MEC Joyce Mashamba: Limpopo Social Development Prov Budget Vote 2017/2018

Budget Speech Vote 12: Department of Social Development

Honourable Speaker; Deputy Speaker;
Honourable Premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha; Esteemed Members of the Executive Council; Honourable Members of the Legislature; Executive Mayors and Mayors present here;
The Director-General of the Province, Mr. Nape Nchabeleng; The HOD for Social Development, Ms. Daphne Ramokgopa; Our esteemed Majesties and Royal Highnesses;
Stalwarts and veterans of our struggle;
Heads of Chapter Nine and Chapter Ten Institutions; Religious Leaders;
Representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations; Executive Management of our agencies SASSA and NDA; Representatives of Labour and Business respectively;  The Media Contingent;
Distinguished guests, comrades, ladies and gentlemen;
Avuxeni! Ndi Matsheloni! Thobela! Good Morning! Goeie Môre!

It is indeed an honour to present today, on behalf of our mother; our veteran; our stalwart of the struggle - honourable MEC Happy Joyce Mashamba - the Budget Speech of the Department of Social Development. She is currently recovering at home. The department I am honoured to steer in her absence, is a department that is mandated to stimulate development and ensure physical and emotional wellbeing amongst the citizens of Limpopo. This is a department that brings hope to the ordinary masses. It’s a father to the fatherless. It’s a nurturer to the motherless. It’s a beacon of hope to the hopeless.

In this year’s State of Nation Address, we are encouraged to guide the nation towards a “Year of Unity in Action”. Action towards the greater good and solidarity are central to the mandate and the vision of the Department, which endeavours to contribute towards Building a Caring Society. Together.

As a department we are committed to being an active partner in the times ahead and we remain committed to the tasks and goals we have set for ourselves. There is much work to be done and we will all need strength and resilience, but we believe that together we can and will achieve a safe and progressive South Africa.

Our endeavours must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child. It is these things that we must achieve to give meaning to our presence in this esteemed House and to give purpose to our occupancy of the seat of government.

Madam Speaker

Allow me to use these words from a prominent entrepreneur and author Jacqueline Novogratz and I quote:

“When we deny the poor and the vulnerable their own human dignity and capacity for freedom and choice, it becomes self-denial. It becomes a denial of both our collective and individual dignity at all levels of society”.

Close quote.

In this year’s Budget Vote 12, we are committed to making it happen. This Budget Vote will therefore continue to build on the renewal of pledges with our people and partnerships necessary to build a better life for all. As a key element in government's overall objectives to eradicate poverty, to promote social inclusion and build social cohesion, the Department continues to build and strengthen its strategic interventions in social welfare services and community development.

We are very clear that commitment is unquestionable and creativity is essential, therefore we recommit 2017 as a year to start today, to do the right thing, to “Increase our Footprint”. When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make any compromise.

Integrity; Expectation; Relevance; Value; Application and Change will remain our tools of trade to make our commitment a reality; to make it happen.

We are certain that improvement is impossible without change. As such, for us to bring the difference that really makes a difference, the Department has identified key strategic themes to drive the policy and programme interventions in line with its mandate and each theme would have a number of areas committed during the 2017/18 financial year.
 

Stimulate rural economy through cooperatives

Cooperatives play a key role in development. The social and economic benefits of cooperatives have a far reaching impact, but they need support from the community and government, to reach their potential.

During 2016/17 we made a commitment, working together with the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, that at least ten per cent (10%) of government procurement goes towards SMMEs and cooperatives. The aim was to ensure that all major projects have localisation procurement thrust, to ensure that SMMEs and cooperatives led by both women and young persons, are developed into credible suppliers.

Subsequently, working closely with the National Department of Social Development, SASSA and the Provincial Food Distribution Centre, we are proud to report that the Department has linked forty one (41) provincial cooperatives to economic opportunities through programmes such as Social Relief of Distress, to provide catering, sewing and provision of school uniform services. They will further be encouraged and assisted to register in the Central Supplier Database.

We are gratified to announce that the department has funded twenty (20) cooperatives across the province. One of the cooperatives is led by people living with disabilities and the remaining 19 are all women-driven.

We have the pleasure to host, as our guests today, members of the Makgadile Agricultural Primary Cooperative - in Ga-Ledwaba, Lepelle- Nkumpi Municipality in the Capricorn District - one of the up-and-coming projects led by women, as well as Mukula Disability Poultry Primary Cooperative in Mukula village, Thulamela Municipality in the Vhembe District, with a pocket of positive success stories championed by the disability sector.

Further to this, one hundred and sixty (160) members of the funded cooperatives are receiving stipends on a monthly basis as part of poverty alleviation. We can also report that, to date, there has been an increase in the number of cooperatives - from forty seven (47) in 2015/16 to sixty seven (67) in 2016/17 - that have been funded and empowered by the department.

In the 2017/18 financial year, eleven million eight hundred thousand rand [R11,8m] has been budgeted to fund more cooperatives which seek to empower and develop communities to become more self-reliant. Honourable members as we “Increase our Footprint”, we therefore call upon sister departments like Health and Education to begin to outsource services exclusively to these cooperatives.

Further to that, an amount of three million rand [R3m] has been set aside to target cooperatives specifically led by women.

In keeping with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security, the Department has funded and established two (2) additional Community Nutrition Development Centres and will continue to sustain and support the existing seventeen (17) CNDCs in 2017/18. One hundred and thirty five thousand (135 000) people and three thousand seven hundred (3 700) households accessed food through Food Security programmes.

Our department declares the right to food and nutrition security to the poor and vulnerable without ambiguity, as an essential element of human dignity. We are planning to reach more in the coming financial year, with one hundred and eighty three thousand (183 000) individuals and four thousand (4 000) households accessing food.

This simply means that none of our citizens should go to bed on an empty stomach and that healthy, nutritious meals are available to even the poorest of the poor. That is: “Increasing our Footprint”.

The Freedom Charter contains a promise of a democratic South Africa that belongs to all who live in it. We gave expression to this promise in our MTEF document.

Our firm understanding remains that young people are the leaders of tomorrow.

Through this acknowledgement, we remain unswerving in ensuring the progress and development of the youths of this province and we are dedicated to developing programmes and projects that are geared towards creating sustainable livelihoods and a social safety net for the most vulnerable of our citizens.

Through the introduction of innovative projects and sustained support, we believe that we can successfully eradicate poverty and hunger among all communities. In order to upscale opportunities for our youth, the Department considers measures to ensure that the needs of youths are addressed, inclusive of their health, education and skills development.

We are therefore delighted to announce that an amount of one million four hundred thousand rand [R1.4m] was spent in 2016/17 and that ten (10) youth organisations mainly dealing with skills development, career guidance and awareness campaigns on social illnesses, were funded by the Department. In the 2017/18 financial year we have increased the allocation to four million five hundred thousand rand [R4,5m] to that effect, in line with the State of the Province Address.

In addition, nineteen thousand (19 000) youths participated in skills, entrepreneurship and mobilization programmes. Twenty three thousand (23 000) will get this opportunity in the coming financial year and a budget of five million five hundred thousand rand [R5,5m] has been allocated for youth empowerment programmes.

Indeed we are committed towards “Increasing our Footprint”.

Two success stories of such supported projects, are the JSP Community Project from Ga-Molepo, Laastehoop Village, under Polokwane Municipality, Capricorn District and Nhlahlele Ka Tsebo Training Project at Mohlakamosoma Village in Greater Letaba, Mopani District. “Ke gere shia mohlala”.

These projects aim to get children and youths off the streets and away from unhealthy activities such as substance abuse, as well as to reduce illiteracy and HIV/AIDS prevalence among the youth. These organisations equip youngsters with skills in building, welding, carpentry, electrical services, architecture and sewing. In turn, talent in sport, arts and culture is discovered and exposed in youths from local and neighbouring communities.

Honourable Speaker, we acknowledge the presence of the representatives of the JSP Community Project and Nhlahlele Ka Tsebo Training Project and humbly request them to raise a hand where they are seated, so that they may be recognised by this House.

Strengthen social partnerships with Non Profit Organisations (NPOs)

The mainstream of services for the Department are rendered through partnership with NPOs  and we support  those rendering  a basket of services to poor and vulnerable groups  including those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. These are: Early Childhood Development; Drop in Centres; Victim Empowerment; Children’s Homes; Stimulation Centres; Aged Service Centres and Homes; Disability Protective Workshops and Homes; Social Crime Prevention;

National Association of Child Care Workers; Isibindi Centres; Substance Abuse Centres; Community Based Rehabilitation Centres  and Home Care Based Centres. The bigger portion of the budget goes towards ECD, followed by Drop in Centres.

Since the bulk of our services are implemented through a partnership model, there is a need for an effective monitoring and evaluation system.

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to those NPOs and NGOs which are working tirelessly to provide life and hope to our vulnerable communities.

Currently we are funding two thousand seven hundred and nine (2 709) NPOs to the tune of five hundred and eleven million seven hundred and thirty four thousand rand [R511 734m].

An amount of five hundred and thirty million eight hundred and sixty thousand rand [R530 860m] has been allocated for 2017/18, targeting to increase the number of funded NPOs to three thousand two hundred and ninety eight (3 298).

In partnership with the National Development Agency, the Department remains committed to the development of these structures. During the 2016/17 financial year, four thousand three hundred and seventy nine (4379) NPOs were capacitated on compliance matters and governance issues, which include conflict management and financial management.

To ensure that this support effort is seamless, we will transfer another four million rand [R4m] to the NDA, for the purpose of further training in the 2017/18 financial year.
 

Expanding access to Early Childhood Development (ECDs)

Honourable Speaker

I wish to relay these famous words by Oliver Reginald Tambo and I quote:

“The children of any nation are its future. A country, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and children does not deserve its future”.

Close quote.

Early Childhood Development has been identified as an Apex priority and is a central component within government’s Twelve Outcomes. It is one of the areas reflected under Outcome 1: Improved Quality of Basic Education aimed at addressing challenges that make it impossible for children to develop in all aspects of life.

The ECD Programme remains vital in our pursuit of laying a firm educational and developmental foundation for our children that will help them achieve improved matric results in the future. We simply cannot lay the responsibility of a 100% matric pass rate at the feet of one department only.

In our quest to “Increase our Footprint” we will therefore be rolling out a new conditional grant to the value of forty one million rand [R41m] to improve access to the ECD Programme, with the focus on subsidy increase and the maintenance of infrastructure as a special intervention, to ensure compliance to the minimum requirements to registered ECD sites across the province. This is over and above the continued support of the ECD programme in terms of subsidies for children from needy households.

We have further embarked on a massive registration drive for unregistered ECDs in communities, which will increase the number of children accessing registered ECD programmes.

We are gratified to announce that three thousand four hundred and ten (3 410) ECDs are registered across the province and an additional two hundred and forty (240) will be registered during 2017. One hundred and seventy seven thousand three hundred and forty nine (177 349) children from both centre based and non-centre based services are currently accessing registered ECDs. Of this number, ninety two thousand six hundred and fifty seven (92 657) are receiving the fifteen rand [R15] subsidy.

With a budget of two hundred and seventy three million two hundred and ninety five thousand rand [R273 295m] allocated to this service, the Department is targeting to increase this number to one hundred and ninety thousand (190 000) children in the 2017/18 financial year.

The Department of Social Development has initiated the annual South African ECD Awards programme which aims to improve the quality of care, protection and development of children and raise awareness on the importance of ECD. This initiative is championed by the National Development Agency (NDA), in consultation with other sectors, including the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development and the Department of Education.

Today we wish to applaud the 2015/16 financial year Award winners of the South African ECD Awards who, after being the best in the Province, went on to be the best in the country. They are seated in the public gallery with us today:

• Best ECD Practitioner, Rural Category, Ms. Jackina Masotla from Swarishanang Crèche, Ga-Dikgale in Polokwane Municipality, Capricorn District.
• Best ECD Centre, Rural Category, Ms. Caroline Kiwit, from Mahlasedi Community crèche, Marapong village - Dennilton in Elias Motswaledi Municipality, Sekhukhune District.
• Best ECD Programme for Children and Babies with Disabilities, Rural Category, Ms. Bellinah Ratau, from Mokgalaborwa Center for disabilities: Jane Furse, Fetakgomo Municipality, Sekhukhune District.

For the 2016/17 financial year, we will be sending two category representatives to the national competition and we are confident that they too, are going to scoop the top prizes to put Limpopo on the map once more. We applaud them in advance.

One of the objectives of ECD is to develop children physically and therefore, participation in various sporting codes wwill ensurethat we achieve this objective, while at the same time developing talent at an early age.

To that effect, during the 2017/18 financial year, the department will be piloting participation in sporting codes in ECDs, starting with the Vhembe District, Makhado Municipality. This will be done in collaboration with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, municipalities and other relevant structures. “Musi ri tshi siya vhutala”

Furthermore, we have planned to host a Provincial ECD Summit in the coming financial year, from which we will develop a provincial action plan of strategies in addressing challenges faced by the ECD sector. We are positive that this will yield the desired results to improve this sector.
 

Developmental Social Welfare Services and Social Cohesion

Honourable Speaker

The strengthening of families is at the centre of our efforts as the lead department, to address social ills such as teenage pregnancy, substance and drug abuse, as well as violence against women and children.

We will therefore continue to implement family strengthening and family preservation programmes.

We will also continue with psycho-social interventions for children as we implement our Isibindi programme to strengthen our child care and child protection programmes for vulnerable children. An additional one hundred (100) Child and Youth Care Workers will  be trained in the 2017/18 financial year, adding to the current total of three hundred and thirty four (334).

Also, we have set a target of forty two thousand (42 000) children to access services in all registered Drop-in Centres. We have allocated a total budget of one hundred and eighteen million five hundred and seventy eight thousand rand [R118 578m] towards the programme, in addressing social behavioural change as a result of all social ills.

An additional two thousand and thirty (2 030) children have been placed under foster care during the current financial year, adding to the total of sixty one thousand seven hundred and twenty four (61 724). A further two thousand eight hundred and six (2 806) children are targeted during 2017/18.

To “Increase our Footprint” we have set aside an amount of ten million five hundred and ten thousand rand [R10 510m] for social relief programmes in the coming financial year.

I am proud to report to this august house that there has been a decrease in the number of children in conflict with the law referred to diversion programmes, from eight hundred (800) in 2015/16 to five hundred and sixty one (561) in 2016/17.

The total budget allocated towards this programme for 2017/18 is forty million five hundred and ninety five thousand rand [R40 595m].

Rising crime levels are a reality, even in the absence of substance abuse. We have therefore ensured that eleven thousand two hundred and six (11 206) victims of crime and violence were able to access services from the funded VEP service centres and with the allocated budget of fifteen million three hundred and thirty seven thousand rand [R15 337m], provision will be made to assist more victims of crime and violence in the coming financial year.

Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse

As a department, we commit to intensify our efforts on Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse and tackling the growing drug problem within the province. The current campaign to combat substance abuse at schools will also continue unabated.

Drug abuse is a social ill affecting too many of our citizens and especially our children. It is a battle that all of us need to join in, in all earnest and an intensified struggle is needed, by creating awareness first.

The Department’s drug awareness programmes allowed us to reach more than one hundred and forty thousand (140 00) children aged 18 years and below. A further ninety thousand (90 000) people aged 19 years and above were reached through substance abuse and prevention programmes.

Let us get the message out there that it is not “cool” or “ok” to use drugs, as our children and the youth seem to be brainwashed with this message almost daily.

Further to this, five (5) outpatient sites were established in the following areas: Mankweng in Capricorn District, Bela-Bela in Waterberg, Ga- Maphopa in Sekhukhune,  Thohoyandou in Vhembe and Kgapane in Mopani. The budget allocated to this service in 2017/18 is six million eight hundred and eight thousand rand [R6 808m], allowing us to reach more people in this regard.

Madam Speaker

The Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act of 2008 prescribes that each province must have at least one public treatment centre. Our people cannot wait any longer. We commit ourselves today that we will work around the clock to ensure that the long awaited Seshego Treatment Centre will be functional by the end of the 2017/18 financial year.

We have faced too many hurdles in making this much needed facility a reality. We are more than confident that we have now removed those hurdles.

We have learned that the moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the twilight of their lives: the elderly and those who are in the shadow of life; the sick; the needy and persons with disabilities. Society’s senior citizens are treasures and the custodians of our culture and heritage. The Province is therefore proud of the successful hosting of the 2016 National Golden Games that aimed to recognise and promote their right to a dignified and active old age.

In partnership with the Departments of Health; Sport, Arts and Culture and the Office of the Premier we will continue to join hands in ensuring that the Active Ageing Programme continues to promote healthy lifestyles among our older persons, so as to increase their life expectancy and wellbeing.

A budget of thirty two million two hundred and seventy eight thousand rand [R32 278m] has been set aside to increase the number of residential facilities for older persons from seven (7) to eight (8) and this will also increase the number of beneficiaries to be supported as we “Increase our Footprint”.

We have also served our persons with disabilities in the past financial year through fifty one (51) existing funded protective workshops and the three (3) existing residential facilities. Four thousand two hundred and sixty eight (4 268) persons with disabilities accessed these services.

A total budget of forty five million five hundred and thirty thousand rand [R45 530m] has been set aside towards this service.

Restoring our people’s dignity and power through EPWP

The eradication of poverty means restoring our people’s dignity and power, through employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. We therefore created two thousand two hundred and sixty seven (2 267) work opportunities through the Extended Public Works Programme within Social Development, with a further three thousand (3 000) opportunities to be created in 2017/18 to the tune of eight million nine hundred thousand rand [R8,9m].

Partnership with other sectors

It is with pride that we proclaim that our success has indeed been based on partnerships from the very beginning, hence we have added meaning and value to the services we render to the people of Limpopo. In order for us to truly “Increase our Footprint”, we will continue to join hands with the business fraternity, as we have done before, in an effort to create a better life for all.

We therefore wish to thank Cipla Pharmaceutical Company, the National Lotteries Commission, Venetia Mine and Blouberg Local Municipality for the construction of thirty six (36) ECD centres that are to be completed in the 2017/18 financial year.

These facilities are located in Mookgophong, Mogalakwena, Blouberg, Polokwane, Lepelle-Nkumpi, Greater  Tzaneen, Greater Letaba, Thulamela, Makhado, Ephraim Mogale, Elias Motswaledi and Makhuduthamaga Municipalities.

Costing per organisation in this regard ranges from one point five million rand [R1.5m] to six point two million rand [R6.2m].

We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with the Government Capacity Building and Support Programme (GCBS) through PACT South Africa funded by USAID. The Capricorn District has been identified to pilot a programme called “You Only Live Once” (YOLO). The programme focuses on youth, cutting across all programmes. To date, seven hundred and five (705) youths have been reached through this programme.

Furthermore the Department of Social Development has signed a four year Service Level Agreement with the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) to empower persons with disabilities in Limpopo Province, LIM 345, Vhembe District, from 2016 to 2020. The project has been titled: “Project for the promotion of empowerment of persons with disabilities and disability mainstreaming”.

Representing the disability sector, Mr. Judas Mayevu was invited to Japan for training on leadership. Two persons with disabilities attended a peer counselling and independent living training session in Gauteng. As I am speaking now, the peer group counselling programmes have started in Xikundu and Saselamani.

Thank you JICA for your unsurpassed support. A partnership can make a huge difference. Please continue to help us to help others.

Hi khensa hi vuyelela na mindzuku a swi ve tano.

Governance and Institutional Development

We will continue to improve service delivery capacity and accountability initiatives to develop the sector’s human resources and systems. To that effect, we are also proud to announce that two hundred and sixty five (265) Social Work Bursary holders graduated during the first quarter of 2016/17 from various universities and that an additional one hundred and seventy one (171) were doing their final studies in the 2016 academic year. Another fifty (50) new students will receive bursaries for studying Social Work degrees in the 2017 academic year.

The Province continues to experience a shortage of social work service professionals. We are therefore heeding the call to relieve this urgent plight, by employing one hundred and sixty four (164) new social workers during the 2017/18 financial year. We have allocated forty six million rand [R46m] for this effort of “Increasing our Footprint”.

The Department has been under pressure to provide tools of trade for the provision of services to communities. We are happy to announce that seventeen million four hundred thousand rand [R17.4m] has been allocated for the provision of tools of trade, which will go a long way in addressing this need.

We have also strengthened the following critical areas within the Department: information technology and risk management. We are certain this will assist in repositioning the Department towards a clean audit.

Mushrooming Residential Facilities

It is our concern that the establishment of private residential facilities for the care of various disabilities or conditions are seemingly mushrooming all over the province. There is an urgent need to ensure that these facilities are registered with the correct authorities as per their intended purposes and that they remain compliant to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people they serve.

The Department has joined hands with the Department of Health to establish a team that will do a careful audit of all facilities in the Province. We have started this process by engaging Life Esidimeni, the company which is currently managing the Shiluvani Frail Care Centre. This in an effort to avoid any possible mismanagement, ill treatment or even loss of life of our vulnerable citizens who reside in these facilities.

Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Our special thanks goes to the Premier of Limpopo, Honourable Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, for his continuous support and belief in us, the colleagues in EXCO and fellow honourable members.

Allow me to also use this opportunity to thank the Portfolio Committee on Social Development for their oversight and support role under the leadership of the Chairperson, Honourable Ndzimeni Sylvia Mudau. We appreciate your interest in the wellbeing of the people you serve, by ensuring that the Department performs effectively and efficiently.

We further appreciate the cooperation that we have received from our agencies SASSA and NDA and we trust that we will all continue honouring this hardworking and symbiotic relationship in the coming year, to the benefit of the citizens of South Africa.

Let me also recognise the sterling work undertaken by every employee of the Department, under the leadership of HOD Daphne Ramokgopa and all her “generals”; particularly the frontline staff who - despite much adversity - managed to perform beyond measure and put their whole hearts into ensuring that we are committed to finding new solutions to “Increase our Footprint”.

One such humble servant of the people is Ms. Ellengie Mogashoa, our SASSA employee who, at the recent devastating blaze at the Talana Hostel informal settlement in Tzaneen, did not wait for us to provide food parcels to the affected families. Instead, she used her own resources to prepare cooked breakfasts and serve them.

These are the ways in which we plan to create continuous change for the people of Limpopo in the coming financial year. It is not always about facts and figures, but about the lives that we can touch and improve daily.

I therefore wish to present the budget that has been allocated to the Department of Social Development. This budget vote affirms the programme of activities set out in our strategic plan geared at meeting the expectations of our people, who continue to live in abject poverty.

Over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the total budget grows at an average rate of seven point five per cent (7.5%) per annum.