Honourable Chairperson
Honourable Minister of Social Development, Mme Bathabile Dlamini
Honourable Members of the National Assembly
MECs of Social Development here present
Distinguished Senior Government officials from Social Development, Social Development Social Security Agency (SASSA) and National Development Agency (NDA)
Representatives of business and civil society organisations
Ladies and gentlemen
Honourable Chairperson,
Good afternoon, sanibonani, molweni, goeie middag.
President Zuma in the 2011 State of the Nation Address stated that we have to link social grant recipients to economic opportunities. This is in line with general consensus that grants should be seen as a hand-up rather than a hand out.
One of the responsibilities delegated to me by Minister Dlamini is to give leadership to the community development programmes of the Department of Social Development (DSD).
In line with this responsibility it is therefore with a great sense of commitment and determination that I stand before this august house to motivate Budget Vote 19 of the Department of Social Development for the financial year 2011/12.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Like all previous versions, this Budget Vote is informed by the mandate given to us by the people of this country in successive elections. A mandate to better their lives. No more and no less. We will not treat this budget as an accounting exercise to talk about how much money we received and what we’ve spent. We have to give an account for the lives we have touched with the limited resources at our disposal. Have we addressed the enormous social challenges we face as a country?
Honourable Chairperson,
The mandate of the Department of Social Development is to ensure effective protection against vulnerability by creating an enabling environment for the provision of a comprehensive, integrated and sustainable social development service.
This means first and foremost that we, as a department, must play a key role in tackling the major challenges facing our nation, to guarantee the appropriate framework, a proper environment and effective assistance to achieve the goal of eradicating poverty and improving the standard of living for our people.
As a department, our main priority is creating a stronger society in which our people can engage in meaningful work. But the bigger challenge is how we create a society where citizens have the opportunity to determine for themselves what type of future they desire for their communities.
For us to achieve this, demands that we will all have to be innovative to realise this vision. We have to think differently, act differently and deliver differently to make a real impact in our communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that we have to work together, we have to pool ideas, mobilise resources and knuckle down to implementing those plans and resolutions we have drafted in those many conferences, summits and workshops we have attended.
Parachuting programmes and organisations into communities will not create sustainable projects or add to meaningful change. People know what is happening in their communities and we must give due consideration to their views when we design our intervention programmes. I have seen how the project in Meriting, led by Mrs Evah Malatsi is running a successful programme for their community.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In line with government’s policy to bring services closer to our people, we will launch the campaign: “Taking DSD to Communities” in the current financial year. The purpose of this campaign is to consult with our people within the context of community development with a special emphasis on poverty eradication, ensuring food security and job creation.
The National Development Agency will be a key partner in this programme. We will also collaborate with other government departments, State agencies and organisations to ensure that communities benefit practically from this programme.
Let us be practical and start doing the right thing. Our country has a history of community and social mobilisation. That was how we defeated apartheid and I have no doubt in my mind that this is how we can defeat inequality and poverty.
In this spirit and with our renewed determination and vigour to contribute to a winning nation, the focus will be on repositioning our efforts, with a particular focus on:
- Early childhood education
- Community mobilisation campaigns;
- Capacity building of community based organisations;
- Establishment or strengthening of community development forums;
- Youth development;
- Sustaining efforts to combat the scourge of HIV and AIDS
- Substance and alcohol abuse
This has been achieved through a variety of food security and nutrition programmes such as household and community food gardens, community nutrition centres and soup kitchens initiated and supported by the department.
I wish to report that during the period under review, there has been some encouraging progress. In the last financial year, two hundred thousand people were linked to food security and nutrition programmes.
I can also report that we are making steady progress in the expansion of the Food Bank model throughout the country. To date more than three hundred and twenty thousand people have access to food through these food security and nutrition programmes.
Vulnerable households now have regular access to diverse, nutritious and affordable food. To strengthen and expand these initiatives, we will explore other food security and nutrition initiatives including Brazil’s comprehensive Zero Hunger programme.
Honourable Chairperson, we remain focused on achieving Goal One of the eight Millennium Development Goals. Reducing extreme poverty and hunger is a non-negotiable. To this effect, the department will continue our effort to conduct household profiling as part of the War on Poverty Campaign. To date, over one hundred thousand households in vulnerable communities have been profiled.
We will intensify our effort by training field workers, including community development workers to ensure that data gathered during the household profiling is reliable enough to enable better planning.
Honourable members, we need to institutionalise and professionalise the training of community development workers. Not to an extent that they become too theoretic but in order to win this war on poverty.
In this regard a National Community Development Policy Framework has been developed and will be finalised during the course of this financial year.
In addition the process of standardisation of the training of community development practitioners has been completed with the production and registration of a 4-year Bachelor of Community Degree.
The department will start consultations with all institutions of higher learning offering community development qualifications to adopt this standardised degree. We will put all our efforts into ensuring that this is successful.
Chairperson, I am happy to report that we have improved our services to Non-Profit Organisations (NPO). Registration times have decreased, all nine provinces have been assisted with structures for the support of registration of NPOs’ and we have developed funding guidelines. We urge members to encourage communities to register their NPOs, not only to access funding but in order to operate with a sense of integrity.
During this fiscal year, the department will double its efforts directed towards the attainment of a long and healthy life for all South Africans. This we will do by contributing to national efforts to arrest the spread of HIV and AIDS infections.
The focus is on implementation of prevention and social behaviour programmes targeting farming communities and informal settlements. We will also continue to implement the Home Community Based Care programme to support individuals, families and communities affected by HIV and AIDS. We will continue to conduct community conversations as part of the National Strategic Plan on HIV, AIDS, TB and Malaria to build AIDS competent communities.
We are working hard to ensure that children affected by HIV and AIDS receive appropriate psychosocial and other support through monitoring the implementation of the national coordinated response for orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. The fact that there are child-headed households in our country causes me many sleepless nights.
Ladies and gentlemen, development strategies cannot overlook the importance of population factors if they aim to contribute to sustainable development, improved quality of life and poverty eradication.
Far from being merely a question of numbers, there are critical linkages between population and sustainable development.
Accordingly, the National Population unit will continue to implement research, capacity building and information, education and communication projects to further promote implementation of the South African population policy.
The focus will be on the social sector with the view to integrate population concerns into local government’s Integrated Development Plans (IDP) with emphasis on gender equity, gender equality, women empowerment, youth development, HIV and AIDS, migration and environmental concerns, especially in rural areas.
The issue of population is a primary concern for us as a country in the realisation of sustainable development and economic growth. We therefore need to pay special attention to the need to reap the benefits of having a large youth population for the benefit of the country and our young people.
South Africa will continue to play progressive role in international population affairs. Starting this year, the department will be hosting the Annual Board Meeting and Conference of the Partners in Population and Development (PPD), which represents an alliance of 25 developing countries that promote population, development, as well as sexual and reproductive health rights.
Honourable Chairperson and Members of Parliament,
Young people continue to be a major focus for us this year which has been proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Youth. The year aims to encourage dialogue and understanding across generations and promote the ideals of peace, respect for human rights and freedoms, and solidarity.
In pursuit of these goals, we will continue to target our youth in all quarters, The Masupatsela Youth Pioneer Programme’s prime objective is to empower young people to take an active role in their communities and to be responsible citizens.
Sixty percent of the youth recruited to the programme have been linked to meaningful job opportunities such as Community Development Assistants, Youth Ambassadors while others obtained scholarships to study towards a degree in social work.
Honourable Members, encourage, especially, the young women in your constituencies to pursue their education at all costs. There has been alarming reports of teenage pregnancy and we have to do everything in our power to eradicate the factors that give rise to this great challenge.
Honourable members,
The realisation of these strategic priorities that the Honourable Minister Dlamini and I have outlined here today would require a deep appreciation of the fact that the realisation of national goals will necessarily involve the building of social partnerships in which all stakeholders have a genuine role to play.
We would like to put on record our appreciation for the work of civil society, community based organisations and to all our social partners. Their generosity during the recent natural disasters that befell our county has been a good example of social solidarity.
Before I conclude I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to Minister Dlamini for her inspiring leadership, Director-General, Mr Vusi Madonsela, Acting CEO of South African Social Security Agency, Mr Coceko Pakade and CEO of National Development Agency, Mrs Vuyelwa Nhlapo for their spirit of cooperation and support.
I also express my gratitude to all staff members, especially Mr Peter Netshipale, Dr Kganakga, Ms Sadi Luka and Mr Jacques van Zuydam for their assistance since my arrival in the department. Also a word of thanks to the staff members in my office and the office of Minister Dlamini, your contribution does not go unnoticed.
Honourable members, I wish to thank the Members of the Portfolio Committee under the leadership of Ms Yolanda Botha for playing their oversight role so diligently. They have asked the hard questions and where necessary drawn our attention to areas where we have to do better. I hope not to disappoint them. I ask that Honourable members support this Budget Vote.
God bless, I thank you.
Source: Department of Social Development
