Programme Director,
Honourable Minister for Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and Solidarity, Republic of Congo, Madame Emilienne Raoul
President of Association for South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI), Prof Vishanthie Sewpaul
Representatives from ASASWEI,
Members of the National Association of Social Workers of South Africa,
Representatives of the South African Council for Social Service Professions,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to address you tonight.
Firstly let me acknowledge Minister Raoul, our special guest from the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville. On behalf of the government of the Republic of South Africa and the Ministry of Social Development (DSD) I wish you, Madame Minister a sincere welcome to our beloved country.
Your presence clearly illustrates that we have the capacity as the people of this continent to provide solutions to the many challenges we face as a continent. Thank you for coming to share your experience with us, Madame Minister, I am looking forward to your address.
I wish to express the appreciation of the Ministry, led by Minister Dlamini to Professor Sewpaul and her team for the excellent work in developing an innovative approach to social work education. The theme of this symposium, “Field Practice Education” is an indication and acknowledgement that we have to engage communities closely if we want to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
It is refreshing to note that the intention is to create the space for social work students to be innovative, to translate their transformative ideals into practice. This must be applauded!
South Africa needs a cadre of professionals that will rise to the occasion with the ability to translate policies into consciousness and ultimately into services. The Association for South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) provides fertile ground for our country to produce graduates that are conscious about their environment.
Being a social worker must be one of the most difficult jobs on this earth, being one in a developing country must definitely increase the difficulty factor. I am sure that often it feels like you are doing a thankless task, even those involved in the education of potential social workers. Your work might go unheralded but it is by no means unappreciated.
Ladies and gentlemen we must acknowledge that the magnitude of our social problems will not be confronted maximally with the human resource constraints facing the social development sector.
The challenges associated with underdevelopment require us to enhance and speed-up the services we continue to render to families and communities. In particular, the shortage of social workers has provoked us to explore other measures through which we can maximise our reach to communities.
As announced in our departmental budget speech for 2011, we will beyond providing scholarships for the training of new social workers, bring together retired social workers to explore means of drawing on their expertise.
To this effect, I am pleased to announce that we will over the next few weeks hold a consultative workshop with retired social workers. There is a saying in Sepedi that says: “Rutang bana ditaola le seye le tsona badimong”. This means that the elders have a responsibility to pass their wisdom to the younger generations!
As government, we have a responsibility to create better working conditions for social workers. We have to a large extent tried to retain social workers through the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for the social development sector. This is part of our strategy to improve the remuneration of social service professionals.
The academic institutions that offer social work studies in our country serve as a crucial reservoir and fountain of knowledge from which we must continuously draw on for solutions to the many challenges facing us, not only as a country but as a continent.
Importantly, I must also emphasise the importance of mentorship and supervision as a critical factor which must help us produce the kind of cadre we seek to build. I mention this because evidence in our communities clearly shows that we still have a mammoth task ahead. Last month, we launched an outreach programme titled: “Taking DSD to Communities.”
This programme has allowed us an opportunity to have first hand information and experience in terms of the living conditions of our people in rural and poor communities.
The lessons emerging from these interactions highlight a dire need for government in general to improve on service delivery. This will happen if our officials are on the ground to check on areas that require our intervention. Social workers are critical for this purpose.
Ladies and gentlemen, our thanks as a department to all of you for the various roles you play in making the world a kinder and more humane place, especially for those most in need. To Minister Raoul, I wish you a pleasant stay in our country.
I thank you.
