SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DEPUTY MINISTER ANNOUNCES NEW TRAINING ACADEMY

• Deputy Minister of Social Development Ganief Hendricks used Nelson Mandela International Day to outline how the democratic government has improved the quality of life of the majority of its citizens.
• Quoting figures from Statistics South Africa, the deputy minister drew attention to the successes in basic education.
• He also explained that the Department of Social Development is addressing the high numbers of people who depend on social assistance, promoting sustainable livelihoods and self-reliance in communities.

Using the oath-taking ceremony for community practitioners held at the University of the Western Cape on Nelson Mandela International Day 2025, the Deputy Minister of Social Development announced that the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy will be launched at the Drakenstein Prison on 11 February 2026.

The Drakenstein Prison, formerly known as Victor Verster, was where South Africa’s first democratically elected president took his first steps to freedom after 27 years of imprisonment. That was on 11 February 1990.

This training academy is being established to promote UN standards in the treatment of prisoners, the deputy minister told the graduates.

“In 1959, the UN adopted the UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as a set of internationally recognised guidelines for managing prisons and ensuring the prisoners’ Human Rights,” Deputy Minister Hendricks said.

These rules were revised and updated in 2015, when they became known officially as the Nelson Mandela Rules in honour of South Africa’s late president.

“The opening ceremony of the academy will mark the 36th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from the Paarl prison; the academy will be built using offender labour, which includes painting, tiling, ceiling installations, plumbing, basic woodwork, etc. I am giving you ‘breaking news’ on Nelson Mandela Day.”

Deputy Minister Hendricks told the university’s vice chancellor and senior management that choosing to hold such an important event as the taking of an oath was “one of the best ways to celebrate and honour Nelson Mandela”.

Still facing inequalities

Turning to the class of 2025, Deputy Minister Hendricks noted: “You enter a working world that is still faced with the inequalities that are stubborn to eradicate with all the legislation that has been enacted in the last 31 years of democracy.”

He noted that many say, ‘it was better during apartheid’, because they do not know any better. “Those of us who lived during the time know fully well that the democratic government has improved the quality of life of the majority of its citizens.”

Social grants provide a vital safety net, particularly in the poorest provinces.

Quoting research from the General Household Survey of 2023 by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the percentage of households and persons who benefited from a social grant increased from 12,8% in 2003 to 30,9% in 2019, before rising sharply to 39,4% in 2023 due to the introduction of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress.

The percentage of households that received grants concurrently increased from 30,8% to 50,0%.

Grants were the second most important source of income (50,5%) for households after salaries.

“In this financial year, the Budget Vote 19 amounts to R294-billion,” the deputy minister said.

Promoting sustainable livelihoods and self-reliance

Of this, however, R284-billion provides social assistance to 270 million beneficiaries.

The Department of Social Development is addressing this dependence on a social assistance programme, promoting sustainable livelihoods and self-reliance in communities.

“We have a project called Generating Better Livelihoods for child support grant recipients to address dependency on social assistance programmes.”

The Department of Social Development is looking forward to more and more university students graduating with a Bachelor of Community Development degree, he said, adding that graduates would be able to assist communities to take charge of their own development.

The challenge facing the students is to reduce the dependency of 27 million grant beneficiaries on social grants.

“The vision is that they will be in sustainable livelihoods, and there will be no one who needs a grant. That must be on top of your mind later this morning when you take the oath,” Deputy Minister Hendricks said.

He told the students that it was important for them to get to know the world-class social development amendments that will be going before parliament.

There are a hundred amendments to the Children’s Act, the Act for People with Disabilities. Amendments to the Drug Act, and Older Person’s Act that will soon be signed by the president.

Safeguarding the future of the youth

“While you may not have been introduced to these ground-breaking legislative steps, it is important that you take a deep interest in what will also shape your future role in our society.”

In addition, the government has taken cognisance of the growing challenges associated with adolescents and youth and is committed to continuing to prioritise investments aimed at equipping and developing young people for sustainability.

This is important for the country to safeguard the future of young people.

Deputy Minister Hendricks shared a clause from the Freedom Charter – a document which anchored and sustained the fight for liberation in South Africa for years – referring to “The doors of learning and of culture shall be opened to all”.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025, Deputy Minister Hendricks said: “The democratic government has ensured that the Freedom Charter forms the Bill of Rights that is enshrined in our Constitution, and all the clauses are here as the future we would like to achieve for our country.”

The government has done a lot around education and ensuring access is open for everyone on an equal basis, he added.

Turning once more to the 2023 General Household Survey, the deputy minister drew attention to the improvements in education.

“The percentage of individuals aged 20 years and older who did not have any education decreased from 11,4% in 2002 to 3,1% in 2023, while those with at least a Grade 12 qualification increased from 30,5% to 50,8% over the same period.

“Inter-generational functional illiteracy, where individuals have not attained Grade 7, has also decreased markedly.”

Child support grants had also made a marked contribution to this rise, looking at the matriculation results.

“Grade 12 is a key barometer to measure the educational system of the country, as well as measuring the educational outcomes of social grant beneficiaries through linking various administrative data systems.

“Out of plus minus 700 000 full-time learners that registered for the National Senior Certificate, plus minus 600 000 are social grant beneficiaries, representing 81% of the registered pupils in the education sector.”

The pass rate of children receiving grants saw an increase from 81% (2023) to 86% (2024), which is aligned with the National Senior Certificate pass rate of 87.3%.

Tackling the challenges

“This indicates that the investment the government is making in the lives of poor and vulnerable children is yielding positive impacts, in breaking intergenerational poverty.”

However, he noted, reports generated from the youth dialogue held across the country show that South African youth face a myriad of challenges which threaten their chances for prosperity and self-actualisation.

Besides poverty, inequality and unemployment, young people are threatened by alcohol, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of school and lack of access to information.

Also on the increase are what is termed intergenerational and transactional sex – the Sugar Daddies, Satanism, moral decay, a sense of entitlement and identity crises, which often leads to an increase in crime, violence and gangsterism.

Society continues to face challenges of gender-based violence and femicide; violence that includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, bullying, and harassment.

“Our youth have not escaped this scourge; in fact, they are the most affected in many ways. Gender-based violence results in long-lasting negative mental and physical health consequences affecting their overall well-being.”

The deputy minister pointed out that the Department of Social Development, along with other relevant government departments such as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the South African Police Service, are working together to address the scourge.

A National Strategic Plan on gender-based violence and femicide has been developed along with an emergency action plan, with the government calling for a multi-sectoral approach that involves civil society, communities and youth in the fight against gender-based violence.

“This means that as young people, partnered with government, you need to play a significant role in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide within your homes and communities,” Deputy Minister Hendricks said.

“As you come out of the university as graduates looking for work, the degree you have acquired is needed more than ever before, as the country is grappling with social ills and poverty.”

However, one challenge facing the government is a shrinking fiscus, and as a result, it might not be able to absorb all the graduates, he added.

“However, you don’t have to be despondent,” the deputy minister said, urging the students to create non-profit organisations and cooperatives in the communities they come from. These would generate income and become self-sustainable, creating employment and wealth for generations to come.

In addition, the government, through its entities, funds such organisations and community development-oriented projects.