13 October 2002
The Minister for Social Development,
The Premier of the Eastern Cape Province,
Representatives of Provincial and Local Government,
The community of Mount Frere,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This morning, I have been able to visit and talk to people in this community of Mt Frere, and I have been able to get a first hand account of some of the difficulties and challenges you face.
The value of an Imbizo is the opportunity it provides as it brings all three spheres of government to the people, to get a first hand account of the kind of service we provide, and of how we can improve service delivery. This is one of the classical differences between the government of old and the democratic government of the people. The democratic government moves from Pretoria, Bisho, Polokwane or any centre to the people.
A team of Cabinet Ministers accompanied by the provincial and local authorities was sent to come and assess the situation on 20 September this year. They reported back to Cabinet, and a decision was taken that something needed to be done.
The priority that this government set itself when it took over in 1994 and again when our mandate was renewed by South Africans in 1999 was that of eradicating poverty, fighting diseases and creating jobs for sustainable development.
The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy was developed and adopted by government in 2000. This strategy, aimed at improving opportunities and the well-being for the rural poor, was developed in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders.
In keeping with our commitment to make a better life for all, government has been on the road for this past week ending today to engage communities on a range of issues and affording the people an opportunity to talk to government on their needs.
Compatriots, some of the major challenges that we face in rural areas of our country, are regarding the malnutrition of children and the subsequent high mortality rates. I am informed that in this area this problem is indeed a very big one.
Our commitment to fighting poverty at all levels and the many related problems associated with it contributed to our decision that the month of October 2002 be social development month, whose theme is to lend a hand to protect children's rights. The focus of government activity for the whole of this month is on programmes aimed at getting children and the elderly out of the poverty trap which leads to cases of malnutrition and deaths.
Various government departments, especially the departments of social development, health and home affairs will be working very hard in ensuring that all our people who qualify for all forms of social grants are registered.
We have established that one of the key causes of starvation and hunger among many of our people has been their inability to access government's social grants.
The government introduced many kinds of social grants that were intended to benefit every South African who would otherwise not be able to survive.
Our priority in terms of the distribution of these grants is that poor people, children, and the elderly should be the main beneficiaries. The problem, however, that we inherited from the past system is that people in rural areas were the most under serviced, and as a result many people were not able to have identity documents.
We are also aware that many children born in rural areas are sometimes without birth certificates, and this creates a number of problems in terms of accessing child support grants.
The problem of unemployment has also meant that in some families the pension received by the elderly has become the only form of income that they survive on. This clearly indicates that there is indeed a huge problem. Our determination to remove children from poverty was well and correctly articulated by our President when he said, "no African child should ever experience hunger, avoidable disease and ignorance".
This commitment to remove our people from poverty and suffering is one that government alone cannot fully realise. In this regard, we are pleased that our fight against poverty and malnutrition in many rural parts of our country has also received quite a significant boost from a range of stakeholders in a form of various contributions.
CONTRIBUTIONS AND PLEDGES
From the side of government, we have set aside, through the Department of Social Development, an amount of R2 million for poverty relief programs in the Alfred Nzo District municipality.
These funds will be utilised in line with the Integrated Development Plan of this region, which outlines all priorities for developmental projects. We will also be increasing resources for the Community and Home Based Care for HIV and Aids.
The Department of Agriculture will be supplying seeds and implements in line with their program on food security. Training will be provided on agricultural farming, and the department will also be strengthening support for already existing projects on grain production and animal husbandry. Access to finance has also been identified by the department as one of the major stumbling blocks in the development of small scale farming communities. The department is working hard in ensuring that people are able to access finance.
The Department of Provincial and Local Government has identified key projects, in line with government's Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Program, which are aimed at improving the standards of living and the quality of life of all people in this district.
Some of these projects are already in their implementation stages, while others are awaiting financing. Government has already committed a total of R118 million towards these programs and they relate to tourism, agriculture and infrastructure.
I am also delighted to announce that various business organizations have partnered government in bringing a better life to all our people in this district.
Tiger Brands will provide 900 000 parcels of 2.5kg maize meal as part of their contribution to the fight against poverty.
The media sector has also come to the party, and an amount of R250 000 has been donated by the Sunday Times. The newspaper has also opened up an account for people who want to contribute towards poverty alleviation in this area, and we appeal to other media organizations to take up the Sunday Times challenge, and for all others who care enough to act against poverty, to take up this challenge.
In addition, the Gift of the Givers organisation has pledged to assist 2000 households with food parcels, water containers and water purification tablets.
Our partnership against poverty is indeed yielding some positive results.
These contributions are remarkable and encouraging. They are saying to us that we are indeed a unique country where working for a better life for all is not just the responsibility of government but all sectors. This public-private partnership will indeed make a better life for all a reality.
Government wishes to extend an invitation to all South Africans to lend a hand for the eradication of poverty in every part of the country, and more specifically to more businesses to assist the Alfred Nzo district in its quest to fight malnutrition, poverty and unemployment.
We also want to thank all those who have made their contributions.
Let me once more thank you all for the issues you have raised. We have truly valued our visit here and the interaction with the community.
I thank you.