Programme Director, Mr Wiseman Magasela
The Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Mr Vusi Madonsela
Acting CEO of the Financial and Fiscal Commission, Mr Bongani Khumalo
UNICEF Representative, Ms Aida Girma
Representatives from Business and Civil Society
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen, in 1955 thousands of people gathered at this very place to chart a way forward for the struggling masses of South Africa. At this gathering the Freedom Charter was discussed and adopted as a guide for the struggle with a detailed vision for a South African society based on solidarity, free from racism, sexism, poverty and inequality.
Given that the documents we are to discuss here today, deal with the issues of social security and social assistance, it is therefore appropriate for me to remind us of the vision that the people who gathered here had of a solidarity-based South African society.
The Freedom Charter stated that, “All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers; the state shall recognise the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits; men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work.
“There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers; miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work; child labour, compound labour, the tot system and contract labour shall be abolished.
“All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security; unused housing space to be made available to the people; rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no-one shall go hungry.
“A preventive health scheme shall be run by the state; free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with special care for mothers and young children; Slums shall be demolished, and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, crèches and social centres; The aged, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state.”
Colleagues I have quoted verbatim from the Freedom Charter. The ANC government has gone a long way to translating some of this vision into workable policies that make a difference in the lives of people. The Department of Social Development has had to play a specific role in indeed ensuring that food shall be plentiful and that no-one should go hungry.
The right to social security is entrenched in our Constitution and we have been very conscious that our social assistance programme does indeed, provide a basic safety net for the millions of South Africans especially the young, the aged and the disabled. The research reports discussed here today gives us an indication that we have indeed been instrumental in ensuring that vulnerable South Africans have access to food and other basic needs.
At the same time, we are about to engage in a public discussions around other aspects of comprehensive social security aimed at further meeting the aspiring vision for our society crafted here in 1955. This includes discussions around the implementation of a National Health Insurance scheme that does indeed, seek to build a health system that is preventative and accessible to all South Africans. Our proposals on retirement reform and savings also seek to provide for a system that will ensure that those who work do not retire into poverty and that all people are indeed protected in the event of their inability to continue working as a result of illness, disability or even the loss of work as a result of changing economic circumstances.
Today’s reports will discuss the impacts of the Child Support Grant on the wellbeing of children. The reports will give us an analysis of and the extent to which the global economic crisis impacted on our society. Between 2008 and 2009, the world was engulfed by an unprecedented economic crisis, which saw the collapse of many economies, resulting in job losses thus exacerbating the extent of poverty in families and communities.
As we live in a global village, South Africa’s experiences during this tough period were not in isolation from those of other nations of the world. Our own economy shed over one million jobs. This had a dire consequence on many individuals, families and communities. At the height of the recession, government continued to advance social policies to provide a shield for the vulnerable members of society including children, as part of efforts to create a caring society.
Amongst others, we expanded the social security services as a greatest measure to provide a shield for the poor. This is essentially because we have a responsibility to alleviate poverty and build social cohesion. This can indeed be achieved through inclusive and equitable social policies and initiatives that address the needs of the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, older persons and people with disabilities.
We expanded the social grants system through various measures such as raising the means test thresholds and the value of grants. We also provided Social Relief of Distress to families in need. This was in pursuance of rights guaranteed in the Constitution, which we seek to meet through government’s social protection framework that guarantees both social transfers and basic social services.
This framework is premised on three pillars.
- The first pillar focuses on targeted cash transfers for the vulnerable, including subsidised housing, free healthcare and free basic education for the poor, and a growing list of free social services
- The second pillar is about the introduction of a mandatory set social insurance schemes for all income groups up to a threshold, to provide benefits covering specified contingencies
- The third pillar is centered on voluntary savings over and above the second pillar – by providing top up cover for pensions, risk benefits and healthcare.
These are policies that inspire our commitment to human solidarity as we continue to build a brighter future for our country. Children form an important part of that future. Our interventions in respect of the first pillar of our social protection framework essentially geared towards the protection of children. These interventions take into account broader issues including the need for us to provide good health care, nutrition as well as early learning as well as a safe and stimulating environment for children.
Social grants, in particular the Child Support, Foster Care and Care Dependency grants provide a greater basis for these protection services. By end of March this year 10,3 million children were benefiting from the Child Support Grant, while foster care benefits were provided to over 512 000 children at the same period.
These cash transfers have made and continue to make a significant impact in the fight against child poverty. Most importantly, there is evidence that spending patterns in households that receive social grants are more focused on basic necessities like food, energy and education. At the same time, the development impact of these grants includes increased school attendance as well as improved health and nutrition amongst children.
As part of our expansionary policies, the value of social grants kept up relatively well with the inflation rate. In 2007, the means tests for all the grants were significantly raised, and in the case of the Child Support Grant it was doubled. The child support grant was extended to cover children up to 15 years at the beginning of 2009, and at the end of that year, the law was changed to extend the child benefits, over a three year period, to cover children up to their 18th birthday.
As government, we will ensure that the value of benefits keep pace with inflation. In line with our commitment in the department’s budget vote for 2011, we are continuing work to review the system of foster care in a quest to reduce backlogs. Our aim is to improve the speed at which faster care grants are processed and explore income support for adopted children as well as those in child-headed households and those placed with families who should not necessarily be deemed foster children.
Ladies and gentlemen, specific social assistance programmes will be enhanced through the gradual phase-out of the means test for the grants to provide secure government support to all South Africans so that even those with income share in the solidarity of the social assistance programme. Importantly, the consideration of the income of the spouse for the purpose of the old age benefit will be removed so that we do not disadvantage the spouse within employment income, the majority of whom are women.
Government’s aim is set singularly on the reform of the social insurance system by introducing a mandatory retirement system that: guarantees income for the elderly even when financial markets experience strain or collapse; to secure income in the event of disability and work interruption, and to secure income for survivor of breadwinners in the event of their deaths.
In addition, we will work towards improved regulation of the private sector that provide these insurance products but offer meagre benefits because of high costs, or fail to keep their promises as a result of poor performance. I must also highlight that government has already made significant progress in completing the documents on the reform of social security and retirement provisions
In conclusion, I hope that the contents of the reports we are launching today will highlight some of the initiatives, perhaps even in detail, on how we have performed to shield children and their families during the economic crisis. We are fortunate to have representatives from various sectors, whom I hope will also engage with the reports. Moving forward, I trust that these studies will spark debates in society and highlight the extent to which we have intervened to assist our people in their time of need.
Thank you.
Source: Department of Social Development
