Community praise for outreach effort
THE South Africa Social Services Agency (Sassa), in partnership with government departments, held its Mikondzo community outreach programme at the Gompo Community Hall in Duncan Village on Tuesday.
This came after former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini visited the area in January and urged government departments to lend a helping hand in some of the community issues.
The Mikondzo project, a ministerial programme that is aimed at fighting poverty, saw the Departments of Home Affairs, Health, Social Development and Education as well as the South African Police Services (SAPS), local municipalities and other government departments, engaging with community members in a dialogue to outline their issues.
Speaking at Tuesday’s event, Sassa Eastern Cape acting regional executive manager Zanoxolo Mpetha said they held the event at Duncan Village because of its high rate of unemployment, crime and poverty.
“As Sassa we always ensure that poor households have access to basic needs in a form of food parcels as well as school uniforms for children from disadvantaged homes.
“We are also here to listen and to assist where we can. We will continue working with this township to try to fight poverty,” he said.
Community members were given a chance to ask questions.
“I’ve learnt so much in this programme and some of the questions I had have been answered. However, I am a single mother who is unemployed and I am hoping after these dialogues today there will be job opportunities for desperate people like me,” community member Nandipha Gaba said.
Ward councillor Clara MorolongYekiso said the programme could not have come at a better time as the challenges of youth unemployment and poverty were problems in the township.
“The departments are here today because the living conditions and the lack of jobs in our townships is something that cannot be ignored. We are happy and grateful that the departments have come to engage with us today,” Morolong-Yekiso said.
Food parcels were given to families and school uniforms to children from about 23 schools in the programme.