Questions and Replies

The right of Members to put questions to Ministers is an important part of ensuring the executive authority’s accountability to the Provincial Parliament. Questions may be put to Ministers related to their spheres of responsibility. Replies to questions are either given orally in the House or in writing. The replies to oral questions are recorded in Hansard.

On this page you can search questions for written reply. Use one or more of the search fields by making a selection from the relevant dropdown menu. You can also do a text search by entering a search term in the text field– specific search terms will render a better result. Click ‘Apply’. The results will be displayed in the table below. Click on ‘Question Link’ to view the full result. When you are searching, it is advisable to complete as many of the search fields as possible in order to narrow down the results.

Question Question Number Date Question Link

In respect of the number of orphans and child-headed households in the province:

  1. (a) (i) the total number of orphans currently recorded in the province. (ii) What is the breakdown per municipality and (b) what methodology does his Department use to identify and classify orphans who may not be captured through formal reporting systems?
  2. (a) what is the (i) total number of child-headed households in the province and (ii) breakdown per municipality, (b)(i) what are the ages of the (i) household heads and (ii) children in each household and (c) what criteria are used by his Department to recognise a household formally as child-headed;
  3. (a) how many (i) orphans and (ii) child-headed households have been identified in (aa) 2019, (bb) 2020, (cc) 2021, (dd) 2022, (ee) 2023, (ff) 2024, (gg) 2025 and (hh) 2026 to date and (b)(i) what percentage of these households receive ongoing support services and (ii) what services are provided to these households?
 6 6 March 2026 20571

With regard to the eviction of farm workers:

(a)   What specific protocols are in place to ensure that landowners in the province comply with the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act 62 of 1997) (ESTA), particularly with (i) the requirements for lawful termination of residence, (ii) written notice to occupiers and relevant authorities and (iii) the securing of a court order before any eviction of farm workers or farm dwellers takes place, (b) how is his Department preventing the unlawful practice of conflating termination of employment with a right to evict farm workers from on-farm accommodation and (c) what measures are being taken to (i) strengthen monitoring, (ii) ensure enforcement and (iii) conduct inter-departmental oversight to protect vulnerable farm occupiers, such as (aa) long-term residents, (bb) the elderly, (cc) children and (dd) persons with disabilities, from unlawful evictions as prohibited under ESTA?

 3 6 March 2026 20570

Regarding the “non-compliance notice” issued by the Department of Labour around 2016 on occupational health and safety standards at the Nduli Primary School relating to the structural condition of the school buildings:

  1. Whether his Department is aware of the Department of Labour’s notice for an unsafe workplace; if so, what are the relevant details;
  2. (a) what actions were taken by his Department in response to the issues raised in the non-compliance notice and (b) what budget was allocated or is still to be allocated to address the identified structural and occupational health and safety defects at the school?
 2 6 March 2026 20569

Regarding the current drought in the province:

  1. Whether his Department is in possession of the official declaration of the state of disaster as classified and issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA); if so, can a copy of the declaration be made available;
  2. whether his Department has initiated and adopted a comprehensive plan to manage, coordinate and administer drought-related interventions following the declaration of the state of disaster by COGTA; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the key com-ponents of the plan, (b) what budget has been allocated for its implementation in the 2025/26 financial year and (c) can a copy of the approved plan and its implement-ation framework be made available?
 1 6 March 2026 20568

(a)    (i) How many mobile health outreach units are currently operational in the province and (ii) in which districts are these units deployed, (b) what is the total budget allocated to mobile outreach services for the (i) 2023/24, (ii) 2024/25 and (iii) 2025/26 financial years, (c) how many patients were reached through mobile outreach programmes in each district in the past two financial years, (d) what specific health services are provided by the mobile outreach units and (e) what measures has her Department put in place to ensure (i) adequate staffing, (ii) the maintenance of mobile units and (iii) consistent medicine supply to these outreach services?

 16 20 February 2026 20519
  1. Whether his Department has received any complaints from constituents regarding the implementation of the new verification and review process for social grants of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa); if so, (a) how many complaints have been received to date and (b) what are the most common complaints;
  2. whether his Department has engaged with the national Department of Social Development and Sassa to address complaints and systemic issues arising from the new process; if so, what are the relevant details;

whether any formal appeals have been lodged by beneficiaries in the province against Sassa decisions that resulted from the new process; if so, (a) how many appeals have been made, (b) what were the outcomes and (c) what is the time frame for resolutions?

 15 20 February 2026 20518
  1. (a) How many investigations of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) in the province are currently outstanding, (b) how many of these cases have been open for longer than (i) 6 months, (ii) 12 months and (iii) 24 months and (c) what are the categories of these cases;
  2. what was the average time taken to finalise IPID investigations in the province in the (a) 2023/24 and (b) 2024/25 financial years;
  3. (a) how many disciplinary recommendations made by the IPID in the province have not been implemented by the South African Police Service, (b) what reasons were provided for non-implementation and (c) what consequence management followed where recommendations were ignored;
  4. (a) how many IPID investigators are currently allocated to the province and (b) what is the caseload per investigator;
  5. whether any additional funding has been allocated to address the backlog; if so, what are the relevant details?
 14 20 February 2026 20517
  1. (a) What role does his Department play in addressing water scarcity in the province, particularly regarding desalination and alternative water infrastructure, and (b) what funding sources are being used by his Department to support desalination and other alternative water supply projects;
  2. whether there are any desalination and alternative water infrastructure projects that the Department has facilitated; if so, (a) where are they located, (b) what is their current water-yielding capacity (in megalitres per day) and (c) what measurable impact have they had on water security;
  3. whether there are any new desalination and alternative water infrastructure projects currently planned; if so, (a) what is their expected water-yielding capacity and (b) timeline;
  4. beyond desalination, what other infrastructure interventions is his Department prioritising to strengthen the long-term water resilience of the province?

 

 13 20 February 2026 20516
  1. (a)(i) What role is his Department playing in supporting efforts to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, (ii) what financial costs has his Department incurred to date in relation to these activities and (iii) how many departmental staff members, including traffic officers or other officials, are currently dedicated (full time or part time) to supporting these disease-control efforts and (b) what coordination exists between his Department, agricultural authorities and law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with livestock transport regulations;
  2. whether any additional mobility-related interventions are planned to mitigate the risk of the spread of the disease while protecting the provincial agricultural economy; if so, what are the relevant details?
 12 20 February 2026 20515

What is the estimated total cost of vandalism-related damage at schools during the 2025/26 summer holiday period, (b)(i) how many criminal cases were opened and (b) what is the status of each case, (c) what (i) plans and (ii) budget allocations are in place to repair the damage and to restore affected schools and (d) what additional measures are being implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future?

 11 20 February 2026 20514

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