Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister and hon members, the Portfolio Committee on Social Development was afforded the opportunity to be part of the Ad hoc Committee on Co-ordinated Oversight on Service Delivery. This gave us the opportunity to interact and meet with the communities on the ground throughout the country and to hear firsthand about the quality of services being rendered by the Department of Social Services and its agencies.
It is necessary to inform the House that, in all instances, we had a delegation from the department as well as the SA Social Services Agency, Sassa, in the stakeholder engagement sessions.
Inputs from the public hearings were varied. We had instances where a community was very satisfied with services rendered. On the other hand, we also had instances where a community raised concerns around services rendered.
Challenges raised include long queues and inadequate facilities at pay points; a shortage of social workers, leading to welfare cases not being finalised quickly; stipends for caregivers not paid regularly; confusion around whether applications for funding should be made at the Department of Social Development or at the Department of Health; inadequate information supplied to applicants when applying for grants, resulting in them having to return to the offices more than twice; and a concern around the registration of NGOs, which results in funding problems and a duplication of services rendered. Concerns were also raised around the funding of early childhood development centres.
In addressing the above-mentioned challenges and problems, the Department of Social Development and the agency have put various measures in place. The SA Social Services Agency has embarked on different strategies aimed at the improvement of service delivery. Steps were taken to improve the grant application processes and reduce the turnaround time, and to promote customer care service at offices and service points.
They also piloted the improved grants administration process, Igap, which was very successful. In areas where Igap is not yet implemented, they have reduced the 90 days for completion of applications to an average of 12 days.
To manage the influx of clients to offices, they have implemented a queue management system as well as a booking system for grant applications and disability assessments.
In addressing the shortage of social workers, the department has come up with a turnaround strategy which focuses on the provision of scholarships for those interested in pursuing a career in social work. To date, over 6 000 undergraduate students have benefited from the programme and over 600 graduates have been placed in various provinces. It must be borne in mind that this is an ongoing process.
With regard to the application for stipends of caregivers, there are different roles and responsibilities for each department, and this needs to be clarified for communities. Social Development has, however, put some interventions in place to address these challenges. Information pamphlets and brochures are printed and distributed in the dominant languages used in a particular province. The department and Sassa have embarked on a campaign in which they are now purchasing slots on community radio stations to inform members of communities of services rendered as well as documents required to access such services.
With regard to the nonprofit organisation registrations, there is a national database that is updated on a monthly basis to check compliance with the Nonprofit Organisations Act requirements. These lists are sent to provinces annually and it must be noted that funding comes from provinces. We also agree that more work needs to be done in this area.
Regarding ECD centres, subsidies are paid by provincial departments. We are aware that there is a disparity in the amount that is being paid and we have been informed by the Department of Social Development that they are currently reviewing the costing mechanism for ECD subsidisation.
Hon members, the ANC government has put a basket of services in place to address the challenges of poverty among vulnerable people in our country. We have developed and implemented various programmes and, further to that, have developed policies and guidelines as to how this should be implemented. For instance, the child support grant is the largest social assistance programme in terms of the number of beneficiaries, with just over 9,8 million recipients receiving that grant. The age extension was implemented last year following the realisation that thousands of children between the ages of 15 and 18 years continue to live under the harsh conditions of poverty. By June this year the total number of CSG extension beneficiaries stood at over 393 000. Contrary to common belief, members, most beneficiaries are older women who, in most cases, become the primary caregivers of children born to teenagers.
It should be borne in mind that the objective of this grant is to ensure that caregivers of children living in extreme poverty are able to access financial assistance in the form of a cash transfer, to supplement rather than replace household income.
In strengthening the collaboration between the Departments of Basic Education and of Social Development in the provision of early childhood development, the departments fulfil their roles according to applicable legislation. At the end of March 2010 over 16 000 ECD sites were registered, with just over 719 000 children benefiting from these sites and about half of the children being subsidised by government. In the attempt to address the scourge of alcohol and drug abuse the ANC, at its 52nd National Conference, called for a concerted national effort to address the drug problem in our country. This can only be effectively addressed by eradicating poverty, escalating education and implementing other development programmes.
The Department of Social Development is therefore reviewing the institutional arrangement of the Central Drug Authority, CDA, with the view to strengthening and optimising its functioning. The CDA is a body set up specifically to advise government on drug-related issues and to implement the national drug master plan.
The ANC-led government has championed the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act which highlights the negative effects of illicit drugs and places particular emphasis on education and prevention, especially among young people and their parents.
In conclusion, we have put various legislation programmes and guidelines in place to ensure that services are rendered to the most vulnerable and needy of our country. We can proudly say that, under this ANC-led government, current reports suggest that most of the targets under Goal One ...
Speaker, working together we can surely do more! I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]