The Minister of Social Development, Ms. Lindiwe Zulu on Tuesday, 9 January 2024 concluded the first day of her outreach program in Mpumalanga Province by visiting the SASSA Local Office in Emakhazeni where she interacted with teenage mothers and encouraged them to go back to school when the 2024 academic year kicks off.

The teenage mothers had visited the SASSA Local Office to apply for Child Support for their newborn babies. Over the festive period, the Department of Health reported that
of the 1,703 babies born on New Year’s Day at public health facilities, at least 190 were teenage mothers. Minister Zulu encouraged teenage mothers not to lose hope, but rather use this as a learning curve because it is only through education that they can improve their lives and that of their newborn babies.“Teenage pregnancy is a serious threat to girls’ education as many drop out of school. I want to encourage you to learn from your mistakes of falling pregnant at this very young age.

I encourage you to go back to school. Minister Zulu said that this is the only way we can break the generational cycle of poverty in many families across our country”, said Minister Zulu.

During the visit, Minister Zulu also applauded the SASSA Local Office for proactively installing an electricity backup system to ensure there is no interruption in service delivery during load-shedding periods. As part of the Ministerial Outreach Program, Minister Zulu on Wednesday 10 January 2024 visited the Sizimisele Youth Centre, a community-based organization that renders services to the rural and farming communities in Wonderfontein, Emakhazeni. As learners and educators prepared for the kickoff of 2024, Minister Zulu handed over desktops to five local schools in the area.