Winnie Lindi Morake has been appointed to the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), which has elected serving member Dr Maria Mabetoa as its president.

Dr Maria Mabetoa

Dr Maria Mabetoa is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Unisa. Her employment history started in Winterveldt and Hammanskraal, in 1976 and 1977 respectively, as a newly qualified social worker. After she took a five-year break to improve her qualifications in England, she worked as a senior lecturer in social work at the North-West University for 12 years.

She joined the Department of Social Development (DSD) in 1997 as a Director for Social Integration. Her main focus areas were services to children, families, and youth. In 2002 she became the first manager for the HIV and AIDS Directorate in DSD and in 2005 she became Chief Director for Services to Children, Social Crime Prevention and VEP. Mabetoa was promoted to the position of Deputy Director General for Welfare Services in the same Department from 2008 to 2012.

Her tenure in government gave her the opportunity to manage and contribute to the development and implementation of major policies and programmes of government within the social development sector, which includes the experience and knowledge on a wide range of issues pertaining to welfare services.

In 2012 and 2013 she managed the establishment of the now flourishing retired social worker’s programme nationally. She is currently a member of the National Social Work Veteran’s Forum.

“I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work since May 2014 on fixed contract. I was recruited mainly for the coordination of the development of the new Bachelor of Social Work curriculum in the department, which has now been finalised and is waiting accreditation by the CHE. I am also supervising three postgraduate students, two of whom are co-supervised,” says Mabetoa.

Mabetoa started working with the SACSSP in 2010 when she was appointed by the Minister of Social Development to serve on the Council as DSD’s representative. “After my retirement from DSD, I continued working with the Council through task teams that were appointed by the Professional Board for Social Work to develop standards and to assess and moderate qualifications. I was appointed by the Minister to serve on the Council and elected as its President on 21 June 2016.”

One of the SACSSP’s legislative mandates is to ensure that the curriculum offered by universities and colleges for social service professions adhere to professional standards and are appropriate to South African context. Mabetoa said “my employment and academic experience at Unisa made me more aware of the need to improve the linkage between tertiary institutions and government. This was more pronounced in my experience of coordinating the development of the BSW curriculum for the Department of Social Work at Unisa”. The SACSSP is critical in creating opportunities for tertiary institutions to have a strong link with government department especially DSD, therefore it will be Mabetoa’s responsibility as the President of the SACSSP to ensure that this linkage is strengthened and sustained.

“The managerial, leadership and policy development experience and skills that I have accumulated throughout my career have strengthened my passion to contribute towards professionally trained and effective social service professionals. I believe that this is what will keep me focused throughout my term of office as the President of the SACSSP.”

Winnie Lindi Morake

Winnie Lindi Morake holds a Master’s Degree in Social Science and BA Social Science (Social Work) from the University of South Africa. She has been appointed as a lecturer at Department of Social Work in the College of Human Sciences at Unisa since September 2014 to date. Prior to being a lecturer at Unisa, Winnie was employed in the following sectors: Social Development, Water, Non-Governmental (child and disability), and Consulting.

Morake worked for the Department of Social Development as a social worker and senior social worker for seven years, for the Department of Water Affairs as a Development Expert and Chief Development Expert for four years, for Tshwane Child Welfare as a Manager for a year, for the Association for Autism as a Development Officer for two years, and as an Independent Consultant (Water sector, Seta sector, mining sector) for more than five years.

She was encouraged and nominated by Dr Mohapi, her mentor in the Department of Social Work at Unisa, who also served at the SACSSP. The Minister of Social Development, the Honourable Bathabile Dlamini, appointed her as a ministerial appointee in June 2016.

Morake said she has to acknowledge the wealth of experience, knowledge, attitude and skills she learned as a field social worker in the Department of Social Development and as a Manager at Tshwane Child Welfare. However, her current job as a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Unisa, which is a reputable, comprehensive, flexible and accessible open distance learning institution, put her in a privileged position as she was nominated in the category of training institution.

Morake believes that she has much to learn as a new member of the SACSSP council but she intends to serve with passion, dedication, and diligence to achieve the mandate and objectives of SACSSP to the benefit of the social services profession, social development sector role-players, and stakeholders.

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