'Children bear brunt of poverty'
2007-05-23 18:38
Cape Town - Many of children from poverty-stricken families still struggle to access social grants, the Minister of Social Development, Zola Skweyiya, said on Wednesday.
Speaking during the Social Development Department's budget vote debate in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Skweyiya said there was an urgent need for the social safety net to be extended.
"Despite the government's commitment to the long-term objective of transforming the country... children continue to be hard hit by poverty in various parts of the country," he said.
To rescue children trapped in poverty, Skweyiya said the department was working on initiatives aimed at expanding the social safety net.
"Going forward, we will make every effort to register an estimated 750 000 eligible children for the child support grant.
"Cabinet has approved that we investigate the desirability of in-cash and in-kind measures to support vulnerable children older than 14 years and to link grants to access to basic services such as education and health," he said.
According to the department, the number of beneficiaries receiving social assistance surged from below four million eight years ago to 12 million at present.
More than eight million of the beneficiaries are children. Two million are pensioners.
- SAPA