Barry Streek
South Africans need to move beyond analysis, complaints and blame, and into united action to make a difference to the lives of the poorest people, Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya told a national consultative conference attended by MECs for social development and representatives of the non-government sector. Skweyiya’s remarks were made on the basis of an assessment of weaknesses in social services delivery following his tour of all the provinces that began last July and ended earlier this month. “I found that the wanton breakdown of family and community life as a result of apartheid remains a persistent feature. Poverty, unemployment and the devastating impact of HIV/Aids have resulted in greater fragmentation, alienation and hardship for many. Our traditional forms of social solidarity have been eroded.” He said the drafting of comprehensive childcare legislation by the South African Law Commission “can no longer be delayed … it has to be accelerated and become operational to ensure that children’s rights and development are brought into line with the Constitution”. He asked: “To what extent have the ‘lived experiences’ of those we say we serve those who remain on the sidewalks of our society become a part of our service delivery? Are we just making token gestures or do we take seriously our mandate to accelerate social delivery and address poverty?” Skweyiya said a high-level task team consisting of MECs for social welfare had the responsibility of reviewing and accelerating the implementation of a financing policy. “The work of the task team is expected to provide guidelines on the implications of welfare financing and to identify criteria for funding to ensure social development services are accessible and available to people in rural, peri-urban and informal settlements.” He added that human resource constraints remain a persistent problem in service delivery. “At district and community levels many provinces do not have development workers to facilitate poverty reduction processes. “Skills deficits are evident in critical areas, such as planning, financial management and basic administration, and specialised areas such as development management, social security and HIV/Aids.” There were many positive stories of successful self-help initiatives and Skweyiya paid tribute to the energy, dedication and commitment of those people “who ensure there is hope amid the continuing despair, failures and increasing fragmentation and alienation”. South Africa has to ensure the creation of a society where social justice prevails and where “any actual or perceived unfairness in access to a better life is removed” so that the creation of a caring society can be accelerated, Skweyiya said.