Gauteng’s most vulnerable severely affected by delays in NPO funding
24 March 2024
Unnecessary delays by the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) in finalising the adjudication process for NPO funding are creating uncertainty and anxiety among Gauteng residents dependent on NPOs for social welfare and social services.
Based on previous experience, NPOs sign their Service Level Agreements (SLA) by mid-March to allow payments to be processed when the new financial year begins on 1 April of that year.
This year, NPOs do not know if they will get funded or not, and as a result, this is causing uncertainty among them and their beneficiaries.
The DA is deeply concerned about the delays in finalising the adjudication process for NPO funding and the secrecy surrounding it. Premier Panyaza Lesufi has remarked that the Gauteng government has open tender processes, but the current NPO funding adjudication process is shrouded in secrecy and delays.
Furthermore, the department has not yet responded to the NPO's inquiry about the composition of the adjudication committee. Some NPOs have reported receiving ten-minute site visits from staff identifying themselves as “brigades” who appeared to be uninformed about what to look for when conducting NPO site inspections as part of the adjudication process. Typically, social workers, who understand the operations of non-profit organisations conduct these site visits.
In reply to the DA's questions on the issue, the GDSD MEC Mbali Hlophe highlighted that NPOs would sign SLAs in February 2024. However, this has not happened as the department is currently busy with adjudication, which only began on 11 March 2024, and is said to be a two-week procedure. Delays leave NPOs and their beneficiaries in limbo, unsure of what their future holds.
The DA urges Premier Lesufi and MEC Hlophe to recognise and promptly resolve the turmoil they have caused within the NPO sector and its beneficiaries because of unnecessary delays in the adjudication process. The delays are not helping to rebuild the already-broken trust with NPOs, but rather worsening it.
The DA will be tabling oral questions to the MEC about the adjudication committee, and the ongoing forensic audits in the department, with the understanding that the current adjudication process deviates from the standard operating procedure (SOP) negotiated with the NPOs in April 2022. NPOs are confused as to why the MEC, and department are deviating from the SOP and are dissatisfied with the inadequate communication from the department.
The DA is ready to rescue Gauteng residents and NPOs from an MEC that is out of touch with the needs of the welfare sector and determined to plunge the province into yet another humanitarian disaster. We are committed to collaborating with Gauteng NPOs and adhering to agreed-upon Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng are well taken care of.
Issued by Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, 24 March 2024
