Government says it will cost the state more than R9-billion to recruit more trained professional social workers in the country. It says its aim is to employ about 55 000 social workers by 2030.
The Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, revealed this in her written Parliamentary reply to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
The Party asked the Minister for the details of the department’s plan to achieve the set target to employ social workers.
Zulu said in the last financial year alone, about 22 000 social workers were recruited in the work force of government.
IFP MP, Liezl van der Merwe, says government should urgently address the challenge.
“But to make the situation worse, thousands of social workers that have been trained by the state are simply sitting at home. These social workers are desperately needed in our vulnerable communities especially to protect our vulnerable children and in particular in our rural communities. So the IFP would really like to call on government once more to ensure that it implements its own cabinet resolution taken in 2018 that its instructed them all social workers that have been trained by the state to key departments whether its the department of policy, basic education, social development, correctional services and others.”
IFP calls on government to prioritise scarcity of social workers:
