Progress made in implementing GBV response action plan & SASSA COVID-19 intervention; with Minister

Social Development

04 June 2020
Chairperson: Mr M Gungubele (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Portfolio Committee on Social Development,4 June 2020
Audio: DSD on progress made in implementing Gender Based Violence Fermicide emergency response action plan

The Committee was briefed by the Department of Social Development on progress made in implementing the Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide Emergency Response Action Plan. The Committee was also briefed by SASSA on its revised COVID-19 interventions. The Minister of Social Development was in attendance.

The Department of Social Development had rolled out the Emergency Response Plan between October 2019 and 31 March 2020. Various campaigns had been interrupted in March 2020 due to COVID-19. The incidents of GBV had increased during the lockdown period, as recorded in the number of GBV phone calls and SMSs received by command centres. In 2020 prior to lockdown, call centres had received nearly 5000 calls. During the lockdown period, over 40 000 calls had been received. This increase was attributed to the advertisement of GBV call centre services, the provision of trauma counselling and psychosocial support provided in relation to COVID-19, as well as callers seeking information and advice on social relief of stress. GBV and non-GBV cases had also been received at various provincial and local Department of Social Development offices, NGOs, and other governmental departments during the lockdown period.

The Department of Social Development had forged a partnership with the Department of Public Works in December 2019 as part of the Emergency Response Plan to GBV. The partnership was progressing in identifying infrastructure that could be utilised for Khuseleka One Stops and White Door Safe Spaces for Hope in six identified provinces. The process for formalising partnerships was underway through memoranda of understandings whereby the Department of Social Development would take ownership of the buildings through lease contracts of up to 99 years for the benefit of victims of crime and violence.

The Department of Social Development was leading the Social Impact Stream of the National Joint Operational Centre, overseeing the overall social impact of COVID-19. This ensured that vulnerable citizens were provided for and protected. Most services would be implemented during lockdown level three, using various mechanisms to do so while remaining in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

Members stressed the increased importance of the GBV call centre during the lockdown period. They said that the call centre needed to increase the effectiveness of its referral pathways throughout the provinces, and improving the referral system needed to more closely link and track social worker provision and guidance of victims to Thuthuzela Care centres, Khuseleka One Stop centres, and White Door Safe Spaces for Hope.

Increasing relationships and communication with SAPS was emphasised by the Committee. People trained in dealing with trauma victims, particularly of GBV in nature, needed to be on hand at police stations, as well as in contact through call centres and at ministerial level to ensure that SAPS was aware of its role in combatting GBV. Police stations and services needed to be more successful to victims of GBV.

The Committee welcomed the Department’s work on shelters and asked about the budget allocation for the programme as well as NGO funding and support.

SASSA reported that it was paying 12.8 million beneficiaries during the June payment cycle. The total amount of money that was to be disbursed was R20 billion, which included the Top-Up Grants that had been announced by President Ramaphosa. Payments would commence on 3 June 2020 for older persons and people with disabilities.

SASSA deposited all social grants into beneficiaries’ bank accounts monthly. Beneficiaries chose the payment channel to withdraw and/or transact with. The majority of beneficiaries used ATMs and retailers, while a few went to Post Office branches and mobile pay-points. The child support grant had been increased by R300 per child in May 2020 and would be increased by R500 per caregiver from June – October 2020. All other existing grants would were increased by R250 per month from May – October 2020, except for Grant in Aid.

A clean-up of databases from COVID-19 had been required. This involved the exclusion of 2.4 million people.

There were three processes for disbursement. The banking process was lengthy. The risk-adjusted approach to deliver on grants had been adopted as a result. Payments were being made through cash and e-wallet. The following week another million people would be paid in cash. By 15 June 2020, SASSA would be using banks to pay using e-wallet in order to reach the numbers desired.

Members asked about the grant application process, food parcels, the provision of Personal Protective Equipment at SASSA offices, the verification process, how the Court ruling around level three and level four regulation affected the Department and its work and what services were provided to undocumented foreigners.

The Department was asked to respond to outstanding questions in writing.

 

Meeting report

Mr D Stock (ANC) said the Chairperson, Mr M Gungubele (ANC) was struggling to connect to the meeting. He suggested beginning the meeting and electing an acting chairperson. He asked who would volunteer to chair the meeting.

Ms Marcelle Williams, Committee Secretary, asked for nominations from the members.

Ms N Mvana (ANC) proposed Mr Stock. Ms L Van der Merwe (IFP) seconded the motion.

Mr Stock accepted the nomination. He greeted members and thanked them for their attendance. He handed over to Ms Williams to deal with apologies, Departmental attendance and the agenda.

Ms Williams said the agenda to be dealt with first was the Opening and Welcome and the Introduction of Members and attendance.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked members to move for and accept the apologies as listed and tabled.

Ms van der Merwe accepted.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked for seconders.

Ms A Abrahams (DA) seconded the proposal.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked to move to adoption of the agenda. He asked Ms Williams to take the members through the agenda

Ms Williams read out the agenda.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked for a mover and adoption of the agenda.

Ms Abrahams wished to make a comment. At previous committee meetings it had been determined that every Portfolio Committee would receive a short summary on interventions thus far regarding COVID-19.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked if she was suggesting adding an additional item to the agenda.

Ms Abrahams said she wanted a summary on COVID-19 interventions.

Acting Chairperson Stock asked the members if there was agreement.

Ms van der Merwe said the item had been included in the agenda.

Ms Mvana moved for adoption of the agenda as it was.

Ms van der Merwe seconded the motion

Acting Chairperson Stock said the members would move to the Briefing by the Department of Social Development.

Progress Made by the Department of Social Development (DSD) in Implementing GBVF Emergency Plan

Introduction

Ms Conny Nxumalo, Deputy Director General: Welfare Services, DSD, said that on 18 September 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the immediate rollout of measures in the following six months that would fast-track a previously medium-term approach to combatting GBV and femicide that would be captured in the National Strategic Plan. An Emergency Response Plan, budget and framework had set out the details. The plan had been led by the Presidency, with the Department on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities coordinating the activities. Stakeholders included the Departments of: Social Development, Health, Police, Justice, Basic and Higher Education, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Employment and Labour, and Transport. Other stakeholders included the National Prosecuting Authority and civil society organisations.

The lifespan of the Emergency Response Plan had ended in March 2020 and a report had been handed over to President Ramaphosa by the steering committee in April 2020. However, the areas that had been implemented continued beyond March 2020.

Context

The Emergency Response Plan for GBV had been concluded, providing South Africa’s roadmap to fight GBV. Resources were being prioritised to implement the plan as it moved to the National Strategic Plan.

On 26 March 2020, President Ramaphosa had announced a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown had been scheduled to end on 16 April 2020, but had been extended by two weeks, ending on 30 April 2020. This had been followed by staggered alert levels of varying restrictions. COVID-19 had affected all sectors and the Department of Social Development had ensured psychosocial support services were provided to all vulnerable groups. These services spanned prevention and protection, response, care, and support and healing.

The “Tipping Point” for SBC Programming

The Drivers of Risk that were aimed to be reduced included: 1) stigma and discrimination, and harmful gender norms and practices, 2) poverty, vulnerability and marginalisation, 3) sexual and gender based violence, and age disparate relationships, and 4) unprotected sex, early sexual debuts and teen pregnancies.

Drivers of Change that were aimed to be increased included: 1) positive parenting, and healthy and enabling families, 2) access to social protection and HIV prevention programmes and services, 3) positive gender, cultural and social norms, and comprehensive sexuality education, 4) individual knowledge, motivation and agency, and psychosocial well-being.

Compendium of SBC Programmes

The slide contained programmes implemented across the individual, interpersonal and community levels. The list was a snapshot. It included the YOLO and ZAZI individual programmes, as well as those aimed at achieving the national character that the Department wanted to see moving forward, such as the Men Championing Change programme.

Emergency Response Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in South Africa

Key interventions and milestones that would be rolled out in the following six months included: 1) access to justice for victims and survivors, 2) changing norms and behaviour through high-level prevention efforts, 3) urgently responding to victims and survivors of GBV, 4) strengthening accountability and the architecture to adequately respond to the scourge of GBV, 5) prioritising interventions that facilitated economic opportunities for addressing women’s economic vulnerability, and 6) child protection measures of a yearlong programme of action against violence, child abuse, neglect, and exploitation in order to mobilise communities to address issues of violence against children.

The Department of Social Development had rolled out the Emergency Response Plan between October 2019 and 31 March 2020. Various campaigns had been interrupted in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

Men Championing Change

Men Championing Change events had been held at district parliaments. They involved discussions with men about being better men in society to reduce instances of GBV.

Boys Assemblies

Nine assemblies had been completed, with 500 boys targeted per session. The events involved building character and discussing issues of gender openly. The events stressed the importance of vulnerability to the boys.

Breakdown of Sheltering Services

The Western Cape had no White Door Safe Space for Hope facilities, and one Khuseleka One Stop Centre. There was a current plan to close gaps in that regard.

Department of Social Development GBV Interventions and Progress

The incidents of GBV had increased during the lockdown period, as recorded in the number of GBV phone calls and SMSs received by command centres. In 2020 prior to lockdown, call centres had received nearly 5000 calls. During the lockdown period, over 40 000 calls had been received. This increase was attributed to the advertisement of GBV call centre services, the provision of trauma counselling and psychosocial support provided in relation to COVID-19, as well as callers seeking information and advice on social relief of stress. GBV and non-GBV cases had also been received at various provincial and local Department of Social Development offices, NGOs, and other governmental departments during the lockdown period.

Progress on Department of Social Development & Department of Public Works Partnership

The Department of Social Development had forged a partnership with the Department of Public Works in December 2019 as part of the Emergency Response Plan to GBV. The partnership was progressing in identifying infrastructure that could be utilised for Khuseleka One Stops and White Door Safe Spaces for Hope in six identified provinces. The process for formalising partnerships was underway through memoranda of understandings whereby the Department of Social Development would take ownership of the buildings through lease contracts of up to 99 years for the benefit of victims of crime and violence.

The Department of Social Development and the Department of Public Works had conducted various site visits to identified locations in Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Western Cape in November 2019 and February 2020.

This work had been interrupted by COVID-19, but those locations that were able to function would be used. The most ready of these locations was at Salvakop. There were, however, outstanding renovations. The Department would continue to ensure the buildings were used.

Conclusion

The Department of Social Development was leading the Social Impact Stream of the National Joint Operational Centre (NATJOC), overseeing the overall social impact of COVID-19. This ensured that vulnerable citizens were provided for and protected. Most services would be implemented during lockdown level three, using various mechanisms to do so while remaining in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

The Department of Social Development would continue to make sure that Khuseleka One Stop and White Door Safe Space for Hope buildings were used. These were much needed in the community for the purposes of sheltering from GBV.

Acting Chairperson Stock said that the Chairperson, Mr Gungubele, had joined meeting and that he would hand over the responsibility of chairing to him. He informed Mr Gungubele that the Committee had just dealt with item one on the agenda.

The Chairperson greeted the members. He noted that the first presentation had been concluded. He asked members to provide comments and questions.

Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Social Development, said it was Child Protection Week. The theme was to protect all children during COVID-19 and beyond. To give children a voice in this unprecedented time, she hosted a virtual meeting with child ambassadors, who represent all nine provinces. This was broadcasted live on SABC.  Protecting children, families, care givers and communities was important. All were affected by COVID-19. The new way of doing things would not stop the Department continuing to support the children at all levels. The current issues were those regarding schooling. There were those who were returning to school despite COVID-19 while others were unable to return to school. The Early Childhood Development Programme was also unfolding that week.

The Department’s work should not be seen in isolation. It involved all levels of government. It was important for the Department to connect to the other departments, executive structures, legislative bodies, local and provincial levels. Without connection, it was difficult to carry the GBV issues forward. President Ramaphosa had formed the IMC on GBV and Femicide. There had been the presidential summit on GBV, the National Council GBV declaration, and the National Strategic Plan. This showed the Department’s work could not take place in isolation.

On GBV centres and shelters, the Department of Social Development was working well with the Minister of Public Works, Ms Patricia de Lille. The Department was shown potential new and renovated buildings for use as centres and shelters. Renovation processes had been delayed due to COVID-19 and the budget. The Department was in a hurry to continue renovating.

On the National Council on GBV, there would soon be a call for nominations. It was important to mobilise activists.

The Chairperson asked Mr Stock if the update on COVID-19 was supposed to start.

Mr Stock said it was supposed to be members’ questions before moving to the next agenda item.  

The Chairperson said that his Secretary had advised him that all presentations would be delivered and members would then deal with questions thereafter.

Ms van der Merwe said the agenda had read to interact with both presentations.

The Chairperson said that if the members were happy with that arrangement, the meeting would move to the second presentation. He asked the Department to move to the second presentation.

Minister Zulu said she wanted to focus on the first presentation and move to the second presentation once the discussion was done in order not to cloud issues.

The Chairperson understood. He asked the Committee whether they were happy to deal with the matter in that manner. He said he had a list of members who wished to comment.

Ms Williams said that the list contained all the names for questions.

The Chairperson opened for questions and comments.  

Discussion
Ms van der Merwe thanked the Chairperson, members and departmental team. She valued the opportunity to interact. She said the work done so far with the Department of Public Works was commendable.

On Slide 12, R50 million was allocated to NGOs as part of the Emergency Response Plan; however R200 million had originally been budgeted. What had happened to the outstanding R150 million?

Of the 169 identified NGOs, had the money not been transferred to them yet? The presentation had stated that verification of NGOs could not be done during COVID-19 conditions. The question arose, why could they not have been verified during this time?

The GBV call centre did not have effective referral pathways in place in all provinces. How would this be addressed?

There was an issue of data in the presentation. Instead of showing the number of cases referred; the success rate of call centres was more important. Was there a tracking and monitoring system in place to ensure cases were followed up on?

On call centres, much more could be done. The number needed to be publicised. South Africans needed to be made aware of the call centre and the value to society. For example, in Taiwan, school children were taught the call centre number off by heart. She wished to see a similar situation in South Africa

Under COVID-19 lockdown, there had been reports of many women going to SAPS and not being helped. She had been made aware of an incident where a station commander had refused to offer a victim of GBV transport to a shelter, telling the victim it was not his problem and that the victim needed to look for help elsewhere. What had been done to ensure police officers understood their role in combatting GBV? Collaboration had been spoken about in the presentation; this needed to be extended to the Minister of Police, Mr Bheki Cele, to ensure SAPS had clear understandings of their roles.

It was important to recognise the important and vital work done by shelters. Many shelters had not received stipends from the provincial Departments of Social Development. In the Eastern Cape for example, no shelters had received funding for the entire financial year. Was the Department aware of this? There could not be situations, during a pandemic where women and children were at greater risk, that shelters could be without stipends and close down as a result. The disbursement process needed to be streamlined and prioritised across the provinces.

On the 200 social workers who had been employed, this was welcomed. What ongoing discussions had taken place at cabinet level? This was important in getting Treasury to understand the need for funding of social workers to be employed across departments. Extra funding needed to be made available. There needed to be insourcing of social workers to combat GBV.

The Chairperson said he had forgotten to thank Mr Stock for “holding the fort” while he had been unable to chair the meeting.

Ms Abrahams asked whether there was a measurement tool to determine whether the Department’s awareness campaigns and workshops from October 2019 to March 2020 had worked. She asked for example about campaigns undertaken at South African universities. Was there a tool where it could be seen, for the age group of women concerned, whether there had been an increase, decrease or unchanged status in the number of reports. This would guide the Department as to whether campaigns and workshops were working or not.

On the 200 GBV social workers, what were the terms of their contracts? If they were four-month contracts, what was the status of employment in June 2020? If it had been a short term contract, the social workers would have had to undergo training and orientation; how much of the contract was spent in the field making impactful differences before the contracts expired? The filling of 200 posts was welcomed, but when would they be employed on a permanent basis?

Ms Abrahams wanted to know the nature of calls received at command centres. Which had involved immediate police response? What were the response statistics in terms of getting to the victim’s home. What were the interventions for repeat callers?

On the issue of shelters, it was exciting to see new shelters. Had the new shelters been factored into the operational costs for the budget in 2021? Had the social workers for each new facility been budgeted?

What progress had been made for increasing shelter subsidies? Currently it was R49 per bed per day, while a perpetrator sat in prison on R390 per day.

On the Central Drug Authority (CDA) board, substance abuse and GBV went hand in hand. The appointment of new CDA board had a role to play, especially with regard to substance abuse in the home and GBV.

Ms D Ngwenya (EFF) thanked the Department for the presentation. On slide 7 regarding programmes at the individual level such as ZAZI and YOLO and those aimed at women between the ages of 15-24, she asked for details of what took place in those programmes. How many young women took part in the programmes? What had been the outcomes of the programmes? How had the programmes changed the women’s lives at that age group?

On the Men Championing Change programmes, this was a good thing. It was commendable to have men willing to take part and challenge other men to challenge child abuse and GBV.

On the district parliament, what was the process of ensuring the community at large knew about the district parliaments? She had not been aware of them. Who were the men who were being taken to be part of the meetings? There needed to be more men involved and taking part.

For the Boys’ Assemblies, she suggested they be made known to the communities in order to reach as many people as possible. Additional people should listen or watch the proceedings digitally in order to learn from the programmes.

About the school of industries mentioned on slide 21, where were the schools of industries? How could they be accessed? Who was eligible?

On the issue of GBV command centre and calls, 1407 was a huge number of women faced with domestic or GBV. She knew there were more out there. She wanted the contact number to be known and widely posted at police stations and clinics. The women needed it. She wished to know the interventions from the call centres – how many had been reported to SAPS? How many women had been removed from the dangerous environment? What had been done?

On shelters, she thanked the Department of Social Development for taking this matter on with the Department of Public Works. About the West Rand area renovations, when would the shelters begin to work and accommodate the women in need?

She said she would skip her question on the R50 million allocation – Ms van der Merwe had done justice to it.

Of the 200 social workers who had been trained, how many were placed per province? Where were they operating from exactly? She asked for the number of disabled social workers out of the 200.

She said she had further questions that would be put forward in writing.

Ms L Arries (EFF) referred to slide 18 and asked about the number of provinces where the intervention had taken place. The Western Cape had not seen any intervention; however it was known for drugs, gangsterism, and GBV. Why were only seven provinces included for intervention?

On the Johannesburg shelters that had closed during lockdown period due to fears of a breakout of COVID-19, what was the Department’s position on these shelters?

Ms Mvana wished to commend the 200 social workers being permanent rather than contractual employment.

The Department of Social Development needed to partner with the Department of Justice and SAPS at ministerial level. Going around, out of all that the Department of Social Development had done which was wonderful – the White Doors and Thuthuzela initiatives for example, nationally the Department was doing well. Provincially performance was not what was expected. There needed to be strengthening in the provinces to ensure that institutions were being built that were not white elephants. She said that November was not far away, when the Committee would be scrutinising performance matters. The Department needed to be on top of tracking the numbers of cases from police stations according to each province. This needed to include the number of cases that had been successful and/or finalised. Most of the cases dealing with GBV were not finalised.

It was better for the police stations to have people who were trained, especially females. It was not easy for a victim of domestic violence to openly tell what had happened to her. She recalled that she had requested this previously. She had been told it was not under the relevant jurisdiction, and needed to be done in partnership with the Minister of Police. There had been many complaints on the shortage of police to deal with GBV cases in police stations.

There needed to be accessibility at each and every police station, where someone needed to be trained in sign language and communication with people who were hard of hearing and unable to express themselves. This had not yet happened. Otherwise people were struggling and suffering as a result.

On the matter of children, Ms Mvana had not yet managed to attend a case where children were abused and able to put forward a statement effectively. In all or most cases involving children; there was a lack of evidence and inability to get the children to express themselves even though they are assisted by social workers. There was an issue of lack of evidence in these cases.

The Chairperson said the meeting was troubled by time.

Ms J Manganye (ANC) commended the Department about shelters. She said shelters needed to also reach rural areas. NGOs that used to run shelters were no longer able to run them in the rural areas due to funding shortages. The Department of Social Development should investigate the matter and check how many shelters there were in each province, particularly how they broke down by urban and rural areas. Recently, there had been nine people who had killed their partners in her area. If Thuthuzela facilities were available, they would assist a lot.

The Chairperson said the Department had 15 minutes to respond.

Mr Linton Mchunu, Acting Director General, Social Development, apologised for joining the meeting late. He allowed his colleagues to respond and would then make comments.

Ms Nxumalo said that where statistical information was required it would be provided in writing.  

Documentation had been submitted to the Committee to appoint the CDA board. The Department was waiting for the Committee to move forward.

On social workers, 200 social workers had been appointed on contracts linked to the Emergency Plan. These were now ongoing on a month-to-month basis while the appointment process on a permanent basis was finalised. It had been interrupted by the lockdown.

In terms of numbers, 30 had been allocated in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape. Provinces that had received 20 were the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the Northern Cape. In terms of providing time frames as to when all would be permanent status, it was difficult to generalise as all the provinces were at different levels.

On the issue of NGOs’ funding and support, the Department had indicated the process of advertising and recruitment through the National Development Agency (NDA). 169 NGOs had been shortlisted to be prioritised for funding. This verification process had been interrupted because of the lockdown. In Level 4n, GBV services had been listed as essential services, hence the work with the NDA continuing to verify NGOs. Payment for the first batch of NGOs would be made the following week. The 169 included shelters and those providing counselling. The next batch announced would include prevention and awareness functions.

About non-payment during lockdown, the provinces had been asked to continue paying subsidies for GBV. As far as she knew, subsidies had been continuing. The Department would follow up. She asked that specific cases be provided where this needed to be followed up on. Shelters should not be disadvantaged. The Department wanted shelters to run so that women could continue to find refuge.

On the referral pathways formed during lockdown, they were there to ensure support for those violated during lockdown. It was difficult to report cases of GBV during lockdown. The pathways had investigated ways of using a phone to inform the relevant authorities to be able to receive assistance. The GBV number had a geo location function – when someone called the number, it could track where they were calling from. Within the GBV command centre, operators could then see what centres were near to the caller and advise them accordingly. These included police stations, White Doors, other shelters, or dispatching of SAPS through the linkage with the 10111 number when the caller was in immediate danger. Not all provinces were linked with 10111, and had to be strengthened by the police.

On referral cases, the referral system was linked with the districts. When starting the command centres, the Department had trained social workers to follow up cases. The command centres provided online counselling on the spot. There were cases that required further follow ups. These were the cases where the social workers were sent to provinces. In these cases, at the command centre, the case ticket remained open until the social worker reported back from the province or district. The system could still be improved upon. There were gaps in districts. Five provinces had excellent feedback; the others were not yet on board. Assistance and support was being provided.

On the budget, it was not R200 million. The funding had covered the hiring of the 200 social workers and provision of their tools of trade and funding of civil society organisations. The Department could provide proof if necessary that it had not been R200 million that had been reprioritised.

She would provide written responses on the questions relating to Men Championing Change.

Mr Mchunu noted that an issue that had not come up in discussion was the programmes related to families, substance abuse, gender and sexuality, reproductive health, and LGBTQI+. The Department of Social Development was working with the Department of Basic Education to incorporate these principles in to the curriculum in primary and high schools. This was particularly important due to the close link and correlation with bullying and GBV on the matters. There was a specific and direct focus on programmes relating to men and boys. It was important to pay attention to men and boys, rather than just women in issues of GBV.

He highlighted the process of upscaling communication related to programmes presented in the meeting. The Minister had called on MECs to be visible in mainstream media to ensure the great work being done was well known across the country.

On lessons learnt from COVID-19, the capacity of the state had been shown. Members had raised issues around employment of additional social workers. With COVID-19 impacting negatively on jobs, the capacity of the state could be used to combat the unemployment rate that was rising by the day. There was an opportunity to utilise the state in finding uses for this additional labour.

The Chairperson said Mr Mchunu should wrap up.

Mr Mchunu said he still had ten minutes left of the time the Chairperson had originally allocated to him.

The Chairperson said the meeting could be finished earlier if Mr Mchunu kept his comments shorter, given that he had foregone his chance to comment that had been provided earlier.

Mr Mchunu said that most budget vote speeches of Ministers of Social Development that he had witnessed had voiced a constant trend of unemployed social worker graduates. COVID-19 had given the opportunity to employ these social workers and community development practitioners, child and youth care practitioners. In some cases this could be permanent, in others not. COVID-19 was an opportunity to upscale and increase the labour force. The challenge was always the financial implications and the Department was in discussion with Treasury.

Minister Zulu thanked the members for the kind comments and serious and strategic questions. There were some answers that needed to be given in writing.

On GBV, during the period of COVID-19, the Command Council and the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) had conducted an evaluation of threat analysis. She had insisted on inclusion and discussion of hot spots for the Department's particular services on GBV. This needed to be reported on all the time. It was not about reporting only; it was what was to be done about it.

On the matter of the budget for the new centres handed over from the Department of Public Works, the Department struggled in relation to budget in general. It was however an opportunity to go out and hold conversations with other people willing to support and assist the Department. It was important to partner with stakeholders as GBV needed to be collectively dealt with at all levels of society. To get to the point the Department had reached was a step in the right direction but it was not enough. She believed that in order to deal with the societal ills, social workers needed to be informed by people on the street and communities about what was going on. Former Minister of Police, Mr Fikile Mbalula had said it was important to have more social workers on the street than even the police.

The Chairperson said he hoped the next presentation should not take more than five minutes.

Minister Zulu asked the Acting Director General and CEO to go ahead with the presentation.

SASSA Presentation

Mr Thabani Buthelezi, Chief Director, DSD,  said the CEO of SASSA, Ms Totsie Memela, would conduct the presentation.

Summary of Social Grant Payments June 2020

Ms Memela said SASSA was paying 12.8 million beneficiaries during the June payment cycle. The total amount of money that was to be disbursed was R20 billion, which included the Top-Up Grants that had been announced by President Ramaphosa. Payments would commence on 3 June 2020 for older persons and people with disabilities.

SASSA deposited all social grants into beneficiaries’ bank accounts monthly. Beneficiaries chose the payment channel to withdraw and/or transact with. The majority of beneficiaries used ATMs and retailers, while a few went to Post Office branches and mobile pay-points.

Update on Implementation Top-Up of Social Grants

The child support grant had been increased by R300 per child in May 2020 and would be increased by R500 per caregiver from June – October 2020. All other existing grants would were increased by R250 per month from May – October 2020, except for Grant in Aid.

Paying care giver rather than child

Progress on the COVID-19 SRD Grant as at 3 June 2020

A clean-up of databases from COVID-19 had been required. This involved the exclusion of 2.4 million people.

There were three processes for disbursement. The banking process was lengthy. The risk-adjusted approach to deliver on grants had been adopted as a result. Payments were being made through cash and e-wallet. The following week another million people would be paid in cash. By 15 June 2020, SASSA would be using banks to pay using e-wallet in order to reach the numbers desired.

The Chairperson asked how many people were due for payment to date.

Ms Memela said 3.1 million people were due for payment.  

The Chairperson asked Minister Zulu if she wanted to say anything.

Minister Zulu said they could move to members’ questions. She had meant to raise the issue of the specific number of those they were due to roll out payment to.

The Chairperson said he had no list of members who were ready to speak.

Ms van der Merwe thanked the Minister and Ms Memela for the presentation. On the 3.1 million grantees that will receive payment, what were the anticipated time frames by which all would be paid? She understood there would be delays due to banking processes, cash sends and such. This would take time.

The Chairperson asked what had happened. He said Ms van der Merwe had frozen. He said the questions would move on to Ms Abrahams.

Ms Abrahams had two COVID-19-related queries. She said the COVID-19 lockdown was a humanitarian crisis. It affected human beings across the globe, including undocumented foreign nationals and citizens. What was the Department doing to feed undocumented foreign nationals, who were “African brothers and sisters”? They were human beings like the Committee members. They were not working as a result of lockdown. They were often in more vulnerable sectors that were disproportionately affected by the lockdown conditions.

In light of the recent High Court ruling and the lockdown regulations, how had these affected the Department of Social Development’s directives? In light of this, would the Minister reconsider her decision to allow the privately owned, registered early childhood development centres to open? If not, could she explain why not?

The Chairperson appreciated Ms Abrahams’ concerns for justice. He asked whether she accepted that the people who were “not registered” were illegally in South Africa.

Ms Abrahams acknowledged that they were illegal. She said she had preferred to use “undocumented”.

The Chairperson said he had just wanted Ms Abrahams to acknowledge his point. He appreciated Ms Abrahams’ concern for humans. It was important to appreciate that human concern also needed to take into account that the people were illegally in South Africa.

Ms van der Merwe asked about time frames for how long it would take for all 3.1 million people to receive payments.

How much had the Department and SASSA budgeted for the roll out of the new grant?

She asked for an update on the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at SASSA offices.

How many food parcels were still delivered per week per province? How did this relate to the move away from food parcels to vouchers?

Ms Mvana asked for the information in terms of granting aid. Was it still acceptable for people to apply for that grant in aid out of the unemployment grant that they received? Should people first apply for an unemployment grant, or go and get it first and apply later?

Mr Stock asked how the Court ruling around level three and level four regulation affected the Department and its work. The Department had released a final regulation on food distribution prior to this. How did the Court ruling affect the role out of this work? The Cabinet statement said that the ruling would be appealed by Government, which was a good thing.

SASSA was doing a good job working in ‘overtime’ conditions to ensure people got grants. On people who were applying late for grants because of a lack of facilities to make applications, what would happen when the one month period had passed – would they receive both months’ payments or would payment start from the new month following the delayed application?

Ms B Masango (DA) said the presentation on SASSA and the progress made had been listened to and appreciated. She had commented as in a previous meeting that the stages in application process were too complicated. People who applied knew that they had to check the status of their applications, but did not know what application “pending” meant. She asked for communication in this regard so as to be able to clarify and streamline the process for applicants better. Time had been taken and yet it seemed as though nothing was being done in that regard because of the continuing complexity of the steps. She asked for the information to be shared with the Committee members so that it could be shared as widely as possible through different networks.

Ms A Motaung (ANC) asked how long the process of verification of applicants for the grant took.

How did the Department conduct the referrals and cancelling? 

Ms Ngwenya asked whether all the staff in SASSA offices were back yet.

Which provinces were giving food vouchers and moving away from food packages?

Ms Arries said she was mostly covered.

She asked whether there were staff at SASSA who had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Chairperson said the Department had seven minutes to respond.

Mr Buthelezi asked the SASSA CEO to start the responses.

Ms Memela, on the question of the budget allocated, said she and the Minister would deal with it together. They were in the process of finding the exact numbers of the allocated budget. The Minister was engaging with other stakeholders. Currently the budget stood at R3.4 billion.

On processes being used and putting people on the system, she recognised that going through the banking process took a long time. It initially involved setting up systems that had not previously existed. This had taken two to three weeks. This was why now, however, it would be more streamlined.

On cash and e-wallet matters, banks would only be able to start paying from 15 June 2020. In future, the documenting of vouchers would be investigated and explored after payment had started. It was hoped that by the end of June 2020, the bulk of people from May 2020 would be paid.

People who were applying late, according to current regulations, would be paid for the month in which they had applied, excluding the month they had missed out on.

Communication was important. People were able to verify grant status from the system; they were not necessarily able to understand what was being communicated.

On staff being back at offices, this varied by region depending on which branches had been more affected by COVID-19. Measures had been taken to ensure sufficient spacing at workplaces. All staff were considered to be back at work, although not necessarily in one space at all times. They would be deployed in different responsibilities.

About food parcels, a report was forthcoming. Those food parcels that were already in the pipeline would continue. As soon as the grant process was rolled out, food parcels would have to be stopped, but those already in the pipeline would be serviced. Therefore, the sooner it was rolled out, the quicker this would be reconciled.

Mr Mchunu said that there was consultation widely across provinces regarding food parcels and vouchers and food distribution. It was at the advanced stage of issuing directions across provinces. Because of the court case that was underway, NATJOINTS was seized with the matter. The Department awaited guidance following a resolution. Other than this matter, the situation was at an advanced stage and the Department was ready to process matters.

On undocumented foreign nationals, Minister Zulu said anyone in South Africa going hungry was unacceptable and important to appreciate. The Department would do everything for those in need of food. The Department of Social Development was not the only department involved in dealing with such matters. A wide range of support was needed to support other Africans. Everything would be done to ensure people did not go hungry.

On the Court judgement, there had been a Cabinet statement following a special meeting to appeal it. Nothing would change as a result of the Court ruling in terms of the current state of regulations. There had been an extension of the national state of disaster because the situation was far from resolved. The increase in infections and deaths faced by communities made this clear. As far as changes were concerned, nothing was changing with the regulations as the situation was clearly still unresolved. The Department would continue to examine which parts of the regulation needed to be fitted to level three conditions.

The Chairperson thanked Minister Zulu and the members for the meticulous manner they had conducted themselves during the meeting.

He said that people who came to the country undocumented did not assist the cause of their own hunger. When documented, there was better planning available for everyone inside the country. He did not wish to speak about those who entered the country for criminal purposes. People who were undocumented were not assisting the cause of assisting themselves. This needed to be preached to South Africa’s African brothers and sisters. It was for their own good to be registered when entering the country.

He appreciated the presentations and apologised for his lateness.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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