Hon Chairperson, Minister, chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon Gungubele, the Deputy Minister in absentia, we would like to convey our sincere condolences to the Deputy Minister during this moment of bereavement. The ANC rises in support of Vote 17 of Social Development. Key to the ANC's social
transformation programme is the meeting of social needs, which are aimed at strategically dealing with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality which confront the majority of our people who are poor and vulnerable.
The hon member of the FF Plus came to the podium earlier and made some irritating sound vibes from this podium. We can really not leave this podium without clarifying that, but we also take note of the fact the hon member is indeed a new member of this sixth administration. We acknowledge the fact that we were all new, irrespective of whether it was in the sixth or the fourth administration. We were all new. We must also allow hon members to learn the Rules of this Parliament and they must not be too much in a rush. The disadvantage of being in a rush is that you end up collapsing on your own without being pushed to collapse.
Hon Breeedt, it was your maiden speech, but ...
Afrikaans:
... ons moet jou een ding s. Social grants [staatstoelae] is baie belangrik vir ons mense wat swaarkry en wat staatmaak op dit wat die ANC- regering vir hulle gee. Jy kan nie vandag vir ons s dat die ANC-regering vir die al mense geld gee om die propaganda daarvan aan
te moedig nie. Dis nie die waarheid nie. Daardie statement [stelling] van jou is baie misleading [misleidend].
English:
Our ordinary people on the ground, our poorest of the poor, rely on those social grants because of our historical background, through the apartheid legacy, which the ANC inherited in 1994. We had to inherit what the apartheid regime did to our people. So, the ANC, since 1994, 25 years into democracy, is actually working to correct that legacy of the past. So, you don't have to come here and tell us that our people are receiving those grants because we want to continue to dispense patronage for them to support us. No.
We remain committed in ensuring that a decent life is created for our people through the ANC-led government and the budget that was presented here earlier by our hon Minister.
This will require a comprehensive social security system, which is underpinned by the elimination of poverty and is linked towards the reduction of poverty and inequality. This is particularly important, as the key outcome of the social transformation goal of the ANC seeks to ensure the restoration of the total human dignity for all South Africans is being achieved.
The ANC's social protection policies and programmes over the last 25 years have commendably enabled millions of poor people to change their livelihoods for the better. However, we are aware that challenges still persist and we will work with the department and the entities of the department to ensure that our people receive the dignity they deserve and to ensure that their dignity is being restored through the budget that was outlined earlier by the Minister.
Let me take this opportunity again to explain, because I have picked up a few issues that we need to clarify and respond to. One of them is the issue of the social workers' scholarship and funding.
The awarding of bursaries to young people has enabled the department to recruit, train and deploy the youth to work in the social services sector. As a result, implementing the social worker employment grant at a national level has reached the zenith of its success, which has led the department to transfer this responsibility to the different provinces. Provincial social development departments will now have the responsibility of employing social work graduates in the different provinces. This means that R678,5 million over the medium term has shifted from the
national to the provincial departments to facilitate this process from the 2019-20 financial year.
It must be highlighted that through the department's social worker scholarship programme, 632 social work graduates have successfully completed this programme. This has enabled these social work graduates to deliver services to the most needy and vulnerable. The department will in the 2020-21 financial year support 1 046 students to complete their studies through social service scholarships. It must be noted that this is a decline form the current number, due to the reprioritisation of funds.
On unemployed social worker graduates, we note with serious concern the number of unemployed social worker graduates and request the department to continue with haste its collaboration with other departments to ensure that the absorption of these social worker graduates is actually being implemented or prioritised.
The challenge which we have to urgently pursue is that even with these pursued interdepartmental collaborations to absorb social work graduates, there is no funding to address this challenge because it is not a priority for this department. We cannot emphasise how
important the profession of social work is, particularly in these current times at schools and in our communities.
Regarding vacant posts, which were also raised by one of the hon members, we note the cost-containment measures that National Treasury has put in place, which have reduced programme budgets, all due to the current economic climate. This has however led to several posts in the department remaining vacant for a very long time, which directly affects the department's ability to fulfil its mandate and strategically intervene in addressing the triple challenges.
We encourage the department to ensure that the available resources are optimally used, to not only prioritise the most critical posts, but towards getting the basics right to ensure that with the minimum resources, optimal service delivery is being prioritised.
Regarding the South African Social Security Agency, Sassa, we are in support of the strides being made at Sassa to address the challenges that the entity confronts. We are encouraged by the proactive action to turn the entity around to ensure the effective and efficient administration, management and payment of social assistance to our people.
With regard to the social grant fraud investigation, which was also raised, we welcome the efforts that Sassa has made in ensuring that 95% of reported theft and corruption cases were finalised by March 2019.
We remain concerned about the renewed fraud cases, specifically involving older persons. We urge Sassa to increase its pace on its turnaround time in resolving cases of fraud.
We urge the unions to also walk in collaboration with Sassa to resolve the implementation of the biometric system, which will, in particular, deal with the challenges of fraud that the system is confronted with. People change their identity and the bank accounts of people and rob the poorest of the poor.
The ANC has resolved that there should be a comprehensive strategy that co- ordinates and monitors the protection of vulnerable groups, which must be resourced to ensure that these vulnerable groups are always protected. The ANC remains committed in our policy decision, that social transformation must empower our people to lift themselves out of poverty and change their lives for the better, whilst ensuring that a safety net is provided for the vulnerable. It is through this budget that our people will move and migrate from
the situations of poverty, unemployment and inequality that confront them. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]