Gauteng Department of Social Development has no occupational therapists

The Gauteng Department of Social Development has no occupational therapists and consistently fails to fill critical posts within the department.

This was revealed in the department’s annual report for the 2018/19 financial year.

According to the report, the department has a 100 percent vacancy rate of occupational therapists and an 82 percent vacancy rate of psychologists.

This indicates that 10 occupational therapist posts and 9 posts for psychologists were not filled during the 2018/19 financial year.

Money is not a challenge for the department as they have underspent by R419,2 million, this money could have been spent in hiring occupational therapists and psychologists.

Failure by the department to fill these very critical and specialised posts have a severe impact on the lives of our poor people who cannot afford private services.

This department’s incompetence is affecting the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng as occupational therapists and psychologists play a critical role in counselling, promoting positive behaviour and in helping children with development and learning problems.

The DA calls on the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Thuliswa Nkabinde-Khawe to urgently fill all vacant critical posts in the department to ensure that the public receives all the professional services it needs.

Calls For SANDF In Wake Of Baby Singalakha’s Death An Indictment Of MEC Mayathula-Khoza

The death of six month old baby Singalakha Sonamazi, an avoidable tragedy, highlights the inability of Gauteng Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza to do her job.

The strike emphasised that MEC Mayathula-Khoza had not adequately prepared to ensure that the elderly, disabled and young placed in her care would be looked after while social workers were not on hand.

Calls by the MEC to resort to deploying the South African Defence Force to mitigate the damage caused by the strike shows that the MEC is completely out of touch with the needs of those who are in the care of her department. The department has the budget and the resources to deal with a crisis of this nature – calls for the SANDF to be deployed are beyond ludicrous.

Reports that children had been hurriedly moved to NGO’s from Child and Youth Care Centre’s is reminiscent of the Esidimeni tragedy which cost more than 100 patients their lives.

The death of baby Singalakha is the result of such a rushed decision by the MEC who must be held accountable for this needless loss of life.

The DA will visit Bethany Trust Home in Krugersdorp to ascertain what happened to baby Singalakha and her siblings, and to gauge what assistance the home received from the Department of Social Development.

 

 

 

Media Enquiries

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
060 558 8297
 
Warren Gwilt
DA Economic Cluster Manager
073 601 6144

[Image source]

Social Workers Strike Must Not Jeopardise Most Vulnerable In Society

The Democratic Alliance is shocked by reports that some striking social development workers in Gauteng are placing the neediest and most vulnerable members of society at risk.

According to reports, children at the Rearabilwe Centre in Ga-Rankuwa have been barricaded inside the centre for four days without access to food, denying them the ability to take their HIV-medication. There have been reports of instances of such maltreatment at other centres across Gauteng.

This inhumane treatment must be condemned in the strongest sense.

While the DA supports the rights of social workers to protest for better wages, the ill-treatment of those that are placed in their care cannot be condoned.

The DA will question Gauteng Social Development MEC, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza as to what steps her department has taken to address the current strike, and what emergency plans are in place to assist those who require the assistance of social workers.

 

 

Media Enquiries

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
060 558 8297
Warren Gwilt
Economic Cluster Manager
073 601 6144
 [Image source]

DA Debates Gauteng Social Development 2015/16 Annual Report

Speech by: Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

“Secrecy over transfers to NGOs will be exposed by the DA”

  • There is no detail of transfers to each of the 2598 NGOs in Gauteng.
  • The department had 1017 abnormal appointments out of a staff compliment of 5417.
  • The department had a 17.8% vacancy rate (910 posts). Of these 47.7% were of lower skill as in Level 1-2).
  • No people with disabilities were recruited in the department during this period.
  • Out of 4198 employees, 3016 used sick leave costing the department R19 million.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Ashor Sarupen MPL

“The good, the bad and the ugly”

  • 49 individual consultants worked on 21 projects for a total of 896 work days, totalling over R2million in spend.
  • Only 75% of the EPWP grant given to the department was spent.
  • Domestic abuse is still a serious problem, drug addiction and gangsterism still plagues too many of our communities.
  • Women are disproportionately the victims of domestic violence, and many see no escape, trapping them into abusive relationships, despite the work by the department.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

 

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

060 558 8303

[Image source]

Urgent Intervention Needed At Twilight Home In Hillbrow

Twilight Home – Hillbrow

Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza must intervene urgently to save Twilight Home in Hillbrow which will be forced to close its doors due to funding constraints.

Twilight Home has been serving the community of Hillbrow for 33 years but has fallen into ill repair and is no longer in the position it once was to house the children it supports.

Earlier this month the DA submitted a member’s statement in the Provincial Legislature appealing to MEC Mayathula-Khoza to intervene, but this call was blatantly ignored by the ANC.

Adequate Funded, Properly Maintained

Safety of the children is severely compromised as access to the premises is open to anyone. Stretched workloads mean that children in this facility often come and go without supervision and are not signed in or signed out of the home.

MEC Mayathula-Khoza has a responsibility to ensure that not only are homes such as Twilight adequately funded, but to ensure that they are properly maintained and managed.

The DA will again pursue the MEC to ensure that she establishes an investigation into Twilight and assists the children residing at the home.

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]

DA Debates Women’s Month: Honouring Women Is A Celebration Of The Future Of SA

Speech by: Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

“Honouring women is a celebration of the future of SA”

  • Today, I honour women who on a pension grant will raise a community – these are the real heroes.
  • In many occasions in this house, I have highlighted the challenge of the girl child – poverty.
  • Being a professional blessee is even beginning to be an aspirational career for young women – rake in a rich blesser and the woman is set: the chance to wear designer clothes and be set up in a Sandton apartment.
  • I am saddened, when in Marikana, a brother who had lost his job on the mines asked his sister to prostitute herself because this was the only way they knew how to raise money so that they could eat and return home to the Eastern Cape.
  • Women have choices because the constitution dictates so, however in practice these rights are violated on a daily basis. Women endure violence and are violated

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]

Gauteng Social Development Department Fails To Tackle Substance Abuse

Out-patient Centres

Rehabilitating substance users in Gauteng has been dealt a massive blow by the Department of Social Development as the number of people accessing out-patient centres across the province fell far short of the department’s target for the third quarter.

The Department had aimed to assist 4331 people through out-patient centres, but only managed 2704.

Others targets not achieved in this quarter include:

  • Only 29 out of 45 substance abuse services centres complied with regulations to be registered; and
  • 1798 patients out of a planned target of 9056 are participating in after care programmes.

Unemployment, Poverty and Crime

Year on year, this department has failed to deliver on its mandate, let alone address the scourge of drugs and its impact on families and society.

Drugs abuse is a blunt escape mechanism for many residents of Gauteng facing the challenges of unemployment, poverty and crime.

Social Development MEC, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, must take swift action against officials in her department who are failing to ensure that residents of Gauteng have access to treatment and an improved quality of life.

The DA will in the next few weeks conduct oversight visits to treatment facilities, including NPOs facing financial woes – to highlight the shortcomings of the department and take up the plight with the MEC.

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]

70 Cooperatives Lose Out On Economic Growth Opportunities

Gauteng Department of Social Development

The Gauteng Department of Social Development failed to assist 70 cooperatives through workshops aimed at increasing their financial viability and sustainability.

The 3rd quarterly report presented by the department indicates that only 394 out of a targeted 464 cooperatives attended these crucial workshops.

This is a clear indication that this administration lacks the proactivity and leadership necessary to encourage more cooperatives to attend empowerment sessions.

Township Economy

The Social Development Department has a critical role to play in the Gauteng Provincial Government’s 30% procurement target which aims to strengthen the township economy.

This target will remain an abstract vision if the department excludes those it is meant to bring into the fold.

Cooperatives, particularly those within disadvantaged communities, create much needed work opportunities for low skilled workers.

The DA will continue to closely monitor the Department to ensure it meets its objectives and that the economically excluded are brought in to the economy through programmes designed to empower them.

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]

Budget Vote Speeches: Social Development

Note to editors: The following speeches were delivered in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today by the DA’s Shadow MEC for Social development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, and Spokespersons for Social Development, Ashor Sarupen MPL and Janet Semple MPL, during the 2015/16 Annual Budget Debate on the Department of Social Development.

 

“Vulnerable groups remain short of promised opportunities”Refiloe Nt'sekhe DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

Speech by: Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

Speech highlights

  • The core mandate of the department is to support and uplift the most vulnerable groups in our society.
  • This department should help protect scared children, stand up for abused women and liberate disabled persons from their physical restrictions.
  • It is the department which is able to provide opportunities where there are none and hope where many feel it does not exist
  • A fair government would ensure that there are programmes in place to assist old age homes to become compliant and provide a safe haven for the elderly
  • The province is in desperate need of more substance abuse treatment centres; particularly for communities who are unable to afford proper medical care
  • The department remains at the frontlines of providing our people with better opportunities for a brighter and more prosperous future.
  • Budgetary allocations do not always reflect a genuine concern for the core challenges facing the people of Gauteng

The full speech can be obtained here

 

“Leaner, more efficient department needed to tackle social challenges in Gauteng”Ashor Sarupen DA Spokesperson for Social Development

Speech by: Ashor Sarupen MPL – DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Social Development

Speech highlights:

  • When we assess the Social Development budget, it is best to think of this as the department of NGO’s and social workers.
  • Many NGOs in our province are dependent on this department to ensure that they are able to provide social services and support to communities and vulnerable persons.
  • The department’s programme of action is frequently duplicated and cloned in programmes run by the Community Safety Department.
  • The department must learn to do its work in a more lean and efficient manner without any cuts to frontline services that our communities desperately need.

The full speech can be obtained here

 

“Build Gauteng’s future generations one child at a time”Janet Semple DA Spokesperson for Social Development

Speech by: Janet Semple MPL – DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Social Development

Speech highlights

  • Building a better society for our children to live in begins by ensuring that they have the future they deserve.
  • Programme 3 of the 2015/16 budget, which deals with Children and Families, has received a significant increase of 24% of the overall budget allocation.
  • It is concerning that the budget for Child and Youth Care Centres has declined by almost R1 500 000.
  • Of particular concern are the youth of 18 years and older who remain vulnerable and can no longer be cared for in state facilities because of their age.
  • While the spatial and economic legacy of Apartheid still lingers far too obviously in many parts of Gauteng, our children should not be bound by the circumstances they are born into.

The full speech can be obtained here

 

 

Media enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
060 558 8297

 

Ashor Sarupen MPL
DA Spokesperson for Social Development
060 558 8303

 

Janet Semple MPL
DA Spokesperson for Social Development
082 462 8239

[Image source]

Gauteng Social Development Department Confused Over Budget Allocations

Budget AllocationsRefiloe Nt'sekhe DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

The DA calls on Social Development MEC, Faith Mazibuko to clear the confusion surrounding the budget allocations of her department, which are not properly managed.

During a recent portfolio committee over the 2015/16 budget, officials presented poorly collated information and conflicting budget amounts for programmes in various budget documents.

Principle of Appropriation Bill

Of further concern was that some of the research used to develop the Annual Performance Plan (APP) was taken from old data. An example of this is the Department stating a target of 6199 beneficiaries for its HIV/Aids programme in the Principle of Appropriation Bill presented to Finance Portfolio Committee documents, versus the 6571 as stated in its APP.

The question is now whether the APP is a true reflection of what the Department submitted to the Gauteng Department of Treasury for funding.

Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE)

Almost every programme’s performance targets varied – such as the Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) 2015/16 FY over Medium Term Expenditure Framework (which was distributed to all members after the budget speech by Finance MEC Barbara Creecy); Estimates of Capital Expenditure 2015/16 FY and Medium Term Expenditure Framework, as well as the Socio Economic Review (Gauteng Treasury).

The Department of Social Development is tasked to care for the needs of the most vulnerable people in our society, and MEC Mazibuko needs to explain why targets and expenditure estimates vary across the board, and how the department can roll out its service delivery programmes when uncertainty prevails over funding.

The DA will submit written questions to MEC Mazibuko to explain these discrepancies, and hopes that she prepares herself for hard questions when she presents her department’s budget to the Legislature.

 

Media enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]