Annual Report of the Department of Social Development: Finalisation of Committee Reports

Social Development (WCPP)

04 February 2021
Chairperson: Mr G Bosman (DA)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Standing Committee on Social Development, 4 February 2021, 10:30

The Standing Committee on Social Development met on a virtual platform to consider and adopt draft Committee documents and its programme for the next term.

It resolved to request the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to come before it to account for various issues, such as the handling of the temporary disability grants and how the 52 323 beneficiaries would be processed by 31 March. It also wanted an explanation of how residents in towns that did not have SASSA offices would get assistance, how it would address its recent managerial changes, detailed statistics comparing the number of applications declined in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, and a list of people who had not collected their SASSA grants through the e-wallet option.

The Committee also resolved to meet with the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged (CPOA) to address the closure of three old age homes in the City of Cape Town, to hold a briefing by children’s organisations on issues facing children, to embark on a journey to monitor registered soup kitchens, and to take a stance by sharply raising issues about gender-based violence.

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone, and reminded Members about the rules of engagement for virtual meetings.

Consideration and adoption of Committee Reports

Committee Report on the 2019/20 Annual Report of the Western Cape Department of Social Development

The Chairperson took Members through the report page by page.

The report was adopted without any changes.

Draft minutes dated 10 December 2020

The Chairperson took Members through the minutes page by page.

The minutes were adopted without any changes.

Draft minutes dated 17 November 2020

The Chairperson took Members through the minutes page by page.

The minutes were adopted without any changes.

The Chairperson noted that the information that had been requested from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) had not been sent. The information was about the contact details of the managers at the SASSA regional, local and district offices, as well as the detailed statistics comparing the number of applications declined in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. The information was also to include a list of people who had not collected their SASSA grants through the e-wallet option, and SASSA’s communication strategy.

The Committee had resolved to visit the Haven Night Shelter in Green Point to assess its management and operations, as well as a resolution that it would conduct visits to old age homes in Moorreesburg, Central Karoo, Oudtshoorn and Kannaland. There would also be engagements with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that worked with the elderly.

Draft minutes dated 21 January 2021

The Chairperson took Members through the minutes page by page.

Ms W Philander (DA) referred to the three-weekly feedback on the temporary disability grants mentioned in the minutes, and noted the retirement of Mr Henry de Grasse, Acting Regional Executive Manager of SASSA in the Western Cape. She stood to be corrected, but there had been media reports that Mr Bandile Maqetuka, SASSA Western Cape Executive Manager, who had addressed the Committee on 21 January, had been suspended. She asked the Chairperson to confirm that information, and asked how the Committee would proceed. What contingency measures had been put in place for the Committee to get the information it had requested?

The minutes were adopted without any changes.

Committee quarterly report for July to September 2020

The Chairperson took Members through the report page by page.

The report was adopted with no changes.

Committee quarterly report for October to December 2020

The Chairperson took Members through the report page by page.

The report was adopted with no changes.

The Chairperson responded to Ms Philander’s comments regarding SASSA. He said the media had reported that Mr Maqetuka had been placed on suspension by Ms Busisiwe Memela-Khambula, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SASSA, but SASSA had not communicated with the Committee about a plan going forward. He knew that Ms Sharna Fernandez, Western Cape MEC: Social Development, had had a meeting with SASSA that week and the suspension had not been mentioned in the meeting. The Committee was unaware of the current management structure in SASSA with Mr De Grass, having retired and Mr Maqetuka having been suspended. The Committee awaited feedback from SASSA on the questions and had requested that information be submitted. The response was due on Monday, 8 February 2021. The Chairperson hoped the response would be submitted and assured Members that he would not tolerate SASSA not accounting to the Committee. He commented that there were many competent individuals within the organisation, and a report could be submitted from any of the local managers in the Western Cape. The Chairperson also proposed that the Committee take a decision the following week about when the next meeting would be held so that SASSA could provide an update.

Draft Committee programme

Turning to the current draft Committee Programme, the Chairperson invited Members to give input if they had ideas on what could be discussed, and that it be sent to him by the end of the day.

The Chairperson took Members through the draft programme page by page.

He said the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) needed to brief the Committee on the food relief drive to support vulnerable people, and specifically those with disabilities.

The visit to the Haven Night Shelter in Green Point also needed to be added to the programme. That could be done on the same day as the visit to the warehouse housing sanitary pads for the Sanitary Dignity Project.

The visits to the old age homes in Moorreesburg, Central Karoo, Oudtshoorn and Kannaland also needed to be added to the programme.

There was also an outstanding briefing by some children’s organisations on the issues facing children, and he proposed that the children who had previously addressed the Committee in 2019 be invited back. Ms Christina Nomdo, Western Cape Children’s Commissioner, would also be invited.

Ms Philander concurred with the proposal of the notice to SASSA about the next meeting. She brought to the Chairperson’s attention, a visit the Committee had embarked on to the old age home in Paarl. There had been various communications between the DSD and the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) about that request. She said it remained unclear and the challenge had persisted. She asked that the matter be placed back on to the programme for the Committee to get a resolution and a clear indication on the matter.

Ms N Makamba-Botya (EFF) suggested that from her observations and what she had seen on the ground, the Committee should embark on a journey to monitor registered soup kitchens. She had found out that registered soup kitchens were donating food to unregistered soup kitchens. She wondered if the registered soup kitchens were carrying out their mandate, if they were able to donate food. That spoke directly to the monitoring aspect.

The Chairperson said that this issue dealt with food relief to vulnerable people, specifically those with disabilities, and added to that would be how soup kitchens were funded, supported and monitored and how sub-contracting was monitored.

Ms N Bakubaku-Vos (ANC) referred to the letter she had written, and said she wanted the Committee to discuss its contents in the next meeting.

Secondly, she expressed great concern about the SASSA pay points and the people who needed to apply for grants. For example, people from Stellenbosch had to travel to Paarl to register themselves for appointments. They first had to schedule appointments and then return to apply. As a result, they struggled to do so. She suggested that the NGOs in the areas be used to drop off forms for people to complete them, and for those forms be taken to the SASSA points. It was not efficient to expect applicants to travel to the points twice.

The Chairperson said that the use of community facilities was certainly an issue that needed to be raised with SASSA. When he had spoken to the manager at the Bellville office the previous Friday, the manager had promised that the Delft community hall would be operation by the current week, which would relieve the pressure. A detailed plan would be requested, as it was expensive for applicants to travel to different towns to get the forms.

The Chairperson brought the letter submitted by Ms Bakubaku-Vos to Members’ attention. It asked that the Committee request the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged (CPOA), the DSD and affected communities to give evidence on the closure of the three old age homes that the CPOA could no longer afford. He asked Members for guidance on this, as he had been copied in on correspondence between the office of the national Minister and Mr G Brinkhuis (Al Jama-ah) about the same issue. He asked if Members were happy for him to share the correspondence with them, and a decision could be made about how to move forward.

The Committee had set out a broad plan on how the elderly and old age homes were funded, and it was a massive challenge, because the DSD only provided a subsidy to the old age homes, many of which were privately run businesses or NGOs. The DSD therefore had no jurisdiction in law on the operations of the homes, so it was a tricky area, and the sustainability of the homes had always been brought into question because their buildings were old, and their expenses piled up. The CPOA had indicated that it had registered losses that amounted to R33.5 million on the three properties alone. He asked If Members would like the correspondence.

He indicated that the item raised by Ms Bakubaku-Vos would be added, as there was a planned visit to some old age homes outside of the metro, and asked if it should be a separate event or part of the planned visit. The three old age homes the Chairperson referred to and the ones Ms Bakubaku-Vos had referred to were specifically within the City of Cape Town. He indicated that the CPOA had already come up with a plan to deal with the closure of those homes, and had stated it could no longer fund those old age homes and the residents would be relocated to other old age homes in Lotus River and Athlone. They would be relocated over the next five months, with a maximum of five residents that knew one another to be relocated every week. Nobody would be left destitute and all residents would be accommodated. The families had been communicated with. The CPOA was willing to transfer the three buildings and assets to existing welfare organisations free of charge.

Ms A Bans (ANC) suggested that the list be shared with Members. She also requested that when the Committee conducted its oversight, the Chairperson should ask Members which old age homes were affected in Member’s constituencies for the oversight to be thorough. Sometimes, when visits were conducted and Members were not consulted by their constituencies, the problematic areas would not be picked up.

The Chairperson said the current meeting was the consultation phase, as it was undecided which NGOs the Members would visit. The only thing that had been listed were the municipalities to be visited. He asked Ms Bans to send a letter with a list of NGOs and old age homes to be visited.

Ms Bans said she would send the information.

Ms Makamba-Botya asked that the letter the Chairperson had received be shared with Members, and that there be a separate meeting to discuss it so that they could apply their minds to what had led to the closure of the three old age homes.

Mr Brinkhuis added that his office was being bombarded about the way the issue had been handled. He concurred that the issued ought to be discussed in a separate meeting to ascertain the facts and a way forward.

The Chairperson said there would be a separate meeting about the closure of the three CPOA old age homes in the City of Cape Town. He wanted to have a specific conversation on how all old age homes could be looked at broadly. The problem faced by the CPOA was also faced by other organisations, especially those in rural constituencies like those in Kannaland. The organisations were severely constrained, as the funding from government was very limited. It would be worked into the parliamentary programme.

Ms Philander asked if the Chairperson would like her to put the issue around Rusthof in writing.

The Chairperson said that Rusthof could be tabled for the same day, as the DTPW and the DSD had not been cooperative as neither took responsibility. The DTPW and DSD needed to be called to the same meeting because the issue involved capacity and space, and could lead to the closure of the facility.

Ms Philander was happy with that suggestion.

Ms Bans raised the fact that nothing had been mentioned about gender-based violence (GBV). She asked that it be squeezed in, as it had been noted from other Committees. She said the Standing Committee on Social Development ought to be raising that issue sharply. She suggested more oversight on issues related to GBV, and asked that it be reflected in the programme as she was worried that little effort was being put into addressing it.

The Chairperson agreed, and added that he wanted to visit the safe houses the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) would hand over to the province for NGOs to manage. He proposed that the Committee host a workshop to iron out the plan for the year and the systemic issues that required focus.

The Committee adopted this proposal.

The Chairperson said Members should submit ideas on the Committee programme that would feed into the workshop. The urgent meeting with SASSA would be scheduled for it to report back on the temporary disability grants. There would also be a meeting about the CPOA crisis, and the correspondence -- as well as Ms Bakubaku-Vos’s letter -- would be emailed to Members. He would write to the Chief Whip requesting a date for the meeting with SASSA.

SASSA would be asked to account on the following:

  • An update on the processing of the temporary disability grants;
  • An update on who was to replace Mr De Grass;
  • A detailed plan on how the 52 323 beneficiaries would be processed by 31 March 2021;
  • How people infected with COVID-19 had been assisted;
  • What plans were in place to change the application process?
  • A breakdown of each temporary disability grant (TDG) according to each municipality;
  • How residents would get assistance in towns that had no SASSA offices;
  • A list of people trying to get appointments to apply for the TDG grants; and
  • Previously requested information from the meeting in December and the previous Monday.

The meeting was adjourned.

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