Date: 11/11/2003
Source: Ministry of Social Development
Title: Skweyiya: Social assistance & social security agency Bills, NA
SPEECH BY DR ZOLA SKWEYIYA, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE 2ND READING OF THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY BILLS, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, Cape Town
Madame Speaker,
Honourable members,
I want to begin by thanking the House for the opportunity to submit the Social Assistance and the South African Social Security Agency Bills for the second reading debate. The two pieces of legislation provide for the implementation of a national integrated and cohesive social security system that improves the protection of the most vulnerable people in our society.
As indicated in government's discussion document "Towards a Ten Year Review," improving social security is one of the key challenges facing our nation in the next decade. We have to ensure a more efficient delivery of social grants to rural beneficiaries, the reduction of corruption, and the incorporation of grants into a system of comprehensive social security.
The Social Assistance Bill consolidates the legal requirements and provisions for social assistance, and creates uniform norms and standards that apply countrywide. The South African Social Security Agency Bill establishes an agency to ensure the efficient and effective management, administration and payment of social security.
As indicated in the Ten-Year Review, the provision of social grants is the government's most effective programme to address the income poverty of our people. The grants currently administered by the Department of Social Development are targeted at pensioners, poor families with children, war veterans, and households taking care of children and people in need. The expenditure on these social grants has increased 3.5 times between 1994 and 2003 from R10 billion to R34.8 billion. The number of beneficiaries has increased from 2.6 million to 6.8 million.
Research of the Ten-Year Review shows that grants are exceptionally well targeted. The poorest 20% of households receive the largest amount from grants, not just as a proportion of income, but also in absolute terms. Two-thirds of the income for the poorest quintile is attributable to state transfers. Simulation studies also show that, in the absence of any grants, 55.9% of the elderly would be in poverty and 38.2% would be in ultra-poverty. This falls to 22.9% and 2.5% respectively if all recipients get grants.
Although great progress has been made in registering recipients, the full impact of these grants will only be realised when all eligible people are registered. In addition, because of certain gaps between national and provincial legislation, and inadequacies in the current administration and payment of grants - some eligible people do not timeously receive assistance. Furthermore, there is uneven access to grants, unequal service delivery standards, budget uncertainties and significant persistent fraud in some provinces.
The Constitution enjoins us to ensure that services are provided for in an equitable and dignified manner. Government has therefore prioritised the improvement of service delivery in these areas, and the bills before the House will enhance the ability of the machinery of government to fast track pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
Madam Speaker, the Social Assistance and the South African Social Security Bills is the culmination of a long process of moving South Africa from a fragmented and incoherent social security system to a cohesive national social security system. I therefore extend my sincere appreciation to the members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development for their various deliberations on and contributions to the Bills.
I also wish to express my gratitude to the various civil society organizations that made submissions and participated in the public hearings. The social development of our people is a collective responsibility that should not be held ransom to serve narrow vested interests.
A national system of social security is an imperative. The recent high court judgement in the Mashava case declaring the assignment of the administration of the Social Assistance Act to provinces invalid confirms the correctness of our view to nationalize this function.
Achieving a national system of social assistance provision is therefore the main objective of the Bill. We are aware of the policy gaps in the system and these are being dealt with in our ongoing work on the development of a comprehensive social security system. It would be irresponsible of us not to finalise these Bills, whilst we are still deliberating on the policy options for a Comprehensive Social Security System, as our detractors have asked us to do. It should be noted that the object of the Social Assistance Bill is not to introduce any new provisions for extending social assistance grants. As indicated earlier the object is to put in place a national legislative framework for existing social assistance grants.
The Social Assistance Bill also establishes an independent Inspectorate for Social Assistance, whose function is to ensure that the integrity of the social grants system is not compromised.
We cannot accept the levels of fraud that occur in the current system. We are aware of the criminal syndicates and their accomplices, both outside and inside government, who are fraudulently accessing grants. We are ensuring that all fraud cases are vigorously investigated and internal control measures are being intensified in the social security system. Government has only one message for the criminal syndicates and their accomplices. We are coming after you and will bring to a halt all criminal activities that deny the poor and vulnerable people in society their rights to social security.
The Social Assistance Bill also addresses the issue of political and administrative accountability and oversight. Provisions allowing the Minister of Social Development to delegate the management and administration of social assistance grants are stipulated. The Bill also provides for the publishing of regulations on the norms and standards for performance management and adherence to the Batho Pele principles.
Madam Speaker, the South African Social Security Agency Bill establishes a focused, specialist institution for the management and administration of social assistance grants. The establishment of the social security agency is an acknowledgement that in terms of our institutional arrangements, we need a unitary but flexible service delivery mechanism.
The agency's function and role is straightforward: to administer social assistance and to make sure that we pay the right grant amount to the right person, at the right time and in a dignified manner that is consistent with the principles of Batho Pele. By establishing the agency we are improving the institutional frameworks and processes for delivering social grants.
Further, in keeping with modern approaches to public management, establishing the agency allows us to clearly separate policy-making responsibilities from service delivery. The Minister will be responsible for policy and outcomes and the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, an accounting officer, will be responsible for implementation and outputs. The Minister will account to the legislature for the policy and delivery of social assistance.
More importantly, the South African Social Security Agency Bill clearly specifies and delineates the functions of the agency. The House will recall that the Chikane Commission in 1996 recommended the establishment of a nationally organised social security system. This was followed by a carefully researched, rigorously constructed and widely consulted process.
Madam Speaker, before concluding I would also like to thank the officials from the national and provincial departments of social development for their hard work in ensuring that these bills adhered to the timeframes set by Cabinet. The MECs for Social Development in the provinces have played a vital role in monitoring and ensuring the progress of the work on both Bills and they have my sincere gratitude. I also want to thank my colleagues, Minister Trevor Manual and Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and their officials for working so closely with the Department of Social Development, and sharing the responsibilities on the Transitional Committee.
In conclusion, I have to say that this second reading debate is taking place because the members of the Portfolio Committee worked arduously to refine the Bills. Honourable members of the Portfolio Committee, you have done your constituents and our people proud. I have no doubt that the members of the Select Committee will show the same commitment.
I thank you.
For more information contact: Mbulelo Musi Tel: 27-12-312-7654 Cell: 082-904-3395 Fax: 2-12-312-7943 E-mail: Mbulelo.Musi@socdev.gov.za Web: www.socdev.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry of Social Development
11 November 2003
Source: Ministry of Social Development
Title: Skweyiya: Social assistance & social security agency Bills, NA
SPEECH BY DR ZOLA SKWEYIYA, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE 2ND READING OF THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY BILLS, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, Cape Town
Madame Speaker,
Honourable members,
I want to begin by thanking the House for the opportunity to submit the Social Assistance and the South African Social Security Agency Bills for the second reading debate. The two pieces of legislation provide for the implementation of a national integrated and cohesive social security system that improves the protection of the most vulnerable people in our society.
As indicated in government's discussion document "Towards a Ten Year Review," improving social security is one of the key challenges facing our nation in the next decade. We have to ensure a more efficient delivery of social grants to rural beneficiaries, the reduction of corruption, and the incorporation of grants into a system of comprehensive social security.
The Social Assistance Bill consolidates the legal requirements and provisions for social assistance, and creates uniform norms and standards that apply countrywide. The South African Social Security Agency Bill establishes an agency to ensure the efficient and effective management, administration and payment of social security.
As indicated in the Ten-Year Review, the provision of social grants is the government's most effective programme to address the income poverty of our people. The grants currently administered by the Department of Social Development are targeted at pensioners, poor families with children, war veterans, and households taking care of children and people in need. The expenditure on these social grants has increased 3.5 times between 1994 and 2003 from R10 billion to R34.8 billion. The number of beneficiaries has increased from 2.6 million to 6.8 million.
Research of the Ten-Year Review shows that grants are exceptionally well targeted. The poorest 20% of households receive the largest amount from grants, not just as a proportion of income, but also in absolute terms. Two-thirds of the income for the poorest quintile is attributable to state transfers. Simulation studies also show that, in the absence of any grants, 55.9% of the elderly would be in poverty and 38.2% would be in ultra-poverty. This falls to 22.9% and 2.5% respectively if all recipients get grants.
Although great progress has been made in registering recipients, the full impact of these grants will only be realised when all eligible people are registered. In addition, because of certain gaps between national and provincial legislation, and inadequacies in the current administration and payment of grants - some eligible people do not timeously receive assistance. Furthermore, there is uneven access to grants, unequal service delivery standards, budget uncertainties and significant persistent fraud in some provinces.
The Constitution enjoins us to ensure that services are provided for in an equitable and dignified manner. Government has therefore prioritised the improvement of service delivery in these areas, and the bills before the House will enhance the ability of the machinery of government to fast track pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
Madam Speaker, the Social Assistance and the South African Social Security Bills is the culmination of a long process of moving South Africa from a fragmented and incoherent social security system to a cohesive national social security system. I therefore extend my sincere appreciation to the members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development for their various deliberations on and contributions to the Bills.
I also wish to express my gratitude to the various civil society organizations that made submissions and participated in the public hearings. The social development of our people is a collective responsibility that should not be held ransom to serve narrow vested interests.
A national system of social security is an imperative. The recent high court judgement in the Mashava case declaring the assignment of the administration of the Social Assistance Act to provinces invalid confirms the correctness of our view to nationalize this function.
Achieving a national system of social assistance provision is therefore the main objective of the Bill. We are aware of the policy gaps in the system and these are being dealt with in our ongoing work on the development of a comprehensive social security system. It would be irresponsible of us not to finalise these Bills, whilst we are still deliberating on the policy options for a Comprehensive Social Security System, as our detractors have asked us to do. It should be noted that the object of the Social Assistance Bill is not to introduce any new provisions for extending social assistance grants. As indicated earlier the object is to put in place a national legislative framework for existing social assistance grants.
The Social Assistance Bill also establishes an independent Inspectorate for Social Assistance, whose function is to ensure that the integrity of the social grants system is not compromised.
We cannot accept the levels of fraud that occur in the current system. We are aware of the criminal syndicates and their accomplices, both outside and inside government, who are fraudulently accessing grants. We are ensuring that all fraud cases are vigorously investigated and internal control measures are being intensified in the social security system. Government has only one message for the criminal syndicates and their accomplices. We are coming after you and will bring to a halt all criminal activities that deny the poor and vulnerable people in society their rights to social security.
The Social Assistance Bill also addresses the issue of political and administrative accountability and oversight. Provisions allowing the Minister of Social Development to delegate the management and administration of social assistance grants are stipulated. The Bill also provides for the publishing of regulations on the norms and standards for performance management and adherence to the Batho Pele principles.
Madam Speaker, the South African Social Security Agency Bill establishes a focused, specialist institution for the management and administration of social assistance grants. The establishment of the social security agency is an acknowledgement that in terms of our institutional arrangements, we need a unitary but flexible service delivery mechanism.
The agency's function and role is straightforward: to administer social assistance and to make sure that we pay the right grant amount to the right person, at the right time and in a dignified manner that is consistent with the principles of Batho Pele. By establishing the agency we are improving the institutional frameworks and processes for delivering social grants.
Further, in keeping with modern approaches to public management, establishing the agency allows us to clearly separate policy-making responsibilities from service delivery. The Minister will be responsible for policy and outcomes and the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, an accounting officer, will be responsible for implementation and outputs. The Minister will account to the legislature for the policy and delivery of social assistance.
More importantly, the South African Social Security Agency Bill clearly specifies and delineates the functions of the agency. The House will recall that the Chikane Commission in 1996 recommended the establishment of a nationally organised social security system. This was followed by a carefully researched, rigorously constructed and widely consulted process.
Madam Speaker, before concluding I would also like to thank the officials from the national and provincial departments of social development for their hard work in ensuring that these bills adhered to the timeframes set by Cabinet. The MECs for Social Development in the provinces have played a vital role in monitoring and ensuring the progress of the work on both Bills and they have my sincere gratitude. I also want to thank my colleagues, Minister Trevor Manual and Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and their officials for working so closely with the Department of Social Development, and sharing the responsibilities on the Transitional Committee.
In conclusion, I have to say that this second reading debate is taking place because the members of the Portfolio Committee worked arduously to refine the Bills. Honourable members of the Portfolio Committee, you have done your constituents and our people proud. I have no doubt that the members of the Select Committee will show the same commitment.
I thank you.
For more information contact: Mbulelo Musi Tel: 27-12-312-7654 Cell: 082-904-3395 Fax: 2-12-312-7943 E-mail: Mbulelo.Musi@socdev.gov.za Web: www.socdev.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry of Social Development
11 November 2003
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