Parliament, Friday, 28 March 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Social Development yesterday visited the National Development Agency (NDA), a flagship entity of the Department of Social Development. The NDA is harnesses the potential of civil society organisations to build capacity, skills transfer and sustainable development, while safeguarding the livelihoods of indigent communities.
The committee Chairperson, Ms Bridget Masango, emphasised what could be achieved with collaborative synergy and strategic resource coordination between all departments and stakeholders in the social development sector. This would go a long way in helping South Africa achieve its developmental agenda, she noted.
The committee visited one of the NDA’s projects based in Randfontein, Ratanganedza Community Care, that is a case in point, demonstrating the role that the NDA can play in turning the worst of situations into positive outcomes. The committee heard that Ratanganedza is led by an HIV activist who was fired from her work when she contracted AIDS. Undeterred, she formed Ratanganedza to advocate for the right to treatment for people in her community living with HIV. She also formed a small agricultural cooperative, against all the odds, that later expanded into a successful farming enterprise.
The committee also visited another NDA flagship project, Bonang Masikhule Primary Cooperative, also based in Randfontein, which manufactures school shoes, corporate items and uniforms for the Department of Social Development. The project, which is funded by the NDA, has shown that youth unemployment can be tackled if entities in the developmental space collaborate and put their resources together to use them where they are needed most, Ms Masango said.
These oversight visits confirmed for the committee that it should leverage its legislative latitude to champion the cause of the NDA, Ms Masango said, because the social development space needs just such an entity.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, MS BRIDGET MASANGO.
For media inquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Abel Mputing (Mr)
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E-mail: amputing@parliament.gov.za
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