Chairperson, the parliamentary question by the DA to the Minister has revealed a severe backlog in the approval of applications for social grants by the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa. This leaves the poorest and most vulnerable South Africans desperate for help, but unable to get the assistance they qualify for. To date, 27 633 applications have not yet been approved by Sassa. Ho na le tshallomorao e kgolo haholo ya dinyewe tsa molao tse tobaneng le Sassa haesale e thehwa mme sena se supa hantle hore e hloleha ho phethisa thomo ya yona.
Mmuso o etelletsweng pele ke ANC o na le nalane e tsebahalang ya ho phoqa mafutsana a naha ena ya rona. Ebile ha o natse le seriti sa baahi ba rona ba kotsing ya ho utlwiswa bohloko ka lebaka la bofuma! Maqheku le maqhekwana, diqhwala le ba tshepetseng ho bona ha ba tshwanela ho mamella mathata ana a ka boomo ka lebaka la ditjhelete tsa bona tseo ba lokelang ho di fumana hore ba phele.
Bohlaswa bona bo bakwa ke dikgaello tse teng ka hara mokgwa wa tshebetso wa Sassa. Bongata ba batho bana bo se bo bile bo batlile dithuso tsa molao ka mora ho tshwariswa lefika le sa weng ke setheo sena sa mmuso wa ANC. Ruri ke mahlabisa-dihlong hore mafutsana a qetelle a mathaka makgotleng a molao ka lebaka la ho tsekella ditjhelete tsa ona ha baeka bona ba hlabile kgobe ka lemao! (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[There is a huge backlog of legal cases against Sassa since it was established and this shows that it is failing to achieve its mandate.
The ANC-led government has a well-known history of disappointing the poor in our country. It also does not care about the dignity of the citizens who are made vulnerable by poverty! Elderly people, people with disabilities and those depending on them should no longer ignore these deliberate problems regarding the money they are supposed to be receiving in order to live.
This mess is caused by the lack of capacity within Sassa. Most of these people sought legal advice after they were made to wait for nothing by the government of the ANC. It is indeed disappointing that the poor people end up going to court to fight for their money while these people sit and do nothing!]
Hon Minister, the DA parliamentary question also revealed that to date 4 634 legal procedures have been brought against Sassa. A number of cases have reached the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. One Supreme Court judge has described the inefficiency of the state in the processing of social grant applications as a "war of attrition against the poor".
The protest we saw on Wednesday, 21 April 2010, in the North West province, is clear evidence of problems that are being experienced by a community due to Sassa's incompetence.
Re le DA, le ho fihla jwale re lemoha hore batho ba rona ba ntse ba ema mela e melelele ka tlasa maemo a hlobaetsang. Motho o ne o ka nahana hore taba ena e ne e fele mohla ho neng ho fela kgethollo empa ke ena e bonahala e ja setsi.
Sassa e fela e sa kgathalle maemo ana a ditaba, a hlobaetsang. Mohlomong bongata ba mokga o busang bo lebetse hore batho bana ke bana babo rona, batswadi ba rona, jwalojwalo, mme ha ke kgolwe hore ka hara ntlo ena ho ka ba le batho ba ka ratang ha ba habo bona ba thusetswa tlasa maemo ana.
Re a tseba hore ka dinako tse ding ho na dipula nakong eo batho ba ilo fumana dithuso tsa bona mme ha ho moo ba ka ipatang teng. Ho bile ho na le dibaka moo ho se nang ditulo le disebediswa tse ding tsa motheo.
Re le DA haesale re eletsa mmuso hore o ke o fumane ditsela tse ding tse nang le botho tsa ho sebeletsa batho ba rona. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[We have realised, as the DA, that up until now our people still wait in long queues under worrying circumstances. One would assume that this ended when discrimination ended, but it seems as if it is still continuing.
Sassa really does not care about this bad situation. Maybe the majority of members in the governing party have forgotten that these people are our brothers and sisters, our parents, etc, and I do not believe that there is anyone in this House who would want any of their family members to be assisted under such circumstances.
We know that it sometimes rains when people go to receive their grants and services and there are no places where they can run for cover. There are also areas where there are no basic amenities such as buildings and other fundamental facilities.
We as the DA have always encouraged our government to find decent ways of serving our people.]
At present, the bulk of Sassa's expenditure goes to cash payment contractors. On average, this accounts for approximately 53% of the entire budget, leaving only 27% to cover compensation of employees, while the remaining 20% caters for essential operational expenses.
The DA urges the Minister to facilitate and introduce cost-containment measures that will contribute towards avoiding inefficient spending and make sure that only eligible beneficiaries are paid. It would also contribute towards improving the integrity of data and that of the department.
Owing to the moratorium on the filling of vacant critical posts, especially posts in the Risk Management and Compliance Unit, service delivery was negatively impacted.
Ka lebaka la tseo ke di buileng, Sassa ha e a kgona ho etsa dipatlisiso tsa boitshwaro mme potso e lebang ho Letona le hlomphehang ke hore, na ekaba seriti se setle, tshebetso e ntle, boitshwaro ka hara Sassa, jwalojwalo, di tla bewa leihlo jwang empa ho na le dikgaello tse tjena?
Tlhokeho e matla ya basebetsi ka hara Sassa e entse hore setheo sena se hlolehe ho fihlella maikemisetso le thomo ya sona ya ho fana ka ditshebeletso tse tswileng matsoho bathong ba rona. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[With regard to what I have mentioned, Sassa failed to do research about how to conduct itself, and my question to the hon Minister is: How will the dignity, good performance, good behaviour within Sassa, etc, be ensured when there is so much that is lacking?
Lack of capacity within Sassa makes it difficult for this institution to achieve its goals and mission of providing good services to our people.]
Children are at risk because the Act, which was introduced to create a register of persons who should not be allowed to work with children, is not fully operational yet. In reply to the DA's question on whether the child protection register is fully operational, the Department of Social Development responded that it could not obtain information on people unsuitable to work with children from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
The response further stated that the electronic integration system for sharing conviction information obtained from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the police will only be phased in over a period of five years, making this child protection register operational from 2014 only.
Hon Minister, the DA finds it unacceptable that, given the shocking record of child abuse in South Africa and the fact that a budget of R2,9 million has been allocated for the financial year 2009-10, it will take nearly 10 years for this Act to be created. Funding is not the issue; the problem appears to stem from a lack of political will to get the job done. Children should be given priority over the integration of a cumbersome system.
While 13 million people have now been included in the safety net of social grants, poverty remains a deep and daunting challenge. Poverty is closely linked to the structural problems of unemployment and lack of skills. Unemployment affects poor people severely.
Hon Minister, if we fail to address poverty, we will fail to build and defend democracy in South Africa. The primary mandate of the National Development Agency, NDA, is to contribute towards the eradication of poverty and its causes by granting funds to civil society for the purpose of implementing development projects for the poor communities and strengthening their capacity. But it is failing to uphold this mandate as it has poor monitoring systems in place. The institution is also suffering from a lack of consistent strategic leadership, as already alluded to by my colleague. From 2005 to date, the NDA has had two CEOs and at present the post is filled by an acting CEO. This leads to the instability of the institution.
We cannot talk about development if people are struggling to get quality education and are unskilled. We cannot talk about development if people are unemployed. We cannot talk about development if people go to bed with empty stomachs, malnourished and unhealthy. Finally, we cannot talk about development and freedom if our people are still staying in shacks without basic services. We need to build South Africa so that we can create a good future for our children: one with self-respect and respect for others.
Hon Minister, the DA acknowledges the progress made in the fight against fraud and corruption with regard to social grants, but it is not enough to just sign the acknowledgement of debt for repayment. South Africans want to see that justice is done. These criminals must be sentenced and locked away in jail. They must be named and shamed.
The intentions on paper by the department and its entities are more desirable, but implementation and monitoring remain challenging issues. The DA urges speedy implementation to change the situation.
In conclusion, hon Minister, let me reassure you that the DA will rally behind you to see to it that you succeed in taking this department in the right direction, for the sake of all South Africans. It is within this context that the DA will always express its concern. Thank you. [Applause.]