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Policy Speech for 2001/2002
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Welfare

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EASTERN CAPE  PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 POLICY SPEECH: 2001 / 2002
 BY THE MEC FOR WELFARE
ON 7 MARCH 2000



1. INTRODUCTION

Honourable Speaker
 The Honourable Premier
 Honourable Members of the Executive Council
 Members of the Legislature
 Partners present here from the NGO sector
 Comrades
 Ladies and gentlemen

Mr Speaker the African National Congress in keeping with its commitment to an egalitarian society rejects the dictum that the poor will 
always be with us. It believes that poverty is created by society and poverty can therefore be eliminated by society. Therefore, the 
African National Congress believes that people are the fundamental resource of the country, since they have the capacity to develop 
personally and are central to the development of the economy and the nation as a whole. We do not encourage a handout approach to social 
welfare provision because it does not address the root causes of social problems.

In the past, the provision of social welfare was fundamentally unequal, and differentiated in terms of race as well as in terms of class 
and gender, with different quality of services being made available by wide range of different agencies and organisations in an 
uncoordinated and fragmented matter. There have been major problems as a result of this legacy from the past.

It is within this context that the White Paper on Welfare propagates a shift from rather archaic therapeutic forms of social intervention 
in dealing with socio-economically based human challenges towards a social developmental approach.

With the rolling out of the developmental service delivery paradigm, the potential role of the social development sector in meeting the 
basic needs of our communities, generating self-sustaining livelihoods and reducing dependency, has been given a tremendous boost.

It is in order to give effect to the developmental paradigm that the fundamental principle which guides welfare service delivery processes 
is that of ensuring that every element of service delivery, including social security, incorporates a social developmental component aimed 
at achieving self- reliance and sustainability.

Mr Speaker, I will be bold to say that the Department of Welfare continues to occupy a uniquely strategic position in relation to the 
historically and politically given mandate of the Province to implement sustainable reconstruction, development, growth and redistribution.

Mr Speaker, the budget I am presenting before this House today constitutes an attempt to articulate to the people of this Province and the 
country at large how the Department of Welfare in the Eastern Cape has positioned itself strategically to utilise the funds appropriated 
for the delivery of services to the Public during the financial year 2001/2002.

The role of the Welfare Department as a service delivery apparatus of the state should be located within the broader framework of the socio-
economic and demographic features and challenges of the Province as a spatial and political formation.

The Department identified its strategic service delivery priorities and crafted its implementation methodology within the context of the 
provincial priorities of the Government of the Eastern Cape and taking into account the policy direction of the National Department of 
Social Development.

2. BUDGET ALLOCATION 2001/02

The exercise of developing the department’s budget for the 2001/02 financial year was preceded by a Budget Indibano planning process aimed 
at identifying priority service delivery areas and developing an appropriate implementation plan. This was an inclusive process in which 
provincial, regional as well as district departmental spheres of management participated.

The plan of action to which the various budget allocations are attached is underpinned by the mission of the Department which is:

" To provide a comprehensive, integrated, equitable, accessible and developmental social service in partnership with all welfare 
stakeholders for the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the Eastern Cape making use of all appropriate resources of the 
country"

The total Departmental budget for this year is R4,626,754, which represents a 14.72 % increase as against the R 4,032,964 allocated in the 
last financial year.

Mr Speaker, in representing this budget, allow me to deal with its two constitutive components, namely;

* Revenue Budget R 90 (thousand)
* Equitable Share R4,626,664 (billion)

It must, once again, be stressed this financial year that this is not an income-generating Department. The only revenue is generated 
through boarding and lodging fees paid by officials in an institution. And the amounts involved are miniscule.

The split of the main cost drivers as determined by the Department are as follows:

         VOTED 00/01 R’000       BUDGET 01/02 R’000      INCREASE/ DECREASE R’000        %
TRANSFER PAYMENTS        3,711,944      4,388,847       676,903         18.24
PERSONNEL        137,573        146,944         8,009   6.81
OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE         53,447  90,963  37,516  70.19
TOTAL    4,032,964      4,626,754       593,790         15%

* TRANSFER PAYMENTS: R4,388,847

Transfer Payments represent amounts directly paid to beneficiaries or institutions in line with departmental policies.

The amount is further split per programme as follows:

SOCIAL GRANTS   4,253,468
SUBSIDIES        134,000
SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES         1, 379
         4,388,847

Social Grants take up approximately 92% of the welfare budget as against the envisaged 80% : 20% ratio between allocations for social 
security grants and other more developmental welfare services, respectively.

The detail split of the Social Grants is as follows:

Description     No. of Beneficiaries     Amount R'000
Child and Family Grants ( including Child Support Grant)         111,009        399,306
Old Age Grants   400,857        2,743,457
Disability Grants        140,304        1,108,705
Social Relief            2,000
TOTAL    651, 900        4, 253,468

Mr Speaker, we are presenting this budget in this format;

The programmes are aligned to the key departmental strategic priorities and that they are not presented in an order of priority.

3. KEY DEPARTMENTAL STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR 2001/02

The following is a resume` of the Department’s strategic priority delivery areas. It bears noting that these priorities have been 
identified in close alignment with those of the Province which emerged from the provincial Budget Indibano; were elaborated upon in the 
Premier’s opening address to the Provincial Legislature and also restated in the Budget Speech 2001/02 tabled before the Eastern Cape 
Legislature by the MEC for Finance and Provincial Expenditure.

(a) Improvement of Management Systems and Services

The process of improving the Department’s management systems and services will be pursued with vigour. The Department will benefit from and 
implement the management improvement plans which are due to emerge from the current initiatives of strengthening the performance management 
system; the refinement of the implementation of the Batho Pele principles; the business re-engineering process; the social audit; etc, 
which are currently being run collaboratively with and, under the auspices of the DIFD funded Integrated Provincial Support Programme. The 
Department is therefore poised to enter into a new phase in terms of the quality of the delivery of its services.

The overall management of the department includes the formulation of policies, maintenance of working methods and procedures, managing 
personnel, financial management and control, effective communication special programmes and IT network infrastructure development.

This key priority ensures an effective and efficient civil service which is in line with the provincial priority of transforming the Public 
service.

Mr Speaker, the budget allocated for this priority is R73,810 under Programme 1 - Administration.

(b) Comprehensive Social Security System

The provision of social security in the form of social grants is by far the largest single re-distributive program of the Department and 
government.

The Department will continue to work towards the improvement of the delivery of the social security function which is rendered under the 
Social Assistance Act.

The Department will interact closely with and feed into the nationally driven process of developing a comprehensive social security system 
for South Africa which is currently being researched by the Committee of Enquiry into a Comprehensive Social Security System

The key priority for this financial year is the finalisation of the implementation of an alternative service delivery model with respect to 
the paying out process of social grants. This will involve the outsourcing of this function to an external service provider.

Mr Speaker, we want to remind this house of the commitment we made with regard to outsourcing of social grant payment. The house must 
appreciate that we are dealing here with a very sensitive issue, be that as it may, we are happy to announce that the process has reached 
an advanced stage and the Tender process is about to commence.

A major benefit of the implementation of outsourcing is that the segregation of the social security functions of processing grant 
applications and paying out the grants will be fully realised. This will, without doubt, eliminate non-segregation of functions as a 
potential and real source of fraud and related irregularities.

Mr Speaker, the House and the public at large, the Department wishes to put on record that it is faced with endemic fraud in this area of 
service delivery. The department has adopted zero tolerance against all those found to be engaged in fraudulent activities. The department 
has arrested a number of officials for fraud and theft some of whom have been convicted and sentenced to periods of imprisonment ranging 
from 8 to 13 years.

In order to ensure that public assets are secured the Department in conjuction with the Asset Forfeiture Unit has attached properties 
fraudulently acquired by the culprits are and will be sold and the proceeds transferred to the state.

An allocation of R2 million has been provided for Social Relief. It should be borne in mind that this allocation is meant to cater for food 
parcels for victims of disasters within the first 24 hours. Provision has also been made to increase the grants by an average of 5% over 
the next three years, with the exception of the Child Support Grant which will increase by R10 over the next two years.

This key priority is focussed in the administration of social security grants, viz., child and family grants, disability and care 
dependency grants, grants for the aged, war veterans etc. The developmental component of the programme encourages beneficiaries to 
participate in projects which focus on women and children, in particular.

The Department is committed to dealing with and finalising the following:

* Re-registration; The results of the finalisation of the re-registration programme will constitute yet another milestone in the 
Department’s interventions to cleanse and enhance the integrity of the social security database.
* The re instatement of legitimate beneficiaries who were removed from the system commonly known as &#145;Class Action’
* The improvement of customer care

These will be extended from District to a Provincial Statutory Board in the future.

Mr Speaker, the budget allocated for this priority is R4,322,315 under Programme 2 - Social Security.

(c) Transformation of Welfare Services

Service delivery falling under this broad rubric will include advocacy and other work relating to older persons, persons with physical 
challenges, people affected by substance abuse, prevention and early intervention services, family preservation programmes, youth and 
justice development, victim empowerment, etc.

This priority has been budgeted for under two programmes namely;

i) Programme 3 - Welfare Funding with an allocation of R137,973

This programme subsidises non-governmental, not-for-profit and community based organisations which render welfare and other developmental 
services.

· The budget is split amongst the different focus groups and special development areas as follows: -

Field of Service         00/01   01 / 02
Child and Family Care    68 723  69, 922, 300
Care of the Aged         38 409  46, 990, 000
Care of the Disabled     10 256  10, 064 ,300
Drug Dependant Care      2 900   2 ,210, 000
Care of Offender         1 496   1, 191 ,800
Shelters for Homeless    1 100   2, 859, 200
Community Services       4 116  4,837, 400

The challenges which face this programme during this financial year can be summarised as follows:

* To accelerate the implementation of the transformation shifts using the guidelines provided for in the new financing policy.

The approach of the new financing policy is based on the principle of equity and the redistribution of resources to the previously 
marginalized sections of our society.

* Subsidies to the 1573 funded NGO’s and CBO’s will be restructured to ensure proper targeting of priority groups and targeting of 
previously un-serviced areas. In this regard a situational analysis of the needs of the province has been conducted and poverty pockets 
identified.
* The DQA unit established last year will now be operationalised to ensure that all welfare programmes are assessed for quality assurance 
as a standard procedure and on an ongoing basis.
* 4% of the budget will go into direct transfers towards the fight against HIV/Aids, and the funded programmes have been requested to 
submit business plans which clearly indicate how much of their budgets will go towards the fight against HIV/Aids.
* It must also be reported that in this financial year we are accelerating the shift from residential care towards community based care. 
Currently there are 47 service centres for the aged and most of them are based in previously advantaged areas. The additional budget for 
the care of the aged will go towards establishing service centres in the identified poverty stricken areas of the province.
* The New Financing Policy will be vigorously marketed through Peoples fora, Indabas and Imbizos. A procedure manual on the financing 
policy will be developed by June 2001.

ii) Programme 4 - Social Welfare Services with a budget of R77,943 million

* CHILD AND YOUTH CARE SERVICES.

Child and youth care services target primarily children at risk of falling into criminal activities.

Since 1997 several models of intervention have been piloted and implemented to transform child and youth care. These projects have now 
graduated into best practice models and have provided training and support to other make-a-difference projects provincially and nationwide.

In this financial year we will strengthen the following projects:

* Stepping Stones One - Stop Youth Justice Centre.
The centre has become a learning site which is visited by people internationally and has received several awards.

The activities of the centre will now be integrated into the departmental budget as the funding from the Royal Dutch Embassy ends in March 
2001. The staff will be absorbed into the department.
 This presents a problem for the department as only 10 of the 14 probation workers presently employed could be absorbed due to budgetary 
constraints which will have to be dealt with as a priority.

* The Enkuselweni Secure Care Centre was opened in August 2000. Failure by the Department of Justice to release children awaiting trial for 
admission to the Centre has contributed to the Centre not being fully operational despite our commitment. However, consultations are being 
held with the Justice Department to ensure that children who have committed serious crimes are sent to Enkuselweni rather than being kept 
in prison will serve to overcome the blockage. The training of secure care personnel in basic qualifications to ensure that the 
reconstruction and development of the children and youth is achieved will be prioritised.
* Professional Foster Care initiatives, whereby children in trouble with the law are diverted from the justice system and are fostered by 
identified families in the community are going to be replicated in two more sites at Maluti and Peddie.
* Family Preservation Programme which is based on a "collaborative model of family strengthening and family support services for the 
protection and development of children and young adults who are defined as being at "risk" of falling into trouble with law was piloted in 
Mqanduli and will now be replicated in two more sites, to be identified.
* Probation Services: The department has just engaged 10 more assistant probation officers who will prioritise preventive services for the 
youth. These officials will be put through an extensive training program to ensure that the objectives of diverting children away from the 
criminal justice system are achieved.
* Reception Assessment and Referral (RAR) programme.
These centres do proper assessment of children awaiting trial to ensure that as much as possible such children do not enter the criminal 
justice system but are rather diverted to other options of sentencing, for example, community services. The programme will be strengthened 
and will receive a boost from the newly appointed probation and assistant probation workers.

* AGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

The promotion and the protection of the rights of older persons are central to all programmes that fall under the general rubric of age 
management. During 2000/2001 financial year at the initiative of the Hon Minister for Social Development, public hearings were conducted 
nationwide on the abuse of elderly persons. The recommendations resulting from the findings will be implemented through the following 
programmes:

* Awareness campaigns on the rights of the aged especially at pay point centres. The development of 10 (ten) Integrated Community Based 
Care and support models making use of trained volunteers.
* The establishment of service centres for the older persons in Peddie and Lusikisiki. A major component of the service centre will be a 
childcare facility where the experience of aged in childcare can be "exploited" to the benefit of the aged, the community and the children 
concerned.

* CARE OF THE DISABLED

The disabled are a marginalized and neglected group in the society and their fundamental rights are not honoured. The Integrated National 
Disability Strategy, launched by the deputy President in 1997, seeks to turn this around by ensuring that disability issues are integrated 
in all government development strategies and programmes.

This year the department will:

* Contribute to the implementation of the strategy through collaboration work with the Special Programmes Unit and the office of the 
Disabled and in the Premier’s office.
* Actively divert people with disability away from social grants towards social development programmes.
* Train social workers on disability management so that they recognise the different needs of people with disabilities as one component of 
a range of disability related services.

* VICTIM EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME.

The Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) targets women and children as the main victims of violence. It is one of the priority programmes 
identified within the National Crime Prevention strategy. The programme is funded from a conditional grant from the National Department of 
Social Development.

Central to the programmes activities this year are the following:

* Preventive and promotive programmes in all districts to be co-ordinated by the recently appointed Victim Empowerment Manager at 
Provincial Office.
* Intensive training of all service providers on supportive and therapeutic programmes.
* Marketing of the VEP to all stakeholders.
* Intensify inter-departmental collaboration the lack of which is hampering the effectiveness of this program.

* HIV/AIDS

South Africa has the fastest growing HIV/Aids epidemic which will have an enormous impact on children, youth, women and families. The 
Department of Welfare’s main responsibility is HIV/Aids orphans and affected families with Community Based Care being our point of 
departure in service delivery.

The HIV/Aids programme is funded from a conditional grant derived from the Intergrated National HIV/Aids plan. The total allocation for 
2001/2002 is R1m.

This allocation will be used for the following activities:

Implement two additional Community Based Care Programmes. The first programme which is an integrated community based care model is being 
piloted at Mhlakulo in the Tsolo district and is at its very early stages of development.

Increase and strengthen preventive and promotive programmes on HIV/Aids in all service districts in collaboration with the department of 
Health and Education.

Organise a proper referral system that will ensure that the families and children affected and infected by HIV/Aids access social welfare 
services. Particular attention will be paid towards unblocking the blockages in the social security system which render it difficult to 
place HIV/Aids orphans in the alternative family care.

(d) Integrated Poverty Eradication Strategy

Mr Speaker, poverty is distributed unevenly among nine provinces of the country. The Eastern Cape, the Northern Province and more recently, 
the Free State, have by far the highest poverty rates. In line with poverty distribution by provinces, 72% of poor people in South Africa 
live in rural areas, and 70% of all rural people are poor. Within both urban and rural areas themselves the situation is highly stratified, 
either spatially (i.e. specific pockets of extreme poverty), or by target group (e.g. Women and children, the elderly or the disabled).

Rural communities are also highly dispersed and this often presents difficulty in accessing appropriate levels of support or service.

According to a recently released Statistics South Africa Report Measuring Poverty; the Eastern Cape is the poorest province in the whole 
country with a poverty level of 48 % compared, for example, to 12 % for Gauteng and the Western Cape. As a result, our pro-poor programme 
enjoys a high priority as a strategic service delivery area.

It is against this background that the Eastern Government and the Department of Welfare has prioritised the Eradication of Poverty.

By prioritising Poverty Eradication the Department seeks to address poverty in rural areas and informal settlements with the prime 
beneficiaries being women, people with disabilities, HIV/Aids affected and infected households, youth and children. We also seek to reduce 
dependency on grants payment and to give priority to food security.

As part of the streamlined and systematic attempt to address poverty, a three year poverty plan is in place starting this financial year to 
ensure that the programmes initiated do indeed become sustainable beyond the initial grant given and hereby bring about the desired 
permanent reduction of income poverty.

Since 2000/2001 financial year the Poverty Alleviation strategy has adopted a paradigm shift from a project-based approach towards a more 
integrated programme based-approach.

This has seen the department move away from funding 635 projects during 99/2000, to 26 programmes in 2000/2001, and only about fifteen 
programmes in the coming year.

In the coming year the following six categories of programmes will be implemented:

* Three Community-Based institutional structures which will initiate and manage job creation and social support in poor rural communities 
where the prevalence of HIV/Aids is highest.
* Food production clusters targeting families where there is a high prevalence of child neglect and abuse.
* Two pilot programmes for Urban regeneration which will focus on developing long term skills and job prospects for young persons. These 
will be implemented in Mdantsane and Motherwell.
* Women’s Production Cooperatives to develop Income Generating Projects to target the service and tourism sector.
* Community-based centres that focus on craft production and daytime childcare by the aged.
* Training Centres for people with disabilities targeting poverty pockets.
* Broad consultations with local government and other departments and stakeholders have already started to ensure that programmes are 
linked to the Integrated Development Plans, the Provincial Sustainable Integrated Rural Development Strategy and the identified and 
prioritised development nodes within the province.

In addition to implementing its current as well as the 2001/2002 poverty programme, the Department has also been assigned the 
responsibility of designing and developing an organisational structure for the purpose of co-ordinating the Provincial Poverty Programme.

Mr Speaker the budget allocated for this priority is R5, 882 under Programme 5. The bulk of the R5,882 budget will go towards payments of 
salaries and community facilitation. The Poverty Alleviation Programme is funded through a conditional grant by the National Department and 
is primarily used for development programmes.

PROGRAMME 6 : POPULATION UNIT : R1, 310

The purpose of this programme is to assemble demographic data and monitor population trends. Its primary utility is to provide a tool which 
can be utilised for programme planning and implementation purposes. Its function is transversal to the extent that provincial departments 
can access population data in developing their service delivery plans.

PROGRAMME 7: WELFARE FACILITIES AND DEVELOPMENT : R3,5m

An amount of R2 million has been allocated for the completion of new facilities. The priority are the district offices particularly in the 
previously disadvantaged areas.

* UPGRADING OF EXISTING FACILITIES.

An amount of R1 million has been allocated to upgrade and convert the closed Motherwell Children’s Home to a multi-purpose Centre.
* MAINTENANCE.

An amount of R500 thousand has been allocated for major and minor maintenance of activities in the Department.

PROGRAMME 8:AUXILLIARY AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES :R4 m

The Budget allocated to this programme will be utilised for purchasing new vehicles. This is a critical priority for the Department as the 
last major vehicle purchases were done in 1996. The existing fleet is in dire need of replacement. This state of affairs has imposed a 
severe constraint on service delivery.

5. CONCLUSION

Mr Speaker, I wish to restate that, at all times, the strategic service delivery direction of the Department will be underpinned by and 
take its inspiration from the provincial priority service delivery objectives.

The Department further commits itself to making a meaningful contribution to such critical provincial processes as the annual Budget 
Indibano which the Premier - in his opening address to the Provincial Legislature - articulated as intended to &#145; assist to engender a 
corporate approach in planning’.

I associate myself with the view expressed in that presentation. The route to the achievement of meaningful integrated social development, 
within the context of a developmental state, is inconceivable without corporatism, in both planning and implementation, as an underpinning 
principle.

The Department dedicates itself and its resources to become one of the bricks, which will bolster the President’s project of &#145;building 
unity in action for change’.

Finally, allow me to express a special word of appreciation to the Premier for his unstinting support; to the Budget Committee; the 
Standing Committee for Welfare as well as to all those who, directly or indirectly, provide the inspiration and support which sustain us in 
dealing with our historic challenges including fraud and corruption. A warm word of thanks is due to the staff of the Department who have 
laboured tirelessly to achieve and maintain a decent standard of service delivery, quite often, under challenging conditions.

Mr Speaker, the passage of historical time has not disturbed the validity of the truism that &#145;men (sic) make their history, but not as 
they please..’

I Thank you

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