Hon Mrs Botha, the South African government has adopted a social protection package for families as an approach in its effort to alleviate poverty.
This social protection package for families in poverty includes no-fee schools and school fee exemptions; free health care services for pregnant mothers and children under the age of six, and free primary health care services for people without medical aid; social grants for the elderly in the form of old age pensions; for children in poverty, the child support grant and foster care grant; and the disability grant for people with disabilities.
There is also social relief of distress for temporary relief aimed at people in desperate need. This is paid in cash or in the form of vouchers.
There's the indigent policy which provides for free basic water and electricity in some municipalities.
There's the school feeding scheme for primary schools in poor areas and there is also the provision by social development departments in provinces, partially to fund NGOs to deliver a range of social welfare services to poor children and families, including partial care in crches and early childhood development services; prevention and early intervention services, including home-based care, counselling and linking families to the full social protection package, with protection services for children in need of care and protection, for youth in youth care centres.
With regard to the social assistance grants, it needs to be noted that the unemployed do not receive any specific grants. The mothers or caregivers of children receive their grants on behalf of the children.
The other largest groups of recipients are the aged who are out of the labour market, as well as people with disabilities who are unable to work for themselves. Therefore, it is not possible for the social assistance grants to have a discouraging effect on employment.
There's considerable evidence that shows that the social protection package for families approach is having numerous positive effects in poor households. For example, children who are recipients of social grants are shown to have higher participation in school and are, generally speaking, healthier.
All the assistance that government provides both in cash and in kind to poor households definitely assists other members of the household to seek employment. This, therefore, allows members from poor households the opportunity to become more economically productive and ultimately, to become less dependent on government's social relief programmes. I thank you.