Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon Minister and Deputy minister, members of the House, distinguished members of the social development fraternity, ladies and gentlemen, I stand here before you to pledge my support and that of the collective leadership of the province to Budget Vote 16 as presented by the hon Minister, Dr Zola Skweyiya. I do this firmly believing in the catalytic nature and role of social development in ushering in social transformation.
Comrade Kader Asmal correctly captured the true essence of social development when he declared, and I quote:
If the Constitution is the head, social welfare is the heart. It is where many of the most basic rights which are enshrined in the Constitution are translated into reality.
The Budget Vote speech by the Minister articulates the aspirations of the electorate, demonstrating an appreciation of the concrete social reality faced by vulnerable groups and provides practical measures to deepen the provision of developmental safety nets. In the province we have declared that we stand ready to deliver as per the line of command given by the Minister which reflects the priorities of the sector as part of the broad mandate of government. The department has made serious efforts to address human resource and skills shortages which constituted one of the key challenges in the acceleration of services. Greater emphasis was placed on recruiting social workers and improving their conditions of employment as part of our retention strategy which is currently in force.
The following successes were registered by the Department of Social Development in the Free State in 2007-08. We started outreach programmes in respect of access to grants and government services with all the stakeholders, including national stakeholders, such as the Department of Home Affairs and Justice.
In partnership with local government and housing in the Free State, we will be building houses for older people, child-headed households and people with disabilities.
One hundred and twenty five social workers were appointed, Minister, because we knew that the majority of social workers were leaving the profession because they were not happy with the manner in which things were happening in the Free State in the last financial year.
All social workers doing fieldwork were afforded the tools of the trade such as appropriate cars, cellular phones and laptops. In this financial year 172 social work students were awarded bursaries. Social work students who were unable to complete their three and four-year programmes have been recruited by the department in this financial year and have been deployed as social auxiliary workers. They are also encouraged to complete their full four-year programme and supported by the department in this regard. We do this because many of the students who drop out do not have anybody to take care of them. That is why in the province we are running a recruitment strategy to make sure that all social workers who have fallen out of the system are brought back because, once more, the University of the Free State is the culprit. Once the children fail, they are not prepared to take them on board; that is why we have registered them with the University of South Africa.
Salary increments for social workers in the funded nongovernmental organisations was affected. Matete Matches, which had been a problem in the Free State for a very long time, was upgraded and renovated in partnership with Correctional Services.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have boldly declared an assault on poverty with particular focus on children, adults and older persons. We have developed a comprehensive service package to tackle child poverty and the following deserves to be highlighted. We have increased our subsidies for Early Childhood Development, ECD, from R5,20 to R9 this financial year.
We have also increased our subsidies in this financial year to day care facilities who provide for children with disabilities. We have also taken a position to expand services for ECD centres which had registered but were not supported by government.
In the Free State, starting form the last financial year we are now increasing the number of children from 4 000 who are supposed to be subsidised by government and we are currently standing at 36 558 children of the 82 000 children who have registered in our ECD centres in the province.
We are also increasing the intake of children in facilities and community- based programmes. Foster care backlogs were reduced in the last financial year, due to the partnership we have with Sassa and the Justice department, from 29 000 to 9 053 by March 2008. We are also planning to wipe out the review of foster care grants, including applications, as we have developed a strategy in the province with all relevant stakeholders. The partnership with Sassa to create greater access to social grants is also taking place. An additional 35 000 children will benefit form the progressive implementation of the child support grant in January 2009.
In a joint venture with Correctional Services we will be upgrading children's facilities in the Free State as well as old age homes so that they are conducive to the needs of the vulnerable groups in our province. Our elderly continue to play a pivotal role in the continuum of care. We are, however, obliged to reciprocate their love, and to acknowledge their care and resilience in sustaining our families in the case of all socio- economic shocks. Through the implementation of the Older Persons Act we have undertaken to do the following: to increase the subsidies of service centres from R37 000 to R72 000; and to fast-track the transformation of old age homes to create greater access to the disadvantaged groups.
The introduction of the equalisation of the old age pension and its progressive implementation will benefit 5 000 men in the age cohort of 63 and 64.
War against poverty is not a vocation, but a moral imperative that requires coherent, persistent and aggressive effort. To this end, the Free State will be launching its provincial poverty eradication strategy under the stewardship of the hon Premier Beatrice Marshoff. Sustainable development and livelihood, including youth development, will be the defining conceptual features of our strategy.
We remain steadfast and committed to a people's contract. The department has developed partnerships with resource organisations and the business community to accelerate service delivery. The department is beginning to reap the dividends of this partnership and it has received donations in the form of food, blankets, equipment and clothing which have predominantly benefited community-based facilities rendering services to children.
Before I close let me remind you that the subject of social cohesion is at the heart of the agenda for nation-building and social integration. Social cohesion seeks to find the glue that holds us together when everything else is tearing us apart.
The increase in the occurrence of incidences of crime and xenophobic attacks are symptomatic of a weakening in the social and moral fibre of society. We stand behind the call to build cohesive societies with the capacity to respond to all forms of social crimes. In this regard we pronounce our disdain with regard to xenophobic attacks which are a reflection of the residue of a colonial mentality of divide and rule.
Hon Minister, let me once more assure you that in the province we have taken the baton and are running the mile. We understand, as Comrade Mao Tse- tung observed, that so many deeds cry out to be done and always urgently. Let us seize the day and hour in unison with progressive forces to protect and restore the dignity of the vulnerable groups.
Before I support the Budget Vote let me indicate that in the Free State we are standing up to ensure that we deliver services to the vulnerable groups of our province which we must be able to use as a show case that we are a caring government; that is why our motto says: We are building a caring society. And together with civil society and the private sector, because we are calling them on board, we will be able to deliver on the objectives we set for ourselves for 2008-09. I support the budget. [Applause.]