Page 12 - Department of Social Development Annual Report 2021

PART A: GENERAL INFORMATION
6 REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTING OFFICER
was implemented with observance of strict
health protocols and social distancing rules.
• The Department adopted a Risk Adjusted
Approach and established a Wellness, Health
and Safety Committee in line with the
requirement of Department of Health (DoH)
and Department of Employment and Labour.
• The Department made provision of Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE), screening of the
workforce and visitors to the office building,
sanitisation of offices on a monthly basis,
observation of 1.5 meters social distancing,
employment of three nurses to conduct
screening, and creation of observation rooms
for persons who exhibit symptoms of
Covid-19.
• Staff members who are 60 years and older, as
well as those with comorbidities as defined by
the Department of Health, were allowed to
work remotely subject to necessary approvals.
• Constant update was given to all staff
members about Covid-19 positive cases and
tracing was handled by the nurses on site.
Overview of the operations of the department:
• Health advisory related to testing and self-
quarantine as well as psychosocial support
The Department of Social Development (DSD) plays a was provided to those impacted by Covid-19.
critical role in providing social protection services. The
social development sector delivers its services in an The following amendments were implemented to
environment marked by high levels of poverty, unemploy- external operations, particularly the DSD managed
ment and inequality. The Department continues to lead facilities:
government efforts to forge partnerships through which • Closure of Early Childhood Development
vulnerable individuals, groups and communities can Centres (ECDs) and Partial Care Facilities.
become capable and self-reliant participants. During • Temporary suspension of NPO and Child
2020-2021, South Africa went into a nation-wide Protection Registration services.
lockdown from 26 March 2020, which was extended • Suspending of visits and restriction of
through a risk-adjusted approach ranging from Alert movement of people and prohibitions to
Level 5 to Alert Level 1. The nation-wide lockdown access DSD managed institutions and centres.
impacted economic activities in the country and resulted • Suspending of activities for all cooperatives
in loss of jobs and income for millions of South Africans. under incubation.
This compounded the persistent challenges of poverty, • Suspending of the gathering, sitting and
inequality and other social ills. eating at all Community Nutrition and
Distribution Centres (CNDCs) during the
The nation-wide lockdown impacted negatively on the lockdown period.
service delivery environment and meant that the Depart- • Suspending of intercountry adoptions during
ment had to review some of its operations during the the state of national disaster.
2020/21 financial year. Some of the departmental • Suspending of all non-essential travelling.
services which would ordinarily be delivered physically
had to be suspended in line with the various lockdown These measures were implemented to curb the spread of
Alert Levels until alternative means were in place to the Coronavirus. Furthermore, the Department developed
ensure compliance to the Covid-19 regulations. guidelines, standard operating procedures, procedure
manuals, reporting templates and other guiding
documents to ensure that all its facilities continue
The following amendments were implemented to the
Department’s internal operations: providing services while observing health protocols and
• The Department developed and implemented a adhering to Covid-19 regulations according to various
Covid-19 framework to ensure that service alert levels.
delivery is not compromised. A Rotation Plan
approach was initiated for at least 30% - 50%
workforce distribution to render services in The outbreak of Covid-19 and the pronouncement of
line with the mandate of the Department. A nationwide lockdown in March 2020 meant that some of
hybrid model of physical and remote working
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21 12
the Departmental services had to be delivered online to • The introduction and launch of the Vangasali
mitigate the spread of Covid-19. This resulted in a
significant shift in the communication space with an Campaign for Early Childhood Development
increase in South Africans receiving their news and centres, encouraging them to register. This
information online. The Chief Directorate: campaign was conducted in partnership with
the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Communication successfully provided efficient, strategic • Webinar on commemorating International
and developmental communication support function to
the Department. The Unit communicated departmental Children’s Day.
programmes, events and activities through internal, • Virtual launches of ECD centres in various
corporate communication, media relations, public provinces, in partnership with the National
relations and content development knowledge and Lottery Commission Legacy Programme.
expertise. • Youth Month Webinar on Gender-Based
Violence and Femicide.
The Department had to find new ways of conducting • International Day Against Substance Abuse
and Illicit Drug Trafficking Webinar.
engagements and communicating online with all its • Commemoration of International Day of
stakeholders. Several platforms including webinars,
live-streaming on all DSD social media platforms (Twitter People with Disabilities and webinar on
Periscope, Facebook Live, YouTube Channel, and Insta- Disability Mainstreaming.
• Webinar on the Know Your NPO Status
gram stories) were introduced. The communication Campaign.
through social media provided the Department with an
always-on channel of communication with citizens and
The Department further developed a microsite
allowed the communications (i.e., campaigns, notices and (https://dsdmemorial.org.za) to document all DSD sector
advisories) to be targeted at the desired audience. This
staff members who passed away due to the pandemic.
further provided the public with direct and virtual access This serves as a memory repository of how the sector was
to the Department and its services and allowed the
Department to control the narrative of its information as affected by Covid-19.
well as speedy correction of misinformation.
Government has 11 annual campaigns while the Depart-
ment has 27 annual campaigns. These Campaigns aim to
raise awareness on different programs of the Department.
These include among others, the Child Protection Week,
which aims to galvanise South Africa into making sure
that the rights of children are protected and the Older
Persons Active Ageing Campaign, that shines the light on
older persons, their rights and encourages them to live an
active life.
The Department utilised live social media coverage for
the various events, where content was distributed on the
four main platforms being Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
and YouTube (for live streams). Other significant commu-
nication events included numerous Departmental facility
compliance and oversight visits, Minister's report back to
Parliament and Portfolio Committees, webinars on
various programmes of the Department and other virtual
events and community mobilization activities.
Key among these events were the following: