Deur Seth Thorne, GroundUp
The new provision means, for example, that a Zimbabwean social worker who has been working for an organization for 15 years, has the necessary documentation and qualifies for permanent residence, can now lose her job. (Photo: Lisa Nelson)
The Gauteng Department of Social Development has introduced new funding conditions that prohibit non-profit organizations from using provincial grants to compensate non-South African workers.
According to the department, social work is not a rare skill and Gauteng has a database of around 2,000 unemployed South African social workers.
However, the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee says the problem is not foreign workers depriving South Africans of job opportunities, but rather the government’s failure to create job opportunities for graduate social workers.
According to the organization People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), the new provision means, for example, that a Zimbabwean social worker who has been working for the organization for 15 years, has the necessary documentation and qualifies for permanent residence, can now lose her job.
In terms of the new employment agreement for 2026, non-profit organizations in Gauteng may therefore no longer use provincial funding to pay foreign employees.
The agreement also stipulates that senior management positions, such as that of chairman or treasurer, must be held by South Africans.
Foreign workers may only be retained if they have “rare skills”.
For Fatima Shaik, executive director of POWA, the decision has immediate consequences. The Zimbabwean social worker, who has worked for the organization for 15 years, has his salary in the balance because the department is POWA’s main funder.
Even if POWA obtains alternative funding, the department still requires a South African to fill the position in question.
POWA has been providing essential services to victims of gender-based violence since 1979 and operates 14 offices and two shelters in Gauteng.
Shaik labeled the department’s explanations as “ridiculous excuses”. She says the policy is interpreted differently in Johannesburg’s seven administrative regions and in Gauteng’s local municipalities, which increases the administrative burden.
(Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp).
According to her, the organisation’s administrative staff, who must manage these requirements, are also not funded by the department.
“These funding dilemmas threaten the stability of services that vulnerable people rely on,” she said.
Motsamai Motlhaolwa, spokesperson for the department, says the new provision has been introduced to ensure that qualified South African citizens are given preference.
He says social work is not considered a rare skill. In addition, approximately 2,000 local social workers in the province are out of work.
However, Lisa Vetten, chairman of the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee, believes that the core problem is not that foreigners are displacing South Africans, but that the state is not creating sufficient job opportunities for social workers.
Motlhaolwa says the provision does not apply retroactively and should only apply to new appointments.
However, according to POWA, this does not happen in practice, as the organization has not received any funding for the Zimbabwean social worker.
Motlhaolwa says the provision is also intended to protect the best interests of vulnerable groups because, according to the department, foreign employees cannot be properly screened.
Vetten rejects this argument.
She says foreign social workers have valid documentation, are screened and have the necessary visas. If they committed crimes, they would be deported and their names would appear on registers such as the National Register for Sex Offenders or the National Child Protection Register.
According to her, foreign social workers also regularly provide police clearance certificates.
Motlhaolwa says the selection of persons who work with vulnerable groups is a legal requirement and “cannot be wrongly presented as something that goes against South Africa’s constitutional commitments”.
Regarding the varied application of the nationality provisions, he says the department regularly holds meetings with staff involved in the management of the organizations involved. According to him, the department’s head office is also open to organizations that believe they are receiving contradictory instructions.
Vetten warns that the decision may form part of a disturbing pattern of xenophobia that is beginning to be reflected in government policy.
She says that the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee works with more than 160 organizations and that foreign workers represent a small minority but often play a critical role in these organizations.
“Human rights organizations usually oppose such provisions because they go against their ethics and moral values. But these organizations are largely dependent on the department’s funding to survive.”
- This reported was originally posted by GroundUp and is used with permission.