Hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Minister and Deputy Minister,'hon members of the NCOP, MECs, Social Partners, fellow South African, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all. Let me thank you for this opportunity and we are humbled to take part in this debate.
It is indeed an honour to be part of this debate, taking place in a month our country and the world over are celebrating Mandela Month. We recall his words when he said: "To educate all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of building better lives".
This debate is also taking place in a year marking 25 years of our democracy and freedom. It is critical that we look at the past 25 years in a manner that will enrich our understanding and further make a contribution to a South Africa that we all want. A South Africa that will in the next 25 years, make massive progress in tackling poverty, inequality and unemployment.
President Ramaphosa has already challenged us in this State of the Nation Address in June 2019 when he said: "This is a government that is not afraid of new ideas, and of new ways of thinking" Indeed
President, we will not be afraid as per the theme under which the Minister delivered the Budget Vote, which said to work together to empower communities for sustainable livelihoods. This budget vote has described the measures that will distinguish us in the execution of our duties. Our people have been sending strong messages demanding improved services that are fundamental to a better quality of life.
We must embrace working together in order to respond to the legitimate expectations of our people. This requires that we be alive to a host of challenges that our sector faces. The Constitution enjoins us as government to restore the dignity of our people. In Limpopo, more than 1, 5 million of our people are dependent on one or another form of social security grant, and we have a massive responsibility to demonstrate determination and commitment.
Social security impact of the Department of Social Development is evident in communities through different grants afforded to our people. We are therefore delighted that the budget vote acknowledges the critical role that social security grants and access to nutritious cooked food in the Community Nutrition and Development Centres, CNDCs, played and continue to play in the lives of South
Africans who depend on them for sustenance. Without social security assistance more than 1, 5 million people in our province might end up going hungry on a daily basis.
Through the social security grants and the CNDC initiatives this budget vote provides hope to those who need social assistance for sustenance. Similarly, we are delighted by the progress achieved thus far in the implementation of the South African Social Security Agency, SASSA, -South African Post Office, SAPO, partnership on disbursing social security grants as well as the commitment this budget vote makes to continue with the different options made available to our beneficiaries to access their social grants. The availability of the different pay point options assist where one necessary infrastructure is not available, our people are able to access their grants through other options made available.
Significantly we are heartened by the fact that this budget vote delivered under the theme of working together to empower communities for sustainable livelihoods places the social sector on trajectory beyond the basic provision of social security grants to our people. It has extraordinarily extended focus of the department towards sustainable empowerment and restoring permanently the dignity of those that are considered poor and vulnerable. It is our assertion
that the trajectory to empower communities for sustainable livelihoods will go a long way towards ensuring that the 1.5 million people dependent on social security grants in Limpopo become self - reliant citizens.
The commitment to continue with funding the National Development Agency, to provide institutional capacity to civil society organisations rendering social services as well as support that the budget vote commits to cooperatives is welcomed. Indeed cooperatives are critical vehicles through which the poor amongst our people get involved in meaningful economic activities. It is indeed a fact that South Africa is currently confronted with the escalation of gender based violence and alcohol and substance abuse particularly amongst the youth. American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future"
We are encouraged that this budget vote provides a road map for us as South Africans to fight alcohol and substance abuse as a way to build our youth for the future. In support of this budget vote, Limpopo is committed to put tangible programmes geared towards ensuring that young people stay away from alcohol and substance
abuse while undertaking on efforts to rehabilitate those already entrapped in the net of alcohol and substance abuse.
It is our view that the approval of the Drug Master Plan as envisaged in the budget vote will definitely lead to much more coordination of efforts by different stakeholders in the fight against alcohol and substance abuse. With regards to alcohol and substance, it is a fact that gender based violence; child neglect and abuse are amongst the critical social ills tormenting our society. It therefore gives us pleasure that the budget vote has provided as amongst priorities that need to be speedily addressed. A society that does not respect and protect its women and children is not serious about its future.
We are prepared to mobilize various stakeholders in the fight against gender based violence, children abuse and neglect. Social services professionals are foot soldiers at the coal face of rendering of social welfare services to our people. We take pride that the budget vote has acknowledged the challenge of scarcity of social services professionals as well as lack of capacity to afford employment opportunities for all social work graduates and auxiliaries our country has produced. We are confident that through the demand and supply model and the commitment and political will,
as illustrated in the budget vote these challenges are going to be resolved.
We are therefore grateful that the budget vote has allocated R1 4 billion towards subsidy of 120 000 children and R 265 4 million towards the upgrading of Early Childhood Developments, ECDs, to meet norms and standards over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF. This investment will go a long way in ensuring that we build better lives for our children. We welcome and support this budget vote and it is our firm belief that it will assist in ensuring sustainable provision of social protection services and lead government efforts to forge partnerships through which vulnerable individuals, groups and communities to become capable and self- reliant participants in their own development. Let us grow South Africa together. I thank you.