An amount of R181 289 million has been allocated by Government to address the absorption of 556 social work professionals in the sector.
Basic Education Director-General Hurbert Mathanzima Mweli made the announcement during a Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster media briefing held in Tshwane on Thursday.
He was updating the media on the progress made in the implementation of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019 in the second quarter towards achieving the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP): Vision 2030.
Mweli said the amount allocated by the National Treasury will address the challenge of scarce skills in social services.
“The National Development Plan Vision 2030 has identified social service professionals as a scarce skill, given the magnitude of social ills in the country,” Mweli said.
The cluster briefing highlighted progress made by the departments under the cluster in the implementation of the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019 in the second quarter.
R463m for Early Childhood Development
The Early Childhood Development (ECD) infrastructure development received a financial investment of R463 million from the National Lottery Commission, covering all provinces for 208 projects that are at various stages of construction.
“A total of 748 were linked to economic opportunities, with 448 trained through various capacity building programmes in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng and Limpopo, in partnership with the South African Council for Graduate Cooperatives (SACGC), the National Development Agency and the Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development (FEED),” Mweli said.
Fully registered ECD services were provided to 428 266 children, with subsidies to 407 338 children, and an additional 51 494 children subsidized through conditional grants.
NPOs trained on governance and compliance
Updating the media on the work of the cluster, Mweli said a total of 1 011 Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) were trained on governance and compliance with the NPO Act. A further 1 528 NPOs were trained by the National Development Agency in Civil Society Organisations (CSO) management.
About 215 216 vulnerable individuals were also provided with food, through Community Nutrition Development Centres (CNDCs), and a further 284 908 households accessed food through the Social Relief of Distress Programme.
Social Grants
The Director-General said with regards to social grants currently, a total of 3 357 551 eligible older persons are accessing the Older Persons Grant (OPG), with 12 157 809 eligible children accessing the Child Support Grant (CSG), and 156 war veterans benefitting from social grants.
He said a total of 1 072 780 beneficiaries are accessing the Disability Grant, 146 429 children accessing Care Dependency Grant, while 474 410 child beneficiaries receive the Foster Care Grant.
Compensation of Injuries Disease Act
Meanwhile, the improved coverage of people who can access social insurance defined as Compensation of Injuries Disease Act and Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA), have reported 100% of claims adjudicated.
This includes Compensation Fund with 101 229, Federal and Mutual Assurance (FEMA), with 3 930 and Rand Mutual Assurance with 13 498 claims settled.
“The Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD) certified 3 334 claims with a total of 2 377 of claims paid by the Compensation Commissioner of Health,” Mweli said. – SAnews.gov.za
