Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs

2013-03-15

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Reply received: November 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1906

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

What was the (a) make, (b) model, (c) year, (d) purpose, (e) date and/or dates, (f) financial cost and (g) sum total of kilometres driven in respect of each vehicle hired for use by (i) him and (ii) the Deputy Minister since 1 January 2012? NW2255E

REPLY:

The Minister and the Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) are responsible for supporting the local government portfolio, which involves extensive travelling around the country.

As political heads of the CoGTA portfolio, they are among other things, responsible for intergovernmental relations which involve engagements with various stakeholders around the country. The nature of their work sometimes necessitates for air travel and car rental. However, the Minister and the Deputy Minister have official vehicles that they use at all times unless circumstances do not allow. Official vehicles allocated to both the Minister and Deputy Minister are based in Cape Town and Pretoria. It is cost effective that when the Minister and Deputy Minister travel outside the two cities use hired vehicles.

See attached Annexure: http://www.pmg.org.za/rnw1906a-131022

Reply received: August 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1863

Mr. NJJ van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department will facilitate the payment of outstanding debt owed by various government departments to municipalities; if not, why not; if so what are the relevant details? NW2216E

Response:

Yes, the department continues to facilitate the payment of outstanding debt owed by various government departments to municipalities. The department is part of the national debt steering committee established to facilitate payment to municipalities. The provinces have also established provincial debt steering committees where the provincial department of Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlement, Provincial Treasury and South African Local Government Association (SALGA) are participating.

The payment of debt owed to municipalities by national and provincial government departments has been an item in national Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) fora like MinMEC and the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC). The Minister has written letters to Ministers, MECs and Premiers indicating the amount that relevant departments have been owing and sought a plan from these departments on how they will service their debt. This initiative has resulted in the debt being reduced by R560mil.

Reply received: October 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1821

Dr H C van Schalkwyk (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many consultants has his department contracted and/or appointed (a) in the (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13 financial years and (b) since 1 April 2013;

(2) How many consultants contracted and/or appointed by his department (a) in the (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13 financial years and (b) since 1 April 2013 are former officials of his department and/or former public servants? NW2169E

REPLY

(1) The department has contracted the following number of consultants over the financial years in question:

(i) Fourty Seven (47) in 2009/10

(ii) Fourty four (44) in 2010/11

(iii) Thirty Eight (38) in 2011/12

(iv) Thirty five (35) in 2012/13; and

(b) Twenty two (22) consultants were contracted to the department since 01 April 2013

(2) The department contracted the services of one (1) former official, during the 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and in the 2012/13 financial years.

All the services contracted out to consultants required expertise and resources that are not available in the department. However, the officials from the department performed coordination and project management responsibilities over these contracts.

The listed consultant services were those above R200 000.

Financial Year 2009/2010

NAME OF CONSULTANT/S	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES	AMOUNT
1. BARAKA	Disaster IT specialist	R9,910,427.64
2. DBSA	Assist with the takeover of the MISA project	R2,714,054.98
3. DISASTER MANAGEMENT CENTRE	Disaster National Education and Research Needs and Resources Analysis	R1,872,688.00
4. ENCHA	To undertake the capacity building programme for senior officials in the municipalities on the implementation of the Fraud Prevention Plans and Strategy	R1,419,584.07
5. LOUW SL	Departmental intelligence: Drafting the White Paper on Traditional Leadership.	R817,747.46
6. PALMER	MIG Policy and Vuna awards	R1,756,279.29
7. PWC	Implementation of the LGACS	R1,423,358.88
8. SA CITIES NETWORK	Project coordination: Partnership between DPLG, SACN and The Presidency towards developing NUDF	R1,353,097.94
9. SA WEATHER	Disaster: Development of SA Flash Flood Guidance System (SAFFG)	R1,600,000.00
Other consultants services (38)		R4,350,953.63

Financial Year 2010/2011

NAME OF CONSULTANT/S	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES	AMOUNT
1. AFRICON	Supply, installation and deploy a Command and Control (C2) System at National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC)	R3,974,869.92
2. BARAKA	Disaster IT specialist	R3,000,326.16
3. COMPUTER FOUNDATION	Pilot for GPS/GIS system	R529,530.34
4. ENCHA	To undertake the capacity building programme for senior officials in municipalities on the implementation of the Fraud Prevention Plans and Strategy	R 2,596,634.10
5. GOBODO	Forensic Audit	R3,049,144.49
6. LOUW SL	Departmental intelligence: Drafting the White paper on Traditional Leadership.	R820,325.39
7. PINPOINT	Human Resources response handling, Handling of post after the New structure and displacement of senior officials.	R1,104,660.00
Other consultants services (37)		R4,784,941.60

Financial Year 2011/2012

NAME OF CONSULTANT/S	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES	AMOUNT
1. LOUW	Departmental intelligence: Drafting the White paper on Traditional Leadership.	R842,663.85
2. PD NAIDOO	Assessment, verification of flood and storm damages infrastructure.	R2,633,878.80
3. RAND WATER	Donor EU: Masibambane: Implementing agent to render technical capacity in improving service delivery and infrastructure asset management in the water section (cancelation fee)	R3,464,365.60
4. SAICE	Management of Gauteng Local Government Engineering Support Programme	R8,830,355.78
5. SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT	Fraud Prevention System design	R2,000,000.00
6. SRK	Assessment, verification of flood and storm damages infrastructure.	R2,894,060.60
Other consultants services (32)		R5,190,345.00

Financial Year 2012/2013

NAME OF CONSULTANT/S	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES	AMOUNT
1. AURECON	Monitoring and Evaluation Performance Framework for MIG programmes and Assessment, verification of flood and storm damages infrastructure.	R2,844,572.03
2. DELOITTE	70 Municipalities to improve HR and Integrated Development Planning units and their administrative support capacity.	R2,699,338.00
3. PALMER	Draft of new governance policy, or legislative framework for managing allocation of provinces and functions across 3 spheres of government and to develop a barometer to support the implementation of a differentiated approach to municipal support.	R2,063,199.42
4. RESOLVE	Competence assessment of SMS members	R1,200,639.36
5. SAB & T CHARTED ACCOUNTANTS	Co-sourcing of Internal Audit Functions	R1,635,718.63
6. SRK	Assessment, verification of flood and storm damages infrastructure.	R2,885,999.99
Other consultants services (29)		R3,945,086.35

Since 1 April 2013

NAME OF CONSULTANT/S	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES	AMOUNT
1. AFRIGIS	African GIS profile on disaster risks	R318 402.00
2. CARBON	Review of policy and legislation to strengthen Local Government processes and functions i.r.o climate change responses	R392 892.56
3. MOYA	CoGTA : Development and implementation of Performance Planning Maintenance System	R960 000.00
4. SAB & T CHARTED ACCOUNTANTS	Co-sourcing of Internal Audit Functions	R747 140.04
5. THE INTEGRAL	CoGTA SMS's training and mentoring	R287 565.00
Other consultants services (17)		R563,771.30

(2) The department contracted the services of Mr Fanie Louw, who is a former official, during the 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and in the 2012/13 financial years, to draft the White Paper on Traditional Leadership. Mr Louw is otherwise retired from the public service, because of his age.

Reply received: October 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO. 1788

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

What (a) buildings under the administration of (i) his department and (ii) entities reporting to him are national key points and (b) criteria were used to classify them as such? NW2135E

REPLY:

As you would be aware, the National Key Points administration is under the Minister of Police. The Minister of Police has already informed Parliament in a previous answer to Parliament that he has established a Task Team to audit all Key Points and that he will report to Parliament once this process is finalised.

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION 1745

1754. Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What is the (a) make, (b) model, (c) year and (d) purchase price of each vehicle that was bought for official use by (i) him and (ii) the Deputy Minister since 1 January 2012? NW2101E

REPLY:

No vehicle was purchased or leased for official use by the Minister and the Deputy Minister since January 2012. Former Minister Richard Baloyi's vehicles were bought in November 2011 and Former Deputy Minister Yunus Carrim's vehicles were leased from December 2009 for a period of 5 years. The table below lists the make, model and year of the vehicles used by the Former Minister and the Deputy Minister.

	Model/Year : Vehicle 1	Model/Year : Vehicle 2
(i) Former Minister Richard Baloyi	BMW X5 (2011)	Mercedes Benz ML 500 (2011)
(ii) Former Deputy Minister YunusCarrim	VW Touareg(2009)	VW Touareg(2009)

Reply received: November 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1726

Mr J F Smalle (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

With reference to the reply of the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to question 1393 on 25 June 2013, (a) who are the current water service providers for each municipality, (b) how much water does each municipality use on average each month, (c) how much water is each service provider allowed to supply, (d) when did each service provider apply for an increase in permitted volumes supplied in this year, (e) who granted each increase and (f) by what process was each increase allowed? NW2073E

Reply:

ANNEXURE A. see the link http://www.pmg.org.za/rnw1726a-131122

(a) This part of the question has been discussed with and subsequently referred to the Department of Water Affairs for a written reply. The Department of Water Affairs is the custodian of information on Water Services Providers in each municipality as they are the regulatory and licensing authorities of all providers in the country.

May it kindly be noted that Water Services Providers (WSPs) in municipalities may vary between districts, local municipalities, water boards, municipal entities and private companies, depending on whether it is a bulk provider or distributor. There are 21 districts that are accredited as Water Services Authorities, many of which have appointed local municipalities as Water Services Providers while others retain the status of services authority and provider in the whole jurisdiction or rural areas only. Where local municipalities are Water Services Authorities, they may provide the function directly or appoint water boards, private entities or establish municipal entities e.g. Joburg Water in the City of Johannesburg.

(b) The information regarding water usage per municipality is not reliable as many Water Services Authorities (WSAs) do not implement Water Demand Management practices that would allow them to measure this more accurately. In the absence of reliable information on water usage, the Department of Water Affairs is in a position to provide the best available information, based on its regulatory function and the water allocations they approved in respect of each municipality.

(c) This part of the question has been discussed with and subsequently referred to the Department of Water Affairs for a written reply. Regulation of water usage by municipalities is the function of the Department of Water Affairs.

In this regard, the amount of water that each provider is allowed to supply is dependent on the Water Use License conditions that stipulate the volume of water (based on demand and water availability) obtained from the bulk water supply points. However, if a district is a WSA and has entered into an agreement with the local municipality as a provider, the water usage is unlimited.

(d) This part of the question has been discussed with and subsequently referred to the Department of Water Affairs for a written reply. As the Regulator, the Department of Water Affairs is best placed to provide information on the date of applications and approvals thereof for an increase in permitted volumes supplied to each municipality, each year.

(e) This part of the question has been discussed with and subsequently referred to the Department of Water Affairs for a written reply.

(f) This part of the question has been discussed with and subsequently referred to the Department of Water Affairs for a written reply.

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 1595

1595. Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) On what date were traditional authorities last audited;

(2) what were the outcomes of audits conducted over the past five financial years, in respect of each traditional authority? NW1941E

REPLY

1. The Traditional councils have not been nationally audited. Many traditional councils around the country still have to be reconstituted and transformed. For example, in Limpopo and Northwest Provinces, they are yet to be reconstituted. A Ministerial Task Team has been established to profile all traditional councils including revenue collection and financial management and government support. Furthermore, the Task Team will also examine the partnerships and infrastructure development and employment opportunities. It is expected to complete the profiling of all traditional councils by the end of 2013/2014.

2. The department has been established and became functional in 2011 and it is in the process of gathering data of all traditional councils to establish the support required.

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 1594.

Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

1. How many (a) boys and (b) girls underwent traditional initiation in the (1) 2008-09, (ii) 2009 – 10, (iii) 2010 -11 (iv) 2011-12 and (v) 2012 -13 financial years?

2. How many initiates were (a) injured and (b) died as a result of initiation over the past five financial years?

3. How many individuals have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for contributing to injuries or deaths of initiates over the past five financial years?

REPLY:

(1) How many (a) boys and (b) girls underwent traditional initiation in the (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009 – 10, (iii) 2010 -11 (iv) 2011-12 and (v) 2012 -13 financial years?

FINANCIAL YEAR	BOYS & GIRLS ADMITTED	TOTAL BOYS & GIRLS
2008- 09	There is no separate information for boys. Information is inclusive of boys and girls	29 230
2009- 10	There is no separate information for boys. Information is inclusive of boys and girls	32 437
2010- 11	There is no separate information for boys. Information is inclusive of boys and girls	71 503
2011- 12	There is no separate information for boys. Information is inclusive of boys and girls	74 238
2012	There is no separate information for boys. Information is inclusive of boys and girls	82 426
TOTAL		289 834

The information that the Department has, does not separate boys and girls. Furthermore, some provinces do not run initiation schools every year but in a cycle of four years, such as Mpumalanga Province.

(2) How many Initiates (a) were injured and (b) died as a result of initiation in each specified financial years

REPLY:

PAST FIVE FINANCIAL YEARS	INJURED INITIATES	NUMBER OF DEATHS
2008- 09	Information not available	6
2009- 10	Information not available	62
2010- 11	635	82
2011- 12	653	76
2012	577	87
TOTAL	1865	313

(a) 1,865 initiates were injured in the past five years and (b) 313 died during 2008-2012.

(3) How many persons have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for contributing to injuries or deaths of initiates in each of the specified financial years?

REPLY

There is no record kept on the charges and convictions of perpetrators of deaths of initiates in each of the financial years. It is in 2013 that information has been captured at national level. In Mpumalanga, eight (8) perpetrators are facing criminal charges and in Eastern Cape five (5) people are facing criminal charges as well.

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 1547

1547: Mr R N Cebekhulu (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he intends to introduce amending legislation in Parliament to amend chapter 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to clarify the role of traditional leaders; if so, when? NW1892E

REPLY

No, there is no intention of amending legislation in Parliament to amend Chapter 12 of the Constitution. The role of traditional leaders is stipulated in the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act 2003 and the applicable Provincial legislation on traditional leadership as mandated by section 212(2) of the Constitution. The primary focus of Cogta at the moment, is to continue to deal with the location and affirmation of the institution of traditional leadership in the democratic dispensation

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 1485

Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department has any mechanism in place to regulate traditional initiation schools nationally; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether he intends to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the deaths of 33 initiates in (a) Mpumalanga and (b) Limpopo, respectively; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the (i) relevant details and (ii) time frames in each case? NW1828E

REPLY

(1) Yes. The Department has a draft Initiation Policy with the intention of regulating initiation nationally. Furthermore, a Ministerial Task Team constituted of traditional leaders, traditional healers and medical health practitioners has been established to monitor initiation in the country to ensure that there are no deaths and to report to the Minister in this regard.

(2) No. There is no need for a commission. Mpumalanga provincial government had set up an investigation team. There are 8 people who are facing criminal charges as a result of this investigation. Limpopo did not have any deaths of initiates. The 6 reported deaths in Limpopo were part of the Mpumalanga initiates. Limpopo is the only province that had effective measures that prevented deaths of initiates.

Reply received: November 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1410

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What amount did his department spend on (a) promotional items and (b) cocktail receptions on the occasion of his 2013 Budget Vote debate? NW1752E

Reply:

The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has a vast responsibility of ensuring that the CoGTA brand is marketed extensively, both nationally and internationally. In view of this, marketing collaterals were marked as the key branding tool that will allow us the desired recognition and visibility in the country. It is also the Ministry's responsibility to ensure that stakeholders in all spheres of government and the public at large participate in our events so that partnerships may be strengthened as we continue to make local government everybody's business.

The Budget Vote is seen by the Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as a platform to reach most of our targeted audiences. It is therefore vital for the Ministry to utilise this event for interaction with the stakeholders.

(a) The cost of the promotional items for the CoGTA Budget Vote was R47, 800.00.

(b) The cost of the Cocktail reception for the CoGTA Budget Vote was R79, 643.00.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 1318

Mrs P C Duncan (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether (a) he, (b) his deputy minister, (c) any specified officials and (d) any other persons have been issued with a government or official credit card (i) in the (aa) 2011-2012 and (bb) 2012-2013 financial years and since 1 April 2013; if so, in each instance, what is the (aaa)(aaaa) nane and (bbbb) job title of each person to whom a credit card was issued, (bbb) credit limit, (ccc) outstanding amount as at the latest specified date for which information is available, (ddd) monthly expenses incurred for each month since receiving the credit card, (eee) reason for such persons being issued with a credit card and (fff) uses that such a credit card is intended for;

(2) whether the credit limit of any specified credit card was exceeded at any time since it was issued; if so, (a) whose credit cards are over the limit and (b) what is the reason for the credit cards exceeding the limit; NW164E

Reply

(1) (a) Mr Richard Baloyi (b) Deputy Minister-None (c) Professor Charles Nwaila (d) None

(i) (aa) Yes (bb) Yes

(aaa) (aaaa) Mr Richard Baloyi & Professor Charles Nwaila

(bbbb) Minister & Director-General DTA

(bbb) It is an established practice that such details are provided when annual reports are provided.

(eee) Min Richard Baloyi (for official use) and

Prof Charles Nwaila (for official use)

(fff) Min Richard Baloyi : Subsistence and travel expenses (excluding travel bookings such as flights, car hire and hotel accommodation).

and

Prof Charles Nwaila: Subsistence and travel expenses (excluding travel bookings such as flights, car hire and hotel accommodation).

(2) The credit limits have not been exceeded in both cases.

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1221

Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

What amount has his department spent on (a) catering and (b) entertainment in the (i) 2012-13 financial year and (ii) since 1 April 2013? NW1467E

REPLY:

The amount that was spent is as follows:

a) i) R7, 149,000.00 spent on catering for 2012/13 Financial Year.

ii) R739, 373.33 spent on catering since 1 April 2013

b) i) R1000.00 spent on entertainment for 2012/13 Financial Year.

ii) Nil spent on entertainment since 1 April 2013

This covers a whole range of activities undertaken by the Ministry, Deputy Ministry and the senior management in the departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as the government component, MISA.

Reply received: July 2013

PQ 1118. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(a) What total amount has (i) his department and (ii) each specified entity reporting to him spent on conferences in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11, (cc) 2011-12 and (dd) 2012-13 financial years and (b) what (i) amount was spent on, and (ii) is the breakdown of the expenditure for, each specified conference? NW1351E

REPLY:

Department of Cooperative Governance

(a) R 23 915 552.99 (i) CoGTA (aa) R 8 292 228.23 ( bb) R 4 736 510.09

(cc) R 5 687 599.93 (dd) R 5 199 214.74

(b) Meetings, workshops/training, Public hearings, Municipal Elections, Staff functions, Venue for funeral late Minister, Gala dinner (Madiba day celebration) and Rand Show.

(i) 2012/13=R 5 199 214.74

2011/12= R 5 687 599.93

2010/11= R 4 736 510.09

2009/10= R 8 292 228.23

(ii)

· 2012/13

Meetings=R 4 057 255.09

Workshop/training=R 553 013.33

Public Hearing/Municipal Elections=R 307 544.81

Staff functions=R 141 760.51

Venue for funeral (Late former Minister) =R 119 191.00

Gala dinner (Madiba day celebration) =R 20,450.00

· 2011/12

Meetings=R 4 617 986.52

Workshop/training=R 778 133.09

Public Hearing=R 23 733.53

Staff functions=R 132 314.79

Rand Show =R 135 432.00

· 2010/11

Meetings=R 3 409 559.58

Workshop/training=R 1 161 001.51

Public Hearing/Municipal Elections =R 66 060.00

Staff functions=R 99 889.00

· 2009/10

Meetings=R 5 330 258.33

Workshop/training=R 2 236 471.75

Public Hearing/Municipal Elections =R 636 369.41

Staff functions=R 89 128.74

Entities

The total amount spent on conferences by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) is attached in Annexure "B". Information on the South African Cities Network (SACN) is still outstanding.

SOUTH AFRICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

CONFERENCES HOSTED BY SALGA

Questions	(aa) 2009/10	(bb) 2010/11	(cc) 2011/12	(dd) 2012/13
(a)(ii)	R3,111,820	R6,386,061	R9,628,240	R5,747,991

(b)(i) & (b)(ii)
Breakdown of Expenditure	(aa) 2009/10	(bb) 2010/11	(cc) 2011/12	(dd) 2012/13
National Members Assembly (NMA) and/or National Conference	R2,763,833	R4,255,080	R6,878,716	R2,603,365
Provincial Members Assemblies (PMA) and/or Provincial Conference	R278,820	R697,135	R2,081,749	R1,878,351
Human Resource Policy Conference (HRPC)	R32,123	R1,374,296	R337,975	R567,724
Women in Local Government Conference (WILGC)	R36,244	R59,550	R300,000	R698,549

MUNICIPAL DEMARCATION BOARD

CONFERENCES HOSTED BY THE BOARD

Conference name	10 year celebration	Ward delimitation launch	Launch of capacity assessment

Venue cost including food and beverages	R 177,236.52	R 417,185.39	R 28,000.00
Event management	R -	R 647,255.85	R 4,200.00
Food & Refreshments			R 3,375.00
	R 177,236.52	R 1,064,441.24	R 35,575.00
BREAKDOWN
Financial year	Conference	Amount	Venue
2008/9	10 year celebration	R 177,236.52	Sandton convention centre
2009/10	Ward delimitation launch	R 1,064,441.24	Gallagher convention
2012/13	Launch of capacity assessment	R 35,575.00	Premier hotel OR Tambo

Reply received: August 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1086
Dr W G James (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amount has 9a) his department and (b) each specified entity reporting to him spent on (i) printing and (ii) broadcast advertising in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11,(cc) 2011-12 and (dd) 2012-13 financial years;

(2) in each case, (a)(i) by which radio or television station were the advertisements broadcast and (ii) in which newspapers were the advertisements published in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11, (cc) 2011-12 and (dd) 2012-13 financial years and (b) at what cost in each specified case? NW1319E
REPLY
(1) (a) The cost of COGTA's media advertising is reflected below (this is inclusive of Department of Cooperative Governance, of Traditional Affairs and MISA):

(2) (a)(i)(ii) Service Provider	(i) R'0.00	(ii) R'0.00 (Broadcast)
(1) (aa) 2009
MEDIA 24	31,646.40
MOLALE PRINT (PTY) LTD	8,230.80
HUMAN COMMUNICATION	23,310.38
SABC LTD		202,700.03
SABC LTD		53,979.00
BATHOPELE MARKETING (PTY) LTD	5,677.20
SOUTHERN AFRICA EMERGENCY SERVICES	17,650.00
3S MEDIA (PTY)LTD	68,400.00
SABC LTD		490,108.80
GCIS	1, 939,040.54

Attached please find here: The cost of COGTA's media advertising

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 1040

1040. Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs:† (Legal Services/ IED)

Whether, in light of the ruling in the Constitutional Court in Rademan v Moqhaka Local Municipality and Others (CCT 41/12) [2013] ZACC 11 (details furnished), he intends to prescribe essential national standards and minimum standards for municipal service delivery; if not, why not; if so, (a) which services will receive such standards and (b) what are the further relevant details? NW1268E

Answer:

(1) No. Essential national standards and minimum standards are set by the relevant sector departments responsible for the delivery of basic municipal services, while the Department plays an oversight and coordination role over the delivery of such services.

(a) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 964

Ms M R Shinn (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Since 1 January 2011, how many applications under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, Act 2 of 2000, were received by (a) his department and (b) entities reporting to him, and in each case, how many were (i) granted, (ii) refused and (iii) deemed refused under section 27;

(2) Since 1 January 2011, how many internal appeals under the Act were received by (a) his department and (b) entities reporting to him, and in each case, how many were (i) granted, (ii) refused and (iii) deemed refused under section 77(7);

(3) Who is the information officer for (a) his department and (b) each entity reporting to him, and in each case, what are the contact details of the officer? NW1187E

REPLY:

Cooperative Governance:

(1) (a) Five (5) applications were received since January 2011 for the Department of Cooperative Governance.

(i) Four (4) were granted

(ii) One (1) was refused

(iii) Nothing was deemed refused under Section 27.

(b) None were received for the entities.

(2) There were no appeals under the Act that were granted, refused or deemed refused under section 77(7).

(3) The information officer from the department and contact details for entities reporting to the Minister are as follows :

Entity	Information Officer Post	Responsible Person	Title	Contacts
Department of Cooperative Governance	Mr Vusi Madonsela		Director-General	87 Hamilton Street Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083 Tel: (012) 334 0518/5789 Email address: [email protected]
South African Cities Network	vacant	Ms Geci Karuri-Sebina	Executive Manager Programmes	(011) 407 6471
Municipal Demarcation Board	vacant	Mr Landiwe Mahlangu Ms Nondumiso Gwayi Ms Gabusile Gumbi-Masilela	Chairperson Deputy Chairperson CEO	012 342 2481/2
South African Local Government Association	vacant	Mr Lance Joel	COO	012 369 8000

Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) The Department of Traditional Affairs received 3 applications under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, since January 2011

(i) All the three received applications were granted

(ii) None were refused

(iii) None were deemed refused under section. However, 1 of the applications was not within the mandate of the Department of Traditional Affairs, but of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

(2) (a) No internal appeals were received by the Department of Traditional Affairs

(i) Not applicable

(ii) Not applicable

(iii) Not Applicable

(3) Adv. Tommy Ntsewa is the Information Officer of the Department of Traditional Affairs. His Contact details are [email protected] , Telephone: 012 334 0548

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 921

Mrs M A A Njobe (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What (a) is the number of informal settlements that were destroyed by fire in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 financial years in each province, (b) was the cause of the fire and (c) measures has Government put in place to prevent the occurrence of fires? NW1147E

Reply:

(a) What is the number of informal settlements that were destroyed by fire in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 financial years in each province?

While every effort was made to obtain the required information, concerns were raised by provinces on the ambiguity of the question (as it is not clear if the focus must be on number of informal dwellings destroyed by fire in informal settlement or on the entire informal settlement destroyed by fires). The table below reflects the number of informal settlements that were destroyed by fire in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 financial years in each province.

Province	(i) Year 2010/11	(ii) Year 2011/12	(iii) Year 2012/13
Limpopo	**	**	**
Gauteng	2229	2283	1170
Mpumalanga	1*	1*	**
North West	160	157	150
Free State	133*	159*	120*
KwaZulu Natal	601	1895	432
Eastern Cape	988	1273	1256
Western Cape	4274	3743	3892
Northern Cape	97	80	50

^*Information from the province is not representative of all the municipalities when

preparing the reply.

** No information available from the province when preparing the reply.

(b) What was the cause of the fire?

From the reports obtained from provinces, the following major recurring causes of informal settlement fires can be identified:

i. Faulty electricity connections;

ii. Negligence and bad practices – unattended stoves and fires, smoking;

iii. Domestic violence;

iv. Arson;

v. Illegal electricity connections;

vi. Hiding crimes committed;

vii. Substance abuse;

viii. Use of open flames (candles and paraffin stoves);

ix. Placement of heating devices close to flammable material

x. Welding and cutting; and

xi. Lightning.

It is important to note that in most instances, contributory factors such as impairment due to use of narcotic substances and attempts at crime concealment play a major role in informal settlement fires.

(c) What measures has Government put in place to prevent the occurrence of fires?

The Disaster Management Act, 2002, (Act No 57 of 2002) provides an integrated and co-ordinated disaster management policy that focuses on preventing or reducing the risk of disasters, emergency preparedness, rapid and effective response to disasters and post-disaster recovery. The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) recognizes that the use of paraffin amongst others in most informal settlements also increases the risk of shack fires across the country. The NDMC has thus entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Paraffin Safety Association of South Africa which promotes fire safety in informal settlements at the local sphere of government. The NDMC also regularly publishes informal settlement and grass/veld fire information leaflets for use by provincial and municipal disaster management centres during their awareness and educational campaigns. A copy of the Brochure is attached as Annexure A.

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 903

Mr L Ramatlakane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department has completed the programme to eradicate the bucket toilet system in communities; if not, (a) why not and (b) in which communities must the programme still be completed; if so, (i) which (aa) communities, (bb) municipalities and (cc) provinces have benefited from this programme and (ii) what costs were involved;

(2) which community is currently a focal point;

(3) what is the new time frame for completion;

(4) whether there is a specific programme in place to facilitate such a process; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1125E

Answer:

(1) The South African government is faced with a challenge of providing adequate and sustainable sanitation facilities to all South Africans without access to basic level of sanitation. The Department of Human Settlements, The Presidency and Department of Water Affairs managed a bucket eradication programme which aimed to replace bucket toilets that existed prior to 1994 in formal townshipsbetween 2005 and 2008 and The National Treasury allocated an earmarked budget of R1,8 billion for that programme under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG).

(a) The function of Sanitation is currently being performed by the Department of Human Settlement, and the Minister subsequently established a Task Team to investigate the state of sanitation in the country, particularly the municipalities that are still using bucket system. The Department of Human Settlement is working collaboratively with Department of Water Affairs and the Department of Cooperative Governance in this regard.

(b) The programme needs to be completed in Eastern Cape (Chris Hani and Amatole), Free State (Nketoane, Mantsopa, Matjhabeng, Mohokare, Masilonyana and Tokologo) and in Northern Cape (Kareeberg and Siyancuma);

(i) (aa), (bb) and (cc): Attached find a list of beneficiary provinces and municipalities:

(ii) for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework period of 2005/06 - 2007/08, a budget of R1.8 billion was allocated for bucket eradication under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) programme.

(2) All formal communities in which buckets toilets are being used are currently a focal point as the eradication is aligned to the basic services target of 2014. The programme needs to be completed in the Eastern Cape (Chris Hani and Amatole), Free State (Nketoane, Mantsopa, Matjhabeng, Mohokare, Masilonyana and Tokologo) and in Northern Cape (Kareeberg and Siyancuma). A total number of 7,996 pre-1994 bucket toilets in formal areas remain in the Eastern Cape (190), Free State (7,179) and Northern Cape (627). Post-1994 bucket toilets in formal areas amount to 88 127 and can be distributed as follows:

- Eastern Cape: 26 581

- Free State: 42 815

- Gauteng: 58

- North West 3 503

- Northern Cape: 14 797

- Western Cape: 373

(3) There is no earmarked funding to eradicate bucket toilets, but the eradication is aligned to the basic services target of December 2014.

(4) There is no specific programme in place to facilitate such process however the municipalities are encouraged to utilise their MIG allocations.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 814

Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he has been informed (a) that the local authority of Midvaal has ignored the findings and instructions by the Public Prosecutor in his Midvaal report, in which substantial irregularities in the Midvaal local authority were exposed, (b) about the reappointment of the firm of attorneys that was identified by the Public Prosecutor as one of the sources of irregularities in the local council and (c) about the alleged continued intimidation of whistle-blowers; if so, in each case,

(2) Whether he is contemplating steps in this regard; if so, what do these steps involve; if not,

(3) Whether he intends to conduct further investigations in this regard; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) No.

(2) Should such a report be received, it will be processed in terms of statutory provisions that will be warranted by the contents thereof in line with the mandate of the portfolio.

(3) Yes, the Minister referred the question to the Mayor of Midvaal requesting them the comment on the matter after which the matter will be investigated.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 762

Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: (PMGS)

Whether his department had sought and obtained Treasury support to permit certain local government authorities the right to provide a (a) fully-furnished residence for their respective mayors and (b) council car for their respective (aa) deputy mayors and (bb) speakers; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY:

Yes.

National Treasury had supported the extension of tools for trade to councilors, which included the provision of official accommodation to full-time executive mayors or mayors.

It should be further noted that the extension of all tools of trade must be done in consultation with the MEC responsible for local government in the province.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 743

Mr G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Does he intend to outsource (a) water reticulation and distribution and (b) electricity supply where municipalities did not provide such services; if not, why not; if so, which municipalities will be affected? NW951E

Reply:

(a) No. The Constitutional obligation of municipalities to distribute and reticulate water must be observed. This Department, together with the Department of Water Affairs, must support these municipalities which are not able to fulfil their mandate at this time. This includes:

· In providing technical support to local government COGTA has established the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) to assist low and medium capacity municipalities to enhance their ability to operate and maintain their water infrastructure and address their service delivery challenges. MISA employs 35 engineers, who are currently deployed to support municipalities in the development, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure; and

· The Department of Water Affairs is mobilising Water Boards to assist municipalities in performing their water distribution and reticulation mandate.

(b) No. In the licensing processes contemplated in the Electricity Act municipalities that are not able to distribute and reticulate electricity will not be issued with a licence. According to the Act, only a municipality that in its application to the National Electrification Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) substantiates its' capacity to distribute and reticulate electricity in a sustainable manner, will received a licence. Where a municipality is not able to distribute and reticulate electricity, Eskom is issued with a licence.

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NO: 742

Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Which district municipalities did not achieve the integrated, sustainable and equitable development as required by section 83(3) of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998? NW950E

REPLY

Section 83(3) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, Act 117 of 1998 outlines a long term vision that district municipalities working with local municipalities, other spheres of government and public entities must strive to achieve. This vision is also in line with the notion of developmental local government as outlined in the White Paper on Local Government. In this regard the development of 5 year Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) is aimed at systematically contributing towards this long term vision.

In order to ensure that all efforts by government spheres and stakeholders are well coordinated and aligned to contribute towards the achievement of integrated, sustainable and equitable development in our communities, the Department of Cooperative Governance developed district planning guidelines during 2012/13 financial year to facilitate district wide integrated planning in line with the provisions of Section 83(3)(a) of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, and Section 27 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000. Furthermore, the identification of 24 priority Districts by Cabinet and the implementation of the comprehensive support plans are aimed at supporting the districts to provide both social and economic infrastructure in the districts.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 704

Ms C K K Mosimane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with reference to the Auditor-General's report on the audit outcomes of local government, he has taken any steps to engage municipalities regarding (a) officials who were found to be incompetent, corrupt or abusing power, (b) filling vacancies with competent officials, (c) building capacity in local municipalities and (d) establishing time frames for the specified matters to be in place; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW895E

Reply:

(a) No. The Minister has not taken any steps to engage municipalities regarding the above. However, the Minister is going to first engage the TROIKA of those municipalities whose audit outcomes have been below unqualified for the past four consecutive years.

(b) The Department of Cooperative Governance is developing human resource-related Regulations in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000) for municipal managers, and managers directly reporting to municipal managers. These Regulations will prescribe a competence framework that senior managers must comply with, when appointments are made in municipalities, resulting in only suitably qualified persons being appointed.

(c) The Department, working with the National Treasury and SALGA, has various capacity building programmes that are being implemented in municipalities to support them in improving their audit outcomes.

(d) It is envisaged that the Regulations referred to above will be published for implementation by municipalities during 2013.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 700

Ms M J Segale-Diswai (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What has been his findings on the state of municipalities in the country since the adoption of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy? NW889E

Reply:

We will soon release a report on the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS) and in terms of which we will reflect in details on the state of each municipality.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 699

699. Mr D W Mavunda (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [ê129] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]]

Whether he will update the National Assembly on the situation in Madibeng? NW888E

REPLY

The minister is working on the situation in Madibeng, he has established a task team to verify the allegations raised by different stake-holders and role players in the municipality. The Municipal Council was briefed on the preliminary work and as soon as this process is concluded, Parliament will be briefed on the final outcomes.

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NO. 698

Nkosi Z M D Mandela (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has put any measures in place to avoid the Demarcation Process Review Task Team encroaching on the mandate of the Municipal Demarcation Board; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NO886E

REPLY:

Yes, the Ministerial Demarcation Process Review Task Team is guided by clear Terms of Reference and its mandate does not seek neither to replace nor encroach on the mandate of the Municipal Demarcation Board.

To ensure that the work of the Task team is transparent, the Chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board (Mr Landiwe Mahlangu) is also a member of the Ministerial Task Team.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION NUMBER 697
Mr J M Matshoba (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: [*125] [Question submitted for oral reply now placed for written reply because in excess of quota [Rule 108(8)]

Whether the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims that deals with disputes and claims on traditional leadership has settled all the cases lodged; if not, what is the status of each such (a) dispute and (b) claim that has not been settled in each province; if so, what are the relevant details of each (i) dispute and (ii) claim that has been settled in each province?

Response

No, the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims has not settled all the cases lodged.

STATUS OF THE PROCESSING OF THE LODGED TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP DISPUTES AND CLAIMS PER PROVINCE

The following table outlines the number of traditional leadership disputes and claims lodged with the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims and the number of disputes and claims processed.

Province	Total Disputes and Claim lodged per Province (All levels of traditional leadership)	Processed	Outstanding / still being researched
Province		Disputes and claims	Dispute and Claims
1. Gauteng	7	7	-
2. Northern Cape	10	10	-
3. North West	85	25	60
4. Western Cape	29	29	-
5. Free State	64	48	16
6. Mpumalanga	168	74	94
7. Eastern Cape	183	71	112
8. Kwa-Zulu Natal	157	42	115
9. Limpopo	541	82	459
Total	1244	388	856

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NO. 696

Ms C K K Mosimane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he was informed that the merger of Sasolburg and Parys will go ahead despite the 2016 timeline; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NO880E

REPLY:

The merger of Sasolburg and Parys is at a consultation phase with communities and key stakeholders by the Municipal Demarcation Board in accordance with the Municipal Demarcation Act. The decision to merge the two municipalities will be taken after finalization of the consultation process by the Board.

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 692

Mrs D M Ramodibe (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How does he ensure that issues of gender are taken into account when appointments are made at local government level;

(2) whether he took any steps to assist with the establishment of gender policies in (a) provinces and (b) municipalities; if not, what is the position in this regard, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details, in each case?

REPLY:

During 2007 the erstwhile Department of Provincial and Local Government developed a Gender Policy Framework for Local Government which, in addition to providing general guidelines to municipalities on how gender issues can be addressed internally (by Corporate Services Units within municipalities), also highlighted the need and modalities for gender issues to be mainstreamed into every aspect of municipal work, including policies, programmes and projects, but more importantly, into integrated development plans. The Framework also addressed how other stakeholders could further advance gender equality and women's empowerment. The Framework was launched at the then annual Women in Local Government conference in 2007.

Since the initiation of the restructuring of the Department of Cooperative Governance during 2009, the Department has not had a dedicated Unit that deals with matters relating to gender. However, work in this regard has recently been resuscitated.

Some recent engagements and planned activities include the following:

(i) Discussions with South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) on how the Department can address gender issues at local government. A workshop will be jointly hosted with SAWID on 23 May 2013 to address issues of poverty eradication and how these impact on women;

(ii) The Department is represented in the Technical Steering Group for the South Africa Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), which is led jointly by the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities together with Statistics South Africa. The inaugural meeting was held on 27 March 2013. The Technical Steering Group will oversee a pilot study in selected provinces on SIGI.

The first outputs will be based on the following:

· Conceptual relevance of discriminatory social institutions in South Africa;

· Assessment of current and existing data sources on SIGI indicators in selected provinces;

· Assessment of potential additional indicators for SIGI and data sources; and

· Identification of data gaps (Statistics South Africa will be responsible for data collection and analysis thereof).

A national workshop is planned for during May 2013 whereby all stakeholders will be invited to participate.

The following issues will be discussed:

· A study to examine whether there is a need to review the gaps between laws and implementation, and the extent to which people are aware of laws and legal mechanisms pertaining to gender issues;

· People living with disabilities must be involved at the beginning of the process; and

· To ensure that women are engaged on the study and that they are aware of the issues as well as the indicators of the study.

(iii) The Department will also be hosting a conference for Women in Local Government from 5 to 7 August 2013 to focus on gender programmes in local government.

These engagements will greatly assist in shaping the agenda for gender matters that have an impact on all three spheres of government.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 691

Mrs D M Ramodibe (ANC) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What are the current numbers / statistics for women's representation in decision-making positions in local government?

REPLY:

The response indicated in the table below is in respect of the number of women that are municipal managers, and the number of women managers that are directly accountable to municipal managers (in terms of section 56 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000).

PROVINCE	Number of Women Municipal Managers	Number of Women Section 56 Managers
Gauteng (12)	2	56
KwaZulu-Natal (60)	5	54
Limpopo (30)	2	29
Mpumalanga (21)	1	22
Northern Cape (32)	3	18
North West (23)	0	16
Western Cape (30)	4	No data
Eastern Cape (45)	No data	No data
Free State (24)	No data	No data
Total	17	195

Outstanding information in respect of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State Provinces will be provided to the Honourable Member as soon as it is submitted to the Department of Cooperative Governance.

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 680

Mr PJ Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What is the total outstanding amount which has been owed to Eskom for a period of (a) 90 days, (b) 60 days, (c) 30 days and (d) longer than 90 days by all municipalities in (i) North West, (ii) Free State, (iii) Mpumalanga en (iv) Eastern Cape.

(2) What is currently the total amount due for outstanding service fees by state departments to each such municipality;

(3) Whether he will make a statement on the matter? NW838E

Reply

(1) Total outstanding debt owed to Eskom by Municipalities in EC, FS, MP and NW amounts to R1, 1 billion. All the municipalities in four provinces owes R191,7 million for a period of 90 days (b) R216, 6 million for a period of 60 days (c) R164,1 million for 30 days ; (d) and R529,1 million for over 90 days. Breakdown per province is as follows:

Province	30 days (R )	60days (R )	90days (R )	+90 days (R )	Total (R )
Eastern Cape	5,397, 576	3,298,454	1,574,757	8,532,968	18,803,755
Free State	34,014,789	79,559,892	61,038,182	262,239,045	436,851,908
Mpumalanga	68,453,162	88,237,797	106,860,885	200,036,833	463,588,677
North West	56,240,037	45,511,893	22,303,240	58,290,029	182, 345,199
Total	164,105,564	216,608,036	191,777,064	529,098,875	1, 101,589,539

(2) The total outstanding debt due for service fees in Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and North West amounts to R1.2 billion.

· Eastern Cape R134.1 million

· Free State R135.1 million

· Mpumalanga R551.9 million

· North West R415.9 million

Refer to attached annexure for detailed debt report per municipality: Annexure1; Annexure2; Annexure3 and Annexure4

(3) No.

Reply received: June 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 679

679. Mr M M Swathe (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(a) What has been the annual total cost of expenditure on the maintenance of public parks since 2010 and (b) in each case, what is the breakdown of expenditure per park? NW836E

Reply:

(a) and (b): The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. The Department will however engage with the municipalities to obtain the information on the maintenance of public parks. The Honourable Member will be kept updated on the process.

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 669

Mr L Ramatlakane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: (G&IGR)

(1) Whether his department is drawing up a central policy document in response to the Auditor-General's 2013 report on the R24,8 billion in irregular municipal expenditure countrywide; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether his department has a national policy on cell phone and 3G data usage, which has been identified as one of the areas of highest fruitless expenditure; if not, why not; if so, (a) when will his department stop the specified inefficient expenditure and (b) what are the further relevant details? NW831E

Reply:

1) No. The Minister is not drawing up any central policy document in response to the Auditor General's (AG) report. The Municipal Finance Management Act provides sufficient policy guide with respect to matters pertaining to irregular expenditure.

2) Yes, the department has a policy on cell phone and 3G data usage. The AG has not identified any fruitless expenditure on usage of cell phone and 3G data cards in the department.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 632

Dr A Lotriet (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many claims were instituted against his department (a) in the (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10, (iv) 2010-11 and (v) 2011-12 financial years and (b) during the period 1 April 2012 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) in respect of each specified financial year, (a) what amount was claimed, (b) how many claims were (i) finalised in court, (ii) settled out of court and (iii) are still outstanding and (c) what amount has been paid to each plaintiff in each case that was (i) finalised in court and (ii) settled out of court? NW791E

Reply:

(1) The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs dealt with 63 (sixty three) legal matters during 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13 financial years. A table is attached hereto for detailed exposition.

Due to the nature of litigation processes, it is not possible to break the number of cases down per financial year, as cases take long to reach finality and they overlap into the financial year(s) following the year in which they were instituted. Of the 63 matters, only 6 were received in 2013.

(2) 2007-2008 FY

(a) 3 (three) matters were dealt with during this financial year. Of the three, two were finalised in court and one was settled out of court. Amount claimed during this year was R575 464.88 in respect of one matter. This matter was settled out of court at an amount of R431 598.66 plus interest at 15.5 % from date of judgment to date of payment was ordered. See table.

2008-2009 FY

(a) 3 (three) matters were dealt with during this financial year. In one of them (PSU matter) an amount of R4 095 108.00 was claimed.

(b) All three matters are still outstanding.

2009-2010 FY

(a) 17 (seventeen) matters were dealt with during this financial year. In 1 (one) matter, an amount of R133 319.00 was claimed.

(b) Of the 17 matters, (i) 14 (fourteen) were finalised and (ii) 1 (one) was settled out of court, (iii) 2 (two) are still outstanding, and (iv) an amount of R 46 661.93 was paid to Plaintiff.

2010-2011 FY

(a) 13 (thirteen) matters were dealt with during this financial year. No amount was claimed in any of the matters.

(b) Of the 13 matters, (i) 8 (eight) were finalised, (ii) 2 (two) were settled out of court, (iii) 3 (three) are outstanding, and (iv) amounts of R410 930.47 and R438 087.08 respectively were paid in respect of two labour matters.

2011-2012 FY

(a) 11 (eleven) matters were dealt with during this financial year. No amount was claimed in any of the matters.

(b) Of the 11 matters (i) 5 (five) were finalised, (ii) none were settled out of court, (iii) 6 (six) are still outstanding, and (iv) no amount was paid to plaintiff.

2012-2013 FY

(a) 16 (sixteen) matters were dealt with during this financial year. No amount was claimed in any of the matters.

(b) Of the 11 matters, (i) 6 (six) were finalised, (ii) none were settled out of court, (iii) 10 are still outstanding, and (iv) no amount was paid to plaintiff.

See attached table

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO. 590

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

(1) (a) How many job opportunities were created through the Community Work Programme for the 2011-12 financial year and (b) what criteria were used to identify individuals employed through this programme;

(2) How many job opportunities have been created by his department in respect of the 4,5 million job opportunities it promised to create by 2014? NW745E

Answer:

(1) (a) Job opportunities created through the Community Work Programme in 2011/12 financial year are 105 218.

(b) Unemployed from disadvantaged communities where there is limited work opportunities.

(2) The total number of job opportunities created as at 31 March 2013 is 430 543.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 588

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

(1) How many municipalities have conducted criminal record checks on members of ward committees;

(2) (a) what measures were used to conduct criminal record checks on members of ward committees in each case, (b) how many ward committee members were found to have criminal records, (c) what are their (i) names and (ii) positions and (d) what disciplinary action has been taken in each case; and

(3) (a) how many municipalities have undertaken checks to establish whether ward committee members have been owing for rates or service charges for longer than 90 days and (b) what disciplinary action has been taken in each case to deal with ward committee members who fail to pay their rates and service charges? NW743E

Reply:

(1) No municipality has conducted criminal record checks on ward committee members;

(2) None.

(3) It must be noted that, except ward councillors, the other ward committee members are ordinary residents who may not be subjected to such criminal records as they are not employees of respective councils.

Reply received: May 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.587

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

What steps has he taken with regard to allegations of fraud and irregularities regarding money paid to the Mvula Trust in the past five years? NW742E

Reply

We are currently investigating all the three lead agencies for allegations of irregularities, including Mvula Trust. The other two are Lima and Teba Development.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 553

Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the local government turnaround strategy had achieved significant year-on-year gains and advances; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are these gains and (b) how are they quantified? NW710E

Reply:

We will soon release a report on the Local Government Turnaround Strategy and in terms of which we will reflect in details on the state of each municipality.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 482

482. Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Does his department formally monitor the work of traditional leaders? NW585E

Reply:

The relationship between the Department and traditional leaders is that of the former providing support for the successful execution of the work of traditional leaders. In this context, if the word "monitor" is interpreted to refer to the Department having to closely watch the functioning of traditional leaders with a view not to drop the ball in providing systems, logistical, administrative and other technical and material support, then the answer is yes. The answer will be a total no-no if the word "monitor" is used to include elements of accountability and seniority.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 453

Mr D A Kganare (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many businesses of South Africans were (a) looted or (b) destroyed during the protests or riots which took place earlier this year in Zamdela near Sasolburg;

(2) What type of assistance has his department offered the specified businesses?

(3) Whether his department is prepared to help them resume their business; if not, why not; if so, what are the details NW606E

REPLY:

The response below is based on the information provided by the Fezile Dabi District Municipality and CoGTA (ref. attached copies)

(1) (a) There were 3 shops that were looted in Zamdela during the riot protests.

(b) There were 33 shops that were looted and destroyed in the Central Business District.

(2) Business support or assistance does not fall within the mandate of CoGTA departments.

(3) As indicated above, CoGTA does not provide business support services. At this stage there are no plans in place to support the Zamdela businesses.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 381

Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Is there a shortage of engineering experts particularly at municipal level to (a) operate and (b) maintain water infrastructure;

(2) (a) how many engineering posts exist in his department for the (i) operation of and (ii) maintenance to water infrastructure and (b) how many of these posts are vacant? NW528E

Reply:

The profile of engineering experts differs from municipality to municipality. As the Department that is responsible for providing technical support to local government, the Department of Cooperative Governance has established the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) to assist low and medium capacity municipalities to enhance their ability to operate and maintain their water infrastructure and address their service delivery challenges. MISA employs 35 engineers, who are currently deployed to support municipalities in the development, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure.

Reply received: April 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 329

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

Whether he or his department has any role to play in respect of investigating alleged tender corruption by the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, which purportedly ignored recommendations of its own bid adjudication committee when it awarded contracts on 19 December 2012 to the value of approximately R900 million? NW432E

Reply:

The Minister's Office became aware of this allegation on receipt of this question. We therefore commend the Honorable Member of Parliament for raising this matter with us.

We have since established that the MEC in Limpopo has invited the Auditor General and the Office of the Public Protector to investigate the allegations, and we thus await the conclusion of that investigation.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 323

Ms C K K Mosimane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department has awarded a tender to a certain company (name furnished) for the community works programme; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW399E

REPLY:

Yes, the department did award a tender to Mvula Trust for the Community Work Programme (CWP). The tender was for an amount of R 30 million and it is a 29 months contract for facilitating CWP implementation in three provinces that is Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The contract term is from 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2013.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 321

Ms C K K Mosimane (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has received detailed information from a certain person (details furnished), regarding the awarding of a tender to a certain company (name furnished), which was found to be irregular; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW397E

REPLY:

Yes, the Minister received the report from the Director of the Corruption Watch and he is still considering it.

Reply received: April 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 319

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

(1) (a) On what date did his department assess the credibility of municipalities' (i) Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and (ii) Local Economic Development Strategy (LED) and (b) what was the outcome of the review;

(2) Whether his department has empirical grounds to confirm that IDPs and LED strategies are improving; if not, how was this conclusion reached; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) Whether the intended alignment between (a) national/provincial priorities and (b) municipal objectives is reflected in current IDPs and LED strategies; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW198E

Reply:

(1)(a)(i) On what date did his department assess the credibility of municipalities' Integrated Development Plans (IDPs)

The Department together with the Provincial Departments responsible for Local Government facilitated 9 provincial IDP assessment sessions between March and August 2012.

The following are the dates of the IDP assessments conducted in the 2012/13 financial year:

PROVINCE	DATE
KwaZulu-Natal	26-29 March
Free State	16-20 April
Eastern Cape	16-20 April
Western Cape	05 April-23 April
Mpumalanga	10 May-04 July
Gauteng	23 April-18 May
Limpopo	03 May-17 August
Northern Cape	28-31 May
North West	20-24 August

(1)(a)(ii) On what date did his department assess the credibility of municipalities' Local Economic Development Strategy (LED)

The Department has not assessed municipalities' LED strategies in the current financial year as the process of reviewing the National Framework for Local Economic Developing is underway. It is expected that municipal LED strategies will be in line with the new National Framework for LED, which is to be concluded in the financial year 2013/14.

(1) (b) What was the outcome of the review;

The following challenges confronting municipalities as they develop their IDPs were identified:

· Poor integration of sector plans into the IDPs;

· Inability to align the IDP, budget and SDBIP and PMS;

· Unavailability of reliable and up to date data to inform the situational analysis in the IDPs; and

· Poor participation of sector departments and public entities in municipal planning processes.

(2) Whether his department has empirical grounds to confirm that IDPs and LED strategies are improving; if not, how was this conclusion reached; if so, what are the relevant details;

Of the 197 IDPs that were assessed using the high, medium and low ranking scale, 129 municipal IDPs received a high ranking score. These municipalities are found in the following provinces - EC, GP, MP, LP, KZN and FS (see annexure A). The following provinces - NC, NW and WC did not rank municipal IDPs in terms of high, medium and low but focused on identifying areas that municipalities required support on.

The Department has not conducted an empirical analysis of LED Strategies. However, the Department is now supporting a process of producing Guidelines for LED Strategies in order to provide guidance to municipalities on the key aspects of LED Strategies.

Yes, there is limited alignment. One of the major challenges identified during the IDP process is the extent to which priorities and objectives are aligned with national/provincial priorities. In order to strengthen this alignment efforts have been made to encourage maximum participation of provincial and national sector departments in municipal development planning processes through the establishment of the National and Provincial IDP support teams.

In respect of LED Strategies, at a general level, one of the key challenges is alignment with sector strategies (e.g. National Tourism Strategy). However, the updated LED Framework, together with the LED Strategy Guidelines will address these gaps.

Reply received: May 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 312

Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether (a) the Municipal Systems Amendment Act is now in force and (b) regulations to the Act, which was to have been fast-tracked since July 2011, were now promulgated; if not, (i) what had caused the inordinate delay, (ii) what obstacles now remained and (iii) by what date will the regulations be promulgated; if so, what are the relevant details? NW391E

Reply:

(a) Yes.

The Municipal Systems Amendment Act, 2011 ("the Act") came into operation with effect from 5 July 2011.

(b) No.

The Regulations setting uniform staff systems and procedures for municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers were published in the Government Gazette 7 March 2013 for public comments.

(i) The delay in finalising the Regulations was occasioned by protracted and intensive consultation processes with various stakeholders. These stakeholders included, amongst others, the South African Local Government Association, organised labour, and professional bodies.

(ii) Consultation is being done as the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) made a court challenge to the process followed to amend the act. Further, the only obstacle is the court challenge referred to above.

(iii) The Regulations will be promulgated for implementation after consideration of the comments received during the period allocated for comments.

Reply received: March 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 305

Mr D A Kganare (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many foreign businesspeople were evacuated from Zamdela in Sasolburg during the uprising in January/February 2013 and (b) to where were they evacuated;

(2) How much was spent by the Government on this (a) evacuation and (b) accommodation;

(3) What additional assistance was given to them? NW383E

REPLY:

The response below is based on the information provided by the Fezile Dabi District Municipality (ref. attached copy)

1. (a) and (b) There were 144 foreign business people that were evacuated from Zamdela in Sasolburg to Abrahamsrust Resort.

2. (a) and (b) The government spent R5 000 for evacuation and R50 000 for accommodation.

3. Accommodation, food parcels blankets, clothes and mattresses.

The Fezile Dabi District Municipality assisted with food parcels and blankets worth R120 000.00. The Metsimaholo Local Municipality assisted with food parcels, blankets and mattresses worth R150 000.00. The Riaz from Roshné assisted with food parcels, blankets and mattresses worth R100 000.00.

Reply received: March 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 276

Mr G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

How many training programmes has he (a) initiated or (b) funded to train municipal staff? NW351E

Reply:

For the 2012/13 financial year, the department developed tools for a Recruitment and Retention Strategy. The Department also provided training to the Human Resource Staff in 70 municipalities, as well as providing training to relevant staff that are responsible for the development and implementation of Integrated Development Plans in these municipalities.

The remaining municipalities will be exposed to similar training in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 financial years.

The Department also provided training sessions on the utilisation of GAPSKILL (a web-based skills audit tool developed for local government).

Reply received: March 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 253

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

(1) Whether, in respect of municipalities which failed to submit financial statements on time for their 2010-11 audit, he has found that any of the officials responsible for this dereliction of duty received performance bonus payments; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,

(2) whether he has found these payments to have been regular; if not,

(3) whether he intends to take steps to reverse such payments; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW197E

Reply:

(1) No. None of the Section 56 officials of the 10 municipalities (Swellendam, Moretele, Kgetlengrivier, Mamusa, Dr Ruth Mompati, Oudtshoorn, Kannaland, Ditsobotla, Renosterberg and Kagisano Molopo) that failed to submit the Annual Financial Statements on time received any performance bonuses.

(2) N/A

(3) N/A

Reply received: April 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 252

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

Whether he has found that the Government is on track to meet its Operation Clean Audit 2014 targets; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW196E

Reply:

We will soon release the Local Government Turn-Around Strategy, as a response to issues raised in the report; we will announce practical concrete steps for the last efforts to enhance municipal performance in line with "Clean Audit" expectations to be rolled out with effect from the 1^st of July 2013.

We will assess the situation by the end of June 2014 and it is then that we will answer the question with certainty.

Reply received: April 2013

QUESTION NUMBER: 251

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

Whether his department has found reason for concern in the Auditor-General's finding that the lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions at more than 70% of auditees causes slow progress towards clean audits in local government; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps has his department taken to ensure that poor performers are sanctioned appropriately? NW195E

Reply:

Yes. The department is concerned with the AG's finding regarding the lack of consequences for poor performance in local government.

1. a) The Minister has concurred with the Minister of Finance regarding the regulations on minimum competency requirements. The regulations require all managers, including specifically those responsible for financial management, like CFO and Internal Audit, to have the qualifications prior to employment. Those already in employment but do not have the minimum competencies, the regulations provide for compulsory training over 18 months.

b) According to these regulations in 1 above, all managers must be trained in financial management as part of their core competencies.

c) In addition, management must be trained in all Core Management Competences' to enable them to achieve their Key Results Area's.

2. The Minister has published Regulations to be promulgated under Municipal Systems Act regarding S56 managers and matters relating to skills requirements and emphasis on the retention thereof.

3. A guide for the establishment of Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) has been developed and ensuring functionality of these oversight committees. SALGA has further developed a practical guide for the functionality of MPACs, which, among others, addresses the terms of reference and delegations for MPACs.

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 185

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

On what statutory provision did he rely when he instructed the Municipal Demarcation Board to cease the process of considering the merging of various municipalities as part of its current outer-boundaries demarcation review? NW194E

Reply:

1. The Minister did not instruct the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) to cease the process of considering the merging of various municipalities, as part of its current outer boundaries demarcation review. The Minister started the process of negotiations with relevant stakeholders, including on the proposed redeterminations. The MDB, concerned two municipalities in the Free State, during which process it was established that there is a need to give first priority to respond to the following issues as a national position:-

1.1 That those who proposals for the review of boundaries should do so within the environment of transparency and broader consultation.

1.2 That the public should actively participate in matters for the review of boundaries, as a requirement in a democracy, and meant to ensure stability in dealing with this otherwise emotive issue.

2. The Minister started this process of negotiations in his capacity as a Minister responsible for Local Government on a matter affecting local government structures.

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 183

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

With reference to those parts of the country where Eskom is not responsible for electricity distribution, what is (a) the status of municipalities' investment in (i) physical and (ii) human capital in their electricity business, with specific reference to (aa) network maintenance and refurbishment and (bb) investment in people, and (b) being done to ensure municipalities invest on an ongoing basis to ensure a reliable electricity supply? NW192E

Reply:

(a) The Country is wall-to-wall licenced, hence where Eskom is not the licence holder, a municipality is licenced to distribute electricity. These licenses are issued by NERSA, and is in line with the powers been given to them according to the Electricity Act.

(aa) (i)(ii), (bb) and (b) A licenced entity, either it be Eskom or a Municipality has to manage the electricity business in a manner that it is sustainable, from a human capital, maintenance and refurbishment of assets or revenue management point of view. As part of the regulation of these entities, they have to obtain approval from NERSA for any changes in tariffs or tariff structures on an annual basis, to ensure that the correct revenue stream is obtained to ensure that the electricity business can be managed in a sustainable manner.

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 105

Mr E J Marais (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether (a) his department and (b) any entities reporting to it paid any bonuses to senior officials in December 2012; if so, in each specified case, (i) to whom and (ii) what amount was paid;

(2) Whether the specified bonuses were performance-based; if not, what is the justification for each bonus; if so, in each case, from which budget were the performance bonuses paid;

(3) Whether, in each case, (a) a performance agreement was signed with the official and (b) regular performance assessments were conducted; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?NW111E

Reply:

(1) (a) Yes, the Department did pay performance bonuses to senior officials in December 2012. The amounts paid out as bonuses before tax were as follows;

Department of Cooperative Governance
No	Name of the Senior Official	Designation	Amount Paid
1.	Mr Ken Terry	DDG	R 60,339.00
2.	Ms Sylvia Gelderblom	Chief Director	R 45,375.90
3.	Mr Seabelo Molefi	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
4.	Ms Mohanuoa Mabidilala	Chief Director	R 45,056.60
5.	Ms Ané Bruwer	Chief Director	R 45,056.60
6.	Mr Thomas van Staden	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
7.	Ms Modiegi Sethusha	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
8.	Ms Amanda Jacobs	Director	R 73,767.90
9.	Ms Liesel Bothma	Director	R 39,147.30
10.	Mr Jackey Maepa	Director	R 36,883.95
11.	Mr Ando Donkers	Director	R 37,998.75

Department of Traditional Affairs
No	Name of the Senior Official	Designation	Amount Paid
1.	Ms Keitumetse Mketi	DDG	R 113,700.90
2.	Ms Reshoketswe Mogaladi	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
3.	Mr Morule Lerumo	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
4.	Mr Abram Sithole	Chief Director	R 44,705.25
5.	Dr Rinaldi Bester	Chief Director	R 43,393.80
6.	Ms Realeboga Zungu	Director	R 35,801.70
7.	Mr Johan Meiring	Director	R 80,661.00
8.	Ms Josephine Appolus	Director	R 35,801.70
9.	Mr Sam Khandlhela	Director	R 37,998.75

(b) The South African Local Government Association, the Municipal Demarcation Board and the South African Cities Network have not paid any bonuses to senior officials during December 2012.

(2) The above bonuses paid, were for the 2011/12 financial year and were performance based. The bonuses were paid from the legislated 1.5% allocation against the personnel budget.

(3) The above listed senior officials had signed performance agreements during the 2011/12 financial year.

(bb) They were regularly assessed, that is bi-annually and annually as per the Department's Performance Management System Policy.

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 138

Mr M R Sayedali Shah (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many legal matters were dealt with by his department (a) in the (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12 financial years and (b) during the period 1 April 2012 up to the latest specified date for which information is available?;

(2) (a) how many of the specified legal matters were dealt with by (i) the State Attorney and (ii) private attorneys during the specified periods and (b) what are the reasons why his department was not represented by the State Attorney in each specified case?;

(3) what total amounts were paid by his department to (a) the State Attorney and (b) private attorneys during the specified periods? NW144E

Reply:

(1) The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs dealt with 56 (fifty six) legal matters during 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-15/02.2013 financial years.

Due to the nature of litigation process, it is not possible to break the number of cases down per financial year, as cases take long to reach finality and they overlap into the financial year(s) following the year in which they were instituted. Of the 56 matters, only 2 were received in 2013. A list of legal matters from 2009 to 2013 is attached hereto as Annexure "A" for ease of reference.

(2) (a) (i) The State Attorney dealt (or is dealing) with 52 (fifty two) matters during the specified periods.

(ii) Private attorneys dealt (or are dealing) with 14 matters during the specified periods. Thirteen (13) of these matters, where private attorneys represent the department emanate from the findings of the Nhlapho Commission.

(b) It should first be noted that the State Attorneys Act, 1957 (Act No. 56 of 1957), as amended stipulates that all government departments are obliged to brief Counsel through the office of the State Attorney. Legal ethics, requires an Attorney (i.e. in this case the State Attorney) to act only on instructions of the client (i.e. in this case a government department).

In 2010 the Chief Directorate: Legislative Review, Drafting and Support Services ("Legal Services") received instructions from the executive authority to instruct the State Attorney to brief Adv Arendse SC to represent the department in the Nhlapho Commission cases.

Such instruction was communicated to the then Head of the State Attorney who voiced displeasure in the appointment of Adv Arendse SC.

Such displeasure was communicated to the executive authority who reiterated his instructions to brief Adv Arendse SC. Due to urgent interdict application that were before court, the former Chief Litigation Officer was approached for advice.

The latter advised that a firm of private attorneys be appointed to carry out the instructions of the executive authority; hence a firm of private attorneys was briefed and instructed to brief Adv Arendse SC and team to represent the department in the Nhlapho Commission matters. So far, all the cases have been ruled in favour of government.

(3) (a) Legal fees paid to Department of Justice & Constitutional Development during the specified periods are as follows:-

Period Amount

(i) 2009-10 FY - R1, 186, 786.12

(ii) 2010-11 FY - R2, 487, 878.51

(iii) 2011-12 FY - R1, 514, 729.78

(iv) 2012-21/01/2013 - R1, 358, 385.30

---------------------

TOTAL R6, 547 779.71

============

(b) Legal fees paid to private attorneys during the specified periods are as follows:-

Period Amount

(i) 2009-10 FY - Nil

(ii) 2010-11 FY - Nil

(iii) 2011-12 FY - R3, 993, 787.42

(iv) 2012-15/02/2013 - R2, 983, 904.15

---------------------

TOTAL R6, 977, 691.57

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 72

PQ72. Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) How many tickets did (i) his department and (ii) any of its entities purchase to attend business breakfasts hosted by a certain newspaper (name furnished) (aa) in the (aaa) 2010-11 and (bbb) 2011-12 financial years and (bb) during the period 1 April 2012 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what was the total cost in each case? NW78E

Reply:

The following response is based on information provided by the associated entities of the Department of Cooperative Governance:

(a) (i) The Department has not purchased any tickets.

(ii)

(aaa) During the 2010/11 financial year, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) and the South African Cities Network (SACN) have not purchased any breakfast tickets hosted by the New Age newspaper.

(bbb) the During 2011/12 financial year, the Municipal Demarcation Board, and the South African Cities Network have not purchased any breakfast tickets hosted by the New Age newspaper. The South African Local Government Association did purchase breakfast tickets hosted by the New Age newspaper

(bb) On 22 October 2012, the National Executive Committee and Executive Management Team of the South African Local Government Association purchased 45 tickets to attend the business breakfast meeting hosted by the New Age newspaper.

(b) The total cost paid by the South African Local Government Association was R32 088.15.

Reply received: March 2013

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NUMBER: 7

Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, in light of the interim report of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) on irregularities in the Tshwane Metro (details furnished) and the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003, he intends to take steps to prevent the Tshwane Metro from settling short-term debt by way of long-term loans; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) Whether he intends to take steps to investigate alleged financial maladministration in respect of the awarding of the bus service tender; if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps, (b) how will the expenditure incurred through alleged maladministration be recovered and (c) what are the relevant details of the procedure to be followed in recovering such expenditure;

(3) whether he intends to take steps to (a) confirm the identities and qualifications of all staff members and (b) lay charges where fraud comes to light; if not, why not; in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(4) whether he intends to take steps against (a) persons who are involved in the tender transgressions uncovered by the SIU, (b) the awarding of tenders to municipal officials who are conducting business with the municipality and (c) the more than 3 000 officials of the Metro who are receiving social grants; if not, why not, in each case; if so, in each case, what are the relevant details;

(5) whether he intends to establish measures that will ensure the removal of alleged criminal elements within the Tshwane Metro Police Service; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2993E

Reply:

(1) No. The City of Tshwane did consult on its plans to raise long-term debt, including inviting comments from National Treasury and the Gauteng provincial treasury. However the decision making and accountability for the bond issue is the responsibility of the municipal council. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality acted within the legislative framework and did not breach Sections 45 and 46 of the MFMA."

(2) (a) No, The bus tender has been investigated and finalised by the SIU. A report with conclusive findings and recommendations was forwarded to the City. The City is in the process of initiating disciplinary steps against the implicated officials.

(b) Not applicable

(c) The recovery of identified irregular expenditure will be handled by the SIU by means of drawing acknowledgement of debts which will be entered into by the officials who are responsible for proven fruitless and wasteful expenditure. In terms of the MFMA the Accounting Officer is responsible for such recovery; however in this instance the SIU as per the proclamation signed by the State President is mandated to fulfil this responsibility on behalf of the Accounting Officer.

(3) (a) No. The Council is taking steps on officials who allegedly submitted fraudulent qualifications upon being recruited into the employment of the City. There were three officials who were identified as having submitted fraudulent qualifications. The officials have been criminally prosecuted and found guilty. The City is in the process of initiating disciplinary measures against the officials.

(4) (a) No. The City is taking steps in terms of its disciplinary codes and procedures. The City has applied for condonation with the local bargaining council to enable the City to proceed with disciplinary action against the said officials.

(b) The City is awaiting a final report from the SIU with conclusive findings on the matter regarding officials receiving social grants. The City will take action based on the recommendations in the SIU final report.

(5) No. The Minister has been informed by the City that it has not received any report that refers to criminal elements within the Metro Police. In the event that such allegations are presented, the matter will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken against identified officials.

2013-03-15

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