SA Gov
The Department of Social Development said budget constraints spanning several years were effectively preventing it from filling 1 279 vacant posts, even though there are 9000 unemployed social workers in the country.
According to a reply to a Parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance, Minister Linidiwe Zulu, noted that in the Eastern Cape, there were 151 vacant social worker posts that were not filled due to a 2019 moratorium on filling posts.
She also noted that there had been a significant reduction in the budget of the province.
Gauteng had the largest number of vacancies for social workers over the past 1-2 years at 365.
DA MP, Bridget Masondo, has called on the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, to urgently implement measures to fill the vacant social worker positions and address the shortages.
“What is particularly disturbing is the fact that 9 000 social workers remain unemployed and that this number has remained unchanged since last year when a similar question was asked,” she said.
“Last year, the government stated that 5 000 social workers are needed to implement substance abuse legislation, and 3 000 for the Older Person's Act,” she added.
