DSD Updates

Early drinking may be a cause of alcoholism

Media Release

Early drinking may be a cause of alcoholism

The Central Drug Authority warns young people that starting to drink at an early age may lead to more alcohol dependence over time. The warning comes at a time when alcohol still remains the most dominant substance of abuse in South Africa. There is   evidence that 33% of girls in grade 11 consume alcohol while the comparative figure is 48% for boys in the same grade.

Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school. By young adulthood, early alcohol use could be associated with employment problems, other substance abuse, criminal and other violent behaviour.

The Central Drug Authority is supporting the Department of Social Development and stakeholders in the field of substance abuse in commemoration of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking which is celebrated world-wide on June 26 each year. This year the national celebration will take place in Gauteng Province, at Orange Farm at the Chris Hani Stadium.

The most important message from the Central Drug Authority is that our youth must all be aware and take responsibility for their actions.

“We cannot just blame the abuse of drugs on a genetic predisposition as genes have not changed over the past few years” warns David Bayever, Deputy Chair of the Central Drug Authority. 

Parents, young people and communities are encouraged to call Social Development Alcohol and Drug Abuse Line: 0800121314 or SMS to 32312 for assistance or queries related to substance abuse.

To set-up interviews contact, Zingaphi Jakuja on 074 1978383

Publications for Comment: Draft Regulations Under the Children's Act, 2005 (Including the Children's Amendment Act, 2007)

Department of Social Development

Publications for Comment: Draft Regulations Under the Children's Act, 2005 (Including the Children's Amendment Act, 2007)

The Minister of Social Development intends to make regulations in terms of section 306 of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005) and the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development intends to make regulations in terms of sections 75 and 280 of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act  No. 38 of 2005).

Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the proposed draft regulations to the Director-General: Social Development, Private Bag X901, Pretoria, 0001, fax number (012) 312 7390 or e-mail: Agnes.Muller@socdev.gov.za (for attention: Ms Agness Muller), or to the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development, Private Bag X81, Pretoria, 0001, fax number 086 648 0963 or e-mail: alvanderwalt@justice.gov.za (for attention: Adv Alta van der Walt) within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice.

Copies of the draft regulations can be obtained from the Government Printer Pretoria, from Ms Agness Muller, Department of Social Development, 7th Floor, HSRC Building, 134 Pretorius Street, Pretoria, Tel: (012) 312-7586 or Adv Alta van der Walt, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Momentum Centre, 329 Pretorius Street, Pretoria, Tel: (012) 315-1705. The draft regulations are also available on the Department of Social Development’s website: www.dsd.gov.za or from http://infospoor.typepad.com/dsd_updates/ or click on the links below:

• Children's Act, 2005:  Regulations. Schedule Regulations Relating to the Children's Act 38 of 2005
• Consolidated Draft Regulations Pertaining to the Children's Act 2005 (Including Regulations Pertaining to Bill 19 of 2006 Now Act 41 of 2007)
• Consolidated forms in Terms of Draft Regulations Under the Children's Act and Bill 19 of 2006

Victim Empowerment Summit: Message of Support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Victim Empowerment Summit: Message of Support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

VICTIM EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (VEP) STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATIVE SUMMIT, BIRCHWOOD HOTEL, BOKSBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 19 June 2008

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM JONATHAN LUCAS, REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

Programme Director,

Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Honourable Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am delighted to join you today and participate in the Victim Empowerment Programme Stakeholders Summit. I would like to extend the gratitude of the Executive Director of UNODC Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, who came to South Africa to launch the project on 4 March, for the invitation extended to UNODC to deliver a message of support at this important event.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is privileged to be working in partnership with the Department of Social Development and the European Union in an important project in support of Victim Empowerment which has highlighted as one of the priorities of the Government of South Africa in the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

Gender-based violence mainly directed at women and children continues to be a burden.  Many cases of domestic violence and rape of even small children are reported everyday.  During His State of the Nation address in 2007, President Thabo Mbeki highlighted the abuse of women and children as having escalated to an unacceptable level.  Over 50 000 rape cases are reported to the police every year. 

It is crucial to create a supportive environment for the victims of sexual abuse and/or domestic violence including rape and to provide education and empowerment as well as to generate a security hub for victims of such violence.  The message we are sending is clear on the fact that perpetrators of such crimes will no longer be tolerated in the community.  In this regard the role of CSOs is vital, in providing support to victims of crime

May I take this opportunity to applaud the Government of South Africa for the steps taken towards victim support through the Service Charter for Victims of Crime in South Africa and the Minimum Standards on Services for Victims of Crime which have already been published.  The Bill of Rights, as contained in chapter 2 of the Constitution, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996) entrenches the right of every person to equality and to freedom and security.

Furthermore, the Victims Charter elaborates and consolidates rights and obligations relating to services to victims and survivors of crime and violence.  It is a right for each individual to know their RIGHTS as victims.  Unfortunately, too few victims are familiar with what their rights entails. The activist mandate of civil society, in particular, will contribute to ensuring that capacities are built in the area of victim empowerment from the national level to the grassroots.

Victim Empowerment Programmes cannot be undertaken single handedly or in isolation.  The partnership approach must be adopted between national, provincial and local government departments and civil society organizations, volunteers, business, religious sector, institutions of higher learning and research institutions in order for any successes to be achieved.  These stakeholders need to be empowered in order to provide the necessary support.  UNODC is committed to providing empowerment through capacity development and training, as well as through resources and resource mobilization.

Support is about empowerment as we move from policy to practice.  For this purpose, the project launched in March aims to improve the implementation of victim empowerment policies in South Africa by building capacity, improving coordination and strengthening relations between the government and civil society organizations and thereby improving services to victims especially women and children.  A key focus of the project is support to civil society organizations, building their capacity to deliver through a grant scheme.  NGOs play an important role and contribute to building of safe and peaceful communities. Violence against women and children is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace as enshrined in the Bill of Rights and stipulated in the Constitution.  It violates the enjoyment by women and children of their basic human rights and freedoms.

Victim empowerment is central to the UNODC strategic theme.  UNODC assists Governments, countries emerging from conflict, and countries with economies in transition in building the capacity of their justice systems to operate more effectively within the framework of the rule of law and with particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as women and children. (General Assembly Resolution, 59/159 of 3 February 2005).

UNODC oversees related project development and provides substantive support for project implementation in the general area of justice reform, including:

• juvenile justice;
• penal reform;
• restorative justice;
• alternatives to imprisonment;
• victim support; and
• monitoring and civilian oversight of criminal justice performance.

Project activities include a wide number of interventions such as

• training and skill transfer;
• the provision of advice;
• law reform;
• the provision of grants to NGOs; and
• the development of normative guides, manuals and reports on best practice and training.

Furthermore, empowering non-state actors that work in the victim empowerment sector is in line with the UNODC strategy for 2008-2011, assistance to victims through strategies, including:

1. Wider application of international standards and norms on the treatment of victims of crime.
2. Strengthened capacity of member states to implement victims assistance programme for the most vulnerable segments of society, including women and children.
3. Strengthened partnerships between UNODC and relevant civil society entities that advance Member states’ capacity to raise awareness of existing standards and norms and their application in the area of victim support.

In support of Victims of crime UNODC published the training manual for Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women, which aims to support the law enforcement officials with information that will enable them to recognize and identify key elements in defining violence against women, essential both in prevention of violence and in their role in cases of violence reported by women.

UNODC with the Department of Social Development, in support of the Victim Empowerment Programmes through the establishment of one-stop-centres on violence against women.  This programme was geared towards the provision of services for victims as well as to reduce re-victimization.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the commitment to support NGOs, which work to support victims of violence.  Our great appreciation is also directed to the European Union for providing the necessary resources towards supporting you in your noble initiatives.

Support for victims of crime and violence is at the core of our mission, and we are pleased to join you today in your deliberations.

We look forward to building partnership with you and as the Acting Deputy Director General Ms. Conny Nxumalo said previously – this is a beginning.

I thank you.

Victim Empowerment Summit: Keynote Address

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, MR ZANE DANGOR, AT THE VICTIM EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT, BIRCHWOOD HOTEL 19 JUNE 2008

Programme Director,
Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Dr Jonathan Lucas
Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of South Africa, Ambassador Lodewijk Briët,
Acting Deputy Director-General, Ms Conny Nxumalo
Esteemed guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen, I convey to you warm and hearty greetings from the Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya and Deputy Minister of Social Development, Dr Jean Swanson-Jacobs. In the same vein let me extend an apology on behalf of the two political principals who could not be with us here today due to other pressing commitments.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Victim Empowerment Programme which was launched in August 1998 under the pillar of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. From the point of view of government it is an appropriate time to pause and take stock. At the same time, it is fitting that in the process we consult with our stakeholders to elicit the suggestions and recommendations to improve our performance in this area. Unfortunately, the celebrations of this anniversary have been overshadowed by the recent xenophobic attacks of fellow Africans which have resulted in displacement and victimization of women and children.

This summit is a build up to the national conference that will be held in August to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Victim Empowerment Programme. More importantly, the objective of this summit is to strengthen partnerships with civil society at all spheres to ensure the provision of adequate and responsive services to victims of crime and violence. This is in recognition of the fact that we cannot achieve the objectives of the programme through government actions alone. It is only through a strong partnership between government, civil society, business, labour and all sectors of our society that we can collectively address this issue. 

For this reason, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the organisers of this important summit for inviting us all to share practical ways of improving and coordinating services in the sector. The aim of the Victim Empowerment Programme is to develop, monitor and facilitate implementation of the integrated victim empowerment policies and services in partnership with civil society. Guided by the Constitution and the Victims’ Charter, the emphasis of the programme is on prevention of victimization, providing support, protecting and empowerment of victims of crime and violence with a special focus on vulnerable groups such as women, children, older persons and people with disabilities. 

As I was preparing this speech, I was disturbed by reports of shocking stories of abuse of primary school boys in Venda. At the same time, I was encouraged by the prompt response of the local community-based organization that rendered services to the victims and their families. Incidents of this nature are an indication that for us to effectively address this phenomenon, we need to intensify our prevention programmes and community mobilizations strategies. This reminds me of the ‘Boy Child Marketing Campaign’ launched by Childline to create awareness about the vulnerability of the boy-child to abuse and violence.

We need to strengthen programmes of this nature at community level to ensure the provision of prevention and early intervention services. I emphasise again, that while government has a critical role it cannot eradicate this problem on its own because issues of violence against women and children occur within the private domain. As delegates here today, we carry the expectations of the victims of violence and abuse who will be waiting with optimism the outcomes and resolutions of this conference. They expect practical solutions that will bring their suffering to an end and prevent the suffering of many others.
Legislative Imperatives

The government is committed to ensuring a better life for all, free from violence, especially against women and children. To this effect, government has prioritised combating crimes against women, such as domestic violence, rape, assault and child abuse by introducing programmes through the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster Departments which include an Anti-Rape Strategy, an Interdepartmental Domestic Violence Programme, and a Victim Empowerment Programme.

This commitment is informed by the constitutional obligations and international instruments. In addition, government has passed a number of progressive legislations to ensure that the constitutional right to protection, equality, human dignity, privacy and freedom, as well as security for each person in this country is realized. To name just a few: the Children’s Amendment Act No.38 of 2005, the Children’s Amendment Act No. 41 of 2007 and the Domestic Violence Act No. 116 of 1998. International instruments include the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Department’s response and achievements

The prevention of violence against vulnerable groups such as women, children, people with disabilities and older persons, is one of our priorities. As the lead department for government’s Victim Empowerment Programme, the Department is working together with other departments notably, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the National Prosecuting Authority, Department of Correctional Services, Department of Health and South African Police Services.

Programme Director, there has been significant progress since the launch of the programme in 1998. I would like to mention just a few. In the same year the programme was launched, there were only four VEP services throughout the country. Today the number has been increased to 68. In 2003 the Shelter Strategy for victims of violence and crime was launched and Cabinet approved the Service Charter for Victims of Crime in 2004.

The Victim Empowerment Support Centres are now operational in most police stations. Sexual Offences Courts, as well as Family Courts dealing with cases of maintenance, children and domestic violence have been established. In addition the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit have been established within the National Prosecuting Authority as well as the Thuthuzela Centres that provide one-stop services. I am informed that tomorrow the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will be launching Guidelines on Domestic Violence for the Judiciary. We applaud this move as it will ensure effective prosecution of offenders and the protection of victims of domestic violence.

Despite these milestones Ladies and Gentlemen, there is still a number of challenges that we need to address.  I am more concerned when I look at the provincial distribution of the shelters for victims of crime and violence, more especially in the provinces that are predominantly poor and rural. There are few shelters in Mpumalanga province, and the situation is the same as for Limpopo and North West provinces respectively. Given the high level of crime and violence in our country, this situation need immediate attention.

The situation calls for greater partnerships, not only with civil society but with development agencies as well. In this regard, we have extended our long standing partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an implementing partner for the Victim Empowerment Programme. In particular, I would like to express gratitude to the European Commission for bolstering our programme and services through the Programme of Assistance to the Victim Empowerment Programme. We also have partnership with UNODC through the Kemoja- I’m fine without drugs campaign. Substance abuse is one of the contributing factors to crime and violence and the spread of HIV and AIDS. It is therefore appropriate that we have extended our partnership with UNODC to include the victim empowerment programme.

The partnership is centered on the establishment of One Stop Centres for Victims of Crime and Violence to ensure that the victims receive services from a multi-disciplinary team to prevent secondary victimization. To date, four One Stop Centers have been established in four provinces as a result of the partnership. The partnership will also boost the human resource capacity at provincial level, enhance the skills and knowledge of personnel and improve the overall management of the programme.

Ladies and Gentlemen, over the years we have used the 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign to highlight issues relating to abuse and violence against women and children. While this campaign has succeeded in placing these issues on the national agenda, violence against women and children still remain a challenge to this day. The deliberations of this conference should assist us to turn the campaign into a programme that can be implemented and monitored throughout the year. To this effect, we have commenced with the review of the Shelter Strategy to align it with the Victims Charter. In addition we will finalise guidelines on services related to human trafficking and domestic violence as well as the strategy for the engagement of men and boys in the prevention of gender-based violence.

Funding and quality of services

Programme Director, the existing victim empowerment programmes are under-funded and their coverage is very limited. For this reason, we must look at innovative ways of empowering victims of crime and violence such as enrollment in Expanded Public Works Programme and other skills development programmes. To improve service delivery, a service provider has been appointed to conduct a national survey on domestic violence with the view to inform policy and practice.

Inadequate funding, coupled with the lack of monitoring and evaluation system remains one of the biggest challenges that continue to undermine our efforts in this field. Civil society plays a crucial link in the provision of services to victims of crime and violence. To date 26 NGOs were assessed for possible funding through the Criminal Assets Recovery Account Funds.  Of this number, 19 NGOs were funded in the 2007/8 financial year and funds will be transferred to 4 other NGOs this year. We should enhance our efforts and make necessary resource allocation to the sector.

You all know that prevention of violence against vulnerable groups such as women, children, people with disabilities and older persons, is one of the priorities of the Department of Social Development. However, this should not be seen in isolation, but rather within the broader context as a response to the increasing demand for developmental social services. Hence the implementation of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Social Workers and other social service professionals such as Social Auxiliary Workers and Child and Youth Care Workers.

Ladies and gentlemen as you all know, the effective implementation of the Victim Empowerment Programme is highly dependent on a well-functioning VEP Management Forums at all levels. More importantly, we need to strengthen Community Policing Forums to play an active role in combating gender-based violence in our communities.

Programme Director; let me take this opportunity to thank the members of the Interdepartmental Committee for moving decisively and swiftly in finalising the National Implementation Plan for the Service Charter for Victims of Crime. The plan affirms existing rights afforded to victims of crime as enshrined in the Constitution, the pieces Sexual Offences Act and other pieces of legislation.

Conclusion  

As we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Victim Empowerment Programme, there is a need to rededicate ourselves to the course we undertook. What we need now is to translate the current policy and legislative provisions into effective action.  It is imperative that we find practical and innovative ways of delivering on our commitments for if we were to continue to do ‘business as usual’, we may not have much to report in 2015.

I therefore call on every one of you, individually and collectively to stem the tide against the abuse of women and children, and bring to an end the scourge of violence and crime that threaten our country. And this is possible if all stakeholders and resources are committed wholly. The celebration of the 10th Anniversary will mean nothing unless the outcomes of this conference touch the lives of victims of violence and crime. 

I am looking forward to your deliberations and am delighted to declare this summit officially open

I thank you

Victim Empowerment Summit: Welcome and Opening Address

WELCOME AND OPENING ADRESS BY THE ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL, MS CONNY NXUMALO AT THE VICTIM EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT, BIRCHWOD HOTEL

19 JUNE 2008

Programme Director,
Esteemed delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Victim Empowerment Programme Stakeholder Consultative Summit under the theme: ‘Strengthening Partnerships in delivering Integrated and Coordinated Services to Victims of Crime and Violence’. We should view this gathering as more than just a summit. Several important objectives underpin this initiative. Among others, we would like to:

• Establish a strong representation of civil society at both national and provincial to improve service delivery
• Explore strategies to address issues of capacity building for civil society
• Generate practical yet feasible solutions to strengthen the VEP sector

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you will quickly settle in and feel comfortable and, in particular, that every individual attending this Summit will feel free to contribute fully and honestly to the deliberations of the two days. Of course, we will also welcome constructive criticism because we are committed to consultation and we fully accept that criticism is part and parcel of the deal.

We are honoured to have with us the Chief Operations Officer from the Department of Social Development, Mr Zane Dangor, the Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Dr Jonathan Lucas and Head of the European Union to the Republic of South Africa, Ambassador Lodewijk Briet. We are happy to have you join us at this significant gathering.

A special welcome to representatives of the civil society organizations who are the backbone in the provision of services to victims of crime and violence. I trust that the deliberations of this summit will be enriched by your experience on the ground. If you take a quick glance at the programme for the Summit you will see that this summit is in the hands of all delegates present here today. The primary purpose of this gathering as the name itself implies, is to consult with all stakeholders to enable those of us who make decisions of national importance to be guided by the thinking and experiences of colleagues working closer to the coalface of service delivery to victims of violence and crime.

Programme Director, let me mention that the purpose of the summit is primarily aimed at generating practical solutions and building strong partnerships between government, civil society, business sector, academic institutions and the development agencies. One such partnership which culminated in this Summit is the Financing Agreement between the European Community and the Government of South Africa for the Programme of Assistance to the Victim Empowerment Programme of the Department of Social Development.

Let me assure that in this summit ideas and opinions are welcome, and are all equally valued irrespective of the position or rank that one occupies within an organization or government department.

The presentations from the various speakers are there to generate the discussions and remind us that while progress has been made, there is still significant ground to cover to address the challenges in the field. I am encouraging you to engage yourself in the discussions actively and share your experience with us.

It remains for me to thank you for being here and treating the challenge of providing services to victims of crime and violence with the dedication it demands. I am fully aware that, in the short space of time available, we may not be able thoroughly address all the critical issues. This summit is not the end, but the beginning of various consultative processes to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Victim Empowerment Programme that will culminate into a national conference in August this year.

In closing I would like to thank members of the Task Team responsible for organizing this Summit. A special words of thanks to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Union for their financial and technical support.

I hope that the deliberations of this summit will be carried out beyond this conference facility into our homes and communities and bring the message home that violence against women and children is unacceptable. I am confident that this Summit will measure up to the challenge of the times.
 
I thank you

Budget Vote Speech by the Deputy Minister of Social Development, to the National Council of Provinces

Budget Vote Speech by Dr Jean Swanson-Jacobs, Deputy Minister of Social Development, to the National Council of Provinces, Cape Town, 3 June 2008

Chairperson
Honourable Members
Honourable Minister of Social Development
Members of the Provincial Executive Council
Distinguished Guests
Members of the community present here today
Ladies and Gentlemen
Fellow South Africans 

Honourable Chairperson, let me acknowledge the presence of 20 learners from 10 local schools in our midst today. Their presence here is a reminder of the heroic actions and sacrifices of the youth of 1976 who propelled our country into freedom. While traditionally we use this month to pay tribute to the youth of 1976, we are also reminded of the challenges that confront young people today such as unemployment, HIV and AIDS and access to economic opportunities.

We still have too many youth who struggle to get access to educational opportunities to improve their lives. Honourable members, I need not remind you that posterity will judge us harshly if we fail to break down the socio-economic barriers that prevent young people from reaping the benefits of the democratic South Africa.

In 2004 I stood in this House and delivered my first speech as Deputy Minister of Social Development. In the four years that I have been involved in this portfolio, I have seen the remarkable contribution that we have collectively made in advancing the social development agenda. Today I present my last budget vote speech in my capacity as Deputy Minister of Social Development for the current term of government.

I trust in the future we shall see vast improvement in the conditions of work of social service professionals, so that we shall be able to recruit and retain them. I further trust that through our social developmental services we shall be able to lift our people out of extreme poverty and enable them to live economically sustainable lives, free from crime, violence and social degradation.

Over the past years, we have been hard at work, mindful of our constitutional obligation and the social contract we made with our people through the Freedom Charter. It is therefore fitting Ladies and gentlemen, that Budget Vote 16 not only serve as a yardstick to measure our performance, but also to consolidate the successes and lay building blocks for the future.

As we take the last stretch for the current term of office, the major achievement of the department is the provision of social security grants to over 12 million vulnerable people. Social security has, and still remains an effective government strategy of poverty reduction.  It represents the first foothold on the development ladder out of poverty for many people.

With the establishment of SASSA this space has been created to attain to raising the quality of services and we are hard at doing justice.

Social Work Services, Human and Infrastructure Development

The provision of developmental services is informed by the Integrated Service Delivery Model, which is premised on sustainable development approach. The model further recognizes the capacity of individuals, families and communities to interact creatively with the environment and utilize available resources to address their socio-economic needs.

The acute shortage of social service professionals remains our biggest challenges to meet the increasing demand for developmental social services. Hence the implementation of the Recruitment and Retention for Social Workers, part of which is to improve the quality of social work services and the working conditions. To this effect, a draft report on the assessment of physical infrastructure is available and will be used to develop a detailed infrastructure plan.

We will finalise the norms and standards for social welfare services as well as the Draft Supervision Framework for Social Work Services. In addition we will implement the Occupation Specific Dispensation as part of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council resolution. In the previous financial year, I indicated that provinces will train and employ Social Auxiliary Workers as part of skills development and empowerment programmes to enhance the capacity of social workers. I am happy to announce that provinces have recorded significant progress in this regard: 

• Limpopo (50 currently undergoing training)
• Northern Cape (98 trained and currently employed by both government and the NGO sector)
• Eastern Cape (300 currently appointed)
• KwaZulu- Natal (258 jut completed their training and will be placed in the current financial year)

We will continue working closely with the Council for Social Service Professions to finalise the regulations for recognition and registration of Child and Youth Care Workers to bolster human capital for social services.  

The backbone of our interventions in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS epidemic is Home Community Based Care programme. To ensure the provision of quality services, we have finalized and trained provincial officials on norms and standards for Home Community Based Care. The provinces will roll out the training in their respective provinces.

In partnership with the Department of Health and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency we are implementing a monitoring and evaluation system for Home Community Based Care. The first phase of the system is currently being implemented in KwaZulu-Natal and North West provinces and will be followed by the second phase and roll out to other provinces

Last year alone, 1 579 organizations and 617 drop-in centres were funded by the provincial departments. The numbers will be increased this year to ensure continued provision of essential services. As part of the capacity building programme, 135 organisations and 17 084 community caregivers were trained. A total of 41 757 caregivers are receiving stipends community caregivers. In our endeavour to build AIDS competent communities, we aim to train 500 groundbreakers through the love Life programme. After completion of training the groundbreakers are deployed as ambassadors in their respective communities to reach out to other young people. We have been allocating funds to Love Life to implement this programme and this year alone the allocation of R41 million.

Honourable members, this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Victim Empowerment Programme. Yet the level and nature of violence that continue to be perpetrated against women and children in this country is unacceptable.

The victims of violent crimes and abuse need appropriate services and support to restore their normal functioning. To this effect, we have commenced with the review of the Shelter Strategy to align it with the Victims Charter. In addition we will finalise guidelines on services related to human trafficking and domestic violence. The programme focuses on promoting a victim centered-approach to crime prevention and is based on a partnership between national, provincial and local government departments and civil society.

In collaboration with the European Union, we will be hosting a VEP Stakeholders Consultative Summit on 18-19 June 2008. The purpose is to strengthen partnership between government and civil society sector in the provision of services. To date 26 NGOs were assessed for possible funding through the Criminal Assets Recovery Account Funds.  Of this number, 19 NGOs were funded in the 2007/8 financial year and funds will be transferred to 4 other NGOs this year.

Social Cohesion and Promotion of healthy lifestyles

Ladies and gentlemen, substance abuse has reached epidemic proportions in our country. The increase and the abuse of methamphetamine (tik) (Nyaope) in the Western Cape. The number of reported cases of foetal alcohol syndrome in the Northern Cape further bears testimony to this phenomenon. Traditionally, Western Cape is  known as the province with the worst record related to drug abuse, but emerging evidence suggest that this is a national problem. We launched the Ke Koja Hip Hop Campaign in Franchoek with 25 Ke moja champions to assist in the implementation of the Ke moja Campaign.

All provinces are directed by the National Drug Master Plan to develop provincial mini master drug plans to implement prevention, early intervention and treatment in a coordinated manner. To facilitate this, the budget of the CDA which has a responsibility to oversee the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan has been increased substantially to R13 million at a rate of 57.2% since 2004.

It is encouraging to note that provinces have launched substance abuse forums and municipalities are establishing local drug action committees in which officials and members of the community will formulate local plans of action to combat substance abuse in their areas. I am reliably informed that the Western Cape provincial department has already established 29 Local Drug Action Committees 

Partnerships between government, civil society, business and vigilant community members can prevent the substance abuse phenomenon from becoming a national crisis. 150 members of the provincial drug forums will be trained on substance abuse interventions in this financial year. I therefore encourage provinces to intensify the fight against drug abuse through innovative programmes utilizing  sport, arts and culture. I also call on Honourable members in this House to participate in the process to ensure the finalization of the Prevention of and Treatment of Substance Bill in this financial year. This Bill is meant to extend our interventions to empower communities to take control as well as strengthening our treatment interventions.

Chairperson, the Department is tasked with the implementation of the Probation Services Act 116 of 1991, as amended, and has obligations at national and provincial level to provide early intervention services, prevention programmes and services to offenders and victims of crime. To enable us to perform this function, the social crime prevention has been allocated R7 million, a significant increase of 132.6 % since 2004.

In collaboration with Umsombomvu Youth Fund we are implementing Voluntary Assistant Probation Officers Programme as part of the National Youth Service Programme for youth in conflict with the law. To date 180 young people from seven provinces have completed block three training and the Social Crime Prevention allocation has been increased to R7 million to implement the social crime prevention strategy. It is recorded that an Information Management System for secure care facilities has been developed and rolled out in 7 province

Twenty five coordinators were trained on minimum norms on diversion and 164 Probation Practitioners and secure care officials trained in customer care excellence. This House should note that the National and Provincial Probation Service Coordinators Forum meet on a regular basis to deal with service delivery issues pertaining to children awaiting trial, especially their removal from correctional facilities.

It is encouraging to see that provinces have increased the number of diversion programmes to ensure that children are diverted from the criminal justice system. One such is the Mangaung One Stop Youth Justice centre in Motheo District in the Free State province. We want to see more of these programmes flourishing in all provinces.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Children’s Amendment Act No. 41 of 2007 recognises and makes provision for child-headed households. This significant legislative development makes child-headed households an officially recognized category of vulnerable children. Provincial departments can now extend integrated services to such households.  I commend the initiative taken by the KwaZulu-Natal government of providing houses and other basic services to child headed households and hope we will see more of such initiatives from provincial departments.  This will ensure that the children remain in their families and communities of origin where they grow up with a cultural identity and a sense of belonging. 

In pursuit of our goal to build a caring society, the Department in partnership with the German Development Bank, has completed a study on child headed households. The findings will be used to strengthen community based organisations that provide services to child headed households. We will start implementing this programme in three provinces and roll it out nationally in the next financial year.

During the National Child Protection Week, we hosted a national conference to determine the country’s readiness to implement the new pieces of legislation.  We are encouraged by the outcomes of the conference and commitment of the sector to implement the Act. For this purpose we have allocated R22 million which include the training of 20 000 personnel from government and civil society.

Honourable Chairperson, building a caring society requires that we put the very institution that forms the core of society - the family, at the heart of our interventions. For many of us the family has been, and remains, a source of empowerment. The North West has allocated R7, 217 million towards the provision of care and support services to families. We will finalise the guidelines and strategy for Moral Regeneration this year to strengthen services to families.

Honourable Members, the social development agenda to tackle poverty, HIV and AIDS and unemployment is broad and bold, and the course of action is clear. However the realisation of the plan is dependent on our collective effort. I therefore appeal to all South Africans who are dedicated to building sustainable communities: social workers, community development workers, community caregivers, community based organisations, faith based organisations, donors and the business sector to tackle the challenges head on.

Let me borrow from the words of the former Special Advisor to the former UN Secretary General, Jeffrey Sachs in his book, The End of Poverty: “The time to end poverty has arrived, although hard work lies ahead. We have committed to halving poverty by 2015. Let us commit to ending extreme poverty by 2025”.

Honourable Members, we have made significant progress in implementing programmes that address the basic needs of the majority of our people. However, this should not induce in us a feeling of complacency. We acknowledge and thank our many partners, and in particular the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs that form a crucial link in the chain of service delivery as implementing agents.

I thank you

ISSUED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PRETORIA

Budget Vote Speech by the Minister of Social Development to the National Council of Provinces

Budget Vote Speech by the Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya, to the National Council of Provinces, 3 June

Honourable Chairperson
Honourable Delegates
Honourable Deputy Minister of Social Development
Members of the Provincial Executive Councils
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

On Sunday, 1st June, we marked International Children’s Day, under the theme --- “listen to children.” We have listened, with our heads bowed down in shame, as children of foreign nationals screamed for help on account of what has been called xenophobic attacks. Speaking to us during the ‘Take a Girl Child to Work’ campaign, the girls of Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College in Mamelodi pleaded with the DG and I to go beyond listening by acting decisively to root out this societal anomaly. Over the past two weeks I have moved from settlement to settlement in order to better appreciate the situation. I have noted the positive actions of people from all walks of life who have given their time and resources to lend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters from across the continent and elsewhere. Ndithi Ningadinwa Nangamso!!

Long after the aid has dried up and the tents have been folded, shall the emotional scars of this unfortunate turn of events remain with these children and their caregivers. Consequently we will over the next few days work with social workers from various provinces and organisations to ensure that we begin to provide psycho-social support to these children. This we believe will reverse the tide and build for us a more caring society.

This we believe sits squarely within the mandate of the Department. Together with the provinces we remain determined to create islands of hope amidst the sea of poverty that surrounds us. Our efforts have been challenged by the rising food and energy prices. To address this and the root causes of poverty and inequality we remain determined, more than ever before, to ensure that:

            “Our responses to poverty…empower people to access economic opportunities, while creating a comprehensive social safety net to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”

This is reflected in both the Apex Priorities of Government as well as the Vote 16 provincial allocations. Central to the objectives of the Apex priorities is the war against poverty, which is anchored on quality education and health as an objective measure of building a caring society. Given that poverty has both spatial and gender dimensions, we have allocated just under sixty percent of our resources to the largely rural and impoverished provinces of Kwa Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo. We are also actively engaged in reversing the descriptive of poverty of a rural woman with a child on her back.

For us the passing of the Children’s Amendment Act holds the promise of reversing this picture and is the dawn of a new era in the care and protection of children. To advance this prospect we are relying on national, provincial and local government as well as all relevant stakeholders to implement the Act in a coordinated manner so as to maximize the minuscule resources available. It was with this in mind that last week during Child Protection Week, we hosted a conference on ‘Getting South Africa ready to implement the Children’s Act.’ We have allocated over R22 million to this end.

Over the last ten years we have been progressively widening the safety net for children through the care dependency, child support and foster care grants. The Child Support Grant has been fundamental to these efforts and currently 8, 6 million children are in receipt of this grant. R19, 3 billion has been allocated to the CSG, which has been increased to R210 per month and will further increase to R220 from October. The remaining challenge is the linking of social grant recipients to economic opportunities as well as other public services and goods. Consequently, we are currently examining proposals to link certain child related grants to health and education outcomes, as displayed in internationally acclaimed programmes such as the Bolsa Familia in Brazil.

Honourable delegates, integral to overcoming the effects of child poverty is Early Childhood Development. Consequently we have renewed our registration drive of ECD centres. Already we have registered close on two thousand ECD sites during the last year. Going forward, we intend to register another 1 thousand new sites by March 2009, this would bring to total over 12 thousand registered ECD sites throughout the country. In order to ensure quality education and reach the objective of ensuring that every child in South Africa receives at least one nutritional meal a day we will subsidise 600 thousand children at a minimum of R9 per child, per day during this financial year. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that our work permeates the lives of the poor by also lending a human face to the work of our Government.

Such a human face requires of us to respond speedily and effectively to the needs and requirements of our people. It is with this in mind that as from the 1st of June this year we have accepted all social grant applications from potentially eligible applicants even if they are not in possession of all the necessary documentation. SASSA will accept sworn affidavits deposed to before a commissioner of oaths testifying to, amongst other details, the names, age, parentage of the child and any other applicant. Since this will go a long way to giving government a more human countenance, I take this opportunity to members of this house to assist in their constituencies with the issuance of such affidavits.

As can be witnessed through our programmes, accelerated and integrated service delivery remains a cornerstone of our war against poverty, as is income support. Consequently we will, amongst other measures, accelerate delivery towards the alleviation of poverty amongst older persons. In this regard the old age grant has increased by 27% since 2004. We are also working towards a progressive realization of age equalization with regards the qualification for Old Age Grant, which we will implement, as follows;

• 63 and 64 year old men in 2008 once the law is amended;
• 61 and 62 years in 2009;
• 60 year olds in 2010.

I urge all those eligible to wait patiently until the Social Assistance Amendment Bill is passed during the course of this year. In the meantime we will ensure that SASSA reaches the poorest of the poor through the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme which involves the participation of DSD, SASSA together with Home Affairs, Health, Education and the SA Police Service.

Our aim is to enhance the quality of life of all persons including older persons. It is therefore heartening to note the success of initiatives such as the Golden Games in the Western Cape. These initiatives will be enhanced by the establishment of Older Persons Forums in all provinces so as to provide a voice for the elderly.

Honourable delegates, family violence and child abuse continues to eat away the fabric which has bound our communities together. Together with other departments in the JCPS Cluster, we have enhanced measures to tackle family violence and child abuse. Our work has also received the support of the European Union which has supported our service improvement initiatives in the King Sabata Dalindyebo, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and the Lukhanji localities. These efforts will be complemented by the establishment of some children’s homes as well as places of safety. This will, amongst others, ensure that children in conflict with the law are separated from hardened criminals.

In order to deter young people from a life of crime and engage them in community development we will launch the Masupatsela Youth Pioneer Programme. These Masupatsela youth will form part of our broad National Youth Service Programme. So far we have also trained 198 young people as Voluntary Assistant Probation Officers. I am pleased to announce that the Department has permanently employed 140 of these young people.

Chairperson, our own studies have linked maternal mortality with child birth and have also indicated that there are currently just over 1.5 million maternal orphans in our country. Consequently, we will this financial year improve the number of community based cluster homes in provinces. This will ensure that the likelihood of having to remove orphaned children from their homes is minimized. This requires added support to these households through the various Home Community Based Care programmes. These programmes are beginning to also provide psycho-social support to these children. One such organisation is the Ububele Community Programme in Alexandria, which has innovatively partnered with the University of Witwatersrand to train care givers in the provision of this vital service. In honouring the work of Ububele, the Department will scale up the model, together with the University of Witwatersrand, the Global Fund, and the German Development Bank (through Kfw).

All these actions, and those that are directed towards the upkeep of children, are to be coordinated by functional community based childcare forums. Unfortunately the pace of establishing these forums has somewhat been slow, mainly because childcare skills at that level are scarce. We have therefore, through the generous support of UNICEF, also partnered with the University of Witwatersrand, in order to train child care forum facilitators. These facilitators will be at the frontline of ensuring that children’s needs are ultimately addressed at a community level.

The meeting of these needs requires that we have at our disposal all the necessary information in order to make the right service and policy choices. In order to meet this objective we have allocated R11 million towards the development of a management information system for social welfare services. This will complement our long-term infrastructure plans for welfare infrastructure in provinces which includes the upgrading of Social Development offices in all the provinces and districts.

Chairperson, the addressing of the needs of vulnerable households also requires that we attract, retain, and re-orientate social service professionals. Consequently, the implementation of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for social workers remains important in realising our long term objective of building a caring society. We will in the coming weeks finalise our negotiation processes with labour so as to implement the proposed Occupation Specific Dispensation for social service professionals in the public sector.

The finalization of these negotiations will enable us to also pay greater attention to conditions of service for social service professionals outside the public service.  In the meantime we have already trained over 1 126 social auxiliary workers and supported 1 428 student social workers in the last academic year. Through the bursary scheme we will reach an additional 1 917 social work students with a view of guaranteeing employment to five thousand of them by 2010.

These initiatives have also offered us an opportunity to complement the international work we have conducted in the context of the UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme. This initiative seeks to build solid bridges between communities, academics and policymakers in the social sector. The realization of the objectives of MOST requires, amongst others, the strengthening of South-South collaboration. This has motivated us to establish the Social Development Working Group of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) trilateral. These collaborations will also strengthen and guide the proposed national anti-poverty strategy. The strategy will, amongst others, address the multi-dimensional aspects of poverty through government and societal wide actions.

Given this multidimensional nature of poverty, we must also implement multidimensional partnerships. Such partnerships require the involvement of all sectors of society. This was our principal motivator in setting up the National Development Agency (NDA). Through supporting projects directed at meeting the developmental needs of poor communities the NDA has developed expertise in social facilitation and community development.  Through strengthening institutional capacity of civil society organizations providing services to these communities, the NDA is beginning to ensure sustainable forms of community mobilization and asset management. Despite these excellent examples of groundbreaking work, the NDA continues to receive resources that are disproportionate to its mandate. I therefore take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of the Board and staff at the NDA, and also wish to invite the donor and corporate sector to offer its support to the NDA. 

In concluding let me recall the words of former President Nelson Mandela, who in reaction to the so called xenophobia attacks said; “Remember the horror from which we come from. Never forget the greatness of a nation that has overcome its divisions. Let us never descend into destructive divisiveness."

Budget Vote 16 reaffirms our commitment to ensuring a united South Africa and Africa with a more human face which is emancipated from the brutality of poverty and inequality. I urge all members gathered here to lend their support to Vote 16.

I thank you.

ISSUED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PRETORIA

Budget Vote Speech by the Minister of Social Development

Budget Vote Speech by the Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya to the National Assembly, Cape Town, 30 May 2008

Madam Speaker
Honourable Deputy Minister
MECs for Social Development here present
Honourable Members of Parliament
Distinguished guests
Representatives of civil society in the public gallery
Ladies and gentlemen 

It has been said that poverty is the worst form of violence against humanity.  In the last few weeks we have witnessed the brutality and dehumanizing effects of poverty in the xenophobic attacks that have plunged our country into the heart of darkness.  At times like these we are reminded of the words of our struggle hero, Steven Bantu Biko.  In ‘I write what I like,’ Biko alludes to the spirit of ubuntu:

“We [should] reject the power-based society…that seems to be concerned with perfecting their technological know how…  We believe that in the long run, the special contribution to the world by Africans will be – giving the world a more human face.”

The recent attacks on foreign nationals and including some South Africans, do not project a humane society.  Whatever the motives and whoever the cynical sources of this violence, we will not tolerate this onslaught meted out against the National Democratic Revolution and its inseparable link to Africa’s renaissance.

This compels us to ask, how far have we progressed?  Have human relations improved or degenerated since the dark days of Apartheid? 

Vote 16 affords us an opportunity to elaborate on our collective contribution towards a more humane world, which is a prerequisite to a caring society.  In taking stock of this contribution, we must also remember the contributions of our fallen heroes and heroines.  These veterans who have lived exemplary lives towards securing a more humane world include those who have left us in this past year, amongst others General Masondo, Sihle Mbongwa, Kevin Qhobosheane, Zoli Malindi and Frances Schoor. 

Vote 16 also offers us an opportunity to take stock of our actions towards halving global poverty by 2015.  For us poverty remains a priority global challenge and an evil which continues in its extreme form to directly affected over 1 billion faceless people around the world.  The January 8th Statement of the African National Congress directs us to do all that is in our collective power to ensure that:

“Our responses to poverty … empower people to access economic opportunities, while creating a comprehensive social safety net to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”

Madam Speaker, in 1999 we committed ourselves to renewing our call for a better quality life for all.  This objective, we believed, could only be pursued and achieved by embarking on a social transformation journey; based on an integrated and comprehensive social welfare system as a basis for a more people centred society. 

At the time of embarking on this journey we made note of the then prevailing state of the nation, which was; “characterised by persistent and deepening poverty which [was] accompanied by social alienation.”  At that time, already, “violence against children, women and the elderly [was] an affront [to our] society”.  These issues were compounded by the objective nature of “the two-way relationship between HIV/AIDS and poverty”. 

What has changed since then?

Our social development outlook as spelt out in the ten-point plan afforded us the opportunity to realise and affirm the worth of the dignity of our people as critical contributors to the nation building and development projects.  In seeking to harness this contribution I have attended over 265 community-based Izimbizo since taking office in 1999. 

The views of these very important members of our society lie at the centre of Vision 2014.  Vision 2014 is premised on the Freedom Charter and provides a framework for a more humane world.  Vision 2014 places people at the centre of all our strategies and integrates economic and social outcomes.  The successful implementation of this strategy promises a country with a more human face.

Vision 2014 has also guided the work of the Department of Social Development and is linked to some of our more notable achievements.  For instance, in April 1999 only 36 thousand children received the child support grant, compared to 334 thousand in March 2000 and 1.9 million children by April 2002.  These are not only numbers, but are also an indication of government’s commitment to reach the poorest of the poor without favour or discrimination.

This, along with the need to address pressing societal challenges, has been responsible for the average expenditure growth in excess of 28.8 percent between 2001/02 and 2003/4.  This expenditure grew at an average of 12.1 percent between 2004/05 and 2007/08, with a projected growth rate of 10.4 percent over the MTEF period leading to 2010.  While the bulk of this incremental expenditure has been on social assistance grants, we remain determined to diversify our strategies.  This would contribute to a more sustained human and community development trajectory.

It was former President Nelson Mandela who once said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”  Income support to those in need will remain an important contributor to the development of our children, but, it is not the only measure.  Consequently, this Vote seeks to improve our empowerment, prevention and early intervention strategies which lie at the heart of our child care, protection and development approaches. 

Madame Speaker, allow me to take this opportunity to thank the honourable members of this house who have throughout my years in this portfolio embraced these fundamentals.  In particular I wish to thank the previous and current Chairs and Members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development.  Their most recent act of facilitating for the passing of the Children’s Amendment Act, has indeed ushered in a new era in the protection and care of children. 

For our part, we have allocated over R22 million in this financial year towards the protection of children.  These resources will be directed at standardising and accelerating delivery in the areas covered by the Act.  Since our remaining challenge is the resourcing of implementation, we have also finalised a set of draft regulations for public discussions.  In order to get South Africa ready to implement the Children’s Act we will increase awareness on the legislation and draft regulations whilst accelerating service delivery to children.

As we have illustrated earlier, we have faired reasonably well in the promotion of income security of our children through the Care Dependency, Child Support and Foster Care Grants.  We currently distribute the CSG to over 8,6 million children.  It is also our medium term aim to increase qualification age limit for the CSG up to the 18th birthday, resources willing and enabling.

However, a world with a more human face requires us to guarantee further and sustainable employment and income opportunities for the parents and care givers of these children.  As directed by the People’s Congress in Polokwane, we will table proposals on the phased introduction of conditional basic income support.  Our attention will be focussed on the most vulnerable who survive outside our social security.  This will break the cycle which has made poverty an inevitable intergenerational inheritance based on the station of one’s birth.

Education and health are fundamental to breaking this cycle.  In pursuance of these ideals we are exploring specific conditionalities which would amongst others encourage healthy life styles and quality education for our children.  Because the needs of children are ever increasing we will in the meantime increase the CSG to R220 in October this year.

The conclusions of the State of the World’s Children Report 2008 direct us to strengthen local childcare and development initiatives.  We have therefore launched the registration drive for Early Childhood Development centres.  The implementation of a comprehensive ECD programme is a corner stone of investing in this country’s future and we will strive to ensure an improvement in both the quality and spread of these centres so that they are accessible to as many children as possible.

Honourable members, to deepen these efforts we must also strengthen our measures directed at Orphans and Vulnerable Children.  To date over 237 thousand orphans and vulnerable children have benefited from the department’s OVC programme.  Our OVC programme encourages children from households headed by children to remain and participate within the communities of their birth.  This contributes to integrated community based care which is in the best interests of the children concerned.  It would be remiss if I did not recognise the efforts of thousands of mainly women volunteers in the 1 700 organisations rendering Community Home-Based Care programmes nationally.  Malibongwe!!!

Madame speaker, a humane society requires that society treats the elderly with all the deserved respect and dignity.

This is at the heart of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing and is what has motivated us to progressively realise age equalise, with regards the qualifications for the Old Age Grant.  The phasing in will be implemented as follows:

• 63 and 64 year old men in 2008 once the law is amended; 
• 61 and 62 years in 2009; 
• 60 year olds in 2010.

I urge all those eligible to wait patiently until the Social Assistance Amendment Bill is passed during the course of this year.  We have, in the meantime decided to increase the old age grant to R940.

A more human world is one where the elderly, upon reaching retirement age, can secure their own livelihood.  This is an essential pillar to overcoming poverty among older persons and the motive behind our desire to introduce a mandatory retirement scheme.  We will continue to explore appropriate retirement reform provisions that address the needs of the poor, together with NEDLAC.  In the meantime we have set aside approximately R8 million, in this financial year, so as to develop and deliver the necessary architecture.

Honourable members, as you can see, Social Security measures form part of an integrated strategy to meet the needs of poor children, youth and older persons.  However, our preliminary reviews also confirm that the impact of inflation has not only eroded the value of the grants, but that those whose income has increased as a result of inflation related wage adjustments have been excluded.  Consequently, government has raised the values of all grants from the 1st of April this year.  The old age, disability and care dependency grants increased from R870 last year to R940.  The foster care grant increased to R650.  These increases will go a long way towards mitigating the impact of inflation.

However, non-adjustment of the means test over the years, including that for the child support and old age grants, has kept many poor people out of the social security system.  This, coupled with beyond prediction higher inflation rates, has led to the erosion of the value of these grants.  Consequently, we have agreed to work towards the removal of the archaic means test on certain grant types.  This will have the consequence of removing the urban/rural qualification divide whilst raising the threshold to R2 200 per month for the Child Support, Old Age, and Disability Grants and R9 400 per month for the Foster Care Grant.  This exercise will however pose a fiscal challenge which may require either a gradual phasing out of the means test or reconsiderations of the tax threshold levels.  All these reforms in our social security system will go a long way towards widening the social security safety net and may see the entry into the system of 2 million deserving people.  To effectively do so, I will promulgate the Regulations to the Social Assistance Act.

In the meantime SASSA has been apportioned a budget of R4.5 billion for the 2008/9 period, in order to facilitate for proactive service delivery.  These initiatives include the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme (ICROP).  This flagship programme involves the participation of DSD, the Departments of Home Affairs, Health, and Education as well as the SA Police Service.  The programme has also revolutionised turnaround times for the processing of applications, it is now possible for an application to be approved on the same day.

To complement this work and provide a direct our response to poverty and vulnerability in the context of rising food process, we will do what ever is within our reach to ensure that every qualifying and vulnerable citizen receives the Social Relief of Distress grant ----- irrespective of whether or not they have the appropriate documentation.  The Social Relief of Distress measure is designed to address temporary provision of assistance to those in dire situations.  An amount of R124 million has been allocated in this financial year to meet these needs and to complement our integrated response to these crises.

To improve our capacity to develop policy and deliver services we will be embarking on a number of measures to improve our institutional coherence. These include:

• The streamlining of various boards of management that govern the social relief environment
• The implementation of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for all Social Service Professionals
• The strengthening of corporative governance in the Department and Agencies through introducing amendments to the SASSA and NDA Acts.  This will be accompanied by the strengthening of our Social Grants Appeals Tribunal processes.

Over the next 3 years, we are going to embark on a youth development programme that seek to transform young people from passive recipients of services to active agents of social and development change.  This programme is known as the Masupatsela Youth Programme.  In the coming months we will take in the first 1 950 Masupatsela Youth.  These youth will be our foot soldiers as we deliver the various programmes targeted at energy efficiency, poverty eradication and early childhood development.  This programme will also complement our National Youth Service Programme wherein we already train young people to be social service support personnel.

The promotion of a more stable and cohesive society is a priority for government and the department.  Our unique contribution is through programmes aimed at preventing social crimes and improving the skills and roles of parents, guardians and others who take care of children, families and households.

In this regard we have published the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Bill for public comment.  The Deputy Minister will reflect more on this as well as other attached initiatives.

Together with other departments in the JCPS Cluster, the DSD has enhanced measures to tackle family violence and child abuse by facilitating the establishment of shelters and intensifying the Victim Empowerment Programme.  These will complement actions and programme emanating from the Victim’s Charter and the Minimum Standards on Service for Victims of Crime.

We cannot hope to reverse the negative consequences of social crime and underdevelopment unless we strengthen community organisations and the broad civil society sector.  In this regard the National Development Agency continues to play a critical role in ensuring cohesive communities.  Since 2000 the NDA has received a total of R787 million to undertake this enormous task.  Despite these modest resources the NDA has managed to support some 2 100 CBOs, NGOs and FBOs thus directly benefiting over 414 thousand beneficiaries. 

This year the NDA will receive R136.6 million.  If we are to build cohesive communities through the NDA we must do all that is within our power to support the NDA in its efforts to uplift poverty.  In contrast corporate South Africa reached closer to the three billion rand milestone of total annual Corporate Social Investment Spend.  Although we thank and note the contribution of that sector, we also take this opportunity to invite the private sector to explore further strategic partnership opportunities with the public sector through the NDA.  The task to eradicate poverty and give this world a more human face cannot be undertaken by any one sector alone. 

Honourable members, we have pursued all these above measures because we remain firm in our belief that a country with a more human face is the critical foundation for a world with a more human face. 

In order to promote continental peace and security amongst the most vulnerable, we hosted the International Conference on Comprehensive Social Security for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa, from the 10 – 14 March 2008.  This confirms that our country is becoming a centre of excellence and the destination of choice for many social service professionals.  Consequently we will co-host the 34th Biannual Congress of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (20-24 July 2008) and the International Social Security Association 30th International Conference during 2010.

In pursuance of lasting peace and sustainable development we will continue to work with our brothers and sisters in the DRC, Sudan and Zimbabwe.  This work cannot be possibly undertaken without the support of all local and international partners. 

Madam Speaker, let me conclude by extending my heartfelt appreciation to our Deputy Minister Dr Jean Swanson-Jacobs, the Members of the Executive Committees for Social Development, the Director-General, the Heads of Social Development, the CEOs of the Public Entities and all staff in the national and provincial department and agencies for their hard work and support.

In closing let me remind us all of the words of Chris Hani, who said that:

“A new South Africa would be meaningless if the problems of the millions of poor people were not tackled. The perks of a new government are not really appealing to me. For me what is important is the continuation of the struggle – and we must accept that the struggle is always continuing.”

Today I stand proud and firm in our belief that the Department of Social Development has contributed positively towards this struggle for a world with a more human face.  A feat we could not have achieved without the millions of dedicated officials and volunteers in local authorities and organisations.  I have been honoured to walk the journey from welfare to social development with all of them… qinani maqabane ndithi Nangamso!!! You contributions have already ensured that South Africa and the world have a more human face….all hands on deck!!

 Aluta Continua!!.

I thank you.

----

Ms Zingaphi Jakuja
Deputy Director: Media & National Liaison
Department of Social Development (DSD)
Office: 012 3127381
Mobile: 0741978383/0731223133
Fax to e-mail: 0865202471
email: zingaphim@dsd.gov.za

Applicants Without Identity Documents to Receive Social Grants

22 May 2008

Media Statement

Applicants Without Identity Documents to Receive Social Grants

It is official - the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will from International Children’s Day, 1st of June 2008, accept social grant applications from eligible applicants who are experiencing difficulties in obtaining official identity documents and birth certificates.

This was announced today, 22 May 2008, by the Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya at the meeting of Ministers and MECs of Social Development (MINMEC) in the North West province.

As stipulated in the regulations of 2005, SASSA will accept sworn affidavits deposed to before a commissioner of oaths testifying to, amongst other details, the names, age, parentage of the child and any other applicant. Although this policy shift was initially designed to accommodate applicants for the Child Support Grant, the Department of Social Development has made a policy decision to extend its implementation to all grant types.

The IT systems of SASSA will be ready to accept applications from the 1st of June. People who apply before the 1st of June will be able to receive social relief of distress (SRD), while waiting for the 1st of June starting date.

The value of the social relief of distress would be the same as the value of the benefit for which an applicant may apply, and leave him/her in the same position he/she would have been had they applied for the grant with a valid ID document. The social relief of distress will be in the form of cash amount.

The benefit will be for people who apply for the child support, care dependency and foster care grants, provided they meet the eligibility and means test criteria. The relief envisaged will be given to people awaiting an ID document or birth certificate and those pleading that poverty prevents them from applying for such identification documents and as a consequence prevents them from accessing social security, while they may qualify for such.

“If applicants apply today, they will get social relief of distress, but within a month, we will be able to covert it to a full application and register the application as such and continue providing the benefit for as long as the eligibility criteria are met. We will however work with the applicant and the Department of Home Affairs to expedite the processing of applications for identity documents,” explained Fezile Makiwane, CEO of SASSA.

“As we intensify further our efforts of pushing back the frontiers of poverty government will review the means test for the Child Support Grant and we will no longer distinguish the means test threshold between rural or urban beneficiaries. This will gradually be applied to other grant types. Details of the commencement of this will be elaborated on in my budget vote speech on the 30 May 2008”, the Minister announced

“This year we commemorate Child Protection Week from the May 26 to 1st June   under the theme: “Getting South Africans ready to implement the Children’s Act”, I trust that all South Africans will honour the objectives of this legislation and care for the nations children in a manner that will ensure a better life”, said Minister Skweyiya.

For further enquiries contact the spokesperson
Lakela Kaunda on 082 782 2575

ISSUED BY
THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PRETORIA
ENDS

National Child Protection Week - 26 May 2008 - 1 June 2008

National Child Protection Week - 26 May 2008 – 1 June 2008

1.  BACKGROUND

The National Child Protection week is an annual campaign of Government led by the Department of Social Development. The goal for child protection week is that all children should grow up in an environment that is safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Child protection week highlights the rights of children and ensures that they are placed as a priority in each department and organization's agenda. The child protection system should therefore strive to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation through accessible and coordinated services and a response based on a multi disciplinary and inter -sectoral approach.

A lot of children are still abused which means that the child protection system is still failing the children. It is for this reason that all stakeholders have to revisit their strategies annually to ensure that they can respond to the demand of communities in the most effective and efficient way.  Stakeholders need to continuously communicate to communities and to children that we do commit ourselves to their care and protect. 

2.  THEME

For the past five years the theme "CHILD PROTECTION IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS” has been used to facilitate inter-sectoral and inter-departmental resource allocation for the protection of children.

This has been found to be the most popular and easily understood theme and campaign strategy. At the national child Protection Committee meeting on 6th to 7th December 2004 the theme was discussed and later changed to "CARING COMMUNITIES PROTECT CHILDREN". The former is still incorporated in the latter as community can mean family, school, church, business sector etc.

3.  OBJECTIVES

The following national objectives have been designed in the manner that sector specific and provinces can decide on their specific approach in relation to their objectives. The aim is to collectively bring messages to communities that speak to the same theme and that commitment to service is made within the principles of child protection.

The following objectives have been formulated:

• To raise awareness within communities regarding child protection issues, children's rights and responsibilities.
• To create greater awareness and communicate information on child grants and child maintenance.
• To provide information on the network of services that impact on child protection.
• To strengthen and uphold family's and society's responsibility in the protection of children.
• To uphold government's commitment to the protection and promotion of children's rights in partnership with Non Governmental Organizations and civil society.

TARGET GROUP: All children alleged to be in need of care including orphans and vulnerable children, children with disabilities and children living on the streets, families and communities.

4.  ACTIVITIES

4.1 National event:

A National Conference is planned to take place from 27 – 29 May 2008 at Birchwood Centre.  The theme is “Getting South Africa ready for the implementation of the Children’s Act.”  Conference members will represent national and provincial departments and NGO’s.

5.2 Provincial activities:

Provinces are to each submit their programs of activities indicating their five projects for the Minister’s attendance.

CHILD PROTECTION LOGO

During the Child Protection week of 2004 the child protection ribbon was launched.

The green ribbon is “a symbol of child protection. The color green simbolizes conservation, growth, life and hope”.  If one wears the green ribbon it puts an obligation on the person to say “I will protect a child.”

The message for the promotion of the green ribbon is as follows:

Green means life, green means growth, let us conserve our children. Give them love and hope. Wear a green ribbon to show you care and support. Stand up, be committed and protect a child.