The
Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) of the Portfolio Committee on
Social Development, on the performance of the Department of Social Development
and its entities for the 2013/14 financial year, dated 22 October 2014
The Portfolio Committee on Social Development,
having considered the performance and the submission to the National Treasury for
the medium term period of the Department of Social Development, the South
African Social Security Agency (hereafter SASSA or the Agency), and the
National Development Agency (hereafter the NDA or Agency) reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
The Portfolio Committee on Social
Development as an extension of the National Assembly of Parliament is tasked
with a mandate to conduct oversight over the Department of Social Development
and its entities (the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the
National Development Agency (NDA). The purpose of the oversight function of the
Committee is for the Committee to monitor the financial and non-financial
performance of the department and its entities. It ensures that the department
and the entities deliver on their strategic objectives, priorities and targets
set in their Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans. The Committee
further monitors that the service delivery of the department and its entities
is in line with the Budget Vote it approved.
The process of compiling the BRRR
therefore enables the Committee to fulfill its mandate of scrutinizing the
annual performance and financial reports of the department and its entities. To
further enrich this process the Committee makes use of the oversight
information from its stakeholders, such as, the Office of the Auditor-General
(AG), National Treasury reports, submissions from civil society organisations
and research reports from research institutions. It also uses the findings of
its oversight visits, recommendations of the previous BRRR and committee
briefings.
Most importantly the budget
review process gives the Committee an opportunity to have a say in the budget
allocation of the department through the recommendations it makes. Its recommendations
are considered during the consideration of the Medium Term Budget Policy
Statement (MTBPS). The budget review process also enables the Committee to make
recommendations to the Minister of Social Development on issues pertaining to
service delivery. This therefore means that the analysis contained in the BRRR
is both backward and forward looking.
1.1.
Mandate of
the Committee
The Committee’s mandate as prescribed by the
Constitution of South Africa and the Rules of Parliament is to build an
oversight process that ensures a quality process of scrutinising and overseeing
the department’s action and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better
quality of life for all people of South Africa.
It is also required to facilitate public participation, monitoring
and oversight over the legislative processes relating to social development and
also to confer with relevant governmental and civil society organs on social
development matters. The Committee also enhances
and develops the capacity of its members to exercise effective oversight over
the Executive Authority in social development.
It monitors whether the Department of Social Development fulfils its
mandate and according to priorities.
The Committee also processes and approves
legislation and international protocols and conventions relating to social
development. It participates in the national and international social
development conferences. It also engages in any activities and programmes aimed
at the development and delivery of quality social development to all South
Africans. It is also mandated to perform the following:
1.2.
Description
of core functions of the Department of Social Development, SASSA and the NDA
Department of Social Development
The department derives its mandate from several pieces of legislation
and policies, including the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) and the
Population Policy (1998). The constitutional mandate of the department is to
provide sector-wide national leadership in social development by developing and
implementing programmes for the eradication of poverty and social protection
and development amongst the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable and
marginalized.
The department’s
mission is “to ensure the provision of comprehensive social protection services
against vulnerability and poverty within the constitutional and legislative
framework, and to create an enabling environment for sustainable development.
The department further aims to deliver integrated, sustainable and quality
services, in partnership with all those committed to building a caring society.
The vision
of the department is to create a caring and integrated
system of social development services that facilitates human development and
improves the quality of life.
SASSA
The South African Social Security
Agency was established in April 2006 as a Schedule 3A Public Entity in
term of the PFMA. The Agency derives its legislative mandate from the South
African Social Security Act, 2004 and the Social Assistance Act, 2004. The main function of the South African Social
Security Act is to make provision for the effective management, administration and
payment of social assistance and service through the establishment of the South
African Social Security Agency.
The Social Assistance Act provides
a national legislative framework for the provision of different types of social
grants, social relief of distress, the delivery of social assistance grants by
a national Agency and the establishment of an Inspectorate for Social Security.
The mission of the Agency is to administer quality customer-centric social security
services to eligible and potential beneficiaries. The objectives
of SASSA are to act as the sole agent that will ensure the
efficient and effective management, administration and payment of social
assistance and to eventually serve as institution to manage broader social
security benefits.
The
NDA
In
terms of the National Development Agency (NDA) Act (Act No 108 of 1998 as
amended), the NDA was mandated to contribute towards the eradication of poverty
and its causes by granting funds to civil society organisations (CSOs) to:
• Implement development projects in poor
communities, and
• Strengthen the institutional capacity of CSOs
that provide services to poor communities.
1.3.
Purpose of
the BRR Report
In
terms of Section 5 of the Money
Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, No. of 2009, the National
Assembly (NA) through its committees must annually assess the performance of
each national department. Portfolio Committees must thus annually submit Budget
Reviews and Recommendation Reports (BRRRs) for
tabling in the NA in order for Parliament to compile a report for the Medium
Term Budget Policy Statement.
The Money
Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act therefore make it obligatory
for Parliament to assess the department’s budgetary needs and shortfalls
vis-à-vis the department’s operational efficiency and performance
1.4.
Method
This report culminated from a very intense
and thorough analysis and interaction with the department and its entities
through briefings and interactions with relevant stakeholders. These included a
briefing from the Department of Social Development and its entities on their
annual reports and quarterly performance reports, a briefing from the Office of
the Auditor-General on the audit outcomes and deliberations on the analysis
done by the support staff on the performance of the department in terms of their
service delivery targets and financial performance.
2.
Overview of the key relevant policy focus areas
The social development sector
derives its overarching mandate from Section 27 of the South African
Constitution (Act 108 of 1996). Section 27 makes it a right for South African
citizens to have access to social security and food security. In line with this
constitutional mandate and the international and regional obligations, the
government adopted the 2009 – 2014 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) in
which 12 Government Priority Outcomes were identified. Due to the cross cutting
nature of the social development sector, the Department of Social Development
had to implement a number of these priority outcomes. Additionally, Government
adopted a National Development Plan in 2012, which provided a strategic
framework for the 2014 – 2019 MTSF. This MTSF increased the Government Outcomes
to 14. The priorities and targets that have relevance to the social development
sector are as follows:
·
provision of a comprehensive, responsive and
sustainable social protection system;
·
creation of decent employment through inclusive
growth;
·
ensuring that all people in South Africa are and feel
safe;
·
creating a vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural
communities contributing towards food security for all;
·
developing an efficient, effective and
development-oriented public service; and
·
creating a diverse, socially cohesive society with a
common national identity.
The strategic objectives and priorities of
the department and its entities respond to the provisions of the aforementioned
plans. For the year under review, the department and its entities reported on
their financial and non-financial performance with regard to implementing their
2013/14 Annual Performance Plan, which emanated from 2013 State of the Nation
Address and five year government programme of action as outlined above.
Analysis of 2014 State of the National Address
Social Assistance
The social assistance programme reaches about 16
million people especially vulnerable people. However conventional economic
theory suggests that social grants may undermine labour force participation by
reducing the opportunity cost of not working. Models developed for
industrialised countries and applied broadly to South African data sometimes
validate this hypothesis. However, when models are developed that reflect the
labour market behaviour of South Africans who receive social grants, the
results contradict this hypothesis. Research demonstrates that people in
households receiving social grants have increased both their labour force
participation and employment rates faster than those who live in households that
do not receive social grants. In addition, workers in households receiving
social grants have realised more rapid wage increases. These findings are
consistent with the hypothesis that South Africa’s social grants increase both
the supply and demand for labour. This evidence does not support the hypothesis
that South Africa’s system of social grants negatively affects employment
creation.
Furthermore the
establishment of the National Planning
Commission produced the landmark National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP
provides a synopsis what the country should do to eradicate poverty, increase
employment and reduce inequality by 2030. The Department of Social Development
plays a critical role in the reduction of poverty and inequality. In increasing job
creation, the President highlighted that 15 million people have jobs in the
country. However, unemployment still remains high, and youth unemployment
continues to be a matter of concern. The current statistics on unemployment indicates
that the number of unemployed persons decreased by 50 000 (or 1.0%) between the
third and fourth quarters of 2013. In 2013, the number of unemployed men
increased by 71 000 (or 3.0%) while unemployed women increased by 49 000 (or
2.1%).
Job
Creation
The Expanded Public Works
Programme and the Community Work Programme (EPWP) is an effective safety net
for the poor and youth. EPWP Social Sector operates through volunteers who
are mostly located within non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) and community-based
organisations (CBO’s). Although the programme targets all the vulnerable
citizens of the country, the Code of Good practice currently articulates
specific targets for the share of EPWP participants that should be women, youth
and persons with disabilities. This ensures that there is sufficient inclusion
of the youth in the programme. Currently the Home and Community Home Based Care
(CHCBC) programmes and Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiatives
facilitated by the Department of Social Development (DSD) fall under this programme. The
Department co-ordinated the creation of more than 171 000 job creation in
2012/13 financial year. This translates into 58% of EPWP Social Sector
beneficiaries being youth. They received on average a stipend of R1 300 per
month which in most cases contributes towards supporting households with an
average of 5 people each. This contributes to reducing household food
insecurity and equips participants with skills to seek better opportunities in
the job market.
Victim Empowerment
Programme (VEP)
The President highlighted that a number of measures
have been introduced to eradicate violence against women and children. Measures
that have been taken are the reopening of the Family Violence, Child Protection
and Sexual Offences Units as well as Sexual Offences Courts. The Victim
Empowerment Programme is implemented in accordance with work of the
Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Root Causes of Violence against Women and
Children, and is led by the Minister of Social Development as the convener. The
Inter-Ministerial Committee has since developed a five-year Programme of Action
which was adopted by Cabinet in 2013.
The department has established seven Khuseleka
One-Stop Centres and funds a total of 88 shelters for abused women across the
nine provinces. The process of establishing two additional Khuseleka One-Stop
Centres during the 2013/14 financial year is underway. Furthermore, the department is planning to
establish nine White Door Centres in all nine provinces during 2014/15
financial year, as part of the strategy to extend services to protect victims
of crime and violence including women and children especially in the previously
under-resourced areas. Despite these efforts, research indicates that protection
to the various categories of victims of crime is dispersed across different
legislation, instead of a single comprehensive law. Further, it is also noted that the existing
legislation is poorly connected and coordinated. The department is in the
process of drafting the Bill on Victim Empowerment Support Services to address
this gap.
Department Strategic Priorities (2013/14)
The department
identified five strategic priorities for the 2013/14 financial year; namely:
·
Expanding Child and Youth Care Services
through the Isibindi Model;
·
Increasing access to Early Childhood
Development (ECD);
·
Combating substance abuse and gender based
violence;
·
Increasing household food and nutrition
security and
·
Protecting and promoting of the rights of
older persons and people with disabilities.
3.
Summary of previous key financial and performance recommendations of
Committee
3.1.
2013/14
BRRR recommendations
The Committee raised a concern that the actual achievement of some
targets exceeded the planned targets.
This portrayed an impression that the department had under-targeted or
poorly planned. It also expressed a serious concern that the department managed
to achieve only 61% of its planned targets meaning, 39% targets were not
achieved.
It recommended that the Minister should ensure that the department
reviews how it sets its annual targets to ensure that they are Simple,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound (SMART). The department and its entities should also
strengthen their monitoring and evaluation unit. The department
should ensure that it meets its performance targets as planned for in each
quarter. It should use evidence based planning in setting its targets. Evidence
should be based on statistics and findings of the national census, community
surveys and community profiling of the War Room on Poverty. This kind of
evidence is vital to ensure that the targets set meet the populations demands.
The Committee again expressed concerns over the four (4) dormant
disaster funds (Refugee Relief Fund, Social Relief Fund, State President’s Fund
and the Disaster Relief Fund) of the department. The purpose of the Refugee
Relief Fund is to render fair and reasonable assistance to refugees. The Social
Relief Fund was establish to provide assistance to persons with psychological
problems and provide fair and reasonable relief of distress to victims of
violence. The State President’s Fund assists was established to assist victims
of any act of terrorism with their medical treatment and rehabilitation and
relieve financial hardship or financial distress caused directly or indirectly
by any act of terrorism. The purpose of the Disaster Relief Fund is to assist
persons or organisations who or which have suffered damaged or loss caused by
disaster. The Committee wanted know the reasons that caused the delays in
deactivating these funds as they have been dormant for some time.
The department explained that it intended to draft a fund repeal
legislation that would provide for the closure of these funds. However, due to
the fact that Parliament would have a short year (in 2013) this was shifted to
the next financial year (2014/15). It would also hold discussions with the
Department of Defence with regard to the fund that falls within its jurisdiction.
The Committee recommended that the Minister
should facilitate a process to ensure that the four dormant funds of the
department are deactivated or a legislation to close them is drafted and
submitted to Parliament in the next financial year.
The Committee expressed serious concern about the brutal killings of
elderly women. It requested the department to develop strong interventions to
both protect older persons and put an end to these killings.
With regard to the ECD centres, the Committee
reiterated its concern that the ECDs are still under resourced with inadequate
infrastructure, especially those located in rural areas. It emphasized the need
for these centres to be well resourced.
In
addition to the above mentioned recommendations, the Committee made the
following recommendations:
·
The budget and the planning process of the department
should be aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP).
·
The Minister should ensure that substance
abuse evaluation centres are rolled out to all provinces. These centres are
important in enabling the practitioners to assess and locate users to
appropriate intervention programmes. In addition, there should be an increase in the roll out of in-patient,
out-patient and after care programmes. The in-patient facilities should be
adequately capacitated and monitored to ensure that they adhere to norms and
standards.
·
In relation to the high foster care backlog, the Minister should ensure that the department
exercises caution when it sets the targets to increase the number of foster
care placements. It should also prioritise interventions aimed at eliminating
delays in the applications to extend court orders and placements.
Progress made in
implementing the 2012/13 BRRR recommendations
The department made good progress in implementing the recommendations
made by the Committee. It made the following achievement:
·
It improved the
number of achieved targets from 61% in 2012/ 2013 to 69% in 2013/14. The
Monitoring and Evaluation unit implemented an initiative to co-ordinate the
department’s self-assessment in terms of the Management Performance Assessment
Tool of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. Notwithstanding
these achievements it would be useful for the department to report to the
Committee how it implemented the recommendation to use evidence based planning in setting of its targets. Evidence based on
statistics and findings of the national census, community surveys and community
profiling of the War Room on Poverty.
·
It resumed the
process of repealing the Fund Raising Act of 1978 (No. 107). The repeal of this
Act will dissolve the Relief Funds, however SASSA will continue to provide
relief through its Social Relief of Distress programme. The department should
update the committee on the progress made with regard to the discussions it had
planned to have with the Department of Defence with regard to the State’s
President Fund.
·
It implemented older persons desks in all
nine provinces. It also launched the register of persons convicted of abusing
older persons in July 2014. It is
however amending the Regulations of the Older Persons
Act to address the concerns raised by the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development that the Regulations were not clear with regard to
process to be followed.
·
It developed a
draft Early Childhood Development Policy and Comprehensive Package of ECD services.
It developed the South African Integrated Programme of Action for ECD. It
further conducted a comprehensive audit of 12 526 ECD centres in all the
provinces.
·
The department did
not report on the progress it made in implementing the Committee’s recommendation
of rolling out substance abuse evaluation centres, the in-patient,
out-patient, after care programmes and monitoring of the existing ones to
ensure adherence to norms and standards.
·
It finalised the drafting of the Children’s
Act, which in part will address the administrative and judicial challenges that
had caused delays in the applications to extend court orders and placements.
4. Overview and
assessment of financial performance
4.1.
FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE 2013/14
The department
was allocated an amount of R120.5 billion[1] in
the 2013/14 financial year which represented a nominal increase of R8.3
billion, or 7.4 per cent, from 2012/13.[2].
However this did not take into account the adjustment. Transfers and Subsidies
accounted for R119.8 billion of the available budget and out of this amount the
department transferred R30.8 billion, or 25.7 per cent, mainly to households.
This meant that as from the first quarter of the year the department had an
available budget of R644.8 million for operations. Of this, the department
spent R135.5 million, or 21 per cent, the biggest amount was used on
compensation of employees and goods and services.
The biggest
amount of operational expenditure towards the end of quarter 1 in 2013/14 was
R59 million and was spent under the Administration programme mainly on
compensation of employees and goods and services. The biggest amount was R40.6
million under the Welfare Services Policy Development and Implementation
Support programme, followed by R22.7 million under the Social Policy And
Integrated Service Delivery programme, again primarily for compensation of
employees and goods and services.
For 2014/15 financial year
the department was allocated a budget of R128.8 billion which represented a
nominal increase of R10.1 billion, or 8.7 per cent, from 2013/14.[3]
Transfers and Subsidies accounted for R128.1 billion of the available budget
and of this amount the department transferred R30.5 billion, or 23.8 per cent,
mainly to households. This meant that as from the first quarter of the year the
department had an available budget of R686.1 million for operations. Of this,
the department had spent R160.1 million, or 23.3 per cent, the biggest amount was
used on compensation of employees and goods and services.
During the first
quarter of 2014/15 financial year the operational expenditure of the department
grew at a nominal rate of 18.1 per cent, or R24.6 million, when compared to the
same period in the previous financial year. The Rand value expenditure growth
was greatest in the Administration programme, mainly driven by increased
spending on goods and services. The Social Security Policy and Administration
and Welfare Services Policy Development and Implementation Support programmes
showed the next highest growths primarily due to increases in spending on goods
and services, and compensation of employees respectively. Spending under the
Social Policy and Integrated Service Delivery programme decreased mainly due to
lower spending on goods and services as well as payments for capital assets.
4.1.2
PERFORMANCE AND EXPENDITURE PER PROGRAMME[4]
Expenditure per programme, 2013/14
FIRST QUARTER (APRIL –JUNE 2013/14 and
2014/15)
The operational expenditure from April
to June 2014 on Administration was 47.5 per cent, representing R75.9 million,
mainly for compensation of employees and goods and services. Expenditure under
this programme had increased by R16.9 million, or 28.7 per cent, when compared
with the same period last year (2013/14) primarily due to additional spending
on goods and services.
The main
cost drivers were personnel payments related to the information technology
function of the department. Office accommodation leases, audit costs and
advertising were the main cost drivers under goods and services. The main
increase from last year was due to payment for advertising material for Project
Mikondzo which emanated from the previous financial year. The project is aimed at
gathering data/information on social development services required at local
communities in order to improve service delivery.
Programme 3: Social Security Policy and
Administration
Expenditure
for the first quarter of 2013/14 was R13.1 million, and a decrease of R1.3
million was highlighted when compared with the same period last year (2012/13)
the reasons for this was due to lower spending on goods and services (mainly
for venues, facilities, and contractors). However, for the same period in
2014/15 the expenditure of the department was R18.9 million, the biggest amount
was spent on compensation of employees and goods and services. Expenditure
under this programme increased by R5.8 million, or 44.1 per cent, when compared
with the same period last year (2013/14) primarily due to additional spending
on these items, with the additional spending under goods and services mainly on
business, advisory consultancy services and legal consultancy services.
The main cost driver was
legal fees for adjudication of social grant appeals cases in which outstanding
invoices from 2013/14 were settled in April 2014. The increase from last year’s
expenditure (2013/14) was also due to the appointment of consultants for the
project on linking unemployed youth with economic opportunities and the project
on policy proposals for inclusion of informal sector workers in social
security.
Programme
4: Welfare Services Policy Development and Implementation Support
Operational
expenditure to the end of quarter 1 of 2013/14 was R40.6 million, the majority
of which was spent on compensation of employees and goods and services.
Expenditure under this programme has increased by R10.3 million.
For quarter 1 of 2014/15
financial year operational expenditure was R43 million, the majority of which
was spent on compensation of employees and goods and services. Expenditure
under this programme had increased by R2.4 million, or 5.9 per cent, when
compared with the same period last year primarily due to additional spending on
compensation of employees. This is due to the appointment of retired social
workers to operate the newly established command centre for victim empowerment
services which is currently being piloted in Gauteng. The command centre
provides access for victims of gender based violence to receive immediate
telephonic counselling and referrals to other stakeholders such as SAPS and
health.
Programme
5: Social Policy and Integrated Service Delivery
During the
end of quarter 1 of 2013/14 expenditure on this programme was R22.7 million,
the bulk of which was spent on compensation of employees and goods and
services. Expenditure under this programme had increased by R5.6 million
compared to the same period in 2012/13 financial year. The main cost drivers were
the payment of service providers for projects such as, Review of the NDA,
Development of norms and standards for Community Development and Development of
Community Development Occupational Framework and Youth camps. The increase was
mainly due to outreach programmes such as Training of Community Based
Organisation (CBO); Household Profiling; Local Population Development Seminar;
and Population Capacity Building Workshop.
For the same period in
2014/15 financial year operational expenditure was R22.2 million, the majority
of which was spent on compensation of employees and goods and services. Expenditure under this programme had
decreased by R0.5 million, or 2.4 per cent, when compared with the same period
last year (2013/14) primarily due to lower spending on goods and services and
payments for capital assets. The main cost driver were personnel payments for
the department’s population policy promotion, NPO registration and monitoring
functions. The decline in spending from last year was due to delays in planning
for the community outreach programmes and dialogues.
SECOND
QUARTER (JULY-SEPTEMBER 2013/14)
The biggest
operational expenditure to the end of quarter 2 in 2013/14 was R133.7 million
spent under the Administration programme mainly on compensation of employees
and goods and services. The next biggest amount was R91 million under the
Welfare Services Policy Development and Implementation Support programme,
followed by R53.3 million under the Social Policy and Integrated Service
Delivery programme, primarily for goods and services and compensation of
employees.
From April
to September 43.6 per cent of operational expenditure was on Administration,
representing R133.7 million, mainly for compensation of employees and goods and
services. Expenditure under Programme 3 decreased by R5.4 million, or 16.2 per
cent, when compared with the same period last year primarily due to lower
spending on goods and services. The main cost drivers were legal costs for
social assistance litigation, travel, subsistence, venues and facilities in support
of departmental outreach programmes. The decrease was mainly due to delays in
the appointment of service providers for projects such as the Social Security
Legislative Review, Service Delivery Survey and Disaster Risk Mitigation
Toolkit and the slow submission of invoices by the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development related to the adjudication of appeal cases since
April 2013. At the end of quarter 2 of 2013/14 the department had transferred
R60 billion or 50.9 per cent of the total available budget for transfers.
Additionally,
transfers to Non-Profit Organisations to the end of quarter 2 were R29.1
million, the majority of which was for the Lovelife: Prevention of HIV
Infection Amongst the Youth transfer. This represents an increase of R1.3
million, or 4.8 per cent, when compared with the same period last year. The
majority of this increase was under the FoodBank South Africa: Contribution to
Food for All Scheme transfer. Transfers to Households to the end of quarter 2
were R56.5 billion, the majority of which was for the Old Age: Social
Assistance transfer, and Child Support: Social Assistance transfer.
VIREMENTS
At the
close of the 2013/14 financial year, the following virements were effected:
Per Main Division:
Programme 1 – Administration: R3.7 million
An amount of R3.7
million was shifted from Programme 1 to Programme 5 to fund increased
expenditure on community outreach activities during Social Development month,
household profiling, the provincial NPO roadshows, and the BRICS conference
held during the 2013/14 financial year.
Programme 3 – Social Security
Policy and Administration: R17.4 million
An amount of R17.4
million was shifted from Programme 3 to fund increased expenditure under Programme 5.
Programme 5 –
Social Policy and Integrated Service Delivery: R27.5 million
An
amount of R27.5 million was shifted to Programme 5 to fund increased
expenditure on community outreach activities during Social Development month,
household profiling, provincial NPO roadshows, and the BRICS conference held
during the 2013/14 financial year.
Per economic classification
Compensation of
Employees
An
amount of R5.5 million was shifted from Compensation of Employees to fund
increased expenditure on Goods and Services for Social Development month
activities at the end of the 2013/14 financial year.
Goods and Services
An
amount of R4 781 million was shifted to Goods and Services to fund increased
expenditure on goods and services for community outreach activities during
Social Development month, household profiling, provincial NPO roadshows, and
the BRICS conference held during the 2013/14 financial year.
Transfers and
Subsidies
An amount of R705 000
was shifted to Transfers and Subsidies for increased expenditure related to
retirement benefits paid to officials who retired during the 2013/14 financial
year.
5.
OVERVIEW
OF THE KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE
Programme 1: Administration
The objective of this programme is to provide leadership, management and support services to the department
and the Social Development Sector. Out of a total of 60 performance targets set
for Programme 1, 17 of the targets (reflecting 29%) were not achieved. This
means that 71% targets were achieved. The programme spent 99.4% of its
allocated budget. This programme have twelve sub-programmes namely:
International Relations
The
department has set itself a target of facilitating its participation in six
international bodies. The Department achieved this target by participating
among others in the United Nations Commission for Social Development and the
negotiation n of five resolutions.
Stakeholder Management
One of the targets under this sub-programme was to form partnerships
with eight stakeholders in support of the department’s initiatives and
projects. It achieved this target by participating in the Stakeholder Round
Table organised by the Deputy Minister’s office. Furthermore, the department
also hosted DSD-CONTRALESA and Interfaith summits during the reporting period.
Strategy Development and Business
The department overachieved its target of training 200 rural women in
business management, by training 595 women. Furthermore, 203 (target was 200)
women participated in the legal rights awareness workshops conducted by the
Department in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Northern Cape).
Communication
The department planned
to align Co-operative Identity (CI) with that of SASSA, the NDA and LoveLife.
The department managed to achieve this target, with the exception of LoveLife
due to the fact that the partnership between the department and Love Life
ended.
Human Capital Management
The department’s
vacancy rate increased to 13% in terms of PERSAL, however it reported that
according to its costing model, which also took into account posts which had
been approved but had not yet been filled, the vacancy rate was 9%. A total of
138 (18%) officials left the department during the year under review.
Furthermore, in terms of employment equity the department had a total number of
13 employees with disabilities.
Programme 2: Social Assistance
This programme had a total of only 7 performance targets and succeeded
in achieving only 3 targets (reflecting a 42.8% achievement and 57.2%
non-achievement of the planned targets. The reason for not achieving was the
lapsing of grants due to the re-registration project of social grants and lapse
of foster care grants because beneficiaries turned 18 years. The programme,
however spent 98.7% of its allocated budget.
Programme 3: Social Security Policy and Administration
This
programme achieved four targets (50%) out of eight targets that were set. The
department reported that deviation was due to the unforeseen delays by
different situations. In programme spent all its allocated budget.
Social
Security Policy Development
This sub-programme achieved
its target of completing the discussion paper on the universalisation of the
old age grant. However, it failed to achieve its target of producing the annual
survey report on social assistance. The reasons cited for the non-achievement
were that (a) bids were invited, but a suitable service provider could not be
found, and (b) the process had to be repeated.
Programme 4: Welfare Services
Policy Development and Implementation
Out of a total of 61 targets, this sub-programme
only achieved 48 targets resulting in 78.6% of targets achieved and 22.4% not
achieved. The overarching challenge cited in this programme was that provinces
did not submit their plans on time as expected. However, the programme spent
99.6% of its budget.
Older Persons
The department met all of its targets in this
sub-programme. For example, a total of 94 community-based care services and 109
residential care facilities were assessed for compliance with the norms and
standards for services to older persons in accordance with the Older Persons
Act, 2006 (Act 13 of 2006).
Children
Out of a total of
fourteen (14) targets set for this sub-programme, one (1) target was not
achieved. A draft Early Childhood
Development (ECD) Policy and Comprehensive Package of ECD Services were
developed. Additionally, a comprehensive audit of 12 987 ECD centres was
conducted in all provinces and completed by end March 2014. Regarding adoptions
and international social services, a total of 1 452 adoptions were registered.
Of these, 1 240 were national adoptions, while 212 were inter-country
adoptions. The target to build HR capacity in the ECD sector was not achieved
as the draft HR plan was not finalized. The plans from the other provinces were
still outstanding at the time of reporting.
Youth development
This sub-programme
had five (5) targets and only one (1) target was not achieved. A total of 8 080 youths participated in
technical, entrepreneurship, life and leadership skills development programmes.
A total of 9 786 youths participated in youth dialogues nationally and
1 128 youths attended youth camps. A target to establish three provincial
youth forums was not achieved due to delays in the finalization of the concept
and lack of provincial support in the Western Cape in particular.
Families
This sub-programme had two (2) targets and it
achieved them. The department began to undertake various initiatives aimed at
achieving the objectives set out in the White Paper, including the development
of mediation programmes, family reunification services, an integrated parenting
framework, a fatherhood strategy, a programme for the active parenting of
teenagers, a marriage enrichment and preparation programme, and a family
preservation programme. All nine provinces were capacitated on the White Paper.
With regard to the target of building capacity on the Fatherhood Strategy and
Active Parenting for Teenagers, the department capacitated five outstanding
(four were capacitated in the previous year)
provinces on the Fatherhood Strategy.
Substance
Abuse
All nine provinces were
capacitated to implement the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse
Act (Act No. 70 of 2008), with 408 stakeholders receiving training. Besides
this, the Department conducted the festive season anti-substance abuse campaign
during November 2013 and March 2014. The campaigns raise awareness about the
effects of drug abuse amongst communities. The sub-programme achieved all its
four (4) targets.
Programme 5: Social Policy and Integrated Service
Delivery
This
programme identified a total of 40 performance targets and managed to achieve
25 targets (62.5%) and not achieve 15 (37.5%) targets. In contrast the budget
expenditure totaled 96%.
Special Projects and Innovation
The
department under this sub-programme exceeded its target of creating 33 307
jobs and 33 504 job opportunities. However, in terms of achieving the
target of creating 3 199 Full-Time Equivalents (FETs), the department
deviated from this target by only creating 3 065 FETs. The reasons given
for this are that the three provinces (Northern Cape, Free State and
North-West) did not meet their annual targets due to the late recruitment of Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP) participants.
Social
Policy training
There was a deviation of the envisaged target
in terms of training officials in social policy and policy analysis. A total of
28 instead of 50 officials were trained in social policy making and analysis.
The reasons given for this deviation was that attendance levels by provincial
officials were very low.
Registration of
Non Profit Organisations (NPO)
The department received 29 812 applications for
NPO registration, and processed 28 798 within two months, amounting to a
performance rate of 93%. This marks an over achievement of what the department
has set itself for the year under review. Furthermore, a total of 18 162
NPOs were registered in the reporting period, raising the total of NPOs
registered since the inception of the NPO Act to 120 441.
Community Development
This sub-programme had 13 targets and it managed to
achieve 11 targets. The targets to approve the policy for amending the NPO Act
was not achieved because the policy was not approved and was referred back for
amendments by management. The target to
approve the Community Development Occupational Framework was not achieved as
the finalisation of the framework was delayed due to a series of consultations
with the Health and Welfare Sector
Educational Training Authority (HWSETA) and the Department of Higher Education and
Training (DHET). Delays in the submission of questionnaires informing the norms
and standards by the provinces resulted in the target of facilitating the
development of norms and standards for community development not achieved. The
target to submit the Draft Community Development Policy Framework to MinMec
(Ministers and Members of Executive Councils Meeting) was not achieved. At the
time of reporting the framework was still being reviewed by the Social Policy
Unit in consultation with broader stakeholders. The target to promote equitable
access to food by 300 000 households was not achieved because realigning
the Food and Nutrition Security Programme to the government’s approved
household food and nutrition took longer than anticipated. This also
necessitated amendments to the budget allocations in the adjustment estimates.
Performance Challenges
The department reported the following reasons for the
non-achievement of targets in the financial year:
Office Accommodation:
·
Target
to conduct a feasibility study on shared offices for the department, SASSA and
NDA was not completed. At the time of reporting the department was still
consulting with the Department of Public Works for options for a suitable
accommodation.
Policy Development
·
The
policy for amending the NPO Act was developed and consulted with NPOs. It was
not approved due to extended consultations.
·
The
Community Development Occupational framework was not approved due to extended consultations
with HWSETA and DHET
REPORT OF
THE AUDITOR GENERAL
The audit outcome of
the portfolio remained unchanged. The department and the four funds (The
Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), The Social Relief Fund (SRF), The Refugee Relief
Fund (RRF) and The State President Fund (SPF)) sustained their unqualified
audit opinion and did not have material findings on non-compliance.[5]
In the AG’s opinion,
“the financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the
financial position of the Department of Social Development as at 31 March 2014,
and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in
accordance with the Departmental financial reporting framework prescribed
by the National Treasury and the requirements of the PFMA”. Furthermore,
material audit adjustments in the annual performance report were identified
during the audit, all of which were corrected by management.[6]
6. OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY
PERFORMANCE
A General Overview of Targets and Achievements of the
Strategic Priorities
In line with the
strategic plan priorities there appears to be some disjuncture between the
financial expenditure and service delivery performance with an average
expenditure of 98.8%, while only 69% of targets were achieved. Lack of
financial resources, and low level of attendance by provincial officials on
capacity building trainings have been highlighted as reasons for not achieving
some targets envisaged for the year under review. Despite the non-achievement
of 31% of the targets, the department managed to increase the number of targets
it achieved from 61% in 2012/13 to 69% in 2013/14.
The trend analysis of
achievement of targets from 2011 – 2014 shows that the department had improved
from only achieving 54% targets in 2011/12.
This indicates a 15% improvement. It seems the disjuncture between
achievement of targets and actual expenditure of the department will continue
to be a challenge as some of the targets the department manages to achieve if
partner departments or institutions deliver on their commitments. Intervention
is therefore required at government level that will strengthen service delivery
integration. Success in implementing the 2014 – 2019 MTSF priority outcome of
creating an efficient, effective and development-oriented public service by
institutionalizing long term planning, improving inter-departmental
coordination and improving service delivery through information technology will
put the department in a better situation to obtain significant achievement of
its targets.
6.2.1 Oversight to the Department of Social
Development
6.2.1.1 Oversight visit to Gauteng by the
previous committee
The
Committee conducted oversight visit in Gauteng in 2013 to assess the performance of the provincial Department of Social
Development, SASSA and the NDA. The oversight visit particularly focused on the
alignment of the provincial department and its entities performance to the
strategic priorities and policies set by the national department in line with
the 2013 State of the Nation Address. These included recognising education
as an apex priority, job creation, substance abuse, and fight against violence
on women and children and against corruption. The department contributes
towards recognising education as an apex priority through the implementation of
the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme.
The
Committee found that the strategic priorities and goals set by the Gauteng
department were aligned to the priorities of the department’s priorities and
government outcomes 1 to 4. With regard to the fight against substance abuse the department was implementing an integrated
Anti-substance abuse strategy to reduce or eliminate the incidence of substance
abuse in the province. The strategy
involved school holiday initiatives and the ‘Ke Moja’ Drug Prevention
Programme. Also, mostly importantly, the department convened a summit to find ways to address the classification of nyaope
as an illegal drug. The summit resolved for the establishment of a technical
committee to pursue the classification of nyaope as an illegal drug and to
conduct a research study on nyaope to establish the extent of the problem
associated with this drug and its impact on communities and standardize
treatment regimens at all treatment centres.
To achieve Outcome 1 to ensure quality education, the department targeted
to
develop an integrated protection services to children and provision of ECD
services to 73 508 children aged 0-4 years. It also intended to increase the
number of registered partial care sites and improve capacity of registered
partial care sites. It aimed to implement the ECD regulating and funding
strategy.
With regard to achieving Outcome 3 to ensure that all people in South
Africa are and feel safe, the department aimed to provide an integrated care
and services to older persons. The
department supported 74 luncheon clubs for older persons managed by NPOs and funded
several NPOs to provide services to older persons.
To achieve Outcome 4 which advocated for an
integrated childcare and protection services for children, the department
implemented interventions focusing on the prevention of child abuse and neglect
as well as child trafficking. During the 2013/2014 financial year the
department provided funding to 106 Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) and it
would cater for a total of 6 275 children in need of care and protection.
The Committee visited one of the CYCC funded by the
department, Walter Sisulu Youth Care Centre. It found that the centre had good
intervention programmes and services. These include Individual Development Plans, programme of care, access to educational
opportunities and therapeutic services.
One
important finding by the Committee which had significant policy implications
was that the centre had a challenge of placing children, especially orphans, in
foster homes. This made it difficult for the centre to create accommodation for
new admissions. This was because there was a lack of alternative placements
options. Another challenge was that the staff of the centre were not
capacitated or trained to work with children with special needs. The Committee
also found that the physical infrastructure of the centre was not
conducive for children with disabilities.
Another important finding related to the issue of registration of the
department’s facilities. The Walter Sisulu Youth Care Centre and the Soweto Old
Age Home reported that they had not been fully registered. The CYCC could not
be registered because there were delays in obtaining permission for zoning from
the local government. The old age home was still waiting to be issued with a
health certificate for it to be registered. The problem was that the building
plan could not be found and so the home was using a temporary building plan.
The
department is in the process of implementing the White Paper on Families. This
is a milestone legislative framework in the department’s efforts of improving
the lives of people through family oriented interventions. The benefits of such
interventions the Committee observed when it visited FAMSA (Families South
Africa) Family Preservation Programme in Lenasia, Johannesburg. FAMSA organises
support groups for parents (single and married), child headed households,
teenage mothers, children, individuals and older people to help them realise
their role in the society. Each group is taught life skills, stress coping
mechanisms, relationships and family preservation skills. It also raise
awareness and educate men on the roles of fatherhood. The Committee found that
these family interventions had strengthened families and provided surrounding
communities with necessary skills. One important benefit the elder persons told
the Committee was that the Senior Survivor Club served as a place where they
find a sense of belonging. The members share their experiences, problems and
support each other. This clearly illustrates the importance of the White Paper
in Families and the positive impact it would have if it is successfully
implemented.
The department is also
implementing the Prevention of and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act and the
National Drug Master Plan which are aimed at combating substance abuse in a
comprehensive and co-ordinated manner. The Act provides for the treatment and
prevention of substance abuse through in-patient, out-patient, aftercare
programme and reintegration programmes. During its oversight visits to the
SANCA (South African National Council on Alcoholism) satellite office in
Eldorado Park, it found that these kind of offices are very useful in ensuring
that treatment (particularly out-patient treatment) and prevention services
(outreach programmes) are accessible to the public. Furthermore, because they
are located close to communities they have a wide outreach. For instance, this
particular satellite office had a target outreach of 20 000 beneficiaries
and between May and July 2013 it had assessed a total of 130 clients.
Despite its success in providing anti
substance services, the Committee was formed that the office faced challenges
of lack of facility to offer
detoxification programmes and many clients are in need of this programme at the
start of the treatment programme; limited financial resources affects
the needs to expand programmes to reach more people and family members of the
users are not always willing to make changes in their own lives and therefore
clients often go back to the same circumstances that they were exposed to
before they received treatment.
To address the
above-mentioned challenges, the centre identified interventions that link
recovering users to the economic opportunities, such as, the Ennerdale
Development Centre, SANCA and the Department of Social Development. This
intervention links with the department’s goal of developmental social
development. Therefore, it is another area which the department can look into
as it implements strategy of linking beneficiaries to economic opportunities.
It is thus recommended that
the Department of Social Development should consider funding more of these
intervention services to complement in-patient treatment programmes
(rehabilitation centres). This is because rehabilitation centres are not always
accessible to the public because they cannot afford, the number of beds
available cannot meet the demand and distances to be travelled by those who do
not live nearby. For instance, when the Committee visited SANCA Phoenix House
in Johannesburg it was told that the centre receives 47% of income from the
Department of Social Development. As a result, it could only treat five
in-patients per month and 550 out-patients per annum at both the Sophia Town
and Ebony Park out-patient clinics and conduct 40 000 awareness and prevention
programmes. The demand for free services exceeded what the entre could provide.
6.2.1.2 Committee briefings
Gender based violence and violence to
children
With the
alarming increase of violence and murder of women (including older women) and
children, the Committee identified this area as a priority focus area for
oversight. Its strategy was to first receive research findings on the violence
and murder of women and children. Thereafter organise inter-sectoral briefings
from departments and stakeholders who render services on gender based violence and
murder of women and children.
From the
briefing made by the Medical Research Council on its research studies on female
homicide and child murder the Committee was seriously concerned about the
following findings which have implications to the Department of Social
Development’s Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) and Child Protection
programme:
·
There was a high number of
unidentified perpetrators. The Domestic Violence Act Register was not linked to
the gender based violence and homicide cases.
·
South Africa has no formal
database for intimate and non intimate homicides.
·
Most women who were raped
and stabbed to death had high levels of alcohol consumption compared to those
gunned to death. Alcohol was not found on latter. This indicates the dangers of
alcohol abuse. It has serious implications to the anti substance abuse
programmes.
·
South Africa does not have a national survey
on child homicide.
Even though the Committee acknowledged the high cost implication of
conducting national surveys it felt that these surveys are essential for the
country to have them as they serve as critical assessment tools and provide
good evidence for policy interventions.
The department can address the above-mentioned findings through its
initiative of monitoring incidents of gender based violence. In the annual
report the department reported that it established a committee which monitored
the provision of immediate integrated collaborative interventions on a 24 hour
and seven days a week basis at six sites in Gauteng. In also launched a Command
Centre, developed an intersectoral Victim Empowerment Programme strategy and
VEP monitoring and evaluation system. These initiatives can be used to develop
a database on gender based violence and murder, linking of systems between the
departments to track progress and referrals of the cases. The Child Protection
Surveillance is also an important tool that the department can use to address
the lack of a national database on child homicide.
The Committee also received a briefing from
Shukumisa, which raised the following concerns:
·
The 2012 -2015 strategic plan of the department
reduced priorities relevant to sexual violence from six (in 2010 – 2015) to
four and incorporated gender based violence under anti-substance abuse
programme.
·
The launch of the National Gender Based Violence
(GBV) Command Centre by the department in partnership with Vodacom duplicates
the National “Stop Gender Violence Helpline” which is also funded by the
department and the Gauteng Department of Social Development. The GBV command centre is allocated a budget
of R14.3 million, which will increase to R16 million in 2016/17. In contrast
the National “Stop Gender Violence Helpline” costs R1.2 million a year and it
is run by 23 staff compared to 75 staff of the command centre. The concern of
Shukumisa was that a large funding (full funding) is allocated to a private
sector company whilst the funding to the NGOs is 75%.
·
There is a potential duplication between the Inter-Ministerial
Committee on Gender-based Violence driven by the Department of Social
Development and the National Council on Gender-based Violence.
·
Inconsistent funding of NPOs
between provinces.
·
The Extended Public Works
Programme (EPWP) is not appropriately supervised and it is not an appropriate
programme to support rape services. This programme is run by volunteers who
work long hours.
To
address the above concerns Shukumisa made the following recommendations:
·
The department should not
duplicate existing NPO programmes and services as the White Paper on Social
Welfare prohibited duplication of services.
·
The funding policy to the
NPOs should be reconsidered to reflect value of work in full. The funding model
to the provinces should be better standardised.
·
Services must determine
funding – not funding determine the services.
·
The Committee should
consider organising public hearings around an appropriate approach to funding
services, including rape services.
The
Committee acknowledged the concerns raised by Shukumisa, particularly
challenges around inconsistencies in the funding of NPOs and a need for a more
coherent funding model. Nevertheless, the challenge of NPO funding cuts across
all sectors. It however highlighted that the Department of Social Development
is implementing the ECD Action Plan, the White Paper on Families and Mikondzo
project. These initiatives seek to improve service delivery of welfare services
to address challenges and gaps that had been identified. Through SASSA, the
department is in the process of universalising the OAP and the CSG. It also
launched a policy initiative that links social grants beneficiaries to economic
opportunities. Furthermore, the department is in the process of drafting the
Bill on Victim Empowerment Support Services and a Bill on Social Service
Practitioners.
The
Committee raised a concern that there is still a lack of access of services of
the NPO sector in the rural areas. There is a need for country wide expansion
of the NPOs foot print in rural areas. Shukumisa explained that it recognised
this gap hence it has started working with traditional leaders. The Committee
resolved that it will organise public hearings with the NPO sector and these
hearings will be preferably held in the provinces.
Services to older persons
The previous
Committee observed the abuse and murder of older persons with serious concern.
It was particularly interested in the roll out of older persons help desks to
all the provinces. In 2012/13 Annual Report the department reported that it
would finalise the process of rolling older persons desks in the 2013/14
financial year.
The Older
Persons Act (No. 13 of 2006) in Chapter 5 provides specific procedures on the
reporting of abuse of older persons and the justice system that should be
followed. Most importantly the Act in Section 31 (1) mandates the Minister to
keep a register of persons convicted of the abuse of an older person or of any
crime or offence. The Act was passed in 2006 and the department only established
the register in 2014. With the high rates of abuse of older persons it is
critical that the department strengthen its efforts in implementing this
chapter of the Act. Similar initiatives such as the Child Protection
Surveillance study and child protection quality assurance tool for prevention
and early intervention programmes against child abuse, neglect and exploitation
can be designed for older persons.
The Committee considered
and processed the petitioned by civil pensioners that was submitted to
Parliament. The Committee noted that the
issues raised by the petition are related to citizen rights, family
responsibilities and provision of services to older persons. These issues also highlighted the gaps in the implementation of
the services to older persons, for example the Indigent Policy. It also noted with concern that most of the older person’s service
centres are mainly located in the urban areas. It encouraged the department to
focus more on rural areas where most cases of abuse take place. It further
noted with concern the lack of integration of services delivered by different
government departments. It further noted that the issues raised in the petition revealed a
challenge that some older persons lacked information, especially relating to
the free basic services and the Grant-in-Aid available to them. Most importantly it was concerned over the minimal adherence of the
departments in implementing the provisions of the Older Persons Act.
The
Committee made the following recommendations to the Minister of Social
Development:
The
department’s reporting on the Older Persons sub-programme gives an impression
that the department has thus far been focusing on awareness raising and
educational campaigns and registration of residential facilities and minimum
focus has been on the substantive service delivery interventions provided for
in the Older Persons Act, particularly those that seek to provide protection of
older persons. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the department
implemented older persons help desks in all nine provinces. It also welcomes
the launch of the Register of persons convicted of abuse of older persons in
2014. It will continue to monitor the impact these two interventions will have
in protecting older persons.
6.2.2 Oversight of the South African Social Security
Agency (SASSA or Agency)
Oversight visit to Gauteng
The critical focus area
that the Committee found during its oversight visit to the regional office
related to the challenges the Agency inherited in the aftermath of the
demarcation process. The process resulted in some offices and pay points
relocated to other provinces and that created inconsistencies in the implementation
of business processes and general service delivery. The affected areas
included Hammanskraal, Bronkhorspruit and Merafong local offices. These offices
are located at the borders of Gauteng and North West; Gauteng and Mpumalanga
provinces. The Committee however noted
that similar challenges had been encountered in other cross border offices. It
then welcomed the progress made by the Agency in
implementing the four step standardisation process. It believed this would
address the challenge of regions implementing different business processes.
The
Committee further found that the issues of long queues at pay points and
customer care at local offices were still a challenge. The oversight visit to
Maponya Mall in Johannesburg and complaints raised by older persons (of the bad
attitude of officials at Athlone office) in their petition demonstrated this. In
both instances the Committee was informed that SASSA officials treated
beneficiaries with disrespect.
7. RELEVANT EXTERNAL RESEARCH ASSESSING
PERFORMANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT.
This
section highlights some of the inputs made by independent institutions on the
implementation of services that affect different vulnerable groups.
In spite of poverty alleviation policies and programmes since 1994,
there are still high levels of hunger, poverty, reliance on social grants,
unemployment and decrease in food production. A substantial proportion of
households remains at risk of hunger or is experiencing hunger. Although the
measures and programmes initiated by the South African government appear to be
beneficial, they need to be run more effectively to further alleviate food
insecurity. [7]
Recent studies
clearly demonstrate the importance of social and economic developmental value
of the Child Support Grant (CSG). Access to the CSG, especially in the early
years of life, and sustained access throughout childhood mitigates child
poverty, significantly improves childhood development, health and education,
and reduces risky adolescent behaviour. Studies have also found that despite
extensive reach of the grant in 2011, 23.7 per cent
(or 2.35 million) of eligible children were not receiving the CSG.[8]
However, this number has been reduced as
compared to 3.8 million children that were excluded in 2008.[9]
Distance
remained the problem for a number of vulnerable households as the current
fixed-service footprint is inadequate to meet demand and reach communities
living in poverty, especially rural areas and informal settlements.[10] There are still many citizens who are eligible but
not receiving grants due mainly to geographic or administrative reasons. Some grants are
currently targeted through means testing – like the Child Support Grant (CSG),
Older Persons Grant and Care Dependency Grant. There are however, proposals to
remove the means test so that each person, by merit of being a citizen, would
receive (old age and child support) grants according to their need - and not
related to their income or assets. These discussions will be completed during
the 2014/15 financial year. [11]
The
department has taken steps to address the above mentioned gaps. These include
the launch of the project Mikondzo which aims to expand the foot print of the
department to the 1 300 poorest wards in 23 districts. The department is
working in collaboration with its entities (SASSA and the NDA) to provide
necessary interventions. Also through Programme 5: Social Policy and Integrated
Services, it initiated a Food Nutrition and Security programme to further
accelerate the process of ensuring that poor, vulnerable and marginalised
individuals and households have access to nutritious food. It also works in
partnership with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to develop
a Household Food and Nutrition Security Programme Strategy.
In
addition, the department and SASSA identified the elimination of exclusions in
the CSG, Foster Care Grant and the Old Age Pension (OAP) as a priority area.
SASSA targeted to increase the CSG uptake rates up to 70% over the medium term
period. During 2013/14, it managed to obtain evidence on the demographics and
the geographic location of the eligible children who were not accessing the
CSG. The department is in the process of amending the Children’s Act to address
the administrative challenges linked to the judicial system. The department in
collaboration with SASSA will by 2015/16 financial year complete the process of
universalising the CSG and the OAP.
Substance Abuse
A World
Health Organisation (WHO) report show that individual South Africans (15 years
and older) consumed an average of 8.2 litres of pure alcohol per annum, well
above the African continental average of 6.0 litres. The report also states
that latest causal relationships suggested by research findings are those
between alcohol consumption and incidences of infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The harmful use of alcohol can also have serious
social and economic consequences for individuals other than the drinker and for
society at large, states the report.
The department is addressing substance through the implementation of the
Prevention of and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act and the National Drug Master
Plan. These are aimed at reducing the demand for, supply of and harm caused by
drugs and other substances.
Concerns were raised
related to home-based care, which was important to keep older persons in their
communities as long as possible, and to continue with their role in the family
and community. It was noted that many of the services for which the department
was responsible were actually provided by NGOs, community or faith
organisations, which were under-funded, and that many rural areas did not
receive these services. Frail care suffered through lack of any single
standards and a variation of costing models over different provinces. There
were shortages of skilled personnel in this area, and payment problems caused
problems in service delivery.
Furthermore, work by the South African Ageing Network (SAAN)
highlighted the need for, amongst others, reviewing the Older Persons Act (with
a specific focus on Chapter 5 of the Constitution) and the Housing Act in order
to include the needs of older persons. There is also need to undertake a
national audit on infrastructure available and required to address the needs of
older persons’ facilities, mainstreaming of health centres that are older
persons friendly. The department is in the process of amending the Older
Persons Act to improve services provided to older persons.
Another area of abuse of older persons takes the form of pension related
elder abuse.[12]
The study by HelpAge International found that women are more likely to be
victims of this kind of abuse than men. This is because women tend to be more
socially disadvantaged and marginalised from public life than older males. Most
importantly the study argues that the government’s focus during the twenty
years of democracy has largely been on the issues of youth than on those of
older persons. It thus recommended that older abuse needs to be recognised as a
political issue for it to be mainstreamed in all development processes. It also
recommended that there is a need to strengthen advocacy against elder abuse and
community awareness. It further recommended that there should be a Commission
for Older Persons which will promote a better understanding of
intergenerational issues especially those that affect older persons, safeguard
and promote their interests.
Assessment of the department by the Department of
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME)[13]
DPME conducted an assessment of national and provincial departments’
performance in relation to management practices between 2012 and 2013,
published in July 2014. The assessment was done using the Management
Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) which contains 33 standards, arranged into
five (5) Key Performance Areas (KPAs). The measured KPAs were Strategic
Management (KPA1), Governance and Accountability (2), Human Resource and
Systems Management (KPA3), Financial Management (KPA4) and the MPAT Process
(KPA 5). Performance results were colour coded as follows:
·
Red – non-compliance with legal/regulatory standards
·
Orange – partial compliance
·
Yellow – full compliance
·
Green – full compliance while “doing things smartly”
Strategic Management (KPA1)
Under this KPA the department was found to be performing in full
compliance (yellow) with the Strategic Plan. It was further found to have
complied fully and had done things smartly (green) in integration of monitoring
and evaluation in performance standard. It was however found not to be
compliant on Annual Performance Plan (red) performance standard.
Governance and Accountability (KPA2)
With regard to this KPA, the department was found to have fully complied
and doing things smartly (green) in Risk Management, delegation of powers and
responsibilities as prescribed by the Public Service Act (PSA) and the Public
Finance Management Act (PFMA). It was found to be partially compliant (orange)
on management structure, fraud prevention, audit committee and internal audit
performance standards. It was found to be non-compliant (red) on Service Delivery Improvement Plan and Promotion
of Access to Information Act (PAIA). It was also found to be compliant (yellow) on professional
ethics performance standard.
Human Resource and Systems Management (KPA3)
Under this KPA the department was found to have partially complied (orange)
on Human Resource planning, health and wellness, organisational design and pay
sheet certification performance standards. The department showed full
compliance (yellow) on recruitment and retention of staff and HR development
plan. It was found to be non-compliant (red) on management diversity
performance standard.
Financial Management (KPA4)
Under this KPA the department was found to be
in full compliance (yellow) on demand management, acquisition management,
logistics management, disposal management, cash flow management and
unauthorised expenditure management. It was found to be partially compliant (orange)
on payment of suppliers performance standard.
Overall
performance
The DPME also assessed the improvement or
changes in levels of standards within the aforementioned KPA of the department
between 2012 and 2013. In 2013 the department obtained yellow colour code on
strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, Service Delivery Plan, audit
committee, internal audit, HR plan, professional ethics, risk management,
management diversity and payment of suppliers standards. This means that these
levels of standards remained the same between the two years.
The department was found to have deteriorated
(light and dark blue) on Annual Performance Plan, management structure, fraud
prevention and internal audit compared to 2012. It however showed improvement in
2013 in complying with the delegation of powers and responsibilities and
management of disciplinary cases requirements of the PFMA and the PSA. It also
improved on HR development planning performance standard.
8. COMMITTEE Observations
Having considered the briefing by the department the Committee made the
following observations:
·
It raised concern over the
high non-compliance (33%) of the NPOs to the NPO Act, which requires them to
submit their annual reports. The Committee was further concerned that some NPOs
do not receive their funding on time. In addition, the Committee pointed out there
might be a possibility that the NPOs, particularly the emerging ones, may not
have the capacity to compile their annual and financial reports.
The department responded that the NDA was given a task
to conduct capacity building of emerging NPOs to assist them to comply with the
Act. The department also conducted NPO roadshows to educate NPO of the NPO Act.
The approach of the department is to empower NPOs rather than to deregister
them due to non-compliance. Despite these efforts the department is concerned
by the mobility of social workers in the NPO sector. It therefore plans to
review the payment of social workers across the board in order to standardise
it.
·
The department has
implemented programmes across provinces according to their needs. It welcomed
the department’s effort of increasing its foot prints in all provinces,
implementing programmes according to the service delivery needs of the
provinces.
·
Commended the department
for obtaining a clean audit opinion and the good leadership of the Minister and
the Director-General.
·
The department managed to
increase the number of targets it achieved from 61% in 2012/13 to 69% in
2013/14.
9.
OVERVIEW
OF THE KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY
SASSA as an entity of the department has a mandate to ensure
the provision of comprehensive social security services against vulnerability
and poverty within the constitutional and legislative framework. Its budget is
allocated from Programme 2 of the department in the form of transfers. For the
year under review transfers to SASSA amounted to R111 billion. The voted funds
for operation costs was R6.3 billion. It also functions within the policy
development framework of Programme 3 of the department.
SASSA strategic priorities for
2013/14
For 2013/14 – 2015/16 financial years, the
Agency set to achieve four key priorities, namely; excellent customer care;
automation of systems; improving the organizational capacity and promoting good
governance. These priorities resonated within the Agency’s four key focus areas,
which are:
·
improving the service delivery by making people’s dealings with
government easier through better delivery and coordination of services;
·
Improving
the organisational efficiency by modernising the agency’s business processes;
·
Developing a
new payment system; and
·
Undertaking
a diversification
process which will position SASSA as payment provider for social security
benefits.
Performance
and Financial Expenditure
Financial performance
The Agency
successfully managed to reach 15 932 473 beneficiaries, extending its
social assistance coverage to the previously excluded and marginalised groups
as required by the Constitution. It spent 98.7% on the transfers to social
assistance, as reflected in budget expenditure of Programme 2 of the
department. Similarly, it spent 98% (6.1 billion) of its allocated budget for
operation costs.
Fruitless
and Wasteful Expenditure
In terms of Fruitless
and Wasteful Expenditure, as compared with the last financial year amount of
R284 994 49, SASSA reported an amount of R4 429 349 as at 31
March 2014. This amount is made of an opening balance amounting to
R1 276 583, claims in respect of damages to hired vehicles of R2 832
314 travel and hotel related no shows of R125 514, interest on late payments of
R178 489 and other losses amounting to R16 449. R403 439 was condoned which
resulted in R4 025 911 closing balance.
Irregular
Expenditure
The amount of irregular expenditure incurred during the 2013/14
financial period was R70 116 768 of which
R28 065 682 related to Mikondzo events. This was as a result that SASSA could
not finalize the bid award as anticipated whereas urgent service delivery
interventions were required by various communities.
Overall performance
The performance of SASSA is
reported under seven branches, which are outlined below:
Branch 1: Grants Administration
Out of a total of 17 performance targets set for the branch
1, 6 (35.2%) targets were achieved and 11 (64.8) were not achieved. In terms of
expenditure this branch had an over expenditure of 102.7%.
The total number of new social grants application
target of 1 200 000 million was over achieved by 9%.
An over achievement (83 059) 116% instead of 71 879 was also cited in the
total number of grants in aid payment. In terms of linking beneficiaries to
economic and developmental opportunities, 9 cooperatives were trained and
attended SABC training arrangement by SASSA.
However
a total number of grants in payment of 16 582 582 target was not
achieved. The Agency only achieved 15 932 473 (representing 96%) of
the annual target. Reasons cited for this was that grants had lapsed due to
failure by beneficiaries to re-register, administration reviews and voluntary
cancellation. In terms of total number of disability grants in payment SASSA
deviated from its envisage target of 1 179 852 by only achieving 95%
(1 120 419).
In addition, the
Agency did
not achieve
its
100%
target of processing new grant application within 21 days by only achieving
91% of the annual target. This was due to quality improvements in the disability management
space regarding the training of doctors to improve assessment quality control measures.
This resulted in a decrease in this grant type. SASSA envisaged to complete
100% (2.5 million) backlog reviews, it however failed to achieve this target by
only completing 15% (370 765) of the planned target. The reasons for this
was that the reviews were suspended on the 2 December 2013. In view of the aforementioned, poor targeting became a
pattern that prevented the Agency from meeting its annual targets.
Branch 2: Strategy and Business Development
This branch had a total of only 6 performance targets
and it achieved (50%) of its stated targets. Total expenditure for this
programme was 93.5%. It managed to produce four institutional and service
delivery reports. Nevertheless, a complete branch report could not be produced
as planned. The scientific review part was out-sourced and it would be implemented
in 2014/15 financial year.
Branch 3: Information and
Communication Technology
This branch had set four (4) targets and it only
achieved one (1) target, constituting 25% of achieved targets. In terms of budget expenditure the Agency
spent 92.2%. The Agency over achieved its target of ICT infrastructure
accessibility and accessibility to users and offices. The grant beneficiary
biometric system was not implemented as planned. This was due of the
re-advertisement of the tender.
Branch 4: Internal Audit and Risk Management
There were minor deviations in
this Branch with the exception of internal audit monitoring reports not being
produced and re-registration exceptions not being investigated. Under this Branch, the Agency achieved 6 (75%) of its performance
targets (out of 8). An under budget expenditure of 73.4% was recorded for the
year under review (2013/14). It however,
exceeded its target of 60% by achieving 90% of identifying fraud cases
investigated. The fraud case management system was however implemented in all
national fraud management and compliance departments.
Branch 5: Corporate Services
This branch had set to achieve three (3) targets but
managed to only achieve one (1) (33.3%) of all of its performance targets
leaving 2 (66.7%) not being achieved. It however had an expenditure of
83 043 (7 %).
In terms of infrastructure,
the Agency reported that it improved a total number of 116 out of planned 119
local offices and pay points which marks a non-achievement of only three (3)
offices and pay points. The deviation was due to cancellation of the tender for
the repair and renovations, as a result regions did not undertake any office
renovations. Regions were allocated with a baseline budget in order to start
the project without delay during the 2014/15 financial year.
Branch 6: Finance
Out of a total of five (5) performance targets set for
this Branch, two (2) (40%) targets were achieved and only three (3) (60%) were
not achieved. In terms of expenditure
this Branch has an under expenditure of 7%.
The Agency set itself a target of achieving 100% of
paying eligible suppliers within 30 days. It was reported that out of a total
of 9 667 various suppliers, 83.76% (8067) were paid within 30 days.
Furthermore, SASSA set itself 50% of recovering debt from staff as per
Acknowledgement of Debt (AoD), however 24% of the debt was not recovered.
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL
SASSA
retained its unqualified audit opinion from the AG, for the 2013/14 financial
year. The AG highlighted the following findings in terms of Supply chain
management (SCM), Human resources and Information technology controls:
·
Supply
chain management (SCM),
Deviation from
competitive bidding process as per the Treasury regulations and the
Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act. The AG
recommended that management should review policies in line with applicable
regulatory requirements to achieve alignment and implement monitoring controls
and appropriate consequent management where necessary.
·
Human
resources
The organisation
structure was in place but was not aligned to the strategic and human resource
plans. The overall vacancy rate of 54.3% as reported on in the annual report is
only an improvement of 1.7% from the prior year which was reported on as a 56%
vacancy rate. The AG recommended that competent staff should be appointed in
key positions to ensure that adequate monitoring and supervision occurs.
·
Information
technology controls
The AG found that
there were vacancies in IT key positions and policies and recommended that
management should compile an IT action plan to address its findings.
10. OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF
SERVICE DELIVERY PERFORMANCE
A General Overview of Targets and Achievements of the
Strategic Priorities
Of the 43 total number of planned targets, 19 were achieved during the
year under review. This represents 44.1% of total planned targets that were
achieved and 55% (24) were not achieved during the year under review. This was
mainly due to the invalidity of the current payment tender
however the Agency has taken some interventions to address this through the new
payment tender 2014.
11. COMMITTEE
OBSERVATIONS
The Committee raised a concern that the Auditor-General identified 11
areas of concern under internal controls out of the total of 14 areas. The
majority of these areas are located at management and leadership level. The
Agency explained that when it was established in 2006 it inherited some staff
members from the Department of Social Development who had limited training and
qualifications. These staff members have to be trained to be able to exercise
proper oversight and supervision on internal controls. Weaknesses identified in
the supply chain management during the awarding of the payment tender were
found to have been as a result of staff members who had not been able to use
the financial and supply chain system. SASSA is constantly improving on these
issues from the time it had received a disclaimer (red audit) to yellow audit
(area of concern) report it obtained in 2013/14.
The Committee reiterated its concern over the illegal deductions from
the social grants payments. It wanted to know what progress has the department
and SASSA made in addressing this problem. The Agency reported that a task team
was established to investigate the deductions from the social grants and the
report would be finalised by the end of 2014. The department and SASSA are also
working in partnership with BlackSash, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and
other civil organisations to find possible interventions to address this
problem. The NCR had already cancelled licenses of companies it found to have
been deducting money illegally from the social grants.
It further raised a concern over the 53% vacancy rate, with highest rate
at senior management and highly skilled positions. The Agency explained that its
staff establishment was created in accordance with the provisions of the South
African Social Security Agency Act which requires the Agency to perform the
grant administration and payment. However, the grant payment has been
outsourced to external service providers. Therefore, some of the vacancies have
remained as unfunded vacancies. It had however, filled two Executive Manager
posts during 2013/14 financial year.
12. OVERVIEW OF THE KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE
NATIONAL DEVELOPMEBNT AGENCY
The National Development Agency (NDA), as a public entity established by
the National Development Agency Act, (No. 108 of 1998) as amended, reports to
Parliament through the Minister for Social Development. It is listed under
Schedule 3A of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), (Act No. 1 of 1999). Its primary mandate
is to contribute towards the eradication of poverty and its causes by granting
funds to civil society organisations (CSOs) to implement development projects
in poor communities and strengthen the institutional capacity of CSOs that
provide services to poor communities.
NDA strategic priorities for
2013/14
The entity focused
on the following programmes in support of the government priority areas on
poverty and eradication:
12.1 Performance and Financial Expenditure
The overall budget of the NDA for the period under
review was R180 million. The Agency aligned all its key performance indicators
(IKPI’s) and targets to comply with the National Treasury Framework. When it
tabled its 2013/14 Annual Performance Plan to Parliament it had set 34 targets
but during the year it realised it would not be able to achieve three (3)
targets. It requested the Minister of Social Development to defer these to the
next financial year (2014/15) and the request was approved. The three targets
that were not achieved were funding to food security, positive rating of NDA
brand awareness and ICT framework.
Fruitless
and Wasteful Expenditure
In terms of fruitless and wasteful expenditure, NDA reported an amount
of R649 123 as at 31 March 2014. This represented an increase on the R602 874
reported in the last financial year. This
expenditure comprised of R20 951 for penalties on late payment to SARS and
Telkom. In addition R2 298 was for a tender advertising expenditure
incurred twice.
Statement
of Actuals and Budget
The actual amount paid to consultants decreased to R2 594 969
compared to R66 006 706 in the 2012/13 financial year. Furthermore the
staff cost was R51 080 909 as opposed to R46 660 914 in the
last financial year.
Programme performance
The NDA received a
transfer payment of R171 713 million from the Department of Social
Development under programme five (5). It
perform its function according to four programmes, which are discussed below:
Programme 1: Development
Management
This programme
received a budget allocation of R143 005 million. Out of a total of 13
performance targets, only one (1) target was not achieved. This means that 92%
of targets was achieved. It had an under expenditure of R4.2 million. It
exceeded by R2.9 million its planned targets of budget allocation to the ECD
programme. Reasons cited for this was due to reprioritisation of budget. Hundred
and fifty (150) food gardens were established on ECD sites, exceeding the
target by 55 sites. The 15 targeted number of ECD sites funded for
infrastructure improvement were achieved as planned. The food and security sub-programme received
R15.7 million instead of R20 million. The Agency reported that even though this
target was not achieved, the planned programme targets were met with reduced
budget.
Programme
2: Research and Development (R&D)
A total of R5 125 million was allocated for
2013/14 to this programme. It had an over expenditure of R13 000 and achieved
all seven (7) targets. Out of the total of
these targets, the NDA had set itself a target of 66 number of close out
evaluation reports on projects produced by the Agency. It exceeded its target
by managing to produce 68 close out reports. In addition, the Agency aimed to
increase its research capacity by producing five (5) position papers or policy
briefs on NDA programme areas. It exceeded this target by achieving six (6) position
papers. It further produced four (4) research reports on NDA programmes areas.
Programme
3: Civil Society Capacity Strengthening
Through this
programme the Agency capacitated 2 059 CSOs instead of the planned 239
CSOs in management and technical skills. This target was exceeded due to the
funding the NDA received from provincial Departments of Social Development to
capacitate their funded NPO’s which were not part of the original NDA target.
The Agency has also over-achieved its set target to fund ECD practitioners
enrolled in NQF level 4 training.
Programme
4: Governance and Administration
The strategic objective of this programme
is to promote and maintain organisational excellence and sustainability. A total budget of R87 939 was allocated for
this programme and an under-spending of R7 218 was recorded. This
programme includes the following internally-focussed organisational development
sub-programmes:
Human resources
The Human Resource statement indicated that the Agency’s vacancy rate in
2013/14 was 4.9% beating the target of 5%.
Staff turnover was reported to be 4.92% as at 31 March 2014. The major
reasons cited for the staff turnover was resignations and expiry of contracts. A total of R836 346 was spent on learning and
development interventions in 2013/14. Sixty five (65) staff members
attended short courses and seminars. In terms of equity targets, 72% of
employees of the Agency are females and 28% are males. In addition, the NDA
exceeded the government target (2%) of employing people with disability by
employing 2.6%. However the area of concern in HR is the
representation of women at the management level.
Enhancing
NDA visibility and branding
The NDA solicited R3.1 million in various electronic and
print media platforms for NDA funded projects and the “Adopt an ECD” campaign. However it still has more work to do to improve the awareness of the NDA
brand. Internal communication platforms were used to turn NDA staff, especially
in the provinces, into brand ambassadors and various publicity platforms were
used to showcase the NDA brand to external audiences.
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL
The NDA received an
unqualified audit opinion with emphasis of matter in 2013/14 financial
year. Emphasis of matters under Supply
Chain Management (SCM) included irregular expenditure
incurred, deviation from competitive bidding process, three quotations not received and deviation from competitive bidding process, Supply Chain Management policy was
not done according to National Treasury prescripts. With regard to the in
Information technology controls, the AG identified weaknesses in access and
change controls as a matters of emphasis.
13. COMMITTEE
OBSERVATIONS
14. Recommendations
Having deliberated and made observations on
the department’s and its entities annual reports, the Committee recommends the
following:
Department
of Social Development
·
The Minister should ensure that the
department’s intergovernmental relations with its counterparts, in particular
those who implement its cross cutting functions, is strengthened to ensure that
it manages to achieve its targets. This will ensure that duplication of
services by departments and the civil society will be minimised.
·
The Minister should ensure that there is
consistent service delivery in all the provinces with particular focus on rural
areas and other poor areas. In addition, the Minister should ensure that NPOs
funded by the department expand their foot print in rural areas by fast
tracking the implementation of the Policy on Financial Awards by the provinces
to eliminate inconsistencies in the funding model.
·
The Minister should ensure that the
department strengthens its mechanisms to ensure that NPOs are accountable and
comply with the NPO Act.
·
The Minister should ensure that the
department works in close collaboration with the South African Police Service
to further promote protection of older persons.
·
The Minister should ensure that the children
residential facilities are provided with necessary training, resources and
infrastructure to meet the needs of children with special needs.
·
The Minister should ensure that the
department expedite the registration of residential facilities of children and
older persons.
·
The Minister should ensure that the department
fast tracks the roll out of Project Mikondzo in all provinces.
·
The Minister should lobby the National
Treasury to increase funding for food security programmes and public
participation in the form of Project Mikondzo. This will ensure that the
department reduces virements for public participation.
·
The Minister should strengthen the accounting
systems of financial management by the end of the current financial year
(2014/15).
·
The Minister should ensure
that the department strengthens its psychosocial support services, especially
to the people who are live in abject poverty.
South
African Social Security Agency
·
The Minister should ensure that SASSA
strengthens the provision of the Social Relief of Distress. The provision of the
Social Relief of Distress should be provided in a consistent manner according
to the circumstances and needs of the people.
·
The Minister should ensure
that SASSA fills the critical vacant posts during 2014/15 financial year.
·
The Minister should further
ensure that SASSA addresses the matters of emphasis raised by the
Auditor-General so that it can receive an unqualified audit report with no
findings at the end of 2014/15 financial year.
National
Development Agency
·
The Minister should ensure that the National
Treasury is engaged to provide more funding to the NDA in the light that the
mandate of the NDA has been expanded to provide grant funding to food security
and ECD programmes as well as build capacity of the NPOs.
·
The Minister should ensure that the
Agency further expands on its role to build capacity of NPOs as the submission
by the Shukumisa organisation raised concerns over the lack of funding and
support of the NPO sector by the department.
·
The Minister should ensure that the Agency
strengthens and expands its branding and awareness campaigns so that it can
reach all communities especially rural communities.
15. Summary of reporting
requests
Reporting matter |
Action required |
Timeframe |
·
SASSA to brief the
Committee on the steps it has taken to address unlawful withdrawals from
social grants. ·
Prior to that it should
forward a copy of the 8 point step plan it developed to address the illegal
withdrawals |
Committee briefing |
|
Concluding
remarks
A brief analysis of the department’s and its
entities performance with regard to meeting the 2009 – 2014 Government Outcomes
shows that they managed to align their priorities to the Government Outcomes.
Most importantly alignment of the priorities and targets of the entities
indicated an integration of planning processes of the entities to the
department, which has a mandate to implement the Government Outcomes. The
launch of a re-registration process and subsequent development of a biometric
system for social grants payments was in line with the government’s objective
of creating an efficient and effective public sector with integrated
information technology. The department and the NDA made significant progress in
implementing the Government Outcome of improving quality education. They
achieved the target to improve the quality of Early Childhood Development. The
department further made progress in implementing this outcome by conducting a
comprehensive audit of ECD centres and by developing the National Integrated
Plan for ECD. The NDA achieved its target of providing capacity building for
ECD programme by launching the Adopt an ECD Campaign.
In addition, by creating 33 504 job
opportunities (exceeding its target of creating 33 307 jobs) through the
Special Projects and Innovation the department made significant progress in
implementing the Government Outcome of job creation. Similarly, the NDA
exceeded its target of allocating R25 million towards income generation
programmes and allocated R32 million. The department (in collaboration with its
entities) further made strides in achieving Government Outcome on promoting a
long and healthy life for all South Africans by achievement its target of
expanding its foot print through project Mikondzo and household profiling in
148 wards. This also indicated
department’s progress in implementing Government Outcome of creating a vibrant,
equitable and sustainable rural communities with food security for all. The NDA also exceeded its target of proving
grant funding to food security, ECD and income generation programmes by R10
million – from R65 million to R75 million. Furthermore,
16. Appreciation
The
Committee wishes to express its appreciation to the Department of Social
Development and its entities for their continuous co-operation and for making
available all the information the Committee requested. It also wishes to
express its gratitude to the office of the Auditor General for availing itself
to brief the Committee on its audit report, which proved invaluable when it
considered and deliberated on the department and its entities annual reports.
It also expresses its appreciation to the support it received from its support staff.
Report to
be considered
________________________________________________________________________
Reference list
Auditor General Report (2014),
cited in the Department of Social Development 2013/14 Annual Report.
Department of National Treasury (2014) Budget 2014: Estimates of
National Expenditure. Pretoria.
Labadarios, L , June-Rose Mchiza, Z , Steyn, NP , Gericke, G , Maunder,
EM , Davids,, YD & Parker, W (2011)
Food security in South Africa: a review of national surveys, Bulletin of the
World Health Organization Available http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/12/11-089243/en/
from [03 June 2014].
National Treasury, 1st Quarter Expenditure Report 2014/15
Financial Year
National
Treasury (2013b) Estimate of National Expenditure
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(Stats SA) (2011) General household survey 2010 (Revised
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Presidency: Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. “Results of the
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RSA Parliament
_________________________________________________________________________
[1] National Treasury (2013 b)
[3] National
Treasury (2014)
[4] National Treasury (2013 a and 2014)
[5] Audit Committee Report (2014)
[6] Auditor
General Report (2014).
[7] Labadarios,
(2011)
[8] UNICEF,(2012)
[9] Samson, et al, 2011
[10] ibid
[11] National
Treasury (2014:425).
[12] Ndabeni, L. Mbandazayo, N. and Hlatshwayo
Z. (undated)
[13] The Presidency: Department of Planning,
Monitoring and Evaluation