ADDRESS OF THE PATRON OF THE TMF, THABO MBEKI,
AT THE CENTENARY GALA OF THE ARYAN BENEVOLENT HOME (ABH):
DURBAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, 17 FEBRUARY 2023.
Programme Director,
Members of the ABH Council,
ABH CEO and Staff,
Distinguished guests and participants at this Centenary Gala,
Ladies and gentlemen:
First of all, I would like to thank the Council of the Aryan Benevolent Home for inviting me to participate in this important event to celebrate the Centenary of the ABH. This is indeed a great honour because of what the ABH is.
Secondly, I must thank everybody present here this evening because your presence constitutes a very appropriate salute to the ABH for the magnificent work it has done for more than a century and a strong signal that many people in this city and beyond are determined to help ensure that the ABH continues its good work for yet another century.
Recently I read a book entitled – ‘What We Owe Each Other’ – with the sub-title, ‘A New Social Contract’, by a highly accomplished Egyptian-British leader in the economic developmental field, Dame Minouche Shafik.
In essence she argues that all human societies must answer the question practically – what do we owe one another as members of the community in which we live, and sees it as an imperative of the human construct that the very existence of human society means that such society must be bound together by an agreed social contract.
She writes:
“There is a long traditions of thinking about the relationship between the economy and society, starting with the founders of the Fabian Society and the London school of Economics, Beatrice and Sidney Webb. Beatrice spent years collecting data in the poorest parts of London and seeing the impact of deprivation first hand.
“As a Member of the 1909 Royal Commissions on Poor Laws, she authored a dissenting minority report that rejected the harsh system of workhouses and Britain’s piecemeal approach to supporting those in poverty. In it she argued that a new social contract for the UK would:
“secure a national minimum of civilised life…open to all alike, of both sexes and all classes, by which we meant sufficient nourishment and training when young, a living wage when able-bodied, treatment when sick, and a modest but secured livelihood when disabled or aged.”
Dame Shafik then writes: “More than a hundred years later, that is still an aspiration in most countries in the world.”
I agree with her in this regard, certainly as this relates to our own country. This is exactly why both our governing party, the ANC, and virtually everybody else in our country has identified poverty, unemployment and inequality as three of the most serious challenges our country faces.
During May 2022, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) reported to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and Social Services as follows:
“Sassa’s core business is to provide social assistance to eligible South Africans who are unable to support themselves and their dependents with the goal of alleviating poverty. About 31% of the South African population (about 18 million people) relies on social grants. There are approximately 10 million beneficiaries who depend on the monthly R350 special Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant. This increases the number of South Africans who rely on social transfers to about 47%”.
Practically, this means that half of our population has to depend on social grants to rescue itself from abject poverty.
In this context the explanation for the 2021/22 Social Development budget said:
“The social assistance programme is an important lever in government’s strategy to tackle poverty and inequality. Over the medium term, the department will continue to use this lever to provide direct income support to the elderly, children, war veterans and people with disabilities. The number of social grant beneficiaries is expected to increase from 18.2 million in 2020/21 to 19.3 million in 2023/24, accounting for an estimated 95 per cent (R606.9 billion) of the department’s budget over the period ahead…Social grants are expected to be extended to 300 000 additional beneficiaries per year. To administer social grants, the department expects to transfer R22.5 billion over the medium term to the South African Social Security Agency accounting for an estimated 3.5. per cent of total expenditure.”
This statement constituted a firm Government commitment that it would continue to meet its obligations with regard to the established social grants.
Of course this was most welcome given the persisting high levels of poverty in our country. In this regard, I am certain that because of the targeted persons of these grants all of us would want them to be adequately funded.
One of these is what SASSA describes as a grant for older persons, in other words a pension. There can be no doubt that our elder citizens deserve a dignified life during their -retirement.
SASSA also disburses a disability grant, which I am certain all of us would support.
Like other countries, we also have a war veterans grant which speaks for itself.
The care dependency grant is very necessary because it helps those who take cate of children with severe disability and need full-time special care.
The foster child grant is also important because it helps foster parents to take care of a foster child or children below the age of 18 years.
We also have a child support grant. It is obvious that many poor families need this grant properly to take care of their children.
Grant-in-aid is awarded to persons who are receiving a social grant, such as for disability, as a war veteran or an older person, who need full-time care.
The social relief of distress grant was introduced in the context of the severe disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as a temporary provision of assistance intended for persons in such a dire material need that they are unable to meet their families’ most basic needs.
I have described these eight government social grants to emphasise their importance, and therefore that they cannot be reduced to meet shortfalls elsewhere.
In 2021 the World Bank in collaboration with our Government published a Report entitled “Social Assistance Programs and Systems Review: South Africa” which underscored the critical role of the grant and social assistance system in mitigating poverty in the country.
Among others, the Report says:
“The report finds that overall, South Africa’s system of programs is effective, well-targeted, and provides sizeable benefits to the poorest households. The social assistance system effectively reduces poverty and inequality rates. Cash transfer programs are having positive and important impacts on a wide variety of outcomes, including nutrition and food security, educational attainment, health, labour supply, and livelihoods…
“Accounting for 3.3% of GDP and 15.4% of total government spending, the cost of South Africa’s social assistance system is relatively high compared to the average of other upper middle-income countries (UMICs).”
In 2014 the Government published a Paper on Social Protection in South Africa during the two decades from 1994.
Taking a step away from only looking at the role of the government institutions in the area of social protection, the Paper also reflected on the role played by the Non-Profit and Non-Governmental Organisations (NPOs and NGOs), pointing to their importance in reaching the previously marginalised during the apartheid years.
Among others it said:
“Government also continues to work in conjunction with civil society in the provision of welfare services. Civil society organisations provide support for the umbrella of welfare services, which encompasses child welfare, child services, youth services, youth welfare, family services, and services for the handicapped and the elderly.
“Through support and extending government funding to voluntary organisations and NGOs, including those that were previously excluded from funding, welfare services are being expanded to underserviced communities…”
The Paper stated that “NGOs play a crucial role in reaching out to marginalised communities, building trust and attempting to provide much-needed help and support. (It said the evolution of the) NGOs over the years has contributed to creating diversity in the social welfare sector.”
It acknowledged that “the collaboration between government and the non-profit sector has improved access to welfare services, especially in the under-resourced areas of society, (stating that) in many cases, the ability of civil society to provide services on the local level has been better than that of government.”
The Paper paid special tribute to “the home- and community-based care (HCBC) programme…formally introduced in 1999, (which it said) served as a critical factor in actualising government’s commitment to constructing a developmental welfare system… (It said) HCBC organisations operate in all provinces in South Africa, offering a range of services, targeting vulnerable households with financial support in the form of government subsidies.”
Of importance, the Paper also acknowledged the underfunding of the NGOs despite their important contribution to social protection in our country. Among others it pointed out that 90 percent of the budget of the Social development budget is spent on the social grants and therefore that only 10 percent of the budget was available to pay for services provided by the NGOs and other government institutions.
However, it still lamented the fact that especially the home-and-community-based-care were short changed as this meant that “poor communities are asked to carry the burden that would otherwise be that of society as a collective at stipends below a decent wage. (It said) this poses a threat to their long-term survival in providing a vital service.”
The Paper correctly noted that “while funding for (the NPO) sector is not adequate, it is unacceptable that while NGOs struggle with funding, there are unspent transfer funds that should have been channelled to the NGOs.”
A survey conducted in July 2020 covering 733 respondents from 717 NPOs, therefore during the Covid-19 pandemic, said that ‘some 72% of the NPOs had to work with decreased funding, with only 22% reporting a funding increase. Despite these hardships, 61% reported that they had not received any government-related funding.’
Though the assessment about the Non-Governmental Sector I have cited was made at least eight years ago, it remains as valid to this day as its observation then that:
“Government needs to consolidate the partnership with the NGO sector. It should decide where it will intervene and how civil society will play a role, and then make the resources available to NGOs to provide the services that would otherwise be its responsibility.”
Of course what is required not only to make resources available to NGOs, but also provide ‘a living wage to those who are able-bodied’ and avail ‘a modest but secured livelihood to those who are disabled or aged’, to recall what Beatrice Webb wrote, is to ensure that our economy grows and therefore produces new wealth.
As all of us know, this is one of the most serious challenges our country faces. But fortunately, we have the possibility that the social partners, government, business, labour and civil society, will get together to engage our economic challenges.
In 2020, responding in part to the problems created by the Covod-19 pandemic, President Ramaphosa said:
“At this time, durable social compacts are more important than ever.
“It is through consensus-building between government, business, labour and civil society that we have been able to develop a common programme, and the same spirit of collaboration and partnership must guide us in the difficult days ahead…
“Regardless of where we sit across the political divide, we must find the political courage to unite behind this common vision for our recovery.
“We must work together to build this new inclusive economy and to build a South Africa that works.”
Speaking through its ad-hoc collective, Business for South Africa (B4SA), again in 2020, business said:
“In recognition of the gravity of the present situation, B4SA was constituted to mobilise business’ capabilities in response to the Covid-19 crisis and to assist government in addressing the associated ramifications for the economy and society at large. Secondly, B4SA sought to formulate an integrated accelerated economic recovery strategy which harnesses South Africa’s potential in the shortest possible time by leveraging all resources – across government, business, and civil society – to address the economic challenges we face…”
Earlier this month, when he delivered the State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa returned to this important matter of the social compact and said:
“In the State of the Nation Address last year, we spoke of our intention to forge a comprehensive social compact that would join all social partners in a common programme to rebuild our economy and enable higher growth.
“We were not able to conclude a social compact in the timeframe we had envisaged because a number of new circumstances emerged that made it difficult for social partners to forge a consensus.
“But the goof thing is the social partners have expressed their intention – and I’ve been talking to them up till just yesterday, both labour, business and community. They have expressed a clear intention to conclude a social compact and have continued to work on a framework to enable joint action in key areas such as energy, transport, logistics, employment creation and skills development, investment and localisation, social protection, crime and corruption.
“I have no reason to doubt the commitment that they have expressed to me.”
I have drawn attention to these comments by President Ramaphosa, speaking on behalf of Government, and Business to emphasise the critical importance of the said social compact.
All of us are perfectly aware of the very serious problems of very high levels of poverty and unemployment. The reality is that it will not be possible for us to address these challenges unless we achieve high and sustained economic growth rates as well as the transformation of the economy.
And we cannot achieve these objectives unless we achieve and implement the social compact about whose necessity all the four social partners are agreed.
I do hope that all those of us who can help ensure that we realise this objective of achieving a social compact will do what they can in this regard.
Of course I have also spent time on the matter of this compact because of the absolute imperative to achieve the goal of a better life for all our people, including those whom the Aryan Benevolent Home has cared for, for an entire century.
We have convened here this evening to salute ABH and indeed to celebrate 100 years of Caring, Sharing and Serving.
There can be no gainsaying the fact that ABH has done outstanding work practically to live up to its Vision – “For every child a brighter future; for every aged person, light in their twilight; and, for every victim of abuse, another opportunity.”
It is a matter of great pride and inspiration to all of us as human beings that in ABH, for a century, we have had a welcoming home to the most marginalised in our country.
It is indeed a remarkable achievement worth emulating by many others throughout our country that in ABH we have an organisation which has given practical expression to the outlook shared by its founder, Mr DG Satyadeva that everyone must see his or her welfare in the welfare of others.
The importance of this lies in the fact that most unfortunately it is inevitable that our country will continue to produce ever more of the kind of children and people in distress that ABH is and has been caring for with unequalled devotion.
For instance, to take one of the groups looked after by ABH, a 2008 dissertation on the phenomenon of street children in Johannesburg by one Ngwenjah Rose Lefeh says:
“In South Africa, the number of children living on the streets increased gradually up to the mid-1990s and then experienced exponential growth… In 1987 there were an estimated 5000 street children and by 1995 had doubled to about 10,000 street children between the ages of eight and seventeen. Less than a decade later the number of street children increased dramatically to an estimated 250,000…Based on this information, it is anticipated by many practitioners in the field that over the next 10 years, the number of street children will double due to increasing levels of adult unemployment…and the breakdown in African family support…Street children are the most vulnerable category of children at risk, as they are exposed to different kinds of assaults including rape and prostitution which make them more vulnerable to HIV and other related diseases. They are equally the most marginalized in society due to their family background.”
What this means is that all of us have an absolute obligation to help ensure that as its need will grow with each passing day, ABH has the means to continue to help the marginalised in our society such as the children, the battered wives and the abandoned old people who have found a true home at ABH.
What should help to inspire us in this regard is the great care and honesty with which ABH has looked after and properly utilised the resources it has received as donations particularly from an admiring and concerned public, ensuring that no stench of corruption attaches to it.
It is precisely to sustain this reputation that ABH has a strong and effective governance system and management and a Staff truly dedicated to serve the marginalised who come in through the doors of this hundred-year-old-home.
Of course, as active supporters of ABH, we must not forget the two major statements made by the Government, that:
● NGOs like ABH are vital contributors to our country’s system of social protection, reaching sections of our people in need, that Government has left unattended; and,
● it has not lived up to expectations in terms of providing the necessary funds to these NGOs.
Indeed, in this regard we know that over time Government has reduced the funds it has been contributing to ABH.
Here we are faced with the conundrum that as the actual need to support the marginalised and excluded has increased even for ABH itself, the funds provided by Government to address this greater need have become less and less.
All this emphasises the obligation we have as the general public to internalise Mr DG Satyadeva’s philosophical outlook that we see our own welfare in the welfare of others, and therefore the imperative to extend a helping hand to AHB to continue attending to the welfare of the excluded in our society.
Some of the great ills afflicting our society are corruption and amorality as well as pervasive criminality amounting to lawlessness.
All this conveys the message that whatever social cohesion existed in the past, it is getting rapidly eroded, reducing the human impulse that we are to one another our brother’s and sister’s keepers.
It is exactly this negative development affecting all our communities throughout the country, which leads to ever greater numbers of our people becoming social outcasts, thrown out to become the marginalised like the street children.
Objectively, all this emphasises the vital importance of a strong system of social protection so that we do not end up with large numbers of our people becoming the wretched of the earth!
It is of vital importance that eminent civil society organisations such as ABH must be strengthened so that, working with Government, they make certain that our country does not sink into the abyss of barbarism when we would have arrived at the point when the centre ceases to hold.
I am honoured to reiterate my thanks to everybody present here this evening because your presence communicates the critically important message that exactly because we are one another’s brothers and sisters – because we know what we owe to one another – we will not allow that other human beings should be left abandoned in the streets as the excluded and marginalised.
I wish you a happy evening and, in German, guten appetit!
Thank you.