Maputo, Mozambique, 04 December 2025: As part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official working visit to Maputo, Mozambique, the Minister of Social Development, Ms Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe has signed a cooperation agreement between South Africa and Mozambique in the field of social development.
The official visit took place in the context of the 4th Session of the Bi-National Commission between South Africa and Mozambique, which was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting from 30 November to 01 December 2025 in Maputo the capital of Mozambique.
Inspired by the SA-Mozambique Joint Commission for Cooperation, which was signed in 2015, the two countries seek to strengthen cooperation and sharing best practices in child protection measures, care and services for older persons, persons with disabilities, empowerment of women and girls and community development, amongst others.
The signing of the MoU comes at a crucial time as both countries seeks to consolidate and accelerate progress on the implementation of their respective national development priorities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
One of the key issues that the two countries seek to address through the MoU is the increasing number of unaccompanied and undocumented migrant children. With no caregiver to support and protect them, unaccompanied and undocumented minors are most vulnerable to human trafficking, abuse and exploitation as they navigate the often-risky journey to the border on their own.
The need to care and protect for these children is informed by amongst others, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which South Africa and Mozambique have ratified.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Tolashe stressed the importance of the two countries working together to promote the most vulnerable, who for no fault of their own find themselves in precarious circumstances and prone to exploitation by human trafficking syndicates.
“We should move with a sense of urgency to the finalise the Joint Implementation Plan between our countries. Recent police activities have uncovered a lot of minor children from Mozambique who have been lured and forced into illegal mining activities across South Africa. This MoU builds on the work currently underway and coordinated through the Cross-Border Forum on Children on the Move (unaccompanied and undocumented children)”, said Minister Tolashe.
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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