Development, National Assembly, Cape Town
28 March 2006
Madam Speaker,
Honourable Deputy Minister,
Honourable members,
MECs for Social Development,
Distinguished guests,
Representatives of civil society in the public gallery,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my honour to present to you Budget Vote 18, which speaks to the social
development dimensions of the âage of hopeâ to which President Mbeki referred
to in his State of the Nation Address earlier this year. Most social indicators
confirm that our people are firmly convinced that our country has entered its
age of hope. This budget vote compliments our peopleâs confidence in our
government and details actions that will attempt to meet the expectations of
those people in our society who continue to live in extreme poverty and are
marginalised or face particular vulnerabilities.
Over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period government has set
aside R265 billion to meet these expectations through social grant transfers,
integrated development programmes, comprehensive social protection and
developmental social welfare services.
Madame Speaker, in this year during which we celebrate the 10th anniversary
of the Constitution it is appropriate that we remind ourselves that
governmentâs social development programmes are a response to the constitutional
imperative to heal the divisions of the past, restore the dignity of our
people, free their potential to participate in the economy and build a just
society based on democratic values and fundamental human rights. In line with
these principles and the broad goal of social transformation, we have finalised
the Older Persons and the Childrenâs Bills.
Let me take this opportunity to thank Members of Parliament, the Law
Commission, various civil society organisations and the faith sector for the
assistance they have given us in finalising these two key pieces of
legislation.
Strengthening Childrenâs Rights and access to Services:
With respect to the Childrenâs Bill the only work that is outstanding is the
finalisation of the Section 76 parts of the Childrenâs Bill. We are well on our
way to strengthening childrenâs rights and improving their access to quality
services. We will complete work on the estimation of the total cost of
implementation by the end of April this year and there are already indications
that the R8.4 million set aside in the national budget for some elements of
implementation over the MTEF period may have to be increased.
To complement these efforts and ensure that the sector contributes
positively to growth and skills development we have finalised the social
sectorâs plan for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Through the
equitable share allocation provinces will receive R4.2 billion to be utilised
for early childhood development as well as for the up scaling of home and
community based care and support for people affected by HIV and AIDS,
particularly children. Some of these children have already been identified in
the child protection registers, which are operational in all the provinces.
Strong and effective community child care forums are a vital mechanism in
childcare and protection and the Department will be supporting the
establishment of these forums in as many communities as possible. These efforts
will be complemented by the policy framework on vulnerable and orphaned
children.
Madame Speaker, all this work is being undertaken as part of governmentâs
scheme for comprehensive social security and protection. This scheme is an
important element of the social sectors contribution to the Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA). The Deputy Minister in her
presentation will elaborate on the key pillars of the integration of the
Gwebindlala and social security programmes so as to promote targeted economic
growth.
Comprehensive Social Security Scheme and South African Social Security
Agency (SASSA):
I am pleased to inform this house that much progress has been made with
regards to implementation of the first pillar of our comprehensive social
security framework. In this regard we now provide direct social assistance
transfers to over 11 million South Africans including the elderly, people with
disabilities and children who are vulnerable. Three years ago we set a target
of reaching 3.2 million children living in poverty through the child support
grant. We have exceeded this target and currently provide assistance to more
than 7 million children through the child support grant. Research studies have
consistently confirmed that these grants not only reduce the occurrence of
hunger and extreme poverty, they facilitate household access to basic services
and economic opportunities.
In line with these positive social and economic impacts and projections on
the numbers of eligible beneficiaries, R201 billion will be spent over the MTEF
period on direct cash transfers and their administration. Government has
already announced that effective from 1 April this year, the care dependency,
old age and disability grants will increase by R40 to R820 per month. The
foster care grant by R30 to R590 and the child support grant by R10 to
R190.
The first phase of the establishment of the national social security agency
is on track for completion by 31 March 2006. As formalised in a MinMec meeting
with the MECs for Social Development in the provinces yesterday the agency will
initially take over social assistance payments in Gauteng, the Western Cape and
the Northern Cape provinces, with the process being completed for other
provinces by March 2007. We have already entered into contractual agreements
with provinces to ensure the seamless transfer of staff and the uninterrupted
provision of service.
Let me take this opportunity to express my appreciation to organised labour
and the newly appointed CEO and staff of the agency who have worked with the
Department in ironing out staff transfer and migration issues. We are confident
that the social security agency will equitably enhance the quality of life of
our people whilst attending to issues of efficiency, system integrity and
economy.
Although we are proud of our achievements with respect to non-contributory
social security schemes we are committed to addressing the challenges faced
with respect to contributory social security schemes. All of governmentâs work
in this and the area of retirement reform will be guided by social
transformation and equity principles which are directed at:
* Protection against poverty in old age, during disability or upon the death
of a wage earner;
* Equitable access to retirement provisions for those gainfully employed;
* Improved consumer protection for those benefiting from any of the pillars of
the social security system;
* Equity between men and women;
* The guaranteeing and provision of predictable minimal benefits;
* The democratisation of the management structures of pension schemes;
and
* The reaffirmation of the role of the State in ensuring the fulfilment of the
delivery of benefits.
Madam Speaker, I can not overemphasise the importance government attaches to
the issue of the integrity of our social security system.
The Integrity of our Social Security System:
In order to enhance the integrity of our systems we are focusing our efforts
on the establishment of key oversight institutions such as the social security
inspectorate and on the development of effective monitoring, evaluation and
impact assessment systems. We have set aside R25.5 million and R19.4 million
respectively for these purposes over the MTEF period.
Our successful antifraud campaign which has over the past year saved the
State in excess of R400 million has laid a solid foundation for the work of the
social security agency. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has already
prosecuted more than 500 of the more than 12 000 civil servants who we believe
are either involved in corruption or are defrauding the social security system.
We have also identified a further 35,000 suspect cases through our antifraud
hotline for further investigation. In this yearâs budget we have set aside R47
million for the acceleration of our ground breaking collaboration with the
Special Investigation Unit (SIU).
Lessons learnt from the collaboration with the SIU have in turn improved our
review processes of the recipients of disability grants. An additional 150 000
recipients of temporary disability grants have been reviewed, therefore
adhering to proper administrative procedures and these reviews have been
conducted with very little disruption of disbursement processes. In addition, a
total savings of more than R200 million has been achieved. In order to
consolidate the integrity of our social security system and related processes
we are increasing the national budget allocation for system integrity from R24
million in the current financial year to R60 million in the next financial
year.
Some of these funds are devoted to strengthening our management information
systems. We are committed to drastically reducing the turn around times for
grant applications to improving the effectiveness of our risk management
processes and to standardising reporting procedures across provinces.
The agreements that have been reached with our partners in the banking
sector are most welcome as we are committed to ensuring that no one has to
travel more than 5 kilometres to receive their grant and we remain committed to
ensuring that the dignity of older people who receive social assistance is
respected.
Welfare Services:
Madame Speaker, with respect to the transformation and provision of social
welfare services the year 2006 will be a watershed year. With the establishment
of SASSA, the national and provincial departments of Social Development can now
focus more on social welfare services which were not previously given adequate
attention and resources. The integrated service delivery model launched last
year defines the nature, scope and level of service delivery and defines the
roles that are to be played by all spheres of government and organisations of
civil society in social service delivery.
It also provides a framework for service integration between all the
components of the Department of Social Development in order to promote
sustainable livelihoods in communities. This integration will also be made
better with the implementation of the policy on financial awards to welfare
service providers.
The extent to which we are able to provide social welfare services is also
fundamentally influenced by critical shortages in the supply of social workers
and other social service professionals. The review of the salaries of social
workers has been completed and the retention strategy for social workers, which
is being finalised. A national capacity building programme for social service
professionals has also been conducted. We are looking forward to working with
the council of social service professionals and the professional boards for
both social work and child & youth care on all of these matters.
Madam Speaker, it is our intention that the year 2006 will also be
remembered as a watershed year for our youth development programmes.
Youth Development:
Thirty years ago the youth of Soweto and other townships in our country took
to the barricades and confronted the apartheid regime as part of the struggle
for a just and democratic dispensation.
Governmentâs social sector wide youth development framework is informed by
the 2005 status of youth report by the Human Sciences Resources Council (HSRC)
and by the 2005 Macro Social Study conducted by the Presidency. Both these
reports highlighted the structural challenges facing our young people in our
second decade of democracy. The objectives of the framework are to (a) improve
the material and social conditions in which young people grow up, study and
play; and (b) strengthen social cohesion and establish a social contract. Over
the MTEF period, budget vote 18 will devote substantial resources to the
developmental needs of young people and the implementation of the programmes
specified in the youth development framework.
Madam Speaker, a key part of the mandate of the Department is to create an
enabling environment for sustainable social development in partnership with all
sectors of society committed to building a caring society. It is therefore our
responsibility to work with our social partners, the business sector, organised
labour, the faith sector, and academia in following through on the agreement
reached at the Growth and Development Summit to promote people centred
development. This requires that we establish partnerships and build the
capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community based
organisations (CBOs) working in the human and social development arenas.
Institutional Capacity Building for the NGO sector
In this regard, we have considered the findings of the study on the impact
of the Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) Act and will this year be initiating the
process of putting in place an enabling legislative framework that is more
conducive for the functioning of these organisations. Our ultimate goal is the
eradication of poverty as facilitated by strengthened developmental
institutions directed by our people. Therefore we will do all that is necessary
and within our powers to ensure that this sector receives significant and
predictable financing so as to facilitate for its effective development. We
have therefore set aside R14.4 million over the MTEF period for the creation of
this enabling legislative and regulatory environment for the NGO sector. These
funds will complement the R388 million we have set aside for the national
development agency over the MTEF period.
Sustainable livelihoods and poverty eradication:
Building upon our work in the area of social assistance a key priority over
the medium term will be the design and implementation of policies and best
practice models for poverty eradication and community development. Over the
MTEF period we will therefore spend R56 million on the development of
sustainable livelihood strategies.
As with all our other programmes we will be establishing partnerships with
academic and research institutions that enable us to leverage our social
assistance programmes and link them to sustainable livelihood strategies. By
June this year we will be finalising a research and capacity building
partnership agreement with the University of KwaZulu-Natal that focuses on
these linkages. It is through such partnership that we will be able to ensure
better utilisation of the dedicated funds available from our sector education
and training authority.
Evidence based policy and the international agenda:
These partnerships will be modelled on the Charlotte Maxeke collaboration in
the economics of social protection that we have established with the University
of Pretoria and the AB Xuma fellowships in social policy established by the
University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The object in all these
partnerships is to stimulate research that informs evidence based social policy
and provide training and mentorshipâs for young researchers. We are confident
that in the medium to long term these partnerships will capacitate our
implementation of Southern African Development Communityâs (SADC) regional
indicative strategic development plan and the African Unionâs Strategic
Framework (AUSF).
We see South Africaâs election to the chair of the intergovernmental council
of the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) programme at United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as an opportunity to
consolidate all our partnerships and link them to the regional networks of
Ministers of Social Development. This particular engagement at the multilateral
level is complemented by a series of other international initiatives. These
include our trilateral engagements in the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA)
collaboration and the consolidation of our partnerships with our regional
neighbours in particular Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Madam Speaker, in the year in which our country celebrates the 10th
anniversary of our constitution and marks 50 years of the Womenâs March, I am
honoured to say that budget vote 18 is true to the imperative to heal the
divisions of the past, restore the dignity of our people, free their potential
to participate in the economy and build a just society based on democratic
values and fundamental human rights. To provide further programmatic expression
on these core values, the Deputy Minister in her presentation will pay
attention to certain areas I may have overlooked these will include the
substance abuse and disaster relief environments.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry for Social Development
28 March 2006
