MBOMBELA – The safety of children and the elderly will be the Department of Social Security’s top priority over the next five years. The department’s new MEC Ms Nomsa Mtsweni told Lowvelder last week that the department is hitting the ground running.
“This is the most important department. We deal with the plight of our people and liaise with every other department. There is not a role player we don’t partner with.”
The department it not only in charge of social grants and security, but also gauging what people’s genuine needs are and then to deliver these through partnerships. It also works with non-profit organisations (NPO) and small businesses to alleviate the plight of the poorest of the poor.
Watch the video here:
“We want a situation where the poorest people can sustain themselves and not be entirely dependent on government.”
Mtsweni, who has served in government for 20 years and as chairman of the standing committee on public accounts, said she could not divulge too much detail about her department’s plans yet, since these had to finalised at the ANC lekgotla next week. What is sure is that the safety and peace of mind of the most vulnerable members of society, children and the elderly are being prioritised by the department, which recently commemorated Child Protection Week.
Mtsweni pointed out that many households in the province were headed by children and the elderly and that her mission was to eradicate the stress caused by this. The department aims to provide more sheltered drop-in centres for children, where they can at least get a plate of good food every day, and is also championing this for the elderly.
“The elderly is important,” she said. “We had a culture of keeping our elderly at home, but the reality is that both parents in a household have to work these day. So we want drop-in centres for the elderly where they can be looked after while the family is at work. We are also calling on people to take care of the elderly and the disabled and not hide them at home.”
The department is also planning to build three additional early childhood development (ECD) centres in Mpumalanga this year for which R12 million has been budgeted. “We believe that we should develop the minds of children while they are still young.” Mtsweni is very excited about the University of Mpumalanga which started ECD teacher training courses last year to address the shortage of teachers and increase research in the field.
“It will make such a difference if kids could walk to university and not have additional travelling expenses. They will also be less likely to start their working lives elsewhere. Their skills would remain here.”
Aside from a shortage of teachers, Mtsweni acknowledged a shortage of social workers. Her department makes bursaries available for their training and absorbs as many as its budget allows into the employ of the department.
And while the protection of children are paramount, those defrauding the social grant system should beware: this MEC intends to root it out. “We may not find all of them, but our strategy is to find them through our community development practitioners and make an example of them to deter other offenders.”
Mtsweni wants to increase awareness of the programmes run by the department. “If people knew what government was doing, we would have fewer marches where people are unhappy with their water and burn down libraries.”
She will look to partnering with the provincial executive to improve service delivery. She also thanked premier Mr David Mabuza for looking ahead and seeing the necessity to separate her department from health.
Mtsweni intends to be on the ground and visible and she is aiming for a clean audit. Last year the department received an unqualified audit from the Auditor-General. “We must attain it, we cannot regress.”
