Given the ongoing attack by the Russian Federation on sovereign Ukraine, the Government’s avowed position of neutrality with respect to the war and commitment to human rights, the potential consequences for greylisting and the significant SA National Defence Force (SANDF) budget constraints that are preventing the maintenance and acquisition of essential prime mission equipment which is needed by South African soldiers deployed in hostile environments to protect the integrity of the Republic, how does he justify the recent joint military exercise of the SANDF and Russia?
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has not been involved in any joint military exercise with the Russian Federation recently. The last joint exercise by the two nations was conducted over the period 25-29 November 2019.
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Whether, with reference to his reply to question 2986 on 6 October 2022, about the Black Industrialist Programme of the Government which has cost the taxpayer R55 billion in the period 2010-11 to 2021-22, in which he states that the Government supported more than 500 projects of black industrialists, he will furnish The Leader of the Opposition with the details of each (a) project and/or company including the name of the black industrialist in each case and (b) amount of funding allocated and the terms of the arrangement; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW5084E
Monies made available in terms of the Black Industrialist programme are largely in the form of loans made by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) based on its balance-sheet. Additional sums are made available as loans by the National Empowerment Fund (NEF). The contribution of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has been in the form of grants based on monies voted by Parliament ...
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Whether he has found that the reports that only 6% of emergency relief funds for victims of the KwaZulu-Natal floods has been spent are accurate; if not, what is the position of the Government in this regard; if so, what (a) is the reason that such a small portion of the fund was spent and (b) steps has he taken to correct the matter?
Funds available for emergency relief and recovery following the KwaZulu-Natal floods came from the following disaster relief grants:
- Provincial Disaster Response Grant
- Provincial Emergency Housing Grant
- Municipal Disaster Response Grant
- Municipal Emergency Housing Grant
Other funds were sourced through reprioritising existing budgets and conditional grants.
Provincial Disaster Response Grant
The amount available in the Provincial Disaster Response Grant – R145 million – was not ...
With reference to the review of the Ministerial Handbook which he signed off in April 2022 but later did an about-turn, what considerations motivated him to introduce a new provision to the Ministerial Handbook that enables himself, his Ministers and Deputy Ministers to use unlimited amounts of taxpayer money to settle water and electricity bills at their official residences;
(2) what (a) considerations motivated him to remove the limit on the number of staff members that may be employed in the private offices of Ministers and Deputy Ministers and (b) mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that this is not a scheme to utilise taxpayers money to pay the salaries of the staff of a certain political party (details furnished)?
The State is required to ensure that political office bearers, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers and Members of Executive Councils are provided with resources and enabling facilities (tools of trade) to perform their duties effectively.
The Guide for Members of the Executive provides a framework to manage the extent to which the State provides these tools of trade. The determination of tools of trade ...
Whether he used a SA National Defence Force helicopter to fly to Welkom to participate in an African National Congress (ANC) campaign and engaged with local ANC branches on 8 October 2022; if not, what was the purpose of the trip; if so, what provisions within his private office permits for the use of public resources for party political purposes?
The South African Air Force (SAAF) transported the President to Welkom on 8 October 2022.
The SAAF is responsible for the air transport of the President and Deputy President, regardless of the purpose of the travel, as mandated by a Cabinet Memorandum of May 1994.
What are the reasons that the Government has not considered a job-seeking allowance which will be given to unemployed graduates and young persons in general who are looking for work as the specified persons spend approximately R1200 on data, printing and transport costs when they are looking for employment that they may not even get?
Government has considered various options to support the unemployed in addition to the many measures that are currently in place.
A basic package of support in the form of a work seekers grant that would assist the person to actively look for work and travel to interviews is being modelled by the National Treasury. The implementation of such an allowance or grant will depend ...
What legislative provisions does he rely on (a) to allow for the existence of the Ministerial Handbook and (b) guides him in setting the provisions for (i) Ministers and (ii) Deputy Ministers contained in the Ministerial Handbook?
The State is required to ensure that political office bearers, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers and Members of Executive Councils are provided with resources and enabling facilities (tools of trade) to perform their duties effectively.
The Guide for Members of the Executive provides a framework to manage the extent to which the State provides these tools of trade. The adoption of the Guide is ...
With reference to his State of the Nation Address on 10 February 2022, wherein he acknowledged how load shedding was harming the economy and the society and listed several new energy generation projects that he said would be coming online over the next few years, (a) what is the status of each project and (b) by what date can the Republic expect the energy to come online, with particular reference to the
(i) over 500 MW from the remaining projects in Bid Window 4 of the Renewable Energy Programme (REP), which are at advanced stages of construction,
(ii) 2 600 MW from Bid Window 5 of the (REP), for which the preferred bidders were announced in 2021,
(iii) up to 800 MW from risk mitigation power projects that are ready to proceed,
(iv) 2 600 MW from Bid Window 6 of the REP, which was to be opened soon,
(v) 3 000 MW of gas power and 500 MW of battery storage, for which requests for proposals were to be released later in 2022,
(vi) estimated 4 000 MW from embedded generation projects in the mining sector and
(vii) approximately 1 400 MW that was already in the process of being secured by various municipalities?
When I delivered the State of the Nation Address in February 2022, I outlined a range of measures to address the energy shortfall and fundamentally transform the energy sector.
Since then, we have made significant progress in achieving those objectives:
i) The remaining projects from Bid Window 4 of the renewable energy programme have connected to the grid, adding over 2 000 MW of ...
Given the state of the economy, high levels of poverty, joblessness, poor living conditions, corruption at all spheres of government, service delivery protests and the closure of both big and small businesses, what plans does the Government have to (a) address the failures of previous plans and policies and (b) engage all role players to forge a new path to prosperity?
There are several reasons for the severe economic challenges our country is experiencing today. The accumulated legacy of colonialism and apartheid has been compounded by the effects of state capture and corruption, by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, by an energy crisis that has lasted for more than a decade, and now by global instability.
The Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), crafted in partnership ...
(1) With reference to his weekly newsletter of Monday, 30 May 2022, and his announcement that he would appoint a council to advise on broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE), (a) who is on the advisory council and (b) what are the specific terms of reference of the council;
(2) whether the terms of reference will include an honest assessment of whether the BBBEE is doing the Republic more harm than good; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) what is the cost of the advisory council to the taxpayer, given that the Department of Small Business Development and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition already exist?
(1)(a) In terms of section 6(1) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, 2003, as amended, the B-BBEE Advisory Council consists of members of the Executive and individuals appointed by the President, drawn from a wide range of persons with experience and expertise relevant to the work of the Council.
The members of the Council are:
- President, who is the Chairperson,
- Minister of ...
