Polokwane Local Municipality: engagement with Municipality; MEC; AGSA; SALGA; DCOG & Eskom

Meeting report

Opening remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson opened the virtual meeting, welcoming the Members, Committee support staff, Department officials and the delegates from the Department, Polokwane Local Municipality and the South African Local Government Association. She acknowledged the absenteeism apologies from Members and from guest delegates. She then introduced the agenda of the meeting and handed over to the Department for its presentation.

 

Briefing by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the Municipality

The Department reported that the Polokwane Local Municipality has obtained qualified audit opinion for the past three consecutive financial years and is not able to collect revenue optimally to fund its service delivery programmes. The migration to a new financial management system is expected to improve performance of its operations.

The presentation also gave a detailed breakdown of the municipality’s socio-economic status, including a comparison of those living in poverty and those who are economically active. Outlines of the various sectors such as trade, electricity and education were also provided.

 

Challenges do exist regarding the capacity of bulk infrastructure services with specific reference to wastewater treatment works, water storage and water works. Uncoordinated allocation of new settlement in rural areas by traditional authorities has a major impact on municipal planning and budgeting.

There was also a lack of Institutional Capacity in Power Management Units & Engineering; lack of maintenance plans for sewer infrastructure; energy/electricity capacity shortfall – the municipality will not be able to sustain future developments unless new programmes are implemented; illegal connection and bridging of electricity is contributing to electricity losses; providing and maintaining the local roads at an acceptable standard which ensures accessibility at all times; challenge of storm water management and control.

 

There were other challenges, opportunities and threats listed in the presentation document. The Department rounded off by indicating that it would continue providing support to the municipality through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA). It recommends that the Municipality should review and finalise their revenue enhancement strategy to improve the income stream; that the District Development Model be ramped up by mobilizing national and private sector to support the Municipality on major infrastructure programmes; that the Municipality continue on the trajectory of reducing their dependence on consultants.

 

See presentation for more information

 

Briefing by the Polokwane Local Municipality on its status update

The Municipality had to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees who were working during the COVID-19 period. National Treasury issues a directive to all government departments and municipalities to procure personal protective equipment from the RT57 contract. The Municipality liaised with service providers and issued them with specification of the items required. Purchase orders were also issued on them. The service providers were unable to deliver at that time due to the fact the items were in huge demand and they could not deliver.

 

As an emergency alternative, the municipality sourced quotations from its service providers on its suppliers’ database and utilised providers who are appointed for provision of protective clothing and other materials. These providers were appointed by following the normal supply chain management (SCM) processes. Extension of scope of work was done to them in terms of SCM Regulation 36 of the MFMA to cover the procurement of COVID-19 protective materials on an emergency basis.

 

Service providers whom the National Treasury directed municipalities to procure materials from them were unable to deliver to scarcity of the materials at the time due to huge demand in the country. Other service providers on the transversal contract for protective clothing were demanding 50% payment prior to supply and delivery of the materials which would be against the prescripts of the MFMA, PFMA and Polokwane Municipality SCM policy.

 

While Polokwane Municipality was struggling with the transversal contract service providers on upfront payment and failure to deliver, an alternative means was sourced where the Municipality extended the scope of work to service providers who are appointed for three years for provision of protective clothing and other materials. Officials who are providing essential services (Traffic & Licensing, Waste Management, Fire & Disaster Management and other supporting staff) were threatening to go on strike if they were not provided with personal protective equipment. The strike impact would have caused much chaos around the city and it would make it difficult for control the spread of COVID-19. Due to the fact that Polokwane Municipality had to obtain the PPE as a matter of emergency, it was impossible to control the prices as a set out by the National Treasury hence the service providers indicated the difficulties of getting the PPE and if they obtain them they are charged exorbitantly.

 

During the initial stages of declaration of the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic and the announcement of a nationwide lockdown, there were interventions from National Department of Human Settlements, Water & Sanitation. This included the provision of water tankers and JoJo tanks allocated to the Municipality. The initiatives were headed by Rand Water & Lepelle Northern Water on behalf of the Department. Baatshuma was appointed by an agent of Lepelle Northern Water to implement the installation of sixty JoJo tanks that were allocated to the Municipality by the Department. The expenditure incurred in the COVID-19 water intervention included about R17.99 million on maintenance and another R15.03 million on new tankers. The presentation continued to provide a detailed breakdown of the allocation of maintenance work to different contractors; a revenue collection analysis as found in the municipality’s 2019/20 billing report.

 

As of the close of the 2018/19 financial year, the closing balance for irregular expenditure was sitting at about R476.65 million, with no new irregular expenditure being incurred.  Similarly, no new fruitless and wasteful expenditure were incurred. Unauthorised expenditure was now a little over R550 million but an amount of R489.2 million being written off by Council from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s (MPAC’s) recommendation due to non-cash items or the fact that no financial loss was incurred. Annual Financial Statements were adjusted in response to the AG’s findings in the prior year.

 

The AGSA report for FY2017/18 made a qualification finding on duplicate payments.  Upon receipt of the finding the municipality referred the matter to internal audit for a comprehensive audit on the whole population. A total of 32 duplicate payments amounting to R619 122.10 were found and R613 602.35 was recovered at the time of the audit; R5 520 was still outstanding. Following the report by Internal Audit, four employees involved in the duplicate payments were subjected to a disciplinary enquiry on charges of gross negligence. Taking into consideration the recovery of all monies by the Municipality, the Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee recommended suspensions for 10 days without pay and final written warnings.

 

See presentation for more information

 

Discussion

Mr K Ceza (EFF) mentioned that areas such as Ngolovane have no water reticulation in place but it has been almost six months without bulk water supply and the municipality did to make any means to bring solutions to the communities. The lack of water supply indicates that there are no serious measures put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus which has left people susceptible to the virus because of the lack of leadership. He mentioned that communities in a rural province, which are mainly formed by a collection of farms, will not be able to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations when they have been denied their basic human rights.

Mr Ceza said that there were two gentlemen who have been alleged to be violating human rights by depriving the community of access to water and healthcare and this is prevalent in rural communities. This issue is one that the province needs to resolve.

Mr G Mpumza (ANC) welcomed the presentation by the MEC and further apologised for disturbing the MEC during the presentation and to the Committee, stating that the act was not intentional.

He highlighted that the province has performed well in screening 78% of the population. The procurement of the PPE has dented the integrity of departments as well as state owned institutions in that the service providers hired were not all within the health sector as was seen in some provinces. He asked that it be clarified whether, for the present discussion, the service providers were sourced from the health sector and that the procurement of PPE in the Limpopo province was a clean exercise and if in the future there will not be any issues which may arise in this subject.

Mr Mpumza mentioned that similar to the above scenario, the food parcel distribution has also dented the integrity of government amongst citizens due to how it has been handled. He asked if the province of Limpopo had conducted this exercise in the rightful manner.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a number of issues in service delivery trajectory as well as the huge inequalities in society. He mentioned that the MEC indicated that 449 people in the Limpopo province are homeless; this is a challenge in the transformation agenda. This problem seeks to probe the commitment of the government in ensuring that homelessness becomes an issue of the past and that shelter is provided to the needy. He further added that the presentation made mention of almost 553 schools that remain without access to water while only 484 water tanks had been provided. He asked what was happening to the remaining schools that are still without water tanks in this current pandemic as water remains a necessity to comply with specified protocols.

He made mention that in the presentation, the MEC indicated that there are some financial pressures but there are no quantifications in terms of the number of staff that is needed and how much this will cost.

Ms D Direko (ANC) acknowledged the presentation. She asked what the province was doing in order to deal with the increasing cases of COVID infected individuals amongst healthcare workers and whether the workers have access to PPEs and whether there is any compliance to COVID-19 legislation.

She mentioned that the low-cost housing project (zinc housing project) has painted a very bad image about the province as was evident on social media platforms. She asked what the province was planning on doing in order to deal with the negative publicity.

Ms Direko asked if there were staff members at the Premier’s office and what their roles were. This question was on the basis that there was a publication on a specific newspaper where the Premier indicated that he was not aware of what he was going to launch. If there are staff members available, their assumed duty is to monitors projects that the Premier is going to launch because it is a disgrace that the Premier launched “shacks” for the people because this painted a bad picture and created an impression that the province does not care for its people.

She asked what the province was doing in order to deal with the allegations of corruption and if it was possible for the Committee to receive a list of the procurements done, the processes followed and the amount that has been spent.

The Chairperson asked how municipalities will be supported in terms of coming up with COVID-19 recovery plans to expedite economic recovery because one of the damages caused by the pandemic is unemployment. She stated that the municipalities are the engine rooms of the economy and this had not been indicated in the presentation.

She added that on slide 64 the cost of face masks was roughly similar in quantity and the total cost for the first batch amounted to R500 000 while the second batch was R570 000, and these were delivered on dates which were not too far apart. The issue with the cost difference between the two batches is enormous, as it amounted to approximately R5 million. She asked for clarity on the above mentioned.

In slide 66, the presentation shows the financial concerns from the Department of Education around supplying water to schools as per agreement with the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The Chairperson asked for clarity as to who was responsible for the provision of water in schools before the signing of the agreement between the DBE, Department of Water and Sanitation and Rand Water.

She asked for details in relation to the provision of chemical toilets for learners, in terms of the places in which these were provided, the quantity and price and who was responsible for the costs.

She highlighted that the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) had supplied municipalities with an amount of R5 million for PPE but the expenditure currently in Limpopo is R149 000. She asked about CoGTA’s role in remedying this challenge as other provinces have been performing well and asked the MEC to provide timeframes by which all the municipalities will have reached 100 percent expenditure, as the money has not been spent according to the CoGTA National Report.

The Chairperson asked what was the risk caused by illegal crossing of the border line and what were the measures in place to ensure that COVID-19 is contained within communities along the border.

She mentioned that the municipality has the lowest COVID-19 cases in the province, implying that there is a need to work hard in ensuring that there are practical ways in place to ensure that this remains as is and that the future opening of borders does not lead to spikes in the area. She further enquired as to what the provinces differentiated approach was and whether that is expressed in the District Development Model Plan.

As highlighted in the presentation, Sekhukhune and Capricorn have the highest COVID-19 infections in the province. The Chairperson asked about the measures implemented in relation to the two districts.

She asked whether the Department of Health considered developing a disaster management plan, in line with section 38 of the Disaster Management Act, to formulate a robust provincial plan that will deal proactively with future disasters. What are the arrangements put in place to deal with this issue? Which other departments have been identified to start developing plans for building disaster management capacity and what were their timeframes?

She asked for specification of the municipalities which had included COVID-19 resilience building and if there was a budget provided for this.  

Responses

Mr Rodgers Basikopo Makamu (Limpopo MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs) specified that the questions were directed to different departments and therefore the respective MEC’s would address the questions.

Dr Phophi Constance Ramathuba, Limpopo Health MEC, acknowledged all those in attendance and stated that the MEC for Treasury will unpack on the issue of PPE procurement. She made mention of the Sunday Independent headlines which claimed that the Department had spent an amount of R932 million on PPE. She referred to the presentation which specified that the provincial government has thus far spent R668 million. These numbers disqualify the claims made by the publication as the amount spent provincially is lower than that which was indicated to have been spent by the Department. She also emphasised that the total expenditure by the province did not only reflect the cost of PPE.

She mentioned that a Committee Member has asked a question which she is still trying to understand as she has not yet seen any allegations of her involvement in the signing off of a R9 million tender to a daughter of a former executive member with whom she is friends. She then requested that the question be sent in writing. She added that Members who asked on the allegations of her family members’ involvement in acquiring contracts are welcome to do an investigation. To further clarify, Dr Ramathuba said that she requires questions on the awarding of contracts be written and forwarded to her so that her administrator can do investigation as the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act) does not allow executive authorities to be involvement in that space and she would not have any knowledge of such.

Addressing the question of the availability of PPE, she responded that the necessary equipment was provided and that as a province Limpopo have never compromised on the quality and availability of PPE. She mentioned that as a province, they began later than other provinces in conducting COVID-19 screening as they could not release their 10 000 cadres to the communities when they were still struggling to get sanitisers and face masks. So far, the province has been able to do screenings and no response members have been infected due to the strict regulations which were put in place. Healthcare workers were protected as PPEs are readily available.

The province has adopted a policy which has been approved and authorised by the accounting officer that there should not be a single healthcare worker who is allowed to touch a patient unless they are in full PPEs; this applies to all workers relevant to the area they are operating in.

The Chairperson interjected the MEC and asked those in control of the meeting as to why notes were displayed on the screen and not the presenter.

Dr Ramathuba (MEC of Health, Limpopo) continued and said that although there has been an increase in the number of infected health workers, there has also been an increase in the number of recoveries. No COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded amongst public health employees. Regrettably, there have been three reported deaths of doctors in the private sector and this is because the province does not have the Department of Private Health or Public Health. However, this has been used as an opportunity to strengthen the provinces training capacity and to do an inspection of the availability of PPEs within the private sector. The province has also closed tea rooms as these are areas of prevalent infection.

In addressing the current infection rate, she indicated that the province has started to do the work in anticipation of level-two lockdown. There have been proactive measures put in place to ensure that the province remains at low levels of infection. Although there is no available vaccine, Dr Ramathuba mentioned that as the health sector they will look at the three levels of healthcare promotion where people will be taught how to clean their homes, how to self-quarantine and how to prevent infection in a case where a person lives with an infected individual. The advantage in Limpopo is that it is a rural setting where in a yard there are several houses.

She added that the model used in the province is going to be incorporated to social development and Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA). Household profiling has been completed and the province is in negotiations with CoGHSTA and SASSA on how those who are vulnerable can receive their grant pay-outs as levels of infections will rise under level-two lockdown.  

She added that in the updated report, Sekhukhune is no longer the epicentre of infection and the spread of the virus has been curbed. Capricorn is currently leading in the number of infected individuals at 3 759 as this is the capital city of the province where most of economic activity occurs.

Mr H Hoosen (DA) indicated that Dr Ramathuba did not answer all questions. He added that he had earlier asked a direct question as to whether she had personally benefited from the contracts issued and the MEC’s response addressed whether her family members benefited.

He added that being asked to forward a written document which will initiate an investigation was something he was not going to do as he did not have time for such nonsense. He said that the comments of the MEC were disrespectful as she should expect that when she comes before the Portfolio Committee there will be tough questions she would have to give answers to and that she will be the one held accountable as this is her job as a political head. He added that if there are allegations against her, she is expected to give decent answers as she is accountable to the nation.

He asked if she and her family members had benefited from contracts as these are allegations in the public domain and she has the responsibility to address them in an open and honest way.  He added that he had asked if she would be willing to open herself up for a lifestyle audit in which she has failed to give an answer. He asked if she has officially asked for officials in her Department to be investigated and added that this was not a minor matter as it involved R600 million.

Mr Hoosen asked for a decent answer.

The Chairperson asked clarity on the Sekhukhunda and Capricorn question she had asked earlier on.

Dr Ramathuba apologised to Mr Hoosen as he indicated that she did not answer the question and she had been rude. She said that she is not a rude person but has a strong voice.

Dr Ramathuba stated that she has never benefited from any tender that has been awarded nor had any of her immediate family members. She added that the allegation which are being referred to involve a person who is not a friend but a former colleague. She mentioned that the allegation that she has siblings who bought houses are new to her and she would appreciate if there is evidence that can be subjected to structures and institutions empowered by the law for further investigation.

Mr Hoosen asked to interrupt but was told by the Chairperson to hold his question for a moment.

Dr Ramathuba, in response to Mr Hoosen’s question, said that she was willing to undergo a lifestyle audit.

She indicated that when the community-based approach was launched, there was a surge within the mining area it was not only in Sekhukhune but moved to Mopane, Waterberg, Capricorn and Vhembe district and all other districts. Even though Capricorn has the highest infections, the rates are still manageable.

Ms Polly Boshielo (MEC of Education, Limpopo) mentioned that grade seven and 12 were supposed to be in schools on 01 June 2020. However, this was not possible and it was extended to 08 June 2020. The amount spent on masks for the grade 12 learners was R79 903 and that for grade seven learners was R125 759 and each learner had to receive two masks and the same was done for the teachers. Other learner needed to be prepared for and orders were already put in.

The remaining 39 schools which did not receive water tanks are busy preparing as the other grades are still to come on Monday.

In addressing the issue around financial pressures, she mentioned that 1 914 have been given concession and the amount of money needed will be R331 million.

In Limpopo there are 515 schools without proper sanitation as they still use pit latrines. Out of this amount, 300 are going to be done by the Department of Education through the presidential infrastructure and the remaining number will be the responsibility of the province. The Department of Basic Education has already delivered toilets to 453 schools and this has been covered for by their own budget. The province has provided for the remaining schools with costs totalling R1.4 million.

Mr Seaparo Sekoati (Limpopo MEC of Provincial Treasury) mentioned that the province takes all allegations made very seriously and they are in a process of ensuring that all that has been done is transparent and as such, the province has already compiled a list of all service providers that have been outsourced. In addition, all the administrative processes have been looked at and the service providers are being audited by the (AG) Auditor-General. The SIU (Special Investigating Unit) is already on board in terms of investigating the allegations that have been reported. This allows for thorough investigations which follow due processes and ensures that the dealings of the province are done in a transparent manner and those associated with misconducts are held accountable.

Ms Christian Nkakareng Rakgoale (MEC Department of Social Development, Limpopo) mentioned that the Department managed to curb any malicious intent when it comes to food parcel distributions through collaborations with municipalities and traditional leaders. There was a task team established that was assisting in identifying and verifying recipients. Councillors were also involved in the process.

The Department was making reports in the DCC at the district level where the district directors were presenting these reports. After such a system was put in place there were not a lot of challenges experienced. District food banks were established wherein the Department was directing donors to the food banks based in their own district.

She mentioned that there will always be issues associated with foodbanks, but they tried their utmost best to ensure that people were not left hungry.

Mr Nape Nchabeleng, Director-General, Office of the Premier of Limpopo, said that the Premier was well briefed on the project by the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs and the key challenge was largely due to how the project was communicated to the public. The briefing notes, which are used for developing a communications plan in the mentioned matter, did not clearly distinguish the broader objective of the programme which is part of the Integrated Human Settlement project and the short-term interventions that relate to COVID-19. The broader project is to develop Integrated Human Settlement as a substitute to the current hostel living arrangements as these experience issue such as overcrowding, lack of service delivery, etc.

As part of COVID-19 intervention, the Tzaneen project is part of the national initiatives and when a communication briefing was issued the distinction between phases one and two was not clearly defined. After this issue became a national crisis, the office of the Premier’s went back to do a preliminary assessment to identify what could have been done wrong; this confirmed that the challenge arose from the media briefing that was received from the Department. The Premier then directed the MEC and indirectly the HOD to do a proper investigation and submit a report. The DG has written a letter to the Head of Department for CoGTA and they are busy finalising the report which will clearly indicate whether there were any officials who failed to perform their duties. The outcomes will allow for the correct actions to be taken against any implicated official.

He mentioned that this was an unfortunate incident. However, the province has done well in the case of communication.

He said that there is adequate capacity in the Premier’s office both in the private office and the office managed by the chief of staff. There is a protocols unit which monitors specific projects but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the number of staff had to be cut to 33 percent. As a result of the incident, the communications unit has been re-enforced.

He mentioned that the article which indicated that the Premier did not know about the project was a distortion and as such a formal complaint has been submitted to the media ombudsman as the Premier has verified that there was no interview done with the journalist in question.

He added that plans for the post-recovery economic strategy have been established at two levels. Level one, which is at the provincial level, is currently finalising a growth and development strategy review which will give a developments trajectory of the whole province. All stakeholders, including labour and the private sector, have been consulted. The only reason plans could not be processed was that the province needed to wait for Cabinet to release their national economic recovery plan.

The province has started working on the local transition framework as there is likelihood that there will be local elections in the coming year.

The Department said that since 1994 the government has been eradicating shacks and building low-cost housing and if observations can be made, since the establishment of these projects, the type and the quality of the houses which are being built has improved. He clarified that the shack project was a temporary structure and the actual project is still to commence where TRUs will be built in that particular area. Those that were allocated are individuals who qualify as recipients of houses. He added that there had been four lives lost in the area due to congestion between the year 2017 and 2020 and the structures were erected as a temporary measure.

 

He said that the matter of bad publicity is a fact that they have accepted, and the DG has clarified on it.

He mentioned that the area is a draught-stricken area and even when boreholes are drilled, there is no water available which would be fit for consumption. Due to this, the Minister of Water and Sanitation visited the area in which he spoke of bringing a project that would most benefit from it.

The province has developed measures, the interim one which involves the supply of water using trucks. The medium-term plan is to make sure that people are connected to boreholes and the long-term plan is to connect communities with water schemes.

In relation to the expenditure for the relief grant, the challenge raised was that the province would need to liaise with the National Disaster Management in order to account for the money spent. 

The issue of insufficient spending by the province reflects on projects which have been re-prioritised.

The management of the borders was given the necessary attention.

The Chairperson asked if there were any follow-up questions and the Members indicated.

Follow-up questions

Mr Ceza said that none of his questions were addressed; he mentioned that he had asked about the capacity issue if there was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the province of Mpumalanga and the province of Limpopo because the aforementioned hospital is understaffed. He added and asked if the MoU includes the vehicles that are moving patients between the two provinces.

He asked if it is was not a concerning issue that 47 doctors had tested positive with COVID-19 and some had lost their lives due to the pandemic. He added that the province was primarily rural and asked if this was not viewed as a serious setback as there might be difficulties in attracting more doctors into the province.

He asked if the food distribution cadres involved people from opposition parties and whether other institutions were involvement.  

He asked if the province has an awareness campaign to reduce the stigma around those infected with the virus and if this is so, what are the cost implications.

He mentioned that the R25 million water bulk project which was to be completed in August 2017 was still not completed and asked on the progress of the project and the financial details involved.

Mr Hoosen said that he recognised the MEC’s response and that as the Portfolio Committee; the Members have the right to address issues which appear in the public domain but should not by any means suggest that a person is guilty as this is unfair to those involved.

He asked the MEC of Health if she is going to ensure that the SIU investigates all the allegations around the COVID-19 expenditure in her Department and further added that if this is done it will further restore the dignity of her Department.

Ms H Mkhaliphi (EFF) mentioned that she had no intentions of talking. However, the response from the MEC on the matter of the shacks being issued out as temporary shelters puzzled her. She highlighted that the presentation showed that each shelter was R64 000 each and it is with that reason that this issue has caused public outcry. She said that Limpopo is one of the impoverished provinces and to play with words and taxpayers’ money is unacceptable.  

She indicated an article was released by the Sunday Independent newspaper that the provincial Department of Health had awarded a R184 million contract to a company in KwaZulu-Natal. She asked the MEC to explain to the Committee if this was true or false.

She added that she acknowledges the MECs response to Mr Hoosen and that as the Committee they have a duty to raise issues and that is not a personal attack but they want to get more clarity on behalf of the people on the grounds as they are the voices to the voiceless.

Mr Mpumza said that the presentation reflects that the province has opted for the borehole technology for providing access to water and sanitation. He asked if the ground water was adequate for water supply when looking at the projected future and what are the possible alternatives.

He mentioned that he had not seen a clear economic outlook plan that is related to the post COVID-19 economic recovery plan that would absorb the youth that are in the social relief distress grant (SRD).

The Chairperson pointed out that slide 17 of the presentation shows that only round one of interviews has been done and out of the 362 staff members needed only 43 have been appointed. She asked that the content on slide 17 be explained so that the Members can receive accurate information.

She asked the MEC for Education to explain the information she had given about the issue of water provision in slide 66. She added that the number of infections in schools has not been shown and the details of the information on slide 69 should be provided.

The Chairperson said that the question on disaster management plans had not been answered. She asked whether the departments were considering developing a disaster management plan that in terms of the Section 38 from the Disaster Management Act and if CoGTA was prepared to have a robust provincial disaster management plan, and if that were the case what arrangements were being made. She added that municipalities need to be involved and asked for the number of those had already been involved and what the cost implication was.  

She highlighted that the R149 million which had been allocated by CoGTA had been spent; she asked for a detailed report on the matter.

Responses

Dr Ramathuba (MEC of Health) apologised for missing questions. She said that they have not completed the process towards signing the memorandum of understanding and this was mainly due to the level-five lockdown regulations because they were at a stage were different branches were established to see how these two provinces can collaborate.

She mentioned that there are clinics in Limpopo that the residents of Mpumalanga might be closer to and therefore plans are being put in place are looking which would allow Mpumalanga residents closer to clinics in Limpopo to be able to access healthcare. Another stream will look at the transportation of patient and all mentioned processes will be looked at and finalised. She agreed that there was a shortage of staff in Philadelphia hospital. However, interventions are being made and critical post are being filled.  

On the issue of stigmatisation, Dr Ramathuba highlighted that from 02 June 2020 the stigma around COVID-19 infections became worse and this was seen even amongst healthcare workers. The campaign to curb such has been launched but the costs implications cannot be quantified or provided as the materials used are in-house. She added that media houses came on-board and allowed the Department to spread the message to the community and the stigma around the virus has since seen a decline. The Department has also been using a system that has incorporated methods on how to fight COVID-19.

She added that the loss of three doctors is a loss to the province as they were practising in the rural areas. In these areas it is difficult to attract general practitioners who are willing to establish their practises as most prefer to go into the cities. She added that in the public sector there has been no loss of lives and the Department is implementing the lessons learnt from the public sector into the private sector.

The Department of Health has been having a shortage of staff even before COVID-19 but they have had to look for assistance during the pandemic and this has not been going well. However, what can be emphasised is that for the present moment the healthcare system is able to cope with the available staff but still needs to recruit more members.

Addressing the question about benefiting from issued tenders, Dr Ramathuba mentioned that when she joined the Department there were already accruals of more than R1.4 billion and she worked hard to make sure that every cent was used correctly. She reassured the Members that if there are any allegations brought forward, they will never be ignored, and that the Department is cooperating with the SIU for anything needed that might help with investigations.

She added that she had worked hard for her integrity to be where it is currently, and the allegations brought forward do not sit well more especially when she knows she has not done anything wrong. There is no amount of explanations to media platforms that will make the public believe her innocence and as such, credible bodies such as the AG and the SUI can indicate through reports any implications against herself or the Department.

The Chairperson indicated that the MEC had not yet responded to the issue of the health plans.

Dr Ramathuba said that there is a health plan in place. The disaster management in the Department has always been in available and has dealt with previous issues such as cholera, malaria, typhoid and listeriosis and its committee is chaired by Mr Philip Kruger.

The Chairperson asked the MEC to share the plan and advised that slide 17 be revised.

Ms Boshielo (MEC of Education) mentioned that the number of teachers infected with COVID-19 is currently 183, the number of infected learners is 97 and the number of infected none teaching staff is 12. In relation with learner exemptions and comorbidities, 299 learners have been granted to learn from home, 166 learners have applied for home schooling and have been approved and 796 remain at home because of uncertainties. The Department is collecting all the information of the grade seven and 12 learners that have commenced with school.

The PCC (Provincial Command Council) has taken a decision that the issue of water and sanitation is going to be driven by Mr Makamu together with water service authorities. There is a service level agreement in place and rates to be paid by the Department are still to be determined. In Limpopo, the province is providing 215 schools with water and the costs implication is R1.4 million. The figures which indicate costs of the agreement between Mvula and the National Department of Basic education are unavailable.

The Chairperson reminded Mr Sekoati about the question placed forward.

Mr Sekoati said that he thought that he had addressed the question. If there is any wrongdoing in terms of the issuing out of contracts, those who have been implicated will account and this is dependent on the outcomes of the investigations.

Ms Mkhaliphi  asked why the MEC would appear before the Portfolio Committee if the questions raised will not be answered. She added that Members are not asking about investigations but they want the MEC to confirm whether what was printed in the Sunday Independent newspaper was the truth or not.   

Mr Sekoati (MEC of Provincial Treasury) confirmed that all companies used were on the provincial database.

The Chairperson added that the essence of the question was that the province should never outsource accounting responsibility to law enforcement, but they should have the needed information at their disposal.

Mr Makamu said that the R250 million in question was allocated to the Sekhukhune district project which started in 2011 but is not yet complete. One of the contributing factors to the delays is that the municipality appointed people who did not have the capacity to resolve the challenges of water shortages. This was a mistake that would not be repeated. There were about three contractors involved in the project and all of them failed to deliver; this is also under investigation.

He mentioned that concerning the expenditure on the temporal residential units (TRU), the cost for building low-cost houses or a temporary structures is fixed, and they have commissioned together with the National Department to investigate whether the R64 000 is worth spending on the TRUs. He mentioned that the negative publicity received is worrisome.

Mr Makamu highlighted that in as much as the province is amongst the poorest in the country, it has the least amount of informal settlements and the people are not used to structures such as the erected TRUs. He added that comparing the current houses being built by the government with those that had been built during the apartheid era is a comparison of two different things. As a government representative who resides amongst community members he can attest that when people receive houses, residents are appreciative of what is being provided. The number of houses which have been built since the year 1994 has never been recorded to have been done by any other government apart from the South African government. He said that in the process of building houses, quality assurance is done by the National Builders Association which inspects the work being. Therefore, quality is being emphasised as compared to how it was during the period of 1994.

To address the issue of sustainability of boreholes, Mr Makamu mentioned that there are three measures in place and water tankers are being provided in places where there is no access to water. He added that boreholes are a medium-term measure and not the ultimate solution to water crisis; there is a long-term plan in place.

He indicated that there was a disaster management plan in place and that will be looked at in more detail.

Ms Rakgoale (MEC Department of Social Development) highlighted that the Premier had called all political representatives within the legislature, and as the Department they had the opportunity to present their food parcel delivery plan which was well received. In the province, there are no reported cases of people fighting over food parcels because of the kind of system that was in place.

The Chairperson mentioned that in the previous two weeks, the Gauteng province came before the Committee addressing similar allegations and they were decisive rather than waiting on law enforcement to do the work; this is something that is not being done by the Limpopo Provincial Treasury. She added that in moving forward there needs to be an engagement with the MEC whereby he can address the matter because the provincial government has a responsibility to clarify all matters brought forward.

She said that the disaster management plan needs to cover epidemics, infrastructure, emergency medicine and EMS, and all provincial departments should be part of the plan.

The Chairperson said that when provincial government is called to account before Parliament it is in the interest of accountability to the people.

Mr Sekoati (MEC of Provincial Treasury) confirmed that the Premier is meeting with the SIU to discuss the allegations in question. His intension is to make a special request through the presidency that the SIU should prioritise the corruption allegations in Limpopo and a public pronouncement will be made reflecting on the way forward which will be agreed upon.

Mr Makamu appreciated the opportunity to engage with the Portfolio Committee and added that they will be sharper in dealing with presented issues.

The meeting was adjourned.