A crippling staff shortage at the Gauteng Department of Social Development is putting vulnerable lives at risk, with 771 critical positions, including social workers and psychologists, remaining unfilled.
The shortage of frontline staff is leaving children in care centres, abuse victims, and struggling families without essential support. The crisis is particularly severe at police stations, where only 130 of the province’s 145 stations have access to government-funded social services.
This crisis was revealed by Gauteng Social Development MEC Faith Mazibuko in a written response, showing that just 45 social workers cover 130 police stations, often rotating between four sites, supported by 130 social auxiliary workers and 524 caregivers or volunteers.
She added that 15 stations have no social workers at all, forcing police to rely on NGOs or refer victims elsewhere.
Mazibuko explained that social workers cannot provide 24-hour coverage due to limited staffing, so victim support rooms depend on volunteers to handle day and night shifts.
“Each Victim Friendly Room is allocated four Victim Supporters, one Social Auxiliary Worker, and one Social Worker, with the Social Worker rotating among four Victim Friendly Rooms. Due to this allocation, the four Victim Supporters are able to work rotational day and night shifts. This is not feasible for one Social Auxiliary Worker and one Social Worker to provide 24-hour coverage.”
She added that when social workers are unavailable, police stations use alternative mechanisms, such as partnerships with NGOs or referrals to nearby offices, to ensure access to services.
“In the absence of social workers, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has a responsibility to ensure access to social services. Some police stations have contracted non-profit organisations (NPOs) to provide social work services, while others rely on the Department of Community Safety, which has appointed Floor Managers to attend to cases and facilitate referrals to nearby social work offices,” she added.
However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said these explanations do little to address the scale of the crisis.
DA Member of Parliament Refiloe Nt’sekhe, warned that the department’s staffing shortfalls are leaving the province’s most vulnerable without support.
“The GDSD, which employs over 5,000 staff, has 771 vacant posts, which translates to a 15% vacancy rate. The department claims that 90 positions have been filled, but it remains unclear whether these are part of the 771 vacancies, which remain alarmingly high. Consequently, vulnerable groups, particularly children in care centres, victims of abuse, and families in need of social welfare support, have been deprived of crucial services.”
Nt’sekhe said the staffing crisis reflects a broader failure to protect vulnerable communities and accused Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government of neglecting those who need it most.
“This is a major failure to protect the most vulnerable people in Gauteng. These revelations are deeply concerning and highlight that Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government continues to neglect the most vulnerable in our society.
“They further prove that his administration has failed to follow through on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment, made during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), to deploy social workers to police stations,” she said.
She added that the vacancies have serious consequences for victims of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, who are left without proper support, while overstretched staff face mounting caseloads and delays in critical interventions.
Nt’sekhe also shared that the DA has submitted follow-up questions to Mazibuko seeking clarity on which police stations lack social workers, how long the vacancies have existed, whether they are funded, and whether the 90 filled posts form part of the 771 vacancies.
The Star
