Deputy Speaker, the ANC welcomes the recent launch of the Veteran Social Workers Forum owing to the challenges faced by the profession with regard to the departure of many social workers from the public sector to take up more favourable options in the private sector or in foreign countries. This initiative represents an attempt to halt the decline and negative effects faced by this profession.
The lack of social workers has had a huge impact on the poor and vulnerable, who urgently require the important services of social workers. Thus, there has been a need to bring on board our retired social workers in order to offer their experience and institutional memory in order to uplift the profession itself and the way services are delivered to our people. The establishment of this forum will provide young and newly appointed social workers with an opportunity to learn from their veteran counterparts who have years of experience in the field. It offers an opportunity for these new social workers to build working relationships with veterans and to benefit from their wealth of knowledge.
In order to ensure that the impact of this initiative is felt where it is most needed - at grass-roots level - the Department of Social Development has called for the establishment of dedicated and efficient structures in provinces. We believe that social workers play a central and critical role. Thank you. [Time expired.]