Date: 03/04/2003
Source: Department of Social Development
Title: Makiwane: Launch of Capacity Building Initiative


SPEECH BY MR FEZILE MAKIWANE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE IN ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, Eastern Cape, 3 April 2003

Distinguished Guests
Representatives of CBOs, NGOs
Faith-based organisations and the Business
Community
Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen

Social Security is recognised as the government's most effective and biggest poverty alleviation programme. An excess of 5,6m beneficiaries receive grants and the numbers are growing with the intensification of the on-going registration campaign. Currently, the government spends about 3% of GDP on direct transfers to poor households.

The increase in age eligibility for the Child Support Grant to 14 years over the next three years will add over 3,2 million more beneficiaries at the total cost of about 11 billion Rands. This will necessitate an even more effective and efficient system of service delivery to make sure that indeed the poorest of the poor do benefit.

Several challenges in service delivery have drawn the national focus to the need to improve drastically the entire social security service delivery system. Poor financial management, ongoing litigation and the undignified treatment of beneficiaries have been threatening the noble efforts made at improving service delivery. The imperative of excellence in service delivery is addressed in the New Public Service Regulations Service delivery improvement, which emphasises the need for a service delivery improvement programme.

The President in his State of the Nation Address in on 14 February 2003 emphasised that 'the effective delivery of the expanded services to the people requires that we improve the efficiency of the public service. Without the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service, it will be impossible for us to register the advances that we are capable of.

Furthermore, the Minister for Social Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya in his recent speech also reiterated the critical need for improved service delivery in order to improve the conditions of the poorest of the poor. The Minister made an earnest appeal to all public servants and all trade unions to assist the Department in the improvement of service delivery, especially to the poor in rural areas and in particular to the most vulnerable groups.

The Department has undertaken various initiatives, which will improve service delivery within the social security system. These include amongst others:

* developing and implementing of norms and standards,
* development of a comprehensive social security system,
* extension of CSG,
* establishment of a National Social Security Agency and the
* capacity development of Social Security officials through this training

At this official launch of the training undertaken in partnership with SAMDI. I would like to focus on the capacity building initiatives undertaken by the department that will result in improved service delivery. The HRD strategy and the competency framework outlined in the norms and standards provided the department with its first road map to begin to develop social security staff in the required competencies.

The department, in taking forward the development of its staff and also the reengineering of social security, held discussions with senior management at SAMDI. At these exploratory talks, it was agreed that SAMDI would in partnership with Social Development undertake the capacity building of Social Security officials.

The partnership with SAMDI evolved at a rapid pace to achieve amongst others:

* The validation of the competency framework
* The development of a curriculum
* The training of Social Security officials

To date 1200 of Social Security officials have been trained through SAMDI in a course focusing in Customer Care. It is hoped that there will be many more such endeavours in future taken in partnership with various academic institutions.

Millions of children, people with disabilities, older persons and all those vulnerable sectors of our society that we service are looking forward to al those who have been trained to go back to their offices and serve them with even more diligence, efficiency and care.

The President and indeed government as a whole have embarked on a programme to turn around the situation in the Eastern Cape and not least in all the provinces. It is hoped that this training will further give impetus to those initiatives by equipping the officials with the necessary skills of excellence. We hope with those skills the officials will improve their serviced delivery and thereby contribute to the overall goal of pushing back the frontiers and help build a caring society and a better life for all.

This programme would not have been possible without the partnership with SAMDI and would like to take this opportunity to thank SAMDI for its invaluable contribution.

I officially launch this partnership with SAMDI and this capacity building initiative.

Issued by Department of Social Development
3 April 2003