adminCouncil chairman Mr Phillip Bohwasi said the crippling shortage of social workers was compromising health service delivery.
“Government must unfreeze posts for social workers. We are appealing to the Ministry of Finance to lift the freeze as social work is a critical profession,” he said recently at a ceremony where Unicef donated a vehicle to the council.
“Government must put child security high on the agenda. The situation is desperate now and Zimbabwe’s qualified social workers who are working outside cannot return home because of the job freeze.”
The Department of Social Services employs less than 100 qualified social workers against a demand of 400, a situation which has seriously compromised service delivery in the country.
The ration of one social worker working with 49 000 children is higher than average figures for countries in the region. South Africa has a ratio of 1:1100, Botswana 1:1 867 and Namibia 1:4 300.
Mr Bohwasi said the social workers were currently struggling to reach out to children owing largely to staff shortages.
“At the moment we are struggling to reach all children who need our services because of staffing challenges,” he said.
“We need to protect our children and Government must seriously consider lifting the job freeze.”
Mrs Lauren Rumble of Unicef also added her voice on the plight of social workers in the country.
“Social work is the orphan of the national budget and receives little or no disbursement at all. We call upon everybody to make their voices heard so that disbursements match the reality on the ground.”
A massive brain drain in recent years and Government’s policy on job freezing had resulted in a crippling shortage of social workers.
And as a result, Mr Bohwasi said cases warranting the services of social workers such as rape of minor children, abuse of women and children in any form and child counselling were going unattended.
Online Reporter