Pretoria - Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, has urged the newly formed Ministerial Committee on the Review of the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) to be practical in their review of the paper.
Speaking at the launch of the Project in Kilptown, on Tuesday, Dlamini asked the review committee to help the department come up with ways to deal with social challenges at a practical level.
“Over the past two years, we have uncovered a number of social challenges in our communities that require renewed attention, including early childhood development - which is at the top of the department’s agenda,” Dlamini told the committee.
Other social challenges include malnutrition, lack of psychosocial services, child protection issues, the abuse of social grants, alcohol and substance abuse, as well as gender-based violence.
Among the issues the Ministerial Committee will be required to look into are the fragmentation of policy outputs and outcomes; the status of quality control, monitoring and evaluation systems in the sector; allocation of financial resources for social welfare services; accessibility of services; the implementation of community development strategies and the diversification of the workforce required to deliver social welfare services.
The minister also stressed the issue of the availability of social workers, their skills and their performance in dealing with community development. She also urged the committee to look into the transformation of the NGO sector, as a crucial partner in delivering welfare services, in order to ensure that every South African who needs it gets access to welfare services.
The committee was further urged to look into practical solutions for creating strategic alignment between national, provincial and local governments in the provision of welfare services.
In an attempt to address the prevailing social challenges and improve its service delivery model, the department has launched a service delivery improvement strategy – Project Mikondzo.
Through Mikondzo, the department wants to increase its footprint and reach every corner of South Africa with its services. The aim is to improve responsiveness to the needs of the people and break down the structural barriers created by apartheid that placed government far from people.
The Ministerial Committee on the Review of the White Paper for Social Welfare is chaired by Professor Viviene Taylor, with Dr Thami Mazwai as her deputy.
Other committee members comprised of Professor Siphiwe Victor Nzimande, Rachel Sempe, Professor Ann Skelton, Professor Leila Patel, Thokozile Gulube, Professor Richard Levin, Professor Jean Triegaardt, Dr Zethu Mkhize, Thembi Ngcobo, Mpule Ivy Sikwane, Hitler Sekitla, S Nkoane and Dr S Magwaza.
The committee has two years to complete its work. – SAnews.gov.za
