Annual Report 2015/16 - DSD improves services and receives third clean audit

Today, 21 October 2016, the Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Adv. Albert Fritz, tabled the department’s annual report for the 2015/16 financial year.

The report is a reflection of how the Department used its R 1.87 billion budget in 2015/16 to bring improved quality social services to the more than 6.2 million people of the province, especially children, people with disabilities, and older persons.

During the 2015/16 financial year, the Department spent 99.5% of its budget, and once again obtained a clean audit, for the third year in a row.

Our audit results should be read in the context of ever increasing tough economic times, and concerning fiscal constraints. We truly are being driven to do more with less.

In spite of the tough financial situation, the Department has notched up significant successes during the 2015/16 year, improving services to children, youth, people with disabilities, people addicted to harmful substances, and older persons.

NGO support

The Department is proud to have transferred over R1-billion to NGOs for service delivery. Our improved monitoring and evaluation systems have also seen fewer cases of fraud or theft among funded NGOs.

Children

The Western Cape has a total of 1 739 425 children between the ages of 0 and 17 years. Our child care and protection services make up the largest spending area when combined with Early Childhood Development (ECD) services.

In line with our focus on meeting standards set by the Children’s Act of 2005, the department has increased the subsidy allocation for the salaries of social workers, social work supervisors and social work mangers at funded NGOs.

Youth

Approximately 277 160 young people can be classified as “not in employment, education or training” (NEETs). The Provincial Youth Development Strategy has been implemented and five Youth Cafés are operational. These facilities are designed to provide vibrant, positive spaces where young people are afforded opportunities to access skills development programmes, training workshops, seminars, and entrepreneurial opportunities. Further opportunities for youth will also be provided by the EPWP.

People with Disabilities

The disability desk has been established and is operational, and has already made a difference in improving disability access within the provincial government. The Disabilities Programme assisted 85 475 persons, which is up from 59 870 in the prior year. The department established a residential care facility in Maitland that accommodates 30 persons with intellectual disability. An additional allocation of R30 million was made available in 2015/16, with a further increase over the MTEF to further strengthen support for the disability sector.

Substance Abuse

We are proud to have expanded substance abuse services to 36 NGOs operating at 51 sites across the province. The department has increased the number of substance abuse clients treated from 10542 to 13084. Drug treatment services have been introduced in all DSD secure child and youth care centres and this will continue over the next five years. School-based drug treatment programmes are currently being introduced in ten high risk schools.

Older Persons

The Department has implemented community-based interventions to older persons including independent and assisted living facilities, outreach via the service centres and residential care facilities.

The Western Cape Department of Social Development will continue to improve the quality and reach of services, despite increasingly tough financial constraints. We can achieve so much more if we continue to work, “Better Together”.