Social Development
(1) (a) What specific forms of food assistance are being provided to orphans and child-headed households in order to prevent hunger and extreme poverty, (b) how does his Department verify and ensure the accuracy of the reported number of beneficiaries and (c) what mechanisms are in place to account for underreporting;
(2) whether his Department is taking steps to improve data collection and to ensure that all affected individuals are identified and assisted; if so, what are the relevant details?
(1)(a) What food support is provided?
The Department helps orphans and child-headed households with food in several ways:
- Providing food parcels when needed
- Offering daily cooked meals at Community Nutrition and Development Centres
- Supporting meals at schools through partnership with the education sector
- Referring families to SASSA grants (like the Child Support Grant) to help them buy food
- Funding organisations and shelters that provide meals and care
The Designated Child Protection Organisations, in partnership with the Department of Social Development, although not specifically funded for food relief, render the following services to communities in need including orphaned children such as food relief, soup kitchens and food parcels depending on donations from corporate partners such as Woolworths, Shoprite, Checkers, Pick & Pay, community members, and the Designated Child Protection Organisations' funding initiatives. Ongoing economic constraints and a decline in donations limit the organisation’s capacity to respond adequately to the high demand for social relief services.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is the government entity responsible for administering social grants in South Africa. In addition to the Child Support Grant, SASSA provides a Child Support Top -up Grant, which is intended to strengthen the support for orphaned children in the care of relatives and Child Headed Households, which is an additional R250 per month to qualifying beneficiaries, increasing the amount from R580 to R830 per child.
In the 2025/2026 financial year, the Department of Social Development referred 222 orphaned children in the care of relatives to SASSA in aid of the Child Support Top-Up Grant.
SASSA confirmed a steady increase in the need for the Child Support Top-up grants in the Western Cape, as illustrated in the table below:
Financial Year | Female | Male | Number of Children/ Beneficiaries | Increase for the financial year. |
2023/2024 | 2 117 | 1 954 | 4 071 | - |
2024/2025 | 2 843 | 2 646 | 5 489 | 1 418 |
2025/2026 | 3 167 | 3 005 | 6 172 | 683 |
(1)(b) How does the Department ensure the numbers are correct?
The Department checks beneficiary information by:
- Using social workers to assess and register households
- Keeping records and beneficiary lists
- Requiring reports from funded organisations
- Conducting site visits and checks to confirm services are being delivered
(1)(c) How does the Department deal with underreporting?
To make sure no one is missed, the Department:
- Does community outreach to find vulnerable households
- Works with schools, clinics, municipalities, and local organisations for referrals
- Uses different data sources to identify gaps
- Supports organisations to improve their reporting
(2) Is the Department improving data collection and identification?
Yes, the Department is:
- Improving data systems to better track beneficiaries
- Training staff and organisations on accurate reporting
- Working with other departments to share information
- Expanding outreach in high-need communities
- Regularly reviewing programmes to identify gaps and improve support
