Madam Deputy Speaker, on 23 October Ministers Bathabile Dlamini and Bongi Ntuli accompanied by MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza visited Orange Farm where they met with more than 2 000 beneficiaries of social security benefits, about 20 NGOs and a number of practitioners such as home-based caregivers, councillors and social workers. A few projects were visited by the Ministers and the MEC to give them an idea of what was happening on the ground.
The visit gave these leaders a vivid illustration of the challenges that are faced by this community and the work done by those working on the ground. Amongst the outstanding benefits from this visit was the decision to form a social security forum that will include NGOs that operate in the social security sector. Local councillors, community activists and all three spheres of government will be part of this forum.
Let me also share with you that this was the beginning of what Orange Farm regards as a social security campaign for the needy and vulnerable in the area. If anyone needs to bear testimony of working together, as driven by this ANC-led government, no one ought to go beyond this event. The community of Orange Farm is obviously very thankful for this initiative, and one can confidently indicate that this has triggered more determination to reverse the frontiers of poverty as committed to by the ANC. Thank you. [Applause.]