Latest news with #NokuzolaTolashe
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
SASSA confirms termination of Postbank contract, assures beneficiaries of continued grant payments
SASSA ends contract with Postbank, ensuring grant payments continue smoothly as beneficiaries can still access funds via their bank of choice amid efforts to modernize payment infrastructure and improve service delivery. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed it will not renew its Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Postbank, which is set to expire on 30 September 2025. This decision raises questions about the future of grant payments for over 2 million beneficiaries who currently use Postbank accounts. Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) Alexandra Abrahams submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister of Social Development, Nokuzola Tolashe, seeking clarity on the reasons behind SASSA's decision, plans to mitigate any negative impact on beneficiaries, and whether a new payment service provider has been appointed to handle grant payments from 1 October 2025. In her parliamentary reply, Tolashe stated that SASSA had 'decided to exercise the exit clause of the Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Postbank due to operational reasons and changes within the payment environment.' She explained that since the termination of cash pay points and over-the-counter services at South African Post Office (SAPO) branches, and the removal of SAPO as a recognised grant payment channel, the agreement with Postbank 'no longer has any significant relevance.'
IOL News
15 hours ago
- IOL News
New strategies in the Western Cape to combat gang violence and protect youth
Young boys in the Western Cape are increasingly being used as gang recruits. The province is leading the way in South Africa's fight against gang culture, implementing a comprehensive strategy focused on youth empowerment and disrupting recruitment networks. Image: File The Western Cape's relentless battle against gangsterism has taken a significant step forward with the implementation of a robust inter-departmental Anti-Gangsterism Implementation Plan. Spearheaded by the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, this initiative aims to address the recruitment of minors into gang culture, which continues to plague high-gang areas within the province. Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe revealed this following a parliamentary question by the EFF's Noluvuyo Tafeni, who wanted to know the Department of Social Development's (DSD) interventions to mitigate the recruitment of minors into gangsterism by gangsters, specifically in the Western Cape. In her response, Tolashe explained that the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety is the lead department in anti-gangsterism strategy and coordinates the annual provincial inter-departmental Anti-Gangsterism Implementation Plan. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'Departments report on their anti-gang plans and activities in selected high-gang areas. The factors that focus on the strengthening of social protective factors against violence include substance abuse, youth development, and early childhood development. These interventions are consolidated into a Provincial Anti-Gang Implementation Plan to ensure integrated interventions in the identified areas,' Tolashe said. 'The recruitment of minors into gangsterism is reported under the prevention level of these interventions.' Tolashe outlined interventions that various departments can implement: 1. The Department of Social Development has community and residential interventions. The community-based interventions are managed through the Area-Based Teams (ABT) with these interventions: Profiling gang-related patterns. Targeted interventions such as school-based crime prevention and life skills programmes, parenting programmes, school holiday programmes, school-based substance prevention programmes, and youth cafes for job skills training. Tolashe also explained that Child and Youth Care Centres have a strong focus on addressing the root causes of youth vulnerability and equip them with skills and support to resist gang involvement. This includes therapeutic counselling, mentorship programmes, behavioural management programmes, education, and skills development programmes. The centres also provide adult basic education and training (ABET) and vocational skills training for those youth who are unable to attend mainstream schools. Youth are also taught non-violent methods for resolving disputes, reducing the need for gang affiliation. 2. Tolashe said there are integrated awareness campaigns and operations between SAPS and the City of Cape Town law enforcement in high gang areas. 3. Tolashe outlined the Western Cape Education Department's Safe Schools interventions. These include search and seizures of dangerous weapons, anti-bullying, anti-gangsterism and anti-substance abuse interventions, holiday and after-school programmes, leadership training, peer mediation, clean-up campaigns, back-to-school, sport, arts and culture, and parent meetings. Tafeni further pressed Minister Tolashe for details on the effectiveness of these interventions and the metrics used to assess them. Responding, Tolashe said: 'DSD alone cannot effectively address the gang prevalence in the Western Cape. Therefore, a whole-of-government approach is followed in the Western Cape. Interventions created inter-departmental linkages that created an effective continuum of services, a better understanding of departmental roles and responsibilities, and highlighted service delivery gaps. 'Effectiveness of interventions is, however, hampered by budget cuts of all departments, continued increase in provincial crime stats, dangerous and volatile communities, low levels of community interest and participation, and the ongoing safety risk for our social workers and other auxiliary staff.' Tolashe added that while a child is in a Child and Youth Care Centre, progress is measured through the Individual Development Plan of the child and preparedness for reintegration. Usually the child responds very well to the structure and targeted interventions within the centre.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Here's how many job vacancies exist at Sassa offices
Sassa has more than 18 000 job positions under its umbrella but more than half were created 17 years ago and never filled. South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) offices are running at less than 50% capacity but the grant administrators state the reason is 'economical'. The Department of Social Development (DSD) was asked earlier this month about the vacancy rate at Sassa branches, with Minister Nokuzola Tolashe's office providing the stats. The ministry explained how changes in the organisational structure of the agency had led to a high number of vacancies. Funded Sassa posts A written response to a parliamentary question showed that Sassa has a staff vacancy rate of 62%. A total of 18 603 permanent posts exist on Sassa's books, but only 7 076 positions are filled. Of those filled positions, 4 806 staff members dealt directly with grant applications at local offices countrywide, while the remainder were in more senior administrative positions. The department operates on a 'funded posts' model, where only critical positions with adequate budget are filled. Tolashe's offices said that 144 vacant funded posts were in the recruitment process and another 128 had been vacated, leaving only 272 of the 18 000 positions vacant. 'The latter indicates the Agency has a 2% vacancy rate in terms of funded posts,' stated the ministry's response. Organisational structure The difference in the overall number of positions and funded positions relates to a planned shift in hiring that has yet to materialise. Sassa stated in their 2025/26 annual performance plan (APP) that the surplus positions were created 'between 2006 and 2008 on the assumption that the agency was going to insource the full grant payment value chain'. 'The organisational structure is currently under review. During this process the agency has taken a decision to prioritise and fill all local office posts as they become vacant,' stated the ministry's recent response. A total of 4 892 local office funded posts exist, with only 86 — 1.75% — being vacant. The Eastern Cape has the highest number of vacancies with 14, with the Free State registering the least with three. 'The agency has always been very economical when deciding on the filling of posts, focusing on those classified as critical, hence the total number of filled posts has never exceeded the 9 000 mark,' stated the APP. Administrative plans Tolashe's office stated that a limited employee remuneration budget forced it to use community registration outreach programmes to provide service in remote areas. 'The agency is planning to automate its business processes which will bring about improved services and efficiencies in service delivery,' the ministry stated. In terms of costs to operate the Sassa payment, the entity aimed to keep those figures under 5% of the total social grant expenditure 'For the 2023/24 audited financial year, the administrative cost stood at 3% — R7.3 billion of R251 billion — which is within the acceptable standard,' the APP stated. NOW READ: Sassa social grant payday: Here is when you'll get your money in September
The Citizen
27-06-2025
- Climate
- The Citizen
Three provinces live homeless without shelters
With 70.8% of homeless individuals living on the streets without shelter access, winter months threaten to claim lives that adequate shelter provision could save. Three South African provinces have no homeless shelters, leaving thousands of vulnerable people exposed to deadly winter conditions as the country grapples with a homelessness crisis affecting 55 719 individuals, according to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA). The Free State, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape provinces operate without any homeless shelters, Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe revealed in a parliamentary response to Al Jama-ah's Advocate Shameemah Salie. This leaves homeless individuals in these regions completely exposed during the harsh winter months, when temperatures plummet and hypothermia becomes a deadly threat. StatsSA's Profile of Homeless Persons report, released on Wednesday based on 2022 Census data, shows that 70.8% of homeless people are 'roofless' — living on the streets rather than in shelters. The crisis is particularly acute as homelessness has increased dramatically from 13 135 people in 1996 to 55 719 in 2022, outpacing South Africa's overall population growth. Recently, the Democratic Alliance reported that it estimates current homelessness numbers stand at 50 000, with particular concentrations of 1 500 homeless people in Gauteng, Kempton Park's central business district and 10 000 in Tshwane. Several activists and coordinators at non-profit organisations in Johannesburg report a marked increase in homeless people requiring basic assistance during winter, with food being the greatest need. Deadly winter conditions affecting homeless people The winter months pose severe risks to homeless populations, with humanitarian organisations reporting increased deaths from hypothermia and cold-related illnesses. Ali Sablay from Gift of the Givers, who previously spoke to The Citizen, described the urgent situation: 'One of the biggest concerns is the homeless people at the moment who are exposed and are vulnerable to this cold weather. And we are very scared that if they are not put in a place of safety, we are going to be seeing an increase in the amount of people that have passed on.' The organisation has been responding to emergency calls across multiple district municipalities as 'excessive rain, snow and winds have caused total destruction' in the Eastern Cape, with close to a thousand people evacuated from Butterworth alone. ALSO READ: Thousands vulnerable as freezing weather grips Gauteng Homelessness provincial disparities create crisis The lack of shelter facilities reveals stark provincial inequalities in addressing homelessness. According to StatsSA data, Gauteng records the biggest share of homeless persons at 46%, followed by Western Cape at 18%. Yet only three provinces – Gauteng, Western Cape and Mpumalanga – operate any shelters at all, with the majority run by non-profit organisations and subsidised by government. Tolashe acknowledged in her parliamentary response that 'the department does not have the human resource capacity, financial resources or infrastructure to manage all homeless shelters,' relying heavily on non-profit organisations as critical partners in service delivery. In Gauteng, the provincial Department of Social Development is collaborating with the Department of Infrastructure Development and municipalities to 'identify and repurpose unused buildings and vacant land to accommodate homeless people, focusing mainly in the Central Business Districts.' The Western Cape funds 38 homeless shelters across the province, though this excludes facilities operated by local municipalities. Despite the demand, the province has announced no plans to increase shelter numbers due to budget constraints. Mpumalanga faces even greater challenges, with 'no budget available in the province to establish and fund homelessness shelters.' The province has allocated only R482,337 for a single shelter for destitute families in the Lekwa sub-district municipality. ALSO READ: Homelessness in South Africa up over 400% in the last decade Overwhelming demand at existing homeless shelters The few existing shelters are struggling to cope with demand during winter months. Reverend Nico from Methodist Educational Services (MES) described how their facilities regularly exceed capacity: 'Our capacity is almost 80, but now when it's cold like this, we go above 110, the building can take up to 120.' The organisation operates three facilities in Hillbrow, with their soup kitchen serving over 100 people daily during extreme cold weather. 'Sometimes we're not even expecting that number. But when they rock in, we can't just say no, we must share,' the reverend explained. The resource constraints are severe, with facilities lacking adequate blankets and mattresses. 'Sometimes you don't even have enough blankets, but at least they'll be having a roof over their head,' Reverend Nico said. Chris Lund from the Johannesburg Homeless Network said their organisation has been able to feed 'up to 200 people a day' at their drop-in centres, but acknowledges the massive gap between capacity and need. He noted that safe spaces typically accommodate only '40 [or] 50 people' while thousands remain on the streets. ALSO READ: Lawyer turned predator: Man sentenced for sexually exploiting homeless boys Beyond basic survival The challenges extend beyond providing overnight accommodation. Many homeless individuals lack access to basic hygiene facilities, making it difficult to maintain employment or seek work opportunities. Lund highlighted this reality: 'A lot of these guys, can you imagine getting up when it's cold and freezing, you need to prepare yourself to get a job or to at least go and find work, and there's no hot water. It's freezing.' Skills development efforts amid constraints Despite resource limitations, organisations are attempting to provide skills development programmes within homeless shelters. Tolashe outlined various initiatives including 'hairdressing, bead work, shoe repair, appliance repairs and mechanical skills' designed to help individuals 'gain employment, generate income to break the cycle of poverty and be able to lead an independent life.' However, Tolashe acknowledged the limitations of these efforts, noting that 'empowering individuals with skills does not guarantee employment given the current high rate of unemployment in the country. It, however, put them in an advantageous position.' The Johannesburg Homeless Network, which only began receiving government funding in January this year, now employs 'fully qualified social workers' and provides support for CV writing and career guidance. Lund stressed the importance of professional services. Demographics and root causes of homelessness StatsSA data reveals that homeless persons are predominantly male (70.1%), with youth and adults representing 44% and 45% respectively. Children and the elderly constitute smaller proportions at 5% and 7% respectively. The causes of homelessness vary significantly across provinces. In the Eastern Cape, an overwhelming 85.2% cited economic reasons as the main cause, followed by Free State at 79.4% and KwaZulu-Natal at 69.3%. Family matters, including disputes, death and dissolution, also play significant roles, while substance abuse affects different provinces to varying degrees. ALSO READ: 'I have been trying to survive' – Skeem Saam actress Pebetsi Matlaila staying in a shelter with her kids Government response and systemic challenges The Department of Social Development acknowledges that homelessness is 'a cross-cutting issue that requires all relevant departments.' Tolashe emphasised that the department's primary role is to 'provide psychosocial support and reunify and reintegrate the homeless people with their families.' The minister's 2024 budget speech focused on 'Reigniting the Role of the Family,' arguing that homelessness indicates 'the family as a unit is in crisis and needs support.' The department commits to implementing interventions supporting family units, believing this approach will address homelessness at its root. However, Tolashe revealed an apparent contradiction in government policy, stating: 'Ideally, there is a need to reduce shelters for the homeless in the country.' This approach emphasises family reunification over emergency accommodation, even as winter conditions threaten lives. Lund expressed frustration with the gap between political promises and action: 'We hear the politicians, particularly at the provincial level, saying that this is a priority, but it doesn't always feel like it. [They don't] follow through with funding.' Urgent call for action As winter conditions intensify, the absence of shelters in three provinces represents a critical gap in South Africa's social safety net. StatsSA research indicates that chronic homelessness creates significant costs for government and private institutions through increased use of health services, policing and the criminal justice system. Gift of the Givers continues emergency response efforts, providing 'hot meals, blankets, warm clothing and sleeping mats' to affected communities. The organisation has established a toll-free number (0800 786 911) for donations and assistance. The convergence of rising homelessness numbers, inadequate shelter provision, and deadly winter conditions creates an urgent humanitarian crisis that StatsSA researchers note is complicated by 'lack of reliable statistics, inadequate policies and interventions, limited resources, and lack of standardised definitions.' With 70.8% of homeless individuals living on the streets without shelter access, the coming winter months threaten to claim lives that adequate shelter provision could save. NOW READ: Most of us look away from misery
Eyewitness News
30-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Tolashe promises to ensure names of convicted kidnappers, child traffickers added to Child Protection Register
CAPE TOWN - Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe has promised to ensure that the names of the convicted kidnappers and child traffickers are added to the national Child Protection Register. Tolashe's comment comes after Judge Nathan Erasmus on Thursday ordered that the names of convicted traffickers Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn be added to the Child Protection Register. They were given life sentences for trafficking and 10 years for kidnapping in the Joshlin Smith case. Tolashe's spokesperson Bathembu Futshane: "To date, 26,852 children are registered in part A of the register as children in need of care. 12,728 have been registered in part B of the register as people found to be unsuitable to work with children. Minister Tolashe commits that she will ensure that the names of the convicted kidnappers and child traffickers, in this and other child abuse cases, appear immediately on the CPR."
