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15 March 2007

Honourable Madam Speaker and Deputy Madam Speaker,
Honourable Premier,
Members of the Executive Council,
Permanent Delegates to the National Council of Provinces,
Members of the Legislature,
Executive Mayors, Mayors and Local Councillors,
Traditional Leaders,
Members of the religious fraternity,
Our partners in social development,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to acknowledge the presence of the MECs for Social Development of the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and the MEC for Agriculture and Land Reform of the Northern Cape. Madam Speaker, we recently sadly witnessed the passing of one of the icons and giants of the struggle in the person of Mama Adelaide Tambo. She has left a legacy that will permeate the hearts and minds of future generations. She was not only the mother of the nation but a leader who lived and died for the cause of the poor.

Athi ke yena uMqhayi waseNtab'ozuko xa ebonga Umntwan'egazi uRharhabe
atsho ngamazwi afanele ukukhapha eliQhawekazi lase Afrika:

"Gungxula ntwana zigqumayo,
Gongqoz' indlela yaseNtshona-langa,
Kant'ukhawulel’izithunywa zoxolo
Sikhukukazi siqoqosh’amantshontsho,
Siqoqosh' izizw’ ezifikayo.

Makubenjalo!!

Introduction

Madam Speaker, my department will always be guided by the principles of the "People’s Document" – The Freedom Charter. We are conscious of our obligation to continue to raise the quality of life of the people of the Eastern Cape, especially the disadvantaged vulnerable children, orphans and those who have special needs. The President, in his State of the Nation Address, and the Premier, in her State of the Province Address, highlighted the need to sharpen poverty reduction strategies and build social cohesion. The Department of Social Development is ready and able to play a meaningful role in deepening delivery in these areas.

It was so inspiring to be reminded by our President in his 8 January statement about some of the ground breaking tasks that we were given by our fellow citizens, one of which was "to continue to work to bring together as many people and groupings as possible into a common struggle to build a better life for all."

It is therefore appropriate that the theme of my policy speech this year is "Intensifying the fight against poverty through sustainable livelihoods." As a new approach to social service delivery, social development transcends the traditional approach, which has been dominated by social welfare thinking in the past. The social development approach aims at collective empowerment and facilitating processes that help the poor to regain power and control over their lives.

It is designed to promote the social well-being of people through a process of planned social change, to promote people's welfare in conjunction with a comprehensive process of community development. In practical terms this means that the department needs to meaningfully deliver both developmental social welfare and community development services and strive to integrate these two imperatives in an innovative manner.

Poverty Reduction and Community Development

During the State of the Nation Address President Thabo Mbeki explicitly spelt out the importance of sharpening government's poverty reduction activities: "none of the great social problems we have to solve is capable of resolution outside the context of the creation of jobs and the alleviation and eradication of poverty and therefore the struggle to eradicate poverty has been and will continue to be a central part of the national effort to build the new South
Africa."

As the Premier indicated in her State of the Province Address, the Eastern
Cape has been privileged to see first hand successful poverty reduction programmes in South America. Already on 7 January 2007 EXCO adopted a set of resolutions aimed at better integrating and co-ordinating poverty reduction in the Eastern Cape. There is a lot being done in terms of poverty alleviation and poverty reduction in the province, but the lessons from Chile are that the fragmented project-driven approach needs to be welded into a coherent and sustainable programme if it is to have a higher impact. During 2006 there was considerable discussion of the Presidency Macro-Social Report, A Nation in the Making. We in the Eastern Cape undertook our own research on poverty and inequality in the province. This research revealed that some 64% of the population of the province are living below the minimum living level of R800 per month.

The Presidency is spearheading research and development of a comprehensive national poverty reduction strategy that will take forward the President's clarion call to action in reducing poverty. This will include, as the President indicated, clearly defining the poverty matrix; developing a proper database of households living in poverty; identifying and implementing specific interventions relevant to these households; monitoring progress in these households as they are graduated out of poverty and addressing all indigence, especially for women; co-ordinating and aligning all anti-poverty programmes; and accelerating training of social workers to ensure identified households are supported and monitored.

But, Madam Speaker, the Chile Solidario programme that is so successful in Chile in reducing poverty took some two years to design. We do not have the luxury of spending two years designing a similar intervention. That is why the Department of Social Development is adopting a two-phased approach: immediate interventions and medium to long-term measures. Whilst the deeper structural issues around a similar programme to Chile Solidario are being developed, the department has identified immediate interventions in the 2007/08 financial year which will have a huge impact on poverty in the province. As part of the research into the Eastern Cape macro-social analysis, the department identified and profiled the 10 poorest or least developed local municipal areas. These are:

* Umzimvubu
* Nyandeni
* Mbizana
* Qaukeni
* Ntabankulu
* Mnquma
* Mbashe
* Ngqushwa
* Elundini
* Ngcobo and
* Intsika Yethu

To this list I would also like to add Ngcobo. We will also be paying special attention to the Ngcobo Local Municipality as an under-developed area that has suffered several natural disasters. Over and above its normal activities in all parts of the province, the department has set aside an additional amount of R40 million for special interventions in these priority local municipalities, both in community development and in developmental social welfare services. Working with them we will strive to identify specific activities that will reduce poverty, help the poorest of the poor to access their rights in terms of basic services and integrate a spectrum of services from Early Childhood Development, accessing grants to 40 income-generation ventures. Furthermore, a budget of R5250 000 has been earmarked for a partnership with faith-based organisations and traditional leaders for implementing high impact village-based development projects, with a strong emphasis on reducing poverty in deep rural areas.

The department in the 2006/07 financial year successfully implemented 38 food security projects and 26 women's co-operatives that resulted in the improvement of the nutritional status of 950 households and created income opportunities for 390 marginalised and vulnerable women in the Eastern Cape, utilising a budget allocation of R40 million. These projects have made a huge impact in the lives of those they reach.

A typical case in point is the successful implementation of a charcoal production project by 15 women of Rabula Valley near Keiskammahoek. These women produce charcoal by removing wattle trees (alien vegetation). The project entered into a partnership with silicon smelters who use the charcoal in the smelting and shaping of metals, production of glass, purification of food, water, odours and for fuel and energy sources.

This charcoal is transported to Limpopo and the group receives R19 000 per 32 ton truck. On average they export two truckloads of charcoal to Limpopo each month. The department is committed to strengthen and replicate this type of project in 2007/08 in partnership with Eastern Cape Developmental Corporation in all the local municipalities that have abundance of wattle plantations. A budget of R5 million is set aside for this. The project is both environmentally sound and economically empowering.

In 2007/08 the department, in its commitment to contribute towards promoting sustainable livelihoods and creating a better life for the poorest of the poor, is also targeting implementation of 67 food security projects. This will increase the number of households with sufficient food by 1 675 households in all seven Districts in the Eastern Cape. An amount of R50 million has been set aside to achieve that target.

Our macro-social analysis revealed a large number of women-headed households in rural areas. Thirty women’s co-operatives, involving 450 households, will be implemented in the nodal points and poverty pockets of the Eastern Cape. These groups will be orientated to co-operative practices and mobilised to start savings clubs that could later develop into viable credit unions in future years. A budget totalling R15 million has been set aside to realise this objective.

Of course, not all our sustainable livelihoods projects are focused on women.
We also recognise that youth make up a significant portion of the unemployed in the province. Young people between 15-34 years constitute 33,2% of the Eastern Cape population, according to our macro-social analysis. Our Youth Development programme aims to capacitate youth for self-employment and entrepreneurship development. It targets out-of-school and unemployed youth. During 2006/07 the department supported 29 youth development projects, targeting more than 400 out-of-school and unemployed youths.

Entrepreneurship development focuses on the emergence and growth of new businesses with a motivation to make profit fully utilising basic business principles and practices. The department has set aside a budget of R18 million in 2007/08 to create sustainable job opportunities for 540 young people in the province. In our revised structure we have also raised management of this programme to senior manager level, so that it receives the full attention that it deserves. We will also work closely with the Eastern Cape Youth Commission to realise these objectives.

In addition, the department is partnering with the University of Fort Hare to train 200 unemployed youth as Auxiliary Community Development Practitioners, at level five, on a one year certificate programme. Madam Speaker I cannot leave this topic of non-profit organisations (NPOs) and community development without paying tribute to the members of the Portfolio Committee for Social Development. During the year the department has strived to ensure that our community development projects deliver on their objectives and that fraud and corruption are minimised. For the first time, we undertook an audit of our projects during the course of the year. We insisted on receiving expenditure reports and made sure that our controls were in place. Indeed, in a few isolated cases, we detected misuse of funds and we acted promptly and decisively. We will not tolerate misuse of funds intended for the poor. But over and above this, members of our Portfolio Committee visited numerous projects across the length and breadth of the province. Their report will assist us a great deal in ensuring that funds voted by this House are used appropriately and effectively.

Finally, on the issue of poverty reduction, we are also committing an amount R1 million towards the research and development of a longer-term provincial poverty reduction strategy. To this end we will be hosting a poverty reduction summit before June 2007.

Developmental Social Welfare Services

The other major leg of the department's activities is developmental social welfare services. This encompasses substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation; care and services to older persons; crime prevention and support; services to persons with disabilities; childcare and protection services; victim empowerment; HIV and AIDS; social relief of distress, and care and support services to families.

In 2006/07 the department implemented 53 home or community based care facilities (HCBCs) focusing on care and support to orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. Psychosocial support in the form of counselling, food, clothing and school uniforms were provided. HCBCs that constitute our Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) contributed to poverty reduction by creating 1 802 jobs. Nearly 16 000 orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS benefited from the programme.

The fight against HIV and AIDS will be intensified. The department will extend the integrated HCBCs, offered by community caregivers to affected and infected persons. The budget for 2007/08 has been increased from R29 million to R50 million. This will enable us to implement 67 HCBCs, spread across the 24 Areas. The target number of jobs to be created is 2 482, which further contributes to the attainment of the PGDP goals of job creation and reducing unemployment.

With regard to services to children the tariffs for children's homes were increased from R985 in 2005/06 to R1 000 in 2006/07. To further enhance the development and care of children the tariff will increase to R1 500 per child per month in 2007/08. The tariff increases served to retain social workers in the NGO sector, improved quality care of children in residential facilities and brought us closer to the national norms.

In 2006/07 the Department also extended the employment of 72 contract social workers. Overall, our social workers successfully placed 8 843 orphaned children, who were in need of care and protection, in foster care. The department participated in public hearings on the Children's Amendment Bill, which were conducted throughout the province, creating awareness of communities about services to children.

Madam Speaker, the issue of children is very close to my heart. The abuse of children, the poverty-stricken circumstances in which children are growing up, the prevalence of child-headed households and the unacceptable rate of teenage suicide are phenomena that should concern us all. I was recently so moved that I adopted two schools – Nompumelelo Primary and Upper Corhana Senior Secondary School. We intend using these schools as centres for promoting development and addressing these ills, both amongst the children and in the broader community. I would like to extend and invitation to you all to do whatever you can, wherever you can.

On the issue of Early Childhood Development (ECD), the subsidy paid per child per day was increased from R2 in 2005/06 to R5 in 2006/07 and will increase to R9 per child per day in ECD centres in 2007/08. Madam speaker in this budget the 1 124 subsidised ECD centres in which 63 000 children benefited, will be increased by additional of 225 centres across the province. For us to succeed In 2007/08 we will revive the partnership with the Department of Education to improve both the number of ECDs that we support and the quality of services in these institutions. It is our firm conviction that the grounding that children receive in ECD sets the tone for their later educational development. We must, therefore, begin to improve the quality of services provided by ECD. R78 million has been set aside for this. The number of ECD centres funded will increase by 225 centres.

With regard to services to the aged in 2006/07, the department funded 55 old age homes, 115 service centres and three social service organisations, targeting 64 852 older persons in our seven districts, to provide care and support, residential care, economic empowerment to older persons and life skills to young people through inter-generational programmes. The total budget for this priority programmes was R60 727 000. Following the promulgation of the Older Persons Act 13, Act No of 2006, which seeks to promote the rights of Older Persons and encourages healthy and independent living among them, we have increased the budget to R77 million. The programme will increase its subsidies to Older Persons in the following manner:
* old age homes – R 1262 to R1500 on a sliding scale
* service centres – R90.00 to R200.00
* volunteer stipends – R600

Furthermore, 72 new initiatives, which include Service Centres, inter-generational programmes, income generating programmes, home community based care and old age homes will be implemented. With regard to people with disabilities, community based care programs were implemented with a total budget of R17,8 million in 2006/07, which was spent on 23 homes for the disabled, 30 special day care centres, 11 protective workshops, 12 social service centres, 6 hospices and 11 income generating projects. The programme aims to contribute to economic empowerment, care and support, skills development and rehabilitation for people with disabilities. A total of 52 014 people benefited from this programme

Madam speaker and the honourable members in this budget 2007/08 we are strengthening the program for the people with disability with R28, 714 000 for the provision of skills development, care, support, economic empowerment, preventive and promotive services in all seven district municipalities targeting people with disabilities in the service centres. The monthly tariffs for subsidised homes for the disabled and protective workshops will be revised from R1 260 to R1 500 and from R164,25 to R200 respectively.

In 2006/07 moral regeneration was allocated R1,5 million. The department started with awareness campaigns in the form of workshops in all the District Municipalities and the Metro. The key aim was to spark dialogue within communities, identify issues of moral decay, work out strategies of addressing social ills, and promote moral regeneration and the key value system of ubuntu. These workshops culminated into a MRM Indaba, which was held at the Mngqesha Great Place. This was followed by the official launch of the Eastern Cape chapter of Heartlines as a partnership between SABC, Department of Education, Social Development and Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture to promote good values such as compassion, forgiveness, unity, discipline and reconciliation among our young folk.

In pursuit of our quest to build a caring society R7 million is allocated to achieve this cause in 2007/08. Madam Speaker the moral regeneration will therefore form a thread which runs through most of the department's activities. We need to intensify building stable families. R7 million will be utilised towards the promotion of the family unit as a base to promote moral values and social cohesion. This will enable us to roll out family resource centres and the family preservation programmes for training on parenting skills and thus providing a protective environment for the children.

As we enter the 2007/08 financial year we recognise that one of the critical challenges which contribute to family disintegration, moral degeneration, increasing level of HIV and AIDS crime and conflicts among the families is abuse of alcohol and drugs. This programme will intensify its advocacy programme, nationally branded as "Ke Moja". Our intervention strategies on drug abuse will incorporate implementation of community-based models, reintegration and support programmes as well as the establishment of the first state treatment centre in Chris Hani for substance abuse in the Eastern Cape. A deliberate focus will be on teenagers who are the most vulnerable group on substance abuse. A total budget of R8 million has been set aside to deliver on prevention and treatment of substance abuse.

On crime prevention and support, 50 probation officers were employed to strengthen the implementation of the Child Justice Bill. Bosasa, a service provider, was engaged to run the Sikhuselekile Place of Safety for Children awaiting Trial in Mthatha. The Bosasa Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the department highlights the need for the provision of an environment more conducive than a prison that will equip young offenders with life skills to ease their re-integration into the societal mainstream.

To advance this programme for 2007/08, an amount of R70 million has been identified for crime prevention and support, including to the implementation of the Child Justice Bill. Madam Speaker this represents a 52% increase from R37 million in 2006/07. This will be utilised to implement skills development, economic empowerment and diversion programmes of the youth away from the criminal activities. This financial injection will allow the department to establish:
* two One-Stop-Youth Justice Centres, one each in Mthatha and Mdantsane
* two Places of Safety for children awaiting trial, in Aliwal North and Grahamstown
* one Secure Care Centre in East London

Each of these centres will accommodate up to 70 children awaiting trial.
The re-integration programmes of ex-offenders will be implemented in all of our seven districts. One hundred more assistant probation officers and 12 chief
probation officers will be appointed to strengthen the implementation of diversion programmes and management of probation services.

The department's Victim Empowerment Programme remains a cornerstone of fighting the abuse of women and children. The programme has received additional impetus with the appointment of a senior manager to head the Victim Empowerment Programme. A budget of R14 700 000 has been set aside for 2007/08. Two new One Stop Centres for outreach programmes and for shelter purposes will be established in the OR Tambo and Amathole Districts. Twelve new Safe Homes will be established in "hot spot" areas for women and children suffering abuse. Survivor Support and Community-Based Care programmes will be available in all 24 Areas. In partnership with other departments, the Department of Social Development will participate in the establishment of a Restorative Justice Centre in the Nelson Mandela Metro to address both the perpetrators and the victims of violence.

Madam Speaker, Honourable Members, the recruitment and retention of social workers is a major concern of the department. In a joint effort with the national department we are offering scholarships to 422 Social Work students as part of the strategy to recruit and retain scarce skills and to improve provision of social services to the people of the Eastern Cape. In addition, posts for 300 social auxiliary workers and 200 social workers will be advertised in order to implement the objectives of the Children's Act. The national Department of Social Development, with the nine provincial departments, is working on a scarce skills and rural allowance scheme for social workers. Once this is completed it will go a long way towards retaining social workers in the rural parts of the province.

In a further effort to improve social services, the department has been in discussions with VWSA to partner with the training of social auxiliary workers at the Nelson Mandela Metro University. The commitment displayed by VWSA to the province in this regard is appreciated and we look forward to this project taking off in the coming year.

Building the Capacity of the department to deliver

Over the last year, the Department of Social Development has re-positioned and redefined itself. From the 1 April 2006, the social security function was removed to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). In this regard
I must add that the establishment of SASSA in the Eastern Cape proceeded smoothly and there was no disruption of the payment of grants. The department and SASSA continue to work together. At District and Area level we still share offices and complement each other's activities. The new mandate of the department has necessitated that we put in place, in line with the new service delivery model, institutional arrangements that will create an enabling environment for effective service delivery. Madam Speaker, I am mindful that the completion of the revised organisational structure and the filling of funded vacancies are two of the resolutions adopted by this House. Like the other resolutions, we have strived to comply. The department completed the development of its new service delivery model and although we were not able to fully complete the revised structure that this necessitated.

I am happy to state that the revised structure is now ready for submission to EXCO and to the national Minister for Public Service and Administration and for implementation in 2007/08. In our revised structure we have addressed substantive issues like improving our anti-corruption capacity and creating capacity in districts to implement delegated functions. Districts, as envisaged, will perform back office support functions, in order for Area Offices to focus more on the core business in the service delivery process. We have also proposed to align the department better with local municipal demarcation to ensure accessibility of services, maximum participation by citizens and effective stakeholder engagements.

The department started the 2006/07 year with nearly 51% vacancies on the existing approved organisational structure. A considerable effort was made to address this. During the course of the year some 504 posts were advertised.
I am pleased to be able to report to this House that as of last week, some 425 appointments have been made and more are in process. In February we advertised another 500 funded vacant posts.

Included in these are posts for social workers, probation officers and community development practitioners, as well as much-needed support staff. The filling of these posts will place the department in an unprecedented position to fulfil its mandate to provide care, protection and development for the poor and the vulnerable. Monitoring and evaluation of service delivery remains a challenge. The department has already begun appointing programme co-ordinators in each of the seven District Offices.

Their role will include coordinating service delivery between the different programmes, tracking implementation of projects, quality control, monitoring and evaluation. The call made by the Honourable Premier to engage and utilise the struggle veterans in the monitoring of the funded projects presents us with an opportunity which will certainly take up. In December 2006, the Office of the Premier tabled the results of a Rapid Impact Assessment of service delivery in the Eastern Cape. The report, inter alia, made recommendations around services to women, people with disabilities and the effects of migration on rural impoverishment. It also raised the need for staff re-orientation and for building partnerships with other departments. As a department we have analysed the report and taken the findings on board. Many of the interventions I have listed above begin to address the issues raised in the Rapid Impact Assessment.

Another of the issues highlighted in the Rapid Impact Assessment is that there is a poor flow of information to communities and poor communication with stakeholders. It is our intention in the coming year to establish a Provincial Stakeholder Forum and seven district fora that feed into it. This will facilitate the two-way flow of information and enable us to communicate more effectively with our NGOs and NPOs.

In similar vein, the department has reworked its Service Delivery Improvement Plan. This will enable our stakeholders and clients to assess whether we are indeed living up to Batho Pele. I have great pleasure in tabling this here today, along with our Annual Performance Plan for 2007/08. The department recognises that the appointment of new staff, in itself, does not always fully address capacity problems. A tender has already been advertised for a Project Office that will provide induction, mentoring and on-the-job training in critical areas like human resource management, finance and supply chain management.

It is my firm conviction that the success of our programmes will ultimately rest on effective performance management in the department. During the 2006/07 year our senior managers all entered into performance agreements and some reviews took place during the year. Notwithstanding this, the Performance Management and Development System is still not second nature to our senior managers. Until Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) becomes second nature to senior managers we will continue to struggle with performance. I am therefore re-committing the department to effectively utilising performance management to improve service delivery in 2007/08.

Conclusion

In concluding, Madam Speaker I would like to re-iterate that the programmes I have outlined today will make significant progress in realising the dream of both the President and the Premier of reducing poverty and building social cohesion. Building a socially stable and economically developed Eastern Cape will be very sound preparation for hosting our visitors to the 2010 FIFA world cup.

Allow me also to express a word of gratitude to my entire management team under the visionary leadership of my newly appointed Head of Department for their high sense of dedication to public duty. May I also express a special word of profound appreciation to our social workers and community development practitioners whose commitment to the service of our people has stood the test of time. I would also like to record my gratitude to the many NGOs and NPOs in the province who help to deliver our services. The tireless efforts of the staff, board members and volunteers in NGOs and NPOs are appreciated.

Mandinqule, ndikhonze ndikwabulela ngokungazenzisiyo kwinkokheli yethu inkulumbuso yeli phondo, uMaMntlane ngenkxaso enkulu asoloko eyinika eliSebe. Ngekhe ndibalibale ooGxa bam kwisiGqeba esilawulayo kwakunye
namalungu onke aleNdlu yowiso-mthetho ngentsebenziswano engummangaliso.

Now is the time for all us to join hands and sing with one voice in concert and affirm that we shall not abandon the poor. Finally, as I end, the wise words said by our Honourable President in his first ever State of the Nation Address come to mind: "If, by word and deed, we take our places among the ordinary people who position themselves among a nation that is at work to build a better life for all within a caring society, then should we expect that the poor of our world will set a garland of grace on our heads and present each and everyone of us with a crown of splendour."

Ndiyabulela

Summary of Budget Allocation per Programme 2007/08 (R 000s):
Administration: 2006/07: 197 638; 2007/08: 207 681
Social Welfare Services: 2006/07: 422 537; 2007/08: 580 398
Development and research: 2006/07: 120 627; 2007/08: 163 656
Total allocation: 2006/07: 740 802; 2007/08: 951 735

Issued by: Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
15 March 2007
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (www.ecprov.gov.za)