Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Bathabile Dlamini, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, fellow Members of Parliament, MECs present in this House, especially my MEC from the Eastern Cape, Pemmy Majodina, management and staff of the department, ladies and gentlemen, as we mark 100 years of the selfless struggle, I would like to salute all heroes who served the African National Congress as its Presidents since 1912 to date. The centenary reminds us of the values, traditions and objectives that shaped and guided our movement throughout the history of our struggle. We are indeed saluting all the leaders of this glorious movement who brought us to where we are today.
The ANC-led government established the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, in April 2006 to improve the quality of the Social Security Services. Sassa is rendering services to the most valuable members of our society, namely the elderly and people with disabilities and children.
Today, over 15,8 million South Africans of different ages and races are benefiting from the social assistance programme. The huge demand for SA Social Security Agency, Sassa's, services has resulted in numerous service delivery challenges, namely fraud and corruption, overcrowding at service offices and paypoints, and deductions of grant funds by microlenders and insurance companies.
The major benefit is that, for the first time in the history of this country, social grant beneficiaries can now be paid anywhere. All South Africans can access social grants wherever they choose to live and at any moment in time. We hope that our people will not be labelled as "refugees" when they choose to access their social grants in the Western Cape. All South Africans are free to live anywhere they choose. Labelling people as "refugees" is a modernised version of the old swart gevaar mentality. [Applause.]
South Africans - I don't think, hon Waters, I'll be good anymore after my speech - have paid a hefty price for our current Constitution. We therefore have a duty to defend it from people who intentionally want to manipulate it in order to sabotage its noble objectives.
The SA Social Security Agency experienced a number of challenges in providing its services at coalface level, where it directly interacts with clients. The challenges are mainly encountered at the local offices and paypoints and they relate to noncompliance with the social security norms and standards due to staff shortages.
Despite the challenges facing Sassa, the agency has done tremendous work. The SA Social Security Agency has developed an integrated service delivery model, which was tabled before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development. I wish the hon Dudley was here to hear this because I saw her for the first time. I didn't even know that she is a member of this committee.
The said model is geared to address the following challenges, amongst others: long queues at services points; delays in the processing of applications; lack of access to the social assistance services; overcrowding at service points; lack of engagement with key stakeholders; lack of standardisation and uniformity; and fraud and corruption.
In addition, the infrastructure development project, which was introduced last year to improve conditions at local offices and paypoints across the country, has resulted in the significant improvement of certain service offices and paypoints. To this extent, 75 local offices were upgraded to meet the requirements of the new standardised application process.
Improvements in this regard included changing of the office layout, installation of Information and Communications Technology, ICT, infrastructure, branding, and the provision of adequate seating space for applicants and beneficiaries. Three hundred and seventy paypoints have been upgraded in all provinces. As Members of Parliament, we still have to do more oversight work with part-focus on monitoring and evaluation.
As this committee, we would like to express our appreciation for the good work done by the chief executive officer, CEO, of Sassa and her staff, under the capable political guidance of our Minister, Bathabile Dlamini. [Applause.]
The agency must intensify the fight against fraud and corruption, as we still have some staff members who are committing fraud in certain provinces. The SA Social Security Agency's continued strengthening of its early fraud detection and prevention strategies will assist in the fight.
The manual social grant administration system has adversely contributed to the fraud and corruption facing the social assistance programme in our country, long turnaround times for the processing of applications and poor record management.
Mhlekazi obekekileyo, ndicela uqwalasele intlungu yokuxhatshazwa kwabantu, ingakumbi abadala, ngoomatshonisa noomasingcwabane ababoleka baphinde batsale imali ngenjongo yokuzityebisa. Abantu bethu bahlawula izintywenka zeemali iminyaka emininzi, baze bathi bakusweleka bahlawulwe umnqongo wewaka weerandi. Ngubani ongangcwatywa ngewaka leerandi kule mihla siphila kuyo?
Iwaka leerandi lingaphantsi nakwisibonelelo urhulumente asinika abantu abadala. Urhulumente makayilwe iphele tu intlungu yokuxhatshazwa kwabantu ngabantu abangoohlohlesakhe boomatshonisa noomasingcwabane.
Ndingayanga kude, Mhlalingaphambili, ndinesicelo endinaso sokuba uqabane uWaters ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Hon Sir, I would like you to look carefully at the exploitation of our people, especially the elderly who are being exploited by loan sharks and the local funeral schemes that want to enrich themselves by lending them money, which is paid back with interest. Our people pay huge amounts of money for years and years, and get paid only one thousand rand when they die. What funeral can cost one thousand rand nowadays?
One thousand is even less than the pension grant paid to the pensioners by government. Government must fight against and eradicate this exploitation of people by those who are concerned only with their comfort, the loan sharks and local funeral schemes.
Without going any further, Chairperson, I request that comrade Waters ...]
Oh! My G**! [Laughter.] Hon Waters, after you have told me that I'm good, I wish you had told me that in the committee. [Interjections.]