Page 241 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) – 2023/24 Financial Year
Vulnerable groups (poor, marginalized and disadvantaged) are targeted. Furthermore, the department has
identified children, women, youth, old age and people with disabilities as focus groups targeted for service
delivery.

In ensuring community development, focus is given to community mobilisation, institutional capacity building
and support for Non - Profit Institutions (NPIs), poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods, community -
based research and planning, youth development, women development and population policy promotion.

1.5 Demands for and expected changes in the services

The department will strengthen community-based interventions for Older Persons with specific focus on active
aging and service centres to ensure the continuous provision of protection, care and developmental services
for older persons. The eastern and central parts of the province have been severely affected by natural
disasters, which left families and communities in a socially distressful situation characterised by the state of
helplessness, defencelessness, susceptibility, exposure, weakness and lack of resistance. The department
finds itself being the first point of contact when disaster occurs and there is therefore a need to ensure that
an Integrated Response Plan package for Disaster Management is developed for implementation with other
key stakeholders.

The effects of the COVID 19 pandemic have resulted in increased levels of vulnerability, unemployment,
poverty and escalated levels of gender-based violence and femicide. This therefore increases the demand
for psychosocial support services.

1.6 The Acts, rules and regulations

The mandate of the department is derived from the Constitution, sections 27 and 28 of the country. The
functional responsibilities are further articulated in policies and legislative frameworks that facilitate the
execution of the mandate of the department namely: Probation Services Act 116, 1991; Social Assistance
Act 59, 1992; NPO Act, 1997; White Paper for Social Welfare,1997; Domestic Violence Act 116,1998;
National Development Agency Act, 1998; White Paper Population Policy for South Africa,1998; Public
Finance Management Act,1999; Probation Services Amendment Act 35, 2002; Mental Health Act 17, 2002;
Children’s Act 38, 2005; Older Persons Act 13, 2006; Child Justice Act, 75 of 2008; Prevention and Treatment
of Drug Dependency Act 70, 2008; Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill of 2012; National Skills
Development Strategy III (2011 - 2016); National and Provincial Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS, STIs and
TB; Policy on Financial Awards to Service Providers; South African Policy for Older Persons; National Youth
Policy 2014 – 2019; National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (2020-2030); Victim
Support Services Policy (2029); Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act 7, 2013; and
Children Amendment Act 17, 2022.

1.7 Budget decisions

The budget on Compensation of Employees (CoE) is based on the current warm bodies and 2022/23 vacant
funded posts. Additional funding has been received on compensation of employees for the carry through
costs of the 2022/23 cost of living adjustments. CoE is decreasing over the 2023 MTEF due to the
discontinued cash gratuity which was part of the 2021/22 cost of living adjustment. Change in the Provincial
Equitable Share (PES) formula has resulted in the department receiving additional allocation which has since
been allocated to contractual obligations to minimize cost pressures such as Office Leases, Communication,
Legal Fees, and Municipal Services as these services experienced higher than inflation actual increases and
accruals from other financial years.

The department also received additional funding for provincial priorities, which includes Gender-Based
Violence (GBV) awareness and Social Behavioral Change programmes over the 2023 MTEF. The

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