New Gauteng NPO/ NGO Funding Model to Make Life Esidimeni look like a Scrape against a Gassing Wound

by Cllr. Stefanie Ueckermann — DA Spokesperson for Health and Social Services in Ekurhuleni

Date: 17 April 2023

Release: Immediate

Type: Media Statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni is concerned about the impact that the new Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) funding model will have on the poor, elderly, and disabled in our City. The Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD) has initiated a new NPO funding model which will result in thousands of NPOs and NGOs not receiving support from the Gauteng Provincial (GPG) to deliver crucial social services.

We the DA, believe that the Premier for Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi and the Gauteng MEC of Social Development, Mbali Hlope are making a big mistake with the proposed funding framework, which will have a devastating impact on NPOs and NGOs working with the most vulnerable members of our society. The new funding model for NPOs/ NGOs is based on an institutional realignment strategy which focuses on “building state capacity” by reducing reliance on NPOs/ NGOs. This funding model was introduced after the department accused NPOs/ NGOs of misusing funds allocated to them by the department.

The effects of the funding model are already being felt by countless NPOs/ NGOs on the ground. Over the past week, many NPOs and NGOs have indicated that they will be closing their doors amidst the cut in funding. Two of these NGOs released press statements, namely, the Benoni Child Welfare, which has been in operation for the past 99 years and the Springs Kwa-Thema Child Welfare, which has been in operation for the past 100 years. The closure of these NPOs will leave many children destitute, and current and ongoing cases unattended. According to our sources on the ground, the communication the NGOs first received was that they will be losing their allocation to social workers, only to be later informed that the organisations’ entire budget will also be cut by 50 or more per cent.

As members of the Health and Social Development Oversight Committee in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE), we cannot simply sit by while the ruling ANC puts the lives of vulnerable children, the disabled and elderly citizens in danger.

The Premier identified the following priority areas during his State of the Province Address:

• Heightened fight against substance abuse;
• Drastically reducing homelessness;
• War on poverty through improving food security;
• Welfare to work programs through accelerated skills development, and;
• Promotion of environmental sustainability.

Although the reallocation of funding to these priorities is important, it will have a detrimental impact on the functioning of our social welfare system as it will be removing an important link in the fragile social support chain. Removing funding from child welfare organisations as mentioned above, will result in there not being sufficient capacity to place destitute children in homes, thus more children will end up on the streets and will be vulnerable to violent crime, substance abuse, and homelessness.

If there are no social workers available to assist and support children in homes where drug and alcohol abuse is rife the children are likely to repeat the same cycle increasing substance abuse and delinquency at community level. Many of these NPOs and NGOs go above and beyond their call of duty by providing social and psychological support, clothing, food parcels, and ready-to-eat meals. Food security in these communities will be severely affected by the forced closure of these NPOs and NGOs. Social workers in Gauteng will be the hardest hit by the proposed funding model as it will result in many being unemployed with no source of income.

Consultations should have taken place with social workers, NPO/ NGO organisations and professionals on the ground before the funding model being introduced. There should have instead been an increase in social support and related resources to existing and functioning NGOs to incorporate some of the priorities as set out in the State of the Province Address, instead of cutting funding in its entirety.

Residents can help the DA scrap the new NPO/ NGO funding model by signing our online petition (link below).

Link to Petition: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/scrap-new-NPOs-funding-model-NOW

The DA and the Gauteng Welfare Organisations are demanding that the department must reconsider its decision based on the following:

• Thousands of needy people who are solely dependent on NPOs/NGOs for social services and survival will suffer.
• This new NPOs/NGOs funding model will also result in job losses, with many NPOs/ NGOs being forced to shut down because they are solely dependent on the department for funding.
• The NPOs/ NGOs will lose donor funding as the department will be taking over the roles and work of the NPOs/ NGOs.
• This department has constantly failed to spend its entire budget and achieve all its targets and will not be able to execute the mandate of the NPOs/NGOs.

Although social development is a provincial competency, we, the DA at local government level will be standing firm alongside our local NPOs and NGOs in this fight as it affects our most vulnerable residents at ward level. The DA has shown over and over again that we are the only government that truly cares about our residents. Life Esidimeni will look like a scrape against the gassing wound this new funding model will cause.

Cllr. Stefanie Ueckermann

DA Spokesperson for Health and Social Services

076 541 9717