutional dispensation and thereafter, amnesty and indemnity laws were enacted and utilised to extinguish criminal (and in some instances civil) liability and/or expunge criminal convictions of persons who committed offences before 1994 arising from the conflicts of the past, [with a political objective] from their criminal records, such pieces of legislation, namely the Indemnity Act (Act 35 of 1990), the Further Indemnity Act (Act 15 of 1992) and the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, 1995 (Act 34 of 1995)("the TRC Act"), has expired and can no longer be utilised to deal with the existing matter at hand.

    3. AND WHEREAS the President considered all other relevant statutory provisions, did not find any existing measures suitable to deal with the specific matter at hand;

    4. AND WHEREAS Section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) as amended provides that the President is "responsible for pardoning or reprieving offenders and remitting any fines, penalties or forfeitures".

    5. AND WHEREAS the President has declared a special dispensation for obtaining closure on the matters relating to the convictions of those persons who allegedly committed offences in pursuit of political objectives.

    NOW THEREFORE:

    1. ESTABLISHMENT OF A REFERENCE GROUP (RG)

    1.1 A Reference Group consisting of representatives of political organisation is hereby established.

    1.2 The Reference Group members amongst themselves must appoint a Chairperson who will chair all the meetings of the Reference Group during their first sitting.

    2. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REFERENCE GROUP

    2.1 Receiving of all screened applications for pardon from the Department of Justice and Constitution Development (DOJ&CD).

    2.2 Ensure that each application for pardon is completed in a prescribed manner.

    2.3 Consider each application for pardon and make recommendations to the President.

    2.4 The RG must develop its own rules and procedures in considering each application for pardon for purpose of making recommendations to the President based on each application.

    2.5 The RG must communicate its rules and procedures to DOJ&CD within fourteen days (14) days from its first sitting.

    3. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TO THE RG

    3.1 The DOJ&CD will provide administrative and secretarial support to the RG.

    4. SITTING OF THE REFERENCE

    4.1 The sitting of the RG shall be in Cape Town or any other location as may be determined by the RG in consultation with the DOJ&CD.

    5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

    5.1 No member shall be remunerated for his or her services in the RG.

    5.2 The DOJ&CD shall be responsible for all logistical and travelling expense of members of the RG.

    5.3 All logistical arrangements relating to the work of the RG shall be made by a designated official within the DOJ&CD.

    6. LIFESPAN OF THE REFERENCE GROUP

    6.1 The RG shall exist for the period as from the date of its first meeting to a date on which its business is finalised, both dates inclusive, the latter date shall be not later than 30th September 2008.

    7. WHO QUALIFIES FOR PARDON

    7.1 Persons who were convicted and sentenced solely on account of allegedly having committed politically motivated offences before June 16, 1999; and

    7.2 Comply with the pre-determined criteria and procedures as set out in the application form, may apply to the President for pardon in the prescribed manner.

    7.3 A person will only qualify for consideration for pardon if –

    (a) he or she

    (i) is presently serving a sentence of imprisonment;

    (ii) was sentenced to a term of imprisonment or a fine

    for an offence which arose from or is related to, an act or omission associated with a political objective committed in the course of the conflicts of the past;

    (b) the offence referred to in paragraph (a) was committed on or before the date of the inauguration of the President on 16 June 1999; and

    (c) his or her application for pardon is accompanied by a prescribed affidavit or affirmation deposed to or affirmed by a person authorised by a political party or organisation, institution, liberation movement or body, in which it is confirmed that the act or omission which constituted the offence in question, occurred under the instruction of, or in the execution of an order, instruction, command, direction, advice, plan or project of, or on behalf of, or with the approval of, or in furtherance, promotion or achievement of the policies, objectives or interests of, the said party, organisation, institution, liberation movement or body of which the applicant was a member, agent or a supporter.

    8. WHO DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR PARDON

    8.1 A person will not qualify for consideration for pardon if –

    (a) he or she has been convicted of an offence relating to:

    (i) any act of a sexual nature;

    (ii) any act of a domestic violence nature,

    (iii) any offence referred to in section 13 of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992 (Act 140 of 1992), which relates to the manufacture and supply of scheduled substances, the use and possession of drugs and dealing in drugs;

    (b) he or she applied to the Committee on Amnesty established under the TRC Act and his or her application for amnesty was refused; and

    (c) he or she has NOT complied with all the prescribed pre-requisites on or before the three (3) month "window of opportunity" has expired.

    9. LODGEMENT OF APPLICATION

    9.1 Only applications which are completed properly and fully in the prescribed manner, including on a prescribed form specially designed for the purpose of this special dispensation, within the period of the "window of opportunity", will be considered.

    9.2 Only an application lodged by an individual will be considered. An application must be made by an individual applicant as prescribed and submitted to the DOJ&CD.

    9.3 A political party to which the applicant belongs may also submit the application to the DOJ&CD on his / her behalf.

    9.4 In the event of the application being submitted by the political party on behalf of the applicant; the political party must:

    9.4.1 ensure that the application has been completed in the prescribed manner;

    9.4.2 confirm under oath that the alleged circumstances around which the offence was committed are correct or consistent with the political events / activities of which the political party was part.

    10. RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE RG

    10.1 All recommendations made in respect of applications for pardon must be submitted to the President.

    10.2 Recommendation by RG shall be made in respect of each application for a pardon.

    10.3 The recommendation made by the RG in respect of each application for pardon must reflect the majority as well as the minority views of members, if any, in respect of each application.

    10.4 The President has the power to reject the recommendations made by the RG.

    11. POWER TO GRANT PARDON

    11.1 The President, after considering the recommendations made by the RG, has the power to grant or refuse an application for pardon.

    11.2 No person has the right to be pardoned by the President.

    11.3 The granting of a pardon to any person will lead to the expungement of the conviction and the criminal record of the offence in respect of which he or she is granted pardon."

    2)(a) Yes, the terms of reference was amended on 6 February 2008;

    2)(b) Some of the provisions of the terms of reference were amended as they were too onerous and placed some responsibility of political parties to own certain factual allegations made by applicants in their respective submission. Other amendments related, amongst others, to the life-span of the PRG.

    2)(c) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development after consultation with the PRG and the Presidency.

    2)(d) At the request of the Presidential Reference Group.

    2)(e) In some respects, it placed limitations on how the PRG should carry out its work and that the work of PRG could have not been finalised on the time frames as stipulated in the Terms of Reference.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 220

    DATE OF QUESTION: 26 JULY 2010

    220. Mr K A Sinclair (COPE-NC) to ask the Minister of Justice and

    Constitutional Development: (Interdepartmental transfer on 23 July 2010)

    Whether any mechanisms are in place to attend to a formal request by a

    state to be incorporated into South Africa; if not, (a) how can such a

    request be facilitated and (b) what constitutional amendments will be

    needed to allow for the process to begin; if so, (i) what mechanisms and

    (ii) how expeditiously will they be available?

    CW293E

    REPLY:-

    I would like to inform the Honourable Member that a formal request by a

    State to be incorporated into South Africa will have Constitutional

    implications and the South African Constitution would have to be amended

    accordingly.

    QUESTION NO 221

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 3 MARCH 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 2 – 2010)

    Mr M Swart (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

    (1) Whether, with reference to his reply to Question 364 on 6 November 2009, the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) will be requiring Portion 31 of the farm Brakfontein 236, District George, for future road construction; if not,

    (2) whether Sanral will be prepared to dispose of the property to the adjoining owners in a bid process at market value; if not, why not; if so, what procedure will be followed?

    NW234E

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    (1) Portion 31 of the farm Brakfontein 236, District George, (The Property) will not be required by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) for future road purposes.

    (2) Where the property is not required for future road construction, SANRAL can let or dispose the property in terms of the Agency's Procurement Policy. The property in question does not enjoy public access and may only be let or disposed to adjoining property owner/s through the closed tender process at market value.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NO 221

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: TUESDAY, 22 JUNE 2010

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 14 – 2010)

    Mr K A Sinclair (COPE – NC) asked the Minister of Transport:

    Whether his department is part of the negotiations between the Free State Provincial Government and a Chinese railway construction company which is planning to build a high speed railway line between Sasolburg and Gariep Dam; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    CW294E

    ___________________________________________________________

    REPLY:

    The Minister of Transport:

    No, the Department of Transport (DoT) is not involved in any negotiations between the Free State Provincial Government and a Chinese railway construction company. However, I have been informally briefed by the Free State Provincial Government, through its Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, about a Chinese High Speed Railway project. I have advised the Free State Provincial Government to develop a formal business case and forward it to the DoT. The Province is, however, still in the process of developing this business case.

    QUESTION NO.222

    222. Dr P J Rabie (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

    Whether, he intends taking any steps to protect the local automotive glass industry against competition from Chinese industries that are subsidised up to 50%; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?NW235E

    Response:

    Legislation and procedures exist to deal with unfair trade practices by foreign industries that cause injury to domestic industries, namely the International Trade Administration Act, which is administered by the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC). Any industry that faces injury from such practices can petition ITAC which will investigate the practice and recommend appropriate remedies to the Minister.

    Currently, the South African automotive glass industry has not lodged a complaint against allegedly subsidised Chinese automotive glass imports, nor approached the Department of Trade and Industry in this regard.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NUMBER: 222

    DATE FOR PUBLICATION: 28 MAY 2010

    DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 20 JULY 2010

    MR D B FELDMAN (COPE-GAUTENG) TO ASK THE MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION:

    (1) Whether the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has been allocated approximately R340 million in the 2010-11 financial year; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,

    (2) Whether the NYDA submitted its (a) strategic plan, (b) budget and (c) Medium Term Expenditure Framework; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (3) Whether he will make the information available; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    CW295E

    REPLY:

    (1) Yes, the NYDA was specifically allocated R370 million.

    (2) Yes, the NYDA submitted (a) its strategic plan, (b) budget, and (c) Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The Strategic Plan and Budget were submitted on the 28th of February 2010 to the Minister in the Presidency, Mr Collins Chabane and also to the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and Persons with Disability. The NYDA's MTEF was submitted on 30 September 2009 to the National Treasury and the Minister in the Presidency, Mr Collins Chabane. The Annual Plan of the NYDA was also submitted on the 28th of February 2010.

    (3) Yes, the information will be made available.

    QUESTION 223 WRITTEN REPLY 19 FEBRUARY 2010

    223. Mr S.J. Masango (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Works:

    (1) Whether he intends releasing the job-creation figures of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP); if not, (a) why not, (b) when will it be released and (c) why was it not released at the end of January 2010; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (2) whether he or his department has formulated a definition for "job-creation opportunities" as set out by the EPWP; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW237E

    Reply

    1. The President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma; pronounced on the figures in his State of the Nation Address (SONA). For the period Apr-Dec 2009, 483 700 work opportunities have been created. It should be emphasized that data on the EPWP is submitted by implementing bodies across all three spheres of government by the 15th day after closing of a particular quarter. In the interest of data integrity, this data then has to be validated by DPW before it can be released. The data for the said period was due for submission to DPW on 15 January 2010 – and the report had been submitted to the President by the agreed date for inclusion in the SONA.

    2. An EPWP work opportunity is defined as "Paid work created for an individual on an EPWP project for any period of time. The same person can be employed on different projects and each period of employment will be counted as a job opportunity".

    Parliamentary Question NO. 224

    Mr A M Figlan (DA) to ask the Minister of Human Settlements:

    (1) Whether he or his department has been informed of the state of (a) 500 houses in Cala in the Eastern Cape and (b) 2000 houses in Zola, Tarkastad, in the Eastern Cape; if not,

    (2) whether he will launch an investigation into the situation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (3) whether he or his department intends taking any action to remedy the situation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (4) whether he or his department intends taking any steps to correct the poor management situation with regard to the project; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (5) whether any measures are in place to eradicate the alleged fraud and corruption with the project; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    Response

    (1) Yes.

    (2) A comprehensive national audit was launched by the Minister of Human settlements in November 2009.

    The main focus of the audit is to examine, review and analyse the chronic problems which have been experienced in the delivery of houses and to take all steps necessary for correcting the problems including compelling parties responsible to rectify the houses.

    (3) The department has already taken the following actions to remedy the situation:

    The 500 houses in Cala in the Eastern Cape - the project is currently under rectification programme

    The 2000 houses in Takarstad, the Department has phased the process of rectification and the details are as follows:

    Phase 1 deals the houses which were characterised as not being defective but rather left incomplete and this project is getting will be finalised by the end of April 2010

    Phase 2 involves the rectification of the houses which were categorised as defective most of which are occupied. The project is part of 2010/11 plans.

    (4 ) Yes, the Department established internal capacity through solicitation of project managers with technical expertise. For each of the two projects, there are five technical people (including project managers) assigned to each project and there are progressive improvements in terms of quality management of both projects.

    (5) Yes, KPMG was appointed to conduct forensic audit/investigations in respect of the 2000 houses in Tarkastad projects. The report was issued by this company and all the findings of this audit are currently being analysed together with the findings of the technical analysis undertaken by the National Audit Task Team.

    NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

    FOR WRITTEN REPLY

    QUESTION NO 224

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 04 JUNE 2010

    (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 15)

    224. Mr D D Gamede (ANC-KZN) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

    (1) (a) What studies had been done to prove that the building of dams in the rural areas of Gingindlovu, Nkandla and Mkuze will not be feasible, (b) how sustainable is the supply of water through water cans in the said rural areas and (c) how effective is that as opposed to piped water;

    (2) whether the grant which is given to district municipalities is being used optimally; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (3) whether she has been informed that the communities are without water most of the time as alleged in the Uthungulu report; if so, what are the relevant details? CW239E

    REPLY:

    (1)(a) The following information regarding the rural areas of Gingindlovu, Nkandla and Mkuze is available:

    · Gingindlovu town receives water from the Matigulu River with constraints on the capacity of the treatment works. The capacity of the works can be expanded. The rural areas will be supplied from the Greater Mtojaneni Regional Bulk Scheme currently under construction which is supplied with water from the Goedertrouw Dam at Eshowe.

    · The rural area of Nkandla is supplied with water from the Mhlatuze River. The current Middledrift bulk scheme can be expanded. An alternative currently being investigated is to meet the water requirements of Nkandla by building a dam on one of the tributaries of the Mhlathuze River. The Uthungulu District Municipality undertook an assessment of building a dam on the Nsuze River to supply the rural areas of northern Vutshini. This appears to be a feasible option with the dam being sized to be able to also supply rural areas on Nkandla.

    · The Mkuze area can be supplied from Pongolapoort Dam which has sufficient water.

    (1)(b) Supply of water through road water tankers to static tanks to fill household containers is not sustainable and is only done during times of serious drought conditions which affect the local boreholes and other sources which communities still use as rudimentary source of water.

    (1)(c) Road water tankering is extremely expensive. In terms of Government policy all households will be served by piped water systems within an acceptable walking distance from their dwellings by 2014.

    (2) The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funds available to Water Services Authority (WSA) municipalities for extension of water services are being monitored by the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and by the Department of Water Affairs. More than 80% of funds to WSA municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal is being allocated to water services infrastructure per annum. In my opinion, the WSAs in KwaZulu-Natal are using the grant funding optimally in line with priorities set by the relevant councils.

    (3) My Department is aware of the current water shortages in the north-eastern part of KwaZulu-Natal. This is mainly as a result of a prolonged drought in the area with well below average rainfall over the past five to six years which has affected underground water and caused boreholes and springs feeding the local streams to dry up. The WSAs are doing their best to cover these areas with road water tankers as an emergency arrangement.

    QUESTION NO.: 225 DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05 MARCH 2009

    225. Mrs N W A Michael (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

    (1) (a) To how many days' leave is a (i) judge and (ii) magistrate, entitled, (b) what procedure is followed in applying for leave and (c) who signs the approval of leave in each case;

    (2) (a) what is the procedure followed by a (i) judge and (ii) magistrate if he/she applies for more leave than the entitled number of annual leave days and (b) who signs this type of approval of leave in each case;

    (3) whether the (a) judge and (b) magistrate taking such leave is paid while on leave; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

    (4) how is special extended leave defined for a (a) judge and (b) magistrate? NW239E

    REPLY:-

    The information related to Judges is detailed below:-

    (1)(a)(i) and (1)(b)(i). Regulations 3(1) and (2) of the regulations promulgated in terms of the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, 2001 (Act No.47 of 2001), make provision for vacation leave of a judge and reads as follows:

    "Vacation Leave: 3(1) The Minster may, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal or the Judge President concerned, as the case may be, grant leave to a Constitutional Court Judge or a judge for a period of three and a half months for every period of four years' actual service completed by the Constitutional Court judge or judge or for a shorter period and subject to such conditions as the Minister may in any particular case deem fit."

    "3(2) Leave referred to in subregulation (1) shall, in the case of a judge of a provincial or local division, be taken in such a way that it does not extend over more than one term of that division, except with the consent of the Minister granted on the recommendation of the judge president concerned."

    (1)(c)(i) The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

    (2)(a)(i) Regulation 4 of the said regulations makes provision for additional leave of a judge and reads as follows:

    "Additional Leave: 4. If a Constitutional Court judge or judge waives in writing his or her right to unreduced remuneration in terms of section 176(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996), the Minister may in terms of regulation 3 and on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal or the Judge President concerned, grant such Constitutional Court judge or judge additional leave on half pay for a period not exceeding one and a half months".

    (2)(b)(i) The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

    (3)(a) I refer to my response in 2 (a) (i) above.

    (4)(a) Regulation 5 of the said regulations makes provision for special leave of a judge and reads as follows:

    "Special Leave: 5. If in exceptional circumstances the Minister is satisfied that leave for which no provision has been made in these regulations should be granted in a specific case, he or she may, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal or the judge presidnt concerned, grant such leave on such conditions as he or she may deem necessary, whether it be leave with full remuneration or leave with reduced or no remuneration, provided that the Constitutional Court judge or judge concerned has, in the case of leave with reduced remuneration or leave without remuneration, in writing waived his or her right to unreduced remuneration in terms of section 176(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No.108 of 1996)."

    The information related to Magistrates is detailed below:-

    (1)(a)(ii) With reference to vacation leave, Magistrates appointed before 1 July 1966 are entitled to 38 days per annum.

    Magistrates appointed on or after 1 July 1966,

    · upon completion of 10 years service are entitled to 36 days per annum

    · until they have completed 10 years service are entitled to 30 days per annum.

    (1)(b) An application for leave by a magistrate must be submitted timeously on the prescribed form to his or her judicial head of office for recommendation and submission to the Minister or his or her delegate for approval.

    (1)(c) The Minister or a person designated by him or her approves the leave of a Magistrate. The Minister has delegated this function to Regional Court Presi­dents and Chief Magistrates (Heads of Court).

    (2)(a)(ii) When applying for more leave than entitled to, a magistrate must submit the request timeously on the prescribed form to his or her judicial head of office for recommendation and submission to the Minister or his or her delegate for approval.

    (2)(b)(ii)The Minister or a person designated by him or her approves the leave of a Magistrate. The Minister has delegated this function to Regional Court Presi­dents and Chief Magistrates (Heads of Court).

    (3)(b)Magistrates taking special leave, i.e. more leave than entitled to, will be paid if the leave is taken for the following reasons :- Examinations; Study; Attendance of classes during office hours; Pregnancy and confinement; Sports purposes; Packing/loading and unloading/unpacking of personal effects on resettle­ment as the result of a transfer; and Staff Association.

    (4)(b) A magistrate does not qualify for "special extended leave", but qualifies for special leave with full pay.

    QUESTION NUMBER 225

    DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 04 June 2010

    INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 15 OF 2010

    Date reply submitted: 13 August 2010

    225. Mr D D Gamede (ANC-KZN) to ask the Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities:

    (1) Whether the Government is meeting the target of employing a minimum of 2% of people with disabilities; if not, why not; if so, what is the breakdown of each rank in each department;

    (2) Whether any research has been done on the (a) number of people with disabilities, (b) needs, (c) qualifications and (d) prevalent form of disabilities; if not, why not; if so, (i) when was it done and (ii) by whom? CW240E

    REPLY

    (1) Currently the employment of persons with disabilities in the Public Service stands at 0.24%. The study on Assessment of Disability Equity in the Public Service which was released by Public Service Commission in January 2008 cited the following as some barriers to employing people with disabilities:

  • Lack of employment equity plans;
  • Inadequate recruitment and retention strategies;
  • Links with organisations representing persons with disabilities not optimised;
  • Rehabilitation of public servants disabled as a result of injuries sustained;
  • Persons with disabilities do not apply for posts;
  • Inability to attract suitable qualified and skilled persons with disabilities;
  • Reluctance by persons with disabilities to disclose their status;
  • Inadequate management information on persons with disabilities;
  • Management implications associated with employing persons with disabilities;
  • Marginalisation of persons with disabilities by management;
  • Lack of disability awareness in department, and
  • Poor accessibility for persons with disabilities.
  • The breakdown is provided on the attached excel spreadsheet.

    (2) In 2001 Statistic South Africa published a research on prevalence of disability in the country (Statistics SA, 2001 Census). This study revealed the following results:

    NUMBER OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BY GENDER AND RACE:

    Population Group

    Male

    Female

    Total

    %

    African

    879 680

    974 696

    1 854 376

    5.2%

    Coloured

    88 583

    80 095

    168 678

    4.2%

    Indian/Asian

    21 550

    19 685

    41 235

    3.7%

    White

    92 230

    99 463

    191 693

    4.5%

    TOTAL

    1 082 043

    1 173 939

    2 255 982

    5.0%

    NUMBER OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BY PROVINCE:

    Provinces

    No. of persons with disabilities

    % of persons with disabilities

    Eastern Cape

    372 266

    5.8%

    Free State

    185 377

    6.8%

    Gauteng

    331611

    3.8%

    KwaZulu-Natal

    470 588

    5.0%

    Limpopo

    268 902

    5.1%

    Mpumalanga

    182 193

    5.8%

    North West

    211 223

    5.8%

    Northern Cape

    46 973

    5.7%

    Western Cape

    186 850

    4.1%

    TOTAL

    2 255 982

    5.0%

    ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES:

    3

    Level of Schooling

    % of Total Population

    % of Persons with Disabilities

    No of Schooling

    19.91%

    39.27%

    Secondary schooling

    29,02%

    22.35%

    Higher Education schooling

    3.28%

    2.24%

    LEVEL OF EDUCATION:

    Year

    No schooling

    Some primary

    Completed primary

    Some secondary

    Grade 12

    Higher Education

    1996

    19, 1

    16, 5

    7, 4

    33, 6

    16, 3

    7.1

    2001

    17,9

    16,5

    6,4

    30,8

    20,4

    8,4

    2007

    10,3

    16

    5,9

    40,1

    18,6

    9,1

    QUESTION 225 WRITTEN REPLY

    MR K A SINCLAIR (COPE – NC) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS

    (1) Whether his department was involved in the procurement of additional office space for the SA Police Service in Pretoria; if not, why not; if so,

    (2) Whether proper tender processes and procedures were followed in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

    CW327E

    REPLY:

    (1) Yes

    (2) The Minister of Public Works has instituted an investigation to ascertain whether the process and procedures in the procurement of additional office space for the SA Police Service in Pretoria were proper.