23 October 2006
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa today unveiled the Social Development
Strategy that aims to reduce the number of households and communities living in
poverty by 2014 through, among others, increasing the capacity of the
unemployed to generate their own income.
The strategy is aimed at ensuring that the Gauteng province is able to
harness its efforts of providing services to communities through social
cohesion.
The strategy will work in conjunction with other provincial strategies such
as the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS), the globally competitive city
region, the Human Resource Development (HRD) strategy to maximise the capacity
of the individual, the family or household and the community to participate
productively in society both socially and economically.
"This strategy will assist us to avoid inequality, marginalisation and
exclusion of the poor, senior citizens, young people, women and people with
disability in an effort to consolidate Gauteng as a globally competitive city
region."
"It will ensure that government departments and the local sphere of
government collaborate with each other to enable households to access a
comprehensive set of services including shelter and nutrition, infrastructure
and services, education and health," said Shilowa.
The strategy provides a framework for sustainable social development that
promotes a caring society, offering social protection and investing in human
and social upliftment. This will enable government to better tackle the
challenges of poverty and create future generations who are well integrated
into the economic, social and cultural mainstream.
Social investment projects will be implemented at household and community
level. These will include co-ordination between income generation initiatives,
social protection programmes, Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), Small
Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
(BBBEE) development programmes and the work of the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
(GEP).
In particular, a Crafts Marketing Strategy and a Craft Emporium will be
established to create capacity within the unemployed for income generation.
This shift will require active engagement with communities in deriving detailed
needs statements, and preparing relevant responses. Through this partnership,
government will provide social relief to individuals, families and communities
in distress and provide disaster relief programmes and emergency housing.
The provincial government will allocate adequate resources and provide the
required leadership to ensure success by providing a safety net and a minimum
level of income for individuals, households and communities when people become
unemployed, sick or otherwise unable to work. It will also provide affordable
health services for people who are sick and people with disabilities.
The strategy will ensure that departments and municipalities collaborate
with each other to enable households to access a comprehensive set of services
including shelter and nutrition, infrastructure and services, education and
health.
It aims, further, to effectively translate social development inputs into
socio-economic development outcomes by providing the necessary educational
resources and social infrastructure to enable people to increase their
potential for earning income.
The current strategy will be reviewed and evaluated in order to build on
successes and address weaknesses. This includes assessing gaps between
identified and actual outcomes and making necessary adjustments.
For more information contact:
Fred Mokoko
Tel: (011) 355 7977
Cell: 082 447 8407
Issued by: Department of Social Development, Gauteng Provincial
Government
23 October 2006
