Cape Town - Government's anti-poverty strategy is based on creating social security, investing in people through education and skills development and establishing a set of economic and industrial policies.
"Central to this strategy is the determination to root out intergenerational poverty," the minister said Minister of Social Development Edna Molewa, tabling her Budget Vote on Friday.
The attainment of this goal would require inter-sectoral interventions to be integrated with measurable targets, social indicators and timeframes.
"The Social Protection and Community Development Cluster leads the anti-poverty strategy and will facilitate synergies between government and other sections of society," she said.
Minister Molewa noted that the demand for social grants would only reduce when the poor had decent employment or were gainfully self-employed.
Investment in human and physical assets must also be complemented by an economy that absorbs people and lays the basis for decent jobs.
"The department has some very specific contributions to make, investment in the development of children is one of the primary means to improve society's human capital and over time contribute to a reduction in intergenerational poverty," she said.
Other interventions envisaged by the government anti-poverty strategy also focus on service delivery at the household level with the aim of linking individuals and families with key services from government.
In pursuance of this goal, the department has been tasked with assessing and collecting the information on the needs of households and communities in 150 wards.
"We will do this in partnership with the provincial departments of Social Development, relevant NGOs and the Independent Development Trust," she said.
The department has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Community Food Bank Network-South Africa to set up Food Banks throughout the country to ensure adequate food supply to poor households.
Food Banks are mechanisms to collect and distribute food from retailers, small scale producers and other suppliers to communities in need.
The department will also continue to provide funding to students who aspire to a career in social work.
The allocation for social work bursaries have been increased to R210 million during the current financial year, over 6 420 bursaries have been given to students to register for courses in social work at several institutions for higher learning.
Minister Molewa thanked government partners in the private sector who responded generously to the government's call for help to communities.
The partners include the Gift of the Givers Foundation, Tiger Brands and Community Builders.
"I will initiate a discourse with business and civil society later this year to consolidate these partnerships," she said.
