Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Social Development, hon Deputy Minister of Social Development, hon members, members of executive councils in provinces, comrades and friends, firstly, Chairperson, allow me to congratulate the Minister and Deputy Minister of Social Development on their appointment. The committee and I are looking forward to having a robust working relationship with them, and with the Department of Social Development, Sassa and the National Development Agency.
The committee has concluded its deliberations on Vote 16, which represents a sector consisting of a wide range of services that are all professional in nature, specialised and focused on the most vulnerable in our society. The United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development defines development as a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process which aims at the constant improvement of the wellbeing of the entire population and all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom.
Looking back to 15 years ago, the wellbeing of the South African nation was nonexistent. We lived in an unequal society, far removed from the ideals contained in the UN Declaration on the Right to Development. No South African was free, and the unfair distribution of benefits and services benefited only a few South Africans, while the black majority was given third-rate services and benefits. Fifteen years later the government, led by the ANC, has progressed fairly well in the transformation of the state and society. Social development is part of that developmental transformation agenda.
Therefore, it is appreciated that the department moved from a "welfarist approach" to a social developmental approach. With that, came an equalisation of services of government. The basket of services that government provides to the poor and the vulnerable is substantial, to say the least. Let me give hon members an example.
Let's take Mrs M, a single mother. Since 1994 single mothers have had access to housing - a privilege they did not enjoy previously. Now Mrs M can also have access to free basic services such as water and sanitation. If she is jobless, she can qualify for a social grant and she can even be registered as an indigent at a municipality and qualify for free basic services such as water and electricity.
Mrs M will also have access to free primary health care and to a secondary or academic hospital in the area. Her children will receive free education at a no-fee school. She will be able to get same-day approval for a child support grant for her children and can receive a foster care grant for the children of her sister who has died.
Through the Expanded Public Works Programme she can be part of a learnership programme of government, in this case Social Services, and after a year she will have a qualification that will see her adequately qualified to venture into the job market. [Applause.] If she has a dream of starting a new business, that is not an impossibility but a possibility. She will also receive free psychosocial support from the Department of Social Services.
We can thus be satisfied that we have come a long way since the dark days of apartheid. [Applause.] But one cannot eliminate the activities of inequality and discrimination, which came about over hundreds of years, in one and a half decades. [Applause.] Thus the roles of the Department of Social Development and its entities are crucial in creating a nonsexist, prosperous and democratic society in South Africa. The department's vision and mission statements do reflect this ideal of creating such a society, but the proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating.
To quote from their presentation, the Department of Social Development "provides strategic direction for social services delivery". It also makes sure that sector and intersectoral programmes and policies are developed. The department also has a facilitating role of centralised functions which it shares with other national departments. A feather in its cap is the quality of research that the department has delivered over the years since the birth of this democracy. It's a function that has served the social sector well.
The provinces implement social welfare legislation within the national framework. They are the implementers, co-ordinators and planners of social services in general. Provinces are at the coalface of delivering developmental social welfare services to communities.
Coming back to the Department of Social Development and its entities, the role of the department in the revised cluster is noted. We hope that the new cluster system will yield the desired rewards, namely better integration, better co-ordination and, of course, better outcomes.
I want to thank the department for the thorough financial analysis on the Budget Vote and for the management of the finances of the department and its entities in previous financial years. The budgeted total of R86 billion is mostly made up from the comprehensive social security programme. It is heartening to see that the department has made great strides in staying within the budget while also promising not to underspend chronically. The committee will be monitoring that, and will observe with interest how the department manages the challenges of staying within budget as well as the actual expenditure on programmes and priorities.
The first democratically elected President of this Republic, Nelson Mandela, said that the purpose of the budget was to bring about a better life for all, and that it was about transforming our country altogether. Therefore, this committee will endeavour within the confines of the Constitution, to monitor whether taxpayers' money is properly spent as planned.
The committee kept to the qualitative approach in terms of its oversight exercise in examining Budget Vote 16. We interrogated the question whether the funds would be spent prudently, efficiently and effectively, and whether their strategic planning was sustainable and realistic.
Next, I come to some matters of public importance. The spate of child murders and rapes in our country has really upset the nation, and children are a nation's future. Criminals are preventing us from walking the streets and our children from feeling the sun on their faces. We have to speak out and condemn these cases of child murder and rape. Men will have to speak to their sons, and mothers to their sons and daughters. Society will have to look within itself for moral renewal, reviving the culture of respect and restoring family values. Communities will have to embark on a journey of social cohesion.
With a department like Social Development and its entities, such as Sassa and the NDA, being fairly well managed, efficiency gains should be an area of focus. The trying economic times are also forcing departments to work economically with publically voted funds. I hope the officials will take this in the spirit in which I am saying it. Officials flying economy class like the rest of us mortals - will that be happening in terms of cost containment? Turnaround times for the filling of vacant posts are also an option for the department to consider.
The mandate of this Vote is huge and they are managing it very well. We wish the Minister and the Deputy Minister well in attaining their strategic priorities. We look forward to meeting them again. Working together we can do more. Deur saam te werk, kan ons meer bereik [Together we can do more.] I thank you. [Applause.]