I want to say that previously there were many regions of Sassa, and we have moved one step forward. That we now have a national office and not many, many offices is a success.
Secondly, the grant is no longer being awarded in a choosy way. Grants are no longer being given to whites on a monthly basis and then to blacks after a month or at alternate times. It has changed altogether ... [Applause.] ... and there are more people who have come onto the system. It is a fact. You cannot run away from that. We have also moved to high standards of accounting - we have moved to accrual accounting. It is no longer on a cash basis, which was used conveniently by the apartheid government because it was an easy way of stealing lots and lots of money.
People want to talk about a few blacks that are gaining out of black economic empowerment. The main question that remains is: who owns property? Who owns the economy of the country? That is a bigger debate. We are not going to fight about little sums of money and we are not going to wear blinkers and write about and attack people every day when we know that the means of ownership still remains with a few. That is a fact. That is why, when something is given to a black person, people shout "Corruption!" Today our people are poor because of the previous system.
Hon Gcume, we have been on the ground. We have been to Msinga, we have been to Kanyamazane, and we have been to the Western Cape. But we want to say that it is easy for some of us to come and talk here, while some of the issues remain hidden. It's not said here that most of the NGOs in the Western Cape are no longer getting funds. The NGO we visited with the President got funding immediately after the visit of the President, and people have been quiet about that! [Applause.] Advice centres that work more especially with black communities have been closed. People are not talking about those things. [Interjections.] I don't understand words, but we appreciate the fact that you have raised this. We have a generator as a response to the concern in Lusikisiki that you raised. Also, privacy issues are very important and we agree with you.
Another issue that has been a bone of contention is that of our creating dependency. Once again I would like to say that this is solidarity with the poor and with vulnerable groups; it is not a permanent feature. We are a nation in transition. If you could look at the people who are getting grants, it is more often children, and we have said that it is important for us to ensure that we create a proper base for our children so that they can have a better future.
Also, people are saying that we are moving towards being a welfare state. I don't think so, because we aspire to being a developmental state and when you are a developmental state, you intervene when there is a crisis. It is not the first time in the world that we have had a problem or an economic crisis. In big countries, like Germany, there was an intervention after the Great Depression. It is not the first time. During this economic crisis big economies like Spain and Portugal have intervened and even the US has intervened. Have we said anything about that? Is that the creation of dependency? I think we must not be short-sighted and try politicking here, because that is not going to help us. [Interjections.]
Another thing that we would like to raise is the issue of the suspension of the CFO. We don't need to speak in tongues - if we say we want to fight corruption, we must say so. If the ANC government takes action, we must not shout and say things must be done properly, because that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to ensure that we don't tolerate management inefficiencies and mismanagement.
Then, on the issue of NGO funding, when the Free State matter came up we were already looking into reviewing financial awards. And the case in regard to the NGOs was in the Free State only, not throughout the country, so it is not true that we are governed by the courts. We are going to continue working in all the provinces to ensure that we roll out the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme, Icrop, so as to ensure that people in the deep rural areas have access to social assistance.
We are also working closely with the Department of Public Works so as to ensure that we have enough office space, and we have agreed that this is a problem.
We have said that we have increased the amount of the scholarship, because funds have gone up. What we are trying to do is to ensure that we have Social Work students who are going to ensure that they improve the quality of life of the people.
And then, concerning the prevention of fraud, we have also reported on the systems that we are trying to introduce, and we already have funding for those systems. Lastly, Chairperson, let me quickly say that the introduction of comprehensive social security is going to ensure that we have a compulsory retirement fund. We need to ensure that this is done speedily and that we publish a consolidated document upon which everyone will have a chance to comment.
And then, in conclusion, I wish express my gratitude to Deputy Minister Ntuli for her continued support and counsel and the MECs for ...
... ngokweseka abasinike khona ngokuthi babe yingxenye yeMinmec. Sibonga uMqondisi-Jikelele nabo bonke abasebenzi boMnyango wezokuThuthukiswa koMphakathi, NDA, Sassa ... [... the support given to us by being part of Minmec. We thank the Director-General and all the staff of the Department of Social Development Sassa ...]
... and the role, the outstanding role, that has been played by the acting CEO of Sassa. I think we need to acknowledge the role he has played in ensuring that Sassa gets organised. Thank you.
Debate concluded.
The Committee rose at 16.19.