Official reply:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION 2457/2013
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 20 September 2013
Internal question paper no: 31
2457. Mr M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:
(1) Whether she has established a call centre to support women who are
subjected to violence and abuse as indicated in her Policy Debate on
Budget Vote No 19: Social Development on 30 May 2013 in the National
Council of Provinces; if not, when will the call centre be
established; if so, is the call centre operational;
(2) (a) where will the call centre be located, (b) how many staff members
will be employed by the call centre, (c) what is the call centreâs
annual budget, (d) how many calls per month does the call centre plan
to handle and (e) what kind of support will the call centre offer to
women who are subjected to violence and abuse? NW2942E
REPLY:
1) The Command Centre is being established by the department in
partnership with other key stakeholders working towards
operationalization of the call centre.
2) (a) A pilot site has been identified in Pretoria.
b) 90 staff members will be employed during the initial six (6) months
pilot phase, to work as call centre agents working three shifts of
30 people per shift. The total staff complement will then be
determined by the outcomes of the pilot.
c) The project was fully costed and the estimated figures are as
follows:
⢠Pilot phase = R15 million including salaries
⢠Permanent command centre =R55 million establishment (that includes
set up costs of R21 million and salary costs of plus or minus R34
million).
These costs were submitted to national treasury and still awaiting
feedback .However the funding of the pilot was reprioritized from
the current baseline of the department.
d) The calls are estimated at 5000 calls per month. A benchmarking
study was done with existing lines such as Lifeline to determine
the estimated call volumes.
e) The call centre offers a full and comprehensive pyscho-social
service. The service will be administered at the call center by
unemployed social work graduates who will receive the initial call.
The social work graduates will assess the nature of the call and
the intervention required. Depending on the nature of the call, it
may be referred to the back office, manned by experienced social
work veterans to administer telephonic counseling and other social
work interventions. Depending on the nature of intervention
required, the case will then be referred appropriately to the
relevant stakeholder in the values chain such as Police, Health,
Helters, Thuthuzela Care Centres and NGOâs identified.