Durban - KwaZulu-Natal social development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza should ensure that social workers are appropriately capacitated with the tools of trade, including reliable and safe vehicles, in order to ensure that they carry out their duties without any difficulty.
This is the call from the DA following revelations that more than half of the department’s car fleet has suffered wear and tear and had reached their sell-by date.
According to the response to parliamentary questions, the department has 793 vehicles and only 341 of these are considered safe to use.
Mmabatho Tembe, the DA spokesperson on social development, expressed shock at the department’s responses, which also revealed that 404 suffered significant wear and tear and were beyond their sell-by date of more than five years; 48 (6%) identified for disposal are still in use; and there was no insurance or safety cover despite social workers frequently travelling to dangerous locations.
“The DA is deeply concerned by these numbers. A lack of available vehicles translates directly into a lack of proper service delivery. It also has a major impact on the day-to-day ability of social workers to do their jobs,” said Tembe.
She called on the department to ensure the safety of social workers, noting that they play an invaluable role in society.
Tembe said the DA had also learnt that seven social workers at the Lamontville office, which is a sub-office of Chatsworth that services a vast area including two Lamontville wards, the Bluff, Wentworth and Seaview, were sharing one vehicle.
Tembe said it was equally concerning that the department has no budget to purchase new vehicles and that none had been bought during the past three years.
She concluded by calling on the MEC to prioritise the wellbeing of social workers and ensure that funding is directed to the purchase of new vehicles in her upcoming budget.
The department of social development had been contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.