Questions & Replies: Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs

QUESTION NO: 3004

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

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

(1) (a) Who are the members of his department's audit committee since 1 April 2010, (b) when were these members appointed and (c) how many (i) properly constituted, (ii) quorate, (iii) invalid and (iv) non-quorate meetings has the audit committee held;

(2) whether any issues of (a) internal control or (b) risk management have been (i) identified by and (ii) reported to the accounting officer of the audit committee; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW3718E

Reply

(1) (a) The members of the Department's audit committee are as follows;

· Ms Nonhlanhla Khumalo- Interim Chairperson

· Mr William Ndlovu - member

· Mr Thomas Ntuli - member

(b) Audit Committee members were recruited and inaugurated in March 2010

(c) Three(3)

i. Yes, they are properly constituted with diverse experience

ii. All three members were present in all the meetings held during the current financial period

iii. No invalid meeting took place

iv. There was no non-quorate audit committee meeting which took place during the current financial period.

(2) (a) The internal financial controls for the previous financial year were reported as not effective, however, during the current financial year management has put measures in place to improve the control environment, e.g. Annual Financial Statements checklist has been developed. Department has resuscitated the Internal Audit Steering Committee meeting which will convene and oversee all the audit matters and advice the Accounting Officer accordingly.

(b) The department did not conduct a formal risk assessment during the previous financial year. The risk assessment for the current financial year has been conducted and it will be used to direct internal audit efforts. The risk assessment report will be used to develop the internal audit plan where high risk areas will be subjected for auditing. Reports on how risks are being mitigated will be issued to the Accounting Officer and the Audit Committee.

QUESTION NO: 2992

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [*93.] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]

What (a) is the total number of ward committee members and (b) has been the total cost of their stipends in the 2008-09 financial year? NW2529E

Reply

1. The total number of ward committee members is 37750.
2. The Department does not keep records on stipend for ward committee members. However this information will be forwarded to the member once it becomes available.

QUESTION NO: 2991

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 34 OF 29 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [*92.] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]]

Whether any funds have been earmarked by his department to assist the Sedibeng District Municipality with their regional sewer works; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so; how much money has been set aside for this purpose? NW2528E

Reply

The Department of Water Affairs is currently undertaking an environmental impact assessment for the development of Sedibeng Regional Sewer scheme Project.

The financial implications for the project will be finalised with proposals to undertake Public Private Partnerships to support the development of the scheme. Once these are finalised the commitments from the department will be made through the Municipal Infrastructure grant.

A meeting between the Minister and the Mayor is in the pipeline to also discuss this project.

QUESTION NO: 2968

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any (a) funding or (b) implementation plans have been set in place to deal with the dysfunctional water supply and purification system in the Brandfort region in the Masilonyana Municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW3660E

Reply

(a) Yes an amount of R8,030,507.00 is registered as a Municipal Infrastructure Grant project for the Upgrading of the Brandfort Water Purification Plant.

(b) An implementation plan does exist and the site was handed over to the Contractor Big Bravo on 9 June 2010. The project is currently under construction. The project is at 32% progress and the expected completion dateis March 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2941

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER. NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, with reference to the service delivery demonstrations in

Itsoneng on 5 October 2010, any research has been conducted into the causes of the demonstrations; if not, why not; if so, what causes have been identified;

(2) (a) what basic services are residents of itsoneng receiving, (b) what sanitation is provided for Itsoneng, (c) how many flush toilets are in operation, (d) how many people are still without access to flush toilets, (e) what plans are in place to increase the provision of flush toilets for Itsoneng, (f) what is the sanitation budget for Itsoneng, (g) how much of itsoneng's 2009-10 budget was a1located for delivering basic services and (h) what portion of the budget for service delivery was spent in the 2009-10 financial year? NW3637E

Reply

1) In a preliminary investigation conducted by the Local Authority (the City of Johannesburg), it was reported that a conflict resulted when the security to control access to the informal settlement prevented building materials to be taken into the informal settlement in an attempt to contain the growth of the settlement. This resulted in a violent demonstration to which a person was killed, a Johannesburg Metro Police Department vehicle was set alight and other individuals were injured. This matter is now being investigated by South African Police Services.

2) In responding to this question, it must be clarified that this is an informal settlement and that the following rudimentary services are being provided. The Province and the City has initiated a project to formialise this settlement into a development that is commonly referred to as Malibongwe Ridge. The legal processes, (environmental authorization and township establishment) is far advanced. The inclusion of the land on which the settlement is situated into the project is also far advanced but not concluded as yet. Once all approvals are obtained and the land acquisition process concluded, the project will be in a position to proceed on the same basis as Cosmo City, but subject to budget approvals.

1. The residents have access to basic sanitation and basic water.

Access to water is obtained through stationary water tanks and 36 (6 tap) communal standpipes.

2. Most stands are serviced with Ventilated Improved Pit latrines (VIP's). The settiement also has some chemical toilets.

3. No households are serviced with flush toilets.

4. All households are without access to flush toilets.

5. Currently no households are serviced with flush toilets. The Provincial Department of Housing and Local Government plans to formalize the township in order to provide permanent water and sanitation and provision of housing.

6. There is no budget allocated for 2009/10 financial year.

7. There is no budget provision as the basic service have been provided.

8. Not applicable as it relates to the above response on (G).

QUESTION NO: 2946

PUBUSHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 32 OF 22 October 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the bucket system of sewage collection is still being used in Gauteng; if so, (a) in which (i) communities and (ii) municipalities is the system being utilised, (b) what steps have been taken to replace this system and (c) by what date is the project to replace the bucket system expected to be completed? NW3636E

Reply

Merafong City Local Municipality

The bucket system of sewage collection is still being used in the Merafong City Local Municipality in the following communities:

(a) (i) Khutsong - Number of buckets in use: 80

(ii) Kokosi - Number of buckets in use: 145

(b) All bucket systems were initially eradicated but were partly reinstated due to community demand emanating from the fact that families had to share VIP toilets installed as part of the eradication programme.

(c) The bucket system will again be eradicated after completion of the Informal Sanitation project scheduled for implementation during this financial year. Priority will be given within this project to first start with the eradication of the remaining bucket systems as reflected above.

Merafong City Local Municipality is presently in process of drafting tender documents with the project due to be advertised in November. Project implementation is scheduled for January 2011 taking into account the annual closure of construction over the December festive period. Complete eradication of the present bucket is anticipated to be completed by April 2011 latest.

Lesedi Local Municipality

(a)

I. There are some buckets being used in Ratanda community. A site visit was conducted and about 52 buckets were identified to our knowledge.

II. It is in Lesedi Local Municipality.

(b) Lesedi Local Municipality is currently servicing these buckets with their own funds. There is a plan in process to relocate the people to the formalized settlement of Albert Nkosi. This is a housing problem due to land invasions. Currently, sewer systems have been completed and water systems are being put in place. It is hoped by end of the financial year the problem will be resolved.

(c) Everything is expected to be completed by March 2011. However, some who have been rejected due to lack of IDdocuments, there is an interim place to provide them with VIP toilets.

QUESTION NO: 2684

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 29 OF 17 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all service charges at stadiums incurred by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Fifa have been paid; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3349E

Reply

No.

Only the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality has been fully settled by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (LOC) for the utilisation and consumption of municipal services during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

For the remaining eight Host Cities, the LOC has indicated that they are awaiting more detailed information and other supporting documentation to be provided by the relevant Stadium Authority / Host City before they could finalise payment for the utilisation and consumption of municipal services during the 2010 FIFA World Cup,

The Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that the relevant municipalities provide the outstanding information to the LOC, and that the LOC settles all claims in this regard.

QUESTION NO: 2682

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 29 OF 17 September 2010

Mr D CRoss (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all municipalities have reported and provided information to his department in terms of section 27 of the Electricity Regulation Act, Act 4 of 2006, regarding debts owed to Eskom; if not, (a) why not and (b) what action has he taken to ensure compliance; if so, (i) what amount is owed to Eskom by each municipality and (ii) what steps will he take to ensure that municipalities pay their debts?

Reply

Please see attached for reply

QUESTION NO: 2542

P BLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 28 OF 13 September 2010

Mr. P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) is functioning as envisaged by its founding statute; if not, (a) why not and (b) what steps has he taken to ensure that the commission fulfils its mandate; if so, how has this conclusion been reached? NW3164E

Reply

(a) Yes₁ the CRL Commission is executing legislated mandate within the available capacity and resources approved by Parliament and as reported annually through its Annual Report to Parliament.

(b) The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs provides financial resources to the Commission on annual basis. Nothwithstanding the above, the Ministry has since initiated a Strategic Planning workshop where the Business Plan of the Commission was discussed, and the Commission will report progress on a quarterly basis with effect from April 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2514

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mr J J Mc Gluwa (ID) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has launched an investigation into allegations that rural villagers in Limpopo have still not received proper access to boreholes because of problems with tenders (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, (a) when and (b) what are the further relevant details;

(2) Whether he will take any steps in cases where tender problems or any other problems have prevented the proper installation of boreholes; if not, why not; jf so, what are the relevant details? NW3090E

Reply

(1)The Minister has not received any complaint in this regard, but invite anyone with information on such allegations to come forward for his consideration.

(2)Yes, if any information relating to tender irregularities comes to his attention, he will take the necessary action.

QUESTION NO: 2451

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department will take steps to clarify the uncertainty surrounding the (a) future and (b) administration of the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund; if not, why not; if so, what steps;

(2) whether his department will release an audited statement for the fund in light of the fact that none had been released in the past four years; if not, why not; if so, when;

(3) Whether any action will be taken against administrators of the fund if the audit reveals mismanagement; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3019E

Reply

(1)Anational task team has been established and provincial meeting have been held to address issues surrounding the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund.

(2)The task team is working directly with the Registrar of Pension Funds on these matters, from ourside; we will be guided by their report while dealing with the matter.

(3)The Registrar is now in the final phase of concluding his investigation into the affairs of the Fund and a further meeting with the national task team is to be held to consider possible steps to be taken against those found to have acted irregularly.

QUESTION NO: 2450

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 26 OF 03 September 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any action will be taken against parties responsible for sending out a memorandum contrary to the Government's official position on the purchasing of 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament tickets by municipalities; if not, why not; if so, what action? NW3018E

Reply

Prior to the commencement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the National Treasury issued a circular to municipalities indicating that the spending of municipal funds on the purchase of tickets for the event will constitute irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure in terms of the relevant provisions contained in the Municipal Finance Management Act, No. 56 of 2003.

Any party who has issued a memorandum that is contrary to the above will be subject to any sanction that is provided for in the Public Finance Management Act, Act No. 1 of 1999, the Municipal Finance Management Act, No. 56 of 2003, as well as the views expressed by the Auditor-General.

As both these pieces of legislation are primarily administered by the National Treasury, the Honourable Member is referred to that Ministry for further information relating to this matter.

QUESTION NO: 2395

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether (a) his department or (b) any of its entities has signed any contractual agreements with a certain company (name furnished) or any of its affiliates (i) in the (aa) 2006-07, (bb) 2007-08, (cc) 2008-09 and (dd) 2009-10 financial years and (ii) during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (aaa) what is the nature of each contract, (bbb) what is the monetary value of each contract, (ccc) what is the (aaaa) start and (bbbb) end date of each contract, (ddd) what are the details of the process that was followed for the signing of each contract, (eee) who else tendered for each contract that was awarded and (fff) what amount did each tenderer quote in each case? NW2964E

Reply

No, from our records, this Department does not have any contractual agreements with General Nyanda Security Advisory for the financial years in question.

QUESTION NO: 2358

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

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

(1) Whether the Senqu Municipality has adhered to the Auditor­-General's recent recommendation to cease the illegal payment of rent to the executive mayor for his own house which has been treated as a mayoral house; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether any monies have been recovered in terms of section 167(2) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2927E

Reply

We were not aware of the said payments taking place at the municipality, We appreciate the fact the Honourable Member has raised this matter with us, We will launch a formal investigation on the matter.

QUESTION NO: 2357

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

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

(1) Whether his department will continue with the urban renewal programme in the current financial year; if not, when was it terminated; if so, (a) what is the total amount budgeted for this project, (b) how much of the budget has been spent since the inception of the programme, (c) what total amount of the budget for this programme is left for its implementation for the rest of this financial year and (d) what is the total number of personnel committed to it;

(2) Whether a report will be released on what this project has achieved; if not, why not; if so, when? NW2926E

Reply

1. Yes, the department will continue with the Urban Renewal Programme.

(a) The total amount budgeted for the programme over the years since the implementation of the Urban Renewal Programme under the former Department of Provincial and Local Government from 2001/2 until March 2010 was R30, 992,000.

(b) Since its inception a total amount of R20, 959,000 was spent on the programme.

(c) An amount of R4 856,000 is available for the implementation of the programme for the current financial year.

(d)Thetotal number of personnel committed to the programme is 4

(1 X Chief Director, 1 X Director and 2 X Administration Assistants).

(2) Yes, a progress report is available.

QUESTION NO: 2356

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

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

What was the vacancy rate for municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers in terms of section 57 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, (a) in each province and (b) countrywide at the latest specified date for which information is available? NW2925E

Reply

FILLED AND VACANT MUNICIPAL MANAGER POSTS PER PROVINCE

A total of 247 out of 283 municipal manager posts have been filled as at March 2010 representing 87% filled posts nationally.

FILLED AND VACANT SECTION 57 MANAGER POSTS

A total of 1207 (86%) out of 1411 section 57 manager posts have been filled nationally as at March 2010.

QUESTION NO: 2319

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 25 OF 30 August 2010

Mr M Johnson (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether there are still ocean areas designated for whites only; if so, (a) which areas and (b) what is the Government's policy in this regard?

NW2854E

Reply

No. All previous legislation which permitted certain restrictions based on race or membership of a specific population group on the acquisition and utilization of rights to land were abolished in terms of Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991 (Act No. 27 of 1991 ),

(a)Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

QUESTION NO: 2312

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 30 August 2010

Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has put stricter measures in place to hold local government officials accountable for abusing public funds; if not, why not; if so, (a) how are these measures implemented, (b) who oversees its implementation and (c) what are the penalties for this type of transgression? NW2809E

Reply

Yes, the department has hitherto assisted 277 municipalities with the development of anti-corruption and fraud prevention plans and is in the process of revising the Supply Chain Management Regulations of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 to ensure that municipalities do not abuse the processes of awarding of tenders and other corruption related malfeasances. The Department is also currently involved with assisting municipalities with the Municipal Turn Around

QUESTION NO: 2301

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr P F Smith (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has taken any steps with regard to the repeated failure of the SA Local Government Association (Salga) to secure clean audits owing to problems centered on the status of the KwaZulu-Natal Local Government Association (Kwanaloga); if not, why not; if so, what is the (a) nature and (b) outcome of the steps? NW2859E

Reply

SALGA has obtained an unqualified audit opinion for the 2009/2010 financial year.

(a) The organisation has separated the legal issues from the accounting treatment and has thus de-recognised the assets for which it has lost control. In this instance the organisation has applied the applicable accounting standards viz, GRAP 1 which define an asset as follows:

"Assets are resources controlled by an entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits or service potential are expected to flow to the entity. 1!

For accounting purposes, the organisation has to recognise the fact that it has lost control of the KZN operation. Consequently, the organisation could not use GRAP 17 in accounting for the assets located in KwaZulu-Natal province since it has lost control. Furthermore, the accounting standard on revenue recognition requires that SALGA fair value its revenue on initial recognition. SALGA has fair valued revenue collectable from the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities to nil for 2009/2010 as a result of the outstanding impasse between SALGA and its KZN office (Kwanaloga).

You will recall that the PFMA in section 55(1)(b) prescribes framework for accounting treatment.

The accounting treatment adopted recognises the substance of the transactions and circumstances rather than the legal form. Furthermore, the above mentioned approach allows SALGA to account for its resources in terms of the prescribed framework without mixing-up the legal matters with accounting. The approach also allows for the political engagement that is unfolding between SALGA's political leadership and Kwanaloga's political leadership to continue.

Kwanaloga is to account as a provincial public entity for all resources employed under the contror of the KwaZulu-Natal political leadership. The Auditor-General has been granted access to audit the financial records of Kwanaloga.

(b) The outcome of the steps have led to SALGA securing an unqualified audit opinion for the 2009/2010 financial year.