In other news
“The children of any nation are its future” - OR Tambo
News you need to know when you are on the go
The Premier of Limpopo province, Chupu Stanley Mathabatha and his executive council are committed to providing comprehensive social development and protection services as enshrined in Section 27 of the Constitution and further elaborated in Chapter 1 of the National Development Plan and Outcome 13 of the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014–2019.
Through its Social Development Department, the province has the following key sector priorities for MTSF 2014–2019: • Reform the Social Welfare sector
• Early Childhood Development (ECD) provision
• Deepen social assistance and extend the scope for social
security
• Strengthen community development interventions • Establish social protection systems to strengthen coordination, integration, planning, monitoring and evaluation of services
Furthermore the budget of the department goes to the funding of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) for the provision of comprehensive social development services. To maximise the benefit for our investment in NPOs, the department has recently held an NPO monitoring retreat as part of capacity building. In pursuit of its Constitutional mandate and the key sector priorities for MTSF 2014-2019 the department continues to make strides in support of community development nutrition centres, drop in ECD centres and household vegetable gardens.
Early Childhood Development remains a key priority as emphasised by the adoption of the National ECD policy by the Cabinet of the Republic of South Africa. The department has also planned to vigorously roll out the provisions of the National ECD policy in order to address the plight of children, particularly those living in the poorest communities and the most vulnerable households.
The department has a number of interventions to carry out its mandate to ensure the socio-economic welfare of children in the province.
IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF ECDs
ECD interventions are among the most cost-effective investments a country can make in the human development and capital formation of its people. ECD is a national priority programme under Outcome 1 – Quality Education as government has supported the principle of investment in children. The National Planning Commission in the National