Zuma says government is proud of progress made in social assistance

President Zuma delivered the keynote address at the national Human Rights Day celebrations in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape. 

Last week, the Constitutional Court extended the contract between Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), ensuring grants would be paid in April following a period of uncertainty. 

"Government pays social grants to almost 17 million recipients, which is a huge achievement. The child support grant and older persons grant are the two largest social grants programmes, with 12 million children and 1.2 million older persons benefiting,"  says Zuma. 

Zuma says government will work with the private sector to address the housing backlog. 

"Since 1994 government has provided housing opportunities for about 4.3 million households. However, about 2.1 million households still seek housing assistance. We will work with the private sector to address the housing backlog, taking into account the limited resources and competing priorities facing government." 

He says they had hoped after 1994, racism in South Africa would be a thing of the past. 

"The ideology of racism remains firmly entrenched among some in our population. Racism represents one of the most despicable human rights violations. We are finalising the national action plan against racism and related intolerances. We have recently published the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill which will criminalise several forms of discrimination," says Zuma. 

Zuma says as part of government's commitment to restoring human dignity, they will take practical and reasonable measures to return the land to the people. 

"Indeed, government has done a lot to promote human rights for all. We know that many of our people are still waiting for some of the basic services such as water or electricity. Work continues to ensure that these services are extended to the people on a continuous basis."