Questions & Replies: Questions & Replies No 976 to 1000

NISIS has gone through a process of conceptualisation, feasibility study and proof-of-concept which was completed in 2008. NISIS is presently in its initial phases of implementation in collaboration with other key social programmes as follows:

• The War on Poverty Campaign (WOPC) and Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) – The WOPC and CRDP rely on NISIS to operationalise and strengthen their implementation in the most deprived Wards in the country. NISIS assists in determination of household needs, and referral to the relevant line departments for action. The CSG and other complimentary anti-poverty services form part of the basket of services for which referrals are made. To date NISIS caters for

over 50,000 households with 180,000 referrals generated. These numbers are growing rapidly as the both WOPC and CRDP roll-out.

• City of Johannesburg (CoJ) – The CoJ and DSD are collaborating to deliver CoJ's Expanded Social Package whose first phase has already been implemented. The current phase is now focused on enabling the pre-registration of social grant recipients for Free Basic Services and providing access to a broader range of social protection services from CoJ service points.

• Department of Basic Education – The department collaborates with the Department of Basic Education through the cross-referencing of CSG and learner information. This allows children in receipt of CSG but not registered for school to be supported through our social work and thereby increase school attendance. Similar approaches to cross-referencing administrative data sources for the purposes of targeting interventions will be applied to other anti-poverty services in future phases.

Through NISIS and in collaboration with its partners, the Department of Social Development is taking important steps towards developing a more integrated approach to delivering services to the poor in order to break the cycle of poverty. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of integrating government, these represent only the start of what will need to be a multi-year journey.

SASSA (SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY)

SASSA's mandate is to administer and pay social assistance grants. However, the SASSA strategic plan for 2010/11 has identified integrated developmental services for the vulnerable as a key output, in support of the required outcomes identified by Government.

In order to link grant beneficiaries to sustainable development opportunities, SASSA works closely with other stakeholders, including the Department of Social Development. Our pilot of linking women in receipt of child support grants to development opportunities is being implemented in KwaZulu-Natal. This pilot will inform the development of a more comprehensive strategy to support the achievement of the output identified. The comprehensive strategy will be progressively implemented throughout all SASSA regions.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 979

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30 MARCH 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 9)

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

(1) Whether any pilot projects have been conducted with regard to improving patients' adherence to taking their tuberculosis medication; if not, why not; if so, (a) when, (b) at which sites, (c) how many patients were involved, (d) what were the findings and (e) what were the potential savings to his department;

(2) whether any of the projects are to be rolled out; if not, why not; if so, when?

NW1122E

REPLY:

(1) The following pilot projects were conducted to improve treatment adherence and compliance in TB patients;

1.1 Public Private Partnership in Port Elizabeth

This is a partnership project between Pro Health Wellness Clinics, Nelson Mandela Metro (NMM) private practitioners and the Department of Health which was set up in Jan 2009. The aim of the project was to increase case detection and treatment compliance by engaging private practitioners in the management of TB patients in the NMM. The doctors would diagnose the patients using the NHLS and start them on treatment if they have TB. The laboratory and drug costs are borne by the province and provided to the patient free of charge but the patient may pay the doctor the applicable consultation fees. The province does not reimburse the doctors for managing the patients. A peer review mechanism (weekly clinical meetings) is in place. The doctors also assist public clinics with the review of complicated cases and refer patients who need additional investigations to the public hospitals. Seventeen (7%) of the 250 PPs in NMM are involved and the number of patients enrolled to date are as follows:

Treatment outcomes are not yet available for the patients started on treatment but none have defaulted treatment so far.

1.2 Workplace programme VW in PE

A public private partnership was established between Volkswagen (VW) in Uitenhage and the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape (ECDOH). The aim was to ensure that as part of employee wellness programme, TB case detection and compliance were strengthened. A Clinician and an Occupational nurse were trained on TB, TB/HIV and STI management. The ECDOH are responsible for the laboratory and drug costs and also provides all TB stationary/data collection tools. All TB registers that are used by VW, and data are sent to the department on monthly and quarterly basis. The department also conducts quarterly reviews of the TB Programme within VW in order to monitor implementation as well as joint awareness programmes. The occupational nurse attends district meetings in order to discuss among other things, referral pathways, management of contacts and other challenges they may be facing. The success of the project is demonstrated by exceptionally high cure rates ranging between 98% and 100% and no defaulters. The success of the project has been shared with other companies who have now indicated a desire to introduce similar TB workplace programmes.

1.3 Economic incentives for improving clinical outcomes in patients with TB in South Africa: A study of feasibility and effectiveness, KZN

This study is exploring the option of providing food vouchers to TB patients as an incentive to completion of treatment. Theses vouchers can be used in local supermarkets/shops for buying basic food to the value of R120.00 for TB patients monthly. Nine hundred and seventy six (976) patients are currently receiving the vouchers at ten intervention clinics in peri-urban and rural areas. This study is still underway and will include a patient household economic survey as well as cost effectiveness. It is due for completion at the end of the year.

However, there already exist challenges such as requests for extension of the voucher system to beyond six months and demands for an increase in the voucher amount. This gives an indication that a much more comprehensive social support system addressing poverty and unemployment is required than a disease focussed intervention.

1.4 Enhanced TB Adherence pilot project (ETA), Cape Town Metro

This pilot project was done in collaboration with City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Health Department (WCDOH) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). The project aims were to determine whether TB patients would benefit from the model of adherence support which is applied to patients living with HIV on Antiretroviral treatment. Approximately, 70% of new TB patients at the intervention clinics were placed on the ETA model. They spent an average of two weeks on facility-based DOT before taking their treatment at home on their own.

The ETA intervention was seen to have a number of advantages over the DOT model in that:

1.4.1 TB nurses felt it improved the clinic environment, by reducing the number of patients in the waiting area, and they had more time to attend to other activities

1.4.2 Adherence counselors and treatment supporters felt that it benefited the community by empowering them. They were also able to gain an in-depth view of patients' socio economic situation helped them assist patients

1.4.3 Patients felt that the treatment counseling prepared them for their treatment. They also valued the support provided by buddies, adherence counselors and treatment supporters

The data showed a significant improvement in the 2 month smear conversion rates in the intervention clinics, compared with non-intervention sites. The TB cure and treatment success rates improved in both intervention and comparison clinics during the evaluation period but there were no significant differences between intervention and comparison clinics. Additional costs were incurred in the introduction of the intervention but no cost benefit analysis was conducted.

1.5 Defaulter Tracing Project

This project was conducted by the Department of Health with financial support from the European Union. Seventy two (72) tracing teams each comprising a nurse (retired in the main), 2 community health workers and a data capturer were allocated to 21 districts of the 52 districts, 66 sub-districts and 734 facilities. These districts had the worst TB default rates and high TB burden. Home visits were done using dedicated vehicles for tracing.

Of 45,033 TB defaulters traced, 29,097 (65%) were put back on treatment, 4,899 (11%) had relocated, 3,219 (7%) had died, 2,696 (6%) had given incorrect address, 2,372 (5%) were at work, 1,416 (3%) refused treatment, while 1,194 (3%) had not interrupted treatment.

The proportion of those who had relocated, provided wrong address or died was reduced.

The cost effectiveness study was not conducted. The project has however shown that with dedicated human and material resources, TB patients can be influenced to continue treatment. In addition, the project reduced costs (that otherwise would have been incurred had the patients not been traced) for:

laboratory tests

re-treatment of patients

diagnosis (which may require more costly tests in addition to microscopy),

treating complicated or advanced TB (including drug-resistant forms) which then requires hospitalisation and often longer duration of treatment as well as additional treatment for associated complications and

diagnosing and treating other close contacts who have had prolonged exposure to the person with infectious TB and develop TB disease following getting infected.

(2) The Department of Health is now finalising guidelines on community TB care which will incorporate the lessons from these pilot projects. These will include the following:

Psychological support: Initial and ongoing counselling of TB patients, the counselling will assist the patient in dealing with disease, linkages with HIV, address stigma, the need to inform close family as well as screening and testing of family members, prevention and adherence to TB treatment.

Social support: assessment of the home situation and appropriate referral for social assistance

Contact tracing, screening and testing

Home based care for co-infected and very sick patients

Administration of injectables for retreatment and drug resistant TB patients

Tracing of patients who interrupt or default treatment

Appropriate and timely referral of patients needing urgent attention

Integrated TB and HIV care

Monitoring of the community TB care

Linkages and communication with health facilities

Composition of the community care teams.

Scale up of these interventions will take place in the second half of this year. Three workshops were held last year with the business sector on the TB/ HIV Workplace Toolkit developed by the World Economic Forum with financial and technical assistance from the Global Business Coalition. More than 50 companies who participated in these workshops are in the process of developing or are implementing workplace programmes. More workshops are scheduled for this year but these will focus more on monitoring implementation. The guidelines for the public private partnership in TB control will be developed and finalised in the second half of the year for implementation in the next financial year.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 981

DATE OF QUESTION: 30 MARCH 2010

981. Dr W G James (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers have considered (a) the continued failure of the government of Zimbabwe to comply with the judgements and orders of the Tribunals (details furnished), (b) the refusal of the High Court of Zimbabwe to register the rulings of the Tribunal and (c) referring the matter to the SADC Summit to determine or suspend the membership of Zimbabwe and/or impose other measures against it as may serve to ensure Zimbabwe's compliance; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether the Justice ministers have met as ordered by the SADC Heads of State; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1124E

1. (a) Yes, based on the provision of Article 32(5) of the SADC Protocol on the Tribunal which provides that: "if the Tribunal establishes the existence of such failure, it shall report its findings to the Summit for the latter to take appropriate action.". The SADC Tribunal submitted a report to the Summit that it had established that the Government of Zimbabwe failed to comply with its decisions delivered in the case no. 2/07 on 13 December 2007 and 28 March 2008.

At its meeting held from 16 to 17 August 2008 in Sandton, the Summit considered the Tribunal's report and decided to refer the matter to the SADC Ministers' of Justice/Attorneys-General for advice.

(b) From August 2008 to August 2009, South Africa assumed the Chairmanship of SADC. South Africa hosted the SADC Meeting of Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General from 27 to 31 July 2009. The meeting, which I chaired as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, considered the issue of the failure by the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe to comply with the decisions of the Tribunal. Unfortunately, no decision was reached due to divergent views as to how to deal with the matter as well as the interpretations of the important legal instruments that are pertinent to the matter. The meeting agreed to postpone the matter in order to obtain a written legal opinion on the legal instruments involved, that is, whether or not the Protocol on the Tribunal has entered into force and if it has done so, whether or not it has come into force in the Republic of Zimbabwe. My Department prepared an opinion on this issue.

(c) The matter was postponed for further consideration by the SADC Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General Meeting to be held in Kinshasa, the DRC, in advance of the SADC Summit in August 2009. This meeting could not take place due to logistical problems. The Summit met in the DRC from 7 to 8 September 2009. The Summit took note of the report of the meeting of the Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General that took place in Pretoria from 27 to 31 July 2009. In addition to a request to be provided with advice on the matter at hand, the Summit directed the Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General to review the roles, responsibilities and terms of reference of the SADC Tribunal. A communication has been received from the SADC Secretariat inviting Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General to a meeting to be held in Kinshasa, the DRC, from 26 to 30 April 2010. According to the agenda, only the issue of the enforcement and execution of SADC Tribunal's decision and the review of the role, responsibilities and terms of reference of the SADC Tribunal are to be considered by the meeting.

2. As indicated above, the SADC Ministers of Justice have met as ordered by the SADC Heads of State, but are yet to make a decision.

QUESTION NUMBER 982

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30 MARCH 2010

Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1) Whether the total literage of petrol and diesel sold through the pump is reconciled

with the amounts of levies received by the National Treasury for the purpose of the Road Accident Fund (RAF); if not, why not; if so, (a) who does this reconciliation and (b) how are losses and leakages accounted for;

(2) whether there is any assurance that the amounts passed over to the RAF reflect an accurate amount of fuel sold at the fuel pump; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether any defaulters have been identified in the past five years; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how many and (b) how much was lost as a result of this defaulting;

(4) whether any compensation for these losses is taken into account when transferring funds to the RAF; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1125E

REPL Y:

(1) No. The Customs and Excise Act, 1964, (the Act) provides for the collection of the excise duty, fuel levy and RAF levy on fuel at the point where the fuel leaves the refining or blending facility, which must be licensed by SARS. The assessment of duty and levy liability are thus at source and well before the fuel reaches the pump at the retail fuel station according to the "Duty at Source" (DAS) principle.

DAS was introduced during 2002/2003 to improve control over leviable goods and fix the point of duty assessment as close as possible to the source (point of manufacture) in order to prevent any downstream losses of any duties and levies due.

In the case of fuel the oil companies that import or manufacture fuel have an obligation in terms of the Act to license their refineries and pay all duties and levies, including the RAF levy, when the fuel is removed from the licensed premises.

(2) The result of assessing at source is that the amount of RAF levy paid over to the RAF is not based on the amount of fuel sold at the pump, but on the amount of fuel removed from the licensed premises.

(3) The duties and levies are collected from seven major oil companies and relate to the fuel removed from ten refining or blending facilities. The assessments are subjected to audit by SARS auditors on an ongoing basis. These audits, as would be expected, reveal errors from time to time. When such errors are discovered they form the subject of corrective action that may include penalties and interest.

In addition, the SARS collections and funds transfers to the RAF are subject to a monthly audit by SARS' internal audit division and a formal audit report is sent to the RAF monthly. On an annual basis the process is subjected to a reasonable assurance audit by the Auditor General. These procedures form part of the Memorandum of Understanding between SARS and the RAF.

(4) Due to the use of the DAS principle of assessment, no downstream losses influence the amount of RAF levy paid to the RAF. Where duty assessment errors are discovered the shortfalls are recovered and the RAF (and other) levies forming part of those recoveries are fully accounted for. In the case of the RAF levy, such levy recoveries are passed over to the RAF in the normal course.

QUESTION NO 983

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30 MARCH 2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 9)

983. Ms A M Dreyer (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 386 on 3 March 2010, any emergency measures have been put in place pending the outcome of the public-private partnership that is being considered with mining companies to manage acid mine water drainage in the area; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1126E

---00O00---

REPLY:

Yes, on the 12 March 2010, my Department approved R 6 900 000 (over a three month period) for the two mining companies concerned. This emergency intervention measure will address the current acid mine drainage decant in the West Rand by allowing the mines to operate their treatment plants at maximal output. Provided that the rainfall abates, it is predicted that the situation will be brought under control within about 8 weeks.

The emergency measures entail the retention of decanting acid mine drainage in containment facilities for processing at their water treatment plants. Any decanting acid mine drainage that cannot be contained in such facilities, it is dosed with lime to adjust the pH value to within a tolerable range, and precipitate some of the solubilised pollutants. An appreciable volume of the precipitated pollutants are subsequently retarded within the artificial wetland system located on mine property, affording some benefit to the quality of water that enters the Tweelopies Spruit.

QUESTION NO: 984

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 OF 30 March 2010

Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Govermmce and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the target of 3 modules accredited at NQF level 2 (free basic services) which has been rolled over to the 2009-10 financial year in terms of his department's annual performance plan, was reaUsed; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many learners have benefited from this training and (b) what evaluation has been conducted on the outcomes of the modules? NWJ 129E

Reply

Table is available here

QUESTION NO: 985

985. Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Works:

(a) Which immovable state-owned assets have been disposed of since 1 April 2009, (b) what was the market value of the assets prior to their disposal, (с) what value was realised for each of these assets on disposal and (d) what is the identity of the purchaser in each case? NW1130E

Reply:

See attached spreadsheet for all assets disposed of since the 1^st of April 2009.

QUESTION NO: 986

Mr A T Fritz (DA) to ask the Minister of Correctional Services:

Whether she intends introducing any innovative ways of dealing with waste management in correctional centres; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1131E

REPLY

The department is intending to introduce innovative ways of dealing with waste management due to the challenges faced by the Management Areas.

Sewerage

Currently most Departmental sewerage is managed by the relevant Local Municipalities and some by private contractors especially those that have small scale purification plants on site (e.g. Baviaanspoort and Waterval Management Areas).

The Department will explore measures where all Departmental sewerage will be managed by relevant Local Municipalities because when they are managed by private contractors, the following challenges are experienced:

· The contract conditions are not managed effectively.

· There is no continuity after the expiry of the contract.

General Waste

Is divided into two categories i.e.:

a) Wet (Waste generated from the food service units).

Individual Management Areas have contracts with private service providers for the collection of this waste.

b) Dry (Waste generated from housing cells e.g. paper, tins, boxes, plastic bags).

The collection of this waste varies from one Management Area to another. Some Management Areas' waste is collected by the relevant Local Municipalities and disposed accordingly. However, some Management Areas collect and dispose at approved landfill site. The challenge with this method is that officials involved in the collection and disposal are not trained on the proper handling of waste, therefore the Department will interact with the relevant Municipalities for the collection and proper disposal of these waste.

Health Care Waste (Waste generated within healthcare facilities)

Management Areas utilize their delegated powers (three (3) quotation system) for the appointment of service providers for collection and disposal of this waste.

QUESTION NO: 987

Mr A T Fritz (DA) to ask the Minister of Correctional Services:

(1) (a) What is the purpose of the overcrowding task team that was appointed by her, (b) what is the cost of the current task team and (c) for how long have they been appointed;

(2) how many task teams of this nature were appointed during her predecessor's tenure;

(3) whether these teams compiled reports; if not, why not; if so, where are these reports? NW1132E

REPLY

(1)

(a) Since my appointment as the Minister of Correctional Services in May 2009, I have undertaken a number of visits to Correctional Centres throughout the country and have been alarmed by the levels of overcrowding in our facilities.

As a result; I came across certain categories of vulnerable inmates, such as women with Babies, mentally ill inmates and elderly inmates within our facilities for which I would like to explore the current legal imperatives with a view to make legislative interventions that will facilitate either their early release or alternative conditions of incarceration.

In light of the above; I have identified the need for the appointment of an independent task team to conduct an audit of the categories of inmates within Department of Correctional Services facilities already alluded to. The aim of the audit is essentially two-fold; on the one hand statistics will be collected whilst on the other hand certain trends, short comings and best practices would be identified as a result of the information collected during the statistical audit. The over arching goal of the audit is to address the current state of overcrowding within our facilities and ascertain reasons why certain legislative provisions have been underutilized or not utilized at all to relieve the burden on Department of Correctional Services facilities.

(b) The Department has contracted a three-member task team comprising of external people with varied skills and competencies for the audit. The team will cost the Department an amount of R1, 279, 111-50 in salaries for the period of six months that the team is contracted. Meanwhile, other related expenses are absorbed through the normal budget line of the Department.

(c) The Overcrowding Task Team members have been appointed on a six months contractual basis and they have since commenced with the audit on the 01^st February 2010.

(2) And (3) No task team of this kind has ever been appointed by the previous Minister.

QUESTION 988

Mr D.C. Smiles (DA) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:

(1) (a) How many of the complaints that were received by the SA National Defence Force from the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (i) have been resolved and (ii) remain unresolved and (b) what is the average number of days taken to resolve a complaint;

(2) in respect of each specified complaint (a) what is the date of the letter of acknowledgement sent to the complainant, (b) what is the date of the last letter of correspondence with the complainant and (c) what action is taken if the complaint has not been resolved;

(3) whether she will make a statement on the matter? NW1133E

REPLY

I have absolutely no idea what complaints the Honourable Member is referring to. My office has gone through the correspondence between itself and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and has not found any such complaints.

QUESTION 989

Mr. D.J. Maynier (DA) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:

(1). What are the names of the consultants used to assist the SA National Defence Force to produce (a.) Defence Update, (b) Air Force Vision 2015 and (c) SA Army Vision 2020;

(2). a. When did work relating to the compilation of each of these documents commence, (b) when was each document completed, (c) what was the (i) total cost and (ii) breakdown of such costs for each specified consultant used to produce each specified document and (d) what was the total amount paid to consultants to produce each specified document. 1134E

REPLY

The reply is set out in the schedule attached hereto.

REPLY

Question 990.

990. Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:

(1) In how many (a) international and (b) domestic hotels/guest houses was she accommodated between 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) in respect of each specified hotel/guest house, what was the (a) hotel name, (b) hotel star rating (c) city location, (d) duration of the stay, (e) purpose of the stay, (f) total cost of the accommodation and (g) breakdown of the cost of the accommodation? NW1135E

Reply

My office is responsible for my logistical arrangements and these are made in terms of the Ministerial Handbook.

1. When I travel abroad, I use hotels that are on the database of the South African Embassies and all the logistical arrangements are made with the assistance of the relevant Mission.

2. I live in government estates in both Cape Town and Pretoria and therefore do not use hotels or guest houses for the two capitals. However, when my work requires me to spend the night away from home on official business, I put up and hotels that have been security cleared.

QUESTION NO: 991

Mr J Selfe (DA) to ask the Minister of Correctional Services:

(1) (a) How many offenders have been given an Offender Rehabilitation Plan (ORP) as at the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what portion does this constitute of all (i) sentenced offenders and (ii) offenders sentenced to more than two years' imprisonment;

(2) Whether delays are being experienced in providing ORPs to all offenders; if so, (a) what is the cause of these delays and (b) what steps have been taken to overcome them?

NW1136E

REPLY

(1) (a) 102 278 offenders were eligible for Offender Rehabilitation Plan as at 31 December 2009.

(b) (i) It constitutes 41% of sentenced offenders

(ii) It constitutes 46% of offenders sentenced to more than two years imprisonment

(2) Yes delays are experienced.

(a) The regions have identified Correctional officials to serve as interim Correctional Assessment Officials to complete the Correctional Sentence Plans. The delays are experienced due to;

- unavailability of officials who are responsible for safe custody and escorting offenders to external hospitals and courts, yet they are the ones that are part of Case Management Committees to process and approve implementation of the plans

- lack of funds affected training and orientation of Correctional Assessment Officials for the 2009-10 financial year and this had a negative impact for the full implementation of the Correctional Sentence Plans.

(b) A pilot project has been launched in Gauteng Region where interns are used to implement the Correctional Sentence Plans through presentation of correctional programmes while professional staff continues to provide development and care services.

The department is in the process of signing Memorandum of Understanding with two tertiary institutions with the aim of involving post graduate criminology students and academic staff to assist with the compilation of the Correctional Sentence Plans and implementation of correctional programmes. This will be further rolled out to other academic institutions in the future.

QUESTION 992

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 30 March 2010

Internal question paper no 9

Mr. AT Fritz (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many (i) centres for children in conflict with the law have been opened last year and (ii) of these centres are there in each province and b) what is the (i) capacity and (ii) occupancy level of each of these centres? NW1137E

REPLY:

(a) There are thirty four secure care facilities for children in conflict with the law that have been established, funded and managed by provincial departments of Social Development. (attached see Annexure A).

(b)

(i) There are only two new secure care centre's opened during the financial year 2009/10 in Limpopo and Northern Cape.

QUESTION NO 993

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 26 APRIL 2010

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: TUESDAY, 30 MARCH 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 9 – 2010)

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

(1) What (a) is the average timeframe between the settling of claims by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and making the actual payment to claimants and (b) are the reasons for the delays;

(2) whether he has taken any steps to reduce this time; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether the RAF has conducted a study into the negative effects of these delays on accident victims; if not, why not; if so, what are the results of this study?

NW1138E

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

(1) (a) and (b)

95% of all claims submitted to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) are lodged by attorneys acting on behalf of claimants. As soon as the RAF settles a claim with the firm of attorneys and pays out compensation, it has no knowledge or control over the final payment made to the claimant.

(2) The RAF previously tried to bring transparency into the system and to speed up payment to claimants by introducing a Direct Payment System (DPS) whereby compensation would be paid directly to claimants and legal costs paid directly to attorneys.

Implementation of this process was interdicted by the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) and others in the Cape High Court in 2008. As a result of this interdict the RAF is prohibited from modernising its systems and processes to ensure speedy payment of compensation to claimants. Other interventions, such as changes to legislation, are being explored.

(3) The public participation process that preceded the introduction of the DPS, as well as studies undertaken by the Satchwell Commission, amongst others, have indicated that claimants suffer due to the delays associated with attorneys passing compensation over to claimants. Often claimants have no knowledge of the settlement agreements reached between the RAF and their attorneys, resulting in huge disparities between the actual compensation payout and the amount received by the claimant from the attorney. At times, claimants only receive payment of settlement months to years after payment was effected to the firm of attorneys.

QUESTION NO 995

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 26 APRIL 2010

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: TUESDAY, 30 MARCH 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 9– 2010)

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

(1) Whether all airports in South Africa have fully-trained air traffic controllers; if not, (a) which airports and (b) what are the shortcomings at each airport; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether any action is being taken to rectify this situation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether all air traffic controllers are regularly tested and assessed; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) whether any development or training programmes exists; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1140E

___________________________________________________________________

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

(1) The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Limited (ATNS) provides the services and infrastructure as required in terms of the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Act, 1993 (Act No 45 of 1993). ATNS is mandated to provide the national area control service as well as the approach and aerodrome control services at the Airports Company South Africa Limited (ACSA) airports. ATNS further provides services on contract at various provincial and private airports. The air traffic services are provided by staff trained and licensed in accordance with Part 65 of the South African Civil Aviation Regulations.

ATNS has an ongoing recruitment and training programme structured to meet the requirements for qualified staff. All airports in South Africa therefore have air traffic controllers who are fully trained.

(a) and (b) fall away.

(2) Not applicable

(3) Yes. Air Traffic Controllers are required to maintain a specified level of proficiency and are assessed annually through a structured proficiency assessment programme, which complies with the relevant regulations. Their performance is monitored and managed continuously in terms of Part 65 of the South African Civil Aviation Regulations, ATNS procedures and the ATNS Safety Management System.

(4) Yes. Development and training programmes are offered to ATNS's Air Traffic Controllers to prepare them for future careers in management and leadership positions. These programmes include, inter alia, Management Development, Aviation Management, Team Resources Management, Officer in Charge Programme and Safety Management.

DATE OF PUBLICATION: Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Mrs J F Terblanche (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:

(1) Whether her Department and / or Departmental officials held any functions in Pretoria at the (a) Kievits Kroon Country Estate and (b) Protea Hotel in Van Der Walt Street during the period 1 January 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, (i) what was the reason for each of these functions, (ii) how many officials were involved in each case, (iii) what was the total cost of each function and (iv) what was the total cost paid on behalf of officials attending each function in respect of (aa) travel costs,
(bb) accommodation costs and (cc) subsistence allowances;

(2) whether any gifts were presented to any official/s; if so, what (a) are the details and (b) is the total cost of these gifts?

NW1142E

REPLY

(1)(a) No functions were held by the Department at the Kievits Kroon Country Estate for the period 01 January 2010 up to and including 31 March 2010.

(1)(b) No functions were held by the Department at the Protea Hotel in Van Der Walt Street for the period 01 January 2010 up to and including 31 March 2010.

(2)(a) & (b) No gifts were presented to officials in the 2009/10 financial year.

QUESTION 998

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30/03/2010

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 9 OF 2010)

Dr W G James (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether any arrests and/or prosecution of students for drug and alcohol-related offences committed on the campus of any of the 23 universities and 50 Further Education and Training (FET) colleges have occurred; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1143E

REPLY:

Honourable Member is requested to note that the information is not available at the moment. It will be requested from the 23 public higher education institutions and the Members of the Executive Councils in the nine Provinces who are responsible for Further Education and Training Colleges and will be submitted once all institutions have replied.

QUESTION 1000

Mr D C Smiles (DA) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:

Whether the Chief of (a) the SA National Defence Force, (b) the SA Army, (c) the SA Air Force, (d) the SA Military Health Service, (e) Defence Intelligence, (f) Joint Operations, (g) Corporate Staff Division and (h) the Defence Inspectorate Division have purchased new vehicles since 1 April 2009 or intend doing so; if not, in each case, what vehicles are they currently using; if so, in each case, (i) why and (ii) what (aa) make and model are the vehicles they intend purchasing or have purchased, (bb) was the cost of the vehicles, (cc) accessories were or will be included in excess of the vehicles' purchase price and (dd) was or will be the cost of such accessories? NW1145E

REPLY

No. The members in question fall within senior management system (SMS), which is regulated by Department of Public Service and Administration. Their salary structure is done on an individual basis and includes a car allowance. None of these cars were bought at tax payers' expense. They are private property like the vehicle the Honourable Member drives.