The functional responsibilities of the Department of
Social Development in the Eastern Cape are
defined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The executive Committee of the Eastern Cape assigned the above
responsibilities to the Member of the Executive Committee for Social Development. As an autonomous service delivery organ of the Eastern
Cape Provincial Government, the then Department of Welfare was
established in June 1997. However, it was not until the start of the
financial year 1998/99 that the Department's service delivery processes were
carried out through a dedicated welfare administrative mechanism. Our
mandate as the Department of Social Development is to provide services to the vulnerable groups of society,
the poorest of the poor, the marginalized and the disadvantaged groups. This is
what sets the department of Social Development apart from other social service
providers and other departments. Our service goes further than just bringing
services to these groups. The kinds of services we provide and the manner in
which we deliver are critical aspects of our mandate. It is our brief to deliver
on our mandate in a manner that will engage and empower communities to
participate actively in the improvement of their quality of life so as to build
their self-reliance, which is a pre-requisite to sustainable development.
Our delivery process is thus based on the thrust to shift from the
Welfare approach to social development. As a department we have identified the
following vulnerable groups as targets for service delivery that is: children,
women, youth, people with disabilities and the aged. It is for these groups that
we make a clarion call for a “caring society.” In line with this mandate the
department has identified six priorities for the 2003–2006 MTEF. These are also
in line with the ten-point plan of the National Department for Social
Development and the priorities of the Provincial Government.
Why
are we called the Department of Social Development?
- Because of our commitment to
social transformation - Because our task is to reduce poverty and promote
social integration - Because our work
is based on partnerships and the Batho Pele principles of service delivery
- Because our actions are based upon solidarity and engender
self-reliance - Because of the range of our human
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