Master of ceremonies,
Acting HOD for Social Development Branch, Mr Malaka,
Senior Managers of the Department,
Academics from different institutions of learning,
Officials of the Department,
Dialogane tsa rona le batsadi,
Baeng ba tlotlego,
Dumelang Bagaetsho
You are making history today!
You are the first ever social auxiliary workers to graduate in our country!
Ke mo tlotlo thata gompieno ka phitlhelelo e re leng fano ka yona. Ga se phitlhelelo ya lefapha kgotsa ya porofense ka nosi mme se, bagaetsho ke phitlhelelo ya naga ya Aforika Borwa yotlhe. Diporofense le mafapha a mangwe a tlile go ithuta go tswa mo go rona. Ke rata go raya batsadi ba bana ba ke re ba itumele ba nne motlotlo ka phitlhelelo ya bana ba bona.
Lefapha le tsaya tiro ya Bodiredi Loago jaaka ee botlhokwa thata mo go ageng, go tlhabolola le go tsweletsa pele malapa le setshaba sa rona. Malapa a rona a lebagane le dikgwetlo di le dintsi thata tsa loago mme lenaneo le la Social Auxiliary Workers le tlhomilwe go thusa mo go lepalepaneng le mathata a go nna jalo. Ka go rialo, tiro ya bana ba ke ee boitshegang thata.
We are proud because our department is really taking the lead in its Social Auxiliary Worker training and learnership programme. Today four hundred and nine (409) Social Auxiliary Workers are graduating. Now something that has never been done before, these graduates will also be issued with formal appointment letters to resume duty this coming Monday on 2 August 2010. This is a landmark achievement indeed and we are very proud.
We see social auxiliary workers as playing a very important role of assisting the social workers, providing support services and working under the supervision of social workers. They complement and support social work in all focus areas with services to individuals, families, groups and communities.
The need for social auxiliary workers in South Africa was identified many years ago, leading to their role and functions being defined in the Regulations of the Social Service Professions Act of 1978. These Regulations define social auxiliary work as “an act or activity practiced by a social auxiliary worker under the guidance and control of the social worker and as a supporting service to a social worker to achieve the aims of social work".
Bagaetsho ga re itumelele fela go aloga ga baithuti ba Bodiredi Loago. Re motlotlo gape ka go nne tiragalo ya gompieno e boa gape e re baya kwa setlhoeng jaaka Lefapha leo le tsweletseng go tlhola ditiro le go oketsa bokgone jwa setshaba sa rona segolong jang basha.
In 2008, the National Skills Fund allocated to the department, 50 Learnerships for Further Education and Training (FET) Certificate in Special Auxiliary Work, NQF Level 4. The purpose was to train Social Auxiliary Workers from different Home Based Community Care centers (HCBC’s). Early in 2009, the department introduced 360 Social Auxiliary Workers Learnerships to train mainly young people from across all the four districts. For the duration of the training, learners received a stipend of R2 000 which was linked to the 12 months training period. Both groups of learners have completed their training, have been assessed and moderated.
We also extended this Learnership with an additional six months beginning from February 2010 until the end of June 2010 also on a stipend of R2 000. This was due to the fact that we did not want to have a situation where these learners will be idling at home after their intensive 12 months training. We kept them at respective service points and provided them with further learning opportunities as part of preparing them for employment within the public service or other social welfare service providers. They have been continuing to render auxiliary services at different Service Points.
The social distress and hardships afflicting communities, localities and individual capacity and livelihoods owe their existence to a long line of exclusionary and differential implementation of policies and measures designed to disinherit and disempower people in the past. The consequence of these historical conditions of exclusion has overtime, given rise to a persisting and self-reinforcing dynamics of vulnerability, inequality, poverty and unemployment resulting in the phenomenon where there is transmission of poverty from generations to generations leaving us with individuals who have never known any form of work or employment in their life time.
With this programme, we are therefore creating job opportunities while building capacity through accredited training and ultimately introducing Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) beneficiaries into formal employment. This is all part of governments’ second economy strategies, which must be understood within the context of continuum of interventions. In the Social Sector, these critical interventions compliments existing government strategies directed at assisting South Africa to attain the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.
An amount of R47 million was set aside by the Department to be used for the absorption of these Social Auxiliary Workers as permanent employees of the department. Of this amount, a percentage in the allocation of annual Social Work bursaries will be dedicated to serve as an exit opportunity for community caregivers within projects funded by the department and who meets the University entry requirements. Concerted efforts will also be made in considering trained and experienced community caregivers in filling of lower category posts within the department. These are amongst the deliberate plans the department has engaged in order to fulfill its EPWP mandate.We also see this as bold steps of fulfilling the mandate of rural development which the current term of government has as its top priority because most of these graduates are from rural areas.
Re le puso le lefapha, re rata go bona metse selegae ya rona e tlhabologa. Ke kamoo re netefaditseng gore bontsi jwa bana ba, ba tswa kwa magaeng. Ba tla tswelela go tlisa pharologanyo mo magaeng a rona le go netefatsa gore metse ya rona e agega sentle.
Maabane ke ne ke le kwa dikalogong tse dingwe tsa baoki mme ke gateletse ntlha ya gore ba seka ba re tlhabisa ditlhong. Bodiredi Loago le Booki ke dilo tse di tsamaisanang thata ka go nne tsotlhe di lebile go aga setshaba ka mekgwa ee farologaneng. Ka jalo ke rata go bona lo dira tiro ya go aga setshaba eseng go tlhakatlhakanya tsamaiso ya lefapha. A re nne le maitsholo a bontshang fa re le badiredi loago mme re ikemiseditse go aga setshaba.
Tsamayang lo ye go aga setshaba sa rona!
Ke motlotlo ka lona! Lefapha le motlotlo ka lona!
Porofense ya Bokone Bophirima e motlotlo ka lona!
Ke a leboga!
