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Retention of social workers critical for the revitalization and delivery of social services in Zimbabwe
Munyaradzi Muchacha
July 26, 2012

In the past decade Zimbabwe has experienced an enormous brain drain of social workers .The migration was possibly triggered by the economic doldrums that the country experienced the past years. The country has witnessed the exodus of most of its experienced frontline social workers to countries such as U.K, Canada, Australia, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. The UK alone has received more than 1,500 social workers since 1998. The Guardian newspaper once reported that Birmingham City Council alone had 47. This is a regrettable scenario noting that the Department of Social Services (DSS) which is largest employer of social workers and major custodian of social services in Zimbabwe as of 2010 had only 121 social workers in post. The world over, although the area of social welfare is a multidisciplinary area it is largely a domain of the social work profession.

The phenomenal exodus of social workers has adversely affected the delivery and discharge of social services in Zimbabwe especially that are rendered by the DSS. Social workers are a group of specially trained personnel who are equipped with ethos and specialized training to promote and secure the holistic wellbeing of children, adults, families and communities. It operates within a framework of legislation and government policy, set out in the Social Workers Act (Chapter 27:21), Children-s Act (Chapter 5:6) and the NAP for OVC, and other frame works and contributes to the development of social policy, practice and service provision. It collaborates with other social care, health, education and related services to ensure people receive integrated support and ameliorate social problems that affect people's social functioning and the realization of their aspirations.

An Institutional Capacity Assessment of the DSS which was carried out by MOLSS and Unicef proved that the department has deep seated capacity weakness to deliver its mandate such as care for orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly, people with disabilities and the extremely poor house holds. The department lacks critical resources and heavily relies on support from development partners.

It is estimated that in Zimbabwe there are about 1, 3 million orphans, 150 000 children with disability, 12 000 children are on /off streets, and 26 % children aged 10-14 years are working. Approximately 6, 4 million Zimbabweans (55 % of the ppln) including 3, 5 million children live in extreme poverty. Children are reported to be committing crimes such as murder, robberies, drug abuse and rape. Many children are also subject to gruesome child abuse such as rape, physical abuse, child labor, neglect and emotional abuse. It is against this backdrop of social problems that there is need for concrete social protection in Zimbabwe and it would be a colossal task without the relevant expertise which makes retention of social workers pertinent.

Zimbabwe's social welfare has a huge caseload and even the most conservative estimates, its social work professional staffing is wildly out of alignment with other countries in the region. Lack of adequate expertise impedes the effective implementation and monitoring of child protection legislation. Studies have shown an alarming ratio of social workers to children which is standing at 40,587: 1 compared with 1,867: 1 in Botswana and 4.300:1 in Namibia. This is an astonishing finding for a country reputed to have the best social protection system in Africa.

At the last Social Workers Conference, the Chief Magistrate Mr. Mishrod Guvamombe bemoaned the quality of probation officer's reports that are being produced by the social workers in the Department of Social Services and the difficulty in obtaining the report in time. This is lamentable to our social services and the social worker profession which is was reckoned to be the best in the region.

There has been a massive increase in the number of social work students recruited by the social work training institutions in Zimbabwe and introduction of the programme at other institutions with large intakes.The programme is one of most sought because of the lucrative offers outside the country. While this might have positive elements to fill the vacuum it should be implemented with caution as it might lead to production of half-baked social workers who could misguided missiles in the future. This is so in the background of reported shortage of social work educators, limited teaching material and shortage of relevant field work placements. This does not get to the roots of the problem, as it not guaranteed that they would stay after finishing their studies. The issue at stake is not about supply but of attracting and returning of the cadre and efforts should be directed towards that cause.

It is high time and imperative that social workers who have left the country come back and help resuscitate our social services reclaim its former pride in the region. Greener pastures are always there. It-s high that the profession creates its own greener pastures home and serve our people.

Till when should be the DSS be a breeding ground and a supply chain of social workers for other countries? It is imperative that the Government of Zimbabwe through the DSS and Council of Social Workers come up with a Plan of Action which ensures that social workers are retained by the Department and locally for other social services players such as N.G.Os who might need services of qualified social workers.The department should lobby the SSB for the elevation of social workers salary grades so that it could tally with other critical human service professions and social workers in the region.

High caseloads and critical shortage of resources is a recipe for burn out and low job satisfaction and motivation and this needs to be addressed to ensure a high retention of social workers. It is regrettable that the DSS which has a mandate to address social problems affecting our society and with such a mammoth task it is one of the Departments that receive the smallest chunk of the national budget. Impediments which hinder these Social Services Officers from discharging their duties such as shortage of stationery, limited office space, shortage of vehicles and limited staff development initiatives should be addressed so that morale and job satisfaction can improve. I believe that with the right cadre and availability of resources our social protection system can claim back its old glories and serve the Zimbabweans in need of this cardinal service.

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