06 September 2023

 

Media Advisory

 

Community Development Practitioners play an important role in turning around the lives of poor and vulnerable communities through the provision of adequate services. Most beneficiaries of such services reside in impoverished rural and township communities who depend largely on community development programmes, including, but not limited to community dialogues, counselling, care and support.

 

This is the reason the department of social development and the South African Council for Social Service Professionals are in the process of professionalising Community Development Practice. 

 

Tomorrow, September 07, the Department will host its first graduation ceremony in collaboration with the Health and Welfare Sector Education Training Authority (HWSETA) in Pretoria. 

 

This Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is in conjunction with the HWSETA, Education Training Development Practice Sector Education Training Authority (ETDPSETA), and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) such as University of Western Cape, University of Free State, and the University of Johannesburg. The primary purpose is to recognise Community Development Practitioners who passed their Community Development Practice at NQF Level 5 at different institutions of higher learning.

 

Given high levels of unemployment in the country which affect many South Africans, especially the youth, the graduation will not only serve as a recognition ceremony, but also assist with ensuring that graduates are able to apply for work opportunities and advance their career development through the acquired certificates.

 

Similar graduation ceremonies will be held in Mpumalanga, Western Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, North West and the Eastern Cape provinces. 

 

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the graduation ceremony planned as follows:   

 

Date:     Thursday, 07 September 2023  

Time:    10h00

Venue:  41 Reier Rd, Kameeldrift-East, Kievits Kroon, Pretoria, Gauteng Province 

 

Media can RSVP by contacting Ms Ziphelele Siguca on 0837686298 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mr Jaconia Kobue on 0632495120 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         

 

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

   

Media enquiries may be forwarded to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 0834848067 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

16 August 2023

 

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

As part of this year’s Women’s Month programme, the Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, will today, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 deliver a keynote address at a function to honour and celebrate social workers in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

 

August is Women’s Month, a time to celebrate and reflect on the often-overlooked sacrifices and contribution of generations of South African women from all walks of life to every aspect of our national life.

 

The year 2023 marks the 67th anniversary of the historical women’s march to the Union Buildings at the height of the apartheid regime to petition against the pass laws and other forms of oppression that denied them their human rights and freedom.

 

Minister Zulu will address a dialogue of social workers focused on honouring and celebrating their contribution to families and communities in South Africa. The dialogue is the brainchild of Durban family therapist Dr Velo Govender who conducted research in 2022, on the impact of Neoliberalism and New Managerialism on Social Workers within the Child Welfare Sector in eThekwini Region.

 

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the event planned as follows: 

 

Date: ​​Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Venue: ​Coastlands Hotel, Musgrave, 315 Ridge Road, Durban-KZN

Time: ​​08h00

 

Members of the media can RSVP by contacting Ms Sharlene Naiker on 082 673 5849 / e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./ Mr Jaconia Kobue: 063 249 5120/email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

 

Media enquiries may be directed to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 083 484 8067/ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media Statement

 

Ndwendwe, 05 September: Today marked the fifth leg of the nine day long  9-9-9 campaign against Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). 9-9-9 stands for 9 consecutive days in 9 provinces leading up to the 9th day of September, which is International Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Day.

 

FASD is a leading source of non-genetic developmental and intellectual disability globally and is usually associated with primary and secondary disabilities. South Africa has been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to have the highest reported prevalence of FASD in the world.

 

The Deputy Minister of Social Development Mme Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu handed over a stimulation room in Esidumbini  Community Care Centre in Ndwendwe, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

 

The stimulation room handed over will be used to assist with stimulating children with FASD and others with other disabilities by using various equipment to improve movement as well  brain functioning.

 

The handing over of a stimulation room is in line with the theme for FASD month this year: “ Uniting our strengths: funding solutions together “.

 

Deputy Minister also used this day to call for the law to start looking at charging  women who drink while pregnant resulting in children with FASD.

 

"Women who drink alcohol while they are pregnant must be charged for child abuse, the sad thing is that these women have these children with FASD and then they leave them with the elderly to take care of them, “  said Deputy Minister while she pleaded with pregnant women to choose to have a healthy child and not drink alcohol during pregnancy.

 

 

“South Africans have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, where binge drinking has become the norm amongst youngsters," she said.

 

Deputy Minister further added that with heavy drinking young people run the risk of damaging their brains which may show shrinkage in some areas and impaired communication within the brain.

 

In continuing with her effort to raise awareness on the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant or breastfeeding, Deputy Minister Bogopane- Zulu will be visiting Ikhwezi Lokusa Rehabilitation Centre in Umthatha, Eastern Cape.

 

The visit comes  after Carte Blanche exposed the conditions and maltreatment of children with disabilities at the  Ikhwezi Lokusa  Special School.

 

Deputy Minister will be joined by MEC of social development in the Eastern Cape, Ms Bukiwe Fanta during the visit.

 

The training centre is for young adults with physical and mild mental disabilities.

 

It is meant to  empower  young people with entrepreneurial knowledge thus resulting in them having access to economic opportunities.

 

 

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the visit arranged as follows:

 

Date: Wednesday , 06 September 2023

Time: 08:30

Venue: Ikhwezi lokusa  Rehabilitation Centre

Glen Avent, Gerald Spilkin Street, Ikwezi, Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province

 

Media can RSVP by contacting Ms Makhosazana Mavuso on 072 732 9381 or on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Media enquiries may be forwarded to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 083 484 8067 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MEDIA STATEMENT

  

7 August, Pretoria:- South Africa recorded 207 child marriages in 2021, Statistics South Africa revealed to the African Union special rapporteur who is currently in the country to monitor and evaluate progress on how South Africa is performing in its campaign to end child marriages.

 

Dr Seble Worku, Stats SA’s Director: Education and Child Statistics shared that of the 207 recorded child marriages, 188 were brides and 19 were grooms.

 

She further revealed that 37 of the child marriages were registered as civil marriages and 19 were customary.

 

While Dr Worku showed an improvement in children living in low income households at 2.6 million with 4,0 million in high income households, pensions and grants were still the highest source of income for children in rural areas.

 

She revealed that the number of children who lived with only their mothers continued to rise in the country while number of orphaned children declined to 11.5 % in 2021 from 14.3 % in 2002.

 

The host, Honourable Takam Kembo, of Cameroon, the Special Rapporteur and Social and Health envoy from the African Union Commission are on a mission to conduct a monitoring visit on the progress that South Africa has made to end child marriages and harmful cultural practices against children.

 

The mission started its series of high-level engagements with the departments of social development, basic education, home affairs, women, youth and persons with disabilities.

 

Tomorrow the delegation will engage  human rights institutions, Civil Society Organisations and conclude with a session with children.

 

These engagements will focus on child rights to capture current progress, challenges, best practices, lessons learned and make recommendations for fast-tracking progress to end violence against women and children.

 

This monitoring visit comes before the country launches its Women’s month program in Khayelitsha on August 9. This year’s theme is: “Accelerating socio-economic opportunities for women’s empowerement”.

 

Furthermore, this visit is part of a series of visits that the AU Commission is expected to conclude around the region ahead of the upcoming 4th African Girls Summit in November this year. 

 

They will go Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Madagascar, Tunisia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Seychelles, and Namibia.

 

This continental perspective will allow them to understand successful strategies and practices in different regions of Africa so that countries can learn from one another.

 

In 2014, the then Chairperson of African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma launched the campaign to end child marriages in the African continent.

 

At the time, the AU Commission, estimated that about 14 million adoscelent and teen girls were married. To date, more than thirty Member States have responded by accelerating the implementation of ending child marriage programmes and interventions.  

 

The AU Commission team expressed gratitude for South Africa's hospitality and willingness to share insights into their legislative framework and efforts to protect children.

 

 Honourable Kembo said: “the AU mission aims to understand how South Africa is working to protect its children. It focuses on examining the child protection system, its effectiveness, and how it addresses various forms of violence such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, and online exploitation and abuse."

 

 The monitoring mission will evaluate policies and strategies that the country has in place to end various forms of harmful cultural practices against children.

 

Honourable Kembo noted variations in terms of geographical patterns, provinces with high and low prevalence indicating a need for alignment of strategic interventions to the local context.

 

The Special Rapporteur is expected to produce a detailed progress report with observations and recommendations for the country within six months.

 

 The African Union Stakeholder Engagement Mission on Child Marriages and Harmful Practices in South Africa continues tomorrow.

 

Members of the media are invited to cover the engagements organised as follows:

 

Date:   Tuesday, 08 August 2023

Time:   09h00

Venue: Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in Johannesburg, Gauteng

 

PART TWO – COMMISSION FOR GENDER EQUALITY

 

Date:   Tuesday, 08 August 2023

Time:   12h30  

Venue: 2 Kotze Street, Braamfontein, Commission for Gender Equality in Johannesburg,

Gauteng

 

Members of the media can RSVP by contacting Ms Ziphelele Siguca on 083 768 6298 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Mr Jaconia Kobue: 063 249 5120/email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

 

Media enquiries may be directed to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 083 484 8067 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.