E249:3rd July 2009

Honourable Chairperson,

There are many communities, and people, in our country who are trapped in debilitating poverty and are very vulnerable. Without assistance from the state these people would struggle to survive, let alone escape their lives of poverty, so the work of this department is very important as it has a great impact of the lives of the most vulnerable citizens in our country.

The department does have an array of grants that are available to those who need them. The problem, however, lies in the fact that not many people know about these grants or how to go about accessing them. 
 

The dissemination of information is therefore very important and this is an area where the department needs to improve if it is to reach more people. Many potential recipients are either illiterate or do not have access to this information and this must be borne in mind when attempting to reach them.

The human resources of the department, and its agencies, are probably the most important asset that they have. They deal directly with the recipients of grants and are therefore in the perfect position to assist with the dissemination of information as well as with the identification of obstacles that are preventing them from delivering an efficient service.

Also related to the issue of social grants is the problem of fraudulent claims, especially by public servants. The previous Minister did try to address this problem and we hope that the new administration will intensify these efforts until all such corruption is wiped out.

There were major flaws with the distribution of food parcels and vouchers which were meant to assist the poor during the times of extremely high food prices. There was no logic in the way that these were distributed and many people who really needed them did not receive any. The Department must conduct a review of this operation and the way in which it was administered so that the same mistakes are not repeated in the future.

In order to promote efficiency and to provide a better service there must be increased co-ordination between this department and other departments, such as Health and Home Affairs, which also deal with social issues and impact directly on the lives of the poor.

While the IFP does believes in the provision of grants it is important that a culture of dependency is not created and that self sufficiency and self help are promoted.

The IFP support this budget vote.

I thank you

Contact:
Helen Makhuba
073 268 3063.