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Madame Speaker,
Honourable Members,
MECs for Social Welfare
Distinguished members of civil society
Organisations seated in the public gallery.

In his opening address to Parliament in February this year President Mbeki made a statement that is of particular significance for social welfare and development. He stated that, "At no other point of time have we ever been as well placed as we are today, to take decisive forward steps, towards the creation of the humane and people-centred society for which the organisations that were un-banned ten years ago, struggled for many decades".

Madame Speaker, today I wish to focus on what steps we have taken towards the creation of the "humane and people-centred society" that our President referred to in his speech.

During the first period of democratic government the foundations were laid for a fundamental restructuring of the social welfare system. My predecessor led the introduction of significant policy and legislative changes within the framework of the Constitution and the Reconstruction and Development Programme. The White Paper on Social Welfare as well as a number of other policies provides examples of policy changes in social welfare.

Establishing an enabling policy and legislative environment to deal with the legacy of apartheid in social welfare provision was an essential and necessary first step in securing basic welfare rights for all, especially the most marginalised and alienated sectors of our society.

During this term of government the challenge is to consolidate these policy gains and translate them into programmatic changes - so that ordinary citizens, especially those who experience the worst forms of poverty - can begin to see evidence of real change in their daily lives.

The nature and extent of social fragmentation and alienation highlighted the need for a vision and strategy that is responsive to both the structural causes of problems as well as their social manifestations. These were the imperatives that led to a national consultative process that brought together a range of organisations representing women, children, the disabled, the homeless, poor people, development workers, and professional associations during October last year.

Changes at the national level have yet to be translated into real gains for the excluded, particularly women, children and poor people at provincial and local levels. Transformation, if it has to have meaning for the poor majority, has to be felt at the household level. It is at this level that economic and social conditions are manifested in profoundly unequal gender relations and gender-based violence. The challenge therefore is how to sustain the changes in the political sphere and extend these to households and the poorest communities. In many ways this is the most difficult aspect of the transformation process.

There can be no doubt that persistent and increasing levels of poverty, violence, social inequality and unfulfilled expectations place an enormous challenge on existing social services. The violence experienced by children, women and the elderly is an affront to the type of society we are building. Added to this is one of the fastest growing incidences of HIV/AIDS in the world. It is poor people who are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS exacerbates poverty.

The age, gender and racial characteristics of South Africa's population indicate that the most vulnerable households are in the rural, peri-urban and township areas. It is in these areas that infrastructure and services are virtually non-existent. Low economic growth and high levels of unemployment place increasing demands on the social welfare services.

Since I have been in the welfare, population and development portfolio I have had many opportunities to interact with the sector and our intended beneficiaries at provincial and other levels. I met with the grandmother in the rural village of Inanda caring for a HIV positive daughter, the girl child taken from school to care for her siblings, the single mother who cannot find a job.

I saw the pain on the face of a young child who has been abused and raped in Claremont near Durban. I heard the frustration of a father with a disability who wants to learn new skills in Maokeng, Kroonstad, but has nowhere to turn to. I listened to the anguish of the devastating effect of the loss of a pension or grant in poor families.

All this has been a true journey of discovery. What I have heard and seen has brought me to one conclusion. Despite many courageous and sensitive responses to the challenges faced by the most vulnerable, much more needs to be done. At every level of our society we need to reverse the degradation and narrative of marginalisation of the poorest people, especially women, children and the elderly. This is why we need to act now.

But we have to set about this task with a full understanding of our achievements and the challenges that lie ahead. Such an appreciation creates a foundation from which we can translate President Thabo Mbeki's call for a caring society into reality.

To be responsive in this way means that the Department of Welfare has to mobilise our communities to establish a caring society, based on the principle of people first for sustainable development.

In the light of our mandate and what we heard during the national consultative process, the department has identified the following priorities that we need to address during this term of government.

I will now outline some of our activities and plans, which give effect to the social welfare programmes of government and those of the NGO and the voluntary welfare sector.

1. The ethics of care and human development must be infused into all our programmes. Our developmental welfare programmes are being re-designed to promote social integration at the level of households, families and communities. We have begun working with civil society organisations, the faith based community as well as youth organisations to promote a culture of voluntarism and civic responsibility.

2. We continue to implement an integrated poverty eradication strategy that provides direct benefits to those who are in greatest need within a sustainable development approach. In other words, we are addressing poverty in rural and urban areas with the prime beneficiaries being women, youth and children. During the past year we supported 1933 projects in provinces and 15 national programmes. These projects assisted approximately 11 197 women, 2 904 men, 2055 youth and disabled persons. Detailed information on the projects that have received funds is available on the Department of Welfare's website. This can be found at www.welfare.gov.za.

Corrective measures have been instituted to deal with problems related to the initial delays in the disbursement of poverty relief funds.

These measures include, firstly, a financial audit of the poverty relief disbursements made in the 1997/1998 and the 1998/1999 financial years.

Secondly, the responsibilities and roles of national and provincial departments have been clarified and a more varied disbursement process is being negotiated. Accountability structures with detailed guidelines are to be established for all sectors.

In addition, I have held meetings with a number of faith-based organisations and NGOs working in the area of poverty relief. Based on these consultations guidelines are being drawn up on ways of improving the programme management processes in the poverty relief fund.

The role of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) as a disbursement agency has been invaluable in the poverty relief programme. Their disbursement role will be enhanced to encompass a monitoring and capacity building function. This monitoring and evaluation will include a central role for the NGO and faith based sectors.

These protocols need to have acceptable guidelines for the selection of projects, disbursement procedures, financial and professional accountability and evaluation.

We will ensure that national and provincial departments of welfare have the requisite procedures and systems for effective financial control, management, monitoring and accountability. In this regard we have already acquired the services of financial consultants to provide the necessary assistance.

Immediate steps taken to improve financial management and administration of the welfare function include:
- processing the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer;
- basic financial training of all officials in the welfare sector;
- filling vacant posts in the finance and internal audit sections as a priority.
- drafting a plan with the department of State Expenditure to improve the expenditure performance of the department.

Further initiatives as a part of the integrated poverty eradication strategy include the Community Empowerment Programmes currently being piloted in North West and Eastern Cape Provinces. Plans are underway to extend these programmes to Mpumalanga. The main aim of these programmes is to build community capacity to plan and manage a range of locally based development initiatives.

We are expanding the micro-save programme in KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Province and Eastern Cape as a part of the Integrated Rural Development Strategy. These programmes aim to strengthen the stokvel-type savings collectives to promote a culture of savings and the economic viability of micro enterprise for poor households, and especially for women. We value the partnership with People's Dialogue and appreciate the technical support provided by the UNDP and ILO in these programmes.

3. A key policy objective of our social security system is to provide social assistance to those citizens who are not able to provide for themselves. The social assistance programme provides benefits to approximately 3 million of the most vulnerable people in our society, namely, older persons, persons with disabilities and children under the age of seven years. A major success in the past year was ensuring that the computer systems throughout the welfare system were up-graded to avoid the Y2K bug. Last year all social assistance benefits were paid before Christmas holiday so that all our people could enjoy the festive season without undue concern. During the same year 127 mobile units were deployed to rural areas to help people obtain Identity Cards and apply for social assistance benefits.

The uptake rate of the Child Support Grant has increased from 36 000 in April 1999 to 334 000 in March 2000. This represents an increase of almost a 1000%. We acknowledge the role played by faith based organisations and NGOs in accomplishing this increase and appeal for their continued support. In seven of the provinces the re-registration process is almost complete. This process is designed to clean the database and eliminate fraud from the system. In the past year, a national call centre has been established which responds to over 100 telephone queries per day from the public concerning social welfare services.

Our Disaster Relief Fund has processed applications for assistance in response to various floods, tornadoes and veldfires across the country. The department has played a key-coordinating role in disaster relief within the country and the region.

Our region is beset with a number of problems requiring us to provide humanitarian assistance. As part of this initiative, we call upon all South Africans to support solidarity to Angola during the week of 15 May. We want to mobilise the people of South Africa to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Angola.

The objects for enhancing social protection were also adopted by the international community at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. The Declaration adopted by the Summit contained a commitment to "implement policies that ensure that all people have adequate economic and social protection during unemployment, ill-health, maternity, child rearing, widowhood, disability and old age".

The South African Constitution grants everyone the right to have access to social security, appropriate social assistance for those individuals who are unable to support themselves. It also obliges the State to implement measures to ensure the progressive realisation of these rights.

It is therefore crucial that we develop a comprehensive social security system that links contributory and non-contributory schemes and prioritises the most vulnerable households. The Welfare Department is leading a critical process during this year on an investigation into issues and proposals for a comprehensive social security system. The Ministerial Committee established by Cabinet has, as a part of its brief to investigate the extension of social protection to the working poor, unwaged workers and all those currently not covered by any form of assistance.

A new welfare payment and information service is being established to improve operational efficiency of the welfare system. However all these initiatives need to be supported by appropriate infra-structural developments at provincial levels to ensure that pensioners do not suffer in long queues.

To ensure that our social security services are reaching those in greatest need in the most effective manner, we are currently designing a social security audit and monitoring unit. Such a unit will incorporate both government and civil society representatives.

According to the latest available census information, there are about 2.6 million persons with disabilities. This number constitutes about 6% of the total population. The current social assistance programme provides disability benefits to about 610 000 beneficiaries, representing a coverage of over 23% of all persons with disabilities. The Fiscal and Financial Commission estimates that, this coverage constitutes about 56% of all those eligible.

4. A review process of services to people with disabilities has been undertaken. This is to ensure that the disabled persons participate in planning programmes that promote their human rights and economic development.

5. A key challenge that we face, not only as a department, but also as a nation is the ever-increasing violence against women, children and older persons. We have strengthened programmes to respond to the brutal effects of all forms of violence against women, children and older persons. We are also developing effective strategies to deal with the perpetrators. The department has established 60 one-stop service centres through which abused women and children can receive assistance. A Committee of Enquiry into Elderly Abuse has been established. The high levels of abuse against elderly persons are unacceptable and need to be addressed urgently.

6. We have begun consultative work on a National Strategic Framework for children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Our developmental welfare programmes include the provision of a range of services to support community-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as those affected, such as AIDS orphans.

7. Urgent attention has been given to the development of a national strategy to reduce the number of young people in trouble with the law and promote youth development. Our prevention and remedial services for youth have sought to accelerate the transformation of the child and youth care system to ensure that our interventions are developmental. We have introduced 15 Child and Youth Care Service Projects in 8 provinces with development assistance from the Netherlands Government. One of these projects, Stepping Stones in the Eastern Cape won an award for innovative service delivery. The Netherlands government recommended that it should become an "International Learning Site." These projects have provided best practice models for ongoing work in this field.

8. Making social welfare services accessible and available to people in rural, peri-urban and informal settlements as well as ensuring equity in service provision is critical to the transformation process. In this regard, Madame Speaker, I am pleased to report that in respect of access and coverage our service provision is increasingly reaching the poorest members of our communities. There is a significant shift away from a race based welfare system to one that is need based. In addition social welfare services have become more social and community development oriented. The welfare financing policy is being refined and phased in through an agreed process to ensure the re-direction of resources to under-serviced areas.

9. Our work is based on a commitment to co-operative governance that includes working with different spheres of government and civil society. In this regard, Madame Speaker, I am pleased to announce that MECs of provincial Welfare Departments as well as the full range of civil society organisations, including the voluntary welfare and faith based organisations have engaged with me and the department to find practical solutions to the problems we face. I commend their commitment to addressing the needs of the poorest people and I am sure that together we can develop a process based on accountability, responsiveness, efficiency and equity.

10. The Welfare, Population and Development Department has undergone a process of strategic planning to ensure that its programmes are in line with the National priorities identified through the consultative process. Provincial welfare departments have also completed similar processes to align themselves with national priorities.

The National Population Unit (NPU) has developed programmes to promote research, capacity building and advocacy in support of the developmental thrust of the department and governments' work at both national and provincial levels. A key focus during the current year is research into the socio economic impact of HIV/AIDS.

The NPU hosted the Third African Population Conference in December 1999. The conference gave further impetus to research and policy partnerships in Africa. The United Nations Population Fund is a key partner in this process.

11. On the regional and international front the department has played a key role in leading initiatives on social development. As Chair of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, I have had the privileged of being part of the review and appraisal of government's implementation of the Copenhagen commitments on social development.

12. Madame Speaker, that there have been many advances in social welfare and development are not in question. However, our capacity as a department to accelerate the delivery of services to those in greatest need is constrained by limited institutional reforms within national and provincial departments.

Changing the organisational culture, service orientation, training and recruiting of professionals with appropriate skills and knowledge remain challenges that have to be addressed. An audit of the skills, organisational structure and organisational processes in the entire department has just been completed. This information will contribute to a thorough and systematic overhaul of systems, procedures, human resource planning and performance management processes.

13. Critical to the process of reorientation is the role of the Council of Social Service Professions and their engagement with social service workers who contribute much needed services under extremely difficult conditions. With the assistance of the Council we plan to ensure that there are changes in such conditions. Efficient and effective service delivery is a reflection on the calibre of staff in both government as well as non-governmental agencies. For this reason it is essential that the full range of social service workers are provided with appropriate training and education relevant to South Africa's needs. These workers include development, probation, child and youth care, social workers and social security staff.

These priorities form part of a systematic, co-ordinated strategy for social development over the next year. They are linked to the department's medium term expenditure framework. The mobilisation of national and inter-national resources, including the use of a wider pool of technical expertise will help us to accelerate service delivery. Much of our achievements are due to the dedicated work of key individuals within the department, members of the Portfolio Committee on Welfare and a range of other organisations in the development sector. To them I extend my thanks and appreciation.

Madame Speaker and members of this House, I would like to invite you to join me as I continue my journey in the welfare and development portfolio. In more concrete terms, you can join me in monitoring the implementation of these national priorities through joint civil society and government processes.

We need to move quickly at all levels to link social development and population concerns to economic strategies so as to establish socially integrated and caring communities.

In reclaiming South Africa's place in the global community, let us work towards a social development Renaissance. A Renaissance to eradicate poverty, social inequality, women's marginalisation, violence, alienation and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. Let us promote sustainable human development that builds social solidarity.

Let us mobilise for a caring society.

I thank you.

Issued by Ministry of Welfare, Population and Development

18 April 2000