Z Skweyiya: Launch of Dutyini Sustainable Livelihoods Pilot
Project

19 May 2006

Programme Director
Chief Nonyaniso Fikeni
Distinguished guests

Thank you for the invitation to launch the Pilot Project on Linking Grants
to Sustainable Livelihoods and Co-operatives.

The concept was born from efforts of the department to provide holistic
services in which social security, welfare services and development programmes
are integrated to ensure sustainability of the livelihoods of the poor, the
vulnerable and the marginalised.

In October 2005, the Department of Social Development undertook a campaign
to facilitate the registration of qualifying children and families to receive
Child Support and Foster Care Grants here in Dutyini. It was during this
campaign that an opportunity to pilot the concept of ‘Linking Grants to
Sustainable Livelihoods and Co-operatives’ was presented.

The design and implementation of the Dutyini Sustainable Livelihoods project
has to be understood within the context of our government’s commitment to
international and national development obligations to improve the quality of
life of all our citizens and to halve poverty by 2015. It is by intention that
my Department has chosen Dutyini, within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality,
which is one of the thirteen rural nodes of the Integrated Sustainable Rural
Development Programme, to pilot this project. The levels of poverty in this
area are very high and as a result most of the members of this community are
beneficiaries of different forms of social grants.

While appropriate social security provisioning plays a critical role in
addressing the situation of the poorest of the poor, without other
complementary measures, social grants are bound to lead to dependency and
stigmatisation. Those affected must therefore be empowered through greater
access to assets, resources and opportunities.

The exclusive objective and justifying mission of the sustainable
livelihoods programme is to develop, document and replicate a development
approach that can promote the restoration of grant beneficiaries as quickly as
possible to self-reliance. This can be achieved through effective linkage of
grants to the livelihoods strategies of beneficiaries and co-operatives.

As in other parts of the country, Dutyini was once devastated by natural
disasters. However the Dutyini community has remained resilient to the course
of wishing to improve their lives.

It will be improper not to acknowledge the dedication showcased by community
members of Dutyini in participating in the initial stages of the Sustainable
Livelihoods Pilot Project. They have sought to embrace what President Thabo
Mbeki has aptly termed “the age of hope”. They have participated in ensuring
that the economic upswing in our country does not benefit the rich alone but is
indeed shared with all South Africans.

The success of this initiative relies mainly on the cooperation of the
project members with the support from local stakeholders and government
departments. It was brought to my attention that of the 59 people involved in
this pilot project, all except one are women. Without being biased, it is a
fact that women are more active in ensuring that the well-being of families and
their communities is maintained. Let us not forget that when women marched to
Pretoria fifty years ago, the history of South Africa changed for good.

The best we can do as government and other stakeholders in celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of the march to the Union building is to support this
Silindithemba Co-operative project.
These women are continuing the rich tradition and legacy of such great leaders
of our people as Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Ellen Khuzwayo, Albertina Sisulu,
Adelaide Tambo and the many unnamed faithful of our struggle, the majority of
whom live in the rural areas.

As we celebrate twelve years of a democratic South Africa and ten years of
the founding of the Constitution, which is a huge milestone in the history of
South Africa, we acknowledge that there is also a huge backlog for service
delivery to the marginalised people of South Africa. On the other hand, the
onus is on us as citizens of this country to inculcate the culture of taking
initiatives (Vuk’uzenzele principle).

It is against this background that the “Sweat Equity Principle” which aims
to promote ownership of development initiatives by beneficiaries will be tested
during the implementation of this pilot project. In this regard, project
beneficiaries contribute ‘in kind’ towards their development project. The
foundation of this principle is based upon an understanding that our people do
not just want to be passive recipients of government grants and services but
also active partners in their development.

It is further based on motivational African idiomatic expressions that
challenge people to take responsibility to achieve self-reliance, (umuntu
uphila ngezithukuthuku zakhe). In this regard, participants in this project,
most of whom are women, have earned R120 000, as their ‘sweat equity’ towards
the project.

The ultimate goal of this pilot project is to document and implement a local
‘best practice’ model to complement grants and ultimately facilitate the exit
of those able bodied and young beneficiaries through appropriate linkage to
sustainable and viable enterprises or other income generating opportunities.
The documented model should be replicated and used in other parts of the
country to ensure that it is fully entrenched in the planning and
implementation of community development programmes.

This project has demonstrated the importance of co-operative governance by
the involvement of all spheres of government. The involvement of private
sector, state owned enterprises, local non governmental organisations (NGOs)
and community based organisations (CBOs) has further cemented government’s
commitment to public-private partnerships as a way of ensuring long-term
sustainability.

It is against this background that I acknowledge and affirm the contribution
of the Adopt-a-School Foundation headed by Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, who have built
classrooms and an administration block at this School, Transnet Foundation
which have donated containers for the Silindithemba Co-operative, local
businesses which contributed food for the team that was upgrading the school
surroundings, the Alfred Nzo District Municipality and the Umzimvubu Local
Municipality for their continuing support.

In conclusion, let me congratulate the Silindithemba Co-operative members
for the brave and sterling step they undertook in changing their lives. It is
my hope that they will receive the necessary support they require in bringing
this project to fruition. Moreover, it is with discipline and accountability
that they will succeed in pursuit of self-sufficiency and self-reliance. They
need to remember that government funds need to be accounted for, whatever
assets will be made available to the project; do not belong to individuals but
to the project itself.

They need to jealously guard these resources and ensure that they are
enjoyed by even generations to come. I want to end by ensuring these women and
the entire community that my Department, both at national, provincial and local
level, is committed to accompanying you all the way until the project can stand
on its own and fly without any assistance.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
19 May 2006