Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Cabinet colleagues and honourable members of the house
Leaders of local government
Religious and community leaders
Representatives from higher education institutions
Representatives of the non-profit organisations (NPO) community based organisations (CBO) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) sector
Colleagues and friends
Citizens of the Western Cape
1. Introduction
I stood before you less than 10 months ago and on that day I committed myself to always be guided by the country’s constitution, which spells out quite clearly what is required to be a servant of the people.
It gives me great pleasure to report that, as per treasury prescript, the Department has just completed a five years strategic plan. In this plan it’s clearly stated that “the strategic thrust for the Department of Social Development for the next five years will be underpinned by the vision of an open opportunity society for all where everyone has access to a more diverse range of opportunities”.
In doing so, we will lead in providing appropriate developmental social welfare services that can contribute to poverty reduction and the building of social cohesion, thus contributing to realising the Provinces’ vision of an open opportunity society for all.
An open opportunity society for all is one where every person is given the opportunity and the means to improve their own circumstances, whatever their circumstances may be. Maybe here it’s appropriate to quote what the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, said in this regard at the State of the Province Address.
“South Africa is not yet an open opportunity society for all. We are not yet an opportunity society for all because too many people remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, with few realistic prospects, relying on state grants to survive”.
Mr Speaker, the strategic objectives and deliverables of this department which I will outline today will, without a doubt, contribute to build an open, opportunity society for all in the Western Cape. Notwithstanding the context of budgetary pressures and a slower than expected recovery from the economic recession, the budget of this department reflects an unwavering commitment to the plight of the poor, the vulnerable and those in need of special care.
In this very special year for our country, in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, we are both excited by the opportunities it poses, but also acutely aware of the risks involved. Campaigns around child protection and care, responsible use of substances, human trafficking as well as sexual exploitation of children, youth and women, will be expanded and intensified.
Honourable Speaker, for the year 2010/11 this department will focus on three key strategic goals namely:
- to create a caring society through developmental social welfare services
- to create opportunities through community development services
- to improve governance and modernise our service delivery machinery.
I will unpack the programmes and projects to achieve this in further detail in the rest of my speech.
2. The budget of the department, an overview
Mr Speaker and honourable members, allow me first to present to you a short overview of the budget. For the year 2010/11 the department received a total budget of R1.219 billion, which represents 3.67 percent of the total Provincial Budget. This allocation reflects an increase of 3.23 percent (R38.469 million) on the adjustment budget of 2009/10. The allocation is R49.162 million less than the indicative allocated budget of 2010/11, which is the result of funds trawling by the Provincial Treasury.
Managing this in such a way that service delivery is not compromised, the department did the following:
- It re-organised itself in terms of the way it conducts its business
- It identified areas of efficiency gains that included advertising consultants, workshops, catering and travel and subsistence (“cutting away of the fat”).
- It re-prioritised and modernised the way in which transfers to NGOs are done.
3. Progress on deliverables in previous budget speech
Honourable Speaker and members, you might recall that during my previous budget speech, I stated that families in this province are under siege and to address this, I announced three key projects:
- An Emergency Children’s summit
The Children’s summit was held on the 15-16 October 2009, attended by 250 delegates. 22 children formed part of the delegates. The presence and clarity of voice of the children commanded listening and true attention as they made such valuable inputs from the children’s perspective. The resolutions taken at this summit will be taken forward in the planning within the new financial year. I am also delighted to welcome some of the children who attended that summit here tonight.
- Roll-out Of family expositions to the districts
Family expositions will be rolled out to four district office clusters in 2010/11 i.e. Vredendal, Oudtshoorn, Worcester and Cape Town. As we speak Honourable Speaker, district based planning teams and meetings are currently underway to plan and implement these district based expositions.
- Research on child abuse and murder
I commissioned a research study on child abuse and murder. A literature review is being compiled under the theme “Risk factors for Violent Crime Against Children in the Western Cape”. The final draft will be available at the end of March 2010.
I also announced the implementation of programmes that will afford opportunities specific to the youth. I want to highlight two of them:
- Create opportunities for youth in Early Childhood Development (ECD)
200 ECD assistants have been recruited and basic training on ECD services has been completed. They have been deployed to district offices and ECD NGOs and have started assisting with the registration of ECD facilities as well as monitoring compliance and mentoring of ECD facilities. 200 ECD assistants continued to assist with the registration and monitoring compliance and mentoring of ECD facilities and related activities.
- Provincial Volunteer programme: Youth
Two personnel members have been trained in management of volunteers at each of the 16 district offices. District offices recruited 900 youth volunteers in December 2009 and utilised them during the school holiday program, operational in various communities throughout the December and January school vacation. These volunteers will be utilised during the 2010 June school vacation.
- Substance Abuse Treatment Centre
I presented our department plans for dealing with substance abuse under the heading: “Making Substance Abuse, Everybody’s Business”. In the spirit of efficiency and effectiveness, our initial plans to build a new substance abuse centre in the west coast have been revised by Cabinet. Instead, we have pursued the option to obtain more bed-space at existing service providers in these areas.
Secondly, I am glad to announce that we will utilise existing empty state buildings to establish a youth treatment centre at the current Roosendaal facility in Faure. The new youth treatment centre will officially be opened by the Premier during June 2010.
- Social work scholarships
In managing the skills scarcity within the social work field, we undertook a series of retention initiatives. I am glad to announce that as a department, we have just welcomed 76 new social work graduates as part of a group of scholarship holders who have finished their studies. I am glad to welcome 15 of them here tonight, present in the gallery. This Scholarship programme has cost government approximately R16.7 million.
- Social Work Programme of Excellence
In line with our vision of a competent and excellent workforce, we have launched an Excellence programme during October 2009. Currently our newly appointed social workers are undergoing an extensive induction programme at Kromme Rhee, as part of this new Excellence programme.
Honourable Speaker and members let me now focus on the programmes and priorities for 2010/11.
4. Key priorities and programmes for the year 2010/11
My vision is that the department becomes much more attuned to the service delivery needs of communities, focusing on issues such as efficiency and effectiveness, accessibility, customer care and satisfaction as well as creative inter-governmental partnerships.
4.1 Creating a caring society through appropriate social welfare services
Until recently, public measures and services aimed at children and families have tended to be both disparate and have a narrow focus. The new
Children’s Act that will be implemented from 1 April this year will change this, as it is arguably the most encompassing piece of legislation designed to protect children, and to promote their rights and responsibilities.
The department will be enormously challenged by this new legislation, but I am pleased to say that it is already conducting its business in the spirit of the act. The mind shift has therefore already happened. It now needs to be supported with tools, technology and human resource capacity.
Creating a caring and nurturing environment for Children and Families to thrive is central to this Departments’ focus. A significant part of this budget is prioritised to achieve this. This includes amongst others, programmes relating to:
- Child care and protection services (including Early Childhood Development
- care and support services to families
- victim empowerment, substance abuse (prevention and rehabilitation)\
- care and services to older persons
- crime prevention and support
- services to persons with disabilities.
4.1.1 Child Care and Protection programme
For these programmes we have budgeted R345 million for this financial year. This will be used to implement programmes focused on:
- Prevention and early intervention programmes for children and families to ensure that they are aware of their rights and responsibilities and services available to strengthen and support them
- Early intervention programmes with a specific focus 12 to 18 year old children
- Legislative mandate, ensuring that social service professionals are trained and understand the Children’s Act for implementation
- Reunification programmes to ensure that, where children were removed from their families, they are placed back in lifelong relationships either with their families or communities of origin.
Child care and protection during the 2010 FIFA World Cup
The department has drafted a collaborative child protection plan with child protection organisations and the City of Cape Town. This plan included amongst other things:
- A comprehensive schools programme will be implemented during the duration of the holidays, providing an adequate safety net for children in communities.
- Ensuring safe spaces for children at the stadium, one fan park and five public viewing areas.
- Ensuring that 400 social workers to be on standby duty during the event.
Early Childhood Development programme (ECD)
As an early intervention programme, ECD is one of the important cornerstones of our poverty reduction strategy. During the past financial year, at least 2 020 ECD practitioners were identified for accredited training provided for by the Department of education in an effort to ensure better service delivery. The focus for 2010/11 will be to improve early outcomes in nutrition, early psychological development, parenting, early stimulation and child care.
An audit on the quality of service delivery in ECD centres has just been completed and will serve as a guideline to identify and address gaps in service delivery. A total budget of R179 million has been earmarked for this programme.
4.1.2 Care and Support to Families programme
Providing care and support to families is an important imperative because our society cannot be just and it cannot be cohesive unless we provide quality care and support services to those families in our communities that face the biggest challenges.
To this end, the department continues to provide developmental social welfare services that foster social cohesion and builds resilience for families. To this end, a total amount of R33 million has been prioritised. This will be used to implement and procure services relating to:
- Integrated family preservation programmes targeting those families most at risk which is similar to those currently underway in Belhar and the west coast
- As part of a strategy to work with Men and Boys, we have also invested in the development of a comprehensive community based mentoring programme for boys and young fathers, to ensure that they take responsibility for their children and families
- The department will continue to invest in the provisioning of easily accessible and high quality training for parents such as the Proud to Parent Training programme that seeks to build the skills and knowledge base of parents. Through parent support group leaders, parents become change agents in their communities.
4.1.3 Victim Empowerment programme
The excellent partnership on victim empowerment between United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Department of Social Development has greatly improved policy awareness, enlightened the public in its knowledge of the rights of victims, and protected victims through the establishment of one stop centres.
Building capacity of CSOs in delivering services to victims of crime is being rolled out along several avenues, including a grants scheme for both established and emerging CSOs. In the Western Cape alone the first round of grants resulted in R4.77 million being distributed to 12 organisations in the province out of the full R25.2 million dispersed nationally.
I will soon, together with the UNODC, announce grants to NGOs in rural areas for victim empowerment programmes.
4.1.4 Disability programmes
Minimum standards on residential facilities for persons with disabilities have been finalised and approved by MINMEC. The minimum standards seek to describe what constitutes acceptable and adequate quality of care offered to people with disabilities in residential facilities thus promoting and protecting their rights.
During the year ahead, the programme will capacitate facilities to comply with the minimum standards. Presently the department funds 47 protective workshops that cater for 2 680 persons as well as 33 residential facilities that cater for a total of 1 388 residents.
4.1.5 Older Persons programme
The older persons regulations have been finalised as far as all chapters of the Older Persons Act no 13 of 2006 is concerned and awaits promulgation. In terms of the Act, the Department of Social Development will be responsible to establish a provincial coordinating mechanism as to ensure the integration, coordination and uniform delivery of services to older persons in terms of the regulations.
On the level of statutory services, the Department for this year will be funding 126 residential facilities for a total of 10 441 older persons. Emphasis will be placed on community based care to ensure that older persons remain within the community for as long as possible and to this end service centres for older persons have been identified as a priority. R20 million will support 233 service centres providing services to 15 637 older persons.
4.1.6 Substance Abuse programme
Substance abuse remains a major problem for this province, with the Western Cape having the highest levels of substance abuse in the country. To meet the needs of our Department’s responsibilities and contributions in the fight against substance abuse, R59 million has been budgeted for in this financial year.
During the year ahead the programme will focus on improving the fit between substance services for individuals, families and communities and the need for those services, and improve overall outcomes of treatment and interventions in line with substance abuse legislation and the soon to be announced provincial substance abuse strategy.
There are presently two state ran treatment centres in the province. The Kensington and De Novo centres provide 140 free bed spaces at any one time. Free bed spaces are also provided at the following state assisted centres namely; Heskith King, Toevlug and Ramot. A new state ran facility that will provide free treatment for young people under the age of 18 will open in June 2010 in the Eerste River area.
4.1.7 Social Crime Prevention and Support
The primary focus of this programme is on statutory services as regulated by the Child Justice Act and the Probation Services Act. The Child Justice Act will be implemented on 1 April 2010 and will thus contribute to the reduction of the number of children and adults in the criminal justice system and thereby improve and contribute to the positive development of children and families.
The secondary focus of this programme is on social crime prevention programmes. To facilitate the implementation of the act, probation officer numbers will be increased and specialised training will be made available for probation officers.
The department presently provides accommodation for some 585 youth awaiting trial at its secure care facilities and aims to bring down the numbers of young people awaiting trial in prison to below 50 at any time.
4.2 Creating opportunities through community development services
These services include the programmes such as Youth Development, Sustainable Livelihood, Institutional Capacity Building and Support, Research and Demography, Population Capacity Development and Advocacy.
4.2.1 Youth Development
In 2010/11 youth development services to the amount of R8.3 million have been incorporated into the other 7 programmes of the Department, with a range of integrated quality youth development services targeting “at risk” youth.
An integrated youth development strategy will be developed for the province and coordinated by the office of the Premier. The various programmes for youth within various entities will be aligned to the provincial youth development strategy.
The Wolwekloof Youth Development Centre will provide a residential programme for marginalised youth within the province that will provide hard skills training and holistic development programmes.
4.2.2 Sustainable Livelihoods
This programme is one of the key interventions in the poverty reduction strategy. R29 million will be spent on these programme, including Community Nutrition and Development centres, The War on Poverty programme as well as child poverty (the Bana Pele project).
- Community Nutrition and Development centres
The objective is to provide development programmes and regular nutritious meals to all individuals and households that are affected by hunger due to poverty, as well as to link these beneficiaries to a wide range of development initiatives.
Through Sustainable Livelihoods programme the department provides funding and support to 302 Community Nutrition and Development centres across the province. Also during this financial year, all CNDC beneficiaries will be profiled on the national integrated social information system (NISIS).
- War on Poverty
War on Poverty a Presidential programme is implemented in the Western Cape in two district municipalities, i.e. Eden and Cape Winelands. 18 poor wards were identified from Witzenberg, George, Bitou, Kanaland and Knysna for the year 1 roll out (2009/10). Household profiling has been completed in all wards.
A total of 16 948 households has been profiled with 15 000 captured to date on the national integrated social information system (NISIS). For 2010/11 the focus will be on rendering comprehensive services to these households in efforts to reduce poverty.
- Child poverty (Bana Pele project)
Bana Pele aims to assist poor and vulnerable children between the ages of zero and nine years old and their parents or caregivers to access a basic package of essential services and to improve their families’ livelihoods. The Western Cape Bana Pele programme is being piloted in the Cape Winelands and Central Karoo district municipalities. Total number of households profiled in the two district municipalities is 24 704.
4.3 Modernisation and improving governance
In achieving all of the foresaid, it is important Honourable Speaker that the department invests in modernisation and utilising the best governance practices and technologies at our disposal. In the spirit of my call for “fit for purpose”, the organisational re-design of the department will be central to this cause. Key interventions that will drive this modernisation are the following:
4.3.1 Social value impact assessments
During the current financial year, the department has decided to institute social value impact assessments of service centres and clubs for older persons, youth programmes and organisations/institutions receiving funding of R1 million and more per year. Preliminary finding suggests that organisations receiving R1 million and more are efficient and achieving their objectives in terms of the ISDM.
The service centres and clubs for older persons seem to be a winning concept in keeping the elderly in the community instead of relocating them to old age homes. These service centres are cheaper than maintaining old age homes and are quite active and provide a variety of services such as healthcare, home based care and nutrition in metro and rural areas.
It was also found that some organisations are experiencing capacity problems and a lack of management skills. The department has again prioritised money in this budget to continue these very important social value impact assessments.
4.3.2 Organisational wide monitoring
During 2009/10 a total of 820 funded organisations were monitored. In the year ahead we will strengthen monitoring interventions to ensure increased levels of accountability and compliance with required standards of corporate governance through:
- Expanding the scope of its monitoring interventions to include all funded organisations thereby ensuring that all organisations receiving financial assistance comply with contractual obligations
- The organisation wide monitoring and evaluation system will be entrenched to more effectively monitor the performance of managers, implementation of programmes and performance of all funded organisations against stated outputs, outcomes and reported on a quarterly basis.
4.3.3 Social auxiliary workers
High workload imposed on the social service professionals has necessitated the need to bring a new category of development workers, the social auxiliary worker. The appointment of Social auxiliary workers will lessen the administrative burden currently facing the social service professionals.
A total of 58 young people were part of the learnership of which 55 have graduated and they have been permanently employed by the Department of Social Development. I am pleased to see that some of these learners are seated in the gallery.
4.3.4 Retention of scarce skills
The Occupational Specific Dispensation implementation took place at a national level during November 2009, and over 900 employees of the department reside within the ambit of the agreement. This salary structure improvement will cost the department R24 million in 2010/11, while only R13.6 million have been provided for by Treasury.
4.3.5 Implementing the new organisational structure
The implementation of modernisation will herald the dawn of improved social development services at “the coal face”, bringing services to where they are needed most. The modernisation process will see the combining of the existing 16 district offices into 6 regions and the opening of 45 local offices in the province.
The year ahead will see us piloting the regional office model in the West Coast (Vredenburg) and in the metro north (Goodwood) area. Local offices will be established in all the local municipalities of the west coast. In metro north, priority will be given to the establishment of local offices in areas such as Atlantis, Elsies River, Delft and the greater Du Noon area.
Specific service delivery improvement plans have also been developed and prioritised for the current Khayelitsha and Vredendal offices. In terms of frontline staff, we envisage growing the number of service delivery practitioners from 692 to 1538 (57 percent increase) over the next three years.
For this first year of implementation, we have budgeted R50 million.
5. Conclusion
I proceed from the understanding that the government (including this department) must ensure the development of a public space where the individuality of NPOs are recognised and respected, as separately functioning institutions of civil society, established with a mandate to support a public purpose.
Our commitment to strategic partnering with NGOs, CBOs, faith-based organisations (FBOs), other spheres of government, the private sector and others in line with our service delivery mandate, needs to be emphasised and confirmed.
How we optimally package, sustain and account for these partnerships, will ultimately determine how to effect changes in the lives of the vulnerable and the poor we seek to serve. I believe it is only in real partnership that we can create public value and make this province a Place where there are indeed opportunities for all.
My thanks go to my family, my staff, the department, volunteers, colleagues and friends for the support and affirmation. I believe with the help of the Almighty God we can and will shape the future and determine our destiny.
I thank you.
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
