The Minister sought support for a 2011/12 budget in the sum of R104,7 billion. 93% of the budget is for social grant expenditure.

Budget priorities for the current year include:

• R244 million for social work scholarships;
• R161 million for the NDA to support development initiatives;
• R6,1 billion for SASSA management, administration and grant payments;
• R600 million to support the department’s policy, implementation support and oversight responsibilities; and
• R97 billion for cash transfers in the form of social grants to households.

How will children benefit?

The Minister noted the extension of the CSG to children up to the age of 18 as a key development benefiting children, as well as the good take up rate amongst children aged 3 – 14 as key to poverty alleviation in the country.

However, she noted the poor take-up rate amongst young children aged 0-3, and committed departmental resources to reaching the almost one million children in this age group not receiving the CSG. SASSA and the Department of Home Affairs will be working closely together to reach these very vulnerable children.

The Minister specifically recognises the value of, and commits to investing in, ECD – specifically the provision of good quality health care, proper nutrition, early learning as well as safe and intellectually stimulating surroundings. The Minister notes the increased numbers of registered sites (now standing at 19,000) and the increased access to ECD services (now standing at almost 790,000), with subsidies provided to more than 720,000 as at March 2011. The focus for the coming year appears to remain on increasing access, with specific mention made of the launch of a national ECD campaign in May 2011 during Child Protection Week which will increase awareness of ECD services and increase accessibility.

The Minister notes the delays being experienced in processing foster child grant applications and the extension of court orders authorising foster care arrangements caused by a shortage of social workers, the limited capacity of courts and legislative challenges. Together with the National Treasury and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the department will be implementing a three-phased intervention plan:

• No foster child grant will lapse where the requisite extension orders are awaited from the court. In this regard the department has sought a declaratory order from the court for a favourable interpretation of the Children’s Act and Social Assistance Act so as to uphold the best interests of the child.
• Staff from SASSA and the DOJCD will work overtime to address backlogs.
• The various policy provisions and relevant legislation will be reviewed in collaboration with UNICEF to provide alternative care such as kinship care and adoption.

The reach of statutory services will be extended through the recruitment and training of Child and Youth Care workers (the Isibindi model).

How will people with disabilities benefit?

The disability grant will continue to be available and the department will support people with disabilities to overcome their limitations and enter the mainstream economy.

Women and grants

Women constitute 67% of beneficiaries of the old age and disability grants. 98% of child support grants are applied for and collected by women and 85% of women are beneficiaries.

Commentary

It is cause for concern that the Minister emphasises increasing access to ECD but makes no mention of improving quality as a priority objective for the 2011/2012 financial year. This calls for more robust advocacy to put this issue firmly on the agenda of policy makers.

It is, however, encouraging to note the commitment to ensuring all children aged 0-3 who qualify do in fact receive the CSG. This intervention is critical to successful and optimal early childhood development for poor children; without the grant, access to essential development services such as food and nutrition, health care and early education and stimulation remain inaccessible to many. It is strongly recommended that community based organisations contact their local and provincial DSD, SASSA and Home Affairs offices to establish how community-based partnership can be formed to facilitate maximum access to the CSG for all infants from the moment of birth.

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