Deputy Minister for Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, says giving emphasis to the importance of the family is one of the department’s primary focus areas.
She was addressing communities at KwaNdwalaza Royal Palace in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga on the matter of social issues.
The department’s visit was part of the commemoration of International Day of Families under the theme of “Families and Urbanisation” which formed part of this year for Social Development month celebrations.
The small rural village of Kwandalaza outside Mkhondo faces various social challenges including poverty, unemployment, sexual abuse, and child-headed households among others.
Young people in the area still feel uncomfortable talking about sexual abuse, and consequently, do not report such crimes to the police, and residents are concerned.
A member of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi William Mahlangu, says the government should move swiftly to address challenges facing rural communities.
He has raised, in particular, the challenge of unused land that is held by the government.
“We feel that if the state can release that particular land to traditional authorities and their communities it can be utilised fruitfully in order to alleviate poverty and unemployment,” says Inkosi Mahlangu.
Meanwhile, Bogopane-Zulu says they are aware of the challenges facing the residents and have invited different departments to assist including the Departments of Home Affairs, Justice, the South African Police Services (Saps) as well as healthcare workers.
@The_DSD Deputy Minister explains the millions of money that is paid for grants, and the importance of using this money well.#DSDmonth#InternationalDayOfFamilies pic.twitter.com/W8tJoAn5gi
— Social Development (@The_DSD) October 8, 2022
“From the profiling that we have done here, we now know who has what skill, who is unemployed, and what are they interested in, because that’s part of the profiling. And how do we support families so that we do not continue to build orphanages or remove children from their communities,” says Bogopane-Zulu.
The deputy minister also launched the Families Matter programme, aimed at strengthening the community’s response through supporting traditional leadership structures to champion GVB in line with Goal 4 of the National Strategic Policy.
The department says they will visit other rural communities with similar challenges in the country.
The Deputy Minister of the Department of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu highlights some of the family dynamics that exist in South Africa. #dsdmonth #InternationalDayofFamilies pic.twitter.com/R86l0Ehs3U
— Social Development (@The_DSD) October 8, 2022
