Mr Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues, the dispensation based on nonracialism, nonsexism and democracy demands of us to continuously strive towards redressing the inequalities and anomalies still prevalent in our society.
As a result of the skewed policies of the past, vulnerable groups such as unemployed women with children, rural populations, people in informal settlements and people with disabilities still find themselves living in conditions of abject poverty. For the past five years, this Government has undertaken a process to completely overhaul the welfare and development system into a new form that will be able to respond to requirements of representivity, transparency, legitimacy, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, and that allows for genuine partnership where all stakeholders are always invited to participate in crucial matters such as building a consensus about policy frameworks and planning of actions. This includes stakeholders such as religious organisations involved in service delivery, NGOs rendering social services and developmental programmes, the private sector, academic institutions, trade unions and professional organisations.
However, the co-ordination that should develop between the partners in the developmental social welfare field should also be complemented by a civil service that operates in a coherent and efficient manner in order to be able to achieve values and principles that create comprehensive, integrated redistributive mechanisms and systems, a civil service that strives for equity and accessibility of resources to the recipients with a conscious effort to espouse and uphold the norms and practices of the concept of Batho Pele.
It cannot be denied that whilst Government is pushing forward with a process of restructuring the system and redefining the role of service providers, there are still weaknesses. We cannot run away from the fact that the majority of the people entrusted with the management of the system - some have been on the job for many years - were never properly trained to be able to handle the kind of transformation being introduced. There are those who have the capacity to manage the problem of the archaic management systems that they are trying to overcome, including problems that are of a human nature which have become an impediment to efficient and effective management of our institutions.
Therefore, as we move further and further away from the old models, trying to fully entrench the new developmental model, we should not lose sight of the dynamics that are still playing themselves out within the civil service, regarding the human resources disparities within the senior managerial positions and also applying to social workers, administrative personnel and other positions.
The new dispensation demands of us to address issues in a particular manner that needs respect for human rights, the creation of user-friendly facilities and systems that involve CBOs and NGOs in decision-making planning and implementation to meet the needs of the people and the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. If need be, the system should be able to shed those elements that, because of their historical past, serve as impediments to progress, because of their intransigence and indifference to change.
This Government cannot allow a situation like the one under discussion to continue to prevail because of the incompetence of those entrusted with the lives and welfare of the most vulnerable in our society. Where it is appropriate and necessary, heads should roll and for others, attitudes should change and commitment to the new order should be the order of the day. [Applause.]