Media Advisory

The Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ms Bongi Maria Ntuli, will launch the Green Paper on Families for public engagement. She will be accompanied by the Mpumalanga MEC for Health and Social Development, Dr Clifford Mkasi.

The Green Paper emphasises the need for all to build strong families that protect the most vulnerable members of our society. It was approved by Cabinet last year with the aim to shift the focus of government services from purely targeting individuals, but rather responding to their needs as family members.

Download Green Paper here

The launch will coincide with the celebration of the International Day of Families as follows:
Date  :   Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Time  :   09h00
Venue : Siyazenzela Stadium, Perdekop, Gert Sibande District (Mpumalanga )

The purpose of the Green Paper is to provide a platform for all South Africans to engage and exchange views on how to build and improve stable families.  It also seek to help us address some of the challenges faced by individuals in families, including the abuse of women and children, the elderly as well as people with disabilities.

The event will be held under the theme: Ensuring work-family balance”.

Families find it more and more difficult to reconcile the competing necessities of their work and family obligations. The burden of care placed on women tends to limit their access to employment and social participation.

Whereas, today, both women and men are engaged in gainful employment, the domestic workload still remains the responsibility of women for the most part, a fact that remains largely unaddressed in the context of both legal and policy frameworks.

Through the Green Paper on Families, we also seek to achieve the following:

• Reaffirm relevance of a family as a critical unit in society.
• To maximize the participation and commitment of all sectors in strengthening family life.
• To ensure balance between work and family life.
• To ensure that families have access to services.
• Strengthening families so that they can be able to take care of children.

             
Members of the media are invited to cover the event.

RSVP: Justice Ditshego on 079 4977 426 or Ronnie Masilela on 073 2493 127.

Enquiries: Thapelo Sakoana on 082 420 7736

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT