Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Minister, Deputy Minister, chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, when the Department of Social Development says that its key objective is to implement appropriate policy interventions that respond to the immediate needs of individuals and communities, while at the same time engaging in policy and research to explore long-term solutions that will address systemic poverty and equality - and at this stage we must just remind the hon Gcume that we must not forget that poverty is systemic - and when the department says that its areas of focus are social security, welfare services and community development, which are delivered through provincial social departments and entities such as the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, the National Development Agency, the NDA, the Central Drug Authority, the CDA, and the network of nongovernmental organisations, it is not doing so by chance.
Rather, it is doing so on the mandate of the ruling party, the ANC, through resolutions taken at various conferences and through our manifesto, which is a contract with the people of our country. Welfare Services, which is one of the programmes run by Social Development, creates an environment for the delivery of equitable developmental welfare services through the formulation of policies, standards and best practices, as well as support to social service providers.
Various policies and programmes have been designed to address the needs of vulnerable members of our society, with special reference to children, older persons, victims of violence and people with disabilities. In order to give effect to these services, key pieces of legislation had to be developed, as well as the continuous capacity-building of social service professionals.
It is for this reason, hon Dudley, that the department made R226 million available in the past financial year to be spent on sponsoring or giving bursaries to 6 372 social work students. This was done precisely because of the shortage of and dire need for social workers within our country. Currently 5 421 students are registered to study social work at various institutions of higher learning. It was also possible to place 1 240 students who had graduated into the various social work departments around the country.
The Children's Amendment Act, Act 41 of 2007, seeks to afford children the necessary care, protection and assistance so that they can develop to their full potential in order to assume their responsibilities in their communities. Forty-three of the 315 sections of the Children's Amendment Act were put into operation in July 2007. Further sections were promulgated in April 2010. Regulations pertaining to children's courts, court orders, the review of decisions by the courts and international child abduction have been finalised and gazetted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Afgesien van wat reeds bereik is, is daar nog baie werk wat gedoen moet word om in die behoeftes van die kinders in ons land te voorsien. [Apart from what has already been achieved, a lot of work must still be done to meet the needs of our country's children.]
Let me address hon Kopane regarding the child protection register. Social workers forward these names to the department, where data capturers log this information. The register referred to can therefore only make it easier in future by providing a basis of reference.
The issue of children living and working on the streets is also addressed in this Act. Information received last year indicated that 1 956 children were in shelters and 1 594 were in drop-in centres. The Strategy and Guidelines for Children Living and Working on the Streets has been developed and gives guidance regarding the services and programmes rendered to children who live on the streets. The early childhood development programme was identified as one of the Apex priorities and in the past financial year 1 172 new ECD centres were registered. This then brings the total number of children who benefit from the ECD subsidy to about 424 000. We must add that many of these centres are in the rural areas, which brings this service to children in very remote regions.
This Act also deals with youth and child-care centres and currently we have 41 temporary places of care, 54 shelters for children working and living on the streets and 240 children's homes around the country.
The family is the core of society and is integral to the general wellbeing of individuals in relation to their psycho-social, emotional, physical, spiritual and economic needs. A well-functioning family provides its members with emotional, social and material support which sustains them throughout life. It is also the cradle from which the values and norms of a society are transmitted and preserved.
The situation of families therefore gave impetus to the development of the draft national family policy. The vision of this draft policy is premised on a well-functioning, independent, resilient and socially integrated South African family that is able to nurture, support and provide care to its members.
Die familie is die kern waarin waardes en norme gevorm word. Die verval van families sal lei tot die verbrokkeling van ons gemeenskappe. [The family is the core in which values and norms are shaped. The deterioration of families will lead to the disintegration of our communities.]
It is for this reason that programmes promoting the strengthening of families for family preservation and family resilience are run. These include: The Institution of Marriage and Sound Relationships; Integrated Parenting Framework; Family Preservation Framework; Capacity-Building on the Framework of Positive Values; Families in Crisis; and Mediation as an Alternative to Dispute Resolution.
I want to say to hon Lamoela that we are in agreement that it is very necessary to get children into adopted families, and not just in foster care, where they move around from family to family. I think that earlier on the Minister alluded to how crucial this is.
The Child Justice Act, Act 75 of 2008, gave rise to more requirements for probation services, especially ensuring sufficient diversion programmes in all areas, the assessment of every arrested child within 48 hours, as well as the provisioning of additional home-based supervision programmes. This Act makes provision for the rights of children to be enacted and protected as provided for in the Constitution.
We all know about the scourge of alcohol and drug abuse, which is responsible for most of the violent crime, the abuse of women and children, as well as the road carnage in our country. A drug master plan has been developed and is currently being implemented. Mini drug master plans for provinces have also been developed. What is important, though, is that we need to establish whether these mini drug master plans are being implemented by role players within the provinces.
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is celebrated annually in June and the Ke Moja media campaign has reached more than 20 million youth and adults in our country.
With regard to victim empowerment, guidelines for the victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, violent crimes and human trafficking were developed and approved and stakeholders have been workshopped on these guidelines.
Legislation pertaining to older persons, as alluded to by the Minister, will take effect from April of this year. It will address the challenges plaguing the more than 3 million older persons in our country. This legislation seeks to promote the rights of older persons by addressing service centres which facilitate developmental programmes; rehabilitation services; frail-care services for house-bound older persons; and caregiver programmes.
These services have been in existence with minimal support from government, hence this legislation aims to ensure that ageing policies, legislation and strategies for economic, social and political inclusion of older persons are complied with. It is our responsibility to ensure that these policies are implemented in order to preserve the dignity of our aged.
In his state of the nation address the President declared this year as the year of action, committing government to working faster, harder and smarter. He also reiterated the call made in the 2009 address for all South Africans to work together in addressing the challenges facing the country. These challenges, however, can only be faced if we work together and display an attitude such as that displayed by the hon Matladi, instead of just sitting and spewing forth negative criticism.
Furthermore, our country's Constitution encourages active participatory democracy by its citizens and the empowerment of people's lives through social cohesion. Working together with the ANC government, many of our people are involved daily in their communities in order to make them better places to live in, but more still needs to be done in order to deepen and broaden this participation.
Together with our people the ANC government will continue to provide the necessary support to the building and strengthening of the institutions of popular democracy and social cohesion. The ANC therefore supports this budget. I thank you. [Applause.]