Comrade Chairperson, comrade Minister, hon MECs, special delegates and members, I am once more honoured to have been given an opportunity to participate in this very important debate that affects the livelihood of millions of our people.
For the purposes of this debate, the select committee identified the following areas of concern that affect our respective provinces in one way or another. The first one is management and administration of social grants and the question of fraud and corruption management, both of which I will deal with together; the second is the question of the integration of the welfare services; the third is poverty alleviation; and the fourth is the impact of HIV-Aids on the welfare system. The Department of Welfare and Population Development was one of the Government departments that in the past, was always characterised by fraud and corruption and ghost beneficiaries, and many a time there were reports of grants and pensions lining the pockets of nondeserving clients. All of us, including the Minister himself, can testify to having heard reports of beneficiaries who draw more than one grant or pension, either in the same province or in different provinces. This has led to deserving beneficiaries not being able to access state grants or pensions, and some of our senior citizens passing on, after having worked their whole lives, without having had the benefit of an old age pension.
The process of reregistration launched in July 1997 was aimed at cleaning up the database of beneficiaries and ensuring that pensions and grants get to the most vulnerable, that is the aged, the disabled, women and children.
We were told at a recent select committee meeting that the process of reregistration was 80% complete and that by the end of this month, which is June, it would be 100% complete. May I say that we will hold the department to this commitment and that we will visit our welfare departments in the different provinces during our next constituency period in order to ascertain whether this has, in fact, happened.
The issue of cash-in-transit heists, particularly involving pension moneys, which have been taking place in the Eastern Cape, calls for a serious investigation and close co-operation between the Department of Welfare and the Department of Safety and Security, both provincially and nationally. The culprits, whoever they are and wherever they might be, must be found and brought to book. It is unacceptable that money earmarked for the most vulnerable members of our society gets plundered by heartless criminals and corrupt elements in our communities.
Regarding the integration of welfare services, the 1999-2000 annual report of the department highlights the following areas of focus: Firstly, human resource development, secondly, human resource management and, thirdly, strategic planning and business repositioning. In the same annual report, mention is made of the reorientation of social services workers' courses. This, indeed, is good news for all of us. It is in line with the Government's programme to create a more effective public service in order to meet the priorities of social service delivery and realise the concept of Batho Pele. This programme was kickstarted in three provinces, namely KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Northern Province, and I hope by now it has been extended to the remaining six provinces.
I just want to refer briefly here to the Gauteng Citizens' Charter which was launched in around 1997 or 1998. The citizens' charter, says:
We, the Department of Welfare and Population Development, declare to the citizens of Gauteng that we as the department shall actively work towards a better quality of life for all. At the outset, we want to place the social welfare and population development at the cutting edge of combating poverty that affects a large sector of our people. We declare that social welfare is a critical tool that complements the RDP and the macroeconomic strategy to effectively address socioeconomic problems faced by our people.
It goes on and lists eight commitments that the department makes to the citizens of Gauteng.
In the area of human resource management, the question of job evaluation and performance management is critical. As a department that delivers an important service to our community, we cannot afford to employ people who are not sensitive to the needs of our people. Far too many reports have reached us in our constituencies about the uncaring attitude of welfare public servants for us to ignore this matter. So, it is appropriate that the Minister has targeted performance management as a priority.
Regarding the question of poverty alleviation, a lot has already been said about the campaign of declaring war against poverty. We had, not so long ago, a snap debate in this House where some very pertinent questions were posed to the Minister and his department. I am sure that the MECs and the special delegates present here will raise additional questions around the issue of poverty alleviation as it pertains to their respective provinces. The Minister has also alluded to the programmes and projects that are funded in this regard.
Two weeks ago, we as members of the Select Committee on Social Services and the Portfolio Committee on Welfare of the National Assembly, visited three farms in the Phillippi area. The conditions that these farmworkers and their families live under are, to say the least, appalling. Some earn as little as R18 a week. They spend the very same R18 at the shop owned by the farmer on the premises. Simple calculations indicate that one cannot even buy a loaf of bread for each day of the week with this R18. So, these workers continue to be oppressed despite our democracy and despite the programmes specifically geared towards alleviating poverty.
The Departments of Welfare, Health and Agriculture and Land Affairs should work together towards the provision of subsistence food security for these farmworkers and their families. Food security is not only about food production, but also about access to adequate, affordable and safe food. I am sure I do not have to stress the importance of good nutrition, especially for children during their cognitive developmental years. A way must be found to improve the quality of life of some of these farmworkers, particularly in the rural areas.
We also have to embark on an evaluation process whereby flagship programmes or projects in the different provinces can be audited and evaluated to ensure that they fulfil the objectives of sustainable development and job creation.
Regarding the question of the impact of HIV-Aids on our welfare system, according to the department's annual report of 1999-2000, we have an estimated 1 600 new HIV infections occurring daily. The Department of Welfare will probably be the hardest hit by this epidemic, since, together with the Department of Health, it will have to care and provide resources for children orphaned by Aids and adults suffering from the disease. The Minister has already referred to plans in the department in this regard.
The provision of services to support community-based care will also have a profound effect on the welfare budget in the long term. The establishment of the SA National Aids Council and the inclusion of Ministers of Welfare, Health, Finance, Labour, Education and others goes a long way in developing an interdepartmental machinery in order to lessen the impact of the blow of HIV-Aids on the financial and human resources of our country.
In conclusion, the Department of Welfare has a huge responsibility to redress the backlogs left by the apartheid legacy. It cannot afford to have insufficient human resources to fulfil this obligation, because if the department cannot deliver, we know that somewhere a potential beneficiary will suffer and may even die. I want to urge the Minister to ensure that the key finance posts within the department are filled expeditiously and, thereafter, all the other managerial posts, in order to ensure more efficient and effective delivery to our people.
I want to thank the Minister and his team for interacting with us this afternoon, and I am sure that together we will continue to make the needs of the most vulnerable people our priority, thereby creating a better life for all our people. [Applause.]