MEC Galaletsang Gaolaolwe: North West Social Development Prov Budget Vote 2017/18

North West Department of Social  Development Budget Vote 12 delivered by Ms Galaletsang Fenny Gaolaolwe – Acting MEC (MPL) at the North West Provincial Legislature  on the 2nd May 2017

Honourable Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature Honourable Premier of Bokone Bophirima
Honourable Members of the Executive Council Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature Executive Mayors, Mayors, Speakers of all municipalities Maapara-nkwe
Leaders of Political Parties Secretary of the ANC
Leaders of the Labour Movement
Members of Provincial Forum for Persons with Disabilities Members of Provincial Older Persons Forum
Business leaders, Religious leaders
Representatives of various Non Profit Organisations present Heads of Departments, Distinguished guests
Comrades and Friends, Members of the media, Ladies and gentlemen,
Baagi botlhe ba Profense ya Batho ya Bokone Bophirima le Afrika Borwa ka bophara,
 
I rise to table the budget vote of the Department of Social Development for 2017/18 financial year.

Before I present this budget vote and policy statement, allow me to make a special announcement to this House and to the people of Bokone Bophirima that the Department of Social Development received unqualified audit report in three consecutive years on the financial statements with no material findings on usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information.

This is a clear demonstration of what a committed team of Social Department at work can do – always striving towards achieving a clean audit.

We will continue to work hard to sustain this great achievement going forward without compromising the delivery of social development services to our communities.

Honourable Speaker and Members, this year has been dedicated to one of the struggle icons who devoted his entire life to the liberation and freedom of Black people – Rre Oliver Reginald Tambo. Today we celebrate the legacies he has left for us and for many generations to come. We pay homage to him by remembering the words he said in his quest to see a free and peaceful country.

He once said and I quote:

“The fight for freedom must go on until it is won; until our country is free and happy and peaceful as part of the community of man, we cannot rest” - Close Quote.
 
We dare not to weaver in our commitment and drive to free our people from the shackles of poverty, unemployment, inequality and other social ills that torment our communities. We cannot rest until all our people are free and they enjoy the fruit of this hard earned freedom. A luta Continua!

The celebration of Rre OR Tambo’s life coincides with the birth of our Constitution which turns 20 years this year.

We should be proud of these important milestones and reflect on the gains attained by our constitutional democracy over the past 20 years.

Ke ona molao-theo o re itshegeditseng ka ona go netefatsa fa re aga Aforika Borwa e e senang kgethololo, letlhoo kgatlhanong le baditshaba le go tlhoka tekatekano.

Fa Kgwedi ya Moranang e tlhola malatsi a le someamabedi-supa re ne re keteka dingwaga di le someamabedi-tharo tsa kgololosego. Mo dingwageng tse someamabedi-tharo re tlhomile motheo o o sa tshikinyegeng wa go aga bokamoso jo bontle jwa  naga ya rona.

Honourable Speaker, the National Development Plan - Vision 2030 remains the blueprint of development that guides all our planning in pursuit of a better life for all.

To realise this vision, the Fifth Administration introduced five provincial concretes that are gaining popularity in quantum leaps and bounds among the people of Bokone Bophirima. These concretes are; Agriculture, Culture and Tourism (ACT), Villages, Townships and Small Dorpies (VTSD), Reconciliation Healing and Renewal (RHR), Setsokotsane and Saamtrek Saamwerk philosophy.

The footprints of these concretes are being seen in many villages, townships and small dorpies across the people’s province of Bokone Bophirima.

Honourable Speaker and Members, the Saamtrek Saamwerk philosophy that bridges the gap between government and various sectors of the society has proven instrumental in changing the lives of our people including the designated groups.

Our partnership with the German Development Bank has seen the establishment of six community care centres in the province. Upon completion, these centres will provide services to orphans, vulnerable children and youth. In the spirit of Saamtrek Saamwerk we will together with the German Development Bank ensure that these centres are fully functional in the current financial year.

Some of Setsokotsane ward based operation centres are operating in these centres.

We are grateful and acknowledge R31 million rand sponsorship  for NPOs from the National Lotteries Commission. This sponsorship has seen the construction of 18 early childhood education facilities and 11 edu-tainers in identified villages, townships and small dorpies across the province. The implementation of these projects by NPOs is at different levels.

Honourable Speaker, this sponsorship will improve infrastructure and enhance compliance to the norms and standards required for operating early childhood development centres.
 
I am narrating these milestones to highlight the importance of partnerships between the department and various stakeholders.

The department which I have an honour to lead, provides indispensable services to our people from the cradle to the grave.

More than 21 000 children from zero to four years have access to early childhood development services subsidised by the Department. A further Forty Seven Thousand and Ninety Four (47 094) children who do not fall within the category of subsidised ECD centres have been reached in the reporting period.

The Department will further increase the number of days for payment of subsidy from 204 to 248 in recognition of the contribution of the ECD Practitioners who operate outside the school calendar days.
Department has completed the construction of two ECD centres at Mabule and Tshidilamolomo in Ratlou Local Municipality and handed them over to the beneficiaries in the reporting period.

In the current financial year will handover two ECDs at Atamelang and Sefikile in Moses Kotane Local Municipality.

We thank the Departments of Public Works and Roads and Rural Development and Land Reform for building two ECDs at Makgori and Tseng village respectively.

We are happy to announce that we have a new ECD Conditional Grant of Thirty Two Million Six Hundred Eighty Six  Thousands  Rands (R32 686 000).

This grant will assist us to improve the status and access to ECDs across the VTSD areas. Forty ECDs will benefit in infrastructure maintenance and provision of water and sanitation from this grant.

It will further assist the ECDs to comply with norms and standards and obtain full registration.

An amount of R175m has been set aside for the establishment and empowerment of governance structures, advocacy programmes, capacity building of ECD practitioners and care-givers  including provision of stimulation material.

Three thousand nine hundred and eleven (3 911) children have been placed on foster while other children have been assessed for adoption.

Motlotlegi Mmusa-Kgotla, bokamoso jwa naga ya rona bo ikaegile thata ka matsapa ao re a tsayang go beeletsa mo ikatisong le mo tlhabololong ya basha.

Go netefatsa fa re beeletsa mo tlhabololong ya basha, Lefapha la Tlhabololo ya Loago le ntse le katisa basha ba dingwaga tse di fa gare ga somerobedi le someamararo-tlhano mo dithutong tsa temo-thuo le kago. Fa re sa le re simolotse lenaneo le, re setse re kgonne go katisa basha ba le sekete-kgolo-amabedi (1 200).

Monongwaga re tla katisa basha ba le makgolo-amabedi (200) go tswa mo metseng le metsesetoropo e akaretsa Taung, Makwassie, Rustenburg, Kopela, Direetsane le metse e e mabapi ka tshwaragano le lenaneo la tlhabololo ya basha mo Kantorong ya ga Tonakgolo.
 
Honourable Speaker, the greatest challenge for benefiting municipalities, traditional leadership, business sector and the community at large is to adopt and extend the support to leverage on the skills acquired by these young people, so that they contribute meaningfully to the Premier VTSD economies and entrepreneurship programme.

Re tla tswa letsholo go lekola basha ba le sekete-makgolo-amabedi (1 200) ba re setseng re ba katisitse le go ba thusa go bula dikoporasi. Se, e tla nna karolo ya letsholo la ga Tonakgolo ya Bokone Bophirima Motlotlegi SOR Mahumapelo la go rotloetsa bagarona go tsaya karolo mo ikonoming ka go tlhama dikgwebo-potlana.

Hundred and sixty (160) young people will be participating in our Learnership Programme in the current financial year. A further twenty- five (25) learners will receive a hands-on training for twelve months in various programmes in the Department to enhance their employability.

We have managed to host a successful Health and Social Development Show with a turn-out of more than 3000 attendants involving established businesses, community members and the academic institutions.

Let me hasten to report to this House that the Department of Social Development has exceeded 2% minimum employment of persons with disabilities by recording 2.1% in the reporting period.

We will continue to offer support to the provincial departments and the municipalities so that they meet their Employment Equity obligations of 2% employment of people with disabilities in the current financial year.
 
Furthermore the Department will provide funding to six residential care facilities providing care services to 24 hour care services to 310 persons with disabilities. An amount of R7,1 million has been set aside to provide these services. In the current financial year we will sustain 26 community based organisation providing day care services to 659 persons with disabilities.

We will this year, train 100 staff in the department on Sign Language. Such training will go on year on year until we capacitate all staff on the use and interpretation of Sign Language.

In December last year the Cabinet approved the country’s first ever White Paper on the rights of persons with disabilities which acknowledges deficits in access to education, reproductive health and rights services as well as health care among people with disabilities. We will lead by example and monitor implementation of the White Paper by all government departments and municipalities to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are promoted and respected.

We have provided funding to ten (10) Women cooperatives involved in sewing income generation projects to the tune of R6 million and further ensured that these cooperatives are sustainable by securing contracts for provision of school uniforms to targeted schools across the province.

We wish to applaud and appreciate the Department, a few local municipalities, some local schools and the South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA) for the confidence they demonstrated by procuring goods directly from these cooperatives.
 
It is indeed the right thing to do, to promote and support VTSD economies and entrepreneurship which contributes towards job creation and sustainability of poverty alleviation projects as supported by the current Administration. Keep up the good work.

We call on other departments and entities to remove restrictions on their procurement systems such that, cooperatives are given a fair space to compete with established businesses in the production of school uniforms and other garments so that there is circulation of wealth in villages, townships and small dorpies in line with Premier pronouncement.

Our commitment to fight household poverty and eradication of food insecurity remains unshaken and we have lived to this commitment by establishing 10 new community nutrition and development centres, adding to the existing eight centres that have been providing cooked nutritional meals to poverty stricken families in identified villages and townships. We have already provided accredited training to 74 cooks on food preparation and will further train 34 cooks on the same discipline in the current financial year.

We will support these centres and including nine (09) Women cooperatives in the identified VTSD areas during the financial year 2017/18. We have set aside an amount of R20 million to strengthen and support new income generation initiatives.

The Department has the responsibility of building families and communities through policies and programmes. To discharge this responsibility we have embarked on information sharing sessions on parenting and family preservations reaching out to more than Nine Thousand (9000) family members.
 
Our aim this year is to reach out to more than 16 000 families and teen mothers in partnership with the Department of Health.
Of critical importance, we have successfully reunited Hundred and Twenty Two (122) people who were admitted to residential care facilities with their families in the reporting period. We will continue to provide training to our departmental officials and stakeholders on fatherhood strategy, parenting of teenagers, integrated parenting framework and marriage preparation so that we build the moral fibre of our communities.

Motlotlegi Mmusa – Kgotla, tsietsi e tla mabaka a tlhaela ke ka moo re lekang ka natla go baakanya ditlamelwana tsa pula go sa le gale.
We will continue to provide Social Relief of Distress (SRD) in the form of food hampers and blankets as a temporary and immediate intervention to households who are faced with conditions of extreme hunger, destitution and undue hardship. For this year we will provide humanitarian assistance to  Four  Thousand  Four  Hundred  and  Five (4 405) beneficiaries.
We have budgeted R3 million for provision of material support including school uniforms, dignity packs for the care and support of poor learners, reaching out to Fifteen Thousand One Hundred (15 100) beneficiaries.

Honourable Speaker and Members, all United Nations member states, including our country, firmly believe in one accord that, as people age, they should enjoy a life of fulfilment, good health, security and should be able to participate in the economic, social, cultural and political life of their societies including access to services.
 
In the year under review, Six Thousand One Hundred and Eight (6 108) older persons accessed community based services and additional One Thousand Five Hundred and Thirty Nine (1 539)  older  persons benefitted from economic empowerment programmes across the four districts.

Our target in the current financial year is to extend our reach to Ten Thousand Four Hundred and Forty Nine (10 449) older persons and further Three Thousand Three Hundred and Seventy Three (3 373) through funded service clubs.

In his State of the Province Address Hon. Premier of Bokone Bophirima Rre Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo indicated that Taung old age home is completed and will provide frail and respite care services to older persons once it becomes operational in the current financial year.

We will sustain the implementation of active ageing programme for older persons and ensure that older persons participate in various sporting and recreational activities. Our target for this year is to reach out to more than Ten Thousand (10 000) older persons in villages, townships and small dorpies.

With effect from December 2016 the Department started giving R150 per month to every elderly person residing in a state run facility as pocket money and this amount will be sustained and adjusted according to Treasury instructions and further expand to Taung Old Age home. This was done to make sure older persons admitted to state-run facilities are treated with respect and dignity and that they have equal rights with those admitted to private or NGO run facilities.

Motlotlegi Mmusa-Kgotla, Monongwaga re ipeetse seelo sa go fitlhela bana ba dikolo ba feta dikete di le supa (7000) go netefatsa fa bana ba dikolo ba ungwelwa mo ditirelong tsa lefapha tse di rebolwang ke badiredi loago.

Re thapile badiredi loago ba le lekgolo (100) mo ngwageng wa ditshelete wa 2016/17. Ra ipowa kgatsu go thapa badiredi loago ba le someamabedi–nngwe (21) fa ngwaga ono wa ditshelete o simolola, maitlhomo ele go oketsa go thapiwa ga badiredi loago  ba ba rupeletsweng ke puso.

Monongwaga baithuti ba le someamatlhano ba amogetse matlole a go tsenela dithuto tsa bodiredi loago kwa dikolong tsa thuto tse dikgolwane.

Re tla oketsa palo ya badiredi loago mo ditheong tse eseng tsa puso segolo jang tseo re di thusang ka matlole go di kgontsha go rebola ditirelo tsa loago ka botswerere le manontlhotlho, le go ya ka fa molaong.

The negative effects of substance and drug abuse on the socio- economic wellbeing of individuals, families and the youth is a cause for serious concern.

Honourable Speaker and Members, young people are at risk of contracting diseases from each other through the use of needles to exchange blood through a process called “Bluetooth.”
 
However we are confident that the collaboration of all stakeholders including parents can go a long way in reducing the level of substance abuse in our province.

Through our memorandum  of understanding with the Department of Health we have reached One Hundred and Twenty Four Thousand Four Hundred and Ninety One (124 491) beneficiaries which include children, youth and adults, through prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services in the reporting period.

Two Hundred and Thirty Four Thousand One Hundred and Twenty Two (234 122) children aged 18 and below have been reached through substance abuse prevention programmes while One Thousand Four Hundred and Forty Nine (1 449) people received aftercare and family integration services.

The construction of two state-run In-patient treatment centres in Tlokwe Local Municipality and Greater Taung Local Municipality is at 100% practical completion. We are currently in the process of operationalizing these facilities so that our people lead a drug-free life. An amount of R74.9 million has been set aside to turn around the lives of our people by waging a winnable war against drug addiction.

Motlotlegi Mmusa Kgotla, bogodu, botsukunape le go tlhoka maitsholo a botho e santse e le tlhoba-boroko e e itsang bagarona go bona ditirelo tsa puso ka botlalo jaaka di ba tshwanetse. Mo ngwageng o o fetileng wa ditshelete, kgotla-tshekelo e leleditse ditshipi mong wa setheo se se tlamelwang ke lefapha ka matlole morago ga gore a ruge madi a setheo a feta dikete di le makgolo a mararo.

Se, ke phenyo e kgolo mo twantshong ya bosenyi jwa madi a puso mme re solofela e tla nna thuto mo ditheong tse e seng tsa puso tse di amogelang matlole go tswa mo lefapheng.
Re leboga diphakalane ka tiro e e monontlhotlho ya go utulola bosinyi ka tshwaragano le Lefapha la Tlhabololo ya Loago.
We will ensure that we pay suppliers within 30 days as required by law. Our aim this year is to process 100% of invoices within 21 days to ensure payment to service providers within 30 days. Furthermore we will continue to strengthen our invoice tracking system in order to eradicate accruals.
The National Development Agency which I have an honour to oversee, will provide training on governance, financial management and conflict management to One Thousand Five Hundred (1500) Civil Society Organizations so that they render quality services to the communities they serve.

NDA will continue to host Bokone Bophirima Provincial ECD awards on an annual basis to encourage and reward the performance of practitioners and their adherence to the norms and standards required to operate early childhood development centres.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will continue to pay the right social grants to the right recipients - Njalo. It will further increase the number of beneficiaries of social grants in Bokone Bophirima from 1,1 million to 1,2 million with a projected budget of R10.7 Billion.
 
SASSA will also conduct 42 beneficiary education campaigns throughout the province making use of both Setsokotsane service delivery drive and Integrated Community Outreach Programme (ICROP) to reach out to our communities.

Honourable Speaker, allow me to outline the departmental budget allocation as follows:-

Departmental Budget per Programme

Kwa bokhutlong Motlotlegi-Mmusa Kgotla, ke leboga Tonakgolo Rre Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo ka dikgakololo le boeteledipele jo bo manontlhotlho mo pakeng eno ya puso ya botlhano.

I thank Honourable Members for their support. A word of gratitude also goes to the Portfolio Committee for Health and Social Development.

Ke leboga Mokgatlho o o busang wa ANC o o nthomileng jaaka morongwa-pusong go direla baagi ba Bokone Bophirima ka botswapelo.
I would like to thank the Head of the Department Mme Dikeledi Mothobi and the Departmental Management Committee for their commitment to deliver effective services to the masses of our people.

To all staff members at the provincial, district offices, Service Points and State-run institutions, I salute your commitment for making the difference in the lives of the people of Bokone Bophirima.

I further wish to assure you that, as part of the entire social development sector, we will continue to improve the conditions of employment of our employees to the extent that, legislation and the economic situation of our country permits.

Ke leboga batsaya-karolo botlhe ba ba semelelang le rona ka gale go isa ditirelo kwa bathong go akaretsa ditheo tse eseng tsa puso, National Development Agency le setheo sa SASSA.

Ke leboga Maapara-Nkwe ka tshwaragano ya bona le puso go tlhabolola matshelo a baagi.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their continued support and encouragement.

Lastly I thank God, Almighty for being with us to this far.

I thank you.