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149 WEDNESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2008
150
4. Environment and Culture Sector:
DWAF Contractor Development
The Working for Water Programme
focuses on the clearing of Invasive
Alien plants, particularly in stressed
water catchments on both private and
public land. Thus far in the 2007-08
financial year, the programme has supported
636 emerging contractors. The
programme is mainly implemented by
Regional Directorates within the Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry.
Where the capacity for implementation
is inadequate, DWAF uses the services
Implementing Agents (IAs). All IAs are
state institutions. The three large IAs
are the Independent Development Trust
(IDT), who operate in most regions as
well as on Department of Defence land
through empowering of military veterans,
and South African National Parks,
who in their parks and Western Cape
Nature Conservation Board (CNC)
who work on their reserves in the Cape
Floristic Kingdom.
Working for Water operates within
quaternary catchments. In principle,
each quaternary catchment constitutes
one project area. In total, there are 315
projects in the country. Each project has
an assigned project manager that is
responsible to manage five to 15 teams.
Each of these teams are business entities,
consisting of a contractor with
workers. The workers of the contractors
are identified from communities within
the catchments area. Furthermore, a
project advisory committee is established
that identifies potential contractors
for the project. The recruitment and
selection is then concluded by Working
for Water.
Each emerging contractor is then responsible
for team which typically consists
of chainsaw operators, herbicide
applicators, general workers, first aid
persons, HIV/Aids peer educators and
health and safety officer. The contractors
are awarded tenders that range in
value from R30 000 to R150 000. Ideally,
each tender (block of work) lasts
for 20 days.
DWAF has developed a Contractor
Development programme that consists
of three phases. Generally each phase
consists of ten days of training.
DWAF Emerging Contractors:
Environment and Culture Sector
No of
SMMEs
Created
Eastern Cape 92
Gauteng 62
KwaZulu-Natal 154
Limpopo 9
Mpumalanga 25
North West 61
Northern Cape 4
Western Cape 107
SANPARKS 122
Total SMMEs created 636
Nursing colleges in operation
1164. Mr M WATERS (DA) asked the
Minister of Health:
(a) How many (i) state and (ii) private
nursing colleges were there in April
1994, (b) where were they situated,
(c) how many training posts were
available at each college, (d) which
state nursing colleges were amalgamated
after April 1994, (e) when
did this happen, (f) how many training
posts were available at each
amalgamated college, (g)(i) which
state nursing hospitals were reopened
and (ii) how many training
posts are available, (h) what strategy
does her department have to increase
the number of training posts for
nursing?
NW1904E