At the 6th General Assembly of The Forum, 21st February, 2008

The topic was introduced by Professor Fikile Mazibuko, Deputy Vice Chancellor & Head of the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She reminded the audience:

• That August 2007 was the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Social Welfare Policy in South Africa.
• That the name of the National department was changed to Social Development in 2000
• Of the principles contained in the Social Welfare Policy
• That we have moved away from blaming the victim, as in the Dependency Theory (which says that people will remain dependent), and the deficit theory (which divides people into those deserving and those who are undeserving), to the Theory of Developmental Social Welfare, which concentrates on the need for empowerment- creating an enabling environment, focus on the individual within the community, and building the strengths of individuals and communities.

The Liberation struggle, Fikile reminded us, was not just to provide political freedom, but also freedom from poverty and underdevelopment.

This means that Social Security should not be an end in itself, but should link those receiving grants and pensions with opportunities for development.

This presents us with a challenge, because poverty remains very high, and is exacerbated by the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

Although we have achieved much through the Social Security system in South Africa, the challenge related to the need for development remains.

There is a need for

• Ethical responsibility
• Accountability and Good Governance
• The adaptation of Models from other countries
• Research and information mamagement
• Indigenous knowledge
• Technology
• Education and training

Professor Leila Patel, from the Centre of Social Development in Africa (CSDA) pointed out that it is vital that The Forum:

• Engage in critical reflection and dialogue; and
• Engage in policy development and improvement.

She suggested that we are and are not winning:

Yes, We Are Winning, in terms of:

• Far greater visibility for the sector
• Recognition of the role Social welfare can play in Social Development
• Sound policies
• The beginnings of putting policies into practice
• Social Security has improved:
• Food security
• School attendance
• Care of children, disabled and older persons in the community
• Social Security is mainly aimed at women, where development begins

There is pressure at political level to broaden the safety net, despite the few who abuse the system, and the fears of dependency.

No, We Are Not Winning

We have not made sufficient progress with regard to development work. This is because of a vacuum in person-power, the shift of person-power to Social Security, and the lack of knowledge and skills.

While we have made progress with regard to providing the poor with access to services, racial integration of our organizations to some extent, and greater balancing of Boards with regard to race and gender,

• Historical patterns of services continue (e.g. mostly institutions and statutory work) and this in spite of the fact that 4.6 more people are reached through the developmental work which is being done
• We are faced with massive poverty, worsened by the effects of   HIV/AIDS

In order to address this imbalance, we need:

• High impact approaches
• Funding incentives from Government
• Shifting of Social Services to local Government level
• Greater degrees of partnering with Community Based Organisations (CBOs)

Hon. Priscilla MacKay, member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Parliament emphasised the need to revive a vigorous Civil Society willing to confront Government.

Corruption and fraud are rife, and this presents a challenge for The Forum.

We need to subsidise posts in local and rural communities, and not in agencies, so as to avoid posts going to the cities again.

Government and Social Welfare in general must listen carefully to the people.

We must produce outcomes which benefit the poor and marginalized, and demand that Government do the same.

Government is in power because we put them there- they are therefore answerable to us.

We must ensure that Education delivers- uneducated children have little chance of a successful future.

We must ensure that Home Affairs delivers - a lack of documentation has serious implications for individuals’ chances of jobs, and other opportunities.

Ms Nomathemba Kela, a Director within the Department of Social Development asked: “Do we understand poverty and how it is reduced?

Can it be reduced by means of Social Security alone?”

We cannot do away with casework - and even casework can be developmental

We require a kind of Primary Development work, along the lines of Primary Health care.

Social Security is not the full answer. So what do we expect of people who receive grants and pensions?

There are tensions between the different Social Service Professions - are we clarifying roles sufficiently?

We need to continue to be involved in Policy development and improvement.

We must reinvigorate the spirit of activism.

The role of local Government is important- how do we prepare them for this role?

We are aware that we are under-funding Social Welfare services, but require statistics about the posts if we are to address this.

Civil society should engage with government to answer questions like:

• How should we fund services?
• How do we ensure that services are provided to the poor?
• We need to document indigenous work and knowledge.

Norms and standards have been developed at national level, and have been referred to Provinces. This includes, critically, the Human Resources strategy.

Question & Answer Session with Ms Nomathemba Kela

1. Have we given sufficient attention to good practice models in NGOs and CBOs?

• There is not enough documentation of development models
• Insufficient incentives for innovative work
• Models in other countries

2. What can be done to stop Social Workers leaving?
Social Workers are one of the professions in line for significant adjustment. But much more needs to be done, not only for Social Workers, but notably for other category of staff.  

3. What is the plan for Social Workers from Cuba?
There is no plan in this regard. The issue on the agenda is to learn about and introduce the Cuban model. No movements of staff are envisaged.

4. Is there any agreement of understanding for Government and NGOs
Not officially, but this is something which can be developed

5. Who consolidates statistics sent to the Department by NGOs?
Nomathemba will look into that issue, and understands the concern

6. Why are there differences between provinces?
This is because provinces can make there own decisions. However, Provinces should be talking to one another.

7. Should Government become involved in The Forum again?
This is an issue for The Forum’s Management Committee.

8. Can NGOs/CBOs use retired Social Workers?
Yes

9. Bursaries for Social Work degrees - Would Government be prepared to place graduate students with NGOs?
Yes

10. Can the Department refer these students to NGOs/CBOs for training?
Yes, this is a good idea  

Comments from the Floor

• Partnering with CBOs is important
• CBOs are donor-driven, rather than needs driven. This is the reason why so many of NGOs and CBOs are involved in HIV/AIDS and so little is available for anything else
• We should not be thinking that we have sufficient remedial services
• We need Local Government involvement
• We need incentives for work in rural areas
• We must be careful about handing over Social Welfare to Local Government- it is not equipped with regard to Human Resources and skills
• Staff are leaving in droves
• There was a lot of anger at the comment about the lack of statistics. It was pointed out that NGOs did submit a multitude of reports that included information on posts, work done etc. One question was what happens with these statistics? Who collates them, if anyone at all?
• We need to explain processes to the people
• Foreign donors are pulling out
• There is a problem with access to Government

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