16 Mar 2021

Deputy Minister reaches more Provinces on her ECD PPE Campaign

Following the successful handover of Personal Protective Equipment to Early Childhood Development centres in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces by Deputy Minister of Social Development, the children of Limpopo will be next to benefit.

This initiative by the Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu is in partnership with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and eSimphiwe Childcare Centre  and will assist ECD centres in rural areas to comply with the Covid 19 regulations and enable ECD centres to open their doors to children while the country is still on Level 1 of the risk-adjusted strategy.

The campaign started on March 8, 2021 in Kwa-Zulu Natal and over 1 600 children have benefited from this initiative both from Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape Province.  

In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) announced that Early Childhood Development  will move from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department Basic of  education(DBE) and the two Departments are working  together towards this realisation. Today, (March 16, 2021) DSD and DBE updated the portfolio committee on Basic Education and Social Development on the status of the migration of ECD to DBE.

The Department of Social Development is still responsible for the  registration, provision and the administration of the ECD services.  To assist unregistered ECD programs, the Department launched the Vangasali campaign to make sure that all ECD centres are registered.

On 5 February 2021, the Department of Social Development launched the Early Childhood Development Employment Stimulus Relief Fund, which is supported by the Presidential Employment Stimulus Fund.  The fund is part of the DSD’s intervention to assist ECD services by cushioning them against the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. The Department received R496 million to assist the sector which was amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. By the end of the closing date, 4319 ECD programs in Limpopo had applied for the fund. DSD is in the process of finalising the ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund payments.

Members of the media are invited to cover the ECD PPE handover arranged as follows:
Date: Wednesday,  17 March 2021
Venue: Ntekuma Day Care Centre 191, Ga-Kama, Mmabolo, Limpopo Province
Time: 10:00  

Members of the media can RSVP by contacting Ms.Makhosazana Mavuso on 0727329381 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.(link sends e-mail)

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