Conversations with leaders
During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Social Development (DSD) played a crucial role in responding to the needs of millions of South Africans. As the country marks Social Development Month, Minister Lindiwe Zulu reflects on
Minister Lindiwe Zulu reflects on the lessons learnt from COVID-19 and how the Department of Social
The DSD has been at the forefront of assisting millions of South Africans to overcome the most pressing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic
Responsible for the payment of social grants, the distribution of food parcels and responding to issues of genderbased violence (GBV), employees in the social development portfolio have worked harder than ever before, in highly testing circumstances.
Minister Lindiwe Zulu says that her first priority during the national lockdown was to prepare her workforce for the challenges that lay ahead.
“When the pandemic initially struck, we realised that the DSD would have a critical role to play and that we would be on the frontlines assisting ordinary South Africans. So, my first priority was to prepare the workforce and help them to understand what COVID-19 is and how it will affect them.The reasoning was that, in order to help others, you need to first be able to help yourself and protect yourself.”
The DSD raised social grants and introduced the R350 Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant, as part of efforts to alleviate some of the distress faced by South Africans who lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic.
“The other related concern was obviously the issue of food security in the home,” says Minister Zulu.
Controversy arose during the lockdown over the distribution of food parcels by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector. Minister Zulu explains that in many cases, food parcels distributed by these donors were being distributed in areas which were not necessarily hunger ‘hotspots'.
“We were very excited to see the private sector and NGOs stepping up to provide food. But at the same time, the food was often not reaching the neediest people. Many of these NGOs operate around urban areas, and rural areas suffer as a result.
"So, we needed to
focus on partnering with these donors to get the food to the right areas. We collected data from provinces and zoomed in at the real hunger hotspots.”
The DSD is working hard to ensure sustainability of food distribution, even beyond COVID-19.
“When we saw all the food flooding in, I thought to myself, 'Where has this food been all along?'. It proved to us that the right type of coordination, mobilisation and distribution can go a long way towards solving the hunger problem in South Africa. So, even now that we are on Level 1, let's develop partnerships and have a longterm plan to ensure that the amount of food we saw flowing in can still be coming in next year and moving forward.”
Harnessing technology and supporting local businesses
The Minister says that COVID-19 has proved that government can move at a faster pace when addressing issues facing South Africa.
“It was very interesting to note that because we were under threat, we managed to do things faster. Instead of going through bureaucratic red tape or pushing things to the next year or the next five years, COVID-19 showed us that we can propel the National Development Plan faster than we thought we could.”
She singles out the use of technology as a crucial factor in streamlining processes.
“For example, all the applications for the R350 grant were done on a cellphone, and nine million people successfully applied in this way. Many people are learning that technology can be used to make things faster and easier, and we must encourage citizens to become digitally literate.”
The DSD is now focusing on building partnerships with telecommunications companies and drawing on the skills of digitally savvy young people.
“There are young and dynamic [people] out there who are developing solutions for us, and we must draw on their skills. We are also looking at partnering with telecommunications companies, helping to educate people on how to use technology and not be afraid of it. Social development must look at the services we provide and apply technology to these services to assist our people in a faster, easier and more affordable way.”
Minister Zulu says that another strong focus this Social Development Month is to provide support for local businesses.
“We have a great opportunity to accelerate economic transformation. As the social
development portfolio, we support a number of cooperatives owned by women, youth and people with disabilities, and we should be procuring services from these cooperatives and other small businesses. Government's financial muscle should be used for economic transformation.”
Dealing with GBV
The lockdown put a magnifying glass on the problem of GBV.
“COVID-19 exacerbated this societal problem, because women were stuck in their homes with their abusers. It is a pandemic in and of itself,” Minister Zulu points out.
The Minister said that the DSD – through its policy-making and social work – is continuing to work closely with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, to deal with abuse.
“When we hear about horrific incidents of abuse and femicide, it should be a call to action for public servants. But most importantly, the call is to communities, to families and to individuals, to stop accepting abuse as something that is simply a part of our society.”
The DSD is focused on empowering women who seek to escape from abusive relationships.
“Women must have outlets to go to, such as the Thuthuzela and Khuseleka care centres, where they can be assisted at a ‘one-stop shop', providing them with psycho-social support and empowering them to develop their skills so that they know they can have a life without their abusers,” she says.
A message of gratitude
Minister Zulu is extremely grateful for the hard work of public servants operating at the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would like to sincerely thank public servants for getting out there and carrying out their work despite the dangers.”
The Minister pays tribute to the heroes lost along the way, including Connie Nxumalo, the Deputy DirectorGeneral of Welfare Services at the DSD.
“Connie was a leader of social workers in South Africa and respected the world over. Sometimes we undermine ourselves here, but the world recognises us and we truly have some special people in the Public Service.
“You helped our country to not collapse during this crisis, and now is the time to focus on using the same sense of ubuntu we saw during the pandemic to help make South Africa a better place every day,” she says.