Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, MECs, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate all the good wishes and condolences expressed by the Minister, Deputy Minister and members on the disaster that befell the Gauteng province. I will personally convey these good wishes to the premier, the MEC for health and all the affected families, as well as to the patients who are still in hospital.
In the interest of time - this presentation is fairly long - I will skip some of the paragraphs but consider them as having been read. Also, let me join the members who have supported the Minister's budget by echoing their sentiments in support of it.
On the strengthening of early childhood development, as a developmental state, we acknowledge that our children are our country's most precious asset and the foundation for building a caring and prosperous nation. We also acknowledge that in order for them to grow and reach their full potential, children need an environment in which they can play and learn, explore and love, build friendships, be loved and cared for.
There is no doubt that access to early childhood development services is still very uneven as a result of our shameful apartheid system. However, we have made considerable progress in phasing in Grade R at public schools in the province, but we still need to do more in order to redress past imbalances in early childhood development.
Home-based early childhood development centres, which account for a large percentage of enrolments, are a concern in terms of quality of services, which include health and safety. The expansion of early childhood development services is therefore crucial for the holistic development of our children. As stated earlier, in the past Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period we constructed 15 new early childhood development centres as part of the 20 priority projects.
In order to demonstrate that the expansion of early childhood services remains one of our critical priority areas, we have prioritised the registration and funding of all early childhood development centres. This includes the registration of facilities that were partially registered.
In the 2011-12 financial year we will fund 1 183 early childhood development centres in Gauteng, benefiting 66 244 children. You will see the breakdown of the centres in the six regions of Gauteng as you read the presentation. All these early childhood development centres are located in the historically disadvantaged communities.
Regarding services for children in conflict with the law, the promulgation of the Child Justice Act of 2010 has given us an opportunity to expand diversion programmes and home-based care programmes. In line with this Act we are responsible for the assessment of all arrested children by probation officers within 48 hours. All arrested children must be assessed before their first court appearance. By December 2010, 3 337 children who were in conflict with the law had been assessed.
We will also improve the monitoring and evaluation of probation programmes for children and adults. This includes expanding social crime prevention and awareness programmes and strengthening after-care programmes for families of children in conflict with the law.
Regarding the prevention and reduction of substance abuse, we cannot underestimate the untold damage that is being visited on communities, families and individuals by the scourge of substance abuse. Our collaboration with provincial substance abuse fora and local drug action committees has helped us to determine the magnitude of the problem, identify hotspots and target the groups who are most vulnerable to addiction. This has been achieved through community-based research, where door-to-door contact featured strongly. That is why we have finalised an integrated substance abuse strategy that will improve the effectiveness of service delivery and reduce the incidence of substance abuse. To this end we will increase the availability and improve the accessibility of inpatient and outpatient treatment centres by making use of our clinics.
In partnership with the Department of Economic Development and municipalities we have consulted on the awarding of liquor licences. Consultation meetings with relevant sectors were also held and a database compiled of identified shebeens located in close proximity to early childhood development centres and schools.
Early intervention and rehabilitation services are also being implemented at community health centres and clinics. We will establish eight more local drug action committees in Katlehong, KwaThema, Diepsloot, Alexandra, Olievenhoutbosch, Bronkhorstspruit, Enkangala in Sedibeng, and particularly Midvaal.
Our experience has taught us that the participation of boys and men in programmes that seek to reduce violence against women and children goes a long way towards reducing such violence. In the 2011-12 financial year a total of 2 140 men and boys will participate in gender-based violence prevention programmes. We will therefore strengthen our partnership with men's organisations. We will continue to fund existing shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence. Madam Chair, I actually did not mention that I was now talking on the topic of the prevention and reduction of violence against women and children.
Services to older persons remain central to our programmes. We will therefore continue to advocate for and jealously protect the rights of older persons and promote their safety. Regarding security and health care, some older persons, especially those living alone in townships, are isolated and neglected. Hence we have reprioritised our financial resources in favour of organisations that render services among the historically disadvantaged elderly people. Those organisations will receive government funding which, we hope, will demonstrate a significant shift in alignment with new priorities. To this end we have reviewed the funding criteria for old age homes. We have prioritised those homes with poor infrastructure and those that are heavily dependent on the department for funding. We will not waver in our commitment to deracialising old age homes.
Regarding services to persons with disabilities, we will continue to fund programmes for persons with disabilities. We will give special attention to protective workshops, for which funding will be extended to 10 additional facilities. Partnerships will be strengthened with the Departments of Trade and Industry and of Labour to assist with expertise in terms of business and skills development. Capacity-building and monitoring of services rendered to persons with disabilities shall remain a priority to ensure that quality services are rendered.
Regarding youth development, the exclusion of young people from the labour market, coupled with poverty, substance abuse, crime and violence, all point to the need to intervene strategically to ensure that we improve the socioeconomic conditions of the youth in Gauteng. We will continue to provide training opportunities to young people in order for them to become entrepreneurs. This year 250 young people will be enlisted for the Masupatsela Youth Pioneer Programme, while 2 650 young people will also benefit from training in electrical, plumbing, computer, carpentry and business skills. [Time expired.]