Question No 23
Ms N D Ntwanambi (ANC-WC) to ask the Deputy President:
(1) Whether, as part of his anti-poverty campaign, he or the Presidency has received any reports regarding the progress made by municipalities in the fight against poverty; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether all municipalities have functioning (a) indigent policies and/or (b) programmes in place that are targeted at the poor; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether the government has any plans to assist poor municipalities in playing a critical role in advancing (a) the fight against poverty, (b) social marginalisation of the poor, (c) child-headed households and (d) senior citizens; if not, why not; if so, what plans?
Reply:
(1) The War on Poverty Campaign is part of the Comprehensive Antipoverty Strategy of government. It is an urgent and intermediate intervention against poverty.
Progress reports on the War on Poverty Campaign are submitted to the National War Room that in turn briefs the Presidency. We do not just receive reports but we also undertake regular verification visits to areas where the War on Poverty Campaign has been launched to review progress for ourselves.
(2) According to our monitoring reports, all municipalities have indigent policies. Municipalities complete a template every quarter that reports on whether they have indigent registers, how many people are registered, and the number of persons benefiting from free basic services.
Free basic services such as water and electricity are an example of local government programmes that are targeted at the poor and are being implemented in most municipalities
(3) National government through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs currently has three programmes that support municipalities with initiatives that target the poor. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant enables municipalities to roll-out basic services to poorer communities; and the Siyenza Manje programme provides technical hands on support to municipalities.
The Community Work Programme is an initiative designed to provide an employment safety net, by providing participants with a predictable number of days of work per month - thus supplementing their existing livelihood strategies and affording them a basic level of income security through work.
The programme is targeted at unemployed and/or underemployed people of working age, including those whose livelihood activities are insufficient to lift them out of poverty. The programme currently has 75 000 participants.
More details on these programmes can be obtained from the Minster of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
In addition to this, government has a plethora of programmes that address the social marginalisation of the poor.
For example, we have significantly increased the number of no fee schools, school feeding programmes, early childhood facilities and many other programmes.
The Department of Social Development has programmes for child-headed households. These include foster care, monitoring by social workers and Justice Officials as per the Children's Act and the provisions of our Constitution. We also work in partnership with non-state actors to address the issues of children in our country.
With regard to senior citizens, per capita grants are given to institutions that provide residential care for senior citizens. Social programmes to keep our senior citizens involved in the social life of our communities are being implemented across the country. We have also taken a conscious decision to include the affairs of senior citizens in all our new programmes such as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. Most recently, a South African female senior citizens football team represented the country abroad.
I thank you.
Source: The Presidency
