Chairperson, rising in support of this vote, I wish to state firstly that the bulk of this budget will impact directly on the living conditions and the livelihood of millions of households in this financial year.
More than 7 000 000 children receive the Childs Support Grant, as everybody knows, whilst approximately 2 million older persons and about 1,2 million disabled persons are beneficiaries of old-age grants and disability grants respectively, thus raising the total number of beneficiaries of our social assistance system to over 10 million people. Amounts of R1,2 billion in 2003-04 and R3,7 billion in 2005 were expended to extend the Child Support Grant.
The budget for social assistance rises from R55,4 billion in the 2005-06 financial year to R72,5 billion in the 2008-09 financial year. That is clearly an indication that the government is putting its money where its mouth is. The figures are there for everyone to see. When the ANC-led government says that it prioritises the poor, it means it. In our recent engagement with the department we were informed that during the financial year for 2005-06, the department identified and provided support services to some 218 259 orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/Aids. About 30 000 of these children were referred for foster care placement. Further, the home-based and community-based care and support projects distributed some 170 000 food parcels to these children and their families during the financial year. These, taking into consideration the fact that not all orphans and vulnerable children ... The ANC supports this budget. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Vote agreed to.
Vote No 19 - Sport and Recreation South Africa - put.
Declarations of vote: