WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMME
The Social Responsibility Programme (SRP) was established in 1999 as Poverty Relief Programme of the then Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
As a Poverty alleviation programme, the programme’s mandate was to contribute towards alleviation of poverty while empowering beneficiaries to participate
in the mainstream economy in a manner that addresses the core responsibilities of the Department. In 2004, the programme was reorganized and strengthened
in line with the paradigm shift in government’s strategies to address poverty. Following the macro restructuring of Departments in 2010, the Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) separated with Department of Tourism. The Department of Environmental Affairs reconfirmed its commitment to continue with its
mandate to fight poverty through this Programme while remaining relevant to the mandate of the Department. The main goal of the programme is to alleviate
poverty through a number of interventions that are implemented in communities to uplift households especially those headed by women. The following are objectives
of the programme in line with this goal:
As part of the programme’s strategy, in addressing the broader goal of poverty alleviation, the programme targets certain categories of people, specifically,
the previously disadvantaged, i.e. women, youth and people with disabilities. To support this, the programme invests 40% of the program funding in the development
of nodes as specified under the Urban Renewal Program and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Program. As a way of advancing the mandate of the Department
at local level, the programme also provides capacity to various municipalities through the Local Government Support Programme, in the form of human resources.
The programme is implemented through four focus areas which seek to mirror the functions of the Department in terms of both mandate and the projects funded.
These focus areas are as follows: Working on Waste, Working for the Coast, Sustainable Land Based Livelihood and People & Parks.