Hon Deputy Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, members and guests, I was shocked and very sad when I heard on Monday that elderly people had died in a fire in the Struisbult Care Centre. You know, nobody must die in circumstances like those, especially not elderly people who had done their best to help build a South Africa in which we can all live and share the fruits of the land. I want to ask the Department of Social Development to bring the safety and security of all our centres - centres for children, women, youth, older persons and people with disabilities - on par with the requirements so that this will never again happen in our lives. The DA wants to convey its deepest sympathy to all the families and others who have lost a loved one in this tragic incident. Rest assured that God is a caring God; He will always nurture you with His love and mercy.
The Department of Social Development's budget increased at an annual rate of 12,6% to R95,9 billion in the 2010-11 budget year. This increase was mainly due to the increase of the social assistance programme transfers, which is 93,2% of the 2010-11 budget. We must also bear in mind that the department will also receive additional allocations of about R6 billion in the 2011-12 budget year, according to the estimates of Treasury. If one calculates these amounts, one realises that this department will be responsible and accountable for a lot of money. They must have a hands-on approach to the monitoring and evaluation of the expenditure of the money because the funds were mostly transfers to other institutions. This department must establish a reliable IT system to implement a credible and effective monitoring and evaluation programme to track the spending of the money.
A total of 13,85 million social assistance grants are allocated in the 2010- 11 budget year. This programme is a multimillionaires' business. It is shocking to see that some councillors and officials are loan sharks and shebeen owners and that they actually prey on the grants of beneficiaries to become stinking rich.
The question to ask is whether government gets value for money. Do we reach our goal of alleviating poverty? Do we really assist the vulnerable to uplift their life and prevent hunger and give them the opportunity to gain support for themselves? Yes, we do assist a small number in reaching this goal but definitely not the bigger number. Social security fails the vulnerable because the ills in our community are not addressed effectively. We do not clamp down on these loan sharks and shebeens and do not act against those beneficiaries who misuse and abuse these grants.
The addressing of the disparities in the pension grants of men and women is long overdue. It is much appreciated that we have finally reached the point where we are eliminating this problem.
It is of great concern to see that R57,5 million was actually unnecessary expenditure on what I call luxury items. The department said this was "efficiency savings". It is actually corrective savings and undue expenditure. Greater focus must be placed on all the different programmes to stamp out such luxury expenditure, as we have experienced.
The protection of the vulnerable does not lie in the creation of grants. Yes, we must have a safety net for those in need, but we should not create a culture of dependency for the poor. We must rather create opportunities for employment. Out of a population of 50 million, 13,1 million South Africans are employed. Only two out of five persons of working age are employed. This is 40%, compared to Brazil's 65%, China's 71% and India's 55%. Over 9 million jobs must be created by the economy over the next 10 years. Unemployment is a ticking time bomb.
Expenditure on social assistance increased from R62,5 million in 2007-08 to R89,5 million in 2010-11. Almost 15 million people in South Africa qualify for social assistance, compared to 12 million in 2010-11. This increase in social assistance grants is a huge burden on the fiscus. It is not sustainable and the creation of employment is the only solution.
As it is responsible for the social fibre of our communities, it is paramount that this department should play an important role in seeing to it that all the departments and sectors in the economy do their duty to achieve the goal of greater employment.
It is good to see that the number of early childhood development, ECD, centres increased to 16 250 and the number of children in these centres to 770 657. The quality of future generations depends on the success we achieve in investing in our children. We must make sure that we have a quality education system in place and that we support all aspects of the ECD programme, not only the increase in numbers. A focused and effective ECD system is required from all the departments and role-players in this sector. This will also help to address the problems with the quality of education provided in the foundation and primary phases in our schools.
Addressing drug abuse and the problems with the moral fibre of our communities is actually a huge challenge. Too many young people are openly smoking oka pipes in public and people are quiet about this new behaviour. We must come out very strongly and speak out against this phenomenon, because it feeds the use of drugs and contributes to the fall of the next generation.
The social cohesion of our community and among people is extremely important. We must therefore focus our endeavours more intensively on our programmes in order to achieve effective outcomes. I thank you. [Applause.]