REPORT OF THE
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON BUDGET VOTE NO 17
The Portfolio Committee on Social Development, having
considered budget vote 17 reports as follows:
1. INTRODUCTION
The
Constitution of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996) recognises that Legislative
Authority has an important role to play in the oversight function in overseeing
the performance of departments and public entities.
In terms of
Treasury Regulations published in Government Gazette in May 2002, strategic plans
must be tabled in Parliament at least 7 days prior to the discussion of the
budget Vote of the Department.
The
Government Gazette Notice no. 29644 (dated
It is
important for the Committee to ensure that strategic plans are tabled within
the stipulated period because the plans provide information for the budget
review process of the Portfolio Committee.
The budget
and strategic plan form the basis of the annual report. The Public Service
Commission in its report “Evaluation of the Department’s Annual Reports as an
Accountability Mechanisms” clearly states that the emphasis on measurable objectives,
which should be part of the strategic plan, is to create a clear contract
between Parliament and the relevant Minister regarding specific deliverables
for which the Minister can be held accountable.
This
explains the importance of the budget and strategic plan and their necessity
for departments to table them on time to ensure that Parliament is provided
with information required for its oversight work.
On
The
committee extended an invitation to UNICEF and Black Sash to come and
participate in the budget hearings and provide their expectations on the budget
allocation.
Upon
referral of these instruments by the National Assembly, the Committee scheduled
extended briefing sessions with Department and the entities to present their
budgets and strategic plans for the ensuing financial year.
2. BUDGETS
AND STRATEGIC PLANS FOR 2007/08
On the 16th
March, the Committee completed the budget hearings process of the Department of
Social Development and all entities reporting to the committee.
3. DEPARTMENT SOCIAL DEPARTMENT
The Director-General,
Mr Vusi Madonsela and programme managers presented 2007/08 budget priorities as
related to the strategic plan of the Department.
The following
are department’s key delivery areas which pursue the broader strategic
priorities outlined in the strategic plan for the period 2007 to 2010 and
targets for 2007/08:
Comprehensive Social
Security: The aim of the programme is to facilitate the
integration and development of the country, social security system and
eliminate existing gaps so as to achieve full access to social security for all
South Africans. The immediate objective is to provide protection against
poverty upon retirement. At the level of institutional reform, the Social
Security Agency is now fully responsible for the social assistance function,
and over the medium term the department will co-ordinate the processes, plans
and legislation to integrate unemployment insurance, compensation for
occupational injuries and diseases and retirement provisions into the Social
Security Agency to consolidate government’s administration of social security
delivery.
Development of Welfare
Services: The expansion of developmental social services
requires a dedicated focus on human capital development. The department will
make significant allocations of R365 million to train new social workers, and
develop the capacity and skills of social workers already within the system
through the provision of scholarships and training opportunities, respectively.
This also necessitates increased levels of integration amongst all spheres of
government, including, tertiary and private sector based institutions, mostly
Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs), engaged in social development service
delivery, to ensure equity, efficiency and effectiveness in the services by the
sector.
Strategic oversight and
governance: The department has established new units
to oversee policy co-ordination, provide strategic support to provinces and
oversight over all institutions, including statutory boards and agencies that report
to the Minister of Social development. This intervention will play a critical
role in ensuring strategic alignment of priorities in each financial year
between the department and the institutions implementing its policies in
pursuance of the department’s policy gaols, objectives and legislative mandate,
through efficient implementation.
The activities of the Department are
organised into Five programmes:
The
organisational structure of the Department has five programmes. The purpose is
to strengthen the Department’s capacity to provide oversight over
implementation of national programmes and to focus on priorities.
Programme
1: Administration
The programme
provides the department with political and strategic leadership and management,
and also manages capital investments. The allocation for 2007/08 amounts to R138
902 million as compared to R125 873million for 2006/07. The allocation reflects
an increase of 17.0%.
Programme
2: Comprehensive Social Security
The programme ensures
the development of norms and standards, facilitate financial and economic
planning, monitor compliance with social assistance policy prescripts for the
provision of a comprehensives system of social security, and facilitate the
payment of social assistance to eligible households. Programme allocation for 2007/08 is R66 638
839 million compared to R61 950 147 million for 2006/07. The allocation
reflects an increase of 16.7%.
Programme
3: Policy Development, Review and Implementation Support for Welfare
The programme aims to develop, facilitate and monitor the implementation
of policies, strategies and programmes on
integrated social welfare
services that meet the needs of all vulnerable groups. For 2007/08, allocation
for the programme amounts to R 198 976 million, an increase of 67.1% compared
to R104 131 million for 2006/07.
Programme
4: Community Development
The programme’s aim is to develop, monitor and facilitate the
implementation of appropriate policies, strategies and programmes aimed at
strengthening the potential of communities, including youth, to sustain and
advance their livelihoods and further human development. Programme allocation
for 2007/08 is R167 528 million compared to R156 689 million for 2005/06. The
allocation indicates a decrease of 3.6%.
The programme leads
the strategic management component of the Department; foster operational
efficiency through improved alignment between mandates, strategies and
institutional capacity; provides strategic guidance on social policy
development, co-ordination and evaluation; facilitate and develops the
Department’s strategic plan; oversee all entities, agencies and boards
reporting to the Department; and co-ordinates monitoring and evaluation across
the sector. The budget allocation to
this programme amounts to R 87 863 million for 2007/08 compared to R45 585
million during 2006/07 financial year. This allocation also reflects an increase
of 40.5%.
Therefore, the
total allocation to Department for 2007/08 amounts to R 62 382 425
billion compared to R61 870 291 billion for 2006/07. The budget reflects
an increase of 40.5%.
COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee
welcomed both the proposed budget allocations and the strategic plan presented.
The Committee further encouraged the Department to put more resources, human
and financial on the following:
a)
Stepping
up the intervention strategy to help in building the capacity of service
providers.
b)
Provincial
departments on social development should play a pivotal role in implementing
the department’s objectives
c)
Work
in consultation with the Department of Education to monitor developments around
the training and development of social workers, auxiliary workers and community
practitioners.
d)
Work
on fostering synergies with other departments such as Department of Health,
Department of Education, Justice, Provincial and Local Government with respect
to policy alignment and coherence.
e)
Ensuring
that training and capacity building initiatives meet increasing demands for research
capacity and advisory support services to service providers.
f)
Consolidation
of intergovernmental relations initiatives to ensure that the departments play
its role of oversight and support to provincial and local spheres of
government.
g)
Roll
out the implementation of norms and standards of extension services and ensure
that it plays a significant role in monitoring and evaluation of performance of
extension services.
h)
Ensuring
that there is a strategy alignment between national and provincial departments
of Social Development.
i)
The
issue of fiscal arrangements for the cooperation between national and
provincial spheres under the Constitution that allows the Provinces to enjoy
full autonomy in pending their equitable share makes it difficult for the national
government to ensure that provincial spending is in line with national
priorities.
3.1 National
Development Agency
The NDA was established under the National
Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 108 of 1998), which replaced the Transitional
National Development Trust (TNDT). The
NDA is a formal institutional platform to facilitate systematic interaction and
dialogue between the state and society to mobilise resources for poverty
eradication and people centred development.
Initially
established as an entity reporting to the Ministry of Finance, the NDA was
transferred to the Ministry of Social Development by presidential proclamation
in October 2001. A board of representatives from government and civil society
organisations govern the NDA. The primary responsibility of the NDA is to grant
funds to civil society organisations to strengthen their institutional capacity
and to enable them to carry out development projects in poor communities. Other
key NDA programmes are policy and research, policy dialogue, as well as impact
assessment.
The budget
allocation to this programme amounts to R85 862 000 million for 2007/08
compared to R78 594 million during 2006/07 financial year.
The primary
source of income for the NDA is from Government. Over the MTEF period, the
allocation amounts to R 129.2 million for 2007/08, R 136.3 million for 2008/09
and R148.8 million for 2009/10. The entity had a deficit in 2004/05, which was
turned around in 2005/6, and it tables a balanced budget over the MTEF period.
COMMITTEE
OBSERVATIONS
The committee
welcomed the budget and the business plan for 2007/08 financial year and
requested the NDA to consider the following issues:
a)
The NDA
needs to do more work on improving its monitoring strategies;
b)
The
committee was also concerned that there seems to be no progress in the projects
funded by NDA, most of them were collapsing. NDA needs to review its implementation
strategy;
c)
In
recent years, the NDA was plagued by fraud and approximately R8 million was
misappropriated. There is a need for NDA to tightened the risk management
strategy and commended the CEO for action on those who engaged themselves in
corrupt activities
d)
A need
for NDA forensic reports to be released to the committee
IT WAS
AGREED THAT the NDA must
provide the committee with a break- down of budget allocations – which was made
available on
3.2 The South
African Social Security Agency
Mr Plaatjies
and Programme managers presented the budget and the strategic plan of the agency
for 2007/08:
The South
African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is a schedule 3A national public entity
established in terms of the South African Security Agency Act (2004) to
administer and pay social assistance grants. Although the SASSA Act establishes
the agency and describes its governance, management and accountability
structures, the Social Assistance Act (2004) regulates the agency’s mandate.
In terms of the
Social Assistance Act, SASSA has been mandated to address the needs of specific
group of vulnerable people, including the aged, people with disabilities,
children under the age of 14, foster children and care dependent children, in addition
to paying the grant in aid. Although the agency has been formally in operation
since April 2005, the transfer of the social assistance administration and
payment service functions from the national and provincial departments of
social development only began in April 2006.
Transfers to
the agency increase from R4,2 billion to R4,8 billion in 2009/10, amount to
R386.6 million, R405.8 million, and R42.3 million for the 2006 MTEF period.
In terms of the
way forward, through realigning the research and development business divisions
and a country network of research institutes, the council has positioned itself
strategically to address agricultural imperatives of the country.
COMMITTEE
OBSERVATIONS
The committee
considered the budget and the business plan for 2007/08 financial year, and
requested the SASSA to consider the following matters:
a)
To develop
capacity for the Agency to do the work and reduce the utilisation of
consultants;
b)
More
than 15 000 fraudulent public servants were identified defrauding the system,
yet only 2 000 were successfully convicted of grant fraud;
c)
There
is a need for a turn around time in filling of vacant posts in the Agency.
d)
The
mechanisms to be put in place for ordinary people to bring knowledge to SASSA, in
order to enhance public participation.
e)
SASSA
must explore a possibility to expand the Eastern Cape Province‘s model to other
provinces (refer applicants to identified doctors to be examined in order to
qualify for grants).
f)
Huge
amounts of money are paid to consultants for constancy work, and the agency
must work towards changing the situation;
g)
The
committee encourage the Agency to ensure that employees who occupy critical
posts are going through the vetting of officials;
h)
There
should be a strategy alignment between SASSA and the Department of Home Affairs
to ensure that issues of sharing one identity document by more than one person
is dealt with;
i)
The
problematic districts in the provinces in terms of rendering the required
service at the required levels must be identified and attended to by
the Agency; and
j)
The
issue of litigation against the Department was raised as a concern by the
committee and was also raised by the Black Sash – the Agency must provide the
committee with the number of pending cases.
3.3 Central Drug Authority
The Central Drug Authority (CDA) was established under
Section 2 of the Prevention and Treatment of the Drug Dependency Act, 1992 (Act
20 of 1992).
Its key functions is to give effect to the National
Drug Master Plan; advise the Minister on any matter affecting the substance and
drug abuse environment; and promote measures relating to the prevention and
combating of the abuse of drugs
The budget
allocation to this programme amounts to R 12 712 000 for 2007/08 compared to R5
180million during 2006/07 financial year. The budget reflects an increase of
31.2%.
COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS
The Committee accepted both the budget and the
business plan, and requested the CDA to look into the following matters:
a)
It is
not clear to the committee how the Ke Moja campaign is working because of its
invisibility.
b)
The Committee
was concerned about the use of drugs in the country.
c)
To
strengthen the prevention part of Substance abuse
d)
To
emphasise on educating the people.
3.4 South African Council for Social Service
Professions (SACSSP)
The Social
Service Professions Act, 1978 (Act 110 of 1978), previously known as the Social
Work Act, provides for the establishment of the South African Council for
Social Service Professions (SACSSP) and defines its powers and functions.
In recent years
the act was amended on three occasions. The 1995 amendment provided for the
establishment of the South African Interim Council for Social Work and for the
rationalisation of certain acts relating to social workers that remained in
force in the various areas of the national territory of the Republic. The 1996
amendment made the Council more representative of the people of the country.
The 1998 amendment established the South African Council for Social Service
Professions and provided for the establishment of Professional boards for
social service professions.
For the period
ahead, the council will be more involved in addressing programmes through the
following divisions: CEO’s/Registrars office, Education and development, Professional
Conduct Policy and Advocacy and Finance.
COMMENTS
ON SACSSP
Ms I Smith by assisted
by the Council members were prepared to present their plans and strategies for
2007/08 financial year. Due to time constraints copies of their presentation
were distributed to members of the committee.
The Committee did
not have sufficient time to interrogate the presentation of the South African
Council for Social Service Professions, and the committee is planning to engage
with them at a later stage.
3.5 COMMENTS
BY UNISEF AND BLACK SASH
Both NGOs were in practice prior 1994, and have a clear understanding of
the history, the progress and the back log of the country.
3.5.1 UNICEF: Commenting on
the budget UNICEF gave
The committee having considered the presentation of UNICEF highlighted
the following issues:
a)
They agree with UNICEF that monitoring is lacking in
most government institutions where services are being rendered.
b)
The majority of service providers such as social
workers are not dedicated in what they are doing.
c)
UNICEF promised to do research on issues affecting
the disabled child
d)
UNICEF endorse that poverty line will be of assistance,
and felt that the absence of an agreed poverty line will delay the progress.
e)
UNICEF noted that the President pledged to identify
ways for 2.6 million 15 – 17 year olds to access the child support grant, but
the budget allocates no funds for them and Early Childhood Development
allocations should be spelt out more clearly on the Millennium Development
Gaols
f)
Child protection: Allocations should be made more clearer
and need to be compared with Children’s Bill costings, which allocate R7.7
billion for Child protection in 2007/08 financial year.
3.5.2 BLACK
SASH: Their proposal focuses more on training and development, where service
providers are being empowered to render services in a productive manner. Social
development to revisit legal procedures that stand as stumbling blocks that
prevent the poorest of the poor to access grants.
In Black Sash’s view, the budget remains a budget for employers and the
employed and continues to exclude the same people, with no indication of a
progressive move in their direction. Black Sash further proposed a grant to be
supplied to those excluded from the social protection net needs to be
reconsidered.
They also proposed that the Portfolio committee to set up a commission to
find out how many child-headed households
Black Sash mentioned that the establishment of a poverty line would
enable much more focused attempts at poverty alleviation programmes based on in
depth understanding of how poverty works.
The committee having considered the presentation of Black Sash
highlighted the following issues:
a)
The committee was concerned whether the paralegal
training was still in use, seeing that in some areas those who were trained,
their services are not being utilised.
b)
The Black sash’s proposal to open more colleges to
train auxiliary workers
c)
Due to insufficient time the committee could not
further interrogate the presentation of Black Sash.
4. CONCLUSION
Having considered
the budgets and strategic / business plans of the Department and entities, the
committee concludes by reiterating its position that:
a) Social
development plays a pivotal role in the fight for alleviation and eradication
of poverty and the reduction of inequalities. It plays a critical role in providing
assistance for the poor and the vulnerable, especially (Early Childhood Development,
the older person and HIV and AIDS). The challenge facing the Social development
sector is that of providing sufficient social workers. Beside the work load of
social workers the department needs to streamline their procedure and allow the
auxiliary workers and the volunteers to perform other administration duties.
b)
Ensure that the communities are informed in
their own languages in order to understand the procedures and be able to access
grants and get first hand information on the services provided by social
development department.
c)
Finalisation of the Child Act.
The committee extends special appreciation to the Director-General
of the Department, programme managers and to all heads of associated entities
for attending the budget hearings.
Consider:
Adopt:
______________________
____________________
Ms T J Tshivhase
Date
(Chairperson – PC on Social Development)