CAPE TOWN, 30 October: The first of the two-day roundtable discussion convened by the Department of Social Development, National Development Agency (NDA) and SASSA in collaboration with the Finmark Trust and BRAC International, focused on linking social protection beneficiaries to sustainable livelihoods initiatives that seek to build resilience and “graduate them out of poverty” in the long term.

The roundtable is a critical platform to discuss collaborative efforts, pathways and partnerships that are necessary to successfully link social protection beneficiaries to sustainable livelihoods. The outcome of the roundtable is expected to guide the development of a Policy on Linking Social Protection Beneficiaries to Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities. Convened under the theme: “Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty” at the Cape Sun, Cape Town, the roundtable discussion brought together representatives of government, civil society, development agencies, research organisations and private sector to collaborate on innovative ways to scale up sustainable livelihoods initiatives.

One such project, which is designed to address interrelated problems of poverty and financial exclusion of the poor is Generating Better Livelihoods for Grants Beneficiaries. The first phase of the project is currently being piloted in seven sites in Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal over a period of three years and will be expanded to other provinces to reach five hundred thousand (500 000) social grants beneficiaries by 2030. Central to this initiative is BRAC’s graduation approach that links social grants beneficiaries to employment, entrepreneurship and/or skills/training opportunities. Three hundred and seventy (370) social grants beneficiaries are currently participating in the pilot and the target is scale up to link five hundred thousand (500 000) social grants beneficiaries by 2030.

The pilot project is half way and initial data shows the results are highly promising. Speaking at the roundtable, the CEO of Finmark Trust Mr Brendan Pearce said: “It has been a while since the pilot project commenced and the insights gained during this period have exceeded our expectations. We are now more convinced than ever that this initiative can serve as the most effective in improving livelihoods and financial inclusion of social grants beneficiaries across South Africa”.

The majority of the social grants beneficiaries (70%) participating in the pilot project are interested in entrepreneurship pathways, further highlighting that combining social protection with skills development and financial inclusion can be an effective way to link social grants beneficiaries on a pathway out of poverty and vulnerability.

During the discussions, participants identified the following as critical success factors for the project:

- leveraging technology as a transformative tool for rural areas

- develop of job readiness programmes for social grants beneficiaries

- financial literacy and social entrepreneurial model

- establishment of networks that connect technical colleges, local industries, and

- community organisations to co-create skill development programmes that are directly aligned with local job market demands.

Addressing the roundtable, the Deputy Minister of Social Development Mr Ganief Hendricks caution that the success of the Generating Better Livelihoods initiative is dependent on the coordination and harmonisation of efforts among different government and non-government actors at national and local levels. The first day of the roundtable discussion concluded with the signing of a pledge by all participants to collaborate and support the pilot project and roll out of the Framework on Linking Social Protection Beneficiaries to Sustainable Livelihoods Opportunities.

Today, 30 October, the second day of the roundtable discussion will culminate in the adoption of a Programme of Action that will include a commitment to specific actions to expand initiatives to link social grants beneficiaries.

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

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