- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi met with non-profits on Tuesday and promised to speed up payments, reverse budget cuts and resolve issues with service level agreements.
- But some groups say they are skeptical that the prime minister's intervention will have a lasting impact.
- Lesufi was also forced to intervene last year to reverse deep budget cuts and speed up payments, but systemic problems at the Ministry of Social Development remain unresolved.
- Many organizations caring for vulnerable populations have been forced to close or reduce services due to funding delays.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi met with non-profit organizations on Tuesday. He said he was intervening directly to resolve funding issues with the state Department of Social Development, according to GroundUp.
The department's funding award was delayed this year. Many organizations have not yet signed service level agreements for the new fiscal year, which began on April 1, and many that have signed agreements have not yet received their grant funds.
Organizations forced to close or reduce services due to funding delays include shelters, children's homes, and organizations for people with disabilities.
Lesufi on Tuesday vowed to reverse the department's budget cuts, pay subsidies by May 24 and review complaints about service level agreements.
Neither Lesufi nor the Ministry of Social Development have provided details about where the money to reverse the budget cuts will come from. Ministry spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the decision would be taken by the state Treasury.
The department's nonprofit budget was initially R223 million lower in 2024/25 than in 2023/24. But Mr Lesufi said on Tuesday that the 2024/25 budget would be “recovered” from R1.8 billion to R2.4 billion.
This is the second year in a row that Lesufi has been forced to intervene. Last year's major budget cuts were also reversed at the 11th hour.
Organizations lacking funds
Groups GroundUp spoke to are skeptical that Lesufi's promise will have a lasting impact.
“We are not holding our breath,” said Adlie Vermeulen, director of the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (SANCA). SANCA's drug rehabilitation center in Boksburg has closed due to funding delays, and some other facilities have been forced to lay off staff.
July Mathebula, who manages Haus Otto for quadriplegics, told GroundUp that he was unable to attend the meeting because the organization does not have travel funds. GroundUp reported on the Otto family's financing problems in March. Mathebula said Wednesday that he could not buy food or electricity.
The Otto Institute has received grants from the ministry for decades, but has received no feedback on its funding applications. Mathebula said the staff were working without pay.
Mpul Tejane, director of A Re Ageng, which runs several services for survivors of gender-based violence, said the organization had not received service level agreements for any of its four programs. .
“Last year we went through the same process. [Lesufi] He said he would pay us a subsidy, but he didn't pay us. He is making impossible promises. Gauteng is big. How can I complete the procedure by the 24th? asked Tejane.
Eileen Langley, director of the Gauteng Epilepsy Hospital, also said staff reductions may be necessary.
“We really need transparent communication. If they decide not to fund you for any reason, they will responsibly close the center and have enough to cut staff. We need to give it time,” Langley said.
“We need money to cut staff. We are cynical and feel that these meetings were really just to divide us and make a good impression in the media. ”
Lisa Betten, chair of the Gauteng Health Crisis Committee, said the premier's interventions last year and this year had not resolved systemic problems in the department.
When Mr Betten and the crisis committee sounded the alarm about impending budget cuts in March, Social Development MEC Mbali Hlofe denied the existence of cuts and collaborated with the Democratic Alliance to destabilize the province. He accused Betten of doing so.
Reacting to this week's meeting with the Prime Minister, Betten told GroundUp: “It's finally been acknowledged that we weren't lying about the budget cuts.”
“We were accused of lying to cause panic. There needs to be an apology and recognition that accurate information was not put out into the world. The department has long denied there is a crisis. .”
“The sector has almost collapsed.”
Meanwhile, the ministry launched multiple forensic audits this year to investigate corruption in the nonprofit sector and appointed an external review committee to evaluate funding applications. This appears to have been the main reason for the delay in funding. Organizations typically will know by March whether funding from the department will continue.
The department did not say who the members of the adjudication committee were or how funding decisions were made. GroundUp reported in March that R15 million from the Dignity Pack budget had been diverted to fund the Tribunal.
Vetten said some organizations are receiving service level agreements intended for the wrong organization, while others are receiving agreements that don't indicate what programs are covered. That's what it means.
Mr Betten said the damage done to the sector would not be fixed by Mr Lesufi's promises.
Forensic audits, adjudication boards and a lack of communication from the department “almost destroyed the department,” Betten said.
Organizations that have exhausted their savings and cut staff are unlikely to recover.
Betten said a planned picket line against the department's mismanagement will take place on Friday.
Department comments
Ministry spokesperson Themba Gadebe told GroundUp that the delay occurred because “the funding process took place in an atmosphere of investigation.”
Gadebe said matters were further delayed by the resignation of director-general Matilda Gasella at the end of April.
But Gassella's departure was not unexpected. That's because she was appointed under her contract, which ends in April. While she was head of the department, the administration of her contractual arrangements was centralized, clearly creating a bottleneck in her office.
As GroundUp reported earlier this month, Ghasela is facing fraud charges dating back to his time working in both the agriculture and human settlements sectors. Gasella was appointed head of the social development department, even though her special investigation unit recommended her for criminal prosecution.
Resphy's promise
Lesufi warned organizations on Tuesday that the reversal of budget cuts does not mean all organizations will receive the full amount requested. Some new organizations will also receive funding, Lesufi said.
The department claims it has received more than 1,700 applications worth a total of R16.5 billion. Even if the budget cuts were reversed, the department would only be able to spend R2.4 billion on the organization.
Lesufi said grants to organizations that have signed service level agreements will be disbursed immediately and these payments are expected to be completed by May 24. Lesufi said the state treasury had made special arrangements to make daily payments possible.
Organizations that received service level agreements from the department were unhappy with a new provision that required them to spend 70% of their grants on salaries and 30% on operating expenses. It used to be 80-20%. The new provisions have forced some organizations to cut staff.
Mr Lesufi said on Tuesday that the 70-30% clause would be “suspended”.
Some service level agreements issued to organizations did not include installment dates. Lesufi said the “concerning issues” surrounding this and other agreements would be considered by a “tripartite technical team” made up of representatives from the not-for-profit sector, finance sector and social development sector, which would take 21 days to complete. He said that time would be given. Report.
“This sector is valuable. This sector supports the government a lot and this sector needs to be protected at all times,” Lesufi said.
Lesufi spokesperson Sizwe Pamula did not respond to GroundUp's questions.
