MINISTER TOLASHE TO BRING SOCIAL SERVICES TO MLUNGISI TOWNSHIP AS PART OF MANDELA MONTH

By Cuma Pantshwa.

• Nelson Mandela’s legacy of caring will live on through a ministerial outreach programme taking place on his birthday, 18 July, in Mlungisi township in Komani in the Eastern Cape.
• Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, will focus national attention on the care and protection of older person, meeting community members to hear their stories and concerns.
• ⁠In her recent budget vote speech, the minister called for unity, compassion, and a renewed commitment to build a humane and just society for all South Africans.

As the country commemorates Nelson Mandela Month, the Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, will focus national attention on the care and protection of older persons in Mlungisi Township, Komani (formerly Queenstown), in the Chris Hani District Municipality.

On Friday, 18 July 2025 — Nelson Mandela Day — Minister Tolashe will lead a ministerial outreach programme to deliver vital services, visit elderly residents in their homes with necessities, and meet directly with community members to hear their stories and concerns.

This outreach is rooted in the minister’s recent Budget Vote speech, which coincided with the eve of Madiba’s 107th birthday — a powerful reminder, Tolashe said, that “Madiba’s call to end poverty, injustice and inequality still rings true today”. Quoting Nelson Mandela, she added: “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.”

The minister called for unity, compassion, and a renewed commitment to build a humane and just society for all South Africans, framing this year’s budget theme as “Restoring trust, deepening impact: Reigniting the role of the family in a renewed commitment to dignity and inclusion”.

“Now more than ever, we must focus on strengthening families and supporting community-based child protection services. This is the crux of this budget, working towards a future where all children thrive in supportive environments, and families are empowered to raise their children to reach their full potential,” she said.

In preparation for this important visit, a robust community dialogue was recently held with the people of Mlungisi, opening the floor for residents to share their struggles and propose real solutions.

The dialogue laid bare a myriad of issues:
•⁠ ⁠Youth unemployment, crime, and lack of skills development are driving poverty and substance abuse.
•⁠ ⁠Women highlighted housing backlogs, misuse of child grants, and gaps in gender-based violence support.
•⁠ ⁠Men raised concerns about health services that do not meet their needs, mismanaged initiation schools, and the frustrations that can fuel gender-based violence.
•⁠ ⁠Persons with disabilities spoke of exclusion, inaccessible infrastructure, and limited job opportunities.
•⁠ ⁠Older persons shared heartbreaking stories of neglect, financial exploitation, and abuse, often by the very people they care for.

From skills development and job creation, to building more houses, regulating loan sharks, training police on gender-based violence, making public spaces more accessible, and expanding care and support for the elderly, the community has made its voice clear: they want action, not promises.

On Nelson Mandela Day, Minister Tolashe and her team, supported by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency, will respond to this call by connecting people directly with services, strengthening partnerships with communities, and showing what it means to leave no one behind.

To emphasise the importance of this community-centred approach, the Department of Social Development’s Moosa Magubane said: “The importance of this community-centred approach is to give the communities a platform to raise their challenges and frustrations with services rendered by government.

“This allows them to raise the challenges they are facing, what drives those challenges and propose the solutions. In the solutions, they determine the role of the community and the support they will need from government”.

Magubane added that partnership between government and communities determines the roles each will play in addressing identified challenges. “This partnership allows for both to hold each other accountable for what they committed to doing to address the challenges raised, and as such, hope is given to the elderly that their issues are a responsibility of social development and will be addressed”.

Through SASSA, more than 91 000 older persons in the Chris Hani District receive grants totalling over R211-million every month, demonstrating the department’s ongoing commitment to social protection.

The outreach is also part of more than 516 Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programmes planned for this year, ensuring no one is left behind.

Citizens are encouraged to come forward, participate fully, and benefit from the services on offer — reinforcing the department’s commitment to access, dignity, and working together to build caring, resilient communities.