Development Poverty Alleviation Summit
26 October 2006
Head of Department,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This summit epitomises a culture that has set in South Africa since the dawn
of democracy. That culture is the resolve of South Africans that we must
determine and work for our own destiny. That our diversity is not our weakness,
but strength. That we may differ in opinions and approach, but we must
endeavour to find common areas on which we agree and build on that.
This morning we came from different parts of this province, each with an
opinion on matters of social development, to converge here and seek a common
programme on matters that touch the lives of our people. We do so with the full
knowledge that none other than ourselves will offer a solution to the problems
afflicting our society.
I want to venture that we are most probably all agreed here that economic
growth and development are key drivers in social development. That social
development is a function of two pillars. One being social investment, and two
social protections. That social development in its totality is a function that
must be undertaken by the whole government as opposed to one department
only.
After having made this assumption I then move from the premise that a state
Department of Social Development is but one of the players that is created to
undertake what is a portion of the overall task of social development. We are
tasked mainly with matters of social protection and maybe, to a minimal extent,
social investment.
When society develops, either because of its mode of production or because
of the inability of individuals to cope, there will be those who are socially
excluded. They may not achieve education levels that the labour market will
absorb. They may be orphaned. They may have a disability. They may be aged,
etc. It is the responsibility of society through its government to cast a
safety net to them.
It is in the detail of this work that we need to find one another in this
summit, during the course of today and tomorrow. How best to situate ourselves
to meet the challenges of casting a safety net wide enough to touch the lives
of the aged, orphaned, people with disabilities, vulnerable children, those
infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, the abused etc? How do we provide
support to people who become unemployed, sick or unable to work?
When we examine this during the course of the two days, let us do so with
the sole aim of benefiting those who suffer from exclusion. That you are a
group or individuals benefiting in terms of resources should be a coincidence
that comes about as a commitment to help others.
As we deliberate over the days let us do so with the full knowledge that our
meeting may raise hope to those whose plight can only be addressed if we reach
agreement and then implement those agreements.
As President Thabo Mbeki puts it, and I quote "While we must indeed
celebrate the high levels of optimism that inspire our people, who are
convinced that our country has entered its Age of Hope, we must also focus on
and pay particular attention to the implications of those high levels of
optimism with regard to what we must do together to achieve the objective of a
better life for all our people," close quote.
Urban poverty is a feature of our province. Informal settlements,
unemployment, HIV and AIDS, children who go to school on empty stomachs are an
everyday occurrence in our province. It is estimated that 48% of children in
Gauteng live in poverty. There are thousands of child-headed households; our
province has over 40 000 orphans. The greater number of our children in the
province are not benefiting from early childhood development.
These ills afflict black communities the most. It is in these communities
where we have lesser capacities from the communities themselves to do something
about this scourge. It is in these communities where people have less capacity
to run non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to address their own
plight. It is in these communities that the legacy of apartheid has left a
defenceless people. As we work out solutions in general for all communities in
the province, particular attention must be given to these disadvantaged
communities.
We must do so not in order to control, manage or run, but to empower
individuals, households and communities to deal with these problems and be self
reliant.
An added instrument in our arsenal of ideas is the recently launched Gauteng
Social Development Strategy. In this document there are areas of endeavour that
are characterised as strategic levers. All of us assembled here share a common
interest in some of the strategic levers.
We also believe that this is a strategy that will sustain development and
uplift our common humanity, reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure,
equitable and prosperous province. So let us take advantage of this summit and
interact on how this social development strategy may advance and strengthen our
common work.
Let me conclude by thanking you all for coming, in the true spirit of South
Africans, believing that we are the only ones that can solve our own problems.
In paraphrasing that great son of this soil, Moses Kotana let me say the future
of this country is in our hands and it will be what we make of it.
Issued by: Department of Social Development, Gauteng Provincial
Government
26 October 2006
Source: SAPA
