Questions & Replies: Finance B

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2015-03-25

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Reply received June 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1911 [NW2132E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22 MAY 2015

1911.      Ms A Steyn (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) Who are the current chief financial officers of (i) the National Treasury and (ii) the entities reporting to it and (b) what is the qualification of each chief financial officer?                                    

                                                                                                                      NW2132E

REPLY:

 

NAME OF ENTITY

(a) (i) NAME OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER?

(b) QUALIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER?

National Treasury

Mr Daluhlanga Majeke

  • Masters of Business Leadership
  • Bachelor of Commerce
  • Baccalaureus Artium 

Accounting Standards Board

MS Erna Swart

CA(SA) M.Com (cum laude)

Co-operative Banks Development Agency

None

None

Development Bank of Southern Africa

Mrs. Kameshni Naidoo

  • Charted Accountant (SA)
  • Advance Certificate in Auditing
  • Certificate in the Theory of   Accounting Science (CTA)
  • BCom Hons (Accounting)

Financial Intelligence Centre

Veronica Marsh Smit

BCom (Hons) CA(SA)

Treas.Dep

Financial Services Board

Roy Harichunder

B.Com. CA (SA)

Government Employees Pension Fund

None

None

Government Pensions Administrative Agency

Mr. Thomas Matjeni (Acting CFO) Seconded from National Treasury

BCom Accounting and BCom Honours Degree

Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors

Willemina de Jager

CA (SA) ACMA

Pension Funds Adjudicator

Richard Segers

Registered Charted Accountant of South Africa CA(SA)

Land Bank

Mr. Lebogang Serithi

  • BCom (Financial Accounting)
  • BCom (Accounting Science). Honours / CTA
  • Masters of Commerce (Financial Management)
  • Chartered Accountant (SA)

Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers

Jean Goodey

CA(SA)

Public Investment Corporation

Ms Matshepo More

  • CA (SA)
  • Certificate in Theory of Accounting
  • Bachelor of Business Science (Finance)

South African Airways

Wolf Meyer

BPL, BCompt (Hons), CA(SA)

South African Revenue Services

Matsobane Peter Matlwa

  • Bachelor of Commerce
  • Bachelor of Commerce (Hons)
  • Master of Business Administration
  • Master of Commerce; South African and International Income Tax
  • Chartered Accountant (SA)

Sasria

Karen Pepler

  • Chartered Accountant (SA)
  • B Com (Accounting)
  • B Compt. (Honours) – Financial Accounting
  • Certificate in the Theory of Accounting

Tax Ombud

None

None

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION 1808 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22 MAY 2015

1808.    Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether, with reference to the National Treasury’s decision to implement an Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), the implementation of the IFMS has commenced; if not, why not; if so, what (a) progress has been made and (b) is the current status of the IFMS?                 

                                                                                                                        NW2027E

REPLY:

The IFMS team, led by the Office of the Accountant-General, has worked intensively and achieved several successes, which include:

  • Several appointments have been made in the Chief Directorate: IFMS, with the most recent being the Chief Director: IFMS.  These officials bring capacity and the necessary skills to accelerate implementation of the new solution;
  • A panel consisting of service providers was established within a few months of Cabinet’s endorsement (November 2013) and appointments for several work streams have been made;
  • A Programme Management Office (PMO) has been established for purposes of strengthening governance, implementing structures and controls as required by project governance frameworks;
  • Mapping of processes for the new solution utilising key existing products as a departure point are now advanced and change-management activities which are being executed and forward-planned;
  • Negotiations to terminate contracts with service providers, who were part of the previous project iteration, are at an advanced stage with majority having in-principle agreements;
  • A communications strategy is being put in place for broader communication on the progress of the project as well as to provide previews of upcoming events and milestones;
  • The team also continues to engage directly with a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The extent and frequency of engagements will further intensify as the project gains momentum over the next several months; and

The team is presently preparing to conduct readiness assessments at departments, to ensure that their IT infrastructure and platforms are synchronised with the IFMS rollout plan.

 

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 1780 [NW1999E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 May 2015

1780.           Mr A R McLoughlin (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      (a) Which persons are served by the VIP Unit of the SA Revenue Services (SARS), (b) how many of SARS’s personnel are deployed to this unit, (c) how many offices are operated by this unit and (d) where are these offices located;

(2)      what was the total annual cost for the operation of this unit in the (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15 financial years, including but not necessarily limited to (i) salary packages of staff members, (ii) rental of premises, (iii)(aa) purchase or (bb) hire of furniture and equipment, (iv) stationery costs, (v) telecommunication charges, (vi) cleaning services, (vii) transport and (viii) training provided to staff members?                                                                                                                               NW1999E

REPLY:

1(a)             The unit referred to as the VIP Unit is called the Restricted Taxpayer Unit (RTU) and provides an end to end service (meaning all functions relating to tax compliance with SARS) to the following taxpayers:

  • Current and Ex-Presidents,
  • Current and Ex-Deputy Presidents,
  • Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
  • Members of the National Assembly,
  • Members of the National Council of Provinces,
  • Premiers of Provincial Government,
  • Members of Executive Council of Provincial Parliaments,
  • Members of Provincial Parliaments,
  • Directors General and Commissioners of National Bodies,
  • Directors General in the Premiers’ offices of Provincial Government,
  • Traditional Leaders,
  • Ambassadors and United Nations Officials paid in terms of Article VI 19(b) of the UN Convention,
  • Heads of Departments/Public Sector Institutions,
  • Judges of Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and High Court,
  • Executive Mayors,
  • Mayors,
  • Councillors of Metropolitan Municipalities,
  • Leadership of registered trade unions, including the Presidents, General Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, and Spokespersons,
  • SARS Employees of grade 5 and above,
  • Political parties represented in the national and provincial parliaments, and their associated entities, and
  • Other influential, high risk or high profile taxpayers

 

(b)             There are currently 27 employees in the RTU.

 

(c)             At present the unit operates from two offices.

 

(d)              Offices are located in:

 

  • Cape Town, situated at 90 Plein Street in the Parliament Building, and

 

  • Pretoria, situated at Le Hae La SARS- Head Office, 299 Bronkhorst Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk.  

 

2.         The RTU Operational costs are:

 

RTU Operational Cost

Financial Years

(a) 2011/2012

(b) 2012/2013

(c) 2013/2014

(d) 2014/2015

  1. Personnel Expenditure

R 7, 096, 205

R 4, 962, 965

R 3, 383, 875

R 7, 788, 556

  1. Rental of premises

R 0

R 0

R 0

R 0

(iii)(aa) Purchased furniture and Equipment

R 86, 861

R 65, 883

R 227, 991

R 167, 477

(iii)(bb) Hired furniture and Equipment

R 0

R 0

R 0

R 0

  1. Stationery Costs

R 57, 705

R 25, 351

R 26, 379

R 52, 474

  1. Telecommunication Cost

R 103, 684

R 70, 988

R 33, 320

R 61, 223

  1. Cleaning Services

R 22, 980

R 37, 749

R 41, 644

R 81, 146

  1. Transport/ Travel provided to Staff

R 424, 867

R 165, 673

R 223, 440

R 230, 454

(viii)     Training provided to Staff

R 0

R 0

R 0

R 0

Other Expenditure

R 128, 757

R 175, 019

R 156, 610

R 162, 780

Total

R 7, 921, 059

R 5, 503, 628

R 4, 093, 259

R 8, 544, 110

 

It should be noted, relating to the above expenditure, that:

  • In 2011/12 the RTU expenditure was not managed on a separate Budget and thus the expenditure reflected above includes operational cost not limited to the unit. The split of operating cost and the re-organisation of the RTU commenced during the 2012/2013 financial year, and continued in the 2013/2014 financial year. The reason for the increase in expenditure in the 2014/15 financial year was the increase in the taxpayer base of the unit, thus resulting in an increase in staff numbers, which increased personnel and related costs.
  • No rental of premises expenditure was allocated to the RTU
  • Purchased Furniture and Equipment falls under Capital Expenditure
  • Telecommunication Cost includes (Telephone Cost, Cell phone Cost and Data Communication)
  • Transport/ Travel Cost includes (Air Travel, Subsistence Cost and Car Hire)
  • All training requirements were catered for internally through the SARS Academy

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION 1775 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 May 2015

1775.      Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With reference to his Budget speech in which he stated that non-strategic government assets will be disposed of, (a) what is the total value of the non-strategic government assets available for disposal and (b) what do they consist of?

                                                                                                                        NW1993E

REPLY:

and (b) During October 2014, the National Treasury held a market sounding where financial institutions and primarily banks were invited to present their ideas around strategies for funding the allocation to Eskom through the sale of non-strategic government assets.  A wide range of assets were identified which included the sale of listed shareholdings held directly by government, the sale of listed stakes held indirectly by government mainly through Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), the sale of government’s unlisted shareholdings in state owned companies (SOCs) or their subsidiaries, the ring-fencing and sale of assets held by SOCs and the sale of other assets, such as property owned by the state.  The total value of assets identified exceeded R250 billion.  The National Treasury reviewed all the proposals to determine the most viable option for disposing of R23 billion of non-strategic assets to fund the allocation to Eskom.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1733 [N1951E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 MAY 2015

1733.    Mr B M Bhanga (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      What is the National Treasury’s total budget allocated for assisting metropolitan municipalities that experience financial distress in the (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 financial years;

(2)      what is the National Treasury’s contingency plan to assist Gauteng municipalities and metros in financial distress?                 

                                                                                                                  NW1951E

REPLY:

  1. The National Treasury does not provide financial assistance to metropolitan municipalities experiencing financial distress; therefore there is no budget allocation.  However, the National Treasury provides technical assistance on financial management related matters to enable metros to improve their financial position.  The assistance includes amongst others, reviewing the adopted budget to ensure that it is realistic, credible and funded. Furthermore, the municipalities are assisted with the development of a financial recovery plan to improve the cash flow of the municipality.  In addition, the National Treasury through the City Support Programme assists linking cities to the broader intergovernmental system with the aim of improving the way cities function in order to create more inclusive, productive and sustainable cities.
  1. The National Treasury provides technical assistance on financial management related matters to Gauteng municipalities and metros in financial distress. The assistance includes proper financial management through ensuring that adopted budgets are realistic, credible and funded.  Furthermore, municipalities are assisted with cash flow management to ensure that they are able to prioritise their obligations. The process for delegated municipalities includes establishment of a task team between the National Treasury, Gauteng Provincial Treasury and Gauteng CoGTA which will assist in developing a financial recovery plan.  The plan is closely monitored by the Gauteng Provincial Treasury to ensure proper implementation.

 

QUESTION 1715 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15 May 2015

Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With reference to the former Minister of Finance’s reply to question 90 on 18 March 2014, and in light of excessive expenditure by public representatives of taxpayers money (details furnished), what action does the Government intend taking with regard to such excessive expenditure on (a) cars, (b) travel, (c) catering, (d) entertainment and (e) upgrades to offices and houses in all spheres of government?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          NW1933E

REPLY:

The annual Appropriation Act allocates financial resources to national departments. In terms of section 36(2)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), the head of department (Director-General) is the accounting officer and, in terms of 38(1)(b) of the Act, he or she is required to ensure the effective, efficient, economical and transparent use of his or her department’s resources. Sections 6(2)(b) and 6(2)(c) of the PFMA empowers the National Treasury to enforce this Act in national departments and also requires the National Treasury to monitor and assess implementation of the Act in departments, constitutional institutions and public entities.

Government acknowledges that the current economic situation in the country requires public sector institutions to spend prudently. To this end, the National Treasury issued a Treasury Instruction on Cost Containment Measures in December 2013 which was aimed at achieving greater efficiency in expenditure, reduced waste and improved spending in the areas of, amongst others, travel and subsistence, catering and entertainment. This Treasury Instruction took effect from 1 January 2014 and introduced the following restrictions:

  1. Cars

Employees of PFMA compliant institutions, when travelling on official engagements, may only hire vehicles which are classified as a Group B or an equivalent class. A higher group of vehicle may only be hired with the approval of the accounting officer of a department or constitutional institution or the accounting authority of a public entity. Such approval may be granted if the employee is travelling on a particular terrain that requires a certain type of vehicle or to cater for the special needs of employees.

  1. Travel

Accounting officers of departments and constitutional institutions and accounting authorities of public entities may only purchase economy class tickets for its employees where the flying time is for five (5) hours or less. The purchase of business class tickets for flights that are less than five (5) hours may be purchased for persons holding the ranks/positions of Directors-General or an equivalent rank (in departments), persons appointed on grounds of policy considerations in terms of section 12A of the Public Service Act, 1994 (i.e. advisors to executive authorities), accounting authorities of public entities and chief executive officers of constitutional institutions.

For flights exceeding five (5) hours, business class tickets may also be purchased for persons holding the ranks/positions of Director-General, Deputy Directors-General or equivalent ranks
(in departments), advisors to executive authorities, accounting officers of constitutional institutions, accounting authorities of public entities and employees at the level of management that report directly to the accounting officer of a constitutional institution or accounting authority of a public entity. The Treasury Instruction does, however, make provision for the accounting officer or accounting authority to purchase business class tickets for employees with disabilities or for those with special needs.

Accounting officers and accounting authorities are prohibited from purchasing air tickets for first class travel.

  1. Catering

PFMA compliant institutions are only permitted to incur catering expenses for external meetings, i.e. where the meeting is attended by delegates from outside institution. The Treasury Instruction specifically prohibits catering expenses being incurred for internal meetings.

  1. Entertainment

PFMA compliant institutions are precluded from granting entertainment allowances for qualifying employees that exceed two thousand rand (R2000) per person, per financial year.  

  1. Upgrades to offices and houses in all spheres of government

Although no specific clause exists regarding cost containment in the areas of upgrades to offices and houses, the Treasury Instruction on Cost Containment requires accounting officers and accounting authorities to ensure that appropriate expenditure control measures are instituted to provide reasonable assurance to ensure that all expenditure in their respective institutions are, amongst others, necessary and appropriate.

 

QUESTION 1664 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 8 MAY 2015

1664.         Mr H C C Krüger (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      What is the total investment made by the Jobs Fund to date in the Riversands Incubation Hub near Diepsloot in Johannesburg, which is a partnership between the Jobs Fund and Century Property Investments;

(2)      what additional funding has the Jobs Fund budgeted for the project;

(3)      what is the anticipated cost for each job created;

(4)      how does the cost for jobs created compare with other projects funded by the Jobs Fund?                        

                                                                                                                 NW1881E

REPLY :

  1. The total investment made by the Jobs Fund to date in the Riversands Incubation Hub near Diepsloot amounts to R383.47 million. The total amount approved for allocation to the project by the Jobs Fund is R405.97 million, and the matching contribution from Century Property Development amounts to R520.32 million. The total cost of the Riversands Hub project amounts to R926.29 million, comprising a hub facility investment of R855 million (92.3% of the total project budget), and R71.29 million in training, operations and management expenditure. The Hub is located within a commercial park of approximately 3 million m2, with an overall development cost of R12 billion.
  2. The balance of funding still available from the Jobs Fund for the Riversands Incubation Hub project is R22.5 million.
  3. The Riversands Incubation Hub is expected to create 1372 new permanent jobs over the period 2013 to 2018, at a Jobs Fund cost per job of R295 000. This excludes temporary employment opportunities during construction and indirect job creation impacts. The location of the facility in a commercial park is intended to provide market linkage for SMMEs through partnerships with established enterprises and benefits associated with the growth in trade and business activity. The Incubation Hub will remain a centre of support for existing and newly-created SMMEs and informal enterprises beyond the time-frame of the Jobs Fund, and so its longer term employment impact is larger than this estimate.

The average Jobs Fund grant cost per permanent job commitment to date is R52 000. However, the cost per job in infrastructure projects such as the Riverside incubation Hub is typically considerably higher than this, partly because these projects have extended impacts on employment creation beyond the contracted employment commitments during the time-frame of the Fund.

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION 1652 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 8 MAY 2015

1652.         Mr C D Matsepe (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What is his position with reference to the Minister of Social Development’s reply to question 112 on 28 February 2015 that the awarding of the contract to Nexia SAB&T was in line with procurement processes in light of the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 and the National Treasury regulations?

                                                                                                                    NW1869E

REPLY:

The responsibility to approve deviation from competitive bidding resides with the Accounting officer / authority in terms of Treasury Regulations16A6.4.  Should it be impractical to invite competitive bids for specific procurement, e.g. in urgent or emergency cases or in case of a sole supplier, the accounting officer / authority may procure the required goods or services by other means, such as price quotations or negotiations in accordance with Treasury Regulation 16A6.4.  The reasons for deviating from inviting competitive bids should be recorded and approved by the accounting officer / authority or his / her delegate.  Accounting officers / authorities are required to report within ten (10) working days to the relevant treasury and the Auditor-General all cases where goods and services above the value of R1 million (VAT inclusive) were procured in terms of Treasury Regulation 16A6.4.  The report must include the description of the goods or services, the name/s of the supplier/s, the amount/s involved and the reasons for dispensing with the prescribed competitive bidding process

The deviation referred above was reported to the National Treasury.  The auditing of such deviations is done by the Auditor-General.  The outcome of such auditing is reflected in the management letter of the relevant institution and the annual financial statements if the expenditure is regarded as irregular or fruitless and wasteful.

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION 1651 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 8 MAY 2015

1651.         Mr C D Matsepe (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What is his position with reference to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 and the National Treasury regulations in respect of the Minister of Social Development’s reply to question 290 on 28 April 2015 with regard to an additional payment that was made to Cash Paymaster Services which does not require reporting to the National Treasury?                                                                                                                                                                    NW1868E

REPLY:

  1. The National Treasury Instruction Note in respect of enhancing compliance monitoring and improving transparency and accountability in Supply Chain Management issued on 31 May 2011, determines in par 3.9.3 that contracts may be expanded or varied by not more than 20% or R20 million (including all applicable taxes) for construction related goods, works and/or services and 15% or R15 million (including all applicable taxes) for all other goods and/or services of the original value of the contract, whichever is the lower amount. Par 3.9.5 determines that the contents of paragraph 3.9.3 are not applicable to transversal term contracts facilitated by the relevant treasuries and specific term contracts as in such contracts, orders are placed as and when commodities are required and that at the time of awarding the contract, required quantities are not known. In such instances, the accounting authority need not obtain approval from the relevant treasury.

 

  1. The SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) was unable to accurately determine the exact number of beneficiaries to be re-registered at the time of the award of the contract. Due to the additional beneficiaries involved in the re-registration process, SASSA incurred a further amount of R316 447 361.41 (including VAT).  If the cost of the re-registration of additional beneficiaries was charged at the tariff stipulated at the award of the contract, the additional quantities will not be regarded as a deviation. Should the tariff for the re-registration of additional beneficiaries have increased, the transaction would represent a deviation and require to be reported to National Treasury. SASSA’s accounting authority did not regard the additional cost as a deviation and did not report the matter to National Treasury. National Treasury has not reviewed the transaction.

 

The Auditor-General will in terms of the Public Audit Act perform an annual regularity audit on the accounts of SASSA. During the audit, verification of the transaction will be performed and reported on if applicable.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1500 [NW1710E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24 APRIL 2015500.  Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

How will the expansion of the development finance institutions be financed?                                                                                                                     NW1710EREPLY:

In the 2015 Budget speech, the Minister of Finance stated that State Owned Companies including Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) will be financed through offsetting asset sales so that there is no net impact on the budget deficit. 

Going forward, Government will also consider issuance of Government Guarantees to enhance borrowing capacities of the DFIs. However, this will be subject to:

  1. DFIs being able to turn around their performances and delivery on government priorities;
  2. DFIs’ business plans demonstrating that risks associated with these borrowings/exposures will be managed in a sustainable and prudent manner; and
  3. The government closely monitoring the DFIs’ turnaround and overall performance.

DFIs are also encouraged to explore options for partnerships and co-financing with the private sector. Crowding in the private sector will enable the DFIs to leverage more capital for new development projects.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1499 [NW1709E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24 APRIL 2015

1499.       Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether he has identified any regulatory obstacles to faster economic growth to reduce and remove; if not, why not; if so, what are they?              

REPLY:

Regulatory Policy is one of only three levers that government has to influence the economy and plays and important role in shaping the economic environment. The other two levers are taxes and government spending.  There is an appreciation that legislation and regulation has an impact on economic growth as well as the inclusiveness of this growth and that poorly designed regulatory policy can hinder growth as expressed in the National Development Plan. Good Regulatory Policy supports a developmental society through:

  • Lowering the cost of doing business
  • Lowering the cost of living
  • Boosting production and employment through higher exports
  • Gives expression to government’s developmental objectives.
  •  

The largest obstacle that regulatory policy poses to growth is when it creates uncertainty. A lack of clarity on the objectives and manner in which policy is implemented can hinder much-needed investment and slow employment creation. To this end the Presidency introduced the Socio-Economic Impact analysis System as a tool that helps the development of evidence based legislation.  The approach is a more holistic assessment of policy initiatives by considering the impacts to different stakeholders and making an assessment based on the results. This technique allows decision makers to assess the impacts on all different stakeholders, risks in implementation including possible unintended consequences. Four broad criteria are proposed in the application of the SEIAS. They are: social cohesion and security, economic inclusion, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.  Treasury is part of the Steering Committee of this initiative.

Continuous engagements between the private sector and government (relevant parts thereof) help to identify regulatory obstacles not only to growth but also government’s developmental objectives.  Where these are within the mandate of National Treasury work is initiated to address concerns.  Work on regulatory obstacles is also done under the Regulatory Task Team made up of different departments and private sector representatives as part of the Presidential Business Working Group. As part of their work on the 9 SONA priorities ESEID cluster has identified regulatory uncertainty and will address these going forward.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1493 [NW1702E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24 APRIL 2015

1493.    Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)        Whether he had requested the President and the national executive to summon a special bosberaad to consider special government measures to correct with urgency, collaboration and effort possible, the worsening shortage of electricity which the International Monetary Fund as well as the World Bank have cited as the biggest impediment to growth in the economy (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2)        whether he had obtained any expert calculations on the extent to which the implementation of the National Development Plan was giving impetus to GDP; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?                                                                                                                                                              NW1702E             

REPLY:

  1. Government established an Energy War Room and developed a five point plan to respond to the challenges facing the electricity sector. The five point plan comprises of the following key interventions:
  • Immediate measures to improve maintenance and operational practices and expedite the capital expenditure programme coming on line;
  • Renew existing co-generation contracts and obtain additional co-generation capacity;
  • Obtain gas for power generation;
  • Expedite implementation of other Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and e.g. IPP peaker project, coal IPP, renewable energy IPPs (REIPPs)
  • Expand Demand Side Management (DSM) initiatives

 

Highlights in terms of the progress that has been made to date include the following:

  • An interim solution has been put in place at Majuba station that has resulted in all of the units other than Unit 5 returning to full output levels;
  • Medupi Unit 6 was brought on line and has reached an output of 300MW. Post-synchronisation tests have been completed successfully and combustion optimisation is in progress;
  • Plant performance has stabilised and improved somewhat so that rotational load-shedding has reduced;
  • Existing co-generation contracts have been extended with effect from 1 April 2015; and
  • The Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued from 2 500MW of coal IPPs. 

 

  1. At the moment the ability of the economy to grow is limited by the availability of electricity and hence it is difficult to see the positive impact from the implementation of the NDP. The NDP is currently being implemented and the positive impact will be seen only over the next 2 to 5 years and once the electricity constraint is released.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1484 [NW1697E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1484.    Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Finance:†

(1)      Whether the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has invested in shares; if so, what is the extent of the investment; if not,

(2)      whether the PIC has otherwise invested in the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) at all; if so, what is the extent of the investment; if not,

(3)      whether the PIC has shown any interest in (a) Sanral shares and/or (b) any other investment in Sanral; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?               

                                                                                NW1697E

REPLY:

  1. Yes, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) holds investments in shares on behalf of its clients. As at 31 March 2014, the PIC’s Assets under Management (AuM) amounted to approximately R1.6 trillion. Equities represented 58% of AuM (of which 0.56% was rest of Africa and 4.09% was rest of the world), Source:  PIC’s 2014 Integrated Report.
  1. Yes, as at 31 March 2015, the PIC had invested a total of R19.1 billion in Sanral Bonds. The R19.1 billion investment in Sanral constitutes approximately 1% of the PIC’s AuM.
  1. (a) No, in terms of section 3(1) of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, 1998 (Act No 7 of 1998), Government is the sole shareholder of Sanral. (b) At present, there is no indication of the PIC’s interest in other investment(s) in Sanral.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1460 [NW1673E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1460.    Mr T R Majola (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) How many invoices from private contractors to the National Treasury 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?                                                                                                                                                   NW1673E

REPLY:

  1. Nil.
  2. Not applicable.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 1448 [NW1661E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

1448.    Mr T J Brauteseth (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

         What are the relevant details regarding the exact protocol or standing operating procedure to be followed by the National Treasury when considering and processing value-added tax refund claims over the amount of R100 000,00?                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                        NW1661E

REPLY:

All matters pertaining to taxes collected fall under the jurisdiction of the South African Revenue Service.  Therefore, the National Treasury does not issue procedures in so far as VAT refunds.

There is no special protocol or procedure that is followed for VAT refunds exceeding R100 000, however, subject to certain risk rules cases are identified for review.

These steps include but are not limited to:

  • Requesting information from clients in support of their declaration;
  • Evaluation by SARS of the data in support of the declaration; and
  • If required an adjustment to the assessment.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1424 [NW1637E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1424.    Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Does the National Treasury have a Regulatory Burden Reduction strategy in place; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the strategy?                                                                                                                                                                     NW1637E

REPLY:

No, the National Treasury does not have a Regulatory Burden Reduction Strategy in place, as one cannot generalise all regulations to be a burden, particularly since most regulations have broader public interest objectives. For example, regulations to make the financial sector safer are necessary to ensure customers are treated fairly, ensure that our financial institutions remain financially sound and meet international standards like Basel III that enable them to operate in other countries.

The Treasury is also not responsible for sector regulations like health or environmental regulations, which also deal with broader public interest objectives. While certain regulations may increase compliance costs, there are many good reasons for having regulations in place, and for most regulations, the benefits exceed the costs. Where feasible, the government does see the need to harmonise and simplify different sets of regulations in order to minimise costs for those affected.

The National Development Plan identifies the need for reducing the regulatory costs as a fundamental element in growing the economy and creating employment. Given that regulations are issued and administered by various departments and agencies, and not by one department, the mandate for assessing the impact of regulations resides with the Presidency. In line with the National Development Plan, National Treasury’s general approach has been to reduce regulatory burden and the cost of doing business in areas within the sphere of its operations and legislative mandate, to promote investment, stimulate economic growth and to maintain a stable financial system. Treasury also continually comments on regulatory proposals made by other departments, with a view to reducing costs and duplication, and to better harmonise between various types of regulations. 

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 1319 [NW1528E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 April 2015

1319.    Ms N I Tarabella Marchesi (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What was the SA Revenue Service’s total expenditure on rhino poaching interventions in the (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11, (d) 2011-12, (e) 2012-13, (f) 2013-14 and (g) 2014-15 financial years?               

NW1528E

REPLY:

  (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)        The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has no expenditure on rhinoceros “poaching interventions” as this does not fall within the SARS tax and customs mandate.

SARS Customs Operations’ main focus is to maintain and / or increase customs compliance at ports of entry / exit and to provide a customs service that will optimise revenue collection; protect our borders; and facilitate trade.  SARS is responsible for the regulation of movement of goods through all ports of entry into and out of South Africa.

Non-intrusive search and detect capabilities such as detector dogs and scanners play a major role in the prevention and detection of illegal and / or illicit goods and / or substances in and around ports of entry and exit.  Rhinoceros horns are amongst the illicit goods detected using these capabilities.

 

QUESTION 1301 FOR WRITTEN REPLY

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1301.      Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) Where were the funds sourced from to finance the budget deficit for the 2014-15 financial year and (b) what are the terms and conditions of the source of such funds?                                                                      

NW1510E

REPLY:

  1. Funds were raised from domestic short-term loans, domestic long-term loans and foreign loans.  Domestic short-term loans were mainly sourced from commercial banks while domestic long-term loans were sourced from non-resident investors, local pension funds and banks. Loans raised in the international markets were taken up mainly by global fund managers.  Details of the holders of government debt is published in the 2013/14 Debt Management Report published by the National Treasury.

 

The term-to-maturity of loans and the interest rates paid thereon vary.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1299 [NW1508E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1299.      Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      With reference to his reply to question 1995 on 14 November 2014 and his reply to question 64 on 17 March 2015, when does he intend to conduct the survey on the qualifications of all chief financial officers (CFOs) in each national department for 2015;

(2)      whether the current qualifications of CFOs in each national department is still the same since his specified replies; if not, (a) what is the position in this regard and (b) in respect of which departments?                                                                                                                                                                         NW1508E

REPLY:

(1)    The National Treasury will conduct the chief financial officers (CFOs) educational qualification survey during the second quarter of the 2015/2016 financial year in all national departments.

 

(2)    Since the last educational qualification survey, it is known that CFOs of certain national departments have resigned. It is also highly probable those currently in their positions have improved their qualifications since the last survey. The current status regarding the qualifications of CFOs of national departments will become clearer after the relevant information is gleaned from the forthcoming survey. 

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1389 [NW1602E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1389.      Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) What number of (i) financial, (ii) forensic and/or (iii) other investigations that were commissioned by the National Treasury have been completed since 1 April 2013 and (b) in each case, what are the relevant details on the (i) investigation including a synopsis of the facts and findings of each case, (ii) persons or third parties responsible for each investigation, (iii) total cost to date of each investigation and (iv) appropriate steps taken against officials and third parties implicated of wrongdoing in the findings of the investigations?                                                                                                                                                                                                                          NW1602E

REPLY

  1. Refer to attached Annexure A (i); (ii) & (iii)

(b)  (i) All the cases were conducted on behalf of client departments. National Treasury is an agent and not the owner of the reports. Therefore, the respective departments, as reflected on Annexure A, should be responsible for responding to the question posed.

 (ii) National Treasury co-sourced forensic investigation firms through a public tender to build its investigative capacity.  The parties that conducted the investigations are reflected in Annexure A, for each case.

(iii)  Refer to Annexure A for fees paid to co-sourced forensic investigation firms.

(iv) The question should be referred to the relevant client departments, municipalities or entities, as they are responsible for implementing the corrective actions based on the reports, applicable in each case per Annexure A.

ANNEXURE “A”

National Treasury

OAG: Specialised Audit Services’ Forensic Investigations & Special Performance audits

 

No.

Nature

of Assignment

Department/ Municipality/Entities

Investigation Subject and Phases

Investigation Team

(OAG & Co-sourced firm)

Investigation Fees

Investigation Period: 1 April 2014 until 31 March 2015

  1.  

Performance Audit

KZN  Department of Health

Purchase of medical equipment from Independent Development Trust (IDT)- Phase 1

OAG Team- KPMG

704,208.64

Independent Development Trust (IDT)- KZN Health

Existance of medical equipment purchased  from Independent Development Trust (IDT):    Phase 2

OAG Team- KPMG

310,458.02

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

Payments for Intergrated Public Transport System R2.2 Billion: Phase 1

OAG Team- Deloitte

1,302,195.96

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

Procurement for Intergrated Public Transport System: Laphumilanga start-up costs

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

            

EC -Department of Health

Procurement of Various maintenance contracts (Fastmove) Phase 1

OAG Team & PWC

558,364.13

EC -Department of Health

Various maintenance contracts  sub contractors of Fastmove

Phase 2

OAG Team & PWC

3,824,479.98

  1.  

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

EC -Department of Roads & Public Works

Internal Control Reviews of contract management on  Various maintenance contracts :   Phase 3

OAG Team & PWC

127,342.63

  1.  

 

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

KZN Department of Health

National Health Laboratory Services: Phase 2

OAG Team- KPMG

311,379.46

  1.  

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

Gauteng Department of Health 

 

Oncology Medical Equipment Procurement Tecmed : Phase 1

OAG Team- Fundudzi

641,952.00

 

  1.             

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

Gauteng Department of Health  (Tecmed)

All Medical Equipment Procurement: Phase 2

OAG Team- Fundudzi

1,038,406.50

  1.       

Forensic Investigation

KZN- Department of Health

All Medical Equipment Procurement: Phase 2

 

OAG Team- KPMG

480,057.27

  1.          

Forensic Investigation

KZN- Department of Health

Support of criminal investigation: Phase 3

 

OAG Team- KPMG

1,087,622.63

  1.     

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

Gauteng Department of Health 

National Health Laboratory Services: Phase 1

OAG Team- Gobodo

1,190,450.70

  1.          

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

Gauteng Department of Health 

National Health Laboratory Services: Phase 2

 

OAG Team- Gobodo

186,771.17

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

KZN Provincial department of Human Settlements

SHRA  Provincial Special Projects: Phase 2

 OAG Team- Bowman & Gilfillan

129,659.26

  1.  

EC- Provincial department of Human Settlements/SHRA

SHRA  Provincial Special Projects : Phase 2

 OAG Team- Bowman & Gilfillan

  1.  

NW- Provincial Department of Human Settlements/SHRA

Ph SHRA  Provincial Special Projects:  Phase 2

 

 OAG Team- Bowman & Gilfillan

  1.  

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA

Reconciliation of Standard Bank Dormant Bank Account of beneficiaires (R49 million indemnity)

 

OAG Team- Nkonki

351,740.16

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)

Irregular Procurement of Forensic Auditors: Phase 1

 

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

National Treasury Transversal Contract RT3-2012

Collusive Bidding:  Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

CoGTA (Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent)

Audit of Governance processes: Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Performance Audit/ Controls reviews

Road Traffic Infringement Agent ( RTIA)

Reconciliation of funds between RTMC and RTIA:  Phase 1

 

OAG Team- SekelaXabiso

853,930.00

  1.  

Road Traffic Management Corporation     ( RTMC)

Reconciliation of Transaction fees to National Department of Transport: Phase 1

 

OAG Team- SekelaXabiso

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

National Treasury

Irregular procurement:  - Ocean Echo Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

NC -Department of Transport

Leasing Irregularities: Phase 1

OAG Team- Nkonki

1,088,747.77

  1.  

Performance Audit

NC- Department of Health

Value for money audit on technical structure-Kimberley Mental Hospital: Phase 1

 

OAG Team- Gobodo

1,945,670.70

  1.  

Performance Audit

NW -Department of Health

Moses Kotane Infrastructure Assessment: Phase 1

 

OAG Team- Nkonki

1,080,122.50

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

LP Polokwane Municipality

Fraudulent bank details changes Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Performance Audit

Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority

Gorvernance review :Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Ntabankulu Local Municipality

Technical verification of quality of roads and building constructed and existence  :Phase 1

 

 

 

 

OAG Team- ENS

889,363.78

Investigation Period: 1 April 2013 until 31 March 2014

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Free State Department of Agriculture:

Irregular Procurement of Integrated  Dairy Farm Project Phase 1

OAG Team- ENS

 868,447.33

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Independent Electoral Commission of SA

Irregular Leasing of Riverside Office Park

 

OAG Team- PWC

1,835,811.69

  1.      

Performance Audit

KZN Department of Health

Techmed Medical Equipment: Phase 1

OAG Team- KPMG

  604,607.23

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Departmentt of Correctional Services

Irregularities & fraud on  Fencing Project by IDT: Phase 1

 

OAG Team- Nexus Forensics

2,181,074.66

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

National Treasury: Municipal Finance Improvement Programme

Procurement Fraud & CV fraud By SiverSolution: Phase 1

 

OAG Team- KPMG

1,385,999.12

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Department of Arts & Culture:

Procurement Irregularities at the National Library of South Africa: Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Victor Khanye Local Municipality:

Irregularities in the procurement process: Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

National Treasury

Transversal Contract RT41-2011 ME on Health Fronting: Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.    

Forensic Investigation

Northern Cape Provincial Departments:

Trifecta lease contracts: Phase 2

OAG Team- PWC

66,428.35

  1.            

Forensic Investigation

Northern Cape Provincial Departments:

Trifecta lease contracts: Phase 6&7

OAG Team- PWC

1,150,212.35

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

KZN Department of Health: Oncology Investigation

 

All Medical Equipment Procurement: Phase 2

OAG Team- KPMG

3,010,431.38

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Mbizana Local Municipality

Tender fraud: Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

OR Tambo District Municipality

 Misuse of Hired Vehicles and other financial misconducts by Mayoral Offiice:Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Ntabankulu Local Municipality

Irregularities procurement processes & substandard services /or/not delivered:Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

NC- Department of Transport, Safety & Liaison

Irregularities in the procurement processes:Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Limpopo Department  of Public Works Section 100 intervention

Financial mismanagment Phase 4

OAG Team- Gobodo

427,321.91

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality

Finanacial mismanagement Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Kouga Local Municipality

Tender Fraud on Low Housing Projects: Phase 1

 

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

Thembelihle Local Municipality

Irregularities in the procurement processes

Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

  1.  

Forensic Investigation

The Presidency

Financial Misconduct and procurement fraud : Phase 1

OAG Team

N/A

 

 

QUESTION NUMBER: 1300 [NW1509E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1300.      Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) What is the current cost of debt, expressed as a percentage, at the current credit rating and (b) to what percentage will this cost increase if the credit rating is downgraded?                                                                                                                                                                      NW1509E

REPLY:

a) Cost of debt could, loosely be interpreted as the cost of servicing debt. The cost of borrowing, if you were to consider the benchmark government bond is around 7.78%. To manage refinancing risk, government issues more in the longer end of the curve and the indicative cost of borrowing in that segment of the curve is around 8.16%.  The debt service costs associated with governments debt portfolio amounts to 3 % of GDP in 2015/16 (R 126.4 billion), and is projected at 3.1 % of GDP in 2016/17 (R141 billion) and 2017/18 (R 153.4 billion) respectively.

b) Research suggests that credit rating announcements tend to be behind the curve in terms of bringing new information to the markets. Bond markets are generally forward pricing and thus when credit rating opinions become public information, the risks identified by the rating agencies are already priced in by the market and bond investors alike. When rating actions result in a change from investment grade to sub-investment grade, there is a structural shift in the cost of debt. However, empirical evidence suggests that downgrades within the same investment grade rating class have little to no long term effect on yields and the cost of debt.     

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1292 [NW1501E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1292.      Mr G Mackay (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      Whether, with reference to his reply to question 340 on 8 April 2015, the National Treasury was consulted on financing options before the Department of Energy embarked upon signing nuclear co-operation framework agreements with different countries in respect of the 9 600 MW nuclear build programme; if not, what steps did he take to enquire about the financial feasibility of the proposed nuclear deal after he became aware of it; if so, (a) to what extent was the National Treasury consulted and (b) what were its recommendations in this regard;

(2)      (a) has he been informed of the relevant details of the nuclear build procurement process and (b) by what date will this procurement process be finalised?                                                                                                                                 NW1501E

REPLY:

  1. (a) There has been ongoing engagement between the departments. As indicated in the reply to question 340, Government is undertaking a careful and thorough analysis of financing options to ensure the affordability and long term sustainability of the fiscus and financial soundness of a state owned entity like Eskom. This work is taking place under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Technical Committee (NETC) which is led by the Department of Energy and comprises of representatives from various departments, including National Treasury. The NETC provides technical support to the National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordinating Committee (NNEECC) which has subsequently been converted into the Energy Security Cabinet Sub-committee.

(b) The work is still underway. National Treasury has highlighted the importance of undertaking a thorough assessment given that it would be a substantial financial commitment and that the procurement process to be followed must be mapped out in detail, fully compliant legally and drawing on international best practices.

  1. (a) and (b) As indicated above, the work is still underway.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1274 [NW1483E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1274.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Health Insurance policy objective has been costed; if not, why not; if so, is it affordable?                   

                                                                                            NW1483E

REPLY:

Has NHI been costed?

Yes. The National Treasury has reviewed three costing studies as part of its work on financing of National Health Insurance.

  1. The projections set out in the Green Paper were derived from a model of aggregate costs built on projected utilisation trends by five year age-group and projected average unit costs.
  2. Several scenarios of the scope and efficiency of health services were costed by an independent actuarial team, using adjusted price-curve data from existing medical schemes.
  3. The Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) developed a NHI costing model based on detailed diagnostic and treatment cost estimates, drawing on medical scheme data. 

 

While there are broad similarities in the results of the costing models, there is a wide range of long-term cost projections, depending on alternative inputs and assumptions.

Implicit in all costing projections is a partial shift over time from medical scheme coverage to NHI, as NHI becomes fully functional and citizens become familiar with the system. However, costs varied significantly depending on the comprehensiveness of benefits and the service delivery efficiency assumed and how NHI coverage is extended to include purchasing of private services.

Is NHI affordable?

South Africans already spend over 8 per cent of GDP on health services, about half of which is in the public health system. Universal health insurance coverage is financed in many countries within an expenditure level of this order, though the proportion of public expenditure within the total is usually higher than South Africa’s level of about 50 per cent. Within country-specific NHI systems, there is considerable variation in the extent and range of services covered and how providers are reimbursed. There are also various ways in which finance is raised and funding is pooled. Affordability, sustainability and fairness of health services depend on the details of these arrangements. Affordability of a comprehensive range of services also depends on supply of infrastructure, professional health personnel and efficiency of service delivery. Over time, a broader range of services can be financed, depending in part on economic growth and the development of both public and private sector health service capacity.

The forthcoming National Treasury Discussion paper on Financing National Health Insurance outlines institutional reforms and financing options to be considered as part of the phasing in of an NHI system that has to be affordable and sustainable, while ensuring universal access to health services, high standards of care and efficient service delivery. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1273 [NW1481E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1273.       Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Treasury is taking any steps to shift the economy’s growth trajectory from being consumption-led to being growth-led; if not, why not; if so, what steps?                                            

                                                                                                        NW1481E

REPLY:

Yes, as outlined on page 7 of the 2015 Budget Review, “At the heart of the NDP is the need to shift South Africa’s economic growth trajectory from one led by consumption to higher levels of investment and exports”, to create more jobs, eliminate poverty and reduce inequality. The NDP aims to increase investment to 30 per cent of GDP by 2030 (currently at 20.3 per cent of GDP in 2014).

 

The Budget supports the medium-term strategic framework (MTSF) which specifies steps that will ensure that the sources of economic growth shift to investment rather than to consumption over the medium-term. These include:

  • Reduced government consumption to create fiscal space to sustain public investment
  • Prioritisation of infrastructure spending, with a total spending R813.1 billion over the next three years, particularly in the electricity, transport and telecommunication sectors
  • Improved economic policy coordination and implementation, and the development of partnerships between the public sector, business and labour

To further support the shift from consumption to investment lead growth, the Government has prioritized improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public sector investment in metropolitan municipalities. Please refer to Budget 2015, pages 9-10 for further information on this point.

The Industrial Policy Action Plan also focuses on promoting investment and competitiveness in leading sectors and industries such as the green economy, the ocean economy and research and development. 

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1258 [NW1466E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17 APRIL 2015

1258.    Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the purchase of three executive jets had his approval and support and why was the purchase not provided for in the Budget he presented to the National Assembly on 25 February 2015; if not, on what basis was the Government proceeding to acquire the three executive jets at R2 billion; if so, how does he reconcile his call for austerity and roll-back of expenditure in Government with the purchase of three executive jets?

                                                                                  NW1466E

REPLY:

An allocation is made to the Executive and the Executive has the discretion on how the funds will be utilized. The Executive is also held accountable in terms of how the funds are utilized. In respect of the Department of Defence it has a Defence Special Account and purchases from this account are approved by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. The Department of Defence therefore does not need to get specific approval from the Minister of Finance if it has the funds to purchase the three jets.    

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1208 [NW1414E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

1208.    Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With regard to the National Treasury inflation forecast of 4,3% for 2015 and 5,9% for 2016, what factors contributed to the increase between 2015 and 2016?                                                                                                                                   NW1414E

REPLY:

The increase in inflation from 4.3 per cent in 2015 to 5.9 per cent in 2016 is largely driven by an increase in energy prices. The National Treasury Budget forecast assumes that global Brent crude oil prices will rebound in 2016 from the current level to around USD70 per barrel. Electricity inflation is also projected to increase by close to 12 per cent. These increases will feed into other prices, which will lead to overall inflation for 2016 increasing to 5.9 per cent. As any forecast, the inflation forecast has downside and upside risks. For example, if the oil prices are sustained at the current levels, inflation will be lower for 2016 which will provide support to production and consumption. Oil prices can also be higher which will increase the inflationary pressures in the economy and affect negatively economic activity.   

 

 Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1207 [NW1413E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

1207.    Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Treasury has modelled the impact of the electricity supply constraint on (a) mining and (b) manufacturing (i) output and (ii) exports; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

                                                                                            NW1413E

REPLY:

Yes, as outlined in Chapter 2 of Budget 2015, the National Treasury forecast explains the impact of the current electricity constraint on output.  It highlights that the major revisions to overall GDP growth and exports for 2015 and 2016 are driven by the current electricity challenges.  The impact on the mining and manufacturing sectors is projected to be negative and reflect the decline in electricity production.  There are, however, some challenges with estimating the precise impact. These include:

  • Load shedding and load curtailment has been far lower than initially anticipated at the time of the budget.  A combination of factors has contributed to this – including depressed global economic conditions (particularly for commodities) and the faster than anticipated reduction in unplanned outages (return of critical plant) or partial load loss incidences.
  • Households tend to be affected more often by load shedding than firms as the first stage of reducing demand requires that electricity supply is cut to residential areas.  This reduces the impact of load shedding or curtailment on the mining and manufacturing sectors.
  • Commodity price movements - commodity prices have declined both in dollar and rand terms and are affecting negatively the performance of the mining sector.  Some smelters have been willing to sell back electricity because the current commodity prices and demand are not favourable for production.  At this point, it is difficult to distinguish between lower production due to lower commodity prices, rescheduled maintenance of plant (brought forward) and lower production due to electricity shortages.
  • Ability to shift production to the early hours of the morning - while there are electricity shortages during the late afternoon and early evening, the available capacity is sufficient to satisfy demand in the early hours of the morning.  Companies, which can shift production from peak demand periods to off-peak periods, may be able to offset production losses due to load shedding or load curtailment.
  • Most of the electricity intensive firms have been load curtailed rather than load shed. This reduces the negative impacts associated with electricity shortages.  Some companies have been effective in managing load curtailment so that the impact on production has been minimal.  In other cases firms have had to completely stop operations.  There have been only a few instances of stage 3 load shedding with load curtailment levels of 20% since the beginning of the year.  Many energy intensive firms appear to be able to accommodate a 10% load curtailment level but extended periods of greater load curtailment levels result in backlogs and reduced output.
  • Planned versus unplanned load shedding - planned load shedding tends to have a much smaller economic impact than unplanned load shedding.  Eskom has been effective in informing firms of possible load shedding, which has reduced some of the economic cost of stoppages.  However, load shedding has not been planned far enough in advance to completely reschedule.
  • Eskom versus municipalities - generally large electricity intensive firms are supplied directly by Eskom.  There are many firms, however, which are supplied directly by municipalities.  There are some challenges identifying whether firms supplied by municipalities have been affected more negatively than firms supplied by Eskom.
  • Sharing of information - companies are generally reluctant to share information on how they are affected by the electricity shortages. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1160 [NW1361E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 MARCH 2015

1160.    Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) How many sick leave days were taken by employees of the National Treasury in the 2013-14 financial year and (b) what was the total cost thereof in rand?                                                                                                                        NW1361E

REPLY:  

During the 2013 leave cycle (a) 8160 sick and disability leave days were taken by employees at an estimated cost of (b) R13,372,000.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Breakdown of sick leave for the 2013 leave cycle as reported in the 2013/14 Annual Report

  1. Days                      (b) Amount
  1. Normal Sick Leave                    7415                             R12,032,000
  2. Incapacity / Disability Leave*                 745                               R1,340,000         

Total                                                    8160                             R13,372,000

* Incapacity/disability leave is reported and verified through an independent health risk manager and is for periods where an employee’s normal sick leave has been exhausted.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1126 [NW1291E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION:  27 MARCH 2015

Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

  1. What amount did (i) the National Treasury 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?      

                                                                                                                  NW1291E

SEE ATTCHED LINK FOR REPLY: /files/RNW1126-150506REPLY.docx

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1091 [NW1256E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION:  27 MARCH 2015

Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What amount did (a) the National Treasury 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?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             NW1256E

REPLY:

  1. The following amounts were spent by the National Treasury on advertising in the New Age newspaper:

RSA Retail Savings Bonds

(i)   2011-12

                             R51 810.72

(ii)  2012-13

R218 150.40

(iii) 2013-14

R.0.00

  1. The following amounts were spent by the entities reporting to the Minister of Finance on advertising in The New Age newspaper in the respective financial years

Government Pension Administration Agency

  1. 2011-12

                                     R0.00

  1. 2012-13

R324 544.00

  1. 2013-14

R339 811.00

South African Airways

  1. 2011-12

                           R326 560.00

  1. 2012-13

R1 604 007.98

  1. 2013-14

R2 206 903.20

South African Revenue Service

  1. 2011-12

R987 044.40

  1. 2012-13

R 829 659.70

  1. 2013-14

R0.00

No other entities spent funds on advertising in The New Age newspaper in the identified financial years.

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 1069 [NW1230E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

1069.    Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Finance:†

(1)    Whether he is able to give an indication of the holiday clubs that generate income run according to the point system and are not run according to the Sectional Titles Act, Act 95 of 1986, and/or the Share Blocks Control Act, Act 59 of 1980;

(2)    whether holiday clubs based on a point system are classified as entities that qualify for exemptions in terms of scetion 10(1)(e) of the Income Tax Act, Act 58 of 1962; if so, on what grounds; if not,

(3)    whether the billions of rands that this type of holiday club generates (a) are taxed or (b) will be taxed; if not, why not; if so, how much tax has been collected from the point system clubs since 2000 for each individual financial year;

(4)    whether the National Treasury will undertake a fullscale investigation into the financial and specifically the tax matters of the (a) holiday clubs based on the point system, (b) groups, (c) relationships and (d) subsidiaries (i) in which and (ii) by means of which they are run and that are exempted from such Act on an unlawful basis?

                                                                                                          NW1230E

REPLY:

  1. No, as the legislation referred to ( Sectional Titles Act, Act 95 of 1986 and Share Blocks Control Act, Act 59 of 1980) under which holiday clubs may operate, is not the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. Therefore, I am unable to provide any information on the activities related to these entities. The Honourable Member is referred to the responsible Minister for any such information on holiday clubs. 
  1. No, my interpretation of tax legislation is that holiday clubs based on a points system do not qualify for exemption in terms of section 10(1)(e) of the Income Tax Act, Act 58 of 1962.
  1. Yes, these entities are taxed as any other business entity. As these activities are not separately identified from other business types, e.g. hotels, accommodation, etc., the estimated tax revenues payable by them for holiday club activities cannot be estimated at this stage by the South African Revenue Service.
  1. No, the South African Revenue Service does not plan to have a fullscale investigation into the financial and tax matters of these entities. The Honourable Member is free to provide any information on tax evasion that he may have to the Commissioner of SARS if he believes there is evidence to justify any such investigation. Any consumer oriented abuse should also be referred to the NCC.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 966 [NW1124E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

966.      Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)    What forecasting model was used with regard to the 2% growth forecast in 2015 and 3% in 2016;

(2)    whether the implication of the forecasted growth not being actualised has been considered; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?                                                                                                                                       NW1124E

REPLY:

  1. The core model underlying the National Treasury’s forecasts is the National Treasury Quarterly Forecasting Model (QFM). It is a demand-side econometric model that reflects the small, open nature of the South African economy. The QFM is centered on the national accounts identity and entails estimating the different components of demand.[1] The supply side is represented by a measure of potential output which is calculated based on the stock of labour and capital in the economy. The main real expenditure categories include:
  • Consumption – based on wages, employment and interest rates
  • Private investment – based on domestic and world growth, commodity prices, capacity utilization and the user cost of capital. Government and public corporation investment are determined exogenously.
  • Exports – based on foreign demand, relative export price competitiveness, the real effective exchange rate, and commodity prices.
  • Imports – based on domestic demand, import prices and the effective exchange rate.

The repo rate is determined via a Taylor-type monetary policy rule and interest rates feed through all of the significant expenditure categories. The rand-US dollar exchange rate is determined by interest rate and inflation differentials and is also influenced by commodity prices. This exchange rate provides the base for the movement of the rand against other major currencies (euro, pound, yen and renminbi). The estimation of headline inflation is the main driver of prices, which determines nominal outcomes in the model. Nominal expenditure components form the base for tax revenue estimates. The model provides estimates for all of the major tax bases.  QFM consists of 279 variables, of which 139 are determined endogenously (i.e. by the model). 21 of the endogenous variables are determined by behavioral equations.  Behavioral equations estimate South African specific short-run and long-run economic relationships simultaneously based on the relevant economic theory. This is a similar model structure used at central banks and other national treasuries. The South African Reserve Bank and the Bureau of Economic Research at Stellenbosch University use similar models as their core macroeconomic model.

The model forecast requires a set of assumptions, which generally describe the global economic environment over the medium term. Some of the key assumptions are for global growth and commodity prices. These are based on analysis conducted by the National Treasury as well as other research institutions such as the World Gold Council, the World Platinum Investment Council, The Economist Intelligence Unit, The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc. The assumption for global demand is based on the forecast published by the IMF in the World Economic Outlook. The continuous revisions of global growth by the IMF have been a major source of forecast error in the National Treasury projections.

In addition the forecast produced by the core model is supplemented by the outputs of smaller models, which provide short-term forecasts of specific variables such as inflation, potential growth and the terms of trade.

  1. As part of each forecast, the National Treasury’s Economic Modelling and Forecasting unit produces a set of alternative scenarios, which highlight the main risk to the forecast. These were presented in the last Budget in Chapter 2 on page 20.

The forecast scenarios feed into the fiscal risk report, which highlights their impact on the fiscal framework. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 965 [NW1123E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

965.      Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With regard to the structural and competitiveness challenges that hold back production and investment in our economy mentioned in his 2015 Budget Speech, what (a) challenges were identified and (b) steps have been taken to address them?                                                                                                                                          NW1123E

REPLY:

  1. The 2015 Budget Review identified the lack of sufficient electricity as the most binding constraint to production and investment. Other constraints identified were transport and telecommunications infrastructure as well as skills constraints, regulatory uncertainty and concentrated markets that discourage new entrants.
  1. Various stakeholders are responsible for taking the necessary steps to address the above challenges, including Government, Business and Labour, and some of these are outlined in the National Development Plan.  With regard to Government, the President also announced in his 2015 State of the Nation address that government has agreed on nine strategic priorities to pursue this year, in partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders. They are:
  • Resolving the energy challenge
  • Revitalising agriculture
  • Adding value to our mineral wealth
  • Enhancement of the Industrial Policy Action Plan
  • Encouragement of private investment
  • Reducing workforce conflict
  • Unlocking the potential of small enterprises
  • Infrastructure investment
  • Support for implementation of the NDP through in-depth, result-driven processes, known as Phakisa laboratories

See pages 26 to 28 of the Budget Review 2015 for a fuller discussion. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 964 [NW1122E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

964.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Treasury has modelled the impact of above inflation public sector salary increases on continuing fiscal sustainability; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?                                

                                                                                                          NW1122E

REPLY:

As reported in the 2015 Budget Review, latest work conducted by National Treasury reveals that most Public Servants are in the top 30 per cent of wage earners nationally. Consolidated national and provincial wage bill, including public entities, stands at 40.6% of gross total revenue as of 2013/14 compared to a level of 31.5% of gross total revenue in 2006/07. Over the same period, the share of wage bill on GDP rose from 9.4% to 11.3%, respectively. The greatest proportion of wage increases is explained by wage adjustments, while personnel growth explains a significant but smaller proportion.

An increase in salaries of 10%, as demanded by Labour Unions currently, will lead to an increase in the wage bill of R20bn over and above the baseline for 2015/16. This will increase the share of the wage bill on gross tax revenue by 1.7 percentage points, its share on GDP will increase by 0.5 percentage points, while overall change in composition of total government expenditure will be 1.5 percentage points in favour of compensation of employees.

In previous budget cycles resources were available to accommodate unanticipated wage pressures. The three year wage agreement that was linked to CPI further made it easy for government to budget. Given the current economic constraint coupled with high government debt, there is limited scope to provide more resources over the MTEF period. Any departure from the path of CPI-linked cost-of-living adjustments cannot be financed through debt issuance and will therefore require either a reallocation of resources from other spending areas (capital, goods and services, transfers), or prompt a need to reduce government employment.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 963 [NW1120E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

963.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What impact has he found will the R25 billion budget expenditure ceiling reduction have on service delivery?               

                                                                                                          NW1121E

REPLY:

The National Treasury expects a minimal impact on service delivery, as the reductions to budget allocations in 2015/16 and 2016/17 have been targeted at non-essential items of expenditure.

The reductions will be achieved through:

  • A freeze on nominal growth in spending on non-essential goods and services items, in other words maintaining spending on such goods and services at 2014/15 levels, or allowing only inflationary growth on some items;

 

  • The withdrawal of funding for a large portion of vacant posts that exist in certain departments; and

 

  • Lowering the rate of growth in transfers to public entities to be in line with inflation and to absorb some of the cash reserves accumulated in public entities.

The same principles have been applied to identify spending reductions within provinces and public entities.

Further details on the specific baseline reductions can be found in the 2015 Estimates of National Expenditure and details on provincial baseline reductions can be found in the individual provincial Budget Statements published by Provincial Treasuries.

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 867 [NW1016E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

867.      Ms A M Dreyer (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      Whether the National Treasury or entities reporting to him provides any type of sponsorships; if not, 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 the sponsorship deals end;

(2)      whether the National Treasury 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?                                                                        NW1016E

REPLY:

The National Treasury and most entities reporting to the Minister of Finance do not provide any type of sponsorships.

 

The following entities provide some form of sponsorship;

 

DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

 

1.         (a)        Annual IMFO conference

(b)        R500 000.00

            (c)        October 2014

(d)        Annual conferences undertaken as and when the need arises for business to engage with stakeholders and profile products and services to clients. No sponsorship deal has been entered into.

 

2.         (a)        Ethiopia Powering Africa Conference

(b)        R43 115.00

(c)        November 2014

(d)        Once off conference sponsorship for business development activities. No sponsorship deal has been entered into.

 

 

 

3.         (a)        Loans and Bonds Conference

(b)        R214 431.60

(c)        March 2015

(d)        Annual conference undertaken as and when the need arises for business to engage stakeholders and profile products and services to clients. No sponsorship deal has been entered into.

 

 

4.         (a)        Global Business Roundtable

(b)        R250 000.00

(c)        March 2015

(d)        Once off Doing Business in Africa Trade and Investment Opportunities Summit. To be considered when the need arises.  No sponsorship deal has been entered into.

 

 

5.         (a)        Central Corridor Industry and Investment Forum

(b)        R550 000.00

(c)        March 2015

(d)        This was in collaboration with Africa Strategic Infrastructure Initiative of The     World    Economic Forum and partners:

AUC, NEPAD Agency, African Development Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. No sponsorship deal entered into.

 

6.         (a)        SALGA National Assembly

(b)        R500 000.00

(c)        March 2015

(d)        Bi-Annual local government conference supported as and when suitable for business requirements. No sponsorship deal has been entered into.

 

(2)        (a) & (b) The DBSA has no intention to enter into any sponsorship deal or contract in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years. DBSA only sponsors and participates in activities relevant to its business as and when the need arises and does not enter into any form of sponsorship contracts with other entities.

 

LAND BANK

The Land Bank does provide sponsorship to support its stakeholders and clients. The sponsorship is aimed at branding and positioning the Bank in the Agriculture sector.

See the following spreadsheet link for more details;: /files/RNW867-150421.docx

 

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

  1. Yes - South African Airways engages in sponsorships that are in line with company’s approved sponsorship policy.  We employ sponsorship as a tool to achieve the following objectives:

 

  • drive the business commercial objectives – primarily, revenue growth and brand awareness objectives
  • Enhance SAA’s brand equity
  • Deliver on SAA’s  internal and external communication objectives

 

  1. All sponsorships are in line with the company’s sponsorship policy.   All sponsorships are strictly Value in Kind (VIK) and no cash outlay. 
    • Further, Should a sponsorship property not be in line with the current policy but be deemed to have potential to derive substantial commercial benefits for SAA, the policy provides for the CEO written approval subject to a written submission. 
  1. The current Sponsorship portfolio and values are as following:

 

Property

Value

Start Date

End Date

  1. SA Rugby (All teams and squads)

R90.6535m over 5 years

2011

31 December 2015

  1. SASCOC

R20m over 3 years

15 July 2014

31 December 2016

  1. Miss SA

 

R600,000

 

Reviewed Annually

 

12 Months

 

  1.  SAA continues to explore new sponsorship opportunities where enhanced brand equity and commercial benefits could be derived.
    1. Yes 2015/16 and 2016/17, SAA intends to explore sponsorship opportunities that will be based both on SAA Policy guidelines and where there is potential to derive revenue growth and brand awareness  opportunities
    2. SAA Sponsorship division is currently in discussions with various private sector partners, with broader marketing and brand appeal to our target market segments, to establish partnerships and or sponsorship out of which commercial value could be derived as per point (a) above.
    3. Going forward, the terms of each agreement will be informed (as a standard) firstly by SAA Sponsorship Policy, as well as between 1 – 3 years subject to annual reviews and based on performance against objectives of each agreement.
    4. The value of each of the future contracts will be dependent on the size of the value of each opportunity/contract, and what commercial value will be extracted from it.

SASRIA

  1. Sasria SOC Limited uses sponsorships for marketing the product and brand within the industry as well as to strategic partners.

 

Details of sponsorships

Value of sponsorship

Period of sponsorship

Insurance Institute of Gauteng: Charity Auction , industry year end dinner, industry golf day,  and industry educational seminars

R326 659

April 2011 – March 2012

Insurance institute of KZN: Gala dinner and educational seminars

R158 000

April 2011 – March 2012

Financial Intermediaries Association : Annual dinner

R90 000

March 2012

Insurance Institute of SA : Conference promotional items

R14 474

March 2012

Insurance Institute of the Cape of Good Hope: national educational seminars

R 115 000

April 2011 – March 2012

Local Government Business Network : conference sponsorship

R85 500

April 2011 – March 2012

South African Local Government Association : Conference sponsorship and provincial lekgotla

R400 000

December 2011

Phedisabana Charity

R30 000

November 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are sponsorships undertaken during the 2012/2013 financial year:

Details of sponsorships

Value of sponsorship

Period of sponsorship

Insurance of Loss Adjusters: educational seminars 

R35 535

April & Aug 2012

Insurance institute of EC: educational seminar

R10 000

April 2012

Insurance institute of Free State: annual dinner

R21 060

May 2012

Financial Intermediaries Association : product awareness presentations

R20 789

April 2012 - March 2013

Insurance Institute of Risk Managers: annual dinner, conference, and educational seminars

R156 160

April 2012 - March 2013

Insurance Institute of the Cape of Good Hope: national educational seminars and industry gala dinner

R 55 500

April 2012 – March 2013

Local Government Business Network : conference sponsorship

R35 950

May 2012

Insurance institute of the Border : Annual dinner and educational seminar

R25 000

April 2012 – March 2013

Drakensburg Insurance Institute : Annual Dinner

R15 000.00

October 2012

Insurance Institute of Northern Gauteng: Year end event

R30 000.00

November 2012

Insurance Institute of East Rand: Year end event

R10 000.00

November 2012

Insurance Institute of KZN: Inaugural event

R10 000.00

March 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are sponsorships undertaken during the 2013/2014 financial year

 

Details of sponsorships

Value of sponsorship

Period of sponsorship

Drakensburg Insurance Institute : Annual Dinner

R5 300

Sept 2013

Financial Intermediaries Association : regional conference, annual dinner, educational seminars

R384 482

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance of Loss Adjusters: educational seminars 

R24 561

April 2013 – March 20134

Insurance Institute of East Rand: Year end event and educational seminar

R27 000

Oct 2013 and March 2014

Insurance Institute of Northern Gauteng: Year end event and educational seminars

R60 000

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance Institute of the Cape of Good Hope: national educational seminar and industry gala dinner

R29 500

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance institute of Free State: annual dinner and industry breakfast

R8 710

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance Institute of Gauteng: Annual dinner and educational seminars

R119 170

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance Institute of KZN: Inaugural event: Annual dinner and educational seminar

R83 000

November 2013

Insurance Institute of Risk Managers: annual dinner, conference, and educational seminars

R30 260

April 2013 – March 2014

Insurance institute of EC: dinner

15 000

March 2014

Vrystat Landbou : product awareness

7 018

April 2014

 

Below are sponsorships undertaken during the 2014/2015 financial year

 

Details of sponsorships

Value of sponsorship

Period of sponsorship

Agri SA Northwest : product awareness presentation

R18 000

August 2014

Agri SA Northern Cape: product awareness presentation

R15 000

October 2014

Drakensburg Insurance Institute : industry event

R15000

June 2014

Econorisk administration services : client event

R10000

October 2014

Financial Intermediaries Association : educational seminars

R13 157

April 2014 – March 2015

Insurance Institute of the Cape of Good Hope: industry gala dinner

R5000

October 2014

Insurance Institute of Gauteng: Annual dinner and charity auction

R161 350

May 2014 - November 2014

Insurance Institute of KZN: Charity and educational seminar

R21 500

June and July 2014

Insurance Institute of SA: industry event

R8 772

November 2014

Agri SA Mpumalanga

R25 000

May 2015

SAMIA : industry event

R5 000

June 2015

SAUMA : conference

R15 000

May 2014

Insurance institute of EC: dinner

R 20 000

September 2014

Insurance institute of Free State : annual dinner

R25 000

November 2014

Total

R367 780

 

 

  1. Sasria will continue to use strategic sponsoring marketing in the 2015/2016 financial year as well as the 2016/2017 in order to elevate the brand and product awareness. The sponsorships are committed and reviewed at the end of each financial year. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 823 [NW970E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

823. Dr P W A Mulder (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Finance:†

Whether the means test for persons who qualify for an old-age pension will be phased out by 2016, as was announced by the previous Minister of Finance on 26 February 2013; if not, from what date will the means test no longer be applicable; if so, what are the relevant details?                     

                                                                                                                      NW970E

REPLY:

There is no set date for the removal of the means test for the Old Age Grant.  It was announced during the 2014 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement that the “removal of the means test for access to the Older Person’s Grant has been deferred and will form part of the comprehensive social security reform process”.  In the 2015 Budget speech, it was further announced that Government would this year publish the much awaited discussion paper on comprehensive social security reforms.  Removal of the means test has to be considered in this context rather than a standalone reform.  Fiscal constraints also pose a key challenge and the total expenditure ceiling of government has been revised downwards in the budget 2015/16, therefore limiting the ability of government to fund this reform at the present time.  A change was made to the means test in 2014/15 as a step to increasing access among the elderly. 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 707 [NW855E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

707.      Mr D W MacPherson (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)        What discussions have taken place between the (a) National Treasury, (b) KwaZulu-Natal local government and (c) eThekwini Municipality about funding the 2022 Commonwealth Games, in view of the specified municipality’s announcement that it will be bidding for the event;

(2)        what, if any, commitments have been made by the National Treasury to fund the event;

(3)        what, if any, amount will the National Treasury make available to fund the event;

(4)        whether funds will be diverted from the budget of any (a) government department or (b) entity to fund the event? 

                                                                                                            NW855E

REPLY:

  1. No discussions have taken place between the National Treasury, the KwaZulu-Natal local government and eThekwini Municipality about funding the 2022 Commonwealth Games
  2. No commitments have been made by the National Treasury to fund the event
  3. No funding has been made available for the event in 2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework
  4. No funding has been diverted from any budget of any government department or entity in the 2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework to fund the event

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 706 [NW854E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

706.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With reference to the Foreword of the Budget Review released on 25 February 2015, can he explain what is meant by the National Treasury’s Director-General’s assertion that the National Treasury aims to reach a fair, sustainable public-sector wage agreement that protects the purchasing power of public servants?                                                                                                                                                                                        NW854E

REPLY:

Government is committed to containing costs and improving composition of expenditure. The period between 2007/08 and 2012/13 was characterised by worsening composition of expenditure in favour of compensation of employees. This was largely a result of significantly above-inflation wage settlements, introduction of occupation-specific dispensation (OSD) and increase in personnel growth even during times of economic turmoil.

 

Fair remuneration is that which fully compensates employees for the value created in delivering public services. A wage agreement that protects the purchasing power of public servants is that which ensures that the standard of living of public servants remains unchanged in the face of an increase in cost of living, i.e. public servants are in a position to purchase the same goods and services as they did during previous periods. This is achieved through implementing cost of living adjustments that are in line with changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI); which provides a comprehensive measure of changes in cost of living.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 705 [NW853E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

705.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

With regard to the projected deficit decline from R162,2 billion in the 2015-16 financial year to R117,3 billion in the 2016-17 financial year in his 2015 Budget Vote, largely the result of a R142,6 billion increase in revenue, what is the forecasted source of the additional revenue?     

                                                                                                                                    NW853E

REPLY:

Several factors explain the R142.6 billion increase in consolidated government revenue between 2015/16 and 2016/17. Main budget revenue rises by R116.7 billion. This is the result of higher tax revenue, which increases approximately in line with nominal GDP growth, and lower Southern African Customs Union (SACU) payments, reflecting downward revisions to SACU imports.

 

The remaining R25.9 billion of the increase is primarily due to strong growth in projected social security funds revenue. Higher contributions and investment income improve the outlook of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), while operational improvements at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and Compensation Fund increase projected revenue collections. The 2015/16 increase in the RAF levy also feeds through to 2016/17 revenue estimates.

dard of living of public servants remains unchanged in the face of an increase in cost of living, i.e. public servants are in a position to purchase the same goods and services as they did during previous periods. This is achieved through implementing cost of living adjustments that are in line with changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI); which provides a comprehensive measure of changes in cost of living.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 704 [NW852E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

704.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What process was followed in (a) identifying which non-strategic assets should be put up for sale and (b) identifying buyers for these non-strategic assets?                                                                                                                                                                           NW852E

REPLY:

  1. The National Treasury held a market sounding where close to twenty financial institutions, mainly banks, presented options of assets that could be sold and the strategies that could be used for doing so. Each of the options was assessed against a number of criteria, which included an assessment of the strategic importance of the assets and the timing of the receipt of the proceeds, in order to identify the most viable options for financing the allocation of funding to Eskom. Needless to say government has further authorized the development of a much broader framework for evaluating what is strategic and core to government business and what is not. Such a framework would be discussed and approved through the normal channels of processing such policies before they become government policy.
  1. The most suitable buyers will vary depending on the asset to be sold and the strategy for doing so.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 675 [NW819E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 MARCH 2015

675.      Mr M L Shelembe (NFP) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)        How does the Government view the negative implication of the much lower than projected 5% growth rate by 2019 on our youth and employment opportunities for them, in light of the statement by the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma, during the State of the Nation Address on 12 February 2015 that the Government’s targeted economic growth rate of 5% is at risk and his statement during the Budget Speech on 25 February 2015 that the projected economic growth rate for 2015 is a mere 2%;

(2)        does the Government draw any significant correlation between youth unemployment, the high crime rate and increased social unrest;

(3)        what steps will the Government take to ameliorate the negative effects of the decreased economic growth rate on employment opportunities for our youth?                                                                                                                   NW819E

REPLY:

  1. Low rates of economic growth pose negative risks to employment growth in the whole labour market, including young workers. Young work seekers are exposed to two potential risks: (i) low current employment levels and (ii) low prospects for future employment due to long spells of unemployment.

 

  1. Internationally, much economic and sociological research on this topic exists[1]. Although positive correlation between unemployment and crime (or unrest) is observed in a number of specific countries, the relationship is not consistent across countries or across different types of crime or unrest. The National Development Plan notes that a frustrating and destabilising environment where young people cannot get work can contribute to violence, crime, alcohol abuse and other social ills.

 

  1. The Economic Development Department entered into an Accord on Youth Employment, which leads Government’s overarching response to youth unemployment. The programmes include education and training programmes, work exposure programmes, public sector measures, youth target set-asides, youth entrepreneurship and cooperatives and private sector measures. A number of the programs have yielded positive results, such as:
  • Initial estimates suggest the employment tax incentive has supported employment for over 216 000 workers between the ages of 18 and 29. Initially it was estimated that the ETI would support between 120 000 and 280 000.
  • Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), including the Community Works Programme, has created over 1 million jobs. Approximately 50 per cent of these have been for the youth, with the target set to increase to 55 per cent. To help meet our target of creating over 6 million work opportunities, 3.3 million of which are for the youth, government has committed R6.8bn over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to the EPWP.
  • The Jobs Fund has a specific focus on addressing youth unemployment. Since inception, 13,778 new permanent jobs and 8,874 have been created for the youth as a result of these initiatives.
  • The National Rural Youth Services Corps, which employs and trains rural youth in a variety of skills, such as building and farming, or skills to match the needs of the communities from which they are recruited, has added 5,000 participants in 2014/15. It intends to create a further 9,000 over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, for which it will receive funding of R1.3bn.

 


[1] For example: Agell Jonas and Nilsson Anna (2003), “Crime, Unemployment and Labor Mar- ket Programs in Turbulent Times”, Journal of the European Economic Association. Chiricos Theodor (1987), “Rates of Crime and Unemployment: An Analysis of Aggregate Research Evidence”, Social Problems, 34:187-211. Fougère Denis, Francis Kramarz and Julien Pouget (2006), “Youth Unemployment and Crime in France”, IZA Discussion Paper No. 2009. Freeman, R.B. (1991), “Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths”, NBER Working Paper Series 3875. Poutvaara, Panu and Mikael Priks (2007), “Unemployment and Gang Crime: could Prosperity Backfire?”, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) Working Paper No.2710, CESifo Working Paper 1944, Bonn: IZA. Raphael Steven and Winter-Ebmer Rudolf (2001), “Identifying the Effect of Un- employment on Crime”, Journal of Law & Economics, 44: 259-284.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 630 [NW711E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 March 2015

630.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

What were the terms of the severance of the employment relationship between the SA Revenue Service and a certain person (name furnished)?

                                                                                                                        NW711E

REPLY:

The certain person tendered his resignation in the midst of his disciplinary hearing, which SARS considered favourably and accepted. Due to a confidentiality clause in the agreement SARS is prohibited from disclosing any additional information regarding the severance agreement. 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 629 [NW710E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 March 2015

629.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Why has the SA Revenue Service (SARS) not released the Sikhakhane Report to the public?                                                                                                                                                                                           NW710E

REPLY:

The Sikhakhane report forms the basis of further investigations which the SARS   Commissioner has instituted to address allegations of misconduct involving senior officials of SARS. The release of the report may prejudice the outcome of such investigations/ disciplinary proceedings. 

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 628 [NW709E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 MARCH 2015

628.      Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether he was aware of the covert intelligence unit operating within the SA Revenue Service; if so, how was the operation of the unit (a) funded and (b) accounted for in the entity’s annual financial statements?            

NW709E

REPLY:

Until the allegations began surfacing in the media, I was not aware of a “covert unit” operating within South African Revenue Service (SARS).  However, SARS has already commissioned forensic investigations and independent Legal Counsel to help them understand the nature of the unit, its funding and how it was accounted for in annual financial statements.  This process will take time and will need to be conducted unhindered and uninterrupted.

Over and above the SARS internal processes, I have established an Advisory Committee led by retired Judge Kroon to further assist in looking at the overall Organisation including all the allegations.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 582 [NW663E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 MARCH 2015

582.      Mrs M R Shinn (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(a) When was the Market Sounding Study on broadband (i) commissioned and (ii) completed, (b)(i) who carried out the study and (ii) at what cost and (c) what (i) was the scope and (ii) were the key findings of the study?   NW663E

REPLY:

 

  1. (i) & (ii) The market sounding was not a commissioned study, but an exercise to obtain the view of the private sector on broadband issues. The market sounding exercise took place on the 25th, 26th, 27th and the 31st of July 2012.

 

  1. (i) Key industry role players, from all parts of the broadband value chain, and domestic and international banks were invited to present their views on South Africa’s broadband environment to a panel of policymakers. The National Treasury, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the Department of Communications and the Department of Public Enterprises were represented in the market sounding panel.

 

(ii) The market sounding had no cost implications for government. No research study was commissioned as part of this process and the market sounding was held at the National Treasury’s offices.

 

  1. (i) National Treasury conducted the market sounding exercise in order to understand the associated fiscal support and the range of potential funding models that may be required to catalyse the rollout, through understanding the challenges within the sector and looking at possible approaches for achieving the targeted broadband coverage.

 

(ii) The following findings were common amongst most of the presentations to the panel:

  • In general, there is sufficient broadband infrastructure on an international, national and metro level, with some gaps. The major bottleneck is the deficit on the last mile.
  • Internationally, rural areas are most cost effectively served through wireless technologies (mobile and satellite) and urban areas by fibre optic networks in order to satisfy high density demand. Global best practice requires state financial support for the construction of networks, with most countries focusing such support on access in rural areas. Additional support targeted at demand stimulation through computer literacy and computer subsidy schemes is often required
  • Government and the private sector need to work together in order to clearly identify the gaps in broadband infrastructure in South Africa.
  • Existing infrastructure should be leveraged and regulatory and policy bottlenecks need to be removed to allow the private sector to build where it is viable.
  • The costs of broadband infrastructure development depend on: the type of technology used, the speed and capacity requirements, the project timelines, the extent of rural area coverage required, the required network density, the state of existing infrastructure and the extent of the backbone network to be rolled out.
  • Depending on the approach adopted, the full cost of the roll out would not have to be borne by Government. However, nearly all of the participants highlighted that some kind of government funding would be required, especially in terms of supporting the roll out of broadband infrastructure in rural areas and supporting demand side interventions.
  • The spectrum needs to be allocated as soon as possible. There was consensus that the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum licenses need to be bundled together and to ensure that entities which have licenses for lucrative spectrum also have an obligation to roll out broadband in underserviced areas. Spectrum needs to be taken away from entities not currently using their allocations efficiently.
  • The rapid deployment guidelines provided for in the Electronic Communications Act need to be urgently finalised to ensure rapid approvals for infrastructure roll out, EIAs and way-leave approvals.
  • A technology neutral, open access network was recommended.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 540 [NW620E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 MARCH 2015

540.      Ms A Steyn (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether any employees in the National Treasury have been on suspension with full salary since 1 January 2014; if so, (a) how many employees and (b) what is the total cost thereof?                                      

                                                                                                            NW620E

REPLY:

            Yes.

  1. Two employees
  2. R86 813.82

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 485 [NW564E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015

485.      Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

  1. Whether he is keeping abreast of developments at the SA Revenue Service (SARS); if so,

 

  1. whether he is continuously ascertaining (a) what number of highly qualified and experienced SARS staff members resigned and (b) for what reasons in the period 1 March 2009 to 28 February 2015; if not, why not; if so, what were his (i) findings and (ii) interventions to keep the credibility of SARS intact and its image unsullied?

 [NW564E]

Reply:

  1. Yes.
  1. Yes. I am informed on a continuous basis through a monthly report from SARS on the movement of all staff. 
  1. A total of 17 officials at Executive level at SARS resigned during the period 01 March 2009 to 28 February 2015.
  2. These officials left SARS for various reasons including those of alternative opportunities in the private and public sector, personal reasons or due to the expiry of their employment contracts.
    1. Refer to response in b
    2. I have recently appointed an advisory committee in terms of section 11 of the SARS Act, chaired by retired Judge Kroon. The primary task of the Advisory Committee will be to guide the direction of long-term strategy at SARS by ensuring that decisions about SARS operations, personnel, budget and technology support its long-term strategy and plans. In addition, the Committee will advise me on the following:
  • Proposed strategic and business plans, goals and measures relating to those plans;
  • Operational and organisational plans, including modernisation of technology systems, training, and reorganisation of business units,
  • Budget to ensure that the budget supports the revenue and customs authority’s strategic and business plans; and
  • Review of current governance structures at SARS

 

The Committee will furthermore review the events that have been reported on by the media in recent months and advise me and the Commissioner about the best way to prevent such from reoccurring.    

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 470 [NW548E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 FEBRUARY 2015

470.      Dr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Finance:†

How many (a) employees were employed by the SA Airways (SAA) in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014, (b) of these employees were or are (i) pilots and (ii) flight attendants and (c) aircraft of the SAA were or are (i) operational and (ii) non-operational in each specified year?                         

                                                                                                            NW548E

REPLY:

(a)(i)   2012: 9129

    (ii)  2013: 8900

    (iii) 2014: 8572

(b)(i)  Pilots

          2012: 794

          2013: 792

          2014: 780

(b)(ii) Flight Attendants

          2012: 1764

          2013: 1853

          2014: 1780

(c)(i) 2012 = 55

         2013 = 54

         2014 = 56

         2015 = 55 

(c)(ii)  All aircrafts operational, no non-operational aircrafts for years 2012, 2013, 2014,    

          2015.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 457 [NW534E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 FEBRUARY 2015

457.      Dr M J Figg (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Considering the challenges confronting the country’s economy, how does he plan to (a) avoid a credit rating downgrade, (b) reassure investors and (c) encourage investment in the country?                                     

                                                                                                            NW534E

REPLY:

  1. Government considers the following measures as prudent in the current economic environment:
  • To stabilize government’s net debt level at 43.7 percent in 2017/18;
  • To reduce the expenditure ceiling by R25 billion in the next two fiscal years to ensure  that expenditure is  reigned in and used more  efficiently, thus improving the budget deficit;
  • Strengthening cost containment measures via the Chief Procurement Office by implementing a national pricing system, a centralized supplier database, additional controls on personnel budgets and revisions to the conditional grant system;
  • Raising taxes where necessary, as advised by the Davis Committee on Taxation with the aim of achieving the debt levels mentioned above.
  • Supporting State Owned Companies in a fiscally neutral manner.
  • Various efforts to improve growth are underway to improve the supply side constraints to growth such as energy. These include amongst others, implementation of the structural reforms tabled in the NDP as a key priority over the long term. The successful implementation of the structural reforms tabled in the NDP should mitigate the structural constraints that exist within the economy from an economic and social perspective.
  1. The National Treasury continues to engage with investors through the investor relations programme and conduct domestic and international road shows aimed at strengthening relations with investors. The objective of the road shows is to keep investors informed about economic, fiscal, political and other developments in South Africa. After the release of the Budget Review in February and the MTBPS in October, the National Treasury visits domestic and international investors, explaining the rationale for any changes from the previous year and updating investors about funding requirements and the state of the fiscus. Over and above this, the NT also attends to one on one meeting requests from the investors.
  1. Public finances are on a sustainable long term path and the budget documentation sets out a clear framework for the medium term. Government’s monetary policy regime remains transparent and credible and the central bank remains independent.

Government spending on key infrastructure continues, which will crowd in private investment. Electricity, port, rail and telecommunications bottlenecks are being prioritised to lower the cost of doing business and foster investment. Public private partnerships are being fostered to raise investment and growth.  The strong focus on improving urban environments and reinvestment in cities, outlined in the Budget, will improve working conditions of businesses on-the-ground and raise investment.

Government is supporting improved engagements with the private sector. The Presidential Business Working Groups are encouraging constructive dialogue to identify obstacles to investment and growth.

Government continued to support investment spending through incentive programmes and the establishment of special economic zones. The Department of Small Business Development will prioritise the interventions required to boost investment and growth in this sector.

Steps are being taken to improve labour relations. Dispute resolution mechanisms have been galvanised via recent amendments to the Labour Relations Act. Additionally, the recent Indaba on labour relations has begun the work of identifying areas where solutions to long standing problems can be addressed. An important focus will not be limited to the National Minimum Wage, but other areas in which government can improve the functioning of labour relations in this country.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 403 [NW479E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 FEBRUARY 2015

403.      Dr M J Cardo (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Has the National Treasury commissioned an impact study to examine the effectiveness of the Employment Tax Incentive; if so, what are its terms of reference?                                                                                                                                                  NW479E

REPLY:

Yes.

National Treasury commissions research to inform and augment our technical analyses of specific policies as a matter of course. Commissioned research into the impact of the Employment Tax Incentive, under the auspices of our long-standing research project into youth employment dynamics, is underway.

 

The terms of reference seek to understand the impact of the Employment Tax Incentive on firm-level employment practices, including the hiring of young workers, total employment and the composition of employment. This forms part of the broader government objective to move toward better evidence-based policy making.

National Treasury has committed to a full review of the incentive before 31 December 2016 to identify potential reforms to the incentive to improve its effectiveness. This research will feed into that review process.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER 395

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27 February 2015

DUE TO PARLIAMENT: 13 March 2015

395. Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)        Whether he instituted any investigation with regard to allegations (details furnished) that a certain political organisation (name furnished) exerted pressure on officials of the SA Revenue Service (SARS) to permit T-shirts to be imported into the country from China before the 2014 general elections;

(2)        whether any officials of the SARS who resisted such political pressure were (a) fired or (b) victimised;

(3)        whether he will make a statement on the Government’s position with regard to powerful elites that put themselves above the law in respect of the importation of goods?                                                          NW470E

 

REPLY:

  1. Due to the confidentiality provisions of South Africa’s tax and customs law, no information may be disclosed concerning a specific taxpayer or trader’s affairs. Be that as it may, the Minister has not instituted any form of investigation as the Commissioner for SARS is responsible for the administration of the tax and customs laws. SARS deals with import and export matters within the ambits of the law and in line with its prevailing internal policies and procedures.

(2)(a)(b)    

No SARS official has been fired or victimized in this regard.   

 

  1.       There’s no need to make a statement in this regard. SARS fulfils its

                        mandate fairly and impartially and without any bias, fear or favour. 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 366 [NW394E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 FEBRUARY 2015

366.    Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

For each metropolitan municipality, based on the 2013-14 audited annual financial statements, what amount of (a) irregular expenditure, (b) unauthorised expenditure and (c) fruitless and wasteful expenditure was (i) reported, (ii) condoned, (iii) written off in an adjustment budget and (iv) recovered in terms of section 32 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003?       

                   NW394E

REPLY:

Honorouble Member to note that the MFMA defines irregular expenditure to mean:

  1. Expenditure incurred by a municipality or municipal entity in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the Act and which has not been condoned in terms of section 170;
  2. Expenditure incurred by a municipality or municipal entity in contravention of or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the Municipal Systems Act and which has not been condoned in terms of that Act;
  3. Expenditure incurred by a municipality in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 (Act No 20 of 1998); or
  4. Expenditure incurred by a municipality or municipal entity in contravention of, or that is not in accordance with a requirement of the supply chain management policy of the municipality or entity or any of the municipality’s by-laws giving effect to such policy, and which has not been condoned in term of such policy or by-law.

 

The MFMA defines unauthorized expenditure to mean any expenditure incurred by a municipality otherwise than in accordance with section 15 or 11(3) and includes:

a)       overspending of the total amount appropriated in the municipality’s approved budget;

(b)     overspending of the total amount appropriated for a vote in the approved budget;

(c)      expenditure from a vote unrelated to the department or functional area covered by the vote;

(d)     expenditure of money appropriated for a specific purpose, otherwise than for that specific purpose;

(e)      spending of an allocation referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of the definition of “allocation” otherwise than in accordance with any conditions of the allocation; or

(f)      a grant by the municipality otherwise than in accordance with this Act.

The MFMA defines fruitless and wasteful expenditure to mean expenditure that was made in vain and would have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised.

Section 32(2) of the MFMA sets out the procedural matters which should be undertaken by municipalities in handling or treating each of these expenditure types once identified. These procedures include investigations by a council committee who will provide recommendations to council on how to proceed in terms of recovery or writing off the expenditure as irrecoverable. In the case of unauthorized expenditure, section 32(2) also requires that such expenditure be authorized via an adjustment budget. 

 

In addition to the above, section 125(2)(d) also requires municipalities or municipal entities to disclose particulars of any material losses and any material irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure, including in the case of a municipality, any material unauthorized expenditure, that occurred during the financial year and whether these are recoverable.  

 

Having provided the applicable legal framework above, the table below reflects the amounts incurred by each metropolitan municipality for unauthorized, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure as reported in their 2013/14 audited Annual Financial Statements as part of the section125(2)(d) of the MFMA disclosure requirements. 

 

Municipality

Irregular Expenditure

Unauthorized Expenditure

Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure

Condoned

Recoveries

 

R’

R’

R’

R’

R’

Nelson Mandela

 

 

768,212,060

 

1,016,645,415

 

122,143,994

 

270,777,602

 

0

Buffalo City

 

 

1,330,327,568

 

186,767,984

 

5,532,125

 

583,610,148

 

0

eThekwini

 

 

366,736

 

0

 

0

 

50,050

 

0

City of Cape Town

 

 

45,000

 

0

 

440,000

 

0

 

146,000

Ekurhuleni

 

 

753,702,756

 

0

 

159,883,363

 

4,019

 

0

City of Johannesburg

 

 

1,120,947,000

 

53,166,000

 

26,357,000

 

6,043,000

 

7,851,000

City of Tshwane

 

 

452,619,667

 

1,193,981,952

 

17,117,352

 

1,188,088

 

0

Mangaung

 

 

274,276,377

 

892,507,058

 

28,324,936

 

35,000,906

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Council has unauthorized non-cash flow items amounting to R622 551 908 on 22 January 2015, listed below:

  • R605 508 471 land and building being an old Telkom Park rugby stadium that was demolished after the supplementary valuation roll commissioned was completed and after the 2014 adjustment budget process, and
  • R17 043 437 consisting mainly of safety and security assets that reached their useful depreciation life span. Due to assessed good condition of the assets, the useful life had extended, resulting in changes in calculations of the depreciation, which was based on the revalued amount.
  • Unauthorized expenditure of R121 386 666 related to the Public Transport Integrated Systems grant and is being addressed through the Municipal Public Accounts Committee system. The Committee is expected to make recommendations to Council and the Accounting Office, who will then deal with this matter in terms of MFMA section 32.
  • An amount of R270 777 602 in respect of the 2012/13 financial year was authorized by Council during the 2013/14 financial year.    

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality did not table any special adjustment budget to authorize any unauthorized expenditure reported in the 2013/14 AFS. 

eThekwini has also not incurred any unauthorized expenditure for the 2013/14 financial year, hence, the adjustment budget which was passed during the month of February 2015 would not have dealt with any unauthorized expenditure.

The City of Cape Town has not incurred any unauthorized expenditure for the 2013/14 financial year, hence, the adjustment budget which was passed during the month of February 2015 would not have dealt with any unauthorized expenditure.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality did not table any special adjustment budget to authorize any unauthorized expenditure as none had been incurred for the 2013/14 financial year.

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality did not table any special adjustment budget to authorize any unauthorized expenditure reported in the 2013/14 AFS.  Processes are underway to submit a report to Council to have the unauthorized expenditure identified during the 2013/14 financial year authorized during the special adjustment budget process.

The City of Tshwane did not table any special adjustment budget to authorize any unauthorized expenditure reported in the 2013/14 AFS

Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has referred all the identified expenditure to the Council who has referred same to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee for investigation and recommendations. Once recommendations have been received, it will be dealt with via the special adjustment budget process.  

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 365 [NW393E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 FEBRUARY 2015

365.   Mr K J Mileham (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)     For each metropolitan municipality, based on the 2013-14 audited annual financial statements, what was the (a) average debt collection rate for the year, (b) outstanding consumer debt at the year end at (i) current, (ii) 30 days, (iii) 60 days, (iv) 90 days and (v) more than 120 days and (c) average debtor days for the year;

(2)     (a) what was owed to creditors at year end at (i) current, (ii) 30 days, (iii) 60 days, (iv) 90 days and (v) more than 120 days and (b) what was the average period to settle creditors’ accounts for the year;

(3)     (a) what was the liquidity ratio of the municipality at year end, (b) what was the acid test ratio of the municipality at year end and (c) (i) how much conditional grant funding was allocated to be spent in the 2013-14 financial year and (ii) what amount went unspent?                                                   

                       NW393E

REPLY:

(1) (a)      The average collection of outstanding debt for the metropolitan municipalities  measured in terms of days for the 2013/14 financial year is 72 days.

 (b)     The total outstanding consumer debtors (gross) for the 8 Metros as at 30 June 2014 amounted to R60.7 billion of which R15.7 billion is outstanding for 30 days, R2.5 billion 60 days, R2.1 billion 90 days and R40.4 billion more than 120 days. Detail of the consumer debtors as at 30 June 2014 is indicated in Table 1.

(2) (a)      The Metropolitan Municipalities owed creditors a total amount of R39.9 billion as at 30 June 2014.

(b)   The outstanding creditors were only reflected as outstanding within 30 days as the reporting for creditors age analysis is not a statutory reporting requirement for the disclosure in annual financial statements.  The average period within which creditors have been settled for the year is therefore not available; it is proposed that the information be obtained directly from the relevant metros (Table 2 provides details of creditors per metro).

 

(3) (a)      The liquidity ratio  per metro is presented in Table 3. The norm ranges between 1.5:1 and 2.1:1 (National Treasury Circular 72).

               (b)     Acid test ratios per metro are presented in Table 3.

 

(c)    Unspent grants as at 30 June 2014 amounted to R2 billion for the eight Metropolitan Municipalities. This is compared to an allocation amount of R 5.4 billion received by the Metropolitan Municipalities for the 2013/14 financial year.

Detail of the grants as per Table 4.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 340 [NW366E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 FEBRUARY 2015

340.   Mr S C Motau (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

How will the 9 600MW proposed nuclear build programme, to which the President referred in his state of the nation address on 12 February 2015, be financed?

                                                                                                                           NW366E

REPLY:

The 9 600 MW proposed nuclear build programme would be a substantial financial commitment. Government is undertaking a careful and thorough analysis of financing options to ensure the affordability and long term sustainability of the fiscus and financial soundness of a state owned entity like Eskom

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 259 [NW282E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 FEBRUARY 2015

259.   Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(1)      Whether the Government (a) has an up-to-date database of the lowest retail prices for goods and services which are generally procured by all or different spheres of government in the discharge of their functions, (b) undertakes, through the National Treasury, systematic or random audit checks, against the retail price database, to ascertain that goods and services were indeed being procured at the most competitive prices for 100% of the time throughout all spheres of government, (c) in the interest of heightened accountability and optimal transparency regularly publishes details of all tenders approved throughout all spheres of government, on a dedicated internet site, (d) requests any competent authority to check for over-invoicing or fake invoicing and (e) has effective regulation in place to prohibit advanced payment for goods and services to prevent losses that cannot be recouped when the contractor vanishes; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(2)      whether he will make a statement on efforts being undertaken by the National Treasury in particular, and the Government in general, to (a) obtain best value for the country’s strained resources and (b) root out space for fraudulent, futile, and fruitless expenditure?                        

                                                                                                               NW282E

REPLY:

  1. (a) From 1 April 2015, The National Treasury will be piloting the Price Reference System with a pre-selected departments and treasuries for a period of 6 months.  The purpose of the system is to assist Government Entities to obtain fair-value prices for the goods (products & services) that government procures. The objective is to provide Government Entities with tools to ascertain fair-value prices for the goods and services and provide the buyer with information to make better purchasing decisions. (b) Accounting officers and Accounting authorities are required to do proper demand management to ensure that the needs identified in their strategic plans are delivered at the right time, price and place.(c) Starting with the Demand Plans submissions for April 2015, these will be published on the OCPO website to ensure there is a link between what has been planned for purchases and what is actually being procured. (d) Accounting Officers and Accounting Authorities monitor through internal audit units and monitoring and compliance units that prices of goods and services procured are fair, competitive and cost effective. (e) The special conditions in any contract should set out the standard of service and penalties for failure to deliver on the agreed contract.  Further to this the Accounting Officers should submit the names of contractors breaching contracts to National Treasury for restriction.

 

  1.  (a) National Treasury has established the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer. The Office prescribes SCM norms and standards that ensure that government in general obtains value for money when procuring goods and services and (b) also roots out fraudulent, futile and fruitless expenditure.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 254 [NW277E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 FEBRUARY 2015

254.   Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Treasury was giving full effect to the ruling by Justice Jafta regarding a valid tender process (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, (a) to what extent is the government ensuring that the above ruling is being scrupulously observed throughout the public sector, (b) what action is being taken against those who are flouting valid tender processes as prescribed by the judgment?

                                                                                                                                       NW277E

REPLY:

The ruling by Justice Jafta emphasized the need for Accounting Officers and Authorities to establish and maintain an appropriate procurement system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.

 

(a)     National Treasury continues to communicate with Accounting Officers and Accounting Authorities through practice notes and instructions to:

  1. take all reasonable steps to prevent abuse of the supply chain management system by constantly sampling high value tenders and related documents across government,
  2. investigate any allegations against an official or other role player of corruption, improper conduct or failure to comply with the supply chain management system, and when justified –
  • take steps against such official or other role player and inform the relevant treasury of such steps; and
  • report any conduct that may constitute an offence to the South African Police Service.

 

Further to these existing processes, the National Treasury will make public all the statutory information reported to the National Treasury relating to Supply Chain Management, starting 1 April 2015.

 

(b)     The accounting officer of a department must, as soon as the disciplinary proceedings are completed, report to the executive authority, the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission on the outcome, including –

  1. the name and rank of the official against whom the proceedings were instituted;
  2. the charges, indicating the financial misconduct the official is alleged to have committed;
  3. the findings;
  4. any sanction imposed on the official; and
  5. any further action to be taken against the official, including criminal charges or civil proceeding

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 251 [NW273E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 February 2015

251.   Mr N F Shivambu (EFF) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether he can provide a detailed account of the amount of more than R100 million that was brought from Nigeria into the country and confiscated at the Lanseria airport on 5 September 2014; if not, why not; if so, what (a) was the money meant for and (b) channels were used to bring the money into the country?

NW273E

REPLY:

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Customs acted in accordance with the Customs and Excise Act no. 91 of 1964, as amended.  In terms of Section 15(1) (a) of the Customs and Excise Act no. 91 of 1964, any persons entering the Republic must unreservedly declare, at the time of entering, all goods in their possession that were acquired abroad.

The currency was therefore detained by SARS Customs for the purposes of establishing whether the currency is liable to forfeiture in terms of Section 88(1)(a) and in contravention of any other act contemplated under Section 113(8)(a) of the Customs Act.  The foreign currency was counted and confirmed by SARS and then handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further investigation as it was not declared to Customs on import into the Republic of South Africa and was considered to have been dealt with irregularly. 

  1. The intended purpose of the foreign currency was unclear to SARS and was handed over to the SAPS for further investigation and finalisation.
  1. The foreign currency was brought into the country as accompanied baggage. 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: PQ 250 [NW272E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24 February 2015

Mr. N F Shivambu (EFF) asked the Minister of Finance:

 

(1) Whether, in view of the finding of the Global Financial Integrity report of December 2014, in respect of illegal outflows of money from the country from 2003 to 2012, which culminated in the loss of an estimated R147 billion a year, he can provide a relevant and detailed account of how the money was lost; (2) What steps has he (the Minister of Finance) taken to ensure that these funds are channelled towards better causes in order to improve the lives of our people?

 [NW272E]

 

REPLY:

 

  1. No, it is not possible to provide a detailed and accurate account on the actual money lost through illegal outflows of money from South Africa or any other country. . This is because persons committing illegal actions do not voluntarily report on their activities, and any state has to use various mechanisms to identify and act against such illegal actions.  That is why estimates of different reports differ, as they use various methodologies to arrive at their estimates, as can be seen from the different estimates of the following reports:

 

  1. The 2015 Global Financial Integrity Report;
  2. Illicit Financial Flows Report submitted by the High Level Panel chaired by former President Mbeki to African heads of state in January 2015; and
  3. the report of the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa’s (UNECA) report The State of Governance in Africa: The Dimension of Illicit Financial Flows as a Governance Challenge of February 2013  .   

 

South Africa has long recognized this problem of illicit financial flows, and taken strong steps to try and deal with it, long before all these reports were first published. This can be seen from the routine work of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Finance Intelligence Center (FIC) and the prosecuting authorities. Whilst there are various mechanisms that are used to facilitate such illegal capital flows, such as trade mispricing, money laundering, drug trafficking, corruption, we believe that aggressive tax avoidance and evasion probably form the most significant part of such illicit flows. This was one of the reasons why the former Minister of Finance appointed a Tax Review Committee chaired by Judge Dennis Davis, to improve the tax system and reduce the scope of tax avoidance and evasion, and the committee has already produced a report to deal with problems of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

 

The SARS and the SARB continually assess taxpayers and any significant financial transactions undertaken by them. The Financial Intelligence Centre also monitors for money laundering and financing of terrorist-related activities. Where they believe that such activities are not declared or are not legitimate, they follow up appropriately within their respective mandates.

 

 

The problem of illicit flows from Africa also requires Africa-wide co-ordination and co-operation, but more than an African problem, this is a global problem, and requires globally-coordinated action. South Africa strongly supports and is therefore part of the actions by the African Tax Administration Forum, OECD/G20 BEPS project, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and others in this regard. These actions include sharpening the mechanisms to deal with BEPS, including transfer mispricing, the recent move to automatic exchange of information as the new global standard by the Global Forum and the agreement that has been reached on the implementation of country by country reporting. South Africa is an Early Adopter with over 50 other jurisdictions to automatically exchange financial information of account-holders with financial institutions, which will commence from 2017 onwards. Such exchange will be even sooner with the USA, which commences in September this year in terms of the intergovernmental agreement with the USA.

 

As can be seen, South Africa has long-taken many of the steps proposed by the GFI Report, and continues to strengthen current mechanisms as we identify gaps and ensure that we also fully implement anti-money laundering recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including those on beneficial ownership.

 

  1. It is not clear what the Honourable Member means by this question, as funds that have left the country illicitly (unless they have been returned) are no longer available to the country, so cannot be deployed for any cause. Furthermore, such funds belong to companies or private individuals before they leave the country illicitly, so they are generally not available to the public sector for its use, before they are taxed.  To the extent that any illegal funds are recovered and accrue to the state, they are generally deposited into the National Revenue Fund, to be allocated through an appropriation act through the normal budgetary processes.

 

The South African authorities do follow up on individual cases as and when they are reported or appear in the media. For example, the recent tax scandal involving a prominent bank, together with tax information sharing initiatives provide powerful reasons that those indulging in illicit capital transfers will eventually be caught. The time has come for those who did not declare such funds in the previous exchange control amnesty or under SARS’s ongoing voluntary disclosure programme to come forward and do so. No financial institution can hide behind bank secrecy provisions, as they are increasingly obliged by law to disclose information for anti-money laundering and tax purposes. For those who do not, they should be aware that the consequences will be far greater than coming forward now and putting their tax affairs right before SARS pursues. 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 230 [NW261E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

230.   Mr N F Shivambu (EFF) to ask the Minister of Finance:

How does he plan to ensure that a significant budget allocation goes to local government, in view of local government receiving a budget allocation of a mere 9%, while the rest of the budget has been allocated for provincial and national government business?                                                                                        

                                                                                                                           NW261E

REPLY:

The division of revenue is allocated between the three spheres of government based on the functions and revenue raising powers of each sphere.  Local government receives a smaller share of the division of revenue because municipalities have significant own revenue raising powers, which include property rates and service charges.  Transfers from national government account for about a quarter of the total revenue of the local government sphere, with the remainder funded by own revenue.  Therefore, the size of municipal budgets is not determined only by their allocations from national government but also by the revenue they raise themselves.  As a result of this, cities can have larger budgets than some provinces.

The own revenue raising ability of municipalities differs greatly across the country.  Some cities raise over 80 percent of their own revenue, while in some rural municipalities; up to 80 percent of municipal budgets are funded by transfers.  The system of allocations to municipalities takes account of these differences by allocating more funding to those municipalities with less ability to raise own revenue.

The importance given to funding municipal services is reflected in that allocations to local government has grown faster than those to any other sphere over the last 15 years.  The share of nationally raised revenue allocated to local government has increased from 3 percent in 2000/01 to 9 percent over the 2015 MTEF.  Municipalities also benefit from indirect grants which are grants that national departments spend on behalf of municipalities.   When these funds are taken into account, the share if revenue spent on local government increases to 10 percent.

To protect the ability of municipalities to provide free basic services to their residents, allocations for local government equitable share were not included in the reductions to baseline allocations that were announced in the 2014 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.  The local government equitable share is the largest transfer to local government and funds the provision of free basic services as well as administration costs and community services in poorer municipalities.

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 197 [NW214E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

197.   Mr N F Shivambu (EFF) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether the National Treasury has a strategic and workable programme to transform the structure of the economy to meet the demands of the people for economic freedom; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?             

                                                                                                                                       NW214E

REPLY:

Structurally transforming the economy to meet the needs of the people means changing it in such a way that economic opportunities are provided for all people either through formal employment or self-employment.  This in turn entails changing the sectors / industries where economic activity occurs (more labour intensive, less capital and energy intensive), and changing the structure of sectors (less concentrated, allowing the entry of new firms).  Investment into these new sectors or new firms is critically required which requires a competitive and friendly landscape for business to invest and employ individuals and that productivity can be raised so that economic activity can expand.  For productivity to improve, education and skills levels need to rise and the cost of doing business and the cost of living to fall.  It is important to make spatial living patterns more dynamic, public transport more ubiquitous and user friendly, and to provide better service delivery generally.

The National Development Plan points out that faster economic growth and job creation require a broad shift from consumption to investment in South Africa.  This investment should be in dynamic sectors that transform ownership and economic structure, and draw in a larger proportion of the currently economically inactive population.  Government’s medium-term strategic framework (MTSF) outlines programmes to improve productivity and competitiveness across the economy, and improve the competitive landscape for business by reducing red tape, promoting investment and encouraging innovation.

The National Treasury supports these aims by:

a) ensuring that key economic and social programmes and critical infrastructure are funded, and that the money is spent properly and in a manner consistent with stated aims and objectives;

b) by ensuring sound macro prudential policies and that fiscal balances are sustainable;

c) through the tax regime and various tax incentives; and

d) by ensuring that state owned entities are financially sound and able to supply services to enable the business environment and meet the demands of the people.

In this regard the National Treasury can highlight various initiatives that it is doing to improve growth conditions, and facilitate investment into new sectors or by new firms, that ultimately bring about structural transformation.  Various incentives and programmes have been introduced to assist job seekers and build skills.  These include the employment tax incentive for young work seekers, the National Education Collaboration Trust, the Jobs Fund, and sector-specific training programmes.  Several regulatory reforms and administrative improvements have been completed to enhance business conditions and confidence – the National Treasury has provided funding or supported the work.  The establishment of special economic zones, various tax incentives and grant funding for upgrading equipment and processes should assist local firms in become more competitive.  These include the Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) and section 12i of the tax incentive.  The turnover tax and venture capital tax incentive were revised in 2014 and the R&D tax incentive has approved 414 projects valued at R2.9 billion in 2013/14.  In general, Government has increased expenditure on economic infrastructure – including repairing roads, building of electricity sub stations and water treatment facilities.  In terms of social infrastructure, more schools, universities, hospitals and clinics have been built.

Many more programmes and tax incentives have been detailed in the Budget review.

 

Reply received: April 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 175 [NW183E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

175.      Mr A R McLoughlin (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

(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) the National Treasury 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) the National Treasury 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) the National Treasury and (b) each of its entities in terms of (i) name of and (ii) amount spent on each (aa) publication, (bb) radio station, (cc) television station, (dd) website and (ee) billboards location in each province?                         

                                                                                                                           NW183E

REPLY:

NATIONAL TREASURY

(1)(a)(i)    The bulk of National Treasury’s advertising is on RSA Retail Savings Bonds.

Month

Retail Savings Bond

NT Operations

Total

Jan-13

 R   2,498,236.00

 R      99,026.46

 R   2,597,262.46

Feb-13

 R                      -

 R    334,242.61

 R       334,242.61

Mar-13

 R                      -

 R    266,850.15

 R       266,850.15

Apr-13

 R 13,027,523.64

 R      84,630.52

 R 13,112,154.16

May-13

 R   6,641,044.63

 R    327,805.22

 R   6,968,849.85

Jun-13

 R   4,700,813.89

 R    232,892.28

 R   4,933,706.17

Jul-13

 R                      -

 R      63,651.36

 R         63,651.36

Aug-13

 R                      -

 R    174,682.65

 R       174,682.65

Sept-13

 R                      -

 R    178,889.35

 R       178,889.35

Oct-13

 R                      -

 R    328,158.73

 R       328,158.73

Nov-13

 R                      -

 R    199,271.61

 R       199,271.61

Dec-13

 R                      -

 R    132,617.01

 R       132,617.01

Jan-14

 R                      -

 R      32,989.74

 R         32,989.74

Feb-14

 R                      -

 R    149,287.62

 R       149,287.62

Mar-14

 R      307,398.72

 R    107,922.54

 R       415,321.26

Apr-14

 R   2,053,887.84

 R                      -

 R   2,053,887.84

May-14

 R   8,713,089.76

 R    215,392.38

 R   8,928,482.14

Jun-14

 R   3,155,000.00

 R    267,239.21

 R   3,422,239.21

Jul-14

 R      311,220.00

 R    404,096.73

 R       715,316.73

 

 R 41,408,214.48

 R 3,599,646.17

 R 45,007,860.65

 

 

         

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSA Retail Savings Bonds spent R41 408 214.48 with a return on investment of R3.8 billion during the said period.

(ii)    The marketing and advertising budget is allocated for the entire financial year and spending is done as and when services are procured. The RSA Retail Savings Bond Directorate does not deal with the media owners directly, but uses media agencies for advertising services. Payments were made as a bulk amount to these agencies, who in turn paid the media owners themselves.

(2)    (a)    No.

       (b)   Yes.

       (c)    Yes.

(3)(a)(i)    R  9 977 612.35

  1. R19 071 663.89
  2. Nil.
  3. R     169 239.33
  4. R15 789 345.07

(4)(a)(i)(aa)       

Names of publications used by National Treasury

City Press

Daily News

Huisgenoot

Daily Sun

The Herald

Good Housekeeping

New Age

Cape Argus

The Citizen

Pretoria News

Isolezwe

The Times

Rapport

Diamond Field Advertiser

Bona

Soccer Laduma

Burger

Commuter SA

Sowetan

You

The Star

Sunday Times

Volksblad

Financial Mail

Sunday World

Beeld

Real Magazine

Drum

City Press

Volksblad

Business Day

Government Gazette

True Love

 

(4)(a)(ii)(aa) R9 977 612.35

  (4)(a)(i)(bb)    

Names of national, regional and community radio stations used by RSA Retail Savings Bonds:

5FM

Cape Talk

King Fisher

Capricorn FM

OFM

University of Venda

Gagasi FM

Vaal 90.6

eMalahleni Community

Jacaranda

Tshwane FM

Ligwalagwala

Kaya FM

Highveld FM

Qwa Qwa Radio

Lesedi

Inanda FM

North West FM

Mediamark Stations

Letlhbile Community Radio

Jozi FM Stereo

Metro FM

Good Hope FM

Radio Riverside

Motsweding FM

Good News Radio Station

Radio Middelburg

RSG

Radio West Coast

Tru FM

SA FM

East Coast Radio

Radio Graaff Reinet

Ukhozi FM

Radio Khwezi

 

 

Bush Radio

Umhlobo Wenene

Lotus FM

Thobela FM

United Stations

Talk Radio 702

Radio NFM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4)(a)(ii)(bb)    R19 071 663.89

 

(4)(a)(i)& (ii)(cc)        None

 

(4)(a)(i)(dd)       

 

Names of websites used by National Treasury:

Career Junction

LinkedIn

BIZ Community

Careers 24

Career suites

ISACA

PNet

SA Graphic Design

 

 

(4)(a)(ii)(dd)    R169 239.23

 

(4)(a)(i)(ee)        Billboards location in each province (including specific branding in airports and busses in the 5 cities mentioned below):

 

  •  

Off Nancefield Road, Nancefield hostel area.

Forbes Street at traffic circle, Hatfield area towards Lynnwood Road.

Spoornet hostels and taxi rank at Reverend Namane Drive.

Soweto highway and Molokomme Street at T-junction – Diepkloof.

Orange Farm main entrance and exit opposite taxi rank.

Zone 3 at Meadowlands shopping center and admin area opposite police station.

On route to Phomolong bridge, Orlando West.

Taxi rank corner Union Street and Senator Marks.

Modjadji Drive at Soweto College of Education.

Facing traffic to Jubilee Hospital and Hammanskraal to Temba.

MC Botha Drive near Vosloorus Stadium at swimming pools opposite M Auto Paint.

Western Cape

Belhar Station Modderdam Road facing traffic from airport to Bellville.

Netreg Station facing entrance bus, taxi rank and car park.

Riversonderend cnr of N2 and Human Street facing traffic from Swellendam.

Kwa Zulu Natal

Empangeni next to hawker stalls, main bus and taxi rank.

Ezakheni - exit - Main Road.

New Germany industrial and shopping area opposite Spar.

Highflats shopping center and taxi rank.

Kwa Makhutha along main road close to taxi rank.

Main entrance from Newcastle.

Umlazi close to Executive hotel.

Umbumbulu entrance opposite Total garage.

  •  

At Eerstehoek shopping center at main taxi rank, opposite shopping area main point of convergence.

Ngwako Street at main entrance and exit opposite Excel garage.

Main road at Mbebe Shopping Centre.

Embalenhle Drive near the traffic circle opposite hostels near the stadium.

R536 at Mkhuhlu Post office.

Main road entrance to Shatale.

Krogh Street at Railway Bridge exit to Greylingstad.

  •  

At hawking area opposite Kgapane Plaza, taxi rank and Kgapane Hotel. Main point of convergence.

Bochum Plaza at taxi rank overlooking taxis and stalls.

Calvin Ngobeni Drive corner Ackson Malatji at Namakgale supermarket and shopping complex.

Near Metro Cash and Carry at entrance from Mphahlele.

Gilead main road through Blood River at Daily Bricks mini factory.

Northern Cape

Elizabeth Conradie school facing traffic along the N12 entering Kimberley from cnr Hulana Road and Morgan Street opposite Stadium.

Eastern Cape

Voortrekker Road near Highgate station facing traffic from East London to Mdantsane.

This site is positioned on the back fence of the Wolfson Stadium facing traffic along a very busy taxi route in a residential area (informal).

Qumza Highway near Mazidlekaya Liquor facing traffic from Highway Center to Fort Jackson.

This site is in the Uncedo taxi rank in Ngonyama Street Motherwell.

This site is the first of three access/exit roads from Ibhayi via Dibanisa Road into Motherwell.

Union Union street, southern side of Uitenhage station on main road from PE to Uitenhage.

Facing onto main road between Zwelitsha and East London via very busy roads.

North West

Near factories and Mmabatho Sun facing traffic from Mmabatho Sun and Lobatsi to Mafikeng CBD.

Tumagole street at entrance to Foro shopping center.

R556 from Rustenburg to Sun City, before the Sun Village and shopping center.

Free State

Mkhuhlane Street opposite community hall at Mohale Liquor store.

Route N8 main entrance to CBD.

Alexandra street at Railway building.

Arrat road, Dagbreek Industrial area opposite Sharp outlet at Road-Over-Rail Bridge.

Church Street opposite Telkom Technical Service Centre at Hamilton Industrial area.

Rudolph Greyling Street at Rail-over-Bridge opposite Fame College.

Du Toit Street next to subway.

 

AIRPORT BRANDING

UNITS

CITY

6 Boarding gates 

Durban

2 Air bridges

Cape Town

BUS BRANDING

5 fully branded 

Johannesburg

5 fully branded 

Pretoria

5 fully branded 

Mpumalanga

 

(4)(a)(ii)(ee)     R15 789 345.07

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD

The Accounting Standards Board did not budget or spend any money on advertising in any of the periods indicated.

CO-OPERATIVE BANKS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

  1. The CBDA does not budget monthly for advertising but annually whereby target markets are identified to enhance the objective of the CBDA.              

(b) (i)  For the financial period 1 January 2013 to 31 July 2014 an amount of R80,000 was spent.

                (b) (ii)  Amount budgeted for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 financial year totalled R160, 000. 

 

  (2) (a) The R80, 000 was advertising for the month of April 2014.

                

  (3) (b) (i) print - R80, 000.

  •    (ii)  radio - none.
  • (iii) television - none.
  • (iv) online - none.
  • (v)  outdoor - none.

         

 (4) (b) (i) publication - Public Sector Manager

  • (ii) (aa) R80, 000
  • (ii) (bb) radio station - none.
  • (cc) television station - none.
  • (dd) website - none.
  • (ee) billboards - none.

DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

(b) (i) January-March 2013: R48, 076.20

          April-March 2013/14:  R976, 681.11

          April-July 2014:  R327, 336.17

 (b)(ii) Monthly budget: R 234 000. 00 

(2)  (a) Total value that appeared in stipulated months in 1 above. Amount per month not specified, opportunities taken up as and when required

(b( &(c) None

(3) (b) (i) 1,352,093.48   (PRINT)

 (ii, iii, iv and v) –None

(4) (b) (aa)

(bb, cc, dd, ee) Not Applicable

 

 

 

 

 

 

FY 2012/13

FY 2013/14

FY 2014/15

Total

BDFM Publishers Pty Ltd

 

0.00

245,688.23

245,688.23

Independent Newspapers Pty Ltd

 

263,976.04

0.00

263,976.04

Kaqala Media Ltd

48,076.20

 

 

48,076.20

Mail and Guardian

 

220,000.00

 

220,000.00

Media 24 Limited

 

133,172.99

31,344.00

164,516.99

Picasso Headline Pty Ltd

 

50,303.94

50,303.94

100,607.88

Time Media Marketing and Events

 

60,786.00

 

60,786.00

Times Media Limited T/A Van Schaik

 

248,442.14

 

248,442.14

 

R48,076.20

R976,681.11

R327,336.17

R1,352,093.48

 

FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE

The advertising costs for each month between 1 January 2013 and 31 July 2014, represent the total value of advertising that appeared in the media in that period and comprise:

 

 

 

 

Print

Radio

Online

Supplier

Detail

Media

R'

R'

R'

Ramsay Media

Public awareness

Magazine

18 240

 

 

DeRubis / Law Society

Public awareness

Magazine

25 114

 

 

SA Insurance Times

Public awareness

Magazine

18 046

 

 

Real Estate Media

Public awareness

Magazine

22 743

 

 

Moonstone Information Refinery

Public awareness

Magazine

11 970

 

 

Real Estate Media

Public awareness

Magazine

22 743

 

 

Kashan advertising

Public awareness

Brochures, posters ,printing

23 789

 

 

Risksa

Public awareness

Magazine

18 810

 

 

Nigel Button/Insurance times

Public awareness

Magazine

    18 046

 

 

Human Communications

Recruitment advert

Sunday Times

    76 260

 

 

Government printing

Tender advert

Government Tender Bulletin

 5 227

 

 

Lowbull advertising

Public awareness

Newspapers (Sake-Beeld,

  174 063

 

 

 

 

Burger, Volkblad, Business

 

 

 

 

 

Report, Star, Cape Times,

 

 

 

 

 

Pretoria News, The Mercury)

 

 

 

Bizcommunity Publishing SA Pty

Recruitment advert

Website/Bizcom

 

 

1 368

The Junction

Recruitment advert

Website/The Junction

 

 

13 338

The Working Earth

Recruitment advert

Website/The Working Earth

 

 

21 536

Career Junction

Recruitment advert

Website/ Career Junction

 

 

26 842

Lowbull advertising

Public awareness/

Websites for IOL online, News24,

 

50 000

 

roadshow

Timeslive, Moneyweb, IOL Online

 

 

Lowbull advertising / 702

Public awareness/

Radio

 

15 750

 

Lowbull advertising / Cape Talk

roadshow

Radio

 

15 750

 

Total per category

 

 

435 051

31 500

113 084

Total

 

 

579 635

 

 

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES BOARD

Question 1

  1. Not applicable to the FSB.
  2. i)        spent on advertising and printing between 01 January 2013 and 31 July 2014:

 

2013

AMOUNT

JANUARY

R176 491,97

FEBRUARY

R43 943,61

MARCH

R662 290,22

APRIL

R141 086,57

MAY

R393 081,57

JUNE

R173 123,72

JULY

R206 165,49

AUGUST

R455 095,93

SEPTEMBER

R606 728,79

OCTOBER

R119 438,30

NOVEMBER

R496 575,71

DECEMBER

R621 137,56

2014

AMOUNT

JANUARY

R1 875 954,71

FEBRUARY

R892 969,49

MARCH

R54 534,48

APRIL

R408 961,69

MAY

R394 281,61

JUNE

R674 859,11

JULY

R464 402,79

 

ii)       All expenditure was within budget.

Question 2

a + b)      FSB records do not distinguish between expenditure that appeared in the particular month and advertisements for previous months or between printing and advertising. 

 

  1. With the exception of a single occurrence for radio, promoting the FSB and its role, including outreach to and education of consumers in the amount of R711 032, 00 paid to the SABC for its multi-language stations on 16 January 2014 and which was a condition of the contract, expenditure on advertisements are not paid in advance.

Question 3

  1. Not applicable to the FSB.
  2. (i)       (1)      Consumer Education brochures in various languages – R440 000,00
  1. Recruitment advertisements – R1 794 186.05                                     
  2. Procurement of goods and services (Government Gazette) – R7 602,93
  3. Other (Government Gazette Legal Notices) – R759 230,04
  4. Branding and Consumer Education – R2 288 534,73

 

(ii)      Branding and Consumer Education – R392 738.23

(iii)     Bright Media Consultants for Consumer Education – R320 000 (for SABC airtime and Taxi TV)

(iv)     (1)      Telematic outreach to regulated entities – R1 207,26

  1. Podcasts – R62 595,40
  2. Airport TV – R566 760,00
  3. Outdoor advertising (banner) – R2 052,00

Question 4

  1. Not applicable to the FSB.
  2. (i)       (aa)    Publication Government Printer – R766 832,97

                   Professional Bodies of Actuarial and Law Societies – R66 337,69

                            Bright Media Printing – R440 000,00

                            Media24 (Branding and Consumer Education) – R1 694 080,23

                            The Star (Recruitment) – R1 225 138.41

                            Sunday Times (Recruitment) – R468 753,07

                            Without Prejudice (Recruitment) R16 753.44

                   (bb)   PowerFM (Educational Radio Programme) R74 510,84

                            702 Talk Radio – R491 240,63

                            SABC multi language stations – R888 790,00

                   (cc)    Bright Media (SABC multi language stations) and Taxi TV (Consumer Education) – R320 000,00

                   (dd)   Nil

                   (ee)    Nil

 

The FSB is not financed from the fiscus.

 

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PENSION FUND

The GEPF had spent an amount of R217 170.00 on media campaigns for the period 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014. 

The breakdown of the amount is as follows:

Period

Amount

1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013

R0

1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014

R217 170.00

1 April 2014 – to date

R0

 

 

Medium

Publication

Date

Topic

Amount

Print

Leadership magazine

29-Nov-13

Profiling of the GEPF

R66, 120.00

Print

IRAS ( Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services)

14-Oct-13

Opinion piece on Effective Integrated Reporting

R22, 800.00

Print

Today's Trustees

30-Aug-13

Profiling of UNPRI conference  in South Africa

R42, 750.00

Print

 

12-Jun-13

Opinion piece on Regional Integration on the continent

R42, 750.00

Print

 

10-Mar-13

Opinion piece on ESG issues within the organisation

R42, 750.00

TOTAL Amount   

217, 170.00

 

GOVERNMENT PENSIONS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY

Month

Amount spent

February 2013

R694 128

April 2013

R80 000.00

June 2013

R85 500.00

July 2013

R51 300.00

August 2013

R1 505 315.21

September 2013

R60 750.05

October 2013

R756 243

January 2014

R296 500

February 2014

R149 978.15

March 2014

R751 281

April 2014

R241 900

May 2014

R621 860

June 2014

R65 638.44

TOTAL

R5 360 396

 

  1. YES. The figure represents the total value of advertising that appeared in the media in that particular month.

(3)     

 

Channel

Amount spent

I

Print

R2 105 118.60

Ii

Radio

R3 255 277.57

 

TOTAL

R5 360 396


(4)        Amount spent on Publications

Publication

Monthly expenditure

Date

Daily Sun

R89 376.00

February 2013

The New Age

R169 905.60

February 2013

Daily Dispatch

R75 718.80

February 2013

Sowetan

R120 748.80

February 2013

Nursing Update newsletter

R51 300.00

 July 2013

Daily Sun

R89 376.00

August 2013

Isolezwe The Mercury

R129 342.03

October 2013

Daily Sun Beeld

R299 265.96

October 2013

Sowetan

R235 460.00

October 2013

Diamond Fields Advertisers

R40 875.63

October 2013

Nursing Update

R51 300.00

October 2013

Daily Sun

R291 301.92

March 2014

Beeld

R150 822.22

March 2014

Pretoria News

R176 261.65

April 2014

Daily Sun

R134 064.00

May 2014

TOTAL

R2 105 118.60

 

Amount spent on radio advertising

Radio Station

Monthly expenditure

Date

SABC/Umhlobo Wenene FM

R186 300.00

February 2013

Nqkubela FM

R9 667.20

February 2013

Alfred Nzo FM

R13 611.60

February 2013

Mdantsane FM

R28 800.00

February 2013

Gagasi  FM

R80 000.00

April 2013

North West FM

R85 500.00

June 2013

Soshanguve Radio

R8 837.21

August 2013

Ukhozi FM; SA FM

R342 000.00

August 2013

Umhlobo Wenene; Ukhozi FM

Motsweding FM; Lesedi FM

Metro FM

R470 592.00

August 2013

Kaya FM

R180 234.00

August 2013

Daily Sun

R89 376.00

August 2013

Thobela FM; Phalaphala FM

Munghana Lonene

R239 400.00

August 2013

Capricorn FM

R85 500.00

August 2013

Radio Teemaneng

R48 200.00

September 2013

Radio Bushbuckridge

Radio Mafisa

R12 550.05

September 2013

Thobela FM; Phalaphala FM

Munghana Lonene FM

R296 500.00

January 2014

Radio Unitra

R10 944.00

February 2014

Radio KC

R8 450.00

February 2014

Ukhozi FM

R130 584.15

February 2014

Radio Alpha; Radio Bushbuckridge;

Radio Kangala; Radio Kanyamazane;

Radio Kosmos; Radio Kragbron;

Radio Laeveld; Radio Moutse

R81 655.82

March 2014

Bok Radio; Voice of the Cape;

Radio Zibonele

R40 686.60

March 2014

Good Hope FM

R51 300.00

March 2014

Ligwalagwala FM; Ikwekwezi FM

R106 704.00

March 2014

Cape Talk Radio

R28 811.21

March 2014

702 Talk Radio

R65 638.44

April 2014

Motsweding FM

R136 800.00

May 2014

North West FM

R55 044.90

May 2014

Mahikeng FM

R41 800.00

May 2014

Jacaranda FM

R254 152.00

May 2014

702 Talk Radio

R65 638.44

June 2014

TOTAL

R3 255 277.57

 

           

Billboard expenditure:

Only two billboards, both are located in Pretoria, Gauteng province:

R949 506.00

  1. Francis Baard Street, Pretoria

Month

Amount spent

April 2013

R26 220.00

May 2013

R26 220.00

June 2013

R26 220.00

July 2013

R26 220.00

August 2013

R26 220.00

September 2013

R26 220.00

October 2013

R26 220.00

November 2013

R26 220.00

December 2013

R26 220.00

January 2014

R26 220.00

February 2014

R26 220.00

March 2014

R26 220.00

April 2014

R26 220.00

May 2014

R26 220.00

June 2014

R26 220.00

July 2014

R26 220.00

TOTAL

R419 520

 

  1. Hamilton Street, Arcadia, Pretoria

Month

Amount spent

January 2013

R27 702.00

February 2013

R27 702.00

March 2013

R27 702.00

April 2013

R27 930.00

May 2013

R27 930.00

June 2013

R27 930.00

July 2013

R27 930.00

August 2013

R27 930.00

September 2013

R27 930.00

October 2013

R27 930.00

November 2013

R27 930.00

December 2013

R27 930.00

January 2014

R27 930.00

February 2014

R27 930.00

March 2014

R27 930.00

April 2014

R27 930.00

May 2014

R27 930.00

June 2014

R27 930.00

July 2014

R27 930.00

TOTAL

R529 986

 

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BOARD FOR AUDITORS

IRBA declares that no money no money was spent on advertising between the period 1 January 2013 to 31 July 2014

PENSION FUNDS ADJUDICATOR

 

Months

1 (i) Spent
Rand

1(ii) Budgeted
Rand

3b(i)

3b(iv)

4b(i)

4 (ii) (aa)

4(ii)(dd)

 

Jan-13

 

79 234.56

     

1 666.66

 

 79 234.56

         

        -  

 

Times Media

 

 43 776.00

                  -  

 

Times Media

 

 27 291.60

                  -  

 

Times Media

  

   8 166.96

                  -  

 

Feb-13

 

29 070.00

     

1 666.66

 

  29 070.00

       

          -  

 

Media 24

 

 29 070.00

                  -  

 

Mar-13

 

-

   

  1 666.66

     

           -  

          

       -  

 

N/a

   

              -  

                  -  

 

Apr-13

 

5 515.00

  

   8 333.33

    

 5 515.00

           

      -  

 

Govt Printing Works

   

  5 515.00

                  -  

 

May-13

 

-

 

    8 333.33

    

             -  

            

     -  

 

N/a

 

                -  

                  -  

 

Jun-13

 

-

 

    8 333.33

     

            -  

              

   -  

 

N/a

 

                -  

                  -  

 

Jul-13

 

4 222.43

 

    8 333.33

     

4 074.00

     

   148.43

 

IPM Institute

  

               -  

         148.43

 

Govt Printing Works

   

  4 074.00

                  -  

 

Aug-13

 

-

   

  8 333.33

    

             -  

          

       -  

 

N/a

  

               -  

                  -  

 

Sep-13

 

19 740.11

  

   8 333.33

 

 19 740.11

          

       -  

 

Times media

  

19 740.11

                  -  

 

Oct-13

 

1 746.00

   

  8 333.33

   

  1 746.00

          

       -  

 

Govt Printing Works

   

  1 746.00

                  -  

 

Nov-13

 

14 798.11

  

   8 333.33

 

 14 798.11

           

      -  

 

Times Media

  

14 798.11

                  -  

 

Dec-13

 

-

 

    8 333.33

 

                 -  

           

      -  

 

N/a

 

                -  

                  -  

 

Jan-14

 

-

   

  8 333.33

  

               -  

       

          -  

 

N/a

         

        -  

                  -  

 

Feb-14

 

-

    

 8 333.33

   

              -  

         

        -  

 

N/a

         

        -  

                  -  

 

Mar-14

 

-

  

   8 333.37

   

              -  

        

         -  

 

N/a

         

        -  

                  -  

 

Apr-14

 

5 546.25

 

    8 783.33

     

5 546.25

       

          -  

 

Govt Printing Works

   

  5 546.25

                  -  

 

May-14

 

-

 

    8 783.33

   

              -  

      

           -  

 

N/a

       

          -  

                  -  

 

Jun-14

 

750.00

 

    8 783.33

   

              -  

    

    750.00

 

Pension Lawyers Association

        

         -  

         750.00

 

Jul-14

 

11 677.50

 

    8 783.33

     

7 980.00

   

 3 697.50

 

Batseta Council of Retirement Fund for SA

   

  7 980.00

                  -  

Govt Printing Works

   3 697.50

             -  

Total

172 299.96

 140 133.30

 167 704.03

 4 595.93

 

 171 401.53

  898.43

 

LAND BANK

No spending was made by the Land Bank on advertising during this period.

 FAIS OMBUD

(1)        (a)        Not applicable

            (b)        Refer to table:

                       

Month

  1. Amount spent
  1. Budgeted

Jan 2013

R         0

R20 833

Feb 2013

R  1 110

R20 833

Mar 2013

R         0

R20 837

Apr 2013

R16 499

R         0

July 2013

R  1 110

R63 900

Nov 2013

R  1 110

R63 900

Mar 2014

R  2 220

R63 900

May 2014

R  1 110

R60 000

Jul 2014

R         0

R  9 119

 

(2)        All of the amounts listed above related to (a) total value of advertising that appeared in the media in that month

 

(3)        a)         Not applicable

            (b)        Refer to table:

           

Month

  1. Print
  1.  Radio
  1. Television
  1.  Online
  1.  Outdoor

Feb 2013

R         0

R       0

R       0

R1 110

R       0

Apr 2013

R14 279

R       0

R       0

R2 220

R       0

July 2013

R         0

R       0

R       0

R1 110

R       0

Nov 2013

R         0

R       0

R       0

R1 110

R       0

Mar 2014

R         0

R       0

R       0

R2 220

R       0

May 2014

R         0

R       0

R       0

R1 110

R       0

 

(4)        a)         Not applicable

            (b)        Refer to table:

 

Month

(aa) Publication

(bb) Radio station

(cc) TV station

(dd) Website

(ee) Location

Feb 2013

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R1 110

Advert for Junior Case Manager

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

Apr 2013

(i) Business Day

(ii) R14 279

Advert for Trainee Assistant Ombud position

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R2 220

Adverts for Trainee Assistant Ombud and Finance Clerk

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

July 2013

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R1 110

Advert for Case Admin Manager

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

Nov 2013

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R1 110

Advert for Junior Case Manager

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

Mar 2014

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R2 220

Adverts for Junior Case Manager and Risk Officer

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

May 2014

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

(i) Careerjunction

(ii) R1 110

Advert for Junior Case Manager

(i) N/a

(ii) R0

 

PUBLIC INVESTMENT CORPORATION

With reference to the reply of the Minister of Communications to question 1184 on 27 November 2014, the PIC did not budget or spend any money for advertising during the period 1 January 2013 to 31 July 2014.

 

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

  1. The table below reflects monthly advertising spend by SAA for the period 1 Jan 2013 to 31 July 2014:

(2)      The total value of advertising that appears in response to question 1 above is for all advertising that occurred in that specific month as well as previous months. SAA does not pay in advance for advertising.

(3)      The table below reflects monthly advertising spend by media type for the period I Jan 2013 to 31 July 2014

Advertising Spent from Jan 2013 - July 2014

Media type

Totals

Percentage %

Newspapers

R 27 516 292.41

40.6%

Magazine

R 3 619 759.40

5.34%

Radio

R 13 575 960.83

20.0%

On Line

R 4 145 392.31

6.11%

Television

R 6 707 050.00

9.89%

Outdoor

R 12 233 844.42

18.0%

Total

R 67 798 299.37

100.00%

 

(4)      The table below reflects total advertising spend by media type and name for the period I Jan 2013 to 31 July 2014

  • Billboard are located in and around O.R.Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport.
  • The digital billboards are located in around Johannesburg.

SAA Billboards (LED)

Province

Location

Gauteng

Rivonia between 11th and 12th street

 

Rivonia Road Grayston Drive

 

Sandton Drive/ Alice lane

 

William Nicole Drive/ Ballyclare

 

William Nicole Drive/ Sandton Drive

 

Van Buuren/ Van Buuren East bound

SAA Billboards (traditional)

Province

Location

Eastern cape

Main road entering the airport

Eastern cape

Ring Road major entrance of Airport over the road gantry

KZN

King Shaka International Airport

Western cape

Right hand side escalator at the main entrance

Western cape

Entrance to airport, cape Town International airport

Gauteng

Upper ring road Gantry, R24 7 R21 ORT International

                      

SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES

  1. (a)(i)(ii) National Treasury to respond

(b) (i) The total SARS spend on advertising between the requested period was:

Total advertising spend between January 2013 - July 2014

Total Spend

Jan-13

R 4 110 377.79

Feb-13

R 10 517 462.19

Mar-13

R 4 221 490.06

Apr-13

R 509 217.56

May-13

R 3 253 904.86

Jun-13

R 2 787 469.91

Jul-13

R 11 683 243.39

Aug-13

R 8 671 162.84

Sep-13

R 2 615 523.01

Oct-13

R 6 220 520.72

Nov-13

R 8 056 916.00

Dec-13

R 242 276.00

Jan-14

R 108 221.00

Feb-14

R 1 230 240.00

Mar-14

R 521 242.00

Apr-14

R 967 284.00

May-14

R 5 609 985.00

Jun-14

R 4 594 338.00

Jul-14

R 9 953 745.00

Total excluding VAT

R 85 874 619.33

Grand total including VAT

R 97 897 066.03

  1. (a) The abovementioned figures are representative of the total value of advertising that appeared in the media in that particular month.

(b) Not applicable

(c) Not applicable

  1. (a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v) National Treasury to respond

(b)(i)     Print:                R 23 575 605.01

     (ii)    Radio:              R 25 257 772.73

     (iii)   Television:        R 32 620 467.92

     (iv)   Online:              R1 551 080.56

     (v)   Outdoor:           R 2 869 693.11

SASRIA

  1. Total Spent on Advertising between 1 January 2013 and 31 July 2014: R3 369 826.32
  2. Amount represent:
    1. Advertising paid that appeared in that month       R 2 072 203.12
    2. Advertising paid that appeared previously            R    272 589.20
    3. Advertising paid that appeared at a later date      R 1 025 034.00
  3. Advertising in:
    1. Print                 R 2 141 380.79
    2. Radio               R 1 000 534.00
    3. Television        R 0
    4. Online               R   227 911.53
  4. Amount Spent in:
    1. Print                 R 2 141 380.79
    2. Radio               R 1 000 534.00
    3. Television        R 0
    4. Online               R   227 911.53

 

 

Reply received: March 2015

QUESTION NUMBER: 152 [NW159E]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12 FEBRUARY 2015

152.   Mr C D Matsepe (DA) to ask the Minister of Finance:

Whether an investigation has been conducted into the status of funds, reportedly more than R4 million, which reflected in the financial statements of the Modimolle Local Municipality as being held in a bank account; if not, (a) why not and (b) what is the status of the bank account; if so, (i) what are the details of the investigation, (ii) what was the outcome of the investigation and (iii) was any action taken to recover the funds?                                                                                                                                                 NW159E

REPLY:

The National Treasury was advised by the Chief Financial Officer of the Modimolle Local Municipality that the municipality had instituted measures to address this matter and therefore no investigation has been undertaken by the National Treasury.  The municipality further indicated that the account had been closed and the cash book balance associated with the account was under investigation.  A follow up will be made by the Provincial Treasury to ascertain the status of the investigation as the matter dates back to the year 2000.  Alternatively the municipality could be approached directly for any further information in this regard.