Social Development

2013-09-26

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Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 3196/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 15 November 2013

Internal question paper no: 38

3196. Ms H N Makhuba (IFP) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What language policy is being followed by her department;

(2) whether there is a written language policy for her department; if so,

(3) whether she will make a copy of such written language policy available to Ms H N

Makhuba? NW3756E

Reply:

1) The Department is being guided by section 6 of the Constitution of South Africa, Act 108 of 1998 and National Language Policy Framework of 2003 by the Department of Arts and Culture.

2) There is no written language policy available in the Department of Social Development. However, the Department of Social Development like all other government departments and agencies uses all of the 11 official South African languages, with English being the business language.

3) Once the written language policy is completed a copy will be made available to Ms HN Makhuba.

Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 3167/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 15 November 2013

Internal question paper no: 38

3167. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) Which third parties allocated money to the National Development Agency and (b) what amount did they allocate in each case (i) in the 2012-13 financial year and (ii) since 1 April 2013? NW3725E

Reply:

(a) Third parties that allocated funds to NDA in 2012/13 financial year and amounts:

No	INSTITUTION	AMOUNT	DATE RECEIVED	AGREEMENT TITLE	SCOPE
1.	Provincial Department of Economic Development Northern Cape / Frances Baard SMME Trust	R 150 000.00	09 Nov 2012	Urban Renewal & Cleaning Of Public Open Spaces - In Prieska.	Urban Renewal & Cleaning Of Public Open Spaces - In Prieska. (Income Generation project)
2.	Provincial Department of Social Development Northern Cape	R500 000.00	26 March 2013	Capacity of building.	Capacity of building of youth entrepreneurship.
3.	Provincial Department of Social development North West Province	R 7 000 000.00	26 March 2013	ECD Massification.	Massification of ECD programmes in North West Province.
4.	Vhembe District Municipality Limpopo	R 2 000 000.00	25 May 2012	Mulenxhe poultry project in Thulamela Municipality	Co-funding the expansion of a poultry project infrastructure. (Income Generation Project)
5.	Chris Hani District Municipality	R 4 000 000.00	15 November 2012	Biomass Project (Engcobo and Sakhisizwe Local Municipality.	Joint co-operation in respect strategic bio-fuel project focusing on soya and maize. (Income generation project)
6.	Provincial Department of Social Development: Mpumalanga	R1 000 000.00	20 March 2013	Ntirisano Sanitary	Provide co-funding to the Ntirisano Sanitary Cooperative. (Income generation project)
7.	Provincial Department of Social Development: Free State	R908 955.35	04 October 2012	Dr. Nkosazana Zuma ECD.	To develop an infrastructure for ECD.
8.	NL Agency Ministry of foreign Affairs	R 3 618 950.74	04 Jan 2013	Biomass Project (Engcobo and Sakhisizwe Local Municipality.	Joint co-operation in respect of strategic bio-fuel project focusing on soya and maize. (Income generation project)
	Total Third Party funds received	# R32 827 906.09

#This figure excludes financial agreements entered into with third parties where funds were transferred directly to implementing partners or not yet transferred at financial year end as reported in the 2012/13 annual report.

(b) Third parties that allocated funds to the NDA since 1 April 2013 to 30 November 2013

NO	INSTITUTION	AMOUNT	DATE RECEIVED	AGREEMENT TITLE	SCOPE
1.	Provincial Department of Social Development Free State	R3 000 000.00	25 April 2013	Early Childhood Development Infrastructure	To offer comprehensive development support to the Department in the implementation of the ECD infrastructure programme.
2.	Provincial Department of Economic Development Northern Cape	R220 000.00	02 July 2013	Pebbles Project	Project Management of the Pebbles project. (Income Generation)
3.	Provincial Department of Economic Development Northern Cape	R165 000.00	30 August 2013	Pebbles Project	Project Management of the Pebbles project.
4.	Provincial Department of Social Development: Free State	R8 800 000.00	05 Sept 2013	Early Childhood Development Infrastructure	To offer comprehensive development support to the Department in the implementation of the ECD infrastructure programme.
5.	Provincial Department of Social Development: Free State	R700 000.00	16 Sept 2013	Early Childhood Development Infrastructure	To offer comprehensive development support to the Department in the implementation of the ECD infrastructure programme.
6.	Provincial Department of Social Development: Limpopo	R3 000 000.00	18 Sept 2013	Capacity Building	To implement the NPO, Capacity Building programme to emerging NPOs in the Province.
7.	Provincial Department of Social Development Eastern Cape	R11 400 000.00	30 Nov 2013	Capacity Building and Support of the NPOs	To implement the NPO, Capacity Building and Support programme to to emerging NPOs in the Province.
	Total Third Party funds received	R24 585 000.00

Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 3149/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 15 November 2013

Internal question paper no: 38

3149. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(2) Whether any of these funds were earmarked for (a) capital or (b) infrastructure-related projects; if so, (i) what are the names of these projects, (ii) where are these projects situated, (iii) what is the value of each project and (iv) how many jobs have been created by each project

(3) In each case, what process was followed to appoint project (a) implementers and (b) consultants;

(4) In each case, were funds transferred to project implementers (a) in a lump sum or (b) through progress payment;

(5) Whether any projects have been impeded due to maladministration or corruption; if so, (a) which projects have been affected and (b) what action has been taken in each case? NW3707E

Reply:

(1) Yes, the Department of Social Development received the Social Sector EPWP Incentive Grant, which is allocated to the eligible Social Sector provincial departments through Department of Public Works. The Grant is utilised for funding of Social Sector programmes, such as Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Home Community Based Care (HCBC). The allocations for the eligible DSD provincial departments were as follows:

ELIGIBLE DEPARTMENTS	(a) 2010/11 BUDGET '000	(b) 2011/12 BUDGET '000	(c) 2012/13 BUDGET '000	2013/14 BUDGET '000
Eastern Cape	R10 884	R5 070	R6 708	R6 862
Free State	R4 992	Nil	R10 098	R8 545
Gauteng	R5 100	R15 071	R12 873	Nil
KwaZulu Natal	R5 376	R4 495	Nil	R14 610
Limpopo	R10 137	R3 382	R9 980	R8 985
Northern Cape	R2 616	R5 658	R1 506	R5 745
North West	R7 104	R10 955	R11 657	R16 431
Western Cape	R1 181	Nil	Nil	Nil
TOTAL	R56 637	R44 631	R52 822	R61 178

(2)(a)(b) The Social Sector does not implement any capital projects in the EPWP nor any infrastructure projects.

The focus of the sector is on social projects such as Early Childhood Development and Home Community Based Care.

(i) Not applicable

(ii) Not applicable

(iii) Not applicable

(iv) Not applicable

(3)(a)(b) As indicated above, Social Sector does not use consultants to execute its responsibility, Work Opportunities are created through funding of NGOs, CBOs and FBO's, implementing social sector projects.

(4)(a) Not applicable

(b) Funding is currently disbursed in three tranches by the DPW to eligible departments, complying with the Incentive grant conditions. The provinces in turn pay the programme beneficiaries (volunteers) on monthly basis, through the funded organisations.

(5)(a) No projects have so far been impeded by maladministration or corruption.

(b) Not applicable.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2975/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 01 November 2013

Internal question paper no: 36

2975. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Since the introduction of the SA Social Security Agency's (SASSA) telephone voice recognition system and biometrics systems, how many persons have been falsely trying to claim benefits? NW3408E

Reply:

· None, the introduction of the telephone voice recognition system will be implemented in January 2014 as the Agency as just finalized the re- registration process in November 2013.

· The Agency has commenced with its back office work to investigate the error reports received from Home Affairs and the duplicates identified in the system.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2934/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 25 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 35

2934. Mrs N W A Michael (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) How much has (a) her department and (b) each of the entities reporting to her spent on advertisements placed on the Africa News Network 7 (ANN7) news channel;

(2) were these advertisements placed through the Government Information and Communications System? NW3485E

Reply:

(1) (a) None

(b) None

(2) None

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2858/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 25 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 35

2858. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many transfers of social grants have taken place each month since the introduction of the SA Social Security Agency's (SASSA) telephone voice recognition system? NW3407E

Reply:

None, the introduction of the telephone voice recognition system will be implemented in January 2014 as the Agency has just finalized the re-registration process in November 2013.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2830/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 25 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 35

2830. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 1349 on 28 June 2013, the 190 dedicated lines are manned by operators at all times? NW3267E

Reply:

Yes, the dedicated lines are manned by operators at all times.

Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 2831/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 25 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 35

2831. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What is the average number of calls that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) call centre receives per month? NW3268E

Reply:

The average number of calls received by the South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA) call centre is 89,593 calls received per month. Other calls are coming through the Presidential hotline, Ministry of Social Development, Fraud hotline and the Department of Social Development call centre.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2812/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 18 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 33

2812. Mr T D Lee (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What amount has (a) her department and (b) each of the entities reporting to her spent on advertisements placed on the SABC 24 hour news channel;

(2) were these advertisements placed through the Government Communication and Information System? NW3317E

Reply:

(1)(a) None

(b) None

(2) Not applicable.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2780/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 18 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 33

2780. Ms H N Makhuba (IFP) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) (a) How many disciplinary cases are outstanding in her department and (b) what is the nature of each case;

(2) (a) how long have these cases been on-going and (b) when will most of them be concluded;

(3) whether the persons who are being charged have been suspended; if not, why not; if so, for how long will they be suspended;

(4) whether the specified persons are still receiving their salaries; if so, what is the total cost of their salaries to the State? NW3282E

Reply:

(1)(a) 4 cases are in the process of being finalized.

(b) 1 case relates to insolent behavior (official was seconded to SASSA, disciplinary hearing scheduled for 08 November 2013), 1 case relates to the misuse of a Government vehicle and misappropriation of a fuel card (employee appealed against the sanction of dismissal) and 1 case relates to conflict of interest and abuse of computer equipment (disciplinary hearing to resume again on 31 October 2013). 1 case relates to not following proper procedures, publication of the Non-Profit Organization (NPO) website (await approval to issue final written warning).

(2)(a) Between 1 and 6 months.

(b) The 4 cases are on the verge of being finalized as indicated in 1(b) above.

(3) No, the mentioned cases did not necessitate the suspension of the officials.

(4) No officials were suspended.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2778/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 18 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 33

2778. Ms H N Makhuba (IFP) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What is her department doing to assist qualified social workers who are struggling to find work in view of the shortage of social workers in this country? NW3280E

Reply:

The Department approached National Treasury towards the end of 2012 requesting funds for absorption. National Treasury agreed to allocate funds to the Department and these funds were allocated as follows for different Provinces:

Province	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
	R' 000	R' 000	R' 000	R' 000
EC	17 834	44 266	72 616	134 716
FS	7 053	17 579	28 961	53 593
GP	21 888	57 475	99 707	179 070
KZN	26 070	65 645	109 303	201 028
LIM	14 762	36 760	60 510	112 032
MP	9 711	24 800	41 885	76 396
NC	3 126	8 196	13 813	25 225
NW	8 081	20 727	35 153	63 961
WC		64 210	69 952	134 162
TOTAL	108 618	275 448	461 948	846 011

In addition, the National Department of Social Development is establishing a Command Centre of Gender Based Violence. The Command Centre is part of the department's plan of action to curb the scourge of this kind of violence. The centre anticipates employing 120 unemployed Social Work Graduates and Social Work Veterans. At this stage, the department has piloted the programme, and has recruited and trained 75 graduates and 15 Social Work Veterans. The pilot phase has started in October 2013; and will run over a period of six months.

The Department is continuously lobbying for more funds from the National Treasury in order to assist the provinces that are still facing a challenge of non-absorption. The Department has also developed a database of all unemployed Social Work graduates with a view to assist them in getting employment both in Government and within the NPO Sector.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2755/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 18 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 33

2755. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) During the re-registration for grants drive, how many people were found to be receiving a child support grant, despite the fact that they were not the primary caregiver of the child and the child was in fact living elsewhere;

(2) what did her department do in these cases to ensure that the child support grant was transferred to the actual caregiver and not simply suspended;

(3) how many child support grants were suspended during the re-registration drive? NW3255E

Reply:

(1) For the period ending September 2013 a total of 181,470 CSG grants were lapsed owing to a variety of reasons, amongst these, being those found not to be the primary care givers of the children in respect of whom they were collecting a child support grant.

(2) New grant applications were processed in the name of the new primary care-giver in whose physical care these children were found.

(3) At the end of September 2013 a total of 181,470 child support grants were lapsed.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2739/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 18 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 33

2739. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

With reference to her reply to oral question 272 on 11 September 2013, on what date was it decided to distribute food parcels in Ward 9 in the Tlokwe Municipality in the North West province on 6 and 7 August 2013? NW3239E

Reply:

SASSA did not distribute food parcels on 6 and 7 August 2013.

Reply received: October 2013

QUESTION 2652/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 11 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 32

2652. Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) Whether any performance bonuses were paid to employees in her department in the 2012-13 financial year; if so, what is the total (a) number of employees that received bonuses and (b) amount paid out by her department for these bonuses;

(2) what percentage of outputs were achieved by her department as measured against each target set in its Annual Performance Plan in the 2012-13 financial year? NW3141E

Reply:

(1) The Department of Social Development DSD has not paid any performance bonuses to employees for the 2012/13 financial year as the process has not been finalized. The bonuses reflected in the annual report are bonuses emanating from the 2011/12 performance cycle and were staff on level 1 -12 (a) not applicable for 2012/13 and (b) not applicable.

(2) During the financial year 2012/13, the Department achieved 94 out of 154 targets as planned in the Annual Performance Plan. This represents 61% achievement of the planned targets. 29% of the remaining targets were partially achieved leaving only 10% of targets that were not achieved at all.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2587/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 11 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 32

2587. Mr F A Rodgers (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How much has (a) her department and (b) each of the entities reporting to her spent on promotional events organised by The New Age newspaper between 1 September 2012 and 30 August 2013? NW3074E

Reply:

(a) The Department of Social Development including (b) SASSA and the National Development Agency did not spend any money on promotional events organised by The New Age newspaper between 1 September 2012 and 30 September 2013.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2541/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 11 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 32

2541. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What constitutes emergency intervention by her department in an area of abject poverty and hunger? NW3028E

Reply:

In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Chapter 2 Section 27(1) (a) (b) (c) enjoins all government departments to provide basic necessary services, within the confines of available funding. The intervention is further guided and supported by the provision of progressive realization of services to people who are unable to support themselves. In line with the Constitution, the Social Assistance Act 2004 (No. 13 of 2004) enables the department to provide income support to vulnerable groups, through the provision of Social Grants. The Social Assistance programme has proven to be highly effective in lifting the poor out of abject poverty and hunger.

Further to the provision of Social Grants under the Social Assistance Act 2004, the Social Assistance Regulations 9(1) state that a person qualifies to receive Social Relief of Distress as a temporary and immediate measure if she or he;

· Is awaiting payment of an approved grant;

· Does not receive maintenance from the person legally obliged to pay maintenance and proof is provided of efforts made to obtain the maintenance;

· The breadwinner has died within the past 3 months;

· Is declared medically unfit for a period of less than 6 months;

· Breadwinner has been admitted to an institution funded by the State;

· Person is affected by a disaster; or

· Refusal will cause undue hardship.

The Social African Security Agency and the Department of Social Development officials are trained to assess and provide assistance to people who suffer from hunger and abject poverty. In addition, SASSA works on the basis of referrals from other government departments and NGO's. The Departments of Health and Basic Education play a pivotal role in identifying children who come from food insecure backgrounds. Some of these children are clinically malnourished, despite some of them being included in the feeding schemes provided in primary schools.

The emergency intervention usually comprises of social relief of distress, which can be provided for a 3 – 6 month period, followed by longer term interventions by social workers to address more sustainable measures. Within the Department of Social Development a myriad of programmes are available to deal with targeted poor communities to ensure sustainable development.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2540/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 11 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 32

2540. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many persons were employed by her department to do door-to-door profiling of wards in Tlokwe in the North West since 1 January 2013, (b)(i) which wards were profiled and (ii) on what dates and (c) what were the findings in each ward?NW3027E

Reply:

(a) No additional staff were employed to do the profiling in Tlokwe. 150 existing staff that includes the following categories were used: 63 social workers, 61 social auxiliary workers; 16 community development practitioners and 10 community development workers.

(b)(i) Wards 9, 1, 4, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 26 were profiled.

(b)(ii) Ward 9 was profiled in July to the first week of August 2013. The remaining wards were profiled during August and September 2013.

(c) The profiling resulted in referrals to various Departments and Local Government for intervention, which ranged from assisting with housing, applications for social grants and social relief of distress to assistance with social work interventions. The table below indicates the referrals made for each ward:

Ward	Population per ward	Households per ward	No of households profiled	Sector Department referrals for intervention
Ward	Population per ward	Households per ward	No of households profiled	Tlokwe LM	Edu cation	SASSA	Social Dev	Home Affairs	Health	Agri culture
1	5 884	1 907	1 191	639	4	866	42	154	449	93
4	9 529	2 778	1 011	81	8	337	69	61	18	317
9	7 592	2 240	897			539	10
13	8 921	2 463	986	104	29	362	29	110	120	155
16	4 396	1 169	547	64	3	305	15	25	35	78
17	5 522	1 570	812	51	4	292	21	83	10	101
18	6 278	1 967	1 283	67	9	426	27	83	22	19
19	9 430	2 636	827	132	3	269	7	65	103	31
20	6 499	2 207	1 133	115	13	85	69	149	295	173
21	12 749	3 678	1 331	22	15	342	33	88	39	65
26	10 859	3 326	2 052	196	12	629	53	173	138	423
Total	87 659	25 941	12 070	1 471	100	4 111	375	991	1 229	1 455

Reply received: October 2013

QUESTION 2537/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 11 October 2013

Internal question paper no: 32

2537. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many (i) old age grants and (ii) disability grants have been stopped in each province as at 10 September 2013 and (b) how many of the beneficiaries of these grants that were stopped, requested a home visit in order to re-register for the specified grants? NW3024E

Reply:

(a) (i) Nationally a total of 38,678 Old Age grants were stopped. The breakdown per province is as follows:

Province	Old Age Grant
Western Cape	5,537
Eastern Cape	6,498
Northern Cape	492
Free State	2,142
Kwa-Zulu Natal	5,626
North West	1,991
Gauteng	11,248
Mpumalanga	2,909
Limpopo	2,235
Total	38,678

(ii) Nationally a total of 15,427 disability grants were stopped. The breakdown per province is as follows:

Province	Disability
Western Cape	1,879
Eastern Cape	2,726
Northern Cape	327
Free State	937
Kwa-Zulu Natal	3,455
North West	1,093
Gauteng	2,763
Mpumalanga	1,341
Limpopo	906
Total	15,427

(b) The Honourable Member is advised that beneficiaries who requested for home visits did not have their grants stopped. However, SASSA did experience issues where beneficiaries have indicated that they did request for home visits but their grants were stopped. SASSA was unable to find any records of such requests. In order to give beneficiaries the benefit of doubt home visits were nonetheless immediately conducted and payment activated.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2485/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2485. Mr D A Kganare (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(2) (a) what does each food parcel consist of, (b) how many families benefited from the distribution of food parcels and (c) what amount was spent on each occasion? NW2974E

Reply:

(1) Social relief of distress is an on-going programme of SASSA. Short term assistance in the form of cash, food vouchers or food parcels is provided to all citizens who meet the qualifying criteria as set in legislation. Social relief has been provided in Tlokwe for all the years noted in the question. However, the form of the assistance has varied over time, as indicated below:

(a) 2009/10: assistance provided in cash

(b) 2010/11: assistance provided in the form of food parcels

(d) 2012/13: assistance provided in the form of cash as response to disasters, food vouchers until July 2013 and food parcels since July 2013.

It should be noted that SASSA was challenged as the manner in which social relief of distress was provided differed in different provinces. As a result, a decision was taken to standardise, where possible. This means that cash is now only provided as a response to disasters across all provinces (previously this was the standard form of support in the North West Province); food vouchers are provided in most provinces except where suppliers to redeem the vouchers are not available, and food parcels are provided for all families identified to participate in the "Zero Hunger" campaign, which targets families with children who experience food insecurity or who are malnourished. The content of the food parcels is standardised across all provinces.

(2)(a) The content of the food parcels is attached as Annexure A see the link: http://www.pmg.org.za/rnw2485a-131104

(b) The number of people who benefited from the provision of social relief of distress over the years in question is indicated below. However, please note that the assistance provided was not all in the form of food parcels.

2009/10 257 families @ R1 010 per family paid in cash

2010/11 549 families @ R1 080 per food parcels

2011/12 541 families @ R1 140 per voucher

2012/13 807 families @ R1 200 per voucher or food parcel from July 2013

2009/10 R259 570

2010/11 R592 920

2011/12 R616 740

2012/13 R968 400

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2481/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2481. Ms N P Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What steps does she intend to take to raise public awareness of Project Mikondzo in areas where community participation in development initiatives is lacking? NW2970E

Reply:

The Project was officially launched on September 1, 2013 at the GCIS-Tshedimosetso Building in Pretoria. Since then, it has been widely popularized through electronic and print media:

· SA FM

· Ligwalagwala FM

· Radio Pulpit

· Ukhozi FM

· Radio Teemaneng

· Umhlobo Wenene

The Department has forged a partnership with SABC radio, community newspapers in provinces and will utilize GCIS for it community radio stations platform.

Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 2480/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2480. Ms N P Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

With reference to her statement at the Project Mikondzo media briefing regarding the lack of support and advocacy of social development causes at local government level, (a) which (i) municipalities and (ii) ward committees are guilty of this and (b) what are the reasons for this? NW2969E

Reply:

(a) The media statement that was released at the launch of the Project Mikondzo regarding lack of support and advocacy at local level was informed by past experiences that the Department of Social Development has, like other departments who have concurrent functional responsibilities in managing and implementing programmes at local level within the context of cooperative governance.

(i) and (ii) No specific names of local municipalities and ward committees are available as no such records are kept by the Department. However, the Project aims at determining access to social development services, support and advocacy of social development causes at local government level.

The Project report will have details of Social Development programme implementation, support and advocacy at the local level. Such report will be available by the end of March 2014.

(b) Lack of integrated planning and poor coordination of programmes and projects at implantation level, as well as poor communication with affected communities who are service recipients, are oftern the root causes of poor service delivery. Project Mikondzo also aims to address this challenge. The Project's main objective is to increase the Department of Social Development foot print at local level.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2479/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2479. Ms N P Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What steps does she or her department intend to take against young women who receive child support grants on behalf of children who don't live with them and for whom they do not provide, as has been uncovered by her department? NW2968E

Reply:

· The procedure to be followed is the cancellation of the grant and the replacement of the current primary caregiver with another one who would take care of the child as provided for in Regulation 11(3)(b). Steps would be taken to ensure that the child is not negatively affected.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2460/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2460. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many child-headed households are there in each province? NW2945E

Reply:

According to the 2012 census report, the statistical data on child headed households per province is as follows:


	Numbers
	Male	Female	Total
Eastern Cape	9,301	8,263	17,564
Free State	2,204	1,611	3,815
Gauteng	6,379	4,888	11,267
KwaZulu-Natal	12,675	11,415	24,090
Limpopo	9,523	8,689	18,212
Mpumalanga	5,061	4,031	9,092
North West	3,271	2,410	5,681
Northern Cape	862	714	1,576
Western Cape	2,156	1,819	3,974
SA	51,432	43,839	95,271

However the National Department of Social Development has developed an electronic web based system to register Child Headed Households and Youth Headed household in all provinces. The register will be effective as form the end of the third quarter in six provinces namely EC, GP, KZN, LP, MP and NC as part of the first phase of implementation, and will be rolled out to all nine provinces by the end of the financial year.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2459/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2459. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) When will the proposed amendments to the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005, as adopted in the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on Children's Amendment Bill [PMB 1 - 2013] by the National Assembly on 12 September 2013, be tabled in Parliament and (b) what will the financial cost of these amendments be? NW2944E

Reply:

(a) On the 19^th of September 2013, the amendments served before Cabinet and approval was granted to both publish the amendments for public comments and thereafter introduce the amendments in Parliament. The amendments will therefore be tabled in Parliament after the public consultation process has been completed.

(b) It is envisaged that the proposed amendments will have additional financial implications for the Department of Social Development, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as the South African Police Services.

The costing of the proposed amendments will be undertaken after public comments have been received. The amendments will give guidance for projections.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2457/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 31

2457. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) Whether she has established a call centre to support women who are subjected to violence and abuse as indicated in her Policy Debate on Budget Vote No 19: Social Development on 30 May 2013 in the National Council of Provinces; if not, when will the call centre be established; if so, is the call centre operational;

(2) (a) where will the call centre be located, (b) how many staff members will be employed by the call centre, (c) what is the call centre's annual budget, (d) how many calls per month does the call centre plan to handle and (e) what kind of support will the call centre offer to women who are subjected to violence and abuse? NW2942E

REPLY:

(1) The Command Centre is being established by the department in partnership with other key stakeholders working towards operationalization of the call centre.

(2) (a) A pilot site has been identified in Pretoria.

(b) 90 staff members will be employed during the initial six (6) months pilot phase, to work as call centre agents working three shifts of 30 people per shift. The total staff complement will then be determined by the outcomes of the pilot.

· Pilot phase = R15 million including salaries

· Permanent command centre =R55 million establishment (that includes set up costs of R21 million and salary costs of plus or minus R34 million).

These costs were submitted to national treasury and still awaiting feedback .However the funding of the pilot was reprioritized from the current baseline of the department.

(d) The calls are estimated at 5000 calls per month. A benchmarking study was done with existing lines such as Lifeline to determine the estimated call volumes.

(e) The call centre offers a full and comprehensive pyscho-social service. The service will be administered at the call center by unemployed social work graduates who will receive the initial call. The social work graduates will assess the nature of the call and the intervention required. Depending on the nature of the call, it may be referred to the back office, manned by experienced social work veterans to administer telephonic counseling and other social work interventions. Depending on the nature of intervention required, the case will then be referred appropriately to the relevant stakeholder in the values chain such as Police, Health, Helters, Thuthuzela Care Centres and NGO's identified.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2353 /2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Ms NP Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Whether, with reference to the escalation of drug abuse especially amongst the youth, it has been found that the Ke Moja drug awareness programme is making inroads in the fight against drug abuse; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2844E

Reply:

Yes, Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme is making inroads against drug abuse. The Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme is currently being implemented nationally by government departments in partnership with Non-Governmental, Community Based and Faith Based Organizations. The purpose of the programme is mainly to educate, create awareness and provide youth with skills to deal with substance abuse challenges and related social ills. The following are the objectives of the Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme:

· To raise awareness amongst the youth on the harmful effects of substance abuse by making use of various activities in an integrated approach.

· To contribute towards skills development initiatives specific to substance abuse prevention

· To lobby and advocate for early intervention and a more integrated approach in addressing the challenges of drug usage

· To promote greater access to treatment facilities, prioritizing those young people already caught in the cycle of abuse

· To create a platform for dialogue between youth and the community on the issue of drugs

· To capacitate educators and caregivers on substance abuse prevention interventions

· To provide parents and School Governing Bodies (SGB) with information on drugs for early identification

· To provide and promote alternative lifestyle for young people

The National Department of Social Development commissioned an evaluation study during the 2011/12 financial year to assess the effectiveness of the Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme. The objectives of the study were as follows:

· To measure the effectiveness of Ke Moja initiatives

· To utilize the findings of the study in designing a rigorous impact evaluation study

· To identify results that will make substantial contribution in the review of the strategy and development of policy

The following is the summary of the outcome of the study:

· Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme is implemented in all provinces.

· Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme is relevant and necessary for the youth as it allows them to learn about the dangers of drug abuse, skills and knowledge to protect themselves against substance abuse and related challenges such as crime, HIV/AIDS, violence, etc.

· The Programme provides parents, care givers and school governing bodies with information, skills and knowledge to deal with the challenges of substance abuse.

· Partnerships with other government departments, non-governmental organizations and community based structures contributed to youths being reached and receiving the programme much more effectively and efficiently.

· The training received by Ke Moja implementers is informative, useful and adequate to prepare implementers for their duties.

The conclusion thereof is that the Ke Moja Drug Awareness Programme is still relevant and effective. However, it needs to be implemented with a comprehensive and coherent programme that focuses on Demand reduction, Supply reduction and harm reduction. In this regard, Cabinet has approved the comprehensive National Drug Master Plan: 2013 – 2017 which has got all these elements.

Reply received: December 2013

QUESTION 2294/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 13 September 2013

Internal question paper no: 30

2294. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Whether, with reference to her reply to question 1013 on 2 July 2013, she has sourced the relevant information; if not, what progress has been made in sourcing the information; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2659E

Reply:

Yes,

(a) The Department's expenditure on (i) early childhood development, (ii) food security and (iii) income-generating programmes since 1 April 2013 is as provided in the table below:

Expenditure by province	Programme
Expenditure by province	Early childhood development,	Food security	Income-generating
1. Eastern Cape	R106 340 000.00	R13 500 000.00	R 2 860 000.00
2. Free State	R66 155 000.00	R1 562 500.00	R2 860 000.00
3. Gauteng	R66 155 760.00	R8 818 168.01	R14 543 118.99
4. KwaZulu Natal	R82 086 000.00	R0.00	R0,00
5. Limpopo	R85 653 000.00	R273 944.93	n/a
6. Mpumalanga	R26 278 610.00	n/a	R350 000.00
7. North West	R2 831 127.00	R0.00	R0.00
8. Northern Cape	R1 024 368.00	R2 252 021.93	R0.00
9. Western Cape	R130 151 000.00	R10 800 000.00	n/a
Total	R566 674 865.00	R37 206 634.87	R20 613 118.99

The provinces with n/a reflects that no allocation was made to the programme, and provinces with R0.00 indicate no expenditure has been incurred by the programme.

The national Department of Social Development has acquired R31 million from the National Treasury as a transfer allocation for food security programmes. R3 millions of this allocation has been spent on food security programmes.

(b) The National Development Agency expenditure on (i) early childhood development, (ii) food security and (iii) income-generating programmes since 1 April 2013 is as provided in the summary below:

Expenditure	Programme
Expenditure	Early childhood development,	Food security	Income-generating
National	R 1 024 368.00	R 2 252 021.93	R 2 337 648.00

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 2240/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 22 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 28

2240. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) With reference to her reply to question 1512 on 28 June 2013, on what basis was Grindrod Bank, a bank without any outlets in the country, selected as the bank of choice for SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries;

(2) (a) where are the (i) national and (ii) provincial (aa) call centres and (bb) branch offices of Cash Paymaster Services located and (b) what are the opening hours of each (i) call centre and (ii) branch office? NW2658E

Reply:

(1) CPS presented a solution which in response to their tender had to include a banking solution. Grindrod was then chosen as a bank of choice by CPS for payment of SASSA's beneficiaries. SASSA has no contractual agreement with Grindrod bank. Grindrod bank underwrites the SASSA bank card as part of its contractual agreement with Cash Paymaster Services. Only registered banks can underwrite any banking card on the National payment System. The deployed system facilitates for beneficiaries to have full access to any ATM that participates in the National Payment System (approximately 22,000 ATMs). In addition, the Cash Paymaster Services does service in the excess of 10,000 SASSA pay points per month, utilizing mobile ATM infrastructure. The technology facilitates for beneficiaries to utilize their SASSA debit cards for purchases as well as cash withdrawal at any retailer participating in the National Payment System.

(2) (a) (1) There are two call centers , the SASSA National call centre and CPS National all Centre. SASSA national call centre is based at SITA Centurion and the CPS call centre is based in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

(a) (ii) In addition CPS officials are deployed at approximately 600 SASSA offices across the country , which includes satellite offices, that are fully manned by CPS officials who deal with administrative queries including registration, card issuance and card replacements.

(bb) See Attached list of Cash Paymaster Services Branch Offices.

2(b) (i) The National call centre operates between 07h00 and midnight on weekdays and between 08h00 and 13h00 on weekends and public holidays.. For hours outside of these, calls are routed to stand-by personnel.

2(b)(ii) The provincial call centres are based in the respective CPS provincial offices and operate from 07h00 to 17h00 on weekdays.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2239/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 22 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 28

2239. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

With reference to her reply to question 797 on 28 June 2013, according to what formula does her department request funding for old age homes from the National Treasury? NW2657E

Reply:

The formula that is used by the Department to request funding for old age home from National Treasury is as follows; calculates the total number of beds in each institution based on assessed needs and plans. This will take into consideration the running costs for keeping an older person in a facility per day as well.

For example the costs incurred by the old age home divided by the number of older persons (beds) cared for divided by 12 to arrive at a monthly unit cost. Eg Total cost for old age home is R2,000,000 per annum divided by 30 beds (older persons) = R66,666 divided by 12 months = R5,555 unit cost per month.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 2172/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 16 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 27

2172. Ms N P Gcume (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many children are registered under the Isibindi childcare and protection programmes and (b) in which provinces are they? NW2595E

Reply:

(a) There are 22 656 children registered under Isibindi childcare and protection programmes.

(b) Below is a table illustrating the Provinces and Districts in which the Isibindi model is implemented.

April 2012 – March 2013 (12 months)

Province

District

Total

Eastern Cape

Alfred Nzo

Amathole

3 937

Chris Hani

3 350

O. R. Tambo

1 720

Eastern Cape Total

12 569

Free State

Motheo

842

Free State Total

842

Gauteng

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan

2 359

JHB Metropolitan

2 105

Sedibeng

893

Tshwane

1 095

West Rand

999

Gauteng Total

7 451

KwaZulu Natal

Amajuba

593

Ethekwini Central

1 357

Ilembe

555

Sisonke

2 025

Ugu

1 096

KwaZulu Natal

Umgungundlovu

1 045

Umkhanyakude

651

Umzinyathi

3 897

Uthukela

737

Uthungulu

4 324

Zululand

516

KwaZulu Natal Total

16 796

Limpopo

Mopani

1 394

Vhembe

3 193

Limpopo Total

4 587

Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni

4 746

Gert Sibande

2 011

Nkangala

3 330

Mpumalanga Total

10 087

North West

Bojanala Platinum

1 064

Ngaka Modiri Molema

1 200

North West Total

2 264

Northern Cape

Frances Baard

4 983

Namakwa

431

Pixley Ka Seme

469

Siyanda

185

Northern Cape Total

6 068

Western Cape

Cape Town Metro

993

Overberg

971

West Coast

612

Western Cape Total

2 576

Grand Total

63 240

April 2013 – June 2013 (3 months)

Province

District

Total

Eastern Cape

Alfred Nzo

1 520

Amathole

1 168

Chris Hani

1 450

O. R. Tambo

859

Eastern Cape Total

4 997

Free State

Motheo

338

Free State Total

338

Gauteng

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan

892

JHB Metropolitan

1 076

Sedibeng

564

Tshwane

699

West Rand

711

Gauteng Total

3 942

KwaZulu Natal

Amajuba

113

Ethekwini Central

242

Ilembe

187

Sisonke

907

Ugu

451

Umgungundlovu

281

Umkhanyakude

400

Umzinyathi

1 221

Uthukela

255

Uthungulu

1 458

Zululand

117

KwaZulu Natal Total

5 632

Limpopo

Mopani

322

Vhembe

795

Limpopo Total

1 117

Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni

1 894

Gert Sibande

883

Nkangala

1 038

Mpumalanga Total

3 815

North West

Bojanala Platinum

159

Ngaka Modiri Molema

135

North West Total

294

Northern Cape

Frances Baard

1481

Namakwa

289

Pixley Ka Seme

268

Siyanda

159

Northern Cape Total

2 197

Western Cape

Cape Town Metro

112

Overberg

127

West Coast

Western Cape Total

324

Grand Total

22 656

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2144/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 16 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 27

2144. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) Whether any staff member in her department (a) performed work in addition to the responsibilities related to his or her work, outside normal working hours, in the (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11, (iv) 2011-12 and (v) 2012-13 financial years and (b) has been performing such work during the period 1 April 2013 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, how is it determined whether such work is being performed or not; if so, in each case, (aa) how many staff members and (bb) in what job or work categories are the specified staff members employed;

(2) whether approval for such work was obtained in each case; if not, what are the relevant details; if so, (a) what is the policy of her department in this regard, (b) by whom are such applications considered and approved, (c) how many contraventions of this policy were brought to the attention of her department in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 financial years and (d) what steps have been taken against transgressors? NW2566E

Reply:

(1) The honourable member, Mr JRB Lorimer must please clarify whether his question is about overtime work performed by staff outside working hours or private work not related to the work of the Department or remunerative work performed outside the normal working hours. Only after such clarification will I be in a position to respond appropriately to the honourable member's question.

(2) This question the falls away pending the requested clarification.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 2111/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 16 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 27

2111. Mrs N W A Michael (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) Does her department prepare quarterly interim financial statements and (b) are these statements considered by the Audit Committee? NW2533E

Reply:

(a) Yes, the Department prepares quarterly Interim Financial statements.

(b) Yes, the Interim Financial Statements are considered by the Audit Committee.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 2078/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 16 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 27

2078. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What is the (a) food parcel distribution schedule per ward in each municipality for the rest of the 2013-14 financial year and (b) estimated monetary value of the parcels that will be distributed in each ward? NW2500E

Reply:

(a) It is not possible to provide a food parcel distribution schedule per ward, as this relief is provided as a response to an identified need, which may be triggered by a specific event, such as a local disaster. In addition, we work very closely with the Department of Health, to identify malnourished or food insecure children requiring support. The information which is received through these channels directs the intervention.

Despite the above, which prevents us providing an exhaustive list of areas which will be targeted for food parcels, the list below indicates some of the areas which will be targeted:

Oudtshoorn, Western Cape

Athlone, Western Cape

Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal

Tlokwe, North West

De Doorns, Western Cape

Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

Idutywa, Eastern Cape

Ngcobo, Eastern Cape

Bizana, Eastern Cape

Nyanga, Western Cape

All food parcels distributed are distributed as part of the social relief of distress programme, which means that the qualifying requirements as set in the Social Assistance Act, 2004 have to be met. For every person provided with a food parcel, an approved application must be available.

(b) Since it is not possible to provide a list per ward, the financial information per ward can also not be provided. However, the total budget for social relief of distress for the 2013/14 financial year is R239 286 000. This will all be utilized in providing support to qualifying families. Not all the assistance will be provided in the form of food parcels, but food vouchers and in certain instances cash, is also provided.

Given the extent of the need, additional funds for social relief of distress for this financial year are currently being identified. These funds will come from the projected savings under the other social grants.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1997/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 08 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 25

1997. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Reply:

The amount allocated for social relief of distress is used for all forms of temporary support to qualifying citizens, not only food parcels. Assistance may be provided in the form of food vouchers, food parcels, and in certain circumstances, cash.

The amounts allocated for social relief of distress in the identified years is as follows:

(a) 2011/12 R187 181 000

(b) 2012/13 R187 925 000

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1969/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 02 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 24

1969. Mrs J D Kilian (Cope) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What is the ratio of social grant payments in respect of South African citizens to noncitizens;

(2) (a) what amounts have been paid out in social grants to (i) South African citizens and (ii) noncitizens in the (aa) 2010-11, (bb) 2011-12 and (cc) 2012-13 financial years and (b) how is this trend projected to impact on her department's ability to sustain the social grant system in future? NW2323E

Reply:

(1) It should be noted that access to social assistance is a right guaranteed by our Constitution. Affordability and sustainability were considered when the policy changes, such as extending provision of this form of assistance to non South African citizens, were implemented.

The extension of social assistance to all people who live in South Africa (and not only restricted to South African citizens) has been progressively implemented, in compliance with various judgements made by the High Court. For example, the progressive extension of all social grants, including social relief of distress, to refugees was implemented following a legal challenge by the Scalabrini Centre, acting together with the Legal Resources Centre.

Social grants, including social relief of distress, are paid to South African citizens, permanent residents and refugees who live in South Africa. The only exception to this is that we pay social assistance to South African citizens who reside in Walvis Bay, Namibia, in accordance with the Bilateral Agreement signed on 19 April 1994 between the two countries, when Walvis Bay was incorporated into Namibia.

As at 31 March 2013, a total of 43 588 social grants were paid to permanent residents and 5 141 to refugees out of a total of 16 048 879 grants paid. Both permanent residents and refugees are non-South Africa citizens.

This means that, of the grants paid, 0,27% were paid to permanent residents and 0,03% to refugees. The total number of grants paid to non-South African citizens is thus 0,30%, while 99,7% are paid to South African citizens.

(2) (a) The amounts paid to South African citizens and non-citizens (both permanent residents and refugees) in the years identified are indicated below:

South African citizens: (i) (aa) 2010/11 R87 249 837 840

(i) (bb) 2011/12 R95 687 378 340

(i) (cc) 2012/13 R103 553 401 560

Non citizens (ii) (aa) 2010/11 R243 068 160

(ii) (bb) 2011/12 R275 763 660

(ii) (cc) 2012/13 R335 554 440

The amount paid has consistently been approximately 3% of the total.

(b) As can be seen from the above, the actual percentage of grants which are paid to non-citizens is much less than 1%. The growth over the past 3 financial years has been very slow – in 2010/11 it was 0,2607%; in 2011/12 it increased marginally to 0,2608% and then to 0,30% in 2012/13.

The increase in the latter year was as a result of the change in legislation which allowed refugees access to all the social grant types. The amount paid to non-citizens has consistently been approximately 3% of the total budget spent on social grants. However, it is not believed that the numbers will grow significantly, so as to affect the sustainability of the grant system.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1951/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 02 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 24

1951. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many food parcels were distributed by her department in each month since 1 January 2013, (b) in which (i) local authorities and (ii) wards were they distributed and (c) on what dates were the food parcels distributed? NW2300E

Reply:

The attached Annexure details the food parcels distributed since January 2013 in each local municipality.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1886/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 02 August 2013

Internal question paper no: 24

1886. Mr. M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

When (a) will the strategy for the recruitment and retention of social workers be reviewed, as recommended by the Portfolio Committee on Social Development in their 2013 report, and (b) can the specified committee expect feedback on this? NW2235E

Reply:

(a) The review of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy is considered to be conducted in the financial year 2014/2015.

(b) The Portfolio Committee will be provided with feedback upon the completion of the review of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers after 2014/15.

Additional information for Minister.

During the financial year 2011/2012 the Department of Social Development conducted a study on the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers. The findings of the study among others; identified the lack of the implementation plan although the various programmes were put in place to implement the strategy, which includes but not limited to careers fair, social work scholarship, social work exchange programme, staff development etc. The recommendations of the study are outlined among others as follows:

ü Awareness of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers

ü Development of the Implementation Plan for the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers.

ü Review of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers.

In line with the research findings and recommendations for the financial year 2013/2014 the Department of Social Development has prioritised the development of provincial specific implementation plans for the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers and identified the quick wins to intensify the implementation of the plans. Subsequent to the development of the implementation plans the monitoring and evaluation will be conducted to support implementation and assess compliance of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1839/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper:

Internal question paper no:

Mr N D du Toit (DA) (p 645)-Social Development.

(1) How many consultants has her 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 her 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 her department and/or former public servants? NW2187E

REPLY:

1(a) (i) 9 Individual Consultants

1(a) (ii) 11 Individual Consultants

1(a) (iii) 25 Individual Consultants

1(a) (iv) 6 Individual Consultants

1(b) 5 Individual Consultants

2 (a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (b) Based on our supplier registration database; we have no record of former officials or public servants that consulted with the department for the financial years in question.

Reply received: October 2013

QUESTION 1804/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 26 July 2013

Internal question paper no: 23

1804. Mrs J F Terblanche (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What (a) buildings under the administration of (i) her department and (ii) entities reporting to her are national key points and (b) criteria were used to classify them as such? NW2152E

Reply:

Disclosure is prohibited in terms of Sec 38 (a) and 38 (b) (1) (aa) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000).

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1772/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 26 July 2013

Internal question paper no: 23

1772. Dr P J Rabie (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What is the (a) make, (b) model, (c) year and (d) purchase price of each vehicle that was bought for official use by (i) her and (ii) the Deputy Minister since 1 January 2012? NW2119E

Reply:

(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii) The Department did not procure any vehicles for the Minister and Deputy Minister since 1 January 2012

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1740/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 26 July 2013

Internal question paper no: 23

1740. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) Does she intend to remove the means test for the care dependency grant; if not, why not; if so, when;

(2) does she intend to remove the means test for the disability grant; if not, why not; if so, when? NW2087E

Reply:

1. No, there is no intention to remove the means test for the care dependency grant at this stage. In a dialogue with youth with albinism and parents of children with autism this year (2013), it was clear that there are those that fall within this category and are not included because of the means test. The Department intends conducting a feasibility study on the introduction of universal benefits for the care dependency grant. Proposals on this matter will only be made once the study has been completed.

2. No, as indicated in the reply to the first question, the Department also intends conducting a feasibility study on the introduction of universal benefits for the disability grant. Similarly, proposals on this matter will only be made once the study has been completed.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1738/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 26 July 2013

Internal question paper no: 23

1738. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) What progress has her department made with the development of the database of orphans and vulnerable children and (b) on what date will the database be fully established? NW2085E

Reply:

(a) The National Department of Social Development currently does not have the database of Orphans and Vulnerable Children. The following developments have been made to keep records of orphans and vulnerable children:

· Section 137 of the Children's Act 38 of 2005 outlines a range of statutory processes to be undertaken in relation to child-headed households. At the core of these processes is the assessment and recognition of the household as a child-headed household by a provincial head of social development. Once the statutory process has been completed, the details of the household must be captured on the National Register for Child Headed Households. The Department has already embarked on the process of developing this Register, which will provide the number and details of both child-headed households and youth headed households. The Register will be fully operational by end of September 2013.

· The HIV and AIDS Chief Directorate, through the Home and Community Based Care programme (HCBC) have trained Community caregivers (CCGs) who conduct home visits, to identify and record OVCs at a Community Based Organization (CBO) level. The CBO then reports the numbers to the District and Provincial Departments. The provincial Departments report the numbers of OVCs to the National Department.

· The Department of Social Development through the Chief Directorate: HIV and AIDS have developed the Community Based Intervention Monitoring System (CBIMS), an online reporting system for all CBO`s. This Monitoring system will help in keeping the database of all beneficiaries including Orphans and Vulnerable Children. The system will be fully functional by March 2014.

· The Department of Social Development through the Chief Directorate: HIV and AIDS have also developed Children Services Directory (CSD). The Directory contains information on non-profit organizations that are registered with the Department of Social Development, to provide services and support to vulnerable children in South Africa. The CSD is designed to help care givers, service providers and community member's access services for Orphans and vulnerable children and for referral purposes in every province of South Africa.

· Furthermore, the Department of Social Development has a Surveillance System of Maternal orphans which is Institutionalized within the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. The Surveillance system of maternal orphans uses data from both birth and death files extracted from the Vital Registration System of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The System is developed and institutionalized to track and report on the creation of maternal orphans as well as to locate them by province and district municipality on a continuous basis. The system is used to match its data with other data sets, e.g. Socpen, Lurits (Learner Unit Record Information System), to check the number of maternal orphans receiving social grant and also attending school. According to the Surveillance system there is a total of 1,346,300 maternal orphans in the country. The System is able to provide data for the maternal orphans only because the details of the child is matched with the mother's details which is provided during the birth registration process while the father's details is optional.

The table below illustrates the number of maternal orphans per province from 2003 to 2013, according to the Department of Social Development Surveillance system.

Province	Surviving maternal orphans
Eastern Cape	222,431
Free State	90,522
Gauteng	214,813
Kwazulu-Natal	350,293
Limpopo	153,801
Mpumalanga	113,582
North West	98,517
Northern Cape	30,824
Western Cape	59,676
Total	1,346,300

The above mentioned system was launched by the Minister of Social Development in December 2010; and it is fully functional. The main aim of the system is to identify and track maternal orphans by their geographical location (province and district municipality). Furthermore, the system aims to assist Social Development Sector and Social Development partners in designing & implementing appropriate interventions to a growing number of maternal orphans in South Africa.

(b) Community Based Intervention Monitoring System (CBIMS) has been developed and will be fully functional by March 2014.

The Register for Child Headed Households will be operational by end of September 2013.

Reply received: November 2013

QUESTION 1619/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1619. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What was the total cost of the post-budget vote ministerial engagements and programmes held on (a) 5 to 8 June 2013 in Khayelitsha and (b) 8 to 11 May in Gugulethu, including the amounts spent on (i) transport, (ii) catering, (iii) accommodation, (iv) equipment, (v) advertising and (vi) other related expenses? NW1965E

Reply:

All Departments including the Department of Social Development proactively organize and implement pre and post Budget Vote communications to key stakeholders. The Department of Social Development held meetings with youth living with albinism, parents with autistic children, child-headed households, faith-based organisations and older persons.

Some of the recommendations from the stakeholders included:

· the need to cater and give support to autistic children and their caregivers;

· the need for children and youth living with albinism to receive income and/or material support;

· the heightening of communication campaigns to educate the public on issues of albinism, dementia and autism

This information-sharing process enables government to articulate key programmes for the coming year and demonstrates government's commitment to serving the needs of the South African public through concrete and measurable objectives.

The pre and post Budget Vote engagements created an opportunity for interaction between the Department and stakeholders to communicate information which enables citizens to exercise their democratic right to hold government accountable. The engagements varied from Department to Department and some may have been accompanied by promotional material aimed at promoting the work and brand of the Department.

The amount spent by the Department will appear in the audited financial statements at the end of the financial year.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1618/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1618. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Are foreign nationals that reside in South Africa required to have resided in the country for a minimum period of time before being eligible to adopt a South African child; if so, (a) what is that period of time and (b) which (i) statute or (ii) regulation gives effect to this condition? NW1964E

Reply:

Yes, foreign nationals that reside in South Africa require to have resided in the country for a minimum period of time before being eligible to adopt a South African child.

(a) The period of time is determined by their eligibility to obtain a permanent residence permit.

(b) (i) The following statutes give effect to this condition:

· The Children's Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005) section 232 (4)(b).

(ii) The following Regulations give effect to this condition:

· Regulation No. 98 (1) of the Children's Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005)

Regulations No. 22 of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002)

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1617/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1617. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) Which persons are authorised to (i) add names to or (ii) amend the Child Protection Register and (b) what criteria should these people meet before they are given this competency? NW1963E

Reply:

The Director-General is authorised to (i) add names to or (ii) amend the Child Protection Register in terms of Section 122(2) of the Children's Act, (Act No. 38 of 2005) and (b) there is no criteria the Director-General should meet before he or she is given this competency. As prescribed by Section 111(1) of the Children's Act, only the Director-General must keep and maintain a register to be called the National Child Protection Register.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1616/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1616. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many people working in (a) sporting and (b) cultural organisations have been screened against the Child Protection Register? NW1962E

Reply:

The Register does not disaggregate the screening of employees according to (a) sporting and (b) cultural organisations. The employer submits information of employees on Form 29 for screening against the Register. The department responds by notifying the employer about the outcome of the inquiry. The notification the department sends to the employer contains name, surname and I.D. number of the employee that has been screened.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1615/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1615. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many medical professionals from (a) state and (b) private institutions have been screened against the Child Protection Register? NW1961E

Reply:

The Register does not disaggregate the screening of medical professionals according to whether they are state or private. The employer submits information of employees on Form 29 for screening against the Register. The department responds by notifying the employer about the outcome of the inquiry. The notification the department sends to the employer contains name, surname and I.D. number of the employee that has been screened.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1614/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1614. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many (a) state and (b) private sector social workers have been screened against the Child Protection Register? NW1960E

Reply:

The Register does not disaggregate the screening of social workers according to whether they are state or private. The employer submits information of employees on Form 29 for screening against the Register. The department responds by notifying the employer about the outcome of the inquiry. The notification the department sends to the employer contains name, surname and I.D. number of the employee

Reply received: August 2013

QUESTION 1613
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPERS: 21/06/2013
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/2013)
Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many teachers from (a) state and (b) private schools have been screened against the Child Protection Register? NW1959E

Response:

The South African Council for Educators (SACE) has not yet commenced with screening any teachers against the Child Protection Register either in public or private schools.

In June 2013, SACE, Department of Basic Education, Department of Social Development, Department of Justice, Equal Education and Women Legal Centre held a Round 'Fable to discuss the prescripts of the Child Protection Act and to develop mechanisms on how to report offenders to the Department of Social Development.

The commencement date will be set as soon as the resolutions of the Round Table are presented to the senior structures of SACE, DBE, PEDs and DSD for ratification.

The resolutions include processes and protocols for SACE, DBE, PEDs and DSD to follow in the submission of names of teachers deemed unsuitable to work with children to the Department of Social Development for inclusion on to the register. .

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1613/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 21 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 22

1613. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How many teachers from (a) state and (b) private schools have been screened against the Child Protection Register? NW1959E

Reply:

The Register does not disaggregate the screening of teachers according to whether they are state or private. The employer submits information of employees on Form 29 for screening against the Register. The department responds by notifying the employer about the outcome of the inquiry. The notification the department sends to the employer contains name, surname and I.D. number of the employee that has been screened.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION1521/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paperno:21

1521. Mrs S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What is the average length of time it takes to finalise applications for (a) registration and (b) re-registration of social workers;

(2) what is the current backlog in processing social worker (a) registration and (b) re-registration applications? NW1867E

Reply:

(1)(a) The average length of time it takes to finalise applications for registration of social workers depends on the method of payment used by the applicant. If it is an Electronic Funds Transfer Payment (EFT) and/or direct bank deposit, the procedure is that the office relies on the information collected by the bank and filtered to the office on a monthly basis. Thus the payments of each month can only be captured after receipt of the bank statement of a particular month. However, if the member used the "Easy Pay" method, the payments are sent directly to our database each morning and are reconciled each morning and the receipts issued within twenty four hours of receipt of the payment file. The option of the Electronic Funds Transfer will take less than one month and the "Easy Pay" less than twenty four hours.

(b) The re-registration of social workers can mean either the payment of the annual fee as it takes place each year or can be the restoration of the name which takes place when a name was removed from the register due non- payment or late payment of the annual fee.

Due to the fact that payment has to be first verified before the restoration takes place, unless the payment is withdrawn, retracted or the cheque payment is dishonoured, the restoration is only finalized on receipt of the bank statement, which is the only source of verification of the payments made for that particular month. The average time will be within one month.

N.B: The Easy Pay is currently only issued for the payment of annual fee, since it is a new product added to our payment mix and still a pilot.

Absa Bank Deposit Identifier has just been introduced to complement Easy Pay and will only show results in the coming year since our bulk payments take place between November each year to March of the following year.

(2)(a) The current backlog in processing social worker registration:

 December 2012 = all finalised

 January = 180 all finalised

 February = 333 in progress

 March = 389 in progress

 April = 132

 May = 138

(b) re-registration:

 January = 43 finalized with 07 pending due to insufficient information

 February = 56 finalized with 12 pending due to insufficient information

 March = 71 only 07 restored 65 pending due to capturing bank statement

 April =52

 May = 36

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Student social workers; learner social auxiliary workers; social auxiliary workers and the Foreign applications are not included as the questions were vested social work.

Together with the above the bank statement plays a crucial role as it is where all function of registrations begin. None of the above can be processed before payment has been verified and confirmed. (See attached addendum)

The processing of social work registration and re-registration applications, excludes the process of capturing annual fees payments received for the financial year 2013/14. Furthermore, all persons who paid annual fees after 12 April 2013 is regarded and treated as deregistered and these officials must complete a restoration form (* see process below).

In view of bulk de-registration not been effected yet, individuals are already receiving restoration forms as this is a continuous and on-going process.

REGISTRATION SYSTEM PROCESSES:

FINANCE PART: capturing in of payments happens after a registration number is allocated or where a registration number already exists (restoration & annual fee).

The information is from the notice of payments (bank statement and list of names for global cheques) as our source documents.

ALLOCATION OF REGISTRATION NUMBERS AND REGISTRATION OF STUDENT SOCIAL WORKERS - i.e. 40-numbers.

*Registration numbers are programmatically and numerically generated.

ALLOCATION OF REGISTRATION NUMBERS

To create a new file Capture details into data base as given on the application form and according to the following screens i.e. – personal, contact details and qualifications, payment and save to get the said computer generated 40-number.

*The registration status must become (40) = New Application.

FINANCE:

Capture payment according to the respective reasons for payment – in this case it is registration only as students do not pay the annual fee. 4

This will then appear on the person's finance screen with the computer receipt number programmatically generated.

*see list of payments and their descriptions.

REGISTRATION

Capture qualification information and registration rule (i.e. regulation)

Click registration button (screen automatically gives space for registration date and registration amount due)

Put in respective registration date and annual fee amount due and save.

*The registration status automatically changes to (40) = Registered.

THEN FOLLOWS THE PRINTING OF THE REGISTRATION FORM (i.e. the page that confirms the individual's details as captured) REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE, ADDRESS LABEL AND RECEIPT WHICH ARE ALL SYSTEMS GENERATED.

ALLOCATION OF REGISTRATION NUMBERS AND REGISTRATION OF NEW SOCIAL WORKERS: i.e. 10-numbers

ALLOCATION OF REG. NUMBERS

*The 10-registration numbers are programmatically and numerically generated as well.

Use the student's 40-regsitration number to call up the individual's existing file to allocate the 10-number.

*N.B: according to the Social Service Act 110 of 1978 as amended, for any person who qualified in the RSA, to be registered as a social worker one must have been registered as a student social worker.

Verify and effect changes of personal and contact details where necessary - on saving, the new 10-number is generated.

*The registration status must become (10) = New Application.

FINANCES:

Capture the payment according to the respective descriptions (i.e. reasons for payment. e.g. registration, pro-rata annual fee and annual fee etc.

*see list of payment descriptions.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the receipt for persons with registration status "New Application" and "Deregistered" do not print

until the registration process is completed. (i.e. new registration and restoration registration status before they are finalized)

*See payment capturing procedure document. 5

REGISTRATION:

Capture qualification information and registration regulation.

Click registration button (screen automatically gives space for registration date and registration amount due)

Put in respective registration date, annual fee amount due and save.

*Note that the annual fee is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

*The registration status must automatically change to (10) = "Registered"

THEN FOLLOW THE PRINTING OF THE REGISTRATION FORM (i.e. the page that confirms the individual's details as captured) REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE, ADDRESS LABEL AND RECEIPT WHICH ARE ALL SYSTEMS GENERATED.

DE-REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

1. THE PROGRAMMER CONSIDERS THE FOLLOWING:

Targeted Registers: social workers (10- ) and social auxiliary workers (50- )

a. Targeted Status: Registered and Restored (Registered)

b. Normal Payment Period: From 01 November 2009

to 31 March 2010 BUT

c. Cut of date: of only annual fees might be agreed on

d. Dr & Cr Balances: Consideration of annual fee only

e. Cut of Amounts: Refer to Annual Fee ONLY not received

Within the period of c & d above =

- Full SW's (10- ) = R

- Full SAW's (50- ) = R

- Exempted SW's (10- ) = R

- Exempted SAW's (50- ) = R

- Adoption workers –are marked (A) - & hold dual registration - thus pay double amounts R + R = R

**Over 65yrs (date of birth: 1945-03-31) and before - Do Not Pay BUT REMAINS On the register = *facility to print list

2. PROVIDE FACILITIES TO:-

- Print dr & cr lists = mass pre-deregistration list

- Mark the "not to be deregistered"

- Deregister "all who did not pay or paid less" as on (a) to (f) above

- Print system generated de-registration letters for all

that are deregistered

- Print employer letters to which the deregistration letter of a member is attached to inform the employer in view of section 15(1)

3. POSSIBLE CHALLENGES:

a. Over 65 not paying and without proper I.D numbers and thus invoiced unaware.

b. Status: Registration and Restoration mean one and the same.

c. Non-practicing professionals (50% payers): (annual fee exemptions) = must be marked before the mass deregistration takes place.

d. Adoption Workers = the dual registration must be marked before invoices are sent out and the deregistration cuts on the status of social work and of adoption worker.

e. Change of addresses must be effected all through if any outstanding must be finalized before printing of letters and or address labels.

4. DIVISIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES

a. Print the debit/credit list (pre-deregistration list)

b. Verify correctness/legitimacy of listed names to be removed

c. Mark the lot that must "not be de-registered"

d. Circulate the list to other divisions for same verification (e.g. Professional Conduct)

e. Deregister all that are not marked by running the systematic deregistration program.

f. Print system generated de-registration letters for all that are deregistered

g. Make copies of the deregistered letters

5. DRAW FILES FOR ALL DE-REGISTERED MEMBERS

Follow "annual mass deregistration" instructions as per guide

RESTORATIONS OF SOCIAL WORKERS:

*NOTE THAT STUDENT SOCIAL WORKERS DO NOT RESTORE AND THAT RESTORATION TAKES PLACE AFTER A SOCIAL WORKER OR AUXILLARY WORKER HAS BEEN DEREGISTERED.

When the de-registration process takes place, the reg. no becomes inactive as far as payments are concerned.

Therefore, when a payment is received for a member who has been deregistered, this file needs to firstly be re-activated.

On punching in the reg. no. a "pop-up" asks "do you want to restore this person?" clicking on "y" (yes)

The Registration Status will change from (Deregistered) to (Application for Restoration) with reactivation.

Capture the finance according to respective descriptions.

At this point a receipt will not yet print.

*See payment capturing procedure document above.

RESTORATION PROCESS:

Capture new information on different screens where/if necessary

Click restoration button (screen automatically gives space for restoration date and annual fee amount due)

Type in respective restoration date, annual fee amount due and save.

*Note that the annual fee is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

*The registration status must automatically change to = Restored but actually show Registered.

SAW LEARNERS = (2 X INTAKES) = handled same as students above.

SAW FULL REGISTRATION = handled same as social work above.

SAW RESTORATION = handled same as social work restoration above.

SAW DEREGISTRATION = handled same as social work above.

FOREIGN APPLICATIONS = *SEE FOUR STEPS DOCUMENT*

FOUR STEPS

The process followed with the registration of all persons that fall within this category is different as the candidates have to go through the procedure that involves the following steps:-

First Process:

1. SAQA benchmarking for the certificate of evaluation by SAQA not council.

2. Completion of the Form for Validation of the Qualification by the university of origin that conferred the qualification.

3. Translation of any document that is issued in any language that is not in the official South African languages into English.

4. Completion of application form from the SACSSP for the relevant register and prescribed assessment fee, documentary proof of registration with the country of origin and of employment in the country of origin and other prescribed documents.

5. Internal assessment of the relevancy of the qualification provided which determines continuation to the second process or not.

Second Process:

6. Completion and handing in of the assignments, portfolio of evidence and the prescribed evaluation fee.

7. Marking of the assignments by the approved panel appointed by the Professional Board for Social Work and the Council, which will then determine continuation to third process or not.

Third Process:

8. The personal interview held at council's offices by the approved panel as indicated above.

9. Decision is taken jointly and solely by the panel members (of not less than three persons) which will also determine registration or not.

Fourth Process:

Depending on the recommendation of the panel, which is verbally given to the candidate by the panel indicated above, either of the following will then follow:

10. If approved = a certificate for registration as mandate to practise is issued on the same day and the payment of the annual fee of that financial year.

11. If not approved = recommendation will still be made by the same panel, which will vary from the following:

a. Re-submission of assignment(s); OR

b. Second interview, OR

c. Declined as does not meet the requirements.

In the case of the latter, an official letter is issued and forwarded to the client within 21 – 28 working days after the interview.

All applicants

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION1516/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paperno:21

1516. Mrs S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What are the reasons for the delay in the finalisation of a certain person's re-registration as a social worker (details furnished)? NW1862E

Reply:

The reasons for the delay in the in the finalization of Ms Loius Anne Robinson re-registration as a social worker are as follows:

· On 15 April 2013 an amount of R380-00 was received, which was a short payment of required amount of R543.00 which includes the restoration fee of R163.00.

· The Registrar does not have any of her contact details except the email address which was returned undelivered.

· On the 7^th June 2013 the Registrar had send the communication to Ms Robinson via the normal postal address.

Ms Robinson's restoration application can only be finalized upon receipt and submission of proof of outstanding payment.

Notes for the Minister

LOIUS ANNE ROBINSON REG. NO: 10-20233

She was deregistered on 01 April 2003 (10 years ago).

Should she subsequently paid any other additional fees and it is unidentified on our system, she is kindly requested to submit proof as fees are only identifiable by the unique registration number of the individual practitioner.

We received her application for the restoration on 16 May 2013.

The amount payable to cover both restoration and annual fee is R543-00 (This amount stated is applicable only to persons who are regarded as non-practicing SWs, as Ms Robinson according to information at hand was overseas and not practicing in South Africa, since she became de-registered in 2003).

The breakdown is R163-00 restoration fee + R380-00 annual fee = R543-00.

In her application for restoration, there is an email that appears to be a U.k based address and we are not sure if she is still abroad or back in the country. However, we sent an email regarding the above stated hindrance to her application. The said e-mail was returned undelivered. We do not have any other contact details except the postal address.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1515/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1515. Mrs P C Duncan (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

What restrictions in terms of social grant deductions can her department place on social grant money, once it has been paid into the beneficiary's bank account? NW1861E

Reply:

Social grant deductions permissible are those defined in terms of section 26 A, of the Social Assistance regulations, which should not exceed 10 % of the value of the grant amount. That's why on the 1st of June SASSA decided that only 10% deductions will be allowed. Others are done between the beneficiary and the borrower. One of the reasons we decided to re-register the grant recipients was to deal with this because some of the provinces had signed agreements on deductions.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1514/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1514. Mrs P C Duncan (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Whether any financial services providers are given preferential treatment to operate within social grant pay points; if so, what are the names of such financial services providers? NW1860E

Reply:

No financial service providers are given preferential treatment to operate within social grant pay points. Service providers are prohibited from conducting any business within 100 metres from a social grant pay point.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1513/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1513. Mrs P C Duncan (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

How does her department enforce the rules and regulations that no microlenders may operate within a 100 metre boundary of a social grant paypoint? NW1859E

Reply:

Pay points are monitored by SASSA on a continuous basis to enforce the rules and regulations. SASSA in partnership with National Credit Regulator, South African Police Services (SAPS) conduct joint operations to enforce rules and regulations.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1512/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1512. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) (a) To which Grindrod Bank outlets can social grant beneficiaries go to obtain a bank statement and (b) what are the costs to the beneficiaries of obtaining the statement;

(2) what are the costs of obtaining a mini bank statement from other banks? NW1858E

Reply:

(1) (a) Grindrod Bank does not have any outlets in the country. Bank statements can be obtained through Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) national, provincial call centres and branch offices.

(b) Bank statements are obtained free of charge. There is no cap placed on the

number of requests.

(2) Mini statements are available from all ATMS at an average cost of R4.50.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1511/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1511. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What (a) agreement was in place with banks in respect of charging social grant beneficiaries cheaper bank charges prior to awarding the tender of R10 billion to Cash Payment Systems (CPS) and (b) were the bank charges that were agreed on;

(2) with what amount did the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) subsidise banks in order to charge social grant beneficiaries these cheaper bank charges prior to the CPS tender being awarded;

(3) whether a copy of the said agreement will be made available to Ms E More? NW1857E

Reply:

(1) and (2) The Honorable member is kindly advised that the information she is requesting in the above questions is contained in the South African Social Security Agency's previous years' financial reports formally tabled before Parliament. .

(3) Copies of the abovementioned agreements cannot be made available to Ms E More due to the privacy clauses contained in these contracts to ensure the protection of the intellectual property rights of the contractors.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1510/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1510. Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What amount can a preferred merchant charge a beneficiary when issuing their social grant;

(2) is there a contract in place to prevent a preferred merchant from charging more? NW1856E

Reply:

(1) A preferred merchant may not charge beneficiaries when issuing their social grant. Instead, beneficiaries are guaranteed full cash back and are under no obligation whatsoever to make purchases.

(2) Cash Paymaster Services has a service level agreement with all participating payment vendors, which stipulates that full cash back be provided at no cost to beneficiaries.

Reply received: June 2013

QUESTION 1509/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1509. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) What is the fee at each specified bank when beneficiaries use their SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) cards to withdraw money;

(2) Whether her department or Grindrod Bank negotiated with other banks for cheaper withdrawal costs for beneficiaries using SASSA cards? NW1855E

Reply:

(1) The fees charged to SASSA card holders in respect of cash withdrawals at the 4 major banks' ATMs are as follows:

· R4.50 for the first R100 withdrawn

· R0.84 for every R100 or part thereof withdrawn thereafter

(2) SASSA is in conjunction with National Treasury, pursuing negotiations with the Banking Association of South Africa.

(2) Mini statements are available from all ATMS at an average cost of R4.50.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1508/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1508. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(a) How many people are waiting to be admitted to each funded treatment centre in each province and (b) what is the average waiting time for admission at each specified funded treatment centre? NW1854E

Reply:

Kindly be advised that the information that the question or a part thereof falls within the purview of the competency of the provincial departments of Social Development and will therefore require sourcing directly from the relevant provincial departments, verification and ultimately consolidation by the national department of Social Development.

The national department of Social Development has started the process of sourcing the requisite information from the relevant provincial departments. A detailed reply to your question will be provided to you once all the information from the relevant provincial departments of Social Development has been sourced, verified and consolidated.

Reply received: July 2013

QUESTION 1507/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1507. Mrs H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

(1) How many (a)(i) state and (ii) private substance abuse treatment centres are there in each province and (b) beds are allocated to patients at each specified treatment centre;

(2) how many (a) state and (b) private treatment centres in each province cater for children;

(3) what funding does each (a) state and (b) private treatment centre receive from the respective provinces? NW1853E

Reply:

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1506/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1506. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Which of the resolutions that were adopted at the 2^nd Biennial Summit on Substance Abuse have been implemented by her department? NW1852E

Reply:

The 2^nd Biennial Anti Substance Abuse Summit which was held on 15-17 March 2011 in Kwa Zulu Natal Province adopted 34 resolutions. These resolutions were utilized to develop an Anti-Substance Abuse Programme of Action (POA) 2011-2016 under the leadership of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) convened by Minister of Social Development. The POA was approved by Cabinet and progress report was already submitted to both IMC and Cabinet. The progress on the implementation and impact of resolutions will be evaluated during the Anti-Substance Abuse Summit to be held during 2015/16 financial year.

The POA has five focus areas to implement resolutions:

(a)Development of policy, review and alignment of liquor legislation

Resolutions	Progress
Harmonizing laws and policies for effective governance of liquor	The DTI has conducted impact study that will inform the review of laws and policies for governance of liquor
Implementing laws and regulations that will reduce the number of liquor outlets including shebeens taverns and liquor stores in specific geographical areas	Policy on Liquor has been developed and consulted and will inform policy decisions on regulation of number of liquor outlets.
Reducing accessibility of alcohol through the legal age for purchasing and public consumption of alcohol from 18 to the age of 21	The reduction of legal age for purchase and consumption will be dealt with during the review of laws and policies
Imposing restrictions on the time and days of the week that alcohol can be legally sold.	Draft National norms and standards on trading hours for the different entities nationally, developed and is awaiting approval by the National Liquor Policy Council
Raising duties and taxes on alcoholic products	Discussion document available on alcohol tax reform will be consulted in this financial year. 2012 Budget proposed increasing the targeted tax benchmark for beer and spirits to 35 and 40 per cent respectively
Regulation and control of homebrews and concoctions informed by research that includes traditional utilization in rural areas.	This resolution is yet to be implemented
Imposing health and safety requirements for premises where liquor will be consumed	National norms and standards on uniform minimum structural requirements, the distance from schools and places of worship and the trading zones were developed and awaiting consultation
Prescribing measures for alcohol containers such as the form of container, warning labels and the percentage alcohol content.	Draft Warning labels has been developed and are being consulted with the Department of Health`s Legal Unit.
Imposing a mandatory contribution by the liquor industry to a fund that will be dedicated to work to prevent and treat alcohol abuse.	The issue of mandatory contrition by the liquor industry has been included in the new Liquor Policy referred to above.
Banning all sponsorship by the alcohol industry for sports, recreation, arts and cultural and related events.	The Draft Control of Marketing and Alcohol Beverages has been developed and is awaiting presentation to Cabinet before it can be broadly consulted
Reducing the current legal alcohol limit for drivers to further discourage the consumption of alcohol of people operating motor vehicles.	The Draft Regulations were published by the Department of Transport advocating for reduction of current alcohol limit. The comments are currently being considered by the department.
Disallowing novice drivers (0-3 years after obtaining a driving license) from consuming any alcohol before driving. This means that the legally permitted legal alcohol limit for drivers will not be applicable to novice drivers	The matter is currently with the Department of Transport following the IMC advice that the department should consider zero alcohol limit for all drivers
Adopting policy to prevent and address substance abuse in the public service	The departments currently have policy on employee wellness including issues of substance abuse as per the directive of the Department of Public Service Administration
Increasing the criminal and administrative liability of individuals and institutions (bars, clubs, taverns, shebeens and restaurants) that sell liquor when they sell alcohol to underage drinkers, intoxicated patrons and patrons whom they know are to operate motor vehicles.	The Department of Trade and Industry is currently developing norms and standards to regulate taverns and liquor outlets

(b)Education and awareness on substance abuse

Resolutions	Progress
Intensifying campaigns that seek to inform and educate people, in particular young people, about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.	Conducted information, education and awareness raising sessions, door to doors, workshops, arrive alive and media campaign targeting various communities. The anti-substance abuse project that include door to door, workshops, roadshows, searches and closure of drug dens ("lollie lounges") was launched and implemented at Eldorado Park The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was commemorated on the 26^th of June 2013, in Northern Cape Province, Kimberley
Implementation of comprehensive prevention programmes including both universal and targeted approaches	Conducted information, education and awareness raising sessions, door to door campaigns, workshops, arrive alive and media campaign targeting various communities. The anti-substance abuse project that include door to door, workshops, roadshows, searches and closure of drug dens ("lollie lounges") was launched and implemented at Eldorado Park Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) sessions were conducted targeting women of child bearing age and pregnant women
Public advocacy and messaging which advocates for a substance abuse free SA.	Media campaign was conducted through print and electronic media advocating for substance abuse free South Africa
Adopting policy to prevent and address substance abuse in the public service.	All Department of Social Development functions are currently alcohol free.

(c) Equal access of services and resources to civil society and organization across South Africa

Resolutions	Progress
Ensuring equal access to resources, especially for civil society and organisations from rural areas.	Funding provided Non-Governmental Organizations both at Provincial and National level to render services to rural and urban communities
Strengthening of after care services – including for young people (learners).	The Department of Social Development developed and capacitated service providers on Reintegration and Aftercare Model in the quest to strengthen Aftercare services.
Increasing the provision of rehabilitation and after care and ensuring that all communities have access to these services.	The Prevention of and Treatment for Substance abuse Act, 70 of 2008 mandates that each province should at least have one public treatment centre to promote access to treatment. There are 7 public treatment centers and plans are underway in other provinces (Limpopo, Free State, North West, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape) to have public treatment centers.
Implementation of a continuum of care and a public health approach that provides for prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation and after care services.	Developed and implemented Substance Abuse Prevention model for adults, Treatment model, Reintegration and After Care model and Community Based model.
Development and implementation of multi-disciplinary and multi modal protocols and practices for the integrated diagnosis, treatment and funding of co-occurring disorders for both adults and children.	The Department of Health has developed draft policy on detoxification
Development of an acceptable definition and protocols for Harm Reduction in the South African context.	The CDA is currently working on the definition

(d) Review of institutional mechanism to prevent and manage substance abuse in the country

Resolutions	Progress
A review of the structure and mandate of the CDA to allow for proper co-ordination by government structures and oversight by an independent body	Integrated Policy on Combating Substance Abuse is being developed.
Setting up a cross-departmental operational unit in government that will take responsibility for the implementation of measures to stem the drug problem across its entire value chain	Technical team on combating substance abuse established

(e) Review of policies and legislation with regard to drugs and organized crime

Resolutions	Progress
Ensuring that the criminal justice system becomes an effective deterrent for offenders through harsher punishment of drug related offences, including the seizure of assets.	The resolution is yet to be implemented
The speedy finalisation and implementation of legislation pertaining to the trafficking in persons	The Bill is still going through parliamentary approval process. However, depts. have developed plans for implementation
Assessment of the threat relating to the smuggling of migrants and an appropriate legislative response	The resolution is yet to be implemented
Consideration of Extraterritorial jurisdiction relating to South African interests for drug trafficking to allow for effective interdiction of shipments (air or sea) of drugs;	The resolution is yet to be implemented
Allowing for the obtainment of a preservation order in terms of Prevention of Organised Crime Act to permit police officers to seize proceeds of crime temporarily.	The resolution is yet to be implemented
A review of the International Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to define the respective roles of the South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development	The resolution is yet to be implemented

Department of Social Development is currently implementing the following resolutions as part of an Integrated Programme of Action (2011-2016) developed by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Combating Substance abuse:

· Review of the structure and mandate of the CDA to allow for proper coordination by government structure and oversight by an independent body

· Intensifying campaigns that seek to inform and educate people, in particular young people, about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

· Ensuring equal access to resources, especially for civil society and organisations from rural areas

· Implementation of a continuum of care and a public health approach that provides for prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation and after care services.

· Implementation of comprehensive prevention programmes including both universal and targeted approaches. All young people need life skills and this should be taught in all schools. In addition in high risk areas this should be supplemented by more targeted approaches.

· Strengthening of after care services – including for young people (learners).

· Utilisation of multiple approaches to prevention across different disciplines and structures targeting for example families and schools. Programmes like youth development and sport development can be used as channels.

· Public advocacy and messaging which advocates for a substance abuse free South Africa.

· Increasing the provision of rehabilitation and after care and ensuring that all communities have access to these services.

· Setting an example to the public by ensuring that all public service functions are alcohol free.

Reply received: September 2013

QUESTION 1504/2013

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 14 June 2013

Internal question paper no: 21

1504. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

When will the position paper on cannabis be (a) finalised and (b) released?

NW1850E

Reply:

(A) Cannabis is a classified drug in terms of Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, (Act No 101 of 1965), as amended. This drug is a Schedule 7 drug and it is a dependence-producing substance. Its use and possession is prohibited in terms of Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, (Act No. 140 of 1992), Section 4. Cannabis is currently being debated internationally on whether it should be legalized or not.

(B) The position paper on cannabis was developed and is not yet finalized and released, due to the fact that it was not evidence-based.

The CDA will work with key stakeholders and research institutions, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for technical expertise in finalizing the Cannabis Position Paper.

2013-09-26

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