Chairperson, hon Minister of Social Development, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, especially the chairperson and members of the committee, MECs for Social Development, distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those occasions where most of us feel that much has been said about the kind of society we would like South Africa to become. Yet, as each day unfolds, we are reminded that ours is still a work in progress. Ours is a story line whose beginning we have witnessed, but whose conclusion we will not see, because each generation will alter the script to meet its own needs.
Vibrant communities are integral to our goal of building a caring society. Central to this goal is to ensure that our policies and programmes respond effectively to the material and social needs of communities, families and individuals.
Hon members, many of you know, just as I do, that the institution of the family, which is a building block of communities, is under severe strain as a consequence of social ills such as HIV/Aids, poverty, child and elder abuse, as well as gender-based violence, among others. The persistence of these social ills is inimical to the caring and inclusive society we seek to create.
Accordingly, the family needs to take its central place as the subject of our policy interventions. As part of those interventions, we must cultivate a culture of positive values as an integral part of our efforts to build a caring society.
According to the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005, as amended, which is being fully implemented from 1 April 2010, our children need to grow up in a nurturing, secure and stable family environment which ensures their optimal development in order to prepare them for participation in society.
Many of our children continue to be vulnerable to poverty, child abuse and neglect, resulting in their continuing to live and work on the streets. The scourge of HIV/Aids has turned some children into heads of households long before they are old enough to assume these responsibilities.
This is at variance with what is contemplated in the Constitution. The Polokwane resolution has declared that the best interests of the child must be paramount, with child-headed households taking priority in our protection and care interventions.
The Children's Act provides for alternative care, as a policy response to dealing with such vulnerable children. According to our surveillance system on orphans, we have just under 1 million orphans in the country. A number of these orphans are recipients of the foster-care grant.
The adoption rate in the country is at an average of 2 000 adoptions per annum. We are appealing to all South Africans who have a passion and love for children, to adopt and support our orphans in order to provide them with a stable family environment. [Applause.]
We must all draw inspiration from the courageous act of Mrs Sarah Holland, of KwaZulu-Natal, who lost her life while evacuating children to safety from a burning place of safety, in eNgogo.
Many children who are not living in a stable family environment continue to live and work on the streets and are predisposed to being involved in criminal activities. In this regard, government has commenced with the implementation of the Child Justice Act, Act 75 of 2008, which will result in better management and protection of children in conflict with the law.
Among other things, we have dedicated full-time officials to provide services to children in conflict with the law. We are confident that the effective implementation of this Act will put us in a better position to contribute effectively to social crime prevention and respond to the issues that were raised by hon Gcume.
Despite the extension of early Ccildhood development, ECD, services to over 700 000 children over the past five years, access to ECD remains a daunting challenge for many poor children. I add my voice to that of many concerned South Africans who say that early childhood development is a central pillar in the fight against intergenerational transmission of poverty.
In line with the Polokwane resolution of the 2007 conference of the ANC, we intend to accelerate the registration of ECD sites throughout the country, especially in rural areas, to ensure that as many children as possible have access to Early Childhood Development services.
Njengoba sazi sonke ngesiZulu bathi umthente uhlaba usamila. [As we all know there is an isiZulu proverb which says, "Where you will sit in your old age shows where you stood in your youth."] During the past financial year, my department registered 2 515 ECD centres, and 1 385 of these are in rural areas and nodal points, bringing the total number of registered ECD sites to approximately 15 000. The provision of ECD services enhances the empowerment of women; it contributes towards their freedom, towards their empowerment. It helps them to look for jobs and to develop businesses. It also has the spin-off of creating opportunities for carers and ECD practitioners. [Applause.]
Substance abuse poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of our society. According to research, the age group experimenting with drugs is steadily dropping to children in primary schools. This has a negative impact on the wellbeing and development of our children. Research also indicates that the scourge is spreading to rural areas.
We cannot allow this scourge to destroy our society. We will step up our drug awareness campaign by working closely with our social partners to educate people about the harmful effects of substance abuse. This year, we will be working to reposition the Central Drug Authority as an organisation that will exercise authority on the development and implementation of the National Drug Master Plan.
We believe that the real acid test of our fledging democracy is the extent to which we provide for the respect and human dignity of older persons and people with disabilities. People with disabilities are not necessarily destined to only be recipients of the disability grant.
This year, the department will prioritise the consolidation of all policies relating to services to people with disabilities into a single policy that is aligned to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That policy will provide a basis for the development of legislation to regulate services to people with disabilities. In this regard, we will collaborate with the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities.
The Older Persons Act, Act 13 of 2006, inspired by the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, is the embodiment of our government's commitment to the respect and protection of the rights of older persons against abuse, neglect and all forms of maltreatment and discrimination. With effect from 1 April 2010, we have commenced with the full implementation of the Act. Key to the implementation of the legislation is the promotion of active ageing, which allows older persons to participate in community activities.
Badlale ibhola, bavuke ekuseni bahambe, babenemincintiswano yemidlalo, kube mnandi bahlangane nabanye abantu abadala. [They should play soccer, wake up in the morning and take a walk, have sports competitions, meet with other elderly people and enjoy themselves.]
Ms Mary Turok, Mr Manthata, Mr Tom Boya and their colleagues stand out as exemplary figures who continue to share their knowledge and wisdom with us in the department. [Applause.]
Chairperson, in six weeks' time South Africa will be welcoming millions of people from around the world to the world's biggest sporting festival, the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The magnitude of this event does present the risk of an increase in incidents of human trafficking and other social ills, as was raised by the chairperson of the committee.
In order to deal with this effectively, we, together with social partners, have developed an integrated action plan for child protection, social crime prevention and victim empowerment services which will be provided by qualified social service professionals. They will be based at all the Fifa World Cup venues to respond to urgent needs.
Experience has taught us that creating a caring and inclusive society is a collective effort which cannot be the responsibility of the government alone, as Mr Oriani-Ambrosini has said. I see that he's gone.
Our country is blessed with strong social partners in civil society organisations, faith-based organisations - some of which are here today, represented by Aunty Bibi Khan - and the business community, whose acts of courage are witnessed daily by the people they serve. To all our social partners, know that we value your contribution, we value your counsel and we rely on your services to realise our goals.
To the civil society organisations, some of whom are sitting in the gallery, like the president of the South African NGO Coalition, Sangoco, Jimmy Gotyana, I wish to say that I will be visiting you to find ways of strengthening our partnership for better service delivery. We are grateful for your heroic work, often undertaken against serious adversities such as the recent economic recession.
As government, we have learnt that a single-year funding model is not sustainable. From this year, we will be promoting a multiyear funding model across the sector. Through our concerted effort, working together with our people, we can do more.
We are indebted to the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef; the United States Agency for International Development, USAID; the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC; the Canadian International Development Agency; the DG Murray Trust; and the European Commission, for their support in the development of programmes for the implementation of our key social services. But we are also prepared to work with people who are prepared to support us.
We want members to be very realistic. Apartheid's legacy won't be removed overnight. We should not try to tell ourselves that its going to happen today, because we all know that those things were done to us over a period of 365 years. Ours is to fight colonialism of a special type, as Inhlangano yabantu isho [the organisation of the people says]. So, we are going to embrace your support but, at the same time, we are pleading with you not to have short memories. Remember the past and where we come from.
As I conclude, I want to thank my colleague and my comrade, Minister Molewa, the director-general of the department, his management team and the entire staff of the Department of Social Development. Importantly, I want to acknowledge my parents up there, who are here in the gallery, for their sustained support and advice. I thank you. [Applause.]