Master of Ceremonies, Ms Natalie Becker
Leader of the ANC in the Western Cape, Ms Lynne Brown
Convener of the Provincial Development Council, Ms Janine Myburg
General Manager DELL Computers Africa, Mr Stewart van Graan
Managing Director of The Big Issue Magazine, Ms Trudy Vlok
Distinguished leaders and captains of the business sector
Ladies and gentlemen
This gathering gives us an opportunity to reflect on how best we can work together to contribute to the broader development agenda. Such reflections in our view will allow us to correct the wrongs of the past whilst also charting a way forward which will ultimately leave a lasting dent on poverty and underdevelopment.
Our ultimate long term goal remains the eradication of poverty through giving the world a more human face (to borrow from the title of the Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane's 2003 book).
Such a human face requires that we build a more caring society, together, for the mark of a noble society is found not in how it protects the most powerful but how it defends the most vulnerable.
The building of this caring society requires of us to re-double our efforts, directed at addressing the twin challenges of poverty and underdevelopment. It is by now common knowledge that one of the mechanisms to fight poverty is the creation of work opportunities.
This is the motivator behind the determination of the African National Congress government to renew our commitment to fight poverty and create decent work opportunities.
Ladies and gentlemen, our Constitution enshrines the rights of all people in our country to dignity, equality before the law, freedom and security. The Constitution commits government to take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate housing, healthcare, education, food, water and social security.
Over the last 16 years, government has been hard at work to fulfil this Constitutional mandate. It is no exaggeration to say that the last 16 years have been particularly notable with significant reduction in the level of severe poverty and improvement in the quality of life of ordinary millions of South Africans.
A range of social protection measures were also introduced by government to promote social inclusion and restore humanity dignity, particularly targeting the most vulnerable members of our society. These include the expansion of social assistance programme which to date benefit just over 14 million eligible South Africans, the provision of low cost housing, free basic services and healthcare to name a few.
While much progress has been made and we acknowledge this progress with pride, given the fact that no government has ever achieved such progress as we did within the short space of time, the single most important challenge facing South Africa is breaking the grip of poverty on a substantial portion of our population.
It is estimated that close to 47 percent of our population could be living below the per capita poverty line of R322 per month. Unemployment rates are generally high, especially for African women and female headed households.
As you all know, poverty impacts on the wellbeing of children. In South Africa, six out of 10 of our children live in poverty, with children in rural areas more likely to be poor than those in urban areas. Child poverty is the denial of a range of rights laid out in our Constitution.
Children living in poverty do not only struggle for basic survival, they are also deprived of a childhood, of intellectual stimulation and the opportunity to realise their personal aspirations.
In addition, thousands of older persons still face physical, financial and emotional abuse, often at the hands of their own families. The HIV and AIDS is having a devastating impact on families and communities as more people succumb to the disease.
We appreciate the recent intervention by President Zuma and Minister of Health for their visionary and bold leadership in the fight against the epidemic. People with disabilities often lack access to services. Even the able-bodied people in the economically active age groups are often not employed in spite of their willingness to work.
Yes, there is a huge population out there for which we must create a better life and more opportunities to help themselves. We will not shy away from this enormous, but important task because these are the founding principles of the African National Congress (ANC).
Ladies and gentlemen, addressing these problems cannot be the responsibility of government alone. This is why the work of The Big Issue is so important.
I understand that The Big Issue is in projects that provide a means of restoring the dignity of homeless people by engaging them in selling a social issues magazine from which they could derive income.
These and other projects will contribute directly or indirectly to the alleviation of poverty through job creation. They will become multiplier effects in the economy that can only be of benefit to the overall social and economic development trajectory of our country.
In this context, I wish to share with you a few thoughts on how we can collectively tackle these challenges.
Firstly, there is a need for us to work together and coordinate our efforts aimed at poverty eradication. As government we are committed to work together with all sectors of society to make a big impact in finding jobs and improving the livelihood for our people so as to fight poverty.
In working together, I hope that not only will we be able to find jobs for the poor together, but I also hope that we will be able to revive the bonds that bind us together as a nation.
Secondly, increasing access to education for poor children is an important element of poverty reduction. I was therefore very pleased to learn that The Big Issue has initiated, is the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme.
Our endeavour to build a caring society cannot be fully realised unless we invest adequately in the future of our country, the children. Ladies and gentlemen, the early years of a child's life are regarded as critical stages of human development.
Early Childhood Development is one of the key priorities of social development and of government as a whole. The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare makes provision for pre-school children and notes that children from disadvantage families are in particular in need of ECD services.
Ladies and gentlemen, the best way to break the vicious cycle of poverty, which leads to homelessness and many other social problems, is to ensure that children from poor households receive at least a good quality and complete primary education.
This then leads to steadfastness for children to complete tertiary education as well as improvement in life skills. Investment in this programme is an investment in our country's future. Most ECD facilities are run by welfare organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisations and private providers.
Provincial departments of social development provide subsidies to children from poor households. As part of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), unemployed parents and caregivers are provided with skills and job creation opportunities. I am counting on all of you to work with us to achieve open doors of opportunities and secure a brighter for our children.
Thirdly, the best contribution we can make to poverty alleviation is to empower vulnerable people to become the masters of their own development. As Professor Muhammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and the 2006 Nobel Prize winner said:
"People are able to get themselves out of poverty. All they need is opportunity. They are not expecting charity or instructions. Charity is good, but it is not enough. If you turn it into a business proposal, then it is very powerful as it can work by itself".
This is a new social development paradigm that we are infusing into our work under the sustainable livelihood approach. It is for this reason that we welcome and cherish The Big Issue's innovative ideas aimed at addressing the challenges of poverty and social inclusion.
The Big Issue is a social enterprise vehicle for enhancing a more inclusive development process. It enables the homeless people to tap into their own potential for their own development. The many success stories and testimonies we heard this morning attest to this.
Fourthly, the premise of our government's approach is that the fight against poverty, HIV and AIDS and unemployment demands the contribution of the business sector.
Thanks to Ms Lynne Brown who brought business and civil society together this morning. We need the power and the spirit of entrepreneurship inherent in the business sector to provide the kind of sustainable solutions we can scale up our interventions to meet our population's needs.
Ladies and gentlemen, given the complexity of challenges confronting our nation, partnerships are particularly important. And that is why it is fitting that we gather here this morning to work towards finding creative solutions to tackle one of our country's most complex and pressing social challenges.
It is not up to government alone to solve, nor is it the sole domain of NGOs like the Big Issue, or local councils or communities. It is something that must be done together, hand in hand.
Distinguished leaders and captains of the business sector, The Big Issue deserves greater support for the critical social role it plays in our society. I therefore take this opportunity to thank the corporate sector and all other institutions that provide generous support and funding to this initiative.
Without the funding and resources, a project of this nature would not succeed. I also hope that the private sector will invest and engage in other social development initiatives which have the potential to graduate our people out of poverty.
There are many opportunities for collaboration with business in the social development sector which can result in both economic and social returns for our country. There is no question that excellent synergy can be forged between the public and private sectors, recognising and drawing upon the expertise and legitimate objectives of both parties.
The Department of Social Development also funds civil society and community based organisations to provide family oriented services that prevent or alleviate homelessness such as parenting programmes, family enrichment and reunification programmes, domestic violence and support services.
Strengthening families aims to encourage social agencies and families to work out joint solutions by providing coordinated support to obviate homelessness.
The Department of Social Development has finalised the strategy for children working and living on the street and we are committed to begin the process of finding a new approach to prevention and total eradication of the already existing social problems.
And we acknowledge that some of the best experiences, information and advice will be found outside of government. That is where organisations such as The Big Issue come in.
As government, we need to learn from your invaluable experience of working with homeless people. I appeal to you to work together with us to find a long term national response to homelessness by sharing your experience with us.
We need your participation and those of other partners in the development and business sector to ensure that our vision of building a caring society is achieved. Your effort to empower the most vulnerable members of our society has to be taken as example of innovative service delivery.
As Minister of Social Development, I would like to help ensure that a more coordinated, seamless approach to support services between government and civil society, community based and faith based organisations is developed.
This approach should increase opportunities for homeless people and provide them with a pathway to social and economic participation.
In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge once again, the many people in this room who work tirelessly to provide support for vulnerable people in our country.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
8 June 2010
Source: Department of Social Development (http://www.dsd.gov.za/)
