The Minister for Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, rejects suggestions made in the media that her visit to Tlokwe on 2 August 2013 was motivated by political campaigning because of the by-elections being held in that area.
Minister Dlamini further disputes that her visit to Tlokwe yesterday, 6 August 2013, was an abuse of public funds for purposes of political campaigning. The Minister visited Tlokwe on 6 August in her capacity as an ANC NEC member and the Department of Social Development was not involved in any way in that visit.
The Minister is required through the Performance Agreement she signed with the President of the Republic to undertake public participation programmes throughout the country.
“By-elections have no bearing on government work. The challenges associated with underdevelopment do not go away just because by-elections are being held. We must have the best interest of our people at heart and continue with development initiatives all year round,” said Minister Dlamini.
The visit to Tlokwe was planned far ahead and forms part of a series of Izimbizo the Minister and her department will undertake over the next few months.
These public participation programmes aim to identify local socio-economic challenges and draw up programmes of action to improve the quality of life of citizens.
Contrary to what is being suggested in the media, these are not one-time events. They start weeks in advance with community dialogues and culminate in the development of community development plans for sustainable development in these communities.
Part of the interventions includes identifying households, including child-headed households, which are in situations of extreme poverty for immediate social assistance.
Among other immediate interventions, these families are assisted with food parcels for six months. They are also assisted to start their own food gardens so that they can feed themselves. Individuals are also assisted to register for social grants where applicable.
In Tlokwe the Minister is deploying a team of experts to assist communities with starting food gardens and soup kitchens to deal with the problem of malnutrition in that area.
Ms Lumka Oliphant, spokesperson for the Department of Social Development, says it is disappointing that media tends to deliberately mislead the public even when they witness the Minister doing her work.
“Members of the media accompanied the Minister in Tlokwe while she visited child-headed households and victim empowerment centres where she made firm commitments for social assistance, but chose to focus on matters that serve their agenda to mislead,” said Oliphant.
The department’s public participation programme continues with another Imbizo in Athlone, Western Cape, on 15 August 2013. Sixty nine public participation programmes were held by the Department in the 2012/13 fiscal year.
For media enquiries contact:
Lumka Oliphant
Cell: 083 484 8067
E-mail: lumkao@dsd.gov.za
