Pretoria — Cabinet has given the go ahead for the National Social Security Agency, it approved recently, to be piloted in the Eastern Cape.

This was announced by the Chairperson of the Social Cluster, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, during a post Cabinet Lekgotla briefing, in Pretoria today.

The agency is set to take charge of the management of the distribution of social grants throughout South Africa.

The Eastern Cape was selected to pilot the agency because of its poor service delivery regarding the distribution of social grants.

'We are tired and will no longer tolerate the situation where our people, especially older persons and those with disabilities are being paid in conditions that undermine their dignity and are treated with disrespect,' said social development minister Zola Skweyiya.

In addition, Dr Skweyiya noted the progress that was being made by the Interim Management Team (IMT) that was established to assist in curbing corruption and improving service delivery in the Eastern Cape.

'Corruption and mismanagement is being uprooted, the registration of children is accelerating, service delivery is improving and good governance is taking root,' the minister said.

However, Dr Skweyiya acknowledged that more still needed to be done but said the national social security agency would reinforce the IMT's efforts.

He further said government was aware that grants alone could not be the solution to poverty.

In this regard, the minister said government's focus now and in the near future was on strengthening and integrating various poverty alleviation programmes, including the pilot programme on food security and nutrition.

'Ours is to ensure that these programmes benefit mostly children, especially the most vulnerable like child-headed households,' he added.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said Cabinet had noted progress that was made in implementing the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme and the challenges faced in linking the beneficiaries to the formal security net, including the provision of agricultural starter packs.

'To ensure that beneficiary households do not relapse into vulnerability, Cabinet decided to extend the [distribution of] food parcels to the original Band 'A' beneficiaries (244 000 households) covered during the 2002/2003 allocation for another three months to provide for reasonable timeframes for implementing the linkages model,' she explained.

These are households that spend less than R200 per month on food.

According to minister Skweyiya, government's desire is to strengthen public works programmes, job creation, the establishment of a comprehensive social security system for the country that will further enhance self -reliance amongst individuals, families and communities and give impetus to sustainable socio-economic development.

'We therefore believe that there is need for the building of a people's contract to strengthen families and communities for a better life for all, especially children,' he said.

Meanwhile, minister Skweyiya said the payment of grants was government's biggest poverty alleviation programme, adding that more than six million people received social grants.

He also said his department had surpassed the target set, to reach 3 million children with the Child Support Grant by the April 2004, by registering 3.4 million children to date.