Hon Deputy Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members and fellow South Africans, the only reason that the Department of Social Development exists is to ensure that the most vulnerable of South Africans are given a chance at survival and an opportunity to develop them to a point of becoming self-sustaining. While this Minister is perhaps my least favourite member of the Cabinet, she is a massive improvement over the disastrous Bathabile Dlamini who presided over our darkest period of neglect of the vulnerable in society. Hon Minister, I nearly didn't recognise you today with your hat, we may have to find a new nickname for you.
I watched your speech to the National Assembly two weeks ago, and while I understand that speeches are a lot easier to deliver than services, I am pleased that you have at least agreed on focus areas to direct the department going forward. The areas outlined by you
then, and again today show some grasp of the issues facing real South Africans on the ground. The government must however retain its focus on the work already being done to care for the elderly, the disabled and children, while ensuring that we never have a repeat of the situation where genuine and approved beneficiaries are placed at risk of not receiving the grants that they depend on. Minister, in your speech you quoted President Mandela, who we celebrated last week. I have another quote from him, "The suffering inflicted, and more often than not on the most vulnerable sectors of society, demeans all of us as humanity." My biggest concern with this budget lies with the practical work that is being done on the ground and the lack of focus on it. The government works best when working in partnerships, you said as much yourself. There is no way that government can possibly hope to achieve optimal outcomes without the support of the many organisations that exist to help those who are struggling.
South Africans are known for the spirit of Ubuntu, for looking out for each other and the communities that we live in are the best place for people to turn to when their burden becomes too great or when their options run out. Yet the many nongovernmental organisations, NGOs, charities and community groups are forever left in need by a lack of support from government and by the department
where you have now been tasked to serve, Minister. Too often these organisations are left to worry where they will get the money needed to ensure that next month's bills can be met. These organisations are subject to the whims and bureaucracy of donors or the National Lottery, and yet the only mention of them in the programmes and Key Performance Areas of the department is for a gauge over how long it takes to process an application to become a nonprofit organisation, NPO. Minister, you speak about having a new focus on alcohol and substance abuse, on child abuse, neglect and exploitation and on gender-based violence amongst other things. These are the areas where small community-based organisations have already been acting to shield the vulnerable for years as government has fumbled with awarding tenders to big organisations in inappropriate ways. Surely now, with a new broom at the helm, this is a time to reach out to the organisations, the ones that are best placed to help you to achieve your desired outcomes. Minister, I wrote my speech on Saturday before I saw that there was a delegation of ladies that met you at the gates of Parliament and I am pleased that they came to Parliament and I welcome the fact that they came to give voice to the same issues that I am talking about today.
Yet we know from experience that departments tend to focus on their programmes and on those things that are measured. I urge you
therefore to formalise the promises made in your speech and give them effect by ensuring focus within the programmes and the measurable impact of them. Another concern that I have is the apparent focus away from supporting those entering a career in social welfare I note the dwindling targets and expenditure within the department on bursaries in this field and it seems to contradict the Minister's commitment to dealing with social issues. I also accept that funding bursaries for welfare workers is but one side of the coin, and that a programme to employ these graduates remains an important logical next step. The ability to deal with your focus areas of alcohol and substance abuse, with child abuse and neglect, and with domestic violence is directly dependent on having sufficiently trained people on the ground who can identify and guide those affected by these societal ills. We need more skills Minister, not less. And more of the people with these skills employed and deployed on the ground. All too often the people entering this career path do so from a point of view of their own experienced hardships and suffering; from their empathy born out of personal experience. These are people who may be reliant on bursary funding and assistance for them to realise their dream of ending suffering and saving people from experiencing what they have to endure. Minister, it must feel like you are out there on your own, as other Ministries seem hell-bent on increasing the number of people that
are reliant on your department. The looming retrenchments as a result of our economic struggles can only put more South Africans into the queues for assistance.
And while policy uncertainty, populism and divided leadership plays hell with the economics, union pressures and the need to prop up the ANC's alliance robs the unemployed and marginalised of hope. As taxpayers leave the country in droves and the economic pressure reduces the taxes recouped from companies, the pot grows ever smaller, and the greedy hands of Eskom, SA Airways, SAA, the SA Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, and Denel are given the first bites of the pie. At a time when the Department of Social Development needs it most, there is little scope to provide enough funding to cater adequately for the burgeoning number of potential beneficiaries. And therefore Minister, the DA stands behind you, if you do your job and keep to your commitment, and here I quote from your speech that you gave to the National Assembly, "to clean governance and administration that creates a sense of certainty to deliver our services timeously and with honesty." Stick to that Minister, the DA extends its hand in assisting the national government in finding solutions to eliminate poverty and hunger so that no mother ever again needs to explain to her child that it must go to bed hungry. I thank you. [Applause.]