MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
14 September 2000
MEDIA BRIEFING

Relevant document:
Media briefing of Dr Zola Skweyiya, Minister for Social Development (see Appendix 1)

Briefing Highlights:
An eight-week road-show to seven provinces had the following objectives:
- assess the extent of the poverty in the rural areas and its impact on the communities
- evaluate the poverty eradication and HIV/AIDS programmes and projects as well as the social welfare services
- mobilise and interact with the various stakeholders

Recently an audit of about 1700 poverty eradication projects was completed. Over 50% are either doing very well or are visible in general.

NGOs and religious and traditional leaders are of great importance in poverty eradication, but in some areas they are very few or even absent. The situation requires that government, business, faith-based organisations, media, civil society, international community and the communities work together.

The Department has been allocated R120 million for poverty alleviation projects in the 2000/2001 year
- A minimum of R7.5 million will be given to churches for poverty alleviation this year.
- These funds have been devolved to the provinces.
- The people who have been wrongly removed from grants due to the reregistration process must be re-instated as soon as possible.
- There has been underbudgeting on child support. The Department is reviewing that and hopes to correct it as soon as possible.

Questions from media
(Q) You mentioned unprocedural removals of beneficiaries from the social security system. How many were there? How will you proceed?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: The re-registration was undertaken to to remove those who were benefiting from fraud during the time of apartheid. Unfortunately, at the same time, many removals were made that should not have been. I do not know the exact number, but I know it is great, particularly in the Eastern Cape and in Kwa-Zulu Natal. We want the provinces to help with the re-instatements; churches and NGOs will be key in achieving this.

(Q) Are you no longer thinking of a subsistence grant?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: An inquiry is on-going. We will have hearings to allow for public participation and we will make these hearings accessible to people with disabilities.

(Q) How effective is the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign? I have noticed that even in the Western Cape there are insufficient free condoms at clinics.

(A) Minister Skweyiya: I thought I would talk about HIV awareness on my tour but I found the people I met very aware of HIV. The number of people dying is forcing them to be aware. As to condoms, I did not go into it, but I hear clinic workers and organisers are doing their best.

(Q) I have heard you say we need a "Marshall Plan" for HIV. Who will lead this plan? What can we expect from it?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: Yes, we need a Marshall Plan that will encompass everybody. It can only be successful if led by government with full private sector co-operation and that of the religious sector. AIDS is not only the responsibility of government but of all South Africans. We need co-operation and awareness to ensure survival.

(Q) The legislation makes it hard for people to access grants. Will the legislation therefore be changed?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: Some grants require a visit to a District Surgeon but there are not enough; not all communities have access to a District Surgeon. People who are poor cannot afford to pay doctors. I am thinking of grants for people with permanent disabilities, with the emphasis on permanent. In such cases, local chiefs and priests should know which members of their communities have permanent disabilities and can vouch for that. Grant accessibility is an important issue.

In terms of HIV grants, our laws are based on the European perception of a nuclear family unit. This makes it hard for Africans to access foster care grants. Close family members should be allowed to adopt and receive assistance. We want to activate and strengthen the extended family by looking at our own customs and traditions.

(Q) The child-support grant is also hard to access and many are not aware of it.

(A) Minister Skweyiya: Yes, on my tour I tried to raise grant awareness and correct under-budgeting.

(Q) I am thinking of the problem of under-spending of funds to alleviate poverty. You say you plan to devolve this responsibility to the provinces. What if the money does not reach the people?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: The National Department decided the provinces should have a role. MECs will monitor and NGOs have also been roped in, as well as faith-based organisations. We hope this money will be spent as soon as possible.

(Q) I am still not clear. How much responsibility is your Department taking and how much are the provinces?

(A) Minister Skweyiya: Our Department is working with the provinces.

The Director General , Ms Angela Bester, spoke at this point. Provinces will get a role in the decision making and money processes will be devolved to provinces. Monitoring and evaluation will be done by national government. Monitoring has to be institutionalized so that early corrective action could be taken. She said the monitoring process had been strengthened to correct under-spending.

Appendix 1:

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

For Immediate Release 14 September 2000

Parliamentary Press Briefing by Minister for Social Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, I welcome you all to this briefing.

I have just completed an eight - week road-show to seven provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Northern Province, North West, Mpumalanga, Free State and the Northern Province - which I toured over the last two days ago.

The objectives of the visits were:

1. To asses the extent the of poverty in the rural areas and its impact on the communities.
2. To evaluate the poverty eradication and HIV/AIDS programmes and projects as well as the social welfare services we provide in general (to hear the feelings of the poorest of the poor about our services.)
3. To mobilise and interact with the various stakeholders like the business sector, civil society, provincial and local government, Non Government Organisations, (NGO's), Community - Based Organisations (CBO's), faith - based organisations, traditional leaders and the poor communities.

During the visit I had no less than 100 meetings and engagements as well as visit to projects.

I must say that the visits were instructive and emotional as they brought home the challenges we face in eradicating extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. Millions of our people still have to endure much suffering.

The poverty, HIV and social security situation in the poorest communities in rural SA is reaching catastrophic levels.

Two days ago I visited the Baartman family in Fraserburg (Northern Cape). The family had just experienced a sequence of events that epitomises the life of scores of poor families in the rural areas.

One of the children had recently died in police custody. As he had been sent to fetch wood kilometres away from home, in the neighbouring farming area.

The reports say that he was then beaten by the farmer/s and later detained by the police. Subsequently, he died and was buried in plastic bag.

Thanks to the commendable intervention of the Government of Northern Cape Province, in particular the MEC for Safety and Security, the young man was later exhumed and given a decent funeral at the cost of the Northern Cape Government. As can be expected, the community is especially bitter about the fact that there apparently was an attempt to cover up this despicable and callous act.

The family that I am talking about has been working on the farm for 35 years. They were later evicted and subsequently experienced this cruel death. Over the last nine months the Baartmans have been living in a plastic shack surviving from a grant of R540 which their grandmother receives from the state.

I have also had opportunity of visiting Kabokwane community in Mpumalanga, where I saw a household headed by a 14 year old orphan. The girl is taking care of her younger brother and sister who are about three and five years old because their parents died from AIDS-related illnesses. Because of the stigma, the neighbours are too scared to associate themselves with these children. They often smuggle in parcels of food to the children without wanting to be noticed.

I have seen and heard how grandmothers and grandfathers have to endure the pain of delayed payments of pension grants, long queues, exposure to criminal elements, and the disrespectful and abusive treatment from companies contracted by the government to render payment services.

The unemployment that exists and the farm evictions that occur in many areas further worsen this situation. In some areas like in Qwaqwa, in the Free State, unemployment levels are estimated to be at over 80% of the economically active population. Retrenchments from mines like Nababeep exacerbate the situation.

I have also been able to meet with hundreds of disabled and elderly people whose grants have been cut during the re-registration process.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the cries from poor people in the rural areas, especially women are loud. They say that they do not have water, electricity and the financial management skills to run poverty alleviation projects. To quote one woman I met in the Northern Province: "We do not want to depend on the government we want to be empowered to do things ourselves."

Amidst this depressing situation in the deep rural areas of our country, I have also seen the glimmer of hope that augurs well for the future. Women are taking matters into their own hands and making things happen through participation in poverty eradication projects and other initiatives.

The Department has recently completed an audit of about 1700 poverty eradication projects throughout the country. Over 50% of these projects were doing well. It is mostly women who are running these projects. Some of the projects are very profitable. In the Northern Province one project was making up to R18 000 profit per month.

Faith - based organisations are also doing a commendable job. In fact religious leaders and traditional leaders are alongside the people all the time - giving guidance and counselling to communities that are in pain and suffering. I want to thank them and encourage them to do even more. Ningadinwa Nangomso!

I have also been encouraged by the commitment of all the Premiers and provincial governments to work more closely with and prioritise the Welfare sector.

Many NGO's have also come out in support of our efforts and are willing to work closely with the Department and the government in general to improve the conditions of the poorest in rural areas. However there are still very few NGO's in rural areas and in some communities there are no NGO's at all.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the visits to the provinces have convinced me more than ever before that the government policy of tackling poverty and HIV in partnership with the rest of society is the best and only course of action.

At this juncture, I want to concur with the businessman in a small of town called Okiep in the Northern Cape who said "The current crisis needs a Marshall Plan involving the government, the private sector, civil society and indeed entire communities, if we are to survive the challenges of globalisation as well as the scientific and technological revolution currently sweeping the world and our country."

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are sitting on a time bomb. We must act now and not later. History will judge us harshly indeed for having postponed our responsibility to save the lives and future of millions of our children. The time for political point scoring and finger pointing is over.

The situation requires that all of us work together: the government, the business community, faith-based organisations, the media, civil society, the international community and most importantly the communities.

The government remains committed to playing a leading part in the creation of a better life for all our people.

In order to address the current situation we have, as MIN/MEC taken the following steps :

1. We have been allocated 120 million Rands for poverty alleviation projects in the 2000/1 financial year.
2. We will be giving a minimum of 7,5 million rands to churches and other faith-based organisations for poverty alleviation projects this year.

(I want to take this opportunity to commend and specially thank the faith based organisations for the sterling work they are doing amongst poor communities in the rural areas.)

3. For the first time, these funds have been devolved to the provinces.
4. The IDT will continue to assist in disbursing the funds working in close conjunction with and monitored by the MEC's and the provincial governments.
5. Faith - based organisations and traditional leaders will be roped in to assist in projects.
6. The private sector will be mobilised to help with the necessary resources and expertise for projects.
7. The issue of water and electricity for rural projects will be prioritised.
8. More capacity on financial and other management skills for projects will be created as a priority issue.
9. We have been engaging the private companies and role-players involved in grant administration to ensuring that the conditions under which beneficiaries receive their grants are improved especially in relation to their security and the delays in payment. We are also in liaison with the Ministries of Safety and Security as well as Health to look at the questions of crime and health problems at pay-points.
10. MIN/MEC has decided that HIV/AIDS orphans will be prioritised.
11. The entire Department is working at ensuring that those beneficiaries who were wrongly removed from grant beneficiary lists are returned as soon as possible, especially in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
12. The Department is also looking at the issue of changing the regulations, or laws if need be, that deal with foster care and disability with a view to making them accessible and equitable.
13. A Committee has been set up to look at the Abuse of the Elderly and will be presenting its report to me as soon as possible. We will make sure that we act on its recommendations as a matter of urgency.
14. We have also established a Committee to review the entire social security system, especially its policies and programmes. Public hearings will start early next month.
15. There has been under-budgeting on the Child Support Grant and the Department is reviewing this situation and hopes to correct it as soon as possible.
16. We are conducting an audit of the entire welfare infrastructure in the country with a view to improving the conditions of the whole social development sector.
17. Although the re-registration process is meant to clean up our beneficiary data - base, it has resulted in deserving beneficiaries being removed from the system. This has caused a lot of hardship for the affected families.

In essence, we are on course with the process of implementing our Ten - Point Plan, the acceleration of the delivery of services and the improvement of the quality of the service. We want to make sure that we make a serious dent on poverty, HIV/AIDS the social security situation.

We are faced with very daunting challenges which will need close co-operation with all sector of our society. With this co-operation I have no doubt we will succeed.

I want to thank the entire staff of the Social Development Department for the good work they are doing under the most difficult conditions. I also want to thank the MEC' s and provincial officials, the NGO', Churches and all the faith based organisations, traditional leaders, the Premiers, local authorities and most importantly the communities themselves for the support they continue to give to our efforts.

With such co-operation and commitment, our dream of a caring society and a better life for all can only become a reality.

Thank You.

Issued by GCIS on behalf of the Department of Social Development