K Mqulwana: Western Cape Social Development Prov Budget Vote
2007/08

24 May 2007

Speaker,
Honourable Premier,
My colleagues in the Cabinet,
Honourable Members of the House,
Leaders of the African National Congress (ANC),
Community leaders,
Members of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) fraternity,
Representatives from the business sector,
Councillors,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

In his State of the Nation Address in February this year, President Thabo
Mbeki asks of us:

"What progress have we made in the quest to achieve the objectives to which
we honestly told the nation we were committed, as a result of which our people
gave us the overwhelming authority to govern our country from 2004 until the
next elections in 2009?"

In responding to the President's instruction, as a department, we have built
up momentum for stronger development and economic participation for all
communities in this province. We need to act with even greater determination
and focus on meeting the needs of the poor in urban and rural areas. We need to
act in unity to ensure that this progress is not only sustained, but elevated
to a higher level during the course of the new financial year.

This places a responsibility on us to take the lead in ensuring that growth
is both accelerated and shared among all our communities. Our key challenge is
to sustain this growth, broaden participation in the economy and extend
opportunities to all in order to deepen the quality of social development. For
those of us in government, it requires that policies and programmes are
effectively implemented, coordinated, continually monitored, evaluated and
informed by the needs, interests and views of the masses of our people.

It requires the mobilisation, not only of the substantial resources and
capacity of the state, but also the mobilisation of the most important resource
within our communities, the people themselves, behind this central task of
improving their lives for the better. Economic growth and development is about
empowering the masses to take control of their own lives, ensuring that they
have the means and opportunity to enjoy the freedoms for which they have fought
for a long time. They must, therefore, be an integral and driving force behind
this effort.

In this respect, there is a clear role for participation by the
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and civil society structures. There is
also a profound need for sustained co-operation between the government and its
social partners; labour, business and civil society. In delivering our budget
for the 2007/08 financial year, we are inspired by the President's critical
call to carefully examine the mandate given to us when we signed the People's
Contract to Create Work and Fight Poverty in 2004. As a result, the
department's total budget allocation for the 2007/08 financial year is R891 503
000, which represents a growth of 22,5% from the previous budget.

It is also important to emphasise the fact that more than half of this
allocation (54,8%), which is R488,628 million, will be utilised to support and
strengthen social welfare services rendered by the NGO sector on behalf of our
department. This represents a growth of 23,5%, which is unprecedented in the
history of this department. This in itself is indicative of our intention to
expand the delivery of services to our people and strengthen our partnership
with the NGO sector. It also compels our department to strengthen its
monitoring and evaluation role, to ensure that the programmes of these NGOs
speak directly to the needs and expectations of our communities.

Mr Speaker, for the 2007/08 final year, our budget speech will emphasise the
following:
* reflecting on our achievements over the past year
* the execution of our service delivery mandate
* harnessing the work of our foot soldiers in service delivery

I am proud to announce that significant strides have been made by the
department in the realisation of its transformation mandate. As promised during
our previous budget allocation, the department has awarded more than 85% of the
procurement of goods and services, with a value of R8,4 million, to
historically disadvantaged individuals.

What stands out about this achievement is the fact that all racial groups
have been accommodated in the contracts awarded. Coloured owned businesses were
awarded 53% and Africans 32%. This achievement far outstrips the targets set
for procurement in our Transformation Plan. Of note is that 63% of contracts
were awarded to companies owned and controlled by black women.

Mr Speaker, during our budget vote last year, we also promised this House
that we would transform the department's language services to reflect the
demographics of our province and all our people. In this regard, I am pleased
to announce that we appointed three language practitioners in our
Communications and Marketing Unit. In addition, 72 of our staff members have
taken up Xhosa lessons. In-house training courses in Sign Language and
Afrikaans will be offered for people not conversant with these languages during
the current year.

Driven by our transformation agenda, we have made government services
accessible to the poor by establishing an office in Vredenburg, West Coast,
while sites have been identified, one in Khayelitsha and two in Mitchell's
Plain. Together with South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), we have
opened local offices in Plettenberg Bay and Riversdale. We have also employed
customer-liaison officers at reception areas at Head Office and all of the
sixteen district offices. These are our achievements as part of our
Transformation Plan.

As part of the social worker retention strategy, we have spent over R1
million in scholarships to attract male social workers in order to address our
gender equity targets. We have reached our target of transferring 25% of our
budget for social service organisations to emerging and new organisations
non-profit organisation (NPOs) or NGOs, the monetary value of which is more
than R26 million. The challenge will be to create an environment that will
sustain these gains.

Mr Speaker, I now want to highlight the contribution we are making in the
execution of our service delivery mandate. In this financial year we have taken
the strategic decision to realign service delivery by adopting a programmatic
approach, which is reflected in the following eight key programmes:
* Children and Families
* Youth Development
* Substance Abuse
* Older Persons
* Sustainable Livelihoods
* Disability
* HIV and Aids
* Institutional Capacity Building

In each one of these programmes all service providers, ourselves and our
partners in the NGO sector, will be required to deliver services at the level
of awareness, early intervention, statutory and after care. This comprehensive
approach is intended to set the tone for the next 10 years and will enable us
to gauge the gaps in service delivery and where we need to redirect our
energies and resources. We will do this guided by our commitment to social
transformation and the building of social cohesion.

Consistent with our targeted approach and impact maximisation, in this
financial year, we will focus primarily on five programmes. Substance abuse is
not a fight that we can win on our own. Its transversal nature requires the
collective involvement of all government departments, the community and other
role players. In displaying our seriousness to fight substance abuse, a total
budget of R50,095 million has been allocated for the prevention, treatment and
rehabilitation of those affected. Public awareness and the expansion of
community-based interventions will receive priority attention.

Of this amount, R14 million has been earmarked for the next three years for
the establishment of a comprehensive treatment model which consists of a small
in-patient treatment centre, accessible out-patient counselling services, after
care and support for all those who enter treatment, as well as massive public
education programmes in all of our district office areas. Furthermore, other
departments, sectors and communities are currently engaged vigorously to
develop their own drug master plans.

The care, support and protection of children and families are not only our
biggest programme, but it is at the heart of this department's core business.
As a result, a total amount of R248 million has been allocated for these
services during this financial year. Consistent with our belief that an
investment in Early Childhood Development (ECD) is an investment in the future
of this nation ECD, has been prioritised nationally and provincially. Ninety
million rands has been allocated for this sector. This investment will cater
for 848 ECD facilities, accommodating 67 910 children.

A further 2 090 children are accommodated in our ECD outreach programmes. We
are called upon to expand this by registering an additional 166 ECD facilities.
An increase to the funding levels of ECD facilities from its present R6,50 to
R7, 50 per child per day will be implemented. The upgrading of the skills of 1
500 ECD practitioners through the EPWP programme, and in partnership with the
Department of Education, is currently receiving priority attention.

The training and employment of 240 ECD assistants to strengthen services in
this field has been approved. Phase one of the auditing of ECD facilities has
been completed and preliminary findings have revealed that more children have
access to ECD facilities than we initially thought. Speaker, this milestone
alone, shows the progress we have made in this field. We will continue to build
on this investment.

Mr Speaker, we are currently providing financial support to 2 041 children
in 37 children's homes. This is an area we have prioritised for increased
financial assistance, in line with the provisions of the new Children's Bill.
We have therefore set aside R12 million to address the increasing needs of
children. Although children belong to and flourish best within a family
context, research findings also indicate that the family is often the site of
abuse.

In this regard, communities have long played a fundamental role in the care
of children and are recognised as being the best protection for children who
have been abused, abandoned, neglected and exploited. One of the best community
responses is the concept of Safe Houses, where safety parents are identified,
vetted, with the help of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and trained
to provide a safety net to vulnerable children in times of crises. The
safe-house concept recognises the inherent strengths of communities to look
after children promote cohesion and keep the idea of shared responsibility
alive. It is our intention to expand this concept to include other vulnerable
people for example, older persons and people with disabilities. Over the next
three years we intend to establish at least one safe house in all 350 wards of
the province.

The department, in a joint venture with the National Prosecuting Authority,
will throughout the year, embark on an awareness and prevention campaign called
"365 days of Activism against the abuse of women and children" to:
* Strengthen families against abuse within the family network and in
communities
* Contribute towards building safer and peaceful communities
* Strengthen a culture of human rights by providing more effective and
integrated coordinated responses to victims of trauma particularly
children
* Transform victims of violence to victors of violence through a comprehensive
network of social services and programmes
* Mobilise other stakeholders to join hands.

For this purpose the department will be signing a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA) with the hope
that the latter will bring in its experience in order to maximise input and
outcome in our partnership with the justice department.

In his January 8 statement earlier this year, the President also reminded us
to acknowledge that youth empowerment must remain a central feature of our
developmental focus. "Initiatives that relate to putting in place sustainable
platforms for economic growth cannot succeed without the massive participation
of South Africa's youth. This participation is not only critical towards the
empowerment of young people, but also serves as a bridge between the first and
second economies."

In line with the President's call, our department seeks to achieve the
seamless integration and responsiveness to the demands of young people by
investing in their skills development, employment creation, crime prevention
programmes and the reduction of HIV and Aids. For example, in partnership with
the Cape Winelands District Municipality and the Swedish government, our
department has finalised the establishment of the Wolwekloof Youth facility. It
will focus on addressing the broader challenges affecting young people as well
as deepening democracy, citizenship and skills development by exploiting the
unique environmental qualities of the site, agribusiness and tourism
opportunities as affirmed by the Premier. This is our department's contribution
towards the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), as
championed by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. All other provincial
departments and the private sector are invited to play a role in making the
facility a success.

Although our department has done exceptionally well in respect of services
to youth in conflict with the law, we nevertheless remain concerned about young
people who have to await trial in prison. In this regard we have entered into
discussions with the Department of Correctional Services with a view to forming
a partnership to implement a Level Four facility, aimed at keeping children who
have committed serious crimes out of prison and place them in alternative
care.

Mr Speaker, I am proud to mention the fact that this will further enhance
the comprehensive range of services we have put in place for children in
conflict with the law and which is regarded as national best practice. In line
with the call by the Premier, we will continue to support organisations working
in the metro hotspots identified by the provincial government, build their
capacity to be effective in strengthening social cohesion.

Approximately R116 million has been allocated to homes for the aged,
focusing in particular on the frail with incomes of R840 per month or less.
Currently the department provides financial assistance to 10 350 persons in 132
homes for the aged. An additional 12 000 older persons benefit from community
services rendered by NGOs on behalf of the department.

Last year we initiated a pilot project designed to promote racial
integration amongst our senior citizens. The pilot was successful and we
consequently integrated it into the Golden Games programme. This programme is
an additional programme to promote racial integration and social cohesion. As a
result, we are pleased to announce here that, through this programme, we have
expanded integrated day care provision, including intergenerational programmes,
by over 200 new clubs!

The aim of the Golden Games was to promote active aging and create awareness
of the rights of older persons, as enshrined in the Older Persons Act. This
programme was a resounding success. All targets were exceeded. For example, we
planned to establish 45 clubs and ended up with over 200; we targeted reaching
5 000 older persons and reached more than 14 000.

In the spirit of promoting partnerships, this programme drew more than six
companies from the private sector, with an estimated total contribution of over
R5 million in cash and kind. These partnerships will continue. Speaker, allow
me to share with the House that two days ago, our department was invited by the
Presidency to share our experience of the Golden Games in anticipation of the
rollout of the programme nationwide.

Mr Speaker, R31 million is made available for our Sustainable Livelihood
programme, aimed at migrating people from the second to the first economy. The
nappy-making project funded by the department is a classical example of
migrating more than 100 food parcel beneficiaries from a state of dependency,
to one of economic self-sufficiency.

The department is affecting its MOU with Saldanha municipality together with
the business sector, public entities and NGOs to establish a snail's project
that will finally migrate approximately 1500 women and young people in the west
coast district.

Additional to this, the empowerment of young people and women is at the
centre of this department's poverty reduction mandate. I am pleased to announce
that the Afro-Chic Women Learn to Earn programme which targets 500 women
between the age cohort of 49 to 59 years from Langa, Nyanga, Greater Athlone,
Gugulethu, has produce results beyond our expectations. For example, 12 women
have qualified as machine mechanics, a job previously held by men, 15 of the
women get regular contracts for bead work and some have started their own small
businesses.

In addition, the women from coloured and African communities have bridged
the racial divides and now socialise with each other. 320 employment
opportunities have been created for young people by funding two interventions
in the hospitality sector and through the car wash project. The car wash
project has been made successful by our partnership with the Government Motor
Transport (GMT), whereby our department provides opportunities to women taken
from our food-parcel beneficiaries to wash government vehicles in all our
district offices in the province.

Our poverty reduction initiatives also extend to include young people with
disabilities, where 12 of them from Noluthando School for the deaf in
Khayelitsha are being trained in boat building in partnership with the
Netherlands government. I am pleased to announce that a delegation from the
Netherlands will visit our province in June to cement our partnership.

The department will continue to maintain a strong working relationship with
SASSA to link beneficiaries to sustainable livelihoods and well being
programmes. This approach begins to militate against the systemic nature of
poverty and vulnerability. Mr Speaker, let me highlight the contribution made
by our foot soldiers in speeding the delivery of services to the people. These
are the social service professionals, who include social workers, social
auxiliary workers, development practitioners, child and youth care workers and
all categories of staff who contribute towards our service delivery mandate. I
want to acknowledge their contributions, often in the face of great challenges.
In the year ahead, we will prioritise the improvement of their service
conditions to enable them to serve their government with determination.

Critical to the development of human capital within this department, the
retention of social workers as a scare skill is receiving top priority. We have
already developed a first draft of an implementation plan for the Western Cape
, based on the national social work retention strategy. This will be
extensively consulted internally and externally. It is important to recognise
the challenges to retain this scare skill in both the government and NGO
sector. Part of our intended interventions will be a comprehensive audit, to be
finalised towards the end of July this year.

The audit will determine the number of unemployed, registered social workers
in the province. The findings, amongst others, will assist with the development
of a 10 year Human Development Plan for the sector. In responding the challenge
of retaining competent staff in this profession, the department has already
upgraded salaries of social workers, including those in the employ of NGO's. I
am proud to announce that, during this year, a further R12 million is set aside
to increase the salaries of social workers and address the challenges faced by
other foot soldiers employed in the NGO sector.

In addition to the above, scholarships for social work students,
particularly targeting male students will again be made available to the tune
of R1m. Promoting the social service field as a profession of choice will
enhance this intervention even more. As a result, we have entered into
collaborative agreements with centres of higher education to assist in this, as
well as repositioning the profession to meet the challenges of the 21 st
century.

We have set aside R7 million for the training and employment of social
auxiliary workers. This will increase to R7,7 million and R20 million in the
outer years. This cadre of staff will not only create sustainable employment
for young people, but will also militate against the scarcity of social workers
by complementing their workloads.

Speaker, expanding on the number of social service professionals will be
futile without investing in their capacity building, looking at job enrichment,
orienting them to new service delivery demands, and creating support networks.
In addition to capacity building interventions, we will also investigate
options to facilitate the development of management skills of NGO staff.

We regard volunteers as the backbone of service delivery, as they are
available outside of normal office hours and have an intimate knowledge of
communities, families and individuals. They are also able to immediately
respond to crisis and vulnerability. They complement our service delivery and
we will include them in our training and capacity building interventions. We
salute the bravery and civic responsibility of the 1 000 youth volunteers who
support and mentor other young people who have undergone substance abuse
rehabilitation programme.

Speaker, I want to conclude my budget speech by emphasising the fact that
the Department of Social Development has managed to achieve almost all its
targets for social transformation and its service delivery objectives. We
commit ourselves to continue to form strong partnerships with our stakeholders,
which would include, among others, international stakeholders to influence
quality service delivery.

We must take care to ensure that all our policies and programmes involve the
people in their design, implementation and evaluation. We must work hard and
smart during the course of 2007 to ensure that our services are effectively
used to link government with the various stakeholders in our economy.

Mr Speaker, we agree with the President when he says: "In concert with the
task of growing the economy and creating new opportunities for work and
economic development, we have been hard at work since 1994 to push back the
frontiers of poverty, recognizing that no people can be truly free until they
have cast aside the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment.

Those who work with us to achieve the service delivery agenda of government,
including poverty reduction initiatives, have been and will always be the
spirit driving us as a department.

Thank you!

Issued by: Department of Social Development, Western Cape Provincial
Government
24 May 2007
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)