SASSA supposedly recruits social workers to act as queue marshals instead of providing crucial psychosocial services
08 September 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) recently asked the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, about reports from social workers that instead of being employed to deliver essential psychosocial services during the Covid-19 lockdown period, they are being volunteered by the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) as queue marshals.
Minister Zulu promised on 11 May 2020 that no fewer than 1 800 unemployed social workers would be recruited to contribute towards the response to Covid-19. During her press conference the Minister outlined some of the intended services of these social workers; “we are recruiting an additional 1 809 social workers to reinforce the current workforce and to provide a range of social work services. This includes timely psychosocial interventions to assist individuals and families.”
In her reply to a DA parliamentary question, the Minister gave a vague answer about 143 volunteers that were allocated to SASSA in Gauteng in July and received training to assist with queries regarding the Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) of R350 at SASSA paysites, as well as ensuring that the beneficiaries maintain social distancing.
While the DA welcomes the efforts in training and deploying these volunteers, the Minister’s answer provides little insight into what happened to the promises of employing 676 social workers in Gauteng alone.