Social Development, Union Buildings, Pretoria
20 November 2006
Welcome to the fourth quarter briefing of the Social Sector Cluster.
The Cluster's priorities are progressing well and some targets have been
exceeded.
Comprehensive Social Security
The total number of children under 14 years of age receiving the child
support grant now exceeds 7,6 million as at the end of October 2006. The age
breakdown is 4 million children under 7 years, and over 3,6 million children 7
to 14 years of age. As you are aware, four years ago, government extended the
Child Support Grant to children 7 to 14 years of age, with a target of 3,2
million. This has now been exceeded by 400 000.
The Department's of Social Development and Home Affairs are working on
ensuring that all eligible children have the requisite documents to ensure that
they access the Child Support Grant.
The establishment of the South African Social Security Agency is proceeding
well and the Agency continues to recruit staff in both National and Regional
offices.
Provision of Free Basic Services
Seventy four thousand households have been provided with sanitation since
April 2006. This has reduced the backlog to 3,6 million households, from the
previous figure of 3.7 million households.
The Department of Minerals and Energy is amending the Electricity
Regulations Act to improve provision of free basic electricity, which is
currently taking place on an ad hoc basis. The amendments will, amongst other
things, clarify arrangements between Eskom and Municipalities in areas where
Eskom is the service provider.
The number of people with access to free basic water has increased from 35,7
million (74,3% of the population) in June to 36,6 million (75,4%).
Comprehensive Healthcare
Ahead of the December vacation, departments have developed a multi-pronged
campaign to reduce non-natural deaths. It will focus on decreasing deaths from
road accidents, suicides and drowning. Issues of responsible substance use and
safe sex practices will be highlighted. The campaign envisages a critical
contribution by the media in helping to ensure that non-natural deaths are
reduced, compared with the last few years.
Progress has been made in developing the 2007 to 2011 National
Multi-sectoral strategy for HIV and AIDS in a process co-ordinated by the South
African National AIDS Council (SANAC). A draft National Strategic Plan is being
discussed with stakeholders and has served before SANAC. It is hoped that the
new National Strategic Plan will be launched on World Aids Day in Mpumalanga.
In addition, SANAC is being restructured with a view to strengthening its
functionality and its capacity to lead the national partnership against HIV and
AIDS.
Steady progress is being made in implementing the Comprehensive Plan to
combat HIV and AIDS. More than 270 sites have been accredited in all districts
with sites in 75% of all sub-districts. Correctional facilities are also being
accredited. By the end of September 2006, 213 828 patients had been enrolled
for Antiretroviral Treatment in the public health sector.
With respect to tuberculosis (TB), the Health Department has been working
with stakeholders, including the World Health Organisation and local scientists
to strengthen the current intervention strategy and implement a revised plan to
deal with drug resistant and extremely drug resistant TB. Special attention is
being given to ensuring that patients with TB present themselves to health
facilities early and that treatment is followed to completion to avoid the
development of drug resistance.
Food Security and Nutrition
Notable achievements are being made in the implementation of the
Agricultural Starter Pack Programme, designed to move people out of the Food
Parcel Scheme by growing their own food. A total of 66 364 food insecure
households have been reached in all nine provinces, ahead of the initial target
of 62 000.
Meeting the increasing challenge of Housing and Human Settlement
About 60 municipal councils have adopted a moratorium on the sale of
municipal land, in order to make land available close to economic centres for
middle and lower income people. This is in terms of the agreement between the
Ministry of Housing and the South African Local Government Association. Another
80 Councils are in the process of adopting resolutions in respect of placing a
moratorium on the sale of municipal land.
The Presidential Job Summit Programme, which seeks to deliver medium-to-high
density low income rental housing projects, has delivered about 2 000 units to
date. These are the following:
* 1 131 units in Mpumalanga
* 778 Units in Gauteng
* 300 Units in KwaZulu-Natal.
A new Community Rental Programme has been developed and is currently being
finalised for implementation.
Promotion of National Identity and Social Cohesion
As part of symbolic reparations, the process of renaming continues,
significant among which is the renaming of the Johannesburg International
Airport to OR Tambo International Airport. Involvement of the private sector is
being assessed.
Second Economy interventions: Social aspects of the Expanded Public Works
Programme
The target of deploying 3 000 Community Development Workers in
Municipalities has been exceeded. To date, 3 459 community development workers
are deployed in over 2 000 wards across all municipalities.
The Community Care Worker Youth Project is being implemented in partnership
with the European Union's Partnership for the Delivery of Primary Health Care,
and provincial departments of Limpopo and Free State. Preparations and plans
are advanced to implement it in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The
programme involves appointing young people to train as community care workers
while they provide services related to their training in their own
communities.
Improving the provision of General Education
As part of the targeting of over 500 schools to double the Maths and Science
higher grade graduate output to 50 000 by 2008, 80 Master Teachers for maths
and physical science Higher Grade were trained in September.
A total 5 233 schools have been provided with reading books for their
foundation phase classes and a further 6 000 identified to benefit at the
beginning of 2007. Approximately 1 000 teachers from these schools are
receiving training to improve their Maths, Science and Technology teaching, and
to improve their qualifications through the National Professional Diploma in
Education.
Cross-cutting priorities: Youth development
About 800 graduates have been placed in jobs since the inception of the
graduates' database in April.
To date, 8 160 young people have been registered in 16 different National
Youth Service registered projects. On Enterprise Finance, R300 million has been
invested in 8 000 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). Over 60% of SMME
loans have gone to women.
In terms of Business Development Support, 11 971 vouchers were issued to
young entrepreneurs, resulting in the establishment of 5 442 youth-owned
enterprises, and the creation and/or sustainability of 15 924 jobs.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
20 November 2006
