Question NW2815 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

1. The department does not fund individual posts in any NPO. The department funds programmes in NPOs which is inclusive of operational costs to fill posts.

The table below reflects the number of Social Workers employed by NPOs in the nine provincial departments.

Table 1: Number of Social Workers employed in NPOs

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF SOCIAL WORKERS EMPLOYED AND FUNDED IN NPOs
Eastern Cape	0
Free State	0
Gauteng	2 311
KwaZulu Natal	1 111
Limpopo	136
Mpumalanga	328
Northern Cape	69
North West	-
Western Cape	1 100
Total	5 055

2. The number of Social Workers employed in provincial DSD are as follows:

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF SOCIAL WORKERS EMPLOYED
Eastern Cape	1 655
Free State	501
Gauteng	1 606
KwaZulu Natal	1 951
Limpopo	1 474
Mpumalanga	496
Northern Cape	231
North West	-
Western Cape	766
Total	8 680

3. The NPOs play a supporting role to the department in rendering social services to the most vulnerable citizens of this country. Since they operate within communities, they have direct access to the beneficiaries and are able to customize service provision according to specific target groups as per their founding constitutions, as well as localise according to the provincial/district/community needs. Their efforts contribute to the socio-economic development of the country in addressing the human development needs of society through their ability to provide developmental social services. The NPO-rendered services/programmes and interventions contribute towards improving the lives of the poor and most vulnerable. Below are some of the services and programmes rendered by NPOs:

• Social Welfare Services (care and protection of persons with disabilities, older persons including residential care facilities, programmes for Orphans and Vulnerable Children etc.);

• Children and Families Services (care and protection of children, community-based care services for children, support services to families, family preservation services, parenting programmes, adoption and foster care services etc.);

• Restorative Services (crime prevention and support, victim empowerment and substance abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services); and

• Development and Research (community mobilisation programmes, institutional capacity building and support for NPOs, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods, youth & women development (including food security, skills development, linking welfare beneficiaries to economic opportunities) and community-based research and planning.