Government services come knocking on Diepsloot’s doorstep
Diepsloot residents had access to a range of government services at Sarafina Park as Ward 95 councillor Julius Maake brought departments and service providers directly to the community.
Diepsloot residents had government services brought closer to home on August 14, when Ward 95 councillor Julius Maake hosted an integrated service delivery outreach at Sarafina Park.
The outreach brought together Sassa, Home Affairs, Family Africa, Siafunda, Fundi Mobile, Standard Bank and many more, allowing residents to access assistance in one place.
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Maake said the initiative was about taking services directly to residents who often struggle to travel far from Diepsloot to access government assistance.
“We realised that we need to take services straight to the people. People cannot go far away from Diepsloot to access services. It should be service delivery.”
The councillor said he had been engaging with the MEC for Social Development about bringing more services to the area.
“I used to bring these entities in small numbers, but today we brought more service delivery departments at once, and community members came in numbers.”
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The outreach also provided residents with an opportunity to resolve challenges they had previously struggled with.
Among those assisted was Diepsloot resident Winnie Sesabuta, who had been trying to apply for a child support grant for her one-year-eight-month-old child.
Sesabuta said she had repeatedly tried applying online but had been unsuccessful until she visited the outreach.
“I have been applying online and trying to get assistance, but it has been in vain.
Today I came here, and Sassa helped me right away. I was approved, and I will be getting the child grant next month for the first time.”
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Maake said the positive response from residents underscored the importance of delivering services directly to communities.
“Some of the people, as they were going out, came to me to say, ‘councillor Maake, thank you very much. We really appreciate what you are doing for this community.’
“Such comments really warm my heart, and seeing people being helped makes me want to do more.”
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