NW DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDES UNIFORMS TO LEARNERS ON CHILD SUPPORT GRANTS

By Obusitswe Keboneilwe

• ⁠Forty young learners in Ditsobotla, in the North West, have received new uniforms as part of the provincial Department of Social Development’s Social Relief of Distress programme, Re thuse re go thuse.
• The Re thuse re go thuse programme is aimed at improving community access to integrated social services.
• ⁠Handing over the uniforms, the MEC for Social Development, Basetsana Sussana Dantjie, said there would be follow-up engagements on projects that could help reduce poverty.

Forty learners at the Motswaiso Primary School in Meetmekaar village, Ditsobotla in the North West, received new school uniforms on 4 February 2026 under the Re thuse re go thuse programme led by MEC Basetsana Sussana Dantjie.

The learners are all child support grant beneficiaries.

Re thuse re go thuse is MEC Dantjie’s flagship programme aimed at amplifying and improving access to integrated social services in the communities.

The wish of the provincial Department of Social Development is “to reduce poverty, leading to the ultimate goal of eradicating it”, the MEC told the parents.

“Our funds at the moment do not allow us to eradicate poverty at a brisker pace. In the meantime, we are fortifying our plans in reducing poverty by the Re Thuse re go thuse programme.

The department, together with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency (NDA), identifies pockets of poverty in the most deprived wards where assistance is needed.

“There will be follow-ups to the village to engage on projects we can undertake to reduce poverty,” the MEC added, pointing out the need to empower women, which also helps in averting gender-based violence.

Of the 40 learners who received uniforms, 25 were boys and 15 girls. Each set of uniforms amounted to R3 885 for the boys and R4 750 for the girls, with each learner receiving items for each day, ensuring that, if well cared for, the uniforms will last longer.

Dantjie also cautioned young mothers to use their grants for what they are meant for, adding that leaving children with the grandparents while abusing grants in major towns is unacceptable.