Hon deputy Chairperson, hon Minister Zulu, deputy Minister Zulu all MeCs here present, special and permanent delegates to the NCOP. Distinguished guest, fellow South African, good afternoon.
Since it Mandela month, I would like to start with the quote by Nelson Mandela which resonates deeply with me, and I quote: "There is nothing I fear more than working up without a programme that will
help bring a little happiness to those with no resources, those who are poor illiterate and riddled with terminal disease."
Hon deputy Chairperson, as we usher along our 25th year of our democracy, one thing is evident, for the sake of future generation to come, we must work harder and any generation has come before us to eradicate poverty and unemployment.
We find that under the leadership of our current national government, work opportunities are and few between. Poverty is the worse we have experienced since 2009 with an estimated 30 million out of the 56 million South Africans living below the poverty line. Furthermore deputy Chairperson, 9.9 million people do have jobs who have given up hope of finding a job. It is to this degree that I am in full agreement with my national counter part, the hon Bridgette Masondo in that and I quote: "The department and its entities alone will not be able to turn the tide of service delivery, eradicating the levels of vulnerability in our society and dealing decisively with those who have been found guilty of misconduct. It requires deputy Chairperson, a whole of society approach.
We are today feeling the effect of the economy in distress. An economy plagued by fraud, corruption, maladministration and greed
which has a direct impact on the funding to provinces. And in fact the most vulnerable and marginalised in our communities. It is not only the department of social development that is feeling the pinch, but the average man on the street, who have to struggle to pay for public transport to get to work. The mother at home who finds herself paying double amount she did for her children's school lunch as she did five years ago. The business owner who struggles to keep his door open, not only because the prices of goods and services has gone up drastically over the years, but also due to playing catch up over the lost profits he or she has been subjected to as a consequence of black out and protests action.
Our NGO partners who play a pivotal role in our ability to reach all our residence across the provinces, remain a key partner in our efforts. However, the current economic climate and the reduction of the overall fiscal base, may have negative consequences for our support to NGO's.
I personally believe that with the collaborative efforts between all spheres of government, SAPS, the criminal justice system civil society and members of the community, we can win the fight of alleviating many of the social ills plaguing our society.
Hon deputy chairperson, only a whole of societal approach through the efforts of all spheres can put a stop to the demonic acts of violence being witnessed by our communities. I believe that it takes a community to raise a child. Let us unite to protect our children from the scourge of substance abuse and addiction. Let us go back to the old adage, let's start practising; your child is my child.
To help address the escalating substance abuse problem in the Western Cape, our social work staffs will continue to be capacitated to deal with those preventative as well as treatment options for substance abuse by the provincial department's funded studies at the university. However, we do need more social workers on the ground.
In terms of programmes for, namely welfare services policy development and implementation and the sub-programme for substance abuse, I picked up that in 2018/19 year 109 million was allocated for this programme. However, this funding allocation seemingly is no longer as a priority as national department has only been allocated 20.9 million for the 2019/20 financial year. A reduction of 89 million in this very important programme.
Hon Chairperson, this leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of many of our people who are battling to fight the scourge of addiction. We
continuously witness the fear and terror imposed on our communities because of substance.
In 2007/8 there were 45 936 cases of drug related cases in the Western Cape. A serious cause for concern is that this number has risen to 117 157, according to the latest crime stats. We need to foster strong relationships with SAPS and criminal justice system, to give effect to the National Drug Master Plan and curb the abuse that is happening in our broken communities.
The department it is welcoming that Minister Zulu mentioned that her department, our department will also be expending treatment, rehabilitation and re-integration services to individuals affected and that part of that expending treatment involves building new public treatment centres especially in areas where there were in non existence before. In Minister Zulu's words, I quote: "Our target is to build at least one in every province.
The people in the Western Cape, through you Chairperson to the Minister, look forward in anticipation to see that commitment realised. Our provincial department is increasingly working on measures to ensure that those people with disabilities have equal access to job opportunities as those who are not disabled. We are
ever believe that in order for us to achieve this goal, national government needs to put in place legislation that supports those with disabilities being granted an equal opportunity to live a life they value in an open opportunity society for all.
Although the 2015 White Paper on the rights of persons with disabilities has been established, there is a great need for the provision highlighted in the document to become law. On another important note, hon Chairperson, Minister Zulu highlighted that and then I quote:" To-date we have extended social grants from 2 million in 1994 to 17.6 million beneficiaries.
It is deeply concerning that national government celebrates that we will be expending social grants to an estimated figure of 18.7 million beneficiaries by 2021. This means that more people are becoming dependent on the state. How is it possible that we live a nation where we celebrate people becoming poorer?
Further hon Chairperson, it saddens my heart to hear that when beneficiaries; the majority of whom are pensioners collect their grants from SASSA offices, they are faced with an ardently long waiting times with no or a complete lack of information as when they will be assisted. We urge that SASSA ensures that the
beneficiaries's personal information is not disclosed. We cannot have are most vulnerable people in society being taken advantage of due to negligence or national government's part.
If the ANC led national government is serious about alleviating poverty and assisting the 1.5 million residents who desperately need the SASSA social grants in the Western Cape, they would address the matter of the many post offices which are closing and pay points which are closing down, causing the most vulnerable to use their hard earned grants that they rely on to get them to collect.
Hon Chairperson, as the DA led Western Cape government we will continue to work tirelessly to improve the services, we deliver to the people of our province. However, government cannot achieve this alone. At the provincial level we will strive to maintain and strengthen our relationship with entities such as SASSA and the NDA to ensure they fulfil their mandate.
We also need to discuss the very pressing issue of social relief of the street kids. Hon Members, let's agree to unite and work together to address the issues that affect the poor, the vulnerable and the most marginalised in our communities, I thank you.