Policy and Budget Vote Speech 2009/10 by
MEC for the Department of Health and Social Development, Mpumalanga Provincial
Legislature, Nelspruit
26 August 2009
Honourable Speaker
The Honourable Premier
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the House
Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders Inkosi Mahlangu
Acting Director General Mr JS Mgidi
Leadership of Labour and Business
NGO sector
Management of the department of Social Development and all its employees
All Heads of Departments
Esteemed guests
Members of the media
People of Mpumalanga
Ladies and gentlemen
Honourable Speaker and Honourable members, the President of the
Republic of South Africa and the ruling party, the ANC in his January 08
statement declared to the whole nation on behalf of the ANC that “During the
course of this year, we need to further enhance our efforts to improve the
conditions of children and youth in poverty.” The president further said “This
effort, which has as its objective the defeat of poverty, needs to be
complemented by immediate measures to respond directly to the situation in which
our people find themselves today”
Honourable Speaker and Honourable members, the plight of the
organisation that I represent in the legislature, as clearly spelt out by the
President is the inspiration, and largely is the line of March to which the
present government should follow.
I am therefore of no exception, hence this budget speech will take into
consideration the mandate given to the President and the entire leadership of
the ruling party, to immediately attend to their plight. The ruling party
concludes in the manifesto, that together we can do more.
Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members we live in difficult times.
We live in times where on a daily basis we are witnesses to many of our people
losing their jobs; where houses and cars are repossessed by lending banks due to
the inability of many to pay their premiums. We witness on a daily basis the
struggle of many of our people to put a plate of food on their table. These are
indeed difficult times.
The economic meltdown is no more a distant reality. It has caught up
with us. It has and will continue to bring misery to many of our people who
would continue to lose jobs and increasingly rely on the state to provide some
form of a buffer against their sufferings.
The intricacy of the situation is the reality that our revenue is
declining and over the MTEF period there is no real increase in our budget
despite the obvious increase of people who will depend on our services. We
know for a fact that the situation is not of our own making.
Primarily, this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s
goods have failed through their selfishness and greed. The misery brought by
these narrow actions is huge to fathom.
Honourable Speaker, we present our Budget statement against a harsh
background. The mandate of the Social Development Department is very crucial in
mitigating the suffering of our people.
We aim to create a humane and caring society founded on sound
principles of human solidarity, ubuntu and common prosperity.
The positive development brought about by the current economic turmoil
is that it has provided a space for critical introspection on the decisions that
caused this world economic upheaval. And what seems to be emerging is a
consensus that the way of doing business has to change and governments have to
be more responsible and visible in the market to prevent further market
failures.
Successful examples of alternative ways of doing things have already
emerged and we recently learned valuable lessons from the recent presentation by
Professor Mohammed Yunus from Bangladesh at the Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture
in Johannesburg.
Professor Yunus was a lecturer in economics and conceived an
alternative economic development model which sought to negate the Adam Smith
“invisible hand” as the best model for economic development. He conceived
what he called social business, a model first and fore most based on real social
development where profits are ploughed in human development initiatives.
The crucial lesson here is that things can be done differently and
better. It is in these trying times that we need to seek new creative ways of
doing things within the limited resources available. Morality has a space and
must take priority even in business.
1. Institutional Organization and Capacity
Honourable Speaker, it therefore becomes a very important task to
reposition government to ensure that our interventions have a positive and
greater impact. We now have a new organisational structure and this presents an
opportunity to re-engineer the department and maximise efficiencies.
In this regard we are in a process of filling key service delivery
posts and hope that once appointments have been made; the department will even
be on a stronger position to deliver on its key and crucial mandate.
In the previous financial year we highlighted the intention to develop
an overarching human resource plan which will include how we identify talent and
retain it for a considerable period of time. This is in response to the
general shortage of professionals in the Social Development sector, and this
process will be completed in this financial year.
The Department of Social Development has concluded an agreement with
organised labour, which gives a directive to implement the Occupation Specific
Dispensation for social service professionals with effect from 01 April 2008.
The Department of Social Development, in conjunction with all provinces, has
developed Rural Allowance for Social Workers as a strategy to retain Social
Workers in rural areas. This process is at an advanced stage and will see a huge
improvement in the scope of services the Department is able to render.
Last year we successfully launched the Masupatsela Youth Pioneer
programme, which has enrolled 320 young people in the Province. They complement
the work of community development practitioners and are given R1 500.00 as a
stipend.
At the exit of this programme, most of these young people would have
gained the necessary experience and the plan is to prioritise them when further
training and employment opportunities through the department arise. In
addition, 200 young people drawn from the breath and width of our province will
be completing their year-long training as Social Auxiliary Workers. They will be
absorbed into the structure and their presence will undoubtedly enhance service
delivery.
Honourable Speaker, we are putting more efforts in improving our
finance systems by building capacity particularly in supply chain and asset
management. In this regard, we will be filling strategic positions and
training existing staff with the view to build credibility and integrity in our
financial management. We have been able to initiate the compilation of
asset registers and we are in the process of strengthening internal audit and
risk management. We however require more capacity to meet the statutory
reporting requirements. We will continue to strengthen these sections in
the 2009/10 financial year.
I am happy to announce that this year for the first time the Department
Of Social Development will have a Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. For a
Department of our nature this has been sorely lacking and to some extent limited
the department in performing at its optimal. Performance and information
management and evaluation is very important in ensuring that the right services
are being rendered to the people at the right time and cost.
In order to make an impact on the social issues that pervade our
communities and to create a compassionate and cohesive society we will be
drawing and implementing a five-year communication plan aimed at comprehensive
communication of our programmes, which would empower our people to be agents of
change in every sphere of life.
2. Programme 2: Social Welfare Services
Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members, I now come to the programmes
in the Department that articulate how we get to the end of the rainbow.
One of our core mandates is to build social cohesion. Social cohesion is based
on sound principles of human solidarity, respect, love and compassion
In a cohesive society, moral consciousness is the supreme guide of our
actions. This means that children are a treasure of society and their protection
is a societal matter. Women are accorded the necessary respect and any harm to
their integrity is despised by all.
In a cohesive society, emphasis is on human solidarity rather than
crass materialism that seem to be engulfing our human spirit. These are very
important dreams Honourable Members that we have to work towards. If we do
not, we are in danger of one day arriving at a point where our people have all
their material needs and yet are not happy.
These are what people call the “soft issues,” and these are what give
quality and value to the human existence. Therefore the importance of this
portfolio cannot be undervalued, and in the next five years leading to 2014, the
Department of Social Development will ensure that condition of every human in
Mpumalanga is improved materially and spiritually.
I would like to stress the point that the programmes of the Department
in the main target vulnerable groups in our society, which are women, children,
youth, the people with disabilities and the elderly. This is done
consciously so as to bring balance in our society and ensure that we all enjoy
this hard earned freedom.
Honourable Speaker, whereas in Programme two we deal with Social
Welfare Services whereby we assist mainly these groups in their time of need, in
Programme 3, which is Community Development, we deal specifically with
empowering these groups. This is very deliberate
2.1 Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse
Honourable Speaker, we are yet to win the war against substance abuse
in our society. Research has shown that substance abuse is a major cause of
crime, and the increased use of drugs of all types is eroding our potential as a
society. We only need to look at the social determinants of health in South
Africa and we can see that these are negative.
The structural inequity in the South African political economy means
that the majority of our people are born into a huge disadvantage. The
fact that a high number of people are willingly consuming cigarettes, alcohol,
marijuana and cocaine adds tremendous pressures on society and limits our
ability to progress. The effect of the use of these drugs goes way beyond
the individual consuming them but affects everybody.
The war on drugs in Mpumalanga goes beyond the increase in usage by
individuals; Mpumalanga is increasingly used as a transit route by drug
smugglers and makes it easier for these drugs to find their way into our
communities. We require a concerted effort by all of us to fight the
scourge of drug abuse in our communities. We are all affected. We cannot have
a future when more and more of our youth toil in prisons as a result of drug
abuse.
In a hardened effort to combat the use of drugs and abuse of substances
like alcohol, a Draft Provincial Mini Drug Master Plan has been developed and is
in the process of being finalised for implementation. This plan is a
multi-sectoral effort involving stakeholders from communities, the South African
Police services, the NGO sector and government.
The cornerstone of the plan is preventive education to limit the number
of people even thinking of trying substances that may be addictive and
destructive.
An added element of the Plan will be the broad target group at which
it will be aimed at. In the past, efforts to curb substance abuse have
mainly been geared towards the youth; however it is important to educate adults
and bring them into the fold of responsibility by giving them the ability to
identify youth who are involved in substance abuse and give some form of
counselling and support.
2.2 Care and Service to Older Persons
Honourable Speaker, we are all familiar with the saying that you can
judge how a man will treat his wife by the way he treats his mother; well the
same can be said about how you can judge a society by the way it treats its
older persons. Older persons are our backbone from which we are building
this nation. They are the source of strength, identity, wisdom and history
from which we are able to stand proud amongst all nations, we therefore cannot
neglect them at the time when they should be enjoying their lives and taking
pride in their accomplishments and long lives.
It is very important that we revert to the ubuntu ways of natural
respect for our elders. As a Department, we respond to the needs of older
persons by providing Home Based Care programmes; poverty relief and economic
empowerment of older persons; care to those who are frail; and train them in
parenting skills as a number of them are bringing up their grandchildren.
The Older Persons Act recognises the home based care programme as a need for
frail older persons living in the community. The home based care programme is to
embrace our culture of caring for our older persons within families and
communities.
In the last financial year, fourteen organisations were funded
specifically for home based care and we reached 728 beneficiaries; 23 capacity
building sessions were provided to 914 persons on the Older Persons Act.
In total, 128 Not for Profit Organizations (NPO) were funded reaching 4
803 beneficiaries. Protection of older persons is a priority and the plan
is therefore to continue to keep the abuse register and encourage NGOs, older
persons, families and communities to report abuse. In the 2009/10
financial year we will spend R25 million to fund a total of 149 NPO’s targeting
5 960 beneficiaries.
2.3 Crime Prevention and Support
Honourable Members, at long last the Child Justice Act was promulgated
into law in July 2009. This Act strengthens the area of child justice
considerably as it provides the right resources and remedies to deal with
children more effectively. When it comes to crime prevention the
Department has a role especially regarding children and youth in conflict with
the law.
The main thrust is to discourage crime and find the root-cause that
leads young people to commit crime. There are many reasons why children
and youth turn to crime ranging from child abuse and neglect to substance abuse
and addiction. In the 2008/2009 financial year our diversion programme for
children in conflict with the law reached 120 children.
A total of 149 young persons were admitted into our Secure Care
Centres. In this financial year 3,924 children are targeted as participants in
the diversion programme and 1,800 children will be reached through home based
care supervision. This sub-programme has seven NPOs that are funded to the
tune of R2, 3 million.
2. 4 Services to Persons with Disabilities
Honourable Speaker, it is sad that government is still finding it
difficult to render services to people with disabilities. Access remains the
biggest obstacle in this regard. We cannot claim to be a free nation for as long
as many of our people with disability suffer from stigma, abuse and neglect in
the hands of those that are supposed to provide care and support.
We need therefore to mainstream services to people with disabilities to
transcend all aspects of our lives. The Department will ensure strict
adherence to the integrated disability strategy, which indicates the roles all
departments should play. The plight of people with disabilities is our
collective responsibility.
We need no longer pay lip service towards issues that affect them.
People with disability have rights like all of us do. These rights are enshrined
in the Constitution of the land. We owe them no favour; it is their
Constitutional right to access government services. We therefore need to promote
the well being; independent living and protection of socio economic rights.
To this end, we will intensify services and care to people with
disabilities in the current financial year. We will conduct capacity
building programmes and aim to reach 750 persons with disabilities. The
Provincial and District Forums for People with Disabilities will be supported to
carry out their mandates. Furthermore, we will spend R23, 4 million to fund 122
NPOs reaching 2 859 adults and children with disabilities.
We are also prioritising services to children with disabilities and we
have increased the subsidy for stimulation centres from R264 per child per month
to R396 with effect from April 2009.
2. 5. Family And Victim Empowerment Programme
The renowned poet and artist, Mzwakhe Mbuli reminds us about familyhood
in his poem, and I quote; “ukulimala komuntu ukulimala komndeni; ukulimala
komndeni ukulimala komphakathi; ukulimala komphakathi ukulimala kweSizwe” close
quote.
To build a caring and humane society requires a concerted effort that
begins with us re-engineering and repositioning families as the basic unit of
society. If families uphold sound values of respect, human solidarity and
common prosperity, we will have a firm foundation to build a prosperous nation.
The burden of disease in our society has led to a new phenomenon that
sees children increasingly assuming parenting responsibilities at early age.
This became evident on the 9th of August when as part of Women’s Day
celebrations we visited Masoyi and met an 11-year old girl taking care of her
siblings. We definitely have similar cases throughout the Province and
this is neither normal nor conducive to building the kind of nation we dream of.
To ensure that children grow up as normal kids with a full potential to
be better citizens of our country in their later lives, they require maximum
support, not only from the Department of Social Development but government and
society as a whole. When we offer any kind of opportunities these children
must be prioritised and Honourable Members can play a crucial role in their
respective constituencies.
Honourable Speaker, the Victim Empowerment Programme aims to lessen the
long-term impact of crime by proactively attending to the needs of all victims.
This programme is designed to deal mainly with people who have suffered
emotional, physical and economical loss due to criminal acts.
We reached eleven 1124 in need of Victim Empowerment Programme
services. These services include counselling services and temporary
accommodation in shelters.
2. 6 Child Care and Protection Services
Honourable Speaker, children are the future of any nation. Their
protection and nurturing requires a concerted effort from all of us. Our
children require a space to grow as children and not to be made to perform
duties that limit their potential to grow as children.
Of concern to us as a Department is the increasing number of children
living in our streets, the increasing number of children in conflict with the
law and many children who require foster care. If children are not given a
chance to grow as children, they later in their lives become hardened criminals
and become a thorn for society.
We are keeping a Provincial Child Protection Register, which is aimed
at registering all cases of child abuse so that we are able to monitor cases of
abuse and provide constant support. The register has been of assistance in
determining the number of children abused in the Province as well as the
services provided to them.
In the 2008/09 financial year, 16 522 children and youth were reached
through foster care, adoption, and custody and child abuse services. A
further 37 000, 240 children and youth were reached through non-statutory
services; these are children that were provided with services in Social
Development offices. These services include services provided to children who
needed assistance with documentation, counselling and provision of life-skills
to improve their quality of life.
Honourable Speaker, the most important intervention of investing in our
children is to ensure that that they attend Early Childhood Development centres
(ECD). These centres provide children with an early educational foundation which
enhances success in formal schooling up to tertiary training. In the 2008/09
financial year, 50 378 children were reached through Early Childhood Development
services in both registered and unregistered facilities focusing on children
from birth until four years.
In this financial year, we will continue to maintain a Provincial Child
Protection Register; we will address the foster care backlog of 70 000 by
placing half of these children in foster care. We will register 200 new
ECD sites and strengthen 350 ECD sites in line with Expanded Public Works
Programme. We will subsidise 565 registered ECD centres and this will benefit 30
088 children. Our subsidy is R11 per child per day. In preparation for the
2010 FIFA World Cup, we will establish a 24 hour service for children in
Ehlanzeni District.
2. 7 HIV and AIDS
Honourable Speaker, the effect and impact of HIV and AIDS continues to
be a negative burden for all in our society. Although the Department of
Social Development’s mandate in this regard is confined to providing support
services to people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS, we realize that this
is not enough and we indeed have to play a bigger role in the prevention of HIV
transmission.
As per the mandate, in the 2008/09 financial year we funded 125 NPO’s,
2 182 people who are caregivers to people infected with HIV and AIDS were
provided with psychosocial support. 3 000 families were provided with food
parcels and 100 children provided with school uniform.
In this financial year with a budget of R59, 3 million, we will fund
135 Not-for-Profit Organisations creating 2 230 jobs in line with Expanded
Public Works Programme funded. These care givers are provided with stipend which
has been increased from R500 to R1000 a month
Programme 3 - Community Development
Honourable Speaker, we have highlighted earlier on, that Programme
three is aimed at empowering vulnerable groups in our society so that they too,
can participate equally in every sphere of life. Importantly that they are
lifted from poverty and the cycle of poverty is broken completely.
3.1 Youth Development
The former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan had this
to say about young people:
"Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies."
This is precisely our view as the Department of Social Development;
empowering youth is an imperative if we are to overcome poverty and injustice in
our society.
To this end the Department is focusing on empowering youth through
giving valuable skills, employment opportunities and educating them on the value
of being oriented by giving back to their communities and being agents of
change.
To achieve this we implemented the following programmes in the
2008/2009 financial year; 222 young people participated in the National Youth
Services Programme, funded 24 youth co-operatives, funded 23 Not-for-Profit
Organizations projects run by youth.
In the 2009/10 financial year we will empower 36 youth projects that
will reach 3 000 young people; 222 young people will be trained in
entrepreneurial skills; life skills and accredited career oriented programmes
through the National Youth Service Programme.
3.2 Sustainable Livelihood Programme
Honourable Speaker, as a government we are committed to the Millennium
Development Goals that must be met by the year 2014. We are committed
because we understand that they provide a global effort to make a dent on
poverty.
Any attempt to build a cohesive, caring and humane society will remain
a pipe dream if efforts are not made to eradicate poverty. There are many
reasons why so many of our communities find themselves trapped in poverty,
however there are very few ways through which people and communities can lift
themselves out of poverty permanently.
The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is aimed at ensuring that we deal
with varying forms of poverty outputs at the same time. Essentially the
Sustainable Livelihoods Approach seeks to find the solutions to poverty from
communities affected and then injecting the right support to assist the
community to lift themselves out of poverty and breaking the cycle of poverty
permanently.
In this regard, we funded 30 projects focused on benefiting rural
communities, especially women and youth. We now have in place a
Sustainable Livelihoods Framework which will be very important in harnessing
resources and energies in the fight against poverty.
3.3 War Room on Poverty
In 2008 the National Cabinet declared war on poverty and instituted the
creation of war rooms around the country to deal with poverty in a coordinated
and sustainable manner. The use of the military word “war” signifies the urgency
and seriousness with which this important work must be carried forward.
The effectiveness of a war room is based on the fact that coordination
is done centrally therefore removing the gaps that emanate when responses come
from various points. So the war room on poverty is a central response
centre where all information will be collected so we have the best understanding
of poverty in every community in the Mpumalanga Province. The aim is to
profile all community households in the province, and in profiling them we will
be able to assess their needs.
The work of the War Room in the Province has commenced in earnest since
it’s launching in Skhwahlane in January this year. Seven (7)
municipalities were identified for the piloting of the war room strategy.
These are Bushbuckridge wards 30, 33 and 34; Nkomazi wards 16 and 17;
Mkhondo wards 2, 6, 8; Albert Luthuli wards 11 and 18; Pixley Ka-Seme wards 6
and 10; Thembisile Hani wards 8, 9, 24 and Dr. JS Moroka wards 21 and 24.
These were selected on the basis of having the highest multiple deprivation
indices.
The war room will ensure that the needs of the most deprived, needy,
vulnerable and indigent of our communities are attended to as a matter of
urgency. Importantly, these communities and the anti-poverty initiatives
are streamlined into all government departmental planning and budgeting
processes.
3. 4 Institutional Building and Support to NPO’s
Honourable speaker, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) has a crucial
role to play in ensuring that services do reach our people close to where they
live. If we are to realise many developmental goals including Millennium
Development Goals, NGO’s are required as development partners.
This also pertains to legislation that determines the working
relationship with the NGO sector. For instance in December 2001,
Government signed a Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved
Community-Government Relationship. This Statement envisages “strong and
respectful relationships between Government and community, voluntary
organisations”. It articulates clear objectives for Government agencies
for an improved relationship with the community sector.
Furthermore, government has simplified the process of establishing an
NGO. The government has also ensured that there are safeguards in place to
ensure that funds given to NGO’s are used in the manner agreed upon.
Therefore all NGO’s are required to produce audited financial statements to
ensure that good governance takes place.
Honourable Speaker, the main task of this sub-programme is to develop
policies and programmes to create an enabling environment within which non
profit organisations can be empowered to contribute and participate fully
towards the development of communities.
In the financial year 2008/09 a total of 897 NPO’s was funded. We also saw the successful implementation of the Community Builder of the Year, and the National Overall Winner Ms Mary Mhlanga is from Nkomazi municipality. We are honoured to have her with us today and I want to take this opportunity to request her to stand up. Malibongwe!
In the 2009/10 financial year, we will fund 921 NPO’s. The
sub-programme will continue to engage relevant institutions or development
agencies and intensify capacity building programmes to ensure sustainability of
development initiatives. In this financial year we will enhance the
capacity of the Community Development Practitioners to enable them to support
the success of the Provincial War Room Campaign and Sustainable Livelihoods
approach rollout process.
We will once again hold a NPO Provincial Consultative Summit on the 16 September 2009 aimed amongst other things on the following:
- Strengthening of partnerships with NPOs, Community Based Organizations and Faith Based Organizations
- Equitable redistribution of resources in the light of what is available and the demand
- Address needs, priorities and historical imbalances
- Reach the poor and vulnerable
- Assist emerging organisations to understand the needs and challenges of their communities
- Ensure an improvement in the provision of effective and efficient
services
The main challenge faced by NGO’s is that they have limited funding, as
mentioned, most rely on government funding. This has prompted government
to embark on capacity building of NGO’s through providing training in various
areas such as financial management and project management.
We must also hasten to commend the collaboration with private sector in
this important area of work. We would appreciate to see a continued support by
private sector to NGO’s providing services in key areas that are in line with
their company Corporate Social Investments and beyond.
3. 5 Population, Research and Demography
Honourable Speaker, one of the main functions of the Population and
Research Directorate is to promote the integration of population and development
information into planning at all levels. We remain committed to address this
challenge by conducting research as well as through capacity development and
population advocacy initiatives.
The Population and Research directorate, in co-operation with the
National Department of Social Development and Department of Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs conducted advocacy workshops to train all
Community Development Workers in the province. During the current financial
year the sub-programme will conduct five (5) working sessions with local
municipalities to capacitate them in basic demographic analysis and facilitate
the development of demographic profiles to support IDP development.
The directorate, in collaboration with the
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, will also conduct
and co-fund, formal accredited training to officials from local municipalities
on the “Integration of Population Issues into Development Policies and Plans".
In the 2009/10 financial year, we will conduct three research
projects:
- Reasons for Failure and Drop-out of Bursary Holders,
- Impact Assessment of Disability Grants, and
- Employee Satisfaction Survey amongst Departmental Officials with
Disabilities.
Infrastructure
Honourable Speaker, in order for us to meet our objectives and render
our services to the people of Mpumalanga we need to be more accessible. A
key aspect to increase our accessibility is in infrastructure, which is how we
ensure that we are close to the people. The Social Development offices
need to be as close to the people as possible so that they know where to go to
seek a social worker, community development practitioner for counselling and
guidance.
In the 2009/10 financial year we will spend R57 million for building
offices in the following areas:
Ehlanzeni District
- KaMaqhekeza
- Simile
- Jerusalem
Gert Sibande District
- Gert Sibande District Office
- Hendrina
- Carolina
- Volksrust
- Balfour
- Bethal
Nkangala District
- Marapyane
Honourable Speaker I present to this august house and request the house
to approve the budget of the Department of Social Development Vote 13 which is
R792, 343, 000.00
Programme 1: Administration R196, 512, 000. 00
The programme provides policy direction, overall strategic leadership
of the whole department and monitoring and evaluation.
Programme 2: Social Welfare R450, 405, 000. 00
To provide integrated developmental social welfare services to the poor
and vulnerable in partnership with stakeholders and civil society organizations.
Programme 3: Development and Research R145, 426, 000. 00
This programme provides sustainable development programmes which
facilitate empowerment of communities, as well as information towards the
implementation of the National Population Policy.
Conclusion
Before I conclude Honourable speaker, allow me to join the millions of
our people to congratulate our athletes; Mbulaleni mulaudzi Gold in 800m men’s
final, Caster Semenya Gold in 800m women final and Khotso Mokoena Silver in
8.24m jump final. These athletes have made our country proud in the recent IAAF
world championships in Berlin, Germany. The saga about the gender of Caster
Semenya tells us that there is still a lot of work to be done to destroy gender
stereotypes in the world at large. The racial undertones of this saga are also
glaring and cannot be ignored.
In conclusion Honourable Speaker, allow me to pass my sincere and
heartfelt gratitude to the Acting Head of Department for her stewardship and the
entire staff of the component. The work of my predecessors cannot go unnoticed
for it is through his steadfastness that we can now hit the road running and for
that we are very thankful.
Allow me also to pass my sincere thanks to the Portfolio Committee for
their robust oversight role, which is necessary if we are to make real and
meaningful changes to the lives of our people.
The support from my colleagues in the Executive and in particular the
visionary leadership of the Premier and his guidance is immeasurable.
I also want to pass my appreciation for the support from my family; my
children, my mother Merriam and sister Tlaki who are with us here today.
The work of our agencies; the South African Social Security Agency and
the National Development Agency cannot go unnoticed. We are thankful for their
sense of urgency and integrity in their work. I also like to equally pay special
thanks to the contest support and guidance of the Auditor general, we really
value their contributions.
We source our energy out of the knowledge that we are not alone in this
journey. Our masses are with us. They have demonstrated in numbers their faith
in our glorious movement. They do not want to be spectators. They want to be
active participants in this journey, for they know it is a journey of human
solidarity, common suffering and collective prosperity.
We live in difficult times, real difficult times. Our desire is not to
ponder failure; we seek to be guided by our knowledge that we are a winning
nation. We have crossed many rivers and climbed high mountains and traversed on
difficult and uneven landscapes to be where we are today; and we shall therefore
not fail.
I thank you.
Kea leboga
Ngiyabonga
Nakhensa
Dankie
Issued by the Department of Social Development, Mpumalanga
Provincial Government