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 20 February 2007) calls on government departments and chapter 5 entities to table their strategic plans within a minimum of 10 days before the budget vote’s discussion.

 

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 28th February 2007, the Department of Social Development and entities namely, the National Development Agency (NDA), the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), tabled their budgets and strategic plans for 2006/07 as required by regulations. The Central Drug Authority (CDA), South African Council for Social Services Professions (SACSSP), as statutory bodies of the department of Social Development, were also invited to table their strategic plans.

 

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%.

 

 

Programme 5: Strategy and Governance

 

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 Friday, 16 March 2007.

 

 

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 South Africa thumbs up recommendation for its achievements and also emphasized that South Africa is not doing enough. South Africa has got the capacity to do more than what is doing at present.   

 

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 South Africa has in 2007 and how government can draw these families into the social security net.

 

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)