MINISTER TOLASHE: BUILDING A DEPARTMENT THAT DELIVERS AND CARES

By Precious Mupenzi

•  The Department of Social Development’s 2024/2025 Annual Report has been presented to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Social Services.
•  “Since my deployment to this portfolio, my priority has been and continues to be stabilising the department and its public entities to deliver on our core mandate,” Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe told the committee.
•  The minister’s focus had been to ensure that the department and its entities operated as a coordinated system capable of delivering tangible results, the committee heard.

The Minister of Social Development, Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe, has reaffirmed her vision of a stable, accountable, and people-centred department during her presentation of the 2024/2025 Annual Report to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Social Services in Cape Town on 29 October 2025.

The engagement reflected a year of renewal and measurable progress – one that saw the Department of Social Development strengthening its leadership, filling long-standing vacancies, and deepening the impact of its social protection programmes on millions of lives across the country.

“Since my deployment to this portfolio, my priority has been and continues to be stabilising the department and its public entities to deliver on our core mandate,” said Minister Tolashe.

“We have made great strides in this regard by filling critical posts that have been vacant for an extended period, including the Director-General, the Deputy Director-General: Welfare Services, and the Chief Financial Officer.”

Turning stability into service delivery

Minister Tolashe told the committee that her focus since taking office had been to ensure that the department and its entities – the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency (NDA) – operate as a coordinated system that is fit for purpose and capable of delivering tangible results.

Work, she said, has begun in earnest to finalise an organisational structure that responds to the evolving needs of the social development sector.

She noted that the social assistance programme remains the cornerstone of the department’s work, having reached its largest expansion yet – serving over 28 million eligible individuals across South Africa.

Of this figure, more than 13.1 million children benefited from the Child Support Grant, while 4.1 million older persons were recipients of the Old Age Grant – “realising the pledge to ensure that no one is left behind demands that we remain focused on our unwavering commitment to tackle child and adult poverty now and in the future”.

Strengthening policy for inclusive protection

The minister highlighted that the year under review was also dedicated to shaping policy and legislative proposals that safeguard households against life-cycle risks such as unemployment, disability, ill health, and retirement.

Among the key milestones was the tabling of the Victim Support Services Bill to Cabinet – a landmark step aimed at closing policy gaps in existing victim empowerment legislation, particularly around sheltering services and coordination across the social development sector.

The Bill forms a central pillar of South Africa’s broader response under the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (2019–2030).

“We have turned around the operational efficiency of the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre and continue to strengthen the oversight and monitoring of services in provinces,” she noted, adding that the department had also ensured the rollout and monitoring of the Universal Treatment Curriculum in treatment centres to improve substance abuse interventions.

Children at the heart of development

Reaffirming her long-standing focus on child protection, Minister Tolashe welcomed the promulgation of the Children’s Amendment Act No. 17 of 2022 and its supporting regulations, describing it as a milestone that “will go a long way in strengthening child protection safety nets for better protection of our children”.

The Act, together with complementary policies such as the Parenting Framework and the White Paper on Families, reflects the department’s commitment to building stronger family systems as the foundation of a caring and cohesive society.

A department renewed through collective effort

Minister Tolashe extended er heartfelt appreciation to the Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ganief Hendricks, the Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Peter Netshipale, and senior management across the department, SASSA, and the NDA, for their unwavering dedication and support throughout the year under review.

“The significant progress we have made would not have been possible without the invaluable contribution of our hardworking staff, who continue to serve with purpose and compassion,” she said.

She concluded by thanking the committee for its oversight and collaboration, saying the department is “off to a good start” in achieving its Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) priorities and driving a results-focused approach that places people first.

“There is more to do, but the 2024/2025 Annual Report clearly shows that we are on the right path. Together, we are transforming social protection from a safety net into a springboard for opportunity and growth.”

The session was attended by SASSA CEO Themba Matlou and senior managers across the Department of Social Development’s portfolio