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Solidarity announced on Thursday that it would be approaching Parliament to demand urgent intervention at the Department of Social Development (DSD). This came after a report by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) revealed significant shortcomings at the department.
Bianca Smit from the Solidarity social workers’ network indicated: “The DSD is currently in a dreadful state and is totally unsustainable. How can any department function properly when 77,5% of those in the industry indicate that there are indeed cases where the department has not acted in the client’s best interests? At the same time, the report shows that 74% of the respondents indicated that they are even aware of cases where the department acted unethically.” According to the trade union, it had earlier this year addressed a letter to the DSD on behalf of its members, but no attention was given to the issues raised. Solidarity maintained that the department would not be able to reform without drastic external intervention, the absence of which could eventually lead to the collapse of social services in SA. “We have no choice but to resort to these steps and to demand urgent action by Parliament. The DSD is ignoring its mandate and the most vulnerable in our society, as well as those who dedicate their lives to preserve the dignity of those people must bear the brunt of this failure,” Smit said. Solidarity’s social workers’ network contends that the DSD’s apathy towards social workers is driving people away from the profession they have dedicated their entire professional lives to.
- Read Solidarity’s press statement regarding this matter at Solidarity News
- Lees ook, Dringende ingryping by maatskaplike ontwikkeling geëis, by Maroela Media
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