Deputy Speaker, Hon members, from 21-24 August 2006 the portfolio committee embarked on an oversight visit to the South African Social Security Agency, or Sassa, offices in three provinces, namely Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. The visit commenced at their head office in Pretoria and proceeded to the regional offices in Port Elizabeth and East London in the Eastern Cape and Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
The South African Social Security Agency was established by the state to assume responsibility for the payment and administration of social grants. Apart from the problems experienced with regard to these services, the establishment of Sassa is in line with the call to ensure a better life for all.
Members are familiar with problems that were widely published through the media with regard to administration and payments of grants, hence the establishment of Sassa.
Indeed, we were encouraged by what we saw. We found an organisation that has laid a firm foundation to ensure swift and user-friendly services right from the head office through to the regional offices. The passion, motivation and professionalism displayed by all involved provide us with the necessary resolve that today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today.
This once more is an indication of our commitment to provide quality service to the beneficiaries and ensure that minimum standards operate countrywide consistently, efficiently and predictably. It is not for this debate to recycle or duplicate the report in the form of an oral representation as members have received an approved report. However, I need to draw the attention of this House to the tremendous progress made so far. If one studies the report, one will clearly see that a major step has been taken in line with our resolution, that is fighting poverty together for a better life for all.
The report covers a whole range of administrative issues, infrastructure issues such as buildings, technology issues, human resource issues and other matters. It further shows that Sassa is managing the transitional and transformation process without compromising service delivery. It shows how Sassa has improved service delivery by introducing new initiatives for application turnaround time, enhanced payment models, an optional services infrastructure network and improved access to service in rural areas and payouts.
Sesiyathola manje ukuthi abantu abalindi izinyanga eziyisithupha ukuze bathole ulwazi lokuthi bayayithola na imali noma cha; kodwa izicelo zabo zithatha isikhathi esingangezinsuku ezintathu noma kube ilanga elilodwa. [We also learnt that people no longer wait for six months to have information on whether they will get their money or not; but their applications take at least between one and three days to be approved.]
Lo nto iyanceda ke ukuba abantu bangabe benyuka besehla, bemana bejikiswa ngento engaziwayo. Ezobugcisa ziphuculwe kangangendlela yokuba abantu bayakwazi ukuvavanywa, baxelelwe ngoko nangoko ukuba bayasifumana kusini na esi sibonelelo. Ii-ofisi zeSasa kuthiwa ngesilungu: they are user friendly. [Kulula ukuzisebenzisa.] kwaye uyambona u-'Batho Pele' phaya, ngoba baqashe abantu kangangoko kwiidesika zooncedo zabo. Abantu abasami emigceni emide, abangaziyo nokuba iza kuphela nini na.
Ngelinye ixesha babona sele kuvalwa iminyango kusithiwa, "Nize ngomso." I- Sasa iyijikile ke loo nto leyo, ithi, 'senza ngoku.' Abantu babuzwa imibuzo efanelekileyo, abo bakwazi ukubeka iingxaki zabo bakwazi ukuvavanywa. Akusathethwa izinto eziyimfihlo esidlangalaleni njengakwaNdabazabantu phaya kudala ukuba wonke umntu azi into yokuba sele kuphelile ngawe. Kukho ubomi babucala. Iindawo ezininzi zokwamkela imali ziyaphuculwa, ingakumbi phaya emakhaya. Ngethuba besihambele kweleMpuma Koloni siye saya kwindawo ekuthiwa yiKwelerha apho bekuye kuvulwa iholo entsha, ngoba njengokuba nisazi, phaya ekhaya awekho amaholo oluntu.
Sibe nexesha elimnandi ngokwenene apho, abantu bonwabe kakhulu. Bade babonelelwa banikwa phaya kwesa sibonelelo sikarhulumente ekuthiwa xa sibizwayo yi-Social Relief of Distress Grant. Le ithi xa abantu xa sele belambe kakhulu noko urhulumente abasizele abanike esi sibonelelo. Bekukho iintsapho ezingaphezulu kwe-100 ebeziphiwa iipasile noko ezingathi zithe xaxhe, ukuze batye kude kufike ikrisimesi. Ezi ke zizinto ezingaziwayo, uSasa abone ukuba makaziveze ebantwini, ukuba uyancedisa ekubeni abantu baphume kobu buhlwempu baphila phantsi kwabo.
Bekumnandi ngokwenyani eKwelerha, sitshotsha nokutshotsha phaya, kukho laa nto ekuthiwa yi-integration, kukho nabantwana besikolo besiculela kamnandi. Nabantu bethu torhwana abangekafikeleli kwizinga lokuthi bafumane isibonelelo semali yobudala ub'ubabona ukuba bachwayitile, ngoba bafumene okuya phantsi kwempumlo kule nkgqubo eyaziwa ngokuba yi-Social Relief of Distress.
Ndiyacela ukuba amalungu afake isandla ekuthini kusetyenziswane noSasa lo, ukuze abantu bakwazi ukuncedwa ngendlela efanelekileyo, ingamkubi ngoku sele sazise iindlela ezintsha zokuziswa kweenkonzo ebantwini. Ngokungaphandle kokumosha ixesha, ngoba ndiyabona ingathi noko ilanga sele litshonile, mandithi intle le nto yenziwa nguSasa yokuthi nathi noko sizibone siphethwe njengabantu, singasamkeleli ngaphantsi kwemithi, singasami emigceni, singasalindi ukuza kukaNongqawuse xa sicela uncedo kurhulumente. Ndiyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[This helps to avoid a situation in which people move up and down and are turned away for no apparent reason. Technological systems have been improved to such an extent that people can be tested and be informed immediately whether their applications for grants are approved or not. The Sassa offices are user-friendly and you can see the Batho Pele principle, because they have employed enough people at their help desks. People are no longer waiting in long queues not knowing when they will be attended to.
People sometimes found themselves locked out and told to come back the following day. Sassa has turned that around; it says, "Action now." People are asked relevant questions and those who can present their cases are interviewed on the spot. Confidential issues are no longer discussed in public, as used to be the case in the past. There is now privacy and many pay points are being developed, especially those in the rural areas. During our visit to the Eastern Cape we also visited a place called Kwelerha where there was an official opening of a community hall, as you know that there are no community halls in rural areas.
We really had a good time and people were very cheerful. They were even provided with a social grant known as a social relief of distress grant. The government provides this to people living in severe poverty. More than 100 families were given food parcels that will last them until Christmas. These are things that Sassa has decided to reveal to the people, as they were not aware of them. Sassa is doing this to eradicate the poverty in which people live.
We had social integration and dancing in Kwelerha, and school pupils were singing nice songs. One could see that even people who had not yet reached the stage of getting the old age grant were happy, because the social relief of distress programme had brought them food.
I wish to make a request to members that they should work in partnership with Sassa, so that people can be served in a proper way, especially now that we have introduced new systems of service delivery to people. Without wasting much time, because I can see that we do not have enough time, let me say that Sassa is doing a good thing in that at least we are being treated like human beings; we no longer receive our grants under the trees, and wait in long queues when we apply for social grants. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Madam Deputy Speaker, I present this report on behalf of my colleague hon Mike Waters.
As of 1 April 2006, the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, began to take over responsibility for paying social assistance grants in three provinces, namely Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Northern Cape. The target date of March 2007 was given, by which the Sassa would be managing grant payments for the remaining six provinces. I am glad to say that this target has been met and that Sassa has already taken over full responsibility for grant administration in all nine provinces. Sassa also needs to be credited for the fact that, throughout the transfer period, service delivery was never negatively affected and beneficiaries continued to receive their grants.
When one thinks that we have over 11 million beneficiaries, this is no small feat. One issue that did concern my colleague Mike Waters, however, was the fact that more than 6 000 grant administration staff members from national and provincial departments of Social Development were transferred to Sassa without the vast majority being vetted. This did raise concerns during the trip as this makes Sassa vulnerable to the same grant fraud that took place in the provinces previously, because corrupt officials may have been transferred to the new agency.
On a positive note, the committee was fortunate enough to visit a pilot project in the Eastern Cape where the processing time for grant applications is between one and three days, unlike the current 90 days it takes in some provinces and longer in others. This is extremely encouraging as it is giving effect to the Batho Pele principle in making people feel that they are actually valued. Sassa has a huge mountain to climb and the initial results indicate they are doing it at record speed. We can only wish them well and we know they will succeed. Thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, the MF takes this opportunity to applaud the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, for its efforts to transfer the social assistance grant from the Department of Social Development effectively and efficiently. In view of the recommendation, we are certain that if Sassa reports to us on its pilot project to speedily assess, verify and approve grant applications then we may be able to close the loopholes that existed previously in grant management.
We further express a shared interest in the Department of Social Development's oversight of Sassa, the accessibility of disability grants and antiretroviral treatment. The recommendations made in respect of this oversight visit, we believe, are crucial to the effective management of the grant system in South Africa. However, fraudulent activities are still found and we are steadfast in our resolve that all forms of corruption need to be stamped out. Thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members and colleagues, it is yet again a privilege for me to be at this podium today, mandated by the Department of Social Development to, maybe, release the report of its newborn baby, Sassa, which is the South African Social Security Agency, born on 1 April 2006. The ANC-led government took over on 27 April 1994 and much has been done to transform the apartheid legacy in this department, where social help was only meant for the white minority and aimed at their choices.
The Freedom Charter clearly states that all shall share in the wealth of this country. Social assistance was extended to all as stated in section 27(1)(c) of the Constitution, and the CRSS, Committee for the Restructuring of Social Security, was appointed to conduct research and their recommendations led to 14 departments administering different societies. Later, CRSS felt that there were still remnants of discrimination and therefore the CICSS, or Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive System of Social Security, was established and its recommendations led to the Presidential Jobs Summit in 1998.
In 2002 the Taylor Committee's report demonstrated political will and a review was conducted on social security. In his state of the nation address in 2002 President Thabo Mbeki announced a campaign to register all who were eligible for social grants in 2003 and all who took part were thanked. In 2004 the social grants were extended from the age of seven to 14. However, there were still remnants of apartheid in-between. A 10-year progress review in the first decade and microsocial trends in South Africa in 2006 all highlighted that there are still a lot of vulnerable people, especially in the rural areas, who are unable to access social grants. Sassa was then established to improve service delivery by improving turn around times for applications and appeals, and cutting down on corruption in the system, as well as providing quality service at pay points, informed by the principles of Batho Pele.
Sassa is responsible for the management and delivery of social grants. Its strategic intent is to facilitate improvement in the quality of services provided to beneficiaries and ensure that the minimum standards operate countrywide for consistent and predictable service delivery. It took over this function in the provinces from 1 April 2006. As has already been said, this is the summary of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development's report on an oversight visit to the South African Social Security Agency from 21 to 24 August 2006.
The purpose of the oversight visit was to obtain first-hand information on the progress that had been made with the establishment of this very new agency. The following offices were visited. We started at the Sassa head office in Pretoria. Sassa has made significant progress in assuming the full social assistance administration functions since 1 April. The organisational structures at its head office and regional offices have been stabilised and key appointments have been made, especially in the area of financial management.
The process of installing the essential information technology, human resource and physical infrastructure networks has also unfolded fairly smoothly without any reported disruptions to the mechanism and system of grant payments. Sassa has also assumed full control and inherited accountability for operation of the Scopen system while the funds flow process for the payment of grants between the national Department of Social Development, Sassa and the provinces has been finalised. A communication strategy has been developed and is in the process of being rolled out.
Sassa further reported that they are in the process of procuring about 40 mobile service units equipped with essential material to complement efforts to enhance levels of service delivery in the deep rural areas. A tender has been issued for the procurement of mobile unit, with the evaluation and implementation of the tender only expected during the 2006-07 financial year.
Sassa also pointed out a number of challenges it still experiences, including fraud prevention, litigation, equity plans for employing disabled persons and service delivery improvements.
The agency is vigorously dealing with inherited short-term problems such as illegitimate beneficiaries by looking at things that lead to corruption of the database. It has a fully fledged fraud unit complemented by, among others, a fraud hotline through which fraud linked to grant administration and payments can be reported. Frauds tip-offs received are handed over to the Special Investigating Unit, SIU, for in-depth investigation.
What we saw in the Eastern Cape region is that the Eastern Cape regional office is fully established and operational. As from 1 April 2006 a national tender for seven district offices, independent from the Department of Social Development, was to have been approved and was due to be advertised at the time of the visit.
In terms of human capital, the Eastern Cape region reported that 1 400 social security personnel were transferred to Sassa in the region as from that very date. Nine hundred of these staff members are on short-term contracts. Of the 57 critical posts advertised to date, 52 have been filled by women, who thus constitute 90% of these posts.
The region indicated that it was compliant with the requirements for financial management and reporting as set out by the head office. However, challenges were reported in respect of commitments carried over from the 2005-06 fiscal year. One challenge is the fact that the region still needed to make use of the Department of Social Development's bank account for the transfer of payments, as well as the actual division of ring-fenced assets and liabilities. A further challenge for the region is to obtain clarity on who, between Sassa and the Department of Social Development, is responsible for litigation cases that were filed before and after 1 April 2006. The roll-out of the enhanced management information system will contribute significantly to reducing the region's turnaround time in grant applications and thus improve levels of customer satisfaction. The system is a computerised resource mechanism that hosts grant application files and is able to track movements of files and eradicate the possibility of missing files, which has been the source of many litigation actions.
The regional office has an established and functional Medical Asset Unit, which is credited with improving the quality of disability and care dependency grant assessments. The unit has 15 doctors, two for each district, who conduct quality control of disability applications, focusing on technical issues.
The issue of poor infrastructure and poor office and road conditions in outlying areas continues to be a hindering challenge for the region. The reliance on other stakeholders such as the Department of Home Affairs and the Departments of Health for medical assessments and Justice for foster care matters was also reported to be a challenge. The fact that there is currently no clear policy on appeals was also cited as a challenge in the region's efforts to improve grant administration. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party moved: That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.