Virginia Peterson

Ms VL Petersen studied Social Work at the University of the Western Cape and completed a Masters Degree in Social Science (clinical) at the University of Cape Town. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Cape Town on Social Capital. She also holds various diplomas in Human Resource Management, Public Sector Management, and Public Policy and Social Safety Nets.

Her experience spans 27 years in social development (both private and public sector) and trade unionism at the following organisations:

• Child and Family Welfare Society;
• Nicro;
• Association for the Physically Disabled;
• South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union;
• Shawco;
• Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation (now called the Department of Social Development);
• Department of the Premier.

At Shawco, as co-manager, she was pertinently involved with the transformation of the organisation. The experience gained at Shawco together with her experience in the different fields of social work adequately prepared her to become the co-ordinator of the former MEC for Health and Social Services' Strategic Management Team in 1994. As advisor to Mr Ebrahim Rasool she gained valuable insight into the state bureaucracy and was the primary drafter of the Transformation Plan for the Department of Social Services. She held this position until her appointment as Head of the Department of Social Services on 1 July 1995, which granted her the opportunity to implement the Transformation Plan.

In December 1998 she was promoted to Deputy Director-General in the Department of Health and Social Services while still heading Social Services in the Western Cape Province. In January 2001 she was promoted to the position of Superintendent-General in the Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation.

On the 1st of June 2006 she became a Deputy Director-General in the Department of the Premier, acting Director-General on 23 July 2007 and was subsequently appointed as Director-General of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape on 1 January 2008.

Her key deliverables thus far include:

• Implementing measures to combat fraud and other irregularities in the Department of Social Services;
• Parity and expansion for beneficiaries of the "Early Childhood Development Programme";
• A member of the Committee for the Restructuring of Social Security under the Chairpersonship of Rev. Frank Chikane;
• Eliminating a social security backlog of 12 000 recipients;
• Disaster management and control;
• Nisec - the cancellation of the largest contract in the Western Cape Province in a drawn out legal battle. R240 million was saved immediately with a further R80 million saved annually;
• The establishment of assessment centres as a diversion option for the first time juvenile offenders;
• Launch of the Multi-Purpose Centre programme which offers a one-stop service to marginalised communities;
• The first state department to employ development workers who work in the most impoverished areas in the Western Cape;
• Member of a four person Medium Term Expenditure Framework Team to work with the National Department of Finance in developing the Welfare MTEF for the country;
• Launch of the Departmental Customer Service campaign;
• Re-engineering the Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation;
• Transformation of the Western Cape non-governmental organisation sector and child and youth services sector;
• Initiated and implemented a Provincial Social Transformation Programme aimed at ensuring a integrated response to the province's 21 most vulnerable communities;
• Operationalised a departmental operational re-alignment of the organisational structure.

She has and is currently serving on:

• The Community Chest Board
• National Social Cluster
• Specialist Committee (Head of Government Team)
• Chair of the Provincial Social Cluster
• Chair of the Provincial Medium Term Expenditure Committee Meetings