DA welcomes reversal of NPO budget reprioritisation

5 May 2023

The DA welcomes the reversal of the reprioritisation of the NPOs budget by the Gauteng Provincial Government, which is a relief to the NPOs’ beneficiaries and staff members who depend solely on this funding for survival.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi recently announced the reversal of the reprioritisation of the NPOs budget following pressure from the DA and different stakeholders in the NPOs sector to review the reprioritisation of the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s budget.

This means that the NPOs will continue to render much-needed social and welfare services to the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng.

For far too long, the DA has highlighted that the Gauteng Department of Social Development does not have proper monitoring and evaluation systems in place, which has resulted in non-compliance of some NPOs and mushrooming of ghost NPOs.

The DA proposes the following to ensure the effectiveness of both the department and NPOs in rendering social and welfare services to the residents of Gauteng:

- Conduct a skills audit of all the department officials to capacitate areas where the department is falling short particularly in monitoring and evaluation

- Ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of NPOs to remove ghost NPOs from the system.

- Decisive action must be taken against the ghost NPO owners and board members, such as laying criminal charges for fraud and stealing from the vulnerable.

- Proper evaluation of non-compliant NPOs so that they can be assisted to be compliant to ensure that its beneficiaries continue to receive services should that non-compliant NPO be closed down.

- Proper consultation and effective communication with the NPOs to ascertain their challenges and engage them on issues affecting their services.

Furthermore, the DA has tabled questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain where the budget for the Premier’s substance abuse and poverty alleviation projects will come from.

The reversal of the reprioritisation of the NPOs budget is a victory for the NPO sector. However, the DA will continue to fight to ensure that the department does not negatively interfere with the services rendered by NPOs.

Issued by Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, 5 May 2023