Questions & Replies No 701 to 725

2010-04-08

THIS FILE CONTAINS 25 REPLIES.

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QUESTION NO 701

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)

701. Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(1) (a) What has been her department's involvement with the development of the national Diatom Assessment Protocol (DAP) and (b) what entity is driving the development of the protocol;

(2) whether her department continues to support the development of this protocol; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether her department has been approached to provide funding for this project; if so, what was her department's response;

(4) whether her department is currently rolling out its own diatom monitoring project across the country; if so, how does this relate to the ongoing development of the DAP;

(5) how will her department use the DAP once it is completed? NW828E

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REPLY:

(1)(a) My Department has been closely involved in the development of the National Diatom Assessment Protocol as one of the main stakeholders and was part of the Steering Committee for this project.

(1)(b) The development of the diatom assessment protocol was done through the Water Research Commission.

(2) My Department fully supports the development of this protocol as it will compliment the existing ecological indices of the National Aquatic Ecosystem Health Monitoring Programme (NAEHMP) and could also be used in the National Eutrophication Monitoring Programme (NEMP), in order to give a better indication of the trophic status of water resources, complimenting the chemical and other algal data.

(3) Yes. My Department was approached to provide funding for this project but due to various circumstances this request could not be favourably considered.

(4) The inclusion of a diatom index within the NAEHMP and/or NEMP is currently in the early conceptual phases. Capacity building within the Department and the process of upgrading the Biological Laboratory microscopes required for diatom identification has been started.

It is envisaged that the practical application of the DAP tools will create the opportunity to guide the further development of the DAP and ensure that is effective and accurate.

(5) The DAP is seen as a complimentary tool for existing indices currently being used to assess the quality of the surface water and as an indicator of the aquatic ecosystem through the national monitoring programmes.

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QUESTION NO 702

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)

702. Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(1) Whether the investigation into a certain person (name furnished) of her department has been concluded; if not, why not; if so, (a) when did the investigation begin, (b) who conducted the investigation and (c) what were the findings;

(2) whether there were any financial costs associated with carrying out the investigation; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, how much;

(3) whether every effort has been made to ensure that the investigation was speedily conducted; if not, why not; if so, how was this conclusion reached;

(4) whether any formal charges have been put to the said person; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW829E

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REPLY:

(1) Yes, and the draft report of the investigation has been presented to me by the Auditor General's team for initial consideration.

(1)(a) When this issue was brought to my attention in July 2009, I approached the Minister of Public Service and Administration for guidance to ensure proper handling of the matter. This however coincided with the implementation of the new Government Administration, which required a delicate juggling of these two processes.

(1)(b) The investigation is being conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers on behalf of the Auditor-General: South Africa (AGSA).

(1)(c) My Department will make public the findings of this investigation once the current draft report has been finalised.

(2) The entire investigation by Price Waterhouse Coopers cost My Department R950, 000.00

(3) Yes, regular feedback is requested by the Acting Director-General, the Advisor to the Minister and the Departmental Legal Advisor. Numerous meetings in this regard were held with AGSA.

(4) A decision on whether to press charges will be based on the outcome of the final report.

QUESTION NO. 703 (NW830E) INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO.7

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 March 2010

Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(1) (a) What is the purpose of the website developed by a certain company (name furnished) for the SA Weather Service (SAWS), (b) when did it become operational and (c) what was the total cost to (i) design and (ii) develop this website;

(2) whether the costs of the website are in line with the market costs to develop websites with similar functionalities; if not, how can these costs be justified; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether, since its completion SAWS has handed the website back to the said company to generate income; if not, what is the said company's relationship with this website currently; if so, how can this be justified;

(4) what (a) was the projected income to SAWS during its design stage and (b) income has been actually realised since it became operational?

Mr M J Ellis (DA) SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

703. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:

(1) (a) The purpose of the website development was a total redesign of the SAWS website. The aim was to substantially increase the number of products, increase the traffic flow, improve the visibility of SAWS,create a platform that can be used for innovative revenue generation and enhance public outreach. All objectives have been achieved. The new website delivered a six-fold increase in visitors from 50 000 per month to 300 000 per month.

(b) The website became operational in October 2008.

Design, market requirements of the public to determine optimal product direction and specification	R 350 000
Building systems to pull data and processed information from existing databases of SAWS	R 680 000
Developing of actual products that were included in the web site	R 550 000
Building the Website	R 570 000
Technical user acceptance testing	R 500 000
Pilot study to provide feedback for public readiness	R 500 000
Launch of the site with hand holding	R 350 000
Data Transfer	R212,500

(2) The costs for the development of the website were reasonable given that the project consisted of multi phases much more than the building of a website, and the supplier used resources that were highly visible in the Organisation for the duration of the project.

(3) The website belongs to SAWS. However, the supplier requires control of certain aspects of the website administration to develop, implement and market revenue generator innovations under a separate revenue share agreement. At the time of the website completion SAWS did not have adequate technical capacity to take over the full management of the website. The supplier agreed to maintain the website at no cost to SAWS.

(4) (a) The projected income from the revenue share agreement was R2.2m and R1.54m respectively for the first two years. The reason for the initial lower projection for year two was that an additional capital investment was envisaged, which was not required in the end, hence the higher actual income in year two.

(b) The actual income realised since November 2008 when the revenue share agreement started was R 1.2 m for year one and a projected income for the current year is R 2.9 m. The main reasons for the underperformance in the 1^st year relates to the slower than expected entry into the advertising market linked to the economic recession in 2009.

QUESTION NO. 704.

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7 NW831E

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 March 2010

Ms L D Mazibuko (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(1) With reference to her reply to question 74 on 22 February 2010, what are the names of all (a) inshore trawl vessels and (b) offshore trawl vessels registered to fish in domestic waters;

(2) in each case, (a) who is the owner and (b) what was the total (i) landed permitted catch and (ii) landed by-catch for the past 12 months for which information is available;

(3) whether in the past 12 months any of these vessels have been found fishing in a no-take marine protected area (MPA); if not, how was this conclusion reached; if so, what action was taken in each case?

Ms L D Mazibuko (DA) SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

704. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:

(1)(a) The names of Inshore trawl vessels are attached under heading: Hake Inshore Trawl Vessel.

(1)(b) The names of Offshore trawl vessels are attached under the heading: Offshore Trawl Vessels.

(2)(a) The names of owners of trawl vessels is attached and marked "List of Trawl Vessels and their owners"

(2)(b)(i) Landed permitted catch is contained in the attached document marked "List of vessels and their landings for the past 12 months" under columns Hake and EC Sole. The landings exclude trawl log-books not yet submitted to the Department.

(2)(b)(ii) Landed by-catch is contained in the attached document marked "List of vessels and their landings for the past 12 months" under columns Horse Mackerel, Monk, Kingklip, Snoek, Mackerel and Chokka. The landings exclude trawl log-books not yet submitted to the Department.

(3) Some of trawlers have anchored in MPAs, closed areas for trawling and reserves. Vessels are allowed to enter MPAs, closed areas and reserves for reasons of safety. Such reasons may include, but not limited to, mechanical failure and bad weather. Prior entering these areas, permit conditions require the concerned vessel to notify the Department's Vessel Monitoring Control room and store all gear on board. There has been one (1) vessel caught in one of these areas fishing illegally and a maximum fine was imposed.

QUESTION NO. 705

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7 NW832E

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 March 2010

Ms L D Mazibuko (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

(a) How many lions were legally hunted in each province in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009 and (b) what is the breakdown of each of the figures with regard to lions hunted in (i) the wild and (ii) captive breeding facilities?

Ms L D Mazibuko (DA) SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

705. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:

(a) (i) (ii) (b) (i) (ii) These questions should be referred to provinces.

QUESTION NO 707

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/03/2010

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER:

Mr M M Swathe (DA) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

Whether her department intends taking any action with regard to deteriorating schools in rural areas; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW834E

Draft response

In the 2009/2010 Basic Education Budget speech I have identified rural schools as a key area of focus for my Department. I indicated that my Department will be partnering with the Ministry of Rural Development, as well as with other relevant Ministries such as public works, water affairs and transport to alleviate the conditions at rural schools.

In that regard the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) established a cluster on rural development, infrastructure and budgetary aspects at the CEM meeting of 27 June 2009. The Cluster has been tasked to develop an integrated national implementation strategy for the advancement of quality education and promotion of access to education at rural and farm schools. The implementation strategy will be based on the key focus areas of the Framework.

My department is also working with provincial education departments to develop a National Framework for Quality Education in Rural Areas. The overall aim of the framework is to improve the quality of education and identifies the following key focus areas for action:

a) Improving the quality of teaching and learning in rural and farm schools.

b) Attracting and retaining learners and educators at rural and farm schools.

c) Improving infrastructure at rural and farm schools.

d) Building effective school governance and the management of rural and farm schools.

e) Promoting advocacy and sustainable partnerships to implement programmes directed at broader rural development and community participation in rural and farm schools.

QUESTION NO: 708

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 OF 15 MARCH 2010

Mr D Smiles (DA) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation:

(1)How many (a) international and (b) domestic flights were undertaken by Ambassador Abdul Minty during the period 12 September 2008 and 2 July 2009;

(2) (a) in respect of each specified flight, what was the (i) flight class, (ii) departure point, (iii) arrival point, (iv) purpose of each specified flight and (v) cost of each flight and (b) what was the total cost of all such flights?

Reply:

(1) (a) 63 individual international flights (including connecting flights) were undertaken by Ambassador Minty during the period 12 September 2008 and 2 July 2009.

(b) 2 domestic flights were undertaken during the set period.

(2) (a) Attached is a table outlining the information as requested. It should be noted that many of the flights listed below, were undertaken within the context of the campaign to promote the candidature of Ambassador A S Minty for the position of Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). With reference to the flight class, all flights were undertaken in Business class (B) except those flights indicated as Economy class (E). The class of travel is in accordance with the DIRCO policy on classes of travel, which, inter alia, allows for Business class travel by the Department's senior management for domestic as well as international flights.

(b) The total cost of all the flights listed below is R756, 565.56.

Question 709

Mr D C Smiles (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

Since 1 January 2006, how many permits for controlled goods were (a) authorised, (b) suspended or (c) rejected in each specified financial year in respect of (i) Guinea, (ii) Iran, (iii) Libya, (iv) Madagascar, (v) North Korea, (vi) Syria and (vii) Zimbabwe by the SA Council for the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction? NW836E

Response:

In order to comply with Section 21(2)(a) of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, 1993 (Act No. 87 of 1993), it is suggested that the issues raised in relation to the Council be dealt with by the Chairperson of the Council at a Portfolio Committee meeting, to be held in camera.

Question 710

Mr D C Smiles (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

(1) (a) How many permits for controlled goods were authorised in respect of Madagascar by the SA Council for the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (NPC) in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009;

(2) in respect of each specified permit for controlled goods that was authorised in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009, what was the (i) type, (ii) quantity, (iii) value, (iv) name of the end-user of the controlled goods, (v) name of the person who authorised the permit, (vi) date on which the permits were authorised and (vii) date on which the permits were ratified by the NPC?NW837E

Response:

Question 711

Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

(1) Whether any inspections have been undertaken by the SA Council for the

Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (NPC) during the period 1 January 2006 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, why not; if so, in respect of each financial year within the period. (a) how many inspections were conducted, (b) on what dates were these inspections conducted and (c) what are the relevant details in respect of each investigation;

(2) Whether any controlled goods have been seized during this period; if not, why not; if so, in respect of each financial year within the period. (a) how many times have controlled goods been seized, (b) on what dates were controlled goods seized, (c) what controlled goods were seized and (d) what are the relevant details in respect of each seizure of controlled goods? NW838E

Response:

(1)No Inspections took place in terms of Section 12 (7) of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, 1993 (Act 87 of 1993) for the period 1 January 2006 to date. An inspection is only triggered in terms of this Section of the Act if there is reason to believe that the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Act are being contravened. No cases occurred where information was required through this procedure.

(2)No controlled goods were seized during the period 1 January 2006 to date.

QUESTION 713

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

713. Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the Minister of Energy:

(1) Whether the Government has a stock of weapons-grade uranium; if so, (a) how much has been stockpiled, (b) what is the purpose of stockpiling weapons-grade uranium and (c) how many nuclear weapons could be constructed with the stockpile of weapons-grade uranium;

(2) Whether the Government has a plan to dispose of the stockpile of weapons-grade uranium; if not, why not; if so, (a) when will the stockpile be disposed of and (b) what are the further relevant details of the plan;

(3) What safeguards are in place to ensure that the weapons-grade uranium stockpile does not become a proliferation risk? NW840E

Reply

(1)(a) In 1994, the Republic of South Africa terminated their nuclear weapons programme.

1(b) South Africa is not engaged in stockpiling activities but rather has been using the remaining highly-enriched uranium (HEU) to produce radioisotopes largely for medical purposes. Currently these radioisotopes enable over R10 million's worth of treatments annually around the world for cancer patients and for patients who require precise imaging diagnostics.

1(c) None

2(a) The remaining HEU is being used to produce radioisotopes largely for medical purposes. Currently these radioisotopes enable over R10 million's worth of treatments annually around the world for cancer patients and for patients who require precise imaging diagnostics.

29(b) Does not apply.

3 Necsa has implemented appropriate physical security measures for the protection of the material. All material is under IAEA safeguards and the IAEA knows precisely what quantity of material is held by Necsa.

QUESTION NO: 715

PUBLISHED in INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 OF 15 Marcl12010

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

Whether he will take any steps to recover money from an executive mayor of a municipality (Ngaka Modiri District Municipality) who was reported by the Auditor-General to have entered into an unlawful contract that resulted in the loss of millions or rands by that municipality; if not, why not; if so, (a) when and (b) what are the further relevant details? NW842E

Reply

The matter of the Executive Mayor of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality is currently under police investigation. The municipality opened a criminal case in 2009.

Any further steps will be reliant on the findings and conclusions of the police investigations on the case.

QUESTION NO: 716

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 05 OF 26 March 2010

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

What (a) implementation plans and (b) target dates have been set for the first half of 2010 to implement the local government turn-around strategy as adopted by the Cabinet in December 2009? NW843E

Reply

An Implementation Plan was developed for the Local Government Turn-Around Strategy (LGAS) to enable CoGTA and its partners to direct and guide implementation of the LGTAS. The immediate priority for every municipality in the country is to develop their municipal-specific turn-around strategies and implementation plans between January and March 2010, as part of the Integrated Development Planning (lDP) process and in order to meet the pre 2011 implementation targets.

The priority interventions identified in the Municipal Turnaround Strategies will derive from the root-cause analysis and detailed evidential findings from the provincial assessment process undertaken in each municipality during 2009.

As part of the implementation approach Provincial Support Teams were established under provincial leadership comprising of CoGTA and provincial officials with relevant skills to assist municipalities with the development of their Municipal Turnaround Strategies. The involvement of key sector departments such as the Department of Water Affairs and the Environment, Human Settlements, Transport, Energy and Education and Health is seen as critical to the successful implementation of each MTAS. As such, sector representatives are included on each provincial team to ensure that at least 3 commitments are made regarding sector projects within each municipal space. These commitments form part of the sector engagements with the municipal lDP. The roll-out of the Municipal Turn-Around Strategies during 2010 - 2011 is divided into four phases.

Phase 1: 20 January - 9 February 2010: Provincial Support Teams undertook visits to municipalities for purposes of identifying 2 municipalities per province that are most vulnerable and require urgent assistance from government.

A similar process is currently underway to identify priority municipalities for Phase 2 of the implementation. Whilst all municipalities need to compile a MTAS, a cluster of the most vulnerable per province is being targeted for immediate and specific interventions.

The National Coordinating Centre in CoGTA is in the process of analyzing these challenges and will provide inputs to the Provincial TAS teams and the IGWG on how to deal with them.

Phase 2: 10 February - 30 April 2010: The full roll-out of Municipal Turn-around Strategies for priority I targeted municipalities as well as the completion of Municipal Turn-Around strategies for all 283 municipalities in the country. The consolidation of the MTAS priorities with the Integrated Development Plans (lDPs) and budgets of municipalities will form a key element of this phase.

The Minister has indicated that he, the Deputy Minister and the Acting Director-General will be attending and participating in some MTAS interactions personally during Phase 2. He also expects the MECs and Heads of Departments to do the same.

During a meeting of Minmec on 4 March 2010, it was decided that the end-date for Phase 2 will be extended to 30 April 2010 and that it will be run concurrently with Phase 3.

Phase 3: 1" May - 30 June 2010: Focus on provincially coordinated lDP Analysis Sessions to examine draft lDPs and Municipal Turn-around Strategies within them. During this phase the lDPs, and the Budgets and Service Delivery Budget

Implementation Plans (SDBIPs) will be adopted by municipal councils.

Phase 4: 1" July - 31" March 2011: MEC's will comment on the commitments made to the lDPs. Implementation of the lDP will go hand in hand with 'hands-on' 'Rapid Response' support processes, leveraging of stakeholder support, and reporting and monitoring.

As part of the internal institutional arrangements for the LGTAS, COGTA has established a dedicated portfolio to deal with the programme. This portfolio is responsible for the following functional areas:

Management

Rapid Response

Intergovernmental Coordination

Intelligence and Knowledge Management

Monitoring, Reporting & Evaluation

Stakeholder Management

Public Participation & Accountability

Coordination of MTAS Provincial Team Leaders

Coordination of Ministerial Flagship Projects

These units will be responsible for the internal management of the LGTAS.

QUESTION NO 717

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7-2010: DATED 15 MARCH 2010: QUESTION NO 717

"717. Mrs D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister of Arts and Culture:

(1) Whether, with regards to staff employed by her department and/or any of the entities reporting to her department, her department has been involved in (a) any labour cases arising from or in connection with work performed at the Robben Island Museum since 2004 and (b) any other legal cases since 2004; if so, what (i) are the circumstances of each case and (ii) was the cost of each case to her department;

(2) Whether any of these cases are still outstanding; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW844E

REPLY:

(1)(a) Yes, in the absence of a council for the Robben Island Museum the Department assisted Robben Island Museum in labour cases arising from or in connection with work performed at the Robben Island Museum and other legal cases.

(1) (a) Disciplinary proceedings against the Chief Executive Officer found him guilty of misconduct and the recommended sanction of dismissal was implemented.

The Supply Chain Manager was also found guilty of misconduct. The recommended sanction of dismissal was implemented.

The Chief Financial Officer was placed on mandatory leave with full remuneration pending the completion of the forensic audit report on the Robben Island Museum's financial affairs. Subsequent disciplinary proceedings found him guilty of financial misconduct and he was dismissed as per the recommended sanction.

The Chief Operating Officer challenged his dismissal at the CCMA, the matter is sub-judice and no further response can be given.

(1) (b) With regards to any other legal cases, the previous management of RIM procured photocopier machines in terms of a service contract for RIM from Nashua, without obtaining the approval of RIM Council. The previous interim CEO Mr Naidoo found that the photocopiers were in excess of the needs of RIM and that the service contract was too expensive. He tendered the return of the machines and Nashua refused. Nashua sued for the value of the service contract (approx R4) and RIM has defended the action in the Cape High Court. A court date is being awaited.

(2) The cost of each case was paid by RIM as a public entity.

QUESTION NO: 718

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 OF 15 March 2010

Mrs D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, for any period since 2004, his department has authorised the appointment

of companies and payments to any companies for assisting municipal councillors in completing their annual tax returns to the SA Revenue Service (SARS); if so, what are the relevant details for each municipality; if not,

(2) Whether his department will investigate the R179 600 payment made by a certain

municipality (Greater Tubatse Municipality) in Limpopo in 2008 for such services rendered to municipal councillors; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) Whether any action will be taken against officials and/or politicians who authorised

these payments; if not, why not; if so, what action? NW845E

Reply

(1) No authorization has been given to any company by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in relation to maters raised.

(2) Considering that the service was by discretion of the municipality, the matter should be tested during the audit by Auditor-General.

(3) The necessary steps/action must be left to Council should the audit report declare an irregular activity or non-compliance with municipality Supply Chain Management Policy.

Question 719

Written Reply

Mrs. D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Works:

(1) Whether all offices and buildings occupied by the different provincial and national departments are rented; if so, what are the relevant details; if not?

(2) whether all these buildings/offices are owned by his department; if not, (a) who are the owners, (b) which buildings/offices are rented in each province, (c) who occupies each building/office, (d) what is the (i) monthly rental and (ii) size of each building/office, (e) what is the contract start and end date for each of the buildings/offices in each province and (f) on what basis was a decision with regard to each of these buildings/offices made; if so, what are the relevant details? NW846E

National Assembly – Question 719

Reply:

1) No, with reference to the National Department of Public Works, the portfolio comprises of state-owned and leased accommodation.

The total number of leased properties for NDPW across 11 Regional Offices is approximately 1 740.

The rest of the accommodation is not leased but state-owned.

With reference to Provincial Departments the competency vests with the Provincial Departments of Public Works.

2) No,

a) National Department of Public Works is the largest custodian of state assets.

b) Approximately 1 740 buildings are leased across the 9 provinces managed by NDPW Regional Offices.

c) The buildings are occupied by various National User Departments.

d) i) The total rental per month is approximately R 136 million for all the office accommodation leases.

ii) A total of 3 112 716 m² is leased.

iii) Contract start date and end date is dependant on terms and conditions of individual lease agreements.

f) The basis on which a decision was made to lease is as follows:

i) Demand for office accommodation by users exceeds availability of suitable state-owned accommodation:

ii) The efficient maintenance budget to rehabilitate available buildings to accommodate all user requirements is not sufficient to ensure that state buildings accommodate all user department needs.

QUESTION NUMBER 720

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 MARCH 2010

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

Whether the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has conducted any lifestyle audits; if not, why not; if so, how many (a) have been conducted as at the latest specified date for which information is available, (b) have resulted in additional tax revenue collected and (c) have resulted in criminal prosecution for tax evasion? NW847E

REPL Y:

As part of the risk-based approach used by SARS to identify and investigate non-compliance with tax and customs laws, risk-profiling is applied to all tax entities (individuals and businesses) and across all tax types or tax products - Personal Income Tax (PIT), Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and Customs and Excise duties.

As part of the risk-profiling of individual taxpayers, SARS uses a variety of sources of information including third party data and risk rules which assist in identifying potential discrepancies between the income declared by taxpayers and the income and assets they are thought to have.

Where such a potential discrepancy is identified, a taxpayer is selected for audit. A SARS Income Tax audit of an individual comprises various activities by a SARS auditor which primarily rely on the obligation of a taxpayer to honestly declare income, assets and liabilities in a standard periodic return to SARS on the one hand and then to systematically examine and verify records or books of account, transaction records and any other relevant documents in relation to what was declared by the taxpayer on the other hand.

Where a discrepancy is then identified by the SARS auditor, this is usually followed up with further engagements between SARS and the taxpayer. Such engagements may occur in person, telephonically or in writing.

Where discrepancies have been confirmed, the SARS auditor would then typically issue an additional assessment to take into account income not previously considered, and would usually have an interest consequence and additional tax consequence. In addition, under certain circumstances, penalties may also apply.

In essence, the practice of reviewing the "lifestyle" of a taxpayer from a tax audit perspective, relates to the comparison of the taxpayer's apparent living standards and assets and liabilities obtained from third party data-sources against the values of income and assets declared in the tax return by that taxpayer. This process is one of many tools available to a SARS auditor when executing the audit process, and usually serves to highlight areas of risk that may require verification or clarification.

Another tool at the disposal of an auditor is the so-called "lifestyle questionnaire" which enables a tax auditor to pose additional questions to a taxpayer beyond what is normally required in a tax return. The questionnaire is designed to rely on the obligation of a taxpayer to honestly and truthfully declare to SARS, in order to enable SARS to determine whether all income has been declared or not.

On average, SARS selects approximately 68 000 individual taxpayers for audit each year. In a small percentage of these cases, the audit process identifies further risks warranting criminal investigation. On average, SARS conducts approximately 1 500 investigations of individual taxpayers per year as noted below:

SARS			Assessments
Financial	Number of Investigative		Raised
Year	cases (PIT)
11 months ending
28 February 2010	1,593	R	185,242,523.00
31 March 2009	1,767	R	611,890,857.00
31 March 2008	1 ,427	R	287,673,777.00

In terms of an existing memorandum of understanding with the South African Police Service (SAPS), SARS conducts criminal investigations on behalf of and in support of the SAPS. In the majority of these cases, the outcome of the criminal investigation is that the taxpayer rectifies all non-compliance and pays all outstanding taxes, penalties (which may be up to 200%) and interest.

In cases of theft, fraud or gross evasion where the taxpayer is recalcitrant and uncooperative these are handed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for prosecution purposes.

The following statistics pertain to prosecution of individual taxpayers for tax evasion:

SARS Financial Year	Number of income tax individual	criminal investigations
	resulting in prosecutions
2007/2008	105
2008/2009	97
2009/2010 to date	32

There are currently approximately 1 480 cases which have been handed to the NPA for consideration for prosecution.

QUESTION NUMBER 722

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 MARCH 2010

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

(1) Whether particular investment vehicles to be offered by the Government into which a percentage of pension fund assets should be invested have been designed; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether a bond instrument made available for this purpose will increase the Government's debt; if so, (a) by how much and (b) what will the impact be (i) on debt servicing costs and (ii) on the fiscal framework? NW849E

REPLY

(1) No. Deep and liquid domestic financial markets, strengthened over the previous decade, currently ensure the availability of funding to finance government's borrowing requirement.

(2) No. Government's borrowing requirement has been determined through the due process prescribed in law. It is now being considered by Parliament.

QUESTION NO. 723

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)

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

(1) (a) Who is the manager of each specified primary health care facility in each of the provinces, (b) when was he/she appointed, (c) what are his/her qualifications, (d) what is his/her previous work experience and (e) what is his/her current salary;

NW850E

REPLY:

South Africa has a total of nearly 4000 Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities which are run by professional nurses. Given this huge number, it is not possible to provide details of each manager in the facility more so that they are not managers. Their role is to render services without any financial and human resources functions that is normally required of a manager. Nurses at this level are operational and technical in their work, and as such they perform minimal management work. Professional nurses are delegated a responsibility to run the facilities in the provision of services. This category has a high turn-over, resulting in ever changing roles and people that are in charge of the facilities. They have no other responsibilities other than to coordinate services for the community. They are answerable to the PHC supervisors who are the ones responsible for the actual management of these facilities. This situation is caused by the fact that some of these facilities are run by one professional nurse, while others open for a few days, which is due to shortage of Human Resources. Some of the facilities are mobile clinics which are run by nurses who are allocated on a monthly basis.

QUESTION NO. 724

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)

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

Whether all primary health care facilities in each province are prepared for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament; if not, (a) why not and (b) when will they be ready; if so, (i) what additional measures have been put in place and (ii) at what cost?

NW851E

REPLY:

The following information was obtained from the Provincial Departments of Health listed. We are still awaiting information from the rest of the remaining Provinces, which will be submitted once received.

EASTERN CAPE

Yes, they are ready, only those primary health care facilities that are in proximity to the seven identified view areas (PVAs). Additional measures in place include redeployment of staff and increased availability of additional basic medical equipment, readily available mobile vehicles (to provide services on wheels next to the PVAs) and one EMS vehicles to fast track any referral that can be required.

FREE STATE

All PHC facilities are prepared in the host city and arterial routes leading to different provinces and Bloemfontein. An additional cost of R 1million for overtime for PHC staff has been arranged.

GAUTENG

Primary health care facilities in the Johannesburg Metro Health District prepared for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament:

- Lillian Ngoyi CHC providing 24 hours services and ready

- Hillbrow CHC providing 24 hours services and ready

- Chiawelo CHC, Zola CHC, Discoverers CHC, Stretford CHC will all be ready by 1^st June 2010

- Itireleng CHC operates up until 19hours and is ready as a practice venue

- Discoverers CHC has Ruimsig Stadium for practice purposes

- Small clinics not prepared as they fall within the vicinity of the ready Community Health Centres all mentioned above

- Disaster plans are ready

- In each cluster (3) there is a CHC that is ready

In Ekurhuleni Metro, the District is not making use of Primary Health Care facilities for the FIFA 2010 World Cup from the Provincial point of view, however the following facilities have been earmarked for the 2010 Project and were certified ready for the Tournament:

(i) Tambo Memorial Hospital

(ii) Tembisa Hospital

(iii) Germiston Hospital

(iv) Kempton Park Civic Centre Clinic

(v) Bonaero Park Clinic

(vi) Boksburg Civic Centre Clinic

In the Tshwane Metro, Primary Health Care (PHC) Facilities are prepared and ready for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament. The referral system is effective and linked to all PHC facilities

In the West Rand District, all Primary Health Care (PHC) Facilities are prepared and ready for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament.

In Sedibeng District, all Sedibeng Health district is currently preparing its primary health care facilities beyond 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament.

In Metsweding District Readiness for 2010 FIFA world cup soccer, all 24 hours CHC will be open, extended hours in clinics will be open.

1. Ekangala Clinic

2. Refilwe Clinic

3. Zithobeni Clinic

4. Kekana Gardens Clinic

24 hours CHC Dark City Clinic

NORTHERN CAPE

Readiness of the Province is capsulated in the following:

PROGRAMME AREA

CURRENT PLANS

PROGRESS TO DATE

CHALLENGES

Recommendations

1. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

1) Absorption of all contract workers

2) Recruitment of new personnel

3) Trained existing personnel in intermediate life-support

4) Purchasing of new uniform

5) Purchasing of jackets

6) Purchasing of new vehicles

1) All contract workers permanently employed

2) 25 ECP's appointed in J.T. Gaetsewe district

3) 8 ECP's trained in ILS

4) New uniform purchased waiting on delivery

5) NDOH is handling all tender process

6) 25 ambulances and 6 rescue/response vehicles

1) NONE

2) Currently only one person crew

3) Only a limited number can be trained due to lack of funding

4) None

5)None

6) Shortage of ambulances

1) none

2) That the 2 person crew protocol be implemented

3) more ECP's be trained in ILS

4) None

5) None

6 Need to replace older vehicles and purchase additional vehicles

2. HOSPITAL SERVICES

1) Develop district disaster management plans

2) Conduct disaster exercises to access readiness

3) Training of doctors on emergency courses

1) Kimberley hospital, De Aar, and Gordonia Disaster management plans have been approved

2) 3 disaster exercises have been conducted in Kimberley

3) Training on going

1) Shortage of personnel

2) none

3) None

All regional hospitals to have approved disaster management plans

3. PORT HEALTH

1) Appoint 8 port health officers for the Nakoop and Violsdrift

2) Secure an office at Nakop

3) Appoint a PHO and Secure an office at Upington international airport

1) Only 4 port health officer posts have been approved and 4 more awaits approval in the new financial year

2) An office has been secured and a park house delivered

3) A fully furnished office is operational at Upington airport and a Port Health officer has been appointed

1) 4 posts have been approved and 4 more awaits approval

2) there is no personnel to man the office and render port health services

3)None

Approval and recruitment of new Port health Officers for both Nakop and Violsdrift by 1^st April 2010

4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

1) Strengthen relations with District and local municipalities to enhance surveillance

1) Regular meetings and workshops with municipalities are held to enhance surveillance

2) 4 districts municipalities have submitted their municipal health services plan except for Francis Baard district

1) NONE

2) Francis Baard district municipal health plan still outstanding

1) None

2) Impress on the submission of outstanding district municipal health plan

5. COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL

1) Train health personnel on Avian Influenza

2) Send guidelines on endemic conditions of the province to all health facilities(public and private)

3) Train health personnel on travel medicine

4) Identify public travel medicine health facilities

5) Train health personnel in the field of epidemiology

6) H1NI Vaccination of front line clinicians, casualty staff, ICU staff, EMS personnel, HIV positive children < 6 months to 15 years and pregnant women irrespective of gestation

1) Training has been conducted in all 5 districts

2) 300 health facilities (both public and private) have received guidelines

3) 3 health practitioners have been trained

4) Kimberley hospital and Upington hospitals have been declared

5) 2 personnel have been trained in the field of epidemiology

6) Preparations for the vaccination campaign which will start in early march 2010 have started in collaboration with NDOH (CDC)

1) None

2) None

3) All trained personnel left the department

4) None

5) All trained personnel have left the department

6) None

Social Mobilization for the designated target groups to receive vaccination should be vigorously intensified

6. HEALTH PROMOTION

1) Secure huge billboards to spread health messages

2) Develop plan for Distribution of condoms at HTA sites and various public places

3) Develop fact sheets on HINI influenza

4) Run a jingle on H1N1 on all community radio stations

5) Secure slots for radio heath talks on 4 community radio stations in the province

6) Translate and distribute of I.E.C. material in Spanish, French and German

1) 12 billboards have been secured

2) Distribution of condoms is on going

3) Fact sheets have been developed and distributed

4) The first run ended in September 2009 and the second will commence in April 2010

5) Radio slots have been secured and health talks are on going on all 4 community radio stations

6) Interaction with National Department of Health on the translation of I.E.C. material (H1N1) has been made

1) additional budget required

2) None

3) None

4) None

5) None

6) None

Secure more billboards to spread health messages widely

7.1 Forensic PATHOLOGY SERVICES

7.2 CLINICAL MEDICO-LEGAL

1) Upgrade 7 mortuary facilities

2) Mobilise private undertakers in case of mass disaster

Expansion of PEP programme to all facilities in the province

Increase the pool of practicing forensic practitioners

1.1) 4 facilities finished awaiting hand over to the department

1.2) 3 facilities 70% complete and work has been stalled

2) A data base of all local undertakers have been developed

28 designated health facilities offer PEP services

4 health facilities (Kimberley hospital, Kuruman, DeAar and Upington) are equipped with new colposcopy machines

5 clinical forensic trainings have been conducted from April 2008- November 2009

1.1) None

1.2) Court case against implementing agent still outstanding regarding the 3 FPS facilities

2) None

Shortage of clinical forensic health practitioners

Poor marketing of the availability of clinical forensic services

1.1) None

1.2) Depends on court date and outcome

2) None

Train more clinical forensic health practitioners from the current staff members

Utilize Billboards, community radio stations and community information to market clinical forensic services

Support and commitment from other stakeholders

A) South African Military Health Service

Total assistance for the Team based in Province

SAMHS will supply the following personnel for the Galeshewe, Jan Kempsdorp and Upington PVA's:

1 X PHC

1 X Enrolled Nurse

1 X Paramedic

1 X BAA

2 x admin clerks

1 X driver

B) National Department of Health

4 X Surveillance officers (Nurse) temporary appointments the at ports of entry( two at each port of entry) (recruitment process still outstanding and accommodation is required)

2 X mobile hand held devices (web based notification system)

200 X Purchasing of Jackets

Supply of Health and medical equipment at all our PVA sites in progress (SCM process)

C) Free State Department of Health

2 X clinical forensic nurses for the duration of the world cup if required

In an event of a major disaster, store some bodies in Free State mortuaries

WESTERN CAPE

The Western Cape Provincial Department of Health is not making use of the primary health care facilities for FIFA 2010 World Cup. However, from an infrastructure point of view we are upgrading many PHC facilities but not due to this event per se.

Question 725

Written Reply

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

(1) (a) How many residential houses intended for public officials are currently owned by the State and (b)(i) where is each of these houses located, (ii) what is its value and (iii) what is its occupancy status;

(2) (a) how many residential houses were purchased by his department in the (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07, (iv) 2007-08 and (v) 2008-09 financial years and (b) what was the purchase price of each of these properties;

(3) (a) how many residential houses were sold by his department in the (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07, (iv) 2007-08 and (v) 2008-09 financial years and (b) what was the sale price of each of these properties;

(4) whether his department has a system in place to generate regular updates on the value of State housing; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW852E

National Assembly – Question 725

Reply:

1) a) Currently there are 33 040 residential accommodation owned by the National Department of Public Works.

b) i) Residential accommodation is located and occupied by national departments countrywide.

ii) In terms of the Accounting policy all Departmental properties are valued at R1.00 each. Market values are obtained when acquiring or disposing of a state-owned house.

(iii) Occupancy is at 80%.

2) a) i) 2004/05 – 3 houses

ii) 2005/06 – 2 houses

iii) 2006/07 - 2 houses

iv) 2007/08 – Nothing were purchased

v) 2008/09 – 3 houses

b) The properties are purchased at market related values.

3) a) i) 2004/05 – None

ii) 2005/06 – None

iii) 2006/07 – 3

iv) 2007/08 – 13

v) 2008/09 – 10

b) The properties were sold at market related prices as determined by the Land Affairs Board.

4. No.

2010-04-08

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