Questions & Replies: Questions & Replies No 676 to 700
2010-04-09
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[PMG note: Replies are inserted as soon as they are provided by the Minister]
QUESTION NO: 676
Mr A Ŝ Fritz (DA) to ask the Minister of Correctional Services:
1(a) What is the total value of payments made to a certain travel agency (name furnished) and (b) how much of this amount was paid as service fees (i) in the (aa) 2007-08, (bb) 2008-09 financial years and (ii) during the period 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available?
NW802E
REPLY
1 (a) the total value of payments made to Connex is:
· 2007-08: R0.00
· 2008-09: R45 707 281.23
· 2009-10: R35 691 154.33 (information is up to 10.03.2010)
(b) (i)(aa)(bb)(ii) The total amount paid as service fees is not known as it is paid as part of the total invoice amount (all services invoiced are listed separately on the invoice and the service fees varies depending on the type of service rendered and is as per contract price schedule).
QUESTION 677
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/03/2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7-2010)
Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:
(1) Whether any figures on symbol distribution have been released for the 2010 national senior certificate exams; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are these figure for each (a) province and (b) district;
(2) whether any subject averages have been released; if not, why not; if so, what are these averages for each (a) province and (b) districts? NW803E
RESPONSE(1) In responding to this question it is assumed that reference is being made to the 2009 National Senior Certificate examination and not 2010. Symbol distribution which was a feature of the old Senior Certificate has been replaced with a seven point grading scale which is as follows:
| RATING CODE | RATING | MARKS % |
| 7 | Outstanding achievement | 80 – 100 |
| 6 | Meritorious achievement | 70 –79 |
| 5 | Substantial achievement | 60 – 69 |
| 4 | Adequate achievement | 50 – 59 |
| 3 | Moderate achievement | 40 – 49 |
| 2 | Elementary achievement | 30 – 39 |
| 1 | Not achieved | 0 – 29 |
Data on grading distribution per subject is available on the examination computer system and all provincial education departments can access this data. The Department of Basic Education published a comprehensive report on the National Senior Certificate results, which was released by the Minister of Basic Education, Ms A Motshekga, on 7 January 2010. Specific data relating to grading distribution per subject, per province, per district is provided to institutions and members of the public on request. This data is attached in Tables 1 and Table 2.
Table 1: Subject data per province
Table 2: Subject data per district
(2) Subject averages are not used extensively in the analysis of subject data, since they do not provide an accurate picture of performance across the province or across the district, and is therefore not readily available. The data that has been made available to all provincial education departments is the number and the percentage of candidates that have achieved at the 30% level and at the 40 % level. This data is also included in Tables 1 and Table 2.
QUESTION 678
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15/03/2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER)
J Lorimer (DA) to ask Minister of Basic Education:
Whether her department has a policy on date by which matric exam timetable should be finalized, whether is 2010 timetable finalized?
RESPONSE
The time table for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination must be finalised in the year prior to the writing of the examination. For the 2010 NSC examination the first draft was completed in September 2009 and circulated amongst key stakeholders for comment. The comments from the stakeholders were incorporated into the time table and the final version was approved by the Heads of Education Department (HEDCOM) in December 2009. The final version of the time table has been distributed to all provincial education departments and posted on the website of the Department of Education.
QUESTION 679
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15/03/2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7-2010)
J Lorimer (DA) to ask Minister of Basic Education:
1) Whether dates have been set for the sitting of the first grade 3,6 and 9 exams,
2) whether results of these tests will be released to schools, when will consolidated results be released,
3) whether al results will be made available to parents of the learners who were tested.
REPLY
i) Grade 3, 6 and 9 learners will write common annual tests in literacy/language and numeracy/mathematics in the first week of November, 2010.
ii) Schools will have the results of the tests and will report these to parents of all learners. Results that are independently moderated will be released early in the first quarter of 2011 on a date that the Minister will announce as soon as proper coordination at all levels shall have been completed.
iii) See answer in 2 above.
QUESTION NUMBER 681
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 OF 2010
Date reply submitted: 15 June 2010
681. Mrs D Robinson (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:
(1) Why did the Commission for Gender Equality not table an annual report for the past two years;
(2) whether the Commission will be publishing an annual report in 2010; if not, why not; if so, when;
(3) whether he has taken any steps to ensure that annual reports are published annually; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW807E
REPLY
(1) The resignation of the former Chairperson and various reported challenges in Governance within the CGE at the time the reports were due, have created a serious confusion in the following sense;
· The notion that the Office of the CEO has been subsumed into the Chairperson's office incapacitated the Accounting Officer (CEO) to carry out the responsibilities dictated by the PFMA in this regard;
· The resignation by the former Chairperson and the claim that the submission was made to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development during her tenure. This assertion could not be proved at all and hence an Annual Report for 2007/08 was developed anew;
· In addition, the changes of personnel, incumbent to the CEO position over the period 01 April 2008 to May 2009, has resulted in a lack of continuity in the administration of the CGE and also retarded the process of generating and submitting the reports on time [The former Acting CEOs in the period above are: 1. J Hicks and N Loyilane (Commissioners, jointly acting), 2. D Setshedi (Consultant), 3. J Johnson (seconded from DoJ &CD). These were succeeded by Keketso Maema, the current Acting CEO since 05 June 2009, who had to develop and submit the two reports.
These reasons were given or implied in the responses to the various questions by SCOPA and/or The Portfolio Committee. A letter in this regard was also written to the Office of the Speaker/Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
(2) The Annual Reports for the financial years; 2007/08 and 2008/09 were submitted on 31 March 2010 or before and have subsequently been considered in the SCOPA hearings of 07 May 2010 and by the Portfolio Committee on the two occasions in May 2010.
The Annual Report for 2009/10 has been submitted to the Auditor General with the Financial Statements. Attached also find the confirmation letter to this effect by the Auditor General (see attached letter of acknowledgement of receipt of the financial statements for audit received by CGE from Auditor General's Office dated 01 June 2010).
(3) Yes, the situation will be corrected going forward through;
· The immediate appointment of a permanent CEO and Senior Management. The recruitment and selection process have been concluded while appointments has been committed to happen by July or so in 2010, ensuring a full complement of the Senior Management as early as possible;
· The implementation of a Turnaround Plan, which was also considered by the Portfolio Committee during the above mentioned meetings/sessions.
QUESTION NUMBER 682
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 OF 2010
Date reply submitted: 08 June 2010
682. Mrs D Robinson (DA) to ask the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities:
(1) Whether she or her department has discussed sub-titling with the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC); if not, why not; if so, (a) with whom, (b) when and (c) what are the details of the discussion;
(2) whether there are any (a) budgetary, (b) technical or (c) other issues which are impeding the provision of subtitling of SABC programmes for hearing-impaired viewers; if not, why are there no subtitles on programmes; if so, what are the relevant details? NW808E
REPLY
(1) As part of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Department commits to engage the SABC to ensure compliance with this treaty particularly Article 9 on accessibility and Article 24 on Education.
Further the Department has an initiative with D-TV of improving the standard of sub-title current affairs and entertainment on TV.
(2) The budgetary and technical aspects are the responsibility of SABC. The Department of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities provides guidelines and advice on reasonable accommodation for viewers in collaboration with the Department of Communications.
QUESTION NUMBER 683
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 OF 2010
Date reply submitted: 08 June 2010
683. Mrs D Robinson (DA) to ask the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities:
Whether there are (a) safe houses and (b) drug rehabilitation centres available to women who have been subjected to human trafficking; if not, why not; if so, how many (i) safe houses and (ii) drug rehabilitation centres are there in each province? NW809E
REPLY
The information below has been obtained from the Department of Social Development, as they are the lead government department in terms of this aspect.
The information indicates that,
(a) There are safe houses in each of the 9 provinces for victims of trafficking (refer to attached Table A), and 6 public rehabilitation treatment centres in 4 Provinces, namely Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and KZN provinces (refer to attached Tables B).
(b) There are 48 private treatment drug rehabilitation centers in 8 Provinces, with the exception of Limpopo. Of the 48 centres, 23 are funded and 25 are not funded (refer to attached Tables C).
Further information from the National Department for Social Development indicates that, the provincial encounter is that victims of human trafficking may be dependent on drugs and need urgent treatment for the dependency. It is not made clear how the National department attends to this challenging need for victims of trafficking, as well as manages those victims who are dependent on drugs.
In addition, the National Department for Social Development developed a rehabilitation programme and services providers were oriented in the week-ending 16 April 2010, with the content thereof. They will be engaging in a process of piloting the rehabilitation programme in shelters, where victims of human trafficking are accommodated. The issues that were not covered in the rehabilitation programme were sex and drug dependency.
Table A: CONTACT DETAILS OF CENTRES/ SHELTERS FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING and NINE PROVINCIAL VICTIM EMPOWERMENT CO-ORDINATORS
Table B: LIST OF PUBLIC TREATMENT CENTRES
Table C: LIST OF PRIVATE TREATMENT CENTRES
QUESTION NO 684
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
684. Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) What steps is she taking to ensure compliance by water service authorities with Regulation 5, which regulates the quality of potable water, of the Regulations Relating to Compulsory National Standards and Measures to Conserve Water (details furnished);
(2) whether all water service authorities maintain an adequate sampling programme as required by Regulations 5(1) and 5(2); if not, (a) which water service authorities do not maintain an adequate sampling programme and (b) what action has her department taken to rectify the situation;
(3) whether all water service authorities inform her department of noncompliance with drinking water quality requirements as required by Regulation 5(4); if not, what action does her department take to detect incidences of unreported noncompliance; if so, what action does her department take to ensure (a) compliance and (b) communication with consumers;
(4) (a) why the Drinking Water Quality Regulation section of her department's website indicates only microbiological compliance with requirements, (b) when will the site be upgraded to allow for a search for any determinant included in the SA National Drinking Water Standard (SANS) 241: 2005 and (c) how can a consumer currently obtain information on the drinking water quality supplied to him or her;
(5) whether her department enforces the annual reporting of the water quality sampling programme by water service authorities as required by Regulation 10(f); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of this enforcement programme? NW810E
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REPLY:
(1) My Department initiated the Drinking Water Quality Regulation program in 2005 which raised the profile of tap water quality significantly at municipal level. This initiative started with the roll-out of an electronic water quality management system to all municipalities which served as a drinking water quality management system and reporting mechanism to My Department. This allowed for constant performance monitoring. This initiative obtained global recognition by the International Water Association (IWA) in 2008. A limitation in this process is that it only depends on municipal responses and therefore it was deemed necessary to take another step by means of audits which led to the incentive-based regulation programme, known as Blue Drop Certification,
(2)(a) Yes, all municipalities now have monitoring programs in place although such programs range from poor to excellent. What is encouraging is that there has been constant improvement since 2004 when only 50% of municipalities had monitoring programmes in place.
(2)(b) My Department through its Blue Drop Certification programme is facilitating effective drinking water quality management as a proactive measure.
(3)(a) Yes, My Department receives notifications of non-compliances. In instances when the Department detects significant failures and municipalities failed to issue notifications, the Department engages with such local authorities to issue public notifications of the adverse water quality situation.
(3)(b) It is the primary objective of My Department to ensure that upon confirmation, the affected communities are informed. A latest case in this regard is the drinking water situation in Madibeng Local Municipality in the Hartbeespoort area where a "boil water" notice was issue shortly after the Department's intervention. This notification will remain relevant until such time that the Department is assured that effective measures are in place.
(4)(a) The Drinking Water Quality Regulation weblink provides credible information to the public from the Blue Drop System (BDS) on all relevant water quality constituency categories i.e. Microbiological, Chemical, Physical and Organoleptic (as per the national standard, SANS 241:2006 requirements).
(4)(b) The web page does include all scientific constituency categories. However, this webpage will be upgraded soon to ensure it becomes more user-friendly.
(4)(c) On the same web link a "My Water" feature is was introduced from 17 March 2010 which allows for information on drinking water quality trends to be communicated to the general public.
(5) Yes, the Blue Drop Certification program requires regular reporting as per Regulation 5 under Section 9 of the Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997). My Department receives regular drinking water quality reports from all Water Services Authorities.
QUESTION NO 685
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
685. Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) Whether she has been informed of the levels of heavy metals, including aluminium, in the water supplied to the residents of Grahamstown and surrounds that exceed the levels permitted for class I and II in terms of the SA National Drinking Water Standard (SANS) 241: 2005; if so, (a) what are the relevant details for the levels of each heavy metal exceeding the requirements and (b) for what period has the level of each specified heavy metal exceeded the levels required for class I and II water;
(2) (a) when has she been informed of the noncompliance at issue and (b) what reasons were supplied by the water service authority for the noncompliance;
(3) whether the health risks were communicated to the water consumers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of this communication? NW811E
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REPLY:
(1)(a) Yes, my Department has been informed of the concern for heavy metals, including aluminum at Grahamstown. With regards to the Waainek and the James Kleinhans Water Treatment Works which make use of aluminum sulphate and a poly-electrolyte respectively as the flocculants; it should be noted that my Department's monitoring indicates the following:
· The levels of aluminum at the Waainek Water Treatment Works (WTW) ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 mg/l thua exceeding Cass I and Class II (0.5 mg/l) quality limits specified in SANS 0214. Further, the only other heavy metal with elevated levels was iron, and that was marginally over class I.
· No problems were found at the James Kleinhans WTW.
(1)(b) The problem is intermittent. In 2007, similar problems were experienced and my Department sent a specialist from Umgeni Water to evaluate and assist the Makana Municipality and satisfactory levels were subsequently achieved.
(2)(a) As indicated in paragraph 1(b) above, the problem is intermittent.
(2)(b) Normally, the Waainek WTW supplies water to the Western half of Grahamstown including the central business district, Rhodes University and industrial area. However, due to the drought, the James Kleinhans WTW is supplying water to most of Grahamstown, with only the high lying areas (Industrial sites) being supplied from Waainek WTW.
The Makana Municipality reported that due to the drought they are forced to limit the volume of water treated at Waainek and to operate the WTW on a stop-go basis. They acknowledged having a lack of skilled process controllers and accurate dosage of chemicals was difficult under the reduced and intermittent operating conditions.
(3) Yes, the Makana Municipality as Water Services Authority communicated with their consumers through public meetings and newspaper reports. My Department informed the Makana Municipality in writing of the non-compliance and provided support from its Emergency Response Forum to develop an action plan to restore effective operation and control of water services in Grahamstown.
QUESTION NO 686
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
686. Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) Whether the Water Sector Leadership Group (WSLG) that was established in 1998 is still operational; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of the (a) leadership, (b) membership, (c) objectives and (d) task teams operating under the auspices of the group;
(2) whether the skills task team that was formed in 2008 is still operational; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the (a) leadership, (b) membership, (c) objectives, (d) achievements and (e) challenges identified by the team that has not yet been addressed? NW812E
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REPLY:
(1) Yes, the Water Sector Leadership Group (WSLG) is still operational. At the time of its inception, it was named the Water Services Sector Leadership Group (WSSLG), but it was later changed to WSLG to inclusive both water services and water resources.
(1)(a) The WSLG is convened by my Department's Director-General (DG) and co-chaired by senior managers (DG or delegated Deputy Director-General), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).
(1)(b) The forum is composed of senior managers from various national sector departments, water sector institutions, research institutions and professional bodies, organised business, local government and civil society. The member institutions are:
· My Department; CoGTA; Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Environmental Affairs; Human Settlement; Rural Development and Land Reform; Mineral Resources; Energy; and Health.
· National Treasury; Presidency (Planning).
· Established Catchment Management Agencies; Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA); South African Association of Water Utilities (SAAWU); SA Association of Water User Associations; Masibambane Civil Society Committee; Chairpersons of Provincial Water Sector Forums.
· SA Chamber of Mines; Forestry South Africa; SALGA; National African Farmers Union (NAFU); South African Black Technical and Allied Careers Organisation (SABTACO); South African Association of Consulting Engineers (SAACE) and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE); Institute of Municipal Engineering of South Africa (IMESA); Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA).
· Business Unity South Africa (BUSA); South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO); Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA); ESKOM & SASOL; Energy Sector Education and Training Authority (ESETA).
· Water Research Commission (WRC); Agricultural Research Council (ARC); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Water Information Network South Africa (WIN-SA).
· European Union; DANIDA; Irish Aid; JAIDA; DFID.
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(1)(c) The objectives of the WSLG are:
· To serve as an advisory structure to assist my Department in the execution of its duties as a sector leader.
· To provide expertise and a platform for peer review towards addressing sector priorities and the achievement of sector objectives.
· Working together with my Department in devising strategies on how the challenges facing the water sector can be addressed.
(1)(d) Five (5) Strategic Task Teams have been established under the auspices of the WSLG namely:
· The Institutional Reform and Regulation Task Team which will assist My Department to develop a regulatory regime for the water sector and guide the institutional realignment of water sector institutions.
· The Water Security Task Team which will coordinate sector inputs into the revision of the National Water Resources Strategy, development of a Water Conservation and Demand Management Plan and development of a Water Sector Climate Change Response Plan.
· The Skills Development Task Team which will drive the development and implementation of a 2025 Water Sector Skills Development Plan and creation of Knowledge and Information Management capacity.
· The National Sanitation Task Team which coordinates support towards eradication of basic sanitation backlogs and the review of the Household Sanitation Policy.
· The Finance and Asset Management Task Team which has been mandated with the development of a water sector finance model and the finalisation of a Water Services Infrastructure Asset Management Plan.
(2) Yes, the Skills Development Task Team is still operational as indicated above in (1)(d).
(2)(a) The Skills Development Task Team is convened and led by My Department.
(2)(b) The task team is composed of the following institutions:
· My Department, the Departments of Environmental Affairs; Human Settlements; CoGTA; Labour; Basic Education; Higher Education; Science and Technology; Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
· Water Research Commission; ESETA; Local Government SETA; SALGA; Cities Network; District Water Services Managers Forum.
· DBSA; WISA; SAICE; Framework Programme for Research Education and Training in Water (FETWater); SAAWU; WIN-SA; SANGOCO; provincial Skills Development & Retention Committees (NC, EC, GP, FS).
· Experts and support service providers.
(2)(c) The objectives of the Skills Development Strategic Task Team are:
· To secure partnerships and alliances with all relevant stakeholders and role-players for the development and implementation of skills development and human resource development in the sector.
· To achieve a water-literate sector and ensure adequate levels of water related knowledge amongst politicians, decision makers and planners in relevant sectors as well as all communities and water users.
· To facilitate and lobby for programmes and initiatives to ensure that the shortage and scarcity of skills are addressed, not only at career level, but also across the whole spectrum of education and training.
· To align broader human resource development plans and educational strategies with those of the sector such as my Department's 2025 Vision, 2020 Vision for schools,
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the Sector Support Strategy, the National Skills Plan, and the SETA Sector Skills Plan.
· To promote accountability through the development of reporting and monitoring systems in alignment with government's monitoring and evaluation initiatives and the reporting obligations of the sector.
· To consolidate resources, knowledge, learning and understanding regarding skills development within the water sector and contribute to the development of an information system for capacity building and skills development in the water sector.
· To facilitate and sustain specific research aimed at enhancing an understanding of the capacity building and skills development needs within the sector and the specific actions and tasks required to promote adequacy and efficiency within the water sector human resources development environment.
· To pro-actively influence the quality of skills development initiatives within the sector through specific interventions such as representation on the ESETA board and committees to address water and sanitation issues.
(2)(d) The achievements of the Task Team include the following:
· The placement of retired engineers and young science and engineering professionals in municipalities with capacity needs.
· Development of a coordinating framework for the implementation of skills development initiatives, a final draft of which is due for discussion by members of the Task Team on 30 and 31 March 2010.
(2)(e) The key challenge for the Task Team is the alignment and coordination of various skills development initiatives which are driven by a range of stakeholders within and outside the sector.
QUESTION 687
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15/03/2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 7 OF 2010
Dr W G James (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:
(1) Whether any universities took up the offer to register students without having to pay registration fees upfront; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many and (b) which universities;
(2) Whether any eligible students were overlooked by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) offer; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW813E
REPLY:
(1.a) As of Thursday, 17 March 2010, eighteen institutions had taken up the offer for the 2010 academic year, to the value of R331 million as indicated in table below. The total upfront payment claimed from HEIs for donor category DE-General amounts to R317 million. Central University of Technology and the University of South Africa indicated that they did not need the upfront payment. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology will send additional claims during March 2010.
The University of Pretoria, Rhodes University, and Vaal University of Technology are still busy with the processing of claims and will submit their claim for upfront payment during March 2010.
The total amount claimed for DE-Teacher (ringfenced) amounts to R9, 835 million. Three universities submitted claims: UKZN, NWU and TUT. Only three universities (UKZN, UNIZULU and TUT) submitted claims in the Category DE-Disability to the amount of R2, 343 million.
Other claims submitted by Stellenbosch University of R1 million was for the payment of agricultural bursaries and the University of the Witwatersrand for the bursaries provided by Rural Education Access Programme (R66 000).
(b) UPFRONT PAYMENTS CLAIMED BY UNIVERSITIES AS AT 18 MARCH 2010
18 Universities took up the offer to register students without having to pay registration fees upfront:
| Institution | DE-General | DE-Teaching (Ringfenced) | DE - Disability | Other |
| R'000 | R'000 | R'000 | R'000 | |
| Cape Peninsula University of Technology | 5 391 | |||
| University of Cape Town | 21 816 | |||
| Durban Institute of Technology | 35 680 | |||
| University of Fort Hare | 5 205 | |||
| University of the Free State | 19 584 | |||
| University of Johannesburg | 54 124 | |||
| University of KwaZulu-Natal | 23 205 | 2 990 | 614 | |
| University of Limpopo | 1 331 | |||
| Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University | 22 852 | |||
| North West University | 19 580 | 2 091 | ||
| University of Stellenbosch | 1 000 | |||
| Tshwane University of Technology | 34 620 | 1 442 | 1 633 | |
| University of Venda | 1 699 | |||
| Walter Sisulu University | 23 445 | |||
| University of Western Cape | 23 491 | |||
| University of Witwatersrand | 29 882 | 66 | ||
| University of Zululand | 12 828 | 3 312 | 96 | |
| Mangosuthu University of Technology | 5 500 | |||
| TOTAL | 316 765 | 9 835 | 2 343 | 1 666 |
| TOTAL UPFRONT PAYMENT CLAIMED FOR ALL CATEGORIES | R330 009 087 million | |||
It is assumed that universities that did not apply for funds used their own funds in anticipation of receipt of the NSFAS transfer.
(2) In 2008, 11 120 and in 2009, 16 172 students applied for, were eligible for but did not have an NSFAS award. Reasons are not provided as to why these students do not have an award, but it could be that they received bursaries elsewhere such as from private companies. The 2009 figure provided by public institutions is provisional as this data from the public institutions is not audited. The public institutions will submit their audited 2009 data to the Department in July 2010. Provisional 2010 data will be available from institutions at the end of October 2010 as they have a 2nd semester registration in July 2010.
QUESTION 688FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 15 March 2010
Internal question paper no: 7
Mrs S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:
Whether any action has been taken to recover the grants deposited into dormant accounts since 2007; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW814E
REPLY:
Yes, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has taken actions over unclaimed social grants (dormant funds) in bank accounts. Since 2007 when dormant accounts were initially identified, SASSA embarked on several actions in respect to these unclaimed social grants. We need to highlight that, firstly the process involved takes quite some time given that we are required to follow legally determined times provided by each relevant piece of legislation. Secondly, even though it takes a longer time, the fact of the matter is that Government will upon conclusion of the process be able to reclaim any money that may be due to Government.
The scope of this process entailed the following:
· All banks were subpoenaed to identify beneficiaries with unclaimed social grants.
· These beneficiaries were requested to present themselves at the nearest SASSA office and review their social grants.
· A total of 122 006 beneficiaries were requested to conduct a review and 87 315 beneficiaries had their payments lapsed for several reasons.
· 37 482 beneficiaries who were identified not claiming their social grants did not respond to the three months request to review. These beneficiaries also did not respond to the additional three months request in which they had an opportunity to have their social grants restored.
· Currently the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has been tasked to investigate 100 beneficiaries randomly selected and identified as dormant accounts. This exercise is aimed at determining their reasons for not responding to the request to review. A subpoena is being drafted to be served on the banks to provide information on these accounts. The findings of the investigation will enable the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to present a case to court to obtain the return of the monies in these accounts to Government.
· The entire process is expected to be concluded by 30 June 2010.
QUESTION 689FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 15 March 2010
Internal question paper no:
Mrs S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:
(1) How many calls have been received each month through the fraud hotline since 1 April 2008;
(2) whether any of these calls have led to successful investigations which resulted in (a) disciplinary and / or (b) criminal proceedings; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW815E
REPLY
(1) The total number of calls received through the fraud hotline as from 1 April 2008 to 28 February 2010 was 139, 324 (i.e., average of 4, 310 calls per month). Of the 139 324 cases reported through the Fraud Hotline, a total of 2, 618 were allegations of fraud. The rest of the calls (136 706) are considered invalid as they consisted of either cut off calls, prank calls, wrong number dialled, transferred calls or grant enquiries. Refer to the attached Annexure for details of calls received per month.
(2) Yes, 76% of the valid fraud allegations were successfully investigated.
(a) No, disciplinary action has not been taken as none of the alleged fraud allegation calls involved public servants.
(b) Yes, 555 fraudulent cases were investigated and prosecuted whist a total of 1,004 signed Acknowledgement of Debts (OAD). The reason why Criminal proceedings were not instituted on the 1,004 cases was that the cost of the investigation and prosecution was not justifiable in relation to the value of the loss. Instead, SASSA, through the SIU pursued civil claims to recover the amount fraudulently paid with 15% interest. Another 616 cases are still under investigation. A total of 443 cases were found to be non-fraud cases.
Source: South African Social Security Agency,
| ANNEXURE A NATIONAL ASSEMBLY QUESTION 689 FOR WRITTEN REPLY | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| PERIOD: 1 APRIL 2008 – 28 FEBRUARY 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apr-08 | May-08 | Jun-08 | Jul-08 | Aug-08 | Sept-08 | Oct-08 | Nov-08 | Dec- 08 | Jan-09 | Feb-09 | TOTAL | ||||||||||||
| 4,893 | 5,042 | 3,716 | 3,337 | 2,725 | 2,730 | 5,033 | 5,418 | 5,931 | 6,221 | 6,427 | 51 473 | ||||||||||||
| Mar-09 | Apr-09 | May-09 | Jun-09 | Jul-09 | Aug-09 | Sep- 09 | Oct-09 | Nov- 09 | Dec- 09 | Jan- 10 | Feb-10 | TOTAL | |||||||||||
| 7,691 | 6,680 | 7,536 | 7,253 | 7,256 | 6,932 | 8,477 | 8,388 | 7,763 | 5,992 | 7,371 | 6,512 | 87 851 | |||||||||||
| GRAND TOTAL: 139 324 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
QUESTION NO. 690
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:
(1) Whether all mines are required to pay levies into the fund of the Compensation Commission for Occupational Diseases; if not, why not; if so, (a) which mines are exempted and (b) how many mines (i) pay and (ii) do not pay such levies;
(2) (a) what amount was received by the Compensation Commission in levies from mines in each of the past three financial years and (b) what estimated amount in levies was lost to the State in the last financial year as a result of not all mines paying levies;
(3) whether claims are considered from miners who became ill while working in mines that did not or do not pay levies; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether he will make a statement on the matter?
NW816EREPLY:
(1) Not all mines are required to pay levies into the Mines and Works Compensation Fund.
(a) A mine or works is exempted to pay levies into the Compensation Fund if the Minister, after consultation with the Chief Inspector as contemplated in the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996, is satisfied that:
(i) operations at a controlled mine or works have ceased; or
(ii) persons who are employed at a controlled mine are no longer performing risk work thereat; or
(iii) the number of persons who perform risk work at a controlled mine have decreased to less than 30.
(b) (i) There are 249 mines and works that are on the register of mines kept at the Commissioner's office and all these mines and works pay levies.
(ii) 1327 mines and works are not paying levies to The Fund.
(2) (a) The amounts that have been received by the office of the Compensation Commissioner for the Occupational Diseases for the past three financial years as follows:
- 2006/2007 - R156,196,220;
- 2007/2008 - R196,342,619;
- 2008/2009 - R258,097,453
(b) The office of the Compensation Commissioner can provide estimated amount only if it had the number of risk shifts performed in the said mines or the number of employees working on the risk area per mine. However, the table below gives the number of mines that are not contributing to the fund, the commodity and the rate per risk shift worked.
| Commodity | Number of mines in operation | Mines contributing (controlled mines) | Mines not contributing (uncontrolled mines) | Rate per risk shift worked (2008/2009) |
| Andalusite | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1.47 |
| Chrome | 27 | 13 | 14 | 3.40 |
| Coal | 100 | 71 | 29 | 0.47 |
| Copper | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2.87 |
| Diamond | 394 | 10 | 384 | 1.58 |
| Flourspar | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1.42 |
| Gold | 88 | 23 | 65 | 2.33 |
| Iron | 14 | 5 | 9 | 1.47 |
| Lead | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.68 |
| Magnesite | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3.40 |
| Manganese | 18 | 2 | 16 | 2.17 |
| Mica & Feldspar | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1.24 |
| Phospate | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1.42 |
| Quarry | 817 | 55 | 762 | 2.38 |
| Uranium | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.40 |
| Vanadium | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1.24 |
| Platinum | 14 | 0 | 0.58 | |
| Asbestos | 1 | 0 | 12.69 | |
| Works | 36 | 0 | 2.71 | |
| Other mines that their commodities are not listed on the rate table | 79 | 4 | 75 | 3.40 |
| TOTALS | 1576 | 249 | 1327 |
(3) The Compensation Commissioner does not consider claims of persons whose employers were not contributing levies to the fund on the grounds that their employers were not contributing to The Fund.
(4) No, the information provided in this answer suffices.
QUESTION NO. 691
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 March 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:
Whether he, in view of the findings of the Auditor-General on the accounts of the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases, will institute a forensic investigation into the affairs of the entity; if not, why not; if so, when?
NW817EREPLY:
The Auditor-General audit reports mentioned issues on the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD) not specifically relating to fraud and corruption nor suggesting the existence of fraud and corruption that warrant a forensic investigation. My Department investigates and will continue to investigate any allegation or incidents of fraud and corruption reported now and in the future.
The Department is conducting fraud awareness campaigns where all staff members of the Department including the staff members of the CCOD are invited to participate.
Government has launched its National Anti-Corruption Hotline housed at the Public Service Commission and its toll-free number has been issued to participants during fraud awareness campaigns. Posters which contain the number have been placed at various offices of the Department including CCOD offices. All incidents of fraud and corruption can be reported at this number and persons using this facility may remain anonymous.
QUESTION NO.: 692
DATE OF QUESTION: 15 MARCH 2010
692. Mrs N W A Michael (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:
(1) Whether any new (a) regional and (b) district magistrates courts are being planned; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) what is the (a) estimated year that these magistrates courts will be completed and (b) estimated cost of these magistrates courts?
NW819E
REPLY:-(1) (a) Yes, I would like to inform the Honourable Member that additional regional courts are being planned to hear civil disputes in view of the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act, 2008 (Act No. 31 0f 2008) which extends civil jurisdiction to the regional courts for the first time since their establishment in 1952. It should however be noted that regional courts do not exist separate from the district courts. Both district and regional courts share same premises or buildings with certain court rooms dedicated for the sitting of the district and the regional court respectively. There are currently 353 regional magistrates appointed for the criminal regional courts who hear criminal trials at the 449 magistrates' courts country-wide. An additional 21 posts have been created for the adjudication of civil disputes. The 21 civil regional magistrates will sit in the 60 proclaimed seats for the adjudication of civil disputes country-wide. The proclamation of the additional 60 regional courts for the adjudication of civil disputes entails that additional court rooms will be allocated for the hearing of civil disputes. The attached draft Notice lists the 60 courts where the civil cases may be heard.
(b) The Department aims to bring justice services closer to all communities' previously disadvantaged, by re-designating certain Branch Courts as full services' (magisterial) courts with their own area of jurisdiction. The process of re-designating Branch Courts as full service courts is preceded by the upgrading of the infrastructure of the Branch Courts to meet the basic needs of the local community where the court is situated. Fifteen of the 90 Branch Courts have upgraded and were re-designated as full service courts in August 2009 while 9 are being upgraded for re-designation during the 2010/11 financial year. The focus is on addressing the historically inequalities regarding the distribution of justice services, particularly to people living in marginalised areas such as rural and township communities.
(2) (a) Seven new magistrate's courts will be completed by 2013.
(b) The table below indicates courts which are already under construction and the costs estimates thereof:
| Court | Contract Amount | Anticipated date of completion | Comments |
| Ntuzuma | R251, 076,364 | 31 August 2011 | In construction phase |
| Ekangala | R18, 818, 324 | 31 March 2010 | In construction phase |
| Tsakane | R16, 978,626 | 30 August 2010 | In construction phase |
| Mamelodi | R128, 489,011 | End 2012 | Tender evaluation stage |
QUESTION NO 693
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7- 2010)
Date reply submitted : 19 April 2010
693. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:
(1) (a) How many housing establishments for SA Police Service members are there in each province, (b) what are the details of each of these establishments and (c) where is each of these establishments located;
(2) whether there is any policy in terms of which accommodation is allocated to SAPS members; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether any major maintenance has been done at each of these sites; if not, why not; if so, when;
(4) (a) (i) what are the details of every person who vacated each residence in the past five years and (ii) why was the residence vacated in each case and (b) under what circumstances are SAPS members required to vacate the residences?
NW820E
REPLY:
(1)(a) The total number of housing establishments in each province is listed below:
| Province | Single Quarters | Married Quarters |
| Eastern Cape | 727 | 260 |
| Free State | 445 | 59 |
| Gauteng | 1303 | 77 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 735 | 400 |
| Limpopo | 410 | 331 |
| Mpumalanga | 291 | 143 |
| Northern Cape | 280 | 97 |
| North West | 308 | 79 |
| Western Cape | 379 | 112 |
| Head Office | 395 | 180 |
(1)(b)(c)The details and location of each of the establishments are as follows: see attached
(2) Yes, the South African Police Service has the Housing Policy which is used for the allocation of accommodation. This policy provides the following information:
• The Preamble
• Purpose of the Policy
• Guideline Principles
• Definitions, Housing Committee
• Advertisement of Housing
• Application for Official Housing
• Criteria for Allocating Official Housing
• Withdrawal of Official Housing
• Audits, Maintenance of Official Housing
• Replacement of existing Housing
(3) No, major maintenance has not been done at each of these sites. Maintenance is done to buildings, fixed assets and living quarters as the need arises and within budget constraints. The Department of Public Works as the custodian of all state assets are responsible for the maintenance of the buildings, fixed assets and living quarters.
The attached table provides an indication of sites where major maintenance was done:
(4) This detail is not available. Once an occupant has vacated official accommodation and this information is captured on the system the member's history file is automatically deleted from the system.
QUESTION NO 697
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7- 2010)
Date question submitted: 1 June 2010
697. Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:
(1) How many SA Police Service (SAPS) firearms have been (a) lost and (b) stolen in each province (i) in the 2008-09 financial year and (ii) during the period 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;
(2) how many of these (a) lost and (b) stolen firearms have been recovered (i) in the 2008-09 financial year and (ii) during the period 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;
(3) whether any action has been taken against members of the SAPS who have lost their firearms; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether a ballistic test record is kept on each SAPS firearm; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW824E
REPLY:
(1) Firearms reported lost/stolen on the Lost Management System for the 2008/2009 financial year in the provinces are as follows:
| Province | Losses 2008/2009 | 2009/2010 |
| Head Office | 244 | 213 |
| Eastern Cape | 1 095 | 613 |
| Free State | 128 | 81 |
| Gauteng | 495 | 345 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 353 | 840 |
| Limpopo | 63 | 35 |
| Mpumalanga | 120 | 364 |
| North West | 154 | 28 |
| Northern Cape | 19 | 20 |
| Western Cape | 88 | 64 |
(2)(a)(b)(i) A total of two hundred and ninety (290) firearms have been recovered during the 2008/2009 financial year.
(2)(a)(b)(ii) As reported on the 26 February 2010 two hundred and seventy five(275) firearms have been recovered for the 2009/2010 financial year.
(3) Yes. Actions were taken against members of the SAPS who lost their firearms and the relevant details are as follows:
| Period | Total number of employees charged in terms of the SAPS Discipline Regulations | Total number found guilty | Total number found not guilty in a disciplinary enquiry | Total withdrawn | Total pending |
| 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 | 26 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 56 | 33 | 8 | 5 | 10 |
As Minister of Police I have repeatedly stated that we are serious about ensuring that the SAPS take greater responsibility for the loss of firearms by members of the Police. To this end I have asked the Civilian Secretariat for Police to look into this matter. In addition the recent arrest of police officers in Inanda (KwaZulu Natal) and the suspension of the Station Commander by General Cele send a strong message that we will no longer tolerate such negligent behavior. The department will be putting in place a number of processes to ensure police officers are held responsible for such loss of weapons. The IBIS testing of such weapons will also assist us in tracking what has happened to weapons lost by police officers.
(4) The process of test firing of all SAPS firearms for acquisition on the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) started during 2009. Up to date a total of 6499 specimens have been acquired on the national database of Ballistics.
QUESTION NO 698
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7- 2010)
Date reply submitted : 20 April 2010
Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:
(1) How many SA Police Service (SAPS) members who left the service, owing to retirement or for any other reason, have not yet returned their official firearms;
(2) how many firearms are currently owned by municipalities in each province;
(3) whether any municipality has (a) handed in any firearms to the SAPS for destruction and (b) reported stolen and/or lost firearms to the SAPS; if not, why not; if so, (i) which municipalities and (ii) how many firearms were handed in each case in each province;
(4) whether the SAPS and/or any municipalities have conducted any inspection audit; if not, why not; if so, (a) when and (b) what were the findings of each audit? NW825E
REPLY:
(1) A total of forty two (42) firearms have not yet been returned by members who left the service. There is now a process underway to ensure that all these weapons are recovered
(2) The following number of firearms are owned by municipalities within the various provinces:
| PROVINCE | NUMBER OF FIREARMS |
| Mpumalanga | 781 |
| North West | 563 |
| Limpopo | 346 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 2619 |
| Northern Cape | 64 |
| Eastern Cape | 870 |
| Western Cape | 2579 |
| Gauteng | 8867 |
| Free State | 793 |
| TOTAL | 17482 |
(3)(a) Yes. A large number of municipalities have, in the spirit of the Firearms Control legislation and to address the proliferation of firearms in South Africa, participated voluntarily in handing in a number of firearms to the South African Police Service for destruction.
The Municipalities within the various provinces continue to acquire firearms in relation to their required needs. It is a known factor that firearms become unserviceable and obsolete and therefore the need to acquire additional firearms. It needs to be noted that the unserviceable and obsolete firearms are voluntarily surrendered to the SAPS for destruction. A number of the Municipalities also voluntarily surrender the firearms where there is no more a need to possess the firearms.
| PROVINCE | (i) MUNICIPALITY | (ii) NUMBER OF FIREARMS HANDED IN |
| Limpopo | Polokwane Local Municipality | 5 |
| Marble Hall Municipality | 5 | |
| Modimolle Local Municipality | 5 | |
| Western Cape | Cape Town Metropolitan Police | 643 |
| Theewaterskloof Municipality | 3 | |
| Saldanha Bay Municipality | 3 | |
| West Coast Municipality | 8 | |
| Central Karoo District | 3 | |
| Northern Cape | Ubuntu Municipality | 2 |
| Dikgatlong Municipality | 16 | |
| Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality | 35 | |
| Phokwane | 1 | |
| Emthanjeni | 3 | |
| Gauteng | Ekurhuleni | 16 |
| City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality | 206 | |
| Mpumalanga | Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality | 1 |
| Mbombela Local Municipality | 35 | |
| Steve Tshwete Local Municipality | 11 | |
| Kwa Zulu Natal | Ethekwini Municipality | 311 |
| Kwa Dukuza Local Municipality | 20 | |
| Endondakusuka Municipality | 13 | |
| Umtshezi Municipality | 4 | |
| Eastern Cape | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality | 436 |
| Makana Local Municipality | 2 |
(3)(b) Yes. The Municipalities continuously report lost and stolen firearms to the respective police stations. The timely reporting of the lost and stolen firearms is crucial to ensure the timely circulation of the respective firearms thereby enhancing the recovery of the lost/stolen firearms. The Central Firearms Registry together with Supply Chain Management have been asked to audit these weapons and report on steps taken. Once this happens the Minister will report on the matter.
The firearms in possession of Municipalities are under the control of an appointed responsible person of that Municipality. The responsible person ensures effective and efficient control over the firearms.
(4)(a) & (b) The following mentioned Municipalities have thus far been inspected by the South African Police Service: see attached
The Minister of Police has instructed the Central Firearms Registry to take all necessary steps to ensure that all Municipalities comply with the provisions of the Firearms Control Act and to take immediate steps against any municipality not complying with the Firearms Control Act
QUESTION NO 699
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
699. Mr M M Swathe (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(a) Which municipalities in Limpopo currently have a section 19(3) notice in terms of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998, issued against them by her department, (b) when was the notice issued in each case, (c) why was it issued and (d) what has been the response from each municipality as at the latest specified date for which information is available? NW826E
---00O00---
REPLY:
(a) The municipalities against whom My Department has issued notices in terms of
section 19(3) of National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) are Makhado Local Municipality, Thulamela Local Municipality, Lephalale Local Municipality, Mopani District Municipality and Modimolle Local Municipality.
(b) The dates on which the notices mentioned in paragraph (a) were issued are as follows:
· Makhado Local Municipality : 14 November 2008
· Thulamela Local Municipality : 3 September 2009
· Lephalale Local Municipality : 3 September 2009
· Mopani District Municipality : 14 September 2009
· Modimolle Local Municipality : 25 September 2009
(c) The reasons for the issuing of the notices in each case were the following:
Makhado Local Municipality: The directive was issued for the malfunctioning of treatment units which resulted in partial treated effluent and also two overflowing manholes which were discharge raw sewage into Madadzhe River.
Thulamela Local Municipality: The directive was issued for the sewage pump station which was not operational thus resulting in continuous pollution the
Mvudi River.
Lephalale Local Municipality: The directive was issued for the overloaded Paarl and Zongesien WWTW and also sewage pump station which was not operational.
Mopani District Municipality: The directive was issued for the overflowing manholes.
Modimolle Local Municipality: The directive was issued for the blocked manholes and
sewers which result in polluting the Nyl River
(d) The municipalities' responses to the notices are as follows:
| Municipality | Response/s |
| Makhado Local Municipality | The municipality is currently planning to increase the capacity of the sewage works. |
| Thulamela Local Municipality | The municipality has attended to the over flowing pump station |
| Lephalale Local Municipality | The municipality has plans to address the matter but the key challenge is lack of funding. |
| Mopani District Municipality | The municipality has repaired the sewer blockages but they require funds. They also indicated that the infrastructure was transferred to them from the Department in a dilapidated state. |
| Modimolle Local Municipality | They have attended to the problem but it keeps on recurring. There is a need for a comprehensive long-term strategy to address the problem. |
QUESTION NO 700
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15 MARCH 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)
700. Mr M M Swathe (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) In respect of each of the sewage works in Limpopo Province, what was the date of the latest compliance audit to ascertain compliance with the conditions of the respective water use licenses?
(2) whether, for any of these sewage works, a notice of intention to issue a directive was issued in terms of section 53(1) of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998, based on any noncompliance identified during the respective compliance audits; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether, for each of these sewage works, proof was provided at the latest compliance audit that the disposal of waste was done according to the guidelines prescribed in document TT85/97 published by the Water Research Commission (details furnished); if not, how will this be rectified; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) for each of these sewage works (a) what were the relevant compliance statistics measured during the latest compliance audit compared to the compliance requirements prescribed by her department and (b) what was the Green Drop score?
REPLY:
(1) The dates of the latest compliance audits in respect of each of the Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in Limpopo Province are attached as Annexure A.
(2) Yes, My Department has issued directives in terms of section 53(1) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998) based on any noncompliance identified the respective compliance audits. Details of each directive issued are provided in the table 1 below.
| NAME OF WASTE WATER TREATMENT WORKS | NON-COMPLIANCE IDENTIFIED | ACTION TAKEN |
| Thohoyandou Sewage Works (Vhembe Municipality) | Sewage spill | Directive issued |
| Paarl Waste Water Works And Pump Station Air Force Road Onverwacht (Lephalale Municipality) | Sewage spill | Directive issued |
| Zongesien Waste Water Works (Lephalale Municipality) | Sewage spill | Directive issued |
| Witpoort Waste Water Works (Lephalale Municipality) | Sewage spill | Directive issued |
| Giyani Waste Water Works (Giyani Municipality) | Sewage spill | Pre-Directive issued |
| Makhado WWTW (Makhado Local Municipality) | Sewage spill | Directive issued |
(3) No, the latest compliance audit did not provide proof that the disposal of waste was done according to the guidelines as prescribed in document TT85/97 published by the Water Research Commission. My Department will conduct a stakeholder capacity building workshop on the utilisation as well as the disposal of wastewater sludge and also include this amongst the parameters of the next compliance audit.
(4)(a) 52% of sewage works are in compliance with the minimum legal requirements, but the figures fluctuate due to the shortage of funding for waste water treatment in Limpopo.
(4)(b) The Green Drop Certification is yet to be undertaken within the Limpopo Province. The Officers who will be undertaking the assessments are scheduled to be trained in April 2010.