Picture: Minister of Social Development, Sisi Tolashe
By OBAKENG MAJE
30 October 2025- The Minister of Social Development, Sisi Tolashe will close the Social Development Month curtain by taking the basket of social assistance services to the residents in Vryburg on 31 October 2025. This is part of concerted efforts by Tolashe of bringing the social development portfolio services right at the door of vulnerable communities to ensure that they receive services timeously and issues affecting them are resolved.
She further said she will be accompanied by the North West MEC for Social Development, Sussana Dantjie, representatives from the local government, South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) CEO, Themba Matlou, National Development Agency (NDA), acting CEO, Raphaahle Ramokgopa, amongst others. Tolashe added that her visit in the area also aims to bring a basket of comprehensive social development portfolio approach services servicing the community of Huhudi and surroundings.
“These include an interface with communities on social assistance, substance abuse and Gender Based Violence (GBV) related social ills, discussion on community activities, social grant applications, Covid-19 SRD, Social Grant Reviews and many more government services.
“This Ministerial Outreach Programme under the banner, Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme seeks to assess whether the services provided are in line with the government’s District Development Model (DDM), which encourages that all government interventions should be people driven and people centred,” she said.
Tolashe said her programme is also intended to build effective development and service delivery partnerships between the state and communities.
She said on the day, the community members will also access services from other government departments such as Home Affairs and Health.
“They will also have an opportunity to interact with me on various issues affecting them,” said Tolashe.
3 April 2025- The Minister of Social Development, Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) said, the government, through her department, takes great pride in co-hosting the landmark gathering, the 2nd Biennial Africa Children’s Summit in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund).
Tolashe expressed her gratitude to the CEO, the board and management of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, for successfully bringing the 2nd Biennial Africa Children’s Summit to South Africa. She said this is part of a series of activities for the Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), which will culminate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November 2025.
“As you are aware, we are presiding over G20 as South Africa for the first time. As such, we seek to use its G20 Presidency to bring the developmental priorities of the African Continent and the Global.
“As social sector cluster, we thought there is no better way to do this and to honour Madiba’s life and legacy than to amplify the collective voice of Africa’s children under the theme: Seen, Heard and Engaged in Education,” she said.
Tolashe further said on an occasion such as this, the words of the first President of the democratic South Africa, President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, profoundly resonates with them today as they prepare to host the Africa Children’s Summit. She added that, on that occasion, Mandela said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
“It is worth mentioning that it was during the Presidency of Mandela that the South African government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly known as the CRC), the first legally binding international convention to confirm the human rights of all children across the globe.
“The CRC is a human rights convention that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. It was the first international convention that the newly-elected democratic government ratified on the 16th June 1996,” said Tolashe.
She said five years later on 7 January 2000, South Africa ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), a broad regional instrument that sets out rights for children in Africa, commonly known as the African Children’s Charter. Tolashe said since ratifying both the CRC and the African Children’s Charter, and guided by the Constitution, especially Section 28 of the Bill of Rights, South Africa has focused on realising children’s rights and fulfilling our obligations.
“Central to both the CRC and the African Children’s Charter is the principle that governments must always act in the best interests of the child and that every child has the fundamental right to life, survival and development.
“They have the right to protection from violence, abuse or neglect, an education that enables children to fulfil their potential, be raised by, or have a relationship with, both parents, even if they are separated,” she said.
Tolashe said children should be allowed to express their opinions and be listened to, have their privacy protected and their lives not subject to excessive interference. She said the main objectives of the Summit are to promote child-centred dialogue and advocacy, empower children as agents of change, ensure inclusive and equitable participation and provide evidence-based policy recommendations.
“This includes strengthening collaboration across sectors and regions on the continent, reviewing and advancing progress and raising awareness and mobilising for national and regional action.
“Child participation is a fundamental right of children through which their other rights can be realised. The obligations on society through the state to protect, respect and promote the right of children to participate in decisions that affect them are espoused by both the CRC and the African Children’s Charter,” said Tolashe.
25 January 2025- The Minister of Social Development, Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe has pledged her support and commitment to improving SASSA services. Tolashe, who was addressing SASSA senior managers at a strategic planning session in Cape Town on 21 January 2025, congratulated the many social grant beneficiaries who excelled in the 2024 matric exams.
She further said of the 724 156 full time learners, who registered for the National Senior Certificate (NSC), 572 338 are social grant beneficiaries, representing 81% of the registered pupils in the education sector. Tolashe added that these learners achieved a commendable pass rate of 86%.
“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.
“Reflecting on recent achievements, we have key milestones and ongoing priorities. We commit to urgently addressing the issue of permanent leadership appointments and the shortage of personnel at most local offices,” she said.
Tolashe said furthermore, there is a need for community-based engagements and outreach activities. She said the community is waiting for their immense intensification of community outreach, where they prioritize underserved areas to bring services closer to the people.
“With regards to SASSA systems, we urged management to prioritize improving and modernizing systems to improve accessibility, queue management and prevent fraud.
“In addition, we have requested SASSA acting CEO, Themba Matlou, to provide a plan that seeks to resolve the challenges of payment channels in rural areas by providing an alternative solution for payments,” said Tolashe.
She said they have committed themselves to work with him and they are available at all times to address the challenges together. Tolashe said they all need to be solution-driven in their course to make changes to the lives of the people through concerted efforts.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Bridget Masango said: “We have called on the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to restore the suspended Electronic Know Your Client (eKYC) system to allow eligible beneficiaries to verify and receive their grants.
“SASSA has informed all Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant recipients that they are suspending their grant payments to verify and confirm their identity and prevent fraudulent applications. SRD grant beneficiaries are required to re-apply and verify their identity using the eKYC system.”
Masango said, however, SASSA has suspended this system, preventing beneficiaries from verifying their identity. She said they appreciate the effort to combat fraud, but they strongly express concern about the suspended eKYC verification system that leaves thousands of eligible people unable to prove their eligibility.
“According to media reports, SASSA has suspended 100 550 SRD grant payments in the Eastern Cape as part of its ongoing investigation into the weaknesses in the SRD grant payment system. It is not clear what the percentage of those committing fraud is because the verification system is offline.
“The Minister must intervene and ensure that the verification system is brought back online to enable the deserving beneficiaries to receive their grants,” said Masango.
The Guardian 