Hansard: NA: Mini-plenary 2

House: National Assembly

Date of Meeting: 13 May 2022

Summary

No summary available.

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Minutes

UNREVISED HANSARD
MINI PLENARY - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FRIDAY, 13 MAY 2022
VOTE NO 19 – SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MINI-PLENARY SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Watch: Mini-plenary

Members of the mini-plenary session met on the virtualplatform at 10:07.

The Acting House Chairperson Mr Q R Dyantyi took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or meditation.

The Acting House Chairperson announced that the virtual mini- plenary sitting constituted a meeting of the National Assembly.

VIRTUAL SITTING RULES
(Announcements)

The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr Q R Dyantyi): Hon members, before we proceed I would like to remind you that the virtual mini plenary is deemed to be in the precinct of Parliament and constitutes a meeting of the NA for debating purposes only. In addition to the rules of virtual sittings the rules of the NA including those of debate apply.
Members enjoy the same powers and privileges that apply in a sitting of the NA. Members should equally note that anything said in the virtual platform is deemed to have been said to the House and maybe ruled upon. All members who have logged in shall be considered to be present and are requested and very important to mute their microphones and only unmute when they are recognised to speak. This is because the mics are very sensitive and will pick up noise which might disturb the attention of other members. When recognised to speak, please unmute your microphone and connect your video. Members may make use of the icon on the bar at the bottom of their screens and which has an option that allows the member to put up his or her to raise points of order.

The secretary will assist in alerting the Chairperson to members requesting to speak. When using the virtual system, members are urged to refrain or desist from raising unnecessary points of order or interjections. We shall now proceed to the order which is the debate on Vote 19, Social Development Adjustments Appropriation Bill.

APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 19 – Social Development:

The MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Chairperson, hon Dyantyi thank you very much for this opportunity, Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Deputy Minister on Social Development Bogopane-Zulu, MECs for Social Development present here in today’s presentation, distinguished guests, fellow South Africans, members of the media, ...
IsiZulu:
... nani lapho emakhaya, nabantu bethu esisebenza nabo ngaso
sonke isikhathi siyabonga kakhulu ukuthi nikhona namhlanje

 
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VOTE NO 19 – SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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nizolalela isabiwomali esimqoka kakhulu ezimpilweni zabantu
baseNingizimu Afrika.
English:
Thank you for the opportunity to present the 2022-23 Budget
Vote 19 of the Department of Social Development to this
honourable House. In the past two years, our people and
institutions have been on the frontlines of a series of novel
challenges and disasters such as COVID-19, the July 2021
unrests and, lately, the floods in the KwaZulu-Natal and
Eastern Cape provinces.
Throughout this time, we held together as society and formed
defences with which we are protecting and improving our
people’s lives and livelihoods. Informed by the need to
improve the state of the collective of our people, their
families and communities throughout our country, the Social
Development portfolio is entering a period of the great shift
wherein our visibility, responsiveness and relevance will be
aligned with the people’s felt needs.
As the Social Development Portfolio that is Department of
Social Development, DSD, the South African Social Security

 
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Agency, Sassa and the National Development Agency, NDA, we are
entering this era of great shift by remaking ourselves because
the future of each South African is greater than the past we
come from, and together with all South Africans we are going
to make tomorrow worth living for.
Working together with our provincial Departments of Social
Development, Sassa and the NDA, and corresponding with
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address,
throughout this financial year, the Department of Social
Development will intentionally intensify its contributions
towards interventions that address the impact of poverty,
inequality and unemployment through:
Firstly, continuously improving the implementation, quality,
and reach of all Social Development services for each South
African and towards the realisation of a society-wide impact;
Secondly, strengthening our fight against gender-based
violence and femicide by means of implementing the National
Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide, in
particular pillar 4;

 
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Thirdly, the establishment of beneficial and sustainable
linkages between the implementation of Social Development
services and economic opportunities, particularly through
creating and supporting the participation of beneficiaries in
the social economy – the economy is just as important to all
these beneficiaries;
Fourthly, continuing with the implementation of the COVID-19
Social Relief of Distress, SRD, grant – a very popular R350;
Fifthly, ensuring that our programme implementation embodies
the protection and furtherance of the dignity of our people;
Sixthly, leading the formation of community-targeted and
strong people-public-private-civil-academic-multilateral
partnerships and social compacting in areas such as tackling
gangsterism, substance abuse, gender-based violence, and the
impact of disasters, shocks and emergencies;
Seventhly, expanding our support for food- and nutrition-
provision interventions in pursuit of ending the pain of
hunger as well as undoing the effects of malnutrition;

 
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Eighthly, implementing Social Development programmes through
the Cabinet-adopted District Development Model – this District
Development model will end being a song. It will be a reality
for us as Department of Social development in our portfolio;
Ninthly, strengthening government’s co-ordination and
implementation mechanisms across the three spheres of
government of the people; and
Tenthly, stabilising and strengthening institutional
governance and capacity to implementation programmes
throughout the Social Development portfolio. This is about the
capacity of the state to deliver to the people of South
Africa.
In light of the sustained conflict in Europe, not only is the
cost of basic food items and energy sources rising, but the
likelihood of our people securing these basic provisions on a
continued basis is increasingly becoming remote.
Inadvertently, ill-prospects such as these only serve to
heighten the need for Social Development interventions to be
strengthened towards ensuring that the state of our people
does not deteriorate further.

 
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We are presenting this Budget Vote at the mid-term point of
the Sixth administration’s electoral mandate. Therefore, this
budget is the opportunity to meaningfully remake ourselves in
a manner that reflects the great future that each South
African lives to realise. Henceforth, programmatic performance
across the Social Development portfolio must be consistent
with the great shift as well as the people’s aspirations. Our
institutions must be the true embodiment of the people’s
aspirations. To this end, during the state of the nation
address, President Ramaphosa challenged us to forge and I
quote, “a consensus that unites us behind our shared
determination to reform our economy and rebuild our
institutions.” Guided by, among other, the Sona priorities,
the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the Putting
South Africa to Work proposals and the need to found and
sustain social compacts that will bring all of us, especially
communities, together, the Department of Social Development is
addressing itself to the realisation of the people’s
aspirations.
Here I am presenting the breakdown of the budget 2022-23
Budget Vote 19 of the Department of Social Development is
government’s third largest budget for the 2022-23 financial

 
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year, and it constitutes 13,1% of government’s overall
estimated budget of R1,957 trillion. Our budget allocation for
the 2022-23 financial year is a total of R257 billion, of
which R248 billion is allocated to cover more than 18 million
social grants beneficiaries. This social grant investment
constitutes and I repeat constitutes 99,6% of the department’s
total budget allocation in the current financial year.
Therefore, this means 96,6% of the resources that are given to
the department of social development are given in hand to our
communities so that they can live.
Sassa will distribute R248 billion directly to more than
18 million beneficiaries monthly. These include old age, child
support, disability and foster care grant beneficiaries. Hon
members, we are not just about the R350. We are about
supporting these categories that I have indicated. Added to
this is an amount of R44 billion that has been allocated for
the extension of the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of
Distress grant for one year. This will be distributed to
10,5 million eligible persons monthly. An amount of
R7 499 billion is allocated towards SASSA’s operations and
grant payment fees. Hon members we have to pay for these
processes as Sassa.

 
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This operational budget enables Sassa to continue to
meaningfully contribute towards reducing poverty among South
Africans who are unable to support themselves. Moreover, Sassa
will continue to provide temporary reprieve to individuals and
families who are experiencing temporary distress — such as
those they assisted during the recent floods in the KwaZulu-
Natal and Eastern Cape provinces — in order to meet their
basics needs whilst they are addressing their temporary
challenges. Most relevant to our commitment to social and
economic reconstruction and recovery, henceforth Sassa will be
supporting initiatives through which COVID-19 SRD grant
beneficiaries as well as child support grant caregivers can
access employment opportunities. Again, we keep talking about
the fact that we are not just about consumption, we are also
about empowering our people to be able to stand on their own
two feet.
We need to create the conducive environment for them.
Meanwhile, Sassa continues to invest in enhanced digital and
data capabilities by means of which the service experiences of
beneficiaries are eased and the experience during this COVID-
19 of R350 is one thing that you will be using as a way
forward. With regard to COVID-19 SRD Grant, the allocation for

 
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the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant for the financial
year 2022-23 is R44 billion. This means that each month 10,5
million approved applicants will receive this important social
safety net intervention that cushions them and their families
against the constants of unemployment and poverty. This grant
type is increasingly taking advantage of commonplace data and
digital infrastructures to process applications and conduct
verifications. Therefore, the need for physical contact is
greatly reduced.
The application channels for the grant for the period from
April 2022 to March 2023, as announced by the President Cyril
Ramaphosa, opened on 23 April 2022. By 30 April 2022, in
excess of 8,1 million applications had already been received.
I assure all qualifying applicants that they will be in
receipt of their payments for this iteration of the grant by
June.
On the question of the accessibility of grant payment
infrastructure, Sassa is extending its negotiations to include
local fast-moving consumer goods traders as part of their
payment outlets for the COVID-19 SRD grant. I know the members
will be asking me about the post office. I wish to reiterate

 
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our government’s commitment and readiness to fight crime
syndicates and criminals who are defrauding the state. To this
end, we are continuing to work together with the relevant law
enforcement agencies to ensure that these and their actions
are detected, isolated, arrested and successfully prosecuted.
We are coming for you!!! Minister Bheki Cele will be happy to
see that we are handing you over to him.
With regard to extended child support grant in support of the
department’s commitment to find a comprehensive legal solution
to the foster care challenges which have been plaguing the
sector for many years, an amount of R687 million in 2023-24
and R871 million in 2024-25 has been allocated for the
implementation of the long-awaited extended child support
grant - otherwise known as the top-up child support grant -
for orphans who are in the care of relatives. As soon as the
amended regulations to the Social Assistance Act of 2004 are
published in the next few days, Sassa will be in a position to
provide the extended child support grant of R720 per child per
month to relatives who are caring for orphaned children.
While we expect the extended child support grant to be
implemented in June of this year, we estimate that it will be

 
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received by over 191 000 relatives during the 2022-23
financial year.
Let me remind you that in order to access this grant,
qualifying applicants need not go through the lengthy
Children’s Court process which was a nightmare. As a result,
the affected children will quickly receive the support they
need for them to unlock their full potential.
Now with regard to the National Development Agency, NDA, is
allocated R219 million to implement its primary mandate of
contributing towards the eradication of poverty and its causes
by granting funds to civil society organisations. Through
grant funding, the NDA will address the increasing cost
pressures that civil society organisations, CSOs, are
experiencing. This intervention will enable CSOs to support
their communities as they recover from the effects of the
disasters we have been through recently. Quite frankly, I
personally believe that if these CSOs really also support our
communities would have less of our people complaining because
these are the CSOs that are supposed to be on the ground
reaching our people.

 
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In the same vein, throughout this financial year the NDA will
positively impact the skills base and sustainability within
the CSO environment. To this effect, while a total of 1 846
CSOs were provided with financial and management skills that
would enable them to operate sustainably and stabilise the
governance of their organisations. Hon members, usually the
problem is with the governance structures of these
organisations and accountability by these organisations.
This year the NDA will be implementing its partnership model
by which the investments of a diversity of partners will be
co-ordinated towards positive impact on targeted communities.
At the heart of the success of these partnerships will be the
piloting of interventions through the Cabinet-adopted District
Development Model. As companies are scaling down or shutting
down their operations, the NDA will be creating 3 000 work
opportunities in the current financial year. Out of these,
2 300 will be created through the implementation of the
volunteer programme which will be funded through the
Presidential Employment Stimulus Package.
With regard to SA Council for Social Services Professions,
SACSSP, for the remaining Medium-Term Expenditure Framework,

 
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MTEF, period an amount of R125 million has been allocated
towards strengthening the operations of the SACSSP for it to
carry out its legislated mandate. The Council is important to
regulate and professionalise the social service profession
sectors. We will continue our discussions with different
stakeholders to ensure that social service professionals are
adequately funded and utilised as a part of our country’s
social and economic reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The department’s programme has allocated an amount of
R43 million to be transferred to National Council that renders
vital services. These include the South African National AIDS
Council, which is allocated an amount of R15 635 million in
the current financial year. This leaves the department with an
operational budget of R944 million. With regard to welfare
Services Policy Development R309 million of the department’s
allocation will go towards Welfare Services Policy Development
programmes among which are: Social crime prevention and victim
empowerment - that has been allocated R75 402 million;
Substance abuse - for which R20 726 million has been budgeted
for; Older persons - allocated R19 126 million; and youth
which has been allocated R12 607 million.

 
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Regarding Social Policy and Integrated Development programmes,
R359 million has been allocated towards Social Policy and
Integrated Development programmes. This includes key
programmatic areas such as: supporting the Central Drug
Authority in doing its work R 7 069 million; the registration
and monitoring of non-profit organisations R41 910 million;
the promotion of population policy R38 773 million; community
development R29 863 million; and Substance Abuse Advisory
Service and Oversight R7 069 million. Gender-Based Violence
and Femicide in line with the commitment of the Sixth
administration, the department will continue to play an
important role in the implementation of pillar 4 of the
National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
Our society’s success in undoing the scourge of gender-based
violence and femicide rests on the pursuit of comprehensive
and targeted partnerships across different sectors. While we
are working towards measurable outcomes, we shall continue
with the implementation of awareness and advocacy programmes
and assign specific attention to areas that the Minister of
Police has declared GBV hotspots.
To this end, we have trained and deployed GBVF Ambassadors to
work closely with local community organisations. Towards

 
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ensuring that our services are accessible for survivors of
gender-based violence, through the NDA, we partnered with
community-based civil society organisations who are well-
positioned to support locally.
To this end, and owing to the Criminal Asset Recovery Account
which is the CARA funds, the NDA funded 297 civil society
organisations to render support services to survivors of GBV.
With regard to expansion of shelters, we are working jointly
with the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure to
identify state-owned facilities across the country that can be
re-purposed into Khuseleka One-Stop Centres. In addition to
rendering psychosocial support services to survivors during
the recovery process, we are expanding the developmental
dimensions of facilities and as far as offering productive
skills and enabling economic empowerment towards self-reliance
are concerned.
In this regard, we are finalising agreements with different
Sector Education and Training Authorities. It is important for
us to appreciate that training is very important for our
communities because as I indicated earlier on its important to

 
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create a conducive environment for our people to make their
lives and livelihoods and to be alive.
Hon Chairperson, as I draw towards the conclusion please allow
me to evoke Pixley kaSeme ceremony when he delivering an
address in 1906. He authoritatively stated that and I quote,
“the regeneration of Africa means that a new and unique
civilisation is soon to be added to the world.” In view of the
Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that we have chosen for our
society and economy following the disaster we had to endure
Budget Vote 19 of the Department of social Development for
2022-23 financial year is meaningful contribution to the rise
of South Africa that we all want as well as the South African
who we want to inhabit it. Here in simple terms, I mean
government has got responsibility. Citizens too have got
responsibilities.
Please, allow me to conclude by thanking the Deputy Minister
Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu for her relentless contribution to
the realisation of this mandate. May I also add, Chairperson,
that since the disaster happened in KwaZulu-Natal Deputy
Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu has been on the ground in
KZN. I also thank the acting director-general Mr Linton Mchunu

 
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and his management team, the chief executive officer of Sassa,
and acting chief executive officer of NDA, Ms Totsie Memela-
Khambula and Mr Bongani Magongo respectively and their
management team as well as the council and registrar of the
South African Council for Social Services. I am grateful to
the Ministry team, our social partners, embassies,
multilateral and institutions, NPOs, activists on the ground
and all social service professions who are going a long way
and went towards translating the Social Development mandate
into reality in many of our communities.
I am grateful to the African National Congress for the
continued support, confidence that they have continued to give
in serving the people of South Africa. Hon Chair, in
particular, I would like to thank my family who are always
enduring my absence, enduring my noise in the house because I
am screaming at officials and everything. Now that we’ve been
having this thing of having meetings at home. I am sure they
are tired of my voice. I apologise to you but I am serving the
people of South Africa. Hon Chairperson, I hereby table Budget
Vote 19 of the Department of Social Development together with
priorities for the 2022-23 financial year. To hon members, we
are here coming to you to present to you our operational plans

 
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so that as you do your oversight you will be oversighting on
something that we have presented to you. Thank you very much,
hon Chairperson and thank you very much, hon members.
IsiZulu:
Abantu abasemakhaya ngiyethemba ukuthi nisizwile nilalele
ukuthi siniphatheleni siwuMnyango Wezokuthuthukiswa
komphakathi
Setswana:
Ke nagana gore batho botlhe kwa gae ba ba reeditseng gompieno,
ba tla re thusa gore re netefatse gore ...
English:
... South Africa becomes a better place for everybody. I thank
you.
Ms N Q MVANA: House Chairperson, hon Minister and hon Deputy
Minister, stakeholders and hon members, good morning to
everybody. I gonna deal with consolidating and defending our
democratic gains to expanding the confidence in social
security system. The Department of Social Development, Soc
Dept, House Chairperson, has been task with a critical task of

 
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consolidating the Social Wage through Reliable and Quality
Basic Services, in line with the NDP, that is the National
Development Plan, priority of expansion of social security
system.
It also plays a key role on South Africa’s contributing
towards the achievement of the sustainable development. The
recent COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the level of poverty and
inequality in our society. The recent climate change natural
disaster in Kwazulu-Natal, KZN, Eastern Cape and parts of
North West and the fire in the Western Cape have also shown
that we are living at a time of disasters, and this requires
the department and government to streamline governance systems
and legislation to enable an efficient disaster response by
the department.
The Department of Social Development has demonstrated during
the pandemic and during periods of crisis that our government
has relatively developed responsive capabilities of the state.
The other part is the Bill of Rights and the comprehensive
social security system policy imperatives. The mandate of Soc
Dept is to provide social protection services and leads

 
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government efforts to forge the partnerships through which
vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities become capable
and self-reliant participants in their own development.
In order to eradicate poverty, we need to create economic
opportunities for the poor. The ANC-led government has placed
education as an apex priority in order to address generational
poverty which is a result of land dispossession and exclusion
of the majority of black South Africans, SAs from quality
education and economic freedom.
The comprehensive social security system is part of the social
wage which our government has prioritised. Hon members, this
Vote 19 is critical to the reduction of levels of poverty,
inequality, vulnerability and social ills. It also has
mechanisms in places to empower, resilient and individuals,
families and sustainable communities. And also progressively
ensure that is it led by a functional, efficient and
integrated sector.
The other point is comprehensive social assistance coverage
protecting the most vulnerable and a social wage
prioritisation. Several research studies have placed the South

 
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African Social Assistance Programme, that’s the social grants,
(as we use to call it) as one of the key programmes which
contributes to poverty alleviation and income security for the
most vulnerable groups.
The programme has been found to be developmental in nature.
This means that it did not only immediately reduce poverty,
but it promotes people’s ability to look for employment or
undertake risks to generate their own income. All major social
grants such as; the old age pension, the child support grant
and the disability grant - are significantly and positively
associated with a greater share of household expenditure on
food. Social grants, which is called Social Relief of Distress
SRD, provides income security to about 47% South Africans.
Hon members, the South African Social Security Agency, we call
it SASSA (at our times), pays more than 18,5 million
beneficiaries with the target to approve and pay additional
1,2 million in 2022-23 financial year. Thus increasing the
total number of beneficiaries to 18 9 million. Most
importantly, in 2023-24 financial year it will commence with
the payment of the Child Support Grant Top-Up for double
orphans. It has a target to reach 191 200 beneficiaries. A

 
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total of R587 million and R871 million has been allocated for
this financial year, that is 2023-24 respectively.
COVID-19 social relief measures and disaster responses. South
Africa as the rest of the world, had to fight off the impact
of COVID-19 pandemic, as I have already said. The Social
Development Portfolio became one of the key leading government
institutions that had to implement social relief against the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These include the provision of the psychosocial support
services, Social Relief of Distress Grant, that is the grant
of SRD, the top up grant of the social grants, the social
relief of distress through the food and the nutrition
programme, the one that we call food parcels. The Presidential
Stimulus Relief to the Early Child Development, ECD, sector
and implementation of the Criminal Asset Recovery Account,
which we call it CARA Programme contribute to creating work
opportunities.
Studies on the impact of the SRD grant have found that the
grant benefitted both the previously and recently employed
people. It enabled unemployed people to actively seek

 
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employment by adding to transport costs, internet café costs,
money to purchase data to send curriculum vitae, CVs, etc.
Therefore, this grant enables citizens to exercise their
economic rights to attain better opportunities.
In some households it became the main source of income
contributing to the food security. With the extension of the
payment of the SRD grant to March 2023 an amount of
R44 billion has been additional allocated to cover
10,5 million eligible persons. This is the commitment of the
President in the Sona on not leaving no one behind.
Notwithstanding these achievements, SASSA continues to face
challenges of fraud and corruption in grant payment systems,
people that we know that are not supposed to get these grants,
are also getting them, unofficially or illegally. It also
faces challenges of long queues at its local offices and pay
points.
IsiXhosa:
Siyayazi imigca emide engapheliyo nabantu abalala eziposini
...

 
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English:
... and set a target to develop consultations report on draft
policy for Income Support to 18-59 year olds for this
financial year. It will also develop a draft policy on
voluntary cover for retirement and risk benefits for typical
and informal sector workers.
This is in line with the national discussion which President
Cyril Ramaphosa urged society to engage on considerations for
the basic income grant. This will yield good outcomes in
consolidating a social safety net for all vulnerable South
Africans, SAs.
Hon members, all of these initiatives underpin how this vote
enables a comprehensive social support system that empowers
people and protects the poor and the most vulnerable.
As the ANC, we will play our robust oversight over the
executive and work with the department to ensure it continues
protecting the wellbeing of the poor. House Chairperson, I
wish to say the words that the Minister has said of thanking
everyone, thanking our stakeholders to support us, thanking

 
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our hon members and the backup staff. Otherwise, the ANC
supports the Budget Vote 19. Thank you very much.
Ms B S MASANGO: Hon Chairperson, the report we are debating
today, while ticking some boxes on the efforts of the
department and its entities, largely reveals a historical
culture of complete neglect of the people the department and
its entities are constitutionally mandated to serve.
One look at the issues raised by the Auditor-General, AG, on
the Annual Performance Plans, APPs, is enough to conclude that
the department itself has had inadequate capacity to function
during what is probably one of the most challenging periods
this country and the world has ever faced.
But let’s examine the failures, Chairperson. Firstly, the
payments of grants, for example, the red flags that were
highlighted by the AG back in 2020 have still not been
resolved. Then, the AG said: SA Social Security Agency,
SASSA’s outdated, limited databases and inadequate
verification controls resulted in people who were not in
distress receiving the Social Relief of Distress, SRD, grant,
while those who were in distress were unfairly rejected. This,

 
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the AG said was due to the weak government control environment
in which the relief funds had landed.
Secondly, the inability to finalise fraud investigations.
Astoundingly, some cases date back to 2011 for irregular
expenditure while fruitless and wasteful expenditure dates
back to 2013.
Thirdly, 83 contracts had expired in 30 September 2021 with no
replacement contracts through the normal procurement or
deviation process.
Lastly, in 2012 a payment of R316 million was made to a
service provider for services that were never rendered.
These deeply concerning irregularities are wide ranging and a
clear indicate an entity whose systems and controls are
dismally inadequate to manage large sums of money. This
decidedly limits the chances of the intended beneficiaries
receiving the relief they so desperately need.
The emergency SRD grant is managed completely online but how
is this humanly possible when so many people depend on these

 
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grants merely to survive? Despite desperate people who walk
into SASSA offices for help are arrogantly turned away because
the system is only available online. Is this a caring
government? No, it’s an ANC government. But, email and
telephone platforms are advertised for queries, until you
realize that calls are cut off after you’ve held on for over
an hour. Emails are never responded to.
Hon Chairperson, I have to express our grave concern about the
recent abrupt and insensitive announcement to discontinue pay
points. This is a further indication that the department is
removed from the day to day reality facing, especially those
grant recipients, who live in remote rural areas. Where the
retailers given by SASSA don’t have a footprint. These people
would have to travel long distances to access their grants. It
is a mere transfer of shoes from the Post Office to retailers,
only this time these people would have paid exorbitant
transport costs.
The situation in this department is dire. Performance
improvements are overshadowed by persistent gaps that render
the department paralysed. It is unable to provide the services
millions dependent on.

 
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The state of disaster in poor households has not come to an
end. The change in the approval of the SRD grant, using an Act
that [Inaudible.] in extended and deepening levels of
vulnerability, is a slap in the face of poor South Africans.
It is a reminder of an uncaring ANC poverty government.
Amazingly, the extension of the SRD grant was made in February
as a result of staggering unemployment figures, and yet we are
today on the 13th of May and applicants have still not been
paid, and there is no indication of when they will be paid.
Shame on you ANC! There is no clarity on when, if at all, the
reconsiderations of appeals dating [Time expired.] Thank you,
hon Chairperson.
Ms P MARAIS: Hon Chairperson, in 2021 we witnessed scenes in
the streets of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal when hundreds of our
people stormed shops and caused unimaginable chaos.
The EFF has always warned that our people are desperate and
hungry. One day they will have nothing to eat, but just to
take, even if it means breaking the law.

 
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Poverty is a security threat. Hunger without hope is a
security threat. Hopelessness is a security threat and we have
failed to provide a social security system that uplifts our
people out of poverty.
The poor continue to suffer the effects of a mismanaged
economy. Deep, structural poverty, the covid pandemic has ...
now the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
In the suffering and torment, the price of food has gone up,
the price of transport has gone up, there is no reliable
electricity and crime, including violent crime, has gone up.
This is why they must increase the care dependency grant from
R1 890 to R3 980 to allow those who have taken the
responsibility of caring for those who can’t care for
themselves to afford food. That is why they must increase the
disability grant from R2 000 to R4 000. They must increase the
old age grant from R1 980 to R3 960. They must increase the
foster-care grant from R1 070 to R2 140.
The permanent solution is the implementation of social
assistance and backwards a universal basic income for all.

 
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The EFF rejects the proposed budget for the Department of
Social Development because it does not make provision for
those increases or work towards the implementation of the
universal basic income grant. The [Inaudible.] EFF calls for
those increases.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to address the ruling party’s
incompetence that fails the poorest of the poor, those who
have already been failed by the society that has failed to
lift them out of poverty.
The SASSA grant system uses a 25-year-old computer that
crashes more than 10 times a month. The system crashed 119
times in 11 months. This is to how the system is left
vulnerable to be exploited by thieves from the inside.
Over R200 million was looted and only R12,5 million was
recovered. When we demand that social grants are doubled we
are told there is no money. But money allocated to social
grants is stolen every day. Money is stolen when poor people
wait for months for a doctor’s assessments, to quality for
social grants. Money is stolen from SASSA. SASSA officials are
overworked and poorly paid.

 
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It is shocking that the ruling party boast celebrating 31% of
South Africans relying on social grants. If we add the COVID-
19 Social Relief Grant, the number is nearly 50%. This is the
scale of the failure of the ruling class, and this is the
failure they celebrate every year when they table the proposed
social development budget. We know that the cronies celebrate;
it’s not about feeding millions of poor people, it’s a
celebration about transactions and contracts out of social
grants administrations. That is why they refuse to crease the
state-owned bank. That is why now it is announced that social
grants will no longer be paid through the Post Office. The
intention was never to build a long term relationship with the
Post Office instead. It is the bank that must benefit.
Lastly, it is shockingly that both the report and the proposed
budget are silent on the appointment of much needed social
workers while we have social worker graduates sitting at home
unemployed. This is not only incompetent; it is also evil.
The EFF rejects the proposed budget for the social
development. Thank you, Chair.

 
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Ms L L VAN DER MERWE: Thank you very much, Chairperson. It is
another year and yet another Budget Vote debate, and it will
be the same script of the Minister outlining the progress made
by the ANC-led government, as she has just done. A very crafty
exercise in sugarcoating the truth and reality. The reality is
that South Africa is in perpetual crisis mode. We face a
foster care crisis, an adoption crisis, a social worker
crisis, a gender-based violence crisis, a substance abuse
crisis and we face a leadership crisis.
The truth is that despite countless promises and a 2018
Cabinet resolution to employ them, roughly 7 000 social
workers trained by the state are still sitting at home.
Nonprofit organisations, NPOs, are still underfunded, with
many having had their budgets cut, leaving the elderly
vulnerable. Our children still die on the killing fields of
the gangster-ridden Cape Flats because there is no concrete
plan to fight gangsterism.
The reality is that the Post Office, which is on the verge of
collapse, and SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, will possibly
drive us to yet another grants crisis, with the announcement
that due to unforeseen circumstances and long queues, the SA

 
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Post Office, Sapo, will no longer be able to pay the R350
grant.
Surely it is unforgivable that this government would punish
vulnerable citizens for its nightmarish long queues, all while
it excels at paying grants to comrades, officials and those
who do not qualify for the grant.
The truth is that Sassa’s databases are so dysfunctional and
broken, that it is not fit for purpose. In 2021, over
R200 million was lost on the payment of the R350 grant to
people who didn’t qualify for them.
Furthermore, Minister, many repeat findings by the Auditor-
General, AG, have not been attended to. Consequence management
within this department doesn’t exist. Minister, taxpayer money
is being wasted and nobody is held to account. Investigations
into fruitless and wasteful expenditure are just never
finalised. This is our reality.
We meet at a time when KwaZulu-Natal has just suffered the
most devastating floods in history. In the midst of this
devastation, President Ramaphosa was quick to reassure the

 
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nation that his government, its officials and his party’s rank
and file, will not steal the relief meant for the poor. His
distress was not misplaced. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
leaders stole food parcels. Thousands of government officials,
even those working in President Ramaphosa’s office and
Treasury, stole the R350. Ours is the highest unemployment
rate in the world. Grants therefore are a necessity, not an
accomplishment.
Let us be honest today. This rhetoric of our government
expanding the comprehensive social security system is nothing
more than the creation of a welfare state. A total of 50% of
South Africans already rely on some type of grant. We need a
clear plan to lift our people out of poverty, not keep them
trapped in ... [Inaudible.] ... create a success story.
In a speech to the White House, Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel
once asked, what is indifference? He then said:
In a way, to be indifferent to suffering is what makes the
human being inhuman ... Indifference is not a beginning; it
is an end ... the hungry children, the homeless ... — not to
respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by

 
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offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human
memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.
Twenty-eight years after the dawn of our democracy, children
are dying of hunger. According to reports, close to
200 children died of malnutrition in January and February
alone, with poor children being forced to eat plants and sand
to fill their stomachs. These children were not just mere
statistics. Their lives mattered. They died of hunger, despite
a welfare state and despite being born in a free South Africa
under a democratic dispensation. Nobody offered these hungry
children hope. Nobody responded to their plight. They were
denied their humanity.
This department sums up its own challenges very well in its
annual performance plan, APP, on page 22 when it states that
it is poor at the enforcement and implementation of Acts; that
it is reactive to social ills; that it is ineffective at
monitoring and evaluation; that it has poor oversight and
governance over Sassa and the National Development Agency,
NDA; that it has critical leadership vacancies; and that there
is a low absorption of social workers.

 
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Minister, in order for us to support this budget, the IFP
calls on you to table as a matter of urgency a plan of action
to absorb all social workers. The Minister must also table a
plan of action to address her department’s weaknesses, the
AG’s findings, a plan to enforce a culture of consequence
management and a plan to intensify the fight against fraud and
corruption.
There is so much injustice. We cannot afford to be indifferent
to the plight of the most vulnerable. For indifference is not
a beginning; it is an end. Indifference will render us
inhuman.
Afrikaans:
Me T BREEDT: Voorsitter, die departement en sy entiteite was
‘n sleutel departement gedurende die afgelope ramptoestand.
Die departement was nog altyd veronderstel om die lig aan die
einde van ‘n baie donker tonnel vir ons mees behoeftiges in
Suid-Afrika te wees, maar die realiteit is dat hierdie
departement en sy entiteite die mense gefaal het.
Die bevindinge van die Ouditeur-generaal, OG, is nie nuwe nuus
of enigsins eers verstommend nie. Dit bevestig egter net wat

 
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die Opposisie van die begin af gesê het. Alhoewel dit nie nuwe
nuus is nie, lees dit soos ‘n Stephen King riller.
English:
Under the various headings: Financial Management and Health,
Compliance Management, Human Resources, Procurement and
Contract Management, the findings are more damning than the
next. What is of specific concern is the material losses from
noncompliance with legislation, fraudulent transactions, as
well as irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Furthermore, the inability to finalise investigations in a
timely manner has resulted in a failure to implement
consequence management against those who were responsible for
incurring irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Sassa apparently recovered R12,6 million from 3 268 public
servants who illegally received grants. However, there has
thus far been no consequences for state employees who have
been found to have received grants they did not qualify for.
This is a disgrace and I would urge the Minister to not just
pay lip service but to take action.

 
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A start can also be the filling of key posts, such as the
position of the director-general, DG, of the department.
Whether the incumbent acting DG is doing a good job or not is
not the discussion. The fact of the matter is that this
department needs stability. A permanent DG will be a start.
Mother Teresa once said:
We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked
and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and
uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our
own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.
Chairperson, that brings me to a matter that I feel the
Minister needs to address today, and that is the court case
between SA Childcare and the department regarding the payment
of conditional early childhood development, ECD, grants.
Fifteen rand per child per day. That is what the grant
consists of. These are children that are orphans or have
absolutely no other source of nutrition and care but through
these centres. These centres have to be approved to receive
these grants through a stringent process provided for in the
framework to the Division of Revenue Act, Dora. In these

 
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instances, they were approved in 2019 already. Vulnerable
children who are dependent on these ECD’s and this grant for
food were deprived during the worst of times — the pandemic.
This grant was utilised to procure personal protective
equipment, PPE, rather than feed food to these children.
The end result of the initial judgement was that Judge Janse
van Nieuwenhuizen found the Minister and eight MEC’s in breach
of their statutory duties prescribed in Dora by failing to pay
the funds allocated to the children, as well as in breach of
their constitutional duties prescribed in section 28(1)(c) of
the Constitution.
Instead of adhering to the judgement, the Minister and MEC’s,
after conceding on no less than 10 occasions that the money is
due and owing, appealed against the order. Leave to appeal was
granted in December of 2020.
Fast forward a whole 18 months to a notice for hearing, a new
directive to argue whether the matter has not become academic
in nature, and still no officials have been brought to book
and the most vulnerable are still suffering. This matter needs
to be resolved in the interest of children and the ECD’s.

 
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Afrikaans:
Voorsitter, dit is egter ‘n skreiende skande dat vir meer as
nege jaar daardie toelaag op R15 per kind per dag stagneer
het. Terwyl die regering geld mors op duur funksies,
hotelverblyf, VIP-protection (beskerming) en besigheidsklas
vlugte vir Ministers, kry hierdie mees kwesbare kinders slegs
R15 per dag vir kos, vir klere en vir skooltoebehore. As die
departement nie gaan begin fokus op kinders en die
ontwikkeling van kinders nie, sal ons altyd ‘n welsynstaat
bly.
Maar ek sluit af. Die probleem lê by die ANC, want die ANC pak
alles ideologies aan en verkies om die mense afhanklik te hou.
Tot en met die Minister en haar departement nie hierdie
kopskuif maak nie, gaan Suid-Afrika nie net ‘n gefaalde staat
wees nie, maar ‘n welsynstaat bly. Ek dank u.
Ms M E SUKERS: Hon Chairperson, a long, hard winter approaches
for the poor and vulnerable when viewed through the current
economic environment, the high rate of unemployment, and the
instability many households are forced to endure post the
COVID-19 crisis. The budget of this department decreases by

 
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over R25 billion, and more people now need access to social
security and support.
The performance score card of the department is that of a
struggling student who repeats the same mistakes year on year.
The state’s inability to transform itself to provide efficient
service to the poor, is the single biggest threat to the
security and stability of South Africa. That within an
environment with multiple threats. I say this to you today
because in April, this year, I received almost 20 to 30
messages daily from people who did not know how they will
survive due to the nonstop payment of the Social Relief of
Distress Grant.
We cannot afford to take the critical issues highlighted by my
colleagues here today, and the many alarms being raised by
stakeholders in the social sector, lightly. The state sets
itself as an agitator of the worst kind to the poor. You
promise relief, and then stop abruptly. In addition, you fail
to plan and more importantly, to communicate effectively for
the legislative changes, of which you knew comes with lifting
the National State of Disaster.

 
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The ACDP urgently appeals to this House, and the department,
to consider the dire circumstances of our people that requires
a deep rethink of the way we do things politically. If the
state, this department and its entities continues to make the
same repetitive mistakes, and fails to adopt an urgent change
of strategy, in all its functions, this country will plunge
into an unthinkable crisis. There can be no politicking or
grandstanding. We are in a deep mess when it comes to the
systems and processes, that are supposed to undergird the
social security network of this country.
We must acknowledge that through the commitment and hard work
of ordinary South Africans, there would not have been over
R230 billion available for the protection of the poor and
vulnerable in 2021. It is because of the ordinary men and
women who get up and go to work, come rain or sunshine, that
we have the biggest social security network on the continent.
Let us, and this department, honour their commitment by doing
the right thing. For the love of humanity, we ask you to plan
and communicate effectively and plan effectively, and to
recover grant monies from the criminals who stole it.

 
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Chairperson, we must lead differently. We cannot agitate for
change but fail to recognise our own responsibility
politically. If we fail, history will show us as the worst
kind of leaders. Criminal in our dereliction of duty, with a
callousness that comes from spiritual bankruptcy. Thank you
Chair.
Mr N L S KWANKWA: Chairperson, thank you very much.
IsiXhosa:
Andizi kubiza abantu ngamagama ke namhlanje, ungandigxothi.
English:
Chairperson, thank you for this opportunity. The UDM supports
this Budget Vote. Minister the first issue for us ...
IsiXhosa:
... ebalulekileyo yile yokuba apha kwi ...
English:
... Social Relief of Distress Grant ...
IsiXhosa:

 
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... baninzi abantu abasifumanayo bengafanelekanga ukusifumana.
Ngokuye sihamba ezilokishini nasezilalini, baninzi abantu
abaziqeshileyo kwaye abaziphangelelayo, abanengeniso ngenyanga
engaphaya koyena mvuzo mncinci unokufunyanwa ngumsebenzi.
Ingxaki yile yokuba uluhlu lwabantu abafanelekileyo ukuxhamla
kwizibonelelo zenu (database) anikhange niyicoce ngendlela
eyiyo.
Baninzi abantu ozakufumanisa ukuba baneemoto ezisebenzayo
ezirenkini, abanye baziqeshile bayathengisa besenza iimali
ezinkulu kodwa bayasifumana esi siboinelelo sama-R350. Loo nto
ibangela ukuba abona bantu bafanelekileyo ukuyifumana le mali
bangayifumani.
Into esisoloko siyithetha siyi-UDM kwakudala yile ithi ...
English:
... the informal sector and the economy...
IsiXhosa:
... yaseMzantsi Afrika abantu babakhuthazwe ...
English:

 
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... to formalise it so that they can register.
IsiXhosa:
Bangathi sele bebhalisile baleqwe yinkonzo yerhafu.
Sibenendlela yokubaxhasa ukuze abantu banyaniseke. Okwesibini,
sisikhalo sabantu oko nangoku ebekusiliwa ngaso kutshanje
nakulaa Mpuma Koloni kufumaniseke ukuba ...
English:
... we have a lot of social workers, not only in that province
but around the country, who were unable to be absorbed by the
department.
IsiXhosa:
Kufumaniseka ukuba baninzi ...
English:
... they are social workers. I think there is about 8 000 of
them around the country with qualifications, but have not been
absorbed by the department.
IsiXhosa:

 
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Kufanelekile ukuba isebe lisenenzisane namanye amasebe afana
namapolisa kunye neSebe leMfundo esiSiseko ...
English:
... to ensure that, we address the lack of social workers ...
IsiXhosa:
... ezikolweni nakwizitishi zamapolisa ukuze ngamaxesha ezenzo
zobundlobongela obusekelwe kwisini, amapolisa abenabo abantu
abazingcali abazakuthi bakwazi ukuhoya amaxhoba ngendlela
efanelekileyo kuba sinengxaki ye...
English:
... gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa. The
other issue Minister is an issue that we raised with the
Department of Education to say ...
IsiXhosa:
... ayinkho ntle into yokuba abantu abaqeshwayo lisebe ube
ngabo bafunde ngala mali yokufunda iphuma kwiFunza Lushaka,
ekubeni bekhona abantu abasebenzise iimali zabo ezininzi ukuze
bazifundise. Bonke abantu abaneziqinisekiso zemfundo eMzantsi

 
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Afrika ngabalapha eMzantsi Afrika, ngoko mabaphathwe ngendlela
efanayo ...
English:
... with equal opportunities.
IsiXhosa:
Nalapha kweli sebe, kukho into yokucalula abantu abafumene ...
English:
... the funding or the bursaries from the department. They get
prioritised over other graduates.
IsiXhosa:
Enye into ebelulekileyo yile ... [Ngokungavakaliyo]
...wangekayo zingene ezikolweni nasemapoliseni. Loo nto
izakubangela ukuba sikwazi ukulwa nomcimbi oxhaphakileyo
wokuxhaphaza (bullying) okuninzi ezikolweni. Ne
...[Ngokuvakaliyo] ... eziyifunayo nazo inkxaso kungathiwa
kujongwe i-Ukraine nezinye iindawo, siyeke ukujonga abantu
behlelelekile apha kule Ntshona Koloni bebethana kwaye
bebukulana. Enkosi Sihlalo.

 
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Mr B N HERRON: Chairperson this week, according to news
reports, the City of Cape Town issued fines of up to R1 000 to
homeless people living on the streets. We don’t know how many,
if any of those who received these fines are beneficiaries of
the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant, but we can be pretty
sure that, most of those people don’t have jobs and will never
afford to pay those fines.
Their situation may be extreme; most poor people don’t live on
the streets. That is illustrates how marginal life is in our
radically unequal society. As millions of our most needy
people seek to manage the consequences of having to reapply
for the R350 per month Social Relief of Distress Grant, for
which some no longer qualify due to the rule changes.
The state continues to hum and haw over the implementation of
the basic income guarantee or grant. When the R350 Social
Relief of Distress Grant was introduced to soften the economic
blows of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was available to people
with an income of less than R595 per month, but that’s now
been reduced to R330 a month. This appears to indicate that
the state believes it is possible to survive on an income of
R945 per month under COVID-19 disaster conditions, but R700

 
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per month now that the state of the disaster has been lifted.
Although parliamentarians earn a fortune by comparison, we
can’t pretend we don’t know how little R700 buys. Nor can we
close our eyes to the social consequences of millions of
people not being able to afford the basic cost of life to
feed, clothe and secure their families.
Former Minister of Finance and Governor of the Reserve Bank.
Tito Mboweni says government should rather focus on best in
building the country’s economy by investing infrastructure
than on social grants. And yes, we need infrastructure and
developing it will create grants. But supporting a basic
income grant doesn’t mean we give up on creating jobs. Should
people starve while they wait the economic boom times. Did Mr
Mboweni not notice the ease with which poor people were
manipulated into an orgy of looting and destruction last July?
Now that the COVID-19 State of Disaster has been lifted,
government must not sit back and let the grass grow under his
feet. For the sustainability and the dignity of the country,
we need to accelerate the process of implementing the basic
income grant that are not shove back under the carpet. Nelson
Mandela said:

 
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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. While poverty
persists, there is no true freedom.
Government must take heed of the situation on the ground. Our
citizens did not shed their blood and tears for democracy that
would abandon them in poverty. Besides issues of dignity and
justice, failing to implement the basic income grant is
fuelling a fire that that will eradicate the gains that we've
made in this democratic era and prove difficult and expensive
to extinguish. Thank you house Chairperson.
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM: Hon Chairperson, the NFP will support
Budget Vote No 19, Social Development. Allow me also to
commend the Minister particularly. Whenever the Minister was
required to address a need of someone on the ground when
contacted. She is one of the few Ministers who always
available to assist. Rest assured the matter gets attended to
in due or short time.
Now, allow me to start off by saying that whilst we support
this Budget Vote, a question we need to ask is: Are we going

 
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to be able to sustain the number of people that are on some
form of social assistance which is standing at about 46%
currently? Ceternainly we cannot sustain this in the meantime.
Now, what are some of the root causes of these things; is the
high unemployment rate, the socioeconomic conditions under
which our people are living, the availability of alcohol and
drugs. The latest statistics which stands at 57% of accidents
in South Africa. One of the most dangerous countries on the
road in the world that is alcohol related. There is
availability of alcohol, drugs and teenage pregnancy is rife.
Now, unless we deal with this problem holistically we cannot
come out here Chairperson and keep blaming the Minister and
the departments. The Ministers come and go. You are not going
to solve the problem unless we have the holistic approach to
dealing with the challenges our people face. That is one of
the things that we are not actually doing.
Now, let me go on to say this: That if you look at the issue
of the roll out of the social grants currently, again this
thing is being given to big business. It is a win-win
situation for these big businesses they will benefit from

 
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this, number one, because of course they get a percentage of
that. However, more importantly, those people will be spending
money in those businesses. What about giving an opportunity -
and to smaller businesses whilst one might argue that they may
not have the capacity, but I also believe there are smaller
businesses, supermarkets and chain stores owned by the black
community who are the less fortunate community, but would be
able to equally roll out such a service.
So, I think that must also be taken into consideration. Now,
let us look at the issue of the role of NGOs and nonprofit
organisations, NPOs, fighting gender-based violence and other
problems that we have in the community.
Hon Chairperson, billions of rand are spending to NGOs and
NPOs, and what do you find? They come there when there is a
conviction of a person appearing in court with big placards,
but what have they done to assist the department and work in a
co-ordinated fashion to identify those people that might be
victims of gender-based violence. Why do have to wait for them
to be raped or murdered and then go out there and grand stand
and say no bail?

 
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I want to welcome the decision by the Minister to roll out
more and more social workers. They need to be the eyes and
ears of the community to timeously identify those that have
had the challenge. I think Chairperson, you looking at me
because my time is up. The NFP supports this Budget Vote.
Thank you.
Ms A L A ABRAHAMS: Hon House Chairperson, each year the
Department of Social Development juggled its reduced budget
with ever increasing poverty demands deliberating on which
social ill requires more budget than the other. Budget cuts to
critical programmes mean the Department of Social Development
must separate good intentions from actual results. Currently,
actual results real impact in the lives of citizens are not
been achieved.
We see this in the headlines such as in last week Sunday Times
which read, “Hunger kills South African, SA’s, children.” In
the same newspaper reports titled, “Where malnutrition lives,
enough food in South Africa, SA, but kids are starving and
sand has become a meal for starving children.”

 
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This reflects the true and disastrous state of our nation. One
where children starve to death while big bullied corrupt elite
dine on caviar.
COVID-19 saw poverty and hunger exacerbated, but we must never
forget it was the ANC government’s harsh and irrational long
lockdown that was the real contributor to crises level poverty
and hunger.
The Child Support Grant is 23% below the food poverty line and
40% below the average cost to feed a child a nutritious diet.
Maize meal for breakfast, lunch and supper if you are lucky to
eat anything at all its not nutritious. The grant is a good
intention, but yields no actual results in reducing child
stunting and malnutrition if left at four 80.
The Department of Social Development and its entities are
still drafting plans and policies still remaking itself as we
heard earlier, all while children die.
Let us take the maternal support policy - a policy in draft
format, since I joined the committee in 2019. A solution for
pregnant mothers to life changing nutrition for their unborn

 
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children, but also a solution to breach the gap between birth
and accessing the Child Support Grant.
A database that can be shared with home affairs in order to
expedite birth certificates for the vulnerable.
Another example of the Department of Social Development’s
planning while children die is that they are still drafting
the policy for integrating and linking Child Support Grant
beneficiaries to the elusive government basket of services.
These beneficiaries are the children not in school or only
attend to receive the one meal a day.
The Department of Social Development know exactly who needs
the assistance, but with this reduced budget, it may be more
convenient to look the other way.
The abuse of a Child Support Grant by the adults entrusted
with it is prevalent and it is a crime. The SA Social Security
Agency, Sassa, does not keep statistics on this grant. With
only 23 convictions reported by the Department of Justice and
Correctional Services, since 2015. This needs more attention,
if not it is like pouring water into a bucket with holes.

 
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We must look at increasing the age limit of this grant, if the
child is in school, as it is done with the foster care grant.
The public education system is failing our children. As a
result, many children repeat the grade and are thus over 18-
years-old. Instead of helping these vulnerable children, this
ANC-led government deals in a second blow by stripping away
the grant are stripping away their opportunity to complete
school, increasing youth unemployment.
However, where do we find the budget to implement the above
and move from good intentions to actual results? It is found
by rooting out wasteful and fruitless expenditure, rooting out
corruption. Over the last three years, almost R7,5 billion of
all government’s expenditure was fruitless and wasteful.
The Department of Social Development must finalise draft
policies, put plans in action, honour good intentions by
committing actual results. If not Chairperson, we will
continue to read about children eating sand and wild plants,
scavenging dump sites to survive. Thank you, Chairperson.
Xitsonga:

 
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Man N K BILANKULU: Ndza khensa, Mutshamaxitulu. Ndzi xeweta
vachaviseki hinkwavo lava va nga kona na vaakatiko va Afrika-
Dzonga hinkwavo. Avuxeni.
English:
The ANC rises in support of this Budget Vote number 19. This
Budget Vote seats on the 5th month after the devastation fire
swept our Parliament in Cape Town whereby the entire country
was shocked and devastated. A month ago, a terrible flood
disaster happened in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and other
parts of the Northern Cape. The two pandemics; COVID-19,
gender-based violence and femicide, all these turns our
country into extremely complex and challenging period whereby
so many lives have been lost.
Our economy has been severely damaged, millions of our people
are without jobs and the most vulnerable people are women.
President Mbeki once said, I quote: “trying times need courage
and resilience” As the ANC we will continue to work for a
better South Africa and a better world. Hon House Chair, our
nation is confronted with various social ills which impacts
the quality of life in our country. Some of the social
challenges experienced today are ills of the social

 
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engineering of our dark apartheid past. The state of our
economy and the level of inequality in our society worsens the
social ills we face.
This budget must respond to the mandate of the department as
it is geared to ensure protection against vulnerability by
creating an enabling environment for the provision of a
comprehensive, integrated and sustainable social development
service. The prevalence of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, gender-
based violence and femicide, rape abuse and other social ills
do not build our nation but tear apart the lives of many South
Africans, resulting in many not realising their full
potential.
The recent brutal murder of Hillary Gardee in Mpumalanga, has
been a stuck reminder of the social challenges confronting our
society. May her soul and of many others who were victims of
gender-based violence and femicide rest in internal peace. The
brutality the women of our nation experience has reached an
alarming state. What makes the situation worse is the fact
that on a daily basis, our women are at the receiving end of
the social ills. Hon members, in order to address the social
issues, we need to begin at a family unit level, without

 
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strengthening our families we will continue to produce social
ills.
It is important for all South Africans, particularly parents
and guardians to appreciate the social responsibility in
raising children and protect our children from exposure to
experiences which do not build the values we seek to create as
a nation. We welcome the process of the revised White Paper on
families in South Africa whose objective among others, is to
promote strong and equitable ultra-family relationship within
safe, supporting and nurturing communities and to support
families in need and characterised by severe conflict of
neglect of vulnerable family members to regain the dignity and
resolve conflict in an amicable way.
It is also important for religious bodies and civil society to
focus on strengthening the family if we are to realise the
mission of the White Paper, to promote family wellbeing and
strengthen and support family so that they are empowered to
provide physical, emotional, psychological, financial,
spiritual and intellectual support and care for their members.
We welcome the budget allocation to support over 300,000
family members with family preservation services. We encourage

 
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South Africans to seek counsel from existing social support
structures in our communities and those offered by the
department.
As the African National Congress, we call on society to play
an active role in addressing social challenges, social urgency
is important in order to drive social transformation.
Community mobilisation is an important aspect of utilising the
people against social ills and focusing the community on
developmental issues such as promoting education, promoting
healthy lifestyles, supporting the elderly and creating and
enabling environment for economic development. Chairperson, we
welcome the budget commitment to train 840 community
development practitioners, this is some significant
intervention, hon members, as this will improve the capacity
of community development practitioners to make a greater
impact in our society and to learn best practice to effective
mobilised communities.
It is therefore critical for the development to continue with
its strides supporting non-profit organisations as they play a
critical role of social agency in addressing social
challenges. We welcome the focus on capacitating stakeholders

 
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to implement the non-profit organisation, NPO, mentorship
model which will enable increased support for NPOs. This
Budget Vote provides funding for non-profit organisations and
we urge the department to strengthen its monitoring of objects
funded to ensure intended outcomes are realised.
Hon members, we welcome the effort of the department in
providing support to capacitate 270 workers. This will go a
long way in strengthening the support provided by our social
workers who provide support to vulnerable South Africans. In
today’s world, which has put to the full of the needs of focus
and mental health, social workers are a major need in our
society due to the trauma many of our people face. Hon
Minister, our social workers are heroes who give hope to the
vulnerable and we applaud the department to continuously
increase its capacity to provide social work services.
Psychosocial challenges are becoming endemic and the need for
psychosocial services is paramount. The rate of suicide in our
society is another great concern. We also welcome the target
of capacitating 500 social services practitioners on social
and behavioral change program, as this improves the capacity
to analyse behavior in order to respond in an appropriate

 
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manner. Hon members, the department has an important program
for teenage parents. The Sinovuyo Teen Parenting Programme
which is a 14-session parenting program for at risk families
with 10 to 18-year-old adolescent is an important project. The
use of digital technologies and other social media platforms
will enhance sharing of information which will support at risk
families.
The department should continue to explore the use of digital
platforms to expand its reach on various social ills.
Leveraging technology can also enhance social work, as at
times, those who are vulnerable require someone to listen to
them and to advise them. Hon members and the people of South
Africa, HIV and AIDS affect approximately 13,7% among the
South African population and it is important to always create
awareness. The Budget Vote supports testing programs and
supports the SA National AIDS Council with R43 million to
address the social and structural drivers of HIV and AIDS. It
is reported that you focus on preventive measures and focus on
behavioral change.
It is of great concern that we have increased teenage
pregnancies. This reality has an impact on their children’s

 
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growth and should not be promoted. Hon Chairperson, the
African National Congress support this Budget Vote and
together working with the department through the portfolio
committee we shall play our oversight role to enhance delivery
and our services to the poor and vulnerable. Hon House Chair
and the nation, I thank you.
Afrikaans:
Me G OPPERMAN: Dankie Voorsitter. Met ’n volgehoue R2 miljard
jaar-op-jaar besnoeiing binne die Departement vir Maatskaplike
Ontwikkeling, hoef jy nie verder as program 4 te kyk om te
besef hierdie is beslis nié ’n pro-arm begroting nie. Dit skyn
wel ’n gedaante van armlastigheid te hê.
Vanuit die 11 subprogramme onder program 4 gemoeid met
welsynsdienste, beleidsontwikkeling en implementering, toon
slegs drie uit die 11 positiewe begrotings. Die res van die
oorblywende agt subprogramme is in ’n afdraende stryd teen
besnoeiing en allokasie verminderings gewikkel.
Besteding op program 4 self word verminder van R1,8 miljard in
die huidige boekjaar na R1,6 miljard in die 2023-24 boekjaar.
Die grootste verloorders onder program 4 is die

 
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teensubstansmisbruikprogram wat skerp besnoei word, die ouer
persone program wat met R1,1 miljoen verminder word, asook die
program vir ongeskikheidsregte wat drasties afwaarts aangepas
is en wat bloot verdere marganalisering van hierdie sektor
teweeg sal bring. Beide die subprogramme kinderdienste en
families se begrotings is besnoei en die MIV/Vigs subprogram
is met ’n miljoen rand verminder.
Terwyl al hierdie besnoeiings egter geskied, is daar ’n
drastiese vermindering aan fondse regoor die nege provinsies
aan wie daar sedert 2020-21 volle verantwoordelikheid oorgedra
is vir psigososiale ondersteuning, skuilings, fondse vir
voedselverligting, MIV/Vigs, en nie-regeringsorganisasies. Die
provinsiale departement in die Noord-Kaap, provinsie van my
komvandaan, se besnoeiings beloop R909 miljoen, sonder enige
alternatief hoe om die impak van hierdie vermindering in
allokasie te versag of teen te werk.
Die Nasionale Ontwikkeling Agentskap is self so onderbefonds
dat hulle nie eens in staat is om hul mandaat van armoede
verligting en armoede bekamping uit te voer nie. Met ’n 11%
besnoeiing in die komende boekjaar, beteken dit ’n
R26,7 miljoen vermindering aan finansiële hulp aan

 
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gemeenskapsgebaseerde organisasies wie armoede moet beveg op
voetsoolvlak. Die nonprofit organisation, NPO, [nie-
winsgewende organisasie] begroting alleen is met R9,2 miljard
onderbefonds. Erger nog is dat daar nul rand nul sent vir die
subprogram sosialewerkers beursgeleenthede begroot is, wat
beteken ’n hele R3,4 miljoen is gesny. Dit terwyl ons land
reeds ernstige tekorte aan dié skaars vaardigheid het. Ons
benodig tans 70 000 maatskaplike werkers slegs om die
aangepaste Kinderwet te implementeer. Daar is nie ’n dooie
sent vir die opleiding van nuwe maatskaplike werkers begroot
nie, maar ons kort ’n verdere 5 000 maatskaplike werkers om
slegs die substansmisbruikprogram te implementeer. Dit terwyl
die program self van R21,9 miljoen na R20,7 miljoen in die
komende boekjaar gesny is.
As ons in ag neem dat substansmisbruik tans die hoogte inskiet
weens werkloosheid in Suid-Afrika en hopeloosheid in ons land,
hoe regverdig jy so ’n besnoeiing? Die gebruik van tik in ons
land is twee maal hoër as in die res van die wêreld. Ons sit
met 15% van Suid-Afrikaners wat met ’n dwelmprobleem sit en
die fetale alkoholsindroom koers is vyf maal hoër in ons land
as in ander lande. Die is mos programme wat die weerloosdes en
kwesbares tot redding moet wees. Hoe sny jy aan programme wat

 
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senior burgers beinvloed asook kinders, families,
dwelmafhanklikes, mense met MIV/Vigs en persone wie met
gestremdhede saam lewe, en jy noem dit ’n pro-arm begroting?
Hier drink tieners om te vergeet. In ons land kry kinders
kinders, en sit 10 miljoen welgeskape mense sonder werk of
hoop. Ons stryd is nie teen vlees en bloed nie. Ons oorlog is
teen armoede, staatsverknegting en ongelykhede, maar in
hierdie oorlog is ons tans lelik aan die verloorkant. Ek dank
u.
Mr D M STOCK: Thank you very much, hon House Chairperson. Let
me also greet, the hon members, the hon Minister, hon Deputy
Minister, social development is about advancing transformation
and providing a safety net for the vulnerable and also to
empower them for self-liberation in order to realise self-
liberation and also to address the poverty and its root
causes.
We need to transform our economy to create economic
opportunities for the vulnerable. It is for this reason that
the Department of Social Development is not only focus on
social grants but rather guided by a comprehensive social

 
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security policy framework. It is comprehensive because it
needs to address the different dimensions of poverty
throughout our society.
The ANC has prioritised the fiscal framework, which allocates
over 59,4% to the social wage. The social wage response to the
multiple nature of determinants of poverty. This is the
conceptual basis of a comprehensive social security system,
which is developmental to free the potential of all South
Africans. Poverties depravation, which should at all times
innovate to address.
However, hon members, according to the combating hunger, it’s
also an important issue which is to be addressed by the
Department of Social Development. Combating hunger is
reopening sustainable development goal and an African Agenda
2063 goal is also a priority with regard to that. Hunger
deprive the wellbeing and quality of life of humans to a large
extent.
It is imperative that all stakeholders in labour, business and
civil society focus their energies in ensuring that no South
African is left behind and has to enjoy the pain of indignity

 
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of hunger. This is a right of our Constitution, which is also
enshrined and which the Constitution protects.
In order to alleviate poverty through working opportunities
this Budget Vote supports 176 474 Extended Public Works
Programme opportunities through a social sector EPWP
programmes. This is a critical massive intervention, which
will create a sustenance for many South Africans who need
these opportunities the most.
These opportunities are in line with the developmental mandate
of the department to equip the recipients who have the
sectoral experience, which will enable them to take advantage
of other sustainable economic opportunities in the sector. The
Budget Vote further supports the linking of about 20 000
social protection beneficiaries to sustainable livelihoods
opportunities. And for the next financial year, 30 000
beneficiaries were also being linked to this.
Hon van der Merwe from the IFP, it is unpatriotic to reject a
safety net budget. Contrary to the misguided believe of
welfare reason our government is not a welfare state but a
developmental state, which seeks to intervene in the social

 
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and economic live of the country to address the injustices of
the past and also to play a better future for all South
Africans.
Even developed countries provide a social support for the
vulnerable citizens of that particular country. We welcome the
progress of the department of integrating the information
sharing system with other entities, which provide critical
developmental opportunity such as students funding through the
National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. This information
sharing enables social protection beneficiaries to be
automatically approved for students funding.
Hon Minister, this progress is commendable. Despite the
progress the material conditions remain that of increasing
employment and also poverty and the widening inequality gap.
It is common course that our country is the most unequal
society in the world. This exposes the sheers structural
exclusion of colonialism of a special time. This therefore,
calls for the department to continuously innovate to
development programmes, which will actually macify the impact
of linking beneficiaries with the developmental opportunities.

 
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On the youth, this Budget Vote support the training of about
600 youth on the development of the skills development
programme. This programme by the department is also in line
with the state of the nation address commitment by the hon His
Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Without the social protection programme by SA Social Security
Agency over 18 million South Africans will be living in a
precarious manner.
We are strongly opposed to the perspective, which disregards
the importance of social assistance by our government. Those
perspectives are actually spoken from a position of privilege
and they can never be said if one has experience sleeping with
an empty stomach and not knowing how they will get their first
meal on the next day.
The social wage comprehensively ensures that no one endures
the pain and indignity of hunger. For children hunger comes
with a lot of implications as this result in the child
stinting, which will affect 27% of our children throughout the
country. This takes away the right of children to grow up to

 
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attain equal opportunities. It also has an impact on the
growth and the health of the children.
Hon Minister, in our constituency work the people have raised
some concerns in our communities where mothers who receives
child support grants do not use the grants to support the
growth of the child. It is therefore, critical that we
strengthen the campaigns in our community to have mechanism
for reporting such parents to ensure that we protect the
rights of our children.
We want to commend the department for having displayed the
agility of responding to urgent crisis, which before our
nation in different skills. We welcome the support also, hon
Minister, the interventions from the National Development
Agency, NDA, whose primary mandate is to contribute towards
the eradication of poverty and is causes by granting funding
to civil society organisations to implement the development
projects in poor communities.
We also welcome the targets of 8 000 civil society
organisations to meet their registration of reporting
requirements and to build their capacity in areas such as

 
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financial management, leadership and general management. This
is actually important work to strengthen civil society and
also to mobilise our communities’ in general. The NTT will
further create 3 000 job opportunities, which are part of the
Presidential Employment Stimulus. The entity will also fund
corporative, which are creating efforts by citizens for income
generation.
It will be critical that the turnaround strategy of the NDA
yield the expected outcomes to reposition the NDA as an
entity, which makes tremendous impact on poverty.
Hon Masango from the DA as well as hon member Sukers from the
ACDP, the ANC is a caring government and the DA is a party
that advances the retainment of the status quo of inequality.
The department is not paralysed by the rands. The largest
social security system in recent portfolio committee meetings
both hon Masango and Sukers. We expressed the greatest form of
appreciation for the department officials’ for answering their
calls and also to responding to a number of queries, which we
have sent or forwarded to them very adequately.

 
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To be quite honest and just to tell the truth in today’s
debate, I am actually not surprised that you used this
platform for political posturing and grandstanding. My
question to you, however, my hon members is that, why do you
acknowledge or how can you acknowledge that there is great
performance improvement on the work of the department whilst
you are also raising that there is general neglect of
underperformance and no proper system in place of
accountability?
I am really not surprised by the issues that you raised
because we know that is mainly for political scoring and you
want appearing before the TV, the cameras and you want to
create and drive a particular narrative.
It is estimated that in Sub-Saharan Africa only about 10% of
the economically active population is covered by a statutory
social security scheme in Africa. My advice to you is to make
continental review on the social protection system and you
will find that our government has made advance strides in
providing a social safety net.

 
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Like all other institutions, there are weaknesses but we
should never allow the weaknesses to overshadow the positive
impact that our government is doing and also the hard work
that is done by the ANC-led government. Your focus, hon
members, is only on the failures of the department, and for
that matter, it is quite unfortunate that we only focus on the
weaknesses and we are failing to highlight all the
achievements and all the good things that the department has
actually achieved or striving towards achieving.
The hon member, hon Shak Emam, I agree with your initial view.
What you actually fail to tell our people is that, the
department has put in place strong measures to the issues
raised by the Auditor-General of South Africa and also to
improve the inefficiencies that are currently actually
happening in the system in which also include to a large
extent the implementation of the outstanding issue of the
prismatic system, which will actually deal or eliminate also
the fraudulent activities that are happening in the system of
the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, and all of that.
The ANC support the Budget Vote 19 of the Department of Social
Development. We support this Budget Vote because it response

 
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to the commitment made by the government and the provisions of
the Constitution. I thank you, hon members. Thank you very
much.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Thank you, hon
Stock. I will now recognise the Minister of Social
Development. Hon Minister, you have five minutes extra which
you left on your 30 minutes. So, you will be having 15
minutes. Over to you, ma’am. Hon Minister Zulu? Unmute
yourself ma’am. Hon Minister, you are muted. May the
information technology, IT, desk assist us in terms of
unmuting the Minister.
Mr N P MASIPA: She is not on the platform.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): No, she is, I
can see her. If you check on the gallery, you will see her –
she’s there. Hon members, can we just give the Minister a few
minutes so that they can sort her out by unmuting her.
Mr D M STOCK: House Chairperson?
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Hon Stock?

 
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Mr D M STOCK: I have been informed that the Minister is
frozen. So, they are busy trying to sort it out - maybe one or
two minutes.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Advise her to
log off and then come back again. She will be fine.
Mr D M STOCK: Okay. Alright, thank you.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): We apologise,
hon members. It’s the technology that’s beyond any human
capabilities.
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, could I ask if maybe one of the ANC
members read the Minister’s last few points as the hon Stock
was already repeating himself a few times. Maybe someone can
just repeat something again. [Interjections.]
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Hon Faber, you
know that you are out of order – out of order, thoroughly so.
I am sure you are raising that on a lighter note. We shall
wait for the Minister. I requested you to be patient with her.
[Interjections.] You can’t control it.

 
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Ms N K BILANKULU: He is out of order. He cannot lecture us.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Okay. Thank
you, hon Bilankulu. Let’s just wait for a few seconds.
Mr D M STOCK: Hon House Chair, if you can just request the
Table staff to ... [Interjections.] They have accepted ...
[Interjections.]
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Order, hon
members. Can we allow her to use someone’s gadget and allow
her to speak – to address us. I can see that she is using
Linton Mchunu’s gadget. She will unmute herself and then wrap
up her debate. There you are. [Interjections.] Thank you very
much. We can see you and hear you; you may proceed. You have
five additional minutes.
The MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Can I for now remove
myself from the camera so that I don’t waste your time.
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms R M M Lesoma): Please do so.
You can switch off your ... Yes, hon Minister, you may do so.

 
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The MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Thank you very much,
Chairperson. Firstly, I would like to thank you House Chair.
Let me also appreciate all the members who participated in
this debate, but particularly thank and appreciate the NFP,
the UDM and other parties that supported the Budget Vote. We
will ensure that we work with you to put our people first in
responding to the challenges. I want to thank the hon member
Kwankwa particularly and say to him that we are with him in
terms of ensuring that the people are supported, especially
the informal sector that we are talking about, as well as the
social workers.
May I also indicate, hon members and hon Kwankwa in particular
that, as a Department of Social Development we also managed to
get resources from some embassies – for instance, the Chinese
Embassy that supported us not only now during the disaster,
but also supported us during the unrests. What we did as a
department is that this money that they are giving us is
supposed to be money for food parcels, but I requested the
department that we make sure that we co-ordinate the issue of
food parcels by co-ordinating with the people that are
assisting us – the organisations, the NPOs, the private sector
and all. We can also take some of this money and support

 
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informal businesses because many of them lost their
livelihoods and wellbeing.
Working together with the Department of Small Business
Development, we are going to do our best to see how we can
support those people who are in the informal business who lost
a lot, including the implements of trade. So, part of the
money we have we will be giving to people who can go and make
more money for themselves – buy the products or whatever they
sell and go back again and work for their families. I know
that even those who get social grants – some of those people
are making something out of the social grants by making sure
that they keep their families alive. I also wish to thank the
members from the EFF.
We remain committed to the attainment of a comprehensive
social security system as envisaged in the National
Development Plan. This is a social protection system that is
concerned with both development and distribution of ...
[Inaudible.] ... developments and solidarity. And the basic
income grant is therefore an essential element of the new
social compact in what is already the most unequal society in
the world. By the way, I was very excited when I saw what Elon

 
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Musk is talking about – the universal basic income grant. I
thought maybe if he says it, some people will listen to him. I
mean he raises this, not only form a point of view of South
Africa, but he raises it as something that is needed to be
discussed by the world because the issues of unemployment,
poverty and others are not only a South African problem but of
course, we need to make sure that as South Africa we respond
to it.
So, during this financial year we shall table the updated
policy on the basic income grant for Cabinet’s consideration,
as the hon Mvana indicated. The President has directed that we
should start looking at the basic income grant as an important
developmental stepping stone in current dispensation of our
democracy. Hon Breedt, it is important to have accurate
information and I would like to say to you that the advantage
is that we are there and we are always available at the
portfolio committee.
Therefore, if members have other questions that they want to
continue raising with us, we will be there to respond to that.
I also want to remind you that the early childhood
development, ECD, has migrated to the Department of Basic

 
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Education – I am sure you are very much aware of that. You may
recall that we were paying R17 per child and not R15 per child
for the past two years. We didn’t remove money from feeding
children to the Department of Basic Education, but we
reprioritised the funds for infrastructure development to
assist in time of crisis of COVID-19. To respond to the most
urgent need at that time.
Some members have unfortunately decided to focus on the
negative aspects but yes, we are able to take that from a very
positive point of view. May I also tell you members that when
you raise issues with me negative or not, I always take them
very seriously because I think that it is an opportunity for
me and my department in its portfolio to go out there and see
the things that we are raising so that we can be able to
respond to them.
I acknowledge indeed that there are weaknesses in every
institution, but we have put in place strong controls and
measures in place to eliminate fruitless wasteful and
irregular expenditure and to ensure that there are
preventative controls in place to avoid fraud and corruption
and instil a culture of consequence management. I heard some

 
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members saying that there is no consequence management. We
have to report back on consequence management that we have and
we share that with the portfolio committee.
With regard to the employment of social workers, you will
recall that we have employed a number of social workers across
various provinces, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,
albeit on contract. Some provinces like the Free State and
KwaZulu-Natal have actually taken social workers on a
permanent basis. And we encourage all provinces to do the
same.
Again, I want to add here that the issue of social workers
must not be an issue only for the Department of Social
Development. We are also encouraging other departments,
including the private sector to work with us here because I
personally believe that in dealing with the social ills, which
some of the members raised here, including gender-based
violence - it is up to us to ensure that we do our work
through the district development model.
I have been insisting and talking to the department that if we
have to deal with the social ills, we need to mobilise our

 
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communities so that we work hand-in hand with them. I have
said to the department that we need to deal with this house to
house, street to street, community to community because ...
IsiZulu:
... ngeke kwenzeke ukuthi ngesikhathi somzabalazo sasisebenza
thina sisekelwa futhi sivikelwa abantu ...
English:
In our communities and now that we have freedom, we need the
same support we had at that time, now being in government to
make sure that people are supported in our communities. Hon
Van der Merwe, I have directed the department to work on a
plan of action on the employment of the social workers, as I
have indicated before.
As hon Shaik Emam indicated, social workers are the eyes and
ears on the ground, and have a fundamental role to play in the
care and protection of our people. But more so in ensuring
preventative measures because here is the problem with South
Africa as a whole, we need to collectively to look at
preventative measures. I agree with the hon Shaik Emam that it

 
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is important for our communities to work hand-in-hand with
others.
I also want to thank all categories of social workers who have
done a fantastic job in looking after our people, especially
during the COVID-19 pandemic and the current disasters that we
have right now. With regard to the R350 grant, we have just
received information recently with the current iteration of
R350 grant that 44 000 people who applied are actually
deceased by August 2021. With public servants who are
receiving child support grant, we have actually found them in
the system, ourselves, and some of them are actually the
Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, workers, new graduates
and interns.
It is important that sometimes when we need the information,
we need to ask for this information so that we can clarify to
avoid drama where we don’t necessarily need it. Lastly, I want
to say that for the sake of our children and children’s
children, we have to ensure that we lift people out of poverty
though our interventions and programmes. And we must do this
within the context of social compacts and within the district
development model as directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

 
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As I conclude, I need to thank all the organisations, the NPOs
that we normally work with out there. I want to say to them
that they should please keep coming back to us. Let us work
together and you being on the ground. I am talking about
organisations such as Goodman Foundation, Kwanele Foundation,
National Shelter Movement of South Africa, Act Now ...
IsiZulu:
... nina ACT Now sinifuna emgwaqeni kudala nisinyamalalele.
Siyanifuna futhi ...
English:
... because when you are out there, people can see you. They
can hear your message. The United Nations Population Fund,
UNFPA, is also an organisation which we work very well with
the United Nations, by the way. There is the Commission on
Gender Equality. Gift of the Givers – we had a meeting with
them not so long ago because we want to be able to be on the
same par and the same level of appreciation and understanding
and support. Other organisations are Meals on Wheels, and a
whole of them that we work with.

 
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I wish to thank the members of the ANC who actually responded,
in particular the last speaker, the hon Stock. The hon Stock
responded to some of the questions that were raised by the
members, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that the members of
the ANC are responding in the manner in which they are
responding. We are one government, but that does not remove
their responsibility obviously to do oversight as expected by
government. For those who think that the members are singing a
song around me, they are not. They are talking about things
that they see on the ground.
I would also like to say that we are celebrating the Africa
Month, and 25th is going to be Africa Day. I am encouraging
all our members to remember and always appreciate the fact
that we are Africans, and we are in Africa, and therefore use
this opportunity to celebrate what we have managed to achieve
globally from an African point of view – from colonialism to
freedom or democracy. And in South Africa, our democracy is on
the move. And in South Africa, we are strengthening our
institutions of democracy so that our people can have what
they fought for and that our people can benefit for what they
fought for. To everybody across the board, let us celebrate

 
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ourselves as South Africans, and negativity will never reside
here. I thank you.
The Mini-Plenary rose at 12:07.

 

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