Cape Town – Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini says she believes the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster has made strides in ensuring the overall welfare of vulnerable groups.
In an interview with SAnews and the GCIS radio unit in Cape Town, the Minister - who is the chairperson of the cluster - said the entire cluster has been able to link up and work together to ensure that grant recipients are looked after and kept in the system from Early Childhood Development (ECD) until they are studying at a tertiary institution.
The cluster includes the departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Human Settlements, Public Works, Social Development, Sport and Recreation, Arts and Culture, Health, Science and technology, Basic Education, Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Land Reform, Labour and Higher Education and Training, among others.
“For example, when children who receive social grants go to school, they have something to eat at school. If there is nothing at home, they will find it at school. So there is a balancing act when it comes to our programmes,” she said.
The Minister said the Department of Health also gave the Social Development Department pointers regarding areas where malnutrition is a problem, as well as offered advice of what needs to be provided in those areas.
Minister Dlamini said grant recipients within the system are tracked until they reach Grade 12.
The Department of Social Development ensures that the children are linked up with the Department of Higher Education so that they are made aware of deserving students in the system.
“We also have a programme called isibindi that also feeds into Higher Education. This year, 98% of our children that are under isibindi presented themselves to write exams.
“Among them, we have a lot that got a Bachelors passes and almost all of them passed Grade 12,” she said.
She said the rest are redirected towards Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, while those that need assistance in improving their marks are also assisted.
“What we are trying to do is to follow the child from ECD onwards, because we would be able to see that there are those that drop out of school and we look for them and find out what the problem is.
“So, we are no longer just giving grants out to young people; we also want to get outcomes and we also want to ensure that they go through the process,” she said.
Earlier in the day, during the cluster briefing, Minister Dlamini said social grants remain government’s biggest intervention in the fight against poverty, especially in female- and child-headed households.
“Noting the successful extension of social grants to over 16 million citizens, the government is in the process of finalising proposals for the creation of a comprehensive social security system that combines contributory and non-contributory elements to eradicate poverty and provide income protection for everyone living in South Africa,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
