Chairperson, on (1)(a), the total number of social workers who are employed in each province is as follows, and they are employed by the department and also by nongovernmental organisations, NGOs.
In the Eastern Cape the department has 998, while NGOs have 395; in the Free State we have 333, while NGOs have 132; Gauteng has 1 398, while NGOs have 553; KwaZulu-Natal has 1 464, while NGOs have 575; Limpopo has 799, while NGOs have 916; Mpumalanga has 466, while NGOs have 184; the Northern Cape has 133, while NGOs have 53; the North West has 399, while NGOs have 158; and the Western Cape has 666, while NGOs have 263. The total is 6 655 for the department, and 2 634 for the NGOs.
On (b), the average number of cases that each social worker is expected to attend to is not determined by the number of persons and/or cases per month, but by the caseload per social worker. According to the Integrated Service Delivery Model developed by the Department of Social Development in 2005, the current caseload for a social worker is 1:60. However, with the fact that South Africa is a developing country, which has high levels of poverty and deprivation, and a high incidence of HIV and Aids, the actual workload per social worker far exceeds the above-mentioned norm.
On (2)(a) and (b), yes, the department has continued to put measures in place to train and recruit more social workers. The scholarship programme, since its inception in 2007, has awarded scholarships to a total of 8 569 students to study social work. While the department has recruited 3 883 social work graduates into the system, we know that there is a serious shortage of social workers in South Africa. We are guided by the budget in regard to our ability to absorb more graduates, and we hope that through negotiations with the Treasury for more funds we will be in a position to absorb all the graduates. I thank you.
Position regarding sponsorship of SA Olympic Team and promotion of sport in rural communities
43. Mr W F Faber (DA) asked the Minister of Sport and Recreation:
(1) What are the reasons for the SA Olympic Team being unable to find sponsorships;
(2) whether he has taken any steps to (a) promote and (b) canvass for sponsorships for the team; if not, why not; if so, what steps;
(3) what total amount will be spent to promote sport in rural communities (a) in the Eastern Cape and (b) at a national level in the 2012-13 financial year? CO286E