Despite millions of rands spent on cleaning services and document preservation, several Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) offices in Buffalo City still remain closed to the public.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that the Social Development MEC, Bukiwe Fanta, must urgently outline a comprehensive plan to reopen these offices and restore public services. This is an orange light to proceed with great caution, because the DA will hold the MEC to account.
DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader, Leander Kruger MPL, will write to the Public Service Commission (PSC), which previously assured us that this matter was resolved, yet the offices remain shuttered. Clearly, the assurances were premature or the implementation inadequate.
The DA will now call on the PSC to urgently take action to ensure the matter is addressed as a priority.
Thousands of vulnerable beneficiaries in Buffalo City and surrounding areas have been unable to access critical services for almost two years. These are individuals and families seeking assistance with grant applications, food parcels, pensions, and other essential support—left stranded in a province grappling with widespread poverty and a deepening cost-of-living crisis
The DA has been highlighting this issue for nearly a year, following a protest in East London last December, yet the department has failed to address the community’s needs.
The portfolio committee discussions regarding the Social Development’s Annual Report revealed that the Department has spent R4.3 million purportedly addressing health concerns at seven offices, but the facilities remain inaccessible. The expenditure includes:
- R730,001 for specialised cleaning services.
- R3.6 million for document management.
This unbudgeted spending, taken from other department line items, including maintenance, inventory materials and communications, has failed to yield results, leaving residents without the support they desperately need.
During our oversight of these offices this week, we found that they remain empty despite these expenses. At one office, staff worked in the passageways, unaware that the offices had been cleaned and declared safe. At another office, we were told staff only come in to use the printers when needed.
As the cost-of-living crisis escalates, residents lack access to vital services. Government officials and social workers who are mandated to assist them remain idle, further compounding the suffering of society’s most vulnerable members.
The DA will not abandon these communities in their time of need. We will continue to fight for those who rely on social support systems and hold the department accountable for its failure to deliver on its mandate.