Chairperson, and hon members, the primary objective of the Social Assistance Amendment Bill is to amend the Social Assistance Act, Act 13 of 2004.
It is my duty to make the following statement as a member of the DA: My party believes in an open opportunity society, where people must have the opportunity to make choices to better their lives for a better outcome.
One of the opportunities is the choice of employment. This opportunity is very scarce in South Africa, and it is the duty of government to develop circumstances and economic situations for people in South Africa, and to make these opportunities available to the poor. Too many people are unemployed, poor, vulnerable and dependent on grants.
That is not to say that the DA does not support the policy that a safety net for the disabled, the sick, the poor and the permanently disabled and others must exist in the policy of government. We must try to create a citizen who is self-reliant and has the dignity not to be dependent on hand- outs.
The DA agrees then that in the absence of these work opportunities for the poor and the vulnerable such amendments to the Social Assistance Act are important - very much so! Grants give a pot of gold to loan sharks. Therefore, government must use all its resources to clamp down on practices which make the poor poorer.
Sections 14 and 18 of the Social Assistance Amendment Bill speak to the appeals measures: the right to reconsider the application, the right to appeal the decision made by the agency, the right to clarification of the decision and process they have taken, condonation and appeal to be handled within 90 days, and applications received after 90 days has expired to be considered.
Section 5 will still prevail and be referred back to Cabinet. This section speaks to chronic illnesses, and the Department of Health said that they were not ready to implement the harmonised assessment tool and related matters.
We therefore agree with the view that redefining disability and implementing the harmonised assessment tool must be cleared, because no misunderstanding and misinterpretation must prevail. The referring back to Cabinet of section 5 is supported. The Western Cape provincial parliament supports the Social Assistance Amendment Bill. I thank you, Chairperson, for allowing the debate on this Bill in the NCOP. [Applause.]