Children in the Eastern Cape benefit from ECD PPE handover
The Deputy Minister of Social Development Ms Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu will in partnership with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and eSimphiwe Childcare Centre distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres across the Eastern Cape Province.
The intention of this initiative is to help ECD centres in rural areas to comply with the Covid 19 regulations and enable ECD centres to open their doors to children while the country is still on Level 1 of the risk adjusted strategy.
Early Childhood Development was declared a public good thus prioritising its expansion to all children as part of Government’s first 1000 Days Campaign.
Chapter 9 of the National Development Plan (Vision 2030) acknowledges the importance of education in dealing with poverty and inequality in South Africa. In fulfilling the goals of the NDP, South Africa continues to invest in its future by focusing on improving ECD services.
In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) announced that Early Childhood Development will move from the Department of Social Development to the Department Basic of education and the two Departments are working together towards this realisation.
The Department of Social Development is still responsible for the registration, provision and the administration of the ECD services. To assist unregistered ECD programs, the Department launched the Vangasali campaign to make sure that all ECD centres are registered.
On 5 February 2021, the Department of Social Development launched the Early Childhood Development Employment Stimulus Relief Fund, which is supported by the Presidential Employment Stimulus Fund. The fund is part of the DSD’s intervention to assist ECD services by cushioning them against the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. The Department received R496 million to assist the sector which was amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. By the end of the closing date 3817 ECD programs in the Eastern Cape had applied for the fund.
Members of the media are invited to cover the ECD PPE handover arranged as follows:
Date: Friday, 12 March 2021
Venue: Mavuso Pre-school, JB Location, Sipaqeni A/A Flagstaff, Eastern Cape Province
Time: 10:00
Members of the media can RSVP by contacting:
Makhosazana Mavuso
Cell: 072 732 9381
E-mail: makhosazanama@dsd.gov.za
Media enquiries:
Lumka Oliphant
Cell: 083 484 8067
E-mail: lumkao@dsd.gov.za
