The failure of the Sheltered Employment Factories (SEF), an entity of the Department of Labour to fly was a result of inadequate investment in its operation, chief executive Silumko Nondwangu said in Cape Town on 22 May.
Addressing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) Nondwangu said in the absence of national government’s support, people with disability would remain in the periphery. He called for National Treasury to prioritise allocation into SEF business.
“What we are seeing today is a problem of decades of neglect coming back to haunt us now. These entities belong to government and it has a responsibility to procure from the factories. The neglect pre-and-post 1994 still continues. We have a mammoth challenge. We need a political will from National government to ensure that factories receive adequate support’’, he said.
SEF was established by Government more than 60 years ago to provide employment opportunities for disabled people who were unable to secure employment in the open labour market due to the nature of their afflictions. With employment equity high on the agenda of government, the entity specialises in the twin challenges of breaking the societal stigma associated with people with disabilities, and the integration into mainstream economic activity.
The entity currently employs more than 1000 disabled workers in its 12 factories spread across South Africa with the exception of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Some of products produced and sold at the SEF are metal work, furniture, textiles, leather work, and book binding. The factories take on a wide spectrum of business ranging from once-off small orders to large orders from too big organisations.
The entities’ factories have for years been a supplier of furniture to some Government and State aided institutions.
Its factories are located in Bloemfontein, Durban, East London, Epping, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Ndabeni, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Rand and is headquartered in Silverton, Pretoria.
Nondwangu emphasised that SEF was an entity of government and it has a responsibility of ensuring that its departments procure from the factories. He told Scopa that government was well informed of problems faced by SEF. He said a strategy was being developed to change the fortunes of SEF.
“We are beginning to turn the corner at strategic level,” Nondwangu said. He cited a problem faced by SEF, that of the lease agreements with Department of Public works that have to be addressed. He assured the committee that the organisation would deal with issues raised by the office of the Auditor General in relation to stock control measures, financial management and irregular expenditure.
He said SEF had also put in place a security plan to protect its assets against theft.
“Despite these mammoth challenges. I believe we will overcome with support from Government. Decades of neglect cannot be undone in five years,” he said.
Labour Department Director-General Nkosinathi Nhleko acknowledged the existence of operational problems faced by SEF. He said the approach taken was to set-up a project to develop a turn-around strategy.
Enquiries:
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DoL’s SEF hankers for government support to change its fortune
