Hon Deputy Chairperson, in response to Question 32, I would like to respond as follows. There is a unit called the Disability Management Unit within Sassa that manages and monitors activities of contracted medical practitioners who are doing evaluations throughout the country.
We manage these activities and evaluate them through the following activities. One, we ensure that the contracted doctors remain registered within the Health Professions Council of South Africa. This means that they have to do what the council or the professional body wants them to do, as professionally as possible. Two, we ensure that there is provision of continuous training and that seminars and refresher courses are attended by these doctors dealing with people with disabilities. Three, we ensure that continuous quality assurance is completed by these doctors when they do medical assessments and that they complete relevant medical forms. Four, we also ensure that meetings are held regularly to discuss concerns and issues emanating from the work of contracted doctors. This is what we also do when continuing to monitor them. We also ensure that there is a focus on the cancellation of contracts of those doctors who do not comply with their contractual obligations regarding assessment procedures and that there is appropriate conduct when dealing with clients.
The performance contracts of doctors serving in Gingindlovu are being evaluated through the Inkanyezi local service office, which is near Eshowe. They are being monitored on a continuous basis by Sassa's in-house doctors within this unit as well.
With regard to the last question, we would like to indicate that Sassa does have a toll-free fraud number. We would also like to indicate that it is not really cost-effective to have a toll-free number for every service that is provided throughout the department as well as Sassa itself because of the number of services we have to deliver to our people in that regard. We therefore use one toll-free number for all the services at Sassa even though we actually call it a toll-free fraud number. For the purposes of those of us who may not have ever had this number - if I may just indicate - the number is 0800601011. That's the number that everybody has to use when lodging complaints with Sassa, even about the services of these doctors. Thank you very much.