HR FORUM KEY TO ALIGNING SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES WITH NATIONAL PRIORITIES

By Precious Mupenzi.

• The Department of Social Development’s national workshop on finalising a generic organisational structure for the social development sector must produce tangible outcomes.
• The future of the sector depends on how effectively its organisational structures align with South Africa’s strategic and economic priorities.
• The acting deputy director-general for Corporate Support Services, Xolile Brukwe, emphasised the role of human resources as the engine that turns policy into practice,

The future of South Africa’s social development sector depends on how effectively its organisational structures align with the country’s strategic and economic priorities – and how well its human resources drive those strategies forward.

This was the central message from the acting deputy director-general for Corporate Support Services, Xolile Brukwe, as he addressed delegates at the national workshop on the review and finalisation of the draft generic organisational structure for the social development sector.

The three-day gathering, hosted by the Department of Social Development in collaboration with all nine provinces, runs from 13 to 15 August 2025 in Bloemfontein.

Brukwe cautioned against “ignoring why we come here and missing what we take out”, stressing that the workshop must produce tangible outcomes.

He highlighted the ongoing public debate about the size of the public service, saying, “There is a raging debate that South Africa’s economy won’t grow because we have a bloated public service”, noting that a lack of alignment between strategies and structures risks inefficiency and bloated administrations.

“There’s an old wisdom in management that structures follow strategy. Without a unified frame structure, different provinces will continue to follow different strategies, leading to fragmentation. This forum gives us the opportunity to change that,” he said.

People as the engine of strategy

Brukwe underscored the role of human resources as the engine that turns policy into practice, warning that even the most sophisticated strategies will “fall flat to zero” without the right people and systems in place.

He referred to the six capitals that underpin organisational performance – financial, artificial, intellectual, human resource, social and relationship, and national capital – and stressed that the human resources forum is responsible for managing four of these.

“Executing strategies depends on working with and through others, motivating people, and building a structure that supports delivery. This forum is crucial to continuously improving our strategies,” he added.

Balancing resources and a capable state

He also posed a challenge to delegates: how to balance financial pressures with the functions required for a capable and developmental state.

For Brukwe, the solution lies in building resource strengths and organisational capabilities that can deliver on national goals while maintaining fiscal discipline.

The acting deputy director-general reminded participants of the significant shifts in the sector since the last approval of the generic structure in 2012, most notably the migration of early childhood development from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education.

This, he said, must be reflected in the new structure.

A structure for service delivery

As the workshop moves into breakaway sessions to examine provincial, district, and institutional structures, Brukwe urged delegates to keep service delivery at the heart of their deliberations.

“The aim is not just to have a structure on paper, but one that strengthens our capacity to deliver services, supports economic growth, and brings South Africa closer to its ambition of being a capable and developmental state,” he concluded.

The workshop’s outcomes are expected to provide a unified organisational blueprint for the sector, ensuring cohesion across provinces and enhancing support for the country’s most vulnerable citizens.