Hon Chair, hon Minister, arising from your confirmation in your reply to the hon member that indeed the said official continues to work in the department, but only because he is finishing a contract, does it mean that the issue of corruption and the misdemeanours that officials, from time to time, get involved in is not taken seriously by the department, but rather it just continues to keep them under its employment, instead of dealing with the particular official?
The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Chairperson, thank you very much, hon member. The said official was removed from the province so that the investigation could be completed unhindered. Thank you.
Particulars regarding penalty clauses in contracts signed by arms deal contractors, and recourse to be had by department in relation to these contractors
269. Mr T D Harris (DA) asked the Minister of Trade and Industry:
Whether the contracts signed with the arms deal contractors who committed to offset their deals with investments through the National Industrial Participation Programme (NIPP) contained penalty clauses related to direct job creation; if not, what recourse does his department have over contractors who, according to the NIPP Performance Review 2009, failed to produce the 65 000 jobs originally promised; if so, (a) what performance guarantees are contained in these contracts, (b) which contractors have incurred any penalties and (c) how much do these penalties amount to?