Thusong Outreach – A movement to bring government services closer to communities

On 4 February 2015, a Thusong Outreach, the mobile leg of the programme consisting of a team of government workers from various departments, travelled to the community of Stanford and rendered services to 691 community members at the Hawston Thusong Service Centre.

The Thusong Outreach was led by the Western Cape Local Government to bring representatives from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Home Affairs, Western Cape Health, Human Settlements, First National Bank, Standard Bank, and SASSA directly to the doorstep of a community that often have to travel over 50km before they can access government services. For many, including the very young and elderly, this can be expensive and difficult. 

Community members expressed their appreciation at how quick and easy it was to access a multitude of services in one space, on one day. Maggie Gresse, a Stanford community member shared her experience of the day: “I accompanied my friend to get an ID document and to apply for an old - age grant. The service we received was very professional and quick. The officials who helped us were also very caring and assisted us fully. I am very glad of the service received and I wish government could do this more regularly.” 

Transport was provided to collect and drop- off the Gansbaai community at the Stanford Community Hall.  The SAPS assisted with the certification of documents while Home Affairs provided ID and birth registrations. Health officials conducted health checks, HIV Counselling and Testing, SASSA assisted with grants and pension applications, and Human Settlements provided information on housing. Corporate partners, such as First National Bank and Standard Bank, were also on site to assist community members to open bank accounts for the safe keeping of grant monies and to educate the community on money-saving methods. 

Information on government programmes was also freely available on the day from Western Cape Agriculture, Overstrand Municipality, and the Department of Labour. 

The Western Cape government continues to work Better Together to make accessing government services simple and easy.