Date: 22/09/2003
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
Title: Moerane-Mamase: Launch of ECape Turn Around Plan for service delivery
SPEECH BY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MEC IN THE EASTERN CAPE, NEO MOERANE-MAMASE, DURING THE LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE MULTIMILLION RAND TURN AROUND PLAN TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY, ROOT OUT CORRUPTION AND ENHANCE GOOD GOVERNANCE
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are gathered here today to amongst others to reflect on the progress we are making, the challenges we face and the plans we have developed with regard to the implementation of the Turn Around Plan that the President, Thabo Mbeki, and the Eastern Cape Premier, Makhenkesi Stofile, introduced in order to tackle the huge socio-economic challenges facing our province particularly with regard to the improvement of service delivery in the province.
It is therefore a great honour indeed for me to have this opportunity to reflect with you on what I consider one of the most historic projects pertaining in our province in recent times. The Turn Around Plan, known in our department as 'Sisonke Siyanqoba', is a very important project that must of necessity ensure that in partnership with all stakeholders, we accelerate our common goal of building a better life for all, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable sectors of our society. Here we talk about our children, older persons, and people with disabilities. We talk about people who, because of the devastating impact of social ills such as poverty, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS, cannot sustain their livelihoods. Children who are daily painfully not sure of where they will get the next meal. Here we refer to the unemployed women and the youth, the abused women and children. The Turn Around Plan is fundamentally about them.
The Sisonke Siyanqoba Plan implores us to ensure that we accelerate service delivery to these vulnerable sectors first and foremost, including uprooting fraud and corruption, as well as enhancing effective and efficient management that will advance the goal of good governance. These must of necessity be in line with the policy and principles of Batho Pele.
How far are we in realising those objectives?
Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce to the people of the Eastern Cape and indeed our country as a whole that we are truly on course. Despite the immense difficulties and challenges that we face, slowly but surely, we are making a dent against the grinding scourge of poverty, corruption and fraud. Over the past six months in particular, we have registered very significant gains. We have reprioritised the strategic plan of the department not only to accommodate the Turn Around Plan, but even more importantly, to make sure that it succeeds.
We have therefore allocated a total of about R224 million for both the front and back office of this project. (119 for actual service delivery and R34 million for strengthening the administration support.)
Thanks to the introduction of the Turn Around Plan, the registration campaign of eligible beneficiaries for social grants has been accelerated a manner unprecedented before. It is a delight for me inform you that currently over 1 million people have been registered for social grants and the provincial DSD pays over R600 million per month. Out of these, over 600 000 children receive the CSG every month.
We have introduced a central filing system of all the beneficiaries - 1,8 million files are kept centrally. It is also my joy to inform you that this central filing system is the first initiative of its kind in the country. The national DSD considers it a model of excellence that should be replicated throughout the country. This new system has resulted in a quicker processing of social grants. Gone will be the days when our grandfathers and grandmothers, people with disabilities have to wait for months and months before they receive their grants. Furthermore, it has tremendously reduced fraud and corruption as well as high number of litigations against the state. In essence, we are restoring the dignity of our people, especially the most vulnerable.
At this juncture, the sad story of the 83 year-old Makhulu Elsie Schoeman from Stutterheim comes to mind. She had been wrongfully declared dead by the Department of Home Affairs. She and her family had to live for years with the grim reality of eating from a dumping site, the sad reality of children dropping out of school. That is now history. Through the Integrated Community Registration Campaign introduced through the Turn Around Plan which is coordinated by the both IMT and the JMT, we are ensuring that more and more people have easy access to various government social services. In effect, working with various government departments and other partners, we are increasingly giving real meaning to our constitution as well as the national norms and standards relating to service delivery.
Furthermore, ladies and gentlemen, we are also strengthening our monitoring capacity of the service providers that pay out pensions, viz. the CPS and the All Pay. We have and will continue to demand that the well-being of our people, their dignity and respect should be paramount in the delivery of the services at all times. In this regard, we have entered into serious negotiations with all the service providers, noting that it will take working together in partnership to build a better life for the poorest of the poor in our province.
Alongside this process, the National Cabinet has decided on the establishment of the National Social Security Agency to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the grants administration. The Cabinet Lekgotla held in July this year, decided that the Agency be piloted in the Eastern Cape. The Bill is about to be tabled in parliament and public hearings are due on today (22 September) and tomorrow (23 September) in Cape Town.
With regard to the public service, the transformation process is underway and is also being accelerated. The spirit of Batho Pele is being inculcated at all levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, plans are at an advanced stage to establish help desks in all pay-points throughout the province. Efforts to make services for people with disabilities more easily accessible, especially in the rural areas are also receiving priority attention and panels for assessment of disability will soon be established throughout the province.
We are also deepening the transformation of welfare services into a social developmental paradigm. In this regard, consultation with the welfare service providers the financing policy is being remodelled to accommodate new and previously disadvantaged community-based organisations and institutions.
The leadership, management and administration of the department are also being revamped. We have developed a new organogram that will be more responsive to the huge demands for improved service delivery. 48 managerial posts are to be filled soon and 267 more staff will be employed at service delivery level including social workers.
We are joyful that Total (SA) has joined us in our endeavour to train and build a new leadership cadre requisite to the nature of the changes we want to make. The first 20 people were recently trained in George. This is an important step that shows that Total recognises that partnership is crucial if the dream of building a better life for all is to become a reality. Government cannot do it alone.
Ladies and gentlemen, work is also in progress with regard to district coordination, capacity building and development. In fact this is an important area of priority because that is where service delivery takes place.
The working conditions of social workers including their remuneration are being reviewed. The national Minister of Social Development has formed a national task team to look into the matter urgently. We want to arrest the brain drain that is afflicting the sector. In essence we are reviewing our entire business and this is not cosmetic change, but rather fundamental change.
The change management process is underway. This change should be as a process and not an event. It will not take place in one year. It cannot be done by the department alone. For it to succeed, it will require strong partnerships. In this light we have started briefing various stakeholders. We had a meeting with non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, the Standing Committee for social development and traditional leaders. I am excited by the fact that each and every stakeholder has become cognisant of the enormity of the challenges ahead of us. It will not take government alone. It requires all of us.
Out of 6,4 million people, about 67 are unemployed. 700 000 people of this province are reported to be illiterate. 67% live in poverty. An estimated 20 % are reported to be infected with HIV/AIDS. Worse more, we are losing professionals at an alarming rate both to other provinces and worse still, to other countries. This brain drain is devastating services, given the increasing number of orphans. There is need to act with a sense of urgency, dedication and commitment.
We therefore call on all to rally under the banner of Sosonke Siyanqoba, to join hands with us in this noble journey of building a caring society and a better life for all, especially our children. Let us make sure that all those who are eligible for the CSG are registered. Let us work together in our programmes, including the Food Emergency Pilot programme, to fight hunger and poverty. Alongside we need to make sure we enhance the productive capacity of households and communities to produce food themselves.
Next month is Social Development Month and next year we will be celebrating ten years of our democracy. I therefore call upon all of you to commemorate and celebrate these historic events together with us.
Today marks the beginning of road show to inform and mobilise the people and stakeholders about our programmes and plans. I urge you to join us, counsel and advice us. President Thabo Mbeki has called, let us build a social contract for a better life for all the people.
No doubt, we have and are continuing to make very significant achievements in our goal to eradicate poverty and improve service delivery. The Turn Around Plan must serve to help us consolidate and even accelerate these gains.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, one of the areas I would like to urge you to work closely with us on with even more vigour, is the fight against fraud and corruption.
We have joined hands with the various law enforcement agencies and are closing the net on syndicates and thieves who steal the money meant for the poor. More are still to be arrested. Today we want to make the message loud and clear to all of those who continue to steal the money, your days are truly numbered. We therefore urge all the people of the Eastern Cape to close ranks against fraud and corruption and blow the whistle. Sisonke Siyanqoba. Ilanga Liphumile eMpuma Koloni. Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Social Development, Eastern Cape Provincial Government, 22 September 2003
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za)
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
Title: Moerane-Mamase: Launch of ECape Turn Around Plan for service delivery
SPEECH BY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MEC IN THE EASTERN CAPE, NEO MOERANE-MAMASE, DURING THE LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE MULTIMILLION RAND TURN AROUND PLAN TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY, ROOT OUT CORRUPTION AND ENHANCE GOOD GOVERNANCE
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are gathered here today to amongst others to reflect on the progress we are making, the challenges we face and the plans we have developed with regard to the implementation of the Turn Around Plan that the President, Thabo Mbeki, and the Eastern Cape Premier, Makhenkesi Stofile, introduced in order to tackle the huge socio-economic challenges facing our province particularly with regard to the improvement of service delivery in the province.
It is therefore a great honour indeed for me to have this opportunity to reflect with you on what I consider one of the most historic projects pertaining in our province in recent times. The Turn Around Plan, known in our department as 'Sisonke Siyanqoba', is a very important project that must of necessity ensure that in partnership with all stakeholders, we accelerate our common goal of building a better life for all, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable sectors of our society. Here we talk about our children, older persons, and people with disabilities. We talk about people who, because of the devastating impact of social ills such as poverty, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS, cannot sustain their livelihoods. Children who are daily painfully not sure of where they will get the next meal. Here we refer to the unemployed women and the youth, the abused women and children. The Turn Around Plan is fundamentally about them.
The Sisonke Siyanqoba Plan implores us to ensure that we accelerate service delivery to these vulnerable sectors first and foremost, including uprooting fraud and corruption, as well as enhancing effective and efficient management that will advance the goal of good governance. These must of necessity be in line with the policy and principles of Batho Pele.
How far are we in realising those objectives?
Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce to the people of the Eastern Cape and indeed our country as a whole that we are truly on course. Despite the immense difficulties and challenges that we face, slowly but surely, we are making a dent against the grinding scourge of poverty, corruption and fraud. Over the past six months in particular, we have registered very significant gains. We have reprioritised the strategic plan of the department not only to accommodate the Turn Around Plan, but even more importantly, to make sure that it succeeds.
We have therefore allocated a total of about R224 million for both the front and back office of this project. (119 for actual service delivery and R34 million for strengthening the administration support.)
Thanks to the introduction of the Turn Around Plan, the registration campaign of eligible beneficiaries for social grants has been accelerated a manner unprecedented before. It is a delight for me inform you that currently over 1 million people have been registered for social grants and the provincial DSD pays over R600 million per month. Out of these, over 600 000 children receive the CSG every month.
We have introduced a central filing system of all the beneficiaries - 1,8 million files are kept centrally. It is also my joy to inform you that this central filing system is the first initiative of its kind in the country. The national DSD considers it a model of excellence that should be replicated throughout the country. This new system has resulted in a quicker processing of social grants. Gone will be the days when our grandfathers and grandmothers, people with disabilities have to wait for months and months before they receive their grants. Furthermore, it has tremendously reduced fraud and corruption as well as high number of litigations against the state. In essence, we are restoring the dignity of our people, especially the most vulnerable.
At this juncture, the sad story of the 83 year-old Makhulu Elsie Schoeman from Stutterheim comes to mind. She had been wrongfully declared dead by the Department of Home Affairs. She and her family had to live for years with the grim reality of eating from a dumping site, the sad reality of children dropping out of school. That is now history. Through the Integrated Community Registration Campaign introduced through the Turn Around Plan which is coordinated by the both IMT and the JMT, we are ensuring that more and more people have easy access to various government social services. In effect, working with various government departments and other partners, we are increasingly giving real meaning to our constitution as well as the national norms and standards relating to service delivery.
Furthermore, ladies and gentlemen, we are also strengthening our monitoring capacity of the service providers that pay out pensions, viz. the CPS and the All Pay. We have and will continue to demand that the well-being of our people, their dignity and respect should be paramount in the delivery of the services at all times. In this regard, we have entered into serious negotiations with all the service providers, noting that it will take working together in partnership to build a better life for the poorest of the poor in our province.
Alongside this process, the National Cabinet has decided on the establishment of the National Social Security Agency to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the grants administration. The Cabinet Lekgotla held in July this year, decided that the Agency be piloted in the Eastern Cape. The Bill is about to be tabled in parliament and public hearings are due on today (22 September) and tomorrow (23 September) in Cape Town.
With regard to the public service, the transformation process is underway and is also being accelerated. The spirit of Batho Pele is being inculcated at all levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, plans are at an advanced stage to establish help desks in all pay-points throughout the province. Efforts to make services for people with disabilities more easily accessible, especially in the rural areas are also receiving priority attention and panels for assessment of disability will soon be established throughout the province.
We are also deepening the transformation of welfare services into a social developmental paradigm. In this regard, consultation with the welfare service providers the financing policy is being remodelled to accommodate new and previously disadvantaged community-based organisations and institutions.
The leadership, management and administration of the department are also being revamped. We have developed a new organogram that will be more responsive to the huge demands for improved service delivery. 48 managerial posts are to be filled soon and 267 more staff will be employed at service delivery level including social workers.
We are joyful that Total (SA) has joined us in our endeavour to train and build a new leadership cadre requisite to the nature of the changes we want to make. The first 20 people were recently trained in George. This is an important step that shows that Total recognises that partnership is crucial if the dream of building a better life for all is to become a reality. Government cannot do it alone.
Ladies and gentlemen, work is also in progress with regard to district coordination, capacity building and development. In fact this is an important area of priority because that is where service delivery takes place.
The working conditions of social workers including their remuneration are being reviewed. The national Minister of Social Development has formed a national task team to look into the matter urgently. We want to arrest the brain drain that is afflicting the sector. In essence we are reviewing our entire business and this is not cosmetic change, but rather fundamental change.
The change management process is underway. This change should be as a process and not an event. It will not take place in one year. It cannot be done by the department alone. For it to succeed, it will require strong partnerships. In this light we have started briefing various stakeholders. We had a meeting with non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, the Standing Committee for social development and traditional leaders. I am excited by the fact that each and every stakeholder has become cognisant of the enormity of the challenges ahead of us. It will not take government alone. It requires all of us.
Out of 6,4 million people, about 67 are unemployed. 700 000 people of this province are reported to be illiterate. 67% live in poverty. An estimated 20 % are reported to be infected with HIV/AIDS. Worse more, we are losing professionals at an alarming rate both to other provinces and worse still, to other countries. This brain drain is devastating services, given the increasing number of orphans. There is need to act with a sense of urgency, dedication and commitment.
We therefore call on all to rally under the banner of Sosonke Siyanqoba, to join hands with us in this noble journey of building a caring society and a better life for all, especially our children. Let us make sure that all those who are eligible for the CSG are registered. Let us work together in our programmes, including the Food Emergency Pilot programme, to fight hunger and poverty. Alongside we need to make sure we enhance the productive capacity of households and communities to produce food themselves.
Next month is Social Development Month and next year we will be celebrating ten years of our democracy. I therefore call upon all of you to commemorate and celebrate these historic events together with us.
Today marks the beginning of road show to inform and mobilise the people and stakeholders about our programmes and plans. I urge you to join us, counsel and advice us. President Thabo Mbeki has called, let us build a social contract for a better life for all the people.
No doubt, we have and are continuing to make very significant achievements in our goal to eradicate poverty and improve service delivery. The Turn Around Plan must serve to help us consolidate and even accelerate these gains.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, one of the areas I would like to urge you to work closely with us on with even more vigour, is the fight against fraud and corruption.
We have joined hands with the various law enforcement agencies and are closing the net on syndicates and thieves who steal the money meant for the poor. More are still to be arrested. Today we want to make the message loud and clear to all of those who continue to steal the money, your days are truly numbered. We therefore urge all the people of the Eastern Cape to close ranks against fraud and corruption and blow the whistle. Sisonke Siyanqoba. Ilanga Liphumile eMpuma Koloni. Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Social Development, Eastern Cape Provincial Government, 22 September 2003
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za)
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