VISION

A caring society for the protection and development of the poor and vulnerable towards a sustainable society.

• Caring Society - through a collective approach or unity with stakeholders.
• Poor & Vulnerable - by building trust, hope and assurance.
• Sustainable society - through continuous improvement & sustainability.

MISSION

To transform our society by building conscious and capable citizens through the provision of integrated social development services.

The key concepts of the mission are:

• Transformation - changing the landscape of the Province through legislative reform; programmes which must radically change material conditions of our people and entrenching of human rights.
• Consciousness - building activist bureaucrats committed to the service of the Eastern Cape whilst creating a space for progressive awareness, critical engagement and participation of people in their development.
• Capabilities - Enhancing social, human, financial, physical and natural assets of citizens so as to enjoy freedoms espouses in the Constitution of South Africa.
• Integrated service - is about ensuring that our provision of welfare services, community development and social security respond to lifecycle challenges that our people face. This requires budget, structures, systems and processes that enforce integration.

VALUES

All employees of the Department are expected to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Public Servants and the Batho Pele Principles.

The following Department-specific values apply:

• Integrity - Ensuring that we are consistent with our values, principles, actions, and measures and thus generate trustworthiness amongst ourselves and with our stakeholders.
• Human Dignity - Fundamental Human Right that must be protected in terms of the Constitution of South Africa and facilitates freedoms, justice and peace.
• Respect - Showing regard for one another and the people we serve and is a fundamental value for the realisation of development goals.
• Equality and Equity - We seek to ensure equal access to services, participation of citizens in the decisions that affect their lives and the pursuit of equity imperatives where imbalances exist.
• Empowerment - We aim to empower employees and communities by building on existing skills, knowledge and experience and by creating an environment conducive to life-long learning.
• Accountability - Refers to our obligation to account for our activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner.
• Customer- Oriented - Defined as an approach to sales and customer-relations in which staff focus on helping customers to meet their long-term needs and wants.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT

001 Empowerment of communities, groups and individuals through their active participation in developmental programmes for improved social functioning and quality of life.
002 Development and implementation of integrated safety net programmes that address social risks which are the result of unemployment, retirement, illness/disability, old age and death.
003 Development and implementation of a comprehensive community development strategy (CCDS) focusing on healthy livelihoods, social inclusion, improved nutritional and social status of individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
004 Organisational transformation and development for effective management, communication, planning, financial management, reporting and utilization of resources.
005 Developing leadership and a learning organization to capacitate personnel for responsive and effective service delivery.

CORE FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision of social development services to individuals, groups and communities to enable them to enjoy an acceptable quality of life and become self reliant. (Our primary focus is on the poor, vulnerable and socially excluded).

001 Provision of social welfare services. (promotive, preventive, palliative, rehabilitative, therapeutic)
002 Provision of comprehensive social security services.
003 Community development facilitation and support
004 Poverty and inequality eradication
005 HIV/AIDS (prevent and mitigate effects of HIV/AIDS on vulnerable groups)

SUPPORTING FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT

001 Human resource management
002 Financial planning and management
003 Policy development, planning and research
004 Population development (demographics)
005 Communication and marketing
006 Mainstreaming gender, disability and youth issues
007 Information management and technology
008 Legislation