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Eastern Cape Social Development MEC, Siphokazi Lusithi, has announced a R59.7 million lifeline for workers in the province’s Early Childhood Development Sector.
She said in a statement on Thursday, that the ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund will be rolled out “for the payment of ECD sector employees, which includes practitioners, cooks (and) caretakers, over a period of 6-months.”
“In our province this program targets to provide 13 376 ECD practitioners with income support through existing ECD programmes, helping them to stay open or re-open,” Lusithi said.
The Department of Social Development said it had expanded the scope of funding to registered and unregistered ECD centre as well as “yet to be funded centres” provided that they have all supporting documents proving their existence.
“Umbrella organisations that have run, managed or overseen multiple ECD services for more than three years, may also apply for one or multiple ECD programmes.
MEC Lusithi said ECD Centres not yet receiving funding from the Department of Social Development need to register first on the provincial database.
