Questions & Replies: Questions & Replies No 1401 to 1425
2010-05-25
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[PMG note: Replies are inserted as soon as they are provided by the Minister]
QUESTION NUMBER 1401 [NW1640E]
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 7 MAY 2010Mr M Swart (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:
Whether he intends increasing the income tax of middle- and high-income groups to subsidise rates payable in local authorities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, by how much will the income tax for these groups increase?
NW1640E
REPLY
No, there is no intention by National Government to subsidise municipal property rates.
The funding needs of all spheres of government, including local government, are subjected to a comprehensive annual budget process where priority government programmes are funded within the available revenue pool.
Any exemptions, rebates and/or discounts for municipal property rates payable to municipalities are regulated in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act and the rates policies of individual municipalities. The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is responsible for the administration of the Municipal Property Rates Act. The Act provides relief to all residential property owners by exempting the first R15 000 of the market value of a property from property rates. Any further relief is determined in terms of a municipality's rates policy. Municipalities need to ensure that any exemptions, rebates and/or discounts granted provide an appropriate balance between providing relief to the poor and collecting sufficient revenues to perform their service delivery responsibilities.
QUESTION 1402DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 07 May 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 of 2010Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether she and / or her Department has been informed of the problems experienced by the Glenmore community in the Eastern Cape to register the death of their relatives who died in the tornado and flood that devastated the area in 1979; if so, what are the relevant details; if not,
(2) whether she will investigate the matter and provide assistance to the community; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1641E
REPLY
(1) No. Neither I, nor the Department of Home Affairs was informed.
(2) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs will investigate the matter after consultation with the relevant Provincial Government Entities to collect, as much as possible, information pertaining to the incident mentioned. A comprehensive report will, then, be compiled which will, then, indicate what action, or steps will be taken to assist the Glenmore community to address the registration process for the deaths. It would be appreciated, if the Honourable Member could, kindly, avail any additional information, or contact persons, in order to assist in addressing, and finalising the matter, as soon as possible.
QUESTION 1404DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 07 May 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 of 2010Mr J J Mc Gluwa (ID) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether fingerprints taken by her Department are made available to the SA Police Service; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1643E
REPLY
No. Fingerprints taken by the Department of Home Affairs are not made available to the SA Police Service. The Department does, however, receive requests from SA Police Service to assist it with the identification of certain individuals, by sending a full set of fingerprints to the Department.
QUESTION NO 1405
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07 MAY 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 12)
1405. Mr L W Greyling (ID) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) Whether her department has investigated the allegation that a certain mine (name furnished) is in contravention of its water licence by not chemically treating the underground mine water before pumping it out into the adjacent wetlands; if not, why not; if so, what has the investigation revealed;
(2) whether the investigation examined the treatment records for January 2010, February 2010 and March 2010; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether any transgressions were found to have been committed; if so,
(4) whether her department will take any steps against the owners of the mine; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW1644E
---00O00---
REPLY:
(1) Yes, my Department has conducted several site visits to the Grootvlei mine in order to investigate the lack of treatment of the underground mine water. The site visits revealed that chemical treatment was either not taking place or not effective to ensure compliance with the license conditions.
(2) Yes, the treatment records of January, February and March 2010 were examined. The investigation indicated that chemical treatment during the last 3 months occurred on an irregular basis due to the mine experiencing financial constraints.
(3) Yes, the quality of the final discharge water was found not to be compliant with the conditions of the license issued to the Grootvlei Mine.
(4) Yes, a pre-directive was issued on 14 April 2010 and a directive was issued on 28 April 2010, to the Grootvlei Mine to put measures in place that would enable them to comply with the license conditions within a specific time frame. The deadline for compliance with license conditions has lapsed and the mine has not complied, which has triggered a decision by my Department to institute legal proceedings against the Grootvlei Mine.
QUESTION NO 1406
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07 MAY 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 12)
1406. Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:
(1) Whether she has been informed of the recent report of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that was commissioned by the Olifants River Forum (details furnished) regarding the pollution of the Olifants River; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,
(2) whether she will take the necessary steps indicated in the report to save the river; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW1644E
REPLY
(1) Yes, my Department became aware of the content of the studies (focusing on impacts generated by all economic activities within the upper catchment) which are in progress on the Olifants River and Loskop Dam through the attendance of the Open Day of the Olifants River Forum (ORF) on 23 April 2010.
During the Open Day, it was noted that the ORF was approached by the CSIR to initiate a multi-disciplinary research project on the Upper Olifants River Catchment in 2008/09. The project was approved in August 2009, commenced in October 2009 and will run over a 3-year period of which the first year (first phase); to be completed towards November 2010 will form the baseline for the next two years of the research work. Further, various presentations were made (during the Open Day) by the Olifants River Project Team under the auspices of Dr. Paul Oberholster from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which consist of the CSIR, University of Pretoria, University of Stellenbosch and the Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency (MPTA). Some of the presented topics were inter alia Water Quality: Upper Olifants River; Isotopes; Fish Health; Microbial Pathogens and Contaminants and Eutrophication.
(2) The steps and/or recommendations as indicated in the presentations, which may become part of the final report (to be in November 2010) in progress, will definitely guide the proposals, upon which all fora (within the province) and related task teams will embark upon. On receipt of the final report, my Department will evaluate such report to possibly guide and/or influence the future activities/processes.
QUESTION 1407
WRITTEN REPLY
1407. Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:
(1) Whether the SA National Defence Force has started to patrol the boundary between South Africa and Mozambique in the Kruger National Park; if not, when will they start; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether any arrests have been made since they have started to patrol the area; if so, how many arrests? NW1646E
REPLY
The SANDF has no deployments in the Kruger National Park
QUESTION NO.1410
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07 May 2010
Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:
(1)Whether she will phase out the use of the railway track between Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit which cuts across the Balule Nature Reserve; if not, why not; if so, when;
(2)(a) How many animals were killed by this train in the past two years and (b) why is Transnet using such a noisy locomotive on this railway track? NW1649E
REPLY
(1) There is no intention to phase out the railway line between Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit as it is one of the strategic growth lines for Transnet Freight Rail. Moreover, the line is vital for the transportation of major export commodities such as magnetite and rock phosphate from Phalaborwa to Richards Bay. It therefore provides a critical service to the mining town of Phalaborwa.
(2)(a) In 2008, seven animals were killed and the number decreased to five in 2009. Measures such as the reduction of train speed along the line and the clearing of grazing areas for animals were introduced to effectively deal with such incidents.
(b) The new generation locomotives operating on this line are now running at lower noise levels.
QUESTION 1411
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
1411. Mr P D Dexter (Cope) to ask the Minister of Energy:
Whether, in supporting Eskom's development of coal-fired power stations, she has given thorough consideration to carbon capture technologies; if not, why not; if so, what (a) technologies are to be used and (b) outcomes are expected? NW1650E
Response
Yes,
The Department is very much alive to South Africa's challenges in being a coal based economy and possible measures to prevent and mitigate resultant negative (Environmental) impacts. The Department as a Vice Chair of both the Policy Group and Technical Group of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) fully supports the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies as a means of curbing the emissions of greenhouse gases [in this case carbon dioxide (CO2)] into the atmosphere. The Department co-ordinates a local stakeholder forum that participates in the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum where information is shared and best practice guidelines based on international demonstration projects are developed.
We are therefore investigating the use of CCS as a transition mitigation measure against the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions until other measures like nuclear and renewable energy play a significant role. CCS is consequently included in our Long Term Mitigation Strategy. However, energy efficiency and demand side management interventions remain very important as well.
The Department's approach is informed by national imperatives, the economic development and the stage of development of CCS technology. Consequently the South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage was established in March 2009 under the South African Energy Research Institute (SANERI) to facilitate and coordinate efforts to make the country ready for CCS development and deployment. The Department in conjunction with the Centre for CCS hosted the first ever CCS Conference aimed at providing an overview of technical, economic and regulatory CCS issues. New coal fired power stations are required to be carbon capture ready.
Technology
In general, pre-combustion technologies are regarded as less well-developed while post-combustion technologies would provide an option for retrofitting electricity generating plant at some time in the future once the technologies are commercially available. Some of the capture technologies have been applied in refining and chemical industries for decades, but the integration of these technologies in particular context of power plants still needs to be demonstrated. The Department of Energy has concentrated its efforts on: a) facilitating information sharing around the state of development of CCS technology; and b) determining the potential geological storage capacity for the CO2 in South Africa through the Geological Storage Atlas project.
Expected Outcomes
Projections are that the implementation of carbon capture and storage at coal-fired power stations could ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions from such installations by as much as 85% compared to the plant without CCS (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report). The deployment of CCS will also help the government to reach its emission reduction targets of 42 percent by 2025 made in Copenhagen and enable the country to continue using low grade coal to generate electricity. The commercial deployment of CCS technology will globally reduce emissions by as much as 33 percent by 2050.
QUESTION NO 1418
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7 MAY 2010
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12- 2010)
Date reply submitted : 1 June 2010
1418. Mr PJ Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Police:
(1) Whether he will take any steps against a certain person (name furnished) following a certain incident (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps and (b) when;
(2) whether the said person is still in the employ of the SA Police Service; if so, why;
(3) whether he will make a statement on the matter?
NW1660E
REPLY:
(1) Yes.
(a) The said person has been suspended from the SAPS in terms of the SAPS Discipline Regulations pending the finalisation of the departmental and criminal cases.
(b) The departmental hearing against the said person is scheduled for
2010-05-28.
(2) Yes. The said person is still in the employ of the SAPS pending the outcome of the departmental hearing.
(3) No.
Question 1419.
Mr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:
(1) When, with reference to her reply to question 487 on 23 April 2010, does she intend to confer the Closure Commemoration medal, class Commando, on former commando members;
(2) whether she will make a statement on the matter? NW1661E
Reply
The South African National Defence Force is busy compiling a list of all the former Commando members who meet the qualifying criteria for the Closure Commemoration medal. As soon as the information is verified, it will be submitted to me for approval.
QUESTION 1420
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
1420. Mr R B Bhoola (MF) to ask the Minister of Energy:
What progress has been made with the restructuring of her department, specifically with regard to the vacancy rate? NW1663E
Reply
The restructuring of the department is on schedule in terms of our plan and in line with the National Macro Reorganisation Committee process. The new Department of Energy was established on 01 April 2010 as envisaged with its own support services a function. There are 90 vacancies to be filled in the whole Department and the intention is to finalise this process by 31 May 2010 and, 11 of the aforementioned vacancies have already been filled.
Currently the department is in the process of filling 58 vacancies of which:
· 31 posts have been advertised;
· 3 are awaiting shortlisting;
· 9 are awaiting interviews (already shortlisted);
· 9 are in the final stages of filling (i.e submissions on route where shortlisting and interviews are already completed); and
· 6 interviews took place between 11 – 13 May 2010.
QUESTIONS 1421 FOR WRITTEN REPLY FRIDAY, 7 MAY 2010 1421. Mr R B Bhoola (MF) to ask the Minister for the Public Service and Administration:(1) (a) Why did his department not commence with its undertaking of training of 400 health and wellness practitioners per year, (b) why has this number been reduced to only 174 employees trained in this regard and (c) what impact will HIV and Aids in the public sector have as a result of the reduced number of practitioners;
(2) Whether any plans are in place to deal with the matter to train 400 health and wellness practitioners each year; if not, why not; if so, what plans? NW1664E
REPLY
1 (a) It is incorrect to say that DPSA did not commence with the training
of employee health and wellness practitioners. DPSA commenced with the training of Health and wellness practitioners to build capacity in the following areas from 2008 to 2010:
· Mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS- trained 626, with 314 trained in 2009/10
· Costing of HIV and AIDS activities – trained 130
· World Health Organisation Modules on Occupational Health and Safety - trained 223
· Financial Wellness- trained 158
(b) In addition the DPSA has undertaken to train 400 Health and wellness practitioners per year in HIV and AIDS mainstreaming but the ENE adjustment moved the target from 400 to 312.
(2) The plans that are in place to deal with this matter are the following:
· Capacity development in:
o Policy implementation and communication
o Monitoring and Evaluation
o Occupational Health and safety information systems (OHASIS)
o Mainstreaming training (simultaneous - integrated human rights, disability, gender, youth)
o HIV and AIDS and TB Management in the workplace
o Integrated Health Risk assessments
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1422
DATE OF QUESTION: 07 MAY 2010
1422. Mr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:
(1) (a) What are the criteria applied by the State Prosecutor and (b) in terms of which sections of the relevant Act are the legal costs of a certain person (Jackie Selebi) paid by the State;
(2) whether he will make a statement on the matter?
NW1665E
REPLY:- (1)(a) I would like to advise the Honourable Member that the role of the State Prosecutor is to prosecute in criminal cases on behalf of the State. The State Prosecutor is not involved in determining the legal costs payable by the State in civil matters. (b) The determination on whether or not the State should pay the legal costs of a person is in terms of Section 3 of the State Attorneys Act, 1957 (Act No. 56 of 1957) and the Treasury Regulations read with the Public Finance Management Act.(2) No statement is necessary.
QUESTION NO: 1423
PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 OF 07 May 2010
Ms A Mda (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:
Whether he has been informed that the council of the Qaukeni Municipality is paying a double salary for the post of chief financial officer, because two persons were appointed to the position; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps are being taken regarding (a) the double payment for one position and (b) wasteful expenditure? NW1666E
Reply
DOUBLE PAYMENT FOR THE POST OF CHIEF FINACIAL OFFICER
In terms of the Municipal Systems Act no. 32 of 2000, as amended, the Chief Finance Officer is employed in terms of Sections 56 & 57. The Ingquza Hill (Qaukeni) Local Municipality has one Chief Finance Officer employed in terms of these sections. He was employed as at 01 June 2009 and complied with all the contents of the Sections mentioned above.
The confusion surrounding another employee in that, the employee in question was employed in 2001 as Chief Finance Officer but had never signed employment contract and Performance agreement, charged for misappropriation of funds, corruption and bribery by Special Investigation Unit (SIU) during the time when the province invoked Section 139 in 2003. Disciplinary Proceedings were instituted by the municipality based on these charges. She was subsequently dismissed by the seconded administration from the province in 2004. She approached the High court and the court found that the municipality did not follow proper procedures in 2007.
The municipality is correcting this anomaly by following proper procedures and is being assisted by the Province. The employee in question is in the municipality because the municipality adheres to the rule of law. Overall the municipality erred by appointing a Chief Financial Officer whilst the case of the previous one was dismissed on technicality of lack of following proper procedures.
QUESTION: NO 1424
(Internal Question Paper No 13 – 2010)
Mr C T Frolick (ANC) to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation:
(a) What are the
(i) Details and
(ii) Extent of the support that his department provides to clubs through the Club Support Programme and
(b) What are
(i) Names and
(ii) Geographical location of each of the clubs to which support was provided since 1 January 2009?
RESPONSE:
(a) (i) Through the Club Development Programme, support is given to National Federations by Provincial Departments. Club Development is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of the Legacy Sub-Programme that forms part of the Mass Participation Programme (MPP) funded through the Division of Revenue Act (DORA). This programme has to compete for budget with other programmes including Community Sport and School Mass Participation despite the fact that they have a specially allocated budget within DORA. The programme is implemented by the provinces.
Provinces submit business plans to SRSA for programmes funded through the DORA.
(ii) SRSA transfers a budget through DORA to the provinces. Provinces choose which federations to support according to the needs and diversity of the province. The support is in terms of: human resource development (sport administrators, coaches, technical officials and life skills), transport and accommodation when attending courses, leagues and meetings; and uniform/sport equipment. Provinces were allocated a budget of R187 250 million for Legacy projects last year. Club development is one of the outputs within Legacy. Legacy projects are: 1 Mass mobilization, 2 Club development, 3 Districts and Hub five aside festivals, 4 Capacity building, 5. 2010 Legacy audit and 6. My School World Cup. (See table attached)
(b) (i) and (ii) Please see attached information of clubs established and supported by the various provinces.
QUESTION 1413
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
1413. Mr P D Dexter (Cope) to ask the Minister of Energy:
Whether the proposed target of 875MW of electricity produced per annum through renewable energy will be reached by 2013; if not, how will she increase this amount? NW1652E
Reply
Yes, the proposed target will be reached. The Department is establishing the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) which will buy power from all Independent Power Producers (IPPs) including renewable energy IPPs. Moreover, the Regulator is putting together the procurement guidelines as prescribed in the Regulation on New Generation Capacity, 2009, which will enable the ISMO to procure power from renewable energy IPPs.
By the third quarter of 2010, the Integrated Resource Plan 2 will be completed and this will prescribe the target for renewable energy beyond 2013.
QUESTION NO.1417
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07/05/2010
1417. Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:
(1) Whether she has been informed of the current long delays that are suffered by exporters when sending goods to harbours by rail; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,
(2) Whether she is taking any steps with regard to this current incapacity with Transnet; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW1659E
REPLY
(1) Yes, the Department is aware of the various challenges that are being experienced by exporters sending goods on rail. There is greater shareholder oversight and monitoring of operational performance in ports and rail. Furthermore the Transnet "Quantum Leap" Corporate Plan (2010/11) sets challenging targets for key operational performance indicators such as increasing wagon and locomotive utilization as well as efficiencies in port operations. In rail specifically cable theft has been highlighted as one of the main contributors to delays in transporting goods. Below is a breakdown of the main commodities Transnet transports by rail to harbours for export including details of the high-level operational constraints in each case:
Export Coal from the mines to Richards Bay
Transnet transports this commodity for stockpiling at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), a privately owned terminal. This terminal has 11 shareholders, which include Anglo Operations Ltd, Eyesizwe Coal (Pty) Ltd, BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa Ltd, Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd and Sasol Mining (Pty) Ltd. The average cycle time agreed upon with customers is 59 hours from the mines to the port. However, should the stockpile at the terminal be too high or there is equipment or other problems at RBCT, then delays are likely to occur.
Iron Ore from Sishen to Saldanha
Iron ore is transported from Sishen to Saldanha for export as well as stockpiling. The agreed transit time from the mine to the port is 22 hours. Transnet performs well in terms of the agreed transit time for this commodity, which is consistently achieved.
Chrome from Rustenburg to Richards Bay
The performance of this commodity has been hampered by off-loading capacity which takes two (2) days longer than the agreed cycle time. The port is implementing a project to refurbish and upgrade off-loading equipment.
Containers from Pretoria and City Deep to Durban
The average transit time for containers on the Johannesburg to Durban corridor (NATCOR) is 19 hours. Delays have been experienced on the NATCOR due to theft of overhead copper cable. Containers from Gauteng to Port Elizabeth/Ngqura take 40 hours to reach the destination because of cable theft in Gauteng. The transit time of containers to and from Cape Town is 46 hours, while the design is 36 hours of transit time. The issues which are causing delays, such as, capacity and planning are progressively being dealt with.
Manganese to Port Elizabeth
This commodity is performing in accordance with the agreed transit time of six ( 6) days. This export channel is constrained because of the lack of rail and port capacity to support growth. Transnet is currently negotiating with key players in the manganese industry to plan a capacity expansion and determine the costs thereof.
Magnetite to Richards Bay
Magnetite is performing well below the agreed transit time of seven (7) days and is therefore running well.
(2) Yes. The Department has put greater emphasis on improvements to operational efficiencies in its shareholder oversight role of Transnet. With regards to cable theft the Department notes that Transnet faces a major challenge with containers from Gauteng because of constant overhead cable theft. The following actions are being put in place to deal with cable theft:
· Conversion from copper cable to tiger wire;
· Increasing the number of security guards in the hotspot areas;
· Joint working relationship with the Hawks, National Intelligence Agency and the National Prosecuting Authority which has resulted in the apprehension and conviction of cable thieves;
· Recommendation for the amendment to the Precious Metals Act, 2005 (Act No. 37 of 2005) to include copper as a precious metal, and;
· Refocusing Corporate Social Investment initiatives to benefit communities along the railway reserves.
QUESTION 1412
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
1412. Mr P D Dexter (Cope) to ask the Minister of Energy:
Whether, in supporting Eskom's development of coal-fired power stations, she has investigated the external costs, mainly, but not only, medical, arising from the release by coal-fired power plants of particulates such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, heavy metal, benzene and radionuclides into the atmosphere; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1651E
Reply:
The process of developing IRP2 involves the determination of the costs of various technologies for producing electricity. The so-called externalities will be taken into account in determining these costs. Various studies will be taken into account in order to arrive at an appropriate method of take these costs into account. This forms part of the inputs that are solicited from stakeholders through the IRP consultation process.