MINISTER TO LAUNCH WELFARE'S PLAN OF ACTION

Issued by: Government and Communication Information (GCIS)

12 January 2000

Minister for Welfare, Population and Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya will on Friday, 14 January (10:00) launch his 10-point Plan of Action for the welfare and development sector at the Metropolitan Centre in Braamfontein, JHB.

The Plan is intended to focus on and address particular aspects of the social crisis facing South Africa and chart a way towards establishing a caring society. The Minister will speak to the following 10 priorities:

• Restoration of the ethics of care and human development into all our programmes.
• Implementation of an integrated poverty eradication strategy that provides direct benefits within a sustainable development approach.

Addressing poverty in rural and urban areas with the prime beneficiaries being women, youth and children.

• Development of a comprehensive social security system that prioritises the most vulnerable households. We need to establish a national unit to monitor, evaluate and audit the administration of social security to deal with unacceptably high levels oraud and leakage.
• We must respond to the brutal effects of all forms of violence against women and children as well as develop effective strategies to deal with the perpetrators.
• The provision of a range of services to support the community-based care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as those affected.
• Urgent attention needs to be given to the development of a national strategy to reduce youth criminality and youth unemployment.
• Making social welfare services accessible and available to people in rural, peri-urban and informal settlements.
• Redesign services to people with disabilities in ways that promote their human rights and economic development.
• Base our work on a commitment to co-operative governance that includes working with different tiers of government and civil society.
• Train, educate, re-deploy and employ a new category of workers in social development to respond to the realities of South Africa's crisis.

For information contact Nomalanga Langa on 082-801-1717.