GOVERNMENT BRINGS SERVICES TO THE PEOPLE AT JABULANI HOSTEL BLITZ

By Sipho Ncube.

• The Gauteng Department of Social Development, together with partner departments and NPOs, hosted a service delivery blitz at Jabulani Hostel in Soweto to address unemployment, substance abuse, and gender-based violence.
• The initiative follows household profiling conducted last year and is intended to expand to other hostels, bringing essential services directly to residents.
• Community leaders welcomed the programme, while also calling for stronger policing measures and cooperation to tackle crime and social ills.

On Wednesday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD), in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), hosted a service delivery blitz at Jabulani Hostel in Soweto.
According to Tokisi Manamela, Stakeholder Relations Officer from GDSD, the blitz was informed by household profiling conducted last year to assess residents’ needs in preparation for the initiative.
“Due to the high levels of unemployment, conditions for social ills such as substance abuse often lead to Gender-Based Violence (GBV). We saw the need to partner with relevant government departments, the City of Johannesburg, and local NPOs to bring services closer to where people live,” said Manamela.
He added, “This is not a once-off programme. We intend to visit other hostels soon.”
Hostel Induna Sihluko Dladla welcomed the initiative, saying, “In our hostel, we face high levels of GBV, crime, and substance abuse. We are grateful that the government, through the Department of Social Development, is here to address these issues by bringing services directly to our people.”
Dladla also appealed to law enforcement: “We ask the police to consider installing CCTV cameras, which could help reduce crime in our community.”
Echoing these concerns, Greater Jabulani Policing Forum Chairperson Buti Makhoba said, “As patrollers, we act as the eyes and ears of the police. We need residents to cooperate and avoid withdrawing cases unnecessarily, as this undermines our crime-fighting efforts. Any intimidation should be reported.”
In addition to GDSD, participating departments and organisations included Health, Labour and Employment, SAPS, the City of Johannesburg, and NPOs such as SANCA and Abraham Kriel Bambanani.