20 February 2001
As I am meeting the majority of you for the very first time since my appointment as MEC, kindly allow me to extend my sincere greetings to you all. May you be assured of my department's co-operation and support to make your work easier.
I come here not to introduce new policies, as I believe my predecessors, that is Cadres Peter Skosana and Ignatius Jacobs have put policies of the ANC in place. As a member of the ANC my task is therefore to fast track the implementation of these policies.
We have now started to turn the Gauteng Provincial Government into a caring government for our people to enjoy better conditions of peace and dignity.
We are joining hands with regard to race, colour and gender in ensuring that all our communities enjoy and receive social services free from discrimination and pain. Inspired by the new patriotism, we can truly say: South Africa belongs to all who live and work in it. Majority of our people who were victims of apartheid neglect enjoy a better quality of life. Women, youth, workers, rural communities and people with disabilities are for the first time receiving focused attention in government programmes.
We are moving away, speedily so, from making out people rely on welfare. We are ensuring that social development, where our people do things on their own, remain the order of the day.
Poverty The Department of Social Development, in its 2001/2 Business Plan for the Poverty Relief Programme, has indicated that it will systematically address conditions associated with poverty.
The ultimate aim is an increased self-reliance of targeted pockets of poverty and the improved social cohesion of demographic groups namely women, children, youth, the infirm, people with disabilities and the aged.
Emphasis will be placed on the creation of access to economic opportunities and will focus on the establishment of local institutional structures that are able to identify, own and manage the ongoing implementation of development initiatives in each community.
The Department of Social Services and Population Development, has been appointed as the lead department in the province's Interdepartmental Committee for Integrated Poverty Alleviation Programmes. This committee is at present engaged in refining the framework for the province's poverty alleviation programme that will ensure that poverty reduction programmes will target those communities in greatest need and will ensure that communities become self-sustaining.
Emphasis will not only be placed on money metric measures, but also on capacity building and empowerment of communities.
Although Gauteng is a province with one of the highest literacy rates in South Africa, the reality in communities presents a different picture. There is a relatively small percentage of people in Gauteng with high educational qualifications, which distorts the literacy level positively and thus provides a very skewed picture of literacy in the province.
In terms of the statistics supplied by Stats South Africa, there s no magisterial district in Gauteng with a mean monthly household income, lower than the poverty line, which is R800 per month.
Once these figures are disaggregated, it becomes evident that in areas that are supposedly 'upper middle class' or 'middle class', abject poverty exists. In the drafting of a framework for the poverty alleviation strategy, the guidelines and initiatives of the Department of Social Development will be adhered to, in terms of the poverty pockets identified by Gauteng specific research.
Social Security The appointment of a new service provider, using improved technology (the smart card) for the payment of pensions is resulting in a decrease in waiting times for beneficiaries of grants and pensions. It is also contributing to increased security and prevention of fraud.
Beneficiaries are also free to have their grants deposited in an account at a bank of their choice. This allows the beneficiary to access his/her grant when it is most suitable for him/her.
To improve access to grants, community-based satellite points have been and continue to be established, to bring services closer to beneficiaries.
We have also put extra energy into ensuring that the majority of new applicants for social security grants are processed and paid within a month.
We believe this will minimize the frustration of applicants and ensure that a better life is provided for all.
Partnership with local authorities We are putting new systems in place to develop relationships with the new structures of local government.
This will ensure that the social services facilities are safe, clean and secure. We believe this partnership will go a long way in ensuring that we treat our people with dignity and care.
Reports: Missing Boy It has been brought to my attention that there is a baby that has been adopted without the consent of her parents. As I speak to you now, there are indications that the baby is overseas with new parents.
Since reports of these activities appeared in newspapers, my department has initiated an intensive investigation to get to the root of this problem.
I will brief South Africans fully when the investigations are finalized.
We believe that change must continue now, but at a faster pace. With the leadership of Premier Shilowa our people can rest assured that the journey to a better life is in capable hands.
Thank you.
Issued by: PWV Gauteng
For more information contact:
Panyaza Lesufi
(011) 355-7687