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Social workers without vehicles equals limited service delivery

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Dear MyPE

A written response to a parliamentary question from Social Development MEC, Dr Pumza Dyantyi, reveals that the Department of Social Development in the Eastern Cape does not have enough vehicles that would enable its 1771 social workers to provide social welfare services in our province.

The response reveals that the Department of Social Development only has 419 vehicles for departmental employees and a mere 239 of these vehicles are allocated to service offices in the province.

Social workers highlighted their frustration during my recent oversight visits to various social development local service offices in the province.

With a population of 6, 5 million people, this means that there is one social worker to see to the needs of 3670 people in the province. With the Eastern Cape being one of the poorest and most poverty stricken provinces, the number of social workers that see to the needs of the poor, vulnerable and destitute, is unfathomable.

Furthermore, the province is the second largest geographically sized province in the country.

The ANC government has failed miserably at prioritizing the needs of the poor, vulnerable and needy in this province.

It is almost impossible for social workers to provide support and case management as there is simply not enough vehicles for them to execute their duty of assisting those most vulnerable in our province.

The DA is of the view that providing social workers with the correct amount of suitable vehicles in relation to population size and local conditions will improve their ability to render much needed social services to various communities. A DA-led government would ensure that those in greatest need are prioritized and assisted in this regard.

I will write to the MEC, Dr Pumza Dyantyi, demanding that she engages with the Minister for Social Development, Susan Shabangu, and all relevant stakeholders in order to develop a national policy document. The document must provide guidelines regarding the vehicle classifications required, the number of vehicles required in each district and the ratio of social workers to vehicles.

Regards

Kobus Botha

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.