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QUESTION NO: Question No: 346
Date Published: February 2016
Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether he decided to remove the former Minister of Finance, Mr Nhlanhla Nene, from the finance portfolio on 9 December 2015; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, why was he removed;
- whether he consulted any person (a) before the removal of Mr Nene and/or (b) after the removal of Mr Nene on 9 December 2015; if not, why not, in each case; if so, (i) what is the (aa) name and (bb) designation of each specified person consulted and (ii) why were the specified persons consulted;
- whether the decision to remove Mr Nene had any implications for the state of the economy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether, subsequent to removing Mr Nene, he offered to re-appoint him to the finance portfolio; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW356E
REPLY
- It is a matter of public record that Mr Nhlanhla Nene was relieved from his duties as a Minister of Finance on 9 December 2015. It is the prerogative of a sitting President to appoint and change members of his/her Cabinet as he deems necessary. It is the same prerogative enshrined in the Constitution that I exercised on 9 December 2015.
- Decisions to make changes to the Cabinet are made with the best intentions and for the public interest, including the economy.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 347
Date Published: February 2016
Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether he has offered the former Minister of Finance, Mr Nhlanhla Nene, another strategic position; if not, why not; if so, (a) when was the specified person offered the position and (b) what position was he offered;
- whether he consulted the specified person about the specified strategic position prior to being removed from the finance portfolio; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether the specified person has accepted the specified strategic position; if not, why did he reject the specified strategic position; if so, when did he accept the specified strategic position? NW357E
REPLY
- I have publicly stated on several occasions that South Africa nominated Mr Nhlanhla Nene for the position of head of the African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank. Processes to make an appointment to that position are underway under the aegis of the New Development Bank in Shanghai, China.
- See the reply to question 1 above.
- See the reply to question 1 above.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 425
Date Published: February 2016
Ms P T van Damme (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether The Presidency commissioned a background check on a certain person (name furnished), including whether the specified person has any previous criminal convictions; if so,
- did it emerge that the specified person has a criminal record; if so, for which crimes had the specified person been convicted;
- whether the specified person was sentenced to a prison term of one year or more without the option of a fine; if so, on what legal provision did The Presidency rely when it appointed the specified person to the Media Development and Diversity Agency Board? NW438E
REPLY
On 03 June 2015 the National Assembly recommended that I appoint Mr Ntenteni as a member of the MDDA board. Acting on the recommendation I the appointed Mr Ntenteni on 19 June 2015.
The security screening that we undertook later revealed that he was convicted of culpable homicide in 1998. Following the results of the security screening I requested the National Assembly on 07 December 2015 to initiate a process of checking if Mr Ntenteni is suitable to be a member of the board of the MDDA.
I will be guided be by the outcome of the parliamentary process in this matter.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 439.
Date Published: February 2016
Mr J S Malema (EFF) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether he intends to redeploy the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to the Ministry of Economic Development; if not,
- whether he has found that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has the appropriate experience to deal with the crisis that exist in local government? NW295E
REPLY
I appointed the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in terms of section 91(2) of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 449
Date Published: February 2016
Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether, in view of the great necessity to have policy certainty in these dire economic times, he had canvassed various organisations (details furnished) to obtain their total and unreserved support for the (a) eight points he and the business leaders with whom he had been meeting in February 2016 had agreed to, (b) National Development Plan and (c) rapid elimination of convoluted bureaucracy impeding the functioning and expansion of small businesses; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of the agreements with each of the various organisations;
- whether he will make a statement on his commitment to creating a business-friendly climate to prove that South Africa was indeed open for business? NW503E
REPLY
- The National Development Plan is supported by the vast majority of South Africans and many important stakeholders in our society. Government, working together with other societal sectors, is implementing the NDP through the Medium Term Strategic Framework. The meeting with the captains of industry in February 2016 reached a decision that the eight points you have alluded to in the question will be processed by a joint government-business task lead led by the Minister of Finance and the Chairperson of the board of Telkom, Mr Jabu Mabuza.
- I have said on many occasions that South Africa is open for business. This is the same message the South African delegation took to the World Economic Forum in Davos in January this year. Recently the Minister of Finance led a South African delegation of government, business and labour leaders on an international tour meeting with investors to communicate the message that South Africa is open for business and investment. I have also established an Inter- Ministerial Committee which I chair to look at ways in which investment can be attracted to our country and to remove obstacles to investments.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 500
Date Published: February 2016
Mr S C Motau (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
- What amount was spent in respect of each case on (a) appearance fees, (b) consulting fees and (c) any other related costs to procure the services of (i) certain legal representatives (names furnished) and (ii) any other legal (aa) representatives, (bb) advisors and (cc) consultants in the Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others and Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others case, heard on 9 February 2016, in the Constitutional Court? NW554E
REPLY
- The matter was recently finalized by the Constitutional Court. The process that is followed in government regarding the payment of legal fees is as follows: Counsel would submit their bills to the State Attorney. The State Attorney is required to verify the bills and effect payment. Thereafter the Bills are submitted to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The Department of Justice invoices the relevant Departments for a refund, in this case, the Presidency. The Presidency will only be able to ascertain the amount spent after the above process is concluded.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 608.
Date Published: February 2016
Ms D Carter (COPE) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether, in line with his undertaking during the State of the Nation Address on 11 February 2016 to create political and policy certainty, and in line with the statement by the Presidency on 29 February 2016, he will articulate his full and unstinted support for the Minister of Finance and the fiscal consolidation that the Minister is seeking to achieve; if not, why not in each case; if so, what unambiguous and full statement is he willing to make for investors, rating agencies and the business community? NW720E
REPLY
- I appointed the Minister of Finance because I have confidence in his ability to execute his responsibilities. The fiscal consolidation programme he announced in the Budget Speech was developed collectively by the Cabinet and is fully supported by the Cabinet.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 626.
Date Published: February 2016
Mr G A Gardee (EFF) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Has the Minister of Finance made any recommendations of potential candidates for the position of Commissioner of the SA Revenue Service? NW739E
DRAFT REPLY
- There is a sitting Commissioner of SARS, so there is no need to look at potential candidates when there is no vacancy.
QUESTION NO: Question No: 626.
Date Published: March 2016
716. Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether, with reference to his address at the opening of the House of Traditional Leaders on 3 March 2016 wherein he stated that the very law that we have today regarding land restitution is lopsided against black persons, he has instructed his Executive to act immediately to rectify the specified law, informed by a new policy, so that both black persons and current land owners who are not black know exactly (a) how the Government intends to resolve the matter of land claims once and forever and (b) in what period of time; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant (i) details and (ii) time frames;
- whether he will make a full statement on how the Government will radically increase the pace and the extent of land reform so that the aspirations of black persons are met and restitution is completed?
NW831E
REPLY
- What I said when I addressed the National House of Traditional Leaders is that a vast number of black people in South Africa had already been dispossessed of their land when the Natives Land Act was passed in 1913. I then asked a question whether in view of this fact it made sense to have 1913 as the starting date for land restitution.
By posing the question mentioned above I was not saying the existing policy on land restitution in no longer operational. Should there be a need for a change of policy in this area, proper procedures of policy development will be followed, which will include consulting important stakeholders in the sector.
2. The pace of land reform has been very slow. One of the major contributors has been the matter of property valuations, which resulted to some landowners pricing the land under consideration for land redistribution very high. It is for this reason that we submitted to Parliament the Property Valuation Bill, which Parliament subsequently passed into law. One of the provisions of the Property Valuation Act is the establishment of the Office of the Valuer-General, which is tasked with the responsibility of valuating property that has been identified for expropriation and land reform purposes.
It is our belief that the establishment of this office will assist in accelerating the pace of land reform.
QUESTION NO: Question No:725
Date Published: March 2016
Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether he met or was planning to meet with representatives of the different race, language and cultural groups of our country within the next 90 days to address the rapidly deepening racial polarisation in South Africa in a collective and inclusive manner and, in preparation of such a meeting, share with them up-to-date and high-quality research to facilitate dialogues and to adopt measures that would expeditiously and thoroughly help (a) address racial tension, (b) accelerate race reconciliation and nation building, (c) promote the attainment of a common national identity and (d) allow the principle of Ubuntu to manifest everywhere in the South African society; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether he will make a statement on what the Government has been doing since 2009 to deal decisively with our country’s deteriorating race relations and the consequences thereof; if not, why not; if so, what are the details? NW835E
REPLY
- I have not met with representatives of any specific race groups to discuss the resurgence of racism in our society. The matter has been discussed at various forums where I have met with various stakeholders, but I have not called a meeting of specific race groups to discuss the matter.
- As you may be aware, I declared the Human Rights Month, March 2016, as the month to focus on fighting the scourge of racism. The campaigns and programmes that were undertaken during the month culminated in the Human Rights Day event at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, which had a strong focus on uniting society against racism.
- Promoting national unity and social cohesion is a constitutional imperative. We have used every avenue to promote the unity of our people and to advance social cohesion. We have done this through the statements we have made during important National Days, and through implementing the government’s programme of transforming our country into a truly non-sexist and non-racial society.
- We urge leaders of all sectors to play their part in building a non-racial society.
QUESTION NO: Question No:729
Date Published: March 2016
Mr D J Maynier (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
- Whether any meeting took place where he (a) in line with his power to appoint Ministers and Deputy Ministers in accordance with section 91(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and/or (b) any (i) member, (ii) employee and/or (iii) close associate of the Gupta family allegedly offered the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Mcebisi H Jonas, (aa) the position of Minister of Finance and/or (bb) any financial inducements to accept the specified position offered; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each specified case, (aaa) what are the names of the persons whom the Deputy Minister met, (bbb) when and (ccc) where did each such meeting take place and (ddd) what are the relevant details of each specified meeting;
- whether the Deputy Minister reported the (a) meeting(s) and/or (b) offer(s) of inducement; if so, in each specified case, (i) to whom and (ii) when was it reported;
- whether he will make a statement on the matter? NW845E
REPLY
- I am unaware of such a meeting taking place except for the public statement that was recently made by the Deputy Minister of Finance.
Issued by the Presidency
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