Honourable Speaker, Rudolph Phala;
Honourable Deputy Speaker, Joyce Mashamba;
Honourable Premier, Cassel Mathale;
Honourable Members of the Legislature and NCOP;
Members of the Executive Council;
Executive Mayors and Mayors of local municipalities;
Provincial Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, Mr Matome Mawasha; and other leaders of Chapter Nine and Ten Institutions;
Director General, Ms Rachel Molepo-Modipa;
Heads of Departments;
Leaders of Opposition Parties;
Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders, Kgoshi Dikgale;
Traditional leaders;
Leadership of various religious formations;
Leadership of Labour and Business; women, community and the youth;
Members of the media;
Distinguished guests, comrades, and friends;
The People of Limpopo.
Good Morning!
Honourable Speaker
This budget speech is presented against the backdrop of two important events in the history of South Africa. We are gathered here today, four days after the people of our country have celebrated the 19th year of the democratic breakthrough and just a day after Workers Day commemorations. These are indeed days of great historic significance that are worth celebrating as we continue to deepen, advance and consolidate the hard fought democratic gains made since 1994.
These days remind us of the many struggles and sacrifices that our heroes and heroines waged to defeat the unjust and inhumane system of apartheid in order to create conditions conducive for the realisation of a noble goal of building a caring and a better society. A society in which the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality will be something of the past. To us these days should serve as a source of inspiration and instil hope that the idea of creating a better life for all shall eventually be realised. We are committed towards making sure that as the department we continue to work tirelessly to improve the socio-economic conditions of our people.
Honourable Speaker
It is important to remind this august house that as part of the key mandates derived from the constitution, the Department of Social Development amongst others is responsible for the provision of comprehensive social services to vulnerable members of the society within sustainable human development framework. These services include, but are not limited to, the following—
- Early Childhood development, which focuses on access to Early Childhood Development services to create a firm foundation for positive developmental, health and learning outcomes.
- Youth development, with programmes that assist in developing young people to become active citizens that will play a vital role in both economic and social sectors of our province. Support programmes include skills and empowerment programmes to the youth, and funding of entrepreneurial and social cooperatives initiatives.
- Care and support to families, which include programmes that address the need to promote functional families and to prevent vulnerability in families.
- Services to older persons, which include supporting and promoting well-being, self-reliance, safety and security and to eliminate abuse of older persons.
- Substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation – creating awareness on abuse of substance and provide treatment and rehabilitation services.
- Sustainable livelihood programme, mobilise and facilitate the empowerment of communities towards self-reliance and sustainable development.
Honourable Members
It is against this background that I present this budget which will give effect to the plans and programmes we have for the financial year 2013/14. The National Development Plan correctly paints a vivid picture regarding the rising violence against women and children, the increasing numbers of low-income households and other social determinants requiring urgent attention.
In his recent State of Nation Address the President of our country, Mr Jacob Zuma, made reference to the area of social protection as contained in the NDP and key amongst them are the following:
- Coordination of social services and policies
- Early attention of household for poverty reduction and food security
- Expand public employment schemes
- Expand funding and skills in developmental social welfare services
- Social audit to strengthen community voice and have a national register of all people who receive different forms of assistance.
Honourable Members
In an endeavour to realise the strategic objectives of the department major strides have been made to ensure that we overcome the challenges confronting the department. However, we are still faced with serious challenges, the main one being budgetary constraints which as a result affect the following:
- Absorption of social work professionals
- The department failed to achieve its target of absorbing 300 bursary holders during the financial year 2012/13
- Retention of Social Auxiliary workers and Out of 800 social auxiliary learners taken in during the period between 2008/09 and 2011/12 financial years, only 180 of them were absorbed. The remaining 620 learners were not absorbed at the expiry of their contracts on 30 November 2012 and 31 March 2013.
- Retention of Masupa-Tsela youth pioneers Masupa-Tsela youth pioneer programme started with 275 volunteers in January 2009. The contracts of those who were still on the programme in the Financial Year 2012/13 were terminated on the 31st March 2013. This contributes to youth unemployment and poverty in the province.
- High vacancy rate
- Infrastructure backlogs
- Under-funding of service delivery partners, mainly the Non-profit organisations (NPOs) and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation
Honourable members
We are deeply concerned about the negative impact of alcohol and substance abuse on families, individuals and communities in general. We shall spare no effort to intensify strategies to combat alcohol and substance abuse. Anti-substance abuse is one of the priorities for the department and it needs strengthened collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the eradication of substance abuse in our province. The Minister of Social Development Ms Bathabile Dlamini has introduced the New Drug Authority and the Drug Master Plan which intends regulate the use of alcohol and other drug related substances.
Honourable Speaker
The Department of Health has developed a Draft Control of Marketing of Alcohol Beverages Bill which has the following objectives:
- The restriction of the promotion of alcoholic beverages
- The prohibition of sponsorship associated with alcohol
- The prohibition of free distribution and reward, with the aim of contributing to the reduction of alcohol related harm and the protection of public health and community well-being
During 2012 /13, we were able to reach 206 827 children and youth and in the 2013/14 financial year we are planning to reach additional 172 901. Of these children reached,112 912 were reached through Ke Moja “I am Okay” campaign, while others were reached through poppets prevention programs. Our plan is to intensify the anti-substance abuse mobilisation programme, with our main target being to reach 180 000 people.
The Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) providing prevention services will also be strengthened to make sure we cover more communities especially in hot spot areas. About 306 substance users accessed outpatient services offered by the funded NPOs. The budget allocated for this is R1,3 million.
Child care and protection, and victim empowerment
The province is still having children who still need protection due to family violence, rape and other forms of abuse. As we learnt with a great deal of outrage about the horrific mutilation and murder of a nine year old girl, Mutshidzi Ramanyimi, in Thohoyandou and this came just weeks after a two year old was raped and left for dead at Pulaneng village in Tzaneen and later died in hospital. These acts of violence against children, women and people with disabilities remain a challenge to the social fabric of the nation.
During the year under review 920 children were placed in Child and Youth Care Centers where they are provided with protection services. We will continue to place children in need of care as and when the need arises. 300 child and youth care workers will be trained through the Isibindi Programme and linked to 30 sites with the aim of intensifying community based care for vulnerable children in poverty pocket areas and areas with high level of maternal morbidity and mortality. A budget provision of R30 million has been set aside for this initiative.
The department will be rolling out child protection register sites from District level to the 25 Municipalities to make sure all cases of child abuse are reported immediately and recorded in the electronic register. This will minimise the late reporting of cases that need immediate attention. An amount of R17 million has been allocated to NPOs providing care and support to vulnerable children.
During the previous financial year we have managed to place 7 862 children in foster care to make sure they are provided with emotional care and support. In the current financial year 2013/14, additional 6’600 children will be placed in foster parenting. The province is currently having 66’000 children in the foster care register which should be reviewed on a continuous basis. This poses additional workload on the already severe shortage of Social Workers we have in the province.
Compatriots and friends
The province still experience incidences of violence against children, women and people with disabilities. Victim Empowerment programmes will be strengthened in this current financial year. About 60 Social workers will be trained and linked to the 43 victim empowerment centres. This will assist the NPOs that are providing the services to be able to have access to referral for cases that need trauma counselling and support. R10 million will be transferred to NPOs that are supporting victims of violence and crime in the five districts.
Children in conflict with the law are still provided with rehabilitation services. During the previous financial year, 2 520 children were referred for assessment by South African Police Services and placed under diversion programmes. The Department is planning to provide diversion services to 1939 youth in the current financial year. This programme aims to assist participants to develop socially acceptable behaviour and become law abiding citizens. A budget of R35 236 million has been set aside for this purpose.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programmes
Honourable Speaker
The ANC led-government has identified education as one of the key priorities in the country. In this regard the department has a responsibility to lay a solid foundation through the provision of ECD services. In addition to the 2020 registered ECD sites, I am happy to announce that we have further registered 297 more sites to make a total of 2317. In the current financial year we will increase the number to 2599.
The number of children from 0-4 years accessing ECD programmes is 117 759 and the number of children in funded sites is 75’439 as at the end of the 2012/13 financial. In the 2013/14 financial year 76’175 children will benefit from the subsidy.
The department will increase the subsidy from R12 to R15 to improve the needs in the ECD sites. 3000 ECD practitioners will be capacitated in terms of child care legislation. A total amount of R210 million has been allocated for this purpose.
Service of Older Persons
Compatriots
In order to improve the quality of life and increase life expectancy, the Department will be strengthening the intergenerational programmes in 2013/14 by ensuring the participation of 13000 older persons in active ageing activities. A budget provision of R30 million has been set aside for both community based care and residential facilities.
Service to Persons with Disability
Honourable Members
The number of persons with disabilities in protective workshops will increase from 1727 to 1752 in 2013/14. Services for People with Disabilities need to be strengthened; however, the Department is faced with infrastructure challenges to increase access. The budget allocated for services to Persons with Disabilities is R36,5 million. This budget includes services in residential facilities for People with Disabilities.
Care and Support to Families
Honourable Speaker
As a matter of fact family units constitute the nucleus of a community and therefore must be cared for and supported, particularly during times of distress. In this regard it is my pleasure to announce that we have surpassed our target of reaching 16 000 families which we set for the 2012/13 financial year by reaching 23 300 families through family preservation programme. For the 2013/14 financial year we will continue to support families in distress.
About 37 286 orphans and other vulnerable children by HIV/AIDS were provided with psycho-social services and material assistance, and 40 000 are targeted for 2013/14.
Non-profit Organisation (NPOs) support
We are pleased to announce that in the 2012/13 financial year the department has funded 1 822 NPOs, out of which 1226 are ECD centres. During 2013/14 we will support 1874 NPOs and an amount of R388 million has been set aside. The challenge still faced by the department is to make sure that there is capacity in all the organisations that are funded so that they comply with the NPO Act and Policy on Financial Awards and the PFMA.
Community Development Support Services
Honourable Speaker
Whereas poverty may affect a wide range of people in different circumstances, the most vulnerable groups are women, youth, children and people with disabilities. In keeping with the Millennium Development Goals and the commitment by our government with reference to halving poverty and unemployment by the year 2014, Social Development is also required to embark on programmes and projects that improve the livelihood of communities and households.
During the previous financial year, 23 005 households have been profiled out of 94 communities. The profiling assist the Department to understand the socio-economic conditions of households and communities in order to address challenges as experienced at that level. For 2013/14 financial year 25 000 households will be profiled.
The department has adopted a strategy which empowers individuals from profiled households to become both community and household change agents. The department has managed to place 2 528 change agents in developmental programmes. In 2013/14 financial year the department intends linking 5 000 individuals to job opportunities.
Honourable members
We are indeed committed to changing the lives of our people for the better. It should however be stressed that it is only through collaborative efforts that we can sustain our initiatives. The department will be strengthening development initiatives and programs through partnering with the National Development Agency (NDA) in order to deliver high impact projects that would create sustainable jobs. We will also partner with other departments and the private sector on high level impact projects with the intention to reduce cases of poverty in a more aggressive manner. The department has, for this purpose, set aside R29 million for sustainable livelihood programmes.
Access to food and availability of food is still a challenge in our communities. Part of the department’s mandate is provision of affordable and nutritious food. Through the Zero Hunger Programme the department will in collaboration with Tubatse Municipality launch a farming project aimed at improving food security in the area. A total of R1 million has been set aside.
A total of 4 001 families in distress were provided with food parcels and few with bereavement support in the previous financial year. We will continue in this current financial year, to provide nutritious food parcels to malnourished children and families in need.
Youth Development
Honourable Speaker
Youth unemployment remains a challenge in the province. We will endeavour to provide youth with relevant skills that will enable them to participate in the mainstream economy. As part of the provincial priority, the department managed to capacitate 2 567 youth on various skills in the previous financial year.
We continue to direct our resources to expand skills development by further training 200 youth on vocational skills and entrepreneurship within this 2013/14 financial year and 5 500 youth will benefit through the department outreach activities. The budget allocated is R3 million.
Honourable Speaker
The department has successfully implemented a programme that instils the spirit of nation building through hosting successful province-wide youth dialogues. The dialogues were intended to engage young people to understand their challenges with the aim to develop programmes that will respond to the identified challenges.
Institutional Capacity building & support
Honourable Speaker
In the 2012/13 financial year the department embarked on capacity building initiatives which focus on governance structures of civil society organisations, and to date 3 795 structures have been capacitated on governance matters to enable them to run their organisations effectively and efficiently. In the 2013/14 financial year we envisage to capacitate 1 900 Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) according to the capacity building framework.
The department intends introducing a standardised capacity building programme which will focus on broader strategic themes such as Basic Financial Management, Report Writing, Governance, NPO Registration and Compliance issues in line with Non-Profit Organisation Act. The budget allocated for this initiative is R3 million.
Honourable Speaker
In line with the national pronouncements on creation of jobs, the department has contributed to the creation of 27 000 by the social sector through the Expanded Public Works Programme programme. During the 2013/14 financial year, the department plans to further contribute to creation of more work opportunities through the implementation of Incentive Grant in Home Community Based Care, with an allocated budget of R8’984’721. It further plans to create an annual total of 2’300 work opportunities and train 1’751 individuals.
It is worth noting that, at National Kamoso Awards event held in Gauteng in 17 August 2012, Limpopo Province EPWP Social Sector, scooped two awards in the following categories:
(a) Best Province: Social Sector.
(b) Best Programme: National School Nutrition.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure remains a major challenge for the department in executing its duties. Of the 59 projects planned for 2008/09 only 45 were completed at an amount of R19 million. Twenty six (26) out of 46 projects planned for 2009/10 were completed at an amount of R65 million. Of the 20 incomplete projects carried forward from 2009/10 financial year, 11 were completed in 2011/12 financial year at an amount of R62 million. Nine projects remain incomplete to date. This is as a result of severe under funding of the department.
While the allocation for 2012/13 was only R75 million, there were commitments worth R135 million and accruals of R43 million from the 2011/12 financial year. In light of this, no new projects will be undertaken in 2013/14, the focus will be to complete the nine remaining projects with an amount of R74 million. An amount of R15 million has been set aside to deal with serious maintenance backlog in our aging infrastructure in the department.
The incomplete projects range from one stop centres, park homes, children’s home, treatment centre, staff offices and accommodation, drop in centres, community based rehabilitation centres.
Conclusion
It is my honour and a privilege to present to this august house the 2013/14 budget for the Department of Social Development, which represents a funding envelope of R1,377 billion allocated to various spending programmes as follows:
Programme R’000
Programme 1: Administration 304 550
Programme 2: Social welfare services 922 724
Programme 3: Development and support services 150 569
Total 1 377 843
Thank you
