Issued by: Ministry of Social Development
14 November 2001
Chairperson,
Delegates,
Invited guests
Salutations
At the beginning of this year I met representatives of the social development sector at our second National Consultative Workshop. As was the case in 1999, a wide range of non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, community-based structures, provincial departments and the voluntary welfare sector participated in the workshop.
The platform for our deliberations was the consensus reached in 1999 that the challenging social development reality that we faced required a collective vision and strategy that was responsive to both the structural causes of problems as well as their social manifestations.
In our National Consultative Workshop at the beginning of this year we began to identify ways through which we could forge new partnerships to address the problems and challenges that confront all of us.
This continues to be important as we attempt to reassert the vision of a people-centred society.
At our national social development consultation we agreed that we had to strengthen our ability to build "unity in action" in order to address the plight of the excluded and poorest members of our society. To do this effectively and build the capacity of our people to make a difference, we agreed that we had to have a unified action plan and see with one eye - "Ngasonye."
This phrase resonates with the theme of this conference -"Grassroots Action to Eradicate Poverty."
A central question arising from this theme is how do we ensure grassroots involvement in the fight against poverty? Furthermore, we need to ask what is the role of each sector in this vital task and what are our individual and collective responsibilities?
I have heard that over the last three days you have been having forthright and vibrant debates about what your role should be in the current phase of our struggle to build a people-centred society. Alongside your debates on what constitutes a strategic role for the non governmental sector is the review of a common vision. In any movement for change such questions and debates imply the need to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing ones around a collective vision.
Debates and discussions such as these are not abstract but help to focus attention on critical action required to alleviate and reduce poverty. The historically important role and contribution of NGO' s and indeed civil society in our national liberation is the canvas on which we need to draw for the future. In our search for common solutions to problems affecting our country we need to assert new relationships and connecting points that take us forward.
In line with government's programme of action, my department has sought to build upon our mass democratic tradition. We must build on a tradition of complementary roles and for critical space for engagement and dissent when this is needed. In 1999, as the Department of Social Development, we focused on strengthening our relationships with civil society organizations and developing a strategic framework, out of consultative processes, to respond to the social crisis facing our society.
In 2000/2001 we continued with this process but also gave concrete effect to the strategic vision and plan through our emphasis on poverty, comprehensive social security and issues affecting older people.
In 2001/2002 we are systematically addressing issues affecting children within the context of the national government's priorities. A feature of our initiatives has been the vulnerability and risks faced, especially by the poorest people, as a result of chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and TB to name a few.
Central to the implementation of our 10 Point Plan is the role of non-governmental, faith based and other civil society sectors. This role has to harmonize with government's programme to better respond to the needs of the poorest people.
The poorest of the poor, especially the most vulnerable -children affected or infected by HIV AIDS, people with disabilities, older people, the girl-child, unemployed youth - are all looking to this conference to give leadership. We dare not fail.
We are now seven years into our democracy. We have made significant and substantial progress in the intervening period. Over 1,2 million houses have been built. Electricity has been provided to hundreds of thousands of families that previously had no access to electricity. Millions of children now have access to better education. Over 1,2 million children now have access to child support grants.
In order to combat poverty, various municipalities have begun implementing government's free basic water policy. The Department of Water Affairs estimates that as of 1 July 2000 approximately 23 million people were being served with free basic water.
All of these programmes and Government's other initiatives are critical in the fight against poverty. But overcoming the legacy of apartheid in the context of this phase of economic globalisation poses continuing and new challenges.
As a result government is accelerating the implementation of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme and the Urban Renewal Programme in the nodes identified by President Mbeki.
During my visit to poor communities I have been concerned that many NGO's do not have a significant presence in rural areas. Community Based Organizations and Faith Based Organizations are doing a lot of work on a voluntary basis yet they do not get sufficient support. We are working to redress this situation.
We are also giving priority attention to the improvement of the social security system of our country. I will be receiving a report from the Committee on Comprehensive Social Security and will present it to Cabinet for detailed consideration.
We have also developed Norms and Standards in order to improve the administration of grants. We want to ensure that the rights and dignity of pensioners are respected. Companies contracted to pay pensions are now being held accountable. Third party contractors and all civil servants must uphold the spirit of Batho - Pele in the delivery of services.
It is worth noting that this conference has also identified all of these areas as priorities. This gives us a solid basis to work closely together.
Chairperson, our country is about to host yet another historic global forum in the World Summit on Sustainable Development which will take place next year. This is a golden opportunity to take our common patriotic goals forward. We need to work closely in mobilizing our SADC and African counterparts to place the New Partnership for African Development on the world agenda. Let us work together to find a common platform on which to voice our many diverse concerns. More importantly, we must use the forums, not as an opportunity to posture and engage in glib sound bites that have little meaning for the most excluded, but rather as a space to find real alternatives for change. Alternatives that will help us ensure sustainable livelihoods and development that will not compromise the future of our people and our planet.
As government and especially my department we are systematically trying to develop connecting points with civil society. We are aware that these processes take time to provide the gains in social delivery. However, evolving a process for engagement on all fronts is essential. Social dialogue and solidarity for poverty eradication must become part of our institutional culture. How to do this so that our mutual expectations and responsibilities are clearly understood and engaged with constructively is an ongoing challenge.
Cooperative governance must go beyond engagement with the national, provincial and local spheres of government to include the full range of CBOs, NGOs, faith based organisations and the voluntary sector. Across our engagement with the organised sectors we must also ensure that there is space for those who are not represented. Their voices must also be heard. Such partnerships should:
During the latter part of this year I once again visited provinces to monitor what is happening with regard to our poverty programmes and our responses to vulnerable children. In keeping with our emphasis on building partnerships in action the visits brought together provincial departments of social development, LoveLife, UNICEF and other stakeholders.
We have tried to translate our commitment to provide space for the excluded to ensure their participation by holding imbizos to hear directly from children about their concerns. Together with our partners we are engaging community structures and all role players to mobilize care and support for vulnerable and at risk children in the poorest communities.
Every time I see or hear about the shocking violence and abuse experienced by children and women, I think that we have really reached the last frontier of human endurance. Then there is another incident that reveals the extent to which our social fabric is disintegrating. The abuse and violence against children including the rape of a nine-month-old baby should galvanize all of us to united action.
Let us move beyond finger pointing and blaming each other to problem solving and an explicit identification of our strategic roles and responsibilities in this phase of our development. There is too much to be done for us to feel threatened by each other or to waste our time and resources fighting each other. Our commitment to social transformation was forged in the struggle for national liberation. At different historical moments we may come together to reinvigorate this commitment without fear of losing our autonomy or of being co-opted. Unity in action for social transformation, poverty eradication and nation building is an imperative.
I wish your conference success. I hope that it will further enhance the achievement of the goal of a better life for all.
I Thank You