Advocate HC Schmidt (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
Given the recent decision of the Government that the One Environmental System be implemented on 8 December 2014, will he (a) sign the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill [B15-2013] into law and/or (b) refer the Bill back to Parliament for further consideration?
Reply:
After receiving the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill from Parliament, I received several objections against the signing of the Bill into law. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, requires that I must satisfy myself that the Bill passed by Parliament is constitutional.
However, if I have reservations about the constitutionality of a Bill, I am required by section 79 of the Constitution to refer the Bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration. I am still considering the Bill together with all the submissions received by my office.
Mr JH Steenhuisen (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
1. (a) When has he visited the Russian Federation in the (i) 2011/12, (ii)2012/13 and (iii) 2013/14 financial years and (b) in respect of each visit (i) which (aa) persons, (bb) businesses and/or (cc) organisations accompanied him, (ii) what meetings were held during these visits and (iii) what was discussed during each of these meetings.
2. (a) what was the total cost of his visits, (b) what is the detailed breakdown of the costs involved and (c) who paid for each item respectively?
Reply:
1. (a) I visited the Russian Federation on the following occasions:
(i) On 3 July 2011 to participate in the meeting of the International Contact Group on Libya in my capacity as a member of the African Union Ad hoc High Level Committee on Libya.
(ii) I did not undertake any visit during the 2012/13 financial year
(iii) On 16 May 2013 I undertook a Working Visit to Sochi and again from 5 to 6 September 2013 to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in St Petersburg.
(b) During my visit to Sochi in May 2013, I was accompanied by Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane; Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms NN Mapisa-Nqakula; Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Mr MCJ Van Schalkwyk; Minister of Tourism, Mr S Cwele; Minister of State Security, Mr EN Mthethwa; Minister of Police and Ms D Peters; Minister of Energy.
During the visit I and President Vladimir Putin reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on critical regional and global issues of mutual interest. The sectoral Ministers discussed issues pertaining to strengthening bilateral cooperation in their respective fields with their Russian counterparts.
(iii) During my visit to St Petersburg in September 2013, I was accompanied by the then Minister of Finance, Mr. P Gordhan, and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. M Nkoana-Mashabane. Discussions during the Summit were focused on ways to boost sustainable, inclusive and balanced global growth.
2. Costs related to the visits would be included in The Presidency's budgets for the respective years.
Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
1) whether in view of the resolve of the Government of the People's Republic of China to launch one of the most extensive campaigns as compared to anywhere in the world to expose and prosecute government officials as well as party leaders guilty of corrupt practices, he has been encouraged to quadruple the Government's effort to do likewise; if so, (a) how much more extensive and substantial is the present intensified campaign compared with the previous one, (b) how many more highly placed Government officials are presently being prosecuted and (c) what is the Government doing in combating corruption, which is comparable to the scale of which China is fighting corruption.
2) Whether he will make a statement on the matter?
Reply:
Our government has made fighting corruption one of the key priorities. This is reflected in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework which has the reduction of corruption in the private and public sectors as one of the critical goals for the next five years. To meet this goal we are implementing one of the most comprehensive anti-corruption strategies in the world.
In the first instance, I have established the Anti-corruption Inter-Ministerial Committee which is chaired by the Minister in the Presidency and comprises of various Ministers. The aim of the IMC is to lead and oversee our government's efforts aimed at combating corruption.
The IMC is supported by the Anti-Corruption Task Team, which comprises of a vast network of government agencies that is dedicated at fighting corruption. These agencies include the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation ('the Hawks'), the Special Investigative Units, the National Prosecutions Agency (especially the Asset Forfeiture Unit), the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, the Public Service Commission, the Department of Public Service and Administration and other state security agencies.
All these agencies have been asked to pool their intellectual, financial, investigative and other forms of resources in order to deal comprehensively with the scourge of corruption in the public and private sectors. Each of these agencies has also been asked to bring its specialist know-how and experience to this comprehensive effort at combating corruption.
The Financial Intelligence Centre, for instance, is bringing its knowledge and experience at dealing with sophisticated financial and economic crimes, while the Public Service Commission has been asked to reach out to members of the public to report incidents of corruption through the National Anti-corruption Hotline.
For the first time in our history I signed tens of proclamations mandating the Special Investigative Unit to investigate incidents of corruption. The Asset Forfeiture Unit of the NPA is seizing more assets associated with or accumulated through criminal activity than ever before. We have established the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer to focus state procurement processes.
For far too long weaknesses in the state procurement processes have been exploited in order to commit corruption. Through the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer we are closing these gaps. Furthermore, we have committed ourselves through the MTSF to review legislation that deals with corruption in order to ensure that all laws in this area are strengthened so that we can effectively wage a war against corruption.
These comprehensive measures have begun to bear some fruit. Currently 945 persons are being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Task Team, 228 of whom are officials or ex-officials. Out of this figure, 23 senior officials are being prosecuted.
Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
Whether he is using the many means available to him, including the readily availability of the media, to make it abundantly clear to everyone that the Minister of Finance had his and the Government's unequivocal support in demanding full and rigorous compliance with the conditions laid out in the 2014 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) from all segments of the Government to realise his goal of annually reducing the expenditure ceiling, as proposed in the 2014 MTBPS; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the details of the steps he is taking to make visible his support and (b) what action is he proactively asking the Government to take against any person who in any way is deemed to have undermined the 2014 MTBPS framework?
Reply:
The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that was delivered by the Minister of Finance in Parliament on 22 October 2014 is a product of extensive discussion by Cabinet.
As Minister Nene stated when delivering the statement, the MTBPS is collectively owned by Cabinet and the tough measures contained in the statement are supported by Cabinet and government as a whole.
The MTBPS sets out a clear course on how our government intends to achieve our developmental goals in the medium term in a tough global and local economic environment. The principal aim of the MTBPS is to restore balance to the nation's finances, bolster investment and achieve better value for money in public expenditure.
A critical element to balancing our finances is to do more with less. We are fighting wasteful expenditure and corruption. We are also freezing budgets of non-essential goods and services, withdrawing funding for posts that have been vacant for some time, and reducing the rate of growth of transfers to public entities, particularly those with cash reserves.
These cost-containment measures are being implemented without compromising service delivery and our commitment to providing basic services to the poor. In making the difficult choices about how to use the available limited resources, we are being guided by the National Development Plan. The Medium Term Strategic Framework clearly outlines how we plan to meet the goals of the NDP in the medium term.
We are taking the message contained in the MTBPS everywhere we go and to every country, groups or persons we meet. Recently the Presidential Working Group on Business met and one of the key issues it discussed was the steps that should be taken to attract inward investment and increase economic growth. This is the same message we have communicated in our bilateral engagements with countries we have met as well as in multilateral meetings we have attended such as the G20.
The leader of the opposition (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
How many domestic trips did he undertake in the 2013-14 financial year, b) In respect of each trip, what (i) was the date of the trip, (ii) was the destination of the trip, (iii) what was the purpose of the trip and (iv) are the (aa) names and (bb) positions of the persons who accompanied him and (cc) what was the (i) total cost and (ii)breakdown of the costs of all the specified trips?
Reply:
I undertake many domestic trips in any given year in the execution of my responsibilities as outlined in the Constitution. These range from travelling to Cape Town to attend Cabinet meetings to visiting communities in various places in the country to monitor the state of service delivery to launching essential infrastructure that is critical for the development of our society.
In the 2013/14 financial year, for instance, I visited the Sekhukhune district in Limpopo to launch De Hoop Dam. This dam will provide water to a vast number of our communities who will now have access to clean water for the first time. In the same year I visited the Natal Midlands to open the Spring Grove Dam, which will supply clean water to citizens who have never had clean water before.
In September 2013 I visited the community of Balfour in Mpumalanga to re-open Grootvlei Power Station, a station which was built in the late 1960s and mothballed in 1990. After a R7.2 billion upgrade to the power station it has been brought back to life to meet our acute energy need which is critical for growing the economy. During the same financial year we travelled domestically to open state-of-the-art schools in the Eastern Cape thereby making quality education accessible to rural communities that for decades have learned under trees or in mud structures.
In my visit to the communities across the length and breadth of our country I am accompanied by Ministers and officials across the three spheres of government, depending on the need of each visit. The costs of these domestic travels are contained in The Presidency annual reports in the specific case of The Presidency.
Ms EC van Lingen (DA-EC) to ask the President of the Republic:
Whether he will attend an oral questions session in the National Council of Provinces (details furnished) before the end of 2014; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
In my annual address to the National Council of Provinces on 6 November I outlined the importance of the National Council of Provinces as the House that provides a platform to deal with the issues affecting provinces. It is therefore important for me to use every available opportunity to interact with this House.
I was unable to answer questions before year end given scheduling constraints. The response to questions in the NCOP will form part of my 2015 programme.
