By DSD News

• The Department of Social Development (DSD) dismisses a fake social media message claiming the launch of a “National Family Support Allowance”.
• Members of the public are encouraged to avoid engaging with suspicious links and sharing sharing unverified information online.
• Citizens are urged to verify information through official Department of Social Development (DSD), the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), the National Development Agency (NDA) and government communication channels.

The Department of Social Development is encouraging members of the public to be cautious after a false message was circulating on social media. The message incorrectly claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa directed Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe to initiate registration for a “National Family Support Allowance.” Furthermore, it alleges that families may apply for a three-month payment of R1,682; the Department has officially confirmed that these assertions are entirely unfounded.
According to the Department, there is no such programme, no new allowance, and no registration process related to this fabricated scheme. Officials have emphasised that the message is a scam intended to mislead the public and to harvest personal information through fraudulent links.
The Department has reminded citizens that all official updates regarding social protection initiatives are communicated through trusted government channels, including the DSD, the South African Social Security Agency, the National Development Agency, and verified government social media platforms.
Communities are urged not to share the fake message and to always verify information before engaging with it. The Department further encourages the public to rely on credible platforms such as:

• The official DSD website,
• SASSA and NDA communication channels,
• Government social media pages, and
• The DSD WhatsApp Channel.

The Department reaffirmed its commitment to providing accurate information and called on the public to play their part in curbing the spread of misinformation.

By Precious Mupenzi

• Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe emphasised that the future of the country’s development depends on a resilient, well-supported, and digitally enabled non-profit sector.
• The minister was a keynote speaker at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) National Indaba.
• Minister Tolashe used her address to reflect on the challenges faced by South Africa’s non-profit organisations (NPOs) that are currently grappling with shrinking financial resources, growing community needs and increasing compliance expectations.

Minister of Social Development, Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe, has called for deeper collaboration between the government, the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and South Africa’s civil society sector to strengthen the country’s social development agenda.

Speaking on 26 November 2025 at the NLC National Indaba, held under the theme “Effective regulation and funding through digitisation”, the minister emphasised that the future of South Africa’s development depends on a resilient, well-supported and digitally enabled non-profit sector.

The indaba comes at a time when non-profit organisations (NPOs) across the country are grappling with shrinking financial resources, growing community needs and increasing compliance expectations.

The minister used her keynote address to reflect on these challenges while outlining the government’s strategy to transform the sector.

Civil society at the heart of global and national development

Minister Tolashe opened by contextualising the indaba within global developments, noting that only five days earlier, President Cyril Ramaphosa had addressed the G20 Social Summit, where he underscored the indispensable role of civil society in shaping global policy decisions.

Quoting the President’s remarks, Minister Tolashe emphasised that civil society forms the “strong roots” needed for sustainable global and national reforms.

She praised the sector for its influence on the G20 Declaration, which was “heavily shaped” by the Social Summit’s resolutions. “We thank you for ensuring that the collective voice of the Global South can no longer be ignored,” she said.

Progress on FATF grey list and ongoing vigilance

One of the minister’s key announcements was South Africa’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, an achievement she credited to dedicated collaboration between government and civil society stakeholders.

However, she warned that the country “cannot afford to be complacent,” urging continued vigilance to maintain compliance under Recommendation 8, which specifically focuses on non-profit organisations.

Funding crisis in the NPO sector

The minister acknowledged that many NPOs, especially those led by youth and those driving food security, job creation and gender-based violence prevention, struggle to scale their programmes due to limited resources.

She welcomed the NLC Board’s decision, under the leadership of Professor Barney Pityana, to prioritise funding that advances the National Development Plan (Vision 2030), saying this intervention comes at a crucial moment with only five years remaining to meet national targets.

Rising child malnutrition: A national emergency

In one of the most urgent appeals of her address, Minister Tolashe spotlighted the alarming rise in child malnutrition cases, calling it “an issue that demands immediate attention”.

“We cannot let this happen under our watch,” she said, urging NPOs and partners to help the government respond swiftly in high-risk areas. She emphasised that early birth registration and access to the Child Support Grant remain vital tools in combating malnutrition.

Tackling teenage pregnancy and underage drinking

The minister lamented the “unacceptably high levels” of teenage pregnancy and underage drinking, noting that these challenges are deeply felt by frontline NPOs. “You see these issues every day,” she told delegates, commending them for serving as the “compassionate arm” of society under difficult circumstances.

Enabling a thriving NPO sector through policy reform

A major section of the keynote focused on the ongoing overhaul of the country’s non-profit regulatory environment.

Minister Tolashe highlighted that the Non-Profit Organisations Act was implemented without an accompanying policy, a gap her department is now addressing. A new NPO Policy is being drafted, and early 2026 will see a nationwide consultation process.

She encouraged organisations, especially youth-led and community-based groups, to contribute actively to the policy’s development.

She reaffirmed that the sector is a major employer, creating pathways for youth employment, entrepreneurship, skills development and vocational training. A recent Wits Business School study was cited, demonstrating that NPOs play a central role in shaping new forms of work for young people.

New priorities: Climate change, waste management and social entrepreneurship

Minister Tolashe urged NPOs to expand their focus to emerging developmental areas such as climate change, waste management, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable livelihoods suited to the modern economy.

She highlighted the reality that much of the small-business landscape, spaza shops, salons, and car washes, are currently dominated by foreign nationals, while South African youth remain unemployed. This, she argued, shows the urgent need to rethink community economic models.

Digital transformation: Introducing Digi-NPO

The minister reaffirmed her department’s commitment to digital transformation, highlighting the rollout of Digi-NPO, the new online NPO registration and compliance monitoring system.

Calling it “a welcome development”, she said the system aligns South Africa with Fourth Industrial Revolution standards and strengthens regulatory safeguards. While acknowledging minor initial challenges, she assured delegates that these were being resolved before the system is rolled out countrywide.

Minister Tolashe closed her address by thanking the NLC and its Board for convening a timely dialogue that responds to South Africa’s most pressing social challenges. She pledged continued collaboration with the NLC and the wider civil society sector to ensure that the indaba’s recommendations “find expression in government’s work”.

Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe forms part of Ministers that will accompany His Excellency President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa on the Bi-National working visit to Mozambique from the 01 to 04 December 2025. 

South Africa and Mozambique have strategic and fraternal relations developed during the fight against colonialism and apartheid. 

Minister will be participating in the Minister’s meetings which is meant to share in areas of interest for both countries, Minister will also be attending the meeting of the two Heads of State where she will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is meant to deal with finding common grounds in dealing with children on the move, unaccompanied and separated minors who are recognised as children in need of care and protection due to their vulnerability and risks that they are exposed to. Their vulnerability is seen in child exploitative activities such as recruitment and child labour practices in illicit mining (Operation Vala Umgodi). Minister will also participate in the quarterly Cross Border Forum to strengthen collaboration and coordination for improved child protection system within SADC. The Forum assists with the tracing, alternative care placement and reunification of unaccompanied minors and separated children. 

The Department of Social Development is bound by the international instrument which South Africa is a signatory and has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child. The Department is the custodian of the Children’s Act and has the mandate to ensure care and protection of children in South Africa. Recently, South Africa has seen a lot of unaccompanied and undocumented children being used in the illegal mining. The MOU comes at a poignant time for South Africa in getting an understanding and common approach on how to repatriate children who are trafficked and working towards strengthening our border management. 

Enquiries:

Sandi Mbatsha

Spokesperson for the Minister of Social Development

0825252959

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Staff Writer.

• South Africa continues to face a growing public health and development crisis driven by the harmful use of both legal and illicit substances and drug trafficking, the deputy minister of social development, Ganief Hendricks, told the Central Drug Authority’s 2025 Summit.
• The deputy minister officially opened the fourth biennial summit that is being held to find solutions to the social ills, such as gender-based violence heightened by substance misuse.
• The summit will create a platform to share information, expertise, and promote a collaborative approach to dealing with the challenges arising from substance misuse.

The Central Drug Authority’s (CDA) fourth biennial summit is focused on finding solutions to the social ills, such as gender-based violence heightened by substance misuse.

Officially opening the summit, the deputy minister of social development, Ganief Hendricks, noted that the summit came on the heels of the recent G20 Leaders’ Summit, where about 42 countries and institutions attended the meeting.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, under whose presidency the G20 was held this year, has heightened the fight against gender-based violence and femicide, saying the scourge needs to be eradicated to ensure that nations thrive, the deputy minister noted.

“We all know that the use of substances, especially alcohol, leads to various social ills, including gender-based violence and femicide.”

The president’s highlighting of this is an indication of the need to collaborate and fight against these challenges, Hendricks said, adding: “I hope that this summit will look at the recommendations and how best the country can collaborate to address these challenges.”

An event like the 2025 CDA Summit should be prioritised, given the fact that drugs and drug misuse remain a national concern requiring greater collaboration among key sectors of our society at all levels.

“Moreover, South Africa continues to face a growing public health and development crisis driven by the harmful use of both licit and illicit substances and drug trafficking. The consequences of such are devastating for public health, safety, social cohesion, and economic development.”

Challenges of gender-based violence and substance abuse

In recognising the twin challenges of gender-based violence and femicide and substance abuse, President Ramaphosa, in May 2025, appointed an Inter-Ministerial Committee to tackle the issues. The committee is co-chaired by the ministers of women, youth and persons with disabilities women and of social development.

The responsibility of the minister for social development is to support the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan.

The CDA, as the country’s advisory body on substance use and abuse-related matters, is mandated to ensure implementation of the national plan. The National Drug Master Plan is South Africa’s blueprint to provide strategic direction to the country’s efforts to deal with the use and abuse of substances.

“The CDA Annual Report for 2023/2024 indicated that South Africa already has a growing new psychoactive substances market, particularly synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones – so-called ‘bath salts’.

“On the control side, South Africa is using the Medicines and Related Substances Act schedules and some Drugs Act schedules to catch new synthetics.”

Deputy Minister Hendricks noted that the latest South African Health Products Regulatory Authority Report for 1 August 2025 raised several issues, including:
•⁠ ⁠fentanyl analogues as a group showed a move to generic control of synthetic opioids;
•⁠ ⁠the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 is still built around older markets and has been criticised as a ‘one size fits all’ punishment regime with heavy penalties and limited proportionality; and
•⁠ ⁠The government’s own Operation Vulindlela work recognises the need to modernise the drug framework, at least for cannabis – removing cannabis from the Drugs Act and shifting to other regulatory tools.

International efforts

The work done in 2025 by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the International Narcotics Control Board, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed consistency, with the international board and the UN warning that synthetic drugs are “rapidly reshaping illicit markets” and fuelling overdose crises, especially through cheap synthetic opioids and methamphetamine.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report 2025 highlights that the synthetic drug market (synthetic drugs chemically related to amphetamine, synthetic opioids, and new psychoactive substances) has expanded sharply, with record seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants and growing nitazene detections.

All of this is set within the implementation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021–2025 Report.

“This summit, therefore, will create a platform to share information, expertise, and promote a collaborative approach amongst government departments and other key stakeholders, national and international, involved in dealing with the challenge of substance use and misuse,” Hendricks said.

“This summit should further allow exchange of good practice, evidence-based interventions, challenges, and sustainable socio-economic strategies aimed at reducing the supply, demand, and harm caused by the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.”

Breaking the cycle

The CDA Summit’s theme, ‘Breaking the cycle: Confronting harmful substance use and drug trafficking to safeguard lives, communities and national development’, looks to reach several outcomes, including:
•⁠ ⁠Increased visibility and policy attention to legal substances;
•⁠ ⁠The adoption of summit resolutions and a national communiqué outlining key commitments;
•⁠ ⁠Strengthened understanding of the interlinkages between drugs, crime, poverty, and violence;
•⁠ ⁠Renewed stakeholder commitments across public and private sectors;
•⁠ ⁠A renewed commitment to collaborative implementation of the National Drug Master Plan across departments and sectors;
•⁠ ⁠The establishment or reinforcement of multi-stakeholder task teams; and
•⁠ ⁠The development of a follow-up and monitoring plan in line with the National Drug Master Plan.

Under the sub-theme ‘From policy to practice: Whole of society approaches to strengthening public health, justice and socio-economic resilience and inclusion through integrated responses’, the summit will focus on:
•⁠ ⁠Providing progress on the review of the National Drug Master Plan 2019 to 2024;
•⁠ ⁠Elevate national awareness of the harms caused by legal substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis;
•⁠ ⁠Strengthen integrated responses to illicit drug trafficking, organised crime, and community-level violence;
•⁠ ⁠Foreground economic development, employment, and youth opportunities as core elements of universal, indicated and selective prevention;
•⁠ ⁠Enhance departmental coordination and delivery mechanisms at local, provincial, and national levels and promote collaborative action across departments, in civil society, traditional leadership, and business, and provide a national platform for multi-sector dialogue and coordination on harmful substance use and drug trafficking;
•⁠ ⁠Promote data-driven, community-led, and culturally appropriate solutions; and
•⁠ ⁠Acknowledge and integrate cross-cutting issues, including gender-based violence and femicide, mental health, HIV, human trafficking, and youth exclusion, as intersecting concerns in substance use and drug trafficking responses.

The fact that a range of organisations and partners are attending the summit – national departments, provincial authorities, local government, UN agencies, business sector, civil society, traditional leaders, researchers, youth, people who use drugs, and survivors, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, and academic and international partners – indicates the commitment to collaborate and ensure that no one is left behind, the deputy minister said.

Making an impact

“We all have a role to play in ensuring that all people are and feel safe in South Africa as envisioned in the National Development Plan (Vision 2030). We must do this together to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”

The nation will benefit from the summit by the reduction of the supply of illicit drugs in communities and helping people who experience substance use disorders and their families.

It will also contribute to the reduction of the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis infections caused by the sharing of contaminated paraphernalia by people who inject drugs.

“The summit also comes at an emotional time for young people who are finishing their exams. During this time, learners get involved with underage drinking, drug use, which is a celebration that can potentially tragedies.”

The Ministry of Social Development encourages learners not to partake in such events, as underage drinking is illegal and against the National Liquor Act of 2003. Parents and teachers are cautioned to take extra steps to ensure that the young adults do not engage in “pens down” celebrations.

The deputy minister thanked all those present and those involved with the organisation of the summit. “We are honoured to have with us the Cabinet Ministers, including the members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development.

“We thank you for your continued leadership and your commitment, as demonstrated through your support and national efforts made by your respective departments in addressing the scourge of substance abuse and illicit trafficking in the country,” he said.

He also acknowledged the presence of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

“I envisage that this summit will provide an opportunity to discuss sustainable, coordinated, and impactful strategies for the reduction of drug and substance use and misuse in South Africa,” Deputy Minister Hendricks said.