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21 April 2008

Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Members of the legislature
Members of the National Assembly present
Leadership of local government
Marena le Dikgosi
Leadership from business and civil society
Members of the social welfare constituency
Distinguished guests

Honourable Speaker, I stand before this august house to present the budget vote speech for Social Development. I do this against the background and understanding of the present socio-economic reality of widening poverty and macro economic shocks. I am also presenting this budget speech fully aware that it must provide tangible responses to address the plight of the vulnerable groups who live in conditions of poverty. I therefore do not intend to stand here and be poetic or deliver a memorial lecture but to put forward a pragmatic social plan which seeks to mitigate conditions of deprivation and develop responsive capacities of communities to win the war against poverty.

The fluctuation of global market is putting a strain on the economy. This is witnessed in the spiral rise of energy prices and interest rates have a ripple and dire effect on basic commodities such as food, clothes and shelter. Food prices have risen by 14% to date and continue to rise. Since poverty does not have a human face, logic dictates that the number of food insecure households will significantly increase. The projected hostile winter accompanied by load shedding is a terrifying prospects to child headed households and malapa a kobo di mahetleng who eke their living from the sidelines of life. Such a situation precipitates an increase of a range of related social ills and offences such as crime and violence.

The sporadic incidences of xenophobia are an expression of raising level of social and economic insecurities. This is reality we must contend with and brace ourselves to deal with. Let me pronounce to this House that we stand ready to deliver.

Ladies and gentlemen the department carries a mandate to forge the agenda for social transformation. This agenda is central in the war against poverty and creation of a better life for our people through provision of comprehensive social protection measures and development of social and human capital. The agenda for social transformation commit us to develop and implement both progressive and radical policy and programmatic instruments to realise socio-economic rights and promote social justice.

This mandate captures and expresses the total aspirations of the electorate and the vision for a better life articulated by the people’s movement. This therefore is a historical task which we dare not fail. We therefore owe it to the silent and poor majority of our people to stand up and deliver. I make this undertaking mindful of the organisational constrains and service delivery pressures and challenges. I want to believe that the solution lies in the bold and imaginative leadership committed to energise all social forces and build partnerships to create a sustained wave towards developing caring communities.

Historic and authentic change and development is championed and owned by the people. An analogy in the art of war dictates that war is not won by guns and generals but by the people. I also truly believe that it is only when were stand and remain steadfast in covenant with the people that we can as a unified collective usher a better life for all. This philosophy, which we embrace cherish and practice, is echoed in the Chinese mantra which says:
Live with the people
Walk with the people
Learn from the people

We therefore commit ourselves to deepening the provision of community based services in partnership with the people. In this we re-affirm our commitment to a contract with the people to develop carrying communities.

Our achievements

Honourable Speaker, allow me to highlight our achievements for the financial year 2007/08 as per commitments we made to this house. This is in keeping with the tradition and ethos of democratic, accountable and participatory governance.

The department made serious efforts to address human resource and skill shortage which constituted one of the key challenges in acceleration of services. The following achievements were registered in terms of appointment of staff and provision of tools of trade:

1) Five new senior managers were appointed to reinforce the leadership collective.
2) Executive and senior managers have attended Khaedu leadership programme.
3) 125 social workers were appointed. This was major milestone as social work has been declared a scare skill. The recruitment drive to employ more social workers will continue even in this financial year.
4) All social workers doing field work were afforded the tools of trade such as cars, cellular phones, and laptops.
5) 149 security personnel were employed and posted to different work stations throughout the province.

In order to retain and bring about progressive parity in the salary dispensation between social workers in the private and public sector, we provided an increase of 10% for the salaries of professionals employed by Non-Profit Organisations who receive subsidies from the department. We equally remain committed to create supportive environment to this sector.

Other innovative strategies were developed to build a wider pool base and retain this scares skill in the province. 109 social work students were awarded bursaries through funding made available by the national Department of Social Development. Secondly, provision and maintenance of infrastructure had presented some problems which eventually attracted media attention. It gives me great pleasure to report to this House that Matete Matches Secure Care has been revamped. The centre was not only given a facelift but was also resourced organisationally giving it a capability to provide quality and professional service to 40 children in conflict with law.

This was made possible through the partnership with the Department of Correctional Services, Department of Public Roads and Transport, MTN Foundation and Kloppers and business community. Many more, thanks to all of you.

Construction of a new secure centre in Thabo Mofutsanyane began in April 2007.Whilst the department believes that this is an important resource, the project is hamstrung by shortage of funds to fast-track the completion of the centre. The department will explore ways of addressing this challenge within resources made available over the Mid Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) cycle.

In July 2007, we opened Bloem Secure Centre which caters for a maximum of 50 children awaiting trial. These centres and all other institutional care centres act as safe guards to provide supportive and nurturing environment to children in difficult circumstances. This is a living testimony to our pledge and commitment to Bana Pele. The uptake of children in the Early Development Centres (ECDs) was increased by four thousand by November 2007. These centres do not only nurture psycho-social development they play an important role in curbing child abuse. In recognition of their important role in the continuum of care, material support was provided to ECD centres who are currently not receiving subsidies. They were also provided with an assortment of donations which included toys, food, children's blankets and food hampers. These items were donated by staff and business community.

Foster care backlogs was reduced from 27 000 to 9 053 ensuring that these children will be entitled to cash transfers in the form of foster care grants. The appeals backlog has been reduced from in excess of 2 000 to less than 150.

All backlogs in the medical assessment of disability grants were resolved. 115 assessment sites for disability grant applications have been secured within primary health care centres throughout the Free State by relocating them from centralised private doctor’s room s thereby improving accessibility. The number of trained assessing doctors has increased from 23 to 112.

Research has demonstrated that social grants are an important means of livelihood for poor households offering greater social returns in the war against poverty. We shall continue ensuring access to this safety net for the vulnerable group.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are a truly caring government. In 2007/08 a total budget of R7.8 million was made available through South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) for social relief of distress. This funding benefited 15 652 individuals who were awaiting processing of their applications for social grant and were exposed to situations of undue hardships. These individuals were provided with food hampers. A concerted effort has been made to increase access to social grants. The Integrated Community Outreach Programme (ICROP) which made use of 10 mobile units was a great success with 8 533 people living in rural areas, farms and informal settlements registered for various grant types. Partnerships were initiated and strengthened with strategic partners such as the National Development Agency, Youth Commission and some banking institutions.

Four young people from poor households were placed with the First National Bank (FNB) as part of the internship programme. The ABSA Bank procured mattresses, chairs and tables which will be donated to needy ECDs. A number of other businesses were approached and pledged their support to our cause. Last but not least, the department championed a crusade to consult with non-profit organisations (NPOs) in their different sectors to take them into confidence on matters regarding the organisational standing, plan and allocated budget for 2008/09. We also negotiated new terms of engagement. This dialogical engagement gave us an opportunity to develop more insights on experienced service delivery pressures, constrains, potential and strengths. We will be developing mechanisms to institutionalise this engagement as part of entrenching participatory and collaborative governance.

Our commitments

It is a normative practice for government to continuously appraise and review the socio-economic milieu in order to provide and articulate policy directives and strategic priorities to guide service delivery. In February 2008 in the presentation of the State of the Nation Address the President has announced Apex Priorities which the Premier confirmed in the State of the Province Address. The Apex Priorities represent a strategic thrust to promote sustained economic growth and advance the agenda for social development. They also serve a political command centre and launch pad for unleashing a total onslaught against poverty and social injustice.

Ladies and gentlemen, our social plan for 2008/09 stands on eight strategic initiatives which constitute a compact of coherent and logical constructs to accelerate social transformation. These strategic initiatives are:
1) Governance and institutional development
2) War on poverty
3) Tackling child poverty
4) Social cohesion
5) Youth development
6) Tackling adult and older person’s poverty
7) Community development
8) International solidarity

Our agenda for action

This agenda, which is a reflection of our priorities, will find expression through the corporate services and two service delivery programmes. The department has been allocated a sum total of R536 193 million to implement its plan of action. This figure represents an 18% budget increase.

Programme 1: Corporate services

Governance and institutional development provides for overarching frameworks which define business systems, management structures and regulatory environment. In this instance the department will focus on reviewing of the business systems and strengthening of management competencies to achieve business excellence. The process of reviewing the departmental organogram, which is part of the national drive, is currently underway. Our commitment is to develop a district model underpinned by ethos of decentralisation, effective, efficient and responsive administration and governance. This strategic intent is already reflected in the allocation of resources in this financial year guided by business requirements, poverty profiles and demographics. This will give an added advantage to be more visible and responsive to the needs of communities.

Ladies and gentlemen, some of the systemic challenges which continue to beset the department are information management, monitoring and evaluation. To this end we commit ourselves to implement an information management system which will be able to provide us with critical data for development planning and management. I am glad to announce that the process of creating a system which allows for interface between BAS and Persal is about to be finalised in the first quarter. Resolving this nightmare will help the department to have a proper record of its personnel and reflect correct expenditure trends per programmes.

The poor performance and collapse of funded projects is largely attributed to poor monitoring. The report of the Auditor General has confirmed this finding. In response the department will constitute a fully fledged and functional monitoring unit which will be established in the districts to provide oversight function. Human capital formation and management remains a foundational imperative in providing delivery of humane services within the dictates of Batho Pele. A comprehensive human resource management and development plan has been put forward to address identified needs and priorities.

All critical vacant and funded posts will be filled within six months. Particular attention will be given to social work which has been declared a scarce skill. The retention strategy for social workers has been finalised and is being implemented. 171 social work students will be awarded bursaries. The allocation is as follows:
* first year: 72 students
* second yea: 33 students
* third year: 36 students
* fourth year: 30 students.

Learnerships will also be implemented targeting 50 students. At this stage it is opportune for me to also announce that the department will implement Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD). We are currently finalising the modalities, as proposed in the national implementation framework, to be presented to Cabinet soon. A budget has been set aside for this purpose. The following occupation specific categories will benefit from this process: community development practitioners, probation officers, childcare workers, social workers and auxiliary social workers. This dispensation is already implemented for the nursing profession.

Programme 2: Social Welfare Services

This programme addresses provision of care and protection primarily through legislative measures which entitles the vulnerable to social services. The programme is therefore promised on a rights based approach. A total budget of R343 188 million has been appropriated for this programme.

Tackling child poverty

The increase in the number of children living in poverty is not only worrying but must be regarded as a national emergency. It is estimated that more than two thirds of the children in the country and province live in situation of income poverty. Conservative estimates suggest that about ten thousand children are orphaned by HIV and AIDSAIDS. The self reinforcing relationship between poverty and HIV and AIDS has not just left children orphaned but are burdened with the responsibility of parenting and to assume role of sole provider in their childhood.

In order to tackle child poverty, an amount of R193 920 million will be spent for 2008/09 compared to R136 985 million which was allocated in the last financial year. Measures to tackling child poverty will focus on expansion of ECDs service, minimum standards, childcare services and protection services to children.

* Expansion of early childhood development centres
Doubling the uptake of children in ECD programmes is one the priorities identified both in the national and the provincial address. A comprehensive plan has been put forward to provide social protection measures to children prioritising those who live in difficult circumstances. First we will increase the overall registration of children in the ECD programmes from 82 000 to 100 000. The department will also increase the uptake of children receiving subsidy by 4 000. These initiatives will be complemented by training of ECD practitioners. There are currently 150 practitioners on training. An additional 280 will be trained during the course of the year as part of Expanded Public Works (EPW) programme. The department has also undertaken proper audit of needs in the sector which will assist in the development of long-term plans.

* Minimum standards
Ladies and gentlemen, part of the increase we received in the budget will be used to address issues of compliance to minimum requirement as per costing model. It gives me great pleasure to announce an increase in the subsidy of ECDs from R5.20 to R9.00. More importantly is that unit cost for day care centres for children with disabilities will be increased from R8.00 to R11.00

* Care and protection services
Provision of foster care is one of the legislative mandates of the department. Blockages in the system have however resulted in the denial and delays in the provision of socio-economic rights to children in need of care as enshrined in the constitution. The department has jointly embarked on Letsema campaign with the SASSA and other stakeholders to resolve foster care backlog and facilitate greater access to social security. A memorandum of agreement which was signed last year has been reviewed as per new set of imperatives. The new memorandum of agreement was signed this morning of the 21st of April 2008 to regulate this partnership.

The following will constitute key deliverables of the campaign:
* reduction of foster care backlog from 9 053 to zero
* provision of relief of distress prioritising cases of orphans and vulnerable children
* deployment of 23 support staff in the form of auxiliary social workers to help with handling of foster care cases under the supervision of social workers
* community outreach registration campaigns in all districts
* fast-track resolutions of appeals of backlogs for disability grants and care dependency
* implementation of improved grant administration (IGAP)
* initiate implementation of 20 outreach campaigns through Integrated Community Outreach Project (ICROP).

Honourable Speaker, let me pause here and express my appreciation to the collective leadership of SASSA for the consultative management and demonstration of willingness to always take an extra mile to accelerate service delivery. The communicative ability of the agency keeps communities updated and informed of the prevailing circumstances regarding service delivery. Such a management practice is a pivotal in upholding and realisation of Batho Pele.

The Children’s Act, amongst other things, brings the full spectrum of child protection instruments available to promote the preservation of families and strengthening community childcare and protection structures. The department is exploring possible ways of intensifying child protection services. Such measures will include hosting of children’s summit to craft strategies to realise this legislative mandate. The summit will be held in 2008 and is planned to coincide with the child protection week.

Children of the twilight, meaning those who find themselves in the streets because of dysfunctional family support systems, deserve equal priority. The department will continue to provide support to 14 community projects dealing with street children. As the 2010 World Cup Tournament draws near the provincial alliance for street children is urged to develop a plan to address the potential threat of exploitation and trafficking of children by racketeers who will be masquerading as legitimate business entities.

* Packages of services to children
The department will invest a total amount of R24 243 million in addressing the plight of orphaned and vulnerable children through our HIV and AIDS sub-programme.

Honourable speaker, we have established that the fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic require a broad range of collaborative efforts. Government locates this programme within the National HIV and AIDS Master Plan which assigns responsibilities to sector departments for co-ordinated action. Staying within its mandate the department has reviewed and refocused its package of services of home/community based care to give more impetus on orphans and vulnerable children.

The department has set itself the following priorities for the year ahead:
* expansion of child care forums (CCFs) to areas that do not have services
* establishment of drop-in-centres to needy areas
* co-ordinated action for Orphans and other Children made Vulnerable by HIV and AIDS (OVC) in the province.
* capacity building of caregivers who are within the CCFs and drop-in-centres, to ensure that they have a qualification through Expanded Public Works (EPW) programme.

These programmes are implemented in partnership with 137 funded organisations. A new departmental policy will be developed to standardise payment of stipends to care givers. In developing the capacity of caregivers, 100 will receive eight additional modules (full qualification at NQF level 4) during 2008/09. This will not only make them competent and diligent in rendering services to the children but will also form a basis of career pathing for the community caregivers.

* Progressive expansion of child support grant (CGS)
Honourable Speaker, government has decided to increase the child support grant in 2008/09 as means to tackle child poverty as part of progressive realisation of the rights of children as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. The SASSA is paying child support grant to 455 849 beneficiaries as on 16 April 2008.

In the last financial year, the CSG was R200.00 and has been increased to R210.00 with effect from 1 April 2008. In October 2008 there will be a further increase of the grant to R220.00. I must indicate that it also a great pleasure for me to indicate that the CSG age qualification will also increase to 15 years. This increase will benefit 35 000 children who are entitled to the grant as per provisions of the Act.

I believe that all these measures will go a long way to mitigate the impact of child poverty and serve as foundational base for further expansion in outer years.

Social cohesion

Ladies and gentlemen, the subject of social cohesion is at the heart of the agenda for nation building and social integration. Social cohesion seeks to find the glue that holds us together when everything else is tearing us apart. Other than racism, crime, all forms of abuse against vulnerable groups are new forms of unnecessary evils which haunt our communities. The cumulative impact of these phenomena is social disorganisation and weakening of family and the moral fibre of society. The premier has commanded all of us to lead an offensive against racism and all forms of crime.

* Social crime prevention
The department has set aside an amount of R20 377 million for rendering social crime prevention services. The allocation will be spent on the development and implementations of social crime prevention programmes, and provide probation service targeting children, youth, adult offenders and victims in the criminal justice system.

* Victim empowerment programme
Our country provides a model of constitutional safeguards and empowerment for women. We have taken strides to address the feminisation of poverty, yet more still needs to be done. It is however painful to witness growing and total onslaught of abuse and violence against women. One of our social workers in Qwa-Qwa dealing with the incidence of rape gave this depressing testimony: “Every month I see not less than 30 women who are traumatised by rape. I can no longer stand this tragic situation. My whole being is troubled. Every night I go to bed painfully thinking what has come over us and who is next?”

The implementation of Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) constitutes an important building block of response systems to give expression to the service charter for victims of crime. VEP must be understood to refer to provision of social assistance, medical, and psychological support to capacitate the victim to overcome the trauma of an act of victimisation. Given this definition we must evaluate our programmes as the Justice and Crime Prevention Cluster to determine whether they approximate the required comprehensiveness.

The department will establish a 24-hour victim centre in Qwa-Qwa. Nine new community based victim support services will be funded bringing to 39 the total number of centres funded. 300 service providers and professionals will be trained on service standards to enhance quality of service provided to victims of crime. An amount of R4 065 million will be allocated for our intervention on VEP. This programme is implemented in partnership with the Flemish government through which an amount of R7.5 million will be made available to the Free State over the next two years. We are grateful to the Flemish government for this partnership.

* Substance abuse
A total budget of R9 463 million will be utilised to design and implement integrated services for substance abuse, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in 2008/09. The department has finalised the mini drug master plan as well as a strategy for establishing detoxification services in all district hospitals in collaboration with the Department of Health. Local Drug Action Committees will be established in all municipalities. These committees will co-ordinate development and implementation of integrated community prevention programmes. Partnership with the Department of Education and other stakeholders for the implementation of “Ke Moja, I’m fine without drugs” in the Free State schools will be strengthened.

* Tackling adults and older person’s poverty
The new Older Persons Act provides the framework and guidelines of which the lives of the aged, as one of the vulnerable groups, should be harnessed, preserved and protected. The department will spend a total of R64 366 million for the care and services to the older persons. Services to older persons, particularly residential care, have over the years enjoyed a big slice of transfer funds. The department has undertaken the process of reviewing the budget allocation to ensure sufficient intervention on Community Based Services.

In our effort to ensure effective incorporation and compliance to the dictates of the Act, we have conducted a situation analysis in all residential facilities in the province. Findings of these visits will provide a basis for crafting the provincial plan for transformation of residential services. I must, however acknowledge that some of the old age homes have embraced the agenda for social transformation. There is a need to remain vigilant regarding challenges of transformation in some of the old age homes such as witnessed in towns like in Frankfort, Parys, Kestell, Steynsrus and Petrus Steyn which has opted to be left out of the process.

Honourable Speaker, the department is acutely aware of the real challenges facing luncheon clubs. Most luncheon clubs lack structures from which they can operate. We are currently working on a bold plan to address this gap. I can reveal that our short-term plan is to negotiate with local structures for use of buildings such as churches, libraries and community halls. Department will increase subsidies for community based services to address poverty facing older persons.

** Persons with disabilities
In addressing the plight of people with disabilities, the department will be investing R15 041 million. The objective of the sub-programme is to design and implement integrated programmes and provide services that facilitate the promotion of the well being and socio-economic empowerment of persons with disabilities. The allocated funding will be used mainly to sustain and reinforce provisioning of community based and residential services to persons with disabilities.

* Equalisation of the old age grant
The social security assistance system has afforded us an opportunity to impact positively on our interventions on adults and older person’s poverty. The equalisation of the old age grant will start with in 2008 with the uptake of males who are 63 and 64 years old. The full implementation of the equalisation with be implemented once Parliament has approved the amendment of the Social Assistance Act. An estimated total of about 5 000 men in the Free State will benefit from this pronouncement.

Programme 3: Development and Research

This programme is tasked with the responsibility to promote community development through social capital formation and development of productive assets of the poor to improve their quality of life. The appropriated budget for this programme totals to R43 179 million.

War on poverty
Highlighting the moral imperative and need for a sense of urgency in addressing poverty, Comrade Madiba correctly observed “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.” War on poverty will be anchored on two primary pillars which are anti-poverty framework and sustainable livelihood.

* Anti-poverty framework
In 1998 the department launched a Free State poverty eradication strategy. In 2007 the Social and Human Development Cluster was mandated to review the strategy. During its review, the strategy was found to be presenting conceptual and institutional challenges. The cluster has now developed a new strategy which will be launched in 2008.

* Sustainable livelihood approach
Ladies and gentleman the department has adopted sustainable livelihoods approach as a transformative instrument to move people out of the doldrums of dependency to developmental programmes. Within our context the approach will be used to link recipients of social grants to economic opportunities. Special attention will also be paid to the plight of the disabled. Consultative processes will soon ensue to afford persons with disabilities full space in shaping and defining the terms of their engagement. Pilot projects targeting 100 beneficiaries will be implemented in four of the poorest municipalities in the province. The four municipalities are:
* Phumelela Municipality
* Nketoane Municipality
* Tswelopele Municipality
* Tokologo Municipality

This pilot project will be implemented in partnership with municipalities, the SASSA, Free State Development Corporation and the National Development Agency (NDA). A total budget of R13 318 million is available for the entire sustainable livelihoods programme.

* Income and multi-purpose programmes
Other interventions will target the unemployed with the aim of building social capital and unlocking their productive potentials to participate in the second economy. A total of 27 community based organisations, prioritising income generation projects, will be funded in this financial year reaching an estimate of 500 beneficiaries. To ensure the sustainability of these projects attention will be given to project planning and management competencies, business support and monitoring. Partnership agreements have been established with sector departments and resource organisations to provide required technical support. This support will also be extended to existing projects. Already an amount of R49 000 has been set aside for training of bakery projects by Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda). This training will be concluded by September 2008. An audit of training needs for agricultural projects has been undertaken with the Department of Agriculture. Based on the findings of the audit a skill development programme will be implemented by June 2008.

The department will also host an Indaba for rural women wherein the flagship programme for women with children under five years and all other women empowerment programmes will be reviewed. The purpose of the Indaba is to craft a comprehensive model for rural development and women empowerment. This intervention is necessitated by an understanding that women in the rural areas bear the brunt of poverty, marginalisation and powerlessness. An amount of R5.4 million will be utilised for transfer payments for the projects that render services on focusing on financial capital formation, food insecurity and human development.

* Social relief of distress
Other interventions developed to provide safety nets as part of comprehensive social security include social relief of distress. A budget of R8 647 million to provide food hampers, uniforms and cash transfers to people who are awaiting social grants and those who experience undue hardships. It is estimated that about 15 652 will benefit from social relief of distress in 2008/09.

Youth Development
Young people remain catalysts in all fronts for advancing the broad social development agenda of government. The character of our youth development programme is shaped by the National Youth Strategy and Policy. The Department will spend R7 539 million to advance the cause of youth development. Our interventions, amongst others, will focus on Masupatsela youth pioneering model and national youth service programmes.

* Masupatsela youth pioneering model
Ladies and gentlemen, we have decided to broaden our technical support base by expanding our horizon by developing international partnerships to promote international solidarity as per existing national protocols. The brotherhood between us and Cuba continues to grow stronger. A joint initiative called Masupatsela Youth Pioneering Model will be piloted during the cause of the year. The provincial youth commission will also be an important partner in the implementation of the programme. This programme will focus on building core skills required by social welfare sector, build new cadre of youth pioneers, foster the spirit of youth service and create opportunities for productive employment. The set output is to recruit and train unemployed youth by 2011. Cuba will deploy country resident managers in all the provinces to provide the required project management support.

* National Youth Service Programme
The national youth service seeks to promote total and meaningful participation of youth in the civic life of its communities. The department has allocated an amount of R2 million for the transfer payments to youth organisations. This amount will be spent to top up of the funded organisations and additional 10 new organisations will also be funded. The new projects will be sourced from the 8 poorest municipalities. Lack of accessibility and information are critical factors which limit participation of youth in government programmes. In responding to this challenge the department will embark on road shows to create awareness of existing services for young people. The project will focus on the top 10 poorest municipalities.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Youth Commission, Umsobomvu Youth Fund, and municipalities.

Ladies and gentlemen, in our drive to achieve coordinated action to ensure participatory governance we will establish a provincial youth development steering committee which comprises of various sector departments and other role players youth development sector.

Community development
Community development is by nature and definition, dialogical, participatory and people owned. People, through their organisations, must champion their own development. The department will continue to develop the capacity of communities through building partnership and building solidarity with international community to expand the required base for technical support to improve service delivery.

* Building and managing partnerships
Partnerships are a backbone in the delivery of public goods especially social welfare services. These partners provide important institutional leverage at two levels. First, they complement the delivery arm of government by providing their much needed resources and/or technical support. Second, they serve as critical role players in matters of democratic governance and oversight. The success of our social plan depends, amongst other things, in our ability to nurture and sustain smart partnerships with community organisations, and all other social partners.

Whilst the department will sustain existing partnership arrangement with funded NPOs, the funding model will be reviewed to address issues of equity, good governance and re-definition and packaging of services to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. The department is looking at developing a policy to regulate the payment of stipends. Regarding development of competencies for management and accounting a capacity building programme has been developed and will be implemented in the current financial year. The department has set aside an amount of R215 847 million for transfer payments to NPOs in this financial year.

The department will continue to develop and sustain partnership with sector departments and resource organisations such as the NDA, Umsobomvu Youth Fund, Youth Commission and the business community. Our partnership with the Youth Commission will ensure that six young people are placed with Konica Minolta as interns. The department has concluded a partnership with the Department of Local Government and Housing to implement a Social Housing programme. The programme will target 500 people that will include elderly persons, persons with disabilities and child headed households. The overall objective of this venture is to address the Millennium Development Goals through Human settlement.

* Building international solidarity
Honourable Speaker, South Africa, as developing country, still requires financial and technical support in carrying out its historical and developmental tasks. The department will be signing a memorandum of understanding with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to implement the country programme over a three year cycle. This partnership is governed by the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) which is a working contract between South Africa and the United Nations. UNDAF provides for a technical support in the development and implementation of the country programme. The country programme is a set of priorities and needs identified by the country and packaged into a programme to address the Millennium Development Goal’s and other development commitments and protocols.

On 9 April 2008, a meeting was held to introduce UNFPA and the concept of the country programme to sector departments. A tentative project plan was developed which must be finalised by end of April 2008. The programme will focus on three areas of service delivery which are:
1) Gender empowerment and mainstreaming which will address issues of gender violence, capital formation, and planning and policy formulation. Community outreach programmes dealing gender violence will be held in all districts
2) Population and development programmes will focus on developing capacity to mainstream population issues into development programmes. This will also include development of systems for measuring and monitoring development. To this end the province will host a conference on measuring development as a process towards development of provincial sustainable development indicators
3) Sexual and Reproductive Rights will look into issues of life skills, awareness programmes and moral regeneration. Faith Based Organisations have been targeted in the implementation of this project.

Our Pledge
Honourable Speaker, having presented our social plan I want to pledge to the people of the province that WE ARE READY TO STAND UP AND DELIVER. We commit ourselves to galvanise the people of the province to ensure their participation in the implementation of the provincial poverty eradication strategy.

Conclusion

In conclusion let me take this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude to all our partner organisations and caregivers in particular who toil in all kinds of challenging situations to provide psycho-social care and support system to the vulnerable members of our communities especially the orphans. They dare it all to traverse the road less travelled to provide hope and meaning to those in the circumstances of despair. I would further like to pass my greatest appreciation to the following people, committees and organisations for the support they have provided to me as a Member of the Executive Council and to the department as a whole.

* Honourable Premier of the Free State, Me Beatrice Marshoff and the Executive Council We want to give thanks to the following Portfolio Committees for their support and guidance:
* The Free State Legislature
* Health and Social Development
* Finance, Office of the Premier, Legislature, Provincial Public Accounts

I must also send my gratitude to the ANC for showing confidence by deploying me to the Free State Legislature. I would be doing an injustice to the people of the Free State if I don’t acknowledge and appreciate their support, patience and resilience in dealing with matters of social development. Thanks to all the officials of the department under the leadership of Dr Maharaswa for ensuring that services are delivered to the people of the province. I urge you to keep up the good work. How can I forget the staff in my office for their loyal and undivided support. Many challenges still lie ahead and with your expertise, commitment and dedication, we can conquer them all.

WE STAND READY TO DELIVER

Finally, mandibulele umyeni wam uSandile Tsopo, lelapa la Motsumi, le lapa la Tsopo kunye nabantwana bam. I thank you for your understanding and support when duty calls and at times I am not there as a wife, mother and sister.
Honourable Speaker, may I present the Policy Debate for Vote 7.

Issued by: Department of Social Development, Free State Provincial Government
21 April 2008