Z Skweyiya: South African Social Security Agency launch

30 March 2007

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honourable Member Josephine
Tshivhase
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Social Development, Honourable Member
Joyce Masilo
Members of the Executive Council
Director-General of the Social Development, Mr Vusimuzi Madonsela
Chief Executive Officer of SASSA, Mr Fezile Makiwane
Heads of provincial departments
Executive managers from SASSA
Staff members
Ladies and gentlemen

Today we are gathered here to witness the official launch of the South
African Social Security Agency. In his state of the nation address, President
Thabo Mbeki, acknowledged the contribution and the dent the social security
programme has caused against poverty. We cannot be complacent in the face of
dire poverty which afflicts anguish on a daily basis to our vulnerable people.
It is imperative for the government to continue creating an enabling
environment for good citizenry.

May I take this opportunity to thank all of you who came to grace this
historic launch of SASSA? It is an occasion that begins to set out government
plans for far-reaching reform of the social security system. It is important
for us to share information and advise on how best to utilise the South African
Social Security Agency system to strengthen our total onslaught against
poverty.

The South African Social Security Agency has been established as an
extension of government delivery arm that administers the delivery of social
grants to the poorest of the poor in our country.

In essence, the Agency is therefore expected in the context of our
Constitution to deal with complex issues of ensuring effective and efficient
delivery of high quality services with regard to management and administration
of social grants. The unbearable long queues, dilapidated buildings without
proper infrastructure, inaccessibility of social grants should be a thing of
the past. The time has come to announce the fruition of our efforts to make the
envisaged better life for all a reality.

We took some time to put together a lasting solution to the plight of our
people. It has been our intention to ensure a comprehensive social security
that is visionary and free from the problems of the past.

Through this organisation we are beginning to restore the dignity of our
people and amplify the caring attitude of government towards its people. On 1
April 2006, the SASSA Act took effect creating a machinery to reduce
drastically the miseries of the most vulnerable people in our society, the old
and the poor.

The reform process within the Agency ensures that the entire process from
application to receipt of social grants by beneficiaries is done in a manner
that is sensitive, caring and restores the dignity of beneficiaries, as well as
the integrity of the whole system. The current total enrolment of 12 million
beneficiaries paid on monthly basis without fail demonstrates the inroads we
are making in fighting poverty. Over eight million children now have access to
social assistance. These include 7,8 million benefiting from the child support
grant, close to 395 000 benefiting from foster care grant and over 95 000
benefiting from the care dependency grant. More than 2,1 million elderly people
receive the old age grant and 1,4 million people receive the disability grant.
From 1 April this year, the old age grant, disability and care dependency
grants will be R870, the foster care grant will be R620 and the child support
grant will be R200.

Cabinet has approved that we investigate the desirability of in-cash and in-
kind measures to support vulnerable children older than 14 years.

Alleviating poverty is the cornerstone of our policy in government.
Improving service standards benchmarked on world class organisations ensures a
better service delivery to our communities. It is our deliberate intention to
use social grants system to empower the vulnerable and create a culture of
entrepreneurship, which is geared to improve life sustenance and dignity. The
effect of social grant has had a positive impact on the economic performance of
the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

We are humbled by everybody's tireless efforts in ensuring that the debates
and discussions that we always have with regard to social security issues are
targeted towards an improved and effective service delivery system. To this end
I am also encouraged by the efforts of our media to bring these issues of
poverty to the fore.

This, we believe is in line with our aspirations in entrenching quality
service delivery towards the beneficiaries of the social grants. In my recent
budget speech two days ago, I spoke about government overall objectives to
eradicate poverty, to promote social assistance safety net. Expenditure on
social security has increased from 36,9 billion in 2003/04 to projected 73
billion in 2009/10 constituting 3,1 percent of gross domestic product.

Growth in the disability grant has tapered off to acceptable levels. In a
related development, we will soon present policy options to Cabinet for people
with chronic diseases to address those falling outside the current definition.
A new disability assessment tool was piloted recently with a view to
standardising disability assessment. This tool will ensure uniformity in the
assessment of disability thereby contributing to more efficient management of
disability benefits. Last year we completed a study on incentive structure in
the social assistance programme. The preliminary outcomes of study dispel
assertions that our social assistance programme encourages teenage pregnancies,
that children are fostered for the purpose of accessing grants and that people
with disabilities harm themselves in order to continue accessing social grants.
We should now focus on the benefits of social assistance and comprehensive
social security programme for the long term growth and stability of our
society.

Over the past 10 years, we as government have recognised the need for a
comprehensive approach to poverty reduction; especially for our children. Last
year Cabinet discussed and agreed to improve the efficiency of social grants
for the children, and link grants with access to basic services such as
education and health. This strategy will bring together Social Sector Cluster
departments from education, health and social development, for a start. In the
medium term, these will include and be further consolidated to include housing
and access to free basic services. This will require strategic partnership at
all levels.

Our call previously, of entrenching our gains over poverty, can only be
celebrated when all our programmes are quality assured, and all those who
deserve to be part of the social security are assisted and benefit from the
system. Therefore it becomes imperative to professionalise this service and
create appropriate institutional structure to administer and disburse the
social grants. SASSA is immediately tasked to bring about reforms in the
administration system for the payments of social grants by:

* allowing the beneficiaries to be paid any day of the month, anywhere in
the Republic anytime
* ensure that the beneficiaries are paid in humane and dignified conditions
that uphold their rights as enshrined in the constitution
* ensure the confidentiality of the grant beneficiary data
* eradicate fraud in the payment of the social assistance
* reduce the turnaround time in processing the application.

Furthermore, the Agency is currently engage with the new proposed strategy
on payment services that may utilise post office, through its post bank, as the
appropriate payment institutional mechanism for social grants.

During 2006, the agency piloted a new management information system in the
Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape, which
demonstrated:

* a reduction in litigation by potential beneficiaries
* a reduction in the turnaround time for the processing of applications for
social assistance from 90 days to two weeks and often within a day, in most
instances. The applicants are being issued with letters of outcome of their
applications instantly. The further roll out of the system in all regions will
take place during the 2007/08 financial year.

The review of the grants payment information system has been finalised and
the following solutions are being considered:

* The further enhancement of the social grants payment information system
coupled with the implementation of an integrated fraud prevention and risk
management system. This is expected to commence during the financial year
2007/08.
* The Agency has procured 90 fully equipped mobile offices with appropriate
technology to render services in remote rural areas, so as to bring services
closer to the beneficiaries.

Each an every employee of SASSA will have to roll up their sleeves and be
prepared to go an extra mile to assist, and sacrifice, so that those who are
vulnerable are protected. We have indeed come a long way to arrive where we are
today.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to officially introduce
to you the South African Social Security Agency, and it is Chief Executive
Officer, Mr Fezile Makiwane.

Let the work continue!

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Social Development
30 March 2007