3. Programme analysis

3.1 Social security policy and planning - RI 5.271 million

The programme Social security policy and planning is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies on social security and social assistance. An amount of approximately
R15.271 million has been allocated to this programme, compared to R12.954 million in the previous financial year. This represents an nominal increase of 17%.

The Department indicates that the largest cost drivers in these programmes relate to the need to develop policy around the sustainability of social assistance, to build capacity for the implementation of the legal framework for social assistance, as well as the increasing need to ass~st provinces with the implementation of the social assistance programme. Among key outputs for the coming financial year, the Department intends to:

- complete policy proposals on social relief of distress by June 2005

- undertake a policy review with regard to the gender difference in eligibility for the old age grant by March 2006

- complete policy with regard to disability benefits and implement the assessment tool for the disability grant by March 2006

When compared to the output targets set in the 2004/05 Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE), a number of key targets have not been met, and the deadlines for many of these have been shifted to the end of the next financial year. This suggests that the Department sets itself unrealistic goals with regard to policy development, or that it is not able to meet its own targets because of a lack of capacity in the Department. This also raises the issue of whether any of the research projects and policy writing exercises are currently outsourced, and if so, what the impact of this on the development of capacity in the Department is.

Issues to consider:

- Why has the development of social relief of distress policy not bc completed? What is the current situation in provinces with regard to this form of social assistance?

- The Department indicates that a study on child-headed households in the context of social assistance has been completed. What are the key outcome of this study, and how is this impacting on policy priorities over the medium term?

3.2 Grant systems and service delivery assurance - RI 45.973 million
The programme's core activities include the development of service delivery norms and standards for grant administration, and managing the reform of social assistance grants administration. Grants systems and service delivery assurance is also responsible for facilitating the establishment of the SASSA and maintaining appropriate IT systems for the administration of grants.

The ENE notes that a national fraud hotline and a fraud register has been installed, and that the Department has developed a geographical information system of all pay points that provides online access to all relevant information. In addition, extensive training focusing on fraud prevention was offered to officials. Among the key priorities for the coming financial year, the Department notes that it intends appointing the provider of an IT system to replace the Socpen system by December 2005. The upgrading and eventual replacement of this system has been ongoing for a number of years. In addition, over the next financial year, a further 100 pay points will be upgraded to the extent that they meet national norms and standards. The ENE also indicates that the Department intends appointing a service provider for the design and implementation of a national grants payment model by December 2005. This does not make it clear whether implementation" means that the Department envisages outsourcing the payment of grants. This issue must be discussed in detail, as it relates closely to the functions of the SASSA. The Social Assistance Act (Act No.9 of 2004) provides that the Agency will act, eventually, as the sole agent that will ensure the efficient and effective management, administration and payment of social assistance [Section 3(a) of Act No. 9 of 2004]. The Department should therefore, when providing the Committee with detail on the establishment and functioning of the Agency, reflect on exactly what functions are envisaged for the Agency over the medium term, and how these functions relate to the amount allocated for the establishment of the Agency.

Further key outputs envisaged for the financial year is the completion of guidelines and manuals on the new social assistance legislation, extending the child support grant to all eligible children up to 14 by March 2006, and a reduction in the application-approval cycle to 11 days by 2006/07.

Issues to consider:

- To what extent, generally, are provinces able to c6mply with norms and standards set for the administration df grants? Are there provinces with specific difficulties in this regard?

- What have been the main challenges with regard to negotiations with organised labour in respect of the transfer of staff from the provincial departments responsible for social development to the SASSA? Does the Department envisage that the transfer will take place without major difficulties?

3.3 Social Assistance- R55.517 billion

The allocation to the programme Social Assistance amounts to R55.517 billion, of which R55.4 billion will be transferred to provinces in the form of conditional grants for the payment of social assistance. The allocation is expected to grow to R65 billion in 2007/08 when the full responsibility for the administration and payment of grants is transferred to the national department. The ENE notes that the administration cost attached to social grants averages 6.3% of grant payments over the medium term. This would mean that the cost of grant payments amounts to approximately R3.465 billion per annum.

Key strategic objectives for the medium term include the establishment of the South African Social Security Agency, for which an allocation of R110 million is made for the current financial year. In addition, the Department has set the following targets in terms of beneficiary numbers by March 2006:

- old age grant - 2.1 million
- war veteran's war veteran's grant - 2 856
- disability grant 1,5 million
- foster care grant - 307 000
- care dependency grant - 98 143
- child support grant - 7 million

The President, in the State of the Nation Address, noted that the growth in certain social grant beneficiary numbers was unsustainable, and that Government believed that the growth was linked to fraudulent applications. However, civil society organisations have also noted that the disability grant benefits to persons living with HIV and AIDS are difficult to access, and often people access it only when they have full-blown AIDS, which makes the grant less effective than it may have been. Another matter that comes into play is the steady increase in HIV infections, despite government efforts to contain new infections through a range of interventions. The issue that must be interrogated is whether the Department of Social Development has an accurate picture of the nature of disabilities cited on applications in the different provinces, and to what extent the rapid growth in disability grant applications is in any way related to the prevalence of HIV in South Africa.

Issues to consider:

- In terms of the South African Social Security Agency Act, the Agency will eventually become the sole agent for the management, administration and payment of grants. How will these functions be phased in over the medium term?

- Has an assessment been done with regard to whether the companies currently contracted to pay grants (AlIPay etc.) deliver a satisfactory service both in terms of cost-effectiveness and treatment of beneficiaries? What action has the Department taken in cases where there has been clear breach of service level agreements?

- What steps have provinces put in pace to ensure that the beneficiary verification process is implemented smoothly, and that beneficiaries are not disadvantaged by administrative inadequacies?

3.4 Welfare services transformation - R20.518 million

The programme Welfare services transformation facilitates the transformation of welfare services to deliver effective and appropriate developmental social welfare services. Because the national department does not deliver any social services itself, the department has a policy-making role. The allocation increases from R17.921 million in the previous financial year to R20.518 million for 2005/06, which represents a nominal increase of 14%.

In the past year, the Department completed draft norms and standards for welfare services, which are currently being considered by provincial departments. The welfare services funding policy has also been completed, and is being considered by both provinces and civil society organisations. For the coming financial year, the Department envisages facilitating the establishment of a new Social Services Professions Council, as well as a strategy for the retention of social services personnel. The Minister of Finance has also indicated that additional funds are being allocated to provinces to improve the remuneration of social workers.

When compared to the ENE for 2004, it appears that some of the targets set with regard to the prevention of substance abuse have been discarded completely. The Department had envisaged, for example, that a Drug Master Plan would have been developed by April 2004, and that a treatment model for youth addicts was to have been evaluated by December 2004. The Department has also not, in the past year, reported on its strategy to reduce alcohol and drug abuse among young people, which is crucial in light of the reported increase in the use of drugs such as tik-tik.

With regard to care and services to older persons, many of the strategic targets set for the past financial year appear to have been collapsed into a new target of completing a new legislative framework by December 2007. Similarly, no mention is made of whether the target of developing policy in relation to services to persons with disabilities by September 2004 has been met.

Issues to consider:

- What is the status of the (financing policy on financial awards to service organisations

- What role will the national department play in ensuring better conditions of service for social service professionals over the medium term? What processes have been put in place to adjust social workers' salaries?

3.5 Children, Families and Youth Development - RI 7.991 million

This programme facilitates developmental social welfare service delivery to vulnerable individuals, households and children. The allocation to the programme amounts to R17.991 million, a nominal increase of 7%.

The Department notes in the ENE that the child protection register has been installed in seven provinces, while the draft policy framework and strategy on child abuse is currently going through the approval process. Reference is also made to the establishment of a central authority for adoptions, but the ENE does not indicate when the central authority is expected to become operational. This is despite the fact that the 2004 ENE had set July 2004 as the target date for the coming into operation of the central authority. The delay is a matter of concern, as it is critical that the State play a leading role in ensuring that the necessary protection is in place for adopted children, and that the best interests of the child are being safeguarded in the country of the child's destination. The ENE also does not report whether the key objective of the Department producing or receiving quarterly reports in relation to adoptions has been met.

The Department further indicates that, in cooperation with the Umsobomvu youth development fund, it intends training 500 unemployed youth to become assistant probation officers. In addition, the home-based supervision system will be rolled out, while the assistant probation and crime buster programmes will be evaluated over the medium term.

Issues to consider:

- What is the current policy with regard to foster care - are children still placed in foster care with the primary objective of this being a temp9rary measure, or is foster care viewed as a more permanent solution for taking care of orphaned and abandoned children?

- How widely has the National Protocol on Management of Child Abuse and Neglect been implemented? What has been the role of the national department in the implementation of the protocol at provincial level?

- How does the Department ensure that child abuse information held in the register in a particular province is protected in terms of national standards regarding the best interest of the child, the right to privacy and the need to protect the identity of children and abusers whose names might appear in the register?

- Has the target of training 50% of probation officers by March 2005 been met? Is the national Department satisfied that the provinces are in compliance with regard to the provisions of the Probation Services Act insofar as assessment of children in trouble with the law is concerned?

- Are the targets with regard to the establishment of 3 additional secure care facilities being met? Which sites have been identified for the establishment of these facilities? What is the capital expenditure attached to the establishment f each secure care centre, and who will be responsible for financing the building of the centres?

- The establishment of early childhood development centres will form part of ~e Department of Social Development's contribution to the Expanded Public Works Programme. Is there a policy framework for the establishment of these Services? What is the level of capacity in the provinces to monitor the standard of programmes offered at such centres across the country?

3.6 Development Implementation Support - R535.840 million

This programme is responsible for providing support to sustainable income-generating projects, developing policy and strategies to enhance social cohesion, and creating an enabling environment for non-profit organisations. The bulk of the allocation to this programme is transferred to provinces and to the National Development Agency (NDA) in the form of conditional grants. Transfers to the NDA grow from R109.481 million in 2004/05 to R121.482 million in the 2005/06 financial year.

The allocation of R400 million for the Food Emergency Scheme in 2004/05 will now be restructured into the integrated social development services grant, still focusing on the provision of short-term relief and related welfare services. Serious difficulties have been reported by provinces with regard to spending the allocation for food relief, as the tendering process for the rollout of the programme was controlled nationally, and only completed in some provinces very recently.[Minutes of a meeting of the Select Committee on Finance, 21 February 2005]. This resulted in only 17% of the R388 million transferred to provinces being spent by the end of January 2005. the ENE does not provide any details about how the integrated grant will be implemented in the provinces; nor does it reflect on the difficulties experienced in managing the conditional grant for food relief. It is therefore difficult to understand how the cited number of households that were given food parcels (420 477 households) relates to whether these households were in fact reached with food parcels, and how it relates to the initial targets set for the number of households that should benefit from the allocation R388 million.

Issues to consider:

- The Department was to have developed a draft anti-poverty strategy by October 2004. Has this strategy been developed, and if so, what is its current status?

- December 2005 has been set as the new target date for the completion of a community development strategy - instead of the strategy being implemented by March 2005. What is the cause of this delay?
- What strategy is the Department following to ensure the development of community-based organisations in rural and previously disadvantaged areas?

- What has been the nature of the delays in utilising funds earmarked for the food emergency programme, and what impact does the delay in awarding tenders for the distribution of food parcels have on the amounts budgeted for last year? Will any of the funds allocated be rolled over into the new financial fear?

- To what extent has the Department of Agriculture taken up its role in the second phase of the food emergency scheme?

3.7 HIV and AIDS – R185.572 million

The budget allocated to this programme increases significantly from R78.890 million in 2004105 to Ri 85.572 million in 2005/06. The programme is responsible for coordinating access to social development services to persons infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS. In addition, the programme is responsible for coordinating stakeholder activities aimed at realising the rights of children, youth and women affected by HIV and AIDS. It is in the area of community-based care programmes that the largest increase is allocated (R145 million), of which the major portion (Ri 38 million) flows to provinces in the form of conditional grants.

The work in this programme is divided into the following three subprogrammes:

- Community-Based Care Programmes co-ordinates access to social development services for people, families and communities affected by HIV and AIDS, encourages community participation, and strengthens mutual aid opportunities.

- Co-ordinated Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children co-ordinates stakeholder activities to realise the rights of children affected by HIV and
AIDS.

- Youth and Gender develops and monitors prevention and other HIV and AIDS-related services targeted at women and youth.

In terms of recent outputs, the ENE indicates that more than 65 000 orphans and vulnerable children, as well as 11 765 child-headed households have been identified. Support provided to more than 100 000 families consisted of food parcels, clothing, blankets, bereavement support and assistance with burials. In addition, more than 500 caregivers were trained in HIV counselling, project management and in-service training.

Issues to consider:

- How many of the 500 drop-in centres for children affected by HIV and AIDS envisaged for the period 2004 to 2007 have been established?

- The Department should receive quarterly evaluation reports in relation to the home-and community-based care programme. Are these reports being submitted? What are the main challenges emerging from reports? What support is the national department providing to provinces to ensure that national standards for home-based care are met?

- What percentage of the cost associated with the home-based care programme is dedicated to the remuneration of volunteers? Are all provinces able to comply with the remuneration standards set nationally?

3.8 Population and Development – R12.896 million

The allocation to the programme Population and Development for the 2005/06 financial year is
R12.896 million, which represents an increase of approximately 15% over the previous allocation of R11.153 million.

Among the recent outputs for the programme, it is noted in the ENE that research relating to the mapping of home-based care as well as gaps in the provision of home and community-based care has been completed. In addition, the unit played a key role in preparing the report on the Southern African Ministers' Conference on Population and Development.

In relation to research on national population and social development policies and trends, the programme envisages producing reports on the relationship between teenage pregnancies and the child support grant, ongoing research on orphans, as well as the monitoring of Government's HIV and AIDS programme. In addition, the programme will continue providing support to various government departments in integrating population issues into delivery programmes.

Issues to consider:

- A report on the state of South Africa's population was due for completion by January 2005. Has this report been completed, and if so, what are the key findings of the report?

Sources

Estimates of National Expenditure 2004

Estimates of National Expenditure 2005

Minutes of a meeting of the Select Committee on Finance, 21 February 2005. Available at www.pmg.org.za