FROM SOCIAL PROTECTION TO SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: A DEFINING MOMENT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN NC

By DSD News

•  ⁠Community development practitioners, non-profit organisations, district and provincial officials, and key government stakeholders came together to find ways of improving the delivery of services to the most vulnerable communities across the Northern Cape.
• They took part in the Community Mobilisation and Empowerment, Community Nutrition and Development Centre and Community Development Centre Indaba hosted by the Northern Cape Department of Social Development in Upington.
• All the indaba sessions reinforced the urgent need to link grants and welfare services to sustainable livelihood opportunities that promote dignity, self-reliance, and community resilience.

The Northern Cape Department of Social Development has taken a decisive step towards strengthening community development practice with the successful hosting of the Community Mobilisation and Empowerment, Community Nutrition and Development Centre and Community Development Centre Indaba in Upington.

Convened over five days at the Desert Palace Casino, the indaba brought together community development practitioners, non-profit organisations, district and provincial officials, and key government stakeholders in a focused, programme-driven engagement aimed at improving accountability, compliance, and service delivery to the most vulnerable communities.

Setting a purposeful tone, the Chief Director for Community Development and Research, Tapsy Saul, outlined a structured, policy-aligned operational framework to guide community development practice.

Emphasising ethical conduct, professional accountability, and performance management, she called for a renewed commitment to results-driven service delivery.

“We need to strengthen organisations so that they, in turn, help us deliver services to the most vulnerable,” she stated, cautioning that without decisive corrective action, the sector risks continued underperformance into the 2025/26 financial year.

A central message throughout the indaba was clear: social protection, while essential, is not enough on its own.

Presentations and engagements reinforced the urgent need to link grants and welfare services to sustainable livelihood opportunities that promote dignity, self-reliance, and community resilience.

Key government partners, including the South African Revenue Service, municipalities, the Department of Employment and Labour, the Unemployment Insurance Fund, and social welfare services, reinforced a whole-of-government approach to development.

Compliance was consistently framed as an enabler of sustainability, accountability, and access to funding. The introduction of the eMonitoring and Evaluation system marked a significant step towards data-driven, paperless operations and improved oversight.

Knowledge-sharing sessions highlighted best practices in rural development, with nutrition positioned as a foundational element of human development and dignity.

The department’s support to 234 feeding centres, alongside the proposed introduction of mobile community nutrition and development centres, underscored innovative responses to geographic inequality and service access challenges in rural and remote communities.

As the indaba concluded, a shared understanding emerged: community development is not simply about delivering services, but about restoring dignity, strengthening resilience, and enabling pathways out of poverty.

The Community Mobilisation and Empowerment, Community Nutrition and Development Centre and Community Development Centre Indaba stands as a defining moment in advancing a people-centred, developmental social welfare approach embedded in accountability, partnership, and the collective responsibility to build stronger, more inclusive communities across the Northern Cape.