Today the Minister of Social Development, Ms Sisisi Tolashe tabled the Social Development Budget Vote 19 for the financial year: 2025/26 in Parliament, Cape Town. The Budget Vote was delivered under the theme: “Restoring Trust, Deepening Impact: Reigniting the Role of the Family in a Renewed Commitment to Dignity and Inclusion”.
“The National Development Agency (NDA) welcomes the Minister’s delivery of the Budget Vote.
Her articulation on the path that the NDA should take towards promoting local economic development for the purpose of creating jobs and reduce poverty is clear” says Mr Thabani
Buthelezi, Acting Chief Executive Officer.
The amount of R216 million NDA has been allocated to the NDA to continue with the establishment and strengthening of community owned enterprises across the country. This will ensure that marginalized communities participate in programmes and projects that improve their sustainable livelihoods.
Members of Parliament deliberated their support for the Department’s work and its various entities, while making recommendations for areas of improvement. Some, including the Mkhonto We Sizwe (MK) and Patriotic Alliance (PA), have called for increased funding and capacitation of the NDA to elevate its programmes for increased impact and coordination of poverty programmes, using models such as the District Development Model (DDM).
The Patriotic Alliance supported the Budget Vote. Honourable Banu says “We welcome initiatives by the NDA including of the DDM which incorporates meaningful planning and collaboration with other stakeholders to deliver poverty programmes.” In calling for an increased budget for the NDA, Honourable N Mtshweni of the MK Party says, “The NDA is underfunded and cannot operate in this matter – we are calling for increase of the NDA’s budget.”
“The Democratic Alliance (DA) through Honourable Masango called for increased profiling of
NDA programmes and that in funding of CSOs, increased and intense monitoring must be undertaken. “The DA will continue to monitor the work on the ground to check what is being
delivered and to whom it is delivered to.”
The Deputy Minister of Social Development, Mr Ganief Hendricks gave full support to what he
believes is a pro-poor budget while Honourable Abrahams of the DA raised the need to cut NDA
costs to curb high operational costs versus those intended for civil society organisations.
The ANC, through Honourable Ramaila, rose to give unwavering support of the Budget Vote and lauded the recent appointment made by the Minister in the year, including DSD Director General Mr Peter Netshipale, SASSA CEO Mr Themba Matlou and NDA Acting Chief Executive Officer Mr Thabani Buthelezi. He further called for implementation of the basic income grant as a way to mitigate poverty – demystifying the notion that this is a welfarist approach, but rather that this response allows government to deal with the factual challenges in the country, including unemployment and poverty.
In her closing remarks, Minister Tolashe’s responses assured Members that all matters raised
including cost-cutting measures for the NDA and sharing of office spaces in existing DSD and
SASSA offices in provinces will be carried out. This is the second Department’s Budget Vote in the seventh administration of a Government of National Unity (GNU).