Chairperson, hon Minister, the FD believes that the existence of the Department of Social Services is very, very relevant for our communities, especially the poorer communities. But we believe that civil government should not be the only entity to be responsible for welfare. We believe that emphasis should also be placed on civil society in order to be able to assist with social transformation.
We believe that not enough is being done in Social Services to restore the traditional nuclear family as the primary provider of discipline, of love and charity, respect and values in our society and that is why we have so many child grants - because men are neglecting their responsibility to support their children. Now, the restoration should also expand to extended families and therefore also our community as a whole.
We know, hon Minister, that this department has many challenges and we know that you are doing your utmost to deliver, but we want to encourage you to continue doing your very best to address the issues of the breakdown of families in our nation. The FD supports this budget vote. Thank you, Chairperson.