Speaking Notes for the Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu on the occasion of the ICPD side event on Enhancing the Well-being of Vulnerable Populations through Social Protection Programmes in the Backdrop of Demographic Dividend, Nairobi-Kenya
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this very important discourse to discuss the “Enhancement of the Well-Being of Vulnerable Population through Social Protection Programmes in the Backdrop of Demographic Dividend”.
Your Excellency, Hon. Amb. Ukur Yatani, the Department of Social Development in South Africa is currently hosting a week-long bilateral study visit by a delegation from your Ministry.
One of the key areas of interest we are collaborating with your Ministry is on social protection. We therefore welcome the opportunity to learn and share successful social protection measures that are crucial in enabling our nations, and indeed the African continent to accelerate the promise and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The ICPD Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda call for formal and substantive equality of opportunities and outcomes for vulnerable populations. This includes children, youth, women, persons with disabilities and older persons.
Social protection has not only become one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) itself, but it is explicitly mentioned as a key instrument for the achievement of SDG1 (eradication of income poverty) and SDG10 (reduction of income inequality). It is also key for the achievement of SDGs2-6 (ending hunger, healthy lives, education, gender equality, access to water). Research shows that social protection plays a key role not only for the social but also for the economic and political stability in developing countries. It promotes pro-poor growth, education and employment opportunities for vulnerable groups as well as act as a fundamental instrument for social solidarity and social cohesion.
Over the last 25 Years of Freedom in South Africa, our Government under the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) pursued a transformation agenda to tackle the legacy of our past by redirecting state resources to serve the needs of all South Africans. 25 years on, we are a thriving constitutional democracy of 57 million people, with a strong and comprehensive social protection system that caters for the most vulnerable.
The concept of universality is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which guarantees socio-economic rights to its citizens. In this regard, Government has committed significant resources to social protection, through the extension of basic services such as free education, water, sanitation, electricity and housing to the poorest households.
The impact of our social protection package has seen significant reduction in child and adult poverty and improvement in the quality of life of the most vulnerable groups. To date, access to our primary and secondary schooling has reached universal enrolment, with the participation of girls being one of the highest in the world.
We provide free health care for children under the age of 6, pregnant and lactating women and older persons. Through the social assistance programme, which has been rolled out progressively over the years, we provide income support to children, older persons and persons with disabilities. To date, we have extended social grants from 2 Million in 1994 to over 17 Million beneficiaries. Of this number, 12.5 Million Child Support Grant, followed by Old Age Grant at 3.5 Million, Disability Grant just over 1 Million and the balance covering Care Dependency, Foster Care, Grant-in-Aid and the War Veterans Grant.
At the centre of our social protection programme is the need to enable individuals to earn an income, look after themselves and their families, and build an asset base as envisaged in South Africa’s National Development Plan (Vision 2030).
The NDP calls for a social protection floor below which no one should fall. Although we have made significant strides in this regard, we still need to do much more to reach the universal social protection coverage in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Through public employment initiatives such as the Expanded Public Works Programme, which has created over 5 million temporary job opportunities for poor and unemployed South Africans, with specific focus on women, young people and persons with disabilities. Expenditure on social protection programmes, which includes education and health represents Government's primary investment in tackling the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. In addition, we have several social insurance funds providing benefits in the event of unemployment, occupational injuries and diseases, and road accidents.
Our unemployment insurance benefits have been extended to domestic workers and seasonal farm workers. In the absence of mandatory provision, our pension coverage is provided mainly through a variety of private occupational funds and individual retirement annuities. Recently, Government introduced the national minimum wage to protect the most vulnerable workers from exploitative labour practices.
With regard to gender-based violence, we have also established Thuthuzela Care Centres throughout the country, which provide psychosocial care and support, including medical and legal services to victims and survivors of gender-based violence and femicide.
We also have White Door Centres of Hope and shelters for victims of violence and GBV. We are expanding and upgrading some shelters to include the provision of care and support to victims of human trafficking. The Gender Based Violence Command Centre renders is a 24-hour call centre managed by qualified social workers and provides psychosocial support and referral services to victims and survivors of gender-based violence in South Africa.
South Africa has passed laws to prevent, sanction and eliminate all forms of violence against women and children, including hate crimes against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) and gender non-conforming persons. We are deeply concerned that in many parts of the world, LGBTIQ+ populations continue to sufferr discrimination, abuse, and violence.
By and large, our social protection system is primarily targeted at the poor, and women, children and the youth in particular. Specific social protection benefits targeted at women include amongst others, free health care for pregnant and lactating women and older persons, maternity benefits provided under the Unemployment Insurance Fund, with no additional contribution required from women. During the last financial year, the Unemployment Insurance Fund paid more than R1 billion in benefits to more than 110 000 beneficiaries.
To ensure that no one is left behind, social protection systems must be targeted at the most vulnerable population groups. This is especially important to women and the girl-child who bear the brunt of poverty and deprivation. We have already seen evidence of the benefits of extending social protection to women, children and persons with disabilities. Government is currently working towards the finalisation of the National Health Insurance, to ensure universal access to all South Africans, with specific on the most vulnerable populations.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in the lead to 2030 we need to accelerate efforts and focus resources on reaching the most vulnerable populations, which a key focus of the ICPD Programme of Action. Identifying who the vulnerable populations are, where they are, and why they continue to be excluded is important for ensuring that no one is left behind.
I thank you.
