DRAFT DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE GOVERNANCE BILL

The Bill provides for the establishment of the South African Development Welfare Council to promote civil society participation in public policy formation.

An essential feature of the White Paper on Social Welfare is a reorientation towards developmental social welfare, based on the principles of public participation, transparency, and open access to appropriate and effective social welfare policies and programmes. In his address to the Opening of Parliament, President Thabo Mbeki also stressed public participation as a fundamental aspect of the reconstruction and development of South African society. A partnership between government and all South Africans is required in order to mobilise the whole nation into a common effort to build and develop South Africa.

Creation of the South African Development Welfare Council reflects government’s awareness that the current system of governance in the welfare sector represents an uneven, top-down process, whereby effective participation of service users is fundamentally undermined. This Bill envisages governance to embody government and civil society structures engaged in the promotion of partnerships which recognise the responsibility of all stakeholders in formulating and implementing effective and equitable developmental social welfare policy and programmes for South Africa.

The Department of Welfare has said that its approach to social welfare will be guided by translating policy into integrated social development action, and that the department’s operations will be governed by principles of efficiency, transparency and responsiveness. The goal is to build a people-centred social welfare system whereby a process and environment for active partnerships will be created. A key weakness of the current welfare process is the ways in which service providers (government and non-government) are governed. This weakness means that civil society is, in essence, discriminated against in terms of the right to access to social security, as well as in the right to fully participate in all aspects of the process. The Developmental Welfare Governance Bill is seen as the mechanism through which this situation will be amended.

The Bill of Rights [Section 27(c)] commits the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures to ensure that everyone has the right to access to social security, including appropriate social assistance when needed. Social welfare policies and programmes are aimed at enabling impoverished households to provide adequate care for their members. However, the planning and implementation of social welfare policies and programmes often present problems. The Council will seek to ensure effective and appropriate services through the monitoring and evaluating of service delivery.

One of the most important aims of the welfare sector is to try to help people become more independent, and therefore better able to take care of their own lives. In order to achieve this, it is essential that civil society be involved in the entire process of planning and implementing welfare policy. This aim is an essential aspect of the developmental welfare approach.

The main objective of the Bill is to establish and constitute the South African Developmental Welfare Council. The primary role of the Council will be to facilitate interaction between government and civil society in regards to policy, legislation, and developmental social welfare issues. The aim will be to build and consolidate partnerships between government and civil society in order to transform the welfare sector towards one in which sustainable and accessible welfare rights become a reality for all South Africans.

The Council’s objectives are both to advise the Minister of Welfare on social welfare related issues, and to act as a consultative forum for the Minister to discuss matters of welfare governance. As an advisory body, the Council will advise the Minister on measures to promote the transformation and continuous improvement of welfare services and social development initiatives. Measures to effectively address poverty relief, poverty reduction and poverty elimination, as well as effective ways in which to involve local government in the provision of welfare services will be recommended.

The Council will also make recommendations on proposals for new legislative frameworks for the welfare sector and on amendments to existing legislation. Recommendations on the introduction of local and international "best practices" in welfare services will be an important part of the Council’s advisory role.

In its role as a consultative forum for the Minister, the Council will specifically address issues related to governance of the welfare system, which will include:

• To improve the quality of provincial and national governance;
• To introduce new policy in the government and NGO environment;
• To facilitate representative and inclusive consultative partnerships of stakeholders regarding the implementation of developmental social welfare;
• To ensure that the needs and priorities of society inform formulation, implementation and evaluation of welfare policies, programmes and legislation;
• To assist provincial and local governments in the formation and development of governance structures;
• To recommend measures towards effective welfare governance; and
• To facilitate inputs from the welfare sector to international forums and protocols.

The powers and functions which will be conferred upon the Council by enactment of this Bill will facilitate it in its work of identifying, promoting, monitoring and evaluating developmental social welfare policy, legislation and programmes. All proposed developmental social welfare legislation will be considered by the Council before its introduction in Parliament. The Council will promote stakeholder participation in developmental social welfare, particularly consumer and grassroots sector participation.

The Council will coordinate consultation between stakeholders, various tiers of government and the Minister of Welfare in order to identify developmental social welfare matters requiring attention. An information and communication strategy will be developed by the Council to ensure that communication between government and civil society is facilitated. In addition, the Council will review national budgetary allocations in order to promote intersectoral cooperation and assess the implications of budgetary resource allocations for the developmental social welfare sector.

Any advice, recommendations, or reports submitted to the Minister of Welfare from the Council will include the minority views of any one or more members of the Council.

According to the Bill, the Council will be composed of not more than four government officials, appointed by the Minister of Welfare, who will represent the Ministry of Welfare and Population Development, the national Department of Welfare, and the Departmental Committee on Developmental Social Services. The other Council members will be appointed by the Minister after a public selection process. They will consist of:

• A representative from a national professional coordinating association which represents social welfare personnel and practitioners;
• A representative from the South African Council for Social Service Professions;
• A representative from national forums and networks in the developmental social welfare sector;
• A representative from organisations representing persons who use social welfare services;
• A representative from a national funder body; and
• A representative from a national training body representing institutions involved in training social welfare personnel.

The selection process will proceed as follows: Nominations for the Council from interested parties will be invited through the media and notice in the Government Gazette. The Minister will appoint a five-person Selection Committee who will be representative of South African society, especially in terms of race, gender, disability and geographic distribution. The Committee’s mandate will be to assess nominations for the Council proposed by the general public and by organisations in the developmental social welfare sector. The Committee will compile a short-list of potential candidates, and they will hold open interviews. At least 32 possible Council members will be proposed to the Minister who will make the final decision on who will be appointed.

It will be the Minister’s task to ensure that the Council is comprised of persons who reflect South African society in its totality by attending to issues of race, gender, disability and geographic distribution. In addition, Council members must be South African citizens currently residing in South Africa. Council members must have experience and knowledge about the South African developmental social welfare sector, and be committed to the objectives and principles in the White Paper for Social Welfare. A member also must be committed to fairness, freedom of expression, accountability and the right of stakeholders to be consulted.

A Council member will hold office for a period of four years, at the expiry of which she or he will be eligible for reappointment. However, no member will serve on the Council for more than two consecutive terms. The Minister of Welfare, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, will determine any remuneration and allowances to be paid to Council members.

The Minister of Welfare will appoint the Chairperson of the Council, and Council will elect the Vice-Chairperson from amongst its members. There will be an Executive Committee of the Council, which will consist of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and three members of the Council, designated by the Council. Between meetings of the Council, the Executive Committee will have the authority to perform all the functions of the Council, which will be of full force and effect, unless it is set aside or amended by the next meeting of the Council.

On condition that the Minister approves, the Council may from time-to-time establish other committees to assist it in deliberating on specific issues. In situations where a committee’s recommendations may directly affect a particular group of people, the Council will, as far as possible, both seek to give them the opportunity to comment on the issue and include the comments received in its report to the Minister.

4.  ISSUES OF CONSIDERATION

• The Developmental Welfare Governance Bill proposes to establish and constitute a Council which is representative of a broad constituency in its make-up. In particular, the Council must reflect South African society in regards to race, gender, disability and geographic distribution. Government most likely perceives this as the best approach for its objective of transforming the welfare sector through building and consolidating partnerships between itself and civil society. Particularly important in this respect is government’s commitment to prioritise consumer and grassroots sector participation.

However, if the proposed sector involvement on the Council is considered, it is unclear how these objectives will be achieved. As it stands, it appears that representatives from community or grassroots sectors may be heavily outnumbered, and especially by representatives from government and professional bodies. This imbalance may prove particularly counterproductive for the work of the Council, especially for meeting government criteria for appropriate, legitimate, transparent and effective governance mechanisms, and for moving towards eradication of poverty and social problems.

• Further important questions are raised around the selection process, and powers and functions of the Executive Committee and of other committees which will assist the Council in its work. For instance, how will the Council ensure that the Executive Committee and other committees are representative of race, gender, disability and geographic distribution? If they are not representative, how will the Council ensure that its mandate to empower civil society through the transformation of the welfare sector is achieved in practice? If the most marginalised communities in civil society, such as black women in the rural areas, are to be empowered through the objectives and work of the Council, then it appears that these questions warrant serious consideration.

• The Bill empowers the Council to facilitate representative and inclusive consultative partnerships of stakeholders in order to implement developmental social welfare. However, indications for how this undertaking will evolve on a practical level are not given sufficient attention in the Bill. Nor are there clear indications on how the work of the Council will be financed. For instance, will special committee members be paid consultative fees? These issues need to be clarified.

• Developmental social welfare is perceived by government as a fundamental way in which to promote social and economic development of the people of South Africa, and to build a self-reliant nation in partnership with all stakeholders. Government’s stated goal is to try to help people become more independent, and therefore better able to take care of their own lives. Government sees the establishment of the South African Developmental Welfare Council as an effective tool for achieving this goal through the promotion of public participation in all aspects of the welfare process. We are concerned, however, whether promotion of public participation will be possible unless the issues of selection, representation, and decision-making powers of the Council are addressed.

In the Bill, civil society means trade unions, consumer organisations, formal and informal welfare sectors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), religious and other organisations delivering social welfare services, and social welfare personnel and practitioners.

The Bill defines developmental social welfare as planned social change designed to promote social and economic development of the people of South Africa by utilising social welfare services, programmes, methods and approaches which are responsive to the specific conditions and needs of South Africans. The goal is to prevent, alleviate and eventually eradicate the social problems of individuals, groups and communities.

Governance is defined as government and civil structures engaged in the promotion of partnerships which recognise the responsibility of all stakeholders in formulating and implementing effective and equitable developmental social welfare policy and programmes for South Africa. Partnership means the national collective responsibility of government and organs of civil society in meeting the welfare needs of South Africans; and stakeholders are the formations and sectors from all organs of government and civil society which have a direct and vested interest in social welfare policies and programmes and related fiscal issues.

Social welfare personnel and practitioners pertains to all categories of personnel in the social service and welfare sector, and includes social workers, social security personnel, community development workers, social auxiliary workers and child and youth workers.

1. White Paper for Social Welfare, Government Gazette, Vol. 386 No. 18166, August 1997
2. Developmental social welfare is defined in the Bill as planned social change designed to promote social and economic development of the people of South Africa by utilising social welfare services, programmes, methods and approaches which are responsive to the specific conditions and needs of South Africans. The goal is to prevent, alleviate and eventually eradicate the social problems of individuals, groups and communities.
3. Statement by the Minister for Welfare, Population & Development to the GCIS Media Briefing, Cape Town, 2/9/99
4. Statement by the Director-General for Welfare, Population & Development to the Portfolio Committee on Welfare, 8/9/99.

5. Memorandum: The Objects of the Developmental Welfare Governance Bill, Department of Welfare, 1999

For more information on the Draft Developmental Welfare Governance Bill, please contact Phyllis Orner at PHILA. Tel: 021 448 8702; Fax: 021 447 0624; Email: phyllis@philaw.co.za. 

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The PHILA Programme is supported by a grant from the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation

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