Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs A

2015-03-12

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Reply received: May 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/1491

QUESTION

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

Whether the Government was implementing any plan or series of plans to create a substantial (a) retail, (b) services, (c) tourism, (d) training and (e) manufacturing hub in each township, involving the public and private sector, as to turn each township into a kind of vibrant down town, offering a much wider range of economic opportunities than before and allowing for optimal spatial transformation to take place; if so, (a) what are the outcome(s) thereof, (b) who are the partners in each case and (c) what amount has been spent in pursuance of such plans between 2009 and 2015?

REPLY

The Department of Cooperative Governance has recently completed a process of reviewing the National Local Economic Development Framework and the Integrated Urban Development Framework. Both these documents have a pillar on inclusive economies, which articulates, in detail, stimulation of township economies.

The Department of Economic Development (DED), supported by the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG), has established a steering committee on township economies. The Steering Committee is tasked with providing technical advice and hands-on technical assistance on coordinating township economic development across all spheres of government. This will include overseeing strategic interventions in selected townships. It is anticipated that through such a committee, programmes and projects on township economies will be better coordinated and integrated in ways that bring about transformation to spatial and economic development patterns that currently prevail in urban settings. The Steering Committee will pursue a common purpose of creating employment and developing township entrepreneurs through well-coordinated and integrated social and economic development interventions in townships, including spatial transformation.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1480

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Ms J F Terblanche (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) How many invoices from private contractors to his department currently remain unpaid for longer than 30 days and (b) in each case, what (i) are the details of the (aa) contractor and (bb) services provided and (ii) what is the (aa) date of the invoice and (bb) reason why the invoice was not paid within 30 days? NW1693E

Reply:

a) Eight (8) invoices from private contractors remained unpaid for longer than 30 days as at 17 April 2015.

Contractor (b) (i) (aa)	Service (b) (i,) (bb)	Date (b) (ii) (aa)	Reason (b) (ii) (bb)
Minolta	Lease of photocopy machine	2015-01-21	Invoice received on 06 February 2015. Administrative delays. Awaiting a new Tax Certificate.
Minolta	Lease of photocopy machine	2015-01-17	Invoice received on 06 February 2015. Administrative delays. Awaiting a new Tax Certificate.
Minolta	Lease of photocopy machine	2015-01-20	Invoice received on 06 February 2015. Administrative delays. Awaiting a new Tax Certificate.
Minolta	Lease of photocopy machine	2014-12-09	Invoice received on 06 February 2015. Administrative delays. Awaiting a new Tax Certificate.
Bytes	Lease of photocopy machine	2014-12-15	Invoice detail disputed. In process to be resolved with Service Provider.
Bytes	Lease of photocopy machine	2015-01-27	Invoice detail disputed. In process to be resolved with Service Provider.
Manto Management	Professional Services	2014-08-26	Service rendered as part of an existing contract. Tax Certificate expired. New Tax Certificate awaited.
Picasso Headlines	Advert	2014-06-30	Administrative delays due to the need for confirmation of services delivered.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/1444

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

QUESTION

Mr I M Ollis (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) Does his department have a Regulatory Burden Reduction strategy in place; if not; why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the strategy?

REPLY:

In 2009 the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) mandated CoGTA to co-ordinate a national review of legislation that impedes service delivery. Numerous engagements were held between CoGTA, national and provincial departments and SALGA to identify and discuss legislation that they regarded as impeding service delivery.

Conflicting legislation, overregulation on municipalities and gaps in legislation were identified as some of the structural reasons which slow down effective and speedy service delivery at local government level.

An Interdepartmental Legislative Review Committee was established whose mandate was to scrutinise comments received and to monitor future draft legislation. Reports were submitted to PCC when the project was brought to finality.

In addition, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), working together with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), has developed Red Tape Reduction Guidelines applicable for reducing regulatory burden currently experienced by small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) at local government level.

In light of the above, a discussion will be undertaken with all stakeholders in the local government sector with a view to improving the regulatory framework within which municipalities perform their mandated functions.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1373

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Mr S J Masango (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) What is the current total amount owed to municipalities by government departments in respect of (i) rates, (ii) electricity and (iii) taxes and (b) what remedial action has his department embarked upon to (i) recoup the monies owed and (ii) solve the problem

Reply:

(i), (ii) and (iii) The total amount owed to municipalities by government departments as at December 2014 in terms of MFMA Section 71 report amounted to R3, 5 billion. Below is the breakdown of government debt by income source

Income source	Debt owed R’000
Property Rates	R1, 255 334
Electricity	R591, 156
Waste Management	R112, 415
Waste Water Management	R125,349
Water	R549,378
Other	R960,141
Total debt	R3,593,773

b) (i) the initiatives that have been undertaken by the departments are:

1. The department is part of a government task team established to look at the
debt owed by government departments,

2. The task team is currently auditing and verifying the current debt,

3. The verification entails confirming whether invoices that are contested by
government departments are correct.

(ii) The department is embarking on the following to solve the problems:

Ensuring that the municipalities verify properties with the deeds office before they bill departments,
Ensuring that municipalities have enforceable credit control policies and by-laws.

Further interventions by the Department will be pursued to ensure that municipalities are not deprived of this income where it is legitimately due to the municipalities.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/1363

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

QUESTION

PQ2015/1363. Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he intends to make any further proposals beyond those contained in Circulars 2 to 6 of 2015 of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) for the (a) amalgamation and/or (b) dissolution and/or (c) reclassification of municipalities in terms of section 22 of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, Act 27 of 1998, prior to the 2016 local government elections; if so, (a) which municipalities will be affected in each case, (b) when does he intend to make the request to the MDB and (c) when does he anticipate this process to be completed;

(2) whether Circular 6 of 2015 issued by the MDB is correct in stating that all requests made in terms of his letter of 13 January 2015 to the board have been withdrawn; if so, (a) which municipalities are still affected by the proposed amalgamations, dissolutions and/or reclassifications and (b) which municipalities are no longer affected by the proposed amalgamations, dissolutions and/or reclassifications; if not, what is the status of Circular 6 of 2015, wherein it is stated that the Minister's initial requests in his letters dated 13 January 2015 which was attached to Circular 1 of 2015 have been withdrawn

REPLY:

(1) At the MinMEC meeting of 4 December 2014, all provinces were requested to provide a list of municipalities whose boundaries should be considered for determination or redetermination, in order to make such areas functional and viable. A detailed reading of circulars 5 and 6 will indicate that, of the 9 provinces, only the Gauteng Province was not dealt with (while Western Cape opted not to have the boundaries of any municipality re-determined)

A request was received from the MEC responsible for local government in the Gauteng Province on 13 April 2014, and after consideration, I requested the Municipal Demarcation Board (“the MDB”) on 15 April 2015, in terms of section 22(2) of the Municipal Demarcation Act to consider the request.

The request to the MDB was to consider creating a Category A municipality for the whole of the West Rand District Municipality, with the Mogale City Local Municipality as its core.

(2)(a) Yes.

On 31 March 2015, I informed the MDB that previous requests made during December 2014 and January 2015, in terms of section 22(2) of the Municipal Demarcation Act, were withdrawn.

(b) The Member’s attention is drawn to Circular 5 of the MDB which sets out those areas which will be considered by the MDB, and those areas which will not be considered.

A copy of Circular 5 is attached herewith for the Member’s further perusal

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1323

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 14/04/2015

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

How many properties did the City of Tshwane sell during a land auction which took place on 24 March 2015;

what is the full name of the purchaser in respect of each property sold;

(3) in light of the fact that the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Jacob Mamabolo, has stated that the City of Tshwane did not follow proper public participation processes to determine whether the properties it intended to sell are necessary for current or future municipal service delivery, what effect will this have on the properties that were sold during the specified auction?

NW1532E

Reply:

The below information was provided by the City of Tshwane:

(1)Total Number of properties sold at a land auction on 24 March 2015

(2) Purchaser

Property Address

Total Amount

Lot #

17 lots: were placed on auction.

15 lots: offers were accepted by the City

SAFDEV SSDE(Pty)LTD

Erf 20886 - 20917 Soshanguve

R2 850,000

SAFDEV SSDE(Pty)LTD

Erf 20919 - 20935 Soshanguve

R1 750,000

Cosmo Prop

Erf 2 Lotus Gardens

R15 000,000

PIC

Re of Ptn 50 of Erf 834 Sunnyside

R18 750,000

PIC

Erven 671 and 674 Eruasmuskloof Ext 4

R41 500,000

D Chetty

Re of Erf 418 and Erf 424 Sinoville

R6 700,000

Zotec Developments

Re of Ptn 1 of Erf 14 La Montagne

R12 500,000

Gavin Mason

Erf 3346 Rooihuiskraal North Ext 22

R3 750,000

K Maponya

Erf 3090 Rooihuskraal North Ext 22

R3 750,000

Charl Du Toit

Erf 12 Highveld

R 18 000,000

Non Stop Investments

Erf 420 Hennopspark Ext 15

R 5 000,000

FPH Mouton

Re of Erf 427 Hennopspark Ext 15

R 7 800,000

PSJ

Belleggings

Erf 30 Lotus Gardens

R 3 750,000

Cosmopolitan Group

Erf 1849 Zwartkop Ext 8

R 8 000,000

D Chetty

Re of Erf 106 Waltloo+ Ptn 13 of erf 107 Waltloo

R 5 300,000

Table 1: Information on properties sold at a land auction on 24 March 2014

Source: City of Tshwane

Section 14 of the MFMA has been complied with in terms of deciding whether the assets in question are not required for the provision of minimum basic municipal services. City of Tshwane’s public consultation was held firstly, in terms of a Council meeting that was open to the public, on 4 November 2015, and secondly, in terms of Section 79(18) of the Local Government Ordinance 1939 (Ordinance 17 of 1939).

With respect to the local government ordinance for purposes of public participation, the City complied fully. In addition, Council solicited objections and subsequently answered objections received and in addition, undertook written hearings of objections received where objectors were allowed the opportunity to reply to answers provided, following which Council heard the objections accordingly.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1321

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Mr G R Krumbock (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What is the total amount that has been spent to date on developing the Lake View Indoor Sports Centre in Bruntville, Mpofana;

(2) What was the original budgeted amount for this project;

(3) What is the estimated bill for repairing the gutted infrastructure;

(4) What additional amount will be spent to complete the project? NW1530E

Reply:

We have been informed by the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements, on behalf of the Mpofana Local Municipality that:

The total amount spent to date on developing the centre is R6 732 768.75
The original budgeted amount for the project was R5 905 937.50.
The estimated bill for repairing the gutted infrastructure is R6 076 119.84.
The additional amount required to complete the centre is R6 076, 119, 84.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/1303

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

QUESTION

Mr A G Whitfield (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) What are the future plans of the Makana Municipality with regard to its vacant and vandalised Piet Retief Kinderhuis property in Riebeeck East, Grahamstown, (b) will the municipality make the property available (i) for sale and/or (ii) to lease and (c) what plans does the municipality have in place to ensure that the building is restored?

REPLY:

The following response is based on the information provided by Mr Mandisi Planga, the Acting Municipal Manager of the Makana Local Municipality.

The building is currently utilised to house a community project. The intention of the municipality is to use a portion of the building as a satellite fire station. Some work has already been done in the building. The municipality is currently looking for funding for the control room.

(i)(ii) The municipality does not intend to sell the building but may look at the option of leasing certain portions since there is ample space. The municipality was approached by the Department of Social Development who wanted to establish a rehabilitation centre for young offenders. However, the project did not materialise.

(i) It is only a portion of the building that is being upgraded. The municipality is facing serious financial challenges to the extent that it cannot allocate funding for the upgrade of the entire building at this stage.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1298

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Ms D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) What number of state employees received awards from municipalities in Limpopo in contravention of section 44 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations of 2005 in the (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14 financial years, (b) what is the name of each state employee to whom a contract was awarded and (c) at which state institutions were or are the employees employed;

(2) What (a) is the name of the company appointed as a supplier, (b) was the total rand value of the contract awarded and (c) action was taken against the state employee in each case?

(3) Whether he has taken any steps to put an end to the practice of municipalities awarding contracts to state employees; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1507E

Reply:

The question asked by the Honourable member, Ms D van Walt, must be directed to the National Treasury, which is the competent authority to provide the information requested.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1297

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1297. Ms E R Wilson (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether the payment of R37 million has been made to the Babirwa ba ga Mangena Community/Montlong B Mohlala and the occupants of Portion 9 including Portion 22 of the remaining extent of Mohlaba’s Local LT 567 as per a High Court Order of 2003; if not, (a) why not and (b) what action has been taken to ensure payment is made; if so, (i) when was it paid, (ii) to whom was the payment made, (iii) into which bank account was the payment made and (iv) whether proof of payment is available;

(2) whether he has found that the Greater Tzaneen Municipality contravened a court order by evicting the Babirwa ba ga Mangena Community in 2004; if so (a) on what grounds did the eviction take place, (b) who was responsible for the issuing of the eviction notice and (c) what steps have been taken (i) against the responsible official and (ii) to ensure that the Babirwa bag ga Mangena Community’s rights in terms of the illegal eviction have been protected? NW1506E

Reply:

The question asked by the Honourable Member, Ms ER Wilson, must be directed to the Rural Development and Land Reform, which is the competent authority to provide the information requested.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ2015/1296

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Mr R A Lees (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether any contractors were paid by the national or provincial spheres of government to assist victims of the damage caused by the hailstorm which occurred in December 2012 in the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal; if so, what are the relevant details of each of the contractors who were paid from these funds including, but not limited to, the (a) names, (b) identity numbers or registration numbers, (c) addresses, (d) details of services provided and (e) amounts paid;

(2) Which sphere of government was tasked with (a) the determination of (i) who should receive assistance and (ii) the extent of the assistance to be given to each person, (b) the selection of contractors, (c) the awarding of contracts and (d) payments to contractors? NW1505E

REPLY

The DCoG (National Disaster Management Centre) is not responsible for the procurement of contractors. The receiving municipality and sector departments or grant holder responsible for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the infrastructure damages are the ones responsible for the procurement of contractors. The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) only facilitates and coordinates the process of accessing funds from National Treasury.

According to the KZN Department of Cooperative Governance, the following contractors were appointed by the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality through its normal supply chain management processes, and each was given a scope of 600 houses to repair.

No (a) to (d)

The table below shows the details of the implementing agents:

Implementing Agents	Contacts and Addresses
Five and only development-Lamanjolo investments	Five and Only Development – Lamanjolo Investments 20 Shepard Drive NELSPRUIT 1200 Registration:2009/130995/23
NM Quantity surveyors and Phakathi Shabane Consulting Engineering JV	N M Quantity Surveyors & Phakathi Shabane Consulting188 Ester Roberts Road Glenwood DURBAN 4000 Registration:2008/020648/23
Hencon V.O. B JV	Hencon/VOB JV P.O. Box 20641 DURBAN NORTH 4016 Registration: 2012/040210/07
Bkekzas Trading Enterprise	Bkekzas Trading Enterprise 79 King Dinizulu Street Old location, Steadville LADYSMITH 3373 Registration:2009/064693/23
Mandlethu Projects	Mandlethu Project Construction 26 Ferndale Avenue WESTVILLE 3630 Registration:2004/025456/07
Tshwara Thebe Construction cc	Tshwara Thebe Construction 36 Wndsor Road Modelkloof LADYSMITH 3370 Registration:205/152063/23

(e) The table below shows the amounts paid to the Service Providers, as at April 2015.

IMPLEMENTING AGENTS	AMOUNT PAID
Five and Only-Lamanjolo	R1,695,657.18
NM Quantity Surveyors	R3,936,100.96
Hencon/VOB JV	R2,750,061.35
Bkekzas Trading Enterprise	R3,463,665.15
Mandlethu Projects	R3,327,236.84
Tshwara Thebe Construction	R1,601,558.47
TOTAL	R16,774,279.95

In a declared disaster situation whereby funds have been allocated to the affected sectors and municipalities, the relevant sector through the damage assessment report will ensure that all relevant persons qualifying for assistance receives assistance.

KZN Department of Cooperative Governance reported that:

In line with the National Emergency Housing Policy of 2009, an emergency exists when the MEC, on application by a municipality and or the Provincial Department, agrees that persons affected owing to situations beyond their control:

Have become homeless as a result of a declared state of disaster, where assistance is required, including cases where initial remedial measures have been taken in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) by government, to alleviate the immediate crisis situation;
Have become homeless as a result of a situation which is not declared as a disaster, but destitution is caused by extraordinary occurrences such as floods, strong winds, severe rainstorms and/or hail, snow, devastating fires, earthquakes and/or sinkholes or large disastrous industrial incidents;

Based on the conditions of the grant, the Programme benefited all affected persons who are not in a position to address their housing emergency using their own resources or from other sources such as the proceeds of superstructure insurance policies and the following households will qualify for assistance under this Programme:

Households that comply with the Housing Subsidy Scheme qualification criteria;
Households/persons with a monthly income exceeding the maximum income limit as approved by the Minister from time to time;
Households headed by minors, who are not competent to contract in collaboration with the Department of Social Development;
Persons without dependants;
Persons who are not first-time home owners;
Persons classified as aged: Aged persons who are single without financial dependants may also apply for subsidisation. Aged persons can be classified as male and female persons who have attained the minimum age set to qualify for Government’s old age social grant;
Persons who have previously received housing assistance and who previously owned and/or currently own a residential property. Assistance may be considered on condition that access to the benefits of the Programme will be considered on a case by case basis to determine the facts and the approval of access in accordance with the provisions of the detailed Implementation Guidelines of the Programme; and
Illegal immigrants on the conditions prescribed by the Department of Home Affairs on a case by case basis.

To this end, government interventions were guided by a number of prescripts including National Emergency Housing Policy, which states clearly that only people who are not in a position to address their emergency housing needs using their own resources should be assisted through rehabilitation.

(ii) It depends on the nature of the infrastructure damages incurred as assessed by the assessment team. In line with the above provisions, the KZN Department of Human Settlements approved the R169 000 000.00 to assist affected communities with housing rehabilitation. The outcomes of the assessment by professional team from Human Settlement indicated as follows:

Roof repairs to 1080 units
Material supply to 1080 units
New house construction of 360 units

and (c)

It is the responsibility of the grant holder to award contractors not the NDMC. The municipality conducted the selection process and awarded bids to suitable contractors.

It is the responsibility of the grant holder to pay contractors not the NDMC.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ2015/1295

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Mr R A Lees (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether funds were made available to assist victims of the hailstorm which occurred in December 2012 in the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal; if not, why not; if so, (a) which sphere of government made funds available, (b) what amount was made available and (c) how was this amount arrived at;

What are the relevant details of persons who suffered damages including, but not limited to, (a) full names, (b) identity numbers, (c) street addresses, (d) reasons for receiving assistance and (e) assistance given to each person? NW1504E

REPLY

Yes, funding was made available during the hailstorm that occurred in December 2012 to Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

Funds were accessed through the Municipal Disaster Grant which aims to provide emergency relief to communities and to repair essential infrastructure to ensure that basic services are not interrupted and also the post disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction funding which addresses medium to long term damages experienced by the municipality. The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) through National Treasury made this allocation to Emnambithi-Ladysmith.

The KZN Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance also reported that funds were made available to repair the damaged housing infrastructure through the Department of Human Settlements’ Emergency Housing Grant.

The following amounts were received by the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality as facilitated by the National Disaster Management Centre.

An amount of R8 486 000 (eight million four hundred and eighty six thousand rand) was allocated and transferred to Emnambithi-Ladysmith Municipality through Municipal Disaster Grant. The funds were allocated solely to repair essential infrastructure damages for emergency purposes. The disaster grant was solely to repair the roads and bridges infrastructure.

An amount of R 131 346 000 (hundred and thirty one million three hundred and forty six thousand rand) was allocated over the MTEF period for post disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction purposes. Out of the said amount, an amount of R 31 346 000 (thirty one million three hundred and forty six thousand rand) was transferred to the municipality during the in-year 2014/15 financial year. The funds are solely for the construction and installation of 42 (forty two) roads and bridges, 36 (thirty six) storm water drainage systems and 12 (twelve) electrical switch houses.

The KZN Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance reported that an amount of R169 000 000 (hundred and sixty nine million rand) was allocated by the Department of Human Settlement for reconstruction and rehabilitation of storm damaged houses.

To access the disaster grants administered by DCOG, professional service providers were appointed as prescribed by Section 23 (2) (b) of the Disaster Management Act of 2002, Act No 57 of 2002. The professional service providers were appointed mainly to conduct damage assessments and verify the damaged infrastructure costs to assist in determining the amount to be attached to each infrastructure damaged.

With regard to the Human Settlement Emergency Housing Grant, the KZN Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, indicated that an amount of R96 000 000 was determined through an assessment conducted by the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality, UThukela District Municipality and KZN Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC).

According to the KZN Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, the information requested on Question 2 is regarded as confidential and in this case reserves the right not to disclose such information to anyone in the interest of protecting the beneficiaries.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/1293

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

QUESTION

Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he will commission an investigation into the alleged personal material benefits received by a certain person (Chippa Ngcolomba) during a trip to the city of Fuzhou in China;

(2) Whether he will inform Parliament of the legality of the agreements signed between the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and City of Fuzhou in China; if not, why not; if so, when? NW1502E

REPLY:

The following response is based on the information provided by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality:

The Executive Mayor has indeed written a formal letter to the Deputy Executive Mayor as part of the investigation to explain himself on the allegations labelled against him personally and his soccer club Morning Stars. His response is attached. See the link: /files/RNW1293A-150507.pdf

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has no legally signed agreement with the City of Fuzhou as explained in the previous questions that were asked regarding Mr Mafana. There are also no existing sister relations and/or partnerships with City of Fuzhou.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1264

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department is pursuing any policy to take punitive action against mayors of respective towns and cities for the continuous neglect and general untidiness of townships that they are meant to be transforming, beautifying and adequately servicing; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1472E

Reply:

The department is pursuing two strategic interventions aimed at supporting and strengthening the ability of municipalities to manage their urban spaces more effectively as follows:

Firstly, the Back-to-Basics approach approved by Cabinet last year is aimed at ensuring that municipalities pay special attention to, among others, basic management functions in order to create liveable spaces. The Service Delivery Pillar of the Back-to-Basic Approach requires municipalities to focus on both the delivery of new infrastructure and basic urban management functions such as consistent removal and management of waste, repair of potholes or leakages, and the overall provision of good quality services.
Secondly, Cabinet approved, in September 2014, a Draft Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) for public consultation. The overall objective of this policy framework is to ensure the creation of liveable, safe and resilient urban spaces. The various policy levers and strategic priorities identified by the Draft IUDF are aimed at ensuring the transformation and proper maintenance of our urban spaces. The Back-to-Basics approach, as well as the priority areas identified by the IUDF, are aimed at ensuring the transformation and creation of good quality living environments in our urban spaces, which includes our townships.
Thirdly, in terms of the Back to Basics Programme, monthly reports are required in respect of key indicators. Many, but not all, municipalities are complying yet. A plan has been put in place to increase the reporting levels.

In addition, more direct interaction with the mayors and municipal managers will take place in the next few months with the assistance of provincial MECs and their departments.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 1242

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency has at any time awarded a contract and/or tender to a certain company (Siyenza Group) ; if so, in each case, what (a) were the terms with regard to (i) price, (ii) purpose, (iii) expected outcomes, (iv) scale and (v) duration, (b) payments have been made to the specified company with regard to the contract and/or tender and (c) is the current status of the contract.

whether, for each contract, all necessary supply chain regulations and/or policies were complied with; if not, why not; if so, (a) why was the contract awarded (i) to the specified company that is not registered on the database of the SA Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and (ii) if the specified company does not have a Construction Industry Development Board rating and (b) what competitive bid process was followed? NW1451E

Reply:

(1).(a) The contract in question was awarded by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) and the terms in relation to the awarded contract were as follows:

The contract was awarded for an amount of R119 228 500.00
The purpose was to supply all materials as well as the assembly and installation of prefabricated toilet structures for utilization in dry and water borne systems in various areas within the Northern Cape.
The expected outcome was the eradication of bucket toilets on formal ervens in various local municipalities in the Northern Cape Province.
At the outset, the plan was to eradicate 5 500 bucket toilets by providing dry sanitation systems (VIP latrines) but this targeted number was later revised down to 3 000 due to increase in the unit cost since only the water borne system was ultimately adopted as the technical option.
The contract was awarded on 21 February 2014 and is due to be completed by 30 June 2015, which will bring the duration of the contract to eighteen (18) months.

An amount of R55 856 413.11 has so far been paid to Siyenza Group for the performance of the duties assigned under this contract.

To date, the project has been completed in six (6) out of 10 sites originally selected for the bucket toilets eradication.

All necessary supply chain policies and regulations were complied with in respect to the awarding of the tender for the bucket toilets eradication in the Northern Cape Province.

The contract was awarded to the company due to the following reasons:

The company submitted the bid as a group of companies under its trading name, Siyenza Group. The company’s registered name with the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is Blue Nightingale Trading 397 (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2005/000948/07).
One of the entities within the group, Taj Consortium (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2012/048736/07) has a rating with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

An open competitive bidding process was followed – the tender was advertised in the national newspapers (Sunday Times and City Press) with reference number: MISA BID/028/2013, tender name: “Tenders are hereby invited for the Supply of all Materials as well as the assembly and installation of Prefabricated Toilet Structures for utilisation in Dry and Water Borne Systems in various areas within the Northern Cape.” The advertisement was placed on the newspapers on 17 November 2013. This tender was audited by the Auditor-General in 2014 and no adverse findings were raised.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1227

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

Mr N Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether he intends to take any steps to regularize the invalid intervention in the Makana Local Municipality; if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps and (b) what are the further relevant details;

(2) does he intend taking any steps to recover the amount spent by a certain person (MEC Fikile Xasa) to contract a certain person (Ms Pam Yako); if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps and (b) what are the further relevant details?

NW1434E

Reply:

(1) Regarding the first part of Hon. Mr Bhanga’s question, the intervention in the Makana Local Municipality has already been regularized. On 18 March 2015, the Ministry received a notice of an intervention in the municipality in terms of section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution, from the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Mr Phumulo Masualle. I subsequently approved this intervention on 23 March 2015.

(2) On the second part of this question, there is currently no reason or basis to take any steps to recover the amount spent in remunerating the Makana Local Municipality Administrator, Ms Pam Yako, in terms of her contract with the provincial government of the Eastern Cape. This is due to the fact that the aforesaid contract was valid, and the intervention for which she was appointed was also valid or lawful until it was disapproved by the NCOP.

The position adopted above is based on the legal opinion the Department solicited from the State Law Advisor in relation to another matter concerning interventions in terms of section 139 of the Constitution. I hereunder quote a legal opinion from the State Law Advisor (para 139): “Section 139(2)(b) of the Constitution, by stating that the intervention must end in circumstances mentioned therein, indicates that the intervention remains lawful until it is disapproved. The decision of the Minister or the NCOP in terms of the section concerns the continuation of the intervention and not initiation thereof. Therefore, it would appear that all actions by the provincial executive before date of disapproval remain valid. There is no power vested in either the Minister or the NCOP to decide what the consequences are of their respective disapproval of an intervention”.

It must be reiterated that the issue at hand is one of timing, which has now been rectified.

I must appeal to all concerned to focus on the substantive issues in respect of ensuring that the municipality performs its duties and executes its responsibilities such that citizens in the municipality receive the services they are entitled to.

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1205

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

Mr. CD Matsepe (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) how many water tankers are operating in the Madibeng Local Municipality,

(b) What are the names of the contractors and (c) What is the value of the each contract?

(2) Were each of the contractors appointed through a tender process; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details

(3) (a) How is the cost of transporting water determined and (b) what was the total cost of transporting water: (i) In the (aa) 2012-13 and (bb) 2013-14 financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2014;

(4) (a) How many litres of water have been transported in each specified month

since 1 February 2014 and (b) how many households received water from

these tankers in each specified month;

(5) Whether any monitoring measures are in place to make sure the community is receiving water; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(a) From the information provided by the Madibeng Local Municipality, there are 26 water tankers operating in the Municipality, with 8 owned by the Municipality and the remaining 18 contracted out to service providers.

The names of the contractors are as listed in the table below:

No.	Name of Service Provider	Number of Trucks operated by each service provider
	Superior Quality Eng. And Technology cc	1
	Marenza Civils cc	3
	Letlametse Trading cc	2
	Uneash of Success	2
	20 Elevation	1
	MRM & Sons Constructions cc	1
	Koketso ya Lerato	2
	Banthala’s Trading cc	2
	Di Portal Trading cc	2
	Reaiteka Business Enterprise	2
	Total	18

Value of the current service providers contracted to municipality.

Contract value for each Service Provider is still waited from the Municipality.

No.	Name of Service Provider	Value paid to contracts from July 2015 to March 2015
	Superior Quality Eng. And Technology cc	R 76 720
	Marenza Civils cc	R 1 992 126. 60
	Letlametse Trading cc	R 151 460
	Unleash of Success	R115 780
	20 Elevation	R95 281.20
	MRM & Sons Constructions cc	R 85 120
	Koketso ya Lerato	R132 308.40
	Banthala’s Trading cc	R 118 160
	Di Portal Trading cc	R 165 026
	Reaiteka Business Enterprise	R80 360
	Total	R 2 894 182.20

No. The service providers were not appointed through a tender process. They were all appointed through the application of Section 36 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations, which provides for the deviations and ratifications of minor breaches of procurement processes by the Accounting Officer. The Regulations prescribe that:

1 “A supply chain management policy can allow an Accounting Officer –

(a) “to dispense with the official procurement processes established by the policy to procure any required goods or services through any convenient process, which may include direct negotiations, but only”-

(i) In an emergency

(ii) If such goods or services are produced or available from a single provider only,

(iii) For the acquisition of special works of art or historical objects where specifications are difficult to compile,

(iv) Acquisition of animals for zoos, or

(v) In any exceptional case where it is impractical or impossible to follow the official

procurement processes, and

To ratify any minor breaches of the procurement processes by an officials or committee acting in terms of delegated powers or duties which are purely of a technical nature.

The regulations further provides in subsection that (2) The accounting officer must record the reasons for any deviations in terms of sub-regulations (1) (a) and (b) and report them to the next meeting of the council or board of directors in the case of a municipal entity, and include as a note to the annual financial statements.

(a)According to the municipality the cost of transporting water is determined on an hourly rate of R280 excluding value added tax(vat)

(b) (i) and (ii) The accurate breakdown of costs incurred by the municipality for each of the financial year is still awaited from the municipality

(4)(a)

Month	Kiloliters delivered per month
February 2014	12320
March 2014	7490
April 2014	10160
May 2014	11880
June 2014	12080
July 2014	11530
August 2014	15440
September 2014	12350
October 2014	13450
November 2014	15500
December 2014	9400
January 2015	14850
February 2015	12170

4(b)

Area	Number of Households Served through water trucks
Dipompong	372
Madinyane	110
Letlhakaneng	908
Lethabong	2153
Maboloka SP	6283
Letlhabile F	1923
Rabokala	1786
Ramogaodi	79
Jakkalas	981
Klipgat SP	1935
Hebron (Beverley Hills)	2344
Mooinooi	1321
Total:	20195

(5) From the information provided by the municipality, the water provision through tankering is monitored through a register that each truck driver signs at each loading point which indicates the number of litres loaded and the time of departure of the water tanker. Upon arrival at each delivery point, the truck driver provides the councillor or ward committee with a water delivery daily report form to sign off on each delivery. The recorded times on each water tanker are used to determine payment on a monthly basis.

From the 1st April 2015, all contracted service providers have installed tracking devices with real time monitoring access granted to the municipality, as per the instruction from the municipality since the beginning of March 2015.

In our view, this is an entirely unsatisfactory situation. The municipality has to change the way in which water is provided. I have asked MISA to look into this matter and report to me on what can be done to improve the situation.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1180

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) How many sick leave days were taken by employees of his Department in the

2013-14 financial year and (b) what was the total cost thereof in rand?

NW1381E

Reply:

Although the question refers to “his Department”, this Ministry has two departments reporting to it: the Department of Cooperative Governance and the Department of Traditional Affairs. The detail below is for both departments.

Sick leave of 2610 working days were taken during the 2013/14 financial year.
The total cost was R 4 373 557.00

This is leave applied for and approved in terms of the Public Service leave provisions.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1146

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

Mr T R Majola (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(a) What amount did (i) his department and (ii) state entities reporting to him spend on each newspaper subscription in each month (aa) in the (aaa) 2011-12, (bbb) 2012-13 and (ccc) 2013-14 financial years and (bb) during the period 1 April 2014 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) how many copies of each newspaper were ordered on each day of the week (i) in each specified financial year and (ii) during the period 1 April 2014 up to the latest specified date for which information is available? NW1311E

The Department:

(a)(i)(aa)(aaa), (bbb), (ccc) and (bb) – Please refer to Annexure A 1 to 4 see the link:

(b)(i)(ii) – Please refer to Annexure B 1 to 4 LINK:

The Entities:

South African Cities Networks

(a)(ii)(aa)(aaa),(bbb), (ccc) and (bb)

SACN did not spend any amount on newspaper subscriptions during the periods identified.

(b)(i)(ii) Not applicable

Municipal Demarcation Board (MBD)

(a)(ii)(aa)(aaa),(bbb),(ccc) and(bb) – Please refer to Annexure C 1 to 4

(b)(i)(ii) – Please refer to Annexure D 1 to 4

South African Cities Network (SALGA)

(a)(ii)(aa)(aaa), (bbb), (ccc) and (bb) – Please refer to Annexure E 1 to 4

(b)(i)(ii) – Please refer to Annexure F 1 to 4

SEE ALL THE LINKSBELOW FOR ANNEXURES:

Annexure A: /files/RNW1146A-150428.xlsx

Annexure B: /files/RNW1146B-150428.xlsx

Annexure C&D: /files/RNW1146CD-150428.xlsx

Annexure E&F: /files/RNW1146EF-150428.xlsx

Reply received: April 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/961

WRITTEN REPLY: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What is the gross annual salary of (a) the municipal manager, (b) the chief financial officer and (c) each of the other managers directly reporting to the municipal managers and/or appointed directly by the Council of each (i) metro, (ii) local and (iii) district municipality in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) in each case, (a) what was the performance bonus paid to each of them and (b) what other perks and/or benefits accrue to them?

Reply:

According to the information obtained from National Treasury, the gross annual salary of municipal managers, chief financial officers, each of the other managers directly reporting to the municipal managers and/or appointed directly by the Council of each Metro, local and district municipalities in the 2013/14 financial year and in each case, the performance bonuses paid to each of them and other perks and / or benefits accrued to them are as follows: See the link /files/RNW961-150413.docx

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 960

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any (a) metropolitan, (b) district and (c) local municipalities conducted customer satisfaction surveys in the (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 financial years and (iii) from 1 April 2014 up to the lasted date for which information is available; if not, why not; if so, (aa) which municipalities and (bb) will the results of such surveys be submitted to his department;

Whether such surveys follow a standardised format; if not, will his department provide such a standardised customer survey format; if so, (a) what questions are typically asked of customers and (b) is the data collated in to objective statistical measures allowing for comparisons over time and between municipalities?

REPLY:

(1)

(a)(b) (c) (i) (ii) (iii) (aa) Customer satisfaction surveys are conducted to measure municipal performance in relation to its responsiveness, representation and accountability. This is done with the intention of creating awareness, measuring customer satisfaction on services delivered by municipalities and creating an enabling environment for customers to assert themselves in defining their needs. However, due to its nature and demand for resources both administratively and financially, only a handful of municipalities have conducted customer satisfaction surveys over the period 2012 to 2014. The establishment of a database for all municipalities who have undertaken customer satisfaction surveys over the past medium term framework period is underway. To that end, a comprehensive database of all municipalities will be shared with the honourable member by June 2015.

(bb) The results of surveys conducted by municipalities are currently not submitted to the department as this is not a legal requirement. However, as part of the Back to Basics programme, the department has undertaken to engage with municipalities on the customer satisfaction survey results in order to support municipalities in addressing issues raised by citizens. The analysis of results will be done with the aim of improving intergovernmental relations and joint planning with relevant sector departments to address issues emanating from the survey thereby restoring public trust in local government. To ensure transparency and government’s accountability to citizens, the results of surveys conducted by municipalities will be submitted to the department and published on the department’s and municipal websites.

(2)

The surveys conducted by municipalities do not follow a standardised format as they are intended for different purposes. As part of the Back to Basics programme, periodic national citizens’ satisfaction surveys will be conducted to provide standardised customer survey formats for use by municipalities. Generic questions will be developed in consultation with municipalities for this purpose. The approach will also allow for additional municipal specific questions that seek to address issues peculiar to their circumstances.

The data collated does not allow for comparisons over time and between municipalities as it is generated by municipalities themselves. However, this would be different in instances where such data would have been collated by either Districts, Provinces or National.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/1111

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 March 2015

Mr Z N Mbhele (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

How much did (a) his department and (b) entities reporting to him spend on advertising in The New Age newspaper in the (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14 financial years? NW1276E

Reply:

The Department:

(i) and (iii) No amount was spent during the 2011/12 and 2013/14 financial years on advertising in the New Age newspaper.

(ii) An amount of R 301 440.00 was spent during the 2012/13 financial year on

advertising in the New Age newspaper.

The Entities

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission)

The CRL Commission has not advertised in The New Age newspaper during the (b)(i) 2011/12 (ii) 2012/13 and (iii) 2013/14 financial years.

South African Cities Network (SACN)

The SACN has not advertised in The New Age newspaper during the

(b)(i) 2011-2012 (ii) 2012/13 and (iii) 2013-2014 financial years.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

The MDB has not advertised in The New Age newspaper during the

(b)(i) 2011/12 (ii) 2012/13 (iii) 2013/14 financial years.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

SALGA has not advertised in The New Age newspaper during (b) (i) 2011/12 and (ii) 2012/13 financial years (iii) SALGA spent R360,495.00 on advertising in the New Age newspaper during the 2013/14 financial year.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 1074

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

1074. Mr A M Shaik Emam (NFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

In light of several presentations and requests to government officials and Ministers by Paramount Chief Delrique Dextry Aran, leader of the Goringhaicona Khoi (details furnished), (a) are their concerns being addressed, (b) who is responsible for addressing their concerns and (c) what progress has been made to address their concerns? NW1239E

Reply:

The concerns that the honourable member has raised in the details that were provided with the question, includes matters which seem to fall within the line-function responsibility of other Ministries or other spheres of government. The details provided also do not indicate to which government officials or Ministers the “several presentations and requests” were made.

Before I respond in more detail to the concerns raised, it is important to note that there is currently no statutory provisions regulating the official recognition of Khoi and San communities and leaders. The person referred to in the details provided by the honourable member, is a Khoi leader (as stated in the said details) and is therefore not a leader who has officially been recognised by law at this stage. However, the recognition of Khoi and San communities and leaders is being provided for in the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership and Governance Bill (previously known as the Traditional Affairs Bill) which Bill is still to be tabled in Parliament for its consideration.

The first matter raised relates to the “need for the House of Traditional Leaders to be presented in the Western Cape.” It is uncertain whether the honourable member refers to the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) or a provincial house of traditional leaders. The NHTL operates at national level and consists of three representatives from each provincial house of traditional leaders. These representatives must be traditional leaders who have been recognised in terms of law such as the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, 2003 (Act No. 41 of 2003). A provincial house of traditional leaders has to be established in accordance with the provisions of relevant provincial legislation; such legislation has not been promulgated in the Western Cape yet. This matter can be considered further once the above Bill is processed by Parliament.

The second matter raised by the honourable member is that all Khoi leaders should be part of negotiations relating to traditional leaders. The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership and Governance Bill was made public and consulted on during 2011 and 2012. The Department of Traditional Affairs conducted 29 community consultations throughout the country, focussing on the Khoi and San communities. The Department was accompanied by members of the National Khoi-San Council which members represent the five main groupings of the Khoi and San people.

The matter relating to the use of the Wingfield base in Cape Town does not fall within my functional area of responsibility.

As far as the Oude Molen cultural centre and the former Conradie hospital is concerned, the honourable member is advised to liaise with the Western Cape Provincial Government.

It is assumed that the “claim on Silversands” is referring to a land claim. If so, the honourable member is advised to raise the matter with the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, or with the Land Claims Commission.

In view of the above responses (b) and (c) fall away.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: PQ2015/959

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What was the average length of time for processing a rezoning application in each metropolitan municipality in the 2013-14 financial year?

NW1117E

Reply:

The average time for processing rezoning applications in the eight (8) municipalities varies according to the complexity of such applications.

Non-complex applications refer to those that have objections where the applicant is requested to submit the necessary documentation. For example, such applications in 2013\14 (July 2013 to June 2014) took approximately an average of seven (7) months to conclude.

Complex applications are those that involve objections, where tribunals and hearings have to consider such applications, which take about, on average, 12 months to finalise. Certain steps in the approval process are handled by the applicant (e.g. commenting and/or negotiating with objectors, providing the required documents), affecting the time involved thereof.

The following table provides the average time taken during the rezoning applications and number of applications processed in 2013\14.

Metropolitan Municipality	Average length (Non-Complex Applications)	Average length (Complex Applications)	Applications processed in 2013\14 (July 2013 to June 2014)
Ethekwini	4 months	7 months	103
Ekurhuleni	4 months	12 months	294
City of Johannesburg	4 months	8 Months	460
Nelson Mandela Bay	7 months	12 months	Not specified
City of Cape Town	4 months	7 months	7 762
Mangaung	4 months	8 months	44
Buffalo City	8 months	15 months	74
City of Tshwane
Total Average Time	7 Months

Table 1: The approximate average time taken during the rezoning applications and number of application processed in 2013\14.

The rezoning process is lengthy if the application is opposed. Where interested and affected parties have lodged objections, a Tribunal Hearing is scheduled and the applicant, objectors and Council officials are given the opportunity to argue in the respective case. If any party is dissatisfied with the Tribunal's decision, he/she may appeal to the Provincial authority (provincial tribunal\township board), thereby delaying the process further.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/953

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

QUESTION

Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) On what basis was the Ikwezi Local Municipality determined to be a viable municipality prior to the issue of the notice establishing it as a municipality in terms of Section 12 of the Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998;

(2) (a) what aspects that were considered in the determination referred to above have changed, giving rise to the contention that the specified municipality is not a viable municipality, and (b) what aspects outside of those considered above have led to the determination of non-viability?

REPLY

The following response is based on information provided by the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

At the time of the establishment of the Ikwezi Local Municipality in 2000, the focus was based on redressing the past imbalances and creating all-inclusive communities in wall-to-wall municipalities. Further to this, the establishment of municipalities was more focused on achieving the objectives of developmental local government.

In determining boundaries in 2000, the Municipal Demarcation Board applied the provisions in sections 24 and 25 of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, (Act No. 27 of 1998) to inform their decisions.

The following four indicators were used by the Department of Cooperative Governance to determine the sustainability / viability of municipalities:

Economic viability;
Tax sustainability;
Financial viability; and
Dependence on inter-governmental transfers.

In contemplating measures to be taken to address the challenges being experienced by municipalities around sustainability / viability, a range of options were considered, including the following:

direct interventions, where laws have been flouted and / or municipalities have simply not had the capacity to undertake their essential functions;
strengthening district municipalities, so that in time key municipal functions could be located there so as to improve service delivery; and
disestablishing and amalgamating some local municipalities where that may improve governance and functionality.

After consulting the MEC for local government in the Eastern Cape Province, a request was made to the Municipal Demarcation Board in terms of section 22(2) of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998 (Act No. 27 of 1998).

It must be reiterated that the final assessment and decision on any determination or redetermination of municipal boundaries rests with the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

The Ministry or Department has no legislative authority to make any decision in this regard. However, the relevant legislation does permit the Minister to make recommendations to the MDB for its consideration.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/939

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether a staff establishment has been approved for the Ikwezi Local Municipality, as required by section 66 of the Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000; if not, (a) why not and (b) what will be done to rectify this non-compliance with legal requirements; if so, (i) what does the establishment comprise, (ii) whether job descriptions are in place for each of the positions and (iii) what employees are currently employed (aa) in accordance with the establishment and (bb) in excess of the establishment’s requirements;

(2) (a) what section 79 committees have been established within the Ikwezi Local Municipal Council, (b) when was each specified committee established, and (c) who chairs each committee;

(3) whether an allowance is paid to each section 79 committee chairperson; if so, (a) what is the quantum of this allowance and (b) on what basis it was determined that the municipality could afford this discretionary payment to councilors;

(4) (a) what are the details of the (i) action taken and (ii) planned (aa) by the Ikwezi Local Municipal Council, (bb) Ikwezi Local Municipality and (cc) by the provincial Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, to ensure compliance with the recommendations made in the presentation of the Eastern Cape MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, delivered to the Ikwezi Council on 15 July 2014, entitled The tabling of the investigation report of the Ikwezi local municipality and (b) what action will be taken by (i) his department and (ii) the Eastern Cape provincial Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to prevent irregular and wasteful expenditure by the (aa) Ikwezi Local Municipality Council and (bb) Ikwezi Local Municipality in light of the possibility that the municipality will be dissolved and political office bearers and officials will not be held accountable;

(5) (a) how has he reached the conclusion that the interests of the residents of Ikwezi will be best served by merging their municipality with Baviaans and Camdeboo, (b) what other possibilities has he considered and (c) on what bases was each alternative considered discounted?

REPLY

The following information has been supplied by the Province:

Yes.

Not applicable (b) not applicable

The reviewed staff establishment is annexed hereto
Yes, job descriptions are in place. They are being aligned with the reviewed staff establishment
(response below)

(aa) the staff currently employed is in terms of the old organogram. The reviewed organogram with new positions has not yet been implemented. The reviewed organogram will be implemented in the new financial year.

(bb) None.

2. (a) The following section 79 Committees have been established:

Finance and Administration;
Strategic Support;
Infrastructure and Community Development
Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC)

The MPAC was established in 2012. The other Committees were established in 2011.

The Chairperson of each Committees is as follows:

Finance and Administration: Cllr Katie Hendrick;
Strategic Support: Cllr Lundi Ntame;
Infrastructure and Community Development: Cllr Asanda Mboneni; and
MPAC: Cllr Lundi Ntame.

3. Yes.

The allowance paid is in accordance with the upper limits as determined by the Minister by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

4. The report was tabled to a Special Council meeting on the 23rd July 2014 for Council to engage and adopt the report. The report was adopted by Council. A task team to implement the report was established and an action plan on how the report will be implemented was developed and submitted to the MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs.

From the recommendation of the report:

All criminal cases have been referred to the Hawks
Labour matter have been referred to the Labour lawyers and to the SALGBC
Suspension of the Municipal Mnager has been awarded in favour of the municipali by the SALGBC
The municipality is awaiting for a date of the Disciplinary Hearing of the MM from the labour lawyers. For further details see the attached report
The Accounting Officer reports progress to the Municipal Council. Some Internal progress are currently taking place, namely the stoppage of bonuses to contract employees. The Accounting Officer has engaged with the affected employees in the report and is in a process of issuing letters of recovery to all affected employees.

The provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs seconded an Acting Municipal Manager and three other senior officials to the Ikwezi Local Municipality to assist.

If the municipality is to be disestablished, all councillors and officials that are found guilty of any unlawful activity will be held accountable.

5. Please refer to your question 953 and the response thereto.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/935

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

935. Mr G R Krumbock (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amounts did the Mangaung Municipality spend on advertising in the following categories of media (a) print, (b) radio, (c) television, (d) online and (e) outdoor in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) what is the breakdown of the total amounts of the Mangaung Municipality’s advertising in respect of (a) name of and (b) amount spent on (i) publications, (ii) radio stations, (iii) television stations, (iv) websites and (v) billboards in respect of each media category? NW1084E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the Mangaung Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/934

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

934. Mr G R Krumbock (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amounts did the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spend on advertising in the following categories of media (a) print, (b) radio, (c) television, (d) online and (e) outdoor in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) what is the breakdown of the total amounts of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s advertising in respect of (a) name of and (b) amount spent on (i) publications, (ii) radio stations, (iii) television stations, (iv) websites and (v) billboards in respect of each media category? NW1083E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/933

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

933. Mr S M Gana (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amounts did the eThekwini Municipality spend on advertising in the following categories of media (a) print, (b) radio, (c) television, (d) online and (e) outdoor in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) what is the breakdown of the total amounts of the eThekwini Municipality’s advertising in respect of (a) name of and (b) amount spent on (i) publications, (ii) radio stations, (iii) television stations, (iv) websites and (v) billboards in respect of each media category? NW1082E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the eThekwini Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/932

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

932. Mr S M Gana (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amounts did the Buffalo City Municipality spend on advertising in the following categories of media (a) print, (b) radio, (c) television, (d) online and (e) outdoor in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) what is the breakdown of the total amounts of the Buffalo City Municipality’s advertising in respect of (a) name of and (b) amount spent on (i) publications, (ii) radio stations, (iii) television stations, (iv) websites and (v) billboards in respect of each media category? NW1081E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the Buffalo City Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/931

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

931. Mr S M Gana (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What total amounts did the Johannesburg Municipality spend on advertising in the following categories of media (a) print, (b) radio, (c) television, (d) online and (e) outdoor in the 2013-14 financial year;

(2) what is the breakdown of the total amounts of the Johannesburg Municipality’s advertising in respect of (a) name of and (b) amount spent on (i) publications, (ii) radio stations, (iii) television stations, (iv) websites and (v) billboards in respect of each media category? NW1080E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/922

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

Ms N W Mazzone (DA) TO ASK THE Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What amount was spent by (a) his department and (b) state entities reporting to him on (i) tickets and (ii) sponsorships on The New Age Breakfast Briefings for the last three financial years? NW1017E

Reply:

(a)(b)(i)(ii) In the 2012/13 financial year, the Department spent ZAR 486 255,60 on The New Age Breakfast Briefing.

(a)(b)(i)(ii) Entities

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission)

The CRL Commission did not spend any amount on tickets and sponsorships on The New Age Breakfast Briefings for the last three financial years.

South African Cities Network (SACN)

The SACN did not spend any amount on tickets and sponsorships on The New Age Breakfast Briefings for the last three financial years.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

The MBD did not spend any amount on tickets and sponsorships on The New Age Breakfast Briefings for the last three financial years.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

SALGA did not spend any amount on tickets and sponsorships on The New Age Breakfast Briefings for the last three financial years.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/887

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

Mr C D Matsepe (DA) TO ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department or the entities reporting to him provides any type of sponsorships ; what is his department’s position in this regard; if so, (a) what are the details of each sponsorship, (b) what is the value of each sponsorship, (c) when were each of these sponsorship deals undertaken and (d) when will each of these sponsorship deals end;

(2) Whether his department or any of the entities reporting to him intends to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract in the (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 financial years; if not; why not; if so, (i)with whom will each sponsorship deal or contract be made, (ii) what will the terms of each of the sponsorship deals or contracts be, (iii) when will each of the sponsorship deals or contracts (aa) commence and (bb) end and (iv) what is the value of each of the sponsorship deals or contracts? NW1036E

Reply:

(1)(a)(b)(c)(d) Department: The Department has not provided any sponsorships.

(1)(a)(b)(c)(d) Entities

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission)

The CRL Commission does not provide any type of sponsorship

South African Cities Network (SACN)

The SACN does not provide any type of sponsorship.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

The MDB does not provide any type of sponsorship.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

The sponsorships provided previously were aimed at supporting some member municipalities, in line with SALGA’s mandate.

(a) Details	(b) Value	(c) When	(d) Termination
Sponsorship given to support City of Johannesburg in hosting the Metropolis annual meeting	R2million	16-19 July 2013	Immediately at end of meeting
Sponsorship to enable SALGA to showcase at the International Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference.	R50,000	25-29 May 2014	Immediately at end of the conference

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(aa)(bb)(iv) The Department does not intend to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years. These arrangements are done on an ad hoc basis, as and when required.

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(aa)(bb)(iv) Entities:

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission)

The CRL Commission is not intending to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years.

South African Cities Network (SACN)

The SACN has no intention to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years. The SACN depends on subscription fees and grants to carry out its research work.

Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB)

The MDB is not intending to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract in

the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

SALGA has no plans to enter into any type of sponsorship deal or contract during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years. It is not the nature of SALGA’s business and mandate to enter into such contracts. These arrangements are done on an ad hoc basis, as and when required.

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/791

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Mr G R Kumbock (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) How many (a) municipalities and (b) metropolitan municipalities have added up the number of potholes within their boundaries as has been done by uMngeni Local Municipality?

(2) What is the number of potholes in each case?

(3) What steps has his department taken to address the problem? NW941E

Reply:

The performance indicators of the Back to Basics Program do not require municipalities to count and report on potholes.

The political and administrative leadership of each municipality is expected to address this matter as part of their commitment to service excellence and responsiveness to basic challenges that arise in their municipalities.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/766

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

766. Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

With reference to the Administrator for Makana Municipality (name furnished), (a) what is the total amount to be paid to her consulting company for the contract period, (b) what is the breakdown of the costs, (c) on what date does the contract end and (d) will the contract be extended? NW916E

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. However, we have requested the Eastern Cape Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to provide the relevant information. The response has not been received yet. The Honourable Member will be informed of progress in this regard.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER PQ 2015/736

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Ms J F Terblanche (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What (a) safeguards criteria or (b) interventions is he considering in the case of the proposed merger between Mpofana and uMngeni Local Municipalities where (i) a significant proportion of the rates base is funded by pensioners living on fixed incomes in the latter Municipality and (ii) the rates base is very limited in the case of the former municipality?

REPLY

During 2014 the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs undertook an assessment of municipalities across the country and concluded that approximately one-third of all municipalities are dysfunctional. The following four indicators were used to determine the sustainability / viability of municipalities:

Economic viability;
Tax sustainability;
Financial viability; and
Dependence on inter-governmental transfers.

In contemplating measures to be taken to address the challenges being experienced by municipalities around sustainability / viability, a range of options were considered, including the following:

direct interventions, where laws have been flouted and / or municipalities have simply not had the capacity to undertake their essential functions;
strengthening district municipalities, so that in time key municipal functions could be located there so as to improve service delivery; and
disestablishing and amalgamating some local municipalities where that may improve governance and functionality.

After consulting the MEC for Local Government in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, a request was made to the Municipal Demarcation Board in terms of section 22(2) of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998 (Act No. 27 of 1998).

According to the Province, it was found that Mpofana is lacking in terms of these criteria and therefore the request to dis-establish it and incorporate it into Umngeni and Impendle municipalities.

Although the rates base from the town is limited, a significant rates base exists within the farming community and tourism establishments which would accrue to the proposed new municipality. The local government equitable share, based mainly on the number of rural people within a community, would still accrue to the new municipality and would be better utilised taking into consideration the economies of scale that would be achieved by reducing the number of senior managers and municipal office-bearers in Council.

The potential also exists to expand the local development initiatives, which are currently under consideration within Mpofana municipality, which could contribute to job creation projects being established, supported by relevant National and Provincial grants that are available for such initiatives.

The possible merger should not be seen as a negative step but be viewed within the possibilities that could be unlocked if planned and managed properly by a better resourced municipality. However, the final decision on this matter will be made by the Municipal Demarcation Board in accordance with the legislative criteria.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/716

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Ms D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1) With reference to all 30 municipalities in Limpopo, which municipalities have appointed appropriately qualified electrical engineers in charge of electrical networks?

(2) What (a) is the availability of resources in each of these municipalities’ electrical departments to fulfil their duties with regard to (i) finances, (ii) personnel and (iii) equipment and (b) are the shortages in each municipality with regard to the specified resources? NW864E

NW2491E

Reply:

(1)

The following municipalities have a license to distribute electricity in Limpopo Province:

Ba-Phalaborwa LM, BelaBela LM, Blouberg LM, Elias Motsoaledi LM, Greater Letaba LM, Greater Tzaneen LM, Lephalale LM, Makhado LM, Modimolle LM, Mogalakwena LM, Musina LM, Polokwane LM, Thabazimbi LM

The following municipalities have appointed qualified electrical engineers:

Greater Letaba LM, Ba- Phalaborwa LM, Greater Tzaneen LM, Molemole LM, Makhado LM

The following municipalities have not responded to the parliamentary question and the information will be forwarded upon receipt from the municipalities:

Blouberg LM, Elias Motsoaledi LM, Lephalale LM, Modimolle LM, Mogalakwena LM, Musina LM, Polokwane LM, Thabazimbi LM

(2)

Municipality	What:
Municipality	(a) is the availability of resources in each of these municipalities’ electrical departments to fulfill their duties with regard to:			(b) are the shortages in each municipality with regard to the specified resources
Greater Lithaba LM has appointed an Assistant Director Electrical with effect from 01 March 2015 with a Diploma in Electrical Engineering	(i) finances	(ii) personnel	(iii) equipment	(i) finances	(ii) personnel	(iii) equipment
	The municipality does not receive electricity related grants and uses own funds for operation and maintenance of electricity infrastructure	The electricity personnel structure has twelve (12) positions which of which eight (8) are filled and four (4) are vacant. All senior positions within the division have been filled.	Available equipment are: crane truck, bucket truck, two (2) LDV bakkies and trailers.	Yes. The network is aged while the municipality has a small revenue base / license area.	Yes. The structure needs to be reviewed given the increase in a number of streetlights in rural areas.	No. Available equipment are adequate given the size of the license area within the which the municipality distributes electricity
Ba- Phalaborwa LM has General Machine Regulation Engineer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

	(i) finances	(ii) personnel	(iii) equipment	(i) finances	(ii) personnel	(iii) equipment
Tzaneen LM has General Machinery Regulation Engineer.	The finances are available	The finances are available	The finances are available	No shortages	No shortages	No shortages
Greater Lethaba LM has General Machine Regulation Engineer	The finances are available	The finances are available	The finances are available	No shortages	No shortages	No shortages
Molemole LM has an Electrical Engineer	R 2,65 m budgeted for 2014/15 FY	1 X Manager Electricity & Mechanical ( Qualified) 2 X Electricians 9 Qualified)	1 X Elctrical Bakkie	Sufficient budget for electricity network upgrade consultant on site to quantify the amount needed	2 X Electrical Technicians	1 X Electrical Bakkie In the process of procuring crane truck with cherry picker
Makhado LM has appointed a certified engineer	Capex: R30 million includes INEP, upgrades of networks and new infrastructure	Total of 88 Management: 11 16 are skilled 61 are unskilled	Have equipment, vehicles, materials and tools for emergency maintenance only	Not adequate funding to upgrade aged networks. Not adequate funding to do preventative and planned maintenance of networks.	Unskilled labours on lower levels	Electrician vehicles and specialized vehicles (crane trucks and cherry pickers)

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/715

DATE OF PUBLICATION 13 March 2015

Ms D van der Walt (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have (a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used and (b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1);

(2) whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is (a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or (b) is a certificated engineer;

(3) (a) which of these municipalities reported (i) injuries and/or (ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty and (b) how many in each case;

(4) In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks; if not, (a) by who were they ordered to fulfill these duties and (b) why were they ordered to do so; if so what are the details in each case? NW863E

REPLY

The following is the information provided by the municipalities:

Vhembe District Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have

(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used

(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)

The municipality is not a licensee to NERSA (National Electricity Regulation Of SA) therefore in terms of GMR 2 subsequent to the regulation articulated, legal appointee to that is not applicable.

Not applicable

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is

(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or

(b) is a certificated engineer;

Not applicable

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Number of cases

Not applicable

Number of cases

Not applicable

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below Not applicable
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable	Not applicable
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Aganang Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
No person has been designated in a full time capacity in Aganang Local Municipality in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used as the Occupational Health and Safety Office though however health and safety committee has been established and is functional. Also health and safety representatives have been appointed	No official has been appointed as health and safety officer

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer;
The municipality is neither the authority nor the provider of electricity services. No person has been appointed as an Engineer for electricity services. The municipality relies on the services of ESKOM for electricity	Not applicable

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable	Not applicable
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Polokwane Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
Yes	Yes, Mr C J Pienaar

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer;
Yes	Yes, Mr Pienaar is a certificated engineer

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Polokwane Local Municipality

Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks; Yes
Yes they were appropriately qualified to do their tasks as Electrician
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not answered	Not answered
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Electrician got burnt due to a switchgear that has exploded, the second case the electrician burnt his hand due to over flash of a LV Circuit breaker which has a fault on due to a defect of the circuit breaker

Waterberg District Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
Yes in terms of their appointment contracts	yes

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer;
Not answered	Not answered

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Waterberg

Number of cases

July to February(03)

Number of cases

None

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
yes
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not answered	Not answered
I IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not answered

Musina Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
Yes	Yes. Mr. Piet Jansen

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer
Respond: Mr. Piet Jansen is not an engineer, but he has 23 year experience as Manager: Electrical.	No. This function was previously outsourced and the contract has lapsed.

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Musina Municipality

Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable	Not applicable
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have

(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used

(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)

YES

(2)

(b) is a certificated engineer;

YES

YES, the municipality applied for certification at the Department of Labour, waiting for a written certificate.

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Ba-Phalaborwa

Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below YES
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
DEPARTMENTAL HEAD IN TERMS OF THEIR WORK REQUIREMENTS	IT WAS OF AN EMERGENCY NATURE
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
The employees were switching on the electricity at Selati substation whereby the switchgear bursted and they were burnt.

Mopani District Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
The only official designated is the Corporate Services Director.	The Municipality is in the process of recruiting an OHS Officer.

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer;
Not applicable to municipality’s operations	Not applicable to municipality’s operations

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;
Municipality	(i) injuries and/or	(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty
	Number of cases	Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable to our operations	Not applicable to our operations
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable to our operations

Sekhukhune District Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
None	None

(2)

(b) is a certificated engineer;

None

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Number of cases 10

Number of cases

None

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable	Not applicable
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Bela-Bela Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have

(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used

(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)

Absalom Mbalekelwa Tshabalala (BBLM)

Qualifications:

# B-Tech in Electrical Engineering

# Programme in Project Management Certificate

# Registered with ECSA as a Professional Engineering Technician

Experience:

# 16 years of experience in maintenance and construction of transmission and distribution electrical equipment’s (TRFR’s, Switchgears, Cables, Overheads Lines, Motors, etc.). Worked in various disciplines such as

Protection, Metering, SCADA, Project management, Incident investigations, etc.

(2)

Whether in cases where machinery on the premises in question is used solely for the distribution of electricity, where such demand is 10 000 kVA or more, the employee so designated is a person who is
(a) a graduate engineer and has not less than two years’ postgraduate practical experience in the operation and maintenance appropriate to the class of machinery he is required to supervise and who has passed the examination on the Act and the regulations made thereunder, held the Commission of Examiners in terms of Regulation E5(2) of the regulations published under Government Notice R929 of 28 June 1963 or	(b) is a certificated engineer;
Absalom Mbalekelwa Tshabalala (BBLM)	Currently the municipality has a notified maximum demand is 22 MVA and manages 8 switching substations.

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Bela Bela Local Municipality

Number of cases

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
N/A – As there were no injuries reported.	N/A – As there were no injuries reported.
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
N/A – As there were no injuries reported.

Capricon District Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
No machinery being used	No applicable

(2)

(b) is a certificated engineer;

Not applicable

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Not applicable

Number of cases

Not applicable

Number of cases

Not applicable

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks;
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Not applicable	Not applicable
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality

(1)

With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, which municipalities in Limpopo Province have
(a) in writing designated a person in a full-time capacity in respect of every premises on which machinery is being used	(b) appointed a competent person in terms of sub-regulation (1)
Persons were appointed in the respective sections but the appointments have since lapsed. Currently in the process of designating new people as per the regulation.	Yes

(2)

(b) is a certificated engineer;

Not applicable

(3)

(a) Which of these municipalities reported and (b) how many in each case;

Municipality

(i) injuries and/or

(ii) deaths of employees whilst on duty

Greater Tzaneen LM

Number of cases No Sec 24 injuries were reported, only minor injuries

Number of cases

None

(4)

In each case, were the employees appropriately qualified to do their tasks; Yes
IF NOT, Respond to (a) and (b) below
(a) by whom were they ordered to fulfill these duties	(b) why were they ordered to do so
Supervisors	It is part of their daily tasks
IF SO, Respond to the question below
What are the details in each case?
Not applicable

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/687

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What is the current status of the Municipal Demarcation Board’s (MDB) tender for municipal capacity assessments issued in November 2013?
Whether all the required processes were followed in the (a) issuing and/or ( awarding of the specified tender; if not, what (i) are the details of the processes that were not complied with and (ii) steps have been taken by the MDB to rectify such a situation; if so, (aa) which service provider was adjudicated as the best suited to provide such service, (bb) has the specified service provider (aaa) been notified of the appointment and awarding of such tender, (bbb) signed a contract to commence work and (cc) what is the expected time frame for the completion of such work?
Whether the new board has the requisite authority to (a) endorse and (b) overturn the decision made by the previous board to award a tender? NW834E

Reply:

The Board took a decision to cancel the tender. The Board is approaching the court to have the prior decision to award the tender reviewed and set aside. A legal team has already been briefed and a litigation process initiated.

There were some irregularities in the tender process; the matter is subject to litigation, and therefore, the Board is not in a position to expand further on the matter at this stage.

The Board may be functus officio and therefore not able to set aside its own decision.

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/686

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Hon BH Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he or the Nelson Mandela Municipality has taken any steps against a mayoral committee member and a youth representative who misrepresented themselves as the executive mayor and the municipal manager of the Nelson Mandela metro in Fuzhou, China; if not, why not; what are the relevant details of the action taken?

REPLY:

The response below was provided by the municipality:

(a) Yes, action has been taken by the Executive Mayor against a Mayoral committee member following an internal investigation by the Directorate of International and Intergovernmental relations. The Executive Mayor also received a letter from the Mayoral Committee member explaining himself and based on the outcome of the internal investigations a decision was taken to relieve Mr Mafana from Mayoral Committee duties with immediate effect. The Council will follow all other processes as per internal Council procedures and the matter will also be referred to the Review Panel for its immediate consideration upon which the Council will then discuss the recommendations of the Review Panel so that the matter can resolved accordingly.

(b) During the signing of the letter of intent, in May 2013, the Youth representative, Mr X Mgxoteni was not an official of the municipality. Mr Mgxoteni was only employed by the municipality with effect from 01 August 2013 as Head of Research.

(c) Preliminary investigations revealed that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) did not fund the trip, however further investigations regarding the trip are still in progress.

to set aside its own decision.

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/676

Mr A M Mpontshane (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has plans in place to deal with the allegations of corruption at Umkhanyakude district, particularly at the Jozini Local Municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are (a ) the details of his plans and ( b ) the time frames of such plans;

Whether he launched any investigation into the allegations of corruption in Umkhanyakude District Municipality involving a certain service provider (details furnished) which is alleged to have links to a certain MEC (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what was the outcome of such investigations?

REPLY:

The response below was provided by the province

Yes, there are plans in place to deal with the reported corruption at uMkhanyukude District, particularly at the Jozini Local Municipality. The MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal authorised an investigation in terms of Section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000) at Jozini Local Municipality. A service provider namely, Deloitte & Touche was appointed to conduct a forensic investigation into allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption at Jozini Local Municipality. The findings and recommendations were presented by senior officials from the Province to the Municipal Council on 28 October 2014. A copy of the report was delivered to the Speaker of Jozini municipality on 07 November 2014 and the report was accompanied by a letter requesting the municipality to table the report in full council and respond to the MEC within 21 days detailing the municipality’s plan in respect of implementation of the recommendations contained in the report. The municipality’s response has been received and contains specific actions in respect of each allegation. The Kwazulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is currently monitoring the implementation of the recommendations emanating from the forensic report.
The MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal mandated officials to conduct a preliminary investigation at uMkhanyakude District Municipality regarding the allegations. However, during the course of the investigation, the Department discovered that KwaZulu-Natal Treasury was also conducting an investigation regarding the same allegations. KwaZulu Natal Treasury appointed a service provider and the investigation is currently underway. My department is in consultation with KwaZulu-Natal Treasury to get more details regarding the investigation.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/674

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Mr M L Shelembe (NFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

With reference to the severe hail storm in Ladysmith, KwaZulu Natal on 9 December 2012, which damaged more than 200 homes and businesses (details furnished), (a) how long is the prescribed period for an area to be declared a disaster area, (b) what are the criteria for declaring an area disaster area, (c) at what stage, if any, does the Government start monitoring the designation of an area as a disaster area, (d) who is responsible for such monitoring and (e) what is the time frame for translating emergency assistance in the case of a disaster to more substantial assistance aimed at returning such an affected area to its former state? NW818E

Reply:

There is no time frame prescribed to declare a state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002.

The Premier of a province, after consultation with the other MECs may in terms of Section 41 of the DMA 57 of 2002 declare a provincial state of disaster if-

Existing legislation and contingency arrangements do not adequately provide for the provincial executive to deal effectively with the disaster; or
Other special circumstances warrant the declaration of a provincial state of disaster.

The Council of a municipality having the primary responsibility for the co-ordination and management of disaster may in terms of Section 55 of the DMA 57 of 2002 declare a local state of disaster if-

Existing legislation and contingency arrangements do not adequately provide for that municipality to deal effectively with the disaster; or
Other special circumstances warrant the declaration of a local state of disaster.

Immediately after the Premier of the province or the Council of the municipality declares a state of disaster. It must also be noted that a disaster remains a local matter until such time as the NDMC classified an area as a national, provincial or local state of disaster in terms of the DMA 57 of 2002.

The NDMC is responsible for monitoring in conjunction with the affected sector department(s).

There are two scenarios that need to be noted. Firstly, the National Government has two sets of funding for disaster, namely, Provincial and Municipal Disaster Relief Grants with the main aim of providing immediate relief to the affected communities to ensure that temporary measures are put in place after the disaster has occurred. The Grant is conditional and it is only made available if the affected sectors are unable to provide relief measures. The Grant is aimed at dealing with short term, basic essential services. This type of assistance is provided after an assessment has been carried out by the NDMC, the affected province as well as the municipality; with the subsequent declaration and categorization of the magnitude of the disaster. With all provisions constant, the turnaround time is approximately three weeks.

Secondly, the Post Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Grant which addresses medium to long term infrastructure projects as a result of disaster damages is accessed during the adjustment budget or through normal budget processes and is allocated over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework. The National Government will allocate funds to provinces and municipalities to build better infrastructure to withstand future disasters. This type of assistance is provided after the damages have been assessed and verified by professional Engineers. Quantification thereof determines the amount and nature of relief provided. The turnaround time is determined by the budget cycle.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/673

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

Prof N M Khubisa (NFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) What is the latest report regarding the building which collapsed in Tongaat under the eThekwini Municipality?

(2) Whether he can provide the findings of the investigation with regard to the collapse of the building; if so, what (a) went wrong and (b) happened to the builder;

(3) Whether the persons who were hurt have been compensated; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) Whether the families of the persons who passed on have been compensated; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(5) Whether the builder had all the necessary documentation that allowed him to build the mall; if not, why not? NW817E

Reply:

The following responses were received from eThekwini metropolitan Municipality:

The Department of Labour appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the mall collapse and the inquiry has not been finalised, yet.

The matter is still under investigation. The final report can be accessed from the Department of Labour.

Pending the outcome of the report and finalisation of the enquiry; no conclusive response can be provided. The same goes for the rest of the questions.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/660

Mr M Hlengwa (IFP) to ask the Minister Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has been informed about the water pipes which have been lying in the field in the uMkhanyakude district for longer than three years; if so, what steps will he take to rectify the situation;
Whether he will recoup the money from the culprits; if so,
Whether he will announce the names of the persons responsible for the water pipes issue?

NW787E

Reply:

Yes, I have been informed of the matter of water pipes that have been lying unused in uMkhanyakude District Municipality.

The following steps are being taken:

I am informed that the Kwazulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs has appointed Deloitte & Touche to investigate the matter and provide a report with recommendations to the MEC. This is also being done to address the recommendations made by the Auditor General. The honourable member will be appraised on progress once the report by Deloitte & Touché is completed.

It is expected that the Deloitte & Touché report will make recommendations that will ensure that appropriate legal action is taken against any culprits identified in the report and all monies which were taken illegally are recovered.

It is expected that the Deloitte and Touche report will expose the names of individuals or service providers involved and the full report or part thereof could be made public.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/626

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06 MARCH 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether each metropolitan municipality has a (a) disaster management plan, (b) disaster readiness plan and (c) risk assessment plan to address the implications of a major systemic failure in electricity supply; if not, why not; if so, (i) when was each plan tabled or presented to each respective council and (ii) what are the relevant details;
Whether copies will be provided to the relevant portfolio committee for review; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW707E

Reply:

The following responses were received from the Provincial Disaster Management Centers and reported as follows:

1. GAUTENG PROVINCE

Ekurhuleni Metro

The Disaster Management Plan is in place as required by Section 53 of the Disaster Management Act.
The Disaster Readiness/ Contingency Plan is in place for all known and priority risks.
All Hazard Disaster Management Plan for Energy Department has been tabled to the risk committee and in the process of being submitted to the Mayoral Committees and thereafter to the Council.

The plan is tabled to Council annually together with the IDP approval.
No response was given to this question.

City of Joburg

The city has a Disaster Management Plan as per section 53 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002 and City Power has a plan that focuses on major failures.
The city has the readiness/ contingency plan for known risks.
City power has a plan that focuses on major failures.

The City Power plan was presented to Council in 2015.
No response was given to this question.

City of Tshwane

The city has the Disaster Management Plan as required by Section 53 of the Disaster Management Act. The Disaster Management Plan is in place but under review due to the change of Tshwane boarders.
The readiness plan is in place for 10 priority risks
Yes, the plan is in place and was developed by the Electricity Department and disaster management focusing on infrastructure failures.

The plan was presented to Council.
No response to the question.
1. WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE (Annexure B)

City of Cape Town

The city has a Disaster Management Plan as required by Section 53 of the Disaster Management Act and the Electricity Department has a Disaster Management Plan as provided by the Sec 53 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.
It is not clear from the response as to whether the readiness plan is in place.
The city undertook a Comprehensive Disaster Risk Assessment in 2009/2010 on all hazards that could impact the city.

It is indicated that the City of Cape Town has recently formulated the Disruption to Electricity Power Supply Disaster Management Plan which has been completed.
It is reported that the plans may not be provided to the portfolio committee for review. It is indicated that the plans involves National Key Point Installations, the content is classified as confidential and is not readily made available to the general public for security reasons.
1. EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE (Annexure C)

Nelson Mandela Metro

The Disaster Management Plan is in place.
The Readiness Plan is in place.
Risk Assessment Plan is in place.

As reported by the province, the information regarding the tabling and adoption of plans will be made in due course.
No response to the question.

Buffalo city Metro

The province reported that the municipality has only the Disaster Management Framework which was adopted in April 2014. The Municipality has not adopted any other plans since it obtained the metro status except the Framework.
1. KwaZulu-Natal Province (Annexure D)

eThekwini Metro

The report received from the province indicates that the metro has a Corporate Disaster Management Plan and a Business Continuity Plan for the Electricity Department.
No response.
The province has indicated that the metro is still in the process of completing a comprehensive Risk Assessment to map out the high priority risks and vulnerable areas.
Risk Assessment Plan is in place.

There is no indication if the Business Continuity Plan was tabled or presented to the Council, however it is indicated that the Corporate Disaster Management Plan was accepted by eThekwini Deputy City Managers Forum on the 29 August 2012 and ratified by the Executive Committee of Council by the 13 August 2013. The Business Continuity Plan covers what the city Electricity Department would do under a range of natural disasters such as floods, fires and Tsunami.
No response to the question.
1. Free State province (Annexure E)

Mangaung Metro

The report received indicates the Disaster Management Plan being in place but it is not clear as to whether that is referring to the plan as prescribed by Section 53 or Section 52 of Disaster Management Act.
The readiness / contingency plan is in place.
The report indicates the Metro’s knowledge of the risk and does not clearly indicate whether the risk assessment was conducted or not.

The Disaster Management Plan was adopted by Council as reported by the province but there are no specific timeframes as to when exactly it was adopted.

Yes, copies will be provided except for Western Cape where the plan involves National Key Point.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/625

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06 MARCH 2015

Question:

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

For each local municipality where (a) an intervention occurred in terms of section 139 or where assistance or (b) support was provided in terms of section 154 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, since 1 January 2012, what was the amount owing to Eskom (i) at the start of and (ii) at the conclusion of the period of intervention or support;

what was the total debt owed to other creditors at the (a) start of and (b) conclusion of the period of intervention or support;

what amount was owed to the municipality by municipal debtors at the (a) start of and (b) conclusion of the period of intervention or support?

Reply

During the period in question i.e. 1 January 2012 to date there were 21 municipalities where either interventions occurred in terms of section 139 or support was provided in terms of section 154 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The following are the 21 municipalities:

	Municipality	Start of intervention	End of intervention	Nature of problem
1	Makana	Sep-14	On-going	Governance and financial administration
2	Mnquma	Mar-13	Sep-13	Political infighting and governance
3	Inkwanca	Sep-14	Ongoing	Governance and financial administration
4	Indaka	Mar-10	On-going	Governance and financial administration
5	Mtubatuba	Nov-12	Feb-15	Governance and financial administration
6	Imbabazane	Jan-13	On-going	Governance and political party conflicts
7	Abaqulusi	Mar-13	On-going	Governance and financial administration
8	Umzinyathi	Apr-13	Dec-13	Financial Administration
9	Uthukela	May-13	Dec-13	Financial Administration and Governance
10	Ugu	May-13	Dec-13	Financial Administration and Governance
11	Umvoti	Jul-13	On-going	Governance and Political party conflicts
12	Mpofana	Sep-14	On-going	Governance and Financial Administration
13	Mogalakwena	Mar-14	Jun-14	Governance and Financial Administration
14	Emalahleni	Apr-13	Ongoing	Governance and Financial Administration
15	Bushbuckridge	Apr-13	On-going	Governance and Financial Administration
16	Maquassi Hills	Apr-13	Jun-14	Governance and Financial Administration
17	Matlosana	Apr-13	On-going	Administration, Governance and Financial
18	Ditsobotla	Apr-13	On-going	Administration, Governance and Service Delivery
19	Madibeng	Feb-14	Mar-14	Governance and Service Delivery
20	Ngaka Modiri Molema	Jul-14	On-going	Governance and Service Delivery
21	Oudtshoorn	Jul-13	Sep-13	Financial /budget administration

1 (i) and (ii) According to the National Treasury’s Municipal Finance Management Act Section 41 reports; the detailed amounts owed to Eskom by each of the 21 municipalities at the start and end of the intervention is as follows:

	Municipality	Start of intervention	End of intervention	Debt owed to Eskom at the start of the intervention	Debt owed to Eskom at the end of the intervention
1	Makana	Sep-14	On-going	29 756	On-going intervention
2	Mnquma	Mar-13	Sep-13	-	-
3	Inkwanca	Sep-14	Ongoing	-	On-going intervention
4	Indaka	Mar-10	On-going		On-going intervention
5	Mtubatuba	Nov-12	Feb-15	-	-
6	Imbabazane	Jan-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
7	Abaqulusi	Mar-13	On-going	8 594	On-going intervention
8	Umzinyathi	Apr-13	Dec-13	-	-
9	Uthukela	May-13	Dec-13	-	-
10	Ugu	May-13	Dec-13	-	-
11	Umvoti	Jul-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
12	Mpofana	Sep-14	On-going	-	On-going intervention
13	Mogalakwena	Mar-14	Jun-14	9 672	14 131
14	Emalahleni	Apr-13	Ongoing	281 950	On-going intervention
15	Bushbuckridge	Apr-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
16	Maquassi Hills	Apr-13	Jun-14	7 257	-
17	Matlosana	Apr-13	On-going	43 510	On-going intervention
18	Ditsobotla	Apr-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
19	Madibeng	Feb-14	Mar-14	-	6 206
20	Ngaka Modiri Molema	Jul-14	On-going	-	On-going intervention
21	Oudtshoorn	Jul-13	Sep-13	-	-

2 (a) and (b) According to the National Treasury’s Municipal Finance Management Act Section 71 reports; the detailed amounts owed to other creditors by each of the 21 municipalities at the start and end of the intervention is as follows:

	Municipality	Start of intervention	End of intervention	Debt owed to Creditors at the start of the intervention	Debt owed to Creditors at the end of the intervention
1	Makana	Sep-14	On-going	85 607	On-going intervention
2	Mnquma	Mar-13	Sep-13	-	-
3	Inkwanca	Sep-14	Ongoing	7 857	-
4	Indaka	Mar-10	On-going	381	On-going intervention
5	Mtubatuba	Nov-12	Feb-15	3 929	-
6	Imbabazane	Jan-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
7	Abaqulusi	Mar-13	On-going	18 047	On-going intervention
8	Umzinyathi	Apr-13	Dec-13	27 066	77 178
9	Uthukela	May-13	Dec-13	-	795
10	Ugu	May-13	Dec-13	49 008	29 195
11	Umvoti	Jul-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
12	Mpofana	Sep-14	On-going	1 447	On-going intervention
13	Mogalakwena	Mar-14	Jun-14	14 794	22 277
14	Emalahleni	Apr-13	Ongoing	-	On-going intervention
15	Bushbuckridge	Apr-13	On-going		On-going intervention
16	Maquassi Hills	Apr-13	Jun-14	44 117	-
17	Matlosana	Apr-13	On-going	94 561	On-going intervention
18	Ditsobotla	Apr-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
19	Madibeng	Feb-14	Mar-14	-	72 874
20	Ngaka Modiri Molema	Jul-14	On-going	-	On-going intervention
21	Oudtshoorn	Jul-13	Sep-13	-	-

3. (a) and (b) According to the National Treasury’s Municipal Finance Management Act Section 71 reports; the detailed amounts owed by debtors to each of the 21 municipalities at the start and end of the intervention is specified on the table below. A total of six municipalities have not recorded debt as in terms of Section 71 reports for the periods under review.,

	Municipality	Start of intervention	End of intervention	Debtors at the start of the intervention	Debtors at the end of the intervention
1	Makana	Sep-14	On-going	282 455	On-going intervention
2	Mnquma	Mar-13	Sep-13	-	-
3	Inkwanca	Sep-14	Ongoing	-	On-going intervention
4	Indaka	Mar-10	On-going	6	On-going intervention
5	Mtubatuba	Nov-12	Feb-15	36 168
6	Imbabazane	Jan-13	On-going	3 922	On-going intervention
7	Abaqulusi	Mar-13	On-going	66 256	On-going intervention
8	Umzinyathi	Apr-13	Dec-13	163 404	186 256
9	Uthukela	May-13	Dec-13	464 808	565 363
10	Ugu	May-13	Dec-13	102 025	247 496
11	Umvoti	Jul-13	On-going	19 367	On-going intervention
12	Mpofana	Sep-14	On-going	69 764	On-going intervention
13	Mogalakwena	Mar-15	Jun-14	357 293	366 706
14	Emalahleni	Apr-13	Ongoing	-	On-going intervention
15	Bushbuckridge	Apr-13	On-going	-	On-going intervention
16	Maquassi Hills	Apr-13	Jun-14	330 518	497 487
17	Matlosana	Apr-13	On-going	993 495	On-going intervention
18	Ditsobotla	Apr-13	On-going	225 497	On-going intervention
19	Madibeng	Feb-14	Mar-14		1 012 357
20	Ngaka Modiri Molema	Jul-14	On-going	-	On-going intervention
21	Oudtshoorn	Jul-13	Sep-13	91 312	104 252

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/560

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/03/2015

Mr I M Ollis (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Since 1 January 2014 until the most recent date for which information is available; are any employees in your Department on suspension with full pay, if so, (a) how many, and (b) what is the total costs thereof?NW640E

Reply:

DCoG

A total of one (1) precautionary suspension case was recorded in the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) from 1 January 2014 to date. The information is as follows:

One (1) official has been suspended with full pay in the Department of Cooperative Governance from 02 February 2015 to date, after serious allegations of fraud in relation to travel claims submitted from 2014, were reported.

The total cost of the suspension from 02 February 2015 to date is: R41 258.60. The employee was dismissed on 05 March 2015.

DTA

A total of one (1) precautionary suspension case was recorded in the Department of Traditional Affairs (DTA) from 1 January 2014 to date. The information is as follows:

One (1) official has been suspended with full pay in the Department of Traditional Affairs from 18 November 2014 to date, after serious allegations of dishonesty and failure to disclose all registrable interests, were reported.

The total cost of suspension from 18 November 2014 to date is: R280 195.96

The disciplinary hearing has begun, whilst the employee is on suspension.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/486

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03 MARCH 2015

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

Whether he had acted on the information released by the National Treasury in August 2014 showing that municipalities in our country were owed a staggering R94 bn, of which households owed nearly R58 bn; if so, what action did he pursue in conjunction with municipalities to ensure that the debt was recovered; if not, why not?

Reply:

Yes, the Department actively responds to the information on debt owed to municipalities. In terms of the Municipal Systems Act, No 32 of 2000; the primary responsibility to collect debt lies with the municipality. The fact that debt collection is a legal process that needs to be followed as prescribed means that the department cannot collect on behalf of the municipalities.

Back to Basics gives specific focus and attention to the improvement of financia management practices; institutional arrangements as well as the customer service in municialities. Within these three elements, specific effort is made to improve debt collection in municipalities through the following, amongst others:

The review and improvement of the entire financial management system of municipalities which includes the revenue cycle.
Review and improvement of municipal billing systems to ensure credible bill.
Review and improvement of the metering systems of municipalities.
In putting people first, the customer focus is in fast tracking the query resolution process in order to expedite payments.

The department, with the collaboration of National Treasury, has also actively embarked on initiatives to support the ability of the municipalities to collect the debt. The following are examples of such initiatives:

In facilitating compliance to the legal framework (policies and by- laws), the department has been continuously assessing the municipal credit control and debt collection policies for credibility. This process entails the identification of gaps that result in non- payment, inability to enforce the policy and implementation impediments. Municipalities are given feedback on areas that require review of their policies and where necessary, continuous monitoring of implementation of such policies.
The department is also facilitating debt management measures in collaboration with National Treasury to prevent debt accumulation; this included the improvement on management of indigent households.
A targeted approach has been taken on collection of municipal staff accounts, councillors and suppliers providing services to municipalities.

A national campaign to encourage citizens to pay for services and settle outstanding debt will be undertaken during the 2015/16 financial year.

The department also leads a task team on the payment of municipal debt by Government departments; the main focus of the task team is to verify the unpaid historical debt for legitimacy in order to facilitate payment by the responsible departments.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/445

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 FEBRUARY 2015

QUESTION

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he will take any action concerning the allegations against Noko Seanego from the Mbombela Local Municipality regarding the alleged unlawful appointment of 40 law enforcement officers in October 2014; if not, why not; if so (a) what action and (b) at what date? NW522E

REPLY

I have requested the MEC responsible for local government in the Mpumalanga

Province to conduct an investigation into the alleged maladministration, corruption and

fraud, in terms of section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act.

It should be noted that in terms of section (106) (5) (a) of the Municipal Systems Act , if an MEC fails to conduct an investigation within 90 days, notwithstanding a request from the Minister in terms of subsection (4) (a), the Minister in terms of this section conduct such investigation. The Minister must send a report detailing the outcome of the investigation referred in paragraph (a) to the President.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 2015/400

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 FEBRUARY 2015

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: (DCoG)

(1) Whether, with reference to the reply of the Minister of Human Settlements to question 1330 on 3 October 2014, any municipality in the country has, with or without the assistance of his department, fully transformed any apartheid-established townships in the course of the last two decades by (a) tree-lining the streets, (b) clearing away all junk and litter, (c) imposing stricter town planning regulations, (d) building new and improved infrastructure and recreational facilities and (e) giving such facelift to the townships in order to make people who reside in those townships proud; if not, why not; if so, what are the details;

(2) whether he will make a statement on the state and the condition of apartheid-established townships in the democratic South Africa?

NW475E

Reply:

Municipalities, and the rest of government, have dedicated resources and attention to the transformation of apartheid–townships in order to improve the quality of lives of the residents. Several programmes have been dedicated to these areas, and I will indicate just a few. The Gauteng 20 Priority Township Programme, which was implemented as a partnership between the Province and municipalities, led to the tarring of all streets in Soweto, planting of trees, provision of social facilities and other investments in townships such as Soshanguve and many more in the Gauteng Province. Many similar initiatives have been implemented in townships throughout the country, building on the principles of the Urban Renewal Programme. The Clean Cities, Towns and Villages Programme that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs administered focussed on cleaning, greening (tree planting and gardening), and waste recycling and thereby contributing to the transformation of such spaces.

The Community Works Programme and the Expanded Public Works Programme, improve the quality of life through maintenance of infrastructure, cleaning, greening of public spaces, etc., while also creating job opportunities. The Neighbourhood Partnership Development Programme, administered by the National Treasury, is another of such programmes where resources have been made available to support the development of townships. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant also provides resources for priority infrastructure and other facilities as determined by the municipalities. The list is endless. All these collective efforts are gradually transforming our townships. An analysis conducted by Statistics South Africa on the relationship between municipal spending and priority areas indicate that municipalities are spending a significant percentage of their capital budget in the formerly disadvantaged areas. The development of the retail sector in the townships is an indication of the confidence of the private sector in the potential of the townships as a result of the public investments that have gone there.

A case study by StatsSA on relationship between Spatial Development Frameworks and capital spending (study focused on Johannesburg, Cape Town and Rustenburg) found that: Generally, there is higher expenditure in previously marginalized areas than in developed areas.

With regard to implementation of the town planning regulations, most municipalities have developed town planning schemes that cover the townships. There is however scope for strengthening the enforcement of the schemes and related regulations.

Generally, most of our townships are better places than they were prior 1994.

We are, however, aware of some of the challenges still facing our townships, mainly old infrastructure that is not coping with growth, and municipalities struggling to maintain, replace the old infrastructure while investing in new infrastructure to accommodate growth. Illegal dumping is still a big problem, but solving this would also require communities to play their part by keeping their neighbourhoods clean.

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/338

Hon GR Davids (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Did the Makhado local municipality conduct a forensic audit into the awarding of tender 25 of 2006 to Renkie Construction Company; if so, (a) what were the key findings of the forensic audit, (b) what remedial action, if any, was recommended, and (c) were the results of the forensic audit made public; if not, why not?

REPLY

The municipality has informed us that the Municipal Council resolved to conduct a forensic audit on the matter. The municipality requested the Province to procure a service provider to conduct a forensic audit. The findings of the forensic audit were not presented to the municipality or discussed at Council level. The Department is in consultation with the Province to determine if the forensic investigation on this matter was commissioned and what remedial action was taken if it was commissioned.

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/311

Ms A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with reference to the appointment of Rev Pietersen as Municipal of Camdeboo Municipality whether a waiver was granted with respect to the required qualifications for appointment as a municipal manager as set out in Treasury Circular 60; if not, what action has been or will be taken as a result of this non-compliance; if so, what conditions were attached to this waiver;

whether the conditions of the waiver have been complied with; if so, what are the relevant details; and

(3) whether the specified person currently complies with all statutory requirements for employment in the specified position, if not, what (a) are the relevant details of the non-compliance and (b) action has been or will be taken to address the non-compliance; if so, (i) what are the relevant details of the compliance achieved subsequent to such appointment and (ii) when was such compliance achieved? NW336E

REPLY

As per my response to the same Parliamentary question in November 2014, the municipal manager of Camdeboo Municipality has applied and been granted the waiver to register for the required qualification as set out in Treasury Circular 60. This is also in fulfilment of one of the conditions for his appointment that was set out by the MEC.

Yes, according to information received from the municipality, the conditions for the waiver have been complied with, the municipal manager has enrolled for the Municipal Financial Management Programme on the 12 September 2014. The course will be completed before the September 2015 deadline as per the extended grace period by National Treasury.

As per the report of the MEC and investigations conducted, the municipal manager complied with all the statutory requirements for employment, finalisation of pending cases of financial mismanagement by his previous employer were stipulated as a condition for his employment contract. This is in line with Section 57(A) of the Municipal Systems Act regarding employment of dismissed staff for misconduct.

The second condition that was set by the MEC for his appointment was to apply for a waiver in terms of Treasury Circular 60 in order to acquire the MFMA competency requirements. The municipal manager did register for the Municipal Financial Programme in this regard.

In addition to the above, certain other matters are being brought to the attention of the Eastern Cape MEC to look into.

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/260

QUESTION:

Mr GR Davids (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department was seeking a legally appropriate way to request the services of the National Intelligence Agency in vetting each municipal official involved in a procurement process in order to achieve higher levels of (a) integrity, (b) transparency and (c) fair play; if not; why not: if so, what are the relevant details or other far reaching process to combat fraudulent practices in the procurement process? NW283E

REPLY:

The department had not requested the services of the National Intelligence Agency in vetting each municipal official involved in a procurement process. However, there are departmental regulations which require people to be vetted before they can be offered employment at any municipalities. Currently, the department is in the process of identifying reputable companies to assist in the vetting of officials. Furthermore, the launch of the Back to Basic programme requires the Provincial CoGTA departments and Provincial Treasuries to assess and address capacity deficiencies of municipalities to develop and implement procurement plans. This include putting in place Supply Chain Structures and controls according to regulations and appropriate oversight. In addition, the review of the Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy also puts more emphasis on vetting of new officials joining the municipalities.

Reply received: February 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/204

Mr A M Matlhoko (EFF) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether the water supply that was to be restored to the residents of Giyani as stated by the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma, in his reply to The Presidency’s Budget Vote Debate on 20 June 2014, has been delivered to them before 30 September 2014; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

Yes, I have been informed by the municipality that water was restored to the people of Giyani before 30 September 2014.

The Giyani Water Treatment plant had become small due to growth in the town and surrounding arears (needed upgrading)

The municipality has reported that the plant has since been upgraded by 6, 7 mega liters/day (from 30 Ml/day to 36,7 Ml/day). Furthermore, refurbishment of the filters as well as the canal from Letaba Dam has been completed contributing to the plant to operate optimally. This work will be enhanced once the raw water pipeline from Nandoni Dam is completed.

The municipality reported however, that some villages around Giyani will benefit from the work done in the Giyani Water Treatment Works once certain new challenges being experienced along the water distribution networks have been addressed.

The following are the specific challenges and the remedial actions being implemented to address the challenges:

Challenge	Remedial Action
Vandalism of Infrastructure	Water Conservation and Demand Management Provision of Security Service to safeguard the Infrastructure Community education and awareness programmes
Unauthorised connection
Ageing Infrastructure	Replacement of asbestos cement pipelines and associated infrastructure
Lack of Reticulation	Installation of reticulation network

Communities not accessing water from the Giyani Water Purification Plant are served through boreholes and water carting (tankering).

Reply received: March 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO: PQ 2015/201:

Mr AM Matlhoko (EFF) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has an immediate plan to assist ailing and poor rural municipalities, as these municipalities do not have the capacity to expand their capital base by raising revenue and capital from property rates, electricity, water, waste management, refuse removal, as well as other essential services; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Back-to-Basics Programme analysed municipalities across the country and concluded that approximately one-third of all municipalities were dysfunctional. A number of strategies have been developed to address that dysfunctionality and instability.

The factors contributing to the functionality / dysfunctionality of a municipality included a combination of the following:

Institutional management;
Political stability;
Service delivery;
Community satisfaction.

The following four indicators were used to determine the sustainability / viability of municipalities:

Economic viability;
Tax sustainability;
Financial viability; and
Dependence on inter-governmental transfers.

In contemplating measures to be taken to address the challenges being experienced by municipalities around dysfunctionality and sustainability / viability, a range of options were considered, including the following:

direct interventions, where laws have been flouted and / or municipalities have simply not had the capacity to undertake their essential functions;
strengthening district municipalities, so that in time key municipal functions could be located there so as to improve service delivery;
amalgamating some local municipalities where that may improve governance and functionality;
creating new Category A municipalities; and
disestablishing local municipalities, and in their stead, establish District Management Areas.

A request was made to the Municipal Demarcation Board (“the MDB”) during December 2014 for the MDB to determine / redetermine the boundaries of various municipalities based on the above assessments that were conducted by the Department of Cooperative Governance (“the Department”). Clearly, all of the above options required serious consideration, as the implications for implementing each of the above options could have differing degrees of consequences for municipalities.

It was further noted that the sustainability / viability analysis that was conducted by the Department was scientific by its very nature, and there could be other local considerations that should be taken into account to provide a more comprehensive assessment of municipalities.

A further process of consultation was undertaken with provinces whereafter a final list of municipalities was submitted to the MDB in terms of section 22(2) of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998 (Act No. 27 of 1998) – (“the Municipal Demarcation Act”). This request is underpinned by the need to determine or redetermine municipal boundaries with a view to optimizing the financial viability of any newly established municipality. The Municipal Demarcation Act also defines a clear process of notification and consultation that must take place; all stakeholders should make their representations when required to do so.

After almost fifteen years of local democracy, the outer boundaries of municipalities have largely remained the same, except for instances were there have been minor technical adjustments to municipal boundaries. The request made to the MDB is to ensure that the Board is able to determine whether the identified municipalities meet the objectives of demarcation, as well as the factors that must be taken into account when the boundaries of municipalities are determined.

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 194
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015
194. Mr C D Matsepe (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) With reference to the reply of the Minister of Communications to question 1031 on 27 November 2014, what was the total amount that (a) his department and (b) each of its entities (i) spent on and/or (ii) budgeted for advertising for each month between 1 January 2013 and 31 July 2014, excluding expenditure transferred through the Department of Communications for advertising;

(2) does such figure for each month represent the (a) total value of advertising that appeared in the media in that month, (b) amount paid in that month for advertising that may have appeared previously or (c) amount paid in advance for advertising that appeared at a later date;

(3) in each specified case, what amount did (a) his department and (b) each of its entities spend on advertising in (i) print, (ii) radio, (iii) television, (iv) online and (v) outdoor;

(4) in each specified case, what is the breakdown of advertising by (a) his website and (ee) billboards location in each province?
NW203E

Find here: Reply attached

Reply received: February 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/151

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

(1) What amount was spent in the Limpopo province on legal fees by (a) each of the five district municipalities and (b) 25 local municipalities in the (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14 financial years;

(2) What amount of the legal fees was spent on appealing cases in each municipality;

(3) (a) how many (i) separate legal cases were there, (ii) cases were won and (iii) cases were lost and (b) what amount of the legal fees was spent on the cases lost;

(4) (a) how many cases were settled out of court and (b) what was the cost of the settlement in each case in each municipality?

REPLY:

The following response is based on the information provided by the Limpopo Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs. Some municipalities did not meet the deadline for submission of responses. However, the municipalities have been requested to respond accordingly. The information will be delivered to the Honourable Member as soon as it has been received:

The legal costs incurred for 2012/13 and 2013/14 financial years are tabulated as follows:

Municipality	Amount spent in 2012/13	Amount spent in 2013/14	Costs on appealing cases	How many cases were there	Cases won	Cases lost	How much was spent on lost cases	How many cases were settled out of court	The costs in each case
Mookgophong Local	R964 618.17	R992 936.52	R123 009.00	12	7	1		4	R220 000.00
Musina Local	R599 307.70 11 Cases	R371 742.15 7 cases	Nil	18	2012/13 = 4 won 1 abandoned by Plaintiff 2 pending 2013/14 = 2 cases; 3 cases pending	21012/13 = 1 2013/14= None	R65 165.12 N/a	2012/2013 = 2 2013/14 = 2	R121 190.00 + R9 063.00 = R130 254.00 R14 902.84 + R135 823.80 = R150 726.94
Thabazimbi Local	R1 913 152.21	R3 224 502.21	None	4	none	4	Nothing	2	Nothing
Elias Motsoaledi Local	R701 100.62	R2 266 499.52	Nil	21	7	14	R970 425.54	2	R90 000.68
Waterberg District	R431 062.50	R104 765.33	None	1	None	1	Nothing	1 Labour Case	R84 000.00

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 150

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

150. Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether secretaries of traditional councils are employed by the national or provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;

(2) What is the remuneration of the secretary of a traditional council in each province?

(3) Whether the funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional council is provided from the budget of the national department; if not, are they remunerated in any manner whatsoever? NW157E

Reply:

(1)Whether secretaries of traditional councils are employed by the national or provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs;	(2)What is the remuneration of the secretary of a traditional council in each province;	(3)Whether the funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional council is provided from the budget of the national department; if not, are they remunerated in any manner whatsoever?
KZN: The secretaries in all the TCs in the province are employed by the TCs.	The secretaries receive a salary of R1600 per month	The funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional councils is provided from the budget of the Provincial government
LIMPOPO: The secretaries (Administrative Officers) are employed by the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs	The secretaries receive a salary of R18 983 per month.	The funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional councils is provided from the budget of the Provincial government
MPUMALANGA: The secretaries in all the TCs in the province are directly employed by the TCs.	There is no fixed salary, it varies per Traditional Council	Traditional councils are provided with an administrative grant of R120 000 per annum. The funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional councils is provided from administrative grants.
NORTH WEST: The secretaries in all the TCs in the province are employed by the TCs.	There is no fixed salary, it varies per Traditional Council	The North West Provincial Government subsidises the salaries of all employees of traditional councils to the tune of R2 505 per employee on monthly basis. Such funds come from the monies appropriated by the Provincial Legislature.
NORTHERN CAPE: The secretaries are employed by the provincial government and seconded to work at the traditional council. However, traditional councils also employed secretaries/clerks who are remunerated from traditional council funds. The provincial government provides a grant to augment the wages of the traditional council’s employees	The Secretaries employed by government and seconded to traditional councils receive a salary of R13 539 per month	The salaries of seconded secretaries are provided for in the budget of the Provincial department and the salaries of traditional council employees are provided for from the traditional council budget.
FREE STATE: The secretaries are employed by the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance	The secretaries receive a salary of R 12 568 per month	The funding for the remuneration of secretaries of traditional councils is provided from the budget of the Provincial government
EASTERN CAPE: The secretaries are employed by the provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs	The secretaries receive a salary of R12 382 per month.	The salaries of the secretaries are catered for in Provincial budget with all the benefits as they are employed in terms of the Public Service Act.
GAUTENG: The secretaries are employed by the traditional councils	The secretary for the AmaNdebele Ba Lebelo receives an allowance of R320.00 per council sitting. Whereas the secretary for the AmaNdebele Ndzundza Sokhulumi receives a monthly stipend of R2 500	The secretaries are remunerated through annual grants allocated to the traditional council

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 149

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) For each royal household recognised by the President of the Republic and/or his department, (a) what amount was (i) budgeted and (ii) actually spent in the (aa) 2012-13 and (bb) 2013-14 financial years and (b) what is the direct source of funding for each royal household;

(2) whether an audit was conducted on each royal household’s financial statements for the (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 financial years; if not, why not; if so, what were the findings of the audit for each royal household? NW156E

ANSWER

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. We have, however, requested the royal households to provide this information.

The Honourable Member will be provided with the requested information as soon as it is submitted to us.

Reply received: February 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/148

Mr K J Mileham to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any vehicles have been rented for (a) the mayor, (b) the deputy mayor, (c) the speaker, (d) the municipal manager and (e) any other councillor of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality during the 2014-15 financial year; if so, in each case, (i) was the rental once off or long term, (ii) what was the purpose of the rental, (iii) what was the make and model of each vehicle rented, (iv) what was the duration of the rental and (v) what was the total cost of the rental?

REPLY:

According to information received from the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, the response is as follows:

The Executive Mayor:

The rental was on a daily or monthly basis;
The vehicles were rented as backup car for the Executive Mayor;
The purpose of the rental was to assist with transportation of the Executive Mayor;
Mercedes Benz ML 350, Mercedes Benz C180 for the Executive Mayor; and
Cost for rental for the Executive Mayor for the 2014/2015 financial year is R684 985.72.

The Deputy Executive Mayor:

The rental was on a daily or monthly basis;
The vehicles were rented as backup car for the Deputy Executive Mayor;
The purpose of the rental was to assist with transportation of the Deputy Executive Mayor;
Mercedes Benz ML 500, ML 350 for the Deputy Executive Mayor; and
Cost for rental for the Deputy Mayor for the 2014/2015 financial year is R319 068.31.

The Speaker:

(i) The rental was on a daily or monthly basis;

(ii) The vehicles were rented as backup car for the Council Speaker;

(iii) The purpose of the rental was to assist with transportation of the Council Speaker;

(iv) Mercedes Benz ML 500, ML 350, Mercedes Benz E 200 for the Council Speaker; and

Cost for rental for the Deputy Mayor for the 2014/2015 financial year is R622 466.82.

The City Manager:

The rental is on a three-months basis;
The vehicles are rented as part of Council approved security arrangements for the City Manager;
The vehicle categories vary depending on security advice;
Mercedes Benz C180 or C200 for the City Manager, subject to availability; and
Cost of rental for the City Manager for the 2014/2015 financial year is R168 555.39.

We do not approve of this practice and we will discourage this type of approach in future.

Reply received: February 2015

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 2015/147

Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) With reference to his reply to question 1205 on 11 September 2014, for each municipality, what are the details of each planning session held (a) during the period 1 February 2014 to 30 April 2014 and (b) during the period 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014;

(2) in addition to the 23 municipalities mentioned by the President, what are the names of the four additional district municipalities that form part of the 27 priority district municipalities;

(3) has the process to align the (a) Municipal Infrastructure Grant, (b) Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant and (c) Municipal Water Infrastructure Grant been completed; if not, when will it be completed; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

1(a) The details of the planning sessions held during the period 1 February 2014 to 30 April 2014 are: see the link /files/RNW147-150227REPLY.docx

2015-03-12

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