Dina Pule promises improved access to social services in Cape Town - IOL
Social Development Minister Dina Pule has vowed to bring government services to the doorsteps of Cape Town communities, saying many people simply live too far from the offices meant to serve them.
Pule spoke at a media engagement at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Friday 2 October 2026, hours after a visit to Delft to the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme (ICROP).
The briefing marked the start of Social Development Month, which is being observed under the theme “Strengthening Families through Partnerships”.
Pule said the Delft outreach was part of a wider push to reach residents who are cut off from state services.
“We visited these areas as part of service delivery efforts as we continue to take social development services to communities,” Pule said at the event.
“As you are aware, not everyone stays close to government structures to receive these services. We have to go to where our people are, and this is what we did,” she added.
Among the issues she tackled were gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), child protection, the integrity of social grants, home visits and the need for vulnerable people to be treated with dignity when seeking help.
She also admitted that long queues at SASSA offices remain a problem. Pule said the department is working to improve queue management, staffing, appointment systems and digital services, while giving priority to vulnerable citizens.
On calls for higher social grants, the minister said any increase must be weighed against what the country can afford, as grant allocations are set within the national budget process.
“Regarding the calls for increased social grants, we must do so within the reality of the national budget where every additional allocation has an opportunity cost,” Pule said.
She added: “We must also recognise the role of National Treasury and the broader budget processes in determining what it can sustainably afford.”
Pule said social protection should also be linked to skills development, employment and economic opportunities, so that beneficiaries are not left dependent on grants alone.
With SASSA marking 20 years of social protection, she called for an agency that is more accessible, efficient and accountable, as well as technologically enabled, while remaining human-centred.
The minister also acknowledged the role of the media in exposing social ills, informing the public, holding institutions to account and giving a voice to vulnerable communities.
“Government cannot solve social problems without society.”
