Chairperson, the introduction of the Social Assistance Amendment Bill is a response to the stark reality that the ANC government has had to face. This reality has its origins in the legacy of apartheid and colonialism. In our current conjuncture, this reality reflects more people being relegated to the outer fringes of the labour market, and the social grant system being the main support for many families facing poverty and unemployment.
The strengthening of the rights of claimants in such a context is a fundamentally important responsibility that the ANC government has taken up, informed by the ANC policy on social security. Since 1994 the ANC-led government has endeavoured to create a comprehensive social security net to cushion many of our people from economic deprivation. This is in line with the ANC's vision to create a caring society and an integrated system of social development services that facilitates human development and improves the quality of life.
The impact of the ANC government's economic and social policies has seen a significant reduction in the level of severe poverty and an improvement in the quality of life of millions of South Africans. These policies have had a particularly important impact on the lives of women living in poverty. Female-headed households receive a larger than average share of the social wage. This is largely because women are disproportionately affected by poverty.
The ANC's 52nd national conference in Polokwane in December 2007 strengthened this position. ANC policy views the social security net as a critical pillar in a basket of measures aimed at stimulating the economy of our country. This means that social grants should not be viewed in isolation from the broader mandate of the ANC government to create employment and economic growth in our country.
Having said this, we are also aware that this comprehensive security net is not an end in itself, but is aimed at helping our people to keep afloat so that they graduate to other economic opportunities and self-sustainability. In this regard, one of the critical tasks that the ANC faced when it assumed political power was not only to rationalise and restructure the social security system, but to eradicate the racial skew of that system, a legacy of the apartheid-driven system of disbursing of grants.
Social grants have many advantages for individuals and communities. Over the past 16 years the positive outcomes of giving social grants to the impoverished and vulnerable have had a substantial impact on the ability of the most impoverished to survive. Grants are used to purchase essential food and clothing, and to improve nutrition and basic human welfare. Households that receive grants have been statistically proven to be less likely to have malnourished or stunted children. Households receiving grants have also been able to better access essential state services such as health, clinics and schools.
Social grants generate economic benefits by improving recipients' ability to manage risk and insecurity. They also facilitate productive economic activities such as informal trading or enable other household members to migrate in search of work, thereby strengthening prospects for their livelihoods.
Social grants enable our people to enter into the existing ubuntu system of social reciprocity and mutual support which continues to mark our impoverished communities. Hon Wiley, these are the revolutionary reasons which have resulted in the ANC getting overwhelming results in the past 16 years, because South Africans, and Africans in particular, have realised that ...
... setlhare sa motho e motsho, ha se lekgowa empa ke ANC ... [the notion that black people can't get anything done unless watched over by a white man does not ring true, but the ANC can assist].
Many people living with HIV and Aids or other chronic illnesses require social assistance to survive. These chronic illnesses, with all their debilitating side effects, require those living with such illnesses to access medication and adequate nutrition in order to live with dignity. Many are currently eligible for the disability grant, but concerns have mounted over the past seven years in relation to the manner in which the proposed grant system operates and, in particular, what impact any legislative amendment will have on those living with HIV and Aids or other chronic illnesses.