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Madam Speaker
Honourable Members
MECs of Social Development
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

INTRODUCTION

The central question that President Mbeki posed to all the people of our country in his State of the Nation Address was simple, clear and very direct. It was whether what we are doing in the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and civil society was helping to lift from the shoulders of our people the intolerable burden of poverty and underdevelopment. All our people have an individual and collective responsibility to reflect upon this question, provide honest answers and work together to implement agreed programmes.

As Minister of Social Development and as a Member of Parliament, it would be remiss of me to pass on the opportunity to address this important and fundamental question.

The approach that the Ministry of Social Development has adopted in its work in various government clusters has been to focus on creating a world fit for children. The Department of Social Development, principally through its largest programme - social security, continues to put children first.

VOLUNTEERISM: OUR PEOPLE ARE MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DESTINIES

It continues to be my experience that the overwhelming majority of our people are actors in the struggle to eradicate poverty and build a caring and people-centred society.

During my visits to various parts of the country over the last two years, I witnessed scores of people, especially women volunteers, who even in their difficult circumstances are doing a sterling job to give hope and meaning to the lives of children who are suffering. We have women like Margaret Kolbe (who is in the gallery) of Tafelsig Rehabilitation Centre in Cape Town, who over the last two years has, despite many difficulties, increased by six times the number of children under her care from 60 to 360! Mama Margaret you have our deep and enduring gratitude.

I would also like to acknowledge the self-less efforts of Sister Deborah Kodisang of the Chance Children's Home in Springs; Ms Ria Stanton of the Salem Baby Care Centre in the Eastern Cape; Ms Wilhelmna Bodibe of the Thembisa and Phomolong Child Care Centre in Gauteng; and Mama Mazibuko of the Orlando Children's Home in Soweto.

They too are heroes who, through their unwavering commitment, have given hope to hundreds of children who have been orphaned, abandoned or abused.

There are thousands of unsung heroes like them across the length and breadth of our country. The example set by these heroes is reassuring and inspires confidence and hope. People from all walks of life are mobilising to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS and child abuse. They exemplify the response our people are making to the call of Vuk' Uzenzele.

Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge all those people who worked tirelessly during the International Year of Volunteers to support and promote volunteering. They do our nation proud. To all of you I say, Nangamso!

Our priority this year is to ensure that we provide support to all such volunteer initiatives through our poverty relief, our HIV/AIDS Community and Home Base Care programme, and our social security programmes. To this end, we will continue to work even more closely with Faith-Based Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Community-Based Organisations, the business sector, and organised labour.

MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK FOR CHILDREN

Honourable Members, since 1994 our concern as the ANC-led government, has been to make democracy work for children. Our activities have been focused on entrenching children's rights and improving children's access to social services.

The South African Law Commission has for some time, been working on the complex task of drafting a new comprehensive Child Care Act, which will provide a sound legal framework to protect the rights of all our children, especially those who are made vulnerable through poverty and circumstances not of their own making.

The Law Commission has published for comment, a discussion paper on which the new legislation will be based. We expect the Bill to be introduced into Parliament later this year. Key to this legislation will be comprehensive protection of children from all forms of abuse.

Madam Speaker, if we are a moral and ethical people, then our society should not tolerate nor condone the sexual abuse of our children. I therefore applaud the initiative taken by this Parliament to hold public hearings on this issue. Last week, the House heard of the harrowing and painful experiences that some of our children have been put through.

From the submissions made during these hearings, it is clear that eradicating the scourge of sexual abuse of children requires the collective efforts of government, civil society and communities. The abuse of our children is an unacceptable indictment. It requires decisive, immediate and unrelenting action from all of us.

A number of government departments, both national and provincial, have been working together with the NGO sector to combat the problem of child abuse. The Department of Social Development has briefed the Parliamentary Task Group on the actions taken to date, for example, the establishment of the Child Protection Register.

The sad reality about the sexual abuse of children is that in many cases, the perpetrators are not strangers, but people who are known to and trusted by the child. The incidence of sexual abuse is gnawing at the moral fibre of our society and a moral renewal is an urgent imperative. I call on all Members of this House to work with Government and the Religious Sector to build a new moral order that underpins our Constitution. I also call on business, labour, civics, NGOs and CBOs to be part of the process of redefining our society through active participation in the moral regeneration processes, starting with the Summit later this year.

We have to send a message to perpetrators of child abuse that the well-being and safety of our children is non-negotiable.

The President announced in his State of the Nation Address that we would be mounting a national effort to register all people who are eligible for social grants. The planning of this national effort is well underway and we have drawn in other departments, such as Home Affairs and Health to participate. The total number of current social grant beneficiaries is now 4.3 million.

Honourable Members, the Child Support Grant and the Care Dependency Grant for children with severe disabilities are a vital source of income for caregivers with little or no other income. The Aged Persons Grant is vital to the grandmother caring for her grandchildren. Although we will be registering all beneficiaries, the children will be the focus of our efforts during the first year.

Over the past year, the number of children in payment has increased by 500 000 to just over 1.5 million. While the growth has been substantial, we must reach many more children in the poorer provinces. We will be calling on our partners in various sectors of civil society to support the campaign and I hope that Parliamentarians will assist their constituencies as they have done in the past. All of us have a duty to ensure that we reach every house, street, location, village and community in both the rural and urban areas of our country.

In addition to grants, children and families affected by HIV/AIDS have received support through the Home-Based or Community-Based Care Programme. Over the past year, the Department has supported 185 projects and an estimated 50 000 children have benefited from the Programme. A number of these projects have been initiated by communities and faith-based organisations, who by their selfless efforts have improved the material and social conditions of these children. We will expand the Programme significantly during the new financial year through the R48 million budget allocation made to the National and Provincial Departments of Social Development.

GRANT INCREASES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN SOCIAL SECURITY

Madam Speaker, the Government programme of building a better life for all and consolidating a caring society through improved service delivery continues. The Minister of Finance has announced grant increases that are above the expected inflation rate this year and that will come into effect from 1 April 2002. These increases will be implemented in conjunction with a number of measures to improve our social security system. These measures include enforcing national norms and standards for social security, training 1500 social security officials, improving infrastructure and introducing new information technology. All of this will help to improve the accessibility and quality of social security services.

Furthermore, Cabinet has made a decision to set aside R2 billion to pay beneficiaries who had been disadvantaged by the three-month limitation on the accrual of arrears. Our decision was based on our belief that beneficiaries should not be penalised for the shortcomings in the legislation and administration of our social security system. Every beneficiary who is entitled to the arrear payments will receive payment. We will soon be communicating with all the beneficiaries on how the payments will be made.

A comprehensive campaign to this effect is being finalised in conjunction with the provinces and we will work very closely with the local authorities as well as community structures in this regard.

When making these payments, we must ensure the safety of beneficiaries at all material times.

We must also be vigilant and guard against fraudulent claims. Officials will be informed that swift disciplinary action will be taken against public servants who ignore the Batho Pele principles in serving our people.

I also call on members of the community and all the public servants to join us in making sure that all beneficiaries are reached and that any attempt to defraud the system is exposed and prevented.

Honourable Members, the Committee of Inquiry into Comprehensive Social Security has completed its investigations and has made presentations to the Ministers' Committee for consideration. A special Cabinet meeting is to be held soon to discuss the whole report and decide on the way forward.

I am pleased to announce the establishment of assessment panels to expedite the processing of disability grant applications. I trust that this will alleviate the misery experienced by many applicants, especially those living in rural areas with no access to district surgeons.

INTEGRATED AND SUSTAINABLE POVERTY RELIEF

Madam Speaker, we continue to make steady progress with the Poverty Relief Programme and in the past year we have established 315 new poverty relief projects around the country. These are in addition to projects that we continue to support from previous years. In the coming financial year the Poverty Relief allocation will increase to R100 million.

The question is often asked whether the Poverty Relief Programme is targeting the poor and making a difference. Our information shows that most of the projects are located in the three provinces with the highest poverty rates, namely, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. The Poverty Relief Programme targets vulnerable groups, namely, women, children, youth, the elderly and people with disabilities. We estimate that over a three year period, 60 000 people will have earned wages generated through poverty relief projects.

The war against poverty can only be won when it is intensified on all fronts in an integrated manner and over the next year we will focus our poverty relief efforts in the nodes of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme and the Urban Renewal Programme. We will also build institutional capacity within communities and within the departments to ensure the sustainability of projects.

The National Development Agency has a critical role to play in the war against poverty through its support to Community-Based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations. As Members of this House may be aware, the NDA has been transferred to the Social Development portfolio and we are finalising amendments to the legislation to complete the transfer.

The Poverty Relief Programme is intended to support the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society. Any attempts by individuals and officials to enrich themselves and defraud the state, will be dealt with severely.

WORK BEING DONE TO EMPOWER WOMEN

Honourable Members, we cannot hope to redress the social and economic imbalances of the past unless we respond to the inequalities and injustices experienced by many women in this country. We have sought to empower women economically through the Poverty Relief Programme and the Flagship Programme, and our social grants support women in their role as primary caregivers.

The Victim Empowerment Programme provides support to women victims of domestic violence and the Department works closely with the Department of Justice and the South African Police Service on all forms of violence against women.

Women are drivers of many community initiatives and it is time for men to treat them with due respect and pride.

A BUDGET ALLOCATION THAT REFLECTS GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT OF THE POOR

Honourable Members, the Department's budget allocation will increase from R190 million in 2001/2002 to R409 million in the new financial year.

Most of the increase in the allocation is for transfer payments to benefit communities in the Poverty Relief Programme, the Home-Based/Community-Based Care Programme, and to fund the projects of the National Development Agency. Funding has also been allocated to improve the social security system and to strengthen the capacity of the Department.

This increased budget together with the substantial allocation for social grants, reflects this Government's commitment to the poorest sector of our society.

TURNING THE CORNER ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TEN POINT PLAN

Honourable Members, we are nearly mid-way through the implementation of the Ten Point Plan to make the sector responsive to needs of the poor and the vulnerable members of our society. I believe that we have made progress in many areas.

We have increased the number of social grant beneficiaries by over 1 million since April 2000 and we are proceeding with improving the social security system on a number of fronts. We have managed to resolve many of the problems in the Poverty Relief Programme and our programme to support children and families affected by HIV/AIDS is expanding. The Disaster Relief Board has paid R49.7 million to victims in this financial year and has completed the processing of over 19 000 claims from victims of last year's floods in the Western Cape.

We have built partnerships with Community-Based Organisations, Faith-based Organisations and the Volunteer Sector, and continue to work with the NGO sector. The Department has registered over 8000 non-profit organisations over the past two years and during the past year alone has trained 650 organisations in governance matters.

We are making progress with the implementation of the recommendations that emerged from the report on elder abuse. Many of the recommendations related to the payment of pensions and these have been taken up in the programme to improve social security. The audit of homes for the aged is close to completion and provincial departments are following up on the many complaints received by the Ministerial Committee in the course of their hearings. A new policy and legislation on the Status of Older Persons will also be completed this year.

Over the past few months we have been working with the business sector to provide concrete support to our programmes and later this year we will be holding a roundtable discussion with the business sector. I take this opportunity to thank Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Mr Raymond Ackerman for lending their support to this important initiative. I also thank FCB, Billington Mines, Ikageng Trust, Anglo-Gold and Ericcson for working with us to invest in social development and make a difference. I urge other companies to follow suit.

Madam Speaker, we do not take comfort in the progress we have made so far. There are a number of critical issues that need to be addressed before we can say that we have turned the corner and are on the final stretch.

Most urgent amongst these issues is the poor infrastructure for social development in most of the Provinces. The conditions at pension pay points and in local offices are not conducive to providing good service. Many offices lack basic equipment such as telephones and computers and offer no privacy to people seeking assistance. The problem is compounded by human resource constraints, especially in the poorer Provinces.

We are committed to accelerating the transformation of welfare services as poor people living in rural areas and in informal settlements have limited access to social services. The transformation programme must include the introduction of new or revised legislation to replace the inadequate pieces of legislation pre-dating the transition to democracy in 1994. We must also provide better financial support to Non-Governmental Organisations and emerging Community-Based Organisations. The NDA has a critical role to play in this regard.

Although we have increased the number of secure care facilities over the past two years, these are insufficient to accommodate the number of children awaiting trial in police cells and in correctional facilities.

Establishing additional facilities will not solve the problem and it is therefore imperative that we expand our diversion programmes, the One-Stop-Justice Centres and the probation services. The inter-departmental team of Social Development, Justice, Correctional Services and SAPS continue to work closely to reduce the number of children awaiting trial in adult facilities.

Although we have had some successes in responding to the needs of youth in a number of our programmes, we are still some way from having an integrated youth development strategy as envisaged in Government's National Youth Development Framework. We need to enhance the linkages and co-ordination between our efforts and those of the Umsombvu Trust, the National Youth Service and the National Youth Commission.

In his State of the Nation Address, President Mbeki raised the issue of social equity and justice for disabled people. While we have amended the Regulations to improve access to the disability grant, I remain concerned that we are not reaching disabled children whose caregivers should receive the care dependency grant. In addition to ensuring that these children have access to social grants, we must also ensure that they have access to other support services. I will be establishing a review of services to disabled children, especially in rural areas.

Madam Speaker, many of the problems that we deal with, such as violence against women and children, occur against the background of drug and alcohol abuse. I am requesting the Central Drug Authority to prioritise programmes for children and youth. While the Central Drug Authority and the law enforcement agencies will undoubtedly do their utmost on this issue, we have an individual and collective responsibility to combat drug and alcohol abuse in our midst.

CONCLUSION: WE ARE LIFTING THE INTOLERABLE BURDEN

In conclusion Madam Speaker, many individuals and organisations have worked with us over the past year to build a caring society and I thank them for their invaluable contributions. I would also like to thank the international partners, including Save the Children (UK), the Governments of the Netherlands, France and Germany and the various agencies of the United Nations. I thank the MECs of Social Development and the officials in the National and Provincial Departments for their commitment to improving service delivery over the past year.

All of our work and efforts are helping to lift the intolerable burden of poverty and underdevelopment from the shoulders of our people. If we are to eradicate the legacy of poverty and underdevelopment, our children - who are the present and future of our nation - must be given the opportunity to grow up in a healthy, caring and safe environment. Protecting children is everybody's business and I call on all to lend a hand and make this country a better place for our children.

ABANTWANA - KUQALA! KINDERS EERSTE! CHILDREN FIRST! BANA PELE!

I thank you.

Issued by the Ministry for Social Development, 19 March 2002