Social welfare delivery: a case of government funded NGOs in Worcester

Abstract

Social welfare services are essential for development of human capital and eradication of poverty in South Africa generally. Social welfare plays a pivotal role in enabling the impoverished and vulnerable communities and households to lead their lives through provision of care, social relief, stability and human resource development. Non-Governmental Organisations form an integral part of the welfare system through their formal and informal welfare and residential and non-residential welfare services. The role of the NGOs becomes imperative precisely because of their inherent empathy and proximity to the communities they serve. Government itself has been engaged in the process of transformation and the same challenges of transformation, governance, and effectiveness still profound the NGO sector. Notwithstanding the contribution of the NGOs in the welfare system, it is crucial to scrutinise the nature of their work and the rate of transformation to flourish in the democratic dispensation. To enhance the process of transformation in the NGO sector, government passed a plethora of policies and legislative requirements, inter alia, White Paper for Social Welfare 1997, Non-Profit Organisations Act of 1997. The intent of this research therefore, was to establish the significance of transformation and inherent issues of governance, effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery and sustainability of the nature of social welfare services rendered by the NGO sector in the Western Cape, particularly the Worcester district.