Question & Replies No 701 to 725

2009-09-08

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[PMG note: Replies are inserted as soon as they are provided by the Minister]

QUESTION NO: 701 PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 OF 07 AUGUST 2009

Mrs A T Lovemore (DA)) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, her department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

In response to your questions on cost saving measures, I wish to respond as follows; The department has identified a number of cost cutting measures that will be implemented to reduce wasteful expenditure and to ensure that resources are diverted to essential services and key priority programmes in my department.

As you may be aware, Cabinet has appointed a Ministerial Task Team to develop proposals on how the whole of government should respond to the recession by, among other things, identifying areas in which expenditure could be reprioritised with a view to diverting resources to the provision of essential services and crucial govt programmes.

The Task Team, which is led by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, will make specific recommendations on how government should implement cost management measures in all the three spheres of government in a structured and coordinated manner. These recommendations will cover short and medium measures.

All government departments will be required to comply with these measures once they are approved by Cabinet. Examples of measures under consideration include the cutting down on international travel, reducing over-reliance on consultants; reviewing the prices that the state pays for goods and services, centralising certain procurement procedures, reviewing discretion projects and rescheduling time frames for some projects

I will be in a better position to respond more comprehensively to the questions as soon as the Ministerial Task Team's report has been finalised and approved by Cabinet.

Your patience in this regard is highly appreciated.

QUESTION NO 705

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7 AUGUST 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 - 2009)

Date reply submitted : 4 September 2009

Mr I M Ollis (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, his department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY:

(a)-(e) Over and above budget reductions already introduced by the National Treasury during the previous MTEF cycle, further operational budget reductions of R274 million (2009/10), R317 million (2010/11) and R358 million (2011/12) have also been introduced by the National Treasury and factored into the apportioning process in the current MTEF cycle of the Department.

With regard to the official vehicle fleet of SAPS, the following measures have been introduced:

$ All existing authorities to use SAPS vehicles between work and residence will be revoked on 31 August 2009 and all members need to re-apply.

$ The delegation to approve such applications will in future be at the level of the provincial commissioner.

$ The existing delegation of authority to approve applications for garaging authority will also be taken to a higher level in order to limit the number of vehicles garaged at private residences.

It is also trusted that further expansion of the automated vehicle location system will contribute to improve utilisation of vehicles with reduced costs.

Closer scrutiny by a separate designated component of all applications for official journeys abroad by employees in terms of a set of criteria, to ensure the aligning of journeys abroad with the strategic priorities and objectives of the Department has also been introduced.

QUESTION NO.: 706

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07 August 2009

Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:

REPLY:

(a) As a measure to reduce expenditure, the Minister and Deputy Minister have agreed to utilise two inherited vehicles. Two additional vehicles have been purchased for use in the Pretoria offices, however the cost of these new vehicles were less than the allocated purchase amount as stipulated in the Ministerial Handbook.

(b-c) There is a conscious effort by the Ministry and the Department to reduce expenditure on travel. Measures that have been introduced in the Department to reduce travel expenditure are as follows:

· Domestic Travel : all domestic travel by officials including the Director General is economy class.

· International Travel : If the duration of a flight is in excess of six hours, business class travel is booked,otherwise economy class applies with the exception of the Minister, Deputy Minister, DG and DDG's, as well as those covered in the Ministerial Handbook when traveling with the Minister.

· Car hire: Where possible, vehicles are shared by two or three officials travelling to the same destination. In addition, the Department is in the process of identifying hotels within walking distance of the office in Cape Town in an attempt to further reduce expenditure in respect of car hire.

(d) Where possible, both Ministers reside in their private residences.

(e) The department has also introduced various cost saving measures across the board within its operational areas, such as:

· Printing and copying all internal documents in black and white and double-sided. Only documents for external distribution or for Executive management are printed in colour, and only where absolutely necessary.

· Where possible, documents are scanned and forwarded to recipients instead of copying and delivering hard copies.

· Upgrading memory on computers where viable instead of purchasing new computers.

· Wherever possible, conducting meetings via teleconferencing instead of traveling to meeting venues.

The department will also be implementing the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team if there are any areas that have been excluded.

Question 707

6 AUGUST 2009

Mr M W Rabotapi (DA) to ask the Minister for the Public Service and Administration:

ANSWER:

The department has identified a number of cost-cutting measures which are being implemented to reduce expenditure and to ensure that resources are diverted to essential services and key priority programmes in the department.

(a) In relation to official vehicles, the department obtained approval from National Treasury to participate in the government fleet management scheme that was negotiated by the Department of Transport. With the replacement of the Government Garage vehicles by the new fleet, it is anticipated that the department would save in the region of R350 000 (three hundred and fifty thousand rand) per annum. Apart from this, the optimal use of the vehicles is closely managed and no misuse of the vehicles is tolerated. Where officials are travelling to the same destination, vehicles are shared.

(b) In the area of travel, since April 2008 the department has introduced a tighter departmental policy where the use of business class travel is restricted and the category of cars that may be hired has been reduced to mainly class A vehicles (which is the lowest class available).

(c) Travel by departmental officials is closely monitored and controlled by means of a comprehensive and detailed travel policy. Each trip is pre- authorised by a senior official taking consideration of the necessity of travel. The delegations to national and international destinations are kept as minimal as possible.

(d) The travel policy also regulates the use of accommodation and the department enters into corporate agreements where possible in order to benefit from reduced rates. The number of nights that an official is allowed to stay over is restricted to the minimum.

(e) Other cost saving initiatives that have been implemented include:

· the use of lease cost routers on the landline telephone system that reduce costs made to cellular telephone numbers - this initiative saves the department in the region of 30% of the total annual bill;

· Discounted rates on cellular telephone contracts to the value of 12% have been negotiated by the department;

· Tightening of the departmental catering and entertainment policy which reduces expenditure in this area;

· The use of an electronic landline telephone accounting system that ensures that the distribution and submission of monthly telephone accounts are done electronically saves the use of paper and ink cartridges, and

· Printing costs are reduced by limiting the use of personal printers, by utilizing multi-functional photocopy machines for printing.

The department is continuously seeking new and more efficient methods to achieve the optimal, economic utilisation of its limited resources.

Question 708 Written Reply 07 August 2009 708. Adv H C Schmidt (DA) to ask the Minister of public works:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent short fall in the state revenue, his department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) officials vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard, if so, what are the relevant details? Reply (a) Yes (b) Yes (c) Yes (d) Yes (e) Yes The department has taken the current economic melt down seriously and to this end the implementation of internal control systems, reporting and delegations that will enable stringent expenditure management is in place. Traveling has been significantly reduced throughout the department. All officials travel economy class only. The use of rental cars has been reduced to standard group with a maximum engine capacity of 1600 cc for all officials. Reasonable limits have been set for accommodation. The use of outside venues for meetings and workshops is strictly controlled with delegations bestowed to the Director General only. The goods and services budget is closely monitored through monthly expenditure analysis and delegations for acquisitions at senior level.

QUESTION 709

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [NO 7-2009]

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 7 AUGUST 2009

709. Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform:

THE MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM

Yes.

(a)-(d) The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has corporate agreements with airline and car hire companies and has negotiated special rates/tariffs in order to reduce its travel related expenditure. Likewise, it has negotiated similar corporate agreements with hotels for lower rates/tariffs to reduce accommodation costs. Furthermore please find the Department's "Circular on Cost Cutting Measures" attached as Annexure A.

(e)Yes. The Department has reduced its request for additional funds over the 2010 Medium Term Expenditure Framework by reprioritising within its current baseline.

QUESTION: 709 ANNEXURE

CIRCULAR ON COST CUTTING MEASURES

All the Programme Managers provided comments/inputs on how to cut costs, which

is presented in the table below.

MINISTER'S POINTS	CFO/ MTEF SUBMISSION	COMMENTS
1. Prioritise local products		We will use local products readily available within communities as a local economic empowerment measure, subject to the approval by standards authorities and service delivery specifications from various state departments. For example, in Muyexe, we will use local pebbles for building foundations for 328 homes.
2. Control personnel spending/reduce reliance on consultants	Only cover ministerial posts.	Internal - Only prioritised positions will be filled. The migration framework of staff from the Commission has already commenced. (Priority will be given to rural development units). Consultancy strategy will be developed, i.e. valuers, conveyances, agricultural and business economists. SCM to conduct expenditure analysis on consultants. This analysis will inform a strategy to obtain similar services from other departments. Rescheduling of the opening of the Survey General's office in the North West to the outer MTEF years. External - Within the rural development mandate, rural communities are grouped and organized into legal entities and trained to provide their own services using EPW principles.
3. Review spending on goods and services		i. Investigate the concepts of the Public Private Partnerships (PPP). ii. Use own facilities for meetings throughout the country. iii. Strict adherence to travel policy.
4. Use own venues for meetings land workshops		Use own facilities for meetings throughout the country.
5. Control spending on computers and cell phones		i. Review the cellphone policy regarding monitoring of private and business calls. ii. Review the cell phone policy regarding who is entitled to a cellphone.
6. Control travel expenses		i. DDG's to report on travel expenses to MINCOM. ii. Strict adherence to travel policy. iii. Offices to produce efficiency ratio between capital and current budget.
7. Control spending on catering		i. With immediate effect, only cater for external visitors. ii. Review catering policy.
8. Do not purchase for more than the going price in retail stores		i. Review PRO-QUOTE system. ii. Review of SCM Policy.
9. Control media adverts		Advertise using the departmental website and local media rather than national newspapers (teasers).

QUESTION 709
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL UESTION PAPER: 7 AUGUST 2009: INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 - 2009

"709. Mr l l Bosman (CA) to ask the Minister of Science and Technology:

Whether In light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall In state revenue, her department has Introduced any austerity measures to reduce Its expenditure with regards to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by department officials, (d) accommodation and households help or (e) any aspects of government business; If not, what Is the position In this regards; If so, what are the relevant details?"

REPLY

1. Yes.

(a) We are continuously enforcing controls by ensuring that log books are completed and have begun to consolidate the number of deliveries and pickups so that In a day we minimize the use of official vehicles. The DST has only ten (10) vehicles which are regularly serviced and are in good condition. Because of this, we do not intend to purchase more vehicles in the near future.

(b) and (c) The Department has embarked on a reprioritisatlon process to ensure that officials use the most economical means to attend to business of the Department. Officials have been urged to arrange or attend meetings that do not require "overnight stay". Additionally, the number of the delegates to the meetings has been reduced to minimize accommodation costs as well as travel costs. When employees are traveling to the same destination, they are encouraged to use the same mode of transportation to reduce costs.

(d) Employees are encouraged to attend meetings that do not require overnight stay. Additionally, the number of the delegates to the meetings has been reduced to minimize accommodation costs.

(e) On the matter regarding any other aspect of government business the DST has curtailed the number of meetings and refreshments offered at those meetings.

QUESTION 710

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 7 AUGUST 2009: (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 - 2009)

"709. Mr L L Bosman (DA) to ask the Minister of Science and Technology:

Whether in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, her department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regards to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by department officials, (d) accommodation and households help or (e) any aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regards; if so, what are the relevant details?"

NW804E

REPLY

1. Yes.

(a) We are continuously enforcing controls by ensuring that log books are completed and have begun to consolidate the number of deliveries and pickups so that in a day we minimize the use of official vehicles. The DST has only ten (10) vehicles which are regularly serviced and are in good condition. Because of this, we do not intend to purchase more vehicles in the near future.

(b) and (c) The Department has embarked on a reprioritisation process to ensure that officials use the most economical means to attend to business of the Department. Officials have been urged to arrange or attend meetings that do not require "overnight stay". Additionally, the number of the delegates to the meetings has been reduced to minimize accommodation costs as well as travel costs. When employees are traveling to the same destination, they are encouraged to use the same mode of transportation to reduce costs.

(d) Employees are encouraged to attend meetings that do not require overnight stay. Additionally, the number of the delegates to the meetings has been reduced to minimize accommodation costs.

(e) On the matter regarding any other aspect of government business the DST has curtailed the number of meetings and refreshments offered at those meetings.

QUESTION 711

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

Date of publication on internal question paper: 12 August 2009

Internal question paper no: 13

Mr. I O Davidson (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in the state revenue, her department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY:

Yes, the Departmental of Social Development (DSD) does not remain unaffected by the economic recession and has officially implemented a wide range of austerity measures since the beginning of the 2009/10 financial year.

(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e)

Cabinet has appointed a Ministerial Task Team to develop a proposal on how the whole of government could respond to the economic meltdown by, among other things, identifying areas in which expenditure could be reprioritized with a view to diverting resources to the provision of essential services.

The Task Team, which is lead by the Minister of Finance, will make specific recommendations on how government should implement cost cutting measures in all three spheres of government in a structured and coordinated manner. DSD and its reporting entities will be required to comply with these measures once they are approved by Cabinet. However, cost cutting measures have already been put in place by my department and its state entities. These include cutting down on international travel, reducing the over-reliance on consultants and reviewing the prices that the state pays for goods and services.

These cost cutting measures will be announced soon. I will be in a better position to respond more comprehensively as soon as this matter has been finalized by Cabinet.

QUESTION: NO 712

(Internal Question Paper No 7 – 2009) Fourth Parliament

712. Dr J C Kloppers-Lourens (DA) to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation:

Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, his department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to:

(a) Official vehicles,

(b) Travel,

(d) Accommodation and household help or

(e) Any other aspects of government business;

If not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW806E

REPLY:

(a) Official vehicles,

No new cars has been procured for Ministers

(b) Travel

Travel is only conducted as per business plan. SRSA have reduced the numbers of officials travelling to the same destination. Most of line function meetings are conducted in Gauteng or at Sport and Recreation South Africa premises.

· Travel is only conducted as per business plan. SRSA official are restricted to use only economy class for air tickets. Most of line function meeting are conducted in Gauteng or at Sport and Recreation South Africa premises.

· Department has entered contract with SAA to receive cash back for every trip undertaken.

· SRSA has negotiated better rates for car rental

(d) Accommodation and household

SRSA has a policy that restricts officials to use 3 star hotels and only Ministers are allowed to be booked in 5 star hotels.

(e) Any other aspects of government business

Efficiency Saving	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
Catering	R 300,000.00	R 498,480.00	686,000.00
Venues	R 500,000.00	R 830,800.00	490,000.00
Accommodation and transport	R 1,000,000.00	R 1,661,600.00	980,000.00
Promotional items	R 700,000.00	R 1,163,120.00	294,000.00
Total	R 2,500,000.00	R 4,154,000.00	2,450,000.00

Question No. 713 For Written Reply

Date of publication in the Internal Questions Pacer: 070/8/2009 (Internal Question Pacer No.7 of 2009)

Mrs AT Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of State Security

Whether in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, his department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

In terms of the above questions, I kindly refer the Honourable Member to the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI), as the oversight body for clarity and information on questions relating to the operations of the Intelligence Services. In this regard, I have tabled the response to your question with the JSCI.

QUESTION NO. 714

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 of 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 7 August 2009

Mr K S Mubu (DA) to ask the Minister of Tourism:

714. THE MINISTER OF TOURISM ANSWERS:

In response to your questions on cost saving measures, I wish to respond as follows;

The department has identified a number of cost cutting measures that will be implemented to reduce wasteful expenditure and to ensure that resources are diverted to essential services and key priority programmes in my department.

I will be in a better position to respond more comprehensively to the questions as soon as the Ministerial Task Team's report has been finalised and approved by Cabinet.

QUESTION NO 718

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: THURSDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 07 AUGUST 2009 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 – 2009)

Mr P D Poho (Cope) asked the Minister of Transport:

(1) What steps were taken to ensure that a certain operator (name furnished), who received the daily allowance of R1 400, could provide evidence of kilometres travelled during the period of the Confederations Cup;

(2) whether these payments were made (a) by his department, (b) the Local Organising Committee, (c) through a third party or (d) directly to operators?

NW815E

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

(1) The Department of Transport did not hire services that were provided by taxi operators during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The four host cities, being the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane, Rustenburg and Mangaung were the entities that contracted these services in terms of their hosting obligations as contained in their hosting agreements with FIFA.

(2) Neither of the parties the question addresses made or were contracted to make payments to operators that provided services during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

QUESTION NO. 720 INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 of 2009

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 7 August 2009

Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs:

How many animals in the different species were poached from the Kruger National Park and game reserves under the control of provinces in the 2008-09 financial year

NW817E

MR N J J van R KOORNHOF (COPE) SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

720. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:

During the period 1 April 2008 to 31 December 2008

Kruger NP

Bronze winged courser - 1

Buffalo - 13

Bushbuck - 1

Duiker - 2

Giraffe - 1

Hyena - 1

Impala - 71

Kudu - 7

Lion - 3

Nightjar - 6

Nyala - 1

Reed buck - 1

Rhino black - 1

Rhino white - 35

Sharpes Grysbok = 2

Warthog - 6

Water Dikkop - 2

Waterbuck - 3

White-backed vulture - 1

Wild dog - 2

Zebra - 3

During the period 1 January 2009 to 31 March 2009;

Kruger NP

Buffalo - 2

Giraffe - 1

Impala - 16

Kudu - 1

Various plant species - 1

Rhino black - 1

Rhino white - 10

Steenbuck - 1

Zebra - 2

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO 721

WRITTEN REPLY

Mr McGluwa (ID) MP to asked the Minister of Human Settlements:

(1) Whether, according to a certain newspaper article (copy furnished), the Government has been destroying and rebuilding so-called matchbox houses that were built during the period I January 1994 to 31 December 1996; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how much has Government spent per province on destroying and rebuilding and (b) how much more is to be spent per province on destroying and rebuilding these houses;

(2) whether his department is looking at ways to prevent the need for destroying and rebuilding houses in the future; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether this will delay the building of other RDP houses and therefore create longer backlogs on the housing list; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,

(4) whether he intends taking any steps to limit this delay as much as possible;

if so, what steps?

REPLY

(I ) Yes. The Government has introduced a National Housing Programme for the rectification of subsidy financed houses that were constructed between 1994 and 2002. The objective of the programme is to address inferior and unsafe workmanship delivered during the said period. In addition, in certain cases houses were also damaged during public demonstrations in townships.

(1 )(a)&(B). The details regarding the funds expended to date and the planned expenditure regarding houses to be demolished are unfortunately not available at this moment. My Department is in the process to obtain the relevant details from the nine provincial Departments of Human Settlements and the information will be provided as soon as it is available. However, according to the Provincial Housing Plans, the various provinces have planned to spend as follows during the 2009/10 financial year on the Rectification Programme:

Province	Funds Allocated (R'000)
Eastern Cape	31 908
Free State	1683
Gauteng	-
KwaZulu-Natal	118498
Limpopo	-
Mpumalanga	30 000
Northern Cape	869
North West	-
Western Cape	-
TOTAL	182 958

(2). Yes. Government has decided to apply the provisions of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, 1998 (Act No. 95 of 1998) to the housing subsidy financed only houses with effect from t April 2002. This implies that all subsidy financed dwellings constructed since 2002 are covered by the National Home Builders registration Council's quality control standards and measures as well as the five year warranty scheme that cover the dwellings in cases of structural failures.

(3) Yes. Provincial Governments affected by the need to rectify houses constructed before 2002 will reserve funds from their annual housing allocation for the Rectification Programme and therefore will have less funds available for the financing of new housing developments.

(4) Yes. Provinces have been requested to ensure that the rectification of the affected houses are prioritised and concluded as a matter of urgency so that the funds allocated for housing development are channelled towards new housing delivery and thus the reduction of the housing need. In addition, Government is committed towards the eradication of the housing backlog which is demonstrated through the substantial increase in the Housing Vote MTEF allocation. The MTEF Housing allocation over the past four years increased by some 95% from R6,349 billion to the current financial year allocation of R12, 442 billion.

QUESTION NO. 724

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07 AUGUST 2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 7)

Mr L W Greyling (ID) to ask the Minister of Health:

Whether his department has issued a new tender document for the procurement of female condoms; if not, (a) why not and (b) when will it be issued?

NW821E

REPLY:

The female condom tender is a transversal term contract and as such is managed by National Treasury: Contracts Management on behalf of the National Department of Health. This involves the development of the tender document including advertising, adjudication and awarding of the contract. The role of the Department of Health is to provide guidance to National Treasury in terms of the specifications and quantities required (estimates) for the commodity in question. The Department of Health also oversees the operational aspects in respect to liaising with suppliers and providing logistics for the sustained supply of the commodity to the provinces.

To ensure continued availability and supply of female condoms in the country, the new tender was advertised on 08 May 2009 and closed on 08 June 2009. Bids were received from prospective bidders. According to the latest information from National Treasury: Contracts Management, the tender process is at the evaluation stage and is expected to be completed by end of September 2009.

QUESTION NO.: 725 DATE OF PUBLICATION: 5 August 2009

Mr M H Hoosen (ID) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) What, with reference to the reply by the Minister of Basic Education to Question 288 on 13 July 2009, is the cause of the delay in capturing the particulars of persons convicted for sexual offences against a child onto the Register of Sex Offenders;

(2) when does he envisage the register to be fully operational?

NW822E

REPLY:-

(1) The operation of the National Register for Sex Offenders commenced on 30 June 2009. The Register will be operationalised in phases.

The National Register for Sex Offenders will record the names and details of all the people who committed sexual offences against a child or a person who is mentally disabled before or after the commencement of this chapter. These will include offences committed in or outside the Republic. It will also include the names of persons whether they are appointed in the public or private sectors.

As from the 30^th June 2009, court orders are being captured onto the National Register for Sex Offenders, as the court orders are made and submitted.

Regarding historical convictions, the records of various Government Departments, including the South African Police Service's Criminal Record Centre regarding criminal convictions; the Department of Correctional Services regarding sentenced offenders; and the Department of Health regarding persons who are alleged to have committed sexual offences against children or mentally challenged, but who were declared as State Patients in terms of section 77 and 78 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, are being scrutinised, to ensure the inclusion of the relevant offenders' names, onto the National Register for Sex Offenders.

(2) Considering the development stages of the interface between the departments, some processes are still being conducted manually. Hence, that all systems are not automated does pose a challenge.

_{QUESTION NO 716}

_{DATE REPLY SUBMITTED:THURSDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2009}

_{DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 07 AUGUST 2009 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 7 – 2009)}

_{Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:}

NW812E

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

In response to your question on cost saving measures, I wish to respond as follows:-

The Department of Transport has identified a number of cost cutting measures that will be implemented to reduce wasteful expenditure and to ensure that resources are diverted to essential services and key priority programmes in my Department.

As you may be aware, Cabinet has appointed a Ministerial Task Team to develop proposals on how the whole of Government should respond to the recession by, among other things, identifying areas in which expenditure could be reprioritised with a view to diverting resources to the provision of essential services and crucial Government programmes.

The Task Team, which is led by the Minister of Finance, will make specific recommendations on how Government should implement cost management measures in all the three spheres of Government in a structured and coordinated manner. These recommendations will cover short and medium measures.

All Government Departments will be required to comply with these measures once they are approved by Cabinet. Examples of measures under consideration include the cutting down on international travel, reducing over-reliance on consultants, reviewing the prices that the State pays for goods and services, centralising certain procurement procedures, reviewing discretionary projects and rescheduling time frames for some projects.

I will be in a better position to respond more comprehensively to the questions as soon as the Ministerial Task Team's report has been finalised and approved by Cabinet.

2009-09-08

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