NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
INTERNAL QUESTION
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Friday, 9 October 2009
1502. Dr H C van Schalkwyk (DA) to ask the Minister for the Public Service
and Administration:
(1) (a) At which levels are public servants in each department
entitled to receive a (i) cellular phone for business purposes
and (ii) cellular phone allowance, (b)(i) what is the credit
limit for each of the levels in each month and (ii) are the
other benefits regarding cellular phones, (c) what action is
taken when an official exceeds the credit limit and (d) what is
the total amount spent on cellular phones in each government
department in the (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) from 1
April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information
is available;
(2) Whether any mechanisms are in place to ensure that every
cellular phone account is monitored for business use only; if
not, why not; if so, what mechanisms? NW1906E
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REPLY
(1)(a) Each department has its own internal departmental policy to
regulate and administer the use of cellular phones.
(1)(a)(i)(ii) The Department of Public Service and Administration
(DPSA) provides cellular phone handsets and monthly allowances to
incumbents of the following categories; (b) (i)
Director-General: Unlimited
Deputy Directors-General: R1 550.00
Directors and Chief Directors: R 850.00
Deputy Directors and lower: R 550.00
(b)(ii) In terms of the cellular phone policy the DPSA does not allow
additional benefits for official handsets.
(c) If the monthly allowance is exceeded, the Finance section informs
the user of the excess amount where he or she is requested to
provide reasons why the allowance was exceeded. Where the excess is
due to official duties, the Responsibility Manager or Programme
manager has to approve such costs; if not, the user must
acknowledge that the excess amount be deducted from his/her salary.
(d) The total amount spent on cellular phones by the department is as
follows:
(i) 2007/08: R2 182 784.73
(ii) 2008/09: R2 098 546.69
(iii) 01/04/2009-30/09/2009 R 988 076.63
(2) It is the responsibility of the managers of DPSA to scrutinize the
monthly accounts of the users within his/her component. The
cellular phone budget is allocated according to the number of users
within a component, hence the annual cellular phone budget should
not be exceeded.
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