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Minister of Social Development Calls for Cooperation... Print E-mail

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Minister of Social Development Calls for Cooperation between Government and NGO’s providing Critical Social and Development Services

On 6 November, key national social work structures, and representatives and members of the social services sector, were invited to a Round-Table meeting with the Minister of Social Development, Ms. Edna Molewa.  The meeting indicated that government is finally beginning to acknowledge the value of the social services and development provided by the non-governmental (NGO) sector.

Minister Molewa expressed gratitude to the sector for the “sterling work” it did in helping the Department of Social Development meet its mandate. The meeting discussed the critical role of the Social Work Profession in South Africa, paying particular attention to the recruitment and retention of social workers.

The Minister said that the salary discrepancies between social workers in government and those in the NGO sector were creating an exodus of staff in search of better employment opportunities in government, and that it was necessary to consider the introduction of a recruitment and retention strategy for social workers in the NGO sector. On 28 August, thousands of social service workers presented memorandums to provincial offices around the country requesting ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’, so the recognition of the urgent need for a recruitment and retention strategy for social workers in the NGO sector is welcomed.

Minister Molewa clearly articulated the need to “map out a path of cooperation to achieve greater impact” in the sector and, she responded to key challenges that need to be addressed in the sector.

The call for cooperation in the sector and for the consolidation of existing initiatives into a joint national programme is welcomed. The National Welfare Forum said that “a new enabling legislative environment for social welfare and development services in South Africa is essential for South Africa to fulfil its constitutional mandate to care for and protect its citizens”. Currently, there is an absence of a legislative framework guiding the relationship between the Department of Social Development and organisations providing core social services, the provision of funding for NGOs and their projects, and the registration of social service organisations. The National Welfare Forum called on government to review of the National Welfare Act of 1978 and, to work with the sector to develop a new statute to act as a reference point for the provision of social welfare and developmental social services in South Africa.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Ms. Yolanda Botha, urged the Department to act now on the issues raised at the meeting. The Minister further referred to addressing issues such as Occupation Specific Dispensation, a review of the Social Service Professions Bill and related policy, and implementing a Professional and Advisory Board to the Minister, which was gazetted eight years ago in May 2001.

Organisations applauded the Minister for engaging with the sector. The Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Vusi Madonsela, suggested institutionalising the interaction between the state and non-governmental organisations through further round-tables to identify the “...issues that are important to the profession to make it possible to flourish”. Organisations present at the meeting welcomed this suggestion and were hopeful that this engagement would continue in such a positive manner.


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